4112/Riddler Speaking On Riddlr

Riddler Speaking On Riddlr
Date of Scene:	13 November 2020
Location:	Gotham University
Synopsis:	Stephanie attends a talk Riddler gives at Gotham U about the new Riddlr app he's releasing. She and a girl from her class land internships.
Cast of Characters:	Edward Nygma, Stephanie Brown

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Edward Nygma has posed:
Every college wants to be hip, but even more than that, every college wants a lot of money.

Due to various donations to his app, and Edward's own sum of funds, he managed to negotiate a talk at Gotham University for about the equivalent of a tuition, so they weren't going to pass it up.

Getting the app hip with the kids, getting people talking, that's how you start some grassroots advertising!

With the school assembled in the auditorium, there's a green motif everywhere, mostly from holograms and carefully placed lights.

The curtain on stage is bright green, with a large white question mark, and suddenly Ariana Grande's 7 Rings starts playing.

Kids love Ariana Grande.

Edward loves Ariana Grande.

Sliding across the smooth stage, The Riddler, mask, fancy hat, suit and all, starts to flamboyantly strut to the music, twirling his gold question mark cane.

Given that, well, he's a Gotham rogue, there's a surprising amount of people who actually cheer. After all, infamy can often be as effective as fame.

He has a mic on his lapel, and stands at the edge of the stage as the music continues to play, placing both hands on his cane as he leans on it in an exaggerated way. "Riddle me this!" he dramatically says, and the music stops.

"I am something no one wants, everyone becomes, and everyone has their own cure for." He swings his cane out, which projects large white letters over the audience.

It says BORED.

"That's right, I am BORED, BORING, BOREDOM! But I, Edward Nygma, the Riddler, have cured this! Have you ever wanted to investigate, to intellectually stump your friends or even Batman? To solve mysteries with the world? Well, I'm here to talk to you about the Riddlr app!"

He goes on about that for a while, giving a full speech for about thirty minutes. It goes over well, though there are of course many skeptics, it is college after all.

Stepping off stage, he answers questions, signs autographs, shows someone how his green domino mask works, and then he walks off to have a bit of punch, as he's had this thing fully catered. "Another success, Nygma!"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown arrived early to the talk, moving down one of the rows a few from the top. The blond freshman pulls off her bookbag and sets it down on the floor, then takes a seat. A note book is retrieved from the bag before the latter is tucked away between her legs.

More students show up, and some faculty, and the place starts to gradually fill. A large Latino student comes in, trailed by a rather stunning brunette. The young man looks about and starts down Stephanie's row, while brunette is still looking around. She turns back to find him moving over towards a seat already. She follows, though when she sees Stephanie, her expression is a distasteful one. But kept brief, as if that's all the amount of reaction it merits.

"Hey Steph," the boy says, getting a quick smile and a, "Hey Francisco," back from Stephanie. The girl's eyes go to the brunette then. "Jordanna," she says, voice slightly cooler than it was for Francisco.

Jordanna gives no acknowledgment at first, just plops down in her seat before showing notice of Stephanie. "Oh, glad you made it. I didn't know if you had a phone that could run apps like this."

Stephanie fumes quietly, but focuses her attention back on the stage as the lights go down and Edward Nygma comes out. She pulls her phone out. It's not the greatest, or latest, but it works! She begins recording the presentation. The applause from the crowd makes Steph have to concentrate to not frown. What is wrong with these people, cheering for someone who has done so much harm in Gotham!

Edward Nygma has posed:
With the presentation itself over, some people do continue to walk up to him, while Edward sticks around to address as many people as possible. But once most people are gone, he talks to a few of the organizers, and then leans against the stage, eating a sandwich.

There's at least a few dozen people lift, talking among themselves, and Edward has removed his domino mask, very much in after show mode.

He's pretty easy to approach at this point, and quite a few people have asked him about app privacy, though he's given a generally positive but vague answer about it, obviously avoiding that one, or just answering in a riddle.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Jordanna leans over to Francisco to nudge him. "I'd be so good at that. I can't wait until the app comes out. I might have to talk to daddy about investing in it," she says. Francisco gives the beautiful brunette a supportive nod, though as he looks away there's the impression he doesn't think she'd be too good at solving puzzles. "What do you think, Steph, sounds cool?"

Stephanie looks back over to him and says, "Right. Madman and terrorist and you want to put his app on your phone? What, so it can blow up, or siphon off your bank account info or-" Jordanna sits up and rolls her eyes. "Dramatic as always. I'm going to go talk to him."

She hops up and moves down to the stage as it starts to clear off a bit, before Stephanie can even get in a word that might not be a great idea. She sighs, and keeps recording though slips her phone into her pocket so it's just getting audio. "We'd better go down there with her," she tells Francisco who nods.

Jodanna is really quite stunning, and if anyone is unhappy with her pushing her way through the few remaining people to Edward, their frowns don't last too long upon seeing who pressed past them. "So this looks like a really ingenious app. Where do you come up with all the puzzles for it? You must just be so clever!" she gushes to Edward. Meanwhile Francisco and Stephanie are making their way down the aisle on the side, pausing short of the stage.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"One, yes, I am incredibly clever, thank you." Edward tips his hat to Jordanna, leaning on his cane with one hand now, the sandwich in the other. "Second, I am hidden in everyone, words are my food, and I love to wear skulls. What am I?"

He taps the side of his head, as he doesn't get the impression that she's good at puzzles either. "But it is a mixture. Fictional puzzles I've created, real life mysteries people can gather to solve, that I'll drop clues for as I investigate them myself. And of course, if you're high in the rankings, I'll choose you to go on a personalized mystery adventure."

He waves a hand and his sandwich disappears. Magic! Then he holds it out for Jordanna's. "Edward Nygma, though I'm sure you knew that. And you are...?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
If there's one thing that makes Jordanna happier than getting attention, it's getting attention from famous people. "Jordanna Spence," she tells him, putting her hand in Edward's and leaving it as long as he cares to shake it.

"Oh a riddle!" she says. "Well, dictionaries are full of words, but that doesn't make them food and they don't wear skulls," she muses aloud. "And they aren't hidden. Oh but there's things that will eat dictionaries, like... I don't know, there's bugs that eat paper I think..." she says.

Another female voice cuts in on top of Jordanna. "His brain," Stephanie says as she and Francisco finally step up to the stage. Jordanna turns towards the blond, putting her hands on her hips and rolling her eyes if she thinks that's a ridiculous answer. "Quiet Brown, I'm thinking," Jordanna tells her and then turns back to Edward. "Such a good riddle, will there be clues in the app too?"

Edward Nygma has posed:
"Of course, both provided by myself and the community. Call it crowd sourced mystery solving! Or an ARG on some levels..." Though Edward's attention is suddenly on Stephanie, looking her over in the way that one might assess a car rather than a person. "She's correct. Brown?" he asks, catching the name from Jordanna.

"I see that either my riddle was too easy, or you have a talent for them." He releases Jordanna's hand, and offers it to Stephanie now. "A young woman with a talent for riddles, and with a college education. We could use people in your demographic. Edward Nygma." He smiles, his attention already seemingly bored with Jordanna.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie reaches out to shake Edward Nygma's hand, her face composed but her eyes not quite meeting his. Perhaps a bit shy, that one. "Ah, well, working on the education," she says. "And, you know, beginner's luck," she says of the education and the riddle solution.

A scoffing snort is given by Jordanna as if she believes luck is exactly what it is. She moves just a brief amount, putting herself just slightly in front of Stephanie to try to draw attention back to herself. "Well I'm really looking forward to getting your app. When will it be out?" she asks.

The blond appears fine with fading into the background again, and will do so if there isn't something else to keep her there in the attention of others. Though Jordanna's behavior does get a brief look, Steph's lips pressed together in a line.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"If all goes well, a week or two. There's a few things that need to be done. Marketing, last minute coding touches, and, as you know, I'm one of Gotham's infamous rogues, at least before I turned a new leaf." He holds a hand to his chest, cane hanging from his arm, briefly closing his eyes and frowning like a tortured soul.

"So I intend to find one of the bat people to convince them that I'm not committing a crime. Batman's probably trying to hack into my servers right now." Then, reaching out to place one hand on Jordanna's shoulder, and one hand on Stephanie's, he smiles. "This startup is going places! And it's clear that you could use the support in your higher education. How would you girls like to be paid interns? What are your majors?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Francisco doesn't seem to mind the attention being given to the two college women. He has a pretty gentle expression for a guy his size, actually. Jordanna beams at being asked. "I'm a communications major. I plan to get into broadcasting, end up at a network someday. Maybe GNN, or somewhere up in New York," she says. "And I'd /love/ an opportunity to come and learn from you!"

Stephanie is more subdued. "I haven't chosen a major yet. Still figuring out what I might like," she says. She glances over to Jordanna for a moment, perhaps envisioning how much joy there will be having to see the brunette a few extra evenings a week outside of what classes they have in common.

Duty. It's a bitch.

"Sure, I could use something to help pay for books next semester," Stephanie says with a nod. Already thinking about how much easier it will be for Oracle to get into the networks if she is there on site with the servers, no doubt.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"You can put those communications to good use on the marketing team. First-hand youth experience! And you seem like the type who knows what's cool. Not me." Edward motions over himself. "I'm a bit of a nerd, I decide what I think is cool, so I'm not in touch with the people! That's what the marketing team is for."

"As for you, you can be my personal assistant, that way you get to see a little bit of every department!" he suggests for Stephanie, removing his hand from both of them. "Working there might help you figure out a major."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Edward either knows the way to Jordanna's heart, or it's a happy coincidence. Being considered a trendsetter is exactly the kind of thing that motivates her. "I would definitely be happy to give you my insights on the application," she says. The beautiful brunette tries to put on a humble expression. "I do find that a lot of others tend to follow my lead in such things."

Stephanie manages to keep a neutral face and not react to Jordanna's statements. "I have a pretty full classload," she says, "But I should be able to work it in. That would be really great, Mr. Nygma," she tells him, pushing a smile to her face. Francisco steps up behind them, resting a hand on Jordanna's shoulder. "See, told you this would be a good thing to come check out," he tells her.

Edward Nygma has posed:
"That one's quiet." Edward notes of Francisco, nodding to him, then he motions a hand, producing two green business cards to offer the girls. "Text me your schedules and we'll work something out."

Then, offering his hand back to Jordanna. "I'm headed for some business, but you're free to come if you'd like to discuss marketing. I'll have you back in... well, quick enough for your classes."