it occurs to me that our survival may depend upon our talking to one another

[swingatshadows]

Now that Cindy and Karen had wrapped up most of the work required to pull together the first issue of their publication, it was starting to dawn on Cindy how much work was still ahead of them to keep the whole project alive. As nice as it was to aspire to being fully independent, to be entirely the work of three smart women willing to ask the hard questions, the truth was that Cindy would have to work harder than ever to maintain a network. A group of people who could support the project in some way — whether with op-eds, finances, or even just the emotional support.

Arthur Stuart was one of the first people who came to Cindy's mind for building up that network. They shared the commonality of being writers, but in most other respects, their interests and passions were complementary. He socialized with circles that Cindy had no idea how to approach. And his writing style reflected that difference — more art and fluidity than Cindy could manage with her own words.

If nothing else, he was a person she could learn from, which was why she made sure to include him in the soft announcement of her periodical. And why she asked him if he'd be up for grabbing lunch.

"Thanks so much for meeting with me," Cindy grinned when she spotted him coming down the street, having waited outside the entrance of the best pho spot in town. With the days getting colder by the week, Cindy figured no one would say no to a warm bowl of noodles. "Pho still okay with you?"

Comments

[marthastewart]

"Absolutely," I agree, smiling. I haven't had the soup, and I keep pronouncing it wrong no matter how many times I remind myself it's a "fuh" sound. But I'd taken a quick look so as to know what I'd gotten myself into, and any sort of meaty noodle soup sounds just about perfect for this cool, damp weather we're having. "Thanks for inviting me."

I open the door for her, more out of a show of enthusiasm than any sort of chivalry, and hope she knows that.

"The project sounds intriguing," I add, as we go on in, the restaurant warm and inviting. "This town could use something with a little more ownership from within. But you should tell me about what you need, I guess."

[swingatshadows]

"Intriguing's one way to put it," Cindy chuckled, ducking her head slightly as they headed inside. The scent of broth immediately wafted out towards the entrance. Meaty, warm, with just a hint of spice. If Cindy hadn't been so careful to snack throughout the day, she was pretty sure her stomach would have growled with want alone. "I'm just glad for any assessment other than 'doomed to failure,' honestly."

She raked her fingers through her hair, seating herself at a table in the back. As far as restaurants went, this one was a bit of a hole in the wall. Outdated furniture, drab wallpaper.

But Cindy always found those places to be the best for food.

"I just felt like it would be nice to have a publication that wasn't, you know. As smoke and mirrors at the top as the government is. But I'm not really particular about what goes in the independent publication, I just — I guess I fell back into that small business desire to know everyone you work with."

[marthastewart]

I follow her to the table, thanking the server when she brings us menus, and look over the photos and options with only mild overwhelmedness. This may be a game of follow the leader, but everything sounds good, so it's not one I mind.

"Smoke and mirrors," I echo, with a small smirk. I liked her when we met at the gallery, and I like that sentiment, too. "I can agree with that. Where I came from, it was even more smoke and mirrors," I add, then make a face. "Maybe. Or no bother with mirrors, because you simply weren't allowed --" I put a hand out. "Strongly discouraged, sorry -- to write anything too dissenting of whatever they were doing."

I take a sip of water. "But that's made me spot it more keenly, I think, if anything. All the side-speak and walls of paperwork."

My eyes light up a little at the idea that maybe I'm wanted for something beyond my love of music. It's not that I don't want to be a music writer. I do. I think I could probably write more interesting pieces, too, in a bit like this. But -- "Would you be open to long-game sort of work?" I ask. "Investigative stuff that might take more than an issue or two. I've been itching to do something more like an expose since I got here, but, well."

"Smoke and mirrors." I hush my tone a little as the server comes back around.

[swingatshadows]

It was hard for Cindy to imagine a world or a corporation with more smoke and mirrors than Darrow had, but she supposed that there was always a way to get more of a superlative. Smokier, smokier, smokiest. But what Arthur shared about how much his hands were tied resonated with Cindy, reminding her of her time with S.H.I.E.L.D., where the goal of helping and protecting people sometimes seemed to come second to following protocol and sticking to the way things were done in the organization.

The sort of thing that made one wonder if that's how Hydra pulled ahead. When you were that predictable, it was easy to figure out where the blind spots were.

But that was a thought for another day, and Cindy smiled now, shaking her head slightly as the server came back. She put in her order for pho bò chín, because brisket was always the best, with extra bean sprouts. The server then turned, waiting for Arthur's order, before whisking towards the kitchen and yelling both orders out.

"Getting back to business, uh, I would totally be open to long-game sort of work. I actually think that's probably the kind of thing that will be absolutely critical in helping us build up a loyal user base," Cindy pointed out, her voice growing more excited. "People always write in with opinions on op-eds. Now imagine if you took that as input or direction for furthering your investigation. Readers would feel like they were a part of the expose themselves, at that point."

[marthastewart]

I order the same thing, "just the usual number of the sprouts, though," I half-joke; I can't precisely tell if the server's amused because she seems too busy to get a read on. Oh, well.

I brighten at her enthusiastic response, a grin creeping up on me. "Brilliant! I'd love to stretch my wings, a bit."

"Hmm," I ponder, nodding as I envision that. "A bit of a choose your own adventure sort of thing?" It's not the most conventional, granted, but none of this is. Often reporters are put in a position of directing the readers in what they should know. But it'd be fun, I think, to have feedback direct me a bit. Besides, I can see myself being the type to further an investigation in response to a dubious comment, too. "I think that could be more useful than just an editorial team on top of you," I consider out loud. "And depending on how we do this, we could have a fairly transparent social media presence so we can interact with our readers."

I chuckle. "Not that I know the first thing about how to set one of those up, mind you, so I'm getting in over my head here." Never mind that that's what I do. "I got in trouble a few months back, not keeping an eye on Chirpr or whatever it is."

[swingatshadows]

"Sort of. I mean, doesn't have to be as obvious as say, Goosebumps — er, if that exists where you're from in your time," Cindy added quickly, wondering how different pop culture was between worlds that had at least some similarities in cities, government, and the like. Also, it was possible that Arthur just wasn't a Goosebumps kid. Not everyone was.

Cindy often found herself feeling nostalgic for the days when she could be fully content just sliding under the covers with a nice, quirky, horror-lite book.

"But yeah, I like the fact that interactions between the media and the people don't have to be so separate anymore. It probably sounds weird, but one of the first places that I always went to in any magazine were those pages where editors and writers interacted with readers, because it felt like everyone getting a bit of a reality check instead of keeping their heads in the air," Cindy mused. "And it was especially nice when you heard different perspectives being put side by side. Or when radio hosts would accept calls from listeners. It feels like social media should make all of that so much easier, and yet when I look at the big papers, everyone's so careful about how they use the company account that it feels like it ends up with no one deep-diving into anything." She smiled, leaning against her hand, imagining how they could best set up social media to work for them. "Whereas if we control everything, we can make that decision to have each writer represent themselves on the platform, dive as deeply as they want into it — or not at all, if it's not their preference. So yeah. And I can definitely help you get set up on Chirpr, if that's a thing you want. I'm practically addicted to it."

[marthastewart]

"Can't say I know it," I say apologetically, but I assume from the name that it's creepy, and from the context that maybe it's some sort of thing where you turn to whatever page for the ending you want: those kind of books do exist. "Might just be the 1984, though, not the different universe. Sometimes it's hard to tell." I chuckle.

"No, it doesn't at all," I say, grinning. "I used to read a lot of music mags, not just glossy stuff like Rolling Stone, the local newsprint things, you know? And I always ate up the letters section. I loved the little arguments. Id've called into my radio station, too, if I didn't think my parents would catch me at it and have my arse handed to me." Not that they'd skipped out on that, anyway, when they discovered what their poof son was up to.

"I think it's that," I agree about the company account, "and I think so many things are so tied together. At home, a lot of government was invested into how the media talked about it, and there was a lot of interference, so the papers became invested in the government approving. Here, it's more who's friends with whom, I think. Really revealing stuff just gets pushed aside, because there's an image and an agenda and favors to take care of." I roll my eyes a little bit, smirking. "But in an independent

"I'd appreciate that," I say, then grin, wryly. "Hopefully people will follow me for my thoughts and not just because I'm dating a musician, but." I shrug. I mean to keep my private life entirely offline, if I can help it.

[swingatshadows]

"That would do it, since I'm pretty sure the franchise is a nineties thing," Cindy mused, grinning as she tried to reflect on her own childhood. Funny how old reflecting could really make one feel. "And I always fall into that trap of assuming everyone my age is a nineties kid, but Darrow really breaks that paradigm, doesn't it?"

Always looking for a distraction for her hands, Cindy reached out to the side and pulled the hot sauces closer, glancing into each pot and letting herself settle into the excitement of their upcoming meal. Recently, Cindy had really fallen into the habit of purchasing microwaveable food, considering how many hours she spent on either of her jobs.

Or any three of her jobs, now.

"Yeah, the line between government and media is always a funny one, isn't it? I'm always afraid that the ties run deeper here than back home, because man, in the States it's always been interesting. You've got such pointed support for freedom of the press, but freedom of the press in capitalism always makes it subject to more influences than you'd like," she remarked. "I never thought I'd say it, but I really miss NPR. National Public Radio. Funded mostly by individual contributions from civilians."

Her lips curved into a small smile. "How is dating a popular musician, now that you bring it up? Do people frequently pry into your life?"

[marthastewart]

I chuckle. "Seventies kid, me," I say. "I could be your dad." And then I make a face because that's just weird to say to someone you're about to work with. "It really does," I move on. "I'm friends with people from the 50s...people from the 1870s...the future. It's hard to take anything for granted."

I nod, understanding that. "It wasn't always the way it sounds, in my New York. All -- government control. Hell, most of the people there didn't probably think it was that controlled. But -- well, capitalism. Did the government control us or did a few interests control the government?" I shrug. "And then again, the BBC wasn't all bad, back home, and that was all government access."

Interrupted by the server bringing over the pho, I hum thoughtfully once she's gone, sorting out utensils. "It sounds like a good idea, in theory anyway. I think private interests will always trend one way or another, but if it's at least in opposition to the mainstream, that might not be a bad thing."

I laugh. "The dating part is very nice, thanks," I grin. "People prying, well." I grimace a little and shrug. "Mostly not too much. A few -- what's the word, trolls? Hoping for my slow and bloody death, but."

[swingatshadows]

"I don't think anyone would envy you if you were," Cindy remarked with a small smirk. Even though it was a point of remorse these days, Cindy could still smile at the memory of how much grief she gave her parents on a regular basis. It seemed appropriate to think fondly of some of those moments now, when she was speaking with a man who was dating a rock star — and a rock star who was known for being pretty scandalously styled, at that.

Her eyes widened with delight when the bowls of pho arrived, and Cindy immediately started to add a lot of chili oil to her bowl, before using her chopsticks to dunk some of the bean sprouts down and squeezing the lime wedge with her fingers. Most of the time, her mom's reprimands kept her from taking the initiative with food, but she had the feeling that Arthur probably wasn't the most familiar with the dish, and perhaps following by example would be helpful.

"You know, I never really thought too deeply about it, but you're right. The BBC was all government access. It never felt... authoritarian about it, though," mused Cindy, pursing her lips. "But maybe I only feel that way because it was all about heightening awareness for me, not living day to day through the ongoings in the UK."

She rested her chin against the back of her hand, waiting for Arthur to prep his own bowl. "Ah, yes. The assailing internet trolls. People who wouldn't dare say anything negative behind your face, but feel so empowered by anonymity. They frustrate me to no end, but I kind of appreciate that they're able to, you know. Do their thing."