Brothers: Can't live with them, can't live without them.

If you have brothers then you know very well how terribly annoying they can be. Sadly, my older brother and I don't really get along. Every time I'm right he says that the conversation is over and won't let me finish. If I try to he starts yelling at me or leaves the room.

Now if he's right, that's a completely different story. The conversation is NEVER over until HE says so and if I try to leave he gets angry. If I do manage to escape, he'll bring the subject up again later or find my mom or dad and tattle-tale. He's 21! Who does that? Certainly not me!

Anyhow, I'm sitting in my room blaring Linkin Park because I'm furious at him! We have gotten into two arguments today and I've been right both times, which has made him mad at me. It's over silly things too! I merely asked who kept leaving crumbs in all the boxes, bags, and containers in the pantry and fridge. My younger brother said it wasn't him and my older brother told me to get over it. I simply asked him to stop leaving practically empty containers and what not for everyone to throw away. He started yelling at me and told me that the conversation was over, and to go away. Needless to say, I got angry and yelled back. Yes, I'm ashamed of yelling at him. I normally do NOT yell when I get upset but he succeeded in causing me to.

*sigh* I don't understand it. I do love him but he's such a frustrating person! Ugh! Okay, that's the end of my venting...I hope....

the fruits of wisdom

If you guessed that this was about wisdom teeth, then you're right. Monday I participated in a study that removed all 4 of my wisdom teeth and gave me some experimental medication. In the interest of not revealing anything I shouldn't, I'm not mentioning anything else about it- except that it is now two days after my surgery, and my sister says that I look like a lego person because my cheeks are so swollen. I can barely open my mouth, and chewing is a fond memory. Mom found an icepack that i can actually strap to my face, so that's what I'm wearing- I can't wait for the swelling to go down. My gums don't hurt too much, but the swelling makes everything worse.
Bleh.

vacation

Well, it was a couple of weeks ago, but I went on vacation!
Every year my family absconds from our domestic life in texas to trade it for a semi-rustic life in colorado. We go up to the rocky mountain national park and live there for a week or two- preferably two. Why is it semi-rustic? Because although we stay in a cabin which has electricity, there is no cell phone service, usually no dishwasher, and no tv. I consider these to be a very good thing for these golden weeks of the year- I've been known to get angry if one of my siblings should happen to find cell phone service and spend their time texting.
Anyway, I was going to wait to post about it until I could get my pictures of the trip from my dad, but the pictures are not forthcoming.
Weather was perfect- 60 degrees Farenhieght. Which is quite the dramatic change from texas, let me assure you. We met my aunt, uncle and two cousins up there- they live in Illinois, so we hardly ever see them. We went on hikes to Bear Lake (which is like five feet from the parking lot, and so does not count as a hike in my book) Nymph lake, Dream lake, and Emerald lake. By the time that we got up to Dream we were walking on SNOW. Of course, many impromtu snowball fights and sledding ensued. As a side note- Dream is a long lake, you hit it, and walk alongside it for quite a ways. Mom and I have theorized that the lake is shaped roughly like a crescent moon, thus prompting the name Dream.
Nymph lake wasn't quite as pretty this year, generally, it's covered in lily pads with yellow flowers, but this year it was a bit too cold for them. T_T
We also hiked to Alberta Falls, Copeland Falls, Calypso Cascades, and Ouzel Falls.
We went white-water rafting on the Cache La Pouder river- which I love. I've been adicted to rafting since the first year that we did it- there is little so exhilirating. And it's not at all like a roller coaster- in a roller coaster you just sit there and scream- on the river, there are NO passengers, you're on the raft? You WORK. We always eat lunch at the same place when we get through- and we can't figure out if the food there is any good, or if we're just too hungry to care.
It's an interesting effect, you get off the river soaked to the bone and shivering, change into warm clothes, eat a filling meal, and its as if someone knocks you over the back of the head- we always fall asleep on the car ride back to the cabin.
A lot more than this happened- but it's sort of a pain to explain without pictures.
And so, I finish with this comment,
My shoes have been higher than you will EVER be on drugs.

Seven Days in Seven Minutes!

I know, you thought it was over, and done... or perhaps you knew, because you know me, that it wasn't.
But I HAD to remake the Kenshin wolfpack! Using Kay Fedewa's art, even without getting any profit from it, was wrong. So, I used free-to-color linearts from DeviantART. The result is that some of the wolves I don't like as much, but my concience is clean.
If you want to see the original linearts, check out the colored wolves on my gallery.
http://ignesfatuis.deviantart.com/
First up is Aoshi- All the colors are mostly the same, but I'm not a big fan of his expression this time around... I do like that the scars seemed to show up a bit better- though I should have put some on his chest.

Next is Misao- again, not a big fan of her expression or pose- since I thought the other Misao was a perfect fit... but she isn't as poofy!!

Megumi's color finally came out as something close to what I had envisioned. And her pose isn't that bad, she still looks flirty and in control.

Sano looks more dangerous this time around, and his color got lighter- though that's due to me and my computer monitor having issues. And then me being lazy and not fixing them. I had the same issues with Misao, which is why she's so pastel.

Yahiko looks darker, and DEFINITELY like a puppy- he is, again, one of my favorites, because this time around I didn't have to wrestle to make a grown dog look like a puppy, he did it on his own!

Kaoru looks more and more like an oddly colored wolf than a racoon-dog... she's so fluffy! Her pose really isn't too different from the other one, she still looks alert and vaguely hopeful.

The last two are of course Kenshin and Battousai. His hair is more red now, less orange... which is again, due to my own mess up and laziness in not fixing it. I like it, it doesn't clash as badly anymore! I still like Battousai, though now he seems a lot more violent... you can see his pretty teeth! ^_^;

HOME

There has been a (not exactly abnormal silence) on the blog for the past few days- the reason being, of course, that Fruit Bat and I have returned to our respective domiciles. We are home, people! It's so good to be back- seriously.
I'm back to my Christmas-setup, with my computer and desk over in a corner with a lovely blue cord that gives me internet access stretched across the stairway, ready to clothesline some poor person.
Anyway, anyway... so the day before our last day at school, Fruit Bat worked her animal magnetism one more time for the road- she found a sweet dog! I think it was a boxer... my memory just decided to check out for the summer. Well, this nice fellow didn't have a collar or tags (seriously people, get tags for your animals) so we wound up taking him to the San Angelo animal shelter- if you live in that area, stop by, see if you don't fall in love.
We also trapped the kittens- operation cat in bag went off without a hitch. Midnight and Saul went in the large carrier, Solstice in the smaller one. Fruit Bat and I closed the doors- Midnight noticed right away- freaking out, jumping around, etc. Apparently, if your cat does this in a carrier, all you really have to do is put a towel over it so they can't see out. Worked really well!
Solstice didn't notice/care that I'd closed the door- he was more interested in the food at the back of the carrier.
Now Saul and Midnight are with their new owner- Midnight's name has been changed to Inspector, and Saul's name change is pending...
Solstice is settling in pretty well over here, I wound up giving him to my youngest little sister for her birthday (yesterday). He really dodged a bullet too, she was going to change his name to Mushu, but fortunately, he only responds to Solstice. ^_^ He's using the litterbox (no surprise to me) and he's friendly with the rest of the family- he just still gets weirded out when we're all together in groups of three or more. He and the other cat, Stassney, have met. At first Stassney was putting up a good impression of Golumn from LOTR, hunched over and making strange noises- but now they're playing. Stassney likes to pin Solstice and try to give him a bath, but after a little bit Solstice gets fed up and it degenerates into a "fight".
We still have to get him used to the dog though- poor Diego is really friendly, and doesn't understand why Solstice keeps swiping at him! Pretty soon though, I think we'll let him have free reign of the house- so far he's been cooped up in various rooms when no one is home or the dog is inside. That can't be fun.
The picture was colored by me, as per usual, lineart by Weiringo of DeviantART.

Wolf's Rain Ramble

The purpose for this post is merely to rant about an Anime that I love: Wolf's Rain. This was one of the first animes that I really got into. Can you guess why? If you said wolves then you're correct! Before I continue let me just say that they're some major spoilers in this post.


Basically this show is about the end of the world. Now normally I HATE movies, shows, etc. that are about the end of the world, but this one was actually pretty good.

The earth is dying and is covered in snow. Humans live in run-down cities protected by domes that keep the brute force of the cold out, allowing plants to thrive. Wolves are said to be extinct. They were apparently wiped out 400 years ago. Though the viewer and a select few characters know this to be false. Wolves are still alive and have taken to putting up an illusion of being human. How they are able to do this I do not know. I learned really quick not to ask too many questions when watching this anime. It only makes your head hurt more. It's much easier if you just go with it.

The anime opens with paw prints in the snow that lead to a white wolf who has collapsed. A male voice is speaking the entire time. He speaks of a place called 'Paradise' and we can only assume that the voice is coming from the wolf.

"They say there's no such place... as Paradise. Even if you search to the ends of the Earth, there's nothing there. No matter how far you walk, it's always the same road. It just goes on and on. But, in spite of that... Why am I so driven to find it? A voice calls to me... It says, "Search for Paradise."

The show then moves to a new scene and the story begins. Within the first two episodes you meet all four of the main characters. There's Kiba, the white wolf, Hige, a golden colored wolf, Tsume, a grey wolf, and Toboe, a red wolf (though he looks brown). Although all the characters are important and have their own roles to play Kiba is definitely the main, main character. He is the chosen wolf. The one that will bring about the end of the world and open the gates to Paradise. Kiba can only accomplish this with the help of Cheza (the Flower Maiden), a human that is a lunar flower. Yes, yes, I know, weird. Now Kiba doesn't know that he is the chosen wolf but it is hinted at throughout the show and eventually confirmed even though Kiba denys it.

The most confusing part in this anime for me was when Darcia (the main bad guy) turned into a wolf towards the end. I had to watch it another time in order to understand what was going on. According to legend humans were born of wolves (yes, again weird and no, I don't believe that to be true) and were the messengers of wolves. The humans broke away and became their own people and quit listening to wolves. Apparently, Nobles (which is what Darcia is) used to be wolves but most could not remember being one. They were the originals I would guess because they live abnormally long and are different from the average human. Darcia remembered that he used to be a wolf and was, therefore, able to turn back into one. I still don't quite understand that.

One of my favorite quotes from the end is after Darcia has killed all of Kiba's friends.

Darcia: You've lost everything that was precious to you.

Kiba: I haven't lost anything. Not my friends, or my pride as a wolf. Nothing.

Anyways, at the end Toboe, Hige, Tsume, Cheza, and Kiba die. Everyone on earth dies. The earth is reborn, Paradise opened, and there is no one left to enjoy it. Here's the best part; after the earth is reborn we go to a city and lo-and-behold all the wolves are alive again! In human form but they're there. Guess what, that's the end. The scene closes with Kiba running with his back to us. The end.

I was appalled the first time I watched it and the second. By the third time I understood it better and now I'm slightly okay with it. I still think that they could have done a better job with the ending though. Like maybe, I don't know, NOT KILLING ALL THE WOLVES OFF!!! *sigh* Ah well, no ones perfect.

In all it was a wonderful anime. :D

So Excited <3

Ahhhhh! There's no real point to this post, I'm just bouncing off of the walls at the moment. Next week- next THURSDAY at 2 oclock I will sign out of this room and hitch a ride on the red raider truck for a ride home. I'm soo excited. It's really not fair- my roomate's last final is on Monday, so that's when she gets to leave (for some reason she seems to be thinking about staying until friday though. I don't get it.) Today I couldn't help myself and started packing a little- just the nonessentials, you know? It wasn't like I could pack my toothbrush or anything like that. I'm a little bummed though, because starting friday Fruit Bat isn't allowed to be in my dorm after 5- it's a rule so that nobody bugs anybody else when there's studying to be done. That's going to suck! Our every-night movie streak will be broken! On a more positive note, I'm back in touch with my friend Ashley! *Waves to Ashley* That's the worst of college- falling out of contact with your friends! Well, in her case it's a bit more extreme than that- she IS in West Virginia after all. Today has been really good... Fruit Bat got a care package through the school from her family today (I get all the things out of it that she doesn't want- like gummi bears because they have gelatin, or mint chocolate cookies because she can't stand the taste of mint chocolate) and included this semester was a "stress buster" bucket- it had TOYS in it! A minature deck of cards, two die, a little slinky and... an inflatable beach ball!!!! That was so much fun! Fruit Bat blew it up and we wacked it around my dorm room- it was bouncing off the walls and ceiling- the bed and the floor, it hit my desk and knocked my sunglasses to the ground! Tomorrow should be pretty good too- my first class of the day isn't meeting so I should be able to sleep in a bit.
The picture is called My Dragon by Lishan on DeviantART- I colored it recently. I also got an account on DeviantART as ignesfatuis, so if you want to see any of the colored pictures, feel free to look me up!