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[jp] h. jackson brown, jr. quote
Jun. 23rd, 2009 02:16 pmNOTE: The conclusion to this, this, this, and this. Sassy is ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
no_substitution and Zee is ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
zee_ali, both used with semi-permission and total love. Gregory Karras is mr_presto and mine to abuse as I see fit. :P
Strive for excellence, not perfection.
==========
The door was always his favorite part.
Normally the doors had bars, he avoided solid in the past. This time, however, solid was his only option. He had to get creative to get this done without relying on his memory…fortunately, the necessary tools were out there.
Crouched on the floor, he smiled as he gave the plastic pick one final twist and heard the snap that preceded both halves of his boot cuff clunking to the floor as they fell away from his ankle. Unlacing his boot, he slipped it off and pulled out the small package hidden inside. Rolling his ankle to shake off the phantom weight and the pain from having a gun cleaning kit digging into his instep for over an hour, he unrolled the muslin wrapping and got to work.
When he finally picked up the key head to attach to the end of the device, he had a slender length of tubing screwed together, topped with a hinged device that would let him insert a key into the padlock outside his door and turn it to release himself. Satisfied it was properly assembled, Tommy moved to the door and stared out through the bars to the cell across the way.
From the opposite wall, he stared at his own reflection across the ages…
( The Night Before... )
no_substitution and Zee is zee_ali, both used with semi-permission and total love. Gregory Karras is mr_presto and mine to abuse as I see fit. :PStrive for excellence, not perfection.
==========
The door was always his favorite part.
Normally the doors had bars, he avoided solid in the past. This time, however, solid was his only option. He had to get creative to get this done without relying on his memory…fortunately, the necessary tools were out there.
Crouched on the floor, he smiled as he gave the plastic pick one final twist and heard the snap that preceded both halves of his boot cuff clunking to the floor as they fell away from his ankle. Unlacing his boot, he slipped it off and pulled out the small package hidden inside. Rolling his ankle to shake off the phantom weight and the pain from having a gun cleaning kit digging into his instep for over an hour, he unrolled the muslin wrapping and got to work.
When he finally picked up the key head to attach to the end of the device, he had a slender length of tubing screwed together, topped with a hinged device that would let him insert a key into the padlock outside his door and turn it to release himself. Satisfied it was properly assembled, Tommy moved to the door and stared out through the bars to the cell across the way.
From the opposite wall, he stared at his own reflection across the ages…
( The Night Before... )
[sunday reveries] margaret mitchell quote
Jun. 22nd, 2009 02:18 pmTakes place after this, this, and this.. Backdated to yesterday.
Life is under no obligation to give you what you expect.
====================
“OW!!! Shit!!!”
Cursing, he brought his throbbing middle finger to his mouth, but even the moist heat and pressure weren’t easing the pain. Lowering his hand, he cursed long and hard, this time in silence, when he saw the crack in his nail running into the quick and the well of red already appearing in the nail bed.
Forcing himself to block out the pain, Tommy gathered his focus and planted the bracelet against the wall again, throwing his body into the force of smashing it as hard as he could. The antique handcuffs, using a single-action spring to lock, were identical to the pair that already lay on the floor of the cell. The second pair was newer and had far less play, making it harder to slam them with enough pressure to pop the cuff, and far too easy to smash a finger in something.
It took him three more tries before he finally sprang the first bracelet, then twice more to get the second one off. Squatting, he picked up the key he’d spat out earlier and with some help from his lips and teeth, managed to open one shackle and then the other.
( That left him with two pairs of cuffs, the boot, and the door…and not a lot of time left. )
Muse: Tommy Karras
Fandom: Original Character
Words: 1,000
Life is under no obligation to give you what you expect.
====================
“OW!!! Shit!!!”
Cursing, he brought his throbbing middle finger to his mouth, but even the moist heat and pressure weren’t easing the pain. Lowering his hand, he cursed long and hard, this time in silence, when he saw the crack in his nail running into the quick and the well of red already appearing in the nail bed.
Forcing himself to block out the pain, Tommy gathered his focus and planted the bracelet against the wall again, throwing his body into the force of smashing it as hard as he could. The antique handcuffs, using a single-action spring to lock, were identical to the pair that already lay on the floor of the cell. The second pair was newer and had far less play, making it harder to slam them with enough pressure to pop the cuff, and far too easy to smash a finger in something.
It took him three more tries before he finally sprang the first bracelet, then twice more to get the second one off. Squatting, he picked up the key he’d spat out earlier and with some help from his lips and teeth, managed to open one shackle and then the other.
( That left him with two pairs of cuffs, the boot, and the door…and not a lot of time left. )
Muse: Tommy Karras
Fandom: Original Character
Words: 1,000
Backdated to yesterday. Follows this and this. Sassy is no_substitution and used with permission and lots of love and cookies. But not better than Sassy's cookies. ;p
“…been examined by you, the audience. One by one, you can check to make sure the cuffs are securely in place before we lock him in. After that, we’ll all retire to the courthouse…”
Tommy stood in the doorway of his jail cell, eyes shut, features focused while Fillmore scripted the escape for the throng gathered in the main room of the tiny jailhouse. He was trying to focus on the task ahead of him…and keep himself from reacting to his own half-naked state.
The air held a feeling of something akin to reverence as the audience came, one by one, and tested his shackles, bending to tug at the weight locked around his ankle. He forced himself not to smile or blush as a few hands wandered a little, hands planting themselves deliberately on his bare forearms or a little high up on his bare leg…
“Babe.”
The word was quiet, gentle as he felt her ire, could almost see, even behind closed lids, her body leaning forward just a little, ready to spring. It eased after he spoke, leaving him in the quiet again that reminded him of the old Spiritualist séances, or the shows where he performed the water torture cell. It was too quiet, too still. This wasn’t a church, and he wasn’t there for worship, and Jesus he was about to be naked in ten seconds…
( “Now for the finishing touch…” )
Muse: Tommy Karras
Fandom: Original Character
Words: 461
no_substitution and used with permission and lots of love and cookies. But not better than Sassy's cookies. ;p“…been examined by you, the audience. One by one, you can check to make sure the cuffs are securely in place before we lock him in. After that, we’ll all retire to the courthouse…”
Tommy stood in the doorway of his jail cell, eyes shut, features focused while Fillmore scripted the escape for the throng gathered in the main room of the tiny jailhouse. He was trying to focus on the task ahead of him…and keep himself from reacting to his own half-naked state.
The air held a feeling of something akin to reverence as the audience came, one by one, and tested his shackles, bending to tug at the weight locked around his ankle. He forced himself not to smile or blush as a few hands wandered a little, hands planting themselves deliberately on his bare forearms or a little high up on his bare leg…
“Babe.”
The word was quiet, gentle as he felt her ire, could almost see, even behind closed lids, her body leaning forward just a little, ready to spring. It eased after he spoke, leaving him in the quiet again that reminded him of the old Spiritualist séances, or the shows where he performed the water torture cell. It was too quiet, too still. This wasn’t a church, and he wasn’t there for worship, and Jesus he was about to be naked in ten seconds…
( “Now for the finishing touch…” )
Muse: Tommy Karras
Fandom: Original Character
Words: 461
“Okay…good, just snap those on…”
Part of it felt like sacrilege, standing there and allowing Houdini’s own handcuffs to be locked around his wrists, and yet part of him felt like he was welcoming back old friends. The cold metal, the scars from use and age…there was history there, a history some forgotten part of him remembered and celebrated. Everything else was reverence and awe, the joy of an ingénue sitting at his master’s feet.
He was the student, learning by doing. Simultaneously, the details coalesced in memories that he couldn’t avoid. Barechested, handcuffed, lungs filled with the scent of wood and plaster, dry parchment and ink, he felt a sense of belonging. He could even now remember the cell he had only seen once the night before, knew he had escaped it a dozen times in days past.
He stood a little taller in spite of himself as the final set of bracelets snapped on, unconsciously remembering the title that came with the task set before him. He was here to win his name back along with his skill.
( King of Handcuffs... )
Muse: Tommy Karras
Fandom: Original Character
Words: 463
Part of it felt like sacrilege, standing there and allowing Houdini’s own handcuffs to be locked around his wrists, and yet part of him felt like he was welcoming back old friends. The cold metal, the scars from use and age…there was history there, a history some forgotten part of him remembered and celebrated. Everything else was reverence and awe, the joy of an ingénue sitting at his master’s feet.
He was the student, learning by doing. Simultaneously, the details coalesced in memories that he couldn’t avoid. Barechested, handcuffed, lungs filled with the scent of wood and plaster, dry parchment and ink, he felt a sense of belonging. He could even now remember the cell he had only seen once the night before, knew he had escaped it a dozen times in days past.
He stood a little taller in spite of himself as the final set of bracelets snapped on, unconsciously remembering the title that came with the task set before him. He was here to win his name back along with his skill.
( King of Handcuffs... )
Muse: Tommy Karras
Fandom: Original Character
Words: 463
Another day, another dollar
Jun. 21st, 2009 09:46 pmI'm sore, I'm exhausted, and I'm probably gonna lose a fingernail...but I did it. RV's heading back to Vegas, I'm in bed with Zee and May, and I'm gonna crash for a few hours. I can't remember when I've ever been this tired.
And I didn't use my powers once. This is a good thing.
ooc: And Tommy will be prompting his escape...in a series of five different fics. Yes, he IS insane. What else is new? Stay tuned for more, folks...
And I didn't use my powers once. This is a good thing.
ooc: And Tommy will be prompting his escape...in a series of five different fics. Yes, he IS insane. What else is new? Stay tuned for more, folks...
[tmw] 14.2 - turn the page lyrics
Jun. 21st, 2009 01:34 pmWhoa-oh
Out there in the spotlight, you're a million miles away
Every ounce of energy, you try and give away
As the sweat pours out your body, like the music that you play
==================
They were still too tight. Even with flexing, the straps were still too tight.
The ‘crazy crib’ escape had been a stupid, last minute idea, but even as Tommy lay there, sweating buckets and wrapped in the stifling confines of a white cotton sheet, he was sure he could do this. Without power.
He really hadn’t even thought about it as the restraint belt had been fastened to his midsection and the straps secured at his wrists and forearms. Flexing, it was that easy…his forearms tensed, his wrists slightly bent, and immobile gave way to difficult. It would take all his strength, all his concentration…but it was doable.
( He didn’t need power…all he needed was energy. )
Muse: Tommy Karras
Fandom: Original Character
Words: 450
Out there in the spotlight, you're a million miles away
Every ounce of energy, you try and give away
As the sweat pours out your body, like the music that you play
==================
They were still too tight. Even with flexing, the straps were still too tight.
The ‘crazy crib’ escape had been a stupid, last minute idea, but even as Tommy lay there, sweating buckets and wrapped in the stifling confines of a white cotton sheet, he was sure he could do this. Without power.
He really hadn’t even thought about it as the restraint belt had been fastened to his midsection and the straps secured at his wrists and forearms. Flexing, it was that easy…his forearms tensed, his wrists slightly bent, and immobile gave way to difficult. It would take all his strength, all his concentration…but it was doable.
( He didn’t need power…all he needed was energy. )
Muse: Tommy Karras
Fandom: Original Character
Words: 450
[friends list only] Another late night...
Jun. 20th, 2009 11:44 pmSo I'm in Pioche and it's fucking freezing out. Drove up with Zee and the squirt in an RV, we're parked a couple miles from the jail. It's all tricked out, really cool...Chan hooked me up through the hotel. May's asleep, and Zee's stretched out on the couch talking to Sal on the phone about something...
I love the domesticity of it all.
Anyway, I'm taking a five minute eye strain break, 'cause making keys is killing my fingers. I finished my tour of the jail tonight...and yes, I rigged things for tomorrow's escape. I won't say what, and I won't talk about the key. I f-locked this entry, but some of you are coming and I want you to be surprised.
The show tomorrow's gonna work like this: first, it's being taped. Some of it, anyway. Fillmore, Chan's stage manager, will be taking some shots on his little digital camcorder, and there's gonna be a camera in the cell with me to document the escape...Sassy, shut up. It's gonna start with me doing a quickie close up routine, then an escape before the escape. Chan found me a "crazy bed," an asylum cot that was the precursor to the straightjacket. I'm busting outta that, doing a little talk on Houdini, and then I'll be locked up for the main event.
...shit, May's crying and Zee's waving at me. Gotta go, guys...I'll post tomorrow after the show. Wish me luck!
I love the domesticity of it all.
Anyway, I'm taking a five minute eye strain break, 'cause making keys is killing my fingers. I finished my tour of the jail tonight...and yes, I rigged things for tomorrow's escape. I won't say what, and I won't talk about the key. I f-locked this entry, but some of you are coming and I want you to be surprised.
The show tomorrow's gonna work like this: first, it's being taped. Some of it, anyway. Fillmore, Chan's stage manager, will be taking some shots on his little digital camcorder, and there's gonna be a camera in the cell with me to document the escape...Sassy, shut up. It's gonna start with me doing a quickie close up routine, then an escape before the escape. Chan found me a "crazy bed," an asylum cot that was the precursor to the straightjacket. I'm busting outta that, doing a little talk on Houdini, and then I'll be locked up for the main event.
...shit, May's crying and Zee's waving at me. Gotta go, guys...I'll post tomorrow after the show. Wish me luck!
So the word's on the street...
Jun. 16th, 2009 11:33 am
There's an ad running in this week's 24/7 Magazine, and this flier is being handed out at the box office here in the hotel. And since I'm advertising on my own journal, I may as well do it up right.
I put together the print ad, but this is the blurb the boys in PR did up for me:
In JAILBREAK, his newest concept in the art of escapology, Tommy won't be putting his life on the line, but he will be putting up his fragile reputation and make a bid for the mantle once held by Harry Houdini as the King of Handcuffs. Duplicating one of Houdini's favorite stunts, he will stage a jailbreak while shackled hand and foot. What's more, he will do it all in the same irons, cell, and fashion as Houdini did it over a century ago.
The stage will be set in Pioche, Nevada, a small town outside of Vegas which is home to a historical landmark holding one of the last jail cells of its kind. Bound in five sets of cuffs worn by the master himself during various escapes, Tommy will then be shackled with a ten pound weight on his left foot, also used by the master, and locked in a jail cell crafted in 1899 with a door that does not lock in the front, but rather two feet to one side.
In his heyday, Houdini originally escaped a cell similar to this one in roughly four hours...on June 21st, Tommy Karras will attempt to perform it in two.
No modern conveniences. No technological advantages. With the same instruments and resources at Houdini's disposal, Tommy will stand toe to toe with the long dead master of escapology and hope to best him.
In the end, there can be only one.
I know it sounds hokey, but whatever gets butts in the seats, right? The courthouse in Pioche is small, so there's not a lot of tickets available? I do have some passes for anyone I know that's coming and wants in. Just hit me up and I'll get you taken care of.
Now if you'll excuse me, I got rehearsal. Today, I get to make Channing disappear. Wish me luck.
Who wants to come to lunch with me?
Jun. 15th, 2009 12:11 pmYou Are Chips and Salsa |
 You are energetic and a real go getter. You can even be aggressive at times. You love taking risks and taking the rewards. You are a true daredevil. You can be a bit greedy in life, and you go after what you want. You are courageous and edgy. You will do what others are afraid of. |
I need Mexican like now. Zee, Chan, Effie, Sass, anyone that wants to come with better. It's on me.
In other news, the Houdini escape is this weekend. Sunday, June 21st out in Pioche. Ads are going out soon, anyone that wants to come out is more than welcome. Basically, I'll be doing an escape the same way Houdini did, no modern conveniences. I'm also going for a record: Houdini did this escape in four hours back in 1898? I'm gonna do it in two.
Check it out, it's gonna be cool.
