#it's a start

[summerwages]

Jupiter with red fox dancing...

[theskee]

here's a small preview

of a fic i've been working on. i'm thinking a 5 +1 as I've never actually done one before. I had that noodle about Lucanis sleepwalking into Emmrich's room a bunch and it wouldn't leave me alone. SO! Here, have a rough-draft taste. --

The first thing Lucanis takes note of, is the cold and earthy scent in the air, faintly spiced with incense, like the sort of thing one might light in remembrance of a happier time. Faint notes of tea-leaves and old paper. Rich vellum, a lingering hint of dust. The air is warm. He feels the heat of sunlight across his body. Sunlight that he shouldn’t be feeling at all if he were still safely tucked away in the pantry. His back is stiff and one of his hands has gone numb for how he’s laid upon it. His face is buried in feather-down pillows. The mattress beneath him is firm but not the hard and unforgiving sling of a threadbare pad on a cot. Even without opening his eyes, Lucanis knows he’s not where he’s supposed to be.

Thus, the panic that grips him sees him shooting up from the bedding with a sharp inhale, from barely conscious to fully alert in the span of a heartbeat. He’s upright, on his knees on the bed, hands held up to defend himself while he wobbles to maintain his balance, eyes wildly darting to take in his surroundings. Shelves upon shelves of books, a spiral staircase beyond the view of a gauzy canopy hanging around a four-poster bed. A balcony that spills bright, forever sunset (or is it sunrise?) across the floor, through the gaps, lighting his surroundings.

Most notably, the face of a very startled necromancer at the landing.

Emmrich?

He’s… In Emmrich’s room?

There is a beat of silence in which they merely look at one another, Emmrich’s hands clasped around a book and a bottle. He’s undone. Vulnerable. Vest left somewhere else, collar pin put away, shirt unbuttoned enough to expose throat and clavicle, decorated with further grave gold that drapes against his skin and catches the light from outside. And Lucanis is here to witness it.

Recognition slowly dawns on him as Emmrich recovers and takes a cautious final step up off the staircase and strides closer to the bed, though Lucanis notes the semi-circular path he takes that allows Lucanis a wide birth.

“Welcome back,” Emmrich says, with his usual, jovial pleasantness, as if nothing is amiss, when something clearly is. Lucanis’ muscles burn with the rigidity of readiness as he takes stock of himself. Spite. He’s been sleep walking again. But here? His bewilderment must read on his face, plain for Emmrich to see. The necromancer makes his way toward the small bedside table and sets down both bottle and book, drawing himself up to his full height while pressing his palms together in front of him.

His poise is strangely settling. Lucanis lowers his hands and sinks to sit on his heels, looking around once more. As strange as it all is, the strangest thing yet, is realizing Emmrich has a bed. He’s been in these rooms before and never seen it. Where… Does he keep it? Lucanis winces, rubbing a hand against his brow, working at the gathering headache there that pulls nerves and blood vessels taut. Caffeine will help. He must have been out for… a while.

“I’m sure you have questions, but it feels most pertinent to say, everything is perfectly fine. Spite sought me out to ask after Manfred and I thought it better to keep you both here under some manner of supervision. I… assumed you’d rather be contained than left to wander around without your knowledge.” Sensitive subject matter. Emmrich is making an effort not to be offensive or upsetting, and Lucanis can tell. It’s—mostly appreciated.

“He didn’t… Hurt you? Break anything?” Lucanis asks slowly, carefully, eyes darting over the length of Emmrich’s long frame before him, looking for any signs of damage.

“Not at all. He was quite content to sit in on one of Manfred’s reading lessons and have a cup of tea. Which he wasn’t very fond of, I might add. I had wondered if that was your own preferences bleeding through, given the nature of—” Emmrich stops himself, a wince, glancing away toward the balcony, hands wringing together as he lets out a breath of a nervous laugh, bowing his head in contrition. “Apologies.”

No fear. No irritation. Lucanis doesn’t understand it. Not really. Emmrich should be more cautious around the demon, yet as ever, he treats Spite with a similar, if not identical regard to how he treats Manfred. Lucanis’ skin prickles with goosebumps. It’s unnerving. He slowly rises from the bed, eyes briefly sliding to the bottle and book. A vintage port and an Antivan Tragedy. He feels the dent of a furrow form between his own brows and it stabs at his skull like an ice pick. He cards his fingers back through his hair, squeezing a handful at the base of his own skull, tugging the roots, trying to lesson the tension he feels.

“No need, Emmrich. I’m the one who should apologize. I’ll try to be… more. Careful. About Spite.” He can’t bring himself to look the necromancer in the eye, but in his periphery he sees what looks like a deflation. Emmrich’s spine sags, one hip cocking to the side as he relaxes his posture. His voice carries a tone of concerned disappointment.

“I’m here to help, if ever you need, Lucanis.”

Lucanis inhales deeply and lets it out slow through pursed lips.

“I know.”

And then he takes a swift exit, shame nipping at his heels for such a blatant loss of control that could have cost the team dearly. He locks himself up in the pantry and tries to stay awake.

[fruit-and-flesh]

Anton drawing practice, cause i only know how to draw twinks

[dramatictrajectory]

That awkward mating dance...

[acesspacee]

Update

I acc ended up going to da library...yippee!!Which i am very proud of

However, I ended up being so tired i fell asleep in the library self..‎꜀( ꜆-ࡇ-)꜆...it's a start!

[psi-hate]

rate my setup

[naomiknight-17]

Day One of Pekoe's exposure therapy

She hid under the bed in the guest room, so I chilled on the bed and talked to her gently. Figured it would be a few days before she was brave enough to come out

But after 30 minutes or so, she slunk out from under the bed and trotted over to the game room where Duck was chillin.

I sat up just now and she retreated to Duck's bedroom across the hall

See the lump?

That's Pekoe

[coochiequeens]

Good news for Women’s sports!

By WDTV News Staff Published: May. 2, 2024

CLARKSBURG, W.Va (WDTV) - Judge Thomas A. Bedell has granted a preliminary injunction, allowing the four students who sued the Harrison County Board of Education to continue playing after their protest on April 18th.

The ruling came after more than three hours of testimony from school officials, a parent, and two of the five girls who participated in the protest.

Judge Bedell addressed the court to specify this hearing was not addressing the issue of transgender athletes in sports. Instead, it was focused on whether there was a violation of due process and if the school prohibited free speech.

Much of the plaintiffs’ case hinged on whether an unwritten rule could be enforced. According to Lincoln Middle School Track Coach Dawn Riestenberg, she adopted the “scratch rule” four years ago, one year after taking on coaching the team.

According to Riestenberg, if a student opted out of participating in an event voluntarily, they wouldn’t be allowed to compete in that same event at the next meet. Importantly, that rule was never written down, nor given to the student athletes in writing.

Instead, Riestenberg testified that she tells the student athletes of her scratch rule at the beginning of the season. The two students testifying disputed that claim.

A lawyer with the Harrison County Board of Education claimed that the students’ free speech rights were not infringed upon by following the scratch rule. Multiple people testified that there were other forms of protesting the issue of transgender athletes in sports throughout the season.

Riestenberg, LMS Principal Lori Scott, and a student all testified that multiple students wore “SWS” shirts -- short for “save women’s sports” -- at meets and were not reprimanded. They only reason, the BOE’s lawyer argued, that the students were not allowed to participate in the next meet was because they violated their coach’s scratch rule.

In the end, Judge Bedell said that both sides made good points, but was going to grant the plaintiff’s preliminary injunction motion.

That means the students will be allowed to compete in their next (and final) two matches of the season, regardless of whether they protest by violating Coach Riestenberg’s scratch rule.

All parties agreed that should the scratch rule want to be enforced in the future, it would need to be in writing.

Riestenberg and Scott committed to making that happen for next season.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey issued the following response on Judge Bedell’s ruling.

“I want to say to these students and their parents: I have your backs. You saw unfairness and you expressed your disappointment and sacrificed your personal performances in a sport that you love; exercised your constitutionally protected freedom of speech and expression. These girls didn’t disrupt anything when they protested. They should be commended, not punished. We need to teach them that it is noble to stand firm in their beliefs and address their grievances within the protections guaranteed by our constitution. They need not to be silent. They have won by having their voices heard. So glad we were able to weigh in on behalf of these courageous young girls and that they are able to play.”

[sollyinpurplepants]

Did my first piece for Mermay 2024!

[hekate1308]

I CAN GO A FEW STEPS WITHOUT MY WALKER

[beardedmrbean]

Ukraine has agreed to a US proposal for a 30-day cease-fire in the war against Russia, and the United States will lift the suspension of military aid, officials and a joint statement published by Kyiv said after more than nine hours of talks in Saudi Arabia.

The talks in Jeddah on March 11 followed a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack that struck the Moscow region and other Russian provinces overnight, killing three people.

They came 10 days after a contentious White House meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

That meeting inflamed relations between the two countries following Trump’s refusal to include any security guarantees in a potential deal for the joint development of Ukrainian mineral and energy resources. In the aftermath, Washington paused military aid to Ukraine and restricted intelligence-sharing on the battlefield.

Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak, who is leading the Ukrainian delegation, called the talks a "work in progress" during a pause after more than four hours of discussions. US national-security adviser Mike Waltz said "we're getting there" when a reporter asked him how the negotiations were going as he left the meeting room.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha described what he called a "constructive atmosphere" at the talks.

Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne cited an unnamed official as saying the discussions before the break focused on the potential minerals deal and Ukraine's proposal for a cease-fire at sea and in the skies. The talks resumed and continued into the evening following the break.

As the US and Ukrainian teams began the talks, an op-ed published in the Guardian newspaper by Yermak proclaimed that "a cease-fire in the three-year war the Russian Federation has waged on my country has never seemed closer."

He added that "a cease-fire in Ukraine will not come through diplomatic gestures alone," and that "this includes putting political and financial pressure on Russia to raise the cost of renewed conflict."

Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, told RFE/RL that the meeting should be seen as a "first step toward improving relations between the new Trump administration and Ukraine" and a "direct meeting" between Zelenskyy and Trump.

"I expect that we will hear from our American friends whether there is any strategy from Trump regarding Ukraine, regarding how to stop Russian aggression," he said. "Because the latest statements of President Trump, they raise a lot of questions."

Whether the United States is prepared to restore aid and intelligence sharing following the talks remains to be seen. Ahead of the meeting, Trump said that his administration had “just about” ended its suspension of sharing intelligence with Ukraine.

John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, said that restoring intelligence cooperation should be seen as a positive result for Kyiv.

“If it's lifted after the talks, that’s a good thing,” Herbst told RFE/RL. “If it's not lifted, that's a sign that the Trump policy of pressuring Ukraine will continue.”

What Does The US Want To Achieve At The Talks With Ukraine?

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is chairing the US negotiating team, said the talks would be focused on understanding what Ukraine would be prepared to concede in a peace deal and reiterated that Ukraine would have to make concessions over territory that Russia currently occupies as part of any agreement to end the war.

“The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way, shape or form,” Rubio told reporters on March 10 as he flew to Jeddah.

Beyond those broad aims, few details about the meeting have been made public. Rubio declined to offer what an outline for a potential agreement would look like, and the State Department declined to comment on whether signing the minerals deal and restoring intelligence sharing would be discussed in Jeddah.

“The only way this war ends is if both Russia and Ukraine come to a negotiating table, and both Russia and Ukraine will have to make tough decisions,” a State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL. “Participation in negotiations will quickly make it apparent if both parties are serious about peace.”

Rubio stated that concessions by Kyiv and Moscow would be central to diplomacy and that future talks with Russia will be required to determine what the Kremlin is willing to concede. Trump has also said that Russia would have to make concessions, but US officials have said little about what those might be.

“We don’t know how far apart they truly are,” Rubio said.

What Is On The Negotiating Table In Saudi Arabia?

In the meantime, the immediate US focus is on Ukraine and what Kyiv would be willing to accept as part of a peace deal.

Ahead of the talks, Ukrainian negotiators said they are prepared to accept a partial cease-fire in which Ukraine and Russia would refrain from long-range drone and missile strikes, attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure, and military activities in the Black Sea. Fighting on the battlefield, however, could still continue.

The overnight Ukrainian drone attack served as a display of Kyiv's capabilities in the air.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said that it had no doubt the "barbaric attack" was planned in connection with the US-Ukraine talks, and that the blame lies on countries that continue to "pump Kyiv's ruling clique with lethal weapons."

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, did not attend the talks but is involved in the White House's push to end the war.

Last week, he said that he hoped discussions would include a “framework” for a potential cease-fire and peace deal during the talks. Witkoff will also reportedly travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this week.

Other issues that have been floated include territorial concessions by Ukraine, reaching a cease-fire, and potentially holding elections in Ukraine.

Ukrainian opposition leaders recently said they were against the possibility of wartime elections in the country after media reports suggested US officials had approached them about the idea amid pressure from the Trump administration for Ukraine to hold elections in the event of a cease-fire or peace deal, or possibly earlier.

Zelenskyy also has repeatedly talked about the importance of exchanging hostages, and of his demand for Russia to return abducted Ukrainian children.

Herbst said sequencing in future negotiations will be crucial. While an early cease-fire can be key part of a future peace process, he stresses that it's important that it be followed by further steps toward a lasting peace deal, such as continued military shipments to Ukraine, a potential demilitarized zone, and a greater role for European countries, including their forces deployed as peacekeepers.

“These are all serious ideas that have been floated,” Herbst said. “That might not be a just peace, because a just peace wouldn’t see Ukraine have to concede territory, but it could still be a durable one that makes it very hard for Russia to renew aggression.”

Speaking to reporters in Kosovo on March 11, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he did not want to discuss details of a potential cease-fire or peace deal.

"I'm very positive about the fact that President Trump broke the deadlock, that the discussion is now ongoing, of course, and I know that President Zelenskyy is very much willing both to sign the rare earth deal as well as to positively engage in the peace talks," Rutte said.

What Role Will Russia And Europe Play In Peace Talks?

As Ukrainian and US officials gauge each other on what is possible for future peace talks, attention is also shifting to the other two players that will decide how the war ends: Russia and Kyiv’s European allies.

With the meeting in Jeddah under way, top military officials from more than 30 nations met in Paris on March 11 for talks on the creation of an international security force for Ukraine.

The force is being envisaged by Britain and France. Its aim is to reassure Ukraine and deter another large-scale Russian offensive after any cease-fire. The force might include heavy weaponry and weapons stockpiles that could be rushed within hours or days to aid in Ukraine’s defense.

Russia has so far said it is against accepting European troops in Ukraine as part of a deal.

The Kremlin has also spoken about getting Western sanctions lifted on its economy as part of a peace process, including in Saudi Arabia where US and Russian officials held talks nearly a month ago.

Marie Dumoulin, a former French diplomat and an analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations, says that this gives European governments some leverage when the dust settles from the talks in Jeddah.

She said that doubts remain in European capitals about whether Russia is willing to make any concessions of its own and that Europe can use both its own offer of security guarantees to Ukraine and the possibility of lifting European Union sanctions on Russia as a way to shape discussions in both Moscow and Washington.

“This gives Ukraine a few more cards to hold at the table,” Dumoulin told RFE/RL. “These can give Ukraine some room to say whether the deal being offered to them is good enough yet or not.”

[swan2swan]

THE PIRATES FIRED DEREK SHELTON.

THANK YOU.

Now, were there any other relevant staffing changes in the world today?

[tockamybeloved]

Xu Haiqiao as Shen Jinghong, Legend of Zhuohua

(sketch as I am still learning digital art)

[nerdfins]

So what's the first thing I sketch to test my replacement tablet? The valve and spike of some anonymous Cybertronian.

See the uncensored version on Pillowfort: https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/5047007