okay we all know the ask that’s like what fics have you whacked it to, but I raise you what fics made you stare into the void for hours after you finished reading and sent you on an emotional spiral?

Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow but in a black suit instead of red.

fancast him as high reeve draco or aaron warner (just pick a struggle!)

Best reads of 2023 - Manacled by SenLinYu

Rating: ★★★★★

“There was a part of her that felt she might somehow doom them if she said it. If there were important things left unspoken, then perhaps tomorrow would come.”

Who else spends Christmas Eve alone today? Join the Club!

Manacled by @senlinyu fanart

I’m rebooting my art blog and surprise it’s gonna be mostly dramione art. I’ll be uploading some original pieces too, and I won’t be deleting my old posts even though they’re very old and a little cringe.

Anyway Manacled is a masterpiece and I think about it daily.

Some bobby dead cells or perhaps some collector? Whichever would be more convenient. Stay safe and warm over there 👍

thank you for the ask! i don't draw collector as much as i want to, he's built so goofily and it's always a lot of fun to draw. and ty i am trying my best to stay warm and cozy :]

Today’s mood

Hermione from Manacled by @senlinyuwrites

just finished reading manacled for the first time and.

holy fuck.

y'all weren't kidding. this shit absolutely slaps.

spent a month reading Dra/mione fanfiction because so many people say it’s basically Zutara in a different font and I just??? Disagree??? Like I loved many Dra/mione fics I’ve read but it’s just…not like Zutara?

The enemies-to-lovers dynamics are super different because ATLA already handed us enemies-to-friends on a silver platter. The backstory and motivations of Zuko are extremely well-established whereas every fic has a somewhat different Draco. Katara and Hermione are quite different people too, though I think they’re more similar to each other than Zuko and Draco (and ofc the “under appreciated girl who bails out her friends” role is a big enough part of their arcs that it can override other dissimilarities). And no offence to my beloved ZK, but they’re not the most cerebral couple and they don’t have the “finally my intellectual equal” dynamic that I really like about fanon Dra/mione.

Dra/mione has way more of the romance novel dark fantasy dynamic that Zutara antis like to accuse Zutara of. And to be clear, good for Dramione shippers bc I support the female gaze. I’d actually say that Dra/mione is way more straight female gaze than ZK. With some Dra/mione fics, I get the feeling that I’d enjoy them more if I were more attracted to men. That’s a thought I’ve only rarely had about Zutara fics.

Anyway there are wonderfully talented authors who write for both ships, but I just think the comparison is a bit overblown. Enemies-to-lovers between morally incorrect boy x morally correct girl is a tried and true combination (notice I didn’t say bad boy x good girl, because ironically the biggest commonalities between Draco and Zuko is that they’re squares who want to maintain the status quo and please their dads, while Hermione and Katara are rabblerousers who would do unhinged things to get what they want) but there are many nuances beyond that. And if you’re a Zutara shipper getting into Dra/mione, it’s very possible that you’ll love half of the fics you read and be disproportionately squicked out by the other half (like me!).

I think Dra/mione fics can feature what a lot of antis accuse Zutara of being (oppressor x oppressed, dark and intriguing and toxic and passionate, self-insert wish fulfillment). What I appreciate about Dra/mione shippers, though, is how much they just don’t give a fuck. They like what they like, they don’t feel the need to apologize for liking a fantasy dynamic even if it’s sometimes toxic, and they will use Dra/mione fics to thirst after Draco Malfoy. I can’t really relate to these motivations, but I respect them, you know? Women should do what they want!

it truly is some otherwordly feeling when finding a new fic to latch onto. i remember never thinking i’d read anything better than manacled. and then atyd. and then crimson rivers. and yet i keep finding more and more hidden gems in the entirety of this fandom, of a plethora of ships, and each one is a gift. and some don’t or can’t or will never compare to how i felt when reading my all-time favorites, but the best thing is that i have and will continue to find new all-time favorites. most of all, it’s about the joy i get from reading little words on a little page on my little phone about the same old little characters in their many different little universes and that, in and of itself, is otherwordly.

to any writer out there: thank you<3

@all my Gideon Coal lovers (hello hi nice to meet ya howyado) how about This Prompt

Gideon loses to gricko when he tries to hit the man with the weird bowtie but misses, and ends up giving an iou to Gricko instead! Yes normal plot we stan yes? Anyways the Sow Pig the strange not frog not human but something worse and the tall moon faced woman all meet him, Sow Pig goes "you don't have your TickEt" yadda yadda yadda and instead of someone important to him Gideons Manacles get taken away from him

Because y'know. It's something of equal value they have to take yeah? And Gideon doesn't consider himself a very materialistic man, only owning a two maybe three shirts two pairs of pants, it was always easier to forget and leave behind things that had emotional value because then it was easier to run or fight without abandon because what did he have to come back to? So when the Sow Pig came he thought he wouldn't have anything, nothing it (not she that thing is some horrible not human at best) until it reached out to him and took his Manacles. Idk just. Y'know hehe

Gideon stumbling and feeling... maybe... unprotected? Useless? Suddenly Very Much not con-fi-dant and boisterous as we all know him to be! Maybe a little empty! Anxious! Idk I might just be going crazy! anyways toodles ✨✨✨

senlinyu has apparently read my mind and written hermione as far more relatable than she has any right to be

i will not engage with manacled discourse. i will not engage with manacled discourse. i will not engage with manacled discourse.

Um hi! In case you needed support I would 100% love to read a Harry Potter LITG fanfic, so..... If you were wondering if there's an audience, ✨I have arrived!✨ 💕🥰 Also I am a HUUUGE Dramonie girly 🥴😍 so no pressure... (Theo fics are also my weakness) Everything you wrote has me wanting and ready bestie!

THERE ARE MORE OF US

Honestly my whole life is on hold for this ship. @i-boop-you keeps making fun of me for missing Dracotok.

AUSTRALIA IS VERY FAR AWAY

NEWS TRAVELS SLOW

the manacled brainrot is hitting SO hard today and normally i’d be revelling in it but i have so much studying for anatomy to do i can’t be having my brain occupied like this 😭

Read Manacled by senlinyu. I dont even ship dramione, and i havent engaged with hp content in a long long time but my god it ruined my life in the most exquisite way and apparently is some kind of dramione fanfic gateway for me so now i have a new tbr and im accepting other suggestions