Work Text:
Monty was a vibrant person. By all means, he would be described as someone with a “strong personality”. He had a wide array of talents, being fluent in 4 languages, authoring over 15 books and painting in his free time.
Though none of these interests were quite as all-encompassing as his love of herpetology.
As a young child, Monty could often be found drawing pictures of snakes in his schoolbooks and catching slow worms from the garden. He kept his specimens in a repurposed fishbowl for a day or so as he studied them.
Whilst other children liked to play together, Monty had fun in the library, copying out a complete list of snake families into his notebook. Adults were typically a little bewildered by him. His teachers commended his scientific aptitude, whilst others reprimanded him for his “shyness” and “obsessions”.
Monty had noticed early on that he seemed to be a lot more prone to enthusiasm over his interests than others. He would happily ramble for hours about his passions, excitedly bouncing on his feet and flapping his hands as he spoke. This “over-excitedness” received mixed responses from others, veering more towards the negative as he aged.
As a result, Monty had learned to suppress his joy and eccentricities as a teenager. He tried to fit in more with his peers, but continued to be an outlier, always retreating back to his favourite blue beanbag in the school library.
Before long, Monty blossomed into his young adult years. He continued to study herpetology, choosing it as his main area of specialty for his Bachelor's degree. As time drew on, his gift that grew from his passion and love became obvious to others. They began to congratulate him for his knowledge and expertise, rather than alienating him.
Monty went on to become a world-leading expert in herpetology. His work was respected by others and deemed highly influential. He gave talks around the world about reptiles, finally with an audience to listen to his enthusiasm. People saw him as a fountain of information first and foremost, though it lacked the ostracization that had been present in his childhood.
In addition to his academic success, a circle of friends gathered around him. They happily listened to his rambles, though out of love rather than professional respect. Monty finally started to feel that his authentic self was appreciated, growing more confident in himself with time.
Nowadays, Monty is still most often found amongst piles of books, sitting on a beanbag, writing about his latest herpetological discoveries. He has spent years curating his very own home library, the shelves positioned the same way as the ones he once sat against in the library at school. His entire living space is as colourful and as snake-centric as his personality, just as he likes it. And this time, he's proud of it too.