tjs_whatnot | Reading

I had to be to mom’s by 9am to relieve sister S. I did a load of laundry, baked chicken for the dogs’ meals, hand-washed some dishes, and scooped kitty litter before I left. I left ~6pm and by the time I got home I just did some more dishes and took a shower before I collapsed on the bed to relax.

I marathoned four eps of the new show Countdown with Jensen Ackles and attended a graduation party. (My sister S’s step-grandson.)

Temps started out at 72(F) and reached 97 according to Pip. I didn’t doubt it; it was so frelling hot out. We sat outside at the graduation party, but were saved by a slight breeze. I still felt gross and sweaty.

Mom Update:

Mom was tired again today and just had zero get-up-and-go. ( more back here )

kat_lair

***

Title: Year of the Cat
Author:

kat_lair
Fandom: Life of Mars
Pairing: Gene Hunt/Sam Tyler, Gene Hunt & Sam Tyler
Tags: Gen or Pre-Slash, Cats, Subtext
Rating: G
Word count: 2,111

Summary: Tyler,” Gene said, in tones that told Sam he’d already guessed the answer. “Did you adopt some flea-ridden moggy?”

Author notes: Written as a thank you for a beta

smallhobbit did for me! The title is borrowed from the song by Al Stewart published in 1976. It has the same dreamlike quality of getting lost 'where they turn back time' and feeling your life 'like a river running through' as the show. The setting of the song (Vietnam) is rather different from 1970s Manchester but the last two verses resonate strongly, just swap the pronouns...

"Well morning comes and you're still with her
And the bus and the tourists are gone
And you've thrown away your choice and lost your ticket
So you have to stay on
But the drumbeat strains of the night remain
In the rhythm of the new-born day
You know sometime you're bound to leave her
But for now you're going to stay" © Alistair Ian Stewart, Peter John Wood

Year of the Cat on AO3

( Year of the Cat )

***

arcanetrivia

Title: The Night After
Fandom: Monkey Island
Characters: Guybrush, OCs
Rating: General
Words: 2685
Summary: Set immediately after the end of The Secret of Monkey Island. Guybrush learns that the story of his exploits just might be an interesting tale to tell.
Notes: From this prompt: Your character is in a cafe and overhears a conversation. How does it make them feel? Does it change the way they think about something? Write that scene. I think this kinda went out of bounds from that? And certainly it didn't take me a day to write this as a warmup in the way it's intended, lol. Try more like several weeks. But whatever.

The Night After

delphi

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cornerofmadness

My cousins came today and stayed for like 6 hours so I am socialed out and my brain ain't coming up with witty writing stuff so I'm combining it with Sunshine challenge #2

Challenge #2

Tunnel of Love
Journaling: The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.
Creative: Write a love poem to anyone or anything you like

Now that I'm a college professor and not seeing patients any more, I have one thing I like about summer. I'm OFF WORK. Other than college sucks. Yeah I love to garden and swim but you can do both of that indoors and that's my preference. I'm heat intolerant. Summer literally makes me sick. Yeah I'm an autumn/winter kinda lady.

Yes I can appreciate all the good things that comes out of summer but yeah not really for me.

But I do have something about love written...or at least sex... have that story I wrote in a week 15K + here is chapter one. I'm proud of this one If Anything's Worth My Love, It's Worth a Fight It's Hazbin Hotel and it's naughty

Open Calls

Eldritch Prayers (Cthulhu Mythos Poetry Anthology)

Anomaly August 2025 Window science fiction stories under 300 words in length

Unseen Agreements Speculative stories that explore hidden bargains, mysterious contracts, and eerie agreements by Canadian authors

Dark Age Press August 2025 Window For Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Horror on the Range Horrifying Wild West Stories

Common Bonds 2 Stories that belong in the fantasy or science fiction genre, have a clear aromantic MC, & centers around a non-romantic relationship

Tractor Beam Volume 3 Speculative Fiction, Soilpunk (they're claiming to pay 1000$)

Ten Manuscript Publishers Open to Direct Submissions in July 2025

SQUID Online: Now Seeking Submissions.

22 Young Adult Publishers that Accept Unagented Submissions

From Around the web

How Authors Can Promote Books Using TikTok and Instagram

Juxtapositions Can Make Great Sentences

Generate Greater Book Profits in 4 Easy Steps

Gazingly (Lovingly) Into the Abyss—Introducing Horrormance, the New Genre-Blending Sensation so...apparently I've been reading and writing this without knowing it had a title

How to Subtitle Your Book to Encourage Sales

Story Development: The Overlooked Revision Opportunity.

Plot Holes? I Prefer to Call Them “Opportunities for Interpretation”

How Writers Can Stay Hopeful in a Tough Publishing Climate

From Betty

Constructing a Compelling Romance

Should Your Fantasy World Resemble Earth?

Adding Dance to Your Fictional Culture

The Gravity of a Single Word: Why Writers Must Choose with Care

Write Your Manuscript Like an Endurance Athlete Trains

The What Ifs of Building Believable Alternate History

How to Avoid Apostrophe Abuse

The Living, Breathing Novel

The Emotion Amplifier Playbook for Antagonists

Three Hidden Reasons Writers Procrastinate

How does a comp title help a self-published book’s marketing plan?

A Writer Can Rely on the Unreliable Narrator POV

Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: The Librarians

sarajayechan

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Current Mood: accomplished

kat_lair

***

YouTube algorithm threw this at me tonight and on this occasion the YouTube algorithm was bang on. This is, in fact, relevant to my interest. No, I've never heard of them until today. No, I did not know any of their names (I do now so A+ marketing). But what I do know is that this is the kind of soft queer pining vibe I'm absolutely into. And it's a bop.

Watch on YouTube

***

spikedluv

Countdown: I decided to give this show a try mainly because of Jensen Ackles. It's pretty good, though I don't think I'll get fannish about it. And so far I don't have any deep comments about it, but watching the first four eps was a good way to spend some time. ( spoilers )

profiterole_reads

Lui by CM Deiana (who used to write for the Yaoi France fanzine) was a lot of fun! During the Covid lockdown, Alexandre, a sociology student, meets Samuel, a delivery man.

I bought this novel through crowdfunding, so I got:
- 3 bonus chapters about various secondary characters
- 1 fanfic written by Auriane Velten (Ainsi soient-illes) and printed like a fanzine: it's an AU where Alex and Sam meet 25 years later, in a fascist France (we're sadly heading there, but I sure hope that it's not going to last that long)
- a few goodies

I love that the book is a little mixed-media, with illustrations of notebook pages between chapters.

There's major m/m, with Alex being demisexual and on the autism spectrum. The secondary characters mostly include gay men, but also two sapphics and an enby. There are a few POC, and Covid-related anti-Asian racism is tackled.

seleneheart

Challenge #2

Tunnel of Love
Journaling: The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.
Creative: Write a love poem to anyone or anything you like

I was born in the summer. Summer, to me, is always about freedom. I'm sure this sense is a result of being a student for the normal amount of years, and then being a public school teacher for 18 years. Summer means no alarm clock, no schedule, eating weird foods on a whim, watching thunderstorms roll in. Summer is the deep breath before the plunge into the energetic whirlwind of autumn. Even though I'm no longer teaching, I've turned my alarm off this summer because the sun comes up early enough here in the north that I wake up in plenty of time to get my day going.

When my parents lived in the Low Country, summer meant piling the kids in the car for a two-day road trip to their little island. Laying on the dock and watching the Milky Way wheel overhead. Sitting on my parents' screen porch having late, leisurely dinners, talking for hours, killing at least a bottle of wine, while the kids lazed around on the couches, post-dinner, exhausted from hours at the beach.

Before that, my parents lived in the mountains -the old hills crowned in glory, the Appalachians. Summers then, my childhood summers, meant wading in the creeks, catching crawdads, hiking to forgotten graveyards, scaring each other around campfires. Hours at the public pool, eating ourselves sick on candy and lounging on towels, before jumping in the cold water every so often to play Marco Polo or Red Rover. Or chicken fights when we were older, getting the boys we liked to pick us up. My parents sent us to summer camp - two weeks out of the summer that felt like ultimate freedom, doing things and experiencing things that no one who wasn't there could possibly understand.

I hated summer in Texas, but moving north has reminded me how much I love this season.

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Music: Getdown Services - Dog Dribble

spikedluv

I didn’t have mom duty until 10am, so I went downtown as usual. I hit Walmart, the Bakery, and Agway while I was there, and got in a walk around the park.

After I got home from downtown I tossed a load of what I call ‘dog sheets’ (the sheets I use to cover the furniture) into the washer, hand-washed some dishes, took the dogs for a short walk (I got in .85 mi today, which is good considering mom’s operation/hospitalization etc has really put a crimp in my ‘I can get to a mile this week’ *spoken in mocking tone* notion), and scooped kitty litter before I headed to mom’s.

I got home in time to make supper, so grilled chicken legs, hand-washed more dishes, dried the sheets, and took a shower.

I watched the current ep of Murderbot and finished the Amelia Peabody book. I also saw my first fawn! Sadly, it wasn’t one of ~our fawns, but a downtown fawn. (I’m always surprised how many deer live downtown! I see them crossing the road or people’s lawns all the time.) Mama and baby were crossing the road as I was heading home (and made it safely, even though baby was taking its sweet time). Baby was so tiny and adorable! All those spots!

Temps started out at 51.1(F) (what is with these cool temps?!!) and reached 91.0. In the shade.

Mom Update:

Mom was tired today. ( more back here )

minoanmiss

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Current Mood: hopeful

minoanmiss

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Current Mood: relaxed

cornerofmadness

the story that ate my brain. Hopefully tomorrow I can post chapter one.

I also got my first Arackniss pin. It's funny. The character isn't even canon (yet), just part of the background notes from years ago and everyone has a take on him. Me included. I was not expecting to have such fun with him but he's a blank slate. Now I'm actually dreading seeing Arackniss in actual canon.

Speaking of it, now Season 3 (S2 hasn't even aired yet) has had all its music leaked. It's such a shame. And I know some Hazbin fans will buy it. If there wasn't a market, people wouldn't steal this stuff.

I started editing through the new cryptid story. Had a panic attack when there was at least two scenes missing. Found it later and then some of it was duplicated. UGH HOW? But that's the good news. This story was very close to being way too long. It's not done but I didn't have much left to play with and the villain isn't even here yet.

Current Mood: hot
Current Music: Golden Girls

seleneheart

Dear Creator,

Thank you so much for making this gift for me!

My user name on AO3 is also Seleneheart.

DNW
-kid fic
-dumbing down characters to advance the plot
-sick fic
-unhappy endings, although I don't mind bittersweet
-first or second person POV
-A/B/O
-rape/non-con

Things that I like:
-fairy tale AU
-I have a competence kink, characters being extremely good at what they do
-friends to lovers
-enemies to battle brothers (and lovers obs)
-dark vibes
-magical realism in more modern fandoms
-past lives, souls connecting over time and space

soulandromance

update on my sims4 legacy save!!

Gen 3 - Sage: Clara's oldest daughter with Jordyn Landgraab is Sage. She has younger twin sisters, who are both spellcasters, but Sage became a Vampire after she aged up and had two kids. Jordyn Landgraab was hit by a meteor when Sage was a preteen and so Clara moved the family from Glimmerbrooke to Newcrest into a biggest house before Mackenzie and Bella both passed of old age. Sage married Lilith Vatore who was also the vampire to turn her. They have two daughters, one a vampire and one a human. I think the human daughter will be the next heir since I only want one vampire heir right now. Sage has the big vampire family aspiration because I want her to be a crazed vampire who turns a bunch of sims and eventually has to be stopped. I've been trying to get a "drink to death" mod working in my save so I can make her truly messed but, but I haven't gotten it working yet. I think the gen4 heir will have the writer aspiration and be a normal human and the gen5 will become a werewolf after having kids.

I've also been trying to keep the worlds populated because I've heard it gets sparse after generations and generations, and I want to keep some of the big families going.

sarajayechan

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Current Mood: calm

kingstoken

Challenge #2

Tunnel of Love
Journaling: The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.
Creative: Write a love poem to anyone or anything you like

Oh man neither one of these challenges was made for me. Summer is not my favourite season, that would be Autumn, I know very basic white woman of me. Plus, I grew up on a farm, so summer always meant work. I guess I do like how fast and easy it is to get dressed in the mornings, just throw on shorts and a t-shirt and you're good. I also love all the summer fruit we get this time of year, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, etc, yummy!

I'm not a person who really writes poetry anymore (I dabbled a little bit when I was teenager). I got nothing against it, I enjoy other people's poetry, it just not something I enjoy doing myself.

As recompense for my lack of creativity please accept his famous poem about Sherlock Holmes:

Watch on YouTube

sarajayechan

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Current Mood: calm

lightbird

Challenge #2

Tunnel of Love
Journaling: The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.
Creative: Write a love poem to anyone or anything you like

I'm not sure if I would categorize it as romance per se, but the one thing I love about summer in the northeast, where it's not warm year-round, is being able to go to an outdoor pool. I swim laps in an indoor pool, both in summer and the off-season, but I love being able to sit at an outdoor pool and read and relax. I joined a gym out where my mom lives several years ago, anticipating that I would need to move in with her, or at least stay with her for long periods, to help her out. The gym has both an indoor and an outdoor pool, and the outdoor pool deck is one of my favorite places in the world, and something I don't have in the city. The members are a mix of families with young kids, families with older kids, young couples without kids yet, and seniors, and it's fun to watch the kids play in the fountain in the family pool. It's surrounded by trees, and it's really just a lovely place to be when the weather is nice. It's definitely one of my top enjoyments in life.

As for the creative side of the challenge, I've never been much of a poet. So instead I'm going to share some summer-themed haikus by Bashō:

In bright summer moon,
and with softly clapping hands,
I herald the dawn.

Summer in the world
floating on little waves
of shimmering lake.

Orchid is breathing
its pungent incense into
a butterfly's wings.

Previous Days
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The Whatnot of TJ

Whatnot Happens

The Day in Spikedluv (Sunday, July 6)

Julé! 07/31 - LoM Fic: Year of the Cat

fic: The Night After (Monkey Island, G)

Six Sentence Sunday

A Sunshiny writerly ways

Fannish 50 #28

Julé! 06/31

TV Talk: Countdown (eps 1.01-1.04)

Lui by CM Deiana

Sunshine Revival Challenge #2

The Day in Spikedluv (Saturday, July 5)

This is probably utterly hubristic of me

Three Day Weekends Woot Woot

well I finished it

Letter for RareMaleSlash Creator

sims4 legacy challange update 2

doing this again

Sunshine Revival Challenge #2

Sunshine Revival #2

sunshine_revival Challenge #2

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