NATASHA ROMANOFF SACRIFICED HER LIFE FOR THE SOUL STONE.
THE MOST HEROIC SACRIFICE: GIVING HER LIFE IN EXCHANGE FOR THE STONE THAT WOULD ALLOW HER FAMILY TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE.
THEY WON. SAVED THE WORLD. BUT SHE WAS GONE.
OR... MAYBE THERE WAS A WAY TO BRING HER BACK.
post-endgame natasha headcanons...
- in my portrayal, she still sacrifices herself for the soul stone because i think it's a very important part of her character arc, and not just because she dies. i could go on a whole rant about it to be honest. as much as i wish it hadn't happened, it was in character for her to do it. giving her life to save the universe, to save her family, it presented her with that place in the world she had been searching for. also, wiping out the red in her ledger and proving she still had a soul (though this could have been done in different ways that didn't involve killing her off, marvel -_-). to summarise what would be a long rant, i have a deep understanding of her character and it honestly does make sense, as much as i hate it. y'all give clint shit for it but let's be honest, natasha would not have been able to live with the guilt if it had been him.
- ANYWAY, yeah natasha sacrifices her life and dies whatever, but then she comes back when steve returns the stones. the soul for soul exchange is reversed and she is revived and comes back to the present day. (steve too, because fuck endgame and its dumb endings that ruin character development!).
- natasha feels guilt about... well, being alive. as soon as she found out about tony (stark), she was of course, devastated. she grieved the loss of him just like everyone else. however, she couldn't shake her guilt. what did she do to deserve a second chance at life? why her? why not tony, when he should be alive? in her mind, tony deserved the second chance that she was given, he should be at peace with his wife, raising his daughter and watching her grow.
- natasha is still a part of the avengers, but she also runs an orphanage, like she did in the five year time gap. she divides her time up between each of those jobs.
- occasionally, natasha will get really bad headaches. well, more like shooting pains in the back of her head that feels like someone is repeatedly slamming a rock into her head. she assumes it's the side effects of coming back from the dead, but they can get really bad. the back of her skull is also slightly dented, and she has a pattern of dark bruises down her spine.
- natasha is also afraid to sleep. she doesn't sleep well in general because of nightmares, but it gets worse. every time she closes her eyes, she sees flashes of vormir. or, if she does sleep, she'll have a recurring nightmare about falling from the cliff, and then she jolts awake before she hits the ground. she also gets anxiety about maybe never waking up again if she closes her eyes.
more to be added...