Cheers Steemit,
My name is Gwydion, or Gwydion JMF Weber if you want the pompous version I dream of one day seeing on the world's real (and virtual) bookshelves. I'm a young author from Germany, and I have spent more time honing my English than mastering basic life skills, as one does when committing fully to something that probably wont work. In spite of the odds, I decided long ago that I wished to be happy and fulfilled with what I do, not slave away in some cubicle, making money for someone else. It's not the smart choice, but it is my choice.
But let's venture to the pleasant places this journey will lead us to, shall we? The one thing I do best is writing. I can do all kinds of writing, but I love fiction writing. I write sci-fi, fantasy, some horror, a bit of crime, urban fantasy, and any new combination or interpretation of old genres. For 11 years now I've been braving the depths of my mind, getting to know fictional people and exploring unreal places. It's been difficult to transform the constant flood of creative power into something with which I can express myself, but I have built my dam, and it comes with a hydroelectric power station to harness the energy of my ideas, of which there are still too many. I've worked on my skills for a long time, is what I'm saying, but I'm not even close to done perfecting them.
This is me in my favourite diner (the El Gordo Latin Sandwich Lounge), contemplating some cultural aspect, character relationship, plot twist or another. This is one of the few pictures that exist of me, so savour it. People have called me a vampire for my complexion, but they also do so because there are about 5 photographs of me in existence. I don't take pictures. It would take extreme duress to force me into taking a selfie. It's just not something that I do, which is ironic, because I have vast libraries of artwork and photographs on my hard drive that I rejoice in browsing.
Aside from my pain and passion, I enjoy roleplaying games, though I don't play nearly as much as I'd like to, partially due to time constraints, but also because Germany doesn't have a very big Pen and Paper culture. It exists, it's just difficult to access, especially where I live. I like playing characters with interesting backgrounds (I'm currently playing an ancient robot originally tasked with protecting and entertaining aristocratic children, who now lives in a world where nobody can reprogram him), but I also enjoy taking the reins as a Game Master, even though the numbers can be intimidating sometimes. That's also something I'm not: a numbers guy. I just ain't built for 'em.
Here's another of those rare pictures, and it's a couple years old. I plugged this into DeepStyle and my profile picture came out, because I like cool internet stuff like that. If you don't know what DeepStyle is, google it at your own peril. It may cost you months of your life.
Another thing I enjoy is making liqueurs, though I always prefer clear to cream. It's actually pretty simple if you want to try it at home: Sterilise a mason jar, but in some clean fruits, pour alcohol over them, close the thing, and wait for around 6 weeks. Then you strain the result into a bottle using cheesecloth and coffee filters. Add a good chunk of sugar, put away for a month, and the result will (maybe) be delicious. My current highlight's have been currant, toffee-apple rum, and a bottle of Werther's Original whiskey that I made for a good friend of mine.
For many years of frequenting online voice chats to play video games with people, I have encountered a recurring theme: Random strangers seem to like my voice. I don't know if it's by British accent or the subtly rough bass, but people have demanded that I talk even in situations where it was not strategically advantageous to elaborate on the comings and goings of sweater fashion. Not that I know anything about sweater fashion. Over the years, I've participated in a few gaming-related VO projects, like the Skyrim total conversion Enderal, which is amazing, and the r/civ Battle Royale, which you should definitely check out if you're a fan of strategy games.
That's also where we come full circle with the writing again, by the way. Seeing as most of what I do right now is short stories (don't worry, a novel is in the works), I record them myself and upload them to my YouTube channel, where anyone can get them for free. I've been using r/writingprompts on Reddit to increase my output of shorter stories (and also as a semi-promotional tool) so I have one coming out each Wednesday. Longer ones require a lot more work, but worry not! While most of what you can find on the channel is 10-15 minutes, there are longer projects in there, and more are underway.
This is the "logo", if you will, of my YouTube channel, also a result of DeepStyle, because DeepStyle is the shit. Here's a link for those interested:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiGkNlYiCZARgG3IkTPbrcA
The channel is supplementary to what I'll be doing on Steemit. There will be a new short story posted here every Wednesday, and anyone interested can check the audio version of it if they so desire. First I'll be going through the backlog of stories and put them up here, so they can be found in one place, though I'm not sure how fast I'll do that yet. Right now I'm thinking about doing a post a day before settling into the schedule, but I'm not experienced with Steemit, so if there's a smarter solution please do let me know.
This is, of course, just a small vignette of who I am. I also have a taste in Music, know a couple languages, have a favourite weather (it's rain btw), and political opinions. I'm fascinated by science and futurism, play vidya, read books, eat food, all that jazz. But let's keep this short and digestible, shall we?
Do ask me anything if you'd like, I'm always open to conversation, and will make an effort to respond. I'm just so consumed by work I might not make it. Have a nice day wherever you are, and best of luck with whatever you want to achieve!