gay-thic lit anyone? (o/o)

(hello! As someone who has, in fact, researched Victorian asylums, I have some info to impart upon you, just lemme type it all up :) take everything I say with a grain of salt tho, back it up with your own research)

(I forgot you did an rp set in a Victorian asylum! Haha)

(Although technically this is the Regency Era, not the Victorian Era)

(so. Victorian asylums tended to be much worse for those without family/legal guardians, as they were typically put into less regulated places because there was no one to care if they died. Many of the doctors tended to be very awful and run experimentation their patients, under the guise of helping them. The worse someone's mental illness the worse they were treated. If you heard voices you were devil possessed or insane. Common treatments (for everything) were ice baths or baths so hot they literally burned, solitary confinement (often in rooms that weren't kept very clean), being wrapped in very hot sheets in order to sweat out the illness, lobotomies, stuff like that. That of course isn't counting mistreatment from doctors or nurses. Mistreatment was more common if the patient was a woman or was queer. Some asylums (notably Bedlam) had specific cells for better behaved inmates, where people with a little money could pay to see some of the insane. Basically, victorian asylums were better than previous asylums, but still not great. Many patients were also sterilized, btw, especially women, so that they couldn't "pass on their insanity")
(Hope that helped? Again, take everything with a grain of salt please :) I'm not an expert, this is just my own research)

(Although technically this is the Regency Era, not the Victorian Era)

(It's a similar enough time period that most of the things I said should still generally apply, some things may vary but not by too much I don't think)

(Ah yeah, that makes sense. Cool!)

(thanks!)

(I know lobotomies came much later, like in the 1850s-60s about? So that wouldn't apply, but thanks for telling me more!)

“Sure!” He beamed at her, then looked down at Esme. “Beautiful, my dear. Shall we?”
He quickly put down his briefcase and put on his coat, letting one side just fall on Victor’s arms. He picked up his briefcase and tapped his foot some more.

Victor felt safe in Robert's coat, now that the man had draped it over both their shoulders, but he really ought to stop clinging no matter how much vertigo he felt by simply moving. He let go, and moved out of the way, thinking he could probably rely on his disgusting monster for help if it got really bad.

"We shall!" Margaret said, and Esme, too excited for words at the compliment, simply began to jump around in place, waiting for them to leave.

(are we gonna just pretend they had the presence of mind to get a carriage?)

(We could? Or they could walk, but walking is boring and carriages mean easy timeskips so lets go with carriage.)

(lol alright)

(cool.)

Robert quickly slid his arm into his coat sleeve once Victor let go, grinning with amusement. "Alright then," he said, and opened the door.
On the path below was a carriage waiting for them, different from the one the boys had taken to the house the previous day. The stallions were brown with a white spot on the forehead, and speckled grey. The coachman tipped his hat at the group as they approached. Once Robert had reached the carriage, he stood aside and opened the door for everyone else.

Everyone but the creature climbed in, the latter choosing to yet again sit up with the coachman, mumbling apologies for taking up so much unnecessary space. Esme was ecstatic, she was finally able to go out and explore the world, something she was always very excited about doing. She kept rambling on about all the things to see and do out in town from the few times she'd been there before, and about what she wanted to do now that she was going out. When they arrived, she was the first one out, followed by a concerned Margaret and a drowsy Victor, the creature having hopped off and opened up the door for them prior to Esme's hasty escape.

Robert followed after Victor as the last one out, nodding to the creature and the coachman in acknowledgement. He came up beside Victor, staring after Esme and feeling just as excited as she was.
“We can go to the post office first, if you’d like,” he said, tilting his head at the smaller man.

(Random question: so yeah Margaret and Anna tend to dress in more masculine clothing, but do they wear men’s pajamas)

(Yes. Absolutely. Beautiful image. Well, Maggie does, Anna tends to sleep in her clothes as she is a workaholic but in theory she does.)

Robert followed after Victor as the last one out, nodding to the creature and the coachman in acknowledgement. He came up beside Victor, staring after Esme and feeling just as excited as she was.
“We can go to the post office first, if you’d like,” he said, tilting his head at the smaller man.

Victor nodded in a small way, taking Robert by the hand and looking all around the streets. Everything was so loud and everywhere, and it was overwhelming. He watched as Margaret and Esme disappeared into the distance, sucking in a deep breath and walking forward, Robert's hand still in his.

(Ah yes, my curiosity is satisfied)

(Good to know!)

(I know lobotomies came much later, like in the 1850s-60s about? So that wouldn't apply, but thanks for telling me more!)

(Yes that's true! Experimentation still sometimes happened, but yeah lobotomies came later. Np!)

(also hehfhsggsgd yes, men's PJs look much more comfy)

(Oh you guys wouldn’t happen to know anything about early 1800s postal offices, would you? I’m just wondering how different they are from the present)

(Uh, mostly they were just rarer as far as I can tell. Also, I think they used couriers? Instead of like, trucks.)

(Mmmmm ok)

Victor nodded in a small way, taking Robert by the hand and looking all around the streets. Everything was so loud and everywhere, and it was overwhelming. He watched as Margaret and Esme disappeared into the distance, sucking in a deep breath and walking forward, Robert's hand still in his.

Robert ended up leading, as he had the longer legs and the excitement to help him. He was careful not to go too fast and stayed away from crowds, as he could sense Victor’s discomfort, but it was difficult. He’d look back every now and again to make sure the creature was within sight, and gradually started to hang nearer to him, as he seemed to drive the crowds away and made traveling smoother.
Once they arrived at the post office and went inside, he asked, “Does your brother have a mail box or does he have mail delivered straight to him?”

"To the doorstep. We don't, ah, really do mailboxes down in Geneva. If we did, I doubt he'd check." he sighed, shaking his head. As energy taxing as this city was, he had to admit it had its charms. "But it would be better to have the letter brought straight to him, either way. He needs to come down here, as soon as possible. Hopefully I would convince him well enough to at least pack."

He nodded slowly. “Alright. Just… thought I’d ask.”
The line they were waiting in was a good length, but soon enough they were at the front desk. Robert conversed with the postal worker for a minute or two before he looked to Victor, as he was the one who had the letter.

(Hhhh I want to breeze through this cuz I have… no idea what I’m doing)