#honeybeet answers

[thehoneybeet]

Is there something you particularly love in Drarry fics? Like an aspect of their relationship, or even a background pairing, or a typical trope or story moment? :)

hi nonnie! this ask is very old and you probably will never see it, but that's okay, i'll answer it anyway. i will say i can be convinced (coaxed, seduced) to love almost anything.

when draco seems to have his shit sorted and harry is jealous and wrong-footed by that. but he eventually realises that draco also has his own trauma and insecurities. it's the breaking through the facade.

they truly know each other. draco's the only person harry is allowed to be his worst self around. having been hated by draco makes harry feel seen, since his whole life people have seen what they want to see (the hero).

giving up something precious to them for the other person. love as sacrifice - or rather, the love makes other treasured things feel unimportant.

the things that make them right for each other also make it hard for them to be together

background lesbians

thank you for the ask! would love to hear what other people think! no-pressure tagging @lemonlimelea @stationintern @beloved-child-of-the-house @hollyhawthorn @epitomereally @nv-md

[hd-erised]

Thank you so very much to all our amazing writers, artists, pinch-hitters, readers, commenters, and reccers who once again made this fest such an amazing success!

If you haven't had time to make it through all the fantastic works here yet, we hope that you'll still read and leave some love for our writers and artists! Comments are appreciated all year round! ;) As are commenters—like you amazing readers and participants, including the phenomenal 440 people who have left an incredible total of 1898 comments on H/D Erised works this year—thank you for all you do to make this community what it is!! And a special shout-out, again, to our ever-expanding list of all-star commenters, who have commented on more than half (and sometimes way more!!) of this year’s works: blueheart_V, @sorrybutblog, khalulu, @nv-md, @hoko-onchi-writes, and veradubhghoill!! Thank you!!!

We'll be going through the works today, revealing the authors on AO3, removing the mod account as a co-author, and adding the creator names to the tumblr headers. We'll be sending the participants a wrap-up email when we've finished with all the final admin things on our end.  

Thanks again for making this another brilliant round of Erised! We hope to see you all again next year! <3 @epitomereally @honeybeet @nv-md

Art:

@elizah321 drew Brewed Awakenings for @jessixaluci [T]

@bicholsdrarrysideblog drew The Case of the Mysterious Baker for @sorrybutblog [G]

@discessio drew Ceilings. for @karamelised [M]

@threading-fate drew Us, again? for @nv-md [M]

@frm9pm drew Unemployed and On Guard for @makeitp1nk [T]

@legendrarry drew No One but Me for justlikewriting [M]

@faiell drew Stolen Glances for @dodgerkedavra [T]

@sharperthan drew Hauntingly Familiar for @moonflower-rose [T]

Fic + Art:

@fantalfart wrote & drew A Dragon to Call Mine for @annanother-thing [E, ~24,000]

Fic:

@agentmoppet wrote Where Starlight Falls for @citrusses [E, ~33,700]

The magic concealing Sirius’s Last Will and Testament doesn’t reveal the full extent of Harry’s inheritance until two years after the war. When it does, it turns out that Harry has inherited more than just the Black Family vault—he’s inherited the family’s magic, too. He just has to find it first. And he needs Draco Malfoy’s help to do it.

@sorrybutblog wrote Runaway Train for @lqtraintracks [E, ~18,100]

Harry was already keen to figure out what’s been causing a series of disturbances in the London Underground before Draco Malfoy showed up acting suspicious. Two explosions, several very confused Muggles, and a cloud of mysterious sticky powder later, Harry and Malfoy can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. Can Harry shag his way to the answer to all of his questions? Seems unlikely, but what can a man do but try?

veradubhghoill wrote At Night All Birds Are Black for IzRoan [E, ~51,800]

Harry loves being an Auror—the long hours, adrenaline-fuelled chases, and even the paperwork. But when a haunting leads to his suspension, he’s forced to continue his investigation in secret. As he unravels the murder of a young girl, he turns to the one person he never expected he’d need: Draco Malfoy.

@oknowkiss wrote The Melting Point of Wax for @vukovich [M, ~10,500]

Harry Potter is many things: captain of the Chudley Cannons, the fun uncle, a good enough friend, comfortable in the life he’s built for himself. Comfortable, that is, until a risque broom advertisement and a rumor about a fellow athlete come together to send him spiralling into the world of high-stakes broom racing, high-flying turtles, and the chaos of falling in love.

justlikewriting wrote Body and Soul for @a-sentimental-man [M, ~22,200]

When the headaches became worse and it got more and more difficult for Draco to work, he was left with no other choice but to recognise his stupid problem exactly for what it was. Even if that meant realising that the best, or perhaps even only, solution could solely come from one person: the one person he hadn’t seen for months, the one person he was still in love with. The one person who should never know. Because, clearly, Harry would never be able to give Draco what he needed anyway.

@citrusses wrote The Pain From an Old Wound for @sharperthan [T, ~31,100]

Getting hit with a mysterious blood curse is all in a day’s work for Harry Potter. Having to work with his former colleague, rival, bully, and boyfriend, is not. Harry’s not sure which is going to do him in first: the curse sucking his magic dry, or Draco Malfoy, as frustrating, condescending, and painfully attractive as he’s always been.

@lqtraintracks wrote The Most Splendid Thing for @sleepstxtic [E, ~61,200]

Star Quidditch rivals Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter become accidentally bonded. They still hate each other, but now it’s untenable to leave each other’s sides—and my, but it feels oh so good to touch. They’re either going to murder one another, or fall in love. OR: A story in which Draco finally allows himself happiness, and Harry finally learns that he deserves to be whole.

xErised wrote Borealis Green for @faiell [E, ~47,200]

Draco left Harry on the night of their first kiss, when they were eighteen. Ten years later, Harry, now Deputy Lead of the Norwegian Aurors, barges back into Draco’s life at the Ministry, seeking his help—both personal and professional—for a case, to re-capture Rodolphus Lestrange and Augustus Rookwood. Turns out that Draco couldn’t really get over Harry, either.

IzRoan wrote Don’t Fear the Reaper for @thehoneybeet [E, ~36,900]

Harry anticipates it’s Luna or maybe Hermione at Grimmauld Place, here to rouse him out of purgatorial listlessness once again. Instead, Harry finds an opinionated crow, a scroll with his name on it, and one exhaustingly persistent Draco Malfoy, who insists that Harry is his latest soul to Reap. The only problem is…Harry’s still alive. Or so he thought.  Quote: Learning how to live takes a whole life, and, which may surprise you more, it takes a whole life to learn how to die. - Seneca

@tessacrowley wrote Sub rosa for @hoko-onchi-writes [E, ~37,100]

After the tragic and unexpected death of his mother, Draco Malfoy’s quiet life as Potions Master, Head of Slytherin, and Hogwarts professor gets upended—first by the manifestation of mysterious and inexplicable magic, and then by the revelation of an inheritance deliberately hidden from him his entire life.

@thecouchsofa wrote Bare Moon Rising for xErised [E, ~15,500]

Potter moved towards him, sticking his hand out. “If that’s the case, we’re both doing it. You do the nude Tornados calendar, and I’ll do the Auror one. Most sales wins.”  Oh no.  “Are you backing out already?” Potter leaned in closer, voice dropping to a whisper. “Finally admitting that mine’s bigger than yours, then? Or do you want to cop a feel first?”  Charities could bugger off. Nothing good ever came of them, really.

@jessixaluci wrote Fighting the Chill for @bicholsdrarrysideblog [M, ~25,400]

What should have been an average and dull day for Draco Malfoy, turned rather south when he’s attacked in the middle of Diagon Alley.

@garagepaperback wrote palindrome for @threading-fate [E, ~25,800]

“Why did you let me kiss you?” Potter smirks.  “That’s not how I remember it. Why did you let me kiss you?”  “I’m stuck in a time loop. You’re not going to remember, so,” Draco’s tongue drags, calcified around the words. “Why not.”  Potter’s brows furrow but the smile stays intact. “That’s the best you could come up with?”

@amomorii wrote A Soft Place to Fall for @epitomereally [E, ~142,500]

When Harry arrives for his first year teaching at Hogwarts and is struck with a bizarre malignance, how on earth is he supposed to react when Draco Malfoy suddenly cares?

@starquestingfordrarry wrote All These Winding Threads for @amomorii [E, ~35,400]

The tides of Draco’s accidental magic pull him under and leave him gasping. There’s a hungry ache that sits deep in his bones, growing worse every day. Soon it’s all he’ll be, a starving skeleton clawing at its throat.  He needs a solution. Unfortunately, that solution looks an awful lot like Harry Potter. 

@annanother-thing wrote Second Chance Resort for @elizah321[E, ~42,800]

A holiday forced on him by his friends after the latest in a long string of failed relationships might be a chance for Harry to relax, but all that is thrown up in the air by the appearance of one newly divorced Draco Malfoy. Mainly because they had been together almost fifteen years ago before Draco broke it off to marry the woman his mother chose for him… Feat. a matchmaking hotel, a spa day, an all-knowing Weasley, and friends who do try their best, but can get a little distracted.

@jtimu wrote Seven-and-sixpence for @oknowkiss [E, ~35,700]

The entire plan of Harry’s life had been defeat evil, become an Auror, marry Ginny. Not necessarily in that order, but it seemed to be going that way, the first two managed and the third in easy limbo. He can be better, though. He can be more. Draco will see to it.

khalulu wrote Slip Slidin’ Your Way (In a Land of Fire and Ice) for @frm9pm [T, ~9,800]

How does a war-scarred young wizard recuperate and create a new identity? Harry opens himself to the magic of the land. Draco learns to wonder at the humblest of creatures. Years later, Magigeologist Evan Jameson and Malacologist Derek Black begin an enthusiastic correspondence. They’re in for a shock when they finally meet. Or: Science nerds go to Iceland and fall in love. Or: Why should kelp have all the fun?

@epitomereally wrote Pillar of Salt for @agentmoppet [E, ~62,200]

From the lake in the Room of Hidden Things, Draco knows three things: 1. Mirror universes exist, and he’s going to find the best one—the one where he did the right thing. 2. Harry Potter and him are awfully cosy in some of these other universes, whereas Potter in real life is starting to act very odd around him indeed. 3. Draco’s reflection—the mirror version of him, the worst version of him—seems to be growing crueler. And stronger.

@a-sentimental-man wrote Prescription for @fantalfart [G, ~2,600]

Draco couldn’t say he hated his job, not really. In fact, he loved it⁠—and wasn’t that something surprising, a Malfoy being a Healer, when most of them hadn’t worked a day in their lives?—and most of all, he loved knowing that he was helping people heal, above anything else. (And if there was a part of him that craved the normalcy of something that helped instead of what he had been taught to do his entire life? Well. That was between himself and his journal when he remembered to write in it.) (And maybe there was another reason too.)

@traylalascrisis wrote Old love don’t rust for @drarrydoodles [E, ~20,600]

“Why do you keep coming?” Malfoy asked at last. Harry mulled over the question. For a moment he debated trying to turn the tables and asking Malfoy the very same thing. But this time he didn’t want to hold back. “Because I can’t stop,” Harry said.

@karamelised wrote Equipoise for khalulu [T, ~88,200]

Ten years of peace have settled over the wizarding world, leaving Harry Potter feeling strangely adrift. Teaching Defense at Hogwarts is fine and all, but when mysterious magical blackouts start sweeping across the country, he can’t help but jump at the chance to investigate. It would be the perfect outlet for his restless energy - if he didn’t suddenly find himself tangled up in an elaborate charade, pretending to date the Prophet’s most illustrious journalist, Draco Malfoy. Between hunting down the cause of the blackouts and maintaining their ruse, Harry’s beginning to think that peacetime might actually be trickier - and far more surprising - than he’d bargained for.

@vukovich wrote Victory Lap for @traylalascrisis [E, ~4,700]

“I wasn’t sure if you’d want to eat first.” For emphasis, he pinches the skin at my waist. I want to cover myself in him. I want to roll in him like a dog. I want to devolve on top of him. And he wants me to sit nicely and use a knife and fork first?

@maraudersaffair wrote My Mate for veradubhghoill [E, ~26,300]

Harry is a new Alpha and Draco is his Omega Healer. Draco wants to help Harry but Draco struggles to control himself whenever he is around. And Harry wants to breed Draco. Desperately so. Things come to a head when Draco and Harry become trapped with one another. Draco doesn’t have his suppressant and it sends them both into heat. While they wait for help, will Draco be able to avoid being claimed by Harry? Does he even want to avoid it? Harry is gorgeous and strong, and Draco would love to have him as a mate. He just can’t fathom a world where Harry Potter willingly chooses him.

@smehur wrote Just a little liquid luck for @shiftylinguini [E, ~5,400]

Tracking the movement of Potter’s eyes, Draco runs a greasy finger over the thickest of his scars. “You like them, don’t you? Pervert.” Potter tosses his head back, jostling the mass of his curly fringe from his forehead. “I bet you were into scars long before you had any of your own, Malfoy.” Yes, Draco wants to say. I want to lick yours. What he says instead is, “Fuck you.” “Fuck you,” Potter echoes, putting the same pregnant emphasis on the F. Draco bites his lower lip, wrestling down the rise of euphoria. “Your turn,” he says. “Take that off.”

@sleepstxtic wrote As Luck Would Have It for @smehur [E, ~12,800]

In Sixth-Year, Harry and Draco both win a vial of Felix Felicis from Slughorn and, under its influence, have sex in the Room of Requirement. In the aftermath, can Draco and Harry navigate their respective roles in the war, while grappling with their burgeoning feelings for each other?

@hoko-onchi-writes wrote In a Year’s Turning for @maraudersaffair [E, ~89,400]

It’s been nine years. Surely, Harry can handle Draco being back—for Teddy’s sake.

@shiftylinguini wrote Storm’s Eye for @jtimu [M, ~12,400]

Harry’s surprised that Draco didn’t have wards up preventing mortally wounded former school mates-turned-ghosted work fellows from bursting into his house. In Harry’s addled mind, this seems like a great opening line to say to Draco’s gobsmacked face. He doesn’t get that far, though.

Or: Harry gets hurt, Draco is a vanishing alchemist who may or may not be able to save the day, but under no circumstances are either of them willing to talk about Their Feelings. Well. Maybe "mortal peril" circumstances will do it, actually.

@thehoneybeet wrote housewarming for @garagepaperback [E, ~6,000]

First, they had to decide where to live. It worked, until it didn’t.

@dodgerkedavra wrote Go Up to Gilead for @tessacrowley [E, ~106,700]

Harry Potter’s sense of purpose drops dead with Voldemort. So does Draco Malfoy’s freedom. Nine years later, Harry’s still a soldier. Draco’s still a sacrifice. Harry’s going to die in his Auror uniform, and Draco doesn’t deserve to live. But when the clock runs out on Draco’s sentence, a new one starts ticking. As it was, so it will be: they’ll survive together, or not at all.

@makeitp1nk wrote do you (one) better for @legendrarry [M, ~4,200]

Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Harry Potter abruptly loses his Favourite Hogwarts Professor title to none other than Potions Professor Draco Malfoy. He swears it’s fine, really, but the feelings boiling within him say otherwise. Until Poppy Longbottom, Pansy and Neville’s hellion daughter, forces Hogwarts faculty and staff to engage in a very controversial Pureblood family tradition.

@doingthechachaslide wrote Of Stolen Glass and Burning Clover for @saintgarbanzo [E, ~27,800]

A week long international conference. A political scandal? A Malfoy beside the fruit tarts.

@saintgarbanzo wrote Baker’s Modern Wands for @starquestingfordrarry [E, ~43,600]

At Baker’s Modern Wands Lavender Brown is starting a revolution, Draco Malfoy is trying his best, and Harry Potter is really annoyed about it all.

@nv-md wrote Kiss Me, Fuck Me, Love Me for @doingthechachaslide [E, ~5,100]

Harry and Draco are running very late—they’ve got shirts to find, puppies to save, and champagne to buy. They’re also terribly, ridiculously, extraordinarily in love.

@moonflower-rose wrote Equally Cursed and Blessed for @thecouchsofa [E, ~18,200]

Harry’s back at Hogwarts to attempt his final year, again. This time he’s sure there’ll be no shenanigans. Well. Maybe there’ll be a few.

[thehoneybeet]

Fandom creators self rec game! Choose five favourites from your own creations (and tell me why, if you like!), then pass on to at least five other people. I'd love to hear what you're proudest of.

hi tacky! this is so lovely. it's been languishing in my asks since 2023, but here I am. @andithiel also tagged me in something similar once upon a time. I would love to know both of yours as well since it's been a while. Desiderium - full of the things I love, like thunderstorms, rain, edging, legilimency, harry's feelings about his death, liminal space

Necro-romance - I really went there, and it was fun. and it turned out to be surprisingly tender. loved letting myself run wild with it.

Summoning - my shortest fic. I love to write yearning and this one is the most saturated with it.

everything is relative to you - conceptually maybe my most interesting, with a mix of time travel, past lives, and a bit of wandlore.

plant me in your garden - my one and only trans nonbinary draco. my first completed fic. self-exploratory, dreamlike in a lot of ways.

instead of sending in an ask box I'm just going to no-pressure tag @beloved-child-of-the-house @hephaestiions @hollyhawthorn @lemonlimelea @moonmanatee @citrusses @wholahoop and anyone else who would like to share! tag me if you do!

[thehoneybeet]

Just finished bingeing your whole AO3 catalogue and can I just say I absolutely love your writing style, I quite literally could not put those fics down! They're all absolutely wonderful ♥️♥️♥️

I savoured this ask all day because it gave me all the warm lovely feelings. I am delighted that you took the time to peruse my little collection and that you enjoyed them. You are the best. Here, have a flower as a thank you 🌹

actually have a bouquet: 🌱 🌱🌹🌹🌿 🌱 🌾🌹🌸🌹🌹🌾 🌱 🌾🌱🌹🌹🌹🌹🌾🌹🌹🌿🌾 🌱🌹🌸🌹🌹🌹🌹🌿 🌾🌹🌹🌸🌿 🌿🌱 🎀 🎋🌿

(thank you!!!)

[thehoneybeet]

It might be cheating to use an opening passage, but I adore the way you started plant me in your garden (and watch me grow). It gives such great insight into both Harry and Draco from the get go with so few words, and I’d love to know more about what you were thinking when you wrote it!

[Malfoy falls asleep in herbology. A bowtruckle is making a nest in his hair.

It’s long and gleaming, falling like water down his back, except for the tendrils gently woven together at the top, making a tiny little cup. The bowtruckle is dipping the ends of it in the corner of Malfoy’s parted mouth, wetting the strands slightly before threading them together. Harry thinks Malfoy might have a conniption when he wakes.

He doesn’t. Instead, he smiles, a secret thing, and gently cuts the hair attached to the nest, slowly floating it to the table, the bowtruckle along for the ride. Tiny tufts of blond stick up in the middle of his head now, an odd kind of mullet.

Harry can’t bring himself to look away. No one else seems to notice. He looks down. His bowtruckle is nowhere to be seen.]

I literally think about this opening all the time, and I’m not exaggerating. You’re brilliant! 💜

Hi mj! Not cheating at all! I'm so touched that plant me in your garden is the fic you chose; it's special to me because it's my first fic and it was written during a time when I was thinking a lot about what it means to be genderfluid and nonbinary. I transplanted a lot of those feelings into my characterisation of Draco, who is probably the closest character I've written to myself, my interests, my view of life (that said, he's definitely not me for a myriad of reasons). Commentary below the cut:

This draco is so different from any other draco I've written. They are very soft and reserved in large part because of the introspection it took to discover their gender identity, and their desire to get through the year unnoticed. Except Harry does notice Draco, even when Draco tries to be invisible.

With this scene, I wanted to establish a few things: Draco's tired during the day because he stays up all night. Draco has long hair, but he doesn't have a stick up his arse. He has a private relationship with his surroundings and the natural world that Harry is privy to but feels very much outside of. And Harry notices these things, sees how different Draco is from before, and starts to admire those qualities.

I started the fic using 'he' pronouns for Draco to make a gentle transition from canon Draco to the Draco we meet in this story. I really wanted Draco's gender fluidity and shifting pronouns to be not a big deal, an integral part of the emotional undercurrent of the story without making it a story about being genderqueer. This is also why the story is from Harry's point of view, so we get glimpses of Draco's interior life but not the full story. At the time I'm not sure if I felt qualified to write that interiority, as I was only beginning to think in depth about that experience.

More than just being about what Harry calls in the fic 'the gender thing', plant me is about being understood. Being seen. And that comes out several ways: Draco being seen by harry for who she is, Harry's needs being noticed and attended to by Draco even when he is trying to repress them. Feeling safe to be yourself, even when you think you are a danger or wrong somehow. And seeing that what you thought was dangerous or strange about yourself is actually beautiful. Maybe this is about being queer, actually. Hm.

The bowtruckles are here because I like them and how playful they are. They make nests in this fic because I wanted them to. I wanted both Draco and Harry to experience wonder. The world is wonderful. For most of Harry's life, magic is a constant source of violence, but it's also a source of wonder for him early on. I wanted his awe of magic to emerge now that he's no longer in mortal danger, and for Draco to give him a little more of that magic that he didn't grow up with.

The funny thing is I hardly even remember physically writing this passage since it's been two years, so I have little idea of what I was thinking at the exact time I wrote it. I definitely didn't know how the story was going to end. Sometimes I wish I could get back to how I used to write (like this) which was much less self-conscious, and more indulgent, exploratory, I think. Gentler. I don't know. Everyone has their seasons, and I guess I just have to trust that I can still grow as a writer, even though this is still one of my favorites. Thank you so much for this lovely ask 💜💜💜

send me a snip from a fic of mine and I'll do a dvd-style commentary on it

[thehoneybeet]

N & S for the ask game please! <3

For the fanfic ask game.

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

So many! I guess the only problem is that when an idea gets hold of me I tend to want to write it myself. Or, I wish someone else could finish my wips in the way I would want them to be written 😂 Unfortunately that's not going to happen!

I checked out one of the fics you recommended in your previous answer (Gyre and Gimble) and I was really struck by the author's description of Draco's sensual attraction as one embodiment of asexuality. If there was a fic I wish someone else would write for me, it would be a combination of the kind of easy, shiver-inducing sensuality I admire and am currently loving in @wolfpants and @kbrick's writing with a longer, nuanced exploration of when sensuality is the main event, so to speak.

[Now that I've mentioned you two I have to go on a tangent which is revisiting a couple moments from your writing I think about a lot.

1. When Harry rubs sleep from his eyes, Draco stirs. His leg slips against Harry’s beneath the sheets, warm and dusted with sparse hair that tickles Harry’s skin. - The Night Before. For some reason when I first saw this part it felt like the hottest thing I'd ever read.

2. Draco licked over Potter’s mouth again, and this time Potter’s lips opened at the touch, and Draco’s tongue caught along the top one and Potter made a little whining sound. Then it was over to the other side of his neck, kissing and then letting his teeth scratch gently at delicate flesh. Even From Opposite Ends of the Universe - Book I. Again, the tension, the anticipation...gorgeous. Every one of Kbrick's kissing scenes is a masterclass in sensuality.]

Anyway I realize this turned in to reccing authors I'm really enjoying rn but whatever! I just really love sensuality when done well and would love a fic centered around that concept specifically. I'm not sure if this is making any sense, and definitely not asking for this to actually be written. But at this moment in time I think that's something I would really enjoy.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

Hidden identity. I just really love the concept of falling in love with the person you know beneath the guise. The Boy Who Only Lived Twice (@letteredlettered); Freedom to Be (@quicksilvermaid)

Undercover (related to the above): when one of them is secretly investigating the other. I think I may just love betrayal. Burn the Witch (@lettersbyelise) and Paint it, Black (@cassiopeiasshadow)

Morally grey: A Pocket Full of Stones @amywaterwings

Multiple/alternate universes: Turning Leaves (@kbrick); In What Universe? (@amywaterwings)

I love it when they have to work so hard for it yet at the same time it feels inevitable. I'm pretty open to most things, especially if there's an interesting & compelling take on them, and fantastic writers can convince me to like anything.

Sorry this was so long and thanks for the ask!

[thehoneybeet]

I really enjoyed your fucked up fic 🤝 (that’s you and me in the Put Unforgivable Curses On Each Other For Sex Reasons Club)

In this club we write wholesome stories about fucked up shit 🖤 I'm really happy you enjoyed Necro-romance especially because I simply loved your sweet sexy imperius fic. Now all we need is someone to write Crucio, arguably the most fucked up of the big three 👀

[thehoneybeet]

Hello! #16 for the gay asks? (If you want to) 💜

thank you for this, lovely!

my happiest pride memory...the summer after i graduated from high school, i went with a friend of mine who i was also sort of in love with. i don't actually remember that much about the parade - it was wonderful and very colorful and hot and sweaty and loud. i had just cut my hair really short. we met up with a couple friends, and then some other folks from school asked for a ride home and stole the rest of our french fries 😂. after, neither of us wanted to go home, so around midnight we drove up to a high point in the city, hiked up the hill, and looked at the stars. the pride was fun but the best part was getting to spend time with her. i loved that - just existing in the same space.

for the gay ask game

[thehoneybeet]

hello!! 9 & 23 for the writers ask if you’re up for it :•)

Hi there! Thank you for these <3 (for the fic writer asks)

9. How do you find new fic to read?

Lately I haven't been able to read a lot of new fic (I'm trying to write something and also read more tradpub books). What I have read, for the most part I've found through fic recs or author posts on tumblr. My last read was @skeptiquewrites's gorgeous, gorgeous fic Winner Takes It All. I've also been poking around @dronarryfest which has a collection of incredible works currently posting.

When I first started reading, though, I would scroll through the drarry tag on ao3. No filters. Just reading summaries and choosing fics that sounded good. This is probably why I'm so comfortable with the concept of DLDR: I came across everything. Before I made an ao3 account I had all 500 tabs on my phone open to different wip fics. I'd refresh my favorites to see if any had updated. Absolute chaos. I was lucky enough to meet @the-fools-errand errand this way though, who encouraged me to make a tumblr and effectively ended that era.

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

I have several ideas that have floated in my head for years. One is a fic based on one of the diadem worlds in The Secret Keeper, a sort of Voldemort Wins AU in which the resistance takes much longer than it does in canon. I think this would be fantastically fun to write. I'm also really looking forward to reading how @tackytigerfic absolutely smashes this trope (and the multiverse!) in their current wip.

My other pet idea is a regency era period piece tragedy. I used the main scene I dreamt up for this in everything is relative to you, but would love to write the whole fic on its own.

And finally, Spy Draco. Another wip that's currently on pause. A couple wip snips (here and here)

Lovely to hear from you as always, @maziktheli!

[thehoneybeet]

do you have any advise for finding beta readers? i'm currently 20k words deep in a wip and have no idea where to even start 😅 i would post an advert, but i'm worried that won't get the reach i would like because i'm not very engaged in the hp fandom. any advice would be much appreciated!!

Hello anon friend! @the-starryknight wrote a similar guide on finding fandom community here. But here's mine for finding a beta:

Discord (if you don't have one, I highly recommend it)

If you write drarry, the Drarry Discord Server (18+) is an incredible resource! You can request alpha/beta help in the 'planning-editing-help' channel, which is full of people who would be happy to help. Just briefly describe your project and the kind of feedback you're looking for.

I've also found betas for non-drarry ships in there, too, so it's not strictly drarry. That said, there are other discord servers if you are looking for something different:

HP SAFFICS (18+) for wlw ships ('alpha-beta-britpick' channel)

HP Fanfic Writers' Guild for any ship and also a greater variety of resources for writers ('trade-room')

If you're participating in a fest, many of them have their own servers where you can request beta help as well! Usually their tumblr accs will post a link to the fest discord.

Tumblr posts

I know you mentioned you're not sure how much engagement you'll get. If you ever do want to make a post though, feel free to tag/dm me and I will reblog! I'm sure others would be happy to spread the word as well. And like starry said, the more you interact with other people, reblog their stuff, and comment on their fics, etc., the better they will recognise you and jump at the chance to help you out <3

And finally, I know this is a bit scary, but:

You can DM people individually

If you know that they accept beta requests, you can start with that, but if not you can just start by saying hello, flailing about their work, or just talking about writing things. It's always good to make friends even if you don't get a beta out of it.

I frequently beta for other writers (see my treatment post), and there are several of us on tumblr who will happily take beta requests. My fandom life is really full right now, so I might be limited in how much I could help with, but anyone who feels comfortable being asked to beta is welcome to comment on this post as well!

I hope this is helpful, my lovely anon, and don't hesitate to reach out again if you're having a hard time finding someone.

[thehoneybeet]

I’m going to pick a number at random. I don’t even know what I’m asking. 😂. 4… or 11? For the gay asks?? 💖

hello! so excited to see you in my ask box!

4. tell the story of the first time you came out

coming out has been such a slow, drawn-out process that i can't really remember what came first. i do remember going to a pride alliance meeting in high school with the aforementioned friend-i-was-sort-of-in-love-with. we were asked how we identified and we kind of looked at each other and went...bi? my heart was pounding. we did not go to another meeting.

i've come out to my mom at least three times, each one better than the last. at one point she revealed she sort of had an unspoken *thing* with a lesbian coworker of hers, who, now that i'm thinking about it, i definitely had a bit of a crush on. susan was so cool.

when i came out to my dad, he asked me to repeat myself several times because he didn't hear me the first time...or the second. or the third, until i was shouting IM GAY down the street (we were on a walk, wearing masks, during covid lockdown). then, he just nodded and said he wasn't very surprised. after all that work.

11. have a childhood crush that you didn’t realize was a crush until later in life?

answered here 💕 also see: gay susan from mom's work.

for the gay ask game

[thehoneybeet]

Hello!! If you’re up for more questions from the writer’s tag then 3, 24 and 49 <3

Hi lovely anon! Thank you for asking!

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

Angst is a big one, and my fics tend to be pretty emotional. As a lot of writers do, I tend to gravitate towards certain phrases and ideas. I find myself tempering the urge to use "gentle" and "soft" too much. I love wilderness and weather. I hope the things I love are evident from how I write, but since it's my own I can't really tell. My scenes tend to be on the shorter side because my writing is relatively sparse, I think. Some people have described it as compact, economical.

24. Are there any easter eggs in your fics, and if so, what are they?

Hmmm I'm not sure what counts as an easter egg, exactly. The best one I can think of is near the end of Euphoria, when Draco says, "We're a pair of fools". A little easter egg for my lovely friend @the-fools-errand.

In EIRTY Pansy quotes Legally Blonde, and Draco is a little obsessed with Stephen Hawking. Harry doesn't know who that is and, naturally, is a bit jealous. The bonfire scene at the end of plant me in your garden was mostly inspired by Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

I'm mainly working on something for an anon fest right now, so I sadly can't share that. I've started my FTH offering for @m0srael, though, featuring nonbinary sea captain Gin(ny). I'm having a lot of fun imagining mythical sea creatures for Gin to discover as well as more human creature outcasts (besides werewolves, veelas, etc.) that sail on her ship. Here's a bit of it:

The crew were alright for now; alright enough to pick their way through the shallow rocky formations, sometimes hidden, sometimes jutting up into the clear sky. It was dangerous work, easier in a smaller ship like this one, but that also made it easier to be tossed about.

The light was turning golden from its earlier bright white; the sun was already setting here. Damn, Gin thought, and waved Culla over. 

“Sun’s going down,” said Culla, pulling her hat up off her shadowed face. Gin looked at her sideways, used by now to the way Culla wavered out of sight if looked at directly. 

“My thoughts exactly,” replied Gin. “Doesn’t give us much time to find it.”

“Could do tonight, if we’re lucky.”

Gin huffed. “If we’re lucky.”

“It’s new moon tonight. Tomorrow it might not be dark enough.”

“Couldn’t you help with that, oh creature of darkness?”

Culla’s eyes flashed. “You want me to cast a shadow over the moon?”

“Just long enough to draw the Ceirean out.”

“We could try getting Helen to sing.”

“And risk the rest of the crew jumping overboard? No, thanks.”

Culla laughed. 

The rock formations were closer together now, rising from the dark sea like spears, water white where it crashed against them. 

“Alright, we’ll try tonight,” said Gin. It would be too much to ask Culla for a shadow so large. The beginnings of cool night wind whipped across their face, snatching the sound, but Culla nodded anyway. 

“It’ll want to come out whether we are ready for it or not.” 

[thehoneybeet]

1 and 33 for the writer questions! 🖤

Hello lovely! Thank you for the asks 🌹

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

The font I use varies; I like changing it up especially when I feel stagnant in my writing. I wrote Euphoria in Garamond, EIRTY in Baskerville, wild with all regret in Times New Roman, and one current wip in EB Garamond and the other in TNR.

I've even written in comic sans, which is a trick that helps speed up the writing. (It's not just me!)

The one font I will not abide is Arial (the default in google docs). The first thing I do is change the font. Frankly I am a saint for betaing my dear friend @the-fools-errand's 225k masterpiece The Secret Keeper entirely in Arial. Love you. But also, why!!

33. Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

I love this question!

I've played traditional Irish fiddle music since I was 9. Had a bit of a hiatus during university but I still love listening to the music, writing tunes, etc. I once wrote a twenty page paper on an Irish music album for an ethnomusicology class.

Ceramics - lately obsessed with teapots and raku.

I've done my fair share of painting/drawing as well, and most recently have been dipping my toes into some fanart on procreate (a steep learning curve for me).

Knitting! Something I haven't done in a while but would love to go back to soon.

If anyone who knows me in real life stumbles across this page, they'll probably know it's me just from this combination of art forms 😂

I think they do tie into my writing in abstract ways. It affects the way I see the world, the things about life I focus on, which get translated in how I describe and phrase things. I also listen to music while I write, so definitely some osmosis going on there as well. I haven't actually written any artists into my fics, but I would love to do that someday.

Sorry this was so long, and thank you for asking!

(for the weird qs for writers asks)

[thehoneybeet]

HONEY 🎀 or 💞 or anything you want to answer! (for the fic writer asks)

Thank you so much @epitomereally for the ask!

🎀 give yourself a compliment about your own writing

Cheating a bit because this is something I've heard from others. I like that my writing is economical, in the sense that I'm pretty good at saying quite a lot in not so many words. In a similar way, a lot of my scenes tend to be a bit short and punchy. This isn't necessarily objectively good; there are other authors who spend longer on things and I'll cling to every word they write, but I've decided to like that aspect of my writing style.

The downside to it, though, is I have to work extra hard at lengthening my writing when I want to get a different effect. I also haven't written a fic upwards of 50k (yet).

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

I actually think the most important part of a story is the emotional resonance. Of course it helps to have well-developed characters + plot to get the emotions right, but I think the most important thing is to make myself feel something. If I don't feel anything while writing, there's no way anyone else will! And the stories I remember most are the ones that touched me the deepest.

fic writer ask post

[thehoneybeet]

3, 11, 20!!! 💝

thank you for these, anon 💕🌈

3. what other labels have you used other than your current ones?

bi, ace, lesbian...i don't use these for myself anymore. i've grown into the idea that i can be as ambiguous as i want, even within myself. i don't need to know exactly what i am. there are no rules. so i prefer queer now.

11. have a childhood crush that you didn’t realize was a crush until later in life?

winona ryder in the 1994 little women (jo march my beloved), though i also wanted to be her. in real life, i suppose i had that sort of attachment to my friends that is unique queer kids. there was a girl in middle school i very much wanted to be friends with, but looking back, it probably wasn't just that. but the main one i became aware of while i was still in high school, a sort of slowly growing into myself, i guess. i'd always wanted to be close friends, i just realised i also loved her in more than one way.

20. describe your type in a haiku

have not written one of these in a hot minute! and my type is more of a vibe than anything, but here goes:

infectious laugh, an artist's mind and soft, thick hair; quiet, patient, kind.

for the gay ask game

[thehoneybeet]

10, 12 and 18. Also love your fics 💕

Thank you so much, lovely anon! This is for the writer asks (I love to be asked things!)

10. How do you decide what to write?

I used to be wary of writing prompts, I think because all the ones I had seen before fanfic seemed derivative and unoriginal to me, or just too broad. But most of my fics have been created as part of an exchange or a prompt. I especially love exchange fests like @hd-erised because tailoring a story to the prompts and likes of a recipient has helped me write stories I don't think I ever would have come up with on my own.

It's a bit like visual art: a few limitations end up being incredibly inspiring and freeing.

As for telling when a prompt or idea feels right: usually when my mind starts daydreaming scenes easily and I get excited to write them.

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?

Hmm this is an interesting question! I think my process as a reader has been more the other way around. When I first started reading fic, I read anything. Gradually I've figured out what tropes I really love and tend to stick more to those, and generally avoid things that don't quite light me up.

As a writer, I think I'm growing more adventurous though, but this has more to do with my confidence in my abilities and less on what I like/dislike. I used to think I probably wouldn't write kink. Then I wrote wild with all regret.

As a result of writing for specific people, I've written tropes and storylines I probably wouldn't have picked out on my own. For example, soulmate fics where the characters have little agency aren't really my jam, but everything is relative to you is essentially an exploration of soulmates via reincarnation. But I think it was important for me that in each of their lives, they came together ultimately because they wanted to, and not because they were forced.

18. If you wrote a sequel to EIRTY, what would it involve?

Lately I've been daydreaming about a sequel that would really be more of a companion piece. In keeping with the physics theme, I might call it something like, "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction", or just "for every action", and it would be a series of Andrea's (Harry's) letters to Gio (Draco), which Hermione read but Harry never got to read in the original fic. I might include some of Gio's letters too, if any can be scrounged up from the historical record.

I'm not sure if that's something people would be interested in reading, though. I know epistolary fics can be a challenge to get invested in sometimes. Would love to play with putting the letters in non-linear order. 16th century magical renaissance Italy, anyone? Let me know if that's something you would like to see!