@stevendbrewer@wandering.shop

"Took you long enough," he grumbled. "They tried to #fool me by claiming to be pirates. But I know soldiers when I see 'em."
"Shall we talk business, then?" Will said, as they strolled down the ramp. Grip backed down the ramp keeping guard with his sword drawn. No one emerged from the airship to challenge them.
Once they had left the ramp, Will dropped his towlines and the airship lifted off.
"Hmph," grumbled the Professor. "Let me see your airship first." (5/5) #wss366

The three men at the ramp charged forward, blades drawn. But Grip arrived at that moment and took up a position in front of Will. In moments, with quick thrusts, he put two of the men on the ground and began to drive other back up the ramp. In moments, he too fell, then Grip and Will stepped forward.
The Professor, an older man, with a large, thick beard and wild gray hair, appeared at the top of the ramp and began to hand-walk down.
"Professor Grexin?" Will asked. (4/5) #wss366

Towlines stabbed out as the men released the lines holding down the airship.
"Take her up!" the captain yelled. The towlines shifted and airship began to rise.
Will skidded to a stop then gestured. New towlines appeared fore and aft that slammed the airship back down to the ground.
There was consternation among the crew.
"Get him!" ordered the captain. (3/5) #wss366

The two men on either side of the Professor grasped his arms and tried to hoist him up to hustle him onto the airship. When they did, he thrust his arm crutches against their feet. In seconds, they had collapsed on either side of him. But a flood of additional men ran down the ramp just as Will arrived. Two of them grabbed the Professor.
"Loose the lines," the captain of the airship yelled.
Two men ran fore and aft while the others arrayed themselves at the base of the ramp. (2/5) #wss366

As Will sprinted, he saw the looming bulk of a gray airship staked down in the landing field. A trio of figures approached the ramp: two taller men on either side and one shorter in between that hand-walked using arm-crutches. He heard a cry of alarm from the airship and the two taller figures spun and spotted him. He put on a desperate burst of speed. (1/5) #wss366

@floofpaldi I just wanted to express my thanks for your continued curation of PennedPossibilities for authors on mastodon. I really appreciate your commitment to keeping this going. Thank you!

Years ago, I wrote a brief post in #Esperanto, based on an article in English, about a "Russian student" who was involved in a protest. An editor from Russia, reading my post, commented that the student wasn't Russian because they had a Ukrainian name. The student was FROM Russia and had been BORN in Russia, but they weren't RUSSIAN, because Russia doesn't have birthright citizenship. A family can live for generations in Russia and not be Russian.

This is what Trump wants to do to America.

Content warning:The referenced article is probably false and AI generated. Sigh...

If you hadn't put together just how the US got the planning so wrong for the misguided war with Iran, it was because they used AI. https://houseofsaud.com/iran-war-ai-psychosis-sycophancy-rlhf/

I don't care how much it allows me to turn down my thermostat: I'm not getting a photothermal fabric skin graft.

EXTERMINATE!!!!

For the #TransDayOfVisibility, I invite you to read my steampunky fantasy adventure *Revin's Heart*, with pirates and airships and a #trans protagonist. https://waterdragonpublishing.com/product/revins-heart/

#Writephant A1. Games take many forms: card, board, tabletop, physical, mobile, video, etc. Do you play games? If so, what kind?

I'm not playing any games right now, but I've played all kinds of different games over the years. As a father, I tried to pick a game my kids were playing so I could play it along with them. I played Pokemon, Zelda, and the original Animal Crossing that way. We also designed some games. We set up a MUD together and created a card game called Doggy Mup Pack Attack.

Will had a good lead, but Grip was closing in when the way was barred by racks of drying fish. Grip skidded to a stop and was forced detour around. But, with the agility of an acrobat, Will sprang up and leapt from #rack to #rack, then resumed his headlong pelt toward the landing field. #wss366

#ScribesAndMakers Do birds ever feature in your work? Give an example.

In my newest book, *A Familiar Problem*, the protagonist is supposed to get a familiar, but doesn't want something "trite, like a cat, or stupid, like a bird." Instead, he ends up captured as the familiar of a demon who trains him up to enter him in an illegal familiar-fighting tournament.

Some other familiars are birds. They don't seem particularly stupid, in spite of the protagonist's prejudice. https://waterdragonpublishing.com/product/familiar-problem/

I'm being spotlighted by J. Scott Coatsworth today! https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com/author-spotlight-steven-d-brewer/

I posted a reflection on the #NoKings protest and the themes of my debut novel, *Revin's Heart*, which confronts issues of feudalism grounded in the experience of a trans protagonist. https://stevendbrewer.com/a-reflection-on-no-kings-and-revins-heart/

I wanted to recognize @ojensen for giving me the pin I wore to the #NoKings rally today: https://wandering.shop/@stevendbrewer/116308867251557435

Here's a close-up of the pin: https://wandering.shop/@stevendbrewer/114123316798895659

I took a #trans flag to the #NoKings rally in Amherst. #WesternMass

"They went toward the landing field," she said. "You might catch them. He doesn't go so fast."
"Thanks, Mama!" Will said. He turned and began to sprint down the veranda, past surprised guests, and then sprang over the rail. Grip took the stairs, losing seconds, but then followed apace. (3/3) #wss366

"Do you have a Professor Grexin here?"
She looked thoughtful.
"Did," she said. "He just checked out. He was with two other gentlemen."
Will felt a growing sense of #dread.
"He was supposed to be waiting for us. Did you see which way they went?" (2/3) #wss366