Showing posts with label witches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label witches. Show all posts

Friday 21 January 2022

Friday Fics Fix - Night Magic

 

'The night wore on, and Merlin still hadn't found anything. The words were beginning to blur together on the page no matter how much he tried to clear his vision, so he finally gave in and went over to wake Lancelot.'




'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape




I love the BBC TV show Merlin - and even years after it ended, it has a thriving fandom online.

...which, lucky for us, means that there are fic writers busily scribbling away to this day.

Sunday 1 August 2021

Nerd Church - Witch-Hunts and Fear: The Emotional Maturity of ParaNorman

 * = commission link



I love the movie ParaNorman*. It’s hugely underappreciated.

This beautiful, weird, stop-motion mash-up of classic horror and kids’ adventure tale is surprisingly emotionally mature.

It explores the way that fear creates hatred, which in turn creates fear and hatred. And that adults can sometimes act out when they’re scared, in ways that can hurt the people – the children – around them.




'Witch-Hunts and Fear: The Emotional Maturity of ParaNorman'





Warning: this post contains SPOILERS for the film ParaNorman, and discusses: persecution (including religious-based persecution,) Ableism, Transphobia, Homophobia, horror elements, executions, death




I’ve seen ParaNorman quite a few times now – it always strikes me like it’s the first time I’ve seen it.

I think I forget, in between watches, just how good this film is.

First-off, of course, I appreciate anything made with stop-motion animation – stop-motion uses puppets or models, which are imaged, frame-by-frame, as they are moved incrementally by hand.

When the still images are put together (at a rate of around 24 frames per second,) it generates the illusion of movement.

In order to create smooth-looking movement, the positioning of the models from one frame to the next has to be both minute and precise.

Tuesday 20 April 2021

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



'The Sigil' with an artsy black marble background



* = commission link




'The Sigil' book cover with the silhouette of a person in a hoodie, and a glowing light
*
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)

Friday 11 September 2020

Friday Fics Fix - Padfoot and Moony's Guide to Raising Harry Potter (Ft. Diverse Representation!)

 

Note: For the foreseeable future the only Harry Potter fanfiction I'll be rec'ing will have Trans+/NB+ characters. 

I understand if you don't wanna read any posts about Harry Potter whatsoever, and I hope I'll see you when I'm rec'ing from a different fandom.



“Sirius, when is the last time you slept? Or ate a proper meal? Or took a bath? Don’t even bother answering that last one. You smell like something died in your hair..."

 

'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



To rec this fic, I basically just wanted to go:

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...until you read it.

But I realised that's both exhausting and requiring of context. (Dammit!)


Friday 28 August 2020

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.



'From My TBR: 15 Young Adult and Middle Grade Books By Black Authors' against a background of the page-side of closed books, lined-up


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 22 May 2020

Friday Fics Fix - Drarry In An Elevator



They stand in another stretch of silence before a great screeching sound reverberates throughout the elevator.



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape




For reasons best known to yourselves, dearest nerdlets, one of my perenially popular posts - especially with Google searches - is Drarry In A Cupboard.

So, if you're a fan of Drarry in a cupboard, then I have a treat for you today - Drarry in an elevator!

(Anybody else mentally singing Aerosmith's 'Love In An Elevator'? Just me. Ok.)

(Fangirling notes: Drarry is Draco and Harry with a romantical and/or sexy-ness relationship.)

Friday 1 May 2020

Friday Fics Fix - Witches Loving Witches


'Ginny started to laugh. The Death Eater stopped walking. He was speaking angrily now, growling or snarling something.'



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape




Argh, how do I explain this week's fic?!?!

Well, for a start, it turns out good F/F fics are like buses - nothing for ages, then they come along one after the other.

Friday 17 April 2020

Friday Fics Fix - The Self-Care Fanfic Rec-List



Fanfiction is a fab form of self-care (which I know I've said more than once, but that's because it's true!)

And seeing as how:

a) we could all do with all the self-care we can get atm...

and b) I have written a lot of fanfiction posts over the years...




I figured I'd take a look over my blog archives, and select some of the most useful fics for self-care.

(Side-note: looking through my archive is super-weird!)



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



Friday 10 January 2020

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.



Fics Fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt shape




*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!

Friday 15 November 2019

Friday Fics Fix - 'Round the Houses


'Loki was left-handed and took a broom that was on the very end. He had plenty of flying practice at home, but he was still nervous. His first day had been going so badly, one more embarrassing moment would just be the cherry on top.'


Fics Fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



It's a pet theory of mine that at some point, everything in fandom has been crossed with Harry Potter.

Sometimes this is a full-on cross-over, with the characters from the Harry Potter books/films running around with characters from Marvel or DC or Torchwood or whatever.




Sometimes, though, this crossover takes the form of a Hogwarts/Harry Potter AU.

A Hogwarts and/or Harry Potter AU is an Alternate Universe where the characters from a fandom are placed in the setting of the Wizarding World, attend Hogwarts, work as Aurors, etc.

This may or may not involve actual appearances from Harry, Ron, and Hermione.


Friday 1 November 2019

Friday Fics Fix - Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble


**This post contains affiliate links for Amazon.com (US) - I earn commision from qualifying purchases**


'"The handwriting on the first spells is far too legible to be Satan's," Aziraphale reasoned, reasonably, like a reasonable person who had just critiqued Satan's penmanship.'


Fics Fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt



Halloween may be over, but that doesn't mean we have to retreat from the gothicky side of life, dearest nerdlets!

And what I have for you this week is both gothicky and fun as all hell! (Pun unintended, but now I'm actually quite pleased with it.)


Friday 25 October 2019

Friday Fics Fix - HP Halloween: The Ones Who Won't Grow Old



Warning: this post talks about war and related trauma


'Even in the summer, it was cold here. Once, Ginny had been used to it, spending most of the year here, but now it was more of a distant memory.'



Fics Fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt shape




This is the last week of HP Halloween!

Yes, November is fast-approaching, which means our month-long Harry Potter fanfiction fest is over.


Friday 18 October 2019

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'


fics fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



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 11 October 2019

Friday Fics Fix - HP Halloween: Nostalgia Ain't What It Used To Be



'“To mine” interjected James, the tall boy with mousy hair and glasses. “Padfoot ran to mine and now he’s staying there.'


Fics Fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt




Welcome to the second week of F3's* HP Halloween!

Yep, October is for Harry Potter fanfiction - the king of fandoms in terms of quantity (you can't deny it, it's totally true!)

*F3 = Friday Fics Fix. It's just easier to say sometimes. 😅


Friday 4 October 2019

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.'

Fics Fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



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 2 August 2019

Friday Fics Fix - Rub-a-Dub




'Draco may have screamed (in a very manly and authoritative way, he later insisted to Harry) when he saw the state of the bathroom.'

Fics Fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt shape




Sometimes, with fanfiction, you only have two choices: fun and fluffy... or things you can't unsee.

I mean, I don't make the rules, I just read the fics.


Friday 26 April 2019

Friday Fics Fix - Friends Don't Let Friends Execute Other Friends


'...it started with a bandit, sword falling downwards towards Arthur’s exposed side. 

It started with Merlin, leaping from behind a tree, hand outstretched, eyes gold, a wordless cry of fear on his tongue. 

It started with a bandit flying through the air, and Arthur turning to Merlin with fear in his eyes.'

fics fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



I love BBC's Merlin.

First, cos it's just generally awesome. Second, cos anything that continues to re-tell Celtic/Welsh mythology makes me happy! 😁


Friday 5 April 2019

Friday Fics Fix - A Future?



'"Fine, fine," Granger said, starting to pace. "Only my boyfriend is a Neanderthal who won't look past the end of his nose."

"Ah, perfectly understandable then," Narcissa said kindly.'



fics fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt




It's time for some more from the king of all fandoms - Harry Potter.

Seriously, there would be soooo much less fan content in the world without Harry Potter! Lol.

We thank you, Potterheads, we thank you. 😉

Sunday 24 March 2019

Nerd Church - The Dilemma of Morally Dubious Media (Ft. American Psycho, Game of Thrones and Harry Potter)


Warning: this post discusses morally dubious media, including but not limited to: rape, murder, incest, general violence.



'First learn the rules then break them' written on a chalk board
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay


American Psycho is about a serial killer that takes pleasure in raping and killing women in the most horrible ways, and the narrative goes into gratuitous detail about it.



Do I have your attention? Buckle up, dearest nerdlets!


No matter what, there is always gonna be media - books, films, TV series, whatever - that is kinda dubious on the ol' morality front.

Is that ok? Is that something we should be consuming? Is that something that people should be creating?

And if it isn't, is that something that we should be supressing?

Should we be, to put it bluntly, censoring it?

Friday 1 March 2019

Friday Fics Fix - Magical Matilda



'Her lips pursed into a nearly invisible line. “And I feel obligated to let you know that Wormwood is a Wizarding name, while Honey most certainly is not.”'


fics fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant Hapus/Happy St. David's Day!

St. David is the patron saint of Wales - he doesn't have as interesting a story as Santes Dwynwen, he basically faffed around founding churches and doing the odd miracle here and there - but it gives me an excuse for a Welsh connection to this post!

(And you probably know that any excuse to include Wales in a post is good enough for me!)