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!

Review Time! - Learning Curves by Ceillie Simkiss

Title: Learning Curves

Author: Ceillie Simkiss

Genre:

New Adult, Novella, Contemporary Fiction, LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Asexual, Panromantic,) Romance (F/F)

Release Date: 17th August 2018

Amazon: UK - USA

Friday Fics Fix - Whose Shield Are You?

'“Ruby was dangerous and it got complicated and that is just the way it was.” Exploded Fitz, trying so desperately to keep calm but feeling his control slipping away. “So I’m sorry if it doesn’t fit with-” Fitz took a breath as his voice thickened and broke, begging for tears not to fall out of frustration, “whatever narrative that you’ve built for yourself.”'

One of the biggest plusses of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, for me at least, is Leopold Fitz.

Played to a point nearing perfection by Iain De Caestecker,  Agent Fitz has gone through pretty much any sh** that this series has to throw at him.

And this series has had a large supply of sh** to throw at him.

Friday Fics Fix - Da Vinci, Like Never Before

'"What did they do to you?" he whispered. "What have you done to yourself?" he added without thinking. Words tumbling out of his mouth like the thoughts that used to tangle in his mind. "What did I do?"'

This week's fic is for a TV show I absolutely adore, and which was cut short too soon after just 3 series.

Da Vinci's Demons is a highly underrated show.

It's basically like Game of Thrones with real historical people, but keeping the weird-a** paranormal/fantasy elements.

So it's kind of like an alternate version of history, with a young bad-boy Leonardo Da Vinci.

Friday Fics Fix - Deeper Than You'd Think

'As always, it was completely Potter’s fault. How was Draco’s brain supposed to work properly, given these circumstances?'

You know when you start a fic like, 'oh this is gonna be cutesy with maybe a bit of angst and sexy thrown in'?

And then 9 chapters later you're a f**king mess of feels because it was secretly about the deep sh** the whole time?!?!

...that.

(So many fanfic readers know what I'm talking about right now, and the noobs are like 'That'll never happen to me!' - oh contraire, dearest noobish nerdlets, it most certainly f**king will.

Because fanfiction likes to warp your soul and f**k with your brain.

#TrueStory. #GottaLoveItThough.)




(Fangirling notes: Feels are intense and hard to describe feelings/emotions)

Nerd Church - Self-Care Is Vitally Important In Hot Weather

...of course, Self-Care is vitally important generally, but you get what I mean.





If you're in the middle of a heatwave like we are in the UK, then your Self-Care game needs to be sharp.

Month In Review(s) - May 2018

May. May was hectic.


Some good stuff happened. Some not-good stuff happened.

Such is life I suppose!

Really Mini-Reviews! - Swing Time by Zadie Smith and The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

What have I got for you today?

Some more awesome-sauce Really Mini-Reviews!

So, here are my reviews of Swing Time by Zadie Smith, and The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware:

Friday Fics Fix - Harry and Draco and a Fic I Love For Reasons Unknown

'They began to acknowledge one another in the halls, not in a way that anybody else took any degree of notice to, but as their silence slowly became louder to one another they spoke in hushed whispers in empty corridors and alcoves and in the back of the library.'

I don't know why I like this week's fic.

There's just... something about this fic. I don't know why.

There's not much of a plot. The prose is over-dramatic and over-flowery in places. And I have no idea what's going on with the characterisation.

Sorry, that's not much of a ringing endorsement is it?

Maybe I'm not explaining it right. Cos this fic totally rocks.

Why? Well, because... because... I have no f**king clue. It's somehow amazing though.

Nerd Church - The Basics of Self-Care

(Warning: this post includes frank discussions of a variety of mental health problems, including references to suicidal thoughts, and self-harm.)




May is Mental Health Month in the US, and 14th-20th May is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK.

You've probably heard, at some point in the course of your internetage, the phrase 'self-care.'

Hopefully, what you've heard has been positive. Unfortunately, you may have heard others mocking people who practice self-care, or calling it selfish.

Self-care is not selfish. Self-care is vital for everyone.

Just as everyone has both mental and physical health, though not necessarily mental or physical health *problems,* likewise everyone can (and should) practice self-care as a way of keeping yourself as happy and healthy as possible.




Disclaimer time: I am not a medical or mental health professional. I'm a blogger with personal experiences of mental health problems - OK? OK

Really Mini-Reviews! - Riot Days by Maria Alyokhina and Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming

I don't read many memoirs.

When I do, they've got be that little bit unusual. That little bit extraordinary.

Friday Fics Fix - Show Your Scars

Fanfiction's gonna change the wooooooooorld! XD

Cos fic authors - nerds, fangirls, fanboys, and non-binary fan folks - look at the stigma and the cr*p of previous generations, and say NO!

No to stigma on mental health. No to body image stigma. No to silence on sh** that hurts people!

*takes a deep breath*

Anxiety vs Blogger

(Warning: This post is about depression and Anxiety, and the demonstration of a negative thought spiral.)

First off: I'm OK. I've had a rough-ish few days (not too bad, but bad enough,) but I'm OK.

There is no need to worry about me.

Sometimes, much as blogging has saved my life, it can contribute negatively to my mental health.

I don't need to take an extended break - honestly, I'm fine. I love blogging just as much as I ever have, and, overall, it's good for me.

And the problem wasn't really blogging - it was the Anxiety.

But I did need to 'write it out.' This is the result of that.

Mini-Review! - An Untamed State by Roxane Gay

Title: An Untamed State

Author: Roxane Gay

Amazon: UK - USA

Verdict:

This book is an open wound.

It is raw. It is powerful. And, somehow, it finds a way to be beautiful.

Nerd Church - America, Don't Blame Mental Health Problems For Your Useless Laws

(Warning: this post discusses mental health problems, stigma, and gun violence including school shootings.)

America - what the actual f**k?

Look, I'm probably preaching to the choir here - but in case any of you out there are pro-killing-machines - let me explain some things:

1. There are mental health problems all over the world
2. School shootings aren't the norm in pretty much any country other than yours
3. Your gun laws are the problem