2 comments on "Excerpt: “Overwatch”-segment; Drawing; Whatever"

Title: Overwatch
Author: Harper Kingsley
Universe: Kanon-verse (alternate universe version of Heroes & Villains)

EXCERPT –

Here I am, he thought. One day older. One day closer.

He squeezed his eyes closed. Drew a deep breath in through his nose. Then he pressed the button that raised the top portion of the hospital bed to an upright position. He clenched his teeth against the pain, feeling the lines around his nose and eyes pull tight.

If he lived, he would carry reminders of this experience forever.

Finally the pain shifted, released. He could breathe. The tears weren’t threatening to squeeze their way past his eyelids.

He took a few moments to regain his composure. Then he shifted the fingers of his left hand onto the call button. Concentrated. And pressed.

Thirty seconds later a nurse appeared. “Good morning, Blue Ice. Are you ready for your pain medications now?”

Warrick thought about saying No. Thought about pretending to be strong for one more minute and continuing to suffer through this agony that had become his life. Then he thought about cool relief from the nerve pain caused by his continuous brain seizures.

“Sir?” the nurse asked. “Is that a Yes or a No on the pain medication at this time? I need a verbal reply, as per your instructions.”

Sometimes Warrick cursed his past-self. That self-assured fool that had never truly believed he could be brought so low. Who never would have imagined a time when all he’d want was for someone else to make the hard choices, because he hurt too much to even care.

“Y-y-yessss,” he hissed out through his teeth.

Then there was sweet relief at the hands of his beautiful caretaker. He didn’t know her name, but he loved her with all the fervor of someone finally released from the grasp of wretched misery.

He drifted for some timeless state of being.

A few precious moments completely free from pain.

Time was pressing in on itself. Soon these moments wouldn’t exist. He would count his blessings in seconds, not minutes. Then milliseconds. Then no relief at all. Pain would become his world.

And then he would die.

I hate this, he thought for the millionth time. Why won’t someone come save me for once?

The door slammed open hard enough to take a gouge out of the wall. Caspian didn’t pause in his entrance, coming right to the side of the bed, his grin a fierce baring of teeth. His eyes were like blue fire.

Warrick’s breath caught. He was all aquiver. He felt a desperate hope blooming in his chest.

“I found it. I found it!” Caspian reached his hand toward Warrick’s face, then ever-so-gently, careful of his friend’s propensity for pain, brushed his finger along the arch of Warrick’s cheek. “As long as you hold on, you miserable fuck, you’re going to be out of this hospital bed in a month, walking around. But you’ve gotta hold on, you hear me War? Can you hold on?”

Warrick drew in a shuddering breath. He formed the words slowly, carefully, wanting himself to be clearly heard. “Y-es. Ho-lding onn iss hw-wha-at I do b-es-t.”

/END EXCERPT

crossposted at Kimichee.com

*

I’ve been drawing a bit, which has really helped my imagination come up with storylines and characters.

I got a copy of “Drawing and Painting Beautiful Faces with Jane Davenport” and I’ve been trying to make the people I draw look more attractive and less lopsided. I really like this book. I’ve been carrying it around with me, and I’ve been drawing with colored pencil so I can’t erase anything, and my people’s lips are beginning to look like lips.

*

About the Warrick thing up there ^ ^ –– Things are a bit different in the Kanon-verse, and not just where “Pulse of the City” is concerned. It’s why things are so different in “Tuesday Night.”

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good at Amazon
0 comments on "Prompt: 083. orchids"

Prompt: 083. orchids

1. The house was large and immaculate, with polished wood furniture and stainless steel fixtures. Glass bowls and vases held perfectly formed orchids in shades of pink, purple, and blue.

A. The house was large and immaculate, with polished wood furniture and stainless steel fixtures. Glass bowls and vases held perfectly formed orchids in shades of pink, purple, and blue. It was a dream home ripped straight from a magazine.

And every look around made her want to throw her head back and scream: “Let me go home, you monster!” But she held her silence, with a bitter heart.

She dreamed of being home again. Of her mother’s smile and her brother’s laugh. Yet always she awoke in this prison, with her perfect clothes and her lovely hair and the stifling loneliness and ever growing despair.

2. He tended to the prize-winning orchids with endless patience and care. Their heady perfume put him in a daze he had no desire to break from.

A. He tended to the prize-winning orchids with endless patience and care. Their heady perfume put him in a daze he had no desire to break from. It was in these moments that he allowed himself to fantasize about being someone else; someone without all of his cares and responsibilities.

He would mist the velvet petals and putter around the greenhouse. Nobody else was allowed inside, and it was relief. He needed the time with his own thoughts, away from all the grasping desires and thunderous voices of people refusing to leave him alone.

3. The presents were elegantly wrapped in orchid print paper and silk ribbon.

A. The presents were elegantly wrapped in orchid print paper and silk ribbon. They rested on the table with the wedding invitations and car keys. The bags had been packed and stacked near the door. They had readied everything for their trip. Yet they were still home.

She stood next to the couch, trying not to loom over him, but unable to tear her eyes away from his face. “You can’t keep doing this. We RSVP’d. Everyone is expecting us.”

He wrapped his arms tighter around himself and sunk further into the couch. His eyes were shamefully focused on his feet. “I’m sorry. I swear that I am.”

.patreon.com/HarperKingsley.
.paypal.me/HarperKingsley.
.amazon.com/?tag=harperkingsley-20.

Panoply at Amazon
0 comments on "Prompt: 082. literacy signs"

Prompt: 082. literacy signs

1. The large poster had “Learn to read” above the image of an open book with smaller text below proclaiming, “Reading opens a new world.” The education committee had been leaving literacy signs all over the city and this batch had appeared since yesterday.

A. The large poster had “Learn to read” above the image of an open book with smaller text below proclaiming, “Reading opens a new world.” The education committee had been leaving literacy signs all over the city and this batch had appeared since yesterday.

It seemed as though everywhere a person looked, there was a sign. A mandate. A plea with a corresponding reward. It all seemed strangely normal considering they were a city under siege.

2. There were signs of growing literacy in the local community. It made the traders worried for their profit margins as the ability to read could disrupt the upcoming contract negotiations.

A. There were signs of growing literacy in the local community. It made the traders worried for their profit margins as the ability to read could disrupt the upcoming contract negotiations.

A meeting was arranged where someone floated the idea of sabotaging the education efforts. There was mention of the Homeless Youth Center and the headmistress offering free reading lessons to anyone willing to learn. It was suggested that she be made to disappear.

3. If the many signs were to be believed, adult literacy was of serious concern.

A. Daniella wasn’t sure what to think. If the many signs were to be believed, adult literacy was of serious concern. But she didn’t think there were any adults in her life that couldn’t read.

Every day she stared at the posters between the glass walls of the bus stop. There was a literacy sign facing inside and one facing outside, so whether she was leaning against the post or sheltering from the rain, she was always looking at one of those signs.

.patreon.com/HarperKingsley.
.paypal.me/HarperKingsley.
.amazon.com/?tag=harperkingsley-20.

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good at Amazon
0 comments on "Emergency New York rally March 22, 2017 at 6 p.m. #StandWithPP"

Emergency rally in New York at 6:00 p.m. EST:
Rep. Dan Donovan’s Staten Island Office,
265 New Dorp Lane

He’s deciding people’s medical future. Talking about defunding Planned Parenthood and the repealing of the Affordable Care Act.

He’s voting tomorrow. So if you live in New York, this could be your last chance to save your medical insurance or the medical insurance of someone you know.

You could make the life of someone else easier. Raise your voice so we can all be heard.

“We are here! We are here! Don’t hurt us just because you’re powerful and we’re small to you. We are here!”

Guess this isn’t needed. He says he’s voting “No.”

You no longer have to be worried. He’s got your back.

Though if I were you, I’d still show up at the rally. Show your signs to the cameras, tweet the pics of cool signs and masses of peoples’ backs, and show the Republicans that Yes, the American people are concerned about affordable healthcare.

Yes, even though corporations, rich people, and ignorant people say otherwise, we would prefer to have affordable health insurance and price caps without care caps.

Yes, we would prefer to choose when, how, and if we have children. And Yes, when those children are alive, we would prefer that they be happy, healthy, educated, and protected by the same laws as their richer brethren.

*

Seriously, yo. The stuff that’s going on in the United States right now has me very concerned. Not just because of international incidents and the threat of war looming with Russia and North Korea. But because when it’s all said and done, we might find our country’s infrastructure and reputation ruined.

Already, rather than the easy trip to college I was hoping for, the Kid is looking at a hard road ahead. And sure, he’s smart enough that he’ll be able to get a scholarship *fingers-crossed* but if ham-fisted diplomacy results in a war, it’s likely that his is a generation of young men and women that will spend their late teens and twenties fighting in wars that never should have been started.

And that’s terrifying. Because I don’t want him to die.