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yasminbenoit · 4 years ago

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“A Romantic Partner Won’t Complete Me, Because I Was Born Complete”: How Identifying As Asexual & Aromantic Brought Me True Freedom & Happiness | Yasmin Benoit for British Vogue

There is a phase in our lives where everyone seems asexual and almost everyone seems aromantic. It wasn't until puberty kicked in that platonic relationships seemed to take a backseat. My peers stopped wanting to play together and started wanting to 'date' each other. That was when I started to realise that there was something different about me. I didn’t seem to be experiencing the same urges as those I was around. I chose to go to an all girls school in the hopes that – in the absence of boys – everyone would stop caring about sex and dating. It actually had the opposite effect. There was a sense of deprivation in the air and the heightened desire to project their sexuality onto anything and everything.

Therefore, my lack of interest became even more obvious, and it became a not-so-fun game to work out the source of what should be troubling me, but hadn’t been until that point. Having a sexual orientation isn’t just natural, it’s essential. It’s part of being a fully-functional human being. And to be romantically love and be loved by another is the ultimate goal. It’s part of being normal, which made me both abnormal and puzzling. When your asexual, people think there’s something wrong with your body. When you’re aromantic, they think there’s something wrong with your soul. Even for a teenage girl who internalised all of Disney Channel’s “be yourself” messages, it’s never nice to have people publicly debate your supposed physical and psychological flaws.

My nickname in school was “hollow and emotionless.” I was a joker with a decent amount of friends, but I was lacking something crucial, the kind of love that really mattered and the kind of lust that made life exciting...so I was practically Lord Voldemort with braids. I sat through the regular DIY sexuality tests, having my peers show me graphic sexual imagery, have very sexual conversations in my presence, and ask me inappropriately intimate questions to gauge how far gone I truly was. These tests lead to the development of theories, most centred around me having some kind of mental problem. After a while, you start to wonder if everyone knows something you don’t.

When they said that I must have been molested as a child and “broken” by the trauma, I wondered if I had somehow forgotten about sexual abuse that actually hadn’t happened. I looked at some of my own relatives with suspicion, the same people who would later ask me if I didn’t experience sexual attraction because I was a pedophile. It was suggested that I was “suffering” from my “issues” because I was socially anxious and insecure. The suggestion that my ‘issue’ was pathological stayed with me for a long time, but not as much as the widely accepted theory that I was mentally slow. Unfortunately, that one stuck. I was referred to as “stupid” and I started to believe that was the case. It would impact my experience in education for the next eight years, long after I realised that there was a word for what I was.

Asexual.

I first heard the word during one of the near-daily sexuality tests that I was subjected to. I was asked if I was gay, to which I said that I wasn’t interested in anybody like that – men or women. At fifteen, I was asked, “Maybe you’re asexual or something?” but it wasn’t quite a lightbulb moment. How could it be when I had never heard the word outside of biology class? After an evening of Google searching, I realised that there were many people with my exact same experience, complete strangers whose stories sounded so strangely similar to mine. I also stumbled across the word ‘aromantic,’ but at the time, I didn’t understand the need for it. "Wouldn't all asexual people be aromantic? A romantic relationship without sex is just friendship with rules,” I thought.

Either way, my discoveries showed me that I wasn’t alone, but that only half helpful. I now had an identity that no one had heard of or understood. Most didn’t believe that being asexual or aromantic was a real thing, and I doubted it to. I had been taught to after years of armchair pathologisation. If asexuality was real, why did no one tell you that being sexually attracted to nobody was an option? What if it was just an internet identity made up to comfort people with all of the issues that had been attributed to me? I didn’t have to go far down the rabbit hole to realise that asexuality, like many non-heteronormative identities, had been medicalised. What I had experienced as just the tip of the iceberg. As someone who hadn’t been prescribed drugs I didn’t need or subjected to unnecessary hormone tests, I was one of the lucky ones.

My activism would be my gateway to the community. Despite being the ugly friend at school, I ended up becoming a model while in university. I decided to use the platform I had gained through my career to raise awareness for asexuality and aromanticism. It gave me the opportunity to encounter a range of asexual and aromantic offline, it was then that I learned the significance of having an aromantic identity. There are many asexual people who still feel romantic attraction, as well as aromantic people who still feel sexual attraction. They have their own range of experiences, their own culture, their own flag, and like the asexual community, I was relieved to see that they are just normal people. These intersecting communities are not stereotypes. They weren’t just thirteen year old, pink haired kids making up identities on Tumblr to feel special. They were parents, lawyers, academics, husbands, girlfriends, artists, black, white, young, old, with differing feelings towards the many complex elements of sexuality and intimacy. Most importantly, they were happy.

I am proud to be part of both, and I know that while being asexual and aromantic, I am a complete person and I can live a perfectly fulfilling life. Since meeting members of my communities, I’ve become more open about my identities in real life, and a reaction I’m often met with is sympathy. “You must feel like you’re missing out,” “I can’t imagine being like that,” “It must be hard for your family,” “Do you worry no one will want you?” “How do you handle being so lonely?” “You’re so brave and strong,” “What will you do with your life now?” Even in 2021, a woman who isn’t romantically loved or sexually desired by their “special someone” is perceived as being afflicted with some kind of life-limiting condition.

Asexuality doesn't make undesirable or unable to desire others. It is a unique experience of sexuality, not a deprivation from it. Even if it was, there is so much more to life than what turns us on and what we do about it. Romantic love is just one form of love, neither superior nor inferior to any other. Being aromantic doesn't mean that you can't love or be loved, it does not mean you are void of other emotions or capabilities. I am not lonely with my friends, family, co-workers and supporters. I feel confident not when someone wants to date me but when I meet my goals and form worthwhile connections with others. My success isn't determined by whether someone will want to marry me someday. What we want out of life is our decision alone, our sources of happiness should not be defined by our ever-changing, culturally relative social standards. The love of a romantic partner won't complete me because I was born complete. Feeling sexual attraction to others won't liberate me because my liberation is not dependent on other people.

Valentine's Day is on the horizon. It's an occasion that amps up the focus on (and the pressure to achieve) a very specific type of love and sexual expression, one that is actually alienating for people inside and outside of the asexual community. During a pandemic where many relationships have been strained, tested, formed or distanced, it's important to keep the diversity of romantic and sexual feelings in mind. Many expect me to feel annoyed or lonely during this time of year, but I actually feel empowered and excited by the way sex, romance and love are discussed more deeply around this time. These conversations are constantly expanding to become more inclusive for everyone, and that's what we need to see all year round.

https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/asexuality-and-aromanticism

#yasmin benoit #valentines day #british vogue #asexuality #aromantic #aromanticism #aroace #asexual #this is what asexual looks like #thisiswhatasexuallookslike

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monster-energies · 3 years ago

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be my birthday date if you may

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

pairing: severus snape/reader

summary: if there was a day that meant a lot to you, it was your birthday and severus snape will do anything to make sure that your birthday was absolutely perfect from the moment you woke up until you fell asleep.

warnings: the following oneshot includes: 1. light angst but it won’t be the main focus,, 2. fluff and a lot of it,, 3. spicy ending,, 4. making out and a lot of it, 5. HUGE PRAISE KINK ( you won’t need to squint to find it ), 6. body praise 7. light body worshiping kink, 7. implied food kink ( ??? )

rating: mature

ʚ♡ɞ please click here if you would like to be apart of my taglist

ʚ♡ɞ taglist: @insomniacaesthetic @eternal-silvertongued-prince @sevsssnape @mirarenwick @diamondbitch116 @mamawolfsmith16 @nickangel13 @a-queen-and-her-throne

word count: 7586

this oneshot can be found on archive of our own

author’s note: the title’s namesake is from the song making today a perfect day from the frozen fever short film

so we’ve reached the end of the year but thats not important, ITS MY BIRTHDAY TODAY !! i’ve been working on this oneshot for weeks and im so happy i get to share,, probably my most self indulgent oneshot in the world,,,but thats okay its my birthday

but in all honesty though,,, i actually never thought i’d be posting my works on tumblr but here we are,,, i am so happy i did because i’ve met so many neat people that i call my besties and i am genuinely so thankful for that. thank you all so much for making my 2021, whether you are a new reader or been there since my very first oneshot,, thank you all for supporting and reading my fics, i have so much planned for 2022 and i hope you all stick around 💞

for now though,, i hope you enjoy this oneshot

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

the day before.

there was something about this day that you were very much looking forward to, not because you had been nearing your 8th year, but not only graduation was occurring tomorrow, your birthday had fallen on that day.

after the wizarding war, you needed the year away from hogwarts. minerva had been kind enough to give you the year off to recover mentally, but gave you a full scholarship for your 8th year.

being the eldest in the school made you somewhat powerful, but you didn’t want to let that get to you.

the 8th year was something new to the hogwarts, instead of focusing on every subject like the rest of the school, 8th years were allowed to pick one subject of their choosing and make that as their major. whilst going to a muggle university was something that interested you, you didn’t know what you would study, the choices were endless.

so studying at hogwarts felt like the best option.

you were back with some of your friends, a vast majority of the teachers returned including none other than severus snape.

shockingly, severus sided with the order at the last moment. the moment you witnessed him die at your hands, you had to let out all your feelings to him, your first kiss was with him at his last breath.

or so you figured.

seeing severus come out of the middle of nowhere, taking harry potter’s dreaded position of dueling lord voldemort one last time; made you feel so many emotions and yet so little at the same time.

seeing him at the rightful place, made you feel happy for him.

but who were you to judge?

you were a mere simpleton, nothing but a hogwarts student.

the moment he heard every word of your confession, severus had this instinct within him that you were a person that he wanted.

he had almost been ecstatic upon seeing your name on the returning students list, if anything he was glad that you were returning, especially that you were majoring your 8th year in potions. whilst he didn’t admit this to anybody; you were his favourite student by a landslide.

during the first few lessons, there was an awkward tension between you both. you could cut it with a knife if you had to.

you both tried to bring up the events that unfolded between you both during the classes, both of you felt the same discomfort. only the two of you knew what happened that day, in the shrieking shack.

when the both of you were ready to talk of such events, severus was the first to make sure that you were comfortable with talking about such…memories.

to him it wasn’t a memory, more like a very lucid dream.

you stayed back after classes with him, as you both sat under a dim candlelight to ease the mood, he even made you tea.

severus snape? making tea?

preposterous.

you’d remember that day like the back of your hand, tears were shed and confessions were made, and lo and behold, your lips pressed against his passionately as you both exchanged breathless and tearful ‘i love yous.’

you remembered every part of it. that day felt like something out of an angsty muggle drama but it was your angsty muggle drama.

꒱࿐�� ˚.*ೃ

“miss l/n, a word if i may? i must speak with you after class.” severus said, you only nodded at his words.

it felt weird being called upon by severus now that you were much older and survived so much, but you always felt scared around severus. not to say that in the moments you have had with him were horrifying, but you almost found yourself unsure of what to say sometimes unless either one of you brought on a topic.

so now that you were both in the same room, alone with him…was something that made your stomach perform front flips.

you stood at your desk, shifting uncomfortably to yourself. as you waited for him to initiate the conversation, you couldn’t help but think of the tension in the room.

as soon as the door slammed shut, severus’ attention was on you.

“how have you been feeling?” was the first thing that he asked.

you expression fell into perplexity as you looked up to your professor.

“are you asking me…that?” you asked.

you were prepared to be scaled for using the wrong ingredient in your specialized potion, not be asked that sort of question.

“i’m fine sir.” you answered.

severus looked to you for a moment, that was when he knew you were not fine.

you’d always let your guard down upon his uses of leglimency. it was one weakness of yours no matter how many times you had been tutored for such a thing.

“i for one, am not convinced.” severus replied back.

“sir i’m doing okay.” you said. you looked down to your already trembling hands, that was the moment that severus approached you. now you were at least a meter apart from one another.

“have a seat, miss l/n.” severus said, gesturing you to the chair opposite his desk, you sat down as you watched him make a cup of tea.

it was quite the experience watching him do the most mundane of things, it was almost soothing to those eyes of yours. as he handed the cup to you, you smiled kindly to his gesture before taking a sip of your tea.

then the awkward shifting came along. you really didn’t know if you were sure of staying.

“how are you really feeling y/n?” severus asked once more.

you felt your heart sink slowly and your lip quivering. “alone.” was all you could say.

you did feel very lonely, not many people you knew were coming back to hogwarts, even when you joined the initial induction period for the 8th years, there weren’t many people you knew you could get along with.

you found ultimate comfort in being with your potions professor, marking assignments with him, making potions with him. that was where you felt safe but something about today didn’t make you feel such a thing.

“everything’s changing…and i don’t like it. there’s nobody here i know, i don’t even know why i decided to stay. i shouldn’t have, i wasn’t ready to go…back into my studies, not after the war. but…” you stopped in your tracks, you knew what you were going to say but you couldn’t.

not since the war did you come around to your feelings for severus. you were almost delusional on the aspect of it.

“but what y/n?” severus pressed slightly.

“that day…where you almost died…in my arms, i couldn’t hold it in any longer. if i never saw you again, i just had to do it.” by this point you let out all your tears, the sheer concept of losing severus was something that always shattered you.

“and believe me, i mean every single word of it severus. you deserve my love, you…deserve love.” you quivered as this expression on your professor’s face swiftly turn to dismay, he never deserved such happiness, he didn’t deserve you. not in the slightest.

severus was still in disbelief that you were even confessing such things, in a normal life, he would have been the conventionally attractive potions professor to which every girl would smother him in bribes to get them to pass.

but this wasn’t the case.

he listened to you admit that you accumulated feelings for him at the beginning of 6th year, and you knew that he wasn’t perfect. but you loved him for the person that he was on the inside and if anything, that was what mattered to you.

you pressed a soft kiss to his lips. he was already taken aback at your words but the moment you kissed him, he caved in and let himself share the passion that you always wanted.

“i love you severus.” you murmured with tears shedding your eyes.

“i love you so much.” you replied again.

severus’ head was buried into your hair as his tears were hidden away in shame.

“i love you.” he mumbled, only quiet enough for him to hear.

you had yearned for someone who shared the exact same love and passion, perhaps even more…and if severus was that person, your life would be whole.

a life with severus was all you could see.

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

it had been a very long day for both students and staff alike, you had finished your exams now you were free of hogwarts. the place that you had called home for the longest time.

but most importantly, it was a place of closure and acceptance.

while severus had been stuck at his desk marking the final two assignments, he couldn’t help but think of you being in his arms tonight. the only time he found himself at peace was when he was resting with you in his arms, he never thought he would find love. not after the events that unravelled, it would seem impossible but opening the door to you seemed to be something he wouldn’t regret.

granted, it would take him a lot of getting used to. he wasn’t used to being loved, not even by someone like you.

as severus shifted in his bed, he noticed that you weren’t there. you didn’t go far, he found you by the fire place at his chambers, looking down at something.

were you upset?

did he hurt you?

he took note at how you hunched over something, but what would it be was the question?

“y/n…is everything okay dear?”

you turned around to see your beloved, a worried expression on his as you were instantly startled by his voice.

a loving smile perked to your face, severus’ footsteps gently pressed to the ground as you found him next to you, glaring into the fire.

“i couldn’t sleep.” you answered, this wasn’t a lie. the whole day you found yourself on the edge of your seat, perhaps the post exams season was getting to you more than you anticipated.

“something’s bothering you dear.” severus said, his fingers trailing to your hair and letting them rest on his fingers. you instantly melted into severus’ touch as you laid on his shoulder, his own eyes illuminating with love as he wrapped his arms around you, stroking your shoulder as he pressed kisses to your head.

“it’s my birthday tomorrow.” you replied, looking up to him as your hands rested on his chest and slowly your eyes trailed to the small clock at the front of the fire place.

“you’d be flying off the room left, right and centre because your birthday is slowly here.” severus said.

“you’d pester me into staying up…at ungodly hours so you could hear me say those 2 words.” he continued and you couldn’t help but let a dry laugh escape your lips.

“that would be the case.” you said.

“do you remember that time in 5th year i was helping you mark assignments and merlin…i didn’t realize how much time went by until i looked at the clock and it was 15 minutes before midnight, and i made us do absolutely nothing but glare at a clock until it was my birthday.” you said.

severus let out a small laugh but one enough to melt your heart.

“oh how naïve you were.” severus said, his lips twitching to a smirk.

“whilst the nostalgia is valid, something else plagues your mind, what is it love?” severus asked.

“i’m scared sev…of so many things.” you answered.

severus looked to you and tilted his head, why would you be fearful about your birthday? that was the question at hand, he nodded slightly as a gesture for you to continue.

“there’s so many things that make me scared about my birthday…this birthday in particular, i know i have so much ahead of me, but there’s something holding me back. i fear this birthday will be the same as all the others, something bad’s going to happen…it’s been like this before.” you said.

severus couldn’t help but understand, he had the same feeling as you did. whilst his birthday wasn’t celebrated out of his choice, he always felt something wrong will happen. but you always made an effort to make him have a smile on his face, that day on january 9th.

“everything’s changing severus. and i’m so scared.” you said.

the realities soon dawning on you that tomorrow you would be leaving hogwarts, and you will be looking ahead to the future, but yet it was the most uncertain thing looming over you.

severus’ fingers trailed to your chin, making you look at him. under the fire, it was as if you could read severus like a book.

how his eyes told a million words.

“i understand…more than you can ever know. things are changing, but you and me…we will not change, we shall not part ways, i’ll never forgive myself if we did. rest assured, all of these questions and feelings of tomorrow will go away. it will be the most perfect day for you and i will make sure that you have a birthday to never forget.” severus replied.

a smile on your face perked to your face and it looked as if it wasn’t going to leave any time soon.

“you don’t have to make sure of anything sev, just you being here…is perfect enough for me.” you said.

“i insist on such a thing, you’ve come so far…it’s the least you deserve.” severus replied, he brought your hands to his cheek for a moment and you pressed a loving kiss, under the fire which accompanied you both.

you pulled away for a moment only to look at the clock, you picked it up for a moment and as you saw the ticking hands move in the same clockwise motion, it had hit midnight and the feeling had instantly sunk in. you felt severus press kisses to your temple as the new day passed by.

“happy birthday sweetheart.” severus said.

he was always the first person to tell you this, he wasn’t incompetent enough to forget his students’ birthdays, well at least the slytherin students that had been under his wing for the most part.

“thank you…for staying up with me.” you said.

“i always will y/n.” he replied, a kiss to your forehead was met as your smile was enough to warm his heart.

“now, i think my birthday girl needs a good night rest.” severus suggested.

you whined slightly at the thought of going to bed, by this rate you’d probably become nocturnal from blending your night routine with his. “sevvy noo! i’m not sleepy enough.” you sulked childishly.

“now now buttercup, you do need a good night’s sleep…after all you do need some energy for tomorrow.” severus said.

“no! i wanna stay up some more.” you replied as you crossed your arms and turned your face away from severus’ hypnotizing gaze.

but yet you couldn’t entirely disobey him, as he gave you the raise of his brow your lips formed a small pout as you knew he’d won. severus pecked your pouted lips and your nose as he scooped you into his arms, lifting you as his fingers met your thighs.

“there’s a good girl.” he praised, a small giggle could be heard knowing damn well you’d get flustered over his nicknames for you.

once you arrived at the bedroom, you cuddled right up to severus’ chest with a book at hand. “can we please finish reading this…i really want to get started with the wizard of oz.” you said, giving him the book in his hand.

it was a childhood copy of your favourite book, alice’s adventures in wonderland. lewis caroll’s works always seemed to intrigue you, from when you were a kid and it was a piece of children’s literature that you gently cherished for the rest of your life.

severus took the book from your grasp. severus had gotten into the habit of reading books to you, every night before you fell asleep. there was no doubt that you wanted to get through a lot of your books, as you hadn’t found the time to read them but something about him reading to you made your day complete.

his voice.

oh that voice of his, it wrapped you up like a warm hug. so soothing to your ears, and was enough to make you melt.

you rested your weary head on severus’ chest as his arm wrapped around your middle while the other held the book.

“so alice got up and ran off, thinking while she ran, as well she might, what a wonderful dream it had been. but her sister sat still just as she left her, leaning her head on her hand, watching the setting sun, and thinking of little alice and all her wonderful adventures, till she too began dreaming after a fashion, and this was her dream. first, she dreamed of little alice herself.”

“once again the tiny hands were clasped upon her knee, and the bright eager eyes were looking up into hers—she could hear the very tones of her voice, and see that queer little toss of her head, to keep back the wandering hair that would always get into her eyes—and still as she listened, or seemed to listen, the whole place around her became alive with the strange creatures of her little sister’s dream.”

“so she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed herself in wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again and all would change to dull reality—the grass would be only rustling in the wind, and the pool rippling to the waving of the reeds, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood: and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of wonderland of long-ago: and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys. remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days.”

as severus read, you couldn’t help but look at him… you noted at how peaceful he looked, a warm smile perking to your face as you closed your eyes and drifted off to sleep.

severus looked down at you, resting against his chest, he put the book away and couldn’t help but notice how you looked so perfect, even if you were fast asleep. he shifted slightly so that he was adjusted to a better sleeping position, his chin resting on your head.

“i hope all your adventures with me are wonderful, much like alice has. you are perfect beyond belief and i do hope you know that y/n. sweet dreams my love.” he said, pressing a kiss to your head before he too had to close his eyes before falling asleep, in his own dreamless slumber.

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

“now before you all depart, i must bring to our attention we have one more thing.” minerva mcgonagall announced.

the 8th year students murmured to themselves as they began to ponder what else could happen next.

“we have decided to host our order of merlin here at hogwarts, at the highest class. this student has shown progression and improvement beyond our belief, she was the most selfless person and saved the life of our valued member of staff.” minerva said, her eyes glaring to severus with happiness.

“i wish this student in every endeavour, from the slytherin house, join me in congratulating y/n l/n.” minerva announced.

you were in just as much shock as everyone else. you made your way to the front, shaking minerva’s hand and the many hands from varying members of the order, before reaching to grab your order of merlin.

a tearful smile left your face as students and staff alike applauded you for your service.

you looked over to severus who simply nodded at your achievement, but if you looked closer…you could see the smallest smile on his face.

as the graduation slowly came to an end, you saw the empty great hall and there you stood as severus approached to you and embraced you in his arms.

to say he was proud of you was an understatement.

you were pulled into a kiss that fuelled your desires more and more each second, as you pulled away you couldn’t help but smile at your beloved.

“oh y/n, my dear don’t cry just yet. your birthday hasn’t even started yet.” severus said, his thumbs wiping away your falling tears, you giggled sheepishly as you rubbed your eyes of any tears.

“i’m not upset sev, we did it.” you said.

“no love, you did it. and i couldn’t be more proud of you.” severus answered after pressing his lips to your hands that held the order of merlin.

“come on my love, its your special day.” he added, holding your hand with his as you followed him into the chambers you shared. you got changed out of your formal dress, you hung up your graduation robes, leaving it in your wardrobe before picking out your outfit. you put on your shoes and opened the bedroom door to find severus waiting for you.

severus’ heart skipped a beat upon seeing you, he had you all to himself and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“you look beautiful, oh so…perfect. were you saving this for me kitten?” severus asked.

“maybe.” you replied you held his hand. you knew that you had a little surprise in store, but that had to wait until later on.

“the world awaits us my dove, i’ve created a day you surely won’t forget.” severus said, his hand squeezed yours softly before you followed him out of his chambers.

you couldn’t wait for what your birthday had in store, you were quick on your feed to ask him what he had in mind, but severus didn’t give away a single thing. not one clue to even help you.

if there was one thing severus was good at, it was surprises. he was always full of them and it made you love him more and more.

you followed severus to an abandoned part of hogwarts, that happened to be an apparating point that he had often used.

“hold on.” severus said. you followed his instruction and held onto his arm, at that point it had felt like you were rocketed through the air in a cannon.

views rushed to your gaze like you hadn’t seen before, rivers and lakes had followed you and severus in your apparition. next was the town of london, that was most certainly on your places to visit soon. everything rushed behind you as you found yourself landing at severus’ destination.

“are you alright y/n?” severus asked, he had been worried the adrenaline from apparating might have made you sick as you sat on the grass taking deep breaths.

“hm?”

“was the apparation too much for you love?” severus asked.

“a little…but i’m fine.” you answered.

severus waved his wand and soon, a small water bottle was in your grasp. he reached to his knees and, pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“drink…you’ll feel better.” he said.

once you took a few sips of water, severus handed you a potion that would help you with the side effect of such shock, to which you drank, saving the rest for the journey home.

“where are we anyway? we’re in the middle of nowhere.” you asked.

“you’ll see, love.” was all severus replied back with as he helped you up and you followed him, you slowly arrived into a rural shop. you looked up at the sign and for a moment, you recognized it.

“i haven’t been here since i was…a kid, how did you know this was my favourite place?” you asked.

“you showed me a picture and said; ‘severus that’s my favourite place.’ was that not the events?” he asked.

“i’m being serious sev.” you said, prodding his shoulder as you wanted an actual answer from him.

“you mentioned it to me when we got to know each other…properly.” he answered.

you then begun to remember how the event came to be, you sat behind severus’ desk as you sipped tea with him as you idly watched him mark assignments, asking him if there was one place you could go to where would it be?

you mentioned this town to him, and it was the one place you wanted to go back to when you were older.

“come on there might be some new shops around here.” you said taking a hold of his hand and leading him through the small town.

as you walked hand in hand, he only listened to you. your voice soothed him, made his heart warm when it didn’t deserve to.

you talked about every shop that you had gone to, mentioning how there were a handful of new shops that had opened.

“do you know, i love this place. its very small, and everyone knows…well everyone.” you said.

“and…there’s a good bond with muggles and wizards alike.” you added.

“oh oh! this café, i haven’t been there since i was a kid…do you want to go inside?” you asked severus.

“it is your birthday love, i’ll go where you go.” he said.

a warm smile left your face as you both entered the café. the café wasn’t too busy, it adorned white paint all over and if you’d look closely, pygmy puffs littered across the table, making high pitched squeak sounds.

“welcome to pygmy’s how may i help- hold on a second, y/n?” the lady asked.

“mrs slope!” you beamed, reaching over to the till and giving her a hug.

“long time no see, you look well.” mrs slope replied ruffling your hair.

“oh this is severus, i don’t think i’ve introduced him to you yet.” you said.

“severus snape huh? well you’re one lucky man, you have one of the kindest girls in your hands. i hope you treat her well.” the lady replied.

“thank you…we’ll be taking our seats soon.” severus said, as you guided him to a table near to the most pygmys.

mrs slope happened to be the shop owner of pygmy’s, she moved to the small town due to the poor experience working nine to five as a city secretary, all her life she wanted to become a café owner so when you came along and supported her business, soon business was thriving for her.

you both sat down, and picked up the menu, going through the items on the paper.

“oh…i hope you don’t mind mrs slope.” you said.

“not at all, you seem to have a good connection, i don’t wish to invade that.” severus said.

“oh you’re not invading anything severus, you’re more than welcome to drop by any time!” mrs slope soon slipped by with a small notebook at hand and clicking her pen.

“what’s the event and what would you like?” she asked.

“what do you…y/n?” severus was about to ask but you were too intrigued by the pygmy puff that had been squeaking on the top of your head.

“oh sorry let me take bobby off my head.” you answered as you tapped gently on the table for the pygmy puff to get off.

“always been a fan of pygmy puffs she has.” mrs slope said.

“now that bobby’s gone to pester his siblings, what would you like from the menu?” mrs slope asked.

“the avocado on toast please. it’s my birthday, so something that can weigh me down for the day.” you answered.

“your birthday? oh y/n why didn’t you say so, right…you’ll be having the friends and family discount, and you’re getting my complimentary cupcakes on me, i’m not taking no for an answer.” mrs slope quipped up.

“you’re very kind mrs slope.” severus managed to say, to be quite honest, the lady’s personality was quite the opposite to his.

“oh i got it from her, it rubs onto me sometimes.” mrs slope said, ruffling your hair.

“thanks penny, i think severus has been waiting to order for quite some time.” you said, shooting a quick glare to severus and then a small smile appeared to your face.

“i’ll have the espresso please.” severus answered.

“you’ll need a bit more than that if you’re taking your girl out-“

“i’ve tried, goes on with the day on nothing…that will be all, thank you.” you said.

as mrs slope walked off, you looked over to severus who had been littered with pygmy puffs on his shoulder.

“they like you.” you giggled.

you gently held one of the fluffy creatures, but before you could instantly do so it jumped to your shoulder.

“they like you more.” severus said, who had also held on in his grasp.

you found it downright adorable, the sight of seeing the foreboding severus holding the pygmy puff like it was his first born daughter.

severus seemed to be at peace with the pygmys, but his waiting time for your order seemed to be cut short after settling a dispute with 2 of them fighting for his hair.

after you handled the creatures, soon your order came. as you were about to pay for the order, severus had placed 15 sickles at mrs slope’s grasp. you were both left with your food and drink, you took bites of your toast, but you almost choked as bobby couldn’t resist wanting to take a swim in severus’ coffee.

“bobby you silly pygmy, come on, sevvy needs to drink his coffee.” you said, stroking bobby before it scurried away.

severus couldn’t help but think of you, he really was one lucky man.

once you had both finished, you had taken the small box of complimentary cupcakes and walked out hand in hand with severus as he lead you to the next destination which was an open field.

you both found a sunny patch of grass and sat down on it, looking out at all the other hills that were higher than the one you and your lover had sat on.

“i’d like to give you something, a gift.” severus said. you tilted your head quite eagerly, as a smile slowly perked to your face.

then severus took out a small box from his pocket, placing it in your grasp. the velvet box softening your grip. when you opened the box, it had revealed to be a necklace with your favourite flower inside.

your smile grew wide as you pulled severus into a hug, much to severus’ surprise.

“i thought you wouldn’t like it.” he admitted.

“how could i hate anything you get for me? severus, i love it. i swear to never take it off, its so beautiful! thank you so much.” you replied back.

you let severus put the necklace on for you, you took a closer look at the flower and beamed.iIt showed in your expression and severus was glad to have made you this happy.

“i love you severus, you’re so kind.” you said.

kind.

that was a word nobody would dare associate the potions master with. he wouldn’t dare break down the brick wall for anyone, but seeing your face at every moment of his life, he wasn’t the potions master. he was simply severus snape.

the man who loved.

“i love you too y/n, my sweetheart.” he replied back, pressing a chaste kiss to your lips before slowly letting go.

“did you bring the book?” you asked.

severus picked up the copy of wizard of oz, you didn’t get round to reading it instantly as you fell asleep, but before you could even listen to severus’ pretty voice, you opened the box and saw the 2 cupcakes.

“red velvet, she knows me well.” you said.

“i think yours is dark chocolate.” you added, severus picked up the cupcake and took a small bite into the sweet delicacy.

he hadn’t had anything sweet in quite some time, perhaps he could treat you and himself today.

the moment you both finished the cupcakes, you were quick to scoot closer to severus and gave him the book.

“ready, love?”

you nodded, resting your head on severus’ chest as he begun to read the book. another book that you held very near and dear to your heart, and hearing him recite each and every word was enough for you to melt in his arms.

you could listen to him talk or read, in this case for hours.

your attention shifted to a rabbit that had been nibbling on some grass nearby, and quickly hopped onto your lap.

“y/n, dorothy gale has just endured a cyclone and could possibly have a concussion- what are you giggling about-” severus asked as the more he read the more you laughed.

his eyes averted from the paper and there you were, resting your head on his chest with an abandoned rabbit.

“can we keep it?” you asked.

severus blinked at it looked at the white rabbit, its ears drooped and its tiny nose had been twitching for seconds on end.

“for today.” he answered, which made you comfort the rabbit and held it warmly as severus continued to read.

you looked out to let the nature sink in, your attention swayed to a cottage nearby, it had landed at the bottom of the hill you were sitting on and had the perfect way to the forest.

once severus found the perfect place to stop reading, he slipped the bookmark onto the paper and closed the book.

you eventually had to let go of the rabbit since it found its mum and dad, and watched it hop away. perhaps one day, you would have your own pets and be the best rabbit parents there were.

“there’s a cottage over there.” you said.

“ah you noticed dear?” he replied back.

“yeah…it would be so nice if we could live far away, from everything.” you said.

he could almost feel those words snake around him, he had to ask.

it would do him no harm.

“that’s why we’re here…being with you, has and always will be something i hold close to me and i thought, we can’t live at hogwarts all the time. so…what i am asking is, if you would…you would like to move into that cottage?” severus asked.

you let the words process for a moment, sure you shared your chambers with severus but he was right.

this wasn’t the whole truth either, spinners end was a place he had planned on letting go, after he made the unbreakable vow with malfoys (now long from severus’ contact, he had to come back into contact with them somehow.) his home wasn’t the same anymore.

as for you…

you weren’t going to hogwarts again, you had a whole year to get your life sorted and solidified, what did you have to lose?

“i don’t know what to say…you brought me here, closer to home for this?” you asked him.

he could feel your response, the never ending rejection, he could see it play out, you say no and walk away on him.

“of course. i’d love to move in with you.” you answered.

“you would….you would?” he repeated.

“wherever you go i go.”

the words hit his heart as a visible smile creeped up to the man’s foreboding face.

you hugged him and in that moment…that simple moment.

he was loved.

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

you had arrived at severus’ chambers after exploring the small childhood town, your birthday had slowly been coming to a close, you had been outside all day, interacting with people who managed to remember you from your childhood days, you even managed to have a look at the cottage that you would be moving in to with the man of your dreams (quite literally.)

“have you enjoyed yourself love?” severus asked.

“it’s been absolutely perfect sev. i couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.” you replied.

if you were happy, then severus was.

he was always taught to keep his emotions to himself, but he always failed such a lesson because of you.

how kind and gentle you were with him.

“i have one more surprise for you y/n.” severus said.

“you do? oh let me get into something more comfortable, i’ll be back before you know it.” you said, going to your room and of course picking out the best for last.

severus had taken out the cake from the fridge and placed it on the table, the moment he looked up nothing but shock and adoration was left to his face.

“do you like it?” you asked, now your body was left in the lingerie piece that you thought of taking out.

for once, severus was speechless.

you slowly approached him and found yourself sitting at the table, looking over to the cake at the desk with a smile.

“you know severus…you’re so thoughtful, you even got me a cake.” you said.

“made.”

you tilted your head, with brows furrowed.

“i…made it.”

severus grabbed his wand and lit up the candle, insisting on you to make your wish.

you closed your eyes and the moment your wish was made, you blew out the candle and as you took the candle out from the cake, you looked to severus who had been gazing at you for quite some time.

“you’re beautiful.” severus managed to utter out.

those 2 words made you hide away, you often felt unsure of yourself and you confided in severus about this, but severus always made you comfortable with yourself.

always pushing you to wear bolder outfits you didn’t often wear, in the times that you had gone clothes shopping with severus, you always picked up something you wished to wear but put it back on the rack once that feeling of insecurity came in, but severus insisted and helped you overcome your insecurities and how you perceived yourself.

“you really think so?” you asked.

severus couldn’t help but let a frown appear on his face, cupping your cheek as his eyes shifted to your body from time to time.

“i do, and always will. y/n, you are perfect. and i love you.” severus answered.

“i love you…so much.” you replied.

severus pressed a kiss to your forehead before reaching for the cake on the plate. “now, i think my sweet girl deserves some of this cake, don’t you think?” severus asked.

you nodded, but you were then met with that raise of a brow from.

“yes severus.” you corrected yourself, using your words this time.

“that’s my girl.” he said, severus took the fork and dug it into the cake you took the first forkful, the instant taste of red velvet hitting your taste buds.

“do you like?” he asked. his hands placed on your waist as you nodded blissfully.

“i love it sev.” you replied back as another forkful of cake came your way.

his other hand all over your middle as he left you compliments left, right and centre.

as you continued to be fed, you could feel his other hand all over your body. his touch was perfectly intoxicating.

“you sweet girl.” severus said, prodding your nose with the fork with some icing on it.

“hey! you silly man.” you giggled, your laugh warmed his heart.

all he wanted for you was to be happy and it looked as if he succeeded on that. you scooped the icing from your nose and ate it, you undoubtedly had a sweet tooth and could indulge in many sweet things…severus being one of them.

“you’ve nearly finished, just a few more forkfuls.” severus said. you nodded and continued to feed you the cake.

he’d had forgotten he was even doing this, for severus had been far too occupied with admiring your body. how his hands pressed to your stomach and fit perfectly in his hand, then they would slither around your waist, stroking it slowly as he praised you over and over again.

“just one more…okay kitten?”

you nodded.

then his hands came to your thighs, caressing it gently as you took the final bite of your cake.

“the cake was lovely severus-”

but before you could utter one more word, you felt severus scoop you into his arms. he carried you to the bed you shared, placing you on the linen duvets with him right on top.

“oh y/n. my dear angel, my pretty princess…i’m not done with you yet.” severus almost growled, not a single contradiction left you as you felt his lips press onto yours passionately.

you couldn’t help but let yourself indulge into this kiss, a small smirk forming as you wrapped your arms around him, pulling him closer.

“you taste…so sweet.” he whispered into every kiss he pressed with you.

you perked up a small laugh, which was more than enough for him to press you down on the bed. his left hand firmly on your torso, moving his hand from one shoulder, then to your neck and the other shoulder.

while his right hand, caressed your lower body. he could feel how cold you were, but he knew that wouldn’t last long as his hand stroked your lower stomach and his lips firmly at your neck.

“such a good girl, aren’t you?” severus’ voice was nothing more than a whisper at your neck, he looked up to you. that nod.

no words.

his hands at your thighs, caressing it ever so softly was enough to get a breathless moan out of you.

“yes…yes i am severus.” you managed to say, as severus couldn’t help but pleasure you more with his hand at your waist.

“there’s a good girl, you are so beautiful. such a…beautiful…body, spoiling me rotten.” severus replied deeply.

before he could even begin to hold your hands, his own felt every part of your body; you let out a small whimper before he looked over to you, reading your expression.

he couldn’t make out what or rather how you were feeling, then it gave way as he could feel your thigh slowly trembling.

“relax my love…you’ll be fine.” severus reassured as he pressed a kiss to your forehead. you nodded, giving him a small smile before you let him continue to pleasure you at your will.

“you are so perfect. all of you is perfect, my little lamb.” he praised.

he had known that you were not ready for such a big leap, but you and him always knew that your first time will be something special and gentle.

that was another story for another time.

his hands were held against yours, he pressed kisses on the palms of your hand before he clenched your hands together and raised them over your head, locked in with yours.

“hold still love.” he whispered.

severus held onto your wrist, now locked in his grasp as he kissed your neck, slowly making his way to your neck and collar bone.

lust rushed into you like a waterfall, your desires fulfilled when he kissed your collarbone; small love marks slowly began to form on your neck and collarbone as his lips pressed gentle kisses on every part of your stomach and waist, then came to your thighs as he blissfully sucked to your skin.

the hand that locked your hands in place slowly let go as your hands grabbed on to his dress coat, slowly undoing the buttons.

the dress coat came off.

then the cravat.

and the white shirt underneath.

every button you held onto felt like a challenge and was an achievement worth earning.

now his torso was all you could see, you pulled him into a tender kiss as his hands roved all over your body, feeling it all up before settling around your middle.

your heart racing through your chest as each kiss got deeper and rougher than the last.

as you both pulled away, your eyes were gleaming. you could see it in severus also as a smile made your way to your face.

“that was perfect.” you whispered.

“it’s what the birthday girl ordered.” severus said.

you both laid down on the bed, his arms around you as he kissed the top of you head.

“you did so good kitten.” he said.

“i did?” you asked.

severus nodded, pulling you closer to him as his fingers made small circles around your waist and the side of your stomach.

“did you enjoy yourself, sweetheart?” he asked.

you couldn’t help but burst into a smile that warmed his heart.

“the best birthday ever. thank you, for everything.” you answered.

“happy birthday my love.” severus said. he kissed your forehead.

you couldn’t thank severus enough, he made everyday the best day ever but your birthday? he made you feel like his princess. perhaps just one day, you would return the favour back to him.

as you kissed your lover, you knew that this was the birthday you would never forget.

you were still at an absolute high and you didn’t want for it to end.

every kiss he placed over your body.

every time he caressed your body.

severus made you feel loved.

and in return…

he was loved.

until the end of time itself.

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katt5673 · 2 years ago

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🌟💓🌙 SEND THIS TO TEN OTHER BLOGGERS YOU THINK ARE WONDERFUL. KEEP THE GAME GOING 🌙💓🌟

Awww, thank you!

#oh so this is how replies work #making friends on tumblr in the year of our lord 2021

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carryonthroughtheages · 3 years ago

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Hello everyone!

Another year of Carry On Through The Ages is over and done! We have emotions and exhaustion, but we're so happy that this year had the hype and excitement that it did.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to all of the AMAZING creators who spent the last several months working away at their historical content!

Thank you also to the hard-working mods: @bazzybelle, @giishu, @palimpsessed, and @xivz . This fest would not have been as successful as it has been without you!

We encourage everyone to look under the page break for all the fics and art. They're all fantastic!

Here is the link to the AO3 Collection: Carry On Through The Ages 2021!

Thank you all, and until next year! 🧡🧡🧡

MONDAY:

1) sun on the sea (T) - @trenchcoat-moth : AO3 // Tumblr

Tensions run high in England, and Malcolm decides it's for the best he sends Baz to live with Fiona, where he'll be safer.

That is, until Baz's ship is attacked.

2) The Words I Long To Say (M) - @bazzybelle : AO3 // Tumblr

Simon Snow was dead.

Baz Pitch was sure of it. Simon had gone away seven years ago to fight a war in the jungle and he hadn't come home.

So, when Simon shows up in Baz's club, investigating a string of brutal murders, all Baz wants to do is hold him close and never let him go.

But these aren't the same boys from 1960 and Baz has a lot of processing to do before he's ready to believe in Simon again.

3) we are slaves to gods, whatever gods are (M) - @wellbelesbian : AO3 // Tumblr

I don’t fully understand what plagues him, but I know it’s bad, and I know it goes deeper than guilt. He didn’t want to kill his father, not really, but we were instructed to do so by Apollo. Cleanse the house of its sins, dispose of a murderer to set things right. It was only right that I join him; he was avenging my mother as much as his. Clearly, Apollo didn’t seem to consider that such an act would make Simon a murderer in his father’s place. It seems I got off fine, but as far as Simon is concerned, the vengeful spirits that once spun and danced on the roof of the palace now hunt him down, determined not to stop until he rids the world of himself.

4) World War II Era Art - @stardustasincocaine : Tumblr

TUESDAY:

1) the art of loving you (E) - @one-more-offbeat-anthem : AO3 // Tumblr

1955. London. Young love.

Forbidden love.

A year ago, starving artist Simon Snow met Baz Pitch, son of a wealthy art patron, at a party, and their days (and nights) together have been a wonderful secret.

But Simon is tired of being a secret and knows it's time for things to end.

(Baz has other ideas.)

2) Reliquary of an Arsonist (T) - @tea-brigade : AO3 // Tumblr

Simon Snow grew up a ward of Watford Abbey, but when his magic manifested in an explosive accident as a child, he became the Abbey’s anchorite—never to leave Watford’s walls, for his own protection. That is, until Abbot David sends him on an important errand…

Basilton Pitch paints portraits for his patron, Lord Grimm. But he’s never forgotten the magic he learned from his mother—nor the men who condemned her to death as a heretic. When Simon arrives and offers Baz a commission from Watford Abbey, he sees his chance to avenge his mother once and for all...and he’s willing to burn down everything in his path to that end.

But it was no coincidence that pulled these two unlikely souls together. Something more sinister is underway at Watford Abbey, and only Simon and Baz can uncover the truth before everything goes up in flames.

3) Westward Son (E) - @aristocratic-otter : AO3 // Tumblr

Simon and Baz have found each other again, but there's nowhere in Brooklyn or Virginia where they can safely be together. So now, they venture the hazards and struggles of the Oregon trail, to perhaps find a little homestead in Oregon of their own.

4) A Way Out (T) - @lying-on-the-sofa : AO3

I frown at him..“You don’t know me.”

He offers his hand. “Simon.”

Simon. I feel the name around in my mind and assign it to his face. Simon. I don’t shake his hand. They’ve still got my arms pinned. “Basilton.”

Simon nods at me. “Now we know each other. Let him go.” Very casually, he takes his other hand from behind his back. A sword, flashing. He leans on it and smiles invitingly. “Let him go.”

This time, they listen.

Simon Snow has been trained for years to become a tribute—one of the fighters Athens sends every ninth year into the Minotaur’s labyrinth. He wants to know the way out, if only for Penny’s sake. Luckily for him, Prince Basilton of Crete also wants a way out—off the island, where no one will know he’s the half-brother of the Minotaur.

Unluckily for both of them, they don’t exactly form the most agreeable pair.

WEDNESDAY

1) long is the road the leads me home (G) - @wellbelesbian : AO3 (Version 1) (Version 2) // Tumblr

Baz has a rather unremarkable life, and he's fine with that. Running his late mother's beloved inn with his temperamental aunt, estranged from his father and step-siblings, he's successfully convinced himself that he's better off without attachments.

Then Simon barrels into his life, guns blazing and rapier drawn, and Baz is swept up in dramatic plot he never bargained for.

Worse still, he finds he quite likes the thrill.

2) New Romantics (T) - @ninemagicks : AO3 // Tumblr

Basilton Pitch, twenty-two years old and a famed poet of the Romantic era, has fled to the countryside. In Mummers House, the fabled haunt of literary greats, he sulks himself into oblivion and awaits a sad, disappointing end to his brief years of brilliance. The cause of his downfall? None other than Simon Snow, the so-called “bad boy of English poetry”, breaker of rules and eternal thorn in his side. Baz hopes that Mummers House might mean an escape from London, from Snow and his increasingly virulent popularity... but the rain that comes has other ideas.

3) thnétos (T) - @snowybank : AO3 // Tumblr

thnétos: subject to death, mortal

a retelling of Apollo and Hyacinthus

4) A Medieval AU art piece - @thewriterxj : Tumblr

THURSDAY

1) From Eden (E) - @orange-peony : AO3 // Tumblr

I wonder if his skin is warm or cold to the touch. I tell myself it’s simple curiosity, that I’m an artist and capturing things on paper or canvas is my way to make sense of the world. That drawing him feels so natural, so I should just follow my instincts. Ebb used to say it all the time. Follow your heart. It knows where you’re supposed to go.

I wish I could. I wish I had enough money and freedom to just draw what I want. To paint him in his unattainable beauty. To draw him the way I want to. Naked and vulnerable, raw. Without frills and expensive suits.

Just Baz on paper, my fingers tracing his delicate and beautiful lines with simple charcoal.

2) Slings and Eros (M) - @palimpsessed : AO3 // Tumblr

Young god of love Simonides is tasked by his father, the god of war, to bring about the ruin of a mortal prince to punish his blasphemy. However, once Simonides sees his intended victim, he begins to have misgivings. Prince Tyrannus might have offended the gods with his very existence, but all Simonides can see is how beautiful and lonely he is.

Or, a very loose interpretation of the Eros and Psyche myth.

3) I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire (M) - @knitbelove : AO3 // Tumblr

September 1940: Going back to Watford feels different this year, and not just because England is at the brink of war with Germany and Italy. Penelope seems unsettled by everything, and Agatha is distant, and Baz is … simply not here.

What if Carry On but during the Blitz?? Yeah.

4) A Fool's Oath (M) - @thewriterxj : AO3 // Tumblr

A simple soldier is invited to join the ranks of the royal guard. He and his appointed mage arrive at the royal city to find themselves at the mercy of an unmerciful court. As he struggles to find his place in this foreign environment, he also finds himself entranced by music that only he seems to hear that floats out about the city. He makes an oath to wed whoever makes such beautiful music.

Too bad that person is the crown prince.

FRIDAY

1) Stranger Tides (T) - @tea-brigade & @xivz : AO3 // Tumblr

“If some god shall wreck me in the wine-dark deep, even so I will endure…” Captain Simon Snow of the Chosen One is many things—cunning, handsome, ruthless. Greedy. It’s no surprise that Snow finds a way to piss off the God of the Sea, he always manages to get himself into some type of trouble. This time, however, he’s not the only one who will suffer the consequences. Poseidon promises to not stop his pursuit until Snow and all of his men are dead.

Enter Basilton Pitch—rich, beautiful, mysterious. Suspicious. He offers the crew of the Chosen One a hefty sum to take him back to Europe from the Caribbean. And who is Captain Snow to refuse so much coin? After all, Greek gods aren’t real.

Right?

2) The wayward heir [comic] (M) - @letraspal : AO3 // Tumblr

Like a folk song, our love will be passed on. Simon Snow wants to be an artist. He used to live in Fiesole where he worked in the wool shop of his good friend Ebeneza Petty. He has now chosen to return to his native Florence in order to participate in an art contest hosted by the Pitch family, the most important bankers in all the three continents and Simon’s last chance for an art patronage. No matter how much he hates them.

But being back in Florence also brings back the memories Simon wanted to leave behind : his days as an orphan, the mystery about his mother, and once more being under the inquisitive eyes of his godfather, the new archbishop Davy. The archbishop is very same man who would never forgive him for dropping out the priesthood and ruining his secret plans against the Pitches.

The last thing Simon needed was an unbearably handsome jerk getting him into trouble on his very first day in Florence. How can focus when this man is the most annoying person he has ever met and yet his major source of inspiration.

3) Prohibition Blues (T) - @heyyyandrea : AO3

Simon Snow is a baker and aspiring playwright in Prohibition Era New York City. When he meets a handsome man at Shepherd's speakeasy who is interested in his work, he can't help but think it feels too good to be true.

4) Earth Below & Sky Above (M) - @phoxphyre : AO3 // Tumblr

In the depth of the palace of King Minos of Crete lurks a creature known as the Minotaur.

Baz, prince of Athens and chosen of the god Poseidon, has heard the stories. And now he’s volunteered to come to Crete as one of the annual tributes—to dance with the king’s bulls and fulfill his destiny. He just wants to survive the bulls, protect his people, and go home.

But what if the Minotaur isn’t a monster—but just a boy? And what if instead of slaying him, Baz fell in love with him?

A Carry On retelling of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, set in Bronze Age Crete.

5) A 1980s AU Art piece by @stardustasincocaine : Tumblr // Instagram (Slightly NSFW)

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superbatbigbang · 3 years ago

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Superbat Big Bang 2021 Masterlist

That’s a wrap!

Nineteen teams posted big bangs in this of the Superbat Big Bang. They wrote a total of 379,000 words, and made many, many pieces of beautiful art. Join us in giving everyone a hearty round of congratulations!

You can find art and fic created for this year’s bonus challenges (Hatober, and our weekly prompt challenges) at the end of this post. For a static version, click here or go to our sidebar.

See you next round!

Week One

July 11th Contact with the Enemy Gement, SDeeyS, VK Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, Clark Kent/scary aliens, 14k, Explicit (DC Animated Universe) Aliens made them do it. To be fair, they made the aliens make them do it. But it’s not entrapment to suggest the aliens do it to Superman instead of the entire planet. Even if Superman’s really, really into it. In theory, at least. Maybe this was not the best plan. fic on AO3 | art by SDeeyS | art by VK | masterpost —

July 13th Rumors AgapantoBlu, lantaniel Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, 10k, Teen & Up Audiences (No Specific Continuity) A series of warning bells went off in Bruce’s head. First, Clark had not wished him a good day nor slipped into any of the usual niceties that he swore had been imbued in his bones under Martha Kent’s tender cares. That never happened, not even when an alien invasion was actually happening. Second, Clark was not chuckling or sounding happy at all. Bruce had known the man for fifteen long years and the amount of times he’d allowed his bad moods to slip into one of their conversations without careful prodding could be counted on one hand. Third, he’d not even asked if Bruce was busy or why he’d demanded a distraction. Bad signs all over. Instinctively, Bruce found himself looking out the huge windows in Metropolis’ direction. “What happened?” “Lex is here.” fic on AO3 | art by lantaniel | masterpost —

July 15th Wisdom From The Best Mind bubbletea_kai, SDeeyS Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, 19k, Mature Audiences (Justice Lords, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Alternate Universe) Sacrificing meant giving up something for the sake of others. That was what Bruce did for Clark’s sake. In between his conscience and emotions, Bruce chose the latter and abandoned the other. He believed in Clark’s decision to create a ‘better world’. However, as time went by, Clark’s definition of a ‘better world’ ruined Bruce’s psyche and made him unable to feel anything, including affection. A malfunctioned time portal sent Bruce to another universe. It is a universe in which Bruce chose his conscience over his emotions, and the World’s Finest no longer exist. fic on AO3 | art by SDeeyS | masterpost —

July 17th Flux Point butterflyslinky, comicArtistA, mashimero Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, 25k, Mature Audiences (No Specific Continuity) Clark Kent returned from The War to an empty farm and too many ghosts. Bruce Wayne is running from Gotham, and his ghosts follow him. But maybe ghosts don’t have to come with sadness. fic on AO3 | art by comicArtistA | art by mashimero on AO3 | art by mashimero on Tumblr | masterpost —

Week Two

July 19th Another Week at Redfield Ranch dippkip, VK, comicArtistA Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, Dinah Lance/Oliver Queen, Arthur Curry/Mera, implied Barry Allen/Hal Jordan, 18k, Teen & Up Audiences (No Specific Continuity, Alternate Universe) Clark is back from a year abroad studying in London with a brand new boyfriend. What better way for his friends to get to know the new man in his life than bringing him to their annual camping trip in the southern California high desert? An event that has the potential to be a week-long shovel talk slowly turns into a series of touching heart-to-hearts, moments of mutual understanding, and savage burns doled out with greatest affection. Bruce will survive this trial, but at what cost? (his dignity, probably) fic on AO3 | art by VK | art by comicArtistA | masterpost —

July 20th Lifeline colonel_bastard, nowrunalong Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, 14k, Teen & Up Audiences (DC Extended Universe) It’s not the first time Martha Kent has been woken up by a phone call from her son in the middle of the night. It is, however, the first time that Clark has asked her if she can talk to Bruce instead. fic on AO3 | art by nowrunalong | masterpost —

July 21st Lux in Tenebris Percilout, Bonanza_Nuts Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, past Clark Kent/Lois Lane, 19k, Teen & Up Audiences (DC Extended Universe) When he starts losing his powers half a year after his return to the world of the living, it is up to Clark to figure out how to live without them. Through Lois, he finds himself doing charity work. Through the charity work, he finds much more than he ever could have hoped for. (Or, Clark Kent’s guide on how to beat depression.) fic on AO3 | art by Bonanza_Nuts | masterpost —

July 22nd If Tomorrow Never Comes, Then What Are We? Mechformers, Lord Chirayoju Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, 17k, Explicit (Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020 movie)) With Darkseid’s third attempt at conquering Earth, Clark and Bruce must work together to save it and their loved ones. But when everything fails, when Bruce is imprisoned and Clark loses his powers, how far are they willing to go to save each other? Or in other words; Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, but from a Superbat perspective. fic on AO3 | art by Lord Chirayoju | masterpost —

July 23rd In for a Penny Orphean, blinkingkills Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, 11k, Teen & Up Audiences (No Specific Continuity) ‘Bruce is doing something stupid, and we need you to save him.’ ‘Me? Clark Kent?’ If Bruce needed to be saved, Superman was a more logical choice. ‘He’s auctioning off a date with him for charity and we need you to win.’ — Or: Clark finally gets the full Bruce Wayne experience. fic on AO3 | art by blinkingkills | masterpost —

July 24th Be My Mirror (My Sword, My Shield) BatsAreFluffy, lovelastart Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, 36k, Explicit (DC Extended Universe) ”“Six days”“ Nightwing shrugged. “We don’t know if each of them lasted the full 6 days, but on the seventh day after the abduction, the body is always found in Crime Alley.” ”“And on the seventh day he rested,“ Alfred murmured, rubbing the bridge of his nose. ”“That does not leave us a great deal of time.” Barry shifted a little, nervous. “So, um, have you guys ever - um, found one alive still?” Clark desperately wanted to hear a yes. Somewhere where his alter-ego had been stopped. He hoped that there had been places where murdering in cold blood, torture and desecration had been stopped. fic on AO3 | art by lovelastart | masterpost —

Week Two

July 25th Let Your Hopes Shape Your Future OuiBeebles, with-your-poncho-on Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, Clark Kent/Lois Lane, 13k, Teen & Up Audiences (No Specific Continuity) The funeral is a week later. The church is sterile and nearly empty. Bruce sits next to Alfred in the front row. His eyes are fixed on his shoes the whole time. His eyes are dull and unfocused. The speakers, for there are so many, talk and talk and talk until he thinks about screaming for them to shut up. He doesn’t care what they have to say! Alfred always squeezes his hand when he feels that very strong thought and he knows he can’t do that to Alfred because he loved his parents too. The last one to speak is an old priest, his dad’s childhood one, he thinks. He wants to summon enough energy to look up and pay attention but the words about God’s love and kindness curdle the thoughts sour before he even manages it. God is cruel if one or more even exists. He thinks to himself that maybe if he were to meet one what he would do. Maybe he would shout at them until his voice was gone. Maybe he would fight them. He thinks he would make them weak though. That makes the most sense to him. If he were to make a god or more mortal then, they would be subject to the misery they created or, at the least, didn’t stop. fic on AO3 | art by with-your-poncho-on: post 1, post 2 | masterpost —

July 26th This is Not My Beautiful Wife Meduseld, sazzysavvy, architeuthis Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, 16k, Explicit (No Specific Continuity) Bruce wakes up in a nice house in the suburbs next to the love of his life. Clearly, something nefarious is going on. fic on AO3 | art by sazzysavvy on AO3 | art by sazzysavvy on Tumblr| art by architeuthis | masterpost —

July 28th The Same Sky, Day and Night Atanih88, mashimero, with-your-poncho-on Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, past Clark Kent/Lois Lane, 20k, Explicit (DC Extended Universe) Clark and Lois separate as the sun rises over Metropolis. Clark and Bruce find comfort in each other’s company as night settles over Gotham. A look at the quiet moments that sew together something deeper. fic on AO3 | art by mashimero on AO3 | art by mashimero on Tumblr | art by with-your-poncho-on: post 1, post 2 | masterpost —

July 29th Dropping the Facade truc, AriesNoHope Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, 16k, Teen & Up Audiences (No Specific Continuity) After Bruce’s secret identity public reveal, Clark and Bruce must reevaluate their lives’ direction and relationship status. fic on AO3 | art by AriesNoHope | masterpost —

July 30th I Could Love You Mar_69, magpiebee Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, Clark Kent/Lois Lane, 16k, General Audiences (Alternate Universe) Bruce and Clark had been friends since college, and during all these years they had been pining for the other, no one was bold enough to make a move, until one Dick Grayson arrived at their lives. fic on AO3 | art by magpiebee | masterpost —

Amnesty

August 2nd Wishing on Stars ComposerofDiscord, SDeeyS, nowrunalong Hernan Guerra/Kirk Langstrom, 16k, Teen & Up Audiences (Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Alternate Universe) It’s the summer of Keira’s senior year when Keira meets Hermania for the first time. When Hermania can’t afford the fixes Keira made to her car, she finds another way to make up for it and the two find themselves falling into an unlikely friendship and more. fic on AO3 | art by SDeeyS | art by nowrunalong | masterpost —

August 9th Yours & Mine susiecarter, sdiosb, Ms. 3 Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, 51k, Explicit (DC Extended Universe) Post-JL 2017, Bruce and Clark are starting to figure each other out. Clark’s also starting to think he wants to get to know Bruce a lot better than either of them expected. And then, to help the dangerously depleted ranks of the Green Lanterns collect evidence against an intergalactic slave trader, they have to go undercover: Clark as the Kryptonian overlord who conquered Earth and has proven able to hold it against even the incursions of the New Gods of Apokolips … and the pride of his personal collection, a human warrior he subdued and trained himself. Which means Clark has to pretend he really is the nightmare Bruce once believed he would be, and he also has to keep it together in the face of leading a collared, naked Bruce around on a chain—when all he’s starting to realize he actually wants is to get on his knees for Bruce instead. fic on AO3 | art by sdiosb | art by Ms. 3 | masterpost —

August 13th The Great Boom of ‘98 flirtygaybrit, G.G. Kinko (Cheese-kun) Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, 32k, Teen & Up Audiences (DC Extended Universe, Alternate Universe) During the height of the Klondike Gold Rush in Yukon, Canada, Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent attempt to unravel the mystery behind a string of disappearances, mine closures, and unfamiliar minerals being unearthed by hopeful prospectors; along the way, they gain a number of unlikely allies, and make a discovery or two that just may change the world. fic on AO3 | art by G.G. Kinko (Cheese-kun) on AO3 | art by G.G. Kinko (Cheese-kun) on Tumblr | masterpost —

August 15th Those Secrets AriesNoHope, SDeeyS Hernan Guerra/Kirk Langstrom, 16k, Explicit (Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Alternate Universe) Hernan is a police officer who meets a resident named Kirk by chance, which makes him start a relationship that makes their days easier. However, Kirk keeps a secret that puts at risk this new relationship as his friends try to protect him and get blood for him. fic on AO3 | art by SDeeyS | masterpost —

Hatober

& Art Prompt Challenge Fills

lovelastart | helmet | bowler & cloche | a rare or unusual word: bento | fireman carry

chickyl-rodentart | the woes of designing a super-suit

mashimero | the woes of designing a super-suit/inspired by a rare or unusual word: acnestis

percilout | Of Hats and Men | I Will Fear No Hat (For Thou Art With Me) | This is Ha(ts)lloween

And that’s it for the 2021 Superbat Big Bang! Please be sure to drop our authors and artists kudos, likes, and reblogs and let them know how much you enjoyed their hard work!

#superbat big bang #superbat #world's finest #bruce wayne #clark kent #hernan guerra #kirk langstrom #masterlist

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foxxybenedict · 2 years ago

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How It Feels To Abandon Yourself

I deactivated my twitter today.

Please, hold your applause. Allow me to pontificate a bit first, then you may shower me in praise for doing the bare minimum for my mental health.

When I first got onto tumblr in 2011, it was so incredibly freeing. I could share exactly the aesthetics I wanted to uplift. I could put my thoughts out there in formatted blog posts. I could share quips in the tags of posts I shared. It felt like I was in control of every aspect of my identity, my aspirations, I set up a queue schedule so my posts would be evenly spaced and I wouldn’t spam people’s feeds. I had such a handle of who I was and what I wanted and how I wanted to express it.

oh shit what’s that oh no it’s the tumblr exodus of the 2010s

When I went to twitter, I had to delete most of my tweets and revamp the whole thing, because twitter wasn’t a place on the internet where you lived your life and shared it with people, back in 2015 twitter was where I went to depression post, shitpost, and stalk each person that was ever involved with team starkid. But when the exodus happened, I had to learn how to live my online life on twitter, not only that, but I was on twitter at the behest of someone who was once very important to me, and for years my identity, specifically on twitter, was tied to this person. So I never really felt like myself, I never felt the same sense of comfort in myself or my expression like I did on tumblr. But it’s where the zeitgeist was, and you just had to be there. And when I went there, I deleted my whole tumblr. I abandoned myself. I burned the most comprehensive record of who I was from 2011 to 2018.

When I did this I had no idea that it would be like burning every journal I ever wrote, but worse, because I’ve never written a journal, so it’s actually the closest thing I’ve ever had to one. But I didn’t realize how devastating that is, until **dunn dunn**

The Breakup

in 2021 my best friend, my father figure, my BDSM dominant, and far too many more “my”s made the correct assessment that our relationship had run it’s course, and it was time for it all to end. And then he deleted any archive of our correspondences so not even I could not access them. I dunno I never understood telegram but as far as I know, that shit is gone forever. And that broke me inside a bit. Not only was this relationship over, the entire chronological dialogue of the entire thing was eradicated. It felt like someone wrote you the most valuable stack of letters you hold dear and then snuck into your home and burned them. But worse because we never wrote letters it’s all in those chats and they’re just gone. This is the first time that I realized the impermanence of all of this is existentially horrifying. Things I have poured my hopes, my dreams, my desires, my fears, hell my fucking soul, things I have poured my fucking soul into, just don’t exist anymore.

I always loved the scene from The Lord of the Rings where Bilbo uses his ring to dazzle his fellow hobbits once more, and taking the most self aggrandizing exit from the pleasant fakeness of hobbit life. What I am trying to say, that he did in fact have the charisma uniqueness nerve and talent. This fucking camp queen. Bilbo has successfully made his way back into Plato’s cave without getting killed but then heckles the people making shadows on the wall cause it’s so funny to him.

So how I am coping with abandoning myself after I know how much damage that can do to my future self? I’ll be honest, because it doesn’t feel like me anymore. And I feel like I’ve been holding on to twitter solely because it’s where my largest following on the internet is. I had 5556 followers on twitter when I deactivated my account 30 minutes ago. That level of reach, that level of influence, it’s hard to let go of. I want to hold tightly onto it and hope to maybe make something out of it in the future. But that was all a cope. I just didn’t want to relinquish the only power I felt like I had on twitter, and that power was a silly little number. But the tradeoff I didn’t want to acknowledge is that you belong to that following, and I got that following from being in the proximity of people I am no longer in the proximity of. It feels like I’m sitting in a college course I didn’t sign up for, but I am too terrified of admitting I’m in the wrong classroom to go get up and find the right one.

So this leaves me sitting here thinking about the very real parts of myself that have been abandoned. The parts of me that I’ve given to people that have been forgotten, erased, taken for granted, or taken as something more than that it is. How many fragments of myself am I going to just allow to be impermanent? Can I even at this point forward be myself when so many parts of my self have been erased? Do I even try in the future to express myself, give parts of who I am to these cooperate entities vying for my attention, my AdSense, my data, in exchange for the feeling of permanence?

It feels futile, to fragment who you are into these very real pieces, and leave them behind, hoping someone picks it up, tosses a like, makes a comment. It feels silly, it feels hopeless. Jonathan Larson spent decades of his life fighting a clock he himself antagonized because he felt like if he didn’t, it would consume him. I am almost 29 years old and I don’t even have a rough draft of a meticulously crafted grandiose unique perspective that leaves behind an idea of why I deserve to be remembered.

Maybe it’s about time that I stop abandoning fragments. The issue is, it’s all I know. And a part of me I don’t want to give any credence to, secretly loves to ability to kill a version of me once every few years, and burn the evidence.

#foxxythoughts

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hamletteprinceofdenmark · 2 years ago

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I posted 8,644 times in 2022

That's 4,042 more posts than 2021!

635 posts created (7%)

8,009 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@rebelpeas

@themagpieszenith

@cupsmp

@jellyjam

I tagged 6,203 of my posts in 2022

Only 28% of my posts had no tags

#dream smp - 2,349 posts

#wilbur soot - 1,832 posts

#tommyinnit - 931 posts

#tubbo - 530 posts

#dracula - 466 posts

#dracula daily - 409 posts

#quackity - 308 posts

#crimeboys - 303 posts

#!!! - 283 posts

#ranboo - 214 posts

Longest Tag: 134 characters

#but all that means is he’s so in his own head that he misses the qte and says ‘you’re welcome’ when the barista says ‘have a nice day’

My Top Posts in 2022:

Just a heads up I’m noticing some confusion!

Lucy talks about two men.

There’s Arthur Holmwood, the “tall, handsome, curly-haired man” Mina asked about, who we have now found out also gets along very well with Lucy’s mum, and is rich and titled (nice). Lucy loves him a lot (she says it three times!)

Then there is also a different man, the doctor in charge of the lunatic asylum. The doctor would be considered a very eligible match (that’s what being a parti means). He is also handsome, also rich, and also from a good family. Young and responsible, he would be just the man for Mina if she wasn’t already happily engaged to Jonathan. Let’s hope nothing … happens … to our friend Jonathan on his Transylvanian travels 👀

Although Lucy likes both men, it’s Arthur who she loves. 👍

Also everyone picking up on the doctor having almost as many red flags as our beloved Count? Good eye! We will get to the asylum storyline soon, and it will be … interesting to see how y’all take it.

Also also, yes, this is the same asylum that backs onto Carfax, Dracula’s new digs.

Hold onto your butts, this rollercoaster’s just getting started!

Happy reading! - Q

2,353 notes - Posted May 11, 2022

Photo ID: a screenshot of a tumblr user’s tags reading: #dracula daily #bram stoker: accidentally write a horror comedy with queer main characters #dracula End ID

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Now I’m not coming after this person or naming them cause it’s not their fault at all but I am begging y’all to understand the queer allegories are not a mistake. They are not a coincidence.

This isn’t a fuddy old timey white man accidentally walking into making an incredibly queer book.

Bram Stoker was most likely a closeted queer man. He started writing Dracula a month after Oscar Wilde’s imprisonment, who was someone he knew personally. He and Walt Whitman wrote very homoerotic letters to each other. It was rumoured he had a massive crush on his boss, Henry Irving, who he wrote a biography on and who he heavily based Dracula’s appearance on (sans the hairy palms and pointy ears lol)

That is the context Dracula was written in. So when Mina and Lucy are galpalling it up, when Lucy’s three weed smoking boyfriends seem very close, when Dracula is jealous and protective of Jonathan and wants to stay up all night talking, please don’t run away with the idea that those are coincidences, or that Stoker was somehow blindly stumbling his way through this.

He knew. It’s on purpose.

2,864 notes - Posted May 10, 2022

A Defence of Dr John “Jack” Seward

Okay I’ve seen a lot of stuff around and I just want to set the record straight as someone who has done a lot of study in Victorian lit and this book in particular.

Dr Seward is not meant to be creepy.

It is vital that you understand this point. He is an equally viable suitor/lover to Lucy as Quincey or Arthur.

A lot of how he’s been read at the moment is being coloured by the odd 125 years that have past between when this book was first published and now.

Lucy has three suitors, Quincey the Cowboy, Arthur the Lord, and Jack the Doctor. They’re each set up to be equally valid and suitable choices for her. This is why she is so torn about choosing Arthur (i.e. English Stability) over Quincey (American Romance/Adventure) and Jack (Rationality, Intelligence, and - some of y’all won’t believe me when I say this - Compassion).

Jack Seward is odd. There’s no beating around the bush as far as that is concerned. He’s awkward, and nerdy, he has all the latest gadgets, and he finds it easier to talk to Lucy about his passions and interests - such as the very latest discoveries in psychology - rather than engage in social niceties and small talk. He almost sits on his silk top hat and he fidgets with a surgical knife when he’s nervous because it’s the only thing in his pocket. It’s very easy to read him as autistic, or otherwise neurodivergent in some way.

He is also, I cannot stress this enough, at the top of his field. What we see today as archaic and ableist practises were to Stoker’s contemporary reader some of the most compassionate and patient-first mental health work of it’s time. We’re going to learn more about the asylum as we go on, but it’s a very interesting case study of The Other.

The Other is what ultimately rules out Seward as a viable romantic candidate for Lucy. While he is English, “an excellent parti [marriage candidate], being handsome, well off, and of good birth,” while “he is a doctor and really clever,” while “he is only nine-and-twenty, and he has an immense lunatic asylum all under his own care,” he is ultimately too close to the strange and unusual, to the Other, to the mad, to be a good match for Lucy, an up and coming socialite.

She cannot choose Quincey because he is American (foreign and therefore also Other), and engages in lowly things like slang. He is an adventurous and Romantic (used in the classical rather than colloquial sense) Hero, and again ultimately unsuitable for our Lucy.

It is Arthur Holmwood (later The Honourable Lord Godalming), the English gentry that Lucy must court and ultimately wed. This is also why Arthur seems so much less fleshed out and boring compared to the other two suitors. The contemporary reader would immediately understand and fill in everything you needed to know about him from context. He is the most familiar figure to a British public, where the others are … well … Other.

I also want to go over what Jack wrote today, because it’s not nearly as damning as people are making it out to be.

Miserable after being rejected by the woman he loves, Jack throws himself into his work instead. He records his diary on a phonograph, the very latest in Victorian tech, and relates that day’s studies on the patient he finds the most fascinating, R.M. Renfield. A lot of psych work at the time - and today! - revolves around the idea of understanding how a mental patient’s mind works by close analysis, hypothesis, and practical testing and observation. This is what Seward conducts.

Still emotionally unstable himself from the recent rejection, he reflects that there was a level of cruelty in how he treated Renfield that day, which he immediately regrets. He recognises that he went too far, and that it was his own fault, and was irresponsible and wrong as Renfield’s Doctor and as Head of the asylum.

He confesses that he wanted to “keep him to the point of his madness” (i.e. encourage or even worsen Renfield’s condition in order to study it further) something that under normal circumstances would be “a thing which I avoid with the patients as I would the mouth of hell.”

This isn’t a mad scientist gleefully torturing people he considers subhuman, this is a Doctor who cares deeply about his patients and feels terrible his own personal emotional distress led him to hurt rather than to heal.

He let emotion get the better of him, something he considers selfish and indulgent, and he reflects that a selfish man is as much a danger to the people around him as to himself. He resolves to work from a place of duty, from a place which prioritises the well-being of his patients, from now on, and to be more conscientious and aware of his actions and how they affect others in the future.

That is the musings of a Good Doctor! And a Good Man! He is working from a 19th Century understanding of what that means, but that does not minimise the intent and spirit of his character!

Please stop writing Seward off as the creepy asylum man. He is so much more than that, and more than an equal match to Quincey and Arthur.

3,537 notes - Posted May 26, 2022

I love how Dracula Daily has given me a new perspective on Lucy. It’s completely changed my view of her.

It’s easy to dismiss Lucy as a shallow, golden child socialite to be, but now, reading the book in chronological order (and with the rest of Tumblr following along) I can’t read this latest letter without a great twinge of sadness, where before I largely dismissed it as idle chat.

The latest we heard from Lucy in her private diary was about how stressed and scared she is, how she feels isolated, how she feels the need to quiet people’s fears about her health and be fun and jolly, while in reality she is (literally and figuratively) drained.

And now, five days later, she writes to Mina after receiving her best friend’s glowing letter about how happy and excited she is to finally be married to Jonathan and their hopes for the future.

So Lucy puts on a brave face! She doesn’t tell Mina anything. What could Mina do anyway? All the way across the ocean? Better not to worry her. Yes I’m quite well again! No more sleepwalking for me! Definitely not :)

You and Jonathan should come back home soon! For Jonathan’s sake! (Please)

With this new lens, we read between the lines, and they paint a dreadfully lonely and terrifying picture.

3,905 notes - Posted August 30, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

For all my Dracula Daily folks who might not read 19th Century lit on the regular “making a hasty toilet” means like … “I freshened up quickly before dinner because I just spent hours and hours on a dusty road and feel kind of gross” not “I am telling you explicitly that I took a shit and was hasty about it”

24,136 notes - Posted May 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #all top five of my posts were dracula daily analysis #incredible love it

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