@stevendbrewer@wandering.shop

"Yes," the Hero replied. "He showed me his new monster."
"Oh! You were collecting intelligence! How scary was the monster?"
The Hero caught sight of his reflection in a mirror and wiped a bit of lipstick off his cheek.
"Terrifying!" he answered, in a low voice. (4/4) #wss366

"Hmm. No chance of a misunderstanding? He didn't say, for example, 'I'm having breakfast with the semen gourd'?"
"No. I also saw him go into the Demon Lord's castle."
The Captain sighed.
Just then the Hero entered.
"Did you really have breakfast with the Demon Lord?" the Captain asked. (3/4) #wss366

The Captain rubbed his hand all over his face as he tried to digest this.
"Who told you this?" he asked finally.
"The Hero told me."
"The Hero told you? Himself?"
"Yes."
"What did he say, exactly."
"To the best of my recollection, he said, 'I'm having breakfast with the Demon Lord.'" (2/4) #wss366

"What!?" The Captain of the Holy Order of Knights was incredulous. He stared disbelievingly at the #knight who had just delivered the report. "Did I hear you correctly? You'd better repeat that."
"I said," the knight reiterated, "that the Hero is having breakfast with the Demon Lord." (1/4) #wss366

Mewmew, one of the Butter Angels, was up late, long after Mama-san's izakaya had closed, working in the kitchen.
"What's she working on?" asked Ruhrow.
"It's some kind of fish," said Booboo.
"*Akauo kasuzuke yaki*," said Mama-san.
"*Yaki*…" said Ruhrow. "So that's grilled, right? Is *akauo* the kind of fish?"
"*Hai*," said Mama-san. "That's ocean #perch."
"What is… kasuzuke?"
"Marinated in *sakekasu* — what's left over after make sake."
Lolo's ears perked up. "Did someone say 'sake'?" #wss366

oranĝburĝone, asklepio reklamas… al ni, averto / with orange buds, butterfly weed advertises… to us, a warning #hajko #haiku #esperanto

A nice interview with the founder of @system76 with a good summary of the current state, where they came from, and where they're trying to go. I'm a repeat System76 customer and encourage anyone who wants a good linux experience to consider buying their hardware. Yes, you can probably install linux on almost anything, if you know what you're doing. But if you buy it from System76, it will just work.

https://www.theregister.com/personal-tech/2026/06/17/system76-boss-reckons-he-can-liberate-the-entire-pc-stack-just-give-him-another-15-years/5255258

"We were playing make believe!" Lilija said. "You can say anything in make believe!"
"But you really *are* a dragon," her sister said, in a low tone.
"Sure," Lilija laughed, with a twinkle in her eye. "But they don't know that." (4/4) #wss366

"Coming!" Lilija called back, and ran to collect her things.
The sister smiled at the other children as she waited. She didn't say anything until they were out of the building.
"Lilija," she said sternly. "The Director said you were telling the other children that you're a #dragon." (3/4) #wss366

"It's probably nothing," the Director said, laughing. "She was playing a game with the other children and told them that she was a #dragon."
"Ah. That." The sister rolled her eyes. "I'll talk to her."
The Director opened the door and called Lilija. "Lili! Your sister's here!" (2/4) #wss366

Lilija's older sister came to pick her up from the daycare. Before she went into the room, the Director beckoned to her and took her aside.
"We just wanted to let you know that Lili was saying something today."
"Oh? And what's that." (1/4) #wss366

According to @philipbrewer, this is a mackerel sky.

Now that I'm retiring, I decided to make some new business cards. I hacked together a design in Inkscape and placed an order. I had to chat with "customer care" because a promo code didn't work. Among other things, the "customer care representative" said this to try to entice me to complete my order.

I submit that there is no human being on Earth that would say something like this.

"Monster?" The Hero regarded him quizzically. "What monster?"
The Demon Lord pointed after the maid.
"Her? But she's just a girl!"
"Exactly," the Demon Lord exulted. (3/3) #wss366

"I'll take it with a little cream," said the Hero.
"And would you care for some coffee cake?"
"Yes, thank you."
She made a bob, backed away from the table with her eyes downcast, then turned and left the room.
"So…" the Demon Lord asked. "What do you think of my new #monster?" (2/3) #wss366

The Hero arrived to visit the Demon Lord for coffee. He was ushered into the Demon Lord's breakfast nook. The Demon Lord looked up from his paper and warmly greeted the Hero.
"How would you like your coffee?" asked the maid. She was a charming lass of 16 or 17 with rosy cheeks. (1/3) #wss366

Sundays on Mastodon… Thank goodness for filters!

A new #introduction as I make a major life change. After 30 years as a faculty member at #UMassAmherst, I am becoming emeritus this fall. I look forward to having more time to write speculative fiction & devote to service. I'm the author of several books of science fiction & fantasy. I serve as Secretary of @SFWA, as creator of @wss366, & on the program committee of the Straw Dog Writers Guild. I also speak #Esperanto & have won awards for my poetry, stories, & essays. https://stevendbrewer.com/

(My mom thought this was hysterical.)

"I've got it!" the boy crowed. "Swordy McSword Face!"
"Swordy McSword Face! Swordy McSword Face!" the crowd chanted.
The hero drew Swordy McSword Face and broke the blade over his knee.
"I'll get a new sword," he said. (3/3) #wss366