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dustedmagazine · 4 months

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Music is an Essential Verb: Derek Taylor 2023

Music remains, along with family, friends, and a select few venial vices, my primary daily defense against the mental erosions of spiritual malaise and existential dread. Being a humanist also means being a realist, and little looks to be different on that score in the year ahead as we continue to careen toward a bleak and self-defeating dénouement. The veil of uncertainty around what ultimately feels like inevitability redoubles the need to remain thankful for and supportive of those who devote themselves to art. Summary capsules below describe some of the sounds that kept me going in 2023.

Peter Brötzmann, Wayne Shorter, Kidd Jordan, & Charles Gayle

“The trauma of my generation was what our fathers had done to the rest of the world, and so we said, ‘never again,’ and that was the whole impetus through all my life, and it still is.” ~ Brötzmann (2018)

Musician attrition and demise are dispiriting aspects of every annum, but the departure of four disparate octogenarian reedists exacted an especially steep emotional and cultural toll this year. Shorter and Jordan passed away in March, each of them leaving a rich legacy as indefatigable improviser and altruistic educator that continue influence and inspire. Brötzmann exited in June after the return of a protracted respiratory illness. Few if any can match the magnitude of his mileage and six-decade itinerary as an irrepressible, obstinately adventurous world traveler. Gayle ascended in September, an ardent, uncompromising eremite to the end. All four men left behind discographies and concert/interview footage that will leave the faithful and curious listening and marveling in perpetuity, but their collective absence still aches.

Kirk Knuffke & Joe McPhee Quartet + 1 – Keep the Dream Up (Fundacja Sluchaj)

One of the manifold joys of following the output of Kirk Knuffke is anticipating who he’ll collaborate with next. The cornetist’s ears and imagination are as huge as his heart, a trait he has in common with the equally equanimous Joe McPhee. They’ve known each other for years but Keep the Dream Up is their first released collaboration and it’s an affirming alloy of their complementary creative temperaments. Longtime McPhee comrades Michael Bisio and Jay Rosen complete the quartet with bass clarinetist Christof Knoche comprising the additive on a Brooklyn studio session that captures collective creative lightning in a digital bottle. My album of the year for these reasons and more, although hopefully Joe will bring his brass to a follow-up conclave soon.

Don Byas – Classic Sessions 1944-1946 (Mosaic)

Saxophonist Don Byas recorded prolifically during the 1940s. His porous sound and popular style bridged the schools of swing and bop through prowess and panache aligned with the most esteemed of post-WII tone scientists. That sustained industriousness hasn’t reflected in reliable access to his works, primarily because they’re spread across a plethora of independent labels and competing copyrights. Leave it to Mosaic Records to rectify the longstanding reissue lacuna. This long gestating collection corrals and sequences the bulk of them across ten discs, scrubbing their sound, and adding an expansive cache of rarified verité concert recordings made in a Swedish jazz fan’s residence. Indulging in one’s Byas bias has never been easier or as edifying.

Fred Anderson – The Milwaukee Tapes Vol. 2 (Corbett vs Dempsey)

Patience and long-game aptitude are among music producer/archivist/advocate John Corbett’s virtues. This unexpected, but abundantly welcome sequel to an archival Anderson collection on Corbett’s long defunct Unheard Music Series took 23 years to secure commercial circulation and offers an additional hour-plus from the same gig in improved sound. Fellow AACMers Billy Brimfield and Hamid (nee Hank) Drake join bassist Larry Hayrod in bringing vibrant, detailed life to the Lone Prophet of the Prairie’s (as Anderson was affectionately known) serpentine, cerulean melodies. Corbett’s current label released a plenitude of music in 2023 (see also below) but the uncommon opportunity to hear more Anderson of any vintage makes this release worthy of independent mention.

Jason Adasiewicz

Corbett vs. Dempsey also had a welcome role in Jason Adasiewicz’s return to record with two different projects. On vinyl, Roy’s World documents a 2017 Chicago studio session by the vibraphonist’s quintet originally intended as the soundtrack to a film based on neo-noir novelist Barry Gifford’s short stories. Chicago stalwarts Josh Berman, Joshua Abrams, Hamid Drake, join saxophonist Jonathan Doyle in the ensemble for a program that sounds at once fresh and nostalgic while always vital. On CD, Roscoe’s Village dispenses with band for a solo selective foray through the songbook of Roscoe Mitchell including evocative renderings of “Congliptious” and “A Jackson in Your House” that retain the composer’s essence while striking out in bold new directions.

Natural Information Society

Grounded as it is in core voices of guembri, frame drum and harmonium, codification of Josh Abrams’ NIS as a jazz ensemble immediately feels reductively incomplete. All participating instruments can be active architects in the undulating, melody-laced drones that frequently form the basis of the band’s gradual, granulated improvisations. Performances are more akin to collective expeditions where a galvanizing gestalt effect is afoot; one where earned communal peaks preserve the individual power and agency of the interlocking parts. Since Time is Gravity augments this already catalytic template by incorporating a larger contingent of Chicago colleagues including tenorist Ari Brown to the equation.

Abdul Wadud

A jazz-based improviser on the cello who didn’t double on other stringed instruments, Wadud was also a consummate collaborator and sideman. Magnanimity in lending his substantial talents to the projects of others resulted in a paucity of albums under his own name. By Myself from 1977 on the Bisharra label is a revelatory anomaly on that self-effacing resume. Wadud approaches the instrument as a multifaceted sound factory, plucking, strumming, and bowing, often simultaneously, to create solo tone poems steeped in personal poignancy. Gotta Groove’s vinyl reissue is a beautiful facsimile of the original album object in faithfully reconstructed fidelity.

Marion Brown

Georgia-born altoist Marion Brown had a lengthy, storied career but the body of recorded work that he left behind can present difficulties in terms of ingress to its totality. Scattered across labels, years, and circumstances, much of it is either out of print or commercially unreleased. That collective relative obscurity makes a trio of releases, two on the German Moosicus label, and a third Record Store Day viny reissue of Brown’s 1970 studio duets with Wadada Leo Smith under the shared sobriquet Creative Improvisation Ensemble even more valuable. Of the former two, Mary Ann presents concert material by Brown’s quartet from a 1969 Bremen club gig in soundboard fidelity. Gesprächsfetzen & In Sommerhausen combines two more German concert snapshots, quintet, and sextet, from 1968 & 1969 with Gunter Hampel originally released on the Calig imprint. Steve McCall is a boon on drums in all three contexts.

Art Pepper – Complete Maiden Voyage Recordings (Omnivore)

Art Pepper was an inveterate rake for most of his life, magnifying destructive interpersonal tendencies with drugs and frustratingly frequent acts of self-sabotage. That star-crossed propensity makes the fact that he left so much magnificent music even more miraculous. This lavish box is a fascinating compendium of the constantly competing artistic contradictions at his center, collecting a quartet gig across three nights and seven club sets in Pepper’s native Los Angeles, ten months prior to his premature passing at 56. Over half of the music is previously unreleased and the rhythm section, led by the impeccable and implacable pianistics of George Cables, gives Pepper a cumulative confidence boost that keeps him on the rails. None of it has ever sounded better.

Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra

Los Angeles of the late-1970s was an unforgiving environment for the economic necessities of orchestral jazz. The Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra, under the nominal leadership of pianist/composer/community organizer Horace Tapscott, was a tenaciously subversive force in the face of that ruinous rule. Adopting the Immanuel United Church of Christ as an informal base of operations, the large ensemble resourcefully engaged in an ambitious series of concerts in 1979. The Nimbus label, long a Tapscott exponent and repository, released the first three entries this year in an archival subscription series collecting the voluminous results. Titles are also available individually and present the pivotal band at a performative peak with star soloists Sabir Mateen, Billy Harris, Jesse Sharps, and Robert Miranda shining just as bright as their fearless foreman.

Alan Skidmore – A Supreme Love

Unexpectedly issued on Mark Wastell’s Confront label, an imprint better known for its fealty to free improvisation, this six-disc archival tribute to Alan Skidmore’s 70+ year career in music launches with the saxophonist’s 1961 radio debut and lands some seven-hours later with his intimate 2019 rendering of John Coltrane’s “Psalm.” The aural expanse between is brimming with bright moments and luminary collaborators the likes of which include Tony Oxley, Kenny Wheeler, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, Mike Osborne, Elvin Jones, and another dozen name drops from the top tier of improvised music. It’s a wild, illuminating ride and a sterling example of a musical memorial done right.

The Jazz Doctors – Intensive Care/Prescriptions Filled: The Billy Bang Quartet Sessions 1983/1984 (Cadillac)

Billy Bang and Frank Lowe shared a bottomless fraternal bond forged through parallel traumas internalized in Vietnam and expressed by the subsequent embrace of the restorative power of improvised music. The pair of sessions (one reissued, one archival) collected on this disc epitomize their deep attachment arguably as well as any of their other numerous collaborations. Outside the cardinal duo, the Jazz Doctors never really had a stable lineup, but the quartets here embody two of their best. Both programs are loosely adherent to freebop conventions with violin and tenor saxophone combining over contrabass and drums for a potent front line. Bang and Lowe are long gone now, their shared absence making the availability of this music even more precious.

Attila Zoller & Jimmy Raney

Hungarian guitarist Attila Zoller had selective affinity for other artists on the instrument, so much so that his mid-career period is seeded by fateful encounters with plectrist peers. Most prolific among these partnerships was his prudent pairing with Jimmy Raney. A popular proponent of bop-based jazz, Raney was in a similar exploratory headspace when the two joined forces on a trio of recordings for the German L + R label over a seven-year span. Concert dates from Frankfurt (’80) and Berlin (’86) find the duo spooling out lengthy dialogues that dabble in free improvisation while keeping codified melodies within reach. An earlier New York encounter (’79) explores their rapport in a studio. All three reissues on the Japanese Ultra-Vybe imprint are aces.

Steve Swell’s Fire Into Music

Simultaneously emblematic of NYC free jazz in the early aughts and fiercely dedicated to resisting pitfalls of provincialism by touring generously and rigorously, trombonist Steve Swell’s Fire into Music was one of the finest quartets of its kind. Posthumously dedicated to the late altoist Moondoc, this three CD set collects a trio of small venue concerts by the band from gigs in Texas and Ontario. As with the horns, William Parker and Hamid Drake are ideally suited to the extended, expository freebop safaris that formed the ensemble’s flexible repertoire. Swell’s the leader on paper but sagely embraces musical communalism without fail.

Intakt

Running a physical media imprint in the 21st century is an inherently parlous enterprise, but this steadfast Swiss label continues to evidence how it’s done. This year’s standout catalog entries include Andrew Cyrille’s Music Delivery/Percussion, the octogenarian drummer’s third solo album and first in 45-years; bassist Jöelle Leandré’s solo Zurich Concert; pianist Aruán Ortiz’s Serranías Sketchbook for Piano Trio; Beyond Dragons by the trio of saxophonist Angelika Niescier, cellist Tomeka Reid, and drummer Savannah Harris, and Ohad Talmor’s Back to the Land, a quartet-plus-guests survey that takes its compositional focus an archival workshop date by Ornette Coleman and Lee Konitz.

Ezz-thetics

The appearance of the Swiss Ezz-thetics imprint four years ago raised both eyebrows and ire. Lacking access to master tapes, veteran free jazz and new music producer Werner Uehlinger sourced commercially released editions instead, employing ace audio engineer Peter Pfister succeeded by Michael Brandli to rejuvenate and refurbish the recordings, stateside copyright considerations be damned. Reaction was expeditious and polemical, but proof is in the hearing as most of the label’s dozens of releases sound better than their original incarnations. Catalog highlights this year include another round of Albert Ayler airshots including his pivotal meeting with the Cecil Tayor Trio in 1962 on More Lost Performances, Charles Mingus’ At Antibes 1960, and Ornette Coleman’s At the Golden Circle.

Fresh Sound

Jordi Pujol is akin to Uehlinger in that he refuses to let his vision and ambitions as a producer be abbreviated by external opinion. In Pujol’s case it’s yielded a bountiful inventory of antiquarian titles that rights holders have shown little to zero interest in restoring to begin with. Cases in point for this year include a definitive collection of obscurando saxophonist Boots Mussulli’s works; concert and studio collections by the Count Basie alumni tandem of Al Grey and Billy Mitchell; hens’ teeth rare leader sessions by Arthur Lyman vibraphonist Julius Wechter; and a two-fer of Julliard-trained Ellingtonian Cass Harrison piano trio albums. Exciting guilty pleasures all around.

Playing for the Man at the Door

As complex as he was controversial, Robert “Mack” McCormick deserves consideration in the esteemed company of other maverick cultural archivists like Alan Lomax, George Mitchell, and Harry Smith. With a preservationist purview mostly comprising Texas and bordering states, McCormick spent much of his adult life obsessively documenting and disentangling the cultural capital of the region through recordings, photography, interviews, essays, and research. Smithsonian Folkways became repository for the massive reservoir after his passing and this box is the first in what will hopefully be multiple dispatches from the same. Unreleased field recordings of Mance Lipscomb and Lightnin’ Hopkins represent the big names, but works by the likes of Hop Wilson, Cedell Davis, Robert Shaw, and a handful of others are just as persuasive. Bongo Joe Coleman’s impassioned presidential pitch closing the set will have listeners pining for a time when third party Executive Branch candidacy didn’t seem so fraught.

Joni Mitchell Archives - Vol. 3, The Asylum Years 1972 to 1975

Mitchell’s continuing project corollary to her old friend Neil Young’s analogously exhaustive retrospective enterprise, this third entry in the series finds her 30-something-self further broadening the lens of her art beyond the solo concert music that dominated the first two boxes. There are stirring solitary shows here, too, but it’s the band offerings that prove most revealing, particularly in the company of reedist Tom Scott’s fusion group L.A. Express. James Taylor, Graham Nash, and David Crosby lend contributory hands, and there’s a brief but intriguing collaboration with Young alongside a trove of demos and workshop versions of songs from her first three albums for Asylum.

Martin Davidson

In closing, another memorial. Martin Davidson wasn’t a musician, but European free improvisation as an art and archive would be a fraction of what it is without his copious and enduring work. As steadfast proprietor of the Emanem label he put his resources into musicians whose efforts frequently fell outside the probability of consistent commercial remuneration. Under his aegis, influential improvisers like Steve Lacy, Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, and Paul Rutherford gained robust catalogs alongside other aspiring artists who never garnered even niche cachet. Davidson was a curmudgeon and an anachronism, trusting his ears implicitly, suffering the indignities of inquiries from strangers seeking audience with the hip hop icon who shared the phonetics of his imprint’s name, and advancing the pleasures of physical media well past their purported expiration date. He was also a talented writer, adding invaluable context to his releases through first-person testimony and critique. Martin will be missed.

And as is tradition in this 20th iteration of this year-end exercise, 25 more titles in stochastic order. Thanks to all for reading, and gratitude to Jennifer Kelly for providing the forum and formatting.

Rodrigo Amado’s The Bridge – Beyond the Margins (Trost)

James Brandon Lewis – For Mahalia with Love (Tao Forms)

Henry Threadgill – The Other One (Pi)

Guillermo Gregorio – Two Trios (ESP)

Rob Brown – Oceanic (RogueArt)

Rich Halley Quintet – Fire Within (Pine Eagle)

Milford Graves w/ Arthur Doyle & Hugh Glover – Children of the Forest (Black Editions)

Mike Osborne – Starting Fires: Live at the 100 Club 1970 (British Progressive Jazz)

Jim Hall – Uniquities Vol 1 + 2 (ArtistShare)

Madhuvanti Pal – The Holy Mother (Sublime Frequencies)

V/A – On the Honky Tonk Highway with Augie Meyers & the Texas Re-Cord Company (Bear Family)

Mal Waldron & Terumasa Hino – Reminiscent Suite (Victor/BBE)

Oum Kalsoum – L’Astre D’Orient 1926-1937 (Fremeaux & Associates)

Sonny Rollins w/ the Heikki Sarmanto Trio – Live at Finlandia Hall Helsinki 1972 (Svart)

V/A – Equatoriana: El Universo Paralelo de Polibio Mayorga (Analog Africa)

Evan Parker – NYC 1978 (Relative Pitch)

V/A – If There’s a Hell Below (Numero Group)

John Coltrane – Evenings at the Village Gate (Impulse)

Derek Bailey & Paul Motian – Duo in Concert (Frozen Reeds)

Peter Brötzmann/Fred Van Hove/Han Bennink/Albert Mangelsdorff – Outspan 1 & 2 (FMP/Cien Fuegos)

Hasaan Ibn Ali – Reaching for the Stars: Trios/Duos/Solos (Omnivore)

Mark Dresser – Tines of Change (Pyroclastic)

Steve Millhouse – The Unwinding (Steeplechase)

Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quintet – Hear the Light Singing (RogueArt)

V/A – Destination Desert: 33 Oriental Rock & Roll Treasures (Bear Family)

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jaytoons7 · 6 months

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Interrogation Rescue

Hehe finally wrote another fic based on a Discord convo I had with friends. This one has Scottie going through it for the millionth time.

Warnings: Implied torture, Implied abuse, Violence

Notes: The government are assholes in this (Except Charles, He's a real one), Scottie's found family is here to kick ass, Scottie has PTSD, I'm so sorry if I wrote anybody's OC ooc

Accordion and Violin belong to @bluetorchsky

Brutus Dan Gerbreaker and Gayle Fiesta belong to @smoresthehalloweenqueen

Danny Felizima belongs to @capturecharlesau

Nearby footsteps were moving…

That was the only sound Scottie could hear… Their arms were tied tightly behind a chair as they sat in a very dimly lit room. Or was it a tent? It didn’t matter. They knew that they were in the grasps of Galceforce’s wing of the government.

It all happened so fast. Scottie was dragged last minute into a raid, Much to their initial annoyance. Things quickly went downhill when they fought a bunch of government soldiers and quickly felt a sharp pain on the back of their head before things went black.

Everything after that was a blur to them. There were only flashes of pain as they were demanded to answer questions. Scottie doesn’t know how long it’s been since this started, But it felt like an eternity. Or maybe that was because they shut down during these interrogation sessions. Apparently the interrogators were on a lunch break right now, Which is why they weren’t here now.

It didn’t matter… After all, It wasn’t anything they weren’t used to. None of these scars and injuries are new. They spent the first 16 years of their life enduring this type of pain, They could do it again.

But then why did they feel so helpless…?

CRASH

“They’re here! I know they are!”

“Toppats! Don’t let them get to that tent!”

“So you DO have them! You won’t get away with this! NONE of you will!”

Outside of the tent Scottie was in, A group of Toppats were fighting the government soldiers. Jay meanwhile was looking desperately for Scottie. He soon saw someone with red headphones and launched themselves at him.

“W-Whoa!”

“Where’s Scottie!?”

“Scottie?” Charles thought for a second before realizing what Jay meant. “Oh! That Toppat chef?” He looked back and forth before pointing at a tent “They’re in that tent over there.”

Jay obviously had some suspicion. “Is this a trick?”

“No! No!” Charles put his hands up defensively. “Look, I had nothing to do with this! Apparently the general ordered to have any Toppat brought back interrogated! He didn’t even run this plan by me…”

Jay’s expression calmed down a bit before facing away for a second. “Accordion! Come here!” Charles' eyes widened as he saw the towering Toppat walk over. “O-Oh…”

“This guy says he knows where Scottie is.” Jay explained. “Can you stay close so he won’t pull anything tricky on us?” Accordion looked at Charles with a slight glare before nodding at Jay. “Of course Jay. He’s unfortunately the only lead we have right now it seems…”

Jay sighed before facing Charles again with fiery eyes. “Take us there, And don’t try anything!” Charles quickly nodded. “A-Alright sirs! J-Just follow me hehe!”

Charles made sure nobody else was watching before leading Jay and Accordion to the tent Scottie was being kept in. Scottie flinched a bit at the sudden light from the tent entrance opening.

“Scot!” Jay quickly ran over to the brutally injured Scottie. They quickly used his powers to burn the ropes. Unfortunately, Scottie was too weak to stand up and fell forward from the chair onto the floor.

Accordion quickly picked up Scottie and cradled them close. “J-Jay… O-Oliver…” Scottie managed to breathe out, Vision blurred at this point. “I-I’m s-sorry-” “No, Don’t apologize for this.” Accordion spoke up. “This wasn’t your fault, None of this was…” He hummed deeply, Causing them to calm down a bit.

Jay faced Charles with a confused look. “W-Why did you help us..?” “Like I said, The general never ran this plan by me.” Charles explained before looking down. “He can be harsh but this..? What was he hoping to gain..? It didn’t even work, They never gave us any information…”

There was an awkward silence for a second before Charles faced the two Toppats again. “You two need to leave. You got what you needed, And if you don’t you’ll be outnumbered.” “U-Understood.” Jay nodded before going to the front of the tent. “And thank you…” Charles only stayed silent as Jay and Accordion left the tent with Scottie in tow.

“Little Fox! A!” Ulle was in her dragon form flying above some unconscious soldiers. “Did you find them!?” “Yeah!” Jay nodded. “But they’re injured real bad! They did a real number on them…”

“Oh Shortcake…” Ulle looked at the barely conscious Scottie with worry. “I’ll get V to open us a Music Path! Meet us at the other side of the base! These soldiers are gonna get more intense when they realize you guys got their prisoner!” “Understood.” Accordion nodded. “I’ll keep Jay and Scottie safe. Please be careful Dazzling Fire…”

Ulle flew over to the other side of the base, Where some other Toppats were, Including Violin. “V! We found Scottie!” She landed next to him. “Them, As well as Jay and Accordion are on the other side of the base! It’s time to create a Music Path!”

“Are you sure they’ll make it Dragon Girl?” Brutus asked. “They’ll have to cross the whole base to make it!”

“I’m positive! Jay and Accordion know what they’re doing, And it’s too dangerous for us all to go across the base or for me to carry all three of them here! You’ll have to trust me!”

“I believe in you and them.” Violin gave Ulle a reassuring smile as he pulled out this instrument. “What I want you to do is make sure none of the soldiers can swarm them while I play. Can you do that, Pretty Comet?” Ulle nodded with determination. “You know it! I promise to make sure they’ll make it here safe!”

With that, Violin started playing.

On the other side of the base, Accordion and Jay heard the sound of a song played on a violin. “We need to move.” Accordion spoke. “A Music Path will be open soon.” “Don’t need to tell me twice!” Jay grinned. “Stay behind me, I’ll keep both you and Scottie safe so you can focus on protecting them!”

Jay ran forward and attacked any soldiers trying to come after them. Accordion followed close behind, Holding Scottie close.

Once they were halfway across the base, The song ended. A path was created and a portal with a metronome opened. “The portal!” Jay gasped. “We don’t have much time!” Accordion pointed out. “We need to move!”

Unfortunately, A bunch of government soldiers showed up. “They have the prisoner! Don’t let them escape!” Jay growled. With no choice, His eyes changed color as blue flames escaped them. The Blue Fox formed and picked up Accordion and Scottie. “Jay!” Accordion shouted in surprise.

“Go!” Jay’s voice echoed. “The portal will close any second!” The Blue Fox ran swiftly towards the portal. While Jay was focused on the fox, A soldier tried to attack them from behind.

Suddenly, Golden music notes suddenly attacked the soldier causing them to run off. Jay looked and saw Ulle landing closeby, Brutus and Gayle. “You scared the shit outta us Firefox!” Brutus half shouted. “We saw your fox thing zooming forward out of nowhere!” “Sorry.” Jay’s voice still echoed. “It has a mind of it’s own sometimes.”

“Alright gamers, Accordion and Scottie are about a quarter of the way there!” Gayle explained. “We should probably be joining them!” “We’ll get there! Just hold on, I see a LOT of soldiers ahead!” Ulle growled.

She took a deep breath before singing out and sending flaming meteorites flying towards the soldiers. The group used this opportunity to make it to the portal.

The Blue Fox zoomed into the portal while holding Accordion and Scottie. “We made it!” Ulle and Jay ran over. “The Music Portal’s about to close!” Violin stepped through. “Let’s leave!”

Jay’s eyes went back to normal. “F-Finally! Let’s go!” The rest of the Toppats went into the portal right as it closed.

Scottie’s eyes slowly opened, Flinching at the light above them. They noticed the bandages on them before wincing in pain. “Ugh…”

“You’re awake!” Scottie looked over and saw Jay and Ulle, Who both had tears in their eyes. “G-Guys..?” “You scared all of us!” Ulle sobbed. “We thought we lost you!” Scottie winced again as they sat up. “W-Where..?”

“You’re in the medbay.” Accordion finally spoke. “The government, They really showed you no mercy…” “O-Oh…” Scottie looked down at their hand. “I-I didn’t tell em anythin’... I-I zoned out through most of it…” Accordion looked at them concerned. “Zoned out?”

“I-It’s nothin’...” Scottie huffed. “Whatever they did to me, I’m used to it… I could go through it again if I had to…”

“No Scottie…” Accordion looked down. “You don’t ever have to go throught that again… You shouldn’t have to go through that again…” “He’s right!” Jay held Scottie’s hand. “You deserve better than that! You don’t deserve to be hurt like that!”

Tears formed in Scottie’s eyes. “I-I… I’m sorry… I-I never meant…” “D-Don’t apologize!” Jay shook his head. “Like Accordion said, None of this was your fault!” “H-How… How long did was I g-gone..?”

“Three days…” Ulle reluctantly answered. Scottie sat there quietly. Three days. Those were three whole painful days they would never get back. “I-I fuckin’ hate those assholes…” They noticed someone at the door. “Danny..?”

The Italian waiter flinched. “S-Scottie! I-I wasn’t eavesdropping I swear-” “I-It’s fine…” Scottie sighed. “I-I’m guessin’ I ain’t goin’ back to the kitchen for a while…”

“I-I’m afraid not. Reginald ordered that you stay rested until your injuries recover.”

“A-Ah… A-Are you sure you and Calypso can handle that..?”

“W-We’ll manage. Look, Whatever happened to you, You need to get your rest.”

“Exactly!” Ulle nodded. “But don’t worry! We’ll make sure to visit you the entire time!” “Yeah, And you’ll get to try out some delicious pastry recipes I wanna make!” Jay smiled. “Give em the Scottie taste test!”

Scottie sat quietly before more tears fell. “I… I love ye guys… Ya actually came to help me… A-And you still wanna help me… I-I don’t know what I’d do without ye guys…” “Of course.” Accordion gently placed a hand on their shoulder. “You’re family. Nobody hurts you and gets away with it.”

Scottie gave a small smile. They were part of a family that actually cared about them. A family that would risk so much to help them. And it was all they could ever hope for.

#the henry stickmin collection #thsc #thsc au #thsc oc #scottie anderson #jay benson #ulle meadows #thsc accordion #thsc violin #oliver arc #trent coil #brutus dan gerbreaker #gayle fiesta #danny felizima #charles calvin #jay writes

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