Arts Amongst the Chaos

[iceheart_imperial]

WHO: Ysanne Isard, Artists of all varieties, and the people who love them/their art? (In short, everyone is invited)
WHERE: A Park in Heropa.
WHEN: Afternoon/Evening
WHAT: In defiance of current events, a planned arts fair is held. If you need help with a robot double, there's some convenient Stormtroopers...err, trainees...nearby to assist...
WARNINGS: Added as needed



The park sparkled, the open tents surrounded by strings of fairy lights. She'd gotten someone in for this one, as such aesthetics were beyond her. But it fit well, all things said and done. As the evening drew on, she knew, the place would take on a lovely sparkle. All the better, given events.

Her Stormtroopers were on hand, of course, though neither she nor they would ever call themselves that. Officially, they were 'on loan' as a 'courtesy' for additional security. They would identify by their American names and ranks, not by an Imperial number. And, at her insistence, they only carried non-lethals. Stun batons, firmly holstered at their sides. It was the best possible balance between security and openness she could manage.

The tents were arrayed by themes, based on those who had come. One for potteries and housewares, another for paintings and prints, still another for musicians on small stages, hawking their sounds. There was room for a miscellany, too, she had seen to it. Each one carefully chosen, come the end.

The large center tent had refreshments and food - freely offered, in both cases. This night was a considerable cost, but every credit...sorry, dollar...was worth it. Given circumstances, alcohol was not on offer beyond a few ales and other lighter choices. But there was also a larger stage and a potential dance floor, catering to all tastes tonight. Throughout the afternoon and evening, different acts would take the stage, covering a wide array of talent.

It was a defiance of chaos, and yet another symbol of her dedication to her cause. But it was designed to put her aside, to place others in the spotlight. And so it continued, well into the night.

Comments

[batgirl_babs]

"Oh, yes! Absolutely! I've intruded enough, sheesh. Here."

She jots down the number on a piece of paper, with very clear penmanship.

[verunandesu]

"Not at all," Sypha takes the proffered piece of paper. "I am glad you put your books on my table."

[batgirl_babs]

She smiled, and nodded.

"Ok then, this worked out way better than I thought it would. I'm so glad I came tonight."

[verunandesu]

"Me too," Sypha agrees. This event had been worth the money for the entry fee - art, fun, and new friends. She really needed to get out more often.

"Do you work often? Should I contact you in the morning, or the evening?"

She wants to play it cool and not come off as too eager, but you can bet that Barbara will be getting a call from Sypha either next thing tomorrow morning or the next afternoon.

[batgirl_babs]

"I mostly coach in the afternoons, after kids get out of school. Thankfully, I'm a morning person."

She lied, flagrantly. But years of Batgirl-ing around had produced a certain ability work without a real sleep pattern.

[verunandesu]

"I will contact you then," Sypha says brightly, declining to chime in with her own sleeping habits, which were mostly a mess.

Sypha's internal body clock had her sleeping with the sunset and rising with the dawn - habit after years of doing exactly that to get as much walking time in as possible during the day - but she relished opportunities to sleep in. Library shift work was fairly accommodating in that regard.

[batgirl_babs]

"Awesome," she said, with a very happy nod. "As they say in the movies, this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

[verunandesu]

"I have not watched any movies, nor am I familiar with that phrase," Sypha smiles. "But that seems appropriate."

"What have you seen here so far? Is there anything you would recommend I see before I go?"

She has a morning shift tomorrow, so she probably shouldn't stay too late. Probably.

[batgirl_babs]

She paused, straightening up in surprise.

"What."

Her hands then flailed in the air in excitement.

"Yes! All the things! Because I'm already organizing a movie night in my head! Oh, gosh, yeah, start you off with some silents, then work our way up to today. It. Will. Be. Great."

She stopped then, folding her hands and reddening just a little.

"Sorry, I get enthusiastic. And it's a really fun prospect."

[verunandesu]

"Movie night?" Sypha repeats questioningly, entertained by Barbara's flailing antics. This girl was excitable over the smallest things. Apparently it is a night where one watches multiple movies, she intuits.

"No need to apologize. That does sound like a good time," she muses, though she's not sure what Barbara means by 'silents'. She will find out!

[batgirl_babs]

"Yes. You get together, maybe wear comfy pajamas, have fun snacks and maybe ice cream, and watch like two or three movies. Sometimes it evolves into a sleepover, followed by a ludicrous breakfast if you're doing it right."

She shrugs.

"It's a weird, unspoken tradition with no actually written rules."

ffff thx dreamwidth for marking this as read when it clearly was not...

[verunandesu]

Sypha had been introduced to the wonders of ice cream a few weeks back and was an instant convert, despite its intense sweetness.

"I like the sounds of that very much," she says to Barbara. "I assume a sleepover is merely sleeping in the same house?"

[batgirl_babs]

"Oh, yeah, it's a purely friends thing. Though I remember some gals in college who it really helped figure out some stuff. But by and large, just for fun. That's why it's often up to a half-dozen people."

She did grin thereafter, though.

"Besides, there's this double chocolate fudge thing with cookie dough I found, and I really need an excuse to get it."

[verunandesu]

"What sort of things did they figure out?" Sypha asks.

She's no innocent, but she also really doesn't pick up on these sorts of innuendo speech patterns. It's an honest question.

"Oh, there can be more people?" Sypha ponders. She supposes that by that definition, perhaps she and Trevor and Alucard had been having sleepovers in the castle before she and Trevor left. Sans the comfy pajamas, though. And double chocolate fudge things with cookie dough.

[batgirl_babs]

Oh, right right, Past Lady. Things were unspoken then.

"Oh, that they were, y'know, into other ladies." She held up two hands coming together, a vague but illustrative metaphor. "It can be hard sometimes to figure that stuff out, so I was always glad when a sleepover or a party or whatever shook that stuff loose for them."

"But yeah, there can be, if you want. I'm not sure what the limit is before it stops being one, though. Probably if you have more people than can fit in the various beds or futons or whatever."

[verunandesu]

Sypha has never really stopped to question how one figured out that one was in to the same sex or opposite sex. It just sort of... was a default attitude. So she listens to Barbara, fascinated. She knows the Church was very very against men having relations with one another, but the corollary of women having relationships with each other did not seem to have really occurred to them.

"How many people would you say comprises a sleepover arrangement?"

[batgirl_babs]

Funny how an entrenched misogynistic order that tried desperately to suppress women wouldn't have gotten around to that. But her little Protestant heart is kind of a sarcastic one, so.

"Oh, um...two to four? Good balance there. Of course, I'm guessing."

[verunandesu]

"Your guess is a better metric than mine," Sypha replies diplomatically.

"Let us plan to a movie night and sleepover, then, and you can bring the chocolate fudge thing." She smiles warmly. It would be good to have a companion to share sleeping space with again. Roommates were all well and good, but Sypha misses the closeness of a sleeping room full of Speakers, even a nap in the presence of two wakeful idiots friends.

[batgirl_babs]

"Done. It is a formal plan," she replied, with a prim nod.

"Geez, things move fast here," she added, with a lopsided grin. "Can't say I mind...no wasted time."

[verunandesu]

"I have a shift tomorrow morning," Sypha says apologetically. "I am still new, and I would not like to be truant or garner a reputation for lateness. I admit that when I first began work here, I did not quite understand what an alarm clock was, or how very time-bound everything is in this world."

Thankfully, the head librarian was used to imPorts and found the cause of her lateness to be fascinating, as opposed to the lateness itself problematic. Still. It had taken a while for Sypha to get used to a "morning routine" on the days when she had an early shift.

[batgirl_babs]

"Oh, geez, I should zip my yap, then!"

She stood up, reaching for her bags.

"But it was a real pleasure to meet you."

[verunandesu]

"I do not mean to be rude," says Sypha, who has no real idea what a yap or even a zip is, but gets from Barbara's tone that the girl has interpreted her words as brusque. Probably?

"It was a pleasure to meet you as well, Barbara. I look forward to talking with you more. And to watching movies with you!" Sypha smiles earnestly, and also rises.

This world is certainly strange, but if it has people like Barbara in it, then it is not all bad.

[batgirl_babs]

She gives her a little wave, starting to head away.

"It really was, and me too!"

Well, that was the other half done.