Eldritch Mlems

Tales From t he Tables is back with episode 58: The Yawning Portal, part 3!

As our intrepid misadventurers are about to descend into Undermountain, they cross paths with a certain Moon Elf cleric!

For those who might not know, Betheniel is my wife's precious character, and Angela's longest-running companion in our real D&D campaign, having been there since the very beginning years ago. It was an absolute joy to finally give him an introductory scene in the alternate timeline of TFTT :)

This is his way of telling me he wants to play. 😺

So I've got two female cats, a 1 year old and a 6 year old, and the younger one has such an ammonia stench to her pee that it's utterly noxious.

Common suggestions online are that the cat is dehydrated - which with two water fountains, wet food twice a day, and the sheer monsterous size of the pee clumps, is not the case. They've got three litter boxes which are scooped daily, so it's also not like we're leaving things to fester and grow more pungent. It's not a new development, her pee has always been really potent, so I'm also not thinking UTI.

I've tried sprinkling baking soda in the litter after scooping, which helps a bit with residual smells, but I'm looking for any suggestions to counter this constant ammonia assault.

The culprit:

One of my pet peeves of modern fantasy media is the notion that some people are "special" - and thus implied to be "better" - than other people because of some inherent magical ability. One of the best-known modern examples of this is the Harry Potter franchise, where the protagonists are mostly mages, and even the characters who actually care about the welfare of the latter do so in an extremely patronizing way - i.e. by stopping the "bad mages" rather than working together.

In #dnd and similar #ttrpg, the concept is represent by the "sorcerer" and similar characters who gained their cool powers from some innate birth ability rather than study and hard work.

And while there is nothing wrong with wanting to play such a character, just for once I would like to see an in-setting examination of what it means to have this privilege, instead of the more common:

"Oh no, woe is me, I have been born with special powers and will be hated and persecuted for them. Thus, I must spend most of my time in a secret society with my fellow very special people!"

To be clear, people born with privilege did not ask to be born with privilege, and cannot be blamed for that. However, they should also acknowledge that they have this privilege, and not assume that they are somehow "better" than people without it.

Cause then they maul your hand when you pet their belly :(

Sleepy days with Teddy. Unloading all the pics of him so everyone can have a good weekend. #mastodogs #dogs

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/36896486

Planned Parenthood has confirmed that its Downtown Pittsburgh location will close Jan. 23 and its Greensburg location will close Saturday. The Bridgeville clinic closed its doors in December. It’s unclear how long the clinics will remain closed.

Nearly half a dozen registered nurses and certified nurse practitioners left the organization for other jobs over the last several months, according to Michael J. Gibson, communications director for Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania (PPWP).

Planned Parenthood will continue to offer telehealth services during the closures for prescriptions and referrals. But patients seeking exams, STI testing and other care will have to find other providers.

also ear cropping

This nationally representative survey provides a critical snapshot into the experiences, concerns, and actions of LGBTQ people since the November 2024 election.

My camera was having issues but it still worked aftear a bit.