Ok some I’m throwing in a few references from kyxhiin, wonderjanga and other creators
Everyone believe that Marvel is just a puppet, created by the gods to serve humanity.
The need to protect others is all he seems to know, he has no other tether to the world.
The body created for him isn’t even in his own control, gods could take control take whenever they want, leaving marvel to deal with the consequences. Force to always smile, even as he watches someone gets hurt or killed, his smile remains, even if you can see it in his eyes that he wants to cry.
So imagine you’re just some poor justice league member that meets this overpowered guy and you start to notice things about him
He’s doesn’t understand why people do bad things.
He’s scared of loud noise (he’s 6’7 with muscle, the size of a person’s head)
How he practically shines when everyone gives him the slight bit praise
Believes that his wants and needs are not as important as others
Always at work, helping others, whether or not if it’s his own city, no personal life
Even though he has the wisdom of Solomon, he still gets confused by complex things
He’s not dumb he just doesn’t seem to understand certain things that many adult adults should understand.
It takes the league a while to figure out that Marvel was just poof into existence into a grown man’s body and left to fend for himself.
Marvel, the Champion of Magic is nothing more than a puppet left to wonder what it actually is.
Marvel, the Champion of Magic left to wonder what he has to do to be loved, to be enough,
the thing that hurts about marvel is how much of it is about almosts. steve almost gets his life. nat almost gets to make it right. peter almost gets to grow up. tony almost gets to rest.
and we sit here crying over the ghosts of people who never even existed.
Warnings: injury, gore, explosions, character suffering, possible character death (?). anxiety, blood, torture, extreme pain.
Yelena had gone to the Red Room to find her sister, both attempting to burn it to the ground. Natasha was compromised early on the mission, leaving her to be tortured for a span of a week. Her body was exhausted, wounds raw and head pounding when she finally escaped alongside her younger sister.
But when the Red Room had been engulfed in flames, a piece of shrapnel, and a weapon was thrown from the explosion…
You had to sprint to catch up to Yelena. The way your lungs ached was the last thought on your mind which was screaming Natashas name over and over again. Yelena grew pale as she approached her sister. You caught a glimpse of Natashas eyes, making your way to kneel down beside her. Yelena was on the verge of tears, her skin white as a ghost.
Natasha was fighting back from screaming. Adrenaline eased her pain, though it didn't erase it. The widow knew this was bad, really really bad. She knew this was likely a suicide mission to begin with. No matter how much she tried to assure you that she would be okay, to assure herself. She never believed it, no matter how hard she had tried to.
She would demolish the Red Room, ensuring the widows would be freed. Whether she fell with it or not, she simply had to do it. No matter how much you hated to admit it, you understood her reasoning.
Natasha was both relieved and bitter that her sister and her partner were by her side. She hated the thought that you had to see her like this, she shoved it down trying to focus on her breathing.
Every breath was so hard to endure. The wind was knocked out of her when she hit the ground, she was sure she had lost consciousness. She recalled laying there alone for a moment, but the next time she opened her eyes, both Yelena and you stood above her. She dared to open her eyes for a moment, meeting your worried eyes instantly.
" Y/n .... " she managed to breathe out. Shocking even herself that she was able to speak.
"Hey... it's okay, I've got you... You need to hang on okay? You keep breathing for me alright?" You looked in horror at the blade, at the blood that seemed like it was endlessly pouring from the entrance and exit point. You knew the only way she would be able to stop the bleeding would be to remove the blade. It would cause more bleeding, but in the long run, would be the only chance you had to even think about saving her life. And you had to save her life. Letting her die wasn't an option.
"I have to take it out... it's gonna hurt like hell, but it's the best shot we have..." You mumbled just loud enough so Yelena could hear. Yelena, who remained pale... emotionless nodded slowly before snapping out of whatever state she was lost in.
You were no doctor, but you had been around long enough to see the other avengers get injured. Each time you would watch the medics or the other avengers care for them. You would stay up at night reading articles about how various wounds were treated. Natasha called you paranoid, you just told her she simply didn't understand what it was like being on the other side of things. The side that waited at home, unsure if the love of their life would be coming home that night. You did that just in case Natasha was ever in a situation like this very moment.
"Do it. Now," Yelena spoke coldly as she got ready to hold her sister down. Desperately clinging to any hope she could that there was any possibility of surviving an injury such as this.
You took a deep breath, preparing yourself for what you needed to do. Tears were stinging to escape from your eyes, but you had no time to cry. You were too petrified, too determined to ensure she made it out of this. "Tasha, this is gonna suck but I have to take it out..." You spoke softly, meeting eyes once again with the love of your life.
Natasha laid there, her face pale but also burning up as sweat dripped from her forehead. She was exhausted from the fight, from the pain paralyzing her body. She struggled with her words
"Don't... t-take it out..." she pleaded through grit teeth, you had to fight back a sob. You hated seeing Natasha like this, although you rarely ever did. You had never seen her in this much pain before. You wondered if she had ever even felt like this prior to this moment.
"Look at me... I wouldn't do this if it wasn't the only way..." You spoke, meeting eye contact with her once again. Natasha didn't say a word but squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation. She trusted you, and you knew that.
"Okay... hold her hand. Please..." You breathed out. Your voice breaking, you glanced back at Yelena who gave you a slight nod as she gathered both of Natashas arms in hers. To comfort Natasha as much as she could, but also so she wouldn't kill you with her bare hands when you did this. Not that she would ever think of ever hurting you in anyway, but Yelena knew as well as you did that this pain would be brutal.
You tried to hide the cringe you felt, knowing how agonizing this would be. You carefully got yourself into the best position you could. Preparing to pull it and immediately hold pressure to the wounds. Preparing to either save your girlfriend's life, or ensure a slow and painful death.
Your hands were trembling as you got ready, hating that you had to be the one to do this. But it was the only way, Yelena seemed beat up, she took some pretty good hits too. Compared to Natashas current state, the cuts and bruises that decorated her sister seemed minor.
You took a deep breath and placed your hands on the handle of the blade, causing Natasha to immediately wince in pain. You glanced up at Yelena, giving her a slight nod. Noticing she was now freely letting tears fall. You said a quick and silent prayer to whoever or whatever was out there, hoping she would pass out so she wouldn't have to endure this fully conscious.
You bit your lip hard as you tugged the blade out in one swift movement, immediately placing her hands onto her ripped blood-stained suit. Natasha screamed a sound that had never once escaped Natashas lips. A scream so filled to the brim with distress and agony it sent shivers down Yelena's spine, making tears well right back up in your eyes.
Please pass out, please pass out, please pass out... you kept mumbling the same phrase over and over through tears before Natashas eyes rolled into the back of her head.
You were breathing heavily, praying that Clint would be here soon. Holding pressure onto each side of her hip where the blade entered and exited like her life depended on it, which it did. Yelena repositioned herself to hold Natashas head in her lap, she looked up at you breathlessly, teary-eyed and growing more and more anxious by each second that passed.
"He should be here... he has to be here... " you mumbled, taking shaky breaths. Looking up at the sky, for a clue... any clue. She nodded, her suit stained with literal blood, sweat and tears. Yelena's eyes showed no other emotion than fear and dread.
No celebration for the academy, the hell they just destroyed. In fact it did not cross any of their minds that they had done it. The red room, the entire mission, the reason this all happened wasn't even close to their thoughts.
"There he is!" Yelena mumbled, looking up at the sky as the quinjet landed not farther than twenty feet away. Natasha was slowly coming to consciousness, you cursed underneath your breath. If she was unconscious, she wouldn't be in pain. Your logic was twisted at best, but the very thought of your partner in pain made your heart splinter into pieces.
She looked up at you as you lifted her off the ground. She had barely enough energy to wince in pain as you trotted onto the quinjet. Yelena holding onto her sister's limp hand, as you entered the quinjet.
"I can't get to the compound in under five hours," Clint swore, preparing the jet for takeoff. "She won't make it to the compound, head towards the nearest medical center... she's gonna need an operating room." Yelena yelled as she shut the door to the quinjet. You could barely hear her, the silence escaping Natashas lips was far too loud.
Clint didn't dare look at Natasha. The fear in both your and Yelena's eyes had told him enough. What he needed to do now was fly as fast as he could to the closest hospital or medical center. His thoughts were distracting him enough.
Yelena rushed up front, taking the co-pilot seat. She knew Russia better than Clint and you. This was her home, their home. She started yelling directions towards what she recalled as the closest place where they could treat her. It was still about a half-hour out, you were unsure if she would make it that far.
"I-" Natasha started to speak but was cut off by a coughing fit, you fought back tears as you watched her swallow the pain. Her skin was paler than you had ever seen before, her eyes bloodshot. Goosebumps riddling her body as she shivered to try to preserve her warmth.
"Hey, it's okay, I got you..." You said in a comforting tone, trying to hide how worried you were. But Natasha could read you so well, you were sure that even in the state she was in she knew... she always knew.
This could end horribly, if Natasha made it... if she survived it could result in both her and Yelena receiving god knows what punishments for the damage they had caused. If they asked any questions at the hospital.... What if they knew who they were?
You didn't care, you couldn't care about this right now. Whatever would happen, come what may so long as she survived. Natashas eyes were barely open, just enough that you could see a bit of her green irises. "Tasha, I know it hurts... I know, but you have to hold on... just a little bit longer okay?"
She responded to your words by blinking softly. You could sense the red head was frightened, you didn't need to possess any superpowers to see it written in her eyes.
Natashas body was slowly shutting down. The Red Room had put her through the ringer once again, maybe for the last time. She stared at you, trying to be strong to halt your concern. She knew this could be it, she was conscious enough to understand the complexity of the damage her body had sustained.
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I wrote this before the Black Widow movie came out, so obviously a lot doesn't aline with the film, but I dont really care! It was more of a prediction concept of what I thought would happen in the film (basically that we would see Natasha getting very seriously injured at some point) and even though it wasn't accurate, that isnt really what I was going for, so I enjoyed writing this and crying!
Also. . . I have made a collection of playlists that inspire me to write different types of stories (ex. sad stories, romance, fluff, etc.) so feel free to message me or comment if you are interested in getting your hands on them :)
If you would like me to continue writing this and possibly make a part 2, please let me know <3
EDIT: PART 2 IS UP! https://theghostandthewidow.tumblr.com/post/671035173818761216/hold-me-2
So, I saw someone on Tik Tok ask if Natasha or Yelena had the worse childhood, and I feel the need to write my opinions about it.
I am not comparing trauma, that shit does not happen here. I am just pointing out some of my thoughts. Both characters went through a lot and we can see how it affects them their entire lives.
I am not saying one had it worse than the other, I am not pitting them against each other, I am simply dumping my unsolicited opinions.
Natasha, as revealed in the Black Widow movie, was younger than six when she was taken to the red room. We can use other context clues to work out she was probably a toddler, three or four maybe. That is the same age that Alexei, Melina and Natasha 'got' Yelena. She was about eleven in the movie's opening scene so she would have been eight at the start of the mission. At that point she had been through about four years of training, brainwashing, and abuse.
She then had a long mission given to her, with people she would grow attached to and learn to trust depend on, knowing it would be striped away and that the child she would see as family was going to be hurt and she was playing a part.
She had to lie to Yelena the whole time. She begged for her little sister to not go through what she had been through because she knew how devastating it is.
But, Yelena did end up going through the same things as Natasha.
The biggest difference being, Yelena doesn't remember her life from before Natasha and their parents. That was all she knew. And she got it taken away. But she still had those years and memories and feeling of love. She had no idea it was fake. Natasha did. So Yelena thought there were people who loved her but Natasha believed no-one did.
