diff --git a/containers/shower/default.nix b/containers/shower/default.nix
index cb64ca8..fa1f07f 100644
--- a/containers/shower/default.nix
+++ b/containers/shower/default.nix
@@ -29,13 +29,13 @@ let
   # dep into a single target dir. FODs get network access in exchange for
   # a pinned output hash, which means the whole dependency closure is
   # immutable across rebuilds.
-  pyDeps = pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
-    pname = "shower-python-deps";
+  pyDepsFOD = pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
+    pname = "shower-python-deps-fod";
     inherit version;
 
     dontUnpack = true;
 
-    nativeBuildInputs = [ python pkgs.cacert ];
+    nativeBuildInputs = [ python pkgs.cacert pkgs.removeReferencesTo ];
 
     buildPhase = ''
       runHook preBuild
@@ -44,9 +44,6 @@ let
       export SSL_CERT_FILE=${pkgs.cacert}/etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt
       export PIP_DISABLE_PIP_VERSION_CHECK=1
 
-      # Install into a venv first so pip's bytecode-compile + entry-point
-      # generation pick up the right interpreter, then copy site-packages
-      # + bin into $out at a stable layout.
       ${python}/bin/python -m venv "$TMPDIR/venv"
       "$TMPDIR/venv/bin/pip" install --upgrade pip
       "$TMPDIR/venv/bin/pip" install \
@@ -65,40 +62,84 @@ let
       mkdir -p $out/lib/python3.14 $out/bin
       cp -r "$TMPDIR/venv/lib/python3.14/site-packages" $out/lib/python3.14/site-packages
 
-      # Copy console scripts (gunicorn, django-admin, etc.) but drop the
-      # venv-specific shebang prefix that points at $TMPDIR/venv/bin/python.
-      # Rewrite shebangs to the eventual on-image python path.
       for script in "$TMPDIR/venv/bin/"*; do
         [ -f "$script" ] || continue
         name=$(basename "$script")
         case "$name" in
           python*|pip*|activate*) continue ;;
         esac
-        # Replace the venv python shebang with a path that resolves inside
-        # the docker image (where ${python} ends up in /nix/store).
-        sed -e "1 s|^#!.*python.*|#!${python}/bin/python3.14|" "$script" > "$out/bin/$name"
+        cp "$script" "$out/bin/$name"
         chmod +x "$out/bin/$name"
       done
 
-      runHook postInstall
-    '';
+      # --- Strip Nix store references (FOD outputs must be self-contained) ---
+      # The wrapper derivation below restores them via autoPatchelfHook + a
+      # python wrapper that points pyc-less imports at the on-image python.
 
-    # Bytecode files embed absolute paths; deletion forces re-compile inside
-    # the image at first run, with paths matching the image filesystem.
-    postInstall = ''
+      # Strip bytecode entirely — pyc files embed compile-time paths.
       find $out -type f -name '*.pyc' -delete
       find $out -type d -name '__pycache__' -exec rm -rf {} + 2>/dev/null || true
+
+      # Dynamically discover all nix store references and strip them. We
+      # don't have a static list because pip pulls in stdenv via Python's
+      # build env (gcc-lib, libstdc++, etc.) and the closure is opaque.
+      { find $out -type f -print0 \
+          | xargs -0 grep -aohE '/nix/store/[a-z0-9]{32}-[^/"[:space:]]+' 2>/dev/null \
+          || true; } | sort -u > $TMPDIR/store-refs.txt
+      echo "Found $(wc -l < $TMPDIR/store-refs.txt) unique store path references to strip"
+
+      refs_args=""
+      while IFS= read -r ref; do
+        refs_args="$refs_args -t $ref"
+      done < $TMPDIR/store-refs.txt
+
+      if [ -n "$refs_args" ]; then
+        find $out -type f -exec remove-references-to $refs_args {} + 2>/dev/null || true
+      fi
+
+      remaining=$({ find $out -type f -print0 | xargs -0 grep -cl '/nix/store/' 2>/dev/null || true; } | wc -l)
+      echo "Files with remaining store references: $remaining"
+
+      runHook postInstall
     '';
 
     outputHashMode = "recursive";
     outputHashAlgo = "sha256";
     # Computed by setting to pkgs.lib.fakeHash and reading the failure.
-    # Pin the dep closure — rebuilds are reproducible until the version bumps.
     outputHash = pkgs.lib.fakeHash;
 
     dontFixup = true;
   };
 
+  # Non-FOD wrapper: re-applies RPATHs to pre-built .so files (pillow,
+  # scipy) so they find libstdc++ / libz / etc. at runtime. autoPatchelfHook
+  # discovers needed libraries from buildInputs.
+  pyDeps = pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
+    pname = "shower-python-deps";
+    inherit version;
+
+    dontUnpack = true;
+
+    nativeBuildInputs = [ pkgs.autoPatchelfHook ];
+
+    buildInputs = with pkgs; [
+      python
+      stdenv.cc.cc.lib   # libstdc++, libgcc_s
+      zlib
+      libjpeg
+      libwebp
+      libtiff
+      openjpeg
+      lcms2
+      freetype
+    ];
+
+    installPhase = ''
+      cp -r ${pyDepsFOD} $out
+      chmod -R u+w $out
+    '';
+  };
+
   sitePackages = "${pyDeps}/lib/python3.14/site-packages";
 
   # Settings shim — config/settings.py's `BASE_DIR = parent.parent` would