El!
El has been with the site for nearly two years now and has continued to prove her value. Currently, she is heading up our site event, Battle for Liberterram, on top of keeping up with her own personal plots.
CHARACTER
SPOTLIGHT
Peggy Carter!
Lux's posts are all wonderful to read. She has done a wonderful job of grasping the new universe and incorporating Peggy into it.
CHARACTER
SPOTLIGHT
Peter Parker!
It's good to see Spidey back on the site. Watching him deal with the universe shift in his own snarky way has been nothing short of entertaining.
THREAD
SPOTLIGHT
Eight O'Clock on the Dot!
El and Lux are making magic in this thread. Straight up fireworks, and the way they've played with drawing out the reveal is top class.
There were few places in Genosha that Wanda hadn't visited in her years there; she liked to be within the communities that they served as leaders and rulers, so that she better knew how to work for them and with them. It was her duty, as someone with power. She'd seen others abuse such things far too often and she didn't want to be like them.
She couldn't allow herself to be like them.
It was because of this that she currently found herself on the outskirts of the territory, attempting to find things that she could help with as she introduced herself to the occupants of the far edges of the territory. While speaking with a local shop owner, she thought she caught sight of someone familiar out of the corner of her eyes and she turned to see if she did truly recognize the woman, seeing a streak of white hair among brown.
She excused herself from the conversation she was having with an apology and headed in the direction she had seen the woman going, wanting it to be her old friend but unsure if it was. She hadn't seen Rogue in so long... the idea of being able to talk to the other young woman again was one that she wouldn't simply give up.
Turning a corner down a street, Wanda got a better look at the woman that had caught her eye and knew for sure now that it was her old friend. "Rogue!" she called out down the street, not wanting to lose the other woman in the crowd at the other end of the side-street. She hurried towards the other young woman, somewhat hurt that she hadn't known her friend was back in the country. "I didn't know that you'd come back," she said as she came to a stop, "Have you been here long?"
She still wasn't completely certain what had caused Rogue to leave, although she was sure it was something about finding herself - it usually was.
It had been quite some time since she’d heard from anyone in her past life. Xavier had stopped trying to contact her ever since she’d made her home in Genosha. He was aware that she had not returned to her position amongst the Brotherhood, but the fact that she had opted not to live within the boundaries of Arcadia seemed to be answer enough to the Professor for now.
That being said, finding a place for herself in this country hadn’t been terribly easy. She didn’t want to keep to the larger cities, lest anyone she knew bump into her. Not until she was ready to figure out where she belonged. And… honestly, she wasn’t actually sure she would ever know the answer to that. Instead of disappearing from the whole of society to contemplate the mysteries of life like some mystical weirdo, she’d simply slinked off to the edge of the country and landed herself pouring drinks at a bar. It was easy work, but it was honest.
And mutant thirsts never seemed to be fully quenched.
Thankfully, she didn’t work until this evening, so she had a bit of time to kill. Video games could only consume her mind for so long, and she needed to grab some energy drinks for her shift. Moving through the crowds, she paused as she thought she heard her name. Brows furrowing, she glanced around, only to find a familiar face heading in her direction.
“Wanda?” she asked, confusion overtaking her features as recognition kicked in. Not wanting to be rude to the people around them, she stepped off to the side of the walkway as her old friend approached. Part of her wanted to flee. Someone from her old life had found her before she was ready to make her decision. But of all the people to find her, Wanda was perhaps one of the only ones she’d trust to keep her location a secret for the time being.
“Yeah, Ah uh…” she trailed off, her Cajun accent drifting into the Genoshan air. “Ah ain’t been back too long. Just got a place an’ a job down at the pub. Ain’t even got all mah boxes unpacked.” Well, bags, more like. And she’d kept them that way on purpose. But Wanda didn’t need to know that.
Offering the other young woman a small smile, she fidgeted almost instinctively, her fingers toying with the elbow-length gloves tucked neatly under the sleeve of her turtle neck. There was no reason for them to not be in place, but she always got more paranoid about her ability when in close proximity with people she knew and cared for.
“How’ve ya been? Out here doin’ yer charity work?” she chuckled, trying on a wider smile for size. That had to be the reason for Wanda to be all the way out here. If not, then it meant Wanda had been looking for her specifically, and that… that probably meant Wanda’s father was looking for her. She cared for Erik like a pupil did their mentor, but just as she’d attempted to make clear to Xavier, she didn’t want to see either man again quite yet. They would want her to make a decision and she just wasn’t ready for that yet.
WORDS: 564 || OUTFIT || TAG: Wanda Maximoff NOTES: Annnnnd let the “no touchy” outfits begin again...
It was honestly a bit of a shock to see Rogue here now. Wanda hadn't heard from her since she'd left Genosha and something about that certainly hurt. She understood wanting to distance oneself from the Brotherhood, but Wanda had thought that friends would at least keep in contact/ She hadn't tried to look for Rogue, as the other woman had made it clear she didn't want to stay in contact when she hadn't reached out, but all the same she couldn't just ignore seeing the other woman now.
She smiled and nodded, jogging to catch up to Rogue as she stepped out of the flow of traffic. Coming to a halt in front of her friend, she stopped just short of wrapping her in a hug. Rogue wasn't really the hugging type due to her powers, even when fully covered.
"It's good to see you again," she said, returning Rogue's smile, "I didn't know you were back." She hadn't checked in with anyone in the capital, which meant she was probably hiding out still, at least a little.
Nodding again at the other woman's question, she motioned back towards the direction she'd come from. "I've been looking for more outreach programs on the borders, since most of my work has been more central. It's a bit difficult to convince Father to let me out of his sight for too long," she explained, "Did you... find what you were looking for? While you were gone?"
There were a lot of things that Wanda was willing to use her powers for, but invading a friend's mind without her permission was not one of those things. So if Rogue didn't want to talk about things with her, she wasn't going to know them. She wasn't crazy enough to invade a friend's privacy that way.
Despite her mutant abilities, Rogue was a social girl. It was part of the reason she hated her powers as much as she did. The fact that she couldn’t touch anyone - even platonically - rubbed at her in all the wrong ways. She’d hoped that cutting off ties with everyone cold turkey would help the pain of the situation. Like ripping a band-aid off as fast as you could. Seeing Wanda now… and seeing the slight hurt on her friend’s face… made her realize the band-aid wasn’t completely gone. It was stuck at one end, and tugging at it just seemed to hurt worse.
“You, too. Ah’ve missed ya, shugah.” It was the truth. Wanda had been one of her better friends here in Genosha. Her compassion and understanding had made their friendship physically distant, but no less strong than any other. “Yeah, Ah ain’t been really announcin’ mahself…” Under the radar seemed to be the best way to live when you didn’t know what you wanted to do with your life.
Dark eyes swiveled at Wanda’s gesture and she followed the other woman’s hand with a nod. “Good. Ah’m glad yer still able to do your work. Ah know how important it is to ya… and how your dad likes to worry about ya,” she chuckled. Erik was many things, and an overprotective father was definitely one of them.
At Wanda’s question, Rogue’s eyes drifted back towards them, pausing at the brick wall of the shop they were standing next to. She wasn’t sure how to answer the question just yet, but she didn’t want to ignore it altogether. “Ah dunno…” Lifting her gaze, she offered her friend a bashful smile and shrug. “Kinda hard to find what yer lookin’ for when ya don’t even know what it is, Ah guess.”
She wasn’t really sure what else to say, but the longer she was in Wanda’s presence, the more she realized just how badly she’d missed this - just pleasant (albeit a bit awkward) conversation between friends. Work didn’t start for a few hours yet. Maybe she could snag Wanda for part of that time. “Say, Ah ain’t gotta be at work for a few hours yet. Any chance Ah could steal ya away from your good deeds for some lunch? Even super heroes gotta eat, after all,” she grinned, a bit of hope dancing in her eyes.
She smiled at the other woman's reply, nodding a bit. "I missed you, too. It seems like I'm surrounded by idiot boys without you here," she said with a laugh, trying not to be hurt by the fact that her old friend hadn't even announced herself to her. It wasn't meant to offend her. She just had to keep telling herself that her friend hadn't meant any harm by keeping her arrival secret. Wanda knew the benefit of keeping things quiet on occasion.
Wanda chuckled along with her friend at the mention of her Father worrying. That was really an extreme understatement, considering the lengths that he could go to for his children. He was certainly a man that Wanda would not suggest crossing. "I enjoy it. I'm glad as well. I'm afraid my Father would have to go to greater lengths than he can in order to stop me," she replied easily.
"I suppose I know that feeling somewhat," she commiserated at the other woman's reply. She'd had plenty of years where she'd been confused as to what she was doing and where she was going in life before getting to the place she was now.
She couldn't help the happy, hopeful expression that came to her face at her friend's suggestion as she nodded in reply. "Of course. I could certainly go for some food right about now," she replied, "I'm not familiar with the area, though. Any suggestions on where we should go?"
There wasn't really much time for Wanda to have friends outside of the people that worked for her Father, but when Rogue had left she hadn't really connected with any of the others that she spent time around as a result. It was nice to have her friend back, if only for a moment.
“We’re surrounded by idiot boys even when Ah ain’t here,” she grinned, trying to add more humor. There was a tension about her friend that Rogue just couldn’t seem to shake. It wasn’t quite a feeling of betrayal that she got from the woman, but she knew her sudden, unannounced return had likely hurt Wanda. She tried to determine if hurting her friend had been worth it and decided perhaps she could have sent some kind of a private note. There was no real reason to have hidden from one of her only friends.
A gentle smile appeared on Rogue’s lips as Wanda continued the conversation of her father and she let out a quiet chuckle. “I’m more afraid that he would go to greater lengths,” she mused, casting a sidelong glance at her friend. Let it never be said Erik Lehnsherr did not love his children. “But enough about him - I feel if we keep talking about him, he may appear, like Bloody Mary in a bathroom mirror.”
It was difficult, being where she was today. She had friends on both sides of the country lines, but the viewpoints were so different it was sometimes hard to remember they were all essentially fighting for the same thing. Charles wanted to make the world safer for mutants… Erik simply wanted to make the world for mutants… “It’s a tough place to be. Ah wish the answers were more easily found. Ah’ve missed everyone.” Idly, she wondered if Gambit were still here in Genosha, or if he’d moved on as well. Her cheeks betrayed her before she could even ask the question, however, so she kept it locked up.
Relief flooded Rogue’s expression as Wanda agreed to grab a bite to eat and her smile lit up with excitement. “Excellent. There’s a little cafe just around the block. Ah haven’t had a chance to try it out yet, but Ah’ve heard good things from mah coworkers.” Besides the good reviews, it was close, meaning Rogue was that much closer to getting something to drink. And food certainly wouldn’t hurt either, if her stomach had anything to say about it.
“So… Tell me about what Ah’ve missed. Ah want all the details. People, events, everything. Did ya meet any handsome young mutant to sweep ya off yer feet?” she asked, grinning wickedly over at her friend as they headed down the street towards the cafe.
Wanda laughed. “I suppose that’s true. And I’ve had an idiot boy around since I was born. Perks of a twin brother,” she replied with a grin. She loved Pietro, and he really was rather bright, but he was also rash and difficult to talk down from his idiotic ideas. He was certainly the least introspective of the Lehnsherr family - although she supposed that Lorna could be rather hot-headed as well, when given proper opportunity.
She couldn’t help a small giggle at the other woman’s words regarding her Father, as she knew that she could never put anything past him. He was an intelligent, but bullheaded, man - at least Pietro came by such things honestly - and he would do anything for her or her siblings. So much so that Wanda often worried what it meant for Genosha if he was forced to choose between it or his children.
Although she still didn’t know why Rogue was back or what she’d been up to while away, Wanda couldn’t help but be excited at the prospect of having someone aside from her family around again that she could truly trust. The others that were in the personal guard or the Brotherhood were a bit too… zealous for her tastes, which had been one of the reasons that she’d bonded with Rogue all the quicker.
“Well, lead the way, then!” Wanda smiled as Rogue mentioned a cafe around the corner. She loved the atmosphere of local cafes, far more so than many of the fancier places that she found herself eating at when her Father and siblings had their way - except Pietro.
At her friend’s question, she couldn’t help the blush that rose to her cheeks. “Maybe…” she replied hesitantly, “Though I wouldn’t call him a mutant, per se. Certainly not fully human, though…” Her thoughts drifted to Vision and the quiet conversations they shared when they were together.
