WT: Jesus, that...I'm waaaaay late on this. Thank you kindly for the warm Christmas wishes, I wish it had gone better on my end. That said, I'll bid thee a Happy Easter early in case I drop the ball even harder over the coming months.
I was going to joke about Lapland, but that's in Finland not Sweden. So...instead of saying 'Say hi to Santa for me!' I'll instead say 'Say hi to Vargskelethor for me!' Because clearly, all Swedish people know each other...
-WT
To all my wonderful backers and supporters, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving if you celebrate it, and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa and or Yule season!
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Where to begin; where to begin? Ah, well I supposed I should start with a bit of an elephant in the room. Mainly the ask blog. First, I'm going to try to keep this as brief as possible. Yes, more asks are coming shortly after this post goes live. (written ones tonight) However, I've had a discussion with the Author of the Found AU and as of right now, I'm no longer answering 'FOUND AU' asks. This is largely because I received some complaints over the sheer volume of them, and the amount of writing that went into them...well...Let's just say I could be devoting more time to my own fics. That said, the actual Found Fic is on Hiatus until further notice. It was amicable, with no bad blood.
Moving to the next order of business, I will be publicly releasing the next chapter of the Val fic this week, as my editor has completed his work. I merely need to go over the last seven or so pages and make the next thumbnail and she'll be good to go. There's still another chapter he'll be working on after this that's waiting in line to be edited. And normally I'd be starting the next chapter toward the end of this month, but to change things up I'll be working on a side fic just after Christmas to take a break from tFV. Not that I'm straying far from the Bellhunterverse AU, I'm actually just going to be writing a one-shot for 'Tales From The BellHunterverse' about Gus and Mellie. I'm kinda excited about the outline, and think it'll make for a very cute side story one can read to add a little more 'flavor' to the Gus and Mellie side story in tFV.
Next up, keychains! Yes, I'm working on them. I'll keep this brief as well as I'm going to post a follow-up about them specifically. Sufficed to say the keychains from the first pass are substandard. Not that it was wholly unexpected, although at one point there was an accident that I thought totally ruined them mid-acrylic pouring. However, at the end of the process, they came out better than expected. And as a result, I've refined the process based on the mistakes I made. I'm currently waiting on a few more production items to arrive to take a stab at a second pass, but I'm fairly confident the next batch will be near perfect, and I can start making keychains and even standees. That said, if anyone wants the 'fudged' versions for free, I'd like to just pick two folks to give them to at random, but I want to gauge interest. I'll reiterate this on the post about them, so please leave your comments there. (WIPs are Patreon 5 dollar tier exclusives, and so is the chance to get the practice keychains)
Lastly, I'm just about caught up on comms, and so I'm gonna be hyper-focused on my 'Caprine Christmas' projects exclusively in an effort to get them out before Christmas. This includes the Dawn Stickers, of which I'll be sharing the WIPs after this post, as well as the 'Tenderizing Mutton' pic with Dawn and Vern that's still sitting with flat colors and awaiting shading. I'm gonna try to push the stickers first, with the pic after as it's less 'holiday' centric and so a slight late drop won't matter if my health acts up. (Again WIPs are part of the 5 Dollar Patreon tier)
Speaking of health, not only is my pots acting up hard, which is why I'm going to the heart doctor on the 11th. But I also developed a corn on the pad of my left foot, and so I'm currently hobbling around like I'm an old fogey with a bad hip. Sadly I can't just 'rest it off' since I have to get up a lot to take care of my mom fairly frequently. But I'm doing my best to keep it elevated and coated in ointment pads in between caring for her. Also, with it being Christmas, I do want to actually make time for Christmas stuff with my Mom...considering the way her health is currently, it could be her last Christmas for all I know...
So yeah, sorry to end this on a rather dour note...but that's about everything left to tell...I'll probably open public commissions in January and start adding folks to the queue again. I also gotta get back to doing those Savage Love Pages....gods, so much to do, so little hands...or tentacles...
Anyway, once again, I wish you all the merriest of the holiday seasons, and thank you again for another year of support! And consider checking out my Patreon! https://patreon.com/wastedtimeee?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link
-Wasty
Omari: O-Oh, well I mean we usually get a few things for each other for Yule..but mostly the greatest Yule gift we can get each other is making sure our schedules line up so we actually can enjoy the holiday together.
Elizabeth: Yes, I...well Yule tends to be the season where the orchestra I'm a part of tends to be the busiest. Usually right up until the New Year. So I have to travel a lot with them from place to place...and Omari, well... he's usually running himself ragged at the Pediatric Hospital so it's...not exactly easy to pull himself away from that.
Omari: I guess I'm as bad as my Mom is...*shakes head* but...I can't...I can't just leave those pups at Yule...I know there are other oncologists in my wing but...you...you get close to the pups in your care. They come to see you like an extra parent...so it's hard to...tear myself away.
Elizabeth: I hate to admit I've really grown to hate the ringtone on his phone...
Omari: I've cycled it out like four times, but being on call at all times is...I mean you quickly associate the new tone with separation.
Elizabeth: I'm not much better I suppose. But we do what we can to work around those inconveniences as best as we can, and we savor the time we do get as much as possible.
Omari: Thankfully my wing has been fairly quiet this season...
Elizabeth: And I was able to manage a much-needed respite from the tour which allowed our Yule eve and Day to synch up perfectly, thank the gods...*laughs*
Omari: Yes, the only concert my love is playing tonight is for a private audience.
Elizabeth: *Quirks a brow* Now is that the Yule violin pieces I'll be playing while we unwind in the living room? Or are you perhaps describing the more 'intimate' concert I have planned for later that night?
Omari: *Blushes* I...*Coughs* I d-did mean the music yes...*Ahem* Not that I'm not...looking forward to that private...show...
Elizabeth: *Smiles sweetly, blushing* Me too Mari...
Vanna: We're almost all practicing Binduists, although to different degrees. Thankfully it's a pretty flexible religion by its nature, so generally our beliefs don't tend to clash with others.
Padparadscha: It's often referred to as a 'family of religions', because by design it is very open to embracing other religious viewpoints, and even taking them into itself at times.
Zach: Not that y'all had to worry about clashin' with my belief system too much to begin with anyway Kitten, I'm more of a passive Volkenist instead of a devout one...not that Volkenism is a very 'my way er' the highway' belief system to start with.
Lucero: Well one does not have to be a devoutly religious person to be uncomfortable with another mammal's religious practices. That said, I'm proud to have a son-in-law who was so open and willing to accept our daughter, along with her very traditional family.
Myra: Not 'that' traditional...*Laughs*
Vanna: Says the least devout of all of us.
Myra: C'mon Sis, if Mom and Dad were so traditional they definitely wouldn't have let you marry Zach! Heck, they wouldn't have even let you pick who you married!
Padparadscha: I would be a hypocrite if I had held rigidly to my parent's beliefs on species and caste, as well as a monster. *Shakes Head* And I would have never met the love of my life had I given in to their ridiculous demands.
Lucero: *Clutches Pasha, and nuzzles sweetly into her hair.* Oh Pasha, my love...to think of a world where I had never met you would be unbearable. You are my soul...
Padparadscha: *Purring softly as she nuzzles Lucero back* I would endure a thousand lifetimes returning as the lowliest cockroach if it meant spending just a minute more with you...
Vanna: *blushes slightly* Perhaps, this is a good moment to explain some of the Binduism belief system, considering my mother just touched on one of the tenets.
Myra: Okay well, reincarnation is a thing. We believe in the 'Samsara', or the 'Wheel of life' philosophy. Birth, death, rebirth, ad infinity.
Vanna: Infinitum.
Myra: Whateves. Oh, also unlike most of the religious systems Binduism stands alongside, we don't have a name or species for whoever created it. It's sort of an amalgam of local species traditions and beliefs all coming together to build an overall...like philosophy for life.
Lucero: Although each species who practices Binduism likes to believe it was one of their own kin who truly founded it, and I am no exception.
Vanna: *Rolls her eyes* Dad.
Lucero: Truly the primary dharma could be crafted by no other species than a wise, great and noble tiger. *Laughs proudly*
Myra: *Mumbles* If he was so wise, he wouldn't have pushed for arranged marriages...or allowed a 'caste' to form in the first place.
Lucero: Myra, come now...do not forget all religions have had millennia to be obscured and darkened by those with sullied Dharma. We have no way of knowing if this tenet came from divine inspiration or the muddled mind of a mortal mammal. I choose to live my life leading with the tenet of reverence for all life equally, a tenet which has no place for specieism or caste.
Vanna: Which is why we would stop and pray before each dinner of fish or chicken in order to thank the animal that has blessed us with its sacrifice so that we may eat.
Myra: You still do that?
Vanna: Sometimes...
Myra: Fish can't even feel pain...you can't expect me to believe they have a soul too...
Zach: I-I don't really think there's anythin' wrong with bein' thankful fer a good meal...
Lucero: *Chuckles* It is quite alright Zach, do not feel the need to step in as though you are diffusing a potential fight. Pasha and I agreed long ago that we would not push our beliefs on our daughters. Everyone's life is a journey of spiritual education and self-discovery. We all must find our own way, on our own path. Besides, no disagreement in philosophy is worth losing touch with our daughters over. *Laughs* And again, we'd be pretty huge hypocrites if we demanded obedience like our own parents.
Padparadscha: Mostly my parents. Your's were quite accepting of me if I remember.
Lucero: It's true, my parents were quite open and flexible when it came to their own beliefs in Binduism, and I've tried my best to lead by their example. It certainly makes for a much less stressful life. *Chuckles*
Vanna: I really miss our trips out to Mane to see Grandma and Grandpaw...they were always so much fun.
Myra: Yeah, Granpaw was a kick! If you think my Dad is wild Zach you should have met ol' Raj!
Lucero: *Laughs heartily* Yes, my father deeply loved life, and he instilled that in me as a young kitten, though even now I still pale in comparison to that towering, joyful, boisterous old tiger. If any mammal in all of Animalia had achieved true Dharma, it was him.
Vanna: Do...you guys remember the...thing with the log?
Lucerio: Ah the Cago Tio! You girls used to love that!
Zach: Caga what?
Padparadscha: Although...that's not really a Bindian tradition...more of a local...Catalonian thing...
Vanna: I didn't love it per say...but it is amusing to think back to those Yule mornings...with all of us trying to get the Caga Tio to...produce presents...*Stifles a snicker*
Zach: What is this thang? Like a Yule log?
Myra: It's a log you pretend to feed leftover food to, and then on Yule morning you beat it and then it shits presents.
Zach: What? *Pft* What 'ya mean-Kitten what does she mean it "shit's presents?"
Vanna: *Shaking with laughter as she tries to hold it in.* Y-you heard her.
Zach: *Clearly confused but trying to stifle his own laughter.* Myra?
Myra: Then it shits a fish out to let you know it's done pooping presents out for the year. *Myra is now stifling her own snickers*
Pasha: *Now laughing* You forgot about the part where you sing songs to it in between beatings to encourage it to...make. *laughs*
Lucero: As if beating it wasn't encouragement enough! *Cackling*
Myra: The beatings will continue until the present output improves! *Laughs*
Zach: Y-yer all serious? *Snickering*
Myra: As I said, Grandpaw was WILD!
*Everyone starts cackling*
And an advanced 'good riddance!' to 2021 as a whole! I'd like to thank you all for sticking around through the mess that was 2021 guys. Hopefully, I'll be able to hit the asks twice as hard to make up for it next year. Happy Yule to you all! This blog will be back in January!
-Wasty
