0 comments on "FIC: Morning Song"

Title: Morning Song
Author: Harper Kingsley
Character: Neil Halsted, the Guy in 2D, Ben Hodgins
Note: Fill for Shower Buddies prompt

Neil “before Zod” Halsted was 32 years old, single, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He lived in an old apartment building that had been renovated several times over the years, going from The Shining-chic to something a bit more classic comfort. All he cared was that his apartment–apartment 2C–was a rent controlled two bedroom, two bathroom palace that he was going to live in until he died. They would have to pry the door keys out of his cold, wrinkled hands as they hauled him out on a stretcher, because he was not leaving otherwise.

He had a fabulous apartment in the city, and his neighbors were great. He’d never met them, and that was what made them great. He’d never had to complain to anyone about noise or cockroaches or mysterious leaks, and no one had ever had to complain about him.

His life wasn’t perfect, but it was good. He lived close enough to where he worked that he didn’t have to rush around in the morning, and there were plenty of restaurants and grocery stores within walking distance. There was even a bus stop on the street out front of his building, so on wet days he didn’t have to tramp very far in the rain if he had to get somewhere on the other side of the city.

His job wasn’t what he’d dreamed of when he’d put himself through college, but it gave him a nice enough paycheck. With the money he saved on rent, he was able to turn the second bedroom into the walk-in closet he’d wanted ever since he saw episodes of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” and “MTV’s Cribs” as a teen. He was able to add to his wardrobe each month and still grow his savings account.

He had everything that he needed and a bit extra. He was even able to help out his parents when they needed it. Things were going good in his life.

And part of what made things pleasant was his morning shower. Where he stripped and stepped into the large stall and shared a song with the man whose shower was on the other side of the wall.

It had freaked him out the first time it happened. One minute he was singing alone, the next he was in chorus with the guy from 2D–who had a particularly pleasant baritone singing voice. And then it was kind of cool.

It became part of his routine. In the mornings as he lathered up, he’d sing along with his neighbor–songs he never would have shared with anyone else.

It was romantic, but in a nonsexual way. This was his singing buddy. This was his beautiful friend whose face he never wanted to see.

How horrible was that?

But he’d been hurt before. He’d fallen out of love with plenty of people when he got to see how they truly lived.

His step-sister had delighted in taking all of the magic out of his world when he’d been twelve years old. It was the one stark memory of his childhood that he maintained: that monstrous figure looming over him, spitting out poisoned words that burned into his brain. He’d thought she’d been demonically possessed.

Always so quiet and still, she’d leaped out of her chair and begun screaming out answers to every question he’d interrupted her with all night. Bulging eyes and raging mouth; he’d been completely terrified. And ever since then, his every bogeyman-moment was tied to that fear. (He wished he hadn’t posted his worst fear in his profile. It would have been better if he’d made something up.)

He couldn’t handle it if his singing buddy was horrible to look at. Not for any mean reason, but because he’d built up a fantasy in his head and he didn’t want to find out that the guy was the opposite of everything he’d expected. [B1-1] It would ruin the one good thing that he had.

Things hadn’t been going that great in his work life of late, ever since Ben Hodgins had joined the company. His happiness levels had gone way down. So there was something uplifting about starting each day with a song.

It felt good. It got him energized on even the most blah of days.

Starting the morning off with a song enabled him to keep his mind focused on work and not on how horrible his coworkers were. They were related to the owners, so he had to put up with their laziness and frequent absences while he did all the work. [B1-2] And if he didn’t start each day off with a cheery tune, he would have probably lost his shit dealing with them and all their baggage.

Having a shower singing buddy was a bright spot to his every day, one that he never wanted to lose. So even when he was feeling curious about the guy in 2D, he went out of his way to not run into him. Because if he lost the magic of his morning song, there was a good chance that he’d quickly lose his job as well. And without his job, he wouldn’t be able to pay his rent, which meant losing his fabulous apartment and having to move back in with his parents.

Neil was grateful that the guy in 2D had entered his life. But he never wanted to meet him and ruin the magic of what they had.

=The End=

Faizel 02 at Amazon
0 comments on "Ereading; Kindles; Amazon"

There’s talk that the purchase of dedicated ereaders is down, and as the owner of several kindles, I can see why. They’re such excellent devices that it’s like they never go bad.

I’ve got a second gen kindle and it’s still my go-to ereader. Why? Well, it’s got side buttons for easy page turns, and it’s incredibly easy to read on. I have no idea what I’m going to do when it eventually breaks down, but I’ll probably lose my mind because it’s still my baby.

I also have a 8.9″ Kindle Fire HD that I received for Christmas 4-5 years ago, and it’s still going strong. I use it to check my email, watch Netflix and Hulu, and read fanfiction at AO3 or FFN. It may be an older model, but it still works great and I love it. It’s probably the best Christmas present that I’ve ever gotten, including the laptop that barely lasted 2 years before becoming so slow it’s now obsolete.

I think the “problem” with Amazon is that their kindles are too good. You don’t really have to worry about them falling apart or giving you the dreaded half-black screen of frozen death (I’m looking at you Sony). And considering the number of times I’ve dropped my little kindle with only a tiny dent as a result, it’s a miracle it’s lasted in my klutzy hands (unlike the poor Ebookwise back in the day, of which I had three, two of them ending with a cracked screen and the last one deciding not to turn on one day. And don’t even get me started on the Jetbook I once had for a week, which someone decided to put under my seat in the car where it got murdered when the seat moved back. $250 dead and gone. My niece is lucky to still be alive).

Also in my family, my brother has a first gen Kindle Fire that’s still alive, the Kid has a Kindle Fire HD, and my dad has a 8.9″ Kindle Fire HDX. Every single kindle is in working order and shows no signs of glitching or falling apart.

So what does it all mean? Well, Amazon has made some excellent products in their Kindles. From dedicated ereaders to tablets, they’re affordable and they work and if you buy one you pretty much never have to buy another unless you’re looking to upgrade. Unlike other companies, whose products either quickly become obsolete or turn to garbage in your hands.

Say what you will about the “evils” of Amazon, they actually seem to care about their customers. And I guess I like being cared about, even if it just involves awesome return policies and the ability to get ahold of a customer care representative in the rare times when I need one.

And the nice thing about a kindle as a dedicated ereader — Kindle, Paperwhite, Voyage — is that you can pass it around and feel like you’re on Star Trek. The text is always clear and readable. You can flick from book to book and never lose your place. And once you load a kindle full of reading material, you can shut off the wireless to save battery power and read for weeks at a time.

With the use of Fanfiction Downloader, Calibre, and a USB cable, you can be reading free on your little kindle with no concerns of Apple, Microsoft, or whoever peeking over your shoulder like a nosy goon. And to me, that’s pretty nice.

So I’m a kindle fan. I think you probably should be one too. They’re awesome, affordable, and they last a ridiculously wonderful long time.

*

Oh, by the way, with Christmas coming up and my birthday in January… I would like to say that a Kindle Paperwhite or a Kindle Voyage would make a great gift. Just saying.

Oh yeah, and I’ve got a store at Teepublic: LeCheese Haut. So if you buy any shirts from there, they’re supposed to kick some money my way. I handpicked all the designs, though they’re all in the order that they were added and I have no control over rearranging them. Still, there’s some nice stuff —

From Hannibal to Dune to Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D to Invader Zim. There’s a little something for everyone.

* * *

Keep in mind —
Patreon: Patreon.com/HarperKingsley
Paypal: Paypal.me/HarperKingsley
FictionPress: FictionPress.com/~harperkingsley

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good at Amazon
0 comments on "Reboots are why I’ve stopped reading DC comics"

Supergirl and Batgirl were the only comics I read for the longest time. They were the titles I followed faithfully and spent my precious money on. Then, right when both were getting good — Linda Danvers and Cassandra Cane being kickass women superheroes — DC decided there needed to be reboots of both Superman and Batman. Which meant, of course, all the other titles had to be redone as well.

All that loyal comic book purchasing history was flushed down the toilet. And it was expected that I would just roll right into the new storylines. My thought, then and now, has always been “Fuck that.”

Yet my love for Supergirl has lingered over all these years. I was actually looking forward to the new television show. And since it’s on CBS, I was expecting something of substance, a nice meaty story to sink into. Instead, it was like something from ABC Family; weak and watered down flash with very little substance.

It was only the pilot episode, so maybe things will get better, but I don’t hold out much hope. This series smells of weak sauce.

And adding to the disappointment, I now have to go through and change my Man of Steel fanfic, because there’s no way I can use Cat Grant as a love interest for Clark Kent. Sorry to all her fans, but now that I’ve had Callista Flockhart’s face burned into my brain, the magic is gone. She has absolutely no appeal for me. If I was a dude, I’d be completely flaccid.

* * *

WHY I LOVE KARA IN-ZE SUPERGIRL –

Kara In-Ze arrived on Earth as a teenager. The loss of her family is fresh in her mind and now even her body is different, yet Kal-El expects that she will pretend to be a normal girl and fit in as the cousin of Clark Kent. Not only does she have to adapt to a completely alien world, she’s expected to hide her grief and control abilities that she never had before.

Kara’s story is one of loss and perserverence. While Clark was adopted as a toddler and grew up on Earth, never having known anything different, Kara has lost everything that she has ever known. It was a powerful storyline to me.

And the new Supergirl series throws that all away.

They take Kara In-Ze, squish her together with a version of Linda Danvers, and I’m supposed to swallow down the idea of Kara Danvers being a Supergirl that I can love?

I feel cheated.

*

SUPERGIRLS I LOVED –

1. Kara In-Ze arriving to Earth from Argo, wide-eyed and innocent. Silver Aged Supergirl intent on enjoying the world and having fun with her cousin Superman. She is joyous and loving of the humans around her.

2. Supergirl, the clone sister of Lana Lang, created by an alternate universe version of Lex Luthor, a caring scientist intent on saving the human race. Rescued from a dying Earth by Superman and brought back with him, she doesn’t realize that the Lex Luthor she meets is not the man she loved. She lets him take her DNA, and he uses it to create superpowered clones and further his evil plots. Once she realizes his evil, the things she has allowed him to do, she vows to spend her life righting the wrongs he’s done in her name. She uses her identity as Supergirl to make amends.

3. Linda Danvers, a troubled girl committing an act of vandalism, nearly dies and is rescued by Supergirl, who dies in her place. Linda inherits Supergirl’s power matrix and becomes the new Supergirl. She tries her best to help the downtrodden people around her and becomes a high school teacher with an interest in helping troubled teens, like she used to be.

4. Linda Danvers Supergirl travels through time and space. She lives multiple timelines and lives. She marries a version of Kal-El on Krypton and they have a daughter and a wonderful life together that ends when the timelines are reset. She replaces Kara In-Ze and exits the space craft with a bright smile to greet Superman. “Hello, Kal-El, I am your cousin Kara In-Ze.”

All Systems Red at Amazon
0 comments on "Also sprach Zarathustra; monster worm babies; God Help the Girl"

ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA — This is that song that basically everyone needs in their life. “Also Sprach Zarathustra” by Richard Strauss. You’ve probably heard it a thousand times if you’re a sci-fi fan:

If you’ve never heard it before, then you’re welcome and enjoy.

* * *

MONSTER WORM BABIES – I was watching some Monsters Inside You shows when this couple was shown that went on vacation to an arid yet somewhat lush environment. They were both infested, but the man got it much worse. He had giant fly babies growing under bug bites on his back.

They had to be removed by a doctor, and they were frickin’ huge!

The funny thing is that the couple was staying in the local equivalent of the high-roller suites. They probably had some of the best furniure and bedding in the entire village. The only thing they didn’t have was a mosquito net.

If they’d had a net around the bed while they slept, they would have had some protection. It was a case of perceived luxury defeating commonsense. The funny thing is that no one in the area gave them a warning. “Hey, watch out while you’re sleeping. Horrible bugs will lay their eggs in your body and it’s a pus-filled and disustingly painful experience you’ll probably want to skip this vacation.”

*

There were things moving under the surface of her skin. She didn’t know what they were, just dark brown shapes darting along the rivers of her veins, but she could feel them tugging and shifting at her as they moved. She wondered if they were gobbling chunks of flesh to make room for themselves. It was horrifying.

When she was a young girl on Earth she’d heard stories of flies laying eggs under peoples’ skin. But this seemed so much worse. Because she could not move, could not scream, could do nothing but feel the movement she could not stop and watch as she was transformed into the birthing chamber of alien parasites.

Tears trickled from her glazing eyes. The only mercy was the lack of pain–the paralytic had affected her nerves, keeping everything distant and surreal. Otherwise she knew her last days would have been filled with torturous agony rather than regret.

There were so many other choices she would have made in her life if she could go back.

But even though every person traveled through time, forward was the only direction. She could only dream of going back.

* * *

F: “You’re really going to trust me with all this?”

A: “Sure. Just prove to me you’re trustworthy.”

A: “I see a bright future ahead for you, Flo. As long as you don’t screw things up, you’re going to be someone amazing.”

F: “Your confidence in me is both delightful and soul destroying.”

A: “Good. That’s the perfect balance. Now off to work with you.

* * *

GOD HELP THE GIRL — I gave “God Help the Girl” a try on Amazon and I’m glad that I did.

I kinda hated the first few minutes, but it got better and better as the story unfolded. It’s a good movie. You should give it a try. If it’s not your thing, all you’ve lost is a little time. If it is your thing, you’ll have gained a favored movie.

Emily Browning plays Eve, a girl battling anorexia and herself. She leaves the hospital against advice and is determined to find some joy and adventure. It’s during her first outing that she meets James in passing, a young man that helps her without taking advantage. She tells him that she will find him again. Which she does during her second, longer break from the hospital.

It’s a story of friendship, growing up, and one glorious summer. Eve, James, and a girl named Cassie form a band together and create some great music. With Glasgow in summer as the backdrop and a series of visually appealing outfits and near-music video musical scenes, there’s almost subversive about “God Help the Girl.”

I don’t want to ruin the story, so I can’t say much more, but this movie does create some feelings and a lasting impression. It’s Eve as the Girl in the Red Dress, with James and Cassie under her spell, pulled along by her magnetism and the magic she seems to bring everywhere that she appears. Yet she has a sadness and a desperation to her that they don’t see and don’t help, emotionally privileged children that they are.

It’s a good movie. Well worth the hour and 52 minutes of runtime.