MPD + Cantata
For the most part I just lump all my music into one playlist regardless of album or genre, but day to day I also use several different computers, and I find MPD to be the best for syncing configurations across all of them. Cantata also allows me to see album artwork and track information really easily and has good touchscreen support compared to terminal-based MPD clients.

I’m an art school student who writes creative fiction and messes around with old electronics, so I wouldn’t really say I have a technical background. Work-wise I’ve mostly just done art/editing commissions or taught at studios. I’m just kind of tired of mainstream social media so I’m taking refuge in the Fediverse, and I’m liking it a lot so far

Everything else you said is on-point, but I will not let you badmouth airships. Those things are cool as fuck and a lot of their bad rep comes from long-standing misconceptions (especially surrounding the Hindenburg disaster).
Just take a look at this page. It has a ton of useful info that you’ll likely find interesting, especially if you enjoy going down TVTropes rabbit holes.

Crazy-ish idea, but maybe Lemmy could make a feature where instances can have custom awards similar to Reddit gold and stuff, and users can buy them to both award posts they like and financially support the instance host