Milli-timed to Tuesday the 28th - New Orleans Mardi Gras

[mogget_cat]

The bar room of Milliways is always full of sound - the clatter of dishes and clink of glasses, chairs being scooted back or further in, footsteps upon the floor, rats squeaking, the background murmur of conversations overlapping one another.

But tonight the main door to the bar opens to the mouth of an city alleyway, to a caucophony of noise and music, full of seething crowds and colorful parade floats, the smells of food and sweat and smoke and beer and those colorful fruity drinks sold in yard-long plastic glasses with umbrellas in them. Mardi Gras is in full swing and New Orleans has outdone itself this time.

Yrael enters, trailing laughter from a section of the crowd on the other side. His white hair is decorated with purple, gold and green feathers, his pale face partially hidden by a sharp, glittery cat mask of gold, behind which his green eyes are bright. Over his white shirt this evening he wears a shiny waistcoat of purple, gold, green, and black. It's clearly party time, big time, show time -

"And then some!" he grins, seeing Milliways. "Fat Tuesday is upon us, Milliways! Welcome to Mardi Gras! Come, dance, explore! Laissez les bons temps rouler!"

Yrael will make sure the door stays open for any party-goer who would like to partake in the joie de vivre, and the Bar can certainly provide a change of costume...



(ooc: The post will be open all weekend and into next week as needed! Usual party-thread guidelines apply! Tag in! Threadhop! Meet new people and get into trouble! :D Yrael will be around, but his mun will not be able to tag much until Monday evening. <333333)

Comments

Exploring the French Quarter

[mogget_cat]

Even apart from the main party there is much to see and do and explore in the maze that is the French Quarter. Would you dare to enter the shadowy little voodoo shop tucked in between the more brightly lit souvenir stores? Perhaps you would prefer wandering through the airy art gallery on the corner, or be lost of the many rooms of curios and artifacts of questionable provenance offered by one of the city's antiques and collectables shops? One might sit and rest in the warm sea-scented air at Cafe du Monde and enjoy the sweet beignets and deliciously strong coffee. Perhaps you prefer to stick to the main streets? Or perhaps you would dare to explore the many alleyways. New Orleans is an old city, for the New World, and it has many secrets to uncover if you dare. You never know what you might find.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[runningred]

Jay finds the back streets and alley deals more his speed, slipping in and out of the shadows with his face painted in a half skull. There are gifts to be bought, and perhaps some excitement to be found. Of one sort or another.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[manofbusiness]

This is more to Childermass' taste than bright colours and dancing, and he's hardly going to pass up a chance to visit a new city in another time.

The little shops and twisty streets all look fascinating.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[thewidewideworld]

A giggling and scantily clad figure darts out of an alleyway, and nearly bumps into him. "Master Childermass! What a surprise. I didn't expect to see you here."

A young man, clearly trying to do up his pants follows a few steps behind, ducking away when he sees Childermass.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[manofbusiness]

Childermass raises his eyebrows at the fleeing young man, then nods to Sinric.

"I thought to explore New Orleans, as I will likely never see it in my own world."

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[thewidewideworld]

"It is a rather fascinating place." Sinric spots the fleeing youth and tries to giggle again.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[pro_patria_mortuus]

Enjolras wasn't particularly inclined towards Carnival and its tumultuous, frenetic whirl of festival even in his own day's Paris. In the more scantily clad 21st century, in a city which is a sensory overload just in its lights and blaring music and vehicles, far less so.

But the chance to wander a living city of living people -- a city where he speaks at least one language of the town, besides -- well, he's not for an instant going to turn that down. He's hungered for it, fiercely, in the quiet stagnation of an afterlife in Milliways' limited space.

So he has some American money in his pocket, a map of the city in another, his watch-communicator as well, a little phrasebook of English just in case. He's in clothes of the 21st century, though they're extremely staid for Mardi Gras: linen slacks, a t-shirt, a knitted jacket of deep red. (Bar picked the color; he gave her an ironic look, but took it.) The fabric feels very light to him, but it makes sense in the heat, and they cover everything he feels it's decent to have covered.

He's wandering, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone. To see the city; to explore, to turn away from the wild (screaming, glittering, entirely too naked) carnival and into what quieter corners he can find, to drink up the tangled streets and bustling life of a city full of people living their own lives. That will probably mean a café at some point, but it will also mean plenty of side streets.

He's aware that he doesn't know the area, doesn't know which quarters he stands out in, is an utter gawping tourist, and might find himself in trouble because of it. He's not particularly worried. If he finds trouble, he'll find his way out of it, and it's all worth it for every dizzying moment of this taste of life.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric has managed to buy a couple of shawls. One wrapped around his waist under the corset covering most his legs, but for a long slit up one side. The other draped around his shoulders for warmth.

He's still utterly mistakable as a woman, just not a mostly naked one.

He finds a cafe and sits, hugging a cup of hot sweet tea. The high heeled shoes were pretty but they made his feet ache. He toes them off and rested his feet on the chair opposite him.

He notices the man in the red jacket and smiles warmly.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[pro_patria_mortuus]

It takes him a moment. He's met Sinric, and had an excellent and interesting conversation with him, but only the once, and some time ago. And there are a lot of unfamiliar faces around. Gloriously so -- he's in a city again, surrounded by strangers and bustling life. It's as heady as fresh valley air, after years of exile on a high, thin-aired mountaintop. Not home, but restful and exhilarating both at once.

So: he sees one more face among others, a shawl-draped young probably-a-woman smiling warmly at him, and looks away, back to the window and the street beyond.

But something about the other's face nags at his memory. He casts a glance back a few moments later, carefully aiming for discretion rather than flirtation, and -- yes, in spite of the costume, isn't that a face he knows? Isn't that, after all, Sinric?

They're not quite close enough for easy conversation from one table to the other, but close enough to not have to yell across an entire cafe. So, just to make sure: "Sinric?"

It occurs to him belatedly that he's not sure if the Milliways translation spell carries over, or if they'll have to rely on his mediocre Latin and worse Greek. If it is Sinric, well, they'll find out!

[OOC: I have no opinion on the translation question! I'm totally willing to inflict Enjolras's mediocre foreign language skills on Sinric if you'd find it funny, but also perfectly happy to say the Milliways spell has some carry-over for two Milliwaysers if you'd rather spare the conversation that.]

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric cocks his head, searching his memory for the young man's name. "Enjolras?" He gestures to Enjolras's table. "May I join?"

His French is archaic and exotic but, for the most part, understandable. At least to a native speaker. To the Creole speakers of the city he has had to use more English than Frankish.

{ooc: let's play with language! What not. It'll be fun when they get the words wrong.}

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[tu_vas_triompher]

One of the friends is Feuilly. A chance to go to another country? No, he'd never pass that up: not when he was alive and especially not now, when it's a chance to go to a country of living people, and he beyond the grave. (He'd been ready to go in his usual clothes, but Enjolras has a point: so it's t-shirt and slacks and jacket for him as well. At least it isn't red.)

He gets a little slowed down when they pass a bookstore. Is it even open? He's not sure: he's too busy staring through the window at the display.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[pro_patria_mortuus]

And Feuilly would be Enjolras's first choice to see another country with, alive or dead, so that works out! Especially since they're both inclined to skip the wild (really excessively naked) carnival that Bahorel instantly and gleefully disappeared into, and instead make for the neighborhoods where they can, for example, stare into bookstore windows.

And look: all those flimsy, crisp, shiny futuristic books that the Milliways library often gives out, in their natural environment. In the displays that people make, living shopkeepers trying to attract customers, trying to attract and interest readers and show them something new. And between the books and the street, huge windows, incredibly smooth and clear, almost as if they weren't even there, like the windows of a Milliways room writ huge.

Enjolras comes to stand at Feuilly's elbow, looking in with him at the strangeness and the bounty. Reflected in the shop window are the forms of passersby, going about their lives, leaving each other to their own business in the way of city-dwellers.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[tu_vas_triompher]

Yeah, Feuilly's seen his share of naked parties (thanks Bahorel) but this is more his speed.

He realizes after a minute that he's pressed up against the glass like a little kid, forehead leaving a mark, and turns a little pink as he laughs and straightens up. "Even with the Library to let us read every book there is, it's still--" He shrugs and gestures. It's still a powerful draw, a book store.

A look around shows two things: used and antique books in the other side of the shop, as well as the crisp shiny new ones, and an open door. "Do you want to go in?"

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[merryeccentricities]

Enjolras does stand out , even in the noise and crowd of this strange modern city. Which is great! That's great! It means Joly has spotted him, and can share these amazing fried seafood things!

"Enjolras!" Joly throws an arm around his shoulders for a moment, then moves away enough to gesture around at all the Everything. "Have you been here long? Did you see the parade? There was a dragon breathing fire--oh, I mean, a float, I wonder how they did it, it looked like it was just silk! But it was very exciting! --Have you tried these, they're , they're-- po-boys, they're very good, the bread is wonderful!" He almost definitely mostly said that right!

And he's only very slightly drunk! Really, only very slightly. No way is he going to pass out early and miss any of this.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[pro_patria_mortuus]

Only very slightly! Enjolras is perfectly sober, substance-wise, but riding more than a little high on the exhilaration of being in a city, for real, a genuine living city full of people going about their lives; when Joly flings an arm around him, Enjolras returns the half-hug with grinning affection.

"Only a little while. No, I haven't -- what was it, you said?"

He missed the dragon breathing fire, too. He'd have mildly enjoyed seeing that, if only for the engineering feat it sounds like it was, but the parade is altogether... a little much. (A lot much. Have fun, hedonistic party people!)

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[merryeccentricities]

"Ah, ah--oh it's some sort of sandwich!" Joly gives up, laughing at himself. "Here, try a bite!" He holds it out for consideration. "Have you talked to anyone here? Oh not at the parade of course, who could hear you, but--out here?"

--In the relative quiet of a city that is already larger than any in Joly's life, and more crowded still by the guests coming in for the carnival. But--"Everyone's so friendly!" Well, to his eyes, anyway, and through his often-garbled understanding of their conversations. At least people have been willing to try to meet him halfway for things like directions, garbled English and strangely accented French notwithstanding.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[yinyangwizard]

A lady is antiquing in the small, dusty shops of the French Quarter. In her own universe, New Orleans is a good place to find magical artifacts. Maybe she'll stumble onto something interesting in this version of New Orleans as well.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[wings_of_a_swan]

Combeferre had not realized how desperate he was for a city.

There is so much to learn, in Milliways, and Marius Pontmercy offers the prospect of Combeferre's new knowledge helping people in his Paris, but Milliways is not a city. Milliways is a café with an inn attached and some grounds. Milliways does not have bustle and noise, shadowy shops, art galleries, people hurrying past him on streets, alleyways, winding roads, strange little restaurants popping up here and there, bookshops dedicated to odd specialty subjects...

New Orleans not like home, it's too much a modern city for that, but it has bustle and curiosities and the ambient noise of French-speakers, and he'll take it. He's wearing jeans (which feel distinctly odd) and what Bar informed him was a sweatshirt, and he has an obvious Curious Tourist look on his face as he stares at everything.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[merryeccentricities]

"Comebeferre!" Joly has to shout to be heard! He could actually get lost in the crowd! There's a crowd! He loves everyone and everything here, especially this three-foot plastic cup of amazingly pink drink with the long curly straw!

But he still loves his friends the bestest, and manages to stumble-hug Combeferre with his free arm before pulling away again and getting a good look at what Combeferre's wearing. It takes him a moment or two to read the sweatshirt, but then he grins. Periodic table humor! Wonderful! "Have you been here long?"

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[wings_of_a_swan]

Combeferre hugs back, laughing. He had hoped his friends would come out here, even if they didn't cross paths, and he's delighted to see Joly in particular enjoying all this. Joly is very well suited for for cheer and alcoholic beverages with bizarre-looking straws.

"I...don't know," he confesses, with a sheepish grin. "It can't have been more than half an hour, I think? I've been drifting aimlessly like a fool, staring at everything."

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[pro_patria_mortuus]

Enjolras loves all his friends extremely dearly. He can think of no better men to stand with, and fight beside, and die beside, and spend an afterlife with.

But. Milliways is a café with an inn and some grounds attached, and he's been seeing all of these very dear friends on a frequent basis for a very long time. And they do have the watches Joly made, which presumably will still work for keeping in contact at real need. So he isn't really making a great effort to stay near any of his friends. He'll see them again soon enough, and be glad to do so.

He's certainly not avoiding them, though. So when he rounds a corner and sees Combeferre staring around like a country lad who just got off the Paris coach (which is an expression Enjolras knows full well he's been wearing, too) he smiles affectionately, and comes up beside his friend.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[wings_of_a_swan]

It takes Combeferre a few moments to notice Enjolras, since the street is crowded enough that many people have walked close by him.

He does notice eventually, though, and reacts with a smile of his own, half-embarrassment, half-greeting.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[vive_lavenir]

You might think that someone who lives in a bar wouldn't go to a coffeeshop first thing during Mardi Gras.

You would be wrong, in Jehan Prouvaire's case: the Cafe Envie & Espresso Bar is a great place for people-watching.

Somehow he's acquired sparkly green and gold beads, and is absently playing with them as he watches flocks of people go by.

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[merryeccentricities]

"Thank you, this place looks-- Prouvaire! I mean, this place doesn't look like-oh, they're gone!" Joly blinks in the general direction of the local who had been telling him how to get here just a second ago, then laughs and thumps down next to Prouvaire . "Isn't it all marvelous!"

Re: Exploring the French Quarter

[vive_lavenir]

Jehan kisses Joly's cheek in greeting and scoots over. He may be on his third cup of spiked coffee.

"Miraculous," he says, "just like a resurrection." He sighs, and then adds, "You should try their Irish coffee."