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Fucking hilarious that Bob just unblonded himself after the whole Sentry-Void shebang. his hair was fully bleached and he just went nope dont fuck with that doesnt spark joy adios

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just imagine bob getting kidnapped

Kidnapper, on the phone: I've kidnapped Bob. Bail will be €10000-".

Bucky: Oh no. DON'T HURT HIM. DO YOU HEAR ME??

Kidnapper: I won't hurt Bob if you pay the-

Bucky: Shut the fuck up BOB CAN YOU HEAR ME???? DO NOT HURT HIM!

Kidnapper, now sweating: what

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Thorin: …make the ramps less steep?

Bilbo, scratching out what was originally the most important task: yeah let’s do that

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tower fics are so back baby

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My only Bob thought is that I need some Bob writers to look me in the eyes and say they understand that he is a grown man. He is a whole adult. Because the infantilization of him is absolutely insane work.

It's like they headcanon him as only experiencing a max of 3 basic life experiences. Or he is incapable of existing in life detached from the rest of the team. I'm not even talking about how taking care of yourself is significantly harder when you're depressed. I've read some fics where he's being babysat like a whole 10 year old.

Also, why is it impossible for him to meet/know people outside of the Watchtower? He's not Rapunzel. Why can't he have a partner in fics who is just Normal? I actually think that would be a reprieve for him to have some connection to Normal outside of the team. I get that initially, it may have been a game of watching him to ensure that Sentry (and in turn, the Void) didn't come out again, but after so many months the guy needs some fresh air. He needs to experience the New York subway. Let him meet people outside!

I kinda strayed from my original point but it still stands.

actually thank you for this because this is what I've been thinking but haven't had the guts to say because I feel like it's an endless battle to try and stop people from infantilizing mentally ill characters. I don't know if you're familiar with moon knight but they treated steven grant the same way and it kinda ruined the character for me, as sad as it is.

but to come back to bob specifically, I can only say I totally agree with you, because I've seen some people go "blah blah blah he can only hang outside the watchtower if yelena is with him" ?what the hell? this man went on a wholeass trip to malaysia alone to get more drugs. he's capable. he's not some child or some puppy who can't act on his own. that's kinda crazy. not to mention bob was literally a drug addict for years and I know from my friends experiences that it can put you in some crazy situations. he will be fine casually hanging out in new york

same thing for people saying he's shy?? he has anxiety and he's a bit awkward, okay. but he literally told john he was an asshole within a few hours of meeting him.

as for the part where you talk about him meeting people outside the watchtower, I definitely agree, but honestly I think most people write a thunderbolt self insert or make bob live within the group exclusively because it's just, for plot reasons, easier to be part of the whole landscape.

the very first fic I wrote for him barely mentioned all of this and explored outside of this as the insert was someone "outside", and now that I wrote some more, I can definitely tell you it IS easier to write him as a part of the group, so I will be defending that part, but I totally agree that he shouldn't be treated like some leashed dog that needs to be accompanied whenever he goes out because this is just ridiculous and barely makes sense

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would actually sell my soul for a thunderbolts tv show in the style of avengers assemble. just pure on screen fanfic. it would be perfect. i love them so much.

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Bob is in desperate need of a break but I think we all know Marvel isn’t gonna give him one 🥲

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Yelena: the plan is kind of changing so we're just gonna take you with us...

Bob: am I being kidnapped?

Yelena: no, no, noOO..

Bob: can I leave?

Yelena: No.

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it would be funny as fuck if the yelena/john/ava/bob teamup actually got away from valentina without bob getting shot. events proceed like normal. they meet up with alexei, who is even happier to see that yelena has made not two but THREE new friends. bucky still flips the limo.

of course, when he's interrogating them, he wants to know who bob is. "bob? bob is just a guy we found." "yeah. that's bob." "bob was in the basement." bucky is tearing his hair out. wtf are they hiding.

(they're not hiding anything. bob is literally just this random guy they dragged with them on their escape.)

bucky might actually succeed in dragging them to the impeachment hearing as evidence. congressman barnes gets up to speak. "evidence of valentina's crimes: she hired this assortment of assassins and spies and mercenaries. ex-captain america turned mercenary, john walker. ex-shield spy, ghost. ex-black widow, yelena belova. former soviet super soldier, red guardian."

pauses.

"and bob. he was definitely hired. for. something."

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Yelena: you ever wanna talk about your feelings john?

John: no.

Bob: i do

Yelena: i know bob

Bob: i'm sad

Yelena: i know bob

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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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my very cool and trustworthy summary of the character arcs present in thunderbolts*

yelena: fuucckk dude, maybe life is worth living

bob: fuucckk dude, maybe i'm not all alone in my struggles

ava: fuucckk dude, maybe i do want to rely on and connect with other people

john: fuucckk dude, maybe i'm not a good person and have to actually work to improve myself

bucky: these are MY losers, you can't have them

alexei: oh fuck yes daughter is making friends :) friends are weird but thats okay...daughter is also weird

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I need you to know this is how it went in my head.

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the thunderbolts* as reductress headlines

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Kunt culture hasn't served this hard since The Avengers premiered in 2012