'He looked up at the sky and sent a question to the stars.
“Loki, are you there?”
No answer.'
This is a melancholy little story about love and loss...
...I ended up liking it a whole lot more than I thought I would.
(Just goes to show that taking a chance on something sometimes pays off.)
It's Thursday, it's somehow November, so let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
'The people who know the Winter Soldier is rogue and hunting won’t exactly be shouting it from the rooftops, because telling people your pet murder machine has gone a little bit rabid on you is just the slightest bit bad for morale.'
I'm cheating, this week.
I have rec'd this fic before - way back, in the ancient internet age of 2018 (and also in a few rec lists since then.)
YES! It has been a full ten years since the start of Dora Reads -
which back then was known as Diary of A Reading Addict, later shortened to DORA, which is how we got to Dora Reads (- and some people insist on calling me Dora even though I'm clearly marked as Cee everywhere *shrugs*)
- and somehow-or-other, through it all, I'm still here.
I don't usually write Nerd Church posts like this, but since Nerd Church isn't really tightly defined (...or defined at all, OK, I know,) I figured why not?
You may or may not have noticed that there was no Comics Wrap-Up (CWU) post, or Friday Fics Fix (F3) post this week.
- Which wasn't a planned break.
My life turned into another whirling ball of chaos this week, with my mother's health being very Not Good.
(Thankfully she's doing so much better now.)
Hey everyone!
My life is once again chaos, so there won't be any Comics Wrap-Up tomorrow (Thursday 24th Oct), or Friday Fics Fix on Friday (25th Oct).
There will be a Nerd Church on Sunday - but whether it'll be a 'proper' Nerd Church or another update, I don't know.
Thanks for the patience!
I love American Horror Story (AHS).
It's amazing, let's be honest.
I started watching a fair few years after the beginning, and started from said beginning - Murder House (as everyone should, imho,) - so haven't actually caught up yet.
It's October everyone!
So I thought we'd revisit 3 horror-adjacent* fics that are novel/novella length for this week's F3 - because I'm nice to you like that 😅
They also all turned out to be LGBTQ+, because fanfiction be like that.
*If it has a ghost, I'm counting it 😎
As always, remember to check the tags and the original rec'ing posts for Content Warnings and other details, like SPOILER status!
This story was originally published in the Medium publication Promptly Written in response to this writing prompt from Bella Smith:
— During a relentless rainstorm, two old friends reconcile their differences over a cup of coffee.
Over The Rain
|
| Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay |
Warning: this post discusses mental health problems
'Ed is happy, Stede is happy, the crew is happy. Izzy stands on the sidelines with rope in his hands, watching them all mingle and play. No one seems to notice the shadows under his eyes, how they grow darker, how the purple bruise-like colour seems permanently inked onto his skin these days.'
Every so often, a fic comes along which challenges my golden rule of fanfic-rec'ing.
And the golden rule is, of course: If it's well-written, I must rec.
It's Thursday, life is stressful, let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
Originally published on Medium
Now everyone is staring at Klaus, who had chosen to pick at a thread on the shawl he’s wearing. He looks up in the following silence, smiling.
“What can I say, the fans love me.”
I'm currently reading The Umbrella Academy (TUA) fanfiction like there's no tomorrow... which given the current state of the world is a possibility, but let's move on...
So, I'm heavy on the TUA fanfics-reading at the moment.
...Especially the ones that play around with my favourite, fandom-specific, tropes.
It's Thursday, I'm stressed, let's get some superhero-y comics-y goodness!
Warning: brief discussions of Anxiety/mental health issues
This is a reminder to any of you fellow writers/bloggers/whoever-s out there who need it:
You don't have to post everything.
You don't have to publish everything.
'Daniel tips his head back with a sigh. “Okay, so you stole something. What.”
There’s a pause, and then. “I believe it might have been… jewels of some kind.”'
Every now and then I like to rec a fic from a show called Stargate: SG-1.
This is a sci-fi TV show that ran from '97 to '07, and which still has fanfic authors writing new material, because fandom love never dies 😅
It's Thursday, the world remains a dumpster fire, this is Dora Reads, so lets get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
...brought to you by me, once again, giving myself a pep-talk and posting it on the internet 😅💪
Listen, the world is rough and tough and kind of awful sometimes.
It feels like everything is crashing and burning and we live in a frankly batpoop timeline.
'“I'm sorry I made you feel like a burden,” Allison admitted.
“Wow, two apologies in one day! You're definitely breaking a Hargreeves record.”'
We are talking The Umbrella Academy (TUA)!
Because the series has now finished - for better or worse (...a lot of people think the ending falls into the 'worse' category, but moving on...)
And that, of course, means that I need to read a whole bunch of TUA fanfiction to fill the umbrella-shaped (...Klaus-shaped) void. (But not the Void, lol.)
It's Thursday, I'm tired, this is Dora Reads, so let's check out some superhero-y comics-y goodness!
August reached my bar for a good month
- which is admittedly so low it's practically touching the floor, but I'ma take it as a win 😅
Unfortunately, August was also pretty damned bad in terms of hay fever
- like, I've had hay fever a lot (more in recent years, because climate change,) but I've rarely felt this unwell with it.
So, yeah, that sucked.
Wales got it's first woman First Minister with Eluned Morgan.
...Which would be a lot more celebration-worthy if her predecessor, Vaughan Gething, Europe's first Black leader of a nation, hadn't been forced out after deeply unfair (imho) and personal attacks, which crossed the line into racism more than once.
So, mixed bag.
Eluned Morgan, btw, fully supported Gething until the end of his short tenure - so the blame shouldn't be placed at her door for this.
In other parts of the UK (England and Northern Ireland,) there were racist riots.
...So not a good look for the UK in general in August, racism-wise. *Sighs*
People suck sometimes.
My regular series (Comics Wrap-Up, Friday Fics Fix, and Nerd Church,) went on break in August, and I didn't post much all-in-all.
- I try to do that every so often so that posts don't start feeling like too much of a chore. 😅
All three are back in action now, though. So September's post-list will be a lot longer than this one.
'Other' Posts
Month(s) in Review(s) - June + July 2024
So that was my August - how was yours?
Talk to me! 😎💬
You can follow me on Twitter @CeeDoraReads, on Pinterest, and on Dora Reads @ BlogLovin. For more ways to support me, check out the Support Me page
It's my birthday today (15th Sep) so I figured I'd have a little fun.
(...of the nerdy sort, because that's on-brand, let's be honest.)
So, y'know that thing where people talk about their ideal celebrity dinner guests, either living or dead, fictional or real?
This isn't that.
But it is somewhat adjacent to that.
I thought that instead I'd talk about my celebrity birthday party list - with the twist that they also have to have their birthday on September 15th. Just because it's an awesome date, let's be honest.
So, here's my celebrity birthday buddies:
'The first look at his demon had his mind reeling, and he swore softly.
"What in Hel?!"
Anthony Stark gave him a smug grin and a chuckle.'
You know in this house (...blog, shh,) we like creativity, yeh?
We also like FrostIron (Tony Stark and Loki in a romantic and/or sexual relationship.)
So... hopefully you can see where this is going 😅
It's Thursday, this is Dora Reads, so let's get us some superhero-y comics-y goodness!
Conceptual theme — Villain
Twosome — Dreadful and Deadly
'And here Bucky was, living his whole life slightly out of step and just now realising it, because no one had ever told him so.
Slightly out of step.
Different.'
Sometimes, you find fics which were written just for you, ya know?
My dearest nerdlets, a fic with Bucky Barnes (from the MCU/Marvel movies etc.) as a sad Queer boi with synaesthesia and migraines? This thing was written for me - no question.
It's Thursday, this is Dora Reads, so let's get us some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
...Specifically: October 2023 + December 2023 + April 2024 + August 2024
Yes, I know this is a weird combination of months.
Honestly? I kept forgetting to make the graphics, and it just ended up this way 😅
Those with screen readers - the poetry is in the alt-text of the graphics, with forward slash marks for line breaks
Warning: discussions of Depression and pet loss
...OK, doing this as a two-monthly thing is becoming an unintentional habit 😅
The only excuse that I have is that sometimes Depression messes my memory up - and the fact that I entirely (and I mean, entirely,) forgot to write a post for June coincides with some pretty sh**ty mental health days over the past two months.
So, yeah. I'm blaming Depression. And I don't feel bad about that, because it blames me for stuff all the time 😅
'However, Peter has been called a lot of awful names in the last week for jumping to conclusions – how was he supposed to know that that one mugging was actually Shakespeare in the Park?'
This is a quirky and sweet Spider-Man meets Winter Soldier fic.
(MCU - Marvel movies etc., in case you somehow didn't get the clue from 'Spider-Man.')
At first I did wonder whether I'd even enjoy it, but it definitely grew on me.
It's Thursday, the world continues to be a very weird and wacky place, so let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
Warning: this post discusses Depression
I have not had a good week, mental-health-wise.
I had some very bad Depression days, and was generally not very good, mentally.
The thing is that when my mental health is poor, I really struggle to write.
Anything. Like, coherent sentences are a problem.
Let alone the *Writing* I really need (I explained the difference between writing and *Writing* here, if you're interested.)
'“Loki.”
His mouth quirks in a smile. Ah, yes. That was his name once. Long ago. Or maybe not yet. He can’t remember which description is most appropriate anymore.'
There are a lot of continuation fics based on the Loki Disney+ series, out there in the big wide world.
I must have read a good number all by my lonesome by now - I know I've rec'd some on more than one occasion.
It's Thursday, it has once again been an effing week, so let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
Do you get the feeling, sometimes, that everything out there in the big wide world is kind of... rushed?
It's kind of fast, kind of hurried, kind of urgent.
'Daniel wasn’t moving. Or making noise of any kind. And if Daniel wasn’t harassing anyone with questions, that was just a bad sign.'
A bit of a different one for you this time - Stargate: SG-1.
This was a sci-fi action/adventure series that ran from '97 to '07.
I was too young to watch it from the beginning - I'm a millennial, but I'm on the younger side of that - so I mostly caught up with it on re-runs in my teens.
It's Thursday, it's been something of a week, so let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
It's Thursday, I'm not having a great week, so all the more reason to get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
'"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You're a bad liar, Mobius."
"Well, we can't all be Loki, now can we. So do you wanna hear my grand plan or not?"'
We're talking the Disney+ Loki series today dearest nerdlets because IT ENDED LIKE THAT.
...And since I'm clearly not the only fan out there in fandom who has FEELINGS about IT ENDING LIKE THAT, there's a lot of fanfiction.
And long may that state of affairs continue, because Lord knows I need more Loki in my life!
It's Thursday, this is Dora Reads, so let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
I'm so tired of the election.
...That's the UK election, by the way.
Which is happening on July 4th, the date of which apparently led to several people from the Conservative party using insider knowledge to place bets. Classy. (Allegedly.)
'In the mirror, Cass’s eyes go wide in horror. “If either one of you says that to anybody I know, I’m gonna have to run away and change my name and join the circus. Is that what you want?”
Bucky pretends to think about it. “Would you at least be able to get us free tickets?”'
I enjoyed this one way, way, more than I thought I would.
So, this sees Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) and other Marvel stuff several years after TFATWS ends.
- Enough years, in fact, for Sam's nephew Cass to be going to his high school prom.
And of course Uncle Sam and Uncle Bucky volunteered to chaperone - because sometimes Captain America chaperones your high school prom, y'know?
It's Thursday, me and a squirrel made each other jump yesterday, let's get these comics-y superhero-y things, m'k?
You wake up and go downstairs, pausing mid-way down.
The lines of each individual stair seem to waver for a moment.
The stairs themselves seem vaguely Burtonesque - all slanted lines and moving pieces.
Your head hurts and you close your eyes.
