Après moi, le déluge

TES/BG3/Fantasy RP blog | 18+ | Lit | nonsense abounds

[bretonbookworm]

This is an independent, literate RP blog for Colette Lamoreaux, an Elder Scrolls oc verses include: BG3, Dragon Age, historical fantasy, and more!* *Details to come

currently: medium activity

Written by Jules, 30+, she/her

ABOUT -- RULES -- OPEN MEMES -- OPEN STARTERS-- VERSES

Multi-para / literate threads.

Past or present tense to match my partners.

Dark/mature themes possible, tagged appropriately.

Open starters are always open for pick up

Memes can be sent by anyone at any time!! I'll yes-and anything that shows up in my inbox.

Firmly anti ai, usage of it in writing/art/icons is an instant hard block

ART-- HEADCANONS -- RELATIONSHIPS-- WISHLIST

Dearest Associates @phasmophobiia

[ofoathsandcrowns]

@bretonbookworm

hope i did her justice!!

[bendwill]

HE HANDS THE BOOK BACK TO HER. Clearly, he has not found what he wanted, if the lack of reaction to anything he's read was an indication. Nothing he didn't know already. The only thanks he gives is the slightest incline of his head.

“No prophecy is so simple. As I said earlier.” If she only knew. There was already a place where it has faltered and diverged. The Last Dragonborn stood alone against Alduin in that wall in Skyhaven Temple, no other to be spoken of. The stones could lie, too. He should not be here, and yet he is. “What do you know of Dragonborns?”

[bretonbookworm]

"Not quite so much as I am beginning to suspect I should." She runs her hand over the cover of the book, thinking briefly before she finally puts it away.

"Slave Queen Alessia was, ah, Dragonborn was she not? In the First Era. It is why she was first gifted the Amulet of Kings. And then after her was Reman Cyrodiil and the lighting of the Dragonfires. This of course continued through the Second Era and Third Era with Hjalti Early-Beard, who then became Tiber Septim, and the entire Septim linage -- all of which I am certain you know. Though there was a bit of a hiccup there with the with the Longhouse Emperors there for a moment before Tiber Septim. Neither here nor there I suppose."

A breath, finally. Oh but she could just keep talking, couldn't she?

"So I suppose my understanding of Dragonborns is that they are, as history has proven, natural leaders and, for better or worse, important figures in history."

[ofoathsandcrowns]

"I am traveling alone, yes."

He turns his head to look at her, trying to get a better read of her expression. She seems to mean her words. A proper offer to form a party, it seems, at least for the moment.

"You want to team up with me for this?"

It's not like he hasn't been in parties before, but... He's not sure if forming one ever went this smoothly. Usually it'd cause him to build up walls around him, hiding away just a tad more. This time?

"...Are you sure?"

Damien knows he should just accept the offer. He's got nothing to lose here, and he can feel his ankle protest with every little movement right now.

[bretonbookworm]

"Of course." She says it so simply.

What reason does she have to lie, after all? He is but a stranger and the task at hand is an interesting one. For her, one needs no more incentive than 'interesting' to embarked upon a possibly parlous journey.

"I would rather like to see a dragon with my own eyes, I feel as though it could be a rather illuminating experience." So much for her take that people should want to avoid dragons. Well it wasn't as though they were seeking out one of the metallic sort.

It would be fine. Probably.

"Not for nothing but I am a capable sorcerer. I can help."

She knows what she looks like, after all. Big eyes on a doll like face, pale skin with freckles and a build that speaks of a hobby reading and eating bonbons rather than fighting for her life. It's easy to assume she is but a damsel waiting to be in distress. As if her ego would ever allow for such a thing.

[bretonbookworm]

.

[bretonbookworm]

[ 🍻 ]ㅤ [ ✉️ ]ㅤ [ 🗡️ ]ㅤ [ 🕸️ ]ㅤ

✎ㅤ. . .ㅤ𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵 𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺 [ 🍻 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat kind of drunk are they ?

Colette is the giggliest drunk you've ever met. Absolute goober mode unlocked. Prone to reciting limericks and poetry at the drop of a hat. Dramatic and languid in her motions and language alike. Will get cuddly when tired.

[ ✉️ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat kind of letter would they write but never send ?

There have been moments in time where she has wanted, actively wanted, to try to mend the bridge with her father. She's older now, an adult, she has a better perspective of what happened and why it turned out the way it did. No doubt she's written a dozen letters trying to do that but each of them devolve into carving wounds open again and again.

They remain unsent and are otherwise destroyed. No one needs to read them.

[ 🗡️ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat is a scar that they have but never talk about ?

On the back curve of her shoulder she has an old bite wound that didn't heal very nicely from a dog attack. She doesn't talk about it mostly because, well, who's ever going to see it to ask?

[ 🕸️ ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they have a favourite lie they like to hear ?

That she is obviously determined and capable enough to overcome her poor health and live a long, happy life.

[bretonbookworm]

// A quick visual guide

[bretonbookworm]

❛  no. i will flee no more.  ❜ (context: dragon attack? mayhaps?)

THE WITCHER 3 PROMPTS

She's ashamed to admit it, even to herself, that fleeing was the first thing her mind went to. It's only natural of course to wish to run from certain death, instinct not quite snuffed out by her audacity screaming for safety.

The dragon had only just made its first passing swoop to make itself known; it hadn't even touched the ground and she's already decided that this one, this one, is much too big.

Some people are never happy, are they.

It isn't until Miraak speaks that Colette realizes she's grabbed his sleeve, realizes she's still holding it. She releases him so quickly it's as though she fears he'll burn her.

But she doesn't run. How can she, when he is determined to stay?

"I assume you have a plan, then?" Her voice is tighter than usual, pitched up. So emotive today, as the dragon curls above them in the sky and begins to descend once more. "Or at the very least: advice?"

[bretonbookworm]

❛  i want to see how you manage in a fight, if you can fight at all.  ❜

THE WITCHER 3 PROMPTS  

"Do you mean to goad me, Miraak?"

It almost works if that's his goal. If she can fight at all. Hah. How silly he is to imply she can't handle herself! He's not the first to suggest such a thing, though, and won't be the last. She knows how she looks. Small. Soft. Delicate.

She's as intimidating as a dandelion at face value. It's a boon as much as it is a bane, sometimes.

"I have no intention of fighting you." Her head tilts just ever so slightly to the side as she regards him. "I would rather hate to cause you harm."

[bretonbookworm]

[ 💤 ]ㅤ.ㅤhow do they sleep ? curled up, sprawled, holding onto something ?

✎ㅤ. . .ㅤ𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵 𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺

She often falls asleep in this with a book on her chest or still in her hand until she wakes just long enough to set it to the side. Usually she sleeps on her back, taking up a shocking amount of space for a person of her size.

When Henri joins her for bed she'll turn and curl around him and they will sleep soundly until dawn... and then some.

[bretonbookworm]

💢, 🧭, 🌒

✎ㅤ. . .ㅤ𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵 𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺 [ 💢 ]ㅤ.ㅤwho have they never forgiven and never will ?

The healers who failed to save her mother.

Priests who told her that all was well now that the woman had passed and was no longer in pain.

Her father for abandoning her when she needed him most.

Any person who has ever told her she can't do something.

The one individual who stepped on her new leather shoe and didn't apologize.

[ 🧭 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhere would they go if they could disappear tomorrow ?

For the love of the Divine get her out of the cold. Though she's never been she'd love to go to the Gold Coast of Cyrodiil, walk among the sands and feel the warm water on her skin. She wouldn't be content to live there forever, but she'd love it for a time.

[ 🌒 ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they have a dream or goal they have given up on ?

Colette will give up when she dies. Endlessly hungry, endlessly driven, and horrifically spiteful she has not yet set a goal that she hasn't achieved or hasn't continued pursuing.

[bretonbookworm]

[ 🌀 ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they have a recurring dream or nightmare ?

✎ㅤ. . .ㅤ𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵 𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺

She sits among the garden. Late at night or early in the morning it's impossible to tell. Dew dampens her skirts and the book in her lap is incomprehensible, words swirling and twisting into madness. She cares not and reads on all the same in that pale moonlight.

From the ground a corpse pulls itself free, bugs falling from the hollow space between its ribs, fetid air spilling from the gaping jaw of a skull. Part of her knows she should be startled as it reaches for her, but the fear never comes.

She meets it first, fingers caressing the ivory bone. The creature stares with empty sockets, expression empty but she feels the awe all the same.

"Come sit." She bids.

So it does, bones clicking with painful movement, lingering flesh sloughing off long fingers. There, in eternal twilight, she reads with the corpse until she feels a hand wrap around her ribs. Press into her dress, through her flesh.

It should be painful.

The soil is cold and wet on her lips as she, too, is dragged into the dirt.

[aedearly]

✎ㅤ. . .ㅤ𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵 𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺.

₊˚⊹ ㅤa collection of character analysis/headcanon questions to learn more about your character and your partners'! writing/headcanon prompts requested by anonymous. feel free to edit these as you see fit.

[ 🖐️ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat do their hands feel like: soft, calloused, trembling ? [ ☂️ ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they crave touch or fear it ? [ 🎐 ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they have a sound, like a song or voice, that they associate with peace ? [ 🕊️ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhen did they feel the safest ? [ 💤 ]ㅤ.ㅤhow do they sleep ? curled up, sprawled, holding onto something ? [ 🦇 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat is a fear they never talk about ? [ 🔒 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat is a secret they’ve sworn never to tell ? [ 🪢 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhen was the last time they broke a promise ? [ 🫳 ]ㅤ.ㅤwho do they feel they owe, but never paid back ? [ 💼 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat do they always carry with them ? [ 🧨 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat’s the quickest way to set them off, even if they hide it well ? [ ⛓️ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat does guilt feel like to them ? [ 💢 ]ㅤ.ㅤwho have they never forgiven and never will ? [ 🩸 ]ㅤ.ㅤis there something or someone that, if lost, would break them ? [ 🌧️ ]ㅤ.ㅤis there a pain they refuse to heal from ? [ 🪞 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhen have they looked at their reflection and hated what they saw ? [ 📿 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat superstition or ritual do they cling to ? [ 🌊 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhen was the last time they cried ? [ 🐾 ]ㅤ.ㅤdo animals like them instinctively ? [ 🪶 ]ㅤ.ㅤhow do they laugh ? [ 🫀 ]ㅤ.ㅤwho taught them what love is ? did it hurt ? [ 💭 ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they believe they’re worthy of being loved ? [ 🎀 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat is their main love language ? [ 🔦 ]ㅤ.ㅤwho do they search for ? [ 📜 ]ㅤ.ㅤis there a story they love sharing with others ? [ 🌒 ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they have a dream or goal they have given up on ? [ 🕯️ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat memory do they replay when they’re alone ? [ 🌪️ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat’s the one choice they regret (not) making ? [ 🧩 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat’s a truth about themselves they refuse to admit ? [ 🍻 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat kind of drunk are they ? [ ✉️ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat kind of letter would they write but never send ? [ 🗡️ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat is a scar that they have but never talk about ? [ 🕸️ ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they have a favourite lie they like to hear ? [ 🪦 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat would they want on their gravestone but never admit aloud ? [ 🎱 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat kind of future do they crave, and who’s in it ? [ 🌀 ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they have a recurring dream or nightmare ? [ 🍃 ]ㅤ.ㅤdo they feel like they belong ? [ ⚓ ]ㅤ.ㅤwhat does “home” mean to them ? [ 🧭 ]ㅤ.ㅤwhere would they go if they could disappear tomorrow ?

[bendwill]

“Tax collectors are less bothersome when they worry for their lives.” SPOKEN LIKE SOMEONE WHO DID NOT PAY TAXES. Consequently, he did not intend to start. They could have it so long as they take it. Not that he owned property. The temple in Solstheim's island surely did not count. Surely.

Briefly musing on that hypothetical, he is lost in thought for a minute, lost in the book — she plays at the strings of conversation, and his are perpetually tangled and disorganized. He seems to feel it, too, for he rubs the pads of his fingers over his right temple, as if to physically tame his wild train of thought. The more he reads, the more the words seem to crawl on the page until they're like little tendrils of black ink. It has been months since Apocrypha, but he still feels scrambled the same way he was in there at times.

It is all he can do not to viciously snap the book shut. He closes it, gently, intentionally, smoothing his palm over the front of the cover. He's read this one so many times. Not this edition, but this book. It was everywhere in Apocrypha, copy after copy after copy. He could practically recite it word for word. It makes him sick to look at.

“Frolaaz zey.” She'd asked him a question. It takes him a moment to recall. He comes back into focus. “It is Alduin's doing. He has returned, and with him, dragonkind.” Miraak would tell her she ought to worry if he did not already intend on slaying the wyrm before the year was done. “Another prophecy come to fruition. One step of it.”

[bretonbookworm]

Prophecy. A topic that has both fascinated, irritated, and worried Colette for most of her life. The promise that things might be written in stone, come to pass no matter what one might do to prevent it, is a terrible thing indeed for someone like her.

But she does catch it. One step.

"I see." Her hand extends, ready to take the book back and put it back amongst its brethren once more. "You sound rather dubious that the second step will come to pass as well. The end of the world, I imagine? That seems to be a common one."

[luhnsilvars]

As is often the case these days, Veresa had been rather lost in thought over a drink when the young Breton woman approached her. She flinches just slightly, minorly yet noticeably startled to a trained eye, but she gives the woman's plight her full attention all the same.

“I'm afraid I haven't. But I'd be happy to help you find him,” the offer is genuine, made with a faintly amused grin; gods, if only these were always the quests people sent her on.

“Where did you last see him? And is he more friendly, or shy? Just so I know whether to look under furniture, or in other patron's laps.”

[bretonbookworm]

The disappointment she feels about not being able to locate Henri is softened by the offer to help. She hardly knows it but she's taken to rubbing that brooch she wears, a self-soothing gesture no doubt.

"He is very friendly." Colette says. "And rather dim-witted, I fear. I last saw him in the room I rented for the evening, but upon coming back with our dinner I found my door was open and Henri - my cat - was gone. I can only hope he is still within the inn itself."

It's a decently lively night. The fire is warm, drinks are flowing, and the bard playing isn't half bad. But that simply means there's that much more opportunity for him to have gotten into the great beyond.

"Thank you, by the way, for being willing to assist. I am more than glad to cover your tab as recompense."

[krosxs]

@bretonbookworm liked for a starter!

AT NO POINT did El think that any part of learning would come easy to him. Or at least, structured learning. He could be a sponge for information when it was on his own terms but this was different. A good different but still different nonetheless. And he was making the best of it.

Despite it all though, he was right where he wanted to be.

"Professor Lamoreaux," Catching sight of her as she walked by, El grabbed his bag and the book he had been reading so he could catch up to her. "I was wondering if you had a moment to spare." He gave her a quick smile as he settled his bag into place over his shoulder.

He hoped, nearly prayed, that she could help. Or at least point him in the right direction. "I fear I'm becoming a little too cooped up here. At least lately." A routine was good but he need to break it here and there. "I was wondering if you knew of any research trips were happening soon. I'd like to join if I could."

[bretonbookworm]

She endeavored to be the teacher she'd once had. Stern, yes, but thorough, generous with her time and effort alike. So when she heard her name it was only natural that she came to a stop, well, after she pulled herself from her thoughts and into reality anyway.

Ah, yes. El. The name pulls itself to the front of her mind as he flashes his quick smile. Part of her is surprised they're already feeling restricted by the walls of the college, as far as her memory can serve her he's rather new, but at the same time she can hardly blame him. This place with the cold and the wind is hardly like the college she attended back home.

"A research trip?" She adjusts her glasses a she ponders the idea. "Are you looking for anything in particular or merely what will most expediently free you from these walls? I ask because I do have my own expedition leaving rather shortly and I was just about to request another set of hands."

[bretonbookworm]

// A quick visual guide