#kang nebula

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #297: FUTURES IMPERFECT!

November, 1988

The CLASH That WRECKED The Avengers!

Seems to be wrecking Nebula instead.

Which. I’m pretty okay with.

Not sure when she changed back into the Kang outfit. Or why she changed back into the Kang outfit.

Eh.

So last times in East Coast Avengers: Dr Druid manipulated and connived and undermined and election frauded his way to chairmanship of the Avengers. Due to ominous sex dreams, he was convinced that a great calamity was coming and only the Avengers could stop it and only he could get the team in shape to stop it. Because Captain Marvel was too soft with her -checks notes- not wanting to kill people if it could be avoided.

Then it turns out that the ominous sex dream lady was actually Nebula Kang, manipulating Dr Druid’s sense of self-importance so she could get control over the Avengers. With Dr Druid under her thumb and the Avengers under Dr Druid’s thumb, she plans to go to the Bubble at the Heart of Time to get some super-duper-uber weapon to overshadow all other weapons and. Just be the boss of everything, I guess.

The Kangs of the Kang Klubhouse belatedly realize that Nebula infiltrated them and stole all their technology. A team of three Kangs, one of which is named Fred, try to stop her but arrive too late.

Nebula and the Avengers took off in an FTL-enabled Quinjet and after a lot of timebulance, arrive at the Bubble at the Heart of Time.

Which sure is a big, red bubble-shaped thing.

Nebula announces that the Best Weapon will be hers!

Thor asks what the best weapon even is but Nebula says he’s on a need-to-know basis.

She-Hulk: “You don’t know, do you? You actually don’t know what the weapon is!”

Nebula Kang: “Shut up, She-Hulk! I’ll thank you to speak only when you’re spoken to!”

Hah.

I love that She-Hulk’s sass is so strong that even under mind-control, she’s tossing barbs at her boss.

Nebula implicitly admits that she doesn’t actually know by saying that the Council of Cross-Time Kangs want it and that’s a good enough reason for her.

Also, then thousands of Quinjets show up.

The Quinjets are indistinct “phantoms of light!”

Team Nebula can’t even tell who is in the cockpits of the other Quinjets. But they’re all racing in the same direction and some of them are getting ahead of Team Nebula.

Nebula Kang speculates that their presence is generating probability shadows. Or something.

She then also gets paranoid that they’re not shadows, they’re other Avengers teams from other timelines who might get to the prize first!

So she tells Black Knight to get out on the bow of the craft and swing the Ebony Blade at any Quinjet that gets in their way. And for Thor to get out there too and make the Quinjet go faster with his hammer, somehow.

It’s cool though. Black Knight says that his helmet, the one with a big opening for his lower face, protects him from the icy vacuum of space. Well, also his state of being super cursed.

Team Nebula’s Quinjet passes “a great metropolis of the future!” for exactly one panel before the city disappears.

Marvel wiki says this city never shows up again. It is entirely pointless. Or a point that Simonson never got around to.

Anyway, Black Knight claims they’ve broken through the outer shell of the bubble. Now they’re passing over weird landscapes and other cities. Since they’ve broken through, Nebula Kang orders Black Knight and Thor back inside the Quinjet.

Meanwhile?, back at Hydrobase, the three Kangs complain about arriving too late to stop Nebula Kang.

Then they realize that they’re all time travelers, duh.

Like. Duh.

They just hop back ten minutes before the Quinjet left.

Before the Quinjet leaves, the three Kangs sneak up to the Quinjet and attach themselves to the underside of the wing.

This is some goofy shit for Kangs to do.

I kind of love it.

Anyway.

Back at the Avengers’ present time.

Nebula Kang notices that they’re consuming fuel faster than they should be. Also, the weird, wacky settings they keep flying through? Just more phantoms. Or maybe their Quinjet is a phantom to the settings inside the bubble?

They just fly through the weird cityscape. Literally through. And then the city dissolves and the Quinjet hits more time turbulence.

Mesozoic Kang loses his grip on the Quinjet, flies off into the time turbulence, and ceases to exist.

Aw, Mesozoic Kang you waste of a character, we barely knew you. We only knew your name and that you were a fighty boy, basically.

Inside the Quinjet, Nebula realizes that they haven’t actually penetrated the bubble. They just keep skating around its surface. Except with more time words like flux and local time track.

What she thinks the problem is, is that only the Avengers can get into the bubble and she’s not an Avenger!

She orders Dr Druid to nominate her to the team and for everyone else to vote her in.

Aw, dammit, does that mean Nebula Kang needs to be included in lists now?

Hm. Marvel wiki does list her as joining the team in this issue.

Dammit.

Just to be sure that this Avengers roster of Dr Druid, Nebula Kang, Thor, She-Hulk, and Black Knight is the right Avengers roster to penetrate the bubble, she has Dr Druid precognitively scan each one to see if he sees a future of them getting into the bubble.

Sure, that makes sense!

Hrrg. This idea that the right combination of Avengers is like a combination lock is annoying me. The idea that the Kangs presented is that it was more that an Avengers team would eventually get in but I guess Nebula Kang is just a big dumbass who heard it the wrong way.

Anyway, after a scan, Dr Druid declares that Thor is very definitely one of the correct people. Which corresponds with what the Kangs have said.

She-Hulk gets a maybe. Dr Druid’s precognition senses a woman will be in the group but he can’t say for sure its She-Hulk.

Annnd Black Knight’s future scan just shows a void.

Ah ha, clearly, he’s not supposed to be here!

Nebula Kang orders Black Knight to jump out of the Quinjet.

He’s mind-controlled so he’s perfectly happy to do it. But he can’t actually do it because of the muscle stiffness caused by the super curse afflicting him.

Nebula Kang loses patience and tells She-Hulk to throw Black Knight overboard.

Black Knight: “Thank you, Jennifer. Sorry I was unequal to the effort.”

She-Hulk: “No problem, Dane. Good-bye.”

Snrrk.

Its probably horrifying that this level of mind-control also forces you to thank someone for killing you. But its so casual that I have to laugh.

The two Kangs stowing away on the underside of the ship panic when Black Knight gets ejected. Because he might be one of the Avengers that’s going to get into the time bubble. Dr Druid’s precognitive scanning is very likely to be unreliable!

So Beard Kang catches Black Knight with a tractor beam. The Avenger has passed out from the stress but is safe from flying off into nothing.

Beard Kang also deduces that Nebula Kang is doomed to fail in this attempt. If for no other reason than the two Kangs hanging out will passively negate her efforts to force her way into the bubble with some random Avengers.

But even so, Beard Kang decides the Kangs need to act before Nebula Kang and her stubbornness destroys the Quinjet and everyone aboard, attached to the outside, and floating like twenty feet behind the ship.

Fred Kang has been spending this time decrypting the mindbenders attached to the Avengers. He’s not finished but he can at least overload the mindbenders attached to Thor and hope he survives the attempt.

(Given that Thor is the One Dude they know for sure is predestined to penetrate the bubble, its a big gamble to use him as the guinea pig, holy shit.)

Thor doesn’t seem to regain his right mind. He’s not talking at all. But overloading the mindbenders drives him in a rage and he’s not taking orders anymore.

He tries to SMASH Nebula Kang. She dodges out of the way and orders She-Hulk to grab him.

She-Hulk can’t hold him for long because he’s truly gone berserk. So Nebula Kang decides, fuck it, she’ll just kill Thor rather than risk dealing with a Thor she can’t control.

And the Kang-armor she’s wearing has enough power to do it.

Which is probably why she put it on between issues. Good to know. Or speculate.

Fred Kang decides he’s gotta stop her (because of Thor being The One Guy they know for sure penetrates the bubble). So while Beard Kang keeps working on deactivating the mindbender on Black Knight.

So Fred climbs up on the wing so Nebula Kang can see him, drawing her attention from Thor.

And the analysis on She-Hulk’s mindbender completes so he also deactivates it.

She-Hulk is very put out.

She-Hulk: “My thoughts! I’m free again! Oh, my god, woman! What have you done to me? And with this little thing! You’ve made me kill Dane! You’ve used me like garbage! I swear I’ll kill you if its the last thing I do!”

Panicked, Nebula Kang steers into the time turbulence, to disorient She-Hulk.

Nebula Kang probably wasn’t thinking about this with a She-Hulk staring her in the face but the turbulence also knocks the two remaining Kangs off the Quinjet.

Before they disappear, one of the Kangs zkeeek!s Black Knight’s mindbender at the last moment.

Black Knight has his own mind again and regains consciousness just in time to realize ‘oh shit!’

Without Kangs here, the tractor beam starts weakening. So he increases the power of his exoskeleton and climbs back toward the Quinjet.

Can’t say I know what he’s climbing though. The beam?

The turbulence hasn’t cooled She-Hulk’s temper and she tries to go after Nebula Kang.

Apparently, the mindbender overload that put Thor in an indiscriminate fury has worn off and he’s back to being Nebula Kang’s muscle. She orders Thor to protect her and he intercepts She-Hulk.

Thor: “Desist, Jennifer, and I will slay thee as gently as possible!”

She-Hulk: “I can’t say the same, Goldilocks! In fact, now that you mention it, I can see I had the wrong idea! I’m putting you out of your misery here and now, Thor! And this last punch ought to do it!”

And She-Hulk whallops Thor and knocks his head through the cockpit window.

Wow, good thing there’s no vacuum out there, I guess?

Thor: “Uhhh! Jennifer, enough! I am myself again! Thou hast shattered the electronic demons which held me fettered! And though I have a headache that even mortal wonder drugs could not cure... I have never felt so alive, so ready to fight in all my days!”

Nebula Kang scrapes the bottom of the barrel and commands Dr Druid to protect her.

Dr Druid versus She-Hulk and Thor goes as you’d think.

Enjoy the concussion, dick.

(There is something very funny about Dr Druid declaring his superior mind and then just using a tackle.)

Black Knight finishes climbing up an energy beam?? and climbs back inside the Quinjet. Easy since there’s now a giant hole in the window.

Since nobody is actually piloting the thing, he grabs the controls and steers away from the time bubble.

She-Hulk is thrilled to see she didn’t toss him out to his death after all and Black Knight asks that maybe they stop breaking the ship, please?

She-Hulk, to Nebula: “There’s only one thing here I’m going to destroy! When we’re done, honey, they aren’t going to be able to pick you up with a sieve!”

She-Hulk starts tearing apart Nebula Kang’s Kang outfit. To Nebula Kang’s shock, since the Kang armor is “designed to withstand the fury of cosmic storms!”

She-Hulk: “Maybe you better sue the manufacturer!”

Hah!

Nebula Kang doesn’t really have a lot of ground to complain since she did steal this equipment.

She-Hulk gets ready to punch Nebula Kang, despite Thor protesting that’d kill her, but Nebula Kang wiggles loose.

Nebula Kang: “All right, Avengers! You’ve had your chance! Maybe I should have killed you all in the first place... But it’s still not too late for that end! When you’re dead, the Kangs will never be able to retrieve the great weapon either! I’ve got enough reserve power to teleport out of here! The energy unleashed will fry this entire cockpit... and all of you with it!”

Except when she activates the teleport, all it does is electrocute her, because of the damage to the armor.

Hah and I say hah.

Thor uses his hammer to absorb the energy coming off Nebula Kang, to prevent damage to the Quinjet controls.

Black Knight finally manages to steer away from the time bubble. On their way out, they spot another illusory Quinjet headed towards the bubble with Thor and She-Hulk in the cockpit.

There’s in fact, a lot of illusory Quinjets still heading toward the bubble. One of the Quinjets flies toward the bubble which opens before it.

Guess those’re the guys that get to learn what all this nonsense is about.

BUT APPARENTLY the bubble opening up creates suction and the suction sucks Nebula Kang right out of the hole in the cockpit window. And Dr Druid? Why, he tries to grab her and gets sucked out too.

The love the dull expressions on the Avengers as teammate and chairman Dr Druid gets sucked into a time hole.

They’re like “Eh.”

They’re maybe too charitable to think “and nothing of value was lost” but I’ll do it for them.

And I can finally say Dr Druid isn’t here and for good reason.

Thor tells Black Knight to take them home.

Black Knight: “With pleasure, Thor. There is nothing more to be done here.”

But secretly She-Hulk is thinking that she wished she had killed Nebula Kang, because this whole terrible day cost Jen everything, even her self-respect. “After this, nothing will ever be the same again.”

And so they go home. BWRAM!ing on their FTL Quinjet. Back to Hydrobase.

And there’s only two pages left so everything happens really quickly.

When they arrive, Jarvis (hi Jarvis!) asks what happened to Dr Druid. Thor simply replies that Dr Druid won’t be coming back. And when Jarvis asks about the mysterious lady he sorta but doesn’t really remember, Thor tells him less said the better.

Thor pulls off Jarvis’ mindbender, since its apparently deactivated now that Nebula Kang is gone. Or now that she fell into a time hole and doesn’t exist? Or whatever?

Whatever.

Anyway, She-Hulk suddenly announces that she’s quitting the team.

She-Hulk: “She made me do horrible things! Things that were partly from inside my own soul. I’m not sure how I can live with that. I need time to think, time to heal, time to be alone. I... I just can’t bear to see either of you looking at me now.”

Instead of trying to talk her out of it, Thor is just like ‘alright, bye.’

IN FAIRNESS, he does tell her that nothing he’s not holding anything against her from when Nebula Kang was controlling their brains but Jen’s not hearing it.

This is all very sudden! Like, yeah, She-Hulk has that thought bubble where she’s thinking how she lost her self-respect or whatever but still!

And with Dr Druid gone (finally) and She-Hulk quitting, the Avengers is down to just Thor and Black Knight.

Except not.

Thor decides that he’s going to do some Asgard stuff and Black Knight is going with him because of a conversation they apparently had in Thor #396.

Jarvis: “But... what of the Avengers, Master Thor?”

Thor: “They were a team... and now the team is gone, loyal friend.”

Hey, fuck you.

Okay, so. This is also sudden. Apparently, Thor tried contacting the reserve members off-panel and nobody is available. And he doesn’t have time to bother training newbies.

Thor: “I have notified the West Coast Avengers of our dissolution. If any can be spared, perhaps... who can say? And there are other heroes still. But to me, the Avengers stood foremost in honor and in courage. Their glory and tradition shall not tarnish with age. Farewell.”

I think someone should just tell the West Coast Avengers that they’re the Avengers now. And if the New York... uh, Hydrobase team reforms, they have to go by the East Coast Avengers.

This is so stupid.

They JUST set up an expensive new base and Thor is like ‘eh.’

“Eh” is for Dr Druid dying, not for disbanding the Avengers!

I should also add that this makes Jarvis unemployed and he just got out of the hospital to start doing his job again.

What a bummer.

Jarvis locks up and leaves, missing the incoming big crossover alarm.

Obviously, the Avengers book isn’t ending here.

The Worst Roster is upcoming in only a few issues. There’s an Inferno tie-in. There’s so much going on.

But I don’t have to like how we got here.

This story didn’t have to be bad. Well-meaning but self-aggrandizing jackass weasels his way to the leadership of the Avengers and is actually under the thumb of a supervillain is not a bad concept.

Its actually a good one!

Simonson blows it in, like, one issue.

The Avengers don’t even get a regular story with Dr Druid as their leader before he’s trying to kill people for being too ornery to control.

And then it turns out that Nebula Kang just has better mind control tech. So she didn’t even need to try to use a robot dinosaur to kill Thor.

I think this would have been better if there had been a couple stories with Dr Druid being a terrible leader but where She-Hulk and Black Knight (under his influence) insist he’s doing a great job to Thor’s increasing frustration.

But this story can’t actually be told well because Simonson wants to clear the deck for a new roster all his own. He inherited the Captain Marvel, Namor, Marrina, Black Knight, Dr Druid, Thor, She-Hulk team from Stern. And getting rid of Monica was clearly editorial influence. But Simonson also doesn’t seem to want to build on what Stern had been doing, he wants to write the Worst Roster.

I’m maybe being unfair.

But this story arc has been a drag.

This whole stupid time bubble story that isn’t even a story, its to foreshadow another future time bubble story Simonson wants to write, making its early appearance pointless except to get rid of characters he doesn’t want to write.

Nebula Kang forces the Avengers to go to some time bubble. Some Kangs hang onto the outside of a Quinjet and fall off (admittedly funny). The Avengers wrassle with Nebula Kang inside a Quinjet. Dr Druid dies. Then the Avengers go home and dissolve the team.

There are graceful ways to nudge a book towards what you want to be writing but this wasn’t it.

And I know there’s a lot more editorial pressure hitting the writers in this era and I don’t know how much of that was at play.

But so far? Simonson is not a good Avengers writer.

His run isn’t over. I’ll give the Worst Roster a fair shake.

Things that seem dumb conceptually can often be awesome. See, for example, Frog Thor, from good Thor writer Simonson.

There’s another East Coast Avengers issue next week because I have to sync the books up for Evolutionary War. A post that will probably kill me because the event crosses eleven annuals. I’ll only be giving a lot of focus to Avengers and West Coast Avengers but I’ll have to at least skim the other annuals since they all (supposedly) tell one story.

Ugh.

At least Dr Druid is dead forever.

That cheers me up.

Follow @essential-avengers​ because Dr Druid is dead forever. Like and reblog because Dr Druid is dead forever. Have any comments about Dr Druid and him being dead forever? I want to hear them!

[justdealingwithsomeissues]

Nebula has been drawn differently in literally every one of the appearances of this arc so far... now she is suddenly a blonde in body armor? Also, Druid continues to be a complete chump...

[4myrx]

OC BIOGRAPHY: Free Wings

[ Lookism Masterlist ]

LEADER

Yugyeom

STATUS

Active

AFFILIATIONS

Mainly Workers, though their true loyalty lies with Yugyeom.

HISTORY

Free Wings first started when Yugyeom helped Nam Donggeun protect his wife and infant son from a gang, who intended to kill them due to Donggeun being a whistle-blower. Donggeun left the gang soon after the incident and became loyal to Yugyeom instead.

Yugyeom hadn't given him a second glance, merely smiling before leaving after he was sure Donggeun's family would be safe. The next time he came back to the city Donggeun lived in, there was a new gang called 'Free Wings'.

The first person to welcome Yugyeom into the city was none other than Donggeun, who was very bright and friendly with his new boss. Yugyeom didn't acknowledge them at first, only being polite whenever he came across them, but he didn't expect it to grow as quickly as it did.

The man Donggeun must've been an expert at this, Yugyeom had thought. Why not, after all.

Yugyeom soon chose to acknowledge their existence and step up as their leader. When the gang grew larger than he thought, he build a ranking system to help him manage easier. A talk with his brother, the chairman of Workers, has led to them having their own jackets and salaries for the executives.

ORGANIZATION

Free Wings is a surprisingly large group that had spread all over the country. They do not have any ranks aside from Yugyeom as their leader, four executives, deputies, and managers. Their goal is unclear aside from awaiting Yugyeom's or the higher rank's orders. While they wait, they either 'clean up trash' by acting as vigilantes or run their own business, as long as it's legal.

The executives look over the entire group in the leader's place. They report to the leader by the end of the week, receive reports from deputies, and get orders from Yugyeom every once in a while.

Each city or town has at least one group consisting of at least 4 members with a 'manager' leading said group. They would report to their respective deputies, who are higher ranked than them. Deputies are appointed a city or two and would look over their city's group(s), reporting to the executives by the end of the week.

Overall, they're free to do whatever they like, excluding anything against the law. Should they be caught doing anything illegal, the manager in charge of the group would have to step in.

Should it be a higher rank breaking the rules, an executive or Yugyeom would personally handle it. Only if the offender is a lost cause they will be kicked out. Oftentimes, they try to fix the situation.

MEMBERS

LEADER: Yugyeom

EXECUTIVES: Nam Donggeun, Lotus, Kang Yeoreum, Kimura Aoki

DEPUTY

MANAGER

GRUNTS (Normal Members)

TRIVIA

Since they're affiliated with Workers, and the fact that they're Yugyeom's gang, only the executives are paid handsomely.

Deputies, managers, and normal members can earn money by running their own business. Sometimes, Yugyeom or the executives will hand them a mission.

The best way to make lots of cash is by directly asking Yugyeom for a mission. No matter what it is, he's known to pay a lot compared to the executives. Due to this, you'll never fail to see an entourage following Yugyeom wherever he goes.

Most of the members were former criminals, thugs, or people in need that had met Yugyeom and were given a second chance at a better life, thus their intense loyalty to him.

Aside from their uniforms, they also have a badge similar to Workers in the shape of a wing. Members would carry it around or wear it whenever their uniforms are off.

There was a time when Yugyeom would actively promote his gang everywhere he travelled... until his gang eventually grew too big. It didn't really cross his mind that his gang would be all over the country when he first started.

[sebeth]

She Means To Kill Him And We Cannot Let Thor Die!

[the-star-rigel]

You’ll never recover from that kind of devotion.

Jason Grace: on family and the lack thereof, wolves that really are dogs, remembering and healing and the sudden inevitability of being remembered.

I Bet on Losing Dogs, Mitski / War of the Foxes, Richard Siken / You’re on Your Own, Kid, Taylor Swift / Trees II, McCafferty / Mowgli Taken in by the Wolves, 1937 / Space Dog, Alan Shapiro / Moon Song, Phoebe Bridgers / A Hymn to Childhood, Li-Young Lee / Susan Smith, wych elm / The Blood of Olympus, Rick Riordan / Saint Bernard, Lincoln / Lupa Capitolina in Ludus, Romania / The Odyssey, Homer (trans. by Emily Wilson) / quadruple dog art by @mxmorggo on Instagram / Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami / The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan / House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski / Vulnerability, @/kazerad / Euripides, Elektra / Jason seizing the Golden Fleece, Charles Natoire / Thalia (Grace) / I can’t find the source… / My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult / Seam, Tarfia Faizullah / In the Blood, John Mayer / The Vintage Book of African American Poetry, Michael S. Harper, Anthony Walton / Memento Mori, Crywank / And My Father’s Love Was Nothing Next To God’s Will, Amatullah Bourdon / Family Line, Conan Gray / Franz Kafka’s letters to his father / Kronos/Saturn, Peter Paul Rubens / Wolf and pup / American Teenager, Ethel Cain / LET YOUR FATHER DIE ENERGY DRINK, Daniel Lavery and Cecilia Corrigan / Scott Street, Phoebe Bridgers / Tumblr, @/inanotherunivrse / Tomatoes, Shane Koyczan / Pinterest / Tumblr, @/heavensghost / Tumblr, @/tagdevilish / through sickness and in health… by Angelina Hajducky on Instagram / Jason (given name), Wikipedia / Human Acts, Han Kang / The gas pillar in the Carina Nebula, NASA / Tumblr, @/roach-works / Not Strong Enough, boygenius / Grit, silas denver melvin / Herakles, Euripides (trans. by Anne Carson) / Pelias sending forth Jason, 1880 / The Audre Lorde Questionnaire to Oneself, Brianna Albers / The Mark of Athena, Rick Riordan / Wolf in White Van, John Darnielle / The Oresteia, Aeschylus / Tumblr, @/orpheuslament / Anecdote of the Pig, Tory Adkisson / The Burning Maze, Rick Riordan / I Bet on Losing Dogs, Mitski / Icarus, The Crane Wives / The Three Graces, Edouard Bisson / For Your Own Good, Leah Horlick

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 50 – ENDGAME

And Beyond by AlchemyAlice

Pairing: Steve/Tony, Steve/Pepper/Tony Rating: T Words: 32,560 Tags: Infinity Gems, Everybody Lives, Sharing a Body

Summary: In which death isn't exactly what Tony expected it to be, Natasha finds gainful employment, and Steve finds a home--and a path forward--where he least expects it.

Reasons why I love it: I am completely gobsmacked by this fic. The concept is absolutely brilliant, one of the best ideas for an Endgame fix-it I've seen, and the suspense had me on the edge of my seat for most of it. And the domestic parts of cabin life, both before and after Tony's return, are so fucking good too, literally how did AlchemyAlice do this, it's amazing!!! If you haven't read this one yet, you are definitely missing out, so I really hope you go and read it the first chance you get!

From Where We Began by orphan_account

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: M Words: 42,003 Tags: Time Travel Fix-It, Falling in Love, Team as Family

Summary: When Steve returns the stones he knows he is going to stay in 2012. This is the only chance he has. He can do better there. He knows what he needs to change so when Thanos comes, he and Tony are standing side by side. The only thing he didn't plan on was confronting his own feelings for Tony Stark. (Or the fix it fic where Steve arrives in 2012 and tries to rewrite MCU canon in order to save Tony Stark).

Reasons why I love it: I love how in this one – as opposed to many other time travel fics – Steve lets Tony in on where he came from immediately. It makes for some really great angst and fantastic romance. The way this fic deals with Wanda and Pietro is also super unique, I really liked their story arc. And of course, the ending is wonderful. I love this fic, and I bet you will too, so I hope you check it out for yourself!

Avengers No More (In Infinity) by navaan

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: T Words: 44,039 Tags: Temporary Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn

Summary: After Thanos snaps his fingers, Tony and Nebula make their way back to Earth arriving a few days after it happened to find the world in uproar and Pepper among those that have vanished. In his grief and pain Tony doesn't feel he can deal with the Avengers he finds back at the compound, even though he's relieved Steve's alive. Tony can't forget Strange's last words and some things seem to point him to what he has to do next to set things right and along the way he will have to work out the complicated feelings for Steve. Perhaps they can do this together? Not if Kang the Conqueror has something to say about it!

Reasons why I love it: This is time-fuckery at its finest. I love all of the little hints as to what is actually going on, and when the plot twist comes, it's super satisfying to watch it all fall into place. Plus, all the scenes with Tony, Nebula and Rocket bonding made me incredibly happy, they have such a fun dynamic. Definitely check this one out if you haven't, it's wonderful!

[themattress]

And here's a canonical MCU villain tier ranking.

Best of the Best - Loki, Ego the Living Planet, Erik Killmonger, Thanos, Quentin Beck / Mysterio, Xu Wenwu, Norman Osborn / The Green Goblin, Namor the Submariner, The High Evolutionary, Wilson Fisk / The Kingpin, Zebediah Kilgrave / Purple Man, Elektra Natchios

Great - Obadiah Stane / Iron Monger, Aldrich Killian / The Mandarin (True), Trevor Slattery / The Mandarin (Fake), Arnim Zola, Alexander Pierce, Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier, Ultron, Baron Helmut Zemo, Adrian Toomes / The Vulture, Hela and Skurge / The Executioner, Robert "Bob" Reynolds / The Sentry / The Void, Benjamin Poindexter / Bullseye

Good - Johann Schmidt / Red Skull, Ronan the Accuser, Nebula, En Dwi Gast / The Grandmaster, Ulysses Klaue, Ebony Maw, Ava Starr / Ghost, Agatha Harkness, He Who Remains, Ravonna Renslayer, General Dox, Miss Minutes, Paradox, Cassandra Nova, Bastian Cooper / Muse, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Cornell Stokes / Cottonmouth, Mariah Stokes / Black Mariah, Hernan Alverez / Shades, John McIver / Bushmaster, Mary Walker / Typhoid Mary, The Hand (Alexandra Reid, Madame Gao, Bakuto, Murakami, Sowande, etc.), HYDRA (Baron Von Strucker, Jasper Sitwell, Senator Stern, etc.), Galactus the World Eater

Okay - Laufey, The Other, Eric Savin / Coldblood, Algrim the Strong / Kurse, Korath the Pursuer, Brock Rumlow / Crossbones, Kaecilius, Dormammu, The Sovereign, Taserface, Surtur, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, Cull Obsidian, Sonny Burch, John Walker, Dreykov, Arthur Harrow, Wanda Maximoff / The Scarlet Witch, Baron Karl Mordo, Sinister Strange, The Clandestines, Gorr the God Butcher, Kang the Conqueror, Adam Warlock, Theel, John Allerdyce / Pyro, Samuel Sterns / The Leader, Seth Voelker / Sidewinder, Willis Stryker / Diamondback, Billy Russo / Jigsaw, John Pilgrim / The Mennonite, Will Simpson / Nuke

Bad - Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, Emil Blonsky / Abomination, Ivan Vanko / Whiplash, Darren Cross / Yellowjacket, Yon-Rogg, Tyler Hayward, The Flag Smashers, Sharon Carter / The Power Broker, Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster, Agent Sadie Deever, Mary MacPherran / Titania, Dar-Benn, Red Hulk*, Ward Meachum, Davos, The Schultz Family, Alissa Jones, Gregory Sallinger, Trish Walker / Hellcat

Trash - Justin Hammer, Malekith the Accursed, Ikaris, Kro the Deviant, Zeus, MODOK**, Gravik and the Rebel Skrulls, Verussa Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters

*- It's just Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross again.

**- It's just Darren Cross / Yellowjacket again.

[musclesandhammering]

Unpopular Phase 4 & 5 Opinions

Quantumania is the worst Phase 4/5 movie. And it wasn’t even because “kang got beat by ants.” (I liked kang in this movie). It’s just that the Spy Kids aesthetic & bad acting & overall weird vibes just weren’t for me.

Love and Thunder is no worse than Ragnarok. I would argue that it’s better in a lot of ways, actually. I really liked it.

Taika Waititi ruined thor with bad humour all the way back in Ragnarok tbh, but y’all weren’t complaining about it then 😒.

BuckySarah is better than sambucky every day of the week.

The Marvels was a good ass movie & they’re one of my favorite teams in the mcu. I’ll never forgive cbm sites & online dudebros for killing the hype from the moment the film was announced.

I adore America Chavez & Kamala Kahn and I want to see them in everything. They must be protected at all costs.

Multiverse of Madness had shitty characterisation & basically just copy-pasted the ‘grief made me go off the deep end & hurt people, then I realised and stopped myself’ storyline from Wandavision… but Wanda was extremely selfish & apathetic to other people’s suffering from the time she was introduced in the mcu. MoM didn’t make her like that.

Wanda should’ve been looking for Vision (her actual real life boyfriend whom she spent years with irl) in MoM instead of the kids that weren’t even real that she spent like a week using as characters in her sitcom.

Making everyone forget Peter Parker wasn’t profound or poetic in any way- it was just frustrating and needlessly cruel.

I’m begging marvel to understand that heroes don’t have to be in constant suffering to be heroic & villains don’t have to sacrifice themselves to achieve redemption. Let characters heal and atone, you absolute weirdos.

What If…? is the most boring show ever. I’d rather watch Secret Invasion or She-Hulk.

Season 2 of Loki is, in a cinematic & artistic sense, the best marvel project period.

Loki season 1 was meh- more of a fun au than anything because his characterisation kinda sucked. Season 2 fixed it, though, and made it way easier for me to incorporate this version of Loki back into the larger mcu.

Having Steve stay in the past with Peggy was stupid af.

I don’t hate Peggy (or Captain Carter), though. I actually think she’s pretty cool.

I don’t really love Steve. He’s arrogant & they never really let him have flaws & something about him being a perfect metaphor for the American military industrial complex (and marvel painting that as a good thing) doesn’t sit right with me.

The Illuminati got done dirty and the only reason they went down so fast was because Wanda had all that plot armor.

I thought the retcon of having Wanda be “destined” to become the Scarlet Witch since birth was an annoying cop-out. Her powers originating from being experimented on with an infinity stone was way more interesting.

Loki & Wanda have almost the exact same powers.

Nebula deserved a bigger rule in killing Thanos & everything else moving forward.

I love Kathryn Newton but her acting as Cassie Lang was the worst acting I’ve ever seen in the mcu, like it was outrageously bad.

I’m glad Sam is the new Captain America and not Bucky.

The fact that Bucky probably isn’t gonna be one of Thee lead characters in the upcoming avengers movies feels sick and twisted.

Secret Invasion was actually passable until the G’iah scene at the end. That ruined it. And Nick Fury deserved way better for his solo series.

Kang is so much more interesting than Doctor Doom. I really hope they just recast him.

Carol Danvers does NOT deserve the hate she gets.

I actually disliked Carol until The Marvels. That movie made me a stan.

The way people treat Monica as Wanda’s little inferior pet creation or smth & then brag about it is uhh very sus.

I don’t like sylvie (bc she’s an amalgamation of 3 different comic characters- which killed any hopes of them appearing individually in the mcu, the creators used her existence to butcher Loki’s genderfluid rep, & she was written poorly) & I HATE sylki (bc it’s weird & unnecessary).

Marvel isn’t dead. I actually love where they’re taking things. But that’s just me.

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

The big problem with RDJ as Doom besides the laziness element is that, well, we need Doom to feel tied to Reed Richards' issues. We need him feeling like Reed, Susan, Ben and Johnny are the bane of his existence. In the same way that say, Wilson Fisk sees Matt Murdock as this pebble in his shoe who won't go away no matter what Fisk does to try to kill or discredit him.

But this also goes to show how the MCU has developed a problem with their villains being interchangeable with whose Rogues Gallery they are slotted into. We need villains who are locked into a specific Rogues Gallery, and have it fit them specifically.

I couldn't agree more. That's the whole point of villains, isn't it? They need to be well-developed themselves but their existence is basically meant to make the hero even better, more complex. They need to be heavily tied in order to achieve that.

Perhaps they could do that with Doom and the F4 or some other heroes, but the Avengers movies are coming in what, two years? There's not enough time to build up for it. This is nothing like Thanos and Gamora/Nebula/Thor/Guardians. Or like you say, Fisk with Matt.

I can't for the life of me understand why they're so against build-up post-Phase 3. They shoehorned Kang everywhere and shoot themselves in the foot. Now Doom is coming super soon with no previous introduction or anything (haven't seen the Deadpool movie, don't know if he's there). They're going to build his relationship with the others in what, one movie? They won't be getting the audience excited as hell that way.

[distracteddream]

2 and 3 for the fic writer asks?

Thank you!

2. Has writing a fic ever changed your opinion of a character?

I don't know that it's changed my opinion but it's made me appreciate them more! Two examples: Ardyn (FFXV) because it was a lot of fun to lean into the pure villainy of writing him and Nebula (MCU) because she's complicated (like a certain God!) and letting her be sassy was a lot of fun.

3. Tell us about a headcanon you invented for a fic.

Since I'm working on another installment of it: For my vampire!Mobius and priest!Loki AU, I headcannoned that Mobius was turned into a vampire in Texas in the mid-1800s by the equivalent of a Kang variant and it was Ravonna who taught him how to be a vampire. By the time Mobius makes it to London, he's struck out on his own, having realized that Kang/Ravonna are not Good.

Writer Asks

[smokefalls]

My every pain and joy, all my deep-rooted sorrows and loves, shine, not as an amalgam but as a whole comprised of distinct singularities, glowing together as one giant nebula. I want to sleep. I want to rest inside this euphoria. I truly believe I will finally be able to drift off.

Han Kang, We Do Not Part (translated by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris)

[justdealingwithsomeissues]

Ah... so Kang Nebula can just change her appearance at will, that is our reasoning for why everyone keeps drawing her differently... also this clears up the "oh yeah she isn't that other Nebula" thing as well which is good because some writers were not entirely sure about that.

[4myrx]

Lighting/Background Practice + OC Involvement Lore Thing While We're At It

[ Lookism Masterlist ]

TITLE: Hero Candidates

TIMELINE: Before Chapter 139

DISCLAIMER: probably inaccurate canon summary. also altered Johan's crew a little name due to personal reasons I'd rather not say haha—

Here, Yugyeom had called his executives for a face to face meeting to avoid any potential online spy wares listening in on them. The meeting was to update him on their progress of finding a "hero candidate" to take down Workers Affiliates.

Yugyeom purposefully targets the ones in need, people his age who were bullied, or those who seem to have good morals. Many potential candidates were kept an eye on by the executives, but only a handful passed the criteria Yugyeom set up, and very little actually interested him.

Jake Kim, the son of Gapryeong Kim, suggested by Lotus, was ruled out immediately due to his involvement in an illegal betting ring. Besides, he seems to be a candidate to be Gun Park's successor. It's best to find someone who wasn't involved with either his brother or Charles Choi, directly or indirectly, to avoid the slightest bit of suspicion.

Which leaves only 5 candidates. There was Hudson Ahn of Ansan and Johan Seong of Top Dog, suggested by Nam Donggeun. Both weren't bad suggestions. They both have bad experiences with both Charles Choi and Workers, albeit indirectly (one via James Lee and Taesoo Ma, the other through a cult whose drug supplies were from the 3rd affiliate).

With a bit of negotiation and manipulation, Yugyeom was sure he could get them to his side. It would be a win-win situation— the two potential candidates getting their revenge (and one of them finally getting his mother's eyes cured— Yugyeom has the money and connections, no big deal) and he would finally see the affiliates crumble.

Besides, they were both fighters with a huge amount of potential.

Euntae Lee of Burn Knuckles, Zack Lee, and Vin Jin of Cheongliang, all suggested by Yeoreum Kang. Zack and Vin Jin were immediately ruled out due to their aggressive personalities. Yugyeom didn't see anything special with the former besides him previously being a runner up at some middle school club, and there was no reason for the latter to help him with anything since he didn't seem to have any special connections with Workers or Charles Choi.

Euntae Lee, or 'Vasco', was the perfect candidate. He is a formidable fighter and also seems to be someone who is easily tricked and is heavily driven with a sort of hero complex. With a bit of convincing, Yugyeom was sure he could use him to take down the affiliates. His gang, namely Jace Park, wouldn't be a problem since they all seem to follow whatever their leader wants to do, anyway.

It's settled, Yugyeom thought, deciding on a candidate.

But the fourth Free Wings executive spoke up, suggesting his own candidate.

"There is a new student in Aoki's school," said Aoki Kimura carefully. "Aoki has witnessed that student withstand Euntae Lee's 'Shoulder Grab', and he has also defeated both Euntae Lee and Zack Lee in a fight. He has also shown multiple times that he possesses good morals. Aoki can testify, as he had personally seen him in action and has even orcastrated a few events to test him,"

"Due to these achievements, Aoki suggests Daniel Park as a candidate," Aoki finished his speech.

"All," Yugyeom mused as he stared at the large river. "All of them sounds nice. Hey, they could also team up, don't you think?"

Yugyeom turned to his executives, his excitement radiating off of him. "This Daniel Park, tell me everything about him!"

This was where his youngest executive hesitated. "Unfortunately, there is no information on this Daniel Park aside from the fact that he lives with someone of the same name and attends the same school, although the shorter Daniel rarely shows up. Aoki knows that they aren't related. The good-looking Daniel goes out mostly during the day, and the shorter Daniel always works at a convenient store during the night,"

Aoki lowered his head. "Aoki apologises for he lacks what the boss needs,"

"Naw, it's alright, relax," Yugyeom waved a hand, moving past his executives to mount his motorbike. "You guys are way~ too serious sometimes..."

Yugyeom told them, mainly Aoki, to keep an eye on the candidates and that he'll make contact when the time was right before putting on his helmet and driving away.

Aoki thought of the upcoming school trip to Notte World Theme Park, and that place seems to be the right place to hang near him since they weren't divided by class and (if he was lucky enough) the girls who constantly swarmed him at school.

[st4r-th0ughts]

ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴀʀʀʏ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ғᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ ʜᴀs ᴀ sᴘᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ, ᴡᴀɴᴅᴇʀɪɴɢ sᴏᴜʟ.

My name's Wu! This account is a place for being a creative outlet, and this will be acting a backup account for my now deleted main, which has been wrongfully terminated.

This is a place where people can share their thoughts, whether it is horny or otherwise, so feel free to fill my inbox full of your ideas, I promise to be as quick as I can with responses (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

aventurine, liu kang and Pure Vanilla Cookie enthusiast to the max ♤

!! All dividers are by @cafekitsune and formatting is inspired by @sh1-n0bu !!

requests are open, inbox for chatting/thirts is open! (3/20) ⚠︎ I DO NOT ALLOW REPOSTS, TRANSLATIONS, EDITS,COPIES, INSPIRATIONS AND REUPLOADS OF MY WORKS ONTO OTHER WEBSITES OR ON OTHER ACCOUNTS. Besides inspiration or stuff like that, DONT bother asking, you’ll be met with no and a potential block. ⚠︎

ִֶָ࣪☾. rules of the cosmos.

ִֶָ࣪☾. list of the stars, nebulaes and planets. (masterlist)

ִֶָ࣪☾. the moon gazes gently at you. (fandoms)

ִֶָ࣪☾. wandering souls will reconvene somwhere across the universe. (anons)

ִֶָ࣪☾. will a shooting star ever give me hope? (events)

ִֶָ࣪☾. I’ll always remember you as I fade into the night. (to-write list)

꩜ .ᐟ why this account was suddenly created?

꩜ .ᐟ just something to keep me going.

Will the stars kiss me into my eternal slumber in the darkness’s cold embrace? (tags)

‧₊˚ oc!

୨ৎ nsfw!

ᯓ★ sfw!

✰ anon!

ʚɞ general!

ೀ lets chat!

⋆. 𐙚 ˚fav char

✎ᝰ. art!

© st4r-th0ughts 2025, I don’t allow reposts, reuploads, translations, or copies.

[seriousfic]

It's hard to overstate how much Marvel fucked the roll-out of Kang. I can forgive casting a domestic abuser--no way to know that ahead of time. But

Introducing him as the villain of an Ant-Man movie.

Can you imagine an Avengers villain whose personal arch-nemesis is Ant-Man?

2. Introducing a wacky nerd variant of him in Loki Season 2.

Before we've even gotten to know this guy really, we're seeing the actor essentially parody himself. Could you imagine if in Age of Ultron, our second look at Thanos was this:

3. They tried to make him the multiverse guy without having him involved in any multiverse stories.

Early movies in the Infinity Saga introduced the Infinity Stones, Nebula, Gamora, the Chitauri, and so forth. But movies like Multiverse of Madness and No Way Home went by without furthering the plot or deepening Kang's character, making him feel curiously uninvolved with his own story. All they really accomplished, as entries in a saga, was to lay down the ground rules for the multiverse... which were constantly contradictory and nonsensical. With Wandavision and Wolverine & Deadpool, this multiverse stuff just started to seem like silly sidestories, but no, it was supposed to be the main event. A random, cameo-centric main event.

We were asking "hey, why should we care about the multiverse?" and the answer was "because boner joke."

4. Kang wasn't mysterious, just confusing.

Why would some dude from the 40th century care or be a threat to a bunch of 21st century characters? In the comics, among other reasons, Kang is simply an egomaniac who wants to 'honorably' take on the best of the best. Like a modern war gamer who wants to see if he could beat Genghis Khan with his own horse cavalry.

In the MCU... gosh. Loki paints him (or He Who Remains) as a well-intentioned extremist who wants to destroy all timelines but one to keep hordes of alternate Kangs from waging destructive war on each other (how this would affect characters in the 21st century is unclear).

In Ant-Man, the threat is a renegade Kang who wants revenge on a Council of Kangs (who CAN get along now) for some unspecified betrayal. He might be THE Kang or he might be dead for real and the whole thing is only good for a Jonathan Majors clip reel.

In Loki season 2, it's now possible for there to be a 19th century Kang (meaning that, if circumstances changed, I guess Tom Cruise could've been born during the Reformation? How the fuck does that work?) and Loki seems to sort out the whole multiverse problem without the need to destroy any more timelines, so unless he's really bad at his job, that would wrap up the Kang saga, right? Right?

[seductive-things]

A Mourning Written on White

Today, let's talk about White Book by Han Kang, the South Korean author who was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and reveals the fragility of human life."

At a time when the author felt the need to get away from Seoul, he was invited to a visiting writer program at a university in Warsaw through the Polish translator of The Vegetarian. He accepted this invitation and went to Warsaw, where he soon realized that the city's post-war reconstruction overlapped with the fate of his sister, who died just two hours after his birth.

As a city that has risen again after the destruction, Warsaw becomes a metaphor for his sister for Han Kang; as he walks through the streets that bear the traces of the past, he feels his personal grief combined with a universal trauma.

The book is dedicated to his sister, who died two hours after he was born. Han Kang imagines a life in her name, as if he had survived in her place and would have been the one to visit this city. While telling the story of her mother's mourning and her own inner world, she believes that writing this book is both a kind of farewell and a spiritual healing. There is no clear plot in the work; it consists of 65 short pieces, and each one deals with the themes of death, mourning, birth and life through "white" colored objects. Kang states that this form developed spontaneously and is more suitable for an inner journey, far from the classical novel narrative. The mourning her family experienced after her sister's death and the effects of this trauma on her form the basis of the narrative. Kang asks questions about human dignity, pain and the effort to exist with hope. At the end of the book, she does not "say goodbye" to her sister, but carries her life in her own life by breathing in her last breath.

I am also here to comment on the pieces I liked.

In the story "Salt", the symbol of salt is used as a very impressive metaphor, identified with cleanliness, purification and light. In particular, the expression "salt can only be put on the wounds if they are completely closed" emphasizes spiritual healing through physical pain. This metaphor emphasizes that individuals who have overcome pain can achieve an inner purification and thus approach the "light". "Being put in salt" ceases to be an ordinary idiom and becomes an expression of spiritual calmness and maturity. In this context, the author's deep and symbolic use of the salt metaphor adds both a philosophical and emotional layer to the work. I think like the author. Before suffering, a person has a rebellious spirit, has no guard, and a skin that is open to wounds is exposed. When you are hit, you acquire your shield, go to war and come out, and understand the meaning of life, why you are living, and that it is not in vain. It matures, makes you wise, and brings you closer to the light.

In the story "To Smile Pure White", although this metaphor evokes innocence and purity at first glance, the text draws attention to the fact that this whiteness also has negative meanings such as insensitivity and coldness. The color white symbolizes the gentleness that is preserved despite fragility and loss, as well as an attitude that is withdrawn and lacks external warmth despite the pain experienced by the person. This smile can be interpreted as an artificial lightness or silent acceptance that comes after the pain experienced. Thus, Han Kang balances the bright whiteness on the surface with the lack of emotion and inner conflict deep down, which gives the work an ironic and layered meaning. At first, the snow-white smile seems like an innocent smile, but since there are sections related to colors in this book, the absence of a yellow smile and the presence of a white smile really make one feel the coldness.

In the story “Milky Way”, this symbol contains the sense of mystery and uncertainty that begins with the nebula. As an unseen but promising formation, the nebula is the messenger of the stars born in the darkness; this is a symbol of hope for new beginnings born from darkness in the work. The father’s house in the village represents pure and protected memories as the door opening to the past, childhood and security. While the stars filling the eyes reflect the moment when admiration and emotionality intertwine, the act of wiping the stars is not only a physical action, but also a symbolic purification that cleanses tears and troubles. This scene carries both a sense of sadness and spiritual cleansing; just as salt increases pain and heals the wound, “Milky Way” balances pain with hope and purification. Thus, the work expresses the traces of the past and the hopes of the future at the same time with a deep layer.

In the story “Lights”, the symbol of light reflects a complex situation where both hope and fear coexist. While the cold lights of the winter night try to illuminate the repressed traumas and internal conflicts in the subconscious, they also reveal a state of mind that is afraid of these lights and is sleepless. Although light, as the “anima” here, is a symbol of inner energy and the search for enlightenment, it tells us that the person is hesitant to show themselves in its frozen and silent state. The insomnia in the story can be read as the physical reflection of not being able to connect with reality, the internal ruptures and confrontations experienced. In this context, “Lights” represents not only the light outside, but also an inner enlightenment that is difficult to reach and feared. The story deeply explores the themes of loneliness and fear, which oscillate between the soul stuck in darkness, both seeking light and escaping from it. The text “White Hair” questions how a person’s emotional bonds can transform over time, and what is left after purging the passion and desire of youth. The woman’s desire to see her ex-lover with white hair, that is, aged and desireless, can be read as both a farewell to the past and a longing for a pure, simple existence. The phrase “When there is only one thing left from the meeting, a separation that will only be completed with the loss of the body” in the text strongly emphasizes the emotional void created by unfinished relationships and the search for closure. This closure is the expression of the abstract bond between the “self” and the “other” that remains when youth and desire disappear; in other words, it represents a state of reckoning that is not physical but existential. In this respect, the text is not only the end of a relationship, but also a deep thought of the person on time, body and identity.

“The Back Side of Thin White Paper” skillfully reveals the deep darkness, repressed anger and fragility hidden behind the “thin white paper” that looks innocent and pure from the outside. The hatred for life after the illness represents not only physical but also spiritual destruction and inner fragmentation. This feeling, combined with existential loneliness and the fear that “everything will leave him”, points to identity disintegration.

From the perspective of Jung’s shadow archetype, this dark side is filled with heavy burdens that the person hides in his/her unconscious, such as fear of abandonment, guilt and repressed anger. Healing is not only a superficial situation, but is possible by confronting the shadow and breaking the chains of the abandonment complex. The trust issues created by protective but later excluding parental figures feed cautious and distant behaviors in relationships.

In other words, “The Back Side of the Thin White Paper” emphasizes the importance of both confronting our psychological wounds and accepting and transforming the shadow within us. Only through this process can it be possible to truly become free and heal.

The text “Into Silence” describes a liminal area in the individual’s inner world where the conscious and the unconscious intersect and where he/she cannot fully transition. In this area, silence symbolizes an inaccessible inner balance rather than peace. The character’s decision to “stay like this a little longer” and hold himself in the middle of this transition shows that the process of individuation is not complete, that the confrontation with the shadow is not over yet. While the image of Sunday morning carries a new beginning and hope, the unfinished purification reminds us that the burden of the past still exists. From a Jungian perspective, this text stands in the middle of a transformation journey; the stage of confronting the darkness, accepting the shadow, and meeting the true self…

“THE LIMIT” is a multilayered text that emphasizes how existence itself begins at the moment of birth—already at a threshold, already in an incomplete state. The metaphor of premature birth signifies not only physical but also ontological fragility and timelessness; in other words, an unprepared encounter with life.

Images of nature—such as the first frost or the boundary between day and night—ritually symbolize this liminal condition. The mother-child disconnection represents a rupture in basic trust, a failure of attachment, which suggests a profound “existential wound” in the sense of Jung’s shadow archetype.

The text suggests that birth and the initial step into life are incomplete as rites de passage; the individual does not fully “exist” either in the world or within himself. In Jungian terms, the narrative presents a state of mind that has not yet entered the process of individuation and remains trapped in the unconscious. One cannot reach the true self without first confronting the shadow and the unknown.

Ultimately, “THE LIMIT” is a powerful literary and philosophical meditation on the “incompleteness” at the threshold of life, where spiritual stagnation and existential awakening are inextricably intertwined.

“Reed Field” is a symbol of hopes that collapse over time, fatigue and spiritual freezing. The color yellow symbolizes illness and exhaustion; wild ducks symbolize frozen love and potential joy. However, this love has not been touched, its colors have faded.

The answer “Not worth it” given to the question “Do I want to go any further?” reflects an existential weariness, but not a complete collapse, but a state of being stuck in between. This is not surrender; it is an acceptance on the thin line between resistance and exhaustion.

The expression “His heart will beat but will not live” describes spiritual freezing, the disconnection in the synchrony of physical life and soul. The situation “between ugly and beautiful” shows that the transformation has not yet been completed, and that aesthetic and ethical dualities have become blurred.

Here, on the threshold of death-consciousness, there is a liminal area. Wild ducks represent animus energy that has not been activated. The swamp is an area on the border of spiritual rebirth, carrying fertility and suffocation together.

The woman's act of "leaving" is a conscious choice, but the process is not yet complete. Therefore, the situation she is in is a state of remaining in the "intermediate world"; transformation is possible but has not occurred.

In other words, "The Cold Area" depicts a stage in the middle of spiritual exhaustion and inner transformation, where existence freezes, hope fades but does not completely fade. Acceptance in this stage is not only surrender, but maturity and a deep inner awareness. Standing on a thin, gray line between beauty and ugliness means being on the threshold of transformation, waiting.

The “White Butterfly” section symbolizes the awakening and spiritual spring that comes after inner dullness. The woman now accepts that life is not a straight line, but curvy and uncertain. Instead of snow and frost, there is green grass, instead of frozenness, there is revival and hope. The white butterfly represents the transformation and rebirth of the soul; the few steps she takes with tremors are a sign of courage that responds to the call of the unconscious. The awakening in nature becomes the manifestation of the healing in the woman’s inner world. In this process, the figure of the lost sister also gains a deep meaning. While she represents the incompleteness in the unconscious, she also becomes a protective and guiding light. Perhaps the woman’s effort to find the “sister” within herself stands out as the key to true transformation. The language of the text is simple yet effective; complex psychological processes are supported by concrete images of nature, presenting a narrative that can touch everyone’s soul. The reader is invited to discover the “white butterflies” within themselves with this text. In conclusion, "White Butterfly" conveys the awakening phase of the soul, where it trembles from darkness to light, with a unique poetry and depth. Reading this section is like embarking on a journey in the mirror of your own inner transformation. See you in my reviews where I get better.

https://www.literaedebiyat.com/post/han-kang-beyaz-kitap-i-anlatiyor