#riverguide

[factiousfcrged]

@riverguides sent a meme.

[ REST ] sender places their head in receiver’s lap. 

Bare feet propped up on the edge of the coffee table in front of him, a cup of hot chocolate on the end table, and Desi sprawled out across the couch next to him, his head and shoulders burrowing into Amos' side, resting on his thigh while Amos' fingers wandered aimlessly through the just slightly tousled curls. There wasn't much else he could ask for on days like this.

He'd tried to stop wondering what other shoe was going to drop when they had their moments of calm like this. It didn't always work. His free hand shifted, turning down the volume of the tv just a smidge before trading the remote for his cup to take a sip of the dark chocolate with extra marshmallows cocoa. He was only halfway paying attention to whatever old black and white Desi had put on. He was enjoying the whole not having to really think at all about it all. Just ... being.

[halofcrged]

It hadn't taken more than a cursory glance to give him some rough idea of the other occupants of the cabin - only three others, in total. None of them seemed particularly high on potential threat levels, at least not as far as he was concerned. In such relatively cramped quarters, they seemed as if they'd be relatively easy to subdue, which meant the highest threat was the plane itself. And said cramped quarters. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat again, glancing out to the ground that would soon be out of sight before opting to slide his window cover closed and turn his attention, instead, to the man that had spoken. A pinched smile tugged at one corner of his mouth briefly. "That obvious, is it?"

It was his first flight on this world's version of air travel. It seemed antiquated to him. "I'm more accustomed to jump seats," John added. "They're a lot less comfortable, but at least then I know I'm going to have to jump out of the plane, as to just - hoping not to." Fingers curled around the glass of ice water, letting it tilt back and forth on the table beside him briefly. Falling out of a perfectly good plane, or in his case, space craft, had been close to an every day occurrence, until recently.

"Let's hope you're right." Another, slightly less pained, but still thin, smile was offered. "I never expected to have the opportunity, but --" A light tap of fingertips against his glass briefly. "Circumstances have changed, recently, and it seemed too good an opportunity to let pass me by."

He took a measured breath before continuing. "I brought a few books," he said, reaching into the bag beside his chair to pull out a couple of well worn books focusing on Greek mythology and Spartan history that he set on the table as well. "But I've read them all before," he admitted.

as much as desiderius wanted to own his own plane, there was a lot of logistics he still hadn't figured out. technology and documentation in the modern world made things like that a lot harder. there'd been a time when he could simply up, move, and start all over in a new city with no one being any wiser.

then again, people usually came to him, so going through the hassle of paperwork wasn't really worth it when he'd only use said plane once in a blue moon. arthur would find private accommodations much more practical. he spent too much time around andromache and her paranoia, though.

plus, these little chartered flights were private enough that desi didn't get too worked up over the other people. harder to sneak up on him when he was perched in the corner closest to the flight deck. everyone except the stewardess had to talk towards the back for the restroom. the smell of coffee was generally enough to ground him through the clicking and the clanging of locking everything back into place.

with the table folded down and the tablet propped up in front of him, desi takes a sip of the small glass of red wine set down by the stewardess. an image flashes in front of him of an old spartan helmet against a white background. historical artifacts weren't usually his department but, where there was a market he was willing to dip his toes in for an established client. one of which, had an obsession with the greco-persian wars.

when the hulk of a man first sat down near him, desi's first instinct was to become smaller. the way the man filled the plane's small door frame brought back a memory of a shadow against another such structure. once the immortal realized the other man's discomfort, however, he started to relax into the oversized seat. the man's face helped a little in that department, too.

" first flight? " he worked up the courage to finally say something once the stewardess had come through with a second glass of wine. " stepping foot in greece is always worth it. don't worry. " he found his chin resting in the palm of his hand, which had more to do with his back against a wall than the alcohol in his hand. the small space he always carved out for himself on the plane gave him a bubble of safety, so to speak. " do you have anything to keep you busy? if not i have another tablet. " he starts rummaging through the black leather bag next to him before an answer ever hits his ears.

[jai-chillin27]

Where do I find comfort?...

I find comfort in thunderstorms, well, anything involving water really, but thunderstorms are one of the most exciting....the sounds of the rain, rolling in the wind as would waves in the tide. The low rumbling voice of the thunder that resonates off the mountains, that speaks to a part of my soul. The cracks of lightning that dance across the sky. I am not one to get upset to be caught in the rain...

When I was younger, I would float on my back in the swimming pool, in the middle of a summer thunderstorm, which most consider dangerous... but I would close my eyes, float there and listen to the chaos raging above me.

I find peace in water, I take some comfort in the wildness and unpredictability. It’s a force that soothes me yet keeps me on my toes. Observing a force so powerful and... knowing in that moment there is nothing to do, what power do I hold but to observe? To listen? To let go and just be.

Perhaps that’s why I became a river guide, I don’t do it for the adrenaline rush. I don’t gut the big water. I respect it too much to be ballsy. I observe the river, the eddies, the holes, the ways the water moves, the way it pushes and pulls, the way it carves through stones that have stood fast for centuries...the nature surrounding it all.

As a guide I get to be on the frontlines of conservation in a sense, my goal being to teach people to love what I love. If I can show you these things, talk about them, interact with you, encourage and answer questions... if I can teach you to observe and appreciate these beautiful places and you can fall in love with pieces of it, be it thunderstorms, the river, canyons, wildlife, plants, any piece of nature... then you’ll give a damn, and I will have done my job because people protect what they come to love.

[factiousfcrged]

The rest of the half sandwich he held was demolished in quick succession, mostly so he could free up both hands, fingers itching to tease through the freshly tousled curls again, to curl in against Desi's waist and hold, tighten, grip. And so they did, fingers digging in against the cloth there, that way he did every so often as if to convince himself that it was real, that Desi was here, still here, after all this time, and to hold to him, in that moment, to make sure he didn't vanish into thin air. Not that Amos would ever stop him, if he wanted to go. But it was nice ... it was necessary, sometimes, just to be reminded that he was here. Fingers twined, twisted a streak of curls around fingers that were permanently calloused, scarred, that had been shattered more times than Amos could remember. Fingers that had caused more harm than good, but that for one reason or another, Desi still let touch him. Know him.

His gaze doesn't settle directly on Desi's as the immortal speaks. He still doesn't quite know how to do that, when things like this get spoken of. Maybe he never will. But he doesn't flinch at the gentle taps, or shy away from the words, or the emotion, or the truth in them. In his mortal days? He would've shunned them. Scoffed at them. Hell, even in the first decades that they'd been together, he had found them disconcerting. Deceitful, even. He had always been more monster than man. Dying only made that more true. It had taken him a long time to accept that Desi actually cared. Actually accepted him, as he was. It was still hard, sometimes. But he knew it was an immutable truth.

The sun rose in the east and set in the west.

Lips pinch into a smirk at the last gesture, and he doesn't bother trying to clear the grease away. It's still probably one of the cleaner sections of him, at this moment. His hand drops from where it lingered in Desi's curls, to press against Dei's chest, broad fingers sprawled over his heart, the beat of it like a drum that he could feel in his palm, could feel reverberating in his pulse, in his chest. "J'ai jeté mon cœur, mon petite papillon," he said, simply, his gaze finally meeting Desi's.

amos reaching out is the perfect opportunity to lean forward enough to wrap his own arms around his lover's neck. even when heavy grease make's it's way down his nose those arms stay put for the sake of the message he wants to send. an eyebrow raises, though. very rarely did he feel prompted to say what was heavy on his heart, mainly because he thought it was understood between them. was it? desiderius had no idea since he wasn't usually adult enough to ask. maybe that was worth talking about, too.

" i don't really care how many pretty people are out in the world, " head cants to the side. auburn rivulets slide across his shoulder, just asking to be tied away. for once, desi's tone is serious. this wasn't a time to be playful between them. although, that would return soon enough. " i love you, amos burton. you're the one i come to and the one i will never stop coming home to. whatever - whoever - we do in our spare time, you're where my heart is. "

one hand slides across the strength in amos's neck and over the other man's jaw so he can tap lightly on a temple. " because of this. " that hand slides farther down, over the curve of a pec until right at the very center his finger taps again. " and because of this. " then his arms returns back to it's original spot hooked around amos's neck. " so, if it's all the same to you, my shot landed exactly where i wanted it to. " desi leans in as if to kiss amos on the cheek. instead, he draws a line with his grease covered nose.

[reeladventureoutfitters]

Autumn on the Reel. #reeladventureoutfitters #theadventureisreel #mauijimsunglasses #simmsfishing #simmsflyfishing #ctflyfishing #flyfishing #flyfishingwoman #loonflyfishing #girlsthatfish #upcountrysportfishing #farmingtonriver #riverguide #onthewatermagazine #columbiapfg #ctflyfishing #ctfishing #fishingct https://www.instagram.com/p/CBaliHQjwaA/?igshid=8jw0gmtgvaxa

[moved-melodiesfcrged]

@riverguides gets a starter.

She can't help but feel like an intruder. An interloper. She didn't know these people, or this house, or anything in it -- it was all foreign, and she felt like an invader. It wasn't that they hadn't been gracious, and welcoming enough. It was just clear that they were all on edge. So was she, so that seemed ... fair.

Desi had been secreted away upstairs for hours. She'd seen the woman, Wren, briefly. And Amos had come down once or twice. She was fairly certain he'd been making up excuses, just to make sure she was still there. She'd grown restless, and had wandered through the downstairs rooms. The study, the games room, the massive kitchen and pantry, living room and a few, what she guessed to be, guest bedrooms by their general feel of lack of lived in. They were cozy, but there were no personal effects to be seen.

And then she'd found the library. But it wasn't the massive amount of books, old and new, that could've filled an actual library, that caught her attention. It was the black grand piano that sat in the middle of the room. While it wasn't dusty (nothing in the house was), it felt ... abandoned. Lonely. She found herself hesitating, when she grew closer to it.

It had only been .... five days? Six? She'd lost track of the nights and days since the accident. Her hands hadn't held an instrument since. Some part of her felt anxious, in a way she couldn't quite name. She was something else now, wasn't she? Something different than who and what she'd been before. What if this new ... body of hers, what if it had forgotten? What if the years of muscle memory and training and the hours and hours and hours of practice were just ... gone?

She sat, hesitantly pulling open the cover over the keys, fingertips gliding feather light over the ivory and black. A lifetime of memories. Of practices and lessons and rehearsals and performances. Would she remember them, in ten years, in twenty? In a hundred? How long before all the memories of who she was now were just ... gone? A deep breath is drawn in, fingertips poised over the keys. Lashes sank closed, and she let herself feel. Feel the ivory beneath her fingers. Feel the pedals beneath her toes. Back straight, shoulders straight. Find the heartbeat. Find the rhythm. Hear the music.

She loses time, in a way that she finds comforting. Familiar. Music flows, fingers dancing across the keys like they were made for it. Perhaps they were. One song ends, and another begins, until finally, minutes? Hours later, the last soft note is plucked, and held by the pedal, humming softly in the air around her.

[outsidertacklebox]

Milton Nieto 🎣 Trophy Catfish Guide & Star on hit show River Monsters 🎣 Upcoming guest on our Saturday morning Fish Story 📚Podcast 🎙🎧#fishstory . . . #fishingpodcast #podcast #rivermonster #trophycatfish #garfishing #catfishing #catfish #fishingshow #riverguide #outsidertacklebox https://www.instagram.com/p/B789ILwAmfv/?igshid=yndu2f5h2ygm

[factiousfcrged]

@riverguides

the five homoerotic love languages:

- intimate stabbing

- outright obsession

- confused pining

- "no one knows me like you do"

- lifelong promises that always sound suspiciously like wedding vows

[markknoxx]

And they say the perfect woman doesn't exist...

[factiousfcrged]

Drafts:

0/2. riverguides. (pcu.)

0/1. somebadguys - wren. (pcu. )

0/2. aeternals - halston.

0/1. valiantsword. (pcu.)

0/1. defenderofthespear.

0/1. wanderingguest - anna.

0/1. aeternals - desi.

0/1. aeternals / astrakofe.

Memes tbc:

0/2. aeternals - halston.

0/1. aeternals - desi.

0/1. astrakofe.

0/1. galaxye - holden.

0/1. rubiesintherough - mahia.

Starters:

0/?. wanderingguest.

0/?. intcthatgoodnight.

0/1. draconisa.

0/1. coinquinatvs - miller.

0/1. coinquinatvs - paul.

0/1. losinmortalesperdidos - el aro.

[dingosaidso]

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Riding the Snake River into the sunset! #snakeriver #grandteton #nationalpark #nps #rafting #riverguide #sunset #scenery #wildlife #nature (at Grand Teton National Park)

[netzkobold]

We had an absolute blast at our recent @wearebirdeye company off-site w/ @american_whitewater - Thanks Maddie for being an awesome 🥝 #riverguide #americanriver #whitewaterrafting #whitewater #coloma #california #jamesmarshall #rafting #birdeye (at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2sKXCPJXuI/?igshid=1dwfv57pzb404

[yrkramirez]

La vida como un rápido.

[totallyhigh]

Enjoying the river a lot this season, here's a shot from ducky training a month or so ago. See y'all at the company picnic if you are journeying here! #bestjobever #riverguide #whitewater #whitewaterrafting #river #lehigh #nature #pennsylvania #sunshine #outdoors #workoutside #kayak #kayaking #lehighriver (at Lehigh Gorge State Park)

[valiantsword]

CONNECTION: desiderius mathieu ( aka desi ) STATUS: alive / immortal

          desiderius grew up in switzerland.  more specifically, in the canton of valais.  it was an odd time of social unrest.  it was also a time of political exploration as both nobles and church fought over supremacy of a river.  he grew up knowing war but never wanting a thing to do with it.  music was where his heart lay.  music and art.  instead, he learned to fight and wield a pike.

          they met in 1572 beneath the flag of a mercenary army.  desi, despite a hatred of violence, used his status as a well trained swiss pikeman in order to make a living.  arthur had been dreaming of him since the early 1400s but, as he’d never visited sion or even valais the geography seen in his dreams did nothing to point him in a direction.  by this time, however, arthur learned what the dreams meant.  it helped to know he wasn’t going crazy but didn’t help knowing there was someone else out there who probably thought they were.

          friendship was easy.  after fighting for the freedom of the dutch republic they wandered back to italy, where desiderius had unofficially made a home.  they hovered between florene and venice, occasionally meeting back up with the rest of the guard.  desi, however, wanted nothing to do with fighting in the long term.  from the very first time he met andy he made it abundantly clear that he’d only fight if they really, really needed the help.  over the years arthur’s asked for his help on a handful of occasions but only pulls him away from his partners if there is no other sound tactical plan.

[painfcrged]

@riverguides​ liked for a starter.

           control      / lyric starter

                      “God damn right, you should be scared of me.”