More XF thoughts

It's been a long time since I've had these, but the two long fics I'd recommended on Friday and a long stroll through the X-Files Novel Annex have brought back the memories.

X-Files has always had a rather dreamlike quality for me. I think it shows in the prose I use in the stories - more detached, darker, with longer sentences and different word choices than I use for other fandoms. This is probably why I used "once upon a time" - these almost have the force of the darker fairy tales.

The stories in the annex all lean towards Mulder/Scully romances. I can see why even as I vehemently deny it. There is a closeness to them that is closer than many romantic couples - it's the closeness that, in traditional male partnerships, breeds slash. You know they'd die for each other; you know that they are so close that any other relationship is doomed to failure. Even slashers know this, so they often make poor Scully a villain, a bitch, to be disposed of or just put her, forgotten, into the background. I've been guilty of the latter myself. The only other role she can play is helper, which is what I choose to do.

I don't think any of the relationships on XF are good for the long term - Mulder/Scully would end up fighting, their disparate world views suffering from too much closeness. Mulder/Krycek has too much darkness, too much blood and danger and violence. Mulder/Skinner or Scully/Skinner has all the problems of boss/subordinate, and the power dynamics of that. Mulder, especially, would have problems with it.

I hate to say it, but Scully/Skinner would work well. She's strongwilled enough to stand up to him, but she has this whole thing about older, more powerful men. Skinner seems to actually respect Scully, which he doesn't seem to do for Mulder. Then again, he cried for Mulder. Melt! So who knows?

I'm not sure I'll ever write it again, but if I do, it'll be about those once upon a time characters who will never live happily ever after.

Rally Again

Monday was the big rally. The one that got buses and cars and trains and planes from all over the country *and* parts of Canada to Washington DC on six days notice. Monday was the day our voices were heard in nation.

Today was something else again. Thousands of people again gathered, this time on Wall Street. They didn't fly in today, but they did crowd subways and buses. And it wasn't the wonderful cross section of Judaism and others. It was, however, a cross section of New York Orthodoxy, including groups that didn't go Monday. And yet, you could hear people comparing the crush in the subways and in the streets to how it felt on Monday, so you know they were there.

Monday's program consisted mainly of speeches, and many people could not hear and came late and wilted in the heat. Today's program was prayer, pure and simple. And everyone could hear because no one said anything else.

We arrived during the afternoon service. Thousands of people saying "amen" to the prayers at the same time. There were too many people, so there was only a rudimentary attempt to separate the men from the women, although they tried their best. It didn't matter. The service was said or repeated in unison - thousands of voices as one.

And then we said psalms. The reader read each line, and then the crowd repeated it - everyone had a book of psalms with them, as we'd been asked. It wasn't perfect unison, but it was close enough. We read through seven psalms in all, chosen carefully to reflect the prayers in our hearts. And then we said some more penitential prayers at the end, as if it were a fast day, or even Yom Kippur. It took about an hour, all told.

And then, quietly, we dispersed. Most went home, some went shopping, some went the few blocks to see Ground Zero - we just noticed that there was ... something missing.

We went to the Strand and bought books. :)

Edited :
The newspapers are reporting 50,000 people. I am *amazed*.