#i can't have any other work done until my last two are fixed at least

[acidheaddd]

Had a really bad day today, so thank you guys for the replies, likes, and reblogs. I do appreciate it.

I have a favour to ask as I'm in desperate need of money to fix two of my front teeth before I lose them -- if you are at all interested in tarot, spell bottles, crystals, anything like that, let me know. I do readings, I make bottles on my etsy shop (that I need to restock), and I have loads of crystals to sell.

And if you aren't interested in any of that, but are willing and able to help, you can always send me some donations to my paypal at @Haley999

I'd rather at least send you something in return, but. I'd appreciate any amount. I have a crown I need to get, which I MIGHT be able to get the insurance to cover, but I have two other teeth literally rotting that need to be handled soon or else I'll lose them -- they'll either have to be pulled or they will crumble and fall out as I had happen with another tooth that has since been fixed. Each tooth costs $300, so it'll be $600 total. I'll reblog this with a link to my etsy once I get things restocked.

[roo-bi-unrestricted]

ɴ.ɴ.ɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ...

ʙʟɪᴛᴢᴏ , ᴍᴏxxɪᴇ , ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴛʀɪᴋᴇʀ

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢꜱ : ʙʟɪᴛᴢᴏ / ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ , ᴍᴏxxɪᴇ / ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ , ꜱᴛʀɪᴋᴇʀ / ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴄᴀᴛᴇɢᴏʀʏ : ꜱᴍᴜᴛ

ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴏꜰ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ : ɢᴇɴᴅᴇʀ ɴᴇᴜᴛʀᴀʟ

ᴛʏᴘᴇ : ᴍɪɴɪ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ [2] [3]

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ : 1,453 ᴡᴏʀᴅꜱ

ʙʟɪᴛᴢᴏ

At first, Blitzo started to think that you were joking about this ' challenge ' that you had stumbled upon up in the human realm. Since Blitzo loved a good challenge, he couldn't help himself from participating.

" No Nut November? " Blitzo snickers before continuing, " Who do you think I am, ( Name )? I can last more than a month without cumming. Hell, I could even last a whole year if I really wanted to. "

I could imagine him boasting to you about how he's going to win the challenge and how easy it is for him to not cum, but not even a week in, he's struggling a bit. It doesn't make it any better how you accidentally tease him.

He can't even stare at you for too long. Seeing you come back into the I.M.P building, covered in blood with your uniform clinging to your skin, Blitzo immediately looks away from you and takes a deep breath.

He tries not to be obvious about it, but whenever you walk past him or sit next to him, he would have to move a little further from you. Blitzo even has to temporarily cancel his agreement with Stolas to avoid the prince from seducing him.

Stolas doesn't make his situation any better, either. He will send Blitzo erotic pictures and voice messages of him. It's a struggle to not jerk off to the prince and a huge challenge for Blitzo when Stolas starts to call him.

With Blitzo being a week in, he fails. He called you into his office and straight up told you to give him a blowjob. You could see his raging erection through his pants, and while you would have normally said yes, you turn him down.

The imp begins to beg you to do something to him. Anything. He was a complete wreck by the time you got to the office. You do end up reliving the poor thing, but not with the way he would want.

You give him a handjob.

You make sure to take your sweet time as you jerk him off, hearing him growling and mumbling underneath his breath, demanding you to go faster.

By the end of it, he came on his desk, staining his paperwork and making a mess. When you were finished, Blitzo quickly pulled you up onto his lap. You could hear his strangled and harsh breaths against your neck.

Fuck, you could even feel his cock right up against your ass.

" You aren't going anywhere until you help me fix this mess. I don't give a fuck if the others hear us or if they come in. You started this, now help me clean it up. "

ᴍᴏxxɪᴇ

The idea of N.N.N. came to Moxxie because of Millie. The two of you had been planning to do this to Moxxie for a while now. When telling him about the challenge, he was extremely flustered. Was this going to mess up with his work, and was it going to make him lose time on the tasks assigned to him by Blitzo?

" Millie, ( Name ) I don't know if we- I can do this.. This ' challenge ' sounds concerning, to say the least. It is too much of a risk for us to do so, and we would be wasting time. "

" Aww, come on, Moxxie!" Me and ( Name ) had been waiting for the perfect moment to try this out, and now we got the opportunity. Come on, let's just try it at least once. "

Moxxie sighs, rubbing the side of his face. He had been thinking about it. He sighs, " Alright... I'll do it. "

" Oh my goodness, yes! Thank you, Moxxie!~ " Millie gives a small kiss to Moxxie's cheek, causing the white-haired Imp to blush slightly. You give the imp couple both a kiss on the cheek before going back to the work that Loona forgot to do.

The challenge wasn't that hard for Moxxie.. well, until his boss started to make lewd comments around him, trying to make him slip up.

Millie teased him a bit, but not that much. She would always whisper what she was going to do to him once the day was done, and it was driving him insane.

" Damn, Moxxie. Is that a boner or are you happy to see me? "

Moxxie looks down at his crotch to see that he was getting a boner from just the thought of his wives. He quickly gets up and bolts into the bathroom, hearing Blitzo burst out into laughter.

While you on the other hand, would sometimes walk past him, letting your tail brush against his leg, and sometimes, letting your hand trail down his inner thigh, making the poor imp flustered as hell.

You would also tell him what you and Millie are going to do to him, which would only make his erection more visible. Moxxie is able to keep his composure and beat the challenge. Millie was quick to take you and Moxxie to bed.

When she finally got her hands on him, she had him pinned against the wall, giving him a few hickeys here and there. She takes him to bed and strips him, and the both of you begin to pleasure him.

Millie explained to him that he was going to get a huge reward for being such a good boy. Moxxie, who currently had a hard-on and was horny as hell, wanted his 'reward' as soon as possible. Seeing the two of you with two large strap-ons really does something to him.

" Fuck.. Please, I want to feel the two of you inside of me. Please, let me have my reward. "

ꜱᴛʀɪᴋᴇʀ

Asking Striker about participating in N.N.N was easy enough. He seemed a little confused by its concept at first but quickly agreed to do it. He even teased you a bit, never expecting you to suggest something so lewd and scandalous

" You want me to not get off to nothin' for a whole month? " He asked you, " Ya know what that means, right? That means you won't be allowed to get me off neither. " Striker has a grin of his face as he saw your face heat up with embarrassment.

" Well yeah, I guess... Sure.. " You grumble before going back to what you were doing. Striker knew that you were going to tap out long before he would. This was going to be fun... for him at least.

The challenge was easy for him. All he had to do was bury himself in a fuck-ton of work, assassinating, and not let his mind wander off. If it did, he'd just think about his job and nothing else.

You, on the other hand, weren't fairing too well. You weren't used to having to deny yourself from your lovers' touch. So when Striker would brush against you or give you a kiss, it made you hot and bothered. You missed him.

Even though he was there with you every day, he was working his ass off to avoid getting aroused. And he did a pretty good job of it. You, on the other hand, didn't. You had no idea how you were going to last a whole month without sex.

As sad as it sounded, you did your best to pleasure yourself without him catching you. When he would go off to work you'd sneak away into the bedroom and fuck yourself with the dildos he gave you. You even got the one with his cum still on it, you were that desperate.

He noticed you acting more needy lately. Striker wasn't stupid. He knew what you were doing while he was gone. He wanted to catch you in the act.

His schedule was empty, so instead, he was going to sit back and let you do the work. You were already in your shared bedroom, laying on the bed.

Striker had come into the room to see you with your legs spread wide and a dildo shoved inside of you. You didn't even realize that he was in the room, too lost in your lust. The loud sequencing noise echoes and merges with your soft moans.

" Well, well. What do we have here?" He smirked, " I wonder where this came from? " Striker chuckled as he made his way over to you, causing you to jolt up in surprise. Before you could even cover yourself up, Striker had pounced on top of you and pinned you down onto the bed.

" Couldn't wait a month without me having a bit of fun?" Striker cooed as his tail snaked its way over to your discarded sex toy, " Maybe I should punish you for breaking our little deal. " He chuckled, pulling the toy from out of you.

" You'll like that, won't ya? "

[blouisparadise]

Today we have a rec list of bottom Louis fics where Louis and/or Harry have popular jobs such as firefighter, flight attendance, florist, and mechanic. Since we get requests for rec lists with these particular jobs often, we decided to compile them into one list. We're marked each fic according to which job it features. If you enjoy our rec lists, please be sure to like and reblog the post to help spread the word. Happy reading!

1) December | Not Rated | 1,924 words | 💐

Magic happens here, in December.

2) Pilot | Teen & Up | 5,279 words | ✈️

“We have fifteen minutes.” Harry glanced down at the watch on his wrist. “How fast do you think my tongue can make you come?” Still against the wall, Louis felt a shiver run from the back of his neck down his spine. In three years walking on moving planes, he’d never had such zero control over his legs. At least not until now.

3) Your Apathy’s Like A Wound In Salt | Explicit | 5,312 words | 🛠️

“What a fucking ass!” Louis shifts his body so he’s completely facing away from the scene. “I asked him last night to fix my car and he said he would accept a payment in the form of me sucking his dick. I guess he’s really desperate, I can’t believe him.” Louis rolls his eyes, finishing off his drink in one go. Niall shakes his head and shrugs, “I told you to ask any other mechanic in town but you didn’t listen to me.” “Well, I didn’t think he would fucking say that now did I, Niall?” “Louis,” Paige rests a manicured hand on his shoulder, “So, you’re saying you still wouldn’t hit it?” “My ex?” She nods. “Yeah, I’d still hit that. Except this time it would be with a car or a baseball bat.” Suddenly, Niall spits out his beer all over the table as Paige bursts out laughing. “Fucking ruthless, you are.” Niall runs a hand through his styled hair.

4) Oil and Lube | Explicit | 5,552 words | 🛠️

The one where Harry's a car mechanic and Louis' engine can't seem to stop revving around him.

5) A Place To Call Home | Mature | 8,113 words | 💐

The thing is, he’s pretty sure he’s found home in a person in his life, someone who’s been essential in everything he’s done since he was seven years old. Through every broken bone, through every breakup, through every failure; through every triumph, personal and professional, and every goal he has scored in his time in Man U, there’s been someone there for it all.  That’s his best mate. Harry. A twenty-two year old with the kindest heart known to man, a slow drawl that is entirely too endearing, with the dreams to open up his own flower shop. A quiet and earnest boy with those he doesn’t know, and open and honest and absolutely lovely with those he loves.  It all hits him, really, the night of their final game of the Premier League. Again, timing is not his forté. They’re gearing up, ready to hit the field for the second half against Liverpool that determines their ranking in the League, when his brain decides to come online (after seventeen years, apparently), and conveniently supply him with the revelation that oh yeah, you’re kind of in love with your best friend.

6) If This Room Was Burning | Explicit | 8,629 words | 🔥

Where Louis’ cat gets stuck on the roof and Harry is the firefighter who ends up saving her.

7) Decorated Emergency | Not Rated | 10,359 words | 🔥

So what if they kissed once. It was the end of a shift that had seemed to drag on for twelve days instead of twelve hours. Their doctor was slow and felt the need to transfer every single patient, putting more work on every member of staff. Harry was stressed. Louis was the one who crowded him up against the door in the break room. It was Louis' fault, he was always pulling shit.

8) Taking The Long Way Home | Mature | 12,499 words | 🛠️

Coming home from the beach, Louis' car breaks down and he has to call mechanic Harry.

9) Bloom | Explicit | 24,887 words | 💐

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Harry tucks the flower into the top pocket of Louis’ jacket, patting over his heart just once. “What is it?” Louis asks, eyeing the sunny little yellow flower, a bit like a buttercup, “It’s lovely.” Harry pushes a piece of hair behind his ear and smiles, “It’s a primrose. I got them in this morning, reminded me of you.”

10) A Trail Of Honey Through It All | Explicit | 27,083 words | 🛠️

The boy in front of him, well really, the man in front of him, was like something out of a confusing wet dream. Built, tall, tan and muscular, his skin glistened with sweat after a long day of working outdoors with his hands. He was wearing a cut up old American football shirt, the bottom hem was torn and the sleeves were cut off to the point where the t-shirt was really just a loose tank top. The shorts he had on had clearly been full length jeans at one point, and were now just crudely cut off above the knee. His white socks were pulled up too high on his calves, and the brown work boots he had on were old as fuck, the leather peeling along the edges of the soles. Curly brown hair stuck out from the edges of his backwards snapback, and there was a smudge of grease wiped along his brow bone. The smattering of hair along his jaw proved that he hadn’t shaved in a week or two, the hair growing in thicker across his upper lip and around his chin. His sinfully bowed mouth was pink and plump, and Louis was suddenly hyper-focused on the way that he chewed at the toothpick stuck between his lips. He looked like he needed a shower. Louis wanted to lick him.

11) A Hungry Heart | Explicit | 27,601 words | 💐

Harry Styles, florist and Great British Bake Off contestant, loves many things. He loves his flower shop, he loves baking, and there’s also that little crush he has on pop star Louis Tomlinson. But when Louis arrives on set as the surprise guest judge, Harry’s worlds collide. Throw in a cup of cuteness, a teaspoon of teasing, and a pinch of pining, and there’s all the ingredients for an epic love story, or absolute chaos.

12) Tangled Up And Blue | Explicit | 30,159 words | 🛠️

Kai just shakes his head, making his way down the small batch of stairs with a hop in his step. “Have fun on your weird adult date.” Harry sighs. “It’s not a date.” “Dad, you already have him in your bed most nights,” Kai sings, walking backwards towards Louis’ car with an insufferable smirk on his face. “It’s not looking too good for you,” he shrugs, hands curled around the straps of his backpack.

13) You Wish I Was Yours And I Hope That You’re Mine | Not Rated | 31,259 words | 💐

“What did you wish for?” Harry blushes, “If I tell you it won’t come true…” Louis sits straight again, a cute little determined look forming on his face, “I wished that a certain curly ‘aired boy would take me on more dates because I ‘ad such a good time on this one. And that’s going to come true, isn’t it?” “Of course,” Harry nearly splutters. “Yeah, yeah definitely.” “See?” Louis grins smugly. “Now I told you mine and it’s still going to come true, so will you tell me yours?” Their wishes were different though, because whereas Louis’ wish was cute and endearing, Harry found his own wish rather embarrassing. But he can’t lie to Louis, nor can he say no to Louis, so he sucks in a shaky breath of air before he speaks softly, “I wished that I was brave enough to kiss you…”

14) Stay Until Tomorrow | Explicit | 36,766 words | 🛠️

There’s a dull ache seeping through Louis’ body as he wakes up; a mild headache from last night’s alcohol intake, a cramp in his right arm from sleeping on it weird and a familiar soreness between his arse cheeks that Louis fully blames on his lousy one night stand.

15) One Heart Broke, Four Hands Bloody | Explicit | 47,429 words | 💐

Louis’ life is really fucking dull until one day he happens upon the scene of a crime, as said crime is happening. A murderer with big hands and a charming smile somehow manages to change his life for the better.

16) Once Burnt, Twice Shy | Explicit | 52,644 words | 🔥

Louis and Harry are polar opposites in every way. Where Louis is a bestselling author from the city, Harry is a small-town firefighter who’s never left his home. Where Louis is spontaneous and spirited, Harry is introverted and calm, never straying from routine. When an ill-fated accident and an exceptionally intelligent tabby bring them together, they are forced to confront their pasts and forge a better beginning for themselves. Will sparks fly, or will it all go up in flames?

17) No Going Back | Explicit | 56,102 words | 🛠️

Sales reps Harry and Louis are bored with their jobs and their lives. After meeting at a conference in Cardiff they hook up, have a few too many drinks, and jokingly apply to become remote lighthouse keepers. Six months, just the two of them, looking after the southernmost lighthouse off the bottom of Australia. It’s not like their applications will be accepted. Right? This is the story of how one choice - a left instead of a right, a go instead of a stop, a yes instead of a no - can change the future forever and that sometimes, taking that leap of faith, is worth the risk.

18) Between The Sand and Stars | Explicit | 63,128 words | ✈️

When an earthquake strands flight attendant Louis Tomlinson on a tropical island, he’s got paradise at his fingertips - miles of sunny beaches, immersion in vibrant culture, and a beautiful seaside mansion to enjoy. Unfortunately, it belongs to the egotistical musician Harry Styles, whose incorrigible management can do little to hinder his playboy complex. Despite Louis and Harry’s abhorrent first impression, contrasting backgrounds, and tendency to bicker every time they speak, who says opposites can’t attract? Them, of course, because they hate each other … right?

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[chaifootsteps]

I was trying to think how to recommend watching the show to someone who might have only seen s1 and figured recommending skipping some episodes of s2 might be the best way, but then I noticed something

when I was trying to pin down which episodes of s2 I think are genuinely good to still watch I kinda realized there isn't any?

like even the episodes I think are the 'best' written (as in they're the least frustrating, no Stolas in them obvs) are still rife with plot holes or jokes that don't land

like exes and ohs felt like the last gasp of the old show and even that episodes has Crimson's nonsense marriage plan that doesn't make a lick of sense. it underutilizes Millie to the point it feels like the writers are just being blatant about how little she matters now. it has the unfunny dildos in the wall joke.

and that's the best episode of s2 as far as I'm concerned. the only other one that's relatively not completely sucky is the midseason musical whatever and that's still pretty bland and has a Fizz who feels nothing like his s1 self in it.

even the shorts have plot holes and issues, despite being the closest to the show's original premise (and not featuring Stolas)

like taken as a whole the entire season is just garbage. Ghostfuckers I think is going to be more mid with a potentially very awful suicidality plot point. I think there's a chance the Millie bit is going to be secondary in awfulness to what they do with Blitzo if my hunch is right that they're going to make Tilla appear just as a means to give him catharsis so he can do the thing the show thinks will 'fix' him - get together with Stolas

I'm not sure how the last two are going to play out but there's near 100% going to be Via leaving Stolas for the stupidest reasons the show can conjure up so he can look like he's in the right, again.

the only thing that might be worthwhile from the remaining three episodes is if Stolas realizes he's done wrong and actually apologizes, and faces consequences for being the suckiest Goetia royal ever. but even then I expect the show to tie itself into a pretzel to find a way to minimize what he did or blame Blitzo for some of his misfortune, as if it was his fault Stolas never once said 'I can't talk about this right now, I'm spending time with my daughter/working/actually being a capable adult for once'

the only other thing I'd want from the season 2 finale is for IMP to feel like a family again and that vision of the show is so far in the rearview mirror I wouldn't even bother making it a prediction for the Sinsmas episode. that one should be about family and coming together, but apparently there are leaks suggesting it's the episode where Blitzo finally gives in and goes to play his role as Stolas' white knight, just like Stolas and Viv have been demanding from him all season long

Agreed, unfortunately. The best part of S2 so far has probably been the shorts...otherwise, it feels like a level of aimlessness, retcons, and plot holes that most series don't achieve until after they've run for years and exhausted all their good ideas.

[penig]

So we're having a rough summer and I haven't been talking about it because why brood but it's different when you talk about people being nice. So, thumbnail sketch:

We finally (as I've been wanting to do for years) got an estimate on getting the house rewired (pretty sure some of the original wiring installed in 1910 is in use) and partially replumbed (can't use the shower tub because the iron pipes are too clogged), and the paperwork for the loan took forever, and then a high wind came along (on my birthday) and dropped a dead redbud tree on our porch and a large branch on our car, which was totaled, and we had to buy a new (used) car and get a tree service to come out and take care of the fallen wood and trim the trees so no more wood falls, but the cost to take care of the big branch and woodpecker damaged tree in the back yard was more than we could afford with the car business, but that could wait a few months assuming no more high winds come along; and the loan comes through and we get the car squared away and the tree service is scheduled to come and we're starting to breathe again -

And I spy somebody putting what I recognize as a code violation notice on the front gate so I open the door and come out to tell her that if this is about the redbud tree on the porch we've already scheduled the work and she says: "It's everything on the lot. Cut it down to 12 inches. You have ten days" So I point out that most of the tall stuff is legal garden plants that should not be pruned in August, that it's two years since I've been physically capable of doing yardwork of any kind, that the work she's demanding is impossible in that time frame and oh yes, it's August, in Texas, with triple digit temperatures predicted for the foreseeable future and it could very well kill me to try. She thought there might be a local program to help me (No; they're all for structural work) and wouldn't budge. So that was like being shoved back underwater when we'd almost crawled out on shore.

But we put out a call to our friends, and people came over Saturday and did miracles, and almost every day this week somebody has come over (in addition to the people putting holes in our walls and ceilings and arguing over how to run the wires and occasionally turning pale at what they find) to help me in the mornings before the third digit kicked in. We did not, of course prune any of the poor heat stressed legal plants, but great inroads were made on the rest of it, and one friend even cut up the big branch in the back yard and the tree service people hauled it off, along with a collapsed picnic table which they told me, when they quoted the price for this small secondary job, that they would not take.

This morning I could barely move. I'm getting a lot of pain in the good leg as well as the bad leg, and in my back, plus I was just weak with heat and tiredness, and for the first time in almost a year I decided I'd better break out the cane again, at least to take the stairs and walk in the yard to discuss with the friend who came today, the last day before the inspection, where best to put his effort (because it was plain to both of us that I wasn't lifting a finger) in order to convince the inspector that we really had done the best we could and to let the stuff we couldn't get to slide until fall and spring.

And I guess one of the workmen noticed the cane, and noticed that the handrail on the upper staircase had pulled out of the wall on one end (it had been anchored to the sheetrock, not the wall proper; the other end was anchored in paneling and was fine; this happened a couple of months ago and we had bigger worries), and just - fixed it. Because it's certainly fixed now. As is typical in Texas most of the workmen are people I can't even talk to because my Spanish is as bad as their English, so it's not as if we've made friends with them. And I didn't see it done, nor did the foreman know who did it when I brought it up and asked him to thank whoever it was, so it wasn't somebody looking to make points. They just saw a chance to do a small simple thing to benefit a total stranger, and did it.

The point here being that two people - whoever called in the code complaint (seriously, that should be illegal in August, at least for yard code with no clear and present danger) and the city employee who wouldn't listen to reason - went out of their way to force me to focus on the least pressing problem facing us right now at the expense of my own well-being. But they are far, far outnumbered by the people who have gone out of their way to help us, just because we needed help.

So, suck it, cynicism!

[sarah-yyy]

okay okay just word-vomiting about some work stuff because i need to say it or i'll probably die, y'all can just ignore this!!

so like late last week i made a mistake on one of my files, and ended up with like a $15,000 deficit at hand. like i didn't pick up on this at all until monday evening, just as i was leaving the office, and i've been high key stressed out about this since because. it's v obviously a me mistake, like. i'm not someone who would shift blame even in cases where i could, but in this case it was p cut and dry, it was definitely me that caused this $15,000 problem.

thankfully tho!! this was a fixable problem, so i manned up, told mr r i made a mistake, and started working on recovering the funds. emailed the lawyer acting for the other side, called my client to explain the situation and to let him know i'll resolve the issue, etc etc.

client was super nice about it!! he's one of my regulars, one of the ones who really trusts/values my advice, and he's so...predisposed to thinking that i can't really do anything wrong that his first instinct was that someone else caused the problem, so ofc he goes and calls the guy on the other side and says hey look what is this about my lawyer telling me that i've been shortpaid (this was not what i said, but this was what he took away from the convo 😂) and thankfully!! the other guy was a p decent guy too, and went alright i'll pop the money through to my lawyer rn who will then pay it to your lawyer, alg buddy.

all of that was fine!! problem resolved!! stress levels went down a lot once my client told me the funds were coming!! this was like tuesday afternoon.

but!!! a whole 24 hours later, i still wasn't seeing any money from the other lawyer (let's call him mr p). flicked him an email to follow up. no response. left him a message on the phone. no response. the whole time my blood pressure was just going ↗. i talk to mr r about it, mr r said look we can't go too hard at this since this was an us mistake, but we need some kind of acknowledgement from mr p that he is in funds and will pay the money back to us.

this morning, after speaking to my client and mr r, i emailed mr p to say that we need the funds in our trust account by COB or we'll need to talk to our client about alternative recovery action. it wasn't like a rude email. i toned it down a lot and was super polite. copied in mr r so mr p can see there is some sort of Escalation from our end.

mr p replies several hours later telling me two things: 1) the funds will be paid to us soon, and 2) not to send him threatening emails because fixing my problem is not on his priority list??????????

buddies. BUDDIES. i haven't slept properly since monday night. like. i know mr p has no obligation towards me. but. you can imagine the kind of stress i've been under since monday. i'm lucky this happened with a good client who wasn't badgering me to front the money and to demand that i take responsibility or anything, but even then, this was an incredibly stressful situation. if this had happened to any other lawyer, i'd have done whatever i could to at least alleviate that stress for them even just a little bit. but mr p!!! has had the funds sitting with him since wednesday morning!! and cbf to at least tell me that until thursday afternoon!!! who tf does that!!! why tf would you do that!!! even if it's out of collegial respect, why couldn't he have at least dropped me a line to say hey funds are here dw i'm busy now but will pay you soon?????

i'm just. so !!! about this whole thing. i'm probably slightly overreacting because i've been stressed and i'm underslept but fuck, i don't think i'm wrong to be upset at mr p 🥺

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

On Yearning

Any blank spaces are not meant to be there, I will fix them as soon as they show up so please just check again a little later if that happens to you.

Mayans MC Masterlist

Part four of a A Gentle Kind of Love

Contains: Fluff, mutual pining, angst (violence, endless longing, a cliffhanger, possible major character death) slow burn.

6.2K words

Comment if you want to be tagged/removed or follow #a gentle kind of love.

Yearning - A deep longing, especially when accompanied by tenderness or sadness. Alternately an instance of such longing.

Temple was full when Marcus started talking, "I just spoke to Jax, they're going to deal with it on their end. What do we know about these Hidden Order fucks?"

Coco sighed, "not much, other than a single tattoo, they don't validate and they don't make noise, they've been linked to multiple crimes but their made cash source is meth and counterfeiting."

"That's it?" Bishop didn't sound happy.

Coco nodded, "Juice is going to tell us the second he knows something new, until then we need to be on the lookout."

Manny rubbed his face, his tone angry, "and y/n, how long is she going to be at risk."

Bishop waved his hand, "we're not going to let anything happen to her and it's not like you two hate each other, you'll be fine at her place for a few days."

"And if it lasts longer than that?" Part of Manny was hoping it would.

Angel huffed, "like that matters."

Bishop slammed his hand on the desk, "enough, y/n will be fine, we need to find these Nazi fucks before someone gets hurt."

They made you wait at the bar until they were done, it took a while but they all filed out of the Temple and Manny shot you a smile as he walked up to you, "I need to go by my place and pack a bag, then I'll be all yours."

You smiled, "I'll put some fresh sheets on my bed."

His eyes went wide, "I thought you had a pull out?"

You nodded, "I do, you can have the bed and I'll take the couch."

He went to respond but you cut him off, "please, don't fight me on this. You're already putting yourself out by staying with me for God knows how long, the least you can do is take the bed."

He sighed, "fine but I'm cooking half the food."

"Alright, I'll take that."

He smiled, "great, I'll get Coco to take you home, I'll rush so we can get some sleep tonight."

You sighed, "you don't need to do that. Tomorrow is the weekend, it's not like I need to be well rested for work."

He shook his head, "nope, I can't have you all sleepy, we're going to hang out all day and have so much fun."

You giggled, "oh I'm sure. My cats are never going to leave you alone, have fun showering with three cats staring at you."

He chuckled, "I thought Mr Butts was the only perv."

You smiled, "all cats are pervs, Mr Butts just takes it to the next level."

He returned your smile and reached his hand out, landing it on your upper arm, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you and if we have fun in the meantime well that's a bonus."

He headed off and you waited for Coco but to your annoyance, Angel was the one that wandered over to you with a smile, "ready to head home?"

You sighed, "if you say one word about me and Manny I swear to God I will…"

He raised his hand, "I ain't going to give you shit."

You could tell by his grin he was lying.

Angel rode beside you while you drove home, pulling up next to you on your driveway as you walked inside, "what?"

He smiled, "nothing, I bet you're happy to have Manny all to yourself this weekend?"

You sighed, "say what you want to say Angel."

"I know you love him."

You rolled your eyes, "what makes you say that?"

He smirked, "because of the way you smile at him, I mean, it's cute."

You shook your head, "you are delusional and I suggest you get help. Now I need to set up the sofa bed, you can help or you can wait outside for Manny to arrive."

Angel gave you a look, "am I, or are you just scared that you're going to get hurt. Because I can tell you that you might be surprised."

You huffed, "what does it matter Angel? Yes, I love him, can you fucking drop it now?"

Angel smiled, "alright, I'll drop it. Are you going to let Manny sleep out in your lounge room all on his lonesome?"

You shook your head, "no, I'm a good host. He's going to take my bed and I'm taking the sofa."

You walked off to get the sheets, returning and directing Angel to help you, "that's so nice of you, letting him sleep in your bed."

You glared at him, "I need to get him fresh sheets in there next, now help me or fuck off."

Angel helped, smiling all the while. He glanced around your bedroom and you could see the wheels in his head turning, "what now man?"

He shrugged, "nothing, I just think Manny will get lonely here without you, your bed is pretty big."

You huffed, "he'll have the cats to keep him company." Mercifully, the doorbell rang before Angel could reply, the camera showing Manny had arrived, "oh thank God, you can go now Angel."

Angel shook his head, "call me if you need anything." You opened the door and Manny walked in, Angel looking back one last time before walking away, "use protection kids."

Your eyes went wide and Manny shook his head, "don't encourage him y/n."

You smiled as Angel's bike pulled away, "at least he's not coming back to watch us through the window like a perv."

Mr Butts jumped into Manny's arms, Manny smiling as the cat rubbed up against his face, "I'll show you to the bedroom, I've set it all up for you, there's water and extra pillows so you can chose, I even left out the humidifier in case you don't like dry air, no oils though, they aren't safe for kitties."

Manny smiled, "wow, gold star service. You sure you're alright with sleeping on the pull out?"

"Yep, I'm armed and the alarm is set. I'm going to have a shower in the spare bathroom then head to bed. Wake me up of you need anything."

Manny nodded with yawn, "yeah, it's late. Goodnight y/n."

"Goodnight Emmanuel."

You were already getting breakfast together when Many came into the kitchen, his lean, muscled chest bare and all his tattoos on full display. "Morning, did you sleep well?"

He nodded, "yeah, your bed is really nice."

You smiled, "well you have it for the next however long until this is over. Do you have to go the the Clubhouse today?"

He shook his head, "nope, I spoke to Bishop, we have the whole weekend to ourselves."

You smiled, "I'm not that much fun, you should go out an enjoy yourself."

Manny's eyes wrinkled, "what do you mean you're not that much fun? We have fun together."

You shook your head, "yeah, when we're out and I'm trying, I'm a different person when I'm at home, I'm either going to be in the garden, hanging out with my cats or doing something online."

Manny shook his head, "that sounds fun to me, there's plenty we can do. You've got an Xbox and a TV, we can play some video games. Coco told me you love horror movies, I do too. We can go for a walk or a drive. Really, I like your company."

You smiled, "I don't have many co-op games but I'm sure we can work something out. You really mean that you're alright with just vegging around the house? "He nodded, "alright then, I have to water my plants while breakfast cooks, would you like to help?"

Manny smiled, "hell yeah, can the kitties come?" You shook your head, "they can watch from the sunroom, I'm beginning to think you like my cats more than you like me."

Manny chuckled, "honestly, it's an even split."

"We need to go to the store."

Manny nodded, "alright, what do you need?"

You looked in the fridge, "just food, you got anything in mind?"

Manny smiled, "that salt chicken you keep talking about."

You sighed, "I knew you'd say that. I'll drive."

Manny made a face, "what, you got a problem being in the passenger seat. Do you have control issues Emmanuel?"

Manny had the urge to call you a brat, his brain wandering to other places, "nope, I'm basically your bodyguard, the bodyguard always drives.

You huffed, "well not this time." You got ready and grabbed your keys, waiting for Manny to follow while Lady Midnight sat at the table at the door.

You bent down and pressed a kiss between her fluffy ears, Manny shaking his head, "what a princess."

You laughed, "if you say so."

You waited until he walked by her, her little paw coming out to grab his shirt, "meow."

You smiled, "pay the toll or she won't let you leave."

Manny shook his head, "really?"

You nodded, "yep, you got to kiss her little head or she will climb on your until you do."

Manny pecked her forehead then looked at you, "good enough?"

You nodded, "for now."

Manny got into the passenger seat and looked at you, "I have no room for my legs, and it's broken, I can't move it back."

You sighed, "I can see that, you can drive but no bragging." You tossed him your keys, getting out to swap seats then Manny was turning the car on and heading towards the town centre.

"You really don't need to follow me everywhere, I can look after myself."

Manny huffed, "I'm not talking about this with you anymore. You put yourself at risk for the Club, I got to pay that back and keep you safe."

You shook your head, "your life isn't worth any less than mine, it's insane that you have to put yourself on the line when I can look after myself."

He pulled the car over and turned towards you, "stop, I don't want to hear it anymore. If I didn't want to look after you, I wouldn't be here and I would have said no to Bishop if I didn't like spending time with you. I'm not a child, if I don't want to do something, I'm not going to do it, there were plenty of guys there so it's not like I have to be here."

You shook your head, "Angel.."

He cut you off, "I don't give a shit what Angel did. Now stop it, we're going to have issues if you don't."

"I'm sorry, I'm not really used to having people around for days at a time."

Manny smiled sadly, "no need to apologise Tesoro, I keep saying I like your company so I'm just going to have to hang around until you figure it out, you're a smart woman, I'm sure you'll get there before you get sick of me."

"I don't think I could get sick of you."

Manny smiled, "oh shut up Emmanuel."

He shook his head, "now you're getting it." He started the car up again and you had a sudden flash of thoughts, you knew why you weren't going to get sick of him, did he feel the same way?

"Why are you putting it on now? It's only three."

You smiled, "one, I can't take you seriously while you're squishing a cat belly and two, it takes three hours to cook then it has to rest, I don't know about you but I want to eat at a reasonable time."

Manny chuckled and turned to Sir Fluffernutter, "did you hear that little guy, she can't take you seriously."

"Stop groping my cat and come and help me, we need to coat the chicken in the salt mixture."

Manny squished his fluffy belly one last time before placing him on the floor and washing his hands, "ok, what can I do?"

You pointed to the bowl, "use those big hands of yours and coat the chicken in the crust, while you were playing with the cats I was already seasoning the chicken with lemon and garlic."

"Alright, you gonna help me."

You sighed, "this is fast becoming a bad porno, what's next, our hands touch over the chicken breast then we fuck on the bench?"

Manny pressed his lips together, "something tells me you'd have an issue with the food safety of that situation."

You giggled, "yeah, the kitchen is for cooking, not bonking."

Manny laughed, "bonking? So inappropriate."

You snorted, "oh please, just help with dinner."

Manny smiled, "of course gorgeous, I can't have you going hungry."

You stood there, curst pilled in your hand and shook your head, "you're not being very helpful right now."

Manny bumped you with his hip and showed you his mess covered hands, "I am helping."

You bumped him back, "tell that to the half coated chicken."

He slapped the mixture on the bird, "not anymore."

You pointed to the pile, "that's not covered."

There was a pause and you both collapsed into laughter, "we really need to get this in the oven."

Manny smiled, his face wrinkling with affection, "ok, I'll help."

With the chicken in the oven, you and Manny sat down for some video games while you waited for it to cook, "ok, so I have Stardew Valley and Subnautica with a co-op mod, Terraria and Mario."

Manny smiled, "Stardew Valley all the way."

You were surprised, "wow, I never took you for someone who would be interested in something like that."

Manny gave you a look that you couldn't decipher, "it's nice to have some silliness."

"You ready?" You handed Manny the hammer who looked at the brown shell with glee.

"How hard do I need to hit it?"

You smiled, "it takes me three or four goes with full strength but be careful, if you puncture the skin you'll ruin it."

Manny nodded, "ok, ready?" You nodded, bracing for the bang.

"AH." The shell cracked, "holy shit, that was good, maybe one more in the corner." Manny brought the hammer down and the shell cracked open, a wonderful smell filling the air.

Manny dropped the hammer, smiling while making eye contact and dipped his fingers in the juices, "oh my God that's better than sex."

You cover your face, feeling your body get hot, "what kind of shit sex are you having?"

Manny shook his head, "hey, I'm great in bed, it's just that good."

You sighed, "wait until you taste the actual chicken."

Manny went to grab a knife, "let it rest you heathen, you're worse than the cats."

Right on cue, the meowing started, "speaking of, they need their dinner."

You went to the containers on the bench and dumped them into their bowls, "that's for the cats, I thought it was for us?"

You shook your head, "you want raw fish and beef in a little bowl?"

He shook his head, "I mean, I thought you were going to cook it for us."

You smiled, "no, I take it out of the fridge so it's room temp, it's meant to be as close to their natural diet and I don't think fresh prey is fridge cold."

He laughed as their meows got louder, Mr Butts trying to climb up your pants so he could get to the food. "Excuse me kitty, this is unacceptable."

Manny's laugh grew, "you want help?"

You nodded and pointed to the bowls, "can you please potion out the food, one container per bowl, please. Put one on the bench for Lady Midnight, one under my dining chair for Sir Fluff and one next to the oven is for Mr Butts." Manny rushed off and Mr Butterscotch detached from you to follow him.

"Why do you put them in different places?" The cats started to eat the moment the food was put down.

"So they don't steal each other's food, Lady Midnight is very sweet and she won't fight back so she gets it up high where no one else can get to her. Tomorrow I'm going to show you to teach them how to sit, which they normally do before they eat."

Manny smiled, "you taught them how to sit before you feed them?"

"Yep, they tend to eat slower when they do. Now would you like to start on our dinner?"

"Fuck yeah."

"You ate half a chicken Emmanuel, you're going to get a tummy ache." He wiped his face, seemly ready to fall asleep.

"It was a small chicken and I've never eaten something more delicious." You shook your head and took his plate from him and went to wash it up at the sink.

"I gotta cook tomorrow to thank you, what do you want?"

You thought for a moment, "surprise me." He shook his head with a smile.

"How am I going to do that when I have to go with you everywhere? You'll guess before I even start." It was said with affection, like he was upset that he couldn't surprise you.

"I have free grocery delivery, just use that." He smiled and stood up, walking over to the kitchen to help you clean up.

"Alright, what are you in the mood for then? You have to give me some idea."

You looked him dead in the eye, doing your best not to laugh, "surprise me."

He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows, "you are such a brat."

"You know it Emmanuel."

"Ok, so you bought pork, Chinese cabbage, prawns, and green onions and from the supply here you have flour, ginger and garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil. Are you making me pot stickers with homemade wrappers?"

"I shouldn't have let you in the kitchen, you've spoilt the surprise. Also prawns, are you secretly an Australian?

You giggled, "nah, I would have known when I smelt them cooking, they are some of my favourites you know. And no, I'm not secretly an Australian, these have claws and therefore are prawns. Shrimp don't have claws."

"I can't belive you know that, you're a little weird." You smiled and bumped him with your shoulder.

"I'd rather be weird than boring." He gasped in fake offence.

"Are you calling me boring?"

"Hell no, you and a whole bunch of other men ride around on motorbikes wearing matching vests, that's kinda interesting."

He shoved you playfully, his face breaking out into a grin, "for that you're helping me wrap the things."

You sighed, "you are so mean to me, do you know how much time that takes?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm getting you to help me."

The days droned on, Manny seemed most worried when you were at work, sitting outside in a car with one of the others, watching the street like a hawk waiting for the bad guys to show up and storm your office.

"These guys aren't going to hit here, their whole MO is flying under the radar. Hitting a therapist that works will hurt little kids is the opposite." Manny didn't seem to even hear Coco.

"I don't care, I would never forgive myself if something happened to her." his leg bounced as he waited for you to finish your day, smiling as you came out and walked over to them.

"I'm done, and I'm heading home, you really don't need to follow me." Manny gave you a look and you sighed, "just get into the car with me dude and let Coco go home."

He shook his head, "we'll follow you, three heads are better than two." You sighed and walked off, getting into your car in a huff before yelling out your window.

"I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me, you're all being worry warts." The last thing you saw before you sped off was Coco's middle finger at the window.

You were both lying on the pullout, blankets covering your legs with Manny's arm slung over the back on the couch. "What's on the billing tonight?"

"I think we should watch The Conjuring series, I wanna see how long you can last."

He chuckled, "me? I don't scare that easily but I'll protect you from the scary demons."

You snorted, "what are you going got do, wave your arms at them until they run away?"

He gasped in fake offence, "you're asking for trouble now."

You shook your head, "maybe, as I said, I don't find you all that intimidating."

He tilted his head, "you don't do you?"

"Nope, now I'm going to play the movie, unless you want to hide under the covers with the cats?"

Manny lifted Lady Midnight from between you and onto his lap, "nah, I think Mr Butts is all licked out."

You giggled, "don't jinx yourself, he'll be in your face before you can take it back." You clicked on the movie, then stood up, "I'm going to go get us some popcorn, I'll be back in a bit."

He listened as you got out the pot and put the kernels on the stove, "you want me to pause this?"

"Nah, I've seen it before, I'll be back in before it gets good." Sure enough, you return before anything serious happened and handed the bowl to Manny, "this kittens can't have any, butter isn't good for them.

"More for me then." He took a handful and ate them in one go.

"Dude slow down."

He shrugged, "what, this is the best popcorn I"ve ever had."

You shook your head, "it's made with the same flavour they use at the movies, it's not the best for you but it's the only way to get that taste."

"Good to know, are you sure the cats can't have any because Sir Fluff is drooling on my leg." You lifted the blankets and looked at the cat.

"That's because he's asleep, sorry about that."

Manny shook his head, "nah it's alright, he's just happy."

"You say that now but he's not going to move until you make him and your leg is going to fall asleep."

"It's no big deal, I like the little guy. Now can we watch the movie? I wanna see what happens."

"Yeah, we can watch the movie."

As the night went on you and Manny got closer, by the time the second movie wound down, you pressed against him while his hand rubbed up and down your upper arm warmly.

You blinked and rubbed your eyes, "I'm going to brush my teeth, I'll be back." It was almost like he didn't want to let you go.

"We can call it a night if you want?"

You shook your head, "nah, just pause this, I don't want to miss anything, then we can put on the third one, it's not that late." He clicked the movie into pause and you got up, returning a few minutes later before resuming your previous position, Manny not think twice about putting his hand back on your arm.

"We should go somewhere tomorrow."

You smiled, "why, are you getting board of me?"

He shook his head, "no, I just don't want you to feel trapped in the house because I'm here, Coco told me you usually go to the gardens on the weekend and you missed out last week."

You smiled, "I'd like that, I've been enough that I get can get us both a free lunch."

That seemed to make him happy, "I can't wait, what there's anyway?"

You sighed, "it's a mix, the stuff outside is all from around here but it's the flowering season which means it's all really pretty and they have a heap of rare stuff inside. I think you'll like it. The best thing is there's no one there right now because they haven't gotten anything new in a while."

"Sounds fun, I just realised that even though I've been here for almost a year I haven't really seen the sights."

You reached across him and stroked one of the cats on the head, "well, I think I"m going to have plenty of time to show you. It has been a week, if nothing's happened by now, it's not going to happen but we both know the Club won't let you leave me alone until it's sorted."

"I'm alright with that. Plus I've gotten used to the company."

You smiled, "yeah, it's nice to have someone over for more than just a meal." You yawned and shifted and Manny lifted his hand from you but you raised your hand in protest.

"I can head to bed if you want?"

You shook your head, "you don't need to go unless you want to, I'm not going to fall asleep no matter how comfortable you are."

He chuckled "alright then." He smiled softly to himself and you pulled the blanket up to your chest. Before too long, he noticed you weren't paying much attention to the TV, your eyes staying closed longer each time you blinked. Manny thought about getting up and heading to his own bed but that would mean moving and he didn't have the heart to wake you up and if he was being honest with himself, he didn't want to move either.

By the time his own eyes started to get heavy, getting up and sleeping in his own bed was the last thing on his mind.

Manny felt a weight on his chest when he woke up that didn't really feel like the cats. When he lifted his hand off his stomach and reached out, his fingers met your skin and his eyes shot open, he had fallen asleep on the pullout with you next to you.

One of the first things he noticed was how much his back hurt and he felt a pang of guilt that you had been sleeping here for a week just for his comfort but before he could think more you lifted your hand and rubbed your face with a groan.

"Morning."

He smiled, "morning y/n."

You blinked the sleep out of your eyes and sat up "morning, sorry if I trapped you here last night."

He shook his head, "nah, I didn't want to wake the cats up so I slept here, this thing is very uncomfortable."

You swung your legs over the bed and stood up, stretching with a grumble, "it's not that bad."

He huffed, "yes it is, and I'm pretty pissed that you're sleeping on it when this is your house and I'm imposing on you."

You shook your head, "it's fine really. What do you want for breakfast?"

He pushed the cat off his chest and got up, "you're not going to do anything, I'm making us waffles."

You realised there was no point in protesting so you got up to start the day while Manny headed to the kitchen. It didn't take you long to get dressed, coming out the Manny mixing the batter with one hand while the cats demanded he pat them with the other.

"I need to feed them, are you right to keep cooking?"

He nodded, "yeah, when I said I was going to make us breakfast, I meant it. Plus if you don't feed them I think they are going to eat us."

You fed the cats while Manny finished the waffle, a big smile on his face as he put the plate down in front of you, "I put some chocolate sauce in the middle of yours."

"Thank you Manny, did you put anything in yours?"

He nodded, "yep, you had that fancy jam and I thought it would be nice."

"The tomato and onion one? How about we got halves because that sounds good too?"

He smiled and cut his in half before taking the plate from you and doing the same to yours, "I was hoping you'd ask me for that."

You shook your head, "you could have just made a few mini one, I wouldn't have judged you."

He huffed, "why would I do that when I know you were going to share with me."

"Well Manny, you better eat up because we are going to have a blast today and you're going to want to have a full belly.

"This is a Palo verde tree which is a fascinating tree because it photosynthesis through its bark as well as its leaves and because of its branch layout, it's great if you need shade in a pinch."

Manny smiled, "that's so cool, what about this one?" He pointed to one with tall with flowers and flat spikey leaves.

"That's a Yucca, their whole lives rely on the Yucca moth, the moths pollinate the flower and the moth's egg incubates in the blossoms. without one the other would go extinct."

"That's so fucking cool. I want to go inside, you have so much more to show me." You walked inside, your hand brushing Manny's as you walked. As much as you wanted to link your hand in his but there was something telling you that it wouldn't go over well. Manny walked right to the first plant he saw, "it says there are only forty of these in the wild."

You nodded, "yep, the Parsley Fern, they have to fly in the soil for the volcano where they grow."

He leaned in and had a good look before something caught his eye on the other side of the room, before he could think he grabbed your wrist to take you there and you followed him as his feet traced towards it.

"This looks like a fuzzy animal." You didn't let go of his hand as you pointed to the sign.

"It's called a Vegetable Sheep, also very rare. Can I have my hand back please?" His eyes went wide and he dropped your wrist.

"Sorry."

You shook your head, "it's alright. Honestly it's kind of cute, you were excited."

He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the edges, "you're really cool you know that?"

You held back on hiding your face from embarrassment, "you're pretty cool too. I mean, most people would think this kind of thing is super boring."

He shook his head, "nope, not me."

You walked around the building until you saw everything there was to see, Manny taking photos when he saw something he really liked. You rushed through lunch so you could get the most out of your day, finishing just as the sun set.

You walked outside and were hit with the cool air, taking a deep breath as you made your way back to the car. "Did you have fun today?"

He nodded, "hell yeah, I'm wondering what we're going to do tomorrow?"

You thought for a minute, "we could go see these flowers out in the wild?"

His smile grew, "that would be great, can we go camping too?"

You shook your head, "over my dead body, we can look at the stars and come home a bit late if that's what you want but there's no way I'm sleep in a tent."

He chuckled, "done, a hike and then stargazing. Someone should have threatened your life months ago, I've had more fun in the last week than I have in months."

"You really mean that, I mean, even when we haven't been doing anything much?"

"Yep." Something had the hairs on the back of your neck standing up, you were about two minutes from the car and you suddenly felt the need to get moving.

Manny seemed to noticed that something was wrong, "I think we're being followed."

"Me too, we need to get back to the car now." You pulled your phone out, switched the find my phone on and texted Coco, "I'm going to call you, we're being followed, don't talk, just stay on the line." You waited a few moments, dialled, breathing out as he picked up then slid the phone into your pocket.

Looking behind you only served to prove your theory, there was a black van behind you, following you up the road. Your hand moved to your hip, hovering over your gun while Manny's hand wrapped around your upper arm, "we need to go now." In a flash Manny was pulling you along, his long legs causing you to run as he tried to close the distance to your car.

The gunshot had you jumping and it was clear that there was no way you were going to make it to your car. Manny pulled you down the street as the van stopped and they got out.

"There." You pointed to an alleyway where you could hide and Manny's leg went without question. You got there and you both ducked behind a dumpster.

You took a few seconds to catch your breath, "I say we take that street there and go around the block, I think there were only three of them, if we play our cards right, they should miss us." You pulled your gun out and waited, looking to Manny for his ok.

He nodded towards you and you took a deep breath, the opening to the street was only a few feet away, it would take less than a minute to get there. Manny nodded at you and you shot up but it was too late and you heard a click behind you, "hello little bird, we found you."

Your hand tighten around your gun, you only hoped the others were on their way. "Don't you dare, take his too." You dropped the gun and reach over to Manny, taking his from his hand.

"Get up." The gun in your face made it clear that you didn't have a choice. The other two got Manny under control while you stared down the man with the gun.

You stood up slowly, Manny following suit, "you're gonna die right here on the street. Maybe your friends will find you before the stray dogs get to you."

You could see the rage on Manny's face, but you shook your head ever so slightly when you saw he was going to do something, "what will it take for you to let us live? I know all about the Club, I'll tell you everything if you let us go."

The man smiled, "I'll get you live, not him."

Manny looked at you, you were planning something and he could tell.

"Alright, what do you want to know?"

He smiled, "when's is the Clubhouse most vulnerable?"

You blinked, "Saturday mornings, everyone's drunk and fucked out, no one is paying attention."

Manny tried to stop himself from smiling, you were lying. Sure there were people hungover everywhere but a full Clubhouse was anything but vulnerable, "where do they keep the guns?"

You paused for effect, "in one of the back rooms, if you use the back entrance they'll never get to them especially if they're the temple where there are no guns at all."

You did your best not to flinch as one of them stuck Manny, "how many men stand guard?"

You swallowed, "only one, by the door, most of the front gate is left unprotected and the roof isn't high enough for people to be able to see over it."

The leader smiled, "well, I'm a man of my word. You can go now."

You shook your head, "please, let us both go. He never did anything to you, please."

Manny was taken aback at the desperation in your voice. He looked over at you one last time and realised that you were slowly lowering one finger at a time on your right hand. One of the men standing behind Manny brought the butt of the gun down on his back, "any last words shithead?"

Manny swallowed, "yeah." He turned to you fully, his eyes watching as you dropped a fourth finger. His face was hard, he was ready to die knowing that you would get away, he only hoped that the other Mayans were close enough that they would be able to keep you safe if these men changed their minds, "I just want you to know, that I l……"

BANG

"Guys we have to do now." Coco was filled with fear as he ran over to Bishop. 

"What is it man?" 

Coco held the phone up and put a single finger to his mouth, they could hear you talking to Manny, "they went to the gardens today, didn't they?" 

Coco nodded, "yep and her phone says they're still there, if they don't take it off her we might be able to find them. If we go now you might get there in time." 

They all raced off, dodging the cars as they broke the speed limit. They arrived at the gardens far soon than they thought, jumping off their bikes as Coco rechecked his phone. He could hear talking, your voice calm but laced with fear, "back rooms, if you use the back entrance they'll never."

They spread out and moved slowly, hoping that you and Manny were still nearby, "the GPS says y/n's phone is close." Gilly pointed to an alleyway and they all converged, moving to form a line as Coco pointed them onward. 

They could hear voices now and they knew with a few more steps, they would be on top of them. Angel's breath stopped as he caught the sight of you and Manny on your knees, the man behind Manny cracking the butt of his gun into Manny's back.  

"Any last words shithead?"

Angel looked to his side as the other men came closer, their plan forming silently as Manny turned to you "I just want you to know, that I l......"

BANG

Part 5

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Chapter five will be released after 20 points.

[losersroom]

g (time loop fic. once the loop was broken), j, n, t ✍️

G. If you wrote a sequel to this fic, what would it be about?

Man. I think this one is my least sequel-able fic, actually. I mean I say that- I do think it's fully complete as it is, the lack of closure is kind of the point -but I did briefly kick around ideas for a second part from Brock's POV. I never did anything with it because again, ultimately, I think it works better if the question of "is Brock aware of the time loop" is left sort of vague and open to reader interpretation, even if I myself have a very clear idea of what was meant to be going on there. I think any sequel I wrote to this would just be abjectly miserable for everyone. But realistically it would be, like, Brock watches Jonas die on the ice like fifty times, finally accepts that he can't save him or do anything to fix it, and THAT breaks the loop enough that reality is allowed to proceed on from there. And the point is that then they have to live in the aftermath of what's already done instead of uselessly trying to prevent the impossible. What's the first step to breaking a cycle? Well, admitting there's a problem is a good start.

(Also: I'd like them to finally actually talk about the time they hooked up in Stockholm and for Brock to be able to tell him that's not part of it, that was something they both wanted, he doesn't need to carry it around as a weight.)

J. What's your favorite fanfic trope? Have you written it?

Okay I think I've decided that my favorite trope in fiction is road trip fic, actually. And the answer is... kind of? Last summer while I was starting to be insane about hockey but too nervous to get into RPF I wrote about 25% of a Check Please fic where Jack winds up signing with Vegas out of college and the team bosses make him and Parse spend part of the summer together to fix their relationship into something that will allow them to be on the ice together without killing each other, so Kent just like. Invites himself along on Jack's pre-arranged road trip between sites of historical interest on the East Coast. The like 10k words of it I actually wrote were pretty good! But then I got distracted by like five other projects that I also never finished and wound up doing nothing with it. And now I have better things to do than think about The Hockey Comic. lol.

N. Any fic ideas brewing that you'd care to share?

I'm going to be working on this fucking omegaverse impreg kink fic until I die, probably. Until I die as a direct result of it, possibly.

Also I'm still kicking around concepts for the fic where Brods and Brock fake date to make Dumba jealous but that's just kind of a Vibe right now.

T. Any fanfic tropes you can't stand?

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a hater but I am generally fairly trope-positive, actually. Or trope-neutral at least. Oh wait does the thing people do where they make their characters stop and affirm positive consent every two paragraphs during sex scenes count because. Lol. Sorry, can't stand that shit. I do not read porn for a positive or realistic depiction of best sexual practices, I want to read about a guy getting banged within an inch of his life and filled with a physically improbable amount of come. Sorry about it!

[writingquestionsanswered]

How do I actually finish a final draft? I'm working completely independently on a comic book and I'm at the point where I know what needs to be fixed, but it just feels so tedious to go in and edit once again because I feel like if I don't reread it completely, I'll miss something. I feel like I've reread it so many times I'm bored by it and can't actually finish the final draft, especially for *just* issue 1. I've tried writing other issues but it just feels like procrastination. help what do

Struggling to Complete Final Edit

Final edits can be the toughest, because you're SO CLOSE to being finished, and you've been through it so many times, you just want to be done with it.

First, I think you have to take a step back and really consider whether one more read through is really that necessary. Unfortunately, that's a game you can play until the end of time, so at some point you have say enough is enough. I've you've already read through it a few times and know what needs to be fixed, I think you have to give yourself permission to just go in and make the necessary changes without completely re-reading. Another thing you can try is making the changes, then going back and re-reading and doing any final touch-ups as you go.

Some things to try to make another read-through bearable: -- Step away for a bit. It sounds like you've already done this, but it's worth repeating for others. Even if it's just for a day or two, setting it aside can give you a much-needed breather and help you come back to it with fresh eyes.

-- Read it out loud. This can actually be very helpful in allowing you to spot issues you didn't catch in previous reads. Try pretending you're doing a reading for fans or performing the audiobook.

-- Change the font color. This is another trick that can help errors stand out more, but like reading it out loud, it's also just an easy way to make it feel new and fresh to your eyes which can cut back on the tedium a bit.

-- Read it in an unusual place. It's best to find someplace that's comfortable and reasonably free from distractions, but also not someplace where you'll feel too cozy and feel sleepy. Just moving to another room in your home can help, or you might try sitting outside (such as a porch, patio, or backyard--just watch out for rain!) If you're able to, try a library, bookstore, or cafe. Public areas like parks, picnic areas, scenic views/trailheads, etc. are good options--just be sure to be safe.

-- Take turns reading it with a trusted friend or family member. If there's someone you trust to read it, who would enjoy reading it and has the time/ability to help out, try making a little party of it and taking turns reading it. If you can get together, you can put out some fun food and drink, sit at a table or on the couch and take turns reading pages or scenes. If you can't get together, you can encourage them to get some snacks and do it as a video call or phone call--just don't forget to send them a copy to read from.

-- Last but not least, if none of these work for you, you'll just have to brute force it. As with all jobs we don't want to do, remember that the thought of doing the work is always worse than actually doing it. Once you get going and find a rhythm, you'll probably find it's not nearly as bad as you expected. Try setting up rewards for yourself along the way, like allowing yourself to have a favorite meal when you get to the halfway point, and going to see a movie you're looking forward to once you get to the end. You can even do smaller rewards like having a bowl of ice cream after you've worked on it for an hour each night. Whatever works! In the end, you just have to remember you've put a lot of work into this project, and you're so close to being done, it's worth it to keep going!

I hope something her will work for you!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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[strqyr]

Do you think Yang and Blake made for poorer partners than what configuration your vitalis AU has? Do you like Blake as a character generally? I know you talk a lot about Yang but B/Y isn’t your cup of tea for ships (which I respect and am not trying to convince you otherwise lolol I’m just kinda curious) so what would you prefer for the characters instead moving forward in the narrative?

i wouldn't say "poorer" bc when writing—especially writing an au—you can do whatever you want and come up with new things, canon be damned lol buuuut for a long time, the concept of partners in general in canon has been a "problem" point for me, bc not much is done with it to... "justify" it, if you will?

like, it very much feels like that they had an idea for ruby and weiss for the emerald forest (which didn't last a day) and bc they need to have team rwby, well. blake and yang it is, i guess? in that sense they very much feel like an afterthought bc for the most part in the first two volumes they're just there; when blake finally gets her time to shine at the end of V1, weiss is central to it, ruby is shown to be the most concerned for blake, and yang is. kind of just there. which is fine, but if the point is to sell the importance of partners, why couldn't yang have ruby's role, or do something else that makes her be central to blake's storyline from the get-go?

and this set-up as a whole leads to, admittedly hilarious, scenarios in V2 where after a whole semester blake needs to be explained how yang's semblance works and then two episodes later yang is telling blake her tragic backstory of people leaving her behind with no apparent change in their relationship on screen, as much as time has passed.

and when the ball eventually does get rolling with the two of them, there's this... i had expectations (based on what the writers had done previously / with other characters) that reality did not meet. and that's fine!! you can't possibly cater to anyone lol but for me, it just means my interest is pretty darn low; it's like they had a whole pool they could have dove into head first and it would have been great, but instead they just barely dipped their toes in and called it a day.

so, as far as my au goes, it was a choice between throwing the whole concept out, or do some changes—and while keeping the same partners and coming up with new stuff for them would have been an option, when canon presents me with an opportunity with something that's already there and i find interesting, i'd rather go with that.

and i like blake. again, i don't really have characters i hate or even dislike, it's more of an interest thing; what's their storyline like? is it in the spotlight right now or not? what is the character doing in the meanwhile? etc. so if there's nothing that currently interests me about a character i don't talk about them much.

i'm also way too deep into strq fam + cinder + salem & ozma stuff so everyone else gets left in the sidelines until they do something that piques my interest lol but it doesn't mean i don't like them.

as for preferences, i don't really have any beyond what makes obvious sense? like, yang obviously has to be involved in the whole summer mission thing, it makes absolutely zero sense for her not to, so there's that. as for blake, bringing back the white fang storyline and at least attempting to fix it would be nice, bc leaving it as a dumpster fire that they continuously poured gasoline on and then stopped doesn't stop it being a dumpster fire, it's just a dumpster fire that no one is pouring any gasoline on. and that's a shadow that hovers over blake constantly whether they like it or not; for example, sure, blake can make all the comments about how awful mantle looks, but then you look a little bit to the left where the crater is with faunus living in shacks with no heating and from what i can tell, the only wall they have is the one between the crater and mantle and it's like.

ok then.

but also idk what they can really do in vacuo that could salvage even the tiniest part of this storyline since everything to do with the white fang storyline since day 1 was pointed towards atlas, so. . . kind of don't know what i'd like blake to do, tbh. anything really that gives me something to chew one lol

[macawritesupdates]

I loved the new chapter of MoL it was so good I would have commented sooner but I bought a bunch of new plants yesterday but it was way to hot to get them in the ground so I decided to wait until today so I could work in the early morning before the sun got hot enough to bake me. I saw your chapter and desperately wanted to throw those plans out the window so I could sit down and read it all in one sitting right away, but alas, it was time sensitive that damn summer sun really is lethal 😔 ah the plight of a gardener. At least I had a super fun reward waiting for me when I got done. And what a reward it was! I loved yuuji's internal strife as he tried to deal with his morals and the knowledge that his sweet childhood best friend grew up to be someone who does so many awful things. Yuuji, it's not your fault baby you are only responsible for your own actions, not his... ah man, that's a lesson cannon yuuji also needs to learn huh. I am so glad he met choso I can't tell you how often I desperately want characters to just leave abusive relationships in fiction like baby get out of there yes he loves you and you love him back but his love bears rotten fruits. He's controlling and keeps you isolated and will weaponise any fear or guilt you feel against you. It is not a betrayal to leave him because he broke trust he betrayed you first by keeping you like a pet and slowly smothering the light in your soul. But usually, it's impossible to leave a relationship like that without help, especially when he controls the finances and your entire social circle. So I'm glad yuuji met choso, who offered to take him away. It still hurts though especially when I go read the yuuji files and see a version of their relationship that works because sukuna is actually willing to make compromises and doesn't try to steal yuuji's autonomy in an attempt to keep him chained. It's not easy for him, but the fact that he puts in that effort means he gets to be way happier than mol sukuna. God, I know that this is the angst fic, so we're not getting happy, but some part of me is still crying out to mol sukuna to change his ways. Just try. I know the world is awful, but you can learn to live in it side by side with him. I keep thinking of like exotic birds when they are kept in small cages without their social and enrichment needs met, look at how they start to wither sukuna, look how they stop eating and start to pull out their own feathers. That's what you've been doing to yuuji to the person you love best in all the world. He needs to be able to fly free. I know you love him and want to keep him, but you let your fear of losing him drive you to hold him too tight and now something beautiful has shattered right in your hands. If you had just trusted him he would have flown free and been happy, and always flown back to you. But you held on too tight and now he needs to flee. Ugh ouch 😫. Now I'm really worried about how their eventual reunion will go because that chapter count looks so threatening to me right now. Beautiful work thanks now I've got to go re read the yuuji files to recover. Maybe even lessons their relationship there is also so so good those silly boys pretending to be in deep hate even as they work to take such good care of each other and build a life together ❤️.

I understand the gardener's plight as I too garden u_u all my stuff is planting, now I'm just weeding, watering, and working on fixing my deck now 83 The outside work never ends!

But glad you enjoyed the chapter <3 even if this story is getting more heartbreaking by the chapter, especially next chapter where things are going to be set for what is to come ; w ; I've actually mapped out this story until the end, now just a matter of writing it all out! But I need to write some lighter things myself to recover XD The next Yuuji Files is coming up as is the last two chapters of Well Executed Failure!

[thessalian]

Thess vs Being the Pack Mule

I need to vent or I am going to punch a wall. I am tempted to punch a wall anyway. A few broken fingers might be a detriment to video games and such, but they'd get me out of typing for a few weeks.

I got us below 200 cases. Came back to about 215. Currently we're at 240. Why? Because I am stuck with the long complicated bullshit. Again. Actually, it's more because Temp is very obviously dawdling over the shorter shit, I assume specifically so that she doesn't have to make the choice between actually doing one of the long complicated bits of bullshit or being really obvious about leaving them for me.

As for New Girl? Well, I've found out why she doesn't do the long ones. Because she tried. I know this because the twelve-minute bit of stupidity by The Breast Guy went back into the queue as "Transcription Suspended", so I went in to find out why. She tried. And she failed miserably. I don't know what the fuck she was doing, but The Breast Guy's dictation isn't so bad as to have that amount of just plain stupid. So I guess I should just never expect her to do any of the long complicated bullshit ever again. Glorious. At least I wasn't called in to fix the fucking thing. As for anything else ... I don't know what New Girl does the rest of the time, but I really hope that she has a job beyond typing. She's done maybe a dozen today, and I think she's done for the day.

Looking at the typing queue is depressing, but looking at the archive is worse. All together, it paints a picture of why I'm stuck doing this much fucking overtime. New Girl either isn't a dedicated typist or just really sucks at the typing (probably both, honestly). Meanwhile, Temp very specifically arranges her day to ensure that she never has to do anything longer than a minute (except for maybe one or two just to prove she does, sometimes, and those never more than three minutes). This means she dawdles around the afternoon, while the doctors are settling into their late afternoon groove that doesn't end until at least 6pm. And I can't plough through it because I'm stuck with atrocities from guys who skip around between the report and the block key and insist on me transcribing information that is actually available on the system, no three-minute typing jobs required. Thus, that work piles up, and I end up having to do it as overtime.

We need either more help, or for the two other people doing any of the typing to get a slap upside the head and told to suck it the fuck up and do shit faster. I am so tired of being the one carrying the fucking department. I am being made into a typing-specific pack mule, and I don't like it.

It's going to be another overtime weekend. I can just tell. I can't make any more of a dent without pulling overtime. And I hurt. Dear gods I hurt. I've only had, like, a single day's break in the last two weeks - I have worked every single other day, and I am not supposed to do that. Plus having to use my breaks between 'normal workday' and 'overtime' running errands. Like getting more painkillers because, again, OW. I don't sleep well because pain and stress, and that piles on...

I swear, all I want for Christmas is a few decent nights' sleep and a fucking break.

[lastoneout]

So the vet gave us some nausea, anxiety, and sleep meds to make the next two weeks more comfortable for my dog, you know just long enough to last until The Appointment, cuz he's clearly having a really bad time, but part of me was kinda hoping he might actually start doing better(and the vet said she thought he really might) and it's really sucking to realize they aren't doing anything at all.

(readmore cuz this got very sad and long sorry)

'Cuz so far the nausea meds seem to be making him throw up more?? Or at least he's throwing up just as much as he was before we gave them to him, and despite him being on a pretty hefty dose of anxiety and sleep meds not only is he STILL pacing all night(which keeps us awake bcs it's loud) he's pacing EVEN MORE and I can tell the meds are doing something bcs he's clearly inebriated but it's not helping him sleep it's just making it so as he paces he runs into everything and falls over a bunch which is making tons of noise...

It's just really hard to watch, cuz it highlights how much he's suffering, and that's just the puking and the pacing, he's also almost bitten me(which he's NEVER done before) when I was just trying to clean off his paw cuz he stepped in the throw up, and he also keeps snarling at my fiancé and he's got trauma from a severe dog bite he had as a child so that's not ideal to say the least, and he keeps going to the bathroom on our back porch instead of waiting until he gets onto the dirt and like...I just am starting to wonder if deciding to put off saying goodbye for two weeks was like really selfish on my part?? Especially bcs every day I just feel so bad for him that I'm depressed and I can't eat and it's just awful for us both.

I wish it didn't have to be this way, I really do, but I think his health has really gotten to a point where it's effecting everyone in the house super negatively(on top of the fear of dogs being triggered my fiancé is a light sleeper and the constant pacing keeps him up) but like god then I feel awful bcs I shouldn't be thinking about making things easier on myself, right? Even if my dog's a burden I love him and I should put in the work...but yeah it's just...it's so fucking bad and I have no idea how ANY of us are going to survive the next two weeks and that alone is making me feel way more like shit than anything else.

I just keep reminding myself that I'm doing the right thing, not by waiting, but by knowing that it's time for us to let him go, because god I can't even remember the last time he wagged his tail or got excited or happy about literally anything and he can't sleep or keep food down and he's 13 so it's not like we can fix it(and even if we could I doubt we could afford it, we can barely afford his meds) and the meds aren't even helping and I can't keep putting him through all this just because of my emotional baggage.

And I know all of this is the price we pay for loving each other and it's so very worth it but god is it hard sometimes. It's really fucking hard. And idk why but last year with my other dog it didn't feel this way, I didn't hate myself or feel selfish, maybe because she was def suffering a LOT but also she was still...idk she still had her wits about her? We really got to say goodbye, like she was still there for us to say goodbye to. This time kinda feels like I'm keeping someone on life support despite knowing they're never going to wake up bcs I can't deal with it and it's making me hate myself SO much I didn't even know what to do.

He barely even recognizes me anymore, and I can't comfort him no matter how hard I try. I almost feel like there's nothing for me to even say goodbye to because he's constantly confused and flinches when I pet him and won't come near me even when I call him over and keeps trying to bite me when I try to help him.

I just wish I could help him. Or that I could like...let him know that's what I'm trying to do, that I'm still here and I still love him. But I can't even do that.

[nerdnag]

How is your work situation? Still improving?

Yes!!

Well. The main thing that fucked me up is still improving, at least! The coworker who used to be really negative toward me has been nice recently, and I suspect it may be because my new boss has talked to her about it (which I have to assume she has done). The new boss and I have an excellent relationship and we think alike on all the most important stuff. Also a lot of the things I had to do in the past year are now no longer my responsibility which is a huge relief.

However. I may be a tiny bit--ok large bit swamped right now.

See, for the past half year or so I have been working on developing an IT platform for our clients which will replace our old one. (I have built it within another software, so don't go thinking I'm a pro software developer or anything, I've just played with lego basically...) Although some of my coworkers have gotten involved in the later stages, I'm still the main project owner, and I'm the only one who fully knows how everything works.

We have a little over 100 clients to move from the old platform to the new one, it takes somewhere between 1-2 hours minimum to move one of them (as well as 1 hour more for some extra polish), and we might lose access to the old platform on Sept 1st because of... reasons. So we need to move as many as we can before then.

Also I've been stressing around in the past week trying to write the manuscript for/edit informative videos about the new platform (and if it hadn't been for the fact that my partner happens to love recording voice stuff and is also good at it then I might have had to fully record the videos as well, but thank god my boss allowed me to bring in my partner to do it instead, so now I only have to write the script, record the moving pictures and edit the videos together), all while scribbling together a manual for the clients (which I'm giving almost the exact same content as the script for the videos because fuck it) and moving the very first client to the new platform two days ago, while writing an internal manual for my other coworkers who are involved in the project as for how to move a client, and struggling to fix last-second bugs, and tomorrow I'm live-showing all our co-workers who have not been involved so far how to use the new platform, and on Tuesday I'm doing the same for our clients, and... And...

And next week I'm starting up a new client (who will take up 50% of my time until december) while juggling another client (on 25%), and who knows what unexpected issues may occur with the new platform in the meantime, not to mention all the other more sporadic clients which I have barely had time for in the past year, and other internal company stuff I need to do...

... Ok I'm a huge bit swamped.

But tbh I'm much rather swamped as in "too much to do" than treated badly by coworkers. And things will improve in a few months.

(Besides it's partly my own fault anyway that it's this stressful right now, because I've known for over a year that we had the Sept 1st deadline, but because I was swamped by other things and felt horrible at work most of the time and because my adhd happens to thrive on short deadlines, I delayed the project until I basically couldn't delay it any more. I mean, it's not only my fault. It's just. I can't really duck away from all the blame, you know.)

But yes! Things are improving for sure ^_^

[impistry]

Just a lil update

So because I'm still dealing with that long-standing shoulder injury that is interfering with my ability to draw for any length of time (I'm able to doodle on paper for short bursts, but digital is out for the time being), I've actually been actively trying to chip away at the script for Numskull's backstory that will eventually become a comic.

Now with this said, it's going to be a while until I can actively start it, but I might see if I can at least thumbnail some pages since that does count as A) On paper and B) Can be done quickly (not very detailed, they are just to get ideas down on paper).

Pretty much I miss working on comic stuff, and the burnout I experienced with Side Quest has subsided to the point where I'm interested in doing visual storytelling again (I had fun with it, even though I won't be going back to working on Side Quest save for a few key scenes that I still have brainworms for).

So yeah, I'm not completely out of the art game, I'm just on an extended hiatus from Art due to things out of my control. Just a side note on the health part of things (if anyone is interested): I was told at my last appointment with Ortho (7/11) that if the injection failed to help, my next step was surgery to fix the problem, and I'm honestly to the point where I think that is about the only way for me to recover full functionally at this point in time. Being that I already went through 4 months of Physical Therapy (weekly visits from Nov 2022-Apr 2023), 3 injections (two last year and one last month, which has already started to wear off), and I've been doing targeted exercises at home for over 9 months (been doing some sort of at-home PT since March of 2022), and none of the above has improved my situation. This is why I am pretty sure surgery is on the horizon for me, and why I'm honestly fine with it if they tell me that is what they need to do. I have a ton of other chronic health problems, and I don't want to add a shoulder issue to those. I can work around my other issues to be able to do art, but I sadly I can't work around shoulder problems.

[sasukimimochi]

eurghhghgh this gets a little long but i'm not putting a read more line cuz i put TLDR at the bottom and i want that shown.

i'm starting to think uploading weekly is more difficult than i thought now that i'm trying to also work on other things during the week, i haven't had time to work on any of the companion fics for gom or any of my other projects, and i think GOM is suffering a bit for it [last week i did just basic sketches for the chapter bc i was struggling to get everything done in time]

and that means i also don't really have time to stream if i want to draw while you guys watch, since i stream for a few hours at least [the one i did the other day was about six hr, you can see the highlight reel here, since the vod will eventually be deleted as all vods disappear after like 7 days. i just trimmed off the start and end where i'm talking nonsense and saved that as my highlight reel. sorry about the audio being a bit funky for my mic i'll bring my laptop closer to me next time].

But also the biggest thing [on top of wanting to complete more chapters and make a buffer]: i really want to reread the entirety of Ghost of mine so i can check for errors or inconsistencies, all i could do last week was listen to the tts of 12-16 while trying to get a drawing for 17 prepared, and i couldn't fix all the errors i heard since i was just trying to fix the timeline errors as a minimum before posting the chapter. the extra time would give me more time to proofread Ghost of Mine carefully, as well as give the new chapters and art the attention it deserves. [and...actually take care of my irl self better, it's hard to find time for things like cooking and cleaning beyond what i do for the older man i live with].

So what i'm trying to say is although i didn't think i needed it before, i am changing my mind about it now. so i think it's a good idea for me to upload every two weeks instead of one...at least until i (hopefully) am able to catch up to the point of having stuff prepared ahead of schedule.

i swear on my god awful adhd that i will sit down with my sprint bot [a bot that times me and tracks my word count, not an AI], and write with no distractions at least once a day [unless i have things that i am forced to do and can't get to it, but i can get a lot done when i'm using the sprint bot to make myself focus]. So i will hopefully be making the two week change worth it by getting a lot done and being able to return to weekly updates when things are less cramped and there's stuff prepared properly ahead of time.

I hope that's alright with all of you, cuz i love working on gom it's just a lot for me to get done in a week with everything else i want to do!!

just imagine if i had more time i might be able to start posting TWPT along side gom [it's the jiang cheng lan xichen companionfic for GOM that i haven't had time to write as of late, i have it completely outlined but i just don't have time to write it anymore rn. check it out on the masterpost for my MDZS projects]. or the MXY companionfic as well, which i already started but i can't keep working on because of time as well.

basically there's a lot going on for gom besides the main fic that i haven't been able to get to and it just continues to get further behind in those aspects because i can't get the time for it. so really, i need those two weeks and i'm only just now admitting it to myself that i can't push out updates every two days like i used to and especially not now with these other projects and wanting to branch my stuff out more. There's so much i wanna do! lmao

TLDR; i want to change to bi-monthly updates for GOM so that i can increase my quantity and quality of all projects and future updates properly. I appreciate your amazing patience and i hope to make this change worth it!

i will always update you guys if i make changes like this. i can't leave the changes in your hands completely, but i will continue to upload on sunday since that's the day you guys like! expect the next GOM update on the 23rd instead of the 16th, and every two weeks from the 23rd.