driftfleet | 'cause it's better than nothing

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'cause it's better than nothing

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ROOMS BY CHARACTER

N - P

Otono-Tachibana Makie

Q - S

Sandalio "Biffy" de Rabiffano

T - V

W - Z

(last updated: 1/25/19)

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[Soon she begins to respond to the kiss and her free hand comes up to gently cradle the back of his head. She feels warm and safe and for a moment all she can do is gaze up at him with utter adoration while she strokes his cheek.]

Vision. [He came for her. Of course he did. Was there ever any doubt? She kisses him again, softly, but slowly concern begins to overtake the adoration in her expression.]

You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous. And you're too good to be in a place like this.

[He's about to refute the first point, but the second stops him in his tracks, and an expression of sorrow replaces the warmth that was there before. He strokes the side of her cheek again, quiet for a moment.]

The world has served you darkness and despair, Wanda, and yet when I look around I see a place of beauty. It's left its mark, but it does not define you. You are every bit as good as I am.

[Better, he sometimes thinks, because she's overcome so much.]

Though if you'd prefer I not be here, I can leave.

[She closes her eyes and leans into that touch. She knows he means well, but she could never be as good as he is. He doesn't have the same vicious streak born from losing so much, the panic and fear of losing someone else she loves that would drive her to do horrible things in their defense and not feel a shadow of guilt.

And so her eyes fly open when he offers to leave and she clutches at his hand, desperate.]

No! I don't...I can't ask you to stay. But I don't want you to leave.

[There's a difference, but she knows he'll understand.]

I love you, Vision. I only want good things for you.

[It's true, he doesn't have that desire--

--but then, the desire to do harm, even in protection of something beloved, is different than acting upon that desire. Ever since Wanda joined the Avengers, she'd done nothing but try her best to help people.

And it's not as though he hasn't killed to protect innocents.]

I accept everything you are, Wanda. Even the parts you don't see as 'good'. [He squeezes her hand back reassuringly to show he's not going anywhere.] But if you'd prefer to guide me, I'll gladly follow you.

[She shifts to sit up and kiss him again, a soft apology. This is why she loves him so deeply.]

We have to be careful. I don't want Koschei to find you.

[They don't know anyone named Koschei, but he features prominently in Slavic folklore: a supposedly deathless sorcerer with a penchant for kidnapping princesses and young maidens.

She offers him the rose, now glowing steadily, again as she stands. Oddly enough, should Vision choose to take it, some of the thorns retreat before they could ever risk harming him, and no matter how he shifts his grip on it, the rose will adapt. It will never, ever hurt him.]

What do you want to see?

[He looks confused for a moment, but then he remembers Koschei of the Emerald Heart, a story he'd read, and nods. Well, he hadn't seen a spinning wheel anywhere (nor seven dwarfs), so he supposes that makes sense.

He takes the rose, wondering if it will smell in this dreamlike world.]

Something that brings you joy. [And he smirks the tiniest bit.] That doesn't involve me.

[The rose should smell very familiar to Vision. There was a sultry rose perfume that had been one of Wanda's favorites in her Avenger days, and after she'd gone on the run and had to change her hair, her makeup, her clothes, and stop painting her nails it had become one of the few links to her past life she'd been allowed to keep. She'd worn it every time they'd met.]

Come with me.

[She smiles and leads him to the couches in the middle of the tower and holds out a plate with a still-warm pastry on it.]

Try it, love.

[It's sweet and cinnamony and the taste leads to another vision:

It's night and cold outside, but Wanda barely feels it. The festive atmosphere of Novi Grad's Christmas markets has her in a great mood and it makes her happy just to see Pietro enjoying himself. His hair is brown - this must be the days before the experiments.

"I think these get better every year," she says with a laugh, and Pietro says something muffled by the pastry in his mouth. She laughs again and nudges him playfully. "Swallow first! You're going to get it everywhere."

He does and grins at her. "You're looking cold, Wanda. We should get you some hot chocolate before you freeze."

"Mmmm, what about the spiced cider?" A moment passes while they both grin. "Or I think we might be able to spare enough for both."

They walk through the market, taking in the sights and sounds, and occasionally Wanda will reach out to wistfully touch some soft-looking winter wear. They can afford to splurge on some of the food here, but that's about it.

Still, when they get their drinks and find a bench to sit and share their treats, Wanda doesn't feel lacking at all. She leans into Pietro's side and closes her eyes in contentment. If only she could bottle this moment and hold onto it forever.

Wanda's eyes are wet with unshed tears when the memory fades. "I wish you had met him."]

[Oh, he does know that smell. His neurons aren't wired quite like a human's, so scent isn't as deeply entwined with memory as it might be, but it still has an association, and it's a purely delightful one. If there had been any doubt whether this was some kind of dream or real (for certain definitions of real), this would cinch it.

It's interesting that he can taste the pastry without Wanda's help, though, and he watches the memory with a smile, holding Wanda close once he comes back to himself and projecting warmth as much as he can.]

I know you loved him very much, and that he was there for you when you needed it. I would like him just for that, and I am very sorry he is gone.

[He places another light kiss to her temple.]

But I did have a chance to know him. He came here, to the Fleet, not long after I first arrived.

[She rests her cheek on the cool metal of his armor and holds on to him until the urge to cry passes. The kiss helps to soothe her and Vision will be able to feel her shoulders relax again.]

We would have died without each other. Not just during the experiments, but years before that.

[There's a metallic sound from outside - tools being shuffled, perhaps? - and Wanda jumps. Her eyes flash red and suddenly it cuts off.]

Tell me about him, [she says with a small amount of desperation.] How was he?

[He looks around for the source of that noise, but, seeing nothing, he returns his attention to Wanda.]

Wary, which shouldn't be a surprise. I doubt he'd have given me a chance without your insistence. [Or at least not quickly. He closes his eyes for a moment and remembers. It's been a while.]

Very self-confident. [i.e. cocky] Defensive to the point of belligerence, especially where you were concerned. Quick to make judgments, but willing to change with good reason. Slow to trust, but once someone had it he would do anything for them. Most of all, he was unwilling to stand by and watch when there was injustice.

[So, on the surface, a very different person, but deeper down he held many of the same values Wanda did. The Vision is glad he got a chance to know Pietro, even if only for a little while.]

He was a good man.

Edited 2019-01-25 18:03 (UTC)

[Wanda smiles fondly. Yes, that sounds like her brother. She hopes he got a chance to be happy. Even more, she hopes that she'll see him again one day.]

He was.

[She doesn't see it coming. Behind her, materializing out of shadowy wisps, is the figure that must be 'Koschei.' He's very obviously meant to be Ultron, though aside from his head some of the details tend towards the fantastical. He looks more like a golem who might have served Koschei than the sorcerer himself, but there's a terrible hole in his chest as if someone had ripped his heart out. Sparks and shadows seep from the wound, a black twin to Wanda's own powers. He shouldn't be standing.

But he is Koschei the Deathless, and someone else will rise to replace him. There will always be someone who wants to control her, always a reason she wants to lock parts of herself away where no one can try to use her again.

He's close enough that even if Wanda were to press herself even closer to Vision, she couldn't escape him reaching out to catch a lock of her hair. She does feel that, but instead of throwing Ultron-Koschei across the room, she whimpers and clutches Vision tighter.]

But you always were my favorite. You made them hurt so much more than I ever could.

[Ultron. Of course. The Vision holds Wanda tightly and the Mind Stone begins to glow. (It occurs to him that it's probably a bad idea to use it while inside a representation of someone else's consciousness, or he'd blast Ultron right away.)

It doesn't take him long to realize this is a representation of fear. Well, too bad, because Ultron isn't someone the Vision fears. Instead his voice is tinged with disdain.]

The harm falls upon your shoulders, instigator. When you manipulate a desire to help others into a way to hurt others, you are at fault. As soon as she knew the truth, she opposed you.

[One hand drops to his side in a fist, steel-hard with suddenly increased density, ready to punch Ultron if he comes near Wanda again.]

I will help give her the right to choose for herself, no matter what it takes. You may call yourself Deathless, but do not forget that I am your death.

[She should by all rights be able to blast Ultron out of here, but Wanda seems to find herself powerless before him. All she can do is cling to Vision, wide-eyed and trembling.]

You killed me, I killed the other one...but what does it really matter?

[The shadows from his chest envelop him and his form changes: Ultron to Ross, whose attire has also been changed to something more suitable. Wanda doesn't remember everything from her stay in Vision's calibration room, but she's been left with a deep-seated feeling of fear and dread where he's concerned.]

There's always another.

[Koschei shifts again and the next man probably looks the part best even though his clothes match what Ross was just wearing.]

So much power...who could resist?

[German accent. Strucker. The one who started all of this.]

Edited (html fail ;;) 2019-01-25 20:21 (UTC)

[He narrows his eyes at Ross - what is he doing here? - but the form shifts quickly to someone else, and it takes the Vision a moment to recognize Strucker. He only knows the man from archived video footage.

And then he blinks, having (finally) realized what they represent here thanks to Strucker's words: power. People who want to control the maiden in the tower, and the power she wields. Of course.

This isn't a battle that logic is going to win, so instead he shifts his grip on Wanda again to cradle her gently and stroke her hair, reclaiming it from Ultron's vile touch.]

Wanda, my love. You don't need to believe a word he says. You shine so brightly, they could never contain you. I wish you could see yourself the way I do.

[Vision's touch gives Wanda the strength to emerge from his chest - it's such an intimate gesture between the two of them that it had felt like a horrible violation when Ultron touched her. But if she has the power to eject Koschei, she still doesn't use it.]

But they're right. There's always going to be someone else. And what if you or the others get hurt because of me?

Oh, they will. [Koschei shifts back to Ultron - the one who did take everything away from her.] You've lost, what, your parents, your brother, and your city? That takes a special kind of carelessness.

[It's a low blow, and that plus Vision's encouragement gives her the strength to actually get angry.]

Shut up!

[...either that sound was a very strange whisper or a very distant roar.]

[He smiles grimly. It's important for Wanda to fight back, though he can't quite put his finger on why that might be the case. Are those the echoes whispers speaking along with Wanda?]

Then it is our choice to have been with you, Wanda. You could do more harm to me than anyone else in the world - not because of your powers but because I care so much for you. When you're sad it brings me sorrow; when you cry it breaks my heart. And yet I would rather spend a hundred nights comforting you in your grief than a thousand years without you.

[He squeezes her hand lightly once more, though he lets it go as she moves away from him.]

You are more than the sum of your losses.

Oh, Vizh...

[She blinks a few times, her eyes wet with unshed tears. What has she done to deserve him? Without another word, Wanda's hand comes up to cup the back of Vision's head to guide him down for a passionate kiss. She kisses him like Koschei's not behind her, like he's her entire world and nothing else matters.

She lets him go only enough for a breath before giving him a gentler kiss to steady them both. At some point, Koschei disappeared...for now.

He's never really gone, just sleeping.

They don't get long to recover before there's another, much closer, roar from outside.]

Oh no.

[Behind Wanda, through the open doorway, a great ruby dragon can be seen circling the tower. Its scales glitter like gems, shifting through several shades of scarlet, and its wings are iridescent. It would be pretty, if it wasn't so fierce and angry right now.

It appears to be carrying a small golden object in its claws, but at this distance it's difficult to tell what it is..]

[The kiss is perfect; despite the fantastical surroundings, a part of him knows exactly where he is. In this place above all others, he doesn't have a worry in the back of his mind about whether or not he'll be rejected, ostracized, feared, hated. Wanda knows everything he is, sometimes better than he does himself, and she accepts him for it. Loves him for it.

This is home.

He's still basking in the warm glow of that kiss when the dragon appears. Perhaps because of that, he does see its beauty. He brings Wanda's hands up to his lips and kisses them, then strides over to the balcony to look out at it in full.

It doesn't frighten him. Her powers never frighten him.]

Vizh--!

[She scampers after him and frantically catches his arm.]

It's dangerous! I don't want you to get hurt.

[The dragon perches surprisingly lightly on the railing for its size, spreading its wings and roaring. It doesn't seem to be roaring at them, just...roaring. But Wanda can't see that.]

[He doesn't take his eyes off the dragon. Yes, of course it's dangerous. In fact, it's probably one of the only things that could hurt him. Yet when he looks up at it, his posture is relaxed and he seems completely at ease.]

It's beautiful.

[It's also not a stretch to imagine exactly what it represents, so he pulls Wanda closer to him, still keeping his eyes on the monster.]

It's not going to hurt me, Wanda. You won't let it.

[She clings to him, looking wide-eyed between Vision and the dragon.]

I can't make it go away. I can't stop it.

[The dragon tilts its ruby head at Vision. It huffs, exhaling twin wisps of familiar scarlet power, but it doesn't move to attack them. It seems curious, but every time Wanda gets upset it grows more agitated, flapping its wings.

Clutched in its front talons is a golden egg.]

[He makes some comforting noises and rubs at Wanda's back in circles, hoping that will spread some of the calm he feels. He's very curious about that egg, but the dragon isn't going to bring it to him if Wanda's upset.]

It's all right, Wanda. Look at it. See it. It's not displaying signs of aggression at all.

[He's able to soothe her frantic energy but she still looks at the dragon and sees danger.]

It's always here, [she says in a hushed voice.] It frightens me.

[He stays where he's at, trying to soothe her, but Wanda will be able to detect a note of sadness in his voice.]

Every one of the Avengers is dangerous. I am dangerous, Wanda. Why does this frighten you in particular?

It's not...it's not the same thing.

[Wanda pauses and makes the same frustrated expression she gets when trying to explain aspects of her power that there are no words for, or when she's struggling with an English expression for something.]

...I want to show you, but I don't want you to be afraid.

[The answer is back in the tower - Ultron's heart.]

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