Fan fiction features characters from mainstream works of fiction in new narrative contexts. Alchemised is a work of fan fiction that began as a reimagining of Harry Potter (1997). SenLinYu originally published their manuscript as a “more than 370,000-word story” on Archive of Our Own, “an open source fan fiction hub” under the title Manacled (Ellis, Maddie. “What Is ‘Manacled’? Everything to Know About the Viral Fan Fiction ‘Alchemised’ Author SenLinYu.” Today, 23 Sept. 2025). Sites like Archive of Our Own have become popular platforms for fan fiction authors and readers alike. SenLinYu’s original Manacled manuscript gained tens of thousands of followers through this forum and on social media platforms beyond.

Fan fiction has become a cultural signpost for acceptance, inclusivity, and sexual exploration in literature. As Milena Popova writes in her article for Lit Hub, “How Fan fiction Can Inspire a Meaningful Cultural Activism and Challenge Social Stigmas,” “this kind of creation and enacting of knowledges through culture and creative writing does open up new possibilities for community members: it changes how they understand themselves, their sexuality, and their own sexual practices” (Popova, Milena. “How Fanfiction Can Inspire a Meaningful Cultural Activism and Challenge Social Stigmas.” Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2021). The culture of fan fiction invites authors of all backgrounds and identities to subvert and interrogate social stigmas through literature. Fan fiction forums offer open platforms for the exchange of ideas surrounding art and culture.

SenLinYu’s first iteration of Alchemised—Manacled—reimagined the end of J. K. Rowling’s popular Harry Potter series. In SenLinYu’s imagining, Lord Voldemort survives and continues his reign of terror. (Morrough is his narrative equivalent.) Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy also occupy SenLinYu’s world, reimagined as Helena Marino and Kaine Ferron. After the novel became popular online, SenLinYu formally published the work of fan fiction as Alchemised “to combat illegal sales of the fan fiction.”

Alchemised offers an adjacent version of the Harry Potter spinoff. SenLinYu leans into the dark fantasy elements of Rowling’s later books in the series—depicting a world torn by violence, dark magic, competing agendas, greed, loyalty, and death. The lines between good and evil become even blurrier when Helena falls in love with her enemy, Kaine. SenLinYu’s work of fan fiction invites her readers to engage in a more dystopian fantastical tale than Rowling’s; elements of Alchemised harken back to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), particularly the overt allusions to human torture, mutilation, and exploitation. SenLinYu overtly draws upon their literary predecessors to interrogate cultural stereotypes, to comment on political upheaval, and to expose social injustices. Though Alchemised draws its characters and backstory from the Harry Potter universe, SenLinYu aims to “introduce readers to a brand new world, brand new characters and a brand new magic system.”

Alchemised is in conversation with other contemporary works of dark fantasy. Some of these literary parallels also began as works of fan fiction. Alchemised is reminiscent of titles including City of Bones (2007)by Cassandra Clare, A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) by Sarah J. Maas, and Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief (2005).