mayebeobsessed

[mayebeobsessed]

I’ve got a “say it’s my favorite” character (because it’s easier) and a “that’s my actual favorite but I cannot articulate to you why they are so perfect without being boring or weird”

ive been so genuinely curious on the most famous thunderbolt so pls answer!! (and if u want yap abt why in the comments)

and maybe repost so it can reach more ppl? :)

[mayebeobsessed]

Sooooo true!!!! Best rebuttal to the “ace/aro can date too” I’ve seen!

Responding to the excuses ppl say when they’re “TOTALLY NOT” erasing Yelena’s aroace sexuality

- So tired of people who are “aro/ace allies” until the moment it costs them something. “We need more representation! I’m here for the aro/ace community!” until you wanna ship Yelena x Kate or Bob x Yelena, then you’re totally chill coming up with excuses like “but mcu is different from the comics…!” and erasing one of the little pieces of aro/ace rep we actually have

- “Just because Yelena is aro/ace in the comics doesn’t mean she’s aro/ace in the MCU! These are different characters!!” If Yelena was gay in the comics and they had her be straight in the MCU, you would understand why erasing minority representation is bad.

- “Aro/aces can still date!” Awesome, true. So I better see those Yelena x character fics depicting what’s like being in a sexual relationship without being sexually attracted to your partner, to show how it feels to desire a romantic relationship when to you, that means something different to typical romance, you had better show Yelena being an aromantic asexual person in a relationship. Or was this just an excuse to write her in an allosexual, alloromantic relationship and then say you aren’t erasing her sexuality?

- “Why do you care so much? Just let it go!” I care so much because it’s 2025 and aro/ace people like myself are still being ignored and mistreated by our own community. Aro/ace people have even less representation than most branches of the queer community, and the blatant erasure of one of the very few pieces of representation we DO have helps no one.

[mayebeobsessed]

The quote is so cool! I haven’t checked out actor interviews stuff but now I’m interested, thanks!

Also I love what you added here. There may be contradictions in my initial post, and some moments in the movie (like the fight in the watchtower) have the team fearing Bob. However based on how the team treats Bob before he’s sentry and after he’s void, they aren’t really worried about if he’s gonna be evil.

Even when he’s sentry they’re commenting about his hair and even after he beats them all up they still find and save him in the void. When Yelena says “we stick together” it’s about the whole team. Yelena ran off and everyone spilt, but in the end they needed to be together to save the world. Yelena couldn’t get out of her rooms on her own, neither could Yelena and Bob, they actually needed everyone to face these problems. It’s not just about keeping an eye on the void. And although the team is definitely worried about Bob after the whole ordeal but none of the characters are “treat him like glass and give in to anything he wants” kinda people. Based on the end credits, Bob is still worried about his powers, but everyone is super chill about it, alexi suggests he uses it and walker entertains the thought. (And the fact he knows sentry and the void are connected makes me think they have tried his powers again in those 14 months). If Bobs powers are inherently connected to his mental disorders, then he could also be referring to the fact that he can’t be sentry without falling into a manic episode and that will lead to a depressive episode.

At the end of the day, void/sentry are metaphors for mental health. I personally interpret it as BPD. When he’s Sentry he’s manic, he’s believes he’s the best and the only opinion that matters is his own. Then the Void represents a depressive episode with suicidal thoughts or ideation (dying to get there is in reference to how much Bob has to go through to get to that point). Void is a danger to Bob and others; his hopelessness is so massive it swallows up whole cities.

In that lens, they’re not worried Bob will be evil, they’re worried he’ll fall into that dark place again. So they wanna be there to pull him out of the darkness, before it gets that bad. If you have a friend with a major mental disorder it doesn’t define them and if you’re constantly afraid they’re going to hurt you then they’re not your friend. You might worry and keep an eye on them after a major episode but that’s not forever. It’s why I don’t think they’re gonna go that route yknow? Robert Reynolds was always a character who’s mental health state matters, so I think it will be interesting to see if he can maintain control and veer away from negative thought in the upcoming secret wars. (Which I think is what Lewis Pullman is referring to, and the keep him in sight is the fact that they don’t want him following/being used by the wrong people to be a weapon of mass destruction [like they were])

Sorry this is so long! Loved your analysis!!!

When bob turns void it’s cause he LITERATELY DIES (both times, medical study and kill switch)

Bob turns sentry after outside forces coax him into that mindset and those actions- AND last he remembers he was just shot several (probably hundred) times.

Bob will not randomly sentry/void. The team does not walk on eggshells around him. He does not threaten sentry/void, they do not cater to the possibility of sentry/void. He is hella resilient and does not void out at a break up or argument (we literately see him be normal in the vault)

They care about him. They love him. They don’t treat him poorly. But he’s not a time bomb, nor a weapon, or a naive child, and certainly is not intentionally evil one wrong word away

[mayebeobsessed]

Pretending in the sense everyone else seems really Bob/john/yelena centric, and I was gonna go along with it but I’ve seen like no one address his clear superiority :p

Alexi was the funniest character in the thunderbolts and I’m tired of pretending otherwise

[mayebeobsessed]

Alexi was the funniest character in the thunderbolts and I’m tired of pretending otherwise

[mayebeobsessed]

Cool! Glad I could help!

Where can I find your fics btw? (Username? Platform?)

If anyone has any John Walker (or other Thunderbolt members) angst of hurt/comfort prompts, hit me up!

I'm obsessed with them, I just need ideas.

[mayebeobsessed]

Bucky has to defend the others to Sam or the press. Maybe he does well and they all are feeling great and connected.

Or maybe he messes it up- talks about them like they’re loose cannons, implies that they’re not a problem because he could control them if he needed.

Maybe he thinks he alone when he talks to Sam, says what Sam wants to hear, just for the team to find out and believe he’s been pretending to be their friend the whole time.

If anyone has any John Walker (or other Thunderbolt members) angst of hurt/comfort prompts, hit me up!

I'm obsessed with them, I just need ideas.

[mayebeobsessed]

There’s a scene from Earths Mightiest Hero’s where Tony is welding armor in a tank top. Who in an avengers team also welds? 👀👀👀

[mayebeobsessed]

Giant, multiversal, space threat descends from the sky: Are you earths mightiest hero’s? Well then, I hope you are worthy opponents.

Thunderbolts:

Thunderbolts: Bob! Hey Bobby boy! Bobbbbb!

Alien threat: wha?-

Thunderbolts: BOB, VOID TIME

Alien threat: who do you scream for in your time of need-

Bob: hey…uh I’m Bob

Alien threat: and do you think you can hold a candle to my cosmic power Bo-

*voided*

Thunderbolts: Yay Bob! Thanks!

[mayebeobsessed]

Normalize people loving each other as friends and not developing more feelings.

Normalize people relying on those who they aren’t romantically involved with or attracted to

Normalize telling people you won’t be or aren’t romantically interested in them

Normalize accepting that someone isn’t attracted to you and still being their friend

Just…be normal, kay?

[mayebeobsessed]

I’m so torn on Mel and Val.

They were great characters but are they gonna be on the team? How is their dynamic with the team? Is Mel songbird? Is Val gonna have a redemption???

[mayebeobsessed]

Yelena is so sorry for everyone in the memories. She’s cradling her child self and crying over her unfortunate victims. The team comes in and she buries her head in Alexi’s shoulder, trying really hard not to cry.

John would attack himself, self hating and refusing to let the others see him vulnerable. John after his first real war battle, having a panic attack and freaking out in his bunk- then the real John grabs himself by the shirt, saying nothing even as the other try to pull him away. (Don’t let them see you like this)

Ava pulls a bob and tries to get away. She sees herself, alone in the orphanage, quietly sitting in a corner, and tries to direct attention away from her younger self. Banging on the walls, cracking jokes, anything so no one has to look back. (If she’s by herself she’ll sit next to the kid. Alone together now)

Bucky is fed up. He’s lived his worst nightmares in recent memory and is the only one of them that’s actually made some progress in overcoming his past, so he’s honestly just annoyed. (Then he sees a shameful memory that’d he forgotten, before the war and hydra, and he’s just staring, too many feelings for him to even comprehend. He doesn’t care who’s here to see it- just glad he can.)

Alexi acts awkward, hangs his head in shame but accepts the memories as they come. If he sees Yelena or Natasha, he just starts apologizing, holding them in his memories and telling them how much he loves them. (If the real yelena is there too he just watches her expressions. He wants to know if she hates him, if she’s disappointed in him.)

Bob acts just like he does in the movie. He feels powerless to stop it, even if he tries it would only get him hurt. He sits there and lets it happen, unless the gang is there. Then they intervene. All of them together is enough to change the scene, to show bob there is hope, he’s not alone anymore.

I’d like shameroom fics to include the “if you interfere we will kill you” vibes they had in the movie. Seeing yelenas younger self, or Anna fighting her when she tried to help them is soooo cool and important actually, and I’d love to see it with other characters. Much angst potential

[mayebeobsessed]

I’d like shameroom fics to include the “if you interfere we will kill you” vibes they had in the movie. Seeing yelenas younger self, or Anna fighting her when she tried to help them is soooo cool and important actually, and I’d love to see it with other characters. Much angst potential

[mayebeobsessed]

Awww John and Ava have matching adoptive parents :)

[john with the Hoskins and Ava with the pyms]

[mayebeobsessed]

Bucky actually begins to like Alexi.

It’s nice to have someone from an older time period, and it’s a little fun to correct his captain America rumors.

It makes him feel cool to teach driving tricks, and pretty much everything he does is cheered on by the big guy.

And his metal arm is pretty great, but man, that Russian is one hell of an arm wrestler.

[mayebeobsessed]

Watched the end credits scene again. GUYS! They all got new hair products!

[mayebeobsessed]

I really hope yelena stays aro in the mcu. Because thunderbolts had her be the most loving and understanding and caring team member, and giving aro rep that present/ the aro character as the most loving, kind and supportive member (and not a nerd or serial killer or a stand offish side character) would be so perfect.