[Maia Morales]

[googlefont="Comfortaa"]

♡

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Caffeine, Caffeine, Caffeine. The words played through Maia's mind over and over again like a song stuck on a loop as the teen scurried towards the entrance of her favorite coffee shop. The pop sensation had been sequestered in a glass booth for several hours laying down tracks for an upcoming album. Had it been left up to the engineer, the session likely would have been completed over an hour ago, but the perfectionist within the teenager simply couldn't rest until she had executed that riff flawlessly. Sure, autotuned could have easily masked the imperfection in that particular lyric and none would be the wiser, but Maia had never been a big fan of audio processors.

In her opinion heavy reliance on such technology allowed one to become a bit sloppy with their vocals. Unless the singer was simply going to lip sync for all their concerts eventually their shortcomings were bound to be revealed. So, why not put that time, effort, and money into actually honing your craft? With the session having ran over, the brunette was left with very little time to prepare for her upcoming shoot. As it were the teen would likely have just enough time to grab a cup of coffee take a quick shower and make her way over to the set. Scrambling into the Starbucks, Maia was more than a bit dismayed to find a rather long line ahead of her.

Frowning the nineteen year old glanced down at her wristwatch before shifting her fretful gaze back to the line. Being late was always frowned upon when you had to wait to be styled, made-up and dressed which took so much time in and of itself without considering positioning and lighting to land the perfect shot. However, foregoing her daily strawberries and crème Frappuccino was likely to put the singer in a irritable state and that didn't bode well for anyone. She'd simply have to wait, Maia concluded as she slipped in line behind a rather exasperated looking man in a dress shirt and slacks with a sleek briefcase tucked under his arm.

He appeared to be in every bit as much of a hurry as she herself was which prompted a bout of guilt to wash over the teen as she gently tapped the man on the shoulder. Agitation was thick in the businessman's tone as he whirled around snapping "What do you want," at the young woman. Widening her eyes, Maia batted her lashes, her voice soft and smooth as silk as she inquired "Sorry to bother you, but I'm in a terrible hurry. Would you mind too much if I..." While her voice broke off in mid sentence, her gaze flitted past him clearing communicating her meaning.

Maia could never be sure at any time whether it was her natural charisma and charm that prompted most to be so agreeable with her or if it was merely a byproduct of the way that her pheromones manifested. It was the old "did the chicken come first or the egg" quandary. Either way as he stared into her gentle smile, the man's hard features softened as his nodded his agreement and stepped aside allowing her to move in front of him right behind a short blonde.

☽LIA☾

[Sunny Slater]

"Ohhh, coffee...."

Caffine Time!

Sunny wasn't really feeling her best. She was still recovering from her recent wounds encountered battling the mysterious assassin that had showed up at her red carpet event, and her stomach was still tight where the knife wound was healing, and her arm was still in a sling, healing from its break. That meant no superheroics of any kind, and even her celebrity appearances were limited. She missed soaring through the air, and she surprisingly missed being a hero too. She had thought she always lived for the publicity, but she missed the way people looked at you when you saved them. She missed being the icon and the idol. She missed what she felt were more innocent times too. Before she had failed. Before somebody had died on her watch.

A lot of people had watched her battle and be soundly defeated by the assassin. They had seen her naivete and trusting nature get her in trouble and they had seen a fan be murdered in cold blood when Sunny couldn't save them. And the people... had supported Sunny throughout. They loved her for it. They had seen a young girl nearly die fighting to avenge the death of one of her fans. They had seen her nearly die in front of their very eyes and rather than be the PR disaster Sunny had expected, people had seen her as the tragic victim. Despite the fact if she had been better trained she could of stopped it, despite the fact Sunny blamed herself, people adored her for the huge public effort they had seen her make.

In some ways, it was everything Sunny ever wanted, but in many others, it wasn't at all. Or maybe she was just learning to be careful what she wished for. She wanted to be famous, she wanted to be loved, but not like this. She wanted to be loved for being perfect. Not for failing so badly. Not for being a victim.

Even in her civilian attire, she had taken to wearing black recently, as a sign of respect for the fallen and those who had been hurt. She wasn't sure how long it'd last. In fact, soon, she'd probably switch back to her usual pink. She missed it badly. But for now, she was in a stylish, sleeveless and collarless black dress, stiletto heels that helped her tiny height very slightly, and her usual glamorous make-up and styling, the scent of lavender perfume hanging thickly around her. (Sunny thought that lavender smelled 'gothic' so she thought it suited her new dark style).

She was about to place her coffee order when she turned, almost casually and without thinking, to take in the girl behind her, who had just swapped places with the man. While Maia might not of been made-up like she would be on stage, or quite in her full stage get-up, Sunny as a model herself was well versed with recognising celebrities out of their typical gear, and she had to look twice, before squealing with excitement, her eyes widening.

"Ohmigod!" She squealed, before realising to keep her voice down. "You're Maia Morales." She whispered over in excitement. "I'm Sunny. Sunny Slater. You might know me better as Gravity Girl." She tried a modest smile, that obviously was trying to say that she wanted to be recognised as a fellow celebrity.

Before she could continue, the barista behind her coughed politely to get her attention.
"Oh, right, like, uh, I'll have a grand latte, double espresso, no foam, with a shot of raspberry with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. But diet." She ordered as if this was the most casual order in the world..

Or so completely impossible to actually be diet.

 


Maia Morales

"Sweet enough for ya?"

ulla

[Maia Morales]

[googlefont="Comfortaa"]

♡

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On an average day, patience was typically a virtue that the pop star tended to have in spades, however surprisingly Maia was discovering that her patience seemed to be in very short supply today. The end was near, she could see it. The counter where she would place her order and soon enough be presented with beloved beverage was clearly in sight and yet the battle weary mother with her two small children in tow seemed completely unable to decide what she wanted. Of course the little girl tugging on her mom's shirt and the squirming toddler in the woman's arms likely weren't helping matters. However, neither of these contributing factors were doing much to assuage Maia's vexation.

Particularly, as the nineteen year old was acutely aware of the series of exasperated sighs that were being emitted every few minutes as the red faced mother of two continue to stammer apologies to the compassionate barista.  As the teen was growing more and more agitated by the minute, a insistent buzzing at her hip diverted the teenager's attention away from her annoyance and back to the pressing matter of her hectic schedule. Digging the device from her pocket, Maia glanced down at the phone screen to see a barrage of new notifications. Her agent must be freaking out, Maia realized as she took note of the time.

The pop star had just been about  to respond to the incessant 'Where are you?' messages when a high pitched squeal startled her. To her dismay, Maia glanced up to find herself staring into the dark brown eyes of the perky, blond that was standing in front of her.  The girl looked vaguely familiar to the starlet, but it was hard to put her finger on where she knew her from. Especially as the girl's scream had drawn the attention of several patrons who were now staring at the pair of them. The diva's cheeks flushed under the watchful gaze of the other customers even as the blond lowered her voice.

As there no longer seemed to be any point in anonymity, Maia offered the blond a sheepish smile as she replied "Guilty." Upon hearing that the girl was a superhero, the brunette quirked a brow. "Oh, yeah I've heard of her. Or.... of you rather. Although I'm not sure you were supposed to tell me that. Aren't heroes supposed to maintain their secret identities," Maia inquired.  However, before the blond was able to respond, the barista summoned her over to place her order. Despite having been in the music business for several years now, the brunette still found it somewhat difficult to get used to the idea of having fans. Least of all meta fans.

While Maia was contemplating the contrast between Sunny's exterior appearance and the power that she'd seen gravity girl display, the barista gestured her over to place her order. Finally, Maia thought with exuberance as she scurried over to the counter. "I'd like a strawberry and cream Frappuccino with double cream, a shot of vanilla and a shot of caramel," the nineteen year old declared. Reaching over to unzip her purse, Maia had just dug out her credit card when she caught sight out of her peripheral of the barista returning.

That was fast, the teen thought to herself. As she lifted her gaze to meet that of the woman behind the counter she noted that the woman was extended an empty cup towards her. A bit baffled, Maia had parted her lips to indicate that she didn't understand when the barista blurted out "Please... if you don't mind. My kid loves you! Could you make it out to Diana?"

☽LIA☾

[Sunny Slater]

"Ohhh, coffee...."

Caffine Time!

Sunny was a little disappointed that Maia didn't share her glee at meeting her. After all, Maia was a pop star, sure, but Sunny was a famous superhero. They were both celebrities. She had hoped that maybe they'd get to share some celebrity stories. Grab a drink together while discussing what it was like to have fans. Maybe Sunny could get an invite to her next concert. That would drum up some publicity for the both of them! But instead, it seemed Maia just looked at her like she was weird.

That was hurtful!

"That's just in, like, comic books and movies." Sunny smiled back with her comment over her identity. "Everybody knows who I am. Plus then I'd, like, have to wear a mask, and I don't spend this much time on like, my totally perfect mascara to ruin it with a mask." She joked with a playful smile. Well, 'joked' in inverted commas, since Sunny was totally serious about preserving her make-up. She'd never want to do anything to ruin it.

She watched a little jealously as Maia was asked for an autograph. It wasn't like Sunny was a stranger to that either, but it was mildly irritating to see Maia asked and not herself! She thought about offering to sign it too, but that seemed vain even by Sunny's standards, so instead she stood back and let Maia sign it, smiling politely and hoping she'd be recognised.

so far, no luck.

"I love signing autographs. Don't you?" She said, to try and make conversation and keep talking about how she too was a celebrity, at least. Besides, it was true. She did. The adoring look from her fans was one of her favourite things. Nothing made her feel better than being admired or made to feel pretty.



 


Maia Morales

[Maia Morales]

[googlefont="Comfortaa"]

♡

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In many ways, the concept of real live superheroes was still one that Maia still struggled to wrap her head around. In all the movies, comic books and TV shows that she'd ever seen caped crusaders swooped in saved the day and vanished quietly into the night, but nowadays they posed for photo ops, signed autographs, and conducted interviews. It was kind of weird actually. Of course she hadn't wanted to say that to Sunny as it would have seemed unimaginably rude. Gods, she was cranky this morning, Maia noted. The hero program seemed to be churning out new heroes everyday and it was beginning to get difficult to keep track of who was who unless that particular hero did something that really stood out or had such amazing PR that they were on the scene of every crime. Gravity Girl seemed to belong to the latter group now that Maia thought about it. Although, she did recall seeing something on the news recently about the pink clad hero. There had been some kind of event where a person was harmed...no.... killed. Someone had been killed at a high profile gathering that Gravity Girl had been attending.


It was just then that Maia noticed that the girl's arm was in a sling. Likely as a result of her superhero work, Maia reasoned. Especially as she'd heard that Gravity Girl had been badly wounded in the altercation. A sympathetic expression settled on Maia's face as she gestured towards the sling "That looks like it hurts pretty bad. How much longer do you have to wear that? I had to wear one once when I slipped on a slick floor in the studio and landed on my arm. They are so clunky. Not to mention that they clash with EVERYTHING. I have a designer friend that makes decorative slings and he made me the cutest checkered patterned one. It even had a pocket for my cellphone. He just did a pink and black damask one that would look amazing on you."

As Sunny indicated that she wished for people to know who she was, an amused smile flickered across the diva's face. Well, she certainly wasn't an old fashioned hero, wasn't she? "That's really brave of you. If I was a hero, I would be worried about someone that I care for being dragged into my hero work if I let people know who I really was. Although, I totally get the mascara thing. It can take me forever to wing my liner just right and it is totally annoying to go through all that effort just for no one to see it. Not to mention that it could also ruin your hair."

Politely, Maia took the cup that the barista extended towards her with one hand and the pen in the other. Hastily scribbling out the message "To Diana with love, Maia Morales", Maia handed the cup and pen back to the clerk. She would have loved to make the note far more flowery and personal but the cup really didn't provide for such a thing.  Smiling a little shyly at Sunny, the nineteen year old replied "Honestly, I am still kind of getting used to the whole thing. I mean I've been doing this for a while, but the idea that I have like fans... it actually so surreal to me."

A few minutes later, the starlet lifted her drink from the counter as her name was called. Almost immediately after she removed her drink, the barista called Sunny's name. Shooting a glance towards the superhero, Maia inquired "You want me to get that for you? You are at a bit of a disadvantage there?"

☽LIA☾

[Sunny Slater]

"Ohhh, coffee...."

Caffine Time!

Maia pointing out Sunny's sling caught her off guard a little. Her injuries had been so well publicised, she had just naturally assumed that everybody knew what had happened and seen her multiple interviews on the topic. (The concept, to Sunny Slater, that somebody wasn't watching every piece of news about her was almost inconceivable). But while it was surprising to have it pointed out, she had to try and not squeal at excitement as Maia pointed out all the fashion woes of slings. Sunny knew that only too well, and of course, she had a designer too, and a different sling for each outfit.

She also wasn't in the habit of accepting hand-me downs for anything, but that sling she mentioned did sound super cute!
"Oh, wow, that like, sounds super awesome!" She smiled at the suggestion of the sling. "It really hurt, but like, not as much as getting stabbed. I thought I was gonna die! That's the worse pain I ever felt. It still aches now. And like, it's left a big scar so, bye bye bikinis forever. It's not fair." She grumbled, but she paused for a moment, a moment of doubt and reflection etched on her heavily made-up face.

"But like, I dunno, I shouldn't complain. At least I'm alive. That poor girl... She only wanted an autograph, and now she's dead. Because I was too dumb to realise what was going on. And I couldn't save her. And I've gotta live with that for the rest of my life. My arm's gonna heal, but she... she's never gonna come back. And that's gonna hurt forever." Maybe a cynical person would say that Sunny had learned to talk from the heart about the loss of someone, that she had seen the resulting media support when she spoke of it and she did it for simple likes and publicity, but for once in Sunny's life, something she was doing wasn't a carefully cultivated attempt to raise her profile.

No, this was a pure and simple reflection of her pain and guilt. Something that really did keep her up at night. It was probably good that Sunny was such a make-up fanatic to hide the dark circles under her eyes.

"Well, I was already, like, a totally famous model before I became a superhero. It's not like people wouldn't of recognised me anyway." Sunny explained casually, trying to forget about her darker thoughts as she explained. Not that it really mattered. As if Sunny had ever considered not being famous and getting her name out there. She loved the attention too much.<p>

"Oh, yeah, uh, like, thanks!" She smiled when the girl offered to help with her coffee, obviously aware of her injured arm. A better hero might of waved off the thought, but Sunny was your typical rich kid through and through, and used to having people wait on her hand and foot. Even when those people were famous pop stars.

"I guess, like, I've never thought about it that way. My Mom, she's always managed me. Like, before I was a hero I was a model, and before I was a teen model I was a child model. I've always been in the spotlight. Like, even when people didn't know me as a model my Mom knew all the famous people in Cali, so like, I guess I just... I never found it weird. It's nice having fans that like you not just 'cause of how pretty you are, though, but 'cause you like, help people too..." She went on as they walked to find a table.



 


Maia Morales

[Maia Morales]

[googlefont="Comfortaa"]

♡

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In a way that she suspected was something of a deviation from most celebrities, Maia was often the last to know about what was happening in other celeb's lives unless they were a part of her own personal circle. Truthfully, she unplugged often when she was off tour and relaxing at home as she firmly under the belief that too much social media could be a bad thing. Perhaps it was for this reason that the pop sensation hadn't heard much about Gravity Girl's very public altercation. Of course the starlet had also naturally assumed that injuries merely went along with the territory of being a superhero and most sought privacy while they were in recovery. Then again Gravity Girl wasn't exactly a typical superhero from what she'd heard.

Even still, the brunette had always preferred to draw her own conclusions when it came to people. In her experience personality traits were often over exaggerated for shock value. Rarely had she meant anyone whom was completely without redeeming qualities. A soft smile lit Maia's face as Sunny seemed to show interest in the sling that she had described. As a fashion model, the nineteen year was certain that Sunny likely had her pick of designers, some of whom might actually be willing to custom make a sling for her. Nevertheless, the singer had extended the offer as a means of friendship. That and she actually wanted to get a feel for how arrogant the other girl truly might be.

Much to her surprise, Sunny responded with a compliment on her taste. Smiling brightly, Maia replied "You know I think I might actually have a picture of it. One of my back up dancers snuck a picture of me in it when I wasn't looking. I can show you if you want, when we sit down." Reaching up with her free hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, Maia continued "Oh my gosh, you must have been so scared. I can't imagine how bad that must hurt. Not to worry though. The scar might not be permanent. With the new developments in cosmetic surgery these days, very few things are. Even if you can't get it fixed that way you can always cover it with makeup. Assuming that you don't actually intend on getting wet that is."

As Sunny reflected on how lucky she was to be alive and how grateful she felt for it, Maia's face softened a bit. Perhaps she had misjudged the model, the teenager mused. "You know you really shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Everyone makes mistakes. Even superheroes. No one is perfect. There's no way that you could have known what was going to happen and even if you did then you may not have been able to prevent it. You can't dwell on it or it'll haunt you and you'll never be able to save anyone again. You just have to learn from it and move on. Next time you'll be much more vigilant and much more prepared."

Scooping the other cup up from the counter, Maia strolled over to a booth next to the window. Placing Sunny's cup on one side of table and her own on the other, the teen idol slid into the booth. Lifting the cup to her lips, the brunette took a sip before replying adding "Yeah my mom is my manager too. I'm pretty sure that if my mom had her way then I probably would have had a recording deal a long time ago but she obviously didn't have your mom's connections. I don't mind though. I got to have a normal childhood. That's not of course to say that you didn't, but I just figure it must be hard to have been in the spotlight all your life."

☽LIA☾

[Sunny Slater]

"Ohhh, coffee...."

Caffine Time!

Sunny smiled at the offer of being shown a picture of the sling, and it was a genuine smile. Sunny might of been a superhero, but there was little she loved more than sharing pics of fashion. Her phone was overloaded with photos of, well, herself in all her fashion walks and poses and thousands of (pink) outfits, so she could relate to having a photo to hand of her in any possible outfit.
"Ohhh, yes! I'd totally love to see it! You gotta show me!" She said cheerfully as she made her way to the table with Maia.

When she commented on how scary it must of been, Sunny paused and only nodded, going quiet for a moment.<br>
"Yeah... it... it was... terrifying. I mean, we're meant to like, train for that, but... I've always been, y'know, basically invincible. I've never... I've never really been hurt before." She explained sheepishly, but she still felt selfish, even now, talking about her injuries. Of course, Maia was right that Sunny could hide the scar with body make-up, Sunny was a big fan of the miracle that was make-up in all situations, but it wasn't quite the same. Surgery might too, but she was pretty sure the scar was there forever. "Yeah, I mean, like, maybe. I hate going in the water anyway. I don't wanna get my hair wet. But, like, all the media knows I got stabbed, so when the paparazzi and stuff take my pic, people would be looking for it." The 'when', not 'if', summed up Sunny's experience with the media. She was used to people snapping pictures of her where ever she went. Which of course, she loved.

"I-I know. I mean, everybody makes mistakes. It's not like I've never made mistakes before. Like, ohmigod, what was I wearing at the world premier of Avatar? God, I mean, I know I was a kid, but I can't believe I ever lived that down!" She said dramatically, smiling slightly. (The answer was a metallic pink flared dress and huge bow, for those curious as to what her Mom had dressed young Sunny in). "But, like, when you make a mistake in the modelling world, I guess, the worse that happens is you get a bad photo. Which, like, don't get me wrong, is TOTALLY serious, but kinda... it kinda pales in comparison. Because of my mistake, somebody is dead. And that's forever. I can learn, I can change, I can get better, but that person... They're never coming back. And it's all my fault." She explained sadly, before managing another smile and a slight shake of her head, as if trying to remove the malaise she was feeling.

"Sorry. It's not very heroic to, like, keep whining about it. But... I guess, it just really bothers me. I've never... I've never failed like that before." She explained with a sigh. "Anyway, you gotta show me this outfit! I can't wait to see it!" She shook off the sadness went right back to what made Sunny happy. Clothes.

When Maia mentioned her Mom was her manager too, Sunny's face lit up. A kindred spirit!
"Ohmigod, that's so totally cool! I've never met anybody who's Mom is their manager too before! Ohmigod, I bet we have so much in common!" She said with excitement. She mentioned how her Mom wasn't quite like Sunny's; Sunny's Mom had been famous long before Sunny had been born, and so Sunny had never known anything but the spotlight. She shrugged a little when Maia asked what it was like. "I dunno, I love it. I mean, like, everybody knows me and I always get cute pics and it's so fun. But I guess, I dunno what it'd be like to not be known, y'know? Like, my entire life has been like this. I mean, I can't imagine walking down the street and like, people, not knowing who I am or thinking how cute I look." Something in Sunny's spoiled tones suggested this was her worse nightmare. Yes, she was a sweet person, with a good heart and true regrets over letting people down, but at the same time, she was pretty much vanity personified, and it really showed sometimes.<p>

"Plus, like, I was rich! Do you know some poor people can't even afford to go to Disney World!? Like, ohmigod, can you imagine a childhood without visiting Disney!?" Sunny gasped at the horrible thought, as if she was sharing a shocking tale of famine and poverty.

Maia Morales

[Maia Morales]

[googlefont="Comfortaa"]

♡

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For most Maia imagined that it was difficult to determine whether or not a person was being sincere, but luckily for the brunette ever since her powers manifested that hadn't been a problem for the teen. Regardless of what a person said or did, their emotions while saying or doing something often revealed their true intentions. It was for this reason that the pop star knew that the smile that the blond offered her was quite genuine. While Maia would hardly consider herself a fashionista, the teenager enjoyed a spontaneous shopping spree as much as any girl. As such, the young girl's closet was filled with any number of designer clothing most of which she rarely wore.

Nevertheless, when prodded by Sunny, Maia withdrew her cellphone from her pocket and unlocked the device with a gentle swipe of her finger. Navigating to her photo gallery, the teen sifted through several pictures before landing on a zoomed in photo of a black and white polka dot sling with pink trim and monogram. Tapping the picture to enlarge it, Maia tilted the phone in Sunny's direction so that she could see it. "This one didn't have pockets but it was so cute that I didn't really care. By the time that I transitioned to this sling my arm was nearly healed anyway."

As a person whom had always been quite vulnerable, it was a bit difficult for the teenager to imagine what it must be like to be virtually invincible or at the very least believe that you were. Only to find out in the most painful manner that you were most certainly not. For a moment, Maia appeared to be lost in thought before finally responding "That was the first time but unfortunately if you are going to keep working as a superhero, it's highly unlikely to be the last. It's a pretty dangerous field. Even for people with powers since you are likely fighting other people with abilities as well. I'm nowhere near brave enough to attempt to be a hero and honestly, I doubt there would be much use for my ability in crime fighting anyway."

To say that Maia found Sunny's train of thought concerning her scar to be a baffling would be a massive understatement. On one hand, Sunny was quite bothered by the physical representation of a hard fought battle that was ultimately lost, and yet on the other she didn't want to conceal the blemish as she expected people would be looking for it in pictures. Offering the other girl a casual shrug, Maia responded "Well, I guess at this point it comes down to a matter of perceptive. You know, how you choose to view the scar. It can be a badge of honor signifying that you survived a terrible ordeal, or it can be a reminder of how you feel that you failed a fan. It's totally up to you."

In the past few months, the brunette had performed emotional scans on dozens of people, yet Sunny was by far the most fascinating individual that the teenager had come across to date. A mistake was when you picked up the wrong dry cleaning or someone put pickles on your cheeseburger when you were very clear that you wanted it without pickles, but for Sunny wearing the wrong thing was a mistake.  Shaking her head, Maia commented "While I'm not exactly sure if that matches my definition of a mistake, if it were to be one seems like it was on the part of your mom not yours. Unless you were of age to dress yourself, but even still that falls under her purview as your manager. Mistakes like that barely even hold any weight in the grand scheme of things. In the world of celebrity scandals there's definitely something else that will come along to drown out the horror of a bad photo."

Maia's nose wrinkled adorably as she considered Sunny's words for several minutes before responding "Not to say that you didn't already but I am sure that this situation has shown you how large of a responsibility it is to protect the public. With this new understanding, there's a slim chance that you will ever allow something like this to happen again. You can train harder and be better prepared next time." Sighing inwardly, the nineteen year old continued "Well, failure is inevitable. It happens to everyone eventually. Or is it the magnitude to which you failed that truly bothers you? Dwelling on it really isn't helping anyone. You just have to learn from it and grow from it."

Maia's eyes illuminated rather noticeably when Sunny inquired about the outfit. "Oh, right," the teen stated as she turned the phone back around to face herself and resumed shifting through the photo gallery. Coming to a stop of a photo of herself at an MTV event , the pop star handed the phone to Sunny. Despite the fact that they did both have a mother that managed their careers, judging from their conversation thus far the starlet doubted that the pair had much in common at all. Nevertheless, the brunette smiled warmly at Sunny as she added "I don't know. Maybe we do. I think it would definitely be as jarring for you to walk down the street and not be noticed or immediately recognized as it is for me to walk down the street and have people notice or immediately recognize me."

Truthfully, the teen idol could do much more than imagine what it would be like to be so poor that one couldn't afford to go to Disney. Smiling softly Maia answered "Actually, my Disneyless childhood wasn't so bad. I was probably well into my teens before I visited Disney for the first time and I have to say that it was kind of an overrated experience."

☽LIA☾

[Sunny Slater]

"Ohhh, coffee...."

Caffine Time!

Sunny peered at the sling, and smiled as she took it in. It was definitely cute. Of course, Sunny would prefer it being all in pink, but truthfully, that was true of just about anything Sunny looked at. If she had a personal motto, it'd be 'life is better in pink'. Oh, that was quite good, actually, she thought. Maybe she could use that as a slogan for her own Gravity Girl clothing line (which obviously her mother was working on).

"Oh, it's so cute!" She beamed. "I'm gonna have to, like, see if I can order one. Maybe all in pink?" She suggested, because of course she had to say it out loud, in case anybody doubted her dedication to pink at all times. Especially now she was wearing mourning black a lot, she had to make sure people didn't think her dedication to the colour had faded.

"Pockets are like, totally over-rated anyway. I mean, hello! That's what an entourage are for. Carrying your stuff! Plus, as a hero, I've got a belt with compartments, 'cause, like, pockets would totally ruin the lines of my outfit." She explained, because of course somebody as spoiled as Sunny didn't carry her own things. Unless on superhero duty, and even then it was essential superhero equipment. Like her make-up. And some perfume. And of course, a hair brush. And a small compartment of glitter to put in her hair for any particularly special photograph opportunity.

You know, superhero essentials.

"Oh, it's not dangerous." Sunny giggled dismissively. "At least, like, not most of the time. I mean, I'm kinda invincible when my gravity shield is up, so I'm not exactly worried, and like, it's fun saving people! Plus, like, I'm WAY more famous now than I was when I was just a model, and the whole acting thing didn't work out, so like, what else could I do?" Because the thought of not being famous to Sunny was of course unthinkable, she was utterly sincere when she said this. But she did really like helping people. It made her feel good, and it felt great to be loved. She had always been famous, but viewed as quite vapid and shallow, rich and spoiled and entitled, whereas now people looked at her as a hero. At least, her fans did, and she loved it.

She paused though, when she called the scar a 'badge of honour'. She looked away for a moment, a slight sadness appearing in her eyes.
"I think for it to be a badge of honour, I'd of had to have, like, won. It's just a reminder of how badly I messed up. I wish I could get rid of it." She admitted. Maybe she should consider surgery to remove it. There were all kinds of clever surgeries now, right? She didn't need to display it at all times.

She laughed a little when Maia politely told her that her choice of outfit wasn't really a 'mistake', since her mother picked it for her, and Sunny just rolled her eyes.
"Like, it had sequins. In December, in 2009! Like, hello! Could I have BEEN any more off season?" She laughed, as if this was the ultimate disaster and she had been an utter idiot for doing it. Despite the fact she'd of only been nine at the time. Sunny seemed to believe that fashion choices were genetically coded in to you.

She nodded solemnly at Maia's advice about moving on from her failure. It was similar to what everybody told her, but it was so much easier to say than do. Dwelling was bad, not just from a mental health standpoint, but a career standpoint too. You had to push past your failures and find something new for people to love. But it was so hard. She had never failed so completely in her life. Never to the extent of somebody getting hurt because of her. She had thought it was bad enough when her Disney show got cancelled (thanks to her own terrible acting), but this was even worse. Somebody had died because of her.

Luckily, Maia found the perfect secret to distracting Sunny, by showing her her outfit, which caused Sunny's eyes to light up in delight.
"Ohmigod, it's so sexy! Your legs look amazing and I love the top! It's so cute!" Truthfully, it was a bit sexier than anything Sunny would feel confident wearing, she likes skirts and dresses more than having all of her legs on show, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate how good it looked on somebody else. Plus, seeing it like that KIND of made her want to try it, but she knew her Mom would never approve. Sunny had a 'cute innocence' vibe to her appearances, as her mother called it, and she wasn't allowed to stray from it.

Sunny looked at Maia with a gasp and shock when she said she'd never been Disney as a kid, and worse, thought it was 'overrated'!
"Ohmigod! You must not be doing it right! There are like, ALL kinds of secrets to getting the best out of Disney World! You gotta come with me sometime! I'll show you like, how to have the BEST vacation ever!" She insisted, eyes glittering with Disney filled passion.

Yes, Sunny really could just be a spokesperson for the Disney Corporation...


Maia Morales

[Maia Morales]

[googlefont="Comfortaa"]

♡

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Maia studied the blonde's face as she peered at the photo of the sling curious about the other girl's style and fashion sense. The sling was one of many that she'd worn during the time that she'd broken her arm but was easily her favorite of the lot. As Sunny beamed, the brunette could feel the corners of her own lips turning up into a friendly smile. Of course, she would prefer hers in all pink, the nineteen year old thought to herself with amusement. Not that such a thing wasn't possible as the designer that created the sling indicated on the advertisement that they were in fact fully customizable Although, the teen struggled to try to imagine the black and white sling being all one color.

"That shouldn't be a problem at all. These are made to order so all you have to do is put in your customized order and the designer will make it to your specifications. I actually ordered one in purple. It was super cute," Maia answered. As much as the teen may have hated to admit it, Sunny might have had a point in stating that pockets were overrated. After all, when was the last time she'd worn anything with pockets in it? Even the pockets in her jeans seemed to be there merely for decoration as they were hardly deep enough to actually carry something in. Although the starlet had to quirk her brow at the notion of having her entourage carry things for her.  

This was mostly due to the fact that the pop star didn't actually have an entourage. Unless one considered their staff to be their entourage, but she'd never asked them to carry anything for her. Truthfully, while it completely baffled her mother there were still some things that Maia insisted on doing herself. Laughing softly, the starlet replied "Well, I suppose that in order to have my entourage carry my things for me, I would first have to get one. Although it's probably a good call to not have pockets as a part of your costume because even if it didn't ruin the lines of the outfit with all that flying around, you're pretty likely to drop something. It just doesn't seem practical."

While Maia would be the first to admit that she didn't keep up with the antics of superheroes nearly as much as other people she knew, the few videos that she'd seen of heroes facing off against criminals seemed pretty intense. How could crime fighting not be considered dangerous? Especially when the one telling her that it wasn't dangerous was currently sitting across from her with her arm in a sling and a wound from having been stabbed. With a bewildered expression, the teenager inquired "So, if you don't mind my asking what happened to your gravity shield at the even that got you hurt?" At Sunny's admission that acting hadn't worked out for her, the artist frowned causing little creases to form in her forehead.

She couldn't recall having ever seen Sunny in anything before. Intrigued, Maia added "You used to act? I didn't know that. Anything that I might have seen? I have always wanted to act but never quite sure how to get my foot in the door. My mom said that it should be a little easier now to land a role in something since I've got some name recognition now." With Sunny cleared having decided to view her scar as a constant reminder of how badly she'd failed, Maia sighed inwardly. Offering a casual shrug to the blond, the brunette replied "Ok, then get rid of it. It doesn't matter if people will be expecting to see it. They know that you were stabbed and that's enough. There's no reason that you should have to keep walking around self conscious just because someone wants to snap a picture of it. Your real fans should understand why you did it."

As Sunny laughed at Maia's attempt to absolve her of any responsibility in the unfortunate wardrobe selection when she was younger, Maia felt herself chuckling a little as well. Although, she suspected that her laughter was for an entirely different reason. At 9 years old, Maia wouldn't have even known what sequins were better yet when they were in or out of season. This girl was so dramatic that it was actually quite hilarious at times. Waving her hand dismissively, Maia responded "Well, the good thing is that it happened ages ago and most people probably don't even remember it. You have to remember that unless they are serious fashionistas or possibly interested in a career in fashion design most normal people don't really keep up with the rules of fashion the way that we do."

Beaming at Sunny as she complimented her legs, Maia replied "Thanks. That is so sweet of you to say. I was honestly a little nervous about wearing it because it is much sexier than anything that I've worn before." Saying that she'd been nervous about wearing the racy dress had been a major understatement as in truth Maia had been mortified. She hadn't been comfortable wearing something so provocative at all but as her mother was quite fond of saying 'sex sells'. It seemed to be her mother's goal to make girls want to be like her and boys want to be with her. 

The shocked expression that overtook Sunny's face as she indicated that Disney World was overrated was laughable, but somehow Maia was able to keep her composure as she said "I wasn't aware that there was a right or wrong way to do it. I mean my experience wasn't the worse, but I guess it just fell short of that Disney magic that everyone is talking about. I figured maybe I had just outgrown it, but if you think that you could show me how to have a better experience. I'm up for it."

☽LIA☾

[Sunny Slater]

"Ohhh, coffee...."

Caffine Time!

Sunny was aware that people usually smiled or laughed when she made comments about preferring things in pink. Her obsession with the colour was pretty well known after all. She was basically considered 'the superhero Barbie' by some less-than-pleasant gossip magazines (although Sunny never understood why being compared to Barbie would be an insult; Barbie was pretty, she was cute, she was fashionable, and best of all, she liked pink; what was wrong with that?). So she didn't really think much of Maia smiling a little at her thoughts on getting the sling in pink. She did, however, smile when she mentioned getting it in purple.
"Ohhh! Purple is, like, totally my second favourite colour." She said enthusiastically, beaming her usual happy smile at Maia.

Sunny's smile became a little more uneasy when Maia suggested not having an entourage. That was because Sunny didn't really have one either. Well, not in the traditional sense of an entourage as most celebrities might of meant. An entourage were usually your die-hard friends, right? Sunny didn't actually have many friends. Least not those who would follow her everywhere. It turned out that her rather extreme personality meant that she didn't have many friends. But her Mom was of course always sure to make sure she had people following her. It wouldn't do to show up places without an entourage, after all, right?

"You don't have an entourage? My Mom arranges mine." Sunny explained, a little startled. She'd of thought somebody like Maia Morales always had one. It was nice to know that Sunny wasn't the only celebrity who struggled with friends, she guessed. Except for Aly, and she'd never allow herself to be counted as part of anybody's entourage. "Oh, yeah, um, I am SUPER practical." Sunny said, before letting out a giggle. Even for the ditzy supermodel, it was clear this was a joke, as a lot of people always complained her superhero outfit was anything but practical. Not that she cared. Her gravity powers meant she didn't have to care about practicality.

Sunny's smile faded completely when she asked how she had gotten hurt, if she had a gravity field. Sunny paused, and looked away for a moment, finding it hard to meet her eyes.
"I... I used my powers to get the attacker away from the crowd. I flew her up high. But... my powers... They require concentration... I... I didn't think she'd attack me in the air, but she started to choke me, and I was pushing back with my field, and keeping myself in the air, and I didn't.... I like, I just lost concentration for, just, like, a second. And she broke my arm. And then... we fell. I managed to land us, but she was acting like... like she had been hurt, like it was a mind control trick. I tried to help her and she stabbed me. I wasn't ready..." Sunny sighed again, and turned back to face Maia, a pained look on her face. "She tricked me. That's all. I didn't... Like, I didn't... I just didn't expect it." She admitted with a pained sigh.

"Yeah, I guess I should." Sunny agreed with a sigh to getting rid of the scar, although somehow it still didn't feel right to her. In a way, she was punishing herself by keeping it. A painful reminder of the failure she had been. Maybe that was the real reason?

Luckily, the conversation moved back on to fashion and safer ground for Sunny.
"Ohmigod, you get nervous about being sexy? But you're like, the sexiest pop star on the planet! I've always got, like, this cute look going, but I never get to do proper 'sexy'." She remarked, surprised that Maia had concerns too. Sunny's Mom always disapproved of her being too sexy. It said it'd ruin her child friendly image. Better to be cute, but not overly sexual, she always insisted.


"Ohmigod, of course there's like, a right way to do it! You gotta get one of the autograph books and meet all the characters and like, get them to sign it, and like, you gotta plan ahead so you know where to meet which characters, and like, you gotta book up way in advance for like, the restaurants and things. You gotta do the Be Our Guest restaurant! I mean, like, the food is nothing special..." Because of course it wasn't by Sunny's standards. "...but like, it's like being IN the film, and like, you get to meet the Beast afterwards and it's amazing!" She went on. "Oh, oh, we should go at Halloween! They have this amazing Halloween fireworks display and you get free candy and like an amazing parade it's not scary at all!" She explained with all the enthusiasm of a four year old, her eyes alight with Disney joy.

Maia Morales

[Maia Morales]

[googlefont="Comfortaa"]

♡

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Nearly everyone that Maia knew had a favorite color. As such owning several things in that color was a relatively normal occurrence. However, with Sunny it was somehow more of an obsession than a preference. Her clothing was pink. her costume was pink. her accessories were pink. Even her car was pink. There was only so much pink that a person could take and one would think that Sunny had definitely exceeded that limit. It was a wonder that she hadn't grown weary of the color by now. While the reasoning behind her temporary departure from the shade was quite sad indeed, Maia couldn't say that she wasn't glad to see Gravity Girl mix it up a little. 

However, the brunette had to quirk a brow at the blonde when she indicated that purple was her second favorite color as she couldn't recall having ever seen her wear any purple. Nevertheless, Maia returned Sunny's bright smile saying "As well it should be. It is the color most associated with royalty after all." To be honest, the pop star had never really understood the purpose of an entourage. It was just a group of people that followed you around everywhere and did everything that you told them to do. Sounded more like groupies that the celebrity in question simply tolerated than actual friends. After all, who would treat their real friends in such a disrespectful manner? 

An entourage member's livelihood seemed to be completely reliant upon the favor of the celebrity in whom they idolized which didn't seem like much of a lifestyle at all really. Maia wasn't sure that she wanted that kind of responsibility when it really came down to it. Besides it opened up way too much of the possibility of having people around you whom were merely interested in what you could provide for them. It wasn't so much that the teen struggled to make friends or didn't have any but rather none that could be bothered with following her here and there. They either had too much respect for themselves or their own lives to lead. 

The revelation that Sunny's mother arranged her entourage strangely didn't come as much of a surprise to Maia. Much like her own mother, Sunny's mom seemed to be almost eerily obsessed with maintaining a certain image. Offering a casual shrug in response to Sunny, Maia replied " No, I don't really have an entourage per se. I have close friends that I hang out with as much as time will allow, but they don't like follow me around everywhere I go or anything like that. My mom did mention to me something about arranging an entourage, but I really didn't want to be surrounded by a bunch of strangers all the time. I rather only deal with people that I know and trust."

With this having been the first time that Maia had spent any time with Sunny, the teenager wasn't quite sure whether or not the blond would pick up on her joke despite her best efforts to incorporate a teasing note in her tone. Much to her relief, the superhero giggled a little seemingly suggesting that not only was she agreeing that she wasn't really practical but didn't mind it being pointed out in a teasing manner. However, their joyous moment faded a little too quickly for Maia's liking as Sunny's smile vanished completely upon being asked about how her attacker had managed to bypass her gravity field.

Damn her curiosity, Maia scolded herself as Sunny's gaze dropped from her face and she stammered through her explanation of what had taken place that day. "So, you underestimated her then? Sounds like she was really just a horrible person. That was intent on harming someone. Like truly evil. It's hard to fight someone like that." The blond was radiating pain and sadness that hit Maia like a freight train causing her temples to begin throbbing. Thankfully, the conversation shifted in a lighter direction lifting Sunny's mood and granting the nineteen year old a reprieve from the searing pain in her head.

Sunny's compliment about her sexiness bought a warm smile to the young woman's face for more than one reason. If only Sunny knew the accuracy of the statement that she'd just made. Giggling a little, Maia responded "Yeah, I do get a little nervous about being sexy. It can be a really fine line between sexy and slutty and I'm always worried about crossing it. Some of the outfits that I've worn in concert and on tour have gotten pretty racy, but it makes me feel much better that you said that. It means that I've managed to keep it classy enough to be proper sexy and not trashy."

While she wasn't likely to admit it aloud, Sunny's exuberance about Disneyworld was starting to make her feel a little excited as well. Perhaps, her discontentment had been based entirely on the lack of a proper guide. It was pretty clear that Sunny had visited enough to really know her way around the theme park instead of wandering around aimlessly with a map as she and she supposed many others had done. Holding her hands up in a position of mock surrender, Maia laughed softly saying "Alright, Alright, you've convinced me. I am completely sold on the idea of going to Disneyworld during Halloween. I don't recall seeing half of the stuff that you just described when I went and now I want to see it all. Maybe I just needed someone in the know to show me around."

☽LIA☾

[Sunny Slater]

"Ohhh, coffee...."

Caffine Time!

"Ohhh, it is?" Sunny asked when Maia told her purple was associated with royalty. Of course Sunny didn't know that herself, but she was a huge ditz. "If I was a princess, I'd still have everything in pink." Sunny declared, although some would argue she basically was a princess, just without, well, an actual royal title. She was certainly as spoiled as a princess should be, and 'princess' was a common thing for people to call her. Again, the fact that it was a type of insult went completely over her head.

"Oh, um, that's great though." She smiled when Maia said she had a group of close friends and that she wanted to surround herself only with people she trusted. "I don't, um, I like, I don't have many friends." Sunny admitted awkwardly. "I dunno why, I'm like, SUPER friendly, but like, people get fed up with me after a while and kinda, don't wanna hang out anymore. Even in school, I mean, I was rich, I was pretty, but like, people seemed to just... like, treat me like a joke." She said a bit miserably. It was true Sunny had problems making friends. It wasn't that she wasn't nice. In fact, Sunny was something of a sweetheart, kind, loving, even thoughtful in her way, but she was also ridiculously vain, an unbelievable ditz, and spent most of her time fussing about her appearance. The fact she practically bathed in perfume probably didn't help either. Either way, people seemed to mostly get fed up with her rather extreme, over-the-top girly girl personality after a little while.

Her smile faltered again a bit when she mentioned how evil the person who Sunny had fought was. That was what her psychiatrist had told her too. That Sunny couldn't blame herself for the evils of another person. That a person who was fundamentally good, even good filtered through a spoiled prism like Sunny, could never prepare themselves to think like a person who wasn't. That Sunny should be proud that her mind didn't work that way, that she couldn't twist her thoughts to predict or think like a person who wanted to harm others. That yes, Sunny might of been naive in trusting her, but naive wasn't a bad thing. It only showed that Sunny had a good heart. It was a lesson she was still trying to learn.
"Yeah. She was... evil. Just, evil." Sunny agreed with a small nod. She still didn't understand it herself. She still had no idea how to respond to somebody so awful. Or how anybody could do those things. Sunny could never imagine harming anybody.

"Oh, you're definitely classy!" Sunny agreed. "I mean, I'm like, LITERALLY a supermodel and I still wish I could pull off the sexy looks you do!" Sunny said enthusiastically. "They thought about it when they made my animated show! Some of the costume redesigns they did for that, I had a bare midriff! But in the end they went for an even more, like, conservative look than I wear in real life!" She explained. The animated show was, after all, aimed at young girls. Sunny liked her design in it, it was cute, although it wasn't as good as her real life costume, in her opinion.

When Maia agreed to go to Disney World, Sunny's eyes lit up.
"You gotta come with me! I'll, like, show you it all! We'll have an amazing time, I promise! Plus, like, when I tried to act, I was on the Disney Channel, so like, they know me there." Not that they didn't know her anyway, as Sunny visited very very often, and often in full star mode, flying down to the main entrance and everything. That did tend to cause a scene. Even in the Happiest Place on Earth, seeing a person descend from the sky and land at the main gate to scan their season pass drew attention and stuck in people's memories...

Maia Morales

[Maia Morales]

[googlefont="Comfortaa"]

♡

TAGS WORD COUNT NOTES

Admittedly, the revelation that Sunny wasn't aware of the color's ties with the royal family was a bit of a surprise to Maia. She had been sure that such a thing would be fairly common knowledge for someone as fashion forward as Sunny. Beaming brightly at the blonde, Maia tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she replied "Oh, yeah. Totally. The Queen of England even decreed once that only royalty and close relatives of the royal family would be allowed to wear purple. Which honestly was a bit unnecessary because back then purple was such a rare color and it was so hard to create that it was super expensive. Basically only royalty could afford it anyway." Indeed, the brunette's guilty pleasure was her secret fascination with monarchies and the medieval period.

Laughing softly as Sunny declared that royal color aside she'd still insist on having everything pink, Maia added "Of course that doesn't mean that you have to only wear purple. It just means that only you would be allowed to wear purple. So if the royal color was pink, only you and your family could wear pink. No one else in the kingdom could." For a reason that she didn't immediately understand, the teenager suddenly began to pick up wistfulness with a hint of awkwardness radiating from Sunny. As the superhero went on to explain her difficulty in making and keeping friends, the teen offered her a sympathetic smile.

After having spent the past half hour with the supermodel, the singer could understand why Gravity Girl might have some trouble making friends. It wasn't that the blonde was sweet or even friendly for that matter, but rather that she was just...a lot. Exhausting, really. Shrugging the pop star responded "Well, having tons of friends is overrated. All you really need is a few close ones anyway. Two or three tops. Anything outside of that are just decorative." Nodding her agreement regarding the alignment of Sunny's opponent the nineteen year old added "Well, yeah. Most villains do tend to lean more towards evil. Although I suppose that there are a few that might fall somewhere between amoral and psychopath. That's probably why we consider them villains. Either way, I suppose that won't be the last time that you face off against someone with such a blatant disregard for human life. You may never be able to get into their head, but it's probably best not to underestimate them."

A somewhat bashful smile flickered across the teen idol's face at the compliment. "Oh, I am sure that you could pull off the same looks just as well if not maybe even better if given the opportunity," Maia commented modestly. As Sunny explained the shift in costume that from mid drift to something even more conservative than what she already wore, the brunette resisted the urge to chuckle. Partially because bare mid drift was being considered 'too sexy' and partially because the designers seemed to have gone to an extreme that even the real life superhero it was modeled after somewhat disapproved. The teen's eyes illuminated slightly with recognition as she continued "Oh, right! The animated show! I've seen that. My goddaughter loves that show. She watches it all the time. So, I guess I get it but bare mid drift really isn't that big of a deal. I've seen much worse. Especially when it comes to anime."

Grinning Maia said "That actually sounds like fun and remember that you promised it would be fun so you have your word. Close to Halloween actually works since I will be in Miami in October anyway. I did a few songs on the soundtrack for a new movie they have coming out so they kind of know me around there too."

☽LIA☾