this is a strictly comic-based rp blog for marvel’s the red guardian (since 2016) rebooted in 2021.      𝚆𝚁𝙸𝚃𝚃𝙴𝙽 𝙱𝚈 𝚃𝙴𝙳,      please refer to me with they / them pronouns.     the timeline on my doc is linked below.      « alexei’s story may develop with the release of 𝚆𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙶𝚄𝙰𝚁𝙳, but i’m keeping his history static regardless of origin retcons. »      21+.     please ask me to tag any & all content you find triggering.

the shostakov’s job as a married couple was to promote the soviet lifestyle.     that was the bargain of their betrothal.     they were advertised.     their relationship was one giant propo:     the nation’s premiere test pilot & the bolshoi’s prima ballerina,     russia’s finest example of loyal,     successful party members.     they were given the story of how they first met as press fodder,     but their marriage was political & arranged from the beginning.     neither of them were ready to be in love with each other yet.     

alexei’s flight schedule made it virtually impossible for them to have shared more than a handful of moments after their first supervised meeting or before their engagement was announced in 1957,     & even then he was only able to make it into moscow for a photo before heading back to base the next morning.

before natalya agreed to even continue with the engagement,     barnes told her he thought alexei was an “ass” & i can only agree.     he was privileged,     arrogant,     he was going places & he knew it,     he made a reputation for himself as an asset to the party,     but he didn’t appreciate being forcibly removed from a decorated,     vital responsibility to his country in order to play house with a ballerina.

natalya had quit the bolshoi to join the black widow ops program by the time their relationship came to pass,     but she remained with the company publicly & alexei’s promotion was fast tracked,     his flight time cut back in order to accommodate the new task of convincing the nation they were in love.      they were both required to give up their freedom of choice in order to fulfill their duty.

alexei moved off base only 2 years after being accepted to the space programme in 1955 & into a handpicked apartment in moscow where the two of them would live as a married couple until his “passing” in 1963.       after the vows were exchanged the shostakovs were required to make public appearances & were to be displayed like shiny objects in order to promote,     distract,     & compel at their superior’s bidding.

alexei & natalya were heavily monitored by intelligence.     both had some taste of the spotlight before their engagement,     but neither of them had experienced this extent of the public & private scrutiny of their personal lives.

the first year of their marriage,     after negotiating,     alexei was permitted to stay on base in murmansk for 3 months for further testing with the stipulation that he would be followed by soviet news media ,     murmansk is literally a day away by train for reference,     but after the 3 months were up he was reassigned closer to home & the close quarters of daily life saw the affection the couple had for one another grow.

the snow crunch beneath boot sole & the crack of steel wreathes his brother’s entry into the wood behind the house.     the axe-bit finds its bed in a log & sasha stoops down to catch the handle of his tea cup between thumb & forefinger in a moment’s respite.     [ the breadth of his brother’s shoulders haven’t dwindled from the pinhole light of childhood memory,     but his soft edges have sharpened with the clarity of adulthood. ]     when he looks at his brother he sees houses burning,       his soul bleeding out warmth into the air around him with the cloying sweetness of grave-rot & the copper threads in his hair catching fire in the sunlight.     when he looks at his brother he sees fragility,   a vulnerability that needs to be clawed out from the heart.

again,     the swing of his axe cleaves wood & thought in twine.     the bite of the handle clenched in his fist feels enough like the skull of his brother to tamp the battery-acid sting in his throat & brimming violence in the ride of his tongue.     

he tilts his head in reference to the warm glow of the kitchen where the shadow of their wives reside,       diving into inanity to avoid landmines.     « aleysa’s a good wife.     she’ll teach natalya well. »​

sasha is a cage looking for a bird *.     steel bars for bones & a mouth reminiscent of the maw of a cave.     he covets,     he’s greed & hunger pretending at docility.     a monster courting the image of humanity.     [ but there’s a child in him & there’s that boy in the ash still in his eyes ]     when alexei looks at his brother he sees family,     a savior in the echo of a boy.     he’s lost & impartial to the knife-sting of bitterness,     but home lives within him.     he’s a precious artifact.     his brother’s jaw holds back his fire-breath,     [ no,     not fire,     the remnants of one.     wet cinder on a cold tongue, ]     & whatever escapes the clench of his teeth will first be picked at like crows over the dead by his foresight & cunning.

alexei digs his hands further into the depths of his wool pockets once the words are finally loosed,     bracing against the chill.     he can’t reconcile sasha’s indifferent comment with his image of either woman,     but he leaves it where it lies,     bloodying ground.     « did alesya get that promotion ?     the head of psycho-something…     conditioning ?     for otyets’ department ?     she wouldn’t say. »

thought fogs against the glass separating words from tongue & fingers itch to press around his throat like a tic,       his body trying to remind him he’s alive by puppeting his limbs to root for a pulse.       the question warren peels out in that rounded out dulcet thrum from his mouth rings true.       « mmm »       is all he manages [ a tired acknowledgement that someone has spoken. ]       he watches the angel’s ruffle of plumage,       tracing the weary paths of rain & reaches out to interrupt a crystal stream of water with a broad thumb,       unselfconscious about realizing the impulse.       they sit shoulder to shoulder & the press of flesh against his own serves as an anchor,       not a means for further submergence.       knowing warren’s quick mind will parse through to his intention,       « there are times--- »       his damned cumbersome prosody [ mist in the mind ] unable to form the words properly,       « there are times i think i’d be better off if you spoke for me. »       a tease & an admission.

the sweetest years won’t tarry * upon the backs of eyelids squeezed tight against their light,      because memories dim when you prod at the wound of them as you would a sore in the mouth,       when you look at them only to punish yourself.       pain replacing love.       a hand hovering between sight and the sun.       still,       it’s hard to hold anything dear here [ untainted by time ] & so the past fades to black & the future stretches on,       farther & wider than ever imagined.       her voice crosses the short distance between them after a long bout of silence.       they usually prefer quiet commiseration.       « the boredom or the…? »       a nod to her arm tucked protectively against her side.

Leads: Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian & Yelena Belova aka White Widow. Characters: Carol Danvers, Black Widow, Crimson Dynamo, Red Widow, Vostok, Perun, Chernobog, Vanguard, Darkstar & Ursa Major. Mentioned: Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk. Teams: Winter Guard & Avengers. Programs: Red Room and Wolf Spider Spec Ops. Written by Ryan Cady

Background: Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk was arrested by the Winter Guard for crimes against the Russian government, assumed kidnapped and tortured, and any agent affiliated with the Russian intelligence community who disclosed anything about Walters’ arrest will be prosecuted or otherwise punished by the Russian government. The Avengers are incredibly invested in finding Walters and opposing the Winter Guard.