iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 9h

uhhh new x-men has its moments but i didn’t super care for it? the last 2 arcs are just garbage. imho. claremont def has a spectrum of quality but overall i’m a fan. my favorite single run of x-men atp is whedon’s astonishing but there are runs of claremont’s uncanny & new mutants that are up there

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 9h

oh lol oops i wasn’t even thinking about that. but yeah ime her writing is just very juvenile; her taking over new mutants just completely ruins it bc everything has to be straightforward superhero problem-solving when nm at its best is about dani moonstar and/or illyana rasputina going thru it

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 9h

as a character guy idt he’s like the best in the game by any means, but the writing is generally engaging & the characters have their moments. imho his best character work is with illyana & dani in new mutants. but what he really does well is what i’ve been calling Perspective

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 9h

i don’t disagree—i had heard he was a character guy & reading dark phoenix saga & days of future past i was like… lmfao really?! but i hopped back on in 1983 w the introduction of madelyne pryor & it worked way better for me going from there

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 10h

a lot of x-men :) i’ve been sorta going back & forth btwn the 00s (now like 2010-11) & the 80s (currently mid-89). then also i’ve read like p much everything bendis wrote in the 00s? or at least a good chunk of it, i’m sure there’s stuff i’m missing

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 10h

i am VERY used to having opinions that differ from the general audience so that is less of a concern for me lol

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 10h

the former! i’ve been doing late 80s x-men recently & i KNOW that claremont is a way better writer than simonson, and i can tell u specific things they’re doing differently, but i just don’t have enough familiarity w comics to like… turn those differences into an actual critique, if that makes sense

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 10h

an interesting thing about getting into comics, a medium i have very little experience with, is feeling out of my depth in terms of my analysis ability in a way haven’t in years. sometimes i’m really sitting there like ok this one is good and this one is bad, but i don’t? know? why????

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 14h

hi everyone i’m bad at social media these days. i’ve been spending my time working and reading comic books, which is kinda crazy. the comics, i mean. the work is kinda mandatory. tho i have been getting some high praise from coworkers lately so… i guess you could say i’m the best there is at wh—

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The Unexplored Places @unexploredcast.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

a departure from Stormwrought in this episode, as we take a look back at a piece of Alkyon's history with a game of Dusk to Midnight by @rileyrethal.bsky.social!

metagame.itch.io

dusk to midnight by riley rethal

a gmless rpg about doomed soldiers in a losing war.

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

oh yeah i published the first chapter of this! i’m pretty excited about where it’s going, so go check it out if u like scemma or my vision of noir ❤️ archiveofourown.org/works/90823521

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

the thing about noir to me is it’s not even about the crime. the crime is a vessel for understanding what people are capable of, and more importantly, why they’re capable of it. it’s about showing us someone who’s done something terrible and telling us why they did it. it’s about understanding.

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

look i understand that genre is malleable and neo-noir has existed for decades but i hate when i open up a piece of “noir” fiction and it’s just gritty hardboiled crime/gangster fiction. is it too much to ask for some elegance. some restraint. some hays code compliant erotic vibes.

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jess @jessfrom.online · 22/08/2026

optimist: the cup is half full pessimist: the cup is half empty ttrpg editor: here you refer to the cup as half full, but in the next chapter, you refer to it as half empty. for clarity, we should standardize on one of them in the rules text, even if players might use both descriptions at the tabl

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

i wrote the ending of chapter 2 (out of 3) today and i’ve been reading so many comics lately that my brain wanted to tag on a “NEXT: Murderer Tells All!”

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

ok, i’m finally at a point where all the pieces are in place and i just have to finish the writing process. so! coming soon: the final dream, a noir x-men fic. private detective emma frost is hired by scott summers to solve the murder of his mentor, charles xavier. mystery and melodrama ensue.

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Down Here For Your Soul @bombsfall.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

It's Time For The Left To Have A Conversation That Has Already Happened Multiple Times But I Didn't Care Then

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

finished new x-men vol 2. women will literally manipulate* a man into having a telepathic affair instead of going to therapy for the trauma of being the sole survivor of a genocide.

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

started new x-men vol 2 last night & it’s killing me that their super scary street drug is a literal hfa inhaler called “hypercortisone”. like, that is an inhaled corticosteroid. an asthma medication. it’s not gonna ruin ur life it’s gonna give u oral candidiasis if u don’t swish & spit.

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

yeah ok lol i was about to say well the next one is x-men vs hulk sooooo. powerful energy

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

u can tell work is slow today (KNOCK ON WOOD, PLS GOD) bc i found it ok batcave & am reading rn. this utena-ass shit. absolutely wouldve altered my brain chemistry at the right age

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

incredibly good pitch, i will absolutely check this out

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

interesting 🤔🤔🤔 mockumentary is very compelling. i’ll look into it

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

my faves of those i’ve read so far are: - fraction’s hawkeye (my beloved) - watchmen (only 2 issues in but it bangs) - superman: birthright & last days of lex luthor (clex is so important)

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

btw i’m happy to take comic recs, with the caveat that i am weird and picky and definitely not actually built to be a comic reader so u can’t take it personally if i don’t like or ignore it.

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Esther @dungeonminister.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Some news: I'm starting a blog dedicated to critical writing about Actual Play! It's called Critical Bearings, and my first post is up. I talk about my relationship to criticism, AP, the shape of current critical landscapes in Actual Play, and my hopes for this project. :)

criticalbearings.com

Getting Our Critical Bearings

Welcome to Critical Bearings, a place for critical engagement with the art form of Actual Play. I’m Esther, and I love Actual Play and media criticism. My relationship with criticism began to take sh...

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

kinda funny how good of an employee i am. like, i wasn’t expecting that either

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Casey S. Pumpkins 🎃 @caseyexplosion.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

"Indies will save us" No! YOU WILL SAVE INDIES! Go leave a review for that neat indie game you like, share the trailer for an upcoming game you're anticipating, tell your fave developer they did a good job, go tell people about such and such game that's just come out, you can make a difference!

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

this feels kind of dangerous like. i feel like an indie ttrpg designer could get addicted to a party of one criterion closet.

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

i’d love that if u don’t mind sending it!

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

oooh intriguing! i will definitely look into that

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Scare-on Lim 林家丰 @ehronlime.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

The One Day A Year It’s Legal To Mention An Indie Game On r/rpg

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

watchmen said “superheroes are working for the us government to fight communists in south america” and i said omg wow. twirling my hair.

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

(also so not the point but i did write a fun little phm fic series that has become some of my popular work. if ur interested, no pressure if not, etc etc archiveofourown.org/series/6027576)

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

yeah real. i've also kinda moved onto fanfic which is like, a more specific version of the emulation impulse. i always say i write fic about stories i love & ttrpgs about stories i want to love & well. y'know. i figured out how to better find the stuff i love, i think. or maybe smth else, idk.

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

in my continued comics speedrun, i have started watchmen. um i think moore was maybe kinda cooking a little bit with this one guys.

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

man i lowkey wish i could get mine back. i feel like i've honed my taste too much & no longer have that particular itch to scratch

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

oh hey so i read this online today. banger.

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Andrew Gillis @andrewgillis.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Hey friends, the Dark Ages playtest by myself and @wildwoodsgames.bsky.social is now live on my itch page. You are invited to download it for free and play it. sevencrowsgames.itch.io/dark-ages

sevencrowsgames.itch.io

Dark Ages by Seven Crows Games

A post-apocalyptic, historical fantasy game of personal ambition, community strife, rights claimed and rights denied.

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

i am fully aware that i’m sort of a realism and nuance extremist and not everything can cater to my tastes but it’s a shame imo when a story has to have this Fundamentally Evil Entity to filter its bigotry rhetoric. feels like a missed opportunity for more interesting questions.

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

ah yes i did know about that, i read the red son wikipedia page at some point last year and felt some type of way about it (bad)

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

don’t they have like an elseworld or whatever where everyone’s evil. earth-88 lois lane writing op-eds

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

yesss word. as long as there’s one who isn’t evil

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

yes i should read that. i literally almost bought the hardcover the last time i was at a comic book store but i was like no too expensive. but i really should read it

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riley rethal @rileyrethal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

yeah makes sense. they just need to incorporate the journalism into the story! i want a 2 hr superman (2025) interview scene on my desk stat!

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