#thank you so much for these!!!

[racingliners]

HELLO i'm asking two fic asks i hope that's okay!

✑ PROCESSING for The Rules of Strategy and ♡ SMALL THINGS for Slowly And Then All at Once please🥰

it is ALWAYS okay to ask me to yell about more than one of my fics!!!

✑ PROCESSING: pick a fic and I’ll tell you what it was like to write it!

Oh my beloved TRoS... (ao3 link)

So one thing to know about is that because I'm autistic I will research the shit out of anything. And while I watched the 2017 season at the time, there was a lot of Mercedes-centric things I missed out on. So a lot of my research for each race weekend chapter consists of tag surfing here on tumblr for pictures and video clips (mainly to see what Lewis was wearing on a specific day if I need it, and if there was anything notable that happened across the weekend), looking up free practice/quali/race reports, and also watching the Mercedes strategy debrief videos so that when I'm writing Strategist!Seb, I have a really good idea of what I'm talking about. In a couple of instances (Bahrain, China and Spain) I've also watched the full races back just to get a proper feel for when writing the race sections, and for any team radio clips.

Then, I'll get writing. I'd actually planned out the vast majority of the chapters many months ago based on the season results and what I could remember from 2017, as well as the various relationship development points. But I do the above stuff to get my brain into the frame of mind for whichever specific race chapter I'm writing (I like to do a balance of actual racing and mushy romance bc that's just how my brain works, and because in a way they both influence each other in the plot).

Sometimes I'll be going about my day and I'll have an idea drift into my head for a future chapter, or even a bit of dialogue, so I'll write it down in whichever relevant notes doc I have so I have it on hand for later.

Obviously when I actually get to writing things will change a bit in terms of what scenes I do end up including. I have my notes as a guide and just go with the flow in terms of what feels best for the development of the story. The only exception when I've done a complete 180 for what I originally had planned was the Monaco chapter, which I ended up setting post-race at the Mercedes factory and at Seb's house. IRL it was a rough weekend for Mercedes and I felt like I'd already written that to an extent with the Bahrain chapter, so I opted to change it and I'm really happy with how it ended up turning out.

♡ SMALL THINGS: pick a fic and I’ll tell you my favourite minor detail from it!

I am SO happy someone asked me about this fic bc I just love it so so much! (ao3 link)

I'd say I'm definitely a very detail orientated writer, so I just love sprinkling little things in here and there in the hope that someone else notices them and loves them as much as I do.

One of which was definitely in the hotel room confession scene towards the end, where I very specifically had Jenson wear a mint green shirt (what was about to become Team Brackley aka Mercedes colours) to foreshadow him and Shov getting together.

He adjusted the fabric of his shirt, a mint green button down with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and slowly walked over towards Shov. The best case scenario of them going to be at different teams in a couple of months’ time meant that if what Jenson was about to say completely blew up in his face, it would be somewhat easy for neither of them to see or speak to each other ever again. As painful a prospect as it was.

Team colours are such a huge identifier, especially in F1 where every team has their own distinct colour scheme, so it's something I love to play around with a lot for the symbolism of it all (I did a very similar thing in Life In the Fast Lane where I had Sophie and Benedikt wearing each others helmet colours, also to foreshadow their romantic relationship). And at this point in 2009, Jenson had already signed his contract to join McLaren in 2010, so it was because of that I had Jenson wear a Mercedes colour (instead of BrawnGP white or yellow) to signify to the reader that they're about to become each other's person as he and Shov only had a very short about of time left at the same team.

fic ask game

[aworsening]

Not sure what type of prompts you're looking for but:

Thematic: on grief, on sisterhood

As a song: Glass Animals - Mama's Gun

More elaborated: Losing a part of yourself as a child, noticing years down the line, looking for it in yourself and others

[mercymaker]

1 - 3 + B for an oc of your choice! 😊

Uncommon Questions for OCs and their creators

I'll do the OC questions for Thoriel, just to switch things up a little bit!

1. What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

Not very long! While Maleane is more of a thinker, who tries to devise a plan of action before getting her hands dirty, Thoriel is very much a doer who just springs into action and rolls with the punches. I think it helps that she's very charismatic, so most of the time things just work out in her favor. But even when there's no action to be diving into, Thoriel is not someone to sit idly. She sings, she dances, she plays her harp. Then sharpens her blades, tinkers with things, finds people to chat with. The girly finds it hard to sit on her hands and do nothing!

2. How easy is it for your character to laugh?

Laughter finds her lips easily! Thoriel loves to laugh and make others laugh as well. And she's quick and witty, so jokes spring up in her mind with relative ease. It's not easy to live a life that feels like a gift, something you owe someone, so she takes every opportunity to enjoy it and laughter is one of the most important aspects of life.

3. How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

When Thoriel was a wee lil child, Maleane would hum while putting her to bed. Later, when she got a bit older, her mother read stories to her, and then eventually, taught her how to read all by herself. So, growing up, Thoriel was quite fond of reading before bed. When she grew up and left to forge her own adventures, Thori's most likely to write before resting. She sings or plays harp, writes some words down on a piece of parchment, or the edges of a book she's reading. At times she gets lost in a thought and starts writing poetry.

B) What inspired you to create them?

Thoriel just sort of sprung in my mind almost fully fledged. I knew she'd have pink hair because I could totally see Mal's daughter just dunking her hair in a pot full of beetroot juice because she'd think it's so cool to have pink/purple hair! I knew she'd have heterochromia because I wanted to give her something from her grandma. And I think it looks neat and a bit funny considering her parentage and her mother's, uh... company. If you didn't know any better, you could take a look at her, then Maleane and Astarion, and think they're her parents lmao. As for Maleane, she was very much a "oh god, i am finally playing beegeethree, i need to make a character quick!!! panic! oh, i can just sorta make my mage from wow!" case and then I had to untangle all that and justify my choices and make a coherent character out of that (which was not easy!).

[femmmie]

💙Smoshblr December Asks Day 2💛

What are your top 3 favourite movies?

And how easily would your friends (or ppl you work with) be able to guess it was you, based on them?

What a fun question! In the 90s I would go to the movie rental store every weekend and rent some blockbusters! So I've seen quite a few hahaha. These are my favorites:

1. The Neverending Story: my oldest friend would know bc we would watch in on repeat so much! I taped that one from television. I rewatched it as an adult and it was even better. I love the strong, pressing plea of the movie: dare to dream!!! When the princess looks into the camera I'm like *_* yes I will give you a new name myself!!!!

2. Back to the Future: this movie is an absolute masterpiece. It is SO fun to watch. And stands the test of time. I was on holiday in California and we were just strolling around LA, when we saw an outside screening of the movie. The warm weather, the people around us and the movie made for an unforgettable night. I tried to recreate the moment at my birthday party so my friends know I love it.

3. Indiana Jones: this isn't so much about the movie and more about the actor 😍😍😍 Harrison Ford can get it.. then and now!! Some of my friends know I'm a horny bitch like that lmao so they know, others probably suspect!!

[murder-and-mayhem]

ok I just remembered I liked that emoji ask post you reblogged yesterday to come back and send you an ask lmao SO, for any oc(s!!!!!) you want: 👁️, 💥, 🌙, 🙈, 🌌, ✏️ , 💘 (and if that’s too many just pick your faves of course!!)

OMG YAY!!! I'm so sorry it took me so long to post these. Work has been BRUTAL lately and it took me a minute to get my thoughts organized on these, but thank you so much for the asks! I'm gonna post them below the cut so people don't have to scroll through my wall of text because....well, you know me.

👁️ - What color are their eyes? Do people notice their eyes? Is there anything special about them (shows emotion easily, literally magical...)?

Jaidys/Torvahl - Both mother and son have very striking silver-blue eyes—nearly white they're so pale.

While Jaidys' eyes are one of her more prominent features, they often aren't the first thing people notice about her. Her appearance is a little eccentric for a Sith considering she favors all-white clothing and blatantly displays her slave brands. However, when people do look into her eyes it is a deeply unsettling experience. Her gaze is cruel, cold, and unyielding, leaving you with the sickening feeling that you are being stalked by a predator.

Torvahl inherited Jaidys' strange eye color, however where his mother's eyes hold malice, Torvahl's are distinctly kind. When he was younger he absolutely hated his eyes. Anything that reminded him of Jaidys filled him with absolute dread, and he assumed that others would only ever see a Sith when they looked at him. This was especially true when he first arrived on Tython. Imagine his shock when he arrived at the temple only to find out that he was actually rather...boring. Basically just another run-of-the mill human, and he was thrilled. He does get a lot of compliments on his eyes since they're his most noticeable feature. It always makes him happy to know that people find them warm and comforting instead of instilling the fear that Jaidys' gaze always inflicted.

💥 - What emotions do they have trouble dealing with?

Lizseth - Lizseth does not handle guilt well. At all. When she finds out the galaxy has gone to hell after her five year stint in carbonite, she is convinced that it's entirety her fault and the thought makes her physically ill. She feels like she abandoned her companions, her friends, her husband...everyone. Even though she knows that her imprisonment was beyond her control, it doesn't stop her from hating herself for not fighting harder.

In order to function, she essentially has to shut down all emotion, but she isn't as good at it as she thinks she is. As Alliance Commander, she takes every loss personally, and Lana and Theron worry about her constantly. When she slowly begins to reunite with her companions, her heart bleeds for the suffering they went through.

This is especially true for Torian.

When they finally have a moment alone on Darvannis, it takes him clutching her face in his hands and practically shaking her before he gets her calm down long enough to listen to him.

It wasn't her fault. It never was.

🌙 - What is your OC's greatest wish? How far are they willing to go for it?

Torvahl - Torvahl's greatest wish is to be reunited with his sister, despite knowing that there's a high chance she isn't the person that he remembers. He vehemently believes that at the very least he owes her an explanation for leaving her all those years ago, even if she refuses to forgive him—or worse, tries to kill him. It's a wish that he harbors in secret. The Jedi Council would hardly approve of him hunting down a Sith during his scarce moments of downtime, and more importantly wanting to reconnect with her goes against the Jedi Code. So, how far is he willing to go? His sister is important enough for him to break the very Code he's sworn to and risk his place among the Jedi, however he wouldn't put the lives of others at risk to make it happen. If anyone has to face the threat of death or exile it will be him and him alone.

🙈 - What's a side of your OC that they don't want to show other people?

Sehlaan - It may be cliché, but she struggles with showing vulnerability in any capacity, including her love life. She was raised to believe that any show of weakness was a death sentence—a belief that was often proven true, especially during her time at the Academy and during her apprenticeship. When she's on the battlefield, her stoicism is a virtue. She knows from experience that leading armies demands that she be a pillar of strength and resolve. Any crack in her façade could tank morale as well as put her ability to lead into question. This was especially true during the operation on Yavin-4 and during her leadership of the Alliance. One false move while commanding an army composed of two warring factions would have killed both endeavors in their infancy.

It's a different story when it comes to her relationships—both platonic and romantic. Her stubborn refusal to relinquish control and just allow herself to be a human being often did more harm than good. After being burned during her relationship with Malavai Quinn, she was determined to never let anyone worm their way under her skin again. Then she met Arcann, and she slowly began to open up in order to help him heal. She found it was easier to be herself around him, which in turn allowed her to open up in her friendships with Lana, Jaesa, and Theron. Sehlaan still has days where she struggles, but it's easier to remind herself that she doesn't have to be perfect all of the time—that she is allowed to have moments of doubt and to feel insecure.

🌌 - What was the inspiration behind your OC? What was the first thing you decided about them?

Sehlaan - I don't know if I had any particular inspiration for Sehlaan. She just kind of came to life in the character creator, and the more I fleshed her out in-game the more I loved her. The first things I decided about her? I knew that she would 100% be played neutral and eventually lean towards more light-side choices in a nice redemption arc. I also had her family tree sorted pretty much immediately. I knew she was going to be the daughter of my SI, and that she would have a Jedi brother.

✏️ - Is there a particular quote/lyric that you associate with them?

Jaidys - "A smiling face draped over stone cold eyes / reflecting a fire, fueled with lies" — "Vaudeville" by Priest

Lizseth - "She's a Killer Queen/ Gunpowder, Gelatine/ Dynamite with a laser beam/ Guaranteed to blow your mind" — Killer Queen by Queen (of course)

Sehlaan - "The darkness was a cocoon / Just like the moth, I escape the gloom / A sparkle deep within / Let out the flame that begot me to win" — "The Pit" by Priest

Edge lord lyrics probably but ✨oh well ✨

💘 - What traits do they look for in a relationship? Do they believe in love at first sight?

Sehlaan - Sehlaan does not believe in love at first sight. At all. She believes that you need to truly know the good and the bad that comes with a person—all of their quirks and annoying habits, the things that keep them up at night and the traumas that come into the relationship with them—otherwise you are simply in love with a façade. It's one of the reasons she and Arcann work so well together. She knows him inside and out, and every day she chooses to love the good and the bad that comes with him just as he does with her.

When it comes to relationships, she looks for comfort and solace. To her, being with your partner should feel like home no matter where you are in the galaxy. She also looks for a solid friendship in her partner. If she can't find common ground with a person and enjoy their company platonically, throwing romance/sex into the mix would only be a recipe for disaster.

Lizseth - Lizseth doesn't believe in love at first sight either. In her eyes, love at first sight is a prettier way to justify pure animal attraction. There's nothing wrong with lust. She just believes that there's a lot more work required than simply looking at someone and deciding you love them.

When it comes to partners, Lizseth wants someone who can make her laugh. If the person she's interested in has no sense of humor, she doesn't even waste her time. She also craves intimacy in all of its forms, despite being a bit of a hard ass in most other aspects of her life. She wants to be wooed by her partner—though not necessarily in the traditional sense of the word. She enjoys a good game of cat and mouse in her relationships. This means flirting, teasing, lingering touches, and heated glances—the thrill of the chase even if she's already in a committed relationship with that person. It all boils down to the fact that Lizseth needs to feel wanted. The moment she feels like she's a burden to someone, the relationship crashes and burns.

[tawnysoup]

Finally now that the comic is fully public on comicfury, I get to share it with all of you here, too <3

If you enjoyed, please consider supporting by buying a PDF of the comic on itch.io: https://tawnysoup.itch.io/home-in-the-woods

[tariah23]

Oh…. Well, it’s over for Crunchyroll I guess

[theenemyod]

I think people should be allowed to sleep in the same bed in a non sexual and non romantic way. I think cuddles can happen non sexually and non romantically. I think most acts of affection are non sexual and non romantic until you make it sexual or romantic (other than the obvious things like actual sex is sexual)

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

The Exotic Animal Photo Reference Repository is live!

You can find it at: https://www.animal-photo-references.com!

Here's how this repository works: all photos were taken by me, a human, at zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries, and other facilities with animals in human care. There is no AI involved in the photo editing or creation and there never will be. Right now there's 56 species on the site; my catalog has over 300 and I will be uploading the rest of them as fast as I can.

Artists creating derivative or transformative works (without AI) have blanket permission to use these references. Yes, even for work you're going to sell.

All other usage/reproduction requires permission, but assume I'm friendly and please do ask! That's educators, researchers, the media, people who need images for a school presentation, etc. This is just to retain copyright/control in case they're scraped/reused unethically - it doesn't meant I don't want folk to have access! So please do reach out via the contact form on the repository website, I don't bite and I'm most likely going to say yes.

Please don't repost the repository photos to your own blogs: I've created @animalphotorefs as a dedicated blog to share photos from the site, and of course I'll reblog a lot of it here! That again just helps with retaining copyright and sourcing of the images. If you really want to repost some for a specific purpose, please just ask me first!

Also, folks, this project has no funding. It's just me and my camera.

There will never be a paywall on the site - I believe resources like this absolutely must be free for everyone to access. So please, please, please support the repository if you use it. Want sneak peeks at photos, cute videos I take, or to help choose what I photograph and what gets posted first? You can do that through Patreon (and there's a free trial on the most interactive tier!) If you'd like to just drop a tip, I've also set up a Ko-Fi.

I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of the repository.

To whet your thirst for cute photos, here's an Indian rhinoceros contemplating a goose.

[noodles-and-tea]

Last part whoo!!!

PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3 / PART 4

[mikqchoux]

I like to think i'm funny:,)

[hansoeii]

we go just right.

[crowcrate]

The girlies!! &Silver <-honorary girlie I think

Also team chaotix because the idea was too funny and I couldn’t help myself

[sonykatzen]

pretty boy

[novaneondream]

I love you MHA and I love you Katsuki and Izuku with all my heart. I hope you continue to be heroes and go on many adventures side by side for the rest of your lives.

[canisalbus]

✦ Freshly ordained ✦