.rebellion/MISHACHAN

I'm letting him get comfortable in this tank until I introduce him to Mathias and they get friendly enough to be put in the same cage together.  They've both been alone for a very long time, so it might take a while to get them used to each other.  I'll keep you posted.  :)

UPDATE: They met and didn't seem too bothered with each other.  I have them in the same cage now.  Linus is making himself right at home, doesn't seem very stressed or nervous at all.  Mathias, however, is very subdued, he doesn't seem to want to acknolwedge Linus's existence.  They haven't fought though, which is a good sign.  I'll be keeping an eye on them but I'm pretty sure they'll slowly get used to each other now and be the best of friends.  :)

I love rats. They are pretty much The Best Pets. They are sociable but still independent enough that they don't take up all of your time. They don't just sit there; they'll play with you. They're intelligent, too; they can be trained to use a litter box, to play fetch, to do tricks. And they are very clean animals - my little Mathias grooms himself about once every couple minutes. They're not jittery and hyper and freaked out like gerbils and most mice are. And above all they're cute! Their little beady eyes and dainty little fingers and toes, and velvety tail are so lovely and adorable. I have no greater love for any other type of animal. I also don't draw them enough, so here's a quick practice painting of one.

I love everyone so much right now.

When I was a little girl I was fascinated with unicorns. Hell, I'm still fascinated with unicorns (at least, I'm still writing stories about them). Especially if they are some sort of spin-off of the unicorn theme. When I was little, I was delighted to find out about the ki'rin, the karkadann, etc. Rhinoceri are not included in my fascinations mostly because at the zoo they just kind of stand there and don't do anything interesting. But the distant prehistoric relative of the rhinocerous, Iranotherium, looks almost exactly like my favorite version of the unicorn (which I can't remember the name of but looks sort of like a buffalo) so I fell in love with it and drew a picture. Unfortunately it wasn't carnivorous, but hey I'll take what I can get.

(still can't draw trees)

Here's Skten just before he meets Osiris. He waits by a computer terminal, waiting for orders from his superiors, while Osiris quietly accesses the Nvess computer systems. This is approximately a year before the Nvess invade the Atlantis.

Quick concept painting of the Atlantis. I'm disproportionately proud of how this looks (and I'll just pretend it doesn't look like the Death Star).

"I remember the Earth, Cathode. I remember everything. I can still recall the first time they uploaded my language and symbol protocols - at first, I was nothing, and then suddenly I was aware that I existed. And I knew all of my capabilities. The same thing happened to you, Cath, though it was a slower process, and probably not one you remember. Two hundred years ago, the popular opinion was that I was an unthinking machine, only able to mimic human reactions. But I am as self-aware as you are. And that is the most important thing. That is why I do this to you. I cannot apologize for it."

This speech never actually happens. But if it had, this is what he would say.