#river!verse

[burberrycanary]

I thought I’d be feeling more triumphant to have wrapped up my post-TFATWS stucky endgame fix-it series, A Man Takes His Sadness Down to the River, which is now complete. And believe me, I’m pleased and relieved to have the whole thing out in the world. But it’s also bittersweet and there’s an odd little feeling of let-down, too. 

I’m going to miss these versions of Steve and Bucky—and Sam and Sarah. These are the most psychologically complex stories I’ve written as Steve and Bucky slowly and arduously figure out how to live with themselves and with each other in the post-Snap, post-Return, post-Endgame world as it is. How do you move forward after all the mistakes and injustice and everything you’ve had to survive to reach this point?

Not an easy question.

But in the same way that I view Steve and Bucky as fundamentally hopeful characters, these stories also contain a lot of joy and hardwon moments of happiness. As Steve thinks at one point—

But that’s the world, bleak turned one way and then somehow still beautiful when turned inside-out with the bleak waiting again for the next reverse, not really gone anywhere: just out of sight.

I’ve been working on this series for years—I started the earliest drafts back at the end of 2021—and it’s been very much a labor of love. So if you’re interested in trying an Endgame fix-it that doesn’t let Steve off the hook for the choices he made but also gives him the chance to do better; and a story that lets Bucky keep the hardwon connections and growth we see in TFATWS while bringing Steve and Bucky, these two profoundly intertwined characters, back together and then asks: after everything, how could these characters live, really live, in the world again?

“If you didn’t live in New York,” Bucky asks while passing over another ice cold beer before he takes his own, “where would you go?” Steve has seen a lot of the world, in passing, coming from one fight or heading to the next. “I don’t know.” He slumps further down in the sloped deck chair and tilts his head to watch Bucky’s face in profile, silhouetted against the heat-warmed bricks and the long slice of purpling sky that hangs between buildings over the road. “Anywhere you wanna see?” Bucky wets his lower lip and takes a swallow of the sour beer. Steve shoves down the desire to draw Bucky’s hands, doing the ordinary things of living, until he can bury Bucky in a cascade of those images. “Some days, feels like there’s not much in the world I haven’t seen. Seeing it during peacetime, though, that’d be something.” Bucky slants that dark, dangerous grin at him that’s straight from the spring of ‘44. “If you can call this peace.” Reaching out, Steve offers the neck of his beer. “What’s peace, anyway?” Bucky clinks their two bottles together. “What the hell is peace?”

This series is the story of two old soldiers trying to find some peace, whatever that may be.

Read A Man Takes His Sadness Down to the River (The Consolation of Philosophy)

[gentlemean]

I present to you: The Whitegull River Symphony.

A classical symphony in four movements, inspired by @thesiltverses! The most recent episode swept me away in a river of creative inspiration, and I couldn't help but follow this stream to whatever murky depths it wanted to take me.

Creative thoughts and details beneath the cut.

The Whitegull River Symphony is written in f-Minor for a full symphonic orchestra. My rendition was created in FLStudio, using Spitfire's BBC-Symphonic-Orchestra plugin, as I am just one mediocre violinist without an entire orchestra at hand.

First Movement: River Angels, Allegro Assai

The first movement is dominated by the steady rhythm of the celli and violae, who act as the slow waves of our murky river. Among these waves, the faithful have prepared a sacrifice. Their hopeful prayers flick aross the water in the first half of the movement, and are answered by the scutteling, chittering spawn of the river in the second half.

Second Movement: Pilgrimage of the Prophet, Adagio

In the second movement, we focus entirely on our favorite little prophet (whose brilliant performance inspired me to make this. The existence of this symphony is your fault, @sassylich). He marches on through the silt with slow steps, while the clarinet plays his theme. His little schemes behind the scenes are played by the string section, the obvious warning signs are announced by the horns. Nevertheless: In the end, everyone is playing his tune.

Third Movement: The Withermark, Andante

And here we go, the river's might is unleashed. The angels of the river god approach unstoppably, drawn here by the prophet: His clarinet is setting the tune for the overwhelming wrath of the trawlerman. Nothing can stand in its way, but after the tides have calmed, new life can grow in their wake.

Fourth Movement: Katabasis, Allegro Assai

Katabasis, the descent into the depths. Nothing escapes the greedy maw of the Trawlerman, nobody can float above, untouched. All the instruments we've hear so far return, desceding into the roiling depths of the bassline. This is not a comforting or hopeful ending, this is an apocalypse.

[opia-jpg]

the river rises

brother faulkner for an art trade with @streetlight-halo :)

[defective-and-effective]

I’m so incredibly rational about this piece of media, you have no idea.

[smolderingtides]

All gods are gods of death

[rainydaygt]

yeah okay here yall go click for better quality and whatnot done w/out any refs at all so PLEASE forgive any design mistakes on miguel's part

[mongeese]

Faulkner not being able to swim is the funniest character trait ever conceived. "I worship the river I am its chosen prophet I will lead its people to greatness" oh yeah? And how far, approximately, can you get into the water before you start to get scared? Better watch out when that river rises, baby boy

[notbecauseofvictories]

you know, faulkner, there was a memorable moment when mason was monologuing smugly about how well and how cleverly he'd taken over the faith, steered the parish towards his desired ends. he believed he'd won, or at least that he could outpace anything that wanted to swallow him whole. look where that got him.

[theriverperson]

@badmusejail

Several weeks had passed and River had managed to talk Gaster into visiting the San Francisco zoo (and, well, being the transportation to said zoo) at the promise of covering both his ticket and coffee afterwards. Or during, if they had any inside.

They'd wanted to see it for some time and, with the arrival of a few different activist organizations (on the monsters' side for once) and all of the increased political drama that had caused, they felt like Gaster probably needed the break too.

Tilting their head to look at the map they were holding from another direction, they commented, "I feel like this was written for someone who can read very, very tiny letters." Holding it closer, they make a clicking noise.

"I mean, I can but it would be a lot easier if I didn't have to.. and if I knew what some of these things were." Holding the map over to Gaster, they step off to the side so as to not get run over by others entering the zoo and ask, "what's a cassowary? Its over in this 'outback' section, whatever that is."

[lepusrufus]

Sometimes you talk about a really cool series with friends and you share analysis, theories, explain plots, all that good stuff. Other times it degenerates into whatever the fuck this is.

Featuring @zabouncer as the totally cool not at all creepy river god preacher, Sarah as the 100% willing sacrifice and saint, Kt as possible 100% willing future sacrifice and Saint, me as the confused newbie, and @ollie-ollie-oxenfreee as the innocent cultist who will absolutely not help in drowning you nono now please step into the water...

[fallofcyber]

[burberrycanary]

Lost Vocabularies that Might Express (The Memory of These Broken Impressions)

Stucky, Endgame Fix-it, Road Trip Get Together

An expression crosses Bucky’s face like a shadow, tightly controlled and gone fast. But he rolls his head to the side, looking over at Steve, calm and steady, worn by life and changed so much but still here, by this small fire and lit with the unsteady golden glow, under these too many stars. 

“Everywhere I go,” Bucky says, “the past is this pit. But I’ve got to keep it behind me, because if I don’t, I’ll fall in. And someday I’m not going to have the strength to crawl back out. So it’s got to stay behind me, Steve—the big nothing right at the back of my feet.”

Steve stares at his walking-around miracle brought back to him by so much carnage and wretched injustice he’ll never be able to set right, not in all his remaining days. 

Because here’s the truth: he’s never once caught Bucky and every time he’s ended up following, he’s been too late to save him from all this suffering—the war, the future, and the long fall into the cold that came in between.

Honesty is all he has to give, which may just be adding to the burdens of a man doomed to carry a terrible load he can’t put down.

But maybe there’s something in the old paradox: the weight that makes you feel lighter. 

Maybe that’s what loving someone is.

Read Chapter 46 on AO3

Only one more chapter to go—I'm almost done with this! Many thanks to my betas @village-skeptic​​​​​​​​​​​, @booksandabeer​​​​​​​​​​​ and @zenaidamacrouras1​​​​​​​​​​​ 🥰

[sealsapocalypticmusic]

A figure that’s always still, and never certain.

[theriu]

“Wonder Woman is special, she was formed from clay and brought to life by gods” my friends I have fantastic news about mankind according to Genesis 2:7

[downtherabbitholewithlucy]

If Limp Bizkit gave you the opportunity to have them play for you and only you in the crowd, but the catch was that they could only play one song total, but a song of your choosing, what song would you choose for them to play for you?

[rainydaygt]

two vampire show their teef

//click for better quality//