So when I thought about how to thank FA for so many pageviews and faves, lots of things came to mind. I suppose my new Brice stories are indirectly a result of that brainstorm, and more thanks are coming if I can calm down and focus on writing this week (my life is exciting right now - long story). The next thank you will be gay porn.

But I like to do images every once in a while too, even though I know they're not my main draw. So this time, I decided to give you folks a peek into my psyche as a creative type. This image depicts my 9 animal spirit guides, who advise and protect me when I'm being all pagan-y and stuff.

They've been my guides for about 10 years now, though I still feel like some of them will leave me eventually. I'm not sure which ones. I've also been whining at the universe for a long time to send me a bird, so that might happen someday. And lately there's a whole thing with red pandas which is totally Joe's fault, and I'm not sure where that's going, if anywhere.

But for now, and for a long time now, these have been my animals. Wolf is my core personality and my fursona(e). Unicorn is my Gemini "second self" that few people see. Lion goes with my Moon sign, Leo, and snake is my Chinese astrology sign (fire snake). Tortoise is the shell I hide in most of the time, and rabbit represents my mischief (see Watership Down and El-ahrairah) and my inner slut (like bunnies!). Bear and deer have just always been there for me when I needed them, teaching me introspection and gentleness respectively, and elephant teaches steady patience, and attunement to the next world (elephants are documented to grieve for departed friends for _years_ after said friends' deaths).

So that's me, I guess. At least for now. I hope you all like it. And thanks so much for all the faves, and for visiting my page!

Image credits:

made with the following 27 flickr Creative Commons images requiring attribution:

barely visible and blended as textures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/732309.....03/6964955333/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/809013.....04/7530054972/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/6891884261/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaja_1985/177995015/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nanagyei/7036480495/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ozgirl57/6938703947/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/qthoma.....er/3835549101/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spool32/4633177036/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zyllan/4933890865/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anis_niit/4378254351/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chitra.....ar/2613000232/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrism.....os/6110190851/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grafixer/2353363164/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kassel1/3104612595/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksh.....et/1498695907/ (D. Sharon Pruitt)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seyyed.....ani/4421993945
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomas_.....bek/4649690892
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/2305107302/

main image/clearly visible:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/307016.....02/5306401416/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/505627.....00/2110796622/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/784281.....00/3995918199/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/colinsite/4497663438/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cryptowolf/2703388561
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robboudon/6035816980
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarah_.....cans/289862056
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottc.....ja/6843888521/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zepfanman/3466549039/