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 Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 8:59 pm
Being a Jovian meant never having to be alone. Or, at least, that was Europa's credo. Babylon thought it was a nice saying, and it gave him a built in set of assistants for his nighttime activities provided he could drag any of the less serious senshi away from their duties. He'd been slacking off less and less as of late, but an evening snowfall had left the DCU quad looking particularly picturesque, and he had every intent of ruining improving it.
Having successfully roped Pasiphae into this scheme, Babylon was in a hurry unloading mannequins from the back of his Jeep. He had more at home, but on such a short notice he'd only managed to bring a dozen including the Ronald McDonald. It wouldn't have the same impact as the original setup, he reflected, but it was his first time setting up on a new campus and it wouldn't do him any good to get over-excited on his first try.
"Okay," he announced to the younger senshi. "Tonight's project is a redux of a piece I call Ronald McDonald at Nuremburg." The words hung in the air in puffs of steam. This was the kind of weather Babylon's uniform was meant for, of course. He couldn't make guesses about how Pasiphae felt about the wintry weather.
"It's a social commentary piece," he explained, scouting out a good location to plant the clown. "About McDonalds being an evil empire destroying the quality of life of the poorer classes."
Sticking the clown into the ground, Babylon shot a grin to Pasiphae. "Sound good to you?" he asked.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 10:06 pm
When Babylon had first called her to help with his art project, Pasiphae had gladly accepted. She was not very artistic herself, and she hadn't quite understood what an installation piece was. She thought, somewhat correctly, that he simply needed hands willing to help arrange things. Now, seeing all the materials for the piece and listening to the knight describe it... she wasn't so sure this was the kind of thing she thought of as "art" at all.
"I'm not sure I fully understand the argument," Pasiphae confessed, even as she grabbed hold of a rather tall mannequin in the back of the Jeep that Babylon had driven to the location. It took her full concentration to work with because she didn't want the others still lying inside to fall out, so her back was still towards the knight. "Is it about McDonalds as a corporation? The effects of its unhealthy menu? And... I get the Ronald McDonald statue, but why is everyone else represented by a marketing symbol too? It seems to be saying that people are just..."
She paused here and yanked harder as the head of the mannequin became stuck in the arm crevice of another. It took a moment more of struggling, but eventually it slid out as she finished her thought, "Dolls."
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 6:55 pm
Babylon was thankful for Pasiphae's questions, because it allowed him a chance to really solidify his artist's statement. He'd been giving that a lot of thought lately - Valhalla, infuriating as he was, had made valid points about the weaknesses of his art. "Would you rather I made them sheep?" he asked Pasiphae, thick eyebrows creeping up his forehead in amusement.
"The food's definitely a part of it," he explained, trooping back towards the Jeep for another mannequin. "But I've got a bone to pick with most of Corporate America." (Finn had been sorely disappointed when his attempts to start Occupy Destiny City were broken up by campus police.) "The mannequins are more of a stand in than a marketing device - I'm using them as blank slates. Notice that I picked ones without any facial features, and they're hardly the gaudy kind with nipples and navels."
He was an artist, not a pornographer, after all. "Just put them in a line behind Ronald here," instructed Babylon, planting the mannequin in the snow. "Like sheep following the line to the slaughterhouse."
"I started out in dada," he explained, starting back towards the jeep. "Which is art with no point or message. But I've been moving away from that lately - getting more political. I really like Banksy - you know who he is, right?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 9:48 pm
"N-not necessarily," the Shame Senshi sputtered, taking hold of a second mannequin and trying to avoid looking at Babylon as he approached. She hadn't meant to insult him, even if she was confused by his work. "Making them sheep would send an even more negative view on them rather than just the corporation, which doesn't seem to be what you want? I can see that the mannequins as blank slates now that you say it but... I don't know, I still associate them with stores. I'm not sure how I'd change it but... I mean, not that it needs changing, but just... to be clearer. To me." Why had she even said anything at all? This art piece wasn't her piece, and it wasn't her place to critique it.
"Um... no, I've never head of Banksy," Pasiphae admitted sheepishly as she drug a couple of mannequins towards the other statue. She did not also say that she also knew little to nothing of dada, beyond its name, as her taste tended to run far more to classical than modern art. She rather stubbornly believed, in fact, that such things as dada, from Babylon's desciption, could not, in fact, be art. How could anything be called art if it had no point and no message? Even reproductions of nature had meaning! But it sounded like the knight had realized that as well if he was moving towards the political. She lined up the first mannequin carefully behind the Ronald McDonald statue, as instructed, before slushing through the snow to place the other behind it. "Is he a political artist too?"
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:35 am
Babylon shrugged - she hadn't meant any offense and there was none taken. He planted another mannequin into the snow. "I work semi-anonymously," he explained casually, checking the line and adjusting as he felt necessary. "I mean, there are people who know I'm the one behind this? But it's not my style to stick around and pontificate about what the point of my art is."
He adjusted a mannequin's arms with utmost care and glanced over his shoulder at Pasiphae, shooting the younger senshi an easygoing smile. "The point's to get people talking. So, mannequins following Ronald McDonald? I've got my opinion on what it means, but it's not my job to tell people how to interpret it. I'm trying to get away from that, make myself a bit more political."
"After all," he added, "Haven't spent two years on the debate team for nothing." (Well, actually, he had.) Hearing her profess ignorance of Banksy, Babylon threw his hands up in the air. "Banksy's my idol!" he proclaimed. "He's totally anonymous. He wears a mask in every interview he's ever given. He does amazing work, graffitti mostly, but it's amazing - stencils and sculptures and paintings. He goes into art galleries and just hangs up random frames, he's so ballsy - go home and watch Exit through the Gift Shop, okay? Just do it."
Marching to the top of the line, Babylon checked the angles once more. Everything looked good to him. "How's it look?" he asked his assistant. "Good night's work?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:36 pm
The Shame Senshi listened thoughtfully to her companion's words. It made sense, on some level, that he did not want to stifle the interpretation of his work. If all he wanted was to get people talking, to get them to think... well, that was a noble goal in itself. Her attenton was particularly captured, however, when he mentioned the debate team. "I'm on the debate team at Crystal Academy," Pasiphae told him somewhat shyly, brushing some of the snow from her gloves. "But I really just started over the summer, so... I haven't been doing it for very long." Or very well at all, she had to admit herself. As much as she had wanted to be on the debate team, as much as she had striven for it over the summer, her duties as a Senshi balanced with her class sometimes made it hard for her to attend every meeting.
"It will... certainly attract attention," Pasiphae replied, giving the set up a hard look over. It was nothing but honest; she was certain that even if she hadn't been the one to help Babylon set it up the strangeness of the piece would've caught her eye. She began to smooth over one of her boot prints, wondering if they should eliminate their foot prints or if they were the part of the piece too? She asked, "Um... do we do anything else, Babylon? Take pictures or... do we just leave them here and come back for them later?"
She made a promise to herself to go look up Banksy as soon as possible, if only to better understand what was going on here. Babylon was obviously passionate about it and, whatever differences the two of them may have (see also: no, Pasiphae still hadn't quite forgotten his handing her a beer so casually) she genuinely liked the Knight. So, anything he was excited about was certainly at least worth a look, right?
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 5:55 am
Babylon was a step ahead of her, already taking what must have counted as long strides for him back towards the jeep. After rummaging around in the back seat for a moment, he returned with a recent-model digital camera. "Hanukkah present," he informed Pasiphae. "Mom and Dad really came through this year. I've got to log this for posterity, don't I?"
He so far only had vague ideas about building a portfolio, but that was enough for him to spend the next five minutes intensely focused as he lined up his shots. "I want to give the person looking at my photographs the same experience as if they were here interacting with the sculpture," he explained as he balanced a close up on Ronald McDonald's face.
That mission accomplished, he stepped back and brushed his hands together. "Well," he said to the shame senshi. "Mission accomplished. Drive you home? I'll buy you some hot cocoa for your trouble."
He was grateful for the help, even if the task had turned out to be sort of inane. "I'll come back and take them down tomorrow. Probably once campus administration raises a stink about it."
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Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:30 pm
Seeing that he wanted to take some pictures, Pasiphae hastened to get out of the way. Hanukkah. She caught that almost immediately, subconciously filing the information away. It didn't particularly matter to her if Babylon was Jewish or not--although she was rather glad that she hadn't gotten him a Christmas gift and had thus avoided inadvertantly insulting him.
"That's really not necessary... although I appreciate the offer. Just a ride home will do fine," Pasiphae replied with a tired smile. It was cold out, and a cup of hot chocolate wouldn't be unwelcome. But she didn't want Babylon to think she had come along just to get something for herself... giving him a helping hand was more than enough for her. "If you need someone to help hyou come pick everything up... well, if I'm not in school, I'll be happy to come back."
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 6:27 pm
Babylon was light on his feet, snapping the pictures he needed quickly and trying to not disturb either their painstaking setup or too much of the snow. "Don't even worry about it," he said to the senshi, making his way towards the parking lot. He flipped the keyfob once in his hand before unlocking the jeep (it was the kind with windows).
Hopping into the driver's seat, he waited for Pasiphae to take shotgun and started the engine. Cranking the heater, he explained, "I'll have lots of time to think about what I've done in detention." His humorous tone of voice didn't seem to match the serious subject. But Babylon didn't really give the impression of being much for authority. Disciplinary measures rolled off him like water from a duck's back.
At least he was a careful driver. Despite it being late at night and the roads being empty, Babylon stuck close to the speed limit and obeyed stop signs. Getting pulled over in his superhero getup would take a lot of explaining. "Thanks for your help tonight," he repeated as they neared Pasiphae's stop. "You can call in the favor any time you want, M'lady. I owe you one."
The jeep rolled to a stop. "This is as far as I go," he informed her suavely.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 9:20 pm
Pasiphase sighed and relaxed back into her seat the instant the heater came on. Heaters were the best part of winter--there was just something heavenly about the warmth flowing gently on the skin, the feeling of insulation from the chill outside. It was like being wrapped in the fluffiest blanket. For some reason, air conditioning didn't even come close to producing the same feeling on a hot day.
She half-winced at Babylon's mention of dentention. She had always been a rule follower her whole life, and although she had to learn to bend the rules somewhat since becoming a Senshi... it still pained her sometimes to think that they could get in serious trouble, even for missions such as these which were totally harmless, because the people she had sworn to protect did not trust her or any Senshi or Knight. All the necessary lies and coloring outside of the lines was hard enough without adding in that. But she tried not to think about it too hard--and Babylon's m'lady was certainly a distraction. "Oh, no... I'm more than happy that I was able to help! It's nice... to go out and do something that's not patrolling or fighting, you know?"
Once the vehicle stopped,The Senshi of Shame gripped her coat tight and hesitated for half a moment before opening the door and letting the cold cut through the blanket of warmth that had developed. She gave a wave as she hopped out, "Thanks for the ride, Babylon. I hope the piece gets some of the response you want. Just let me know if you want some help taking it down again.
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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