Quarter One
The Board would like to invite you to grab a seat, take a drink from the water cooler, and read some of our behind-the-scenes from Quarter One of Corpus.
About Corpus
The idea of Corpus came to us shortly after Valentine’s Day, 2025. One thing led to another, and conversations about their styles devolved into earnest attempts at picking apart Xavier and Gaspard’s dynamics; their tendency to, in their own words, cross their own boundaries during tour. Xavier, externally, Gaspard, internally.
A fundamental aspect of their relationship, we believe, is time. They have known each other for twenty-four years, and been a band for about twenty-three. Naturally, then, we started applying our thoughts on their dynamics into a timeline. We had discussed it for weeks, and figured at some point we should write everything down chronologically for organization’s sake. Board Member X created the document, and told Board Member G, “Check your email.” A corporate interaction between friends; we thus named the document “The Corporation.”
The Corporation started just as a timeline; what happened, when it happened, what it meant, with snippets of dialogs and scenes here and there. It evolved naturally over time, over the course of a year, until it became the beast it is today.
When we decided to publish, we realized “The Corporation” didn’t really work as a standalone title. A friend of ours suggested “Corpus” (as we had been colloquially referring to the document as “corpo”), which immediately stuck. It was something akin to the epiphany of the ‘†’ album cover. Its meaning fits its content well, we think. Corpus can mean “the complete works of an author,” which makes sense as we have each been publishing semi-adjacent solo works, of which this is the culmination.
Corpus is written in present tense due to necessity. We outline each chapter in screenplay format, which is always written in the present tense, and it was much easier to keep this tense upon flesh-outs.
Right now, Corpus is just over halfway completed. Every chapter is fully outlined, and the first half is entirely finished. We continue to work on Corpus daily.
Chapter 1: Grande Halle de La Villete
This is a real show that Justice attended in 2002. It’s true, Erol Alkan did play there! Somewhere in the video linked, Xavier and Gaspard are dancing together, two pixels wide.
Erol Alkan, as you’ll come to see, is an essential part of Xavier’s life. Xavier and Erol both mention in interviews (and several MySpace posts from way back when) that Erol was really the one who taught Xavier to DJ. They frequently did sets together, sometimes without Gaspard. Of course, we took some creative liberties with this.
Gaspard and Xavier, we think, have always liked each other since the beginning. We chose to start here instead of at their first meeting mostly because everyone already knows how they first met; at a party, in the kitchen, telling jokes. This show, we think, is the first time Gaspard invites Xavier on a de-facto date, which seemed like a much more natural place to start their story. Perhaps, someday, one of us will write a solo work about the time before that.
Chapter 2: Flanders Expo
This set, commonly known by the festival name “I Love Techno,” is one of the clearest and best-documented early Justice DJ sets. Across the river from the venue is Ghent, where most of this chapter takes place.
Xavier’s relationship with masculinity and toughness is essential to not just his character, but also his personhood. The Board discussed Xavier’s internal conflict for several months before we began even writing Corpus. He has a tendency to act out, as we can see through A Cross The Universe, but how does this manifest if his internal crisis is pumped up to a thousand? And most importantly, how does this affect his relationship with a meeker, more oblivious Gaspard?
We were wary at first about this plot point. Of course, The Board does not condone going to Belgian bars and instigating a fight with a man double your size. It did feel like a natural progression of Xavier’s tendencies to lash out; we’ll see how this continues in the coming quarters.
We have gotten some questions regarding the timeskip. We felt that their dynamic from 2002 to 2006 stayed largely the same; unspoken, unrequited feelings that didn’t manifest in any way that wouldn’t feel repetitive. As they come to the end of a string of DJ sets, however, Xavier comes to the end of his rope. (We all know how much Gaspard contributes to their DJ sets, and this is the best-documented example of their dynamic early on.)
This chapter includes a special easter egg, of which you’ll see more.
Chapter 3: House of Blues
A Cross The Universe, the documentary, is a formative stylistic and narrative influence for us. This is the first of twin chapters set during the filming of it, where tensions are high and adrenaline is higher. We opted to avoid showing scenes that we’ve all seen before. Instead, as you’ll see throughout Corpus, we illustrate the before and after; we all know Gaspard’s wife left at the end of the wedding, but what does Xavier have to say about this?
Corpus tends to switch points of view. We choose each chapter’s narrator based on who is most interesting; at this point, Gaspard’s marriage, his increasing affection for Xavier, and his confusion and frustration about Xavier’s new relationship with Erol seemed the most intriguing to explore.
Speaking of Erol, if you’re curious about said relationship, feel free to check out Dean Street. Board Member X wrote it, and it’s a bit of insight into how, in this universe, they got to where they are.
Chapter 4: The Mayan Theater
The cop car after their arrest is fascinating to us. What do they look like, in the intimate moments after such a high-strung evening? (We eliminated Bouchon with our creative freedom. Sorry, Bouchon.)
This was the last date shown in the documentary. It’s almost like they’re running out of time to do something…. As Xavier has said time and time again, touring is when they feel loosest, almost like they become the worst versions of themselves. Everything is more raw, more emotional, more heightened than when they are at home. We feel that 2008 is particularly intense, and it absolutely informs the way Xavier and Gaspard act in regards to touring for the rest of time.
Feel free to check out Back in Your Eyes, by Board Member G, for a little insight into the actual bottling that immediately precedes this chapter.
Chapter 5: Kontraskjæret
This set took place on Xavier’s birthday and can be viewed in part here. The infinite Norwegian summer sun seems to have an effect on them, and with these factors, plus a little help from some liquor, they finally get to consummate their confusing relationship. We aren’t really ones for slow burn, and waiting this long for them to sleep together was a little torturous even for us, so we hope you enjoyed it.
We flip-flopped with this chapter a lot. Some context: Board Member X tends to write most of the dialog, and Board Member G tends to write most of the prose. This was one of the few instances that we each worked on both.
You’ll find throughout Quarter One that Gaspard’s primary conflict is not just his relationship with Xavier, but also his relationship with his sexuality as a whole. While he may be comfortable in his masculinity (unlike his counterpart), his shame around being gay heavily impacts how long it takes for him to be comfortable sleeping with Xavier. And, of course, he isn’t the initiator. It’s an important precedent for the upcoming quarter.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for visiting the breakroom. We hope you enjoyed our brief summaries, thought processes, and word vomit that coincides with Quarter One. Quarter Two will begin on Sunday and will consist of six chapters. We hope to see you at the end for another quarterly wrap-up.
With love, from The Board