#And also him being more wary of Helen than the situation calls for

[spacedoutwitch]

A cut scene from MAG 164, I've decided. You cannot change my mind.

(Original video here!)

[juniaships]

After being reminded of how awful canon film is I wrote my own self indulgent version of Batman Vs. Superman. I want the story to be self contained, so no Doomsday or Darkseid forewarning. Warning: Rambling, me being butthurt while high on sugar, really trying to make this a coherent storyline with genuine development, some Bruce x OC moments shut up you demon!

The beginning is the same as in canon with Lois in Africa???Middle East??? With her partner James Olsen trying to resolve a hostage situation. James gets killed trying to protect a hostage, but before anymore are killed Superman comes in and rescues them. He subdues not kill the terrorists but gets into trouble with the intelligence agency for interrupting their mission. This incident reaches the ears of Helen Hunt's character the no-nonsense Senator. However Superman is more concerned for the deceased James and the unharmed hostages than getting in trouble with the government, he feels guilty being unable to save James in time.

After James Olsen's funeral Clark and Lois are unsure what to do next. They decide the best way to honor his memory is continuing their line of working bringing light to troubling issues as well as a troubling rose of villains. They also find out that the terrorists had weapons given to them by Luthor (to protect interests in that region).

Meanwhile, Lex decides to capitalize on the post destruction of Metropolis by launching a smear campaign. He also starts pursuing charitable events to make himself look good in front of the masses. Because of growing negativity towards Supes, Clark starts feeling a lack of confidence but from reassurance from his mom he redirects his focus hero by doing small stuff around Smallville. Gradually the town starts to see him in a far better light but there's still Metropolis and the larger world. Clark goes there to help rebuild. At his job at DP, he gets the chance to interview visiting millionaire Bruce Wayne in Whatever City (not the actual name but a totally different city from Metropolis and Gotham). At the press meeting Bruce is rather cold & not as Clark expected. He's even working with Lex Luthor as part of a business deal, which makes Clark wary as he knows about Luthor's criminal activity.

Superman goes out in a flight to clear his head. While flying around he sees a kid walking on the railroad tracks hy himself with a pair of headphones....and a train steadily approaching! Supes swoops in and saves the kod from being nuked and chastises him for being so reckless. The teenager apologies and introduces himself as Jimmy Olsen (a nephew of the deceased James). He had been listening to music as a way to cope with his uncle's death. They talk for a while and Superman brings Jimmy back home. Several weeks later Clark ends up mentoring Jimmy as a school project.

Back in Whatever City we're introduced to one of Lex's assistants Nicola. She's a former Holliday Girl who had overheard Lex's plan and vowed to stop him. She managed to get in contact with an old friend: Diana Prince. Nicola brings up Lex's plan and hidden research of metahumans. The Amazon surmises that such a scheme could result in the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of people. Diana decides to bring her agency to stop him & asks Nicola to stay low. Diana gathers her old armor and prays to the Gods for luck.

Lex apparently likes Nicola enough to send her an invite to a charity ball, where she crosses paths with Bruce for the first time. They talk for a while only to be interrupted by Clark.

After a meeting with Luthor to discuss a merger with their companies, and seeing hints of Luthor's true selfishness, Bruce grows suspicious of him and started to dig around. We see through memorabilia that his initial coldness towards Clark and other people wasn't out of spite but of grief: Jason Todd's death some years ago.

Clark continues his good deeds and is slowly regaining his respect. He even makes plan to visit a children's hospital but is forced to cancel when Superman gets called to show up for a Congress hearing. At the meeting Superman admits his guilt but tells about James and how he died a hero. The Senator doesn't know where Superman is going with this but is listening. Then Superman's voice trails of as he hears a beeping noise and shocked he leaves the room in a hurry. He briefly searches the place and finds a bomb strapped in a closet. He carries the bomb out and throws it as high into the sky as possible Back inside the audience and senator are bewildered by his absence then hear a loud booming noise outside. There's shock as a bright light flashes in the sky...

Superman legit rejected their hearing to save them from a bomb. A bomb planted there by Tess on the instructions of Luthor...a plan she was willing to sacrifice her own life for.

This leaves the senator reconsidering her stance: if he really was as bad as people say then he wouldn't have saved them.

After the incident the entire country begins to have a more positive opinion of Superman while the government launches a search for possible terrorists. Bruce hears about what happened and after sneaking around as Batman, finds out about Luthor being the one responsible for the attempted terror attack. Later on he (as civilian) makes an announcement that he is not going to go through with the merger with LexCorp.

Hearing the news that Superman foiled his attempted assassination (and losing out on Wayne Enterprises), Lex gets very pissed off and threatens to fire Tess. She tries to save face by reminding Lex of his contingency plan...making Lex calm down and grin as he begins to remake his plan.

Nicola agrees to a date with Bruce and prepares. Meanwhile Lois and Jimmy are enjoying a night on the town while Clark stays behind to work on a news story. The two friends were about ti make it back to their hotel before being accosted by some men who force them into a car and takes them to Lex Corp.

At the HQ Lois calls him out that his plan could spell doom for the world. Surprisingly Luthor agrees but makes it clear he doesn't care. He orders his men to capture her, but Jimmy manages to escape and goes off to find Clark (who is writing a story to expose Luthor's actions). Jimmy tells him learns from him that Lois is in trouble Superman tells him to stay as he fetches the police. In reality he jas gone to find her as his hero alias. He finds her but just as he's about to rescue her Lex threatens that he also has another certain someone (Martha Kent ) captured if he doesn't comply, seeing that Supes was often seen visiting her. Reluctantly Superman complies and Lois is freed from her bonds, yet Lex takes them as hostages to a room lined with Green Kryptonite. He leaves to his warehouse to check on progress of his prototype. Jimmy wonders where Clark has gone and goes to the police station himself.

On their date Bruce mentions to Nicola that he knows what she's up to. Nicola coldly replies what was he talking about and he mentions Lex's actions and her possible status as an accomplice This starts a spat leading to Nicola spilling that she is working against Lex (making her a foil to the blindly loyal Tess) and that her goal was to stop Lex from unleashing his plan. She already called a friend to help them yet when Bruce presses forward they see a kid (Jimmy) wandering around and concerned asks what's wrong. Jimmy replies that his friend was kidnapped and doesn't know what to do. Bruce leaves to find Clark while Nicola stays with Jimmy.

Nicole & Jimmy arrives back at the hotel and sees Tess Mercer waiting for them. She had been sent by Luthor to eliminate the witness. Nicola tries to talk her coworker out of harming an innocent kid but Tess refuses. They duel but Tess proves to be a surprisingly stronger fighter. Before Tess could come in for the kill a frightened Jimmy knocks her out cold from behind.

At HQ Lois & a weakened Superman attempt an escape. Lois believes its hopeless but Clark reminds her that Lex won't put them down for long. Batman arrives at the HQ and stealthily avoids the guards. He deduces the room Lois and Supes are locked up in and free them. Batman says thay a little birdie told him everything Lois and Clark grinning that it's Jimmy and the two superheroes decide to work together to bring down Lex.

Batman goes to save Martha (the warehouse fight) while Superman goes to confront Lex, dropping Lois off at the hotel where rhe police are waiting (Tess apprehended). Nicola researcher offers to take the reporter home but she declines, not wanting to sit back and watch Lex try to destroy the world. After giving her report to the police she and Nicole meet Steven Trevor (a descendant of Steve Trevor and an agent). Steven says he already sent his men to arrest Lex as they found that he waa behind the bombing. Lois sneaks away to see if she can help Clark.

Clark manages to catch uo to Lex at his lab and tries to reason with him. Lex says that he already unleashed his prototype as a test to see how many lives Superman is able to save. Superman argues that Lex has gone mad trying to play god, which he disagrees: "I'm not playing god I'm only playing favorites is all." Disgusted, Superman leaves and goes off to fight the prototype. As he does an entire line of trucks arrive...led by Nicola's special friend...

Lex realizes he has been found out and tries to destroy the evidence. Lois realize that the monster was made of Kryptonian DNA so she looks around for the spare Kryptonite and manages to grab a considerable long piece. Just as she does the place starts flooding and she runs. However she nearly drown. Fortunately she gets pulled out by a woman wearing armor. Lois doesn't even ask her name as she recognizes the W shaped emblem and blue&red color scheme. Lois gives the heroine the spear and tells her that she says she loves Clark. Wonder Woman nods and heads towards the direction of Superman.

Superman draws the monster out away from the city and is helped by Batman. Wonder Woman arrives with the spear. The final battles commences with Batman providing a distraction to lead the prototype away. Diana and Superman fight the beast but is soon overpowered. Clark takes the makeshift spear and goes off and manages to subdue the creature rather unwilling to kill it. However he gets blown up by a missile sent by the US military and everyone thinks he is dead.

To his he walks out of the smoke, banged up but alive, having narrowly escaped the blast. The monster has died, leaving Clark to wonders sadly if the monster could have been saved as it had no control over its actions. A relieved Lois embraces him as the other two supers look on in bittersweet triumph.

Several days later, the President, on the behest of the Helen Hunt Senator, gives Superman a full pardon. The world also starts to see rising of actual superheroes to take in the increase of villains having been inspired by the actions of the newly dubbed Trinity. The ending shows that long term exposure to Kryptonite left Lex without any hair, cementing his iconic look. He had also beem arrested and tried and ends up locked up at a mental institution on an insanity plea. His other henchmen & Tess are jailed and Luthor's company scrambles to do damage control. Bruce catches up to Clark and apologizes for being cold. They part ways on better terms before musing at the similarities between their alter egos. Diana teases that they make a great team and returns to the capital with her team. Bruce returns to Gotham and stops at the cemetery to place flowers on Jason Todd's grave, showing that he moved to the acceptance stage of grief. Jimmy also ends up getting a job as an intern for Daily Planet with Lois as his mentor this time. And Nicola goes to Gotham to work as a social worker and takes up a case: Cassandra Cain.

The final scene ends with Clark as Superman dressed up in Metropolis visiting a local orphanage/foster home, showing that at his core he truly does care about humanity despite all them haters. 👏👏 👏 happy ending everyone!!!

The movie ends with a montage of

- Cyborg walking around aimlessly in his hometown and finding a discarded newspaper highlighting the heroes' exploits and getting the idea to try becoming a hero himself

- Aquaman in his kingdom catching up with the surface world and becoming curious, and wonders about an alliance

- Barry standing in a hill in his city in costume. He grins and smiles, before pulling over his cowl and racing off

- And Lex, plotting an escape from his cell, suddenly sees a peculiarly tall guard looming over him. He makes a digging comment that the guard shrugs off. To his surprise the guard unlocks the cell and leads Lex out. Lex asks who the guard is; the guard slips off his disguises revealing a sapient Gorilla...Gorilla Grodd!

All This sets up a future plot point that wouldn't be explored until after Justice League where we're introduced to the cinematic LEGION OF DOOM!!! The prototype they fight is not doomsday but foreshadows the creation of Bizarro (who was one of the original members of the LoD).

With the actual Justice League movie we continue with the formation of the team through several subplots converging into one major story arc. The Helen Hunt Senator plays a huge role being their ally and influence on building the Hall of Justice. Plus more Brucola stuff because we need fun stuff in Batman, Tom King.

[hoardcloneheadcanons]

The Season 1 Villain: Mr. Blackwood

Summary [ A time travelling Martin Blackwood accidentally bullies his past counterpart and a young Jonathan Sims into getting together in order to gang-up on him]

 Yesterday Is Here is a time-travel fix-it fic of the Magnus Archives by CirrusGrey found on AO3 that I highly recommend. It helps emotionally cope with the tragedy of the actual series and it’s very well written.

I have my own ideas on what would happen in the fic if the time travel went slightly different and Martin showed up first, which now lives rent-free in my head as an AU to an AU. I’m hoping by writing it down I can free myself of it’s grip over me. If you don’t want spoilers for the fic, or seasons 1-4 of the Magnus Archives, stop here.

 In the fic Jon and Martin from the Archives have been married and survived the apocalypse together. Both use the Helen’s doors to travel back in time to season 1 of the Magnus Archives and prevent most of the tragedies from happening. Jon uses his spooky Archivist Powers to threaten Elias, extorting him for money and preventing the appocolypse. And both Martin and Jon dispose of the main villains of season 1 and 2.

But some shenanigans happened in Helen’s doors that make it so Jon shows up first and Martin doesn’t show up until two months later. Here’s my idea of what would happen if those positons got reversed.

-The Archival Staff call Future Martin Mr. Blackwood to differentiate him from their present-day Martin. I will also be doing so, from here on out.

-Jon is, of course, skeptical, and keeps insisting that this must be some long lost brother of Martin’s who is trying to scam them (Or even his father, despite Mr. Blackwood not looking much older than Martin). Mr. Blackwood proceeds to list small intimate details about each of them (how they take their tea, things that happened their last birthday. Stuff that would be very essentially Martin to know) but also sounds very impatient the entire time. He does not have time for Jon’s feigned skepticism and denial and does not hide it.

-It becomes clear very quickly to the Archival staff that Mr. Blackwood is a lot meaner than Martin. He doesn’t make tea for people unless he’s trying to corner them to talk to them, He’s willing to kill spiders rather than release them. Murder doesn’t seem that out of the question for him. And while both Martin and Blackwood are big people, Matrin Hunches and keeps his voice soft and tries to seem smaller. Blackwood does none of that and will push his way through people and/or loom sometimes.

-As a result Tim starts jokingly referring to him as the Anti-Martin. When Mr. Blackwood starts mentioning that there should be a Mr. Sims showing up, Tim insists on making a list of traits that he bets  Mr. Sims will have based on him being an “Anti-Jon”. The traits include: Wearing only bright colors, not-giving a fig about archive policy, believing all the statements (even the dumb ones), smiling, being nice to Martin, being social and (on a day where Jon was being particularly annoying) being cool.

-A few of them are totally off the mark, but many of them are actually frighteningly close to the truth.

-He ropes Sasha into it too. They decide together that Sims and Blackwood have a one-sided relationship where Sims is absolutely besotted and Blackwood either barely tollerates him or is seducing him for his Head Archivist pay.

(It’s funny because Jon isn’t making much more than any of the Archival Staff)

-Blackwood is fairly nice to Sasha who is reasonable and listens to relevant threats. Tim appreciates him for confirming and advancing the research he’s done on Robert Smirke and the Circus. But Martin and Jon hate him. He bullies them both in different ways.

-Blackwood keeps trying to convince his younger self to grow a spine, make some boundaries. He keeps trying to tell him that he can’t fix things by being nice to everyone. Martin does not appreciate it.

-Mr. Blackwood will occasionally talk like Martin’s Mum and it makes it hurt more. Not exact sentiments or sentiments but familiar phrasing and tones. Blackwood doesn’t know he’s doing it.

-Meanwhile Blackwood takes away all the “real” statements from Jon (the ones that won’t record on the computer) and spreading them out amongst the archive staff. He insists that reading them will turn Jon into an eldritch creature that feeds on human trauma and gives people nightmares. Jon thinks this is a load of absolute bull. (If you must read them, Jon, at least don’t read them outloud. Type them up or something. Don’t be stupid.)

-Jon’s the type of person who needs to know and asks all the uncomfortable questions, so having someone take away the only real information bothers him. Even if Tim, Sasha and Martin have the information it still bothers him to not know.

-Jon is also really insecure about deserving his job, and desperately trying to prove himself. So having a man burst in and tell him how to do his job stings.

-Mr. Blackwood also isn’t delicate when pointing out Jon’s skepticism is dumb. He says all the things Martin thinks but is too polite to say.

(”I’m sure there’s a very natural reason for Carlos Vittery to be wrapped up in spider webs upon his death”

“Are you serious? Jon, if you keep up this ridiculous denial you’re going to walk yourself right into something’s mouth just to prove a point. Or worse, send someone else into it. And you of all people should know supernatural spiders are dangerous.

“What do you mean, I of all people?”

“I think you know what I mean, Jon.”)

-Jon and Martin actually end up hanging out because they bond over their mutual dislike of Mr. Blackwood.

-Jon defends Martin agains Mr. Blackwood and vice-versa.

-The first time it happens, it’s Jon defending Martin and Mr. Blackwood acts surprised.

-(I don’t know why we should trust you. Even if all this supernatural nonsense is true there’s no reason we should take you’re word on how it works! You barge into the archives telling everyone what to do, fear mongering with tales of secret societies trying to cause the apocalypse, you upset Martin all the time “for his own good, you-”

“-wait, wait wait- Martin?” “When did you start caring about Martin?”

“What do you mean? He’s one of my archival assistants, of course I care about him.”

“Jon, you bully him more often than I do.”

“I-No I don’t.”

“You make it very clear what you think of his work and competence, Jon. And you send him to all the worst assignments. He let’s it happen because he knows he’s not the best at research, and he knows you’re under pressure from Elias, and he really tries not to take it personally, but it hurts him Jon. It builds up and it hurts him, even if he never says it does. So yes, forgive me if I think you’re being a bit hypocritical.”)

-Jon apologizes to Martin after that and really tries to be nicer because he does not like the idea that he’s as bad as Mr. Blackwood. He watches what he says around Martin a lot more closely after that, and keeps an eye on Martin’s reactions.

-Jon will tell Martin that he thinks he’s nothing he’s like Mr. Blackwood. He doesn’t see how they could be the same person. Martin is so caring, and helpful, and kind, and warm, and Blackwood isn’t. Jon is so wrapped up in his frustration that he does not know Martin is blushing as he says this. Martin suddenly has to go make a cup of tea. Right then.

-The next time it’s Martin defending Jon against Blackwood. Blackwood is happy that Martin is starting to assert himself but is exasperated that it’s only occuring because of his own failed attempts to get the archive staff to trust him. He suddenly wants his own Jon to come back so badly so he can tell him how ridiculous this entire situation is. So they can laugh together at how Blackwood advanced their younger counterparts’ relationship progress by at least 3 years by accidentally becoming the villain of their story, so Jon can tease him about it.

-The third time it’s Jon once again defending Martin, saying that Blackwood went too far, that he sounds like Martin’s mother and he made him cry. Mr. Blackwood realizes that, yeah he does absolutely sound like his mum and he has to leave and reasses his actions. He hadn’t realized he was picking up her specific way of critisizing-well-himself. It’s just how he talked to himself in his own head- which- well- which wasn’t great.

-Jon is so surprised that he managed to actually get one-up on Mr. Blackwood that he takes everyone out for drinks and insists on paying. Which is a nice distraction for Martin. 

-It also, Blackwood notices, means Jon is getting closer to his archive staff and hanging out with them. It gives him a bittersweet hapiness. He’s so happy that they’re all closer in this timeline, that he managed to force Jon into socializing and Martin and Jon to get close. But he realizes he did it by being the outsider and interloper that they’re defending against, and he’s not quite part of this new group of the archive staff. He’s happy for them, just lonely. Even Sasha and Tim, who he gets along with more than Jon or Martin, are wary to trust him. He’s not telling them everything. He has to fight against Elias without the aid of spooky Eye powers and he’s unsure of when Elias is listening, so he’s not mentioning everything. He’s not telling them who killed Gertrude Robinson. He’s being evasive on the reasons he does not trust Elias, and about what power succeded at causing the apocalypse.

-As the days go by with no sign of His Jon/ Mr. Sim’s coming back his old connection to The Lonely intensifies and he becomes able to turn invisible and go by unnoticed again. The archive staff notice that he becomes spookier and sadder and- slightly less human and it decreases their trust in him.

[Check My Blog for a Part 2. I am writing this in one sitting, but this particular document has become long enough.]

[cwnerd12]

The Defectors

The Defectors Abby’s Mom, Frieda, walks into the lobby of the palace, carrying a package wrapped in baby wrapping paper. She speaks imperiously to the guard at the front desk, “I’m here for the baby shower.” Guard, “Do you have ID?” Frieda bristles, “I’m the royal baby’s grandmother.” Guard, “Sorry, we’ve got a security alert. We have to check all IDs.” Frieda sets her gift down on the counter, and with a huff, she pulls her wallet out of her purse and shows it to the guard. The guard looks at the IDs, “Okay, you’re good.”

An aide leads Frieda down a hallway. She opens a door, and Frieda follows behind. In the room, Michelle sits at a table with Jessie, Rose, and Helen, and spaces for David, Jack, Abby and Frieda still waiting. Aide, “Mrs. Hatch is here.” Jessie and Rose stand to greet her. Jessie, “Oh, hi! I’m so glad that all of us grandmas could have lunch together!” She gives Frieda a big hug. When she steps away, Rose offers a polite handshake, “Very glad to see you again, Frieda.” Jessie, “We met at the wedding reception, didn’t we?” Frieda, “We were both there,” she glances at Helen, “I’m surprised Ms. Pardis is here. I thought it was grandmothers only.” Helen, "I was invited." Michelle, “Helen is the godmother. We all wanted her to be here.”  Jessie, “Well, come sit! Have some snacks! David and Abby should be up before too long..." Frieda, taking a  seat, “Where are they?” Michelle, "Something came up." Frieda, "What sort of thing?" Jack, "You'll see it on the news tonight."

David, Jack, Shay, and Gen. Harel sit in David’s office, watching a TV. On the screen, scenes of chaos on the news with the headline, “Bombs go off across Mizpah.” David, “I need to talk to Laura. A while ago, I told her that Gilboa would be willing to send military aid if needed, but I didn’t think it would get out of hand this quickly.” Shay, “We need to wait until we understand fully what’s happened before we send anything.” Jack “There’s really nothing we can do right now.” David, “Yeah, we got a baby shower to go to.” Abby, “We should cancel.” David, “We can’t. It’s too late.” Abby, “It’s just our moms!” David, “Weren’t you the one who lectured me about cancelling things at the last minute?” Abby, “That was a state dinner, this isn’t even a proper baby shower!” David, “Abby, if you had dinner with Alek Amal, you can spend an hour with your mom.” Abby, “Two very different things. The worst thing Amal would try to do was kill me.” Shay, "Gotta hand it to her, David, Frieda is.... kind of a piece of work." David, “And she's still the grandmother of our child, so we really need to get going!"  Harel, “General Mendoza, Minister Perez and I will monitor the situation and notify you all if something new happens.” David looks at Abby, “Come on.” Abby rolls her eyes and mutter, “Fine." Shay, “Good luck!”

In the party room, the door opens, and David, Jack and Abby, dressed more casually for a party. Everyone in the group greets them. Jessie, "There they are!" She goes over and greets them both with hugs and kisses. Frieda stands up and greets Abby with a frigid, “So glad you could finally make it.” David, “We, uh, had something kind of last-minute to deal with.” Frieda, "Can I speak with Abby alone for a moment?" David glances nervously at Abby. Abby sighs with frustration, “Fine.”

Out in the hallway, Frieda says in hushed tones, “I can’t believe you’d be late to this.” Abby, “What? It's just a lunch so you, Rose, Jessie, and Helen can celebrate being grandmas. It was David's idea, I'd honestly rather not be here..” Frieda, “It’s not about the lunch or the celebration, it’s that you placed your work over your child.” Abby, dumbstruck, “Do you know what just happened an hour ago, Mom? Five bombs went off in Mizpah! Guess who has to deal with that! Moab has seen a huge surge of terrorist activity, and we don’t know what’s behind it, or what the end goals are!” Frieda, “Is that how it's going to be? You and David, off to save the world, running away every time there’s a crisis?” Abby, "You know, Mom, I'd prefer it if you just straight out said that you don't like him. And it’s not just me and David, Jack and Michelle are going to be there, too, and Rose, and Jessie, and Helen! If you came here to criticize me, why are you here?” Frieda, “I want to be in my grandchild’s life!” Abby, “Yeah, and it’s up to me whether or not that’s gonna happen. I’m going back out to the party.”

Abby steps back into the party room. She sees Thomasina has come in and is talking to David, concerned faces all around. Abby, “What’s up?” David looks over at her, “Uh, we have something else we kind of have to deal with…” Abby, “Something in Moab?” David, “Uh, no, something else.” Frieda enters behind Abby. Thomasina, “You should speak with her.” Frieda, “What’s going on?” David, “We um, have some unexpected guests that we have to go deal with.” Frieda gives Abby an “I told you so” look, but Abby ignores it. Jack turns to Michelle, “You stay here, open gifts. We’ll handle this quick.” Michelle, “Yeah, sure.” David gestures to Abby, “Come on.”

In a reception room downstairs, Princess Grace and Gus wait nervously, with a sign language interpreter beside them. David, Abby, Jack, and Thomasina enter. Jack signs, "What's up?” Grace hurriedly replies, and the sign language interpreter says, “We want to defect.” David, thinking carefully, “Okay, first of all, are you in any danger?” Grace signs hurriedly (through the interpreter), “Yes, I’m afraid my brother is going to kill my husband." David gives Abby a wary look. Grace goes on, “Wayne killed our father. I know he did.” Abby, “Wait, do you have proof?” David, “How did you even get here? If Wayne's trying to kill you why'd he let you into Gilboa?" Gus spells out a name, “I-G-G-Y.” The interpreter, confused, “Iggy?” David looks at Jack, “You said he stopped doing the illegal shit!” Jack, “In Gilboa. Big birth control black market in Ammon.” Gus, “There's also a security guy tied up in our closet at home.” David, “Seriously?” Gus, "Same way you got out of Ashdod that one time." David, kinda proud, “Oh, yeah.” Abby, “You need to call someone and tell them he’s there.” Grace, “Are we safe here? Can we stay?” David starts to answer, but Abby interrupts, “David, we need to talk privately!”

In a hallway, Abby hisses at David, "This is going to completely ruin the peace deal!" David, "Abby, we can't send them back. You know that.” Abby, “I know,I know, I know! But I still don’t want to completely fuck over the peace deal! I worked really hard on it!” David, "Any peace deal we had died with Warner. We should probably send Your mom and Helen home, we’re gonna be pretty busy this afternoon.” Abby, “No!” David, “What?” Abby catches herself, and shakes her head, “I-” she sighs, “You’re right, I just… I just wish this weren't happening today.” David, “We can open our gifts later, even after the baby arrives. I mean, most of it's going to charity, anyway, right? Hell, we can even have some interns do it." Abby, “It's not the gifts, its… Michelle doesn't get a ton of days off, I mean… days off when she's not asleep." David, "She understands that shit happens. She's been dealing with it longer than either of us have.” Abby, “Yeah, okay,” she pauses to think, “before we do anything, we need to give Grace the chance to contact her family and tell them. They really shouldn't learn this on the news. Then, Rose is going to have to make a statement, and we’ll put Jessie in charge of making them comfortable and… is there anything else?” David, “Mercy?” Abby, “What?” David, “Should we call Mercy Abbadon, have her come?” Abby, “If you think it’ll help.” David, “Okay, well, let's get going, then.”  

Up in the party room, Frieda sips a cup of tea while Michelle unwraps a gift. She has three small piles going: clothes, toys, and gear. Michelle pulls two onesies out of a box, one pink, one blue. Michelle, “Oh, I can't believe it. We dropped so many stories about staying gender neutral, but some people just refuse to take the hint.” Frieda, “Well, you're certainly doing a good job of keeping it under wraps. I don't even know if it's a girl or a boy.” Michelle smiles awkwardly, “Well, that, we’re keeping quiet, but, if you want to know, you're gonna have to ask Abby about it.” Frieda looks at her watch, “I wonder what's keeping them.” Michelle, defensively, “Something important.” Frieda looks at her curiously. Michelle, “David and Abby never miss family stuff unless it's important.” Rose, “The unpredictable schedule is just a part of royal life. If countries ran easily, then anybody could be king.” The door opens and David steps in. Jessie, “There he is!” Frieda, “Where’s Abby?” David, “I’m sorry, but, it looks like we’re gonna have to cut our little get-together short, uh, we have some more stuff to deal with.” Frieda, “Is it more from this morning?” David, “No, something else this time,” he looks at Rose and Jessie, “Mom, Rose, can I talk to you in private?” Helen, “Is it some kind of emergency? We’re just opening these gifts. Michelle and I might as well finish while I’m here.” David, “Yeah, you can stay, if you like. Frieda, if you want to stay, you're welcome.” Frieda, forcefully, “What is going on? I came here today to celebrate the impending arrival of my first grandchild, I deserve to know why I’m suddenly being asked to leave!” David, “Somewhat exasperated, “Princess Grace and her husband just defected from Ammon. Abby had a really great peace deal in place there, but this kind of throws a wrench in it.” Helen, “Are they all right?" David, “Yeah, they’re okay, but it’s a big old mess that Abby and I have to deal with right now." Frieda, “I thought Princess Grace was quite popular in Ammon, especially after her big wedding. I’m surprised she’d leave.” David, “Yeah, well, she did, so we’ve got a lot of work to do. Uh, Rose, obviously, you need to get a statement going, and Mom, you should get a guest room ready.” Rose stands up, “I’ll get on it,” she turns to Frieda, "Thank you so much for coming." Jessie stands up, "It was lovely seeing you again, even if we have to leave early.” David’s hone dings, and he takes it out of his pocket and looks at it, “SHAY: call from Laura.” Frieda, “I’ll stay here with Michelle and Ms. Pardis. I still would like to speak with Abby before leaving.” David looks up, “Huh? Oh… uh, that might be a while. Like not until this evening.” Frieda, "So be it.”

David goes into a room, where Shay and Jack wait for him with a video conference with Laura set up. David sits down, “Laura! I’ve been waiting to hear from you. Are you all right?" Laura, "The palace is secure and on lockdown, so I'm not in any immediate danger, but things are very, very fucked up here. Christian Wolves of Mizpah has claimed responsibility, and they're vowing more attacks. I’ve never asked before, but this is unprecedented, I need more security forces." David, "How many? We’ll have them sent out by the end of the day.” Laura, “John is already sending troops. I’ve asked Lawrence, but he’s said no. We’re working on Anthony, but he’s just going to follow Lawrence’s lead.” Jack, “Ask Michael, too. He’ll help,” he flips through some intelligence papers, “Financing. CWM needs finances to attack. Where are they getting money?” Laura, “We’ve cracked down on CWM supporters here, and since I signed the deal with Warner, he’s cut off finances there, as well.” Jack, “Warner’s dead.” Shay, “He hasn’t been dead that long. You really think the first thing Wayne’s gonna do as king is jump into the deep end of fucking around with other countries?” Jack, “Yes.” David sighs, “Yeah, that would make sense, especially with Grace showing up today,” he glances up at Laura, “Princess Grace just arrived here to defect, she says she and her husband are in danger. Can’t be a coincidence.” Laura, “This is all just what I'm afraid of.” David, “We’ll send whatever you need, and look at any intelligence you want looked at.” Laura, "This is going to get worse, and I don't know how to stop it!” David, “We will stop it! There’s a way to turn this around, and we’ll find it!”

Back in the party room, Frieda places a stuffed animal into the toy pile and turns to Michelle, "Where are these all going?” Michelle smiles, "Jack and I are trying to get a children’s research hospital built here in Shiloh. A place that families can go and not have to worry about medical expenses for their sick kids. I’m also setting up a clinic there, where low-income families can get regular checkups and free medical care.” Frieda, “Oh, that's a wonderful cause.” Helen, "I don't know much of this stuff is donate-able. Not many new parents know how to wash spit-up out of cashmere.” Michelle, “We’ll find some way to make good with it.” Frieda, "When are you planning on opening?” Michelle, “Jack is funding almost all of it, but we still need more major backers to get all the insurance covered and everything. Either way, we're hoping to get ground broken some time after my residency is completed. With any luck, it'll be the baby's first public event.” Frieda, “You must be proud.” Michelle, “Yeah, we really are.” Frieda goes on, “On another subject, perhaps it's a bit rude if I ask…” Michelle, "Asking what?” Frieda, “Are you at all planning on giving the baby any siblings in the future?” Michelle laughs, “Oh, yeah. We've talked about it. David says he wants a big family, but I don't think we're gonna have seven… really, it's up to Abby.” Frieda, “Are you not going to have any children?” Michelle, slightly flustered, “Oh, uh, well, you see, I- I could have kids, but there would be risks involved, because of my heart.” Frieda, “Oh. I thought a transplant meant you no longer had heart problems.” Michelle, “I don’t, and I could have kids if I wanted to, just, y’know, with careful supervision, but there are risks that I’d rather not take if I don't have to." Frieda, “Has Jack had any thoughts at all on being a father?" Michelle, “Oh, God, no, that's one big succession crisis waiting to happen,” she laughs, but stops when she sees Frieda looking at her sharply, "I mean… it'd just be really confusing, if one kid's a Shepherd and one’s a Benjamin. Royalty and families don't always mix very well.” Frieda, “But you're still having a family.” Michelle, “We want to be parents! And, we do kind of have to, for Gilboa and all.” Frieda, “Do you ever worry that your children are going to do to you what you did to your father?” Michelle, “That- that's very complicated, and, really, none of your business. The baby isn't even here, and already, David is a much better father, and... it's really none of your business!” Frieda, “It must be a concern, though. Princess Grace just defected, and King Warner adored her.” Helen, “Families are always very complicated, and royal families happen to have that all play out in the public eye.” Frieda, "I understand. As a grandmother, I have to worry.” Michelle struggles to hold back from saying something.

David and Jack head down a hallway. At the end of the hall, Mercy and the translator stand patiently looking in on a slightly open door. Inside, Grace tearfully tries to reason with her sisters, Bonnie and Rosaleigh, over a video conference. David speaks to Mercy, “How’s it going?" On the screen, Mackynzie Judd storms into the room. She looks furiously at Grace over the camera, and gives her one clear sign, “WHORE!” She reaches out and turns off the camera, causing the screen to go blank. Distraught, Grace sobs into Gus's shoulder. Softly, Mercy says to David and Jack, “Mackynzie is really the one who should be king, not Wayne. At least, if you're preserving Warner's legacy and way of ruling a nation. Wayne’s all about ego, Mackynzie's a true believer. Mackynzie doesn't fuck around, she's not petty like Wayne. Honestly, I'd be more afraid of a war with Mackynzie, but, that's just me." Gus looks over, and sees the three of them waiting in the doorway. He gently get's Grace's attention and points to them for her. David, “Uh, can we talk?” The translator translates. Grace sits up, smooths her hair, and wipes the tears from her face. Gus gestures for them to come in. David and Jack go and sit down across from them. David turns to Mercy, “She can read lips, right?” Mercy, "Yeah, just speak clearly and don't look away or cover your mouth." David looks back at Grace, "I need to talk to you about your brother. This morning, five bombs went off across Mizpah. Is Wayne supporting the Christian Wolves of Mizpah?" Grace signs and the translator translates, "I don't know. I don't attend his political meetings. But he would.” David, “What makes you believe he killed your father?” Grace, “I don’t have proof. Wayne wanted to be king. He was ready to be king. Dad was healthy.” David, “What makes you feel like you’re in danger?” Grace, "Wayne never liked Gus. If Wayne would kill our father, why would he spare Gus?!" She sobs into Gus's shoulder again. David awkwardly leans towards her and gently puts a hand on her arm. She looks up at him. David, "You're safe here. My mom has a guest room set up for you, and you can stay as long as you want.” Grace, "Thank you. We won't stay long. We’ll get jobs and find our own place as soon as we can.” Jack raises his hand to stop her, and then signs as he talks, “Not if Wayne is still trying to get you. It's much easier and much less expensive if you're here at the palace and not going anywhere.” Grace, "We don't want to live on charity.” David, "And you won’t, but for now it’s best if you stay here.” Jack, “I remember when we first got to Ashdod. Leaving was something we couldn't go back from. Scary. But I was with David. Not being terrorized by my dad. Good. One night, I was giving David a blow job-” David cuts him off, "Jack!" Grace blushes and giggles. Jack smirks, "Anyway, I was going down, and I heard my Dad on the TV. David Shepherd’s a traitor, he’s a liar, he’s evil, he’s gonna kill us all, blah blah blah. I realize, I don’t care. I don’t have to be scared of him any more. I’m free. Right now, you’re free. You don’t have to worry about your brother or your family, just yourself. You can do whatever you want. Okay?” Grace nods and smiles.

Tiredly, David and Jack go into the residence. Jessie, Rose, Helen, Frieda, Abby, and Michelle all wait for them. David, surprised to see them, “You’re all still here?” Jessie, “We still have some gifts we want you all to open.” David, “Oh, okay.” He and Jack sit down. David, “You holding up, Abby?” Abby, “Yeah, I’m fine.” Frieda, “We’re all glad you made the time.” David, “I’m sorry we kind of had to cancel. You never can tell when things are going to happen around here.” Frieda, “I certainly had a fine time with Michelle and Helen. Your hospital is going to be very well-stocked.” Jessie pushes a gift toward Abby, “I know you’ve got to be tired. Abby, “I am tired. Thank you, Jessie.” She tears the wrapping paper off, and opens the box. She pulls out a pair of Birkenstocks. Jessie, “One thing every mom needs is a pair of comfortable shoes!” She kicks her feet out to show off the pair she’s wearing, “This pair is even older than David, and I still wear ‘em when I’m doing palace tours!” Abby laughs, “See, this is the kind of gift I could actually use, not a power wheels baby tank.” David, “Did we get one of those?” Michelle, “Yes.” Jack, “Who the hell would send David a tank? They should know it’s gonna get blown up.” David, “How is a kid’s charity even going to use that?” Michelle, “It can get auctioned off as a fundraiser.” Abby turns to Helen, “What did you bring?” Helen hands her a gift. Abby unwraps it and reveals a delicate hand-knit baby shawl. Abby gasps, “Oh, it’s so beautiful!” Helen beams, “I took up knitting when I was in the hospital. I spent a lot of time knitting hats for Jack.” Jack, “I still have them!” David, “We’ll bring the baby home in this, and take its first official picture!” Helen, “Thank you.” Abby examines the shawl, “No, thank you! This is gorgeous!” Jack turns to Rose, “Okay, Mom, what did you get us?” Rose hands him her present, “It seems a little silly, now…” Jack unwraps the gift, “Oh my god, Michelle, look!” He hands her the gift, a book. On the cover is an adorable baby picture of the two of them, dressed up for Christmas. Rose, "It's all of your Christmas portraits through the years. Jessie laughs with delight, “Oh, let me see!” Michelle passes her the book. She shows David one of the pictures, "Look at those chubby cheeks!" David pinches Jack's cheek, "Still pretty cute.” Rose, “It started as something to send to Silas on the front to cheer him up. Jack and Michelle were so popular as the little prince and princess, I kept it going. It turned into our little tradition. It’s one I hope you're going to continue.” Jack, “Of course!” Jessie, “We need some baby pictures of Abby! Something to compare to if the baby looks like her!” Frieda, “I don’t have very many. Frank was fighting, too, and I didn’t have time for sentimental things like that.” Jessie, “You must have at least one.” Frieda, “I’ll have to look.” She places her gift on the table, “Here’s my gift.” The box is rather small. Abby takes the box and opens it. She pulls out a string of yellow amber beads. Everyone looks curiously at it. Frieda, “It’s a teething necklace made of amber. When it’s against the baby’s skin, it heats up and the minerals in it release. It relieves pain and inflammation and reduces drooling.” Michelle knows this is all bullshit pseudo science, but she holds herself back from saying something. David, carefully, he also knows this is bullshit, “Oh, yeah, I think I’ve heard of those. Thanks.” Rose, “Baby’s first jewelry, always important.” Helen looks at her watch, “It’s pretty late. We should all probably be getting ready for bed.” Abby, “Thank you so much for the shawl, it’s really so beautiful.” Frieda straightens her back, seeing that her gift wasn’t nearly as well-received as the others, "I'll call a ride-share." David, "We can send you home with a driver.” Frieda, “No, thank you, I’m not that fancy.” David, “You sure?” Frieda, “I prefer providing for myself. However, Abby, would you mind seeing your dear mother out?” Abby, “Sure.”

Abby and Frieda walk down a hallway, out toward the darkened palace lobby. Abby, awkwardly, “Thanks for coming, Mom. I know you want to be a grandmother, and it gets a lot more complicated when your grandchild is the next ruler of Gilboa.” Frieda, “Im glad you’re allowing me in.” They reach the end of the hallway, and stop walking. Abby, “Can you do me just one favor, and at least make an effort to like David? I know you blame him for Dad, but you have to understand, Dad made a choice-” Frieda cuts him off, “This isn’t about your father.” Abby, “David has saved my life, and not just with the Amalekites!” Frieda, “Abby, it’s not David that I have a problem with! It’s that you’re bringing a child into David’s mess!” Abby, “Just say you don’t like David.” Frieda, “He didn’t like my gift.” Abby, “Yeah, I’ve heard of these amber necklaces, they’re a bunch of pseudo-science bullshit and a huge choking risk! Michelle has pulled amber beads out of children’s throats!” Frieda rolls her eyes, “Being a princess wasn't enough for her, she had to be a doctor, as well. Why are you the one carrying the baby, when Michelle could have a child that’s a Shepherd and Benjamin heir?” Abby, “Michelle has risks that I don’t!” Frieda, “I don’t fully believe that. Her heart didn’t have any risks when she was running around on a battlefield.” Abby, “Pregnancy is something completely different!” Frieda, sarcastically, “And I’m sure the Benjamin legacy has nothing to do with that.” Abby, “What, do you want me to say that we’re afraid of passing Silas’s crazy onto our child? There’s a very real genetic heart condition that we’re all afraid of, and we’re just not gonna take any chances with it!” Frieda, “I want to be in this child’s life.” Abby, “If you want to be in the baby’s life, then you need to respect me and David and Jack and Michelle as parents!” Frieda, “Who is going to raise the child when some coup comes along and you all get killed?” Abby looks at her, shaking her head in dismay, “Helen. She’s the godmother. That’s how being a godparent works. And David’s not going to be overthrown.” Frieda, “Royal families aren’t happy families.” Abby, “Yeah, well, it’s not like you and dad knew shit about having a happy family, either, did you? Go get in your ride. If you come back, it’ll be on my invitation.”  She walks away, and Frieda watches her. She looks on angrily for a moment, and then straightens her back. She heads towards the door and steps out. Outside, it’s raining heavily. Frieda sees the headlights of a car shining in the rain. In vain, she covers her head with her purse and hurries out as fast as she can on her high heels. The car door opens. Frieda yells at the driver, “Who are you here for?” Driver, “Frieda?” Frieda gets in. Driver, “Big meeting with the king?” Frieda, burying her fury, “124 Pineway Court.” Driver, “Yes ma’am.” Frieda fastens her seatbelt and looks up at the palace. Light still shines in the windows of the upper floors. The car pulls away.

[sunflowerseedsandscience]

Au Cafe Pequod, Chapter Four

Previous Chapters: One | Two | Three

ORADOUR-SUR-GLANE, HAUTE-VIENNE, FRANCE EARLY JANUARY 1944

The evening of Sunday, January second, finds Mulder making his way through snow-covered back and side streets, taking the longest, most deserted route possible to Marguerite Scully's house. Thanks to his encounter with Oberst Spender a week ago, he had been forced to decline her original invitation for the Sunday after Christmas, but she was kind enough to extend it a second time.

This time, however, Scully is not escorting Mulder to her mother's house herself. At Mulder's strong suggestion, Scully left the cafe in the morning of New Year's Day to spend the weekend with her mother, after taking care of everything that would need doing to open the cafe on Monday. She will stay the night at her mother's, rather than walking home with Mulder, and head back to Cafe Pequod after helping Mrs. Scully with the morning chores on the farm. Mulder has relayed Hauptmann Skinner's warning to her, and though Scully has been, predictably, dismissive of any threat to herself, she knows risking being caught out after curfew again would be unwise. Mulder misses her company on the long, cold walk through town, but the idea of Oberst Spender coming after Scully terrifies him, and so he wraps his overcoat tighter around himself and plods on.

Mulder hasn't seen Scully since her left her at her door on New Year's Eve. He had badly wanted to risk one more quick kiss before he left, but it seemed madness to risk being caught by some drunken soldier making their way back to camp. Tonight, they'll be in the constant company of her mother, but Mulder's hoping hard that, at the end of the evening, Scully will at least see him to the door by herself. He wonders if she's spent as much of this interminable weekend thinking about their kiss as he has.

Mulder is also wondering about how their evenings in the cafe will progress after this. Will they still sit downstairs, in full view of the windows, as they have every night so far? Or will her upstairs parlor no longer be reserved for special occasions? The thought of spending every evening upstairs, alone with her, sitting next to her on her sofa, maybe dancing again, maybe doing a bit more than dancing.... The shiver that runs down his back has nothing to do with the cold.

It's clear enough to him that when it comes to kissing, Scully has had plenty of practice. She might blush whenever Mulder hints at his feelings for her, but she was not even the slightest bit shy in his arms on Friday night. He has no doubt that if he had not leaned down to kiss her as the clock had struck twelve, she would have taken matters into her own hands. She invited him up to her apartment to be alone with her with no hesitation at all, not the least bit concerned that Mulder might think her forward. She is bold and confident, no shrinking violet, and while Mulder knows exactly what his mother would think (and what her mother would probably think, as well), in his eyes, it's just one more thing for him to love about her.

Physically, she is self-assured and unafraid.

Emotionally... Mulder gets the feeling that the territory in which they find themselves is as unfamiliar to her as it is to him.

Mulder feels his gait quickening as Mrs. Scully's farm comes into view. Lights blaze warmly in the downstairs windows, and he can see shadows moving back and forth behind the curtains. Lots of shadows. He frowns. Did Scully mention that anyone else would be eating with them this evening? He crosses the yard and knocks smartly on the front door. He recognizes Scully's quick, crisp steps on the wooden floor inside, and the door opens.

"Mulder!" Scully exclaims, her face alight. She glances over her shoulder to be sure the front hall is empty; then, too quickly for him to respond, she stretches up on tip-toe to give him a peck on the lips. He grins.

"Good to see you, too, Scully," he says.

"Please, come in." She shuts the door behind him and takes his coat. He turns to go down the hall to the dining room, but she lays a hand on his arm, stopping him. "We've got some extra company tonight," she says. "One of my mother's hired hands is here with his wife and his two daughters. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, of course not."

"We've told them who you are, but...." She chews her lip nervously. "The girls may be a bit uneasy around you. The uniform, you know?" He hangs his head.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I wish I had something else to change into. Are you sure it's all right for me to be here? I can come back next week-"

"No, no!" says Scully adamantly. "They'll warm up to you, I'm sure."

"I don't want to make this meal unpleasant for them, Scully," he says. Mrs. Scully has been very welcoming towards him, it's true, but Mulder is well aware that to a French child, there is little these days more frightening than a Nazi uniform.

"It will be fine," says Scully, taking his arm firmly and leading him to the dining room. The reception Mulder receives when they get there, however, makes him think it will be anything but.

Sitting at the head of the table, Mrs. Scully beams when she sees Fox, but hers is the only smiling face in the room. The four others, adults and children alike, look horrified, and the youngest, a girl of perhaps seven, actually gets up to hide behind her mother. The farm hand and his wife are in their thirties. All four have dark hair, and when Mulder looks at the older daughter, who is maybe twelve or thirteen, his heart almost stops. With her dark pigtails, serious face, and wide blue eyes, she is so much like Samantha that for a moment he can hardly breathe.

"Fox, I'm so pleased you could make it tonight," says Mrs. Scully, standing and crossing the room to kiss him on the cheek. "This is Albert Marchand, his wife Sophie, and their daughters, Helene and Christine." She turns to the Marchand family. "This is Dana's friend, Fox Mulder."

"Who prefers to be called simply Mulder, regardless of what my mother says," interjects Scully. Mulder grins affectionately at her, then extends his hand to Mr. Marchand, trying to keep his smile as warm as possible.

"A pleasure to meet you," he says. Mr. Marchand raises his eyebrows at Mulder's perfect French, and stands, taking Mulder's hand and shaking it, his expression wary. He does not tell Mulder that he is glad to make his acquaintance, but Mulder does not expect him to. He nods at Mrs. Marchand, who is trying to settle her youngest daughter back into her chair, and smiles at the two little girls, who continue to stare at him as though, at any minute, he will bare his fangs and rush at them.

This is going to be a long evening.

Mrs. Scully does her best to keep the conversation flowing, as does her daughter, but the meal is full of awkward silences. Mr. and Mrs. Marchand speak only to Mrs. Scully, with an occasional word to Dana, and nothing at all to Mulder. Their daughters are completely mute, though both of them eat as though they never see food- which, Mulder reminds himself, may not be too far from the truth these days. Unlike Christmas Day, when Mulder wished the evening would never end, tonight, he is all too glad when the last slice of pie has been consumed. When Mrs. Scully suggests they all retire to the sitting room, Mulder begs off, saying he has to be on duty first thing in the morning. Scully looks disappointed, but she stands to walk him out all the same.

"I'm sorry," she says in a low voice, as he stands by the door, shrugging into his coat. "I didn't know ahead of time that Maman had asked them to eat with us. I feel terrible that that was so uncomfortable."

"It's not your fault, Scully," Mulder reassures her. "And it's not theirs, either. Your mother's willing to forgive what I am and where I come from, but that's only because she has it in her head that I rescued you from dire peril."

"You did," says Scully, smiling playfully.

"Please, Scully," he scoffs. "I might not have realized it then, but I know you well enough by now to know that if I hadn't been there, you would have taken care of the situation all by yourself. You didn't need me to save you."

"But you did anyway," she says. "Mulder, you're not like them. You never asked to be here, you didn't have a choice."

"Yes, I did," says Mulder. "I could have ignored my conscription notice. I could have chosen prison instead. I could have just left the country, but I didn't. I chose the path of least resistance."

"The path of least resistance would have been to just sit back and watch the show when that soldier was putting his hands all over me," says Scully, "but that's not what you did. You got up, you took a stand, and you tried to protect me." Scully takes her hands in his, brings them to her lips, kisses his fingertips. "There's more good in you than you know, Fox Mulder. I hope that one day you can see that." Mulder says nothing- his throat is so tight that he couldn't speak if he wanted to. Scully seems to understand. "Come on," she says, taking a shawl from a hook by the door and wrapping it around her slender shoulders. "I'll see you out."

The air outside is still frigid, but the wind has died down, and the sky is clear, the half moon bright in the sky. Halfway down the path to the front gate, Scully suddenly remembers something and reaches into her pocket.

"I nearly forgot," she says, drawing out a silver key. "Would you be able to do me a favor, Mulder?"

"Of course," he says. She presses the key into his hand. "What's this?"

"It's my mother's key to the cafe," she says. "There's a large bowl of bread dough in the refrigerator that will need to come to room temperature before I work with it tomorrow morning. Would you mind stopping in and moving it to the kitchen counter?"

"No problem," he says, taking the key and slipping it into his pocket. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"Yes," she says, and suddenly, she's grabbing his head and pulling it down to hers, pressing her entire body against him as she kisses him. He doesn't think, just reacts, grabbing her around the waist and nearly lifting her off of her feet as he kisses her back. It occurs to him suddenly that Mrs. Scully could easily be watching from her front window, and he tries to pull away, but Scully won't let him. The kiss goes on and on, until he's lightheaded, dizzy, and very aware that there is no way, pressed as tightly against him as she is, that she can mistake the evidence of what she is doing to him. He finally lets go and steps back, embarrassed, worried he's probably made her uncomfortable, but the look in her eyes is anything but shy. She bites her lip, glances down quickly, then meets his eye again, grinning.

She is going to be the death of him.

"You'll be all right walking home?" she says. For a moment, he's so distracted, her question barely registers. "Mulder?"

"Yeah," he manages to squeak, and her grin gets even wider. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"I'll see you tomorrow night?"

"Count on it," he says, and she lets him out of the gate. He waits until she is safely inside her mother's house, then turns, walking in such a way that will have anyone who sees him thinking he's had too much to drink. In a way, they would be right.

Mulder is drunk, beyond a doubt, but not on wine.

---------

The first week of 1944, for Mulder, is like living in a dream, like a week out of someone else's life. On Monday afternoon, when he tries to return Scully's extra key, she tells him to keep it, "for emergencies," though for the life of him, Mulder can't imagine what sort of emergency that would be. He, in turn, teases that if he's going to carry a key to the cafe, he ought to be expected to help out, and despite her very vocal protests, he disappears into the kitchen more than once to wash dishes whenever she starts to get behind.

When Scully locks the door and hangs up her apron that evening, Mulder holds his breath, waiting to see what she'll do. He's disappointed, for a moment, when she comes over to the table where he's sitting, but instead of taking a seat herself, she reaches over and picks up his empty coffee mug. "Come on," she says with an inviting little toss of her head, reaching out to him with her free hand, which he takes in his own. She leads him through the kitchen.

"It seems silly to keep sitting downstairs every night, when we could be more comfortable in my apartment, listening to music," she says, setting his coffee mug on the counter and leading him upstairs. "Besides, if Hauptmann Skinner is right, isn't it better for us to be up here, where your comrades won't see us?"

Mulder is certainly not going to argue with that logic.

Each evening, she makes them coffee in the smaller kitchen upstairs, and they drink it sitting on her sofa. They still talk every night, getting to know one another better and better. Scully plays her radio, when the station with the good music is on the air, and sometimes they dance.

Sometimes they just stay on the couch... but not talking.

The only dark spot in the entire week happens in camp on Wednesday, where, Mulder is grateful, Scully doesn't have to see it.

He is returning to his tent following the morning roll call when he becomes aware of footsteps immediately behind him, speeding up. The moment an arm is thrown about his shoulders in what's clearly supposed to be a chummy gesture, Mulder knows exactly who it is.

Jeffrey Spender has been a fixture in Mulder's life for nearly as long as his cigarette fiend of a father. He is Mulder's junior by several years, nearly the same age as Samantha, with whom he had been hopelessly infatuated. He was always an insecure, petulant child, and he has grown into an insecure, petulant man. He and Mulder were thrown together frequently as children whenever Spender Senior came to visit Mulder's father, the two men making the all-too-common assumption that their fathers being friends ought to be enough to make playmates of two boys who otherwise had nothing at all in common.

Jeffrey Spender was annoying enough as a child, but since he arrived in Mulder's unit a year ago to be his father's aide-de-camp, he has been insufferable. Spender wears his newfound authority with all the bluster and brashness of a picked-on schoolboy who has suddenly received his first taste of power. Mulder generally does everything possible to avoid him. His bravado, his compulsive need to show off and flaunt his position to the other men, grates on Mulder's nerves, and since Spender outranks him, it seems prudent to avoid any situation where he might be tempted to allow his mouth to run away from him.

Now, however, there's nowhere to go, and Mulder has no choice but to continue on his way with Spender's arm around his shoulders, several of his cronies loping along on either of Mulder's sides.

"Good morning, Spender," says Mulder, struggling to keep his tone amiable. It's easier to have Spender continue to think of him as a friend than it would be for the fledgling bully to count him as an enemy. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing, Fox, nothing," says Spender, and his friends snicker at the use of Mulder's given name. "I just haven't seen you around, is all. Your pretty little redhead seems to be keeping you awfully busy." Mulder swallows hard, but says nothing. "I've heard you've developed quite a taste for her... coffee." The others guffaw, but still, Mulder stays silent. "Do you think she'd share some with me, Fox? I've always been fond of a good, strong coffee." Mulder bites the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood. Go on and try, you rat bastard, he thinks to himself. Scully would have you on your knees in thirty seconds flat, begging her not to make your head part company with your shoulders. He does not say this out loud, though; a man like Spender is likely to see a strong woman as a challenge, a wild horse whose spirit needs breaking.

"You know, Spender," says Mulder, taking a completely different tack and changing the subject, "I was thinking, the other day, of that time our families went to Vienna together. Do you remember?" Spender stops laughing. "And then we went skiing in the Austrian Alps." Yes, Spender remembers, Mulder knows he does, because Spender had been too frightened to ski down a steep trail on his own. His father had forced him, and Spender had been so terrified that he had wet himself, right in front of Samantha, and his father had bullied him over it for the rest of the trip. "That was a great holiday, wasn't it? It's too bad our unit wasn't assigned there, instead of in France. Much more to do and see, am I right?" It's a threat, and Spender knows it. You may have these men thinking you're a tough, seasoned soldier, the threat says, but I know who you are and where you come from. Mess with me, and everyone else will know, as well. Mulder can see from the set of Spender's jaw that he gets exactly what Mulder isn't saying. "Good to see you, Jeffrey," says Mulder, clapping Spender on the shoulder. "I need to get myself some breakfast before my duties." And he's off, striding quickly away from Spender and his friends.

That night, he tells Scully about Spender, describing the weasel-faced man as best he can, in case he takes it into his head to visit the cafe when Mulder's not there. But the threat seems to work, and for now, Spender stays away.

---------

On Friday, Mulder plays cards with some of the men, and manages to win himself a very nice bottle of wine. He brings it with him to the cafe as a gift for Scully, and she sets it aside in the kitchen, to be enjoyed later. He sits at his table, watching the pleasing sway of her hips as she bustles from one table to the next, listening to her make conversation with local customers and offer short, single-word answers to the German soldiers. He still has not figured out why she so determinedly pretends not to speak German, but he hasn't asked her about it. Perhaps tonight.

Several more townspeople come in to order pies. The demand for them has clearly not fallen off following Christmas. This evening one order, in particular, stands out in Mulder's mind. The man who places the order seems to be nervous- they all do, perhaps because the cafe is so full of German soldiers- but that's not what catches Mulder's attention. He orders a cherry pie, which he tells Scully he'll need on January tenth, and when she asks how many people the pie will need to feed, he tells her just one. Mulder shakes his head, smiling. Scully's pies are amazing, he'll admit, and he's no slouch in the appetite department himself, but even he would find it a challenge to eat an entire pie in one sitting. He amuses himself with the mental picture of a great, fat Frenchman, sitting alone at his table, his napkin tied around his neck, with a massive cherry pie before him.

After closing, Scully leads them upstairs and pours them each a generous measure of Mulder's wine. She sits down on the sofa and pats the space right next to her, smiling invitingly up at him. He doesn't hesitate to sit by her, sliding his arm over the back of the sofa behind her shoulders, touching her as natural now as breathing. They make their way through half the bottle of wine over the next hour.

"I need to be at my mother's unusually early tomorrow," she says after awhile, putting their empty wine glass on the end table and sighing regretfully, "so as much as I don't want to, I'll have to throw you out a bit early tonight." Mulder groans and leans his head back. "I know," she says soothingly, leaning against him, her breath warm on his neck. She nuzzles at him, and he shudders involuntarily. She draws back and looks at him. "But listen," she says, "Maman told me one of her farm hands is taking care of the milking for her this Sunday, and I'm not planning on going to Mass, so tomorrow night, I was thinking you could stay a bit later than normal." He studies her face, wondering if she could possibly be asking what he thinks she is.

"How late?" he asks, hardly daring to hope. She shrugs nonchalantly, but her eyes are sparkling with mischief.

"As late as you'd like," she says. He stares at her, swallowing hard. She reaches up to stroke his cheek, and leans in, kissing him sweetly. He wraps his arms around her, all but pulling her into his lap, losing himself in the feel of her, the sweet scent of her. His lips leave hers and kiss a slow trail across her cheek and down her neck, and he feels her inhale sharply as he finds the sweet spot behind her ear. He feels one of her hands leaving his neck, reaching back for his own hand, drawing it away from her back and bringing it between them. He assumes she's telling him that that's it, it's time for him to go home, and he reluctantly releases the earlobe he's gently holding between his teeth... but then she turns his hand over in her own and places it gently, but purposefully, on her breast, and he's touching her-

Oh God, he's touching her.

He's so shocked he nearly draws his hand away, but she holds it in place firmly until she's sure he won't move, and only then does she put her arm back around him.

"Scully," he gasps against her neck, "you're not going to make me leave just yet, are you?" She laughs against his shoulder.

"I wouldn't be that cruel," she says, scratching her fingernails against the back of his neck. "You can stay a little longer, I suppose."

-----------

Scully lets Mulder out of the cafe an hour earlier than she normally would, but decidedly later than she'd planned. Half way back to the camp, however, he realizes he's forgotten his uniform hat. He remembers removing it in the kitchen while helping her with the dishes, and if he didn't have morning roll call tomorrow he would just leave it and get it later, but he'll be disciplined for forgetting it if he shows up to muster without it, so he turns back. He doesn't want to wake Scully if she has to be up earlier than usual, but he has her extra key in his pocket, and he reasons that he ought to be able to let himself in, retrieve his hat, and lock the front door again without disturbing her.

The cafe is dark and silent when Mulder slips in and heads straight for the kitchen. He tries not to think too much about Scully lying in bed above him, in her bedroom that he's never seen but that he thinks, just maybe, he might be invited into tomorrow night. His hat is lying on the counter where he left it, and he positions it on his head and turns to go.

THUD.

A noise, as though something heavy has hit the floor directly above him, makes him jump. Could someone have broken in since he left? Is Scully all right? His hand twitches to his side, looking for his pistol, when he remembers that, like an idiot, he left his sidearm locked in his footlocker, in his tent, over two miles away. He glances around the kitchen and his eyes land on the block of knives. He grabs the largest, sharpest-looking cleaver, and quietly makes his way up the stairs to Scully's apartment. The door at the top is standing slightly open, light shining through, and he opens it wider.

Scully is crouching by the sofa in the parlor, facing away from him, clearly all right and not lying on the wooden floor unconscious as he'd feared. Mulder releases a breath and lowers the knife, feeling like a paranoid idiot... but then, Scully stands and moves to the side, and Mulder feels his stomach dropping out beneath him.

There is a man lying on Scully's sofa. Boots off, jacket unbuttoned, looking quite at home... in the exact spot where, not long before, Mulder sat. And Scully's hand is caressing the man's cheek.

Next Chapter >

[night-unfurls-its-splendour]

Ok. I've slept ten hours, had some pork chops and I'm ready to talk about the Miss Temple thing

Yeah. I was right. At the end of the day, it matters very little that they included Miss Temple. In fact, it might even have done more to damage the adaptation.

I mentioned in one of my liveblog posts that its a good thing they didn't put a lot of emphasis on Jane's passionate nature in this version, because Charlotte Gainsboroug just couldn't have carried that angle.

The very fact that they didn't go for the passionate angle (which the 2006 and 2011 versions did go for--ironically) is perhaps the very reason Miss Temple didn't need to be in this movie.

Helen Burns' and Miss Temple's shared role in the novel is to be a mentor and role-model for young Jane. They show you the bridge Between the headstrong, defiant child in the beginning of the novel and the more measured woman Jane grows up to be.

Helen is older than Jane by two or three years in the book, and Jane is shy to approach her, and wary of being an annoyance to her (in fact Helen does at least once ask Jane for some space). Her role is an older sister, she teaches Jane how to endure hypocrisy with temperance and patience.

Miss Temple is more of a mentor figure, but her role is also a bit motherly. Book!Miss Temple is not just a kind teacher, she's the headmistress of the school. Mr Brocklehurst, the administrator, only intermittently visits the school and on these occasions we see him butt heads with Miss Temple and how she runs the establishment from day to day. We also see her fighting for reason in whatever way she can--she, for example, doesn't allow the girls to go hungry without satisfying sustenance when the food is burnt and inedible; she orders bread and cheese to be provided and pays for this from her own wages. In examples such as this she teaches Jane that acting with patience does not mean you shouldn't act at all, and how to deal with opposition in a responsible, mature way that is also helpful and productive.

96!Miss Temple, while kind, is rather hamstrung by the script, so her kindness, while felt, is a bit impotent in imparting any character-building lessons. She is only shown saying something in those situations where she can do little about it. We are shown her trying to defend poor Helen's lovely hair, when all she can do is console her later, while her useful interventions (such as the porridge incident) are cut out. She's also not in any signigicant position of authority in the school, and even seems to be subordinate to the Harridan Miss Scatcherd.

And with all of that Young Jane isn't even shown to be very passionate or short tempered or in need of instruction. She's defiant in Helen's defence, yeah, but other than that--we never see her fight back to John Reed at Gateshead, we don't get Wise Helen's sermons on forgiveness. Jane is pretty much go-with-the-flow in this version. I'm not saying that Miss Temple's presence in this version isn't nice, i just think it wouldn't be missed the way it is in versions like the 2011 Cary Fukunaga film.

Given that Miss Temple doesn't have much to contribute for the narrative in this version, it seems a great shame to me that they allocated SO MUCH time to the Lowood saga while reducing St. John Rivers' role to, well, a 5 minute block and the end of the movie which, again, doesn't seem to serve much purpose in Jane's story. Jane doesn't even hear Mr. Rochester call out to her across space time she just sort of... decides "welp, guess I'm gonna go back to Mr. R now that I'm all better. Say, why did I run away again? I should remember it just happened 5 minutes ago..."

And her refusal of St. John (who, btw, is kinda just pleasant and goofy in this version. Not an uncomfortably intense, obsessive clergyman-- and that's a great shame because it's Samuel West and he's SO GOOD at uncomfortably intense! It's his bread and butter really) is one of the most risibly flaccid scenes i think I've ever seen in a period drama.

St. John: Jane will you marry me?

Jane: No, St. John. Sorry.

St. John: *🙁* oh. Okay. *mope out, stage right*

Who is it on the production team that just didn't get the point of this story and the purpose of its characters?

Okay I'm watching Jane Eyre 1996 for only the second time ever.

already I'm overflowing with appreciation for the fact that they actually, you know INCLUDE MISS TEMPLE (It's Amaanda Root!). I'm just saddened that I don't think her inclusion actually makes an impression on you later in the movie (but I'll sound off on that when I get there)

Geraldine Chapman is maybe the definitive Scatcherd? My only issue is that no adaptations (other than that all-sainted mini series from the 80's) actually convey that Miss Temple is the HEADMISTRESS of the school. She has a much more influential position than most versions lead you to believe. And even though there's a pronounced emphasis on Lowood and Brocklehurts's presence at the school in this version, they never see fit to include the extent of the hypocrisy bomb when his wife and daughters show up in all their finery. Like why include him going off about Helen's hair if you aren't going to round it off. it just feels sort of incomplete to me.

[renaroo]

Wednesday Roundup

Wednesday’s come and gone, and I’ve (finally!) finished writing up my first Roundup of my new semester of vet school! Though I must warn that as the semester goes on, I’ll probably have more and more difficulty getting these out on/around Wednesdays since I’ve gotten my surgery schedule for the next five months and low and behold, I’ve been assigned Wednesday duties lol

But how did my first Wednesday of the semester go? Well, it was definitely DC strong!

DC’s Detective Comics (2016- ) #948, DC’s Gotham Academy: Second Semester (2016- ) #5, DC’s Superwoman (2016- ) #6, DC’s Wonder Woman (2016- ) #14

DC’s Detective Comics (2016- ) #948 James Tynion IV, Marguerite Bennett, Steve Epting

As incredibly disappointed as I am to have Cassandra’s story pushed back again in ‘Tec, I really must applaud the marketing choice to utilize a short storyline in ‘Tec as the starting point to amplify the upcoming Batwoman book -- a strategy used in 2000 with a few Gotham books including Batman: Gotham Knights to promote Cassandra’s original Batgirl (2000-2006) book in the months leading up to its own launch. And as a fan of Batwoman who has been very disappointed in her lack of solo titles in the last few years, especially as both a Jewish superhero and a LGBT superhero, I’m happy to see her getting the spotlight. 

But goddamn, Tynion and the team better deliver on that upcoming Cass story. I have been waiting for a year now for Cass to get her dues. 

Anyway for the issue itself, it’s.... I’m torn, because I adore the original origins for Batwoman as written by Greg Rucka so much -- I have them in hardback copy on my bookshelf as we speak. And her identity as a queer woman was such an instrumental part of that story, as well as her familial relationships. And seeing that get twisted and ... turned, I don’t know what else to call it -- a perversion of that original relationship with her and Jacob to further retcon him to the Worst Ever and having her whole origin be a manipulation just... sits bad with me. 

But at least we’re getting back to establishing what from her previous solo is still considered continuity. So yay that.

The art’s... okay. I think it’s good but the coloring choices are dull and you know me and my pickiness with color. The only real criticism I have is that Kate’s cape seems to conveniently evaporate from the shoulders down whenever the art wants to emphasize her figures. Convenient. Especially since Bruce has no such problem. 

DC’s Gotham Academy (2016- ) #5 Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, Adam Archer, Sandra Hope, Msassyk, Serge Lapointe

It’s hard to really talk too much about an arc in the midst of its storyline, but I will say that I am very very glad that at the very least, it feels like Gotham Academy has rediscovered its focus and, in that way, is showing its potential and strengths again. The story and characters were so gripping in the initial incarnation of this series that it’s been difficult to deal with its more recent meandering. 

Fortunately, the focus on the kids again proves to be as powerful as ever, and the difficulties that Olive is experiencing being pulled by her loyalties in different directions feels very natural -- her trust has repeatedly been shown as hard earned and, as such, is difficult for her to go against once gained.

I also think I may be in love with Pomeline’s mom. Me thinks someone on the staff has also been a fan of Daria in the past because there’s some real channeling of Helen Morgendorffer in this issue.

I also love how Gotham Academy is able to give us the “lay person’s” perspective on Bruce Wayne that I have always suspected existed -- this wavering between corporate shill and Magical Money Plot Fairy. 

One thing that’s getting hard to ignore, though, is the quality of the art. It’s not terrible, but even the original volume had difficulties with digital translation -- something about the resolution of the lineart has always been off and it’s making the new penciller’s work suffer even more than the old volume experienced, unfortuantely.. Maybe the digital pen they’re using is too soft? Or too hard? It’s hard to tell off the cuff for me. 

Basically every image looks like it was saved in an unfortunate .jpeg conversion. 

DC’s Superwoman (2016- ) #6 Phil Jimenez, Matt Santorelli, Jack Herbert, Hi-Fi

While I’m still very much in the camp of enjoying Superwoman, I feel like the inevitable return of Lois Lane!Prime is being drug out far too long, and I’m beginning to worry my confidence that she’s actually returning might have been slightly misplaced now that I’m catching up in other Superbooks as well. Still, I want to give this story its conclusion before I draw any lines definitively in the sand. 

The art is still wonderful and as a 90s/2000s Superfan, it’s hard for me not to get wrapped up in my elation at seeing so many familiar faces returning and being treated with prominence. But I am getting more concerned about the treatment of disabilities -- the DCU as a whole has sort of lost any acceptable leeway in delivering stories about people overcoming physical disabilities with the refusal to better address the Barbara Gordon situation, and making Lena Luthor’s turn to evil about her own overcoming of paraplegia leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 

I’m also beginning to feel a little... uneasy with how Lana’s PTSD and anxiety disorder are being treated at the moment. I’m really hoping Jimenez will course correct by the end. I still really like this book and think it’s good, but these problems are keeping it from genuine greatness. 

DC’s Wonder Woman (2016- ) #14 Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott, Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Without question, Wonder Woman: Year One is going to go down as one of the greatest Wonder Woman stories ever told, and while everyone possible has called that from the beginning, that this team and this story could not have been beat, the fact that they were able to take Pérez’s origins for Wondy, the original origins from Marston, and still created something so new and so refreshing is a testament to the kind of comic book storytelling I have sorely missed.  

It was fantastic to see Ares back and familiar, but also to see that Wonder Woman’s patrons are going to play a more significant role than we once saw. I’ve enjoyed Rucka’s work with the gods in the past so it’ll be fascinating to see where he’s going with all of this now. 

We’re also finally, finally getting to the connection of Year One and Rucka’s other Wonder story going on presently and it’s a relief to finally truly feel a direction on that front. I’m still wary of the B plot, but for the first time I’m actually somewhat looking forward to it in two weeks. 

This week for me there’s really just no contest for what I think was my most enjoyable comic -- I adored every moment of Wonder Woman #14, and even with a competitive week, there’s just hard to imagine something topping this book when it’s at its best.

But of course that’s just my opinion! I’d love to hear from you all on what comics you’re reading, your thoughts, or your pick for favorite!

[dippedanddripped]

Esprit is a brand that many of us remember fondly from our childhoods for its bright athletic wear and multicolored lettering. But what you may not know is that, beyond its colorful and upbeat aesthetic, the Northern Californian brand was one of the first to use its voice to talk about issues greater than fashion.

While lots of fashion brands are now placing conscious messaging at the forefront of their campaigns, for Esprit, the decision to create consciously was never a marketing ploy – it was as much a part of the brand as its fabrics and threads. Doug Tompkins and Susie Russell founded Esprit in Calfornia in ‘68, a time that was arguably the heydey of the countercultural movement. From day one, they weaved those revolutionary values in the brand’s DNA by producing consciously, advocating for equality and inclusivity, and looking after its employees.

Long before sustainability and diversity crept to the top of every brand’s agenda, Esprit produced a line using organic cotton and non-died wool, advocated for AIDS awareness, and featured employees rather than models as the face of its campaigns. The latter, known as the “Real People” campaign, first launch in the ’80s and outwardly demonstrated their commitment to fostering inclusivity and diversity.

This philosophy of inclusion carries through to their marketing efforts. For this year’s Pride, the brand teamed up with New York illustration duo Craig & Karl on a colorful capsule drop, the profits of which helped provide 12.500 meals to homeless LGBTQ+ youth in New York. Similarly, to celebrate International Women’s Day, Esprit launched a limited-edition t-shirt and, for every piece sold, donated the full retail price to the UN Women National Committee of Germany.

Now, Esprit is revisiting its “Real People” era with the #throwback collection. The limited-edition collection brings back the bright and bold design aesthetic of the ’80s and sees iconic styles from Esprit’s archive reworked in a modern way. Seizing the opportunity to amplify the voices of those trying to make a change, they linked with three activists making waves in their creative fields and it’s for this reason that body positivity ambassador Baby Gyal Ally, dancer and activist Christian Yav, and HIM + HIS author Helene Selam Kleih find themselves dressed in pieces from the colorful #throwback collection in a studio in Berlin. While their journeys and the causes they advocate are different, they are unified through their desire to make a change and spread messages of self-love. We sat down with them to discuss identity, activism in fashion, and why the messages behind brands matter.

More than ever, clothing brands are being judged as much for their commitment to activism as they are for the actual garments. Why does the message behind brands matter for you personally?

Ally: I need to know what I am putting on my body isn’t harming people or the planet. I can’t be supporting a brand or anything that is only taking money and profit into consideration and not the sustainability of the world. It’s also highly important to me to not support brands who have made transphobic, fatphobic, homophobic or racist remarks or support anything of this nature. I understand people can change but grown adults should know better by now, or at least be ignorant in silence.

Yav: The message behind a brand is very important because, in the end, it’s a mirror of the customer that feels attracted to the brand. Often I do question brands’ motives. In this day and age, everybody talks about diversity and being inclusive but often it’s done not to be pointed out as ‘the one who’s discriminating’, rather than to try to create a more welcoming society. At the end of the day, brands have big platforms so their message has a big influence.

Kleih: I believe strongly that the personal remarks of designers of big fashion houses and the way designers are using other people’s work as ‘influences’, should inform the way we see the brand in its totality. I would not want to put money back into a company that has made racist remarks or has created clothing with even the slightest indication of what I deem as cultural appropriation. We have to be as wary as possible and do the most we can in order not to condone these acts.

What do you think fashion brands need to do to adapt to the modern sociopolitical climate?

Ally: They need to listen to the public, the current generations, and the political climate. Cater to how we want the world to move forward. Also, use their platforms to better things for our future and future generations, and not their own personal gain so no culture vulturing!!

Yav: I think fashion brands need to be more honest in their intentions and why they want to portray their brand in a certain way. Like that we all can work more productively and make bigger steps forward.

Fashion is so integral to our identity. How have you used clothing and fashion in general to shape your identity?

Ally: I feel like fashion has always been something that has shaped my personality and identity since I was a kid. I use it as a vessel to show how I’m feeling at that particular moment and where I am at in life. There are a thousand different versions of me, sometimes I dress like a steampunk kid from 2005, sometimes I’m doing up the simple life kind of trash outfit, sometimes it’s hoe but make it fashion and then there’s the roadman ally, fully tracksuit, puffer & tns going to the shop. Also paying homage to where I have got my inspiration from or to my culture or a certain culture I love and appreciate is very important to me as well.

Yav: I try to take it day by day. I was born in a male body but always gave my own definition to it and that’s no different from my style in clothing. I’ve always had a love and fascination for clothing, I’m inspired and driven to wear what I like. I do adapt my style to the circumstances that I’m in because unfortunately we still live in a society where we’re not all safe.

Kleih: I’ve used fashion to show that I’m still fun. It sounds ridiculous I know, but walking into boardrooms and speaking on mental health, people assume that you have to be dressed in a suit. But these discussions and our outfits don’t have to somber, they should reflect both our daily life and our personal styles. As much as we have to conform to certain environments and situations, you can’t compromise your style too much, it’s part of who you are and a uniqueness that should give you confidence and make you shine out of a bunch.

Ally, you do a lot of activist work for body positivity issues. Was there any particular moment or spark that inspired you to move into this path?

Ally: When someone recognized me from a music video where I’m in a bikini and tracksuit bottoms and told me she showed her little sister (who’s a bit bigger) and her little sister said she wanted to wear crop tops and whatever she felt like wearing. That really touched me, and all the feedback I get from both men and women for all my work I do now always really touches me. It’s important to me that girls in the future or hopefully even now can grow up seeing more than just European beauty standards and can love themselves just how they are.

Yav, you use dance to create dialogues about sociopolitical issues, specifically around racism and queerness. How does this medium help you take on these issues?

Yav: It’s a different way to communicate. Physical conversations, as I like to call it, have the possibility to trigger people on a different frequency. Theaters, for example, are still white-dominated spaces so the moment Black works gets shown in a space like that, the communication can have a different outcome than performing for a majority that can identify with you.

Kleih, what message do you want people to take away from your advocacy work?

Kleih: I want people to understand that I’m not just working to move the dialogue further for men and mental health and that HIM + HIS doesn’t invalidate the struggles of any other person either. It’s about recognizing that the language of mental health needs to change for everyone and the way we treat mental health issues needs to be more accepted. As much as HIM + HIS was born out of the personal struggles and tragedies of both my twin brother and male cousin, it was also so much to do with how the families and women of men are affected by heteronormative standards enforced socially. I’m just trying to facilitate a discussion that men are furthering themselves and I only hope HIM + HIS allows this while trying to cater to as many different people and experiences as possible. It’s hard but it’s just a learning curve for all of us and I can already see attitudes changing and people becoming more comfortable, first and foremost my brother and I!

Seeing all that’s happening in the world, it’s easy to feel hopeless. How do you fight back against that and find inspiration to keep going?

Ally: Don’t stay in your house by yourself too long. Take a fucking break. Surround yourself with like-minded, open, creative & amazing souls. Continuing creating always, realizing that mistakes or being turned down is not the end, but means your path is just taking another direction. And most of all take care of your mind, body & soul, you are the most important person in your life.

Yav: I keep hoping that the next generation learns from our flaws and feels inspired to do it differently. That’s why education is key. Safe spaces are key. I’d like to find like-minded people who are willing to open the discussion and learn from that.

Kleih: I always try to remember that all things will pass, that even within catastrophes and crises, there is still good that shines through. I’ve said it in HIM + HIS that there is clarity in the confusion, but only with community and acceptance. Within our world today, we definitely need to focus on care in the aftermath and prevention for the future. It’s hard not to ruminate on what we have lost as people and communities, but for me, that’s what brings us further into ourselves and into a hole, we’ll struggle to get out of. We need to remember our similarities before our differences and value how much each of us has to offer our neighbor or even a stranger. That’s how I motivate myself really, telling myself that nothing is ever that bad and that I’m still yet to meet the best version of myself.

In regards to your activism, what’s next for you?

Ally: I would really love to do a panel or start a panel on body image, highs and lows in the industry. I feel we have a lot covering mental health but body image is apart of your mental health as well. When you’re working mainly with sample size models and feel like a token, it’s hard to know whether these things are actually changing in this industry or they’re just using you to “cover all their bases.” I want to talk about bodies in the industry and how we are treated, how we treat ourselves and I would also love people on the other side to be a part of it, so casting directors, creative directors… What do they think and why have they chosen these girls or boys?

Yav: I hope at a certain point to be able to create a platform with partners with whom I can create a safe space for people’s stories to be heard. Change starts with listening and there are still loads of people who feel unheard and that needs to change! Every story has a tremendous amount of worth.

Kleih: We’ve got a really exciting year ahead with HIM + HIS. We’ll be continuing our monthly HIM + HIS: Here sessions, each event is a mini-exhibition and a party, focused on a theme. Its purpose is to encourage a dialogue on mental health through art and conversation about our minds and experiences in a chilled, fun way, without being forced.  The HIM + HIS community is growing by the day which is so wicked. Right now, we have a documentary in the works and a couple of events penciled in abroad. I’d love for there to be a physical community outside of London and the UK.

[galivantingg]

Behind Those Eyes

Chapter 5

We ended up drawing straws. We didn't even bother including Oracle; the little cheat. I got one of the teens, which was fine really, except Waya got the other and used a Command on me. You can't trust anyone these days. After the meeting I booked it. I wasn't scheduled for patrol tonight and I've got homework to do. Leaving the cave I made sure no one was around before shifting. The team doesn't know my civilian form and I wanted to keep it that way. Walking back to the orphanage I took the time to look around.

The leaves were turning a hundred different shades of red, orange and yellow. I breathed deeply, taking in the smell of the coffee shop mixing with the bakery beside it. There weren't many people walking around, but every block or so I'd spot dogs playing in the leaves and their owners smiling fondly at them.

Reaching my destination, I opened the door to chaos. There's no place like home. As soon as little Mason spotted me I knew I wasn't going to get a moment of peace for the next few hours.

"Neth, Neth!" he exclaimed, a large smile overtaking his face and his arms waving around in excitement.

"Hey there little monkey," I said, reaching down to pick him up. "Were you good today for Mommy?" Mason had been at the orphanage for three years and started calling Helen, the woman who runs this place, his mom. We all decided it'd be best not to tell him that she's not his biological mother. She has raised him.

He nodded enthusiastically and launched into the thrilling tale of his day. I nodded along and laughed at his re-telling of who stole all the juice boxes at school, and carried him into the mess hall. Everyone else was there with the exception of Jason and Emmett, who were already asleep, and Helen, who was still in the kitchen. I put Mason down in his seat before heading into the kitchen. Nell and Noah were moving around the kitchen gathering plates, cutlery and cups like a well oiled machine. I grabbed the plates and the place mats before heading out to the mess hall again.

Minutes later the table was set and Helen, Nell, Noah and I were dishing out the food for all the younger kids. The conversation was dominated by the little one; who saw who at recess, who ate where at lunch, etcetera. Most of the kids go to the same elementary school, Helen drives them every morning. Nell, Noah and I all go to the same high school. When they first started I would spend as much time as possible with them until the made their own friends. Most of us have different last names, but the other kids still knew we come from the orphanage.

After dinner I was delegated to homework duty. We all sat in the living room with notebooks and folders scattered across couches and coffee tables. The little ones loved complaining about how much homework they had, until they noticed the pile of textbooks Noah carried in for us three. We all settled, surrounded by the sounds of pencil on paper, slight shifting in seats, and explanations murmured softly. In these small moments of silence, surrounded by people who knew what I had been through better than anyone else, I could almost pretend I was normal.

No superhero identity, no hidden past life. Just kids who would stand by me simply because we understand each other, I lived for these moments, and I continued with my superhero life so these moments could stay.

. . .

When the weekend came, it was time to recruit the teenagers. I grabbed my suit, the last of my mother that I owned; and like any normal teenager, jumped out of my window. Okay, less jumped and more climbed out and hoisted myself up onto the roof. Gracefully, obviously. Who can't climb out a 4th floor window and pull themselves up to the roof any other way?

Even after all these years I still couldn't quite believe it when my mom's old clothes and her favourite blanket also morphed with my body. If that lightning could give me another superpower, who says it couldn't also bind my DNA with cloth? Totally reasonable. For a minute I just paused. The sun wasn't even a quarter of the way up. The bakery was already open, but the windows in the coffee shop were dark. A few people could be seen walking energetic dogs and stifling yawns.

There was a light breeze, reminding us that winter isn't far off. Nobody had seen me yet. It was one of those rare moments where I was in my suit but I was still invisible. I closed my eyes and leaned back, drinking in the smells of fresh pastries and the clean cold smell of the air. Sometime later I pulled myself to my feet and started jumping across roofs. I tried to stay high up and out of sight until I reached the first house. Silently dropping down into an alleyway I glanced around before walking up to the house. I knocked and took a step back, running through what I was going to say for the fourth time. The door swung open to reveal a short middle aged woman.

"Hello," she said cautiously, eyeing my suit. Despite being called Chameleon, I did not blend into the background. I smiled.

"Mrs. Wins, right?" I asked. She nodded. I'm guessing you know who I am, and probably why I'm here. Could I come in?" She still looked wary, but reluctantly opened the door for me to enter. I closed and locked the door behind myself while she went to get who I was here for. Three years of recruiting and I still stood awkwardly in the foyer not knowing where to go. I heard soft talking up the stairs, followed by two pairs of feet padding down the staircase. I followed Mrs. Wins and her daughter into the living room. Mr. Wins was sitting on one of the couches, staring at his hands folded on his lap.

At the sound of us entering he looked up and got to his feet. "Pleased to meet you, Chameleon." He said, firmly shaking my hand.

"Likewise, Mr. Wins," I smiled at him. "I'm sure you all would just like to cut to the chase; is it alright if we sit?" I sat on the couch opposite the Wins, while Jay sat in an armchair facing the two couches. "I would like to start off by saying thank you for letting me enter your home," I said. "I know how difficult it is for parents to let us recruit their teenager. I'd also like to say that we try very hard to not recruit teenagers, one of the rules I myself helped establish. It's unfair to put so much responsibility on them, even if they have the power to help.

That being said," I paused, looking at all of them in the eyes, "we believe Jay can rise to the occasion. We have been watching her for a little while and are very impressed." I leaned back, "Do you have any questions?"

Jay remained silent, still processing everything, but the Wins launched into parent mode. "How long is Jay expected to fight for you?" Mrs. Wins asked. Something in her tone unnerved me so I chose my words carefully.

"Should Jay decide to join, she will be given a year long contract to the date. If in a year she decides she doesn't want to stay with us, her contract won't be renewed."

"Contract?" Mr. Wins asked. "What are the details of this contract."

"Unrestricted health care for her and her family, insurance on your home and vehicles should they be damaged in an attack, and Jay will be paid $10,000 a month plus bonuses for certain assignments. We alternate first respondents and patrols, and you'd get a bonus for fighting when you weren't scheduled to." The bonuses were also my idea, if we were putting our lives on the line when we weren't on duty we deserved compensation.

At this Jay seemed to snap out of her shock. "$10,000? That seems like a lot per month."

"Others say the same when they find out but you have to understand that you are expected to walk into a potentially hostile situation with only your partner. The police are bound by laws that prevent them from just charging in but those laws don't apply to us." The three of them were silent for a while after that, fully realising the weight of the responsibility.

"You mentioned a partner," Jay started.

"There are currently two members that do not have partners, because they've been in the Agency for so long. Every new initiate gets sponsored by a senior member and they get partnered with someone who has a minimum of one year of experience." The first time we recruited we paired newbies up together; that lasted less than a month.

Jay nodded, her eyes going out of focus as if her mind was travelling a mile a minute. Mrs. Wins spoke up at this point. "Jay, I know you are almost an adult but this time I would like to have a say in this." Jay nodded and her mom continued. "What guarantee do we have that Jay will remain safe?"

"Mrs. Wins, I look after all the recruits. I make sure they know how things work, where things are, and that their sponsors are teaching them properly. I promise that if she is in mortal danger I will dissolve her contract." They all looked directly at me at hearing this.

"You can do that?" Jay asked.

"I would do anything to protect any initiate, and should you join you'll see why I can make such promises."

"When do we have to make our decision?" Mr. Wins asked.

"We will need your decision today, and I would like to stay here while you make your decision. If Jay agrees, I would be taking her with me to get her first look at the Agency. Initiation Day is next week, and we'd like to tell and show her as much as possible before then." The cave was a big place, and newbies usually got very overwhelmed on their first visit. That's why we start a week early.

"Could you wait in the kitchen while my parents and I talk?" Jay said.

"Of course, take as long as you need." I stood from the couch and headed through the doorway on the left to the kitchen to wait; the bottom of my cape snapping behind me. Was it practical having a cape? No. Did I make the decision when I was much younger and it was too late to change it? Yes. I changed the style of the cape to work better with my wings, something else I decided on when I was younger that is too late to change. At least I look cool. I pulled out my phone to text Waya, letting him know what was going on.

Me: At the Wins. They're deciding right now. What's the address for the Budan's?

Waya: 15 Poplar Road. Met's on his way back with Jacob. I'll have him wait for you before the crash course.

Me: Copy. Thanks Waya.

Thirty minutes later I was joined in the kitchen by the Wins. "Good news," Jay said smiling. "My parents think I'm old enough to become the equivalent of a soldier."