viz (visioned) wrote in avengers_logs, @ 2021-07-02 12:31:00 |
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Entry tags: | -complete, vision, wanda maximoff |
WHO: Wanda & Vision
WHAT: A date in the park, ice cream, making plans for a mind stone copy, and learning about all the fun things Wanda's been up to :)
WHERE: Central Park
WHEN: After bae steals the Darkhold
STATUS: Complete
Summertime meant that the days were quite hot and humid - Vision registered as much, registering that the sun’s rays could often feel like flames on the back of one’s neck and that the humid air was often like breathing in tepid bathwater. Thus, when he suggested a Central Park ‘date’ with Wanda in the afternoon it was kind of on the later side of the afternoon - maybe more like twilight, actually. The time of day that slowly stole the colors of the world and transformed it into some black and white movie, a lot of copper hues and dusty purples as the color palette. This part of Central Park, near Bethesda Fountain, was nice during twilight too, with the orange glow of the lights, drifting music and laughter, and the tinkling of the fountain itself. The statue at the center, Angel of the Waters, was equally beautiful - she carried a lily in one hand, arm outstretched, meant to be blessing the water and represented purity, health, and peace. Well. He was not so sure if that was true or not - data was inconclusive. He sat on the edge of the fountain wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans, looking distinctly human thanks to the part of his abilities that allowed him to shift forms; he lacked the mind stone his previous incarnation had, but since he was partially composed of chaos magic that made up some of the difference. It really was peaceful, he supposed, just watching the water - he could see why humans enjoyed it so much. “You left recently, didn’t you?” he asked Wanda. “But - you’re back now.” Just something he noticed, because his time (in this new universe) was spent on order and routine - and a lot of that included her. Wanda had been trying to give Vision his space when he wanted it, if only because she was also trying to deal with her own emotions about him being here and in one piece. He had the memories of the Vis she’d loved, but there were a lot of differences, too - and the last thing she’d wanted was for either of them to rush into things. Still, she did love him just the same, and was happy to agree to join him in a trip to Central Park. The spot he’d chosen was lovely, and Wanda was enjoying the peace while at the same time, basking in the fact that she was spending time with him again. When his voice broke the easy silence between them, Wanda looked away from the sunset and over to Vision, a hint of surprise in her eyes at the words. “The city, you mean? Yes, I needed to talk to someone.” She hesitated to bring up the book just yet, if only because she’d barely begun to study it, and wanted to investigate a few things inside it further. After all, she knew very well how dark and dangerous it was, and wanted to tread carefully. “I didn’t realize you’d noticed.” "Of course I noticed." Vision wasn't certain if he was attuned to Wanda because of the chaos magic that thrummed through them both or simply because she was technically important to him (valuable in content or relationship, as it was defined - this was a relationship, or teetering on the edge of one? He had never been in one before, so he had no basis for comparison). But whatever it was, if something deviated from the norm then he picked up on it - sensors and data processing and configuration, all of it working in tandem. He was an efficient machine. Also more - he'd once been more. He found he held an inherent curiosity to know what that was like, to experience it for himself and not simply through the haze of foggy memories, a fascinating picture reel. "There was nothing you wished for me to assist with?" he inquired. Wanda smiled at him, reaching out to rest her hand on Vision’s and squeeze it gently. She knew that he didn’t have quite the same capabilities as he had before - in part, because the Mind Stone had helped to connect him to emotions and such. She knew herself what that stone had felt like, both because she’d touched it herself and studied it with her own powers - and also because she’d once destroyed it. Still, it was nice to see him attempt to make the connection between them again, even if he didn’t have the same frame of reference for it now. She shook her head. “No...it wasn’t something you could assist with.” But there had been something within the book that she wanted to discuss with him, and now was as good a time as any to discuss it. “Vis...I have a question. I know that we don’t have the Mind Stone here for you to use, but...would you want something like it?” He curled his fingers over Wanda’s, carefully - human contact was still such a fantastical thing to him, and he was never certain how much pressure to apply. How much was too much? How much was too little? What did you do when you kissed someone - just smashed your face against theirs and suctioned with your lips a bit? It seemed unpleasant. And involving entirely too much saliva (though he recalled his predecessor had been very interested in this part, along with other carnal pleasures that nearly made him short circuit and steam shoot from his ears). “I...would.” Yes, Vision thought about it, rapidly processing the question and was able to come to a conclusion. But he had other questions too; the infinity stones were powerful and were not to be trifled with. “How would you acquire this?” he wanted to know. Wanda hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath as she waited for his answer, and as she let it out at his answer, she smiled a little. “I...it wouldn’t be acquiring it, exactly. I think I can create it. I’ve learned a great deal about my powers that I...that we never knew before. I believe I can create something that would do almost the same thing.” And on the upside, no one like Thanos would be arriving to try and claim the stone for themselves. “I’d like to try, at least, for your sake.” And maybe a little for her own, but mostly Wanda wanted to do it to help him. It was important to her to use her abilities not to ‘destroy the world’ as Agatha claimed she would. Creation was a far better use for them. “Wanda...” Vision trailed off, considering how to put this. It had to be put delicately, anyway - because he understood that relationships were complex, a puzzle to parse out. Not always structurally complex, like a mechanical clock would be, but perhaps a better term would be emotionally complex. Lots of layers. But his memory was sharp and so was his perception. He recalled their initial conversation, when he first found himself here - there was nothing about it that he forgot. “You spoke of something called the Darkhold before. Have you obtained it?” He hoped she would be honest with him - even if vague surprise registered at the notion. As he began to discover himself, weaving through a web of feelings, he was beginning to learn what the different ones meant to him. Of course, he was nowhere near where prior Vision had been - a mind stone replica would help with that. But Wanda suddenly being in possession of the knowledge of how to create one spurned questions. It was a perceptive question, and in retrospect, Wanda shouldn’t have been as surprised as she initially felt. She’d been so focused on helping him that she hadn’t really thought that he would be too interested in how she came about the information. All the same, there was no hesitation in her response, and she met his eyes directly while giving a nod. “Yes, I have. It was why I left town for a few hours,” she added. While Wanda was tempted to offer to show it to him, she wasn’t sure what would happen to Viz if he read the book, and what kind of effect it might cause to him. “It’s in a safe place.” She was telling the truth - not that Vision believed Wanda would lie to him. After everything they’d been through (that he remembered, with vivid clarity because he was the true Vision), after everything she’d already shared with him - there wasn’t much they needed to keep from each other. At least, not about something like this. He catalogued his data recesses to try to pull up any information pertaining to the Darkhold - he had none, save for what Wanda told him. That it could potentially be an artifact that would aid in finding their children. That they were going to look for the boys, lost somewhere in the spinning universes, lost to time and space and somewhere in the beyond. “I would like for you to be careful with it,” he hedged. “Especially if we are meant to find the twins.” He was less concerned with himself - he only wanted to keep Wanda safe. And knew reuniting their family was important to her. “I will,” she replied, and smiled a little at the mention of their sons. That was her ultimate goal, of course, but she thought that it might help if she told him a little more. “The book itself...I don’t know the history of it. But it’s powerful, and it contains knowledge and information from many different cultures and dimensions, and...I told you before, that I’m in it. Some of what’s in there tells me more about this chaos magic I can do, things I’d never learn otherwise. It helps to know this, so that I can control my own destiny,” Wanda told him quietly. “And as I said, I think that I can use what I’ve learned to make a new stone. It would not be the same as an Infinity Stone, but I think that it’d help you.” It probably wasn't that simple. Was it that simple? Just - read the book and absorb the knowledge and nothing terrible would happen? Vision was skeptical about that - there had to be consequences to learning magic from something called the Darkhold. Or else Wanda wouldn't have had to sneak away to get it. Steal it. Whichever option she went with. Not to mention that chapter in there about her dark destiny, foretold to destroy the world - no, Vision didn't believe this was going to be seamless. They both needed to face that - but he wasn't going to 'come at her' with naysaying quite yet. He needed more information first. "I trust you," he made sure to say, because that was true. "We can go over the steps together, what it will entail." The smile she gave him in return was bright, just happy to hear him say that. Wanda squeezed his hand again, brushing her thumb across the back of it before slowly letting go and sitting back to tuck her hair behind her ears. “I think that perhaps going to Wakanda may be a good idea, actually. In our world, Princess Shuri made quite a study of the Mind Stone, and it’s possible that they have information there that may help.” She paused to consider that for a moment. “Then again, Tony may have information here, or even Dr. Strange might know more? What do you think?” “I will find out,” Vision promised. All of those options seemed feasible - and considering the prickliness experienced by thinking of what using the Darkhold could entail, he wanted to speak with Dr. Strange anyway. “I imagine creating a mind stone replica will be no small feat regardless. It’s important we do it correctly and with support and backup.” Being present, really, in case anything went wrong - if they had to go to Wakanda, they would go to Wakanda. His memories, the last vestiges of them, involved laboratory work and an attempt to separate his consciousness from the mind stone - an intriguing process, and it appeared that the Wakandan royal had been successful to some degree. He was curious as to how much of his consciousness she’d managed to salvage, before disaster struck. Perhaps it would be enough to not put the burden and onus entirely on Wanda. He found her hand again, and the motion was as natural as anything. “Would you like to find a hot dog cart?” he asked, voice caramel-smooth despite never having tasted a hot dog before. But he couldn’t taste anything, and humans needed sustenance regularly. “Or...ice cream?” She nodded at his words. Having backup would be good, even if Wanda wasn’t certain it was necessary. Her thoughts drifted for a moment to what had happened the last time she’d been in Wakanda, when Vision took her hand in his, pulling her out of the dark yet again. She smiled a little at the questions, though she tilted her head a little dubiously at the thought of eating a hot dog. The mention of ice cream made her miss her sons, but after a moment Wanda nodded again. “Ice cream would be nice. I know you don’t need to eat, but would you like to try it? Maybe you’ll find a flavor you like.” “I cannot digest it, unfortunately,” Vision replied with a sad sort of smile - and it was sad, because ice cream always looked like it would be an amazing experience. Especially soft serve - same ingredients, just more air. Probably lots more deliciousness as well. "But if you want to, we can certainly get your favorite flavor. You can tell me all about it." That way he wouldn't face the hardship of any of his operational systems malfunctioning because of dessert - granted, a dessert that (allegedly) tasted like clouds stuffed full of dairy and sugar and vanilla, but still. Perhaps not worth the risk. It would be enough to see Wanda enjoying herself anyway. So with that, he stood from where he was sitting by the fountain - still holding onto her hand, and perhaps they could take a stroll and make this even more of a proper date after all. She knew that, but still wished he could partake. But since he was willing to have her eat it in front of him, well - she could oblige. As he stood, she took just a moment to study him. His face was so familiar, she knew it as well as her own, and seeing him with the fading sun behind him just took her breath away for a few seconds. Finally, she moved to her feet and wove her fingers with his while they began to walk towards the edge of the park. “Have you done much exploring of the city, or the world outside it yet?” Wanda asked. She knew how much he valued learning, and was eager to support that venture if he wanted to continue it. There were carts all along the edges of the park, each corner - the one closest to them, Vision was looking forward to seeing. It seemed nostalgic for some people - these were the treats they had when they were small, Strawberry Shortcake bars and the neon red, white, and blue Firecracker pops. The menu had selections for other ice cream flavors as well - on the side of the bubblegum-colored cart, the words advertised cones and sundaes. How very ambitious. “Everyday I do a little bit more exploring,” Vision nodded. “I like to get out and tour the museums most of all.” Spending hours in them was a good way to fill the time - for example, did you know there was one dedicated entirely to ice cream? He hadn't tackled that one yet, saving the rainbow tunnels and sprinkle pools for when someone else wanted to go with him - Wanda, perhaps. "I am a work in progress - in fact, I am cookie dough. I am not done baking yet." Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A very wise quote. “Do you have a favorite - or one that is more interesting than another?” Wanda wasn’t certain he would, since he enjoyed every piece of knowledge he consumed - even now, when he didn’t have quite the same awareness of emotions as he had previously. Yet, she asked because she liked listening to him talk, and simply spending time with him. At the quote, she tilted her head as she studied him for a moment, before her lips twitched into a grin. “You’ve been watching television?” One of her own earliest memories of them spending time together was when he joined her while she watched sitcoms, her own favorite kinds of shows, though now Wanda wasn’t sure she could look at them quite the same way. “And you’re right, you’re not. I’m not sure you’ll ever be done baking,” she replied teasingly as they reached the cart and turned her eyes to the menu. After a moment of deliberation, she chose one shaped like a TMNT’s head, because it reminded her of the boys and thought it was something they might choose as well, and told the seller her selection. Wanda’s choice was very whimsical. Vision liked it - even if he wasn’t sure what cartoon that was supposed to be (that was a cartoon, right? He assumed it was not a green blob). One ice cream treat selected and paid for, they could keep wandering as the sun set and blossomed in all of those lovely shades of red and gold. “I don’t sleep,” he reminded her with a little laugh, an odd sound to his ears - but still, he found it genuinely amusing and enjoyed seeing her smile. “So yes, I have watched some television.” There was one in his apartment - it was still pretty bare bones otherwise. He hadn’t decorated it to his tastes yet, because he remained uncertain about what his tastes even were. Though he supposed he could find out - that was a work in progress. “I have enjoyed the Noguchi Museum quite a bit. It is an art museum - paper lanterns and a walled garden with plenty of ivy. It’s a prime meditative place.” The lanterns were made of washi paper and bamboo, and he appreciated the soft glow to it all. “There is a lot I have left to discover, however. I’m sure we can do much of it together.” |