Sol Crafter's Blog, page 2
November 20, 2014
My tweets
Thu, 03:31 : Plus there’s this, but we don’t talk about this http://t.co/mOASW3mLUj
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November 17, 2014
My tweets
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September 14, 2014
CDandHBFH 03 [Caspian Dukes and Vereint Georges]
Title: Caspian Dukes and His Best Friend’s Husband
Author: Harper Kingsley
World: Heroes & Villains
Frame set: Allies & Enemies, “Good Times”
Characters: Caspian Dukes, Vereint Georges, Warrick Tobias, Melissa Kim
Pairings: Vereint Georges/Warrick Tobias
Genre: friendship, superhero, meta
Summary: Vereint and Caspian go see a movie together.
“What’s that look about?”
Caspian startled slightly. “Sorry. I blame Warrick’s show for bringing up old memories.”
“Oh yeah, they tend to do that. One minute you’re laughing, and the next you’re remembering the awful teacher you had in the sixth grade. It’s emotional manipulation,” Vereint said. “That, or black magic.”
“Hah. Right?” Caspian forced himself to relax. They were going to eat some food, do a little shopping, and watch a classic movie. Everything was fine.
* * *
Vereint felt as if he’d done something wrong. Not in the “Whoops, forgot I wasn’t a supervillain anymore” way, but in the accidentally stepped into someone’s flashback kind of way.
Caspian was usually such a happy-go-lucky guy that it was a bit jarring to see him be serious, broody even. He wasn’t supposed to even have an expression like that, as though he’d been kicked too many times and expected to be kicked some more.
Vereint nearly suggested they turn the taxi around and go back to the penthouse. Warrick would know what to do to fix Caspian’s mood. Warrick would take one look and know exactly what to say to make everything all right.
Instead, Vereint decided they were going to do this. They would have a good evening and Vereint would do what he could to turn Caspian’s mood around. It was what a friend would do.
“It’s my fault Warrick is so into Asian dramas, you know,” he said.
“What?”
“Seriously. It’s my fault. I got him to watch A Tale of Two Sisters and he ended up really liking it.” Vereint could see Caspian relaxing. “He looked up the actress that played Su-mi, and somehow ended up discovering the the girl that played the younger sister. He is probably Moon Geun-Young’s biggest fan.”
“I have no idea what you just said, but it sounds like Warrick’s MO.” Caspian fiddled with his phone before tucking it into his pocket. “I bought our tickets. You should tell me more stuff about Warrick.”
“Why do I feel like you’re gathering blackmail material?” Vereint asked.
“I just have one one of those faces?” Caspian made what was supposed to be an endearing expression.
Vereint snorted. “Is that face supposed to work on me?”
“I don’t know, is it working?”
“Kind of,” Vereint said. “Did Warrick’s sudden obsession with kdramas spook you?”
“I’ve gotten used to it over the years, but it was definitely a surprise at first. It was very unexpected of him.”
“He always tries to keep us on our toes, huh?” Vereint smiled fondly. Warrick was one topic of conversation he could stick with for hours.
“He’s a good guy. You’re lucky to have him,” Caspian said.
“I know,” Vereint agreed.
The taxi cruised to a stop and Vereint was surprised to see they were at the restaurant. The drive from Tobias Towers usually felt longer.
“We’re here,” he said. “This conversation goes on the ‘To be continued’ pile.”
He offered the driver some cash, then climbed out of the taxi. He breathed in the rich scent of garlic and beef that wafted his way when a group of laughing people left the restaurant. The smell made his stomach rumble.
“I am starving,” he said. “I was expecting to get some food after the meeting. We usually get some delivery.”
“What kind of meeting was it?”
Old instincts and deep-seated shame made Vereint want to hunch his shoulders, but he refrained. He had no reason to feel ashamed for seeking out the help he needed.
“I signed up for some group therapy,” he said after swallowing heavily. He avoided meeting Caspian’s eyes. “It’s been doing a lot of good.”
The silence dragged a few seconds too long, but Caspian’s “That’s good” sounded sincere.
Vereint decided to ignore the awkwardness. He strode up to the restaurant and held the door open. “These guys make the best pho in town. Have you ever eaten here?”
“I don’t think so,” Caspian said. “I would definitely recognize that big striped tiger painting. That thing is awesome.”
“I’ve tried to buy it, but they told me no.” Vereint smiled at the hostess when she came to meet them. “Two please. Can we get a booth?”
“Certainly. Come this way.”
They settled in after giving their drinks order–one soda and one pot of tea to be shared. Vereint barely glanced at the menu before setting it aside. He was here for the pho and that was what he’d be ordering.
“You wanna share some gyoza and terriyaki chicken?” Caspian looked at him over the top of the menu he held.
“Sure,” Vereint said. “Get an order of white rice with the chicken. It’s good stuff.”
The waitress came back with their drinks and they ordered. Vereint added barbecue pork and edamame to the order.
“That’s going to be a lot of food,” the waitress said.
“We’re hungry,” Vereint said, giving her a smile.
“I’ll be back shortly with your food,” she said.
Once they were alone, Vereint poured them both cups of tea. “It’s kind of nice to get out of the house every once and a while. It keeps the walls from closing in on me.”
“Well, if you ever need an excuse to go out, I enjoy eating free food and I’m always down with having company when I go to the movies,” Caspian said.
“I’m always happy to spend Warrick’s money. We could go on shopping sprees and eat out at expensive places,” Vereint said. “We could have a lot of fun while Warrick and Melissa binge-watch kdramas. It could be our thing.”
It was only after he’d said it that Vereint wondered if he sounded completely pathetic. He was the needy friendless guy latching onto his husband’s best friend like some kind of suckerfish.
“Sure,” Caspian said. “Sounds fun.”
“Cool,” Vereint said suavely.
His moment of social awkwardness was smoothed over by the waitress arriving with the food. She carried everything on a large tray and there was a bit of time where plates and bowls were arranged around the table. After the waitress left, there were a few minutes where Vereint and Caspian busied themselves preparing their pho the way they liked it–Vereint added a handful of beansprouts and most of the jalapenos to his along with a good amount of hoisin and Sriracha.
The scent of the pho made his stomach rumble hungrily. With his metahuman metabolism he could have gone weeks or even months without eating, but that didn’t mean a steaming bowl of pho didn’t bring out his appetite.
Vereint ate his first mouthful of noodles and swallowed his appreciative moans down as well. Food-related sex noises weren’t something he was prepared to release into a crowded restaurant.
“So good,” he murmured.
Caspian grunted in agreement, taking a bit out of a gyoza. “I can’t believe Warrick’s never told me about this place.”
“It’s because he’s selfish. He doesn’t like the idea of anyone eating good food without him.”
“Hah.” Caspian was a neat if hearty eater. Food made it into his mouth without a single drop being spared, his lips closing as he chewed.
“What was it like growing up in the ocean?” Vereint asked.
“Wet. Very, very wet,” Caspian said. “It’s so wet you don’t even notice it anymore. It feels like flying when you go anywhere and there’s so much nutrient in the water that just breathing keeps you from being hungry.”
“Sounds lovely,” Vereint said.
Caspian laughed. “Yeah, if you like the taste of fish and swimming in your own toilet. Food can be cooked using geothermal vents, but there’s the risk of sudden heat spikes flash-boiling the chef. Culinary delights are few and far between under the sea. Tasting food from the Above World for the first time was a true revelation. I’ve never looked back.”
“Huh. I always thought life under the see would be great,” Vereint said. “I guess Sebastian lied.”
“Never trust a crab. They spend so much time in their shells that they’ve got no clue how life really works,” Caspian said.
“Good to know.” Vereint nibbled on a chicken strip speared by a wooden skewer, glad the cook hadn’t used too much teriyaki sauce. “This chicken is delicious.”
Caspian took a bite out of his own chicken. “Mm, you’re right. This place is going on my list of places to revisit.”
Vereint set down the skewer and lifted his fork to begin eating his pho. After a few minutes he asked Caspian, “Can you really talk to crabs?”
Caspian laughed.
TBC…
Would it be “geothermal vents” under the ocean? I know what I’m thinking of, but I don’t think I’m using the right terminology :/
The post CDandHBFH 03 [Caspian Dukes and Vereint Georges] appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
September 13, 2014
Here I am, back from outer space
I have returned!
I didn’t go very far, I was just away from a computer for a few weeks. It sucked, but I made it out alive. Plus I had time to do some writing… which didn’t do me much good.
Our first attempt at aquaponics has ended in failure 
The fish died and were sadly buried in the garbage can.
It wasn’t our fault — I’m a registered fish killer, but these ones were not my victims. The pet store sold us ich infected fish that ended up floating belly up. We should have gone back for a refund, but by the time we realized the fish in the store’s tanks were covered in spots and acting sickly, we’d already thrown the deaders in the garbage. So the whole fish experience was a waste of money and a wash. Sucks.
We’re trying again with some new fish that my brother special ordered. Hopefully I’ll be growing lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes in just a few days. Fingers crossed!
The post Here I am, back from outer space appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
August 22, 2014
CDandHBFH 02 [Caspian Dukes and Vereint Georges]
Title: Caspian Dukes and His Best Friend’s Husband
Author: Harper Kingsley
World: Heroes & Villains
Frame set: Allies & Enemies, “Good Times”
Characters: Caspian Dukes, Vereint Georges, Warrick Tobias, Melissa Kim
Pairings: Vereint Georges/Warrick Tobias
Genre: friendship, superhero, meta
Summary: Vereint and Caspian go see a movie together.
I don’t know why Caspian is so broody here. Maybe it’s because his mother was a jerk.
—-
The elevator door dinged open and Caspian walked across the lobby with Vereint.
“There’s that new sci-fi thriller about the brain bugs,” Caspian said without much enthusiasm. The poster was glossy and exciting, but the premise was a little too close to his real life.
“I saw that last week,” Vereint said. “The best scenes in the whole movie were all in the trailer. I hate when they do that.”
“Ugh,” Caspian agreed. He kept pace with Vereint while staring at the screen of his phone. “There’s a new Adam Sandler movie.”
Vereint’s grimace was louder than words. Caspian continued the search. Megacity had many cinemas, most were modern movie theaters, but others were small corner theaters that were nearly hidden away from the public.
“Ooh, there’s a showing of Lawrence of Arabia at the Chinese Theater,” Caspian said. “But it starts at ten.”
Vereint glanced at his watch before pushing open one of the double doors and stepping outside. He politely held the door open for Caspian. “That gives us nearly three hours to kill. We could get something to eat before the movie. Plus Melissa’s birthday is coming up and there’s always cool stuff in the Asian Village.”
“Is that where the giant Hello Kitty came from?” Caspian had been stunned at the size of the monstrosity, which took up one whole corner of Melissa’s large bedroom. The white puffy marshmallow of a doll was so massive that Melissa had let one of her friends use it as a mattress during a sleepover.
“How do you know about that?” Vereint asked. He stepped close to the curb and waved his hand. A taxi obediently pulled up in front of him. He opened the door and gestured Caspian in first.
Caspian talked even as he got himself settled. “She showed it to me. I’ve never seen such a big stuffed animal before. I didn’t even know they really made them like that.”
Vereint directed the driver to take them to a pho restaurant in the Asian Village. “I had no idea either,” he told Caspian, picking up the thread of conversation. “My mom showed up with it and expected us to know where to put it. That thing’s way too gigantic, and even though Hello Kitty is cute, that doll is creepy. I’d give it away, but Melissa loves it, the spooky thing.”
“I don’t know. It’s kind of cool,” Caspian said. “Hello Kitty is so cheery I can’t even imagine what could bother you about it.”
“That’s because you’ve only seen it with the lights on,” Vereint said. “Trust me, it’s a whole different story coming across that thing in the dark. It’s positively malevolent. It just seems threatening.”
Caspian rolled his eyes with a laugh. “Next time I face Mindscape, this conversation is going to come back and haunt me, I just know it.”
“Warrick would never give you any peace if he heard you were terrorized by a giant Hello Kitty,” Vereint said. “You might even stop being his favorite superhero.”
“I’m everyone’s favorite superhero.” Caspian met the taxi driver’s eye in the mirror and gave her a polite nod. As an open superhero–especially one with physically inhuman features–he was used to being recognized. At least the citizens of Megacity didn’t come after him for autographs all the time–they were too cool for that.
Being famous was never something Caspian had ever stopped to think about. He’d gone from his birth place in Atlantis to the Above World, and he’d never known anything other than fame. Or maybe it was infamy in Atlantis, where his human blood made him his mother’s greatest shame.
He hadn’t hesitated to leave Atlantis for the Above. There were always people staring at him, examining him from head to foot as though silently wondering what he was made of. It should have made him self-conscious, but he’d never cared. He’d never let himself care, refusing to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing his vulnerability.
He was Caspian Dukes and he didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought. He was a warrior, brave and true. The blood of Atlantean royalty flowed through his veins. Who cared that it was diluted by the humanity of his father? He was what he was: a hero.
TBC…
EDIT: “head to food” lol.
* * *
Check out “Allies & Enemies” at: All Romance Ebooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BookStrand, Goodreads, iTunes, Kobo, Less Than Three Press, Smashwords. — superhero, urban fantasy, mm, drama. Darkstar x Blue Ice.
The post CDandHBFH 02 [Caspian Dukes and Vereint Georges] appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
August 20, 2014
CDandHBFH 01 [Caspian Dukes and Vereint Georges]
Title: Caspian Dukes and His Best Friend’s Husband
Author: Harper Kingsley
World: Heroes & Villains
Frame set: Allies & Enemies, “Good Times”
Characters: Caspian Dukes, Vereint Georges, Warrick Tobias, Melissa Kim
Pairings: Vereint Georges/Warrick Tobias
Genre: friendship, superhero, meta
Summary: Vereint and Caspian go see a movie together.
“I’m back! The meeting was cut short and…” Vereint stopped, looking around the room. “What the…”
Caspian was cradled sideways in his usual armchair, his legs dangling over the arm. He slept with his mouth open, his head tipped back to expose the long line of his throat.
Warrick and Melissa shared the couch, Vereint’s The Nightmare Before Christmas blanket spread across their laps. There were used tissues piled on the coffee table amongst the remnants of earlier snacks. Both of them had red eyes and streaming noses.
The twin expressions of shocked surprise Vereint received made him laugh. The sudden bright sound startled Caspian into jerking upright in his chair. “What?”
“It’s okay, go back to sleep,” Vereint said. He smiled at the way Warrick embarrassedly swept tissues off the couch into an empty chip bag. “What are you watching that has the two of you so emotional?”
Helpless tears streamed down Melissa’s face. She blew her nose into the handful of tissues she held. “It’s a Taiwanese drama, ‘Autumn Concerto.’ I wasn’t expecting it to be like this–he’s such a jerk!–but it’s so sad. It’s full of feelings.”
Caspian groaned and sat up in his chair with a spine popping stretch. “I was lured here under false pretenses. Instead of the promised action movie marathon, I got to watch Warrick pretend that he wasn’t crying. I feel cheated.”
“This is a great show! It’s not my fault that you lack all semblance of good taste.” Warrick was trying to sound aggrieved, but his eyes kept cutting toward the TV. He came across as distracted.
“How many episodes does this show have, and what episode are you on now?” Vereint asked. He didn’t want a repeat of the Dong-yi debacle where Warrick mainlined the show without saying there were 60 episodes.
“There’s 34 episodes,” Warrick said. “I think this is episode 20, but I’m not sure.”
“Hm.” Vereint turned toward Caspian. “Since my plans for the evening are shot, do you want to go see a movie with me? These guys can finish watching their show and neither one of us has to cry.”
Caspian looked from Warrick and Melissa huddled on the couch with teary eyes to Vereint. “This is not a hard choice at all. Let’s go.” He nearly leapt out of the chair to reach his shoes where they’d been kicked under the coffee table.
Vereint waited for him patiently, then gave Warrick and Melissa a little finger wave as they left. “Laters. Me and Caspian are off to actually live life, rather than watch it on TV.”
“This story is beautiful. You have no idea what you’re missing,” Melissa said.
“I’m good,” Vereint said. And they left.
* * *
“So, what movie do you want to see?” Caspian asked. He leaned against the elevator wall as he scrolled through movie show times on his phone.
“Whatever you want,” Vereint said. “The world is our oyster.”
Caspian felt a little strange, since he’d never hung out with Vereint alone, but figured it would be a fun experience. It would be good to get along with his best friend’s husband.
Vereint Georges-Tobias was a quiet kind of guy. He lurked in the background of most situations, letting Warrick handle things. When he did put himself forward, he easily dominated any conversation and quickly became the center of things. He was the most unassuming and effortlessly popular person Caspian had ever met, and he truly and deeply loved Warrick.
On first meeting Vereint, Caspian had seen the handsome face and the doting expression Warrick wore when he looked at him, and he’d figured there was going to be trouble. Vereint was yet another greedy pretty boy out to take Warrick’s money and break his heart. The fact that Warrick actually had feelings for Vereint only made things worse.
Vereint had surprised him in a good way. Witty and charming and surprisingly sweet-natured, the feelings he had for Warrick couldn’t be anything less than sincere. It was a relief for Caspian, who had genuinely worried.
A heart-broken Warrick was not something he ever wanted to see.
TBC…
—-
Check out “Allies & Enemies” at: All Romance Ebooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BookStrand, Goodreads, iTunes, Less Than Three Press, Smashwords. — superhero, urban fantasy, mm, drama. Darkstar x Blue Ice.
The post CDandHBFH 01 [Caspian Dukes and Vereint Georges] appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
August 19, 2014
EXCERPT: Tuesday Night [superhero, sci-fi, mm]
Title: Tuesday Night
Author: Harper Kingsley
World: Metahumans
Frame set: Kanon-verse
Pairing: Sunfire/Teen Steel
Characters: Tony Randolph (Teen Steel), Seth Payne (Sunfire), Layla Rogers (Queen Midnight), Danica Steele (Powergirl), Evan Lee (the Flame Burst), Carrie Bok (Solar), Nathan Bok (Pulsar)
Genre: superhero, sci-fi, mm
Rating: mature
Summary: In an alternate universe where “Pulse of the City” never happened, the Teen Demis get on with the mission. Which includes joining a bunch of other teams and tackling an alien threat that’s targeting the multiverse.
EXCERPT –
Seth drew in a deep breath as the bus rumbled to a stop in a grocery store parking lot. The other two buses in their group had already separated to their own target locations, and he knew there was another twelve buses loaded with superheroes out there, though he didn’t know where. Command hadn’t wanted anyone on the ground to know the full troop locations and plans because there was a real risk that any one of them could be infected. They were all considered expendable.
“All right, haul your asses off the bus and make way on foot to your target locations. Maintain radio silence and good luck,” Kid Nitro said, pulling the lever that opened the doors. He didn’t wait for a response, zipping down the steps and away in a blur that quickly disappeared. He had his own mission to perform, as did they.
Seth shuffled off the bus and met up with the other Teen Demis. Their group would stick together, though after the ansible went down they were supposed to separate into pairs–Seth had already claimed Tony as his partner.
Other groups had already gathered their gear and were trooping off. Seth saw Captain Ferocious from the Young Bloods starting his guys moving off at a trot, Pyremaker missing from their team. Like the psionics, the pyrokinetics were being kept in reserve. If the situation got bad, the order was for the pyros to torch everything in the city, including their own teammates.
Seth wasn’t too concerned for himself, but Queen Midnight was the only other flame resistant member of the Teen Demis. Everyone else would go up like a roman candle, and anyone trying to fly away would be shot down by air support.
Command was not risking any Zarplaxian drones escaping. They all knew what was at stake here. They all knew their own people would put them down for the greater good. It was sobering, but there was no room for failure.
“All right, guys, let’s get moving,” Powergirl said, her voice echoing eerily through her helm. “We’ve got about a million drones between us and our objective.”
It felt vaguely disrespectful to think of them as drones, but there needed to be some disassociation. Otherwise there was a real concern that one of them might hesitate at the wrong moment, caught up in the realization that they were killing people–mothers and fathers, young children with their whole lives spread out before them–and not saving the world.
It was unfortunate, but the citizens of Star City had already been written off by the CMPF and the World Council. What were the lives of a few million when compared to all of humanity? It sucked, but they were all marked expendable, and it was something that needed to be remembered when they confronted a bunch of “drones.”
Seth glanced at the rookies. It was impossible to read expressions with their helms on, but he figured they had to be scared. It sucked that their first All Call involved an apocalypse scenario, but that was the luck of the draw. He hoped they survived.
“Let’s go,” Powergirl said, not even bothering to try for a cheery pep talk. She sounded grimly determined and her shoulders were square as she set off across the parking lot.
They followed after her. They had twelve miles to go and they were making them on foot, their Command assigned packs bulging with gear.
Their mission was to reach the Alcott building and lay the charges for the experimental ELF bomb. The satellite dish on the roof was supposed to boost the signal somehow, though Seth hadn’t understood the specifics.
All he knew was they were laying the charges, and if things went well, all unshielded humans–drone or not–would be knocked unconscious for up to 26-hours. It would cause some kind of biological system reboot.
The whole thing felt really sci-fi to him, but considering they were fighting aliens he was willing to accept the idea as long as it worked. He just hoped the transmitters they’d been given really would shield them from the blast. It would suck to get knocked out by their own tech.
“Keep an eye out for flyers,” Powergirl warned.
Queen Midnight had her Gauss rifle ready in her hands. “On it.”
From the briefing they knew Star City had nearly a hundred thousand metahumans of varying ability levels. After Behemoth’s rampage most of the active alphas had been wiped out, but things were still dangerous. Some flying kid strapped to a bomb could still ruin the plan.
Seth kept near Tony and tried not to think of the last time he’d walked these streets. Sure, it had happened on the other side of town, but he didn’t think he’d ever forget the screaming agony as his leg splintered in the grip of one meaty hand, his hip dislocating with a squelching-pop.
“God, I hate this city,” he muttered.
Tony bumped his shoulder, his helm still facing forward as he watched the road ahead. “We got this. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got you.”
It was dumb to feel so relieved, considering what they were headed into, but having Tony close soothed him. It was hard to be afraid when Tony was nearby.
He remained watchful and wary as they followed Powergirl’s lead. Tony watched the left while he had the right, and between the two of them they guarded the rear from attack. The newbies were kept toward the middle of the group where they could be kept somewhat protected.
There was something eerie about walking down the empty streets of a once bustling metropolis. It might have been more soothing to know the people were all dead, at least then there wouldn’t have to be so much wondering about where they were, what they were doing.
Millions of people didn’t just disappear. Not when they were being controlled by an alien hive-mind.
“I’ve got movement in the high rise on our nine,” Tony said, voice low even with their secured coms. “Window on the fourteenth floor.”
“I see it,” Queen Midnight said. “There were reports of unaltered humans hiding out. Might be one of them.”
“We can’t risk it. WarSong, you’re up,” Powergirl said. “Take out the target with a minimum of fuss and meet us on the corner of that peach building. I’m marking it on your map. Follow the carat.”
“Yessir.” WarSong drifted to the edge of the group and into the shadow of the building. Their watcher wouldn’t be able to see her from the angle of the building.
The Teen Demis moved on, Queen Midnight’s shadows a near invisible pressure against their body armor. She’d be able to block a few armor piercing rounds, enough that they’d have a chance to prepare for incoming.
“Did she call me sir?” Powergirl asked.
“Yessir,” Seth said and there was a brief chuckle in response. They were all wound tight, waiting for a mass of mind-controlled zombies to fall on them.
“I’m too old for this shit,” Powergirl said. “Stay frosty, people. Hive-mind means if that was a hostile then they already know we’re here.”
They made their way to the peach colored building, which turned out to be more orangeish when they got closed. Seth kept an eye on his side, tensed to see catch any motion.
He hoped it was an unaltered civilian that had been watching them. Then wondered what kind of monster he had to be that he was wishing WarSong was killing some poor regular shmoe. They just couldn’t risk their op being busted–all witnesses needed to be handled, quietly and surgically.
Seth pushed any guilt away and focused on the Now. He’d have time for guilt and self-recriminations later, when the world wasn’t invaded by a hostile alien force.
He kept alert, eyes scanning his section. Tony was a spot of warm presence on his left, a green-for-friendly blob on the map located in the corner of his helm’s HUD.
He pushed away everything but the mission and firmly gripped his gauss rifle, ready to fire at any sign of hostiles. He was ready.
* * *
He was sweating into his jock. Every time there was a hint of serious danger, his balls decided to sweat until he was a drippy mess between the legs. Moisture wicking underwear kept him from swimming in his own fear, but he could tell the material lining his cup had worn thin. It was a minor irritation, but he had to force himself not to be distracted.
Getting his team killed because he had sweaty balls would not go over well with Overwatch. Plus the guilt would probably send him right over the edge.
Tony kept his eyes sharp and ignored the discomfort in his pants. “She’s taking a while,” he said.
They’d been waiting near to fifteen slow crawling minutes. WarSong should have been in and out in less than ten. Even spread out under the overhang with parked cars to hopefully conceal them, they were dangerously exposed. The longer they spent in one place the more vulnerable they were to detection.
Tony shifted in his crouch, trying to give his crotch some room to breathe. The sweat was making him itch and he gritted his teeth at the sensation. It was like fire ants infesting his balls, little nips that were getting worse and worse. Sweat trickled down the side of his face.
“I feel uncomfortable saying this,” Seth sounded strained, “but I feel like there’s ants in my pants. My, uh, my balls feel like they’re getting, uh. It’s very uncomfortable.”
“You too?” Queen Midnight breathed. “Oh shit, I think we’ve been made.”
With her pronouncement, it suddenly felt as though someone had literally set Tony’s crotch on fire. With a propane torch.
His knees hit the pavement and he hunched over the agony in his groin. It was not just his balls anymore, but his dick and deep up into his pelvis. His nerves were screaming out and there was nothing he could do to stop the pain.
Tears flooded his eyes and he gritted his teeth hard enough to hear his molars grate together. He hunched over himself, his armor keeping him from clutching his tormented genitals.
“Fu-fuck,” he groaned.
Dimly he heard shouts and crashes, but it wasn’t until the pain cut out that he knew the world around him still existed. Strangely distorted with bright splashes of color and sound that echoed through his skull, but still there.
He was grabbed by the shoulders and pulled away in time to watch a mid-sized car cartwheel through the spot where he’d been kneeling. He blinked at the strangeness of everything and let himself be pulled along in a stumbling run, Seth’s hand gripping his hand hard enough that he could feel it through his gloves. It was an anchor keeping him from slipping away.
“Come on.”
Tony followed Seth, counting on him to lead him to safety. He was too out of it to trust himself.
It was a whirl of alleyways and long stretches of street, of using cars and buildings for cover as they fled as fast as they could on foot. Tony could feel his heart thudding in his chest and his panting breaths made his helm hot and moist inside. All he knew was that they were running from the enemy and he was glad the sharp pain had stopped, though his dick and balls still ached, though it was a dull echo.
Finally Seth seemed to think they’d thrown off pursuit. He shoved Tony into a narrow alley between two brick buildings and pulled him down into an exterior stairwell.
Tony panted for breath, resting his head against Seth’s back. He tried to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. His brain felt scrambled and words were too hard to get out.
“I think we’re good.” Seth peered down the alley toward the street, his back a tense line. “We might be good.”
Tony shuddered and breathed and wanted to take his helm off except that probably wasn’t a good idea. though at the moment he couldn’t have said why it would be bad, he was just trusting his training.
“Are you all right?” Seth turned around, his hands holding Tony’s shoulders. He sounded concerned, though it was impossible to read his expression through the blank smoothness of his helm. “Tony? Teen Steel, respond!”
It was the snap of command that had Tony stiffening. His mouth opened and moved, though it took several tries to get sensible words out. “I… I’m all right.”
Seth’s sigh of relief seemed weirdly close, intimate, through the coms. “Thank God, I don’t think I could handle any of this alone.”
“Where’s…” Tony cleared his throat. “Where’s the team?”
“I don’t know. We scattered in different directions. We have to figure they’ve all been compromised. We’re alone. Mission parameters have changed.”
Command had figured something like this could happen. Until the threat was taken out and the All Clear was sounded, they would be a two-man group and they weren’t to trust anyone, not even their own teammates.
“Shit,” Tony muttered. He was glad he wasn’t alone, but it was going to be touch completing the mission with just the two of them. Tough, but not impossible.
“We can do this,” Seth said.
“Yeah.” Tony tried to keep the doubt out of his voice, knowing they didn’t have any other choice. The Earth was at risk and duty didn’t stop just because the team had been split up and his balls still hurt. “We can do this.”
Seth gripped his shoulders tight and leaned forward to clunk their helms together softly. “We can do this. We’ll stay here about half an hour and rest up, then we’ll fulfill our secondary objective. We got this.”
“Yeah.” Tony wanted to believe. “We got this.”
/EXCERPT
* * *
Like my stuff? Check out my newest book “Allies & Enemies,” which continues the story of the supervillain Darkstar. Just as a heads up, a lot of people die. There’s lots of emotional business. I’ve been told that I should warn people not to read it at work, as there’s some shocking imagery and a real possibility that you will cry (it’s just that good).
At Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22048906-allies-enemies.
At Less Than Three Press (where it’s 20% off right now): http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_bookx_info&cPath=116&products_id=637.
At Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Allies-Enemies-Heroes-Villains-Book-ebook/dp/B00MNW3Y6A/?tag=harperkingsley-20.
At Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/466336?ref=HarperKingsley .
At Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/allies-enemies.
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Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
August 17, 2014
Be cool, leave a review.
People always want to complain that books cost too much money. I want to tell them to shut up. Because sure, books may be expensive and a luxury good, but they’re worth the price of the read.
And there’s so many ways to read books for free. It takes a few extra minutes, but joining things like Netgalley and visiting the library really work. And now most libraries let you check ebooks out from your house.
So to complain that prices are way too high when you get a full novel for $3.99 is ridiculous. Sure, you don’t “own” the book, you’re only licensing it, but as long as you have that reader or Calibre, you don’t have to worry about the book being taken away. Nobody is going to come into your house and take your ebook away (the jackboots of the officers stomping, and the hobnails of the common soldiers echoing against the stone. Ereaders torn out of the hands of sobbing children to be tossed onto a giant electromagnet, every single one of them reduced to factory settings. The knowledge of an entire people destroyed as garbage for no good reason).
The whole reason you’re licensing the book rather than owning it is to keep you from reselling an already rock-bottom priced item. The author of the piece would like to receive some compensation for all of their work. $0.20 royalty through some sheister companies is no fair. The author should get at least 30% on everything, some percentages being higher.
But old contracts or unfair practices leave a lot of writers destitute. Authors making millions of dollars for some publisher that contracted the rights years ago, and receiving a pittance of a share back. So to pass those books out for free and not even add a “Leave a review for the book” readme file is so rude.
*The author is not getting paid.
*You’re giving their book away for free.
*You read and enjoy the book, sharing copies of it with hundreds, maybe even thousands of people.
*You never leave a review of the book, neither does anyone else.
Those are the steps to a failure to follow through. At the very least someone needs to introduce the request that people share a review on Goodreads or LibraryThing. Give the author something at least, even if it’s just an acknowledgment that the book was read.
I don’t know.
* * *
Sometimes I get to thinking about stuff. Like, I am usually a completely oblivious person, but there are moments that abruptly change my world view.
People literally give me an “Are you a pod person and should I be worried?” look all the time. It’s part of my obscure charm.
There are several things I’ve really come to believe in:
HABO — Help a Brother Out. Seriously, dude, every once and a while you’ve gotta give some habo love to somebody. Otherwise you’re a bit of a turd sandwich. My biggest problem is that I’m oblivious; I don’t see other peoples’ stuff unless it’s mentioned to me. But once I see it, I gotta habo man. That’s my resolution in life.
If you help someone in need, when you are in need someone will help you in return.
Even if you don’t have a dollar, you should still give some free habo back to the world. Even if it’s just for the feel good glow that takes over your chest for a little while. It’s nice to hear someone say your name in a “Thanks for being awesome” way. Take that happy joy and smoke it, that’s good fruit loops.
Write an online review for someone’s hard work. Retweet someone’s stuff on Twitter. Volunteer at the library. Work at a food bank. There are a million free ways to help the world out there, and they’re all at various levels of commitment. If you’ve only got a few seconds, if you’ve got a whole afternoon or series of weekends, there are ways to plan out a full family activity roster.
I believe that kids learn charity at home. When you see your parents or members of your family working hard to do stuff for others, they grow up as people that give back to the world. Being kind needs to be learned, it’s not something that just happens for most people.
Aquaponic farming — This is a kind of urban farming I completely support. A community aquaponic garden is a smart move to me. Grow soy beans and you can make tofu and soy milk, as well as soy sauce, miso, and delicious soy frappuccinos. So many vegetarians and lactose allergic babies would be grateful to get an affordable source of food. Especially since WIC and a lot of other welfare services have been cut recently.
I’m a firm believer in the idea that people deserve to eat. I don’t care what kind of wastrel you are, unless you’re a cold-blooded murderer or some sex-offender, you should be allowed to come around and collect a bag of food from your community garden. It’s for everyone.
There should be community canning stations where people can can their own food. There should be fermentation tanks and mixers to make the strawberry tofu ice cream and the locally brewed soy sauce. There should be areas where the fish are scaled and filleted (no one wants to bring the stink of fish home with them. And fish, while delicious, can be a serious mess, which is why there are fish cleaning stations at good docks) and can be packaged to be frozen. Extra fish can be vacuum sealed and frozen to be sold in the Community Garden Store. Each community would become its own brand, generating money for the inhabitants and feeding the people that need it.
Maybe locals could receive a discount that out-of-towners don’t get. Bring some togetherness and solidarity back into the idea of a community. (These are the people you are going to need to depend on after the apocalypse. Don’t you already want them to think you are cool before the end of times? They need to be primed to help your ass out in case your bug out shelter idea falls through. They are your backup plan in case of emergency; you don’t want them to have the pre-conceived notion that you’re a giant pickle head and you deserve to die.) Earn a bit of love by giving a bit of love.
And the things I love are: spinach (blanched, mixed with sesame oil, garlic powder, green onions, boiled bean sprouts, julienned carrot, and salt. Served cold as a side for rice.), carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers (Korean angel hair noodles, julienned cucumber, green onion, julienned daikon radish, red pepper paste, sugar, sesame oil, garlic powder, all mixed together and served cold with a splash of vinegar), zucchini, sweet potatoes (wrapped in tinfoil and buried in the coals of the fire. Dig them out when the fire burns down, and the skins peel off to reveal sweet delicious insides that you don’t have to add anything to. The sweet potatoes become sweeter as they cook, until they’re perfect creamy goodness in your mouth.), asparagus, brussels sprouts, strawberries, and beans (black beans, pinto beans for chili, kidney beans for chili and soups, navy beans for bean soup, green beans, soy beans).
I found this place => http://www.kitazawaseed.com/all_seeds.html 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBspR2...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z1koz...
Anyways, TL;DR, even if the book is stolen (*ESPECIALLY* if the book is stolen!), leave a review once you read it.
I feel terrible about how bad I am about reviewing. I will try to do better in the future. Habo *fist bump*
The post Be cool, leave a review. appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
August 15, 2014
Digital Media of Choice (to the tune of “Weapon of Choice”)
I got a Vudu account because we have a Smart TV and the Vudu app came pre-installed. Still, it’s easy to log in and it’s easy to use on my computer.
Netflix on the TV isn’t as hard to use as Hulu, but it’s a little bit janked for us. Still, it’s a must-have around our house. I enjoy watching Netflix on the TV or my Kindle Fire. I’m always using my computer and I worry about it breaking down from being overloaded, but I log in through my computer to arrange my queue.
Flixster works on my Kindle Fire, which is awesome. All the movies I saved on Vudu are cross-shared to Flixster so I can watch them. (There’s no Vudu app.) So I can actually watch all those movies we’ve bought whenever I want, as long as there’s wifi.
Crackle is free movies and TV shows and they allow a free app, unlike Hulu.
For my most used free services: Hulu and Dramafever are most comfortably watched on the computer. Viki works well on the Kindle, though it freezes up for me occasionally.
I watch a lot of my saved stuff and DVDs with the VLC Media Player, which makes me wish that all those services worked with it. I like being able to easily resize and move the player and tell it to stay a particular size.
TL;Dr, watch free stuff on Hulu, Dramafever, Crackle, and Viki. Netflix is an easy pay-service, as is Amazon Prime. And for all those digital copy codes that come with DVDs and Blu-Ray, I prefer inputting them into Vudu — it works for all kinds, and they’ll self-propagate to the Flixster app for android devices and to UltraViolet.
* * *
Check out my newest masterwork “Allies & Enemies” at: All Romance Ebooks, Amazon, Goodreads, Less Than Three Press, Smashwords. — superhero, urban fantasy, mm, drama. Darkstar x Blue Ice.
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All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
August 12, 2014
“Allies & Enemies,” by Harper Kingsley is live! [superhero, mm, novel]
Title: Allies & Enemies
Author: Harper Kingsley
Series: Heroes & Villains (Book Two)
Cover art: Aisha Akeju
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Genre: mm, superhero, urban fantasy, sci-fi
Word count: 129,000
Summary: In the wake of the death of the Fabulous Kims, Vereint cannot forget Melissa, the little girl they left behind, a girl that now has no family. Certain he and Warrick can be the family she needs, he pushes to adopt her. That she proves to have superpowers only confirms he’s right. Melissa is their darling daughter by day, and by night she trains to become Blue Devil, sidekick to Blue Ice.
Then the unthinkable happens, destroying the happiness Vereint and Warrick worked so hard to build—a tragedy so great that the long-vanished Darkstar returns with murderous intent …
It’s here! Allies & Enemies is currently live at Less Than Three and at Smashwords.
Are you excited? I’m excited.
And if you feel like you need to catch up on the series, here’s the links for Heroes & Villains at Less Than Three and at Smashwords.
EXCERPT of Allies & Enemies:
The sun struggled to shine through the clouds, and it was one of those days destined to be miserable. Not just because of the weather, but because of the girl sobbing out her heartbreak on a sterile hospital bed, the sheets pulled up around her shoulders as she buried her face in the flat and lumpy pillow.
Vereint clenched his hands together on the handles of the two shopping bags he held. It took all of his willpower to keep from running into the room and scooping her into his arms. Instead, he stood in the hallway and watched through the window as she mourned the loss of her parents. Behind and to the left of him, he could hear Warrick talking to the nurse and the social worker, and Vereint was sure everything was just about worked out.
They were going to take that little girl home and give her a family and make sure she grew up knowing that she was loved. He didn’t think they could ever erase the loss of her parents, but they would try their best to make her realize she still had a whole life to live and they would be there for her.
Vereint heard the slight scuff of dress shoes on the linoleum floor, and then Warrick’s arm settled across his shoulders. He didn’t hesitate to hug Warrick’s wrist against his chest. He breathed in the scent that his brain uniquely identified as Warrick Reidenger Tobias and something screaming and tight in his chest released. “Do we get to take her now?”
“I talked them around,” Warrick said. “There will be social service visits and we’ll have a social worker assigned. They’ll still be looking for any family she has, but she gets to go home with us tonight. They say she’s all right, just shaken up, so it’ll be better for her if she doesn’t spend another night in the hospital.”
“Good.” Vereint had never been fond of hospitals. Just the smell and the sounds were enough to make him uncomfortable; he couldn’t imagine how miserable it must be for a grieving twelve-year-old who had watched her parents die. “The guest room will be fine for tonight, and tomorrow I can go and get things to make it more comfortable.”
He’d get her a few things to make her feel welcome, then later after her grief had a chance to settle he would take her to pick out things she wanted for herself. It would give them a chance to bond. He wondered what she looked like when she smiled.
“Here comes the social worker,” Warrick said.
There was the clack-clack of sensible pumps attached to a tall, thin woman with a pair of no-nonsense glasses perched on her nose. She looked like she might be kind, but also as though she didn’t suffer fools. The subdued floral print of her purple and black blouse showed she had a softer side that they would be able to appeal to.
“Mr. Georges-Tobias, Mr. Tobias, I’m Nancy Daniels and I’ve been assigned to Melissa’s case.” Her handshake was brusque and businesslike. She wasn’t ready to be friends, not until she was sure of them, but Vereint knew she was the kind of ally they were going to need. He’d done a bit of research about child services, and while money could take them far, they would need her help to smooth away the minor irritations of the legal system.
He smiled at her, trying to pour on the charm without going too far over the top. “Thank you. I’m just glad you’re letting us take her home with us.”
She sighed. “It will be nice for her to be out of here. From what the nurses have said, last night was not a good night for her.” She walked toward the door. “Come along and I’ll introduce you.”
Warrick reached the door first and held it open with easy grace. He brushed his hand against the small of Vereint’s back as Vereint passed by him. Vereint gave him a smile before his attention was caught by the girl on the bed.
Melissa was a cute Korean-American girl with long black hair and a triangular-shaped face. She was short, her body so tiny that her head looked large in comparison. With the opening of the door, she hastily sat up, raking her hands through the tangled mess of her hair and scrubbing at her eyes with the corner of the sheet. Her face was still blotchy and red, but her chin firmed as she pretended she hadn’t been crying.
“What do you want?” she asked, her lips twitching as she tried to maintain her control. She blinked rapidly to clear the gleam of tears from her eyes.
“Hello, Melissa,” Nancy said, her voice gentle and soothing. “I know you said you want to leave the hospital, and that’s why I’ve brought these two gentlemen with me. This is Vereint Georges-Tobias and his husband Warrick Tobias. They want you to stay with them until everything gets figured out.”
Melissa gave them a suspicious glare. “I don’t know them. I don’t want to go anywhere with them.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Nancy said, “but Vereint and Warrick are offering you a safe place to stay.”
Vereint stepped forward, shifting the bags until they hung from his left wrist, and held up his hands, palms out so she could see that they were empty. He gave Melissa a tentative smile. “Hi. I can tell you want to get out of here. I don’t much like hospitals myself, and it must be pretty cold here at night, huh?”
Her black eyes were still suspicious, but she gave a nod of grudging agreement. “The blankets are thin and you can hear everything that goes on at night. I think the man in the next room died last night; there was a big ruckus and people were running in and out.” Her chin was a hard nob that she refused to let tremble.
Vereint pressed his lips together. He’d pushed for her to be put in a different unit of the hospital, but her brush with the freeze ray that had shot her parents meant she needed close observation. At least, that had been the line the doctor had given when Vereint had asked if she could be discharged two days ago. Vereint didn’t think a lonely and sterile hospital room was a healthy environment for a traumatized child. He didn’t want to see her spirit damaged.
The fact that she was defensive made him like her more. He’d felt as though something had stabbed him in the chest the first time he’d seen her after her parents’ death. He’d never believed in fate, but it was obvious to him that he and Warrick had to take her home and raise her as their daughter. There had been so much hurt in her eyes when they’d met his and so much spirit beyond that, it had been no effort at all to nudge Warrick into grudging action.
/EXCERPT
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All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
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