Friday Fics Fix! - The Dark of the Night

I'm sorry, my dearest nerdlets, but we all knew that it couldn't last.

 

 

The last few weeks of 'clean' fanfiction (I just realised that I rarely use the word 'clean' on my blog... yeah... I'm so going to hell,) have been a welcome change.



But now, my friends, the idealism is over.

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We are back to the traditional fanfiction fare (which essentially means sex, sex, and more sex - a word that certainly does appear on this blog. See? I'm going to hell.)



In fact, this week's fic features rape. It gets quite graphic in places, but isn't presented as a good thing - more a trauma that needs to be overcome.

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So let's get this clear:

THIS FIC IS FOR 18+ ONLY. ONLY.

You heard me, and now your parents can't yell at me. Because I warned you.



This is CapsLok (also known as FrostShield - but let's face it, CapsLok sounds so much better.)

(Fangirling note: CapsLok, or FrostShield, is a Loki and Captain America sexual and/or romantical relationship.)

This fic is actually very sweet (once you get beyond the Very. Bad. Things.) Basically, the Marvel Comics villain Nightmare is p**sed off at Steve for some reason.

I assume, since this is part of a series, that there was a reason given in previous fics for Nightmare's p**sed-off-ness. Maybe not. Who knows? Just go with it.

Anyway, Nightmare decides to take it out on Loki - who's now Steve's boyfriend - because messing with loved ones is part of the whole villainy thing.



I really loved the whole focus on Steve-n-Loki's relationship.

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The fic author clearly doesn't ignore the fact that Loki is pretty messed up emotionally and mentally, and there's references to previous events in the fic-series for people who actually bother to read things in order.

I love, love, loved the support that Steve gave him.



So, this week's fic is:

Help by Oudemia

I enjoyed it - and actually thought it was quite well-written. But then, with the amount of fanfiction I read this week, I'm just happy when things are in sentences that I can understand.

Which this is! So, yeah, I liked this one. Check it out if it sounds interesting to you.




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Comics Wrap Up - Ever Since We Met

Film Trailers


Couple more X-men: Apocalypse teaser trailers/clips/whatever you wanna call 'ems for ya this week.

POOR KURT!!!! NIGHTCRAWLER IS SO SWEET AND YOU'RE BEING SO HORRIBLE TO HIM. LEAVE HIM ALONE. NOW.

HE'S A SWEETIE, SO YOU LEAVE HIM THE F**K ALONE!!!!!!!

This one was also pretty cool, despite the fact that I'm not much of a Cyclops fan (he can burn through anything... except his eyelids or red-glass. The logic is missing here.)



Film


Just to let you all know - I finally got to see Captain America: Civil War. And I loved it!

People who follow me on Twitter might have noticed that I wasn't having a great day depression-wise on Monday, so thank whoever invented best friends, pizza, and superheroes, that I got to have all three!





Single Issues


I read Avengers #1 The Heroic Age (UK - US) from the 2010-2012 run.

It was enjoyable - although there was much meddling with the time-stream (because that always goes well, doesn't it...) and references to every weird-a*s big Marvel event of the 00s. Of which there were many.

Plus, it was the Bucky-is-Captain-America period, and also includes Steve Rogers.

Just go with it. Honestly, just go with it. It's easier that way. You question wtf is going on in comics and your head will explode.




Other Stuff


I put my two-pennies in on why superhero movies need to be a force for change, with my post 'Be Brave, Be Bold' yesterday, which was at least partially inspired by me going to see Captain America: Civil War.

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Katie Cunningham @ Women Write About Comics wrote an interesting post about LGBTQ+ superheroines - and how younger characters shouldn't always have to be straight.

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Also @ Women Write About Comics is a post by Desiree Rodriguez about the absence of developed maternal characters in superhero shows and movies.

I agree with a lot of the points Desiree Rodriguez makes, but have to argue with her assessment of Agents of Shield's Jaiying in particular, which I think she's over-simplified here.

There are various spoilers in this post for pretty much all of the TV shows/films mentioned, so skip out the bits about ones you haven't seen yet ;)

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I read this post from TV Series Finale (via Forever Young Adult,) explaining that Marvel's Agent Carter is unlikely to be renewed for another series.

Agent Carter is one kick-a*s chick who I truly look up to - and her hair isn't magically OK after a fight.

And now you're telling me that's not 'popular' enough for you?

When are we ever going to be allowed such an utter gem again? Huh?

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Johanna @ Comics Worth Reading gave us her fairly eloquent take on Captain America: Civil War. She makes a lot of uber-relevant points.





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• Comics Wrap Up - Run Neon Tiger



Be Brave, Be Bold

Imagine the scene: you're sitting in the cinema, with a mate or two.

You chomp on popcorn and slurp at your drink.

You hope beyond hope that the annoying kids behind you will settle down after the trailers (they won't: they will kick your chair, climb over the seats, and talk loudly, but you can hope.)

The film starts. (The kids don't really settle down. Dammit.)

It's a superhero movie - a big one. The big one of the year (although, there are at least four films vying for that title.)

Before long, you're completely engrossed in the story. The bad guys are being bad. The good guys are being good. Stuff blows up. People get hurt, mainly by the good guys.

A dude approaches our hero. They've been fighting, side by side (in a battle which must've cost millions to film.)

The new dude got a bit banged-up in the fight, and title-hero is feeling moodily guilty.

"Hey man," new dude says. "It wasn't your fault."

"It was," title-hero replies, "but thanks..." he sighs heavily.

(The kids behind you are throwing popcorn. You really wish their parents would stop pretending not to notice.)

"Don't," new dude whispers...  and plants a kiss on title-hero's lips.



But the world doesn't end. The kids' parents don't scream. Everyone carries on with their lives.


Could this happen? I mean, really? Could this be a reality some day? (And hopefully someday soon.) Or are the studios too terrified to let one of their main properties be gay?

Because it really gets to something when we're more willing to shoe-horn in a generic blonde female (who deserves to have more character development than she's given, might I add, *cough* Civil War *cough*) than to let a leading man kiss another man in a blockbuster.

As things stand? I really can't see any of the money-making superheroes being permitted to be LGBTQ+ - on page or on screen.

But the amount of fanfiction (yes, I know, I rabbit on about fanfiction a lot, but I have an actual point here, promise) which shows main characters in same-sex relationships shows that there is an interest in change.

You can dismiss this as the wish of a minority of fans if you want - but the amount of fanfiction readers and writers that are out there writing and reading about same-sex relationships and LGBTQ+ issues runs into the millions.

Are the big studios really ready to dismiss the voices of change coming out of fandom? Are the publishers?



Big changes usually start with the comics.

Yes, we now have LGBTQ+ comic-book characters: Mystique, Deadpool, Iceman, Daken, Hulkling, Wiccan, Northstar, Miss America, Loki...

But even Mystique, Deadpool, Loki, and Iceman, are portrayed as straight on film (although there is the possibility of change for Deadpool).

And the others? Great characters, but not ones that even the casual fans will know, let alone the general public.

The lists of LGBT superheroes and villains (although a lot of these 'villains' could be considered anti-heroes,) on Wikipedia are woefully small. Even worse are their scarcity of notable figures.



Would it really be such a shock to have Captain America kiss Bucky Barnes?

...on page or on screen?

Maybe it would be. I'm sure the haters would come out in droves. There are some countries which would probably ban the film.

There would be uproar in several quarters. Free publicity, at the very least. (Moi? Cynical? Pshaw!)

But aren't superheroes supposed to be brave? Aren't they supposed to challenge injustices and support people being themselves (unless yourself wants to take over the world... I suppose.)

So, superheroes, it's time to be brave, and its time to be bold.

It doesn't have to be Cap and Bucky - they're just an example.

But it has to be one of the money-makers, one of the heroes with a following of their own.

It has to be someone on the level of Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Thor, et. al. (ooh, look at me with my fancy Latin abbreviations,) or it'll just be the publishers and studios hedging their bets with a less valuable property. That's a cop-out.

Let it be big, and let it be soon. Superheroes are supposed to lead the way forward. And this is the way forward - a brave and bold strike for equality, love, and a shared humanity.

Let's be brave. Let's be bold. Let's change the world.





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How to Deal With Book Amnesia

'Have I read this before? Maybe. Seems familiar... argh, a generic title! A well-known author! A vague blurb! HAVE I READ THIS OR HAVEN'T I?!'


'Ooh, I've read that series! Which book am I on? Ummm... I wanna say the fourth? Maybe the fifth? The third? The one where thingummy comes into to it...'


'Yeah, I've read that book. I wanna say vampires? Werewolves? Oh, of course, assassins - no, I have read it. I must have... I've marked it as 'read' and rated it on Goodreads.'


'No, I don't think I've read that... I reviewed it?!?! Man, I really don't remember this at all.'

Does any of this seem familiar? If so, my fellow book-amnesiacs, you are not alone, much as I wish you were.

The problem is, I read so much that the boundary-lines tend to become a bit blurred. I mix up details, titles, series, or just plain can't remember the damned thing.

Plus, I've asked everyone I know, and no-one can remember what happens at the end of Oliver Twist. No-one. On this planet. I'm certain of this.

After (spoiler) Nancy goes to the big wh*re-house in the sky, everyone just has white-noise about the rest of the details.





But help, my dear nerdlets, is at hand! Here are some slightly-sarcastic tips on dealing with book amnesia!

• Look back over your Goodreads - you might have marked the book or series as 'read' or 'to-read,' (or if you have a blog, you might have actually reviewed it... oops.) Checking the details may spring-board your memory. Or not. Whatever.

• Ask someone else. My mother asks me whether she's read books from the library before. I tend to remember them better than she does. I think this is possibly because she's not paying attention.

• Find a list of the series online and work out what happens when and where. You'll then be able to figure out which books you've read. Probably. Being honest, this doesn't always work. I can never remember which Kathy Reichs books I've read, no matter how much I love them or how many times I read the blurbs.

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• Just re-read it. Sometimes it's easier. If you remember it half-way through, you can always stop.

• Look at different versions of the cover - maybe you can't remember because it looked different?!?! Right?!?!

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• Ban authors from naming books generic titles like 'Blood' or formulaic titles like 'City of...' - it makes it much harder to tell the damned things apart, and really, you're authors - come up with a different title before I mix your book up with the other guy's. Please.

• Ban authors from naming books different titles in different same-language countries. Dudes, I get if it if it's a translation, but giving a book two English titles? Just confusing.

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• Also ban them from releasing a new edition of the same book with a different title. (What did I ever do to you?)

• Look up the ending to Oliver Twist. Re-write it a hundred times. Stick it on post-it notes around the house. And then forget it anyway. BECAUSE NO-ONE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF OLIVER TWIST.

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Nerd Church - Use Your Vote, Raise Your Voice

We had some elections here this week.

One thing became abundantly clear to me - not enough of us vote.

Because, while the turnout was what is considered 'good,' it was still under 50% of voters. If less than half of the people are speaking - how do you know what the majority wants?

 

 

What really disgusted me though was that UKIP won 7 assembly seats.

Maybe that doesn't sound like that much to you. We only have 60 seats in the Welsh Assembly. That means that UKIP holds over 10% of seats. They have never held an Assembly seat before.

As an explanation to you non-British folks: UKIP are a bunch of bigoted idiots who think Britain should leave the European Union because... foreigners.

And apparently foreigners are bad. That is the extent of their logic.

They claim to not be racist, homophobic, sexist, and/or bigoted. I don't believe them.

Their leader is Nigel Farage - think Donald Trump levels of douche-bag-ish-ness, with more tea and visits to the pub, and the likeness of a toad. Oh, and more cunning.

Part of me really doesn't understand how UKIP can be voted in in Wales - their values are so very different to ours, that it just doesn't seem like a good fit.

In fact, to me it seems an affront to the blood of the land that these idiots dare to represent it.

I could understand Welsh people voting Conservative more easily than I can understand them voting UKIP (and every inch of my red socialist blood shudders at the thought of voting Conservative - but at least that's a choice I can understand people making.)

UKIP stand for intolerance. They stand for non-inclusiveness. They blame litter on immigrants. That is not my Wales.



But if less than half of voters actually vote, then how can we stop the far-right?

Truth is, we can't. Because the far-right is excessively good at frog-marching people down to the polling station.

So we need to vote. Everyone, everywhere - not just here in Wales, or here in the UK.

 

 

 

Speak up, and make sure your voice is heard.

Otherwise, it'll be hello Prime Minister Farage and President Trump - and we'll end up sending our children to fight in the Hunger Games.

Actually, the Hunger Games will probably be preferable to what those two rich prats have in store...


(Dear USA: I must point out that most of the rest of the world would very much prefer if Trump did not become President. Respectfully yours, Everyone.)






Nerd Church is a weekly post where I rant about discuss various issues. Feel free to continue the discussion, but as always, please link back here, and be respectful :)



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Book Nerd on a Mission

One of my New Year's resolutions was that I want to spread reading to the world.

You heard me - THE EVER-LOVING WORLD

I want to encourage everyone to read - not just the already bookish (although I want you guys to keep reading, ofc; but at this point, I don't think anyone could stop you anyway.)

 

 

But how do I do that?

Well, for a start I blog about reading and books almost every day. (By the way, don't panic if I don't post every now and then - I need a day off sometimes!)

But I'm not naïve, I know that the vast majority of people who read a blog called 'Diary of a Reading Addict' are going to have some sort of interest in reading to begin with. It's a bit of a no-brainer.

I reckon I'm going some way, though, to preaching to the non-converted by sharing my blog-posts to Twitter with non-book-specific blogging hashtags, and RT accounts. Of course I always follow the rules of the hashtag or the RT, because that way people don't get pi*sy at you ;)

So yes, I think I gather a very few non/occasional-readers slowly but surely into the fold that way. That's something at least. We'll call it progress ;)




BUT I'M ON A MISSION

Which means that I can't rest on my little proverbial laurels, I have to be doing stuff - encouraging reading whenever and wherever I can.

The best way to lead is by example.

As the peculiar little species that we are, we love to copy each other in an attempt to fit in.

A lot of this is a subconscious following of the herd (not the worst thing in the world so long as you're not following others right off of a cliff, and don't think that you always have to follow others. You don't.)

So, for something to be deemed to be cool and/or worth-while, a lot of people have to think that it's cool and/or worth-while. (I know - it doesn't make any sense, does it? But that's how human society has worked for aeons. We may as well use it to the advantage of doing something good.)

So I have a cunning plan...

I'm going to read in public. Whenever I can. Wherever I can. I'm going to be seen reading beyond the confines of my own home.

Sure, I already read while I'm waiting for doctors' appointments, but the very fact that I'm usually the only one in the waiting room with a book in my hands gives me a clue that I'm on to something here.

I'm going to make sure that, at least once a week, I'm spotted with an open book in my hands somewhere out in the wilds of the world (OK... so it'll probably be on a bench of the local shopping centre... same thing, right?)




But what difference will that make? I hear you cry! (I can't really hear you... that would be weird.)

Well, ye blog-readers of little faith and happenstance (OK, there may've been coffee, but can you blame me?) if people see me reading then, somewhere deep in their complex brains, they will think about it.

They might be attracted by the shiny cover. They might wonder what my book is about. They might look it up on the Internet.

Or it might spark a million other thoughts related to that book. They might end up talking to a friend about it. They might end up reading that book.

Plus it will make reading the thing that people do.

Everyone checks their phones in public. Lots of people play music. Lots of people faff about on their laptop, iPads, whatever...

Some people read in public, it's true. But less. It's not as normal to see someone reading in public as it is for people to be doing all of these other things. And why the hell not?! Reading is awesome.



I'm gonna need help, guys.

Join me in my crusade to get every person in this world into the magical and wonderful world of reading!

GET OUT THERE AND READ!

Go out and read on a bench. In a café. In a coffee shop. At the dentist's.

Reading a paperback or hardback is more likely to have the desired effect because people can see that it's a book as opposed to a tablet, but if there're no physical books to hand - then read e-books.

If you decide to take my advice and go off into the wilds, book in hand, then I'd love to see a pic - if you Tweet me one (my Twitter is @CeeArrBookNerd) then I'll re-tweet (...or put it in a blogpost, or maybe both... haven't really decided yet. I suppose it depends on whether anyone actually sends a pic.)

Also, if anyone else has any other ideas on how I can spread reading like an ever-loving plague across the face of the earth? I'd be much obliged. ;)

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• 2016 Bookish Resolutions
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Friday Fics Fix! - In a Club With You In 1973

OK! Let's talk DC's Legends of Tomorrow! The show cobbled together from odd pieces of other shows that somehow works!




Though the fandom is young, and the potential plot-holes many, there is Legends fanfiction out there already, just waiting to be discovered!

(Yes, I have had coffee. No, we're not going to make a big deal about it.)

Of course, Dr Who comparisons abound. Not least because the leader of this motley gang of spin-off characters is a 'Time Master,' played by Arthur Darvill (more commonly known as 'y'know, Rory off of Dr Who?')

Turns out the character of Rip Hunter, he of the Time Master fame, pre-dates Dr Who.

I know, this requires some serious nerdish thought - is Legends being accused of being a rip-off of a show that ripped it off over 50 years ago?! Mind = Blown!

Also, Rip Hunter rocks quite a lot. Captain Rip Hunter, that is.

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But anyway, this week's fanfiction takes the whole Dr Who comparisons thing, and runs the hell away with it, by making a 'crack' origin story for Legends.

 

(Fangirling note: 'Crack' fanfiction is fanfiction that is so very random and bizarre, that the author must've been on some sort of mind-altering substances when they came up with it.

 

Like, even more than normal fanfiction.)

 

Basically, in this version, Rip is Rory. Which would kind of give the whole obsession with rescuing his wife thing a whole new meaning.
 

 



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This week's fanfiction, my dear nerdlets, then, is:

 

Legends of Tomorrow: A Crack Origin Story by eyecandy

 

 

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! (Cue cheesy salesman's grin.)

 

Because I feel it deserves an honourable mention for the White Canary taking a knife into the shower, and because I spoil you, I will also refer you to:

 

Legends Family: Early Mornings by sansasnarks

 

Don't say I never do anything for you ;)

Also - that is yet another week without any explicit sex! I DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS POSSIBLE!!!!!



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