#Captain Widow my beloved

[soupiguess]

O Captain, My Captain

[mlady-magnolia]

Echoes of the past

[pandorasfruit]

i dont love living in a small country, but it does get really funny when you think about how we basically only have around 30 voice actors max. and that's why sometimes you'll be walking in the grocery store and then suddenly hear Captain America trying to sell you discounted cheese through the speakers.

[moralsareathingofthepast]

Carmen Carnero is my favorite person right now.

[vampiresbloodx]

Based on this post!.

Your beloved Natasha.

avenger!gf!Natasha Romanoff! x civilian!cafe!owner!reader.

Trigger warnings: some negative self talk, mental health issues mentioned, slight homophobia, nevertheless, a sweetness overload off fluff.

Natasha Romanoff, the romantic she ever is at heart, who wouldn't show that to anyone but you and you only. Her beloved. Her light. Her everything.

Surprises you a visit at your work, you've already complained to her jokingly that your co workers are all gossiping about the one and only avenger the famous black widow coming to the cafe just to see you and flirt with you constantly, that they are suspecting more between the two of you and you can't hide forever. Nat likes it though and loves to tease you about it.

She understands where you're coming from though. She hears your worries and concerns, Nat will happily sit there and listen to you talk about everything and anything for hours upon hours, holding you close, reassuring you as many times as she can to bring ease to you. But she gets it. She knows when you're actually serious and want to discuss important stuff with her, she will be by your side regardless, and make sure not to let anything bad happen to her beloved.

(this girl will straight up kill for you.)

As she comes into your work, with a bright, cocky smile, seeing you immediately at the counter with a raised eyebrow at her as if you don't look happy to see her, which you definitely are. Your cheeks burn as customers look at her, even though she doesn't go on press a lot or talk as much to the public as captain America does, she's still pretty well known. The kids especially know her and love her, even the elders are fond of your Natasha, and you find that incredibly sweet as you know she has those thoughts that get to her in the dark of night when it's her brain being mean to her, telling her that everyone would be fine without her here. And you're always there to kiss those mean thoughts away, making sure she knows how loved and safe she is.

As she greets you with a kiss, doesn't care who's watching, she smiles at you.

"I have a surprise for you when you come home tonight" she suggests with a small smirk.

God you're already flustered mess already, as you try to gather your words to speak.

"what's the occasion? I would have known if it's your birthday or a gala or our anniversary."

She shakes her head with a soft look on her face.

"none of those, don't worry моя любовь." She mutters sweetly, wanting to kiss you more as her eyes go down to your lips.

She's really not subtle, is she?.

Sadly, the moment is ended quicker than you both had hoped as a customer interrupts you two.

"uh sorry, can I get my order?" He asked, clearly looking uncomfortable.

Natasha fought the urge to roll her eyes, so did you.

You nodded at her, as she knew what you meant and walked away after sending you a wink.

Your cheeks burned hotter than the sun.

"yes, hi, what can I get you?."

-

You weren't too shocked to see Natasha waiting for you, already at the front door as she heard you coming from a mile away (you're not sure how she knows, but you appreciate it) and immediately you're greeted with her lips.

"hmf! Hi!" You mumbled through the kiss as you laughed, placing your hands on her hips.

Her hands traveled up your body, practically groping you as she grabbed at your ass from behind, causing you to let out a squeal.

"baby" you whined.

"sorry, can't help myself when you look that good."

"I smell like shit" you pouted.

"still I'd eat you" she said proudly, walking away as your eyes widened at her.

You shake your head, letting out a chuckle as you chase after her.

But before you could fully see what was happening, she covered your eyes with her hands.

"don't peak, sweetheart" she murmured, her voice sending a chill down your spine.

You bit down on your lip, humming as she lead you through your home.

She ended up making you sit down on what you assumed was a chair, maybe the dining table? Who knows. You were so tempted to open your eyes, just to disobey her, play with her, but you knew something about tonight felt special, yet every night and day with her was special.

It was never a dull moment.

"open."

You hear her say, you happily do so.

The first thing you saw was red roses. Which, you liked the romantic gesture from her, but then you saw more and more flowers all piled neatly into a bouquet. It was beautiful. Of course, Nat would wait all day for you just to treat you to something sweet like this. It was worth it.

Your eyes started to well up with tears.

"honey? Are you okay?-" she immediately got up, worried look on her pretty face as you fought back the urge to cry.

"I'm fine I'm fine, I just. No one has ever done this to me before. I'm just. Overwhelmed. Not in a bad way, it's a good overwhelming feeling" you choked back a sob, looking into her eyes. "God I love you so much."

She smiles, pressing her lips to yours and pulling you in closer.

"I love you more than anything."

-

Later during the night, as you're wrapped up in a warm blanket, covering you and Natasha as her arms were over your shoulder, and you felt warm and happy inside, you couldn't even focus on the movie, only just her, and the bouquet of flowers that were placed on the dining table, where they'd get plenty of sun.

"I'm curious of what the type of flowers you choose mean" you randomly asked her.

"hmm? Oh, well, I didn't really think all that through -" she said, looking embarrassed as she scratched the back of her neck shyly, you chuckled, kissing her cheek.

"I still love it, it's just interesting what you picked. Even if you didn't mean to, it means a lot to me, I absolutely love it."

She blushes.

[sgrplumditz]

Simon falls for Johnny’s wife…

render by @ave661

a/n: I’ve been working on this for a hot minute, but ended up having it sit in my drafts for a couple months :(. these images were released and it definitely struck a chord in my delulu mind. hence why i decided to finish it..

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"I've got a bad feeling about this one, Johnny," she said to the Scott with a shaky breath. Their toddler clinging to his mother's leg while keeping a tight grip on his father's finger. His little hand too small to grip the entirety of his hand.

She couldn’t help but notice his worrisome sigh as he looked for the comforting words, "Eh, don't you worry, Darling. I always come back don't I?" he replied enthusiastically as he embraced her figure, his chin resting on the top of her head and his free hand caressing the back of his son’s head. Johnny always knew how to comfort her, but she couldn’t shake her nervousness and doubtful thoughts as he said goodbye to her husband and the father of her only child.

The memory of their final interaction as a family replayed in her head continuously as the rain created soft tapping noises on her black umbrella. The pattering of the water creating an almost hypnotizing effect on the new widow that kept her mind on the only aspect that was left of her late husband -- memories.

The toddler, a three-year-old boy, who like most of the time clung to his mother's body. Except this time he was fully embracing his mother, his little face placed into the crook of her neck as the pair stood together at the outdoor memorial service. She could only stare blankly at the urn that held the remains of the love of her life. Through her observant stare she took note of the simple, yet lovely set up of white roses, numerous awards and medals. All of which surrounded a framed photo of her Johnny — her favorite photo. A candid picture snapped of the blue eyed, dark haired man by his wife — the woman he kept a secret from his work life. Not out of shame, or malicious secrecy — Johnny loved his wife and his child. Love them so much that he couldn’t be bothered ever putting them in any sort of danger.

She could feel numerous pairs of eyes prying into her and her son as she stood amongst the medium sized crowd of individuals. She assumed all of them were teammates, Co-workers, or people simply paying their respects. she knew he was a highly decorated soldier, but he was far more than that. None of them knew about his personal life, and nobody knew about the widow and small boy he had left behind. Nobody but Captain John Price knew about Soap’s little family. In confidence, Soap had asked Price to maintain word of his wife and son under the rug of the sake of their safety. Although they were hidden, he always carried pieces of them with him wherever he went — attached to his dog tags were two small and silver flat pendants that had been engraved with his wife and son’s fingerprint, his wedding band usually accompanying them on the same chain whenever he was deployed.

When Johnny was home he never removed his ring. He would often complain about how difficult and stubborn the piece of jewelry was when it came time to remove it for work. Johnny thought he was as discrete as he could be when it came to protecting the two most important people in his life, but there was a certain masked individual who took notice of the tan line that marked his left ring finger, the sudden dark under eyes and disheveled appearance that started 3 years ago when they would meet early in the morning for briefings, and when he caught sight of a vomit stain decorating the left shoulder of his black t-shirt — he just wasn’t one to pry.

Those same observant eyes were glued to the grieving widow and the blue-eyed toddler.

Her mind was pulled out of thoughts as Price approached her with a warm and tender expression in his eyes. In his hands were the dog tags, along with his keepsakes of his beloveds and in a small box was the wedding band. All of his personal belongings packed neatly into a box. Price knew he didn’t have to say anything to her for her to know that he was paying his respects to Johnny’s wife. Prior to the memorial service she had made it clear to Price that she wanted him to keep his ashes. She found they would get at least some closure from releasing them.

As Price drew her small frame in for a polite hug her son grew restless in her arms. She knew he was too young to understand that his father was gone, but it was clear that he was uncomfortable and upset from the lack of him. "Mama, it's cold" he fussed as he smushed his face farther onto her neck, "and your feet are getting wet. You're gonna catch a cold". She gave Price an apologetic smile as she turned her attention to her son now — Price had taken it as a signal to retreat. He now stood with two other men.

She couldn't help but smile at the innocence and kindness that exuded from her son. She gently patted his back to soothe his discomfort, "How about we get out of here and get some lunch?" she tried to speak in her most joyful tone, but even then it was coated in sorrow. The boy did not catch on to her somber response, and instead eagerly nodded his head as he perked up to look at his mother. That is when she realized how similar their son, Samuel, looked to his father. He mirrored him in nearly every aspect -- the eye shape and color, the dark hair, and even the mannerisms were similar. This could all be a fragment of her imagination -- she thought. Maybe it was part of her grieving process. She missed him so much that she began to look for him and could only find him perfectly in their Sammie. She was so consumed by her thoughts, that she had not realized the single salty tear that slipped out of her eye and down her cheek. Samuel hated to see his mother cry, he quickly brought his tiny hands up to her cheek and wiped it away with a slightly heavy palm. Usually, he would verbally comfort her — as best as a toddler could do, but all he did was lean forward to place a gentle kiss on his mother's forehead, "This always makes you feel better when Daddy does it". Does -- in present tense.

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She could not tolerate being at the memorial service for much longer, and neither could Samuel. She had buckled him into his car seat and handed him a strawberry and banana squeezable fruit pack and crackers to ease his rumbling tummy in the meantime.

However, as she closed the car door and turned her back to face the crowd of people one last time she was instead met with a tall, burly build of a man. His face was hidden by a balaclava, leaving only his eyes on display. But the rest of his face was not necessary to note that he was also grieving. She noticed him within the crowd of the memorial service as well -- she assumed that was one of Johnny's friends, but did not bother to congregate with anyone since Johnny kept his personal life completely separate from his work life. And if she was being honest with herself, she did not have the emotional stamina to socialize with people that spent months out of the year with her late husband.

"Sorry. Can I help you with something?" she asked the brute man. She stared up at him with her eyes slightly shut to avoid water from getting into them.

"He’s Johnny’s" was his only reply. For a moment she only blinked and stared at him and noted the heavy English accent. The mention of her late husband’s name stung as she now was fighting back tears. Yes, he is Johnny's son. His pride and joy -- was what she wanted to say, but she could barely muster up the strength to nod her head.

She could tell that the individual's lips tightened into a line by the way the fabric of his mask slightly stretched. "My name is Simon. I was a friend of Johnny's..." he attempted to continue speaking, but all he did was nervously rub the back of his neck. "Johnny meant a lot to me, a real friend of mine..." he trailed off again.

She knew he was grieving, but it was a different type of pain. She sensed guilt within his sadness, but she knew better than to ask about any specifics. Her kind nature and maternal habits took over as she saw Simon struggling to find his words. For whatever reason this man decided to make himself emotionally uncomfortable to introduce himself, she figured there would be no harm in easing his mind.

She knew who Simon was since Johnny would bring up his friend "Ghost" every now and then "I know who you are" she smiled warmly trying to be the emotional rock between the two, "How about you join us for some lunch. I think Sammie would love to talk to and get to know his Uncle Ghost" she spoke eagerly in an attempt to lighten the mood -- something that was usually Johnny's role.

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The three of them sat in a booth within a homely diner. The rain had completely let down at this point, the large drops of water hitting the roof of the diner with loud individual pats. Her hands were wrapped around a warm mug of coffee as she stared out the window watching blades of grass be temporarily smooshed by the inclement weather. The waitress had refilled her mug causing her gaze to turn towards her, her eyes softened and she gave the waitress a subtle nod to thank her. It was then that she realized that her son was wearing the ghost mask that was once on Simon. There was a glimmer of joy in Sam's eyes as he stood on the booth and gently hopped toward his mother to show her the "cool mask".

"I look so cool!" he exclaimed which only caused a chuckle to leave both her and Simon's mouths as the toddler's face was completely exposed through the eye hole on the mask -- his features obviously too small to fill the mask in the same manner. Upon hearing the slight laugh she turned to look at Simon, who she was surprised to see with dirty blonde hair. He was overall a handsome man, something that anyone would notice at first glance, but his eyes always conveyed a lot of emotion. Right now it was amusement tinged with pain as he stared at Sam. She knew he also noticed how strongly he resembles Johnny, and a part of her found comfort in knowing that she was not grieving alone. The way he looked at Sammie made her feel warm. She sensed that Simon knew Johnny deeper than most of the people at the memorial service — knowing that she found herself smiling at the thought of her being able to cherish Johnny’s memories with someone else.

The waitress had arrived with everyone's meals. Sam did not hesitate to dig into his plate. The toddler abruptly grabbed the bottle of syrup and drenched his pancakes in it. His careless behavior causing some of it to spill onto to the table, "Use your table manners please" she spoke sternly, but softly to the boy as she slipped him a napkin and a set of covered utensils.

"He looks just like him" he spoke in a gentle and respectful tone. His eyes rested on Sam -- who was now too focused on using his utensils properly to pay attention to the conversation happening in front of him.

Her hand wiped a strand of dark stray hair away from his forehead before she turned her attention toward Simon, who was now looking at her, "Yeah. Carried him for 9 months and he's got the nerve to look just like his father" she shrugged with a pained smile — her attempt to lighten the mood once again failing, "but I wouldn't have it any other way".

Simon took note of the sorrow hidden within the smile as his own face mirrored it out of empathy.

A few minutes had gone by and Samuel was still working on his meal, Simon had quickly eaten his, and she played with her food, tossing it around all over her plate in a desperate attempt to distract herself. How embarrassing would it be to break down at a family diner. "You should eat your lunch" he spoke. The deep voice dragging her out of her spiraling thoughts.

She glanced down to look at his empty plate and her contrastingly full one. Casually shrugging off his suggestion she set her fork down and let out a soft sigh, "I'll just take it to go. I don't really have an appetite at the moment" she spoke in a casual tone — too causal of a tone. She was normally a social person, the type to be able to engage in conversation with any type of person for hours. Her personality was magnetizing in the sense that she was an incredibly open minded person, which only made her a vessel for hundreds on conversations, all of different topics and tones — a quality that Johnny loved about her. She was one of the few that would keep up with his mindless thoughts and nonsense ideas. That is where she was at the moment. In her mind she was thinking about the woman she was before she got the gut wrenching knock at her door. The knock where she was told by Laswell and Price that her husband was gone. “Killed in Action” were the words they used. “He died saving the world” was something Price added.

Sure he had died saving the world, but her and her son’s was destroyed. She was never a selfish person, but in that moment she wished the world would burn if it meant he was in her arms instead of merely a memory. She hadn’t noticed until recently that tears were flooding her cheeks and spilling onto her meal. Simon had been observing her for a moment as she watched her fall into deep thought, but once he saw her tear stained face he acted quickly.

He swiftly took his wallet out of his pocket and placed a $50 bill on the table to cover their meals and a decent tip, “Come on” he spoke in a demanding voice, his tone remaining soft enough for her and Sam to remain calm. Sam was oblivious to his mother’s current state as he had now distracted himself with the crayons and the kids menu.

She looked at Simon as she attempted to regain her composure. It was long gone, she was an emotional mess at the diner — exactly what she was trying to avoid. “It’s alright.” he coo’d as he took Sam into his arm. With his free hand he guided her out of the booth and to the exit.

He took the initiative to get the mother and son home as soon as possible. The three of them approached her car, “Get in and take a few deep breaths, yeah?” he instructed while simultaneously holding the door open for her. Sam had been buckled into his car seat, which Simon struggled to figure out, but the toddler being incredibly intuitive had seen his mother and father do it hundreds of times and was able to talk Simon through it.

If that had happened under different circumstances she would have been able to congratulate Sam and let him know how proud she is of him, but she was far from being in that state of self awareness and state of mind.

She was a wreck in the passengers seat of her own car. She was heartbroken in the passengers seat of her own car. The severity of it all finally setting in making it nearly impossible for her to get ahold of herself.

Is she just exhausted from the days leading up to the funeral? A weeks worth of concealed emotions finally spilling out in front of her. She is definitely overwhelmed, but this time she subconsciously feels safe and secure enough to let go of her broken front.

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Months had gone by since her meltdown in front of Simon, and he never once brought it up. He was well aware it wasn’t something she was proud of, nor did she want to talk about her grief. Simon had been coming around her and Samuel a couple times a week just to check in on the pair. He felt it was his responsibility to keep them safe now — the least he could do for his recently deceased friend. Everyday he spent with the two of them he realized why Soap had kept them a secret. They were truly too special to put into any risk; especially her. She was a walking breath of fresh air, not something anyone encounters often in their lifetime, especially not in their line of work and the lifestyle it supplies. Now it all made sense. Johnny was always the most eager to return home when they’d be out in the field, said he had “something special” waiting for him, but everyone would shrug it off.

He grew to understand Soap’s decision to keep his family hidden from the world he worked in.

Even though Simon was consumed in his own thoughts he was still able to be completely alert as the mother and son played on the playground.

Her laugh. It stripped him away from his spiraling memories and muses. His gaze snapped to her body on the floor covered in wood chips, she had clearly tripped and stumbled while playing with Samuel. She was laughing at her clumsiness, laughing at how attentive Samuel was to his mother as soon as she hit the cushioned floor, “Sammie, I’m okay” she soothed him as he clung to her — small and gentle laughs leaving her full lips as she reacted to the entire scenario.

That was the first time Simon had heard her laugh.The sound of her sweet tone intoxicating to him. He couldn’t get enough, is what he mentally told himself as he walked over to her to help get back on her feet. Her soft and polished hand nestled and firmly gripped onto his rough and calloused one as he pulled her off the ground.

Guilt lingered in his being upon realizing how much he liked being around her, but he needed to be there for them. The conflict was clear within him, and something he figures he’ll eventually learn to accept and move forward with. He knew he would have to set aside his audacious feelings to respect her and more importantly to respect Johnny. He would be there to protect them as much as she allowed him. He wasn’t planning on getting emotionally attached to the the pair, or her alone.

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Later that same evening, Simon had made the decision to pay her and Sammie a visit. He stepped out of his car with a bag of Chinese takeout in his hand. Chinese food had become the only thing she would willingly eat ever since Johnny passed. A swift hand smoothing his plain black t-shirt before he began walking toward her front door, but as soon as his hand left his clothing he realized what he was doing. Bringing her favorite food to her and her son with no real reason to be seeing her, checking his appearance — something uncommon for the typically aloof man. A lingering hint of guilt settled in the pit of his stomach as he treaded towards the front door of her house. No, Simon was only supposed to be there for the mother and son duo as an aide during this severe loss. He felt that’s what he owed to Johnny since he felt partially responsible for his death. A cocktail of traumatic thoughts and memories invaded his mind . The grip on the take-out bag grew stronger, the same strength being felt in his chest as his heart pounded in its cavity

Upon reaching the front door he heard what sounded like a glass had broken — as if it had fallen off of a surface, which isn’t a big deal, she had a bad habit off leaving glasses on the edge of countertops and tables, but the yelp that followed only made Simon react in the most instinctive manner. He rushed inside the house and into the kitchen where she was found with a dish towel wrapped around her hand and a grimace on her face. Her nose scrunched in reaction to the pain.

Simon raised an eyebrow at her as he approached her with swift and long strides. His demeanor was urgent, alarmed and slightly panicked as his body was still in a reactive state from his memories, but how could she know that? She stared at him with the same expression, but she had more reason to. His breathing wasn’t heavy but it was slightly sporadic. At the same time, it was still controlled, his body was tense, but most significantly, his eyes looked panicked and unsettled. “I didn’t know you’d be visiting tonight. You should have let me know,” she spoke casually as she continued holding pressure on her fresh wound, “Or else I wouldn’t have-“ her words stopped flowing when Simon grabbed her hand and began to examine the brand-new cut. She watched his concerned expression lighten when he confirmed that the abrasion was small enough to heal on its own, “- let my mom take him for the weekend.” She finally completed her sentence when his large brown eyes met hers.

She knew exactly what was happening to him. She recognized the wide, alert eyes, uneven breathing, and tense mannerisms. This was a common occurrence that she witnessed Johnny experience. Her husband was gone, but there were constant reminders of him everywhere -- and one thing she hated seeing was Johnny struggling with his PTSD. Just like Johnny, she couldn't tolerate seeing Simon in the same condition.

Using her unharmed hand, she grabbed Simon's calloused one. Her movements were gentle and fluid as she guided their hands to the left side of her chest. With his palm now resting on her chest she looked into his eyes before speaking in a nurturing tone. "Slow and steady. Count it for me" she said as she placed her own hand over his chest. It was then that she noticed how hard and fast his heart pounded. "I’ll count yours until we match pace. One, two, three..."

Eventually, Simon counted with her, his heart rate slowing gradually as his mind remained distracted from the trauma and focused on her. On her beating heart, on her nurturing voice, on her full pink lips, on her long dark eyelashes, on her soft delicate hands. Her. His mind consumed by images of her, his newfound serenity.

Simon cannot help but feel guilty, but his pleasure and serene state strongly blinds him from this feelings. This is exactly what he didn’t want, but he can’t help but relish in it.

[lena-in-her-mind-palace]

Comparing The Avengers to the Justice league but it's actually accurate

We're just gonna do the main ones because otherwise we'd be here forever

I'm also mainly using mcu characterizations because I'm not as familiar with Marvel comics as I am with DC

Iron Man - Batman

This one goes without saying

Tony is literally Batman and Brucie Wayne put together

Billionaire Playboy Philantropist Superhero who?

They both have ridiculous paranoia

They're rich orphans with British butler (or butler adjacent if we're talking about Jarvis)

Incredibly smart and know it

They both run multimillion dollar companies

and work to better the world both in and out of their super hero persona's

Thor - Aquaman

Non human royalty

friendly and funny

Both of them have a strong sense of duty and loyalty towards their people

They just don't get normal society a lot of the time

Also interwoven magic and science

and they both have really strong elementally based powers

plus a very specific weapon that is inherently associated with them

to be honest, I don't actually know much about aquaman but it feels right

Captain America - Wonder Woman

They are literally soldiers

They both fought in a world war

Also Diana's love intrest is literally a blonde soldier named Steve

Both of them have a strong sense of duty and moral obligation

They're also the most fond of proteges and younger heros

I'm sorry but Steve had no business being so nice to Peter during the airport battle

Dude you are literally fighting each other

Idk the military background makes them more similar in my opinion

also the fact that they're super behind on a lot of modern day stuff

Like everyone remembers Diana discovering ice cream don't we?

and grandpa steve my beloved

Hulk - Superman

okay this one was a little hard

at first I was gonna do Guy Gardner cuz green guy with anger issues. But Guy's kind of an asshole and Bruce is a sweetheart

so then I thought the Flash for the science but I don't think Bruce is into puns enough to match with either Barry or Wally

But Clark is perfect

Clark is a dork

But he is genuinely really intelligent

also they literally wear the same glasses

I think Clark and Bruce would get along really well

If you want to talk about the anger issues

Well

We've all scene Batman V. Superman

Tbh not my favorite version of superman

Clark is obviously not quite prone to rage

and it's definitely no where near hulk levels though

But when he's angry it gets destructive real fast

think about most of his fights with doomsday

Constantly worries about his own strength and hurting the people he loves

Which is a struggle both of them are characterized by

Black Widow - Orphan/Black Bat/Batgirl

okay I know cass isn't technically a member of the league

but hear me out

also I'm not actually sure which title is Cass's current one

anyways

both were raised from childhood to be a lethal weapon

and they truly are

they both have a major guilt complex over the lives they've taken

and that's one of the biggest factors for them becoming a hero

they joined the good guys to get out of the assassin lifestyle

Also dancing?

like the widows were trained in ballet since it was the red room's cover

and cass dances as an escape

I think it's poetic

Also they both are the owners of their family's shared braincell

Cass is like Natasha but younger really

Hawkeye - Green Arrow

so I know at first glance this seems obvious

yk skilled archer or whatever

but I wasn't exactly for it at first

I'm not really Green Arrow's biggest fan

But I've recently been reading Mia's run as speedy

and despite the vast, and I mean vast, difference in her back story with Kate

Their mentors are very similar with their proteges

like Oliver is just so soft with mia and it's adorable

not to mention neither wanted a protege at first and then they go and basically adopt them

literally in oliver's case

Also Ollie's into pranking as much as Clint is

And admittedly Oliver is just as strongly attached to his family as Clint is

if we ignore the thing with roy because wtf Oliver

Runner ups:

Thor and Wonder Woman: mythology and their whole fish-out-of-water-ness in modern society

Thor and Captain Marvel: again mythology, lightning powers, and also their childlike nature (literally in Billy's case)

Black Widow and Black Canary: badasses that keep the men on their team in line. need I say more?

Iron Man and Green Arrow: only thing that got me is that Ollie's not nearly smart enough to go toe to toe with Tony

Vision and Martian Manhunter: they can pass through walls and they just don't get humans

Scarlett Witch and Zatanna/ Dr Strange and Constantine: I don't think this requires elaboration

Winter Soldier and Jason Todd: fallen hero presumed dead starts working for the bad guys before switching back to the good guys

Bonus:

Spiderman and Dick!Robin

they're bendy

they love puns

they love swinging in the air

they're smart

they give their mentors high blood pressure

everyone loves them

they have a lot of grief

they have a thing for really smart, badass red heads

Ball of sunshine with ridiculous anger issues

also I think a meeting between Dick and Peter would be a disaster in the best way possible

[jcollinswrites]

JC!!!!!!!

I loved the update ommmg. I love how different the route is. Your variations are beautiful. From MCs sister to choosing if we were married before. I adored it.

I died of embarrassment at spilling the wine because bruhhhhh. I also just loved the description of MC telling them everything wrong with the security in the palace. It made me alil smug for my MC 😍

I hate the stupid creepy priest! Death to his dumbass 💀😭

I have a question tho. So seeing as we can choose our sexuality. How are same sex couples viewed in the kingdom? Should i expect some bullshit from people? And also how would that apply to the King especially. It's a two part question.

1. Could they marry someone of the same gender? Especially when it comes to shit like carrying on bloodlines being so important to nobles 😒 or would he have to take on a concubine 🙄 imagine your husband going to go sleep with some random chick while you wait for him to come back. Kill me please 😭😭😭

But i know that's how some things just are.

2. How would they react to an MC on the thief background especially romancing the king. Bet the nobles would loooooovvveeeeee that!

Okay I'm so sorry for this longass message 🫣🫣🫣

Oh you read it! ^^ I was awaiting your comment with bated breath O.O (lol jk..... or am I? o.o)

I put some variations in the code that are unique to every origin :D For example the noble has the widower variable, the thief has the option to have higher dreams in life, the captain will be able to decide if they are a war veteran, and I haven't decided the priest yet (:

Now I'm gonna go on a huge ramble about the marriage/sexuality, so I'll put it under a wrap 😅 You don't have to read it unless you are interested lol cuz it's gonna be looong... (consider yourself warned)

Okay, so according to my knowledge, in Ancient Egypt, married life and sexuality in general was a bit of a taboo in public. You could do whatever you wanted, at home, in private. We have a lot of documents from that time that describe that couples were actually very affectionate towards each other and had a healthy sex life, but they didn't really make it a big deal in public. (unless you were gossiping with your bff maybe)

Marriage wasn't a very official thing either, like it is now. They didn't really have weddings. When the bride moved in with the groom, they signed a contract, and bang, they were considered married. Anyone could get a divorce too. The most popular reason was infertility or cheating, but women could initiate divorce as well based on whatever reason.

Now, a lot of historians in the past (and even today) would look at an ancient document describing f.ex. "two women living together with a child and a cat", and they would go 'aww they must have been such good friends'. Like...... you know....? Friends. Riiiight...

On that note, no, people in the story won't give you crap about it because it always happened, in every age, we just nowadays tend to make it into this huge deal, as if everything other than heterosexuality has just been invented yesterday. A lot of ancient societies were so much more accepting than we are today. (just think of the Greek or Romans)

The carrying on the bloodline thing is an interesting question. There is a funny debate between historians about Ramesses II's children. Because according to original sources, he had around a hundred. They all had the title 'prince' or 'princess', and others like 'Beloved Son of the King', 'Beloved Daughter' and stuff like that. Most historians think that proves that they were all biological children. Others say he might have just adopted a lot of kids and gave them the title. We can't know for certain which one is true. It could be a mix.

In my not-expert opinion, if Egyptians accepted divorce and stuff, they probably accepted full-on adoption as well. Even as an 'official' way to continue a bloodline. Nobles could have one official wife, plus keep concubines if they wished (IF they wished, they didn't necessarily do it), then the couple had the option to 'adopt' any kid from a concubine and raise them as their own. We also know for certain that an heir didn't have to be even related to the king to inherit the throne. This didn't happen often, but it happened. (Ramesses I was just a friend of the previous king f.ex.)

This problem won't come up with Narmer though because he already has an adult child. And the noble MC is a thirdborn, their older siblings all have children, so the bloodline is already secured. Captain MC has two mothers, living together, like "very good friends" *wink wink*. Priest MC is an orphan.

For your second question, most of the story is going to take place on the road, sort of like a quest thing, and by the time MC & Co. come back to Thebes, MC won't be a 'nobody' anymore. I planned lots of different endings based on your previous choices, but rest assured, even if you play a thief origin, you can have a happy ending with Narmer. If you play a woman, he could even make you Queen Consort. For a guy or non-binary MC, he'll give you some bullshit title named 'Beloved Companion' or something and be done with it.

Sorry for the awfully long answer lol this is a subject I'm passionate about 😅 Thanks for reading and please continue to send messages! ^^

[youcalledmebabe]

tagged by @ww2yaoi to share some WIP ty 💖 some my fair liebgott hot off the presses

“Your room is your favorite place? I was expecting something more interesting from you, Web.”

David shakes his head and opens the window, climbing through it, onto his beloved widow’s walk. He sits down, tipping his face to the sun, taking a sharp inhale of briny air. Joe clambers out and sits next to him.

“Now this is a view,” Joe says. “This is where they’d wait for sailors to come home, right?”

David nods, staring at the place where the sea meets the sky. “They say a captain owned the house before. His wife would come out here and watch his ship come in. And then one day he never came home. His ship sank. So she sold the house. Couldn’t bear to look at the sea anymore.”

Joe shivers, rubbing at his neck. “Pretty fucking sad, Web.”

“I used to sit out here and think about them,” David says. “I couldn’t imagine how she must have felt. To look at the entire ocean and only see one person. But it made sense to me after the war ended,” he adds, absently.

Joe lifts his head, eyes sharp. “Why’s that?”

David’s face burns; he has no interest in re-litigating how Joe had broken his heart. “It was different, obviously. But after we…broke things off,” he says, trying to choose his words carefully, “I couldn’t look at the mountains. It was just a reminder of what I’d lost.”

Sometimes, he thinks, glancing at the curve of Joe’s jaw, the line of his nose, I could barely look at you. Joe’s mouth twists; tasting the memory, no doubt.

“Listen, David, I—”

“Ken, there you are!” Frank says, climbing through the window. “And you must be Joe. A pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much.”

tagging @evidenceof @babe-heffron @blood-mocha-latte

[blackbullet99]

I don’t understand why Zutara shippers are so obsessed with hating Aang (or Kataang).

I understand they wish Zutara was canon, and that’s perfectly valid. I get why people ship it, and even though a good chunk of the toxic side of the ZK fandom say some pretty racist stuff, the ship is harmless. But the hate is vitriolic. You got to people like the-badger-mole, sokkastyles, longing-for-rain and they spend more time whining about Aang and his relationship with Katara than they talk about Zutara. They say the most objectively untrue stuff about Aang, Katara and Zuko as if making false claims about these characters is the only way to make their ship look good.

For example:

“Zuko did some bad things throughout the show, but Aang is worse because he never supported Katara and sexuality assaulted her. Not to mention Katara never had feelings for Aang, he was practically her son that she had to take care of”.

What ZKs actually sound like:

“Zuko did some bad things throughout the show, so we have to make Aang look worse by comparison to ensure that Zuko is a better match for Katara, despite his own problems, because surely a poorly timed kiss is the same is sexual assault. We falsely believe Aang never supported Katara because he didn’t agree with her seeking vengeance of the person who killed her mom, unlike Zuko who helped her out, meaning that one single episode must mean he’s the only one who supports Katara. Lastly, we have to find a way to make Katara’s obvious affection for Aang problematic, so let’s blow her motherly traits way out of proportion and say that any time she shows Aang affection, it’s a mom coddling her toddler, and yes Aang is a toddler because he’s BALD. So what that they kissed, they’re a mother and child. Also Katara emotionally supporting Aang is bad, she actually hates it. Dude trust me”.

They reason I bring this up is because I don’t understand why they have to be so bitter, it just makes them look pathetic that these people, some fully grown adults are so butthurt about a non-canon pairing from a 20 year old cartoon. Their media-illiterate ramblings don’t prove Aang and Katara are a bad couple, they just make it painfully obvious to anyone with a brain that these types of pathetic ZKs are just seething and coping.

Sure, you might say “I’m not one to talk” seeing as Kataang is canon, but let me tell you, I have my fair share of non-canon ships that I love.

I love Ichigo X Rukia, I think they have great chemistry and strong bond, I wish they were endgame, they felt like the heart and soul of Bleach. But I don’t hate Orihime, such a sweetheart (plus she gave us the Leekspin meme) her and Ichigo are cute, I just think Ichigo and Rukia are better.

I love Black Widow X Captain America from The MCU, they would’ve been a cute couple, they had good chemistry, they kissed for corn’s sake. I don’t care that much for Steve X Peggy, they’re kinda cute, but whatever, although I do really like Captain America’s ending. I don’t like Nat X Bruce, seeing as it came out of nowhere, but whatever, it didn’t last long anyway and I have nothing against either character.

If anything I’m more prone to getting annoyed when a beloved canon couple are broken up, all the build up thrown away and replaced with another character whom has less chemistry with the original. Case in point, Haley and Andy from Modern Family, they were so cute, they had great chemistry and there was so much build up, only for Andy to leave in the season where he and Haley become a couple. Then later Haley and her initial on again off again guy Dylan get together and I gotta say, I don’t like it. But I have nothing against the character, Dylan’s a sweet guy who genuinely loves Haley and matured a lot, and they’re in no way a bad or unhealthy couple, there are people who genuinely like them as a couple too. I do think Haley’s character was kinda done dirty, but that had absolutely nothing to do with what guy she ended up with.

The moral of this story is, you can like a non-canon ship and even dislike a canon ship without making up ridiculous reasons why and acting like a spoiled entitled brat like the vocal minority of ZeeK freaks from the the toxic side of the fandom.

[driedupeyeballs]

Y’know what tumblr?

Fuck it we ball. Here’s my Yuu OC

So yeah uh. He’s here now I suppose. I do have actual dynamics written out for every single nrc character for him but I don’t wanna infodump too hard 😭 the relationship chart barely scratches the surface (and unfortunately o don’t have the template for it anymore :<) but if you have any questions pls do inquire them! I love talking abt him I will talk abt him this is a THREAT

Also btw his views on multiple characters don’t reflect my own, I like neige! And I’m sure you’re all well aware of how I feel about my boyfriend wife husband girlfriend lover partner soulmate Jamil Viper

And on the topic of character dynamics… Kalim and Spider my beloveds they need a good ship name </3

ANYWAY YEAH he’s twisted from Captain Hook clearly and he is my little baby piece of shit <3 what a guy

Here’s some extra info mostly screenshotted from my google doc cuz yeah

He/him

Trans FTM/Bisexual

Autism/ADHD

INTP

And for some useless trivial shit: his favorite song is “Damn the man, save the empire” by Pierce the Veil, his favorite color is bright red, and his favorite animal is a tiger shark! He picked the name Spider for the simple reason It Is Cool and later dyed his hair red and black to mimic black widow and redback spiders!

I elaborate on the Floyd and rook nicknames a bit here but I thought I’d acknowledge the thing on one of the profiles- Jamil calls him ‘cockroach’ for one simple reason: he hates Spider, and cockroaches! Spider calls him snakeass or snakeshit even tho he loves snakes just. Not this one

[therealslimshakespeare]

Okay I need to know everything about Jack and Tilly meeting and falling in love I'm obsessed

Ooh story time my sweets,

Gear up for a tad of angst (life is shit without Tilly) and absolute fluff (once Tilly is in life)

There once was a very devoted twenty four year old Air Force captain who had lost his fort, a crew member and his freedom before noon one day in 1943. Since then there had been a catalogue of nothing short of shitstorm of awfulness, a brutalized sister arriving in camp, a dead niece, medical experimentation and a new hustle of bartering bodily autonomy for basic human needs required by his men, the fucking SS taking over the camp, more than a little medical experimentation happening then, news his beloved dad has died back home, Major Egan quite plausibly having lost his damn kind, his sister’s tormentors running the fucking camp and-

Well, long story short. One day a group of Tuskegee airmen came in.

One with a snapped neck. Propping up an injured airmen between ranks during roll call was an all too common thing, as was some attempt to alleviate invalids boredom when they were forced to stay in bed. Richard Macon, Brady found out, was not only an incredible pilot, mathematician and an impressive land owner: he also liked jazz. And if there way anything beyond freedom and sunshine that Jack Brady liked too- it was jazz.

Now it was customary from new prisoners to write back home to inform their families that they were indeed alive, and try in the most delicate terms to inform their tender loved ones that their injuries or privations were minor.

“Jack’s the best liar we’ve got.” Benny sadly praised him to Lt. Daniels and it was agreed then that Jack should write a letter home to the Macon’s, one adopting the tone of his own letters back to Mama Ruth Brady in which he spoke highly of his healthy and happy sister and the chocolate pies they were eating and the small privations of not enough clarinet reeds. Mrs. Brady had gotten wise when comparing his letters to Gloria Demarco’s letters but Jack’s kindhearted run of literary deceit has lasted a good nine months, months that his recently widowed mother needed and everyone was very impressed with his awful ability to be fine when he wasn’t.

“It’s not like if I wrote about what’s happening they’d actually let it through the censors.” Brady had pointed out amidst his bunk mates aghast tumult when Gloria Demarco’s most recent letter came in citing the narrative white washing.

So, best liar Jack Brady set aside his sax one day at Richard Macon’s bunkside and wrote a letter instead. In truth it wasn’t too false but it was very demure about the effects of a snapped neck.

He also made certain it got through, which had been another reason for his authorship- any funny fucking business the SS might play with their new “colored” prison mates would be delicately bypassed if one of their best paying POW’s posted the thing.

Which is why the Macon family, including Miss Tilly Macon herself, got their first news of Richard in a foreign and modest scribble.

Tilly already being in the Red Cross, was engaged in providing relief packets which in turn had censor approved pamphlets and directional booklets for the use of medicines and provisions. If she began to scribble hearts and music notes on their margins in hopes that amongst the thousand one sweet and very false Captain might get a little giggle, that wasn’t her superiors’ business. When she wrote Captain Brady back via his mother in concern for her cousin, she might’ve let slip this sweet conspiracy.

So began a game. Of seeing if he could spot her handiwork. Writing to his mother with another letter enclosed that Ruth Brady, summoning the better part of wisdom, chose not to read and simply pass on.

If Johnny, in absolute catatonic misery over the worsening conditions and abuse in camp began to cling to the ephemeral idea of Tilly, that was hardly the worst coping mechanism. If he jokingly -it wasn’t a joke but sweet mother of god he tries to make it sound like one- threatened to marry her when he got back, the reply was chirping and anything but demure,

“please do, dear boy” 💋

[wiccanbillys]

➸ karolina/kate: they/she, 19, nonbinary, lesbian, aroace, jewish ➸ @shortnsweetgf is my beloved wife ➸ body better stan forever ➸ talk to me about x-men ➸ part of the @goosecoven ➸ history major

i like a lot of stuff. here's what i might post about!

comics: x-men, young avengers, scarlet witch, captain marvel, avengers, thunderbolts, black widow, runaways, daredevil, fantastic four, spiderverse, ms. marvel, power pack, eternals music: taylor swift, maisie peters, xana, gracie abrams, lizzy mcalpine, dermot kennedy, chappell roan, billy joel, griff, sabrina carpenter, grace enger, noah kahan, mimi webb, ashe, em beihold, olivia rodrigo, elle coves, laufey, gretta ray, towa bird, hozier books: legendborn, caraval, once upon a broken heart, sorcery of thorns, little thieves, the priory of the orange tree, grishaverse, percy jackson, furyborn, keeper of the lost cities, heartstopper, shadowhunters, unseelie, effigies, villains tv shows and movies: x-men, x-men '97, x-men: the animated series, agents of shield, shadow & bone, heartstopper, marvel cinematic universe, 9-1-1, now you see me & now you see me 2, descendants, spiderverse, the boys

important tags:

#xmenposting: my x-men rambles #comicposting: my non x-men comic rambles #karolina.txt: my personal tag #*mine: my edits tag #fav: posts i want to bookmark #karolinacore: posts that remind me of myself #so high school post: best post i've ever made

[pleasetakethis]

New favorite ep of the season acquired the moment it opened. Some shippy rambling in the live blogging ahead.

If you know me at all, you know right off the bat that I AM UNHINGED ABOUT THIS EPISODE.

NATPEGGY YASSSSSSSSSSSSSS

THE BACKSTORY INTRO!

"What are new friends for?"

THEM SHOWING OFF THEIR MOVES TO EACH OTHER !!!!!

Wasp, too??? Yasss, all the ladies!!!!!!!!!!

Peggy and Nat already working so well together in combat and the level of trust that already exists between them, I just--slkdjflasdjfklajflajlfkjas

Them sassing Loki !!!!!!

Intro credits: Elizabeth Olsen???? Wanda's here, too????? Super spoiler alert: I waited so long for her to show up 🤣

Me and the Watcher feel the same about Captain Peggy Carter <3

The role reversal when Peggy picks up Nat in that slick ass car while Nat's running... guhhhhhh.

I am here for all versions of evil Steve, including brainwashed.

SCRUFFY SKINNY STEVE!

CA: TWS parallels got me in my feels, too. Peggy/Nat is THE SHIP for me, but there's something about Peggy/Steve that hits just right the same way as Tony/Pepper, Steve/Tony, and Steve/Bucky.

The framing of these shots got me--Peggy in the background pissed because she wasn't told about the rumors of the Hydra Stomper, while Nat (listening) definitely knew about Steve:

AHHH, PEGGY'S FACE WHEN SHE REALIZED NAT KNEW:

AND DIDN'T TELL HER:

SDALKFJLAKJFLAJS

Natasha quipping "Didn't see the point in breaking your heart twice," fucked me up, oh.

DILF old man Bucky <3 Bucky getting to grow old!!!! WIBBLES.

Guess it's gonna take both of the loves of Steve's Rogers life to get through to him? lmaooo

Peggy is the perfect mirror of Captain America Steve. In goodness, selflessness, AND their particular brand of self-righteous selfishness. I love both of them for it, but especially Peggy <3

Bucky standing up and saying Steve would be stupid enough to do the same for him. 😭 Bucky trying to get through to Steve. 😭

"What can I say, Peg? I'm a sucker for a good love story." Damn, that hurts for a million different reasons. oh, Nat. <3

UMMMM the way Nat sits back and says, "You know, I always wondered how you got all those G.I. boys to follow a woman into war? Question answered." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BRAIN EMPTY! ONLY PEGGYNAT! And Nat couldn't be more obvious if she tried, but she does it so well and Peggy is distracted.

Are you kidding me with the framing of this shot?

I feel like it's foreshadowing but IT SCREAMS pining. A lot of pining:

Barton introduced Peggy to dad rock <3 fuck yes

Widow bites interrupting the kiss, lol.

Peggy being a weak point for Nat, to the point Nat gets nabbed by widow bites, JFC.

Peggy will die for Steve, the same way Steve would have died for Bucky--ughhh I do not like but I understand.

"Mission accomplished." !!! Hot damn, that was slick, A++, AND Nat tells Peggy she doesn't want to fight about it. 😏

THERE WAS A MUSICAL!

BAMF Melina. Love to hate her when she's on the wrong side, parent/child issues me in a weird way these days and this ep got under my skin.

But also: guhhhhhh these Widows.

"This isn't us! I am done fighting, Steve. [drops shield] I have been fighting for so long: to end the war, to forget what I lost. I'm… I'm tired." oh, Peggy.

oh, Steve.

oh, Nat.

This ep got me in the feels, all of them.

Peggy going back for Nat AND them running out together <3

Ugh, Nat and her transparent, "Okay. Let's hit the road." Just: THEM.

...and oops, Peggy's gone.

But then! OOOO, this Fury! AND FINALLY, WANDA!!!!!

Overall: similar in ep 4 in that it was close to the emotional impact of Stephen's ep in the first season but still missed the mark (and tbh the Tony ep hit harder, but more because of Tony's characterization--Peggy is fairly consistent, Tony is not, so getting him so right (for me) was incredible). I adore this ep, I love Peggy, I love Nat, I enjoy this universe, and I hope we visit their universe again (if not, there's always fanfic, my beloved).

[the-holy-ghosted]

*holding out my hands completely unbidden and unprompted*

Hey I heard y’all got ocs in here? Ocs hello?? Hot ocs in my area????

hi im gonna pretend i didnt get this asked to me by somebody else before i clicked a wrong button and tumblr erased the whole post. taking this unbiased opportunity to jump into these characters.

i have had these ocs for upwards of 7 or 8 years, who went untouched for a VERY long time before getting picked back up and refurbished as of about 2 years ago. it is with MUCH pride i tell you that they intertwine very deeply with a friend's own ocs (YOU!! WHO SENT THIS!!) and they've helped me build up these characters into something i'm incredibly proud of and ought to share by now

without further adieu: some pirates, some 19th century fantasy (a LOT of fucking fantasy), and like 8 years worth of worldbuilding that i am STILL not done with. enjoy

FIRST of all let me show you who we're working with:

Who the hell is that?

Leo Blackwater (he/him) - 56 yrs, 5'6'', 152 lbs

Captain of the ship The Eclipse.

Widower of 19 years. only recently decided to open his heart back up; she wanted him to be happy, after all. She's a sensitive topic, even now. so any prodding or teasing on the matter of moving on will be met violently.

Bounty hunter. Smuggler. Doing pirate things, you see. Polite old dad, a warm personality to lure you into a false sense of security and turn you in for a pretty penny.

Disabled after a beam cracked and landed on his knee, breaking it. It never healed right, and hes slower for it, especially in old age. Despite this handicap making him more vulnerable, he does not carry much in the way of weapons.

Eldest of 6 siblings. Son of a humble small town fisherman; perhaps not all that glad for his son's criminality, but the money he sends home makes it forgiven.

Father of one, a daughter, captain of her own ship.

Formed his love for the sea at 18 on his father's fishing boat. Never much respect for the Navy proper. But, after being in the right place at the right time and earning the reward money for a highly wanted pirate, he started to get ideas...

Percius (Percy) Blackwater (they/them) - 48 yrs, 5'10'', 150 lbs

Younger sibling of Leo. 3rd child of 6.

Takes up a number of jobs on Eclipse. Took up the role of second in command after the passing of Mrs. Blackwater.

Respects and trusts their brother's choice in livelihood. Begged since they were young to let them sail with him. Didn't realize what it entailed until they were already aboard.

Unmarried. They're a bit busy right now.

Willing to be called uncle by their beloved niece, for lack of a better word.

Betelgeuse Blackwater (she/her) - 30 yrs, 6'5'', 240 lbs

Captain of The Starlight, all-female crew.

Bounty hunter. Smuggler. Learned her way of living from her parents.

Inherited her face and density from her father, nothing else. Prone to brute force rather than wit and cunning. This works for her just fine.

Quite awkward, if she likes you.

Eldest (and favorite) grandchild, an only child, a totally different woman if you see her around family. Towers over father, but makes herself small for a kiss hello.

Was only about 7 or 8 when her mother passed. She remembers what little she has of her fondly, and greets her kindly when she looks in a mirror.

So whats going on?

What a funny question!!! I got no clue. But I'll start by explaining a little worldbuilding lore (cringe explination incoming):

There is magic in this universe. Not one that's denied or marveled at, but exists as much as everything else you dont pay attention to around you. Its as real as gravity. It's a honed skill in some, frowned upon by others, used unwisely by a small (but not unheard of) few. Magic makes itself present in a number of ways; it's hard to find written rules of these things unless you know precisely what you want and what you believe in. In many areas, some small towns appear to be protected by nameless elements and energies. It's more often that you find individuals who put in the work to harness their beliefs into something tangible, all calling their faiths and abilities something different from each other. Again, its not unheard of for individuals to use these abilities for their own poor intentions. If someone like Leo is lucky, bagging a Magic user is worth every ounce of hassle it takes. He seems to get away with feats like this often, though port authority fears him enough not to ask how. The Blackwaters won't admit foul play, though, if you're in the right town listening to the right gossip, you might hear a rumor or two about Betelgeuse's warm touch and a spitfire attitude when shes angry.

So whats up with Leo?

hehehehe.

As aforementioned, Leo has recently made himself a bachelor. He has no shortage of acquaintances and colleagues in his line of business. His demeanor, if you trust it, is very welcoming to new colleagues. He's not looking for something to jump too quickly into, he's happy to take things slow as he navigates romance again after so long.

And then he captures Roark.

Roark Renshaw (he/him) - 68 yrs, 6'6'', 250 lbs (CREATION OF @skelelephant)

World's worst man.

Captain of The Red Hound, took this position by force at the age of 21. The crew that remained after his mutiny had naught the will to defy him, choosing to follow out of curiosity more than anything else afterward.

Professional menace. High-seas whore. Good old fashioned murderer, committer of pirate crimes as you'd imagine. Terribly smug about it.

Unknown origin, unknown motive. He cropped up out of thin air and has made himself a name to be feared ever since, doing a service to the red flag The Hound flies.

For all his force, he is not one easily captured. For all his reputation, he is reckless. He caught Leo at a bad time, unfortunately.

Roark is a household name among most port towns, wanted dead or alive for the better half of his life by the Navy. His nature is not unlike that of a rabid dog, compared often to his ship's namesake. It is a state of being that none have been able to tame him out of, not by any rotating carousel of lovers he finds among port towns or the enemies he finds in equal amount, and one that gives the bounty over his head a lot of zeros. One that Leo, for all his skill, saw as a pipe dream. Leo knew of him, certainly. Roark has been on his radar since before his wife's passing- they'd spoken of capturing him fondly, joked about like some impossible fantasy. But for all his reputation comes bad habits that lower his guard when he needs it most. Stumbling drunkenly out of a tavern one evening, docked unknowingly at the same port as The Eclipse, he is disarmed and captured before he knows it.

This is a victory unheard of. It seems only fitting that Leo Blackwater would bag him, Roark having not expected to meet his match in such a mild man. Before the crew of The Hound have enough notice, Eclipse sails off to deposit the dog that is Roark Renshaw to the navy for a glorious execution, and an even more glorious reward. Leo has the gall to boast this to his prisoner, who seems almost humored. Hes quite charming when hes disarmed, a feature of his that seeps into the cracks of Leo's resolve and that itch the loneliness that he had yet to satisfy. Hes dangerous even with his hands tied.

This is what solidifies Leo's decision to turn him in. A man who so loved to be chased and so loved the rotten attention he recieved, who needed to be put down. It was a thrill, though, to capture the hound himself and be one of few to ever do so. To be revered as Roarks captor would make one want to do it all over again.

By luck or by the hunger for chase that gnawed on Roark and Leo's ribs, Roark finds the moment to escape as hes being escorted off the ship. Leo, notably, makes a piss poor attempt at catching him.

Seen as a dire fluke from the outside, the captains know it was on purpose. They've found themselves amidst a game of cat and mouse, that gives them a small purpose for at least a little while. You bond very closely when trying to kill each other, you know!

So what's their deal?

Well, their deal is that they *make* a deal.

Though Roark might be a big fish in their career pond, he is not the only one. Eventually, always eventually, there is another to challenge Roark's reputation. He wants the pirate out of his way, and Leo could always use another bounty. But hes slippery... moreso than Roark, who lets himself into Leo's jaws on purpose.

So... an alliance is formed. Temporary, of course, they split this bounty and part ways. So they say. But Roark is a charming man, and fulfills the loneliness and search for companionship that Leo wanted... and Leo is collected and steady, more than the majority of Roark's colleagues. They stand out to each other. They're comfortable. Attached.

So... after the bounty is collected they choose not to end their truce. Spend more time together. Work together exceptionally well. Balance each other out, in a way.

So they're together?

GAY AS CAN BE, BABY.

probably the only existing drawing of them Together despite how much we both draw them seperately.

Their alliance spills over into something... fond. Affectionate, even. A few meetups at a port town turn into a lot more working together peacefully. This leads to some... interesting wires to cross between their own respective enemies, interesting wires between one another. They get to know each other very personally in some strenuous circumstances.

Anyways! Now that they're on the table, I feel a little more comfortable to talk about them more. Draw them more. Answer some questions, if anybody has any. I did leave a lot open-ended...

[merilles]

Can I just say I adore Dúvain?! She's so cool! I have a bunch of Nazgul ocs myself and I hardly ever see any other Nazgul ocs out in the wild. She reminds me a bit of my oc, Lily. Both have a lot of angst surrounding their Nazgulification. I was wondering if there's a summary of some kind of Dúvain's backstory? I've gotten tantalizing hints and I need to know more! :D

Giggling and kicking my feet, it's delightful to know people are interested in her! My favourite wet cat lady knight <3

CW below for non-graphic discussion of topics such as war, death, and torture

Dúvain, born Lómivanë, was the niece of the Lord of Andúnië during the last years of Tar-Atanamir's reign. Her uncle, Andúnion, was married to the princess Antaríel and had a daughter as well, Eldacálë. the two grew up like sisters, but were very different people and the Lord obviously favoured his own over Lómivanë. She was strange, solitary, quiet; preferring books and horses over people. Her beautiful mother Melilótë died in childbirth, while her beloved father Tindómion later fell ill shortly before her majority. She was thus left to her uncle who loved her little, deprived of an independent inheritance as the daughter of his younger brother.

Andúnion sought to marry her to another Lord of Númenor, condemning her to keep his house and bear him children. She feared that fate more than death, her dread driving her to join the Númenórean military as a calvary soldier. Few mortal women participated in such an occupation, and she found herself scorned both by men and her own sex. But she always wanted to explore Middle-earth, seeing the colonial wars as an excuse to do so. At the time Númenor was rapidly expanding and fighting sauron's vassal-kings, who had grown mighty with their rings of power. She had no idea what she was getting into, succumbing to Númenórean propaganda and having grown up quite wealthy and sheltered.

Through deeds of surpassing valour and sacrifice she rose in the ranks despite being a woman. She was knighted, established in Lebennin by the king's decree as the captain of the Númenórean forces in that land. She also translated her name into Sindarin to reflect her new life. She was very principalled: valuing honesty, honour, and obedience. She followed orders from her superiors closely, because she believed that they knew what was best. They were fighting against people they perceived to be evil, and some certainly served Sauron, not the least those who received rings of power from him. She bought into this sentiment, though had frequent second thoughts when killing soldiers who were just like her.

She imagined they too had brothers-in-arms that mourned them, certainly making many widows and orphans. She questioned the purpose of this war of attrition, for they gained little ground and could not kill these kings. The council of Númenórean lords upon Middle-earth gathered under the shadow to make a deadly decision. They sought a foray into enemy territory to gain an advantage at last in the lands over the great river, and so a company of the finest warriors was sent secretly into the land under the Ephel Dúath (which would later become Ithilien). Sauron perceived them, in part thanks to the traitorous lord of Umbar. They were outnumbered and defeated, a their Captain taken prisoner.

She was brought in chains to Barad-dûr, where she was thrown in the deepest dungeons and tormented endlessly. She was isolated in the darkness, grieving for the deaths of her fallen brothers. She blamed herself for leading them to their doom, despite it being the Númenórean Lords' decision. Sauron intended to put her to his own use by granting her a ring of power, a dark knight to lead his armies against his enemies. Dúvain only hung onto life by a thin thread, for she still feared death, as was the condition of mortals. She was broken, quailing under the weight of her own despair.

Now weakened, she was taken out of the dungeons and brought in chains at the foot of Sauron's throne. Worn down to nothing with no power of her own, she had no choice but to accept a ring of power from her enemy; in fact, it was forced upon her by his hand. No deceit did he use, only the full extent of his cruelty and will to dominate others. He twisted her into a deadly weapon, unmatched on the field of battle; men fled before her upon her return from Mordor, their blood and the blood of their sons staining her sword. And she wept in secret for what he had turned her into.

She became known only as The Black Blade of Lebennin, bearer of Sapthân the Foolstone, the woman she once was forgotten...