Gentle reminder that when you talk about podcasts on the Rusty Quill network, remember that the shows are created and produced by independent groups, not RQ themselves. The network is a great tool to uplift these smaller creators, so as listeners, let’s do our part in supporting them as well!

Listen I know shes a gem and ik you all love her and will shit on me for saying this but I need yall to peep game and lock in, just try to see the vision rq

I need Marie to die SOOOOO bad

What if everyone who has access to the tmagp premiere just gave out links to those who weren't able to pledge/didn't pledge enough?

Just a thought...

There was so much silliness during the TMP launch stream and it was a delight. Such fun moments include: Alex is That Person, Martyn has reliable internet, Lowri only knows spoilers, differences in writing, orchestra insight, bad at dates, godspeed to the wikis, infrastructure stuff, ghost wrangling, what if sugar was a flavor?, Lowri is on a plane right now, frozen ham snacks, I'm Baby, ultraviolet, a beautiful toaster, Martyn is that funny, watery boy, Jonny is Extremely wrong, Illuminati chat, sparkling audio, Alex has never backpedaled faster, the wiggler, Shahan got lost in the digging, a remarkably intimate conversation, and drink sufficient water (screenshot included).

screenshots by me

Rusty Quill Saga - 24 Hour Follow Up

Hi everyone! I appreciate all the new follows! Might actually get me posting more about stuff!

So, it's been about a day since I posted my response to the Rusty Quill article, and reading some of the tag comments I wanted to respond to a couple, again in the interests of helping those who aren't within the audio fiction community get a little context that you might not otherwise have had.

But I also wanted to put my cards on the table - why should you listen to me? Hi! My name is Lee Davis-Thalbourne, I'm Australian, and I'm one half of the Fiction Podcast Production team Passer Vulpes Productions. We're the creators of a number of fiction podcasts, including Love and Luck and Supernatural Sexuality with Dr. Seabrooke. I also have a reasonable resume of small VA roles with a lot of different podcast production teams, I have a history of theorycrafting around podcast production, and I'm currently engaged in some part-time independent research around fiction podcast production that, if people are interested, I might actually get around to finishing one day. Myself and my partner Erin were the founders of AusFicPodMakers, which was/is an informal group supporting audio fiction producers in Australia, and as part of that support, I currently curate a list of Australian Fiction Podcasts (which I encourage you to take a look at!). In terms of affiliations, PVP is not associated with any podcasting network (though a few have knocked on our door), and I'm not currently producing audio fiction right now - I have no projects on the boil, so to speak.

So, I think I can say, with some evidence, that I'm a part of the audio fiction production scene, that I care about audio fiction in general, that I might have some thoughts worth listening to about it, and that I'm a mostly disinterested party regarding this - I have no particular stake in Rusty Quill's fortunes one way or the other.

Tag Responses

Okay, so I wanted to quickly respond to a few of the tag comments that have popped up in response to yesterday's post, mainly because I feel like it's worth expanding on some of them:

#i also feel bad because i was always kinda wary on tma2#now it feels even more like a cash grab

Look - as a podcast producer, I can respect a cash grab. If you can grab that cash, I'm a strong believer in doing so, because making audio fiction without cash is kinda sucky. It's like any other big endeavour - when you get nothing out of it, it eats away at you. That's part of the reason why PVP isn't producing at the moment - We tried to scale up to multiple productions and it damn near killed us. We weren't really getting the income we needed to do more than just barely break even - we, as producers, weren't making a dime off of our podcasts, even with Patreon and crowdfunding. Rusty Quill is actually an extreme outlier regarding their ability to get cash from their audiences. How extreme? Well, before the TMA2 kickstarter, the most successful Audio Fiction crowdfunding campaign was Unseen, from the producers of Wolf 359, one of the seminal audio fiction shows of the modern audio fiction renaissance, and it hit a little over US$40,000. Which, just to note, was significantly higher than any other audio fiction crowdfund project before it - very few audio fiction crowdfund campaigns get more than around US$5,000-10,000.

So, sure, it's a cash grab. It might still be good anyway though! Don't disregard it just because they're making financially-dominated decisions.

#Adding onto this while the evidence isn't conclusive (because as many people have said it is conjecture and opinions and stuff)#and also the author's credibility is...in question

So, first things first, Newt Schottelkotte is an extremely credible journalist in the Audio Fiction space - they've broken a number of big stories, and written a lot in support of the audio fiction production scene. Wil Williams, who helped edit the piece, is also a highly respected critic and journalist within the space, while Tal Minear is a very prolific audio fiction producer of good repute. Personally, I have absolutely no concerns about their integrity or credibility - they've all done incredible work.

But it is worth noting that Audio fiction is kinda odd, in that journalists, critics and producers all pretty much come from the same group of people. The honest fact is that Audio Fiction, as a beat, has pretty much no prestige, there are (currently) no publications that are dedicated to audio fiction coverage, and the whole sector is mostly considered an afterthought to the real podcast industry. So, the few people who do create audio fiction meta-content, even if they begin as separated from the industry, don't stay separated for long - they will start making contacts with producers, they may start finding people offering cameo roles in shows, and eventually, they'll consider moving into podcast production. If your requirement for a "credible" voice within audio fiction journalism is one that has absolutely no connections with any actual production, I'm sorry but that ain't happening - the scene is too small, and people move between production and commentary so often, that "true independence" isn't a thing.

With that said, these journalists do a lot to make their affiliations visible up front, which is the other way to manage conflicts of interest within the scene - by declaring them. I'd be a lot more suspicious of a journalist that doesn't put their affiliations up front, honestly.

The Rusty Quill Response

So, I wrote yesterday that I wasn't expecting a response from Rusty Quill for a good three days - they are a group, it takes time to coordinate a response, I figured I could relax for a bit. However, Rusty Quill has already produced a response, and that alone says something - it says that a single person has dictated this response. Considering the record speed, I also doubt that it has been looked over by anyone else. Knowing these things, I find it very likely that this is Alex Newall's response specifically, speaking for Rusty Quill, rather than one that that the leadership at Rusty Quill has worked on together.

I'm not going to go through the whole thing point by point - I don't have the time, and this post is already too long for most Tumblrites to consider going through it. But on a more general level, I find it interesting that the response contains not a single link, not a single pointer towards contrary evidence. Almost certainly this is due to the timeframe - were I in RQ's position, I would be going through our paperwork to find some boilerplate contracts to provide some counter-evidence to the article, or providing some financial details to show where the money is going, but finding, redacting, and publishing these things takes time. RQ has done none of this, and this isn't necessarily a point against them, but it does mean that Rusty Quill hasn't done much more than shout "Am not!" into the audience.

To talk about one specific point, I also find it interesting that, having been attacked on the subject of crew pay rates, they talk about how their cast have very good pay rates. This might be true, I don't have the resources to fact check that, and I hope it is - actors do deserve pay. But it is worth noting that actors are on a production for very little of the time - it's the editors, sound designers, musicians, transcribers, etc who put the most time on to a production. In general, you'd expect that the crew would be getting more money than the cast, because the crew is going to be putting in more time (although, fair's fair, the vast majority of audio fiction out there doesn't do this, because the only "crew" is the producer, who is usually financing the production out of their own pocket).

Questions?

So, I figure that if I'm putting myself out there, I might as well offer the opportunity for people to pick my brain. Have a question about Audio fiction production? Want to hear my explicit comments about something someone has said? My asks are open, I'll do my best to come back and answer any asks that come my way.

Cassette tapes are such a painfully beautiful display of human life, both in form and in metaphor. To make matters worse, they seem to have a tendancy to outlive their owners.

One of the first tapes I ever owned was a collection of love songs from 50's films. It was delicate, clearly well used, and old. I adored it. It was only when the tape snapped after very light use that it dawned on me.

That tape belonged to someone, and they heard it, it had significance, it had meaning. Maybe they'd danced to it with a lover, maybe they played it at picnics like I did. Or maybe they sat by themself in their room playing it, and yearning for something they couldn't have.

That was a prerecorded tape of songs and it meant so much, but self recorded cassettes? They're a whole different thing. The very sound waves we communicate with, captured in a physical object. A surviving piece of a soul, one might say.

You could argue that any form of recording is the same, but there's something about the cassette tape that CD and audio files don't have. Something otherworldly, easier to hold, to quantify, to relate to.

Hearing your own voice on tape is strange. However uncomfortable hearing your voice recorded digitally makes you feel, I'm certain you'd feel different with if it was played on tape . And to hear the voice of someone else? A friend, a stranger, anyone trying to communicate? It's oddly haunting.

Many of these personal tapes put me in mind of The Cave Of Hands; it's us reaching out, saying 'I was here', leaving a physical reminder, but one so dependant on tape players existing on into the future. It's a foolish, sentimental, self centered act, and it's so filled with humanity, honest desperation.

Nobody wants to become another mystery.

literally so over this bunk ass fluctuating internet outages!! dude. all my messages whether it be here or disc legit take ages to send or the apps eat them. discord has a special knack for fuckin destorying audio messages in multiple ways. im a fucking neet shutin who has yet to find a job again, let me at least waste my time with online access, xfinity, you fucka

I present to you all: Pham Thi Anh from Trice Forgotten

Episode Six: Lay Day is out now wherever you get your podcasts. This character means so much to me as my first ever voice acting role. I hope you all enjoy my voice acting!

Welcome to tiny terrors where we have characters like:

-Cole Weavers as Cole (absent podcast father) putting his entire ass into voice acting a malevolent dog spirit (phoning it in)

-B. Narr as D’s spooky laugh practice compilation

-Mike Lebeau as a valiant impression of Mike Lebeau if he wasn’t a streamer

Listen, I understand that RQ is a company and companies have to keep making money, which includes marketing that works. I also understand that with the rise of booktok, trope-based media marketing works. That being said, it still pains me to hear the Trice Forgotten ads putting heavy emphasis on the "found family adventure" aspect of the show like it's a paperback with a Canva cover instead of things people in the podcast community I know value like the audio engineering, plot, tone, genre, etc. The show's description on streaming sites is genuinely a better pitch for it, and at least the first few episodes are great, but I only figured that out once I was desperate enough to look past the atrocious marketing.

Magnus Archives Relisten 7, MAG 7 The Piper, Spoiler-Free Version

This is a spoiler-free analysis of Magnus Archives MAG 7, The Piper. One of the best-written episodes in the series. Pure poetry.

Facts: Statement of Seargent Clarence Berry regarding his time serving with Wilfred Owen during World War One. Statement given November 6, 1922.

Statement Notes: "Hey you know Wilfred Owen? The famous poet Wilfred Owen? The guy whose poems you had to read in class Wilfred Owen? Yeah, what if he was possessed? Wouldn't that be fucked?" -Jonny Sims at the Rusty Quill pitch meeting.

In all seriousness, this episode is incredible. The description of the three faces of war is so detailed, yet so brief. I want to take a little time to explore each face and set of arms.

The First Face: "One to play its pipes on scrimshaw bone." This line is apparently where the title "The Piper" comes from. As the story goes on, both Berry and Owen describe hearing strange music. This seems to be the "song of war" that the Piper plays, signaling a truly gruesome battle. This song doesn't necessarily warn off or compel the soldiers, but seems to do a bit of both. A war song doesn't just encourage a soldier to fight, but also warns an enemy. Wilfred Owen believes this being is The War itself, therefore its song should encourage violence from all sides, but also instill a deep fear in every soldier.

To me, this face fits with the hand raised "in a crisp salute." This hand and face prevent a false majesty and honor to war. This face tells the soldiers fighting is good, they will be rewarded, they will be valued. But of course, underneath its muddied green coat, all that the War has is a scarred and bloody body. "Nothing remained but the wounds themselves."

The Second Face: I've chosen to associate the face that "screamed its dying battle cry" with "the arms gripping blades and guns and spears." This face seems to represent the adrenaline violence and war brings, even as it kills you. I've always thought adrenaline not as good or bad, but creating more tangible and real emotions than other things can.

The Third Face: "One that would not open its mouth, for when it did blood and sodden soil flowed out like a waterfall." I associate this face with the hands begging for mercy. Clarence Berry is under 22 when this statement takes place, and (the real) Wilfred Owen would be between 22-24. These are practically children. They are going to die. They are going to die before their time, before it is fair. They are going to beg for mercy. This is the nature of war, and so is the nature of The War.

There is an implication that The War kept Owen alive so he could create poetry that glorifies The War. I wonder if this is out of ego--it wanted to be seen as glorious and beautiful--or simply to drag the battle on longer. If it seems inspirational, it will continue.

Overall I think this episode demonstrates the tentative balance World War One held between being "the writer's war" and "the technological front." The war represented a shift in humanity's ability to be brutal, but also spawned art and innovation. This doesn't justify the violence that occurred, but rather the acts of destruction and creation during the war existed in tandem, like two sides of a coin.

Character Notes: I know that Jon was speaking through the statement when he was making fun of Owen's poetry, but the idea of Jon being a cannon poetry hater is too funny for me to ignore

so glad i found someone who’s as insane about jaws as i am. there’s so many people who are like “it’s just a movie about sharks. there’s nothing more to it” but you!!!!! you fundamentally understand!!!!!

THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN ONE WOULD THINK!!!

I am surprised every single day by how many other people on this website are just as deranged about jaws tbh 😭 We really are like a family here are matthoopergay.tumblr.com

The same people saying it’s just a movie about sharks are the same people saying the curtains just so happen to be blue!!! there is more to those three gay men than they could ever know (delusional)

There were some excellent game shenanigans during the TMP Launch stream in which no one was competitive at all, and ended on a very happy moment for some, in which the screenshot captured may or may not show who that was. Additional screenshot of an extremely appropriate question for this stream.

screenshot by me