#jeff picker

[krispyweiss]

Nickel Creek at Mershon Auditorium, Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 15, 2024

After playing together since they were children, the now-40-something members of Nickel Creek often sound like one player rather than the three who are on stage.

That isn’t to say the personalities of mandolinist Chris Thile, fiddler Sara Watkins and her brother, guitarist Sean Watkins, are submerged in the ephemeral Creek. Rather, the trio - accompanied by bassist Jeff Picker for the tour that stopped Feb. 15 to play for an electrified audience inside Columbus, Ohio’s, Mershon Auditorium - continue their 35-year musical conversation with a seamless flow between the effervescent Sara Watkins and the reserved Sean Watkins flanking the super-charged Thile, who resembles an inflatable tube man often used in advertising.

This dynamic reached an apex as the band retuned to encore its 23-song show with “Hayloft.” As Sara Watkins sung and sawed and Sean Watkins picked, Thile traced the contours of the stage while doing a kind of front-facing moonwalk that made him look as if he was on a conveyor.

Nickel Creek had taken the stage nearly two hours earlier following an opening set from English-sister folk duo the Staves - they’re still developing - and launched into the Sara Watkins-led stomper “Where the Long Line Leads,” a raucous celebration of being alive from 2023’s Celebrants. From there it was back to “Ode to a Butterfly” and forward to “Celebrants” as the career-spanning set featured handclaps and mic’d floorboards for percussion, three lead singers and two- to four-part harmonies as Picker, who got a couple of solos, including on “The Fox,” was no mere backing musician despite being mostly unlit behind the principals.

To make the point, Picker was front and center when the band took its bows to a vigorous standing ovation.

Playing before a backdrop depicting an empty barn, Nickel Creek presented instrumentals like “Going Out” and “Elephant in the Corn” alongside such vocal pieces as Sean Watkins’ doomsday-preacher-ribbing “21st of May,” Sara Watkins’ hilarious ode to relationships, “Thinnest Walls” and Thile’s observational “To the Airport,” a place where humans are not on their best behavior. The stage darkened with the end of nearly every song, allowing the amped-up concertgoers to fill the auditorium with applause and appreciation.

Though they’ve taken hiatuses and Thile thus co-founded Punch Brothers, Sara Watkins did the same with I’m With Her and joined brother Sean to create Watkins Family Hour - not to mention their solo efforts - the members of Nickel Creek are a band of their own when they come together. It’s evident not only in the seemingly effortless musical dialogue between them but in the conscious decision to perform only Nickel Creek tunes at Nickel Creek gigs, thus preserving its pristine nature.

“You’re going to have your faces melted clean off by Nickel Creek,” Jessica Staveley-Taylor had said near the end of the Staves’ 35-minute opening set.

As Nickel Creek wrapped up their stage time, it was clear she wasn’t hyperbolizing as Thile had when he introduced the Staves hours earlier.

Grade card: Nickel Creek at Mershon Auditorium - 2/15/24 - A-

See more photos on Sound Bites’ Facebook page.

2/16/24

[dustedmagazine]

Animal, Surrender! Listed

Animal, Surrender! is a duo made up of Sunwatchers’ Peter Kerlin on bass and Rob Smith on drums. On their first, self-titled album, the pair execute, loping, elastic grooves, nodding towards folk and blues but never quite settling into genre. In her review, Jennifer Kelly called the song, “Led by the Bit,” “an intriguing rattletrap construction, bounded by intricate, syncopated percussion but with Kerlin’s bass musing its bass-like dreams within these constraints.” Here’s what Kerlin and Smith are listening to.

Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy — “White Nile”

PETE: I first started to slip into the Animal, Surrender! sound world upon hearing African Skies, by Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy at Domino Sound in New Orleans in 2011. I asked the purveyor, “What is this and please tell me it’s for sale.” It’s been in regular rotation since. Pure magic, flawless without being precious for a single moment.

Jeff Parker — “2019-07-08-ii”

ROB: The drummer here, Jay Bellerose is my favorite currently-working drummer... all space, tone, and touch. Earthy patterns intersect and breathe in ways that simultaneously nurture and tug at the other voices in the ensemble. Although I absolutely love what he does with groups as dad-rockish as Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, this heady double-LP from Eremite really gives us a clear open view of his masterful creativity with timbre and air.

Ann O Aro — “Zardin”

PETE: The economy of the arrangements on this record and the spare, precise production were a touchstone in the recording stage of A,S!. There is some crazy stuff going on here though. O Aro’s voice is clearly a thing of beauty but that is 100% not the point at all. The music has an undeniable force and is bound together with an incredible tension. An example of the Maloya anti-colonial music from the Island of Reunion where she hails and a deeply personal dredging and catharsis synthesized seamlessly. Shout out to Mike Bones for turning me on to it.

Gunter Schickert — “Puls”

ROB: Klaus Schulze’s roadie didn’t use any synthesizers or sequencers to craft his own singular, prowling Berlin hypnosis. The warp and weft of multitrack tapes, guitars, and drums is exactly the kind of mind-fabric that prepared me for working within Animal, Surrender!

Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers — “Kensington Blues”

PETE: Rose loomed large for me. This track played on repeat in my mind for years. It’s so effortless, it’s as if the music existed already, unheard, and the band is just revealing it. My effort to balance multiple voices on the bass comes out of a fascination with this “American Primitive” sound. Nathan Bowles is here on percussion. Bowles shared the drum chair with Rob in Pigeons!

Hopkinson Smith — “Robert de Visée: Pieces de Theorbe”

ROB: One of the greatest musical conversations I ever had was speaking intimately with the genius lutenist Hopkinson Smith over pints of stout about unmeasured preludes and the intersections of baroque string music and bluegrass. This incredible 1979 recording of works for theorbo, an epic bass lute, shows how a multi-course bass instrument originally designed for accompaniment can take the spotlight, much as Peter’s 8-string bass does within this group.

Jessica Pavone — “Dawn to Dark”

PETE: I was split about which Pavone track to include here. Her recent “less tempered” works are riveting, but I chose this early Pavone chamber piece featuring my old bandmate, Emily Manzo, a pianist of extraordinary ability, who is also a gifted songwriter and singer. Here Pavone casts her as a vocalist. There’s musicality and presence in every nanosecond of her performance. Stunning yet never bombastic. The pacing and restraint that Jessica brings to the whole record leads you deep into some psychic space, you forget you’re listening to “chamber music.”

Henry Cow — “Nirvana for Mice”

ROB: Chris Cutler’s way of feeling deep grooves inside of twisted, asymmetrical compositions always sounds brand new and shocking to my ears despite this album’s 1973 session date. He’ll crack a nasty backbeat inside a careful avant woodwind arrangement, forcing your ass to swivel despite your brain being patiently sliced open on the band’s dissection table. Dada blues for sure.

75 Dollar Bill — “Beni Said”

PETE: One of the most consistently inspiring live bands in New York for the past decade. It was while lost in one of Che’s asymmetrical Mauritanian riffs on his modified Hagstrom 12-string that I had an “ah ha!” moment about the 8-string bass and how to bring it into the foreground. We’ve had an ongoing dialogue about it that has kept me going in those moments when I’m questioning this weird obsession I have with this uncooperative instrument.

Bullwackies All Stars — “Kicking Scott, Rockfort Dub”

ROB: Lloyd Barnes’ Bronx dub devastation provided an early shared navigational system for us in Animal, Surrender! Wackie spirals you down infinite, dissociative avenues of echo paved with the deepest bass around. Melodic organisms bloom from the cracks and illuminate pathways through the twisted urban ecology, clouds of pungent smoke notwithstanding.

[intimidating-fettuccine]

Creep Halloween 2024

Happy Halloween! I wanted to write a little special something for Halloween, so I hope you enjoy. :)

Keep in mind some of this references my earlier post about what they'd dress up as for Halloween :p But not all of them. Anyway! Enjoy :)

**Could be taken platonically or romantically, but it's kind of intended to be romantic for the adult creeps. No specifically romantic things happen though!

You find yourself approaching a tall pair of double doors, a costume adorning your form, a bucket for collecting treats resting on your arm. A firm breeze blows through the air, freeing leaves from the many trees surrounding you as you make your way up the front steps. You take a deep breath, preparing yourself to knock on the door, but before you can make contact, the door swings open and you're pulled inside quickly, surrounded by everyone as they wish you a Happy Halloween. Despite all the people surrounding you, there's one specific person you were hoping to see this Halloween, and you find your way to them quickly.

Jeff: "It's about damn time you get here!" His fist makes contact with the top of your head, giving you a nuggie as he clutches you to his chest, not allowing you any escape. "We still have to get ready to take Sally trick or treating tonight, because I'm on duty this year, and you're going with me, no ifs, ands, or buts. You have to, considering I already told her you're coming too and she's bouncing with joy to see you, so let's go!" He pulls you lightly in the direction of Sally's room, and you easily follow behind him.

BEN: "I thought you were never gonna make it! Listen, I need your help with my costume." He pulls you away from the others, hiding you both in secrecy. "So… Listen. I agreed to do Barbie and Ken retro rollerblade costumes with Toby, and…" He looks dejectedly down at the ground. "I don't know how to roller skate and honestly I've been a mess trying to figure it out. How about you help me out? If I still can't learn by tonight when we go out, maybe you could be my knight in shining armor and let little old me hold your arm all night to steady myself?" You find it hard to deny his pleading eyes and readily agree.

EJ: "Ugh, finally someone with someone calming shows up." Jack's brows are knit tightly as he hoists you into his arms, immediately retreating into his bedroom and plopping down on his bed. "They've been so rowdy all day, it's exhausting. I've been waiting for you to get here so I can finally relax in peace and quiet. I'll let you go out later, but for now, you're mine." Jack pins you loosely in his arms and curls up as though preparing to take a nap. You make no complaints against his movements, and laugh at his actions, causing him to huff against you.

LJ: "Gumdrop! I was beginning to think the howling wind out there blew you away on those short little legs!" Despite what your height may be, you can't deny how small you are compared to Jack, especially not when he hoists you into the air and cradles you to his chest, affectionately rubbing his cheek on top of your head. "I spent all night last night staying up making a whole bunch of different candies for you to try, so we've gotta hurry up and eat 'em all before Slender tries giving them out to anyone! …Stomach ache? What do you mean you could get a stomach ache? That doesn't matter! Halloween is now, stomach aches are later!" You can't help the allure of his freshly made candies, and so you agree despite any apprehensions.

Jason: "This is horrible!" Jason blushes as he slides into his chair at his vanity. The clown trio always matches costumes every year, always dressing as what the picker of that year chooses, and this year LJ just happened to pick sexy nuns. Despite the amount of skin that Jason is revealing, he actually looks incredible, and when you tell him as much he groans. "I appreciate your compliments dear, you know I do, but how am I supposed to go out like this? I can't be this indecent in public!" Despite his claims of indecency, he's really just showing off about half of his thighs and down, nothing too dramatic, but Jason is used to covering nearly every inch of his body with his clothing. "..What's that? Just stay in with you this year?" You nod at him, leaning him into your chest as his arms wrap around you. "Hmm… Perhaps I will." He calms down quickly as he snuggles into you.

Candy: "This is HILARIOUS!" Candy cackles as he glances in the mirror, showing off the sexy nun costume Jack had gotten the three of them at the store. You knew Candy would be excited about it, but you didn't think he'd be feeling himself so much. "You should go out with us, sugar. Jack and I already know Jason won't wanna go out and have consolation gifts ready for him, so you can be our third!" He pulls you into his arms, and you inform him while you're happy to go, your costume isn't a sexy nun. "Oh, ya don't hafta match! We just do this to be silly every year. Just you being with me is plenty enough for me, and ol' Jack won't mind!" He buries his face into your neck, nuzzling you affectionately, and you find yourself agreeing to tag along with them.

Toby: "Y-you made it!" Toby's incredibly eager as he holds you close in his arms, content noises flowing out of him as he rubs his face all over you in affection. "Come on, you've gotta l-look at my costume! I've be-been learning how to r-rollerblade for we-weeks to impress BEN!" The excitement in his voice sends a shiver down the back of a certain other resident, who quickly scampers away to ready his own matching costume. "You've g-gotta see how cool I look!" You find it hard to resist as he excitedly pulls you upstairs, quickly slamming his door shut in his rush to put on his rollerblades and show off his skills. Not accounting for his slick wooden floor, Toby quickly glides into you on accident, nearly toppling you over as he holds you safely in his arms, laughter filling his room.

Tim: "Oh, you made it. I was wondering if you'd have time to come over." He gives you a squeeze and pats your head affectionately. "Did you decide if you're going out tonight? I'll be stuck inside finishing up my Halloween baking." You think to yourself for a moment, the idea of going out with the others is an enjoyable idea, but the thought of how good Tim's baking is going to taste leads you to consider the opposite. "Oh? You're going to stay with me?" He smiles easily at your words, eyes narrowing joyfully as he pats your head once more. "Good. You always make the best company."

Brian: "You look great!" Brian's voice is filled with excitement as he squeezes you into his arms, his warmth flooding into you and contrasting the cold air behind you. "I was wondering what you'd end up dressing up as. Whaddya think?" He steps back to show you his costume, picked out by Toby from Spirit Halloween, Bob Ross himself. Brian shines with joy as he stands before you, and you can't help but smile at him, complimenting his appearance. "Thank you! I was actually pretty excited about it." He stands tall and proud, before pulling you into another hug. "I'm just glad you're the person I get to go out with tonight."

Liu: "There you are! I was starting to think you'd bailed on me or something." His light voice teases you as he ruffles your hair, laughter flowing out of him as he holds you close. "How was I supposed to celebrate Halloween without you by my side? I have so many movies picked out for us to watch together, and a whole bag of your favorite candy waiting for you." You quirk an eyebrow at him, questioning his decision considering his regular lectures to not eat too many sweets. "Hey, it's Halloween, alright? Tonight is the one night I'll allow you to fill up on as much candy as you want. …Only if I can have some too!" He adds to his statement with a huff as he crosses his arms, smiling easily when you laugh at his antics.

Jane: "Well, well, well. I thought I was going to be best dressed this year, but look at how cute you are." Jane teases you affectionately, looking your costume up and down with a smile. "I'm matching with Nat this year, but maybe we should've all matched so I could brag about how I'm matching with the biggest cutie I know." You lightly poke her and tell her to stop teasing you, but her eyes only light up as a bigger smile blooms on her cheeks. "Ah, but you didn't deny my words. So you ARE the biggest cutie I know, hm?" You go to retort back at her, and she chuckles, shaking her head and hugging you once more. "It's alright, it's alright. I'll stop teasing ya. …..For now." She chuckles evilly into your shoulder as she squeezes you tightly.

Natalie: "Looks like the party has arrived!" She yells in excitement, squishing you against her body in a way that has you gasping for air in her tight grip, your hand patting her back quickly to get her to let go. "Oh, my bad!" She giggles as she releases you, her head cocking to the side as she smiles at you. "You know how excited I get about Halloween! I've been bouncing off the walls all day waiting for you to get here!" You remark that it's still early morning, and she huffs at you, puffing out her cheeks. "That's beside the point! The point is, I've been waiting! So come on, we've gotta get our spook on and start all of our activities!" She tugs at you impatiently, and you relent and trail after her with laughter.

Helen: "Oh, thank god. You have got to help me." Tugging you forcefully into a separate room, Helen grips your shoulders with a nervous look in his eyes. "Look at me! I look ridiculous! You've got to convince Nat and Pup to not make me go out this year." Contrary to his words, Helen looks quite good, dressed up in Victorian clothing with his hair styled and fake fangs protruding past his lips, you actually think he looks quite nice, and when you tell him as much he blushes and shakes his head. "Regardless! I don't wanna have to go out in front of other people like this! You have to help me." Helen is never so emotionally against something, and so you tug him into a comforting hug, reassuring him that you'll convince the others out of making him go.

Puppeteer: "I don't look stupid, do I?" He's looking over himself in the mirror, his hair styled wildly, a werewolf costume he picked up last night decorating his body as he continuously looks in the mirror. You tell him you think he looks great, and he sighs, turning to face you. "I don't normally dress up, so I wasn't sure if I'd look good or not." You tell him he looks smokin' hot to tease him, and he snorts in shock at your words. "What unusual words for you to say to me! But I'll take it." He says, looking over himself in the mirror once more. "Hmmm… Alright. I may as well head out. If I don't, I might back out." You follow him out of his room, knowing if you don't go with him he might back out anyway.

Smiley: "Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite patient." His lips quirk up into a smirk as he pulls you to his chest, bending down to rub his nose against your cheek. You respond back that you're not technically his patient, and he sighs at you with a pout as he shakes his head. "Why can't you ever just play along?" You tell him it's because if you play along he'll start dragging you into his antics more regularly, and he smirks again. "Oh, please. I'm going to drag you into my antics all the time anyway. Who are you kidding?" He ruffles your hair, guiding you away as he continues to tease you.

Sally: A loud gasp fills the air as her arms circle around your waist, her head rubbing against your stomach. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!" She yells out, bouncing up and down as she looks up at you in pure elation. "When Jeff said you were coming too I got so excited! I barely slept last night I was so happy!" You can't help but smile down at her, ruffling her hair and telling her you'll go trick or treating with her every year if she wants, and she gasps again. "REALLY?! THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!" She screams out, bouncing up and down before clinging to you once more, happy to have her favorite "sibling" with her on a fun day like Halloween. Not that she'd tell the others you're her favorite, but it's pretty damn obvious with how she's bouncing off the walls.

Slender: "Ah, wonderful, you've made it." His voice is mirthful as he greets you, bending down to scoop you into a hug. Jack Skellington's suit adorns him, and he looks quite nice in it. "Thank you so much for volunteering to hand out candy with me, my dear. Your company is always appreciated." Slender leads you back to the kitchen, where there are multiple bowls, and multiple bags of candy waiting to be dumped into them. "I wasn't sure which bowl or candy would be best, so I got a variety." He pauses, his tone laced with a hint of regret and insecurity. "I did too much, didn't I?" You laugh, reaching up to pat his back and reassure him that he did wonderfully, a sheepish chuckle leaving him as you set out to work at filling the bowls.

Offender: "Well? How do I look?" He's wearing a suit that looks identical to Slender's favorite, right down to the handkerchief, and you can't help but look at him questioningly. "What? I wanted to be annoying this year, so who better to dress up as?" You snort at him and bump him affectionately, telling him he'd best keep his mouth shut if he doesn't want Slender hearing him. "Oh, please. He wouldn't yell at me on Halloween! …Would he?" You hum thoughtfully at his question, before saying maybe you should find out. You dash off to find Slender, Fen hot on your heels to prevent you from getting him in trouble.

Splendor: "Pretty funny, right?" He can barely hold in his giggles, adorned in a suit that matches Slender, but with Offender's signature hat and a rose tucked into his jacket pocket. You ask him what he's doing, and he beams widely. "Well! Fenny dressed up as Slen to make fun of him, so I wanted to take it a step further!" He places his hand proudly on his chest, and you can't help but laugh at his excitement. You say he's silly, and he smiles at you affectionately, bending to press a kiss to your forehead. "Of course I am! Silly is practically my middle name!" He scoops you into a hug, before telling you of his plan to rile up his brothers with his costume, his mischievousness coming out in full force.

Trender: "Ah, hello, darling." He greets you with a hug and then a bow, before rubbing the top of your head affectionately. "I knew that costume would look positively wonderful on you, my dear. I do truly have the finest craftsmanship." The costume adorning your figure was made by none other than Trender himself, so it's no wonder that you look incredible in it. You compliment his own costume, also tailored by himself, and he stands proudly, reveling in your compliments. "Thank you! I always put my best into everything I design! In fact, I'm already planning next year's outfit. Would you like to see the sketches?" You smile at his enthusiasm and nod eagerly, following after him as he leads you to his studio.

Zalgo: "I'm glad you made it safely." The king greets you at the entrance of his castle, giving you a warm hug as his employees hustle and bustle behind him, a sigh leaving him as he stands. "They insisted upon decorating the whole castle for Halloween, and they've been rushing around since last night." You can tell the hustling of his employees makes him anxious, so you rub his back soothingly to calm him. You reassure him that everything will be okay, and his vision drops back to you with a smile. "Of course everything will be okay. After all, you're here now." He ruffles your hair, turning to retreat back to his office for some peace and quiet, and you follow quickly behind him, filling him in on your Halloween plans as you go.

Nina: "LOOK AT THIS PLACE! ISN'T IT AWESOME?!" She shouts over the loud noise of the other employees decorating Zalgo's castle, and you poke her cheek gently as a warning for her to keep her voice down, so she smiles apologetically. "We all agreed to decorate the castle together, but we forgot how big it truly is. Would you like to help?" She holds up the decorations she'd been carrying, and you agree excitedly, taking some of them from her grasp. She bounces back and forth in excitement at your agreeing, and quickly drags you across the castle to the area she's in charge of, explaining all the design choices to you as she goes.

Hobo: "Do I look okay..?" His voice is unsure as he looks in the mirror, his wings hanging down sadly at his general lack of confidence. BEN had picked his outfit for him this year, and you personally thought he made a good choice, so you do your best to reassure Hobo, giving him a comforting hug that perks him back up easily. "Well, if you think I look nice, then it must be so. You'd never lie to me, after all." He smiles at you boyishly, and you can't help but return the grin, ruffling his hair and causing him to laugh, his wings poofing up in his excitement. "Although, I know one thing's for sure. You're definitely the cuter one between us." He says gesturing at your costume, and he quickly leaves the room before you can argue back, leaving you to shout your disagreement as you chase after him.

Kate: "Look how nice the girls made me look!" She smiles at you excitedly, decked out in an intricate Corpse Bride costume, one that Jane and Natalie had helped her with all morning, and you had to admit she looked stunning. "Aww, thank you!" She accepts your compliments with a smile, leaning forward to hug you gently to not smudge her makeup on you. "I can't wait to go out tonight and show this off! You're coming too, right?!" She gets even more excited when you agree, twirling around in her wedding dress and clutching the bouquet Jane had given her to her chest. "This is gonna be the best Halloween ever!" She cheers, and you can't help but agree with her."

This will be the best Halloween ever. After all, you're spending it with your favorite character.

[mothmanssweetsucculentass]

General JTK hcs??

I’m saving most of my detailed Jeff headcanons for a full headcanon post (and maybe a potential origin story in my writing style???) like the others I’ve been doing, but here’s a small handful:

Former scare actor, specifically the kind who would run around and chase people with chainsaws

“Patient zero”

Autistic!!!

Liu isn’t his brother in my interpretation, but the two of them were roommates in college

Forensic science major. Knows how to be good at murder because he literally learned how murders get solved

Has special interests in knife collecting and has a very large collection of many different kinds of knives. He will talk your ear off about each one if you let him

The “smile” is from an incident at the haunt where he worked at, considering it takes place in an abandoned lumbermill that still had working facilities. Things happened, people got pushed, and Jeff ended up face down in a spinning sawblade on one side of his face

He hated how lopsided it looked, so the unaffected half of his face was soon carved to look the same

No burn scars on his face, but he has major severe burn scars from his shoulders down. Self inflicted.

Chronic scab picker. His facial scars have never healed because of this habit

Before his hands were burnt to shit he used to really love drawing in his free time. Can’t really do that anymore tho.

Has a soft spot for animals

Frequents public places that are older/more run down/rural. People are less judgmental/don’t care about the guy covered in suspicious red stains

Also wears face masks whenever he’s out in public to hide his mouth wounds

Carries cash on himself since using a credit or debit card is out of the question

Chronic nightmare haver

Not the best in social situations. Is blunt and pretty straightforward

Is scarily good at telling if someone is faking being asleep or not

[pasta-in-the-pudding]

Can you do hc of big brother Jeff being protective of lil bro liu 😭🥺🥺🙏

Summary: Big brother jeff is protective over Liu, jeff shenanigans

Genre: Fluff, tiny bit of angst if you squint

Warnings: Violence mentioned, anger issues, Jeff.

A/n: I HEART PROTECTIVE JEFF RAGHHHH!! Also, dw I'm still working on the corpse bride au, im just putting out some extra asks in between!

Credits: Jeff The Killer- Creepypasta, Picture- Pinterest, Divider- @ bucciniexe

Protective!Big Brother!Jeff x Little Brother!Liu (Platonic, go away proshippers)

Jeff is only about 2 years older than Liu, but that's still old enough for Jeff to feel like he has to protect this little critter with his life

Jeff and Liu didn't have the best home life, so Jeff just kind of grew up being protective of Liu

And it only worsened as they got older

Elementary school wasn't terrible, there was the rogue nose picker who would try to call Liu names every once and a while because his clothes were too big on account of them being Jeff's hand me downs

But the second Jeff chased them around the playground screaming "Don't you ever say that to my brother!", they got the message

Liu himself didn't even really mind it, he thought the kid was just asking about why his clothes were so big, not making fun of him

But he appreciates it nonetheless

In middle school it got worse

In 6th-7th grade, Jeff got bullied pretty hard for being the weird kid no one wanted to be around, and Liu was bullied by association

Jeff got suspended a lot for beating up some kids who dared to try and say something about how "his brother acts like he's a whole other person named Sully sometimes, and that's just plain old weird"

Liu would get embarrassed by Jeff's antics, because he was basically proving their point by beating those kids up

He would try to just make his own friends and stay away from Jeff as best he could, but Jeff was just trying to look out for his little brother is all

in 8th grade, the "incident" happened, and Liu spend that whole year and most of his 9th grade year in the hospital

As he went from foster home to foster home, Liu was sure Jeff was dead like their parents

And due to his constant mental health struggles in association to the "incident", he didn't really go to school

He got schoolwork at home, but he was never reintroduced to other kids at an actual school building

However, it was hard to miss how the other foster kids that made fun of him always ended up beat up, just like how Jeff used to do

After being found by Slender man shortly after this, he and Jeff were reintroduced

At first, Liu couldn't be anywhere near Jeff without Sully fronting, which made their relationship even more strained if that was even possible

Jeff missed his little brother dearly, and felt terrible guilt for everything that had happened

But anyone that tried to say anything about Liu in the manor was always "delt with"

Even now in present day, their relationship is better and they can at least be around each other, Jeff is still way protective of him

If anyone even teases Liu, it's death glares all the way from Jeff

[dancing-mylife-away]

thank you @leothil for the unofficial tag bc i will take any opportunity to talk about books 😂 so here are 9 books i want to read this year!

a body of work: dancing to the edge and back by david hallberg. i've literally owned this book since the week it came out in 2017 but i still haven't read it 😅 idk why bc david hallberg is one of my all-time favorite ballet dancers so hopefully 2024 will be the year i finally read his memoir

illusions of camelot by peter boal. another ballet memoir that will hopefully come out in paperback this year so i can buy it. he's the current artistic director of PNB and former principal at NYCB (i think he was one of the last dancers selected for the company by balanchine) so anyway ballet books are My Thing

before you found me by michael robotham. the 4th cyrus haven book which has been my favorite mystery/suspense series since the first book came out

deus x by stephen mack jones. the 4th august snow book which is another suspense/thriller series i really enjoy

the second chance year by melissa wiesner

pointe of pride by chloe angyal. the sequel to pas de don't which was one of my favorite romance books i read last year. and angyal is a former ballet dancer so the ballet parts of the book are extremely accurate and well-written

the berry pickers by amanda peters

the undertow: scenes from a slow civil war by jeff sharlet

some shall break by ellie marney. the sequel to none shall sleep which i read a few years ago and loved!

tagging @crosbytoews @hockeyunfortunately @jackreichel @mistmarauder @murphybedard @endandblossom and anyone else who wants to do this!

[lizisshortforlizard]

Living Dangerously - Chapter 28

Jurassic Park’s animal handlers: none of them ever mentioned by name in Michael Crichton’s original novel. Who were they? What were their lives like on Isla Nublar? Did any of them survive the disaster? A year in the life of those responsible for the care of the dinosaurs. Many people would kill to have their jobs. But would they die for it?

Jurassic Park novel/Jurassic Park film (1993)

Viewpoint: 3rd person female oc

Warnings: few mentions of the ol alcoholism

Tagging: @heresthefanfiction @ocappreciation @wordspin-shares @howlingmadlady @arrthurpendragon @themaradwrites @starryeyes2000 @kmc1989 (please lmk if you would like informed of my sporadic updates)

Read on Ao3

Chapter 27 | Chapter 29

Since You Been Gone - Rainbow

Several weeks later

Although the island would be virtually uninhabited over Christmas, InGen had shipped in an impressive Douglas Fir that was already shrivelling up and disintegrating in the tropical heat. It was dropping enough needles to make Marìa implore the Almighty for help every time she swept the floor, which was now a daily task. Someone had used the cherry picker to fling tinsel over the model skeletons in the atrium of the visitor centre. The Alamosaurus had a shiny blue party hat perched jauntily on top of its skull.

About as festive as you could wish for in a near-Equatorial country.  Muldoon wanted to meet with Lizzy beneath the skeletons before he began the long journey back to Kenya.

“I’ve done the best I can with staffing, but there will be two days at Christmas and again at New Year when you’re by yourself. I’ll be back on the third.” 

Lizzy nodded solemnly.

“You do not go out in the park by yourself on those four days you’re alone, do you understand me?”

”O-kay?”

”I don’t care what you see on those video monitors in the control room. I don’t care what alarms go off. It’s not your problem to fix. You make a note of it and tell someone later, but whatever happens you stay indoors.”

”Richardson said-“ She started.

“I don’t care. You do what I say.” He fixed her with an icy blue stare. “Screw Richardson and his half-baked ideas.”

”No, thanks.” She wrinkled her nose.

Muldoon didn’t smile. “Armstrong, are we clear?”

Lizzy sighed. “Yes, we are perfectly clear.”

He remained unconvinced. “The weather looks alright too, no storms forecast-“

”Seriously! I’ll be fine!” She reassured. “Go home, see the kid. Don’t worry about me.”

Satisfied his point had been made, Muldoon became apologetic. ”Sorry about all this.” 

Among the offers of come back to Oz, come back to Baton Rouge, come back to Lisbon, there would have been the offer of Kenya too, and not just out of politeness.

“You know I hate flying, it makes me feel very green. I’m the logical choice, anyway. No ties. No commitments.” She wiggled her fingers, conscious for the first time in a while that the weight of her engagement ring was no longer there. 

If it had to be anyone, it may as well be me.

Everyone else had parents, kids, significant others, siblings. Jeff was back in Newcastle for the festive period, with his own blood relatives. 

Lizzy had nobody.

“You can give me a bell me if you need to. Don’t care if its the middle of the night.” The park warden handed her a piece of paper with a Kenyan dialling code on it. “Doesn’t have to be work-related, either.”

Lizzy cleared her throat, unsure what he meant. “Got it. Thanks.”

”One last thing.” He reminded her. “Do not go near that raptor.”

“Aw, but I was planning to take her on a day trip to climb Sibo!”

”Not funny. If you remember one thing from this conversation, let that be it. No raptor.”

Kathy’s silhouette appeared in the double-doorway, dragging her chunky duffel bag, the contents threatening to burst forth from the zips all over the marble tiles. It looked like it weighed more than she did. 

“Travelling light, are we?” Muldoon looked her up and down. 

She waved him away, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “Hey, Minnesota is cold. You really think I’m walking over a snowy runway in my flip-flops?”

The park warden was still fixated on her luggage. He pointed to it with his boot. ”You’re going to make me carry that to the airport, aren’t you?” 

”No, no way!” Kathy made a show of exclaiming, before quietly muttering out of the side of her mouth to Lizzy. “I absolutely am.”

“Keep commenting on how heavy it is, how small you are, until he feels bad.” The ethologist suggested, but she knew her deceptively strong friend was able to lift and carry two straw bales at once.

“Oh, I plan to.” Kathy abandoned the bag on the floor and pulled her in for a hug. “Next year, I don’t care how far apart we are, you are coming for Christmas with my family. There‘s always gonna be a place set for you at our house.”

Lizzy managed to blurt out her thanks awkwardly. 

Promised I wouldn’t cry. Jeez.

“And this year-“ Kathy continued. “-if you feel ill at all then you just up and leave the island, okay? It’s not worth it. Call the mainland at Puntarenas…or my mom. I’ve set her as speed-dial two at Ray’s desk.”

“Nice surprise for him next time he tries to call Palo Alto and gets Momma Baker instead.” Lizzy grinned at her friend’s ranking system of who to contact in an emergency. “Just think of me when you’re raising a toast, okay?”

”I will not be cheersing anything this year-” Kathy denied. “-unless it’s with a juice box.”

Lizzy scoffed. “Like he’d know.”

”He’d know.” She insisted, sweeping her braids over one shoulder. “Muldoon said I could if I wanted, but we made a pact. The pact holds firm even if we’re not in the same place anymore.”

The Team Leader was in her mid-twenties, and fond of a beer with the guys, especially on Friday evenings after work. But she had decided to lead by example. 

“How’s it going? You helping him…stop?” Lizzy dared to ask. She’d been avoiding finding out for the past few weeks, in case the answer wasn’t what she wanted to hear. 

“Really good. You’ll be pleased to know he remains firmly on the wagon.”  Despite Kathy’s insistence he didn’t have to go all or nothing straight away, Muldoon had quit the booze cold turkey. The following weeks the island’s coffee usage had increased dramatically. He’d been shorter than usual with almost everyone. Kathy had taken the worst of it more than once, like a trooper. But so far, so sober. 

“That is really good.” Lizzy’s eyes darted past Kathy to see the man in question picking up and hoisting her friend’s ridiculously overpacked luggage over his shoulder without changing expression, as if it were nothing. 

“Yup. Really good.” She caught herself biting her lip. 

Tom swaggered in, minus any bags of his own. “Hey, I thought we already had the Christmas party? What’s with the gathering?”

“And I thought you were leaving on today’s ferry too? Where’s your stuff?” Lizzy wondered aloud. 

“Nah. Tomorrow.” Then louder, for Muldoon’s benefit. “Gotta reduce the amount of time this one has to single-handedly destroy the island. Right, boss?” “Christ. Don’t remind me.”

Tom’s gaze rested on Kathy, who looked very uncomfortable at the sudden attention. 

”I’m actually gonna miss you, four-eyes. Who’d have seen that one coming?” 

”Uh-huh…”

“Well-“ He ironically saluted before turning to leave. “Until next year, loser.”

“Now or never.” Lizzy elbowed her friend in the ribs. “I’m not doing it for you.”

Kathy gave her the dirtiest look possible before jogging after Tom. 

“Baker, we have to get going-“ Muldoon sounded exasperated, still holding her bag.

“Give her a minute.” Lizzy told him. “It’s important.”

”Kennedy of all people, is missing-her-flight levels of important? That’s new…”

”Wait, Tom!” Kathy called as she ran. 

The Texan turned and stared at her hurrying closer, confused.

”I, um-…I made you this.” She pulled a parcel out of her shoulder bag, it too was straining at the seams. “But I dunno how cold it gets in Texas, it’s probably useless…You know what, never mind, you don’t have to take it. It’s stupid.”

She hugged the gift close to her chest, wishing she could rewind the last thirty seconds. Why had Lizzy encouraged her to do this?! It was so dumb. He clearly still hated her. 

“You give that here, missy. I’ll be the judge of whether it’s stupid or not.” Tom held out his hands. ”Can I open it now?”

”Uhm…okay. Why wait, I guess?” She chuckled nervously then hiccuped. 

Tom tore the paper, making a performance out of doing it as slowly as possible while Kathy carefully awaited his reaction.

Muldoon huffed and looked at his watch. 

”Woah…is that-”

She’d knitted him a slightly lumpy scarf in the colours of the Texas state flag. Everyone had received a woollen item from Kathy as a gift, in the colours of their place of origin. 

”Dude, you made this? For me?” Tom couldn’t hold back a massive grin, and immediately threw the paper aside and tied the scarf in a loose knot around his neck. “Shit, that’s sick, man! It’s soft as all Hell! Sorry, Heck. Soft as Heck.”

Kathy let out a sigh of relief. She’d been half-expecting to be ripped to shreds for her handmade gift. 

“But I don’t have anything for you, Kit…”

”It’s okay.” She knew he’d been saving up to really spoil his little sister this year. Lizzy had told her as much. “I wasn’t expecting anything in return. But I made them for everyone else, and you actually work really hard, and-“

Next thing she knew, her face was pressed close to his denim jacket as he scooped her up in a bear hug.  

She couldn’t recall having physical contact with Tom before, doing her best to stay away from him unless she had no choice. As far as she knew, he didn’t do hugs. Not with anyone.

Kathy tensed, stiff as a corpse until she heard him rumble against the side of her head ”Thank you, darlin’.”

He sounded so genuine, and she buried her face in the fabric of his jacket, squeezing her eyes tight shut to hide how they were welling up. 

She relaxed into the hug. ”Happy Christmas, Tom.”

***

The two weeks that followed turned out to be uneventful, if very lonely, for Lizzy. On the big day itself she’d opened a few small gifts her friends had left for her, including a brand new knitted bobble hat. In the colours of Namibia, not Scotland. She had called Jeff in Newcastle at InGen’s expense, had a lengthy catch-up and a good laugh, then nuked some leftover macaroni cheese, the Christmas dinner of champions, before focusing on writing up her behavioural research she was in serious danger of falling behind with. Lizzy wondered if she’d ever get clearance from InGen to publish a paper on the behaviour of juvenile Velociraptor mongoliensis. Unlikely, but she had to write the damn thing first. 

She missed her elephants. 

Don’t go out into the park. She wasn’t an idiot, and Lizzy had to admit it was asking for trouble. If anything happened, nobody would find her for a very long time, that much was certain. God forbid she came to a sticky end because she fell and broke her ankle, or something equally stupid. 

But watching the dinosaurs on a video screen just wasn’t the same as being out there among them. Hearing the sauropods trumpet in the far distance was nothing like feeling the ground shake when they walked by. Seeing the dilophosaurs flare their crests near the river, smelling the Rex on the breeze and knowing in your gut she was nearby even if you couldn’t see her. You could just feel her. Lizzy missed the smallest things she’d started to take for granted in her job. 

She may not have her elephants, but she didn’t have her dinosaurs either. Neither did she have her new favourite, the little raptor who was her biggest challenge yet.  Lizzy wondered if there was a fellow lonely soul on Isla Sorna who had been given a similar task to her. If they had family they missed, or if they too had friends but were alone in the world.

Some local InGen employees came and went between Christmas and New Year, but she was soon left to her own devices for the second two-day stint of solitude.

It was far worse than the first time around. Lizzy thought constantly about using the Kenyan dialling code, or hitting speed dial two. But she always talked herself out of it. 

They don't need me bothering them. They see me every single day, they see their families hardly ever. God, give them some space. Stop being so bloody needy.

She kept trying to persuade herself of the passing of time, trying to think of things to do while she was effectively trapped indoors, all while debating if cabin fever was a legitimate medical condition and how long it normally took to develop. She wondered whether she could find Gerry Harding’s San Diego number and really piss Sarah off by calling him at home to ask. 

New Year's Eve, however, more than compensated for how tedious Lizzy's Christmas break had been. 

She was leaving the showers that night, minding her own business, and rounded the corner wrapped in her towel, humming, totally unprepared for who was waiting for her when she finally glanced up at close range through half-misted glasses.

“Shitting Heaven!” Lizzy shrieked, flattening herself against the wall in shock.

Muldoon was just there in the corridor, looking surprised, in the process of unlocking his door.

”You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack!” She accosted him when she recovered her wits, red-faced and angry now the fear had retreated. “Christ alive! Thanks for the warning!”

“Sorry, Armstrong.”

”Don’t give me Armstrong! Why the Hell didn’t you say anything?” She moaned, rubbing her forehead, heart still thumping with the force of a war cannon against her sternum. “You must have heard me coming!”

“Again, sorry.”

Lizzy’s eyes widened. She’d been enjoying singing loudly in the shower. Horribly out of tune, and she knew it. A one-woman rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. 

There was no way in Hell he wouldn’t have heard. She’d been performing the entirety of the song as a solo for the last five minutes.

The absurdity of the situation hit her, and she covered her mouth to stifle a nervous laugh. Now was not the time. She was still very much ticked off at him for ambushing her, and she wanted him to know.

“Why are you here?” Lizzy demanded, doing her best to regain control. The park warden was back a full four days before schedule. Not that she was counting down, or anything.

���Baker phoned me.” As if that was a perfectly reasonable explanation. 

“So?”

”She had a feeling. She was worried about you.”

”You came back because of a feeling? Someone else’s feeling?” It didn’t make sense to Lizzy at all. He didn't normally go in for superstitions, or anything of the sort. 

Muldoon recalled the previous night, and the fateful phonecall that led to cutting his trip home short. His daughter had answered and come to get him, tapping with her small hands covered by new wool mittens that she point-blank refused to take off, even when she was eating dinner, or sleeping.

“Baba, phone. Cat lady from…Min-ah-so-tah.” She’d pronounced carefully. 

Muldoon was then wide awake. Why in God’s name was Baker calling him at this ungodly hour? Who had died?

By the time he’d made it to the phone, she had been sobbing down the line, borderline hysterical. When he’d finally gotten some sense out of her, if you could call it sense, she told him she’d had the most terrifying nightmare. That the dinosaurs had all escaped and were roaming free, Lizzy was in danger, she was sure of it.

At first, he was sceptical. Just a dream, nothing to it.

Then she had uttered the magic word raptor, and Muldoon knew that made two of them that wouldn’t be going back to sleep anytime soon. 

What had he been thinking? What had InGen been playing at? Leaving Armstrong alone to man the island, all for the sake of someone keeping an eye on the place.

Were they really that paranoid that a rival would try and steal from them? With all the security systems they had in place? It was virtually impossible. 

Although he wouldn’t put it past the ethologist to send intruders packing, to be honest. Sub-par depth perception aside, she was still pretty handy with a shotgun. 

”Please.” Baker’s voice had steadied, suddenly clear and direct. “I need to know Lizzy’s okay. I can’t bear to call her, in case…But if you won’t do it either, I’m leaving for that island tonight-“

”I’ll phone her now. You do realise she’s probably fine?” Muldoon became aware he was trying to convince himself of that fact as much as he was Baker.

”And what will you do if she doesn’t pick up, hm? What will you do if she’s fine now, but you arrive back in a few days and something has happened?” Her voice rose in pitch. “Why did we leave her? On a dinosaur island?”

And then Muldoon did something very out of character. He hung up, waited a few minutes, and called Baker back to tell her Armstrong was fine, not to worry, have a Happy New Year. 

Then he quietly made his way to the airport in Nairobi. Only when he was on the first of several flights had it started to sink in, exactly what he was doing. What it all came down to.

He needed to see her. It’s for safety. This automation business is nonsense. Shouldn’t have left her. 

He reflected that his Team Leader and partner in sobriety wasn’t exactly making life easy for him. 

How it had taken every ounce of willpower he had not to answer Scotch, please when the heavily made-up air hostess had come around with the drinks trolley. 

And then came the worst, and most time-consuming part, finding someone on the Costa Rican mainland who fit the Venn diagram intersection of having a boat and being willing to sail to Isla Nublar at short notice.  Turned out not many of the locals fit both criteria. Not for cheap, anyway.

“Baker made a very strong case.”

”Right…” Lizzy was still baffled, and a little put out that the reason for him standing in front of her in her towel wasn't for anything other than safety. 

It was only because Kathy’d had another of her stupid dreams, that she was always convinced meant something more. Lizzy had lost track of the number of times she had reassured her that they were not. She wasn’t a prophet. She was just a worrier with an active imagination. 

After the ferry, Muldoon hadn’t stopped to drop off his backpack. He couldn’t find Armstrong at first, anywhere in the staff quarters. She wasn’t answering his calls to her radio, and for a second he had feared Baker was right. 

Maybe something had happened. 

Then he’d heard the God-awful “singing” coming from the women’s showers and it was the most beautiful sound Muldoon had ever heard because it meant Armstrong was alive and well.

Now, it wasn’t gratifying at all, it was just awkward, she was angry at him. And explaining he was back on Nublar ahead of schedule because of a dream, and not even his own, just sounded more and more absurd.

“Well…I’m okay. You can stop worrying.” Lizzy looked down at herself. “If I were dressed I would probably be okay-er.”

She became conscious Muldoon was looking past her, instead of at her, avoiding eye contact. As if he was nervous to look anywhere else.

She was still dripping all over the floor, hair in wet ringlets slicked to her forehead. 

By then, Lizzy just wanted to get back to her room and dry off. She smiled sweetly. ”Gonna make me walk past you like this, huh?”

“Er, no-“ He went back to opening his door, as he had been before she had rounded the corridor and nearly expired from fright. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Oh, thanks so much!” She replied sarcastically as he made himself scarce.

***

A couple of hours later, Muldoon reluctantly pushed open the door of the staff kitchen to a sight he never thought he’d witness: Armstrong standing over a stove, cooking.

“Hi!” She turned and waved at him.  Instead of her company-issued shorts and polo shirt that she usually lived in, she’d opted for jeans and a loose sweater. Her hair was still wet. She looked very different. Not in a bad way, either. 

“Sorry about earlier. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay. Ran into far more people wearing far less.” She brushed it off.

“Excuse me?”

”Joking!” She claimed hastily. “I was joking!”

So awkward.

Lizzy’s heart dropped.

Oh no, was this when she found out they only got on so well because they were both mad at the world? Because they liked complaining about the same things? Take that away and what did they have to talk about?

"Got your note."

"I can see, else you wouldn’t be here, would you?” She said bluntly. This was going nowhere. Lizzy couldn't take it. "Look, it’s fine. It’s honestly fine. I don’t care and you shouldn’t either. Thank you for coming back to check on me.”

She turned her attention away from the stove and cocked an eyebrow. “Though a phone call would have sufficed.”

”I realise that.”

“It’s a good thing.” She pointed the spoon at him. “You’re staying. I've been so bored without anyone around. Don't make me spend another evening talking to myself."

“Hm.” He agreed. “Can you even get a word in edgeways?"

"Nice to have an intelligent conversation around here, actually." Lizzy hid a smile. And we’re back.

“What’s that you’re making?”

“Stew?” She continued stirring. 

”Why does that sound like a question?”

“I think.”

”You…think?” He seemed to finally be  relaxing. “It either is or it isn't."

“I was making bolognese, but…something went wrong.” Lizzy explained, sounding deflated. She looked him dead in the eyes and admitted: “I actually haven’t cooked dinner in a very long time.”

"In that case, I’m pleased I went to so much trouble to get back here.”

”Give it a minute. It’s getting there.” Lizzy clamped the lid on the pot. Out of sight, out of might. If it burns, just call it Cajun. Gonna be great. So good. 

“Getting where, exactly?  Why are you going to all this bother anyway?”

“I thought-… you’ve had a really long journey?” 

“And you’re trying to finish me off in my weakened state, is that what you’re saying?” Muldoon deadpanned. “You want my job that badly?”

She threw her wooden spoon down on the worktop in a huff and folded her arms. “Please. I wouldn’t stoop to poisoning. Pitfall trap, maybe. Alright?”

The park warden peered over her shoulder at the wisps of black smoke starting to rise from the stove. “Armstrong, I think your-…whatever it is, is burning.”

“Completely intentional.” She wrinkled her nose. “I can manage.”

“Try it.” He dared her.

“It’s too hot-“

”Try it now.”

She caved, but couldn’t stop her face from screwing up like she’d just taken a hefty bite from a lemon. Lizzy knew there was no way it would be her best cooking effort, but it was bad. 

“Oh, Christ!”  She passed him the spoon, admitting defeat. “I give up. All yours.”

“Take a seat. I can salvage it.”

Quietly, from the battered cassette player in the corner Jimmy Page’s guitar riffs chugged along, Robert Plant wailing something about a flaming heart, every now and then the high notes swelling over the noise of the pots bubbling on the stove as they swapped places. Led Zeppelin IV. Lizzy had found a tape in Gennaro’s office while she was poking around. Didn’t know old Donald got the Led out, she’d thought. But imagining the lawyer with long hair and flared jeans, in the front row at Madison Square Garden was a thought that now frequently made her smile when she was bored.

“Ugh. Salvage.” She groaned, resting her head on a propped up arm. “That’s such an unfortunate word. I’m so sorry.” 

“S’alright. Like a challenge.” 

”I’m better at breakfast.” She defended herself. “I can do a decent fry-up.”

“And how does a man get you to sort out breakfast for them?”

She shrugged. “Be the one to wake me up in the morning.”

Muldoon almost dropped a knife but caught it before it could make a noise on the worktop. 

“I mean-“ Lizzy realised what she’d said without thinking. “Uhhh…”

He’d caught her succumbing to nostalgia, remembering grey dawns in New York, when Simon had offered to go out in the rain for bagels, and instead of leaving the apartment, she’d whacked some eggs on the stove. 

Looking back, there had been happy times. But perhaps it had only seemed happy because it was everything she’d never had before. 

Although she’d kill for a hot chocolate and a doughnut that always smelled better than it tasted from the cart they went looking for every winter in Times Square. That was one of their traditions.

Simon had been one of the people she'd considered calling over Christmas. He’d be spending a few days at his parent’s house upstate, no doubt. Same as always. But she’d ultimately decided no good could come from contacting him, even though she still knew the number off by heart. No scrap of paper or speed dial required.   It had ended for a reason. She had to remember that. Even though he’d never been brave enough to insult her attempts at cooking. 

Unlike some.

Her gaze fell on Muldoon again. 

”I’ll be conveniently absent then. State of it.” He grumbled. “Won’t be risking it even if we’re still alive tomorrow.”

”You’re so rude.”

“Could have tortured prisoners at Alcatraz with whatever that was.”

Lizzy cackled.

“Hey-…I��m really glad you came back, you know?” She told him honestly. “My sense of humour isn’t wasted.”

Oh, who was she kidding? She’d missed him. Really missed him. 

“You didn’t phone.” It sounded accusatory when he said it. “Two weeks is a very long time to not hear from someone like you.”

I thought about it.

”I wanted to.” She answered quietly. 

I thought about you. 

Muldoon had an idea. 

Now he was back she could go out into the park again. They could both go out into the park, in fact. And with nobody else around, who would question them going out at night? 

Was it a daft thing to suggest? Probably. 

Armstrong had been distant the past few weeks before winter break. Giving herself space. Giving him space. 

But he had been trying. Succeeding so far thanks to Baker’s efforts. That girl really was something else, putting up with him in his worst moods.  And Armstrong was the one who’d asked him to spend time with her that evening. They could have quite easily existed without running into each other again for days. The place was big enough. But they were in this tiny kitchen together, her struggling to find enough space to set out plates and cutlery without bumping into him. 

The other staff would be arriving back in the next few days. 

Who knew when he’d have her all to himself again?

Didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous as Hell. It might not have been enough time for her to feel safe around him out in the jungle. She might still say no.

But it was worth a try. 

“Armstrong, would you-“

She dropped a bowl on the worktop with a clank at the critical moment. “Sorry, what?”

“Would you like to come for a drive with me later?”

“Why?” The frown lines appeared between her eyebrows. “Is something wrong, out in the park?”

“No-“

”I wrote everything up while you were gone. All the errors.”

”I know-“

”And I haven’t been near the baby raptor!” She added, a little too insistently.  “Armstrong-“. A touch sharply, to get her to stop talking so damn fast. Ask me properly. ”Lizzy. Would you like to see in the New Year with me? Somewhere more scenic?”

”Ohh…” Realisation dawned on her face, then a revolving door of emotions. Excitement, then uncertainty, then indecision. “If it’s a no, then-“

”I didn’t say no.” Lizzy interrupted. 

She wasn't sure if she was ready. Finding that bottle at the back of the staff lodge had knocked her sideways, upended her world. 

But she wanted to go with him, she wanted to so badly.

Really good. That was what Kathy had said. 

That was enough for her to smile and nod.

”Yes, please. I’d love that.”

***

Thanks for reading!

Is this going to count as a date? I think it’s going to count as a date! (Finally…) At the museum I used to work in the sauropod skeleton did indeed wear a party hat at Christmas. Also in Glasgow they put a traffic cone on the head of the Duke of Wellington’s statue on the regular…so it may or may not have been Lizzy.

[kathleenkatmary]

Some fic and writing prompts resources

I've seen a few people over the past week or so looking for prompts or struggling with writer's block, so I thought it might be helpful to share all of the prompt stuff I have saved in my fic writing bookmarks folder. I want to put together a more thorough post that talks about different ways to use prompts and such to help with writer's block to post to the Jeff/Annie Resources tumblr, but that's something I'm going to take some time to really craft, so I'm just going to post some of the links I have here for now.

Here are a few of tumblrs that are all about fan fic prompts Fanfiction Prompts F Yeah Fanfiction Prompts 50 Item Writing Prompts

This is a fun d100 chart where you either roll a d100 or put '100' into a random number generator, and you use the keywords the given number provides to craft your story.

This is just a nice site that has 40+ writing prompts of different types

Random prompt, dialogue, line, famous quotes and first line generators are GREAT tools, especially when you're trying to use prompts to get through writer's block, whether you're using them as prompts to put into the fic, or just as a prompt of inspiration. First Line Generator A First Line Generator B Random Dialogue Generator A Random Dialogue Generator B Plot Generator Random Line Generator (this one usually doesn't generate actual sentences that make sense, but the word salad they generate can be used as a "must use the words listed" prompt) Random First Line Generator Random Genre Generator Genre Picker Wheel Classic Movie Line Generator Literary Quotes Generator Quote Generator Random Quotes from Literature Generator Random Movie Quote Generator A Random Movie Quote Generator B Various Tumblr posts or tags with or about prompts "otp prompts" tag "fanfic prompts" tag "otp imagines" tag "imagine your otp" tag "prompt list" tag 5 + 1 Prompts

I don't know if prompts tables are still big these days, but they were really big in the days when livejournal dominated fandom, and they're extremely useful, whether used in the generally intended way - completing each one in order - or as a set of numbered prompts to choose from. Here are a bunch I found on livejournal. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

And here are just a few random number generators. These can be used for anything from picking a random prompt number, to being given a random amount of words you have to write, to getting an episode number for a show so you can make yourself write a post-ep for it, all kinds of stuff like that. 1 2 3 4

I hope this helps some people!

[houseofloveconcerts]

Jacksonport

For his new album “Dusted Beauty,” Chicago-born singer/songwriter John Fatum invited his oldest musical friends and peer mentors to record with him in his new home of Los Angeles. Jeff Picker (bass), Julian Pollack (aka J3PO , keyboards), Ben Flocks (saxophones), Robin MacMillan (drums, percussion), Michael Fatum (trumpet), and Adrian Olsen (co-producer/engineer/mixer) arrived and an experiment began, exploring the positive role models that Fatum calls the Sequoia trees of his life's grove. 

“Dusted Beauty” displays the intimacy and warmth of Fatum’s sound: kind and loving, but with road-worn grit. As a beloved drummer with acts such as Sarah Jarosz, Bella White, The Brother Brothers, Jack Symes, Bridget Kearney (Lake Street Dive), Watkins Family Hour, Jefferson Hamer, The RT's, Wilsen, Aoife O'Donovan, Olive Klug, Buck Meek (Big Thief), and Maya Hawke, we get a sense of the grounded integrity that allows for such a dynamic range of Fatum's musical expression.

[all-things-de-niro]

The song is called The Pilgrim Chapter 33

See him wasted on the sidewalk in his jacket and his jeans, Wearin' yesterday's misfortunes like a smile Once he had a future full of money, love, and dreams, Which he spent like they was goin' outta style And he keeps right on a'changin' for the better or the worse, Searchin' for a shrine he's never found Never knowin' if believin' is a blessin' or a curse, Or if the goin' up was worth the comin' down

He's a poet, he's a picker He's a prophet, he's a pusher He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction, Takin' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home.

He has tasted good and evil in your bedrooms and your bars, And he's traded in tomorrow for today Runnin' from his devils, lord, and reachin' for the stars, And losin' all he's loved along the way But if this world keeps right on turnin' for the better or the worse, And all he ever gets is older and around >from the rockin' of the cradle to the rollin' of the hearse, The goin' up was worth the comin' down

He's a poet, he's a picker He's a prophet, he's a pusher He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction, Takin' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home. There's a lotta wrong directions on that lonely way back home.

It was a homage to numerous people at the time when Kristofferson wrote it including: ohnny Cash, Jerry Jeff Walker, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Bobby Neuwirth and Dennis Hopper

I love that this song got a mention in Taxi Driver

I don't believe l've ever met anyone quite like you. Taxi Driver (1976) dir. Martin Scorsese

[breatheinpurejoy]

1, 4, and 25 :)

How many books did you read this year?

43, but a bunch of those were graphic novels! So that definitely pads the count a bit. :)

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Interpreting this as "new to me": Jeff Vandermeer (finally read Annihilation and loved it); A.A. Vora (an actual new author who debuted in 2024); Amanda Peters (The Berry Pickers made me cry); Rivers Solomon (The Deep is amazing).

25. What reading goals do you have for next year?

Answered. :)

Ty! <3

end-of-year book asks

[thebackgroundmusic]

September 2024 Reading Log

We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin

The Block Party by Jamie Day

Foe by Iain Reid

I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters 

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins 

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

Only the Brave by Danielle Steel

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Atalanta by Jennifer Saint

[clickyourradio]

Oh man, I can not tell you enough how I needed this in my mailbox! Jeff Washington has everything you need to hear from a real classic blues picker with those comforting sounds that are instantly recognizable as a natural blues anthem without ever sounding. well, old... ,....if that even makes sense

[ulkaralakbarova]

Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are ‘The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta’. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Rigby Reardon: Steve Martin Juliet Forrest: Rachel Ward (in “This Gun For Hire”) (archive footage): Alan Ladd Juliet’s Butler / Field Marshal Wilfried von Kluck: Carl Reiner (in “Sorry – Wrong Number”) (archive footage): Barbara Stanwyck (in “The Lost Weekend”) (archive footage): Ray Milland (in “The Killers” / “The Bribe”) (archive footage): Ava Gardner (in “The Killers”) (archive footage): Burt Lancaster (in “The Big Sleep” / “In a Lonely Place” / “Dark Passage”) (archive footage): Humphrey Bogart (in “Suspicion”) (archive footage): Cary Grant (in “Notorious”) (archive footage): Ingrid Bergman (in “The Glass Key”) (archive footage): Veronica Lake (in “Deception”) (archive footage): Bette Davis (in “Johnny Eager” / “The Postman Always Rings Twice”) (archive footage): Lana Turner (in “Johnny Eager”) (archive footage): Edward Arnold (in “I Walk Alone”) (archive footage): Kirk Douglas (in “Double Indemnity”) (archive footage): Fred MacMurray (in “White Heat”) (archive footage): James Cagney (in “Humoresque”) (archive footage): Joan Crawford Carlos Rodriguez: Reni Santoni (in “The Bribe”) (archive footage): Charles Laughton (in “The Bribe”) (archive footage): Vincent Price Dr. Forrest: George Gaynes Waiter: Francis X. McCarthy Hood: Gene LeBell (in “The Killers”) (archive footage): William Conrad (in “The Killers”) (archive footage): Charles McGraw (in “The Killers”) (archive footage): Jeff Corey (in “The Killers”) (archive footage): John Miljan (in “The Glass Key”) (archive footage): Brian Donlevy (in “The Glass Key”) (archive footage): Norma Varden (in “White Heat”) (archive footage): Edmond O’Brien Puppy Secretary: Britt Nilsson Duty Secretary: Jean Beaudine Film Crew: Editor: Bud Molin Screenplay: Steve Martin Director: Carl Reiner Screenplay: George Gipe Producer: David V. Picker Director of Photography: Michael Chapman Producer: William E. McEuen Costume Design: Edith Head Production Design: John DeCuir Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Kevin O’Connell Set Decoration: Richard C. Goddard Supervising Sound Editor: James J. Klinger Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Steve Maslow Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Bill Varney Original Music Composer: Miklós Rózsa Stunt Coordinator: Ernie F. Orsatti Stunts: Charlie Picerni Movie Reviews:

[christinamac1]

Ontario to announce refurbishment of four reactors at Pickering Plant

MATTHEW MCCLEARN, JEFF GRAY, QUEEN’S PARK REPORTER, TORONTO, 30 Jan 24,  https://www-theglobeandmail-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/canada/article-ontario-pickering-nuclear-reactor/ Ontario is proceeding with a massive, multibillion-dollar refurbishment of four aging nuclear reactors at its Pickering power plant east of Toronto, according to two provincial government…

[pcnmagazine]

Teddy Thompson and Sarah Jarosz Delight A Celtic Connections Audience

As part of the Celtic Connections festival 2024, Teddy Thompson and Sarah Jarosz played Glasgow’s City Halls on 20th January.  Sarah Jarosz was up first – this the first of two shows she’s playing in the UK this month as promotion for her latest album, Polaroid Lovers – out on 26th Jan. Accompanied by Jeff Picker on double bass and Seth Taylor on acoustic and electric guitar as required, Sarah…