Month in Review(s) - October 2021

(Warning: this post discusses grief, bereavement, Covid 19, mental health, and general existential crises.)

October was not the easiest month I've ever had - but then, it was far from the hardest, so that's a plus point.

We've been dealing with some of the last admin of my nan's estate, and every time I feel like I've come to terms with her being gone, it's like another gut-punch.

Because I hadn't seen her in-person for so long due to Covid, sometimes it kind of still feels like I'm just waiting for the pandemic to be over, to be able to visit her.

Accepting that I'll never be able to hug her again, after waiting over a year to be able to do so is... difficult.

Friday Fics Fix - Just Can't Lose Him

 

'The first time Michael saw him after it happened was on the boardwalk. Three months, two days.'

This is the last Fics Fix of October, and Halloween is just a few days away, so it seems like the perfect time for some Queer vampires!

So this week we're talking one of my faves - the film The Lost Boys. (Which, yes, is Queer af - deny it all you want, you can't change the truth.)

Comics Wrap-Up - I Burned All The Place Down 'Cause I'm Too F**king Hot

 

It's Thursday, we're still standing, and this is Dora Reads - so let's get some superhero-y, comics-y goodness!

Comics Wrap-Up - They Treat Me Like If I Did Something Criminal

 

It's Thursday, this is still Dora Reads, let's get some comics-y, superhero-y goodness!

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Friday Fics Fix - Loving Losers

 

'..."Uh, yup." Richie shrugged. "Just all reconnected this weekend for some good old fashioned sewer clown fighting and murder."'

I love the IT movies.

- That's the modern, 2010s, IT parts 1 & 2. 

(Technically the films are IT, and IT: Chapter 2, but you all know what I mean, so expect me just to call them parts 1 & 2 throughout this post.)

I haven't seen the Tim Curry adaptation - though I might get around to it one of these days, purely because Tim Curry. 

I also haven't actually read the Stephen King novel because it's one of those 1000+ page behemoths that you have to kind of psych yourself up to tackle, and I'm yet to summon the sufficient energy and desire to do so.

Again, I might get around to it at some point, since I'm a general Stephen King fan.

Comics Wrap-Up - Risk Something, Take Back What's Yours

 

It's Thursday, this is Dora Reads, let's get some superhero-y, comics-y goodness!

Friday Fics Fix - A Queer Horror Fanfic Rec List

 

Since it's October, and therefore a time for all things spooky and gothic (woohoo!) I thought I'd give you all a little taste of some horror fics.

Some of these are horror in that the specific piece of fanfiction is horror-based, and some of them are actually based on horror media/fandoms. OK? OK.

Oh, and they're all Queer af.

As I’ve mentioned before, Queer people love horror.

(Not all of us, obviously, that would be a sweeping generalisation, and everyone’s different, but a lot of Queer people do love horror. And I mean LOVE it.)

So, horror's Queer, fanfiction's Queer, let's pull some monsters outta the closet! 😉😎😅

Month in Review(s) - September 2021

 

September was... like a see-saw.

...And yes, I partly mean that it had ups-and-downs.

Friday Fics Fix - Trope Stew With SamBucky (You Know You Love It!)

 

'Bucky’s knife skills are like a well-choreographed dance, smooth and dangerous and beautiful. He moves like water, the knife a true extension of his arm, and it’s all Sam can do not to let his mouth drop open like a goddamn cartoon character.'

 

To the surprise of probably no-one by this point, I'm here to rec you some more The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) - specifically, more SamBucky.

(Look, the inside of my head is essentially a big ball of tangled spaghetti, the confusion of which is relieved by the presence of various fictional characters, who have taken their spots rent-free, and who fight each other for dominance. 

Right now, Sam and Bucky are winning. 😅)

(Fandom Notes: 

SamBucky is a romantic and/or sexual relationship between Sam and Bucky. Hence the name, lol.)

Comics Wrap-Up - Woke Up Today, In A Van

 

It's Thursday, the UK has entered the 'fuel shortage' stage of whatever apocalyptic media it is that we're currently inhabiting, let's get some superhero-y comics-y goodness!

Comics Wrap-Up - Too Good To Be True, What Chance Did You Stand?

 

It's Thursday, this is Dora Reads, so let's get some comics-y, superhero-y goodness!

Comics Wrap-Up - Bucky's the Man, Look At How Perfect He Lands

 

It's Thursday, this is Dora Reads, let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Comics Wrap-Up - Another Head Aches, Another Heart Breaks

 

It's Thursday, it's September somehow, let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Month in Review(s) - August 2021

 

August was a month where I had multiple migraines, so that sucks.

But it also was NOT meltingly hot (unlike the first days of September...) so I'll take that! 😅

I know some people were complaining that the skies were dull and not as sunshiney as August normally is, but honestly, if the temperature stays down then I don't care!

(Me + Heat = Angry Bear! Lol.)

Friday Fics Fix - Definitely A Thing

'“...That’s why, if I wanna make sure someone knows who I mean when I’m talking about Bucky, I just say: my brother-in-law.”

Sam heaves an exasperated sigh and puts his head in his hands.'

This is The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) - and I know I have no excuses for how often I read TFATWS fics, but neither do I need any 😉😅

Fangirls are gonna fangirl dearest nerdlets, and I am most definitely a fangirl.

Comics Wrap-Up - A Little Bit of Everything, All of the Time

 

It's Thursday, Comics Wrap-Up is back, this is Dora Reads, let's get an absolutely huge helping of comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Friday Fics Fix - An Umbrella Novella

 

'Klaus claps his hands together. “Yay, sibling bonding time!”

Diego levels a stare at the medium. “We’re hunting a serial killer.”'

We return to The Umbrella Academy (TUA) dearest nerdlets!

It turns out that there's a tiny corner of my brain which isn't entirely absorbed by Marvel superheroes, and the Hargreeves siblings from Netflix's adaptation of TUA have reclaimed their residence.

(As they should.)

Friday Fics Fix - A SamBucky Rec List

 

I wrote a Sam and/or Bucky rec list a little while back, but I've rec'd a few The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) fics since then - so I figured it's time for a mini-list highlighting some specifically SamBucky fics!

Because in this house, Bucky Barnes is Queer af, OK? OK.

SamBucky, sometimes known as WinterFalcon (though SamBucky is generally preferred - at time of writing anyway - by most fan-creators,) is the name of the ship between, well, Sam and Bucky - which is kind of self-explanatory, really.

Friday Fics Fix - Loki, Gender, and The TVA (Fandom Is Here For It)

 

‘But as the days wore on in the TVA, blending together as they did, Loki realized that what they missed was magic.

And the freedom that came with it’

 

I mean… it’s probably no surprise that I’ve been absorbing large amounts of Loki fanfiction as if I can somehow merge them with my DNA.

(Which… I feel like there’s probs a fic out there somewhere that’s based on just that scenario, but I’m too scared to look. Because I’ll find it. 😅)

But if you’re new around here: I’m Marvel trash, btw.

And of the many specific types of Marvel trash that I am – being part of Loki’s Army is right up there.

Nerd Church - Witch-Hunts and Fear: The Emotional Maturity of ParaNorman

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I love the movie ParaNorman*. It’s hugely underappreciated.

This beautiful, weird, stop-motion mash-up of classic horror and kids’ adventure tale is surprisingly emotionally mature.

It explores the way that fear creates hatred, which in turn creates fear and hatred. And that adults can sometimes act out when they’re scared, in ways that can hurt the people – the children – around them.

Warning: this post contains SPOILERS for the film ParaNorman, and discusses: persecution (including religious-based persecution,) Ableism, Transphobia, Homophobia, horror elements, executions, death

I’ve seen ParaNorman quite a few times now – it always strikes me like it’s the first time I’ve seen it.

I think I forget, in between watches, just how good this film is.

First-off, of course, I appreciate anything made with stop-motion animation – stop-motion uses puppets or models, which are imaged, frame-by-frame, as they are moved incrementally by hand.

When the still images are put together (at a rate of around 24 frames per second,) it generates the illusion of movement.

In order to create smooth-looking movement, the positioning of the models from one frame to the next has to be both minute and precise.