#live from magnus studios

[hesalleyes]

If you're a bit confused about Rusty Quill or what's been happening, hopefully this will be a handy guide.

Hello everyone, especially all newbies to the Rusty Quill family! I thought I'd talk a little bit about the company. There's a lot of information out there, some of which may be contradictory or difficult to find, and so I compiled it into what I think is a decent timeline. I've also included some of my thoughts on what Rusty Quill has been through, and where it's going.

(check the end for associated footnotes!)

A Brief And Mostly Objective Timeline For Rusty Quill Ltd.

Alexander J. Newall wanted to start a company for creatives. His father (presumably) laid down the starting capital and Rusty Quill was founded 29th June 2015. Alex owned 99% of the company, John Newall, 1%. (1)

Alex reached out to a bunch of his improv friends and asked if they would participate in an actual-play podcast. Alex hadn't seen a fully produced actual-play with sound effects and background music and he wanted to fill that niche in the market. James Ross, Bryn Monroe, and Lydia Nicholas all agreed. Tim Meredith was otherwise engaged, but said his brother Ben would be up for it. Rusty Quill Gaming (RQG) was born and started airing episodes in June 2015.

Meanwhile, besides running, editing, producing, directing, and mastering RQG, Alex also worked nights at an extremely boring data entry job James Ross set up for him. James also helped Jonny Sims get that same job (2). At the time, Jonny was playing gigs with his band The Mechanisms, but his passion was for writing. The Mechanisms were a folk band that reimagined classic stories/myths to music with hefty narrative pieces, which has obvious applicability to a podcast company. Because of this fortuitousness, sometime in 2013-14, Alex and Jonny met and found that they were both highly creative people who desperately wanted out of this job. Jonny invited Alex to a Mechanisms show at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Alex loved The Mechs show. He was convinced he must work with Jonny on something. Jonny had a few ideas and pitched what would become The Magnus Archives, though it was first more of a Twilight Zone anthology, which is why the "narrator" had Jonny's name. Alex wanted to add more of a narrative framework and they shaped it together, all five seasons, so that it was cohesive the whole way through. Some things did, organically, pop up later. For instance, Martin started mainly as a foil to Jon, and only became the love interest after a bit of writing.

Around 2018, Patreon funding eventually allowed RQ to build a studio in Rusty Towers that enabled them to record their high-quality audio (3). Before that, they were - at various times - recording in a ‘yurt’ made of blankets and duvets for most of season one (usually at James Ross’ house or Martyn’s hallway, since Alex was - at that point - intermittently homeless due to asbestos problems).(4)

In 2016, RQ set up the Rusty Quill Forums, an official RQ fan-space where fans could interact with each other and RQ members. (5) This early arena for interaction would precipitate the more immediate (and much larger) Discord, Rusty Quill Official. Anil Godigamuwe, Community Manager, was the main force behind running and moderating the forums.

2016 was also the year that Mike Lebeau decided to gather a few people to play games and raise money for charity in what would become the predecessor to Rusty Quill Giving and Gaming. This event involved only Mike, Bryn, Ben, Anil, and Martyn Pratt (Chief Technology Officer). It only lasted twelve hours and they raised £700. (6)

Late 2017, Rusty Quill, in association with Historic Royal Palaces, released Outliers, a historical fiction podcast. Probably the least known of RQ’s podcasts, but very good and well-done. (Yes, this is a plug for Outliers. Go listen! It's great!)

In 2018, the Rusty Quill Official Discord server (RQO) went live and most of the fans from the forums moved there. (7)

February 15, 2019, Stellar Firma, the improv comedy sci-fi show starring Tim and Ben Meredith, began airing.

Mike wanted to explore more of the video side of creating. On January 25, 2020, RQ Streams launched, and soon there was a decent amount of content generated on RQ’s Twitch channel. Video content would gain traction in the form of New Player Challenge (NPC). Many RQ members would stream, including Anil, Autumn, several editors, and Helen Gould (member of Rusty Quill Gaming and later promoted to Head of Inclusion). The streams would get big enough that RQ would eventually hire a few mods specifically for the streams (30). RQ Streams wasn't fiscally sound as a primary source of income, but streaming helped encourage community engagement.

In February 2020, Alex gave an interview to Haggis and Dragons at PodUK. The host asked why, despite their success, Rusty Quill hadn't been present at many events such as PodUK before. Alex responded that the company was dedicated to making sure they took care of their people first, but now that all the finicky backend admin stuff was finished, they could do fun things like conventions. (8)

A month later, COVID-19 shut down the world.

At this point, TMA had been running for four years, and - while relatively successful and critically admired- was still a smallish podcast, especially when measured against engagement levels of other fiction podcasts at the time. Whether COVID, the whim of Tumblr, or a spark that refused dim, the fuse on TMA had been lit. It would jump sharply with the season four finale in Halloween 2019, but when season five premiered on April 2, 2020, TMA was at its second highest peak in popularity , its highest only a month away. It would maintain a high level of engagement until the series finale in March 2021. (9) Whatever the reason, TMA had exploded, and no one could've predicted it.

In July 2020, Hannah Brankin, Chief Operations Officer and spouse of Alex Newall, became a director in the Rusty Quill company. (10)

In August 2020, Autumn Jarvis (longtime fan of RQ) with a history of convention organization came on as Community Assistant. (11) This role promoted her to Head Moderator of the Discord (RQO), coordinating communication between the Discord mods and RQ admin. RQ hired her to help Anil, as at this point, RQO had nearly 8000 members.

The official Rusty Quill Discord server (RQO) went from a reasonable 1000 participants to nearly 14,000 before its shutdown in September 2021. In August 2020 (a few days after Autumn took over), a group raided RQO, proclaiming issues of racism, ableism, and other accusations directed at Rusty Quill, but also at the volunteer mods. It was the only major attack, but from time to time small incursions would occur thereafter. RQO’s many mods (at least 11, at one point) were unpaid. Whether or not that was a good business decision is debatable, but mods were responsible for monitoring content that was Patreon-exclusive, so one might think a Patreon subscription should’ve been included.

April 2, 2021, Patreon-exclusive Inexplicables began airing. The show was initially met with a lot of positive feedback and excitement. The RQO channels were full of theorizing and chat, which Alex could be seen reading. While Inexplicables seemed ripe for a sequel, there have been no indications of future content.

In May of 2021, Rusty Quill launched the Rusty Quill Network. Many felt the network wasn’t explained sufficiently, but subsequent clarification from Autumn verified that RQ was not doing any of the following for the new shows that would be included under the network’s umbrella: producing, funding, editing, or creating. Apparently, the RQN was designed to act as a distribution and collective bargaining service. Unfortunately, this aspect was never made explicit to the fans by official RQ channels.

In September of 2021, Autumn was terminated. While Autumn has stated the reason she was terminated, it was on a private server and because RQ has made no official statement regarding the termination, I won’t share that information. RQ did ask if she would like to appeal the decision, but Autumn declined. Later, the mods organized a walkout in protest and quit. Only the mod known as Crunchy remained, and was the last one to close out the server. Later, he would admit that the mods actively decided not to include him in this decision. (12) While there were RQ Streams mods, they, unfortunately, didn’t have as much power as the Discord mods and were unable to assist much (30). RQ released a statement on September 15, 2021 regarding the closing of the Discord and the mod walk-out, and RQO has been dark ever since. (13)

RQ Streams, it’s worth mentioning at this point, had some mods specifically for streams, but also relied on the Discord mods to moderate the chat during streams (30). Ultimately, when the mods walked out, RQ Streams was also forced to stop.

Since the mod walkout, any events run and sponsored by RQ have been modded by volunteers, and usually small enough that it hasn’t become an issue (RQGG21 being modded by some Discord mods, with other Gather events modded mostly by RQ employees) (30).

April 26, 2022, Chapter and Multiverse, the analogous successor to Rusty Quill Gaming run by Maddy Searle, the former lead editor of Stellar Firma, began airing. It would conclude its first season in August. While RQ has indicated that C&M will continue, it has been postponed until 2023. However, Maddy Searle posted a tweet (since deleted) indicating she is no longer employed at Rusty Quill. After claims that Maddy was reprimanded and forced to take down the tweet, RQ would later clarify that they have a 48 hour confidentiality policy regarding things like that, and that's why they requested the removal of the tweet for that time. Maddy hasn't reposted the tweet, or commented publicly on her reasons for doing so. 

On June 10, 2022, Mike announced he was leaving Rusty Quill. (14) Although others had also streamed on RQ’s Twitch in the past, he was the primary force driving its relevance and the channel has remained  mostly unused since the aforementioned Discord mod walkout, most likely citing lack of moderation as a main concern.

August 2, 2022, the original RQ production Trice Forgotten premiered. Trice Forgotten continues to update.

As per the September 21, 2022 Patreon email, Cry Havoc! and Neon Inkwell, the other RQ original productions, have been postponed to 2023. (29)

With their three original podcasts completed and many future projects postponed, Rusty Quill had reached a quiescent stage. Patreon emails were sparse and while RQ maintained a loyal base, activity around the company had slowed.

Then -

October 10th, 2022 a string of strange letters appeared in a Patreon email. (15) Fandom quickly deduced that it wasn't a mistake, but rather a cipher. A Discord server dedicated to cracking the code sprang up almost immediately and fandom deciphered the cryptic letters in a few hours. This began a mini-ARG leading to the announcement of a Magnus Archives "side-quel": The Magnus Protocol. On a subsequent livestream, Alex confirmed the sequel and announced that the project would be fully funded by a Kickstarter. No money would be taken from Patreon, current or proposed shows, income generated through ads, agreements, merch, RQN residuals, etc. (16)

The Magnus Protocol Kickstarter launched November 22. It was fully funded in less than one minute, and as-of publishing this post is currently at £ 624,268, 4162% of their original goal. Release for the project is expected in October 2023 and is said to follow two British civil servants, Alice and Sam, as they deal with the legacy of the burned-down Magnus Institute of Manchester. Curious, as the Magnus Institute from the original series was very much based in London. (17)

On December 12, 2022, Newt Schottelkotte - marketing director for the Fable and Folly podcast network - released an opinion article on Medium detailing several allegations against Rusty Quill. (18) Schottelkotte submitted the article to several publications that declined to publish it. They decided to self-publish on Medium, which allows for independent publication. In good faith, I won’t presume this was a targeted attack by another network, but rather the opinion of a contingent of industry professionals who tried to represent those allegedly wronged by Rusty Quill as a production company (perhaps taking advantage of the timing of the new Kickstarter to gain traction for their post - but that one can only leave to speculation). The testimonies were anonymous.

December 13, 2022, after a resulting influx of polarizing social media posts, RQ released an official response to the Medium article, refuting most points raised. (19)

Now, before I get into less fact-based territory, and knowing RQ intends to announce a more recent Operations Update in the new year, I feel it's relevant going forward to mention that for all the talk surrounding both sides of the story, the composition of Rusty Quill is not as large as some might think, considering the assumptions of some of the claims.  In 2021 the company conducted a voluntary internal census on company makeup and satisfaction. (20) At the time they had 28 employees. 23 responded, and here are a few interesting tidbits they had to say:

91% identify as Neurodivergent

30% identify as non-cisgender; 48% identify as female, 26% as male, and 26% as not exclusively one of those categories

30% are people of color

30% identify as bisexual, 9% pansexual, & 9% queer. 26% identify as heterosexual. These numbers may or may not include the 17% who identify as asexual.

This census doesn’t include individual contractors (which comprises most of their editors and voice actors). In the census, RQ recognized their huge deficit in hiring people of color. RQ maintains a flat pay structure across all departments (including leadership), which - thanks to Patreon funding - stands above the London cost of living rate. (21)

The Less Than Objective Part

Rusty Quill is a small company. The average number of employees for 2022 was 21. (22) This number doesn't reflect possible layoffs/terminations since then. Most of its voice actors and editors are contracted. This is intended partially to allow flexibility on both RQ and the contractors’ part as well as enable RQ to diversify their talent without the contractual obligation of employment (the UK doesn’t recognize ‘at-will’ employment; termination must be for a cause). Meaning that even if the company finds itself in the position of having to terminate employees, it maintains the possibility of working with those same people as contractors to help out RQ financially, but also to allow those employees to find more stable or long term jobs in the interim.

However, holding onto only an essential team of staff (as you find in any small company, but especially in an industry without historical regulation - often relying on a presumed integrity of nebulous industry standards, as opposed to codified protections) employees are often forced to wear many hats. Most often voluntarily, but often to their detriment. This manifested in such things as Autumn transcribing Stellar Firma, without any transcription experience, or the continual mishap of Alex or Hannah responding to delicate situations with off-the-cuff inexpertise (generally sweet and earnest, but not as diplomatic or clear as needed - something that larger companies potentially avoid with dedicated teams regarding media training), but is perhaps most apparent in the early stages of RQG and TMA where Alex, in addition to being a primary player/voice actor, did the majority of the editing and mastering until Lowri Ann Davies joined halfway through RQG. Based exclusively on the runtimes of RQG episodes/specials (not including how long it actually took to edit down recorded footage to what we hear), Alex edited a total of 217 hours of RQG, over 9 whole days, or nearly 83% of the content. (23) Early specials, behind the scenes specials, and Q&As often contain jokes about Alex needing to sleep. This sort of work-life balance should not be necessary for success, but many creatives know that it’s the unfortunate reality for many startups without the resources of a major media network backing them. 

And, as evidenced here, despite its exposure and popularity Rusty Quill’s resources were limited from the start. Alex and Hannah, as directors and main shareholders in the company, are solely responsible for the company’s fiscal viability. As such, I think this has led to some decisions where one or both of them have taken over projects or refused to delegate when it would have better served that project or even themselves. But there’s also something to be said for a duty of care, and the difficulty of giving that up. 

In such an environment, it’s not surprising that a large part of smaller podcasting companies’ revenue is generated through fan-funding. The grassroots organization of a devoted fanbase can help grow a company without access to other funds or a robust marketing budget. Steady patreon subscriptions can make up for periods of instability in advertising returns, but issues begin to arise when companies encounter something like RQ did: an explosion in popularity that lacked sustainability, and the contingencies and strategies to deal with that. However, it’s a double-edged sword. The importance of Patreon and fan goodwill can help create the mentality that RQ owes the fans something. Nothing in Patreon's TOS requires artists to offer rewards; the idea behind Patreon - at least to me - is that in exchange of supporting someone making art you enjoy, you occasionally get glimpses into the creative process behind that art. This idea has evolved over the years, but I think Patreon has become, to some people, more transactional: I pay you five dollars, you give me one piece of art. This more give-take mentality can lead to feelings of ownership; fans pay for RQ to exist, therefore they should have a say in how RQ conducts its business. Whether RQ views it that way or not.

RQ has begun to diversify their income, however, with the creation of the RQN, where they get fees from providing marketing and distribution services for other podcasts. Although RQ has experienced a drop in Patrons, it has returned to subscription levels similar to those before the meteoric rise of TMA and is hopefully navigating towards finding a balance between delivering what fans want without enabling an unhealthy relationship of catering to what’s profitable instead of what they want and are excited about making. (24)

Fandom and The Illusion of Closeness

There’s no denying that many creatives have an intimate relationship with their audience, especially smaller and/or newer ventures. RQ had, for a long time, quite a close relationship with its fans. It’s still visible in the old forums, where Alex, Mike, and Anil could be seen posting with regularity. There are many images from past RQGGs (even up to RQGG19) where RQ staff and fans casually mingled. 

However, there is an issue with something like Discord where the immediacy of contact creates the illusion of intimacy. The ability to ping a creator facilitates the idea that the creator is therefore available and willing to be pinged. It’s not so much an issue when there are 1000 people on a server with only a hundred or so active, and only a fraction of them irregularly contacting creatives. When that number goes up, even proportionally, it results in a huge uptick in forced contact. It’s been theorized that both Jonny Sims and Ben Meredith stepped back from the Discord server because of crossed boundaries. Another staff member had a fan harass them to the point of needing to block said fan and the fan was eventually banned from RQO by the mods. 

On the other hand, Community Manager Anil continued to always be available and Alex & Hannah would occasionally hop on and respond when they were active. This apparent ease of access can trick people into believing that they are close to the creators, and the illusion of this perceived relationship can be problematic for both parties.

In these circumstances it’s natural for creators to develop a persona to protect themselves. There’s nothing wrong with this and it is, in fact, a healthy and smart thing to do; the person fans interact with is not, exactly, who that person is. Not to say they’re fake or lying, but that creators deserve a degree of privacy that comes from concealing certain things about themselves that fans aren’t - and shouldn’t be - privy to. Fans’ insistence on access to creators and their secrets can be extremely difficult and exhausting, especially for creators who don’t have a publicity or security team. For instance, Jonny was forced to reveal his past with drug abuse when people incessantly questioned and berated him about his portrayal of drug abuse in "Strung Out," a season five episode of TMA (notably also when the fandom had exploded beyond the comfortable community of its earlier seasons). Fan entitlement to knowledge about creators and access to them can be particularly egregious in this sort of setting where the creators are trying to maintain the intimate community they used to enjoy, one that (at least in the initial stages) they relied on financially, while dealing with a huge influx of new fans. Even Critical Role, arguably the largest podcast in the actual-play genre, has suffered from a similar issue, though the actors in CR have much more experience than RQ.

Rusty Quill is a business and their dealings are of proprietary interest. Like any other entertainment company, they produce a product for consumption but the way they run internally isn’t something consumers are (or should be) privy to - barring gross mistreatment  which, despite claims, hasn’t been proven. When Autumn was terminated, RQ didn’t release an official statement on what led to the termination. While many fans wanted to know, RQ has no obligation to reveal internal processes like hiring/firing, especially if details of such could affect an employee’s future employment. Identifying particular employees as responsible for certain policies or potentially upsetting updates could open that employee to threats or harassment (which RQ experienced before).

The Disproportionate Critique of Small Creators

It would be ridiculous to assert that Rusty Quill has never made a mistake - sometimes repeatedly - or a misstep. They’ve issued an apology multiple times for the lack of sensitivity in their content or a miscommunication on their end. Miscommunication was, in fact, a key factor in why the Discord mods left. RQ tried to preemptively combat these issues by hiring Helen Gould as a sensitivity director to ensure their content had been looked over for things that could be harmful. Given their company makeup and the composition of their talent - both writing and on-air - RQ has tried to diversify itself so that their content doesn’t come solely from the perspective of cishet white male. Stellar Firma would be the only show to suffer from this, however, it’s worth mentioning that on the production side Maddy Searle and Katie Seaton seem to have been brought on intentionally to avoid, or at least ameliorate this issue.

There is a pervasive issue with fandom as a whole to apply a more rigorous rubric against smaller and/or indie companies producing entertainment because they’re accessible. It’s easy to see why this phenomenon exists; when a person sees that they can speak to a creator directly, that the creator might respond specifically to those critiques. It can feel as if the consumer has more power in the relationship. Complaining about Disney cutting out a lesbian kiss in Star Wars, for example, will never reach Bob Iger, but if you want to talk to James D’Amato about a choice he made in the most recent Skyjacks episodes, he’s almost certainly going to respond. By feeling more intimately connected to creators, fans can feel empowered to be more aggressive in their criticisms.

A sustainable medium must exist between the two extremes of critique. A small indie company like Rusty Quill cannot be above criticism because of its size or its intention to do better - at some point, it must actually be doing better (which, I believe, it has and is consistently endeavoring to). Conversely, it can’t be upheld to a stricter standard than a larger company purely because its creators are accessible and will directly encounter the critique aimed at them. Rusty Quill has expanded their base of collaborators - which includes having an open pitch form to allow anyone to submit ideas - and made headway on wider and more accurate representation in their shows. There are certainly other shows and companies tackling and portraying difficult issues and diversity with a better outcome than Rusty Quill. That doesn't detract from the efforts RQ is making and shouldn't invite a disproportionate level of critique.

So What Now?

While it is fair to offer critique aimed at Rusty Quill and what it does, I think the benefits of this coming from a large audience diminish due to a few factors: quantity with no control for quality, purity culture, and entitlement. These things could comprise a much much longer essay, but I’ll be brief.

One of the huge benefits RQ got out of early Patreon release on the Discord was a limited quantity of feedback. Alex would show up to ask about the sound quality: if anything seemed off or if we had comments or noticed something. Anil would collect extra content warnings if needed, and some titles even changed when fans pointed out redundancies. Both Alex and (to a much stronger degree) Helen interacted with patrons about Inexplicables, including thoughts and theories. At one point, RQ created a gaming system called Ensemble and elicited feedback from people, encouraging them to play. These comments and critique are very helpful for RQ because of their pointedness. Contrast this to the response to the s5 TMA episode “Strung Out" - or the controversy surrounding a later episode’s perceived insensitivity to current events, necessitating a warning and apology before the usual opening theme (a perception generated before the public launch of the episode, stoked by assumptions and Twitter discourse).

Fandom as a whole has veered bizarrely into an obsession with purity - if something isn’t perfect, then it shouldn’t exist. RQ will not and cannot get everything right. It’s not a format made for easy editing and revision after the fact. It can be lauded for its achievements and persuaded to do better in a way that isn’t overly aggressive or hyperbolic. People tend to forgive mistakes if they like something and focus on them if they don’t, but it’s better to avoid assigning a moral value to something like representation - the effort and commitment is important. (For clarity - I believe it is moral and ethical to do everything you can to achieve accurate and diverse representation. The morality I reference here is more in regards to labeling something, irredeemably, as bad just because it doesn’t live up to your expectations). 

Not to be repetitive, but fans in smaller fandoms often feel a sense of entitlement because of their ease of access to creators. If Alex is right there talking about the Trice Forgotten schedule, why shouldn’t he answer a prod about the continuation of Chapter & Multiverse??? The answer is that he’s updating you on Trice - not Chapter. Fans are not, and shouldn’t be, part of the internal machinations of a company, however close they feel, and why certain things happen or when isn’t always going to be obvious. RQ has varying degrees of success when it comes to updating their fans about timelines or happenings in the company, and while there is definitely room for improvement, overall, it shouldn’t be a requirement or expectation. That is to say - the relentless inundation of tangential comments or questions offers no benefit and can impose an increasing feeling of frustration: for the company, for the fan asking, and for the fans witnessing. Not even mentioning the personel issue. RQ has shown a willingness to acknowledge, apologize, and modify their content when there are complaints made against it. Because RQ has acted this way, it might invite the idea that they should have the same transparency and openness to comment about the way their business runs; of which they have no obligation to do so, and in many instances, definitely should not.

For instance, several people may have been let go from Rusty Quill recently, probably because of financial issues due to the downturn in the UK economy (see RQ’s statement for more specific reasoning). Although it is tempting to be angry or upset about it, businesses make decisions involving structure and the reorganization of employees in their company all the time. For a variety of reasons. Lay-offs or terminations may be needed in order to keep a company afloat. Often these legal reasons and internal processes cannot be disclosed, and barring that the individuals involved may not have consented to their information becoming public - despite audiences wanting to see corporate due diligence. The point is that while it might be comforting to know why things happened, ultimately it isn’t reasonable to expect a company to share those details or any others that have to do with its internal running or function.

Moving Forward

Rusty Quill is in a precarious position. The unexpected juggernaut of The Magnus Archives turned them from a small, emergent company to a well-known name in the podcast community. They were unprepared for it, very few people could be, and nearly three years later they’re still struggling to find a sustainable balance. RQ has had to adjust to the influx of fans, fan opinions, money, and the resulting issues of accountability. And now that TMA is over, they’ve had some time to try to adjust to not having that same monetary inflow. Whatever outward critique can be placed on them for how they’ve handled the transition, the formation of Rusty Quill Network seems to have leveled out their income in a way that will enable them to stay solvent, even if it means occasionally stopping to restructure and reorient. There is no provable model for success.

While some detractors may claim that the Magnus sequel Kickstarter is a huge windfall, it isn't necessarily so. Money made from a Kickstarter must go toward what is promised - hence the use of clearly stated stretch goals. It is against Kickstarter policy to give funds to charity, so the KS money will be used solely for projects relating to TMP. That money is spent and should be treated as thus and not a surge of new money into RQ’s coffers. It’s not a bail out. (25)

RQ has a brand that people trust and they should lean into that reputation, heavily promoting their new shows and focusing on getting those running. RQN seems instrumental in keeping the company afloat and therefore it’s understandable that so much time is spent introducing and promoting the shows taken under that umbrella (that’s part of the incentivizing service they offer RQN shows anyway), But RQ cannot expect the ad revenue from their new shows like they did with TMA and have to adjust accordingly. I hope RQ recognizes that they’re still mostly a small indie company with a surprise hit and allow themselves the restrictions - and responsibilities - of that.

As for fans, I think RQ should capitalize on the good favor they have and reengage the fandom in an appropriate manner. Livestreams are wonderful, but should automatically have slowmode to at least 30 seconds on any stream, 60 on a huge one (like the KS promotion livestream). It not only allows the on-air talent to catch some messages, but it allows the mods to filter easier. How they reestablish a team of mods is theirs to outline, but with better communication and potential benefits (i.e. a patreon subscription) it’s likely folks would be willing. 

Secondly, I believe RQ should reinstate the forums. The benefit to something more static like forums (or reddit threads or whatever is similar) is the ease of moderation and the forced expansion of time. Without the instant chat function of Discord, it isn’t as overwhelming to participate in forums or threads. These should be official RQ forums and moderated (which won’t be as difficult as a Discord). As mentioned, compensation is a tricky subject because when you start paying ‘volunteers’ they can claim employment and it opens up RQ to a whole swath of responsibilities. A “Mod Team” shirt or pin, a patreon subscription, maybe some mod-creator meetups could be provided for services rendered.

RQ could possibly look into reopening the Discord, perhaps limiting it to patrons. While that would make it more manageable, it potentially leads to issues involving classism or elitism. It could also exacerbate the earlier issue of fan entitlement. If RQ decides to reopen the Discord, they should do so with a lot of consideration.

I'm a huge fan of Rusty Quill. There are plenty of times I’ve been frustrated or disappointed with them, but at its heart, it tries to accomplish what I think to be a noble and admirable goal. Rusty Quill seeks to create good art with an emphasis on highlighting diverse voices that might not otherwise get a chance to perform. And, from what I’ve seen despite some ups and downs, tries to do their best to create sustainable income for those they bring along as collaborators. The love the team has for storycrafting is obvious and that - along with their community - is where they should focus.

EDIT:

I started this post about three weeks ago, so the Medium article was a big surprise. I won’t dissect the article because that’s not my goal, but I do have a few thoughts.

So, let's address the article on Medium.

Here is the article so you can read it for yourself. https://medium.com/@newtschott/whos-afraid-of-alex-j-newall-ae3a67f3a5e1

Here is Rusty Quill's response: https://rustyquill.com/2022/12/13/public-response-to-an-opinion-piece/

This tumblr post speaks about an inaccurate quote that the article mentions, and I think is relevant: https://www.tumblr.com/dadhuddle/703488191401984000/journalistic-integrity-re-newt-schottelkottes-rq?source=share.

Here is a link to a tumblr post from Harlan Guthrie, creator of the Malevolent podcast, which is part of the RQN. I felt it important to get a point of view of someone involved in the network. https://www.tumblr.com/malevolentcast/703493906802868224/you-probably-already-know-about-this-but-an?source=share

The issues the article raises are very important. If these allegations are true, they need to be addressed. Newt being the marketing director of a rival podcast company and failing to disclose this for several hours casts the entire article in doubt because the conflict of interest is something ethical journalists would've avoided. (26) Newt also favorably compared RQ's practices to Fable and Folly. (27) Newt and the other two editors of the piece also provided their contact information to provide help with "research, job searches, and more" to former/current employees of RQ. (28) Neither of these things are inherently wrong, but Newt's connection to F&F casts them in a different light. This could possibly be construed as encouragement for current RQ employees or network shows to leave RQ for F&F. It's unfortunate, because this conversation needed to happen, especially if the purported issues are factual. Now there is a haze over the veracity of this article because of this lack of disclosure and the conflicts of interest from the author.

There has been some talk stating that podcast networks are not rivals. They can be friendly, they can share actors, they can share spaces. They almost certainly don't share profits. Every show added to a network brings in income for that network. If one of these networks dissolves, then the shows under its umbrella can move to one of the other networks, raising its profits. It's difficult to deny that one podcast network would benefit from the dissolution of another. I would identify that as rivals, even if they're friendly.

I don't believe that Fable and Folly had anything to do with this article. I don't even think Newt intended for them to be involved at all or for people to make that connection. It's the appearance of bias that muddies the waters. Most journalistic codes of ethics tell journalists to avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. If it seems a journalist has a stake in the outcome of a story, it compromises the neutrality and the authenticity of the piece.

And unfortunately, despite Newt's claims of a background in journalism (unverifiable at the time of posting this blog outside of editorial publications), the necessary practices to lend credence towards these allegations weren't followed.

This post represents my own opinions, based in my involvement in the community. I've tried to provide sources whenever I could, though much of it was lost when the RQ Discord shut down, or mired in the sheer breadth of content. If there's a blatant untruth, please let me know with supporting evidence so I can correct it.

Footnotes:

1. Establishment of the company and ownership as per the foundation documents.

2. Alex & Jonny working the same job James Ross gave them (160 Q&A)

3. Patreon funding builds new studio via Studio tour video: (the video is patron-only, so here is a screencap of Alex stating that Patreon funded the studio)

4. Alex was homeless for a while, retrospective 189.5 (amongst others)

5. Rusty Quill Forums https://rustyquill.proboards.com/board/1/general-board

6. RQ Forums post celebrating the first RQGG

7. Rusty Quill Official Discord goes live, via RQ Forums.

8. Haggis and Dragons interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkYsA50Ts9M&list=FLaf41raWk5sb2VhQcEcPpsg&index=27

(Alex talking about the company stepping back from the public 12:30)

9. Popularity of the term “the magnus archives” from Google Analytics

10. Hannah becomes director, via RQ filing documentation

11. Autumn becomes Community Assistant, via Patreon email

12. Rusty Quill’s official statement about mods walkout.

Announcement - plain text 15-09-21.pdf

13. Crunchy's tweet

14. Mike LeBeau leaves RQ, via his twitter

15. The first Magnus sequel ARG prompt, via Patreon email

16. Oct 24 Pre-Kickstarter Announcement Livestream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLOj5JKq-QU&t

17. The Magnus Protocol Kickstarter launch livestream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xk1hgVY2cc&t

18 Newt Schottelkotte's Medium piece: https://medium.com/@newtschott/whos-afraid-of-alex-j-newall-ae3a67f3a5e1

19 Rusty Quill's response to the Schottelkotte piece: https://rustyquill.com/2022/12/13/public-response-to-an-opinion-piece/

20. Rusty Quill internal census

21 The end of the RQ census summary:

22. Average number of employees at RQ in 2022, via RQ filing documentation

23. RQG editing stats, courtesy of the LOLOMG: A performance review by Oscar Wilde team (the team theorizes that Alex was still mastering during that early gap, but forgot to credit himself) [additional note: LOLOMG was a fan project to celebrate the end of Rusty Quill Gaming] note added 10am - incorrectly attributed, my deepest apologies to Straw and their team

24. Patreon retention stats, via Graphetron

25. Kickstarter use policy

26 The lack of disclosure on the initial posting of the Schottelkotte article.

27 Comparison of Fable and Folly's practices to Rusty Quill's.

28 Contact information for the writer and two editors given to current and ex Rusty Quill employees and network shows.

29 Patreon announcement of Cry Havoc! and Neon Inkwell postponement (I knew I had this lying around somewhere!)

30 Some additional information from Crunchy (thanks Crunchy!). sorry for the awful paint edit job (added 16/12/22 7pm)

#rusty quill #rusty quill drama #the magnus archives #rusty quill network #the magnus protocol #that's like just your opinion man

[raposabranca]

Okay, I'm going to talk about this on my main art account because I haven't seen this being addressed yet (there are obviously other pressing matters) but I believe it deserves to be acknowledged both by art appreciators and artists alike:

ANIMATIC ISN'T WHAT YOU MAY THINK IT IS. "Fan animation" IS NOT called "Animatic".

This is not me being a snob, it's what the words were created for, and using them wrong may be misleading at best and upsetting/unrealistic at worst. Allow me to explain in as much detail as I can right now, so watch out for a long post:

ANIMATION, ANIMATIC, AND WHY IT MATTERS: THE LONG POST

First of all, remember that every animation is a film or video. Even if it's an animation that is composed by mostly static images and it may few weird to call it "animation", it's still a realized video or film (or MV - music video -, student film, etc)

Very roughly put and with many caveats as every studio/person is different, once the pre-production stage of an animation moves into production the process goes like this:

STORYBOARD: A storyboard is a graphic portrayal of a narrative, concept, or script, divided into sequential scenes (panels). Usually, it is done based on a written or roughly drawn script, and it serves to translate the story visually so placement, movement, timing, and camera angles are better understood or articulated. It's often done even for live-action movies.

They can be as detailed or as general, as clean and shaded or as scribbly as they can. Their point is being a visual sequential reference to the script.

Examples (more here):

Batman: The Animated Series opening

This Batman storyboard puts a lot of effort in making the images very clean and readable and in high contrast, which is useful in a noir series.

Super Mario Odyssey cinematic sequence

Mario is a lively series where depth, character silhouette, and fluidity are favored, so it's okay if the storyboard is scribbled if it's coherent to the movement and characters.

ANIMATIC: An animatic is a string of storyboard images edited together with sound to illustrate how a sequence will flow in motion. (...) [It] is basically an animated storyboard. The same images you’ve already created as a storyboard are now put into a video and can include dialogue, sound effects, and music. 

TL;DR it's a storyboard, that is, those static panels that can be as detailed or as rough as they must, put into motion and with added sound.

Animatics are useful to keep track of timing, placement, acting, etc, which you can't do very well with static images. They may contain placeholder images, stock photos, live-action acting frames, and even fully animated sequences that were previously done - whatever it's needed to help. Technically, some are animation. But they are, by definition, unfinished animation.

Examples:

Coco - "Un Poco Loco" finished animation vs animatic:

This is Pixar here and the animatic is scribbles. There is fluid, expressive animation there in order to communicate the livelihood of the sequence, but no more.

This wonderful thing:

Dan Harmon recorded a real court order discussion and drew the animatic on top of it, but he didn't intend to do a finished animation from this. Therefore, those are cleaned-up simple static drawings that still convey the absurdity of the video so it can be presented to the audience, like a sketch.

Mari Flexion's "Epiphany" , from the eponymous "fluff" extra from The Magnus Archives:

Like Harmon, Flexion never intended to fully animate this piece, but unlike Harmon - whose style is simpler and more cartoony - Flexion did this with time and in an elaborated style. There are moving parts and even simple animations in there, shadows and fully conveyed details like clothes and freckles. However, by the nature of being a sketch of an animation, it's an animatic.

ANIMATION: Once you have the storyboard and (if necessary) the animatic fully realized, the "animation" stage can start - this is the refining and production of what will become the final film. This stage is composed of many other stages that characterize how close to the final product something is. Stages will vary depending on the type of film you're doing, but Ill use some of my work to show some of the most common ones in 2D animation. (you'll notice that the timing changes from one place to another; that's because I'm only one person doing that on my pace and not a studio, and also I'm a gremlin)

Rough animation: The closest to animatic; some animatic can be considered rough animations:

Cleaned-up: Rough animation that has the final lineart/style that will be used in the end (sometimes static elements are already finished; animation can be weird)

Flat colors (or flats): Where the colors without effects/shadows/lights are added.

Final: With everything else (and here, because it's a video, it contains the music I timed everything on)

Originally posted here (final video) and here (work in progress gifs)

AND THEREIN THE ISSUES BEGIN

I've been observing in the last years that a lot of people are calling near-finalized, very-into-production animations "animatics". Not only fans are saying that, but sometimes artists themselves seem to consider stuff such as the following as animatics:

Shandzii's "It's tough to be a god" (original characters)

It could be argued this is a very elaborated animatic, but the amount of finished animation, detail and cleanness would put it at rough/almost clean-up animation.

@twinkle-art 's and @worldformula `s "The Magnus Archives - villain(빌런)"

This is a finished video, despite the lack of "animation" mostly.

SprectroliteAAA's "Death by Glamour - Mettaton vs. Frisk Fight"

This one has been bothering me for years now - it's a fantastic, almost fully realized rendition of this sequence, it's called "rough animation" in the opening, but it's called "animatic" on the title hhh

"But Branca," I can almost hear you say, "why does it matter?"

Well... it's not something that is urgent, or pressing, like I said before. AI- generated stuff and N/F/T/s are actual problems, but that's beside the point. Still, it's a trend that is becoming stronger, and the immediate issues I see are:

For artists: you'll look like a fool: No one is born knowing stuff, but that's inadequate vocabulary in artistic circles - especially in animation ones. If you call an animation "animatic" because it's digital, fanart, or a music video, it may sit wrong with people in the industry. You want to know which words mean what.

For art appreciators: it may sound derogatory: If someone posts their finalized film and you call it an animatic, it may rub the artist the wrong way. What if you wrote a whole fiction book and someone called it "your notes"? It's finalized work - call it for what it is.

For people who make/hire artwork: "But that's not what I/you asked for": The idea that animatics are "supposed" to get to more and more polished levels cause potential conflict between art professionals and costumers. The terms are laid out for clarity, and if "animatic" has a double meaning, people can be upset for getting "less" of what they wanted to get. Worse, calling animation/film "animatic" creates unrealistic market expectations. "Well X artist did that kind of animatic, can't you do that?" is a very hard situation to be in, as an artist. We may sell our work for crumbs just so we get the job, being exploited to do work we're not really supposed to due to a fiction.

For everyone: it can generate confusion and conflict: "Animatic" a term from the film industry. Some terms from some places may be redefined into something better or more appropriate, but this one creates miscommunication for the reasons mentioned about. Worse, it can create miscommunication between groups of people, particularly in fandom. Knowing the right words is the most conducive course of action.

Anyway, I hope this long ramble helped! Go spread the love for animatics and animations and videos all around!

#animation #animatic #art #art resources #information #youtube #raposabranca #god i wrote this during class i hope i stayed on topic

[arrowsangel]

So, I’ve noticed something recently about the Earthrise/Kingdom Optimus Prime, Kingdom Rodimus Prime, and Studio Series 86 Ultra Magnus that I have to share.

So, Matrixes. We all know how many figures keep getting them, but they are still pretty cool. But the thing all three of these specific figures is that they all have matrix chambers molded into them.

If you take their g1 personalities into account, this can have a lot of implications. The pictures prove it too.

Optimus. He’s the most famous of the three, the poster boy of the Primes. He also puts a lot of emphasis and faith on the matrix, as proven by the size of his matrix chamber in toy form.

Now on to Ultra Magnus. He’s a soldier, a City Commander. Ultra Magnus isn’t a leader in his own words, but he was Optimus’ first choice out of those left standing around him. Magnus most certainly puts a lot of emphasis on the Matrix, perhaps more than Optimus does, given his reaction to being handed it in the movie. Thus, it stands to reason his matrix chamber is much bigger and spacious than Optimus Prime’s.

Finally, and most certainly not least, Rodimus Prime. What is there to say about Rodimus? He’s the one who saved Cybertron from Unicron, twice! But i digress. Rodimus doesn’t feel worthy of the matrix in G1, not until the episode right before O.P.’s return. He thinks others might fill the role better, he thinks that he can’t live up to O.P., and the size of his matrix chamber lives up to that too.

Rodimus Prime’s matrix chamber is small, compressed, and only fits the matrix and nothing else. He cannot see himself as the leader Cybertron needs, even though he really is.

Rodimus leads the Autobots in peace, reaches out to the rest of the galaxy to build bridges between Cybertron and anyone he can. He pushes back Galvatron, Unicron’s champion.

Back to Matrix Chambers though. Once they are removed, there’s a hidden detail between them all. This time i don’t have photos, but you can look them up, I’m sure.

Anyway, OP has a circular hole in the back, but one could imagine it’s a connection between OP and the Matrix itself.

Ultra Magnus is similar, but still different. Magnus has a circular peg literally plugging into the matrix, so quite literally he’s connected to it.

Rodimus, once again, is different in this regard. Rodimus has a (roughly) completely closed. The center of it where the other two have something to make a connection, Rodimus has a square with a triangle inside, painted silver like the rest of his matr chamber.

TL;DR: Rodimus has a very differently designed Matrix Chamber compared to any other matrix bearer in this post that fits very well with his G1 personality. But please, tell me your thoughts.

#rodimus #hot rod #rodimus prime #ultra magnus #optimus prime #generation 1 #transformers g1 #tf g1 #g1 #matrix of leadership #transformers #transformers generation one #transformers gen 1 #transformers earthrise #transformers kingdom #transformers studio series #transformers 86 movie

[the-most-character-i-ever-saw]

Here’s the bracket!

Wally Darling from Welcome Home vs Count Blumiere from Super Paper Mario

Barbie from Barbie vs Kaito from Vocaloid/Piapro/Project Sekai/Everywhere

Perseus “Percy” Jackson from PJO/Riordianverse vs Martin Blackwood from the Magnus Archives

John Constantine from DC/Vertigo Comics vs Benrey from Half Life VR but the AI is Self Aware

Zakk from Deathgasm vs Mike Wheeler from Stranger Things

Makoto Misuki from Tsuki ga Michibiku Isrkai Douchuu vs Lazuli from awe-24 on Tumblr

Shinoa Hiiragi from Owari no Seraph vs Adrien Agreste aka Chat Noir from Miraculous Ladybug

Tamari from the song Reckless Battery Burns by Ghost and Pals vs SpottedLeaf from Warrior Cats

Vash the Stampede from Trigun vs Gabbro Outer Wilds

Anya Forger from Spy x Family vs Hatsune Miku from VOCALOID/Piapro Studio/Other things

Yukito Tsukishiro from Card Captor Sakura vs Ryuu Natsume from Paradox Live

CD from charliethehedgesheep on Tumblr vs David Brittlesbee from Mythic Quest (Raven’s Banquet)

Stan Marsh from South Park vs Nicholas D. Wolfwood from Trigun

Finn Mertens from Adventure Time vs Ben Hope from Heartstopper

Five Pebbles from Rain World vs Ash Ketchum from Pokémon

Rezhi Zether from rizardofether on Tumblr vs Perfuma from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

goodtimeswithscar from Hermitcraft vs Light Yagami from Death Note

Marcy Wu from Amphibia vs GLaDOS from Portal

Shin Tsukimi from Your Turn to Die vs Lou Jitsu/Hamato Yoshi from RotTMNT

Spamton G. Spamton from Deltarune vs Darius Deamonne from The Owl House

Qifrey from Witch Hat Atelier vs Gregor from Star Wars

Jiang Cheng from The Untamed vs Akira Midousuji from Yowamushi Pedal

Matt Murdock from Daredevil vs Stardust Cookie from Cookie Run

Carlos the Scientist from WTNV vs Lucifer Kane from Kane and Fes

Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet vs Laios Touden from Dungeon Meshi

Dennis Reynolds from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia vs Harry Du Bois from Disco Elysium

Gunpowder Tim from The Mechanisms vs Ursula Zandt/Silhuette from Watchmen/Minutemen Comics

Garvan from madicham on Tumblr vs That one character from that one thing from That one thing

Wartortle from Pokemon vs Dot Barett from Mashle: Magic and Muscles

Jasper Shion from Danganronpa 52: Despair From The Heart (creator: mewmewchann) vs Taako Adventurezone from The Adventure Zone

Cid Kagenou from The Eminence in Shadow vs Zacharie from OFF

Pinkie Pie from MLP: FIM vs Jonathan Sims from The Magnus Archives

Stanford Pines from Gravity Falls vs Starflight from Wings of Fire

Alex Fierro from Magnus Chase vs Vriska Serket from Homestuck

Taylor Hebert | Skitter | Weaver | Khepri from Parahumans vs Saiki Kusuo from TDLoSK

Luigi Largo from Repo! The Genetic Opera vs Primordus from Guild Wars 2

Dipsy from Teletubbies vs Jean Valjean from Les Miserables

Mash Burnedead from Mashle: Magic and Muscles vs Trans Wizard Harriet Porber from Trans Wizard Harriet Porber and the Bad Boy Parasaurolophus: An Adult Romance Novel

Tsukasa Tenma from Project SEKAI vs Victoria Annabel Spring from Solitaire/Osemanverse

Larry Butz from Ace Attorney vs Miette from Miette

Danny Fenton from Danny Fenton vs Agnry Faic/Angry Faic/Angry Face from The ng Rating System

Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo from Mob Psycho 100 vs Raine Whispers from The Owl House

Chuuya Nakahara from Bungo Stray Dogs vs Captain Sisko from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Charlie Kelly from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia vs Nico the Catboy (Adventure Time OC) from a Tumblr user (if you know who made Nico, please tell me)

Kaguya Shinomiya from Kaguya-Sama: Love is War vs Harold Stokes (Kazuki Hirasawa) from My Death Flags Show No Sign of Ending

Razputin Aquato from Psychonauts vs Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi from DC Comics/Gotham Academy

Ronald ‘Mac’ MacDonald from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia vs Ayin from Lobotomy Corporation

Cassandra Cain from DC Comics vs Noa Karada from Broken Minds

Phoenix Wright from Ace Attorney vs Dazai Osamu from Bungo Stray Dogs

Kirby from Kirby vs Jurgen Leitner from The Magnus Archives

Jaylen Hotdogfingers from Blaseball vs Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas

Erika Furudo from Umineko no Naku Koro Ni vs Will Graham from Hannibal

Mole from Happy Tree Friends vs Akane Kurashiki from Zero Escape

Lightbulb from Inanimate Insanity vs Mafuyu Asahina from Project SEKAI

Eridan Ampora from Homestuck vs Spec from The Clowns SMP - hewwosimulator

Kim Kisturagi from Disco Elsyium vs Shunsaku Ban from Tezuka Star Systen

Dream of the Endless from The Sandman vs Katsura (Zura) Kotarou from Gintama

Palmon from Digimon Adventure vs Pico from Pico’s School

Gyro Gearloose from Ducktales (2017) vs Gary the Gadget Guy from Club Penguin

Luz Noceda from The Owl House vs Mizuki Akiyama from Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage

Alpha from Final Fantasy XIV vs Spock from Star Trek

Methos from Highlander vs Hibari Kyoya from Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Louise Belcher from Bob’s Burgers vs Kani Maki from Sushi Pack

Barry the Chopper from Fullmetal Alchemist vs Kanatsune Ame from Entropic Float

For those who don’t know: In this tournament, I challenge you to decide on an adjective and stick with it throughout while determining the most character ever.

#the most character ever tournament #the most character ever #poll tournament #poll

[lurafita]

Malec WWE AU

Okay, so there was a time when I was a little obsessed with WWE. And for whatever reason, I just remembered that. So, can you picture the guys in a setting like this? Doesn't even have to necessarily be wrestling, maybe more mixed martial arts. But there are cameras backstage and fights and lots of "entertainment". That training fight scene with Alec and Magnus is living rent free in my head and I would just like more of that, you know?

As it always does, my brain went right to "backstory" Mode. -

So, Alec was classicly trained, in a studio, with professional trainers and wrestling and other fighting styles have been practiced in his family for generations and are highly regarded. There is a philosophy to it, a feeling of honor. Alec's parents actually weren’t happy when their son went to the WWE (or MMAE) with his talents, but Alec argued that this might be able to help get the younger generation to look at the sport as something more than bashing each other for the entertainment value of the audience. (And, well, also money. Because while there is a familial wealth to the Lightwood name, Alec would like to be a bit more independent from them. And if he gets famous enough, gets his name out there, maybe he could open up an mma studio where he can then teach kids and adults alike the real sport.)

Magnus comes from a poor background and an even poorer neighborhood. If you didn’t know how to defend yourself, you were prey. When he was old enough to not be turned away by the guards immediately, he started fighting in underground rings for money. Fighting was never anything more for him than a means to make enough money to eat and survive. One night, a fighter manager looking for new talent happens to be at one of those underground rings and sees Magnus. He gets signed almost right away. And just months later, Magnus has money and a measure of security and is rising in fame. Without the worries of his past nibbling at his heels, he lives it up. Make it grand, make it a show, have some fun! Fighting was never fun before. It was survival. But now, Magnus lives.

Alec and Magnus would probably start out as kinda enemies, at least in Alec's mind. Because Alec thinks that Magnus is only in it for the show and the fame and the glory. That he has no respect for the Art as it is. And in a way, he is right. Magnus doesn't respect the art of fighting the way others in their line of work do. He didn’t learn it because he wanted to, but because he needed to. He will never feel the things that Alec does where fighting is concerned. But that doesn’t mean he doesn't have his own version of respect for it.

Once Alec understands that, he is even more in awe of Magnus than he was.

They both grow to learn and understand each other, without having to conform to the other's view. Magnus will never be able to see fighting as something inherently good, but he respects that Alec does. Alec will never see fighting as a mere tool, be he respects that Magnus does.

#magnus bane #alec lightwood #malec #shadowhunters tv #malec prompt #mma figthers malec #mundane malec au #think wwe but not limited to wrestling #I mean technically the wwe is also not limited to wrestling #but like you know what I mean #Alec is very traditional and technical in his fighting #while Magnus is more adaptive and creative in his fighting #for alec fighting formed him and helped him and he loves it #for magnus it was a way of survival that he hated to have to need but was glad that he had it

[greatunironic]

Do you have any idea what the Party’s reaction to “Boy with a Bat” would be, specifically El and the Byers clan?

after steve hears the album for the first time, eddie’s next port of call is of course the assorted hopper-byers clan. it’s pretty fortuitous, that he finished the album when he did, just before they were all coming together for terry’s birthday at the old dairy farm in memphis, indiana. (or maybe not; eddie’s a planner, okay?)

but so he’s got the whole gang under one roof; and while he would’ve gone on the great american road trip with the master, that would’ve been a real bitch of a time suck, and the studio was breathing down his neck. plus, he wanted to drop it on steve’s birthday anyway, because eddie’s a big gestures guy, sue him or whatever.

he holds court in the dairy barn, because it feels right. still smells like hop’s smokes, if he closes his eyes and breathes deep. the boys and max all love it, when they listen, though they maintain that they didn’t ever need to know that much about his and steve’s sex lives, thanks. mostly, they argue amongst themselves about whose voice is whose, and loudly inform eddie he’s a fucking creep for recording them without their knowledge, and demand royalties. will, with his face like an angel and truly hilarious bitchy streak that eddie is convinced he learned from steve, mean girl extraordinaire, looks eddie dead in the eye when steve’s laugh fades into the next track and says very seriously, “that is so gay, man.”

(he gives him a hug when it’s finished too, says, “you’re gonna make history with this one, eddie. i know it. thank you.”)

jonathan holds him for a really long time, after, and doesn’t say much, but the two of them never needed a lot of words between them: freaks to the end, baby.

nancy and robin roll their eyes and echo the kids’s sentiments when they get their listens. (even though eddie knows for a fact robin was well read into steve’s sex life, because they’re the biggest pair of codependent weirdos he’s ever met, and eddie fucking knows from codependent weirdos these days; and he’s not a prude, far from it, but knowing one of your best gals learned to go down on a chick through the verbal teachings of the man you love? well the less said there the better, and he doesn’t care if it makes him a hypocrite, buckley, get off my dick) (gross, she said, anyway isn’t that steve’s job?) but they’re both misty eyed when they emerge, and tell him he did good.

madchen high fives him; argyle does too, and tells him he’s gonna play it on a loop on his show for days when it drops.

but they’re not the first people to hear it after steve. see, “boy with a bat”? it’s an album for steve, sure — even more so than all of eddie’s other albums — and it’s filled with love songs for him, about him, because of him — because they were always, already for him, he’s just finally explicit with it. (pun intended, hit the high hat, boys!) 

but it’s also an album for a family, the family that horror and tragedy and love, so much love, built. because eddie wasn’t there for the beginning of it all, but he knows how the story started, and how the story ended: one woman’s love for the son she nearly lost, and one man’s love for the daughter he found, and this, all around them — it was all the house jim built, in the end.

so, after steve, he starts with el and joyce. 

el’s listened to a lot of eddie’s jams first over the years, to be totally truthful. hell, his first album was named for her; as much as steve’s his muse, so is this little fucking superhero and she’s had shotgun (once again, pun very much intended) on first listens for years.

he takes her by the hand first into the old dairy parlor, sits her down, and hits play before he leaves. she comes out at the halfway point, face tear stained but determined, always so determined, and drags him back inside with her in silence. she pushes him to sit on the ground and then lies down with her head in his lap, and they finish out eddie’s magnum opus or whatever like that.

the record spins into static, and she says, “i liked that very much.”

“i’m glad,” he said. “i, uh, i have some unused tape, with some other stuff from your old man. mainly him yelling at the boys. you want me to send you it?”

“yes,” she says. “i do not know if i’m ready for more, yet. but i will be someday.”

“you sure will, super girl,” he tells her.

as for mrs h — because that’s how he’s always known her, you know? — well, joyce punches him right in the mouth when she emerges. she’s crying and laughing when she does it, so it hurts exactly zero percent, and steve totally laughs his fucking ass off next to him while she does it. 

“hey! i’m being assaulted!”

“you deserve it, baby,” he says, basically in hysterics.

but joyce is wrapping him up in a Mom Hug (TM), all firm and boney, her head under his chin, her wet face on his clavicle. she says, “you’re a menace, ed munson-levy. but thank you for giving him back to me, even if it was just for forty-eight minutes.”

#asks or whatever #stranger things #most remarkable thing #boy with a bat hours

[hrokkall]

Saw the little nightmares 3 trailer got released and wanted to hear your thoughts on it. Is there anything in particular that you're excited for or just generally hyped about?

Also sorry if this question comes across weird I have no clue about the series but remembered you enjoyed it and drew some stuff for it so I thought it'd be fun to talk about it if that makes sense?

- 🥊

Oh I have so many thoughts on it. So many that I'm going to put them below the cut so this post doesn't take up anyone's entire dash.

First of all, damn my copious amounts of coursework for the fact that I couldn't sit down and start drawing fanart immediately the moment I finished watching the trailer once… or twice… maybe three times. Mark my words though these kids WILL be getting some day 2 (actual) art, even if it's just a little sketch.

…Point being, I was pretty excited right out of the gate. Admittedly, I was a little nervous that the studio changeover would mean that any (potential) future Little Nightmares content would mean a massive tonal shift, but based on the trailer alone + the additional guides related to the game, it nails the atmosphere of the previous games pretty damn well. Hell, the giant baby enemy even resembles some of the concept art from the flesh walls!

Already, Nowhere is combining some of my favorite things (notably locations that seem/are "alive", steampunk motifs, and copious amounts of birds… also reminds me a little bit of Zone 3 from OFF, but that's probably just me), but most notably is the fact that it actually seems to resemble some of the locations seen in the (tragically cancelled) 2017 comics. This is particularly notable in the first issue, which features two children taking shelter in a barn from a monster known as the North Wind (who is made of/"sees through" the eyes of black birds, presumably crows), but the second issue is about a monster that lives within mirrors, which are shown a lot in the trailer as well. Either way, I'm cautiously hoping for some references to the comics, especially because we never got to learn what happened to the rest of the Maw kids there (the answer is probably "they died horribly" but I mean hey. You never know).

The designs of the two protagonists are, of course, adorable. I love the plague doctor/gas mask duo (especially because having face coverings makes sense in such a dusty place) and the bit where they both glide down using feather umbrellas is genuinely so fun—absolutely no complaints there.

…Actually, one complaint: I have no idea which one is Low and which one is Alone. None of the official sources have clarified that. Please LN3… I need to know the names of my new kids before they get put into the meat grinder like every other protagonist in these games. (Given the series' track record, I'm not too optimistic about their fates—sorry little guys! I'll be rooting for you anyway). EDIT: It seems like Low is the bird mask kid and Alone is the hazard suit kid

Mechanically… I don't think we've seen enough of the game for me to make any hasty judgements. I know everyone wanted LN2 to be multiplayer (and LN3 appears to have a singleplayer option), but I'm unsure of how that will work. Will it be Spiritfarer style multiplayer where only one player has to own LN3? Will it be online? Will it be splitscreen? Will me inevitably ditching the main campaign to screw around with my friend ruin the atmosphere? No idea. The way I see it, it's too soon to tell.

While we're on the topic though, I did also listen to the first episode of the audio drama! Without spoiling anything… yeah I can definitely recommend it. It's very reminiscent of The Magnus Archives and/or The Bright Sessions, so if you like either of those podcasts you'll probably like The Sounds of Nightmares. Even if you know absolutely nothing about Little Nightmares, I'd honestly recommend it. Voice mixing is a little off in places (though there's a decent chance it was just my headphones being fucky), but the podcast MORE than makes up for it in terms of imagery and phenomenal sound design. No word on the lore implications though; I'll listen to episode 2 when I get the time and THEN deliver the verdict there. I also hope they release an official transcript for it—there isn't one right now afaik, but that would be really helpful for a multitude of reasons.

But yeah, that's about it! TL;DR hell yeah I'm excited for this game, but I'm trying not to fill in the blanks with too much supposition while there's still so little info available

#Also I can promise this isn't a weird question at all; I was freaking out over it on main #And I've drawn/talked about loving the LN series here too! Point being no worries :] #Re: Inbox #🥊 anon #Little Nightmares 3 #<- For indexing. Apologies to the maintag

[parkerthejester]

The bonds are like places Bonds between the seven are laid out in different ways

Merle and Lucretia have a garden. There is a stream there is fruit there is food there is life. It is the knowing and the unknowing, it is the peace in the silence of the unknown. It is the heart of the storm and the eye of the needle. They live inside each other

Taako and Magnus have a town made of stone and wood with good bones and better scenery. they have houses there. It is the feeling of hope. It is what trust must become to fit something new. It is knowing what is but doing what isn’t. They live inside each other

Barry and Lup have a greenhouse and a loft to match it. It is snomething new it is something old. It is growth it is life it is trees with millions of rings it is the bulb of a tulip it is yesterday just as much as it is now. They live inside each other

Taako and Lup have a city. Its flashing lights, its dark alleys, its runways, its studio apartments, its laughing, its crying. There is the yelling and there is the quiet that follows it. It is fear and it is running and it is hiding but it is always full. They live inside each other

Davenport and Merle have a teahouse. It is stories and rest and naps and good smells. It is the very act of remembering. It is the hands on a clock. It is the love in the world, and the hate in it too. They live inside each other

These homes come crashing down. They fall and they crumble and the wilt and they stop and they keep going.

Lup and Barry will hold the glass up because they must. Lup will hold it for him. Barry will remember and the house will too, it will remember with him, breathe as he does. It won’t stop when he doesn’t. It just gets heavier. Lup will hold the roof up for as long as it takes

Taako and Lup’s city is alive with or without them. They are not there but they are simply away from home. You cannot leave that which is not a place. They are knowing without thinking. They are each other as much as they are themselves

Magnus and Taako crumple to the ground. There is no life but the ruins are a commonplace they both end up at one way or another. They will rebuild it without knowing it was theirs. They will rebuild it without knowing what is under the ash. They will rebuild it without asking why. Without wondering why its so easy to create where Taako has only ever destroyed

Merle and Lucretia’s flowers will bloom faster than they should with the wilt they had. Lucretia will not water them but Merle is awake. Merle is awake and he has to do something. Merle is awake and he cares without knowing why. He grows without meaning to.

Davenport is shattered. There is nothing to grow, there is nothing to build, there is no one to pick up the pieces. Davenport lives inside them and they live inside him. But there are no lights and they cut themselves on the rubble that isn’t there. They bleed on the carpet made for forgetting that which must be remembered

#up #plotting #i wrote this in my notes app two years ago #throwing up #taz ruined me #like genuinely #destroyed my life and ruined my home and my sense of self #nothing has ever been the same #text #shitpost #blorbo #ao3 #taz #the adventure zone balance #the adventure zone #studying them #oh taako ftw baby #taako adventurezone #magnus burnsides #taako taaco #lup taaco #barry bluejeans #davenport taz #DAVENPORT MAKES ME THROW UP #lucretia #…. yeah #I dont like lucretia #this is a lucretia hate page #actually not a hate page #but close

[black-arcana]

Former NIGHTWISH Vocalist ANETTE OLZON Releases New Solo Single 'Rapture'

Anette Olzon, the former powerhouse vocalist of NIGHTWISH and one half of the dynamic duo behind THE DARK ELEMENT alongside former SONATA ARCTICA guitarist Jani Liimatainen, has released the official music video for her new solo single, "Rapture". It is the title track of her third solo album, "Rapture", due on May 10 via Frontiers Music Srl. The clip was created by Patric Ullaeus from rEvolver Film Company and can be seen below.

Set to captivate audiences worldwide, "Rapture" promises to deliver an electrifying blend of heavy melodies and soaring vocals that solidify Olzon's esteemed status as one of the premier female voices in the metal genre.

Following in the footsteps of her critically acclaimed second solo album, "Strong", Anette once again teams up with acclaimed Swedish guitarist and producer Magnus Karlsson to craft a musical experience that pushes boundaries and excites the senses. Together, they have curated a collection of songs that showcase Anette's unparalleled vocal range, complemented by Karlsson's masterful riffs and the addition of growls by Johan Husgafvel, adding a dynamic layer to the album's sound.

"Rapture" seamlessly navigates through various musical genres, from symphonic to melodic power metal, with hints of melo-death, while maintaining an irresistibly catchy and melodious essence. Olzon's performance on this album is her most versatile yet, proving her ability to evolve and innovate while staying true to her signature style.

Renowned mixer Jacob Hansen, known for his work with PRETTY MAIDS, VOLBEAT and THE DARK ELEMENT, returns to the fold to ensure that "Rapture" achieves the perfect balance between heaviness and hookiness, resulting in an album that is both impactful and memorable.

"Rapture" is set to unleash its sonic fury upon the world, cementing Olzon's status as a force to be reckoned with in the metal music scene. Prepare to be swept away by the sheer power and beauty of Anette Olzon's "Rapture".

"Rapture" track listing:

Heed The Call

Rapture

Day Of Wrath

Requiem

Arise

Take A Stand

Cast Evil Out

Greedy World

Hear My Song

Head Up High

We Search For Peace

Recording linup:

Anette Olzon - Vocals Magnus Karlsson - Guitar, Bass, Keyboards Anders Köllerfors - Drums Johan Husgafvel - Growls

The Swedish-born singer originally joined NIGHTWISH in 2007 and recorded two studio LPs with the band before being dismissed in 2012 in the middle of the group's North American tour. She was replaced by former AFTER FOREVER frontwoman Floor Jansen.

Olzon reflected on her time with NIGHTWISH in a 2021 interview with Finland's Chaoszine. Asked how she looks back on the entire five-year experience, she said: "Well, it's mixed emotions. It was a hell of a ride. You know how it was with the media in Finland. And for me, I didn't understand what was happening because I didn't know how big the band was, since I don't live in Finland. So it was really fun the first years with everything and also crazy. I wasn't home a lot. They did their heaviest touring when I joined. All of a sudden, they wanted to do so many long weeks [on the road]. I remember just that I had a five-year-old son [and] I came home after five weeks. I was home one week. I didn't almost have time to unpack my bags before I went off again for four weeks. So I don't remember everything, to be honest. There are so many things that I don't remember. And also, of course, the last years where it wasn't such a nice atmosphere between us. And I had my third child, and things happened.

"So I remember it both with really happy, happy feelings, but also with very, very negative and sad feelings," she explained. "But, of course, it was an amazing experience, and it was my dream that came true to be a full-time singer in an amazing big band. And they are a super-good band. So I bless the albums that we did and will always cherish that time, of course."

Not long after Olzon was fired from NIGHTWISH 11 years ago, she claimed that an argument arose between her and NIGHTWISH when she asked for an Australian tour to be postponed during her pregnancy. Keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen suggested that Jansen should front the band on a temporary basis, but Olzon said no.

Anette explained in a 2014 interview: "I would have been too pregnant to go to Australia, so I wanted to push the dates back, but Tuomas didn't want that. Discussions about a substitute came up, and at first, I was, like, 'Yeah, well, okay.' But when they mentioned Floor, it was an automatic 'no' from me. I didn't think it was a good idea, because I knew what would happen — I knew the fans would love Floor, because she's a metal singer and I'm a pop singer, and I wanted to keep my job."

A year after NIGHTWISH fired Olzon, the band released a statement denying that she was dismissed because of pregnancy or illness. "We discovered her personality didn't fit this work community, and was even detrimental to it," the group said. NIGHTWISH went on to say that Anette was initially receptive to the idea of hiring a temporary replacement if she couldn't "manage everything," but that she later "took back her decision, and the difficulties really started. Fear of losing money and position seemed obvious." The band also insisted that "Anette and her company" were "paid a fifth of everything that was done during her time" with NIGHTWISH.

Since the end of her stint with NIGHTWISH, Olzon also formed THE DARK ELEMENT with Liimatainen. The group's self-titled debut album was released in 2017; a follow-up, "Songs The Night Sings", came out in 2019.

Olzon and noted progressive metal vocalist Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X, ADRENALINE MOB) released a collaborative album titled "Worlds Apart" in March 2020 via Frontiers Music Srl. The project was issued under the moniker ALLEN/OLZON. A follow-up album, "Army Of Dreamers", arrived in 2022.

#anette olzon #Youtube

[liminalpebble]

Sex and Death: Chapter 2, The Longest Night

Masterlist link

Chapter 2: The Longest Night

The traffic lights painted a neon glow over the snowfall, slush, and fog. The colors screamed against the contrasting backdrop of one of the darkest and longest nights of the year. The rhythmic swish of the windshield wipers and the comforting heat (which Magnus had thoughtfully cranked up for her) were lulling Noura into a light hazy sleep.

He would steal little glances at her at stop lights, noticing how the neon colors reflected off of her shiny black hair like the surface of a still lake. When her long dark lashes fluttered he wondered if she dreamed of something and somewhere better...or, more likely, the monsters followed her into her subconscious, the way they did to him (to most cops, really). Once they rolled to the final intersection, Magnus jostled her gently, reluctant to disturb her rest.

She opened her eyes to the beaming smile and sweet deep voice saying, “Sorry darling, which way?”

“Uh...left here...third one down is the parking lot for my building...pull in here. Sorry to doze off.”

He chuckled as she yawned. “It's fine. I know you're tired.”

As they exited the car he took an overnight bag from the trunk, then saw her eye it curiously.

“Oh...right...it's a police thing. We always have overnight bags ready to go.”

“That's convenient,” she said, smirking.

Noura lived in a large apartment block, on the shabby side, and felt a little jolt of embarrassment to realize that he would see how she lived. They tapped through the lobby's sprawl of 70's Formica only to be met with a sign saying that the elevator was out.

She rolled her eyes. “Fuck...again...stairs it is then. 4th floor,” she said leading the way up the badly lit concrete staircase. She expected to look back and see him grimacing or hear complaints, but he only met her with that perfectly charming unbearable smile. Like a golden retriever, he was just happy and excited to be a part of things and was ridiculously cute about it.

“Here were are,” she said with a huff, unlocking and shouldering the door open for him. It was a simple studio apartment, with one main room dominated by a bed, a desk and a couple very full bookshelves. Magnus thought it tidy but colorful and eclectic. After so many visits to blank, sleek, expensive Swedish homes, this was a breath of fresh air. She had made use of every available centimeter of space, it seemed, filled it with life. The air held the scent of pleasant incense or candles. Interesting, slightly macabre art hung on the walls. The only drawback was that with his height and long limbs, it felt a bit claustrophobic.

He smiled to her with his hands in his pockets as she hung up their coats. “Cozy!” he said, and bless him, he meant it.

“I'm sorry,” she said with a grimace, “I know it's a bit tiny and depressing.” She gestured for him to take a seat on the small bed which doubled as a sofa, then started making coffee.

“No! It's nice, really! My place isn't tidy or cozy like this. It's just a place where I eat, sleep and drop my stuff off in piles between shifts...oh and the address for food delivery...very important. Speaking of which, I am immensely talented at ordering food instead of cooking. Would you like me to order a pizza or something?”

Noura was buzzing around and hollered from a closet where she was searching for that damned air mattress she knew was here somewhere. “Ah..hmm. Well I have some leftover stew, and plenty of food in the kitchenette. I can heat something up for us in a moment.”

“Oh!” he exclaimed down the hall to where she was fussing around. “That would be lovely! I haven't had a homemade meal in ages...only when I visit my parents.”

To busy himself, he scanned her bookshelves with burning curiosity, running his fingertips along the spines. As a detective, Magnus naturally enjoyed snooping around personal habitats; analyzing someone's personality through objects and intimate space. The young cop was especially intrigued by hers. He'd been studying her ever since he met her. The books composed a fascinating collection; academic tomes, language textbooks, and scientific non-fiction sat side by side with comic books, sci-fi, horror, classics, history, and poetry.

She had returned and began inflating an air mattress in what little space was left in the room, then she breezed into the kitchenette. Soon Magnus smelled something spicy and mouthwatering being warmed up for their dinner. “That smells incredible, Noura!”

She laughed again. How he was growing to love that sound. “Oh thank you. It's just leftovers. I always make far too much for one person.” She looked up to where his traveling fingertip had settled on an antique book with text in both Arabic and Swedish on the spine. Noura came over to him, handing off a steaming mug of coffee. Magnus smiled. It was exactly how he always took it (a splash of milk and a little sugar). She didn't even need to ask.

“Ah!” she said, noticing his exploration. “That's an interesting one! My father picked this up in a second-hand shop shortly after he emigrated...read it to death to teach himself Swedish. He always called it his 'key to the kingdom',” she explained, offering a crooked little nostalgic grin before sipping her coffee.

“It's gorgeous,” he said. As he flipped carefully through the yellowed pages, the sweet and musty old-book aroma rose up between them.

She craned her head forward a little to breathe in the scent, “Smell that? I adore that smell of old books. Did you know that as paper like this ages it releases a chemical compound similar to vanilla? That's why it smells so...delicious.”

He laughed in surprise. “You are...a delightfully weird girl. Is this how you flirt?” he said, teasing purposefully. She rolled her eyes, but blushed all the same.

Taglist: @peacefulpianist @peaches1958 @icytrickster17 @sired-to-hybrid @mjsthrillernp @acidcasualties @loz-3 @annoyingsweetsstranger @alexakeyloveloki @marcotheflychair @muddyorbs @smolvenger @sweetsigyn @goblingirlsarah @lovelysizzlingbluebird  

#wallander #wallander fanfic #magnus martinsson #magnus martinsson fan fic

[skwigelfskwisgaar]

More HC's that no one asked for. More under the cut, totally disorganized right now, will get to organizing it and whatnot later.

very long post ahead

Skwisgaar still keeps in touch with Týr. The one man who still gave a shit about him and actually gave him a sense of normalcy that he craved, Týr is listed as a frequent contact on his phone with text messages going as far back as the 2nd day they lived together with Serveta. It's just Skwisgaar making sure that the man who was stepdad to him for a few weeks feels appreciated, despite what his mother did to wreck their marriage. It gives him a sense of normalcy to hear and talk with Týr, often visiting him when they're on tour in Sweden.

Skwisgaar, despite being from Sweden, hates the cold.

He rocks out to anything. He really enjoys music of the metal variety but isn't opposed to other genres. If he dislikes it, he quickly makes sure to take note of the genre and will cycle it out of his recommended music playlist. He goes from listening to Dragonforce to Children of Bodom to Evanescence, down to Metallica, Primus, and Avenged Sevenfold.

He started listening to more music when he first met Magnus who insisted he try listening to Led Zeppelin at least once. Magnus introduced him to 'old grandpa's music' once he got Skwisgaar to listen, and Skwisgaar remembers and thanks Magnus for expanding his musical tastes.

He is the least 'brutal' member of the band - his aesthetic, his tastes, and even his taste in music and women seem to indicate that he follows along with what Pickles and Nathan say and is more of a copycat. And between the starstruck awe of seeing Pickles of Snakes 'n' Barrels fame and making friends with Nathan, he really leaned in on what they thought was brutal, carrying with him these sentiments through his career with them. Evidenced by his original all white outfit, his choice in partners, and even his room, this man is more glam diva than ABBA.

Skwisgaar probably enjoys and plays in Dethklok because it's the genre of music in which he can be the fastest and the best - all others either failed to really push his talents to their limits or didn't make use of them. Brutal isn't something he would use to describe himself, but would definitely use it to describe his playstyle. Furthermore, he does try to hide that he fears he isn't brutal enough for the band by insisting that whatever they do as a band is brutal and metal (often hiding it by saying 'we' as in the band instead of saying 'I' as in just him).

He's narcissistic in that he views Toki Wartooth and William Murderface as extensions of himself on stage, often taking pride in their talents or shame in their failures. It's often why he gets so obsessive with them not playing or practicing their parts and making them redo them in the recording studio - a bad riff or note reflects badly on them, and thus badly on Skwisgaar. While Toki takes his role more seriously than Murderface, neither really try as they know whatever amount of work they put in will be met with disapproval from the Swede.

That said, Skwisgaar also knows that the guitarists are also their own people when his anxiety and stress have worn off and will show them cool tricks or make alterations for live performances as his way to apologize. Unlike Nathan though, he does know when he's screwed up big time and isn't to proud to say an apology where needed.

While it's often said he 'dotes' on Toki more than Murderface, it's not a rare sight to see the lead guitarist and the bassist sharing drinks and talking shop about new pedals or amps for Murderface to use on stage for the 'right tone'. Both love to talk about their side projects together, with Skwisgaar placing both of his on hold while he finds the right talent, while Murderface focused more on Planet Piss merch than actually making music. Despite this, they often clash heads in court when Murderface asks for more residuals; Skwisgaar often gets cited as the one who plays and writes the parts for the recordings and usually has proof of it too.

Skwisgaar's closest friendship is Toki - hands down. It's an odd day to see them heated at each other, but they know that they'll 'kiss and make up' and be right back to their shenanigans soon enough.

Skwisgaar hates to admit it, but he truly cares for all of his bandmates, but it's much more obvious with Toki. Having seen each other at their best and their worst even amongst themselves, it's nice to be able to say he can trust Toki to disappoint him but never to attack him or his insecurities, unlike other band members. Like wise, Skwisgaar never uses Toki's scars, abuse, or insecurities against him and will immediately fight someone who tries to despite his noodle arms.

With Pickles, he shares a more angst filled friendship, leaning on one another when their mothers have driven them to the point of anxiety or a near breaking point. For Skwisgaar, it really humanizes the drummer when they find themselves hidden in a closet or some dark room.

It reminds the Swede sometimes that despite still getting starstruck when Pickles busts out into some SnB era dance moves or sings a few lines of their hits, there is still a man behind the legend - and just like Skwisgaar, even superstar legends like Pickles (and himself) can have and do have problems too. Pickles is the only one Skwisgaar trusts enough to play his signature Thunderhorse guitar.

Skwisgaar has made designs for guitars, but I imagine he was the driving force on Toki's signature Flyin' V Snow Falcon creation especially knowing how Toki was very willing to abandon one of their sponsors if it meant he got a signature design of his own - which for Skwisgaar, would have meant an end to guitar designs and free guitars. Skwisgaar, wanting to keep Gibson and Epiphone, refused more guitar designs until Toki got his own and eventually getting their way - getting Toki his own all-white guitar some time later. And while he isn't a fan of the Flyin' V design himself, he likes that both guitarists now have signature guitars that they both play on stages across the world.

His next venture is to get William Murderface his own signature bass, but with the wild designs Murderface has requested or wanted to add, he's had a hard time finding a reasonable compromise with both Murderface and any sponsor wiling to carry their name. It doesn't help that Murderface has wanted to drag Planet Piss into it, further complicating any business side negotiations as most if not all sponsors want the Dethklok brand association.

Skwisgaar is the tallest of the band, a staggering 6'8 inches, 2 inches taller than Nathan (canonically standing at 6'5-6"). He wasn't always a graceful presence, as he was a lanky tall kid and rather thin during his childhood and early teens. He constantly hit doorframes, car roofs, and would sometimes complain when leg room was nonexistent.

#skwisgaar rp blog #rp blog #skwigelf answers #skwisgaar skwigelf

[burlveneer-music]

RYMDEN - Valleys and Mountains

After their previous excursions into the outer cosmos - the highly acclaimed studio albums "Reflections and Odysseys", "Space Sailors" and the powerful live album "RYMDEN+KORK" - RYMDEN have returned to Earth with their new album, “Valleys and Mountains”. However, as one might expect from the trio of Bugge Wesseltoft, Magnus Öström and Dan Berglund, the music is not strictly earthbound - the inner cosmos, dreams and visions offer new spaces to explore, alongside bucolic rambles and treks. The instrumentation and techniques are once again diversified, the styles multiplied; yet all remains indisputably the music of RYMDEN. There is a dual sense of nostalgia and hope for the future, a feeling of rediscovery replacing loss. There is an awareness of the natural world and our place within it, the part it plays in our lives, and how our lives are simply part of something greater than ourselves.

#RYMDEN #jazz #norway #jazzland #2023 #bugge wesseltoft #fusion #Bandcamp

[honestlytastygayasstrash]

my inspirations for my Worldbuilding project Heritage (if you have any suggestions, please comment/ask/reblog!)

Adventure Time, Akira, Aliens, Alternative History Iceberg by AlternateHistoryHub, Amphibia, Apex Legends, Atlas Shrugged, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Back To The Future, Berserk, Blade Runner, Blood Meridian, Borderlands, Breaking Bad, Chainsaw Man, Chaos Walking Trilogy, Clarence, Classic Horror Movies Verse, Conan The Barbarian, Conspiracy Theory Iceberg by Wendigoon, Coraline, Cowboy Bebop, Creepypasta, Cryptids, Cyberpunk, DC, Dead Poets Society, Dead Space, Demon Slayer, Destiny, Discworld, Doctor Who, Donnie Darko, Doom, Dragon Age, Dragonlance, Dune, Eberron, Elric, Escape From New York, Exandria, Fall Out, Forgotten Realms, Frostpunk, Game Of Thrones, Gods And Demons Wiki Fandom, Good Omens, Gorillaz, Gravity Falls, Greyhawk, Grzybjek OC’S, Harry Potter Timeline Up Until Marauders, Hellboy, Helluva Boss, His Dark Materials, Horizon, Hyperion, Hyrule, I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, Image Universe, Inside Job, Johnny The Homicidal Maniac, Kingverse, Kipo And The Age Of The Wonderbeasts, Life Is Strange, Local 58, Love And Monsters, Lovecraft Mythos, Love Death + Robots, Madmax, Magic The Gathering, Marvel, Mass Effect, Maze Runner, Men In Black, Merlin, Middle Earth, Monstergarden, Monsterverse, Mortal Engines, Multiverse Tales PopCross Studios, Mystara, Mystery Flesh National Park, Nimona, Nowhere On Air, Olivers Antics irl OC’s, Osemanverse, Outlaw Star, Overwatch, Owl House, Oxenfree, Planet Of The Apes, Power Puff Girls, Preacher, Predator, Punk Rock Jesus, Radiant Citadel, Ravenloft, Resident Evil, Rick And Morty, Runeterra, Sandman Slim, Schoolbus Graveyard, Scooby Doo, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, SCP, She Ra, Skyrim, Snowpiercer, Solar Opposites, South Park Band AU, Spelljammer, Star Trek, Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil, Star Wars Canon & Legends (Sequel Trilogy = Star Wars - How To Kill A Franchise by The Closer Look), Stranger Things, Sunflowers And Lavender, Sweet Tooth, Tales From The Loop, Tank Girl, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Backrooms, The Blooming Dead, The Boys (only show), The Breakfast Club, The Creator, The Crow, The Dark Crystal, The Hunger Games, The Lands Between, The Last Kingdom, The Last Of Us, The Magnus Archives, The Matrix, The Monument Mythos, The Road, The Sandman, The Squidder, The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, The Umbrella Academy, The Walking Dead, The Yaetuan Sagas, Threads, Toastchild OC’s, Transmetropolitan, V For Vendetta, Warhammer 40k, Warhammer AoS, War Of The World’s, Willow, Witcher, Y The Last Man

#Heritage #worldbuilding #world #heritage #tumblr writers #writers on tumblr #writers and poets #writerscommunity #ao3 writer #writer things #creative writing #writers block #writing #writeblr #adventure time #akira #aliens #alternate history #amphibia #apex legends #atlas shrugged #avatar the last airbender #back to the future #berserk #blade runner #blood meridian #cormac mccarthy #Stephen king #borderlands #breaking bad

[freakingoutthesquares]

The Fruits Of Passion (1983) ‘A Surrealish Thing’ written and directed by Russell Senior. Performed by The Wicker Players: Jarvis Cocker, Magnus Doyle, Tim Allcard, Ellie Ford and Steve Faben. Included musical interludes performed by Russell, Jarvis and Magnus.

"It was kind of Zurich 1919 revolutionary, very much inspired by Dada," says Russell. "The idea was that people would either walk out in disgust or stay to the end and think it was really cool, and the people who'd stay would be the people who we'd start the socialist revolution with . . . "

The Fruits of Passion Extract from Truth & Beauty: The Story of Pulp by Mark Sturdy.

Direction and identity certainly weren't lacking when, his initial plan of producing it with the Crucible Youth Theatre having fallen through, Russell decided to employ the largely idle remnants of Pulp to present his "Dadaist piece of agit-prop", The Fruits of Passion, to the public. For the project, Russell, Jarvis, Magnus and Tim dubbed themselves The Wicker Players (after named after the somewhat insalubrious area of Sheffield that housed the former silk factory where Magnus lived, and of which Tim was the caretaker), roping in a couple of friends, Steven Faben and Ellie Ford, to act in the play, and Magnus' flatmate Peter 'Manners' Mansell to help out behind the scenes.

Dig Vis Drill vocalist Ogy McGrath was also asked to be in it, "but I'd written a play at the time called Friendship House, and after Russell read that I think he kind of went off the idea of me being in it! The Fruits of Passion had characters like First Authoritarian and Second Authoritarian, and I wasn't sure which authoritarian to play. Russell goes 'There's no difference'. 'But I need to get into my character, do you want me to be low authoritarian, high authoritarian or what?' Great sense of humour, Russell. One day they'll find it and give it him back. I liked him back then though - I think I was the only one in Sheffield who did, so I was ahead of my time in that sense . . . "

The raison d'être of the play, which ran for four performances at various venues in Sheffield during December 1983, was the provocation of its audiences. "It was kind of Zurich 1919 revolutionary, very much inspired by Dada," says Russell. "The idea was that people would either walk out in disgust or stay to the end and think it was really cool, and the people who'd stay would be the people who we'd start the socialist revolution with . . . "

The action was interspersed with musical interludes from Jarvis, Russell and Magnus. "The stage directions were something like 'Put vacuum cleaner on stage. Switch it on. Leave it on until audience becomes restless'," remembers Jarvis with amusement. "The climatic scene was me eating a plate of fake shit at a job interview. I remember the last performance we did, at the Crucible, it looked really real. I looked at Russell and he had this look in his eyes, and I thought 'I hope you aren't testing me out here'. It turned out he'd employed a new recipe, which I think was peanut butter and chocolate. But it looked very realistic."

"It was very intense," says Russell of The Fruits of Passion. "After getting about half the people walking out of this thing and the other half thinking it was really cool, we decided to continue things and make a bit of music."

The Fruits of Passion

Dates: November/December 1983, Yorkshire Artspace Society, Sheffield November/December 1983, Hallamshire Hotel, Sheffield 8 December 1983, Sheffield University Octagon Centre 10 December 1983, Crucible Studio Theatre, Sheffield

The Wicker Players (1983-1985)

Various open mic / ‘cabaret’ events organised by Russell Senior at the Hallamshire Hotel, mostly toward the end of 1983. Participants included Jarvis, Magnus Doyle, Saskia Cocker, Michael Paramore and Tim Allcard.

The only known dates are: 18 December 1983 - ‘Wicker Players Christmas Panto’, Hallamshire Hotel, Sheffield 26 February 1985 - ‘Wicker Players Mystery Event’, Hallamshire Hotel, Sheffield

Saskia has a vague recollection of performing in one of Russell’s plays at one of these events: "It was about a night out on the town. Jarvis was supposed to be chatting me up at a bar. He was supposed to ask me what I wanted to drink, and I say 'Oh, I'll have a Pina Colada please.' And he thought I'd said 'peanuts and lager', so he put some peanuts in a glass of lager, and I threw it over him."

#russell senior #jarvis cocker #pulp #sheffield #arts #dadaism #80s #printed article

[gaytothemaximum]

we all fall down- part two

"Yeah," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "Really. Now what do you want to talk about?"

Magnus seemed to relax a little at her response. "Well, I was thinking... you know how they're tearing down that old theater by the mall?" He gestured vaguely in the direction of the theater, which was indeed set to be demolished in a few weeks. "I've always loved that place. I used to go there with my mom when I was little, and she'd take me to see all these old movies. It's where I really fell in love with film."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Why? It's just an old building."

"No, it's not," Magnus insisted. "It's got history, you know? And I think it's a shame that they're just going to tear it down and put up another stupid shopping center. I mean, what's the point of that?"

Alex shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe because people like shopping?"

Magnus laughed, but it was a humorless sound. "Well, I guess we can't win them all." He paused, then smiled at her. "So, what about you? What do you like to do?"

Alex considered the question. She'd never really thought about it before. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I guess I just... I like to draw, and I do pottery.”

Magnus nodded, seeming genuinely interested. "That's cool. Do you show your stuff anywhere? Like, enter it in contests or anything?"

Alex shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I guess I've entered some stuff in school contests, but they're not like big deals or anything." She glanced around again, feeling self-conscious about their conversation. "Why? You interested in seeing my art?"

Magnus smiled. "Sure, why not? I'd love to see it. I mean, it's not like I'm going to steal it or anything," he added with a nervous laugh. "I'm not some kind of art thief."

Alex couldn't help but laugh at that. "Alright, well... I guess I could show you sometime. But you're not going to judge me or anything, okay?"

Magnus raised his hands in surrender. "Of course not! I'm not a critic or anything. I'm just a guy who likes art, that's all." He paused, then asked, "So, what do you want to do after high school?"

Alex thought about it for a moment. "I'm not really sure. I've thought about going to art school, but I don't know if I want to leave this town. I mean, what would I do here?"

"Well, you could always start your own business," Magnus suggested. "You know, open up a studio or something. There's got to be people around here who'd appreciate your talent."

"Maybe," Alex said doubtfully. "But I don't know if I'm ready to take that kind of risk." They lapsed into silence for a moment, watching as a group of kids danced past them, their faces flushed with excitement and laughter.

"Hey," Magnus said, nudging her with his elbow. "Want to dance?"

Alex looked at him, surprised. "What? No way. You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," he said, grinning. "I'm totally serious. Come on, it'll be fun." He held out his hand, a tentative expression on his face.

Alex hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly took his hand. As the music started, they began to dance, slowly at first, but gaining confidence as they moved. The others around them seemed to fade away, and it was just the two of them, swaying to the music.

"So," Magnus said, his voice barely above a whisper, "tell me more about this pottery thing."

Alex laughed, her cheeks flushed from the dancing and the closeness of him. "Well, I mean, it's just something I've always enjoyed doing. I like taking clay and shaping it into something new, you know? It's... therapeutic, I guess."

He nodded, his eyes never leaving hers as they continued to sway together. "I can see that. It's sort of like sculpting, isn't it?"

"I guess so," she replied, her voice matching his soft tone. "But pottery is more about function, I think. About making something useful, something people can use in their everyday lives." She paused, then added, "Kind of like how music can make people feel something, or how a good story can take you away from reality for a while."

Magnus smiled, his gaze still locked on hers. "I never thought about it that way. You're right, though. Art can be so many different things to different people. It's amazing how one piece of work can mean something completely different to someone else than it does to you."

They danced in silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts, their bodies moving in perfect harmony with the music. Around them, the party continued to swirl, the music growing louder and more intense as the night wore on. But for these few moments, it was just the two of them, sharing something special in a world that often seemed to care little about either of them.

"Hey," Magnus said, breaking the silence, "want to go somewhere quieter for a bit? Maybe get some punch or something?" He offered her his hand, his expression a mix of nervousness and hope.

Alex considered his request for a moment, weighing the desire to be alone with him against her fear of what people might think. But something in his eyes, the way he was looking at her, made her want to take the chance. "Okay," she said finally, placing her hand in his. "Lead the way."

They threaded their way through the crowd, navigating the sea of bodies with practiced ease. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally found a quieter corner of the room, near a table laden with food and drink. Magnus handed her a cup of punch, and they stood there, sipping in silence for a moment, taking in the warmth of the liquid and the closeness of each other.

"So," Magnus said, clearing his throat, "tell me more about this pottery thing."

Alex laughed softly. "Well, I've been doing it for a while now. My family owns Fierro Cermaics,” Her face fell a little, “But it’s not like it used to be. They make it for the sales. That’s all they care about.” She grit her teeth.

Alex had a flash of a vivid memory. She had just gotten done with a piece, and her father saw it. “Trash!” He threw the pottery on the ground, “That’s all it’ll ever be!”

“Alex?” Alex saw Magnus snap his fingers in front of her. She allowed herself to pull away from the memory and focus on him.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

Magnus smiled gently. "I was just asking if you'd ever considered showing your pottery to people, maybe selling it or something? You're really talented, you know. It'd be a shame not to share that with the world."

Alex looked away, her cheeks flushing. "Thanks, but I don't know. My family doesn't really support me, and I'm not sure I could do it on my own." She took another sip of her punch, the liquid burning its way down her throat. "Besides, what would people think?”

Magnus frowned, the expression making him look older than his years. "Well, I think that's kind of the beauty of it. You don't have to be like everyone else. You can be whoever you want to be, and do whatever you want to do. If people don't understand that, or if they don't support you, then that's their problem, not yours." He paused, then added, "I mean, I'm not the most popular guy in school, either. I could understand if you wanted some company, you know? Someone who gets what it's like to feel a little different."

Alex looked up at him, surprised by his words. There was an intensity in his eyes that she hadn't seen before, and it made her feel both uncomfortable and strangely comforted at the same time. "I..." she began, but didn't know what to say.

"Look," Magnus continued, "if you ever want to talk about it, or if you want someone to help you figure out what to do...I mean, I'm here. You can always come to me, okay?" He took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his voice was softer, almost pleading. "Please?"

Alex looked into his eyes and saw something there she hadn't expected to find: a genuine care and concern for her wellbeing. She felt herself wanting to believe him, to trust that he would really be there for her. But at the same time, she was scared. Scared of what might happen if she let herself get too close.

"Okay," she said finally, her voice barely a whisper. "Thank you."

They stood there in silence for a moment, the music and laughter around them fading into the background as they focused on each other. Alex couldn't help but feel a strange sense of comfort in his presence, like she could finally breathe again after holding her breath for far too long.

Magnus smiled, seeming to sense her unease. "Hey, it's okay," he said gently. "We don't have to talk about anything if you don't want to. We can just enjoy the party, you know?"

They turned their attention back to the party, but Alex couldn't help feeling a sense of relief at having someone to talk to, someone who understood what it was like to feel different. As they moved through the crowd, Magnus introduced her to several of his friends, all of whom seemed genuinely nice and welcoming.

Later, as the night wore on, they found themselves on the dance floor, moving together to the rhythm of the music. Alex was surprised at how well Magnus danced, his body moving fluidly and confidently against hers. She felt a thrill course through her as they swayed together, the music and the movement making her forget all about her worries and her fears.

When the song ended, they paused for a moment, breathless and flushed from the dance. Magnus met her eyes and smiled, his face barely inches from hers. "You know," he said softly, "I think you're right. It's better to just be who you are, and do what you love. People can be so narrow-minded, they miss out on the best things in life."

Alex felt a shiver run down her spine as he spoke. She didn't know what it was about him that made her feel this way, but she knew she wanted to spend more time with him. Maybe, just maybe, he was right. Maybe she could find a way to be true to herself and still have someone by her side.

As they continued to move through the party, hand in hand, Alex began to feel a sense of hope and possibility she hadn't experienced in a long time. Maybe, just maybe, things were about to change for her. Maybe she was finally on the verge of something wonderful.

#alex fierro mcga #magnus chase #mcga #Fierrochase #fanfiction

[sarcasticsciencefictionwriter]

Top 5 quotes out of anything you want??

Ooh, quotes. Um... Well, that's hard. Though fair enough, considering what I hit you with. :)

I can't say I have any profound quotes that I touch on/reference for daily life or anything, but here's just some that I just like a lot.

"We all have the impulse for violence; the true measure of a species, indeed, of a person, is in our restraint." --Helen Magnus, Sanctuary episode 1x10. I love so much from Sanctuary, but this one is very true to me.

2. "You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension." --Nikola Tesla. I read this in a James Rollins book once and loved it. I feel this is becoming more and more relevant, which is very disturbing.

3. "You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, see the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two." --Hayao Miyazaki. I'm a huge Studio Ghibli fan and Princess Mononoke is one of my all time favorites, though the whole quote isn't in the movie.

4. "And just because my reproductive organs on the inside instead of the outside doesn't mean I can't handle whatever you can handle." --Sam Carter, Stargate SG-1. I know this is so controversial, but I really admired it when I first saw Children of the Gods, because I'd never seen a woman just straight up say something like that to a group of men.

5. "Sanctuary for all is not an empty motto." --Helen Magnus, Sanctuary episode 1x1. Just a great motto and one I really wish was true, somewhere. The world would be a better place for it.

Here's two more, because no *said* them, but they were there all the same.

1. The earth inherited belongs to all, and to all Sanctuary will be given. --this was on the head of the Sanctuary charter in Veritas and I adore it.

2. We are not now that strength which in old days/moved earth and heaven/that which we are, we are/one equal temper of heroic hearts/made weak by time and fate but strong in will/to strive, to seek to find, but not to yield. --Tennyson, Ulysses. Just love it. Used it in my personal writing.

Thanks for the ask! I had to dig deep on this one, but I enjoyed it.

#ask meme answered #ask meme #electricrogue #thanks for the ask!