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.

Comics Wrap-Up - I Can't Take Blame For Two

This is one of those week's where all the interesting comics-y things I have for you fall into the 'other stuff' category.

As always, I blame Loki.

Via Giphy

Micropoetry - July 2018

I swear to God the heat is messing with my Micropoetry.

Again, this month, I've only written two pieces of Micropoetry... they're also a little weird. Like, weirder than usual! 😅



The second one in particular isn't for people who don't like creepy stuff.

Just a heads up!

Nerd Church - Poor Towns and Ponderings

Look, the place I live in isn't rich.

Some people may call it poor. Some people may even call it a dive.

But it's OK. It's a lot less rough than a lot of the other places around.

The town my grandparents live in is a dive, with the best will in the world, I can't deny that.

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.

Comics Wrap-Up - A Poet But a Criminal

Let's get right down to all the awesome comics-y-ness!

Month in Review(s) - July 2018

Where did July go?!

Like... I know sometimes time goes quick, but really?!

I think it's the heat.

I spent most of the month slouching around the house, trying to cool down, and being a generally not-nice person to be around.

Me + heat = grump monster! Lol.

Nerd Church - Meta Nerd Church

(Meta = about, or self-referential/self-aware.)




I've written over 150 Nerd Church posts since I started this series in February 2015.

Yes. That's how long ago I started Nerd Church.

(Please don't look at those first posts... it's not good! 😅)

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)

Comics Wrap-Up - The Stars Are Blazing Like Rebel Diamonds

It's that time of year where loads of superhero-type trailers etc. are released due to the nerd convention that is San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC).

So, since I've never stepped foot in the USA, I, like plenty of other nerds around the world, have been using the interwebs to keep up with the latest comics-related happenings.

This week's comics wrap-up is my highlights - in no way could I possibly cover all of the stuff being revealed, released, and generally yammered about, in the world of panels and capes right now!

So, this is the stuff that caught my eye. Enjoy!

Mini-Review! - The Girls by Emma Cline

(Warning: this post discusses and refers to serious topics such as rape and child abuse. Please be careful my nerdlets.)

Title: The Girls

Author: Emma Cline

Genre:

Adult Fiction*, Historical Fiction*, Crime*, LGBTQ+ (M/F, F/F)*✢ 

*(ish - it's a really difficult book to define tbh!)

✢ The LGBTQ+ and F/F rep isn't great (neither is a lot of the M/F tbh,) see main review.

Amazon: USA

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.

Friday Fics Fix - Westeros-by-Sea

'“I, er, can I try some?” Theon finally asks some twenty minutes after they come in, interrupting their chatter.

“Sure. There’s the changing room, knock yourself out.”

Theon disappears inside it with a stack of things.

“Well,” Mance says, his tone of voice suddenly dropping lower, “whatever happened to him sure as hell wasn’t a walk in the park.”'

I loooove it when fanfics experiment dammit! XD

And when I randomly find fanfiction that puts Game of Thrones characters in the modern-day, AND in my beloved Wales?!

Comics Wrap-Up - Got a Rock and Roll Life

It's comics time again! Woop! XD

Let's look at all the nice comics-y goodness!


(I struggle with intros - can you tell? 😅)

2018 Fanfiction Reading Challenge Update #2

This is a challenge set by Caro @ Cat on the Bookshelf, and you can find out more about the rules etc. in my sign-up post.

This quarter I read 96 fic-chapters.

Combined with last quarter's 63, that's 159 fic-chapters. (I hope. That's what the calculator said anyway.)

Nerd Church - What the London Mayor and the Goblin King Both Know About Trump’s Power

Thank you, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, for being an example of the good and the strong in this country.

Image Courtesy of Katy Blackwood via Wikimedia Commons

Thank you for dismissing Trump as the little boy that he is.

Thank you for showing such dignity in such difficult circumstances.

Thank you for standing strong in the face of bigotry.

Friday Fics Fix - Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist... Father

'“Alright kiddie, time for you to open your eyes… you’re really starting to freak me out.” he tapped Peters cheek lightly. “C’mon lets see those brown eyes, I know you got them.”

After another minute of face tapping and Tony hyperventilating, Peter opened his bloodshot, unfocused eyes, and gazed blearily up at his mentor.'

Let's indulge in the cuteness of Tony Stark being a parent-figure to Peter Parker this week, shall we?

Because I really wanted him to be more fatherly and less of a hypocritical douche in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

And because Tom Holland as Peter Parker is the right mix of cute, awkward, and awesome.

Comics Wrap-Up - We've Gone Way Too Fast For Way Too Long

It's Thursday, it's time for the comics-y stuff! XD

Micropoetry - June 2018

Only two pieces of Micropoetry for you this month! 

I hope you like them, all the same! 😊



(For those using screen-readers, the alt-text contains the poetry with / marks showing line-breaks.)

Nerd Church - Don't Get Distracted By Shiny Balls

(Warning: this post contains details of the persecution of LGBTQ+ people, and references to the war in Syria, and the novichok poisoning incidents.)

Russia. At the moment there are balls flying everywhere.

And the media seems to have largely forgotten that Russia* has repeatedly had their names entered in the Naughty Book.**

Because they've really been doing a lot of sh** lately.

And we can't forget about that just because your team are kicking a ball around.





*By which I mean the Russian government and regime, not normal Russian citizens/people.

**Did you guys have a 'Naughty Book' and a 'Good Book' in infants/primary school? 😅 There was no bigger threat than having your name put in the Naughty Book! It had a frowny face on the cover and everything!

Friday Fics Fix - The Future Is Weird (Ft. Harry Potter)

'The tall Death Eater was wearing a shirt that said, 'Hermione Has Forgotten How To Dance,' so Hermione dipped his face in mud.'

OK, so this week's fic is a little bit different.

It's def. on the strange side, but there's a reason for that!

And all will be revealed *mysterious hand motions*

(I don't know what mysterious hand motions are either, just go with it.)

Comics Wrap-Up - Always Here, Always on Time, Close Call

OK, a short, fun, wrap-up for you this week - cos it's all in the 'Other Stuff' category! (As always, I blame Loki.)

Month in Review(s) - June 2018

June was stressful...  but just about OK. Some of it was even awesome.

Nerd Church - Spread a Little Love

You wanna change the world my nerdlets?



It seems like it needs some changing at the moment.

Between Trump's Muslim ban (yes, it is a Muslim ban, quit fooling yourselves) and all the other sh** going on right now, it can seem like there's no hope.

But that's not true - there's always hope.

Spread love... get it? 😄

So how can you change the world, right now?


Welp, you can spread the love.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Well it is. And it isn't.

When everything's dragging you down, when the world is full of ill-feeling, spreading love and positivity can be the hardest thing of all.

Friday Fics Fix - Your Pal. Your Bucky.

'Bucky went town to town, dance hall to dance hall, picking up women despite his dull dancing shoes. His smile made up for it. He took Steve to the local ones, but he always danced away into the crowd. Bucky loved to dance.

Loved.
 
Back then Bucky loved a lot of things.'

What, did you really think that we'd reach the end of Pride Month (aka June,) without me rec'ing you some Stucky?! No way!

(Fangirling notes:

Rec'ing is recommending.

Stucky is a romantic and/or sexual relationship between Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers (Captain America) - aka the relationship that Marvel needs to give us immediately.)

Comics Wrap-Up - Open the Door Don't Let It Sting

It's too hot here in the UK - let's check out some cool comics! 😎 

(See what I did there?)

Review Time! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - BLACK, Vol 1

Title: BLACK, Vol 1

Author: Kwanza Osajyefo

Contributors/Art:

Jamal Igle, Khary Randolph, Tim Smith III, Steven Walker, Robin Riggs, Sarah Stern, Dave Sharpe, Sarah Litt, Patricia Daguisan, Derwen Roberson

Genre: Graphic Novel, Sci-Fi (Superhero)

Series: BLACK #1-6

Amazon: UK - USA

Nerd Church - A Short Intro to Parkinson's Disease and Parkinsonism

Parkinson's Disease is horrible.

This degenerative neurological condition has no cure, and its affects are often devastating.

That's not to say that people with Parkinson's can't manage it - especially in the early stages. But it's not something to take lightly.

People associate Parkinson's with tremors - and yes, that's a key symptom, but it's so much more.

Friday Fics Fix - Wooing, Midgard-Style

'"I always have to wonder about it, you know?" Loki whispers one night as they're eating take out and watching a television program. 

Tony looks up from his food, "Wonder about what?" he frowns. 

"Yeah." Loki nods, but doesn't continue talking.'

OK, this is take 2 of this post, because it actually effing published itself on Wednesday.

My luck, sometimes guys, my luck.

Obviously that version was deleted (the deleting was done with the accompaniment of me squealing 'ahhhh!' quite a bit.)

You don't need to see my drafts. It's not a good thing. 😅






So, this fic.

This fic is random af. And you all know that that's just the way I like it! 😉

Comics Wrap-Up - Lift Your Head Towards The Air

OK, I'm having a stressful week, so why don't we get us some comics-y goodness to cheer me up? 😉

Dammit!

If you have a Friday Fics Fix on your feed readers (or whatever you're using,) ignore it.

Damn thing published itself while I was writing a draft! Argh!

(I literally mean it published itself. I was effing typing at the time! Argh, my luck!)

4 Fangirling-Worthy Webcomics With Central F/F Romance (That Are Also Available In Print!)

Ladies who love ladies are amazing.

So, as it's Pride Month, and I'm a Queer lady who loves the nerdy things in life, I think it's time we celebrate some central F/F relationships, don't you?

This short list of comics features romantic relationships ranging from the sexy to the innocent, and ladies who have their own unique personalities and situations.

Available to read online (for free!) or in printed form, let these ladies bring a little love to your lives!

Nerd Church - Embrace Procrastination (Ft. #Science)

I'm procrastinating right now.

There are about five different things that I need to do at the moment. And I'm not doing any of them.

Instead of sorting out various work stuff, or writing the Friday Fics Fix post that I (hopefully) posted last Friday, I'm writing this.

Friday Fics Fix - Coming Out Aro

'This was the perfect opportunity to come out. These were the people who deserved to know, if anyone did... But what if? Part of him whispered. What if they don’t accept you? What if everything goes wrong?' 

Comics Wrap-Up - GIRLS LOVE GIRLS AND BOYYYYSS!!!!!!!!

It's June. It's Pride Month. Let's bring on the gay comics links!

Micropoetry - May 2018

It seems we still have some May stuff to finish off my darling nerdlets!

So, I have some more Micropoetry for you! Like last month, I've made up some graphic-y image-y things for two of them.

No promises for the future - this is totally a 'when I feel like it/when I have time' thing, but I hope you like the graphics anyway!

If you're using a screen reader, the poems with graphics have the poetry itself as the alt text, with / marks showing the line breaks.

Nerd Church - What's the Purpose of Purpose?

Apologies in advance for the existential crises that I may very well spark with this post.

I think I'm on like my fifth or sixth quarter-life crisis, so... yeah.

If you're someone who gets freaked out by existential 'what am I doing with my life?' stuff, consider this your warning!

I've never really wondered about what my life's purpose is - my life's purpose is books.

I've never doubted that I'm on this planet to read and write.

I don't doubt it any more than we doubt as a species that we're on this planet to breathe, eat, and sleep.

Friday Fics Fix - Lady Love

'Ava stops and stares. There is Sara Lance, trained assassin and former vigilante, face down on her desk drooling. When Sara snorts and a little drool bubble forms at the corner of her mouth, Ava has to slap her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.'

Sara Lance, former Black Canary, current White Canary, general bad-a**, assassin, and time-ship captain; an amazing hero.

She's awesome. She's also a Bisexual lady with an open preference for the ladies over the dudes. 

She leads the way for Queer rep. in the Arrowverse (that's all the CW's DC superhero shows.)

I would also very much like to marry her, or maybe the actress Caity Lotz who plays her. Either is fine by me.

Comics Wrap-Up - Where Insects Hide

Ooooo-kay! Let's take a look at the comics-y stuff I have for you this week! (Buckle up, my nerdlets!)

Month In Review(s) - May 2018

May. May was hectic.


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

Such is life I suppose!

Nerd Church - Light in the Dark

This week, between the sh** Germaine Greer said*, and the cr*p Tommy Robinson pulled**, it might've seemed like the whole world had had a moment of extreme bigotry.

(...and I realise those are only two examples. I could've come up with a ton more, but it's too dispiriting, honestly, so I've stuck to these two.)

But there are people in this world who are willing to point out just how jerky Greer and Robinson are (and no, I have absolutely no problem putting the two in the same sentence.)

*Link CW: rape, victim blaming

**Video in link may auto-play.

Link CW: EDL, general bigotry, Islamophobia, references to child sexual abuse case.

Background info: Tommy Robinson is a right-wing extremist and founded a hate group (the English Defence League.)

Friday Fics Fix - Johnlock Blogging

'(Don’t worry, if you were, which you weren’t. He’s fine; some poor kid found him in a ditch, pretending to be a dead body in the name of science.)'

You can't be a blogger without being at least a little bit obsessed with blogging.

You can deny it if you like, but it's true.

We all have a serious fascination with the slightly weird processes which combine to make this thoroughly modern medium. (...and that was a weird sentence! *shrugs*)

Comics Wrap-Up - One More Off-Key Anthem

I don't know whether you've noticed lately, but these comics wrap-ups are less thorough than they used to be - but don't panic! That's on purpose.

It was getting to the point where I was trawling things formulaically and obsessing over not missing anything.

So I figured I'd take it back to basics - sharing comics-related stuff I found awesome or funny or whatever over the course of the week! 😎

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:

Nerd Church - Reactive

My new favourite thing* is YouTube reaction videos.

Not of the clickbait-y type. (Y'know, where either the original video or the reaction is like 'you'll never guess what happened next!' or has some sort of cheap/misleading title? Those ain't my thing.)

*Well... one of my favourite things, I'm a complex person dammit!

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.

Comics Wrap-Up - All We Need Is Some Ice-Cream and a Hug

Fun, frolics, and superheroes - let's get down to this week's comics wrap-up:

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