#rqg fan project

[ghostbiie]

made a sideblog for my new hyperfix

take a wild guess what it is

[loverboybrightsideghost]

tell me if you wanna go home from begin again as a zoscar song perchance 🤔

[rqbossman]

Hi Alex! Happy to see you here on Tumblr!

I'm a huge fan of your work. RQG is one of my top three podcasts of all time, and seeing the way you GM has been incredibly influential on the way I approach my own games now. What you guys managed to create with Erasing The Line was incredibly special, and I think there are relatively few people out there who are fortunate enough to participate in a campaign like yours. I know the scope of RQ has increased dramatically since the start of RQG, but of all the projects you've been a part of none has affected me like that one.

I'm curious if there are any bits of world building you have kicking around in your head that never ended up making it into the campaign or the metacasts. Is there anything you wished you'd been able to portray, but that never ended up panning out? Or maybe something that you thought up, but that never got mentioned because it wasn't ever relevant to the party?

Thanks for everything you do, sending love from Canada :)

Yes. So much, but I'm keeping it on a shelf for now, just in case.

[makesometime]

Hello hello, RQG lovelies.

It's November, so it's time for the 11th Year of the OTP fic from yours truly. The prompt was 'Life changes' so I have once again written about their wedding. Chapter 1 is T rated, safe for all. Chapter E is for my filth fans <3

Enjoyyyy I love youuuu <3

[franzis-frantic-thoughts]

Remember back in November 2022, when the last RQ Patreon Newsletter of what could reasonably be defined as “autumn” dropped, and RQ informed their fans that the commemorative RQG dice — which went up for preorder in May 2022 and had been projected for shipping in autumn — would be delayed until April 2023, despite not having communicated any possibility for delays previous to that?

Well today the last RQ Patreon Newsletter of April dropped and the dice haven’t been mentioned at all.

I’ve asked about an update in the patreon comments, but they either have me blocked or are just pretending I’m not there. I haven’t had a reply from then in… probably over a year.

[inyw21]

I'm bored on a Friday night so why not answer all these!! (It's a later date) (also I know actual plays aren't technically audio dramas, but for the sake of me being the person to answer this, they are) (think of it as just "podcasts"

1. What's the first audio drama you ever listened to? The Adventure Zone: Balance

2. What's a song you associate really strongly with a specific show? "Long Live" by Taylor Swift for Rusty Quill Gaming (thanks Bryn)

3. State some things you'd like to hear in the next show you listen to and let your follower recommend things to you. I'm not gonna do this cause most of my followers have suggested shows and I have a list a mile long.

4. What's your favorite completed show? Probably TAZ:B or TAZ:A (Amnesty)

5. Name a trope you like that's specific to audio drama. Not sure if it counts as a trope, but good sound effects.

6. What's your favourite audio drama ship? Tough one. Taako and Kravitz, Aubrey and Danny, and Zolf and Wilde.

7. What's your favorite piece of music from any show? Anything written by Griffin for TAZ and also "The Lament of the Phoenix" from The Amelia Project.

8. If you could have a crossover between any two shows, which would it be? I think The Amelia Project and TAZ Amnesty would be fun! Imagine the chaos.

9. What's your favorite character dynamic to write/listen to? Banter hands down. I love listening to and writing witty remarks.

10. Recommend a show! GIRL IN SPACE ONG PLEASE GO LISTEN TO IT. @girlinspacepodcast

11. What are you currently listening to? I'm currently listening to The Amelia Project and Dimension 20 Fantasy High S1.

12. If you could adapt any public domain work into an audio drama, what would it be? Hmmmm as much as I wasn't a huge fan of the book, I think Frankenstein would make for a fun podcast.

13. [ASKER CHOICE PODCAST] TV show fancast (funny or serious). I'm terrible at fancasts. The only thing I can picture is Alan Burgen playing his own character from Amelia.

14. Which audio drama would you most want to live in? Oh now that's tough, probably one lf the TAZ worlds.

15. Uno reverse! What's a question YOU want to ask everyone else about audio drama? What/who got you into them? For me it was my best friend who started TAZ on a whim and cackled as I caught up to them.

16. What's a role you heard an actor in, but almost didn't recognize them? Alan Burgen. I heard him first in @thekilda and heard him second in Amelia. Took an entire season for me to realize. (even though both shows list credits at the end of each ep)

17. Top fics [ASKED CHOOSES TOPIC] in audio drama. I'm gonna do top five finales.

1. TAZ Balance

2. TAZ Amnesty

3. S4 The Amelia Project

4. S4 The Magnus Archives

5. S3 Rusty Quill Gaming

18. Design an outfit for [ASKER CHOOSES CHARACTER]. I'm doing Alvina from Amelia. I think she would be dressed sensibly but comfortably. Jeans, t-shirt, sturdy shoes, that sort of thing.

19. Which podcast do you think would make a great TTRPG book? Amelia! Having to work out how to come up with elaborate schemes to fake deaths? So fun!

20. Which podcast character do you think would have their own podcast in an AU? Alvina again. She seems the industrious type. They're a lot of work!

21. Favorite audio drama sphere meme? Hands down the "no beta we kayak like Tim" AO3 tag.

22. Which episode of an audio drama do you think you've listened to the most? Hard to say since I don't really do individual eps on their own. I do full relistens. Probably the middle of RQG.

23. Why do you like audio drama as a medium? Because it's completely accessable to me (I know not to everyone and I'll bang pots and pans for propper transcripts right along side you)

24. What show are you most looking forward to that isn't out yet? I don't have one currently. I've dropped off the audio drama sphere a bit. I will say I'm looking forward to the rest of Amelia!!

If you made it this far, thanks for humoring me!

Audio drama ask meme

For creators and fans! Twitter’s dying, let’s get to know some fine tumblr folk!

1. What’s the first audio drama you ever listened to?

2. What’s a song you associate really strongly with a specific show?

3. State some things you’d like to hear in the next show you listen to and let your follower recommend things to you.

4. What’s your favourite completed show?

5. Name a trope you like that’s specific to audio drama.

6. What’s your favourite audio drama ship?

7. What’s your favourite piece of music from any show?

8. If you could have a crossover between any two shows which would it be?

9. What’s your favourite character dynamic to write/listen to?

10. Recommend a show!

11. What are you currently listening to?

12. If you could adapt any public domain work into an audio drama what would it be?

13. [ASKER CHOOSES PODCAST] TV show fan cast (funny or serious).

14. Which audio drama world would you most want to live in?

15. Uno reverse! What’s a question YOU want to ask everyone else about audio drama?

16. What’s a role you heard an actor you know in, but almost didn’t recognise them?

17. Top five [ASKED CHOOSES TOPIC] in audio drama?

18. Design an outfit for [ASKER CHOOSES CHARACTER]

19. Which podcast do you think would make a great TTRPG book?

20. Which podcast character do you think would have their own podcast in an AU?

21. Favourite audio drama sphere meme?

22. Which episode of any audio drama do you think you’ve listened to most?

23. Why do you like audio drama as a medium?

24. What show are you most looking forward to that isn’t out yet?

25. (sorry, this one’s a creator-special) Where did you get the idea for your show from and what made you want to create it?

As always, you don’t need to send asks to reblog! Please do share this around!

[thatoneaceinthecorner]

And here it is! My updated “loads of hitpoints” compilation, which is included in the LOLOMG fan project by @towga. There’s a full (and very long) transcript under the cut, which can also be found in the zine, so go check that out and give the rest of the zine a look while you’re there! Here’s to the magnificent chaos that was Rusty Quill Gaming, all the amazing talented people in the fandom, and sixteen glorious minutes of my favorite running joke in the series.

[Dice roll]

ALEX: What’s your AC?

BRYN: Uh, thirteen?

ALEX: Uh, it will be a hit, I believe.

BRYN: Yeah, of course it will.

[Pause]

BRYN: Why am I standing next to an enemy?

BEN: Because you—

LYDIA: (simult) Because Hamid wants to be a hero and you roleplay well!

ALEX: (overlapping) Also, what spell were you gonna cast?

BRYN: Magic Missile.

ALEX: Ah, fair.

[Dice roll]

LYDIA: Oh no.

ALEX: (overlapping) And deals almost the highest he can roll, a five.

BRYN: Five damage?

ALEX: Yup.

BRYN: It’s cool, I’ve got loads of hitpoints now.

[James laughs]

ALEX: Ah, you rested, and you slept, and all of the things.

-

[Lydia laughing loudly]

ALEX: Okay cool, let’s roll some damage, then.

[Helen gives a long laugh]

BEN: It’s alright, we’ve got loads of hitpoints.

[Helen continues laughing while dice roll in the background]

LYDIA: Yeah, falling damage actually really hurts.

-

BEN: Oh no I have loads of hitpoints, I’m—I can’t one-shot myself. [laughs] So this is fine.

[Dice rolls]

BEN: Aw, especially not with a roll like that!

-

ALEX: Grizzop takes twenty-three damage.

BEN: That’s fine, I got loads of hitpoints.

ALEX: Yeah, I know you do. That’s why I’ve got to punish you in different ways.

-

ALEX: (dramatically) Lydia. Is right to be concerned!

LYDIA: (overlapping) Yeah?

HELEN: What do you mean?

ALEX: Your large axe sweeps into the creature, a fine torso hit, that schlorps through it, gashes Zolf hard—

[Lydia hisses]

HELEN: Noooo!

ALEX: Dealing him thirty-two points of damage and out the other side.

BEN: Azu it’s fine, I got loads of hitpoints.

[Everyone laughs, Bryn makes a sound of despair]

ALEX: And I’ll end the episode there!

[Laughing and sounds of despair continue, Lydia screeches]

ALEX: I’m so happy that you keep critting on creatures specifically designed to punish you for it!

BRYN: (simult) You’re so cruel! You’re so cruel!

BEN: Sorry, just, just—just very quickly I would like to, uh, make a point of order—I’ve got fifty hitpoints left, it’s fine.

LYDIA: Left? You’ve got fifty hitpoints left? What?

BEN: (simult) Yes! I’ve got eighty-two hitpoints!

ALEX: Let’s be clear—

BEN: I’m such a beefy boy!

 -

ALEX: I mean, it’ll probably break on its own eventually.

BEN: Here we go again!

ALEX: (laughing) Okay.

HELEN: Ah!

[Dice roll]

BEN: Loads of hitpoints.

ALEX: Another lightning strike!

BEN: (whispering) He can’t kill me.

[Alex laughs, sound of many dice rolling]

ALEX: I don’t like that I can roll this many d6 and Ben’s like, “don’t care, mate.”

BEN: I mean, it’ll hurt, but—

[Dice roll on the table]

ALEX: You’ve been struck by lightning twice!

-

ALEX: Plus—

BEN: Wha?

ALEX: Yeah, people can—people can keep talking as the effects keep stacking up.

HELEN: Uh oh.

BEN: It’s alright, I got loads of hitpoints.

-

ALEX: Uh, that’s absolutely a good call.

LYDIA: Because since the things I have are kind of explode-y, I do not want to hurt—

ALEX: (interrupting) Correct.

BEN: Go for it, I’ve got loads of hitpoints!

-

ALEX: It hits.

HELEN: Oh no!

BEN: I haven’t got a very good AC.

[Dice roll, followed by a pause]

BEN: (whispering) Got loads of hitpoints.

LYDIA: Yeah, we know, Ben!

HELEN: (simult) Stop saying that! It’s betrayed us before!

BEN: (simult) I will say it—I will say it until I’m dead.

ALEX: Bryn—Bryn, I’m gonna need you to maths for me on the rapid.

BRYN: Right.

BEN: I may not have loads of hitpoints.

-

BEN: He’s a wrong’un, isn’t he audience, don’t you think?

LYDIA: (overlapping) He—he’s a wrong’un.

HELEN: (simult) Yeah!

ALEX: See, Ben’s laying it on all thick ‘cause people know how—how he reacts when characters die, now. 

BRYN: Didn’t—I mean, Azu literally also just—

BEN: (simult) Oh, I got loads of hitpoints.

-

HELEN: Everyone around me just wants to throw themselves into danger—

BEN: No, it’s fine, I have loads of healy—

HELEN: (interrupting) Shut up, Ben!

[Everyone laughs]

BRYN: When you say everyone, you mean Ben.

-

ALEX: Nineteen.

BEN: Round up or down?

ALEX: Round down, in this situation.

BEN: Cool, eight. I got loads of hitpoints!

-

ALEX: None of you notice any difference in the water level, or behavior of the water in any way.

HELEN: Weird.

[Ben sighs]

BEN: Right. I’ve got loads of hitpoints. Um—

[Helen laughs]

LYDIA: I don’t!

BEN: (simult) I stick my head—stick my head above water.

-

ALEX: Hits.

BEN: (whispering) Got loads of hitpoints.

HELEN: (whispering) Stop saying that.

BEN: No.

-

BEN: Only half of that fluid’s gone, so send in the second monster!

ALEX: Yesss!

LYDIA: (simult) What? No!

HELEN: (simult) No!

BRYN: Bye!

[Everyone laughs nervously]

ALL: Bye!

BEN: I’ve got loads of hitpoints left.

[Helen laughs]

-

[Helen laughing]

BEN: I’ll just get hit by a trap, it’s fine. I’ve got loads of hitpoints.

HELEN: Noooo!

[Bryn laughs, Lydia screeches]

ALEX: In Ben’s defense, he does now have—

BEN: I’ve got loads of hitpoints.

ALEX: (overlapping) Loads of hitpoints.

BEN: (simult) I’ve got ninety-two whole hitpoints!

LYDIA: That is—

HELEN: How come you’ve got more than me? I’m—

BEN: Uh, I’ve got a big con score.

HELEN: Oh.

-

ALEX: Skraak looks ready to murder Zolf.

HELEN: Oooh! Azu steps between Skraak and Zolf.

BEN: Good luck, I’ve got loads of hitpoints.

-

BEN: I’ve got loads of hitpoints!

ALEX: You are not Zolf. This character is injured by lightning.

BEN: (simult) I’ve got loads of hitpoints!

HELEN: You’re not beefy!

ALEX: Decision time.

BEN: I’m pretty—pretty beefy girl.

BRYN: (simult) Pretty beefy, yeah.

-

[Dice rolling over the top of Alex speaking]

ALEX: Hear this?

HELEN: Ohhh.

ALEX: (simult) This is the sound of my favorite type of damage, it’s—it takes a little bit of engineering, but—

BEN: (overlapping) The deadliest kind of damage in any system ever.

[Dice continue rolling]

HELEN: Yeah.

BEN: S’alright I got loads of hitpoints.

[Helen snorts]

ALEX: And what was your athletics check, just to let me confirm?

BRYN: (simult) Hey guess what?

BEN: (simult) Fourteen.

ALEX: (simult) Excellent.

[Dice rolling]

BRYN: Guess what, Ben? I’m a beefy boy.

BEN: (delighted) Are you a beefy boy?

[Bryn laughs]

-

ALEX: No.

BEN: (sadly) Oh.

ALEX: You failed.

BEN: (overlapping) Fair enough.

[Helen chuckling]

ALEX: You failed the check and he’s a beefy, beefy boy.

BRYN: I’m a beefy boy.

[Alex laughs]

BEN: S’alright, it’s only eleven damage, got loads of hitpoints left.

HELEN: Ohhh.

ALEX: I’m glad you have that attitude, because I think what we’re gonna do is—

BEN: (interrupting) No I literally, mechanically have loads of hitpoints.

ALEX: (simult) I know—

-

BEN: Well, I mean, I’m gonna knock and then open the door, ‘cause all she’s gonna say is go away, but she then might shoot me. But that’s probably gonna be—that’ll be fine.

[Alex wheezes]

HELEN: Uh—

LYDIA: Got a lotta hitpoints.

BEN: Got loads of hitpoints.

ALEX: (laughing) Got loads of hitpoints.

[Everyone laughs quietly]

HELEN: Um—

BEN:(simult) She—I mean, look, she cannot one-shot me, so we’re all good.

[Ben and Lydia laugh]

HELEN: You said that in your Zolf voice.

BEN: Yeah, I know.

[Helen laughs]

HELEN: Okay.

-

ALEX: I mean you say that, I’m fairly certain you’re playing the splattered remains of Zolf Smith.

BEN: Uhhh, uh it depends, how many hitpoints have I got left?

LYDIA: (simult) He’s got loads of hitpoints.

BEN: (simult) It’s loads. Looaads of hitpoints.

[Helen laughing]

ALEX: Okay, I’m gonna roll, I do—oh, exactly one more hitpoint than the number of hitpoints you’ve got.

BEN: Oh go on, take a guess, how many is that then, Alex?

ALEX: Ninety … two.

BEN: Ha! I’m on zero, not minus one, screw you.

ALEX: Oh come on, that was a good guess, though!

BEN: (overlapping) Yeah you actually guessed my hitpoints, that was very good.

[Bryn and Lydia laugh]

-

ALEX: And I’m assuming that Zolf basically doesn’t have anything at all, ‘cause he’s, you know, he’s got—he’s got loads of hitpoints, why bother?

-

BEN: Okay. I feel like at that point, I’m gonna go in, ‘cause, I’m—I’m magic, so what the hell are they gonna do?

[Lydia laughs]

LYDIA: I got loads of hitpoints!

BEN: I’ve got—I’ve got loads of horrible spells!

-

ALEX: I’d like to start this episode with everyone giving me a will save, please.

BEN: (overlapping) Yaaay!

HELEN: (simult) Ugh.

[Dice rattling]

BEN: It’s fine, I’ve got loads of will points.

-

ALEX: There’s no aggression there, but she is just … sinking them into your hand without, uh, realizing she’s doing so.

BEN: (overlapping) S’alright, I got loads of hitpoints.

[Everyone laughs]

ALEX: It’s true! You have got loads of hitpoints, it’s true.  

BRYN: (overlapping) Sometimes people just wanna hear the classics!

BEN: She couldn’t one-shot me with a shotgun, she’s not gonna one-shot me with her hands!

[Alex laughs]

-

BEN: That’s fine. You have character classes, you’ll be fine, like. You’ve got the hitpoints.

BRYN: You’ve got—you’ve got loads of hitpoints.

[Lydia chuckles]

BEN: Yeah.

-

AZU: I know someone who got hit by lightning, like … three times.

[Lydia chuckles]

CARTER: Wow!

LYDIA: Still had loads of hitpoints!

[Everyone laughs, someone claps]

-

ALEX: Well done, all of you.

HELEN: Thank you.

ALEX: (overlapping) There was a version of events where you wouldn’t all manage it, and I thought I’d give you a challenge you can’t solve with a dice, or—quote, “all the hitpoints.”

[Helen and Bryn laugh]

LYDIA: Yeah. I think all of us, all of us—

BEN: (simult) Where we’re going we don’t need hitpoints.

-

BEN: Oooh, that’s bad!

BRYN: I would like to state for the record … that I do not have loads of hitpoints!

[Ben laughs, Lydia groans]

HELEN: How many hitpoints do you have?

BRYN: Fifty-one.

BEN: Oooh, that could—mmm. We’re in the danger zone.

-

ZOLF: Zolf “still got loads of hitpoints” Smith.

CEL: Cel, actually better than usual, ‘cause I—I beast-morphed into a massive bat thing with a big wolfy snout, and teeth and claws, so I got—I got tons of hitpoints, uh, now, um. So, you know, and uh—Sidebottom, yeah.

-

BEN: So we’d have had, like a—you know, big fight, or something, but—

LYDIA: We got loads of hitpoints.

[Alex laughs]

BEN: They—they weren’t player characters, and therefore they died.

-

ALEX: Oooh, you’re in—you’re in my corner now, Ben.

BEN: Thanks d20 systems.

ALEX: (overlapping) Ben “look at all my hitpoints” Meredith, you’re in my town.

HELEN: Oh nooo. For the audience, Alex just, like, moved his shoulders as if he’s limbering up … to step into the boxing ring.

BEN: (overlapping) Alex, I’ve got—I’ve got ninety-two hitpoints, bring it on.

ALEX: The trick I have found with you, Ben, is not to threaten—

HELEN: (simult) Ben, stop this!

ALEX: Is not to threaten you with mere hit point damage, there’s more interesting ways to deal with you as a character now.

[Bryn laughs]

HELEN: Oh no.

-

BRYN: I cast resist energy on myself.

ALEX: Makes sense.

BRYN: ‘Cause I do not have loads of hitpoints.

-

LYDIA: But that means, still, uh—now, not loads of hitpoints. Only—only small-to-medium hitpoints. Not loads.

-

[Alex laughing]

LYDIA: Not a fan.

ALEX: Not a fa—

[Alex laughs harder]

BRYN: Could—could you not?

ALEX: (simult) Getting hit in the face? Good, yeah, loads of hitpoints. The tree looks at you oddly—oooh. Ooh, no.

[Lydia chuckles]

BEN: Yeah!

-

BEN: So, yeah, so, the previous fights we’ve just done, we didn’t get any extra healing, but it does mean that I don’t have any healing for when we pop—well, sorry, I don’t have any channel positives, I’m still a cleric, I have loads of healing left.

ALEX: Loads of hitpoints. For everyone! Share ‘em around.  

-

ALEX: I am going to drain you of those hitpoints, Ben.

BEN: It’s fine, I got loads of them.

ALEX: (simult) Benjamin Meredith.

[Lydia and Helen laugh]

HELEN: Ah!

ALEX: (simult) Yeah, good! It’ll only make the beasties stronger.

BEN: Fine, do it! Do it, kill me in this arc, let’s see what happens. I’m not afraid.

[Pause]

ALEX: Don’t tempt me, Frodo!

BEN: (overlapping) No I will, I’m actively doing it. Go on, kill me.

HELEN: Noooo!

[Ben cackles]

LYDIA: Aw man …

HELEN: You might not be afraid, I’m afraid. I might be collateral damage!

-

ALEX: Zolf, zombie-slayer, fort save MaGee—

[Bryn chuckles]

ALEX: What’s up next?

BEN: Aw, uh, same, and to be honest I’m not concerned because I’m a cleric and clerics are built to kill a lot of undead all at the same time, so, it’s fine.

[Lydia laughs loudly]

ALEX: True facts.

LYDIA: (overlapping) It’s like—it’s the opposite of like, I got a lot of hitpoints, I got a lot of channel positive energy—

-

BRYN: Azu is no longer invisible.

HELEN: Mmm.

ALEX: Oh well, I suppose then Azu is the one who’ll die, but yeah, same difference.

HELEN: (simult) But I have quite a lot of hitpoints and so does Zolf, so, me and Zolf are the best people to have—to be aware of, really.

BEN: (simult) Yeah we’re fine, it’s all good. I got loads of hitpoints left, we’ll deal with them later, let’s go.

[Alex chuckles]

HELEN: (overlapping) Yeah, I’ve got eighty-three hitpoints left, so.

-

ALEX: How we doing? I’ve got half the party currently feeling all lackadaisical, I’ve got one of you starting to, uh, trip over your words—

BEN: I’m doing alright, thanks.

ALEX: Yeah, you got a load of hitpoints, let’s ignore you.

-

ALEX: Correct! So you’re now next to Zolf … Zolf “loads of hitpoints” Smith.

LYDIA: Yeah.

-

ALEX: At which point, the creature is facing off against a tasty, tasty boy, full of hitpoints.

HELEN: No!

BEN: Yeah.

[Lydia chuckles]

ALEX: Rather distressingly, and I—I’m annoyed, because this is Ben playing well ��� it makes no sense for it to attack anyone else.

BEN: Yup.

ALEX: (simult) I really want it to. But it doesn’t.

BEN: Yup.

ALEX: So I guess I’m going for beefy, hitpoints MaGee.

[Helen laughs, Alex sighs loudly in frustration]

BEN: Yeah, go on, drain my hitpoints, see if I care.

ALEX: (simult) What’s your touch AC?

[Bryn, Helen, and Lydia laugh]

BEN: Or my charisma, see if I care.

[Everyone except Alex laughs]

ALEX: What’s your touch AC?

BEN: Oh, right! Fifteen.

-

ALEX: So there is a straight run, it is past a bunch of watchers.

BEN: Uh, Zolf will go last, because Zolf is Zolf, and wants to make sure everyone gets out, especially ‘cause he suggested it.

ALEX: Plus he’s got a load of hitpoints.

BEN: I got so many hitpoints.

-

HELEN: So, if I pick up a piece of wood with a nail in it, I’m saying, this is short-ranged and piercing, perhaps.

BEN: Yeah. And I made those decisions ‘cause Zolf has loads of hitpoints, and has a habit of losing his equipment.

[Bryn laughs]

-

BEN: So, Alabaster. You take yourself … fifteen damage.

ALEX: Fine, I got loads of hitpoints.

[Jonny and Lydia laugh]

BEN: If you want context for that joke, go listen to Rusty Quill Gaming.

[Lydia laughs, a dice rolls]

BEN: Oh no!

-

ALEX: Azu?

[Dice rolls, Helen sighs loudly]

HELEN: Yes?

ALEX: (cackling while speaking) Ohohohoho sh*t. I shouldn’t swear, ohhhohoho!

[Lydia laughs, Alex continues cackling over the top of everyone else]

HELEN: Alex …

BRYN: Alex …

[Alex cackling]

HELEN: No! No, what’s this?

BEN: (simult) Helen it’s fine, you’ve got loads of hitpoints.

HELEN: I know, but he’s laughing so much!

[Alex’s laughter increases in pitch]

HELEN: Alex!

ALEX: Okay.

BEN: It’s … more of a mischievous giggle.

ALEX: (simult) Helen—sorry, Azu—you take … ten, twenty … thirty-one … forty-two … forty-four lightning damage.

-

LYDIA: You may yet live! You’ll probably live, you’ll be fine.

BRYN: I hope so.

BEN: You’ve got … no hitpoints.

-

ALEX: It’s moving with terrifying purpose, that’s the best I can say.

HELEN: Mmm.

BEN: Fine … okay.

[Dice roll]

BEN: Uh, absolutely not.

BRYN: I think, Ben, it’s got both loads of hitpoints and loads of AC, and is essentially saying you don’t matter.

-

LYDIA: I have literally lost track, are we—are we saving Zolf’s life or Wilde’s?

HELEN: (overlapping) I don’t know what’s just happened.

ALEX: We are on the right side of it by the skinniest—

BEN: Oh, no no no no, Zolf—Zolf doesn’t give a crap, Zolf’s got loads of hitpoints, it’s about Wilde.

LYDIA: (overlapping) Right, okay, so it’s Wilde?

-

ALEX: Big beastie … big beastie.

BEN: Bring it.

HELEN: Ben! He has been bringing it! It’s not going well for us! It is not going well!

LYDIA: Yeah, you with your loads of hitpoints—I think it could one-shot Cel!

BEN: Well that’s why I’m saying—no, but that’s why I’m saying bring it, bring it to me!

[Helen bursts out laughing]

LYDIA: Ohhh, I see, I see.

HELEN: (overlapping) Serve it to Ben!

LYDIA: That is not its MO.

BEN: No, it’s not, unfortunately.

LYDIA: (laughing weakly) That is the opposite of its MO.

-

BRYN: Our chief weapons are surprise, a really big fireball, a paladin on a camel—

[Everyone laughs and claps]

ALEX: Thank you!

LYDIA: And loads of hitpoints!

BEN: Ah, loads—so many hitpoints.

BRYN: (simult) Obviously loads of hitpoints.

BEN: And I’ve given you all some more loads of hitpoints, so, you know.

LYDIA: Yeah.

-

LYDIA: I, at least, am excited about the fact that—like, so Cel now has a hundred and twelve hitpoints! It’s a lot!

HELEN: Oooh!

BEN: (simult) Nice.

LYDIA: That’s loads!

BRYN: Loads of hitpoints.

BEN: (simult) That is loads.

HELEN: (simult) That’s more than me!

[Lydia makes an appreciative noise]

BEN: Yeah, I’ve got a hundred and eleven hitpoints.

[Lydia makes a louder appreciative noise]

ALEX: I think you’re nearing the point where you could just jump off the roof and do a superhero landing without powers and survive?

BEN: (hissing) Oooh, uh.

LYDIA: (overlapping) Well, I mean, why would I do that? I’ve got wings.

[Alex chuckles]

-

ALEX: Plus you got loads of hitpoints, it’s fine.

BRYN: (shrill) Um! That’s not how I would characterize it …

[Helen laughs loudly]

BEN: You got a few.

[Lydia laughs]

BRYN: I’ve got—I’ve got some. I’ve certainly got more … than … before.

BEN: Yeah.

[Alex and Lydia burst out laughing]

BRYN: (simult) So, you know, that’s nice. That’s nice.

ALEX: And on that, let’s, let’s—why don’t we find out, and leave the audience guessing, but, I’m gonna call a bye there.

[Helen laughs]

BEN: (overlapping) Extra hundred and thirty-two hitpoints and he’s still un—ah, ugh—you, you can’t do it with—

[Everyone laughing]

-

ALEX: Everyone takes a hundred and twenty-two fire damage.

[Ben makes chef’s kiss noise]

ALEX: I’m not—like, I honest-to-god rolled it, a hundred and twenty-two, with a hundred and twenty just—bwoop!

BEN: And do you know what that means? It means Topaz takes one damage, and I take three.

[Everyone bursts out laughing, Lydia screeches and Alex wheezes]

BEN: I got loads of hitpoints!

HELEN: (simult) Ohhh.

LYDIA: Listeners, listeners, listeners, seriously—there were, while the dice were rolling, so many heart-felt conversation about like—you know, if the characters die, but we still manage to, like, set the device off, then really it’s a good poetic ending—like, there was so much heart-felt, like, “it’s fine, I can lose these characters, you know, and—and it’ll be okay, it will be okay,” and it’s like … ding!

[Helen giggles gleefully]

BEN: And, Alex, can I just—I, just to let you know, I still have nine temporary health. So I’m still over healed—

ALEX: (overlapping) Hey, that’s fine!

BEN: (simult) Okay.

ALEX: I can do this all day.

[Lydia laughs]

BEN: That’s fine. I don’t care.

HELEN: (simult) That’s the problem.

BEN: I’m standing up against the universe here, I’m proud of myself! You can’t take that away from me.

HELEN: I’m proud of you, too.

-

ALEX: Here we go. (laughs) Entertain yourselves as I roll my billion dice.

[Ben and Helen laugh]

ALEX: Hundred and sixteen, halved.

BRYN: (shrill) Alright. Alright, okay, that’s—that’s fine.

[Alex makes a dragonfire noise]

ALEX: Just—your world goes white.

BRYN: Hamid takes … fifty-eight fire damage.

BEN: It’s fine, you’ve got loads of temporary hitpoints.

[Bryn laughs]

HELEN: Ah. Just don’t get hit again.

LYDIA: (simult) Like—Hamid coughs more damage than that.

ALEX: (simult) You have been in the mid—congratulations, not many players sit in the middle of a dragon’s fire breath and go, “this is exactly where I want to be.”

-

ALEX: Azu, please give me a reflex save.

HELEN: Oh, b*****ks, sh****ng, f*ck.

[Alex and Lydia laugh, both very high-pitched]

BEN: Helen, you’ve got loads of hitpoints.

[Helen and Lydia laugh]

ALEX: Got loads of hitpoints.

LYDIA: (simult) So many.

HELEN: (simult) Yeah but it’s a clock, it’s sharp!

[Lydia laughs]

ALEX: And on fire!

BEN: Loads of hitpoints.

HELEN: No!

LYDIA: It’s fall damage that’s the scary thing.

Bryn: Yeah.

ALEX: (overlapping) Time gets us all in the end, Helen.

BEN: Wah, wah.

-

ALEX: Innumerable amounts are swarming upon him, he is still fighting, but it’s not going well.

BEN: That’s fine, he’s got loads of hitpoints, it’ll take the mob twenty seconds to kill him and that’s all we need.

[Alex and Bryn laugh]

ALEX: Ben is cold. I like it, but is cold.

BEN: Canonically don’t like the meritocrats anymore, so … f*ck him!

[Helen laughs]

-

[Alex laughing]

BEN: Yeah, I think, I think technically if we’re both reduced to zero hitpoints we’re gonna try and take hitpoints from each other, and then it just won’t work, but basically I’m thinking, I will probably have hitpoints, more than—

LYDIA: (overlapping) You’ve got loads of them.

BEN: Yeah I got loads of hitpoints, Babbage probably has less.

ALEX: (simult) I’m going to be interested to see how that interacts with sanctuary if it all goes off.

-

BRYN: Is—is Zolf technically just unconscious, rather than dead?

BEN: I’m on minus three hitpoints. I have loads of hitpoints.

BRYN: Yeah. Although the falling damage might be enough to …

[Ben heaves out a breath]

ALEX: Into the flaming pit of hell—

BEN AND BRYN: (simult) Yeah.

ALEX: (simult) During a large, bright explosion, yeah.

HELEN: Oh.

LYDIA: (simult) No …

ALEX: (simult) In which case … I’ll see you all next week.

ALL: Bye!

[RQG outro music plays, then fades out]

[hikariposts]

I can finally share these! The hype is real, y'all

Here are my illustrations for the key moments project as part of the larger RQG fan project “Look Out! Lots of Magnificent Gifts! by The Ones Who Got Away” -> @towga

It's been so cool to collaborate with such lovely, talented people! This fandom is truly amazing

[IDs in Alt text]

1. Getting Along Swimmingly (RQG 64)

2. Meeting Apophis (RQG 95)

3. Escaping Hades (RQG 125)

4. Paladin's Sacrifice (Ancient Rome Sidequest - Part 4) CW: death

5. After the Impact (RQG 174) CW: death and blood

(tap on the pics for high quality and please do not repost without credit)

[of-void-and-stars]

After over six months it is finally done, my Rusty Quill Gaming quotes crochet blanket! >:D

This blanket is part of the book Look Out! Lots of Magnificent Gifts! by The Ones Who Got Away. A fan project as a love letter and thank you to the actual play podcast Rusty Quill Gaming and the people who made it possible. Link in the reblog! (As y’know, tumblr tends to eat posts with links)

ID: A solid granny square crochet blanket representing the entire main campaign of Rusty Quill Gaming, including Ancient Rome. The blanket consists of 20 x 23 squares in various colours. Each episode is represented by a coloured square with, for about half of the episodes, a quote from that episode embroidered on it. There are more quotes near the top than near the bottom. The RQG logo is in the center, and there are blue veins starting lightly at the top middle, branching across the blanket, and spreading out and crossing over one another towards the bottom, getting densest at the bottom right. End ID

Detailed description below the cut!

ID: A solid granny square crochet blanket representing the entire main campaign of Rusty Quill Gaming, including Ancient Rome. The blanket consists of 20 x 23 squares in various colours, forming a rectangle of roughly 160cm wide and 180cm tall, or approximately 5ft by 6ft. Each episode is represented, from left to right, top to bottom, by a square coloured after events from that episode and, for about half of the episodes, with a quote from that episode embroidered on it. There are more quotes near the top than near the bottom. Next to each episode, both horizontally and vertically, is a filler square. Filler squares are either white, light grey, or black, and form diagonals from top left to bottom right of that filler colour. In the center of the blanket is the RQG logo embroidered on a larger square consisting of 4 x 4 black squares. The logo consists of a gear, banner, microphone, quill, and twenty sided die with the text Rusty Quill Gaming over various parts of it. Between each of the squares is a small white border. The exceptions are the squares forming the logo, which are attached with black, and episode 50 (the Mr. Ceiling simulation) which has an aqua border. Deep blue veins run across the blanket through plot significant episodes. They start on episode 7, when the party retrieves the simulacrum from the sewer, moves on to episode 40, when they first hear about the riots. From there it splits into two strands running down towards episode 120 but stopping at it’s border, this is where Grizzop starts getting the Hephaestus lot to build the killswitch, and running towards 108, when they get news the riots have spread. From 108 one branch spreads to 126, the other two spread into season four. From episode 126, when the 18 months have past and the veins are everywhere, it spreads to the rest of season four, passing through every episode square aside from the Ancient Rome episodes, and the first of two brainy pink Shoin episodes. The second brainy pink Shoin episode however, is covered in copious amounts of blue veins. One strand of blue veins enters the square, therein multiplying to fill it almost entirely, none of the strands leave the square. Episode 181, when the party reaches the Garden of Yerlik, is also a super spreader, with veins spreading from it in every direction. Towards the finale episodes, the bottom right of the blanket, the veins increase in number and start crossing one another, filling up more of the available space until finally they form an almost solid blue edge around episode 218 and the bottom right filler square, which they can’t seem to enter. Most episodes are a solid colour, and most quotes are either black or white, but there are a few exceptions. There are three multi coloured squares in the second airship arc, representing the Aurora Borealis, Azu!Hamid’s purple and pink suit dress, and the colour changes to all mundane items as a result of passing through the Aurora Borealis a second time. The quote for episode 174, the airship crash, is red on white, representing blood in snow. The quote for 178 contains a colour switch in the quote to indicate a different speaker, and 179 contains three overlapping quotes in different colours. End ID

[thatoneaceinthecorner]

I’ve been one of the folks working on this project for the past six months, go check it out! There are lots of incredible things in here made by lots incredible people, and I’m so proud of everyone involved 💙

Look Out! Lots of Magnificent Gifts!

We, The Ones Who Got Away, have been working tirelessly over the last 6 months to create a thank you for the cast and crew of Rusty Quill Gaming: a book with over 130 pages and almost 50 contributors, commemorating the entire podcast. And now, at long last, it is time to share what we’ve created with all of you! So without further ado, here it is: Look Out! Lots of Magnificent Gifts!

Scan the QR code above or find the link in the reblog (as we all know how well tumblr and links go together)

[evieebun125]

i’m so unbelievably happy i can finally share this!! :D I know this has been drawn so many times but i just love them all seeing their loved ones one last time

This was made for @towga a fan project made with lots of love for rqg, go on and check out their blog to see everyones gorgeous works and to look at the pdf they painstakingly put together <3

Image ID under the cut

[ID: A digital art piece based on the party's trip to the garden of Yerlick.

The wider background is of a snowy dark forest. The trees are white cast in dark shadows, there are dead blue leaves at their trunks.

The party is walking from the top right to the bottom left. All of their ghostly companions are a shade of light blue and are translucent against the wintry background.

Starting from the top right of the group is Oscar Wilde. He is wearing a blue winter coat with dark fur and a brown backpack, he is looking towards the forest with a smile on his face and he has a rope tied around his waist.

In front of Wilde is Cel, They are captured in a wide gesture, their eyes are closed and they are smiling as they explain something to the ghost of their husband.

To Cel’s right is their unnamed husband, He is a muscular orc with an open tunic, he has a full beard and his hair is done up in a messy bun, He is smiling and looking at Cel. His arms are crossed over his chest and he has a beaded bracelet on his left wrist.

To the bottom left of Cel is Zolf. He is ducked into his jacket and is clutching his glaive in a tight gripe. He is looking forward with a distressed expression on his face. 

To Zolf’s right is Feryn, Feryn has his eyes closed, he has both of his arms up and in front of himself as though he is telling a story. He has two braids hanging from his beard and he is wearing a loosely laced tunic.

To the bottom right of Zolf is Azu and Grizzop. Azu is looking to her right with a small pensive smile on her face, her hands are clasped in prayer in front of her. Grizzop is hanging on her left shoulder, he looks relaxed and he is grinning as he talks to Azu,

Directly underneath Zolf and Feryn is Hamid and Aziza. Hamid is wearing a gold embroidered furred lavender winter coat. He has one hand on his chest and the other is clasped with Aziza’s. His eyes are closed and he is singing with his sister. Aziza’s pose mirrors Hamid’s, she has long curly hair and is wearing a long dress and a fur jacket and flat shoes.

In front of Hamid and Aziza is Skraak and Meerk. Skraak is wearing a leather coat and has both of his hands gripped onto his backpack. His hood is up and is obscuring part of his face. To his right Meerk is wearing a similar outfit but his hood is lowered. He has both of his hands up and his eyes are closed as he talks, he looks happy.

Closes to the bottom left is Sumutnyerl, They have white and gray streaked hair and they are wearing a purple and gray patterned robe, their hood is pulled up and it's lined with dark fur. End Id]

[mori-stuff]

Nat20 for everyone (even Bertie…)!

Finally we all get to share our contributions to „Look Out! Lots Of Magnificent Gifts“ (LOLOMG) by The Ones That Got Away, a fan project full of insanely talented people who all got together to share our love for Rusty Quill Gaming through a whole bunch of creative projects.

I am so so happy and thankful i got to be part of several projects, some in groups, some by myself, and so hyped to now be able to share the finished works!!

One of them is this set of character D20 patches for all party members (plus Skraak and Wilde, because they‘re basically part of the party, right?). Designing them was so much fun, and i am proud of my poor embroidery machine for getting all those details…

Definitely check out more of the magnificent works created for this project (among them statistics for who actually rolled the most nat1s and nat20s!) via the link in the reblog!

ID: both pictures are a collection of nine images. One of the pictures shows these as flat-coloured digital drawings, the other shows the same array as machine-embroidered patches. Each of the nine images is a solidly coloured d20 surrounded by a few stylized objects associated with one of the RQG characters (all of the PCs, Skaark and Wilde). From top left to bottom right, there are

A magenta d20 with a quill, fireworks, wine glasses and a peacock feather in turquoise, gold, dark green and pale pink for Wilde.

A light blue d20 with a glaive, a book, two rings and a burst of light rays/icicles in grey, dark green, brown and gold for Zolf.

A deep red d20 with a falcon, a sword, a contract scroll and a dog collar in red, gold and silver for Bertie.

A dark grey d20 with a white spot in it surrounded by several daggers, an eel, a roman column and small spikes in various tones of grey and light green for Sasha.

A dark green d20 with a dragon wing, a wine glass, a stack of books, fire and sparkles in gold, purple, dark red and light green for Hamid,

A pink d20 with a two-sided axe, an open clam and several marbles in pale pink, turquoise, purple, brown and grey for Azu.

A yellow d20 with bat wings, potion bottles and lightning arcs in brown, red, green and light yellow for Cel.

A pale green d20 with goblin ears, a crescent moon, a bow and several arrows in dark grey, brown and light yellow for Grizzop.

An orange d20 with a dagger, gears, fire, a scaly tail and small horns in red, brown, grey and yellow for Skraak.

End ID.

[queercore-curriculum]

The Silver Gleam of Trees by NotusLethe, illustrated by Stan Stanley/ @snakewife

My contribution to the 2021 Rusty Quill Big Bang! Binding, graphic design, and layout by me. Linocut for the cover designed by Stan Stanley, carved and printed by me. Bound in custom silk dupioni and linen bookcloth, moiré endpapers, and hand-dyed linen thread using a blackstitch binding technique I developed for this project. 

Getting to work with these two unimaginably talented artists has been an absolute privilege. The Silver Gleam of Trees is an epic, utterly brilliant daemon AU that takes the RQG characters to places I could never even imagine. Beautifully written and wildly creative—it’s truly an extraordinary accomplishment, and I can’t recommend it enough! And Stan, I’m such a huge fan of yours, and getting to print your work in one of my bindings is a total dream come true. 

Thanks so much to @pilesofnonsense​ for all your work on this incredible event. It’s been a blast, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we created together. 

More pics below the cut!

My favorite section breaks I’ve ever made!

Perfectly fills out my Rusty Quill ficbinding shelf <3

[straws-and-stats]

Rusty Quill Gaming Stats! (Part 1)

Hi. If you run in Rusty Quill circles, you might remember me from that big ol' statistical fan survey for The Magnus Archives that will outlive us all. Well, I am here today to deliver unto you statistics of a different sort - this time in celebration of Rusty Quill Gaming! 

I examined nearly every die thrown during the campaign for the project "LOLOMG: A Performance Review by Oscar Wilde". Designed w/ the PHB in mind, the project aims to thank those who produced RQG & celebrate the characters who brought us here. Check it out here! 

This post (and subsequent parts) will comprise of stats I found interesting but was unable to fit into the book. The data covers numbered campaign episodes, Bertie's Sidequest, and Ancient Rome. Data collected by myself and Oddly Specific using the RQG wiki & relistening. Thanks to the wiki contributors.

If you want to take a look at all the raw numbers that got us here, this linked spreadsheet has them. Feel free to copy whatever data you like for your own purposes. If you want to know something not included or if you spot an error, contact me about it!

Thanks to serhawke (@cityelf), Dubious Gem (@regulationblues), Sumi, nik (@niksfake), Nix (@scatteredheroes), Oddly Specific, and Lowell for being such fun people to work with on this project.

Thanks to NotusLethe, Booksquirm, and cuewulfir for additional support. 

Finally, massive thanks to Lowell for turning all of my doodles, rough charts, and data into the beautiful infographics contained herein. They’re the one who’s made these stats sing.

And now, after 6 months of work, I present to you: Rusty Quill Gaming as told by statistics.

We start with an animated scatter plot detailing the values of every skill check stated in the campaign that wasn't a natural 1 or natural 20. I like how clearly it shows the growth in power of the party (can’t figure out how to embed it, so we’re going with an imgur link for now).

https://imgur.com/cgPkrXV

Up next, a line chart containing skill check overview for how many skill rolls each character had accumulated at each episode of the campaign. I was surprised by how pretty and overarchingly linear the accumulations were.

Here's yet another skill check overview, this time divvying up all 2,818 skill checks rolled during the campaign (including natural 1s and 20s this time) by character. From this pie chart, we can see that Sasha emerges with the most rolls at 617, despite being around for only 57% of the campaign.

Next is the same pie chart as before, but player-based this time. We can see that Lydia carried the team with a whopping 870 skill check rolls, which is almost 1/3 of the d20s tossed for skills in the campaign. That's a lot of dice!

Another player-based skill check chart, this one averaging skill checks per every 10 episodes for ease of reading. I like how this one smacks you upside the head with a visual of how the pandemic move to remote recordings altered Alex’s GMing style - once remote recordings were the standard, the average number of skill checks per episode decreased slightly, and the party started rolling skill checks more as a unit more than individually, unlike before the pandemic.

[part 2] [part 3]

[commander-diomika]

[Image ID: Screenshot of a tumblr reply from user @weareallfromearth ​​ saying “Holy shit I would V much like to know what you’d do with ZolfWilde.” End ID]

This was in response to me tag rambling that if Alex “I don’t Actually Have That Much Experience in Courtship” Newall and Ben “I just Realised I’m Too Straight For This” Meredith don’t know what to do with Zolf/Wilde, they should hand the ship over to me. 

*rubs my gay little hands together.*

I initially characterized them offhandedly as Enemies-to-Lovers but that’s not quite it, is it? On reflection I would say it’s more of an Opposites Attract situation.

Oscar Wilde, as re-imagined in the RQG universe, is a homme fatale; a dangerous, attractive man, skilled in encouraging people to underestimate him, wearing different masks, never quite being able to trust or be trusted by anyone.

There is NO personal/professional line for Wilde. He lives his work, and his work is subterfuge and interpersonal manipulation. (whether or not he started this way in his field as a journalist, or was forced to become this way by the changes in his world, is another post.) He is a person who either cares very deeply what people think of him, or is has decided that manipulating what people think of him is the way to get what he wants, and from the outside it makes no difference.

Zolf Smith does not care what people think of him. He isn’t even skilled at being kind and empathetic to people he cares about; he has no time for emotional manipulation or genuine charm. He doesn’t even have a fantastic grasp on his OWN feelings, let alone other people’s. He’s grounded, disinterested in frippery or appearances. Which is why Zolf and Wilde started out so deeply at odds with one another.

Despite the differences in the interpersonal approaches, they have plenty of common ground.

They are both deeply dedicated to a cause. They care about their work to the exclusion of all else. They are both pragmatists who have their own internal moral code, and are willing to bend or break other people’s rules in order to get the job done. They are fundamentally good people. Despite their rocky beginnings, they can respect each other because of these things.

And they might have maintained their mutually disdainful, begrudgingly respectful working relationship and that could have been the sum total... Except then the world fell apart. The Meritocratic organisation was initially compromised, then disintegrated. The blue vein plague isolated everyone and made it even harder to trust supposed allies. The Cult of Hades was on everyone’s ass making their life difficult, the other PCs disappeared off the face of the planet. Zolf and Wilde ended up in a situation where they had no one else they could trust.

Familiarity breeds contempt, but maybe if the contempt is already there, it builds Something Else. Wilde was stripped of his magic in a way that made it much harder for him to keep people at a distance and (pardon the pun) project the illusion of the debonair playboy. Zolf would have had the chance to see through Wilde’s masks, and get a better understanding of what parts of Wilde were a calculated tactic, and what was his genuine self.

Whatever betrayal transpired that gave Wilde his scar and hardened him, Zolf was privy to. He was either there and saw it happen, or he was close enough in the aftermath to see Wilde properly vulnerable for the first time in their friendship. Hell, maybe Zolf was the one who rescued him and patched him up. That was a chance for Zolf to realise that this insufferable man is a friend who he cares about deeply. At this point, he’s cared for awhile, but has been too wrapped up with his own spiritual difficulties to have space to admit that to himself.

And Wilde, oh Wilde, he’s desperate to be seen and known and loved, but he’s never allowed himself. He’s never felt SAFE to. He doesn’t let people get close, treats every conversation as a battle to be won. His safety and his power lies in being admired, but never loved. So even as trust and fondness for Zolf blossoms within him, he won’t for a second allow himself to hope that the fondness is reciprocated

With all that out of the way, this is my version of events.  

Wilde is a slut (affectionate), and Zolf is gray-ace, so if there’s any bridging of that gap in terms of physical intimacy, it has to be from Zolf’s side. Giving canon a tender massage into place, that first instance of Zolf grabbing Wilde by the collar changes. (This happens on the Vengeance after Zolf has taught Wilde to steer the ship). Zolf drags Wilde down to say “I’m glad to see you perked up.” That moment now involves a whiskery kiss on Wilde’s cheek, and the man would be absolutely FLOORED by it.

I’m talking slow-mo glittering lights as Zolf stomps off blushing, unsure what just came over him; Wilde touches his cheek in bewilderment for a stretched moment before realising he’s completely agog, and he let go of the wheel for a dangerous length of time. Every interaction, every moment they’ve spent together over the last two years is flashing before Wilde’s eyes and a new context is being applied rapid fire. I’m talking the italacised oh kind of moment.

(on top of Zolf being witness to The Betrayal, throw some other moments of almost-intimacy into said flashbacks. I’m talking late nights, Zolf doing his gruff-yet-kind caretaker thing, cooking for Wilde, maybe sharing quiet and rare downtime with Zolf reading a Campbell novel on a couch in Wilde’s office)

Wilde is realising, “Oh this is allowed, oh this is reciprocated, this is possible.”

And of course they don’t talk about it, because what’s a slowburn if they immediately go and TALK about their feelings? No, the kiss goes completely unremarked upon, and Wilde continues to needle and tease and get under Zolf’s skin, except now with an added warmth in his eyes because he finally gets it. He finally understands that Zolf cares, that Zolf loves him, he’s just not the kind of dwarf that knows how to express it.

And Zolf, frustrated by feelings he can’t express but is beginning to understand, can hear the undertone of “haha, you looooove me,” shining through Wilde’s deliberate antagonism. They continue their time on the Vengeance just a little easier and closer to one another.

And we continue on to the death/resurrection arc, and Wilde’s spirit pushes for Zolf to open up about his feelings, because if not when he’s literally past death’s door, then when? When Zolf finally manages his “I need you,” it’s like a dam has broken for both of them. The second collar-grab and “We’ll go on a holiday or somethin’,” is now followed by a full kiss on the lips, not particularly erotic but passionate, (it’s the epitome of kissing someone to shut them up) and Wilde makes a surprised and delighted squeak that he would be glad he can’t quite remember when he returns to land of the living.

Once returned, Wilde might not remember everything that his spirit said or did, but he remembers the kiss. The comfort and ease that the two of them share in 179 (Eat Drink and Be Merry) is there, only instead of the two characters still being in a place of questioning their feelings for one another, it’s been answered.

Whether or not this relationship is sexual in nature is kind of up to you and what kind of fan works you like to read/write. I think there are wonderful scenes to be written an explored in many directions.

Wilde allowing himself to enjoy sex for intimacy and closeness instead of using it as a tool/ Zolf not being one for sex but Wilde’s never slept more soundly than when he’s being held in Zolf’s arms/ Zolf realising that the unfamiliar feeling he’s been struggling to express is the desire to rail Wilde til he cries/ Wilde realising that if his partner doesn’t want it from him, he’s actually quite content without sex/ The two of them being mean, antagonistic bastards to each other while fucking but Make It Kink (of the trusting and RACK kind). There really isn’t a single bad interpretation.  

So really, I’m not doing anything different with them other than reading between the lines, giving canon a little nudge, and sticking the landing. This isn’t to disparage the concept of queer platonic partners. (I’ve got one!) or to talk shit about Ben or Alex (I DO respect their craft).

It’s just to say I find these two characters , and everything they’ve been through, PAINFULLY romantic, tropey, and delightful. I’m looking forward both to how Ben and Alex play the QPP, the fanworks I’m gonna read and hopefully write, and the inevitable tragedy that you KNOW Alex is gearing up for.

[franzis-frantic-thoughts]

Who’s Afraid of Alex J. Newall? by Newt Schottelkotte is definitely worth a read to everyone who’s a fan of Rusty Quill Productions.

I count myself amongst those. Which is why I want to add to something mentioned in the article that I, alongside @nossorgs​ have special insight into:

The Transcripts.

In light of everything that has happened this year, the way people inside of RQ have been mistreated, abused, and exploited, the transcripts appear to be a minor issue. But as Newt has pointed out beautifully: They’re a symptom of something much bigger, namely disregard, miscommunication, incompetence, reliance on free fan labour and pretending to be something they’re not. In this case the producer of inclusive and accessible content.

The official RQ transcripts were launched early this year and it was immediately clear how terrible they are. Countless fans have surely reached out to RQ to let them know. After all, there’s a handy feedback form. A feedback form which, incidentally, is neither up-to-task, nor easily accessible as it isn’t linked anywhere near the transcripts, but only in the 26 January 2022 “news” update.

However, Nossorgs and I, as professionals in the language service industry, had concerns that couldn’t be addressed in the feedback form. So we sat down together and wrote a very long email, which we sent to RQ on 22 February 2022. We have received no reply.

I’m now, after checking with Nossorgs, publishing the email here, because I don’t want anyone to say “well maybe they didn’t know”. They knew. They just didn’t care.

They didn’t even care enough to fix these issues by today.

Here’s the email and all the exemplary screenshots are below a cut.

Dear Rusty Quill Team,

congratulations on launching your new website and releasing the transcripts for the RQ original shows.

Upon review of several transcripts (in particular the ones created for Rusty Quill Gaming), we wanted to voice some concerns with the company or software used to generate the transcripts, since there appears to have been a grievous lack of quality control and a large number of errors have made it to the released transcripts. Screenshots are attached and a list of general concerns can be found below.

As professional linguists, who variously have been or are currently employed as editors, translators, transcribers, or project managers in the language service sector (each with QA responsibilities), with over a decade of experience, we would highly recommend requesting a partial or total refund from the companies involved in generating these transcripts. As provided, the transcripts lack any form of serious quality control and may even indicate that the supplier(s) you have partnered with are fraudulent.

With the professional experience we have, we understand the difficulties that come with transcribing audio of this type. One speaker having multiple voices, crosstalk, and "unusual" turns of phrase (i.e. Pathfinder mechanics and terminology) being used pose great difficulties. However, the concerns we would like to voice are unrelated to the content of RQG, but basic issues that any professional linguist should have been able to avoid.

Many of the concerns we have can be traced to a lack of consistency, which could have been avoided by the simple creation and adherence to a style guide. Did your transcription supplier provide or request one? With a project as big as this, it would have been standard practice.

Please find a list of general concerns below, the file names of relevant screenshots have been added in brackets:

Many spelling and grammar errors, which indicate a lack of language skill (Spelling001 to 005). Professional linguists should only ever work in their native language to avoid such issues. There are official ISO guidelines regarding linguistic qualifications, which any agency of worth is aware of and regularly audited on.

Misspelling of player and character names and misattribution of lines (Spelling001 to 005). We do not know whether RQ provided a list of cast and character names to the transcription provider, but they should have realised that many unusual names are included and references are needed. They should have reached out and requested a list if it hadn't been provided. If it was provided, it was clearly not consulted.

Lack of organisation: The very first episode is mislabelled as episode 25 in the transcript (Episode1_mislabeled). Episode 25, in turn, only seems to be available in a word format, not as a pdf (this also seems to apply to other episodes, such as 203). The transcripts are not labelled in a consistent pattern, meaning that they are not sorted consecutively by episode number in the RQ Sharepoint, making browsing difficult (Filing001).

Lack of consistent speaker tagging: In most transcripts, the players are not distinguished from the characters they are playing, and the formatting is inconsistent in the episodes that do note in-character speech (Characters001 to 003). This is probably due to your transcription provider splitting the work over multiple people. This is a common and reasonable approach to spread the workload. However, the linguists should have agreed on a common system, or the central project manager should have dictated one. Lack of cast/character distinction renders the transcripts as good as unreadable.

Lack of basic QA regarding completion: Episode 183 includes internal formatting remarks of the supplier, which should have been deleted by them prior to delivery (CW001).

Content warnings: Listing of content warnings is inconsistent, if present at all, with one remark noting that content warnings were unavailable because they were not listed in the (fan-made) wiki (CW002). It is concerning that the transcription provider would refer to a fan-made, unofficial source, when RQ provides content warnings with all episodes in the episode notes. Surely, these are also available at RQ internally in a centralised document which could have been requested by the supplier.

We understand you are probably very busy creating and promoting your new shows and troubleshooting your new website, but transcripts of this quality actively harm your reputation as an accessible and inclusive company. The mantra "better than nothing" only applies to a certain extent here. Low-quality transcripts, such as these, are of no help to those who rely on them. Clear labelling of actors vs characters is needed in order to follow the podcast, and content warnings should have been included whether they are available on the fan wiki or not. Even if these transcripts are intended as first drafts, to be revised and polished at a later stage, they are at best unuseable and at worst dismissive towards those members of the fan community who are hard of hearing or have auditory processing issues.

Professionally, we recommend that you reach out to your supplier with the list of concerns and screenshots we have collected and request corrections. Whether or not you also request a (partial) refund is up to you, but we also recommend you do. If you do not trust your original supplier to take care of the required corrections accurately, it would be standard practice to request a quotation from another supplier and contact the original transcription provider with this quotation in order to bill them for the additional financial burden. Before choosing a (second) supplier and contracting them for all 200+ reworks, it would be advisable to do a small batch of transcripts first, in order for you to get a feeling for their quality, as well as allow them to make an accurate estimate of the effort involved and ask any questions that may already have come up.

In the language service industry, it is not uncommon to have to rework one's deliveries. Language is subjective and linguists are people. Mistakes happen. We understand this better than most fans. However, no professional, qualified linguist would have signed off on these transcripts with the feeling of a job well done. There are human errors, and there is a gross lack of basic quality assurance. Unfortunately, the RQG transcripts, as they are, fall into the latter category.

If you would like to get in touch, we would be more than happy to share our professional knowledge and experience regarding linguistic projects such as these, in order to help you avoid such problems in the future, for instance if and when you decide to add transcripts for side quests, specials, and bloopers. We are aware that you don’t usually work with fans and understand and respect the reasoning behind the decision, however, many linguists in the fan community are prepared to offer their own services as transcribers. You have a wide range of professionals in your fan community, and all of them come with the additional benefit of being familiar with the source material and understanding what format these transcripts should take in order to be of use.

With kind regards,

Spelling001

Spelling002

Spelling003

Spelling004

Spelling 005

Episode1_mislabelled

Filing001

Characters001

Characters002

Characters 003

CW001

CW002