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destroyrofworlds​:

“You did the right thing there, you know. I know that it might not feel like it, after everything that happened.. but what matters is that you did the right thing in the end. And that you turned things around and made sure it couldn’t happen to anyone else. That’s commendable.” Daisy had a feeling that Wanda didn’t really get to hear that too often. And even if she had her own qualms with what the Scarlet Witch had done during her time with the Darkhold, she had a heart. And she could see that Wanda had one too. “Maybe it does. But you sure burned away a good chunk of it. Or an important chunk, at least.”

“I would do it again in a heartbeat.” It wasn’t just the right thing to do. It was the only thing to do if more death and destruction was to be avoided. “Power like that shouldn’t be possessed by anyone.” Agatha had told Wanda she was powerful. She had touted the might of the Scarlet Witch, but even that title hadn’t been enough to preserve Wanda’s mind. If it could corrupt her thoroughly, she hated to imagine what it might do to others. Then again, there’s always the chance that it was her power that made her more susceptible. She’s turned over both scenarios again and again in her mind as she tries to lay awake at night. Dreaming still hurts. It’s all too fresh. “Now that it’s gone, we have more to focus on. The Darkhold is just one tiny sliver of the overall picture.”

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destroyrofworlds​:

“Part of me wonders if she drew some inspiration from Westview.” Daisy commented quietly, her voice dark as she thought back to the picket fences and green grass inside of the fake town. She didn’t have any context from the last Pleasant Hill to draw comparisons to, but she did get a rundown from Monica about with Westview. She’d heard enough to know the two were far too similar. But none of this was Wanda’s fault, and she didn’t need to make the other woman feel any guiltier than she already did. “I’m assuming you’ve heard about the spell too?”

The fact that Wanda could have provided a template for such corruption weighs heavily on her. She hadn’t considered something like this happening when Westview was created. Then again, there were a lot of things that Wanda hadn’t considered. The entire affair had been a scarlet blur of delusion and selfishness. Daisy’s comment about Wanda’s nightmare fantasy goes unanswered. “The spell and the resolution, yes. I’m surprised an answer as simple as having Ripley fix it worked. I also heard about what happened after.” The explosion, that is. The one that killed her variant’s father. Now both Wanda’s are orphans. 

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barneswinters​:

“Honestly I’m surprised you even have a phone.” Bucky admitted, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he finally glanced back up at her and shrugged. From what he’d heard recently, Wanda had isolated herself somewhere off the grid for awhile after everything with Westview. She was more present now, but he got the feeling she wasn’t really the phone type. Then again, neither was he. He still embarrassingly got wrapped up in using his iPhone himself. Never in a million years did he ever think he’d live to see technology advance the way it has. He watched quietly and a bit awkwardly as she put her contact in, and once she was finished he took the phone back and typed out her name in the field. There was a hesitation before he shot her a quick text. Hi. Once it was sent, he held his phone up and raised his brows before shoving it back into his pocket. “There. Now you have my number. I’m only a call away if you ever need anything. I live in Brooklyn.” Her next words earned an actual smile from him as he nodded at her. “Yeah, yeah I’d say so. It’s progress for me too, honestly.”

“It’s a burner, technically. Steve and Natasha got it for me when we were all on the run after the Sokovian Accords. It was for emergencies only.” Emergencies and the Vision. Wanda still remembers the few communications that had come through. I’ll be by your side by 9. Nothing romantic or poetic, but she had waited for them all the same. “Besides,” she breaks her reverie. “I’m a millennial, technically. I’ve never really felt like one, but most would expect me to have some kind of technology.” Before the burner, Wanda had a cheap one she’d load up with minutes. Pietro had been her only contact, and her brother was awful at texting. He hadn’t had the patience. Now, her phone buzzes in her hand. The smile appears again. “Hi,” she reads aloud before quickly imputing his name. “Tribeca. I’ve never lived in New York City before. It’s big. Loud.” Different than the cabin she had been living in with the Darkhold. “I think my brother would have liked it.”

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- Nikita Gill

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wkitchensdevil​:

Matt couldn’t help the way his face brightened as their conversation shifted over to Jen. It was hard to contain it, with how well things were going between the two of them. Things with Jen were easy, and fun. They still hadn’t officially defined their relationship, but he was happy with being exclusive with her for the time being. “That’s understandable. I wouldn’t expect you to keep up with the happenings in the lawyer world.” She-Hulk was a pretty hot topic, even beyond legal gossip. She’d made national news after she hulked out and punched Titania through a wall in the middle of a court session. “If you’re asking me for advice, I’d say you’re off the hook. Although it would probably be a good idea to lay low for a bit, which it seems you’ve already been doing.”

Wanda notes the change but doesn’t comment. Jealousy stabs through her. Her name doesn’t garner that response from anyone anymore. Her relationship with Vision had never been typical, but he had made her smile. Just his presence had been enough. Whoever Jen is for Matt, Wanda is happy for the both of them. “Yes,” she nods. “Most think I’m dead. Which, honestly, is probably for the best. A dead Wanda Maximoff may be better than a living one for a while.”

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wizardstrange​:

“Honesty is difficult. You shouldn’t feel too bad about that.” Maybe Stephen was giving Wanda too much leeway after she literally tried to kill him and America, but if he’d learned anything from that entire experience it was that she needed more support in her life. Support that he’d neglected to give her after the Accords and certainly after Thanos. If he’d been there from the beginning, maybe Westview would have never happened. “Because I can see you deserve it,” He paused then to cast his gaze onto her, his eyes softening slightly as he tried to think of how to phrase his next words. “You’re not a bad person. Bad things have happened to you, and I can’t really blame you for turning to the Darkhold the way you did. Especially after the way we all didn’t.. reach out, after Thanos.”

"A lot of good things are difficult. We’re supposed to work towards them, not hide or act as if they don’t apply to us.” Wanda’s always known about the rules and what they mean. She knows why they’re important, but for a long time she had convinced herself that she was the exception; what she was doing was more important than being nice or playing fair. “I tried to kill you, Stephen. I almost killed America. I think brutal honesty is what I need, even when it’s ugly. And it will be ugly.” It’s also the best way for her to avoid delusion and falling back into her own fantasies. Wanda will spend the rest of her life vigilante against what she knows to be the darker side of her being. “It’s hard for me to agree with you, knowing what I’ve done. I don’t say that to make people feel bad for me. I know what I did. I know what I need to do now. It’s just hard to accept kindness when I can’t be kind myself.” Maybe one day she’ll heal. Wanda has to believe that it’ll get easier and the nightmares will subside. It’s day by day as it stands. His words give her pause. Maybe I am the bad guy. Was that not her thought? Wanda cast herself into a role she’s not struggling to break free from. “I appreciate it, Stephen, and while it would have helped, my mental health is not your responsibility. I just wish someone had thought of Vision, of what they did to him. We all failed him.” 

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barneswinters​:

“Yeah, I know.” Bucky’s voice cracked a bit as he spoke, needing to break eye contact with her for a moment. He could understand that feeling of having atone for something so terrible that it felt like you’d never come back from it. He knew the terrible feeling of grief that encompassed you that came with it. Wanda had been through a lot, more than anyone should ever have to go through, and Bucky knew that there was nothing he could say that would really make that okay. Not until she found it in her to move forward rather than get caught in the cyclone of those feelings. He was still working through his own shit, but if there was anything he knew Wanda needed, it was a friend. Someone to be there to talk these kind of things through with, or just a shoulder to lean on. He couldn’t help but to feel like if he’d provided that support earlier, she would have stopped before things escalated with the Darkhold. But there was no sense getting caught in the what-ifs. He was there right now for her and that’s what mattered. “You don’t need to apologize, seriously.” Pausing, he pulled his phone out and frowned a bit before holding it out to her open on the contact page. “I don’t think we ever got to the exchanging contacts stage during all of the shit with Steve and Tony. Here, put your number in.”

In that moment, Wanda feels seen. He takes his eyes off of hers, but the motion enough speaks volumes. Some wounds never fully heal. The scars remain tender and the stitches pull every time something jostles the memories. Her heart is littered with these wounds. Before, she let them dictate her life. Wanda let her grief consume her like a coward, because it was easier than facing the root of what was causing her pain. She bad been out of control because she felt powerless. She had been out of control because she felt powerful. No matter which way it was cut, Wanda couldn’t win. She wouldn’t let herself. The biggest enemy to the Scarlet Witch was Wanda Maximoff herself. Looking at Bucky’s phone, Wanda pauses before taking it. “No one has my number,” she admits. “I don’t use it. Maybe this will give me a reason to.” Her eyes flick up towards him for a second as a small smile passes over her lips. Most people had to pick up the pieces of their lives following Thanos. While that was true for Wanda, things had been unstable for as long as she could remember. Clint had said it made her an old soul, eyes pitying as he watched the orphan girl mourn the other half that had been ripped from her without reason. Wanda knows now she is not the only person in the world to grieve, even if that’s how she acts sometimes. Bucky is a living testimony to that. He reminds her that sorrow can the connective tissue that binds people together. Maybe they have little in common other than the shit lots they’ve been given, but it’s something. It counts. Wanda hands the phone back before clasping her hands. “I think they would call this progress.”

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wizardstrange​:

“I don’t blame you for sitting out. I can understand how Pleasant Hill might have been a little too close to home for you.” That wasn’t to say others didn’t blame her, but Stephen kept that to himself. He’d learned that it did no one any good to ignore Wanda and how she might feel about things, and he knew he needed to show her that respect. Someone had to. 

“Fabricated towns with perfect citizens who suffer underneath. It would seem S.H.I.E.L.D. took a look at my playbook.” The words are bitter. “If I speak on this, I may be the biggest hypocrite to live. I was Maria Hill, I was S.H.I.E.L.D. I’ve been where they were and know the power they felt. I also know how hard it is to come back from that. When I say they need to be punished, I’m pointing out the fact that I myself haven’t been. Not in the way I should’ve been.”

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madamefontaine​:

There was just a smile given. to that, Valentina deciding she didn’t want to lay too many of her cards on the table right that moment. She had a good thing going with the Thunderbolts so far, but she couldn’t help but to introduce herself to the Scarlet Witch herself when given the chance. It was just too tempting. “Woah there, we’re just having an adult conversation here, Wanda. There’s no need for the hostility.”

That earns a small laugh, Wanda briefly looking down as she shakes her head. “You must be underestimating what hostility looks like coming from me.” Is she not the Scarlet Witch? The big, bad who would entrap entire towns and attempt to kill children to further her own selfish intentions? “I can rephrase in simpler words: what do you want?”

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resurrectedstrange​:

Stephen nodded once. “This might just be another dead end, but do you have any ideas for a next step? I’m sure it’s been on your mind.”

“I can do my best to research. This other Wanda is more.. seasoned than I am.” Wanda herself has studied the Darkhold extensively, but not for as long as the other Scarlet Witch has been training and practicing. People forget at times how inexperienced Wanda truly is. She’s made herself enough of a threat that they don’t focus on the fine facts while they run from the blast radius. “For a number of reasons, yes. It’s similar to Westiew, but different in the places where it would count.”

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kitchensdevil​:

“I don’t think so. It’s not like they could force you to do anything even if they wanted to.” Matt was earnest in his response, despite the severity of everything they were discussing. Wanda had definitely made plenty of mistakes, mistakes that most people don’t come back from, but she did. And he believed that most people had the opportunity to come back from those mistakes and be a better person in the end. Most people. Not Wilson Fisk, but Wanda was no Fisk. “I guess so. She-Hulk only recently became more than just Jennifer Walters, though.”

Forced repentance has always seemed disingenuous. If it’s forced, it’s likely not from a place of honesty. Wanda is genuinely sorry, but she doesn’t think that sitting in another jail cell with another collar around her neck will do anything beneficial or positive. The people in Westview will have to live with the fact that they were hurt and will never get what they deserve. Wanda will never expect forgiveness from them. Some things you aren’t entitled to. “Jennifer Walters.” She repeats the name to see if it rings any bells. “I’m sorry, I’m behind in more ways than one. Her name may have come up when I was looking for potential representation, but I was directed towards you.”

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wizardstrange​:

Stephen pondered that for awhile, returning the tight smile as he stared off at the window across from them in the Sanctum and watched some of the cars pass by. Hadn’t he dragged others down with him back in Pleasant Hill? When he let his emotions get the best of him and lead the charge into town? It felt foolish in hindsight, but now that he’d had some time to reflect he could recognize how impulsive that had been. How short sighted the hunt for Clea made him. It would be difficult, but he’d need to learn to live with the way things were. And as it stood, Clea Strange had her husband back. Even if his gut still twisted with resentment, he was happy for her. Truly. “Thank you, Wanda. It.. means something, for you to talk with me like this. I know the circumstances haven’t been great, but I appreciate it.”

“You mean honestly? It’s a new thing that I’m trying: being honest once more.” All the lies and fabrications that had been the fantasy masquerading as a version of Westview were still settling. It would take a long time for the dust to clear from that particular explosion. Her lips briefly flatten into a straight line as she pushes back the pang of guilt. “No, they haven’t been. I know that’s because of me. I don’t deserve another chance, Stephen, but you seem to be giving me one. Why is that?” She’s not going to be on the lunchbox again. That’s for sure. This little talk is seeming to imply she could reenter good graces once more, though.

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sometimes we become the people we hate

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destroyrofworlds​:

“Hill’s been taken care of.” When Daisy realized how final that sounded, she raised her eyebrows and quickly backtracked. “She’s not dead, though. Just on a mandatory medical leave.”

Wanda’s in a weird place. In many instances, she is Maria Hill. Not literally, but is Westview not the grotesque reflection of Pleasant Hill? It’s part of what had repelled her from the town and the efforts to reverse it. The idea in general left her feeling raw and vulnerable. It reminded Wanda of her failures and she had hid like a coward as a result. She knows that Hill needs to be punished, but her own punishment never came. Can she champion justice when the citizens of Westview never got theirs? “I understand it’s a complicated situation,” she finally says. There is no sympathy in Wanda’s heart for people like herself or Maria Hill. “And one that has worsened. Its similarities to Westview are... This never should have happened.” 

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wizardstrange​:

An orange portal leading to the Sanctum dissipated behind Stephen as he turned around and faced the person in front of him. “This better be important. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but reality is still falling apart.” The bags that had plagued his eyes for the past few months were gone now, which was an improvement, but things were far from fine.

“It’s more of a feeling.” Wanda hadn’t been in Pleasant Hill, but she had felt the shift the moment it had happened. “Something’s been shifted that never should have been moved. I should have been there. I should have done something.” Something other than hide in her apartment and wait things out. 

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destroyrofworlds​:

Daisy gave a hard swallow at that, not sure what to really say in response. After hearing of the destruction the Scarlet Witch wrought, she was definitely hesitant to just fully agree with much of what Wanda said. She had sympathy, of course, but she didn’t need to cross any boundaries there. She nodded slightly though at the question and practically shuddered at the thought of Aida’s scheme. “The Darkhold’s influence was pretty clear once she did finally get that body. It was a combination of the book and some tech, but she came back and tried to kill me and my entire team.” And that was after kidnapping them and forcing them into a VR fascist state. Point being, Daisy was completely fine with every copy of that book being gone forever. “That’s good to hear, at least. It’s evil as all hell.”

“The Darkhold does increase your desire to murder people. That tracks.” Wanda’s wrestled the question of just how much was the book. Did it plant ideas in her head or water seeds that were already there? She’s inclined to believe the latter. She had created Westview all on her own before the Darkhold. Wanda was irresponsible with her magic, and for someone with her level of power that has the power to be catastrophic. She agrees with Daisy wholeheartedly. “Every reality will be better. If I could save even one person from being corrupted as I was, I would be content. They had to be destroyed. I like how you put it, though. Evil as hell.” Hadn’t Wanda herself been evil as hell as well? “Evil still exists, of course. Some of it can’t be burned away with a spell.”

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barneswinters​:

Bucky offered her a polite, but genuine smile at that as he nodded his head. He knew better than most that sometimes a little kindness went a long way, especially for people who made mistakes like them. There was never going to be a chance at fully atoning for what he’d done as the Winter Soldier, just as there was no atoning for destroying Kamar-Taj. “I’d start with learning to forgive yourself. You can’t really make anymore progress until you do that.”

“I think that’s harder to do than warping reality or destroying the Darkholds.” Wanda’s never been good at being gentle with herself. When she lost Pietro, she had lost everything. If she had acted sooner, joined the fight sooner, maybe he’d still been with her. She never should have left his side. And then Vision. Vision. Wanda has failed him in so many ways. A part of her still believes that if she had gotten the Stone out sooner he could have been saved, but what would have stopped Thanos from just using the Time Stop to reverse things once more? It’s then that she feels the buckling. It’s a feeling in her chest that feels like her heart is caving inside her ribcage. It comes on hot and fast, and she presses a hand to her chest. There is so much loss, so much to forgive herself for. Without the Darkhold to numb her pain with its whispers or Westview to cloud her eyes with scarlet, she’s forced to feel this pain. It’s devastating. “I’m sorry. Forgive me.”  She shakes her head. “Some things are too hard to remember.”