atthequillsmercy

Workout Dump: New Missions!

I needed a break from running for almost an hour on Sunday, so I did some walking and the Wirk peddler up till today. It was still rough going, but I was able to hold my pace well. My form, not so much. I need to work on that. And I got the chance to get into the new missions on Zombies Run! It still sucks that the original Abel is gone… But as for my actual fitness, these long runs are a bitch to be motivated to do. Once I get on the treadmill, it’s fine. It also gives me a chance to catch up on my very long list of things I wanna watch.

Sadly, the Hello Kitty collab is done, so now I go back to not even thinking of McDonald’s as an option for food. But I seem to be all about the sandwiches lately. If I ever save up enough money for a new oven, I’ll be baking my own bread instead of buying it. I love to play around with flavors, and it’s cheaper! Win-win! Not that I should be having a lot of carbs anyway. I’m not the type of person to demonize carbs, but I do need to keep them under control if I want to lose more weight. Making more things at home puts more control in my hands. I can literally make half a loaf or a couple of buns instead of buying expensive bread from the store and feeling pressured to use it all up before it grows fur. And even though I’m tired after work and overtime and all my side stuff, I do enjoy baking! I make little gift bags of Pagan cookies for the Solstice for my friends and everyone at work nearly every year. I think I’m doing pretty good overall. It’s been a long week.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: I need some advice. What sounds better?

(Image Source)

I’ve been flying through my ARCs and working out longer these days, and that may have impacted my numbers a bit. There’s also the fact that I’ve split myself into two additional projects. However, I am LOVING working on those projects. I take that as a win! Plus, I have some time off coming up where I can take a whole day to just work on one project and make some real progress. I’ll be trying for more blog posts, too. I have a nice pile of reviews all finished and plenty of books that need reading. Writing will come first, of course. But I guess it’s the numbers for today that matter, right? And these are in progress numbers. I have more writing to do tonight:

  • A: 20,814 (to be honest, I’m stuck with this one)
  • B: 1,944
  • C: 19,921 (kinda stuck on this one, too. This always happens when I hit a big action set piece)
  • Manos: 1,956
  • Antichrist BF: 4,433

Since I’ve been so inspired with the Manos “fix,” I have wondered how I should go about posting it. It will be kinda long for one Patreon post. I’m trying to hit most of the beats for the movie so, I was thinking maybe posting it in parts on Patreon, then posting it in my ebook shop here for free if someone wants the whole chunk at once. Which one would you be more likely to read? I’m guessing it’ll be easier on the eyes to break it up into parts… We’ll see. I have to get more words in before I get some sleep. I have a long run in the morning.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

Workout Dump: The Final Push

As you can see from the workout lengths, I jumped to the longer runs yesterday. I know runs like that are not a good idea to do daily, so today was a nice, easy session on the Wirk peddler and some much-needed stretches. And I’m gonna miss this series of Zombies Run missions. I love the characters, and I hope they revisit this series one day. But I have the new missions to get through! I’ll start those tomorrow. I’ll have to build my way back up to where I was in 2020 during lockdown when I had all the time in the world at home.

While it’s probably not for the best that I keep getting McD’s kid’s meals for the toys, I like to think I’m doing pretty ok with my other meals. Those pork dumplings are 200-ish calories for 5, the sandwiches have protein from lemon chicken or roast beef, and that pasta dish was loaded with spinach and ground beef. Safe ground beef, since I live in the US. I’m also enjoying the lemon pepper wings. Shoutout to my air fryer for saving me some calories. And you can also see where I am working my way through those random tomato plants. They’ve been pretty fruitful! I’ve been getting so many of them that I’ve been eating those Caesar salads more. AAAANNNNNND, I’m trying to vairy my lunches. While I adore the beef or chicken with a veggie, sometimes it’s nice to change it up. Once the McD’s collab is over, I can go back to going years without going there again. Thank goodness I can enjoy the smaller portions because I’m not really that into fast food anymore anyway.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: I started another one!

(Image Source)

Okay, I didn’t NEED to start the “There, I Fixed It” stuff right away, but when inspiration strikes, you take it. I’m probably stretching myself too thin, but fine. I’m going for it. The first movie I picked to “fix” is Manos: The Hands of Fate. This movie is often cited as one of the worst movies ever made. However, the idea of travelers happening upon a scary cult is a classic, and I think it’d be fun to write this! I’m going to try to keep as many of the character names the same as the movie, but not necessarily all the scenes. There’s this overly long makeout scene and this random-ass couple of ladies at the end. If I can’t naturally fit them in, I’m cutting that out.

Should I add another project that will keep me from finishing the stuff I have and publishing it? Probably not. Yes, I need the money; yes, I need to produce to make that money, and I should treat this like a job, but I also write because I love it. And I want to keep loving it. When it’s complete, I’ll put it up on my Patreon for free. These will always be free since they’re mostly just for fun, and I’m not smart enough to grapple with the copyright issues that come with doing this. Better not to take the chance of getting sued. I guess this would fall under “transformative,” though. Whatever, we’re not here for that. We’re here for the word counts:

  • A: 20,814
  • B: 740
  • C: 19,862
  • Antichrist BF: 4,433
  • There I Fixed It: 775

The one good thing about having the extra projects in my Google Docs is that I can pull out my phone whenever I feel like it and get in a few more words here and there. I’m also posting some previews over on my BlueSky as teasers. They will probably have typos, so be gentle.

This also does mean that the longer projects will not have much of a dramatic increase but I am putting my foot down and not starting anything else. I am already teetering on the edge of burnout and trying to push through it until the inevitable day where I accidentally sleep through my alarm and sleep for 12 hours. Again.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

Workout Dump: Doubling up

It’s probably not the best idea to do the desk peddler and a run on the same day, but I feel like if I have the energy, I should take advantage of it. I don’t do that every day, though. I’m sure it’s terrible for my joints to do so, and some random professional will come across my little blog and scold me, especially as I go through menopause. But a calorie burnt is a calorie burnt, and I’ll take it.

Yes, I was bad and made another trip to McDonald’s to see what toy I could get, and I was not disappointed. I should probably stop now, but I really want the Cinnamoroll x Destoroyah toy. It’s dumb, I know, but the little gremlins make me happy. Other than that, my usual Itaki meal is making the rounds, and the price of lettuce is surprisingly going down, giving me more chances to have a nice salad. I did pick bacon as a protein, and I am aware that’s not the healthiest choice. I just need a break from tuna sometimes. I still have to chill out with the salt, which I tend to go ham on when I’m stressed out or on my period. That’s always been a struggle but I’m doing better.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: And then there were four

I almost forgot I needed to do an update today. I was able to post another part of Dewey on Patreon and since I’ve joined Koala Quill, I’ve earned two badges:

It’s actually a good motivator and Philip was SUPER helpful getting the browser extension to work with Postbox. If I have Postbox open while I type on my Freewrite, it fills up the progress bar just like with Google Docs. Speaking of which, that brings us to the subject line. See, I usually only have three projects in development at a time since only three fit on the Freewrite:

I’m sure someone out there has found ways to hack their way into fitting more but I don’t want to. But, since I have three non smut projects going right now, I saved the B slot for the short smut and moved Antichrist Boyfriend to Google Docs. For now, the breakdown is as such:

  • A: (Emma) 20,814
  • B: (smut) 513
  • C: (Dewey) 19,645
  • Google: 4,042

Google Docs is probably where I’ll be writing the “There, I Fixed It” stories which I will just leave on Patreon for free. Maybe if I write enough of them, I’ll make them a free ebook or something. We’ll see I end up hating this little side quest or not. I’m really hoping I can get some material that will entice someone to my Patreon and finally get some members. I was able to get three stories done last month and I’m hoping to either match that or exceed it.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

Lenni Reviews: “Witching Hour” Vol. 1, by Paru Itagaki

(Image Source)

*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is suggested for mature readers.

Trapped in a marriage where they are only intimate to get pregnant, Megumi longs for a more fulfilling sex life. When a spirit manifests to satisfy her, her husband, Yuji, grows suspicious.

This is weird. At first I thought this would be kinda goofy, but it’s actually dark. Megumi is essentially cheating on her husband with a ghost; the consent is iffy, and while I understand this is just the first volume, it’s paced like it’s a one-shot. It’s rushed, and overall, this is a bit off-putting, and I don’t think it is in the way the author is intending. There’s gotta be a way for this premise to be done and work without giving me the ick. 2 out of 5.

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Much needed whimsy

Not that I would ever be happy working late every day, but it is really nice to get a workout out of the way first thing in the morning, then go about the rest of my day. I did slow my pace this time and didn’t wear the weights, but I bumped up the incline. And I still love this set of Venture missions. They’re so interesting!

Soooooo, McDonald’s is doing a Hello Kitty and Godzilla collab, and much like with the Kpop Demon Hunters collab, I headed out to see if I could score a cool toy. I didn’t get the one I wanted, but it’s still cute! And a kid’s meal of 4 nuggets and tiny fries is only around 300-400 calories. Other than feeling blegch for eating McDonald’s at all, it didn’t destroy my caloric deficit for the day. I was able to score some yu choy on sale, and the little tweak of using the mini ramen still worked for keeping overall calories under control. It’s so sad how tickled I am about that toy. I will take any bit of cuteness I get my hands on. Yes, I will try a different store to see if I can get the Hello Kitty or Cinnamoroll toys. They just tailor-made this to mine my wallet, didn’t they…

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: *Incoherent Grumbling*

I was doing so well this week, then POOF! Last night horrible gas pains woke me up around 2am and tortured me until around 5 when I got back to sleep. When I am this overtired, I don’t get on the treadmill. That takes a certain amount of focus and coordination to make sure I don’t bust my ass. I’ve been through enough this year. Desk peddler was today.

I paired some of the prepped chicken with a Tokyo Mini Noodle, green beans, onion, and garlic. I like the mini noodles because I get the fun of ramen noodles for only about 100 calories. I’m still enjoying my sandwich habit using some prosciutto, tomato, and parmesan with some basil spread. It’s so nice, I really didn’t need the chips.

I would like to say “Oh, I’m going to bed super early to make up for last night” but nah. I have to edit one of my drafts so I can print a fresh copy. Whenever I’m stuck when I’m moving forward in a story, I re-read the whole thing to shake something loose. Sometimes that works, sometimes I hit the end and get pissed there isn’t more, then begrudgingly admit that in order for there to be more, I have to write it. Being a creative is weird…

Follow me on BlogLovin.

atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: August 2026 Roundup

(Image Source)

I have to admit that while I haven’t put many more words on my longer stories, I was able to catch up with a bunch of ARCs, post a ton of reviews, and publish three stories this month on my smut pen name. I am also in the process of assembling bundles for that pen name, learning the hard way about merging and converting documents, let me tell ya…

Despite not adding on to the longer projects as much as I’d wanted to, I am ready to post to Patreon next month. I’ve also added more items to my online store; all comics I’m looking to get rid of. I’m also thinking of adding a new project to my Patreon that will be available for free on all posts. I wanna call it “There, I fixed it,” where I take ideas that I feel had potential but not the best execution. It’s mostly movies where, like The Happening, the concept could absolutely be handled in a way that’s effective and not so goofy. I think it would be a fun way to stretch my writing skills. I have no set schedule for this; it’ll be done sporadically whenever I have the chance to do it. I just don’t have the audience to commit to taking requests or a hard timeframe. I’m all about pumping out content at this point.

I am also making plans to catch up with the ARCs I have that are not comics or manga. I got a nice one from Flame Con that I wanna read and a pile of library books to get through, including Haunting Adeline, because I want to see if it’s as bad as everyone says, and In the Miso Soup for the same reason. I also have some more movie and TV show reviews on deck.

Like I said, pumping out content. Maybe volume will help me pull out of this pit.

Follow me on BlogLovin.