InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Listening to the news! Again?"

Bailey Carroll (boymeetsghoul) wrote in snyderville,
@ 2009-11-22 20:59:00

Entry tags:

bailey hirsch-carroll, cameron michaels, starshine

Who: Cam and Bailey.
What: Artistic vision meets spackling talent!
Where: Mess hall.
When: Late afternoon/early evening.
Rating: Likely G.
Status: Incomplete.

Living in a prison, like most things, quickly lost its novelty for Bailey. People were grouchy, the food was bland and made without love, the walls were a single shade of sickly institutional grey. It was enough to make one feel... well, confined. And confinement plus hippies was not so groovy. Despite the fact that holing up here was not turning out to be as fantastic as he'd initially envisioned, Bailey was still determined to at least attempt to bring them all a little closer to the zen utopia he felt they all deserved.

Bailey decided to start with the walls. Even if there was little he could do about the less-than-gourmet food or the fact that their rooms had bars on them, spreading a little cheer through art was something he definitely could do. But while Bailey knew plenty about paints and colour and composition, he knew very little about the practical aspects of painting a wall like this one, and that was where his bestie Cameron's home improvement talents came in handy.

"So... you just take a little bit of this stuff and put it on like this? And that's speckling?" Bailey asked her, unknowingly mispronouncing the word as he examined the spackling paste by poking at it with a putty knife. He looked to Cameron for affirmation, then at Starshine lying with her head on her paws nearby. Perhaps the dog couldn't offer much insight with regards to home repair, but she was still fantastic moral support.

"How long would it take before we could put the primer on?" he asked Cameron, thankful she knew what she was talking about.

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galactic_hippy
2009-11-22 03:49 am UTC (link)

After venturing outside and nearly getting ambushed by the ravenous vital-signs-challenged, Cameron wasn't about to complain too much about prison life. That didn't mean that the bland institutional walls couldn't use a bit of perking up. She was excited to be included in Bailey's latest project.

"Yeah, just use a little bit, and scrape it smooth," she instructed, filling in a small hole in the wall with her own putty knife and tub of spackle as a demonstration.

"If you've used too much you can wipe it off with a damp rag." She examined the expanse of wall critically.

"The bigger holes and those gouges there will take longer to dry, but we should be able to start priming right away." Knowing Bailey and her, once they were done patching all the minor cracks and gouges in the wall, they'd want to take a break anyway! For now, Cameron was still filled with the first rush of enthusiasm for a new project. She dug into her tub of spackle with gusto.

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boymeetsghoul
2009-11-22 04:32 am UTC (link)

Bailey did as he was told, and happily. Nothing like learning a new skill to pass the time.

"Makes you wonder why they don't add art to places like this more often," he mused aloud as he dressed the wall's wounds.

"Maybe if people took care of each other's spiritual needs more often, we'd have less of a need for places like this. Art soothes the soul. Everyone knows violence is just an outward expression of people's inner turmoil."

Bailey paused for a moment, scraping off the excess paste as he thought.

"Zombies don't count," he added finally, then continued on to the next hole.

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galactic_hippy
2009-11-22 04:42 am UTC (link)

Cameron carefully finished the area she was smoothing over before putting down her tools and flinging herself at Bailey, grabbing him around the waist in a fierce hug.

"That's, like, so profound," she told him eventually, raising her face so he could see what she had to say. "The part before the zombies, I mean."

Curious, Starshine wandered over and tried to shove her way in between the two.

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boymeetsghoul
2009-11-22 04:12 pm UTC (link)

Bailey was startled by the hug, but delighted. He hadn't thought that he'd said anything particularly profound, but it was nice to be agreed with. He picked Cameron up as he hugged her, making 'bear' hug growls.

And then Starshine was butting in between them and Bailey didn't want the dog to feel left out. He knelt and gave her the usual ear scratch and kiss on the nose before picking up his spackling again.

"Maybe we can set up a concert or a play or talent show or something," Bailey suggested, household repairs apparently putting him in a contemplative mood.

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galactic_hippy
2009-11-22 10:09 pm UTC (link)

Cameron took a turn petting Starshine too, then got back to work. She started giggling when Bailey mentioned a talent show, imagining what some of the residents of Snyderville might present as their talents.

"That could be a lot of fun! People need something to look forward to."

She spread more spackle on the wall, then, struck by sudden inspiration, she tapped Bailey on the arm to get his attention.

"You could do a magic act! Maddy could be your assistant!"

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boymeetsghoul
2009-11-22 10:52 pm UTC (link)

Bailey glanced up when he felt the arm tap, tilting his his head curiously as he watched her suggestion.

He raised his eyebrows, pupils darting away suspiciously for a moment at the mention of Maddy before responding with a smile.

"I don't think Maddy would be up for that," he said, shaking his head with a laugh.

"Starshine might, however - wouldn't you, puppy?" Bailey asked the dog, who replied to his question with a resounding bark. He then turned back to Cameron.

"Maybe you can give everyone some yoga lessons!" he suggested happily.

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galactic_hippy
2009-11-23 12:17 am UTC (link)

Hmm... What was that look for?

"We could dress her up in a sparkly costume," Cameron said brightly, luring the dog over to her with a biscuit she pulled from a pocket. Work on the wall was forgotten as she knelt to pet their furry four-legged friend.

"You'd like to wear some sequins, wouldn't you, girl? And be Bailey's glamorous assistant!... Wait. Yoga lessons?" She looked up at Bailey, repeating the question so he'd know she wasn't still talking to Starshine.

"Do you think people would be interested?"

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boymeetsghoul
2009-11-23 12:32 am UTC (link)

Thankful for the departure from the subject of magic tricks, Bailey was more than happy to hop aboard this train of thought.

"I think so! People have a hard time relaxing, you know? You could help a lot of traumatised people with your skills."

Bailey reached up and spackled another crack in the wall, leaning up onto his tippy-toes to get at it. Once it had been sufficiently filled, Bailey looked back at Cameron, rambling on cheerily some more.

"Hey, then I could be your glamorous assistant." he said, making a sweeping Vanna White gesture at Starshine as though his faithful dog was a shiny new car.

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	galactic_hippy 2009-11-23 12:42 am UTC (link)
	"You're right, people here are really stressed," Cameron mused. "I don't think small-town life prepared them very well for the apocalypse," she said sympathetically. She was definitely falling behind in her wall repair duties. "Should I put up a sign-up sheet, do you think?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

boymeetsghoul
2009-11-23 12:57 am UTC (link)

"I think you should, yeah." Bailey agreed, now so used to this particular job that he eagerly patched up the next hole while still looking at Cameron.

"Maybe we could make a really pretty sign-up sheet when we're done with this wall. I think there's some glitter in with the paints - want to check?"

The wall didn't appear to have too many more damaged spots and even so, Bailey felt as though leaving a couple here and there would not be to the mural's detriment. Imperfections added character, he figured.

"Losing everything only gives you the freedom to do anything. And if we can convince everyone else of that, then... well, maybe people would be happy to have been given the chance to create the lives they've always wanted." Bailey said optimistically.

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galactic_hippy
2009-11-24 01:04 am UTC (link)

Cameron remained on the floor next to Starshine, her interest in spackling overridden by the notion of giving yoga lessons.

"Yeah, I think I will," she conceded after a moment. "And a pretty sign-up sheet with glitter would be great!"

She nodded in agreement with Bailey's philosophical assessment of their situation and finally stood up, ambling over to the box of painting supplies to scope out the possibility of glitter.

"I guess we're ready to prime now, huh?" Cameron held up a can of primer for Bailey's inspection. He might have missed her exact words but she trusted that her meaning was clear enough.

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boymeetsghoul
2009-11-24 01:27 am UTC (link)

Bailey was busy making goofy faces at his dog while Cameron searched through the painting supplies, and so missed her question in its entirety. Judging by the can of primer she was brandishing, though, he felt as though he might have caught the basic gist of what she meant to say.

"Is it time to prime already? Do you think the speckling has dried yet?" Bailey asked her, careful to watch her for an answer - for all he knew, she was trying to tell him that he'd picked the wrong kind of primer.

"Is that stuff all right, or should be check the supply closet for something else?" Bailey inquired, unsure.

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galactic_hippy
2009-11-24 01:47 am UTC (link)

"It's dry enough," Cameron said carelessly. This was a prison mural after all, not the Mona Lisa. Anything Bailey did to this wall would be an improvement.

"The primer is fine." She looked at it curiously, wondering what objection he might have to it. Shrugging, Cameron set the can down and began to pry it open with a screwdriver.

"What are you going to paint, anyway?"

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boymeetsghoul
2009-11-24 03:16 am UTC (link)

Bailey shrugged, happy enough to see his primer was acceptable.

"I don't know! I didn't plan that far in advance. Maybe something blue? That's a calming colour, isn't it?" Bailey said thoughtfully. He stood back and examined the wall, as though the brick itself might inspire him.

"I've got it!" he said suddenly, with a snap of his fingers. "How about an ocean scene? Maybe a nice coral reef, some schools of fish, a seal or two... oh, I can almost picture it!"

He turned to Starshine. "What do you think, pup? Sea turtles, perhaps?"

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galactic_hippy
2009-11-24 11:17 pm UTC (link)

"Anything but green," Cameron said with an exaggerated shudder. Sure, green was a nice color, but in a setting like this she could only think of that hideous institutional shade of green.

"Sea turtles would be great," she enthused. "Don't they live for a really long time? It's almost like a reminder from nature, you know? No matter how bad it seems, life will go on."

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boymeetsghoul
2009-11-25 04:55 am UTC (link)

It was Bailey's turn to offer up a hug, wrapping his arms around Cameron after her optimistic words.

"Oh, that's beautiful!" he said, giving her an appreciative peck on the cheek. "Sea turtles it is, then! It'll be inspirational."

And with that hopeful note, Bailey picked up two brushes and handed one to Cameron. He dipped his paintbrush in the primer and set to beginning phase one of their oceanic magnum opus.

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	galactic_hippy 2009-11-29 10:48 pm UTC (link)
	Cameron paused to pet Starshine a little more, then followed Bailey's lead. The primer was stark white. With only took a few strokes of paint, the dreary dining hall was starting to look brighter. "Maybe we should paint the whole room," she mused, then giggled. As if that was going to happen! This wall was plenty. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

boymeetsghoul
2009-11-29 11:12 pm UTC (link)

Bailey actually considered this for a moment. "Maybe next time! Maybe we can use each wall for a different element, or something." he mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Once they had finished much of their priming, Bailey stood back and admired their handiwork proudly. Looking at their fresh, blank canvas, he could think of a million and one ideas of what to paint upon it. He turned to Cameron, gave an inspired sigh, and...

"Hey, we should go watch a movie while this dries!" he suggested.

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