#{so apologies in advance}

[arttsuka]

I've got no inspiration for real drawings so yeah..

[thelaurenshippen]

this is a genuine question not at all meant as a rude gotcha, but I feel like I've seen lots of people cite the relatively low barrier of entry as a huge advantage of podcasts as a medium, "if you have access to decent audio tech you can make a podcast" etc etc. So where does the need to sell a script come in? Is it a financial thing, and IP thing, something else?

this doesn't read like a rude gotcha at all, it's a really good question! there is a much lower barrier to entry when it comes to podcasts compared to tv, film, theater, etc. (though not as low as writing a book if we're talking about hard resources - you can technically write a book with just a laptop and a dream and then self publish! though as a writer who has written a lot of scripts and four books (3 published) writing a book is a much bigger psychological burden imo lol).

the need to sell a script, for me, is entirely a financial thing. if I had the money to produce podcasts at the level I want to entirely independently, I would! I know how to do it! but, unfortunately, I really only have the funds to produce something like @breakerwhiskey - a single narrator daily podcast that I make entirely on my own.

and that show is actually a great example of just how low the barrier is: I actually record the whole thing on a CB radio I got off of ebay for 30 bucks, my editing software is $50/month (I do a lot of editing, so this is an expense that isn't just for that show) and there are no hosting costs for it. the only thing it truly costs me is time and effort.

not every show I want to make is single narrator. a lot of the shows I've made involve large casts, full sound design, other writers, studio recording, scoring, and sometimes full cast albums (my first show, The Bright Sessions had all of those). I've worked on shows that have had budgets of 100 dollars and worked on shows that cost nearly half a million dollars. if anyone is curious about the nitty gritty of budgets, I made a huge amount of public, free resources about making audio drama earlier this year that has example budgets in these ranges!

back in the beginning of my career, I asked actors to work for free or sound designers to work for a tiny fee, because I was doing it all for free and we were all starting out. I don't like doing that anymore. so even if I'm making a show with only a few actors and a single sound designer...well, if you want an experienced sound designer and to pay everyone fairly (which I do!), it's going to cost you at least a few thousand dollars. when you're already writing something for free, it can be hard to justify spending that kind of money. I've sound designed in the past - and will be doing so again in the near future for another indie show of mine - but I'm not very good at it. that's usually the biggest expense that I want to have covered by an outside budget.

but if I'm being really honest, I want to be paid to write! while I do a lot of things - direct, produce, act, consult, etc. - writing is my main love and I want it to be the majority of my income. I'm really fortunate to be a full-time creative and I still do a lot of work independently for no money, but when I have a show that would be too expensive to produce on my own, ideally I want someone else footing the bill and paying me to write the scripts.

I love that audio fiction has the low barrier to entry it does, because I think hobbyists are incredible - it is a beautiful and generous thing to provide your labor freely to something creative and then share it with the world - but the barrier to being a professional audio drama writer is certainly higher. I'm very lucky to already be there, but, as every creative will tell you, even after you've had several successes and established yourself in the field, it can still be hard to make a living!

anyway, I hope this answers your question! I love talking about this stuff, so if anyone else is curious about this kind of thing, please ask away.

[mossymossman]

Being neurodivergent is like my brain is written in Java Script and everyone else is written in HTML

[charizardstolemynickname]

Okay I am mainly making this for myself but I am adding here all the secret life tasks people are doing so when I rewatch the first episode from different povs I can go "OH MY GOD THATS WHAT THEY WERE DOING"

SO BELOW HERE ARE SPOILERS FOR SESSION 1 SECRET LIFE SMP TASKS

Tango: Get Scar to talk about Star Wars for over 60 seconds

Scar: Call people anything but their username for at least 30 minutes of the session (failed), Come up with a nickname for another player and convince 2 other people to use it (New harder task after a reroll)

Mumbo: Make a pun at every opportunity in a 5 minute conversation, minimum of 3 successful puns

Joel: Plug the life merch at the worst possible times to other players at least 4 times

BDubs: Make your base deeply uncomfortable to use and look at

Martyn: Build an identical base to another player

Scott: Build your base directly and obnoxiously attached to someone else's

Skizz: Don't be further than 10 blocks from GeminiTay for 10 minutes. One attempt only

Jimmy: Break 5 crafting tables while they are being used

Cleo: Build your base on top of someone else's base

Gem: Convince someone to take a leap of faith and make sure they take no damage

Etho: Collect 4 beds without being caught and place them on a shrine

Lizzie: Write a poem about a player and read it to them

Impulse: Make cherrywood your entire identity

BigB: Dig a big hole. All the way down. At least 3x3. Make it your base if you want

Pearl: Get 3 players to gift you their heart

Grian: Make 3 bad jokes and get NO laughs

[ultimatepokemontournament]

The Pokémon matches really are getting harder and harder huh

I suspect they're getting harder because we've reached the real nostalgia stages, but I imagine it will get MUCH more difficult once we hit Round 2 :D

[raddestrose]

I’M SO SCARED YOU GUYS

HE LOOKS SO TORMENTED

[xoxoemynn]

aging parents.

it's rough, man.

[nicomoon69]

updating my bernard design but it’s in the dionysus bernard au lolol

[catastrxblues]

finally listening to guts ajsklfd

[creaturetaled]

Let your muse get tattooed by Royce, he’s so very talented & I think it’d be a good way to establish bonds with him.

[trashratofgarbagehill]

Creation is so wild some days you get possessed and write like 10 pages in an hr and sometimes you write 3 words and cry

[ayulaoneone]

Recently-lost-religion self-discovery sub gf and Goddess-kinkster-who-hears-there's-a-vacancy domme gf

Convincing her that her closet shrine doesn't need to be dismantled, it could be used as a decoration space for various photos of and knick-knacks from her girlfriend. And if she finds herself reflexively praying to it still... well what's the harm?

"You don't need to have an answer to who rules over the world, honey. Just an answer to who rules over YOUR world. Who might that be?"

"Well, yes, they are 'gifts', of course, and I'm very grateful. But it feels so much more PROPER to call them 'sacrifices', don't you think? After all, it's not as if you aren't trying to win my favour, sweet thing."

[hesperidia]

kaoru joins the club of "undead members who figuratively brought ppl back to life" and it only took a silly scout story

[careful-knives]

Seeing all the love for ofmd on my dash and twitter tl is making me feel a bit better, ngl.

Still, I'm feeling lost and I don't know what to do with myself now.

Wild ideas:

write fanfic actually

make a 'real' Instagram account just to be "in the know" and follow the cast (like a normal amount, I'll never be able to meet any of them so if likes and comments are the only way to show support, so be it)

keep re-watching ofmd on BBC for as long as as it's there/Vpn allows

something else, accepting suggestions

learn how to whittle and make those cake toppers myself

I kinda wish I had anything physical with ofmd on me or to display on a shelf among other prized possessions.

Need to save and support fan artists.

Also, the news about Akira Toriyama. Another blow. I wasn't like a super fan but I enjoyed his works during my teenage years and it inspired such gems as dbz abridged, so...

It's just not a good day.

[cringedancemoves]

IM SORRY ITS GAME 43 AGAINST THE DEVILS AND LUKE IS THE ONLY HUGHES PLAYING AND ITS HIS FIRST GAME AT AMALIE SINCE FROZEN FOUR?!?!

[salt-and-pepper-priest]

When you get really excited about something so post about it a lot on tumblr, but then look back and realise you weren’t really saying anything interesting or new and start to get embarrassed.

Call that post-post clarity