jex thomas
@lastpinepress.com
Nonbinary Dad // Author of Crit Awards Best Indie TTRPG Finalist BUMP IN THE DARK // Not as Punk as I Used To Be // Forever Aspiring to be Your Weird Gay Aunt // ACAB // https://lastpinepress.com #ttrpg #fitd #pbta
Pinned
jex thomas
@lastpinepress.com
· 26d
Hi to all the new folks! I wrote Bump in the Dark, a FitD game about chosen family, community, and beating up monsters. I tend to only follow back after meaningful interaction. Expect TTRPGs, movies and TV, and, at least for right now, sludge/doom metal and playing guitar. Also psychology.
-16 but feels like -36
I want to go back to bed
I want to go back to bed
January 23, 2026 at 2:17 PM
-16 but feels like -36
I want to go back to bed
I want to go back to bed
Reposted by jex thomas
Discord might be on its way out, but while its candle flickers we can, finally, hammertime directly into the chat with @time.
January 23, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Discord might be on its way out, but while its candle flickers we can, finally, hammertime directly into the chat with @time.
Reposted by jex thomas
National media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
January 23, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Reposted by jex thomas
I've talked to people on the ground about the strike here tomorrow, and the single thing everyone brings up is just how shockingly wide the support for the strike is. Businesses that no one would have expected to support it are doing so.
National media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
January 23, 2026 at 12:15 AM
I've talked to people on the ground about the strike here tomorrow, and the single thing everyone brings up is just how shockingly wide the support for the strike is. Businesses that no one would have expected to support it are doing so.
He doesn't need an excuse, Lloyd. He's already doing it. It's happening live on TV for fuck's sake. You can see it with your own eyes and this is your response? Absolute cowardice. Heartlessness. How people like you sleep at night is beyond me.
Violence only helps Trump & may provide him an excuse to further trample our rights by invoking the Insurrection Act.
January 22, 2026 at 6:39 PM
He doesn't need an excuse, Lloyd. He's already doing it. It's happening live on TV for fuck's sake. You can see it with your own eyes and this is your response? Absolute cowardice. Heartlessness. How people like you sleep at night is beyond me.
Reposted by jex thomas
anti-ICE sentiment has broad support among americans for the 1st time ever & this is how dem leadership decides to meet the moment
feds have been brutalizing mpls & chicago for weeks. "terrified of being labeled anti-LE" is *at best* a coward's excuse
funny how cowardice looks like complicity.
feds have been brutalizing mpls & chicago for weeks. "terrified of being labeled anti-LE" is *at best* a coward's excuse
funny how cowardice looks like complicity.
To quote one source:
“They’re terrified of being labeled anti–law enforcement. They want this to go away so they can talk about the cost of living more. Problem is, it’s not going away.”
prospect.org/2026/01/21/j...
“They’re terrified of being labeled anti–law enforcement. They want this to go away so they can talk about the cost of living more. Problem is, it’s not going away.”
prospect.org/2026/01/21/j...
Jeffries Won’t Whip Vote Against ICE Funding - The American Prospect
While the House Democratic leader announced personal opposition to a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, he won’t pressure his colleagues to do the same.
prospect.org
January 22, 2026 at 2:58 PM
anti-ICE sentiment has broad support among americans for the 1st time ever & this is how dem leadership decides to meet the moment
feds have been brutalizing mpls & chicago for weeks. "terrified of being labeled anti-LE" is *at best* a coward's excuse
funny how cowardice looks like complicity.
feds have been brutalizing mpls & chicago for weeks. "terrified of being labeled anti-LE" is *at best* a coward's excuse
funny how cowardice looks like complicity.
Reposted by jex thomas
“We should campaign around affordability”
great idea! like Medicare for all?
“not that”
building public housing? a federal jobs guarantee? expanding WIC and SNAP? universal childcare?
“no no no”
well what
“make a large sign that says affordability on it”
great idea! like Medicare for all?
“not that”
building public housing? a federal jobs guarantee? expanding WIC and SNAP? universal childcare?
“no no no”
well what
“make a large sign that says affordability on it”
January 22, 2026 at 4:49 PM
“We should campaign around affordability”
great idea! like Medicare for all?
“not that”
building public housing? a federal jobs guarantee? expanding WIC and SNAP? universal childcare?
“no no no”
well what
“make a large sign that says affordability on it”
great idea! like Medicare for all?
“not that”
building public housing? a federal jobs guarantee? expanding WIC and SNAP? universal childcare?
“no no no”
well what
“make a large sign that says affordability on it”
Reposted by jex thomas
An episode in which the @ancientrobotgames.bsky.social podcast interview Rachel in Fife?
The Thunder Perfect Mind: Game Design with Emotional Ebb and Flow with Tanya Floaker | Episode 20
YouTube video by Ancient Robot Games
youtu.be
January 22, 2026 at 4:58 PM
An episode in which the @ancientrobotgames.bsky.social podcast interview Rachel in Fife?
Reposted by jex thomas
New EOs from the Trump administration that aren't real but sound like they could be.
• Car manufacturers are ordered to remove all seatbelts from new vehicles.
• Whitehouse .gov will now have a store front so you can buy pardons directly.
• US citizenship is now based on a monthly subscription plan
• Car manufacturers are ordered to remove all seatbelts from new vehicles.
• Whitehouse .gov will now have a store front so you can buy pardons directly.
• US citizenship is now based on a monthly subscription plan
January 22, 2026 at 5:08 PM
New EOs from the Trump administration that aren't real but sound like they could be.
• Car manufacturers are ordered to remove all seatbelts from new vehicles.
• Whitehouse .gov will now have a store front so you can buy pardons directly.
• US citizenship is now based on a monthly subscription plan
• Car manufacturers are ordered to remove all seatbelts from new vehicles.
• Whitehouse .gov will now have a store front so you can buy pardons directly.
• US citizenship is now based on a monthly subscription plan
Reposted by jex thomas
Related: political messaging is not a way to trick voters into voting for you, it is a way to present your values and your self as a political actor.
Mamdani didn’t focus on a nebulous affordability, he focused on specific policies relating to the office, AND he stood firm on other values. Schumer is focusing on affordability with NO coherent policies IN ORDER to avoid discussing policies and values directly relating to his office. No tricky
The pivot from "Mamdani is a political genius for focusing his message almost entirely on affordability" to "Schumer is a political moron for focusing his message almost entirely on affordability" is odd.
January 22, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Related: political messaging is not a way to trick voters into voting for you, it is a way to present your values and your self as a political actor.
Reposted by jex thomas
This is an amazing thread and is giving me so much hope.
We are going to win and the fascists are bound to lose.
We protect ourselves.
We are going to win and the fascists are bound to lose.
We protect ourselves.
I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
January 22, 2026 at 11:26 AM
This is an amazing thread and is giving me so much hope.
We are going to win and the fascists are bound to lose.
We protect ourselves.
We are going to win and the fascists are bound to lose.
We protect ourselves.
Reposted by jex thomas
A really amazing thread about what is actually happening on the ground in Minneapolis. This is the kind of thing even the "alternative" press often fail to report. A must read.
I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
January 22, 2026 at 12:34 PM
A really amazing thread about what is actually happening on the ground in Minneapolis. This is the kind of thing even the "alternative" press often fail to report. A must read.
Right wing ideology is mired in abuser logic because it's about maintaining a supposedly naturally justified hierarchy that itself replicates the first hierarchies: the family, and our relationship with God. It's specifically about power and control and who is allowed to wield it.
cannot be overstated how much conservative ideology is almost identical to the worldview of a rapist
US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent:
What I am urging everyone here to do is sit back, take a deep breath, and let things play out. The worst thing countries can do is escalate against the United States.
What I am urging everyone here to do is sit back, take a deep breath, and let things play out. The worst thing countries can do is escalate against the United States.
January 22, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Right wing ideology is mired in abuser logic because it's about maintaining a supposedly naturally justified hierarchy that itself replicates the first hierarchies: the family, and our relationship with God. It's specifically about power and control and who is allowed to wield it.
Read this thread.
I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
January 22, 2026 at 4:38 AM
Read this thread.
Reposted by jex thomas
Thoughts on Avery's thread:
Creating ttRPGs as an *industry* makes a project this way (as does rote copying industry advice). However, the question left hanging is if we need to follow that pattern? I think it depends upon *why* you are publishing and *how* you determine success.
Creating ttRPGs as an *industry* makes a project this way (as does rote copying industry advice). However, the question left hanging is if we need to follow that pattern? I think it depends upon *why* you are publishing and *how* you determine success.
But the way that the TTRPG industry uses it, as a high-profile, boom-or-bust product launch strategy that leverages flashy upsells and manufactured urgency to try to make number go up, that stakes 6-18 months of work on how big that number gets, structurally produces precarity and volatility.
January 21, 2026 at 7:01 AM
Thoughts on Avery's thread:
Creating ttRPGs as an *industry* makes a project this way (as does rote copying industry advice). However, the question left hanging is if we need to follow that pattern? I think it depends upon *why* you are publishing and *how* you determine success.
Creating ttRPGs as an *industry* makes a project this way (as does rote copying industry advice). However, the question left hanging is if we need to follow that pattern? I think it depends upon *why* you are publishing and *how* you determine success.
Reposted by jex thomas
"...Heated Rivalry didn’t become a phenomenon because it was loud. It became one because it was honest."
#Medium
medium.com/theuglymonst...
#Medium
medium.com/theuglymonst...
Heated Rivalry (2025): Sincerity at the Center
Has anyone left the cottage?
medium.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:53 AM
"...Heated Rivalry didn’t become a phenomenon because it was loud. It became one because it was honest."
#Medium
medium.com/theuglymonst...
#Medium
medium.com/theuglymonst...
Reposted by jex thomas
I am always in awe of creators who doggedly continue to find the shape of the—well—THING that they're trying to create, and I strive to follow their lead more. To cherish all the fragmented notes, hopeful ideas and just plain dead-ends; to return to the material again and again.
January 21, 2026 at 2:14 PM
I am always in awe of creators who doggedly continue to find the shape of the—well—THING that they're trying to create, and I strive to follow their lead more. To cherish all the fragmented notes, hopeful ideas and just plain dead-ends; to return to the material again and again.
Reposted by jex thomas
Take a breath. How can you work towards ending fascism, whether in your home country or abroad? How can you work towards holding and maintaining nuance in the face of collective helplessness driving us towards our worst impulses as a species?
January 21, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Take a breath. How can you work towards ending fascism, whether in your home country or abroad? How can you work towards holding and maintaining nuance in the face of collective helplessness driving us towards our worst impulses as a species?
Reposted by jex thomas
What frightens me most about what comes next after Trump is that American and European liberals will run campaigns of "let's go back to how things were before Trump". All they're willing to offer is prolonging the road to a doomed future.
January 21, 2026 at 3:10 PM
What frightens me most about what comes next after Trump is that American and European liberals will run campaigns of "let's go back to how things were before Trump". All they're willing to offer is prolonging the road to a doomed future.
Reposted by jex thomas
Band-Aids & Bullet Holes, my John Wick-inspired bloody revenge opera deckbuilder RPG named after a Taylor Swift lyric, is coming to Kickstarter in May.
Look good, feel bad, do violence, cry about it, repeat. Just like your day job.
Look good, feel bad, do violence, cry about it, repeat. Just like your day job.
Coming soon: Band-Aids & Bullet Holes
Get your bloody revenge. A deckbuilder tabletop rpg about assassins and their vendettas.
www.kickstarter.com
January 21, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Band-Aids & Bullet Holes, my John Wick-inspired bloody revenge opera deckbuilder RPG named after a Taylor Swift lyric, is coming to Kickstarter in May.
Look good, feel bad, do violence, cry about it, repeat. Just like your day job.
Look good, feel bad, do violence, cry about it, repeat. Just like your day job.
Reposted by jex thomas
Reposted by jex thomas
Yesssssss!
A few other thoughts:
A few other thoughts:
New Blog Post! I (Emily) wanted to put down some tips for those of you who are hiring layout designers to layout your games.
Thanks to the Explorer's Design discord also for their thoughts.
Thanks to the Explorer's Design discord also for their thoughts.
How to Deliver your Game Copy to a Layout Designer - Graftbound
Make layout design faster, more efficient, and less prone to mistakes with tips for TTRPG writers on delivering your manuscript to your layout designer.
graftbound.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Yesssssss!
A few other thoughts:
A few other thoughts:
Reposted by jex thomas
@maggiemaefish.bsky.social has been making solid analysis videos for years but their latest on copaganda in true crime is a banger! Hooo boy!
Strong recommend:
youtu.be/shhuSXQTtX4
Strong recommend:
youtu.be/shhuSXQTtX4
Why aren't more True Crime creators anti-cop??
YouTube video by Maggie Mae Fish
youtu.be
January 21, 2026 at 4:56 PM
@maggiemaefish.bsky.social has been making solid analysis videos for years but their latest on copaganda in true crime is a banger! Hooo boy!
Strong recommend:
youtu.be/shhuSXQTtX4
Strong recommend:
youtu.be/shhuSXQTtX4
Reposted by jex thomas
If it's okay, I want to comment on exactly one dimension of the recent Rascal story about Yazeba's B&B, Possum Creek Games, Jay Dragon (note: a friend), and leaving vital contributors in the lurch:
I hate the warping impact that boom-or-bust product launch crowdfunding has on the TTRPG industry.
I hate the warping impact that boom-or-bust product launch crowdfunding has on the TTRPG industry.
January 21, 2026 at 4:35 AM
If it's okay, I want to comment on exactly one dimension of the recent Rascal story about Yazeba's B&B, Possum Creek Games, Jay Dragon (note: a friend), and leaving vital contributors in the lurch:
I hate the warping impact that boom-or-bust product launch crowdfunding has on the TTRPG industry.
I hate the warping impact that boom-or-bust product launch crowdfunding has on the TTRPG industry.
Reposted by jex thomas
I have no idea what the deal is here but I'm reluctant to ask management to fix it because it is hilarious. thank you This Year book club crew for alerting me to this remarkable remix
@themountaingoats.bsky.social John we're all confused about the YouTube track for today's "This Year" entry, it is the official TMG account but sounds not right at all! youtu.be/HYruyOxr_Vk?...
Quetzalcoatal Comes Through
YouTube video by The Mountain Goats - Topic
youtu.be
January 20, 2026 at 1:28 PM
I have no idea what the deal is here but I'm reluctant to ask management to fix it because it is hilarious. thank you This Year book club crew for alerting me to this remarkable remix