<center>https://i.imgur.com/luvpmG0.jpg</center>

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<center><h2>If you love writing stories then this contest is for you! Write a short story about the image pictured above. Be creative, think outside of the box and follow the listed rules! </h2></center>

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Hello writers and fellow art lovers! Sorry for the delay in getting this post made. Life happened and I got a little overwhelmed caring for @guthrie alone while @kommienezuspadt was away. After a few days of sketching, I’ve gotten myself back into my normal groove. I’ve also been doing a lot of reading <i>(manga mostly)</i> for inspiration. 

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<center>https://i.imgur.com/aeQAB2C.jpg</center>

I began an entirely different piece from what I had originally planned. Mainly because the first drawing became more fantasy-like and I’ve noticed those don’t do as well for foxtales. My next idea was to work on something with two people interacting with one another, then this happened. 

Hope it brings you all inspiration!!

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<center><h2>The progress...</h2></center>

<center><sub>All my drawings are original sketches drawn digitally by me on the Procreate App using the iPad Pro with Apple Pencil.</sub></center>

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<center>https://i.imgur.com/Pvc6e4d.jpg</center>

I started with a quick outline of the two figures leaning against each other. 

<center>https://i.imgur.com/eVFG8ug.jpg</center>

Once I was satisfied with the composition, I began mapping out the facial features and outline for the torso. 

<center>https://i.imgur.com/IGMvaHp.jpg</center>
 
I went in with a thinner line and more pressure as I drew in the details to the face.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/NktwyP0.jpg</center>

The start of texturing to the hair.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/sAsKixt.jpg</center>

Darker lines and more shading/texturing to the hair.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/ek6ZyXQ.jpg</center>

Cross hatching on the skin and a scribbled background.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/aeQAB2C.jpg</center>

Shading on the background and this image is done!

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<center><h2>Prizes:</h2></center>

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1st // 5 STEEM
2nd // 3 STEEM
3rd // 1 STEEM

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<center><h2>Contest Rules:</h2></center>

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* Upvote & Resteem this post.
* Create a separate post with your short stories. 
* Maximum length 300 words. (I’ll be monitoring this closely!)  
* Use the #foxtales tag. 
* Usage of the current story image in your post is optional.
* Submit your post in the comment section below. (I’ll sharing links to the stories submitted this way in the following Fox Tales announcement post!)
* Maximum of 3 entries (only one story per person will qualify for a portion of the prize pool each week.)
* Deadline is this post’s payout. 

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<center><h2>WEEK #41 WINNERS & STORIES!</h2></center>

<center>https://i.imgur.com/NKwJ4kM.jpg</center>

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1st place // @calluna “A Break In The Monotony”
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<i><sub>Her cheeks blushing as pink as her protruding tongue, Shansha tugged on her hoodie.
“Come on Dekie! We’re gunna miss the buuuus.”
She drew out the word, her intonation hurrying Dekie along as he pulled on his boots, half falling through the door after her.
“Hurry!! I can hear it coming!”
She was dashing down the street away from him, towards the raised platform - the shuttlebus still nowhere in sight. Her momentum knocked her hood back, her enthusiasm whispering through her stray strands of hair.
Dekie had spent his life stumbling from outpost to outpost, hiring his gun out for the next meal. Holding the defensive line had got monotonous. The creatures always attacked in waves, sitting in the gunnerpod and spattering the onslaught with plasma holes got boring after a while. He kept moving, one outpost to another, at least it was a change of scenery, a different background to the searing holes shot through the greeny flesh, different defences washed in the dark orange tinge of beast blood.
The heavy hum of the shuttlebus filled the air.
Her small face sparkled mischievous joy.
“It’s here it’s here!!”
He’d met Shansha in the deadlands. A scrawny teen, her pocked boots poking beneath metal sheet in a scrap dump.
He’d offered help, but that little bundle of spit and fire scoffed, offering hers instead. At this point, he couldn’t even remember when he agreed to this, somewhere in between her leading the way through the shifting dunes of debris and her loitering outside the outpost entrance, he’d told her about Xang-Li, the beach, a shop that still sold icecream.
Dekie smiled as the bus pulled up, Sansha throwing him that cheeky grin, it was nice to look forward to something.</i></sub>
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2nd place // @chinyerevivian “Thirst”
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<i><sub>It’s time. I’m sitting inside a tent staring. I’m trying to think but my memory is fogged.
I’m thirsty.
Outside, the sun is setting. I stand and leave the tent. It’s getting dark in there anyway. Down the street, people are gathering, slowly forming a crowd. I start to join them but something stops me. A flash of red followed by a scream. I frown. I think my memory is coming back. It always gives me a headache whenever it does. I pat my head as a smile tug on my lips. I already forgot I had a hat on. I always wear one. A white one. Holding it down on both sides, I continue to walk. The crowd is growing. I walk past. Not many people pay attention to me. The ones who do look at me with disdain. I don’t mind. I’m used to it.
I’m getting thirstier.
I look around for a drink. None looks appealing. The last drink I had wasn't sweet either, but it had to be done. He had pulled my hair and called me a retard. Now, people are gathered. Bad things happen to bad people. I shrug. My last memory before this was of pain. I was only eighteen. I wanted him. Lola said he was good at it – that liar. She failed to tell me other things. She sent me to my doom. I have a crescent scar on my head, a constant reminder. My hat covers a lot. Maybe she didn't know, I think that sometimes when I'm sober. But there's no way to find out now. She was my first drink. People die when I’m thirsty, but I don’t care. They're mean to me. Sometimes, I stick out my tongue to their mean faces.
I need a drink.</i></sub>
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3rd place // @wems “A message”
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<i><sub>I remembered his insults, the beatings, the bruises. But with my overall to hide what's left of him behind my head,and my tongue out, which the whole world felt was my signature, but instead was a message; A message to a monstrous father. I now smile. I smile at the past.My name is Ann, but the world calls me "Dj. Mahama." A word i coined from Mamah;She made my dreams come true. If She had stay with my father, I should be dead.I would be dead.He was a monster and everything I did was wrong in his eyes. He didn't see any reason why I had to cut my hair short, even though i preferred it, For that I got a beaten. Whenever I snuck out to go Dj at a friend's party, my mother would be there to tend to my wounds. He wanted a lawyer as a child. I was far from it. And when I finally got my freedom, he had smashed my head on wall, it was graphic, mother rushed me to hospital after tying a cloth around my head. She lied to the Dr. She didn't wanna get papa arrested. But we didn't go back home. We never went back. Now, life was good to us, my career kicked off and I am on the face of every bill board in the country with a message to my father. A message he only understands.</i></sub>
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<center><h2>Thanks so much to all the writers who participated!</h2></center>

<center><sub>⬇️ Please take the time to visit the links to their stories below!⬇️</sub></center>

<center><sub>Writers listed in alphabetical order.</sub></center>

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<center><a href="https://steemit.com/foxtales/@calluna/three-short-stories-inspired-by-one-image-foxtales-41-entry"><h4>“A Break In The Monotony”  “Lucy And The Wolf Pack” “Tenacity”&nbsp;</h4></a><i>@calluna</i></center>

<center><a href="https://steemit.com/foxtales/@chinyerevivian/thirst"><h4>“Thirst”&nbsp;</h4></a><i>@chinyerevivian</i></center>

<center><a href="https://steemit.com/foxtales/@feebie/superfly"><h4>”SUPERFLY”&nbsp;</h4></a><i>@feebie</i></center>

<center><a href="https://steemit.com/foxtales/@theironfelix/tideless-tuesdays"><h4>“Take me away” “Silly tongue :p” “A day of memory”&nbsp;</h4></a><i>@theironfelix</i></center>

<center><a href="https://steemit.com/foxtales/@wems/a-message"><h4>“A message”&nbsp;</h4></a><i>@wems</i></center>
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<center>https://i.imgur.com/aEVvy5e.gif</center>

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<center><h3>Thanks for stopping by and good luck to those who decide to participate!
Do you have any questions? 🦊</h3></center>

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<center>https://i.imgur.com/8Y7VzQc.jpg</center>

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<center><h4>Check out some of the previous #foxtales posts!</h4></center>

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<p><a href="https://steemit.com/contest/@vermillionfox/fox-tales-wk-41-announcing-contest-winners-and-a-new-story-image"><sub>Fox Tales #41&nbsp;</sub></a></p>

<p><a href="https://steemit.com/contest/@vermillionfox/fox-tales-wk-40-announcing-contest-winners-and-a-new-story-image"><sub>Fox Tales #40&nbsp;</sub></a></p>

<p><a href="https://steemit.com/contest/@vermillionfox/fox-tales-wk-39-announcing-contest-winners-and-a-new-story-image"><sub>Fox Tales #39&nbsp;</sub></a></p>

<p><a href="https://steemit.com/contest/@vermillionfox/fox-tales-wk-38-announcing-contest-winners-and-a-new-story-image"><sub>Fox Tales #38&nbsp;</sub></a></p>

<p><a href="https://steemit.com/contest/@vermillionfox/fox-tales-wk-37-announcing-contest-winners-and-a-new-story-image"><sub>Fox Tales #37&nbsp;</sub></a></p>