#its a pain to tag stuff on mobile

[crushedsweets]

Hello! I was wondering abt your stance on Ticciwork and if maybe you could draw them together in your AU? I love them a lot and your art is awesome!

-Levia

HIIII i have a feeling u r going to be very pleased on my stance.

comic staring headcanons hockey+figure skater au at the beach another comic hugged oh man...

I ENJOY THEM....... i am fond of them..... theyre pleasant to me and my brain... a lot of my stuff in my hcs and creeped tag also go on about them cuz i am an active ticciwork enjoyer. although they never end up canon in my au. heartbreaked </3

[sobuildabeautifulcity]

Your disappointment warrants a disclaimer though, otherwise you're seeding a certain sentiment a lot of trolls and shill are trying to whip up. Don't be that person who thinks writers and actors owe you endless content for less than a living wage.

i respect your opinion and you’re not strictly incorrect but… thats not my point lol & you’ve kinda proved my issue.

the main part of my thoughts was that i have an issue with, and i quote: not being able to post when you’re experiencing multiple conflicting feelings without explaining all of them without being attacked.

it’s not only about the strikes, it’s anything that someone thinks you cant have complicated emotions towards if you don’t explicitly say so. my example was about the strikes because thats the most recent thing i’ve seen, but it’s more than that. not allowing people to express only their negative feelings in their own space online, simply because it might overlap with people being dicks intentionally about it isn’t the right way to go about it. for example, saying you’re disappointed because your favourite band pushed back their album release doesn’t mean you’re not sympathetic to the fact they delayed it due to health issues, it just means you’re disappointed because you were excited about it & had planned for it happening on a specific day. you expressing that upset online shouldn’t need to involve a disclaimer, because it should be implied - until proven otherwise - that you care about your band’s wellbeing. if you send a string of posts abusing the band for postponing it, yeh, youre a dick. but if you send one which is ‘aw man this sucks so much we wont get the album’, thats not something you should associate with the people being dicks about it despite it being negative in tone.

idk, i like to assume the best of people rather than thinking they’re dicks & don’t feel a complicated way about things.

if someone expresses disappointment about their plans changing due to something, that doesn’t mean they disagree with the thing that changes their plans? it solely means they are disappointed that their expectations for the coming time period changed & to assume otherwise unless proven only makes your worldview more negative.

this… insistence that all your feelings must be explained entirely and in full in order for you to grumble about something online is exhausting, and unnecessary if you simply assume the best of people. and, quite frankly, it is why i stopped using my tumblr for anything beyond reblogging stuff until recently.

i’ll add a disclaimer here, as well as the one that’s in the tags, bc my point is being proven lol: i support pretty much all unions & their decisions to strike (us police unions are not included hence my ‘pretty much all’). i am 100% sure that the wga & sag aftra should strike & fully support them doing so, shutting down hollywood is a great way to have bargaining power. the conditions they are expected to work under are abhorrent & they need better protection. it is also absurd to say that you can’t express disappointment about things you were looking forward to being cancelled without needing to add a disclaimer that your frustration is aimed at the other side of the negotiations for not capitulating, and not at the sag members. if you are posting your feelings on your blog, you should not need to caveat those feelings. the default of people assuming the worst of others makes the world a worse place.

i have a tendency to over explain my point so that it gets across, and often that means my coherence suffers lol. please bear in mind i am cognitively disabled & severely ill.

[stripesysheaven]

.

[vigsilantes]

valentine's day (adrian chase x reader)

Pairing: Adrian Chase / Vigilante x GN Reader Summary: Adrian and the reader spend yet another Valentine's Day together. Word Count: 1.4k Tags: established relationship, reader-insert, gender-neutral pronouns, post-canon, idiots in love, comfort, fluff, drinking, domestic fluff, valentine's day

~masterlist~ | >>>(read on ao3)<<<

After a long shift at your day job, all you wanted to do when you got home was relax with Adrian and have a chill night. You were not at all up for patrolling tonight, the bad guys of Evergreen can wait a night to be caught. Work was a pain in the ass and based on your texts with Adrian through the day you could tell that he would probably be up for staying in tonight as well. Before your shift had ended you texted Adrian and told him that you would walk home from work tonight to clear your head from the messy day you just had, and to your surprise he didn’t throw a fit about not picking you up. He loves picking you up from work, but you figured he probably had a long day at the restaurant too, so it didn’t strike you as anything to worry about-or worry too much about. You then texted Adrian to let him know you were leaving work.

You: omw home :) Ade: cool beans see you soon babe!🧜🏻

With that, you threw in your headphones and listened to music on your short walk home. It only took a few minutes to get there, and as you walked down the street you saw the Vigilante-mobile parked outside of your apartment.

As you approached your door you heard music playing, you recognized it to be “Paper Rings” by Taylor Swift, you giggled knowing how much Adrian loves Miss Swift. You happily sighed because you love coming home to hear Adrian singing off-key and seeing his dorky dance moves, it will make any shitty day you’ve had a thousand times better. After turning the keys to unlock the door you found Adrian standing in the hallway holding a bouquet of roses. You noticed that the entire apartment was covered in flower petals, hearts, and candles-all of the Valentine’s Day essentials. Suddenly it hit you, you remembered today is the 14th. With your day job being insane and also working relentlessly with the 11th Street Kids, you completely lost track of the date. There was also a box of your favorite pizza and a few bottles of wine with glasses on the table, he really went all out. Your cheeks instantly grew pink, and a giant smile painted onto your face.

“Adrian??” you begin, bewildered at what he was doing. He flashed his teeth and padded over to you.

“Wow I can’t believe that I timed that out right from when you said you were coming home,” Adrian chuckled at his own timing and you couldn’t help but laugh, he straightened himself and cleared his throat, “Will you be my Valentine, my love?” he offered you the roses and wiggled his brows in anticipation. You huffed a laugh and heat ran to your cheeks, completely shocked at what he set up for you.

“I-of course, honey, it would be my honor,” you stepped in close to him, leaned onto your tippy toes and planted a kiss on his lips. He briefly pulled away and stares into your eyes, you could stare into his green eyes for a lifetime.

“Pshh no, babe, the honor is all mine!” He kissed you again, you felt intoxicated by the way he kissed you. He then motioned for you to put your stuff down and generously helped you take off your coat and put your bag in its usual spot. You kicked your shoes off and walked over to him, closing the distance between you both.

“Y’know we’ve been each other’s valentines for years now, I wasn’t expecting you to ask me and to… do all of this. It is very thoughtful, and sweet, and charming, and just… amazing, Ade,” you confessed, he took your hands.

“Yeaahhh we’ve been valentines forever now, I just wanted to do something to surprise you and to celebrate our loveeeeee,” he playfully wiggled your arms, “and to show you how cool I think you are and how you’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and I wanted us to have a super romantic night with each other and get a little wine drunk, and y’know sometimes it’s nice to be cheesy and fall into the whole heartsy-fartsy thing,” he let out a deep breath after rambling, you somehow managed to smile even more than you were before.

“You’re the best, like seriously, Ade, I love you so much,” you kissed him again. “Anddd even though I totally forgot today was Valentine’s Day, like the actual day of the holiday, I do have a gift for you that I got a few weeks ago,” his eyes lit up. You separated from him briefly to run to get his gift-it was a Beatles record that he has been looking to buy for a while, well, he had the album before, it’s one of his favorite albums ever, but it got damaged. One night a couple months ago Chris brought Eagly over to visit and Eagly was not happy to be in your small apartment, and while listening to the record Eagly spread his wings, hit the vinyl, and it got scratched from the needle. Since then, it’s been unplayable, and it’s been hard to find in any stores near you guys. Adrian was kinda pissed as it was his favorite record, but it was easy to see that Eagly felt bad afterwards because he tried hugging Adrian, which made Adrian tear up and immediately stop being mad at him.

Luckily, you managed to stumble across it at a record store a few weeks ago and you had to buy it for him, you snuck it home and hid it under your shared bed so he wouldn’t find it until the holiday. You grabbed it and shuffled over to the table where he was now sitting. With a warm grin on your face, you handed him the wrapped gift.

“OOOH,” he said eagerly, he very quickly unwrapped it and his eyes grew wide, he chuckled.

“Do you like it?” you ask, already knowing the answer, he shook his head wildly.

“Uhhh yeah! Holy shit I can’t believe you found it! Thanks, babe, we gotta listen to it right now,” you nodded your head in agreement as he paused the music from his phone and went over to the record player. He placed the needle on the record and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band began playing, Adrian started dancing over to you and singing the lyrics.

“It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play,” he bobbed his head to the beat and smiled, “Ahh fuck I missed having this album, I am so happy right now!”

“Me too,” you beamed, he sat across from you, “our minds are so similar we both had little Valentine’s Day surprises for each other!” He comically gasped at what you said.

“Woahh you are totally right, that’s insane! We are so in sync, babe, I love it,” Adrian said, he was clearly ecstatic about the record which made you very content with your purchase. “It’s almost like our cycles are synched or something, babe,” he pondered, you snorted loudly at his comment. He then reached for the wine. “Care for some vino, my love?” he asked as he opened the bottle, you nodded, and he poured glasses for you both.

You noticed the label on the wine and your heart felt warm, as this particular bottle of wine was the kind you both drank after he asked you to be in a relationship many years ago. You reflected on the time you have spent with Adrian over the years and how grateful you were to be with him.

“Cheers,” you said as you both clinked your glasses, Adrian’s eyes were literally dilating as he looked at you, you blushed-or your cheeks were still blushing, the pink never left your face since you arrived at home.

You have been with him for so many years now but the littlest things he does can still make you get butterflies or blush or just feel giddy with joy; his laugh, his eyes, how he plays with your hair, the cute nicknames he has for you, his stupid jokes, his smile, how he knows your coffee order, the way he holds your hand, just … everything.

He just makes your heart happy.

He scooched his chair next to yours, flung his arm around you, and began softly rubbing your shoulder. You both went in for a kiss, smiling in between breaths.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, honey,” you softly said in between kisses, the smiles never left your faces.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, babe. I’m so so soooo fucking happy that you’re my Valentine.”

[cane-goth]

Dylan 🪐

20, he/she, genderfluid 💫

Physically disabled with multiple conditions 🌙

Autistic (mid support needs / lvl 2) ☄️

🫧 Made this blog as a sort of journal to help me cope, process emotions and symptoms, and find posts that I relate to. Also some things that just make me happy in general. 🫧

🌕 Some stuff about me: 🌑

🪻 Loves:

Pompompurin, space, baking, hermitcraft, gothic fashion, rain

🪷 Likes:

Nature, animal crossing, bg3, the sims, writing, reading, art

🌾 About my conditions:

I won’t name the specific physical disabilities I am diagnosed with for a couple reasons, but they do cause: Severe chronic fatigue, 24/7 chronic pain when unmedicated, brain fog, heart palpitations, mobility issues, and a plethora of other things.

I’m also autistic, I’m comfortable naming that one. I’m unable to be fully independent, I struggle with a lot of basic day to day life things because of it. I also have a lot of self injurious stims and some outwardly destructive ones.

This isn’t everything but its the basics lol.

🥀 Tagging system:

Autism resources, Chronic fatigue resources, Chronic pain resources, Self care reminder, Accountability reminder, Discussion, Ugh!, <333, Art.

[bts5sosempire]

helloo(๑> <๑), can I ask app/website do you use to edit your fanfics, if it's okay with you? (I'm starting to write fanfics of my own and I couldn't find any app/website)

There are a lot, since I'm only using mobile version of the app(s) since it's more convenient for me to write on the get-go without bringing or opening my laptop all the time.

PureWriter (used to)

JotterPad (what I am currently using)

Grammarly Keyboard (what I am also currently using too)

Google Docs (used to)

Well, to start on PureWriter, I give it prolly a 7.5/10, I like the format and all, but the catalogs are a pain in the ass. Plus, you can't collapse a thread of your separate work, too, if you're writing for different stories. I hate trying to rearrange them in order so I kind of give up on that. It has a word reader to keep track of your word count and letters too. There are also constant updates on the app, so there are always new features being added, so I'm also not trying to keep up with that. I have the copy and paste thingy, as it double spaces my work and won't italicize or bold them correctly when needed.

For JotterPad, I give it an 8.5/10; it had its moment when I fought with it in the past. But there is an option for you to use the basic format, but you could also buy the add-ons if you wish. I may be biased, but I find it more convenient as you can link your account from Tumblr to JotterPad when transferring over whatever you're writing without the "copy and paste" type. Like PureWriter, it also had a word and character counter, so you can track how much you've written. It also gives you a statistics progress graph (like PureWriter, but in a different font, I guess). You can create folders (within another folder, again and again), which is a lifesaver, as I can separate my works into categories -> it almost works like a thread. I don't trust Tumblr enough to save in draft; the many times Tumblr ate my posts when I spend so many hours/days are agonizing.

Grammarly keyboard is a great way to use whatever app you use to write. Still, the hideous word recommendations are a thorn in the side at times when you're using an unfamiliar terminology or another synonymous that not the general audience knows. Like you fool, I'm trying to educate others and expand their vocabulary; let me do my sh*t. I say a solid 8/10, if for not the lagging it sometimes had. The app also had a desktop site, which I will not be talking about since I rarely use it. But if you do have your own words or terms, make sure to add them, or else this keyboard will auto-correct them for you.

Google docs, I'm sure I don't need to explain that here. No score.

But these are just my opinions, tho; you could try and see if they're to your liking or not; I'm sure there would be others who are willing to help you if they write a comment under the post or interact with you. Suppose I'm missing something or forgot to add.

Words of advice: block any porn bots on sight too, they could be liking and reblogging your stuff with a pfp of a hawt woman. So no hesitation. Also blank blogs.

Taggings: make sure to tag many things related to your content too. Thus, this will lead your content to be more exposed to others who like the stuff you put out that is related to their interest. You can check the "the tyrant" series I'm working on atm to see how the tagging(s) goes.

Taggings (tw): the "tw" stands for trigger warning, so if you happened to write any sensitive content that could potentially be in your series/ work, make sure to add them in your tagging if possible or add them at the very beginning of your list of content. Ex: tw frogs, tw cooties, or tw pink guy. If you don't put it, some people might stumble upon your work and unleash hell or politely tell you to edit and add tw to your work.

[bcneheaded]

BASICS !

NAME: Artemis NICKNAME/S: "The Keeper" / "Shopkeeper" / occasionally accepts "Artie". AGE: N/A SPECIES: Demon. fallen greek god.

PERSONAL !

MORALITY: lawful  /  chaotic  /  good  /  neutral  /  evil  /  true RELIGION: N/A SINS: greed  /  gluttony  /  sloth  /  lust  /  pride  /  envy  /  wrath VIRTUES: chastity  /  charity  /  diligence  /  humility  /  kindness  /  patience  /  justice KNOWN LANGUAGES: Many, if not most. SECRETS: He was/is the original Eros. + He has a magically sealed room with souls in stasis (not conscious) in the dungeon/basement, these are the souls of the victims of his previous, demonic rage when he emerged from hell, and the owners of the bones he wears (he hopes to free them one day... when he is ready. This requires him to relinquish the bones though. They have become a part of him in a deep way... he needs time.).

PHYSICAL !

BUILD: scrawny  /  bony  /  slender  /  fit /  athletic  /  curvy  /  herculean  /  pudgy  /  average HEIGHT: 6'0" - 6'2" SCARS / BIRTHMARKS: There are what look like permanent tear streaks, darker than his tar... like...lines? beneath where his 'eyes' are under his skull. No one knows about these. They're... a form of spiritual scar. ABILITIES / POWERS: Inhuman physical strength, agility etc. Immortality, Cannot feel pain (nor pleasure), Molten (can superheat his tar), Tendrils (can manipulate his tar, often to create many "limbs" equal to his strength), Hyper-mobility (he has these bones, but he is in reality the tar itself. hes insanely flexible), can travel quickly by traversing between this plane and the next? its like the realm of shadows & is horrendous for the human psyche. He's a demon though so hes fine jjfdgj . Can also hide in shadows! Kinda steps to the side of ''field of vision'' of the living to hide in plain sight. Can form soul contracts (does not) etctecetc. General magic usage. RESTRICTIONS: His appearance cannot be altered in any permanent way. + he isn't good at alteration magic, so any ''fake human form'' he'd use would NOT last long, especially if it had to be maintained.

FAVORITES !

FOOD: N/A DRINK: Tea, coffee, wine (he can't drink it though; its the aesthetic of it + warmth of hot beverages he likes) PIZZA TOPPING: N/A COLOR: Black, white, almost all dark colors. MUSIC GENRE: Classical, generally. BOOK GENRE: Mystery, tragedies, romantic comedies. MOVIE GENRE: Same as his book taste; prefers plays/theatre. CURSE WORD: No 'favourite' / rarely swears (he's a gentleman). "Damn"/"Damn it" if anything. Usually substitutes for old sayings though. SCENTS: Faint florals, charcoal, old books, tea, etc. (he can't smell well enough to /enjoy/ scents but these are ones that bring him comfort)

FUN STUFF !

SONGS: Oh god I don't know jfsDSFS I don't know classical songs!! he probably does have favourites he just whips out by name tho AESTHETIC: Dark colours, tailored suits & cravat ties, Victorian gothic, the smell of old books, morning newspaper and tea SINGS IN THE SHOWER: No LIKES PUNS: ... He's particular about them, but an old man at heart so yes.

tagged by: @normaltothemax (ty ! &lt;3 ) tagging: you reading this!! you, I'm tagging you!!

[deepdarkconsumption]

★BE A BOSS: OBJECTIVE COMPLETED

General Content Warning for: Violence, blood, guns, knives, smoking, drugs, alcohol, wounds, fire, possible body horror, etc.

Just another kin bastard out here.

Don't mind me. Dont worry about it lol

fyi for u 3edgy5me kids - Im an adult. fuckin. stay in ur lane and be safe bc ur only a kid once. dont make my mistakes. seriously.

➥ Myth / Wraith / some kin names work (namely Zeitgeist or Infinity) ➥ it/its or he/his ➥ 1997. so. adult. ➥ Got a memory span like a goldfish on a bad drug trip ➥ just a fuckin weird bastard tbh

other blog tags + list under the cut of who/what I was lol

Other Blog Tags

#Shit I Sent In Yo - #DeepDarkConsumption.txt

#Aes - #Art of me - #Decor - #Fashion - #Food - #Haunts - #Info - #Kinfession - #Positivity - #Self Care - #Shit to buy - #Shitposting - #Stim - #Stimboard - #vid

My Theriotypes + Otherkin (alphabetical)

➥ Black-Billed Magpie - #magpie

Having multiple 'types that had wings is a pain bc getting the feeling of astral wings doesn't HELP especially when 3 of the 4 were all feathered wings. heck-

➥ Deep Sea Monster - #dsm

A bio-luminescent catfish-gator-serpent creature. Very large/long. Rarely came up to or near the surface. If I did it was at night and usually to sink passing ships or submarines. I lurked in cave deep underwater. I used to hoard stuff from sunken ships and subs.

➥ Demon - #idt

Super unconventional demon here. Like not in the hellfire and brimstone sense - like the inter-dimensional traveler who liked fucking shit up and messing with others, to the point where it often resulted in disaster and death.

➥ Miniature Goat - #goat

➥ Yellow Mongoose - #mongoose

I do feel a strong connection to any mongoose, however.

➥ Void - #void

ohman how to explain- I was some kind of void-dweller. I can feel wings of some kind, nothing really like birds or bats or bugs, just wings? When I get anxious in a shift, I get a glitchy, staticy, spaced out feeling, in my body, in my brain, moreso than normal. It also feels very militaristic which doesn’t make sense like ??? maybe its b/c another kintype? Maybe not?

My Fictiotypes (alphabetical)

➥ Claudia Donovan - #Donovan

Warehouse 13, mostly canon compliant? I think?

Do NOT follow if shared.

Still working out if I was in an AU or not but so far, the events of the show seem fairly accurate?? IDK man memories are a bitch tbh. Should probably rewatch it again-

➥ Cut-Out - #roughnecks

Starship Troopers: Invasion, noncanon fictiotype.

Do NOT follow if this exact fictiotype is shared.

Mobile Infantry Soldier. Rico’s Roughneck’s platoon. Nick-name was Cut-Out. I remember I had screwed up somehow & getting my unit killed. I was the only one who survived. The war lasted about another decade afterwards. I was forced into training new recruits, despite my protests.

➥ Flametrooper - #Flametrooper

Star Wars sequels, noncanon/background.

Just another background flametrooper, really. All I remember is the heat of the fire, and the harsh smell of chemicals. Mostly sensory memories, nothing visual of note.

➥ Flint - #Necro

Dragonfable, noncanon fictiotype

Unsure on doubles, please ask.

I mostly used Necromancy with some Pyromancy at times. I remember a mostly dark blue and black colour scheme and I know that damn dragon was black with deep blues. Fucked if I know anything else about it.

➥ Point Blank Member - #gm

Saints Row, noncanon fictiotype.

Do NOT follow if this exact fictiotype is shared.

I didn’t really work with pimping and drug dealing, though I would escort others at times. I worked more in enforcement and similar. I wasn’t a gang boss, but I was sorta high up in the ranks. Rival gangs did not like me lol I was a vicious bastard :p

➥ Project M6, Codename: Infinity - #asset

Marvel Cinematic Universe, noncanon fictiotype.

Do NOT follow if this exact fictiotype is shared.

Originally I thought M6 was just a sona but NOPE I was wrong about a kintype oops. I absolutely did not volunteer for experiments. I was kidnapped by Hydra and they ended up experimenting on me a lot, and brainwashed to the point the only identity I had was what they gave to me. I ended up being captured by SHIELD prior to CA:TWS. This whole life was a shitshow lol

Usually at least in some form of a partial kinshift for this one. Def would say this is my strongest one. Welp.

➥ Zeitgeist - #Acid boy

Deadpool 2, mostly canon compliant?

Do NOT follow if shared

I don't recall how I died but I also don't recall much of the canon shown? So I think the outcome of X-Force was different than shown in the film. I was a bit of a jerk, and I know I didn't consider myself to be a nice person despite having a mostly chill yet chaotic vibe. I also remember smoking a lot, because it was the only thing that got the taste of that acid vomit out of my mouth.

[balamist]

Hey, it's the anon who asked about tagging the pacu video. I know some people don’t take animal abuse super seriously or don't think fish can be abused (think they can't feel pain or such) etc and didn't like, want to assume you were like me with what you'd consider abuse cause I've been told I'm oversensitive about it.

I know many snake owners f.ex don't tend to treat their animals like what I'd say you should treat other living beings like and more like a cool collectable, putting them in a small box and feeding them live animals etc.

Not saying you gave me that vibe of course but i really didn't want to like, offend somehow cause that usually just succeeds in making people angry or brushing me off. Sorry for the confusion.

(Also, it might've been a bug that the comments didn't show? Cause half or so of them(maybe 20?) are ppl being upset over the improper care)

Nah, you aren't being oversensitive about it. Keeping a pet in the environment that's not suitable for it and refusing to properly research its needs (which should be done *before* you get it, not after) = abuse, it's as simple as that.

I was just confused about being asked to just tag animal abuse instead of deleting it. I mean, abuse is abuse, regardless of how funny or cute it might look to somebody who doesn't know much about the species, their body language and health. I don't want to spread it, and i always appreciate when people let me know i accidentally did so.

(Also anyone who gets angry when they're told that something they thought was funny is actually harmful to the animal is a shitty person)

Re: the comments, it's partially the fault of the outdated mobile app. I haven't updated mine for about a year now (bc it just keeps getting worse with each update), so some stuff doesn't work right. I can't see tags or comments on reblogs, only replies, and the few that loaded (about 10 if them total?) didn't mention anything, so i figured it was safe. Lesson learned.

[ozziecore]

vent in tagz lol

[painterofhorizons]

.

[lightningrooks-blog]

rooks voice: just how fancy do i wanna make my tags

[oorumaiito]

// hi um yes i just returned from watching the bn.ha movie and uhhhh d.avid and t.oshi are boyfriends i don’t make the rules

[lynximpact]

ok we're back to regularly tagging shit on here yeehaw

[hopelesshawks]

A Deal with God

Itto x gn!Reader

I came up with this idea back during the Perilous Trails event on Genshin and turned it into a collab event with @hutaoscoffinn. This is at least a month after we said we’d post stuff but alas 🥴 anyway here it is and I hope y’all enjoy

The blog posting this is 18+ only. Any minors who try to follow will be blocked

Tags and Warnings: very character centric, slight side ship content, temporary major character death, heavy angst, hallucinations

Link to change y/n to your actual name (not mobile compatible)

General Masterlist Kofi

“Can you do me a favor?”

“Is now the time for this?”

“Tell him I’m sorry…”

“What do you— Traveler, what do you mean?”

“You know how he is so just… tell him I’m sorry and that I love him. Take care of him for me.”

“Wait, don't—!”

~ ~ ~

Itto stretches as the sun feels warm on his face, his joints popping after his nap as he wakes his body back up. 

“Ah I slept like a rock, good times…” he yawns, only to notice the grim look on Shinobu’s face as Floating Lavender Melon clings onto her. Lavender Melon’s eyes are red like she’s been crying and when he turns his gaze towards his lawyer savior her expression matches Shinobu’s in its solemnity. 

“Huh? What’re you doing? What’s going on? Why’s everyone looking at me like that?” he asks. 

He gets silence back. It’s his savior that speaks up first but even she seems a little choked up. 

“Well, uhm, first thing’s first. How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?” she asks cautiously and Itto can’t understand why everyone’s so fucking grim all of a sudden. 

“The fuck are you talking about? I’m fine! I had an epic power nap and now I feel like a million mora! I feel like I’m forgetting something though…”

He stops to think for a moment, missing the way everyone winces.

“Oh yea! Wait… Weren’t we underground? How did we get back up here? And where’s (y/n) run off to?”

He looks around the other three trying to catch a sight of you but no dice. Lavender Melon starts crying and he’s not sure what he said to offend her. 

“Hey don’t cry! What’s wrong?? Whatever it is I totally didn’t mean it! I’m just tryna figure out what’s going on!” he tries to assure her, worried he may have hurt your little friend’s feelings. You’re always telling him to play nice with Paimon. 

“It’s a long story but… Itto you should know. Traveler didn’t make it,” Yanfei explains but Itto just cocks his head to the side in confusion.

“What do you mean they didn’t make it? They were just with us when I took my nap.”

It’s Shinobu who speaks up next and the fact she doesn’t sound exasperated or teasing or any of the usual tones he hears her speak with is starting to freak him out a bit. 

“While we were trying to escape we were attacked by these red spirits. Yelan and Xiao needed to focus on powering our way out, I was carrying you, Yanfei isn’t really a fighter so… Traveler sacrificed themselves to make sure the rest of us could get out. They’re gone Boss.”

Grief seems to hang heavy in the air but Itto doesn’t understand. You know how he feels about self-sacrifice. You’d never… and anyway there’s no way some stupid little spirits would get you. You’re The Traveler! Slayer of Dragons! Ender of the Sakoku Decree! Proud co-boss of the Arataki Gang! Well… he technically never talked to you about being co-boss but he figures you just know that the title comes with the territory of dating him. Regardless!! There is absolutely no way in hell you’re gone. Everyone else must be insane if they really think that. 

“So what you’re saying is they’re still inside right?” he asks.

Everyone nods.

“Ok, then I’ll wait here.” 

“Boss…” Shinobu starts.

“What?”

“They’re not coming back.”

“They are. Just you wait, aaaany minute they’re gonna spring right up and you’ll feel SO stupid for doubting the Great Arataki Itto and his equally fantastic partner.”

“Seriously it’s… It’s not happening. We should go.”

“Oh Shinobu. Silly, silly Shinobu. This is why I’m the boss. Trust me. My baby is gonna pop up right there and you’re all gonna wish you listened to Itto and stuck around to see it because it’s going to be fucking fantastic.”

“You didn’t… you didn’t see it, Boss. I’m sorry but we should go I—”

“Nope. Staying right here.”

“They had to have fallen hundreds if not thousands of meters! Even if they survived the fall they’re stuck! Forever! Don’t you get that? They’re dead!”

“Kuki…” Yanfei cuts her off, putting a hand on her shoulder to help ground her. It’s only then Shinobu realizes she’d started trembling and Paimon has grown even more distraught. 

“Shit… sorry I… I shouldn’t have gotten so worked up,” she apologizes with a wince before turning back to Itto, “but you’re being stubborn. We can’t stay here, we need to get back to the others in Inazuma.”

“No. I’m staying here. You just don’t know (y/n) like I do,” Itto insists before stomping over to a spot on the grass some distance from the group and dropping down to sit there cross-legged, done with the conversation. 

What did they know? Shinobu only just met you and even if you knew Yanfei before, she can’t possibly know you as well as your amazing, awesome, totally attentive and caring boyfriend does. You’re going to make it out. You have to. And no way is he going to let you surface and find yourself completely alone. So he doesn’t move; even when Yanfei squeezes his shoulder as well and then walks away; even when Shinobu shakes her head and leaves with Floating Lavender Melon in tow. 

Itto stays when the sun goes down.

He stays when it comes back up again.

And the same the next day.

And the next.

And the next. 

~ ~ ~

Kuki figures Itto lasted a day before he finally realized you weren’t coming. Maybe his stubbornness kept him there for a few days. Absolute max a week. Regardless, when she touches down in Inazuma she’s fairly confident Itto is already on a boat back or at least hunting one down. In the meantime, as usual, she’ll have to keep the gang together and break the news to them. She’s not actually sure if taking Paimon with her is the best idea considering she’d only just met her, but the Arataki gang has always been about taking in strays and as frustrating as the gang’s naive optimism and overconfidence can be, that may be precisely the energy Paimon needs right now. 

It takes everything in Kuki not to wince when the gang comes rushing up to her, clearly looking for their (stupidly) fearless leader. They’re surrounding her asking questions in a moment, too quickly for her to process any of them. Paimon shrinks against her chest, a habit she’s taken too quite a bit since the chasm. 

“Ok, ok stand down guys, one at a time,” Kuki sighs. 

“Where’re boss and co-boss??” Genta asks nervously.

The boys always get this way whenever Itto leaves: antsy and anxious. Usually their concerns are unfounded so it’s easy enough to brush off, but this time well… Kuki still isn’t quite sure how to break it to them. 

“Boss is still in Liyue,” she starts cautiously, “he has business to attend to there still and Traveler… Traveler won’t be coming back.”

“What do you mean they won’t be coming back?” Akira presses.

Kuki doesn’t respond verbally. She just gives the boys a significant look and she knows they understand from the immediate aura of grief that seems to settle heavy on all their shoulders. She hates it. She hates she had to be the one to break it to them on her own; hates that Itto isn’t here with the perfectly wrong words to bring the mood back up. She doesn’t blame him for his absence but as frequently as Itto shows himself an incapable boss, it’s moments like these that remind her why he still carries the title. 

“Anyway, Paimon will be joining us for now so you idiots better behave alright? We all have to take good care of her as a member of the Arataki gang,” Kuki declares and she’s grateful that the boys all respond enthusiastically. It’ll be good for them to have something else to focus on and Kuki could use the distraction herself. She barely knew you, but she still feels your loss quite deeply. It somehow both surprises her and doesn’t. It’s odd to consider someone so important after such a short time together, but she gets the feeling that’s just the effect you had on people. After all, how else could you have befriended such varied people from all across Teyvat? Even the adeptus had looked heartbroken by your passing. 

And when it came to Itto, well… Kuki didn’t think he had any interest whatsoever in romance before you came along. It was all childish games, beetle fights, and getting into trouble until you showed up in his life. When he fell for you he fell hard. Kuki thought it was puppy love. She thought you were another hyperfixation Itto would latch onto, cause trouble for, and then move on from. But Itto’s love for you held firm and finally getting to see the two of you interact together in the chasm had shown her how wrong she was. Itto is careless by nature but she could see the way he tried so hard not to be careless with you. Perhaps you were a little too accommodating of even his dumbest ideas, sharing sympathy even when she and the others teased him for his recklessness, but Kuki didn’t miss the way he’d melt into you whenever you praised or reassured him. You didn’t let him off the hook, but you were soft with him in a way Kuki can never bring herself to be. She thinks it made for a good balance. She remembers commenting on it, how protective you seem of him sometimes, during one of those weird rest periods down in the chasm. You’d chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of your neck.

“Yeaaa… it’s a bit much isn’t it?”

“I never said that!” Kuki refuted but you shook your head to show her it was ok.

“You could say it though. I know you’re right. I know stuff rolls off his back pretty quickly. Heck I probably get more upset over stuff than he does half the time. But… he’s had a lot of people judge him, write him off, and chase him out his entire life. He hasn’t had nearly as many protecting him. So even when he doesn’t care, even when it’s not that deep, I want to be by his side. Just so he knows y’know? So he knows there’s someone there when he can’t be The Great Arataki Itto.”

Kuki isn’t entirely sure there’s ever a time when he isn’t The Great Arataki Itto but your point touched her all the same. It was reassuring knowing her boss had someone with a better head on their shoulders by his side when she couldn’t be. Archon knows no one in the rest of the gang can be that person. As it is she’ll have her hands full keeping them in control without their charismatic leader to at least direct their chaotic energy somewhere. 

Over the next few days Kuki’s time is spent corralling the gang and helping cheer up Paimon. Both tasks are all consuming and soon days turn to weeks without her even realizing it. The gang settles into a rhythm, hyperfixated on helping Paimon, who through their misguided efforts does start to smile a little more again. In fact, they settle into so much of a rhythm that Kuki doesn’t even notice that Itto should long since have returned to Inazuma from Liyue. When she does finally realize, it’s because Itto has made his triumphant return in the most Itto fashion possible:

By getting arrested.

An exasperated Kujou Sara alerts her that immediately upon arriving home, Itto attempted to break into Tenshukaku to gain audience with the Raiden Shogun herself and as a result Kuki now needs to go bail him out of jail. Again…

It’s at least reassuring he’s gone right back to his old tricks.

Except when she arrives at the prison, expecting a wide, sheepish grin and unrepentant enthusiasm, she’s instead met with a cold, eerie silence and an empty shell of her boss.

~ ~ ~  

Itto failed you. 

Asking the archon for help was his last shot and he failed you.

Tears brim in his eyes. He’s always been a cry baby hasn’t he? Shinobu teases him about it sometimes. He probably doesn’t deserve to cry over this. Not when he was knocked out when he should have been helping you fight off the spirits Shinobu spoke of. Not when he’s the only reason Shinobu couldn’t help you herself. Not when he’d just fucked up the only possible way he had to maybe get you back. He faces the wall as the tears descend, ashamed of them. He doesn’t deserve them. Doesn’t deserve to cry for you.

How many times has he been warned about being reckless? How many times has Shinobu told him his actions could lead to this very thing happening?

You were the best thing that ever happened to him and now you’re gone and there’s absolutely nothing he can do about it.

“Boss?”

Shinobu’s voice cuts through his thoughts. She must be so disappointed in him. She tried to tell him you weren’t coming and he didn’t listen and now she’s been out here running the gang alone for… he’s not sure how long. He lost track of the days after the first few. 

“I, uh, bailed you out. We’re free to go.”

Itto rises from the ground finally turning around to face her only to realize he can’t meet her eyes. Guilt and bile climb up his throat. His ancestors must be so ashamed of him. So much for oni pride. 

Shinobu hesitates as if expecting Something but Itto isn’t sure what. Another beat passes and finally she turns and starts to lead him out, occasionally checking over her shoulder as if she still can’t quite believe what she’s seeing. They step out into the hustle and bustle of Inazuma City but it feels wrong. You’re usually here waiting for him whenever Shinobu comes to bail him out. Instead there’s nothing. Shinobu just keeps walking as if there isn’t a gaping you-sized hole in the air and he follows because there’s nothing else he can do. 

He wants to cry again.

He doesn’t. 

When they reach Byakko Plain where the gang is waiting, they surround him and he thinks he hears Shinobu warn them not to crowd but it’s hard to process much of anything. As he finally lifts his gaze up, he finds he still can’t meet their eyes, especially when he notices Little Floating Lavender Melon amongst the group. Everyone talks at him at once except for Shinobu, who is trying to quiet the others, and Lavender Melon who stays silent. It all sounds like white noise to him but he can tell from their faces that they’re concerned about him. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, shores up the scattered remains of The Great Arataki Itto and sets them ablaze to give one last announcement to his gang.

“I have to go! Granny needs me! Shinobu’s in charge until I get back!”

The moment he’s made the declaration he shoves past them all to head back towards Hanamizaka, leaving the ashes of himself behind. If he’d really been thinking he would have just stopped there immediately and slinked into his granny’s house on he and Shinobu’s way out of the city, before he could be confronted with the gang. But he hadn’t been. Everything feels like a blur. He’s not even 100% sure how he’s putting one foot in front of the other. He blinks and suddenly his granny is opening the door for him at her house and for the first time in forever he feels like that lost little kid with nothing and no one that she first found all those years ago. 

Except he doesn’t have no one. He has an entire gang in fact. A gang he’s just left dumbfounded and abandoned on Byakko Plain. Yet somehow it doesn’t provide him any comfort knowing they’re there. He doesn’t know how to be who they expect him to be in a world without you in it. So instead he lets himself be a lost and lonely child, reliant on the kindness of a sweet old woman as she tucks him into the bed of his old room. 

~ ~ ~

“Thank you for the walk,” Kuki sighs appreciatively as she follows Kujou Sara around on her patrol through the city. 

“You looked like you could use it. I’m guessing you’ve been busy keeping the gang in check considering it’s been so quiet around here lately,” Sara comments as she watches her friend just as closely as she watches the streets around her. 

It’s precisely that vigilance that allows her to notice the minute tensing of Kuki’s shoulders and how her steps stutter for just a moment as they walk.

“What is it? What have they done now?” Sara insists, suddenly protective. The gang has always run Shinobu ragged and Sara hasn’t been shy about expressing her concern. She’s tried to convince the other woman to leave the gang. After all, Sara would gladly get Kuki a job working amongst the Tenryou Commission’s forces. But Kuki shakes her head with a wry smile. 

“No it’s not anything they’ve done. I almost wish it was. I at least know how to deal with that. It’s the boss. He’s been practically catatonic since I bailed him out last month. He was quiet the whole walk back and when I finally got him to the gang he made a flimsy excuse to leave and has been holed up in his grandmother’s ever since,” she explains.

There are few things that genuinely surprise Sara but hearing that the resident neighborhood nuisance has locked himself away from his merry band of misfits is certainly enough to do the job. 

“He seemed fine when I arrested him. Perhaps a bit rowdier than normal but back to his usual tricks demanding to see the Shogun. What changed?” 

“I have a theory about that…” Kuki starts and her saddened tone draws all of Sara’s focus, “you remember what I told you happened to Traveler right?”

Sara nods, her mouth pressing into a grim line. How could she forget? 

“Boss didn’t give up on them resurfacing at first. That’s why he came back after I did. He refused to leave the entrance to the chasm, kept insisting it was only a matter of time until Traveler would pop out too. I think he finally figured out there was no way they could do it on their own so if Traveler couldn’t pull it off, and an adeptus couldn’t pull it off…”

“Maybe an archon could,” Sara says, completing Kuki’s sentence for her as the other woman nods. 

“Yea… Once he failed to get help from the Shogun I think he just didn’t know what else to do. He’s not used to being completely shut down like that and I don’t think he knows what to do without Traveler.”

Sara may not be Itto’s biggest fan but she cares about Kuki. A lot. And if helping the infamous oni would lift a weight off Kuki’s shoulders then so be it. She takes a moment to gather her thoughts on the matter before finally sharing them with her friend. 

“Well maybe he had a good idea for once. I can see if I can get a message to the Shogun through official channels. After all, Traveler has done much for Inazuma. We’d be remiss to stand idly by when we could potentially save them.”

Kuki’s eyes widen as she takes a gentle hold of Sara’s arm, stopping them both on the path through town. Sara feels her heart pick up speed in her chest, blood rushing to her face at Kuki’s grateful gaze. 

“You’d seriously do that? I don’t want to cause you too much trouble, especially over the gang,” Kuki insists, although it’s impossible for her to keep the cautious optimism from her voice. 

Sara clears her throat awkwardly, unable to maintain the eye contact as she finds herself suddenly feeling sheepish. 

“O-Obviously. As I said, Traveler has done much for Inazuma and if bringing them back also makes things a bit easier on you then so be it.”

She feels Kuki squeeze her arm before it slips away and the other woman steps up next to her.

“Thank you Sara. I mean it.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I can’t guarantee it will work.”

“I know but… somehow I already feel a lot better. So thank you.” 

Sara isn’t quite sure she deserves the level of faith Kuki seems to have in this plan. After all there’s no way of knowing if the Shogun will be able to help even if she chooses to, which in and of itself is not guaranteed. Still, she won’t question it too much. Not when Kuki seems lighter than she has the entire time they’ve been walking together. 

~ ~ ~

Itto doesn’t know that he’s ever felt such guilt in his entire life.

He feels guilty for failing you.

He feels guilty for failing the gang.

He feels guilty for burdening his granny and he feels guilty for dishonoring the proud name of the Oni. 

It weighs on his chest, pinning him to the bed, and on the rare occasions he can force himself up, the weight simply shifts to his shoulders to make each step more painful than the last. He can barely move on the best of days, is completely immobilized on the worst. Every day he tries to get out of his room. Every day he fails. 

In his defense he’s made progress. The first week he didn’t even bother trying. He laid motionless in bed staring up at the ceiling, ignoring every meal his granny left at his side. Things started getting fractionally better about halfway through the second week. 

That’s when you started showing up.

Or rather… Not You. 

Not You looks like you. They sound like you. They have all the right mannerisms and quirks and features. They’re almost identical to you in every way. So much so that when they first leaned over his bed to look down at him with their eyebrows furrowed in concern, his eyes had widened, vision going blurry with unshed tears as he thought for a moment that you had returned to him; but when he reached up to caress what he thought were your cheeks, his hand passed right through Not You, dissipating the image like smoke and leaving him alone with the guilt and the grief once more.

He’s learned his lesson since then. Don’t touch. Just look and listen and Not You will stick around to encourage him to do better. He considered the idea that Not You was the work of a tanuki or perhaps the archon herself, but he eliminated that possibility when he realized he’s the only one who can see them. No, Not You wasn’t gifted to him. They are a product of his own brain: his memories and imagination combining forces to give him the only potential cure to his current state that his brain could think of.  

This time Itto makes it halfway across the room before the weight becomes too much and he has to sit down. He drops to the ground none too gracefully, chest heaving as if he’s run for kilometers on end instead of walking a meter or two at most. It’s the furthest he’s gotten so far but it’s still not nearly enough and the remainder of his room looms large ahead of him. He presses the heels of his palms to his eyes and sighs, body hunching over. 

“You did so well Big Guy,” Not You assures him from where they’re stood at his side. 

“It’s not good enough,” he fires back.

“For now it is.”

“But–”

“Itto?”

His head snaps up. The door of his room is open and Not You stands in the entryway with one hand still on the handle. His brows furrow in confusion as he snaps his head back to where he’d just heard Not You’s voice coming from only moments ago but they’re indeed gone so he returns his gaze to their new location. It’s odd. Not You doesn’t normally teleport between locations in his room anymore since it destroys the illusion and upsets him. And while Not You frequently looks at him with concern, they rarely look confused anymore. He thinks he catches sight of Shinobu and Kujou Tengu just past the doorway in the main area of Granny’s house but Not You closes the door behind themself before he can be sure. That too is odd. Not You usually can’t actually move things in his room. Maybe his… visions (calling Not You a vision sounds better than calling them a hallucination) are getting worse if he thinks Not You is actually moving things in the room now. 

Not You approaches slowly and hesitantly, sinking down towards him once they’re close. They reach out as if to touch him and he flinches back and away. A flash of hurt crosses their face the way it always does when he reacts like this, but he’s found it takes longer for the vision to return when they dissipate from his touch so he’s extra careful now. 

“You know I can’t touch you,” he rasps, his voice hoarse from how rarely he uses it nowadays. He tries to limit how much he verbally responds to Not You since Granny once caught him doing it and looked even more concerned than usual afterwards.

“Why not?” Not You asks and it draws a pained whine from his lips that reverberates through his chest, his broken heart struggling to beat. 

“You know why.”

“Explain it to me again.”

He sighs heavily and his vision blurs with the tears he refuses to let fall once more.

“Because you’re not really here… You’re not really them and the minute I touch you you’ll vanish and it takes so long for you to come back,” he admits, his voice wet as he draws his knees up so he can hide his face in them.  

But then suddenly there’s a warm hand on his back and someone takes hold of his chin oh so gently to force him to look up again. The eyes his gaze is forced to meet shine in a way Not You’s could never quite capture and when silent tears start to fall and Itto raises a cautious hand up to brush them away, the pads of his fingers meet warm skin instead of air. 

All at once it hits him. This isn’t Not You, it’s you. He doesn’t know how but it’s seriously, actually you. For real. Flesh and blood and there and he doesn’t feel like wasting time to ask questions so he doesn’t. He simply launches himself into you, his large arms wrapping around you as he sends you both crashing into the floor, pinning you beneath his weight. For the first time since he left the chasm he fully sobs. It’s not a pretty sight with tears and snot running down his face but he doesn’t care because he finally has you firmly in his grip again and all of the things that Not You could never give him are back. Your unique smell, the gentle pressure of your chest rising and falling beneath his, and the reassuring thrum of your heartbeat in his ears. 

“It’s ok Baby. I’m here. I’m right here,” you assure him and it just makes him sob harder.

But it’s good. It’s so incredibly good.

Because you’re right. It will be ok. It’ll take time for him to really believe it; for him to be able to close his eyes at night and truly believe that you won’t be gone when they open again; for him to seek out your touch and warmth without worrying you’ll vanish the moment he should make contact. 

But here you are. And he suspects he owes his second in command and the tengu warrior to thank for that considering they’re both just on the other side of the door. He’ll find a way to pay them back later (whether they want him to or not). 

For now he’ll just let himself sob against you, luxuriating in the feeling of the sweet comfort he thought he’d lost forever.

[recurring-polynya]

today i randomly watched the live action bleach movie. bleach was my first thing i was into like 10 years ago and well that was 10 years ago but now i am reading some posts to catch up (this is how i got to this blog) so i was wondering... is there anything, big or small, canon or fandom thing that is a must to know lately? :D l

Hey, welcome! The live-action Bleach movie is not, like, a masterpiece by any means, but what it does have going for it is a love of the source material, and I can definitely see it reigniting an old interest.

Hkrnnngh, what is there to know? Well, it's kind of an exciting time to be a Bleach fan, actually?

The manga finished in 2016. The ending was a little rushed (Kubo was having health issues and it was dropping in popularity), but it did end conclusively.

There are a number of light novels, including two that take place post-canon. Can't Fear Your Own World, which takes place 6mo post-canon, has a ton of lore and tells the story of Hisagi getting bankai. We Do (Knot) Always Love You is 3 years post canon and is (nominally) about Rukia and Renji's wedding but it keeps going off on these weird tangents about werewolf puppies or the Soul Society Interlibrary Loan System. Some people really enjoy these, but they are not required reading. You can buy Viz translations of CFYOW. I think WDKALY is harder to find, but there is a nice fan translation here by @missstormcaller. She translated part of CFYOW, too, but I think it was only the first few chapters. (I have not read CFYOW and am not the best person to ask about it). There are older light novels, too, I particularly like Honey Dish Rhapsody.

There's a mobile gatcha game called Bleach Brave Souls, which causes pain and anguish in all who play it. It often has very cool AU-style character designs and cute, character-driven storylines. It is very possible to enjoy BBS content without ever actually playing BBS. I strongly recommend this course of action. I have personally forbidden myself from playing BBS. There are numerous other Bleach games and I do not know anyone who plays them.

Kubo did a new short series called Burn the Witch, which was subsequently animated. It's hinted that it takes place in the same universe as Bleach, but in England/Reverse London instead of Japan/Soul Society. It is supposed to be continued, but there hasn't been much news lately (there are a lot of issues in the anime industry right now because of the pandemic and other labor concerns)

There was a new manga one-shot, No Breaths from Hell, that came out in August. We all thought it was going to be some li'l Shinigami's Cup, slice-of-life type thing, and then it turned out to be (what looks like) a set up for a new, post-epilogue arc. Kubo has cheekily denied that there will be more, but he also put out new designs for all the captains and lieutenants and designed two new lieutenants, so most people are pretty sure that was a joke. The one shot been on-and-off available on Viz's website.

There was a big Bleach Expo in Japan in December. Kubo made a ton of new drawings and there was new merch and it looked like a fun time!

They announced a while ago that the final arc of the manga, the Thousand Year Blood War was going to be animated. There was a superstage at December's Jump Festa where they announced it would be coming out in October of 2022, and released a trailer.

I am not that up on things like DVDs and manga releases, but it seems like Viz is always dropping new editions of stuff, including Blu-Rays of the original series.

Fandom stuff!

The Bleach fandom is not really what I would call coherent. There are a lot of subfractions that do not get along with each other, so wherever you go, it is important to curate your experience. I find Tumblr a pretty nice place to be, and its tagging function works very well for seeing only what you want, but it's also pretty quiet here. Twitter is much more active, but someone has an absolute ice cold take about every thirty seconds, and people will say extremely mean stuff, and Twitter's algorithm will actively show you stuff you hate to incite drama, so block liberally, it's nicer for everyone actually! If you're interested in more of the industry news, you should probably be on Twitter, but it does filter over here eventually.

Mostly, people tend to cluster around particular characters/groups of characters/ships and make friends that way. Some groups have more private Discord servers or group chats. It's a pretty quiet fandom overall, so sometimes you get bizarre alliances between devotees of various characters/ships. People always talk about how vitriolic shippers are, but I avoid getting dragged into debates and no one has ever tried to start shit with me (knock on wood).

There are a lot of incredibly talented fanartists, but people are also very welcoming to newbie artists. I don't feel like fanfic is as big a part as the fandom (like there are a lot fewer writers, and a lot of people don't read it at all), but there is some incredibly good fanfic out there, and new fanficcers are always welcome.

I hope that helps! It's a bit of a dead (lol) fandom at the moment, but it has been a pleasant and reliable source of serotonin my life for the last three years, and with the anime coming back, I am optimistic that it may pick up in the next year. If you would like any more specific recommendations, let me know what sort of stuff you're interested in and I'll do my best!