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eliaofdxrne · 3 months ago

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♛ → DORNE presents ELIA MARTELL, the PRINCESS of SUNSPEAR. when the dragons danced in the sky they thought NEITHER would still fly, but in the blink of an eye, they would all die. the TWENTY-FIVE year old CIS WOMAN who was CHARISMATIC & HELPFUL before they saw the first of the flames, is now SPOILED & VAIN after seeing the last. they’re often associated with the golden hour of the setting sun, the wind in your hair when running on horseback, deep red lips stained with wine . ( banita sandhu )

pinterest 𖤓 playlist 𖤓 wanted connections 𖤓 character building 𖤓 timeline 𖤓 tasks

history

one

a daughter of house martell, princess elia has long believed she was born blessed, with luck always on her side. the gods blessed her from birth, and that is not something she takes for granted.

it did not help that she was a charming, happy child, one that was impossible to say no to. she was given everything she ever asked for, and as a result, came to expect it. she wasn’t necessarily bratty, always making a show of her gratitude when requests were granted, but certainly spoiled, and prone to taking it personally on the rare occasions where what she asked for was denied to her.

from an early age, she has always surrounded herself with people, with a talent for making everyone she meets feel as though she is their best friend in the world. it’s rare to see elia alone, always surrounded by an array of faces, both old friends and new acquaintances. she’ll give everyone a chance.

two

she’s always considered herself an intelligent, perceptive girl, and to some extent, she is, but she has weaknesses, and that’s her family - particularly mors martell. when he lived, she missed a lot of the signs. she saw the best in him, and was oblivious to the worst.

in contrast, she took a dislike to mors’ wife, myriam. it wasn’t instant, but over time, she began to take issue over time. unable to see her brother’s flaws, she slowly became horrified with how she perceived her treatment of him to be.

from the moment princess leila was born, elia has had suspicions that she is not of martell blood. she has no proof of this, but it’s a niggling doubt in her mind she can’t rid herself of. for that reason, she’s always kept her distance from her. she isn’t cruel, and is courteous enough, will give her gifts on her namedays and when expected to, but it’s very clear that she has little interest in loving her, because she can’t bring herself to start caring for a child to be heartbroken later on.

three

mors’ death was a shock to her, but a bigger shock was that, after his passing, people began to speak more openly about the kind of man he was. at first, she angrily denied their words, but the more she heard, the more she was forced to admit that not everyone could be wrong. coming to terms with the idea that mors was not the man she thought he was has been a long and painful process, and one that is currently not fully complete.

despite her eyes being opened, she can still not forgive what she sees as myriam’s disrespect of mors. when she remarried, she was torn between being pleased to be rid of her and bristling at the concept of her remarrying.

elia believes that sunspear should always remain in martell hands (part of why she is so concerned with leila’s parentage). myriam's regency is a great wrong in her eyes, one that she believes makes her family look weak and a source of contention. it is yet another way that myriam has weakened her family name, and she harbours a lot of anger from it.

in the time since mors died, elia has grown more suspicious, more calculated, and more sneaky. she doesn't easily trust anybody around her, and often lies awake wondering if the martells have any true allies in dorne.

personality

basics

elia is a very nosy person. she wants to know everything about everyone, and adores hearing and sharing gossip. her tongue was once loose, and she finds it incredibly difficult to keep a secret, but in recent times she has become better at holding information close.

perhaps due to her spoiled upbringing, elia has a high amount of confidence in herself, and this absolutely tips over into outright vanity. she’s full of hubris, though she calls it self-love, and believes herself to be the luckiest girl in the world - and more than that, that she fully deserves all the good fortune that comes her way.

she likes to be liked and admired, and though she’s a classic extrovert who surrounded herself with people, she will always favour the people who flatter her the most.

she can be controlling, preferring for things to be done her way. she likes having a voice in things, so is always eager to help when she can, even if it is just to ensure that her opinions are heard and that she has made a contribution.

she’s not an unintelligent woman, performing well in her studies as a younger woman, and she can be perceptive, but elia is not as smart as she believes herself to be. she’s prone to honing in on the smaller details, and missing the bigger picture (see her views on mors)

she’s more than used to getting her own way, and even when denied to her, she knows how to persuade people until they give in and she gets it.

she’s very good at performing well under pressure. even when agitated, she doesn’t break.

goals

if asked what she wanted out of life, elia would laugh and respond with “what more could i wish for?” she truly believes herself to be the luckiest girl in the world. however, there’s definitely something missing with her, and she can’t quite put her finger on what it is (alexa play lucky by britney spears).

however, she does want to reclaim some honour and control for her family, believing that's been ripped from her by myriam.

fears

her biggest fear is that leila is not of martell blood. genuinely keeps her up at night.

respect is important to her. she’s happy to give it, but expects it back in return, and fears the loss of control that comes with being disrespected.

other

it takes elia hours to get ready in the morning, no matter what she is doing. her beauty routine is long and complex, but almost therapeutic for her. she’s committed to self care. for this reason, she is late to absolutely everything.

from a young age, many of her requests for gifts have been animal related. she adores animals, and has many pets, but has a special place in her heart for horses. she spends half her life on the back of a sand steed.

#𖤓 character building ╱ and what will become of me when i have lost my novelty?#credit to zaldritzosrose who made the divider #linked in source

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asgardian--angels · 6 days ago

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Planet's Fucked: What Can You Do To Help? (Long Post)

Since nobody is talking about the existential threat to the climate and the environment a second Trump term/Republican government control will cause, which to me supersedes literally every other issue, I wanted to just say my two cents, and some things you can do to help. I am a conservation biologist, whose field was hit substantially by the first Trump presidency. I study wild bees, birds, and plants.

In case anyone forgot what he did last time, he gagged scientists' ability to talk about climate change, he tried zeroing budgets for agencies like the NOAA, he attempted to gut protections in the Endangered Species Act (mainly by redefining 'take' in a way that would allow corporations to destroy habitat of imperiled species with no ramifications), he tried to do the same for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (the law that offers official protection for native non-game birds), he sought to expand oil and coal extraction from federal protected lands, he shrunk the size of multiple national preserves, HE PULLED US OUT OF THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT, and more.

We are at a crucial tipping point in being able to slow the pace of climate change, where we decide what emissions scenario we will operate at, with existential consequences for both the environment and people. We are also in the middle of the Sixth Mass Extinction, with the rate of species extinctions far surpassing background rates due completely to human actions. What we do now will determine the fate of the environment for hundreds or thousands of years - from our ability to grow key food crops (goodbye corn belt! I hated you anyway but), to the pressure on coastal communities that will face the brunt of sea level rise and intensifying extreme weather events, to desertification, ocean acidification, wildfires, melting permafrost (yay, outbreaks of deadly frozen viruses!), and a breaking down of ecosystems and ecosystem services due to continued habitat loss and species declines, especially insect declines. The fact that the environment is clearly a low priority issue despite the very real existential threat to so many people, is beyond my ability to understand. I do partly blame the public education system for offering no mandatory environmental science curriculum or any at all in most places. What it means is that it will take the support of everyone who does care to make any amount of difference in this steeply uphill battle.

There are not enough environmental scientists to solve these issues, not if public support is not on our side and the majority of the general public is either uninformed or actively hostile towards climate science (or any conservation science).

So what can you, my fellow Americans, do to help mitigate and minimize the inevitable damage that lay ahead?

I'm not going to tell you to recycle more or take shorter showers. I'll be honest, that stuff is a drop in the bucket. What does matter on the individual level is restoring and protecting habitat, reducing threats to at-risk species, reducing pesticide use, improving agricultural practices, and pushing for policy changes. Restoring CONNECTIVITY to our landscape - corridors of contiguous habitat - will make all the difference for wildlife to be able to survive a changing climate and continued human population expansion.

**Caveat that I work in the northeast with pollinators and birds so I cannot provide specific organizations for some topics, including climate change focused NGOs. Scientists on tumblr who specialize in other fields, please add your own recommended resources. **

We need two things: FUNDING and MANPOWER.

You may surprised to find that an insane amount of conservation work is carried out by volunteers. We don't ever have the funds to pay most of the people who want to help. If you really really care, consider going into a conservation-related field as a career. It's rewarding, passionate work.

At the national level, please support:

The Nature Conservancy

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Cornell Lab of Ornithology (including eBird)

National Audubon Society

Federal Duck Stamps (you don't need to be a hunter to buy one!)

These first four work to acquire and restore critical habitat, change environmental policy, and educate the public. There is almost certainly a Nature Conservancy-owned property within driving distance of you. Xerces plays a very large role in pollinator conservation, including sustainable agriculture, native bee monitoring programs, and the Bee City/Bee Campus USA programs. The Lab of O is one of the world's leaders in bird research and conservation. Audubon focuses on bird conservation. You can get annual memberships to these organizations and receive cool swag and/or a subscription to their publications which are well worth it. You can also volunteer your time; we need thousands of volunteers to do everything from conducting wildlife surveys, invasive species removal, providing outreach programming, managing habitat/clearing trails, planting trees, you name it. Federal Duck Stamps are the major revenue for wetland conservation; hunters need to buy them to hunt waterfowl but anyone can get them to collect!

THERE ARE DEFINITELY MORE, but these are a start.

Additionally, any federal or local organizations that seek to provide support and relief to those affected by hurricanes, sea level rise, any form of coastal climate change...

At the regional level:

These are a list of topics that affect major regions of the United States. Since I do not work in most of these areas I don't feel confident recommending specific organizations, but please seek resources relating to these as they are likely major conservation issues near you.

PRAIRIE CONSERVATION & PRAIRIE POTHOLE WETLANDS

DRYING OF THE COLORADO RIVER (good overview video linked)

PROTECTION OF ESTUARIES AND SALTMARSH, ESPECIALLY IN THE DELAWARE BAY AND LONG ISLAND (and mangroves further south, everglades etc; this includes restoring LIVING SHORELINES instead of concrete storm walls; also check out the likely-soon extinction of saltmarsh sparrows)

UNDAMMING MAJOR RIVERS (not just the Colorado; restoring salmon runs, restoring historic floodplains)

NATIVE POLLINATOR DECLINES (NOT honeybees. for fuck's sake. honeybees are non-native domesticated animals. don't you DARE get honeybee hives to 'save the bees')

WILDLIFE ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER (support the Mission Butterfly Center!)

INVASIVE PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES (this is everywhere but the specifics will differ regionally, dear lord please help Hawaii)

LOSS OF WETLANDS NATIONWIDE (some states have lost over 90% of their wetlands, I'm looking at you California, Ohio, Illinois)

INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE, esp in the CORN BELT and CALIFORNIA - this is an issue much bigger than each of us, but we can work incrementally to promote sustainable practices and create habitat in farmland-dominated areas. Support small, local farms, especially those that use soil regenerative practices, no-till agriculture, no pesticides/Integrated Pest Management/no neonicotinoids/at least non-persistent pesticides. We need more farmers enrolling in NRCS programs to put farmland in temporary or permanent wetland easements, or to rent the land for a 30-year solar farm cycle. We've lost over 99% of our prairies to corn and soybeans. Let's not make it 100%.

INDIGENOUS LAND-BACK EFFORTS/INDIGENOUS LAND MANAGEMENT/TEK (adding this because there have been increasing efforts not just for reparations but to also allow indigenous communities to steward and manage lands either fully independently or alongside western science, and it would have great benefits for both people and the land; I know others on here could speak much more on this. Please platform indigenous voices)

HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (get your neighbors to stop dumping fertilizers on their lawn next to lakes, reduce agricultural runoff)

OCEAN PLASTIC (it's not straws, it's mostly commercial fishing line/trawling equipment and microplastics)

A lot of these are interconnected. And of course not a complete list.

At the state and local level:

You probably have the most power to make change at the local level!

Support or volunteer at your local nature centers, local/state land conservancy non-profits (find out who owns&manages the preserves you like to hike at!), state fish & game dept/non-game program, local Audubon chapters (they do a LOT). Participate in a Christmas Bird Count!

Join local garden clubs, which install and maintain town plantings - encourage them to use NATIVE plants. Join a community garden!

Get your college campus or city/town certified in the Bee Campus USA/Bee City USA programs from the Xerces Society

Check out your state's official plant nursery, forest society, natural heritage program, anything that you could become a member of, get plants from, or volunteer at.

Volunteer to be part of your town's conservation commission, which makes decisions about land management and funding

Attend classes or volunteer with your land grant university's cooperative extension (including master gardener programs)

Literally any volunteer effort aimed at improving the local environment, whether that's picking up litter, pulling invasive plants, installing a local garden, planting trees in a city park, ANYTHING. make a positive change in your own sphere. learn the local issues affecting your nearby ecosystems. I guarantee some lake or river nearby is polluted

MAKE HABITAT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. Biggest thing you can do. Use plants native to your area in your yard or garden. Ditch your lawn. Don't use pesticides (including mosquito spraying, tick spraying, Roundup, etc). Don't use fertilizers that will run off into drinking water. Leave the leaves in your yard. Get your school/college to plant native gardens. Plant native trees (most trees planted in yards are not native). Remove invasive plants in your yard.

On this last point, HERE ARE EASY ONLINE RESOURCES TO FIND NATIVE PLANTS and LEARN ABOUT NATIVE GARDENING:

Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Resource Center

Pollinator Pathway

Audubon Native Plant Finder

Homegrown National Park (and Doug Tallamy's other books)

National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder (clunky but somewhat helpful)

Heather Holm (for prairie/midwest/northeast)

MonarchGard w/ Benjamin Vogt (for prairie/midwest)

Native Plant Trust (northeast & mid-atlantic)

Grow Native Massachusetts (northeast)

Habitat Gardening in Central New York (northeast)

There are many more - I'm not familiar with resources for western states. Print books are your biggest friend. Happy to provide a list of those.

Lastly, you can help scientists monitor species using citizen science. Contribute to iNaturalist, eBird, Bumblebee Watch, or any number of more geographically or taxonomically targeted programs (for instance, our state has a butterfly census carried out by citizen volunteers).

In short? Get curious, get educated, get involved. Notice your local nature, find out how it's threatened, and find out who's working to protect it that you can help with. The health of the planet, including our resilience to climate change, is determined by small local efforts to maintain and restore habitat. That is how we survive this. When government funding won't come, when we're beat back at every turn trying to get policy changed, it comes down to each individual person creating a safe refuge for nature.

Thanks for reading this far. Please feel free to add your own credible resources and organizations.

#us election #climate change #united states election #resources #native plants #this took 3 hours to write so maybe don't let it flop? i know i write long posts. i know i follow scientists on here #that study birds and corals and other creatures #i realize i did not link sources/resources for everything. i encourage those more qualified to add things on. i need to go to work

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