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It’s gardening time again. I’m not the best at it, but I keep trying.

Things I’m growing so-far:
JalapeƱo
Cherry tomatoes
Lettuce
Bell pepper
Pumpkin
Watermelon
Pet grass
Strawberries

I’ve got tons of other seeds, but I lack the space to grow them in once they’re big.

“Don’t plant where I gotta mow.”
“We don’t need a bunch of holes in the yard.”

So I’m looking at container plants, and I’ll maybe use a corner of my uncle’s garden. But small and sustainable is what I’m looking at.

I also need to look around for a safe moth spray. They come and lay their eggs on the fruit trees. If they can, they try to get their babies amongst the blossoms. It’s awful.

*

Stuff I’m working on:

ATR and Tuesday Night, of course.

Plus drawing and painting so my Ren’Py game will be awesome. People like graphics in games *shrug*.

I’mma be throwing Overwatch[1] to the public. There was some interest, and I do need to expand the details of the Kanon-verse.

*

[1] In Tuesday Night, the Teen Demis and many other superhero groups receive orders and oversight from Overwatch. Attached to the CMPF and the budding Metahuman Affairs Bureau (MAB), Overwatch is an organization setup and funded by the Tobias Foundation.

Started by Warrick Tobias upon the diagnoses of his brain tumor[2], Overwatch was founded in memorium of his long-time friend Blue Ice. Killed the year before in battle against the Hammer of Doom, Blue Ice had been one of the nation’s most beloved superheroes.

In honor of Blue Ice, many superheroes volunteered their time and expertise to the Overwatch program. It became the place where superheroes unfit for the field could still serve. Guiding, helping, and reining in the next generation.

Overwatch is a long-time organization in the Kanon-verse

*

[2] Dr. Zee had to get those brains from somewhere. And as the Kanon-verse operates at a different time-rate to the Heroes & Villains universe, Kanon-Warrick suffered some irreparable brain damage before he met Vereint. Very sad.

As such, Starburst was enrolled in so-called Charm School, where his psionic metability was studied and honed. By the time the side-effects were discovered, it was too late. Starburst had renamed himself Darkstar and half of Megacity was in his thrall.

The Wall surrounding and segregating Darkstar’s Megacity was built in record time. The Omega-class metahuman stood on the tip of the tallest rooftop spire and watched the construction. It was a relief when he didn’t intervene.

Supplies are delivered daily to the four Gates built into the Wall. As the agreement stands, as long as the Darksters never leave their walled city, they will receive all they need to survive and serve their “Dark God[3].”

a page out of Heroes & Villains, a novel by Harper Kingsley
Heroes & Villains, by Harper Kingsley
page out of Heroes & Villains, a novel by Harper Kingsley
Heroes & Villains, by Harper Kingsley

Excerpt Title: Overwatch
Author: Harper Kingsley
World: Kanon-verse
Character: Warrick Reidenger Tobias, Caspian Dukes
Genre: superhero, angst, friendship, major illness

Warrick Reidenger Tobias was packing for a business trip to Chicago when it felt as though the world suddenly whirled around him. He staggered against the bed, dropping the navy silk tie he held as his hand lost all strength. Multicolor lights flared behind his eyes.

He didn’t realize he’d dropped until his knees hit the floor. His head bounced against the carpet. His body twitched and shivered uncontrollably.

It was his first seizure.

It wasn’t his last.

~ ~ ~

The doctors didn’t know what was wrong with him. Dozens of specialists and days spent in drafty paper gowns having his blood sucked out by needles and his brain scanned by machines. He felt like a lab experiment.

And at the end of it all, there were still no answers, just speculation.

He hated feeling helpless. But there was nothing he could do.

So he continued with his life and pretended that everything was all right. As though faking normal would *make* everything normal.

He did such a good job at pretending that he started believing it after awhile. As though the past few weeks had been a dream and he was finally awake.

He was free to go about his regularly scheduled life of superheroing and presiding over a large and powerful company.

And then there was another seizure and another one and another one, so rapid and close together that he didn’t recognize what was happening until after the third one, the BIG one. The one where he finally had to admit there was a problem because Caspian had seen and just wouldn’t let it go.

/EXCERPT

*

[3] Which is an irony, as I’ve been considering having the Kanon-Darkstar go on walkabout after ATR. Events progress, time gets wacky, and the God of Light comes into being.

After a timeless eternity floating through the nothingness, he. creates Sindarek, his brother and the God of Chaos, and later a sister, Goddess of the Night.

Events are explained when Rue’s Chosen enact the Play of Light in his honor. But basically Sindarek gets jealous and attacks the God of Light, destroying his physical form, and beginning his cycle of wearing human avatar bodies (like Rue). During the fight, there was a tear in spacetime, and the God of Light’s blood ended up in Universe A, creating the human gods.

Due to the humans of Universe A spreading from their now-hostile universe to neighboring realities, where they are gods in human form, there is a contamination of multiverse not just with the introduction of the human gene mutation known as the Nor-gene (resulting in metahumans) there is also the spread of the nectar bee mutation caused by the multiversal adventures of the superheroine known as Blue Devil aka Blue Fairy aka Fairy Godmother aka The Godmother of Horns.

*

Anyways, I’ve got stuff percolating in my brain, and I’m trying to get them all down on paper.

I’m thinking about buying a beehive.

I want honey bees, but my brother is leaning more toward bumble bees. Either way, I’m hoping to help out my tomatoes and other vegetables.

Plus taking care of a hive of native bees helps with conservation*.

Because bees have really taken a pounding of late. There’s a real concern that we’ll be looking at the extinction of several species.

“We’ve had several end-of-hive events take place recently. And there’s quite a lot of reason to be concerned” – is the mildest way I can describe it.

Really, we’re looking at a potential environmental catastrophe.

1. Without the bees, there’s going to be a lot more biting insects. (There’s a niche for most everything. And if an opening is created, something is always willing to move in and fill it.)

2. With the depletion of a hive’s numbers, they are left vulnerable to predatory insects. (Hornets, yellow jackets, all kinds of things can get inside a weakened hive, kill the queen, and use the bees as a food for their young.)

3. Without bees to do the work, gardeners will have to seek other means of pollinating their crops. (Remember my zucchini plants that didn’t zucchini?)

4. Without bees there won’t be any honey. (And that would be a real tragedy, because who in their right mind doesn’t love the taste of honey? Sweetness that can be cultivated super easily.)

5. Without bees you won’t see a bumbling buzzing body bobbing and weaving from flower to flower, making the world bloom. (The sight of a fat bumble bee with its small wings busily flapping as it dances over a patch of clover is a nostalgic memory.)

Bees are an essential part of the world.

It would be a real tragedy if we wiped them out. The world would definitely be a lesser place without them.

* I might have to switch to buying a bunch of mason bees. I’m pretty sure they’re what’s local, as I saw them being sold at the Little Valley Nursery back in the spring.

Finally caught up with all my DVR’d episodes of Stalker. Seriously, I am obsessed with the show, pun intended. It’s one of those dramas that you want to catch from the first episode, and it’s a great show for mainlining–binge-watch it, it’ll hit all your taste buttons.

WARNING: There is a bit of a creep factor due to the whole stalking thing, so if you’re easily triggered, it might not be for you. Still, Beth’s backstory keeps me coming back for more. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

*

A cool thing: my dad is talking about putting together an outdoor studio for me. Sure, it will probably be a bit slapped together, because, you know, it’s us, but it’s still a very nice gesture and I find myself a bit excited. There’s a big chance that nothing will come of it, but if he really does follow through…

It will be nice to have somewhere to put together my paper crafts and store my supplies. The biggest drawback of living here is that I’m surrounded by smokers. There are some days when I feel like I’ve rolled around in an ashtray and I can’t help thinking that people can smell me from a mile away.

So to have a place of my own where I can do my work… It will change everything.

I will remain hopeful.

*

Title: Faizel II
Author: Harper Kingsley
Genre: vampire, mm, urban fantasy, dark fic
Summary: Charlemagne loves Faizel. Faizel is fond of Charlemagne. And Ewing feels like he’s watching a train wreck happen in slow motion.

EXCERPT:

“This is a nice place. You’re not worried someone’s going to find out I’m your dirty little secret?” There was a teasing bite to Faizel’s tone, one that made Ewing fight back a wince.

He’d been around enough couple-fights to recognize the warning signs. The minute someone threw a plate, he was leaving. Charlemagne was his friend, not his boss. Not yet anyway, an inner voice murmured, but he pretended not to hear it.

“I hate that I can’t show you the world as I would wish,” Charlemagne said. “You are what is most important to me. I want the world to know that I love you. But it’s too dangerous. I don’t want you to be hurt.”

“I promise you, I won’t be the one hurting,” Faizel said.

Ewing stared at his napkin, pretending to be enthralled by the micro-weave of the linen. Couple-fights were bad enough, but heartfelt romance was almost worse. He wouldn’t have felt as much like an interloper if he was watching them have sex–that was just master vampire exhibitionism. He’d learned how to pretend that he was watching, while really visualizing a play-by-play of his last quest in his favorite RPG.

There was no pretending to be far away when he could hear the emotion in Charlemagne’s voice. He could see that mask of a pleasant expression that Charlemagne wore, but he was also close enough to see the honest love shining in those blue eyes. It hurt to see Charlemagne be so naked, and have the subject of all that emotion be Faizel.

Ewing didn’t trust Faizel not to break Charlemagne just because he could. Yet he couldn’t say anything either, because Charlemagne was in no state of mind to listen. All Ewing could do was alienate his friend, and that wasn’t a direction he wanted things to go.

He’d decided that he would keep an eye on Faizel to make sure he wasn’t hurting Charlemagne. Unless he saw some active abuse, he wasn’t going to step in. No matter how creepy he thought Faizel was.

The best thing that he could do was to bite his tongue. He just worried that he was going to end up biting it clear off. Because while he thought Faizel was a scary vampire-eating monster, Charlemagne would never hear a word against him.

It was a relief when the waiter returned with their food. It gave Ewing something to focus on as he ignored the romantic love story unfolding in front of him. He tried not to imagine that he was watching the true life story of Mickey and Mallory Knox if they happened to be vampires.

My life has gotten strange, he thought, tasting a bright blue foam that exploded with flavor when he touched it to his tongue. But at least the food is good.

/EXCERPT

Curious to meet Faizel? Check out Faizel I on Smashwords or Amazon. It’s $0.99, yo.

There are currently plans afoot for what I think are some truly awesome things. At the very least, I am enthused.

*

I really have to start taking pictures, though I’ve been holding off a bit so I can practice my different crafty things. I probably shouldn’t be so shy about it, but I am. I’ll have to force myself to get the camera out. (But I’ll try.)

The only thing I’m really scared of is that I’m going to suck. I’ve dreamed my whole life of being one of those arty people that can pick up a pen and make something beautiful. I feel like I’ve found a way to express that desire in a workable way, but it would kill me if I’m not any good at it.

I still remember how awful it was to discover that I can’t paint.

There are kindergartners that can paint better than me. I didn’t realize how bad I was at painting until I bought all kinds of acrylic paints and brushes. I don’t want to go through that nightmare again.

*

Money I’ve spent so far on the current project: $300. There’s so many tools and supplies I still need to get, so I’ve been focusing on the smaller pieces. They’re not turning out quite how I want them to be, so I’m praying I didn’t just throw that money away. I would seriously cry.

*

I’ve also been writing a script for this little thing I’m working on. (I’m not talking about the Ren’Py game; that’s been set aside until mid-March. I still can’t get the Android extension to work, which is a bit of a puzzler.) It’s a video we’re putting together for our YouTube channel. We haven’t gotten to the point of making sets yet, so it’s going to be a while yet, but I’m really getting into this show.

*

Title: Tuesday Night
Author: Harper Kingsley
Genre: superhero sci-fi

EXCERPT:

So right now, examining the scene that was Triangle Park, Seth felt his focus tightening. This could be for all the marbles, and he refused to be the one to fuck things up.

“Good luck,” he breathed.

“You too,” Tony said.

Then they were moving in opposite directions, Seth headed toward the swan-topped fountain, Tony toward the gazebo. If they survived, they were to meet up past the East Gate on the far end of the park. If they didn’t survive… well, then they’d be dining in Valhalla and none of this mattered anyway.

There were drones moving around the big tent. Carrying planks of wood and coils of wire, tromping around in their own little world. Seth was glad not to be noticed.

He stayed to the peripherals, moving amongst the trees. He wanted to use the cover as long as possible before he was forced to expose himself. He felt like he had a target painted on his skin. One drone catching sight of him too soon and everything would be over.

As he walked, he dropped tiny thumbtack charges. Unless they were being shoved into a keyhole to blow the lock on a door, they were mostly a popping firecracker sound and a bit of light. But they could be activated with a simple remote, and he figured a bit of distraction would do him good.

Ghosting amongst the trees, he set the camera on his helm to 360-degrees and hoped it was recording everything. No matter what happened, Overwatch would appreciate the enemy intel. Even if they got it from a satellite transmission after he was already dead.

He knelt down to pile the last of the thumbtack charges on the ground and smoothed a handful of loose dirt on top of them.

He wasn’t looking to start a fire, but the surrounding brush was dry and he could hope a little. It would make the perfect distraction while he made his getaway.

/EXCERPT