worktodo: (COFFEE ☮ why does it taste like fish)
Albert Rosenfield ([personal profile] worktodo) wrote in [community profile] route_10652012-12-23 03:53 pm

We Survived the Snowmageddon

Who: Albert Rosenfield ([personal profile] 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!]
punchandkiss: (Peeeeeeer.)

[personal profile] punchandkiss 2013-01-03 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[She is Ninja Viking.] What, nothing at all? That sounds pretty lonely. [She frowns faintly at him because nobody should be lonely at Snoggletog!]

Well, you've got everybody this year. It's not like being home but...it's nice. [Makes her miss her parents, but there isn't anythign she can do about that.]
newberktown: (uhh)

[personal profile] newberktown 2013-01-03 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Not really... I mean, I probably went out to eat with Toothless, but that happened a lot, back then.

[Man, that dragon liked to eat sushi.]

I think so, too. [Hiccup naturally misses Stoick, Gobber, Toothless... Even the other viking teens. But he's made his own family here, and having Astrid around is great. It would almost seem wrong to ask for more.

Besides, that last Snoggletog back home sucked, from where he's standing on the timeline.]
I'm just surprised Albert hasn't barricaded the doors, after Thanksgiving.
punchandkiss: (So what now?)

[personal profile] punchandkiss 2013-01-03 09:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh is that when he was here? [Astrid has a hard time keeping track of people who had come and gone, since most of them she doesn't know.] Well...this year is better then, right?

[She laughs.]

Well, even if he had, I doubt that would've kept Carmen out.
newberktown: (what's a fish for)

[personal profile] newberktown 2013-01-03 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[He nods.] I arrived here early in December last year, and he left...about three months after that. Dunno how long he'd been here before I came. [weh, darguns.

...Astrid brings up a good point.]
Yeah, she definitely would have been able to get in, somehow... And she would have let the rest of us in after, too.

[But man, thinking about Carmen has him suddenly paranoid that there's a smudge of red close to he lips from where she'd kissed him earlier, and he gives the area an awkward wipe with the back of his hand. Satisfied that the area is free of this incriminating evidence, Hiccup moves his glance subtly to the ceiling.

...Of course there's more mistletoe. How could there not be?]


...Huh.

[What to do, what to do... Cooper and his friend probably weren't watching to make sure they complied with tradition, but who in their right mind would pass up this opportunity? Still, Hiccup had never been the kisser, merely the kissee, so when he fishes to see just how much Astrid knows, it's awkwardly.]

Uh, hey, look. Mistletoe.
punchandkiss: (So what now?)

[personal profile] punchandkiss 2013-01-03 10:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[Astrid was about to comment more on Carmen when Hiccup gets distracted, and she raises an eyebrow, peering up at the mistletoe and then over at him.]

Mistlewhat?
newberktown: (look how fast i'm talking!)

[personal profile] newberktown 2013-01-04 12:41 am (UTC)(link)
Mistletoe. [He might have straightened up a little, gesturing up to the plant though he's sure she saw it during her own inspection of the ceiling.] It's this plant that people put up around Christmas. It has its own special tradition, too, if you want me to teach you about it.

[Can you ignore that look in his eyes that wants you to ask about the tradition, Astrid? Can you?]
Edited 2013-01-04 00:42 (UTC)
punchandkiss: (So what now?)

[personal profile] punchandkiss 2013-01-04 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
Oh yeah, I saw that all over before. Thought it was just a decoration, uh-

[Okay, yes, she does see that look in his eyes, raising an eyebrow faintly in a mixture of puzzlement and curiousity.]

...Sure.
newberktown: (i can't believe that worked)

[personal profile] newberktown 2013-01-04 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
[And so without a word (only a slight twitch upwards of the corners of his mouth,) Hiccup MAKES HIS MOVE. He doesn't even punch her in the arm first, though he did consider it, since that seemed to be a common theme with their past experience on this kissing business. Still, seemed rude and not very much in the spirit of Snoggletog.

And it feels kind of weird, for him to be initiating this kiss, but even if she beats him up after for it, it's a thing that Hiccup thinks he could learn to get used to. Maybe. Given time.

Boy, he hopes she doesn't beat him up.]
punchandkiss: (I don't think this will work...)

[personal profile] punchandkiss 2013-01-04 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
[Astrid just locks up for a moment because what. Although really, it's not so bad. She's kissed him before, although granted it was always when she decided to kiss him, and not the other way around. And generally she punched him first, because frankly he usually deserved it.]

[But honestly, not so bad. She was actually sort of impressed, really, because maybe it meant Hiccup was...toughening up a little? Or at least, the thought was there, after everything else because OMG kissing.]

[When he pulls back she's a little bit embarrassed, perhaps. Just a bit of a blush going on there, though she's not going to admit it, of course, and after a couple seconds of gaping, she covers her face up by taking a drink of her juice.]


Uh.
newberktown: (i looked at pictures of cats today)

[personal profile] newberktown 2013-01-04 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
[Meanwhile, Hiccup over here is pretty dang please with himself, because wow, look at him, he just kissed a girl here. And look at that, all his limbs are still attached, which means that Astrid can't be too displeased. TODAY IS A GOOD DAY.]

Pretty interesting tradition, huh? And now that officially taken part in the celebration, I can add a 'merry Christmas' with my 'happy Snoggletog'.
punchandkiss: (Letting it all out.)

[personal profile] punchandkiss 2013-01-04 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
I...right, sure. Okay. [She glances up at the mistletoe for a moment, then back at him.] Uh, right. Merry Christmas.

[A pause as she takes another drink, her eyes thoughtful...and then she switches her glass into her other hand and gives him a punch on the shoulder. Not that hard, though.]

Ask next time, Hiccup.
newberktown: (he's climbin' in yo window)

[personal profile] newberktown 2013-01-04 03:31 am (UTC)(link)
[He rubs at his arm anyway, though it's more out of habit. And he's still grinning a little.]

Hey! I did ask. You said it was alright to teach you about the tradition.
punchandkiss: (Fascinated.)

[personal profile] punchandkiss 2013-01-04 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
Teach implies talk Hiccup, which you totally knew. [She's smiling faintly, though. Or maybe smirking.]
newberktown: (thank you)

[personal profile] newberktown 2013-01-05 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, okay. Next time, [Because yeah, he's thinking it would be nice to do this all again.] I'll ask. And do any future teaching by talking only when possible.
punchandkiss: (Peeeeeeer.)

[personal profile] punchandkiss 2013-01-05 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
Next time. [She agrees, and her smirk gets a little wider before she realizes what exactly she said and promptly blushes again, hiding it behind her glass once more. Man, she was almost out of juice from all this embarrassment.]

Or at least a little warning.