Hello audio drama lovers! Rusty Quill's new show Cry Havoc! Ask Questions Later is finally here! It's historic comedy podcast about Mark Antony and Gaius Octavius trying to rule the Roman Republic while being the exact opposites from each other and obviously nothing goes like they would wanted when Cleopatra pays them unexpected visit. It's a promise of a lot of jokes (not only for history and classics nerds!), intresting characters, politics, power, murders, pirates and some romance. It's written by David K. Barnes (creator of Wooden Overcoats) and has an amazing cats and crew who did stellar job. I think if you enjoyed David's or Rusty Quill's previous work you should definitely go check this one out.
First two episodes are out today and it would be very cool if you went and listen to it. Here's one of the trailers to intrest you:
And here's also article written by David about the show if you want to learn more:
An interview telling you everything you might like to know about my new series ‘Cry Havoc!’ Ask Questions Later - including what it’s about,
happy pride to Trice Forgotten most beloved podcast
(this is from the old days when Anh and Alestes both worked for Gammon)
[ID: A two panel comic based on the "gay meth" comic featuring Trice Forgotten characters. In the first panel, Gammon stands with hands behind his back and grins cockily at Alestes, saying "It's pride month Alestes. You know what that means." Alestes frowns back at him with hands on hips, and says "...huh? ...what?" In the second panel she says, "Do you want us to do like... even gayer piracy? what?" Gammon walks away, silently grinning to himself. Anh is sitting on a ladder in the corner looking at Alestes and says, "I wish you would" End ID]
so the hyperfixation hit hard (and for good reason) because trice forgotten is engaging and fascinating and absolutely wonderful. i figured i’d copy my official review on itunes, because it says everything better than i could, were i to rewrite it:
If you like queer found family narratives, scientific and nautical tales, and period pieces, this podcast is for you. (And even if you don’t, give it a listen anyways—it might surprise you!)
Trice Forgotten is one of my favorite podcasts of all time (if not my absolute favorite). As a science nerd who also likes history and wants to be a writer someday, the Below Decks episodes were absolutely fascinating. They add so much depth (haha) to the plot of the story, as well providing fascinating context for the historical settings.
Nemo Martin is such a skilled and hard-working writer, and it’s clear that the rest of the crew working on the podcast gave their very best. The sound design and music are excellent, as they set the scene(s) really well. Every part of the podcast was crafted with love and care, and you can see the level of skill and passion shine through in every detail.
From a story standpoint, I adore this podcast. I’m deeply attached to each and every one of the main crew (Siva and Noor being my absolute favorites). I was continually impressed by how Nemo and the other writers developed characters in a consistent and entertaining way while not sacrificing the plot—and in only 10 episodes! As a character-driven writer, that’s something I aspire to in my own works.
I could ramble on forever about this podcast, but all I have left to say is that it will forever have a special place in my heart. Trice Forgotten, I will never forget you! :)
Brief moment between Alestes and Anh before happenings of Trice Forgotten
“Oh, come on, no one is watching. No one is going to know.” Anh sat down under tree with sigh of contentment. “Sit down and relax, Alestes!”
They’ve been sent by Gammon to get map from a man who lived outside of the port town they stopped in. It wasn’t a long walk so they got there quickly and were already on their way back. And of course that’s when Anh started to talk. At first she commented on the weather - how hot and humid it was. Next she started to say that walking in such a weather is horrible thing to do and she would much prefer be right now on the ship. And then she finally said that they should take a break. Alestes tried to convince her that they should hurry, give map to Gammon and then they can rest on the ship with a bottle of something stronger. But of course Anh wanted to do it now and Alestes knew that they are on the verge of argument that would carry on for the rest of the day. Before she could make the decision what to answer, Anh took the initiative and sat under the tree.
“Gammon is waiting-“ Alestes started trying one last time.
“He will be waiting anyway! And he won’t need to know he waited a little longer if no one will tell him.” Anh looked her in the eyes. There wasn’t a challenge which Alestes saw usually in them. She was looking at her with a spark of companionship - like she was asking her to create their own little alliance.
They fought and argued more and more lately, especially in Gammon’s presence, that Alestes almost forgot that after all they should have each other’s backs - there were some people not necessarily happy about two young women so high in hierarchy. Now Anh was reaching out to her, genuinely asking for a moment of peace.
Alestes sat down next to her with a sigh. She could see Anh smiling from the corner of her eye.
“But only for the minute.” She stated firmly.
“Of course, captain.” The mocking tone was back in Anh’s voice, but Alestes knew, for the first time in the last few weeks, that she meant it in purely friendly manner.
Alestes closed her eyes and rested her head against trunk of the tree. It was actually quite nice to sit down and rest for a moment. She heard rustling of clothes beside her and thought that Anh has to have problem with finding comfortable position. Before she could came up with same snarky comment about it, a flute started to play.
Without really processing the situation, she immediately opened her eyes and looked at Anh. Anh had her eyes closed and was apparently so focused on playing the flute she didn’t notice Alestes’s reaction.
“I thought we were supposed to take a break, not give a concert.” She said hoping that her voice didn’t betray her.
“Oh, come on, Alestes. I know you like my playing.” Anh looked straight into her eyes with a smirk on her face.
In fact Alestes did like to listen to Anh’s playing. She secretly hoped that maybe the next song will be the melody from her memories. It never was but she kept hoping anyway. Sometimes, especially in moments like that, she thought about asking Anh if she knows it. But asking it would require to hum the melody to her and she always was too embarrassed of her lack of musical talent to do this. And she would had to open up to her and show part of her that was vulnerable and that definitely wasn’t going to happen. So her only option was keep hoping and keep listening.
“Your playing is simply better than John’s.” Alestes muttered ostentatiously looking away from Anh.
Anh laughed. She laughed so hard and so truly. Her whole body laughed with her. Alestes’s eyes were drawn back to her. She looked so care free, so young, so innocent laughing like this. The laughter stopped slowly and only the small smile at the corner of Anh’s mouth remained.
There was part of Alestes that wanted to make Anh laugh like this more often, to make her looked at her like that, to make her smile softly instead of mockingly. This part of her was beating in her chest along her heart right now. In moments like this it was so easy to listen to its growing beating and think what it would be like to have this everyday.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Anh said and again there was no sharpness in her words. She raised her flut and resume the playing.
Alestes watched her from the corner of her eye. Anh had a real talent and didn’t let anything to hold her from sharing it with the world. She played the flute like it was the most natural thing to do for her. She looked calm and at peace now, like complete different person than on the ship. Alestes felt sting in her chest at the thought that she will have to ruin this soon.
But for now they sat together under the tree. Anh played her flute and Alestes listened. For a brief moment the flute’s melody was the only thing that mattered.
ALESTES: Let me in this minute or I’ll shoot this hatch to pieces!
ANH: (calling) It opens upwards, Alestes, you can let yourself in.
ALESTES: Ah. Yes.
ANH: You can take the boy – in fact, I’d be grateful if he never darkened my brig again.
ALESTES: But?
ANH: (singsong) There’s a priiiice.
ALESTES: Spit it out, then. (as an afterthought) This isn’t menacing, by the way. You’re not… successfully menacing me. I barely had to maim anyone to get down here.
ANH: Are you done?
ALESTES: Mhm.
ANH: I want something from you.
ALESTES: Well, you're only human.
they are the funniest people alive. this is all just from the 2nd episode by the way
Since Rusty Quill is doing a livestream to close out their Kickstarter today, I have one request:
Please don't go harass them.
Don't spam the chat with links to The Article or various accusations. Don't 'call out' people who watch it or creators who take part in it on social media.
Even if every single word written in The Article is 100% correct, we have to take things in proportion. This is a small podcast production company we're talking about. Not, like, Qatar.
The people pledging money to this kickstarter are not bad people. The people who want to watch the livestream are not bad people. The people who want to listen to tmp or any other rq podcast are not bad people. And perhaps most importantly, the creators who collaborate with rq are not bad people.
If you personally don't feel comfortable supporting rq or giving them money because you belive they're violating workers' rights, that is totally fine.
Just don't make other people miserable because of that. Because if you are, then at least in my opinion, you are doing more harm than good.
Several RQ employees have put out statements about their experiences, and I wanted to include some excerpts, because they say a lot of really important things. If you read the call-out post on Medium, I highly recommend you read their side of the story.
"It’s heartbreaking that some people try to see the worst on the surface without understanding the depth and real people behind the shell." - April Sumner
"I know when I am facing anxiety and depression or other health issues that I will be able to take time off without being pressured to work until I’m ready again." - Tessa Vroom
"I don’t personally agree with every single decision the company has ever made. It would be deeply unhealthy to treat RQ as above reproach. The problem, to me, is when people so desperately want leadership to be the villain. One big podcast and suddenly everyone thinks you’re Disney." - Annie Fitch
"I have never worked at a company that so highly prioritises supporting its employees and their self-care, even in the face of hardship." - Jess Anson
"As an American, the work culture of Rusty Quill is mind-blowing, because no one works quite like they do. In the U.S. we are so used to being taken advantage of, of giving our life to the company, of expecting people to work 'for exposure'. RQ doesn’t want any part of that. This company sees you as a person, as an individual, as a g-d damn human being with thoughts and concerns and needs and feelings and worthy of respect and understanding." - Cathy Rinella
"Rusty Quill are the best employer I’ve ever had. [...] That Medium post… just doesn’t track with my experiences."
"[...]in terms of the DEI space, I’m in a really unique position in that I don’t ever have to convince senior leadership of the importance of my role. I’ve literally said 'here are my plans for us in the next few years' and the response has basically always been 'great, go for it!' I’m really grateful for that, and for the trust they have placed in me." - Helen Gould
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). 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) 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, also relied on the Discord mods to moderate the chat during streams. 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).
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.
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)
Tbh now that I've had a bit more time to think about it, I don't even know why should anyone make any solid decisions based on the article. It doesn't contain any proof, any solid substantiation at all. I also don't like how it forces people to use circular reasoning. Why isn't there any proof or why hasn't anyone come out publicly? Because they're scared of repercussions from RQ. Why do people who work/worked for RQ say good things about working for them? Contract/NDA. So basically, there is no proof to any of our claims and we actually cannot produce any for very good reasons. Anyone can claim anything like this, it's impossible to disprove. I've been lied to in the past by someone using this exact tactic, and let me tell you, it's mentally exhausting to try and figure out if what this person is saying is true. I think that people who have doubts about RQ are valid to do so, but also people who don't trust the article at all also have every right not to trust it, because, as I said, there is no actual proof in it. For all I know, there might be a couple of people who did not enjoy working with RQ, but the rest had a pretty good experience. RQ might have had troubles with communication while growing a bit too rapidly for a small indie production, but that seems to be the most substantiated claim in the whole article. At no point do I see any proof for malicious actions on behalf of RQ, maybe some mistakes and unfortunate circumstances, but that's it. If any actual evidence to their malicious actions comes out, I will be the first to drop them like a hot potato, but as this moment everything I see is just rumors and allegations.
Since I haven’t seen anyone post it, here’s the link to RQ’s response to The Article
Overall it’s very well written and professional. It was clear that the accusing article was a hit piece, but it’s good to read RQ’s public response pointing out all the misinformation anyways.
I will admit. I was a little disappointed when I learned Re: Dracula was being run by Fable and Folly. That being said I seriously doubt the Re: Dracula people were ever consulted (especially considering Jonny Sims is on their voice cast right now. Bold move F&F) but it was just a bit disappointing now that my first impression of this company was The Article fiasco that gets more and more Sus by the minute
I’m certain RQ has made huge mistakes, but every new detail about that article just makes me side-eye it even more. I do not trust the intent, I do not trust the timing, I do not trust the person who wrote it. I think I should be able to say that without people assuming I’m also saying “Rusty Quill is a perfect company who should never be criticized ever”
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