“Kill shelters” are the shelters you need to donate to.
“But shrimp!! Kill shelters are evil!!”
No, shut up, listen to me for a second.
“Kill shelter” is a colloquial term used primarily for Town/City (aka municipal) shelters that rely on incredibly limited government grant funding to operate.
These shelters, by the very nature of their existence, DO NOT HAVE the funds to operate like private rescues do.
On top of this, they’re also *legally required* to take in ANY animal that comes to them. Even if they’re full. Or they’ll lose all of their funding.
This is what leads them to needing to euthanize for space. Is euthanizing for space sad? Yes. But due to the current crisis, it’s also NECESSARY.
These shelters are constantly overfull. They’re STRUGGLING. They don’t have the funds to operate properly. And yet these municipal, government funded, struggling shelters are the same ones that are most likely to be providing care for owned animals in the community
Municipal (“kill”) shelters are the ones hosting low cost spay and neuter clinics. They’re the ones discounting vaccination appointments and microchipping. They’re the ones that have pet food banks so struggling pet owners can feed their pets that week.
These shelters are not evil. They’re doing the absolute best they can with the bare minimum funding they get.
These people are incredibly resourceful and care very deeply about the animals in their care. It breaks their heart every time they have to euthanize an animal that couldn’t get adopted.
These underfunded shelters need your money significantly more than that fancy private rescue you see on TikTok or instagram that has a beautiful facility and has never had to euthanize an animal ever.
Support your local shelters and they will give back to the community thousand fold.
Sincerely, an animal welfare student who’s tired of seeing the hardest working professionals shat on because of circumstances they can’t control.
His name is Chris Gatlin. He’s a Black man. AI has, for years, been worse at recognizing Black people. Black activists have been speaking up for years about how police use of AI will perpetuate racism in the justice system.
The victim repeatedly told the police that he was not a reliable witness due to sustaining a head injury from the assault. On top of this, police pressured the victim into identifying Gatlin as the suspect, even though he had already identified two other suspects. It took 17 months police to finally hand over the bodycam footage, which they conveniently forgot to say existed in the first place. The case was dismissed soon after.
They didn’t stop because she shit in the tube - she had a diaper on because they knew poop would obstruct the particles as well. She eventually stopped running through the tubes because they became too long for her. At that point she was retired and became a pet!
A while back a friend asked me to write up some pointers for how I write descriptive text. You know, for dungeons and such. I gave her the LICHES method, which I'm posting here now.
The primary purpose of descriptive text is to clue players in to what they need to pay attention to. When you ask your players, "What do you do?" think of that as less of an open-ended question and more multiple choice. Your descriptive text gives your players the potential answers. (This is, of course, a broad statement. Players will always pull something out of left field.)
Good descriptive text includes any applicable lights, interactables, characters, hazards, egress, and senses—LICHES.
Light
Characters should know how much light they’re dealing with, and what the source is. Sconces, torches, moonlight coming in from a window? Sunlight filtering in from the forest canopy?
Interactables
If there’s something in this room the characters are meant to look at or touch, put it in. If you want them searching in the desks, tell them there are desks. The opposite is ALSO true. If you put something notable in your description, players are going to expect to get something out of interacting with or studying it.
Characters
If there are people in this room, what are they doing? It's very helpful to give DMs a look at the "moment before" for any NPCs in your description. What were they up to before the characters interrupt their lives? This goes for monsters, too, if they’re readily visible.
Hazards
This one should probably come earlier on the list. Like if something's on fire, you either mention it FIRST or LAST. But lesser-noticeable hazards, like "patched-up holes" or "slits in the wall" can be mentioned casually, without drawing a gigantic verbal arrow to it.
Egress
Some people might disagree with me on this, but it’s very helpful to be told that there are doors, even if they’re already on the map. Some tables don't run maps, and sometimes your VTT's fog of war tool obscures what is and isn't a point of egress on your map.
Senses
A lot of LICHE is based on what the characters can see, but you can play with the other senses as well. Characters can smell “a foul odor wafting from the pile of corpses,” hear “the lazy whistling of a popular folk song,” or maybe even taste “the salt on the wind at the docks.”
Putting it all together you might get:
Fire crackles in the hearth, casting long shadows on the papered wall and the sturdy oak desk pushed against it. An orange tabby yawns and stretches out on the plush armchair, revealing for an instant her sharp claws. Two doors lead out of the room: the western door that leads further into the house, and the eastern door that opens into the porch.
L: Fire
I: Oak Desk
C: Cat
H: The cat's claws (watch out)
E: Door into the house, Door out to the porch
S: The crackle of the fire, the plushness of the chair
Don't worry about making this stuff sound poetic. You just need to give the players a list of things they can interact with or react to. Role playing gets compared to improv a lot, and there are a lot of similarities! Think of an effective description as the thing your players say "yes, and" to.
And you don't have to include every letter in LICHES if you don't want to, or if they don't apply. Sometimes a room is empty. There may be no hazards. But this rule of thumb has really helped me write up some descriptions for both published adventures and home games.
I was catching up on the ghostfire gaming podcast when this method was brought up and I IMMEDIATELY had to go hunting for it. Seriously friends, delightfully succinct and helpful advice here. Including this in my methodology immediately.
I hate when people ask me about my preference but I don’t understand their preference level. Like yes I kinda want Chinese food 10% more than I want a sandwich but if you want a sandwich like 40% more than Chinese food then I would say it’s totally reasonable we get sandwiches.
Kaladin, reunited with his parents after four years as a soldier, a year as a slave, a few months as the bodyguard of the most powerful man in the kingdom, and now, as something he's slowly starting to figure out while the apocalpyse is happening. Meanwhile, Syl is the only one who knows for a fact that family reunions are supposed to be JOYFUL, storm it!
My prints: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JennyDolfenArt
My Procreate brushes: https://jennydolfenart.gumroad.com/
Looking for a stormy or colorful summer beach read?
@priscellie and Ihad way too much fun creating some romance novel versions of Rhythm of War and Warbreaker. I made the illustrations and Priscillie made them look like actual books – beautifully ridiculous, curly typography, mock-up and all.
I hope that there will be more :D
Image description: (by Priscillie)
Photomanipulation of two battered paperback pulp romance novels that look straight out of a thrift store bargain bin in the 1980s. The books are RHYTHM OF WAR and WARBREAKER by Sandra Branderson.
RHYTHM OF WAR features an illustration of Navani and Raboniel experimenting with light, Raboniel looming behind Navani and leaning in, their faces almost touching. Raboniel streams voidlight from her image-left hand, which travels like lightning through Navani's tuning fork and into the sphere in Navani's gloved safehand. It's the primary source of light in the scene, and the background is nothing but murky darkness. Raboniel focuses intently, her red eyes alien and unknowable, as she focuses on her work. One of Navani's unkempt locks of hair just brushes the corner of Raboniel's mouth, and I'm not normal about it. Navani looks like she's gone three days without changing clothes and that she's slept in her hairstyle a similar number of nights. The collar of her havah is open, revealing her collarbones. Her expression is a mix of amazement, fear, and exhaustion, her mouth slightly open and her head tilted back slightly. Her face is lit from below by their experiment. The title and author's name are angled at a sharp diagonal, with strong capital letters and the occasional flourish. At the top is the tagline "In the Heart of War... Passion and Honor are Fused!" In one corner is some publication information, with a little logo of a seal and the words "A 'Sealed With a Kiss' Paperback," the fake ISBN 17S-631-1123-1210 (the last two sets of numbers being our birthdays), and prices in America and Canada.
The other book is Warbreaker, also by Sandra Branderson. The illustration depicts Susebron and Siri in a ridiculously overblown, windswept Fabio-style cover, with a shirtless Susebron holding Siri so she's half sitting on his chest, one knee up with her thigh along his chest, her legs off to one side, and with her body twisted so she's facing him with her upper body, leaning down to him, a breath away from kissing him. She's wearing a teal dress with a Mesoamerican vibe that reveals her midriff and leaves her shoulders bare, but with a long train that blows off to the side. Her arms are painted in looping gold shapes. Her hair is blonde for most of its length, but it's beginning to change to a vivid red at the scalp. It's wrapped in teal ribbon to match her dress. Susebron has long, sleek black hair caught by the wind, chunky gold earrings and a slim gold cuff at his upper arm, and is wrapped in long white strips of awakened cloth that snake through the image in an energetic explosion of fabric. He gazes at her in handsome adoration and abandon, and she gazes back in love tempered by concern. The title has the same diagonal and italicized design with the same typeface and flourishes, but the title is jazzed up with shimmery, iridescent type. At the top is the tagling "She was forced to marry a god... Then she took his breath away!"
It’s the season for treason (and romance) and what better seasoning for this than planning regicide with your best mate and captain (forever).
And as a treat in the next days @priscellie and I want to show you the additions we made (mainly in text by my partner in crime and fictional romance) for the book jackets we printed for display only at Nexus. NO, WE CANNOT SELL THEM (for various reason. Sorry! 🥲)
I’ll tell you these descriptions and quotes are worth reading:
❤️🩷❤️ on the back of the book ❤️🩷❤️
“You don’t need to salute me, Moash,” Kaladin said. “You’re lighteyed now. You outrank me by a mile or two.”
“I’ll never outrank you, Kal,” Moash said, faceplate of his helm up. “You’re my captain. Forever.”
Kaladin Stormblessed was not a man who trusted easily. After enduring slavery and injustice, shame and loss, there was only one man he could open his heart to: Moash, a brother-in-arms who understood his pain like none other.
Now, Kaladin has won for his men a tenuous freedom and a heavy responsibility, guarding the royal family from assassins. As he struggles with the burdens of living up to his ideals and proving the worth of his entire caste, a new threat emerges: Moash himself, whose thirst for vengeance drives him to target the king Kaladin has been charged to defend.
Amid clashing oaths, Kaladin must decide: which act of protection is the greater betrayal?
(Meanwhile, Shallan balances becoming a super spy and dating a human golden retriever.)
“F*** Moash, but in a FUN way!”
MARA J. SAAS
❤️🩷❤️
Praise for Sandra Branderson’s WORDS OF RADIANCE
❤️🩷❤️
“Sandra Branderson weaves heartbreak and heroism into a dazzling tapestry of betrayal and redemption. This is romantasy at its most gut-wrenching. I’m still crying.”
Londa Fee
“Only Branderson could take a subplot about loyalty, revenge, socioeconomic inequality, and morally dubious choices and soulcast it into an unforgettable love story.”
Brett Peters
“Move over, epic battles. Sandra Branderson proves the most devastating wars are waged within the heart. This book will leave you breathless, teary-eyed, and desperate for more. Like her characters, amirite?”
Astoria Vaub
“This book severed my heart like a shardblade cleaving a soul.”Comment on Instagram
“Can I steal her keyboard? Maybe just the H key? Slow her down in some way?”
Martina George
“I am breaking into her house to steal the H key as we speak.”
Patricia Rothfaux
“Sleep is for people who don’t know how to have fun.”
Priscilla and Marie
As promised here the additions for the first part of Sandra Branderson's Way of Kings (Part 1 ... yes, why only make one if you can split them, does the full hardcover copy of Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings fit into this jacket, yes... it only shows how PROLIFIC Sandra is. All that slow burn takes up space.)
As with the other covers, the amazing text (and that first ID) is written and put into layout by the wonderful @priscellie
💙💜 on the back of the cover 💜💙
“I’d decided I couldn’t do it, but you convinced me that truth was not as simple as I thought it. You’ve opened a box full of storms in me. I made a mistake. I’ll make more. I need you.”
Jasnah took a deep breath. “Sit down.”
Shallan sat.
In the cavernous halls of the Kharbranth Palaneum, where ancient secrets lie hidden among the dusty tomes, young and fiery Shallan Davar seeks more than just knowledge. Drawn by desperation to protect her crumbling house, Shallan sets her sights on the enigmatic Jasnah Kholin, sister to the king, renowned for her scholarship and infamous for her heresy and icy demeanor.
Amid sharp debates and lessons in philosophy, sparks fly in the most unexpected of ways. As the two women navigate the shadows of trust and betrayal, secrets of both heart and history are uncovered.
(Also, a bunch of sweaty, desperate, shirtless men learn how to use their spears, if you know what I mean.).
“Smart, seductive, and utterly spellbinding. Sandra Branderson’s novels are the stuff of legend!”
Jordanne Roberts
💙💜 Praise for Sandra 💜💙
“Nobody writes romance like Sandra!”
Dana G. Abbledon
“In Elantris, Branderson has crafted a lush tapestry of passion, power, and romance that burns brighter than any aon.”
Booklist
“Isn’t Warbreaker already a romance novel?”
Some Dude on Reddit
“I have already bought 631 copies of this book based on the cover alone.”
Argent
“Sandra Branderson writes all the steamy romances that Brandon can only allude to.” - io9
“ANOTHER one? Already?”
Martina George
“Sandra Branderson must be stopped.”
Patricia Rothfaux
“It’s possible to take a joke too far.”
Neither of these collaborators
at any stage of this project.
Just imagine being Adolin, the resident “normal dude” for a second throughout the books. Oh the crab people you were fighting ? Turns out they’re actually the native people of this world & also fucking your brother. Speaking of brothers, you have an extra one who you already have a homoerotic relationship with but that’s not that big of a deal. He’s also dead right now but he does that all the time so whatever. Your streak of bad luck with dating? Oh look you found the perfect magic wife good job. Just kidding she’s actually like 4 people & also stuck in cognitive purgatory. Also your dad is god, dead & also killed your mom but you got a message from your god-dad saying he was sorry right before he became your dead dad & honestly that’s all you really need. Also also you’re getting slutshamed by your sword, who is now your leg too.
& then you’re still just like “I’m the last normal guy in the age of the radiants”.
I loved the fact that Renarin and Rlain freed Ba-Ado-Mishram together. The fact that she was inprisoned when she was accepting an agreement to find peace with humans so singers and humans could be together was so unfair, but having a human-singer couple giving her her freedom back feels really poetic. Those boys are going to change Roshar, and I'll be so happy and proud to see them do it in later books.
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