It's Thursday, it hasn't been a great week for me, so let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
Dora Reads is the book blog of a Bookish Rebel, supporting the Diversity Movement, bringing you Queer views and mental health advocacy, slipping in a lot of non-bookish content, and spreading reading to the goddamn world! :) (All posts may contain Amazon links, which are affiliate, unless marked otherwise. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. USA ONLY - please do not make UK purchases with my links)
Fanfiction can open your mind to new perspectives, ideas, styles, explore ideas and characters and art forms...
...or it can 'just' be a lot of fun. (Which is pretty impressive in and of itself.)
So I figured I'd give you four fun fanfics to enjoy (because I'm nice like that.)
As always with these rec lists, please check the original rec'ing post for spoiler status and Content Warnings.
Because this is me doing the rec'ing - it's entirely possible that even the fun fics need Content Warnings 😅
Warning: this post discusses racism, ableism, and general prejudice, including reference to dehumanising language and slurs
I've been re-reading* The Princess Diaries for a while now.
For those not aware: this was a massively popular YA series by Meg Cabot from the early 00s where a New York teenager named Mia Thermopolis finds out she's actually the Princess of Genovia. (As you do.)
There also 2 films starring Anne Hathaway, which are fun, but don't really match the tone of the books.
*Well, re-reading the first couple and reading the rest for the first time 😅
'It’s just that Bucky has spent his entire life trying to fulfill obligations — for the war, for Steve, for HYDRA — and now that he feels like he can make his own choices, he doesn’t know what to do.'
Bucky's bored.
He's really bored. Like - he needs hobbies. Badly. Preferrably ones with minimal interactions with people because are so... people-y.
Same, Bucky. Same. People are too people-y.
'Knock, knock, knock on the door. Three times, not four, and the door isn’t blue. It’s red, glittering in baubles of sunlight cast over its fresh coat of paint. The Doctor is safe.'
So far, I'm loving the way Dr Who is headed with Russell T. Davies back at the helm.
Side-note: Welsh people (which Russell T Davies is,) say Dave-iss, not Daveys. Please, for the love of God, respect that. (And check out this Legends of Tomorrow clip for pronounciation, complete with accent.)
Also, Welsh people with common surnames will use middle initials or names to distinguish themselves from other people with the same name. Don't miss out the initials/names when talking about them, please and thank you.
'"What's the matter, Cap?" Tony replied absentmindedly, an arm wrapped firmly around the god's torso to steady him. "Never been to a frat party?"'
Let's start this year how we mean to continue - with some angsty FrostIron! 😅
...No-one can say I'm inconsistent, tbh.
(Fandom notes:
FrostIron is a romantic and/or sexual relationship between Marvel's Loki and Iron Man Tony Stark. It works and I will go down with this ship.
Ship is a relationship - geddit?)
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!
Since F3 is going on its regular break in December, I thought that now was a great time to give you my stand-out fics of the year!
- That's not the same as the best fics of the year.
It's more... the ones I can still remember when stressed and tired at the end of November 😅 (Expect a lot from the last few months, ngl.)
Remember to please check out the orginal rec'ing posts for Content Warnings and SPOILER status.
I'll leave the link to those original rec. posts when I finish up talking about each fic.
'O.B’s fingers freeze. He’s quiet for a moment, before moving to turn off his device. He turns to face Mobius.'
The end of series 2 of Loki was stunningly beautiful - and so is some of the fanfiction that's been inspired by it.
Yes, no sooner was the streaming streamed than the fandom picked up pen and pixel and set out to process, explore, enjoy, revel in, congratulate, commiserate, and everything in between.
Living art, right there.
I love novel-length fanfiction.
I am forever in awe of the dedication you have to show to something to write a full novel-length fanfic (especially if you're not planning on changing the names and selling it as an original novel like E. L. James 😅)
I gave a list (which you can see here,) about a year ago, of 5 of my favourite novel-length fanfics - and I figured it's time for another one! (Because I read a truly horrifying amount of fanfiction, lol.)
Remember to please check out the orginal rec'ing posts for Content Warnings and SPOILER status.
Some of these fics deal with difficult topics, so def. check the CWs!
I'll leave the link to those original rec. posts when I finish up talking about each fic.
'Crowley was out doing... something -- Muriel did not know whether he was actually gluing coins to the ground or whether that was an obscure joke.'
I love Good Omens - which, in a nutshell, is a TV series on Amazon Prime where an Angel and a Demon get up to shenanigans to a soundtrack of Queen music.
...They're also possibly in full M/M love with each other. They have this whole will-they/won't-they/are-they-already-and-just-don't-know-it, thing going on. Canonically.
(Fandom notes:
Canon is the 'official' stuff that happens in the book/film/whatever)
'Tony froze and leaned back to study Bucky's face. He didn't seem to be exaggerating. Tony felt something dark and cold settle in his chest. He cradled Bucky's face with gentle hands, but his voice was hard as iron when he asked, "Honey, is there someone I need to take care of?"'
This week's fic is random af.
...I'd go as far as to say it's bordering on crack - don't get me wrong, it's not crack. But if you stand on your tippy-toes and look over the fence, you can probably see crack from here.
(Fandom notes:
Crack fics are the most random, surreal, and bizarre of fics. They are cracked (to give it the non-drug-related definition.)
Think terminally online meets Alice in Wonderland, or else the Sasquatch sequence in Tenacious D's The Pick of Destiny, and you're more-or-less there.)
Who doesn't love a ghost story?
...Don't answer that! 😅 I know they're not to everyone's taste.
But I love 'em - and there are some pretty awesome fanfic ghost stories out there (both spooky and not-so-spooky,) so I figured I'd remind you of a few of my faves
I was originally not planning on making this a specifically LGBTQ+ list, but this is fanfiction...
...so it turned out literally 100% of the fics I picked were LGBTQ+ in some capacity! Woo! Lol. 😅
As always with these rec-lists, check out the original rec'ing post for my full list of Content Warnings.
...Also check the rec posts for SPOILER status for the fics, m'k?
'His captain just looked sad, like he'd failed Izzy in some way.'
OH MY GOD THIS FIC!!!!
krhguergjopwrgm';¬!
...sorry, had to fangirl over the page a bit there. This fic is so good.
Like - page-turning, stayed up an extra hour to read some more, good.
'Izzy stared at the doily, trying to imagine where on the high seas they might have stolen that from. Izzy looked up to find Bonnet looking at him meaningfully, then down at the sandwiches. And back.'
First thing's first: it's my birthday today! (15th Sep)
Woo!
If you feel like doing so, you can buy me a birthday coffee here. But don't worry, I'll still love ya if you don't 😘
OK, back to our regularly scheduled fandom-ing:
Yes it's some Our Flag Means Death (OFMD) this week!
It's a well-written fic, and you know I have no choice: I must rec. These are the rules. *nods sagely*