We Survived the Snowmageddon

[worktodo]

Who: Albert Rosenfield (worktodo) and whoever is congregating at the Justice Farm for the Christmas holiday!
Where: El Rancho del Justicia, aka Albert's house in Saffron City
When: Anytime between Monday the 24th and Wednesday the 26th!
Summary: A lot has changed in a month, but some things never do. Losers getting together to fail their way through the holiday season is one of them.
Rating: Individual threads may vary, but let's go with G overall and warn otherwise!
Log:

Despite generally doing a very excellent Grinch impression, Albert doesn't actually hate Christmas. Granted, it's not one of his favorite holidays the way that Thanksgiving is — it's a little too overdone, a little too commercial, lacking in some of the spirit of togetherness in favor of the spirit of consumerism — but it is decidedly a holiday, and once again Johto has presented him with a situation where he is forced to make a choice. For the second time this year (by Albert's reckoning), Johto appears to have done everything in its power to prevent them from putting on a holiday, including but not limited to summoning up the actual apocalypse. The question that begs to be asked, therefore, is simply: is Albert willing to surrender Christmas in the face of all these apparent attempts to ruin it?

The answer, naturally, is: oh, hell no.

It is, however, an undeniably different atmosphere from the one that filled the house on Thanksgiving. Most of the occupants of the house are worse off now than they were then, be it emotionally or physically — some from spooky encounters, some from harsh truths, and some from going out in the apocalyptic snow like the damn fools they are — so if there's slightly less pep and enthusiasm saturating the grounds, that could certainly be why. Any decorations applied to the outside of the house have been battered at best and outright wrecked at worst. But as the slightly paraphrased song lyric goes, "Though the weather outside is frightful, by the fire it's so delightful", and the interior of the house is a thankfully different story.

On Monday, Albert will be spending the Eve of Christmas largely in the kitchen, having allotted the whole day for getting all the components of Christmas dinner prepared and readied in advance; on Thanksgiving, it's a fundamental part of the holiday tradition to run around the kitchen like a madman trying to get dinner to the table on time, but for Christmas, he'd rather everything just go smoothly. Early arrivals are welcome to hang out in the cozy parts of the house, grab some cocoa, and carefully avoid him; otherwise, they might get drafted into menial labor like shoveling out the front walk or putting the finishing touches on the interior decor before the party officially kicks off.

By Tuesday, it's all Christmas all the time; there is no victory quite so sweet as the one that comes hard-won, and as far as Albert is concerned, the most effective "screw you" to Johto's Snowmageddon is putting on an occasion that is positively bursting with holly and jolly anyway. Somewhere near the kitchen, Zack the Porygon2 is contributing by blasting from his Gear's speakers a concert of every Christmas song he knows (of which there are three: "Feliz Navidad", "Grandma Got Run Over By A Stantler Reindeer", and the Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men"). A stately (albeit slightly lopsided) Christmas tree that is probably the Johto equivalent of a Douglas fir is set up in a corner of the living room near the fireplace — which is burning merrily — and its branches are decorated with makeshift ornaments like Pokeballs and paper throwing stars along with the standard colored bauble variety. Stuff your presents below; there'll be time for opening them later, but for now they're part of the decor. There's holly on the piano and fake candles in the windows, and you better believe at least half of those doorways have mistletoe strategically placed near them. Don't get caught! (Or do, if that's what you're here for.)

The one new and interesting addition to the house can be found in a corner of the living room, where a little space has been carved out for a small end table topped with coasters, a chair, and a tripod apparatus just the right size for holding a standard Pokegear. Got someone to call and wish a Merry Christmas? Do it from the comfort of this corner like it's Masterpiece Theater.

But however Tuesday is spent, there's sure to be a lot of love, gifting, and good Christmas cheer. Or else.

When Wednesday comes along, it'll be the standard post-Christmas wind-down — leftovers aplenty in the kitchen, trash bags of crumpled wrapping paper tucked into the corners, and a nice low-pressure environment in which to interact, gush over gifts, and enjoy the spirit of the season a little longer before getting right back to work on Important Business. For some, that might mean playing in the snow or having a snowball fight; for others, that might mean coordinating federal agent business for the future. But either way, it's another Christmas survived, and that's what really matters, right?


[OOC: Just like last time, this is an open log for everybody coming to Albert's for Christmas! Feel free to start your own threads as you please — open them to everybody, close them to specific people, whatever works for you. Just make a note in the header of what day it's taking place on and who all's invited, and have fun, everybody! Also, for people who aren't physically present at the Farm on Christmas, feel free to use the designated Skype Thread™ to chat with them over video anyway!]

Comments

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry only recognized Coop from catching glimpses of him and Heather together off and on. He didn't seem like a bad guy, but he was a stranger so he got that kind of dead-eyed stare in return.]

[At least until he directed his gaze to his feet.]</sub>

Are Heather's killer pokemon nearby or something?

_{[He knew Wren was around here somewhere.]}

[tapestodiane]

_{[... hah, no. But he's right to fear Wren. Anyone would be. Luckily for Henry, Coop's been keeping tabs on that bird. Unluckily for him, Wren's not the problem.]}

Last time I saw her was in the kitchen. You'd do better to worry about things overhead.

_{[:I see what he did there]}

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry looks back to Cooper and blinks, then finally turns his attention upward.]

[Oh.]

[OH!]

[Something like horror crosses the photographer's face as he steps out from under the devil plant.]</sub>

[tapestodiane]

_{[Coop watches the offending plant for a moment, then gives Henry another subtly amused look - one that could also be read as curious.]}

You might want to keep an eye out. A friend of mine has made it his personal goal to ensure everything goes according to tradition.

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry found himself on the opposite side of the door frame. Cut off from the rest of the festivities by a little white-berried sprig. If he tried to pass under it, Coop's mysterious friend might pounce him.]

[8C HOW WAS HE SUPPOSED TO BE IN ALL THE PHOTOS NOW?]</sub>

[tapestodiane]

<sub>[THIS IS A CONUNDRUM. Maybe the answer is to just kiss and get it over with, but Coop's not actually offering this solution, nor any others - whether he's distracted, Just Being Weird or actually privately trolling ... hard to tell. Maybe it's a mix.]

[Either way, he's kind of just staring Henry down, like he's waiting for something.]

[See, cause if he takes two steps forward, they'll be in the Obligated To Kiss Zone despite Henry's retreat, so either Henry backs up a bit more or Coop will have to go in for the kill here, but he's not in a hurry and so figures to give the stranger an option.]</sub>

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry doesn't know about any zones. He just keeps standing there and looking unnerved.]

[WHY WASN'T THIS GUY SAYING ANYTHING?]</sub>

Heatherrrr...

_{[Where was she?]}