Harper Kingsley blog

I like the experience of other peoples’ lives. In seeing other peoples’ ways of thoughts. Translated through books and movies.

So that if I’m talking to someone, and they start talking about a particular book or series in a questionable way… I can tell whether we’re going to be fighting in the future.

Like, “How to Recognize a Sociopath 101.”

If I don’t hear a “It was bonkers!” or “There’s some serious blood and gore and it’s definitely not for everyone” in there… side-eye city.

I’ve found that the scariest thing to discover was that some people take books and movies seriously.

The writer can be screaming out their disdain and hatred for the subject matter, and some reader will be like “The Evil Empire is really bad ass. This author gets me. I’d join the Evil Empire if it was real.” vibes.

For reals, yo: I don’t want to live through your personal World War II reenactment fantasy.

Holster your excitement, buddy.

The fun thing about reenactments is being able to go home afterward. When we’re really in an End of the World-scenario due to the personal whims of a few, it’s not fun. It’s stressful and unpleasant.

I am not a sims character. I did not sign on to be some kind of a simulicra in someone else’s “Ruler of the World!” fantasy.

Reading for-fun novels can really give a clear glimpse into the minds of other people. The story is being seen through the eye of the author. The things they would notice when looking around a room. Or the things they would think about at home afterward.

The way people talk about books and movies and TV shows is a precursor to their later behavior. A clue about the kind of person they would be.

When a big “bright but grimdark” piece of media comes out, the way people react to it says a lot about them. And I’m not talking about when you talk about a piece of media even though the person says they don’t want to hear about it and they respond negatively.

I’m talking about when the person brings it up on their own. Like, it wasn’t a part of the conversation, but now it’s here and everyone has an opinion on it, some louder and more fervent than others.

And it’s a really problematic piece of work. Mostly because of consumer response to it.

Like, “I don’t think it should not exist, but it’s not my cup of tea. I prefer This to That” is my casual mindset. But I don’t think people should be bringing it up in front of children or in business settings.

I’m sure parents don’t appreciate their young children talking about chest-bursters in questionable language. Much as they don’t want their children to learn about romance through GoT.

I don’t know. Moderation is key.

Wow. People have bought my books from Smashwords. Thank you. 🙏🏼

You don’t understand the spell I’m under to these Chinese novels. (It’s some kind of obsessive disorder 🤷🏻‍♀️. Once I start something, I’ve got to finish, even if it completely derails everything else.)

The thing about the Chinese novels is that I’m enjoying them through a (somewhat shady) machine translation site one chapter at a time. For like 1200+ times -_-; for some stories.

So I’ve got to constantly go to the next page and restart my read-to-me function. It’s a bit inconvenient.

And also, I keep emphasizing "Chinese novels" because the settings relate to Chinese culture, whether past, present, or alternate universe. And I don’t speak or read the Chinese language, so the novels are machine translated, which means there’s usually (a lot) of Engrishu happening.

And it’s fine. I’m not angry. I’m enjoying Chinese novels and there’s a price of convenience to be paid. It’s just that I’m having to listen to them at 1x speed rather that my usual 4x. And it’s because the language issues means I have to concentrate more on absorbing content…

I find Chinese novels to be more understandable than Japanese novels(, and manga are the most easy to understand. And then animes show the most understandable content.). There’s a bigger gap in culture?

Like, nobody is cutting off my fingers. Or any other part of my body.

For reals: Why would you work for a boss that would permanently disable you? Like, you’ve watched the dude murder-death-kill dozens of people (some your own men!) and while you never want to think that you’ll fuck up like that… events transpire.

Plus, in a lot of movies, it turns out to be their own kid or their coworker’s kid starting a series of events that the person is then drawn into. Stuff they get punished for not stopping happen.

Like, when your boss has a history of brutally punishing people to protect their (usually adult-)child: Why would you work for that person?

That is a person lacking in social conscience.

Which means they’ll maybe feel a little remorse 50 years later… While in the moment they’ll make "the hard" decision. That’s a kind of person you don’t want to work for.

I mean, that kind of person is bad enough in everyday life. Having that person as your boss? In some way in charge of your access to money? Yikes.

Are the new terms of service for Ko-Fi legit? Or is it another site I "should quit" but can’t because it’s a viable source of income?

What do people want from my Ko-Fi? => https://ko-fi.com/harperwck <=

Notification and updates of major stuff? Everyday nonsense? Just drawings and photographs?

What is Ko-fi anyway? What am I using it for?

Is it a tip jar? Do I put it out there to "Hey, hey, this is a reminder that I exist"-nudge strangers on the Internet?

Is it "all the money I have in the world"-levels of important to my financial self?

Is my Ko-fi page the equivalent of a bowl pushed out by a street performer? Like, there’s all kinds of stuff being put out there but not being linked to because of tough terms of use, but "Here’s a way to support my writings. Here’s some cat pics or some coloring pages in return"?

I don’t really do anything outside the terms of use, but I’d prefer to err on the side of caution.

I produce content for Mature Audiences. It’s out there and available.

There have been times when I’ve described the viscera rather than glossing away.

So I think it’s good to have a PG tip jar that can be shown to people. Something where people can visibly see it being used, and that builds interest in my content. But someone doesn’t have to dive face-first into pure filth when they’re looking for my nonsensical babblings (like this piece and the stuff about raw milk).

"Worm" is a webnovel that I enjoyed. Though it was really long and "gritty"-feeling.

The Chinese novel I’m listening to is a lot of everyday stuff.

She’s an Ancient Person transmigrated into a modern life. She’s basically "the leftover" part of an isekai story.

The person she replaced REPLACED her.

So while she, a half-orphaned princess whose mother was sent to the Cold Palace before she was born, is saving a family that otherwise would have fallen apart… That modern person was in the past living her best life as an empress and local near-deity, in a life the princess would have died in.

The flipside of all those novels and animes where a modern person wakes up in the body of an ancient person. While they’re rampaging in a past the body would have died in, the modern body that would have died is filled with a different soul that’s better able to live a particular life.

It’s almost like their souls were switched so that they would grow up in their particular worlds and learn the information they needed to survive then switched back.

Usually the super tough "but believes in magic just in case" ancient times male lead seems like the type to force monks to do some perverted magic rituals. No proof that they do anything. But grisly. And maybe effective.

—

Switching souls had been a more excessive spell than he’d imagined. But having to tell someone one more time: "If you don’t pasteurize your raw milk when you bring it home, don’t think I’m going to have any sympathy for your listeria. There are probably over-the-counter treatments. Meanwhile we’re in the midst of a pandemic they’ve stopped serving public safety announcements about."

The spell had seemed innocuous enough. A little bit of nothing scribbled in an old family journal. And the steps had seemed nearly childishly simple.

When drunk, it had seemed like a fun thing to do with a group of friends. Reciting some words. Burning some herbs. Bleeding a few drops of blood onto an open flame. Thinking real hard about a wish (though it had been more of a notion really).

There’d been plans for a big dinner afterward. Maybe a big order of tacos. But that section of memory had been ripped away, so that there was a vague sense that fun had been had, but it couldn’t be remembered. A broken connection that was never going to be fixed.

It was all waking up in someone else’s body in the past. But there was never going to be a "Quantum Leap"-skip through time to get away. Because someone else had taken control of the magics.

Spell-casting was tied to the body.

And the body was currently in another space and time. The proof being the stranger-face looking back from the bronze mirror.