lin codega goes west
@lincodega
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writers room assistant IWTV S3—journalist, co-founder @rascal_news—rep: @bredalot—debut novel: MOTHEATER, Jan 25—🏳️⚧️ they/them
Los Angeles, CA
Joined April 2011
Tabletop games journalism has a new home. Say hi to Rascal News---a worker-owned, reader-supported alternative, independent newsroom focused on TTRPGs. Co-founded by yours truly, @RowanZeoli and @chasewrites.
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do you ever read a fanfic so good that it makes you so fucking angry you could chew through a pipe but like in a good way??.
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What in the LGBTQ is this.
Daniel Craig in an ad for Belvedere Vodka directed by Taika Waititi with original music by Rita Ora & Giggs.
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It means y’all are going to wait patiently as writers fight for their rights, livelihoods, and their stories! . Thanks!!!.
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Today was my first day as the Writer's Room Assistant on Interview with the Vampire. It's a lot of taking dictation, compiling notes, + sending outlines. I'm thrilled to start this journey on one of the best shows on air, with some of the smartest people in town.
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if only some intrepid heroes had warned us of the systemic dangers of capitalism by using dice, funny voices, and a combat focused physics engine.
Dimension 20 Live tickets now going for more than Taylor Swift tickets with dynamic and platinum pricing on
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HERE IT IS! The big announcement today is that @CriticalRole’s Mighty Nein are heading to Prime Video!
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This you?
Today's a big day for Sudowrite. We're launching Story Engine, an AI tool for writing long-form stories. Our awesome team worked with hundreds of novelists for months to build the ideal interface for writers and machines to collaborate on a narrative.
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I firmly believe that everyone playing DnD doesn’t realize just how easy it is to learn a new system when the core rules are only 20 pages and not 200. If you can learn and play DnD you can play ANYTHING, and I believe in you.
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Our job as critics is to ONLY discuss fun-ness, not *checks notes* culture, politics, or society. I repeat. Divorcing ourselves from reality is the ONLY OPTION.
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The only time you’ll ever see positive D+D rep on my TL
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I was able to speak to former and current WotC employees for this latest piece, and the situation inside the Seattle stronghold is dire. Here's a report on some of what happened in between the OGL 1.1 leak on Jan 5 and the apology yesterday.
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When I was 8 years old, I read Harry Potter for the first time. I loved it. Who didn’t? But It’s time for Harry Potter to die, and it has to die with us. Keep your memories. Kill your nostalgia.
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a chunk of anne rice's library is up for auction and this row of lots sent me into a fit.
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I am not sorry to report that the first look clip of Good Omens 2 is full of extreme homosexual domesticity, including a moment where Az and Crowley disappear into a room together saying “We’ll tell you what we talk about after.” Like my loves, my darlings, my fellow queers.
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I use they/them pronouns. I am nonbinary, transgender, queer person. Mx. is fine, but tbh just call me Linda or Lin. Thank you for all of this love for me, for gaming, for everything. Please try your best not to misgender me, and if you have energy, correct those who do.
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Yesterday, I received the full text of the OGL 1.1 from a reputable source. The updated Open Gaming License is incredibly restrictive, demands community surveillance and, most importantly, renders the previous WotC OGL an unauthorized agreement.
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You can still want the hot vampire boys to kiss while also knowing that they are bad men in an abusive relationship, it’s okay, it’s fiction, they’re horrible murdery vampires, it’s fine.
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NOW THAT STRAHD IS IN THE SRD GUESS WHO’S GOING TO WRITE A SMUTTY TRANSMAN VAMPIRE STRAHD NOVEL IT’S ME BABY!!! IT’S ME!!!!!.
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i gotta tell you doing Real Reporter shit like this was… very fucking fun. Sure we talked #TheLegendOfVoxMachina. We also talked about future-proofing @CriticalRole and how CR will always put fans first.
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hahahahahahahahahahahahaAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA. even MADE UP games even IMAGINATION games don't want you even FAKE LITTLE FUN LIES we tell each other said "No Thanks" like DUDE EVEN I WASN'T EVER BLOCKED. the levels you gotta go to for this. amazing.
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So everyone who fought for the OGL 1.0a is joining or forming a Union now right?.
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In other news, Matt Mercer (among others) is a fan of my work and I have that on fucking record.
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(We’re all thrilled about D&D but please remember to try and play and buy new games anyway.).
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@CultClassicCage tag me next time you put my name in your mouth, you amateur little goofball.
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Holy shit y’all. Dungeons & Dragons New OGL Will Be an 'Irrevocable' Creative Commons License.
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Lestat was Anne Rice’s precious little meow meow and she made him everyone’s problem.
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Have I ever watched an episode of Critical Role? No. I’m a TAZ boy. But even *I* understand the incredible, massive fandom around the Mighty Nein, and can pick out Mollymauk, Fjord, Jester, Caleb, Yasha, Nott, and… Bo? Beau? out of any piece of fan art.
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Reading more about how AI folks view art and this shit infuriates me. I don’t know a single self-respecting artist who wouldn’t explain to folks their process, their ideas, their generation, in detail, to anyone who showed general interest.
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just wrote “Bold of you to reach out to me.” in an email if anyone is curious about how my day is going.
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It's 2024 and Rolling Stone has just discovered Critical Role.
It's not just video games that dominate the digital airwaves — there’s a huge contingent of viewers who yearn for the old days of pen and paper. Meet the groups who have turned tabletop gaming into the internet's best longform hangout:
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Some IWTV fans asked. here's my copy of TVL so far. Part my job is to know this book backwards and forwards so I've read it at least three times, adding notes and story flags each time.
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In 2022, the head of the antitrans org Save Womens Sports said she had identified five verified reports of trans girls competing in K-12 sports. Five. In the entire nation.
BREAKING: The U.S. House of Representatives just voted 219-203 to ban trans girls from being able to participate in sports. The bill now heads to the Senate.
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Harrison Ford giving interviewers NOTHING literally saying “I just work here” when asked for introspection is the exact kind of old man energy I hope to emulate every day.
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Will someone at Wizards please roll for fucking initiative already??.
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and the actors getting on set, seeing the vibe and going 'absolutely the fuck not'.
iwtv is the best show on television because it has its showrunner going "here's the thing. are you okay with playing straight???" to his actors.
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are people really out here saying "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism" to justify buying The Pigfarts Game?? Y'all??. "no ethical consumption" is generally applied to basic necessities--food, housing, clothing, etc--not video games. y'all know that right? say yes.
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If you have had Pinkerton agents sent to your home, place of business, or trading card game store on behalf of Wizards of the Coast, please get in touch: lcodega@io9.com. Send via protonmail if you are concerned about safety. My Signal is available upon request.
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source: here is the updated ogl. i think you should see it. maybe there's a story here. me, god's perfect idiot, trying to find two brain cells to rub together, staring at the story of the year: . what the fuck.
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Critical Role-one of the biggest TTRPG companies in the world-released a fully playable chargen, encouraged playtesters to "talk widely" about their experience, and so far Rascal News is the only news outlet providing in-depth, critical, experiential commentary on the game.
From Darrington Press, #Daggerheart's first chargen playtest proves it has a solid foundation, but its double-duty narrative and stat-based character generation creates unnecessary pain points.
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It’s a-liiiiiiive! My 10 minute interview with @CriticalRole cast members @matthewmercer and @Marisha_Ray! We talk fandom, OpenDnD, will they make their own system, and what @DarringtonPress is positioned to produce in the future. Also, a more perfect screenshot doesn’t exist.
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When accusations of a sexual assault coverup at Wyrmwood Gaming went viral, I began to ask questions. This is not a story about those allegations, but about the accusations of unprofessionalism, disrespect, and deep-seated misogyny at the company.
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Y’all are never getting rid of me now. I’m going to be obnoxious as hell for weeks and I refuse to apologize.
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Trans Link means so much to so many trans people. With #TearsOfTheKingdom out today, it seemed fitting to showcase the trans readings and trans joy that so many of us get from playing as the Hero of Time. Link is such a gender. Let me tell you why.
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me, thinking about he/him pronouns, thinking about becoming an old man, thinking about top surgery: surely I'm just nonbinary. surely it stops there. surely. .
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I'm deeply impressed by how adamant the ttrpg space is about 1.0a but deauthorization has been wotcs red line, consistently. folks hope to make wotc back down entirely and I don't think it'll happen. when wotc tries to bargain will y'all bargain? when will YOU cut your losses?.
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Across a series of phone interviews with anonymous VFX insiders and artists, I did an investigation into the industry. The first question I asked… “Is Marvel really the worst company to work for?” The answer is… complicated—🧵.
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Dave Bautista I have 10 romcom pitches just for you. I have so many roles for you to be handsome and sensitive. I’m prepared to fight god.
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If you are a member of the #WotCstaff and you are experiencing harassment from fans of Dungeons & Dragons, because of the OGL 1.1 or #DnDBegone, please get in touch. I want to tell your stories and stand up for you, even if the execs won’t. 📧 lcodega@io9.com.
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comedy is all about timing.
Let's talk about the path forward.
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today, reporting on dnd, tomorrow talking to the vox machina cast AND rahul kohli?? we are having a wild week y'all.
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Wizards of the Coast Breaks Their Silence on the Dungeons & Dragons Open Game License.
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damn lin 2022 i wish i could have told you.
sad to report that i am writing IWTV fanfic.
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anyone suggesting that I'm being paid off by wotc to say "1.1 was awful. 1.2 is better. both mean you can't trust wotc" is getting blocked lmao.
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This is bullshit, btw. This is bad. And Rowling may not be “involved” but the Pigfarts Legacy game absolutely puts money in her pocket and ups her cultural cache. Like I respect what IGN does, but fuck this.
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I was SUCH a pessimist about this. I was sure this wasn’t going to happen. I thought I was being realistic and I was being fatalistic. This is an incredible, huge win for fandom, and I’m so thrilled.
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My bingo card is destroyed. Shredded. Dust in the wind. Nothing is on there. Nothing could have prepared me. Never in a million years.
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a reminder that i am trans and nonbinary and use they/them pronouns. i've given up trying to correct people, but if anyone sees me being misgendered in casual conversation it would mean a lot if you could speak up.
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Hey everyone upsetti spaghetti about this; don’t take it out on WotC staff! Phone calls go to real people. Emails, texts, etc, all go to real people. Keep up the resistance, but don’t make someone’s bad day worse. That said, keep calling, just kindly.
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A more repulsive conglomerate of transphobic cis ladies weaponizing their handwringing in order to defend the murder, harm, and disenfranchisement of trans people does not exist.
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. they’re right.
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io9 has new details about what happened after Wizards of the Coast (allegedly) hired the Pinkertons to take Magic: The Gathering Cards from a YouTuber, including an interview with Mr. Cannon. Also, did you know WotC has likely hired these guys before? .
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Wizards of the Coast (very, very likely) sent the literal Pinkertons to the house of an MTG fan who showed off a set of cards maybe two weeks before the official reveal date.
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A note as I work with IWTV for S3: who I am as a fan and shitposter and shipper is not who I am as a writer or a writers assistant. If you think you can divine S3 from my tweets in any way. you might be made a liar, I fear.
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The vampire brainrot is real. I've started dreaming about them.
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I don’t need D&D to make money, be successful, or do my job — which is precisely why I’m in a position as a journalist to critique, investigate, explore, and praise various parts of the TTRPG space. TTRPG Influencers, however, have a more direct investment in keeping D&D happy.
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pitch for an interview with con o’neill approved… now to find his publicists….
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Someone is scabbing and not even being quiet, cute, or smart about it. and using AI? . Son, if you can't come up with your own ideas without using AI you are failing the very first requirement for being a writer.
A #Netflix producer asked us to help develop a new series. He specifically asked for an AI-powered story development process. That's super exciting! 🚀.
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crying, sobbing, begging: I’m going to be on a flight for the next 6-8 hours, I sure hope nothing happens. 🫠.
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More of this please.
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This, uuuuh, is factually wrong?? And also a little bit racist!! TLM was outperformed by The Roundup, a massively popular Korean action series that got nearly 90% of all ticket sales last weekend?? Like TLM didn’t tank because the main character is Black??.
#TheLittleMermaid tanks in both China and South Korea amid a racist backlash over the casting of #HalleBailey in the role of Ariel #THRNews
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LIKE CAN YOU IMAGINE?? HOTD without writers, ROP without writers OR their show runners. It’s madness!!!.
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what-and I cannot stress this enough-the fuck world is this NYT writer living in??.
I’m dying to know for who this sentence was written. Who said “ah, yes ok, interesting…. Video games you say…. Played by adults?”
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If anyone at WotC or connected to WotC wants to reach out and tell me what’s going on… my email is open and I will keep you anonymous. 📧 lcodega@io9.com.
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ap op-ed on greed, goodwill, and finding power in saying no.
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neil gaiman and cory doctorow talking about the story i broke is. a whole fucking trip.
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some of y’all are going to get people fired, hurt, and blacklisted.
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They are on their back foot. They did NOT win. This was NOT the plan. Do not let yourself charitably imagine for a single moment that this is anything other than a dozen suits whispering, "we're not owned!" to themselves in fancy schmancy boardrooms.
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WOTC: Let’s send Linda a box of toys! . Linda: LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HOW FUCKED UP INFLUENCER CULTURE IS, ACTUALLY!. WOTC: o no. Linda: IT’S BAD AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD!. Paramount: so we have linda down for a screening next week and some cast interviews, that cool?. WOTC: …yes.
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*taps mic*: If you work for a company that has seen the new OGL 1.1 and you suspect that you will be affected by the new OGL 1.1 or you think that you will be fighting against the new OGL 1.1 please get in touch. I am willing to protect your anonymity. 📧 lcodega@io9.com.
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Last year my mid-60s father said "I want to read a Manga," because he never had before and he was like, let's try a new medium. I got him the first four volumes of Full Metal Alchemist for Christmas and he's just finished the first volume. Reader, he loves it.
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My favorites are the ones where they kitbash classical sculptures. Venus de Milo x Nike of Samothrace with Boticelli angels.
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I want to thank all the #WotCstaff who risked their jobs, livlihoods, and who knows what else to get me this information. Please, if any of ya'll take anything from this, please know that this was not something that the staff were excited about implementing.
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I need to take my dog out for a walk NOBODY fucking move. NOBODY touch anything. NOBODY set anything on fire.
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If you know something about Wyrmwood or have a story you want to tell about your experience there, please get in touch. 📧lcodega@io9.com.
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I got banned from the /MTGRumors reddit for asking for sources to help support my reporting, sure would be a shame if my “crappy online article” made it on there.
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I think it’s safe to de-ice the subtweet… I’m (very likely) going to be on @NPR’s All Things Considered with @jmsummers tomorrow, talking about DnD and the OGL.
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In 2007-8, a three month strike cost studios between 300 to 500 million dollars, LA lost an estimated 1 to 2 billion dollars, and the WGA forced steamers to recognize the union so when Netflix and Amazon began making original content they had to hire Guild Writers.
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I left yall in charge for 6 hours.
Gosh I sure hope nothing happens in the next 6-8 hours as I travel to LA that sure would be swell.
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So @Wizards_DnD hasn’t tweeted anything, sent out any PR, or posted at all since I first wrote about the full proposed OGL 1.1 on Jan 5. I suspect we'll hear something this week, but the lack of a response is both discouraging and damaging.
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I am not allowed and I cannot comment on EVERYTHING happening on a minute by minute basis (I gotta do a journalism), but I promise I am watching, taking notes, and preparing. Thank you all for all your support of my reporting. More to come.
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