Friday Fics Fix - Undead, Not Unreasonable

'There is a key scraping the inside of the lock, and the door was swinging open, the monster standing inside of the doorway, blocking any other view. He is smiling, his horrible fangs fully shown, in the flickering candlelight of the room.'

The established king of vampires is, and always will be, Dracula.

Since 1897, it's been adapted time and again, becoming the fundamental core of vampire fiction and media.

Friday Fics Fix - Harry Potter Fics With Transgender Main Characters

(Warning: this post discusses Transphobia throughout, as well as referencing an abusive ex-rock-star)


Oh God, J K Rowling. *sighs*

I know a lot of people gave up on her before now, but the latest transphobia from Ms Rowling seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back* for most people.

*Do people use that phrase outside the UK? I don't know. 

...I feel like it can't have originated here, cos we don't have camels... weird.

If you have no idea what I meant, then please just rest assured that no camels were hurt in the making of this blogpost!

Comics Wrap-Up - Do the People Whisper 'Bout You On the Train Like Me?

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New Year means a new graphic for Comics Wrap-Up!

What do you think - honestly? Is it ok?

Regardless, it's Thursday, dearest nerdlets. And Thursday means comics-y goodness!

Nerd Church - My New Year's Resolution

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Hey dearest nerdlets! I hope that 2020 is treating you well so far! 

(...or at least hasn't been too sh** already. ...I'm pragmatic.)

Update, 2021 - this statement did not age well



So, I figured I'd talk a little about my New Year's Resolutions... 

...Well. Sort of.

See, to me, NY resolutions have always been a little *waves hands* ...vague.

Like, I don't even know what I'm doing next week, let alone committing 12 months to something, y'know?

So, they're more like an idea. Maybe a goal, or an intention, or whatever.

The Bookish Diversity Linklist 2020

Let's bring Diversity to the Roaring 20s my dearest nerdlets!

2019's list was a LOT sparser than I wanted.

But I'm uber-pleased that the 'General' section - filled with larger resources devoted to Diversity - is becoming really and truly awesome!

This is the only section that I copy over from linklist to linklist, but I'm still adding stuff to the current year's all the time!

Let's kick the decade off with some positivity!

Nerd Church - Our Roaring 20s

It's nearly that time again - when one year becomes another and we have the chance to make a fresh start

(...symbolically, if nothing else.)

But this year? This year marks the change of the decade, as well as the change of the year.

Yup, it's So Long and Farewell to the 2010s, and roll on the Roaring 20's.

(I'm now singing Panic! in my head, and I have no regrets.)

Were the 2010s that bad...?

Probably.

Especially 2016 onwards.

There's no sugar-coating it, some bad sh** has happened in this decade, especially the latter half - it feels like the world is colder, crueller, place than it was before.

I Watched The Film First! *Gasps* - 5 Books That I Read Because I'd Seen The Adaptations

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You know the voice that's just like: 'you've read the book, now see the movie!'

...that voice doesn't know me at all.

I read a butt-tonne of books. 

Like, I read at the 200-per-year kind of speed.

But I watch loads of film and TV adaps. before I read the book.

Nerd Church - Hope, Politics, and the Zombie Apocalypse

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Something important happened on Thursday, dearest nerdlets!

What..? The UK election..?

Yeah, that happened too.

We now know which brand of f**ked we, as a country, are stuck with *sighs*



What I'm talking about, though, is yours truly watching a truly bizarre, but amazing, film, called Anna and the Apocalypse.

Have you ever thought, 'wouldn't High School Muscial be better if it was combined with Shaun of the Dead... and it was in Scotland... at Christmas...?'

No? Well apparently someone did!

No, really. That is what this film is.

Friday Fics Fix - Angsty Bear

'He set his jaw and raised his eyes at Steve.

“How did you know what it feels like?”

He was genuinely afraid and somehow calm at the same time.'

I'm sure I've mentioned (probably waaay too much) that, at heart, I'm a li'l emo child.

I love the dark sh**, ok? It cheers me up! 😅

And luckily fanfiction has enough Angst (yep, with a capital 'A' - we mean business dearest nerdlets!) to keep even the most gothic of emo children happy.

Comics Wrap-Up - Sometimes You Scare Me, But I Come Around To You

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It's Thursday, my darling nerdlets, and it's time for some awesome comics-y-ness!

Friday Fics Fix - No More False Starts

Sorry if you saw this post appear briefly yesterday. I hit the publish button instead of the 'save' 😅 - ok, let's resume our regular service:

'“How was deducing the relationship status of the entire jury relevant?”'

Well-written Johnlock!

Now that that has brought every M/M-loving Sherlockian's head up like a li'l meerkat, lemme tell you about this awesome well-written Johnlock I found!

(Fangirling notes:

Johnlock - John Watson and Sherlock Holmes (usually from BBC's Sherlock) having a romantic and/or sexual relationship.

Sherlockian - BBC Sherlock fan)

Comics Wrap-Up - There's A Moment In Time, And It's Stuck In My Mind

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It's Thursday, I love superheroes and comics, and I hope you do too! (Cos I've got an awesome comics wrap-up for ya!) 😆

Nerd Church - Why I Love WW1 Poetry

Morbid li'l goth-emo child that I am, I LOVE World War One poetry.

I read it all year round: Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenburg, Ivor Gurney, Edmund Blunden, Rupert Brooke...

*sighs happily*

So, seeing as how it's Rememberance Sunday, and it's the 11th of November tomorrow, I figured I'd let you in on the beautiful jewel of life that is WW1 poetry.

(Note: when I use the phrase 'WW1 poetry' I mean English-language WW1 poetry, mainly from British soldiers, with the odd Commonwealth soldier chucked in for good luck.

I'm sure that other nationalities also wrote poetry in a variety of languages and styles, but the WW1 poetry I and most people in the UK are familiar with is that I've just described.)

Friday Fics Fix - Haunted

'Diego was still screaming but his voice was drowned and consumed, overtaken by the dead that hung around him, but Ben was screaming too...'

It's Umbrella Academy time!

...I think a lot of you will have guessed that I couldn't resist an Umbrella Academy fanfiction post for much longer (especially since I read a butt-tonne of Umbrella Academy fanfiction!)

Comics Wrap-Up - This Shining City Built of Gold, A Far Cry From Innocence

It's Thursday, dearest nerdlets, and Comic Wrap-Up is back from its break with all the comics-y goodness!

Nerd Church - Whose Dystopia Is This? A Discussion of Marginalisations in Dystopian Fiction, Focussing On Vox by Christina Dalcher

(Warning: this post discusses persecution of marginalised groups, sometimes in detail)


Dystopia, as a genre, is largely based on the oppression – either knowingly or unknowingly – of groups of people.

...Usually in a way that seems extreme in the context of the author’s cultural background, or else involves sufficient robots and sh** to convince us that this world is The Future™.

Friday Fics Fix - HP Halloween: Star-Crossed Rumors

'...But it wasn’t a dream and he was fully clothed. When he looked back over at the group of girls, they giggled even harder, whispering to each other'

Yes! It's time for another week of HP Halloween!

Because October = Harry Potter fanfiction.

I don't make the rules I just... wait, no, I do make the rules! Yay me! 😆

(...I'ma blame the caffeine. #JustSaying. 😅)

Friday Fics Fix - HP Halloween Begins!

'Malfoy looks shocked, like a deer caught in headlights, nowhere to run and just staring wide eyed at Ron, pushing Harry towards him. Suddenly Hermione realises what Luna meant: the bet.'

It's October! Which means a whole month's worth of Harry Potter fanfiction, 'Friday Fics Fix' posts, here at Dora Reads!

(Because that way I can avoid Halloween-themed fics and therefore hopefully avoid reading things I can't un-read. 😅)

Friday Fics Fix - Light and Dark

'There was a noise somewhere but he couldn't make it out. He tried to call for help but it wasn't words, just a distressed sound and more tears.'

I love Oliver Queen, aka The Green Arrow, and the show he's the lead of - which is handily named Arrow. 😅

(Also handily, this was the first in the CW's DC series, known collectively as 'Arrowverse')




Oliver's had something of a rough life. 

I mean, the first 20-something years were pretty sweet - he was the priviliged trust fund party-boy with little regard for what substances he was sticking in his body, and the feelings of his romantic partners.

(I was gonna make a dodgy pun there, but thankfully resisted. If you can figure out what it would've been, then you've probably read as much fanftiction as I have! 😅)

Comics Wrap-Up - I Couldn't Bear The Thought of Leavin' Her

It's Thursday! Time to get your cape and cowl and enjoy some superhero-y goodness!