Nerd Church - The Little Things Are There To Enjoy...

 

It's good to remind ourselves - as often as is necessary - that the little things are there to enjoy.

...By 'ourselves' I obviously mean me - we need to remind me. 😅

Warning/Disclaimer Time: 

I very briefly discuss mental health problems in this blogpost.

I also give opinions on what can contribute to people's mood, so: I'm not any sort of scientific/medical/psychological professional - I'm a chick with personal experience of mental health issues and an internet connection. OK? OK.

The little things contribute so much to our lives.

Our beautiful, messed-up, everyday lives are made up of the bracelet you wore this morning, what you had for breakfast, whether you tripped over the doorstep on your way out, what song is playing on the radio... etc. etc.

Friday Fics Fix - In Typical Hargreeves Fashion

 

'Klaus applauded. No one joined him. No matter. He beamed brightly.

“So. Who wants to kill me?”

His siblings’ horrified faces peered back at him.'

 

Warning: this post briefly discusses suicide, in relation to the content of the fanfiction discussed.

I love the way fandom creators use source material.

I love their interpretations of both characters and plot points. I love it when they write novel-length fics, and I love it when those novel-length fics are written well.

It's just... breath-taking, isn't it? How characters and stories have their own lives, away from the source material. How the interaction of fan and material can create something new and special.

Month In Review(s) - February 2023

 

What can I say about February?

As February tends to do, because of the length, it kind of zipped past.

It was not as bad as January for yours truly (because that, unfortunately, would take some beating,) but it was still full of more downs than ups, really.

I struggle when the people I love are struggling, dearest nerdlets, I really do.

And I tend to turn those feelings back on myself - like if I was just 'good enough' then things would be better, if I knew what I was doing with my life then things would be better, if I was just fundamentally 'better' then things would be better.

Objectively, I know that is a pile of b*llsh**.

Subjectively, I feel it.

Nerd Church - Sometimes, This Is OK

I don't know what I'm writing but I hope it'll turn out OK. 

I'm literally just typing things and hoping it turns into a blogpost at this point.

Wish me luck.

Thoughts are hard to form, sometimes. 

Let alone trying to write something insightful, pithy, witty, or just plain worth it.

Sometimes I put way too much pressure on myself and on this blog. 

Not everything I write has to have some deep meaning behind it.

(I know - you wouldn't think it for by reading some of my posts on such heavy-weight topics as fanfiction and weird superhero videos I found on the Interwebs. 😅 )

Friday Fics Fix - It's Not His Fault He's Not Umbrella Ben!

 

'Klaus was used to the floor tilting under his feet.'

 

I finished watching series 3 of The Umbrella Academy (TUA) this week - so obviously I'm now in desperate for more TUA content.

Because - as is well established by this point - I am trash.

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 - 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.

Nerd Church - Writing A Full Blogpost In 32 Minutes

 

Turns out, I can write a whole-a** blogpost in 32 minutes.

...I know - I was surprised too!

OK, so I was kinda brain-foggy this week, and ended up writing both this week's Comics Wrap-Up (CWU) and Friday Fics Fix (F3) posts the day before they were due to go live on the blog.

One day, I will be a blogger that can schedule content well ahead of time, but that day is a long way off 😅

Friday Fics Fix - Bucky-Barnes-Based and Weird

Warning: this post discusses mental health problems and symptoms, specifically those related to Depression

'Trouble starts before they even get out of the city. Bucky’s car is a disaster. It’s not as bad as his apartment, but still messy enough to be very embarrassing and not helping in convincing Sam his assumptions about him are wrong.'

Yes, it's Bucky-Barnes-based. Yes, it's a weird one.

I was honestly looking for something different this week, but sometimes, amongst all the fanfiction I consume on a weekly basis, it just ends up coming back - again - to Bucky Barnes.

...and I'm OK with that. 

I am trash. And you know this. 😅

Comics Wrap-Up - Good-Natured, While Also Being Hilarious

It's Thursday, it's still too hot, let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness right here on Dora Reads!

Month in Review(s) - July 2022

July wasn't as awful as June.

Which is a heckava low bar, but one that's worth having!

My energy levels still weren't at their tippity-toppest after having Covid, and then the heatwave came.

Dear Lord, the heatwave came.

I am one grumpy bear in the heat - like, I get so pi**ed off, at pretty much everyone and everything - and we had record-breaking temperatures here in the UK. Again.

It was relentless, and climate change is both real and horrendous. London was on fire. I don't mean that metaphorically.

Nerd Church - Some Reminders To Myself (And Maybe You, Too)

 

It's been a rough week, mental-health-wise.

So I figured I needed to remind myself of a few things - and hopefully some of them will be helpful reminders to you, too.

Disclaimer time: I am not any kind of mental health, medical, or psychological professional. I'm a chick with a blog.

Comics Wrap-Up - Weirdly Similar Taste In Jewellery

 

It's Thursday, climate change is real and here, let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Month In Review(s) - June 2022

 

(Warning: this post discusses Covid 19, grief, mental health problems, and panic attacks)

June was horrible.

I'm not going to sugar-coat it - June sucked.

For those who don't know, at the very end of May I caught Covid after going to a My Chemical Romance concert (they do rock, though #JustSaying) - and it took me most of June to feel even half-way to human again.

I had ten full days of feeling like absolute hell - and the time since has been spent recovering.

Do NOT listen to people who call this mild.

The only way I'd refer to it as 'mild' is if you mean 'I didn't end up in hospital' - which, thank God that I'm triple-vaxxed because honestly, I'm not sure I would've stayed out of hospital otherwise.

If by 'mild' you mean 'like a cold,' or 'feeling a bit off,' or 'not feeling good but being semi-able to function,' then NO.

No, it is NOT mild.

Wear your masks. 

Wash your hands. 

Keep up social distancing where possible.

Month in Review(s) - May 2022

(Warning: this post discusses Covid, migraines, and mental health problems)

 

I know it's late-ish June. I got Covid.

...And I didn't want to just not do a post for May, because it was bugging me 😅

May 2022... *hysterical laughter*

OK, May 2022 was a bit of a rollercoaster for me.

Like, there was some really good stuff, some really bad stuff, and some stuff I point-blank don't know how to categorise.

Comics Wrap-Up - Going Off-Book

 

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