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om_mainWhile sunning themselves, Warren, Ali, and Lydia discuss the finer points and possibilities of coming out. Ali jumps on board the SS Mutant PR.
Today, Alison and Warren were hanging out by the pool, lounging in the chairs out there. It was fairly warm out, but not too hot, so the weather wasn't too bad. She had agreed to come hang out with Warren, and was instantly enamored by the weather. Alison could keep herself warm due to her powers, but oh how she loved the sun. Summer meant a lot of cute outfits and a lot of fun. Plus, opportunities to get her tan on! And maybe she didn't need to be wearing the designer sunglasses she had on, but Alison didn't care. Just because light couldn't hurt her eyes didn't mean she wasn't allowed to look fabulous. Please.
"Ohmygosh, I am so loving this weather right now," Alison commented. It was nice to just hang out after everything that had happened, too. "Was it this nice over in England, or did you get hit with that totally drab weather I always hear about?"
There was just no denying that the weather was fabulous. Warren had picked the poolside to meet up for a reason, and made sure to dress lightly---a pair of beige shorts and sunglasses. Casual business or not, there was no need to not take advantage of the sun! This year he could actually get some colour without worry, so he'd been working on it the past couple of weeks. Today was so not an exception.
"Ah, it wasn't so bad actually," Warren informed her with a grin. "Either people give it a bad wrap or I was too busy enjoying the sky to care too much anyway. The Braddocks have a fantastic estate--not to mention it was actually quiet. I'd almost forgotten what that was like!"
"Quiet. Quiet almost seems like a curse to me," Alison laughed. She hated quiet, she really did. Of course, nothing was every truly quiet due to sounds of nature, or even the sounds of a house. Silence was not golden to her, and she didn't like it. She liked being around people, music and everything that made life loud. Like today! The sounds of nature, the sounds of the school, and even Warren's voice were all making her sparkle in the sun. At this point, she knew all of her friends were used to it, and even the rest of the students. "I'm glad you had a good time, though. I hope big brother Brian wasn't peering over your shoulder at every turn when you actually were on the ground, though."
Alison liked Brian, but she still remembered what Betsy had said about him! Overprotective brothers, the school seemed to be full of them.
"He wasn't so bad. I think we've reached as much of a peace treaty about it as we're going to. Not to mention that Betsy likes to remind me that he's not the scary twin." That last part was said with a very amused laugh, and Warren tipped his head back as he did so. "I adore her, so I couldn't care less what anyone else has to say about it. You just do what you want to do, right? To hell with other people."
"That's a great attitude to have," Alison had to agree. She'd always wanted to do what she felt was best for her, and now without her parents' controlling her, she did that even more so! When it came to her job, writing her song lyrics or even who she dated, Alison Blaire always tried to do things her way. "As long as you're not hurting anyone, then you just have to go for it and be happy with what you're doing. Besides, other people can be so rude sometimes, and their opinions can be so drab."
Alison grinned. "And for the record, I totally believe you about the scary twin part. Miss Braddock is fab and fierce!"
"Hey, fab and fierce are important qualities in a woman that I'm not sure I can live without," Warren pointed out both seriously and teasingly, looking over with a grin right back.
"That's a very respectable fact about yourself, Warren," Alison laughed, and let her sparkles fly around and surround the both of them. Alison loved doing that to people, she loved making everything sparkle and shimmer. Mostly, she loved sharing her abilities with everyone she could. "You just need to keep up with those good qualities of yours, and you'll have an absolutely wonderful life."
"I'd like to think so. Though...on the topic of the future. I actually had something I was wondering about. How's the music thing going these days?" Just for a little more context, at the moment.
"Pretty good, actually," Alison replied, and sat up a little. "I'm working on a new album, I have a music video in the works, and I've been rehearsing like crazy. My band's all ready to go, and we've recorded a few songs already. My manager is going to be releasing one of them soon, too. I even have a few shows in New York lined up to happen through the summer."
Honestly, her parents disowning her had been a good thing, at least in a career perspective. Alison thought she was doing much better without them, especially her mother.
Warren nodded, looking legitimately interested. "And how does your label feel about self-created publicity?"
"My label is pretty flexible with it, actually. I mean, as long as it's not the type of publicity that promotes hatred, racism and bigotry of any kind. Or extreme criminal activity," Alison explained to him, and gave him a curious look. Not too many people asked her about what her label was about--usually they just stuck to the music. "I had to sign this mega contract when I signed them, which basically said that if I do anything to promote hatred or bigotry of any kind, I'll be dropped like a hat."
Normally, Lydia wouldn't have cut in on what looked like a very in depth conversation between two of her favorite people in the house. However, considering recent discussions, and that she was relatively sure neither of them would be too upset to see her, she figured she was in the clear when she came up behind their loungers. "No one in their right mind would drop you, sweetheart.
"Hi, you two." Her smile was, as usual, smirky. But genuine. She glanced quickly at Warren just to gauge how good or bad her timing had been.
Lydia was greeted with a smile and Warren reached over to grab the other lounger to pull it closer. "Sit. Ali and I were just talking about her music and how her label feels about publicity. It's interesting."
The blonde looked over to the singer and though his smile remained it refined into something more interested and thoughtful. "I was only asking because I was curious as to your opinions on what they'd think of mutant publicity."
"You're such a gift, honey," Alison shot Lydia a warm smile when she noticed the girl. Lydia was definitely in Alison's list of favourite people, and she was always happy to see her.
She then glanced to Warren again, feeling curious once more at what he was getting at. This was a hot button issue, after all, and one Alison had thought about quite a few times before. She was very interested in what would happen if she did any kind of mutant publicity. Unfortunately, the reaction was very unpredictable, she thought. "I'd like to think that they'd be okay with it. It's hard to determine, but with the way I've seen them handle publicity with other minorities, they've been very good and supportive about it."
Alison paused, and looked from Warren to Lydia before she spoke again. "Actually, I'm kind of hoping for it because I do want to use my fame and privilege to help mutants someday," she explained. "Since I have the means, it'd be really bad of me if I didn't, you know?"
"I'd understand if you didn't, actually," Lydia admitted, already forming multiple plans, of course. "But I'm not surprised you want to.
"We've been working on some public reaction predictions and mutant PR ideas for the last few months, mostly running numbers and formulating hypotheticals," she explained. Not that she'd kept quiet about it, but she hadn't run around explaining the particulars either, unless it actually came up in conversation. Then she looked to Warren; he could decide when he wanted to spill about the potential for fame and privilege in their scheme, since he was the poster boy.
Warren had been nodding along. "We gauged it and talked it over and decided that, especially after everything, it would be good to go public on our own terms. Take control over our lives again, but not aggressively. We want to show the public that mutants not only exist but that a) we're familiar faces and b) we can give and we can be of use, not just able to take from people and exert power over them."
His soft blue gaze was watching Ali seriously. "I feel like being in the public and having certain monetary privileges will allow us to reach out to people in ways others might not be able. It's something I want to do, and Brian Braddock is very likely going to be right up there with me." Warren smiled. "You've got a fanbase already--lots of young people who'd be very willing to listen to what you've got to say. What do you think?"
Warren figured she'd probably have more questions, of course, and they'd answer them. There was just no sense in beating around the bush with her, so he put it all out there.
Alison paused as she thought all of this over. It was something that had crossed her mind before, and she was leaning more towards the coming out aspect when it came down to the choice. She was scared that it could ruin her career, but at the same time, Alison knew mutants were going to have a tough time. She knew that there would need to be people like herself, Warren and Brian willing to do something like this. Besides, in the end, she had two choices on the matter. She could either come out on her own terms like Warren said, create her own publicity and do it the way she wanted, or she could wait for her parents to out her, and to sell her story to some tabloid. The second idea made Alison sick to her stomach, and she knew she didn't want it to happen like that. Her parents would NOT make another cent off her, minus song royalties they already had.
"I think it's something worth talking about, and it's something I'm quite interested in," Alison began slowly. "When are you planning to do this? And what are the hypotheticals? The numbers? I want to know everything you guys have been hashing out here."
Lydia had settled into the other lounger as they talked and now stretched out her legs, crossing them before her at the heels. Maybe she could actually get some sun on them, at last.
"Absolutely," she said, flashing Warren a quick glance and a smile. No worries about his espionage--they'd share the final numbers, not the raw data, and no one (except probably Tessa, but that was a given) would know about the corporate espionage Warren had performed on behalf of his fellow mutants. "We'll show you everything we have; there are potential reactions from different segments of the population, which are broken down in hundreds of ways, and we're using those to formulate our responses.
"But also, we're using them to decide how to come at this, when we come at it. Which is probably better sooner rather than later, if we want the chance to control it ourselves." And she looked to Warren again, since, though they'd all three agreed on this one, it was his call at the end of the day, since it was his ass on the line.
"Press conference seems to be the best option, in my opinion. My family has several publicists that I can get it set up quickly. Since we have the numbers, I figure we best go with media outlets that are catering to target audiences that we'd have better luck with. Like I told Brian, for this first press conference, I'd be more than happy to have you up there with me, Alison."
Brian was a sense of security for Warren given his powers, true, but safety also still happened in numbers. Even if it was just the three of them to begin with, it was a good start. Especially since Alison had the same ability as Warren did to really show what she had that made her different--visuals to back up the verbal coming out.
Alison folded her hands together as she mulled all of this over. It was a lot to think about when it came to reactions and consequences, but she didn't want to hide who she was forever. She'd already been using her powers in public for so long, and considering what had happened with Kurt, it couldn't be too long until someone figured out what made The Dazzler so shiny, right? This was a chance to do something for herself, and for other people. Alison wanted to help people with her music, and her fame, so this was going to be a step to do that. Did she even have a choice to say no? Because it felt like she didn't. Everything with staying hidden came with a lot of fear and sadness.
And under no circumstances would she let her parents out her first. No way. People could find out the truth from her because it was her story to tell, and not her family's. Hell, even Lois could out her if she wanted, and Alison was totally against that.
"I want to do it. I'd be honoured to be part of this with you and Brian," she finally said with a nod. "When were you guys thinking of doing this? Are you asking other people to do the whole coming out thing, too?"
"I'm going to talk to Jean-Paul. Poor guy has a lot on his plate right now, but he might like the distraction," Lydia said with a little sigh. "We'll get the headmasters' input about the timing--though ultimately it's up to those of you who want in. They can't stop us, and like Arthur says, we have the upper hand."
Warren was still a little nervous about Xavier and Erik, true, but he knew that Arthur had a very good point. The men weren't there to censor them or make life choices for them, and it would be wrong of them to do so. For as much as Warren was grateful for their generosity and their knowledge, he still had to remind himself that he, Lydia, and Arthur studied this decision thoroughly and all logic of theirs still applied. They needed acceptance, freedom, and control over certain aspects of their lives. However, yes, a talk with them was still very much due.
"I'm hoping it'll happen within weeks," Warren commented. "With the Facility out there, I'm not sure that waiting months would be entirely smart for us to do. That being said, we want you to know that we have no intention of giving up the school's privacy. Everything that we do we'll do in such a way that we cover our tracks as best as we can. We want no leads tracing back to the school, other mutants, or even certain family members--like in Brian's case, Betsy. She's not ready to come out yet, and we don't want anyone looking into what happened to her. Lydia had a few ideas about getting some help with that, namely by asking Sage and Oracle."
Warren looked to Lydia, not sure if she'd had any progress on that just yet or if she wanted to pitch in more to that area.
"Definitely," Lydia agreed, "and I think Arthur will want to sort of coordinate that, too, since it's kind of in his area of expertise." That being disaster response more than the whole 'best foot forward' thing, too.
"Okay," Alison said with a nod. Sooner was better than later, that was for sure, and with everything going on, Alison knew they'd have to act fast. "As long as us coming out means everyone at the school is safe, then I'm happy to do this. And as long as you give me some notice on the when, yeah? I want to stay in the loop about who gets confirmed for doing this, and what the headmasters have to say on the subject."
She paused. "Whatever I can do to help with this situation, I want to do."
"You'll absolutely know in advance. If you agree to do this, we'll keep you in the loop on new information, what our timeline's like, and any changes," Warren told her, and that was within reason, in his opinion. It wasn't fair to ask anyone to be part of this project and then withhold anything important. Ali's safety was just as important as Warren's and as the school's.
"And I'll send you the findings from our analysis, too. As soon as I get back to my room," Lydia promised.
"Thanks, I appreciate that," Alison agreed. Though, this was getting her thinking about Benjamin, and his parents. She was scared maybe they wouldn't handle it well, but she would deal with that if it came at her. A few months ago, the very idea would break her heart, but now she felt like she needed to really try after everything that happened with Laura and River. It was worth the risk, she thought, and in the end, she'd still have people who loved her no matter what happened. Family didn't mean blood, she was learning. .
"Besides what you'll be sending me, and what we've already talked about, is there anything else I need to know? Or do, for the matter?"
"Just prepare yourself, I suppose. You've got family and friends outside of this place and a career to think about. How you go about this is important, so just take what time you need to figure out what you think will work best for you," Warren suggested. It was something he had to do as well right now, especially where his immediate family was concerned. Luckily he had Shinobi to help him with that, but if Alison needed a hand with anything, Warren was sure they could do their best to help her, too. He'd assured Brian of helping in ensuring Betsy's privacy, specifically, after all.
"Doing it in a way that's best for you is what's most important. You, Warren, Brian--whoever agrees to be a part of this." Lydia was fairly certain that'd include Jean-Paul before too long, but, yes. In his own time, or nothing at all. As much as they needed him... not like that.
"There will be some things later, things we need to do to keep the rest of the school in the loop" --in the appropriate way-- "and as safe as possible, but we're working on all those plans now."
"Now that you mention it," Alison began, and sighed. Everything else seemed pretty basic about preparing, and Alison would do whatever she could to make this go the best for herself. However, the mention of family was what stuck with her most of all. "Since I do have a family member who is a mutant, too, I do have one thing to add. I don't want my cousin approached about this, or part of this in any way. I love him with all my heart, but he can't be part of this with me. I think doing that would be a mistake."
Obviously she couldn't make Benjamin hide who he was, and she wouldn't, but for now when it came to her own coming out story, she didn't want to drag him through it with her, or even ask him to do it. Alison did not think he was ready for anything like that at all. She wasn't going to make him be part of any backlash that could likely come after this--it wouldn't be fair.
Ah, the other little thing that they'd wanted to bring up with Alison. Well. That answered that question, didn't it? Warren nodded, only glancing to Lydia for a very quick second before his pale blue eyes were back on the singer. "Fair enough." She knew him much better than they did, after all, and it wasn't too much to ask, in Warren's opinion.
Lydia nodded, expression making it clear that she found this entirely reasonable. "Absolutely. The level of involvement your family has is entirely up to you. I'll say the same to Jean-Paul, honestly, and he's already had Jeanne-Marie in the spotlight with him once."
"I figured you guys would be okay with that, but I just wanted to make sure," Alison remarked, and smiled at her two friends. She then looked to Warren. "Is anyone's parents going to be involved in this stuff?"
It seemed like a decent question considering Brian and Warren had their own families.
Warren was quick to shake his head. "Hell no. At least not on my part." His dad was going to be pissed enough as it was with Warren going public and that would be its own form of personal damage control that he knew he was going to be dealing with. "It's not common knowledge, but my father is being very generous by sending me here. I came here along with a money offer with Xavier's name written all over it."
Oh yes, Daddy Worthington had wanted this a secret and offered Xavier all kinds of financial assistance in order to keep his son here and out of trouble. Not to mention quiet. Saying the words left its own brand of distaste in Warren's mouth, as it wasn't exactly something he'd been bragging about since his arrival. These girls were the first to know.
Lydia made a mental note to ask for details later before remarking, "I haven't talked to Brian about it, but I do know the Braddocks are supportive of and interested in the situation." Jean-Paul had Raymonde, too, but she couldn't imagine him protesting if his ward chimed in on this... or that it would matter if it did, really. They'd been through this before, after all. In a far less extreme way.
"Alright, noted on all of that," Alison frowned. She felt a little bad for Warren in that aspect, to be honest, because she knew what it was like to have parents treat you differently for being a mutant. It was horrible, and she wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone. "I'm curious, though. My parents disowned me for being a mutant. Is that something I should be totally upfront about, do you think, or should I hide it?"
These two knew their PR way better than Alison did, she bet, so she wanted to ask them.
Warren frowned as well; did anyone have cool parents anymore? "Not unless you want to...or it comes up, I would think." Though Lydia might have a better idea, maybe.
"I'd say it's up to you, but I'll ask for a few other opinions on the subject and get back to you." Namely, Lydia was thinking Philip. He'd been the one to bring the idea front and center in her mind that, "I do think it's important to make it clear that being a mutant has its downside--even for the people with the cheerful mutations. But even if it does turn out to be a statistically viable course of action, the most important thing at this stage is what you're comfortable with."
That was fair enough. Alison had to prepare herself for any backlash that her parents may have wanted to dish out to her because of this, so she was going to need to remind herself to be strong about it. She didn't think her mom would do anything too extreme, but her dad or her sister could say things to tabloids. Alison may have been coming out on her own terms, but she would still have to deal with their feelings on the matter in some way, even if they didn't say anything to her personally.
Perhaps just dealing with that if it came up would be the best course of action, Alison decided. That was what she felt most comfortable with.
"I get that. I probably won't mention it unless it comes up, then," Alison nodded, and forced up a smile. She wanted to ask just one more question on the matter, just because she wanted to be on page with absolutely everything. "And we'll have security for this, right? Just in case anything bad happens?"
"If you want it," Warren told her. "Betsy was worried about the same thing, and suggested I stick close with Brian...and he was okay with that. Outside of whatever personal body guards you have, it's going to be all us on this."
Shame Lil Crawley had a hear full of hate, really, because she'd be perfect. Lydia pursed her lips at the thought, but went on pleasantly enough, shifting her thoughtful gaze to the pool, "It might not be a bad idea to take a few trustworthy people whose abilities would be useful--and whose training is up to scratch.
"I'll talk to Agent about it. That kind of planning seems up his alley."
"It'd make me feel better to have, even if it's just other people from our school," Alison decided, happy with that response. She didn't really want to bring any body guards in on this, because the ones she had employed before had all been because of her parents wanting it. "Just let me know what he says about it, yeah?"
"Absolutely. And if there's anyone in particular you think you'd like there, just let me know and I'll mention that to him too. Now or later." Lydia was pretty sure Philip would have his own ideas about personnel, but she'd argue to make sure Alison felt safe, if it came to it.
"Great. I don't have any preferences, really, so I'll just trust you and Agent on that," Alison smiled. Again, as long as Benjamin wasn't involved, she could be pretty flexible for this. "I'm feeling pretty good about this, and I'm glad you approached me with it. I know it's going to be controversial, but it's still a good opportunity to create some positivity--especially for mutants not at the school."
"Well I thought you'd have the same feelings, honestly. I'm happy to hear we were right about that," Warren admitted with a smile. "You just give it some more thought on the finer details, and we," gesturing to himself and Lydia, "will make sure to keep you updated on everything."
"Sounds perfect," Alison beamed. "I'll think about it some more, and I'll want to talk to my cousin about it, but I'm feeling pretty good. I won't be backing out."
She looked to Lydia. "Are you going to be coming out any time soon, too?"
"If it seems tactically smart, I will," Lydia said readily. She was used to leading from front and center, but lately her leadership had taken a far more behind-the-scenes role. The how wasn't important, only the end goal. "If it seems like I can do more from the background, then I will. Whatever is best for the overall plan."
Warren smirked, just a little bit. "I trust this lovely woman's intelligence behind the operation. She can make things happen whether out front or where people can't see. This is also just the first go at things, Alison; we suspect some others might eventually be interested, too, and we do plan to pace it out, if we can. Like Lydia, said, it's really is a tactical thing and if we can take time to analyze more strategies, we should. I guess we'll see what happens with the initial reaction, hm?"
"That makes sense," Alison agreed. Because really, they did need to test this out a bit! Test the waters, find a reaction and convince everyone that mutants were not bad people. "And if this first round does go bad, I think we can all handle it. I'm sure you guys have a plan A through Z at this point."
Knowing them, they probably did! Especially Lydia.
"Always," Lydia assured her with a little smirk.
"Good to know," Alison grinned right back. Well then, this was going to be an adventure and a half--all of which that Alison felt rather excited for. Hopefully, it would run smooth as possible.
Today, Alison and Warren were hanging out by the pool, lounging in the chairs out there. It was fairly warm out, but not too hot, so the weather wasn't too bad. She had agreed to come hang out with Warren, and was instantly enamored by the weather. Alison could keep herself warm due to her powers, but oh how she loved the sun. Summer meant a lot of cute outfits and a lot of fun. Plus, opportunities to get her tan on! And maybe she didn't need to be wearing the designer sunglasses she had on, but Alison didn't care. Just because light couldn't hurt her eyes didn't mean she wasn't allowed to look fabulous. Please.
"Ohmygosh, I am so loving this weather right now," Alison commented. It was nice to just hang out after everything that had happened, too. "Was it this nice over in England, or did you get hit with that totally drab weather I always hear about?"
There was just no denying that the weather was fabulous. Warren had picked the poolside to meet up for a reason, and made sure to dress lightly---a pair of beige shorts and sunglasses. Casual business or not, there was no need to not take advantage of the sun! This year he could actually get some colour without worry, so he'd been working on it the past couple of weeks. Today was so not an exception.
"Ah, it wasn't so bad actually," Warren informed her with a grin. "Either people give it a bad wrap or I was too busy enjoying the sky to care too much anyway. The Braddocks have a fantastic estate--not to mention it was actually quiet. I'd almost forgotten what that was like!"
"Quiet. Quiet almost seems like a curse to me," Alison laughed. She hated quiet, she really did. Of course, nothing was every truly quiet due to sounds of nature, or even the sounds of a house. Silence was not golden to her, and she didn't like it. She liked being around people, music and everything that made life loud. Like today! The sounds of nature, the sounds of the school, and even Warren's voice were all making her sparkle in the sun. At this point, she knew all of her friends were used to it, and even the rest of the students. "I'm glad you had a good time, though. I hope big brother Brian wasn't peering over your shoulder at every turn when you actually were on the ground, though."
Alison liked Brian, but she still remembered what Betsy had said about him! Overprotective brothers, the school seemed to be full of them.
"He wasn't so bad. I think we've reached as much of a peace treaty about it as we're going to. Not to mention that Betsy likes to remind me that he's not the scary twin." That last part was said with a very amused laugh, and Warren tipped his head back as he did so. "I adore her, so I couldn't care less what anyone else has to say about it. You just do what you want to do, right? To hell with other people."
"That's a great attitude to have," Alison had to agree. She'd always wanted to do what she felt was best for her, and now without her parents' controlling her, she did that even more so! When it came to her job, writing her song lyrics or even who she dated, Alison Blaire always tried to do things her way. "As long as you're not hurting anyone, then you just have to go for it and be happy with what you're doing. Besides, other people can be so rude sometimes, and their opinions can be so drab."
Alison grinned. "And for the record, I totally believe you about the scary twin part. Miss Braddock is fab and fierce!"
"Hey, fab and fierce are important qualities in a woman that I'm not sure I can live without," Warren pointed out both seriously and teasingly, looking over with a grin right back.
"That's a very respectable fact about yourself, Warren," Alison laughed, and let her sparkles fly around and surround the both of them. Alison loved doing that to people, she loved making everything sparkle and shimmer. Mostly, she loved sharing her abilities with everyone she could. "You just need to keep up with those good qualities of yours, and you'll have an absolutely wonderful life."
"I'd like to think so. Though...on the topic of the future. I actually had something I was wondering about. How's the music thing going these days?" Just for a little more context, at the moment.
"Pretty good, actually," Alison replied, and sat up a little. "I'm working on a new album, I have a music video in the works, and I've been rehearsing like crazy. My band's all ready to go, and we've recorded a few songs already. My manager is going to be releasing one of them soon, too. I even have a few shows in New York lined up to happen through the summer."
Honestly, her parents disowning her had been a good thing, at least in a career perspective. Alison thought she was doing much better without them, especially her mother.
Warren nodded, looking legitimately interested. "And how does your label feel about self-created publicity?"
"My label is pretty flexible with it, actually. I mean, as long as it's not the type of publicity that promotes hatred, racism and bigotry of any kind. Or extreme criminal activity," Alison explained to him, and gave him a curious look. Not too many people asked her about what her label was about--usually they just stuck to the music. "I had to sign this mega contract when I signed them, which basically said that if I do anything to promote hatred or bigotry of any kind, I'll be dropped like a hat."
Normally, Lydia wouldn't have cut in on what looked like a very in depth conversation between two of her favorite people in the house. However, considering recent discussions, and that she was relatively sure neither of them would be too upset to see her, she figured she was in the clear when she came up behind their loungers. "No one in their right mind would drop you, sweetheart.
"Hi, you two." Her smile was, as usual, smirky. But genuine. She glanced quickly at Warren just to gauge how good or bad her timing had been.
Lydia was greeted with a smile and Warren reached over to grab the other lounger to pull it closer. "Sit. Ali and I were just talking about her music and how her label feels about publicity. It's interesting."
The blonde looked over to the singer and though his smile remained it refined into something more interested and thoughtful. "I was only asking because I was curious as to your opinions on what they'd think of mutant publicity."
"You're such a gift, honey," Alison shot Lydia a warm smile when she noticed the girl. Lydia was definitely in Alison's list of favourite people, and she was always happy to see her.
She then glanced to Warren again, feeling curious once more at what he was getting at. This was a hot button issue, after all, and one Alison had thought about quite a few times before. She was very interested in what would happen if she did any kind of mutant publicity. Unfortunately, the reaction was very unpredictable, she thought. "I'd like to think that they'd be okay with it. It's hard to determine, but with the way I've seen them handle publicity with other minorities, they've been very good and supportive about it."
Alison paused, and looked from Warren to Lydia before she spoke again. "Actually, I'm kind of hoping for it because I do want to use my fame and privilege to help mutants someday," she explained. "Since I have the means, it'd be really bad of me if I didn't, you know?"
"I'd understand if you didn't, actually," Lydia admitted, already forming multiple plans, of course. "But I'm not surprised you want to.
"We've been working on some public reaction predictions and mutant PR ideas for the last few months, mostly running numbers and formulating hypotheticals," she explained. Not that she'd kept quiet about it, but she hadn't run around explaining the particulars either, unless it actually came up in conversation. Then she looked to Warren; he could decide when he wanted to spill about the potential for fame and privilege in their scheme, since he was the poster boy.
Warren had been nodding along. "We gauged it and talked it over and decided that, especially after everything, it would be good to go public on our own terms. Take control over our lives again, but not aggressively. We want to show the public that mutants not only exist but that a) we're familiar faces and b) we can give and we can be of use, not just able to take from people and exert power over them."
His soft blue gaze was watching Ali seriously. "I feel like being in the public and having certain monetary privileges will allow us to reach out to people in ways others might not be able. It's something I want to do, and Brian Braddock is very likely going to be right up there with me." Warren smiled. "You've got a fanbase already--lots of young people who'd be very willing to listen to what you've got to say. What do you think?"
Warren figured she'd probably have more questions, of course, and they'd answer them. There was just no sense in beating around the bush with her, so he put it all out there.
Alison paused as she thought all of this over. It was something that had crossed her mind before, and she was leaning more towards the coming out aspect when it came down to the choice. She was scared that it could ruin her career, but at the same time, Alison knew mutants were going to have a tough time. She knew that there would need to be people like herself, Warren and Brian willing to do something like this. Besides, in the end, she had two choices on the matter. She could either come out on her own terms like Warren said, create her own publicity and do it the way she wanted, or she could wait for her parents to out her, and to sell her story to some tabloid. The second idea made Alison sick to her stomach, and she knew she didn't want it to happen like that. Her parents would NOT make another cent off her, minus song royalties they already had.
"I think it's something worth talking about, and it's something I'm quite interested in," Alison began slowly. "When are you planning to do this? And what are the hypotheticals? The numbers? I want to know everything you guys have been hashing out here."
Lydia had settled into the other lounger as they talked and now stretched out her legs, crossing them before her at the heels. Maybe she could actually get some sun on them, at last.
"Absolutely," she said, flashing Warren a quick glance and a smile. No worries about his espionage--they'd share the final numbers, not the raw data, and no one (except probably Tessa, but that was a given) would know about the corporate espionage Warren had performed on behalf of his fellow mutants. "We'll show you everything we have; there are potential reactions from different segments of the population, which are broken down in hundreds of ways, and we're using those to formulate our responses.
"But also, we're using them to decide how to come at this, when we come at it. Which is probably better sooner rather than later, if we want the chance to control it ourselves." And she looked to Warren again, since, though they'd all three agreed on this one, it was his call at the end of the day, since it was his ass on the line.
"Press conference seems to be the best option, in my opinion. My family has several publicists that I can get it set up quickly. Since we have the numbers, I figure we best go with media outlets that are catering to target audiences that we'd have better luck with. Like I told Brian, for this first press conference, I'd be more than happy to have you up there with me, Alison."
Brian was a sense of security for Warren given his powers, true, but safety also still happened in numbers. Even if it was just the three of them to begin with, it was a good start. Especially since Alison had the same ability as Warren did to really show what she had that made her different--visuals to back up the verbal coming out.
Alison folded her hands together as she mulled all of this over. It was a lot to think about when it came to reactions and consequences, but she didn't want to hide who she was forever. She'd already been using her powers in public for so long, and considering what had happened with Kurt, it couldn't be too long until someone figured out what made The Dazzler so shiny, right? This was a chance to do something for herself, and for other people. Alison wanted to help people with her music, and her fame, so this was going to be a step to do that. Did she even have a choice to say no? Because it felt like she didn't. Everything with staying hidden came with a lot of fear and sadness.
And under no circumstances would she let her parents out her first. No way. People could find out the truth from her because it was her story to tell, and not her family's. Hell, even Lois could out her if she wanted, and Alison was totally against that.
"I want to do it. I'd be honoured to be part of this with you and Brian," she finally said with a nod. "When were you guys thinking of doing this? Are you asking other people to do the whole coming out thing, too?"
"I'm going to talk to Jean-Paul. Poor guy has a lot on his plate right now, but he might like the distraction," Lydia said with a little sigh. "We'll get the headmasters' input about the timing--though ultimately it's up to those of you who want in. They can't stop us, and like Arthur says, we have the upper hand."
Warren was still a little nervous about Xavier and Erik, true, but he knew that Arthur had a very good point. The men weren't there to censor them or make life choices for them, and it would be wrong of them to do so. For as much as Warren was grateful for their generosity and their knowledge, he still had to remind himself that he, Lydia, and Arthur studied this decision thoroughly and all logic of theirs still applied. They needed acceptance, freedom, and control over certain aspects of their lives. However, yes, a talk with them was still very much due.
"I'm hoping it'll happen within weeks," Warren commented. "With the Facility out there, I'm not sure that waiting months would be entirely smart for us to do. That being said, we want you to know that we have no intention of giving up the school's privacy. Everything that we do we'll do in such a way that we cover our tracks as best as we can. We want no leads tracing back to the school, other mutants, or even certain family members--like in Brian's case, Betsy. She's not ready to come out yet, and we don't want anyone looking into what happened to her. Lydia had a few ideas about getting some help with that, namely by asking Sage and Oracle."
Warren looked to Lydia, not sure if she'd had any progress on that just yet or if she wanted to pitch in more to that area.
"Definitely," Lydia agreed, "and I think Arthur will want to sort of coordinate that, too, since it's kind of in his area of expertise." That being disaster response more than the whole 'best foot forward' thing, too.
"Okay," Alison said with a nod. Sooner was better than later, that was for sure, and with everything going on, Alison knew they'd have to act fast. "As long as us coming out means everyone at the school is safe, then I'm happy to do this. And as long as you give me some notice on the when, yeah? I want to stay in the loop about who gets confirmed for doing this, and what the headmasters have to say on the subject."
She paused. "Whatever I can do to help with this situation, I want to do."
"You'll absolutely know in advance. If you agree to do this, we'll keep you in the loop on new information, what our timeline's like, and any changes," Warren told her, and that was within reason, in his opinion. It wasn't fair to ask anyone to be part of this project and then withhold anything important. Ali's safety was just as important as Warren's and as the school's.
"And I'll send you the findings from our analysis, too. As soon as I get back to my room," Lydia promised.
"Thanks, I appreciate that," Alison agreed. Though, this was getting her thinking about Benjamin, and his parents. She was scared maybe they wouldn't handle it well, but she would deal with that if it came at her. A few months ago, the very idea would break her heart, but now she felt like she needed to really try after everything that happened with Laura and River. It was worth the risk, she thought, and in the end, she'd still have people who loved her no matter what happened. Family didn't mean blood, she was learning. .
"Besides what you'll be sending me, and what we've already talked about, is there anything else I need to know? Or do, for the matter?"
"Just prepare yourself, I suppose. You've got family and friends outside of this place and a career to think about. How you go about this is important, so just take what time you need to figure out what you think will work best for you," Warren suggested. It was something he had to do as well right now, especially where his immediate family was concerned. Luckily he had Shinobi to help him with that, but if Alison needed a hand with anything, Warren was sure they could do their best to help her, too. He'd assured Brian of helping in ensuring Betsy's privacy, specifically, after all.
"Doing it in a way that's best for you is what's most important. You, Warren, Brian--whoever agrees to be a part of this." Lydia was fairly certain that'd include Jean-Paul before too long, but, yes. In his own time, or nothing at all. As much as they needed him... not like that.
"There will be some things later, things we need to do to keep the rest of the school in the loop" --in the appropriate way-- "and as safe as possible, but we're working on all those plans now."
"Now that you mention it," Alison began, and sighed. Everything else seemed pretty basic about preparing, and Alison would do whatever she could to make this go the best for herself. However, the mention of family was what stuck with her most of all. "Since I do have a family member who is a mutant, too, I do have one thing to add. I don't want my cousin approached about this, or part of this in any way. I love him with all my heart, but he can't be part of this with me. I think doing that would be a mistake."
Obviously she couldn't make Benjamin hide who he was, and she wouldn't, but for now when it came to her own coming out story, she didn't want to drag him through it with her, or even ask him to do it. Alison did not think he was ready for anything like that at all. She wasn't going to make him be part of any backlash that could likely come after this--it wouldn't be fair.
Ah, the other little thing that they'd wanted to bring up with Alison. Well. That answered that question, didn't it? Warren nodded, only glancing to Lydia for a very quick second before his pale blue eyes were back on the singer. "Fair enough." She knew him much better than they did, after all, and it wasn't too much to ask, in Warren's opinion.
Lydia nodded, expression making it clear that she found this entirely reasonable. "Absolutely. The level of involvement your family has is entirely up to you. I'll say the same to Jean-Paul, honestly, and he's already had Jeanne-Marie in the spotlight with him once."
"I figured you guys would be okay with that, but I just wanted to make sure," Alison remarked, and smiled at her two friends. She then looked to Warren. "Is anyone's parents going to be involved in this stuff?"
It seemed like a decent question considering Brian and Warren had their own families.
Warren was quick to shake his head. "Hell no. At least not on my part." His dad was going to be pissed enough as it was with Warren going public and that would be its own form of personal damage control that he knew he was going to be dealing with. "It's not common knowledge, but my father is being very generous by sending me here. I came here along with a money offer with Xavier's name written all over it."
Oh yes, Daddy Worthington had wanted this a secret and offered Xavier all kinds of financial assistance in order to keep his son here and out of trouble. Not to mention quiet. Saying the words left its own brand of distaste in Warren's mouth, as it wasn't exactly something he'd been bragging about since his arrival. These girls were the first to know.
Lydia made a mental note to ask for details later before remarking, "I haven't talked to Brian about it, but I do know the Braddocks are supportive of and interested in the situation." Jean-Paul had Raymonde, too, but she couldn't imagine him protesting if his ward chimed in on this... or that it would matter if it did, really. They'd been through this before, after all. In a far less extreme way.
"Alright, noted on all of that," Alison frowned. She felt a little bad for Warren in that aspect, to be honest, because she knew what it was like to have parents treat you differently for being a mutant. It was horrible, and she wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone. "I'm curious, though. My parents disowned me for being a mutant. Is that something I should be totally upfront about, do you think, or should I hide it?"
These two knew their PR way better than Alison did, she bet, so she wanted to ask them.
Warren frowned as well; did anyone have cool parents anymore? "Not unless you want to...or it comes up, I would think." Though Lydia might have a better idea, maybe.
"I'd say it's up to you, but I'll ask for a few other opinions on the subject and get back to you." Namely, Lydia was thinking Philip. He'd been the one to bring the idea front and center in her mind that, "I do think it's important to make it clear that being a mutant has its downside--even for the people with the cheerful mutations. But even if it does turn out to be a statistically viable course of action, the most important thing at this stage is what you're comfortable with."
That was fair enough. Alison had to prepare herself for any backlash that her parents may have wanted to dish out to her because of this, so she was going to need to remind herself to be strong about it. She didn't think her mom would do anything too extreme, but her dad or her sister could say things to tabloids. Alison may have been coming out on her own terms, but she would still have to deal with their feelings on the matter in some way, even if they didn't say anything to her personally.
Perhaps just dealing with that if it came up would be the best course of action, Alison decided. That was what she felt most comfortable with.
"I get that. I probably won't mention it unless it comes up, then," Alison nodded, and forced up a smile. She wanted to ask just one more question on the matter, just because she wanted to be on page with absolutely everything. "And we'll have security for this, right? Just in case anything bad happens?"
"If you want it," Warren told her. "Betsy was worried about the same thing, and suggested I stick close with Brian...and he was okay with that. Outside of whatever personal body guards you have, it's going to be all us on this."
Shame Lil Crawley had a hear full of hate, really, because she'd be perfect. Lydia pursed her lips at the thought, but went on pleasantly enough, shifting her thoughtful gaze to the pool, "It might not be a bad idea to take a few trustworthy people whose abilities would be useful--and whose training is up to scratch.
"I'll talk to Agent about it. That kind of planning seems up his alley."
"It'd make me feel better to have, even if it's just other people from our school," Alison decided, happy with that response. She didn't really want to bring any body guards in on this, because the ones she had employed before had all been because of her parents wanting it. "Just let me know what he says about it, yeah?"
"Absolutely. And if there's anyone in particular you think you'd like there, just let me know and I'll mention that to him too. Now or later." Lydia was pretty sure Philip would have his own ideas about personnel, but she'd argue to make sure Alison felt safe, if it came to it.
"Great. I don't have any preferences, really, so I'll just trust you and Agent on that," Alison smiled. Again, as long as Benjamin wasn't involved, she could be pretty flexible for this. "I'm feeling pretty good about this, and I'm glad you approached me with it. I know it's going to be controversial, but it's still a good opportunity to create some positivity--especially for mutants not at the school."
"Well I thought you'd have the same feelings, honestly. I'm happy to hear we were right about that," Warren admitted with a smile. "You just give it some more thought on the finer details, and we," gesturing to himself and Lydia, "will make sure to keep you updated on everything."
"Sounds perfect," Alison beamed. "I'll think about it some more, and I'll want to talk to my cousin about it, but I'm feeling pretty good. I won't be backing out."
She looked to Lydia. "Are you going to be coming out any time soon, too?"
"If it seems tactically smart, I will," Lydia said readily. She was used to leading from front and center, but lately her leadership had taken a far more behind-the-scenes role. The how wasn't important, only the end goal. "If it seems like I can do more from the background, then I will. Whatever is best for the overall plan."
Warren smirked, just a little bit. "I trust this lovely woman's intelligence behind the operation. She can make things happen whether out front or where people can't see. This is also just the first go at things, Alison; we suspect some others might eventually be interested, too, and we do plan to pace it out, if we can. Like Lydia, said, it's really is a tactical thing and if we can take time to analyze more strategies, we should. I guess we'll see what happens with the initial reaction, hm?"
"That makes sense," Alison agreed. Because really, they did need to test this out a bit! Test the waters, find a reaction and convince everyone that mutants were not bad people. "And if this first round does go bad, I think we can all handle it. I'm sure you guys have a plan A through Z at this point."
Knowing them, they probably did! Especially Lydia.
"Always," Lydia assured her with a little smirk.
"Good to know," Alison grinned right back. Well then, this was going to be an adventure and a half--all of which that Alison felt rather excited for. Hopefully, it would run smooth as possible.
