b a s t i e n

Flowers in my hair I belong by the s e a Where we used to be sittin' by the orange trees

[fleurbastien]

* ambrxsian

❝ — god, a swim sounds incredible right now,” lorelei sighed, internally bemoaning her attempts at running. “…or maybe just..sitting on a raft in a pool would be more on par with my energy level.” she straightened, with great effort (and the type of noises a dad makes when rising from the couch), and offered a feeble smile to her fellow early bird. “good morning, bastien.” with a deep breath, she wiped the sweat from her forehead. one would think that she’d be in better shape considering she spent all day on her feet, and yet.

“you want some coffee? maybe a cup of tea? the cafe’s just around the corner and this run did not wake me up like i thought it would.”

Bastien mirrored Lorelei as she stood, and he set his hands on his hips as he watched her trying to catch her breath. Not a single part of him would dare to judge her current sweaty, breathless state. He would be a hypocrite if he did, for he would be displeased were anyone to judge his dirt-covered, sweat-ridden appearance after a day in the field. It was impossible for anyone to look their best at all moments in time, after all. 

“It’s as you wish,” he agreed, still smiling. “Do you have anything exciting in your plans today? Myself, I agreed to help someone move boxes at the docks. But,” a troubled look phased over Bastien’s face suddenly as he thought about it, “I do not actually know what time, or what boat it was that I agreed to help.”

[fleurbastien]

* eleutherixs

Sihyun smiles gently, genuinely excited to watch a movie that had inspired Bastien. Given how excited the other seems to be for it, Sihyun doesn’t doubt he too will love this movie. It had been a while, after all, since he’s had the chance to sit down and enjoy some form of media that’s longer than three minutes on youtube on his phone. While the opening credits start rolling, Sihyun turns to look at his friend, grinning widely at his reaction to the food. Now Sihyun would never brag but cooking has become somewhat of a talent. He’s recently gotten incredibly good at it and it always makes him so happy when his friends can enjoy any dish he makes. “Does it?” He chuckles, bringing his fork up to his own mouth to take a bite. “Mhmm, I guess it does. Only the best for you Bas.”

Bastien knew good food when he had it. With a family back home which owned a cafe, and plenty of other esteemed eateries around Fort-de-France, there was little else in Bas’s world that could top a good meal. He, himself, was only a mediocre cook, able to follow a recipe and produce something presentable, however never showing a proclivity for making a five-star meal. “Maybe I should take some cooking lessons from you,” he chuckled brightly.

[ambrxsian]

❝ — every so often, lorelei tried to ignite a passion for running. she was an early riser, up long before the sun, and it felt like she should enjoy a run before work. she had the shoes, the work-out clothes — all she was missing was the desire to run. (was the desire to have the desire to run enough?) 

she paused on a street corner not far from the café, face red, hair sticking to her forehead, and gasping for breath. she leaned down, resting her palms on her knees. “you know,” she began to no one in particular, “i think maybe you have to be a bit of a masochist to enjoy running. my god how do people do this–”

[fleurbastien]

“Coucou, Lorelei.” Like a songbird, Bastien’s programming allowed them to have only one phrase with which to greet a friend, though in this instance the salutation was reserved solely for the sweat-covered runner before them. 

Squatting, Bastien peered up at the other with a smile all too awake for that hour of the morning. “I should be happy to invite you on a swim with me, some day,” he offered brightly. “Arguable, it is a better workout than a run, but much more enjoyable. The water masks the sweat and you keep cool, and you get to see cool fish, if you bring along a snorkel.”

[fleurbastien]

* superpcsitions

    IT’S ALWAYS COMFORTING for arlo to hear his mother tongue and it’s no less when it comes from the sweet lips of bastien, lips that perhaps arlo’s gaze lingers a bit too long on. he kind of flinches a bit as the other man gestures to the chair for arlo to sit. he sets his notebook down, along with his pastry and coffee and he sinks into the seat. instantly, one foot rests on another free chair across from him; arlo’s always been quick to make himself comfortable, even in uncomfortable situations.

“merci,” he muses softly, a small smile lingering on his lips. he brings the mug to his lips and raises his brows as bastien continues to speak in french. not to mention, he’s so fucking sweet. it’s almost painful because he definitely didn’t deserve to be treated like such a disposal, but arlo pushes those guilty thoughts to the side and takes a sip of his coffee. bitter as fuck. he makes a face and reaches out for a packet of sugar, careful not to let the shop owner see or else he’d be scolded on ruining a perfectly good cup of greek coffee. without saying anything, arlo spins the plate with the pastry on it while ripping the packet of sugar with his teeth, a way of offering the food to bastien.

“je sais,” arlo says as he dumps the sugar into the drink. he smirks to himself as he stirs the coffee a bit, then flashes a gaze up to bastien. “vous êtes trop optimiste. j'ai incroyablement la gueule de bois.” he snickers and shakes his head. “glad it doesn’t seem so, though.”

Bastien’s eyes flicker down to the pastry for only a moment, but his decision was easy to make, and he shook his head, holding out a polite hand of refusal. Considering he already had a small plate of his own food, he didn’t want to take any from the other. A part of him hoped that the conversation would end there. In fact, maybe a majority of his preference leaned this way, but he would never let on. He set his pencil down on the over-worked pages of his field journal, visibly browned by the soil from his hands, which were rarely as clean as they were presently.

“Ah,” he smiled, suppressing a laugh. “Vous n’avez pas changé votre manières,” he observed. The utility of the formal versions of reference pronouns combined with the over-arching meaning of his words ran the risk of coming off much harsher than he had meant them to. Realization of this fact manifested rather obviously upon the boy’s features, the muscles in his face slackening while his eyebrows raised fearfully. “Pardonnez-moi, je pensais pas à mal,” he insisted, sitting straighter in his chair, eyes boring into Arlo’s as though to extract any sense of reaction the other had. Not only did he fear hurting Arlo’s feelings, but god forbid Bastien Lalande seem rude.

[fleurbastien]

* heavenburdened

* ╰        BASTIEN HAS SO MUCH BRIGHTNESS IN HIM, and eden thinks to himself about how his earthly body must struggle to keep it all contained —— for written into his smile, characterised by the endearing shuffle of his feet, and spoken through his gaze ; bastien’s brightness flows from him so freely, pouring into the sunlight-glimmered morning air and making it brighter still. “ you’ve not interrupted anything, my dear. ” eden assures quickly ; his warm hues shaped into kindly crescents as he offers bastien a smile as bright as the sun. “ i think perhaps i was meant to walk down this path today and find you, and that this was meant to bethe course of my day. i think that maybe the heavens decided that i was meant to spend time with you, and so the gods set loose a flock of poor chickens to bring us together. ” he tells bastien ; regarding him with something so fond —— though his expression then grows almostserious as he listens, diligently, to every word of bastien’s proposed chicken-catching method. “oh, oh yes —— quite right. running at them frantically might frighten them too, which we certainly don’t want. poor dears. ” he hums, nodding thoughtfully, “ shall i go and coax them towards you ? or did you want that role ? ”

“Mm,” Bastien hummed, musing over the other’s words. After all that had happened to him, you would think he could believe in destiny. At that point in his life, he had so many breaks that got him to where he was. Acceptance into a decent college, moving away from a broken family, continuing into graduate programs, and getting accepted into a well-funded biological/botanical research project. And yet, hearing Eden tout this other-worldly force didn’t sit right, and he realized that he always considered destiny to be a cop-out excuse for a more complex web of chance and choice. To a biologist, boiling down the wonderful world of life down to a belief in pre-destiny would take away a lot of its beauty. 

That was neither here nor there. Bastien certainly wouldn’t display his inner thoughts, not that they mattered in a situation that wasn’t heavy whatsoever. “Yes, coax them toward me and I will be responsible for taking them back to the fences. Chickens are actually very nice to hold,” he said, matter-of-factly, “because they are so fluffy.”

[vincent-is-vintage-moved]

Happy Black History Month

Today we’re celebrating two people: Katherine Johnson and Guion Bluford. Both contributed their skills to help further N.A.S.A. Katherine worked with N.A.S.A. as a “human computer” back when the origination was just starting out. With her accurate knowledge of mathematics, Katherine was tasked to calculate the first, space round trip for a human astronaut in 1961. After the success, she also helped check the accuracy of a round trip to the moon, in 1962. Even after computers had begun to branch into N.A.S.A., Katherine still stayed to give her expertise til her retirement in the 80′s. In 2015, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama.

Guion had a PhD in aerospace engineering and was a skilled Air Force veteran who served in the Vietnam War, he was awarded the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm to prove it. With his skills and knowledge, Guion seized the opportunity to join N.A.S.A.’s space flight team and thus became the first African-American to travel space in 1983. Guion completed several space missions while aboard the Challenge before the shuttle met it’s demise, in 1986. Fortunately for Guion, he wasn’t present for that mission. Guion completed two more missions on the Discovery shuttle to wrap up his space travels in 1993. Guion’s efforts have been honored in the International Space Hall of Fame.

Instagram

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[fleurbastien]

* eleutherixs

Sihyun grins widely, his friends’ energy absolutely infectious as he himself feels the excitement buzzing under his skin. It’s always been like this with the other, a really kind and interesting soul that Sihyun has always felt drawn too. That’s a big part of why they’re such good friends. He takes a small sip of his wine before he picks up some of the food from his plate up and takes a bite. “Mmm, no, I don’t think I have,” he says after thinking about it for the moment. He squints at the summary on the screen as Bastien hovers over it with the remote. “It sounds really interesting. Let’s watch it!” He says, plopping another bite of the food into his mouth. He’s almost surprised by how well the dish came out considering he hadn’t made it in so long.

“I have seen it once before, and it is so inspiring to me,” he explained, looking at the preview stills. Three black women scientists and mathematicians trudging through the harsh obstacles of their era. If there was one qualm with the movie that Bastien could raise, it would be that it hadn’t come out sooner, early in his childhood. He selected the movie and set down the remote, situating himself comfortable in his seat. He brought a bite of food up to his mouth and tried it. The production credits’ sounds were no match for the exclamation of intense satisfaction Bastien then emitted, by cause of the stir fry. He was posed once again at the edge of his seat, looking at his friend with eager admiration. “Sih-yun !” he said, still chewing. “Ça goût absolument fantastique !!”

[fleurbastien]

* heavenburdened

* ╰        AS INEVITABLE AS GREEN LEAVES catching alight with the fire of auburn hues the as summer turns to fall, bastien lalande always brought such warmth, brightness and commotion to the course of eden’s days. they’d been an iridescent glimmer of sunshine on the gray, rain-soaked day that the two had first met ; they’d been the warmest part of eden’s summer vacation in hawaii. and now, even on a day where the world ( against all odds ) seemed a kind place to eden, bastien was still the brightest thing in sight. “ chickens ? escaped ? c a t c h ? ” eden repeats ; a clement laugh escaping him as his smile broadens, impossibly warm. of course, bastien had found themself in such a bizarre predicament —— of course they had. they were a constant surprise of the loveliest kind, and how dearly eden adored bastien’s penchant for lending a helping hand to others –— whatever the cost, wherever, whenever. “ bastien my dear —— do you see these two hands ? ” eden says with a smile, holding his palms up towards the sunlight. “ because i don’t —— all i see are two chicken catchers. let’s, you & i, go round up these chickens, hm ? ”

Bastien was glad to see that his proposition was well-received. There was a part of him that worried Eden might be too busy for such an odd menial task. Rather, the other had agreed with no questions asked, and that struck Bastien significantly. He knew of few other folk on the island who would respond in such a way, and it made the boy’s fondness for Eden all the greater. The task of rounding up the chickens had proved more difficult than expected for just one person, so having a friend who was so willing to help out with enthusiasm would make things go much easier. Hands clapped together, the Caribbean boy shifted weight excitedly back and forth on his feet. “Perfect!” he sang. “With the two of us, we will have them back in their area in no time. And-- thank you for agreeing to help me,” he added with sincerity, watching Eden with a look that conveyed nothing other than the utmost gratitude. “I hope I have not interrupted too much the course of your day.” He stepped forward and placed a hand on the other’s shoulder, turning him and pointing. In the distance, a chicken was poking around, tall grass ruffling around him, just between a circle of trees. “Here is what I have learned; running at them is not effective, because they are quite fast. I think if one of us remains still and the other coaxes them forth from behind, we will have these birds.”

[fleurbastien]

* superpcsitions

    ONCE UPON A time, arlo rouselle met a gorgeous human being in kaos and indulged himself. like submerging his body into a warm jacuzzi, arlo spotted the man that night and decided he wanted him, and that’s exactly what he got. bastien had been nothing but sweet, almost too sweet in that arlo should’ve definitely been more mindful of the man’s emotions. but see, arlo tends to treat sex as something casual— it comes much too easy for him, takes over his mind and sometimes, he hurts people in the outcome with how casual he keeps it. for heaven’s sake, he called off an engagement in amsterdam simply by leaving the other man in the middle of the night with a note that said, i’m sorry written on a napkin with his roommate’s lipstick. arlo’s not good at goodbyes, which could be why he never quite gives them in the first place.

he’s seen bastien before around kaos but only from a distance, only a very fleeting thing but never while stepping into a cafe on a friday afternoon. arlo had found himself here, in need of a greek coffee and spanikopita so he’d lugged his leather-bound sketchbook, notebook, and the novel he’d been reading and decided to make an afternoon of it. he enters the cafe and spots bastien but he doesn’t approach him right away— instead, he approaches the counter and places his order. he doesn’t sit down right away, either. he leans against the pastry display case and flips through his notebook, eyes flickering up to bastien to see if he’s going to leave or not. once his order is ready, he balances it on his books and carefully walks over to him.

“is this seat taken?” arlo asks, gesturing to a tiny round table right next to bastien’s. “do you mind?”

The figures on his notebook were no longer interesting to him. The pictures of plants, his slanted handwriting in dark ink. None of what as on the page actually registered, his eyes staring only at funny shapes as his mind replayed scenes in his mind from times past, ghosts of interactions. None of which were pleasant, but only in retrospect, for, at the time, they were exhilarating. As a shadow passed over his notebook, his mind readjusted to reality, vision coming back into focus. Slowly, his head tilted up to view the looming figure of a curly-headed boy. 

“Bah, bien sur !” Bas replied in french automatically, knowing full well that Arlo would understand. Despite not actually wanting the other to settle at the table, Bastien’s charisma and politesse ruled above any reservations he might have had. He motioned to the chair enthusiastically, beckoning him to sit. “It’s been a while,” he continued in french. “It seems like the afternoon sun is shining around you, so you must be having quite a good day!”

[fleurbastien]

* ofthiievery

“well it’s settled then! next time we’re going for a dive!” he responded, rather enthusiastically as he rose his fist in the air. phineas loved scuba diving, the exhilarating feeling that came along with it. and it just so happened that it was better with a friend. “i haven’t gotten a chance to go, do you know any good spots?”

“Yes, of course I do !” he laughed. He liked to consider himself an expert on marine activities, and he wasn’t ever very humble about it. His confidence was something that added to the atmosphere that surrounded his being. Perhaps it came off as annoying at times, but it was never with ill-intent, and those who matched his pure sentiments were not likely to get bothered by his attitude. He continued to float on his back, eyes closed toward the sky. “I have asked around, and by personal experience, I can confirm where the top spots are located.

[eleutherixs]

Closed Starter: @fleurbastien​

Sihyun moves around the kitchen, pots and pans strewn around along with plates and knives and forks as he prepares dinner for both him and Bastien. The other is sitting out in the living room and before long Sihyun takes both plates of food out where they’re sitting, choosing instead to eat in the living room so they could watch the movie Bastien had picked. He’d invited his friend for a sleepover because they hadn’t seen each other in a while and Sihyun hated not seeing any of his friends often. And so he’d thought a nice dinner and a movie paired up with some of his favorite wine might be nice for the both of them. “I hope you like stir-fry,” Sihyun says as he settles the plates and utensils down on the table in front of them. “So have you picked a movie?” Sihyun asks, settling down on the couch and opening the bottle of wine he’d brought out earlier, filling both of their glasses.

[fleurbastien]

Bastien was itching to get into the kitchen and make himself useful, but he had already been refused by Sihyun once. He had to twiddle his thumbs on the couch, waiting and torn about not being able to help. He wasn’t used to having food served to him by a friend with generous hospitality. Whenever he went over to his family’s houses on Martinique, he always immediately set to work in the kitchen to earn his keep. An angel sent to relieve such stress, the other finally appeared bearing the gift of food. Bastien accepted it, murmuring various thanks and affirmations that he was indeed in favor of stir-fry. “Yes!” he buzzed excitedly. He shifted forward on the couch and plucked up the remote, hovering over his movie rental choice on the TV screen. “Have you seen this movie? Hidden Figures?”

[fleurbastien]

* ofthiievery

while a large part of phineas was enjoying snorkeling, there was a part of him that was still rather bored. maybe once he saw an interesting fish things would change, but for the time being he couldn’t help but let out a loud sigh as he kicked around, turning to head back towards the boat. “i’ll come check it out,” he called back, flashing the other a smile before returning his head to the water, gradually increasing the speed of his kicks as he closed the distance between them. at least bastien seemed to be having a good time, it would’ve been rather unfortunate if both of them had a bad time. “have you ever been scuba diving?” he asked as he switched to treading water, perhaps, next time they could go on a dive. “you’d really be able to explore then.”

Bastien couldn’t help himself but to laugh, before he even got to answer the question. “Of course !!” He replied. “I am certified for scuba diving. It is difficult not to be, when you have grew- grown?- up in the Caribbean.” He continued the slow back-and-forth undulation of his legs, his flippers easily keeping him afloat without the need to use his arms. “I was scuba diving, like, three or four times since I have moved here.” He kicked back a little bit, moving to float on his back, and closed his eyes momentarily to feel the sun on his stomach and the cool water caressing his back. 

[fleurbastien]

* heavenburdened

* ╰        THE SUN WAS A MARIGOLD IN FULL BLOOM and the morning was calm, and eden lovegrove waded into its gentle embrace —— walking, walking, walking without aim ; with each step, a thought —— each thought, soft and kind. and then eden thinks that he hears some flowers call his name —— and the sound is so very sweet ; coaxing the man to turn their way. yet, oh ?! it is not flowers that call —— it is someone even lovelier. “ —— oh ! bas, my dear. ”eden greets with a warm little smile, tumbling out from the whirling labyrinth of his thoughts as draws close to his friend ; a soft laugh pulled from his lips as he spies the smudge of dirt across the latter’s brow. “ i’m doing wonderfully this morning —— isn’t it such a lovely morning ? ” eden replies in a hum, bringing a hand up and swiping a thumb against the furrow of bas’ brow, ridding it of the dark smear. “ busy ? no, not in the least and especially never too busy to spend a little time with you —— what adventure awaits us this morning ? ”

Naturally, Bastien had the impulse to perform la bise when Eden was within range, but he reminded himself that it was not necessary in Greece. The habit had persisted since he left his home island at the age of eighteen, but had diminished significantly given the different cultures of the places he experienced. Here on Kaos, however, there were a surprisingly fair number of french, and so therefore the impulse had risen up again more than usual. “An adventure is a very good way to describe this,” he chuckled, light as tinkling bells, as the other tried to prevent Bas’s inevitable state of being covered in dirt. Bastien noticed Eden’s disposition was in much brighter spirits than one would have typically expected on any given day. He didn’t remark on this fact, however, for fear of watching the boy’s smile dissipate, like a rare animal scurrying back to the comfort of normalcy. “So- ah- I am passing by a man who owns this house,” he motioned to a small bungalow across the field behind him. “And he have stopped me to ask if I could help. You see, by some way his chickens have escaped the fences. I said yes to help, but it is more difficult than I thought, to- euh- catch these chickens.”

[willow]

sue me i’m a romantic

[fleurbastien]

@fleurbas: so, how was your day?

[hynpos]

male Persephone - Greek god(ess) of spring and the Underworld

requested by anon

[fleurbastien]

@superpcsitions​

If it had been anyone else, Bastien would have gone out of his way to welcome the newcomer. If it had been Phineas or Eden, he would have stood up and loudly called over a greeting, perhaps kissing cheek-to-cheek, and then he would invite them to sit for the afternoon, regardless of his studying. Bastien had a specific establishment which he frequented, often on Friday afternoons to enjoy the end of the week. A tiny glass of ouzo accompanied by a light yet savory plate of mezedes. It was a ritual he had developed in lieu of his typical on-the-beach dining establishment which was his favorite on Martinique. As it so happened, his eyes lifted from his botany notes to catch sight of a familiar face, perhaps one of the few faces on the island that could make Bas’s stomach flip in a less-than-pleasant way. Those dark curls and charming demeanor had enticed him at first, but now they only made him nervous. He would by no means leave the establishment solely because Arlo had entered, however he had no desire to face that delicate visage that afternoon. His gaze quickly fell back to his journal, hoping to blend into the background of the cafe.