Round Table ...Rainy Days and Sundays

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Not like the iconic song, Rainy Days and Mondays, a Sunday version can be comforting and lazy.  I still need to get myself to church in the rain this morning, but the rest of the day will be self-indulgent and lazy.  The house needs cleaning, but it is doubtful I'll take my only day off to do that job.
So, what do our agents do on the occasional Sunday that doesn't find them battling crime on some distant shore?  There have been loads of stories and scenarios, but what do you think?
Does Napoleon sneak into a church every once in a while, just to insure that his soul isn't totally mired in the muck of what his job often entails?
Perhaps Illya retreats into a dark, brooding place where he can luxuriate in the depths of his discontent and worrisome memories.
Real men in a dangerous, sometimes deadly profession.  How does Saving the World on a regular basis impact the serenity of a Sunday morning in New York City?

Comments

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Nice idea of Napoleon going to church. Possibly even irregularly but habitually helping the neighbourhood priest.

I strongly suspect Illya of getting involved in one or two of those never-ending household projects. And there's always those jazz clubs. Fanon or canon, I find those stories which have him involved in the jazz scene very convincing.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Napoleon seems likely to try and connect with his upbringing, however remote it may seem. Illya and jazz, definitely.

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

I've written several tales and drabbles that speak to what the boys get up to on Sundays. Napoleon will occasionally go to Mass; Illya likes to sleep in, but doesn't get to sleep as late as he would like because his partner will show up with breakfast and coffee; they both like to visit and go out with Aunt Amy and in my Sugar & Spies universe, they love spending their days off with Leona Nicole.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

You have a very definite vision for them, and when you write it for us it's very believable.

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

Why, thank you! *blushes*

[leethet.livejournal.com]

There was a story (well, at least one) about this. Naturally I can't remember the name or author. Where Illya specifically took his free time to explore and make friends with his new city. I think he would do that for two reasons: he's an information junkie, I think, and as self-defense.


Napoleon. Women. Fine dining. Sailing. Preferably combined. If one thinks about the dangers an agent is in, sailing must feel very freeing.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I think I remember the story you're referencing, but it's been a while since I read it. It sounds very much like something a spy would do.
As for Napoleon, the sailing aspect serves as a metaphor for the elusiveness of true freedom perhaps. Is that too much? :D

[leethet.livejournal.com]

I agree, Francis. I think a spy would be very aware of the dangers and restrictions in the world, even of the restrictions of just being made of flesh and bone. To sail and feel about as close to flying as you possibly can is probably an effective counter-agent (so to speak) for those pressures.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Gee, I've never been a Francis before ;) Sailing, flying... skiing even. Fighter pilots drive sports cars, especially Corvettes. Even playing loose with women has something to do with living on the edge.

[leethet.livejournal.com]

Sorry, glennagirl! I read Francis' name on the reply above yours and promptly transposed them!

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

I have Napoleon attending church, usually St. Patrick's Cathedral NYC in a number of stories. I wrote an Easter egg for Carabele where he took Illya to church and to see the Easter parade.

I have quite a few number of religious references for Solo, as well as some from Illya's childhood before the war and the USSR turned him into an atheist. He denies the existence of God, but deep down inside he still believes, but he's mad a God for taking his family from him as a child. He still has faith, but hides it as it's too deeply personal.

In my AU series Illya's wife Elliott is an Irish Catholic, and though he doesn't attend church with her, he eventually professes his belief in God. In one particular story I have him going into a church around Christmas and he confesses his sins to a priest. He feels compelled to do so because he'd just become a father. (The priest eventually becomes the chaplain for UNCLE in NYC.)

These are just a few examples I have of church and religion intertwined with my MFU stories and the variations on the themes of faith, church, and God are many. Actually way more than I realized until you brought up this topic.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I think we can assume that there is some religious training in both of their lives, even Illya. Grandparents would not be as deeply affected by the affectations of the atheist state, and so might have had some influence.
I like Illya as more introspective than to merely disregard God.