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sourcherryandsprinkles · 3 months

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Topper’s sister (one or two years younger you pick) who does Only Fans and Rafe finds out. He subscribes and watches her content (because she’s hot and off limits since she’s Topper’s little sister) in secret, then blackmails her saying he’s gonna tell Topper. One weekend, she comes to Rafe and Topper’s place to surprise Topper for his birthday, but he’s not there and rafe blackmails her into giving him a blowjob

This is the longest work I've written in a while, I hope you enjoy

p.s. There is a possibility to make a part 2 for this one. Let me know if you are interested

Warnings: 18+, smut, blackmail, oral (m receiving),

—

After showering, Rafe tossed his towel into the hamper and fell on his bed. Topper was out with Cynthia — or maybe it was Vanessa —, which left him alone for the night. Rafe wasn’t complaining though, being alone was nice sometimes. Especially when he wanted to jerk off.

He could have done it in the shower, but having visual material made the release better.

Phone in hand, Rafe scrolled for something to watch. Sadly, none of the girls he was following had put up new content, so he looked for new accounts. He found a cute one, brunette with blue eyes, but she had overly huge tits and Rafe wasn’t into that — no offense to the girl. He almost went looking elsewhere when his eyes caught a familiar face.

Rafe hit the profile and the biggest smirk turned on his lips.

No fucking way.

‘’Caught your dirty little secret,’’ he said to himself, his blue eyes staring at the free photoset you had to attract subscribers. Your sheer white bra left not much to the imagination and the curve of your ass had Rafe’s cock twitching. He’s been wanting to hit it since you wore that bikini at this beach parry last summer.

Without hesitation, he subscribed and opened the first video.

You were sitting cross-legged on your dorm bed with nothing but a baby pink bodysuit, which hugged your figure perfectly. Your hard nipples were poking through the thin fabric, as if they were trying to say ‘hello’ to your viewers. You winked at the camera as your right hand slowly went down your chest, making a show of pinching your covered nipple and catching your bottom lip with your teeth as you let out a little moan.

The sound made Rafe grip his cock and start to slowly jerk it. He was weak for nice tits…and yours were very nice.

You pulled your other breast free from the fabric, your delicious nipple popping free as you asked the camera if they'd like to suck on them. Without waiting for an answer — not that you would be getting any since it was pre-recorded —, you looked down at it and dribbled spit onto yourself.

If Topper knew he was jerking off to his little sister, he would rip his head off.

And your parents? If they knew about your secret online business, they would cancel all payments to your prestigious college and bring your ass back to Kildare. Dr. Cynthia Thornton’s daughter could not be part of the world of prostitution. It would look terrible for their name.

Normally, Rafe loved to ruin people’s lives just for fun, but he was enjoying the view too much. All the photo-sets of you in delicate lingerie, the occasional topless ones, the close-ups of your fingers — and sometimes toys — in your pussy and the sweet moans that came from your mouth every time you were pleasuring yourself were part of his night routine. As perverted as it sounded.

Weeks passed, and soon Topper’s birthday was coming up. The boys planned on going out to a club and celebrating there, but the plan changed when you showed up to your brother’s apartment for a birthday surprise.

‘’Where’s Top?’’ you asked, walking in like it was your own place.

With a frown on his face, Rafe watched and closed the door behind you. ‘’At the gym with Braxton,’’ he replied. ‘’What are you doing here?’’

‘’Am I not allowed to surprise my brother for his birthday?’’

‘’We already have plans, and you’re not part of it.’’

Although Rafe had reserved a private booth, there was no way Topper would allow you to come to the club.

Brushing off his objection, you grabbed your small suitcase and scanned the apartment. ‘’Where’s the guest bedroom?’’

‘’Here,’’ Rafe said, pointing at the couch.

‘’I’m not sleeping on the couch.’’

‘’We turned the third bedroom into a gaming room. It’s the couch or the floor. You pick.’’

You raised an eyebrow, considering your options. The floor got crossed immediately — women do not sleep on floors. The couch, although soft and comfortable looking, had probably been used to have sex. It was a college boys apartment.

‘’Then, I’ll be taking your bedroom.’’

‘’Absolutely not, Princess. This is my apartment, I'm not sleeping on the couch.’’

You crossed your arms, challenging his resistance. ‘’Come on, Rafe. I’m only staying for two days. I need to be back for Sunday, I have—’’

‘’Video content to film?’’

You gave Rafe a confused look to conceal your inner panic. ‘’A paper due Monday,’’ you said.

Rafe leaned against the couch, his eyes scanning you up and down. ‘’I know about your dirty little secret,’’ he said smugly, explicit images of yourself flashing in his head. ‘’I found your Only Fans account last month. By the way, you look better in light pink than sapphire blue, it washes you out.’’

At this very moment, you wished you could disappear with a snap of your fingers. With the details he was providing, it was impossible that Rafe was bluffing. You thought your account was well hidden, that your username was well thought and would never give you away. How did he find you?

Your cheeks flushed in embarrassment, looking at Rafe with knives for eyes.

‘’You didn’t think anyone would find out, did you?’’

‘’Did you tell Topper?’’

Fear started creeping in your stomach at the thought of Topper knowing about that part of your life.

Rafe shook his head. ‘’Your secret’s safe with me…on one condition.’’

You rolled your eyes. Nothing was ever free with Rafe. He always wanted something in exchange.

The corner of his mouth curled and you shook your head immediately, easily guessing what he had in mind. ‘’Absolutely not.’’

‘’Come on. I’m keeping my mouth shut, the least you can do is open yours.’’

Your jaw dropped at his crude words. ‘’That’s blackmail!’’

Rafe shrugged, not caring that he was playing dirty. ‘’You do what you want. I’m not gonna be the one in trouble after I make a little call to Topper to tell him his little sister opens her legs for money—’’

‘’Fine,’’ you said, gritting your teeth.

Somehow, this was more embarrassing than anything you had done on camera.

Swallowing your pride, you kneeled before him, trying to ignore the cocky winning smile on Rafe’s face as you came face to face with his clothed lower region. He was already thick behind his sweatpants — you could see the outline through the gray fabric.

Taking a deep breath, you pulled his sweatpants down, uncovering his cock and balls. You gulped at the sight. He was long and thicker than average, which explained where his confidence came from — aside from his daddy’s big money.

‘’Like what you see?’’ Rafe asked, proud of his appendage.

Without breaking your annoyance, you rolled your eyes. You couldn’t let him know that you were impressed by his size. He would never let you live this one down.

You wrapped a soft palm around his shaft, letting your thumb stroke over his tip and back down until he reached full hardness. Reluctantly, you dipped your head and took the head into your mouth, swirling your tongue and tasting the pre-cum that leaked from it before going to the base of his shaft. You didn’t take everything into your mouth — yet —, but tried to fit as much as you could.

A soft groan left Rafe's mouth, feeling the pleasure of yours. His hand came to the back of your head, gripping your hair into a ponytail and encouraging you to continue your movements up and down. You sped up your pace, saliva spilling from your mouth as precum leaked into your mouth and ran down your throat, secretly starting to enjoy yourself.

You clenched your thighs together, wetness slowly pooling in your panties.

Above you, Rafe moaned, his grip tightening on your hair as you slid down as deep as you could manage. ‘’That’s it, baby. Put that mouth to good use.’’

Had your mouth not been busy, you would have told him to get fucked. Instead, you let him fuck your mouth like you were a inflatable doll from a sex shop until your jaw was starting to ache and you had to pull away.

Unsatisfied with your ungranted break, Rafe tapped his cock against your cheek, smearing pre-cum and saliva on your face. ‘’Did I tell you to stop?’’

‘’No, but—’’

‘’Then get back to business.’’ He pressed his cock against your mouth, but you didn’t let him in. ‘’Or…maybe I should call Topper and send him a link to your side business?’’

You sat on your heels, letting out a defeated sigh. ‘’My jaw hurts, okay? I can’t anymore,’’ you explained, although doubting Rafe would be compassionate. He didn't care about you, he just wanted to empty his balls. ‘’But maybe we can’t look at other options?’’ You pulled down the front of your shirt, exposing your bra to him.

Rafe's eyes darted down your chest, catching his bottom lip between his teeth knowing what was beneath your bra. ‘’I'm listening.’’

But before the negotiations could begin, you heard the apartment door opening: Topper was back. Quickly, you fixed your shirt and wiped your mouth with the back of your hand while Rafe pulled his sweatpants back up.

—

OBX taglist: @moralina @eudximoniakr @toylewestinnyc @rottenstyx @sweeterheartxamerica @jordierama @viridwityy @izzy-laufeyson @kenzi-woycehoski @lilaconner @Katsukis1Wife @hawkegfs @mommyruuetrue @acornacreacure @snownjune @nmedina8611 @slvtherinseeker @slvtherinseeker @poppet05 @1stevelacyfan @illf4iry @withbeautyandrage @maybankslover @sunflowerziva @laylasbunbunny @Honey-marvel15 @leoluvsur-pappy @slytherhoes @kcskye123 @outerbanksacc @pedrosprincess @mikaelsonsstuff @skyesthebomb @a1mzcruml3y @iluurmom @popeheywardssecretgf @madelynie @loverofdrewstarkey @radiant-whore @outsider-at-hogwarts @luci1fer @bbycowboi @rafecameronsbadussy @urbfsbitchlol @nomorespahgetti @bloodyhw @Veescorneroftheworld @papayaboyluvr @slytherinambitious @darylscvmdumpster @tommysaxes @johannelis2302nely @lynbubble @straberryshortcake143 @beth-gallagher22 @doestalker @rubyliquor @theflcwer @angelxxrose @sierraluvzz @cruzgrecia @evelestrange @sunnysunny133696 @under-seasoned-pasta @hoeforsirius

All and more taglist: @kenqki @hawkegfs @gillybear17 @black-rose-29 @fudge13 @cece05 @laylasbunbunny @gemofthenight @beautyb1ade @mellabella101 @vxnity713 @bisexualgirlsblog @queenofslytherin889 @thatbxtchesblog @softb-tterfly @ethanlandrycanbreakmyheart @xyzstar @graceberman3 @mikeyspinkcup @jackierose902109 @daisydark @laurasdrey @mischieftom @fanatic4niall @peterholland04 @idkwhattonamethisblogs @lexasaurs634 @notasadgirlipromise @zoeynicolas @thejuleshypothesis @multi-fandom-bi-bitch @lexasaurs634 @notasadgirlipromise @thejuleshypothesis @katherinejess @rafesgirlstuff @lafleshlumpeater @iamluminosity

#rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron imagine #outer banks #obx #outer banks imagine #rafe outer banks

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gatheringfiki · 4 months

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The following ficlet was written by @marigoldvance based on this photoset.

Fili/Kili, Gen, Fix-It (ish)

You might also be able to read this story on AO3.

If you’ve enjoyed this story, please leave a comment either in replies or on AO3. :)

Ice & Stone

—

Before there was battle and bloodshed, before there was hardship, struggle, twists and turns and fog behind the eyes; before long roads south and a journey into the unknown; years before there were whispers of reclaiming their homeland, there was ice and stone.

Fíli and Kíli had been raised on tales of the Fae Folk—the Faeyoran realm deep within the North Waste where an unnatural winter had descended after the defeat of Melkor’s army of wryms.

It was a dark and desolate place, unforgiving, swallowing anyone up who dared breach its borders.

Neither Fíli nor Kíli was dull enough to attempt to wander there alone. Work sometimes took them as far as the snowy lands of Arnor, but no further. They’d been warned by men and dwarves alike not to travel through the gates into the barren white.

Kíli respected everything he’d heard until he saw an Orcish blade pierce his brother through the heart.

If you could undo what has been done, wouldn’t you?

It was a question Fíli and Kíli had discussed when they were younger, filled with embarrassment or regret after some foolhardy adventure had gone terribly wrong. Fíli had told Kíli that, no, he wouldn’t change anything; that everything had happened to make him who he was. Kíli, on the other hand, disagreed, though he understood Fíli’s reasoning.

But too much had happened since then, and Kíli refused to carry on without Fíli at his side.

Mere days after the final battle at the foot of the Lonely Mountain, Kíli left without a word to his uncle. Slipped into the shadows and vanished into the night. He didn’t care what Thorin would think, his heart set on finding the door to the Faeyoran kingdom and pleading with them for his brother’s life.

The seasons waxed and waned, and Kíli pressed on. He slept little, ate less; found work as a smithy or carpenter in the towns he wandered through if he needed the money, but otherwise he kept his head down and his business to himself.

The Lonely Wanderer some called him with pitying expressions.

He paid them no mind.

It took several months before he reached the steps of the North Waste. He gathered supplies in Sûri-kylä, allowed himself a single night’s rest, and then departed at the first glimmer of dawn.

“You’re going the wrong way.” A girl said, her voice light as air, “The road is behind you.”

Kíli ignored her.

“You can’t go that way.” She insisted, though did nothing else to stop him.

Kíli readjusted the straps of his bag and continued forward, following the hint of an unused path up toward the stone gate.

“If you go through there, you’ll never come back.” She told him, suddenly sounding much closer. “No one survives the Long Winter.”

Once more, Kíli ignored her and looked for the mechanism that would release the gate so he could go through. He ran the flat of his hand along the smooth stone on either side of the gate, feeling natural divots and dips, but nothing that would open the gate.

“You need the words.” The girl said, now at his shoulder. “Dwaithe di Ilmyae.”

The stone gate groaned and scraped as it opened, revealing vast nothingness beyond.

For someone who seemed not to want to help him, Kíli was surprised she’d said the words at all. Not that he knew what they meant or even what language they were.

He turned to face the girl, to give her thanks, but there was no one there. He was entirely alone, the village behind him dark and asleep.

The impression of a voice on the breeze whispered, “Good luck.” and off Kíli went, through the gate that closed as soon as he was on the other side of it.

-*-

Kíli was sure he would die here. The sun had risen and fallen more times than he cared to count, he had no food left and had to resort to melting snow for water. There were no trees, nothing to shelter against the dry, sharp wind that lashed his skin where it was exposed.

Yet, Kíli marched on.

He moved at night, when he could use the constellations to guide him. It was bitterly cold, but his body remained warm due to the effort it took to drag himself across the snowy terrain.

The voice of the girl haunted him.

“You’re going to be swallowed up by this place.” She’d say when he’d give himself a moment to quench his thirst.

“You won’t have the strength to make it back.” She taunted then, as Kíli hauled his bag off his shoulders and dropped it in front of him, crouching to retrieve the metal bowl he used to drink from.

For the first time, Kíli responded, “I don’t care. Nothing matters unless I have Fíli…If I die here, so be it. At least I’ll know I tried.”

“You do this for your brother?”

Suddenly the voice was still and together, not the warbled echo it had been since he’d first heard it. A shadow fell across him as he slowly chanced a glance up. There, floating a meter off the ground, was a wisp of a girl. Except, she wasn’t float. Silvery, webbed wings beat so quickly behind her they were almost impossible to see.

She stared at Kíli with a look of deep consideration, delicate brows furrowed. Her eyes, an eerie, glittering violet, bore into him. Kíli didn’t shrink back. Instead, he stood, met her gaze with a hard one of his own, and stood his ground.

“You would risk your life for the dead?” She asked, not cruelly, head tilted to the side.

Kíli didn’t hesitate. “For Fíli, I would give up everything and more.”

She seemed surprised at the weight of his confession but didn’t argue it. Rather, a sharp smile seeped across her petal pink lips.

“And what is your name?”

“Kíli.” Kíli said, accepting his fate if it meant giving Fíli life.

Her expression softened when she realized Kíli truly didn’t care for himself one bit.

“You understand what it means to offer your name to a Fae?”

Kíli nodded.

“And you still give it freely?” She was clearly puzzled. “You must love your brother very much.”

Done with the banter, Kíli snapped, “Are you going to help me or not?”

She smiled again, though this time it was a much gentler thing and had the effect of putting Kíli at ease.

“Return to Erebor, Kíli.” She said, and he wasn’t sure if her words were instructions or a suggestion. Regardless, he found himself compelled to do as she said.

It took far longer to return to the gate than it had to get him to where he’d been when she’d appeared. Kíli collapsed through the gate, hollow-eyed and weary, and practically crawled back to Sûri-kylä.

The men fed him, filled his bag so he wouldn’t go hungry before he reached the next settlement. Kíli thanked them, refusing to stay longer than it took to pack up what he needed despite the men’s concerned insistence that he stay until the following morning.

There was a fire in his belly. A sense of excitement that yelled at him to go.

He knew, deep in his marrow, that when he returned to the Lonely Mountain, he would see his brother again.

Fíli and Kíli were raised on the tales of the Fae Folk. Therefore, Kíli knew what might happen to him now that he’d given his name in exchange for his brother’s life. But there was something in him that told him, in a voice as light as air, that everything would be alright.

And so Kíli pressed on.

#submission #Gathering 12 Days 2023 #Fili/Kili #FiKi #Durincest #the Hobbit

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wanderingaldecaldo · 11 months

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💕 Self-love time! Talk about which ones of YOUR creations (edits, artworks, fanfics) you like the most, then send to other creators to do the same 💕

Thank you so much @rosapexa! 🥰❤️ I'm super proud of this photoset I did for Halloween last year, Poison Ivy and The Penguin! It's the biggest non-work, non-writing project I've completed. It required a lot of work modding-wise, and I picked up some new skills along the way, and in the end it was worth all the effort!

Mitch 🤝 me, unable to keep our eyes off of Valerie

Early on in Corpo Val's life, someone commented that she looked like Poison Ivy, and I couldn't stop thinking about that. I'd wanted to do a couple's theme the previous Halloween but didn't have the time, so I started working on this in late summer to get it done. I started by looking at Poison Ivy's costumes, both from movies and comics, and matching things in-game that could serve my purpose. I ended up with this: Mel's (Panam's) bodysuit, arm-length gloves, and Evelyn's boots.

Val's first appearance as Poison Ivy

I wanted to add some texture to the bodysuit, and nothing in game matched what I imagined, so the first thing I learned was adding a new texture to use as a pattern. It turned out better than I hoped! Next were the boots which required a refit since Evelyn has skinny legs compared to vanilla fem. I knew that ArchiveXL allowed the hiding of different parts of the body mesh, so between extensive refitting and learning something new, I chose ArchiveXL. (And I'm so glad I did!) Then it was a matter of recoloring them and the sleeves to coordinate with the bodysuit.

For Mitch, I wasn't entirely sure what to do since I'm not as familiar with DC. I thought The Penguin could be a good match given his hair and nose, but it wasn't until I found this art from a comic cover that I knew I made the right decision. I already had a suit I'd been working on for the Corpo AU, so it was just a matter of swapping out the shirt for the three piece suit and recoloring it.

The Penguin from Wikipedia; Mitch in a suit 🥵 by me

His accessories were the third (and fourth) things I learned in the process. I replaced the cowboy hat with a free 3D mesh top hat; created the normal map and the mlmask for the textures from scratch (just don't ask me how to do the normal map again); and colored it match the suit and pocket square. The umbrella was a half-successful experiment in which I added a new prop to the game. I struggled with the textures, and eventually called it "good enough", which is why you don't see it too much. 😅

And the final product! I have never used so many props in my life, and it gave me a greater appreciation for everyone who does have that patience. I used Wingdeer's roses to make a crown for her to wear, then went ham decorating, and decorated some more.

I still can't believe I did all this! I'm so happy with how everything turned out. 🥰

Want more? #poison ivy and the penguin

#cyberpunk 2077 #valerie vermilion #cyberpunk mitch #mitch anderson #fem v #female v #poison ivy #poison ivy and the penguin #my screens #mail time!#rosapexa #thank you for the ask! 🥰#it was fun revisiting this!!#long post #mitch x val

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liesmyth · 3 months

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I also hate Big purchases. Some advice if your want it! When I had to buy a new phone it cost me around 250 and it works fine! I just wanted the regular call, photos and space for apps. I went to a phone shop that isnt affiliated with a phone company and it was very helpful because I know nothing about phones, and it was very stressful and overwhelming trying to figure out what to buy or what was importante on a phone. Good luck on tour phone search!

HI thank you so much for virtually holding my hand during this Big Purchase Moment! I bit the bullet and got the Google Pixel 7a (currently 400€) and then immediately dropped an extra 30 euros on the most robust case + screen protector I could find, lol. That's my fu money budget until April maxed out BUT my extensive pro/cons spreadsheets persuades me I've made a decent choice. I should be getting it tomorrow (!!!) ngl I'm very excited to take pictures that don't suck. I'm gonna be soooo annoying about it and start making photosets about every single pasta dish I cook in a week or something

#Anonymous #ask

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godbirdart · 1 year

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first off, i just want to say that i love your art, you are a huge inspiration to me and i love how expressive your characters are! would you have any tips for someone trying to grow a following from their art? specifically within the furry community ideally. im just not sure where to start

i hope youre having a great day!

thank you so much!!

okay i gotta preface this with: i have been doing commissions for over a decade. everything i say here i've been doing since roughly 2014, but my career as an artist didn't really Take Off and become reliable until 2019. success isn't immediate. some artists will grow faster or slower than others, not every tactic is going to apply / work for every artist; and that's okay. just keep pushing yourself and adapting and figuring out what works for You!

i’m putting this under a readmore as it got a bit long. every time someone asks me for advice on professional Anything i always write up a five page essay despite trying to bulletpoint it oof

post on multiple platforms and keep them all updated. i’m putting this one in bold because it is possibly the Most Important thing. we’re all watching twitter sinking over there, and many of my mutuals there were floundering because they hadn’t established themselves on any other social media site. i strongly recommend three or four socials minimum. my main four sites are tumblr, deviantart, twitter and toyhouse. furaffinity is also good. inkblot and artfol are new and i use them frequently as well. if you don’t like posting manually to every site each and every time you post art, Postybirb exists and is what i use to crosspost all my art to most of my socials at once.

avoid venting a lot on main. we all have frustrating days where our art isn’t getting the recognition we hoped, or we’re feeling petty about a controversial topic or the latest drama. it happens! it’s okay! however, many people just don’t like seeing dozens of negative posts on their feed. most people will sympathize, but if your negative vents are constantly clogging their dashboard they’re not gonna stick around.

shamelessly self promote yourself. reblog your own art. retweet it again. repost it. mention your other socials. we live in a world of timezones! when you post art, only a fraction of your audience is going to see it. i recommend reblogging / retweeting one to four individual pieces periodically over the course of a day and change it up each day. you can also repost your own work into photosets and title it “recent commissions” or the something like that.

don’t hide your linktrees and carrds. seriously! the amount of times on twitter i went to try and follow someone on another platform only to find they had no carrd or linktree link,, it is infuriating. put your socials link in your bio or pinned or SOMEWHERE readily at the top of your profile that’s easy to spot.

if you’re offering commissions, make a telegram channel or discord server for your announcements / openings.

post regularly. this one is a lot harder for artists that don’t make a lot of content, but posting even a status update once or twice a day can go a long way - especially if you’re on twitter with that platform’s hideous algorithm. alternatively as i said earlier, just retweet/reblog your work a few times a day and you should be good.

art trends are cool and fun and an easy way to get your work seen by others. see a “draw your sona in this outfit” meme? go, have fun with it. this one’s a bit tricky as timing is everything when it comes to ~trending~ content, so try and draw quick. that said, it’s never outdated to drawover reaction memes with your fursona.

try not to clog your socials with memes and shitposty images. this one is directed at twitter specifically. with twitter moments now gone, your media tab is the last way for people to hope to find your work organically on your profile without having to use the twitter search. they can’t get invested in your work if they can’t find it!

it’s okay to change course if you’re not vibing with where you’re headed. if you want to move onto a new aesthetic - that’s fine! you may lose some followers if they don’t click with your new vibe, but you’ll inevitably gain some new ones.

avoid frequent name changes. so many of the artists i follow have changed their brands / urls over the years that i don’t recognize them anymore.

tag your work properly. on tumblr, the first five tags on the original post are the tags your work will pop up in in the search feature. make those first five tags the Most important ones; example: #furry, #anthro, #art #fursona etc. twitter’s algo seems flip-flop if it likes tags or hates them. if you see a tag trending, repost your art in a photoset with the hashtag in the post [example: if #pokemon is trending, repost some of your pokemon fanart with the hashtag in the post body]. if the tag isn’t trending,,, i’ll be honest it’s a gamble if twitter likes your post or not at that point. i have no advice for that hell algorithm.

hosting raffles or doing a mini art request event [example: “leave a ref and i might draw your oc”] is good for traction while simultaneously giving back to the community + your audience a little!

try and reply to / like comments on your work. it’s not required per se, but it’s good to express gratitude.

engage with other members of the community. comment on other peoples work. like it. retweet it. follow other people. obviously don’t be disingenuous about it, but this is what the professionals call ~networking~

don’t compare yourself to others. this one is one you have got to keep in mind constantly. you’re going to find 17 year olds with huge followings and 30 year olds that are doing professional industry work whose level feels alien and almost out of reach. if you’re not doing as well, don’t let yourself get discouraged. we all gotta start somewhere!

related to the above point: be nice to your followers. venting on main about not having the same audience volume as others can come off as a huge middle finger to the audience you already have.

gaining a following takes time. unless you get a really lucky break, it’s going to take a lot of work and self promotion to build up your brand.

slap your name on everything. i mean it. any art you do - sign it. watermark it. people can and will share art in telegram channels and discord servers, and if the art interests someone they can easily source it back to you if your name is on it.

you can buy adspace. if you’re catering to a furry audience specifically, you can buy adspace on furaffinity pretty easily. inkblot i believe also offers adspace for artists though i haven’t looked too deep into it. this is really a “if you’re okay burning money” situation, as the huge chunkk of internet users have adblockers now and it’s a gamble if people will see or even click on your ad.

just have fun and do your own thing. you can hop on trends and draw art that caters to your audience’s tastes, but don’t forget to draw what YOU want and what YOU’RE about. Draw what makes YOU happy.

hope these help!! ;w;

#long post

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darnestdungeon · 1 year

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Hey, do you have any sort of reference sheet for the coven? Or really, all the enemies of the weald? I went through your dd1 reference masterpost and didn't see any weald enemies that aren't... Brigands.

Hi, that masterpost originally was meant only as a compilation of all the heroes references I've made a while back. Eventually, I've ended up making some other random sheets that I included in the same folder, but I didn't intend to sound like it was a masterpost of all things DD1, just a masterpost of all the references I had made. I do not currently have any enemies reference sheets other than the ones in the folder.

Sorta unrelated, but I finally have all the game animations I have wanted to export into gifs-- enemies included! I just don't know what to do with them now, the different heights and widths of the gifs make photosets look awful here on Tumblr (example below, some get giant, some tiny, most get oddly cropped). I guess I'll figure something out eventually, give me some time and I'm putting those on the game's wiki too.

In case you're curious, these were the tutorials I followed to get the animations: (x) and (x). After following the steps to open the files, you just need to export the animation as a PNG sequence and then put the sequence together in any gif making software. It's not a difficult process, but doing it over 400 times in a row (not counting the failures) is what was most tiresome.

There were also some files that took some editing, like the crusader's step or the Crimson Court enemies wing animation (before and after editing below, the wings moved so fast they pretty much vanished).

These two girls are an example of gifs I can safely put together in the same gif, because they have the same size and number of frames. It's not as simple with all the other ones. I might need to resize them all so they all look good in a post....... ughhh the work......

Anyways, I might make some more enemies reference sheets once I'm done with the gif making adventure, but I can't make any promises, I'm just one person after all.

#blog stuff #darnest answers #masochist gif making adventures #darkest dungeon

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operafantomet · 1 year

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OK, but an absolute pet peeve:

I know it’s been the tradition to just make the main costume and leave much of the decorations for the local costume makers, so every detail fits the wearer perfectly. This has created some amazing local details and interpretations. But...

When the previous World Tour got a handful of new UK costumes they wore them as sent. That especially went for the new Elissa skirts for Carlotta and Christine. I know the wearers loved them as they were lighter than the old ones. But the unadorned aprons drove me nuts. No brooches, belts or attempt to make a false bodice continuation for Christine. It made the costumes appear unbalanced.

Equally, when they put the current South Korean Christines on stage in Star Princess skirts lacking the ombre silk top layer, the bodice and skirt does not match at all. My brain goes NOPE. Hence this photoset, showing how the costumes are typically worn in West End (left), and how they appeared in “unfinished” state in the World Tour and South Korea (middle, right).

For this reason I doubly appreciated how they have decorated the Christine Elissa skirt in this photoset for the current Chinese run. The solution in the waist is slightly unorthodox, but works well in the merge of US bodice and UK skirt. So hooray for that.

#now do the star princess skirts!#phantom of the opera #costume nerding #maria bjørnson #obviously unrelated to the depicted wearers #they don't make the costumes #poto world tour revival #poto south korea

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explosionshark · 9 months

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What's your top 5 impactful artists? Impactful is up to interpretation here. Or top 5 impactful albums. You get to pick 😁

ooh i think i'll go chronologically here

linkin park - i was like? 12 when meteora came out? it was a life changing record. that was the age i was truly starting to get into music and meteora was the first CD i picked out for myself that i became properly obsessed with. i had a burned copy of hybrid theory i got from one of my friends but though i loved it, nothing compared to the blissful angst of laying in bed listening to "somewhere i belong" on repeat

nevermore - this whole band but specifically the album dead heart in a dead world really were life-defining albums. they were my favorite band for many years. this band made me a metalhead. i grew up listening to them (my dad was always a big fan) but that never made them feel any less like a life changing discovery i made for myself. i used to listen to their music and read the lyric booklets with a pocket dictionary in my lap so i could look up the words i didn't understand. i got one of my cousins around my age really into them at the same time and that became this massive thing we bonded over for years. i feel like i owe every good thing in my life that came out of my relationship to metal to this band specifically. hugely, hugely important.

american football - the next biggest band to mark a massive change in my life and my music taste was probably these guys. they were my jumping off point into emo, which marked a major expansion of my music taste and interests after a solid few yeas of just being a metal guy. THE record would be the self titled, of course. nothing since they've reformed has hit quite as well. there are other emo bands that had a huge impact on me, but the fact is i wouldn't have gotten into braid or rainer maria or whoever else if amfootball hadn't opened that door for me first, so they're the band that gets to go on this list.

amanda palmer/dresden dolls - trust me i'm well aware of the problems associated with these guys but it doesn't change the fact that they were, at a time when i really needed a reason to live, artists with a life-saving impact on me. if that's a hyperbolic statement, then it's only barely so. i was truly obsessed. went to every show i could. went to coachella for the AFP set, met amanda after, teared up telling her how much her music meant to me when i was struggling with the aftermath of coming out to my family and her kindness to me in that interaction helped motivate me to come out on the drive home to the person i went to the festival with. sometimes the right band at the right time in your life can really be a life preserver. despite everything else, i'll always feel grateful for that. so glad i didn't get the tattoo i was contemplating at one time, though

screaming females - in terms of impact i couldn't write this list without including this band. literally, tangibly changed my life to be a fan of theirs. back in 2015 i posted some fanfic for this video game i liked, got a nice message from someone complimenting my work, clicked through to their blog and immediately see a photoset of marissa paternoster playing a bloody guitar and immediately messaged them back to talk about music and life is strange. we had an immediate, profound, and powerful connection. 8 years on @holdsteady is STILL my best friend. i wrote a story with her. we've been to shows together. we ate street hot dogs together. i taught her to make potato wedges. she introduced me to some of my favorite bands. i made chili for her dad. i lived in her basement for a month. i literally don't know what kind of person i would be or what my life would look like if we never met. and we owe it all to the fact that we both fuckin love tiny lesbians that shred on guitar.

this was such a great ask! i'd love to hear your answers. actually, i'd love to hear from a bunch of different people. soooo

@necrotic-biotic, @angrypedestrian, @holdsteady, @nataliving, @uneasyhearts33, @gothprentiss, @100percentdirtball, @shewhosleepsalotincemeteries, @morhdd, @chaseprice if any of you guys wanna do this too i'd love to see it (but no pressure)

#replies #necrotic-biotic

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effervescentdragon · 1 year

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Unusual Fic-Specific Asks for Authors

All To Another Heart | A Thousand Words

In The Reflection | Time After Time | 2030

Gravitational Currents | BTS

love how i literally had to google every one of these to see which fic it is xD love you <3 !!!

Main concepts in a photoset for All To Another Heart (aka girl!Charles/TP!Seb)

---

Timestamp - 2030 (ish) for In The Reflection (aka engineer!Charles)

"How you still don't know to tie your tie properly, mi amor, I will never know. It has been over ten years since you started wearing suits."

Charles raised his head from where he was fumbling with the tie and met Carlos' eyes in the mirror.

"That is why I keep you around," he replied, lines around his eyes making him somehow even more handsome than he was when Carlos first saw him, decades ago, wet in that pool in Singapore. "Now will you..."

"Yes, sí, of course," Carlos said and stepped closer, winding his arms around Charles' shoulders to help fix his tie. "I cannot have people say I don't take care of you, letting you go with a crooked on stage tonight when you receive the trophy."

Charles' cheeks reddened in the same way they always did, but the happiness radiating from him was all too evident.

"I may not even go to the stage," he tried to say, but Carlos just huffed incredulously, making quick and steady work of Charles' tie.

"You are responsible for the Championship-winning car, mi amor," Carlos said, leaning close to Charles' ear and enjoying the was it made Charles half-close his eyes. "You are definitely going on stage." He paused. "Besides, if you don't, I'm sure Arthur will just pull you up with him."

Charles' laughter was still Carlos' favourite thing in the world, second only to the feel of Charles' kisses. He counted himself the luckiest man on Earth, to have both in the span of seconds right there and then, as Charles turned around to face him, beautiful and happy and Carlos'.

---

Director's commentary for Gravitational Currents (aka TMDF sequel)

okay so. my favourite passage in this one has to be the inner monologue charles has about seb and pierre and ferrari and red bull. it's a huge italicised passage and i just remember writing it in one go, and pourin all the frustration and most of my own thoughts into it, because some things are just bigger than words, bigger than can be explained. charles is the definiton of unreliable narrator, always, and the world, through his eyes, looks much different than we would expect it to look. everything he does comes back to racing, and its so profoundly connected to ferrari that it's impossible to extract one from the other. on the other hand, we have his love for pierre, and it shows how he can separate certain things in his head, but only if it comes to outside interference. he needed seb, but he let pierre have him as someone to turn to, because he recognized that there are some things he doesn't, and will never be able to understand. his hurts are different, and he needs to seek someone who understands, but he also feels like nobody can truly understand him. for pierre, though; he went through a different path, and charles doesn't know what it's like, to be red bull. he'll never understand the ruthlessness you need to develop to survive in their young drivers' programme, and how much it takes from you, but he recognizes it in pierre and recognizes it in seb, and knows he has nothing to compare it to, so he lets them be, no matter how much he would wish to be there and to help. his pain is blood red, ferrari, and it was never anything else. he doesn't see the blue of the red bull as anything other than external, and he can't relate. so he stepped away, and it hurt him, but that hurt, he internalized, and muddled, and can now deal with, like everything else - by painting it over and making it his, in a very fucked in the head, unreliable way. idk if that makes sense :)

#okay so this got long hehehe #anyways #effervescentdragonwrites #sebchal #charlos #piarles #tmdf sequel #in the reflection ref #girl!charles x tp!seb #unusual writer asks #f1 rpf #stormy <3

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chipped-chimera · 10 months

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Okay since I'm actually awake now, (proper) HAIR UPDATE! ❤️🖤❤️

I wanted to add this onto my post from last night but tumblr hates reblog photosets. Anyways I was very aware that posting my V in the darkest corner of an apartment with black hair wasn't really ... showing anything - but it was very much her vibe and that's been the point of this entire project, buckling down and learning Blender from nothing, reverse-engineering mods and systems I was only NEW to about a month or so ago so I could figure out how to bring 'back' her hair, but like ... even more how I wished it was.

And it's finally done (well ... structurally).

More development rambles beloooow ~

I'm not releasing this (yet) as I'd now put myself in 'polish' phase, where I'll be tweaking some physics and other stuff like the vertex painting which influences the shine - brighter hair colours look a bit too blown out at the moment, and I'm not sure if this is because it's too shiny or because of my custom normals (may have to tone them down a bit, idk). You can see what I mean below -

Shadows are also behaving oddly at certain angles, and I wasn't sure if it was a harsh lighting situation but upon changing the lighting up ... no. Something weird is going on. So that'll need troubleshooting (for lighter colours at least). Also some textures just are acting weird on certain parts when I don't think they should look that way so yeah ... more ... troubleshooting ahead. :V

I'm also going to look into if there's something I can do for the 'efficiency' of this mesh because I noticed some pretty severe frame slowdowns taking close up shots - though only sometimes?? Not sure what that was about at all. I'm assuming it's my gpu being pushed harder as I get closer to the hair, but upon changing the hair in the character creator to another and then back it just went away again? So no idea what the hell was going on there. It felt a bit almost like a memory leak, but I didn't do a check to see what my system was doing so I'll have another look if it happens again.

Possible (hypothetical) causes:

Could be texture size, these hair cards have 2k textures apart from the alpha (4k) which is double vanilla textures so that is also a possibility as a fix (though I'd be loathe to do it).

Double rigs. I noticed last night when in my rigging phase with UUH4V that reducing it from three meshes and rigs to TWO meshes and two rigs significantly improved framerate lag (I mean it was minor but noticeable enough) in the character creation screen, so it could hypothetically be something to do with calculations of running two rigs at the same time. If that is the case, I could probably just rig this to the Alt hair rig. Currently I'm using Alt's for the back and left side of the hair, whereas the fringe at the front and the curl over the shoulder is rigged to Old Rogue. I'll probably still keep using UUH4V just … one rig only.

Last in the list? Hair cards. There are a lot. Maybe too many. They're also of a higher poly than last time. That said I've looked at other mods with heavier polycounts than mine (what gave me the courage to push further in the first place after my very low poly attempt 1.0) that caused more obvious frame slowdown in just the character creator alone. I feel there is still a minor slowdown currently but it's on the edge of noticeable (like, 30fps vs 60fps). As it goes though, this is still pretty insanely efficient (thank YOU Hair Tools for Blender).

BONUS: Mods. Other mods. The thing I use to hook in a DLL for pose control. Could always be that?

So uh, guess that's what I'll be working on. I don't know how much time I should be spending on getting this 'frame efficient' considering anyone using this would be primarily be for screenshots, and given the specs I'm currently running (AMD Ryzen 5 CPU and an RTX 2060) are being re-classed as the 'bare minimum' with Phantom Liberty coming out, and I am planning on upgrades to my PC anyway.

We'll see? (Though in my heart of hearts, I have have had potato PCs for years and I want to support the lowest specs I possibly can). I dunno let me know what you think about that one as a possible mod user (and someone who actually reads these, wow).

Anyways all that matters is jesus christ I finally did this. I taught myself hair. From scratch.

Promised tutorial ... soon. After I maybe do nothing for a few days lol.

#cyberpunk 2077 modding #my mods #kerytalk #powered by nothing but autistic hyperfocus and love of blorbos here #also I am a bit on the fence with releasing the hair too cause it's based off a mod hair I used to use so idk #cross that bridge when I get there I deserve veg out time now lmao #my ocs

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twelve-weeks-to-fluency · 28 days

Text

April 2nd, 2024

studyblr challenge ⋆｡°✩ day 11/30: a photoset detailing your routine for the day

It's spring break which means I have the time and energy to do this prompt! Yesterday I made myself a big breakfast before my intern shift at the ED. It was an uneventful day. That being said, I did walk into the supply closet and encounter a nurse doing a face ice bath with a basin in the sink. This is the exact type of chaotic energy I expect from emergency department staff.

After my shift my dad took me to rescue my car from the mechanic :') it's kind of far so that took the rest of my afternoon pretty much. I was really tired so I went to bed early (9ish) and slept 9 hours!

productivity challenge ⋆｡°✩ day 14/100

yesterday I journaled and went to my ED shift but other than that my car drama kind of threw off my day. I was waiting around at the house for the tow truck to show up for 2 hours and couldn't go to the gym :( So that's my biggest priority today. After that maybe I'll go get some work done at the coffee shop for a change of scenery :3

🎧 QLONA by Karol G, Peso Pluma

#studyblr #rambles #my post mine all mine #100 days of productivity #studyblrchallengehayley

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cavernsofdarkness · 1 year

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💕 self-love time! talk about which ones of YOUR creations (edits, artworks, fanfics) you like the most then send to other sim-blogs to do the same 💕

Oh man, okay, so I went through all my stuff as far back as 2016 (everything before that can't really compete). This is going to be a bit long, with honorable mentions under the cut.

Honestly, everything from the Edgerunners series is pretty good; I always joke about the cyberpunk aesthetic being my calling, and it's because the success rate from idea to execution is so much higher than with a lot of my other works. This post (especially with the gif) is probably number one.

2. I did not think I would be able to pull this set off as well as I did. The lighting?? I surprised myself. It's my favorite scene from this set.

3. Stepping away from cyberpunk, the atmosphere of this picture from the North Wind introduction photoset, along with the Unseelie Court introduction post.

4. Another from the SU. This was great; I really liked how it turned out. (Full post, w/lore)

5. The vibes and editing of this (and the gif!), I'm still quite pleased with it to this day. [Full Post]

6. I did not think I was going to pull off this Holi post the way I did, lol.

Honorable Mentions:

7. These two pictures, from this set. Drawing the hair was annoying, but I'm really glad I did.

8. From 2017; the pictures are okay, but the lighting in this set was the first time I really tried to do colored lighting well, and I haven't done this good of a job since xD

9. Vibes all day. Though from 2017 and lower quality, I still look back fondly on the atmosphere of these two photosets. [1, 2]

10. From early 2017, not the greatest quality, but everything about this post, from the video I made for it to the water effects, still holds a very special place in my memories.

Lastly, I wanted to highlight two posts with prose I've written that I look back on fondly. The pictures are fine and I have objectively written better stuff since, but something about them sticks out to me. Check them out here: 1, 2.

#I was going back through my stuff from 2016/2017 like 'man that was a good story I need to go back and read that'#LOL #cod talks

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ortali · 1 year

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ortal!!! i’m so happy you had a great time seeing our boys in person thats so exciting and fun 🥺 and that you got to see seonghwa at the pop up too how exciting!!!! what were you favorite parts tell me everything!!

omg luna are you ready? bc this is going to be long 🤣 besides going to the concert, it was also a vacation, so i also traveled to all kinds of places in berlin it was so fun and i took pictures. even without noticing, i saw that i had been in places where even the members of the ateez was there but at different times 🤗 on sunday i went to the popup store, i arrived with my friends towards the evening, we saw a long line waiting to enter the store and we said there is no way we are going to wait in the long line so we thought to go eat at the end. i told my friends that we can move towards the entrance of the store to look from the side bc i wanted to see how they let everyone in and suddenly i see someone approaching with guards, i saw hwa really close he just passed and waved to everyone like a prince, i even managed to take a video. luna he is so beautiful and nice i can't 🤧🥺😍 the truth is i always thought he was tall but he is not 🤭 on monday i went with my friend in the morning to not to wait so long in line and it was so beautiful inside the store i took pictures and bought the lightstick and woo and san photoset. on tuesday was the concert, i fell deep in love with mingi, he was the center, even all the members let him stand out the most and the performance he gives is just perfect and powerful, he also got the crowd to barking. joong omgggggg why he is so perfect???? he speaks in such nice english, he is soo nice to the whole audience and the performance he gives is just amazing. there was woojoong moment in the song "from" and i was so excited to see it. a lot of woosan parts hugging and san touches woo body 🤭😍 woo was wearing bucket hat that covered his eyes and a loose tank top, i think he purposely wore the hat so that we could see the body he work on it and the veins in his hands 😵🥰 there was a part where he forgot how to say happy valentine's day 🤣 so he had a shy smile. yeo is so cute omggggg and his long hair i'm in love with him too. i was happy to see him speak a lot in english too jongho voice in reality is the most perfect to listen, to look at his shy gummy smile on the screen 😍 and there was one part where he imitated the way mingi acts it was really funny. ok san omg everything he did in concert made me scream!! in love with the way he moves and how his body is built, he sends kisses and when he smiles you can see his dimple 🤧 hwa is a prince!!!!!! also brings a perfect performance, the way his voice changes from low to high. yunho now i understand more why everyone loves him and he is the man to bring home to introduce to the parents. i cry in the song mist 😭😭😭 i was waiting for this song so much. when i entered the concert my whole body was shaking and when it was over i couldn't get up from the chair until they told us we had to leave, i'm just happy that all these good things happened to me 💕💝 i'm sure i've forgotten more things, my brain just isn't working. the concert was over so quickly and i felt like i want the concert to go on for hours. thank you luna for asking how it was <3

#i have a lot more to say but my english is poor 🥺#replies

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thecandywrites · 1 year

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Monster March 2023 Day 15- Humanoid Bird- Rito/Kenku

Of course I couldn't help but use moura too. And of course I couldn't resist but go back to The Switch as well as Souja to help me with this particular prompt. And with the research I did on Ritos and Kenku's specifically, I couldn't help but sympathize that in a fantasy setting these would be very much marginalized species of beings.

Also, do you have ANY IDEA how many hours were spent manipulating those damn feather pictures? DO YOU?! Because apparently, metallic mauve/lilac feathers with a rose gold sheen/iredescence- without even a paisley/mandella pattern superimposed on it- is not apparently a thing that exists. Well now it does. On my phone. In my picture manipulation apps. Because I had to use TWO OF THEM to get those results. So enjoy this photoset. Please. I worked longer and harder on it than I did on the story itself. Because the imagry in my head as a wrote it was one thing. The task of finding and creating anything even remotely what was in my head? Damn near impossible. Because all my stories, are basically movies that my brain makes up for me to watch and I simply write it down as it plays out inbetween handfulls of buttered popcorn.

But I am a very visual person and I wanted everyone to at least get a glimpse of the visuals themselves to piece together what I see in my own head for this story and the rest you're just gonna have to use your own imagination. Good luck.

So thanks to @borealwrites for their Monster March 2023 prompts. I'm now 6 days behind. Great. But still had fun nonetheless. Enjoy.

Monster March Day 15- Humanoid Bird- Rito, Kenku

Hidden Potential

“How’s it going there Whomper?” The barmaid, Violasciousia, who simply went by Viola, asked as Whomper came into Souja Inn and Tavern and took up an empty barstool right in front of her. It was the off-season so only the locals here in Fitsdale were currently in port right now and could come into the place without having to deal with the constant influx of travelers and tourists. So the place was pretty empty besides the locals. And the other barmaids were talking with the other patrons down the long bar that could hold dozens of barmaids, but in the offseason could get by with only a fraction of that and even the barmaids who didn’t have a patron were off socializing and running their own steins to various patrons throughout the tavern to at least get the added tip to do so themselves. But Viola was the only avian behind the bar tonight and was finding the regulars still thought of her as too new to really know her way back behind that bar. Which Viola found rather patronizing and downright, insulting. She had earned her place back here. And because of her wings, she could actually get to stuff the others had to use actual ladders to get to. But it still left Viola to simply perch herself on a stool and do some light cleaning as she did so, to pass the time. But the moment Whomper came through the door she was happy to hop down off the stool and smile brightly as the crest of feathers on top of her head stood as tall and high as they could. Catching the light and showing off her darker, more irrdescent feathers atop her pretty head.

Viola was a moura and aarakocra hybrid. Her more aarakocra features were much prettier than most, and while her brothers looked practically full aarakocra, and even her other sisters did too. She was the only one who took more after her mother who was fuller human avian moura. Her very delicately curved little beak let her use most soft lipped beings cups. Her voice was still downright gorgeous and practically divine and her avian clicks and churs were practically melodic. Most females of either rito, kenku or aarakocra or any other anthropomorphic or humanoid avian bird species or subspecies and types, were dull just like their full avian brethren.

But not her, nor her sisters or her mom.

Viola was a prime example of what exceptional qualities could appear when moura interbred with the avian humanoids. She had these gorgeous rose gold color and sheening to her otherwise metallic mauve plumage. Whereas her other sisters were shades of plumb, purple and violet, whereas her brothers were much more indigo, royal blue, turquoise, green and red.

But her coloring, for being “drab” comparatively, only accentuated her gold moura collar denoted by the pretty ring of pure gold feathers that grew around her neck. And her feathers had the most enchanting pattern. Almost like a paisley or a mandella in design among her plumage that showed on the feathers that showed on her form that wasn't covered in the prettiest clothes, even for a barmaid in a tavern. She looked like she could be there as a guest from any great house or gentry alike. And there was just something about her that made her seem like she was an exceptional jewel in an otherwise ordinary jewelry box.

Or so Whomper thought.

Whomper and every other avian humanoid nearly swooned when she and her family moved to Souja Tavern and became part of the Souja Family, on part of Salgria Shipping and specifically The Contessina Order of said venture and enterprise. Now while Fitsdale was a pretty big place that saw most of the beings in the supersphere, with Salgria Shipping and especially The Contessina Order, the “fancier” folk were coming in droves, specifically to start their training and to help make Fitsdale’s skyports, both from the Salgria Shipping and especially The Contessina Order Skyports, stand out and really become the landmarks they were sure to be.

Viola had many siblings, her mom looked pure angel because she liked to keep her wings out like her husband and her kids especially. And her dad was by far, the most handsome aarakocra any of them had ever seen in their lives. Since he too was an aarakocra moura hybrid himself, and while his looks were purely eagle, his coloring was damn near peacock in bright colors and only accentuated his gold collar that much more. Her dad, Kwarl, and her brothers were working in the Salgria Shipping Skyport and more specifically- The Contessina Order Skyports. And currently- specifically the crew accommodations so that those that worked at either skyport could live there, work there and help supply and service the ships that would be passing through there easily. But that couldn’t happen until the crew cabins were done first. And done right. And done so that a wide variety of peoples could eat, sleep, live and work there pretty seamlessly.

Her Radiance Supreme Contessina Salgria herself- had hand picked Viola and her family to be the first to make sure avian species who could easily man and inspect the sails themselves as well as do quick mail deliveries as well as attend to other avian guests could be accommodated well and comfortably.

Viola and “Tessa” as she liked to refer to Contessina as- had gotten along swimmingly. Tessa liked the fact that Viola wasn’t so eye-catching that she would and could be a distraction or have to deal with too many guests flirting with her and then giving her bad reviews when she would professionally decline their advances. And with Viola being a barmaid for the timebeing- that was coming to be an invaluable skill she was learning to hone. Tessa truly admired that Viola had a keen mind and keen senses and an eye for the details. And wasn't afraid to get in there and do the work herself and lead by example.

And by now, Viola had especially good customer service skills. Tessa wanted Viola to manage the Avian Guest Department of the entire Contessina Order Skyport. It was going to be a very big job with very big and heavy responsibilities that Viola was learning to delegate. Viola, in the meantime, even being a "lowly" barmaid- was gaining invaluable experience in doing so. She was getting better at spotting good guests, and which ones could be trouble or which ones would be especially demanding and how to handle each one accordingly.

Unfortunately- Tessa had already hired Viola’s cousin who was in Dorierra to get the avian clients and handle the orders and finetune the Contessina Order ships to suit their unique needs. And Viola's cousin- Khlaqui, was giving all kinds of heads up to Viola on all manner of avian guests she would be dealing with in the future.

And while Khlaqui and the other moura/aarokocra hybrids in Khlaqui's friends and family circle were raking in commission sales, Viola felt like she was drowning in paperwork. Viola already needed to keep a separate large family room just to keep it all in and was needing to rent a second and possibly a third. Viola got boxes and crates full of paperwork by the day in the mail from Dorierra because Viola needed and liked physical paperwork and a physical "papertrail" so to speak because she had learned the hard way, sometimes data transfers via messengerari weren't as reliable as she would like.

In plain truth, Viola was downright overwhelmed. And Tessa urged Viola to find a Chief Filer and someone to help her in the moment so that it wouldn't build itself up to be a mountain that Viola felt she needed to scale all on her own on top of everything else.

But Viola didn’t want to use any of her sisters, who thought such work was “beneath them”. Since it was all “behind the scenes” work and not front and center where they would be seen and interact with any number of guests and potential mates who would be wealthy enough to elevate them from cook and maid or receptionist or whatever, to travel the world with them in style or many of her cousins or other friends with the same mindset.

Which left Viola just plain frustrated. Because she had all this work, that Tessa was paying her a retainer salary for her to deal with. And while she didn't need the income from being a barmaid, she felt she still needed to gain the perspective and the experience of it. But other than to stack the damn crates of paperwork on top of each other to cram them all into the rooms until there was barely any room to move, let alone breathe in those rooms- there was little she could do right now.

But Viola also knew that she would need to choose and fill this position of Chief Filer- very carefully and give it to someone trustworthy and dependable. Who wouldn't think the work was beneath them, but be happy and grateful to have the work to do in the first place. And someone who could do it well without getting bored or feel ignored or feel unappreciated because they weren't in the spotlight but would be content knowing that they were key in helping Viola and the other managers run The Contessina Order Skyport well. Because Tessa was counting on her and the others she had already hired and stationed there to do so. And do so well.

So ever since she came here, she had her eye on several potential candidates, only for them to prove with their behavior that they weren’t as trustworthy as she at first thought they could be or what she felt she needed them to be.

All, except one. And he just came into the bar. And honestly, he was her last hope. And she could only hope tha this own past experience as well as her own, along with her own desperation wouldn't scare him off of it either.

Plus of all the local avians, Whomper was one of the few that had proven that he was so much more than what he seemed and she could see the potential in him. And she had urged him to at least try to apply to work with her dad and her brothers at the skyport but the second he even got to the base, he was practically chased off because the others took one look at his kenku looks and assumed he was there to steal building supplies and "sell them back" later at a higher price. Which both infuriated and frustrated and humiliated them both. And by the time Viola heard of it, the damage was done and she couldn't talk her dad or her brothers into trusting her and her instincts enough to see past his own kenku heritage to see him as an individual and give him a chance to prove what kind of person she already knew him to be. And Kenku never approached those skyports again after that.

So that simply left Viola and her sisters and her mom to work and wait while the skyports were being built. So to supplement their income, Viola and her sisters and her mother worked here at the tavern and were being trained to work the Contessina Order Skyport when it would be finished. But until it could be built, they figured they could still jumpstart their income and experience by working here and were happily welcomed into the fold so to speak and with Viola and her family being here, Souja Tavern now got more and more avian clientele. But usually only when her much prettier and brighter sisters were cooking and serving the food. Which left Viola to feel unseen and unappreciated by anyone except for Tessa. Despite her own gifts at making a damn good ale and an amazing lager and an astounding stout, all on her own. And while all of that spoke for itself. And while she raked in the sales of the steins for her ales. Most non avians were content to accept steins full of her ales from others they had already known for years and were more comfortable with.

But Viola was determined to prove that the potential that Tessa saw in her was well founded and wanted to prove that such a hefty responsibility could be handled and handled well in her capable hands. Even when there wasn't much to do in the moment but accept the crates full of paperwork and have them stored away safely until they could be unloaded and filed away properly.

Plus, Viola's sisters worked in the kitchens making some of the spiciest foods the kitchen could churn out because while most avians were fond of chilies because their tongues didn't really have that many spicy receptors- everyone else thought the spicy food was damn near addicitive and practically drugged because even as they were sweating and even crying while eating, they couldn't stop themselves from having and wanting more while washing it down with Viola's brews.

All while their mother, Nautisia, worked specifically with the soap company to get a soap specifically to wash and preen feathers and the skin beneath them. As well as have a variety of cleansers and conditioners specifically for the avian guests and their many types of feathers. She used her own kids and husband as well as her own wings to test out which ones would work best before they could receive either the Salgria Shipping stamp or the very coveted Contessina Order stamp on the bars that Tessa had entrusted her with.

Viola’s family was by far the most handsome avian humanoid family in all of Fitsdale. And they had come here by way of another moura colony that was pulled into the Contessina Order, both the ships and the sky ports. And word was that more were coming. And many were waiting to see if the others would be as pretty as Viola or her sisters or as handsome as her brothers before they made their move so to speak.

But Whomper, no such waiting was necessary or even warrented. Once he saw Viola, he was instantly smitten and already head over talons crazy about her. He scrimped and saved to come in here on the days she worked as much as he could. And he was happy to come in and simply take up a seat at any part of the bar she was working from. And just listen to her talk. Talk about anything and everything she wanted to. And Viola really appreciated Whomper's patience in letting her vent and talk her own frustrations out. As they both much more in common than most might at first assume.

But because he was kenku, he faced the reputation that he and his kind were particularly predatory, crafty and sneaky and if things went missing, it was usually found in their possession or if they were selling things, that they were stolen in the first place. Which Viola found completely unfair that an entire peoples would be judged like that, and not seen as the individuals they were and should be seen were. Because sure, there were some, she didn't trust as far as she could kick them. But Whomper was one of the few she felt she could trust and could depend on and had already proven what kind of person and what kind of man he was.

Because aarakocra on the other hand, had the opposite reputation. Which was, to say, same as moura usually. Upright, honest, dependable, trustworthy and tight knit community. And many aarakocra had made colonies all over the world and even moura served as a bridge between the avians and the dragons which from the homeworld, had been mortal enemies. But Viola knew there were vast differences in culture and upbringing between "mountain moura" and "Dorierran moura" or even among the aarokocra. Some of who were the lonelest of lone drifters. And would be seen one moment and dissappear the next without a trace or care in the world. And it wasn't fair that aarakocra were given that kind of reputation when it wasn't well earned by the outliers.

But that still didn't change the fact, that to Whomper especially, and in his own humble opinion- and the opinions of most of the others at Souja and Salgria Shipping and The Contessina Order- that Viola was just and fair. She was also very nice and sweet and practically had a heart of gold. She gave everyone a chance to prove what kind of person they were by their actions- before she ever thought of judging anyone, especially by looks or kind or whatever and Whomper wanted to prove that he was worthy of her attention and worthy of her grace and kindness.

Besides having a wonderful personality, Viola had much more vibrant and beautiful features and plumage than Whomper had ever seen before in his life, even among the female peacock avian people. And it didn’t matter to Whomper if she was drab in comparison to her sisters. If anything, it helped her stand out that much more in his eyes. Because she was humble and unassuming and much more approachable and he felt the most at ease around her. Which Tessa always claimed was the most important parts that she admired about Viola and why she chose Viola to do what she hired her to do.

Of course, it was most likely the moura heritage that gave her all her better than average looks and gifts. Including the fact that she had arms with fingers and wings that folded beautifully on her back and clawed feet that she usually put into special.sandals and shoes and even boots when she walked.

But as much as Whomper wanted to dwell on that, she had asked him a question and he needed to answer her.

“Good, got a good find today on shore, I was able to clean it up and sell it for a good price.” He answered as he offered her some of the coins in his possession to exchange for a stein of ale.

“I'm happy to hear it and I'm happy you could do that and come in tonght and see me. Well tonight I have…” She began to list off all the ales and stouts and other spirits they had in his price range of the coins he offered as she picked them up and counted them to be sure they were right.

“Ooh, that last one.” He decided when she chose to list off her own ales, stouts and lagers last when she listed them off.

“Let me get that for you then.” She smiled as she then poured him a stein of it into a special stein Souja Tavern made just for their beaked clientele. She placed it before him before she got a small plate and put a few pieces of seasoned bread and a small dish of oil and spices and herbs to dip it in and handed it over to him with a wink.

“On the house, I know how rare it is for you to find the good stuff on the beach.” She offered sweetly.

“Thank you.” He offered gratefully.

“Did you make enough for a full plate tonight?” She asked hopefully.

“Not quite.” He admitted, but this would tide him over until she would work again, hopefully.

“Well then let me get you a bit of something more substantial then. It’s not every day you get to come in here to celebrate a good find.” She offered before she left and came back with a small plate of food for him. He could tell she took one of the smaller appetizer plates but still piled it high with what she could manage to get on there in a few moments in the kitchens.

“You’re too good to me.” Whomper admitted before he was slow to eat and really savored the food, despite his hunger.

“Well, I think kenkus and ritos and all of the corvid avian types get a bad reputation. I know you try really hard to do what you can. So what did you get today?” She explained as she began washing the other dirty steins behind the counter.

“It was a wine bottle, still had good wine in it.” He answered.

“That is a good find. Most bottles you find on the beach have messages in them.” She nodded with a smile her petite parrot beak let her have as her eyes pinned, showing off those. Intensely gorgeously amethyst eyes.

“Who’d you sell it to?” She asked.

“A man who got thrown out of Glockies.” He answered.

“Glockies is close to the coast, but you have to be pretty drunk and pretty disorderly to be kicked out of that place.” She appraised honestly.

“He was happy I was there and had the wine and paid me what he could.” Whomper explained.

“Uh-huh, I see. The right person at the right time. Perfect. I'm really happy you could find it and sell it for what you could.” She smiled proudly once she finished with washing and rinsing the steins and started to dry them.

“So, I wanted to ask you, I know you do odd jobs here and there and try to get by here in Fitsdale. But, I was hoping you’d at least be willing to try to apply for…” Viola began to try to say before Whomper cut her off.

“Viola, I know you mean well, but one look at me, and no one will hire or trust me with much of anything. Not without others watching over me constantly to make sure I don’t mess up stuff or to make sure other stuff doesn’t go missing or…” He tried to excuse because Viola had asked him to at least apply to work on the skyport and he did, and he got a hard ‘no’ when he did and he didn’t feel up to asking again, only to have another door slammed in his face for even trying.

“But I would. I would hire you and I trust you. I talked with Tessa today. And she said that I get to hire who I find most suitable for any number of positions. And the work I want to hire you for, isn’t that hard. It’s just mundane and it’s repetitive as hell and most would go nuts with boredom but I know that- that kind of thing wouldn’t bother you. And that you’d be good at it. You know your alphabet and your numbers. The job I want to hire you for is to literally stand in a special room behind a wall- behind the front desk and hand and recieve files through a special slot in the wall itself. You would have to be in a uniform, and organize the guests’ and their paperwork and stuff and file it according to their name and country of origin. Tessa has already okayed it and gave me the power to fill and pay a variety of positions how I see fit. And with so many people from my colony coming all the way here and all of them already using their family ties to mine and their social standing at the colony to try to sweet talk me and are banking on all of that- for me to give them cushy jobs where they get to do so little work for a lot of money. And I hate it and I hate their presumptuousness. Which you don't have any of.": She explained as she leaned across the counter and dropped her voice so most wouldn't overhear her conversation with him.

"I know, you go to the beach at sunrise, every day. You comb through every inch of that shoreline, every single day, rain or shine, or snow or sleet. Especially after storms. And you look through everything, just to find something valuable, just to find something shiny or something you can use to fix up other things just to sell to whoever you can to put food in your belly and keep a roof over your head and the clothes on your back. And I know that once you leave that door, you’re going to have to swallow your pride and go to the back where we have the soup kitchen for less fortunate in Fitsdale. Please. Take the job I am offering you.” She begged as she leaned across the bar and fixed him with those big gorgeous eyes and he was near tears that she would even ask or invite him to do such a thing.

“But surely, someone else would be better at…” He sheepishly murmured.

“Whomper. I don’t care if someone else would or could be better at it. I want to vouch for you and I’m willing to vouch for you to whoever I have to. To Tessa and Kragan if I have to. I have seen you give the valuable food that I know your own stomach hungers for- to the little ones who do the same thing you do at the beaches. I know you go without just trying to give others a leg up. I’ve seen you drop off more kids here at the orphanage than anyone else who works at the beach. You’ve never taken advantage of any of them. You’ve never hurt any of them. In fact, I know from when I've talked to them myself, that you’ve drawn any dangerous people away from them, just so that they could escape to here or to their homes safely. That says more to me about your character than your fathers or your beak or anything else about you ever could. You do have a great eye for details. And you use it both to look to see if you can find something good among garbage to see others the way they really are. And I see the same thing about you. Whomper you have all the skills and all the potential. All you need is the chance to prove it. Just like I was given the chance to prove what I’m capable of. Please Whomper, please don't turn this offer down, I need you for this and I trust you with this. And I have full faith that I can have full confidence in you to do it, and do it right.” She firmly insisted.

“Of all the other avians in this entire city. When Tessa told me about all the positions she wants me to fill, you were the very first one I thought of for this. Most avians, especially the prettier they are, they all want the spotlight and they want to show off their fancy feathers and special talents and if anything, all of my sisters and all of my female cousins are hoping and praying some rich avian will sail through here and sweep them off their talons and they get to live such lavish lifestyles with them for no other reason than they're pretty, which they are so vain for thinking and assuming about themselves." She complained before she reached out and grabbed his hands with her own.

"But you are content with little, while still taking pride in using what you have for your benefit and the benefit of others. You will literally just be in a room, filing paperwork away. There will be nothing for anyone to ever think or suspect that you would ever try to take. If children of all kinds trust you not to hurt them, and if I can trust you to tell me the truth. About anything and everything, then that’s all the trustworthiness you should ever need. And I trust you that even if you would accidentally make a mistake, that you would be honest about it and be quick to make it right. I’m not asking you to be perfect. I just want you to be competent. And if Tessa trusts me and my judgment, she’ll happily accept you as my choice as Chief Filer. We already know how we want the room and the files to go and be ordered and arranged. And Tessa already has a system she’s designing to put it all into place. The papers are being made as we speak, the filing cabinets are being built as we speak. The very stamps we would use, are already being carved and so far it’s all pretty basic and simple and easy to do and easy to follow and if I get any more crates, I’m gonna have to build and keep a whole storehouse for it all. It’s gonna be a damn library of filing cabinets is what it’s gonna be. All you have to do is follow the system and follow the protocols that will be spelled out in such fine detail that there would never be a question about what to do or how to do it. And for that work, you’d get paid very well. And because you’d be working for me, others would have no choice but to respect you and the job that you would do. There is no door for me to shut in your face. I am here, I will get on my knees on that stool back there if I have to. Whomper, come on. I believe in you, and I see and believe in your own potential and your ability to do the job and you’re my friend and I want you to have the job. I want to be with you, and work with you, and be close to you. And show how trustworthy and dependable you can be.” Viola insisted.

And for once, Whomper was speechless, as he just stared in awed amazement at her.

“What would it take for you to say yes?” She asked before Whomper just pushed up on his elbows to bring his beak next to hers to make a kissing noise.

And the whooping chur she made was both exciting yet exhilarating and she practically leapt up over the counter to the other side and almost tackled him to the ground but he managed to get off the barstool so they wouldn’t crash onto the floor and make themselves even more of a spectacle than they already were.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Se thanked him as she just hugged him and pressed her beak next to and all around her and made the kissing noise back as if she was pressing kisses all around his face that she could reach.

“How could I ever say no to you?” Whomper asked rhetorically as he felt like the luckiest man in the world at the moment.

“Well, get whatever you need or want from your place. Because when you come back, you’re gonna come back to me right here. And you’re gonna stay here and I’ll introduce you to the rest of the Souja family as well as mine. You’re gonna get your own room and you can eat as much as you want from the family dining room. I’ll even have dinner with you tonight, cause no one else will use me on that damn bar tonight.” She insisted before it was his turn to kiss her all over her face with his own beak before he left to do just that as she quickly quit the bar for the night, and got to work getting him a good room and a spot on the Souja Family roster.

And when he came back, she was right there, with key in hand to a single room he’d have as well as a desk with it’s own messengerari and numbers to call Tessa and her network as well as all the other Chief Filer’s to make sure he learned and would know the job and the expectations.

To his surprise and delight, Tessa was just as nice as Viola was. Granted she was human, but she didn’t look down on him or treat him with anything other than professional courtesy and kindness because Viola had already vouched for him. And with a few questions, including a few trick ones, which he surprisingly got right, he was accepted and welcomed into The Contessina Order. His wages were automatically sent to be paid out as well as orders for the uniform he would be wearing as well as a sign on bonus to get some good decent clothes to wear when he wasn’t in his uniform which Viola assured Tessa she would see to personally. Which Whomper was sure Viola enjoyed much more than he did.

At first, he expected the weariness and reluctance from Viola’s family, but it was Viola’s mother who seemed to warm up to him the quickest. Then, slowly but surely, he was earning each person’s trust in her family as well as the Souja Family as a whole, and with the other kids vouching for him too, came much easier. And as soon as he could, he made Viola his mate and then they adopted any and every rito and kenku orphan there was at the Souja Orphanage. And with their combined income, it paid for them to live very comfortably as he was proving his own worthiness to everyone. Once he proved he was more than compitent, he was given more responsibilities and given another raise and given the chance to prove that he should be taken as an individual and not judged based on his kind both in public and private. Especially when Kragan had to agree that orcs often had a lot of the same bias and that if Tessa trusted Viola, and if Viola trusted Whomper, then that was good enough for anyone.

And by the time more from Viola’s colony came to Fitsdale, particularly to the Souja Inn and Tavern to stay while their accommodations were being prepared for in the Salgria Shipping Skyport and especially The Contessina Order Skyport. With Whomper, simply going by ‘Mr. Womper Ompre’ per Viola’s insistence, he was welcomed rather warmly by the others. He found he carried himself better. He walked taller, took better care of himself and before he knew it, what he always thought were dull black feathers, soon glossed and even sheened subtle but pretty hues of greens and blues too and the fact that he was kenku was never an issue. And just as he was doing this for himself, and those he adopted, he was slowly but surely, getting more and more kenkus and ritos to get the same treatment. Especially the ones that he knew- were also fighting against a bias. And trying to prove that they were good people. And suddenly he wasn’t the only kenku or rito around, soon he was simply grouped in with the other aviaries as an equal, which was all he could have ever wanted and asked for.

And when The Contessina Order Skyport had been built enough and the crew quarters completed, he was delighted when he and Viola got moved into one of the bigger and better rooms because of the very important positions they both held in The Contessina Order. And when the skyport’s reception area was built and got finished, he was thrilled to finally get those blessed filing cabinets, set up how they were supposed to be arranged and already getting files and boxes of special folders to populate them all. And while it was a lot of work. It was, by now, a tried and true system. And one he found he could easily and happily manage and keep clean, neat, orderly and organized.

And he had never been more happy that Viola saw this much potential in him. All along and from the start. He was happy to keep proving her right and then going above and beyond every chance he could. So that Viola never once had any reason to doubt him or have second thoughts about her choice and decision to hire him and be with him and raise a family with him and stand by him and support him as much as he was happy to do the same.

#Monster March #Monster March 2023 #Monster March 2023 Day 15- Humanoid Bird #Monster March Day 15

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