Slytherin Culture Is Constantly Being On The Verge Of Either Snapping A Pencil In Half Because You Can’t

part of me wants to become a pianist, elegant and poised wearing long light pink skirts on a daily basis, and kitten heels, and can perfect my craft for hours on end. part of me wants to become an author who can spin stories from lost things, and snuggle up with my notebooks and tea and sweaters and just dream of worlds that i wasnt meant to live in but i could share.  part of me wants to become a rebel and wear black leather jackets while reading angsty poetry, chop my hair short and fight for what matters to me, the kind of person who doesn’t care what others think of them as long as a point has been made.  So.  I don’t know what I want to do.  But whatever I do, I can assure you that I will not be boring.

things I’ve said to my students

I teach little kids piano and these are some of the things I tell them and they seem to think I’m funny

“woah there buddy”

“be expressive, not aggressive”

“play staccato like you would play hot potato”

“yikes”

student: “why does posture matter?” me: “look at my hands when I’m playing with flat fingers. doesn’t that look weird? it looks kind of disturbing. don’t have flat fingers.” student: "you’re right”

“no no no don’t do that you’ll break your hand”

me: “what chord is this?” student: “g major. but can we name it carlos?” me: “…I don’t see why not”

“the man on my screensaver is dmitri shostakovich and you will learn to love his music, too”

“yeah this guy wrote angry music”

“we’re going to play this excruciatingly slowly. suffering is how we make progress”

me: “so a harp is basically just a naked piano.” my student: “so, you could say that inside a piano are the piano’s…organs.”

*miscellaneous sound effects and screeches*

*badly singing along as they play*

“composers were crazy. don’t ever let anyone tell you that mozart was sophisticated because he told some very bad jokes.”

me: “what interval is that?” student: “EL DIABLO”

“it’s going to sound bad, but that means you’re playing it right”

“please don’t play the piano with your elbows. you can try that at home”

“so the music says that it should be an f sharp but you played it as an f natural and I kind of liked that so we’re keeping it”

”if you can play this well I’ll accompany you with my plastic saxophone”

Story from my other account

The fae run free

A shiver ran along the ground, leaves shaking themselves free from the trees.  Something was awakening.  Villagers clutched their cloaks closer about them as a rumbling shook the forest.  

It was the one night that the fae could be free, peculiar beings they were.  An ancient spell from a mage long ago had imprisoned them, locked them far away from the world and one another.  But this one precious day a year they were set free to dwell, to feel real, once again.

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slytherin x dark academia

really ambitious, like actually ambitious. love/hate relationship with studying. not showing emotions. reading a lot. also procrastinating a lot. collects stuff. very picky about fashion. activist. loves harry styles. favourite colour is definitely dark green. tons of flowers and succulents all over their room. painted nails. has a strong opinion. prefers school over home. wants a typewriter for the dramatic effect. dark clothes are superior. little, dark cafes and libraries. writes with black pens only. notebook collector.

It was a hit and run type thing, her apartment had been broken into.  But, as criminals go, once you become one the police don’t particularly like to help.  Alara gave a broken, raspy cough.  Panicking would do her no good now.  She wasn’t afraid of death, almost welcoming it.  But she didn’t want to leave him alone to clean up her mess.

“What kinda problem exactly?”  He sat up, swinging his legs off of the bed and rubbing the bridge of his nose.  Normally he wouldn’t be quite so concerned about why she was calling at whatever godforsaken hour this was, but this time... this time something was different.

Her breathing grew shallower, and she bit her lip trying to hold back a whine of pain before completely breaking down in sobs, curling around herself.  She pulled her hand away from her stomach and watched the drops of blood fall off of her fingers onto the floor.

“Alara?”  His voice was sharp, all of the warning lights going off at once.  “Alara what’s going on?”  He flicked the light on, wincing at the brightness as he began the search for his jacket. 

“Something happened...”

“I know that already.”  He growled.  “So help me tell me what’s wrong.”

“Someone broke into my apartment.”

He stopped dead in his tracks for one split second, before shaking himself out of it.  She lived only a mile or two away, it would be alright.  

“Are you hurt?”  He asked carefully.

She hesitated in her answer.

“Y-you’re... Evan you’re not going to make it in time.”  Her voice was soft, soothing.  As if it would help.  

Writing Prompt #124

A sat crying, finger hovering shakily over the call button. B would be asleep, and they didn’t want to wake them- they were a bad enough morning person as it was. But they needed help, and desperately. They didn’t think they had much time left.

The phone rang for a while, the tone echoing throughout the stone walls of the room they were in, before B’s croaky voice answered.

“What sorta time do you call this?”

“Hey, B…” A said, their voice small, “I’m sorry to wake you up… I wouldn’t call if it wasn’t important…”

“It’s… it’s okay,” B replied groggily, “what’s up?”

“I have a slight problem…” said A, “I’m uh… in a little bit of trouble-”

“Oh…? That doesn’t sound good.”

“No…” A sobbed, looking down at the blood beginning to seep through their shirt. “It’s really not.”

Does anyone ever become so anxious and overstimulated that they go into that weird dissociative state where textures are GROSS *flips to image of me balancing in a boat position on my sisters bed with the fitted sheet carefully balanced underneath me where I can’t feel it* furry pillow?  NO carpet? NO touching your face or skin or anything of that nature in generaL NO

Also where everything has the wrongness.  Just.  Something is wrong.  Now.  Gotta fix it.  Is there a filter on my eyes?  What? 

I just dunno you guys but is this a thing for anyone else but me?

Adventures do occur, but not punctually.

A Passage to India

This is a long post. Buckle up.

Recently I've been thinking a lot about how the dark academia aesthetic, whilst rich in aspects such as literature, music, and material beauty, is lacking in things such as activities.

So I've compiled a list of activities that I would personally deem as befitting the dark academia aesthetic (please do add to this list, as it's far from complete).

Sports:

Rowing (it's in literally every dark academic approved movie.)

Fencing

Tennis

Cricket

Croquet

Rugby (contrary to popular belief, women, men, and everyone in between can play this sport. It's not just for the boys.)

Polo

Equestrian sports

+ Figure/ice skating

+ Running (sprinting is handy for catching your lover when they fling themselves from a tower or something, and long distance is great for running alongside carriages that you want to rob.)

+ Boxing

+ Javelin, discus, wrestling covered in oil, think ancient Grecian Olympics.

+ Archery (how could I have forgotten.)

+ Ballet, ballroom dancing, traditional dances

+ Climbing

+ Snooker/Pool (either professionally or just for fun.)

Or, if you prefer the Oscar Wilde approach, no sports at all. That's cool too.

Games:

Chess (of course)

Backgammon

Cards (rummy, poker, blackjack, speed, whist, any game really, maybe with the exception of snap.)

Cluedo (I think it's 'Clue' in America. Don't argue with me, it counts as dark academia. It's got murder in it.)

+ Scrabble

Crafts:

Knitting (I knit socks, scarves, and am attempting a jumper. I find that it's far easier to knit your own jumper, scarf, socks, or whatever than hunting for one suitably 'aesthetically pleasing'.)

Embroidery (monogrammed handkerchiefs and shirts are so in.)

Weaving (sweet mother, I cannot-)

Making lace

Gardening

Cooking (not sure if this counts as a craft, but I'll throw it in just in case.)

Sewing (making clothes for yourself through sewing is a great way to make sure that your clothes fit perfectly, and are styled the way you want them to be. With practise, it becomes easier, and is definitely a useful skill to have.)

+ Calligraphy

+ Painting, of course. (release your inner Basil.

Outings:

Museums

Art galleries

Places of historical interests (in the UK, this might be more easily accessible with things like the National Trust. If you visit often, it might be useful to invest in a membership card with English Heritage (England), Cadw (Wales), or a National Trust card. I have a Cadw card, and I've found that it's accepted all over the UK, in the same way an entrance card specific to whichever country you're in would be too. I hope that makes sense.)

Public executions

Pubs

+ Go to a Café and sketch the people around you (I hear that charcoal or graphite is preferable here.)

Parks

Gardens

Churches, quaker meeting houses, graveyards, synagogues (sometimes the only places that are quiet are places of worship, and a lot of the time, they will be very welcoming in letting people in just to sit and think. Just remember to be respectful: don't insult people for their faith; don't scorn the place of worship; respect people buried in graveyards; don't take pictures, tempting as it may be, just to be on the safe side.)

The theatre

The opera

Concerts (classical music or otherwise)

Social events (memorial services, tours of your local university, open days, anything. It's an opportunity to learn, and spark intrigue because of your darkly mysterious and alluring demeanour.)

Things to do when you're bored.

Writing essays (it's really nerdy, but I find writing essays really interesting if they're on a topic I'm passionate about. It doesn't have to be an intellectual masterpiece, it could be 'The Top Ten Sexiest Classical Writers' for all I care. Just make it fun. Plus it's always an added bonus to that pile of messy papers that aesthetify your desk.)

Research (as above.)

Daydream about how you could have prevented the burning of the Library of Alexandria

Plan a murder / heist. Thoroughly.

Read something light (Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, Wilkie Collins or Colin Dexter novels are really good for relaxing. Murder mysteries are always good for winding down a little, whilst still keeping an active mind, so I would recommend those, but really, read whatever you want.)

Dress up

Read aloud

Perform a play alone (or to a pet, if you have one)

If you play an instrument, play through all of the pieces in your repertoire

More daydreaming

Take baths

Fake your death (by murder, of course)

Draw or paint something (no, it doesn't have to be good. Just do it to relax. See what kind of things you can create, like designing Frankenstein's monster)

Write a narrative piece

Watch a movie. A whole movie. Just sit down and watch a movie, no getting up and walking around, no flicking back and forth, no checking your phone. Just enjoy a movie without distractions.

Watch every single 'Greek Gods as vines' video on YouTube and count it as studying.

+ Listen to some classical music! I have a post on getting into classicl here:

Congratulations! You made it through!

Please, add to this list. I really want this to be expanded on, as I'm interested to see whether or not I've missed things, and if people agree.

A quick thing on Slytherins

Slytherins are the most misunderstood house.  And some of us like it that way, but I think that we are the most misunderstood house because we are the most diverse house.  

Ambition.  That is our main trait, but what makes us so different from other members of our own house is what are we ambitious for and towards.  Draco was ambitious to be like his family and earn his place.  Slughorn was ambitious into building a career and carefully curated circle of members beneficial to him.  Snape was ambitious for Lily.  We are all ambitious for something, but the question is what.

We have so many different divisions within our house, so i’m going to give a quick breakdown.  The stereotypical ‘evil’ (ambitious for wanting a place), the studious (ambitious for their best education), the artists (Ambitious for leaving their mark), and then there are the ones that are ambitious for who knows what, the ones you would never expect to be in Slytherin.  But, sometimes they are the most “slytherin” out of all of us.

What I mean to say is, that we are not the evil house.  When a Slytherin tells someone “Hey i’m a slytherin”  Oftentimes the first reaction is ‘Wow, I don’t picture you as dark and evil.”

So to all the “not-slytherins” in the slytherin house, just because you don’t have plans of world domination does not make you any less slytherin than the rest of us.

Thanks.