Life's a Canvas Bring Your Brushes (Anna/Sara)

[Avery Castellano]

It wasn't really any secret that Avery hated Void.  In her mind, Void had fucked up her life completely.  Her whole reason for continuing doing what she did started with Void's mismanagement of situations.  So it had actually hurt when Void had died.  Got off scot-free.  Avery had known her, and so she knew she should have felt saddened by the loss.  But she hadn't.  The world was better off without Void.  No-one knew her true identity and it was just as well.  Because even Avery knew she wouldn't want Void's family to suffer.  If she had one.  The woman had kind of been a bitch after all. 

But it had been a slap in the face when they'd named the zoo after her.  Now Avery couldn't go to see animals without being reminded of the pain the woman had caused her.  And this is why she'd showed up to Void Memorial Zoo in the middle of the night with a black trash bag filled with cans of spray paint in different colours.  She had plans.  And so she walked up to a brick wall that everyone saw when they entered the zoo.

And she began.  She began by painting a black hole in the center.  A void.  It was a mix of different shades.  Purples, navy blues, blacks, interspersed with stars she created using a toothbrush and the spray paint.  She used painter's tape to tape out letters going into the black hole like 'self-respect' and 'justice'.  She painted a silhouette of a woman and outlined it with the words 'stop the cover-ups, justice for victims of Void's management'.  She sat down with her back against a part of the brick wall that was unpainted and looked up at the nightsky.  There was something missing from her painting but she couldn't put her finger on it and she had time to figure it out.  It was still early in the night and nobody would be coming anytime soon.

Sara Amador

[Sara Amador]

She shouldn't have been so worried, she knew. The mission had been a success, she'd done her part well. But her youngest brother had been in bad shape afterwards. She'd done all she could to help him yet she still felt so helpless. The only thing that comforted her was the knowledge that at least that boyfriend of his would make sure he was never alone. She was admittedly jealous - She couldn't withstand Joan's radiation and thus couldn't always be by his side to protect him. She stuffed that away to unpack later, though, knowing she just needed to be happy he had someone who could. She didn't know where Xander was - her twin was probably off trying to distract himself from worrying. Ryan, she knew, was focusing on work, on making sure the people he'd brought into the Cabal were fitting in well enough. Ariel - she'd checked on him and he was sparing in one of the training rooms. He'd ignored her. She didn't think he was in a good place right now. She'd made a note to mention something to Perses later, knowing Ariel would listen to him. Sara wasn't sure where she was going in all honesty. She just needed a walk - maybe time to herself, her thoughts. God, she thought that sounded over dramatic. She'd never been one to wallow in her worries but her brother had also never been this bad before. Shit. She needed a distraction. And apparently that came as she passed by the zoo. She paused, noticing the spray painter quickly and easily - she was trained to stay aware of her surroundings as much as possible at all times, after all. That training wasn't easy to forget. She took a few steps closer, her shoes soft against the ground, and tilted her head to try to get a better work of the artwork. She was well aware of who Void was - a former Pillar of Aegis. That meant a criminal. While she wondered if any of the members of Aegis were also being deceived, she didn't wonder that regarding the Pillars. They were the team's leaders, they had to know. "Void sounds like a bitch," she spoke up, not hiding her accent. She smiled, soft, friendly, and nodded toward the spray paint as she stepped closer. "Glad to see someone else sees it too."

... beware the patient woman, 'cause this much I know: no one calls you honey when you're sitting on a throne ... tempest Avery Castellano outfit 392 words n/a

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[Avery Castellano]

Avery saw the woman approaching and looking at the art.  She was already trespassing, and she seemed to be appreciating Avery's art so Avery kept sitting there just relaxing.  She wasn't really worried about this woman telling on her somehow.  Especially when she heard the words she said.  Avery ran a hand through her dark hair and sighed, shaking her head.

"Yeah.  But she seemed like a good person at first you know.  I can see why..."  Avery gestured at the zoo in general.

"Why everyone's drunk the Kool Aid.  You want to think the best of your childhood heroes.  I guess I get it."  She shrugged with another sigh, reaching and shaking her paint can and staring at it.  She wasn't spraying it, but trying to think of something else to paint on the mural.

"I'm assuming since you approve of the art you won't tell the zoo I so wonderfully decorated their property.  At least I hope that's the case.  I really don't want to try hiring a lawyer at this point."  Maybe she could steal the powers of a lawyer?  Too bad Lady Justice was out of the question now really.  The woman could argue.  Like, damn, there was a reason it was her profession and specialty.  They didn't give her the J title for nothing.  Justice's successor.  Avery couldn't help but think of a possible world where she had succeeded Void.  Where things hadn't happened, and she was still in Aegis.  Perhaps she'd be stupid, but Avery couldn't deny that she would have been happy.  She supposed that's what blissfully ignorant meant.  She muttered to herself, still sitting with her back against the brick wall.

"Maybe a giant eye on the wall.  Open or closed, either could work to send a message I guess."  Then she looked at the other woman.

"You're Australian huh?"

Sara Amador

[Sara Amador]

Sara considered what the other woman said. It was true that anyone in Aegis seemed good at first, that was the goal of their little act. They wanted to gain the public's approval, to make everyone lax and get their guard down for whenever they finally chose to strike. She couldn't help wondering what Aegis' end goal was. What could they possibly hope to accomplish with all this lying and deceiving? She understood what she was saying. Her childhood heroes were her parents, though, as cheesy as that was. But with her mum gone, the only hero she had left was her dad. Unlike Aegis, however, her dad was an actual good person who wanted to make the world a better place. "Sometimes behind a hero," she found herself saying, "Hides a snake waiting to strike." She knew she had to be careful what she said. Even if this woman clearly didn't think Void was a good person, she might not believe her in regards to Aegis as a whole. She might laugh or even think she was insane. Sara hadn't thought about calling the authorities and reporting the vandalism, though she knew that was what it was. But this woman was clearly making a statement at no one's expense but a dead woman - a dead woman who should have been remembered as a criminal. She shook her head. "Your secret's safe with me," she replied, "Hell I'd take a selfie with it. You're very talented." She caught some of her muttering but assumed it wasn't directed at her. She must have been thinking out loud. But then she turned toward Sara and commented on her accent. Sara cocked an eyebrow and smirked cheekily. "And you're American." She didn't mind her accent or nationality being pointed out, of course. She was proud to be Australian - well as proud as anyone could be of their nationality. She simply wanted to be a bit of a tease.

... beware the patient woman, 'cause this much I know: no one calls you honey when you're sitting on a throne ... tempest Avery Castellano outfit 325 words n/a

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[Avery Castellano]

Avery heard the woman say that sometimes behind a hero was a snake waiting to strike.  She ran a hand through her hair before picking her paint can back up and putting an open eye in the black hole, making the eye white to stand out against the blues and blacks.

"You're correct.  But I thought I was a better judge of character than that."  The paint stream stopped in the middle and she shook the aerosol can, hitting it slightly before squinting at it and continuing.  Once the eye was added, she backed up to take a look at it.  Not bad.  She looked at the woman, who said her secret was safe with her, that she'd take a selfie if she could.  And then the cheeky answer.  Avery grinned.

"Yes.  Although I've travelled a bit around the world as well.  My parents wanted me to be well-rounded and not just have an American view of the way things worked.  They were concerned that my mentorship with Void would only leave me with one set of opinions.  I guess they were better judges of character."  Too bad it hadn't saved them.  Hadn't saved them in the least.

"Wish more people would question what they were taught.  That's the only way to get smarter, and get fucked over decidedly less.  The not fun kind, I should specify."  She'd travelled the world, but what she wasn't specifying was that it was after their death.  They hadn't told her in life that they were concerned about her mentorship.  They planned on encouraging her later on.  And then they died.  Avery gained her mother's memories, and therefore also gained her best intentions for her daughter.  Her.

"Travelled to Sydney once.  I didn't mind the opera.  I enjoyed Australian Broadway more though.  Lot of talented individuals in Broadway wherever you go honestly."  She shrugged.  She looked at the painting on the wall.  She painted a shield for Aegis, and then painted a big black question mark on it.  It balanced out the black hole in a way.

Sara Amador

[Sara Amador]

She sympathized with this woman, she really did. It sounded like her distrust and disdain toward Void was personal. While Sara had never been betrayed like that, had yet to judge someone wrongly, she could still sympathize with the pain and frustration that inevitably brought. "We often think we're better at something," she commented lightly, "Until we're proven that we're not." She'd thought she was better at protecting her family but her youngest brother was currently in a bed, in pain and sick. She didn't think she'd ever seen him this sick since they'd all first gotten their powers. She'd thought she was dying when she got her powers all those years ago. The way she said were when talking about her parents gave Sara the clear message that they weren't around anymore. She thought of her own mother. "My mum probably wanted to do similar with my brothers and I," she admitted, "Have us see the world, learn from different cultures, different perspectives..." She trailed off with a sigh. Even after all these years, talking about her mother was still painful. Technically she had been able to travel from Australia to the United States because of her father but the purpose hadn't been learning, that much she was aware of. Sara lightly laughed when the woman specified not the fun kind of getting fucked over. "Yeah I'd prefer the fun kind," she replied with a playful smirk, "Some people unfortunately prefer to be naive. I don't know why but-" She shrugged. "They just do." She smiled warmly at the mention of her home city, moving to stand closer to the woman as she worked more on her painting. "Sydney's my home actually," she explained, "Maybe if you ever visit again, I can show you around?" She cast that same smile at the woman. "I can show you all the best hole in the wall places." Was she flirting? As well as she could be considering what was currently going on with her family.

... beware the patient woman, 'cause this much I know: no one calls you honey when you're sitting on a throne ... tempest Avery Castellano outfit 334 words n/a

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[Avery Castellano]

Avery heard the words about thinking you were better at something until you were proved wrong.  She sighed and nodded slowly.  She also heard the comments about how she thought her mother had wanted the same.

"Well in my case I...kind of have my mother's memories in my own brain now.  And when that first happened...and I realized what she wanted.  Well I was still part of Aegis so I put it off.  But when I quit, I made good on what she wanted for me and travelled around.  I had enough money to do it after all."  She smiled slightly at remembering. 

"Until you learn the perspectives of others, your own perspective can be alarmingly narrow.  And that's not the type of person I wanted to be, with or without my mum's wishes for me."  She was glad when her joke about getting fucked over got a laugh.  She found herself wanting to make this woman laugh.  Avery thought on why someone would want to be naive, looking over her mural while she did so.

"Rather than naive, I think it's more...blissfully ignorant.  You can't feel bad about something you don't know about.  Some things are less painful if you ignore them, and not everyone likes to face their pain head on.  They might put up walls instead.  And while we can understand that, we can also use our own knowledge to gently wedge up that wall.  With like...a crowbar.  Or like a garage door I dunno.  Metaphors aren't really my thing late at night."  Avery shrugged.  She heard the offer of showing her around and grinned.

"That would be cool.  At the time I was new to travelling around and only had a basic pamphlet to go by.  So I got to see the big things but...hole in the wall places are the places you find better food let's face it."  She got better at it later on.  Usually she'd travel to a country, flirt with a local and they'd end up showing her around.  She didn't do that with Sydney though because she was still hopeless at flirting.  Speaking of flirting...why the hell was she too nervous to flirt right now?  Goddamn.

Sara Amador