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illuminati9exists · 8 months

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I’m Only a Stepmother, But My Daughter is Just So Cute!

This was a manhwa where I actually read the novel first and then read the adaptation. It's so fluffy and cute and we have a positive mother daughter relationship. The FL is a no nonsense person and she adores her daughter, the ML will be a little bit annoying in the first few chaps but I promise you'll understand why he is the way he is, tbh his backstory is alot more traumatizing than other MLs. It also has some nice commentary about social beauty standards and how toxic it is that people only value women for their youth and beauty. Spme of the women in this are often unhappy and project their feelings towards others which just shows how bad it can get at times. If you liked I raised Cinderella preciously then you would totally enjoy this one too

I raised a black dragon

Found family fluff, It has everything I've been waiting for and more. We got a depressed and lazy witch, a grumpy malewife and a sociopathic dragon baby. I also love that the setting is a little more modern compared to other Otome isekais, I'm getting Victorian Era vibes fron this one. Also it actually talks about the consequences of being isekaied into another's body, when our FL talked to people who knew Eleonora in the past they were immediately able to tell that she is not the original host. Also I like the artstyle, it feels dreamy but I thought Noah would've had a more mature design considering the original host is a criminal who has like 15 convictions

I'll save this damn family

This one is more complex compared to the other ones on this list, it's more of a political Intrigue rather than a pure shoujo romance. Our FL has to stop the destruction of her own family, she is cunning and smart, she does not relay on any man in her life and has to claw her way to power. She has wits and style but she is not as brutal as say Charlize or Medea. What makes this more thrilling is that she doesn't always wins, things go wrong, her plans backfired against her or she was too arrogant. The development is so sweet. I would suggest you to read the first few chaps slowly and throughly because some of the stuff mentioned can fly over your head, and I would recommend bato for a clean translation, all of the other sites I see seem to be machine translated

Depths of malice

This is very horny. It's a revenge story with smut in it and I love it. It doesn't shy away form sex and instead incorporated it into the story seamlessly. Every one is twisted in this and the men are especially cruel, seeing our FL using her sexuality and family name to her own advantage just gives me so much pleasure. The expressions of sheer malice and depravity are some of its best selling points too. If you just wanna watch the world burn then this would be a good choice to read

The Time of the Terminally ill Extra/Limited Extra Time

This was one of really popular manhwas that was so hyped up on r/ otome isekai and now having read it, I can understand why. Let's get one thing straight, the art is stunning, it's sense of style is impeccable. Probably one of the reasons why it got so much attention. But the writing also speaks for itself, our FL is from a family that doesn't appreciate her, they don't abuse her but they often take for granted how much she tried to make them happy. She was forced to be selfless, to think about her family's need before her own which results in resentment and her crumbled self esteem. She managed to get away from that toxic household and found a place that actually feels like home. It talks alot of the healing process and how to deal with trauma. Also ML is just the best, he is kind and supportive and doesn't try to force her anything. He stood by her bedside when she was sick, didn't turned her away when she needed help and talked to her like a human being

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illuminati9exists · 8 months

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TROPE: "I became a villainess in a novel where I'm supposed to control and manipulate another character. No matter what, I plan to set him free and survive! However, why can't we let each other go...?"

MANHWAS:

• Roxana

• The Beast Tamed by the Villainess

• Villains Behind the Curtains

• I Failed to Oust the Villain!

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illuminati9exists · 8 months

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In which, Genie loses his Aladdin

CHAPTER 1: Thanks-freaking-Newton for small mercies.

At Avengers tower,

"I can't believe they called us for 'this'"

"He had flamethrower robots army and a questionable fashion sense. What more do you need in a supervillain for him to be worthy of your time Tony?"

"I am a busy man cap, I can't be present for every wannabe overlords or grieving fathers."

"That's the reason why it was unethical."

"What reason birdbrain?"

"He was grieving Tony. His son is in ICU due to their carelessness. Of course, I am not saying what he did was right. But …. still you should've gone easy on him."

"In ICU birdbrain. Still alive. That doesn't mean he can just attack NYPD."

"What would you know Tony! It is not like you have lost a kid "

"Shut up Clint. Tony is right. Losing someone is not a valid reason for massacre. If not stopped at a right time situation could have been out of control and innocents would have lost lives." Natasha said elbowing Clint. But in the middle of this whole interaction Natasha noticed Tony closing off. Now that she noticed he have been a little off since morning, "Tony, you okay?"

" Yep, nothing to worry here. As barton said it is not like, I would know what losing a child feels like." He said with a bright smile which didn't reached his eyes. Natasha almost didn't catched the last part. She also noticed how instead of any cheesy nickname he used Barton this time.

Before she could ask Tony again Thor called them for attention, "Aye, don't fight brothers. Now that the battle have finished, it's time to call for feast. I am very much in need of pizza right now."

"I have already ordered takeout guys. Order will be here in 10 minutes." Steve said getting off from call.

"I am not hungry. Also I have an important meeting to attend tomorrow on other side of country. See you later kids."

Tony said getting in elevator before anyone could say anything. Natasha got up to call after him worried about his strange behaviour earlier but Steve said that he remembers Jarvis reminding Tony about this meeting in morning. Natasha didn't thought much about it and signed it in her spybrain to investigate later. Well out of boredom actually if not for anything else. Tony always got upto some strange behaviour. Every now and then. ___________________________

Avengers minus Tony gather around sofa for their weekly movie night. Clint was surfing through Tony's CDs, yes CDs which they stole from his old mansion when they went their to get Steve's stuff last week. Tony having CDs was a new kind of surprise in itself. Clint was waiting for right moment to tease tony over it, but first he have to go through them. They didn't ask Jarvis to play some random movie because they wanted to go through Tony's eccentric movie collection which unfortunately looks like old couple's cringey romance movies stuff "Wow, considering Starks I thought their will be more good stuff than some old cliche movies. "

"Mind to share what kind of good stuff Clint." Bruce said settling comfortably on his couch.

"You know illegal never released movies, conspiracy movies, national secrets that kind of stuff. Ohh oh I think I found it 'In which Genie finds his Aladdin' ah this is not a Disney movie. I have seen all Disney movies."

Clint said pulling out blue covered CD from box. It was a plain cd in plastic bag with only name printed on it.

"Just get it over with Clint. You have been going through that for like an hour." Natasha said getting bored. Steve also nodded.

Clint grunted and started the movie.

On screen

nothing started for a while.

"I think CD is......."

Jar you are always listening to me, genie and everything else also. Right.

Just when Clint was about to get up to switch CDs a little girl's and a robotic voice which sounds like Jarvis's voice started to come from TV but screen was still blank.

Not particularly but yes Divya.

Then do you have all recordings of me ,Genie, Pep, Humpty, Sourface and dum-e, u also butterfingers and everyone we meet everyday.

Of course Divya.

Cool then can you do something for me.

Of course Divya whatever you wish , if it is well within my abilities.

It sounds like second part was added as more of an afterthought by robotic voice.

Do this, make a movie of my life using all recordings from the day dada found me and everything just like a real movie, will you ? And don't tell genie or anyone until you finish it. Ok.

Of course Divya. But can I ask why are you asking me to do this in secret.

You will know soon J, soon.

"The robo guy sounds like our residental genius's AI butler Jarvis doesn't he." comments Clint and gets four chorus of yes from group.

With this screen lights up with cartoonish animation showing golden room in a way which looks like common room and the outline of room is like a kettle on blue background of screen. Their is table at centre surrounded by two sofas. Two robotic hands like structures moving around the table in a whir and beeping time to time. Their is a cardboard box sitting on table. For some reason robots are surrounding it and whirring around it. This looks like very old animation movie from times of dinosaur, and modern at the same time. Clint already likes it. And from the looks of it others too. Especially Steve and Thor.

A door opens at the side of room as much you can call kettle a room. Inside steps a man in disheveled suit, upside two buttons of shirt undone, wobbling on feet, scowl plastered on face. He strangely looks like Tony, especially with that signature goatee of his.

"Jarvis, you better have a good reason to pull me from my party.

He starts with his march towards sofas.

And what are dum-e and u doing up here out of workshop."

"Sir exactly 47 minutes 36 seconds ago an intruder appeared in living room with a cardboard box and asked for you. That was the first time I tried to reach you but my signals were jammed. I told him you were outside and busy at the moment. He left a message with me to play when you arrive and also a written message on table below cardboard box with cardboard box sir. Since I wasn't able to reach you or security I let dum-e and u out for stalling the intruder. You should first open the box sir, my scans are showing presence of life inside. "

"What the fuck J, play message on my mobile."

Camera zooms in on Tony. He pulls the box towards him. Dum-e and u crowded beside him to take a look. Tony looks at Dum-e ready with fire extinguisher in his hands and rolls his eyes. He pulls a single sellotape taped on cardboard box making cross with cardboards vertical cut which looks like packaging done by some noob. While doing so Tony mutters to himself about 'some kind of poisonous animals or enlarged viruses'. Last part makes Bruce crack a smile. Enlarged viruses will be terror for society and menace for Avengers if cracked by some supervillain.

"What the fuck. What the fuck.WHAT THE FUCK JARVIS."

Tony shouts as he tries to move away from box when he also notices dum-e raising fire extinguisher to attack the creature inside box when Tony suddenly changes his direction mid-movement and gets in between dum-e the fire ranger and the little creature in the box. And gets doused with the foam all over his head and back while not even a single drop falls on box or inside it. 'Thanks-freaking-Newton for small mercies' Tony mutters while looking at box, expression cross between somewhere terror and glare which intensifies to 100 times when a sound comes from the box which very very sounds like a giggle ?

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So what do you think is the creature inside the box that Tony went against Newton himself to save from the foam bath.🧐🤫

#mcu fanfiction #Avengers as a team #Domestic avengers #Tony stark has a heart #Tony stark feels #Fire ranger dum-e #Resident AI Jarvis #Post avengers 2012 #Tony stark is a mess #Clint is a little shit #Movie trope #Avengers fanfiction #Natasha is good bro #Aladdin and genie trope

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illuminati9exists · 8 months

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In which Genie loses his Aladdin

Summary:

People think Tony lost his heart in Afghanistan. What they missed is that he lost his heart two years before Afghanistan when he lost the most important person in his life his little aladdin . The day he lost her was also the day he lost his heart along with his will to live . Afghanistan actually helped him find a purpose to live. To be alive. To help. IRONMAN was the second best thing that ever happened to him. He had already lost the best thing in his life.

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After an offhand comment from barton tony leaves for his meeting to other side of country. Avengers minus tony gather around for their weekly movie night. Clint finds a new nonexistent movie in Tony's stolen stash which with its title sounds like a disney movie.

'In which Genie finds his Aladdin' sounds like a never released regular Disney movie.

Avengers are going to find a lot about their resident genius playboy by end of this night. Will they be able to come to terms with it or will they question it.

Avengers fanfic I am writing. Stay tuned in for chapters if you like the general idea of what story is implying here 😉. This is my first fic so please point out my mistakes grammatical , proverbial or whatever you guys find. I hope you like it.

#mcu fanfiction #Avengers fanfic #Tony stark feels #Natasha is good bro #Aladdin and genie trope #clint is a little shit #Tony Stark's daughter #Tony stark is a mess #In which Genie loses his Aladdin

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illuminati9exists · 8 months

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New to Gotham? A useful friendly guide for the newbies at Gotham.

There's never a boring day in Gotham City.

The best view of the city is from the Wayne Enterprises rooftop. Entrance is for free during the weekend.

Came to Gotham as a tourist? First things first: why?

Red-lights and traffic rules are more of a suggestion.

If you're not from Gotham, and unless you have very good reflexes, avoid driving in the city and a very likely trip to the ER.

On the bright side, chances of bumping into the Waynes at the ER are high.

Sign our Changeorg petition for the making of 'Keeping up with the Waynes'. Don't question it, just sign it.

In Gotham, the 'It' movie (2017) is rated as A+ and classified as an educational documentary.

Although sort of infamous, and for some reason considered a Gotham attraction, 'Crime Alley' is literally an Alley of Crime. It should go without saying that visiting is NOT advised.

Metropolis might be safer and sunnier, but we got style.

Always look both ways before crossing a street even if its a One-Way street.

If still in school, don't make fun of the smart kids in your class, they are the most likely to answer a Riddler's Riddle and save you all.

Don't be surprised if your therapist turns out to be one of the Gotham's most wanted.

Improved universal antidote formula for laughing-gas and poison-ivy's pheromones (previous to august of this year) can be acquired for free at any Gotham Hospital.

Best coffee shop is the family-owned business on the corner of the ninth avenue at Old Gotham District. Rated as top 1 by Red-Robin and also positively reviewed by Wayne member Tim Drake.

Fan of art and animal-lover? There are a couple of handmade paintings by Damian Wayne that could be acquired at Gotham's Gallery. All earnings go to Gotham's animal rescue centers.

Most of the famous Gotham criminals are all professionals despite their funny names, do not underestimate them.

Think you're tough? Think again.

Have fun and enjoy your time in Gotham. It's kinda nice once you get used to it.

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illuminati9exists · 8 months

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What Would Spider-Man Do?- Remarcely AO3 [MCU Spider-Man Fanfic]

A high-pitched ringing filled Neds ears as he slowly came to, hands fumbling on either side to pull himself up from where he was laying. He hissed, fingertips brushing against broken glass shards just hard enough to break the skin. He cracked his eyes open and neared on choking at the carnage around him.

They were still on the bus, though it can’t be said the bus was the right way up. It had skidded off the road on its side, the windows shattering down on the inside, and the now-ceiling above them was dented in. Ned could hear shouting and crashes not too far away. It was a safe bet to guess there had been collateral damage.

He hauled himself up and brushed the glass splinters from his clothes. Ned turned to find Peter and give him a hand up as well, but in the midst of their classmates he couldn’t find him. That was, until he heard a shout two rows down from him. Ned stumbled towards the crying- it was Chrissy, the newest member of the Decathlon team, it was supposed to be her first competition- to find three of his teammates crowded around Peter.

His head was bleeding. Hopefully it was worse than it looked, Ned had read about head wounds before, weren’t they supposed to bleed a whole bunch? Chrissy was half holding him up, keeping Peters head from touching what could only be described as a mound of bloody glass beneath him, and was frantically shaking him. He wasn’t responding, practically a ragdoll, and if it weren’t for their other classmates hurriedly checking his pulse, Ned likely would have been panicking too.

“He’s just knocked out,” Betty sighed in relief “Can anyone find a first aid kit? We’ve got to do something for the bleeding.”

“I think I have a travel one in my bag.” Abraham mumbled and staggered through the wreckage of the bus to find his backpack. A few other people went to help him, even Flash doing so without any prompting, and a silent agreement settled upon the group.

“Is anyone else hurt?” Betty called out, helping Chrissy carry Peter to a safer spot.

There was a groan at the back of the bus and Michelle waved her hand up from around one of the chairs “Oh fuck.” She stood up in a dazed state, wincing as she pulled a couple shards from her hair “What the hell hit us?”

She looked up at the now very open window frames on the now-ceiling and narrowed her eyes. MJ climbed onto the sides of the chairs, sneakers almost slipping on the fabric on her first step, and hauled herself up to look around.

It could only be described as a gigantic metal ball on even larger spider legs. It had one leg puncturing the bridge in front of them, another in the river, and the final few being shot at with laser beams by one Iron Man. He was the only hero on the scene, or at least the only one she could spot.

“What do you see?” Ned called up.

“Uh.” Michelle glanced down at him with wide eyes “Nothing good. Tin can is on the scene, he seems to be doing fine at keeping whatever that is away from where we are.” Her eyes moved past him to the very bloody unconscious Peter, Ned following her gaze.

“Yeah, I don’t think Spider-Man is going to be showing up to help anytime soon.” He mumbled under his breath.

“He saved my life.” Michelle stared at Peter, hand gripping the metal frame of the window with white knuckles “When we got hit, I was sat right there and he jumped out to shield me with his own body, like a fucking moron.”

“Found it!” Abe held the tiny green bag above his head, waving it about as he struggled back across the bus.

Betty reached out and took it, unzipping the bag to rummage around inside “Anyone have scissors?”

“Here.” Michelle fished them from her school bag, putting them in Bettys waiting hand “We need to get off the bus, can anyone find the teachers? The driver?”

“Uh, the driver hit the steering wheel in front of her but she’s breathing alright.” Flash called back from the front of the bus “I can’t see Mr Harrington. I think I need to cut the driver’s seatbelt, it’s all jammed.”

Ned took an unsteady breath and covered his face with his hands “Come on man,” He whispered quietly, more to himself than anything “What would Spider-Man do?”

“We fell onto the fucking door, damn it.” Abe groaned and stomped on the sliding doors in frustration.

“Let’s use the emergency hatch and the broken windows,” Ned spoke up and strode towards the hatch, clicking it open with a heave “Betty, you and Chrissy carry Peter out and find some cover. Flash and Abe, get the driver. MJ and I will grab our bags and look for Mr Harrington.”

For once not putting up an argument, everyone did as they were directed. Betty hooked her arms around Peters chest while Chrissy took the legs, shuffling to the exit. Abe pulled a Swiss army knife from his backpack- which he had for a concerning but very lucky reason- and cut through the seatbelt as Flash lifted the driver out of the seat in a surprising display of strength. MJ grabbed their bags, hooking the straps over one arm, and began chucking them out of the open window.

Ned ignored his own backpack, heading straight for Peters to find his phone. He struggled for a minute, unwinding the headphones Peter had wrapped around the sides, and let out a small sigh of relief when the phone switched on without a hitch. He tapped in the password and went to the contacts, finding ‘Mr Stark’ under favourited, ignoring the four missed calls and what he could only assume was a scathing voice message. Ned left the headphones in and dialled the number.

“Come on.” All bags and passengers evacuated, MJ had climbed onto the top of the bus and held down a hand for Ned.

He took it and the two of them stood on the side of the school bus, watching the fight from a not-so-safe distance. After one more ring, the call was answered with a tiny beep.

“Oh, now you pick up.” There was a loud sound through the phone and Ned watched as something exploded on the outside of the metal thing “Not a great time, kid.”

“Hi Mr Stark, I know we haven’t talked before but I’m Peters friend, Ned-”

“Uh huh, sure you are. Mind passing the phone over to Pete?”

“Um, Peters a little too unconscious to come to the phone right now.”

“He’s what?”

“Unconscious. He got hit on the head and it’s bleeding a whole ton.”

“Jesus Christ, call an ambulance! I’m busy right now.”

“I- uh- know. We were on a trip for a Decathlon competition and the bus got hit by the weird metal spider-ball thing. Peter must have sensed it with his tingle thing and took the brunt force or something.”

MJ cursed under her breath, pointing out the crumpled form of Mr Harrington a short distance from the bus, and jumped off the bus to go help.

“Shit. I guess that means no backup. You said you’re on the bus.” For a brief moment, Iron Man stopped in mid-air to look around “Yeah, I see you. Get far away from the bridge, I’ll call someone and have you all evacuated. You said Peter’s out?”

Ned turned to look down at Betty and Chrissy, carrying Peter between them “Oh yeah, big time.”

Mr Starks sigh came through a little computerised on the call and muttered “That kid, I swear.” He cleared his throat and continued in a louder voice “He should have his suit with him, take one of the web shooters and keep it on his wrist, that’ll measure most of his vitals. Keep out of the way, stick with your class, and don’t try playing hero. Capeesh?”

“Yes-” The call ended.

“He’s okay!” MJ shouted up from the ground, dragging Mr Harrington in the direction of their classmates “Get your ass down here before you hurt yourself.”

“Coming!” Ned moved to the roof of the bus and half-slid down the curve. He scooped up all of the bags and ran over to the group.

Flash darted back, helping MJ carry their teacher the rest of the way, and jerked his head at the fight “What is that thing?”

“Why would I know, Eugene?” She shot back, the two of them dumping Mr Harrington on the ground next to the group.

Betty turned to Mr Harrington, checking for any blood “He’s hit the back of his head, someone give me a torch to check his eyes.” Abe passed her his phone, the torch turned on, and crouched down to help look over their teacher.

Ned ignored them, moving to sit down by Peter. His head was bandaged and Betty had moved him into the recovery position. He sat and stared, for a few agonising seconds, as Peter didn’t move other than the slow rise and fall of his chest, before remembering himself. Ned rummaged through Peters bag again, using his body to hide it as he dug down for the Spider-Man suit. He fumbled around as he looked for the web shooters, finally finding one pinned beneath a maths folder, and unclipped it to slide up Peters sleeve.

“How is he?” MJ kicked Ned lightly with her shoe.

“He’s doing alright. Mr Stark said he was calling for backup.” He picked at his shoelaces. There was a red mark on the toe- blood- and he had no idea who it had come from.

“What the hell are we supposed to do?” She muttered angrily under her breath.

“He said to stay put and out of the way.” Ned looked to his own bag on the pile and grabbed the strap, yanking it closer. Unzipping the main pocket, he found his miraculously unscathed laptop. He looked back to the Spider-Man suit “He also said not to play hero.”

“Hypocritical, coming from him.” Michelle scoffed and sat next to him “What are you going to do?”

Ned fumbled for the mask and a long wire from Peters bag. He connected the two, tucked the mask out of sight, and joined the wire to his laptop as it slowly booted up “Something stupid, probably. If I can access Karen, I can use her to get a better view on things up there. Then, if I can do that- well, that looks like a lot of machinery to me, someone has to control it.”

“Yeah. It’d be pretty stupid to still be inside it, too, so there’d have to be some sort of wireless connection to pilot it.” MJ nodded slowly, catching on.

“Exactly.” Ned muted his laptop, just in case, and pulled up Karens file. He opened up a text chat with the AI and in a few minutes had the nearest CCTV to the fight pulled up.

“Oh damn,” A voice spoke from over their shoulder and Ned hurriedly shoved Peters bag even further shut by putting his foot on top “That is one big mother fucker.”

“Uh-”

Abe leaned closer to get a better look and a few other team members glanced their way “You said you could hijack the signal?”

“Mhm.” Ned swallowed hard.

“You need a hand tracking it down?” Abe retrieved a small tablet from his own bag, which hadn’t been so lucky in the crash and had a crack reaching across the screen “There’s going to be a bunch of signals from Iron Mans drones and stuff, I can help you narrow it down no problem.”

Abe sat across from Ned on the concrete and pulled up some homemade software, fingers tapping at lightning speed through connections. In less than a minute, he had it, and passed the Tablet to Ned to get a better look.

Michelle watched the two tech nerds work away and took Peters phone again. She scrambled up and walked a good few paces away. ‘What would Spider-Man do?’ That’s what Ned had mumbled earlier, right? Well, Spider-Man would go to Mr Stark with his kickass plan, that’s what.

The phone ringed out again until it was answered.

“I’m a little busy right now Ted, so unless Peter’s awake-”

“The metal thing is being piloted from somewhere else, I’ve got two nerds tracking it down right now.” She interrupted him, eyes on the fight in the distance.

“Who- never mind. This thing is armoured to face anything, I doubt they added Bluetooth or some shit. Tell your friends they’re wasting their time.”

“It’s Michelle, and I very much doubt someone would be stupid enough to put themselves in there when they knew it would be target number one.” She rolled her eyes “We’ve already got the signal and Ned is hijacking it now. We can only see so well through the cameras, where’s a good place to land this thing without crushing half of Queens?”

MJ rambled through her words, taking a heavy breath when she was done. If her friends weren’t in danger or slowly bleeding, she might have even thought it was fun.

Mr Stark sighed through the phone “The water, preferably. Look, I don’t exactly want the control of this in a random kid’s hands.”

“Would you rather the person currently kicking your ass with it did?” Not waiting for a response, MJ pulled the phone away from her ear and turned to Ned “How well do you think you can move that thing without breaking any buildings?”

“Through my laptop? If I move slow, it should be fine, but the more time it takes the more chances its current pilot has to take control back.”

“Here!” Flash piped up, holding a game controller up in the air “Use this!” Of course, he’d brought along his gaming equipment.

“Flash, you wonderful idiot, that might just work.” Michelle breathed out a laugh and passed the controller to Ned “Ready?”

Ned looked down at the controller, tense “This isn’t exactly my forte, guys.”

“It is mine.” Chrissy, on shaky legs, wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. She held out a hand and slid a look of determination onto her face “Let me.”

MJ and Ned shared a look before they both nodded, allowing control to Chrissy. She turned to face the metal thing in the distance and took a few steps closer, standing next to Michelle, who had pulled the phone back to her ear.

“We’re ready. Ned, take it over.”

There was a click behind her and the metal beast froze in its path. Iron Mans suit hung in the air next to it, cautious.

“I’m hoping that’s you.”

“It is. Chrissy, move it towards the river and slowly lower it down, alright?”

The girl nodded. She moved the joysticks slowly and the metal spider moved up and down, side to side, and lifted each of its legs carefully before lowering them again.

“Are you making it fucking dance?”

“I’m getting used to the controls!” Chrissy hurried out a shaky response, having heard the very loud incredulous question through the phone. After another beat, she steadied herself “Alright, I think I’ve got it.”

The metal spider cautiously raised the leg puncturing the bridge and stuck on the mainland. It stepped further into the river with adjustments being passed down the line from Stark, to MJ and then to Chrissy. Everyone held their breath as the spider stood still in the river and slowly lowered itself until it was sat firmly in the water. The thing twitched, hissed, and slunk forward. Whoever had made it clearly hadn’t expected it to take a dunk in the river.

“Holy shit, I did it.” Chrissy muttered in surprise, thumbs flying back from the controls.

“Damn right you did.” MJ laughed and squeezed her shoulder. The girl flung around and hugged her tightly, quite to MJ’s surprise.

“Stay where you are. Once the clean-up crew gets here, I’ll pick up Peter myself. What you lot did was stupid and reckless but…” Stark sighed again and it seemed as if it physically pained him to continue “You did good. Just never do any of that again.” He hung up.

In the next ten minutes, an ambulance had arrived and the paramedics had gathered the kids to give them all a check over. Out of the group, it was the driver and Mr Harrington that were worse off, with Peter suspiciously fine if not for the fact he was still knocked out. They were loading the two adults into the ambulance when Iron Man touched down a few yards away, his suit hissing open and Tony Stark stepping out.

He nodded at the paramedics, who nodded out of instinct in shock, and strolled towards Peter. He was still laying on the ground, though Ned and MJ had moved to his side and rested his head on his own backpack “I’m assuming you’re Michelle and Ted?”

“Ned actually-”

“Yep,” MJ cut him off “That’s us. You’re welcome, by the way.”

Stark sent her a look and moved his attention back to Peter “Has he woken up yet?”

“No, but he’s pretty much healed.” Ned shrugged and fiddled with his sleeves “They want to keep him here until he does wake up and check for a concussion.”

“Hm.” Stark hummed and crouched down until they were all eye level “Quick thinking, using Karen. She sent along the pilots’ details to S.H.I.E.L.D, they’re dealing with them now.”

“T-Thank you, sir.” Ned stuttered and looked away.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you how stupid and dangerous that was, right?” Tony narrowed his eyes at them.

“We know.” MJ stared unblinkingly back.

“Jeez, no wonder you’re Peters friends.” Tony pinched his brow and took a deep breath “Your parents are probably on the way to pick you up, the news helicopters got pretty good shots of the bus. I’ll take Peter back with me, get him some proper medical attention.”

He clicked his fingers over his shoulder and the empty suit closed back up, moving forward. Tony stepped back inside and waved the kids out of the way, carefully lifting Peter up. Michelle passed him his backpack too, which he looped through one of his arms.

Ned gave them a small wave “Bye, Mr Stark.”

“Sure, kid. May we never meet again.”

The Iron Man suit rose up into the air and flew into the sky, leaving MJ and Ned to wait and ignore all questions from their classmates for the coming hour.

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illuminati9exists · 8 months

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tony: and i said “i’m okay”. you know. like a liar

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illuminati9exists · 8 months

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You should read The Demosthenes Protocol on fanfiction.net . It is one of my favourite civilwar fixit fanfic. Good night 😴🌉.

#CACW #sokoviaaccordsfixit #avengers #Tonystark #yay team go

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illuminati9exists · 8 months

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The fandom echo chamber: fanon, microanalysis and conspiracy brain

As someone who has been in fandom spaces, on and off, for 20 years, I find some fascinating trends popping up in the last decade that I thought to be fandom-specific but clearly aren’t. So, I would like to do a little examination of where those things come from, how they are engaged with, and what it says about the way we consume media. This is a think piece, of sorts, with my brain being the main source. As such, we will spend some time down the memory lane of a fandom-focused millennial.

This is largely brought about by Good Omens. But it’s also not really about Good Omens at all.

Part one. Fanon.

The way we see characters in any story is always skewed by our very selves. This is a neutral statement, and it does not have a value judgement. It’s simply unavoidable. We recognise aspects of them, love aspects of them, and choose aspects of them to highlight based entirely on our own vision of the universe.

Recognition comes into this. There is a reason so many protagonists of romance novels have a “blank slate” problem. Even when they do not, we love characters who are like us or versions of us that we would like to be. And when we say “we”, I also mean, “me”.

(I remember very clearly this realisation hit me after a whole season of Doctor Who with writing which I hated utterly when I questioned why I still clung so incredibly hard to Clara Oswald as my favourite companion. Then I looked at myself in the mirror, with my medium-length dark hair, opaque tights, boots, and leather jacket, with spunk and carelessness to the point of recklessness. Oh. Well. That would do it, wouldn’t it?)

Then, there is projection, and, again, this is a neutral statement. Projection exists, and it is completely normal and, dare I say it, valid way of engaging with — well, anything. Is the character queer? Trans? Neurodivergent? Are they in love? Do they like chocolate? Are they a cat person? Well, yes, if this is what the text says, but if the text does not say anything… You tell me. Please, do tell me. Because, in that moment of projection, they are yours.

And then, there is fandom osmosis, and that is the most fascinating one of them all, the one that is not very easy to note while you are inside the echo chamber. It’s the way we collectively, consciously or not, make decisions on who or what the characters are, what their relationships are, and what happens to them.

(Back when I was writing egregiously long Guardian recaps on this blog I actually asked if Shen Wei’s power being learning actually was stated anywhere in the canon of the show. Because I had no idea. I have read and reread dozen of fanfics where that is the case, and at some point through enough repetition, it became reality.)

We are all kind of making our own reality here, aren’t we?

Back when things were happening in a much less centralised manner - in closed livejournal groups, and forums of all shapes and sizes - I don’t remember there being quite as much universally agreed upon fanon. Frankly, I don’t remember much of universally agreed upon anything. But now, everything is in one place: we have this, and we have AO3, and it’s wonderful, it really is so much easier to navigate, but it’s also one gigantic reality-shifting echo chamber, with blogs, reblogs, trends, and rituals.

Accessibility plays its part, too. If you were, say, in Life on Mars (UK) fandom between seasons, and you wanted to post your speculation fic, you had to have had an account, and then find and gain access to one of the bigger groups (lifein1973 was my poison, but ymmv), and then, if you feel brave you may post it, but also, you may want to do so from your alt account if you wanted to keep yours separate, and then you would have to go through the whole process again. And I’m not saying that fan creations then were somehow inherently better for it than fan creations now (although Life on Mars Hiatus Era is perhaps a bad example - because some of the Speculation Fic there was breathtaking), but there is something to say about the ease of access that made the fandoms go through a big bang of sorts.

(I mean, come on, I can just come here and post this - and I am certain people will read it, and this blog is a pandemic cope baby about Chinese television for goodness sake.)

The canon transformations that happen in the fandom echo chamber truly are fascinating to witness as someone who is more or less a fandom butterfly. I get into something, float around for a bit, then get into something else and move on. I might come back eventually when the need arises, but I don’t sustain a hiatus mind-state. This means that when I float away and return, I find some very intriguing stuff.

Let’s actually look at Good Omens here. Season two aired, and I found it spectacular in its cosy and anguished way; deliberately and intelligently fanfic-y in its plot building; simple but subversive, and so very tender. (I will have to circle back to this eventually, because, truly, I love how deliberately it takes the tropes and shatters them - it’s glorious). And, to me - a person who read the book, watched the first season, hung around AO3 for a few weeks and moved on - absolutely on-point in terms of characterisation.

So imagine my surprise when the fandom disagreed so vehemently that there are actual multi-tiered theories on how characters were not in possession of their senses. Nothing there, in my mind, ever contradicted any of the stated text, as it stood. This remained a strange little mystery until I did what I always do when I flutter close to an ongoing fandom.

I loaded AO3 and sorted the existing fic by popularity. And there it was, all there: the actual earth-shattering mutual devotion of the angel and the demon; willingness to Fall; openness and long heart-aching confession speeches. There was all of the fanon surrounding Aziraphale and Crowley, which, to me, read as out of character, and to one for whom they became the reality over the last four years, read as truth.

Again, only neutral statements here. This is not a bad thing, and neither this is a good thing, this is just something that happens, after a while, especially when there are years for the fandom-born ideas to bounce around and stew. I can’t help but think that so much of what we see as real in spaces such as this one is a chimaera of the actual source and all the collective fan additions which had time and space to grow, change, develop, and inspire, reverberating over and over again, until the echoes fill the entirety of the space.

Eventually, this chimaera becomes a reality.

Part two. Microanalysis

Here are my two suppositions on the matter:

1. Some writers really love breadcrumb storytelling.

Russel T Davies, for instance, on his run of Doctor Who (and, if you are reading it much later - I do mean the original one), loved that technique for his seasonal arcs. What is a Bad Wolf? Who is Harold Saxon? Well, you can watch very very carefully, make a theory, and see it proven right or wrong by the end of the season.

Naturally, mystery box writers are all about breadcrumb storytelling: your Losts and your Westworlds are all about giving you snippets to get your brain firing, almost challenging you to figure things out just ahead of the reveal.

2. We, as humans, love breadcrumbs.

And why wouldn’t we? Breadcrumbs are delicious. They are, however, a seasoning, or a coating. They are not the meal.

Too much metaphor?

Let’s unpack it and start from the beginning.

Pattern recognition colours every aspect of our lives, and it colours the way we view art to a great extent. I think we truly underestimate how much it’s influenced by our lived experiences.

If you are, broadly speaking, living somewhere in Western/North-Western Europe in the 14th century, and you see a painting in which there is a very very large figure surrounded by some smaller figures and holding really tiny figures, you may know absolutely nothing about who those figures are, but you know that the big figure is the Important One, and the small ones are Less Important Ones, and the tiny ones are In Their Care. You know where your reverence would lie, looking at this picture. And, I imagine, as someone living in the 14th century, you may be inspired to a sense of awe looking at this composition, because in the world you live in, this is how art works.

If you, on the other hand, watch a piece of recorded media and see the eyes of two characters meet as the violins swell, you know what you are being told at that moment. You don’t have to have a film degree to feel a sort of way when you see a green-tinged pallet used, when cross-cuts use juxtaposing images, or notice where your focus is pulled in any given shot. This stuff - this recognition of patterns - has been trained into us by the simple fact that we live in this time, on this planet, and we have been doing so long enough to have engaged recorded media for a period of time.

As humans, we notice things. Our brains flare up when they see something they recognise, and then we seek to find other similar details and form a bigger picture. This often happens unconsciously, but sometimes it does not. Sometimes we do it on purpose: finding breadcrumbs in stories is a little bit like solving a mystery. It allows us to stretch that brain muscle that puts two and two together. It makes us feel clever.

So yes, we love breadcrumbs, and, frankly, quite a lot of storytelling takes advantage of this. It’s very useful for foreshadowing, creating thematic coherence, or introducing narrative parallels and complexity. It’s useful for nudging the viewer into one or the other emotional direction, or to cue them into what will happen in the next moment, or what exactly is the one important detail they should pay attention to.

Because this is something media does intentionally, and something we pick up both consciously and not, it is very hard to know when to stop. We don't really ever know when all of the breadcrumbs have been collected. It becomes very easy to get carried away. There is a very specific kind of pleasure in digging into content frame by frame, soundbite by soundbite, chasing that pleasure of finding.

But it is almost never breadcrumbs all the way down. They are techniques to help us focus on the main event: the story. I truly believe those who make media want it to reach the widest possible audience, and that includes all of us who like to watch every single thing ever created with our Media Analysis Goggles on and those who are just here to enjoy the twists and turns of the story at the pace offered to them. And I think, sometimes in our chase to collect and understand every little clue we forget that media is not made to just cater for us.

One can call it missing a forest for the trees. But I would hate to mix my metaphors, so let’s call it missing a schnitzel for the breadcrumbs.

Part three. The Conspiracy Brain.

If you are there with me, in the midst of the excited frenzy, chasing after all those delicious breadcrumbs, then patterns can grow, merge together, and become all-encompassing theories. Let’s call them conspiracy theories, even though this is not what they truly are.

So, why do we believe in conspiracy theories?

One, Because We Have Been Lied To.

All conspiracies start with distrust.

If you are in fandom spaces - especially if you are in fandom spaces which revolve around a queer fictional couple - especially-especially if you have been in such spaces for a period of time, you have most certainly been lied to at one point or another.

We don’t even have to talk about Sherlock - and let’s not do that - but do you remember Merlin? Because I remember Merlin. Specifically, I remember the publicity surrounding the first season, with its weaponised usage of “bromance” and assertions that this whole thing is a love story of sorts, and then the daunting realisation that this was all a stunt, deliberately orchestrated to gather viewership.

And, because we were lied to in such a deliberate manner for such an extensive period of time, I genuinely believe that it forever altered our pattern recognition habits, because what was this if not encouragement to read into things? Now we are trained to read between the lines or see little cries for help where they might not be. Because we were told, over and over again, that we should.

(Yes, I think we are all existing in these spaces coloured by the trauma of queer-bating. I am, however, looking forward to a world where I can unlearn all of that.)

Two, Cognitive Dissonance.

The chain reaction works a bit like this: the world is wrong - it can’t possibly be wrong by coincidence - this must be on purpose - someone is responsible for it.

Being Lied To is a preamble, but cognitive dissonance is where it all originates. In so many cross-fandom theories I have noticed a four-step process:

A) this is not good

B) this author could not have made a mistake

C) this must be done on purpose

D) here is why

(Funny thing is, I have been on the receiving end of the small conspiracy spiral, and it is a very interesting experience. Not relevant to this conversation is the fact that a lot of my job revolves around storytelling. What is relevant is that my hobbies also revolve around storytelling. And one of them is DnD. Now, imagine my genuine shock when one of the players I am currently writing a campaign for noticed a small detail that did not make a logical sense within the complexity of the world, and latched on to it as something clearly indicating some kind of a secret subplot. Their thinking process also went a bit like this: this detail is not a good piece of writing — this DM knows how to tell stories well — this is obviously there on purpose. It was not there on purpose. I created a clumsy shorthand. I erred, in that pesky manner humans tend to. And, seeing this entire thought process recited to me directly in the moment, I felt somewhere between flattered and mortified.)

This whole line of thinking, I think, exists on a knife’s edge between veneration and brutal criticism, relentlessly dissecting everything “wrong”, with a reverent “but this is deliberate” attached to it like a vice, because it is preferable to a simple conclusion that the author let you down, in one way or another.

Three, Intentionality

I believe that there is no right or wrong way of engaging with stories, regardless of their medium, and assuming no one gets hurt in the process. While in a strictly academic way, there is a “correct” way of reading (and reading into) media, we here are largely not academics but consumers; consumption is subjective.

However, this all changes when intentionality is ascribed.

The one I find particularly fascinating is the intentionality of “making it bad on purpose” because, as open-minded as I intend to always be, this just does not happen.

It certainly does not happen in long-form media. Even in the bread-crumb mystery box-type long-form media.

When television programs underdeliver, they also underperform, and then they get cancelled.

If all the elements of Westworld Season 4 that did not sit together in a completely satisfactory way were written deliberately as some sort of deconstruction for the final season to explore, then it failed because that final season will now never come.

(There will likely never be a Secret Fourth Episode.)

And look, I am not here to refute your theories. Creativity is fun, and theorising is fantastic.

But, perhaps, when the line of thought ventures into the “bad on purpose” territory, it could be recognised for what it is: disappointment and optimism, attempting to coexist in a single space. And I relate to that, I do, and I am sorry that there is even a need for this line of thinking. It’s always so incredibly disappointing that a creator you believed to be devoid of flaws makes something that does not hit in the way you hoped it would. It’s pretty heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, people make mistakes. We are all fallible that way.

Four, Wildfire.

Then, when the crumbs are found, a theory is crafted, and intentionality is ascribed, all that needs to happen is for it to catch on. And hey, what better place for it than this massive hollow funnel that we exist in, where thoughts, ideas and interpretations reverberate so much they become inextricable from the source material in collective consciousness.

Conspiracy theories create alternate realities, very much like we all do here.

So where are we now?

I am not here to tell you what is right and what is wrong; what is true, and what is not. We are all entitled to engage with anything we wish, in whichever way we wish to do it. This is not it, at all.

All I am saying is… listen.

Do you hear that echo?

I do.

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