#FLAVY HAPPILY

[justeyuko]

GUESS WHO IT ISSSSSSSSSS

Have Lilith helping Caine get ready for his nightly hangout date(?) with Flavy!

~ Aal, the #1 Eris Simp™️

ZOSBZLSBALQB WAIT BC I MADE SOMETHING THAT I WAS GOING TO POST

HERE HERE HERE

First before, Caine belong to @aal-stuffz

I am obliged to have an undestand my ship with Cain if you want to

I'm so sorry if there is a difference in style, it's because I have so much trouble with the anatomy of men and anatomy in general

+Bonus:

"Kiss kiss kiss and in exchange I'll give you back your mask! Deal?"

Flavy can be the teasing type with the person she loves, in close friendship and in love, otherwise she talks less with people she doesn't know.

Yuka, like Lilith, is also worried about her tastes in partners.

Something for Flavy, avoid talking about futures or other things like kids or wedding in front of her parents, it's the same for Yuka in all cases don't do it in front of their families, because otherwise you're not ready to come out of it and they will put a lot of pressure on you and ask lots of questions, and about your relationship with their daughters. Unless you intend to do so, Yuka and Flavy won't be able to do anything, just listen and stressed in their corner.

EHEHHEHEH I HOPE YOU LIKE IT

Flavy being the 1# fan of Cain

[2p-hcmaker]

Just a quick question if you don't mind; what (human) names are you using for 2P's?

No problemo! For the most part, they are the names people tend to use with the guys, with 2p! France as the biggest exception. So to make it more interesting, I'll add nicknames and pronunciations!

2p! Italy: Luciano Vargas. (lu-CHEE-ah-no). In few situations is he okay with Luci (lu-see or lu-chee), otherwise, he doesn't respond to nicknames.

2p! Romano: Flavio Vargas. (Fla-vee-oh). Prefers only girls to call him Flavi, but Xiao and Allen will often say it in an overly cutesy way to mess with him.

2p! Germany: Luther Beilshmidt. (Lo-ther). The rest of the guys call him Lutz, but he'll answer to just about any name he's called.

2p! Prussia: Gilen Beilshmidt. (Gil-len). Doesn't socialize that much, and even if he's called "Gil" he assumes someone is actually calling for his 1p.

2p! Japan: Kuro Honda. (Ker-row). Doesn't have nicknames, but Allen has been known to call him "Kuu" when teasing him. People typically call for him by his last name.

2p! America: Allen F. Jones. (Al-len). 90% of the time goes by "Al", and gets weirded out when people say his full name.

2p! Canada: Mattheui Williams. (Math-ew). Often goes by Matt, Matty, or James for whatever reason.

2p! France: Louise Bonnefoy. (Lew-ess). Don't call him Louis. He knows this is typically the female form of the name, he prefers this one. Has no real nicknames, but does respond to "hey you".

2p! China: Xiao Wang. (Zh-ow). His nickname might as well be anyone else's name, because no matter who you call, he'll likely turn up too.

2p! Russia: Viktor Bragniski.(Vic-tour). Rarely willingly answers to "Vik". Gets annoyed when people call him "Vanya", which is technically his 1ps nickname. Feels like if you can't bother to say his name, you aren't worth his time.

2p! England: Oliver Kirkland. (All-liver). Happily goes by "Olli", and often offers that when he feels like people may have difficulty with his full name. Ironically, Kuro has more trouble with his nickname than his full name.

[liviavanrouge]

Children

Davina(Davino twin sister): Crashin' the party, guess they lost my invitation! Friendly reminder got my own kinda persuasion~

Davino(Davina twin brother): Looks like this place could use a bit of misbehavior! Happily ever after with a little flavor.

Askios: Bad to the bone, with even worse intentions! We're gonna steal the show, and leave 'em all defenseless

Lesley: A fairy tale life can be oh-so overrated..so raise your voices and let's get it activated 

Davina and Lesley: Long live havin' some fun! We take what we want!

Davino and Askios: There's so many ways to be wicked!!

Davina and Davino: With us, evil lives on the right side of wrong!

Lesley and Askios: There's so many ways to be wicked!!

Hunapo: Apple, apple dip, dip

Davino: Wanna try it? Tick, tick

Flavis: Take a bite, c'mon, be bold

Davina: Change the way the story's told!

[robinaa]

i've been playing so much ffxiv lately and bringing over my ocs into the game

and just wanted to do an oc meme for them! More info for each under the cut!

I tried to add this as image descriptions but tumblr sucks so i have to add it here! Wali - He's friendly! But also maybe a bit too quick to get comfortable napping on your couch or eating all the fruit from your decorative fruit bowl Flavi - He's so helpful! But also struggles to say no. He'll happily help you weed your garden within minutes of knowing him- but he also really, really wants to stop being asked to fight primals. He's terrified! Rybalt - A slut. Operates on the 'flirts with any willing adult' pan mindset. Walter - Is going to acquaint himself with your gil, manderville gold saucer coins, and your car :) Mathion - Will absolutely devastate your self-esteem with a pointedly raised eyebrow. He clearly owns an air fryer Kalinan - Just avoid him he is a mosquito in elezen form

Lyrician - Operates on Fae rules, be polite with him or he might just hunt you for sport!

[maxbernini]

Hi! Did you get my ask about teenage sex scenes in media? Just checking 😅

hi!!! i did, but i started summer school this week so i’ve had zero energy sorry. i’ll answer what you addressed here. putting it under a read more; warning for discussions of sex + sexualization of teens and underage actors + fetishization of mlm. also it’s long but it’s the last time i wanna talk about this topic publicly bc i don’t like it & it usually derails into discourse :))

the thing about sex scenes for me is that it’s like, what’s the point? what do they represent? usually it’s to show a change in relationship, or for characterization purposes (e.g.: someone using sex as a coping method) and that’s all peachy, because i’m not anti-sex scenes in media!! i love all the ways sex is used in sebastián lelio’s film disobedience for example. but that involves adults. when a sex scene involves teenagers, it’s usually because it’s on a show about and for teenagers as well, so the paradigms automatically shift too. it can still be about showing a change in relationship, but, as with most things on teen shows, it’s also a chance to educate an impressionable audience, whereas a sex scene on a show like the americans or killing eve or whatever isn’t typically used as a medium to discuss consent, you know? and regardless of how dark and edgy some remakes can be, the entire point of skam as a show has always been to educate and entertain. obviously it fails in that regard when it comes to things like noorhelm, but julie andem very clearly interviewed norwegian teens for a reason. and i think once you view teen shows through that educate-entertain lens, a lot of things fall apart.

for example: cheryl and toni’s sex scene in riverdale. the actresses are both adults who look like adults so it’s easy to forget that the characters aren’t. if the characters were adults, i'd think it was a fun example of two women exploring their sex lives. but they're not, and it's also not a scene about consent, boundaries, trust. it's pretty much like every other riverdale sex scene, which is to say: it's titillating and fan servicey and very much supposed to be sexy rather than realistic. and again, because the actresses don't look like actual teens (whereas 90% of the skam casts do, because they are), you forget what it is you're watching. but when you do interrogate it, it's like...why is this happening? why are we watching two teen girls act out a bdsm fantasy in a club basement? (and when shows like euphoria have to cast adults to play teens because of the amount of nudity, then what does that say about how we approach teenage sexualization?)

so, re: sex scenes in skam. i think david and matteo's is a good example of one. what's the point of it? well, their relationship develops further, and you see a cis gay man and a trans man navigate sex for the first time. it's not gratuitous, it’s intimate and loving without being voyeuristic and overly sexualizing. and i think it's important for teens - especially gay and trans teens - to see that!! to normalize their desires + relationships, and show what healthy, consensual sex looks like. on the flip side, you have the mayla sex scene and the sobbe cyber sex scene, which attracted a lot more discourse than davenzi's. most of that has to do with the cast's ages, but tbh you have to be blind not to see a difference in the latter two vs druck’s. read this post + my tags + the convo with a friend in the notes for how i specifically feel about the mayla sex scene and why i'd happily fight david hourregue if i saw him in the street. 

did misogyny and lesbophobia play a part in the different reactions to the mayla sex scene and the sobbe ones? yeah. obviously we view men and women’s bodies differently (e.g.: cis men can be topless and nobody bats an eye, but cis/trans women obviously cannot do the same), and fandoms generally view wlw and mlm differently too: mlm ships are always more popular, not always for good reasons - which sex scene resulted in adult women creating moaning compilations? - but they also don't attract conversations about the male gaze, which only applies to women, especially women in wlw relationships. there was always going to be more discourse about the mayla one even if flavie hadn't been 17 (and for what it's worth, if the mayla sex scene had been adult women playing adult characters, i wouldn't have found it to be male gazey or unrealistic or bad.)

yet i don’t think people being less discourse-y about the sobbe one makes the mayla one automatically okay in response. both scenes featured a minor (!!). neither needed to be that graphic; you can argue that the sobbe cyber sex scene doesn't need to exist at all lmao. i actually think it was important for lola's arc to show her finally engaging in happy, healthy, consensual sex, but the morning scene accomplishes that. i wish it was something like crisana's (which is mostly implied because of spain's laws), or like, a pre-sex conversation where they discuss it, and then it cuts to black / the morning scene. 

tl;dr: normalizing healthy, consensual sex between teens is good. hyper-sexualizing them is bad. adults in fandoms should stop crossing lines. david hourregue and the wtfock team should choke.

[ask-miraculous-2promano]

All They See Part 2

Why oh why did he have to sit next to her? Flavio’s aunt chatted happily away with her parents and Ilara, barely even shooting a glance his way to acknowledge his presence. He stared down at the table using his fork to pick at his food; not exactly in the mood to eat.

“So, Flavio, how has school been?” The question came out of nowhere and pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Um, it’s been fine… I’ve been getting the best grades in my music classes.”

“What about your mathematic classes? Surely you’re getting the best grades in them, right?”

“My, my mathematic classes?”

“That’s right, algebra, biology, other classes like that.”

Flavio paused, fingers curling a bit, remembering how Lena feels about fine arts. “They’re fine, not the best but not the worst.”

He had shifted his eyes away from the older woman with his answer but he could make out the slightly curled lip.

“What a shame. If only you got your mother’s mind. You could’ve been on your way to becoming a scientist or doctor.”

Ilara tensed and looked at her grandparents worriedly. Nothing good ever happened when she got into these topics. And she could see the anger building up in her brother.

“But he has got it, Lena,” His grandfather butted in. “He’s just using it in a different way.”

“Sure he is.” Lena turned her glare to Flavio and sneered. “It’s just his father’s genes messing around with it’s proper usage. Not like I should expect anything else with him. He’ll end up just like his father anyway!”

“Lena, that’s enough!” Flavio’s grandmother shouted but he barely heard her.

Blood was roaring in his ears from all the pent up rage over the last few years came bubbling to the surface. He had to get out. Now. The blond sharply stood up from the table and snatched up his headphones sitting by the front door.

“Flavi, wait! Where are you going?!” He heard his sister call.

“Out!”

With that he slammed the front door shut, turning up the volume, and letting his anger fester.

[ourxcountryadventure]

July 25, 2021 - Saints, Seals and Splits

We awakened early again this Sunday with a big day of driving ahead of us to our destination in Gaspé. After a quick breakfast we packed up the campsites. Mom and dad headed to find mass at one of the lovely churches that dominated the skyline in Rivière du Loup and we headed to find Julien a pizza oven (his was left behind beside the door with each if us believing the other had grabbed it).

After a little drive through the city and the discovery of the 24hr ice cream stand ACROSS THE ROAD from the Municipale Camping (mystery solved as to the source of the cool treats being walked by our campsite), we met up on the highway with the handy Life 360 able to track Amma’s phone we always know where they are in a very Big Brother creepy way. 🥸 Down hwy 132 we set determined to outrun the rain which had found us just as we pulled away from the campground.

The towns along the 132 are pretty and lined with colorful houses many of which have an artistic twist of architecture or gardening. We saw miniature castles and gorgeous porches, bright coloured roofs, shrines to Mary and floral displays to die for. Each town centered around a gorgeous church that anywhere else but in Quebec would have been identified as a basilica or a cathedral so beautiful and imposing they were. Each one was different from the other. With a total of 64 parishes just in Gaspésie, we saw a lot of them on our travels but only a small percentage of the total number that exist.

Many villages along the shore has been named for a patron saint: Ste Anne des Monts, Ste Flavie, Ste Luce, St Ulric, Ste Félicite as many places are in Quebec. There are also some places named for more secular things like Trois Pistoles, L’isle Verte, Grosses Roches, Cap Chat.

We saw submarines, seals sunning on rocks, sailboats and ships, mountains, the sea, rock slides, lighthouses, crosses, and windmills. Everywhere you looked there was something to experience.

Lunch was enjoyed in the parking lot behind the Hart Store in Matane. Plenty of space to park our trailers immediately along the Gulf of the St Lawrence. The wind was strong which caused a couple of plates to blow but luckily all lunch items were saved by some quick reflexes.

We stopped again for a stretch in Mont St Pierre along the beach and in the shadow of Mont St Pierre itself we spied a crémerie where we happily found some yummy treats to fuel the second half of our drive including the most heavenly, huge and decadent banana split that was the size of Syl’s head - how do you say « Two spoons please! » en français?

It was here that I discovered the Chic Choc Mountains which I did not ever know about before. I blame every geography teacher I ever had and that my own children had that left these off the blasted maps of Canada labeling list. We had the opportunity to drive around them and through them and they are beautiful.

Note: The Chic-Choc Mountains, also spelled Shick Shocks, is a mountain range in the central region of the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada. It is a part of the Notre Dame Mountains, which is a continuation of the Appalachian Mountains. Wikipedia

Parent range: Notre Dame Mountains

Finally we arrived at Gaspé to our campground Fort Ramsay Motel and Campground which is humble but clean and boasts a beautiful view of the bay. Again our last minute decision to travel did not give us pick of campsites and even while I was checking in she was explaining to another traveler that they were « complet » .

A quick shop in Gaspé and back to the camper for an Italian themed dinner of lasagna and salad with a bit of Bavaria thrown in at dessert (Black Forest Cake). We were all tired from our long day and so bed time was welcome.

[sunnysmilerainyheart-blog]

"I'm not going to the party with anyone, you're not going with anyone. Shall we go together?" ~Flavio (maybe a Halloween party or something?)

Antonio smiles brightly and nods. “Sounds great, Flavi! Let me just get into my costume, alright? You wanna come to my flat with me?” He asks, pulling out his keys. He walks down to the bus stop and leans on the pole, smiling happily. “I was looking forward to going to the party but I didn’t want to go alone so I just decided not to go.”

[ofsnipcr-blog]

ABOUT ME

tagged by: @artisthief ( @lifeguilt idk which one you’ll see first ahaha) Thank you so much!! *glomps you*

IN GENERAL:

REAL NAME: Flavia

NICKNAMES: Fla, some use “Flavi” but not often

SEXUALITY: Demisexual

PREFERRED PRONOUNS: She/her

ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON?: what is morning? *groans*

WHEN SWIMMING, DO YOU PREFER TO DO IT IN THE OCEAN, OR IN A LAKE?: *screams* why not a swimming-pool? Or a bathtub?  Oceans and Lakes seem scary....

ON TUMBLR:

ANYONE YOU WOULD LIKE TO MEET IN REAL LIFE?: tbh all of you?? Like I met the best people here and I’d love to hang out with you irl!

ANYONE YOU HAVE MET IN REAL LIFE?: nobody, yet... :( 

WHEN DID YOU FIRST JOIN? uuuuhmmm ... 4 years ago, I think? In the Uta no prince-sama fandom... 2 years ago here on the ONS one, if I’m not wrong owo

YOUR CURRENT ACCOUNT?: this one, @prxtective-klutz, @anotherfool-whodreams 

ANY PEEVES?:

D R A M A

people judging my choices or my hobbies like it’s their business

UNPOPULAR OPINION: ... uhmmmm I can’t think of one rn? Maybe just that I wish people were a bit less sensitive about certain topics, I mean, I agree with most of them, but sometimes it can get a bit extreme and even the best intentions end up sounding kinda bitchy and it goes against the “well being” of what you’re fighting for. Damn, it sounded better in Italian...

FEELINGS:

DO YOU EASILY GET JEALOUS?: *awkward cough* ... maybe. YES 

DO YOU EASILY GET ANGRY?: it depends, usually no but there are some things that make me get really angry in a matter of seconds

ARE YOU EASY TO CHEER UP?: quite easy, yeah... Honestly, sometimes I just need a hug or a smile to feel better

ARE YOU GOOD AT HIDING YOUR EMOTIONS?: quite good, I’m actually working on showing them more. I can’t hide happiness or tears, though.

WHAT’S THE VERY BEST WAY TO CHEER YOU UP?: HUGS! And telling me everything is gonna be okay

RELATIONSHIPS:

ARE YOU CURRENTLY IN A RELATIONSHIP?: Nope

DO YOU CURRENTLY HAVE A CRUSH ON SOMEONE: I don’t  think so

IF YES, MIGHT THAT SOMEONE BE READING THIS?: anyway no pffft

DO YOU KISS ON THE FIRST DATE?: I did, once? But probably won’t do it ever again

DO YOU PREFER GOING OUT, OR STAYING HOME, WHEN IT COMES TO DATES?: Staying home, unless they’re willing to take me to the cinema, then I happily agree

THINGS:

FAVORITE DRINK: water Ginseng coffee!

FAVORITE FOOD: chocolate 

Repost, Do Not Reblog

TAGGING: @kuroheishi, @elyon-kurae, @fallenangelmikaela, @shyquietwanderer1, @hisashiburii, @preciousprincessyu, @childoflegend ((of course you’re not forced to!! Only if you feel like doing it)) and if you’re reading this and want to do this, I’m tagging you too!

[sineatcr-blog]

MEMORIES 04 – IZUNIA

      | Three years after Memory 03. |

“Aaaaaa-din.” The voice called insistently from somewhere above him. “Aadin, wake up. C’mooooon.”

Ardyn moaned, swatting aimlessly at the air and trying to roll over. “No,” he said, his voice muffled by the pillow. “Nuh-uh. Not gettin’ up, s’too early.”

“Aadin, it’s after lunchtime,” the voice said with a giggle, poking him and Ardyn wiggled in protest.

“Anything before dinner’s too early,” he muttered, but after a long moment – enough to convince the voice that he wasn’t moving – he sat up sharply, tackling his little brother across the bed and tickling him.

The blue-haired boy shrieked with laughter, wiggling around and swatting at Ardyn’s hands. “Nooo!” He yelped. “Not fair, not fair!”

“You woke me up, Izu, you pay the price!” Ardyn teased, picking him up as he slid off the bed and out from under the covers. “C’mere, you.”

Izunia, five year-old that he was, squealed and laughed as he climbed over Ardyn’s shoulder to sit piggyback, wrapping his arms around his brother’s neck. “I’m here, Aadin,”

“Did Mom put you up to this?” He asked teasingly, walking out of his bedroom with Izunia on his shoulders. “I know she wishes I wouldn’t sleep so late. But I like sleeping.”

“Why’s that?”

Ardyn shrugged. “I wake up and it’s warm and comfortable, so I decide ‘hey, I don’t want to get up, this is nice’ and I go back to sleep. That’s it, really.” His bed was close to the window of his room, so the sun would lay in warm slats across his bed, and his blanket was cozy and comfortable, and it was just…the most pleasant place he could think of. Better than a nice bath or anything – well, except maybe napping outside. The grass was tickly, but it was just as warm, and if he had a blanket to lie on…well, that was basically bliss.

Hey, he had to have hobbies besides studying constantly, right? Napping totally counted. And if he was outside, he could bird watch, too.

“Sounds nice,” Izunia said with a solemn nod. “But nu-uh, Mama didn’t. I came to get you ‘cause your birds came back an’ they’re in my room.”

“Oh!” Ardyn grinned widely. “Flavi and Rubri are back? How come they stopped at your room?”

Izunia shrugged, nestling into the crook of his brother’s neck. “They have a big package,” he said with a sigh. “Maybe they got tired?’

“A package?” Ardyn asked, turning the corner and heading down the hall to Izunia’s room. “Really? I wonder what Stel’ sent…”

Izunia sighed wistfully. “Bet it’s nice,” he said. “Stella seems nice. I hope she comes back here one day, I wanna meet her.”

“I hope so, too, Izu,” Ardyn replied quietly, sighing to himself. “I hope she does, too.”

The two birds were sitting amiably on the open window ledge in Izunia’s room, and chirped happily upon seeing their other owner, flying to him to perch on his shoulders like a pair of feathered, mismatched pauldrons. “Hey, you guys,” Ardyn said, stroking Flavi’s golden head. “Thanks again. Now let’s see what you’ve brought me.”

He moved to the table, setting Izunia down on one of the chairs – the younger boy leaned on the table to watch in fascination as Ardyn picked up the letter, bringing it to his face to close his eyes and breathe in Stella’s scent of vanilla and lavender. He stuck his tongue out at his brother when he giggled, and carefully tore the letter open.

                 Dear Ardyn,

  I miss you. But you know that, don’t you? I only say it every letter! I know you miss me, too, so we don’t have to exchange ‘miss yous’ every time we write.

 We arrived on the island continent the other day! It’s lovely here, and this city is building itself up around the sea and between the rivers. People use boats to get from place to place. I wish you could see it…It’s beautiful. The air always smells like saltwater and spices. I think you’d love it, I’ve seen so many different kinds of fish! I never realized they could come in so many colors.

 There was a little shop I found, and while mother was looking at jewelry, I found this. It made me think of you, and I know how much you like to sleep late – it should come in handy! I had it engraved and everything. Getting a picture small enough was hard, but the shopkeeper helped.

 I hope you like it, Ardyn. This way, no matter where we are or what happens, I’ll always be by your side. Remember that, okay? Always.

                                                   Love, Stella

Ardyn tucked the letter in his pocket and turned to the package, a small parcel wrapped in waterproof leather and tied off with string. He tugged it open to reveal a black lacquer box, and opened that to reveal a pale gold pocket watch, a silhouette of a bird in flight molded onto the lid.

“Oh,” Ardyn whispered, and blushed faintly at the ‘awww’ from Izunia. He picked the watch up and clicked it open – the watch’s face was elegant, with old-style numerals, and the back of the lid held a small but detailed painting of Stella pressed into it, along with a sprig of lavender and a small vanilla blossom. Around the edges of the lid’s inside, the words ‘with you always, ALC & SNF’ were engraved.

He stared at it a moment, letting the chain dangle from his hands, before slipping it into his jacket pocket and pinning the chain to the lapel just like he’d seen his father do.

“It’s super pretty,” Izunia said quietly, staring at the letter still on the table. “She likes you a lot, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Ardyn murmured with a tiny smile. “Yeah…yeah. She does.”

He wished she’d come back soon – it wasn’t the same without her, hadn’t been. But at least he’d have a bit of her with him always, her picture and her scent. No matter where they went, how far apart…he didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it first.

Don’t worry, Stella, he thought, picking the letter up and missing the odd look on Izunia’s face. With any luck, when you get back I’ll have the cure ready. And we can save our people together.

[folksblogen]

I choose to listen to the river awhile, thinking river thoughts, before joining the night and the stars. — Edward Abbey

We left Toronto at the end of July bound for Québec with Nova Scotia in our sights. We didn’t make it to Nova Scotia. We followed the south shore of the Fleuve St-Laurent to the Bas-St-Laurent to the Golfe du St-Laurent all the way to the Gaspé before crossing over to the Côte du Nord where it became the Route des Baleines (the Whale Route) at Les Escoumins (an Inuu settlement dating back 9,000 years). We followed the St. Lawrence all the way back to Lake Ontario never veering too far inland and always camping as close to the water’s edge as possible.

We know how we feel in proximity to the ocean. Now there is scientific evidence that proves that even just a view of the ocean can boost a person’s mental health. Dr. Wallace J. Nichols explained in a Ted Talk that water holds vast cognitive, emotional, psychological and social benefits. “Nature is medicine – a walk on the beach; a surfing session; a stroll through the woods heals us. It fixes what is broken inside of us. Nature can reduce our stress, it can make us more creative and bring us together.”

We spent hours trying to describe in words, the smells, colors and feel of the river, particularly once it became tidal, beyond Québec City. The ocean and the tides feel and smell like home to us, like a cleansing breath, the Fleuve St-Laurent lifted our moods and filled our heads with creative energy. An endorphin shot that had us hungry for more.

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Our route was not planned. When we travelled through the Gaspé three years ago we concentrated on Forillon National Park and Percé Rock. We visited neither this time round. We did, however, return to two campgrounds which we loved just as much this time, both, of course, overlooking the St-Laurent.

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What did we do and love this time?

Farm Stands – we feasted on the summer harvest from Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil to Riviere-Madeleine to La Malbaie and back to Toronto.

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Ciderie St-Nicholas – we tried two kinds of cider, sparkling and crackling, and we loved them both!

Basque Cheeses and Smoked Fish – the Basque were the earliest Europeans to make their way to the St-Laurent (unfortunately to hunt whales) and left their culinary mark near Trois Pistoles on the south shore.

Signage for Laitiers and Casse-Crôutes – giant ice cream cones for the former and boxes of giant fries made using two by four pieces of lumber to represent the fries for the later. Kitsch folk art in the best way.

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Le Vieux Moulin in St-Flavie – makers of everything honey. We visited without expectation and left smitten. We are not Mead lovers but their dry honey wine was a winner as was the tree sap honey…imagine sitting in the middle of a boreal forest with your eyes closed and drinking in the sweet scent of the surrounding trees.

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The smoked fish dips from Atkins et Freres in Mont-Louis.

St-Fabien-sur-mer – we learned quickly to follow any sign ending in sur-mer! There we enjoyed a simple Basque lunch on the beach.

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The Alpine Cottage style bath houses at the municipal campground in Trois Pistoles. Adorable!

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The croissants at Pain d’Exclamation in La Malbaie! Still wondering why didn’t we stop to restock on our way west???

Campsite 19 at Camping des Érables in La Malbaie. Complete privacy in a terraced site with a perfectly stunning view of the St-Laurent.

We were invited to stay at the most perfect 100-year-old cottage in Cap d’Aigle. We watched an incredible thunder and lighting storm from the safety of the ample porch overlooking the St-Laurent. We scaled the cliff down to the shoreline and watched Minke Whales dance in the surf. We ate, drank, laughed and shared cooking, porch breakfasts, and wood fires with our generous hosts Felicity, Sarah, Robbie and Pierre.

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The ferry between Trois Pistoles and Les Escoumins – we love a ferry! especially one where we can watch Beluga and Minke Whales frolicking in the river.

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The Inuu run Tipi Campground at Les Escoumins – possibly the cleanest campground we have ever visited. Unfortunately there was a boiled water alert which is all too common in First Nations Communities in this country.

Parc National du Bic near Rimouski – a gorgeous marine park where we hiked, climbed rocks and enjoyed beaches that reminded us of Corsica. It was here that we first attempted to put the scent of the tidal river into words. Watching the fog roll in from our campsite in the morning was the icing on the cake.

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Ask the river where it comes from? You will get no answer. Ask the river where it is going? You will get no answer because the river lives inside this very moment, neither in the past nor in the future, in this very moment only! — Mehmet Murat ildan

  The Saguenay River – we explored too little of what might be Canada’s best kept secret. This fjord leads to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and offers views that made us think we might be in Iceland or Norway. The Côte du Nord highway breaks at Tadoussac where a ferry service commutes cars to the other side of the Saguenay. If you are lucky, as we were, you will see Beluga Whales playfully feeding while you cross the river.

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Discovering the St. Lawrence Parks near Cornwall. We camped on Morrison Island (a happy accident) which is a campground within a migratory bird sanctuary on the river. We arrived, without reservations, of course, and after hours (it happens), and during a downright frightening thunderstorm. By the time we were set up in a campsite the sky cleared and the sun was shining.

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We avoided major highways on this roadtrip as much as possible but as we neared Montreal we travelled briefly on Route 20. At a rest stop we encountered Interzone 3, an artist project by Mathieu Latulippe, which was part of a larger project called Truck Stop. It wasn’t until we arrived back in Toronto that we realized it comprised of 15 different roadside works between Montreal and Quebec City. Wishing we had known as we would have happily visited each one.

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Artist Installation at Riviere-Madeleine

Truck Stop on Route 20

If you want to get a sense of just how many saints there are in this world just drive through Quebec! It would seem that the list is infinite and that Quebec has tapped this list without needing to ever repeat a name. The saints denote towns, villages, cities, streets, rivers, and lakes. Have you ever heard of Saint-Télesphore, Saint-Polycarpe or Saint-Zotique? Our favourite saint in case you’re wondering …. Lawrence, obviously.

Travelling through la belle province we became inspired and began dreaming up new projects. Roadtrips, nature, and exploration offer inspiration we wouldn’t get any other way. We’re back in Toronto with a to-do-list inspired by our time in Quebec.

Be like a river. Be open. Flow. — Julie Connor

https://vimeo.com/230365041

  Saint of a River

[sunnysmilerainyheart-blog]

"I think I love you." ~Flavio

Antonio blushes hard. He smiles at Flavio and hugs him close. He kisses the side of his neck and nuzzles closer to him. “I love you too Flavi!” He says happily, rubbing his back gently. “You’re precious to me.”

[sineatcr-blog]

MEMORIES 03 – LETTERS CARRIED BY BIRDS

           | Five years after Memory 02. |

“…What do you mean, you won’t be coming back to the Citadel for a while?” Ardyn asked, bewildered. “Why not?”

Stella wrung her hands nervously, the thirteen year-old girl looking sad and upset, but also like she didn’t want to tell him. “Because…” She began slowly. “Mom found out. A-About our trips.”

Ardyn’s eyes widened. “How?!” He demanded, stepping forward. “We were really good at keeping them secret!”

Ever since their first excursion five years earlier, the two kids had been making regular trips out to the city proper, finding people who were sick and helping them. Ardyn couldn’t heal, but he had thrown himself happily into his combat training so he could protect Stella – and he’d gotten a lot better at his swordsmanship. The two children had made it a habit whenever Stella had visited the Citadel, slipping out and losing their guardians.

Ardyn had a pile of notebooks in his drawer, full of notes and sketches of daemons and the Scourge – his plan, his idea, was still growing and forming, and he’d even told Stella about it two years ago. She’d loved the idea. The two of them had been going out since then both to help heal people and to study the sickness as best they could, trying to figure out a way to cure it. There had to be something.

But now– Stella shook her head frantically. “I don’t know!” She said. “Maybe someone in the city saw us and told? It wasn’t me, Ardie, I swear!”

“I know,” Ardyn said, realizing he had yelled and reaching to grab her hand. “I know it wasn’t you, and it wasn’t me, either, Stel’. You’re right, someone probably told on us.” It made sense, didn’t it? Some worried citizen telling the guards that the Crown Prince and the Oracle’s daughter were out and about in the bad parts of the city. But…

He swallowed. “So you’re leaving…?” He asked.

Stella nodded. “Y-Yes,” she said sadly, looking down at their joined hands. “There’s– there’s a lot of new settlements out there lately, and Mom says as Oracle she needs to travel to all of them t-to heal people, and I have to come with her.”

“…So she’s basically trying to keep us apart,” Ardyn said bitterly. “I guess I’m a bad influence.”

Stella laughed. “The best bad influence.” She said fondly. “But yeah, I think so…we have to be together once you’re king and I’m Oracle, but I think until then she wants us to stay apart. Which is dumb, but…”

“But she’s your mom and Oracle, so she’s the boss of you,” Ardyn finished quietly. “It’s okay, Stel’ – I can’t heal yet, but I’ll keep studying. We’ll make this cure work, I promise. Even if we’re apart.”

Stella hugged him tightly and he returned the gesture. “I know,” she said fondly. “We’ll do it together no matter what. I won’t be leaving for a few days, though, so…let’s make those count.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, mind already hard t work trying to come up with any ideas to make this not happen, anything to help. “Let’s make it count.”

Though the two had tried desperately to be together as much as possible the last few days before Stella’s departure, the Oracle had done her own level best to keep them apart. It hurt, and it frustrated them both – Ardyn especially – but it did give him more time to come up with a plan. If he couldn’t stop her leaving, then the trick would be to find some way to stay in touch, right? So that’s what he had to do.

He’d worked hard, talking to everyone he could possibly think to ask, sneaking out and talking to the friends he’d made in the people the two had helped heal. Some idea, any idea, no matter how little – he was clever, everyone always told him that, told him he was smart and clever and good at coming up with things – and he knew he’d be able to work out a plan of action.

It was on this last trip, the afternoon before the Fleurets would leave, when he finally found something.

One of the people they’d healed was a merchant, and Ardyn entered her store to stop in surprise at the trill of songbirds.

“What are those?” He asked the older woman, looking around for the source of the sound. The woman chuckled, stepping into the back and bringing out a silver gilt cage, within which four birds in shades of gold, crimson, sapphire, and emerald hopped from perch to perch, singing cheerfully.

“Nebulawood Alcedines,” the woman said. “Clever little things, I’ve been told. Can find their way nearly anywhere, seeing as their native habitat’s almost always covered in thick fog. Pretty, too, all bright colors, and their song’s lovely. A cousin hunts in his spare time, and sent these to me as a gift.” She sighed. “Though I don’t know what to do with them, really…can’t afford pets.”

She paused, catching the look of awe on Ardyn’s face, and smiled. “That’s right…you like animals, don’t you, Your Highness?”

“Yeah,” Ardyn aid, reaching his hand through the cage bars. The golden alcedine fluttered down to land on his finger, twittering at him. “I love them.” It was true; though his interest had started with studying them to compare them with daemons, Ardyn had quickly discovered how fascinating the animal kingdom was, and how pretty – books on ecology and animals were slowly taking over his bookshelves, and he had to admit, birds were some of his favorites.

“Well, in that case, they’re yours,” the woman said, and Ardyn lit up.

“Really?” He asked, and the woman nodded.

“Really,” she said. “I know you’ll take good care of them.”

Ardyn stood on his tiptoes to pick up the cage, grinning as the birds chirped brightly, seeming to know they were going to a good home. “I will,” he promised, and an idea was already forming. They can find their way anywhere, huh…?

“Stella!” Ardyn nearly tripped, carefully carrying his surprise behind him as he hurried to meet her before she left. “Stella, wait!”

She turned, dropping her bags as her eyes lit up happily. “Ardie, you made it! I was worried you wouldn’t come see me off…”

“Of course I would, Stel’,” Ardyn said. “I was just getting something ready to give you.” He smiled at her crookedly, full of mischief, and Stella smiled back.

“A gift for me?” She asked. “What is it?”

Ardyn’s smile widened even more and he pulled the small birdcage from behind his back, where the crimson and gold alcedines sat placidly inside. “Rubri and Flavi,” he said proudly. “I have two more for me, those are Caeruli and Viridi.”

“Oh, they’re so pretty!” Stella said with a bright smile, taking the birdcage gently and whistling the song back at the birds. “I love them, Ardie, thank you!”

Ardyn grinned. “Oh, but that’s not all,” he said, pulling a little leather pouch from his pocket. “I was up all night figuring stuff out, and here. Write me letters and put them in here, and the birds will bring it to me. And I can do the same back.”

“We can keep in touch!” Stella realized, beaming. She set the cage down and threw her arms around him in a hug, squeezing tightly. “Oh, thank you, Ardie! I was scared we wouldn’t be able to talk again for years! But now we’ll never lose touch, and Mom can’t stop me! Wherever we go, they’ll find me, won’t they?”

Ardyn nodded. “Wherever you go, they’ll know the way there and back again,” he promised. “No matter where you are, my letters will find you.”

“Ardyn…” Stella repeated, and smiled shyly, her eyes glimmering with tears. “Thank you so much. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, Stella,” Ardyn said softly, and reached out to give her hand a final squeeze. “But I’ll never forget you. Never.”

Stella sniffled, and leaned over to give Ardyn a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing her bags and the birdcage and running off.

Ardyn stood a moment, watching her go with his hand covering his cheek. “Bye,” he said softly, so quiet no one could hear. “See you again, Stella.”