These are just a few of the thoughts that have been running through my head the past few days. This is NOT a preface for saying I’m going to stop writing Shadowcrest permanently!! I am taking a short break, but I will be back and so will the story. But there may be some changes on the horizon for it.

Shadowcrest is, when distilled down, a fish out of water story, set in a post (localized) apocalyptic setting. I think that it could work as a story if it were set in Ancient Rome or in the Twenty-third century (a la Star Trek) or any medium in between.

I’ve believed for a long time that the setting is the most important character you have in a story. But like all characters if it’s not working any more, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with tweaking a character or even, sometimes gutting a character.

Shadowcrest is one of the longest going stories I’ve ever written, not in terms of story length, even if you jammed every thing I’ve written so far into a novel, it would maybe crest a hundred pages, I’ve probably got nearly a dozen finished or unfinished manuscripts sitting on my harddrive that are longer than that. But in that a year in, its still going strong, still interesting, and I still want to know what happens with these characters, and if you’re here, every week reading this, you’re probably still interested in what happens with these characters.

But I truly believe that some changes need to be made. What sort of changes? I don’t know that yet. I’m taking some time to try and figure that out, just a couple of weeks, a normal hiatus for me.

What I can say is:

• All of the characters will be back. (Including Alistair…) There may be some cosmetic changes, depending on what I decide. That is one of the things on the table. But even if I make Alistair wear a gorilla suit he’s still Alistair.
• My plot outline, which is planned out through the end of Season Two, is staying intact, all of the salient points and plot arcs I have in the works are still greenlighted.
• The soapy, trashy writing you’ve come to expect, plus my absolute obsession with sex-gone-wrong, will still be here.

What I can’t say is:

• That Shadowcrest’s current setting will be staying as is. The medi-esque, faux-European time and place are the first things up on the chopping block.
• The characters may or may not look exactly the same as regards costuming, hair, cosmetics, and even possibly some genetic changes. If I change the setting, the “look” I currently have for Shadowcrest may or may not make as much sense. However, I really want to stay true to the concept of the characters, so don’t expect to see Peyton all decked out in fluffy princess dresses with long Rapunzel hair.

But who knows. In a couple of weeks I may decide I like Shadowcrest as is and continue on unchanged.

Last thing: This is not a pity-post, I’m not looking for an ego-stroke, or a “Oh no, Andavri, we love Shadowcrest just as it is! Don’t change a thing!”. I just want to make you guys aware of what’s going through my mind and why I’m taking a bit of a break to figure things out.

When I know what’s going on with Shadowcrest, I’ll let you guys know what’s going on with Shadowcrest, thanks for reading, hopefully see you guys in a few weeks.

~Andavri

But for some reason I’m getting a graphics glitch in Shadowcrest. My bumpmaps aren’t working and I’m getting a weird transparency issue too. It might be as simple as a piece of CC that’s got a conflict or it could just be that it’s been April since I had to reinstall sims and that’s apparently too long.

I’m afraid shooting around it will bug me way too much to focus on shooting, so unless it is a really quick fix, I’m thinking this will be my hiatus and I will focus first on figuring out what went wrong, and then get to work on all of the other stuff I was planning for. Sorry. I was looking forward to finishing out the season and I hope you guys were looking forward to reading it.

Thanks for your understanding. See you the fifth if not earlier!

Plus, I’m working on some makeovers for the various people on Shadowcrest, despite someone’s assertion that it’s more or less pointless. Nothing hugely major, just different hair and in a couple cases I’ve decided that skintones or eye hues would be better changed, but we’re talking more or less cosmetic changes. Hopefully not much that will change the core of the sim in question.

Also, on the “Season” front, (Round, if you prefer.) I had intended for 24 episodes in the Season and then a short season break, rather like you get with TV. But I just have too much to cram in before the end of this Season (I already have the last episode planned out.) to fit it all into the eight episodes I have left. (Four weddings, an important romance, another pregnancy, and I’m still hoping for all six of the remaining ladies to make their appearances yet this season.)

Although I am still hoping to close this season out around the end of the year. (Might mean having to do two posts a week, but I doubt that anyone will complain about that. )

But, for those of you who are on the Keep. I am intending to use the next week before I go catching up on getting all of the downloads I’ve been hording up on the Keep. All the male clothes you’ve seen on the people in Shadowcrest, except Ren, whose tunic is already up. It was part of my SS gift to Ann. I had a recolor I made specifically for him, but I seem to have mislaid it and will have to find it again. Plus Kennedy’s dress and Raquel’s dresses, as well as the new, as yet unseen, dresses for Tiffany and Jolene. Heidi’s dress which is an age conversion of another SS gift to Ann. Plus I have a really bad outfit I made for Bors, if you’re an Albion reader you probably saw it in the post where the de Ganises meet the Ferreiras for dinner. And three hairstyles; two male retextures and the snood I made for Eva back in like late July/early August and had plum forgot I had it done.

Thanks for your patience, I hope it will be rewarded!

Also, unfortunately, I’ve not got a back up plan. I have not got any other pictures shot and I don’t even have the locale for the next episode completely built. >_<’ So unfortunately no update this week. But hopefully next week’s episode will be there on/by Thursday as scheduled.

Thanks for understanding!

Also finally got some links up. Nowhere near all of my credits and favorites, but it’s a start.

As far as an episode update goes, I skipped last week’s episode to put up the site, and this week’s update is shot, I just need to pin down my muse and get it written. Hopefully tomorrow. I have been poked into doing something else yet tonight. Something about putting it off long enough…

All combined I’m not going to promise an update until the week after next. But with luck come July 16th or 17th there will be a new update. (Without luck, look for the new update to be your regularly scheduled Thursday one on the 21st.

Thanks for your patience!

But next week’s episode should be up on Thursday if all goes well. If all doesn’t go well, well, I’ll have bigger problems than missing an update.

Also I have no idea why the footer text isn’t located in the footer, but it’s kinda being a pain that way. However as it’s not hurting anything, I’m leaving it alone for now. I have spent the past four days working on the graphics and stylesheet for this damn layout and I need a break before I toss my new monitor (It’s less than a month old) out the window and bang my head against the desk.

That said, if there are any other issues, please let me know and I will try and fix them.

Also on the site text front, I am a bit out of practice on writing. I’ve not written much, besides of story collab, with a friend in quite a while and I am very new to these characters and this world. I would please ask your indulgence while I find my groove.

This site does contain the occasional bits of profanity and adult situations. I’m an adult, I’ve been one for over a decade now, and I’m not used to tempering myself for kids anymore. I will promise this, if there are tits/ass/crammyboys/and/or more than the occasional use of the seven words you can’t say on television in any one given post, I will try and remember to add a warning.