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Among the blogs tumblr insists recommending to me, this week:

Hannigram (I don't ship)

Theist Satanists (I'm agnostic)

Christian Teens (see above, also, I'm almost 50?)

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I think you're completely right, and wouldn't even call it a hot take. I mean, even in the post-credit scene Bob says he can't be Sentry without the Void, that's because both are connected to his manic and depressive episodes, respectively. He might eventually be able to use his powers without losing control - that is separate his powers from his mental illness - but right now, he simply can't.

Hot take ?

Bob’s characterization makes way more sense when viewed through a psychological lens rather than treating Sentry/Void as totally separate identities. Personally, I’ve always seen Bob as someone dealing with symptoms that align more with bipolar disorder or even BPD, which is often linked to early childhood trauma (something I relate to myself).

The extreme highs of Sentry and the crushing lows of Void feel more like emotional states or coping mechanisms rather than distinct personalities like with DID, which is what Moon Knight experiences.

I think portraying Bob as ‘different people’ kind of misses the point—it oversimplifies what he’s actually going through. He’s not switching between identities; he’s cycling through emotional extremes, and sometimes those states come with memory gaps or shifts in perception that make it easy to misread as something else. But at the end of the day, he’s still Bob 🫠

(I saw someone post a similar blog but I just wanted to share my thoughts on this)

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And not just the eyes, either - John has the vision when he's helping Bob up from the elevator, and after he comes out of it when Yelena calls his name, Bob is giving him a look, and I think even then Walker almost makes the connection. Obviously, this also ties into him then later connecting the dots when Yelena goes into the void; just like she probably remembered that Bob had been in her memory in the vault. (This movie is honestly written pretty well.)

When Bob flies up in the air and the Thunderbolts' reaction was "Wait, is that Bob?" it felt like a plot-necessary stretch at first. Even if he is the only "unaccounted for" person in the raid, Valentina's troops had shot him down just moments before. Then I remembered:

Walker was suspicious of Bob from the start

Walker saw Bob's eyes glow

Walker was the first one to ask whether the flying person was Bob

Yelena started getting more suspicious about Bob after talking with him in the electrical room

Their connecting "Bob" to "unidentified flying person" made more sense.

Also, Walker's treatment of Bob in the Silo was 100% out of line, but it also seemed like at one point he was intentionally goading Bob into "revealing" himself as a threat to prove John's suspicion.

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I wish people wouldn't fight about this, but I guess that's fandom for you?

I mean, while I think there are differences in what Bob and Wanda did, even in terms of how much they were or weren't responsible for what happened, or how much they were aware of what they did, or if they would have been able to stop it, I don't understand why we would approach the whole situation as "do we have to forgive these guys?"

Like, they both messed up, they both hurt people, but we know in both cases that this isn't what they set out to do. They're both a victim of nobody really knowing how to deal with powers on a level as they have them, which also means, if they want to run away - which Wanda kind of did at the end of Wandavision - nobody can really stop them.

And I think this is a really interesting situation, actually - they both have to create guidelines for themselves, even when their mental health is acting up, or they're grieving or hurt. We have seen that they both try to remove themselves from the equation - Wanda by seemingly sacrificing herself, Bob by refusing to use his powers at all. I'm pretty sure neither of these situations will stick, and how they continue dealing with that, and with the people around them, is what's really interesting to me.

And to return to the actual topic, even though they had different roads to becoming who they now are, they are two sides of the same coin - two messed up people who went through a lot of trauma and had frightening amounts of power thrust upon them. And to try and create a sort of competition about who is the "better" person here really seems pretty reductive.

So Bob accidentally terrorized the largest city in the U.S, and we forgave him because he had a hard life, And Wanda did the same thing on a much smaller scale for the same reason. So we can forgive her too, right? Right?

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#YELENA is the one to check up on people#BUCKY is the one who pretends not to care but sees them as family#WALKER uses being as asshole as a defense mechanism#AVA is all sarcasm and very secretive about her life#BOB is calm and nice bc he knows his other guy isn’t#ALEXEI says he fighting for glory but he also just wants to help people

(Just reblogging with @northpolardog's tags, never mind me.)

and if i said yelena=steve, bucky=nat, walker=tony, ava=clint, bob=bruce, alexei=thor…. what then?

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Yelena and Bob are like a bonded pair of cats that cannot be separated or they’ll have behavioral problems

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GUYS I FIGURED IT OUT

Clint in the vents and that’s his whole personality because he wasn’t fleshed out in the movies → Ava in the walls and that’s her whole personality because she wasn’t fleshed out in the movies

Thor eating poptarts and overusing proper words because English isn’t his first language and he’s the comedic relief → Alexei eating Wheaties and overusing proper words because English isn’t his first language and he’s the comedic relief

Natasha pranking and laughing at everyone from the sidelines because fanon decided she’s just silly like that → Yelena pranking and laughing at everyone from the sidelines because canon decided she’s just silly like that

Bruce being a sweet, soft-spoken, unassuming guy but also the most fucking unhinged monstrosity if you catch him on a bad day → Bob being a sweet, soft-spoken, unassuming guy but also the most fucking unhinged monstrosity if you catch him on a sad day

Steve being handed the de facto title of goody two shoes leader despite being the LAST person on board with this → Bucky being handed the de facto title of goody two shoes leader despite being the last person on board with this

Tony being a big-mouthed asshole that’s secretly haunted by his past mistakes which involved publicly supporting the US military via PR stunts as a weapons manufacturer → John being a big-mouthed asshole that’s secretly haunted by his past mistakes which involved publicly supporting the US military via PR stunts as a weapon himself

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#my faith in the Russos ran out with how they handled Thor in Endgame 😮‍💨#but here’s hoping!!!

I mean, that's absolutely fair, that really wasn't great. *fingers crossed* they'll do better this time.

Ok, but I’ve seen no one talk about the representation of Bob’s manic episode as Sentry. Hear me out.

He describes himself in the movie as having really high highs and really low lows. They never use the word but that’s clearly bipolar he’s describing. A manic episode followed by a depressive one.

The Void is clearly the representation of his depressive episode. Obviously. But I really think that fight as blonde boy Sentry was his mania.

It’s not the typical manic depiction we’re used to seeing, he’s very very calm during that scene. But a lot of times when experiencing mania people describe themselves as feeling indestructible, unstoppable. Bob literally calls himself a god. That’s, that’s mania, babes.

His mental health manifests in his powers. He literally becomes indestructible. He literally becomes nothing, a void.

In addition: In the end credit scene he says he can’t be Sentry without also being The Void. They go hand in hand, just like bipolar. Now, I know nothing about this guy’s comic counterpart, but going off of what the movie has shown us, I’m assuming that if he gets his mental health managed, he’s going to have both power sets. He’s going to have the Superman like powers and the shadow like powers. They’re intermingled.

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In a way being Sentry has the potential of more harm because he wasn’t able to be talked down in that state. (Granted the team didn’t really give Yelena a good chance to try, but still)

Yeah, and from there it continued to build up. He went from just seeming more confident to "I'm a god actually" pretty quickly, and then he was suddenly at aggressive and paranoid, and was choking someone (which, yes, it was Val, and she treated him abominably, but what if Mel hadn't stopped him? Val's a normal human, he could break her like a twig.). Which given his past with that abusive father is pretty alarming and clearly wasn't meant to be something positive.

If he’s going to have a power set in future projects, become a hero, it can’t be with just the Sentry powers/look/persona. It’s gotta be something new - a meeting/melding of the two personas he’s presented. In a way he’s gotta just be Bob.

Yeah, exactly.

I hope they don’t just turn around and make him superpowered good boy as Sentry.

According to Lewis Pullman, the post-credit scene is actually meant to be part of Doomsday (which would definitely fit the Russos' MO), so at least the characterization about both parts going together will be kept for the time being. And after DD/SW, who knows what the situation will look like? I can't imagine they'd ditch the Void entirely, though, and making the Sentry something that also might become too much is simply a pretty good way of keeping his powers from becoming too story-breaking.

Ok, but I’ve seen no one talk about the representation of Bob’s manic episode as Sentry. Hear me out.

He describes himself in the movie as having really high highs and really low lows. They never use the word but that’s clearly bipolar he’s describing. A manic episode followed by a depressive one.

The Void is clearly the representation of his depressive episode. Obviously. But I really think that fight as blonde boy Sentry was his mania.

It’s not the typical manic depiction we’re used to seeing, he’s very very calm during that scene. But a lot of times when experiencing mania people describe themselves as feeling indestructible, unstoppable. Bob literally calls himself a god. That’s, that’s mania, babes.

His mental health manifests in his powers. He literally becomes indestructible. He literally becomes nothing, a void.

In addition: In the end credit scene he says he can’t be Sentry without also being The Void. They go hand in hand, just like bipolar. Now, I know nothing about this guy’s comic counterpart, but going off of what the movie has shown us, I’m assuming that if he gets his mental health managed, he’s going to have both power sets. He’s going to have the Superman like powers and the shadow like powers. They’re intermingled.

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This, definitely. Jake Schreier, the director, said he was inspired by one of his personal friends when it came to fleshing out how Bob's mental issues worked, and from his description, it absolutely sounded like his friend was bipolar.

And it's really interesting to compare this to the comic version, where at least in the original version, you also have the two states as metaphors, but it's more about drug abuse and mental illness as connected issues. Comic Sentry is the good hero Robert wants to be, the one who protects people and saves the world, and the Void is what he fears himself to be, every darkness, every bad thought, and the Void always tries to dismantle the good the Sentry has done.

In the film, it's a bit different, and I think that connects to your analysis of Sentry and Void as the two sides of bipolar disorder, because while the Void is clearly bad news, the Sentry isn't good, either. He's too much, and while at first it feels great to be him, for Bob it still ends up with him crashing and turning into the Void. So I think what the film is saying at least for now is that the best condition is one where Bob can find a balance between these two.

Ok, but I’ve seen no one talk about the representation of Bob’s manic episode as Sentry. Hear me out.

He describes himself in the movie as having really high highs and really low lows. They never use the word but that’s clearly bipolar he’s describing. A manic episode followed by a depressive one.

The Void is clearly the representation of his depressive episode. Obviously. But I really think that fight as blonde boy Sentry was his mania.

It’s not the typical manic depiction we’re used to seeing, he’s very very calm during that scene. But a lot of times when experiencing mania people describe themselves as feeling indestructible, unstoppable. Bob literally calls himself a god. That’s, that’s mania, babes.

His mental health manifests in his powers. He literally becomes indestructible. He literally becomes nothing, a void.

In addition: In the end credit scene he says he can’t be Sentry without also being The Void. They go hand in hand, just like bipolar. Now, I know nothing about this guy’s comic counterpart, but going off of what the movie has shown us, I’m assuming that if he gets his mental health managed, he’s going to have both power sets. He’s going to have the Superman like powers and the shadow like powers. They’re intermingled.

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I love the thought of the new avengers showing up in doomsday with bob in tow and everyone else being like

“who the fuck is that”

“bob”

“why is he here”

“he’s our friend”

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The how and why of Bob's abs in Thunderbolts*

Not the kind of topic I ever imagined addressing, but here we are. Expect some spoilers for Thunderbolts* after the line.

So, I've seen several people wondering how a self-described meth addict might end up with quite a ripped body, and while it is never pointed out in the movie directly, it seems pretty clear to me that Bob has these abs because he got a (presumably highly illegal and very experimental) version of the Super Soldier Serum - yes, the same stuff that gave Steve Rogers his bod. And Bucky. And Walker. And Red Guardian, before he spend 20 years in a gulag. Basically, you get the serum, you get very defined abs. It's the rule.

Much worse for Bob than the abs, though? Steve Rogers couldn't get drunk, so Bob likely can't get high anymore. Definitely healthier, but probably not quite what he signed up for.

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my thoughts on the ending of thunderbolts and the post credit conflict

obviously spoilers below

why are people claiming that the team are under the governments control? did the whole point of the last scene go over everyone’s heads??

yelena saying “we own you” is basically her saying that val has to listen to the team and follow their rules or they’ll expose everything she did. to the public, it probably seems like they’re government controlled (which i expect is why sam is trying to shut them down) but as viewers, we know it’s the other way around

and they didn’t let val “off the hook” or forgive her like people are claiming. they realised that they could blackmail her into providing them with a home and resources to carry on saving people and taking out threats

but they can’t tell sam that bc he’ll want to take val down (which is justified) but if that happens, there’s always a risk that she could take bob down with her. if she told the government what he can do, they’d send him straight to the raft. the team obviously want to save their friend and the best way to do that is publicly playing nice with the gov. what sam and the public don’t know is that the team are controlling everything behind the scenes.

it isn’t some petty drama like so many are making it out to be. it’s a conflict between someone fighting for the greater good (taking down val) and someone fighting for the people who are at risk (bob)

im tired of people hating on sam and bucky. both of them have justified reasons for the stances they are taking. i don’t think there’s a right or wrong in this argument

anyway idk if i’ve explained this exactly right but it’s just my thoughts. obviously we don’t know what happened in those 14 months so there could be more to the story

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With the Thunderbolts being promoted as the New Avengers, I wanted to see where they would "fit" with the original lineup.

Bob/Sentry - Bruce Banner/Hulk: Bob and Bruce share similar backgrounds and similar "uncontrollable" powers, except the other Thunderbolts seem much more sympathetic and understanding to Bob than the Avengers so hopefully he won't be done as dirty as the MCU did Hulk.

Ava/Ghost - Natasha/Black Widow: Despite there being an actual Red Room person on the team, I think Ava fits the technical slot of Black Widow more. She's good at sneaking into and out of places and can usually find a "last minute" escape for her teammates against the odds. She's reliable but, like Natasha in the earlier films, her teammates wondered about her ulterior motives. Like Nat, Ava also has difficult getting close to others, though in this case it's additionally because of her particle instability.

Alexei/Red Guardian - Thor: Both Alexei and Thor reminisce on their past conquests, holding them in high regard. They also feel a strong duty to their homeland. Like Thor, Alexei is the most openly friendly and carries humor similarly to how Thor would in previous films, sometimes at the expense of being tone deaf to his teammates. Thor was also from a different planet, though, so Alexei is slightly more socially aware.

John Walker - Tony Stark/Iron Man: Self-important, concerned with his own image, kind of a nuisance to deal with, but also "the best" at what he's supposed to do. Deals with a lot of personal issues that the other teammates don't realize (unless someone like Bucky reveals them). Often brings up useful information and strategy. Also, based on his turnaround from FatWS to Thunderbolts, he might end up having the most character redemption/transformation out of the group (depending on however long they intend to use these characters, which will hopefully be a good amount of time).

Bucky Barnes - Steve Rogers/Captain America: Bucky and Yelena were the biggest toss-up between Cap and Hawkeye, but I decided that Bucky is still essentially the main strategist and leader of the group. He's the one who got everyone to their location, he's a super-soldier who wants to se his talents to help but gets fed up by bureaucracy, and it's sort of understood in the group that he has his own private life that doesn't really overlap. He's shown along with Yelena to have the most competent leadership during the end credits, and he's the most well known (aside from John Walker) to the in-universe public, so he has the "oldest" reputation to deal with when he interacts with others.

Yelena - Clint Barton/Hawkeye: Yelena is the glue. Her and Bucky are shown as the most active leaders in the end credits, but she's not flashy in the way that Tony Stark was. She's exceptionally skilled and well-rounded in both strategy and fighting, but her strongest asset is being able to communicate with others. Clint was the most "human" of the group, and he helped keep all of his teammates' personalities from blowing up against each other. Every time he left, the Avengers imploded. Clint was also the most willing to offer second chances, and Yelena shares that willingness to risk herself to help someone else. Like Clint, she doesn't always immediately jump to fighting; she tries to reason with others if fighting isn't necessary. She's the most emotionally open; she realizes and begins to prioritize real relationships and a life outside of the job.

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What if you were a METH ADDICT, who came from an ABUSIVE HOUSEHOLD, and then you decided that you wanted to TRY AND BE GOOD (OR/AND FIND NEW DRUGS), so you went to a shady lab in MALAYSIA, and then you kinda DIED, and then you RESUSCITATED with GODLIKE POWERS, and some shady Russian blonde presented you with ADOPTION PAPERS, and saved you from your crushing evil alter ego depression with the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP-

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I wrote that! No, seriously.

Love this tv-trope about Bodies (2023):

Uptight Loves Wild: Alfred Hillinghead, the very picture of a married middle-class Victorian, who is so far in the closet that he could probably find Narnia, falls in love with Henry Ashe, an outspoken, lower class journalist, who is so outrageous by Victorian standards that he doesn't even wear a hat.

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Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac for reasons.

Also, The Highwayman by Loreena McKennitt. Find the connection!

Tagging anyone who wants to play.

ATTENTION

If you see this you are OBLIGATED to reblog w/ the song currently stuck in your head :)