Friday Fics Fix - My Stand-Out Fics of 2023

 

Since F3 is going on its regular break in December, I thought that now was a great time to give you my stand-out fics of the year!

- That's not the same as the best fics of the year. 

It's more... the ones I can still remember when stressed and tired at the end of November 😅 (Expect a lot from the last few months, ngl.)

Remember to please check out the orginal rec'ing posts for Content Warnings and SPOILER status.

I'll leave the link to those original rec. posts when I finish up talking about each fic.

Friday Fics Fix - Izzy Hands Is Being Haunted

 

'His captain just looked sad, like he'd failed Izzy in some way.'

 

OH MY GOD THIS FIC!!!!

krhguergjopwrgm';¬!

...sorry, had to fangirl over the page a bit there. This fic is so good. 

Like - page-turning, stayed up an extra hour to read some more, good.

Month In Review(s) - July 2023

Warning: this post briefly discusses Depression

July. Ugh.

Well... let's look at the positives.

Once again, nobody in my life - either human or animal - died, almost died, or had a life-changing diagnosis.

Which is a low bar for a win, but that's the bar that I have - so it's a win.

Nerd Church - Watching Tennis With Depression

 

Warning: As you probably figured out from the title, this post discusses Depression.

Disclaimer Time: I'm not any kind of medical, psychological, or mental health professional. These are my own experiences - nothing more, nothing less.

I love watching tennis.

Like I love it.

It's the one sport that I've followed regularly and consistently since I was a kid.

And for a British kid, there's nothing bigger in tennis than the Wimbledon Championships.

Friday Fics Fix - Solid SamBucky

 

Warning: this post briefly discusses PTSD/mental health problems

'The storm begins while Sam is away. Which means that Bucky is left to fend for himself in their empty apartment...'

 

We all need some solid SamBucky emotional/mental-health-based Hurt/Comfort every now and then, right?

...I mean.

We all know it's true.

Friday Fics Fix - Clint Barton Has No Coffee

 

'The coffee is gone.

"No," Clint whispers, staring at the counter where he left it. "What the... is it... coffee burglar?"'

I would like the record (there's a record, right? Sure, let's say there's a record,) to show that I'm not actually a big fan of time-loop tropes.

...Which you wouldn't think, given how often I rec. them, but there we are!

(All of which is to say that this week's fic is a time-loop fic.)

Comics Wrap-Up - In The Current World

 

It's Thursday, I'm tired, let's get some of that good ole comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Friday Fics Fix - Argh, The Angst In This One!

 

'Ed feels something in his chest, something resembling fondness. He doesn’t know why, he doesn’t even know this guy’s name. And yet, Ed had spent the better part of the last few days thinking of the rich man crying in the rage room, making up stories in his head to justify his presence, his anger, his sadness.'

I mean... it was only a matter of time until I rec'd a novel-length Our Flag Means Death (OFMD) fic.

I am trash. We know this, and we love it (...hopefully.) 😅😈😎

If you haven't watched OFMD yet... Gay pirates and Taika Waititi as Blackbeard. #JustSaying.

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: I Just Wanna Write Something Beautiful

(Warning: this post briefly discusses Depression)

'Well I wanted something better man

I wished for something new
And I wanted something beautiful
And wish for something true'

- The Foo Fighters, Wheels 

Nerd Church - Basic Levels of Niceness

(Warning: this blogpost discusses low self-worth and mental health problems. It also briefly discusses toxic/abusive friendships.)

"Oh My God! You remembered!" 

She's holding the chocolate orange, still partly covered by reindeer wrapping paper, like it's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen.

"Yeah?" - of course I did, she and our friend spent a good half an hour a month or so back discussing how sad it was that no-one ever gets them chocolate oranges, how much they love chocolate oranges, and that they hadn't had chocolate oranges in forever. 

So, when I was buying their Christmas presents, I bought a couple of chocolate oranges. No brainer; no biggy.

"You're so sweet!"

...Am I?

Friday Fics Fix - That Particular Soft-But-Warped Tone

 

'Edward froze, glancing to the corner Stede had gestured to and seeing nothing there. Stede clearly saw something though, because he kept glancing over there...'

I finally got around to watching Our Flag Means Death (OFMD) - it will come as zero surprise to most people that I utterly freaking ADORE it!

And what I do with things I adore, once I run out of canon material, is read fanfiction - let's be honest, I am nothing if not predictable. 😅

(Fandom notes:

Canon is the 'official' stuff in the book/film/TV series/whatever.)

Comics Wrap-Up - Some Sort Of Rundown On the State of Reality

It's Thursday, I'm trying not to fall back on overworking as an unhealthy coping mechanism in stressful times, let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Friday Fics Fix - As The Fanfiction Gods Intended...

'“It's been a year, Buck,” he said. “I hate seein’ you like this. When was the last time you talked to someone other than me?”

“I talked to Nat last week,” Bucky muttered, knowing it was a poor excuse.'

OK, who wants SamBucky with a side-helping of Veterans' Association AU, featuring Nebula, Clint Barton, Peter Parker and more...?

Welp, that's what you're getting!

(I know what's good for you, dearest nerdlets, just accept it!)

(Fandom notes:

SamBucky is a romantic and/or sexual relationship between Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes from the MCU (Marvel movies + TV shows)

AU = Alternate Universe. It is a universe that is alternate.)

The Bookish Diversity Link List 2023

  

Your resource for all things bookish diversity is back! 

Welcome to the 7th(!) Bookish Diversity Link List, 2023.

As I said last year, I still think there's need for a resource which points to cool and good quality diverse bookish things - even if I sometimes struggle to add as much to it as I'd like.

My corner of the bookish interwebs may be flourishing diversely, but the bookish interwebs as a whole has a lot of churn in terms of participants (i.e. people leaving, people coming in,) - and some of the issues around diversity and representation remain as pressing as ever.

So, here I am, once again, doing my small bit to keep things moving forward. I hope you find it useful.

Friday Fics Fix - We've Established I'm Trash By This Point

 

'“You think you can? You’re talking about a goddamn plane, you’re going to have to do better than ‘think’ you can, Bucky!”

“I’m pretty sure I can figure out a landing. Or at least a controlled crash. It’ll be okay.”'

 

We've established I'm trash by this point, so that'll save me a lot of explaining and justifying myself 😅.

So, with that in mind - this is an MCU (Marvel movies and TV shows,) The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) fic. 

Yes, again.

Not explaining, not justifying. 😈😅

Nerd Church - Being Exhausted Is Exhausting

I've been trying, lately, to let myself be tired when I'm tired.

Now, that probably seems simple to a lot of you - you lucky folks who get tired and just... accept it.

But me? Apparently when I'm tired, my natural reaction is to do more. 

Which... uh... makes no sense. 

I'm going to assume it's at least partly down to the tiger vs. not tiger thing I've talked about before. 😅 

I.e. my weird little hooman bean brain thinks we're under attack and/or vulnerable in some way when I'm tired, and pushes me to be alert to the dangers/fight the tiger/whatever.

Friday Fics Fix - Bucky Can't Catch A Break

'Bucky turns back to the screen in front of him and can’t help his flinch as the bright light turns into what might as well be an ice pick to his brain.' 

Bucky has had it!

I mean, it's one thing coming to terms with ex-assassin-ing, super-soldier-ing, and being in the actual goddamn future, but now there's all this psychic b*llsh** on top?!

Dude can't catch a break!

Friday Fics Fix - It Works Weirdly Well

'She walked over to Thea and pulled one of the games out of the box. It was an old fashioned wooden box with the game’s name actually carved into the front. “Jumanji?”

“I’ve never heard of that one,” Ollie said. He joined them to take a look.'

 

Sometimes, you gotta give points for creativity, y'know?

And there ain't no-one more creative than fic authors! 😉

Friday Fics Fix - This Fic Understands Mental Health Problems

Warning: this post discusses eating disorders, general mental health problems, and realted symptoms and themes

'Normally, when Mac had a problem, all it took was some spare parts and a Swiss Army knife...'

I thought, before reading this, that I wouldn't ever end up recommending it.

Honestly? I figured from the syopsis and tags on AO3 for this fic, that it would probably be trauma porn - which I've been known to indulge in when the need arises, but wouldn't y'know, recommend to anyone. 

Not least because trauma porn is often really poorly written, exploitative, and gratuitous.

I was wrong. This fic is freaking amazing.

And the fic author saying this was the first fic they started... wow!

Month In Review(s) - August 2022

(Warning: this post briefly discusses mental health problems)

August was... OK, I guess.

And for me, this year, OK is freaking fantastic!

So, it was still too hot, but it was cooler than July which -

 - yes, please, thankyou, more of the lack of heat melting my brain, if at all possible, thanks!

I do not function in the heat. At all.

Frighteningly, we now have an official drought in much of Wales. 

If you don't know Wales and our verdant, fertile, valleys all that well, you might wonder why that's frightening.

Basically - you know the stereotypes that the rest of the world has about it always raining in London? Yeah? Well, I would consider London to be quite a dry place.

And we have drought.

(And now London possibly wants our water - but if I start getting into the long and exploitative history of water politics between Wales and England, we will be here all day.)

Climate change is real, and it is here.