More colours than you can shake a stick at, don't even try [Mingle]

[ourearth]

Date: Friday, the 2nd of August - officially Saturday, the 10th (and unofficially Sunday, the 11th)
Characters: Open to all!

---

It is Mossgate's fifth season, and the the first signs come when the flag above the town hall showing the town coat of arms is removed and replaced with the bright and beautiful pride flag. Anticipation is high in the LGBT+ areas of town, and the traditional pride pre-parties take place in the LGBT+ venues on Friday and Saturday nights. Bunting starts to go up along the main streets of town, and volunteers are gathered for meetings and rehearsals. Any latecomers who still wish to volunteer are invited to turn up and make themselves known at this point (especially anyone with a valid first aid certificate!)

Pride officially opens on Sunday, with special free walking tours of the notable LGBT+ venues and sights around town twice a day, as well as open lectures at the universities featuring such topics as “What is a definition anyway: LGBT identities throughout the times” and “50 years and going strong: An overview of the situation of Pride parades worldwide”. Interested parties can sign up online using the local theatre's website, where they will also be able to browse the special LGBT+ program for the week (which, unfortunately, is not free, but those volunteering at any point over the week will be provided with two free tickets as one of their perks – either to be used alone for two events, or with a companion for one). The twice monthly LGBT+ book club is holding a special taster event on Wednesday evening, and the comic store is also holding special events each evening, focusing on a different LGBT+ character or author each night. Some of the religious institutions in the town are holding special LGBT affirmative services, and some are also holding drop in sessions. The RSPCA holds a pride themed dog show. Certain beauty stores, hair salons and barbers are holding trans-friendly sessions and workshops, some outside of normal working hours (although some are only accessible by signing up in advance). During the evening, there will be LGBT+ pub quizzes and special LGBT+ events up and down the high street. And, of course, plenty of other stores will also be taking advantage of the pink pound and the locals will notice the sudden influx of rainbow products, especially in the touristy shops along the beach front.

Something else starts showing up on Sunday and will be found around town the entire week of Pride: Parcels of various shapes, sizes and colours, some packaged like a present, some like regular postal items, some in entirely different ways. They just sit around in places where curious fingers might prod them, annoyed people might move them, or people might pick them up with the rest of the delivery unthinkigly. Essentially, they can be found anywhere, inside and out. They only have one thing in common: When touched, they explode into a cloud of glitter. And the glitter gets everywhere within a fifty metre radius if nothing (like a wall) stops it. The glitter bombs sitting around and waiting to explode seem to get neither less nor more. Those who can recognize Mr Neutral's scent will find it on the packages.

The other thing starts slowly and almost imperceptibly. All around town, things that break the light like thick glass, mirrors, sprayed water, and so on, will grow more likely to show a rainbow. Short rain showers will almost invariably leave one. All of this is still very natural until Thursday, when the strong, lingering, beautiful rainbow left after a rain shower portrays the colours light blue - baby pink - white - baby pink - light blue. By the time the main event rolls around, there is a ridiculous number of rainbows of all Pride flag colours everywhere, and the sky carries multiple rainbows of various identities' colours at the same time.

The main event, of course, being the pride parade, held from 11AM on Saturday the 10th. It starts at the town hall, progresses along the main beach front road and ends up at the Green from around 2PM. It's a massive event, equal to Brighton or Manchester, with plenty of floats and sponsors. All along the parade route, flags, bunting and ribbons float in the sea breeze and barriers have been placed to keep the audience from getting under the feet of the walkers, dancers, prancers and stompers that will make up a part of the parade's diverse make-up. The parade itself is made up of an interesting mix of local businesses and big name sponsors; the local walking society walking behind Absolut vodka, the WI walking ahead of Skittles, and the local scouts being proceeded by Stonewall and followed by the Conservative Party.

The Green has once again been set up with stalls for sponsors and local businesses, including charities like the RSPCA and the Samaritans. Those out for freebies won't be disappointed, with stickers, badges and sweets being handed out left, right and centre, especially by the representations of political parties who are doing their best to build some trust back up with the population. Because every Tory representative called out for increasingly ridiculous reasons, Mary Saunders had to take the Tory stand into her own hands and is brightly chatting with people about everything that is not national politics. The local reproductive health centre also has a stand, handing out condoms, dental dams, and advice.

A dance area and a DJ have been set up around the bandstand, and with several bars having build temporary extensions, the party will go on well into the night, although the parade officially ends at nightfall, when there is a fireworks display. After the fireworks, the Green is temporary cleared, and after it reopens, only those with ID proving themselves to be 18 are allowed back inside. There is, however, an alternative, alcohol free party held in the town hall for any ages.

Pride officially concludes on Sunday evening with the Kings and Queens ball, an extension by tradition that is held in the Hive. With the bar cleared out to make a second dance floor, there is a flamboyant tie dress code, (as long as it's smart and fabulous, you'll be welcomed), and while tickets generally sell out months in advance, Alexander keeps a few to one side for late comers, and volunteers are (again) provided with two as part of their package. When the bell finally tolls at 2AM, and the last partygoers are sent home, Mossgate will return to it's usual, quiet self (but the glitter will take some time to clean up completely).


[ooc: Everyone who comes in contact with the glitter can, but doesn't have to get a plot echo out of it.]

Comments

All throughout Pride Week

[saveournpcs]

One new tourist shop has sprung up along the beachfront in a tiny location that used to house a fish and chips shop. It sells all kind of pride themed stuff, unsurprisingly. It just also seems to have a second theme to its merchandise - half the merch are various types of mouse plushies, ranging from fluffy to crocheted, from locally handmade to Micky Mouse merch. The other half are teacups and -pots with tiny Pride flag coloured mice on them. The shopkeeper might look familiar to those who bought tea crockery at the summer fete last year: It's an elderly lady in a dress with a long skirt and long sleeves, sporting a large hat and sunglasses so that pretty much nothing about her is visible.

Re: All throughout Pride Week

[iamnotgod]

Walter had faintly noticed the mouse booth during last year's fête, but had elected not to visit it.

Now, what with the Echo-related fuss about dormice, he's much more curious.

Feeling somewhat like a character out of a James Blunt movie, Walter makes a show of looking at everything the shop has to offer before picking a fluffy plush mouse to buy.

"Have you been in Mossgate long?" he asks, once he's at checkout.

"I can't say I recognize you."

Saturday evening

[saveournpcs]

On Saturday evening, after all is said and done, Pat Marsh and Mary Saunders can be found in a pub in Mossgate together, each with a pint in front of her. Pat is covered in glitter - she has long given up on removing it, the next bomb will just be around the corner, after all - and Mary seems very tired. She is. It's been a long day.

They won't mind people sitting down with them, but are deep in a quite serious discussion and thus won't invite anyone without being prompted. Those passing by can catch a bit of it. "...might have to close that section of the graveyard," Pat can be heard saying. "The stone mason says that those gravestones might just be a sign of a bigger problem with the safety of the ground. After last Halloween that's really not something we could use..." Mary takes a sip from her pint and shakes her head. "I've heard about similar issues with two of the houses in Folkton. Maybe it's the same thing, the ground somehow lowering? One of the old women that worked for the hospitals that they put in the tunnels during the war said that it might be a tunnel caving, but there shouldn't be any that far away from the cliffs, should there?"

[spaghettimonster]

It's Saturday evening, and Russell has half a mind to bury his head in a pint - or into the table itself. His sister's been playing nanny since they returned, after the scare of his appearance changing as she drove them back into the boundary, and the nearly constant company has him on edge.

That was Friday morning. After more than a day back in Mossgate, she's no longer convinced he's going to faint or collapse of malnutrition, or whatever it is she's been thinking, and she seems to be relaxing... as much as she ever relaxes. Now, she's up at the bar, flirting - however successfully or unsuccessfully, he doesn't know or want to watch - with the barmaid.

Russell's at a table with Walter, and they've been catching up on how things have been - especially the things Walter didn't want to talk about over text, with a Russell missing so many memories. Easier to feel and express sympathy when you have an idea of at least half the things being mentioned. Glitter bombs with more terrible memories, strange rainbows that bring to mind those conspiracies about chemicals in the air...

"I don't know why I'm surprised at all this happening. If it isn't one thing, it's... another..." He trails off mid-sentence, frowning as he notices conversation from the next table over.

"...Did you hear that, about the tunnels?"

Monday

[catted]

On Monday, Mary Ann is cursing up a storm at half eight in the morning. She's standing in the car park outside her work, after having accidentally stepped on what looked like a bin bag to her when getting out of her car.

Whatever it was, it erupted in glitter, and now EVERYTHING is glitter. The front of the house, herself, the street, the car, and even a good deal of the inside of the car.

Eventually the cursing tapers off into: "What the hell was that?!"

[faimommy]

Rune can't help but blink as he hears the relentless cursing, actually bee-lining his way toward it, concerned if the person is alright.

.....And then he finds a person, covered in glitter. And his eyes widen as he tries not to laugh, though a slight lilt of a chuckle might be heard in his voice as he heads over to her.

"Hey, ahr yuu alrigh?"

(Hey, are you alright?)

All throughout Pride Week

[channingchanningchanning]

There is a tiny ball of glitter dragging glitter everywhere.

...Actually no, it's just Chad. Who is absolutely covered in glitter. The stuff just sticks most excellently to his nice soft fur, making the white dog underneath almost invisible against the newly acquired coating.

The primary way to tell that yes, it is in fact Chad, is of course the barking. He's a bit nervous with all of this, so there's a lot more barking than normal. Move, and he'll bark at you.

Re: All throughout Pride Week

[iamnotgod]

It looks like both of them have been 'got', then.

Small comforts.

"You haven't found anyone who can give you a bath yet?" Walter asks, exasperated.

He is concerned for the dog, though. Why Chad hasn't taken matters into his own hands - er, paws? - and transformed to go seek his own bath, Walter isn't sure.

Maybe Chad had been too startled to consider it.

Wednesday

[faimommy]

Excuse Rune for a second, as he attempts to comprehend that a ball of glitter barked at him. Mocha the cat, hides behind Rune's leg, peeking around and flicking his tail, cautious-yet-curious, with a meow.

And Rune himself lets out a chuckle as he kneels down, reaching out to pet Chad.

"Wehl, hehlo thehr. Did yuu fahl int'ah pool ahf glidder?"

(Well, hello there. Did you fall into a pool of glitter?)

OTA for Walter

[iamnotgod]

Prompt 1: Glitter in the Air (Sunday)

He'd tried to be careful; really, he had. If he'd had any reason at all in advance to know it was a glitter bomb, he would have reported it instead.

But he hadn't, and the package had literally blown up in his face. That he wasn't anywhere near the flat was small comfort, and there was a very present-if-irrational worry that the glitter would never come off and would get stuck in his laptop...

And then there was the new memory, which of course couldn't be dislodged. As it was more confusing than irritating, however, panic passed quickly and he made it his most present mission to clean up the mess.

Anyone walking by this particular park in Mossgate can see one small man in a cleaning furor. And possibly hear muttering along the lines of, "Couldn't it at least be biodegradable?"

Certain among his friends will get an additional text: New Echo. Be wary of randomly-placed parcels.

Prompt 2: Rainbows (Also) in the Air (Thursday)

When the nature of the rainbows changes - a light blue - baby pink - white - baby pink - light blue rainbow showing up right above his head - it is at once both awe-inspiring and, frankly, like a nightmare come true.

He runs off. Someone might want to go after him.

Sunday

[lovedramamoron]

Too late.

Sunday texting

[spaghettimonster]

Memories or no memories, Russell's checked in on the news a few times to hear what's going on in Mossgate. The area hasn't exploded in his absence, or whatever other disasters they've been living in fear of, but this message from Walter is downright enigmatic.

Was this addressed to you, or did you walk too close to it

It's strange how he remembers only vague overviews of so much of the last year or so, probably thanks to his own changes - and the proximity of Walter's - flooding through so much of his experience...

But he does have a note to himself warning that Walter's not as good at respecting privacy lately. It's easy to assume something.

2: Rainbows

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie glances up from her phone, a frown settling onto her face as something shifts. The sense of something almost like static tingles across the back of her neck and builds, becoming more intense. Sadie lifts her hand to her neck, feeling the way the hair has raised before her eyes catch a flash of silver and blue moving past her, except it's not moving blue and silver, it's Walter. Sadie shakes her head, the blue and silver fading slightly as Walter dashes off, the static feeling dying down as he does so.

"Walter!" Sadie calls out after him as she shoves her phone into the pocket of her shorts and starts to head after him, "Walter, are you alright?!"

2.

[faimommy]

Well, it certainly is a pretty light show, these rainbows. Rune's just wondering how they did it when...

Walter runs by him.

Now, where's he going? he wonders. Hmmmmm.... Surely it's worth finding out, so Rune bolts after his friend.

"Hey, Walter! Wherr's th'faire!"

(Hey, Walter! Where's the fire!) His voice is playful as he chases his friend.

Sunday by phone or computer

[warped_replica]

Please elaborate?

[He would like to know what sort of Echo was received, but the parcel sounds important to discuss as well.]

Throughout the Week

[lovedramamoron]

It started on Sunday, when Jimmy nearly tripped over the package lying just outside the front door. It exploded into glitter, and he fell into the all too familiar feeling of an echo. But this time it came with no memories, no new knowledge. Only glitter settling into everything.

The next day he happened to be standing by another package when someone made an attempt to steal it. He got covered in glitter again.

The day after? A pickpocket, who tripped over a package while running away. Jimmy was brushing glitter out of his hair for the rest of the day.

From there, it kept happening. More pickpockets. People trying to steal the packages and walk off with them right in front of him. And every time it ended with his being covered in glitter.

Tuesday

[iamnotgod]

Walter's been keeping an eye out for packages - and not taking his bike out, since he'd rather not have to clean that overly much, thanks for asking - but unfortunately people won't stop touching the things.

"What are you doing-?" the man shouts, spotting someone several feet behind Jimmy where the teen's simply walking, attempting to wield a crowbar long-distance to open another package.

The mess is expected, though that shout is all the warning Jimmy's going to get.

Monday

[dreamtamer]

On Monday night Thom comes home from taking Gizmo from a walk, laughing at the glitter in their hair (and Gizmo had a lot of hair to hide glitter in), but confused. It had felt like an echo. Just like before. But nothing seemed to have changed.

Later that night he sends out a message.

Has anyone ever felt like an echo was happening without getting one?

Re: Monday

[iamnotgod]

I'd thought that was the case with my first Echo. But it wasn't so much a change as a memory that hadn't made sense at the time.

[But, over the past year, he'd come to understand a bit more of what had gone on.

That's not necessarily helpful to Thom, though.]

Echoes can bring all sorts of things, though, not just memories or physical objects. It might well just be something that isn't relevant to your lives yet, this time.

Throughout Pride Week, OTA!

[faimommy]

[ 1. Pubs Are The Place To Be ]

It's no surprise that Rune shows up where there's alcohol involved. Social butterfly? Definitely. And drinking goes hand-in-hand with that. And getting to play trivia is just part of the fun of getting to hang with people. He's definitely super eager to get to do this!

And so, with a beer in hand, he tries to loop his free arm under yours with a wink.

"Hey, wan'ah be meh partnir? Tha's how this gehm wirks, righ?"

(Hey, want to be my partner? That's how this game works, right?)


[ 2. Theatre Herpes ]

Rune is definitely not adverse to glitter, and seeing other people covered in it, it's difficult to resist laughing sometimes. He's heard yelps and disapproval from others. But glitter is perfectly harmless fun. And what better place to be covered in glitter than Pride? And he's trekking around happily with Mocha the cat in tow.

And then, Rune finally gets his own splash of it. He sees a small present on the ground. To him, it looks like it could house a ring or a necklace. Thinking someone might have dropped it, and the unfortunate circumstance the poor person must be in, he goes to pick it up to bring it to turn it in to the Lost and Found.

Except, when he picks it up, it explodes. And for a second, Rune is stuck with that Echo feeling, before he starts sputtering and laughing, very animatedly so.

"Wow! Ah Didn' knew so mahch glidder cuud beh ihn en smull pakigge!"

(Wow! I didn't know so much glitter could be in on small package.) Sure enough, he's covered in it.

Mocha, on the other hand, was not a fan and booked it up a tree. And when Rune spots him, he looks up the tree.

"Ah, no. Mocha, iis alrigh!"

(Ah, no. Mocha, it's alright!) Mocha's not buying it. He's staying in the tree.


[ 3. Just Dance! ]

The dance area is something Rune definitely wants to be in, and he is definitely in it. He's still covered in quite a bit of glitter from earlier, but he's mixing it up on that dance floor. Some might recognize some ballet movements in there. But he's definitely doing an elegant and enthusiastic job of dancing to the beat.

And he is pulling anyone that will dance with him into the fray! Before you know it, you might be scooped by the arm and pulled to the center of the area, where there's hopes to get the most attention.

"C'mahn!" (Come on!) Rune shouts eagerly. He'll even help guide your dance moves if your clueless.

2 for 2~

[iamnotgod]

Walter had only just managed to dodge the glitter onslaught this time - his reflexes were good for something - but he made his way back out from his hiding place after hearing Mocha's cries.

"Are you both alright? Tree notwithstanding," he adds.

[warped_replica]

Tuesday
The warnings of the other Numbered had allowed him to steer clear of packages ready to burst with glitter through the first couple official days and even keep his great aunts from triggering one accidentally while out with them in Moss Manor briefly to gather supplies for the book club taster event. His Aunt Agatha had once again been designated in charge of the treats on account of her wife's baking expertise.

Tuesday, they are back out again together in the morning. His aunts are busy making use of the pink pounds, and Benjiro takes the opportunity while in Mossgate with them to stop in at the second hand shops. Fitting shoes have been far more difficult to find, and anything even remotely appropriate for a semi-formal dressed event has been scarce at best. Looking through a stack of shoeboxes in one such store, he reaches to the top of the next stack to rearrange the boxes only to feel that box give at his touch. He closes his eyes just in time to be engulfed in glitter as he recoils in a hop backwards to his feet. Hand finding the wall, he tries to steady himself as the unwelcome emptiness washes through his body and a single heartbeat heralds in a new memory.

"What the shell are you guys?!" was asked of them.

"You might say we're your brothers," their leader answered.

"Or more precisely, your betters!" he corrected.

"Cloned from your tissues, but with lots and lots of issues! Nyehahahaehehehe!" added the smallest.

Still reeling from the Echo when the shop owner comes over, nausea replaces the emptiness as he regains his mental footing enough to interact appropriately for the situation. Far as he appears to be from ground zero of the glitter, the shop owner rants against the pranks and alternately apologizes to the young man coated with glitter. Something is said about how it was never expected in the store, but Benjiro is only half listening as he tries to reassure the owner he was not injured. Hands shaking, he manages to brush the worst of it off. Any other time, he might stay to assist in the cleaning, but the nausea is only worsening. Benjiro excuses himself from the store, and heads out into the fresh air. Weaving around the few pedestrians, he hurries off to a nearby park to find a bench where he can sit and try to pull himself together with his head in his hands.

Wednesday
After spending all morning and afternoon assisting his great aunts with baking, Benjiro follows his aunts to the book club taster event. He helps them unload the trays of baked goods and set up the space inside before the opening. Leaving the event to his great aunts, Benjiro finds himself a nice spot off to the side out of the way to sit with his phone.

Friday
As he had done last year, Benjiro joins in with a number of his online gaming friends to host a livestream charity to benefit an international organization that supports LGBT+ rights. All of the games they play during those 12 hours, together or simultaneously, are associated with the cause. Daydream Daddy is requested as is Speed Dating for Spectors. Now and again, Benjiro will take breaks, but he is certainly available to chat in text even as he keeps the stream running.

Saturday
After what had happened last year, Benjiro has decided to hang around during the parade, but he is definitely keeping some distance. He moves ahead of the parade to scan the various stalls at the Greens, and after finding nothing that stands out, hangs around at the periphery until mid-afternoon.

Sunday (Closed to Sadie)
The Kings and Queens ball at the Hive was the first date he had shared with Sadie nearly a year ago, and nothing would keep them from attending together again. Between everything happening through the week, he has done his best to gather attire that would pass as semi-formal. His great aunts pitched in to complete it with a custom vest sewn without a lining as if part of a costume. The outfit might be too small for him next week, but tonight, it would be enough. The navy blue vest, white collared button shirt with sleeves cut and hemmed at his elbows, and pair of dark blue jeans make up the base. A pair of worn black slip on shoes cover his feet, and a pitch of color is thrown into the outfit by the blue bow tie with dinosaur fossils printed on the fabric.

Having arrived a little early at Sadie's home on his motorcycle, he leaves his helmet and facemask behind when he rings the bell at her door. Greeted by Sadie and her family, he presents his girlfriend with a single lavendar English rose adorned with stems of white heather flowers. Together, they suffer through a number of pictures taken by her mother to be shared with his aunts. Citing the time, he steals her out the door to his motorcycle and drives them both to the Hive.

Benjiro comes to a stop in an open parking spot and lends Sadie a hand to step off first before he sweeps out the kickstand to stand his motorcycle. Wearing his facemask with both helmets left at the bike, he offers her his arm to walk together to the club. He is doing his best to keep his nerves in check, but his heart beats as quickly as it had the year before when attending the dance for the first time.

Tuesday! Can do a prompt for Friday in a second thread if you'd like.

[iamnotgod]

Ben ends up in a park that Walter frequents - which means it really is fortunate circumstance that they stumble upon each other, for once.

(That Walter now somehow has automated being able to track his friends and Numbered acquaintances has not quite caught up to the man.)

Having been on what for most humans would have been a brisk walk - but felt more like a painfully slow stroll for him - he stops at once upon seeing his friend.

"Ben?" he asks, moving over to sit on the (thankfully clean) bench.

"What happened? Can you move much, or do you feel ill?"

[dragoonrouge]

Glitter Everywhere

Unlike last year when Sadie had only spent a few days of the week volunteering for the RSPCA, this year Sadie is manning the Society's stall along the high street every single day of the week, a move motivated by guilt from the fact that she had inadvertently been responsible for Mr Evil kidnapping all of the cats over the course of a handful of days which had caused a massive stir in and of itself. Still, the show must go on and so Sadie focuses on advertising the adoptability of the various different animals in the RSPCA's care, she'd even brought Tigger with her to show off the cat that she'd adopted from the Southwark branch.

It's as she's sorting the donation boxes on the front counter on the Monday that she's finally caught by the glitter bombs, just a slight nudge and the entire booth is filled with an eruption of glitter, Tigger yowling unhappily and Sadie coughs and splutters groping blindly for the side of the tent to get out of the initial blast zone.

Hearing Things

Sadie's back in the booth the next day with Tigger but unlike the last time she was here the young woman is seemingly massively distracted by her cat, more so than usual, shooting the Bengal looks every so often and then rubbing at her forehead and the bridge of her nose.

"Hey..." She greets any familiar faces she spots walking past, "Have you glittered yet?"

King and Queen Ball

Although Sadie spends the vast majority of the ball with Ben she understands that her boyfriend requires breaks from the hustle and bustle and, as she either heads to the bar to grab a drink or spend a little bit of time on the dancefloor solo that is when she's available to chat.

Hearing Things

[iamnotgod]

Walter nods, having stopped by the booth for (in order): the company, the shade, and the distinct lack of glitter.

"Was it Tigger's fault?" he asks, attempting to gauge why Sadie kept side-eyeing her own cat.

More discreetly, Walter sends a ping to Sadie's phone. I ended up with another memory. Possibly something else, but I haven't been able to track it yet.

[scarsolderthanyou]

I. Glitter. Everywhere. (OTA)

When one has to wear skin-coloring on all exposed areas of your body, it makes something of a mess when one is spontaneously covered in glitter from pulling a small package out of one's car trunk that promptly exploded in little bits of colorful metal, or whatever they made glitter out of these days. It's even worse when one has to promptly sit down in the grocery store parking lot because another of those goddamned visions hits and leaves one dizzy.

And then when he tries to climb to his feet again, he can't see properly, and keeps missing the car when he tries to use it to lever himself up.

Sam's day is not going well so far. His month has not been going well so far, honestly, since the sudden increase in his strength after the trip to the fort, but this is just icing on the goddamned cake.


II. Closed to family

His daughter's place is closer than his, since he'd been on his way over there anyway. So that's where he goes, the foundation hiding his gray skin all smeared and stuck with glitter, squinting irritably as he tries to swap his focus between the road and the dashboard of his car (the former being much easier to see than the latter), and also tries not to crush his steering wheel or his hands. His hands are the more likely option.

He gets out of the car slowly at Mary Anne's house and heads inside. It's only long familiarity with the house that keeps him from tripping on the front steps, since he can't really see them very well. "I need a shower, and more make-up," he tells anyone inside. "I've still got some here, right?"


III. Actual Pride Stuff - OTA

Sam's family is usually pretty involved in Pride stuff. Sam is only involved because they are-- there's too much of a crowd for him to be particularly comfortable, especially with his new senses and, this year, an inability to see properly and a high likelihood that he'll hurt something or himself by holding too tightly or touching too hard. Why is his life like this, ugh.

But he's there, wandering around, sitting at the parade with some grandkids, buying snacks. Feel free to run into him anywhere.

I

[iamnotgod]

There's a minor sense of deja vu, when Walter hears the explosion and dashes over to Stone by the man's car - but it's just normal deja vu, so Walter pushes through it.

"Glitter in the eyes?" he asks, coming closer to offer a hand. It's a fair excuse, even if it isn't true.

Even if this was intended to be good, he finds himself thinking, it's still vile stuff.

[ineffablytartan]

At the museum

After last year, upon receiving a strange package, the museum is under strict instructions not to open it and contact the bomb squad. However, one of the volunteers arrived a little late today, already covered in glitter, and after some furious discussion, Felicity drew the short end of the straw. Literally, they drew straws over it.

She's not hoping for much, just to get it out of the doorway before it goes off, and she does sort of manage to get the door half closed behind her before it goes off fully. Sadly, though, that means it just reflects off it and back onto her, leaving her looking like she took in a glitter bath. She stands for a moment on the doorstep in shock, before glancing around. It's a little too late in the morning to hope that no one saw her, but she can still hope. Or not.

"Well, it's pride, what do you expect?" She says, tiredly, half to her audience, half to herself.

At the greens

Felicity has taken responsibility for the museum's stand as usual, allowing those on her team who consider themselves a part of the community to 'work', while not actually attending the stand very much. She's trying to keep some of the glitter off their products, something that given the amount still coating her back and hair seems to be a fruitless task. There's not much there, just the normal stationary from the gift shop and a couple of toys, arranged in a rainbow order across the table. Their main presence is to advertise the remainder of their 'Pride month' events - talks most evenings and a special exhibition featuring the LGBT history of the town (in collaboration with the Hive). They also have a large donation bucket with a stegosaurus skeleton stuck to it that someone - very definitely not Felicity - photoshopped into rainbow colours, asking for donations towards the new palaeontology room in the museum.

Anyone approaching will be greeted with a friendly smile and a leaflet. "Good afternoon! Have you seen the pride program for the museum yet? We've got talks on until the end of the month!"

audio on Network, not long after the glitter accident

[channingchanningchanning]

So will you be running around in glitter like that all week now?

[vernal_miss]

At the park

A group of children squeal out in a chorus of shock after finding a strange box tucked under the edge of their favorite merry go round equipment. All of them scatter, plastered with glitter after someone finally got tired of two friends trying to dare the other to touch it...well, all except one. Nel lags as the Echo takes hold, and she leans to a bar on the merry go round. This of course leads to her leaning further as it begins to move only to be falling after it as she spins halfway around the circle before tripping and falling on the other side when her grip slips.

That was...odd feeling.

Pride at large

Nel is too young to care much about her own identity yet, so instead she focuses her energy into supporting her family and others who do not fall into the majorities. Every day of Pride she has on a rainbow in her clothing, and many days has her nails painted in the seven major colors of Roy G Biv. Out and about with her family, she usually is within sight of a mother or grandfather.

One thing that really catches her attention are the unnatural rainbows. At first glimpse, it makes her unsettled to see the prism disrupted from order. Once she recognizes the patterns of them however, she begins documenting the lights with her camera at all opportunities. The day of the parade, she is quite busy snapping shots and darting around looking for new places to stand where all the people taller than herself (ie most everyone) do not block her view entirely.

Pride at Large

[iamnotgod]

Walter is more than happy to step out of the way for Nel to catch the latest rainbow - though he notices the camera a fraction of a second before he notices her, and thus moves somewhat faster than he would have otherwise.

He almost runs into someone else, even, and it's only a matter of reflex that prevents a real collision.

"Sorry! Beg pardon," is his response, seeking to get back out of everyone's way.