11650/Dinner with Dazzler

Dinner with Dazzler
Date of Scene:	21 June 2020
Location:	Murrilo's in Manhattan
Synopsis:	Andrea has a proper fan girl moment with Dazzler. They talk business and life.
Cast of Characters:	Dazzler, Rage

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Dazzler has posed:
Dazzler chooses the Italian restaurant for dinner with Andrea. Between the two celebrities, they have no problem getting a quiet table reservation in the back of the restaurant. For her part, Alison is wearing comfortably-worn jeans, a powder-blue midriff top, and a leather jacket with the Dazzler trademark logo on the back.

Ali arrives early, waiting for Andrea at the host's stand.

Rage has posed:
The doors open to reveal Andrea and her bodyguard, James. The large man is wearing a snug black shirt and a pair of black pants with his shades over his eyes. As he follows along after the popstarlet, he gives only a brief glance about the room. Andrea, for her part, is dressed in a fashionable pair of skinny jeans and a white sundress with some type of floral pattern upon it.

As she is led to Allison's table, she gives her a smile and slides into a seat. James, heads over to another table to sit by himself with a glass of water. "Hey, Allison. I hope you weren't waiting long. Traffic is terrible. How's the day?"

Dazzler has posed:
Dazzler's gaze shifts from Andrea briefly to the bodyguard. Yes, she knows what James is, alright. Not this starlet's first rodeo, after all. She meets Andrea's smile with one of her own.

"I rode my bike, so traffic wasn't too terrible." Her gaze remains on Andrea. "Are things really so bad that you need a bodyguard for a private dinner, or have I just been out of the biz for too long?"

Rage has posed:
Rubbing the back of her neck, Andrea shrugs her shoulders upwards. "James is like an extension of me at this rate. So far I've been attacked by The Reavers and the Friends of Humanity multiple times. I wasn't joking about being shot up at Starbucks. I got this nasty scar." She taps herself on the chest. "Donald Pierce put a sword clear through me. Then I had my car blown up when they trailed us after lunch one day. Then another time at one of my concerts. Lucky for me, the Avengers assisted in cleanup."

"I am a very outspoken mutant activist. I will die a martyr most likely. I have no problem sticking my middle finger up in front of the camera and telling the world to suck it, that I don't care about their snowflake opinions. That /we/ are people. No different and we deserve to be treated equally. Our own government was complicit in allowing robots to attack us in the street and no charges were even filed. No one cares. So.. due to my .. rather vocal opinions, I have James here."

Her head tilts over towards the large man. "Who's really good at his job."

Dazzler has posed:
Dazzler listens, nodding sympathetically as Andrea lists off her injuries. A smile touches her glossy lips and she leans in a little. "It's no criticism of James, of course, and I'm sure he's very good at keeping you alive."

Alison laces her fingers together and her smile takes on a more knowing expression, then. "But you have me here with you as well, Andrea. I've fought my way through alien arenas and alternate dimensions. Believe me when I say that I can handle things."

Rage has posed:
"I know you can. But just in case, he's also here to handle me. In case something goes wrong." Andrea says as she flags a waiter down to obtain some water. "I never told the world about what I can do, because it's not family friendly. I may be America's darling mutant girl next door ex Disney child star, but I am pretty sure most mothers would not be cool with the fact that their daughter's pop-idol turns into an eight foot hairy monster of pure rage."

Giving a glance down at her fingernails, she admires the job that is done on her nails. "I've ripped people apart. Monsters too. With my jaws and claws. I've taken lives in self-defense and I have cried myself to sleep at night afterwards. I am a werewolf. Not the cute, fuzzy kind like Rahne is you know. She's adorable. I'm talking about an actual, straight out of your nightmares monster and when I taste blood." She says as her head bobs. "It's like shark week."

"So, James is also around to .. neutralize me. In the case that I do need to use my powers and then I can't /stop/. It's embarrassing."

Dazzler has posed:
Alison lifts a brow at that. "To... handle you?" Then Andrea goes on to describe the eight foot tall rage monster. Ali's expression becomes sympathetic and she even chuckles softly. "I certainly see. And I'm also very sorry, Andrea. Truly."

Alison regards the younger woman for a moment, then adds. "And thank you for trusting me with your secret. You didn't have to, and I really do appreciate it."

For her part, Alison also orders water and she asks for the wine list. "You trust me on the wine? I'm gonna guest something full-bodied and red."

Rage has posed:
"Of course." Andrea says in regards to the wine without a blink. "Red is delicious." Her smile brightens as she puts her phone off to the side, screen down, even if it buzzes a few times. She'll just ignore it. "And everyone at the school knew my secret. Just happy it hasn't leaked out. Definitely was some close calls in the past. But it's who I am and apart of me. One day I will tell the world. I just want to wait until maaaaybe after my third album." She grins. "You know.. make sure it doesn't flop."

"Speaking of music, you know Sam owns and runs the Club Evolution in Mutant Town? I play there sometimes for our people. Free of charge. I bet they'd go nuts if you were to do a show there. I know I would. I'd love to be a fan in the crowd. Again." She says with a cheesy grin.

"I've been to like.. ten of your concerts when I was younger. I'm sooooorta obsessed with you in that whole stalker show up at your house kinda way. Some people idolize Superman. I idolize you. So, I'd totally buy tickets for one of your shows, even now."

Dazzler has posed:
Dazzler chuckles when Andrea mentions waiting for her third album. "Just remember, Andrea, your fans may accept you as a mutant and the world may accept you as a mutant. But that doesn't mean the record producers would be willing to sign a DANGEROUS mutant to their label."

Mutilating people is bad for publicity, apparently.

Alison chuckles softly at the mention of her possibly doing a concert. But before she can hand-wave it, Andrea continues. And she listens. The smile returns, eyes bright, and she reaches over across the table to take Andrea's hand. "Well you won't -need- to buy tickets. If you can set up a gig for me, I'll happily comp your tickets. And one for your hunky bodyguard, too."

Giving a light squeeze and then a wink, she adds. "And if you're stalking me, I'd advise you stay out of my underwear drawer. Nothing of interest in there. Promise."

Rage has posed:
"Do you have any clue how bad I've wanted a pair of Dazzler undies?" Andrea deadpans to her with a grin. She returns the squeeze to her hand, giggling. "I'd still buy the tickets though to support you. I want to be one of those goofy fan girls, sobbing in the front row when you reach out and touch my hand while you're crooning along to Dazzle Me for your encore. Make up running down my face."

"But, if you are really serious, like, super serious, I'd /die/ to have you open maybe a few my shows here? I'm doing a New York and New Jersey show coming up next month before school starts up. I always get local bands to open, but I'd love to extend my show another hour or so and have you pop in as a mystery guest and then just crush it."

At the sound of hunky bodyguard, James actually glances up and over towards them. Usually he's the epitome of hanging in the background, but that caught his attention.

Dazzler has posed:
Alison glances over just in time to catch James' look before her attention flashes back to Andrea. "Well ordinarily I'd tell you to have your people call my people. Except I fired my last promoter... rather loudly... because he was racist against mutants."

Holding the younger woman's gaze for a moment, she adds in a lower voice. "You're serious, too." A soft laugh follows, then Alison releases Andrea's hand. "Alright, then. We'll do it! I'll be your mystery opening-act, or however you want to spin it. Keep it secret or sent out media leaks. I'm good either way."

Rage has posed:
"I'm good at keeping secrets." Andrea says with a grin as she snags her phone and flips it over. "Annnnd... texting my manager now. Gotta get the selfie in." She leans over, taking a pic of them together, then sends it on the way. "My lawyers will contact you about all the paperwork. Just to let you know."

Her tone grows a bit serious here as she slides her water over to her closer. "I vet my staff really hard. I have a small circle of business partners and they are pro-mutant. Some of them /are/ mutants. One of my dreams is that I employ as many mutants as possible, so anyone you work with on my side won't screw you over." She assures.

"Through my team, I created Starlight, which is my suicide prevention and support group for mutants. From there, I am now working on a free health clinic in mutant town. I partnered with Roberto DaCosta and we absorbed Starlight into X-Corp. So, now with additional resources, I'm looking to add more to Starlight's ability to reach out and help mutants, as well as grassroot for policy changes. This is like.. my dream situation."

Dazzler has posed:
Alison leans in and flashes a few colorful starbursts just before the selfie clicks. A few SMALL, colorful starbursts. For background. "Sounds good to me, Andrea. And don't take it personally if I have my lawyer review them. He's one of the few people that I -do- still trust from my show-biz days."

"And I really do appreciate that. Truly. I learned some pretty hard lessons in my early days about trusting the wrong people." Alison leans back a bit, regarding the younger woman with a small smile.

"Let's take this in small steps, I think. The concert openers first, and then we'll see where it goes. I like you and Jean likes you, but my days of being impulsive are in the past."

At least she hopes so.

Rage has posed:
"I wouldn't take it personally. That shit is above my head." Andrea says with a whooshing motion. "Whatever you feel is fair, I'll make sure it's paid. You're /Dazzler/. You're like.. the Madonna of mutant popstars and I am just Britney Spears, living in your shadow, acting like an idiot around you on a red carpet."

"When your music label dropped you for being a mutant, it was literally the moment I decided to stop hiding. I felt like ... you know.. I was surging in popularity, just coming off my platinum album and my Disney career, that I would strike and force Sony to either play ball with me, or lose their cash cow. I wanted to reach out to you so badly, but I don't know.." She trails off a bit. "I was just nervous. Wasn't sure how you'd take it. Didn't want to like.. upset you or embarrass you. At fifteen I would have made it weird."

"I'm eighteen now and it's probably still weird." She says with a laugh. "I like Miss Grey also. She has been a great help to me during my time at Xavier's. I could have home schooled myself but I wanted to be amongst /our/ people. I wanted to be a normal kid, amongst other normal kids, even if we're all super powered up and covered in fur. Miss Grey really helped me feel like a normal kid and not a celebrity."

Dazzler has posed:
Alison tilts her head, listening and watching the younger star. "You know, Andrea, you're much more mature than I was at eighteen. In so many ways. And I'm glad that you've got good people around you offering guidance."

"Back in my day... does that make me sound old?" Ali laughs softly before continuing. "Anyway, back in my day I was advised to come out as a mutant, but it was all for publicity. And the world wasn't ready yet. It's a different place now."

The waiter arrives with the wine, pouring two glasses without so much as asking for an ID.

"A little better in some ways. Worse in others."

Rage has posed:
"My mother is a Marine. She fought in the war. Lost her eye. My father is a doctor. I was raised by two great parents who helped me grow up really fast and be /stable/. The Disney machine sucks you in and spits you out and sometimes the Mouse really fucks you up. My mother made sure that none of that stuff got to me. The celebrity, the fame, the money. She micromanaged me to be a normal kid. I mean.. I did dumb stuff, obviously, but she was always there to get in my face and rip me apart on the couch and give me the business."

"But, I did admire that about you. The freedom you had. Sure, you did some crazy stuff, but look at you .. X-Man.. Avenger.. saved the world.. platinum albums .. brought rollerskates back for a bit. You had /adventures/. I had a career."

Picking up the wine, she takes a small sip, humming happily around the rim. James glances over, then turns back towards his beer. Not even batting an eye. "The world is definitely not more accepting. Not when they send Sentinels after you. Killing people in the streets. But, I don't know.. I'm /hoping/ the young generation can fix this when they're able to. I'm seeing cracks. Small ones, but cracks."

Dazzler has posed:
Ali grins and chuckles again. "Hey, now, roller skates are here to stay, and not just for a bit." She raises her glass as well, taking a sip. And somehow when James glances over, Ali meets his gaze. Again.

"Yes, I've had adventures. But I'm not home. I'm not even in my home version of reality. But I'm okay with that, too. But I like it here. The Mansion feels like home, as does everyone here. I don't even feel any differences anymore."

Blue eyes narrow a touch, her smile remaining as she peers over the wine glass. "As for Sentinels? Just give me an MP3 player and a set of headphones. I'm good."