OOC INFO; Name: Amber Age: 24. Ways to contact: greyjoy. Characters currently played: None, but I have Arthur Pendragon on reserve.
CHARACTER INFO; Character Name: Natasha Romanoff. This is an anglicisation of her name in Russian, Наталья Романова. Her first name can also be read as Natalie or Natalia, and her surname can be read as to Romanov or Romanova, but I’d prefer all her game admin stuff keep the movie canon name. She also uses Natalie Rushman as a psudonym and her callsign/superhero name is Black Widow.
Canon: Marvel Cinematic Universe. Specifically the films Iron Man II and The Avengers. In lieu of making up her backstory and interpretation from nothing, I choose to use small amounts of non-retconned Marvel 616 comics-verse as “headcanon” for her early life where it matched the snippets given in the movies; it’s mostly the same stuff used in the David Hayter Black Widow script that never made it to production: I'm willing to risk being Jossed by the man for whom the trope was named. Major differences and gaps are post-Russia, as I don't want to include or assume history/headcanon for any other movie-canon character. She's definitely not 616 Natasha, and characters apped from that canon would have to acknowledge her as alternate.
Personality: The most immediate and unlikely word that comes to mind with Natasha is direct. Though she may play games and love the Thanatos Gambit, there is something very direct about Natasha. She speaks directly, and doesn't take any shit. Level-headed and fairly logical, she has a soldierly way of addressing those around her. Though she may convey respect or derision with her words, she never coddles, never elaborates with unnecessary information, and can basically come off as a cold-hearted bitch.
There is ice in her; perhaps it's her Russian upbringing. But it is the shell around a core of warmth. Natasha is capable of great depth of feeling. She loves and hates both of her countries — she considers herself American by this point, and her accent is flawless, though some of the other languages she speaks have a hint of Russian tinting them — but more importantly, she loves humanity. She has been known to also fall intensely in love with individual men, but has had her heart broken and her life endangered enough that she closed off. So despite these deep feelings, Natasha isn't interested in romance. She would find it difficult to open up and make herself vulnerable in the ways that are required for a relationship, and though sex can be stress relief, her body is a tool that she uses to manipulate others.
Short of outright prostitution, Natasha is willing to use her sexuality to get what she wants (as she does with Tony Stark) and also subverts the notion that women are all hysterical creatures, often playing up her female vulnerability in order to make men relax their guard around her (as she does with Loki). Secretly, she enjoys taking men down a peg or two: she has a fair bit of sisterhood solidarity, particularly obvious in how she manages to work an alliance with Pepper as Natalie, though there aren’t enough women in movie canon to give other strong examples of this.
As a spy, Natasha has an excellent acting ability, and as such she makes sure she has control of her emotions and the way she displays them, down to her facial muscles. As such, her reactions tend to be minute. She does not laugh often, preferring to smile, or perhaps imply amusement with cutting wit. She does not rage, but has a cold determination that takes the place of anger. She doesn't shed real tears. True emotion is a weakness that could be used against her, while false emotion is something that she can use to manipulate others. And manipulation is what she does best. To some degree for pleasure, though Natasha is not particularly sadistic or prone to visible schadenfreude or gloating.
Because of this, Natasha is hard to read. However despite working a profession that requires her to lie frequently and without hesitation, Natasha tries her best to be honest with herself. She neither buries her guilt nor constantly relives it to castrate herself. By taking the brusque attitude of "what's done is done", she essentially makes it harder for people to push her buttons. Natasha doesn't like people to get inside her head, and she is very possessive of her privacy in all areas. But part of her defense is to try and have no weakness, by acknowledging and owning her weaknesses and dark past. This honesty is also something she prefers (rather than expects) in others. Which is probably a little ironic, all things considered.
Of course, she does have a massive weakness, and that is the shadow cast by her controlling nature. Natasha is decent in volatile situations, she can react quickly and improvise, but she doesn't like being put into a corner with no further back-up plan. She over-prepares. This is why she fixates on Bruce Banner so much: knowing the Hulk could tear her apart and can't be reasoned with or manipulated terrifies her. She also finds it difficult to wind down, relax, or "turn off", and as such isn't good at genuine and friendly social interaction like team banter.
Natasha would like to be redeemed for all the wrong she has done in her life, though most of her misdeeds have been done out of loyalty to a cause and a lack of sense of self; she sold herself to the highest bidder before realizing that she could make a choice to only do good. But of course, she hides herself here, too; by framing it as a desire for balance. Natasha has an eye for an eye mentality, so while she will be driven to act out of vengeance, the debts owed go both ways and she is willing to help those who have helped her.
Part of being so controlling and locked down is that Natasha likes to be informed and on top of things; she's the type to do the research and try and fit the pieces together, use her knowledge of the way people work to understand motives, and then in turn, use them. She is better suited for second in command than a team leader, but despite this she's an excellent strategist and willing to follow orders. There's a strange dichotomy in her independant, loner nature and the way her past in ballet seems to make the flow of her fighting as a team into a collaborative dance.
Powers & Abilities: Natasha hasn’t the superpowers of her co-Avengers, but she did undergo some lab testing in the Red Room. Government treatments have slowed her aging, augmented her immune system and enhanced her physical durability. Since in reading the FAQ questions I think you’re dampening Steve down to her canon level, I’m happy to dampen these near completely and rely on her natural fitness and talents. (So unless she starts getting her powers back she will have no bite immunity.) And, as with Fury, she will start aging again.
However she has plenty of talents and abilities that are not in any way superhuman. Decades of life and training leave her with an incredible array of skills that earn her the title of super spy.
Natasha has been able to master several forms of martial arts: karate, judo, aikido, savate, boxing, lucha-libre style wrestling and multiple styles of kung fu. She is an Olympic class athlete, gymnast, acrobat and aerialist. She is excellent with a variety of weapons, including being a sharpshooter and quality marksman, and is able to improvise and create weapons from things around her.
In addition to combat capability, she is read/write/speak fluent in Russian, English, French, German, Latin, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese. While technology is not her forte (she’s much better at software than hardware) she’s able to hack into computers without being detected and knows what she’s doing in a security system. She has spy training both for Russia and America and is a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, meaning she is a very good actor including muscle, breath, pulse and emotion control, and is able to manipulate others, particularly men, to get information from them. (Tony Stark, Loki, and the interrogation scene in her first scene in Avengers are all examples of this.)
Items on their Person: Natasha arrives wearing a form-fitting black catsuit outfit. The material is bullet proof and thermal. It has several concealed zippered pockets sewn in. It has zippers around the thighs and bicep areas so as to become shorts/short-sleeved if caught, damaged or overheated. She wears flat-heeled, knee-high, black leather boots with steel toe caps, and fingerless gloves. There’s a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the left shoulder. ( large image of catsuit )
At her wrists are her “Widow’s Bite”. These are twin bracelets that are never used or explained in the movie, but according to comics canon, can “issue high-frequency electrostatic bolts of up to 30,000 volts, capable of stunning even a superhuman opponent at a range of at least 20 feet, shoot tear gas cartridges and act as a radio transmitter. The bracelets’ various functions are activated by galvanic sensors keyed to Black Widow’s wrist musculature.” This is obviously ridiculously overpowered, and I’d be willing to say they can only issue a sharp but non-life threatening electric shock, or that they have a limited lifespan, or are broken in some way or nonfunctional or even non-existent, whatever the mods prefer.
She wears a standard utility belt with torch, switchknife, water cannister, a flashbang grenade, and ammunition, as well as two thigh holsters for her Glock 26s.
She also carries on her person: a garotte at her wrist. A knife in her boot. A Four kunai (throwing daggers) and a couple of “taser discs” which are made up weapons that basically act as a ranged taser attack.
(Exact numbers of items aren’t clear in canon, but I felt the limitation of specificity was better for this sort of game.)
SAMPLES; First Person Sample: Voice.
This is Black Widow. I've got a horde over by the mall growing in disproportional rate. I don't know if they're getting ready for a swarm — if they even have the intelligence for that...
[ Natasha trails off, distracted by the movements of the zombies. ]
I'm hidden, but if they come this way I may need back-up. A girl can only carry so many bullets, you know?
[ Her voice goes a little coy at the end, like a princess in her tower, hoping on of the big strong men will come save her. What the microphone doesn't pick up is the easy, confident way she handles her guns, readying herself to fight and possibly die. ]
Maybe some kind of distraction would get them moving. If we're going to leave this city, we're going to need to get supplies from that mall, first.
[ What's all this 'we' stuff? Thing is, Natasha's not stupid. She knows when she's outnumbered. It took all the Avengers to defeat the Chitauri as they'd swarmed into New York City; it might take even more than that to take on the walking dead. ]
[ But she doesn't want to sound too much like she knows what she's doing, not at this point. Not when she doesn't know who's listening in. Her tone goes a little tremulous again, like someone trying, and failing, to put on a brave front. ]
Does anyone copy?
Third Person Sample: Natasha leaves the movie rolling as she tucks away the last of her knives, clips crackers to her utility belt and fills her canister with the water. After a moments thought she takes some time to do some stretches, holding on to the table they'd had her strapped to. Like a science experiment. Who knows how long she's been out, but her muscles need it, joints popping as she warms herself up.
Natasha's expression is implacable, given she's just spent several minutes reading those obnoxiously cheerful pamphlets, but then, Natasha's never been big on showing her emotions. Which is probably good, because she's not buying it.
Oh sure, there's the movies, the scattering of comics, but what does that prove? Beyond the fact that whoever's behind this has resources and a lot of nerve. Get a girl and put her in a red wig, do a few sweeping camera shots, some close-ups on her unconscious body, hypnotism, a green screen; her mind automatically comes up with a dozen ways to fuck with someone like this, make them think they're not real. Derealization is a powerful psychological technique, after all.
Mostly she's pissed off, because they're trying to get inside her head, make her play their game. Natasha doesn't like people inside her head. She's been taken apart once in her life, and she's still kind of finding the pieces, tiny overlooked fragments chipped off of herself.
At least they've left her equipment, which is more than most of her captors usually do, and now that she's locked and loaded Natasha goes to the door, ignoring the fake sound of automated gunfire from the TV behind her, the sound of Clint's voice, tinny through the speakers, saying her name.
She kicks the door open. It goes easy because it's not locked, but it still feels good. She's more than ready for violence, wants to hit something hard, wants the pump of adrenaline in her blood to take all the lurking fear away and make her feel invincible. So when the first zombie smacks up against the glass, slavering and bloody and wholly inhuman, Natasha does something she'll probably later look back on in disbelief: she smiles.
Natasha Romanoff (codename: Black Widow) | Marvel Cinematic Universe | reserved
Name: Amber
Age: 24.
Ways to contact:
Characters currently played: None, but I have Arthur Pendragon on reserve.
CHARACTER INFO;
Character Name: Natasha Romanoff.
This is an anglicisation of her name in Russian, Наталья Романова. Her first name can also be read as Natalie or Natalia, and her surname can be read as to Romanov or Romanova, but I’d prefer all her game admin stuff keep the movie canon name. She also uses Natalie Rushman as a psudonym and her callsign/superhero name is Black Widow.
Canon: Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Specifically the films Iron Man II and The Avengers. In lieu of making up her backstory and interpretation from nothing, I choose to use small amounts of non-retconned Marvel 616 comics-verse as “headcanon” for her early life where it matched the snippets given in the movies; it’s mostly the same stuff used in the David Hayter Black Widow script that never made it to production: I'm willing to risk being Jossed by the man for whom the trope was named. Major differences and gaps are post-Russia, as I don't want to include or assume history/headcanon for any other movie-canon character. She's definitely not 616 Natasha, and characters apped from that canon would have to acknowledge her as alternate.
Canon Link: Natasha in MCU specifically. The Black Widow on Wikipedia (all canon appearances across media). Official Marvel.com page has a good quick rundown of her early history.
Canon Point: The Avengers, end of film.
Character Age: Appears 27. Actually 83.
Character Suitability:N/A.Personality:
The most immediate and unlikely word that comes to mind with Natasha is direct. Though she may play games and love the Thanatos Gambit, there is something very direct about Natasha. She speaks directly, and doesn't take any shit. Level-headed and fairly logical, she has a soldierly way of addressing those around her. Though she may convey respect or derision with her words, she never coddles, never elaborates with unnecessary information, and can basically come off as a cold-hearted bitch.
There is ice in her; perhaps it's her Russian upbringing. But it is the shell around a core of warmth. Natasha is capable of great depth of feeling. She loves and hates both of her countries — she considers herself American by this point, and her accent is flawless, though some of the other languages she speaks have a hint of Russian tinting them — but more importantly, she loves humanity. She has been known to also fall intensely in love with individual men, but has had her heart broken and her life endangered enough that she closed off. So despite these deep feelings, Natasha isn't interested in romance. She would find it difficult to open up and make herself vulnerable in the ways that are required for a relationship, and though sex can be stress relief, her body is a tool that she uses to manipulate others.
Short of outright prostitution, Natasha is willing to use her sexuality to get what she wants (as she does with Tony Stark) and also subverts the notion that women are all hysterical creatures, often playing up her female vulnerability in order to make men relax their guard around her (as she does with Loki). Secretly, she enjoys taking men down a peg or two: she has a fair bit of sisterhood solidarity, particularly obvious in how she manages to work an alliance with Pepper as Natalie, though there aren’t enough women in movie canon to give other strong examples of this.
As a spy, Natasha has an excellent acting ability, and as such she makes sure she has control of her emotions and the way she displays them, down to her facial muscles. As such, her reactions tend to be minute. She does not laugh often, preferring to smile, or perhaps imply amusement with cutting wit. She does not rage, but has a cold determination that takes the place of anger. She doesn't shed real tears. True emotion is a weakness that could be used against her, while false emotion is something that she can use to manipulate others. And manipulation is what she does best. To some degree for pleasure, though Natasha is not particularly sadistic or prone to visible schadenfreude or gloating.
Because of this, Natasha is hard to read. However despite working a profession that requires her to lie frequently and without hesitation, Natasha tries her best to be honest with herself. She neither buries her guilt nor constantly relives it to castrate herself. By taking the brusque attitude of "what's done is done", she essentially makes it harder for people to push her buttons. Natasha doesn't like people to get inside her head, and she is very possessive of her privacy in all areas. But part of her defense is to try and have no weakness, by acknowledging and owning her weaknesses and dark past. This honesty is also something she prefers (rather than expects) in others. Which is probably a little ironic, all things considered.
Of course, she does have a massive weakness, and that is the shadow cast by her controlling nature. Natasha is decent in volatile situations, she can react quickly and improvise, but she doesn't like being put into a corner with no further back-up plan. She over-prepares. This is why she fixates on Bruce Banner so much: knowing the Hulk could tear her apart and can't be reasoned with or manipulated terrifies her. She also finds it difficult to wind down, relax, or "turn off", and as such isn't good at genuine and friendly social interaction like team banter.
Natasha would like to be redeemed for all the wrong she has done in her life, though most of her misdeeds have been done out of loyalty to a cause and a lack of sense of self; she sold herself to the highest bidder before realizing that she could make a choice to only do good. But of course, she hides herself here, too; by framing it as a desire for balance. Natasha has an eye for an eye mentality, so while she will be driven to act out of vengeance, the debts owed go both ways and she is willing to help those who have helped her.
Part of being so controlling and locked down is that Natasha likes to be informed and on top of things; she's the type to do the research and try and fit the pieces together, use her knowledge of the way people work to understand motives, and then in turn, use them. She is better suited for second in command than a team leader, but despite this she's an excellent strategist and willing to follow orders. There's a strange dichotomy in her independant, loner nature and the way her past in ballet seems to make the flow of her fighting as a team into a collaborative dance.
Powers & Abilities:
Natasha hasn’t the superpowers of her co-Avengers, but she did undergo some lab testing in the Red Room. Government treatments have slowed her aging, augmented her immune system and enhanced her physical durability. Since in reading the FAQ questions I think you’re dampening Steve down to her canon level, I’m happy to dampen these near completely and rely on her natural fitness and talents. (So unless she starts getting her powers back she will have no bite immunity.) And, as with Fury, she will start aging again.
However she has plenty of talents and abilities that are not in any way superhuman. Decades of life and training leave her with an incredible array of skills that earn her the title of super spy.
Natasha has been able to master several forms of martial arts: karate, judo, aikido, savate, boxing, lucha-libre style wrestling and multiple styles of kung fu. She is an Olympic class athlete, gymnast, acrobat and aerialist. She is excellent with a variety of weapons, including being a sharpshooter and quality marksman, and is able to improvise and create weapons from things around her.
In addition to combat capability, she is read/write/speak fluent in Russian, English, French, German, Latin, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese. While technology is not her forte (she’s much better at software than hardware) she’s able to hack into computers without being detected and knows what she’s doing in a security system. She has spy training both for Russia and America and is a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, meaning she is a very good actor including muscle, breath, pulse and emotion control, and is able to manipulate others, particularly men, to get information from them. (Tony Stark, Loki, and the interrogation scene in her first scene in Avengers are all examples of this.)
Items on their Person:
Natasha arrives wearing a form-fitting black catsuit outfit. The material is bullet proof and thermal. It has several concealed zippered pockets sewn in. It has zippers around the thighs and bicep areas so as to become shorts/short-sleeved if caught, damaged or overheated. She wears flat-heeled, knee-high, black leather boots with steel toe caps, and fingerless gloves. There’s a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the left shoulder. ( large image of catsuit )
At her wrists are her “Widow’s Bite”. These are twin bracelets that are never used or explained in the movie, but according to comics canon, can “issue high-frequency electrostatic bolts of up to 30,000 volts, capable of stunning even a superhuman opponent at a range of at least 20 feet, shoot tear gas cartridges and act as a radio transmitter. The bracelets’ various functions are activated by galvanic sensors keyed to Black Widow’s wrist musculature.” This is obviously ridiculously overpowered, and I’d be willing to say they can only issue a sharp but non-life threatening electric shock, or that they have a limited lifespan, or are broken in some way or nonfunctional or even non-existent, whatever the mods prefer.
She wears a standard utility belt with torch, switchknife, water cannister, a flashbang grenade, and ammunition, as well as two thigh holsters for her Glock 26s.
She also carries on her person: a garotte at her wrist. A knife in her boot. A Four kunai (throwing daggers) and a couple of “taser discs” which are made up weapons that basically act as a ranged taser attack.
(Exact numbers of items aren’t clear in canon, but I felt the limitation of specificity was better for this sort of game.)
SAMPLES;
First Person Sample: Voice.
This is Black Widow. I've got a horde over by the mall growing in disproportional rate. I don't know if they're getting ready for a swarm — if they even have the intelligence for that...
[ Natasha trails off, distracted by the movements of the zombies. ]
I'm hidden, but if they come this way I may need back-up. A girl can only carry so many bullets, you know?
[ Her voice goes a little coy at the end, like a princess in her tower, hoping on of the big strong men will come save her. What the microphone doesn't pick up is the easy, confident way she handles her guns, readying herself to fight and possibly die. ]
Maybe some kind of distraction would get them moving. If we're going to leave this city, we're going to need to get supplies from that mall, first.
[ What's all this 'we' stuff? Thing is, Natasha's not stupid. She knows when she's outnumbered. It took all the Avengers to defeat the Chitauri as they'd swarmed into New York City; it might take even more than that to take on the walking dead. ]
[ But she doesn't want to sound too much like she knows what she's doing, not at this point. Not when she doesn't know who's listening in. Her tone goes a little tremulous again, like someone trying, and failing, to put on a brave front. ]
Does anyone copy?
Third Person Sample:
Natasha leaves the movie rolling as she tucks away the last of her knives, clips crackers to her utility belt and fills her canister with the water. After a moments thought she takes some time to do some stretches, holding on to the table they'd had her strapped to. Like a science experiment. Who knows how long she's been out, but her muscles need it, joints popping as she warms herself up.
Natasha's expression is implacable, given she's just spent several minutes reading those obnoxiously cheerful pamphlets, but then, Natasha's never been big on showing her emotions. Which is probably good, because she's not buying it.
Oh sure, there's the movies, the scattering of comics, but what does that prove? Beyond the fact that whoever's behind this has resources and a lot of nerve. Get a girl and put her in a red wig, do a few sweeping camera shots, some close-ups on her unconscious body, hypnotism, a green screen; her mind automatically comes up with a dozen ways to fuck with someone like this, make them think they're not real. Derealization is a powerful psychological technique, after all.
Mostly she's pissed off, because they're trying to get inside her head, make her play their game. Natasha doesn't like people inside her head. She's been taken apart once in her life, and she's still kind of finding the pieces, tiny overlooked fragments chipped off of herself.
At least they've left her equipment, which is more than most of her captors usually do, and now that she's locked and loaded Natasha goes to the door, ignoring the fake sound of automated gunfire from the TV behind her, the sound of Clint's voice, tinny through the speakers, saying her name.
She kicks the door open. It goes easy because it's not locked, but it still feels good. She's more than ready for violence, wants to hit something hard, wants the pump of adrenaline in her blood to take all the lurking fear away and make her feel invincible. So when the first zombie smacks up against the glass, slavering and bloody and wholly inhuman, Natasha does something she'll probably later look back on in disbelief: she smiles.
Additional Information: