2728/The Stories We Tell

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The Stories We Tell
Date of Scene: 01 August 2020
Location: Bullpen - Daily Planet Building
Synopsis: Mary Bromfield aces her internship interview with Clark Kent at the Daily Planet, and the wholesomeness singularity is achieved.
Cast of Characters: Clark Kent, Mary Bromfield




Clark Kent has posed:
Being away from the Planet for over a month due to a nasty illness, really just awful, Perry trust me you do /not/ want to know the details! has left Clark Kent a little bit out of sync with the rest of the newsroom and significantly behind on the enterprise projects he has been working on. So to get him back in the swing of things, the rest of the bullpen have ever-so-kindly dumped this project into his lap: interviewing the candidates for fall-semester internships.

Nobody in the newsroom wants to pull this duty, of course: it's as far as it gets from being out on the street, questioning sources and uncovering news. Clark drew the short straw by consensus of his peers; he wasn't there when straws were handed out. But in his usual affable, bumbling way, Clark seems oblivious to the fact that he should resent the task, enthusiastically chatting with the candidates about their favorite stories, their long-term goals, their courseloads -- even family pets and personal hobbies. Each candidate has walked away from his or her interview feeling certain that they've got one of the coveted positions.

One such candidate, a type-A Persian girl in a power suit, walks away from Clark's cubicle with a grin on her face and a triumphant swing in her step. The bespectacled reporter gets partway up out of his swivel chair, waves to the next candidate in the waiting area, and then beckons her to come over.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary Bromfield made sure to take the morning off of managing the coffee shop, which... well, it's a great job for a 19-year old starting her sophomore year at university. But she needs the internship, since she's only wanted to be a journalist like, her whole life.

No pressure, right? Clearly not!

So, anyway, Mary's there with her hair carefully styled and wearing a professional suit, jacket, and modest skirt with nylons. Holding her portfolio in front of her like a bit of a shield, she smiles cheerfully (if a bit nervously) as she's beckoned in. Rising up, a bit quickly, she stumbles a little before catching herself, then walks at a more sedate pace towards, "Hello, Mister Kent! I'm Mary Bromfield." She moves into the semi-enclosed bullpen, extending a friendly hand to Clark along with an earnest smile.

Clark Kent has posed:
"Oh, hi, Mary! Great to meet you. Please, call me Clark," her interviewer answers. He takes her hand from his chair first, then decides he should make it a little more formal and tries to stand up, getting about halfway to his feet before realizing that he's making it kind of cramped and awkward in his relatively small work space. He's a big guy, after all, with a corn-fed midwestern bulk that he doesn't seem to quite know what to do with. He executes a sort of half-handshake, half-bow maneuver, adjusts his horn-rimmed glasses, and drops back into his seat, whose back squeaks in protest.

"We might be coworkers soon, after all," he adds with an encouraging smile. He fusses with a stack of papers for a moment, retrieving a manila folder with BROMFIELD marked in neat capitals on the tab. Mary can just get a peek of what must be her cover letter and resume, but Clark doesn't open it yet. He just sets it at his side on the desktop and asks, "So, what brings you to the Daily Planet? I've read your application, but I want to hear all about your interest in journalism, straight from the horse's mouth."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins, "Well, I mean, I've just always loved uncovering things and discovery, revealing what's hidden from view so people can see it." She sits down, not commenting on the awkwardness as she's a bit awkward herself, giving Clark a smile to convey that she relates.

"Mist... er, Clark, I mean, I could say that I've been working at my high school paper since I was a freshman or that I still do some writing when I can for the indie paper at the University, but..." She shrugs, "You know that already. But things like driving my DM crazy because my bard was the town crier... that doesn't exactly fit in there, you know?" Okay, it might be a mistake to do a D&D reference in an interview, but sometimes to stand out you have to roll the hard six.

Clark Kent has posed:
With many journalists, that reference would have left Mary hearing nothing but the rain, but Clark grasps it immediately, lifting his head and then ducking it forward in a nod full-bodied enough to crinkle the front of his light blue shirt and yellow necktie. "So even in your fantasy life, you still want to bring the news to the people of the Forgotten Realms," he says, his face lighting up with a goofy smile. "It's great that you're that passionate about it. What kind of campaigns do you like to do -- that more free-form character piece, a stricter rules-based dungeon crawl, or building the big heroic narrative for everyone to enjoy?"

He picks up a pen, holds it between his index and middle fingers, and starts to waggle it back and forth. He now opens her file, and her application is indeed in there, with a blank review form set on top of it. Clark gets the whole thing and continues, "That's actually relevant to the kind of journalism you might like to do. People bring out in their free time the things they really care about in the rest of their lives, too."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary blinks, then immediately gushes, "Oh, I guess it depends on my mood, sometimes I like to just do the crunchy modules, but more often I like doing a homebrew campaign that I've made. But I like trying to get all my players a chance to shine when I'm the DM. Just feels like the best way to have everyone get their crowning moments of awesome, you know? I've even done some streaming, though I'm no Matt Mercer, I try and get my little brothers and our friends to try it. I mean, everyone should know that it's an option for them, you know?"

She smiles warmly, her nervousness melting away easily as she looks at Clark as a Fellow Geek, who Groks things. "And yeah, I like doing journalism that shouts truth to power. People need to know how things really work, and that's more important now more than ever. It's not easy to do the right thing, but that just means it's even more vital that it gets done." She sounds very adamant about that.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark crosses his legs, sets the open folder on his lap, and brings the waggling pen around to make a couple of notes on it, one near the top and another a bit lower. "Gosh, streaming too?" he says, lifting his eyebrows over his frames. "The Planet's not about to start a Twitch channel or anything, but those kinds of skills are very valuable in the newsroom. Getting good sound and visuals, setting up lighting, having a screen presence -- we generate a lot of explainer videos, as well as breaking news streams for web and social platforms."

He flips his form to one side and glances at her resumé again. "Honestly, if you ask me, you should have that listed here," he advises her, his tone supportive. "What you do outside of work can be just as important, or more important, than what you do to pay the bills. DMing a module or two isn't exactly management experience, but if you've managed to keep a table together for a few years?" He shrugs and bobs his head from left to right. "I'd allow it."

To her last point, he adds another layer: "And what's really important is not just one person doing the right thing, but speaking to the world so that people all over can make the right choices. That's how the world really gets better: not one person at a time, but all people working together." He smiles. "So what do you think you'd like to shed light on in the world, right this second? I promise I won't steal your story idea."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins, "Well, I do have my Twitter account there, the one I run anyway, BaristaCats." She chuckles, "I've worked as a barista since I was sixteen, and I even manage the Rise and Grind over in Tribeca. So posting cute pictures of cats seems to be a natural thing, and... well, that just exploded." Of course, it helps that a certain Latverian dictator is a fan, even if the feeling isn't mutual.

She pauses, thinking seriously about Clark's question, then she smiles, "I think I'd like to interview the people that were captured from Mutant Town, and Genosha. What was that like? What happened? And how can we try to keep that from happening again." Her voice grows a bit serious, "I mean, I have a lot of friends that were... affected, by that, and I think people need to know that they are people just like everyone else. Too many... don't seem to feel that way." And she sounds pretty bothered by that, hands folded on her lap as she looks a bit agitated when she thinks of some of those less than nice people and what they said about Mutant Town.

Clark Kent has posed:
"Yes, I took a look at that account," Clark answers with a smile. "Regular schedule, great content -- I can see why it's so popular. I'm more of a dog person, myself, but we did have barn cats on the farm growing up. Not as photogenic as the ones on your feed, but very sweet animals all the same." He makes a couple more marks on his review sheet, then looks back up and adds, "I should warn you that if you do get the position, there are people in the newsroom who are going to ask you for coffee orders, which I'm sure you're sick of. At least you'll have experience remembering them? But I can promise you: that won't be all you get a chance to work on. We put our interns to work on real stories, too, so long as they can generate the ideas themselves."

He sits back, adopting a more somber expression when she does exactly that. "It's true, some people are very quick to divide folks up into the people they care about and the people they won't," he agrees sadly. "And being taken away from your home like that... well, it can't be easy." Then, his grave mien lifts as he adopts a more optimistic tone: "But that's what's so important about the press. We can help people understand those who they wouldn't get a chance to otherwise. We can make what seems threatening familiar, instead. That's not an idle promise, either; over time, history shows that those who are familiar in the stories we read and see and tell are the people we learn to see as human. We have a great power, in the press, and we can use it to make the world a better place."

He settles down into his seat, makes another mark on the evaluation sheet, and finally mumbles, "At least, that's what I think, anyway."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary nods, "I know, and I agree completely. I mean, honestly that's what I love about being a barista, even though that's a more personal scale. Just being able to get someone the coffee they want, and you just made that person's morning? That's a great feeling, and I think that's something we can do as the press too." She does laugh a little at the thought of other reporters asking her for coffee, "Well, if you guys have a machine set up, I might be inclined to help out with that, but there were a fair number of capes that would swing by my shop, so I have a high standard for tips." She grins cheerfully at Clark, not bothered by that at all.

"And I love that you'd consider us part of the team and not just glorified coffee fetchers. Honestly, that's a big reason that I applied here for my internship. I just feel this is a great place to actually make a real difference." She actually looks really excited by Clark's speech, and nods, "And that's what I think too, Clark. I really want to make a positive difference in the world." And there's a certainty about that. A lot of people might say it, and a lot of people do...

But Mary? She /means/ it.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark grins and raises his eyebrows at the coffee comparison, offering one of his own: "Or like helping someone get their frightened cat out of a tree." What? She likes cats! There's a whole twitter account about it! That's what brought it to mind! As for the question of tips: "Yeah, I like to imagine most superheroes would be good tippers," he says with a quiet chuckle. Then he leans in conspiratorially and adds, "I just can't figure out where they would keep their wallets. Maybe it's better not to know."

Glancing around the bullpen, he taps his fingers along the side of his pen and says, "That's what brought me here, too. Even out in Kansas we knew the kind of journalism the Planet was known for. The editor, Mr. White? He really does care about keeping people informed and doing the stories that matter, even if he can be a little..." Clark narrows his eyes and considers his words carefully, before finally settling on: "cantankerous." He gives a quiet half-smile at her clear sense of conviction, purses his lips thoughtfully, and observes, "I think that's a great attitude to have, Mary. And I think it might help you to fit right in around here."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary actually giggles a little at the whisper, then nods, "I think that's why they have utility belts." She grins at Clark, "But I love rescuing cats from trees... though, ah, normally I just lure Tawny down with a can of tuna. I swear he goes up in the tree just SO I do that."

She nods, "Well, I'm hoping to have the chance to fit in around here, Clark... I think I'd be a good fit, and I promise I won't let you down." She smiles, "Yeah, I grew up with my foster parents in Philly, we just moved to Queens a little while ago, but we've got a pretty big family, and well... family isn't your blood. It's who you have in your heart. And there's definitely a big heart here in the Planet from what I've seen."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Could be, but I'm certainly not going to ask," Clark says with a wink, on the question of utility belts. Yes, he just winked, entirely in earnest. "Maybe you can poll some of your superhero friends from the coffee shop, and we can run it as a human interest story or an infographic. 'Lifestyles of the caped and the weightless'?"

He tilts his head to one side, rubbing at a spot just behind his jaw with one thumb, and says, "I think I know what you mean about found family. My parents are adoptive, too, for one thing. But also, when I think about the friends I've made here -- Lois, Jimmy, Terry, even Mr. White -- I don't think I could ask for a better group of people to have in my life. And, like you said, in my heart." There must not be any corn left in Kansas: Clark obviously brought it all with him. He stands, extending his hand to Mary, and says, "It was great meeting you, Mary. I'm going to do the full scoring for the candidates this afternoon, and you should all know who has been picked by the end of the day tomorrow. But I think you stand a great chance, and I hope I'll see you again, soon."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary nods, "Yeah, I'm the oldest of the six of us in the foster home, so I'm the honorary Den Mother." She grins, "And I love my little brothers, as annoying as they can be sometimes. But they are all great, and I'm hoping to..." She then pauses, then laughs again, "Okay, if I get the internship, I'm totally using that as an article, but I'll give you credit, Clark."

Then she stands, accepting the offered hand from Clark, "It was great talking to you Clark, and if you're ever looking for a D&D group, let me know. I'm pretty sure I can fit you in." She smiles warmly at Clark, "Thank you again for the opportunity, I really appreciate it."