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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2011 22:30:25 GMT -5
He didn't turn away from the computer. He was scanning it, but in a half not focus way as he glanced over tidbits of news. He was very curious if Nina would just move on with her life if he was captured or would she wait for him. He was never allowed visitors unless they had a sway either in the criminal world or the government. Would she want Arkham to supposedly heal him with their incompetent doctors. Would she want him to escape? When his mind went to Batman it did usually lead back to Arkham. Batman had....he mentally cringed....beat him on occasions. It meant his temporary housing in the asylum, though with the FBI, it would probably be a stay on some unknown military base.
Her answer, therefore, was not what he expected. He heard her moving dinner. He wondered silently how good that would be and how well she knew how to cook? He had too many riddles in his head at the moment. He exited out of the FBI site and shut is laptop before finally turning to Nina from the couch. He watched as she managed to maneuver with the crutch. He didn't quite understand why she did not order room service, but as always, he had no desire to argue with the stubbornness. He also was far more interested in her words.
She seemed to have a logical plan of action. Maybe she wasn't the average imbecile when it came to the darker side of the law. She had burned down a building. He smirked, as he looked from from her from above the back of the couch. "I think you would handle yourself well, and yes, you are correct, I could see Batman strangely being more sympathetic to you then the FBI. Very humorous, considering Batman tends to use brutish force comparable to a thug to get information out of people," he said with a roll of the eyes. Batman certainly had no consideration for the law. Why the man hadn't been placed in Arkham yet was beyond him.
The mention of family was completely ignored. Edward had no interest in her family. He had no interest in knowing they existed or who they were. Edward's own family history was dark. Reliving those wonderful family times would only further his insanity. No, he never wanted a family. He had no desire. Edward preferred to be alone with the only man he could trust: himself.
"China could hardly be considered difficult to leave. You would be fine," he said with a wave of the hand.
He then paused debating on whether he should eve state it aloud. His eyes fell to his sleeves, and his fingers began to better unwrinkle the ends of it. "While the chances of an unexpected turn of events is 2 percent, no .06 percent, it's unlikely such a situation will occur," he paused, his figners pressing harder into his cloth. "but I am asking a hypothetical riddle, if I go to the dreadful place that lacks the ability to heal a mouse called Arkham what happens to you? Riddle me this," he finally said with a bit more confident, "Does Juliet's life go on?"
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
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Post by Nina Stenet on Dec 9, 2011 2:26:32 GMT -5
Nina looks up to give Edward an appreciative smile as she measures some water into the pot. It does make her feel better to hear that he thinks that she'd do okay. She's actually not so sure. While she may have planned and executed a little scheme of her own, there's a world of difference between that and having to suddenly escape and hide from somebody if it came down to that. Of course, like she's said before, she's extremely resourceful when she has to be.
She carefully carries the pot over to the stove, putting it on a back burner and turning on the heat. She measures in some rice before putting a lid on the pot; rice takes awhile to cook, so that's the first thing to get done. His comment on Batman attracts some of her interest, mainly because he brings up a comparison between him and the F.B.I. Two extreme forms of justice she's run into recently. "Agent Tiff certainly didn't seem to mind the brute force approach," she comments, her voice turning almost sour in dislike, but then it becomes more thoughtful, "But Batman seems to recognize that there are exceptions to the rules. And he's a good listener. Both of those seem to be completely lacking in the F.B.I.'s current approach."
She puts the chicken breast on a plate and sticks it in the microwave to thaw. Then she leans one of her crutches against the counter since she shouldn't have to move around much now and wants better use of both of her hands - easier to do when she's only using a crutch on her injured side. Setting out a cutting board, she starts working on cutting both kinds of onions, the mushrooms, and the pea pods into thin slices.
There's a hint of her lab work around her as she does this: cooking is, after all, edible chemistry of sorts. And her hands are used to making very quick but precise movements. But though on the exterior her manner is more suggestive of the quiet focus of a researcher, on the inside she's reminded of her mother's kitchen. How many times did she watch her mother's hands doing this? And then there was learning to do it herself. Though Nina moved away from her family and is very much independent from them, she can count on them in a crisis - they're just that kind of a family. She'd rather that they didn't end up getting involved, but as last resort they'd be there.
She simply nods when Edward says that she'd be fine, though her dominant thought is that she'd rather not test that. Why is he worrying about it anyway? He's usually so confident in his infallibility. Is what he doing more dangerous than usual? Of course, what he says next doesn't help that thought go away. And the question that he asks makes her suddenly stop and look over at him with a surprised and thoughtful expression. Seeing him examining his sleeves, she turns back to the cutting board and there's a long pause before she says, "Her life is always going, but her heart - it would stay right where you left it as long as it believed you'd be back for it. And Arkham hasn't beaten you yet, though it doesn't just apply to that." Her way of saying that she wouldn't sit around pining for him, but yes she'd wait barring something happening that would make her believe the wait would be pointless.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2011 15:40:29 GMT -5
The mention of the FBI causes him to inwardly cringe, but he understood their new method. "The FBI considers themselves at war," he stated, mentally noting all the questionable acts of the United State's government during war. For a moment, he wondered what would happen to him if the government were to find out about his own plan. He would probably be stuck in some secret based an tortured into insanity. Ouch. He had never gone as far as this plan before. He had usually just manipulated his city, but the government had decided to invade. He had to go bigger. For a quick moment, he thought of Luthor's threat, being labeled a terrorist was far more destructive then being labeled insane. As he mentioned before, he had Batman.
The long pause caused Edward to look up from his sleeve to see what Nina's expression. She was looking at the food, so he couldn't determine her thoughts. Long pauses were never a good sign. Then she started to speak, and the slight nervousness he had felt went away. He smirked. She would wait for him. She would continue her life, but she would wait. A part of him doubted it was fully true. People were self centered creatures, and they easily moved on to the next thing that could provide them a benefit. If a another man came into her life and showed her attention, she would probably forget about him. It was nice to know, though, that she didn't think so.
He didn't really comment it on her words. He did not want to prove them wrong, but he didn't want to state that they were true. He nodded to himself. "Well dear, I am going hack into the United States mainframe and deplete their funds for social security, I am then going to hack into VISA, Mastercard, and American Express and shut down all their operations, and finally put a virus in all the large back closing and deleting every account under the guise of the Chinese government. When the US government determines the attack they will trace it back to the Chinese and most likely declare war," he stated like he was commenting on the weather as he stood up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen with cane in hand. He stopped when he was right next to her and looked over the food she was cooking. It looked like it would be very good.
"It should be successful."
He then leaned down and kissed her temple, smirking against her skin. "If it's not, I might be temporarily kept away from you," he stated with a little laugh. Quite the understatement, but he had a plan if it did all lead back to him. He always had a plan. Of course, he never thought Batman would be the solution.
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
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Player: Avalikia ~
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Post by Nina Stenet on Dec 12, 2011 1:13:28 GMT -5
Long pauses sometimes merely mean that the person needs to think on a question a bit before they can put it into a simple, accurate statement. Nina doesn't know that she could move on from Edward if she thought that he'd be back, so it's a rather emotionally charged question for her in a way. And she's guessing that he doesn't want to her her go off into detail about why it bothers her that he's asking the question in the first place - she'd thought that the answer to it was obvious and doesn't really want to have to mull over why it wasn't.
Fortunately, what he says next distracts her from that line of thought. Or perhaps unfortunately, considering the content of it. She's finished her cutting and is just starting on the sauce by pouring the chicken stock into a small pan when he explains the details of what he's doing. Really, she isn't sure what to make of it. It's too... big. Like trying to picture a very large number, it almost seems like an abstract concept. She puts the pan on the stove and starts heating it, then adds in a good amount of soy sauce as it starts to warm.
There's another long pause (this time the more troublesome sort) before she muses out loud, "Well, that would definitely take care of the F.B.I." If he messes with social security and the credit cards, that would mean... but surely they'd manage to find some way to largely mitigate that crisis and help the people most harmed. The government may be lacking in efficiency sometimes, but it does manage to eventually work out a way to help people who need it when problems of that scale arise. If only so that people will keep voting for them. Okay, so let's assume that her first instinctive worry that the absolute worst will be the result for that part is an exaggeration. She can deal with that.
But... war with China? Would that really happen? Before she's anywhere near finished pondering that idea, Edward is beside her expressing his confidence and muddles her thought process with his proximity and affection. How is she supposed to think about anything difficult with him standing right there? But she is somewhat certain that the various diplomats and other such people who are supposed to make that sort of thing less likely to happen will intervene. On the other hand, that Edward is so confident makes the idea seem more plausible - she does have a lot of faith in his intelligence. But back on the first hand, she doesn't have nearly as much of that as he has for himself so in the end her feelings are more skeptical.
Besides, how can she feel like anything bad is about to happen while the air is filling with the scent of chicken mixed with soy sauce and just a hint of the cooking rice and freshly cut vegetables? It probably smells somewhat foreign to Edward, but to her it's the scent of home. Not her apartment, but the one she grew up in. She adds some brown sugar to the sauce that she's making, adding a little of that scent to the mix. "Isn't World War Three a bit overkill for the F.B.I.'s campaign in Gotham though?" she suddenly asks, her voice simply curious though she's obviously troubled by the idea. That seems like a bit too much even for Edward if that's all there is to it.
Then again, another part of the reason why she's troubled is noted when she looks up and adds, "If you are caught, you won't be going to Arkham in this state of things, even if Batman showed up in time to stop you completely." There's just a hint of worry in her eyes as she says that. That Edward can find a way to escape from Arkham is a solid known. And she'll grant that something similar would probably happen if he's put in any sort of regular prison. But if he's caught now he'll more than likely end up in the hands of the F.B.I. who would put him... who knows where? And she doubts that the way that they'd treat him would be up to established standards. "I'd hate to think what they'd do if you were caught after..." she adds quietly.
But given how quickly she seems to just dismiss that thought even though it was spoken out loud hints that she has a hefty amount of faith in his ability to remain free at least. She pulls out another, larger pan and sets it on the stove and scoops several spoonfuls of the sauce into it as she turns on the heat. "Want to pick something for us to drink with this?" she asks, sliding the sliced onion and mushrooms into the pan to start the final bit of cooking. Just as she's doing that, the microwave beeps to indicate that the chicken she put in there earlier is finished defrosting. "Oh, and mind getting that for me, please?" she asks with a smile. It's not more than three steps to the microwave, but now that she has herself all set up not to move she'd rather not. And if Edward's going to distract her by being in the kitchen with her, that's the least he can do. And if she's gone into such mundane questions, at least that's a sign that she's not going to dwell on the possible problems in their future.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2011 19:34:36 GMT -5
It was humorous to watch Nina's expression to his plan. It was like watching a natural wonder. He took the note of her lips changed from understanding, to worry, to calm. Her comment actually caused a laugh to leave his lips. "This isn't just about the FBI dear," he stated laying another kiss on her temple before moving to the microwave. He opened up the door and pulled out the plate with the defrosted chicken. He then moved back to her side and put the chicken on the counter next to the stove.
"The FBI took over my city, and honestly, yes that infuriates me, but what bothers me more is how that city, no, how the country perceives me," he said and moved to the cabinet and pulled out two wine glasses. He counter before moving to the small wine selection they had offered. He glanced through the labels of the wine and picked one out that had been made in France. He grabbed a cork screw. "To them I am insane and hardly a threat. No one considers me a threat. They believe people like the Joker are the true source of fear. They panic at the mere mention of Two Face or Scarecrow, but when people hear my name..." he paused as he pulled out the cork and placed it on the counter. His lips were pursed in slight disgust. It truly was a despicable thing. He was far more intelligent and far more dangerous then those men. Those men were easily manipulated into whatever game Edward wanted to play. No one cared about him. "When they hear my name," he said a bit colder as he moved back to the glasses and began pouring the wine, "they think of a man who leaves riddles and robs banks. I am a laughing stock to the among the rogues...among citizens."
As he stated these things his grip on the wine bottle tightened. He had to force himself to stop pouring the wine in one glass and move onto the next. "I am doing this for respect," he stated with finality, "It's about time this world understood difference between the chess players and the pawns." He sat the bottle on the counter after the two glasses were half way full. He stared at the bottle, still feeling his anger. He sat his cane against the counter and picked up the two glasses. He held one out to Nina. "If they do discover it is me, which I plan for them to figure out eventually, I will gladly take the risk," the anger was switched with a smirk, "Everyone will know that the Riddler is smarter then them all."
The smirk turned into a grin as he brought the glass to his lips, and almost like a toast to himself, he shot a large amount of it back.
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
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Post by Nina Stenet on Dec 12, 2011 22:27:59 GMT -5
"Thanks," Nina says when he brings over the chicken. She listens quietly to him as she continues cooking, stirring what's in the pan, slicing the chicken breast into strips, and then stirring the pan again. Several more spoonfuls of the sauce are added to the pan to keep it all from drying out, and then the chicken strips and green onions are added. She decides not to say so, but she suspects that the reason why people fear the likes of the Joker, Two Face, and Scarecrow more is because of the trademark finesse he has. Edward's methods are precise and usually don't lead to casualties that weren't a part of the plan and he doesn't usually plan on casualties for the sake of casualties, and that seems 'safer' to your standard person who assumes that that sort of thing would never happen to them. More random acts of violence inspire a lot more fear, while precision strikes are troubling but not so scary.
She accepts the offered wine glass, and can't help but smile at his expression. "I already knew that," she says as she lifts her glass as if toasting to him too, and takes a sip before setting it on the counter. These last few stages of what she's making are in particular need of babysitting if it's going to come out perfectly and that's a huge draw on her attention. While the chicken cooks, she pulls out a bowl and cracks a few eggs into it. "I don't think I quite see why the opinion of the masses is so important to you; you know you're intelligent enough to start a major war, I knew it even before you told me you were going to. Why not let the stupid people who don't respect you live in their ignorance? But then, you don't quite understand why other people's pain matters to me," she says with a half smile and a shake of her head. She suspects that there are some things that the two of them will never 'get' about each other, but that's perfectly okay with her.
Keeping an eye on the cooking chicken, she beats the eggs with a whisk while she adds, "I do wish to point something out though. You're telling me that you're not only planning on starting a war, but to also take credit for it. While when I merely wanted to name my lab after myself we had a huge, nasty argument about it because that was too risky. You, sir, are a hypocrite." Though the amused smile on her face when she glances up at him then indicates that she's hardly pointing that out because she finds it upsetting. It bothers her a little, or else she wouldn't be pointing it out at all, but it's obvious that she takes that as something more funny than anything else. She turns back to her cooking, adding the rest of the sauce to the large pan now that the chicken is cooked through, which releases a large cloud of delicious-smelling steam. "And I'm not going to tell you not to do it either," she adds as she lifts the lid on the rice to assess how it's cooking. The last few steps will require some precise timing, given how fast eggs cook. Fortunately the rice appears to be just about done now. And she, unlike some people we could mention, knows better than to try to talk someone stubborn out of doing something they're obviously dead set on doing.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2011 0:43:35 GMT -5
Edward watched her as she cooked. She seemed so collected and focus. He imagined this was probably how she looked like when she was handling her research. He took another sip of his wine as he listened to her comment. She was right. She would not understand his need to prove his intelligence. If he was honest with his insanity, he would admit that he, himself, did not understand it.
"It's simple dear," he states, "When you allow people to be ignorant to their own stupidity you open up the door to negative externalities on those with a higher intelligence." He said with a quick thought to his own past. His past was after all why he became the Riddler in the first place. There were too many stupid people who were coddled by society and given the ability to ruin his life.
He smiled though at the end not wanting to focus on the horrible memories. "But you are correct, I will not understand that. There are hundreds of more important things to worry about then other's pain that they have brought upon themselves," he remarked casually.
As he watched her cook, he was beginning to find the situation a bit strange. It was almost too average. A woman cooking a man dinner while they talked over wine. It felt weird to be pulled into such a scenario. Her last comment causes him to let out a bit of a laugh. He had been called a hypocrite before, usually by the Arkham staff, but he understood Nina was only being playful.
He placed his glass on the counter and moved closer to her. His hand moving to the small of her back. He made sure not to get in the way of her hands that were busy with the dinner, but he was still pretty close that he didn't have to speak very loudly to be heard. "Hypocrite or a sign that I actually care?" he stated because honestly that was why he had be so frustrated by it. He felt responsible for her well-being as he did his own. The difference was that he knew he could get himself out of any terrible situation. He couldn't say the same for Nina. She hadn't done this before. There was also the issue of people knowing his weakness, the lack of thought in her plan, and pure disrespect she had shown to his own security, but he plainly left those reasons out. Why fight over a past argument?
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
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Post by Nina Stenet on Dec 17, 2011 2:53:03 GMT -5
Having heard these lines of reasoning before, Nina doesn't comment on his first couple of statements. The first one she could argue with, but not change his mind about. The second she's attempted to explain before to no effect. As long as they're both content with the idea of the other having something about them that they can't quite understand then it's best to leave it be.
She pours the beaten eggs evenly over the chicken mixture, then sprinkles the sliced pea pods on top of it before she stirs the whole thing together. She smiles when he laughs at her last comment, and the expression hardly fades when he comes close. Though she had to concentrate on what she's doing, the softening of her expression when he puts a hand on her back and adds those quiet words show the sincerity of her response. "I know it is," she says, reflecting on just how many times he's been horribly frustrating in the name of wanting to keep her safe. But just because it's frustrating doesn't mean that she missed noticing why he did it.
Once she's satisfied that the eggs are thoroughly mixed in, she grabs two large bowls and sets them out. Then the pot of cooked rice is opened fully, and she divides its contents evenly between the two bowls. "It's funny though - I do the exact opposite for the very same reason," she comments, turning her attention back to the chicken mixture and stirring it again.
She watches the egg component of the mixture very carefully as it changes consistency from raw to scrambled. Owing to the fact that the hot rice will cook it just a little more, the timing here is tricky. If she adds the mix too early then the eggs will end up just slightly raw - not a tragedy, but not as delicious in the end. Too late and the eggs will be strained out by the top part of the rice instead of sinking in - again, not a tragedy, but not as delicious. Just right and the eggs sink into the rice but then thicken there as intended. Of course, since Nina's made this recipe many times, her timing is perfect as she takes the pan off the heat and pours half of the mixture over each bowl of rice.
"So would you like to eat your Oyakodon with a spoon, fork, or chopsticks?" she asks as she scraps out the last bit of sauce from the pan, listing off the utensils from the least to most challenging since it could be eaten with any of them.
(OOC: 'Oyakodon' is actually three words in Japanese. Oya means 'parent', ko means 'child', and don is short for donburi and means 'bowl'. And it refers to the fact that when you're eating chicken and eggs at the same time you're eating two generations of the same animal at the same time.)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2011 23:59:31 GMT -5
His eyebrow's furrowed together at her one comment, but luckily, she had already turned her attention back to the food. She didn't listen to him because she cared about him...is that what she meant? That made no sense whatsoever, and Edward prided himself of making sense of even the most illogical scenarios. He decided to put the statement in his little 'Nina makes no sense' box, and analysis it on a later day.
When she finished, his eyes glanced down at the bowls. It smelled and looked great for a japanese dish. He had already deduced that Nina's heritage was japanese, but as always when it came to family, he avoided the topic.
"You are quite lucky that there are not cameras in here. Making japanese cuisine in China's capital...it's almost taboo!" he said jokingly. China and Japan always had a strange relation. There cultures had such similarities because of their mutual influence on each other, but there were striking differences to those who ever studied either. Of course, most of China and Japan's tension usually centered around Taiwan.
"Since we are in China, I will have to go with chopsticks, dear," he said sweetly. When she put the pan down, and he determined she was finished. He put his cane to the side and picked up the two bowls. He moved them to the table easily. He could eat with chopsticks without a problem, but he had no desire to do it standing.
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
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Player: Avalikia ~
Registered On: Nov 4, 2010 0:01:40 GMT -5 ~
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Post by Nina Stenet on Dec 21, 2011 7:26:41 GMT -5
The exact opposite of starting a huge, nasty argument about something being risky is to keep relatively quiet about something being risky. And if Nina hadn't thought that was the logical interpretation of her comment, then she would have clarified. Unfortunately for Edward, asking someone for clarification on what ought to be a simple statement is probably on his list of 'things that I don't do'.
She laughs at his joke, saying, "Well, the only other way I know how to cook is American, they didn't give me the ingredients for that, and that has its own problems." Especially if Edward has any say in that issue, apparently. "And if they didn't want me making something Japanese, they shouldn't have given me meat, rice, and soy sauce at the same time - that's entrapment!" she adds, faking defensiveness. Though it really was a lot easier to figure out something to make with what had been provided that drew from her Japanese roots more than her American roots - even if her Japanese roots are much smaller. One of the similarities between China and Japan is the type of foodstuffs that are most available, after all.
Satisfied now that the meal is complete, her smile becomes appreciative when he takes the initiative to carry the bowls over to the table without being asked. "Thank you," she says gratefully. Carrying things is not very easy for her at the moment since she has her crutches to manage at the same time as well. Within the kitchen it's a lot easier since they're designed with the idea of easy movement in mind, and she can simply move things onto and off of the counter. And carrying a small pot of cold-at-the-time water from the sink to the stove is about as daring as she's willing to get - worst case scenario, the floor gets wet. Dropping an entire freshly prepared meal is far more consequential, and so carrying it is not something she's really willing to attempt.
Then again, she doesn't fail to miss that Edward's walking without his cane. Of course, she has noticed that how much his leg bothers him varies with his frame of mind. Which she can't imagine would be anything but good at the moment. Retrieving her second crutch, she moves over to look in another drawer and pulls out two sets of chopsticks. She purses her lips at them slightly as she jokes, "And what about eating Japanese food with Chinese chopsticks? I suppose that's frowned upon as well?" Based on the tone of her voice, she's not at all opposed to the idea of breaking a few taboos if she has to in order to get a good meal. But the chopsticks easy enough for her to hold in her fingers while she uses her crutches.
She pauses on her way to the table to shift her wine glass from the counter by the stove over to where he left his - a silent plea for him to bring that over too when he gets his. While spilled wine isn't as big of a deal as a dropped meal, she's honestly starting to wear herself out at this point and doesn't want to try something tricky now just to show that she's not helpless. She did make the meal, after all! She smiles at Edward as she crutches over to the table and places a pair of the chopsticks by one of the bowls, then claims the other for herself by settling herself into the chair in front of it with a sigh. Then she spends a few moments rearranging things - leaning her crutches against the wall, sliding an extra chair to where she can prop up her leg. Ah, now she can relax!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2011 18:30:19 GMT -5
His mood did truly control the pain in his leg, or rather his mood determined whether or not he paid attention to the pain in his leg. The pain never ended or subdued, his focus merely shifted to and from it depending on his surroundings and situations. Currently, his thoughts weren't even on his leg. He barely noticed the pain, even though an obvious limp was still in his walk. To him though, it was like an annoying bug bite. Irritating, but hardly enough to distract him from his mood.
He laughed a little as he put the bowls down. "The Chinese are intelligent people. They manage to entrap even the most successful of businessmen. You have to be careful," he said as he turned back to get his glass. He walked back and saw Nina's glass next to his. He didn't really think much more of it, but to grab it also. He took a sip of his wine as he listened to Nina's chopstick comment.
He walked back to the table. "Well if we are already going against the grain, it only seems fit to do it in the most dramatic way. It brings a bit of light into boring routine," he remarked with a playful smirk. The simple statement on food and culture was just another representation of Edward's thoughts of life. He had never been one to be wrapped up in the constant repetitiveness of routines. He hated routines and found them dull and boring. At least in his new career choice, there was never a routine.
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
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Player: Avalikia ~
Registered On: Nov 4, 2010 0:01:40 GMT -5 ~
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Post by Nina Stenet on Dec 22, 2011 7:17:48 GMT -5
Nina really hadn't be conscious of how tired her good leg had become while she was cooking, almost immediately after taking a shower. Now that she's sitting down comfortably again her muscles seem to be insisting that she never do that again. On the other hand, she's so happy to have done it that she doesn't regret doing it in the least.
She smirks at Edward's remark, saying, "Well, if we're going for dramatic, then you should have asked for a fork. That would fly in the face of everything Chinese and Japanese diners believe in." She can still vaguely recall the time her brother asked grandma if he could please 'just use a fork'. He never made that mistake again. She suspects that the woman didn't allow them in the house.
Picking up her chopsticks, she worries them in her hand a moment. Joking aside, they do feel different from the sort of chopsticks she's used to, even if the actual difference is small. Still, the way she immediately snags a piece of mushroom out of her bowl with them and pops it into her mouth shows that she does know how to use them properly. "Mmm, I usually have to use dried shiitake - fresh is better," she comments with a grin. Actually, she's guessing that a few of the ingredients will be like that - they're in the actual place these things are from, after all.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2011 2:31:28 GMT -5
He finally took a sit at the table, sitting his and her glasses down. He picked up the chopsticks as he listened to Nina's teasing. He let out a light laugh. "I suppose you are right," he said way to many times today for his liking, good thing he didn't notice. He dipped the chopsticks into the bowl grabbing a bit of chicken and egg. "Maybe my dramatic flare isn't what it used to be," he stated as he brought the food to his mouth. He caught her comment about the ingredients, but ignored it for the taste. It tasted wonderful. Actually, it tasted better then when he had this dish in Japan. As far as cuisine went he usually preferred French or Italian, but on rare occasion he enjoyed Japanese. Obviously, this was one of those rare occasions.
He swallowed and gave her a small smile. "It appears you have done wonderfully with what you had at hand," he commented then took another bite. When was the last time he had food? Honestly, he had no idea. He ate so quickly and grabbed what he could so he didn't waste time. Time is the valuable after all.
He swallowed his second bite before asking a curious question. "Have you enjoyed your time away from Gotham?" he asked. He wasn't particularly certain what Nina was doing with her free time. Both Allen and Jimmy were order to take her where she wanted to be. She could have seen all of Beijing by now.
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Nina Stenet
"Great acts are made up of small deeds." - Lao Tzu
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Player: Avalikia ~
Registered On: Nov 4, 2010 0:01:40 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 696
~ Relationship Status: Single
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Post by Nina Stenet on Dec 26, 2011 7:08:39 GMT -5
Nina smiles at Edward's first statement as she comments, "No, there's definitely nothing wrong with your dramatic flare - trust me on that one." Whether it was good, bad, or ugly, she can't think of much of anything he's done since she met him that wasn't dramatic in some way. Though interestingly enough, as she reflects upon that fact her smile becomes adoring - in spite of the fact that some of those memories are still quite negative to her.
Her smile grows a little when he compliments her cooking, though she refrains from commenting on it and instead lets her expression show her appreciation while she picks up a proper bite - she knows it's good and it's not polite to brag about your cooking. A part of the reason for the good flavor is practice, but another part is exactly how she learned to cook it - the purely Japanese version of the dish is not geared toward a western palate, while the more Americanized version tones down the flavors of it too much. Nina learned how to make this sort of thing from a woman of pure Japanese ancestry who rejected the culture of her parents in favor of the one she was born into, but was herself taught how to cook by a woman actually from Japan (her mother and grandmother, respectively). So Nina's Japanese cooking is a hybrid of sorts, kind of like herself. Of course, the way one feels about the chef tends to influence the way the meal is evaluated too.
She eats quietly with that smile still on her face until his question interrupts her line of thought, and her answer is an obviously distracted, "Well, it's a lot better than being in Gotham right now..." Not a very deep thought at all, given that she'd really rather go back to mulling over the previous one... However, she blinks as if pulling herself out of it again when she points out to herself that she's suddenly not at all holding up her end of the conversation. Then again, why not just say what she was thinking about?
"It just occurred to me that there's something I've never told you," she says as her smile shifts back to the adoring one she'd had a moment before, hinting at the nature of what she's about to say. "While it's probably too obvious how I feel about what you do sometimes," an uncomfortable frown flickers across her face, but only for an instant, "And why you do it - I just don't understand. But how you do it..." She pauses for a moment, trying to find the words that adequately express the thought. "Even when, in the moment, I don't like the 'what', I always notice the 'how' too. And it's... awe-inducing..." she continues a bit more smoothly before her words fail her again. Hmm, perhaps an example would help? "Like when we met, even though you were somewhat distracted by me, taking those paintings looked effortless. And you weren't even trying hard with that one, were you?" she asks, though the question is largely rhetorical.
"I didn't miss that. I've never missed it in anything - no matter what other emotion I feel on the surface, somewhere inside I'm always amazed," she continues, her expression equal parts smile and thoughtful as she tries to put together the right words. "Even during that riddle..." she adds idly, though her expression contorts strangely at that one. Perhaps it would surprise him that when she touched upon an unpleasant memory for that example, that was the one that came to mind. In spite of all the other profoundly negative things that have happened between them, that's actually the one that still hurts the most when she looks back upon it. Not when he shot her - she forgave that. Not when he didn't see her for weeks after that horrible fight - she actually blames herself for that one now. No, it's the riddle that still really hurts. And right now it causes a mixture of pain and wonder as she reflects more specifically upon the design of it. It hurt - just like he'd meant it to.
But not wanting to linger on that memory, she pulls herself out of it and her expression becomes thoughtful as she looks more directly at Edward. "I think..." she starts to say, but then hesitates for half a moment as she considers whether or not she should complete that particular sentence before her thoughtful expression vanishes and her smile is again in full force. "I think that's why I love you," she concludes. It does encompass her favorite parts of him; not only does his methods demonstrate his intelligence, but the fact that he also has the sheer audacity to use them... How can she not be attracted to that? Even when he's doing something that, to put it mildly, she doesn't approve of?
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Deleted Member
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Registered On: May 4, 2024 11:42:37 GMT -5 ~
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2011 3:39:38 GMT -5
He had been focusing on his food as Nina spoke, so it wasn't surprising when he started talking about his work, she had caught him in a rather large bite of food. His stuffed mouth prevented him from speaking and his confused expression actually gave him a weird look. His lips were puckered out as he continued to chew and his eyebrows were furrowed together as he attempted to understand her statements. He had already knew her feelings about what and why, but her feelings on the how were unknown to him...or more likely, he hadn't taken the time to consider it. The silent pause caused him to think the question that was bothering him as he continued to chew.
Why is she bringing this up now?
Her confusion but kind smiles gave him a hint that whatever her feeling about the 'how' would not be terrible. And when the answer finally left her lips, he felt a sense of pride overwhelm him. He finally managed to swallow his food to reveal a smirk. He kept quiet though as she continued. He moved his elbows to the table and folded his hands together under his chin as he listened thoughtfully to the rest of her statement.
Edward has obvious trust issues, but when someone complimented his talent he rarely ever considered them to be lying. He knew every plan he put together was amazing and breathtaking to the average civilian. It required such strategical thought process that went above the average mind. He did after all give clues to heroes and the police to stop him and still manage to succeed. He was obviously very intelligent. The mention of the museum heist popped in his mind for a brief moment. She was correct. He hadn't been trying that hard with the heist. He had only gone through with it for some extra cash. It was actually one of his least productive plans, but the way Nina spoke of it and her expression told him that she really did find the small heist impressive.
Again, his smirk grew a bit. Complimenting a narcissist can only cause their already large ego to grow. So even when he catches the frown about the personal riddle he had made to her, he doesn't feel the guilt. He is too caught up with how amazingly brilliant he is. If he were to speak in brute terms he would state that he is awesome, totally awesome.
The only thing that managed to shake that smirk and knock him back into reality was the 'L' word. His head lifted ever so slightly off his folded hands. Every time he heard that word, he still felt strange. It just was not meant to be in Edward's vocabulary. It causes him to hesitate for a brief moment, possibly only half a second. He sat straighter, pulling his arms off the table and moving them to the back of his head. He leaned back against the chair causing the chair to balance on the back two legs. The smirk was back on his face as his eyes connected with Nina.
"Well Dear, I believe that means you have extraordinary high standards, which is quite a rare trait among people," he said with arrogance in his tone, "You were quite lucky to run into a man who was made to pure perfection." The feeling he was having now was the same feeling he always had once he accomplished a plan. It was knowing that you are superior to everyone else and in some ways making you a god.
His eyes then went up to the ceiling as his thoughts wandered to all of his plans in the past. "On the grand scheme of things, quite a bit of my plans have been small and simple," he said with a new seriousness but it went away as fast as it appears, "What I am doing now though will be like nothing in the past. It almost feels like I am painting master piece, and I am days away from revealing it to the public." His eyes shifted back to hers. "You know dear," he paused debating on whether he wanted to state it, "if you ever do want to be a part of the how, I would gladly show you how it's done."
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