...ironically, I thought I'd already done a rec-list on time-loops. I had not. 😅
I'm actually not a huge fan of time-loop fics.
If you don't know what a time-loop is - think Groundhog Day, or Happy Death Day, OK? OK.
In order for me to like it, a time-loop fic usually has to have a little something quirky to it - otherwise I get bored.
...So these aren't likely to be straight-forward, just a head's up!
'“Really? He said all that?” he asks, skeptical and hopeful by equal measure.
“Not exactly,” Stede admits, “He made a rather confusing analogy about the weight of a cannonball and controlled explosions and the two of you being like saltpeter and charcoal together.”'
Look, I never claimed to be a totally emotionally stable human being - not least because I'm not sure such a thing truly exists.
No, in fact, I've been quite up-front about my emo goblin spaghetti brain's weird and wonderful cravings. Mostly of the angsty variety.
...so I think you can probably guess where this post is going 😅
It's Thursday, I'm tired, this is Dora Reads - so let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
'I still think we should try Khonshu, Marc. He’ll be here before long anyway, so…
Nope. He is not having the bird fix this. He will… sort it out. Somehow. Like a big boy.'
This is such a random story.
- It made me smile, and I think we all could do with some more of that at the moment.
'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.)
'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.)
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!
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.
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.
'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 😅
'“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.)
'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 😅
'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.
'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.
'“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.
'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.
'"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!
'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?
Warning: very brief reference to Anxiety, and a (thankfully unrelated) brief reference to drugging people
'“You can’t stay, the guards’ rounds are random at night and…”
They would have a heart attack if they saw Flash and Supergirl eating cookies in his cell.'
This was sweet and I needed it.
Sometimes, you need the sweetness in fanfic. And this wasn't so fluffy that I get a weird social Anxiety backlash (it's fun to be me sometimes.)
It was just really nice, y'know?
'But, anyway, the point is….The vibes were off. Of this, Klaus was certain.'
Yes, this is The Umbrella Academy (TUA) again.
Because I'm complete trash and refuse to feel guilty about that 😅
