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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2014 20:36:54 GMT -5
Aria can't help but smile to herself as she listens to Mr. Luthor speak, though her reason for that is something that will remain strictly private. With no attention being given to her at the moment, she does nothing but quietly listen. Though she does glance at the clock when Selina references the time - she can't allow herself to get too distracted and forget the time, no matter how easy that would be in this situation.
Aside from that, she actually has a slightly hard time keeping her attention focused on the exchange of questions and answers. It's just that they're all so... standard. Predictable questions, predictable answers, and she was always one to get bored easily. Then again, another question is asked and, though it too is a rather predictable one, it actually catches Aria's interest. They'd had a little chat on the subject of Selina's dress after all, so she's naturally curious what the results ended up being. She straightens and casts Selina a curious look, as if silently underlining it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2014 16:51:42 GMT -5
As the room roared with laughter, Vicki grew concerned when she noticed Lex was barely smiling. Had she embarrassed him with her humorous joke? She made a mental note to speak with him later, just to make sure everything was all right between them.
Vicki giggled at Lex’s remark to her about saving some information for his presentation later, but she was gravely disappointed that he wouldn’t answer her question. Although his summary was satisfying, it also peaked her curiosity. Like all the other reporters in the room, it looked like the Gazette’s star reporter would have to wait to see what Lex revealed later. Lex certainly knew how to work a crowd. He could be such a tease!
Vicki eyes widened when Lex started speaking dramatically to the group. In the end, she was impressed with his visionary statements overall. He stirred hope within her – hope for a new day and a brighter future for both Gotham City and Metropolis. His answers concerning security, investment, and education sounded so noble and selfless. Lex Luthor was all about quality – improving Gotham’s economy, its buildings, and its citizens. When he addressed her personally during his rousing conclusion and called for a spirit of unity, Vicki’s heart swelled with pride for her fair city . . . and with love for Lex Luthor. She was so glad they were friends and that he had come to help Gotham.
When Lex stepped back to let Selina stand at the podium, Vicki fell in love with the woman’s radiant smile and striking eyes. If Miss Kyle was nervous about public speaking, Vicki couldn’t tell. Selina looked like a natural. However, Vicki smiled back, hoping to put Selina’s fear at ease, if it existed.
Vicki was quite impressed and more than satisfied with Selina’s honest and heartfelt answers. Deep down, Vicki felt that Lex had chosen the right partner to help him in his endeavor. It felt right.
As Selina stepped away from the podium, Vicki’s eyes caught Summer Gleeson looking around the room and smirking. It didn’t surprise Vicki when Summer’s hand shot up again. As Summer asked Selina a question concerning her wardrobe for the evening, Vicki kept her professional composure, turned to Clark Kent, and excused herself, not really interested in Summer’s exchange -- or friendship -- with Selina Kyle. Vicki thought it would be a wiser investment of her time to take some photographs for a future special Metropham project she had in mind. “Find me later, Smallville,” she whispered in Clark’s ear before sliding past him and exiting the row.
As she made her way to the back of the room with her camera, Vicki smiled and waved to colleagues she knew and recognized. She couldn't believe how nice everyone looked. Vicki had no doubt that it was going to be a wonderful and memorable evening for those in attendance.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2014 9:57:50 GMT -5
Lex Luthor smiled faintly at the question, he interrupted the question, speaking into the microphone before Selina had a chance to answer. "If I could interrupt my compatriot to add something to that question, Ms. Kyle has been kind enough to utilize local designers, including Mr. Neil Richards an interesting designer who has a lovely taste for making everything old new again, and still maintaining a sense of style."
He smiles as he says "But, I want the ladies and gentlemen of the press to pay particular attention to the clothes we'll be wearing tonight, not merely because of the style of the cut or the quality of the workmanship, but because we'll be utilizing an interesting new material that the boys down at LexCorp's Material Composition Labs have come up with. It's artificial, yes, but more importantly, it's photochromic and chemochromic, a technology that Mr. Richards is hoping will revolutionize the fashion industry." He smiles as he reaches down to his tie, tapping the end of it, then pulling on it. A spread of green moves over the tie from where he touches, then again, a spread of purple, then red, then he taps up the side of the tie, creating a green and purple striped pattern.
"The fabric lends itself to flexibility and of course to interesting new works of fashion." He taps down the middle. The tie starts to change colors in an interesting floating dreamlike pattern as Lex Luthor smiles as he says "But of course I always like to take the opportunity to show what we're working on. I'm sure that in a few months, we'll see some madman on the street with it using it as a theme for some sort of crime wave, but until then, I hope that we get to use the material for good instead of evil." He chuckles a bit at that.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2014 16:07:29 GMT -5
As Summer comes forward with another question, she's holding back her delighted laughter, instead a glimmer coming forth in her eyes. Of course Summer would come up with such a question. The sad part is, she has no idea who is going to be making her dress, considering her shopping escapades had yielded nothing. She had mentioned this to Lex, who had reassured her she would have a gown. So before she is able to move to the microphone to come up with an answer, Luthor had effortlessly moved to respond, and for that she is grateful.
As she stands to the side, she tries to return Aria's glance as well. There is a sea of faces before her, mostly press, but she is able to pick out a few familiar ones, and is grateful that Aria is one of them. It's a grounding point, at least to her. And while she does well at these press junkets, it doesn't mean she likes it. Illusions of grandeur. That's all it is. And when you're dressed well and can give off the illusion of poise, it's easier. Just not as fun.
As the room laughed, Selina held her composure as other questions were poised and responded to. Vicki always was lively in her queries. Now as the woman shifted through the crowd to take more stills and photos, she could only hope she'd set the camera aside when the actual even rolled around to be able to enjoy herself. The timing between this event, and the actual opening of the Gala was short, but would allow ample time to prepare and do a quick change from her suit, to her gown for the evening.
Ah! Now she remembered. Mr. Richards had been quite the gentleman, taking her measurements with ease, asking her preference for materials, and showing her a few of his prior designs. She had felt quite included in the whole ordeal, and was promised a dress for the evening on time. Her own eyes are drawn as well to the tie, which she knows is made of the same material her dress will be composed of as well.
As she offers up a polite laugh as well, she moves to the microphone as well and adds few words, as Lex had been able to beautifully explain the garment for her. "And so to answer your question, Summer, yes, it is local, and custom-made for the event to take place in a few hours. A wonderful merging of not only fashion, but function as well, as Mr. Luthor has gone to great lengths to showcase." She smiles, her gaze going across the crowd as they seek to answer a few more questions from the reporters. After this is done, her eyes flick again to the time, and then back to Lex. "I hate to end the questions, but thank you all for attending this pre-gala gathering. I must excuse those who do not hold invitations as we have a few last minute preparations to do before the event does start. Hopefully most of your questions were addressed, and if not, they will be tonight, and the following day as well. Thank you all, on behalf of not only myself, but Mr. Luthor as well."
She pauses as flashbulbs go off here and there before security starts to escort the rest of the throng of reporters to the exit, as she finally steps off the small stage and makes a beeline to Aria, a smile on her face and her arms open to a hug if the woman is willing.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2014 23:10:37 GMT -5
It doesn't surprise Aria at all when she sees the attention of the reporters beginning to drift a bit. They've now determined which questions will be answered, which ones will be evaded, and are getting the last few answers to the former, which means that they can now form into some sort of a story for their various media outlets - all of it busy work that's best accomplished individually, especially if they want to have that all taken care of with enough time to spare to prepare for the actual event. Unfortunately, she doesn't have that particular problem - her only deadline is to leave before sunset, and no amount of rushing on her part will give her any more time to work with. This press conference will finish when it finishes and whatever time is left between that and sunset is what it is at that point.
Not that she is in too much of a hurry for it to end - it's not unentertaining to watch Lex and Selina perform for the media, after all. Especially as Lex demonstrates the qualities of his tie - that captures her attention rather easily. Revolutionize the fashion industry is right! She can already think of possible uses for it... none of them good... Depends on how soon it will become more publicly available and how quickly it fills the market... She may be very, very old but she likes to keep up with the times and use them to her advantage.
Still, she's rather pleased when the press are dismissed not very long after. While she may know how to see the entertainment value of a press conference, actually getting to talk to Selina person to person is much better. So when she's approached she's smiling, though she turns the offered hug into a double air kiss - that's just so much more her style and she suspects that Selina can handle that. "So good to see you again!" she greets, "Thank you so much for inviting me to this little preview!"
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2014 23:39:26 GMT -5
The woman is warmly welcomed, and the gesture Aria morphs her potential hug into warms her smile even more that she returns the endearment. Its a bit of an uplift to her intuition to attempt to get to know Aria better. Even if she can't fully enjoy the event tonight, this is nearly second best. "Aria! You have no idea how glad I was to see you could make it! I know Lex is speaking with someone right now, but let me show you the venue before we need to kick everyone out!"
Linking her own arm with the politician's, Selina guides her through each atmosphere, pointing out the little details that make each area really pop. It's the silk drapes that she explains will hold the performers, that the braziers near the dance floor and bar area will be lit, but she withholds on explaining exactly how. It's near the balcony where she pauses, her eyes flicking to the soon approaching sky. Taking a seat in her skirt-suit, Selina turns to Aria with a smile. "And you're absolutely, positively sure you're not able to make it tonight, Aria? I know I'm not quite begging, nor would I ever want to cause you to cancel on someone else, but I do wish you could make it. Press coverage is never quite the same as being at an event live." If she can entice the socialite to stay, she's going to try.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 0:06:16 GMT -5
"Oh, I bet..." Aria says with a glance in the direction she saw Lex, though her attention shifts immediately back to Selina "And yes, please - I'd love to see!"
The tour of the different environments is an interesting thing for her, because to her eyes it's such a blending of the old and new. For example, acrobats of various types have been an entertainment of choice for the wealthy for ages while elaborate lighting effects are very new and always getting better. And in general many of the basic ideas behind the decor have been done in earlier ages, but the refinement of execution is something that could only be done with modern materials. And all in all she's very complimentary of the setup, asking a question here and there.
At nearly the exact moment that Selina glances at the sky, so does she. Some days it's as if the sun hardly moves, and others it's hurtling straight for the horizon as fast as it can - today is one of the latter, alas! Sitting when Selina does, she tries to relax and enjoy this moment anyway - all the anticipation of the approaching event, the beauty of the venue... She can't wait until summer when she'll be able to attend more events - or at least the beginning of them. "Oh, I'm afraid it's quite impossible, or believe me that I would. This is certainly not something that I would miss if I didn't have to, but unfortunately I do have to," she replies with a regretful sigh, "But good luck this evening, and if you can shoot me a text or two during if you have a spare moment - I'm naturally very curious to know how the auction goes with regards to myself." And she'll be right there to see it, but the request helps keep up the pretense that she won't be present. And possibly give her an excuse to interact with Selina during.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2014 5:53:57 GMT -5
Selina cracks into a wry smile. "But you honestly can't fault me for trying; again, even, at this, can you? I just..with your contributions, and the fact you are entered into the auction, I just, it's a pity, a true pity, Aria, but I wholeheartedly understand. Next time I do something like this, I'll make sure to snag you for your schedule. Maybe later in this summer, even. I've heard whispers of a Yacht in Metropolis for some festivities," she teases the woman lightly. And if she were more keen to the other's nightly proclivities, she's have made sure to plan something to fit her schedule much, much better.
"No doubt you'll be able to look over the photos and press later, much as I will be myself, but it just isn't the same. We, Lex and myself have already had to deal with those who were not invited and wanted to be, and vice versa." She sighs, and lays her arm along the backrest of her seat, once more glancing to the night sky. "It will be a beautiful setting. Luthor saw us walking around, so no doubt should be joining us when he is finished as well." And then it's off to get the final touches on her own hair and getting into her dress, and making sure Charlotte is ready. Then lights, camera, and action.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2014 12:09:19 GMT -5
Smiling a little, Aria comments, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I believe that given my participation I'll at least be here in spirit even if I'm not physically present." Ah, she amuses herself far too much saying things like that sometimes! "And a Yacht you say? That certainly sounds like something I may have to get involved in..." she comments with a grin. Especially if it's during summer, that sounds like one of those things that she'd be able to attend the beginning of.
Of course, though her schedule can be quite inconvenient, she's not one to reveal the cause of it too readily. Would she have managed to remain so undetected for so long if she ever let too many people know. She's not about to risk her immortality on the temporary convenience of having Selina know what sort of schedule works for her. It would actually far safer for her to meet the woman as a ghost than it would be for her to reveal that the ghost is also herself and that the transformations occur - the true danger is some sort of magic user discovering that she's no ordinary ghost and looking into that issue.
Glancing at the sky once again, Aria smiles when Selina mentions Lex coming over. "Oh, I'd love the opportunity to speak with him again!" she responds quite readily, but also sighs as she adds, "Though I do need to go soon..." If she's going to be cutting her schedule close, it's good to provide some hint that she may eventually have to rush off, after all.
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2014 3:44:04 GMT -5
It didn't take long, a few more greetings and farewells to the press, some hand shakes, some simple questions. Lex Luthor was being his normal charming self, slick and polished. There were fewer other questions and of course setting everything up for the last minute of the gala. He approached Aria and Selina, smiling as he went. "Ah, Ms. Lloyd. How wonderful to see you again. You're looking fantastic." He smiled to her saying "I'm sorry to hear you'd be unable to join us at the gala this evening, but still. . . I understand that business must be attended to."
He moves near the two of them, equidistant, the third prong to the conversational triangle, he's carrying a bottle that he snatched from the bar on the way. "It's somewhat early for celebration, I know, but I felt it only fitting to celebrate beforehand. I do hope you attend the yacht party though, it's earlier and I'm hoping to have some other individuals there you might be interested to meet." He was carrying three glasses, the champagne poured easily, it bubbled nicely, as he offered to Aria and Selina, tradition was important, the champagne was well selected and had a robust smell. The way the sound resonated in the crystal was subtle, and only an overborne epicurian would even bother to notice.
He smiled again at Aria, they'd had history before. "I had a chance to read over the new legislation you've been proposing. . . one one end it also seems like an expansion of the H-1B visa applied to superskilled labor. An interesting idea. . . but some of the implications of the wording of your legislation seems to raise interesting questions regarding the relationship between metapower and human society." He refused to call them metahumans, he refused to associate those strange alien creatures with humanity, it was a calculated affectation among Lex Luthor that held some sway among vast segments of the population.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2014 21:07:20 GMT -5
Right on cue there is her counterpart for the evening. Smiling to him she is keen on the fact he echos many of her sentiments. The yacht endeavor, the fact Aria has to leave much too soon for either of their liking.
The bottle and glasses do not go unnoticed as she is offered the crystal, and then it is filled. Luthor is a man of many talents she's realizing, and more than a bit curious to know if he has a dual life in Metropolis, much like Gotham's denizens have. Then again, he's too nuanced to go for something that would require such deception. His ego is that of subtlety. If he were going to do something, he'd want to claim the credit. All of it.
Listening as Lex offers commentary on her legislation, Selina has to smile. It's nice to know that more than one person in this city is following some of the politicians. She herself can barely stomach the social circuit politics, let alone legitimate ones, but it does make for a fun pastime. Raising her glass she looks to both her companions. "And to what do we owe this toast to, Mr. Luthor?" She teases with his more formal address, rather than his more common moniker.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2014 4:37:23 GMT -5
Seeing Lex approaching them, Aria immediately breaks out into a large, friendly smile. As much as she resembles her 'dearly departed' mother, it's expressions like that which set her apart from the woman, who didn't smile often - and when she did it wasn't friendly. "Why thank you, Mr. Luthor! And you're certainly as dashing as ever," she replies easily, "And I wouldn't be missing this if I didn't absolutely have to, but regretfully my schedule..." She trails off with a shake of her head, not feeling the need to say more on that subject. "And of course, I will make the yacht party a top priority - the odds of a schedule conflict like tonight's are low, especially if it's earlier," she reassures him with a nod. Anyone that he feels she should meet, he is probably perfectly correct about, after all.
Her smile renews itself as she accepts the champagne, holding the stem of her glass delicately in her hand. Though her expression quickly shifts to one of curious interest as he speaks about her little pet project in Congress. Catching a hint here and there of veiled feelings that of course he would never express directly, her reply is similarly nuanced. "It's really very simple, actually - I'm fighting for equality," she says with a smile, "Whether someone is from Earth or elsewhere, whether they have extraordinary abilities or not, all deserve equal treatment under the law: equal rights, equal responsibilities. Everything else is just details. Which I'm happy to discuss if you're curious - but later. You'll have me talking your ear off and making us both miss our commitments this evening if you're not careful."
And this is a bit of a difficult time and place for her to clarify the full impact of what she's working on mainly because, while she has some idea of what Lex will think about it, she can't be sure of Selina's true opinion on it and it's difficult to spin it in both directions at once. And spin it either way she can, and quite easily too - at times she almost suspects that she's the only one who truly understands the full implications and will be until the time comes to actually implement it, but more realistically she needs to make sure that the right people know as well so that they will provide their much needed assistance to getting it passed. Such a frank discussion can't be had here and now.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 4:18:57 GMT -5
Lex Luthor smiled as he says "Gotham City is a place centered around its nightlife, I find. Many of the imperfections of the city are often smoothed out by a lack of direct light. I find it tiresome, but I sleep so little anyway it makes little difference" He smiles as he lifts his drink, nodding to his counterpart as he says "I say we drink to . . . success in all things." It was a traditional toast for him, but important. A self-directed promise to never compromise in the face of impossible odds, to face an unbowing world and stare it down. He was 19 the first time he made this toast, and he'd never used another.
"Equality is an interesting cause to champion, despite the desires of our more philosophically minded brethren, not all men . . . or women. . . are created equal, nor are equal opportunities available for all to enjoy." He's got that smug look on his face he tends to get when he gets to discuss philosophy, not quite professorial, but he tends to take some of the mannerisms of his only slightly less famous academic advisor.
"Indeed, that's one of the major problems that Gotham City seems to face, inequality of opportunity to express talent, a major source of crime is desperation, and a major source of economic inequality is the concentration of powers in . . . shall we say self-focused loci. Despite the fact that the more notable crimes in Gotham are caused by insanity and exceptional circumstances, a significant level of difficulty is caused by natural efforts of a population to equalize opportunity and overcome inequalities. With luck, Metropham might be able to offer less destructive avenues for such activities."
He shrugs as he says "Indeed, one can say that the very nature of a metapower is inequality, my major concern regarding them, not so much the power element, but the meta. Metapowers are distributed in such a random way, and those with them have the ability to define the shape of the world with such ease. In my own city, Superman likes to say that his greatest power and hope is to serve as inspiration to others, but he provides an inspiration that no mere human being can reach without a transformation in the very nature of humanity itself. It’s a Brave New World, Miss Lloyd, one that requires entirely new ways of thinking.”
He shrugs as he finishes his point “After all There’s two schools of thought in legal thinking, after all: One based in a philosophy of common law, derived from tradition and argued from similarity and basic principles. The Metapower is associated with existing elements for which laws already exist. However, this begs the question, is the metapower simply an exaggeration or development of something we’ve seen before? Or is it something wholly new? Do we need to apply a practical understanding of the law to them, focused on addressing the reality of a world transformed? The laws of physics have difficulty coping in the face of such realities, let alone the laws of governments. Can any law in the current system truly bring equal rights and responsibilities to those whose abilities redefine how we understand the universe without categorizing such individuals in a very specific way?”
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2014 20:08:32 GMT -5
Taking her own flute of champagne, Selina smiles to the two. While they both seem to share a rather passionate interest in politics, and lobbying for this or that; she's quite aware from the calls she's sat in on that Luthor has multi-tasked with while they had spent time together, her rather invested smile gives nothing to the fact she absolutely detests the topic.
So as the politician and ...whatever Luthor is styling himself as in this moment, Selina indulges in her drink, green eyes flicking back and forth as they both speak, Luthor doing a good deal of sharing.
Equality is touched upon, worded delightfully as Lex waxes near poetic on the subject pertaining to Gotham. She is quite surprised at his knowledge base considering he is not native to the city, but to it's brighter sister to the North. He does have valid points as he continues, and she's curious to see how Aria will respond.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 19:45:27 GMT -5
The toast to success seems to have an eager partaker in Aria, who responds to it with an immediate smile. "To success!" she responds before taking a drink.
As he starts into what will clearly turn into a long peroration, her expression becomes amused but she listens to him quite carefully. In fact, when he finishes at first her only comment is to say, "I see that I shouldn't have gotten you started." Then she has to pause to gather her thoughts into a coherent response, as she wasn't doing so during - people often tend to do that, but it distracts a person from actually listening very well. Though even when her thoughts are gathered, her comments are quite brief - as she said, there isn't sufficient time to discuss the true nature of what she's doing in any depth, though there is perhaps some time to philosophize about it a bit.
"Well, equality is, in the end, an ideal and not an actually achievable state - it lies well outside what can be proscribed by any legal code," she admits first, "However, the law is able to at least make great strides in the right direction even if it can't quite reach the ideal. And while I'm sure that Metropham will be a rousing success for Gotham and have great effect on the equality of its citizens, it's still a local-level project - we have an entire country that could use some specific, national-level policies for how people with such abilities ought to be treated by the law rather than remaining mostly silent on the subject and expecting the local police and judges to figure out how to apply laws that don't even attempt take them into account. Though I do believe that, at least from a legal standpoint, there is nothing fundamentally new about any of this. We have laws about how to deal with people from foreign places, for example. The only question to my mind, and the question that my current project attempts to address, is exactly how one applies those laws when, for example, the foreign place is another planet."
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