Nerd Church - Anxiety: Worrying About Sh** I Actually Don't Care About

(Warning: this post discusses Anxiety (which you probably figured out) and Depression)


If you're worried about paying the bills when you've got no money in the bank, that's logical.

Likewise, worrying about a friend who's been going through a tough time, or feeling anxious before you give a speech, is totally understandable.

Anxiety, though?

Anxiety blows the normal sh** out of proportion, while adding some completely illogical sh** t'boot.

Friday Fics Fix - What Is Dead May Never Die

'He does a lot of odd little things that Sansa suspects he isn’t even aware of anymore. Things that helped him get through another day, another hour, with Ramsay.'

Game of Thrones after many long, long years, is coming to an end.

We have one episode left - only one.

But if the Harry Potter fandom has taught us anything, it's that fanfiction will continue, long, long after the end of the series.

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: Patchwork Writing and Whatever Works For You

(Warning: this post discusses the everyday affects of Depression/Anxiety)

Some people are 'plotters,' some people are 'pantsers' - and I write in patchwork.

For those who don't know, writing fiction is generally split into two camps by the people who split things (whoever they are - I'm not sure anyone's ever met them) - plotting and pantsing.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Month in Review(s) - April 2019

April - well, April didn't have any work-related nose-bleeds, for a start!

Thanks to everyone for asking if I was ok, etc, last month - honestly I think you guys were a lot more worried about it than I was 😅

On the one hand, April had Easter and chocolate and spring flowers, and all that awesome stuff!

Y'know, lots of fun stuff to enjoy and smile about! 😊

Friday Fics Fix - They Didn't Teach Us This At the Academy

"I swear, all the doors in this damn house are going to be destroyed by the end of tonight," Diego muttered.

Yes, we are Umbrella Academy-ing again dearest nerdlets!

(Not least because it's a safe place to hide from Endgame spoilers! Lol.)

Friday Fics Fix - Is This A Family Or A War-Zone?

'Maybe, if he ran for long enough, he would get so hopelessly lost that he couldn’t go back to his siblings if he tried. After all, every time Klaus returned home, thought that they might become a family, he only set himself up for rejection.'

Fanfiction is brave, it's bold, and it's not scared to tackle the tough subjects.

This Umbrella Academy fic is about Klaus (big surprise, lol) - who you may or may not realise is my total fave character, and a Queer Queen with mental health issues. (Basically: he rocks.)

This fic also really refuses to back down when it comes to the tough stuff!

Friday Fics Fix - Shelter From the Rain and Snow

'Diego can hear his own voice, somewhere between tired and terse, and he scrubs a hand over his eyes, feels the dryness of his palm catch on his stubble.'

I love this fic. It's excellent.

Like, dudes, this is good. Y'know?

I love it when fanfiction is well-written! 😃

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.)