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person in fandom: eeeyikes!!! i hope im writing this character in this short little fanfic right >_< eeekkk what if my takes on my meta are all wrong and everyone will Kill me!!

guy in professional comic industry: okay lets mischaracterize every single character that appears in this comic for 50 or so issues

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Took a wee hiatus from Games of Divinity but gonna go into a lore wrapup/setup chapter before what I am calling Hearsay II: Beyond All Reasonable Doubt

In the meantime, have some Neuvifuri Pillow Talk

"I…have a new proclamation…" 

A warm chuckle sent a small chill down Furina's spine, though that might have been the afterglow talking. For a hundred years Furina had tried nearly everything to ease the stress of managing an entire country while keeping secrets from Heaven itself. As it turned out, physical activity really was the best stress relief, especially when such physical activity involved Neuvillette. 

"Haven't you proclaimed enough for one day?" Nevillettre asked, his lips kissing the soft divot of skin between her shoulder blades. 

"Just one more," Furina giggled, using the last of her strength to roll over so that his chin rested on her chest. After her speech, dinner, dancing, and a long overdue bath she had retired for the evening, nearly flopping over as she told Neuvillette of what happened between her, the Tsaritsa, and Lumine.

She hadn't intended to end up in bed with him again, but a soft kiss on the nape of her neck had wilted what remained of her self control. It really wasn't her fault; any woman who had a naked dragon god beneath her would have ended up in the same position. 

This is going to become a pattern, isn't it? Furina thought hopefully, parting Neuvillette's hair so she could properly ogle him. "I proclaim that all serious talks between the Hydro Archon and her Chief Justice will be conducted in the Chief Justice's personal bedchambers." 

"I fear we may never talk about anything serious, if that's the case," Neuvillette said, lips kissing the skin between her breasts and nuzzling her with an affectionate purr. "Though I think the Iudex will ratify it…with a few amendments." 

"Amendments?" 

"Namely that the Hydro Archon is to be naked during such conversations," Neuvillette said, rolling over onto his side so he could properly look at her flushed, smiling, and love spilling out of her eyes. 

"Really?" Furina laughed, rolling onto her side and propping her chin on her hand. "And what judicial purpose does that serve?" 

"None," Neuvillette said, sliding a hand along her hip and pulling her flush against him. "I just like the sight of it." 

"Oh my gods, you need to give my poor heart a break," Furina giggled. "I'm likely to faint if you keep teasing me like that." 

"I don't tease," Neuvillette insisted, shifting as she laid her head on his chest, cheek pressed against the pearlescent scale over his heart. "Or lie." 

"Well by all means keep showering me with praise then," Furina hummed, sighing as she felt a blanket settle over the small of her back. A warm, comfortable silence hung in the air for a few moments, each of them taking a moment to breathe now that the chaos of the day was finally over...they hoped. Still, something tickled the back of Neuvillette's mind, and though Rex Lapis was the last person he wanted to consider when in bed with Furina, he had to ask. 

"Do you know what the Tsaritsa was referring to?" Neuvillette asked. "When she said that something was under the ground in Liyue?" 

"Who knows…tired of thinking about Archons," Furina mumbled into his chest. "Sick of immortals traipsing into my country and mucking around like they own the place." 

"We have never agreed on anything more," Neuvillette chuckled. "...still, I think we'll see those creatures again." 

"Maybe…can't care about that for now," Furina sighed, propping her chin on his chest and looking up at him blearily. "I have to go back to work in the morning…and I just want a few moments to rest with my new husband." 

Furina had a way with words, but Neuvillette never liked any speech of hers as much as he liked the word husband coming from her mouth. 

"I can give you more than a few moments," Neuvillette said, finger curling in a lock of her hair. "I wasn't sure if you would be receptive to my gift, so I took the liberty of arranging a back up gift." 

"Oh?" Furina tilted her head to one side. "Is it earrings to go with the necklace?" 

"Something far more precious," Neuvillette chuckled, privately filing her earring suggestion away for future birthdays. "It's time. I thought you might be weary from entertaining so many…colorful individuals-" 

"Ha," Furina chuckled bitterly. 

"-so I proposed that the Court and the state legislature take a seven day recess following your celebration," Neuvillette said. "While you decipher the Oratrice's message in solitude." 

"A vacation and jewelry?" Furina gasped, squeezing Neuvillette's cheeks. "Oh I could kiss you for that…actually-" 

Furina quickly leaned in lips cradling Neuvillette's in a soft, lingering kiss. 

"I forget, I can just do that now," Furina giggled, her finger trailing along one of the long, flexible horns that most people mistook for hair. 

"I'll make it a point to remind you," Neuvillette murmured. 

"Seven days with no public appearances," Furina said, slowly rising off Neuvillette's chest and relishing the sight of his eyes and chest scales darkening at the sight of her. "What will I do with myself?"  "I'm sure you have some interesting ideas," Neuvillette said, gripping the back of her thigh under the soft, blue sheets. "I have a few suggestions as well."

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Yet another AO3 bot situation - please spread the word!

Hi, it's me again, the person who wrote that viral post about fanfiction plagiarism! Today I'm here to warn you about abuse perpetrated by bots who have stolen AO3 usernames.

There's currently an epidemic of bots going around leaving (apparently random) horrible, hateful comments on people's fics. This isn't the first time bots have invaded AO3, but the big problem with this wave is that they're using real AO3 usernames to do it.

I learned about this when another writer contacted me after receiving the following comment on their story:

Now, while that is my username, I DEFINITELY did not leave this comment (and anyone who would leave something like that on a fic should be slapped! What an awful thing to post). This fic is in a completely unrelated fandom that I have never participated in, nor has that author participated in any of my fandoms, so the probability of it being some intentional fandom drama thing to make me look bad is also low.

The writer whose fic the comment was left on enlisted the aid of some friends and tracked down other guest comments with unrelated usernames attached, which is pretty strong evidence that they are being left by bots at random.

The TL;DR: If you receive a cruel comment from a (Guest) with an actual AO3 username attached, it's most likely from a bot. Please do not lash out at or dogpile the AO3 user who owns that name, and who in all likelihood has no idea that their name has been hijacked for evil.

If finding this kind of comment on a fic, even left by a bot, is likely to upset you, I would recommend changing your comment settings so that only users who are logged in can leave comments. To do this, edit your story settings, and under "Privacy," select the radio button that says "Only registered users can comment," as shown below.

Please spread the word to other AO3 users! And if you see mean guest comments on other fics, maybe let the author know that it's probably from a bot and not a real person who thinks their writing is bad.

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What's with neuvifuri kids and ending up in hsr dude 😭😭😭

Broke: Kids from the Future

Woke: Kids from another reality

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Oh yeah that's a dracoling if I ever saw one

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Whatcha think of the HSR Neuvifuri kid? (jk, just lots of memes about it already.)

I do not HSR so the only Neuvifuri kid I'm aware of is Hugo Vlad Ravenlock

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idk how to word this properly but wrt the fanfic thing you reblogged earlier. Why do fanfic writers have such different expectations than any other content hosting platform?

Like lets take youtube as a point of comparison, Engagement like comments and likes largely exists to boost the works place in algorithm, thats why youtubers put in calls to action and other engament bait. Few with decent reach even read the comments and the audience shouldnt try to develop any weird parasocial relationship with the youtuber. Fanfic authors ask for likes (kudos, because the websites gotta use nonstandard language for some reason) and comments despite them not having any impact on an algorithm, and seem to want the audience to try and develop a relationship with the author based on tumblr posts like that one.

Why the radical difference in behaviour away from the norm? And honestly with all the (usually) metaphorical blood spilled online about parasociality why are authors really surprised that the audience tries to keep their distance as is best practice with any other content producer?

okay I am going to answer this as kindly and as calmly as I can and try to assume that you are asking this in good faith. because my friend, the fact that you feel the need to ask is, to me, The Problem.

[this is, for the record, in response to this post]

fanfiction writers are not *posting content.* (I also have reservations about engaging with the term "content producer" or "content creator" but let's put that aside for now, I'll circle back to it.) you say "they seem to want the audience to try and develop a relationship with the author" as though it is strange, off-putting, and incomprehensible to you, when in fact that is the point of writing fanfiction. it is a way of participating in fandom. it is a way of building community and exchanging ideas and becoming closer with people.

if authors wanted to solely ~generate content~ that would get them attention (?? to what end, the dynamic you have described seems to equate algorithmic supremacy as winning for winning's sake, as though all anyone wants to do is BUILD an audience without ENGAGING with them, which I cannot fathom but let's pretend for a moment that is, in fact, true) then like. if that were the case why on earth would they choose a medium in which they categorically cannot succeed and profit, because it isn't their IP?

you are equating two things that are not at all the same thing. to the degree that parasocial relationships are to be avoided, and "that person is not trying to be your friend they are trying to entertain you, please respect their boundaries" is a real dynamic -- which it is!! -- like. you have to understand that the reason that is true for the people of whom it is true is because it is their JOB. they are storytellers by profession, and they are either through direct payment, or sponsorship, or advertising, or through some other means, profiting off of your attention. i don't say this to be dismissive, many wonderful artists and actors and comedians and any number of a thousand things that i enjoy very much go this route but they do so as a *career choice.* and so when you violate the public/private boundary with them, you are presuming to know a Person rather than their Worksona. the people who work at Dropout or who stream their actual play tabletop games or who broadcast on TikTok or YouTube are inviting me to feel like i know them to the degree to which that helps them succeed in their medium and at their craft, but there MUST be a mutual understanding that that's a feeling, not a fact.

however.

a fanfiction writer is not an influencer, not a professional, and is not looking to garner "success." there is no share of audience we are trying to gain for gain's sake, because we are not competition with one another, because there is nothing to win other than the pleasure of each other's company. we are doing this for no other reason than the love of the game; because we have things we want desperately to say about these worlds, these characters, these dynamics, and because we *want more than anything to know we are not alone in our thoughts and feelings.* fanfiction is a bid for interaction, engagement, attention, and consideration. it is not meant to be consumed and then moved on from because we are NOT paid for our work, nor do we want to be. the reward we seek is "attention," but attention as in CONVERSATION, not attention as in clicks. we are not IN this for profit, or for number-go-up. there is no such thing: legally there cannot be. we are in this because we want to be seen and known.

like. please understand. i am now married to someone i met because of mutual comments on fanfiction. our close friend and roommate, with whom i have cohabitated for over a decade now, is someone I met because of mutual comments on fanfiction and livejournal posts. that is my household. beyond my household, the vast majority of my closest personal friends are people with whom I built relationships in this way.

you ask why fanfiction writers want THIS and not "the norm," but the idea of everything being built to cater to an algorithm to continue to build clout, as though the only method of reaching people is Distant Overlord Creator and Passive Receptive Audience being "the norm" is EXTREMELY NEW. this is not how it has always been!! please think of the writers of zines in a pre-internet fandom, using paper and glue and xerox to try and meet like-minded people in a world that was designed for you to only ever meet people in person, by happenstance, in your own hometown. imagine the writers of the early internet, building webrings from scratch to CREATE a community to find each other, despite distance. imagine livejournal groups, forums, and -- yes, indeed, of course -- comment threads IN STORIES -- as places where people go to *converse.* in the past, we had an entire Type Of Guy that everyone knew about, the BNF ("Big Name Fan") whose existence had to be described via meme because it was SO DIFFERENT THAN THE NORM. treating fellow fans like celebrities or people too cool for the regular kids to know was an OUTLIER, and one commonly understood to lead to toxicity.

in the past, I have likened writing fanfiction to echolocation. i am not screaming because I like hearing the sound of my own voice, though i can and do find my voice beautiful. i am screaming so that the vibrations can bounce back to me and show me the world. the purpose is in the feedback. otherwise it is just noise.

does this make any sense? can you see, when i describe it that way, why an ask like yours makes me feel despair, because it makes us all sound so horribly separate from one another?

perhaps I will try another metaphor:

a professional chef who runs a restaurant will not have her feelings hurt if you never fight your way into the kitchen to personally tell her how much you enjoyed the meal. that would, indeed, violate a boundary. professional kitchens are a place of work, and you have already showed her you enjoyed the meal by paying for it, or by perhaps spreading your enjoyment by word of mouth to your friends so they, too, can have good meals. you show your appreciation by continuing to come back. if a bunch of people sitting around randomly happen to have a conversation about how much they love the food, it wouldn't hurt that chef's feelings to not be included in the conversation. however: EVEN IN THIS INSTANCE, it is ADVISABLE AND APPROPRIATE to leave a good review! you might post about how much you like this restaurant on Yelp, and it would probably make the chef feel great to see those positive comments. but the chef doesn't NEED them, because the chef is, again, *also being paid to cook.* that's why she started the restaurant, to be paid to cook!

i am not being paid to cook.

i am at home in my own kitchen, making things for a community potluck where i hope everyone will bring something we can all enjoy together. some people at the potluck are better bakers, some better cooks; some can't cook at all but are great at logistics and make sure there's enough napkins for everyone; some people come just to enjoy the food, because that's what the party is for. and if I, as this enthusiast chef who made something from my heart for this reason alone, learned after the fact that a bunch of people got together in the parking lot to rave about my dish but no one of them had ever bothered to tell me while I sat alone at my table all night, occasionally seeing people come by to pick up a plate but never saying anything to me -- of course that would bother me, because I am not otherwise profiting off the labor I put in. this is not a bid to be paid, because if someone WERE to say "hey, great cake!! here's five bucks for a slice" i would say no, friend, that is not the point and give them the money back. i'm not trying to Get Mine. I am in it to see the look on your face. I'm in it so you can tell me what about it moved you, so that I can say back what moved me to make it in the first place. so we can TALK about it.

because what happened in the first place is this: one time I had a cake whose sweetness, richness, flavor, intensity, and composition moved me so much that I *taught myself to bake.* so I could see how much vanilla and sugar was too much, so I could learn how to make things rise instead of fall flat, so I could even better appreciate the original cake by seeing for myself the effort and talent and inspiration that goes into making one even half as good.

learning to do so is a satisfying accomplishment in and of itself, yes.

but I also did it because at the end of the day we should EAT the cake. and it's a lonely thing, to eat alone when a meal was always designed and intended to be shared.

so, to answer your last question: i'm not surprised, i'm just sad. because somehow two things that were never meant to be seen as the same have been labeled "content," and thus identical. and it diminishes both the things that ARE intended to be paid for AND the things that are not, because it removes any sense of intimacy or meaning from the work.

i hope you know i'm not mad at you for asking. but i'm frustrated we've come to live in a world where the question needs to be asked, because the answers are no longer intuitively obvious because we're so siloed.

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…wonder if “Feed Yonosuke” is code for something. With Mitsuru asking about the Quiet Room, I feel like there’s more going on there, in what way who knows. Anyways! Akesumi! Good luck with accepting the whole mess of things Goro, and good luck Sumire with trying to contact the PT’s outside of text while Goro is there.

Also jumpscare Teddie appearance. And jumpscare Velvet Room esque dreamscape appearance.

Maybe Yu has a chunky cat that makes horrible meowing noises if it goes .00001 seconds without kitty food.

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The word you are looking for is an ensemble cast. You like the ensemble cast. Not found family.

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So, what the vague, nebulous ideas for things that could be fics between the Centiennal and the Fontaine Archon Quest?

Neuvifuri role-playing and a bevy of other fun less than wholesome fics

Hearsay 2: The Hearening

Natlan But Cool

AQ setup stuff

Everything else is pretty flex

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Hi! I absolutely adore your Devil Summoner Akechi fic and was wondering if you’d be ok if I drew fanart of it (crediting and linking the fic alongside it ofc!)

Absolutely! Please do send me a link if you post it; would love to reblog it as well 👍

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The fantastic art of James Gurney

Books:

Dinotopia, A Land Apart from Time

Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist

Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter

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this is the funniest thing I’ve read in my LIFE

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Lol this is so real, this was me 2022-2023 going through stage 7 grief. But ANYway...

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📢📢📢