Lie to Me

Macavity and Essmerelda. Power-couple extraordinaire.

This picture is based on Mac and Essa's very long and complicated history together. I'm not going to bore you with the full story right now, but basically, it goes like this: as young cats, they were both social outcasts, each possessing great power and potential. They were friends and part-time lovers as teens, but then they both ended up leaving the Jellicle Tribe for reasons that we don't need to get into right now. They met again several years later as young adults, both leading completely different lives and both on the run from the law. Their relationship was reborn, and they began a new life not only as lovers, but as partners in crime. Each helped the other understand and learn to use the power that they had always feared, Essa being a strong fire elemental and Mac having the advantage of physical strength as well as dabbling a bit in dark magic. Both cats were extremely volatile and had raging tempers as a result of all the angst and resentment they'd kept bottled up during their less-than-happy younger years. They were perfect for each other . . . TOO perfect. They were simply too similar; they both felt threatened by any power that could rival theirs, and so each tried to dominate the other. Their tempers clashed often, they fought constantly, and finally, a devastating action on Mac's part made it reach the breaking point. They split up and Essa returned to the junkyard, leaving Mac to begin his slow descent into madness without her. From then on, the two of them began constantly trying to outdo each other, each trying to prove that they can survive without the other. It's all a mask, though. They don't truly hate each other; they're enemies because they know each other so well. Each knows the other's deepest and darkest secrets, and though they would never admit it, that same fear of power -- the fear of the other one revealing those secrets -- is what keeps them locked in this endless battle for supremacy. Deep down, they've never stopped loving each other, but each of them lives under the weight of the knowledge that because of the way things are now, they can never go back to the way that they were before.

tl;dr: Their relationship was so perfect that it became deadly.

This picture refers to the fact that after splitting up, Mac and Essa constantly try to seduce each other in order to catch the other off-guard so that they can dispose of the competition once and for all. It isn't that either of them WANTS the other dead -- it's simply that as long as the other one is around, they can't continue living with the guilt and grief of what happened between them. It's a very sad story, but that's what makes their relationship so beautifully tragic.

So yeah. I spent several days on this, and my tablet pen decided to die near the end. But I'd already finished the important part, and I really wanted to get this done without having to wait 3-5 business days for the new pen to arrive, so I persevered and did most of the shading with my mouse. Despite that, though, I had a lot of fun with this, and I'm actually pretty proud of it. Especially Mac's markings, and his hair. Look at it. LOOK AT IT.

Fire is fun to color. Also, don't ask me where the blood on Mac's claws came from. It's there for dramatic effect. Use your imagination or something.