#hamlet & co. texts

[fixomnia-scribble]

WOW.

Scientists found an amazingly well-preserved village from 3,000 years ago

Text below, in case article access dries up:

LONDON — A half-eaten bowl of porridge complete with wooden spoon, communal rubbish bins, and a decorative necklace made with amber and glass beads are just a handful of the extraordinarily well-preserved remnants of a late Bronze Age hamlet unearthed in eastern England that’s been dubbed “Britain’s Pompeii” and a “time capsule” into village life almost 3,000 years ago.

The findings from the site, excavated in 2015 to 2016, are now the subject of two reports, complete with previously unseen photos, published this week by University of Cambridge archaeologists, who said they cast light onto the “cosy domesticity” of ancient settlement life.

“It might be the best prehistoric settlement that we’ve found in Britain,” Mark Knight, the excavation director and a co-author of the reports, said in an interviewThursday. “We took the roofs off and inside was pretty much the contents,” he said. “It’s so comprehensive and so coherent.”

The reason for the rare preservation: disaster.

The settlement, thought to have originally consisted of several large roundhouses made of wood and constructed on stilts above a slow-moving river, was engulfed by a fire less than a year after being built.

During the blaze, the buildings and much of their contents collapsed into a muddy river below that “cushioned the scorched remains where they fell,” the university said of the findings. This combination of charring from the fire and waterlogging led to “exceptional preservation,” the researchers found.

“Because of the nature of the settlement, that it was burned down and its abandonment unplanned, everything was captured,” Knight added.

“As we excavated it, there was that feeling that we were picking over someone else’s tragedy,” he said of the eerie site in the swampy fenland of East Anglia. “I don’t think we could smell the fire but the amount of ash around us — it felt close.”

Researchers said they eventually unearthed four large wooden roundhouses and an entranceway structure, but the original settlement was probably “twice as big.”

The site at Must Farm dates to about 850 B.C., eight centuries before Romans came to Britain. Archaeologists have been shocked at “just how clear the picture is” of late Bronze Age life based on the level of detail uncovered, Knight said.

The findings also showed that the communities lived “a way of life that was more sophisticated than we could have imagined,” Duncan Wilson, head of Historic England, the public body responsible for preserving England’s historic environment, said in a statement.

The findings unearthed include a stack of spears, possibly for hunting or defense; a decorative necklace “with beads from as far away as Denmark and Iran”; clothes of fine flax linen; and a female adult skull rendered smooth, “perhaps a memento of a lost loved one,” the research found.

The inhabitants’ diet was also rich and varied, including boar, pike and bream, along with wheat and barley.

A pottery bowl with the finger marks of its maker in the clay was also unearthed, researchers said, still containing its final meal — “a wheat-grain porridge mixed with animal fats” — with a wooden spatula resting inside the bowl.

“It appears the occupants saved their meat juices to use as toppings for porridge,” project archaeologist Chris Wakefield said in the university’s news release. “Chemical analyses of the bowls and jars showed traces of honey along with ruminant meats such as deer, suggesting these ingredients were combined to create a form of prehistoric honey-glazed venison,” he added.

Skulls of dogs — probably kept as pets and to help with hunting — were also uncovered, and the dogs’ fossilized feces showed they fed on scraps from their owners’ meals, the research found.

The buildings, some connected by walkways, may have had up to 60 people living there all together, Knight said, along with animals.

Although no intact sets of human remains were found at the site, indicating that the inhabitants probably fled the fire safely, several sheep bones were found burned indoors. “Skeletal remains showed the lambs were three to six months old, suggesting the settlement was destroyed sometime in late summer or early autumn,” according to the university’s news release.

Ceramic and wooden vessels including tiny cups, bowls and large storage jars were also found. Some pots were even designed to nest, stacked inside one another, Knight said — evidence of an interest in aesthetics as well as practicality.

A lot of similar items were found replicated in each home, Knight added, painting the picture of completely independent homesteads for each family unit rather than distinct buildings for shared tasks — much like we live today.

Household inventories often included metal tools, loom weights, sickles for crop harvesting, axes and even handheld razors for cutting hair.

The roundhouses — one of which had almost 50 square meters (nearly 540 square feet) of floor space — had hearths and insulated straw and clay roofs. Some featured activity zones for cooking, sleeping and working akin to modern-day rooms.

The Must Farm settlement has produced the largest collection of everyday Bronze Age artifacts ever discovered in the United Kingdom, according to Historic England, which partly funded the 1.1 million pound ($1.4 million) excavation project.

The public body labeled the site a “time capsule,” including almost 200 wooden artifacts, over 150 fiber and textile items, 128 pottery vessels and more than 90 pieces of metalwork. Some items will go on display at the nearby Peterborough Museum next month.

Archaeologists never found a “smoking gun” cause for the fire, Knight said. Instead, they suspect it was either an attack from “outside forces,” which may explain why the inhabitants never returned to collect their possessions from the debris, or an accidental blaze that spread rapidly across the tightly nestled homes.

“Probably all that was left was the people and what they were wearing; everything else was left behind,” Knight said of the fire.

But the preservation has left a window for people to look back through in the future. “You could almost see and smell their world,” he said.

“The only thing that was missing was the inhabitants,” Knight added. “And yet … I think they were there — you certainly got glimpses.”

#archaeology #bronze age #UK archaeology #excavations

[txttletale]

bundletober #3: blow up hamlet

today's bundletober is a game i've already read but wanted to reread and talk about because i think it's neat and also wanted to do something easier since yesterday's bundletober diverged midway through into a mini-essay on sex and romance in rpgs. idle cartulary's blow up hamlet is a profoundly silly game, and i say that as deepest praise.

blow up hamlet is played with playing cards (this is not that uncommon for a ttrpg) and the full text of william shakespeare's hamlet (this is quite uncommon for a ttrpg). i often talk about ttrpgs as an excercise in collaborative storytelling and the rules text as a co-author -- i don't think that's a comprehensive or universal definition, to be clear, but it's a lens that's useful to me in playing, designing, and reading rpgs. many people feel like the central activity in an rpg is playing, or acting, or embodying, rather than storytelling, and i get where they're coming from and respect those ways of playing. however. blow up hamlet is in the most literal sense a game about collaborative storytelling (you are telling the story of william shakespeare's hamlet) in which the rules text is in the most literal sense a co-author (the co-author is william shakespeare, whom you may know from his beloved play troils and cressida).

the core gameplay of blow up hamlet goes like this: you and your friends perform hamlet. you're given a hand of playing cards, which you may reveal (sometimes discarding them afterwards, sometimes not) in order to alter your line, changing anything from the tone of the scene to the direction of the plot to whether or not hamlet is a talking tyrannosaurus rex. it's very simple. but that simple conceit is presented stylishly, with several optional setup choices provided to tweak your table's personal performance of hamlet however you personally prefer.

ultimately i like blow up hamlet a whole lot, because it poses really interesting questions. questions like 'can a performance of hamlet be a roleplaying game? what if you change the lines? what if you change the plot? what's the difference between changing the lines and changing how they're delivered? are you roleplaying, or are you telling a story, or are you acting?' because you could, rules-as-written, all sit down and soberly play out hamlet beginning to end without making any changes, as per the rules of this game. at that point, would you still be playing blow up hamlet?

i like games that make you ask these questions and seriously think about them in the process of reading about and playing them. blow up hamlet isn't complex, but it pushes the boundaries of the format in a way that's still fun to engage with directly, and it does it with style.

blow up hamlet can be purchased as a digital download through itch.io

#tattletxt #tttrpg #bundletober 2023

[first-edition]

Breaking Seasons

Spencer reid x reader fanfiction

Updates every Tuesday and Thursday 

Read previous chapter here.

CHAPTER 10

Summary- When y/n takes her sick friends criminology class to take notes in the winter, she meets the guest speaker, BAU-FBI agent Spencer reid.  After getting to know more about each other due to a college school related case, that ends up involving y/n herself, they naught just have each to keep warm.

Story begins under cut.

                            ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You walk through the school going to your class finally grateful you can go again to not loose progress. Wearing grey fluffy boots, jeans a oversized sweater scarf and beanie. 

You walk into your class taking off your beanie sitting down and taking out you notes to begin. 

All through class people whisper and talk about what's happening on campus with the shooting. The teachers are announcing drugs and bomb sniffing dogs will be going around school. So you have to keep your back outside the class room while they search. Just like it was back in middle school when D.A.R.E was at its peak.

"Psst y/n!" Someone throws a ball of paper at you getting your attention. You turn your head seeing Megan. Leaning over her seat.

"Im really sorry about Maeve." She says you nod giving a small smile really not wanting to be reminded that your best friend was shot and killed.

To make matters worse the teacher has a moment of silence for all the students that have "passed"

You sigh 'just say it you fucking bitch they were murderd your best friend and aqaintence were fucking murderd' you mind screams at the teacher as the moment of silence goes on for another thirty seconds. Finally letting class continue.

Then entire time is people letting you know how sorry they are and whatnot. Making you want to get up and leave. But allas class ends and you end up not getting any notes distracted from the constant Maeve apologies.

You walk out of class and pick up your bag that resides in the hall. Heading to your next class that ends up being the exact same scenario.

———-

Walking through the courtyard you spot spencer walking with his team just as he turns to look at you you look ahead doing your best to avoid him. You're sure he's texted you multiple times even called. The fear consumes you. It's unhealthy and clouding but it's the best you've got. 

You glance over catching the scene of two girls from Maeve's class talking to him no doubt about it flirting, the pull out his tie smiling and giggling "asking" him about the test questions. A small bubble boils in you but just as it arrives you let it go. 

You continue walking to your destination of the library. 

You enter the quiet building. And walk over to the Abundance of books. Looking through the shelf. The occasional glipse of police men monitoring around and the girls huddling in the corner to point you out to their friends annoys you.

You run your hand down the spines of the books looking for another book just as interesting as Romeo and Juliet. 

You pick up hamlet opening the book and reading the prologue. 

"The average length of a play in Elizabethan England was 3000 lines. With 4,042 lines and 29,551 words, Hamlet is the longest Shakespearean play. With 1,787 lines and 14,369 words...it's a good book" you hear his familiar voice behind you. You close the book. Not turning around. 

"Are you avoiding me?" He asks. Causing you to freeze.

"B-because if I did anything to make you upset or hurt you I apologize I didn't mean to I didn't know." He says trying hard not to profile you but to wait for your words. 

"No." You say picking your back up off the ground slinging it around your shoulder. 

"Y/n." He says you feel him step closer. 

"Did you know that I can't walk around campus without someone saying how sorry they are about Maeve, asking if I'm okay, the moment of silences happening in every class. The weapon sniffing dogs as we have to put out bags out side of the fucking classroom like we're in a middle school D.A.R.E check!" You say 

"It's for safety-" 

"The constant police scowering the field, the looks the fact that four people have fucking died and all anyone seems to care about is the popularity they gain from it!?" You cut him off 

"There's only three.." spencer says

"Your phone has been buzzing this entire conversation go solve another fucking murder" you storm off. Leaving Spencer confused, hurt, impressed, and worries.

———-

"What do we have?" Rossi asks.

"She's speeding up each were 24 hours apart now there 12." Jj says 

"M-more targets more victims." Spencer replies. 

"Hey you okay?" Jj asks him he looks up at her about to lie but then shakes his head no.

"I went to check up on y/n and she blew up in my face." He replies

"I hope you don't mean literally" Morgan says. 

Spencer sighs shaking his head. "I-I think all the police stuff bothers her exponentially." 

"I mean kid from the first time she reacted by the first murder you'd really thought she'd change?" Morgan asks. 

"We'll no.." he says Morgan nods.

"Victims name is Michelle Orland she's a major is nursing and she fits the victim profile brunette and white." Morgan says. 

"The unsub didnt come back though police were posted up all night at both dorms. But it's the targeted dorm" Rossi says 

"Reid go inform Hotch and prentiss." 

Spencer nods and walk out of the room to his next destination. Which is down the hall. 

"It's the targeted form but the unsub didn't come back to peep." He says 

"I wouldn't if the officers were posted up." Emily says Hotch nods thinking about what's wrong with the case what the team is missing. 

"There's been four deaths in a week this is our top priority right now." He says both emily and Spencer nod 

"I'll call Garcia" Hotch says walking off.

"This unsub is really getting on my nerves being so risky as to kill literally right in front of us." She says. Spencer immediately grabs his phone home as it buzzes. Sighing at the fact it's not y/n and just something sent from Garcia. 

"You alright you look sad to see it Penelope." Emily says.

"I'm fine. Come on." He says and walks to where the rest of the team is.

Read next chapter here

Taglist

@gublerbabie @steamystrangerfics​ @f-me-reid​ @mojesticworlds​😍@deanwinchestersgirl87​

If you would like to be added to the tag list please dm me, reblog this story or leave a comment!!!

#Criminal Minds #criminal minds x reader #spencer reid smut #spencer fanfic #Spencer Reid x reader fanfic #Spencer reid x reader

[spacecowboycunt]

nine some people i'd like to know better 🌷⚡️

tagged by @queertemporality (sorry for not doing this sooner it was sitting in my likes and i kept meaning to do it, i think a version is in my drafts on one of my blogs

last song: Brianstorm - Arctic Monkeys (because in my heart I'm still in high school and my mom is late to pick me up, and I'm listening to AM cds with my best friend, and it's sunny outside)

favorite color: red! red! red!

currently watching: mostly youtube video essays lbr, but also House of the Dragon

last movie/tv show: Classic Who, almost done with the first Doctor, I'm gonna work through all of classic Who

spicy/savory/sweet: real bitches can balance all three in a dish

relationship status: if i have to spend many more years in the middle of nowhere alone I'm going to fold into myself until I become a black hole

current obsession(s): Hamlet

last thing you googled: Euripides Trojan Women (which seems intellectual but before that was the release date of the original Freaky Friday and upholstery cleaner)

tagging some mutuals cos i never respond to ur posts and/or i have been bad at maintaining our texts/DMs: @saranethrising @velvetcrowe @romulanholiday @damatris @thecrownofflames

#personalig

[iamnmbr3]

Hi, i'm curious about how do you got into shakespeare and co. ? Can you recomment something to read for a starter? Furthermore i wish you have a nice day 😊

thanks for waiting for me to answer. I've been super busy. and this ask made me SO happy. So I actually read some Shakespeare in high school and while I found them interesting, Macbeth was the only one that strongly resonated with me (and still one of my favorites). Later I got to see it on stage and also saw a production of Julius Caesar on stage. And omg it was so much more vibrant. I got back into Shakespeare recently after watching the Donmar Warehouse production of Coriolanus (streaming free here https://www.schooltube.com/media/Coriolanus+%7C+Donmar+Warehouse+%7C+National+Theatre+at+Home/1_i4iwz5ix) and then basically binging a whole bunch of other plays and various adaptations of those plays. I highly highly recommend that production btw. 

I personally think the plays are more fun to watch than to read. I mean, reading them is basically like reading the script for a movie. Shakespeare never meant anyone to read his plays. They are much more engaging and also easier to understand when you see them performed. (That said of course you can get a lot out of reading them too).

I've found that understanding Shakespearean English is hard at first but your ear adjusts. Just like listening to a foreign language gets easier. And while the language in Shakespeare is challenging, if you already speak English then learning to understand it is WAYYYY easier than learning a new language. So instead of thinking of it like hard English think of it as a really easy foreign language. Sure there are some differences but you can pick it up relatively fast. Versus the years it would take to learn a new language well.

What plays you will like most really vary from person to person. I think the easiest stories to understand are the ones you can get engrossed in. I also think sometimes the comedies are harder to understand since sometimes the jokes reference things that you need to know a lot about the culture and history of the time they were written to get. (I mean. Think how specific to a certain context a lot of talk shows are).

The globe theater has a streaming service (https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/watch/) where you can watch a bunch of their plays online. I really love the henriad, which is a series of 4 plays that follow several generations of characters in the monarchy and it's kinda like game of thrones minus the dragons (I mean GoT was actually based on the same history so it's not surprising). The plays are Richard II, Henry IV pt 1, Henry IV pt 2 and Henry V. The Globe Theater productions (esp Henry IV pt 1 and Henry V) are amazing and their take on Prince Hal/Henry V is PERFECT. I also love their production of Macbeth. You always read a synopsis before watching so it makes more sense. 

(You do have to pay for the streaming service but the price is pretty reasonable compared to the cost of a theater ticket. Esp given you get access to a whole bunch of performances. So it’s a good way to get a flavor of the experience of performances for a lot less cost. and of course it’s much more accessible since you can watch from anywhere. and you can pause it etc if you need to)

The Digital Theater streaming service has Royal Shakespeare Company plays (https://www.digitaltheatre.com). The RSC production of Hamlet with Paapa Essiedu is THE version of Hamlet for me. It's just. SO good. There's also a FABULOUS RSC production of Caesar on there that is super good and which I highly recommend.

And of course, any of these plays can be read instead if you want. You can usually find the texts for free online. Or at your local library.

(You do have to pay for the streaming service but the price is pretty reasonable compared to the cost of a theater ticket. Esp given you get access to a whole bunch of performances. And it goes to support the theater which is a good cause.) 

#asks #Shakespeare

[zazadupont]

HAMLET + OPHELIA

REGIE Mateusz Staniak TEXT The Hamlet Machine (Heiner Müller) e.a. teksten CAST Laura De Geest, Pepijn Korfage, Robin Zaza Launspach, Arne Luiting DRAMATURGY Debbie Oskam SCENOGRAPHY Zaza Dupont LIGHT DESING Zaza Dupont, Mateusz Staniak MUSIC + SOUND George Dhauw VIDEO TECHNIC Jordi Wolswijk COSTUMES Wojciech Dziedzic COSTUME ASSISTANT Leanne Vandenbussche HAIR AND MAKE UP Demi van Rooijen DRESSER Hendrik Nieuwerf PRODUCTIE toneelschuur producties CO PRODUCTIE Internationaal Theater Amsterdam

PICTURES Sanne Peper

[yvtro]

I love the quote you pull up for your Jay Meta, and am curious.

Do you know any good quotes that Jason would likely use to talk about being remembered or misremembered?

Hilariously this is a much older idea than any civilian Jay fics. It was actually inspired by a long finished fic where Bruce realized Jason alive cos Ra's didn't steal his corpse to distract him during the Babel incident.

Anyway I always kind of liked the idea of an alt ending where Jason did go home (Complicated reasons) and arrived as Tim was dissing him and being told off by Bruce for it. And was like, "What classical quote would Jason whip out for this scenario, to show who he is, flex on this rude little shit, and generally be a nerd?"

there's def something good in "hamlet" about violating memory, but i'd have to skim through it to find it, because none of the fragments i know by heart contain it. but i can think of a couple of other quotes, although not necessarily anything that jason himself would say, rather things that make sense for the reader:

first and foremost: “And maybe you can’t know me now. / Maybe I’m just blood. Whatever that’s for.”  from "in the pines” by alice notley. the "maybe you can't know me now" being a sort of acceptence that this grief will not go away, and his image will always be distorted by it. and "maybe i'm just blood." refering to his death and the fact that he is reduced to it. an image of his bloodied robin costume comes to my mind, later washed and displayed as the memorial. "whatever that's for." self-explanatory. his death didn't actually mean anything. the grief is obsolete with him back and alive.

“there was a Helen before there was a War / but who remembers her?” From “winter love” by H.D. <- (sounds crazy but makes sense in this context) jay as helen and War = death.

also, not literary text, but i wanted to mention some songs:

not to be basic but there are these lines in suki waterhouse’s “good looking”: “I’m not who i am to anyone, no, not me at all / I’m not who I am to anyone these days, not at all” and they always make me think about jay.

i've been obsessed with "i appear missing" by queens of the stone age recently and there are some lines that also resonate: "Prisoner on the loose / Description: / A spitting image of me / Except for a heart-shaped hole where the hope runs out", then "Shock me awake / Tear me apart / Pinned like a note in a hospital gown", "Cast off like a stone / Feelings, raw and exposed when I'm out of control / Pieces were stolen from me / But dare I say, given away" and finally "I appear missing now (...) / One day I hope / I'm someone you'd met" <- i think all of them can be read in terms of violated image and memory.

#answered #dc comics #jason todd

[didyoubringauntienat]

1-10 for the ask game wifey 💚

Oh god… 💛

1. Share an embarrassing (but not too personal obviously) secret about your sibling/friend

My brother was texting this girl he liked from his class whilst we were shopping in France and cause this was like his first proper crush… I ended up having to ask this girl out for him because he didn’t want to get rejected 💀

2. What’s your favorite animated film?

I don’t have a favourite atm but when I was younger I liked ferngully

3. corner or center brownies?

Centre. They’re just cleaner but I would just eat the whole thing as well

4. What’s the most recent dream you can remember?

First bit of it was like set in the medieval times and there was like this fight and I just remember having to like barricade the castle (it was also like in this snowy land with a blizzard). The second bit I was at this empty docks (no boats) with some friends and we all in the water except this girl I liked (don’t know who it was I just remember she had dark hair and pale skin) so I went over to her and tried to get her to come in with a bit of flirting on both sides. Before it could get good though my alarm woke me up 😐

5. Infodump about anything you want!

Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski was a seminal Soviet and Russian theatre practitioner. He was widely recognized as an outstanding character actor and the many productions that he directed garnered him a reputation as one of the leading theatre directors of his generation. His principal fame and influence, however, rests on his "system" of actor training, preparation, and rehearsal technique. Stanislavski (his stage name) performed and directed as an amateur until the age of 33, when he co-founded the world-famous Moscow Art Theatre (MAT) company with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, following a legendary 18-hour discussion. Its influential tours of Europe (1906) and the US (1923–24), and its landmark productions of The Seagull (1898) and Hamlet (1911–12), established his reputation and opened new possibilities for the art of the theatre. By means of the MAT, Stanislavski was instrumental in promoting the new Russian drama of his day—principally the work of Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, and Mikhail Bulgakov—to audiences in Moscow and around the world; he also staged acclaimed productions of a wide range of classical Russian and European plays.

6. Do you like plastic or velvety hangers and why?

Plastic cause it’s easier to put clothes on them

7. What is the last piece of media that genuinely made you feel emotion?

I think it was a doctor who tiktok about the actress who played Sarah Jane Smith 😭

8. If you eat popcorn, what seasoning do you put on it?

Whatever they put on sweet flavoured popcorn or toffee popcorn… it’s been a while

9. Favorite Tumblr Quote?

Anything by @incorrectquotesmcu of course

10. Do you lick the leftover butter off pans?

Wtf? No?

[enactivewebs]

15.4

Kōrero with ChatGPT on relevance of hypermedia and 360 degree storytelling:

Is hypermedia still a field of research and thought in the 2020s?\

ChatGPT

Yes, hypermedia is still a field of research and thought in the 2020s, although its focus and applications have evolved alongside advancements in technology. Hypermedia refers to the extension of hypertext to include multimedia elements such as images, audio, video, and interactive elements. In the modern context, hypermedia is often associated with the World Wide Web and the integration of various media types into web-based content.

Researchers and practitioners in fields such as information science, computer science, digital media, and human-computer interaction continue to explore the design, implementation, and impact of hypermedia systems. This includes topics such as multimedia authoring, user interface design, content management, information retrieval, and the development of interactive and immersive experiences. Hypermedia remains relevant as digital technologies continue to shape how we create, consume, and interact with multimedia content on the web and other digital platforms.

You

Any contemporary theorists and practitioners you'd recommend in this space?

ChatGPT

Certainly! Here are a few contemporary theorists and practitioners who are influential in the field of hypermedia and related areas:

Lev Manovich: A media theorist and professor known for his work on digital culture, new media, and software studies. His book "The Language of New Media" is a seminal text in the field.

Janet Murray: An interaction designer, educator, and author known for her work on digital storytelling and interactive narrative. Her book "Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace" is a landmark work in the field of digital media.

Johanna Drucker: A scholar, author, and artist known for her work on digital humanities, visual and graphic design, and the history of the book. Her book "Graphesis: Visual Forms of Knowledge Production" explores the role of visualizations in knowledge creation.

N. Katherine Hayles: A scholar known for her work on literature, science, and technology. Her book "How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics" examines the impact of digital technologies on human identity.

Mark Bernstein: A computer scientist and entrepreneur known for his work on hypertext and web design. He is the co-founder of Eastgate Systems, a company that produces hypertext software and literature.

These theorists and practitioners offer valuable insights into the theory and practice of hypermedia, digital storytelling, and interactive narrative, among other related topics. Their work continues to influence how we understand and engage with digital media in the 21st century.

You

Does hypermedia go by a different name nowadays?

ChatGPT

Hypermedia, as a concept, is still relevant today, especially in the context of the World Wide Web and multimedia content. However, the term itself might not be as commonly used in everyday language or in academic discourse as it once was. Instead, concepts related to hypermedia are often discussed within broader contexts such as digital media, interactive media, multimedia, or new media.

For example, when discussing interactive websites that combine text, images, videos, and other multimedia elements, people might refer to them simply as "multimedia websites" or "interactive websites," rather than specifically using the term "hypermedia." Similarly, in academic settings, researchers might use terms like "interactive narrative," "digital storytelling," or "multimedia storytelling" to describe the intersection of narrative with multimedia elements, which are key aspects of hypermedia.

In summary, while the term "hypermedia" is still relevant and understood, it is often used in conjunction with or subsumed under broader terms that encompass various forms of multimedia and interactive digital content.

You

Why hasn't 360 video storytelling taken off as a medium?

ChatGPT

There are several reasons why 360 video storytelling may not have taken off as a mainstream medium:

Technical Challenges: Creating high-quality 360 videos requires specialized equipment and technical expertise. This can be a barrier for many content creators, especially those with limited resources or experience.

Production Complexity: Compared to traditional video production, 360 video production is more complex and time-consuming. It requires careful planning of camera placement, lighting, and audio capture to ensure a seamless viewing experience.

Limited Accessibility: While 360 videos can provide immersive experiences, they require specific viewing devices such as VR headsets or smartphones with gyroscopic sensors. This limits the audience who can access and experience 360 video content.

Storytelling Challenges: Crafting compelling narratives in 360 videos can be challenging. Traditional storytelling techniques may not translate well to a 360-degree environment, requiring content creators to experiment with new storytelling approaches.

Audience Engagement: Despite the immersive nature of 360 videos, some viewers may find them disorienting or distracting. Maintaining audience engagement throughout a 360 video experience can be a challenge.

Content Discovery: Discovering 360 video content can be difficult, as it often requires users to actively seek out specific platforms or channels that offer such content. This can limit the exposure and reach of 360 video storytelling.

While these challenges exist, 360 video storytelling continues to evolve, and advancements in technology and storytelling techniques may help address some of these barriers in the future.

You

How has the focus and application of hypermedia evolved in the 2020s?

ChatGPT

In the 2020s, the focus and application of hypermedia have continued to evolve, driven by advancements in technology and changing user expectations. Some key trends and developments include:

Immersive Experiences: Hypermedia is increasingly used to create immersive experiences, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications. These technologies enable users to interact with multimedia content in a more immersive and engaging way.

Personalization: Hypermedia is being used to create more personalized and targeted content experiences. This includes personalized recommendations, adaptive content delivery based on user preferences, and interactive storytelling experiences that adapt to user choices.

Interactive Storytelling: Hypermedia is being used to create interactive storytelling experiences that allow users to explore narratives in non-linear ways. This includes branching narratives, interactive documentaries, and multimedia storytelling experiences that combine text, images, videos, and audio in dynamic ways.

Cross-platform Integration: Hypermedia is being used to create seamless experiences across different platforms and devices. This includes content that adapts to different screen sizes and resolutions, as well as content that can be easily shared and accessed across multiple devices.

Accessibility: There is a growing emphasis on making hypermedia content more accessible to a wider audience. This includes ensuring that content is accessible to people with disabilities, as well as making content available in multiple languages and formats.

Data-driven Experiences: Hypermedia is increasingly being used to create data-driven experiences that use real-time data to personalize content and provide more relevant information to users. This includes interactive data visualizations, immersive data storytelling, and interactive educational experiences.

Overall, the focus of hypermedia in the 2020s has been on creating more immersive, personalized, and interactive experiences that leverage advancements in technology to create more engaging content experiences.

You

How has the theoretical focus shifted since the 90s to today?

ChatGPT

Since the 1990s, the theoretical focus in hypermedia has shifted in several ways:

From Hypertext to Hypermedia: In the 1990s, much of the focus was on hypertext, which primarily involved text-based linking. Today, the focus has expanded to include hypermedia, which encompasses a wider range of media types, such as images, videos, audio, and interactive elements.

Interdisciplinary Approach: There is now a greater emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches to hypermedia research, drawing on fields such as computer science, communication studies, psychology, and design. This interdisciplinary approach has led to a more holistic understanding of hypermedia as a complex socio-technical system.

User-Centered Design: There is a greater emphasis on user-centered design principles in hypermedia research, focusing on understanding user needs, preferences, and behaviors. This has led to the development of more user-friendly and intuitive hypermedia systems.

Narrative and Storytelling: There is now a greater focus on narrative and storytelling in hypermedia research, exploring how hypermedia can be used to create compelling and engaging narratives. This includes interactive storytelling, transmedia storytelling, and immersive storytelling experiences.

Social and Cultural Impact: There is a greater awareness of the social and cultural impact of hypermedia, including issues related to privacy, security, accessibility, and diversity. Researchers are now exploring how hypermedia can be used to promote social change, cultural understanding, and civic engagement.

Technological Advancements: Advances in technology, such as the proliferation of mobile devices, the growth of the internet, and the rise of social media, have influenced the theoretical focus of hypermedia research. Researchers are now exploring how these technologies can be leveraged to create more dynamic and interactive hypermedia experiences.

Overall, the theoretical focus in hypermedia has shifted from a primarily text-based and technology-centric approach in the 1990s to a more interdisciplinary, user-centered, and culturally aware approach in the present day.

You

Some key theoretical ideas related to the above?

ChatGPT

Certainly! Here are some key theoretical ideas related to the shift in focus in hypermedia research:

User-Centered Design (UCD): UCD is a design approach that focuses on understanding the needs, preferences, and behaviors of users. In the context of hypermedia, UCD emphasizes the importance of designing systems and interfaces that are intuitive, user-friendly, and responsive to user input.

Narratology and Storytelling: Narratology is the study of narrative structures and storytelling techniques. In hypermedia research, scholars draw on narratological theories to understand how narratives can be constructed and experienced in non-linear and interactive formats.

Transmedia Storytelling: Transmedia storytelling refers to the practice of telling a single story across multiple media platforms, such as books, films, games, and websites. This approach has been used in hypermedia research to create cohesive and immersive narrative experiences.

Cultural Studies: Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines cultural phenomena in their social, historical, and political contexts. In hypermedia research, scholars draw on cultural studies theories to explore how hypermedia can reflect and shape cultural values, identities, and practices.

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI): HCI is a field that focuses on the design and evaluation of interactive computer systems. In hypermedia research, HCI theories and methods are used to understand how users interact with hypermedia systems and how these systems can be designed to enhance user experience.

Critical Theory: Critical theory is a philosophical approach that examines society and culture through a critical lens, with a focus on power dynamics, inequality, and social change. In hypermedia research, critical theory is used to analyze how hypermedia can perpetuate or challenge existing power structures and cultural norms.

These theoretical ideas provide frameworks for understanding the complex interplay between technology, culture, and society in the context of hypermedia research. They help researchers and practitioners design and evaluate hypermedia systems that are not only technically sophisticated but also socially and culturally meaningful.

[rcreveal]

The Quest

Summary:

This is a combination of the NaNo Mutt Prompt a Day challenge: How you say I love you, combining Day 2 under a blanket with a hoarse voice and Day 7 as a thank you. Aziraphale has a strange notion of a quest.

Work Text:

AZ Fell and Co Books remained dark and shuttered. It had been dark and shuttered for over a week. Always quixotic in its openings, this was either a new level in aggressive bookshop stock retention by Aziraphale, or something was seriously wrong.

The street lights or lack of them on Wickber street tended towards dark corners and the wind scratching around the buildings made the shadows shudder unnaturally. Something in the darkness about the front door shifted and the most perceptive of ears might have heard a soft rasp, as of skillfully employed lock picks.

As the shadows slithered around the street, the door eased open and closed again without a sound.

Inside the shop, hooded, slitted eyes carefully tested the depths of every shadow, and a lean frame gradually detached itself from the pool of gloom beside the front door. The shop was cold, almost dank smelling, as if the furnace had been out for some time. Sinuously ascending the stairs, the shadowy figure left the empty main floor behind.

A passing lorry trundled in the street below as the figure advanced up the hallway. The light moving in broken rays before disappearing, lit something red for the briefest moment before the hallway fell back into shadow.

The bedroom door is ajar and the figure pauses on the threshold, tense, and alert, an old fashioned car hand crank held at its side. Easing into the cold, dark room, it insinuates itself next to the bed, just as a form rolls under piles of eiderdown and lets out a tremendous sneeze that degenerates into a wet, chest-rattling cough.

“Angel! What the bloody heaven are you playing at?!” Crowley snarls irritably.

“SMMNGGFFF!” the eiderdown mass manages to levitate a couple of feet across the bed away from Crowley while the flailing form emerges from a whirlwind of flying pillows and used handkerchiefs.

Crowley snaps and a bedside lamp lights to reveal an Aziraphale strangely changed. His nose swollen and dripping, eyes glassy, face sickly pale, hair flattened on one side of his head. Another coughing fit shakes him as Crowley stares at him in disbelief.

“Good lord, Crowley! What are you doing here?” croaks Aziraphale. Pointing the hand crank at Aziraphale, Crowley accuses, “You haven’t moved in 10 days! And tonight you missed the opening of Hamlet. You never miss the opening of any production of Hamlet when you’re in Town, ever.” “I’m sick. I’ll come out when I’m better. Go away,” and blowing his nose on a slightly stiff handkerchief, the angel rolls over and pulls the eiderdown over his head again.

“Sick? How can you be sick! We don’t get sick!” Crowley stares at the mass of coverlets the angel has retreated under.

“Miracled it,” a muffled reply emerges from under a pillow with another sneeze. “You what?” Crowley is standing over the bed looking down in stunned disbelief. “I miracled a cold because I felt so bad for all the humans that have been sick this year. It seemed like the sporting thing to do at the time…” he breaks off as another coughing fit catches him. “Lockdown clearly addled your brain, Angel! It’s not like you ever miracled up the Black Death when that was going around! Why don’t you miracle this away already?” “That wouldn’t be… chivalrous,” came the congested reply. “What do the vows of knighthood, which we both took, let me remind you, have to do with this?” “Must see the quest through…” Aziraphale mumbles, “Anyways, can’t…” Crowley is testing the miracle the angel put on himself and frowning. “Why the Heaven would you block yourself from miracling this illness away? Let me take it off,” A hand shot out from under the covers and pulled Crowley down to Aziraphale’s eye level, “I swore..” Frowning at the hot hand on his wrist, Crowley touches Aziraphale’s sweating forehead. “You gave yourself a fever, too!” he says in disbelief. “Go away! I’ll see you when I’m better.” and the angel slides back under the covers.

Standing in the cold bedroom with an exasperated look on his face, Crowley shakes his head in disbelief. Only this angel would think of something so ridiculous. He starts to miracle the sickness away and pauses, demonic lightnings crackling across his shoulders, thinking, “What the Heaven… “ and stalks out the door.

*** The next day dawns. The shop has a new sign on the front door, “Closed for illness.” The furnace has been restarted and the kettle is singing on the hob. Aziraphale’s bedroom is empty of used hankies, as Crowley enters with a pot of tea and a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup on a tray. “Come on, Angel, you’ve got to keep your strength up on your ‘quest’,” the demon remarks sarcastically. “You stayed,” a hoarse voice emerges from under the blankets followed by the angel sitting up. Roughly plumping a pillow behind the angel, Crowley grumbles, “Yes, I stayed, you idiot. Couldn’t let you discorporate yourself in solidarity,” his brusque tone belied by the gentleness he uses to lay the tray across the invalid’s lap. “Thank you,” Aziraphale lays a hand on Crowley’s wrist, looking warmly up at the demon, as he is wont to do. “That was very n-” “NNgh, not nice, we’ve talked about that word!” Crowley grumps. “Novel,” with a bit of a mischievous twinkle, “That illness was very novel, not nice at all.” replies Aziraphale, taking a spoonful of the soup. “Oh, divine.”

And Crowley threw up his hands and stomped out of the room scowling while Aziraphale chuckled and ate his excellent soup.

#good omens fanfic #nanomutt prompt challenge #short one shot #fluff and humor #protective crowley #neil gaiman #ineffable husbands #aziraphale and crowley #crowley good omens #aziraphale #cannon typical #cross posted on ao3

[dollycas]

#FlashbackFriday featuring Murder on Cape Cod (A Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery) by Maddie Day #Review / #Giveaway @maddiedayauthor @KensingtonBooks

On Flashback Fridays I will share with you the books I was not able to review when they were first released that have been screaming at me from my To-Be-Read bookshelf. I can't believe this is the last #FlashbackFriday of 2023.

Murder on Cape Cod (A Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery) Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting - Massachusetts Kensington (December 31, 2019) Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496722884 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496722881 Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07R5KCG9V

Summer is busy season for Mackenzie “Mac” Almeida’s bicycle shop, nestled in the quaint, seaside hamlet of Westham, Massachusetts. She’s expecting an influx of tourists at Mac’s Bikes; instead, she discovers the body of Jake Lacey. Mac can’t imagine anyone stabbing the down-on-his-luck handyman. However, the authorities seem to think Mac is a strong suspect after she was spotted arguing with Jake just hours before his death. Mac knows she didn’t do it, but she does recognize the weapon—her brother Derrick’s fishing knife. Mac’s only experience with murder investigations is limited to the cozy mysteries she reads with her local book group, the Cozy Capers. So to clear her name—and maybe her brother’s too—Mac will have to summon help from her Cozy Capers co-investigators and a library’s worth of detectives’ tips and tricks. For a small town, Westham is teeming with possible killers, and this is one mystery where Mac is hoping for anything but a surprise ending… Dollycas's Thoughts In this first Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery, we meet Mackenzie “Mac” Almeida, owner of Mac's Bikes in Westham, Massachusetts. Coming home from a meeting of her Cozy Capers Book Group in the heavy miss she trips over something . . . a body . . . handyman Jake Lacey. She couldn't see any wounds or blood, but when the police arrive she sees the knife stuck in his neck. A knife that looks very familiar. As soon as the Cozy Capers get word about Jake Lacey's murder they decide they can solve it just like the characters in all the books they read. With Mac on the list of suspects along with her brother who is not answering texts or calls she and the Cozy Caper start their investigation. She just hopes they solve it quickly and there is a lot less drama than in the books they read. I have wanted to start this series for a long time and am so happy to have finally done so. Mac runs a bike shop and lives in a tiny house with her African Gray parrot, Belle. Her half-brother, Derrick lives in a lighthouse and works for her. He has a 4-year-old daughter named Cokey. Their dad is a minister and very easygoing. His wife is not the typical pastor's wife, she has her own business as an astrologer. They both help out with Cokey whenever necessary. Gin Malloy is Mac's bestie. She owns Salty Taffy's candy store. They meet up every morning to take a walk and usually listen to the latest book choice for their cozy mystery group, but now all they talk about is the murder. Mac's boyfriend Tim, a retired professor, now owns Greta Grains bakery. Victoria Laitinen is the newly promoted Chief of Police. She and Mac were high school classmates but were not friends. We also meet the rest of the Cozy Capers Book Group, other residents of Westham, and visitors to the town throughout the story. Ms. Day did an excellent job introducing all the characters and they are all unique. Many quickly worked their way into my heart. The mystery of Jake's death was complex. A lot of people either pass by or come into Mac's Bikes and she was suspicious of many of them. I really enjoyed the way the Cozy Capers pulled their investigative tips, ideas, and techniques from the many cozy mysteries they have read. The author through in plenty of twists and turns and sets up a great showdown. I loved it and was quietly cheering as it ended. Entangled with, through, and around the main mystery were some emotional, interesting, and entertaining subplots. Some were wrapped up but others will continue into at least the next book and maybe beyond. The setting of Westham, Massachusetts, a seaside town where tourists flock is a wonderful setting for a cozy mystery series. The author's descriptive writing style certainly brought the community to life. Murder on Cape Cod is a marvelous debut for this series. With a terrific theme, genuine characters, a delightful setting, and a fabulous mystery it was A Perfect Escape. I can't wait to escape into Book 2, Murder at the Taffy Shop!

Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent

Maddie Day is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She lives with her beau and an energetic kitten north of Boston As Edith Maxwell, she writes the CeCe Barton Mysteries, the Country Store Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries (Kensington Publishing) and the Quaker Midwife Mysteries (Midnight Ink), and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. You can find all Maddie’s/Edith’s identities at www.edithmaxwell.com. She blogs every weekday with the other Wicked Cozy Authors at wickedcozyauthors.com. Look for her as Edith M. Maxwell and Maddie Day on Facebook and @edithmaxwell and @maddiedayauthor on Twitter.

Book 6 - Murder at the Rusty Anchor will be released June 25, 2024 Also written by Maddie Day

Read the full article

#bookclub #cozymystery #Kensington #MaddieDay #Massachusetts

[litcest]

Pericles, by William Shakespeare

Pericles, Prince of Tyre, better known as just Pericles, is a play by Willian Shakespeare (and possibly co-authored by George Wilkins) which was first printed in 1609. Wilkins published in 1608 The Painful Adventures of Pericles Prince of Tyre which is the prose version of the story, but goes a little different in some aspects. 

The play was based on the (fictional) story of Apollonius of Tyre. The original source of this story is lost, but it’s believed to have been originally Greek, originating from the third century. The most popular Latin version is the one written by Godfrey of Viterbo in his book Pantheon in 1185. It was translated to English as early as the 11th century, but the most diffused version was the one by John Gower in his Confessio Amantis of 1390. The story was a widely popular during the Middle Ages all around Europe, being translated and adapted into many languages. Therefore, it isn’t such a surprise that Shakespeare decided to turn this tale into a play.

In all versions of the story, be it Shakespeare’s Pericles or any of the many retelling of Apollonius, the plot is kickstarted when the hero of the story is given a riddle by King Antiochus of Antioch in order to win Antiochus’ daughter’s hand in marriage. If the hero can’t answer the riddle correctly, he is to be killed. However, the situation is a tricky one: if the hero tells the answer to the riddle, he will also be killed, since the riddle if about Antiochus incestuous relationship with his daughter and Antiochus doesn’t want anyone knowing. I repeat, the incest isn’t the main point of the story, but since the play came up like I was looking for scholar’s opinions on the incest in Hamlet, I decided to make a review for the incestuous part of Pericles.

I’m taking the text from Internet Shakespeare Editions, which disponibilizes both the original version of the play, as well as a modern spelling of it (I’ll be quoting only the modern spelling, for easier understanding). As a supplementary material, the site also has Wilkins’ The Painful Adventures of Pericles Prince of Tyre, The Pattern of Painful Adventures by Laurence Twine (1576) and Gower’s Confessio Amantis (circa 1390).

Pericles, Prince of Tyre

Shakespeare's play begins with a chorus, as is traditional of Greek plays, that explains the background of the characters. The chorus introduces King Antiochus, the greatest King in all of Syria, who ruled over a beautiful city. His wife had died, leaving him with only a daughter, who is described as “so buxom, blithe, and full of face, as heaven had lent her all his grace”. When the daughter came of age to be married, Antiochus seduced her. The chorus says that Antiochus ‘provoked her to incest’, which I’m interpreting as he courted her and she corresponded his feelings. I’m highlighting this because in some versions of the story it’s said that the King raped his daughter, but it doesn’t seems to be case in Shakespeare’s Pericles.

Chorus: “With whom the father liking took, And her to incest did provoke. Bad child; worse father! to entice his own To evil should be done by none.”

Since the Princess was beautiful, many foreign princes wanted to marry her and, to not arise suspicion of the incestuous relationship the Princess shared with her father, Antiochus decided to allow her to marry. With one condition: she would only marry the one who managed to solve the riddle he proposed. Those who couldn’t give the right answer to the riddle would be killed.

Pericles arrives to take the challenge and Antiochus introduces him to his daughter.

Antiochus: “Nature this dowry gave, to glad her presence, The senate house of planets all did sit, To knit in her their best perfections.”

Antiochus presents Pericles with the riddle, and the Princess wishes him luck (which are her only lines in the whole play). The riddle goes as this:

“I am no viper, yet I feed On mother’s flesh which did me breed. I sought a husband, in which labour I found that kindness in a father: He’s father, son, and husband mild; I mother, wife, and yet his child. How they may be, and yet in two, As you will live resolve it you.”

Pericles quickly understands that the riddle is regarding the King and Princess incestuous relationship and is shocked by it. He loses his interested in marrying the Princess after discovering she has committed the sin of incest. Antiochus presses Pericles to give an answer, but he doesn’t want to, because he thinks that revealing the incestuous relationship might enrage Antiochus and result in the King killing him anyway. As such, Pericles lets Antiochus know that he figured it out without actually making the accusation of incest. Antiochus decides to give Pericles forty days to think about it.

Alone, Antiochus plans to kill Pericles to keep the secret and sends an assassin after him. Meanwhile, Pericles has fled back to Tyre, from where he goes to other places and runs into adventures, all in his attempt of avoid Antiochus’ rage. And this is the last the see of Antiochus and his daughter for the rest of the play. In Act III, they are mentioned to have died and in the epilogue of Act V, their deaths are said to be the punishment for their actions:

Chorus: “ In Antiochus and his daughter you have heard Of monstrous lust the due and just reward.”

Painful Adventures of Pericles Prince of Tyre

Like I mentioned in the introduction, Shakespeare’s possible collaborator in the play, George Wilkins, published his own prose version of the tale of Pericles. I wasn’t initially planning on reading this, but changed my mind when I discovered that, in Wilkins’ text, Antiochus is explicitly said to have abused his daughter.  The Princess kept silence, unable to tell anyone what happened in shame.

“Antiochus the Great, who was the first founder of Antioch, the most famous city in all Syria, having one only daughter in the prime and glory of her youth, fell in most unnatural love with her. And what by the power of his persuasions and fear of his tyranny, he so prevailed with her yielding heart that he became master of his desires.”

I did a double take when I read this. Had I been wrong in interpreting Shakespeare’s text? Had I read it with rose-tinted glasses, trying so hard to have a consensual father/daughter relationship that I had ignored the signs of abuse? Well, no. Or, if I did, I’m not alone, as Bicks (2021) agrees with me:

“[...] yet none of the play’s quartos, from the 1609 Q1 forward, includes even a hint of Wilkins’s excruciating account of the rape. Rather, they dismiss the daughter from the start as a girl who is complicit in her father’s incestuous lust.”

(Bicks then goes on to say this is an erasure of the Princess story and blah blah blah, but I don’t care for that. I care that Shakespeare’s version has the Antiochus relationship with his daughter as being consensual).

Later, Antiochus and his daughter are revealed to have been killed by lightening (the means of death are not described in the play), which one can suppose was the divine punishment inflicted by Jove (a.k.a. Jupiter or Zeus).

The Pattern of Painful Adventures

This version was written by Laurence Twine in 1576, and is mostly a English translation of Gower’s version in Confessio Amantis. It seems to be the version from which Wilkins drew inspiration, for the text closely resembles his. In this version, Antiochus also rapes his daughter.

“Wherefore not long after on a certain day he came into his daughter's chamber, and, bidding all that were there for to depart as though he had had some secret matter to confer with her, the furious rage of lust pricking him forward thereunto, he violently forced her -- though, seely maiden, she withstood him long to her power -- and threw away all regard of his own honesty and unloosed the knot of her virginity.”

The riddle Apollonius has to solve is different, with the version from Pericles likely having been altered by Shakespeare. 

“I am carried with mischief; I eat my mother's flesh; I seek my brother, my mother's husband, and I cannot find him.”

In this version, the King and Princess are also killed by lightning: “King Antiochus and his daughter are struck dead with lightning from heaven.”

Apollonius of Tyre, Book VIII of Confessio Amantis

Confessio Amantis is a extremely long poem written between 1386 and 1390 by John Gower. The poem is a frame narrative, with an old man telling the many stories to a priest of Venus. None of the stories featured in it are original works of Gower, with the majority of them coming from Ovid.

Apollonius of Tyre shows up in Book VIII, which concerns itself with the sin of lechery (lust), and more specifically, with incestuous lust (oh, trust me, I’ll be checking out the other stories from this book). 

This story also goes with the rape version, with the introduction saying (in Latin, because people on the 1390′s were pretentious like that and everything had to have an introduction in badly written Latin):

“Here he speaks against incestuous coitus of lovers, and narrate the marvelous example of the Great King Antiochus, who after his wife died, violated his own daughter [...]”

Conclusion

After looking at many versions of the Pericles/Apollonius story, it becomes clear that what was originally a sexual assault was re-worked by Shakespeare into being a consensual relationship. Was it to make the characters more palatable to the audience? Doubtful. Antiochus is the antagonist of the play, having him rape his daughter would fit with his villainous status. Regardless on whether the Princess is being raped by her father or is in love with him, the other characters (and the audience of the time) would find them despicable. Besides, other Shakespearean plays include rape, so it’s clear that the author doesn’t shy away from the topic. Was it, like Bicks suggested, an erasure of the Princess voice? I also don’t think so. 

I prefer to think that Shakespeare read Apollonius and thought that there didn’t need to any rape in that relationship, that the father and daughter could very well be engaging in a consensual relationship and ran with the idea. The effect is the same, in at least Shakespeare doesn’t victimizes the Princess by having her be violently raped and told in details like the others authors had previously done.

References: 

Bicks, C. (2021). “If I should tell / My history”: Memory, Trauma, and Testimony in Pericles and Hamlet. In Cognition and Girlhood in Shakespeare's World: Rethinking Female Adolescence (pp. 127-159). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

#Father x Daughter #parent x child #antiochus and daughter #pericles #william shakespeare #canon #book review #filicest #greek mythology #confessio amantis #john gower

[hamletandthegang]

#hamlet modern au #hamlet #shakespeare #hamlet & co. texts #hamletandthegang #texts #horatio #ophelia #hatg1

[crowleyaj]

tfw you’re (re)reading hamlet as an assignment for lit class and get bored of it halfway through so you go and end up looking up hamlet fanfiction on ao3 instead

#misc #shakespeare #text #sofi.txt #curiosity got the best of me lol #cos here's something i never thought i'd see #but here we are #and yes i got there by the time i started wondering whether people shipped hamlet and horatio #because i did #never mind #give me all the group chat aus

[palimpsessed]

Fan Fiction Year in Review 2021

I did one of these last year and thought it was interesting to look back over what I had written and think about what I may write going forward. This retrospective list of questions is from @captain-aralias.

If you're a writer, I'd also encourage you to do this. Tag me so I can see your thoughts 🥰

List of Complete Fics for 2021

1. Lotus-Eaters and Sirens - G, 557 words

2. It's a Kind of Magic - M, 15,806

3. The Thrill of the Hunt - M, 11,230

4. Chamber by Chamber - E, 19,043

5. The Hex Files comic - G, 183 (It has a storyline and words that I wrote so I am counting it)

List of In Progress Fics Started in 2021

(because I have a LOT of words 😤)

1. Sleeping with the Fishes (co-written with @the-greater-grief) - M, 7,786 by end of 2021

2. Slings and Eros - M, 52,882 by end of 2021 (This fic alone makes up half my total year’s word count!)

I also wrote a bunch of non-fic things, mostly about AWTWB, that I hadn't expected because I wasn't used to getting asks like I did last year. I'm going to include them, too, because time spent writing is time spent writing.

1. Baggage - regarding Simon's literal and figurative baggage in WS, 480

2. AWTWB and Chosen Ones - thoughts about Simon's arc, Smith Smith-Richards, the Mage, and Chosen Ones, 686

3. The Watford Goats and the World of Mages - working out my ideas about the the goats in AWTWB and Agatha's journey, 314

4. The rest are all tumblr asks linked on my blog at the bottom of my Masterlist 19,147

Total:

4 complete fics, 1 comic, 2 in progress fics, 3 meta, 9 asks

word count: 128,114

word count for fics: 107,487

Thoughts: In my review post last year, I noted that all of the fics (4) I had completed were for events, and I predicted it would be the same for 2021. In fact, it was not! I figured out pretty quickly that I have a problem with over committing when it comes to fandom events and forced myself to scale back. I did participate in some events, but most of the content I made for those was art.

Best/Worst Title?

Best: Slings and Eros

I love this title, even though I have this fear that it won't make sense without my long explanation. Which I'm giving. I just feel like this title does so much. I even made a whole other post about it once. It's a play on words from a Hamlet soliloquy, which feels meta in itself since Shakespeare has to have quite a hold over the World of Mages (even though this isn't a magickal fic). Beyond the source, though, is the context, which is Hamlet trying to decide if he should end his own life and framing that life as enduring a series of trials ("the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune"). I liked this quote particularly for my fic, because it's a Greek Mythology AU, and Greek myths frequently feature stories of a hero enduring a series of labors in order to achieve some overarching goal. This is true for the myth that directly inspired this fic, Eros (or Cupid) and Psyche, and also true for my fic. It's also a big feature of the classic Hero's Journey, which of course, ties back perfectly to the idea of the Chosen One. I also liked the fact that I was removing the word "arrows" from the quote, just as I removed Eros/Cupid's arrows from the story and replaced them with a sword, which felt far more appropriate for Simon. And instead, I could use "Eros" which very conveniently sounds almost exactly like "arrows" and also hints to the source material, Simon's characterization, and one of the major themes of the fic.

I also really like Lotus-Eaters and Sirens and Chamber by Chamber.

Worst: Sleeping with the Fishes

I stand by this title, and I think it makes sense once you've read past the first 1 or 2 chapters, but without any context, it probably sounds like a Mafia AU, when it's actually a tennis and texting AU. I like it, but I feel like it was probably not a great choice in the grand scheme of things. I just saw an opportunity for puns and went for it.

Best/Worst Summary?

Best: Chamber by Chamber

"I'd give him all that I am.

I'd give him all that I was.

I'd open up a vein.

…

I'd tie our hearts together, chamber by chamber.

Simon and Baz have been through a lot. They've also been hard at work on communicating their needs and feelings. Here's some (therapeutic) smut."

This maybe is unexpected because it's a book quote followed by "here's some smut" and there's no actual plot to summarize. But the "chamber by chamber" quote is what inspired the series that culminates in this PWP one shot, and it's smut, so...it really does tell you all you need to know.

Worst: Lotus-Eaters and Sirens

"Simon has some thoughts about sirens while watching Baz drive away from their eventful trip to the Omaha Renaissance Faire.

(This is when Simon is being cute and happy on battle adrenaline and car snogging, and reality is trying to creep back in.)"

I just reread this summary for the first time since I posted it probably and it's so clunky. I don't even know why I have the second part there. I am contemplating how much it would matter this late in the game if I rewrote it, or at least deleted the second part.

Best/Worst First Line?

Best: Chamber by Chamber "Baz is squirming beneath me. It's good. It's hot. It's perfect." Yup. It sets the scene, it sets the mood, it also helps to set up some dom/sub dynamics they're playing with in this fic, too. Also I wanted it to be reminiscent of the night spent kissing at Pitch manor. (Simon on all fours above Baz.)

Worst: It's a Kind of Magic "I can tell it's happening almost before it does. I've had lots of time to learn. I know the signs better than he does, now." I think this opener is weakest among all of last year's fics because it takes its sweet time to get to the point. I don't think I define the "it" in that first sentence for several (admittedly short) paragraphs, and even then, I think I imply, rather than state, that the "it" is Simon slipping into a depressive spiral.

Best/Worst Last Line?

Best: This one is going to be a tie between Chamber by Chamber (the fic not the series) and Lotus-Eaters. Despite them both being one shots with no plot, I really think both of them pack a wallop in their final lines and I am incredibly proud of them! I'm not going to include the last line of Chamby because, plot or not, it actually is a spoiler. For LEAS, I feel like it's safe, though, so I'll drop that one here. "And then…Well. Then I drown." What really makes this line punch for me is that it's a Simon POV taking a Baz line from canon and reversing it from "burn" to "drown", fitting in perfectly with the siren/water imagery Simon uses for Baz in the fic. (Also, points to me for using water imagery for Baz before AWTWB!) It also goes a little further in that the fic is sort of in conversation with the part of CO where Simon compares Baz to a siren (the kind on police cars) and turns that on its head, by having him revise his comparison to the other kind of siren (the singing, ship-wrecking kind). That part in CO runs parallel to Baz's part comparing Simon to an open fire, which is, of course, where the original quote "and then you burn" comes from.

Honorable mention to the Hex Files comic because I intentionally set up Penny's final line to sound like a spell, in order to make it ambiguous about whether she was actually casting on Shepard in the last panel.

Worst: Looking back, I really like all of my last lines. I felt incredibly good about every one of them when I figured out how I was closing out each of these fics and I don't think any of them need improving. So, for this I will say, the worst lines are the ones that don't exist yet because the fics aren't finished and I am a completist.

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, fewer than you thought, or about what you predicted?

I think I wrote fewer fics than expected (even though I did not place expectations on myself) but more words overall, so I guess I'm about equal. 2020 was obviously a very unpredictable year, so not really a great barometer of actual productivity. I was back working full time in person by the start of 2021, and then the day after Baz's birthday, I had surgery which kept me laid up for the better part of 6 months. Of course, I thought I'd be a lot more productive writing wise during that time, but I didn't really account for how tiring it is to regrow bones so...I spent more of that time on art. Plus, we got AWTWB?! After that, my brain melted and then I was going back to work with a COTTA deadline looming.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

I wouldn't say "never predicted", especially because I was already planning it in 2020, but I wrote my first smut! And it ended up being one of my favorite things I've written so far. It was something I hadn't planned on doing, because smut felt intimidating and way out of my depth. But then I was rereading WS, as you do, and the chamber by chamber scene always sticks with me, especially Simon talking about "all that I am...all that I was..." and how those two ideas of his self-identity and self-worth really weigh on him and his relationship with Baz and what it would look like if he really could give all of that to Baz. And then I spiraled about trauma and liminal spaces and monster parts (my love). And I realized I was going to have to write a smut fic if I was ever going to know peace.

What's your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest?

Torn between two lovers... Chamber by Chamber (if it's not obvious by now given how I haven't shut up about it) and Slings and Eros. Both of these fics were/are incredibly challenging to me as a writer--Chamby for the smut but also what I think was an ambitious agenda about dealing with trauma throughout the three part series--and Slings and Eros for being a plot-heavy (for me) epic complete with epic poetry that is very likely going to break 100k. Both of them have been exercises in patience in their own ways, and labors of love that I have enjoyed even when I haven't.

Okay, NOW your most popular story?

Going by kudos and bookmarks, it's Chamby

(To the Manor Borne is still my most kudosed and A Man of Letters is still my most bookmarked overall)

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

I would have liked to see more love for my Penny/Shep comic but it's not Snowbaz and it's the very first comic I did, so maybe that's to be expected. Actual fic-wise, I'm kind of surprised that The Thrill of the Hunt underperforms its Chamber by Chamber colleagues because this fandom seems rabid for vampirism and that's what it's all about. But maybe people read the first one and get impatient for the smut and skip to the last part? I would like to see more engagement on Slings and Eros because it's my current project and I'm excited about it, but it's a beast and I get that a lot of people don't want to read WIPs, especially longer ones.

Story that could have been better?

I didn't answer this last year, and I'm not going to answer it this year, either. I just don't think it's worthwhile for me to hash over what ifs in my fan fic. If I think something can be better, I keep working on it until it is better. Otherwise, it won't see the light of day.

Sexiest story?

The one with the sex in it. 😉

Saddest story?

I think this is LEAS. There is soft and sweet to balance out the sad, but it's not really ever happy. Simon is riding a high from the Ren Faire as he contemplates how much he is just head over heels for Baz, but the undercurrent to all of that is how much he feels like he isn't good or good enough for Baz. He loves him but he can't give him what he deserves; he wants him but he's going to drag him down. It's a lovely meditation full of devotion, but that devotion is telling Simon that he isn't worthy and that's sad, even if he closes the fic reaffirming how hopelessly in love he is with Baz.

Most fun?

When I first went to answer this, I thought it meant most fun to write, but there’s another question about that further down. So then this means the story that is the most fun. And I have no idea how to answer that 😆. Probably Sleeping with the Fishes. Texting is usually a fairly good time. Anyway. I’m still keeping my original answer since the other question is combined with easiest to write, which is different from my answer here. So starting it felt like pulling teeth, partly because it required a lot of research and reading and outlining, and then I got the completely inadvisable idea to write epic poetry, and then had to slog through several chapters to get Simon and Baz into the same place...but SAE has been the most entertaining for me, I think, because of the character dynamics. Getting to write the first Penny, Agatha, and Fiona POVs was so freaking fun. Also, the boys are absolute disasters and I love to watch them just completely lose their minds over each other in every scene. And knowing where it's all going is just SO GOOD and I can't wait for the payoff!

Story with the single sweetest moment?

I think it's SAE, but I don't really want to tell what the moment is because I don't want to spoil it? There's a thing at the beginning, about Baz leaving offerings in Simon's shrine. And at one point, when Baz is having a really hard time, Simon does this really adorable and heartfelt thing that echoes the offerings Baz leaves, as a way to try to let Baz know that he isn't alone. And it just...is a very Simon thing to do and I love it. (Chapter 7 for those curious.)

Hardest story to write?

It's a Kind of Magic needed so many rewrites. I had written The Thrill of the Hunt and didn't realize until I went to write Simon's story in the series that his had to go first, and Baz's second. So then I had to sort out how I wanted to write part 1 when I already had part 2, and what parallels I was going for, and what the ultimate goals were in each part, etc. I think I had a much clearer idea in my head for what I was trying to accomplish with the Baz part than I did with the Simon one. I had a sense of what I was trying to get at, but I think I wasn't sure how to get there, or maybe even where "there" was. I started and re-started it so many times and just chipped away at it for a solid two months fruitlessly before I think things finally started to make sense in my head. Then I had story pieces and had to decide how they fit together and what order they went in. Then Baz started to lead me in a new direction I wasn't really prepared to go. Ultimately, it all feels very smooth and satisfying, but it was such a struggle the entire time. I had been most worried about writing Chamby and I sat down, wrote a full outline in one day, and just went point by point until I had 19k. It was wild. All the hard stuff had already happened I guess.

Easiest/most fun story to write?

I kind of already answered this. I think it was Chamby. There were some lines in there that had me howling when I wrote them. (Baz compares the tightening in his bollocks to the event horizon of a black hole.) There’s a line about them not holding back with each other, and I feel like I was doing the same—just letting them go and do their thing. It was also incredibly moving for being unapologetic monsterfucking PWP, but for the most part, I just had such a great time with it.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

I think SAE has gotten me to think the most about the characters, in so far as it is an AU, and I'm spending a lot of time exploring the ways in which canon and the source myth converge and diverge and how that informs the characters and their dynamics. I don't think it's shifted my overall perception of the canon characters, but the ones in my fic, yes.

Most overdue story?

Same answer as last year, so we're moving on...(I get random bursts of creative energy and then they dissipate before I can capitalize) (but I will persist)

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I wrote smut, and I co-wrote a fic, and I started a fic off with poetry in a form I'd never written before, and I made a comic, and I started a super long fic with a fully developed "external" plot. I think what I learned is to take risks.

This year's theme and the story that demonstrates it?

Liminal spaces! I haven't screamed about them for a while, but that was really the driving force behind so much of my writing this past year. Chamber by Chamber is the obvious one, but also SAE, probably just one of many reasons those two are my favs.

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Write what feels good when it feels good. But also venture out of my comfort zone once in a while. Since this is next year already, my immediate goal is just to keep working on my posted WIPs, but also to let myself think about/work on other things, too, because I feel like I need that reminder.

#fan fic year in review #lotus-eaters and sirens #it’s a kind of magic #the thrill of the hunt #chamber by chamber #sleeping with the fishes #the hex files #slings and eros #spicy links

[ben-c-group-therapy]

Benedict Cumberbatch Fluff

You’ll find all of my Ben C Fluff here

“Lost In A Daydream” Benedict finds out you (his assistant) writes about him and your secret feelings. Figuring there is no chance he’d ever have feelings for you, you opted to stay quiet. Will he figure it out?

“Some Guidance” Benedict knows what's best for you while you are stressing over exams. “A Dance” Benedict is in a cheerful mood tonight after work that he decides to have a dance. “The Straw That Broke The Camel’s Back” After a crappy week, this day is the last straw…thank god for Benedict. “Happy Birthday Ocean" A wonderful Birthday from Benedict. “The Cramps” Ben is a lot better at taking care of you than Sherlock is. “Mum, Dad, Meet My Fiancée” Ben gets the chance to introduce you to his parents for the first time. “It’s Okay to Cry" After the lost of your mother Ben tries to comfort you. “A Magical Day with Benedict" Being the wife a celebrity isn’t that bad, especially when you can have a private tour of Disneyland! “The Camping Trip" After a few scary stories around the campfire you have a hard time getting to sleep. “Who Are You?“ A journey from not remembering anything to finally remembering enough. “An Emergency” You are very scared when you are hit with a massive pain. Ben reassures you that you will be okay and he will be right with you. “The News" Some bad news at the doctor has you very upset, Ben comforts you the best way he knows how. "I’m Just Trying to Protect You” Ben is being very protective of you and it gets a bit old. “Maybe…Perhaps…” Ben has a hard time confessing his feelings for a coworker. “Dinner?” A AU Ben fic where he asks his coworker Lucy Lui out on a date. “The Workout” Upset with your weight you start training a bit to much and end up in trouble. “Maybe I Need Help” A follow-up to “The Workout”  You’re struggling with your self image and Ben finds out about your dangerous ways to lose weight. “My Story” After heart surgery your are insecure of your scar and Ben comforts you. “My Love, My Heart” After surgery Benedict remains at your bedside until you wake up. “A Lesson in French" Juliette speaks with a heavy French accent, she doesn’t like it but Benedict loves it. "Sometimes, All You Need Is A Hug" After a stressful few days of work and caring for the family things come to a crashing halt and Benedict is left to pick up the pieces. "Homesick” After moving to London on a whim several months ago you start to become homesick so your wonderful boyfriend Ben arranges a surprise for you. “Lonely Nights" After a romantic weekend in Paris Ben returns home but has to leave again for work. Lonely Nights part 2”A follow-up to Lonely Nights. "The Heavens Opened” This fic adds some back story to a fic Cumberbanon wrote for me. You are caught up in a rain storm without an umbrella, thankfully Benedict is walking your way and notices and offers to share his umbrella and takes you back to his flat for some tea. “Ben! I’m Pregnant!" A journey from conception to birth. "I’m Not Jealous” Ben has work to do at home but instead he attends your office party with you, when you run into an old co-worker Ben gets a little jealous “Every Day, Every Hour…” It is date night again for you and Benedict, he proclaims his love for you over a romantic dinner. “Poor Benedict” Ben is really sick and stuck in bed, it is up to you to make him feel better. “The Sultry Villain” You land a guest star spot on Sherlock along side your boyfriend Benedict. “Is This The End?” Facing a difficult breakup you and Ben get into a heated argument. (this one has a happy ending) “The Surprise” Ben has been away for five weeks now, four weeks to long for you. “A Spring Day” Ben has a surprise for you on this beautiful spring day in London “The Morning After” A fluffy follow-up to the smutty “Lesson Learned?” “The Café in Copenhagen” Ben meets and falls in love with a Danish Girl. A fluff for benedictcumberbatchsdanishwife “The Motorbike” You hate when Benedict rides his motorbike around the busy streets of London. “Does He Remember Me?” Ben falls for one of his Australian fans “A Misunderstanding” Ben is interested in you and you are him but thanks to miss messages things turn sour but all ends well.(smutish…no actual act) “Awkward Fangirl at Oz Comic Con” A revamp of “Does He Remember Me?” “The Starry Night” A little surprise for Ben on your anniversary. “The Quiz Night” After a chat with another man at the bar during a quiz night Ben becomes very jealous. “My New London Life” You enlist your old friend Benedict’s help in finding a flat in London. “The Cabin” A strong snowstorm catches a hiker off guard, lucky for them you’re spending a few weeks in a small remote cabin in the mountains. “You Are the Worst Patient!” A fluffy about you taking care of Benedict as his friend, nothing more. Yet. “The Restless Night” You have a hard time getting to sleep, thankfully Ben can help with that. “Old Flames” Running into Ben at a party lights old flames inside of you. “The Nurse and Her Patient” Ben’s in the hospital and under your care as his nurse. Who know what will happen. “A Magical London Day” Ben leads you around London on a scavenger hunt with a little help from his family and friends. “The Audition” You are a great actor, but when you come face to face with Benedict at an audition you flub up! “You Make Me Feel Safe” Just some awesome fluffy Benedict that holds you and makes you feel happy after a long day. “Ben, the Worry Wart” You’ve gotten one of the lead rolls in an upcoming movie with Benedict, while you are off for a month you head back to New York to continue your studies but Ben is persistent on keeping fans from bothering you. “Secret Places” You’ve started a flame between you and Ben on a recent trip to London, now that you’re home a flirty text-a-thon ensues. “Benedict The Hulk” Ben had a rough day and when he gets home an argument gets a little heated. “Ladies?” You and Ben’s ex have a run in at a celebrity event. “The Farmers Market” Your niece gets lost at the farmers market, thankfully a nice British gentleman finds her and reunites you both. “Mummy Doesn’t Always Know Best” Ben’s mother isn’t so keen on you at first, how will things turn out. “Get Motivated” You are having a particular rough day, Ben helps motivate you to accomplish your goals. “Let it Be” A cute fluff about Ben asking your parents for your hand in marriage “I Promise” You wake up in a hospital bed with Benedict Cumberbatch sitting beside you and holding your hand, but why?!? “Fight or Flee” You and Ben have been great friends but what has he been hiding and how will it come out? “Stop Ignoring Me” Working very hard on the set of Sherlock keeps you busy and unable to chat with Ben, he keeps after you but you keep working. Turns into a little game of hard to get. “The Surry Farm” A farm out in Surry shared with Ben. “Sorry That Was Corny” A handsome man approaches you at a local pub and begins to flirt “A Needed Break” Ben has be really working hard lately so while in NY you treat him to a nice getaway. “Dopy Benedict” Ben goes under the knife and the medicines make him a little goofy when he wakes up. “The Competition” Two hot actors vying for your attention? Sounds perfect! “The Wedding Song” While celebrating Benedict’s parents anniversary Ben takes you for a spin to his parents wedding song. “The Tree” Ben is leaving for a very long time. “Grocery Shopping” A sweet little fic. Ben and you go food shopping together and fun ensues “Breakdown” A really stressful week leads to a huge meltdown in front of Benedict “Time For A Baby?” As you babysit your nieces you and Ben have such a wonderful time that you two begin to think it may be time for your own child. “It’s All Very Funny” You are cooking dinner for Ben’s parents as they are coming over to meet you for the first time. You head upstairs to take a shower while Ben waits for them…embarrassing moments ensue. “They Aren’t True Fans” After coming out publicly  as a couple, you get egged on your way home from work. “The Misquote” Ben slips some things during an interview that could lead the public to believe your marriage is on the rocks. “The Puppy” After rescuing a box of two puppies you try to help them and then convince Ben to keep them. “To Church” Ben and you head off to church. “The Return of Napkinbatch” Ben loves making you laugh. “The Press” Ben does a little press conference about Hamlet but somehow it gets turned into a meeting about your relationship together. “The Letter” You come across a letter from Ben to his pen pal Greg and you try to sneak a peek. “Parent Teacher Meets” Its the night of the first parent teacher meets and one of your students has a very special guest along. “The Undercover Star” Benedict is on a hidden camera reality show and you happen to be his target. “The Lights Went Out.” You’re afraid of storms and to make matters worse when a particularly strong one comes up and knocks the power out, you’re also afraid of the dark. “Love Knows No Age” Age is not a matter for two people truly in love. “Benedict and the Stars” Ben is a romantic, with you having a PhD in Astronomy Ben has the stars to woo you. “A Babybatch in the Oven” It’s time to share the big news with Ben’s parents! “The First Kiss” Wonderful evening leads to a wonderful goodbye. “We’re Going to be Alright” Going through some difficult depression episodes I was sent this prompt and I decided to use it as a therapy for myself. “The Unexpected Miracle” You and Ben learn that due to some health problems you aren’t able to conceive. “My Heart Is On Fire For You” Ben finds a sweet way to propose to you. “Face to Face” This is for my dear friend “Sister” Emily. Ben sets up a meeting for her and I to finally meet in person! “We Miss You” Ben is stuck in L.A. filming for months, he misses you and your little girl so much and you miss him also so in a last minute decision you take Jenna and pack up to head for L.A. for a impromptu visit. “Benedict’s Bad Day” Ben has a rough day at work, it’s up to you to make him feel better. “The Corinthia Ball” A charity ball is occurring at the Corinthia Hotel in the heart of London tonight and Ben has something special planned for later. “The Nomination” - A little way to celebrate Benedict’s and the Sherlock team’s Emmy nominations. “Benedict Cumberbatch in ‘The Emmy Winner’” Ben and you watch the Emmy’s from home and celebrate when he’s announced the winner. “The Gala and Napkinbatch” You and Ben have fun in New York “Missing You” Ben is finally arriving home after a trip to Toronto. “Sunday Mornings" No one likes to wake up on a Sunday morning but this one isn’t so bad for Ben and you. "Always Beautiful to Me” Having a fat day, Ben cheers you up. “A Fire Inside” Letting off a little steam in a bar you meet a dashing man. “Hands” “Shh Sleep” “Celebrate Tonight” “The Return of Napkinbatch” “I Have To Tell You Something” “Sunday Mornings” “Something Better” After hearing your celebrity crush (Chris Evans) had been spotted with a girl in L.A. you had an unexpected meeting Ben for the first time.

Fluff/Smut

“One More Chance" Makeup sex is the best… "Ben! I’m Pregnant!" A journey from conception to birth. "My Plans” Celebrating a wonderful anniversary with Benedict over dinner but dinner isn’t the only plans he has for you. “The Interview” Ben says some really lovely things at an interview and when he gets home and you ask him about it, a simple kiss gets heated. “The Rose” You attend the Hay Festival with Benedict and try to wake him up after a very tiring day. 

#benedict cumberbatch #benedict cumberbatch fluff #fluff #fluffy #soft #ben c fanfic #benedict cumberbatch fanfic #fanfiction #benedict cumberbatch fanfiction #fanfic writer