Wiki source for 1867.03.05 Mardis Gras
=====Mardi Gras 1867=====
**Date:** 1867.03.05
**Related Events:** [[1868.02.25_Mardis_Gras]]
<#jonah: I'm sure there's lots of good stuff that happens on Mardi Gras, so I'm going to break this page out into little sections, each of which describes a particular sub-event. #>
===Ollie Learns To Hambone===
Anyone who likes may certainly join in on this event.
Ollie sneaks out with a few of the others to check out the Mardi Gras celebrations. Not too far from the orphanage, they run across a performing troupe of black men busking for money on the street. They are doing a type of dance which Ollie has never seen before, and he is totally entranced. They are making their own percussion by slapping their hands on their thighs and torso, clapping, and stomping, all in intricate rhythms. Some of the performers sang songs to the beat, and others only kept the beat. Ollie stays and watches their entire performance, and afterwards one of the performers approaches him, having noticed Ollie's interest. "You like this? It is called Juba Dance." Ollie understands and speaks enough English by this point to understand the man, and nods furiously. Ollie then goes about trying to imitate the performance, slapping his hands sloppily on his body. The man laughs and says, "Good! Here, let me show you how to do it." He and Ollie spend the next half hour together practicing, and Ollie comes away with some of the basic moves. Later that night, he brings his new skill back to the tower, and plays some rhythms along with the others playing music. It's a hobby he keeps.
<#court: Jeanne watches the impromptu lesson with enthusiasm, and although she plays along a little, she mostly enjoying Ollie's excitement and paying attention to the rhythms, thinking about what a great accompaniment she could make later in the tower with the washboard. #>
<#bill: Cole sneaks out with them. His head spins with all that there is to see. He stops to watch the hamboners (?) and Ollie, standing next to Jeanne for a bit, but then something catches his eye and he wanders into the crowd. #>
<#ann: Celeste is fascinated by the dancers, but when Cole wanders off, she chases after him. #>
(For reference, here's what hamboning looks like today. It's not really known what exactly it looked like in the 1860s, except that it involved probably a bit more dancing. http://youtu.be/K4pSdDBI3Ws)
**Erin is sick, and has to stay home. Cal manages to convince Shawn that he doesn't need to stay by his sisters side, Erin also agrees that she just needs to sleep and Ms. Lizzie is just downstairs.
Cal and Shawn quickly wander off on their own.
Valarie also vanishes into the crowd.
Jefferson follows his nose to a place where they are selling food, Deco following in his wake.
Minnie sticks with Celeste, chasing after Cole.**
===Cole Learns Of The Comus Ball===
''Cole wanders through the streets, trying to see all there is to see. He's particularly intrigued by all the people hiding their identities behind masks. A few times he follows someone that looks particularly interesting for a while, trying to steal a glimpse of his or her face. It is quite late and all the parades have stopped. While there are still many people in the streets, it's clear Mardis Gras is beginning to wind down for most. Cole doesn't want to give in to sleep and keeps pushing himself on and on. At on point he sees a black carriage turn down the one of the lesser traveled roads. The driver of the coach is wearing a mask. Cole follows the carriage down the road and sees it stop at the other end of the alley, outside the side entrance of what appears to be an empty building with blacked out windows. Three women in lavish, brightly-colored dresses step out of the carriage. The women all wear enormous wigs, heavy jewelery, and porcelain masks. The women are giggling and talking to each other. "I can't believe you made us late!" one says to another. "Only fashionably late, dear," the other answers back. A man steps out behind them wearing an expensive tux. The man is placing his mask on as he exits and Cole is able to see that it's a white man with a dark, jaw line beard. Cole moves closer to get a better look. The women move to the side to make room for the man to pass them. They stop talking and all straighten their posture as the man knocks three times on the gray metal door before them. The door opens and light and music spill out. Another man in a tux and wearing a mask is standing inside and he holds out a gloved hand. Cole can hear a woman laughing inside and then a husky male voice laughing with her. The man in the alley pulls out four squares from his pocket and places them in the gloved hand. From where he is Cole can see that the squares having writing on them, but he can't make out what they say. He can see, however, that all four squares look identical and they are beautiful. Both the paper and ink glitter and sparkle - reflecting the light inside. The paper seems to contain a hundred different colors and is adorned with gold rivets and what could be a small ruby.
The man accepts the four beautiful squares and opens the door wider, allowing the new arrivals to pass inside. As soon as they do, the door is shut hard, and Cole can hear the latch being turned. The carriage driver cracks his whip and leaves the alley.
Ann and Kel, so the Comus ball is a real thing that's going on during this time. It's very secretive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistick_Krewe_of_Comus I wrote the narrative the way I did just because it was easier to get down and out of my head in an initial draft this way. I'm imagining this taking place quite late in the evening (on the grounds that it would seem the parades need to be over before the ball can really begin, I think.) I wasn't sure if both Minnie and Celeste (particularly Minnie, could endure this late into the night. I think, because this happens real late, we have enough time for them all to do some stuff if we want and break off from each other or still be together. I'm cool with either. I do think that it might be fun for Celeste and Minnie to still be present because it's the type of thing I can imagine Minnie really being excited about - the beautiful gowns and elegant gentlemen etc. I'm thinking this will be start of a long term story arc...with Cole looking for more signs of the ball/members of the Mistick Krewe of Comus each year. He's mostly unsuccessful but a few years from now he's going to get his hand on an invitation (too late...old to use) and then maybe the Mardi Gras before he leaves he's able to get his hands on some actual invitations in advance. How many needs to be decided as does who goes. Also, gowns and men's attire will be an issue....but I think some of the orphans at least try to get in.
Thoughts?''
<#ann: I think that as it gets later and later Celeste starts to make noises along the lines of "we should go home, I'm tired", but when Cole is undeterred, she sighs and follows along with him. She is fascinated by the scene that they stumble upon and it becomes a subject of much discussion when they return home. #>
NeedsKelly
**Date:** 1867.03.05
**Related Events:** [[1868.02.25_Mardis_Gras]]
<#jonah: I'm sure there's lots of good stuff that happens on Mardi Gras, so I'm going to break this page out into little sections, each of which describes a particular sub-event. #>
===Ollie Learns To Hambone===
Anyone who likes may certainly join in on this event.
Ollie sneaks out with a few of the others to check out the Mardi Gras celebrations. Not too far from the orphanage, they run across a performing troupe of black men busking for money on the street. They are doing a type of dance which Ollie has never seen before, and he is totally entranced. They are making their own percussion by slapping their hands on their thighs and torso, clapping, and stomping, all in intricate rhythms. Some of the performers sang songs to the beat, and others only kept the beat. Ollie stays and watches their entire performance, and afterwards one of the performers approaches him, having noticed Ollie's interest. "You like this? It is called Juba Dance." Ollie understands and speaks enough English by this point to understand the man, and nods furiously. Ollie then goes about trying to imitate the performance, slapping his hands sloppily on his body. The man laughs and says, "Good! Here, let me show you how to do it." He and Ollie spend the next half hour together practicing, and Ollie comes away with some of the basic moves. Later that night, he brings his new skill back to the tower, and plays some rhythms along with the others playing music. It's a hobby he keeps.
<#court: Jeanne watches the impromptu lesson with enthusiasm, and although she plays along a little, she mostly enjoying Ollie's excitement and paying attention to the rhythms, thinking about what a great accompaniment she could make later in the tower with the washboard. #>
<#bill: Cole sneaks out with them. His head spins with all that there is to see. He stops to watch the hamboners (?) and Ollie, standing next to Jeanne for a bit, but then something catches his eye and he wanders into the crowd. #>
<#ann: Celeste is fascinated by the dancers, but when Cole wanders off, she chases after him. #>
(For reference, here's what hamboning looks like today. It's not really known what exactly it looked like in the 1860s, except that it involved probably a bit more dancing. http://youtu.be/K4pSdDBI3Ws)
**Erin is sick, and has to stay home. Cal manages to convince Shawn that he doesn't need to stay by his sisters side, Erin also agrees that she just needs to sleep and Ms. Lizzie is just downstairs.
Cal and Shawn quickly wander off on their own.
Valarie also vanishes into the crowd.
Jefferson follows his nose to a place where they are selling food, Deco following in his wake.
Minnie sticks with Celeste, chasing after Cole.**
===Cole Learns Of The Comus Ball===
''Cole wanders through the streets, trying to see all there is to see. He's particularly intrigued by all the people hiding their identities behind masks. A few times he follows someone that looks particularly interesting for a while, trying to steal a glimpse of his or her face. It is quite late and all the parades have stopped. While there are still many people in the streets, it's clear Mardis Gras is beginning to wind down for most. Cole doesn't want to give in to sleep and keeps pushing himself on and on. At on point he sees a black carriage turn down the one of the lesser traveled roads. The driver of the coach is wearing a mask. Cole follows the carriage down the road and sees it stop at the other end of the alley, outside the side entrance of what appears to be an empty building with blacked out windows. Three women in lavish, brightly-colored dresses step out of the carriage. The women all wear enormous wigs, heavy jewelery, and porcelain masks. The women are giggling and talking to each other. "I can't believe you made us late!" one says to another. "Only fashionably late, dear," the other answers back. A man steps out behind them wearing an expensive tux. The man is placing his mask on as he exits and Cole is able to see that it's a white man with a dark, jaw line beard. Cole moves closer to get a better look. The women move to the side to make room for the man to pass them. They stop talking and all straighten their posture as the man knocks three times on the gray metal door before them. The door opens and light and music spill out. Another man in a tux and wearing a mask is standing inside and he holds out a gloved hand. Cole can hear a woman laughing inside and then a husky male voice laughing with her. The man in the alley pulls out four squares from his pocket and places them in the gloved hand. From where he is Cole can see that the squares having writing on them, but he can't make out what they say. He can see, however, that all four squares look identical and they are beautiful. Both the paper and ink glitter and sparkle - reflecting the light inside. The paper seems to contain a hundred different colors and is adorned with gold rivets and what could be a small ruby.
The man accepts the four beautiful squares and opens the door wider, allowing the new arrivals to pass inside. As soon as they do, the door is shut hard, and Cole can hear the latch being turned. The carriage driver cracks his whip and leaves the alley.
Ann and Kel, so the Comus ball is a real thing that's going on during this time. It's very secretive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistick_Krewe_of_Comus I wrote the narrative the way I did just because it was easier to get down and out of my head in an initial draft this way. I'm imagining this taking place quite late in the evening (on the grounds that it would seem the parades need to be over before the ball can really begin, I think.) I wasn't sure if both Minnie and Celeste (particularly Minnie, could endure this late into the night. I think, because this happens real late, we have enough time for them all to do some stuff if we want and break off from each other or still be together. I'm cool with either. I do think that it might be fun for Celeste and Minnie to still be present because it's the type of thing I can imagine Minnie really being excited about - the beautiful gowns and elegant gentlemen etc. I'm thinking this will be start of a long term story arc...with Cole looking for more signs of the ball/members of the Mistick Krewe of Comus each year. He's mostly unsuccessful but a few years from now he's going to get his hand on an invitation (too late...old to use) and then maybe the Mardi Gras before he leaves he's able to get his hands on some actual invitations in advance. How many needs to be decided as does who goes. Also, gowns and men's attire will be an issue....but I think some of the orphans at least try to get in.
Thoughts?''
<#ann: I think that as it gets later and later Celeste starts to make noises along the lines of "we should go home, I'm tired", but when Cole is undeterred, she sighs and follows along with him. She is fascinated by the scene that they stumble upon and it becomes a subject of much discussion when they return home. #>
NeedsKelly
