@stevendbrewer@wandering.shop

When she pulled the covers down, Totemo realized Miss Dairy had a dakimakura with her picture on it. Miss Dairy quickly flipped it over so that the nude side was facing down.
"Come on!" she called. "I'm ready!"
Totemo took a deep breath, disrobed, and climbed into bed with Miss Dairy. (3/3) #wss366

Totemo entered and, at first she thought, "How normal." Then she turned and realized that the back wall was an enormous picture of her #face. Miss Dairy pressed a button and turned it off.
"The real thing is so much better!" she purred. She slipped off her clothes and climbed into bed. (2/3) #wss366

"It's getting late," Totemo said. "We should go."
"No!" Miss Dairy said. "Please stay. Stay over with me!"
She took Totemo's hand, and pulled her toward the bedroom.
Lambda hopped up on the love seat and curled up. She ruffed quietly at Totemo.
"You wish me courage?" Totemo wondered. (1/3) #wss366

I was excited to be offered a place on the program at Worldcon in Seattle, but recent events about Worldcon have left me in a quandary. I will probably still attend, but I'm dismayed and discouraged by what's happening. https://stevendbrewer.com/worldcon-participation-quandary/

#WritersCoffeeClub Have you ever realized you’d included an unintended shibboleth in your own work?

Yes, all the time. I think I've caught most of them and either removed them or left them in for lack of a better alternative. I can think of a couple of recent examples. Here's one: In *A Familiar Problem*, Rory said, "It smacks of sophistry." But this a world where humans were transplanted during the ice-ages: no ancient Greek civilization. So I changed it to, "It smells like bullshit."

"How could I forget!" Totemo laughed. "That was…" She paused, then looked at Miss Dairy anew. "Wait! That girl! That was you?"
Miss Dairy nodded.
"But you must have…"
She nodded shyly again, but then looked up at Totemo with adoration. "That's why you've always been my hero!" (2/2) #wss366

Miss Dairy joined Totemo on the love seat again
"Did we ever meet at Gyarakushīsukautos camp?" Totemo asked.
Miss Dairy turned bright red, looked down and started to stammer. "I'm sure you wouldn't remember."
"Oh, come on! Try me!"
"Do you remember the '#Ferret Incident'?" (1/2) #wss366

#ScribesAndMakers Tell us two truths and a lie about yourself.

I was an observer on a Japanese fishing vessel.
I was cowled for my PhD by my father.
I caught and held a massasauga rattlesnake.

#WritersCoffeeClub Give an example of a project you’ve had to give up on.

Never say never.

I finished my last book of haiku, *Ideoj Ĝermas*, in 2016. A couple of years later, I had an idea for another book and had collected enough haiku. My plan was to call it *Falintaj Petaloj* and to have it feature artwork of fallen flower petals. I made plans a couple of times to collect the imagery, but was suffering from depression and couldn't make myself do it.

I started taking the pictures yesterday.

"You're so smart. And capable. And educated. And athletic." She blushed. "And pretty."
Lambda ruffed.
"That's right!" Miss Dairy agreed. "You smell nice too." (2/2) #wss366

"Sunny?"
Miss Dairy turned and looked at Totemo.
"May I #ask you something? Why do you like me so much? I mean… I'm not really anything special."
Miss Dairy ran back to the love seat and took Totemo's hands.
"That's not true!" she gushed. (1/2) #wss366

Lambda came over and put her muzzle on Miss Dairy's thigh. She ruffed quietly.
"I'm sorry," Miss Dairy said. "I've wanted to meet you for so long but I always mess everything up."
"How long have you… been taking these pictures?"
"Do you remember when you went to Daphnae-3?" (2/3) #wss366

Miss Dairy turned away and curled into herself on the love seat, sobbing.
Totemo put a hand on her shoulder.
"Aw," she said. "Don't cry."
"But now you know," she whimpered. "You must hate me."
"I'll admit," Totemo said. "I was surprised. But I don't hate you. Lambda doesn't either." (1/3) #wss366

Behind was a set of shelves with dozens of pictures of Totemo that had obviously been taken surreptitiously. In some, she was in the field. In others, she was at the office. In the middle was a huge picture of her at a beach wearing a bathing suit.
"No!" Miss Dairy wailed. "Don't look!" (4/4) #wss366

Across the room was a low table with two candles in front of something draped with a piece of cloth.
"Why don't you light those candles?" she asked.
"Oh," Miss Dairy replied. "That's my shrine."
"Oh."
Passing by, Lambda let the cloth catch on her muzzle and pulled it off. (3/4) #wss366

After closing the door, Miss Dairy lit a #taper and used it to light a multitude of candles on the coffee table and nearby shelves. They shed a low, romantic light.
She joined Totemo on the love seat.
"I'm sorry if you don't like candles," she said.
"Candles are fine," Totemo replied. (2/4) #wss366

Totemo waited outside the door for a moment before Miss Dairy invited her and Lambda into her small apartment.
"There's not much room," she said. "Sit anywhere you like."
The only place to sit was a love seat, so Totemo sat there. Lambda prowled around, sniffing and investigating. (1/4) #wss366

#WritersCoffeeClub What does your usual workspace look like? Share a picture.

We answered a question like this a year ago: https://wandering.shop/@stevendbrewer/111375384163420849

But, quite recently, I wrote this post about where I write during the summer: https://stevendbrewer.com/a-truly-magical-place-to-write/

Thirty years ago, I read William Greider's book "One World Ready or Not" that presciently described many of the consequences that trade with China would entail. One of his primary concerns was that the Chinese government could skim many of the profits that the West allowed corporations to skim. The net result was that they enriched the state while we enriched the wealthy. China built infrastructure (like high-speed rail) while billionaires bought yachts and helicopters and politicians.

#WritersCoffeeClub Have you ever worked through a bad experience by writing fiction?

Although I had written small amounts of fiction for many years, it was during the pandemic that I started writing a lot more. It was mostly a way to distract myself. I had not seriously tried to get my work published in English before, but I began submitting stories and eventually found a publisher willing to take on my weird little stories. Does that count as "working through a bad experience?"