#one of my more niche posts but these are my two main interests rn and i cant stop thinking about it

[nymphaeya]

the dynamic between yunho and mingi from ateez is the same as impulse and skizz from hermitcraft and no i wont elaborate

[ronin-deactivated19851026]

so i've been extremely overwhelmed by....... i guess everything online lmao, it's really hard to focus on things when you're constantly bombarded with things you don't really need at the moment

i'm trying to get back into journaling but damn it's so hard. i know my head isn't empty, i spawn walls of texts almost daily, but my mind goes blank when i'm in front of an open notebook because i don't know what's truly worthy of writing down? it's kind of like with drawing at this point. i'm stuck with the art block because i don't know what's worthy of drawing. and guess what made me feel this way? the social media lmfao. i hate that literally every idea i consider cool i never depict because my brain immediately goes like, "who cares about this?", "this won't get noticed and also you're too late, so don't be cringe", etc

i hate this so much idk. anyway, i think i'm going to make a list of things to focus on, both personal projects/artistic inspirations and fandom related ones. i do have things i overfixate on for years, so why am i letting myself be distracted by some random content ideas that only matter to me for like a day or two...?

i should also start limiting inspirations in general, looking at my folder rn and realizing that there are just WAY TOO MANY things i want to incorporate into my work and it really overwhelms me. reminds me of various artists saying that "less is more" and holy crap i should start limiting myself. this is something i slowly started to realize on my own when i did some pixel art, which is limited already due to its nature, with some color palettes instead of randomly staring at a color wheel for half an hour, not being able to decide which one to use.

also i found out about artfol, social media for artists, and so far it seems promising? haven't tried it yet, maybe i will upload some stuff there later. also maybe i'll finally sort everything here on tunglr dot com and make a separate art blog and will use this one as my "main"-diary-esque blog where i won't post much. it's not like i'm on here anyway, my dash feels overwhelming so i don't even scroll past 3-4 posts a day anymore on here. i'm tired of social media. it doesn't feel personal anymore, it's not fun, not interesting...

fomo effect used to fuck me up before something clicked and i stopped scrolling things. because due to nature of the modern internet, i have more chances of stumbling across useful/interesting information if i just keep scrolling through junk. since as you know, google is dead anyway, shit is hard to find these days, and indeed, every cool thing i managed to find was through random braindead scrolling (post 2016 i mean, i miss mid 2000s era when stuff was actually GOOGLEABLE and you didn't need to scroll long ass feed to stumble across cool things, you could get there at your own pace while just surfing the web). so the habit was made worse by "damn what if i miss some obscure post that features obscure cool thing that will matter to me once i get to know it??" but i'm just so fucking exhausted... everything i love about the internet because so dormant, niche even. the internet, as i define it, is dead to me. it's really heartbreaking

[lady-phasma]

Hi, are you open to read any Aemond Fics of a kind of newbie? I‘m trying to write my first multichapter fic rn but doesn’t seem to get any interactions bcs of my lack of followers. Or do you have any tips on how I could increase the interaction?

That's awesome, anon! I'm so flattered that you asked me. It's so exciting that you are starting a multichapter fic. They are sometimes tough but you don't have to rush.

Sure! I can't take time to thoroughly beta for anyone new at the moment but I will gladly read over parts that you might be struggling with. I usually answer DMs in a timely manner, so you can hit me up if you want. I don't want to assume that you have read my Aemond fics so check those out to make sure you like my representation of him (even if you just skim them). I split him into two headcanons: my main "version" is the one I feel is the most in character in my series Philosopher Prince and my self-indulgent Helaemond series (now complete) Steadfast. Most of my one-shots align with the version of him from Philosopher Prince, though I do write him in a variety of ways based on certain requests that pique my interest or challenge me.

Tips on interactions... well, the main thing I have learned is using what feels like, to me, too many tags. For a while I wouldn't tag my fics with "Ewan Mitchell" because it felt misleading, but I do now. The same works on Tumblr get far more interaction for me on AO3 because the tagging system is more specific and, for some, easier to use. On Tumblr you have to use as many tags as you can to engage with readers. I've found that tags on Tumblr do two main things: draw people in and/or serve as the warnings. I write smut so most of my works will come under the "mature content" community label, but I also include smut tags on the chapters that contain that. Because searching Tumblr isn't very easy using variations of tags is important. Example, if you write Aemond x Reader try using all the variations on that: "Aemond Targaryen x reader" or the gender if you want x fem!reader or x gn!reader, also add the "Aemond x you", and every variation of his name that people might follow (Aemond One Eye, Kinslayer, etc). All that applies to any ship, include as many variations as you want. I always use the generic "HotD fic" & "House of the Dragon fic" and their variations to reach casual readers who might not be looking for Aemond in particular. It takes a lot of time but it's important to use them on your initial posting so the fic shows up in the tag search.

The only other tip I have is that you should occasionally reblog a new chapter. I don't think there's a set rule for this and I feel really guilty when I do it. It helps because I have readers in many time zones who might not asked to tagged and the first post can get buried in their dash. I do this about 12-24 hours after. Then, sometimes I go back after an increase in followers and reblog my lowest performing first chapters (or all of a series periodically) to reach those new followers.

Lastly, because this has gotten long, interaction is nice and positive reinforcement does help me write more but that is not my motivation for writing. I write what I want to read. Not to say that I don't read other fics! I certainly do. But I usually start a fic because that niche hasn't been filled or doesn't have enough already. If you are writing what you want, what you enjoy, then the readership is secondary. It also takes time to get readers and it shouldn't be perceived as a reflection of the quality of your writing. I have been on AO3 for a long time and have quite a few subscribers over there. It's possible some of them are here too and they prefer to read on Tumblr; that was a base I probably started with that you won't have. But don't get discouraged. I write for myself, throw it out into the void, and sometimes people read it, and sometimes they enjoy it.

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

completely brainless 1am ramble

On the topic of stagnation, and the geopolitical plot vs. character-driven plot discussion people are having rn:

Maybe this is just a nostalgia-blinded bias of mine, having started with the Disc War, but...I’ve never minded the more character-based plots? Anyone who’s followed my blog for a bit knows that I love the Pet War, but I also loved the Disc War and the Final Pet War too. In those conflicts, the factions served as a backdrop rather than being the main focus, and the plot was driven by the characters and their grievances with one another.

One of my favorite smaller plots from Season Two was Fundy and Ghostbur. That had absolutely zilch to do with factions, or L’manburg, or geopolitics, but it was honestly one of the most well-acted and heart-breaking plots I’ve seen from the SMP in its entirety. 

I think that character-driven plots are places where the SMP’s really shined, at least to me personally.

Maybe that’s not everyone’s thing, but I don’t think it’s bad for the stories to be more character-driven! I think a lot more of the SMP than people realize has been like that this entire time. I think people sometimes overestimate how much the factions have actually mattered, in a sense?

Remember how the Disc War started? 

Tommy and Sapnap were a pair. Punz and Tubbo were a pair. Ponk and Alyssa were a pair. Dream logged on to stop the fighting and Tommy and Sapnap killed him, leading to Dream allying himself with Ponk and Alyssa. These weren’t faction lines dividing everyone, but personal grudges. That’s how the SMP’s entire plot started. “You and me, versus Dream,” right?

While the L’manburg War was amazing and a game-changer for the SMP storyline as a whole, I feel like the motivations, the driving forces for that war were actually a lot weaker than the recent conflicts. It was a cool bit of political roleplay, yes, but it was kind of just a war for the sake of a war, to be honest.

L’manburg was founded because some Americans got in the way of Wilbur and Tommy stealing everyone’s blaze rods. It went from a hotdog-selling business to a literal independent country because...revolution, I guess? And Dream declared war because...sometimes you just gotta kill some people sometimes, y’know...? 

It was the character-based conflicts from before that war that ended it. The discs ended the war even though they had nothing to do with the reason L’manburg seceded, because Tommy and Dream’s grudge against each other held more weight than the actual country. Who cared if L’manburg gained its independence as long as Dream gained the discs? That was a bigger win for him.

The conflicts that happened afterwards continued that trend of being character-driven rather than faction-driven. L’manburg kind of disappeared for a month as the Disc Saga continued with Tommy and Dream, Tommy and Quackity founded the Cartel and then the Pet War started up because of Sapnap.

None of these conflicts had anything to do with factions, really, and having all these little smaller stories gave a chance for people like Quackity, Fundy and Skeppy to get in on the drama more and throw their hats into the ring. 

That’s what I think is happening right now, except since there are a lot more people on the server now, they’re starting up their individual plots around the same time so that they start to overlap. 

And remember how Fundy and Tubbo started up the Dreamon Hunters plot, picked out new skins, built a new setting and everything just for that plot to never take off due to needing to prepare for the Manberg Festival? Such a cool plot idea, and it just never happened, really.

Well, now, the Badlands have been having fun creating their own Blood Vines plot, and since they aren’t very involved in what Tommy and Dream are doing, they have space to flesh out that idea and not have it be overshadowed by other things. Whether or not you, as a viewer, want to follow along with the side plot is your choice! But Bad seems to be having a lot of fun telling his own story. 

Quackity creating Mexican L’manburg and having that turn into a five-day plot that ended in war? That’s basically just the L’manburg War 2.0, and if you don’t feel like following along with the plot -- again, no need to! But Karl finally getting his chance to shine, Sapnap and George having character development with Dream, and Eret, Puffy and H getting in on some drama was honestly pretty exciting!

The thing about the SMP is that it’s not really built to be just one storyline. It’s never just been about L’manburg. 

While the Camarvan was built, Fundy and Eret were having their Prank War.

The same day Dream and Tommy fought to bargain with Skeppy, Fundy was getting into a court battle with Punz, Eret and Tubbo.

While the Election was happening, so was the Pet War.

In the middle of Pogtopia building its resistance, the Battle of the Lake happened with Tommy, Sapnap and the Badlands.

The SMP has always had storylines going on at the same time. It’s just that since most of the viewers have always focused on Tommy and Wilbur for the most part, a lot of the time those extra storylines slipped through the cracks of memory.

Now let’s get back to the geopolitics vs. character-driven thing:

This feeling of “stagnation” isn’t new! The SMP’s had periods like this, where it feels a bit slower and everyone’s a little confused about where it’s going before.

Remember that period from like, October 18th to November 6th or so where pretty much nothing happened to progress the plot? And since none of the other streamers on the SMP were doing their own plots, it was just kind of this period of...”who knows what’s happening right now?”

The thing about a politics-based plot vs. a more character-driven, million side-stories type deal is that as long as none of the country leaders were online, nothing could really happen to progress the main plot, and since the character-driven stuff wasn’t the main focus, that couldn’t drive much either.

So...yeah, you got the Tubbo Bathwater stream three days after the Festival happened. That’s just kinda how it went.

Schlatt only got on very rarely, Wilbur a bit less rarely, and Dream logging onto his own server was always more of a surprise more than a routine. Tommy and Techno were getting into hijinks, but there weren’t really any political stakes. Even though he was supposed to be exiled, Tommy just moved back into his house anyway, because who was going to stop him? The one person who cared about him staying out wasn’t there to do anything.

Yes, the Big Plot Days like the Festival and the Meeting were jaw-dropping and amazing! I loved them! Incredibly-written, incredibly-acted. 

But what about what happened between them? 

One thing I’ve enjoyed about the recent period is that it feels like a lot more streamers are keeping track of their characters and holding onto longer plot threads. It feels like more people are interacting with each other instead of doing builds by themselves. And even the main plot is progressing at this more subtle, bit-by-bit pace where there’s a bit of new development with each stream. The big event days still happen, like the New Festival and the Execution, but the pacing’s a lot more consistently spread out. And with all these other streamers keeping their own mini stories as well, it’s more of this melting pot of different people interacting, each with their own arc and tale to tell.

Ponk and Jack, for example, are keeping their ongoing rivalry. Sam, Bad and Ant are getting into their own storyline whereas before, the Badlands weren’t really doing much of anything. And Karl’s been doing the same fun side-things that he’s always done for months, but he’s recently started to try and find a niche for himself by trying these light-hearted events or his new Tales series, which could end up being really cool the more he refines it! 

I feel like a lot of the “chaos” feeling isn’t really from how the SMP’s main storyline has been written; most of the main plot has still kept to L’manburg and Techno.

It’s just that more people are taking notice of all the side hijinks that are going on in the background all the time, and some of the people who weren’t involved in the main plot before have started creating their own storylines for fun. 

I will say it again and again: you don’t have to follow along with every storyline! If it overwhelms you to try and keep up with the Blood Vines? That’s okay! You as a viewer have the freedom to create the viewing experience that makes you the most comfortable, that brings you the most joy! 

But I also think people could try and branch out a bit too. Give some new creators a try. No pressure or anything, and it’s fine if you just want to stick to Tommy or Techno! But there are a lot of talented people on the SMP, and I feel like some of these smaller stories are worth paying attention to if you’re interested!

Aaaaanyway, this is just a long, long post with some nonsense thoughts that I felt like getting out. Feel free to disagree! The SMP’s an interesting piece of media that everyone’s going to experience slightly differently. What may be my cup of tea might not be yours, and vice versa! :]

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

ok so we have seen over and over again people's assumptions about how gg main characters's instagrams would look like but how do you think their secret tumblr blogs would be? 👀

hmm! i just went over tumblr in general, because i don’t think all of them would have ‘secret’ tumblrs per say? everyone’s thing under the cut, cause it got SO long. i did not mention chuck because i don’t rlly see chuck as having a tumblr in any universe tbh - i feel like he would think it takes away from his businessy vibe or something.

dan's main would be something with a ts eliot url, like, a snippet from one of his poems, or it would be a whitman url, a snippet from a poem again (i see him with a whitman url of some kind & maybe his blog title is an eliot reference.) dan would 100% have the whole dark academia thing going in some ways, i think his blog would be organised as a grid, and he would reblog pictures of libraries, museums, occasionally of art, and also, quotes. so many quotes. so much literature. if you've been on tumblr long enough you know exactly the kind of blog i'm talking about.

dan's tumblr sideblog, on the contrary, would have nothing to link it to him. it'd probably be the tumblr default theme, pastel colours or something... i feel like dan is the specific genre of trans kid who uses a different set of pronouns online for anonymity purposes and then goes "wait a minute i like these pronouns BETTER". his url would be something extremely mundane and random like coffeeaddict779 or something, and it would be all #vent and #dont reblog. nobody who's following his sideblog knows what his main is, and vice versa.

serena would i think have one of those "be kind, do no harm :)" kind of hipster tumblr blogs, except she's incredibly sincere. she wouldn't have a sideblog, i don't think? and i don't think she'd attach her name to it in any way, probably just pronouns in bio and maybe a 'call me S'. she and dan would be mutuals on dan's main! her blog will be very, uh. aesthetic pictures, reblogs of dolphin videos and music and WIP art videos and anything else that'll catch her eye. she'll tag blair in fashion vids, nate in sailing posts, dan in literary stuff, and vanessa in film related/photography related things. she's having fun! every now and then she'll post a vent post but it's extremely vague and it's either something everyone who knows her irl already knows about her ('i hate my mom so much') or something that says practically nothing ('i am so worried about my brother and wish i could do more to help him.')

jenny's fashion inspo blog!!!! what more do you want me to say. she'd make it big in the fashion community and get anons all the time and she'd probably also have an etsy where she sells things she's sewn and made. everyone sort of knows she's an up and coming designer and she'd find a good community online hopefully!!! her blog would be something simple, with a url like jennydesigns or something (i bet that's taken rn, i havent checked) and her theme would be one of those themes that allows for u to have big images. she would probably post vents in the same way serena does, tag them #personal or #rambles, and have that neat code that allows for the tag to be filtered out whenever anyone views her page on desktop, you know?

i think eric would not have anything specific that he posts. he would just reblog random things - memes, things he finds interesting, jenny's original posts, stuff serena tags him in, cat videos, lgbtq+ positivity, etc. he'd try and stay out of drama (i think he'd turn anon off eventually.) he’d also post a lot of music reblogs or links, i feel?

vanessa's main blog would be one where she posts her own photos and films. because she's professional about it, it'd probably just be @ vanessaabrams. she'd have a sideblog specifically for reblogging other people’s work because she wants to support other artists, and it would be vanessareblogs or something like that, and her bio would mention “main tumblr @ vanessaabrams”. she’d be much adored in the photo/film community and just in general, because she’s one of the few people who hypes up other creators all the time and leaves nice comments in tags and all that. every now and then serena reblogs vanessa’s photography onto her blog and it almost always blows up, but vanessa doesn’t mind. i don’t think vanessa would have a vent blog or even a personal tag, she gives me big ‘i wanna keep my business totally off the net’ kind of vibes.

nate’s blog would be a lot like serena’s except, uh, more openly wanderlusty i think. a LOT of ocean reblogs. every now and then he reblogs keroauc quotes from dan which the girls find extremely hilarious. he talks a lot about sailing and gets a lot of sailing anons. he’d reblog a lot of positivity (mostly because he knows his friends are following him and he wants to brighten up their dash.) dan and vanessa jokingly dm him weed aesthetic posts all the time, but every time they do he reblogs and tags it ‘sent to me’ or somehting like that, and they cant decide whether to be flattered or embarrased. i think nate would also attract a lot of anons who ask for advice and it is something he never expected people coming to him for, but he definitely listens and shares whatever he’s got to say all the same. he’s this blog who should be weirdly niche but everyone sort of knows him and likes him.

saving the best for the last, lol. i have SO many thoughts about blair’s tumblrs. 

i think she’d have a main tumblr that’s solely for classic film stuff (audrey! and more) and that’d be @ blairwaldorf, because, well, duh. i think she’d pay for a tumblr theme and get one of those really fancy and cute ones, like a floralcodes ms paint theme. i think she’d also have a sideblog that’s less serious, where she’d reblog things from tv shows, reblog things serena or nate have tagged her in, write her own meta for fandoms she’s in, just generally be a multifandom mess with a #personal tag but nothing too personal. it would still be classy, because she’s blair, but on this blog, she’s just a girl having fun.

and then she’d have a THIRD blog, a sideblog that doubles up as a vent blog. and this one isn’t linked to her other two in an obvious way, nobody knows it’s her, etc. on here she’d probably post a lot about her ed (but i think in a  ‘i am struggling and i want to bitch’ way, not in a thinspo way - that’s a whole conversation i have no spoons for, so let’s not go there), she’d post about her insecurities and worries but it would be extremely untraceable. she’d have a fancy theme on this one too, despite it being a vent blog. 

hm. now im thinking of the potential of like. dan and blair interacting super frequently on their vent blogs and neither of them knowing it’s the other person!

[plague-of-insomnia]

Oh what genre of original fiction are you writing rn (if not multiple)? and tell us about the story/ies.

Thank you for this question. I’m sorry it’s taken me awhile to respond.

As far as original fiction goes, I have my online fiction, In/Exhale, which I publish for free in serial form (and later as ebooks) and which I have started posting on AO3. For my commercial fiction, I primarily write romance, although I am hoping to eventually get back into literary fiction someday. I have several WIP.

In/Exhale

Learn more here. Read on AO3.

This story I call a “soap opera” bc it is an ongoing saga with an ensemble cast (although it does have two main characters, Jon Taylor and Kai Fox, who are brothers), and because it can be a bit melodramatic at times. I have three completed seasons, the fourth one will begin next year some time. Each season is well over 100,000 words (equivalent to a long novel), so that’s a lot of material, but the basic story follows the lives and relationships of the two brothers, one who is a doctor and the other a college student.

The story focuses a lot on what life is like with chronic illness and disability, along with mental illness, and also has some romance elements (although I wouldn’t classify the story overall as a romance).

I/E is a retelling of a very personal story for me that I have been writing more or less my whole life, with the first public season first written/posted in 2012. So it’s been going for quite awhile. Although it’s on hiatus right now, if I see people are interested in it it may motivate me to get started on the next season sooner rather than later.

Love UnSeen

Read an excerpt here (it’s from the original version, though, keep that in mind).

This is the most recent of my commercial projects. It is a M/M romance.

The story follows a blind history professor named Jackson as he deals with the life changes after his sister gets married and moves out and a man he has a huge crush on—Dan—moves in. Since Dan is a photographer, and Jackson has been blind his whole life, he’s worried that they can never understand each other, but he soon learns otherwise. Set in New Orleans during Mardi Gras season, the story also delves into the mysterious world of krewes (fraternities that put on parades) and the history of Jackson’s family.

Az Monster (Working Title)

Read an excerpt here (from 2012 so please keep that in mind).

This is a story I have wanted to get back and finish but haven’t been able to for several years, so it’s probably what I will focus on next after Love UnSeen. It is a M/F romance.

This story is focuses on a single father with severe asthma who works as a ghostwriter freelance to pay the bills, although he is actually a fairly successful niche sci fi novelist who has been stuck in a writing drought since his wife was murdered a couple years ago. Struggling, he moves back home to the small West Texas town where he grew up when his mother is forced into a nursing home due to dementia. Life in the town that knew him as the weird, sickly child isn’t easy, especially with a young daughter and a mountain of bills. He befriends his neighbor and local GP, and eventually they fall in love.

I don’t often write children, but I really love this story and all the characters, especially the little moments that show Samuel’s pride and love for his daughter despite all that is stacked against him. Like him, though, I’ve been a bit stuck with it, so I had set it aside a few years ago, though I think it has good marketability and I really hope I’m able to finish it and publish it within the next two or three years.

Other

I have several other WIP, all romances, most of them M/M but I do have a couple that are M/F, but those are lower priority. I also have a literary fiction piece I want to finish someday. (But if you really want to know about them you can send another ask.)

[myriad--starlings]

I see you post about podcasts sometime and I've been wanting to listen to some podcasts lately, have any recommendations? :)

do i have recommendations you BET I DO

okay so. fiction podcasts:

Wolf 359; silly space station adventures take a turn for serious plot. there is sadness and beauty, and just. ahhhh. this is the first story I’ve gotten invested in deeply enough to write fanfiction for in years, so. it’s GOOD. definitely ranks up there with some of my favorite books

Sneak Attack; an actual play Dungeons and Dragons podcast which…yeah okay that’s a bit niche. XD but basically, it’s five friends playing a role-playing game together and weaving a beautiful story in the Game Master’s original world. It starts out a bit odd, and it takes some time to get past the quirky, kinda rough first few episodes but oh, my friend, my pal, my buddy…it made me sob. repeatedly. the STORY the CHARACTERS…I’m tearing up just thinking about it. if you like a story that will be fun and lovely for a while, before getting down to business and making you cry a bit….yeah. this one’s for you. it also has 100 episodes as of Friday, and by the time you catch up, will probably have many more.

both of those are clean, by the way. Sneak Attack is a little meh in the beginning, but it’s so worth it for the story pay-off that’s been going on recently. 

ars PARADOXICA; scientist from our time accidentally invents time travel. the catch is, you can only travel backwards in time. things get increasingly weird and mind-bending. there is incorrect verb usage. lots of suspense. there is also swearing. not a clean podcast.

King Falls AM; okay look, I’ve never listened to it, but my friend and pal @rememberozzie loves it to death and I think I’ll love it too, once I get the chance to listen to it. join the fandom and help her keep it alive, it’s a one-woman operation rn. 

non-fiction podcasts:

Hello Internet; two friends talking for about 2 hours per episode. they’re both YouTubers. I honestly don’t really know how I found it but I love it. It’s very calm and nice and just…casual. Two friends. Talking. There’s a little bit of language? maybe? but v minimal, nothing big. I listen to it while I fall asleep a lot and it’s v soothing.

Millennial; a podcast by a girl who loves radio, who is also a millennial, just kinda. talking about different things about adulting and stuff. even though the host is a bit older than me, I like it because I relate to her - she loves radio, and she really wanted to start a podcast. then she did. (I have not.) our similarities end there, but idk. I just think it’s interesting. and it kinda gives me courage to pursue my dreams of podcasting. uhhh p sure this one is clean. (i don’t always notice and remember language? but it shouldn’t have any.)

99% Invisible; this podcast introduced me to the world of podcasts. it got me hooked. it talks about design in the world, but the design of all SORTS of things - doors, food, mail, flags….I love this podcast so much. it satisfies the need in me to know obscure facts about the things no one notices or cares about in this world. also, the main host has a really nice voice. definitely clean.

and…that’s about it? I have a lot of podcasts on my TBL, but as I haven’t listened to them yet, I don’t want to recommend them. 

oh, and I will say: don’t get into Welcome to Night Vale, if you haven’t already. it’s a decent podcast, but not the greatest. listen to Sneak Attack or Wolf 359 instead. better use of your time.