week_in_drarry (1/nov21-27.2020)
Nov. 27th, 2020 08:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fwcui really managed not to read anything BUT drarry this whole week...which was both nightmarish and fun. but also proof my brain is melting and going to shit. the only non-drarry thing i've read this week was
< Head First Learn To Code, A Learner's Guide To Coding and Computational Thinking > Eric Freeman which is a python textbook LOL. it's very learner friendly actually........it does the tumblr's guide to ADHD thing where random words are bolded and other random words are italicized and there is shit all over the page so you keep reading. very stimulating. very useful, if not 'childish' way to write a textbook. i am still falling asleep here though (which i blame on the lack of caffeine).
otherwise I read the Rix Vanus weekly update.... rix vanus is so good TO ME, also caught up with Semantic Error which if i just checked mangadex more regularly................ anyway, that's also good and also the most realest depiction of a cs student ever - which is one part of it, the other part is like, neurodivergent main interpretation which is just nice and epic to read....it looks like That Summer is being uploaded again (picked up by a new editor though) and the person who wrote trace of you is now writing something called Heart Stain which stars a darkskin class rep king.....so i'm excited even though his love interests look boring as hell. but like, i'm reading for HIM not his love interests so there's that. whatever that's the bl webtoon roundup.
now. ahhh....the drarry. unsure what order this will be in, i clicked into and closed the tabs of a lot more than i read, and i still have a ridiculous amount of unread, still open tabs.....i've been trying to exercise the ao3 mark for later function but LOL. some preliminary notes, that are not quite related to each other but ..
< Dwelling > aideomai
ohhhhh this was so good.....TBH i desparately want an everyone lives!au or at least like sirius lives!au or something where harry has Parental Figures and is not subject to the Dursleys and grows up With Magic and has a rivalry-turned-romance with draco.... anyway this fulfilled some of those dreams but did not come through and follow-up..... but it was STILL really good. honestly like, to me there wasn't enough emotional turmoil when it came to reconciling lotusdream_rship with irl_rship since the conflict mostly was between what other people thought and insisted wasn't reality and what they wanted to work towards as a reality...... there are some gorgeous lines but it's aideomai so of course there are.................... again my biggest bone to pick with this fic is just that it let the dream do all the work of relationship building for it ... but also the secondhand embarrassment was horrible and to END with THAT ..... rip rip RIP
< The Bolthole > aideomai, Tepre, GallaPlacidia
jo i am so sorry but like .... I Did Not Like This. i've already made it clear how much idgaf about draco but like ... draco_pandering on top of a hard-to-read harryon top of bottom draco! like.....i clicked into a Tepre bookmark to be like 'is this THEIR influence' and it was the opening line was is like harry thinking draco is so gorgeous and hot and sexy and lickable ..... man i hate it here. i haaaaaaaaaaaaate it here. i think if i did not have so much negative cognition towards malfoy i could've enjoyed it but i am here for HARRY. i did enjoy what was kind of set up for his own internal turmoil and conflict but again it was like hard to read and it was on top of this framing of him being the less sympathetic half .... which is due to like, a lot of factors but agh. also...i really liked the decision of ron offering the olive branch to draco but i hated like what their actual dynamic was and also that like somehow.....draco is now ronmione's closest confidant......left a bad taste in my mouth. again this is all just configuration details that led me to DNF and dislike this fic but damn.........i just don't respect any of the decisions made in constructing this. line about harry needing someone to take care of him was nice though.
< Far From The Tree > aideomai
This fic is EVERYTHINGGGGG to MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. god i'm on my reread rn i love it i love itttt. i thought the harrydraco rship development was set up really well and done well, i thought their conflicts were done well, i thought the draco sadboy life sucks pandering was done well and wasn't even that annoying because like ... it's not set up against Oh Harry Potter Has It SOOOOO Much Better, because the whole time draco is looking at harry and going 'he's tired he's so tired why is no one telling him to sleep?' and it's like oh finally! a draco self-pity moment that is not entirely centered around harry as a comparison point .... which is the MOST ANNOYING KIND BTW. i dunno i thought everything re/drarry was handled really well in this fic in a way where you could understand them both, and like see that they had different problems and thus required different things from the narrative to fix them .... after the drarry stuff i loooooooooooooved the family dynamics and also the warmth of this fic! i'm familyfucker8000 so even when things were predictable it was still so enjoyable .... i loved other things like harry dropping his breakfast bc of DILF draco, and draco having complexes over DILF harry...........i also loved the set-up of the twins but it did not escape me that james was set-up to be the more follower-y version of lily which also made it so he didn't really need a character set-up/development that could not be gleaned from lilly's. it was efficient and convenient. i also really enjoyed the moments where BAMF!harry showed up ... that was nice that was Nice. there is nothing about this fic which i did not enjoy! which is hella something because like i don't care for D/s dynamics and i didn't care for them in this fic but they didn't Ruin any part of it for me. the only bone i have to pick with this fic is that we didn't get 18 yr old draco fucking dilf harry that was something we deserved but whatever. WHATEVER. also harry darkskin king in this one.
< Harry Potter and the Bisexual Awakening > Writcraft
< Head First Learn To Code, A Learner's Guide To Coding and Computational Thinking > Eric Freeman which is a python textbook LOL. it's very learner friendly actually........it does the tumblr's guide to ADHD thing where random words are bolded and other random words are italicized and there is shit all over the page so you keep reading. very stimulating. very useful, if not 'childish' way to write a textbook. i am still falling asleep here though (which i blame on the lack of caffeine).
otherwise I read the Rix Vanus weekly update.... rix vanus is so good TO ME, also caught up with Semantic Error which if i just checked mangadex more regularly................ anyway, that's also good and also the most realest depiction of a cs student ever - which is one part of it, the other part is like, neurodivergent main interpretation which is just nice and epic to read....it looks like That Summer is being uploaded again (picked up by a new editor though) and the person who wrote trace of you is now writing something called Heart Stain which stars a darkskin class rep king.....so i'm excited even though his love interests look boring as hell. but like, i'm reading for HIM not his love interests so there's that. whatever that's the bl webtoon roundup.
now. ahhh....the drarry. unsure what order this will be in, i clicked into and closed the tabs of a lot more than i read, and i still have a ridiculous amount of unread, still open tabs.....i've been trying to exercise the ao3 mark for later function but LOL. some preliminary notes, that are not quite related to each other but ..
- I clicked out of a fic because harry said ‘jesus’ instead of ‘merlin’
- everytime i go to read fic i also just go, what if i just reread far from the tree, because that fic has ruined me. nothing will ever be that fic.
- I clicked out of a fic because it was set in america and i was like ‘what the fuck. I wanna read about weird british people shit’
- I clicked out of a fic because draco was not sneer-y and horribly adjusted enough
- I keep clicking into gracerene fic while thinking ‘we need to stop recommending gracrene fic’ … all they do is write weird sex. why. like oh my god they’re such a freak. like i respect it, but i feel like i’m allowed to not respect it also. also on my explorations, i’ve discovered Writcraft who also writes insane weird sex fic. tbh none of it is like actually weird, it’s just weird when you consider the sex dynamics they are writing into the drarry dynamic. if that makes sense aha. though i will say Writcraft writes one of my fave dracos ever.
- like i really, can’t stand descriptions of malfoy’s pasty white ‘arse’........that is so disgusting to me personally. please don’t make me think of a skinny white man’s ass.
- I also hate the word ‘buttocks’ like what the fuck? What the actual fuck?
- i think i've said this before, but i really prefer when harry is the more sympathetic/focused on character because it's the pretense of relatability. like not everyone reads him as brown, but i like to read him as brown, and not everyone makes him bisexual - but most of the time he is. and also i'm a main character fucker so .... i am just geared to like him more and relate to him more, and want more for him/from him/etc. like i realllyyyyy, really don't give a fuck about draco. it's the dynamic that's sexy and the harry that's sexy, draco on his own is like horrible and pathetic and not even that interesting bc he's literally a blood purist supremacist. like......just the real world equivalent is gross as fuck but through the lens of not-as-serious fictional equivalencies, it's somewhat more palatable.
- everytime i go to read fic i also just go, what if i just reread far from the tree, because that fic has ruined me. nothing will ever be that fic.
- I clicked out of a fic because it was set in america and i was like ‘what the fuck. I wanna read about weird british people shit’
- I clicked out of a fic because draco was not sneer-y and horribly adjusted enough
- I keep clicking into gracerene fic while thinking ‘we need to stop recommending gracrene fic’ … all they do is write weird sex. why. like oh my god they’re such a freak. like i respect it, but i feel like i’m allowed to not respect it also. also on my explorations, i’ve discovered Writcraft who also writes insane weird sex fic. tbh none of it is like actually weird, it’s just weird when you consider the sex dynamics they are writing into the drarry dynamic. if that makes sense aha. though i will say Writcraft writes one of my fave dracos ever.
- like i really, can’t stand descriptions of malfoy’s pasty white ‘arse’........that is so disgusting to me personally. please don’t make me think of a skinny white man’s ass.
- I also hate the word ‘buttocks’ like what the fuck? What the actual fuck?
- i think i've said this before, but i really prefer when harry is the more sympathetic/focused on character because it's the pretense of relatability. like not everyone reads him as brown, but i like to read him as brown, and not everyone makes him bisexual - but most of the time he is. and also i'm a main character fucker so .... i am just geared to like him more and relate to him more, and want more for him/from him/etc. like i realllyyyyy, really don't give a fuck about draco. it's the dynamic that's sexy and the harry that's sexy, draco on his own is like horrible and pathetic and not even that interesting bc he's literally a blood purist supremacist. like......just the real world equivalent is gross as fuck but through the lens of not-as-serious fictional equivalencies, it's somewhat more palatable.
so to start us off... not that these are in any particular order. kind of just went through my ao3 history
< Dwelling > aideomai
ohhhhh this was so good.....TBH i desparately want an everyone lives!au or at least like sirius lives!au or something where harry has Parental Figures and is not subject to the Dursleys and grows up With Magic and has a rivalry-turned-romance with draco.... anyway this fulfilled some of those dreams but did not come through and follow-up..... but it was STILL really good. honestly like, to me there wasn't enough emotional turmoil when it came to reconciling lotusdream_rship with irl_rship since the conflict mostly was between what other people thought and insisted wasn't reality and what they wanted to work towards as a reality...... there are some gorgeous lines but it's aideomai so of course there are.................... again my biggest bone to pick with this fic is just that it let the dream do all the work of relationship building for it ... but also the secondhand embarrassment was horrible and to END with THAT ..... rip rip RIP
< The Bolthole > aideomai, Tepre, GallaPlacidia
jo i am so sorry but like .... I Did Not Like This. i've already made it clear how much idgaf about draco but like ... draco_pandering on top of a hard-to-read harry
< Far From The Tree > aideomai
This fic is EVERYTHINGGGGG to MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. god i'm on my reread rn i love it i love itttt. i thought the harrydraco rship development was set up really well and done well, i thought their conflicts were done well, i thought the draco sadboy life sucks pandering was done well and wasn't even that annoying because like ... it's not set up against Oh Harry Potter Has It SOOOOO Much Better, because the whole time draco is looking at harry and going 'he's tired he's so tired why is no one telling him to sleep?' and it's like oh finally! a draco self-pity moment that is not entirely centered around harry as a comparison point .... which is the MOST ANNOYING KIND BTW. i dunno i thought everything re/drarry was handled really well in this fic in a way where you could understand them both, and like see that they had different problems and thus required different things from the narrative to fix them .... after the drarry stuff i loooooooooooooved the family dynamics and also the warmth of this fic! i'm familyfucker8000 so even when things were predictable it was still so enjoyable .... i loved other things like harry dropping his breakfast bc of DILF draco, and draco having complexes over DILF harry...........i also loved the set-up of the twins but it did not escape me that james was set-up to be the more follower-y version of lily which also made it so he didn't really need a character set-up/development that could not be gleaned from lilly's. it was efficient and convenient. i also really enjoyed the moments where BAMF!harry showed up ... that was nice that was Nice. there is nothing about this fic which i did not enjoy! which is hella something because like i don't care for D/s dynamics and i didn't care for them in this fic but they didn't Ruin any part of it for me. the only bone i have to pick with this fic is that we didn't get 18 yr old draco fucking dilf harry that was something we deserved but whatever. WHATEVER. also harry darkskin king in this one.
< Harry Potter and the Bisexual Awakening > Writcraft
i DNF'd this, i was skimming it and it was boring and i didn't enjoy any of the set-up...........again it's so boring when authors skip through all of the at-odds, tension, sexy enemies, etc, of dynamic .... like wtf i don't care about them unless it's Enemies to Lovers.
< Erosmancy > astolatthis was soooooooooo funny. it was super melodramatic, the blaise pov worked epically, it is not to be taken as a serious read, etc etc, it's just really fucking funny on the surface letter. when harry potter as a series is adapted into a CW riverdale-esque show and this shows up as a subplot in season 7..... Yes.
< Slithering > astolat this kind of like ... it was okay. but mostly it only half scratched the itch for like .... parseltongue harry gimmicks...... wtf does everyone remember book 1 where the most fulfilling-pre wizard_realization bond was with a snake he lets escape......... i think, harry should be allowed to bond with snakes more in fic it's NICE it's CUTE it's DESERVEEEEE. and also also also why the hell does draco wear so many stupid clothes in this ugh. nothing else left much of an impact.
< Breaking All The Rules > Frayach
hhhhhhh.....this fic made me realize the sexiest and most reasonable post-war option for draco is LAWYER. however there is infidelity in this fic which i can't read ... so like there's that. anyway, now i will talk at length about what i'd like for auror harry v lawyer draco. wouldn't it be so sick and twisted and delicious if draco ended up as a defense attorney for dark wizards/His Side of The Lot and harry is perpetually pissed that all his busts are Not getting sent to azkaban.... plus like the grey morals of <dark arts are being Conducted..... but Not For Evil > etc etc ..... plus like the ever-present pureblood_bone of like 'owning/having a history of dark magic/dark artefacts does not mean someone is Evil and deserves Prison > interesting also if trio-relations are in a neutral territory because like hermione and draco talk about prison abolition and etc and they don't see eye2eye but do have similar ideas or whatever ...... lots to work off of
< Man At The Right Hand > BeastOfTheSea
harry/neville. reallyyyyyy interesting premise and set-up but no development .... i love myself a fucked up rship dynamic but like .... so much promise so little follow-up...... yes i was perusing the neville/harry tag. i was also perusing the harry/luna tag but nothing good there either.
< The Kiss of a Veela > Lomonaaeren
more harry/neville this was boring and not all that notable but cute i guess! actually thought the harry/draco bit was hilarious; though like *assumes other person is in het rship* trope is sooooo overused in hp fic it makes me so mad.
< A Life In Your Shape >
harry/neville. hi seefin. aaauuuughhhhhh. this made me realize that is is not seefin's hand that is gorgeous (as in writing style/syntax/etc) but in the way they set up these pockets of looking into someone else's life/relationship/etc. there's such an air of comfort about it .... almost like this is a familiar scene even though you've never read it before......i just love it. the air casual intimacy personified into a fic. also the playlist for this Bangs.
< Still Life >
hi seefin. i made this point already but this isn't written in a gorgeous hand - it's pretty straightforward and simple....but it's about The Whole Picture....the Whole Fic and the overall impact........... idk something something i'm broken .... i hate explaining myself but i hate not being able to explain myself more so like.... okay... first of all this is how you do a drarry fwb. like harry's entire emotions journey re/draco malfoy and whether or not He Actually Likes The Bloke .... obviously it's mapped out in such a zigzagged and sometimes Purposefully Hurtful (thinks of other people, at times) way because it's hard to see draco as someone he might love because of Who he is..... it's so good it's so good. and the resolution ... the bracketing of the kiss with draco cutting in...... goddddd gorgeousssssss i love the last scene so so so much.
< life-days >
this was okay. i don't particularly recommend it but i also feel like it offered nothing to me, and maybe will offer something to someone else.
< Headway >
hi seefin (3). series. godddddd this is so good. i didn't particularly like the hermione, but i liked her attitude towards draco. and i also looooved the astoria/draco bit that kind of went nowhere, but the very last conversation ? they had.... where they're both going through the motions of the same miserable thing... very epic.
< Modern Love > tackytiger
okay upon reflection i've figured out what i don't like about Woe-Is-Me draco fics. he's not allowed to make decisions that the audience doesn't like. like.....harry can make a decision that in-universe characters will not like, that the reader will not like, that like can be explained and understood but not entirely sympathetic.....but like draco, as part of his Redemption or whatever is never allowed to make an uncomfortable call - where either the reader or someone in-universe is like 'that was shit u fucker' - you know? anyway. i digress. i think this fic suffers from that - especially since like, harry gets fucked with so much in this story and almost nothing is resolved around it - and also just suffers from the complete lack of believability of muggle-living draco. anyway i did like the eventual domesticity because i'm a sucker anyway. harry with curly hair was also interesting.
< (Un)wanted > aibidil
i dnf'd this.... because draco wasn't like, bitchy enough LOL. it's not particularly well-written either ..... i didn't like much of this. and whatever else, i did not particularly like. a better enemies to lovers college au where they randomly keep seeing each other is comeback kids by rix. seriously all i was thinking of when harry was at the diner.
< it is a strange thing to nourish what could kill you (in the hopes it does not kill you) > dicta_contrion
i realllllyyyyyy liked the draco here. i liked nothing else about this fic. i think it was mostly because i wasn't reading it well, but like, i wasn't that invested anyway so. interesting concept+take though. again, like the draco was really good i reallly liked him. so slytherin so pathetic yet composed.
< Newts > astolat
yes i was scrolling through the draco-tops-harry collection. it's not like i found anything good anyway....so you can't shame me for it because it was my loss anyway.
< What We Pretend We Can't See > gyzym
this made me go 'oh fuck...the yearning ... the longing' which is something i haven't done, even before tumblr had it's yearning/longing phase and then consequently took it back for being too cringe. anyway. as always this fic is so fucking good. it's SOOOOO fucking good i love the relationship building i love the emotional subplots i just love it it's so good it's soooo good. but everyone knows that.
< The Boy Who Only Lived Twice > lettered
lettered in general has a very dry style, and it worked fine with pure and simple - possibly because it was so much dialogue and a lot of short cut up sentences + fragments - but here it actively works against them. i dnf'd this. it was so boring and i liked nothingggg about it. sorry jo. everything is set up SO BORING and the relationship 'building' is SO BORING and nothing is intriguing not the plot, not rabbit, not anyoneeee and the drab writing along with the drab story and the complete lack of chemistry in anything and everything .... AUGH. sorry.
< The Pure and Simple Truth > lettered
this was one of the first drarry fics i ever read, if not the first. i think it's bad as a drarry fic i think it's good as a slytherin gryffinfdor reconfiguration fic, like i really enjoyed all the dynamics if not the characters .... so interesting and so well done as like a look at how whichever combination interacts.
< A Ghost in the Garden > thistle_verse
i also didn't like this and DNF'd it. it was boring firstly. secondly no fucking chemistry between drarry.
< Thriving >
hi seefin (4). this is my favourite out of the seefin collected works.....it's so good...........i love the clingy harry i love love love how they (drarry) handled talking about The War/the rship they had/etc which was just by Not talking about it. harry got to decide and he was like Blank Page....and like it was good! it's GOOD! it's not a healthy resolution or one that feels right maybe. but to me it was really clean and really satisfying - that harry got to call this shot - and that they'd deal with it by not acknowledging it. i really looooveeee this. thank u jo.
< Currency >blythely, circetigana
i dnf'd this. SORRY jo. how dare they make draco small. the whole point of harry is that he's my short, 5'7 on a good day, brown king. that's, to me, his defining brown feature. also hermione is dead in this which i HAAATEEEEE.
< Written on the Heart > who_la_hoop
I like, mostly enjoyed this. godddd. i have this thing where like, i hate reading when someone is long-suffering which is harry at the hands of the slytherins here...................it's so annoying when there's no kind of like, genuine camaraderie or friendship being established to make it worth it. like i understand it's trying to replicate the whole gag of pissing off your friends and annoying them to death .... but like it's just different when i do it irl and when slytherins do it to harry. otherwise i mostly liked it.
< amid this warm and steady sweetness > warmfoothills
this was okay also. warm definitely. i really like magic houses and i loved the descriptions and all ... to be honest i really hated harry's house for whatever reason. but it was a nice read! not like epic or like rec worthy to me though. but like to be fair, i have to think The Hand Of God (She/Her) wrote something for me to rec it.
< Let Me Have You and I'll Let You Save Me > Frayach
this is the best of the Frayach works i've read. committed horrible white harry crimes against me tho. but like it is really really good.
< When You and I Collide > bixgirl1
i definitely read this. drarry fwb is so funny if they don't hate each other like ..... um ...... nothing interesting happens at ALL. godddd. i don't remember it at allll.
< The Fall of Veils > lettered
lettered, and i mean this personally, writes so fucking boring. god jo was like 'the sex is hot' so i skipped to a sex scene but for real lettered is so bad.
< Then Comes a Mist and a Weeping Rain > Faith Wood (faithwood)
I've definitely read this also. twice even. maybe even thrice. it is not memorable any fucking time. everytime i read it i'm like Why Is This The Most Kudosed Drarry.
< The Sleeping Beauty Curse >who_la_hoop
IF I HAVE TO READ ABOUT DRACO'S ASS. god i DNF'd at the shower scene which was so awkward FOR ME to read....gbreijdkfsvh qkjersadgvbuqnerlfdivxcbj fdjnxc i can't help what makes me feel awkward okay. anyway the premise was epic, i don't think harry would ever ever buy such a rich person mannerhouse i thought that was a crime committed against harry's good character. the relationship building was bad .... i don't know i liked how it started i didn't like where it was going, and so much so to the point where i stopped reading. i don't have anything against drarry x sex as a rship developer i just think it wasn't.... like as smooth and painless as it could've been had they had more chemistry or like the set up was better or whatever
< Embers > shiftylinguini
omgggggggggggggg don't say anything but at least this is the ONLY abo fic on the list. also it's pretty good! like i didn't really read the sex but the build up was nice.
< The Wand Slipped > sdk
Definitely read this also. it was............. i didn't like the infidelity though there was an attempt made to be vague about when/what circumstances it occurred under............ it was really boring though like nothing was interesting, the endingwas what the fuck ever. etc etc.
< The Lion, The Dragon, and the Broom Cupboard > tasteofshapes
god honestly i deserve to get paid everytime i have to read harry grinding his dick on draco's ass. this was okay. i liked the office jobs bit but that's because i like office aus and the ministry truly is just the best excuse for office au. like it wasn't on the merit of the author or the fic, just predisposition LOL.
< Heartlines > shiftylinguini
god honestly i deserve to get paid everytime i have to read harry grinding his dick on draco's ass (2). which is also where i DNF'd. anyway, this is the same complaint i'll have later, but i just can't see draco as this soft/attentive/caring.... you know like i think that would manifest differently and/or at a different point in the rship. like....i understand the appeal of unknowingly becoming so close to someone and just knowing them like the back of your hand, and even if drarry got to that point i just think .... it would be different! againnnn it's so boring when they're bffs without any of the work being done on-screen.
< Azoth > zeitgeistic
not only did i have to read white harry but i had to read white harry being racist. jo you don't even deserve an apology for me not liking this i deserve an apology for clicking into and reading this without warning. obviously i dnf'd. i also didn't like harry's approach in this at all... though like saying portrait snape would oversee his master's was super stupid and in character. but like mannnnnn i hate it when people are like ... Snape Did Not Bully This Literal Child For Years. bro he did.
< Powerful Men >Frayach
interesting. could've been emotional and good i just don't like gross stuff (some of which was referenced) and also bottom draco LOL. i think i just would've enjoyed it more had i not been an asshole.
< House Proud > astolat
honestly i felt like the house had Too much magic. it was nice and atmospheric and very very cool i didn't particularly enjoy the resolution but i liked it! just not like a lot.....it was better through the middle than it was at the end. which tends to happen with a lot of astolat omg.
< Nice Things > aideomai
soft. i enjoyed that. also i think weed as a relationship easer was a really smart decision and it paid off well. this was my first aideomai hehe.
< The Invisible Man> Faith Wood (faithwood)
stop this was bad. I HAAATEEEEE SEX FICS with set-ups like this ..... oh god i haaate themmm. also like, faithwood is readable. very very readable. but there is nothing of note in work or their writing style to justify how fucking popular they are.
< You Send Me (Honest You Do) > firethesound
honestly i still have no idea what the premise (harry looks 17 again) has to do with the rest of the fic. like i don't get ittt. it was super boring and i rlllyyyyy hate when drarry is like this comfortable with each other with all the work to get them to that place occuring offscreen, at some point previous. there were also some 'interesting' moments where like <draco clearly aware of every miniscule harryism> versus <draco cursing he doesn't know more about harry> ... i really didn't like that ... the moment where he lets harry let him grab another cup because he knows harry likes to be told thank you for doing something for someone was a really nice detail though. i don't know, draco is obviously very soft in this fic and i don't see him as someone like that ..... like i think while he'd be obsessed with someone to the point of knowing every horrible ism of them, it wouldn't manifest or be practiced the way it was in this fic. like without reason, you know?
< More Than That > joosetta
i love old men.... i really really do....... this was simple and uncomplex and snapshotty but it was at least ENJOYABLE in that. it wasn't amazing or life-changing but it was nice!
< Bedroom Hymns > Writcraft
okay the only reason this one is on here because like....well i just wanted to make a point of how i just find some kinks unfeasible in the realm of drarryism. which is so pointless and useless bc it's FIC but seriously....like i don't understand deep kink shit in drarry..................not that it matters i just wanted to be like. i don't read fic for top/bottom dynamix even if i do click out of fic for t/b dynamix. LOLOLOL. but honestly i think it has to do with when t/b dynamix end up kind of frameworking what the drarry dynamic/character arc for who and who is..... you know what i mean? though like writcraft does a really good point of Not doing that. also like if not for the use of 'buttocks' their sexfic would be so fucking sexy.
anyway that's that AAAGHHH. i think you could make a point and be like 'you skimmed so much when reading how are you sure this is accurate to whether or not fic is good?' and my counterpoint would be like 'i stop skimming when something starts being good. unfortunately so much fic is bad'< Erosmancy > astolatthis was soooooooooo funny. it was super melodramatic, the blaise pov worked epically, it is not to be taken as a serious read, etc etc, it's just really fucking funny on the surface letter. when harry potter as a series is adapted into a CW riverdale-esque show and this shows up as a subplot in season 7..... Yes.
< Slithering > astolat this kind of like ... it was okay. but mostly it only half scratched the itch for like .... parseltongue harry gimmicks...... wtf does everyone remember book 1 where the most fulfilling-pre wizard_realization bond was with a snake he lets escape......... i think, harry should be allowed to bond with snakes more in fic it's NICE it's CUTE it's DESERVEEEEE. and also also also why the hell does draco wear so many stupid clothes in this ugh. nothing else left much of an impact.
< Breaking All The Rules > Frayach
hhhhhhh.....this fic made me realize the sexiest and most reasonable post-war option for draco is LAWYER. however there is infidelity in this fic which i can't read ... so like there's that. anyway, now i will talk at length about what i'd like for auror harry v lawyer draco. wouldn't it be so sick and twisted and delicious if draco ended up as a defense attorney for dark wizards/His Side of The Lot and harry is perpetually pissed that all his busts are Not getting sent to azkaban.... plus like the grey morals of <dark arts are being Conducted..... but Not For Evil > etc etc ..... plus like the ever-present pureblood_bone of like 'owning/having a history of dark magic/dark artefacts does not mean someone is Evil and deserves Prison > interesting also if trio-relations are in a neutral territory because like hermione and draco talk about prison abolition and etc and they don't see eye2eye but do have similar ideas or whatever ...... lots to work off of
< Man At The Right Hand > BeastOfTheSea
harry/neville. reallyyyyyy interesting premise and set-up but no development .... i love myself a fucked up rship dynamic but like .... so much promise so little follow-up...... yes i was perusing the neville/harry tag. i was also perusing the harry/luna tag but nothing good there either.
< The Kiss of a Veela > Lomonaaeren
more harry/neville this was boring and not all that notable but cute i guess! actually thought the harry/draco bit was hilarious; though like *assumes other person is in het rship* trope is sooooo overused in hp fic it makes me so mad.
< A Life In Your Shape >
harry/neville. hi seefin. aaauuuughhhhhh. this made me realize that is is not seefin's hand that is gorgeous (as in writing style/syntax/etc) but in the way they set up these pockets of looking into someone else's life/relationship/etc. there's such an air of comfort about it .... almost like this is a familiar scene even though you've never read it before......i just love it. the air casual intimacy personified into a fic. also the playlist for this Bangs.
< Still Life >
hi seefin. i made this point already but this isn't written in a gorgeous hand - it's pretty straightforward and simple....but it's about The Whole Picture....the Whole Fic and the overall impact........... idk something something i'm broken .... i hate explaining myself but i hate not being able to explain myself more so like.... okay... first of all this is how you do a drarry fwb. like harry's entire emotions journey re/draco malfoy and whether or not He Actually Likes The Bloke .... obviously it's mapped out in such a zigzagged and sometimes Purposefully Hurtful (thinks of other people, at times) way because it's hard to see draco as someone he might love because of Who he is..... it's so good it's so good. and the resolution ... the bracketing of the kiss with draco cutting in...... goddddd gorgeousssssss i love the last scene so so so much.
< life-days >
this was okay. i don't particularly recommend it but i also feel like it offered nothing to me, and maybe will offer something to someone else.
< Headway >
hi seefin (3). series. godddddd this is so good. i didn't particularly like the hermione, but i liked her attitude towards draco. and i also looooved the astoria/draco bit that kind of went nowhere, but the very last conversation ? they had.... where they're both going through the motions of the same miserable thing... very epic.
< Modern Love > tackytiger
okay upon reflection i've figured out what i don't like about Woe-Is-Me draco fics. he's not allowed to make decisions that the audience doesn't like. like.....harry can make a decision that in-universe characters will not like, that the reader will not like, that like can be explained and understood but not entirely sympathetic.....but like draco, as part of his Redemption or whatever is never allowed to make an uncomfortable call - where either the reader or someone in-universe is like 'that was shit u fucker' - you know? anyway. i digress. i think this fic suffers from that - especially since like, harry gets fucked with so much in this story and almost nothing is resolved around it - and also just suffers from the complete lack of believability of muggle-living draco. anyway i did like the eventual domesticity because i'm a sucker anyway. harry with curly hair was also interesting.
< (Un)wanted > aibidil
i dnf'd this.... because draco wasn't like, bitchy enough LOL. it's not particularly well-written either ..... i didn't like much of this. and whatever else, i did not particularly like. a better enemies to lovers college au where they randomly keep seeing each other is comeback kids by rix. seriously all i was thinking of when harry was at the diner.
< it is a strange thing to nourish what could kill you (in the hopes it does not kill you) > dicta_contrion
i realllllyyyyyy liked the draco here. i liked nothing else about this fic. i think it was mostly because i wasn't reading it well, but like, i wasn't that invested anyway so. interesting concept+take though. again, like the draco was really good i reallly liked him. so slytherin so pathetic yet composed.
< Newts > astolat
yes i was scrolling through the draco-tops-harry collection. it's not like i found anything good anyway....so you can't shame me for it because it was my loss anyway.
< What We Pretend We Can't See > gyzym
this made me go 'oh fuck...the yearning ... the longing' which is something i haven't done, even before tumblr had it's yearning/longing phase and then consequently took it back for being too cringe. anyway. as always this fic is so fucking good. it's SOOOOO fucking good i love the relationship building i love the emotional subplots i just love it it's so good it's soooo good. but everyone knows that.
< The Boy Who Only Lived Twice > lettered
lettered in general has a very dry style, and it worked fine with pure and simple - possibly because it was so much dialogue and a lot of short cut up sentences + fragments - but here it actively works against them. i dnf'd this. it was so boring and i liked nothingggg about it. sorry jo. everything is set up SO BORING and the relationship 'building' is SO BORING and nothing is intriguing not the plot, not rabbit, not anyoneeee and the drab writing along with the drab story and the complete lack of chemistry in anything and everything .... AUGH. sorry.
< The Pure and Simple Truth > lettered
this was one of the first drarry fics i ever read, if not the first. i think it's bad as a drarry fic i think it's good as a slytherin gryffinfdor reconfiguration fic, like i really enjoyed all the dynamics if not the characters .... so interesting and so well done as like a look at how whichever combination interacts.
< A Ghost in the Garden > thistle_verse
i also didn't like this and DNF'd it. it was boring firstly. secondly no fucking chemistry between drarry.
< Thriving >
hi seefin (4). this is my favourite out of the seefin collected works.....it's so good...........i love the clingy harry i love love love how they (drarry) handled talking about The War/the rship they had/etc which was just by Not talking about it. harry got to decide and he was like Blank Page....and like it was good! it's GOOD! it's not a healthy resolution or one that feels right maybe. but to me it was really clean and really satisfying - that harry got to call this shot - and that they'd deal with it by not acknowledging it. i really looooveeee this. thank u jo.
< Currency >blythely, circetigana
i dnf'd this. SORRY jo. how dare they make draco small. the whole point of harry is that he's my short, 5'7 on a good day, brown king. that's, to me, his defining brown feature. also hermione is dead in this which i HAAATEEEEE.
< Written on the Heart > who_la_hoop
I like, mostly enjoyed this. godddd. i have this thing where like, i hate reading when someone is long-suffering which is harry at the hands of the slytherins here...................it's so annoying when there's no kind of like, genuine camaraderie or friendship being established to make it worth it. like i understand it's trying to replicate the whole gag of pissing off your friends and annoying them to death .... but like it's just different when i do it irl and when slytherins do it to harry. otherwise i mostly liked it.
< amid this warm and steady sweetness > warmfoothills
this was okay also. warm definitely. i really like magic houses and i loved the descriptions and all ... to be honest i really hated harry's house for whatever reason. but it was a nice read! not like epic or like rec worthy to me though. but like to be fair, i have to think The Hand Of God (She/Her) wrote something for me to rec it.
< Let Me Have You and I'll Let You Save Me > Frayach
this is the best of the Frayach works i've read. committed horrible white harry crimes against me tho. but like it is really really good.
< When You and I Collide > bixgirl1
i definitely read this. drarry fwb is so funny if they don't hate each other like ..... um ...... nothing interesting happens at ALL. godddd. i don't remember it at allll.
< The Fall of Veils > lettered
lettered, and i mean this personally, writes so fucking boring. god jo was like 'the sex is hot' so i skipped to a sex scene but for real lettered is so bad.
< Then Comes a Mist and a Weeping Rain > Faith Wood (faithwood)
I've definitely read this also. twice even. maybe even thrice. it is not memorable any fucking time. everytime i read it i'm like Why Is This The Most Kudosed Drarry.
< The Sleeping Beauty Curse >who_la_hoop
IF I HAVE TO READ ABOUT DRACO'S ASS. god i DNF'd at the shower scene which was so awkward FOR ME to read....gbreijdkfsvh qkjersadgvbuqnerlfdivxcbj fdjnxc i can't help what makes me feel awkward okay. anyway the premise was epic, i don't think harry would ever ever buy such a rich person mannerhouse i thought that was a crime committed against harry's good character. the relationship building was bad .... i don't know i liked how it started i didn't like where it was going, and so much so to the point where i stopped reading. i don't have anything against drarry x sex as a rship developer i just think it wasn't.... like as smooth and painless as it could've been had they had more chemistry or like the set up was better or whatever
< Embers > shiftylinguini
omgggggggggggggg don't say anything but at least this is the ONLY abo fic on the list. also it's pretty good! like i didn't really read the sex but the build up was nice.
< The Wand Slipped > sdk
Definitely read this also. it was............. i didn't like the infidelity though there was an attempt made to be vague about when/what circumstances it occurred under............ it was really boring though like nothing was interesting, the endingwas what the fuck ever. etc etc.
< The Lion, The Dragon, and the Broom Cupboard > tasteofshapes
god honestly i deserve to get paid everytime i have to read harry grinding his dick on draco's ass. this was okay. i liked the office jobs bit but that's because i like office aus and the ministry truly is just the best excuse for office au. like it wasn't on the merit of the author or the fic, just predisposition LOL.
< Heartlines > shiftylinguini
god honestly i deserve to get paid everytime i have to read harry grinding his dick on draco's ass (2). which is also where i DNF'd. anyway, this is the same complaint i'll have later, but i just can't see draco as this soft/attentive/caring.... you know like i think that would manifest differently and/or at a different point in the rship. like....i understand the appeal of unknowingly becoming so close to someone and just knowing them like the back of your hand, and even if drarry got to that point i just think .... it would be different! againnnn it's so boring when they're bffs without any of the work being done on-screen.
< Azoth > zeitgeistic
not only did i have to read white harry but i had to read white harry being racist. jo you don't even deserve an apology for me not liking this i deserve an apology for clicking into and reading this without warning. obviously i dnf'd. i also didn't like harry's approach in this at all... though like saying portrait snape would oversee his master's was super stupid and in character. but like mannnnnn i hate it when people are like ... Snape Did Not Bully This Literal Child For Years. bro he did.
< Powerful Men >Frayach
interesting. could've been emotional and good i just don't like gross stuff (some of which was referenced) and also bottom draco LOL. i think i just would've enjoyed it more had i not been an asshole.
< House Proud > astolat
honestly i felt like the house had Too much magic. it was nice and atmospheric and very very cool i didn't particularly enjoy the resolution but i liked it! just not like a lot.....it was better through the middle than it was at the end. which tends to happen with a lot of astolat omg.
< Nice Things > aideomai
soft. i enjoyed that. also i think weed as a relationship easer was a really smart decision and it paid off well. this was my first aideomai hehe.
< The Invisible Man> Faith Wood (faithwood)
stop this was bad. I HAAATEEEEE SEX FICS with set-ups like this ..... oh god i haaate themmm. also like, faithwood is readable. very very readable. but there is nothing of note in work or their writing style to justify how fucking popular they are.
< You Send Me (Honest You Do) > firethesound
honestly i still have no idea what the premise (harry looks 17 again) has to do with the rest of the fic. like i don't get ittt. it was super boring and i rlllyyyyy hate when drarry is like this comfortable with each other with all the work to get them to that place occuring offscreen, at some point previous. there were also some 'interesting' moments where like <draco clearly aware of every miniscule harryism> versus <draco cursing he doesn't know more about harry> ... i really didn't like that ... the moment where he lets harry let him grab another cup because he knows harry likes to be told thank you for doing something for someone was a really nice detail though. i don't know, draco is obviously very soft in this fic and i don't see him as someone like that ..... like i think while he'd be obsessed with someone to the point of knowing every horrible ism of them, it wouldn't manifest or be practiced the way it was in this fic. like without reason, you know?
< More Than That > joosetta
i love old men.... i really really do....... this was simple and uncomplex and snapshotty but it was at least ENJOYABLE in that. it wasn't amazing or life-changing but it was nice!
< Bedroom Hymns > Writcraft
okay the only reason this one is on here because like....well i just wanted to make a point of how i just find some kinks unfeasible in the realm of drarryism. which is so pointless and useless bc it's FIC but seriously....like i don't understand deep kink shit in drarry..................not that it matters i just wanted to be like. i don't read fic for top/bottom dynamix even if i do click out of fic for t/b dynamix. LOLOLOL. but honestly i think it has to do with when t/b dynamix end up kind of frameworking what the drarry dynamic/character arc for who and who is..... you know what i mean? though like writcraft does a really good point of Not doing that. also like if not for the use of 'buttocks' their sexfic would be so fucking sexy.
