#berlou

[lou-bonfightme]

he's not heavy, he's my brother; a playlist for Toulouse and Berlioz

@ber-bonfamille-lyons

listen here.

tracklist:

achilles come down - gang of youths

paloma - MIKA

maman - beyries

pavement - wingtip

sky full of song - florence + the machine

mausoleum - seryn

come on, brother - lawrence, linus lawrence

younger - a great big world

happier - marshmello, bastille

brothers - penny and the sparrow

brother - lord huron

some choice lyrics that make me cry below the cut:

Achilles, Achilles, Achilles, come down Won't you get up off, get up off the roof? The self is not so weightless, nor whole and unbroken Remember the pact of our youth Where you go, I'm going, so jump and I'm jumping Since there is no me without you

Do you need, do you need a change From these old, weary ways? Counting down, counting down the days But we're both too afraid Letting go and leaning out of frame (frame) Two souls out of space

And I can tell that I'm in trouble When that music starts to play In a city without seasons It keeps raining in L.A. I feel like I'm about to fall The room begins to sway And I can hear the sirens But I cannot walk away Grab me by my ankles I've been flying for too long I couldn't hide from the Thunder in a sky full of song

And the kids seem to grow so much faster The older and older I get But time is a clever invention We are helplessly participant Oh we know you've got the soul my brother Why you trying to hide? And the heart is a beast that'll keep you bleeding, Learn to let it lie In the walls of the mausoleum

You know that this is not the end I'm always just around the bend So come on, brother You know I'd never find another Best friend

Lately, I've been, I've been thinking I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier Even though I might not like this I think that you'll be happier, I want you to be happier

How long have I known you, brother? Hundreds of lives, thousands of years How many miles have we wandered Under the sky, chasing our fear? Some kind of trouble is coming Don't know when, don't know what I will stand by you, brother 'Til the daylight comes or I'm dead and gone

[lou-bonfightme]

et fin

Next Steps || Berlou

[444names]

Names derived from the English Wikipedia's "List of short place names"

Aanam Aby Aen Aind Airs Aland Alet Alle Allove Alma Almon Aly Ameng Andregic Anoa Anza Ara Aritim Arover Arrlawa Ary Ascoto Ast Astereet Astlanxi Ath

Bad Barand Barish Beas Beldloven Beley Belsicand Berlou Bold Borterlab Bortré Bostreast Bottinet Bralagn Brand Breect Briden Broven Bud Buriguime Calmodal Cand Cary Caty Celage Cely Ces Chejind Chergen Chi Chies Chigeon Chinne Chisturn Chus Cita Com Coman Corislan Cothep Cou Coublity Couters Couth Crorg Czer Dafjor Daly Dania Deran Des Devalagae Digna Dina Disted Diver Don Dounala Edestan Egord Egordis Egy Empe Enatione Enet Enordal Enthome Eogra Epa Epara Epark Epu Etwed Eur Fairs Farkdang Fast Fax Fijin Fin Fincelaby Fir Fordaleas Foria Fortre Fria Frist Fun Funt Garmeast Gawed Geon Ges Ght Glas Gos Govardy Govisa Groli Guch Guriao Gurna Gävle Hand Handeslan Haudi Hea Hebrad Her Herm Heth Heuru Higes Hildlang Hipargium Hisa Hon Hun Hund Hurg Huận Ibelanina Ice Ied Iesied Ine Ing Inowaku Ion Ippent Ire Ireet Irego Ishaug Isia Islo Ist Istai Istla Istreg Ita Japertand Jia Juthnina Jämtlan Kaghea Kaing Kaity Kand Kanine Kast Kay Kayamers Khuantal Kland Knoway Kommuay Korld Krieders Kur Kuren Kurms Kuru Kus Lag Lahong Lamagalac Land Lang Lansuda Later Ledeven Lek Leméislân Ley Lia Liaonnera Licham Lieli Lifent Lincip Lind Linne Lity Liveng Livish Localma Lomadal Lon Loon Lovaskey Lown Luim Lân Mageonsi Mal Mand Mation Mes Modal Modensu Moders Mona Mone Monght Monin Moralit Moriž Mos Mosning Mostleser Mote Moter Moulf Musaket Naanzarob Nagas Nal Namon Naweg Nerme Ners Nia Nitand Nizemian Nog Nor Norequ Norg Norpo Norranyam Nort Nowall Oaterønd Obleon Obos Odalahom Odeven Ohnigin Ohnpe Oirek Oirfas Okince Okinja Okne Olcs Onglermen Oraiferg Ordalan Ordershik Oric Orisland Orly Orma Orrisa Ort Ortreend Orweenes Orwes Oth Oyama Oyang Parace Parai Pard Pardes Parklu Pary Phorgin Phung Pierre Ping Placena Pon Pornsuld Pub Pun Pyrénée Qenia Qenizary Quand Qui Quảngeona Rad Ran Ree Regosniy Reind Res Reso Rhamn Rian Roa Roaria Roldal Roms Roon Roto Rudisa Rys Rézvárom Scoma Scorkiand Seala Sean Seconaa Seed Segionght Seis Sero Seval Seviltesi Shan Shearde Shogreg Shomic Shorany Shord Shorict Sia Sije Sionsus Ske Slanamle Slog Slâ Sma Somb Sopon Soveng Soveslag Spa Stan Ster Stesish Stlany Stra Stry Sul Sunt Surada Surd Surity Svaled Swest Swillanxi Swilloven Sykka Szatis Tameto Tentia Thejia Then Theo Thipark Tholoi Tia Tio Tisidest Tom Tomard Tomestres Torwesinh Touth Tra Traic Tre Trom Try Tshurk Tsus Tuckyotly Turesh Tuzlan Twes Ubdiffeng Udia Ukiastry Ullek Urdlocand Usaif Valu Valuczer Varter Ver Vere Vered Vet Vil Vin Ving Vis Von Vordena Vorkdaya Vys Väst Västami Wakes Wales Way When Wilan Willo Wit Witan Wition Yaman Yamesity Ybei Ybenea Zhnpe Ångent Öden Örður Öst Östal Östrad

[jonathanstokesphotography]

This is Jean-Marie Rimbert, wine maker and all round lovely guy. I spent the afternoon with him at Domaine Rimbert, a tour of his 'modest' 26 hectare estate and of course, sampling a few bottles ... (that ones a Carignan) #Berlou #Languedoc #France 🇫🇷 assignment for @st_travelmag (at Berlou, Languedoc-Roussillon, France)

[infopresse]

Béziers : l’ex-présidente des P’tits Bouts de Berlou avait vidé les comptes

Béziers : l’ex-présidente des P’tits Bouts de Berlou avait vidé les comptes

Béziers : l’ex-présidente des P’tits Bouts de Berlou avait vidé les comptesQuand les parents d’élèves découvrent l’arnaque c’est la douche froide.

[sleepybattousai]

NEŘÍKEJTE PŘIJDU DÝL NEBO VÁS NECHÁM KLIKOVAT DO BEZVĚDOMÍ ZMETCI A NAVRCH BERLOU PO HLAVĚ TAK RADŠI VŮBEC NECHOĎTE DĚKUJI KONEC RANTU

[squirenonny]

I was wondering if you’re still accepting asks for the Turn Left meme. Was just re-reading Another Word For Never this afternoon and thought of asking how things would’ve changed if Matt had been able to hear Shiro and Keith’s conversation with Allura in Chapter 9 and recognize his boyfriend’s voice.

I’m always up for interesting Turn Left asks, and this one is definitely interesting! (And also one that I have a feeling everyone secretly wants to know the answer to, even if it was so long ago that they don’t immediately think about it.)

Anyway, real talk? This single change would throw off a hell of a lot. First of all? Plot. Shiro and Keith know that Zarkon is angling for Earth, so you can bet your ass the entire team turns around and heads back that way.

They still have to deal with the fallout of Sendak’s attack, so they still go to the Balmera and meet Shay, but that’s about as far as the plot continues in that direction. (Dual paladins don’t happen yet, either, if you were wondering. Allura steps back, and since there’s only been a couple of battles with her in Black, it’s much easier for her to convince the team that she’s not a paladin at all. And Keith and Matt are a little bit slower to connect, with Matt not yet familiar enough with Red to recognize that she’s chosen Keith.)

They don’t meet Rolo and Nyma in this AU, either, because even if they go to that moon, Lance is laser focused on the fact that Earth is in danger and Nyma never gets a chance to lure him away. They don’t go to Vel-17, they don’t meet Anamuri’s rebels, they don’t wind up on Berlou, Matt doesn’t find out about the crystals for a lot longer than in Duality proper. They probably eventually get to stuff like Olkarion that happened in SLH, but that’s all out of order, so who knows?

Right now, they’re headed back to Earth, less than a week after they disappeared. The Garrison hasn’t even finished the internal investigation, so while they’ve probably had memorials for Lance, Hunk, and Pidge, Mama Holt’s Army hasn’t even totally come together yet when the paladins arrive back home. Honestly? The story from there probably turns into fortifying Earth against the impending attack, with Voltron occasionally striking out in hopes of finding allies, but scared to leave for too long. The sheer scope of that change in plot is so staggering I can’t even begin to conceptualize how the story would go after the Battle for Earth.

One other thing to note, though, is that Shiro and Matt’s relationship noticeably suffers in this timeline. At the point in time where they’re reunited in this AU Matt is in a very bad place. He’s fresh from torture and imprisonment, barely coping with the fact that he’s now a paladin, and freaking out because he’s sort of responsible for the other humans by virtue of being older. He’s incredibly vulnerable, and he’s had only a couple of days to find his footing.

So Shiro shows up, and it’s Shiro, so of course he puts on a mask like he’s fine, he’s got it all together, and Matt falls for it. The first few months of their relationship are characterized by Shiro shutting down all of his own needs to try to take care of Matt, who becomes dangerously dependent on Shiro to keep him moving forward, and that just is not sustainable. At some point, Shiro just blows up, and Matt has a major panic attack over (in his mind) losing Shiro (who at this point is 90% of his coping skills).

They’d work it out eventually–honestly, that’s probably how Matt and Keith get close, because Keith is the only one with any clue what Shiro’s been going through, so Matt seeks him out to find out what went wrong. Shiro, meanwhile, probably gets pulled aside by Coran and/or Allura. The time apart is good for them both. They establish other supportive relationships on the team and define clearer boundaries in their own relationship, but it’s a slower, more painful process than it is in Duality canon, where Matt’s a little more grounded and better able to recognize Shiro’s needs from the start.

(…That probably wasn’t as happy as you were expecting… But I did also promise Orelia a reunion scene for this ask, and I’m never over Shatt reunions, so have some feels under the cut.)

Matt stopped at the door to the bridge, his stomach still tying itself in knots. He’d gotten Coran settled in the med bay and done what he could with his first aid training, but the plain fact was he didn’t know the first thing about taking care of Alteans. Which was why he’d left Pidge and Hunk to guard Coran, telling them to lock the doors and call him at the first sign of trouble, then come up here to switch places with Allura. Matt and Lance could deal with securing the castle… probably… while Allura did what she could for Coran. It only made sense.

He had to admit, he hadn’t expected to find Lance and Allura arguing with a faceless stranger over the comms.

“Why don’t you get off my space castle, jerkface,” Lance was saying, “before I decide to show you what happens when you mess with a paladin of Voltron?”

Allura pinched the bridge of her nose as the voice on the comms huffed out a, “Whatever.”

But it was the soft, barely-there laugh behind this voice that wiped Matt’s mind clean and left him shaking. He was imagining things. He had to be. There was no way–

“Thanks for your offer. Really. But we have things to take care of, as I’m sure you do. Maybe we’ll see each other again someday.”

Shiro.

It was Shiro, Matt was sure of it. They hadn’t seen each other in a year, but the day Shiro took his place in the Arena was still burned into his mind. He would never forget that voice.

“Yes,” Allura said. “I would like that. Farewell, and good luck.”

Matt’s brain kicked back into gear at that, panic spurring him into motion at the prospect of Shiro leaving. Matt was going to miss his chance if he didn’t say something right now.

“Wait!” he cried, stumbling forward. Everything ached, and he felt light-headed from some combination of stress, exertion, and raw, desperate hope. Silence filled the bridge as Matt grabbed onto Allura’s arm to hold himself upright. She and Lance were staring at him, and Matt automatically searched for a video feed of the people on the other end of the line–just to be sure. Just to know that he wasn’t going crazy. They hadn’t said anything, and for a moment Matt’s hopes came crashing down. Had they left already? Was he too late?

“Uh… Sorry,” Shiro said. “Were you talking to us?”

There was a tremor to his voice that said, maybe, he’d recognized Matt’s voice, too, and Matt struggled to get himself to speak around the lump in his throat.

“Shiro?” he asked. “Is that… Is that you?”

“Matt.”

The next few minutes were a blur as Shiro and his friend, Keith, boarded the castle-ship and Matt sprinted off to meet them. Lance and Allura gave chase, and Matt couldn’t even bring himself to care that they probably thought this was some sort of trap. He ran, hardly breathing, until his lungs burned, and then he turned a corner to see him. Older, scarred, with shadows under his eyes and a broad white streak in his hair.

Matt burst into tears at the sight of him and barely had the coordination to close the last few feet, but Shiro was running, too, now, his arms locking around Matt’s shoulders as Matt collapsed against him. He was wearing the armor of a Galra soldier, a Galra in an officer’s uniform standing just behind him, but Matt didn’t care about any of it.

Shiro was here.

Shiro was alive.

“Matt–”

Matt didn’t give him a chance to finish, just reached up to frame Shiro’s face between his hands and pulled him down into a kiss.

[gennshaughnessy]

@megasammyjayne @letsnotdisturbtheuniverse-blog @vincentvangogh-thefuckaway @reemalhussain @theladymae1 @lovingeffects @lifewithjill @facedownmediascam @beauty-tuts @whereisyourfkngod @reemx6 @emily2rose @dougside @samiesands @crazywhiteboystuff @taniacallejas @ning10nj @berlou @bostonharborpicayune-blog-b-blog @lovedove0319-blog @brookeancell @jessicaschrof16 @sophisticatedweirdo @jess-and-kayls-makeup-blog @makeup-freak-universe-blog @elnk0420 @annamosityki @briankinnygivesashit @serenebrownie-blog @rainbowauroraborealis-blog 

Ray-Ban Sunglasses

[lou-bonfightme]

Happily Ever After || [Loud Bell]

In which Toulouse, Belle, and Hades get married...[takes place: June 21, 2023]

@trip-downtheriverstyx, @labellerose-acheron, @ber-bonfamille-lyons

[tw -- brief non-descript mentions of suicidal thoughts in the first bit (skip to Hades first reply if you don't want to come across that part)]

|| || ||

[link here]

[ber-bonfamille-lyons]

Aw fuck. This was his worst nightmare. Berlioz looked around frantically, as everyone else in the queue turned around to look at them. Great, they were gonna get the cops called on them or somethin' for being abusive guardians to a poor, sad 4-year-old (was Opal four???)

And then it got worse.

Someone approached.

Ber stared.

"Is everything alright?" said Eboshi Kanamori, the fucking mayor. How the hell...?? Well, probably the same way that Ber had ended up here. She had a bag in her hand too. Christmas shopping.

@lou-bonfightme

Silver And Gold || Berlou

[mvprs]

Bumersi su pozvali 12. putnika za Kinu.

[labellerose-acheron]

Name: Queen MK

Characters: Belle Rose Beauton, Onyango Simba Lyons, Copper Thomas Russell, Drizella Catherine Tremaine, Toulouse Henri Bonfamille, Bambino Daryl Basurto, Perdita Mariel Faye, Joshua “Strongbear” Sweet, Maui, Urania of Hesiod, Attina Morgan Triton, Hercules Odysseus Persaud

**i just want to note that i wrote the vast majority of this at the beginning of the month before we got all our lovely new members, so just shout to everyone for being lovely writers and lovely people and making this community special!

Pick a thread from the past six months that you’re proud of and talk about why. Ugh, fuck, okay. I’m gonna try to go character by character bc so many good ones??

Belle: “Letter of Recommendation” - Beautibbs. Man, this thread straight fucked me up. It was supposed to be just something really chill, because Belle was a huge Charms nerd and she totally would’ve been a teacher’s pet to Tibbs. In HP world, I took advantage of the fact that Belle’s father left more recently than in current canon, and wanted to explore that and, surprisingly, Beautibbs was where I got to actually feel it the most. Belle is normally so composed, and the fact that she broke down--well, it was so real. She’d been putting so much pressure on herself and to see her crack was kind of cathartic for me, and for her. The fact that it was totally unexpected was what made it feel even more natural.

Simba: “Stays in Vegas” - Simber. I loved “Stays in Vegas” because the whole marriage thing was something I’d wanted to explore for a while. There are a lot of things about Simba and Ber’s relationship that are not what Simba anticipated in a relationship, and as someone who has spent his whole life thinking about the person he’s going to be with and what that relationship is gonna be like--it’s interesting to break that down. And I like exploring Simba’s insecurities too. Not his whole “I Killed My Dad” thing, but the fact that he is really always afraid of people leaving him in relationships, or that he is “too much” or pushes for things too soon. So, yeah, idk, that was really fun.

Copper: “Pixie’s Stalker” - Coperi. This thread was so good for me, because it had so many layers. It was Copper at his purest. He wanted to help Peri and give her good advice. At the same time, he was trying to think of Tink too, who he has kind of a special bond with. Then, thinking about his own mother, which he never really does, so that was nice too, because he does have some unexplored abandonment issues.

Drizella: “The Perfect Dress” - Double Trouble. What I really love about RPing with Kiara is that she has this natural instinct about the way a thread should go, and it just makes threads with her so pleasant. The chemistry that Zella and Ana have is so good, too. This thread was great because both of them were dealing with things that they weren’t talking about, it was all underground, but they still knew that the other person was dealing with things. It just felt really natural and totally sisterly.

Toulouse: “Miscalculations” - Berlou feat Roscoe. Big shout out to Lauren for this one, because when I first brought her the idea I wanted a duel, I didn’t mention anything about unforgivable curses or anything, but then she brought it up and I was really excited (especially because we didn’t tell Lauryl, sry lauryl.) It was just so great, because I always say Lou would be entirely ruthless if anyone ever hurt his siblings and I mean it. I finally got to show that, and it was so thrilling to write. Getting to write a really dark side of Lou was so great, and the fallout was lovely too.

Bambino: “On the Edge” - Merfawn. FUCK. This thread was so great. Like, I loved it because we didn’t have a plan for it. We just wanted them to RP together and they both run around in the woods, so it would be a good spot for them to meet up. It was Reanna who took it in such a great direction by having Ariel bring up the Prince. It was just such a good instinct and since this was one of my first threads with Reanna, it really impressed me and I just had a lot of fun with it.

Perdita: “Isn’t There Any Hope?” - Fate. How could I not talk about this thread? It started in December, but I can’t help it. The first time Paul and Perdita see each other in 4 months and it was just so full of emotion. I loved that Lauryl and I had discussed kind of the entire timeline of their backstory because it made it really easy to draw from and their chemistry felt really natural. It’s always a worry with relationships that are pre-established, there is going to be no chemistry, but man, do Paul and Perdita have it and you could just feel the love they have (had) for each other and the struggle that they were going through.

Sweet: “A Code in Process” - Sweet Mouse. Ugh, this one was just so good. Mostly because I actually got to perform surgery!! And that was just so fucking fun, and Kiara made it a blast. It really kind of solidified Minnie and Sweet’s relationship during this high stress environment and I just thought that was super rewarding. (Shout out to the Mr. Crowley arc with Nala, Tibbs, and Minnie. It’s been so much fun and I’m excited for the conclusion.)

Maui: “Helping Hand” - Celaui. I think Katie listed this one as well, and well, yeah, totally makes sense because this is the thing that everyone wants out of a starter. The relationship that was built after this initial thread was so beautiful and nuanced and is continuing to grow, and I just love that.

Urania: “Follow Up Interview” - Star Destroyer. Fuck me, I love this thread so much. It was kind of a random idea that just steamrolled into what it is now, and it’s another one of those plots that just feels really natural to me. And I love the dynamic of both Urania and Dornan thinking that the other is below them. They’re totally underestimating each other and I’d love to play with that power dynamic more and dig deeper into it.

Identify a challenge you’ve faced in this rp. Reflect on why this is a challenge for you. Are there any strategies you can develop to overcome this challenge?

Like many people, I struggle with plotting. A lot of times I have an end goal in mind, but I struggle with how to get there. For me, I don’t have a problem approaching people, I love talking and I don’t mind bothering more shy people to talk to me, but I have a problem sharing my ideas, because I worry that people won’t like them.

I’ve just tried becoming more confident with my ideas. I get characters now with secrets, or an end goal that I can kind of use as a jumping off point for plots. It has really helped because I feel like I can almost always find a reason or a thing that my character is grappling with.

Pick one of your characters and talk about their growth (we recommend choosing an older character, but it’s up to you! ) What about their story has surprised you? What are you proud of? How have they changed from their original inception to now?

Copper. Copperrrr. My lil honey. So, lots of people know that Copper is my hardest muse. I really don’t know what the problem is, but it’s just always been that way. Recently, though, he’s come so far, and I’ve kind of finally unstuck him from his shitty thought processes. I think that was the problem, now that I’m writing this lol. He was so resistant to change, but I just completely broke him down. Between Tod and Rajah and Shego, I managed to break him and now I’m building him back up, and that’s really satisfying to me.

He feels much more malleable, which is kind of where I wanted him to start with. So, that’s really nice. And making him a dad was really the right move because now he has this thing that reminds him to stay grounded and to be patient and understanding and more open, because his daughter is going to have magic and he loves her so much, so how could it be bad or wrong?

I am curious to see what he’ll be like as a single dad. Should be interesting.

Zella, also, has been so great. I really wanna push her more, but I’ve loved what has happened with her the past few months. She’s made a lot of mistakes and she’s trying to distance herself from them and start being serious about her future and she’s growing so much (even if no one but me can see it lmao) and I’m excited to see what happens.

Pick another character and talk a little about where you WANT them to go. What are your plans for them for the rest of the year?

Well, like a good mother, I have plans for all my beebs.

Belle: she is growing so much and getting so strong. I want to continue that thread for her. I want her to go back to school (I’ve started planting the seeds for that already.)

Simba: ugh, my babe. He has some hard times coming up based on a plot that will come to fruition at the end of summer. Through that I really want to explore Simba’s plurality of independence and doing what is expected of him and how that will affect his relationships and, in turn, affect how he views his “duties” to his family name.

Copper: be a dad. That’s p much it. I think Copper has had a really hard life, and he deserves to just enjoy being a father and be as good of one to Isabel as he can be.

Drizella: I want her to have everything stripped from her (in the process of doing so.) I want her to become more of a champion for women and move away from her mother’s toxic thinking. I want her to grow closer to both her sisters and to embrace her own path.

Toulouse: ugh, i just want my baby to be happy. I don’t know what it will be that makes him happy, but I know it won’t involve painting, at least not as a career, and I want him to accept that and realize it doesn’t make him a bad son for wanting something different. Also, I do want him to find love again, because tbh I like him better in a relationship lmao.

Bambi: explore his sexuality more. Embrace himself. And definitely get closer with his dad. That’s super important and I want it really badly, because Prince is really the only one who can help Bambi heal from his mother’s death.

Perdita: Well, she knows about her post-partum now, which yay! So, now I want to work on her relationships. I want her to start mending the town’s image of her, because she’s really not as crazy as everyone thinks she is, lol. Like, she is a normal person, I promise. She won’t be having any more manic episodes or huge explosions. (Unless something goes real wrong, lmao.) I also want her to get a better job, that’s more in line with her long term goals for herself.

Sweet: MORE SURGERY. Also I want to explore his past more. I want him to open up to someone about his magic. I also need him to make friends outside of the hospital, pls and thanx.

Maui: I want him to fall. I want him to totally crash and burn. I want someone to steal his hook and leave him with nothing. (Before that, though, I want him to get risen up, and to help a few people so that when he crashes, they can come to his aid and make him realize that he’s good enough without his hook.)

Urania: She wants to take over the world. I want her to take over the world. Simple.

Attina: As one of my new babes, I have a lot of plans for her. I want to explore her relationship with each of her sisters. I want her to go on lots of dates and to get herself crushed and to have successful dates too. Also, long term, I want her to like re-examine her life and figure out that she really is not happy and wants so much more.

Hercules: UGH my lil babe, I have so many plans. I need him to learn to control his strength, though I want this to be a slow process. And I definitely, definitely want him to figure out where he is from. (I have a whole idea set up, but I just need him to get there. It’ll also be a slow process, probably.)

OPTIONAL (REQUIRED FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T DO THE LAST QUESTIONNAIRE): In terms of your own writing, identify 1-3 strengths and talk about why you think it’s one of your strengths.

Setting: I have a very visual memory. Like--I can remember where on a page something was, even if I don’t remember the exact wording, and I almost always remember what people were wearing during important events. So, I know details about where someone are can be really important and I love describing like the things around someone. All my characters’ homes (and their other spaces, like Chapter Three), I have the entire floor plan of.

Action: I was always taught that movement was really important in a story. And my teacher was big about character quirks, so I just naturally incorporated it into my own writing. Body language is super fascinating to me and I love including it into movement for my characters.

Character Detail: I’ve become obsessed with charting out my character’s lives. It might because I’ve gotten older characters recently, but, I find it really important to know like--everywhere my character has lived and their families (including uncles/aunts/cousins). So, I really feel like I know my characters as people. Which makes it easy for me to slip into their skin and know how they’d react to a situation. I know their little ticks and what their motivations are.

OPTIONAL (REQUIRED FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T DO THE LAST QUESTIONNAIRE): In terms of your own writing, identify 1-3 areas of improvement.

Rambling: Sometimes I feel like my posts have a point in the beginning and then the middle is a mess and then I’m like oh crap I gotta like do an action/dialogue/have a point to this lol. I think that kind of thing can work when you have a point, go on a tangent and weave the point through the tangent, but I don’t think ahead in my posts, so that always falls flat. It’s always a happy accident if I can find a way to draw it back.

Proofreading: I know it’s RP and we all write a lot so missing a word here or there or something isn’t a big deal. But, I feel like if I read back through my posts sometimes, I could incorporate later ideas in my post. That’s just something I wanna kind of work on, so I can be more thoughtful with my posts.

OPTIONAL (REQUIRED FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T DO THE LAST QUESTIONNAIRE): Reflect on other writers you love– in the rp or out! How have they influenced you? What do you love about their writing that you want to bring to your own?

Man, I love all y’all. Shout out to some of our new babes: Silv does so great with backstory, I’m always so intrigued, and like I said above, I love planning that kind of shit out, so I always get hype when other people do it too. Also Reanna puts so much enthusiasm into everything she does, it makes me excited to RP, and I love that. Bee also cranks out some lines sometimes where I’m like umm?? Wtf?? That was so good?? Chloe too, just, ugh her writing sometimes. It’s so minimal but not in an obnoxious hemingway-way. Her one shots are so succinct. I love reading them.

I can’t wait to get to know our new-new babes tooo!

IF YOU DID THE LAST QUESTIONNAIRE: Alright, now pick an item from the Wishlist you completed in January that you’ve started to pursue. How far are you from completing this goal? Talk about the steps you took to make it happen.

I’m getting ready to (and have started to) explore race/sexuality in an off dash kenya thread w simba and kiara and ber and that’ll be interesting bc they all relate to their race/sexuality differently. It’ll be interesting putting them in an entirely different worlds. Of course, Simba and Ber have been lots of places, but mostly pretty liberal. Kenya is a place where sexuality is not really talked about and there is a bit of hostility towards white people. It’s basically the reverse of everything they’ve known.

I think it’s really interesting to explore Simba’s relationship with his race and sexuality through this, since he loves his family so much and he doesn’t like to lie; but he knows a good bit of his family doesn’t approve. And then, with Kiara, who is half-black/half-white and gay herself, and Ber who is white and queer--it’s gonna be really interesting to see them all navigate that space and still try to find a sense of belonging within it.

Oh, as for making it happen, I have mostly Lauryl to thank, though, I mean I orchestrated some of it myself. Simba was cut off from his family (voluntarily). He reconnected with his mother in July but didn’t reconnect with everyone else until around December, when one of his cousins had a baby. Which led to Simba connecting with all of his cousins again. And then, after everything that Kiara has gone through, Simba wanted her to realize that she does have a place that she belongs, and a family who love and support her; hence why they made the trip to Kenya.

IF YOU DID THE LAST QUESTIONNAIRE: Pick another item on your wishlist that hasn’t happened yet. We’re gonna do a MOCK-PLOT!!!

Zella Follows her Dreams:

This might be cheating, since one thread has already started, but we’re gonna use it anyways.

Milla confronts her daughter about not having any plans for after school. Zella confesses she wants to be a stylist. Milla cuts her off financially.

Zella throws a fit about this and disowns herself from the family, bumming around places. (Marie’s, Jenny’s, etc.) They start asking questions Zella doesn’t want to answer sooo

Zella finally shacks up with Ella.

Ella encourages her to #followherdreams and in return Zella tells Ella to get a fucking backbone (but hopefully she’ll be nicer at this point.)

Zella applies to a few internship programs and gets one!! Then she goes to follow her dreams!!

(I would also like to include Ana in this plot but idk how Ana will react so that is something I’ve got to discuss w Kiara.)

Finally: write a NEW wish list for the upcoming half of the year. It’s fine if you use a lot from your previous wish list if you still haven’t completed them and you still want to!

Smut – well, i still haven’t bottomed as a male; but i’ve done some hetero from the female perspective so that’s fun. My new smut goal is: different positions!! Different places!! Missionary is fun and all but;; gets borin and i like body positions so it’d be interesting to try some new stuff (i am talking about this like it is my actual sex life lmao)

Slow Burn – who doesn’t love a slow burn romance? i think it makes a ship feel so much more real when characters are angsting and pining and things keep them apart, whether it be timing, one of them dating someone else, miscommunication, or just general fear of hurt–ugh just give it to me (but not for months). This hasn’t happened yet and that is #rude someone get @ me.

Murder – i want to kill someone. i want someone to kill one of my characters. either one. both. who knows. Okay seriously; Urania needs to kill someone. 

 Kidnapping – someone kidnap one of my characters. ← still relevant

Abortion – i mean, i just think it would be interesting to have a character go through/have to contemplate getting an abortion. from either male or female perspectives. i have several possibilities /eyes zella in particular or tbh lou /eyes lou too ← also still relevant

Surgery/Illness – i love me some good ol’fashion hurt/comfort. also, sweet loves surgery, so if anyone’s characters need surgery, you want them to get hurt or sick, sweet is your guy. but, i mean we all know i love fucking up my characters (gave simba appendicitis, had lou get impaled, copp got shot like forever ago who remembers that eh?) so if you wanna beat up/attack my characters get at me ← always down for this if u wanna injure ur babe

Travel – i’ve had a few characters (lou, zella, simba) take trips to other places; but i would love to get out of swynlake for some threads. why not? ← always down for travel too

Race/Sexuality – i have a couple of characters who i’d love to explore their racial identity in a negative situation. swynlake is pretty free of, like, blatant racists (excluding magick-ists), so i would be curious to see how simba/sweet/etc deals with that. same with sexuality, swynlake is pretty accepting but i’d love for them to confront some homophobia because both that and racism, is, unfortunately realistic and prevalent. ← this is always something interesting

Big Plots – i LOVE big plots and i want to do them with more than just lauryl sorry lauryl i love u. but i want big plotty plots with EVERYONE! stuff that’ll fuck up your characters or my characters or both or they’ll GROW by the end, just stuff that will be an uphill battle. who wants to fight with meee? ← still RELEVANT

In more specific terms:

I want Belle to go back to school.

I want Simba to also go back to school lol

I want Copper to learn how to be a dad, even if that journey eventually takes him out of Swynlake to somewhere he deems “safer.”

I want Zella to go to her internship or w/e and embrace her differences and unlearn the toxic behavior her mother encouraged.

I want Lou to figure out that painting is not what he wants to do w his life. I also want him to date bc I like him better in a relationship lol

I want Bambi to kind of shed his reservations about being who he is and embrace it (both as the Young Prince and his sexuality.)

I want Perdita to continue to recover from her post-partum and mend her relationship with Paul so that they can successfully coparent their kids (and fall in love)

I want Sweet to make friends outside of the hospital. I also want him to mess up and have his hubris catch up to him.

I want Urania to take over the world.

I want Maui to get bolstered up and then I want him to crash and burn and then I want to raise him up again.

I want Attina to find love, but more than that, I want her to accept that she’s not gonna be able to control her sisters and learn to do her own thing.

I want Herc to learn where he’s from, but even more importantly I want him to accept himself for who he is.

[wineweirdos]

2016 Domaine de Cambis Le Chant des Griots Rieu Berlou, France http://www.cambis.fr/domaine-de-cambis-en.html

[registredescondoleancesibartyna]

Ma Zaza, tu étais un modèle de générosité et de bienveillance. Toujours à penser aux autres plus qu’à toi-même ! Quand je suis arrivée chez Degrémont, tu m’as accueillie à bras ouverts avec ton sourire et ta bonne humeur. Tu me manques déjà terriblement et j’aurais aimé te dire aurevoir et à quel point tu es et resteras une personne exceptionnelle. Mes pensées se tournent vers ta famille dont le chagrin doit être immense et à qui je souhaite tout le courage possible. Cynthia, ta Berlou préférée!

[awesomejanekellyblog-blog]

09-27 Berlou is a commune in the Hérault department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. ... http://dlvr.it/PqtfLj

[squirenonny]

For the Turn Left meme, because I'm an awful person: What would have happened if Lance had killed Keith on sight when they first met back on Berlou?

[Turn left meme]

FUCK YOU, that's what (j/k You know I love the angst.)

(But seriously, this AU is dark as fuck, so trigger warnings: death/grieving including multiple potential instances of major character death, depression, PTSD, re-traumatization, mind control, uhhh I think that’s everything? Putting this under a cut because it’s long and dark. You’ve been warned.)

Okay, so let's take this in chronological order, because there are a fucking lot of implications of this.

Immediate Ramifications:

I meant, Shiro was right there. He was sprinting to cover Keith, and he was close enough that Lance still would have got the message even if Keith was dead before Shiro got there. So there's always the possibility that Lance panic-shoots the second dude in Galra armor before he realizes that it's Takashi Shirogane. So there's bad end #1, because the paladins didn't know about Haggar or her weapon when they arrived; it was Keith and Shiro who told them. With them dead, Haggar fires, and there goes five paladins and three lions. Congrats, Matt doesn't even really have time to process that Shiro is dead, and Lance sure as hell doesn't have time to feel guilty for it.

So we have to assume Shiro survives, because that's not nearly enough angst to do this left turn justice.

So Shiro survives, but the rest of that scene plays out more or less the same. Matt arrives, freaks out a little, not least because Shiro's cradling the dead body of a Galra officer and not even making an attempt to defend himself against a potential follow-up shot from Lance. Allura arrives to confirm that Shiro's a friend, and Lance goes deadly quiet as the horror begins to set in. It doesn't help that Shiro is so dead-eyed he barely reacts to Matt, just sort of... collapses into sobs until Matt eases him away from Keith and the focus slowly shifts back to the ongoing battle.

The Battle for Berlou:

The battle continues largely unchanged, right up until the battle to destroy Haggar's weapon, where they start to feel Keith's absence. Allura takes a couple of the rebels with her when she goes hand-to-hand, and she manages to make it out--barely. Except Matt's been hit by the druids' Quintessence attack and is out cold, the Red Lion falling from the sky, and there's no Keith to take the controls. The fall doesn't kill them--Red has that much control, at least, but Matt and Allura are both banged up after it. Matt definitely can't fly for the rest of the battle, and Allura honestly isn't in any shape to try to emergency pilot Red, either. So Voltron's out for the rest of the fight.

They probably still win, eventually, but it's a long, hard battle, and a lot of people die. It's definitely not the resounding victory that it was in Duality canon, and even worse, the team isn't in good shape after it's over. Sure, Keith isn't there to be the focal point of the friction, but Shiro is bitter and grieving, and there's no one else who can help him with it, really, because no one else even spoke with Keith, except for the brief, anonymous exchange after the fight with Sendak. Matt tries to help Shiro, but Shiro just sort of shuts down about it--and as hard as he tries not to let his grief bleed through, there's gonna be some bitterness directed at Lance, which just sort of makes everything a million times worse.

Dual Paladins:

Figuring out the whole dual paladin thing suddenly becomes a million times harder, because see... the thing is Keith and Matt happened first because instinct is Red's whole shtick. They needed to sync up, so they did. Boom. Easy as that.

That doesn't happen this time, and Shiro is still deep in mourning for Keith and suuuuper doesn't trust this team (Matt is the sole exception and even there there are walls for days). So that's a no-go, and the lack of awareness of the potential means no one even realizes Shay's a paladin for ages.

Assuming no one dies because they're suddenly fighting this war on hard mode, Pidge and Ryner are probably the first to sync up and the entire team has zero clue what's happening. They eventually figure it out, and Hunk and Shay sync up, and Shiro and Allura start to work on it, but it doesn't happen quickly. Or at all. Shiro's... Frankly, Shiro's acting like canon Shiro/Ryou in late season 3-season 5, but ten times worse--tense and short-tempered and just constantly criticizing everyone because not only is he traumatized and grieving, but he also does not feel safe on the castle-ship. He's just always waiting for someone to turn on him because he worked for the Galra. He says absolutely nothing about what happened to him for fear of it getting turned around into an accusation, and he has a really hard time opening up to the others enough to form Voltron. It gets so bad that once Ryner joins the team and they all realize that Allura is a legit paladin, after all, Shiro throws in the towel. He'll fight on the ground, but he lets Allura fly, because she doesn't have the same problems forming Voltron as he does.

Lance, meanwhile, is guilty as fuck over killing Keith. He didn't know the guy, and Shiro won't talk about him, but it's obvious that Shiro isn't evil, so the fact that he not only trusted Keith with his life, but is visibly devastated about losing him, even weeks later? Yeah, Lance feels like a fucking monster, and there's nothing he can do to make up for that. He can't apologize to Shiro, because Shiro can barely stand to be in a room with him, and he can't go back and un-kill Keith. Hunk and Allura and Coran help him as much as they can, but Lance keeps beating himself up, to the point that he starts freezing in battle, afraid to kill anyone, because what if they're another Keith?

Shiro has growing concerns about his arm and the knowledge that Haggar can use it to control him, but he sure as fuck doesn't say a word to anyone. Are you kidding? They'd kill him in an instant.

Dark!Shiro Arc:

Hoooo boy. Hoo boy. You thought this was bad in canon. HA.

The Battle for Kera goes down largely the same way, but with Shiro going in on foot with Pidge instead of Allura. Lance still goes in on his rescue mission, and he still runs across Haggar, but when the team finds him, Shiro is at the end of his rope. Rather than fretting about Lance's wounds, he launches into a lecture (a lecture which is, to be fair, a highly stressed expression of genuine concern, just. He hasn't processed yet, and he definitely hasn't made up with Lance. It's been six weeks at this point, and Shiro has spent most of that time actively anticipating being murdered in his sleep. I cannot emphasize enough the degree to which these kids are not in a good place.)

Regardless, this gives Haggar Ideas, so instead of capturing Shiro, she possesses him but keeps a low profile, leaving Shiro to act as her agent from within Voltron.

(So there's bad end #2: Shiro kills everyone. Fuck.)

Miscellaneous

If??? We somehow make it past all this hell without killing anyone besides Keith????? (Technically freeing Shiro is the same as always, but even easier because Allura isn't also possessed, so as soon as they realize what's happening, they can probably stop it.) It still doesn't really get better??????

Shiro just. Shatters. He's been through too much, he can't trust anyone or anything, not even himself. He can't make himself care enough to be mad at Lance anymore. He can't even look at Black without feeling sick about how he's only fucked things up since he got to the castle. He slides into a deep depressive episode and just sort of ghosts around the castle, struggling to care enough to perform basic functions like eating and showering. Matt helps as much as he can, but Shiro is in a very dark place right now.

(This isn't helped by the fact that Matt is still struggling with his own trauma, both emotionally and physically, and he doesn't have a copilot in this verse. He’s exhausted, frustrated, and has no clue how to help himself, let alone Shiro.)

Val arrives on the castle-ship, and Lance--neck deep in self-loathing because he blames himself for what happened to Shiro--almost loses it. He killed an innocent person for no goddamn reason, he single-handedly destroyed Shiro, and now it turns out he also completely failed to protect his own family.

The first slightly less-awful thing happens in this AU, and Nyma becomes a Red because Matt is fucking drowning and he needs someone to fill the hole Keith left behind. They don't click as well as Keith and Matt did right off the bat, but they get there, and Matt really appreciates that Nyma's got his back without babying him.

...Let's just say the paladins are all harder for their experiences by the time they get home. After the battle, Shiro stays on Earth to get some fucking therapy, and Akira stays to take care of him. Meri joins the team as the third Blue, but honestly she probably ends up working something out with Black even though they aren't very compatible, because Allura needs some help. Fuck.

I don't even know where it goes from there, because there's still a war to be fought, and they're all already hurting for allies. I like to imagine Shiro slowly heals once he's away from the war, and eventually he and Lance meet and talk and hug it out, because deep down, Shiro doesn't blame Lance at all, for any of it, and Lance needs to hear that from Shiro before he can let go of his crushing guilt.