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batboyblog · 8 months ago

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Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #32

August 30-September 6 2024.

President Biden announced $7.3 billion in clean energy investment for rural communities. This marks the largest investment in rural electrification since the New Deal. The money will go to 16 rural electric cooperatives across 23 states Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Together they will be able to generate 10 gigawatts of clean energy, enough to power 5 million households about 20% of America's rural population. This clean energy will reduce greenhouse emissions by 43.7 million tons a year, equivalent to removing more than 10 million cars off the road every year.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced a historic 10th offshore wind project. The latest project approved for the Atlantic coast of Maryland will generate 2,200 megawatts of clean, reliable renewable energy to power 770,000 homes. All together the 10 offshore wind projects approved by the Biden-Harris Administration will generation 15 gigawatts, enough to power 5.25 million homes. This is half way to the Administration's goal of 30 gigawatts of clean offshore wind power by 2030.

President Biden signed an Executive Order aimed at supporting and expanding unions. Called the "Good Jobs EO" the order will direct all federal agencies to take steps to recognize unions, to not interfere with the formation of unions and reach labor agreements on federally supported projects. It also directs agencies to prioritize equal pay and pay transparency, support projects that offer workers benefits like child care, health insurance, paid leave, and retirement benefits. It will also push workforce development and workplace safety.

The Department of Transportation announced $1 billion to make local roads safer. The money will go to 354 local communities across America to improve roadway safety and prevent deaths and serious injuries. This is part of the National Roadway Safety Strategy launched in 2022, since then traffic fatalities have decreased for 9 straight quarters. Since 2022 the program has supported projects in 1,400 communities effecting 75% of all Americans.

The Department of Energy announced $430 million to support America's aging hydropower. Hydropower currently accounts for nearly 27% of renewable electricity generation in the United States. However many of our dams were built during the New Deal for a national average of 79 years old. The money will go to 293 projects across 33 states. These updates will improve energy generation, workplace safety, and have a positive environmental impact on local fish and wildlife.

The EPA announced $300 million to help support tribal nations, and US territories cut climate pollution and boost green energy. The money will support projects by 33 tribes, and the Island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. EPA Administer Michael S. Regan announced the funds along side Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in Arizona to highlight one of the projects. A project that will bring electricity for the first time to 900 homes on the Hopi Reservation.

The Biden-Harris Administration is investing $179 million in literacy. This investment in the Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant is the largest in history. Studies have shown that the 3rd grade is a key moment in a students literacy development, the CLSD is designed to help support states research, develop, and implement evidence-based literacy interventions to help students achieve key literacy milestones.

The US government secured the release of 135 political prisoners from Nicaragua. Nicaragua's dictator President Daniel Ortega has jailed large numbers of citizens since protests against his rule broke out in 2018. In February 2023 the US secured the release of over 200 political prisoners. Human rights orgs have documented torture and sexual abuse in Ortega's prisons.

The Justice Department announced the disruption of a major effort by Russia to interfere with the 2024 US Elections. Russian propaganda network, RT, deployed $10 million to Tenet Media to help spread Russian propaganda and help sway the election in favor of Trump and the Republicans as well as disrupting American society. Tenet Media employs many well known conservative on-line personalities such as Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, Lauren Southern, Dave Rubin, Tayler Hansen and Matt Christiansen.

Vice-President Harris outlined her plan for Small Businesses at a campaign stop in New Hampshire. Harris wants to expand from $5,000 to $50,000 tax incentives for startup expenses. This would help start 25 million new small business over four years.

#Thanks Biden #Joe Biden #kamala harris #climate change #climate action #wind power #Russia #human rights #politics #US politics #america politics #worker's rights #road safety

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directactionforhope · 11 months ago

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"Starting this month [June 2024], thousands of young people will begin doing climate-related work around the West as part of a new service-based federal jobs program, the American Climate Corps, or ACC. The jobs they do will vary, from wildland firefighters and “lawn busters” to urban farm fellows and traditional ecological knowledge stewards. Some will work on food security or energy conservation in cities, while others will tackle invasive species and stream restoration on public land.

The Climate Corps was modeled on Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, with the goal of eventually creating tens of thousands of jobs while simultaneously addressing the impacts of climate change.

Applications were released on Earth Day, and Maggie Thomas, President Joe Biden’s special assistant on climate, told High Country News that the program’s website has already had hundreds of thousands of views. Since its launch, nearly 250 jobs across the West have been posted, accounting for more than half of all the listed ACC positions.

“Obviously, the West is facing tremendous impacts of climate change,” Thomas said. “It’s changing faster than many other parts of the country. If you look at wildfire, if you look at extreme heat, there are so many impacts. I think that there’s a huge role for the American Climate Corps to be tackling those crises.”

Most of the current positions are staffed through state or nonprofit entities, such as the Montana Conservation Corps or Great Basin Institute, many of which work in partnership with federal agencies that manage public lands across the West. In New Mexico, for example, members of Conservation Legacy’s Ecological Monitoring Crew will help the Bureau of Land Management collect soil and vegetation data. In Oregon, young people will join the U.S. Department of Agriculture, working in firefighting, fuel reduction and timber management in national forests.

New jobs are being added regularly. Deadlines for summer positions have largely passed, but new postings for hundreds more positions are due later this year or on a rolling basis, such as the Working Lands Program, which is focused on “climate-smart agriculture.” ...

On the ACC website, applicants can sort jobs by state, work environment and focus area, such as “Indigenous knowledge reclamation” or “food waste reduction.” Job descriptions include an hourly pay equivalent — some corps jobs pay weekly or term-based stipends instead of an hourly wage — and benefits. The site is fairly user-friendly, in part owing to suggestions made by the young people who participated in the ACC listening sessions earlier this year...

The sessions helped determine other priorities as well, Thomas said, including creating good-paying jobs that could lead to long-term careers, as well as alignment with the president’s Justice40 initiative, which mandates that at least 40% of federal climate funds must go to marginalized communities that are disproportionately impacted by climate change and pollution.

High Country News found that 30% of jobs listed across the West have explicit justice and equity language, from affordable housing in low-income communities to Indigenous knowledge and cultural reclamation for Native youth...

While the administration aims for all positions to pay at least $15 an hour, the lowest-paid position in the West is currently listed at $11 an hour. Benefits also vary widely, though most include an education benefit, and, in some cases, health care, child care and housing.

All corps members will have access to pre-apprenticeship curriculum through the North America’s Building Trades Union. Matthew Mayers, director of the Green Workers Alliance, called this an important step for young people who want to pursue union jobs in renewable energy. Some members will also be eligible for the federal pathways program, which was recently expanded to increase opportunities for permanent positions in the federal government...

“To think that there will be young people in every community across the country working on climate solutions and really being equipped with the tools they need to succeed in the workforce of the future,” Thomas said, “to me, that is going to be an incredible thing to see.”"

-via High Country News, June 6, 2024

Note: You can browse Climate Corps job postings here, on the Climate Corps website. There are currently 314 jobs posted at time of writing!

Also, it says the goal is to pay at least $15 an hour for all jobs (not 100% meeting that goal rn), but lots of postings pay higher than that, including some over $20/hour!!

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hussyknee · 10 months ago

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Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37 396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza. Using the 2022 Gaza Strip population estimate of 2 375 259, this would translate to 7·9% of the total population in the Gaza Strip

(Source: The Lancet)

The Lancet is one of the oldest and highest impact peer-reviewed medical journals in the world. Deliberate undercounting of deaths is a key feature of genocides.

The Electronic Intifada estimated it at 193,000 a few days before.

The reported number of martyrs on Wednesday this week was 37,718. It’s important to note that this number only includes martyrs who have been identified by name and civil ID number through the beleaguered health ministry in Gaza. Given the breakdown of reporting systems due to heavy destruction of infrastructure and personnel, this number, even with its limited parameters, is a gross underestimation. Based on more accurate figures of approximately 370 people killed daily, multiplied by 264 days of genocide, the actual number is closer to 97,680 martyred. (Per OCHA estimate of 15 martyrs per hour: Over the course of 264 days, which amounts to 6,336 hours, this number would roughly be 95,040).

...

Based on these estimates, both conservative and data-driven, respectively, the actual figures are likely as follows: • 377,280 buildings destroyed completely or partially • 95,040—97,680 martyred • 221,760 injured • 24,750 dead or dying from starvation • 42,000 missing (presumed dead, kidnapped by Israel’s occupying forces or possibly trafficked). The following ranges represent conservative estimate or lower range of data-driven population estimates: • 17,050—94,049 with chronic illnesses dead from lack of medication • 14,408—255,985 dead from epidemics resulting from Israel’s assault This means the actual number of dead is closer to 194,768—511,824 people, with 221,760 injured. And counting.

(Source: The Electronic Intifada)

Israel surrounded the last remaining hospital in the Gaza Strip with tanks and ordered it evacuated and shut down 12 hours ago.

If you still want to believe the pussy-footing toll of counted and reported deaths that can stand up to Western propaganda, after nine fucking months of dropping more than 70,000 tons of bombs on a 41 kilometer strip, exceeding World War II bombings in Dresden, Hamburg, London combined, rather than the statistical breakdown of humanitarian orgs and medical journals, then have at. There's no point telling you to believe the victims and question your own biases towards your own heavily propagandized establishments.

But if you can do basic math, then please use The Lancet's estimated death toll. The massacre of 8% of the Gaza Strip is a conservative estimate and still apocalyptic. Resist all attempts to diminish it. Remember that this is the result of the United States's obstruction of justice and open-handed abetting of genocidaires. Keep fighting.

Btw:

While the war itself is estimated to have generated between 420,265 and 652,552 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) so far—equivalent to burning more than 1.5 million barrels of oil—this figure soars to more than 61 million tonnes when pre-and post-war construction and reconstruction are included. This is more than the annual emissions of 135 individual nations—but there is currently no legal obligation for militaries to report or be held accountable for their emissions.

(Source: EuroNews)

#gaza genocide #palestinian genocide #free palestine #zionazis #i've been keeping out of the news but between the undercounting and shutting down gaza's last hospital #climate collapse #climate change #climate emergency #ecocide #death to israel #euro med monitor #electronic intifada #the lancet #knee of huss

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yuurei20 · 3 months ago

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Hiya!!! Love your info dives, they're amazing.

I apologize in advance if this has been asked already but I wasn't sure. But, are there specific ages that classify a Fae's stage in life. Like, when are they considered a child, a teenager, or an adult? I was curious if there was any information on it.

Anyways, thank you for your deep dives, keep up the amazing work!

Hello hello! Thank you for this question! 🧚 You are too kind!

We learn a lot about fae during the Fairy Gala events such as how there are many kinds, with smaller faeries being fearful of larger faeries and many requiring translators to communicate with one another!

Lilia explains that the Draconia family are especially long-lived, even for fae, so it seems that life stages might vary according to what subset of fae we are talking about.

Maybe there cannot be a blanket explanation of, "at this age all faeries reach the human equivalent of teenagers," for example--there might be a lot that varies depending on if we mean nocturnal/diurnal fae, small/large fae, dragon/bat fae, etc.!

Malleus is 178 years old and I have seen discussions sometimes that this particular number may have been selected in order to make him the faerie-equivalent of 17.8 years old in human years, which would make sense given when it was that he was invited to NRC, but this clashes with additional information we receive from Lilia:

He explains that, due to their particularly long lifespans, members of the Draconia family are "children at 200 and still youthful at 500...only around the age of 1,000 do they fully mature."

If we were following the "move the decimal" calculation that turned 178 into 17.8, that would be the equivalent of Lilia saying that they are not full mature until they reach the human-equivalent age of 100!

On the subject of JP-side discussions, here is a translation from Malleus' Pixiv profile!

It is mentioned in the story by Lilia that "1,000 years old is considered an adult" for dragons. If we consider "adult" as equivalent to coming of age, and we assume that the age of adulthood in Twisted Wonderland is unclear but is 20 years old by human standards, then 1,000 ÷ 20 = 50. This would mean that for Malleus, 1,000 years would be equivalent to 50 human years. Given that he is currently 177 years old, this would roughly translate to being around 3 to 4 years old in human age (which helps explain the immaturity of his actions thus far).

And here is a Twstsoku thread on this same topic, for the curious ^^

Based on Lilia’s example, I think the entrance permission might be given around the equivalent of 15 human years (since Lilia’s mention of "hundreds of years" is likely a rough estimate). It’s confirmed that the Draconia species matures much slower than humans, so even if they start at the same age as everyone else, their maturation speed would naturally be slower as well. So, I think he might still be around 15 years old. If it’s because of his high abilities and he's being treated as a special case, there might even be a possibility that he's still quite young.

If Malleus is about 5 in human years, the reason for his overblot seems kinda cute to me...

I don't think he's really a pre-teen, though. However, since it takes quite a while to go from 16 to 18 in human years, it’s possible that the acceptance letter came at the time he would be considered 16, and if he entered straight after, he might be roughly the same age as the first-year students now.

When Trey-senpai was introducing the dorms in Chapter 1, he mentioned the possibility of skipping grades when discussing Diasomnia, so there might be a chance that Malleus is younger in human years. Now that I think about it, that could have been foreshadowing...?

If we consider 1,000 years as the equivalent of adulthood at 20 human years, then if Malleus is 200 years old (hypothetically), simple calculations would make him about 4 in human years. That would make him younger than Cheka. While it's true that he’s lived for several hundred years, his maturity level is likely quite different from a human who lived the same number of years.

Lilia himself seems close to the "move the decimal" calculation pattern, as that would make him the human-age equivalent of 70 years old now, receiving his NRC acceptance letter at the equivalent of age 20 and losing Maleanor at the equivalent age of 30, after proposing to her when they were children around the age of 10.

But this is all speculation and entirely unofficial 🥳

#twstask #twisted wonderland

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gottagobuycheese · 1 year ago

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HEY! YOU!

You've probably heard by now, but from March 4th to 10th 2024, Help Gaza Children will be sending all their donations to families in northern Gaza, where food prices have skyrocketed even more than in the south. Their goal is $25K by the end of the week; at the time of writing this post, it's about halfway a quarter way there! (OG post about it) [EDIT: my mistake, I misinterpreted the numbers in the original post; evidently I cannot do arithmetic anymore]

This is their notion site, which has their donation link as well as additional info, their FAQ, important updates, and proof of purchases from donations they’ve gotten in the past. You can also donate directly to their paypal here.

As such, I'll be open for sketch commissions up from now (March 7th, 2024 ~02:20 PST) through March 10th in exchange for proof of donation to Help Gaza Children!

BASIC OVERVIEW:

Tier 1 - Basic head/bust sketch for $1-5 USD, +50% for basic color. Up to 3 characters.

Tier 2 - Basic screencap resketch for $5-15 USD, +50% for basic color.

Tier 3 - Posed sketch for $15-25 USD, 1-2 characters ONLY.

Tier 4 - Colored clean sketch: $25+ USD, 1-2 characters ONLY.

RULES:

Please provide a visual reference or detailed description of the character(s) you want drawn (and depending on the tier, a screencap or pose/expression you want to go with it)

DO'S: OCs, humans and human-like creatures, other creatures that don't have a lot of mechanical or anatomical detail (as in, I can TRY to do mecha stuff, but I think you and I will both be better of if I don't lol; can ask for further details)

DON'T'S: any NSFW stuff, real people currently alive (as in, historical figures in the setting of historical fiction may be okay, but other things may not be; can ask for further details)

If you've made your donation in a currency that is not USD, I'll give you something of equivalent value according to the tier based on whatever the conversion is at the time that I look it up. If one or both of our economies crashes spectacularly in between the time you send it and the time I look it up, I'm very sorry in advance

DISCLAIMER 1: I reserve the right to decline a commission for any reason; however, if this ends up being the case, I may reach out to you to see if we can come up with a middle ground that suits us both.

DISCLAIMER 2: I don't anticipate being able to do a lot of these, as I've got a full-time job that's in the ballpark ~80+ hours a week with really weird hours. That being said, depending on how far this goes, turnaround time will probably be ~2-3 months, give or take...something. I'll update you monthly until it's done.

FOR PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY!

If you're interested in nabbing a sketch from me in exchange for your donation, email a screenshot (devoid of any personal info please) of your donation receipt and details of your sketch request (e.g. reference, tier, etc.) to [email protected]. For your donation to count for a sketch, it must be made after I wrote this post! (March 7, 2024 ~02:20 A.M. PST)

If you are NOT interested in nabbing a sketch from me, feel free to donate anyway!!

(And if you've got any questions about anything feel free to email, DM, or send an ask!)

#palestine #gaza #helpgazachildren #orv #undertale #commissions #donations #if this inspires even one extra person to donate that wouldn't otherwise have known about it I'll consider that a win #anyways I don't really expect this to go very far outside my circle if at all #so I'd appreciate some help in spreading the word #especially about the main fundraiser #these drawings are really secondary to the whole thing #but if you want to donate AND help a sad partially-art-blocked artist get unblocked! here is your opportunity!#if this goes somewhere I might do it again with other links #otherwise I'll just keep donating privately

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flightfoot · 1 month ago

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Honestly, overall, I think most of the criticism towards Marinette for her lies and secrets surrounding Gabriel's identity and Sentidrien have at least been relatively on-target. I think some of them have been overly pessimistic towards her, but it hasn't been insane, and it's at least been about things she actually did.

Like, try comparing it to the reaction with Chameleon salt, especially towards Alya. (Yes I'm still bitter about that. I might have stopped being bitter IF IT WASN'T STILL A SUPER POPULAR FREAKING GENRE UNTO ITSELF).

Most of the saltfic scenarios and criticism towards Alya for her actions in Chameleon have been based on "what-ifs" such as "what if she fell for Lila's lies so thoroughly that she believed any nasty thing Lila claimed about Marinette, and then responded by being verbally abusive towards Marinette and even outright violent towards her, outright bullying her even." Making this gigantic leap from "She can't clock Lila's lies" to "she will be more horrible towards Marinette as a consequence of those nasty things she says than we've seen her be towards her worst enemies." And then also writing or fantasizing about her being punished by like, losing her ability to get a job in the future, being disowned by all her friends, having grown celebrities say nasty things about her, etc.

Most of the Marinette salt I've seen has been more limited in scope, with most of it being about actual things she did in the show, though sometimes ascribing nastier, more malicious intentions than the narrative does, like having her treat Chat Noir like a tool or being interested in her own comfort at other's expense. But it's still using actual examples of things that happened in the show for it.

Like... the closest equivalent of the Alya bashing fic tsunami that resulted from Chameleon would be, when applied to the stuff Marinette's being salted for currently (well, some of it. The Alya bashing fic stuff is SO out of proportion I don't know that it's possible to do this in a totally proportional way) would be for Marinette to take the fact that she was given Adrien's Amoks and that he doesn't know about them, for her to mind-control him into being her boyfriend, using them to force him to have sex with her and drain all of his bank accounts for her, and then having his friends realizing what she's doing to him, beat her up, ruin her for life, and for Adrien to leave and find a better girlfriend.

Like with Alya bashing fics, it's following off of a "what if?", in this case, "what if Marinette kept the rings and was a way more awful person than she's ever been shown to be in the show." Similarly, Alya bashing fics tend to use the "what if" of "what if Lila told far worse lies about Marinette than we've seen, and Alya was a way worse person than she's ever demonstrated to be?" And yeah, in the Marinette scenario here, we actually see her giving Adrien back his Amoks. But given that he doesn't know what they are, she could feasibly ask for them back without him knowing how important it is that he keeps them. Also Alya has demonstrated that she won't believe particularly nasty lies that Lila tells about Marinette, even with evidence (we see that in Ladybug), but that hasn't stopped the saltfic industry from flourishing in the half a DECADE since that episode aired.

The fact that I'm not continuously seeing 15% or so of Miraculous fics making Marinette out to be mind-controlling abusive rapist in order to have Adrien and his friends take revenge on her shows how much more sane and reasonable the current wave of Marinette salt is from the STILL ONGOING Chameleon saltdom tsunami.

...I'm still just very bitter about this. I still see people asking for these kinds of fics like they're just normal things, and even with filtering them out and muting people, I still run into fics regularly that do this sort of crap to Alya (and a lot of the other ML characters to be fair, but Alya gets it the worst.) And it just makes me laugh whenever I see people complaining about how unfairly hostile the ML fandom is being towards Marinette because it's STILL, even now, six years after Chameleon aired, less than the shit towards Alya, and I feel like I'm yelling into the void to an extent here because it's been normalized to the extent that it's just priced into the Miraculous fandom it sometimes feels like. When it's so far outside the bound of any realm of normality or sanity relative to the shit thrown at most of the other characters, that it becomes comical when you actually try to put them into proportion with each other.

I still just can't stop feeling this festering bitterness about the unfairness of it all.

#ml fandom salt #leave alya alone challenge

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crochetforpalestine · 10 months ago

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Hello, I'm holding a raffle for the Ornn crochet plush I made to help fund raise for organizations helping people currently trapped in Gaza.

How do I enter?

Donate at least $5 to one of these three fundraisers: Direct Aid for Gaza, Care For Gaza, or Watermelon Relief. $5 (or the equivalent) will get you one entry, $10 will get you two, and so on and so forth.

Submit proof of donation (screenshot) through this Google Form or though ask.

Why only these three fundraisers?

I hope to be more effective when focusing on just a small number, and it may also help to not get overwhelmed by the amount of people who need help.

One winner will be randomly chosen on when the raffle has at least 15 entries.

This raffle is US only (sorry) and I will cover shipping for the plush. I'll try to figure out the logistics of international shipping if I do another one.

Tagging for reach ♥️

@aces-and-angels @tortiefrancis @zikadraws @magnus-rhymes-with-swagness @appsa @communistchilchuck @dendrosys

#palestine aid #palestine #free palestine #gaza #league of legends #crochet #raffle #ornn

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sandersstudies · 1 year ago

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Other people have said it more eloquently than me, but my theory is that Hobbits don’t actually age “slower” than humans, they just are generally in excellent health and that leads to their culture shifting milestone years to be later than humans.

“Old Took himself only lived to be 130” would suggest that this is a very impressive old age for hobbits. Bilbo, partially with the help of the ring, lives to 131 before sailing west. Otho Sackville-Baggins dies of old age at 102. 102 is an impressive age for a human to live to, but far from unheard of, and current predictions suggest we will see a human live to be 130 within this century.

Hobbits are considered adults at age 33. Human age of majority varies worldwide (in North America, even by state/province/etc.) from <15-22 based on what legal privileges it offers, but 18 and 21 are generally good milestones. I got curious about whether high age of majority correlated with longer lifespan and I found little correlation with the ages of 18 and 21 because they are so common and cover a wide array of local average lifespans, but if you eliminate those two and look at counties where age of majority is 15, 16, 17, 19, and 20, there’s a direct correlation between age of majority and lifespan.

Worldwide, life expectancy is 72.27. Let’s say hobbit life expectancy is 100 (if there’s canon evidence to suggest this is low or high, let me know). 100/72.27=~1.38

18x1.38=24.84

21x1.38=28.98.

If we can round that to 29, we are already inching toward that Hobbit coming of age 33. Their lifestyle and relative societal safety can probably account for the final four years, as well as Hobbit appreciation for aesthetic numbers (33 looks better than 32 and 34).

50 is considered the beginning of Hobbit middle-age, and if you’re familiar with healthy, hardy people in their fifties, this is actually pretty reasonable. My dad is 52 and still plays hockey and bartends in a demanding restaurant. I think he would be about as (physically) up to a journey to Mordor as Frodo is at age 50.

Tolkien spoke very little about Hobbit marriage customs, but assuming they are fertile creatures, 33 leaves more than enough time to raise children, even using the human average age of menopause at 51 (and think how this compares to Hobbit middle-age).

I’m no expert, I just looked at a lot of Wikipedia pages, but I’m vastly in favor of the idea that Pippin isn’t “the equivalent of a human teenager” in terms of something biological, but in terms of something cultural. In a society with long lifespans and relative safety from war, famine, and other dangers, it’s totally reasonable that 20-somethings are allowed to hold onto childhood/adolescence a little longer than in a society where war and danger forces children to mature and work at a younger age.

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vanillablankcanvas · 1 year ago

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Part 1 Trolls Headcanons/ Theories/ Thoughts/ Ideas

Part2 Part3 Part4 Part5 Part6 Part7 Part8 Part9 Part10

Trolls - in general Trolls are pretty rare outside their usual kingdoms and it's considered good luck to meet one.

Brozone - drastically changed their looks coz they hate that they used to dress the same.

Bruce - one of those dads who would get a new barbeque and show off all the cool features to the other local dads.

Bruce - "No kids, we're not keeping that stray animal, end of story, no way..." - 1 week later and he's giving it kisses and building it an over the top kennel with a heated blanket and a water fountain.

Bruce - (canon?) carried all their eggs, indirect reason why his hair is so big. (Side note - I read somewhere someone called all their kids 'The Bakers Dozen' and I frigging love that)

Floyd - solo career after he left Brozone - all his songs were PINK FLOYD SONGS! (Maybe that could've been his stage name?)

Floyd - his hair is naturally pink but JD made him make it redder because 'we're a boyband and pink is a girls colour'

John Dory - has embarrassing baby pictures of his brothers as leverage

John Dory - over-exaggerates his retellings of stories "I fought off 30 no no no 40 snakes with one hand behind my back."

John Dory - always casually asking Poppy, Brandy and Viva to marry him, over small things too "Brandy, these pancakes are delicious, marry me."

Clay - writes long and very detailed critical reviews of restaurants

Clay - has reading glasses. Probably the ones that attach magnetically at the nose ridge.

Clay - labels everything (labelmaker is to Clay as Gary is to Branch)

Clay - very into color coded itineraries and always know everyone's business "Poppy is currently at Smidge's pod doing her hair" "How could you possibly know that?" "I have my sources."

Clay - also a notary and registered marriage celebrant

Clay - hair was always naturally green but JDs hair was already green. JD said he had to be yellow for the band, they needed that color coordinated group vibe.

Clay - has drafts for his own book series

Clay - actually plays golf

Clay - gets clumsy when trying to impress someone he admires (imagine him meeting King Peppy and he just knocks things over)

Clay - competitive af - brothers know better than to verse him at anything - has an over the top victory dance

Viva - that concept art of tiny Viva is the age she was when they escaped the Troll Tree. So like 15 maybe?

Viva - wants to make up for all the missed holidays/birthdays/parties with Poppy so she is constantly popping out from places with gifts yelling SURPRISE!

Branch - for Pop Trolls - being in a famous singing group is the equivalent of being a recognized expert in your field. So the fact that Branch is in TWO famous boy bands is like he has several PhDs.

Branch - Kismet formed inside a group home for Trollings

Poppy and Vivas mother - my theory is that they managed to keep princess Viva a secret from the Bergens. They chose the Queen for Trollstice when they discovered what they thought was her first egg. The Troll Tree escape plan came about when Chef promised the new royal trolling for the young Bergen prince.

#trolls #dreamworks trolls #trolls floyd #trolls john dory #trolls branch #trolls brozone #trolls viva #trolls clay #trolls bruce #trolls queen poppy #queen poppy

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greatwyrmgold · 1 year ago

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Dungeon Logistics

Between the currently-airing Dungeon Meshi anime and my recent binge of the manga (I finally got past the 40% mark), I've been thinking about the logistics of long-term dungeoneering.

The Problem

Military theorists and historians have some rules of thumb about what soldiers can be expected to do and need. [citation] For instance, they usually need around three pounds of food per day and can carry around 90-120 pounds of stuff. (The total varies less by strength and more by how much of that strength you can convince soldiers to use carrying stuff the general cares about.)

Theoretically, this means soldiers can carry a month or two of food; however, hardtack makes a pretty terrible weapon. Most of their carrying capacity is taken up by inedible (and also important) gear; the standard rule of thumb seems to be that soldiers can carry about ten days' worth of food.

The same is presumably more or less true for dungeoneers. A wizard's robe, staff, and spellbook probably weigh less than a sword and a suit of armor, but that space is going to get taken up by the miscellaneous tools you need to survive in a dungeon that aren't necessary for armies walking through inhabited lands.

In short, in the absence of Senshi, dungeoneers can only spend about a week and a half in the dungeon. Obviously, you need to set aside time to return to the surface, so you can't go deeper than five days. Well, you can—starvation doesn't kill you instantly—but you really shouldn't.

Extra Cargo

What if we added some people who only carried food? That would help some. Including two porters per three dungeoneers would roughly double the group's operational endurance, from ten days to twenty.

But the number of porters grows rapidly as the desired trip into the dungeon grows longer; operational endurance to 30 days requires four porters per dungeoneer. Even if the dungeon is spacious for a party of dozens to be possible, having that party be 80% or more noncombatants is a recipe for disaster.

What about pack animals? Mules require about five times as much food as humans (assuming they can't graze in the dungeon), but they can carry close to 300 pounds of supplies. One mule per three dungeoneers extends operational endurance from 10 to 15 days, a second to 17.

That's not bad, but pack animals work better when they can graze. If the dungeon has grass or equivalent foliage, one mule per three dungeoneers increases operational endurance to about 26 days, a second to 35, and one mule per dungeoneer increases it to 39. But most dungeons don't have much to graze on.

For the spendthrift dungeoneer, pack animals have one advantage over porters: You can eat them.

Butchery

I can't find any actual data about how much meat you get from butchering a mule, but combining other data lets me estimate 300 pounds (with large error bars).

So you could theoretically buy a (relatively) cheap mule at the surface, bring it with you through the dungeon, butcher it when you'd eaten through the supplies on its back, and live off its meat for a while. In this case, you probably don't even need to feed it on the way down! I have been informed that you do, in fact, need to feed it.

Five dungeoneers could live off the supplies carried by an increasingly malnourished mule for about 19 9.5 days. The mule would probably lose weight during that time, but the butcher could probably get at least a hundred pounds of decent meat off the poor critter. That would give them at least a week of extra rations, plus whatever they carried on their own backs, for a total operational endurance of at least five three and a half weeks.

This strategy probably works best if the adventurers are planning to go establish a camp after a few days and linger there for a few weeks. That would let them slaughter the mule as soon as they reach their base camp and free them from somehow carrying a whole mule carcass worth of food around afterwards.

This kind of strategy could enable supply depots relatively close to the surface. If we increase the party from five dungeoneers and a mule to five merchants and twenty mules, they could supply adventurers going a bit deeper. They'd need to charge a pretty hefty surcharge—at the very least, they'd need to cover the cost of killing so many mules!

It's also possible to create supply depots without slaughtering pack animals, but they would need to be smaller, closer to the surface, or both.

It would, strictly speaking, be possible to make a deeper supply depot, supplied by a larger depot. It would probably be impractical, though.

Conclusion

Dungeoneers weighed down by their own equipment can only spend brief periods of time exploring a dungeon. If they include some porters or pack animals in the party, they can increase that to maybe a month (two weeks down, two weeks up).

A sufficiently profitable dungeon economy might enable a set of outposts where adventurers can rest and resupply between treks deeper into the dungeon. If enough pack animals were slaughtered, they might be able to bring supplies a week or two deeper than the surface market.

In the right circumstances, dungeoneers might be able to delve a full month below the sunlit world without eating anything except wheat bread and mule meat. But this requires a small army of merchants and herdsmen and porters and butchers and so on, feeding not just the dungeoneers themselves but all the people supporting them, and all the people supporting those people, reaching through countless miles of cavern and across acres of farmland.

And of course, all of that assumes that no step in this process gets disrupted by the dangers of a dungeon; no wargs killing your mule, no warg packs overrunning the outpost, no getting lost in the twisty little maze of passages all alike. The higher you build that house of cards, the farther you'll far if it fails.

Senshi had the right idea.

#fantasy #logistics #worldbuilding #dungeoneering #dungeon meshi #(inspired by)#random thoughts #food #dungeon logistics

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afeelgoodblog · 2 years ago

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The Best News of Last Week - May 15, 2023

🐕 - Now It's a Paw-ty

1. World's oldest ever dog celebrates 31st birthday

Bobi was born on 11 May 1992, making him 31 years old, in human years. A big birthday party is planned for Bobi today, according to Guinness World Records.

It will take place at his home in the rural Portuguese village of Conqueiros in Leiria, western Portugal, where he has lived his entire life.

2. The FDA has officially changed its policy to allow more gay and bisexual men to donate blood

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that they’ve eased restrictions on blood donations by men who have sex with men in an effort to address blood shortages. The new policy recommends a series of individual risk-based questions that will apply to all donors, regardless of their sexual orientation, sex, or gender. Gay or bisexual men in monogamous relationships will now be permitted to donate blood.

3. Illinois passes bill to ensure community college credits transfer to public universities

The Illinois General Assembly has passed a bill that would help community college students transfer to public universities.

It would ensure that certain classes taken at community colleges could be transferred to any higher education institution in the state. Some schools currently only count community college coursework as elective credits.

4. Brazilian President Lula recognizes 6 new indigenous territories stretching 620,000 hectares, banning mining and restricting farming within them

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has decreed six new indigenous reserves, banning mining and restricting commercial farming there. The lands - including a vast area of Amazon rainforest - cover about 620,000 hectares (1.5m acres).

Indigenous leaders welcomed the move, but said more areas needed protection.

5. More than 1,000 trafficking victims rescued in separate operations in Southeast Asia

More than 1,000 trafficking victims were rescued in separate operations in Southeast Asia over the last week, officials in Indonesia and the Philippines said.

Indonesian officials said Sunday they freed 20 of their nationals who were trafficked to Myanmar as part of a cyber scam, amid an increase in human trafficking cases in Southeast Asia. Fake recruiters had offered the Indonesians high-paying jobs in Thailand but instead trafficked them to Myawaddy, about 567 kilometers (352 miles) south of Naypyidaw, the capital, to perform cyber scams for crypto websites or apps, said Judha Nugraha, an official in Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

6. A peanut allergy patch is making headway in trials

An experimental “peanut patch” is showing some promise for toddlers who are highly allergic to peanuts. The patch, called Viaskin, was tested on children ages one to three for a late-stage trial, and the results show that the patch helped children whose bodies could not tolerate even a small piece of peanuts safely eat a few.

After one year, two-thirds of the children who used the patch and one-third of the placebo group met the trial’s primary endpoint. The participants with a less sensitive peanut allergy could safely tolerate the peanut protein equivalent of eating three or four peanuts.

7. Critically endangered lemur born at Calgary Zoo

The Calgary Zoo has released pictures of its newest addition, a baby lemur. The zoo says its four-year-old female black-and-white ruffed lemur, Eny, gave birth on April 7. The pup’s father is eight-year-old Menabe. The gender of the pup has not been confirmed but the Calgary Zoo says the pup appears bright-eyed and active and is on the move.

The black-and-white ruffed lemur is registered among the 25 most endangered primates in the world, due mostly to habitat loss and hunting.

----

That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog.

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#best news of last week

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outkclassed · 4 months ago

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Hiii. I love Ford Labs. ❤️❤️❤️

I was wondering, is there an equivalent to Ford disappearing into the portal for 30 years in your AU?

thank you so much! 💖

currently, i think Stan and Ford's roles in the story are reversed, with Ford being there from the start and Stan suddenly showing up after being cut out of the family and grifting poor suckers across the US for a few decades! the au's timeline doesn't exactly line up with the original's (and it's still a work in progress, this could change as i develop the au further) but i think it goes something like:

195X - Stan and Ford are born 197X - Ford goes to college and Stan begins his life as a conman 198X - Ford and McGucket go into business together and create Euclidia/Bill, who is shut down prior to the events of the story 1999-2000 - the twins visit Gravity Falls, Bill wakes up from his 15-ish-year-long nap, Stan finally meets up with Ford after almost 30 years of not speaking to one another, and the finale takes place during New Year's Eve

#ford labs au #ask

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askthekoopsandjr · 1 month ago

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Morton Koopa Jr. (Head)Canons

He's big, he's tall, and speaks loudly- but don't let his exterior fool you. Morton is the sweetest Koopaling of the bunch with a lot more to him than lies at the surface.

G̲e̲n̲e̲r̲a̲l̲ I̲n̲f̲o̲r̲m̲a̲t̲i̲o̲n̲

15 years old - Very important to note: Dragon Koopas do not age the same as humans. It is unknown how they age in equivalence to humans, but the adult age for dragon koopas is their early 30's. Dragon koopas can live for several centuries. The maximum years of life is unknown.

Cisgender he/him, aroace - (Everyone is asexual because "it"™ doesn't exist haha)

Autistic

Third oldest of the 7 - All are biological siblings, born to the late Morton Koopa Sr and Adaeh Koopa

Obviously named after his father, whom he looks identical to

Adopted by Bowser, along with his siblings, at 9 years old

Considerably healed in terms of trauma compared to his older siblings. Has studied psychology by reading books and knows coping mechanisms. Remembers his parents very well. - I am unsure if Morton has medical terms specific to trauma

Story of losing their parents and how they met Bowser:

All creatures in the Mario world... the Underground whatever it's called have all the races/ethnicities of humans. Morton and his siblings are German and British from their father, and South African from their Mother.

C̲h̲a̲r̲a̲c̲t̲e̲r̲

As previously mentioned, Morton is the nicest Koopaling. The only reason you might not see it often is because he's fulfilling his royal militia duties. - When Morton is told to do something by his superiors, he does it. He may even obey his younger siblings in this manner.

Morton does not always speak in the broken English we see in BJJ. He speaks normally; but when he gets anxious or something of that nature, he'll "blank out" and speak that way. It's a symptom.

Morton is very literate and a great writer. He's got lots of (very long) original works and fanfictions he'd love to share. Usually, he reads his work to Ludwig, taking constructive feedback and ideas.

Best listener, hands down. He will listen to any ramblings, complaints, story tellings, gossip etc.

Also has very very high patience. Like... who has seen this guy lose his patience before lol

Morton loves physical affection. Typically, Iggy is the only one who will give him hugs, fist bumps and stuff (since they share a love language). Unlike Iggy, though, Morton doesn't initiate physical contact without explicit permission first. Usually, this means when the other asks, not him. Sometimes he'll give bear hugs without asking when elated, unable to help himself. He means well, though ^^;

Let's say you get the chance to meet him outside of battle or orders. You'd be greeted with lots of friendly conversation, and if all goes well, the request of joining him for a snack. He may or may not insist on cooking/baking you something, or something more simple like tea. In the chance that he wants to cook you something, you're in for a ride. A ride that likely ends in smoke and Kamek screaming for you both to get out of the kitchen.

Speaking of which, cooking and baking is Morton's favorite hobby. Cooking? Let's say he's... Not currently the best at it. The idea of using heat kinda gets to his head. "MORTON IS STRONG!! But fire is stronger ._." When it comes to baking, however, he's excellent at it! He tries to make sweet treats whenever he can; but with such a big family, nothing he bakes lasts more than a week.

He owns Morton Construction as seen in MK8! His company is responsible for constructing the courses. - Of all the companies owned by the Koopalings, his is the biggest in terms of employment. Sometimes, his employees will also do some work for his sibling's companies.

As you can see, Morton has sparse and thin hair. This is a trait he inherited from his father; hair is a recessive gene on that side of the family. - Even so, Morton's hair type is 3b.

As seen in modern games (nsmbw+), Morton doesn't really use pure magic to fight. He's physically the slowest of his siblings, which affects the speed of his magic blasts. To counter this, he'll often transform his wand into objects (commonly mallots), as well as using minions and the environment to his advantage. This is also where his unrivaled raw strength comes in handy; if you fail to block an attack, one hit will leave you significantly damaged. - Magic isn't his strong suit like it is for some of his siblings. He asked Kamek if he could pretty please learn to use it in other ways more suited for him, since Wendy found those magic rings and gets to use them... 🥺🙏LOL Kamek said yea

Morton has always been talkative. Like, REALLY talkative. He's capable of going on and on for hours at a time. It has defenitely annoyed others more often than not in the past, which is why he's a lot better at controlling himself currently. - Mama was one of the people who didn't mind it. Morton's talking was like her background YouTube video while she worked on her witchcraft lol. Dad had his limits, but rather than grow annoyed or frustrated, he'd always say "Let's wrap that up, alright son?" with a smile.

After the loss of his parent's, he was very vocal about his sorrows. Talking was his thing; keeping it bottled up inside like Ludwig wasn't something he was capable of. He needed to express himself, desperate for any kind of consolation to make the pain go away. Morton would come to learn that his parent's patience was a gift that many don't have, leading him to feel isolated and stuck at a road block, unable to see what the future held for him.

Because of how the species within the castle and his own siblings would find him annoying or "odd", Morton got quite insecure with himself. He turned to Kamek for advice, but as you can guess, one simple question turned into a tangent. Wanting to end the conversation as quickly as possible, he told Morton "There's a library filled with information. Please, go read the books." So he did! Having no idea what the word "psychology" was at 9 years old, he simply rummaged through shelves of books in hopes of finding the answers to his questions. At the same time, Ludwig was taking advantage of the library himself; so you can imagine what his reaction was when he stepped into the area to see books discarded everywhere with Morton sitting on top of a pile, hastily skimming pages. "What are you DOING?!" "I'm trying to find the answers like Kamek told me to!" "What??" After a bit of explaining from the both of them, Ludwig helped Morton find the proper sections, where his journey into mindfulness finally began! - It wasn't very easy for Morton to understand the books, though. However, he's no quitter, and an observer. Watching Iggy spend time on the library computer drew himself to the device, where he discovered this box-device is a library within itself! Psych-4-kidz websites helped pave the way for his understanding and devotion to finding the solutions he craved. - Currently, he is the only Koopaling to use such therapeutic methods. He doesn't make it a point to recommend his methods to his siblings because he feels the way they choose to approach their own healing is to be respected. What he doesn't realize is that a hint or a nudge in the logical direction would actually be more beneficial for them.

On the topic of insecurities, Morton has learned to work through them pretty well. For example, Junior can be pretty mean; but it's lessons learned through accumulated knowlege and experience that helps him stay grounded and not let petty insults get to him. One thing that expressing his feelings to his siblings gets him is their unconditional and fierce defense/support ("DON'T SAY BAD THINGS ABOUT MORTON"). Knowing how much they care about him is a reminder that keeps him above the nonsense everytime.

R̲e̲l̲a̲t̲i̲o̲n̲s̲h̲i̲p̲s̲

Morton doesn't have a favorite sibling. He loves them all equally ^ω^

With Ludwig: Ludwig's go to buddy for afternoon tea breaks is Morton. This is how they usually catch up with each other. As we know, Ludwig loves to have any ears listen to him gossip, and Morton's the perfect candidate (maybe even moreso than Wendy, since Morton will let Luddy talk until he wants Morton to jump in). Another thing they have in common is baking and cooking; but if you remember from Ludwig's headcanon post, he refuses to cook with Morton after his hair was almost burned off. Ludwig prefers sweets anyway, so they bake together when they can and share recipies/inspirations. Another activity they enjoy doing together is musical critique. When Ludwig writes up a new song, he'll use Morton for feedback. Ludwig is Morton's first choice to read his stories and fan fictions. He can rely completely on his oldest sibling to give his creative talents acknowledgment.

With Iggy: Morton loves physical affection, and so does Iggy. You'll usually see friendly gestures like Iggy resting his arm on Morton's shoulder, or some other variant of Iggy being on Morton because she is a silly creature (think of the NSMB2 render of the 7 of them). The autism communication frequency waves between these two are in perfect sync, so they always have a good time sharing and talking about their interests. For example, Iggy loves nature and science, so they will tell Morton about the discoveries they make in the Jungle World, as well as facts in general about nature as a whole. They both are active in fandom culture, so they often talk about the medias they're into. Morton loves to write, so Iggy is one of the first to read his stories before posting. Iggy often tries to get the chance to cook with Morton, because she knows an explosion will always ensue... But she tells Morton that's just the process of learning, and that if he keeps practicing he'll achieve amazing things one day.

With Roy: Roy and Morton are usually paired together, being the heavyweights of the bunch. Morton's reserved personality matched with Roy's bluntness is a pretty good combo, being the reason why Roy prefers this older brother to hang out with. Workouts and roughhousing is Roy's preffered way of spending quality time, which Morton is obviously skilled at; but the elder wishes that he could indulge the younger in some calmer activities, like a book club or something. Roy has very short patience, though, so instead Morton takes time to study academics with him. Being patient with his younger brother is rewarding, however; Roy just about never opens up to anyone, but sometimes, he'll consult in Morton. Having Roy's trust is of upmost value to Morton, to the point where the others don't even know about these little conversations. He can always get on Roy's good side with a convincing little snack of his favoite jerky (that, surprisingly, Roy enjoys the way Morton's fire makes the meat nice and charred 😂???).

With Wendy: Just like Ludwig, Wendy likes to use Morton as a gossip buddy. Another thing she likes to use Morton for is makeovers and dress up 😈 He simply does not mind at all! Usually he gets decorated in bows and necklaces and sparkly makeup, and Wendy will also paint his claws sometimes. He'll also do Wendy's makeup and outfits, so it's a fair bond. Wendy is short on patience too, so instead of sharing his stories with her, he'll gossip about things he saw on his social media timeline. This includes showing each other videos, sharing posts, making fun of people, the usual these troublemakers would get up to... But that also includes indulging in Wendy's influencer life. Morton 100% believes that she is worthy and capable of such a title, so he will help her with setting up livestreams, marketing, feedback, all the good stuff. Despite her "all about me" personality, she respects Morton's interests just as much as he respects hers. She loves to watch baking shows/bake with him, serve as a test taster, and collaborate on sweets in general.

With Lemmy: These two are the silly billies when paired together. They don't need to talk much to get along, as they understand each other on a higher level that most don't get. Such is evident when battling against the two; they attack in synchronized methods that weren't even planned beforehand. Does that actually make it a weakness, not having a plan before jumping in? Yeah... Buuuut you'd have to catch on to their fighting styles to figure out how to beat them, which is harder said than done when bombs and spiky creatures are being thrown your way. Other than that, Morton is a fun circus buddy for Lemmy to practice with (and on), and Lemmy is wonderful company to keep Morton from being lonely. Lemmy also loves to use Morton as leverage, since it's easier to sit on his shell than Iggy's. He likes to be tall. Morton appreciates Lemmy's mild mannerisms and kindness, so when even he needs a break from the collective family chaos, Lemmy is the one to spend time with.

With Larry: Morton is usually listening to Larry talk rather than it being a mutual thing. It's okay, though, he doesn't mind at all. Larry's high energy and scatter-brain is entertaining, and he likes to mentally note all the ways his youngest sibling changes as he grows up. Morton usually plays tennis or soccer with Larry, since Larry loves to play sports. They tried to do some equestrian sports with each other, but it wasn't very fun because Morton's weight on the horse compared to Larry's always ensured that Larry won without much competition. Instead, they watch My Little Pony together. You know how Larry eats like there's no tomorrow? Morton has that maternal instinct where he thinks he has to keep the food coming for the precious baby. He's actually lucky he isn't good at cooking, otherwise he'd be like a 50's housewife, trying to keep up with Larry's appetite LMAO. He just has a supply of food with him most of the time and provides when asked by his younger siblings (which drives Ludwig crazy LOL).

With Jr.: Everyone knows Morton is Jr's favorite koopaling. Morton totally knows that! He could not be more elated about it, but he keeps his feelings pretty well contained because he doesn't want the others to feel bad. He takes what Jr dishes out, but never takes it personally; he's just a kid, after all. This is his future king, after all. His father was the one who promised him and his siblings a new life after their loss, and since Jr is lacking a mother, Morton wants to help keep his head up. He knows what it's like to miss mom. Being as fiercely loyal as he is, Morton will never turn his back on Jr (and as we saw in BJJ, it takes powerful mind control to make him do that). Jr is lots of fun, anyway! He's a very creative kid who is constantly on the move, promising adventure and stories to tell. He loves Jr's artwork, and has a whole drawer filled with drawings that he likes to look back on sometimes. It was Jr that got Morton into art himself, actually- he's not as serious about it as Jr is, but he did want to learn to draw simple little things like cartoon caricatures of people (or "every creature" as they say in mlp idk anymore).

F̲u̲n̲ F̲a̲c̲t̲s̲

Romance has never been something Morton really thought about. What helped him pick the aromantic label for himself was the discussion of questioning from his siblings with themselves. It was probably Iggy that helped him get an idea of himself the most. - Romance does not repulse or averse him. He likes the idea of loving others, just in a familial/friendly/platonic way.

Morton chose to run a construction company because it was his siblings who made the suggestion to him.

He can draw a little bit!

Why's he better at baking than cooking? Idk.

He dreams of having his own family one day, 7 adopted children to match the chaos he's always known ^-^

He is the 2nd tallest of his siblings

Is he or Morton the strongest? That's a really difficult question to answer. We may never know the answer.

His hair appears to be just 3 strands, but it's actually three separate dreads

Ludwig didn't teach him to do his hair because their dad did

When he gets pranked, he turns into a literal stone like 0_0 He's not usually offended by them, it's a processing thing

He's a big foodie along with Ludwig. Fine dining is something he partakes in more than you'd think

He is in multiple fandoms and partakes in pop culture

His favorite music genre is pop

Morton loves animals, and wishes that he had a pet or two. Or three. - His favorite animal is this thing:

Just like the rest of his siblings, he is musically inclined and knows how to play a couple of instruments, which are the bass guitar and the trumpet. It's a weird combo but idk okay

#koopalings #morton koopa jr #super mario #super mario bros #nintendo #headcanons post #may be updated in the future #ask blog

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yeetmeoutthewindowdaddy · 8 months ago

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A deep dive into Zevlor's devotion (Part 3) Zevlor's actions during Act 1, an analysis of a man who is barely holding on:

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BG3.

These series of posts were originally one loooooong post— but apparently Tumblr has a character limit, and I found it; so now it's been split into several parts/posts.

(Part 1) Everybody hates tieflings, and how discrimination impacted a young Zevlor.

(Part 2) Elturel's history and culture, the Hellriders, and Zevlor's paladin oath. (Part 2.5)

((Part 3, this post, is where the meat a good chunk of my Zevlor analysis is.))

(Part 4) Zevlor's actions during Act 2, an analysis of a broken man.

(Part 5) Zevlor's actions during Act 3, an analysis of a man with his faith restored.

(Part 6) Zevlor's actions during/ after the epilogue, not all endings are happily ever after— especially not for a tiefling.

(Part 7) Zevlor in a romantic relationship.

I don't think many bg3 players understand just how dedicated and loyal of a person Zevlor is. This ADHD hyper-fixation fueled multipart-thesis is meant to show how Zevlor's past is as tragic as any of the origin characters'/ Durge's. It's meant to show how horrifically broken Zevlor was when he "betrayed" the other tieflings. It's also meant to show that our beloved blorbo would probably be fervently obsessive if he was in a romantic relationship.

Most importantly: It demonstrates how our favorite man Zevlor was most likely a fanatical religious zealot my dudes. He was (probably) a part of the Faerûn equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition lite.

I have kept this as factual as I am able to. Please keep in mind that Baldur's Gate 3 plays it fast and loose with the DND/ Forgotten Realms canon and lore, on top of DND/ the Forgotten Realms itself regularly disregarding and changing it's own lore and canon. DND lore and canon as a whole is a mess. It has multiple universes that sometimes interact and are maybe separate from each other. Full disclosure; I've mixed 1e-5e lore together FUCK 5.5e, because parsing through what is currently considered canon is a nightmare. As far as I'm concerned, as long as a piece of lore was canon at some point in the past 50 years— it's fair game. @y-rhywbeth2 in this post has a more in depth disclaimer. Also please check out their headcanons and lore breakdowns, they're so good.

THIS PROJECT TOOK ME OVER A MONTH TO WRITE. I've tried to find all grammatical and spelling errors. I've tried to ensure that I've cited the correct sources in the correct places.

Before reading this way too long post please look at itsclydebitches analysis on Zevlor. [Alt] Which provided me with so much insight to his character and kickstarted my obsession with him. Also, @itsclydebitches puts ideas into words better than I do.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

● (Part 1) Zevlor before the events of BG3:

Here is what we know, for sure, about Zevlor:

Zevlor is a tiefling.

Zevlor achieved the rank of commander in the Hellriders.

He survived the city's fall into the Hells.

He was a paladin.

He does not have Darkvision.

Finally, here are the headcanons I have cobbled together based on the available albeit often times conflicting information I have gathered: (Hard facts are in green, everything else is speculation on my part.)

The youngest I would put Zevlor at is his mid 50's. The oldest I would put him at is his late 60's.

So this means that he was approximately 5-15 years old during the vampire crisis. Mentally, these are very formative years for a person. It really isn't a stretch of the imagination to assume that this, along with the miraculous appearance of the companion, set young Zevlor on the path to becoming a paladin and a Hellrider.

There aren't many elderly Hellriders around because most die in the line of duty. To have survived into his old age is a testament to Zevlor's skill, dedication, and luck divine favor.

(AN: In Zevlor's Sleep Stories, "A non-profit project created for and run by fans of Baldur's Gate 3 and its characters.", in episode # 8 - Oathsworn Glenn McCready, the official VA of Zevlor, (I only point out that the stories are narrated by the official VA because I think it's really cool that he and the fans have collaborated on the project. It is not meant to imply that him narrating the project means he has any opinions on how Zevlor is depicted in them, nor is it meant to lend any weight to the Sleep Stories being regarded as canon. Please check it out, it's an amazing project.) narrated a story in which Zevlor was stated to be 10 years old when the Companion first appeared— making Zevlor ~60 during the events of BG3. Zevlor's Sleep Stories is NOT canon, but I'm going to view this one story as canon in my heart; unless/ until Larian releases content/ info that contradicts it.)

This post [alt] by @nightmarist and @space-blue with contributions from @haru-sen is a wonderful source for some history of Elturel, how the Hellriders and Zariel are connected, how paladin's and their oaths work, and an analysis of how being exiled from Elturel changed/ impacted Zevlor's oath.

Zevlor would have had to devote himself 3x more than a non-tiefling Hellrider would've:

Hellriders were held to a high moral standard in a city that already had strict moral codes of conduct.

The Order of the Companion members took the Hellriders dedication a step further by swearing an oath to the city on a god.

Zevlor would have been under intense scrutiny for the crime of being a tiefling. For him to have made the rank of Commander despite this means that he proved, beyond a shadow of a shadow of a doubt, that he was devoted to protecting Elturel.

For added angst I like to headcanon that he had only achieved the rank of Commander a few tendays before Elturel fell into the Hells. And that it took so long for Zevlor to achieve the rank of Commander because he was rejected for promotions in favor of someone who wasn't a tiefling, even if they were less suited for the job than Zevlor was. And that if he wasn't a tiefling then he would've become a commander many years earlier.

Which means that for the entirety of his adult life Zevlor wholly devoted himself to being a Hellrider. He had to forsake everything else, being a Hellrider was his life's purpose.

That level of dedication cannot be faked or forced. He truly believed in being a Hellrider and what the Hellriders stood for/ represented.

And he was thanked for his years of unyielding service by being

● (Part 2) Banished from Elturel:

Zevlor's years of service, his countless sacrifices, and unwavering dedication to the protection of the city and its inhabitants meant nothing to the people of Elturel after the city was returned from the hells. Tieflings looked like the devils that had tormented them in hell (nevermind that the tieflings were also subject to the abuse from devils) and as such they were blamed for the city's Decent into Avernus.

"Many if not all the city's tieflings were exiled from the city, thanks to a new wave of misplaced fear and newly-formed prejudice."

This hatred from the people he loved so dearly didn't lead to Zevlor breaking his oath, it shattered Zevlor's very faith itself. (FFS, I can't find a clip of the Narrator describing Zevlor's time in/ just after Avernus when you click on him when he's in the mindflayer pod in Act 2. Please just trust me on this one.)

Zevlor didn't break his oath, it was broken for him. Hellriders swear to "Serve the realm of Elturgard, and defend the city of Elturel body and soul.", and he was forced to abandon the city.

Earlier in this series I had mentioned how exiled Hellriders were stripped of their gear before being cast out of the city. Zevlor, and the other tiefling Hellriders at the end of the game, still have some of their Hellrider gear. [alt] This makes me think that the other Hellriders refused to completely strip their tiefling family members of their gear because they did not agree with the city's bigoted decision. Letting them keep their gear would have been a subtle hint (and resistance to the city's authority) that the other Hellriders still considered their tiefling comrades as fellow Hellriders.

Whether the exiled tiefling Hellriders were still considered members of the Hellriders by the remaining Hellriders or not, Zevlor was now a

● (Part 3) Refugee:

But Zevlor still had a purpose, he and his fellow banished tiefling Hellriders swore to defend the civilian refugees on their journey to Baldur's Gate.

Tilses, and I assume the other Hellriders, still referred to Zevlor as Commander, and still considered him a Hellrider. She believed that no one could revoke their membership to the Hellriders, but Zevlor did. "They can [take away our Hellrider membership], and did. Avernus changed things — best we get used to that." - Zevlor

They were attacked multiple times on the road, and they had many casualties, and so Zevlor carried on as he always had— as a paladin sworn to protect his people. The refugees and the other, younger, Hellriders needed him to be a strong leader with unwavering faith, so that's what he was— but it was all an act. An act that got harder and harder to keep up as the days wore on and the rations, and survivors, dwindled.

But then they stumbled upon a possible salvation,

● (Part 4) The Emerald Grove:

They were welcomed in with open arms by the Archdruid Halsin. For the first time in who knows how long the refugees could rest. Sure, most of the other druids seem to barely tolerate the tieflings— but the Archdruid had made his position on their continued sanctuary within the grove clear.

And then the Archdruid Halsin went off with a set of very inexperienced and racist adventures, leaving a woman who could barely hide her contempt for the refugees as temporary Archdruid. Which should have only been for a few days at most, Zevlor knew he could play nice long enough to placate Kagha until Halsin returned, it was fine.

But Halsin didn't return, because he'd been kidnapped. And worse, Zevlor find this out because those inept adventures brought a pack of goblins right to the gate of the Grove.

I think the goblin attack was when Zevlor truly began to crumble. He would've been overwrought with guilt and self-doubt. Had he not spent ~20 seconds berating and interrogating Aradin over leading goblins straight to the Grove, and instead used that time to open the gate, then Kanon's death could've been avoided.

Worse still is that he ordered a man who wasn't wearing any armor to open the gate. Zevlor blames himself for Kanon's death, and he would mentally self-flagellate himself over his own cowardice: How he, a Commander in the Hellriders, took cover while Kanon, a tailor by trade, bravely continued opening the gate while the goblins were firing arrows at him.

After a hard-fought battle, the goblins are defeated. Then Aradin swaggers in acting as though he didn't just do a profoundly stupid thing by leading the goblins straight to defenseless citizens. Not only that, the uppity shithead Aradin blames Halsin for getting himself kidnapped. And then Aradin strikes a nerve, calling Zevlor a coward (and a slur). I think that Zevlor is already contending with his own guilt from thinking that he himself acted cowardly. For Aradin to call him a coward, on top of all the other stupid shit he's been spouting off, is too much to bear, and Zevlor's rage/ self-loathing is about to erupt into violence.

Luckily, the group of actually competent adventures who arrived and saved the day also managed to diffuse the tension between Zevlor and Aradin.

Or not. Leading to Zevlor punching the overtly racist idiot.

Punching Aradin (acting on his inherent desire for violence*, specifically) is something that I believe is wildly out of character for Zevlor. Aradin isn't the first mouthy prick he's come across, and if Zevlor had responded with violence to all of them then he wouldn't have been able to become a Commander. The stress Zevlor's been under has finally boiled over, and now that he no longer considers himself a Hellrider (and is constantly in survival mode trying to keep himself and the other tieflings alive), keeping a tight lid on his anger isn't something he really cares about anymore.

*"Tieflings also had access to an ability known as infernal wrath, which channeled their innate rage and potential for evil into their attacks for added effectiveness."

I cannot emphasize enough how much self discipline and restraint Zevlor has. His infernal heritage in combination with the overt discrimination he has undoubtedly faced his entire life, plus a healthy dose of pride, are a vicious cocktail of honestly justified anger issues. (AN: Based on him having more physical infernal features than the other tieflings do [alt] I headcanon that he possesses a temper closer resembling a devil's than the less infernal-looking tieflings do.)

Zevlor has been unchained. When it becomes clear that diplomacy won't work Zevlor tells the player that Kagha is their main obstacle, and that without her influence the other druids may see sense. The way he phrases this sentence allows Tav to "read between the lines" and see that Zevlor is open to killing Kagha, while also giving himself plausible deniability. Zevlor didn't suggest murdering Kagha, Tav did. Zevlor is "still hoping that Kagha can be swayed from this madness.", but if not... well, surely Tav understands how "Leaders need to make tough decisions. We do what we must."

Notice how slyly he phrased that— "we", subtly putting himself and Tav in the same category/ on the same team. But most importantly he never outright says to Tav "I want you to kill Kagha", it's implied. His 17 charisma and years of politicking around racism and red tape really shows here; because if shit goes south and Tav fails in their assassination attempt then, even if he has ingested a truth serum, Zevlor can honestly tell the druids that he never asked Tav to kill Kagha. If Tav doesn't suggest killing Kagha then Zevlor doesn't bring it up, and instead asks Tav to take out the goblin camp leaders.

(I am only citing this one dialogue tree option. There are more dialogue tree options, but I can't find videos of them and I am currently unable to play BG3 to explore the different options myself.)

Zevlor is proficient in using manipulation tactics and his knowledge of psychology to garner his preferred outcome. To be clear— I don't think he would have acted in such an underhanded way before being exiled, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I do think that pre-descent Zevlor was no stranger to using manipulation/ his psychological insight to achieve his goals, he would've had to because of the prejudice he faced, but it would've been used for more benign reasons (such as being treated with basic respect instead of open contempt).

(AN: Manipulation in and of itself isn't inherently bad, we all use manipulation to some extent in our day to day lives. So long as they are not abused little white lies and benign manipulations, along with having/ using tact, allow society to smoothly function. Like how saying "Please get me a glass of water." is perceived more favorably, and is more likely to convince a person to get you a glass of water, than "Get me a glass of water." Saying please is considered polite, and people are much more likely to acquiesce to a request if someone is polite. 'You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.' Or how you might wait until after someone has eaten to ask them for something, because they're more likely to agree to your request when they're not hangry.)

Zevlor was once a very proud man, and he had every right to be— becoming a Commander in the Hellriders is a remarkable achievement. Becoming a Commander in the Hellriders in the face of profound discrimination? Nothing short of a triumph. The Zevlor we meet at the Grove is a shadow of the man he used to be. The fall into Avernus and everything that happened after it has sucked most of the life out of him.

We still catch glimpses of the proud Hellrider Commander with the power of god and anime on his side that Zevlor once was. This post [alt] by @dimmadoome demonstrates not only Zevlor's pride, but his infernal temper and possessiveness (which I will cover in a different post). Listen to his speech here. This is a man who has lead his fellow warriors into battle. A man who fought for what he believed in and refused to give up even in the face of insurmountable danger. You can see the hell fire in his eyes blazing bright with righteous fury.

And then there's the speech he gives after defeating Minthara. Note his emphasis on the tieflings being not just survivors, but family. When he says 'family' he has a proud, gentle smile. (His high charisma and experience with giving rousing speeches may be the only reason why his mien changes during this part of his speech, but I think he's being sincere.) If you start that video from the beginning you can see him take a moment to collect himself because he's exhausted, but he knows his people need him to be a strong unflappable leader.

(Did you catch how he quickly pivots from hauteur "Tymora smile on me." to deference "We did it. You did it."? Manipulate, mansplain, malewife the hell out of them Zevlor.)

This portion of the video highlights Zevlor's loyalty to his comrades in arms. He calls Tav family— remember, Hellriders are extremely loyal to one another (and tieflings are very loyal to those who prove themselves trustworthy), this is how he behaved towards all his fellow Hellriders before he has cast out of Elturel. His faith is still broken, but Tav/Durge/Origin has reignited a glimmer of hope in him.

I think this is the only time I've ever seen this poor man actually relax and smile. But then he immediately goes back to looking pensive and walled off. I may be delulu and reading too far into things, but I don't think this is merely his character model returning to its default— I think it demonstrates exactly how Zevlor has been living for years: Silently admonishing himself for letting his guard down and his control slip. Desperately wanting to let go and forget himself and his propriety for a while but being unwilling, possibly unable, to do so.

That being said he does somewhat relax at

● (Part 5) The Tiefling Party:

There isn't a lot to say here. Zevlor isn't imbibing (much) to ensure that he keeps his wits about him— both so that he can supervise the people who are partying, and keep watch for potential threats. Even though he's not partying, Zevlor is elated to see the tiefling refugees smiling and relaxing. He knows that the journey ahead of them is fraught with danger/ trials and tribulations. He even looks the other way when his people spike the punch to make purple drank.

In Early Access to thank Tav for saving them Zevlor made a (bugged) light show where every light in it represented a life that Tav and Co. had saved. The party is the last time Zevlor is happy and hopeful before everything falls apart, as we will see in the next installation of this series: (Part 4) Zevlor's actions during Act 2, an analysis of a broken man.

Here's a link to the master list for this series.

Thanks for reading!

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