Comics Wrap-Up - Baron Something-or-Other

It's Thursday, it is 2024 and this year better behave I swear, and this is Dora Reads - so let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Comics Wrap-Up - Yep, They're Dead To Begin With

 

It's Thursday, it's September, this is Dora Reads, and CWU is back back back! So let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Friday Fics Fix - Bucky Barnes Is Not Leaving

'“This isn’t some true-crime podcast, alright?”

Sam blinks again, taken aback by the sudden anger in Bucky’s tone. He opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again to ask, “Who taught you about podcasts?”'

 

Should I be concerned, do you think, that this isn't the first time I've rec'd a The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) fanfic where Bucky's the ghost in a haunted house, and Sam has to deal with this sh**?

Meh, I guess it's not the weirdest fanfic trope that's out there. (Please, if you know what the weirdest trope is - DON'T tell me, I want to preserve what's left of my web-based innocence 😅)

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.)

Friday Fics Fix - My Stand-Out Fics Of 2022

Hello 2023 nerdlets! 

For this first Friday Fics Fix of the year, I figured I'd take a little look at some of the fics that stood out for me last year (2022 - in case we've all forgotten already 😅)

These aren't necessarily the 'best' fics - just the ones that stuck out most in my brain, for whatever reason.

I hope you find something you enjoy here! Or that destroys you emotionally (in a good way) - as fanfiction often does. 😅

And remember to check the original rec'ing post for the Content Warnings, and also the fic author's own tags.

'“Just give me a—hint, Loki. Jesus,” Tony says, panting when Enchantress’ fire trails a scorching path all around the exterior of the suit. At least that’s solved the weather problem, he thinks, as he unibeams her in the face.'

 

that one last tender place by oopshidaisy

So the whole *waves hands vaguely* deal with this fic is that Tony and Loki (from the MCU, in case you've stumbled onto this post by accident) have been linked mentally and emotionally in a sort-of-soul-bond type-deal-y.

Because magical shenanigans.

This is FrostIron. Because I am trash, and I don't care.

I just love Tony and Loki together *shrugs* - it weirdly works.

Via Giphy

(Fandom notes: 

FrostIron is a romantic and/or sexual relationship between Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, and Loki, from the MCU (Marvel movies.))

Is there angst?

Well, this is me rec'ing it, so yes.

There's a butt-tonne of angst and hurt/comfort, and emotions every-goddamn-where.

What stood out to me about this one is just the whole interweave and dynamic between Tony and Loki, but also the actual plot being pretty damned good!

Original rec'ing post: Friday Fics Fix - Magical Shenanigans With Tony and Loki

'But the lies were out there, circulating, and were made into a movie, which is a really mixed blessing. Let’s pretend this narration is over the title crawl, and cut to our heroine...'

Anita's Voice by tangentti

Jennifer's Body is a 2009 cult-classic unapologetically Queer horror film.

This fic imagines an AU where the film Jennifer's Body is actually an adaptation of a true crime story

And Needy Lesnicki - the main character - still in the wind and on the run several years later, has seen the movie. She has some thoughts.

(Oh, and it should be obvious from the premise, but in case it's not: this fic is full of SPOILERS.)

Via Giphy

(Fandom notes:

AU = Alternate Universe)

As a true crime fan that tries to stay on the less-exploitative side of the media I consume, I kinda love the way it's played with in this fic.

It has some stuff to say about the lengths that true crime devotees and culture takes the celebrity and even mysticism bestowed on infamous killers.

...And you know I love me some fanfiction-based social commentary 😅

This one sticks in my head for the ingenuity and creativity involved - as well as a huge understanding of Needy herself.

Original rec'ing post: Friday Fics Fix - Needy Lesnicki: In The Wind and On The Run

'“Who is he?” Clint asks.

Sam shrugs his shoulders. “I don't know. He broke in, only thing he's really said is Steve's name.”'

Split Lip by Mjazilem

Via Giphy

AUs can be an incredible way for fic authors to play around with the characters and situations involved in the canon.

...and the best AUs are often the least fantastical.

(Fandom notes:

AUs = Alternate Universes.

Canon = the 'official' stuff in the book/film/whatever) 

Basically, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers (from the MCU/Marvel  fandom, dearest potentially-lost nerdlets,) used to be foster brothers, until they lost touch and Steve heard that Bucky passed away.

Bucky had not passed away.

And now, at the worst possible time cos Steve's out of town, there's a bleeding teenager with a knife in Sam and Steve's kitchen.

The way the fic author commits to this AU, and manages to integrate the characters into it without it feeling forced, really made it memorable (plus... I couldn't stop reading it, OK? It was very page-turn-y!)

Original rec'ing post: Friday Fics Fix - Dealing With The Stabby Teenager In Your Kitchen

'“Alex,” he said quickly, his voice strained. “I need you to overrule security protocol and allow me access to a cell in the basement-level holding facility. Please listen carefully, I require several apparatuses to ensure my escape is at its lowest likelihood-”'

 

Present, Past and Future Hunt Me by Namesake

I had to include this one in the list! 

Just the whole... *waves hands* -ness of it!

Via Giphy

It's like a whole-a** season arc of Supergirl.

It's incredible, and at just under 500 pages and, according to the author's notes, taking two years to complete - it shows some goddamn dedication!

And it has everything.

Action? Check.

Angst? Check.

Plot twists? Character interactions? The power of freaking love?! Check, check, check!

And not only do we have OTP Brainy and Nia taking front and centre in the fight against one of Brainy's evil ancestors, we also get Kara and J'onn being super superheroes, and Alex and Kelly doing their whole kick-a** Lesbian action hero schtick!

Oh and Lena! Lena's here too.

Honestly, if you're a Supergirl fan, you're gonna love it!

Original rec'ing post: Friday Fics Fix - Like A Whole Season Arc of Supergirl

'“Who would be controlling it?” Joaquin asked. “And why our camp?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Why those six kids in the movie? It’s just entertainment, right? Entertainment doesn’t need a big message with metaphors and motifs.”'

These Things That Would Eat Us by Elisabeth Monroe

SamBucky are (teenage, camp counsellor,) Couple Goals™.

Sometimes you just want fics to be fun - maybe a little silly - and a lot entertaining.

(Fandom notes:

SamBucky, also known as Winter Falcon, is a sexual and/or romantic relationship between Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes)

OK, so, hear me out: horror movie summer camp with teenage MCU characters.

Via Giphy

...Do I have to say more? Oh, I do, OK - how about this: there's Sam, Bucky, and Steve, as well as Joaquin Torres, Kate Bishop, and Yelena Belova AND America Chavez, Peter Parker, and Kamala Khan!

Just, this whole fic really sticks in my brain for it's perfect horror camp schtick, y'know? I love it.

Original rec'ing post: Friday Fics Fix - Horror Movie MCU

What fics stood out to you in 2022?

Have you read any of these?

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

Previous Friday Fics Fix posts:

• Friday Fics Fix - There's A Surprising Lack of Angsty Ash Tyler Fics

• Friday Fics Fix - We've Established I'm Trash By This Point

Sharing and commenting makes me believe you wanna keep reading these posts! 😅

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Comics Wrap-Up - Sticking Steadfast To The Rep

It's Thursday, I am very tired (and that's OK, dammit,) let's get some superhero-y comics-y goodness!

Friday Fics Fix - It Works Weirdly Well

'She walked over to Thea and pulled one of the games out of the box. It was an old fashioned wooden box with the game’s name actually carved into the front. “Jumanji?”

“I’ve never heard of that one,” Ollie said. He joined them to take a look.'

 

Sometimes, you gotta give points for creativity, y'know?

And there ain't no-one more creative than fic authors! 😉

Friday Fics Fix - Like A Whole Season Arc of Supergirl

 

'“Alex,” he said quickly, his voice strained. “I need you to overrule security protocol and allow me access to a cell in the basement-level holding facility. Please listen carefully, I require several apparatuses to ensure my escape is at its lowest likelihood-”'

Good Supergirl fics are like buses (which ironically do feature in this fic) - you wait what feels like forever for one to come along, and then two come along at once!

OK, you might remember a couple of weeks ago I recommended a Supergirl fic.

...And I'm here to do it again.

...From the same fic author.

They deserve it, OK?! 😅 They're good fics!

Micropoetry - April + May 2022

 

Micropoetry time! (Yay!)

So, I only wrote one piece of micropoetry in April, and one in May. 

The April one is haiku... because sometimes my brain provides me with haikus *shrugs*

As always, if you're using a screen-reader, the poetry itself is in the alt-text of the graphics, and line-breaks are marked by / marks.

Comics Wrap-Up - Very Much A Mood

 

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

Friday Fics Fix - Needy Lesnicki: In the Wind and On the Run

 

'But the lies were out there, circulating, and were made into a movie, which is a really mixed blessing. Let’s pretend this narration is over the title crawl, and cut to our heroine...'

This week's fic is based on the amazing staple of Sapphic culture that is Jennifer's Body.

Jennifer's Body is a 2009 cult-classic unapologetically Queer horror film.

I love it, and, yes, I've rec'd fics on it before. Jennifer's Body fic authors write some interesting stuff!

Comics Wrap-Up - Dancing All Alone In The Morning Light

 

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

Everything this week is in the 'Other Stuff' category - #BlameLoki

Friday Fics Fix - A Queer Horror Fanfic Rec List

 

Since it's October, and therefore a time for all things spooky and gothic (woohoo!) I thought I'd give you all a little taste of some horror fics.

Some of these are horror in that the specific piece of fanfiction is horror-based, and some of them are actually based on horror media/fandoms. OK? OK.

Oh, and they're all Queer af.

As I’ve mentioned before, Queer people love horror.

(Not all of us, obviously, that would be a sweeping generalisation, and everyone’s different, but a lot of Queer people do love horror. And I mean LOVE it.)

So, horror's Queer, fanfiction's Queer, let's pull some monsters outta the closet! 😉😎😅

Friday Fics Fix - Pride Fics Fest: Sandbox Love Never Dies

 

And we're here! It's the last week of my Prides Fics Fest, where for the month of June, I give Friday Fics Fix over solely to LGBTQ+ fics!

Which isn't much of a change, because fanfiction is Queer af, but this month has focus and everything! 😅

'Needy wraps her hands around the smooth wood handle and takes a deep breath. Then she raises the shovel and stabs it into the earth.'

Jennifer's Body is a, thankfully renaissance-having, staple of Sapphic culture.

For years, this Queer horror classic was maligned by A-hole, Allocishet (non-LGBTQ+,) male critics and audiences, who didn't effing get it!

Friday Fics Fix - Pride Fics Fest: Jack the Lass

Welcome back to Pride Fics Fest! That period in June where I stop pretending straight and fanfiction have anything to say to each other 😉

This post contains SPOILERS for Gentleman Jack, series 1

SPOILERS!!!! OK? SPOILERS

Gentleman Jack is a truly amazing BBC historical drama, based on the life and diaries of 18th/19th Century English Lesbian, landowner, and businesswoman, Anne Lister.

Anne left extensive, coded, diaries - many of which were fairly sexually explicit.

I love this series - a well-written, well-acted, period drama about Lesbians who are complex, flawed, genuine, people. It's so good!

Review Time! - The Sigil by Shakeil Kanish and Larissa Mandeville

* = commission link

*

Title: The Sigil*

Author: Shakeil Kanish, Larissa Mandeville


Genre: Young Adult (New Adult crossover appeal,) Fantasy, Witches(-ish,) LGBTQ+ (relationships: M/M, side M/F, refs to F/F)

Buy with Amazon.com*

Nerd Church - The Only Valentine I Ever Got

 

The only Valentine I've ever actually received was when I was five or six years old.

It was on the back of half a birthday card, which I still oh-so-clearly remember the flowers on, and I believe was written in red pencil. 

It was definitely some form of pencil - maybe my brain just made up the red part, I dunno.

Comics Wrap-Up - To Give You and Me the Ability To Scream Our Voice

 

It's Thursday. It's 2020. Let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Everything is once again in the 'other stuff' category for which we will #BlameLoki (with good reason, this time!)

Everything is also really Queer this week - which, of course, I'm here for. And that's also partly Loki's fault 😉

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.

From My TBR: 15 Young Adult and Middle Grade Books By Black Authors

 

(Warning: this post references racism and police brutality)

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.

There are three important reasons for me writing this post:

1. Black Lives still Matter.

2. It's always a good time to highlight diverse books.

and 3. There are so many amazing Black creators out there, who don't always get the recognition they deserve.

So here's a small selection of some of the Young Adult (YA) and Middle Grade (MG) books on my TBR list that were written by Black authors.

For those of you who don't know the book-blog lingo - a TBR is a 'to-be-read' list. Mine is immortal and cannot be stopped. Send help.

For those of you who are British like me, and/or haven't heard the book blogging term, Middle Grade books are those aimed at (roughly) ages 8-12, or 8-14, depending who you ask.

(Quick disclaimer: obviously, I haven't read these books, just their synopses, so I don't know what they're like in terms of content, quality, etc.)

I hope you find something to add to your own TBR, and remember to support Black authors, and other Black creators.

There're so many talented Black authors out there who deserve our attention!

Friday Fics Fix - Pride Fics Fest: Queer Canon!

Welcome back to Pride Fics Fest dearest nerdlets!

This week we're gonna look at those oh-so-amazing canonically Queer characters and relationships, and fanfiction that celebrates that.

For those who don't know, canon is the official stuff that's actually in the book or TV series or film or whatever, explicitly...

...as opposed to stuff where you have to scramble around in the sub-text, or stuff which fandom picks up and Queers all on its lonesome ;)

Let's start with the horror masterpiece I will never shut up about: 2009's unapologetically Queer Megan Fox film, Jennifer's Body.

In 2009, there was a girl named Jennifer Check, and in 2019 I rec'd Big Red by spheeris1 - a fic that is essentially a love letter to this under-appreciated film.

(Seriously, I'm never gonna shut up about this film! I love it so much!)