Honestly, pretty well. But there's a lot I want to cover, so I'm gonna make a journal about some things I've gotten questions about and other things I plan to do.

I've been putting this off for a while trying to get it worded right, and I think that's making me procrastinate, so I'm just going to punch it out, stream of consciousness.

Gallery Revamp
So I've had my FA gallery active and uploading since about 18 years ago. In that time, the internet has changed substantially. A lot of my older images I have in higher resolution, but at the time I uploaded, limitations on file size were a problem. Furthermore, the underlying structure of FA has changed. New species groups, new tags, more options. Folders. I want to revamp the gallery with better quality images, in some cases anti-AI coverage, and present a more consistent vision of my work.

This is not going to be a fast process, but the longer I put it off, the worse it's going to be. I'm not sure exactly how to attack this, probably a few images at a time as I upload them, fix text errors, and so on. New folders to categorize. We'll see.

Filler Content
Over the last few years, I've been using 4 The Words to help improve my writing productivity. Results have been...mixed. I started out strong, but for a few years I went into a deep creative funk, where creating and writing was difficult at all. I really feel I was kinda phoning it in on a lot of stuff during that time. This is where the AMAs and Cutting Room Floor originally came from, and honestly, I plan to continue both. There's a lot of stuff I never finish for various reasons, and there's nothing saying I can't use it. Should help me some to get more of my stuff out to people to review. I always have more ideas than I can follow up on anyways.

Under Construction
While I have many characters in my main roster, 10 at last count, (sorry, Kobi, you didn't quite land right), they're from multiple different settings. Now, another thing is that when I was younger, I often would write in other settings with permission. However, a lot of the creators have moved on from where my characters are, and have given me permission to revamp the settings as I wished for my own use. I've actually had that for over a decade, but I just...wasn't exercising it. Recently I ran an extensive RP plot on one of my inherited worlds that significantly altered it, and honestly, now I crave for more. So expect to see more changes to things; I don't need to be shackled to the desires of a long absent creator, I'm in charge, I have permission to make changes, and that's going to happen. Probably even rename some of the settings as I get more into my vibe, but for now we have:

• Winds of Change: The original setting by JonBuck. Patrick Altair is from here. Might not make a lot of changes here.
• Wings and Prayers: This was based on the D&D 3rd edition Greyhawk setting, however, it's long grown beyond. It features Kawheek, Thenyr, Aikine, and Faenya as my characters. The core focus is on the Thorsari and their interactions with the rest of the world.
• Wildtouched: A 'masquerade' Earth, where Wildtouched shapeshifters are beginning to come into public consciousness, as well as other paranormal events. Melody and Richard are my primary characters here. The name is tentative, and this is where some of the more significant changes may happen.
• Three Pantheons: Nathan's home. A modern fantasy where in certain divine "realms", magic works and most technology doesn't. This is probably the setting I'll be changing the most, including a rebrand. Basically anything not already set out explicitly in Nathan's character history is on the table.
• Fur, Fury, Space: Lt. Vershaft's setting. The original vision was "Wing Commander" crossed with "Starfox". There was some emphasis on making sure there wasn't a pay-to-win feature on space combat originally, but I am probably going to switch that up. That said, the original setting was somewhat allegorical and involved characters whose players are no longer present, so the history may see a significant revamp regarding AGATE and where Vershaft goes after school.
• META: Lindsey's core setting, focuses on an earth with Metahumans, and the organization META, which is a blend of SHIELD, Cadmus, and Damage Control, amongst others. Got some development, and I own this setting lock, stock, and barrel, so we'll see where it goes. Have some good ideas.
• Diamonds in the Rough: Lindsey and Keys cyberpunk setting. This is more for funsies between me and him, but the art exists, and the stories too, so we'll see where it goes. Collaborative between me and  lunarkeys

Now this'll all take time, but I'm definitely in more of a "I want to write all this, I can't wait till I get to this part!" mood now. So that way you have an idea what's going on.

So, about that book...
OK, so then I should mention that yeah, I'm super behind on the Three Pantheons book with Nathan. I gave it to a friend and he pointed out some significant issues with it. To explain, the book was originally written based on RP logs that took place in 2007. By the time I did the first draft, it was 2012, and some of the original people involved wanted their characters removed. As I continued fixing, technology advanced further and further (the original plot was set in 2020) and things fell out of date and every time I papered something over, more issues and questions would crop up. And honestly, trying to force the setting to conform took more and more time.

Additionally, there were pacing issues as Nathan's role expanded during the original play and became larger and larger, and trying to fit in other things in the gaps became problematic. And an editor looked at it and gave some advice as well, but some of it I don't feel I want to take. I do not blame them for the thoughts, but for example one bit was to "Think carefully before adding a transgender character" W/R/T politics and sales. Is that good advice for an author looking to get published? Yeah. But it's not great for the story, so.

As such, I've decided to throw out a good portion of what is written, and start over from scratch. I plan to keep a lot of the overall plot beats and some of the characters that I've been given unambiguous permission to use (mostly Dawn), but from there, everything might be adjusted. This times well with my setting revamp so I can present a more consistent overall story and setting. I'm also probably going to split the books more; the original plot I planned to tell will now likely be book 2. The original draft was a bit of a doorstopper at 100K+ words anyways. I understand a lot of people think that it's a bad idea to make a series you don't know can be finished, especially publishers, but I'm not getting published, so I'm doing what I want. :)

I also had some problems with framing. Another bit of advice I got was to abandon the first person perspective, and instead use a journal entry/log/email style, where Nathan is writing notes, or retelling it to, say, his parents. I'm interested in pursuing this and will probably write a few chapters both ways before deciding which to go with, but thoughts are welcome.

Shinies
So FA has a tipping system now. I'm considering turning it on on my account; I didn't want to for a long time, because let's be honest, the majority of the stuff I have uploaded is commissioned art and I don't think I should be taking money for things where I didn't do the work. But as I move more into writing more extensively, there's an argument to be made that I should start letting people decide that for themselves. What do you think?

List of projects and ideas

• Three Pantheons novels
• Spread My Wings
• Vershaft on Ring Seven
• The Grave Shift
• Camping Trip
• Unnamed Mecha Story
• Revamp settings

https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7263655/
https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/9908371/

Conclusion
Not a lot of stuff will happen here until after Anthrocon 2025, which I am attending and staffing yet again, but afterwards, I hope you stick around for what I have in store! Have a great day!

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