#i did not reread and edit this so it is probably rly messy

[diolanza]

📚perospero

Send 📚 and I’ll write a drabble of an event from my muse’s past

Fingers twisted into sheets. Nails scoring into the pale flesh across his back. Bodies flush against each other, sweaty, shaking. Teeth against bared neck. The whisper of praise against the shell of the ear. A messy meeting of lips on lips. Skin on skin. Moans echoed into the darkness of a candle lit bedroom.

❝ Huh? ❞

❝ You'll make a lovely husband someday. ❞

❝ Aren't you listening?! ❞ she sets the tea down with a huff, ❝ I said, you need need to find a wife. You'll make a lovely husband someday.❞

Perospero is brought back to the present by a jab from an elbow to the ribs. His escapades from the night before escape him and he clicks his tongue, glaring to the offender. Katakuri stares at him expectantly, nodding to the space behind his elder brother. He turns and the small gathering of Charlotte siblings all have their eyes on him, giving him the same look. Mama sits at the head of the table, sipping at a cup of tea, eyeing him all the same.

❝ Ah, yes, yes, ❞ Perospero nods eagerly, finally catching onto why everyone had turned their attention to him.

He was lucky. Already proving too useful to simply be promised to some rich noble's daughter when he came of age. If he so chose, he could still marry whichever woman he wanted, with Mama's approval of course. But he'd yet to find a bride, much less a girl that was willing to date him. He'd been given some freedom, yet he squandered it by keeping himself occupied by whichever man decided to warm his bed on the weekends.

Mama hadn't figured it out yet, or she was simply waiting for her son to admit his disinterest in women. She wouldn't be happy, he knew that much. She wanted grandchildren, and plenty of them. Unless he found a particularly interesting child, adoption wouldn't be enough for her.

❝ You'll be the first to know when I find someone, Mama. ❞

Later, when everyone was filing out of the dining room, Perospero tried his best to hurry ahead of the rest of his family, trying to avoid the inevitable talk that at least one of them would want to have with him. He'd barely made it halfway down the hallway before a heavy hand was on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. He let out a long, drawn out sigh before turning to look at Katakuri. His brother gave him little opportunity to shake himself free before he was guiding him down the hall, around the corner, and into a nearby room.

❝ What's your- ❞

❝ Mama's gonna find out eventually, Peros. ❞

With an indignant scoff Perospero, crossed his arms over his chest, leaning his weight into one hip, and glared up at his brother. This wasn't the first time one of his siblings had shown concern for his predicament, and it wouldn't be the last he was sure, but the pressure for him to find someone was only growing stronger. But, for once, he didn't concern himself with his mother's feelings on the matter, not entirely.

❝ No, she won't. Not if we all keep it to ourselves,❞ he tipped his head to the side, earning him a glare from Katakuri.

❝ None of us would do that, you know that. ❞

❝ ...Then why worry about Mama finding out? As long as I'm careful, she won't figure it out. No one's said anything so far, not even the couple of men I've seen. ❞

❝ Mama's not stupid, Peros, ❞ Katakuri's gaze, whether he meant for it to be intense as it was or not, made Perospero slightly shrink. He was tight Mama wasn't stupid, but she was out on the sea with her crew so often, she took little notice of things that weren't told to her. And all of his siblings, at least a few of the older ones, had pretty quickly figured out what was going on. Thankfully, most were willing to be quiet about his sexuality, but many had shown concern for his recent wanton behavior. He'd fallen asleep a little too often in the mornings for there not to be something obvious keeping him up until past midnight.

❝ It isn't like I'll get someone pregnant. ❞

❝ That's not what I mean, dumbass. If Mama finds out, who knows how she'll react. ❞

❝ She won't find out. I've made sure that my flings are perfectly fine with not kissing and telling. None of you will say anything. What's there to worry about? ❞

Katakuri's hands balled into fists at his sides, ❝You! Mama will be furious if she finds out you've been hiding this. It's already been four years since you turned eighteen! You think she'll just keep letting you avoid marriage? ❞

❝ Oh, and you think you can keep up your pace so you'll be useful enough to her? That's the only reason she hasn't married you off. Thank you can keep being perfect? ❞ Perospero was growing tired of his brother's nose in his buisness. Despite the other looking like he was about to wring his neck, he shoving past him and went to the door.

❝ ...We're not done talking. ❞

❝ Yes we are, now leave me alone, ❞ Perospero stomped out into the hall again, leaving his brother standing dumbly in the room behind him.

Mama wouldn't find out. She never would. He'd keep it up for as long as he had to.

[mostlymaudlin]

Top 5 vs Personal 5

List your top 5 fics ranked by kudos on AO3. are you surprised by what's most popular to your readers? then provide your ranking of your personal top 5 fics, and tag a few fellow writers!

ty for the tag @sillyunicorn :D this is cute and also interesting. i tag @starwarned @urban-sith @tea-brigade @fortheloveofexy @nanatsuyu @justadreamfox @jaydreams @halfpintpeach

im actually going to do my Personal 5 first because that's what i want above the read more cut 😂 no one is escaping looking at my babies.

Thorns (E), 18k, andreil // a post-canon fic where andrew and neil cope with doing a long distance relationship when u both have fatal levels of attachment issues lol. i spent a stupid long time on this fic for the word count, but there is love in every single word. i like this universe bc it's what i want for post-canon andreil. no one gave them the tools for this shit, but i love the idea that they will always figure out how to be together, even if its messy.

No Turning Back (E), 31k, andreil // this is perhaps recency bias, but i think this is the best thing ive ever written. i have a hard time summarizing it.. but it's an au where the conflict is almost entirely in andrew's head, which of course means he Causes Many Problems. i actually built this fic out from Andrew's fucked up internal journey, which was cool for me -- like, the main plot was developed to fit his character arc. i think that's probably not rocket science or unique but it was my first time doing it that way!

We Can Live Forever (T), 46k, andreil // i used to not like hs aus and then i wrote a huge one lol. its childhood best friends-lovers, and centered on this ridiculous lip sync serenade fundraiser ?? i made them all dance. a lot. sometimes its serious, but its mostly very silly. i wrote it w the intention of giving people that "read until 4am screaming into ur pillow bc cute aggression" feeling that so many fics have given me, and the feedback ive gotten implies ive succeeded, so im rly proud of that!!

Stoner AU (E), 21k, snowbaz // i'm cheating a bit because this is a series, but i almost consider this thing to be like a collection of sitcom episodes lol. it's a normal au, simon is a weed guy and baz buys from him and also falls in love w him. theres a lot of penny and shep and its all just very FUNNY imo. and they are all so fucking devoted to each other in kind of unhinged ways. i love rereading these fics.

I'll Come Back To You (T), 6.9k, andreil // ok, for 1: that's the exact word count. every time i fix typos on rereads i have to edit it to preserve the wc. but 2: this fic is Not Silly or Smutty LOL. it's probably my plottiest/most serious fic in some ways -- it deals w, like, multiple dimensions ?? and amnesia. and loneliness. i'm proud of the ambiguity, because i tend to be a writer that punches you in the face with The Theme. this one leaves a lot for the reader to figure out (to the dissatisfaction of some commenters lol), but i like that you have to think about it a bit.

ok, AO3 Top 5 under the cut!

all of these are andreil, because aftg fandom is a lot bigger than carry on </3.

boyfriend privileges (T), 4k // i should not have been surprised that this did the numbers, but i was kind of shook when my ao3 inbox blew up like never before. it's fanfic catnip -- a 5+1 post-canon with resolvable angst interspersed with soft moments. i wrote it in like 2 days and didn't edit, and aint that just the way of ao3 lol.

flashes of intimacy (T), 7k // this is a series of fifteen <500 word fics that i add to pretty often, so it also makes sense that it's got a lot of readers! ive always been proud of my ability to write short, so it makes me happy that it's up here. it wld probs be #6 on my personal rating.

Inside Thoughts (T), 1.5k // andrew gets his wisdom teeth out and is a goober about it. one of my first aftg fics -- i think it's up here bc it's almost a year old. i am not passionate abt it tbh, i wrote it kind of as a joke one night while i was high lmfao

Do Not Disturb (T), 2k // another of my first aftg fics that i kind of dont care much about hahaha. it's another catnip situation, a post-canon moment where neil panics & unconsciously calls andrew, similarly to how he does in canon. and then they r soft <3

Tequila Sunrise (M), 4k // i know people love this one -- it's also my most bookmarked. it's fun!! drunk neil!! but i almost can't read it anymore lol. there's some prose im proud of in there, but there's also some lazy characterization choices i made bc i had no idea it would get so many hits. its hard for me as the Characterization Guy to reconcile that hahaha.

ok as usual that was long-winded as hell. i love 2 talk abt writing :) also i feel bad 4 the lack of snowbaz representation here lol, but i think that i'm 1. better at writing andreil and 2. have gotten a lot better at writing while i was unemployed the last few months. i think a lot abt taking snowbaz for another whirl now, but consider: then i wouldn't get to write abt Andrew Minyard :(