#It’s the Main Oc from the project I’ve been posting about.

[xxspirit]

🩷

🚨 Warning! Yap alert!! 🚨

(About requests and some new changes to Camellia’s design, I bolded the main points)

Just a heads up, that I am closing requests, but will be finishing up the ones I have already been sent, thank you for sending me requests! It was a very nice refresher to change it up for a bit. I know I haven’t really posted a lot of requests, but I have a LOT more to draw- I’ve been kinda unmotivated lately, but I’m slowly getting back into it now.

I do want to say that I am not doing requests for personal oc’s. I apologize for not saying this sooner. 🙏

(Yes I do also have this in my blog’s bio, but I will be deleting that shortly.)

I do have upcoming projects for- I think you can guess, but I don’t really want to spoil much cause usually when I do I end up scrapping the idea after I hyped some people up for nothing which I hate when I do that ughrhegdn-sorry :(

But yea the main reason why I wanted to take a break from drawing Cami- and Dreamberry is one- was running out of ideas for them, and two, I was giving Camellia a slight make-over. Nothing big just proportional adjustments(HEHASKNEEECAPSNOW OMGGMGMFHHFH), color adjustments(I’ve been all over the place with the colors, and I wouldn’t consinder this drawing to be his new color palette- I gave this piece more of a pink hue- but I do want his green’s to be warmer and a little bit lighter/softer), and the biggest difference, his pupils and eyes!

I feel like his little flower pupils clashed with the design a lot since it didn’t really match with any other part of his design, these ones match a lot better now, but I still really like the flower pupils so I made it to where when he gets really excited he just go:

I also made his eye color darker, made it the same color as his scarf so you could actually see the pupils instead of having to outline it

[luv-indigo]

okay so, redesigning nadine for the third and (hopefully) final time. i felt she looked too similar to soraya (my keyframes fall mc) so i changed nadine up a bit. also!! i was trying to find oc templates to fill out for my visual novel ocs and although there’s so many out there, none were exactly what i was looking for soooo…. I made my own! i’ll post my other our life ocs with them soon but first, nadine ! (again)

I’ve also changed my own mind. Nadine will be my MC for Qiu’s route.

Nadine introduction <3

Nadine spent much of her early childhood moving from place to place, all within her home state of California but oftentimes in different cities. Moving around so often made it hard to keep in contact with friends and after a while made it especially hard making friends in the first place.

When Opal tells Nadine they‘re moving once again, Nadine is surprised to learn they’re moving to Oregon, their neighboring state. This time, she learns it’ll be a more permanent location. Nadine doesn’t know exactly how to feel. She’s so used to moving around that being in a place for so long sounds foreign, weird and new. However, part of her can’t help but feel excited, especially since she gets her own room now! But no matter what, she knows mama will be with her every step of the way.

Upon meeting Qiu and Tamarack, Nadine quickly feels they can be the best of friends. Nadine has always been more of a quiet person but not necessarily shy. Spend enough time with her and you’ll find she can talk quite a lot. Yet she’s perfectly content with simply listening as well.

Nadine is mostly a rule follower. Rules are there for a reason right? She prides herself on being neat and orderly. All her belongings are pristine and in their place because that’s just how she likes it. During step 1, Nadine strongly dislikes getting dirty. Which can be difficult to avoid if you’re playing outside in the woods.

Step Two !!

After four years, Nadine has adjusted well into her new home. Although Nadine needs glasses she very much prefers to use eye contacts instead. It’s also the most convenient when ice skating. She’s taken on ice skating as her main past time and she’s fairly good. Her transportation of choice has been rollerblading so it makes sense she got into ice skating as well.

Her other hobbies are more on the creative side. She enjoys crafting and drawing on occasion. Cosplaying is also one of her major hobbies. For years she has worked on making her Halloween costumes with the help of Mama.

During this time Nadine becomes more of a shy person. During her earlier childhood, she had no problem voicing her thoughts and opinions but it seems now that sort of thing gets harder to do as you age. Thankfully, she has her two close friends to turn to whenever she needs a hand, and in turn she will be there for them as well.

Step Three !!

Nadine has less and less time to do things she wants. If this is how adult life is she wants zero part of it </3

Nadine has always prioritized their studies (although that became much harder to do when middle school started due to her procrastination habits). Now college is weighing on their mind. Nadine still very much enjoys ice skating yet she struggles to make time to practice. Similarly, cosplaying has turning into a year long project (for Halloween of course). Doing multiple cosplays a year is something she doesn’t have time for anymore. Although they are often busy, Nadine will always make time for a special someone and her best friend, Tamarack.

Step Four !!

Nadine’s all grown up </3

Throughout many years Nadine has learned things about themselves and grown into the person they are today. Her experiences and the people she has been around since she was ten years old have impacted her life to mold her into who she is, for better or worse. And honestly, they wouldn’t have it any other way.

And finally this little thing I made with all of Nadine’s doll icons. I had to edit many of them to fit the hair style and clothing options I wanted and it literally took forever </3 ouGh

Also, I apologize for the quality. I tried to preserve it as I was inserting the drawings into the template but resizing may have messed up the quality </3

[tentakilly]

Unpopular opinion but the SCP community thinks so objectively(as in one way) that a subjective(as in creative) explanation is immediately disliked or hated because it isn’t the normal sci-fi jargon.

(Rant/vent)

For being an extremely talented community of authors and artists and for being the world’s biggest collaborative writing project this community really, really hates a creative idea or observation that doesn’t fit a pre established cannon(just classic its always just classic).

A couple years ago on the SCP subreddit there was a kid asking how reality bending works there was over a hundred comments explaining the sci-fi world building and the op repeatedly responded to those comments with confusion they just kept explaining. When a commenter came in and explained it like it was an artstyle that comment and the ops comment thanking the commenter for helping them understand were downvoted into hell. You had to sort by controversial to find it.

A while back there was a post about how they didn’t understand SCP-3999 and wanted a little bit more explanation. All of the notes were filled with people explaining there hatred for the story and why it was bad. When the op kept asking for why the hate I other than it wasn’t scary they got shat on for it.

A while back on an old now dead account I commented on an SCP power scale meme(making fun of power scaling) that we could have them try and scale Darling Pink(and actual scp) because magical girls are allways a power scaler’s weakness(an actual problem in power scaling communitys). This joke was met with so many people going like “you can’t do that 682 solos” in a non joking way.

Speaking of 682 someone a while back said that there headcannon for it was that it was a thought experiment and that comment was met with so many people going “wrong 682 is an actual creature”.

One time there was a conversation about how there was this really good tale(forgot wich one) but a lot of people didn’t finish it because it was really long and wasn’t the kind of story they enjoyed. That conversation was met with “just finish it” and “if you don’t like it/understand it just read it better”.

Would you believe me if I said that all those examples came from my experience. This god damn “community” nearly killed my passion for art and writing on several occasions because I thought differently than everyone else.

Just like I’m belittled and looked down upon irl I’m mocked for thinking differently here no matter the site. It’s been like this since I joined the community at 10. No one bothered to ask if the questions came from an insecure child and mocked her relentlessly. Telling her, her art was bad and wouldn’t improve. Telling her she didn’t deserve to have her art seen by the world.

To this day I’m scared of posting officially on the wiki dot because i know my art and stories will get mocked relentlessly because they’re different. Because they’re mine. Because they’re a part of me. You guys nearly killed apart of me because you couldn’t handle a very obvious child’s questions about the story and world you built together. Because a child was looking for a place to hide from the world that was hurting her and you failed her and made her actively scared of participating in a community that’s supposed to be collaborative. The community that raised her.

My oc Toby Miller. I’ve posted about him only once compared to the rest of my SCP ocs and that’s because he’s so deeply connected to my struggles of being understood that I’m afraid of taking about him despite him being the main character because he will be called stupid. He will be mocked for being different than all the other official characters. He will be belittled and be nothing more than a dumb kids oc.

Yall can’t look beyond a surface level understanding and when people’s interpretations of a story vary vastly you get mad and kill there want to participate. It sucks.

[honeybewrites]

Writeblr Intro!!

Figured I should do an introduction for my little crevice of the internet! 

I go by HoneyBe, or just Honey, or just Be, or really any other name you feel like! I mostly use she/her, they/them pronouns, but feel free to use whatever. I’m in my 20s and on the AroAce spectrum. I’ve been writing on and off since middle school and I’m hoping to get better at improving my skills, because 12 year old me didn’t care about that but 20 year old me does. I’m hoping to find (or build) a little community to support and help each other with all the writing things. Mostly though, this is just me gaslighting and guilt tripping myself into thinking that by not writing and posting, I will disappoint a nonexistent audience on the internet and not just myself, because apparently that’s the only way my brain will cooperate with me. 

Couple other little tidbits about me:

Big fan of the found family trope. Literally will make me squeal at a highly obnoxious volume.

LOVE extensive world building. I want to know every detail of a magic system and how a planet operates. I will listen to you rant about lore for hours, just please let me do the same every once in a while. I am begging, please, I want to tell you all the things.

I’m a little funky photographer trying to start her own little funky photography business, mostly to give myself more time to travel and write and also to get out of my full-time retail job (it’s pure hell and I hate it with an unholy, unmatchable heat of a thousand suns).

I love flowers. They’re just so pretty and as a little honeybee myself, it’s part of my job.

If you mention dragons, you will summon me. I have an obsession with the magical creatures and it knows no bounds.

My Main WIP, or I guess world, is what got me into writing in the first place, and I’ve been messing with it for years. You’d think that would mean I have it decently fleshed out, right? Nope. Unfortunately, The Plot keeps escaping my basement and causing a train wreck. If anyone has better restraint suggestions, let me know. My neighbors are starting to get concerned.

Anywho! The whole world is called The Seven Realms, or as my docs are titled, 7R. I know, so original. She wants to grow up and be a series with little series siblings, all connected in one Big Family. Seriously, I have OCs all over this world’s history and very vague vibes, aka, The Plot, to go along with them. Here are my two main ones.

Eclipse of War Chronicles (EoWC)

Colliding Stars (supposedly book 1)

The Realms are in chaos. A war started nearly a hundred years ago, still raging today, has wrecked both sides. The original intent of the war has long left everyone’s mind; it’s now a fight over territory and unification. The Realms border on complete and totally collapse from the strain of this ongoing blood bath and neither side refuses to admit defeat.

Project Viall, created during the hight of the war, was set on creating superior fighters. After many failed attempts, two successful subjects were created from the genetic experiments.Trained side by side to be flawless and merciless loyal weapons of death, they end up on opposite sides of this vicious war. Both intent on destroying the other, while their partner and closest friend hides behind the mask. Bonds are tested. Secrets revealed. Loyalties made and destroyed as two partners threaten to destroy the entirety of the Realms in their hunt for blood.

Legend of the Ancients (LotA)

The Fallen Dragons (supposedly book 1 of another series)

A brutal war has left the dragons all but extinct. To preserve the species, the remaining dragons have gone into hiding, leaving behind a subspecies borne through the war to fend for themselves: the Tanimoriem. Generations later, no one has seen or heard of a dragon, leaving the Tanimoriem as their only remains to once was. Knowing little of their history and being hunted simply for being kin to dragons, the Tanimoriem learned how to fight viciously and keep to themselves, earning a reputation as vile, unfeeling demons.

Accepting a bounty mission, Ryuk, a seasoned Tanimoriem, gets more than he bargained for. He had been told this was another monster that needed killing. A dangerous beast. Instead he’s met with a child who finds his horns and wings fascinating. Ryuk is forced to look after the child until he can figure out what secretive plot is brewing, because it might just involved the Tanimoriem.

Of course, my goblin brain has given me plenty more snippets and random characters in different times in this world that I have yet to do much with. The world of the Seven Realms has consumed me for years and I have been shown no mercy. I’m planning to do a proper intro post to each WIP and their characters at some point… *puts twenty reminders in phone to write intro posts*

Also!! I will take all asks, tags, and DMs you can throw at me. Literally. Ask me about anything. Books, WIPs, OCs, hell, even ask about my least favorite color or my favorite bread. I do not care. I will answer. I want to be friends will all of you!! I don’t sting! I promise!!

[madlificent]

OC-tober Day 1: Fave OC

Sorochi Wolffe easily took the cake for this one. She’s one of my oldest OCs, beginning her existence as a Naruto OC as Sasuke’s sibling. But slowly, over the past 15 years, she has morphed into her own character, separate from her original ties. As that shift began, she started to become more and more of my personal emotional avatar, taking on many of my blossoming struggles with gender and identity. She was bisexual before I came out in late middle school. She began taking a more feminine form of expression long, long before I ever even seriously considered that I might be trans. And now, after I officially came out and transitioned her alongside myself, she’s sort of become a template for my own transition (I’ve actually been blonde for the past year as a result). 

And now, as my struggles with my identity begin to wane and I further accept and love who I truly am, Sorochi has been allowed to become her own person. She still holds many aspects of myself; my autistic traits, my sexuality and gender identity, some of my mannerisms. However, I have also allowed for other traits seen in friends, peers, and my partner to soak into her and develop her into a character that still reflects me, yet stands out enough to not be a simple self-insert. She is now one of the three main characters of Crystal Heart, my husband and I’s ongoing creative project that will, one day, culminate in a sort of mixed media graphic novel. 

For this post, I wanted to showcase both the art that I’ve made of her in the past year and the progression of her character design. I was initially against ever dredging up my old artwork, but as I played with putting it into this piece, my husband and friends pitched in that this might actually be the perfect way to showcase and talk about her. We get to see her transition as a character, following along a journey from Sasuke clone to the cute, short, blonde transgal she is today. The top post in the background collage is her most recent and official design for Crystal Heart. I really wanted to allow her design to reflect her transition, allowing for her shoulders to remain a bit broad and her face to show echoes of masculinity, but to hold the soft roundness that my own face has taken on. The addition of bangs and allowance for self-expression via makeup really improved her overall design and helped sell her generally melancholic, quiet demeanor. 

She will always hold a very near and dear place in my heart for all that she has represented for me over the past 15 years. And I am glad that, at the most current point in that time, I am finally able to divorce her slightly from me and develop her as a character in this passion project of ours. – I have a Ko-fi, where I am starting to post previews of upcoming illustrations, blog posts about creative topics, and more! It’s still in early stages, but I am quite committed to using it as a platform to share in my process and my love for this medium and our blooming passion project! So if you like my artwork and would like to support me, even sharing the page is greatly appreciated!

[lockandkeyhyena]

SadboyCats Masterpost

What is SadboyCats?

SadboyCats is my main oc universe! It’s basically just me having fun with anthropomorphic cats :) there’s no set main story yet but characters all have backstories and exist in the same world/timeline.

What is this masterpost for?

To help keep people keep track of the lore and story!! SbC is my most disorganised story so here’s a way for you guys to actually know whats going on lol. This won’t be completely comprehensive of every single post i’ve ever made, but will cover the broad strokes so you can understand the characters and timeline before diving into the tag if you’re further interested!

Main Characters

Fly

Angry, sad, apathetic and kind of a dickhead, Fly is content to exist scraping by with petty thievery trying to cover his monthly rent in his shitty apartment. That is, until he thieves from the mob and is caught red-handed. Instead of killing him outright, the one in charge decides to utilise his unique talents for their own ends. Now, stuck forced to commit illegal actions for a group of cats he couldn’t give less of a shit about, all Fly cares about is not dying or going to jail.

Hercules Beetle

Self-assured, aloof, intelligent and polite, this blind mob boss is in charge of the mafia. Having inherited his position from his mother when she went to prison, Hercules believes he is wholly content with his life despite having to deal with the occasional nuisance. When he comes across Fly, he sees a unique opportunity to fix a thorn in his side and forcefully enlists his talents to the mafia.

Leroy

Relaxed, jolly and ever-vigilant, this cheerful mobster is Hercules’ second in hand. Despite outward appearances, Leroy hardly ever lets anything slip about his past and very little is known about him to those he is not close to. All that you need to know, he says, is to not get on Herc’s bad side.

Fulgur

Eccentric, impulsive, fickle and vivacious, this chaotic master thief has been a thorn in Hercules’ side for a decade, constantly stealing from him and setting his assets on fire, it seems all he wants is the blind cats’ attention. Leader of a gang of thieves, he’s always on the lookout for new recruits.

Important Side Characters

Titan Beetle

Hercules Beetle’s mother and Goliath Beetle’s widow, she has been in jail for tax evasion for the past decade and is almost ready for release.

Goliath Beetle

Hercules Beetle’s late father and former head of the mob, Goliath tragically died when he was shot in the head five times by an unknown assailant.

Ruth Martha

Freelance detective and close personal friend of Titan Beetle, Ruth was the detective first assigned to the Goliath Beetle case back in the day.

Heather Martha

Cheeky, optimistic and friendly, Heather may not approve of her best friend Hercules’ lifestyle, but that doesn’t stop her from caring about him.

All Other Characters

Main Story

Fly, having been caught thieving from the mob, is thrown into a new dangerous lifestyle and enlisted by Hercules and Leroy as a double agent to try and take down Fulgur’s gang of thieves from the inside.

Hercules, dealing with the fact that his mother has just been released from prison and back into his life, tries to distract himself from painful memories by investing in a new project- a way to take down his arch nemesis Fulgur for good.

Curious about my characters? Feel free to go through their tag or shoot me an ask about them! I’m always happy to talk!

[ghostinthegallery]

I can't believe The Silence and the Storm is over a year old! The first anniversary was May 27th (yes I missed my own fic's birthday in my defense I was traveling and forgot how time works).

I'm trying to compose my thoughts because this sure feels like a time a blog post would be fitting. However, my engrams are scrambled because...wow do I have too many feelings.

As some background, I've been a writer for a long time. And I've written 3-5 books (depends on how you count "completing" a book but it's 5 full drafts, 3 of which were heavily edited). I wanted to be a trade published writer (still do) and for a while I was feeling good about my chances! I got lucky and received some wonderful professional mentorship (and met one of my best friends during that program!). I took that guidance to query agents (a necessary step for access to most big/medium US publishers). I knew it would be hard and take time but...4 years later all I have to show are a few requests, hundreds of rejections, and one agent who asked me to rewrite my entire book only to reject me anyway (me, bitter? No not at all nooooo).

I'm a creative person and sharing my work feels like sharing a part of myself. Something that is not easy for me to do. After a while I just assumed I was missing something necessary. My work didn't resonate, but I didn't know how to fix it. I’d never reach anyone in the way I so desperately craved, and it was my fault for not being good enough. I felt broken.

During one of many major depressive episodes my spouse bought me a copy of The Infinite and the Divine. That book has changed my life. I was never much of a fanfic writer before. Either I thought the original work was too good and I didn't think I had anything to add or it was too bad so why would I bother with it when I could just go read/watch something better? 40k inspired me though. The ideas are incredible but underutilized enough that I felt like I had something to add.

So I started writing necron fic because why not? There wasn’t enough for me to read, and I needed more robot stories. Maybe I could rediscover my love of the craft, make some friends, make some robots kiss. Distract my mind from the horrors. So I posted a little OC fic and actually got some nice comments. Hey! Positive reinforcement! Hadn't had that in a while.

Emboldened, I continued in the most normal way possible. Going from a 7 chapter OC story to a giant civil war epic including every named necron character I could find with 6 (then 7...then 9) POVs. It was the type of grand space opera I've always wanted to write but never did because I didn’t think I had the skill and it's harder to sell. Luckily AO3 is free. Ain't no playing to the market there!

Now, a 40k necron civil war space opera is...niche. So I wasn't expecting much. I would have been happy with some kudos, some comments. Fan art felt like a pipe dream, but what are writers if not dreamers? The main goal was to enjoy myself. It was low pressure fun, I love the characters, what could go wrong?

Nothing, but I was wholely unprepared for things to go as right as they did. Y’all have been amazing. So many great comments and ideas exchanged, gorgeous art, fun asks, a lot of screaming (it’s fine probably don’t worry). I’ve never had such a strong outpouring of support for my work. It feels incredible. But also sometimes confusing. I’ve trained myself so well to handle rejection that I kind of forgot how to handle acceptance. Especially for something so personal. This is a weird story about undead space robots, there’s a lot of politics, sometimes the robots have sex. It’s got out there head canons, and 99% of the tyranid parts are pulled out of my ass because nobody knows how the space bugs work okay. My weirdness being embraced on this scale is one of the greatest feelings of my life. But it’s also new, and way out of my comfort zone. I’m being seen and adjusting to that.

Still, writing in this space has been one of the most consistently joyful things in my life for…well, over a year now! It’s changed how I view my art. I actually can create stories that touch people and make them feel things. I can take risks and have them pay off. I know not everyone will love this, but some people really seem to love it. That is mind blowing to me.

It’s making me reassess a lot about how I approach my art. Writing and other. I still plan to pursue publication. I want to get paid for my work, but this is making me consider alternate paths that might fit my style (and psyche) better. I don’t know what the future holds, but if you’d told me a year and a half ago that a big part of it would hinge on an AO3 gay robot skeleton space opera…I would have thought you were nuts, but also hoped you were right because that sounds rad as hell.

So in conclusion, thank you all so much for reading <3

[musingsbycaitlin]

HEY! Writeblr Intro!!!

Hi, my name is Caitlin, and I’m a third year Creative Writing student in rainy England. I’ve got a couple WIPs but none are set in stone so you’ll have to bear with me for a while haha.

- I’m here for a good time so my writing is solely based on my mood and vibe at the time, please do not expect consistency.

- I write short stories mainly but am trying to branch out into novels so you’ll hopefully be seeing a bit more of that in the future.

- I am a university student with anxiety and decision fatigue so things change drastically around here every so often but I promise if I go quiet I will come back.

Let’s get into the WIPs (these will be constantly edited and changing) and feel free to ask me any questions about any of them, even ones that might have been removed from this list if you’re interested.

IF I GIVE UP, SO MUST YOU - a Wild West literary fiction novel

STATUS: currently drafting (on hiatus)

GENRE: literary fiction, sapphic romance(?)

CURRENT WORD COUNT: 3,995

Okay, so a bit of info about this project. I started writing it a bit ago purely because I wanted to write a Wild West novel and then it turned sapphic and then it became literary. It follows an unnamed narrator as she navigates life outside of her small town after she is targeted by bandits in a raid. A coming of age novel that explores what it means to figure things out for yourself whilst battling with false truths engrained into your from a young age.

NIGHT SWIMMING (working title) - a short story collection

STATUS: literally haven’t even started :/

GENRE: literary, horror, surrealist

This collection is my version of NaNoWriMo this year because there is no way I can feasibly write a novel in a month where I also have to write my dissertation first draft and three other short stories like no. I’m hoping to do an update on my page whenever a story is complete, so I will also update this section to include the names of all the stories going in. Stay posted is all I’m saying ;). All I know is I want it to explore the everyday in a surrealist way (as most of my stories do).

DAMAGED GOODS - a dystopian sci-fi novel

STATUS: currently drafting (on hiatus)

GENRE: dystopian, sci-if, speculative

CURRENT WORD COUNT: 2,323

So, I haven’t done an intro post to this yet simply because I had to put it to one side once university started again. A brief summary is this: Auden, an average guy, husband, and father, has gotten into a dreadful car accident. In this society, however, surgery is replaced with metal transplantation. Due to Auden’s extensive injuries, he now must live in suburbia with a completely metal head, arm, and leg.

I’m super happy with this concept and the initial 2,000 words I’ve got I’m pretty okay with. The main issue is where to take it and if it will be a full novel or more of a novella.

EAT YOUR YOUNG - a gothic horror novella

STATUS: currently drafting

GENRE: gothic horror

CURRENT WORD COUNT: 4,950

I haven’t done an intro for this project because I honestly wasn’t sure I’d return to it but the spooky season is upon us and I really want to get back into writing this. Brief Summary: Mr Gerard is an accountant hired by the Heron Manor estate to deal with the affairs of the three sisters residing there after a mysterious death of the man of the house.

This is going to me my main personal priority other than my short stories for now and I’ll try to get an intro out soon.

Okay, so that’s all for me folks. Like I said, any questions please feel free to send me an ask or a message, don’t be a stranger. As a writer I always wanna talk about my projects, OCs, and anything else writing craft related!

I’m tagging some mutuals, if you wish to be tagged or removed :( - let me know x

@annlillyjose @dallonwrites @aesa @winterandwords @iannicellis @isherwoodj

[ellekhen]

Hand, Hearth, and Home

Chapter 56 - Of Waterdeep

Chapter Summary: On the eve of Halsin's attempt to save Thaniel, Church still finds himself disturbed by his own encroaching darkness. He seeks out a friend also haunted by a similar sort of imminent doom, and together they commiserate and contemplate their respective supposed fates.

Pairing(s): Astarion x Male Tav (Main); Past OC x Male Tav Rating: Explicit Length: 292K+ words; Chapters 56/?? (Master Post)

Excerpt below:

“Over here!” a voice calls softly.

Gale has seated himself upon the grass, a blanket spread neatly beneath him and what appears to be the remnants of ritual components. His hands conduct the illusion like an orchestra as they dance soundlessly overhead.

“I was looking for you,” Church mutters wryly, seating himself carefully upon the blanket. Gale’s face is notably serene, rather than the troubled expression that furrowed his brow days earlier. “You’ve been here the whole time?”

“Not quite,” Gale murmurs as he carefully arranges a constellation of stars above them. “I walked around a fair bit. Talked to some of our allies — Halsin, mainly. Took care of a few things. Prepared a few… missives,” he hesitates. “There was one thing left to do, and it was to apologize to you.”

Church huffs a laugh. “I’m not one for grand gestures, but this… this is a nice change,” he admits, scanning the sky. “As far as an apology goes… I’m not sure it’s merited. Not on your part, at any rate.”

Gale shakes his head, flicking away a few stars. “There I was, spouting on about some noble sacrifice I had to make, when I had been berating you for the very same thing.”

“It’s not the same,” Church admits. “You were tasked by a goddess to do something that will save the world. I’ve got a couple of mad fey luring me into another deal for my own selfish reasons.”

Gale frowns. “Wanting to continue one’s existence isn’t selfish.”

Church shoots him a wry glance. “That’s what I’ve been trying to say to you, isn’t it?”

Gale chuckles, casting his eyes back up. 

“So you’ve already spoken with Halsin, then?” Church inquires. “I was going to ask you to help. His diagrams were a bit confusing…”

“I have prepared the relevant components and charts for the Harpers,” Gale assures him absently. “It is too soon to prepare such rituals for them to remain potent for Halsin’s endeavor. We have… some time.”

“And you’ve made use of it,” Church follows his eyes back up to the starry sky. “I should’ve known this was your doing. It’s beautiful.”

“Indeed. The curse is still present of course — just veiled and at arm’s length for now. Not a trick I can repeat often, but tonight?” Gale’s voice falters. “Tonight is different.”

He exhales wistfully. “I love this time of night. There’s an almost reverent silence that accompanies the peak of darkness, when you’d almost believe the dawn will never break.” 

He gestures a hand grandly across the view. “The timelessness of lovers. The most beautiful of fantasies.”

Church eyes him with concern.

“You’re sounding particularly philosophical,” he remarks cautiously. “Are you alright?”

Gale huffs a cheerless laugh.

“I will be, soon,” he nods grimly to himself. “I am perhaps just one hard day away from being without any troubles at all. Any night might be my last alive. If it is this one, then… I wanted it to be under a canopy of beauty and wonder… and with company to match,” he adds with a smile, nudging Church playfully.

But his smile falters as the tiefling continues to scrutinize him. 

“I thought this place might bring me peace. I thought it might make the weight of what I must do feel a little lighter…” Gale looks down, face falling. “...but I am not so sure.”

Finally, Church lets out a harsh sigh. “Fuck it. You know I wasn’t going to drop it — is this truly what you want? To die for the promise of Mystra’s forgiveness?”

Gale smiles bitterly. “Babe or crone, coward or hero, death is assured. Mystra’s forgiveness is not. If you knew the end was near, would you not want to ensure it had meaning?”

He glances back up at him, troubled. “I am… terrified,” he admits. “I will not claim otherwise. My face could scarcely conceal it even if my words sought to deny it.” 

“This isn’t the end,” Church insists fervently. “Not yet. We still have some time. We still have questions that need answers. We…”

“Church… thank you. But even if we do find another way, perhaps this is the right way. The end fate wishes for me.” Gale nods to himself. “There is no point running from the inevitable. Better to meet it, on my own terms.”

“Nothing is inevitable,” Church retorts fiercely. “Not when we face it together. I don’t have to die. And you don’t have to die.”

“Yes,” Gale chuckles. “But there is so much to live for, and so few moments in which to house it all.”

Church takes his hand. “But there are moments,” he says fervently. 

Gale chuckles. “Believe me, one moment in your company has often been enough to prise the fear from my heart. And I…” he hesitates. “I have missed your company, my friend. These past couple days. And I’m so very glad you came here to share this with me.”

He gestures vaguely up at the sky. 

“I know that this is unreal, but I created it for you.” He looks shyly over at Church. “You must know that you’re… you’re very special to me.”

The wizard feels warm nestled against Church’s side, seated in this protected corner of the cursed land. Church’s heart throbs with fondness, but also some trepidation. Where is he going with this?

“The point is…” Gale looks up into the sky. “…time is short. Every day, every moment is uncertain.”

“I thought we’d have more time,” Church whispers in agreement. 

They sit in companionable silence for a long moment longer, watching the aurora the wizard had conjured ripple shimmer across the sky in wide, iridescent stripes. 

“I… want to show you something,” Gale says. “If this were to be the last night of my life, I think I’d like to share in the Weave with you. Take you somewhere that isn’t the Shadowlands.”

He smiles at the tiefling. “Any ideas for sunnier locales?”

Church thinks to himself for a long moment. And then he huffs a laugh. “At risk of you calling me uncreative… why not take us back to Waterdeep?” he suggests with a smile. “I never appreciated it enough when I was there. It was never a home for me… but I’d like to know what it was to you.”

Gale beams at him. “On the contrary, I think that would be rather apt.”

He reaches his hand forward — parting the Weave like a curtain to reveal a luminous scene before them. Eventually the light focuses to reveal a charmingly-cluttered room with accents of dark wood and heavy green curtains. The walls are full of books, and the edges of the rug-strewn ground are lined with piles of even more books. 

“This is the center of my universe,” he says, pushing himself up to stand. “The sculptures, the paintings, the walls enlivened by the spines of a thousand books..."

Church takes his hand as the wizard helps him to his feet, continuing to gesture around them grandly.

“...the grand piano plays the Lliirian Suites all by itself, and as we look out beyond the arches that lead to the terrace…” Gale beckons Church forth as the double doors open to a sunlit terrace, “…we see the weary sun take its daily dive into the sea.”

Church follows him out, shading his eyes from the golden glow. 

“That’s nice,” Church says, voice breaking as he takes in the warmth of the sunset. “It’s only been a couple weeks, hasn’t it? But it feels like we’ve spent months here in the Shadowlands already.”

He settles himself heavily down upon a wooden settee with red cushions, sighing. Gale smiles down at him. 

“My favorite spot,” he remarks idly. “Many times, evening turned to night and back to daybreak once more while I sat here, lost in words.”

“Sounds like you,” Church smiles back at him. “Up all night reading? I do love that rebellious streak of yours.”

“Oh, allow me to live dangerously while I still can,” Gale smirks.

The wizard settles beside him as Church gazes over the panorama of the terrace’s view. He inhales the sea air deeply. 

“I think you’re remembering the harbor on a good day,” he comments wryly. “It’s missing the fish and smoke.”

“A memory isn’t perfect by nature,” Gale murmurs. “But sometimes the imperfection is what makes a moment beautiful. It’s the essence of the memory that matters. It comforts us, it…”

He traces his finger along the arm of the settee as his voice catches. “It’s home. I…” 

Gale turns to look at Church with wet eyes. “This was… an excellent choice,” he says, straining to keep his voice steady. “If something were to happen, I should like to see home again. Even if it’s not real. Even if…”

Church pulls him into a hug, holding him close as the wizard struggles to stifle a sob.

“No, damn it, I refuse to be a blubbering mess,” Gale chuckles wetly, though he returns his friend’s embrace. “This isn’t quite what I imagined when I wove this for you.”

“What did you imagine?” Church grins as the wizard begins to pull away from him.

And then he realizes then that Gale’s shining eyes are soft and awed, as if he is the view, and not the harbor behind them.

“Gale…?” the tiefling whispers as the man leans back in towards him…

…Gale’s lips are tentative and admittedly a little clumsy as they press upon Church’s. The wizard’s stubble tingles where it brushes against his skin, his hand warm as it comes to rest against his cheek. The tiefling freezes there, scarcely able to comprehend the moment as it passes like one of the harbor’s ships in the wind. 

Still, Church kicks himself for how long it takes for him to get ahold of himself and push his friend gently away, an apology in his eyes. 

Gale draws back at once, lowering his hand hastily. 

“I’m…” the wizard looks flustered in his own fantasy, pulling away completely. 

Church smiles sadly at him. “Look, it’s alright. I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry. That was impulsive of me. If things were different…” Gale swallows, looking down to the floor as he fidgets with his hands. “If we had both met back then in Waterdeep, I would have taken the time to do things properly. To say it all better.”

His mouth twists. “…perhaps be more charming. More forward.”

“Gale…” Church sighs. 

“I’m sorry,” Gale chuckles ruefully. “I didn’t intend to bring you here to subject you to my regrets, nor did I intend to make a complete ass of myself.”

“You’re not an ass,” Church protests easily.

Gale shrugs sheepishly. “I lived the life of a hermit for some time before I met you — these sort of rituals aren’t quite in my grimoire, to say the least.

“I know I missed my chance,” he admits with a sigh. “I thought, for a time, that what you had with our companion was merely a…” he blushes, “…physical… distraction. But I should have seen it plain upon your journal's pages as much as in your eyes.” 

He looks up at Church with a tight smile. “Your heart is with Astarion.”

Church has no desire to deny it. Not anymore. 

“It is,” he says softly, a smile tugging at his lips despite himself. 

Gale looks away from him. “He’s lucky to have you. It’s clear you have been helping him keep the metaphorical darkness at bay. I only hope he does the same for you.”

Church follows his gaze out into the harbor. “He makes me want to fight for the future,” he murmurs. “A future where he’s safe. A future full of sunnier days by his side, where he doesn’t need to be afraid.” He sighs. “Where neither of us have to be afraid.”

“A noble pursuit,” Gale says evenly, smiling stiffly past his quiet, embarrassed devastation. 

“Gale…” Church squeezes the man’s hand briefly. “I don’t think loving someone as a friend is worth less than being in love with someone. I don’t think I’ve had a friend like you in quite some time, and now that I have that… that’s also something worth fighting and living for. 

“And tonight’s not the last night,” he adds firmly. “You’ll live to come back to Waterdeep — for real. And I’ll…” He hesitates. “I want to visit you,” he says earnestly. “You’d be the closest thing I’d have to home there. So please… don’t write yourself off.

“I know it’s not what you hoped for, but this?” He holds up Gale’s hand and shakes it, squeezing tight as he smiles wanly at his friend. “I’d still fight for this. I’m not going to let my friend die if there’s another way.”

Gale huffs a laugh. “Do you… really think there is another way?”

“There has to be,” Church insists. “I’ve let the gods take a lot of things from me, but you’re someone I won’t let go so easily.”

“Nor are you,” Gale smiles softly at him. “Not if I have any say in the matter.”

He gazes out once more over the harbor of Waterdeep, sighing gently. “But I suppose we all must return to reality…”

He snaps his fingers, and in an instant they are back in the clearing, the aurora flowing serenely overhead.

“...one way or another,” Gale mutters wryly.

Church feels his heart sink a little, already missing the warmth of the sunset — illusion or not. Still, he nudges his friend. “It’s not so bad,” he murmurs. “After all, you’re still here.”

Gale huffs a tired laugh. “Damn you,” he says without much heat. His lips can’t seem to help but smile. “Damn you for giving me so much to care about. Our friends, our adventures… this would have been so much easier if it was just me. But it isn’t.”

His thumb brushes over Church’s hand again. 

“If there is a way — any way — to save all that’s grown dear to me… I want to seize it.” He then grimaces. “I just cannot fathom what that might be, other than to fail Mystra and condemn the world.”

“Let’s take it step by step,” Church tells him. “First, we save Thaniel and lift the Shadow Curse. Then, we take Ketheric’s artifact away from him and destroy it. After that, we attack Moonrise Towers, destroying Ketheric for good. And then…”

He hesitates.

“...then, we’ll have a better idea what the true heart of the Absolute is,” Gale finishes for him. “We can strategize again along the way. Adapt. And maybe by then we’ll have found something that isn’t… me.” He sighs. “I have to hope.”

Church squeezes his hand, smiling. “And I’ll hope with you.”

Gale leans against him, staring up at the stars.

“Stay with me, will you?” he asks shakily. “I… I don’t want to think of it anymore. But I don’t want to be alone either." 

“Of course,” Church murmurs, draping his cloak across his friend’s shoulders as well. “For as long as you need.”

Start from the beginning!

[thecreaturecodex]

Doctor Agatha Shiny

Image © @iguanodont

[Writing this entry was very cathartic. Doctor Shiny is not only my Villain OC (and trust me, there's nothing even remotely redeeming about her), but also a way to process the trauma I experienced in grad school. You may have noticed that "collegial mad scientists" are a recurring theme in my work; Doctor Shiny is their boss in the Inner Sea, at least as far as mere mortals go. I’ve been meaning to create a Legion of Doom in my campaigns, and this is as good an excuse as I’m likely to get. As one of the most powerful alchemists on Golarion, I gave Doctor Shiny access to a ton of weird extracts; I'm just posting a link to the Archives of Nethys master list than linking to them individually.

Also? Without any visual reference, Iguanodont managed to make Doctor Shiny look an awful lot like me. Spooky.]

Doctor Agatha Shiny CR 20 NE Humanoid This woman is fat and cheerful, her brown hair done up in a messy ponytail. She is dressed in a lab coat, heavy gloves and boots. Two tentacles grow from her back, each studded with sightless eyes.

Everyone in Absalom knows who Doctor Agatha Shiny is; she’s a celebrity scientist. Head of the Biology Department at Endiron School in Eastgate, her lectures on everything from diet to material science to biodiversity are popular and well attended by the public for entertainment and education purposes. Her column, “Ask Doctor Shiny”, is carried by several broadsheets and circulations. “Ask Doctor Shiny” is a slang phrase in Absalom meaning roughly, “how should I know?” Her various grad students and colleagues have nothing but nice things to say about her. Because the ones who talk out of turn have a habit of ending up dead or transformed.

Despite her jolly exterior, Doctor Shiny is a sadist of the highest caliber, and someone who is disgusted with humanity in general. It is her studied opinion that humans have been the dominant species on Golarion for far too long, and the ultimate aim of her research is to find a suitable replacement. Her primary laboratory for these experiments is the Puddles, which is increasingly home to murderous monsters of her own design. Doctor Shiny and the headmaster of her college, Tontartigan Dellby, have a system of mutual blackmail; both knows the broad strokes of each other’s schemes, enough to expose and humiliate the other if pushed. Agatha knows that she would win any conflict if it were to arise—she would merely shred Dellby with her bare hands and replace him with a simulacrum that obeyed her every command.

Doctor Shiny’s main lab is underground at Endiron School, but she maintains laboratories throughout Absalom and the entire Inner Sea region, each one of which has a doppelganger simulacrum she can project her mind into. Each lab is a facility for collecting monsters from the region, running tests on their physical and magical properties, and incorporating their characteristics into fleshwarped abominations. Her raw materials for fleshwarping often include those aforementioned recalcitrant students, as well as indigents, adventurers and other people who go unmissed. Those that would be missed are replaced with simulacra, or turned into dominated sleeper agents. Doctor Shiny has done some self-experimentation; tentacles grow from her back (she keeps these under her lab coat in her role as a public figure), and her internal organs are no longer fully human.

Like any good scientist, Doctor Shiny maintains a network of colleagues, almost all of whom are just as depraved as she is. Her Number One Minion is a blue slaad named Ranna, who was once a graduate student named Marina Rhinne, and to most of the world is still known by that name and identity. Ranna serves Doctor Shiny as an assassin, collection agent and lover. Doctor Shiny was the first contact point in Absalom for a species of fleshwarping monsters from Sarusan who have decided that the Inner Sea is ripe for their exploitation—these are the zern. She is also the chair of CIS, the Committee for Ingenious Science. CIS is a network of mad scientists throughout Avistan and Garund who occasionally report on their findings and brainstorm new ways to exert their will on the world. And lastly, Agatha Shiny is a religious woman. Her primary deity is Shub Nugganoth, but she sees the Goat of the Woods as the leader of a small pantheon of gods and demigods devoted to nightmares of evolution and knowledge at any cost. These six deities are the kyton demagogue Raetorgash, the sahkil tormentor The Vermillion Mother, the daemonic harbinger Deceid, the demon lord Abraxas, Shub Nugganoth and her green (wo)man daughter, Briarpatch. Doctor Shiny refers to these six as the Xammux, a zern word meaning “council”.  

New Material: Shoggomer Shoggomer is one of Doctor Shiny’s miscellaneous inventions, although she typically refers to it as “self repairing polymer” in public. It is a form of latex, made with both tree sap and fleshwarping reagents derived from shoggoth ichor. Shoggomer can be used to make clothing, or any form of armor typically made from leather, hide or fur. As it is flexible, it cannot be used to make shields or typically metal armors. Shoggomer armor reduces its spell failure chance by 10%, increases max Dexterity bonuses by 2, and decreases armor check penalties by 2. Materials made of shoggomer heal at a rate of 2 hit points per day, or 1 per day if they have the broken condition. While healing, shoggomer materials manifest sightless eyes, small mouths or small flapping tendrils—this both institutes an armor check penalty of 2 when worn, and creatures within 30 feet must succeed a DC 15 Will save or be shaken for 1 minute by the eerie sight. A creature is only affected by the fear effect of repairing shoggomer once in a 24 hour period, whether it succeeds or fails the save. Shoggomer items are always of masterwork quality

Type of Shoggomer Item       Item Price Modifier Clothing                                    +750 gp Light armor                               +1000 gp Medium armor                           +1500 gp Other items                               +450 gp/pound

Doctor Agatha Shiny    CR 20 XP 307,200 NE Medium humanoid (human) Human alchemist (clone master) 20 Init +7; Senses Perception +23; true seeing Defense AC 31, touch 18, flat-footed 28 (+3 Dex, +5 deflection, +5 natural, +8 armor) hp 273 (20d8+180); fast healing 5 Fort +26, Ref +21, Will +14; +4 vs. poison Immune alignment and thought detection Defensive Abilities fortification (25%) Offense Speed 40 ft. Melee spirit blade +23/+18/+13 (1d4+7 plus 1d6 acid/19-20), 2 tentacles +23 (1d4+7) Ranged +1 seeking light crossbow +20 (1d8+1/19-20) or bombs +19/+14/+9 touch (10d4+10 fire) Extracts Prepared CL 20th 6th—beast shape IV, caging bomb admixture, heal (x2), monstrous physique IV, transformation, verminous transformation 5th—dream, greater claim identity (DC 25), overland flight, planar adaptation, simulacrum, spell resistance, undead anatomy II 4th—caustic blood (DC 24), cure critical wounds, death ward, enchantment foil, fluid form, freedom of movement, restoration, touch of slime (DC 24) 3rd—absorb toxicity (DC 23), arcane sight, countless eyes, displacement, dragon turtle shell, heroism, protection from energy, voluminous vocabulary 2nd—animal aspect, delay poison, false life, invisibility, lesser restoration, spider climb, venomous bite, vine strike (DC 22) 1st—anticipate peril, bomber’s eye, cure light wounds, disguise self, polypurpose panacea, shield (x2), targeted bomb admixture Special Attacks bombs (30/day, DC 30), mutagen (+8/+6/+4 ability scores, +6 natural armor) Statistics Str 18, Dex 16, Con 26, Int 30, Wis 14, Cha 20 Feats Craft Construct (B), Craft Wondrous Item, Extra Discovery (x2), Fleshwarper, Improved Initiative, Magical Aptitude, Master Craftsman (Craft: alchemy), Multiattack, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot Skills Bluff +24, Craft (alchemy) +37, Diplomacy +26, Disable Device +31, Disguise +26, Fly +21, Heal +25, Knowledge (arcana, nature) +31, Knowledge (dungeoneering, local, planes) +28, Linguistics +18, Perception +23, Perform (oratory) +26, Spellcraft +31, Survival +23, Use Magic Device +30 Languages Aboleth, Abyssal, Aklo, Common, Daemonic, Draconic, Gnoll, Infernal, Kelesh, Orisian, Senzar, Slaad, Sylvan, Thassilonian, Undercommon, Varisian, Zern SQ alchemy, discoveries (alchemical simulacrum, doppelganger simulacrum, fast bombs, fast healing, feral mutagen, greater mutagen, grand mutagen, infusion, preserve organs, promethean disciple, sleeper agent, tanglefoot bomb, tentacle [x2]), instant alchemy, legendary, persistent mutagen, poison use, rebirth, swift poison Gear manual of gainful exercise +5 (expended), tome of clear thought +4 (expended), headband of mental superiority +6 (Diplomacy, Disguise, Perform (oratory), belt of physical perfection +4, +5 shoggomer studded leather armor of improved electricity resistance, spirit blade, +1 seeking light crossbow, vest of the ultimate alchemist (counts as greater poisoner’s jacket, vest of stable mutation and vest of surgery), amulet of natural armor +5/mighty fists +5, truesight goggles, deliquescent/poisoner’s gloves, charlatan’s lab coat of resistance +5, ring of protection +5, ring of mind shielding and sustenance, boots of striding and springing, boro beads (1 4th level, 2 3rd level, 2 1st level), cauldron of brewing, pale green ioun stone, scroll of greater teleport (x3), 20 bolts, 100,000 gp worth of alchemical reagents and poisons, alchemist’s lab, formula book (as prepared, plus true seeing, clone, greater invisibility, eyes of the void, neutralize poison, stoneskin, claim identity, lesser simulacra, nondetection, water breathing, barkskin, bear’s endurance, blur, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, eagle’s splendor, fox’s cunning, owl’s wisdom, undetectable alignment, crafter’s fortune, identify, touch of the sea), 645 gp. Special Abilities Legendary (Ex) Doctor Shiny’s statistics are built on 25 point buy and she has the gear of a 20th level PC. These advantages increase her CR by +1 Mutagen (Su) Doctor Shiny’s mutagens are built to grant her a +8 bonus to Strength, +6 to Constitution and +4 to Dexterity. With her mutagen (and her vest of the ultimate alchemist), her statistics are as follows: Init +9; AC 39, touch 20, flat-footed 35; hp 333; Fort +29, Ref +23; Melee spirit blade +27/+22/+17 (1d4+11 plus 1d6 acid/19-20), claw +26 (1d6+9 plus 1d6 acid), bite +26 (1d8+9), 2 tentacles +26 (1d4+9); Str 26, Dex 20, Con 32; Skills Fly +23

[meowthefluffy]

An update on my unfinished au’s!

I have over the last few months fallen deeply out of love with the Sanders Sides series and as a result I have not updated any of my projects in some time. At the current point I am at I am only planning to do the final two installments in the cupid au (because I pretty much lost my affection for the ts series right before the big finale of the project!!) and the lust Roman au (as it is my longest running work to date and I want to comple the project as a show of dedication to my younger self) although it will most likely be on a much quicker time scale than I was intending originally! (Instead of the 11 more parts I was hoping to produce it will probably be closer to 5 and I will most likely skip a few parts of the story that weren’t as important)

I feel a lot of affection for the work I have created but not a lot for the actual series so I’m trying to find a way to rework the stories I’ve created for the au’s to become independent creations that I will enjoy continuing to make! (Aside from the Lust au which I feel is mostly a story I don’t feel the need to come back to/rework since it relies so heavily on the source material) Most of my au’s function as stories mostly separate from canon material except for the characters archetypes present in each, so I’ll be working on retooling/reskinning said work to be more original and workable as long term projects! (Since u guys were really invest in my plots which had almost nothing to do with the canon characterization)

I’m currently working on retooling the Zombie au (Which I used as heavy inspiration for my oc Sophia I sometimes post about and her girlfriend) the Cupid au (I’m putting together more creative designs for the characters so that I can hopefully redo the comic- since I’m super in love with the concept) The sleeping beauty au (since it functions entirely the same as a stand alone story- and I could use the designs of my princess characters from that comic I made a long time ago for Valentine’s Day ) and the Super hero au! (Which I never properly defined and thus have a lot of incomplete ideas for, and my only struggle is coming up with better super hero names for them)

The only one of my main au’s I probably won’t rework is the Evil king au- just because I’m not sure how I could retool it to not just be a story about abuse(I feel more comfortable creating a story where everything is horrible and bad and the people involved are just bad for eachother when it’s an au- because there is other work of those characters where they aren’t that way to balance it out- but if it were my own new characters I feel as though it wouldn’t be nearly as fun to read or write)

This is a series of decisions I’ve been trying to wait on for a long time because I have been hoping something sanders Sides related would come out soon that would re spark my interest but nothing so far has happened- and with the way the story is going I don’t think it’s something that is going to happen. I still love all the work I have created for this fandom and I am so proud of all the collaborative projects I have been able to create with you all! I will happily re-read your asks and comments on my comics and I am still really proud of the community I’ve been able to create!

I’m sad to let this part of my life go (it’s taken up a solid 4th of my lifetime) and I understand that a lot of you all won’t follow me to my new projects- because I understand you guys didn’t come here for random oc projects- or original comics. And Altho it breaks my heart to see some of you move on and leave my notifications I am happy I the time with you all that I did!

Thank you all for everything- and I’ll see you soon 💖

[nights-at-crystarium]

Okay, the recent surge of new followers thanks to the twitter exodus, and now your boy Vivien Fucksalot Rell on the tumblr radar, has me wanting to make some kinda welcome post.

The face of a man who made it to the tumblr radar for the first time C:

Who’s this guy you just saw? Yeah, first and foremost, it’s a cis male, he’s just full of gay and Gender (tm) \o/

Vivi is my WoL who I ship with G’raha Tia and I like to make it everyone’s problem. He’s the main character of the fancomic Fragments that I started this summer. I love ShB so much that I’ve decided to dedicate the next few years of my life to drawing and writing about it. And I believe I’ve got what it takes to tell a story that, in equal amounts, will entertain and break you 🖤

Vivi was tailor-made to interact with G’raha. I’m an experienced oc maker and, how to put it, character chemist? Give me two characters with some fun traits, like the base ingredients for a cocktail, I’ll toss them in a blender, shake it real good, and make the magical chemistry happen. My wolgraha ship is almost 1 year old at this point, I’m still spending every day thinking about them and writing down A LOT of things, random art ideas, fics, and, of course, the comic script, so.. Yeah it’s a good cocktail.

I’m keeping most of the Vivi things close to my heart since you’re yet to learn about him in Fragments. That’s the whole point. But the non-spoilery material is already fun enough imo. You take a look at him and you see: edge, intensity, duality, gremlin, idiot.

He was made in December 2021, got decently developed as a character by April 2022, kept getting more polished since then. I wanna make another post talking about him in a month or so, on his first birthday. For now please perceive him being the fun lil guy he is C:

What about the person behind it all though? My artist username is NextLVL, my own name is Aho or Vel, nb, he/they, a 32 years old self-taught artist who has a bit too much to deal with irl, and I’m holding on to my wolgraha obsession as the only means to stay sane. These guys are my everything. Seriously. Fragments is my first big project that so far has been incredibly validating for me as an artist, and that has given me hope to work on it fulltime thanks to my Patreon. Yes, plugging it because I’ve gotta eat. I’m earning for my living with my art, recent events in the social media sphere have thrown my livelihood into an even greater risk territory. I literally don’t know if I still can earn for my living tomorrow. So, I’ve been pushing my Patreon which looks like the safest and most stable option atm.

Here’s a “nutshell” for how I feel as an artist. Look, I didn’t say it, others did.

I’m working hard to bring something beautiful to the world that’s just an unceasing dumpster fire nowadays. I’m under a METRIC TON of mental pressure, yet I still manage to isolate from it and keep arting, for you and for myself. So yeah.. Thanks for looking, hope you like what I create. If you like it so much that you wanna support me, it’d mean literally everything to me. Thank you 🖤

[lixenn]

Overview

Since I’ve come out of my introverted gremlin cave and started to actually work regularly on my writing as well as posting my stuff on here, I’ve decided to structure my blog a bit. Mostly to prevent people from getting absolutely lost in this chaotic mess.  

I will try to keep this as updated as possible but there might be a bit of a delay between me posting new content and updating this, so please keep that in mind.

General info

My Ao3 account

My Kofi

Art commissions are open! More information here.

Tags

#lixy reports Lix' daily life in a nutshell #art nook art tag #crochet corner crochet tag #ask answered ask tag (<- might change in the future)

Ask box

If you have questions about any of my projects or just want to randomly scream at me about any topic that comes to mind, my inbox is open. Bother me anytime!

Katekyo Hitman Reborn

The KHR discord server is now online! It's a general server for the fandom. If you want to join just drop me a DM and I'll send you the invite link.

KHR writing prompts

Prompts are open, just drop them in my inbox and I'll see what the nonsense generator can fabricate!

Prompt rules/intro

Dan and Celeste

Dan and Vlasta

The Housekeeping AU

#the housekeeping AU #khr daniele costa #khr dave #khr valerie rebner #khr vlasta gast #khr marina costa #khr cilmi #khr yves #khr sam #khr blaze

This is me playing around in the Varia sandbox, come and join me in my weird delusions!

Witness how the Head of Varia Housekeeping (my OC) is slowly but surely driven insane by crazy Assassin bullshit, meddling assistants (aka Dave), mountains of paperwork and Mafia politics.

(Btw the concept of my Varia Housekeeping was inspired by Umei_no_Mai whose worldbuilding is absolutely Godtier. I kneel before their greatness.)

Character profiles

Chief aka Daniele

Dave

Ottavio under edit

Valerie Rebner

Yves

The Varia Housekeeping survival guide (WIP currently updating on Ao3)

When you are the overworked and underappreciated head of Varia Housekeeping who is sick and tired of cleaning up your employees’ corpses and decide to write up an instruction manual for dealing with Varia's insanity.

Housekeeping Snippets (WIP currently updating on Ao3)

Snippets of my Housekeeping AU starring my various OCs which I posted on tumblr. These are in non-chronological order and mostly focus on character interactions and shenanigans.

Detective Dave is on the case (complete on Ao3 but might add something later on)

Dave has never been able to resist a good mystery, so when one of his informants was suddenly murdered under suspicious circumstances, what else is he supposed to do other than immediately stick his nose into other people's business? ("Can you for once in your life not poke the sleeping dragon with a stick?" "But Chief! A murder mystery! Delivered right to my front door!" "..." "Hey, we are you going? Chief? Chief! I still need you to sign these forms! Come back!" )

This is my crossover with Myell's Killer Whale AU, so if you aren't familiar with her 'verse this story might be a bit confusing, I recommend checking her stuff out first a then coming back to this one. (Shamelessly advertising my Buddy's story again hehehehe)

Unnamed Sequel (in planning stage)

Unlike the Varia survival guide, this work will hopefully have plot and a coherent story line. I’m still very much in the idea finding phase, so no clue when this is going to be published.

I now have a rough outline for the story, main plot plus romance side plot (I say side plot when the romance outline is much more detailed... *silently despairs*).

Current edited chapter count: 5/?

I will keep you updated on this project via completely unhinged ramblings, so… look forward to that (and yes, that is a threat!)

Fanfic recs

I've decided to indulge myself and finally make a list some of my favourite KHR fanfics, feel free to check it out!

Fic recs

Naruto

How Uzushio was saved by drunken seal shenanigans (WIP kinda on hold)

The story of how Uzumaki Ren – explosion specialist, seal master and everyone’s favourite mad scientist – saves his village from destruction, revolutionizes the medical field, adopts a puppy, and gives his Kage an aneurism. Not necessarily in that order.

Note: I still have stuff for this story prewritten (but nothing post-worthy just yet), but since KHR has overtaken all my brain space, I’ll probably won’t work on this for a while. I’m still super attached to my mad scientist baby Ren, so there will be more content! … Just in the very far future 😅

[whatavery]

In the Spirit of Defiance

Ah, welcome, welcome. What’s this, you might wonder. Avery, don’t you just post almost decent fanfiction about Lackadaisy? And the answer is yes, that’s usually what I do. However, for my latest story, I settled upon writing a compendium to go with the story. What initially started as a bit of ramblings about the Funeral Home itself, I instead decided to turn into a more detailed piece on my creative process, my ideas, head-canons and the like.

Now, perhaps you’re wondering why someone – anyone at all – would care about the Arbogast Funeral Home this much. Well, allow me to formally introduce myself, in case you don’t know me. My name’s Avery, I’m an avid(-ish) Lackadaisy fan-fiction writer and I've been working on a major story that predominantly features the Arbogast Funeral Home and its residents.

So what is this story I’m speaking of?

Ordained Defiance is a story following Abelard Arbogast and my OC Cainan Wirth. This compendium will also go into detail about him, his creation and the motifs I chose to play with. With no future spoilers, of course. This will be a breakdown of the first story arc, which consists of chapters one through five, which I titled In the Beginning…

In the name of defiance, while writing and conceptualizing the story, I actually went out of my way to go against a lot of conventions when it comes to OC and canon ships.

For one, if you’ve read the story, you will have noticed that the story is primarily from Abelard's perspective – it’s his story first and foremost and Cainan is just another player within his world.

A lot of ship media tends to put all the focus into the OC to the point where they get all the development and care, often to the point where the canon character they’re shipped with gets reduced to being little more than a mannequin for them to hug and kiss when needed. One of the easy trappings is to not allow the canon character to retain their sense of autonomy and agency.

It’s not always the case, of course, but it’s an easy trap to fall into. As of writing this little think piece, I’ve written nine chapters of which only a single one is entirely focused on Cainan.

It’s so easy to give in to the temptation of making one’s shiny, new OC the star of the show, the proverbial sun with all the canon characters orbiting them. But I think it’s especially important to retain focus on the canon character when it comes to a ship. And doubly so when it’s someone with less screen-time in the main medium of the series.

Abelard is only featured on a small handful of pages and one of my other goals with this story was to expand on him as a character, primarily utilizing head canon and ideas of my own. It’s one of the fun aspects of writing characters you like, when they’re not the head-lining acts; you can add your own ideas and project them onto the character.

I likewise didn't give Cainan an overly detailed backstory that would require a timeline or compendium of its own. I purposefully left in blanks and some things will remain unspoken. After all, isn't that what's so enticing about many of the main characters in Lackadaisy? We know Rocky went on the road for years, but we don't know everything he did or experienced; we know Zib and the band met in New Orleans, but we don't know what their time on the road entailed either. I could go on... filling in the blanks and guessing is half the fun; it's why people are so eager to ask Tracy lore questions on streams - it's fun!

-----

Next, let us talk about the primary settings within the story, namely the Arbogast Funeral Home. My inspection of this house took me to some weird, weird places and nearly broke my brain. However! The good news is that it was all worth it. Note that there shall be a few instances of guesswork and head-canon in this.

The Arbogast Funeral Home was confirmed by Tracy to be the childhood home of Abelard and Elsa, hence the place being named for their family. This was confirmed on a Patreon stream that took place on February 29th 2024. The Funeral Home is located in Defiance, Missouri, a small unincorporated community that was settled by German immigrants. The name Arbogast itself is derived from old germanic and contains ‘Gast’ which in modern German means ‘guest’. Arbogast itself carries a similar meaning, according to several etymology websites; ‘inheritance’ and ‘guest’ are the key interpreted meanings behind the name. In case it wasn't already obvious enough, Abelard and Elsa's heritage/ancestry was indeed confirmed in the February 29th stream.

So now that we have that out of the way, first things first: how did this start?

Quite simply, I started with the embalming room where a certain fender bender got his head fixed up by Elsa. As you can see in the picture above, my overthinking actually works out quite nicely.

Elsa can be seen entering from a wooden door with a large frosted window, which is connected to a separator wall with similar wooden construction and frosted windows. The door can be seen being open at the bottom of the frame in Lackadaisy Medicament and it’s even more visible in Mortuary where the other panels aren’t blocking the view. However, in Morphia we get the clearest view of this side of the room.

Similarly, my overthinking has further been proven to be a valid method for figuring out this house by the fact that you can see two windows near the ceiling in the embalming room. When looking at the outside of the Arbogast Funeral Home as seen above, you can see the windows near the ground clearly line up with the ones in the basement.

Now, let us delve into the tale of the impossible window.

This is the part of the funeral home that nearly broke my brain. In Lackadaisy Scrutiny when Elsa sees Wes and Fish walking up to the door to the side of the funeral home, she’s glancing out a window. First to establish how and why I know this is that door, the main thing is that the front doors to the funeral home’s parlor (as mentioned by Bobby to exist in Lackadaisy Undertaker) is a large double door with windows, as can clearly be seen in establishing shots of the place. Meanwhile, Elsa stands by a single, fully wooden door, which has porch lights on either side of it. This is also the door where there’s a swing seat as can be seen in Lackadaisy Bygones.

So how come I refer to a supposed impossible window? Well, I’ll tell you. If we look at the type of window and match it to the ones on the front of the house, none of them fit. The main issue is there’s no stretch of uninterrupted wall where the window could possibly be, based on the first shot we see of it. Furthermore… no wind chimes to be seen. We can see the chimney in the establishing shot of Lackadaisy Sendoff.

If we look at Wes and Fish leaving, we can see they walk along a path leading away from what is clearly the left side of the house (when looking at the two establishing shots we see), but they’re walking to the right (our POV). How do we know it’s supposed to be the left side of the house? Namely the absence of a chimney, which we see in establishing shots as part of the wall on the right side of the house.

Am I nitpicking over details no one else would see? Yes.

Am I trying to justify how long I spent trying to make sense of this house? Also yes.

To briefly go into the established layout; front door leads into the parlor, which connects to the turret in front; to the right of the parlor is a foyer, beside it a living room with a fireplace. Above is where bedrooms would be, which is an assumption. To the left is a garage or a shed, which I have assumed to be where bodies are brought down into the embalming room via the other door leading there as can be seen in the scenes taking place there.

And that is all I have so far on the layout.

-----

The first thing a lot of people ask me when they learn that I’m one of the very few, very vocal Abelard enjoyers in the Lackadaisy fandom is simply: why? Why Abelard? And to an extent, I get the confusion. Abelard isn’t a main character, he’s not someone you immediately think of when you think of the series; he doesn’t appear much in the comic, but he made an impression on me when I decided to reread the comic following the release of the pilot.

Say what you will about the man, but you can’t deny that he’s one of the most expressive characters and that his dialogue is amazing, honestly. Hamfisted, dramatic, over the top in the most perfect way. So that was of course something to take into account while writing Abelard, though for the first mini arc of the story, there hasn't yet been much reason for him to really get vocal just yet, but odds are it will happen in future chapters.

The prime examples of Abelard's defining dialogue – or rather his monologues – can be found in his confrontation with Ivy as well as his card game with her in Lackadaisy Sendoff.

Actually writing for Abelard seemed very intimidating at first, though I’ve been doing my best to keep up with his colorful language and his very wide vocabulary. Granted, I’m not entirely convinced I’ve got it right quite yet, it’s likely my personal biggest weakness, but I like to think I at least have his characterization down, even if it’s written and conveyed in a less smooth way than the comic.

So… Cainan Wirth, eh?

Yeah, Cainan Wirth indeed. Former resident of Defiance, who left home in his early teens to attempt to carve out a life on his own, perhaps making friends with some not-so-nice people. Yes, indeed, I’m pairing him with Abelard, thank you for asking. Why? Because I love Abelard, duh.

When I set out to create Cainan, I decided to make someone who would very violently contrast with Abelard; a white-furred, young, snarky and remarkably lazy atheist paired with a golden-brown, older, serious, no-nonsense reverend. What could possibly go wrong? I did go out of my way to try and distinguish Cainan, taking visual inspiration from Wick and Ben. I took the healthy, slightly more healthy body type from Wick seeing as many other male OCs are built like twigs. Like, let’s be real here. I also wanted to make sure his eyes weren't blue, as blue seems to be a common eye-color for white cat OCs. And I also gave him some good, old forehead fluff to give him a more youthful appearance, much like Calvin, Mordecai and Joey, for example. And of course, can’t forget those lynx-like ear tufts.

But I know what you were already thinking of, before I even started talking about his design; Cainan and Abelard? Not very subtle.

And you’re right. Though it took me a while to settle on a name after I started creating him, this was entirely intentional,. Not just because I thought it was a cute name pairing, but also because I wanted to further contrast the two; Abelard as a religious man to whom religion is important; the biblical Abel was favored by God; Cainan as an agnostic (at best) man to whom religion is a sore subject; the biblical Cain lost God’s favor and was cursed as a punishment.

Furthermore, Cain’s punishment in the bible was to be cursed to become a wanderer, not unlike Cainan who spent his youth and part of his young-adult life as a drifter. Oh, and I also decided to give Cainan a moon motif, which leads us into…

Moon Spirit might seem like a very strange ship name at a glance… and it is. Its origin is really clunky, but I think it works… and I’m not changing it now. Portmanteau ship names really don’t work; Cabelard just looks like Abelard with a C in front; for a while I went for Cainard, like ‘canard’, but I wasn’t really happy with it.

The origin of Moon Spirit as a strange one, but in hindsight it works. The ‘moon’ part I took from the term ‘moonshine’, for obvious reason, and an old myth states that Cain was sent to live on the moon after killing Abel in the bible. This was a coincidence, however; I’d decided on giving Cainan the moon motif before I even learned that this was a thing.

The ‘spirit’ part is twofold; it references the Holy Spirit, referencing Abelard's unwavering faith, and also just… spirits, as in alcohol. So you see, both words reference an aspect of each of them, and also reference booze.

Cainan's moon motif also ties into one of Abelard's most iconic lines, speaking of the “Wicked, troubled sea in every soul” (Lackadaisy Brimstone). As I assume most people know, the moon’s magnetic pull affects the sea and the tide.

Returning to the world of etymology, I also chose the name Wirth for the sake of being the opposite of Abelard. Whereas the name Arbogast, according to several etymology websites, stems from the old germanic words for ‘heritage’ and ‘guest’, ‘Wirth’ is an old germanic form of ‘Wirt’, which means host or innkeeper.

So, what else is there to know about these two? That’ll be in the story as future chapters come out. For spoiler reasons, I won’t disclose more beyond what can be learned in the first part of the story.

And now I will briefly mention a couple of minor characters, starting with Cainan's parents, Harold and Gabriela Wirth. I chose their names for a very specific reason. Being devoutly christian, I chose Harold after Harold Bluetooth, the king of Denmark who made Christianity the predominant religion of the country in place of the old Norse religion.

I decided to name the store owner of Defiance General Mr. Weaver as a tribute to John Weaver who ran a store near a different Defiance in Missouri, one that used to be located in Worth county. Not implying that they’re one and the same, but I figured it to be a fun little reference to that.

---

And so this brings us to the very end of the first story arc of my story. Was all this insanity worth it?

Absolutely not, but hey, what are you gonna do?

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Can I say that as someone whose original ship started off as Zutara but is a multishipper, I really, really hate how much their fandom has watered down the pairing. The ship has come to revolve so much on the obsession of not being canon that almost all content is framed as “how can we be “better” than canon?” Oh, Aang did this in the show or the comics or in LOK? Well, my OC Zuko would NEVER.

Zuko, Katara, and Aang exist as nothing else but to be their OCs and projections. Aang is the evil jealous boyfriend who holds Katara back and comes in between Zutara’s “true love.” Zuko and Katara are doormats who have no spine, except when it comes to Aang and Mai. Then they’ll “stand up” to their abusive exes.

Kataang content revolves so little around Zuko that I get whiplash when I see how much Zutara content revolves around Aang and Kataang. It’s all one-sided, delusional beef against Bryke anyway bc Bryke does not give a fuck about them and will make Kataang content because they are the only confirmed canon endgame ship and the main ship of the series, not to spite Zutara shippers. The whole shipping war continues to give them publicity and promotes the show, why else would they attempt to replicate it in Legend of Korra? I suspect that after seeing how popular Zukka has become post 2020, they’ll attempt to do the same for that ship too. All these posts about how “my Zutara fanfic is a fuck you to Bryke and their self-insert” is so funny because these grown ass men do not care and are only benefiting from your fan content that you so believe keeps them awake at night tossing and turning.

And you would think, after all the posts about how shitty LOK and the comics have treated Katara over the last decade, Bryke is FINALLY listening and giving her the post-canon development that she should have gotten ages ago, would be considered a positive sign for them. But instead they’re dreading all content that comes from Avatar Studios painting Katara in a positive and more independent light. Like what! Do you know how many fandoms I’ve been in which I would kill if the showrunners retconned awful post-canon characterizations about my fave characters, despite years and years of begging?

I'm dreading the new content too, but only because I haven't truly liked anything since the original show so I just don't want more disappointment.

"Don't do the thing we've been asking you guys to do all the time 'cause then we lose one of our main bullshit arguments to why Zutara is better than Kataang" is just the kind of stuff that shows all the "We totally care about Katara as her own separate character and not just an OC we can use to pretend we're dating Zuko" has always been and always will be bullshit.

[writing-for-life]

Thank you for an amazing 2023!

About metas, fics and sparkly things…

This won’t be short, but you wouldn’t expect that from me, would you? 🤣

I’ve been on Tumblr for just a bit over a year because I needed to get off my family’s back after my three decades long Sandman brain-rot got worse again due to the Netflix series. I hovered around a handful of followers for months until things exploded (I still don’t know why tbh, I think it was one particular meta that kicked things off a bit), and I somehow ended up with hundreds of followers, which might not be much to some, but it’s a lot for me.

So to all of you I’d like to say: Thank you for being here. I don’t always manage to stay on top of things because my notifs are a mess and I lose track, plus I have a rather busy life and can often only write in batches and then queue, but each of you is appreciated, even if I accidentally forget to get back to you or if we aren’t mutuals.

I’ve made such lovely connections over the last year—my interest in The Sandman definitely does not align with the main focus that shan’t be named, and I’m glad that you folks are out there. You probably know who you are.

Now to the obligatory “your posts wrapped” thing—and I’m only doing it because I need to make a point (of course I do 🤣).

News and art

My by far most successful posts have been casting/shooting news and pretty pictures (two examples are linked). And I’m grateful for all the reblogs and likes of those, but apart from curating them, they’re not really me. They’re someone else’s work.

Meta analysis

Then you have my metas, which make up the bulk of the other posts that are doing quite well (you can find all of them in my pinned post).

Even if it wasn’t my most “successful” one (what does that even mean?), this one meant the most to me:

I love writing metas, whether they cover literary concepts, psychology, music or art because I’m a permanently brain-frazzled multi-hyphenate who has to talk about everything that won’t leave her alone.

I also love when you’re sending me asks btw. For the latter, I hope they pick up again in 2024 because they really nosedived since I switched off anonymous asks (which I won’t change, soz) after some people just thought it’s good sport to be an arse about my not being here to pray at the altar of the ship. I guess we have briefly covered the ugly side of Tumblr, too, then.

Writing

But what I'm most proud of when I think of all the things I've done in 2023 is my fiction and poetry. And that's both a happy and slightly sad thing to address.

My 31 Haikus for Sandtober started as a bit of fun, but they’ve developed a life of their own, and people seemingly liked them. The post also contains a bit of my fan-art:

I still intend to turn them into a hardcover at some point, but I won’t be able to create all the artwork myself, so if you’re a fan-artist and want to know what I’m thinking of, please get in touch (I’ll still talk about this in more detail at some point though).

The other thing I’m incredibly proud of is “The Light of Stars”.

I started it as a NaNoWriMo project in 2022 (I always use NaNo to do something that is less stressful than my professional writing projects), wrote it in a bit more than a month—and then did nothing with near 80,000 words until June 2023.

And then I thought “Fuck it,” and published it on Ao3. It’s a canon x OC fic, and this is where it gets a bit sad. Because for most of us writers, these are never the posts that get most engagement (the ratio is really something like 100 : 1 — 500 for a shitpost, 5 for an average writing post).

On Ao3, it gradually picked up because I published chapter after chapter, and I think I can say that it’s done fairly well over there in terms of engagement for an OC fic, and above all how people engage with it. Because it’s a bit deeper despite being romance, it deals with heavy topics like grief, and I’m so glad to have touched a few people’s hearts with it, and that it was meaningful to them. So much so that you all convinced me to write a sequel.

But here’s the thing: The general engagement with writing, especially non-explicit, non-ship, non-readerY/N on Tumblr is very, very low.

Writers who write canon x OC are still struggling to be heard through the noise (it’s not just me, I’ve had many conversations about this, so I’ll just say: I’ll speak for many of us). There are basically hardly any events for us to participate in (most of us only ever do so if we shift to canon one-shots, poetry or metas. If we don’t: Again, no one cares), and fandom often actively chooses to ignore us because “all OCs are self-inserts, ew.” Which is patently not true, and I could go on a long rant now why many canon x canon fics are very obvious self-inserts, which I won’t.

But even if all OCs were self-inserts, even if all characters were—so what? All writing is to a degree based on self-insertion because it comes from our brains—it’s not a bad thing. But apparently, it becomes a bad thing if the character is an OC, heaven knows why.

So if I had one wish (I’m allowed one, right?) for 2024, it would be that people engage more with OC fics and include them more in community events. That fandom, which prides itself in community, includes writers who don’t write for (the main) ship/s a bit more, especially if they don’t write smut (which I personally even do professionally, but I don’t want to have to do it in fanfic just to get engagement). I’m not holding my breath because I know that’s not where fandom’s oft single-minded focus lies, but a girl can dream, right?

And with that, I want to get to my proudest accomplishments of them all:

Being the curator queen of the sparkle realms:

Being one (arguably the main) instigator of the maddest crack ship that has ever graced (?) the face of the earth, spawned the most unhinged discussion (much truth in it though 🤣) and even NSFW fanart. I promise I’ll write that fic about Murphy and his Cool Hat:

Have a lovely 2024!