What?!? He hates blue ribbons for no good reason other than you guys beating him in a race? That is pretty childish of him to react the way that he did. Still he probably deserves losing to you and your friends in the race.
(Seriously if she had been in Alberto’s world when the race happened, she could have silenced Ercole with her vines and possibly dangle him up on a tree so he wouldn’t try to attack Alberto and his friends, including Luca. Logic has definitely been thrown out the window in situations like this)
Yeesh! Nobody should be wearing sweaters in the heat of summer ever. I mean, who in the right mind wants to be all sweaty dressed for the winter during the summer? That is not only stupid of him but also very crazy of him to try defying the seasons too.
[ Alberto feels inordinately proud that he just made a great human-ing joke and even a human didn't catch it. Like he's getting so good at this he's out-human-ing the humans... ...Or maybe he just didn't account for the lack of triathlons and modern sports competitions in the Encanto, ahem. Still, even without knowing the term, Isabela still hit the mark: Ercole is a sore winner. And Alberto feels vindicated to have turned so many strangers against Ercole, even though they're all enemies who'll likely never meet this boy. Should they all be so lucky... Still, he feels a certain self-satisfaction in this moment about how far he's come in his human-ing skills since first meeting Ercole, the first human he ever met, compared to now, shit-talking him in a big city with Isabela and making plans for the human holidays. Ercole can stuff it. Alberto and Luca are great at this human-ing thing! ]
Yeah, Ercole's the stupidest, craziest, childishest guy I know, for sure. You're lucky you've never met him, signora. I know you guys had bullies in the Encanto, too, but— pffft. I miss a lot about home, but not him, hah. If Christmas is about having parties with your friends and family and neighbors, then we can be extra glad he's not our neighbor here. Ha!
Yeaahhh! Pretty glad that I won’t have to run into the guy in this city or have him as a nosy neighbor. Otherwise he is just as insufferable as the fish lady in the encanto. You could even say that not having Ercole around in the city can be considered as one of the greatest gifts one can have this season.
(While taking another sip of espresso, Isabela is thinking of a possible scenario where she and Alberto not so subtly throwing desserts at Ercole mercilessly at a Christmas party in Casita while he whines like a bratty child. Oh what a sight to behold.)
Yes, everyone likes to give gifts on Christmas a lot. I guess that the Christmas gifts can be like birthday gifts. For example, someone wished for a piece of clothing or toy for their birthday but for whatever reason, that didn’t happened. So the giver would surprise them with the thing they have been wanting for some time.
Like a delayed birthday gift wrapped in the holiday spirit perhaps?
Oooh, okay. Like it's everyone's birthday. You get them stuff they want — or stuff you think they'd like. I can do that! I'm great at that.
[ He... has very little experience with gift-giving. But he threw Luca a birthday party, that was fun! And he made tons of gifts for Bruno — moooostly rat-related arts and crafts. But all the same. He gets the gist, and thinks he can do a bang-up job of that. He'll have to start plotting what to get everyone... ]
Yeah, that is definitely the point. Christmas gift giving is always expected to to happen, anyone can send in gifts for anybody. Even people and businesses have these secret Santa gift exchanges like the one that the flower shop I’m working for is going to host for the employees.
[ Alberto nods along as he listens, sipping his coffee ruminatively. But, on a rare occasion, Alberto actually asks a question about something he doesn't understand. ]
From what I was told by my coworkers, it is a gift exchange where people draw a random person to send a gift to and they have to find the right one based on some clues given about the person, usually likes and dislikes. The catch is nobody is allowed to know who are gifting to or reveal themselves to their giftee until the party itself.
[ He stares at her a bit blankly, processing all this, before dipping a biscotto in his coffee, stirring it as he chews all this information over. But he unfortunately also actually chews it over while he's talking with his mouth full. ]
Well, I get the "secret" part, but— What about the "Santa" part? Which Santa? Santa Ricotta? Or, uh— Santa Gorgonzola? Santa Mozzarellaaa... Uh— Santo Picorino...
[ ...Wires have been crossed somewhere. He's on about cheeses? Something's being lost in translation here — o-or something. ]
I honestly did not get that part either until the coworkers told me about this particular Santa a few days ago. When it comes to ‘Santa’, most people would be thinking and/or talking about this guy called Santa Claus.
Big bearded guy, wears a red suit and hat with white trims, and rides on a sleigh pulled by reindeer. He apparently also has a thing for cookies and milk and likes to slide down on chimneys to leave presents under trees. I have seen some people dressed as him during this time.
[ And here is where the wires get crossed. It's Santa who brings secret gifts — not everyone else. But Alberto doesn't connect those dots. Which, in a few weeks, will become apparent, when he secretly leaves Christmas gifts in all his friends' houses while visiting on Christmas Eve... He's got the spirit, at least.
But he's frankly a bit confused about Santa as a figure. He doesn't know what a reindeer is. He doesn't ask. He glances aside skeptically, trying to wrap his head around this. ]
So... What if you don't have a chimney?
[ He obviously casts his gaze around the room to indicate how small and very much chimney-less it is. He only knows what a chimney is because he once watched the Gisnep film Mary Pippins with Luisa... So he's imagining a very chim-chimeny-chim-chim-chiroo scene here... ]
Erm, that is the one part my coworkers seem to have forgotten to tell me. No one has told me about it that much so I have to make up some possible scenarios if he does run into that problem.
My best guess would be that he might secretly sneak from the gardens by hopping over fences or entering from the gates. Or he could have used the emergency exits in buildings where backyard gardens are not commonplace.
Um yeah, that is entirely possible too. He might have a stash of ropes in his sled on hand to get to the higher levels. That man must have a lot of contingency plans to send gifts to people living in different types of housing.
[ Get it, Isabela? I-It's you? It's a wry joke, but Alberto would totally describe her the same way. She and Luisa have always seemed very on-the-ball to him. Then again, he also considers Pepa very put-together, so his lens may be a bit off-kilter... All the same: Santa sounds creepy, but Isabela has his respect. ]
(Yes Isabela is totally aware of that joke very well but hearing it just makes her having a hearty laugh. Santa being just as crazy like her, that does not sound too far from the truth if she is being honest.
Imagine how much effort this old bearded magical man must have put into his prep work for the holidays including creating multiple plans to get into different types of homes.)
Ppffftt! Why of course, that sure does sound like a certain somebody obviously.
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(Seriously if she had been in Alberto’s world when the race happened, she could have silenced Ercole with her vines and possibly dangle him up on a tree so he wouldn’t try to attack Alberto and his friends, including Luca. Logic has definitely been thrown out the window in situations like this)
Yeesh! Nobody should be wearing sweaters in the heat of summer ever. I mean, who in the right mind wants to be all sweaty dressed for the winter during the summer? That is not only stupid of him but also very crazy of him to try defying the seasons too.
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Yeah, Ercole's the stupidest, craziest, childishest guy I know, for sure. You're lucky you've never met him, signora. I know you guys had bullies in the Encanto, too, but— pffft. I miss a lot about home, but not him, hah. If Christmas is about having parties with your friends and family and neighbors, then we can be extra glad he's not our neighbor here. Ha!
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(While taking another sip of espresso, Isabela is thinking of a possible scenario where she and Alberto not so subtly throwing desserts at Ercole mercilessly at a Christmas party in Casita while he whines like a bratty child. Oh what a sight to behold.)
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[ Alberto gets a kick out of that last line, grinning smugly. But the quip reminds him of one thing he has gleaned about Christmas so far: ]
Ooh! Also: Gifts. That's a Christmas thing, too, right? What kind of gifts? Not candy, like Halloween, right? More like— birthday gifts? Or what?
[ He's finally got some points of reference at play here, wow! He feels so human-y, look at him go~ ]
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Like a delayed birthday gift wrapped in the holiday spirit perhaps?
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[ He... has very little experience with gift-giving. But he threw Luca a birthday party, that was fun! And he made tons of gifts for Bruno — moooostly rat-related arts and crafts. But all the same. He gets the gist, and thinks he can do a bang-up job of that. He'll have to start plotting what to get everyone... ]
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"Secret Santa?"
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[ He stares at her a bit blankly, processing all this, before dipping a biscotto in his coffee, stirring it as he chews all this information over. But he unfortunately also actually chews it over while he's talking with his mouth full. ]
Well, I get the "secret" part, but— What about the "Santa" part? Which Santa? Santa Ricotta? Or, uh— Santa Gorgonzola? Santa Mozzarellaaa... Uh— Santo Picorino...
[ ...Wires have been crossed somewhere. He's on about cheeses? Something's being lost in translation here — o-or something. ]
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Big bearded guy, wears a red suit and hat with white trims, and rides on a sleigh pulled by reindeer. He apparently also has a thing for cookies and milk and likes to slide down on chimneys to leave presents under trees. I have seen some people dressed as him during this time.
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But he's frankly a bit confused about Santa as a figure. He doesn't know what a reindeer is. He doesn't ask. He glances aside skeptically, trying to wrap his head around this. ]
So... What if you don't have a chimney?
[ He obviously casts his gaze around the room to indicate how small and very much chimney-less it is. He only knows what a chimney is because he once watched the Gisnep film Mary Pippins with Luisa... So he's imagining a very chim-chimeny-chim-chim-chiroo scene here... ]
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My best guess would be that he might secretly sneak from the gardens by hopping over fences or entering from the gates. Or he could have used the emergency exits in buildings where backyard gardens are not commonplace.
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...Soooo basically you're telling me this guy's eventually gonna break into our apartment through our balcony. Got it.
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Aaand this guy is— human?
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[ Get it, Isabela? I-It's you? It's a wry joke, but Alberto would totally describe her the same way. She and Luisa have always seemed very on-the-ball to him. Then again, he also considers Pepa very put-together, so his lens may be a bit off-kilter... All the same: Santa sounds creepy, but Isabela has his respect. ]
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Imagine how much effort this old bearded magical man must have put into his prep work for the holidays including creating multiple plans to get into different types of homes.)
Ppffftt! Why of course, that sure does sound like a certain somebody obviously.