#both are posted here on tumblr if you don't wanna go off site to read

[marty-parties]

Happy September 15th! Which, if you didn't know, is 'leave a comment day.' I could be wrong though, since my source is a poll i took on my other blog - either way, i've come up with a fun idea.

In honour of ‘leave a comment day’ i’ve made a list of all of my favourite fanfics/authors that I can think of atm, and I wanna leave a nice little note about them and their work! This isn’t in any particular order, tbh it’s mostly me going through my AO3 bookmarks and re-reading all of my fav fanfic, haha. 

I honestly had no idea 'leave a comment day’ was a thing, and if you didn’t either, show your favourite authors that you appreciate them! Anything from a heart emoji, or a key smash, or an insightful/heartfelt comment will do wonders in terms of showing/being appreciated.

A lot of these fics below have influenced me in some way, big or small, into how/what I write today. I guess I wanted to give thanks where I could. (It’s also just really sick to make a doc full of your favourite things,and I highly implore you to do it too, even if you don’t wanna post it. (That's totally fair, no pressure.) I keep going over in my mind what I like about each fic and ‘oh, this fic is different from that, but it’s still fantastic, oh and this fic, too,’ etc. it’s such a fun little snowball effect of positivity, i definitely recommend you do this if you have time and need a pick me up, haha.)

Little note, here, If you’ve seen that I’ve read your fic, but found you’re not on the list - it’s not that I don’t like you/or work! I probably very well did enjoy it! I found as I was making this list it was taking a lot of my free time. (Free time that i’d rather like to use writing or reading more, haha.) And, I feel like this list is already so wickedly long ‘cause I can't shut my mouth to save my life, to add more might be a little bit much to read all in one go. 😅

So, please don’t be upset if that’s the case! ily *mwah* 

Also, there’s a few nsfw fics mention at the end, so if you’re a minor, pls buzz off,  that content isn’t for you! I also recommend you check the links on some of these fics. I think I’ve included warnings where I think they’re due, but you know yourself better than i do. And, who knows, I might’ve accidentally missed a tag or two - So, please take care of yourself out there! 

You’ll notice i’ve either included a source for either the authors tumbr, or AO3. I originally was going to try and do both, but i lost steam. Each story is linked to their author, on some site, promise. 

Last thing, most of these fics are in the undertale fandom, tbh. It’s been my ride or die since highschool, so i’ve got a lot of love and things to say. You won’t find any frans or foncest here, i’m a reader insert girlie, simply put, and I don't care much for those tags on the fics i read. 

Quick legend here:

Complete = complete work

Ongoing = still updating / i think they’re still update

Incomplete = either hiatus, or just incomplete

So, without further ado- 

 Road Side Attraction (Ongoing, teen+ rating) and Dirty Laundry (Complete, teen+ rating)

By Popatochisp  (AO3) / popattochisp (Tumbr)

I’m going to be grouping together fics by author. Usually when I find one I really like, i really lurk around their tumblr/AO3 for others, haha.

–AND because I can’t think of one fic without the other. I find myself going back to read them both quite frequently, usually on rotation,  they’re my little bedtime stories i keep on repeat in my mind, lol. 

I mean, if you’re in the undertale fandom how can you not know about pop? For me, them (and luluwrites, among a few others i can’t remember rn,) –were really impactful to me growing up, as I think it was to a lot of people. (Tbh they’re still impactful, actually. I find myself going back even pretty often to read the same fics I read in high school.) They’re like the one piece of media you read in English class in high school that sticks with you throughout your adult life. (Looking at you, monkey’s paw.)

Pop has like 1,000 different au’s to choose from, all with fantastic and deep characterizations and lore.( I don’t know how they do it, i’m only writing a/b ONE skeleton rn, and i feel like a hamster on a wheel trying to get his characterization right.  I couldn’t imagine doing that for every single au they have. God damn.) 

I especially love Roadside Attraction, because of how easily i can relate to it? I’m deep in the sticks, a town more populated by livestock and people. When I read this, I can really put myself i MC’s shoes - b/c i’ve been there! (Hah, maybe not the dating skeletons part, granted, lol.) But it’s such a fantastic read, I love any and all media that has a vibe that it could take place in like a   rural Montana. (think scenes in Twilight. Tall spruce/pine trees, misty morning, the possibility of seeing bigfoot, that sorta thing.) 

And Dirty Laundry? Come on, dude. What a love letter to the swapfell universe, truly. If you haven't read it, you gotta. The world building, and the changing POV’s are so damn good, that every chapter feels crisp, and like you’ve got a really good inside scoop of each character. You can’t knock the characterization in this one, fellas. All the dynamics are so dead on - how Sans and Papyrus interact, how Sans and Alphys – dude, even how Sans and Toriel interact read so deeply in character. Everyone’s motives and ideas make sense to each character and the conflict that it  brings. Big fan. 10/10, will definitely read again and again. (There’s also a ‘Menswear addition, where the reader has he/him pronouns if that’s your cup of tea!) 

Bones Picked Clean (Incomplete, teen+ rating) and) Apéritifs (Ongoing, Mature rating)

By Skelezbian (tumblr) / luluwrites (on AO3)

Woof, where do I start?? I think Bones Picked Clean is another one of the first fics I remember being a really impactful piece of undertale fanwork that stuck with me. I know they’re not the one who created the whole ‘lodge’ scenario, (if you know, you know. Thank you @Tyrant_Tortoise, we’ll be seeing you next,) but they put a spin on it that is so interesting to see. The problems feel very realistic, like something that can easily happen in a house full of busy bodies with not enough communication. And, ohmygod the MC. My first love, truly. You get to see each set of skeleton brother’s, and watch how MC’s befriends them all. Granted, they have a track record of putting themselves in dangerous situations, for reasons revealed in the fic, but they’ve got a heart of gold, and a PHD in being a sweetheart.

The horrortale boys really shine here. I haven’t read much horrortale centric fanfics, but I really like the soft horrorale’ spin. The healing after the damage, the sunshine after the storm, watching the fauna overgrow, etc. I love watching characters grow when love is shown, and here, you can really see it here. I love domesticity, and using food as a love language– which is something this fic has in spades!

(I also love love swapfell characterization in this fic, chapter 13 does a REALLY good job of walking you through the mindspace of sf pap. But in terms of favourties, i’d have to say that would be Chapter 18. You get to see sf pap’s relationship with his brother!  You really see/understand their dynamic, and how they really act as brothers behind closed doors. The other reason it’s a favourite is the inherit domesticity! Maybe I’m a sucker for the normie, slice of life, but how MC and sans chit chat at the start of the chapter is so cute! )

Warning: mention of past cannibalism, past murder, past abuse? I think that’s it, maybe check the tags to be sure. They sound scary, but I promise it’s a very sweet story. 

Ohh, Apéritifs. First of all, what a clever name! I’m a sucker for word play, and this title alone really did it for me, haha. (if you don’t get it, please google ‘define Apéritifs’, and you’ll be just as jazzed as me.)  They’re three stand alone one-shots featuring a  different skeleton each chapter. I will say, I think chapter 3 is my fav. It’s actually heavily inspired me to make one of my one shots - it’s that good! I love the world building in it, as well. Really, you can’t go wrong. (Lulu really knows how to nail flirty dialogue, in very funny ways. ‘“so, you a fan of spare ribs, or just mine?”’ (ch. 3 – Apéritifs) KILLS ME, oh my god, what a funny flirty little one-liner. 

Skeleton Squatters and The LandLady (Incomplete, teen+ rating)

By Tyrant_Tortoise (AO3) tyranttortoise (Tumblr)

Man– SSLL walked so we all could run. The amount of ‘lodge’ type fanfic dynamic i’ve seen, BECAUSE of this fic is wild. I might be wrong in saying this, but I think they were the one who came up with the whole ‘lodge’ type scenario, like all the reverse harems with all the au’s. 

I haven’t read anything of theirs in a long time, but I wanna pay my respects where respects are due. Tyrant made one hell of an influential fanfic, enough so, that I’m pretty sure if I had a timeline of fandom evolution on undertale alone– I think there would be a noticeable difference in the before and after SSLL.  Which, is so sick!! To have influenced a whole fandom with a concept that we’re still seeing it years later? (I get that trends sorta tend to last longer in fandoms than they do irl, but isn’t that such a neat thing to think about?) 

I’m going to age myself (and maybe you, reading this a bit, but–) the first chapter was posted in 2017. 2017! Isn’t that nuts to think about? I was literally 17 at the time. No WONDER it stuck with me, my teenage brain was looking for all the  serotonin it could get from fandoms.  (wow. Things haven't changed all that much for me, haha. 

Skeleton Ex Machina (Incomplete, teen+ rating)

By Cryptid_jack (AO3)

Ohh, okay, for all the SSLL fans out there, you probably already know who cryptid_jack is. And if not, I'll gladly tell you!

They’ve made this cool ass AI AU (it’s a LOT cooler than it sounds, I promise!) in their words, ‘a fanfic of a fanfic’ that’s actually in Skeleton Squatters and The LandLady (see above.) I’d recommend reading SSLL to fully understand this - although, if you’re good at picking up context clues, or maybe don’t mind missing some context, I don’t necessarily think you’d have to, since jack does a really good job of showing the reader everything that’s going on. (although, i really  recommend you do.)

I think this au is so cool, it’s literally tagged as ‘Quarantine Sans’ (which, i’ll be the first to say, that maybe that name didn’t hold up too well, with recent 2020 events, an’ all that. Pandemic aside, it’s a cool name for an AU!) 

It’s also really fun to see two friends in the fandom interact with each other's works like this. Even reading the note at the start of the fic, you can just feel the camaraderie and care that went into paying each other's proper respects. 

Big big ups, hats off to proper manners and friendship!

All’s Fair In Love and (Prank) War (Incomplete, teen+ rating)

By torrikor (AO3)

Ohh, this is a short and sweet 2 chapter read. I don’t the author is going to circle back to it, but i suggest you read it anyways! the idea is so so good! In essence, MC and sf sans are roommates, and MC starts a prank war. I love love love their dynamic, their bickering is a real treat to read, that, coupled with their size difference? Sign me up!

My Favorite Thing (Complete, teen+ rating) and A Conversation Starter ( Complete, teen+ rating) 

By peachwhimzy (AO3) peachwhimzy-things (Tumblr)

I’m a slut for their characterization of sf pap here, oh my god. Both are so so good, and i know  i must sound like a broken record by saying I love how this author interpreted his character - but i can’t help it! So many people have good ideas and ways to showcase a character! Sue me.  

A Conversation Starter is another one that’s inspired me to write a little one-shot. It’s so fantastically written, sf Papyrus and MC are at a bus station, both the first human and monster either have met. The world building is subtle, but wonderfully done. MC is so damn cute in this, and so is Papyrus, who’s really just trying to keep the conversation going, lol. There’s a delightful slice of life aspect to this. 

Honestly, a lot of of Peach’s work feel very domestic, and sweet, and romantic. Sorta like i’m reading a studio Ghibli movie. Do yourself a favour and go check em out!

Late Night Shift Romance (Complete, teen+ rating)

By Inumaru12 (AO3)

The one fic on here that’s not a romance,how about that. (I guess that’s not technically true. There's possibly something budding, if you squint. I always read it as platonic friendship- it’s fanfic! Read it with whatever context you’d like!)

Burgerpants and MC are at the same convenient store late at night, and there’s a robbery. Friendship ensues. I love seeing the background character of undertale, and honestly, who doesn't relate to Burgerpants? Perpetually working shitty minimum wage jobs, trying to chase his dreams - that’s rough. I appreciate a character who can give a nod to class solidarity.. I think Inmuaru12 did so well writing his character, it feels like he was plucked out of the game himself, haha. 

My Dearly Detested Delivery Man, (Complete, teen+ rating) and Black Coffee (Complete, general audiences rating) 

By Little_old_lady (AO3)

Lol yet another set of swap fics, haha. (Yet another great example of different interpretations of the swapfell au!)

My Dearly Detested Delivery man is so  fun, I love an ‘enemies to friends to lovers’ type of fic. I love the dialogue, it’s so funny! Like almost sitcom-esk with how good the one liners are. I think my favourite thing about writing fanfic is the dialogue- but reading what other authors have cooked up is such a treat, too. I love seeing authors with a certain brand of wit/cleverness they think the character would have, and seeing their own comedy bleed through, too sometimes. Little_old_lady does a good job showing the reader what you can gleam from the characters with how they talk to each other, in a way that sets the tone for their relationship. (whether it’s platonic, romantic, etc.)  There’s so many ways you can show friendship, but I think the “passion” (lmao I don’t know what else to call it!)  that’s at the heart of any argument is what can create the difference between friends arguing, vs two people who could be more. (Better put, I think what I like about two characters arguing is the sorta obvious chemistry it can create.) 

Black Coffee does a good job about that too! I’ll be the first and last to say that I love any characters whose love language is ‘argue’ (lol even though irl I wouldn’t last long in any relationship like that, haha. ) I can be hit or miss with a soulmate au, but there’s another layer that I think undertale adds another level to in a soulmate au-since the game established that monsters and magic are real— that it almost feels a little more plausible of an au, than say, a soulmate AU of parks and rec? (no hate on the au or parks and rec, haha. I guess it just feels more “realistic” being that undertale is already a world made of magic, that magical soulmates, is one more step into weird that also makes sense?) I also love the bro-ship mc has with pap, in this one. Coming from someone who’s constantly worked retail/with customers one-on-one, somedays you want to go ape shit, so it’s nice to see an MC who can.

Half Your Age Plus Seven (Complete, teen+ rating) 

By KassyKins

Ohhh, what a little treat this was to read. Tragedy! Romance! Love-rivalry! (NOT a love triangle!) People just Trying to do their best, they’ve got it all! This is another MC i’m in love with. They know what they love, and what they’re passionate about, but when push comes to shove, they’ll choose their family over themselves every single time. I think it’s a very admirable trait to have, integrity, and the ability to self-sacrifice.  I think those two tropes/characteristics can really lead a story in so many interesting directions - weather it be an MC who’s too self-sacrificing, giving parts of themselves to everyone, leaving nothing for themselves, or an MC who’s pushing themselves through the ringer trying to do what they think is right according to their integrity, burning them up in the process.  In this particular case, it’s maybe a little bit of both, coupled with (sad) a slice of life meet cute, with a healthy dose of growing pains. 

There’s something about it that always hits extra hard to me, the ‘thrust into the lime light, or power, or a position they have no business being in. But, they’ve got people on the line, their people to take care of, so by god they’ll try.’ There’s something so tragic and poetic about it – but who knows, maybe I'm waxing poetic about the eldest daughter trope. 

This fic really nicely written, and there’s so many fun hijinks and shenanigans in there to make you chuckle. Featuring another MC who’s able to shout at their boss and get away with it- big ups from me, lets goooooo working class!

Fair warning, this is a notable age gap from MC and swapfell gold sans. It is talked about in the story as well. I personally don’t mind it too much, but if that’s a no-go from you, you’ve been warned. (Maybe just check the tags on this one, (spoilers!) I know someone gets pregnant later. But, I know that can freak some folks out, so, heads up.) 

There’s some smut mentioned, but it doesn’t go into detail about it, so i’ll leave it above the NSFW section. Just fair warning! (Maybe not a story for minors? I don’t know, read at your own discretion if you are?) 

For the smut mention, be warned that I couldn’t find any age in their bio, do with that what you will. 

And Now It’s Crystal Clear(Complete, teen+ rating)

By nighttimelights (AO3)

Oh, man. What another banger read. 

Fun fact- i read this in . . . highschool? But i forgot the name of the fic,and it took me FOREVER, im talking YEARS before I found it again. I actually gave up the hunt, and just found it again one day– what an utter joy that was for me to rediscover it. I felt like I ran into my highschool sweetheart at the grocery store after not thinking about them in years. 

It’s really cool concept on the whole ‘machine gaster’ situation. I respect someone so damn much who incorporates a bit of sci-sfi in their fics, I have no idea how to write it, but I love to read it/see it in media. So to see it, and understand it, and how it’s relevant to the plot is a real treat!

I also love the ending.  :)

Wish Bone (Ongoing, Explicit rating)

By timeofjuly

I could not, in good conscience make this list without including my bestie, the OG and probably the reason why I'm actually posting what I'm writing today. I really can’t sing their praises high enough – but for the sake of comment day, I sure can try, haha.

July really does a good job of creating a wicked atmosphere in her works. The stark difference between Wish Bone (a political romance drama) and Resisting the Currents (reverse harem, but the gf likes you too. It's linked in the nsfw section, please check it out if you can.) is so incredible – they’re really an author that can do both, haha. Even though both fics are so different, what they have in common is their ability to get you right in your feelings, in whichever way the story calls for. 

In Wishbone  – Flint (the MC) has a bad case of being a massive asshole, that’s verging on becoming chronic. Their paranoia has caused their head to permanently be a swivel, and they’ve developed a taste for their own brand of Justice (however malicious as it is.)  That sounds like the start of a vigilante story, but in all truth, Flint is a dick. Which, is another thing July is great at! Writing MC’s who are assholes! You love to hate them, you hate that you love them! 

This is a MC x sf Pap, and later X sf Sans as well, If you’re hoping for a sappy romance, you’ve come to the wrong place. This is a reluctant soulmate AU fic, a fantastic spin on the traditionally very romantic au, a meet ugly, sort of vibe. If you love arguing, political drama, fantastic world building, and a very, sad, broken MC – you’re going to love this. Hell, even if how I described it doesn’t sound appealing to you – I implore you to check it out anyways. July will absolutely knock you on your ass with her writing. By god, there’s themes, motifs and symbolism that I'm not smart enough to analyse, let alone talk about. Whether July intentionally put them there or not, I have no idea, but they’re there and it adds another layer of depth in a delightfully, painful soul crushing way. 

Go, see what I mean for yourself! 

Tbh, i feel like I could go on forever about what I love about their fics, and my little personal theories on them – but I feel like I already look pretty unhinged. For the sake of my ego, i’ve gotta move on. 

In terms of warnings, I think I sorta covered them? There's Plenty of anger, and hatred, ummm monster phobia? There might be some sorta nsfw stuff down the line, thus the rating, but as it stands now it’s smut free! Just a heads up, I suppose. 

 In Two weeks time and Red is my favorite color

By who_wants_a_muffin (AO3) 

My other current ongoing fav, in two weeks time! Another swapfell sans one, to the surprise of absolute of no one, haha. 

This MC is a dude! A man! Which is a refreshing change up, I don’t think there’s many many fics out there with a male leaning/male dominant MC’s. The characterization of MC is very good, 

is so so good, it’s and X sf sans, and he’s got the exact right amount of snark and sass to keep you coming back, haha. (Or, I guess in this case, he keeps coming back. MC works at the pool he frequents.) Their banter is really fun to read, bordering on bickering, really. They’re almost like a little old married couple, haha. Which is to say, you can really feel the chemistry they have even though they’re basically strangers. 

sf Papyrus is such a little shit in this one, i love it. He’s perpetually the youngest brother, and how Muffin writes him is so snarky and funny, and very endearing. 

The chapters are short and sweet, enough so that you can read it a few times in the same day and still enjoy it, even though his updating schedule is crazy fast! I don’t know how he does it, but they’re just motoring along, haha. I get excited whenever I get an email saying Muffin updated. It’s like a little treat to brighten your week.

I’ve been reading a bit of his other stuff, and he just gets it! Like the dynamic between MC and fell sans in Red in my favorite color, is just perfect. I love the soft!underfell au, and he does a really good job of capturing how underfell sans straddles the line between being a bad boy, and a boy that's not all that bad.

I also love the notes he writes, ‘Hello gays and other assorted sillies!’ (from Chapter 2 in Red in my favorite color,) Like COME ON, that’s so funny! 

– Undertale related 

Bonley Hearts Club (Demo available, Ongoing, teen+ rating) 

Bonely Hearts Club (tumblr) 

owl-bones (tumblr) is the Developer and Director and (self proclaimed! I’m not being mean!) Lead Nerd.  Here is a link to their cast, although it might not be fully updated. (It’s  \a big one, so I'm going to leave it as a link.) 

I don’t even know how to begin to explain my love for Bonely Hearts Club. It’s a fanmade game, made entirely of love, which you can tell, even before you play it. The sprites are so cute, and fantastic, and the writing is so in character and on point, do not get me started on the voice acting - which is also incredible. I’m not kidding, when I first played the demo, I immediately followed the voice actors on tumblr after, haha. 

This is the kinda piece of art that you just stand back and look at it, and just go ‘wow’. It’s such a big undertaking! I know very little about game development, but from what i vault remember from my comp sci class - is that is’s hard. Mad respect from me to Owl, and everyone a part of the team/process. 

This is off topic, but I wonder if Toby Fox has read any of these fics, or played the demo of this dating sim, like in the same way Alex Hursh has played a bit of Swooning Over Stans: A Grunkle Dating Sim. I’d pay serious money to have Toby play the dating sim demo. God, could you imagine the energy in that livestream? It would be goddamn electric.

[ Soul Redacted ] (Completed, teen rating) and The Great Noodle Jape (Completed, teen rating) 

By nighttimepixels (game jolt) nighttimepixels (tumblr) 

// active twitter lethalhoopla  

//active tumblr lethalhoopla

Good god, talk about a . . .what, triple, quadruple threat? There’s nothing nighttimepixels can’t do. They write, they make art, they’ve made two complete games, (and the beginning of another,) and they animate!! Like oh my god! Another love letter to the fandom, everything they do is so so good. 

[Soul Redacted] is a very cool rpg sidescroller explorer/mystery, and i’d say a touche of sci-fi in there, too. It has fantastic writing, and features Q! (from Cryptid_jack au, in Skeleton Squatters and The LandLady fromTyrant_Tortoise  fic! see above for all!) Truth be told, I got a little scared playing this. Granted, I played it at like 2 am in the dark - and I am a coward lol. I don’t think the average person will get scared, but fair warning anyways, haha. 

They’re not into the undertale fandom anymore, I don't think. Which is sad to hear, but also understandable. It’s not fun making art and other creations if you’ve lost that spark there. However, if you’re a mass effect fan, they’re making a bunch of art on their other bog. I personally really love their art style, so i’ll gladly keep checking back. Also, there’s so much undertale content on their blog that you’ll be good for a long while. And if not, you can always go back and look again! If you can’t experience it for the first time, the next best thing is to experience it again. 

Warning: I think there’s some flashing lights at some point? Maybe double check the tags on that one if that’s a concern for you. 

The Great Noodle Jape is so damn cute. As night put it, ‘a visnov style silly whodunit’, which I think it captures it perfectly. The writing is so fun, all the characters feel very well written/in character, and i love how they all interact with each other. As well, the sprites are so fantastic! Night has that kind of art style where you just know it's theirs without needing to confirm. 

No warnings that I could think of, other than you’ll be wishing for the experience of playing it for the first time once you’re done.

– non-Undertale related fics - 

Cult of the Lamb—

The Rehabilitation of Death 

By bamsara (AO3) / bamsara (Tumblr)

WOOF. I am an ‘happy ending angst’ lover, and a ‘energies to lovers slow burn,’ and this fic takes the cake on both regards. Truly, who could pine better than a god, who’s named literally ‘The One Who Waits’? What an aptly named character for one of the major troupes in the fic, haha.

But for all you freaks out there (lol me) who don’t mind horror some of the time, I recommend reading it! Even if you’re not into CoTL, the pining is so goddamn good! (Considering it’s about gods, they’ve been pining for hundreds of years without even knowing it–  the slowest of burns, like oh my GOD.) Bam also is known to post longer chapters- so if you like a read that lasts a couple days, PLEASE do yourself a favour and check it out. I don’t wanna spoil anything, but they’re getting to the part where the main couple is starting to be nice to each other, plus, the subplot B couple is starting to sorta shack up too. There are so many good, funny dynamics that are in this fic, that I don’t have enough words to properly explain them. 

They also make fantastic artwork and sketches for just about each scene in their fics - which for all you visual girlies out there (myself, haha.) I think you’d appreciate it! I wish I was that type of triple threat, but I think i’d burn out too quickly if I was also drawing scenes of my fics – which is why I think it’s so impressive when other authors/artists do it! 

 They do art streams pretty frequently, too, and they make stickers too! A true triple threat, 

Just, fair warning-  like Cult of the Lamb (the game the fic is based off,)  this fic mentions a lot about gore, and death, and mention of cults and religion. So if any of that is a turn off, or something you don’t like to read about, this might not be your cup of tea. 

Non-fanfic Undertale fandom related material– 

FNAF—

Solar Lunacy (Incomplete, Mature)

By BamSara

(I kept these two separate on the account they’re different fandoms, lol) 

I was very briefly into the FNAF fandom, I only read a handful of fics— but Solar Lunacy really stuck with me!

Robots with trauma! An overly curious MC! I think what I like most about this, is how driven mc is? Usually it gets them into trouble, haha, but I love that troupe where the MC really puts themselves through the wringer looking for answers. (I.e like ford and bill from gravity falls.)  

What’s not to love? For all you robot fans out there, it’s pretty sick! I’m sure if you dig deep enough on Bam’s tumblr you’ll find all their old DCA fanart, and draw parts from this fic. 

Fair warning! Scary robots, the regular tags of the fnaf fandom (past child abuse/past child murder), robots don’t understand boundaries, maybe check the tags on this one, just in case. 

Sleuth Jesters (Series!) (Complete, teen+ and mature ratings, depending on which fic in the series you’re reading.)

By naffeclipse (AO3)

This was the other FNAF fanfic that really stuck with me when I had the robot bug. (lol)  I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m not overly into the whole ‘mafia boss’ side of self-ships, but if I had to choose one to read for the rest of time –  it would definitely be this one. It’s like a detective noir, where mc is the vigilante who’s only law they follow is their grey moral code - but usually it’s for the good! So you can’t really feel to bad about that, haha. 

Tbh it’s almost hard to verbalise what I like about it, it’s one of those fics that give you a feeling you can’t name, and it’s so frustrating to have this unnamed feeling you can’t quite pinpoint! (PLEASE tell me some of ya’ll know what i’m talking about!)

I feel so tragically for the MC, if that makes sense? They’re constantly putting themselves in harm's way for answers, and for others.  They’re selfless, yet selfish, and they never let anyone too close, except for when they do. There’s some heavy themes and very toxic relationships, but there’s a happy ending! 

Ahh warning for a very possessive, toxic robot, and kidnapping in later fics - i suggest you read the tags just in case! Bam is really good at tagging triggers accordingly, 

Fair warning: blood and injury, very possessive character, toxic relationships (one sided), mention of injury, violence, kidnapping, guns, gunshot  wounds, shootouts, broken bone- probably some more. I recommend checking the tags on this one as well, just to be on the safe side. 

NSFW Below – Minors get out of here pls!

A quick mention, before I get into this–

I tried to check and make sure all the authors below are all well over 18, i’ve indicated which link has their age posted in their bio’s if you’d like to check for yourself. If I couldn’t find it, I made sure to be clear that I don't know. 

Just doing some light housekeeping, here. You should also check the tags on each fic for what kinda . . . stuff it has, lol. 

Play With Me (Incomplete, explicit rating) 

By grimrester (AO3) / grimrester  (tumblr/ age in bio here.) 

Oh my god. Oh my god! For all you queers on the ace/aromatic spectrum just like me, this is the fic for you!

I could easily go back and read this again and again - tbh I already do. It’s plot with porn, and then it turns into porn with plot, but emotional!  love the relationship between MC and Sans. There's something about their intimacy that’s so casual (maybe not the right word for what I mean,) but vulnerable, and realistic, but very enthusiastic and personal? I don’t think I even have the right words to properly and fully describe what all I like about this fic, but what I do know is that I like it a lot, haha. 

I like that it shows sex and intimacy in a different way. I know it’s pretty common for undertale smut to have some kind of ecto junk involved - this one doesn’t. I personally, like the creativity involved in thinking different ways a person can get off that isn’t just penetration. (Don’t get me wrong, that’s in here too, but that comes a little bit later.) 

I’m also s Big Fan of the sf sans interpretation here. It’s like a soft swapfell, one of my favourite version of him. I said it already, but there’s so many ways a person can go with his character, and I really really like the worldbuilding. It’s a nice subtle nod told through the characters. I love his relationship he has with Alphys, it all feels so incredibly in line with the character, even though he’s a swapfell version, he still does have some sort of friendship with her – even if to him it’s under a guise. To me, it’s one of those things that you can see the core traits that make him a sans, and that’s a hard needle to thread! Just an all around great character study. 

ALSO, I think I have a particular penchant for MC’s with oddly specific niche jobs?? In my heart of hearts, Pixy’s (the name of the arcade MC owns in Play with Me) is like right next door to Faunas (the name of the pot store my MC owns in Into The Weeds.) 

Warnings: i’m pretty sure this one is tagged accordingly on AO3, so i’m not going to tag it all here, just know there’s smut. 

Something Good (Ongoing, Mature) 

By skeletonlvr22 (AO3)

WARNING: No age in bio that I could find. This fic isn’t at the smut yet - but becuase of the 'eventual smut' tag, and for the sake of transparency, i’m letting you know. (I’m like 90% sure this person is an adult though, since there’s a tag thanking their husband for their help.) Do what you will with this info, you’ve been warned. 

This is another one of my current reading obsessions lately! 

I think i’m realizing I have a particular penchant for some of the lesser known au’s? (niche, I suppose?) Fellswap Gold Pap sets out on his own in only his trusty bus, to explore the surface above, away from the (over-) protective eyes of his brother. 

This is the escape fantasy of my dreams. A stray skeleton on the adventure of his lifetime, seeing the sights and the city lights. The romance portion in the later chapters is so damn cute too, it’s very much the ‘first love’, type of romance that’s very sweet and charming. (also, c’mon, who doesn't love a coming of age story?) Love love seeing a Fellswap Gold fic, and a Papyrus based one, too! People are so damn creative, I never would've ever thought of this plot for a fic, but now that I know it’s real, I love it!I I’m really not kidding when I say it’s prime escape fantasy material -  I think it would be the cats ass to have a van and travel across north america, thanks skeletonlv22 for letting me vicariously live through Pap in your fic. :) 

Warning: Only the ones i’ve given at the top! It’s a very cute story. I put it in the NSFW section b/c of the eventual smut, there’s none in it now – although, they certainly are starting to get flirty. 

Resisting the Currents (Ongoing, Explicit) 

By timeofjuly (AO3) timeofjuly (Tumblr) 

WARNING: No age in bio that I could find, but I’ve been chit-chatting with July for months now and i’m 99.99% sure they’re well above 18. It’s not my info to give out, and i’m trying to be transparent on my end, do with this info what you will! 

Edit: age confirmed in the tags!

This is easily another fav of mine for sure. 

Resisting the Currents is a reverse harem fic (with all the au’s!) but with a twist - the gf likes you too! It’s a refreshing take on the ‘reverse harem’ tag you see often in the undertale fandom - and holy shit, truly ‘only love can hurt like this.’ The relationship they have with the MC is so painful, verging on devastating. There’s love there! There is! But there’s also hurt, and a lot of it, the kind that doesn’t just go away, not on its own, anyway. I’m trying not to spoil too much, because I truly think you should read it for yourself. 

But, Oh My God, their MC? Holyshit- I have a(n aforementioned) weakness for impressionable MC’s, oftentimes, I end up loving them more than the love interest in the fics.  I can’t help it! The electrician is personable, relatable, and funny! They’re a lovable goofball with a rough past, with a history of doing the wrong things.They're recovering/recovered? (I’m not too sure which is the correct term, here,) drug addict, and they’ve come a long way! They’ve changed a lot, and I love love love to see that kind of realism in an MC. 

If you’re reading RtC (which you should be,) you can 100% see me going apeshit in the comments trying to figure out what the elections and Quinn’s deal is. (ESPECIALLY chapter 11!

(Sorry if they’re not coherent, at one point, those theories made sense in my head, but looking back on them, I think they’re more so like the crazed ramblings of a conspiracy theorist, haha.) 

This fic is in the NSFW section b/c it does have a chapter where two characters get it on, but i can’t say that’s what the whole story is about. I put it down here to be safe rather than sorry, haha. 

Ahh, fair warning, there is past drug mention, and past abuse child abuse I think? Plus, a bit of mention of religion and the negative effects that can have on a person. Read the tags just to be safe!

Shark Teeth (Complete, Mature rating)

By luluwrites (AO3) skelezbian (Tumblr)

Warning: No age in bio that I could find. If it makes you feel any better, they joined AO3 in 2012, while I joined in 2016 and i’m 24 currently. I’m not good at math, but I think we’re all in the clear here. But like always, do with this info what you will! 

I will say, this isn’t full on smut - it’s saucy, but I’m trying to keep anything suggestive, kinda together? 

Not to divulge myself too furiously here, but uh–There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about Shark teeth. C’mon. Y'all get it, right? It’s just a funny, saucy little number! A funny moment that happens between couples that we get to see. There’s so many different interpretations on the fellswaps, (I know i’ve said it a lot,) but Lulu’s just happens to be one of my favourites interpretations!! Sf Sans is a very precarious character, and I think Lulu does a good job showing that the swaps can be written in a multitude of ways, he doesn’t just have to be the dickhead all the time, lmao. They really do a good job showing how he shines, y’know?

Warning: teeth and/or biting? Not full on smut, or anything, but it is saucy. So, take that into consideration. 

The Fulfilling Ordeal of Being Known (Complete, explicit) 

By nighttimepixels (tumblr) / // active on twitter lethalhoopla (age mention in bio here) 

Ohhh, for all my sapphics out there – you’re going to love this. 

Blade (fem  horrortale sans, who’s apart of her ‘Lillytale’ au, a sapphic take on all the au’s,) and MC settling down for a nice night in, MC playing breath of the wild (BIG UPPS, great game, lol) while Blade plays some games of their own - hopefully you get the picture. 

Just some great lady-lovin’ smut! Size difference! If you love the pillow princess treatment, this is the fic for you.

Warnings: (Lesbians? Queers?) really going to town on each other, def NSFW. Check the tags before reading, it’s nothing Dead Dove, or anything - just want you to be aware. 

mothiepixie (tumblr / age in bio here)

mothiepixie (twitter, age in bio here too) 

No fic to tag, but their art? AHHHHH. They’re more active on twitter than tumblr since The Ban, but ohhh their art is very, very good. Very great if you like fictional hunky men, and beautiful shapely ladies. 

Warnings: tasteful (shameless) smut, you’ve been warned, lol

Woof. That was a lot of typing. If you made it this far, circle back to one of the recommendations above and get to reading!

[bigjimbopickens]

Hi! I wanna say I love your art first of all! I just read the message under your last post about Kevin’s art video and you said you’re mostly self taught - I’m curious about how you get into that? I’d love to learn to draw but have no idea where to start!

Sorry for getting back to this so late I am not as active on Tumblr. And yes, I am mostly self-taught because of my circumstances growing up. To those who don't know, I am SnowfallWarning/Big Jimbo and I am currently an animation student. I do 2D animation, concept art and character design and I graduate this year (hopefully). I am disabled both physically and mentally which is why I mostly do digital art. I have a coordination disorder (dyspraxia) and am blind in one eye but that doesn't stop me. For my entire childhood I was discouraged from drawing as I apparently wouldn't go anywhere with it or that I was terrible. Where I lived most of my life had no opportunities for someone like me so I had to leave to continue pursuing art. Because of the poor access, the only things I had was notebooks, school supplies and an old iPad mini to draw with growing up. I learned everything I currently know now from using those. I don't know what got me into drawing still, may have been Warrior Cats and dinosaurs. Like what Jose said in Kevin's video, art comes from the soul. It is human expression and we've always been doing it. Anyone can be an artist and we all start somewhere, trust me. Here's some stuff I usually tell people because I do get asked this often (I'm also not the best teacher): 1: Experiment. Find what works for you. Be messy with it, not every piece needs to be perfect. If you are a digital artist then also trying different programs can be helpful too. Maybe you're better at drawing landscapes, characters or abominations that defy God. 2: Use references if necessary. Not sure why for a while it was considered "cheating" to use references. Everyone in the industry uses references, I would know. If you also want, you can try tutorials but I found I learn more from references. 3: Take inspiration. I'm always adding things I see in other people's art to my own style if I like it. Though try not to copy them. 4: Tracing. I believe tracing is okay for learning purposes. It's how I learned to draw humans after doing exclusively furry art for years tbh. I tend to stick to real-life references for this, this is a great site for practice: https://line-of-action.com (if you're not okay with nudity then do remember to turn that off). "But where do I even start?" Grab a piece of paper and pencil (or open a blank canvas on a digital art program if you prefer that) and just start doodling whatever. If you have an idea then go for that as well. Every class I've had in college so far has started with drawing and rendering a bunch of shapes to see where everyone was at and to get a feel of our styles. So maybe try that too. Draw random shapes with different materials/brushes, colour them in and add details like shadows and highlights. I know it seems ridiculous but I do it every once in a while to experiment and try different methods. You probably won't improve overnight. Hell, it took me 7 years to get to where I currently am. A lot of people quit because they think they're not good enough when pretty much every artist is only proud of about 10% of their work. Definitely the case for me. Not every piece is going to be a masterpiece and the imperfections can be what makes it special, so please don't be so hard on yourself. Don't be discouraged because other artists may be better than you either, they've probably been doing it for longer. So please, if you are dedicated enough, keep trying. I'm sure you will get somewhere :) So basically, - Use whatever material you got and draw what comes to mind, even if it's terrible it is a great start. - Experiment with your style and/or materials. - Reference, take inspiration and trace for memory. - Don't give up but do take breaks to avoid burnout. - Try not to be intimidated by other artists, we also don't really know what we're doing tbh (and just as afraid of you as you are of us).

I hope that all made sense and was somewhat helpful :)

[tenebrius-excellium]

Trying to find a topic for my master thesis and... struggling lol...

I'm not up to date on what's going on on any social media platform anymore. Even Tumblr has become impossible to navigate and is now definitively changing into a platform that I don't recognize.

I get involuntarily thrown on the For You page about 50% of refresh clicks now.

I don't understand what Communities does. You can't reblog from them - or can you once you join one? I don't know. I'm lost lmao.

It's become pointless wanting to analyze the culture of any existing social media site when that culture is being forcibly killed off faster than real time. Even for my last paper, I had to go back and edit information because everything was changing so fast.

I read through a list of the '22 leading social media sites in 2025', and Tumblr was #19 and the closing remarks below said "if you want to figure out which platform to use for your social media marketing strategy..." dude there is no strategy. There is no marketing. There is no agenda except to have fun, to look up information and to learn new things, to make friends.

I want a simple blog to design, maintain, and post on. When's the last time anyone actually visited their own full blog page (I'm not talking about that ugly pop-up thing)? Or someone else's? Yeah I can change the dashboard color now, but all I noticed when switching to dark mode was how many accounts within threads are actually deactivated.

I don't want a forced selection of free or costly design and post options, I actually used to dabble in HTML when it was still relevant. I was excited to design my own blog at its core level.

Either I'm aging and getting inflexible about internet changes, or the strains of being marketable are getting to me and are making me wanna quit. It's probably both.

This is the end of "social" media, now that we already have sign-up walls everywhere, paywalls are going to be next. Pay only 1.99 to be on Tumblr. Yeah no. This is the decadence of the 2020s online web, just before its inevitable decline, it's happened a hundred thousand times throughout history. Why do we think the internet isn't a sphere like any other civilization? There's a reason TikTok coined the term "Roman Empire" here and now, during this exact era of time. Either free, alternative platforms will become available on the internet again and ppl will just move there, or the internet as a whole space to stay on will collapse because ppl realize that they can't build their entire businesses and all their communication, relationships and hobbies on some billionaire's wallet running on another country's electricity. Someone in my circle of friends thinks that internet laws will likely increase, and I believe her. The hurdle for internet engagement will only become larger. Irl name & address confirmation to weed out bots, it's already here. National age and content restrictions for kids. I'm sure that stuff is around the corner, if not already in place. The generation after Gen Alpha might grow up without the internet again, but this time because it's forbidden to them, not because it isn't available.

The internet is only as strong of a meeting place as the affordances afforded to us, and they are getting smaller and smaller.

I see no point in writing about that.

I want to become a gardener and fish enthusiast. My new offline forums are the local florist and the old guy with the amazing eyes who keeps entire breeding populations of pretty fish in his basement. He's done this for 40 years. Nature itself taught me how to multiply roses, no DIY gardening blog written by AI with a bunch of lengthy, nonsensical stories inbetween.

I wanna get off the internet. I'm tired.

But I need to write a master thesis about the internet first.

[freakrenaissance]

FANFIC REC MASTERLIST!!!!!!!

It's gonna be quite the undertaking....it'll probably take me a few weeks...but I thought I'd use the remainder of Valentine's Day for a true labor of love.

Still plugging away!!! Thanks so much to all who have liked & reblogged this monster of a list! I won't stop til all my faves are saved here...these masterpieces deserve it! (Check the bottom of the post for the date/time of latest update)

I'm gonna start categorizing alllll the juicy fanfic I'm collecting, so it's easier for me & my tribe to finds what we needs.

The artistry. My goodness. The hellsite we're all addicted to doesn't always show us the goods (tags, searches...you're still left wanting), so, it's high time i created my own card catalogue

I'm going to tag all my lovelies, my faves, & try to categorize them accordingly. Bear in mind, I'm NOT Tumblr savvy, even though i've been on this site for YEARS, so if you take issue with anything, please, POLITELY let me know. Also, if you don't wanna be a part of my lists, feel free to shoot me a message, & I'll remove ya, np ;)

Enjoy!!! & Please, like, share & REBLOG!!!!!!!! & remember: HEED ALL WARNINGS! ALL FICS ARE RATED E, UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED

THERE BE BOTH SMUT & FLUFF AHEAD....IF YOU'RE HERE, YOU SHOULD BE OVER 18!!!!!!

Pedro Pascal Characters

Pedro is my love. Has been since before that dark day In King's Landing ...These are the fics that I can't live without:

The Mandalorian/Din Djarin

Fic Rec Lists:

Din - @amorevolousfaith

First Class to Tatooine - @mandosmistress

multi part fic that has made the wait for season 3 an absolute JOY! Fills in every gap in the most delicious ways

Look - @omgreally

one shot - Touch-starved din, making me weak

Dosed - @absurdthirst

one of my all time favorite sex pollen fics!!! sooo delish

Hard Candy - @ezrasbirdie

possessive, bodyguard Din. Need i say more?

You became all the things I wished for, all the things I hoped - @charnelhouse

This entire series! Domestic din at his FINEST

Shared (ft. Paz Vizsla) - @javier-pena

delicously depraved, & exactly where i wanna be. lil dark...mind your warnings. but, omg, what a fave,,,,i've read this so many times! lol

Tattoo My Heart - @mandosmistress

I loooove this fic! our favorite bounty hunter, getting all tatted up & being sexy...I've read this countless times...definitely a fave

i’ve flown too close to the sun - @charnelhouse

One of my all time favorite Din series! That's it. That's the rec. Go check it out immediately!!!

Tie Me Up, Hold Me Down - @mandosmistress

younger din, showing off his knot-tying skills. Dominant & delish

Ner Yaim (My Home) - @dindjarindiaries (G)

A rare bit of fluff. Domestic DIn is my jam...this is adorbs

Carry Me To Safety - @221bshrlocked

More of Din & a lil lactation. this is a series, & I highly recommend going back & reading the whole thing (I'm about to start it all over again) this gem has it ALL

Lord Mandalore - @babybugwrites

Teasing the king in public...ill advised :) Smut ensues. Sign me up!!!

Chemical Feelings - @absurdthirst

One of my all time favorite sex pollen fics! (I should probably just make a whole sex pollen list lol)

Bred - @absurdthirst

One of the best Alpha Din fics in the galaxy. Including shenanigans from our favorite lil baby green bean.

Stuck - @omgreally

Trapped in a small space with our bounty hunter. What's the opposite of claustrophobia? This is one of my faves to reread right here

Marcus Moreno

Frankie "Catfish" Morales

Take Care of You - @whiskeynwriting

Edging Frankie. Sooo perfect

View - @say-al0e

Long distance lovin with Frankie

Ezra (Prospect)

A Girl Walks Into a Bookshop (T) - @oonajaeadira

Bookshop owner Ezra. I think thats nuff said <3

Jack "Whiskey" Daniels

Oberyn Martell

Marcus Pike

Pizza Comes Third - @whataperfectwasteoftime

Marcus finds your nipple clamps at work...then dreams come true lol,,,i love everything about this gem

Good to Know - @221bshrlocked

New Boyfriend Marcus. Size & age difference kink...sooo sweet!

Javier Pena

Dieter Bravo

A Little Like Strip Poker - @mandosmistress

DIrty, & delicious Dieter at his FINEST! The first Dieter fic I ever read, & still one of my faves

Hubris - @javier-pena

A lil hate sex with asshole Dieter. I adore this (every) version of him

In The Script - @the-fic-baker

Running lines with cocky, asshole Dieter. Love this! lol

Measurements - @boliv-jenta

Working on set with asshole Dieter...Gotta go reread every part of this!

Mr. Ben / SNL Pedro

Maxwell Lord

Joel Miller

"The Thief"

Pero Tovar

David York

'Aw, why are you shy now?' - @danidrabbles

I think this was the first time I ever read a Dave fic, & Omg, i was instantly hooked. So intense & delish

Javier Gutierrez

Chris Evans Characters

Oh, Chris. Yes, captain, my captain. It truly is America's ass :) These fics vary in their intensity...be forewarned. There's something very saucy about seeing the golden boy all tarnished ;)

Steve Rogers (AU)

Silent Whispers (i) - @bonky-n-steeb

Lumberjack Alpha!Steve. I need him to be real :P Completed trilogy!

Captain America

Curtis Everett

Ransom Drysdale

Ari Levinson

Lloyd Hansen

Andy Barber

Chris Evans RPF

Sebastian Stan Characters

The winter soldier is the part of a lifetime...but i'm still salty that the mcu stole him from once upon a time. He was a sexy ass mad hatter. gotta find all the jefferson fics!!!

Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier

honey, there is no right way (i) - @bonky-n-steeb

Sugar daddy, mob AU Bucky. This has so many layers of awesomeness, I can't even begin. Just go read it :)

nothing holding me back - @bonky-n-steeb

Alpha Bucky being sooo sweet & sexy! Roomies in Love!!!

A Proper Welcome - @navybrat817

More Alpha Bucky, with a special guest...this is one of my faves!

no sweeter innocence - @bonky-n-steeb

Another fave! Dom Bucky corrupting Tony's daughter....sooo yum!

Dinner and Diatribes - @darkficsyouneveraskedfor

A dark, regency AU for your pleasure..this is a stunning series!

Whiteout - @dilemmaontwolegs

Oh, to get stuck in a storm with Bucky Barnes...Let it snow, baby!!!

Make You Mine - @bonky-n-steeb

Alpha Bucky, all emotionally wounded...until he takes what he deserves. omg, I love this fic!

None Like You - @bonky-n-steeb

Football (soccer) player bucky, being all dominant in the locker room. this baby is delish. & i love his character in this!! It's a series...settle in :)

I'm a Fiend & You're All I Need - @bonky-n-steeb

Getting hubby Bucky to go harder...an embarrassment of riches lol Dominant Bucky deliciousness

Nick Fowler

Trust Me - @navybrat817

A lil Dominant Nick, with a sprinkle of feels. SO delish

Jefferson / The Mad Hatter

Oscar Isaac Characters

Mercy. I fell in love with this marvelous actor before i even knew what he looked like! I still can't believe he was apocalypse in x-men. & then you get a look at him?! Good gravy. Him & my hubby pedro together. My dreams have come true.

Poe Dameron

Santiago Garcia

Tom Hiddleston Characters

This one was a sleeper lol...out of nowhere he attacked me with those cheekbones & that accent....very friggin Loki

Loki

Jurassic Park Characters

One of my first fandoms EVER! I cut my teeth on dinosaurs, just like a normal kid....then things got nastay! lol Sometimes i'm in the mood for the OG, sometimes i want Owen & Claire. Here's a collection of my faves.

Owen Grady & Claire Dearing

Maisie Lockwood

Alan Grant & Ellie Satler

Ian Malcolm

Bridgerton

Doctor Who (These will mostly involve my river)

Right Person, Wrong Time - 11 x River Song - @mnemosyne-musing

Sugar Baby with Your Champagne Eyes - 12 x River Song @mygalfriday

Miscellaneous Characters:

My Love is Vengeance - Bruce Wayne- @charnelhouse

(more coming sooooooon. gtg back to orders, & i'm very tired. stay tuned for more updates!!!)

4:59am est 02/15/23 - started

10:00am est 04/06/23 - last updated

[exeggcute]

gonna be a pessimist for a second but I honestly think some of these posts about how all this is spelling out "the beginning of the end" for tumblr are missing the bigger picture. partly (and here comes a fleeting moment of optimism) because I actually do not think this signals any kind of imminent "end" for tumblr specifically—even in a worst-case scenario where these new rules don't change, iOS users should be able to bypass 95% of the restrictions by using a (non-safari?) web browser instead of the mobile app. you can still look at the #girl tag—but more than that, because I think this is way less about tumblr at all than it is about the how the internet as a whole is getting choked to death by a variety of (mostly corporate) forces.

like, I don't think tumblr is gonna become literally unusable sooner than any other social media site is gonna become unusable, but I also don't think "the entire internet is a heavily sanitized hyper-monetized, desolate wasteland that everybody hates" is all that far off. if anything it's been happening for a long, long time now, and so if this is your first taste of the digital walls closing in then I (gently) encourage you take this a wake-up call to learn more about the way digital technologies are evolving and who controls the internet and what exactly is at stake for all the players in this big stupid game!

and the way the internet's evolved in recent years and the evolutionary pressures driving these changes are part of a whole other Big Fucking Thing that I could go on and on about at length but you do not want me to get into that unless you wanna learn all about the intricacies of supply-side advertising lol. this is actually something I spend an unreasonable amount of time thinking about, thanks to both my line of work and the kinds of shit I've been reading voraciously since I was like twelve. but I don't think you need to fully grasp the way that, idk, engagement-based profit models work to notice how basically every website these days has an infinite scrolling interface (and that these things, like so many others, are innately connected).

I actually don't know where I'm going with this lol. ironically, tumblr itself is probably not the best place to even have these conversations because I feel like everyone on twitter these days spends all their time bemoaning so-called "web3" and how it's gonna be a fucking nightmare for everyone who isn't a member of jack dorsey's pilates class and meanwhile on tumblr people are posting about like, supernatural, I guess. but if you're really fired up about this and feel like you've been blindsided by an internet that suddenly feels hostile, it's not just you. and it's certainly not just tumblr. go pop onto the homepage of wired.com every now and then and read a couple articles. (use an incognito tab if you run out of free ones, lol.) follow cory doctorow and some open-source guys with beards on twitter. keep an ear out for shit. this isn't the first time shit like this has happened (to any website you use regularly, not even tumblr specifically), and it's certainly not gonna be the last...

[searchingmyfeelings]

If You're New To Tumblr & Have No Idea How To Use This Place

(created specifically for phone users)

(and find yourself tumbling around-- aight aight I'll excuse myself--)

When I rejoined Tumblr, I was so confused and scared on how to use this site properly. I was afraid I'd be doing something offensive, or breaking the norm or not respecting the culture here or doing what I'm not supposed to be doing and so on. (I think I'm also breaking the norm by making this guideline fjsjc but please forgive me)

Anyway. Here are some stuff you need to know.

We'll start off with the buttons, then move on to the other feature exclusively available on Tumblr (filtering posts) and then etiquettes (for posting and reblogging etc.)

Buttons

You see that blue pencil button? That's the button for when you wanna make a post. The buttons available once you click on that are pretty intuitive so feel free to explore them by yourself.

Next, the house button. Pretty obvious? Yeah. That's the dashboard button. Posts are usually chronologically shown to you -- but some posts might not appear. We'll get down to that in the etiquettes section.

And then the magnifying glass. That's the 'search' or 'explore' button. There's also a similar tab on your dashboard at the top but you can explore them yourself to get used to them.

Then we have the chat bubble with a smiley. That is the equivalent of DMs here. We don't really call that our inbox here because that is specifically for the ask box. But eh each users could differ. Some users may turn off the chat feature so you might find yourself unable to 'Send A Message' to a user.

And lastly is the person icon. That is your page. You can also access your settings there. You can drag from top to bottom to refresh (works on both dashboard and your page). You'll find these at the top of your page.

If you notice the triangle pointing downwards, that's the option for you to create a side blog. But beware, you are not creating multiple accounts with that feature. Instead, you are just creating another pseudonym and using the place under that pseudonym. When you wanna send an ask or a comment, you will be automatically using your main. (Main is the URL or username, that you chose when you signed up and set up stuff).

The magnifying glass is for users to look up specific posts (either through tags or through keywords) available on your blog page (whether you originally posted it or you reblogged from others).

The icon of three dots connected by two lines is the share button. Press on it if you wanna share or grab the link to your blog page.

And beside it looking like a gear is the settings button. You can optimize stuff yeah. From here on, we shall move to the next 'chapter'.

Other Feature: Tumblr Specialty

There are quite some features that only Tumblr has (which is why I love this place so much tbh). We'll go through them one-by-one.

I will only explain about drafts, queue and inbox.

See, sometimes on Tumblr, you can end up scrolling & reblogging so many things that it may end up spamming our followers/friends on their dashboard. Below are how you can access the three features. Either you press on the three dots or press on the blue button long enough it'll show up as the icons as appeared on the right side.

To avoid spamming others' dash (if it bothers you care about them), you can opt to saving the posts to the Drafts. In there, you can edit the post to add tags or comments that you feel suitable or add-ons or simply to go back to (to read and stuff).

In Queue, you can set up the saved posts (or readily queue them from the dashboard) to a specific frequency and a specific time period. (Or just use Schedule feature if you have a very specific time you want it posted.) Using this will let the post be out there during the set times. Also very useful to make it seem like you never left.

As for inbox, I've nothing much to say. Just that, inbox on Tumblr does not mean instant messages for instant chats etc. It's for asks and submissions (you can liberally enable or disable both). Asks are where people send you stuff and you can respond to it by answering them, either privately or publicly. Heads up though, if you answer it privately you'll never see the ask ever again. (I regret it till this day... Sobs.) Submissions are posts sent to you that when you post it, it becomes a post on its own.

Ay, we move on to my favourite feature now. The tags and filtering.

Scrolling up a little bit upwards, you'll notice I put in a red arrow pointing to 'Content you see'.

The tagging itself will be explained more in the last 'chapter'. Just lemme share how to use this and how useful it is for you so that you curate your online experience on here to the best you can.

Click on the 'Content you see' button. You'll be directed to these two below.

Filtered Tags and Filtered Post Content.

Say for example, like me, you try to avoid 18+ content because you might open this app in public and you don't want to weird out the people around you irl with the sudden passing of sexual pictures as you scroll.

Simple! You can put in the keyword '18+' on BOTH of the options.

You see, filtered tags is to filter out the posts tagged as such and such. Whereas filtered post content is to filter out posts containing the keywords in the post (not placed in the tags).

Don't be afraid of using this. If for example, a user makes you upset and you dont want to see whatever it is they post, you can just put their URL in both sections. You can use this feature for as many keywords as you wish. There's a whole other explanation for Trigger Warnings and stuff, but I'm not good at that so I'll leave it out of this post. (Anyone else seeing this feel free to add on).

Now... that's done and over with. We'll be moving on to the last 'chapter'.

Etiquettes

Fhshcjs okay for real I didn't expect to write this much. I was expecting to give up writing this halfway. But welp. Okay so first things first.

1. Enjoy a post? Content? Artworks? Fanfics? GIFsets? Headcanons? Meta analysis? Stuff in general?

REBLOG. Liking works more as a bookmark and doesn't help with exposure nor algorithm whatsoever. So please. Reblog that content (unless the op, original poster, specifically says not to reblog - sometimes they put it in the tags so check the tags) and help get that post be spread around. This is very helpful for creators to get more exposure!

While reblogging, you can choose to save it into the drafts, quick reblog it or reblog with comments/reactions/add-ons.

Now. When you reblog and you wanna say something, you have two options. Either you add to the thread or you add in the tags. USUALLY, people would leave reactions either in the comments or in the tags as they reblog.

(More of this will be explained in the 'Tagging' part.)

"Wait. So reblogging is better, why's there a like button then?" you may wonder, as I once did.

As I've mentioned, likes can be like bookmarks (you can access posts you've liked in the 'liked' tab on your page). But. In some cases, for eg, when someone you follow is venting or just posting random stuff,...you can op to just liking it. Not every posts are suitable to reblog sometimes. Or like, when you post something and someone dear to you reblogged it, you can like that post to show that, "I see you reblogging my post, I really appreciate it fam". Honestly, this is something you will learn as you use the app more and more often. It's part of the fun Tumblr experience.

2. Donations post Vs Commissions/Tips etc.

There are a lot of donation posts here, but PLEASE be careful. Some of these might be scams. They will show pictures and stuff for evidence but they could be reused photos and so on. It's your money, so it's ultimately up to you what to do with it. But seriously, if you reblog such posts, don't be wary of someone coming into your DMs or askbox telling you the person is possibly a scammer. It is simply for your own safety. They are looking out for you. Basically, I guess you'll have to judge it yourself.

HOWEVER. In contrast to that, you will also see creators posting links to their KoFi, Patreon etc. Reblogging such posts would be very, very much welcomed. As a creator myself, I got some of my first commissions from someone that saw my post being reblogged by other people outside of my following circle. The only thing you should be wary of is if the links are safe, or if the creator doesn't plagiarize and claim what they have as theirs and so on.

3. Tagging

There are a couple of posts out there regarding this feature alone. If anyone makes an add-on, feel free to reblog this with them links.

Anyway.

I've already mentioned part of it in the previous chapter, under the part where I explained about filtering keywords.

It's very, very important that you do NOT censor the words. Don't sugarcoat it. For eg., s3x, rac1sm etc. Because we already have the filtering system! Just use the exact words without the symbols or numbers or whatever way of sugarcoating it.

Hard reminder: DON'T CENSOR THE WORDS.

If you censor it as we the example if gave up there, the post would not appear as filtered for other users. That might become triggering for them or give them an unpleasant experience. Even if you don't care about other users, if you don't want it to happen to you then don't do it upon others.

Wish upon others what you wish upon yourself.

Now. As for general tagging as reactionary tags: Please. You are allowed to be as incoherent as your mind truly is in the tags. You can scream, you can squeal, you can ,,,, yknowwww, just say stuff!!! I'll demonstrate with the tags on this post if you're still not sure. :) ...or just observer how others use it. However, please refrain from being mean in the tags or saying really nasty stuff. Be mindful of the person you're reblogging from or the op who might be triggered by it.

4. Fandom

I am not gonna go too deep into the anti Vs proship topic. Just. Just gonna re-emphasize basic internet etiquettes in this section. Along with a mention of red flags you should be wary of.

- those who tale-tell on others' behaviours whether in asks or DMs, especially as anons. This in turn causes a rift and potentially invokes call-out posts or cancel culture etc. (Not gonna discuss that here)

- they are very lenient with throwing out violent threats or words that sound violent. Or verbal violence. As funny as that sounds... It's not funny and it can be triggering to read. Or cause discomfort to those who read it. There's a distinction between advocating something and threatening others to oblige to whatever they advocate for. Imagine it in real life. Would you follow someone who says they'll do violent things to uphold what's right or would you follow someone who is patient and proactive with their words and actions to uphold what's right?

- suicidebaiters. Just no. People come here on Tumblr as escapism in general. Please don't tolerate this behaviour. Even if it's for the 'greater good', if someone does end up off-ing themselves, that will be on these baiters. Block them on sight if you must. How to block? Oh yeah crap I forgot to show how to block fhsjx

Go to that person's page and press on the 'person icon' and these options will appear.

Bear in mind the block button may not be your best friend, but it is definitely your very good reliable ally. (This doesn't make sense sorry I just really wanted to make a sentence with the phrase fhdj)

And lastly,

- cult-like circles. If they seem controlling, or you feel like you have to screen everything according to their moral compass, leave them. If they monitor everything you do, whom you reblogged from, whom you follow, whose posts you commented on or with whom you've interacted with etc. etc., be wary and be smart: leave them. You don't deserve to feel like you're stepping on eggshells while being here. If one's got a problem with something, they can filter the keyword using the features available on this site.

I believe that is all that I can share. Anyone else feel free to add-on.

Just one final message from me to you guys:

This is a pocket world. Yes, what goes on in here is significant. But you are not obliged to be as serious here as in real life. Be mindful of people and be mindful of your words.

Lastly, welcome to Tumblr. Hope you have a good time while on this hellsite and please don't make it hard for others already on here.

Take care!

[makoza]

Ayo!

Fun New Thing!: If you can guess where the quote in my description came from we can be friends.

Making a quick pinned cause I have noticed that I've been getting a few people following me around here and I just wanna let people know what they might be getting into by doing so.

First off, hi! My name is Michael and welcome to my main tumblr blog. This is basically my anything goes blog where if I vibe with a post I reblog it. Please be aware that I am random as shit. One reblog might be something like art or writing advice and the very next one might be talking about sex positivity. My interests are as varied as the stars and be forwarned I tag basically fucking nothing. Fast reblog is my life on this blog, so just be aware of that when following me.

Please note: If at any point I post something that you want me to add a tag to simply link the post and what tag you need added and I will do so, but please don't expect me to remember to add it every time because, again, 90% of the time I use the fast reblog function.

Some topics you might see on this blog, but are not exclusive:

➤ Shipping Discourse

➥ I am firmly proship. Don't like? Do us both a favor and just block me.

➤ Writing and Art Tips/Advice

➥ I am both an artist and a writer. This stuff is helpful to me and might also be to any of my followers.

➤ Animals

➥ That's it. Just animals. Usually cool color mutations but also just cool facts about them in general as well.

➤ Sex Positivity

➥ This user is very sex positive and as such I might reblog posts about such topics from time to time.

➤ Fandom Things

➥ I am part of many various fandoms so occasionally you might see me reblog something related to those fandoms.

➤ Self Shipping

➥ I am a self shipper. And though I keep those posts primarily to my side, I might occasionally make a post here related to the topic. Cringe culture is dead, so don't like? Don't read.

➥ By the by, please follow my self ship blogs for this topic specifically! @redwingedwolves is my main and @redwingedwolvesafterdark is my 18+ side!

Another thing to note on this blog, as stated in my bio, I am a 25+ adult and as such I do adult things such as cuss and discuss adult topics. If that has the possibility of making you uncomfortable simply block me. Do not, however, DM me, or send me an ask saying how I shouldn't behave in this way as there are kids around. I am aware of this. I am also aware that the tumblr app is listed as 17+ and the site itself is 13+. If there are teenagers here who are mature enough to go on the internet unsupervised, they are mature enough to curate their own internet experiences. This is my blog, I do as I please. Don't like? Block me.

My personal tags are #random shit and #mike-rambles. I use these for basically any and all text posts. Feel free to blacklist them if you don't wanna see my rambling.

Well, I believe that's it for now. If you have any questions my inbox is open.

[ladyartemesia]

Important!!! Please read!!

Hi! So I know you are in a very busy phase of your life and I know this is a bad time to be coming to you with this, but I hope you've heard about post+ and the shitshow that it is.. With this new advances on this site, I'm scared for my favorite content creators. I've loved every thing you've written and I truly want to see everything you've planned out for the future. I'm really bad with words, so please excuse my rant. I really love love love everything about your stories and I truly hope that you've backed up all your writings somewhere and you can upload them somewhere for us to read. If you upload at a newer site, fuck I'll join the site for you and your content okay? Just let us know, I hope you have an ao3, even wattpad will be fine but please don't let your ideas be trashed by this site like this.. You have a gift and your writings are literary gems on this site.. I wish I was in a financial state where I could happily pay for all my favorite writers, but unfortunately I'm not and I don't see it changing anytime soon. I just graduated college and I don't see myself having money to pay with my masters and daily expenses.. And with the currency exchange rate, my thousand is a one for many people on here. I don't want to resort to bad means or hate, but I truly can't help it. I can pray, hope and protest but at end of the day if post+ becomes a normality over here, I don't see myself staying. As much as my heart breaks, I don't think I can afford to. I'm sorry, but you should keep writing and I hope you really see you are a very good writer.

Maybe I'm selfish for asking, but can you make an ao3 and put your stories up there?? I don't want to steal it, but I don't also want to let go?? Like your writings have been my happy pills on bad days. I remember reading your stories on particularly bad days and feeling calm enough to go on. I hope you keep us updated on what you plan to do, because I really don't wanna die knowing that your stories never got the praise and love it deserved.

Thank you.

I'm crying so my rant is very much disoriented right now.

Hello Lovelies,

I have read about the changes coming to tumblr and I am absolutely blown away by the support I’ve received in the wake of this announcement.

I want to answer these questions and set everyone’s fears to rest. So I will address the main points first.

1. I will never—EVER—charge for the fandom content I create. No judgment on anyone who chooses to, but I will not.

2. I have both an AO3 and a Wattpad. The AO3 is exclusively Reylo content and I haven’t used it in awhile, but I do have it. The Wattpad is mostly for reporting plagiarists, but I do have both accounts already set up and ready if the need to move arises. You will not lose access to my work.

3. If there is a surprise purge, all of my content is backed up already on Google drive. I write it there first and transfer it to tumblr.

4. I do not think that tumblr is going to blow off its own proverbial foot by hunting down and kicking out the fandom creators. I am not as worried, but please know that I am not dismissing your concern. The possibility does exist and therefore I am monitoring the situation carefully so I am able to take action if necessary. I have been around fandom a(n embarrassingly) long time and I have the benefit of first-hand experience with changes like this. I am not worried…yet.

I am extremely touched that all of you have reached out to me in various ways to make sure my stories are safe. Thank you so much for the beautiful words you have given me about my work. They clearly mean a lot to you and I cannot even tell you how much knowing that means to me. Your passion and care has moved me deeply. I am genuinely touched. I am sad that these new changes have caused you emotional distress, but I hope this message can lay at least some of it to rest.

I started writing as a very young teen on the wild west of message boards wayyyy back in the day. My stories have bounced all around the internet and through three fandoms now… and I have them all. Tumblr will not be able to stop my writing. I am a true veteran.

[strangeocquestions]

Since you have a webcomic (love it btw!) how would someone go about making one? And what if I uhhh don't have any artistic talent? I really wanna make one but I can't draw ;~;

Super happy to know you like my comic, thanks! 

I actually waited 4-5 years until I felt comfortable enough with my artstyle to start working on my webcomic. Insomniac Kids has been a project I’ve been planning to begin ever since I was 11 (though it did start out as a Gravity Falls AU/fanmade season 2) but I only began feeling confident enough to present this story to the internet in 2018 and-... Even after that, I still went on long hiatus and eventually changed my comic’s artstyle completely to the current one, which I am very satisfied with. (I still need to work on anatomy and perspective, but if I’m ever too unhappy with a specific panel I put it on a list of panels I want to re-do in the future) 

I really do not recommend starting to work on a project you are genuinely passionate about if you don’t feel comfortable enough with your own capacities. You won’t be happy with the results, which will negatively impact your work.

 If you absolutely want to go the drawing route just practice until you feel confident in your skills. This will probably take time, but you’ll get there.

But there are some good news! You don’t actually need to draw well if you find an appealing style to present your story in.

17776 is technically what one would call a “web original”, though many refer to it as a webcomic (myself included). This work gathered a healthy fanbase while also not really using many drawings. Most of the story is presented through text and edited images, gifs and videos. (find some more web originals here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WebOriginalFiction)

Khonjin House is a funny and chaotic web series on Youtube that is not so much about the artwork as it is about the careful editing and comedic dialogue. Although it’s a video-based series the same style could easily be applied to a webcomic.

There are many more successful projects like these out there that you can find, though these were the first to come to mind. I’d say visual media is more about style than anything else. If you find a style that works, you can be successful. 

You can also see how masterful artwork can fail miserably if not stylized and developed enough. For instance, the “live action” Lion King remake. The CGI models were very carefully developed and they look quite good, but there’s life missing out of them.

Outside of that, general advice on creating a webcomic?

If you plan on making it interactive like my own you’ll need both some coding knowledge as well as someplace where you’re free to code shit at will. I use Tumblr to host my webcomic because I can freely code my comic... But it’s still not perfect, so I plan on buying a subscription to a hosting server so that I’ll have full freedom. Of course, this being a paid alternative, I also need to start planning towards ways to profit off my work.

If I didn’t want to pay shit I’d have to create my own server, which involves paying the government to let me have a fixed home IP and a computer which is connected to the internet 24/7 (because. uh. the computer would be the actual server).

If you have no budget or means of profit, you’ll be stuck with third-hosting parties.

Alternatively, if your webcomic is more of the traditional sort, there are many free-to-use websites where you can post your stuff in. Tapas being one of the most popular ones, though far from the only one. I recommend reading the terms of use before posting anything on these sites though...  You may not want to share copyright over your creation with some random company. 

And also, assuming the webcomic would be in English, whether you’re a native English speaker or not (but especially if you’re not, like myself), get some friends who are good at writing to spell-check your writing. My own spell checkers are my good friends @seriouslyuninjured and @thesunmoonhavecomeout and I love them very much for withstanding my inadequate use of in/on/at/by

That’s the best advice I can give, if you ask me anything more specific I’ll be very happy to answer too!

[thesharondefenseleague]

I think fandom homophobia isn't talked about enough. I swear people in fandom love acting like its a non issue because gay ships seem so popular on tumblr. But we are in a bubble here. Fandom has more gay ships because fandom explored what canon doesn't pretty often. And even then often gay ships are specifically more popular on tumblr and not necessarily in fandom at large.

We are here getting salty at fans for shipping the two "white male favs" instead of a ship with a woman and act as if m/m is somehow commonplace everywhere now and the real minority is people who ship m/f. And you know they don't give a shit about racism. I have almost never seen this argument used in cases where there is a large poc cast like BP. Only ever in stories when the majority of the cast is white and even then half the time they aren't even defending a minority ship. They say oh you just like your white male favs when defending a white m/f ship like the fucking audacity. The attempt to score fake woke points here is nauseating. Just say you want your ship to be popular and go. That is literally the only issue here. Don't pretend you care about racism in fandom.

Like honestly the entitlement . And I say entitlement because whenever I see the salt online it's because there's a m/f ship thats less popular than the m/m one. There were articles about how impressive it is Reylo was popular on tumblr. Like the complete ridiculousness of this. M/F is more popular everywhere and everything except for certain websites like tumblr and Ao3. And people here acting like its revolutionary when there is a popular M/F ship on those sites because heaves forbid M/F ships be less popular anywhere. And I emphasize M/M and not F/F because there are so few popular fandoms with a large and fleshed out enough cast of women that F/F has less opportunity to get as popular. But if that ever became true I bet you the argument would be F/F is only popular with straight guys who wanna jerk off and the argument would ignore that a huge chunk of fanfic writers especially on Ao3 are LGBT women.

[[Before I answer, can I just say I’m baffled but impressed at how this was delivered as one who ask and not, like, seven separate parts with a weird delivered order. I hope this is a new feature and not a fluke.]]

I think it’s a problem with tumblr users in general that they invent their own realities and accept it as commonplace everywhere. I might believe no one ships Reylo, but that’s far from true. I just don’t follow blogs that ship it (sort of - my friend ships them, so I only see it if she posts it).

There’s definitely a strong level of misogyny and racism in fandom. I’m not putting myself above it - I’ve written stories and found myself asking if it’s racist or misogynistic, then looked into how I could fix it. It’s 2021, we know how to check ourselves for this.

I will say, again, that straight women are just as straight as straight men. A good example is the QaF fans being straight women who loved there being a show with gay men having explicit/graphic sex in every episode, to the point where as the show continued, there was less and less lesbian sex, even with a consistent lesbian couple in the show from start to finish. Yes, there’s a sizeable queer and trans female group of fanfiction writers, but we know who’s writing the fetishy graphic stuff most of the time, and who’s very defensive about how they come off (because they can’t be homophobic if they have gay ships!).

It’s this same kind of straight audience who were pushing that bi Steve narrative back in 2016/2017, but didn’t like it when you told them that a bi Steve could still be with a woman, because that exposed that they really just wanted Steve to kiss a man, but not Sam, and then they were mad that they were called out for being racist on top of being biphobic and fetishistic of gay men.

I mean, I ship popular, non-canon (and never will be canon) M/M ships. I don’t think the movies ever pushed this ship to having potential to exist in canon. (I ship one specifically because a cosplay couple I followed cosplayed about them, and I’ve never seen their potential in canon. I was only introduced through this way. Hence why I never openly post them here, just read and write a couple fics.)

M/F ships aren’t revolutionary either. They’re just so uncommon in this one setting where gay is more common than straight (and both more common than lesbian and proper bi/pan and trans representation that isn’t used for fetish shit).

TBH, the politics of shipping culture are so wild now that it makes me tired. Almost wanna say fuck it, I ship nothing. No one gets love or sex. But the solution that suits me best is stepping back from shipping culture, because it’s gonna be crazy on here. The only benefit of tumblr over Twitter is that here, no one can harass creators for ships. I fucking hate when people attack creators/actors on Twitter for ships. I hate that producers and showrunners won’t protect the actors/actresses who are harassed for this shit and leave them to fend for themselves (I won’t forget how Emily VanCamp was left to defend herself and tried to keep it lighthearted as if certain demons weren’t being true assholes over her kiss). Just ship your shit, stop pretending you have a justified narrative, and move on. No need for harassment in shipping culture.

~Mod R

[wolf-skins]

Hey, I was wondering if you could tell me what bpd is exactly... I saw you posted about it once and I... idk I kinda related but I don't wanna just grab something offline and slap the label onto me when I don't know what it is and I was hoping if you could explain it? If not that's totally okay cause I wouldn't wanna impose or anything

Hey! It’s no problem.

A lot of people find various symptoms or experiences with BPD relatable. This is because a lot of experiences people who have BPD go through comes from trauma, plus BPD has a lot of fluctuating mood things which can be easily relatable to anyone who has a mood disorder. It’s actually something a lot of people in the BPD community get upset about, when their BPD posts are high-jacked by neurotypicals who go: “I don’t have BPD, but…” A lot of neurodivergent people could relate on some level too.

Keep in mind, too, that BPD is a personality disorder (PD). People with PDs tend to have similarities to them, especially if they share a “cluster”. (PDs are categorized in cluster A, cluster B, and cluster C, each cluster containing PDs with similarities). I just want to clear that up first, because exploring mental illness is always going to be complicated as heck! There are so many overlapping things, and everyone responds to different things in their life or traumas in different ways, so that could also have an affect. I cannot stress enough on doing excessive research.

BPD stands for borderline personality disorder. It’s also sometimes called “emotionally unstable personality disorder”. The biggest, common symptoms of BPD are: extreme emotional imbalance (to quote someone with it, it’s like all of our nerves are exposed, and every little touch causes an extreme reaction - this meaning that the very tiniest thing can set our extreme emotions off, and our emotions completely overwhelm us until we can’t focus on anything else), extreme abandonment issues (real or imagined), splitting (black and white thinking; something is all good or all bad, no in-betweens), identity disturbance, and impulsiveness. You can read the basics about it here. 

BPD consists of a number of symptoms including chronic feelings of emptiness, dissociative symptoms, impulsivity, rapid mood swings, low self-esteem, instability in goals and self-identity, instability in relationships, anxiety, anger, fear of abandonment, and suicide attempts and self-harm. -shitborderlinesdo

Personality disorders are severe mental illnesses for which there is no cure - not even with medication. Meds can help, of course, and I personally wouldn’t be alive without them, but our biggest help comes from therapies, most prominently DBT (built for borderlines by a borderline, but it helps with anyone facing extreme emotions) and CBT. But looking into any therapy helps a lot.

A common, extremely common, theme around borderlines (but there are exceptions, as with anything) is extreme abuse in adolescence or adulthood. S*xual abuse is common and not unheard of. Another theory about why borderlines become who we are is that we may have been overly sensitive children, who ended up deprived of the attention/love/support we needed (through in some abuse, and, well). There are other factors, but that’s considered one of them.

BPD is one of the most life-threatening mental illnesses, following only after eating disorders. 

There are a lot of disorders that have similarities to BPD, bipolar disorder being a common one. Most of us end up misdiagnosed with BD because borderlines can have both manic and depressive symptoms. They manifest in slightly different ways, and people with bipolar disorder tend to have longer fluctuations between mania/mixed/depression. Their moods are more likely to last weeks or months, while ours can change within minutes or hours. 

If you feel like you relate to some of the symptoms, but not all, there are a list of mental illnesses/disorders which may be similar here. We also have common traits that are usually associated with other neurodivergencies, like child regression or stimming. 

I cannot sum up a whole disorder in one post, however. Like any mental illness, it’s very complex and the experiences will range from person to person. The best, concise (and not biased) resources I can give you are shitborderlinesdo FAQs here on tumblr: 1, 2. The tumblr is run by borderlines for borderlines, and many of the mods that built the FAQ have or are going through different psychology majors and the like.Keep in mind to avoid Google when looking into this as best you can. BPD has been mislabeled for years as The Inherently Abusive Disorder™, and there entire sites and books set up building around this idea. The most popular one lists that all symptoms of emotional abuse means that, of course, your abuser must be borderline! Because yeah, that makes sense. (Try imagining the affect of telling people that their mental illness makes them abusive by default…. well, you can see the results because 98% of us believe we’re awful, manipulative assholes lmao.)

The FAQ has a ton of information ready at hand, but I can also recommend Girl, Interrupted (the book, not the movie - though the movie is good it’s way off the mark and doesn’t represent any mental illness properly) by Susana Kaysen for an inside look into BPD. I also really like The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, which is an easy to follow workbook for DBT skills. If you feel you can relate even on some level to BPD, learning some DBT skills will help, regardless if you are borderline or not!

If you have any more specific questions (like perhaps what posts you related to, because maybe I can also help point you to reasons why you related to those) or anything, let me know.

I’m publishing this because it’s a common question, and many people think BPD is relatable without realizing that our symptoms are so much more intense than they can imagine. That’s not saying that relating to a post or symptom is bad at all, and could most definitely point to something deeper going on within you/whomever, but BPD is also much more complex than a lot of people imagine.

I’m going to keep trying to post more info about it as I go along, bc I’ve always been obsessive about research into mental illnesses, and because it’s nice to be able to share things that can help both myself and others understand what I’m going through. If you don’t want to go through the frickton of resources in the FAQs, keep a look out for my ‘bpd info’ tag. I hope some of this helps, and if you want me to remove this from being public just let me know, and I can instead send this whole thing to you privately.