#Using substack with Patreon

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Why Integrating Substack with Patreon Can Take Your Writing to Another Level

I turned the Chapter 15 of Substack Mastery book to a short podcast for anyone can understand in 4 minutes.  I had the privilege of being an editor for the early version of the best-selling Substack Mastery book authored by my mentor Dr Mehmet Yildiz (Main) who also introduced me to Substack when I totally lost hope on this platform and got disappointed with not being able to amplify important…

[strugglinguist]

New "Print" Edition on Substack and Patreon available for free! I talk about my response to the election and what the past 6 weeks of preparation has looked like.

[colleendoran]

I apologize for not updating very often, but I don't have the energy to do anything but work. I've got most social media blocked, I'm not reading the news, and I'm just trying to focus and finish this tribute to the late, great Sir Terry Pratchett. I owe it to his estate, I owe it to the fans. I'm not even sure I'll keep most of my social media accounts up after this is over. Currently, I'm only using Twitter, Tumblr and BSKY for promotion. I don't even look at them anymore. My assistant posts for me. I can't risk getting distracted. I'm keeping my Instagram and my FB accounts up because things seem less intense there. You can also find me on my Patreon or on my Substack. I only have so many years left on this Earth, and a limited amount of time to do the projects I want to do. So much pressure is put on creators to constantly push and promote. There is only so much I can do. I need to create. I know I have a reputation for being very productive, but I'd probably be ten times more productive if I'd never been on social media. I don't know if my books would have sold as well without it, however. The great dilemma. Thank you to the Good Omens fandom. Thank you to the Terry Pratchett Estate. Less than 90 days to go. I won't let you down.

[nateconnolly]

What Does the Lion Turtle Chant Mean?

A podcast episode about the spirituality of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Transcript Preview:

Many people have told me they struggle to take Sozin’s Comet seriously because they would have killed the Fire Lord without hesitation. And, look, as far as I’m concerned — if you’re willing to kill a genocidal colonizer, good for you! Many blessings upon your journey! And the show isn’t trying to dissuade you. 

Aang is not the only voice of wisdom in Avatar. He’s not a puppet through which the text articulates its meaning. Avatar is about cultural exchange. When one character says what they think is true, that isn’t necessarily the moral of a story. That’s one voice, and the story is a conversation. So, I don’t think that Sozin’s Comet is using Aang to say “Hey, you, you, looking at the TV, you personally should never support violent revolution!” Water Tribe culture doesn’t seem to have any problem with killing on the battlefield. 

When Sokka lops off the Melon Lord’s head, there’s some very clear indications that we’re supposed to be troubled. The musical cue, Momo eating the melon, he lingering focus on Aang’s reaction … But I don’t think this scene is meant to communicate that Sokka is a bad guy. Or that soldiers are inherently bad people. I assume that Hakoda, Bato, and Tyro killed people. These figures are portrayed as admirable, and even as mentors. 

The scene in which Sokka kills the Melon Lord is there to illustrate the difference between Southern Water Tribe culture and Air Nomad culture. Sokka’s journey is about embracing and reclaiming all the parts of his culture that the Fire Nation tried to destroy. He wasn’t able to go ice dodging or to train as a wolf warrior, but he has found a way to become a strong, protective man anyways. And that does mean that he’s willing to kill or die for a cause he believes in. This scene doesn’t communicate that Sokka is a bad person. It communicates that Sokka is walking his own path, and that Aang is walking a different path. But the show doesn’t try to tell you one of them is wrong and the other is right. 

At the same time, I think we need to remember that Aang is saying something he believes. It’s not just an emotional problem for him. 

Aang gives multiple related, but different reasons not to kill the Fire Lord.

“I didn’t feel like myself.” 

The Fire Lord “is still a human being.”

Killing goes against “everything the monks taught me.”

“All life is sacred.”

In Southern Raiders, he also makes a more general claim that “violence is never the answer,” but I think that the writers had to use the word “violence” as a euphemism. In our normal usage of the word, punching somebody would be a “violent” act. Aang clearly has no problem whacking people over the head or shooting wind at them. I think this is a way of making the show more kid friendly, and that what Aang actually means is 

“[Killing] is never the answer.”

Some of these claims are about Aang as an individual. He’s saying he doesn’t feel like he, specifically, can kill someone. That it goes against the values of his culture. And some of these are universal claims. He’s saying no one should kill, not ever. 

But he also believes in a separate ethical mandate. As the Avatar, he has to protect the world. In this lifetime, that means preventing the Fire Lord from burning the Earth Kingdom. 

This is a story about moral standards, and they seem impossible to live up to. There’s no easy answer. If you believe that murder is wrong, and you believe in the duties of the Avatar, then you have a conflict of values, not just emotions. In order to understand the Buddhist themes of Sozin’s Comet, we have to understand Buddhist ideas of morality. 

This podcast episode

Bluesky

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Nate's short story about Buddhism

Transcript with Citations

[ofmdrecaps]

04/22-25/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Vico Ortiz; Samba Schutte; Ruibo Qian; Gypsy Taylor; Guz Khan; Cohen Holloway; Dominic Burgess; Rachel House; Damien Gerard; Tiny Crew Big Raffle Reminders; Fan Weeks: Frenchie Week; Love Notes;

= David Jenkins =

David is absolutely adoring the OFMD themed little library that Gregandree71.bsky.social put together! Check it out on their bluesky!

Source: David Jenkins Bsky

= Rhys Darby =

I don't know what else to say other than Rhys has been feeding us well with all these shots of his tour! Darby Kebabs? Goodness gracious.

Source: Rhys' IG

Source: Rhys's Instagram Stories

New Substack up for the Paid subscribers!

Source: Rhys's Paid Substack

= Taika Waititi =

Taika was spotted in Sydney for one of his new movies!

Source: The Source IG post has been removed, so Im removing credit as I don't want to get the person in trouble. If you'd like it re-added let me know!

Taika also directed a new Sephora Commercial and hey look, Ra Vincent was Production Designer!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lime Studios (@limestudios.tv)

Source: Instagram

= Con O'Neill =

Con sending us some love <3

Source: Con's IG

= Vico Ortiz =

Vico's moving to substack! If you were following Vico's Patreon, they'll be moving everything over by May 1.

Source: Vico's New Substack

Today in Gay Podcast is still going strong!

April 24

April 23

April 22

Source: Today In Gay Free Substack

= Samba Schutte =

Our BTS Saint Samba has been out and about for Earth Day and Sending love to his local shops!

Source: Samba's IG

Oh and great news! Preorders are back up for more bandanas!

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A post shared by Samba Schutte (@sambaschutte)

Source: Samba's IG

= Ruibo Qian =

Ruibo dropping the cat content is all I need in this world!

Source: Ruibo's IG

= Guz Khan =

Guz is back! The final season of Man Like Mobeen is premiering on BBC Iplayer on May 1!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Guz Khan (@guzkhanofficial)

Source: Guz' IG

= Gypsy Taylor =

Gypsy got to see Rhys Live!!!

She also sent a shout out to our dear Michelle aka longmayheroam.bsky.social!

Source: Gypsy's IG

= Cohen Holloway =

Pop Pop, Cohen Holloway is going to be speaking on Palaver at the Little Andromeda at the beginning of May! In AoNZ and wanna get tickets? Visit www.littleandromeda.co.nz. (PS: Deacon from WWDITS, Jonny Brugh will also be on there!)

Source: Palaver's IG

= Dominic Burgess =

Happy 9 year Anniversary to Dominic and his husband Mathew Yanagiya!

Source: Dominic's IG

= Rachel House =

Our beloved Mary Reed, Rachel House was out on vacation! And is that a Stu Rutherford (we're seeing all sorts of WWDITS cast out lately!) I spot amongst the cherry blossoms 👀?

Source: Rachel's IG

= Damien Gerard =

Damien, aka Father Teach is feeling the love from the OFMD fans! Thank you to whomever it was that made his night! PS: Damien's Birthday is coming up on May 10!

Source: Damien's Bsky

= Tiny Crew Big Raffle Reminder =

Reminder! Our friends over at @tinycrewbigraffle are still raffling off some amazing prizes to raise funds for wonderful charities chosen by the cast! The grand prize is this adorable baby monkey prop donated by Megan Vertelle! Other prizes include an OFMD Pop Up Zine by our darling Ollie aka @lumiilys! If that wasn't enough to incentivize you, you can also win a reproduction of Ed's necklace by Harlan's Emporium!! Check out the site for more information!

Source: TinyCrewBigRaffle Site / OFMD Pop Up Zine Info / Harlan's Emporium Info

== Fan Weeks ==

May 18 to 24th is Frenchie Week! For more info and prompts visit frenchieweek.bsky.social!

Source: Frenchie Week Bsky

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies. Phew, managed two catch ups in one night, now I just need to get caught up on the last of March and early April! It's gonna happen!

As I was getting ready to post this, "This Women's Work" started playing, and hand to goodness it came up randomly on spotify (after I'd chosen the Love Notes art already). I thought it was a good sign to send out a gentle reminder that we all still have a little life in us yet. Things are tough right now. Every day we're fighting, every day we're pushing back, and it's exhausting. Please take a break. Please handle today and no matter what happens, even if you stay on that break, come back to this world tomorrow. You have so much life left in you, and you have so much love and kindness to give to this world, and this world to give to you. You deserve soft times, and love, and we're gonna have to fight for them for a while, but I hope you know you deserve them, and they will happen one day. We just have to hold onto hope. If I was going to be stuck in the Gravy Basket with anyone, I'm glad it's all of you. Love you Crew.

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A post shared by @thelatestkate

Source: The Latest Kate's IG

[emrowene]

Webserials and Why You Should Read Them

Welcome to a short primer on webserials! The concept behind them is pretty simple: webserials, also called webnovels or webfiction, are serialized online novels. If you read long fanfics OR webcomics, you're probably already familiar with the concept. Authors release new chapters on a fixed basis, usually one chapter a week (but sometimes more, sometimes less).

You can find webserials in several places: on big platforms like tapas and royalroad, on individual authors' websites or patreons, or on newsletter platforms like substack.

So now we know what webserials are, but why should we support them?

Because webserials are fun. Because webserial authors are sharing amazing works online for free! Because the publishing industry is disproportionately hard to get into for queer and marginalized folks, and those are the people writing webserials.

To climb a little higher onto my soapbox, I believe webserials are the future of accessible and diverse publishing. There's been more and more discussion about the problems with traditional publishing: how publishers are turning it into a "fast fashion" industry, spitting out books while overall book quality decreases. Regardless of whether you believe that, it's true that the industry prioritizes "marketability" over anything else. Experimental books, passion projects, books that have a lot of heart but no pithy "tropes" -- they stand little chance in the world of traditional publishing, and self-publishing is incredibly inaccessible for most of us. It's expensive, but more than that, it takes an incredible amount of time and effort. It's a business, and at the end of the day, some of just want to share the stories we love with people we hope will love them too. And that's the beauty of webserials!

One complaint I've seen about webserials is that "you never know what the quality will be like" - and I've seen this from people who regularly read fanfiction! Like fanfiction writers, we have our beta readers, we have our editors, we pour our hearts into developing our stories. So give us a try!!

Some recs and places to get started under the cut:

My webserials:

Fractured Magic - A queer epic fantasy series about a broken hero’s hunt for redemption and an elven prince’s quest to rescue his kidnapped king. The two estranged friends are racing against time - and dead gods - to achieve their goals. Will they make up and work together before it’s too late? (This story is currently ongoing)

The Case Files of Sheridan Bell - An old-school detective mystery set in Tamarley, a fantastical city with magical murders and doors to other worlds. Basically (queer, autistic) Sherlock Holmes but with more faeries. The first mystery is complete; the second will be published soon!

Some other webserials I follow/followed from start to finish:

What Manner of Man by @stjohnstarling - a queer gothic romance novel about a priest and a vampire.

The Warthog Report by @warthogreporter- this substack contains a selection of nonfiction writing, misc. fiction writings, and Battles Beneath The Stars, a serialized story about a tournament in a fantasy world, styled like a fighting game script/walkthrough.

Kiss it Better by DogshitJay - A (definitely 18+) queer adult romance about the messy endings and messier beginnings of love.

Warrior of Hearts by Beau Van Dalen - a queer slice of life romance following an online friendship that blossoms into something more. (Beau has lots of other great webserials as well!)

More places to look:

Tapas (Community novels page)

Royalroad (mostly known for its litrpg scene, but you can find other novels and genres here as well!)

The ao3 "Original Works" tag!

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

03/04-08/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Vico Ortiz/OFMD Craft Fair Flash Sale!; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Samba Schutte; Vico Ortiz; Kristian Nairn; Anapela Polata'ivao; Rachel House; Tim Heidecker; Damien Gerard; Dominic Burgess; OFMD Craft Fair Follow Up; Save Our Queer Stories; Articles; You Only Frame Twice; Fan Spotlight; Love Notes;

= Vico Ortiz /OFMD Craft Fair =

Looks like there's ONE MORE Auction available from the OFMD Craft Fair. Check out these awesome items provided by Vico! They end March 9th, 5PM EDT! Check them out here!

Source: OFMD Craft Fair Final Auction

= David Jenkins =

Our Pirate/Chaos Dad has once again triggered some clowning by posting pictures of the Revenge with the text "How it started"

Source: David Jenkins IG

= Rhy Darby =

Rhys posted a short sketch from one of his recent shows!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rhys Darby (@rhysiedarby)

Source: Rhys Darby's IG

He also posted some tour BTS on his Paid Substack Video!

Source: Rhys Paid Substack

= Taika Waititi =

Taika recently posted a lot of his most recent directoral works on Instagram! Here's two I don't think I've shared before from other sources! You can check out the rest of the items he posted on his IG!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Taika Waititi (@taikawaititi)

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A post shared by Taika Waititi (@taikawaititi)

Source: Taika's IG

= Con O'Neill =

The anonymous winner of the Con O'Neill recording was absolutely amazing and shared the donation with the fandom! You can listen to the recording below. Thank you Anonymous Crewmate <3

Voice Source: veeagainsttheday's Bsky

Transcript Source: @blakbonnet's Tumblr / Roxirondell's Bsky

Speaking of Con, he posted a silly picture of him and Cooper <3

Source: Con's IG

= Samba Schutte =

Samba was out at the beach with his little one!

Source: Samba's IG

= Vico Ortiz =

Our darling Vico has been keeping us full of Madeleine Sami BTS lately! Two new ones are up on their Paid Patreon! OFMD BTS 1 OFMD BTS 2

Source: Vico's Paid Patreon

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian posted a quick update! He's been out for conventions in London & Aberdeen recently and he's got some updates regarding Spektrum as well!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kristian Nairn (@kristiannairn)

Source: Kristian's IG

= Anapela Polata'ivao =

More interviews with Anapela for the Tinā film!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @tinathefilm

Source: Tinā The Film IG

= Rachel House =

Rachel back in Aotearoa and out with Whanau!

Source: Rachel's IG

= Tim Heidecker =

Our Doug, Tim Heidecker has a new episode of Office Hours Live up on Youtube!

= Damien Gerard =

Father Teach, aka Damien Gerard, is blessing us with more kitty pics!

Source: Damien's Bsky

= Dominic Burgess =

You know who else loves to bless us with cat content? Our dear Jeffrey Fettering, Dominic Burgess!

Source: Dominic's Bsky

Dominic posted some pictures from his trip to Transformers Con this weekend!

Source: Dominics Bsky

== OFMD Craft Fair Follow Up ==

Hey crew! Looks like the folks who ran the Craft Fair could use some help with putting together the rest of the cost of shipping for all the winners. If you have a few dollars to spare, they'd love your help meeting that need! https://ko-fi.com/ghostalservice

Source: Momebie's Bsky

== Save Our Queer Stories ==

The folks over at @savequeerstories shared more information about @adoptourcrew and how to help support OFMD! Thanks for keeping us on your radar friends!

Source: SaveQueerStories Bsky

== Articles ==

Fabulous news! Pink News featured the fandoms Craft Fair! At the time it was posted only $85K had been raised, but it's already over $100K now!! So many trans kids are going to get the help they need because of you crew! Article Here

Source: Pink News IG

== You Only Frame Twice ==

There's a new Fan-Frames project going on! This time folks are looking for people to help with a fan-made animatic project to illustrate David's OFMD Christmas/Valentine's Special! Interested in joining them? Check out their bsky for more info! You can also sign up here!

Source: You Only Fram Twice Bluesky

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Mossgroves =

The first up on the Fan Spotlight for the OFMD Craft fair is the absolute legend @mossgroves! She was so incredibly kind to donate this amazing Painting of our boys! If you aren't familiar with Moss's work, please take a moment to check out her incredible art here on their linktr.ee! Her work is one of the first fanarts I'd seen in this fandom and it really blew me away and peaked my interest in OFMD!

= Jillian S =

Another one of our dear crewmates, @jilliansauers makes beautiful ornaments and necklaces (I have one of her Messages In A Bottle and it's awesome!!) She donated these two wonderful pieces to the Craft Fair! Also in case you didn't know-- Jillian also does such amazing things for this fandom day to day (she helps keep track of the donations we've made as a fandom, reaches out to everyone and sends love, is always keeping an eye out for new cast members on the various platforms, and so much more)-- she's a treasure! You can find Jillian over on Bluesky!

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies. I know this week has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster! The 3 year anniversary of OFMD was on 03/03 and then the 1 year anniversary of David telling us 'officially' there was no renewal was on 03/07. I remember that day really well. I remember crying at my desk for hours while I tried to work. I remember streaming OFMD with several crewmates trying to find some assemblance of calm. It's hard to believe it's been a whole year. The renewal campaign efforts were so intense those first few months, and then David's message hit us all like a ton of bricks. But you know what? You all still kept showing up. Whether it was for renewal efforts, menacing WB execs, supporting your fellow crew financially or emotionally, raising money for marginalized groups, for cast & crew in their continued endeavors--- you kept showing up. That's what community is. We show up for each other. I know the craft fair has been a big topic for several weeks now, and I'm loving every ounce of it because look at what it's done. Over $100,000 for trans youth, our sibs that are currently being targeted by so many people in the US and across the world. I know we can't afford to spend that much money all the time, but it's so incredibly inspiring what you all can do when you band together. Please never forget the power you have, individually, but especially as a crew, as a community. We rally together so well because this crew is kind and loving and even when we have our inter-fandom squabbles, we still come together when things are most important and make magic happen. I hope you know how proud we all are of you lovelies. I hope you all are proud of yourselves for the immense impact you made on so many lives, just by being kind.

Rest well, remember to hydrate, and take some time for you.

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Source: Anxiety Positive Instagram

[milf--adjacent]

Hey it's decolonize-the-left/2spirit-0spoons

....they got me again. At least they got my political sideblog. I still have my main backup acct tho, which is weird and honestly this account may not last either.

A shame this happened right after we were reunited too 😭💖

And so at the risk of being annoying and possibly even cringe. Can you post this and help me get my bluesky out just in case ppl wanna keep following me elsewhere? (Or here on my new tumblr main?)

https://bsky.app/profile/2spirit1spoon.bsky.social

Cuz i genuinely don't know if I'm gonna remake another politics blog on here. I might do substack or patreon or something but idk, anyway...

Its very clear to me rn censorship will get worse and while I know there's isn't really a Safe place on the internet, rn I'm trying em all out 😮‍💨

So if you or anyone else has suggestions on where to go, please send them my way 💕

o7 you're braver than any US marine. Redbook/Xiaohongshu is pretty interesting so far. Gotta have some Chinese tho, but folks aren't outright assholes for the most part which is a fucking culture shock lmao.

[scretladyspider]

Asexuality can be an overwhelming topic when you’re new to it. If I heard for the first time ever that there are people who experience little to no sexual attraction, I’d have questions too. I did when I first heard about it and I asked a lot of things. If I knew in 2015 what I know now, I would’ve gone about it very differently. And so in this post I’m going to try to pass along some things I’ve learned only with experience.

If you’re curious about asexuality and you want to learn about it, the way to do that isn’t to ask people, especially strangers, invasive questions about sexual histories, trauma, or other invasive questions such as if someone masturbates, has sex, or has some sort of disorder that could effect their libido. Even if you’re curious about those aspects of someone’s ace experience, it isn’t a good way to start the conversation.

For starters, asexuality is a spectrum. Libido, arousal, and sexual attraction aren’t the same thing. Aces have different feelings about things like masturbating, engaging in sex, watching porn, etc.

A good rule of thumb is if it would be an invasive question for someone to ask you, especially without warning or permission, it’s safe to say it’s not an appropriate question to pop on someone else without informed consent.

More importantly, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable and challenge yourself. If you come into the conversation thinking asexuality isn’t real, and immediately dismiss anything that challenges you… you’re not really going to learn anything. You can’t learn something new if you’ve already decided the new thing doesn’t exist.

Aces are used to being dismissed.

We’re used to people saying it’s a disorder, it’s a mental illness, we just need to try it, it’s just trauma, it’s antidepressants, and so on. Whatever you’re thinking, we’ve heard it. And never mind that aces, like anyone who isn’t ace, can also be disabled, have experienced trauma, have had and enjoyed partnered sex and/or masturbation, watch porn, and so on. Any nuance is used as an excuse to write off asexuality. Again, we’ve heard it.

Aces know the whole world is expected to experience sexual attraction, and that what is and isn’t acceptable is heavily influenced by culture, race, sexism, and heteronormativity. Aces aren’t supposed to exist, but we still do.

So it makes sense that people want to ask the personal questions, especially those who really do want to learn about asexuality.

But we shouldn’t have to compromise our boundaries for you to believe we exist.

But say you do sincerely want to learn about asexuality. And you do want answers to the weird, uncomfortable questions.

What do you do?

read the full post on my ko-fi or on my patreon

ko-fi and patreon supporters get early access to long form essays and it helps me stay housed

also follow/subscribe on substack for the longer essays

[formulatrash]

I'm gonna be controversial and say I have absolutely no problem paying for Watcher on a separate site. YouTube is a hole that frequently promotes right wing shit and despite my incredibly careful curation and premium subscription it constantly tries to make me watch the WORST people, it also makes even the best people have to run horrible promos for bad companies as part of their videos because even getting the kind of viewing numbers that would keep a major TV show going doesn't pay the bills for a production company operating with relatively low overheads.

I get that it sucks but I am FINE (and I am extremely poor, I work a minimum wage job and have average adult who's nearly 40 life costs) with them saying they want to get the money direct not via being ripped off by one of the world's biggest companies profiting by making things worse. $5.99 a month is not much, $41.99 for a YEAR (currently) is fuck all. when sport paywalls itself behind something that's like £35 per month that's one thing but I already willingly pay for loads of creators on Patreon and Substack because I know damn well, as someone who used to earn my whole income in media it doesn't fucking pay you anything.

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Practical Tips to Create and Configure a Patreon Account and Start Creating

You can do this in less than an hour with my practical tips. Bonus: importance of building a community on Patreon. When I published my Substack Mastery book, I got in touch with some readers to obtain feedback on their first impressions.. One of the questions was which chapter was the most useful for them. It varied among readers, but one pattern emerged when I analyzed the data.  Readers from…

[drdemonprince]

This is prompted by your most recent substack about fame, because my point is extremely tangential, I'm putting it here.

It's interesting to have seen the internet go through many stages. From the newsgroups/BBS era, to internet forums, to blogs, to social media, and how the respective environments shaped things.

In the early days, it's very much a group thing, some people became Big Name posters, pseudonymous, but still a group thing. The blog era was more personal, but still something made by someone who's just a person, even if not literally pseudonymous. Also, still text based, a lot of it even often. Social media changed that, with it's focus on follower counts on one hand and to snippets of text (twitter) or images (insta), and even though it's social media-ness is debatable, video (insta, youtube). The semi-anonymous nature however, was completely lost by now.

The doing it because you enjoyed it, or whatever, also recedes into the background because this is where monetization really takes off. The deleterious effects of the interaction between monetization and follower counts (notability) need no introduction, but painting with broad strokes, make something appeal as broad as possible deepens the flattening effect a medium like video already has, the visual aspects often being more important than the messages. It also has a much higher barrier to entry. Spinning up your own blog is cheap, text takes only a tiny amount data. Video is not. It's expensive to make (especially if you want slick videos), expensive to serve, so it's predisposed to big, single platforms that can leverage economies of scale.

The natural result is that you have a few people with big audiences, instead of many people with small audiences. If audiences is even the right word for that. If I'm talking about say, some TV show on my blog, and someone responds, it's a fairly equal conversation. More between peers, of sorts, just two people talking about something they share. As opposed to a Youtuber who makes a video about it with 100,000s of viewers. Because there are so many fewer voices, you lose the breadth of conversation too, narrowing to a small range of popular topics, and the distinction between You, and You as Your Brand gets eroded.

It's kinda notable in the autism sphere. Blogs where people talk about their experiences, how they dealt or didn't deal with things, have fallen off. Twitter came and went, and now there's Youtube and insta, where everything gets simplified down to a few slides or a 10 minute video about only the most basic aspects. Which is just... sad. I wouldn't have known that autistic burnout is a Thing many people struggle with if not for a blog post a friend came across and shared one day.

There was a comment from someone, a while ago, about how they used to have ASMR videos on, until they were able to get out into nature, and their desire for those videos completely disappeared. We're all very deprived. Of social contact, foremost. The pandemic poured gasoline on an already smoldering fire I feel. Latching onto someone 'famous' in a surrogate of social contact & context, like that person with their ASMR videos, feels like an understandable (though not good) outcome of that, which brings with it very regrettable excesses.

I think this is all pretty much a correct analysis, thank you! Though I would qualify that we have shifted away from the period of the Youtube mega content creator a social media ecosystem of intimate-seeming connections with smaller influencers, these days. Think of your Twitch streamers with a dedicated base of like 50-200 viewers per stream (and a Discord and a Patreon that supports them), the fitness Instagrams that sell meal plans online, the tarot witches and activist influencers offering one on one sessions, etc. Those communities can be more niche, but they still offer the illusion of a connection -- and if anything, that illusion is more strong because the creator is a "micro" famous person, and can take time to interact closely with fans here and there. We might already be heading out of that period of social media, though, especially with the disintegration of Twitter and the slow death of Meta's apps, too. I don't know what comes next but I hope we are due for a reappraisal of all of this, and the norms surrounding it.

[rsoctavian]

Author’s Notes: I hope you guys are enjoying this story! Beginning Chapter 12, which marks the second part, only an excerpt or teaser will be made available here at Substack. Support the Muse by joining us at Patreon to read the full chapters as they come out! Hope to see you there!

Excerpt:

"Elliot," Evelyn said. "Forgive me."

“Forgive you,” Stuart said, voice faint as fury began to set in. “Bloody Christ, forgive you?”

He looked away, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. His throat had closed up, making speech difficult. “All these years, do you even realize what you’ve done—”

He looked back and was surprised not to see Evelyn there. Instead he was on the ground, crumpled in a heap before him.

“Eve!”

The Education of Mr Hartnell is a queer Regency Omegaverse romance between an unlikely Alpha and Omega. Support the Muse and read the full chapters which are posted ahead on Patreon!

Ko-Fi | Patreon

[mjjune]

author ask tag

thanks for the shoutout @vsnotresponding <3

What is the main lesson of your story?

this isn't really for me to decide, but the audience. screenshots below are from a few beta readers from avof! you can read and decide for yourself (ID in alt text!)

What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding?

oh man, everything vampire i've ever read. twilight, carmilla, dracula, the anita blake series, true blood, anne rice, what we do in the shadows... but also all my stories have influence from east asian and chinese mythology and culture because i'm a tad obsessed lol

What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, or help the reader grow as a person?

in avof, the mcs are mostly trying to survive, figure out who they are, and stop an apocalypse. as the writer, there were a lot of themes i wanted to explore including self-discovery and self-acceptance, found family, accepting that you are worthy of love--and if the readers can learn about themselves or grow as people from that, then that's wonderful. i know i certainly grew while writing it.

How many chapters is your story going to have?

35 chapters plus a few bonuses~

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

it's all original, baby. patreon and substack starting in august/september! follow for updates <3

When did you start writing?

according to my mom i was telling stories before i could write and she would write them for me. my earliest memories of it are writing short stories and novellas in 2nd-3rd grade

Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr? What other writers do you follow?

it's rough out there right now, i feel like interaction just keeps getting lower and i'm sure the state of the world and politics isn't helping... but some of my friends and fav writers are @vacantgodling @stjohnstarling @bebewrites @isabellebissonrouthier @sleepyowlwrites @inks-books @garthcelyn @moondust-bard @saintedseraph a bunch of others i'm forgetting... lol

open tag for anyone who wants to!! especially the writers above please i'm nosy ;)

[ofmdrecaps]

03/17-20/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Kristian Nairn; Zayre Ferrer; Vico Ortiz; Jes Tom; Bronson Pinchot; Dominic Burgess; Nicola Dove; The New Uni-Con; Our Drag Means Slay; Love Notes;

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys' Tour is in full swing in Aotearoa and he's been featured in lots of articles and participating in Podcast and Radio Shows all over!

Source: Beat Magazine

One of the podcasts he was on recently was Wilosophy! You can listen below, but there's also some clips on IG! Our friends over at @adoptourcrew also put up some clips on their Bluesky as well!

Source: Wilosophy

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Everyone Relax (@everyone.relax)

Source: Rhys's IG

Tired of Rhys yet? ME NEITHER! It's like a gift every day! There's also a New Cryptid Factor Episode! #105 The Robot Host Issue!

Source: The Cryptid Factor - Paid Patreon

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian just sending some love and hinting at some Spektrum updates!

Source: Kristian's IG

= Zayre Ferrer =

One of our fabulous writers, Zayre Ferrer is looking for "Los Angeles locals of all genders who identify as Afro-Caribeños, Hispanos & Latinos in their early 20s to 50s for various lead and supporting roles! Check out the casting info below!

Please email teamdpd@dpdcasting.com for more information."

Buscando talento Afro-Caribeño, Hispano y Latino residente en Los Angeles, de todos géneros entre 20 y 50 años, para papeles principales y secundarios. Para participar, obtener más información o si tiene preguntas envié un correo electrónico a teamdpd@dpdcasting.com.

Source: Zayre's IG

= Vico Ortiz =

Vico's been very busy with Today in Gay and other projects!

Source: Vico's Bluesky

March 17

March 18

March 19

March 20

Source: Today In Gay Substack

Vico's also been keeping us fed with more BTS on their paid Patreon! Here's a couple previews!

Source: Vico's Paid Patreon

Source: Vico's Paid Patreon

= James Tom =

Gonna be in San Francisco on May 6th? Why not stop in and see James Tom, one of our dear writers for their stand up! Get tickets here!

Source: James Tom's IG

= Bronson Pinchot =

Bronson, our villainous Ned Low, was out at "The Residence" Red carpet event with Netflix! I ran out of space for videos on this post, but Bronson also posted a video of him and his pup you should go watch here on IG for some serotonin!

Source: Bronson's IG

= Dominic Burgess =

Our dear Jeffrey Fettering, Dominic, is going to be in Hulu's GOOD AMERICAN FAMILY! Here's a clip!

Source: Dominics Bsky

As a bonus, Dominic is thinking of us and sending us kitty love <3

Source: Dominic's Bsky

= Nicola Dove =

More wonderful BTS photos and memories from one of our S2 Photographers-- Nicola Dove! These feature both before and after shots of specific scenes.

Source: FilmstillsAcademy IG

"Don't get too close to Rhys Darby with a sword. 😉 Behind the scenes on Our Flag Means Death S2"

Source: FilmStillsAcademy IG

== The New Uni-Con ==

Guess who's joining The New Uni-Con in London June 20th - 22nd? Why it's none other than, "Mr. Cool", Nathan Foad! Why is it I don't live in the UK again?

Source: Siren UK Events

== Our Drag Means Slay ==

My sincerest apologies to the Our Drag Means Slay folks, I've been so behind on these I'm not sure there's enough time to still send raffle prizes you'd like to donate-- but if so-- they're still accepting raffle prizes for their April 12 show in Chicago! They need them in hand by 04/10! All proceeds from the raffle, and part of the ticket sales go to The Lighthouse Foundation!

Source: Our Drag Means Slay IG

== Articles ==

As always, thank you to our amazing crewmates over at @adoptourcrew for keeping us up to date on articles featuring our favorite show!

Telltale-tv: The 15 Best Will They - Won't They TV Relationships

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Bsky

Max's #4 most-watched show is The Righteous Gemstones – here are 3 more great comedies with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes

Source: Adopt Our Crew Bsky

More of the OFMD Craft Fair featured on INTO!

Our Flag Means Death creator donates to a craft fair raising funds for trans youth - INTO

Source: Intomore.com's Bsky

== Love Notes ==

Just a couple love notes for you lovelies. Please remember that you're doing the best you can, and you're going to get wherever you want to go one day <3

Love you crew <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by bailey (@anxiety.positive)

Source: Anxiety Positive IG

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by bailey (@anxiety.positive)

Source: Anxiety Positive IG

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Been a while since we've had some silly gifs! Tonight's gifs are courtesy of the lovely and talented @fandomsmeantheworldtome and @soapbubbles511 <3

[bettsfic]

Hi! Hope you're well. I came across your blog (and subsequent substack and short stories) and have been obsessively reading everything you've ever posted for the past week. In one of your substack posts you link to a piece called coping skills published in flossy lit mag, but that link is broken (or in any case seems to link to a bunch of scammy ads) so I was wondering if that piece is still available to read somewhere? Thanks!

that's great to hear! i'm glad you're enjoying the stories. i'm sorry to hear about Flossy going down. that was a litmag started by a couple friends of mine that i guess folded. unfortunately it's not published anywhere else and i'm probably taking it out of my short story collection. it's a two part story where the first part is 2k and the second part is i think 10k

but! i was hoping eventually to launch some kind of lowkey, easy peasy patreon-esque thing where i could send out some of my work to the people who are interested in it. by that i mean, the work that is most unpublishable. unfortunately, patreon is making changes later this year that aren't compatible at all with what i would need it for, and everything else i've found is just too...i don't know, made-for-seeking-huge-audiences vibe. i do not want a huge audience. until i find a platform that's like "hi mailing list, if you're interested in this story please send me five dollars and in return you will get a PDF or EPUB* of a story too spicy for the general public" ** that 1) doesn't take a million years to set up, 2) is incapable of going viral, and 3) i don't have to update on a consistent basis (and that doesn't cost a ton of money), then these pieces will be unavailable. but surely someone will eventually make such a service

*making ebooks is so hard. at least, making pretty ones. but @emimayooo has found a way so that's one obstacle down

**i will not use amazon or any other skeevy platform