Thunderbolts Sparring

Thunderbolts headcanons:

•Everyone who was in the vault likes to yell cucumber at random times. John is the worst offender. He will do it just to startle Bob. He is *absolutely* trying to bring Sentry out just to fix the shield. Bob has now fallen off the couch multiple times. Yelena has now hit John with his own shield.

•Yelena accidentally switches Bob's name and the guinea pig's name sometimes.

•Bob really likes Taylor Swift's evermore and folklore.

•Kate comes over to hang out, and Yelena points at the cutlery drawer and goes, "See? More forks than people. Like normal humans." Everyone else is very confused by this. Yelena does this every time.

•Everyone keeps making divorce jokes to Bucky about Sam. It doesn't matter that they're not actually a couple. Not one bit.

•If they ever meet, Joaquin and Bob become instant friends. Many jokes are made at their expense(mostly by Sam) about them being two different flavors of Florida man. Joaquin gets them into incredibly stupid situations. Bob panics and calls Yelena.

•Bob has accidentally called Yelena "mom." They both froze.

•Bob will read pretty much anything you put in front of him. He has read everything from classics to cheap romance novels.

•Everyone has called Alexei "dad" at some point. Even Bucky.

•Speaking of, Alexei refers to Yelena, Ava, and Bob as "his gorgeous daughters and his very strong son."

Me being crazy over small things lets go

So we all know about The Gun

but you know what else is similar?

their hair

Yes, several arguments could be made

that's a common hair style for guys

it looked that way before the war too

it's just hair you're over-analyzing way too much!!!(hey, I need to do something)

I can't think of anything else, it's solid /j

First one: Common hairstyle

Yeah, I can't refute that, it's kinda a fact. But you know what? There are So Many Other Hairstyles too! Maybe it's common, but it doesn't seem that common, especially in the movies(don't quote me on that, it's been a while since I've seen them). If he looked at a book and pointed to something random(like I've seen in a few fics), there's a good chance it wouldn't have been that.

Second: It looked that way before the war

No it didn't! Bucky's hair in TFATWS is way more similar to Brock Rumlow's hair than it is to his own in CATFA

Captain America: The First Avenger:

Longer on the sides and top, both are swept to the side and back.

Longest front prices are swept up and to the side, making an arch and curve

Softer, lighter brown, and well taken care of

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier:

Shorter all around

Spikier, messier but still nice

hair in front is swept forward and spiky(very similar to someone else...)

Okay, it's similar, why?

I don't know, lets think

During the depression and during the war Bucky seems to take care of his hair, he makes sure it looks nice.

While he was the Winter Soldier, there was a good chance his hair wasn't cut at all, if it only grew when he was out of cryo that could be it. He didn't have a choice and no one did it for him.

Then he was freed. When he was on the run he obviously didn't care, it was unwashed and long and he didn't take care of it.

But in Wakanda. His hair is nice now, it's washed and wavy and looks like he got ready to see Steve.

But He Didn't Cut It.

Why? I don't know. Hair is said to carry memories, was he too afraid of losing his again that he didn't want to cut his hair? Was it because He wasn't ready to let go of a part of himself like that when he just got himself back? Was it because he knew he looked really good with long hair? I don't know. But he didn't cut it.

Now, TFATWS.

He cut it. He decided that he would make a choice to cut his hair, and he chose That.

Did he remember Rumlow fondly? Is that why he carries a part of him in his hair and his gun? Did he have a vague memory that his hair looked close to that and just went with it? What was he thinking? Did he want to look like Rumlow for a reason or just because?

And Thunderbolts*

his hair is long again

we're back to the Winter Soldier y'all

TLDR: Bucky's hair looks very similar to Rumlow's and I don't know why but it seems like it has some sort of significance because of his past hair choices.

you know I'm normal about this fandom when I start learning Russian to write fics properly

Thunderbolts Family Dynamics

Because they're a family and you can't change my mind.

Bucky: Mom. But also older brother to Yelena, Ava, Bob, and John. Friends with Alexei. Ava and Bob are the youngest siblings, he protects them at all cost. Yelena is the younger sister that can take care of herself and beat him up but he still likes to look after her. John is the brother he makes fun of but still loves. Alexei is trying to co-parent Yelena and it's working somewhat.

John: Older brother to Yelena, Ava, Bob, younger brother to Bucky, some kind of cousin to Alexei kinda deal. Loves the girls, will protect them with his life because they're his little sisters. Bob is the younger brother, he is very protective and loves him, but he also gets quite a bit of the teasing. 100% goes 'you're not my mom' to Bucky, then rebels, then finds out Bucky was right. Is annoyed with Alexei a lot but sees that he's a useful member of the team and respects him(most of the time).

Yelena: Older sister to Bob, best friends with Ava, younger sister to John, daughter of Alexei, little sister of Bucky. Protects Bob with her life because he's just a little guy and she feels responsible. Ava is her go-to person for gossip and all matters of family drama, they make fun of John together, besties forever. John is the annoying older sibling she makes fun of but secretly is very fond of him. Alexei is her dad, like literally. Bucky is the older brother she's very close with because they have similar backgrounds.

Ava: Friend of Yelena, older sister-in-law of Bob, tries to ignore Alexei, little sister of John and Bucky. Gossip bestie/mock John together type of friend with Yelena, they share everyone else's embarrassing secrets. More distant with Bob, but is a friend in law and ends up getting to know him better and caring for him. Thinks Alexei is ridiculous but secretly loves watching him bother Yelena so she has blackmail for later. Bothers Walker non stop sibling like but will protect him. Mocks Bucky for being a mom but does listen to him.

Alexei: Self-proclaimed team dad. No one else thinks so. Father of Yelena and Bob, tries to be father of Ava and John(not working), biggest fangirl of the Winter Soldier. Even if he's a little eccentric he does care for Yelena, and adopted Bob too because he sees how much they love each other. Tries to help Ava and John but he's just a bit much at times. Acts like Bucky is his best comrade and will tell him every story he can think of. Is team morale, but no one wants the morale.

Bob: Younger brother to Yelena, Ava, and John. Son to Bucky and Alexei. Tends to look to Yelena for support and questions, will also look to Ava if Yelena isn't there. Despite bickering and teasing, he has grown closer to John and does see him as a brother(bother) figure. Likes Bucky and Alexei and loves that he has father like figures in his life who care for him and actually want him on their team.

This is how I write/interpret their relationships and these are just some of my thoughts, I would love to hear yours!

Sometimes a family is two recovered brainwashed assassins, a girl who moves through walls, two discount Captain America rejects, and the recovering meth addict they all collectively adopted. And a Guinea pig (not pictured). I love them dearly.

Favorite 4 marvel things in no specific order:

Black Widow

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Thunderbolts*

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier

I love these so much please talk to me about them

Thoughts on Bob's powers in Thunderbolts

(cut because major spoilers and also it's kinda long)

I don't know much about the thunderbolts comics(feel free to correct me), but from what I understand he has the power of reality manipulation(like Wanda, I want to do another post talking about their similarities)(side note: he also had a dog he was really close with in the comics and that wasn't put in the movies??? Marvel give your characters their emotional support animals back)

This means that he can do just about whatever he wants. Anything he wants to do, he can manipulate things around him to do it.

As seen in the fight between the thunderbolts and sentry, talking with Val, and becoming the void, he can do many things, including: change the temperature of objects(boil water, melt Walker's gun), teleportation/super speed, telekinesis, super strength, being indestructible, flying, causing people to relive their memories, some sort of darkness??, telepathy(? I do not know about this one, the only evidence I have is that he was in Yelena's shame room the first time, but there is also evidence that he cannot read people's minds, so I am undecided. This may have to do with what I will talk about next), and there's a good chance that's not all his powers. Like I said, he can probably do whatever he wants to.

But he doesn't seem to do that often, this may be because he doesn't know what he can do before, or he lost his memory afterward, it's hard to tell because we don't see the 14 months to understand better, but I have some theories that may play out in Doomsday.

When can he do this?

I think it has to do with the fact that he's bipolar

(disclaimer, I am not bipolar, I do research for writing purposes but I may be wrong, please correct me if I am)

When he's sentry, that's mania, he feels unstoppable, like a god, like he can do anything. So he does. He is unstoppable, he beats the thunderbolts up and shows off his powers.

But I also think we see another instance of his powers in a mania episode. When he's at the vault.

This may not make much sense at first, hear me out.

In the vault, underground, he says the team is better off if they leave him behind, he doesn't care if he dies and he thinks he's worthless. That's pretty depressive.

But then the team cares for him. Yelena drags him around but makes sure he's alright, she shows that she understands how he feels, they're somewhat similar, and that may be the closest thing to a friend Bob has had.

And then they're driving out, they're being questioned, they're gonna get caught.

And what does Bob do?

Sacrifices himself for them.

He goes out and attracts people's attention to save his friends. This may look like a suicidal depressive thing, because he's pretty sure he's gonna die to save them, and it probably partly is, but I can see mania there.

You can have mixed symptoms, both manic and depressive symptoms at the same time. In this instance he's: making poor decisions on the spur of the moment, looking like he's having quick thoughts and actions, and being very confident in a bad situation. These are all symptoms of mania. But he's also putting himself in a situation where he knows he'll die. Suicidal.

But he looks like he knows what he's doing. He's not scared, he's not agitated, he looks into the guns, and he looks confident. Like he's accepted that he's gonna die and he doesn't care.

And he's not hurt.

Both times he's had a manic episode, he's not able to be hurt. He's confident. In one instance he know's he'll die but he's still confident he's doing it for a good reason, and in the other instance he's absolutely sure that he's gonna win.

So he does.

He feels indestructible, he is indestructible.

Flip side, if he's in a not-quite-the-void-but-still-pretty-depressed situation, I'm pretty sure that he is able to get hurt.

Now, we don't see this in the movie, I can't think of a time where you can see him visibly hurt, but then again, I'm speculating on his powers, so humor me.

If he's depressed, sad, thinks he's worthless and can't do anything, I think his powers will reflect that, he'll lose his powers, not be able to do the same things, and be able to get hurt.

Now the void? I'm not sure. That looks pretty much like a direct embodiment of his depression rather than him feeling depressed. It almost skips right past the ability to get hurt back into the indestructible phase again. It's hard to hurt someone who's hurt so much that they don't care.

But it's weird in a way. When he's in the final shame room, when Bob attacks Void, the void smiles, looks at him confidently, talks like he owns the place, and doesn't get hurt.

Is it mania again? Maybe, I don't have the experience or qualifications to say for sure, but then again, if only just a little bit, it sure looks like it.

So his powers play directly off of how he's feeling at the moment.

Manic? He feels unstoppable? His can do anything, manipulate reality in a way that he'll always win.

Depressed? He feels worthless? His powers aren't there, he gets hurt, and he's just as human as the rest of them.

Again, these are just my thoughts, I may be wrong, you can correct me, we can have a discussion, we can come to an agreement or think our own thoughts. I would love to hear anyone else's takes on this, I think it's really interesting because there are so many ways to think about his powers!

Not Your Little Toy Soldiers

Summary: A rewrite of the end of Thunderbolts*. They're not the New Avengers, they don't work for Val, they don't live in Avengers Tower, they're not mad at Sam, and they're a family who cares for each other. Also they watch Star Wars together.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65367943

Part two because I’m obsessed with them