strawbellyx3

[strawbellyx3]

THUNDERBOLTS* | 2025

[strawbellyx3]

Yelena: Weren't you going to talk to him?

Bucky: I already did.

Yelena: And?

Bucky: It went poorly. He didn't want to cuddle. Didn't even kiss me goodbye this morning just called me an asshole and whoosh flew out the window.

Yelena: W...What?!

[strawbellyx3]

by @m1l3sperh0ur

[strawbellyx3]

with all due respect, you DO know Yelena is in a relationship with a man in a comic run, right? Headcanons are all fine but you're acting like she's 100% representing a sexuality when she simply doesn't.

You can just have your headcanons and not comment on other peoples ship to invalidate their opinions and their headcanons. Crazy concept, right?

Also crazy work, to say in the comments that you'd be like "hm interesting perspective" but your whole response was "I ain't reading all that" when someone DID give their perspective. While apparently deleting all the comments of people asking you to tag correctly. What is your post for if not to provoke shippers for no reason? With mildly questionable to downright stupid (the hair styles) points, mind you.

What you're doing is demeaning other people based on your own headcanons and you gotta be real tone deaf to not notice that.

Good for you to be bi, so am I. But being part of a group does not mean you can't fall victim of internalizing views from others. Those stereotypes are pushed by others and adapting them subconsciously can happen, granted it doesn't mean you are biphobic but the stereotyping remains biphobic. Which is something you need to work through for the comfort of the community. Your takeaway really shouldn't be "I'm bi, fuck off" but maybe reevaluating why you put people into such boxes and whether you should do that at all, fictional or not – because representation is meant to also educate and educating with stereotypes is NOT a good thing you should preach. Did the whole conversations of wanting gay men to not always dress and talk feminine in fiction mean nothing to you or did it go over your head? It's fictional, yeah but it's stereotyping real people and the LGBTQ+ community has always wanted works to represent us better by not pushing stereotypes on a character and calling it a day.

seeing people ship Bob and Yelena together confuses me to the highest degree so:

why “boblena” makes no sense to me: a list

1. yelena and bob have a familial/platonic relationship.

a HUGE part of yelena’s character, especially in thunderbolts, is the loss she’s experienced. that’s why she’s so hesitant to become close to anyone.

her greatest loss? her sister, nat aka black widow.

nat protected yelena from a very young age and yelena feels a lot of guilt for not being able to protect her the same way, as she wasn’t even there when nat died.

so naturally when she meets bob, someone that she sees a lot of herself in, she wants to protect him. not because she’s attracted to him or in love with him, but because she’s trying to make up for past regrets by protecting someone the way she wishes she could have protected her sister. emphasis on SISTER.

2. yelena is not attracted to men.

if the haircut and eyeliner weren’t evidence enough, florence pugh herself makes jokes about this, a specific example being when she said in an interview that she would want to go to a gay bar with yelena.

she is the definition of a masc lesbian. i can’t even imagine her kissing a man in my head.

3. they have the same damn haircut like cmon man

—

if none of these points appeal to you then i would love to hear the other side of the story because i just genuinely don’t understand where it even comes from

[strawbellyx3]

*taps the sign*

I don't even ship them because I don't need Yelena in a relationship at all *gulps and looks at the wreckage of mcu ships* but did you know you can just..enjoy your ships and leave others to their ships? Got me defending them out of spite but you guys are making it real hard for me not to do that when your arguments consist of:

1. stereotyping sexualities based on appearances* and

2. the idea of grown adults developing a sibling bond in only 2 days (they're friends!! But saying that doesn't make the ship look nearly as problematic as the sibling narrative)

The "they're like siblings" take is as old as fandom culture goes and I'm too old for this to have any shits left to give about your wannabe groundbreaking ship demolishing argument.

and the hair style argument..I don't even want to elaborate on.

*+ the sheer biphobia laced into all this. Like wearing blue eyeliner, piercings and having a slicked back wolfcut are so gay tm but bisexuals cannot look gay tm. They HAVE to look like a straight person aesthetically because otherwise they would confuse and bait those who don't swing both ways. Seriously, what kind of stereotypes are we pushing here..

seeing people ship Bob and Yelena together confuses me to the highest degree so:

why “boblena” makes no sense to me: a list

1. yelena and bob have a familial/platonic relationship.

a HUGE part of yelena’s character, especially in thunderbolts, is the loss she’s experienced. that’s why she’s so hesitant to become close to anyone.

her greatest loss? her sister, nat aka black widow.

nat protected yelena from a very young age and yelena feels a lot of guilt for not being able to protect her the same way, as she wasn’t even there when nat died.

so naturally when she meets bob, someone that she sees a lot of herself in, she wants to protect him. not because she’s attracted to him or in love with him, but because she’s trying to make up for past regrets by protecting someone the way she wishes she could have protected her sister. emphasis on SISTER.

2. yelena is not attracted to men.

if the haircut and eyeliner weren’t evidence enough, florence pugh herself makes jokes about this, a specific example being when she said in an interview that she would want to go to a gay bar with yelena.

she is the definition of a masc lesbian. i can’t even imagine her kissing a man in my head.

3. they have the same damn haircut like cmon man

—

if none of these points appeal to you then i would love to hear the other side of the story because i just genuinely don’t understand where it even comes from

[strawbellyx3]

Incorrect Thunderbolts* quotes (we're so back)

Bucky: Why are you smiling?

Yelena: Why? I can't just be happy?

Ava: Walker tripped and fell in the parking lot.

________________________

Yelena: Could you guys at least try to see it from my perspective?

Ava: *crouches down*

Bucky: *kneels down*

Alexei: *sits on the floor*

Yelena:

Yelena: I hate all of you

________________________

John: How did none of you hear what I just said?!

Bob: I've been zoned out for the past two and a half hours.

Yelena: I got distracted halfway through.

Ava: Ignoring you was a conscious decision.

________________________

Bucky, teaching Bob to drive: Okay, you're driving and Walker and Yelena walk onto the road. Quick, what do you hit?

Bob: Oh, definitely Walker. I could never hurt Yelena.

Bucky, massaging his temples: The brakes. You hit the brakes.

________________________

Sentry: I learned some very valuable lessons from this.

Valentina: I’m guessing they are all horrible distortions on the lessons you actually should’ve taken away.

Sentry: Death isn’t real, and I’m basically God.

________________________

Yelena: Bob, stop! This isn't you, you've gone mad with power!

Sentry: Well of course I have.

Sentry: Have you ever tried going mad without power?

Sentry: It's boring.

[strawbellyx3]

kind of in my losing chess to a dog era

[strawbellyx3]

thunderbolts* spoilers lol

[strawbellyx3]

some of yall are trying way too hard to see Bob and Yelena as siblings. They're both like in their mid 30s and if you think that's an age where someone (a full on adult) develops a sibling bond within like 70 hours I'm gonna need to hold your hand.

[strawbellyx3]

Hi, I’m a girl and I love apothecary diaries and many aspects tick what I like. But unfortunately I find a very huge obstacle in my way, which is why this is a huge rant with lots of words. The obstacle being the setting women in. Does it get better in the novels and manga? I find myself more relaxed when the subjects aren’t in the setting including forced sex workers, hostage concubines, the constant reminder that women are beyond powerless and how it’s all in a rom-com setting as well. Iam able to watch typically triggering stuff without being triggered when the story very clearly indicates we see it as a bad thing. Like law and order SVU, the handmaiden tale and so on. But in this story it’s like a slice-of-life mixed with a setting we’re all women are limited awful fates by the system.

I’ve even seen redditors say they love how even though misogyny is so rampart in the world building, it’s accepted by the characters and there aren’t any man-hating women there. Like they all accept their place as women in that society without rebellion and move on with their jokes and story. Some even saying they loved how maomao put the biggest blame on her mother when that origin situation with her dad occurred, that they hold women accountable in a setting that gives and I quote “awful bunch of sandwiches to choose from”

It’s really upsetting to me because while I could tell the complex female characters were written by a woman before knowing who the author was, I’m overthinking her going about this things.

It’s goes female character A is a woman in one the multiple bad situations they are forced to be put up with > she is attractive and voluptuous or/ and smiling and appropriately submissive to the situation (doesn’t dare to object it, or tries to finess it in a way appropriate for the system)> a mini monalog from Maomao/or the character herself about this is it to navigate this life as a woman there > a light-hearted joke the next minute and so on (I’ve seen the theme with princess fuyo, maomaos mother, the emperors fav consort and so on) it almost works to normalize it and I feel like male viewers find it comforting in that sense. a lot of the male fanbase mentions this being the favorite part of the story, the repressive regime that women have to navigate without making them uncomfortabl.

To the extent where some confidently say this shows target audience is men. That’s it’s set in an unfair world for women but they are sort of submissive about it and it has the fanservice to keep them intrigued

Do you see what I’m getting at? I’m not saying why aren’t the female characters miserable 24/7. The difference between this piece of media compared to others that have female characters in this setting is that it almost works to normalize it, while the others have a clear indicator that it is wrong, it clearly displays the darkness and unsettling environment the women are facing, it’s why a lot of men don’t venture into those pieces of media, because it makes them uncomfortable. While TAD is the total opposite, it has all the same elements of the oppressed women setting, but the oppressed women never dare display a hint of resentment towards men, They can never show a strong resentment to the system. They are appropriately over-proportioned female characters submissive to the system and the submissively try to navigate the system while smiling and acceptance and a hint of fanservice.

I am ranting because I’ve seen multiple blogs say how the shows is for the girls and true maomao is one the utter best female characters ever written, but the setting dims anytime she shines a light :(

I agree with what you're saying and no it doesn't really get better in a general sense. It's just a series that doesn't focus on that (even though it could totally do that because of this setting), it's more being historically accurate to how hard it was to be a woman at the time. It's also a seinen, so targeted towards men so I'm not really surprised.

I think people say it's for the girlies because of how it reflects modern problems in itself and well – Maomao. She's a strong woman who doesn't need a man and is an independent capable woman. When it comes to great worldbuilding, TAD isn't exactly my go-to choice because the series is pretty narrow in what it wants to tell; mystery stories. There's of course inconvenient things shown like women not being allowed to be doctors (and the characters finding a solutions to bypass it) but the characters aren't driven by feminist motivations. The narrative just lets us see and digest the oppression and wrongdoings ourselves (Like the 9 years old getting r*ped, which is intentionally framed as bad, no question) or Ah-Duo who always feeling trapped by the Emperor who can't let her go because of his one sided love.

I'm a bit 50/50 on it, I don't hate that it doesn't focus on feminist messages but I also wonder how it would be if it did it a tad bit more.

[strawbellyx3]

Do you write?

no I do not, I'm not good in making up stories, I rather read (and analyse) them

[strawbellyx3]

[strawbellyx3]

heavy on maiko (they're so misunderstood) and sasusaku. Sakura is a badass but she's often just a silly weird girl when she's with her man and that's fine. She's Sasuke's spring sunlight.

Literally one of the worst trope's for alt male characters is 'His canon type is weirdgirls but in fanon he's always made to like girls who try to control him'.What're they doing to our autistic kings💔💔💔💔💔

[strawbellyx3]

This is random and I don't know how to explain it but Kishimoto making Sasuke a girldad was actually perfect, I couldn't see it any other way. Does anyone else feel this way?😂

[strawbellyx3]

Hi! Not sure if you've answered this before because I come from the tags, but do you happen to know (or estimate) how far are we in the manga from the scene where jinshi and maomao almost sleep together? If it's much then I might have to search for the LN but I rather see it in the manga. Thanks!

I can't say for sure but it would be long..at least for the Nekokurage manga (which is the one that gets english translations). The manga has been running for almost 7 years now and is in the middle of volume 3 of the novel. The scene you're waiting for happens in volume 13 of the light novel so..yea it would take really long to get there with the current pacing and monthly release schedule.

[strawbellyx3]

Just thought about this scene again, it's so cute how Sarada teases Sasuke lol

They totally kissed earlier that day because how would he fall for it otherwise😂

[strawbellyx3]

Naruto Shippuden E470 :: Sakura + Sasuke