theoaktree | Challenge 13 ; Trope of the Month

Good is not nice, polite, well-mannered, self-righteous, or naive, though good characters may be some of these things.
— Dungeons & Dragons, The Book of Exalted Deeds

This trope made me think of Natasha Romanoff - who is one of my favorite characters - so I made a fanmix and some icons in response which you can find under the cut.

Help I'm Alive - Metric | In The Hall Of The Mountain King - Greig |
The Outsider - Mariana and the Diamonds | Angel With A Shotgun - The Cab |

I'm going to take a moment to talk about the songs and why I chose them and how I feel they fit into the prompt. Mainly because I can never resist an opportunity to talk.

Help I'm Alive - This is the opening track of the mix because it hits on all the character beats I want to. In essence it's all about fear and I think it's important to address that Natasha, while being a very composed and sensible person, does feel fear. She fears the Hulk and i'm sure she's scared during the battle of New York. But she also does everything she needs to anyway. The scene where Coulson radios her after the Hulk attacks, sure she's scared, but she gets up and she carries on and that shows an incredible amount of strength especially for someone who isn't Superpowered. Especially since she manages to more than hold her own during the battle of New York. There is also this idea, for me anyway, in the song of living precariously because of past deeds or possible future misdemeanours - If I stumble/They're going to eat me alive - which obviously speaks to Widows past. As does this line: If my life is mine/ What shouldn't I do?.

In The Hall Of The Mountain King - In the conversation between Loki and Natasha she asks him: "And once you've won. Once you're king of the mountain. What happens to his mind?" And that made me think of this song for severely reasons. Because it's classical and, to me, that speaks to Natashas history in the comics as a ballet dancer. In that way it makes me think of her history in the Red Room. It also speaks to me, because of that quote, about the level of deception that she is capable of even if used for good ends as in this case. I also enjoy the fact that it becomes steadily and steadily more frantic as the song picks up the intensity of Which I think suits Natasha.

The Outsider - This song is perfect for Natasha because it has quite a bit about identity issues which I think she has in abundance - Just because you know my name/ Doesn't mean you know my game - but it also hits at her affinity for disguises and duel names in her work as a Spy. I see it as being about her relationships with the Avengers and not quite being sure how she slots into the team dynamic outsider Clint because of her history and because, I think, she has a fundamental distrust of people and has, historically, remaind fairly detached from them. Obviously this is starting to thaw but she must have trouble trying to get used to working so closely with so many people.

Angel With A Shotgun - This you could argue is a Clint and Natasha song but I think he is the most important dynamic she has within the Avengers movie. This line especially spoke to me: I'm an angel with a shotgun/ Fighting til' the wars won/ I don't care if heaven won't take me back. Because although she is, in a way, trying to atone for past deeds - red on her ledger - it is her own moral code that she is concerned about not the judgement of others. This line: Sometimes to win/ you've got to sin also plays into Natashas tactics because she's not above deception and fairly ruthless tactics to make sure the good guys pull through. Primarily though the song is about Natasha becoming her own person after the Red Room and being able to love Clint - romantically or Platonically - helps her do that. And I, want to live, not just survive, tonight.