Theres this tiktok trend right now where people will either show their birth year and their SOs birth year, or their's and their kids birth years and it's killing me bc it's almost always a either a massive age gap, or someone born in like 2005 with a 2yo kid
[18/12 version; check notes to see if theres an updated version]
quick summary:
- newt schottelkotte posts an article about RQ mismanagement & exploitation (https://medium.com/@newtschott/whos-afraid-of-alex-j-newall-ae3a67f3a5e1)
- the first version of the article didn't note that newt is a marketing director at fable and folly, another podcasting network; this has now been edited in
- they cite approximately three sources in total, mostly coming back to unverifiable anonymous RQ affiliates (ex employees, people who were offered a position, etc). the other two sources are a tweet from RQ specifically about the official discord, and a line in the beginning stating that "The information presented in this article is not only taken from interviews with my sources, but publicly available data that I was able to find and access.". there is no further clarification of what data, where it came from, etc, and the only time a source is linked or references is the aforementioned tweet from RQ.
ETA: this is false! there are multiple sources on multiple different things.
- (https://rustyquill.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Operations-Update-2020-PUBLIC-RELEASE-1.pdf) this RQ operations update was used to source two quotes on RQ's payment structure. it's worth noting that the payments listed in the article are all above both the uk minimum wage and (with the exclusion of the £11 figure) the national living wage (https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates, https://www.livingwage.org.uk/calculation)
- (https://twitter.com/TheRustyQuill/status/1438175815615791111?s=20&t=m1Z2vI0Fmpvq3gVt72gIvQ) this rq tweet was used to source a screenshot from rq's statement about the discord.
- (https://twitter.com/TheRustyQuill/status/1408001969218859008?s=20&t=ngBXzvyzl4PJY9XpOL7DjA) this rq thread was used to source a screenshot from rq about the transcripts.
- there is a relevant link to the unofficial fan transcripts, although i personally wouldn't necessarily call this a source.
- (https://medium.com/acast/how-to-go-from-0-to-millions-growth-strategies-for-fiction-podcasters-fde8d6dc0cb5) this callum dougherty interview was used to source a quote from callum dougherty about TMA's success.
- the interview is misquoted. newt's article quotes:
"Believe it or not, Magnus was something of a hit right out the gate. Comparative to I guess what would be considered a popular audio-drama podcast now. It found an audience quite quickly…
To borrow a phrase from Alex Newall [Rusty Quill CEO and founder], I’d also mention that nothing at Rusty Quill — despite what it might seem — has ever happened by accident. And the factor that I would consider — and this may be my own ego — is the show began to grow really dramatically because this was the point that I came in."
- this misses out a relevant paragraph, reading
"Though what I would certainly say is that it was in 2019 that the show began to grow, and it went on what I would describe as a 10-month journey from being considered a very popular podcast, to the most popular fiction podcast in the world. That was a line of growth that looked pretty much like a straight line upwards, where we were finding month-on-month listenership doubling at a point. Every single month you could see it — there were hundreds of thousands, now there was a million this month, and it would go in that direction." (emphasis my own)
- newt's article goes on to state
"As someone who engaged in the fandom side of audio drama for a long time, including the period of Magnus’ rise to popularity to its finale, I remember things quite differently. TMA wasn’t nearly the smash hit Dougherty describes until about 2019, when the season four finale saw the consummation of Jon and Martin’s slow-burn enemies-to-lovers storyline. Until that point, I had never heard of TMA." (emphasis my own).
- it's also worth noting that newt's article didn't include the typical ellipses in square brackets to indicate missing text from a quote - it simply has an ellipses, which makes it seem that dougherty trailed off and then continued.
- at the end of the article, there are multiple links to social media accounts of people who may provide a list of laid off employees, intended for those looking to hire ex-RQ employees
- the rest of the claims made are either unsourced or from newt's anonymous sources.
- RUSTY QUILL HAVE RESPONDED: https://rustyquill.com/2022/12/13/public-response-to-an-opinion-piece/
- FABLE AND FOLLY HAVE ALSO RESPONDED: https://fableandfolly.com/2022/12/15/our-statement-on-the-article/
- rq has posted crew testimonials: https://rustyquill.com/crew-testimonials/
- tal, one of the editors, not affiliated w/ f&f, says this isn't a marketing thing, was run past two editors and multiple lawyers
- there's some truth in the article, mostly a lot of plausible but unverifiable things, and some plain misinformation / bad faith readings [i.e; article states that "there’s a very good chance that the list on Kickstarter of stretch goal guest writers may be the totality of the people in the audio fiction indie world that have still not had an experience with Rusty Quill." this is provably false; many of the guest writers have RQ podcasts or have interacted with RQ before, although it may be intended to mean bad experiences rather than simply an experience]
- ben meredith retweeted the article w/o comment; not sure what he's agreeing with. he also liked a tweet reading "Alright, read the thing. I’m terribly sorry for everyone who has been dealt with so badly by Rusty Quill - and I can only imagine the distress that must have incited this action. I hope these concerns are taken seriously, and that these issues are resolved swiftly.“ (https://twitter.com/GejWatts/status/1602420853630697475)
- ben meredith has now un-retweeted the article, although he hasn’t unliked the tweet about it
- malevolent podcast's official twitter posted
"I don't know much but I will say that if you decide to stop listening to my show; a show I work so very hard on, because of an article that presumptively and poorly attempts to speak for me, then I think you're hurting the thing you intend to be helping." (https://twitter.com/MalevolentCast/status/1602441871992782849?s=20&t=Z_86aECzgsdU9OgtfoiU6g)
- "harlan guthrie [creator of malevolent], quoted above, spoke on the topic in his discord server, invictus. i'm nor comfortable posting screencaps of his words, which were not intended as a public statement, without permission, but the highlights include:
"The timing, authorship, and intent of this article doesn't sit well with me."
"Overall, this isn't a watergate, neither is it an expose of a dangerous company, it's akin to a glassdoor report with half truths. My experience with RQ has been absolutely fine across the board."
"The contract is in no way misleading nor manipulative the way the article would make it seem (no moreso than any other contract)"" (via orchidbreezefc on tumblr; i am not personally in this discord)
- the creator(? correct if wrong) of The Town Whispers and Tiny Terrors tweeted:
"What do I say here? I work day and night on @/TheTownWhispers & @/tinyterrorspod. I personally create, fund, produce, and direct my shows. What a shame to see someone speak on behalf of what I and others have built for years at our own expense dominate the conversation. No one reached out to me about "the article" ahead of time, no one asked me if I consented to be spoken for, I don't appreciate people victimizing me & weaponizing it for personal gain, & I don't appreciate that it's being passed off as a benevolent act of courage on my behalf." (https://twitter.com/ColeWeev/status/1602447361045065728?s=20&t=aAf1T5fen0FzXuAAllevLA)
- woe.begone's official twitter tweeted: "The only thing I want to say about The Article is that I am concerned that readers will believe things about my show and my relationship to my network that have not been my experience. I think this is what others mean when they describe feeling "spoken for."" (https://twitter.com/woebegonepod/status/1602453798332538881)
- the cellar letters twitter tweeted: "About the article: I am not going to attempt to invalidate anyone's thoughts or feelings... but I will say that it absolutely does not speak for me or align with my relationship and experiences with the network or anyone involved at the company. Love you all. Go create stuff." (https://twitter.com/CellarLetters/status/1602457106271330304)
- multiple people have reportedly been blocked by newt on twitter for criticising the article, or asking questions about it. (https://twitter.com/ReassessHistory/status/1602425447098228737?s=20&t=IQ9wZJuHgqX2mgfDvTizqA, https://twitter.com/ReassessHistory/status/1602455204557127681?s=20&t=j22xMz0Hxw0yvW6Oz7B8SQ)
- alexander j newall has given a statement to podnews! it reads;
"Redundancies can be a highly emotional topic but this opinion blog is full of provable factual inaccuracies and its writers include individuals that hold senior positions at competitor companies that stand to monetarily gain from a reputational attack. We were approached for comment under false pretences and were not given a copy of this piece by the author. Numerous cast, crew and contractors have notified us directly in solidary about similarly misleading approaches made to them for this blog.
Rusty Quill has already internally released its 2023 Operations Update which included factual information on these topics along with information on out 93% RQ Network creator retention rate and our independent Employee Satisfaction Survey which scored an exceptional minimum of 4.3 out of 5 in all areas. This Operations update is due for public release in the new year."
- audio editor michelle snow made a thread about this: https://twitter.com/MeeshSnowDoes/status/1602717570729132035?s=20&t=mMfAO5TjNFBNWQ_aMfhsHw
- in the (unofficial) “Rusty Quill PLEBS” discord, the creator of the storage papers said “The RQN stuff - I'll just say it's not entirely accurate or, at least, it's not the full picture which means it's painted in an unnecessarily bad light. I can't comment on the RQO stuff because I'm as much in the dark about that as anyone. But, as others on RQN have said, there's at least some of that that hasn't been my experience (and, for the record, I myself am not legally obligated to not say negative things about RQ).”
- annie (an RQ editor) retweeted this (https://twitter.com/serhawke/status/1602375132579827713?s=20&t=Q3iAjLLwsdIqYShTKinvHw)
- this thread also has a useful tweet further up on how to assess the utility of a source:
"PURPOSE - what was it meant to achieve?
ACCURACY - can the facts be proven or disproven?
CONTENT - what does it actually tell you?
LIMITATIONS - what is it NOT telling you? Why?
AUTHOR - biased?
DATE - was its publication date "convenient" for any reason? Firsthand or hearsay?"
[this method is from their partial study of history in uni]
edits: added crew testimonials, updated tl;dr
tldr: newt (marketing director at a different podcast network) posted an article making serious allegations of mistreatment & worker exploitation towards RQ. the article has some plain misinformation, some truth, and mainly unverifiable info from anonymous sources
multiple rq creators stated they weren’t asked about this, and that their experiences w/ rq aren’t accurate to the article and/or that it doesnt speak for them. all of the crew testimonials from rq’s post are positive.
rq have responded, saying that the allegations made in the article are false. fable & folly have responded, saying that newt made + posted the article of their own accord. i think newt’s working on a followup article, which i’ll add here when it’s released
· I AM STILL HERE by owedbetter Published: 2017-10-09 | 77K words | 7 Chapters
After the Last Agni Kai K heals Z with the help of bloodbending. Very sweet.
· THE SUMMIT by AJLenoire
Chronicles post-war years, as Gaang and other characters gather for annual summits to keep peace and build relationships between the Four Nations. Katara yearns for a bigger purpose than the Avatar’s companion and slowly grows into a shrewd diplomat. Very sweet slow burn ZK story. Has mature scenes.
· CLOTHE ME IN SEASONS, DRESS ME IN SNOW by sadladybug Published: 2015-01-05 | 62K words | 7 Chapters
Follows old Zuko as he reflects on his life and what would have been if he kept Katara closer. Absolutely beautiful, but also a devastatingly heart-breaking story about loss and pain.
· SILENT DECLARATIONS by Megara Pike (Megara_Pike) Published: 2021-01-20 | 2,6K words
A short story based on animation by Hayley Wong. Z finds K asleep in her study and carries her to bed. Very sweet, gentle story.
· COVERED IN YOU by evergreenonthehorizon Published: 2021-04-02 | 55K words | 14 Chapters
Eight years after the war Z convinces K to take on a role of a Southern Water Tribe ambassador in the Caldera city. Both are completely clueless about each other’s feelings. Features political talks, big gestures, and a ball. Very cute, sweet slow-burn story. Has mature scenes.
· TEN STRIDES IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION by evergreenonthehorizon Published: 2021-04-03 | 29K Words | 12 Chapters
A collection of short stories filling in the gaps between some of the events of ATLAS3 and up to the Last Agni Kai. Features accidental cuddling, embracing in the rain, sharing a bed for warmth, post-Ember Island Theater discussions, being discovered, waiting to be kissed, Suki & Katara being good friends, battle plans, Zuko & Sokka getting drunk, slow burn & angst. Very sweet.
· THE SWAY OF THE SUN by TheBlackBriarSparrow Published: Published: 2019-10-14 | 102K Words | 27 Chapters
Two years post-war Gaang reunites in Caldera city for a secret party in honor of the overworked Fire Lord’s birthday. Rebels attack the palace setting a thrilling consequence of events in motion. Adventures, investigations, and fights ensue. Z & K work together and enlist old friends to help find missing people. Beautiful slow-burn story with an exciting plot.
· A WARM EMBRACE by ewinkie Published: 2020-10-06 | 19K Words | 7 Chapters
An ATLAS3 rewrite from Southern Riders to the Last Agni Kai. Katara and Zuko have to hide in a cave following their encounter with Yon Rha. Comforting turns to cuddling, which turns to waking up on Appa's tail in each other's arms. Katara is shocked at how comfortable she is. Zuko is shocked that Katara doesn't hate him for it. Features sharing a bed, being discovered, slowburn, and lots of teenage silliness.
· FOLLOWING BLUE by Boogum Published: 2018-11-07 | 39K Words | 10 Chapters
ATLA S2 rewrite. After Katara falls from Appa’s saddle during a pursuit, the Blue Spirit becomes her reluctant companion and helps her reunite with her friends. Ba Sing Se scenes are completely rewritten, and Z ends up joining the Gaang much earlier. Thrilling beginning, sweet middle, average ending.
· ANOTHER WORD FOR ALCHEMY by FanPanda13 Published: 2014-08-19 | 108K words | 24 Chapters
Five years post-war Aang summons old friends for a summit and invites them on a trip to investigate mysterious locations where he experiences loss of bending. Features Gaang setting Z & K up, travelling on Appa like in the olden days, lots of sparring, royal courting, magnificent navy ships & war ballons. Thrilling story with fun banter between old friends. Slowburn, mature content.
· CONSUME ME WITH FIRE, FLOOD ME WITH DESIRE by Dacamia Published: 2020-08-14 | 86K words | 24 Chapters
Steamy ATLAS2 and ATLA S3 rewrite. Z & K accidentally meetup on their way to Ba Sing Se and decide to travel together. Features aged-up characters, lots of intimate scenes, staying in a beautiful cave, helping villagers, betrayal in Ba Sing Se, reunion, forgiveness, etc. Explicit mature content.
· ROOTS AND WINGS by zukoscomet Published: 2020-08-14 | 250K words | 25 Chapters
A series of short stories of Z & K as they grow closer, confess their love for one another and start a family.
· THOSE WHO FAVOR FIRE by hiwasseelane Published: 2021-05-02 |29K Words | 13 Chapters
Private equity ghouls have a new way to steal from their investors
Private equity is quite a racket. PE managers pile up other peoples’ money — pension funds, plutes, other pools of money — and then “invest” it (buying businesses, loading them with debt, cutting wages, lowering quality and setting traps for customers). For this, they get an annual fee — 2% — of the money they manage, and a bonus for any profits they make.
On top of this, private equity bosses get to use the carried interest tax loophole, a scam that lets them treat this ordinary income as a capital gain, so they can pay half the taxes that a working stiff would pay on a regular salary. If you don’t know much about carried interest, you might think it has to do with “interest” on a loan or a deposit, but it’s way weirder. “Carried interest” is a tax regime designed for 16th century sea captains and their “interest” in the cargo they “carried”:
Private equity is a cancer. Its profits come from buying productive firms, loading them with debt, abusing their suppliers, workers and customers, and driving them into ground, stiffing all of them — and the company’s creditors. The mafia have a name for this. They call it a “bust out”:
And they’re coming for more. PE funds are “rolling up” thousands of Boomer-owned business as their owners retire. There’s a good chance that every funeral home, pet groomer and urgent care clinic within an hour’s drive of you is owned by a single PE firm. There’s 2.9m more Boomer-owned businesses going up for sale in the coming years, with 32m employees, and PE is set to buy ’em all:
PE funds get their money from “institutional investors.” It shouldn’t surprise you to learn they treat their investors no better than their creditors, nor the customers, employees or suppliers of the businesses they buy.
Pension funds, in particular, are the perennial suckers at the poker table. My parent’s pension fund, the Ontario Teachers’ Fund, are every grifter’s favorite patsy, losing $90m to Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency scam:
Pension funds are neck-deep in private equity, paying steep fees for shitty returns. Imagine knowing that the reason you can’t afford your apartment anymore is your pension fund gambled with the private equity firm that bought your building and jacked up the rent — and still lost money:
But there’s no depth too low for PE looters to sink to. They’ve found an exciting new way to steal from their investors, a scam called a “continuation fund.” Writing in his latest newsletter, the great Matt Levine breaks it down:
Here’s the deal: say you’re a PE guy who’s raised a $1b fund. That entitles you to a 2% annual “carry” on the fund: $20,000,000/year. But you’ve managed to buy and asset strip so many productive businesses that it’s now worth $5b. Your carry doesn’t go up fivefold. You could sell the company and collect your 20% commission — $800m — but you stop collecting that annual carry.
But what if you do both? Here’s how: you create a “continuation fund” — a fund that buys your old fund’s portfolio. Now you’ve got $5b under management and your carry quintuples, to $100m/year. Levine dryly notes that the FT calls this “a controversial type of transaction”:
These deals “look like a pyramid scheme” — one fund flips its assets to another fund, with the same manager running both funds. It’s a way to make the pie bigger, but to decrease the share (in both real and proportional terms) going to the pension funds and other institutional investors who backed the fund.
A PE boss is supposed to be a fiduciary, with a legal requirement to do what’s best for their investors. But when the same PE manager is the buyer and the seller, and when the sale takes place without inviting any outside bidders, how can they possibly resolve their conflict of interest?
They can’t: 42% of continuation fund deals involve a sale at a value lower than the one that the PE fund told their investors the assets were worth. Now, this may sound weird — if a PE boss wants to set a high initial value for their fund in order to maximize their carry, why would they sell its assets to the new fund at a discount?
Here’s Levine’s theory: if you’re a PE guy going back to your investors for money to put in a new fund, you’re more likely to succeed if you can show that their getting a bargain. So you raise $1b, build it up to $5b, and then tell your investors they can buy the new fund for only $3b. Sure, they can get out — and lose big. Or they can take the deal, get the new fund at a 40% discount — and the PE boss gets $60m/year for the next ten years, instead of the $20m they were getting before the continuation fund deal.
PE is devouring the productive economy and making the world’s richest people even richer. The one bright light? The FTC and DoJ Antitrust Division just published new merger guidelines that would make the PE acquire/debt-load/asset-strip model illegal:
Today (Jul 20) 16h: Signing, Tor Books booth #2802 (free advance copies of The Lost Cause — Nov 2023 — to the first 50 people!)
Tomorrow (Jul 21):
1030h: Wish They All Could be CA MCs, room 24ABC (panel)
12h: Signing, AA09
Sat, Jul 22 15h: The Worlds We Return To, room 23ABC (panel)
If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
[Image ID: An old Punch editorial cartoon depicting a bank-robber sticking up a group of businesspeople and workers. He wears a bandanna emblazoned with dollar-signs and a top-hat.]
(ID: Good Omens fanart of Aziraphale & Crowley during the 2020 Lockdown special. They sit back to back glancing over their shoulders at each other, Aziraphale on our left sitting in a high-backed chair of brown wood and red cushions, Crowley on our right, sitting lower to the ground against a fluffy white pillow, a red blanket covering his legs. Azirpahale wears an olive-green sweater vest, his signature bowtie and pinkie ring, a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, beige trousers, and white socks. He holds a maroon corded phone to his ear, several towering stacks of books behind him, some topped with plates of tea and cake. Crowley wears a set of simple black pajamas, holding a smartphone to his ear. END ID.)
I thank Neil and the team every day for putting that out there during a time when we all really, really needed it.
Started 05/02/20, finished 05/09/20, and posted 05/10/20 a.k.a. Good Omens’ 30th anniversary... which is not 05/01/20 like we’d all collectively thought it was at the time, Neil included. A silly mistake, but, hey, we got two celebrations out of it, so win-win. Also NOTE: This was originally posted on my deleted account on 08/07/23.
Their eighth week in the military is now complete. It's time to celebrate this milestone with a look back at this week in 2020.
BTS was in Phase 2 of their Map of the Soul 7 comeback......
...starting with the first single release Black Swan on 17th January.
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They flew to the US on the 18/01/2020....
..where they performed Old Town Road with Lil Nas X at the Grammys on 26/01/2020.
Cr. to Minkook Eclipse
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During the week 30/01 to 06/02 they were still in the US and doing the rounds of the talk shows. These videos of them at iHeart Radio came out on the 01/02 and 06/02.
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Everyone was in high spirits excited about the release of the album and the Map of the Soul tour which we now know was not to be. They returned to South Korea the next week on 10/02/20.
BONUS
On 30th January, BTS released the 2020 Winter Package in Helsinki with all these amazing Jikook photos. I've also included JK's GCF Helsinki which was released at the end of December 2019.
Why did you think adopting not one, not two, but five hybrids would ever be a good idea?
Yeah, sure. You had originally only settled on adopting one, but when you were told that this group was bonded you couldn't find it in yourself to split them up, let alone leave them behind.
"Alright, that’s the last of the paperwork! We'll be coming to inspect how the hybrids are doing in three months time. If we think that they're unhappy or being mistreated, we'll take them from you." The one employee said with a smile, handing you the boys' collars, all color coded and with their names on them.
There were leashes too, though you put that in your bag since you didn't want to completely restrain them.
"Thank you,” you mumbled, bowing as you left the small office to be met with a group of hybrids waiting outside for you nervously. When you came out they stood straighter, smiling at you with bright eyes. You laughed a bit awkwardly, bowing to them before giving them the most confident smile you could muster... Which turned out to be not so confident.
"Hi, guys. My name is Y/N and I'll be caring for you from now on." You cleared your throat, fiddling with the hem of your sweater. "I'll do my best." You said solemnly before clearing your throat one last time and going to put on everyone's collars, since you had already put your contact details on the inside. The first one you attached was to the tall brown haired hybrid, his Sheppard ears flicking excitedly as you neared him. His tail wagged at a fast pace, making you smile at him. You stood at just below his shoulder, so looking up to him had butterflies flying into the sides of your stomach. If you could, you wouldn't have them wear collars, but it was required by law for them to wear collars if they were in public to:
1. Show that they weren't stray or escaped and therefore potentially dangerous.
2. Be able to find their owners if they happened to get lost.
"You're Soobin..?" You asked the boy, your voice raising nearing the end to turn the statement into a question. He smiled at you as he nodded his head vigorously, his dimples making themselves present and attacking your heart.
"Yep!" He said cutely, his tail still wagging madly behind him.
"차, here we go, Soobin!" You said as you finished attaching his collar, standing back to admire how well the dark purple fit him.
Next was the eldest and one of the two cats of the group, a gorgeous gray tabby hybrid. He watched you closely, and the way he held himself practically screamed 'dripping with confidence'.
"Yeonjun?" You asked, feeling your heart hammering against your chest. You were pretty sure that they could all hear how loud it was beating, which made it ten times worse than it would've been.
"The one and only." He said, grinning at you cheekily while you leaned over his shoulder to attach his respective collar, a lime green color. You moved it slightly, swallowing nervously as your fingers brushed over the back of his neck. Immediately after Yeonjun was, who you believed, was the second youngest of the group and the last cat hybrid. You had been told that he was a Siamese hybrid, and immediately you were intrigued. Siamese were rare where you lived, so having one of your own would be a nice bragging right to have among your co-workers. You had apologized to him sincerely, telling him that you had forgotten his name to which he replied with a gentle smile.
"That's alright, noona. I'm Taehyun." He smiled at you, eyes boring through your soul. He had a shockingly deep red collar that highlighted his sharp features, which you told him quietly, making him blush.
Then, it was one of the most energetic of the lot, it seemed: A Jack Russell hybrid who was practically bouncing around on the balls of his feet, unable to hide his excitement. "Beomgyu." He said simply before you had even opened your mouth to speak, a grin plastered on his face at the way you pressed your mouth into a firm line. You attached his black collar to his neck, having to lightly push him away since he had moved forward to sniff your hair curiously.
And last but not least was the youngest, Heuningkai. You had remembered his name purely because it was so unique, and you were sure to tell him this. He grinned shyly, nodding his head and thanking you in a small voice. He was the other giant, probably only a few inches shorter than Soobin. His collar was a pretty white color, complimenting his creamy Corgi colors well. It was something that you hoped to God wouldn't get filthy, because it would be a pain in the ass to keep clean otherwise.
"Right. Before we leave this building, I have an important first rule." The boys' ears perked attentively as you addressed them, making you nervous again. They gave you their undivided attention and man, was your heart weak. "If you're outside on your own and you get lost, my number is on the inside of your collars. Your phones are waiting for you at home, and everyone's numbers have already been added to each phone, including my own." They nodded, looking at you with wide eyes and small smiles. With a grin you made them follow you into the van you had bought on a bit of a short notice, having to get a car big enough for everyone. Though it was still a bit crowded, Heuningkai and Taehyun squeezed together in the middle with Yeonjun and Beomgyu on the sides, Soobin sitting in the passenger seat.
What you had noticed first was that it seemed as if Soobin was the leader of the band of hybrids, which was to be expected, really. You think you remember hearing that he was second oldest, with Beomgyu being the 'middle-child'. While the thought popped into your mind, you looked into your rear view mirror. "I almost forgot to mention, but I'm a year older than you, Yeonjun." You said with a smile, turning back to the road to turn into that oh so familiar road.
“오디가요?” You heard Yeonjun ask from the backseat, and you couldn't help but smile.
"I wanted to make a quick stop at a café, to get something to drink. I hope you don't mind?" You asked the guys, looking around the car questioningly.
"No, it's fine!" Soobin said with a smile, his dimples springing out once more. You giggled, poking his cheek and unintentionally making him blush.
When you walked into the café, you ordered drinks for everyone, only Yeonjun having come with you to help you carry.
Heuningkai had gotten a hot-chocolate, Soobin settling for a plain and simple coffee. Taehyun got a frupachino, and Beomgyu got tea. When you asked what Yeonjun wanted, he had said he wanted an Americano, so that's what he was currently sipping at, your Iced-Tea standing out among the aray of warm drinks.
You arrived home a little later, showing them their room, the bunk-beds and one single bed in the room. "I dibs the single bed!" Beomgyu called with a grin, making you chuckle.
You clapped your hands together. “I'm going to start on dinner. Why don't the five of you go and watch some television in the mean time? The TV's out front." You said with a smile, the others scattering to the living room at a surprising speed.
You scrolled through your phone before setting up the group chat, the others already haven taken their phones. You looked up when you noticed Yeonjun, a smile spreading across your face. "Hey, Yeonjunnie. What's up?" He smiled at the pet name, tail flicking behind him as he came to stand next to you.
"그냥.. Wanted to see how dinner was coming along." He said with a somewhat hidden smile, sipping at his Americano.
"Ah, Yeonjun?"
"네?"
"You have something on your lip—"
"What? Where?” He wipes over his mouth. “Did I get it?"
"No, 여기~" You turned to stand in front of him, gently swabbing away the cream that had been on the corner of his upper lip... how it had gotten there though, you had no idea.
Yeonjun stood there with the straw of his drink still wedged between his teeth, tail stiff and ears leaning forward. You giggled cutely, flustered at the way he looked so dumbfounded by you, turning back to the food.
It was a few weeks later, and you had just come back from a quick run to the store to get the boys some new clothes, coming back home with well over five bags filled with mostly hybrid clothes, having gotten yourself one or two hoodies and a new pair of sneakers and jeans that you had liked.
You were sitting on the couch with Beomgyu, watching as Yeonjun and Soobin played Mario Cart together, laughing at the way they started screaming at each other angrily when the other pushed them off of the track or into some kind of obstacle. Beomgyu hadn't taken off his new hoodie since leaving the store six hours ago, and as cute as it was on him, you thought that he should at least've washed it first. You snapped a quick photo of him in it, posting it to your Facebook account that had recently gotten filled with pictures of you and the boys.
"Noona, come here~" Beomgyu hummed, bringing you to his chest to hug you to his form and rub his face against you. You giggled, lifting your arm to lightly pet his head, ruffling his hoodie ever so slightly. The action made him hum contentedly, holding you close to him as he put his chin on your shoulder. As soon as Yeonjun and Soobin ended their round the two of them turned around.
"Yah! We want cuddles too—" Soobin said with a pout as the two of them managed to also get some form of contact with you, Soobin playing with your fingers as he sat in between your legs, your hand resting over his Adam's apple, Yeonjun purring into your stomach as his hair was played with.
Later that same night, you were in your room reading when there was a knock on your door. "어? Hyunnie? What's wrong?" You asked, sitting up when a tired looking Taehyun walked toward you. He got under the covers with you, hiding his face in your side as he wrapped an arm around your waist.
"I had a nightmare and can't fall asleep..." He explained, holding you closer. "Can I sleep here for tonight, please?" He asked with a solemn look on his face.
"Of course, Hyun. Whatever makes you comfortable." You hummed, playing with his hair for a bit before watching him fall asleep and falling asleep yourself. Since then, it was a normal occurrence for Taehyun to share your bed, the others also joining you every once in a while.
It was the day after the examination, and you were quite bubbly, happy that you officially got to keep the boys. "Noona, are you even helping?" Heuningkai asked you with an angry pout, stopping as he dried off the dishes.
"Ah, yeah. Sorry, Hyuka. Did you say something?" You asked, continuing with your scrubbing.
"No, I didn't. But you just suddenly stopped moving."
"Yeah, well I was thinking—"
"Abour what? Donuts? Don't you think you should cut down on the—"
"Yah!" You shouted at him, a smile spreading to your face as he laughed, smiling at you brightly.
"Be glad I love you, Kai. Or else I would've broken your nose." You warned the Corgi hybrid with squinted eyes, a playful grin on your face.
"Yeah, yeah, you liar. You wanna play some basketball after this?" He asked, making you scoff over-dramatically.
"What a dumb question to ask—"
You stood there silent and stunned, watching as Hyuka giggled evily.
"Did you just splash me... With dirty water?" You snarled at him in disbelief, eyes shining dangerously.
"Possibly?"
"You piece of— get over here!" You screamed, laughing at how dolphin like he sounded while screaming, running outside towards the guys for help and hopefully protection.
Roddacember runs during December to celebrate all of Emily Rodda’s books.
With a new prompt every day, make a piece of fan content of your choice. You can draw some art, write fic, make a playlist, rant about something, or whatever you vibe with!
Remember to tag it #Roddacember 2023 so we can check it out <3
I’ve also created an AO3 collection for those who would like to write fics!
Update
This is my attempt at taking the best of the past years and bringing something for everyone.
What I've come up with are three levels of abstraction that (hopefully) serve as different levels of difficulty. The first week-ish draws more from 2019's style, and the last couple weeks are the more recent style, with the middle being a segue between them.
(i kinda struggled to make questions, but you're welcome to use the prompts as keywords for your own!)
Notes
A reminder that you don’t have to commit to every day. Take care of yourself. You can make it more manageable by skipping days.
It’s also okay to alter the prompt slightly for grammatical purposes, if you so wish (e.g. growth –> growing) or to cut out irrelevant words (e.g. animal or monster -> animal). Feel free to interpret the prompts as metaphorically or as literally as you want!
If there’s anything you are confused about, feel free to ask me in the notes or DMs or whatever. You can also check out what the fandom did previously at #Roddacember 2022, #Roddacember 2021, #Roddacember 2020 and #Roddacember 2019.
Prompts in text below:
Your Favourite
01. Character
02. Place
03. Animal or monster
04. Something you wish was real
05. Magic
06. People, culture, or tradition
07. Filli❔
08. Relationship of any kind
09. Symbols or signs