WINTER SOLSTICE FESTIVAL

[indigo_events]

Who: Anyone attending the Solstice Festival celebrations!

Where: All towns and cities

When: December 21st

Summary: Light up the longest night with a bright festival!

Rating: PG-13

Log:



To celebrate the first day of winter and the longest night of the year, the towns and cities of Johto and Kanto have decided that, like last year, there ought to be a party! Days of preparation are paying off, as snow fort building competitions and sled races fill the day, and bonfires and caroling warm the long night. Trees are being decorated, Santas are ho-ho-ho-ing practically everywhere, and there’s cocoa being sold out front of most shops to entice people inside.

Blackthorn in particular has put extra effort into its festival—- the actual Ice type gym might be in Mahogany, but Claire isn’t about to let her beautiful mountain hometown get left in the dust when it comes to winter! Throughout the week, flyers featuring a-- well, let's be honest-- a very edgy-looking Komoo-o on skis have been dropped all over both regions by the Blackthorn Gym's own force of delivery Swablus. The flyers advertise the many exciting activities Blackthorn's particular festival has to offer, as well as free transportation to the town for this one day, whether that’s by flying type or a special escorted warp trip.

And for those who decide to accept the invite, what a sight the city is! Strings of lights crisscross overhead, and while the temporary festival stalls set up don’t quite rival Goldenrod’s market, are selling plenty of homemade goods and delicious treats. Skis and snowboards are available to rent for anyone looking to go up the lifts and come back down real fast (provided they don’t wipe out on the way), and the hot springs are open for those ready to relax sore muscles afterwards. And the night’s bonfires will be nearly upstaged by the auroras lighting the sky with ribbons of light (is anyone surprised that Nephelis is getting in on the celebrations somewhere too?)…they’ll be visible from town, but the view will be even better for those who go with guided groups a little ways up into the mountains where it’s darker.

But even outside of Blackthorn, this holiday weekend is marked by a curious phenomenon taking place... Across both regions, Delibird are waddling busily into any town or city that festive gatherings are taking place, looking for the perfect person to help them deliver the perfect present! Some seemingly find their prospects right away, while others are left to linger awkwardly on the walkways, holding their boxes and notepads up hopefully to passersby.

So if one finds you, it might be time to split from fun and games for a bit and go shopping… but hey, how many people are already shopping for last minute gifts anyway? What’s one more box to fill?

Comments

shiro | OTA

[shiro2hero]

SHOPPING
[Amidst the festivities is a man all bundled up in black clothing and a dorky-looking galaxy colored beanie. It's just enough for the fluff of hair to peek out the front of it, still dyed a multitude of colors thanks to his teammate. He'll be consulting with a hand-written list, held in metal fingers. Those don't feel the chill, after all.]

[He's accompanied by either an Incineroar or an Umbreon. Or even a shiny Gallade. Or maybe even all three at once. They may or may not be holding a few bags while Shro looks baffled at a stall of homemade treats shaped like ice pokemon.]

What do you guys think?

[He'll even scoop the Umbreon up for her to take a look, too. Please help him.]


SNOW
[Look, when your birthday is on Leap Year, you're younger than you look. Technically speaking. And, technically speaking, this man is only six. Which is probably why you can find him and his Incineroar hiding behind a snow fort.]

[Popping out to chuck snowballs at unsuspecting passersby until his teeth start chattering from cold. At least, if he knows them, anyway. It's too rude to hurl snow at strangers. But, let's be real. His Incineroar is a giant muscle cat. And she might get too excited.]

[Please duck.]


RELAXING???
[It's a miracle. Somehow, as the night wears on, Shiro is... relaxing? What is even happening here? He'll probably be in one of two places. Either sitting in front of one of the bonfires with a cup of cocoa the size of his head. Or trying to sneak into one of the hot springs without anyone noticing. And thus catching him being an actual human being instead of his usual tightly-wound self.]

[Okay, so maybe not that much of a miracle.]


wildcard;
[Anything else?? Hit me up!]

» shopping

[spacebaloney]

[Said hair dying teammate is bundled up from head to toe in thick layers, yet there is still a high pitched whiny sound that comes out of the hole in the hood of Lance's blue coat, a hole where his face is. Or at least a bit of it now that he's yanked the strings to bring the hood closer around him because guess who's a giant tropical island baby at the first hint of winter weather?

He's here tagging along because he's lost on what to buy Matt as a gift and who better to ask than Matt's boyfriend himself? Still, it doesn't mean Lance is a happy camper about the chill that rubs up the leg of his jeans.]

I think I can't feel my toes anymore.

[shiro2hero]

Oh yeah? Hey, Red.

[The big Incineroar purrs. And them promptly reaches out to scoop Lance up into her giant muscle cat arms. How's that, buddy?]

Better?

[As he just keeps right on walking. Browsing stalls.] Remind me who all you need help with again? Maybe we can help each other.

[spacebaloney]

[Lance yelps because holy spacecats, firecat muscles are terrifying. Terrifying but warm and he can't complain too much as the sensation returns to his outer limbs. He'd just like a warning next time.]

Matt and Angel. I need to get Matt something good because I didn't get him a mug when I got all you guys mugs. And Angel...

[There's a soft sigh in Lance's tone, one that says Santa Delibird probably hates Angel if it picked Lance to gift her because there's no way this can go right.]

She's an angel.

[shiro2hero]

[The big musclecat chuffs an apology. She was just trying to help! Don't be mad, Noodle Boy.]

[Shiro, meanwhile, has paused, thoughtfully.]

Matt's like me. We're both still big space nerds. He'd be happy with anything to remind him of that. I'm thinking maybe some kind of heavy blanket...

[For reasons that don't need to be disclosed. Especially when Lance launches off into Sigh Land.]

You're getting her something Sylveon-themed. Like a scarf.

[spacebaloney]

[No worries, Red. He's not mad. He's warm and soon enough he'll be back to his normal non-numb self.

Lance grimaces at Shiro's gift suggestions. A blanket is boring. A scarf for Angel is ten time worse.]

What? No! A scarf is lame. A scarf is what your Great Aunt Ethel gets you because you're young and hip and she's old and stuck in the nursing home. No way, Shiro. I'm trying to get a phone number out of her and a scarf isn't gonna help.

[He glances around the market and comes along a shop tucked off the beaten path and for good reason once Lance takes note of its wares.]

Lingerie might.

[Oh god, no the hell it won't.]

[shiro2hero]

Lance. No.

[That's not a voice he's used very often anymore. He hasn't needed to, honestly. And then here's Lance, bringing it back. The Don't You Even Think About It voice.]

Fine, if you're against a scarf, which I'm sure she'll love, why don't you try jewelry? Eevee evolutions are popular, there's bound to be something.

[spacebaloney]

[He hates that voice. Shiro, don't use that voice on him. It's too dadlike to ignore. And it's ruining all his good ideas!

If he could, Lance would be crossing his arms across his chest and pouting that he's not getting his way on hitting on Angel again but being held by Red stops him from moving much. It's like he didn't learn from her harsh rejection last time.]

Fiiiiiiiine. You're such a cockblocker, you know that, Shiro? It's not fair you get all the action in the house and deny the rest of us the same fun.

[Whine moar, Crybaby Lance.]

[shiro2hero]

Seriously, Lance. She'll appreciate a thoughtful gift a lot more than something... satin. [Pause.] Lingerie is satin, right?

[Despite the mild confusion, he has a point. He's known her a little longer than Lance has. And he's known Krieg even longer than Angel... besides scaring the poor woman, anything that threatens Angel at all is something the big guy won't exactly appreciate.]

[Let him just steer Lance casually away from potential Krieg Ire.]

Please don't make this about my relationship.

[spacebaloney]

Satin and silk. I was gonna put out for the good silk too!

[Lance really doesn't know Angel at all. They've legitimately only met once and it did not go off well. But when has that stopped Lance from continuing to cross boundaries? Just ask Allura.]

Oh, I'm totally gonna do it. I bet you got Matt something super boring. What? Socks?

[Lance isn't actually mad or being cruel here. Just being a teenager called Lance who was being told he can't do what he wants by someone who has a whole lot more sense than he does.]

snow

[bertall]

<sub>[Duck? You know who loves duck? You know who loves playing duck?

Marcel.

In hindsight, Bertolt probably should've brought Reiner with instead of Marcel, but his Arcanine could carry things much easier than the Aggron could. Reiner also would've seen that snowball coming from a mile away and did everything he could to protect Bertolt from it.

Marcel...

Marcel sees the snowball as he falls into step with his trainer, and instead of taking the hit (which would've been a gentle pwif to his coat), the Arcanine ducks. As a result, the snowball which would've been harmless to him ends up nailing Bertolt square in the head, earning a strangled squawking sound right before he drops square on his back onto the street. In turn it makes the Arcanine cock his head and give a quiet, curious grunt before his tail starts to wag.

Look, everyone! His trainer can play tricks too! Look at him playing dead!]</sub>

[shiro2hero]

[Okay, look. Red the Incineroar may be very well behaved for one of her species. But she's still an overzealous muscle cat. Flying snow is fun. It's harmless, and doesn't hurt when it hits! So it's okay to cut loose, right?]

[Shiro manages to lift a hand to stop her, but... well.]

[Not fast enough, apparently. If it was someone they knew well enough, he might not actually mind her doing this, but this is not. Fortunately, it's not a hard sidewalk, it's just a soft snow pack.]

[So he'll pop his head out, surveying the scene... and winces a little.]

Sorry about that! [His elbow snaps out, into fur, and Red chuffs out an apology of her own.] Nothing broken?

[bertall]

<sub>[Marcel, stop moving there's two of you-- okay, no, he's just a little dazed, so he needs a minute.

Or two. Definitely two.

The Arcanine makes another curious sound when Shiro approaches, his head cocking further and his tongue lolling out. Is that why his trainer suddenly learned how to play dead? Is that how all trainers learn it? Can this guy teach his trainer more tricks?]</sub>

I... can't feel one side of my face. Is that normal?

_{[Bert, that's just from the snow. Snow is cold and it tends to do that.]}

[shiro2hero]

When you lay in the snow instead of standing back up again? Probably.

[He glances at his Incineroar, staring at her in mute accusation. Did she do that on purpose? She chuffs, indignant. No! She's thrown Keith's Torracat harder than she threw that snow.]

[A fact Shiro is somewhat dismayed to hear about.]

Yuuko Nishigori | OTA

[icecastlemadonna]

Shopping
[In Japan, gift-giving on Christmas is limited to parents (or Santa) giving gifts to kids, but that doesn't mean Yuuko won't go Christmas shopping for the friends she's made here. She'll be in the marketplace looking over the stalls, as well as going in and out of Blackthorn's regular stores, closely followed by Toeloop the Stoutland who's carefully holding one of her shopping bags in his mouth.

Aside from presents for her friends, though, she's also looking for something else in particular--a sweater for Ina, her Tsareena, who hasn't taken well to the colder weather in Mahogany. You may find her with Ina in one of the clothing stores as they look for sweaters for Ina to try on, though Ina is proving to be fussy about it.]

What about this one? [Yuuko holds up a sweater to Ina, who looks at it haughtily through her long eyelashes before shaking her head and making a "hmph!" noise. Yuuko just sighs and puts it back, hoping she'll find something Ina likes...]

Relaxing
[There's no way Yuuko will pass up a trip to a hot spring; she's gone to Yuuri's family hot springs resort so many times over the years, whether to actually use the hot springs or to watch Yuuri compete on TV. Though no place beats Yu-Topia Katsuki in her opinion, you'll probably find her either soaking in the hot water or just out of the springs, wearing a yukata and looking refreshed.] Aah, I really missed hot springs...

Wildcard
[Feel free to hit me up with anything else!]

Connor | Goldenrod | OTA

[plasticasshole]

Exploring

[Connor has never experienced Christmas before. His only knowledge of it comes from what he's seeing now, with wide eyes as he wanders through Goldenrod City. There are Christmas trees all lit up, and fairy lights strung up over buildings. It's cold, so he's bundled up warm, cheeks flushed as he takes in the sights. It's very busy, he notices. And he might be getting in the way a little by just standing still in places. When someone walks into him, he adjusts his beanie and looks apologetic.]

Oh- I'm sorry. Are you okay?

Shopping

[Currently being followed by a very persistent Delibird, Connor now has one more person to buy a gift for. He's never met this person, so he has no idea what they'd like, but the Delibird seems to be following him in an attempt to help. Since the act of Christmas shopping is still new and exciting for him rather than stressful, he seems quite cheerful as he looks in various shops. He's already gotten himself and Hank matching ugly sweaters, because those seem to be popular right now. As he waits in line to pay for them, he gives the person behind him a smile.]

This is all very exciting, isn't it? Christmas, I mean.

Wildcard

[Feel free to hit me up at novicecity if you have something else in mind!]

Re: Connor | Goldenrod | OTA

[sociallychallenged]

Wildcard

[He utterly failed at making a decent Christmas. He should have known! Somehow the fact that Connor hadn't actually endured/experienced/otherwised suffered or enjoyed a holiday season hadn't occured to him until far too late.]

[So he caught Connor out for a while and went and bought several gifts. Some for the pokemon. Some for Connor. He got wrapping paper with the last pattern available, which is generic silver on white with snowflakes. He found discounted decorations that were basically bottom of the barrel unwanted, a wooden wreath with plastic berries and a plug in lit tree that doesn't look real in the slightest and has spray-snow spattered across the faux pine needles.]

[He has a string of christmas lights draped around his shoulders like a lasso because he was going to try and get them up before Connor's return, and he's finishing helping wrapping the presents.]

Flo!! Flo flo flo!!!!! [Connie frantically yells from her perch of wearing a sticky bow on her head that's actually larger than her head, and "helping" by dispensing tape dutifully when Hank needs it. She's warning her trainer that Connor is coming.]

Shit. Shit... [Hank mutters, attempting to disentangle himself and shoving what's left of the wrapping supplies under the bed along with a few of the gifts.]

[plasticasshole]

[Connor comes in looking rather pleased with himself. Buntz follows in after him, and as usual Connor has to just let Crockett out again once he's gotten through the door because the Magnezone won't fit otherwise. He has a few bags hanging off his arms, and he looks surprised at seeing a tree in the room.

A tree that Crockett nearly knocks over while turning around. This hotel room is getting a little cramped.]

You're decorating?

[Connor sets his bags down on the bed, though he does eye Hank and Connie suspiciously because Hank looks like a deer caught in the headlights.]

You should have waited until I got home. I could have helped.

[He runs his fingers over the fake pine needles, then shivers a little. For all he bundled up he still got cold, and his hands are stiff and his skin flushed. He tugs off his beanie, leaving his hair actually looking untidy before he runs his frozen fingers through it and fixes it somewhat. Then he plops down next to Hank, after pulling one of the bags towards himself.]

I got you something.

[He pulls out two sweaters from the bag, a red one and a blue one, both with knit snowflakes and white Stantler silhouettes on them.]

They light up.

[He hands over the red one.]

[sociallychallenged]

Well, you can help me with the lights. I still have those to do. We can pick up some ornaments too. [More late-season garbage, likely, but he knows Connor will appreciate it. Maybe they can find Pokeberry shaped shit or... hell, he's never been great at keeping a theme. He always picked ornaments by "this would make people react".]

[He accepts the sweater and puts the lights off to the side with a begrudging smile. God, this thing is nine shades of ugly. But that's kind of the point, isn't it? Being in such a good mood that you don't give the flyingest of fucks as to how you look. He pulls off his gaudy button up shirt (which is the base standard of acceptable when it comes to wearing ugly outside) and puts on the sweater over his T-Shirt. There. He's put it on immediately.]

We really need more space in here, don't we?

[He can't even let Tubbs out as much as he'd like, and he knows the Arcanine misses putting his big head on convenient laps. Now he's just too large to have inside.]

Come here.

[He takes Connor's hands, cups his own hands around them, and huffs warm breath against his fingers.] Tis the season for me to be a human heater.

[plasticasshole]

If we had a house we’d have more space.

[He says it as Hank breathes on his hands, though he does pull them away to start shedding his own clothes so he can tug the sweater on. He is fully aware of the fact that he looks ridiculous, but somehow it just makes him feel like he’s doing Christmas right.]

We can get more ornaments tomorrow. For now we can put up the lights.

[He’s loathe to go out in the cold again, now that he’s back inside.]

[sociallychallenged]

[That's the point, Hank assumes.] Yeah. I even got the stuff for hot chocolate. That's pretty big staple for the season, too. And, being a human and being a cold human, something you can appreciate.

[He gets up with a grunt to go commence operation 'get a warm drink in Connor', and Connie remains on the bed primly, watching him go. He tries to discretely glance and make sure that everything is well tucked away. The arm of another plush Snorlax, this one the "shiny" edition, is poking out from under the bed so he tries to shove it with his foot as discretely as possible.]

[Nothing to see here. Nope. But to be sure, Connie crawls into Connor's lap to be a distraction as he does it.] Flo!

Sorry I got such a late start to decorating. I hadn't done it in so long that I just didn't think about it. I hadn't even helped the station out for the past couple of years so I just um.... Fuckin' forgot, I guess. [Or rather, he hadn't considered how important to other people it might be, so mired in his own bad attitude about it.] Better late than never though, right?

[plasticasshole]

Hot chocolate sounds good.

[He's effectively distracted by the little Floette, but Buntz eyes Hank suspiciously and gives a "Rai rai" that plainly says he knows what Hank is up to.]

I'm glad you did it in the end. It was a nice surprise to come home to. And I'm sure it will look nice when we're done.

[sociallychallenged]

[Shut the fuck up, he mouths at Buntz when Connor's not looking. It's a surprise. That last word mouthed with exaggerated expressions. That it stays a secret? Being super important. Quiet, large shockrat.]

[Connie works her magic as Connor holds her. Like some great karmic justice for all the times he's used his big brown eyes to buy himself a little more time, she stares up at him with her own dark ones and her tiny face beams an unimaginably sweet razor pointed tactically adorable smile.]

[She hugs his thumb and to the tune of I love you says, a "Flo Ettflo!"]

So um.... You notice anything good out there? Come up with any ideas on things you'd like to try? [He goes to start making hot chocolate, but offers Buntz a marshmallow as a bribe/peace offering.]

[plasticasshole]

[Connor is smitten with the show Connie is putting on, so he doesn't pay any attention to Buntz. The Raichu takes the marshmallow and shuts up, tail swishing. Crockett beeps, amused.]

I'm not sure. There was a lot happening. I do think we need more of those little lights up, though.

[He can imagine the room would be very cosy with just the multicoloured fairy lights on, watching TV in bed.]

Boone | Goldenrod | OTA

[thumbsdown]

Out and about

[Boone doesn't have a Delibird following him like a lot of people seem to, and for that he's grateful. He just wants to get this over with. Christmas isn't a huge deal in the wasteland, so this is pretty new for him, but he's already kind of over it. Sure the lights are pretty, but mostly it's all a bit too much for him. Too many people, too much noise and lights. He always had the same problem in Vegas, too. He'd always been glad that the Lucky 38 was so quiet.

He passes a Santa and frowns as he gives him a cheerful "ho ho ho!" as he passes. The whole Santa thing is a little obnoxious. His Drapion seems love it though, and readily accepts a Santa hat from the next Santa they pass.]

Pointy, goddammit. Don't encourage them.

Shopping

[There's only one person Boone cares enough about to actually fret over gifts for. What would Lust want? A dress? A coat? No, no clothes. His fashion sense is pretty terrible. What about this nice bundle of towels, wrapped in a bow? They're soft and stuff. Surely she'd like them? Boone rubs his hand over his face and groans to himself. What colour towels? She seems to like black, maybe the black ones?

Pointy seems to have other ideas. The Drapion is hauling things from shelves in an attempt to find the perfect present, and is making a bit of a mess. He roars as he brings Boone back a luxury gift set of poffins, and Boone gives him a stern look as he sees the chaos he's caused by dragging everything off the shelves.]

You're helping me clean this up. ...But that's not a bad idea.

[Sorry to anyone who actually wanted to look at things on those shelves, they're kind of all over the floor right now.]

Wildcard

[Feel free to hit me up at novicecity if you have something else in mind!]