Nerd Church - Practise and Prioritise Self-Care, Instead of Working Yourself Into the Ground

I work my a** off.

There are no qualifiers to that - I do.

Image by Prawny on Pixabay

Comics Wrap-Up - From the Fading Light I Fly

I don't know whether there's just a lot of superhero/comics stuff this week, or if I've just rambled on more than usual... maybe both! 😎

Comics Wrap-Up - I'll Be The Ghost Inside Your Head When We Are Through

This is one of those weeks which remind me why I love comics!

(It's possible there was drama, in fact there probably was - but dude I didn't notice it! 😘)

Comics and superheroes are there for you when sh** gets tough, showing you it's ok to be different, it's ok to act a li'l weird, it's ok to be yourself and defy expectations! 😊

(It's also ok to have fun!)

Friday Fics Fix - Yer a Wizard ...Ianto?

'“Ianto?” Jack was looking down from his office.  He slowly descended the steps.  “One of your friends is the Minister for Magic.”'

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that literally everything has been mixed with Harry Potter in fanfiction-form.

Kind of like the magical PG version of Rule 34

...Well, mostly PG.

...Well, some of it's PG.

...Well, this fic doesn't have any sex, ok?!

(If you don't know what rule 34 is, I advise protecting your innocence and not looking it up. You can't unknow it!)

Nerd Church - Rebel Valentine 3: Revenge of the Roses

Is it just me?

No, really, is it me?

Is there something fundamentally unlovable about me? Am I undeserving of romance or love? Is that why no-one’s ever been ‘in the picture’?

Am I broken?




These thoughts are, of course, utter b*llsh**.

But part of me still kinda believes them.

Welcome to Rebel Valentine 3!


If you’ve read previous Rebel Valentine’s posts, you probably know where this is going.

If not, buckle up and prepare for potentially TMI. (I’ll try to keep it lowkey, but no promises!)

Nerd Church - Responsible Reporting Required: How Media Outlets Are Failing To Follow Suicide Prevention Guidelines

(Warning: this post discusses suicide and self-harm. It also discusses poor reporting of these issues, and the danger of 'copycat' incidents.)

(For helplines, see details at the bottom of this post.)


There's been a lot of buzz in the UK over the last week or two over the prevalence of self-harm imagery on the Internet, and its link to suicide.

Now, there's def. issues with that, but there's also more issues than you'd think with the actual god-damned reporting of this issue.

The UK's leading suicide prevention charity, The Samaritans, provides Media Guidelines [PDF] for reporting on suicide.

These guidelines contain advice based on academic research on the affects of different types of news coverage.

I check them whenever I'm talking about this issue, and when I make a conscious decision to bend them, as I did when talking about the death of Chester Bennington, I'm very clear about my reasons for this, and exceptionally careful with every single word I use.

Friday Fics Fix - After the Storm

'“Errgh” Harry groaned, “Is there something wrong with me?”

“Yes, but it’s the same thing that’s wrong with all of us.”'

Ahhhh, how I love Hogwarts eighth-year fanfiction!

Because let's face it, I think that we'd all like to see the immediate aftermath of the Wizarding War, instead of just zooming straight to '20 years later.'

(...Or whatever length of time it was ...I honestly can't remember.)

Like, dude, you missed the hard bits! Recovery isn't something you just skip over!

Friday Fics Fix - Digging For Victory

Hello 2019! We got fanfiction, we got Bucky Bear, let's get down to it!

'Theoretically, she knew he must go other places sometimes, but it didn't seem to happen often, and from his overall air of nervousness, he seemed to be uncomfortable with it too.'

One of my favourite things on this planet is fanfiction which uses self-care and general mental-health recovery as its focus.

When the character involved just so happens to be my Bucky-bear, aka Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier, it's like icing on the cake.

(In related news, I'm hungry and would very much like some cake, with or without icing.)

The Bookish Diversity Link List 2019

Let's get moving my dearest nerdlets!

I didn't manage to make 2018's list all that I wanted it to be - not least because 2018 was stressful and hard as hell.

2019 though? Let's kick some butt!

Nerd Church - 50+ Things It's OK To Feel When You're Grieving

Grief doesn't care about 'should.'

Grief will feel how grief feels.

Month in Review(s) - November 2018

Maybe you should all just assume that it wasn't a good month, unless I tell you differently? 😅

It'll save a lot of time and make me feel like I'm whining a lot less!

Friday Fics Fix - A Different Kind of Poison

(Warning: this post is basically about Depression.)

'Today, however, all Venom can discern is what could be considered the cerebral equivalent of static. Everything is fuzzy and the thoughts that are trying to surface keep coming up blurry, with no real impulse behind them.'

I love Venom.

I love Venom to the end of the Earth. Cos I'm just that kind of weird sassy nerd.

So I've been reading Venom fanfiction.

Friday Fics Fix - Please Take Care of the Random British Man

'Lestrade looked on, bewildered, as Sherlock began to help himself to the soup.

“You think your life rates lower than a case in John’s eyes?”'

If this post doesn't make sense, it's because I'm tired, have a headache, and my country is slowly falling to pieces.

No, I'm not American. I'm actually British. We have problems too. 👍 

(Brexit sh**. Help us.)

Friday Fics Fix - Iron Can Be Cold, But Spiders Need Warmth

'Peter grunts. His eyes open only slightly, but it doesn't look like he understands where he is. The kid is like dead weight slung over Tony's metal-clad shoulders. He's also freezing cold.'

Let's have some Tony-Peter Father-Son-type-cuteness with a side of self-care, shall we?

I love that fics like this exist!

I also love that fics can take a random thought, like, for example 'what if Peter Parker has the same lack of thermoregulation as a spider?' and f**king runs with it!

Friday Fics Fix - Am I More Than You Bargained For, Yeah?

'She comes back with a hiker’s backpack, out of which she pulls a pair of jersey shorts, black leggings, a red bandana and a bunch of colorful string bracelets.

"Jesus," Sam says, looking it over. "Is there some naked hippie grad student knocked out somewhere in the hotel right now?"

"None of these items will be traced back to us," Natasha says soothingly, which doesn't answer his question.'

Oh man, this fic! This fic is EVERYTHING.

Honestly, the dedication it takes to write over 500 pages of the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky Barnes, prioritising self-care and dealing with seventy years worth of trauma is freaking amazing!

Really Mini-Reviews - Escorting the Escort by Lyss Em and Babyvamp by Lyssa Dering

You want some awesome M/M New Adult romance novellas?

Of course ya do!

Today I've got reviews of Escorting the Escort by Lyss Em and Babyvamp by Lyssa Dering - which are both written by the same author, just under different names.

They explore orientations beyond just Gay or Straight, and are pretty damned awesome t'boot!

Nerd Church - That Feeling When... Why Labelling Emotions Is Healthy (Ft. #Science)

(Warning: this post discusses mental health stigma, and grief.)



In the UK, there's a TV programme live on Sunday mornings sometimes called Sunday Morning Live.

(I know, right? How did they come up with that name?!)

It's a sort-of chat show with a moral/social/ethical/semi-religious basis.

It can be decent. It can be awful.

Largely I only watch it because before 1pm on a Sunday I don't exist beyond zombie coffee-drinker; my anger at the more extreme guests tends to help me wake up while the rest of the programme is still happily sleepy.

Anywho, last week, they were asking whether there's a mental health crisis in the UK.

Now, you can argue statistics and definitions on that one until you're blue in the face and unable to look at another decimal point or percentage sign for a good long time...

...but we can all agree that good mental health is... well... good.

#BannedBooksWeek: Nerd Church - F**k It, Let's Talk Censorship (Ft. Thirteen Reasons Why)

Warning: this post discusses suicide, suicidal thoughts, mental health problems, sexual harassment, and censorship.

Links may also discuss these topics.




(Did you notice I self-censored in the title of this post? I can't bring myself to swear without *'s because in a traditional Welsh household, the only one allowed to swear is your mam. Lol.)

Via Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week is back! (23-29 Sept 2018)

And, darling nerdlets, I'm here once again to ask all the goddamn awkward questions!

Cos that's kinda what this week is about!

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: 7 Radical Ways To Defeat Writer's Block

Staring at the blank page (...or screen...) we've all been there.

You need to write the thing - but the thing just doesn't seem to want to be written.

You have the Dreaded Writer's Block.

But Writer's Block ain't welcome around here!

I don't put up with Writer's Block (that pushy little so-and-so) - and neither should you!

Nerd Church - Work/Life/Blog/Whatever-Balance Is Hard! (Especially When You Have Cats)

Do you ever feel like there's just too much sh** going on?

Like, you got your work or school stuff, then you got your life/personal stuff, then you might have some other stuff to do with hobbies or passion projects or... welp, blogging!