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Mtg token comissino I drew for a friend of mine! He basically said I could do anything I wanted so long as it was a dragon and so long as it was red.
It ended up...Very red. I gotta say, every time I do a full color illustration it's very humbling. I get reminded that even though I have a vision, if I don't practice color theory I CAN'T BLOODY DO COLOR THEORY!
But my friend liked it a lot, and I like it fine, it's just not what I imagined.
For whom it may concern: I AM NOT DEAD 🙏👍
I've just been RAILED with sudden college work AHDHABFBSBDHABA. Then spent the last of my energy playing Pokémon and doing the needed chores for survival (the fact I need to eat, drink water, sleep and shower every single day of my life is a curse I wish to relieve from my descendants, but alas, life is unfair)
came home and yellow boy was modeling
WHEW! This is a victory. I’m almost full tempo. I don’t think I’ve ever made full tempo on banjo before, especially not on a well-known piece like Gold Rush. I can’t believe I’m hitting the notes.
I’m excited. I feel like I’m on the verge of a new level of playing. With more practice, I hope to get there soon.
The inspiration for this came from GTA V lol
(Version without the text below)
The Deal
Alec and Kara: Part Two
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(tw: lady whump, blackmail, strangulation mention, amputation(?) mention)
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Alec tested the cuffs with a light tug. Being essentially welded down to the table made his hands itch to be on her even more. His eyes traced her movements as she settled into the chair across from him. He fingertips rested for a moment on the tabletop to balance as she sat. Her movements were proud and her head held high - but her fingers. Her fingers were shaking. Alec smiled.
"It's been a while since they let someone be alone in a room with me. To whom do I owe the honor?"
She pursed her lips, flipping open the thin manilla envelope in front of her. "You have some valuable informa-"
"-No no," Alec interrupted smoothly. "Not to what. To whom. You clearly know who I am, but I don't even know your name. That puts me at a disadvantage."
She hesitated. "My name isn't important."
"Oh, but it is. I have a legal right to the name and badge number of anyone I talk to in an interview or questioning. If you don't believe me, I can always call my lawyer an-"
"Kara." She sputtered. "My name is Kara. Detective Kara Gibson."
Very peculiar indeed.
"No lawyers, then? Got it. Just you an me. I like that." He smirked up at her to see if she would break eye contact. She did.
"Do you have the time?"
She rolled her eyes, checking her watch. "11:49"
"A.M. or P.M.?"
She blinked up at him, a touch of confusion at her brow. "P.M."
Alec smiled. No one had given him the time in so so very long. She clearly hadn't been prepped to talk with him. "Thank you, officer."
Kara cleared her throat and retrieved a full-page photograph from the envelope. "As I said, you may have some important information that will help me with a case. I'm having trouble getting him to talk to me." She let the photo fall to the table in front of him.
Alec felt a warmth spread through him as he saw Kai's face on the page. They looked scared. Slightly hopeful. Altogether lost as they stared into the camera lens. Alec stretched against the cuffs to run one finger long the bruising pattern on Kai's neck. What a good day that was when he gave them those bruises. Kai had broken almost completely at that point. They never fought or screamed anymore. But on that day, his little mouse struggled so beautifully as tears filled their eyes. So shiny and cute.
Alec tore himself from the memory, glancing back up at the detective. She really didn't look much like a detective. More like some Hollywood actress who played a detective on TV. Too proud. Too scared. Too inexperienced with covering her fear. She was the kind what would struggle and scream and fight back. If she was a detective, she would probably give him a relatively interesting fight before he pinned her down and made her regret it. She was absolutely perfect. His mind started to race with the possibilities. The cuffs burned against his wrists.
"Well, detective, I'll do whatever I can to assist you. Especially if my little mouse is involved."
"He's not your mou-"
"They."
She blinked. "What?"
"Kai goes by ‘they’ not ‘him’."
"You fucking dehumanized him to the point that he doesn't know who he is anymore."
"I wouldn't dream of dehumanizing them. That would be monstrous. And I'm not a monster."
She stared at him for a full two seconds before pulling another paper from her file. "It says here you have been convicted of 8 murders and are a suspect in three more. You beat this poor kid to a pulp and now he doesn't talk to anyone."
"And yet, I'm not the one misgendering people."
"You're the one re-gendering people."
"Kai chose their pronouns before I ever met them. If you're having trouble getting them to talk to you, you could start by having common courtesy."
Kara blinked at him. "You're serious, aren't you. That's actually their pronouns?"
"Yes. Like I said, I'm not the monster here."
Kara furrowed her brows and grabbed a pen from her pocket, making scribbles on the paper in front of her. "We couldn't find their family or any records indicating who they were. We don't even know their full name. And they won't talk to anyone or even look anyone in the eye, so I had no way of...Sorry, I really thought you were just like that."
Alec suppressed a smile. Even when she was talking casually, the word 'sorry' sounded so good on her lips. He wanted to hear more. He wanted to hear her begging, pleading next time she said sorry to him. Or 'please'. Or 'stop'. And now he had control of the conversation. How serendipitous. The lightest brush of anger threatened to flare up in his chest at her treatment of Kai…and her calling him a monster. But, the excitement of coming up with ways to punish her smothered the fury in an instant. She was too perfect. Long hair swept up into a messy ponytail. He could just wrap that around his hand and...
"So," She pulled out a small notepad, interrupting his thoughts, "What other things will help me get Kai to talk to me?"
Alec sloooowly leaned back in his chair. He was barely able to reach the back of it with his hands cuffed to the table, but he still managed to make it look smooth. "Aren't you going to tell me a bit about the case before I help you any more?"
Kara froze, the pen shaking slightly in her hand. "The case details are on a need-to-know basis."
"Well, if that's the basis, I'd say I'm someone who needs to know."
Kara's jaw clenched. "I've already told you all you need to know. Your job is to give me a way to talk to Kai, not to solve a whole damn case."
"But I would very much like to know all the gory details. This case seems interesting. Very interesting." He didn't miss how she glanced away at that.
So he was right. A plan started to form.
"And I'll also need some incentive."
Kara's eyes snapped back to his. Her jaw clenched again. "You aren't giving away information on your case, just some clues on your...friend."
Alec smiled at that. "Now now, I thought you'd be smart enough to come with sticks or carrots. You clearly don't have a stick, so...?"
Kara took in a sharp breath and glanced momentarily at the door. "What do you want in return?"
Alec opened his mouth, then shut it again quickly. He couldn't ask for that. He couldn't ask to see Kai. He had to be strategic. He only had one shot to get this right. "I want to be transferred to a room with a window."
"Fine."
Alec tilted his head to the side, studying her. She clearly hadn't read his file. Not all of it, anyway. She wasn’t supposed to be there. He was certain now. "And I want you to give me your gun."
She blinked up at him, staring. "Cute. Real cute." She finally said.
"Well, it was worth a shot. It's not like I couldn't take it from you right now."
"Did you forget you're handcuffed to a table?" She spun the pen around her fingers. Either a nervous habit or an attempt to look unaffected, Alec couldn't tell.
He leaned forward again, locking onto her eyes. "You read my file. I'm sure you know handcuffs won't hold me. In ten seconds I could have you pinned against that wall behind you. By fifteen seconds, you'd be screaming."
To her credit, she held his gaze, but Alec saw the blood drain from her face. She swallowed quickly before responding. "You know how useless trying would be. There’s several officers and guards behind that two-way mirror. You'd be on the ground or shot before you could even touch me." Her eyes never left his, but her fingers trailed up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You're a terrible liar."
She swallowed again, staring at him. So he was right. This was just too good. Alec grinned.
"You and I both know there's no one behind that glass. I can tell the camera in the corner there has been turned off. You brought me here alone, knowing what I'm capable of. Do you know what that means?"
She blinked at him, hand trailing down toward her gun again.
"That means you're alone. You're desperate. And you're terrified."
Her voice shook ever so slightly, "You're wrong."
Alec laughed softly. "No. No, I don't think I am. Know what I think? I think you got yourself in deep shit. And I mean DEEP. Deep enough to risk life and limb by coming here. And it's bad enough you can't ask for help or do this the right way, which is why you don't have any of the proper paperwork and why you pulled me here in the middle of the night with no backup. Am I getting warmer?"
She stared back at him, eyes wide.
"Thought so. So here's what's going to happen. I'm going to help you. We are going to get you out of this mess and I'll stay quiet about it."
"And I try to get you moved to a room with a window."
"No."
"No?"
"No. You let me out."
Kara almost snorted. "You can't be serious."
"Oh, I am. Deadly serious, in fact."
The pen Kara was twirling slipped from her flingers and clicked onto the table. "I can't do that."
"Oh, you can. You can and you will. You got in here without anyone knowing what you were doing. That takes both brains and authority. You can get me out just the same."
Kara blinked up at the ceiling. She was actually considering it. Alec was back in business. He leaned back against the chair again, watching the wheels turn in her mind. "I'm not going to do that. You are a danger to society, I can't just let you out."
"Well then, sounds like you're fucked. Sorry I couldn't help you. But hey, look on the bright side. Whatever you did? Maybe it's bad enough you'll end up here with me. Maybe we can even put in a request to be cellmates."
Kara stared at him, eyes wide again. Fuck, he loved it when she did that. So hopeless. So scared. There was no way they would ever be cellmates, but she was clearly risking prison and that terrified her.
"Listen. You're screwed without me. You need Kai to tell you something important. You wouldn't be here with me if it wasn't absolutely vital. Tell me what's happening and I'll get you that information, then you let me go. No harm done. You'll never hear from me again." He stifled a grin. That was a lie. He would absolutely see her again. He would be counting down the days.
Kara took several deep, slow breaths before responding. "Okay fine, asshole. You're right. I'm fucked. If I don't find out this guy's location and destroy his computer, shit gets out, I lose my job and go to prison, and some bastard kills my brother. Okay? Happy now?"
Alec grinned, "I'm getting there." The rest of the plan clicked to place in his mind. He hadn't anticipated a sibling being in danger, only her job. That put her at a whole new level of desperation. Absolutely perfect. "I'll need to talk to Kai."
She actually laughed at that. "I'm not letting you anywhere near them."
Alec raised his eyebrows, laughing with her. "Well, I guess you have a funeral to go to, then. Or do you think you'll be in prison already by then?"
Her smile dropped. She stared at the table. "I can't just let you in the same room with them. You know that."
"Well, I guess I can't help you then."
Kara set her jaw, glaring at him.
Alec chuckled. "I mean literally. I can't give you any secret code that will make the little mouse talk to you. They will talk to me, I know they will. I can get you any information you want, but without me you'll never break through."
"You can't be serious."
He raised his eyebrows. "How long have those bastards been trying to get Kai to talk?"
Kara hesitated. "A little over two years."
He made a note of that. Just over two years he had been here.
"Exactly. And you honestly thought you could come get some insight with me and be able to do better than two years of medication, therapy, and specialized research?"
Kara glanced down at the photo of Kai. Wow, she really did think that. Cute. Clever, proud, brave, weak, AND stupid. This girl was the whole shebang.
A smile crept across his face. "Just let me help you. Let me talk to them and get the information you need. Then I'll come back before anyone notices, and a few months later - when all your things are cleared and you are sure no one is watching you - you spring me."
Kara sighed, rubbing her eyes with her fingertips. "I can't believe I'm actually considering this."
"You aren't just considering it, you're agreeing to it. Oh, and I don't think I have to tell you that if you don't come back for me, everyone will find out about your little escapades."
She sighed at him, glaring over her fingertips. Such thin fingers. He could break them so easily. He could even take them in his mouth, sucking lightly before biting down hard, snapping them clean off. He hadn't tried biting off fingers before, but it always seemed like such an efficient and intimate way to do it. But he liked his long-term playthings to remain whole, so he wouldn't do that to her. Probably. There were so many other fun things to try.
"Stop staring at me like a lunatic, I get the threat."
Alec smiled warmly. "Good, then we're in business. Take me to Kai."
Kara sighed. "I don't have to."
Alec blinked, trying not to get annoyed. "Honey, we've been through this. If you don't-"
"No, I mean I don't have to bring you to them because they're already here."
A grin split across Alec's face.
"Well well, let's not waste any time. Bring me my little mouse."
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Aw I went to start episode 51 and it's titled Xhorhas and Yasha's not here :( it's honestly such a loss to the story, how much yasha couldn't truly be there. It's easier to see the hole left in the narrative the second time.
Finally, finally, this thing shows up
Which means now I only have paladins to go!
