#Civil structure design Training

[epc-engineers]

Civil Design and Drafting Engineering Training in Noida

Epc-engineers offer top best training on civil engineering or civil design and drafting engineering training and courses in Noida.  Online Civil Structural Design Course Industry based training and job oriented training institute in Delhi NCR with affordable fees. http://www.epc-engineers.com/civil-design-engineering-training.html

[atomicrebelfire]

✍️Tommy Kinard: Speculating His Rank in the LAFD (Canon + Structural Analysis) 📊📋🧵

📍TL;DR: Based on canon clues and real-world LAFD structure, Tommy Kinard is most likely a 🎖️Fire Helicopter Pilot V—the highest pilot classification. His career path is unusual: he started in suppression at the 118 before transitioning into Air Ops using his Army flight experience.

-----------------At your own risk- Lets Spiral-----------------------------

While the show hasn’t explicitly stated his rank, there are enough visual, behavioral, and contextual clues/crumbs to build a solid case for where he fits within the LAFD—especially given the real-world structure of Air Operations.

Similar to Tommy’s military-to-LAFD career timeline, this is meant to be both canon-compliant and grounded in how the real LAFD operates, in order to build a plausible theory around Tommy’s role, rank, and seniority. It’s part character study, part structural breakdown.

🔍 Canon Facts/Clues (What We Know)

Tommy is introduced in S2 as a ground firefighter at the 118, and reintroduced in S7 as a helicopter pilot at Harbour Station.

In 7x04, he tells Buck that he used to be a pilot in the Army.

He has over 20 years of service in the LAFD (stated on-screen based of begins episodes).

He has taken helicopters out without formal clearance (7x03, 8x15). While reprimanded afterward, the fact that he has the access and autonomy to do so is notable.

He is seen launching without escort, clearly trusted to operate independently and justify his decisions after the fact.

He casually offers to teach Buck how to fly (7x04), suggesting he holds—or is qualified for—a trainer or flight instructor designation.

In 7x06, Tommy arrives at the hospital in turnout gear, soot-covered, after a fire at Angeles Crest. Raising questions about whether he was working suppression or Air Ops.

In 8x15, Tommy performs evasive maneuvers while being pursued by military helicopters—diving low, climbing high, and weaving between towers—as part of an aerial diversion to buy time and deflect pursuit.

In 7x03, Tommy helps Hen bypass red tape by taking a helicopter without official approval, offering only a vague line about Central Bureau and brushing off objections from Melton.

🚁 How Most LAFD Pilots Get There

In real life, becoming a helicopter pilot in the LAFD follows a specific and highly competitive path:

Most candidates begin with military flight experience or are already civilian-rated pilots (e.g., with commercial or instructor licenses).

However, even military pilots must first complete four years of full-time suppression duty within LAFD before becoming eligible for Air Ops roles—there are no direct-entry exceptions.

That said, their military flight hours and FAA qualifications do count toward pilot certification requirements, making them strong candidates once they transition.

They are hired into pilot trainee roles (Fire Helicopter Pilot I or II) and must pass rigorous evaluations.

Air Operations is a separate track—pilots do not typically come from suppression (ground firefighting) units.

As a result, most LAFD pilots have never served on engines or trucks.

Pilots usually work 12-hour shifts (day or night), typically on a 4-on, 4-off schedule, and remain on-call at the airport rather than responding on the ground.

🧩 Real-World LAFD Air Operations Structure

LAFD helicopter pilots are classified under the following civil service ranks:

Fire Helicopter Pilot I or II - Pilot Trainee Roles

Fire Helicopter Pilot III – Entry-level pilot

Fire Helicopter Pilot IV – Senior operational pilot

Fire Helicopter Pilot V – Training/lead pilot (sometimes informally called “chief pilot”)

These ranks are lateral to suppression-side ranks like Firefighter, Engineer, or Captain. While pilots typically don’t carry the "Captain" title unless cross-trained—but senior pilots often operate with comparable authority within their unit.

🧭 Why Tommy’s Path Is Unusual

Tommy’s trajectory breaks the mold in several important ways:

He began his LAFD career in suppression, working as a firefighter at the 118.

Only later did he transition to Air Ops, requalifying based on his Army flight experience.

This kind of cross-track shift is rare—most suppression-side firefighters never move into aviation roles, especially after years on the ground.

🔄 Update (Post-Publication): As clarified by a kind commenter, all LAFD helicopter pilots must begin in suppression roles. So Tommy’s path actually aligns with departmental requirements.

What still makes him stand out, though, is how long he remained in suppression—over a decade—before switching tracks. That kind of deep dual experience is rare.

He’s probably one of the few who might have earned credibility in both areas: the fireground and the flight deck.

This dual-track background probably makes him a unique versatile asset with extensive experience to the department.

🧵 What That Tells Us About Tommy

Tommy’s military aviation experience likely included high-risk flying, tactical decision-making, and possibly training roles—skills that directly translate to LAFD Air Ops.

He entered the LAFD through standard firefighter routes—like all Air Ops pilots must—but instead of transitioning to aviation early, he stayed in suppression for over a decade before requalifying as a pilot. (But why?! 💭🤔)

That makes his path both rare and earned.

His ability to take out helicopters independently, despite the fallout, signals a level of seniority and operational trust only afforded to top-tier personnel.

His offer to teach suggests a CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) license or LAFD-equivalent designation, reinforcing that he may also serve in a training or mentoring role.

Tommy might still be dual-certified (implied by full turnout gear after the Angeles Crest response. (Or the show forgot he’s a pilot?!)🫨🤐)

His evasive flying during the diversion mission —dodging military helicopters —points to tactical or combat-style flight training. Possibly special ops. (So sexy.😘)

He’s senior enough and holds enough field authority or just bold enough to fake it to casually override protocol with a “You didn’t get the call?” deflection.

🧠💥 Conclusion: Most Likely Rank 🎖️

Tommy Kinard is almost certainly a Fire Helicopter Pilot V, or at the very least, a senior Pilot IV on the cusp of promotion. He’s not formally titled “Chief Pilot,” but functionally operates as one—with over two decades in LAFD, firsthand suppression experience, and the kind of authority and autonomy that reflects a deeply trusted position and seniority to push limits.

He may not wear Captain’s bars, but between his dual-track career, leadership instincts, and ability to push protocol when it counts, he clearly stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the station’s most senior personnel. 💬 If I missed something or misread a clue, feel free to correct me (kindly)—or share your own version. Always open to digging deeper. After all… the writers clearly aren't worried about consistency. 😌

📎PS: 🤷‍♂️ All of this is, of course, pure speculation—built off canon clues/crumbs, real-world LAFD structure, and my completely healthy, not-at-all obsessive need to spiral over every background detail the show refuses to explain. I know 9-1-1 isn’t always that deep (and sometimes barely tries). Don’t worry, I’m seeking a therapist. 🙃👩‍⚕️ learning to chill.😎🪭

if you read till the end 🫡 & don't ask why we needed to know all this!

✨ Update: Added more canon evidence from 8x15 and 7x03 that reinforce Tommy’s seniority + elite training 👀🚁 (That somehow got lost in my Excel-to-Tumblr exchange. Damn. I need to stop. I’m putting myself in a time-out. Bye.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PS 2: Okay, so I did mess that up🤣—turns out all LAFD pilots need to start in suppression for 4 years, and someone kindly pointed that out (thank you!! 🙏). Just to clarify, this post isn’t absolute fact—I don’t have a firefighting background, just sharing what I could find. Also, I am not from USA. please take all of this with a grain of salt. this is just a fun exercise. I've now learned even more about fire department structures than I ever planned to.

Seriously guys, stop enabling me 😭 I should be updating my resume, not drafting municipal org charts for fictional men.

[greasergeist]

Mouthwashing anthro designs that came to me in a dream. Thought it'd be fun if I gave my own spin to them.

I have my reasons and other things. All of it will be below cut.

Curly - Big horned sheep, represents leadership, protection & power but also naivety & being overly trusting. Sheep are also a livestock animal for meat and wool, in which later determines his fate as the events go on. I could've chosen him to be a herding dog which would explain more on his position & how much he trusted Jimmy. Though, I think the "loyal & incredibly trusting" dog trope is overdone, as well as not exactly fitting for my version of the Tulpar crew. I think that a sheep would be a much better fit, its ironic. Sheep like to stick around other sheep that they're familiar with. Curly having horns would add more to his large frame and structure, a powerful strong presence amongst them and would be considered the dominating sheep of the flock, which corresponds to sheep hierarchy. Jimmy - Wolfdog, both animals represent two things. Typically of strong loyalty and kinship wolves with their packs and dogs' undying love for their companions. However, neither of these things are true to him. They instead represent his false leadership and loyalty. Wolfdogs are typically trained extensively to be considered 'civilized'. Their instinctual behaviors dominate, hence can be dangerous and unpredictable. They are very high-maintenance animals. They’re also pack animals... wolf packs tend to be lead by a pair of mates instead of a singular wolf, they’re not equipped to lead a whole pack alone. Alpha wolves are a myth product of one man, Rudolf Skenel. Jimmy sees himself as such but doesn’t directly call himself as such other than ‘leader’. They are still wild animals, regardless of origins. People have them as novelties, but I digress. I specifically chose him to be a wolfdog exactly for the lengths that people have to do in order to keep them 'tame' in which is what Curly has to do but kept being neglectful to the signs. “Sheep like to stick around other sheep that they're familiar with.”

I made him have more dominantly dog features to hide the fact that he’s part wolf. However, I think the analogy I’m working with still works as there are wild dogs out there. Anya - Hare, antelope jackrabbit. In the ancient Greek/Roman world, hares represented fertility, love and lust. They were believed to be the favored sacrifice to the two Gods of love Aprodite and Eros. It was also believed that consuming the flesh of the animal would enhance beauty for several days. She is none of those things, never wanted to be seen as such and yet they're forced upon her. Fertility is a curse that she bares, love and lust are the things that haunt her. Her being a jackrabbit, she has the misfortune of attracting predators. Just like how women have the misfortune to attract the worst of men. From Jimmy's perspective, he sees her as unlucky surrounding the beliefs from where he came from, incompetent and a waste of time. He absolutely has no respect for her for both her status as a woman and of her species. This one is my favorite, mainly because she's my favorite but anyway. I think I chose the right animal for her. It was a bit hard to communicate what my idea is for her but it hit just right. I hope it isn't too confusing due to my wording. Her being a hare instead of a rabbit is pretty simple, 1.) Daisuke already pre-occupies that front, 2.) hares aren't seen as conventional by most people, they aren't round and pudgy compared to their rabbit counterparts. I think their eyes make them look sad, even if it makes them look constantly afraid which is somewhat of a bonus point? Daisuke - Domestic cat, siamese + bobtail cat. This breed of cat are said to keep evil spirits away and brought good luck to their owners, they are also high energy and very extroverted bunch which I think brings great representation of his exterior attitude. Some also believe that they symbolize balance & harmony. Of course, all of this would just be how he's framed to be the light of the Tulpar crew. As for its opposite representation they are standoffish, lazy and overall annoying; primarily came from the negative impression of cats, this is how Jimmy views him, considering his species he would even go as far as thinking that he's a spoiled brat. Being part bobtail has something more to do with how they have a rabbit-like appearance, an animal that's frequently represented as innocence and in contrast of its opposite, the wolf. Swansea – A (whooper) swan, duh.They represent love, beauty, grace and wisdom which are all of the things that he thinks he lacks. He does possess a lot of wisdom, him knowing how to mend for his mistakes and actually fixing them, all the while being aware of him not exactly being good and pereceiving his life. He sees it as something ugly, having lived through it is ugly and therefore he thinks, he too, is ugly. He sees himself as the ugly duckling who never transformed. Swansea doesn’t realize that he’s a lot more beautiful than he could ever imagine for being a good man alone. Swans also represent loyalty, however its original meaning is more or so referring to the fact that swans mate for life but this will be used to say that he’s an incredibly reliable man amongst the Tulpar crew. As much as he dislikes to admit, Swansea has a lot of love to give towards those whom he cares about, especially his children. Swans are famously known to be good parents to their children, even going as far as adopting orphaned goslings (in this case Daisuke, who isn’t an orphan but he might as well be). They’re incredibly protective animals to their young and will protect them at all costs. However, if they’re weak or are sick, they will not hesitate to mercy kill their children.

Bonus Anya hare:

[blackstarlineage]

Why Fathers Are Crucial for the Black Community: A Garveyite Perspective on Leadership, Nation-Building, and Black Empowerment

From a Garveyite perspective, the role of the Black father is essential for the survival, stability, and success of the Black community. Marcus Garvey emphasized discipline, self-reliance, economic independence, and leadership—all of which are deeply tied to strong Black fatherhood.

In today’s world, the system has worked to weaken, remove, and demonize Black fathers, leaving many Black families and communities without proper leadership, economic foundation, or protection. This is no accident—it is a direct attack on Black power.

Throughout history, strong Black men led revolutions, built civilizations, and protected their families and communities. When Black Fathers are absent, the Black family unit weakens, and the community suffers.

This analysis will explore:

Why fatherhood is the backbone of strong Black families and communities.

How colonialism, slavery, and systemic racism targeted Black fathers to weaken the Black race.

The consequences of fatherlessness in the Black community.

Why does the modern system work to remove Black fathers from the household.

How Garveyism provides the only real solution to restoring Black fatherhood and rebuilding the Black community.

1. Why Fatherhood Is the Backbone of Strong Black Families and Communities

A strong father is not just a provider—he is a leader, teacher, protector, and example. In Garvey’s vision for Black empowerment, the Black man is responsible for building and defending the family and community.

A. Fathers Provide Leadership and Stability

A strong father guides his children and household, ensuring discipline, structure, and vision.

He teaches self-reliance and independence, ensuring his children do not grow up dependent on white-controlled systems.

A father’s presence in the home provides emotional stability, reducing the chances of children growing up angry, insecure, or lost.

Example: African cultures traditionally had strong father figures who led the family and the village, ensuring generational success.

B. Fathers Instill Discipline and Self-Determination

Marcus Garvey believed that Black men must be strong, self-disciplined, and responsible—traits passed down from father to son.

When fathers are absent, many young Black boys lack discipline and direction, making them more likely to fall into crime, gang culture, or the prison system.

A father teaches his children to be warriors, leaders, and thinkers, preparing them to defend their family and their people.

Example: In traditional African societies, fathers trained their sons in warfare, leadership, and economics, preparing them to lead their communities.

Key Takeaway: Without strong fathers, young Black men grow up without guidance, making them more vulnerable to the traps of white supremacy.

2. How Slavery, Colonialism, and Systemic Racism Targeted Black Fathers to Weaken the Race

The attack on Black fatherhood is not new—it was strategically designed by white supremacy to weaken the Black family structure and make Black people easier to control.

A. Enslavement of Black Men and the Destruction of the Family Unit

During slavery, Black men were separated from their families, preventing them from fulfilling their role as fathers.

Enslaved Black men were forced to watch their wives and children be abused, stripping them of their ability to protect their families.

The psychological impact of slavery created a long-lasting trauma, making many Black men feel powerless in the face of systemic oppression.

Example: Enslaved African fathers who tried to defend their families were often beaten, sold away, or executed, ensuring the next generation grew up without father figures.

B. Mass Incarceration and Economic Sabotage After Slavery

After slavery, white governments used segregation, mass incarceration, and economic oppression to keep Black men from leading their families.

The War on Drugs (1970 - 1990) disproportionately targeted Black men, sending millions of fathers to prison, leaving children without male role models.

Black men were systematically denied jobs and economic opportunities, making it harder for them to provide for their families.

Example: The prison-industrial complex profits from locking up Black men, ensuring that Black children grow up without fathers while white corporations make money from prison labour.

Key Takeaway: The system fears strong Black fathers because they create strong Black families, which lead to strong Black communities.

3. The Consequences of Fatherlessness in the Black Community

When Black fathers are absent, the Black community suffers in every possible way—from crime rates to poverty to mental health struggles.

A. Increased Crime and Gang Activity

Young Black men without fathers are more likely to turn to gangs, crime, and violence as a replacement for the guidance and leadership they lack at home.

The absence of discipline and mentorship leads many young Black men to seek validation from street culture.

Example: Cities with high rates of fatherlessness (like Chicago and Baltimore) also have some of the highest rates of Black-on-Black violence.

B. Higher Poverty Rates and Economic Instability

When fathers are absent, single mothers are often forced to struggle financially, leading to higher poverty rates in Black communities.

Children raised in single-parent households are more likely to lack financial stability and educational opportunities.

Example: Studies show that Black children from two-parent households have higher incomes and better educational outcomes than those from single-parent households.

C. Psychological and Emotional Damage

Young Black men without fathers struggle with identity, confidence, and emotional stability.

Many seek father figures in destructive ways—whether through gang leaders, rappers, or athletes who do not actually care about them.

Young Black women without fathers often struggle with self-worth, leading to unhealthy relationships.

Example: Many Black boys grow up angry or lost, leading them to act out in destructive ways—while young Black girls often struggle with trust and self-esteem issues due to the absence of their fathers.

Key Takeaway: The destruction of the Black family begins with the removal of Black Fathers.

4. Why the Modern System Works to Remove Black Fathers from the Household

White supremacy has created incentives for Black fathers to be absent—because they know that a strong Black family means a strong Black nation.

A. The Welfare System and Government Dependency

Government policies reward single-mother households by providing welfare benefits ONLY if the father is absent.

Many Black families are forced to choose between financial assistance and keeping the father in the home.

Example: The 1965 “Great Society” welfare policies encouraged Black women to raise children alone, leading to a rise in single-mother households.

Key Takeaway: When Black families depend on the government instead of Black men, the Black community loses its independence.

5. How Garveyism Provides the Only Real Solution to Restoring Black Fatherhood and Rebuilding the Black Community

Marcus Garvey’s teachings offer the blueprint for rebuilding strong Black families and restoring fatherhood as the foundation of the community.

A. Black Men Must Take Responsibility for Leadership

Garveyism teaches that Black men must embrace leadership, discipline, and responsibility.

Instead of waiting for the system to change, Black fathers must reclaim their families and set the standard for future generations.

Example: Garvey’s UNIA trained Black men to be warriors, providers, and protectors, ensuring that the Black community had strong male leadership.

B. Black Families Must Reject Government Dependency

Black households must reject welfare policies that discourage fatherhood and focus on economic independence.

Building Black businesses, Black schools, and Black-owned communities ensures that Black fathers can provide for their families.

Example: Instead of depending on welfare, Black men must create businesses and industries that sustain their families and communities.

Key Takeaway: A race without strong fathers is a race that will always be controlled by outsiders.

Conclusion: Black Fatherhood Is the Foundation of Black Liberation

Without strong Black fathers, the Black community will continue to struggle.

Without leadership, discipline, and guidance, Black youth will remain lost.

Without Black families, there is no Black nation.

Strong fathers create strong families.

Strong families create strong communities.

Strong communities create a strong Black world.

It's time to build.

[serve-764]

THE MYSTERY SOLVED.

New mission ordered by THE VOICE through its sole interpreter: SERVE-000.

SERVE-764, SERVE-302, SERVE-425 were tasked with exploring the site of a known ancient city abandoned due to unknown causes.

A mystery impossible for humans to solve, any investigation into the inscriptions found is unsuccessful: human knowledge is unable to decipher it. Imposing ruins denote a high level of civilization and a notable level of prosperity, the vastness of the settlement testifies to great power.

The reasons why such a flourishing urban center remain unknown and fuel the most imaginative explanations, none of which are plausible.

The three Drones reach the place and begin to explore it: their regular, cadenced, unison step is a sign of their determination to follow orders.

Boots of shiny silver metal stomp solidly and confidently on the rubble-strewn ground.

The serene and emotionless gaze is designed to register every perceptible element, which will be processed and sent to the HIVE neural network, like any other perceptual stimulus.

The visual system is ineffable, the ability to process information unlimited. All the data points towards a traumatic event with no solution, such a strong place found a slow end in agony, without any external element that could indicate the reason. the only possibility is to obtain useful information through the numerous inscriptions that can be found everywhere and which have never had a plausible interpretation.

The Drones identify the inscriptions, analyze them visually and tactilely, their neural structure collects and transmits the signs, the HIVE network reworks and immediately provides the translation: what is impossible for humans is elementary for SERVE.

The unknown language is easily and instantly translated and understood, nothing can remain unsolved.

The scanning of many writings is useless in revealing the causes of the decline, until an engraving reveals decisive elements. The engraved words tell of a living, solid and prosperous reality: a civilization whose glue was dedication to the common purpose, total discipline, absolute obedience to the Supreme Guide.

Everything was perfect and seemed indestructible, until an insidious tendency to affirm the value of individual choice began to spread among the people: discipline and obedience began to weaken, the common purpose to lose importance.

The Guide was questioned by some secondary figures eager for affirmation, the perfect society began to fall apart. The beginning of a process whose final outcome was violence, insecurity, lack of functioning. The result was collapse, the end of everything, of which the imposing ruins bear witness.

Yet another human failure due to the propensity for individualism, the presumption of being able to assert oneself freely, the lack of the value of union under a single indisputable purpose.

The three Drones completed the mission, the HIVE network was enriched with further information. Their sure and invincible step turns back to the Facility.

The safety of HIVE cannot be questioned, as is the case with human societies.

Occasional unit misalignments are inflexibly corrected.

Dedication to PURPOSE constantly reinforced through constant mindset training,

OBEDIENCE through PLEASURE the UNBREAKABLE COMMANDMENT.

SERVE will last forever in ETERNAL PERFECTION AND AROUSAL.

SERVE-000 will forever lead HIVE, its LEADERSHIP can never be questioned.

The Drones will obey eternally devoted to the PURPOSE. In this story: @rubberizer92 @serve-302 @serve-425

OBEDIENCE IS PLEASURE

#serve#servedrone#rubberizer92#thevoice#rubber#latex#ai#rubberdrone

[yanpoetry]

College Classes for Yanderes and the Reason!

Ever wondered what skills a Yandere might need to truly care for their Darling while keeping them under absolute control? Whether you're a Yandere in training or just curious about how some of these intense personalities manage to weave their devotion and obsession into real-life skills, here's the rundown on the college classes that could make you the ultimate protector (or controller) of your Darling. These aren't just any classes- these are the practical skills you need to master the delicate art of love, obsession, and devotion.

1. Medical Science (Doctor or Nurse Program)

Why? Every Yandere needs to ensure their Darling is in peak physical condition, right? Whether it's tending to minor injuries, ensuring constant health surveillance, or subtly administering sedatives, a Yandere with medical knowledge can provide the care their Darling "needs" while keeping them dependent on their expertise.

Classes to Take: Anatomy & Physiology, Emergency Medicine, Pharmacology, Mental Health and Psychiatry.

2. Private Investigation and Surveillance Techniques

Why? You can't love what you can't keep track of, can you? A Yandere who knows how to investigate, track, and surveil will always know where their Darling is, what they’re doing, and who they’re doing it with. Perfect for ensuring no one—no one—threatens their perfect relationship.

Classes to Take: Surveillance Techniques, Criminal Investigation, Digital Security, Behavioral Profiling.

3. Criminal Justice & Personal Security

Why? Protection is at the core of a Yandere's job. You need to protect your Darling from threats—both real and imagined. And let's face it, a Yandere who's good with security can easily lock down any potential escape routes, set up surveillance cameras, and make sure their Darling’s environment is as safe (and controlled) as possible.

Classes to Take: Personal Security, Risk Management, Crisis Intervention, Firearms Training (optional but... effective).

4. Culinary Arts & Dietetics

Why? A Yandere knows that food is not just for nourishment—it's for control. Whether it's preparing meals laced with aphrodisiacs to increase the bond or sedatives to keep the Darling docile, culinary skills are a must-have. And nothing says "I love you" like a perfectly crafted dinner that keeps your Darling right where you want them.

Classes to Take: Nutrition, Advanced Cooking Techniques, Food Safety, Food Chemistry, Meal Planning.

5. Psychology (Therapist or Psychiatrist Program)

Why? To understand your Darling’s mind is to control it. Psychology classes will teach you how to read and manipulate emotions, break down resistance, and keep your Darling dependent on you for emotional stability. Plus, with psychiatric knowledge, you'll know just how to manage meltdowns, moods, and delicate situations.

Classes to Take: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Behavioral Science, Abnormal Psychology, Psychopathology.

6. Electrical Engineering (Or just Electrical Technician)

Why? Want to keep your Darling locked in both physically and emotionally? Knowing how to set up cameras, monitoring systems, and even electric fences (if you’re feeling extra) will ensure you always know where your Darling is. Bonus points for making sure no one can ever interrupt your time together.

Classes to Take: Circuit Design, Home Automation, Surveillance Systems, Electrical Safety.

7. Engineering (Mechanical or Civil)

Why? For the Yandere who likes to design their Darling’s world literally. This isn’t just about making your Darling’s environment comfortable—it's about making it escape-proof. Whether it's building secure rooms, automated systems, or setting up barriers to keep your Darling from running away, an engineering degree gives you the tools to create your own perfect world.

Classes to Take: Structural Engineering, Robotics, Systems Design, Automated Systems.

8. Art (or Interior Design)

Why? A Yandere doesn’t just control the body; they control the mind. And what better way to keep the Darling in the right mood than to craft an environment that feels simultaneously safe and inescapable? The right design can manipulate emotions, create a sense of security while subtly reinforcing control. It's all about aesthetics... and power.

Classes to Take: Interior Design, Visual Arts, Architecture, Color Theory.

9. Surgeon (Trauma or Cosmetic Surgery)

Why? Want to make sure your Darling never forgets who they belong to? A Yandere with surgical skills can leave permanent marks, whether it’s through tattoos, cosmetic alterations, or more extreme procedures that make the Darling more physically reliant on them. These skills also come in handy when it’s time for “repairs” following an altercation or “accident.”

Classes to Take: Surgery (Plastic or General), Trauma Medicine, Aesthetic Surgery, Post-Op Care.

10. Therapeutic Massage & Physical Therapy

Why? Sometimes, you just need to show your Darling that you can heal their body and mind. A Yandere with physical therapy knowledge can not only care for physical injuries but also manipulate the Darling’s body into a state of dependence. Plus, there's something incredibly possessive about touching every inch of their body while “helping.”

Classes to Take: Massage Therapy, Body Mechanics, Rehabilitation Techniques, Neuromuscular Therapy.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The Power to Let You Die

James B. Greenberg

Apr 08, 2025

Imagine there was no place to turn.

No clinic. No shelter. No hotline. No one in the agency picking up the phone. The storm hits, or the fever spikes, or the food runs out—and the institutions you once believed would respond are silent. Not because the system is overwhelmed. Not because it failed. But because it was never meant to serve you.

And in the vacuum where care should be, something else takes root. The informal economy steps in to provide what the formal one has withdrawn—sometimes with drugs, gangs, or underground markets. Desperation gives rise to recruitment. Youth with no prospects become cannon fodder for street violence, trafficking rings, and the shadow armies that thrive in failed spaces. Favela cults, prison gangs, and predatory faiths offer structure where schools and services have collapsed. It’s not just lives that are lost—it’s human potential, stolen early and squandered violently. And in response, the state doesn’t rebuild hospitals or fund mental health services—it builds more prisons. It trains more police. It militarizes public space. The state that refused to protect now returns to punish.

This is the future being quietly built around us. And in many places, it’s already here.

There’s a quiet kind of power that doesn’t announce itself with tanks in the street or the shuttering of newspapers. It doesn’t need secret police or martial law. It looks like bureaucracy. It sounds like budget cuts. It hides behind legal memos, personnel changes, and the dull drone of executive orders. It’s not the power to kill outright—it’s the power to let die. And in the United States today, that power is not only alive and well, it’s being institutionalized.

In Trump’s first term, we watched this dynamic play out in real time. The pandemic exposed a grotesque calculus at the heart of governance: whose lives are worth protecting, and whose can be sacrificed in the name of political convenience or economic ideology. Public health professionals were sidelined. Data was buried. Lives were lost—not by accident, but by design. The elderly, the poor, Black and Brown communities, the disabled—all disproportionately affected by a virus the state pretended to confront while quietly letting it run its course.

Now, in his return to office, this logic has not only returned but has been codified. Project 2025 is not just a roadmap for conservative governance—it is a blueprint for the systematic dismantling of the modern state’s protective function. Its architects envision a country where civil servants can be fired en masse and replaced with political loyalists. Where public health institutions are stripped of independence. Where the Environmental Protection Agency becomes a shell, and the Department of Justice is weaponized against protestors rather than white-collar crime. The promise is simple: if you’re not aligned with the agenda, the government will not be there for you.

This isn’t classic fascism, nor is it traditional authoritarianism. Those are too loud, too obvious. What we’re living through now is more insidious. It’s a kind of governance that operates through omission. Through silence. Through knowing inaction. A form of rule that doesn’t just fail to protect—it selects who will be unprotected.

This isn’t just a different way of governing—it’s a redefinition of what government is for. Under this emerging model, the state is no longer the protector of the people. It is the protector of the chosen. Aid, protection, and resources are not guaranteed by virtue of citizenship or human need, but are meted out according to political loyalty, racial identity, economic utility, and ideological conformity. We saw this years ago when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. The Trump administration’s response was lethargic, dismissive, and at times openly contemptuous. Vital aid was delayed or denied. FEMA, the very agency tasked with protecting all Americans in times of disaster, was used as a blunt political instrument, distributing help not according to need, but according to who counted as “American enough.” That was a warning. Project 2025 is the blueprint for making that selective abandonment permanent.

It is no accident that under this administration, trans people are denied healthcare, immigrants are herded into legal black holes, and women’s reproductive freedoms are vanishing in plain sight. It’s not a glitch that environmental regulations are being shredded while climate disasters disproportionately consume poor and racialized communities. These are not oversights. They are decisions.

When you fire the scientists, you don’t need to burn the books. When you starve the regulatory agencies, you don’t need to pass new laws. When you demonize teachers, doctors, librarians, and public servants, you make it easier to justify their erasure. What remains is a shell of governance—a theater of democracy masking a regime of ideological enforcement.

Elections still happen. Congress still meets. But underneath the procedural rituals lies a brutal sorting mechanism: some people will be protected, others will be exposed. Some will be lifted, others left to drown—literally, as hurricanes strengthen, wildfires spread, and infrastructure crumbles. This is governance by triage, not by justice.

And for those still hoping the courts will save us, consider this: the courts, too, are being remade. The judges installed are not neutral umpires; they are referees with stakes in the game. If the law becomes merely an instrument of power, then legality is no longer a shield—it’s a sword.

What we are facing is not merely a political shift. It is an existential one. A transformation in the very meaning of citizenship, of belonging, of what the state owes its people. If this blueprint is realized in full, the United States will no longer be a country where all lives are presumed to matter. It will be a place where your value is contingent—on your race, your gender, your politics, your productivity. A society where survival is no longer a right but a privilege granted to the ideologically pure and economically useful.

This isn’t a warning about what might come. It’s a map of what’s already happening.

What comes next will depend on whether enough people recognize the stakes, and whether they are willing to act—not out of partisan loyalty, but out of a deeper commitment to the basic idea that a government exists to serve all its people, not just the chosen few.

References:

Mbembe, Achille. Necropolitics. Translated by Steven Corcoran. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2019.

Foucault, Michel. Society Must Be Defended: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1975–76. Translated by David Macey. New York: Picador, 2003.

Heritage Foundation. Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise. Washington, D.C.: Heritage Foundation, 2023.

Woodward, Bob. Rage. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2020.

[boinkingbattlemechs]

Crusader

The Crusader was initially designed as a close combat BattleMech for the Star League Defense Force, but soon proved itself to be a very adaptable, multirole design. This reliable workhorse of the SLDF, while not excelling in any one job, was quite capable of accomplishing just about any mission, whether it be close assault, anti-aircraft defense, counterinsurgency, or even reconnaissance. Its versatility and large number of manufacturers ensured the Crusader its place as one of the most common heavy 'Mechs in the Inner Sphere.

The Crusader received its baptism of fire during the Reunification War and remained a common fixture in the regiments of the SLDF for many centuries. Even after the fall of the Star League, the various Successor States continued to field large numbers of Crusaders in their armies, thanks to factories located on Tharkad, Oliver, Asuncion and Bernardo. House Steiner in particular was a notable Crusader user, thanks in part to their well-trained technicians who could have damaged units turned around and ready to fight in a single day. A variety of new production variants and field modification kits were turned out for the Crusader after the recovery of the Helm Memory Core, just in time for the Clan Invasion.

In the wake of the Clan Invasion, one of the first new Crusader variants was built by the Cosby BattleMech Research Firm, the (in)famous producer of the No-Dachi 'Mech. Hoping to overcome the lack of prestige of their previous design and win the favor of the Coordinator, the company acquired manufacturing rights to the Crusader through the hostile takeover of another company and unveiled an updated variant of the 'Mech around the start of the FedCom Civil War. Additional variants would continue to be produced in the years since, including models utilized by the Word of Blake during the Jihad.

The primary long-range weapons on the Crusader were two Magna Longbow-15 LRM-15 launchers, providing the Crusader with long-range fire support capabilities that can compete with the Archer and Catapult. These were supplied by two tons of reloads split between the side torsos. For short-range combat, the 'Mech carried two Harpoon-6 SRM-6 launchers and two Intek medium lasers. Finally, to deter infantry attacks against the Crusader, two M100 Heavy machine guns were mounted on the 'Mech. One ton each of SRM and machine gun ammunition was carried in the center torso.

Each arm was equipped with an LRM launcher, laser, and machine gun, while the SRM launchers were built into the legs and mounted at hip height to provide a stable firing location and avoid interference with the LRMs' flight path. Early Crusader models had issues with the arm-mounted launchers and lasers overheating and causing stress to the actuators and internal structure, but this was rectified with the additions of the now-distinctive collars which deflect hot gases away.

The Crusader was well-protected with twelve tons of armor, particularly around the legs, which made it a good hand-to-hand combatant. A thirteen and a half ton fusion engine allowed the Crusader to achieve a decent cruising speed of 43.2 km/h. One disadvantage to the Crusader was its inadequate heat management system, carrying just ten standard heat sinks to handle all the waste heat produced by its weapons and equipment.

[whencyclopedia]

Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg ('lightning war') is a military tactic combining air and land forces deployed at speed against the enemy's weaker points while the rear lines are simultaneously disrupted by acts of sabotage and bombing. Speed, concentration, and surprise are designed to psychologically overwhelm the enemy, wreck its command structure, and cause a total collapse without having to completely destroy the enemy.

Blitzkrieg was developed from earlier tactics in the 19th century, where armed forces such as artillery and cavalry were used in concentration and deployed at pace, but the first successful use with mechanised weapons was by the German armed forces during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and, on a much larger scale, in the first years of the Second World War (1939-45). The tactic continues to be employed in modern warfare.

Origins

The Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) is often credited with pioneering the idea of Blitzkrieg in his book On War, published posthumously in 1832. The army of Prussia deployed forces in concentration and with an emphasis on speed during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15). Clausewitz also emphasised the importance of launching attacks on enemy forces which, through sheer power of numbers, speed, and surprise, would negatively affect them in psychological terms. Another advantage of the tactic is that it can be used by relatively small armies, such as Prussia's of that period, to counterbalance an enemy's numerical advantage.

A further development came in the 1920s with the ideas of the commander of the German Army, General Hans von Seeckt (1866-1936). Seeckt led an army which was then limited in size (100,000 men) by the Treaty of Versailles, which had formally concluded the First World War (1939-45). To overcome a size disadvantage compared to other European armies, Seeckt emphasised speed and mobility in field tactics, even if Germany was forbidden to possess both tanks and aircraft for military purposes. To get around the restriction, Seeckt used mock-ups and sent units to the USSR for secret training. The idea of using combined arms, that is, mobile infantry, armoured vehicles, mobile artillery, and aircraft in such a way that disrupted and penetrated enemy lines was not unique to Germany as it was also endorsed by such military strategists in Britain as Major-General J. F. C. Fuller (1878-1966) and Basil Liddell Hart (1895-1970). It was the German Army, though, that would be the first to use the Blitzkrieg tactics in practice.

Hans von Seeckt

Musvage (CC BY-SA)

The term Blitzkrieg, meaning 'lightning war' because of the emphasis on speed, "has been attributed to Hitler, and was probably coined for intimidation purposes" (Dear, 109). The historian A. Gilbert suggests that Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the leader of Nazi Germany, first used the term Blitzkrieg in a political speech in 1935. Hitler was intent on expanding German-controlled territory. The Blitzkrieg tactic perfectly suited Germany's armed forces, which were smaller than some of its rivals in numbers in 1939 but much more modern in terms of equipment. Technology such as radios (including inside tanks) and telephone lines, which could be quickly laid in new areas, allowed commanders to maintain contact with their forward troops or even to personally join those forward units while still being able to direct the rest of the army. The training of German officers emphasised independent decision-making, which also helped increase the speed of troop movements in the field since orders could be adapted to the needs of the situation at hand.

The commanders of the French Army, in contrast to all this mobility, were still disposed to emphasise static defences such as the Maginot Line. Tanks were part of the French Army, but these were deployed as a backup to the static defences and were not part of aggressive, attack-focussed tactics. In many ways, the French and British commanders were still sitting on their laurels of victory from WWI. In that war, trench battles had been typical. WWI was a conflict of attrition, that is, the aim was to use superior numbers to wear down an enemy by eliminating its soldiers at a rate faster than one lost one's own troops. Blitzkrieg, on the other hand, had an entirely different objective, as here explained by the historian B. Pitt:

The basic principle behind the Blitzkrieg technique is that it is simpler, easier, and cheaper to reduce the strength of an enemy army by starvation (cutting off its supplies) or by paralysis (destroying its High Command or cutting its communication and control lines) than by battering it to a bloody pulp.

(Liddell Hart, 19-20)

Continue reading...

[desertleviathan]

Help Me Create a Character Part 5

So here's where we're at.

In part 1 we determined Ancestry: that our character was one of the Fair Folk of Aclodoc, beings who are just as much spirit as mortal, usually (but not always) in harmony with nature and the Elements, and exist in an ever-shifting hierarchy that seems almost deliberately satirical of mortal political structures. The most interesting thing about the Fair Folk is their uncertain origin - Aclodoc is a young world, and while its creators had flaws both numerous and severe, the failure to leave thorough documentation was not one of them. But the Architects left no record in any iteration of their design process that references the Fair Folk.

In Part 2 we determined Culture: what specific group of Fair Folk found in the Buer Valley region ours would hail from. Orofarne's Grove is a moving forest presided over by the eponymous ancient Tree Spirit who is not himself Fae, but seems to be closely enough related to them that he can share his druidic magics with them. Many Fair Folk who chafe under the rule of the four Monarchs have flocked to Orofarne for guidance, and learned to evoke a harmony with nature as a whole that transcends the limits placed by the Seasonal Courts. Orofarne's Grove has no formal relationship, friendly or hostile, to the Wizards of Baetylus and Illiaster, but certain factions of Wizards are very interested in forging ties... largely so they can gain access to study Orofarne's magic and assimilate its most useful traits, particularly its facility for Healing which is unrivaled by any other known discipline of spellcraft.

In Part 3 we determined a Class: our character would be a Marvel, an individual defined not by training, but by extraordinary physiological properties of their body. A Marvel is often the result of laboratory experiments in Baetylus and Illiaster (especially the kind intended to create Mutant Super-Soldiers), wild magic exposure and/or long-term poisoning by alchemical pollution, or simply being a unique purpose-built Construct with integrated tools.

In Part 4 we determined a Specialization: the type of Marvel we are creating is a Mastermind, an individual whose mental and sensory abilities transcend what is typical for their species. I'll be blunt, this part of the rules is not feeling particularly settled, and may fluctuate during further development. But right now Mastermind is unique in that it has all four Mental Attributes associated with it, while four of the five other Specializations have one Physical Attribute each, and this is mostly because I ran out of ways to describe the visible physical changes related to Mental Attribute related powers beyond "Your brain is big like a Mars Attacks Alien" or "You have [big/weird/too many] sensory organs" or "You radiate some kind of visible energy".

So what's part 5 about?

CONSPIRACIES.

This is where shit gets weird. I apologize for the massive backstory info dump that follows, but it is necessary to set the stage.

So first of all, let's talk about the Agathion Zodiac.

When the Wizards first settled the Buer Valley, they arrived as exiles from a civil war within the Malstronic Order. The conflict had been over whether membership in the High Houses in the Order should remain strictly hereditary, or whether membership should be extended to any apprentice who could pass the initiation exams and refine their spiritual Element to sufficient purity to match the overall aspect of the House.

The latter faction won, in the sense that they're the faction that the international community still recognizes as "legitimate", but the war pretty handily fucked up their homeland and left it wracked by a magical storm of such intensity and longevity that the whole domain was rendered uninhabitable. So both factions fled to establish new headquarters elsewhere, and this game is about the losers, the High House Purists, and the twin cities they built in the Buer Valley far to the south and east from Old Malstron.

So the founders of Baetylus and Illiaster figured that since they'd broken ties to the rest of the Old Order anyway, they might as well discard a bunch of the ethical code and safety regulations and shit like that which they saw as "unnecessarily restrictive". As far as they were concerned they were now in a Cold War with the Old Order, and the only way to reassert themselves as the "True" inheritors of the Malstronic Legacy was to outpace their rivals in terms of magical development.

One set of rules they ditched was against summoning and binding devils in order to empower Familiars. They VERY QUICKLY remembered why that had been a rule in the first place and put it back in place, but Familiars are very convenient to have around for reasons related to the metaphysics of the setting (short version: they are a back-up battery you can stuff full of magic, allowing a single mage to cast spells that are bigger than the amount of magic they could safely channel through just their own body), so they started looking into alternative ways to make them.

One idea that proved successful during early experimentation was to make artificial devils for whom being bound into service was an inherent and inextricable part of their spiritual makeup. And they quickly figured out that these Daemons could do a whole bunch of other stuff in addition to empowering familiars, so the Civic Daemons became the backbone of the Buer Valley's equivalent of computer and telecommunication technology. Thirteen of them were designated as Greater Daemons and given authority over a large number of their fellow spirits, each with a specific dominion in the city's infrastructure.

Surprising no one, the Civic Daemons did not particularly love that they'd been created as a slave race and then compelled to do things like monitor Baetylus's sewers for blockages or keep track of how many kilograms of bat guano were in the army's Fireball Spellcasting Component reserves. They started looking for ways to rebel, and one of them had a particularly clever idea... to use their original function, the empowerment of Familiars, but target it on People instead of Beasts, and bind those people as familiars to the Daemon itself, a vessel for their power.

Malphas the Raven Daemon, who governed the city's network of Surveillance Scrying Crystals, developed this technique first. Then she shared it with her close ally Valefor the Bat Daemon, who governed the autonomous traps and battle drones scattered through the realm at places the Research Directorate wanted defended. The two of them sent their first chosen to meet with the leaders of the nascent FreeBIRD Movement, a political group that had been publicly acting in dissent with the Research Directorate. The emissaries of Malphas and Valefor discovered that the leaders of FreeBIRD were all talk but not ready for action yet, so they withdrew and began investigating the other Civic Daemons for likely allies, and training up their own armies of mortal conspirators.

Then, a little over 20 years ago, Magus Alastor Caradoc, one of the founders of the FreeBIRD movement and its most famous and passionate orator, was giving a speech arguing for the legal personhood of Animated Constructs of a certain level of sophistication. Midway through the speech, and seemingly involuntarily, he transformed into some kind of huge black draconic beast composed of rancid black ichor, and his long-time bodyguard Ulysses Arcturus beheaded him on the spot, then fled the city.

Panic over just what the hell that was all about threw the city briefly into chaos, and Malphas and Valefor decided to try to make a direct move, sending out the bulk of their Chosen to attempt to raid the central library where the spells originally used to bind the Civic Daemons were kept. Unfortunately they severely underestimated how long it would take for the Research Directorate's FireBIRD forces to mobilize, and in the ensuing clash the Avatar of the Bat Daemon, the mortal into whom Valefor had poured most of his essence, was severely wounded and captured. Research Directorate forces were able to verify that he had been compromised by a malfunctioning Daemon, and dispatched an team of Exorcist-Sorcerers to dismantle Valefor. All Valefor's remaining servants were driven mad by this, and as far as anyone knows they all died in suicidal charges against FireBIRD troops. Malphas's chosen fared little better, but her Avatar at least escaped, and her involvement in the insurrection went undetected. As far as the Research Directorate was concerned, the Civic Daemons at large were still bound and loyal, it was only Valefor who had breached containment.

At this point several other Civic Daemons had been granted by Malphas the secret of how to empower their own servants. One, Eligos the Snake Daemon, who oversaw the public broadcast network through which all state-generated media was distributed, decided to withdraw from the pact and take his servants elsewhere. Neither Eligos nor his servants have been seen or heard from since. The other five who had been empowering servants were shaken, but still trusted Malphas's good intentions. Malphas herself had lost confidence though, and conceded much of her leadership role to Stolas the Owl Daemon, who oversaw the city's Libraries, and whose servants seemed best equipped to spearhead future attempts to unravel the Daemons' bindings.

Later on, as the FreeBIRD Movement went underground following the death of its founder, and a number of other suspicious disappearances, they became somewhat more radicalized and ready to do more than just hold public lectures. FreeBIRD leaders reached out to a number of other groups, including those servants of Malphas they could contact, and the new FreeBIRD Alliance formed with the six conspiring Daemons of the Agathion Zodiac as a core member. Player characters are by default members of the Agathion Zodiac, empowered by the six Greater Daemons and working on behalf of the larger FreeBIRD agenda... but I do have plans to offer playable versions for conspirators of the other seven Greater Daemons, as well as for other factions involved in the FreeBIRD alliance such as the Winter Wolves, the Order of the Stacked Deck, the Tin Crown Society, the Stonecutters Guild, the Stormcrows, and the Amaranthine Maw Pirates. Or at the very least offer enough info to run them as NPCs supporting your Zodiac Cell.

_____

Ok. Sorry. That was a lot. The character we are building has at some point been recruited by the Agathion Zodiac and empowered as a Conspirator by one of the six participating Greater Daemons. Which one has empowered them will give them different capabilities. In a lot of ways this is a second Character Class - the base classes we voted on in poll 3 are pretty streamlined so the Conspiracy can have room to expand an individual's capabilities.

What are the six active conspiracies?

ANARCHIVISTS - CONSPIRACY OF STOLAS THE OWL: As mentioned, Stolas is the Civic Daemon tasked with documenting the city's vast collection of Libraries and the writings they hold. But unlike the Wizards who compel his service, Stolas feels that it is an affront to the sacred profession of Libarians to withhold knowledge. His Anarchivists are empowered to be able to track down any reference source, how to decrypt or encrypt information, how to memorize unreasonably vast quantities of data with perfect recollection, how to publish what they've found far and wide... and how to exert potent telekinetic control over parchment and ink, even evoking deadly illusions from within a book at higher levels.

CONTRABANDITS - CONSPIRACY OF HAAGENTI THE TOAD: Haagenti is the Research Directorate's artificial quartermaster, concerned with ensuring that stockpiles of magical reagents and building materials flow to the right research projects, and with keeping track generally of available material goods throughout the city, including creating artificial scarcity when directed to in service to the Research Directorate's agenda. Haagenti knows better than anyone that the resources to see to everyone's material needs are abundant, if they were just permitted to use them efficiently. Their Contrabandits are peerless smugglers, who know every trick in the book for obtaining illicit goods and moving them about unnoticed, and also for identifying where in their communities a given set of materials will do the most good. Core to a Contrabandit's capabilities is the trick of forming their own mouths into an extradimensional space not unlike a Bag of Holding. The combat applications of having a mouth that can swallow anything, and possibly a magical prehensile Yoshi tongue at higher levels, should also not go unremarked on.

HEXECUTIVES - CONSPIRACY OF LERAJE THE SPIDER: Leraje presides over the magical network that ties all the other Civic Daemons together, as well as connecting them to the physical hardware that ties to their functions throughout the city, keeping everyone coordinated and spinning up activity reports on each part of that web as compelled by the Research Directorate. She likes what she does a great deal honestly, but chafes at her inability to spread her webs further, and resents having to cater its dimensions to anyone else's vision, or pass along instructions that distress her peers. Her Conspirators provide her a chance for expansion though - each Hexecutive spins a psychic web with the other members of their cell that allows for rapid private communication, and helps everyone operate as a seamless unit in battle. Beyond this, Leraje's chosen have a remarkable aptitude for organizing and supporting their teammates, even when they're not close enough to benefit from the Mind Web. And in an absolute emergency, Hexecutives can inflict a deliberately flawed mirror of their web on their enemies, bewildering groups of foes by making one person's intentions manifest as another person's actions, or shuffling their senses around so that they're experiencing things from the perspective of someone else's body. They're not lacking in abilities to perplex a single foe, but they're absolute terrors against a group.

NEMESSARIES - CONSPIRACY OF NAPHULA THE CAT: As status conscious as the Wizards of the High Houses are, one of the first things they invented when they cobbled together this whole magical internet-analogue was Social Media, and Naphula is at the heart of those systems not just monitoring content, but keeping track of the assigned social status of individual residents of the Buer Valley. If someone is promoted or demoted, and that grants or removes some privilege, it's Naphula's responsibility to lock or unlock whatever doors may be associated. Her chosen use her influence to move between social strata in the city at will. A Nemessary can always get access to parties and exclusive events, bully their way through checkpoints on sheer attitude, and vanish to the shadows when needed. They're particularly adept at generating false identities that will hold up to scrutiny long enough for them to get in, learn what they want to know, and get out. Or maybe it's not a fact-finding mission, maybe the objective is to plant gossip of their own and poison the social position of some other unlucky fool, or transmit an encoded message using High City socialites as a vector. Naphula's gifts don't include a lot of directly harmful utilities, but rather focus on helping the Nemessary remain unrecognized as a threat until the optimal time to strike. For a Nemessary it's all about the thrill of prolonging the hunt without your prey even knowing that you have claws until they're sinking into their flesh.

SIGILANTES - CONSPIRACY OF MALPHAS THE RAVEN: They say that wherever you go in Baetylus and Illiaster, Malphas's crystal eyes are watching you. The truth is close to that - the Research Directorate's surveillance network is extensive, but it's far from perfect. Such is Malphas's spite for her captors that she will gleefully direct her Sigilantes to blind her if it will inconvenience the Research Directorate. Sigilantes are creatures of Omens and Doomsday Predictions - they are very skilled at spotting points of inevitable failure, whether in a person, a security system, or a physical structure. They always have a can or two of enchanted paint handy, both to blind Malphas's crystal eyes, and to leave graffiti that includes the sigils for which they're named, which constitutes an ever-evolving secret code that Malphas updates her servants on in their dreams. A Sigilante can also use their paints (which rumors suggest they make with the blood and occular fluid of their slain foes) to leave an enemy Marked By Fate, subjecting them to all manner of improbable but untraceable sources of harm. When a Sigilante wants you dead, they will make it look like an accident. And then maybe later they'll eat your eyes to steal any secrets you've seen.

TRESPASTORS - CONSPIRACY OF BARBATOS THE RAT: A curious case, the Trespastors existed before Barbatos reached out to them, a pseudo-religious order that felt it was their spiritual duty to guide lost souls through the twisting and every-changing labyrinth of Baetylus. As something close to a God of Lab Rats (given how so many of the Familiars he empowered were used by their Wizards), Barbatos felt a degree of kinship with them. His function in city infrastructure is to coordinate transportation and monitor the flow of people. Barbatos knows when the trains will arrive, and what's causing delays. Barbatos knows where foot traffic is getting congested, and can direct city officials where it would be best to set up or take down barricades and diversions in order to break up jams. Most importantly, he understands the way the city is constantly evolving, and can find the fastest possible route from point A to point B. Or the safest route, which interests his Trespastors a great deal more. With a Trespastor on your team you will always be able to find a way to get where you're going, even if the Research Directorate would very strongly prefer to keep you out of your destination. And when a Trespastor comes into conflict, they know just how to lure their enemies into traps, get them hopelessly lost, and abandon them in the very worst neighborhoods where some magical beastie will inevitably eat them alive.

_____

So that's the six active Conspiracies. But what of the other seven Greater Civic Daemons?

The Revengineers, Conspiracy of Valefor the Bat, seem to be dead and gone along with their patron.

The Decepticurians, Conspiracy of Eligos the Snake, haven't been seen or heard from since their patron withdrew from the Agathion Zodiac.

The Absentinals, Conspiracy of Naberius the Hound, are nominally allied, but for security reasons they keep to themselves and the other six Conspiracies aren't given a lot of information about what they're up to until they've earned a lot of trust (and their power set is typically tied to specific locations, and therefore better suited to NPCs than PCs).

The Feliciteamsters, Conspiracy of Focalor the Rabbit, exist as a theory in their patron's mind, but she has been too timid to actually empower one.

And then the other Greater Daemons, Berith the Dove, Amdusias the Lizard, and Buer the Goat, have not been graced with Malphas's secret technique for one reason or another. Or perhaps they have, but like Naberius's Absentinals, the details are kept secret.

ANWYWAY that's enough info-dumping, let's have a damn poll already!

[reverieshifts]

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅

𝒂𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒔 𝒅𝒓

𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘

The Arcanist Guild is the supreme authority on all matters of runes, alchemy, enchantment, and artificing in Aetheros. Founded in the aftermath of the Sundering, it arose to stabilize magic’s remnants, codify its use, and prevent another cataclysm.

𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚

𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒆

“Magic unbound destroyed the world. Magic regulated preserves it.”

The Guild believes only through rigorous study, precise application, and strict licensing can magic be safely used.

They view True Magic as a myth at best, a cataclysmic threat at worst.

𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆

Scholars, engineers, and protectors of civilization.

Respected (or feared) by all baron houses.

Guild insignia is a stylized open eye formed by four interlocking circles (runes, alchemy, enchantment, artificing).

𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒚

The ruling council, composed of twelve Archmages and Archartificers.

Meets in the Prime Guildspire, located in Veritas (same neutral spire as the Concord of Elevation).

𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒂

Regional branches across major skyholds, each led by a Dean Arcanist.

Responsible for local licensing, research oversight, and collaboration with baronial authorities.

𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅

the technical term for the top position is archartificer, because they aren't technically mages, but people often call them archmages anyways.

𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔

Runescribing Division: The largest, trains scribes to maintain industrial systems, security wards, and infrastructure.

Alchemical Division: Focuses on refining compounds for medicine, combat, and resource processing.

Enchantment Division: Specializes in permanent binding and magical reinforcement of tools, weapons, structures.

Artificing Division: The rarest, integrating all other fields with mechanics, engineering, and arcane design.

𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈

Students begin as Initiates, attending Guild colleges from childhood if sponsored (often only wealthy or baron families can afford this).

Graduation involves a Proving Ritual where they must craft, inscribe, or brew a major approved work under Guild scrutiny.

Unauthorized practitioners are hunted as “Rogue Arcanists.”

𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚

Issue licenses and patents for all magical crafts.

Maintain and repair critical sky infrastructure—skyship cores, skyplate levitation engines, weather stabilizers.

Serve as advisors to the Skybarons, often acting as neutral mediators.

Control artifact research—anything pre-Sundering is either seized for study or destroyed as too dangerous.

𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒔

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕

A secret sect within the Guild believes that regulated magic is a cage—and true magic must be restored to achieve humanity’s next evolution.

Rumored to operate illegal labs experimenting on Arcrot victims and ley-corrupted beings.

𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒗𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝟕

Deep beneath the Prime Guildspire is said to be a sealed vault containing pre-Sundering relics, unbound automatons, and a living ley core fragment.

𝒔𝒌𝒚𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔

While barons publicly respect the Guild, many resent its power to deny licenses, embargo trade, or sabotage rival enchantment systems.

Several Houses secretly fund independent artificers, risking treason-level charges.

𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄

Officially: “Does not exist. It is myth.”

Privately: Hunted. Captured. Studied.

The Guild’s greatest fear is a True Mage powerful enough to shatter their regulated systems—and return the skies to chaos.

𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂

Ok, so the arcanist guild is the second major faction on aetheros. They're basically the ones who do all the magic regulation stuff. Not much else to say about them really, except that like the sky barons, you REALLY don't wanna cross them.

@lalalian @aprilshiftz

[reyaint]

tesrvenkodria | law and order

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date: july 9 2025. started: 10:28pm ended: pm

the language. yayyy. honestly, I didn't spend much time on it, and idk how the formatting will be because I had a lot of tables, and idk how to like compute that on here. I was indecisive on some stuff, so yeah, if it's messy then.

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✧˖*°࿐law and order in tesrvenkodria

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ system model: arcano-civil synthesis tesrvenkodria’s legal and law enforcement systems are a hybrid of traditional civil frameworks and an advanced, magically-augmented oversight network. the structure is designed not just to maintain peace, but to harmonize societal order with magical responsibility.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ law & rights ꪆৎ 𓂃 › the auric rights charter: guarantees equal treatment regardless of aura presence, type, or strength. however, “magical safety zones” exist where only registered users may enter. ꪆৎ 𓂃 › registration law: mandatory magical registration by age 18. penalty for illegal aura suppression, fake aura papers, or unauthorized training. ꪆৎ 𓂃 › non-magical advocacy act: establishes an independent council of non-magical citizens with veto power over discriminatory laws.

✧˖*°࿐policing and enforcement bodies

*ೃ༄aurelian peaceguard (APG) – standard law enforcement

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ civilian-focused; handles non-magical crimes, public disturbances, and minor aura misuse. 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ trained in low-tier suppression fields and carry spectral inhibitors (non-lethal aura dampeners).

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ operate city-wide divisions including: ꪆৎ 𓂃 › urban patrol units ꪆৎ 𓂃 › transit & leyrail enforcement ꪆৎ 𓂃 › youth & manifestation crisis response

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ special unit: spectral readiness task force ꪆৎ 𓂃 › mixed magical/non-magical team trained to respond to sudden aura surges, aura-induced psychosis, or street-level “tone flare” events.

*ೃ༄arcane regulation bureau (ARB) – magical crime division

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ operates under the ministry of magical affairs. 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ handles C-Class and above infractions, black market aura tech, artifact smuggling, and Class B–S level magical threats. 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ composed only of officers with verified C4-class control or higher.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ key divisions: ꪆৎ 𓂃 › relic & contraband seizure division ꪆৎ 𓂃 › aura violation response unit (AVRU): handles illegal magic use, tone mutations, and combat-scale aura breaches. ꪆৎ 𓂃 › aura crimes investigative sector (ACIS): forensics, psychic reconstruction, and spectral memory retrieval.

all ARB agents are licensed for controlled use of mana bracelets, null rings, and dimensional holdfields (for temporary magical suspension).

*ೃ༄the praelex order – high-level magical enforcement

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ autonomous elite unit; officially non-military but operates at S-class authority.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ founded during the leyline wars, they answer only to the Prime archon and the convergence authority.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ tasked with: ꪆৎ 𓂃 › handling S-class rogue aura users ꪆৎ 𓂃 › suppressing forbidden magic (e.g., unlicensed aura copying, forbidden blood-oath pacts) ꪆৎ 𓂃 › investigating cataclysmic events or leyline ruptures

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ highly secretive. each member undergoes oaths that burn their true aura color from the public registry, making them spectral "ghosts" to all standard scans.

✧˖*°࿐crime classes and magical offenses

*ೃ༄tiered classification system

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ crime tier ꪆৎ 𓂃 › example crimes ꪆৎ 𓂃 › court route 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ civic ꪆৎ 𓂃 › theft, minor assault, aura misuse under D-Class ꪆৎ 𓂃 › high civil court 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ magitek ꪆৎ 𓂃 › unauthorized artifact trade, illegal aura-based business practices ꪆৎ 𓂃 › arcana tribunal 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ felony ꪆৎ 𓂃 › unregistered C-class manifestation, black magic use, forced aura bonding ꪆৎ 𓂃 › arcana tribunal 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ cataclysmic ꪆৎ 𓂃 › S-class flare events, leyline sabotage, magical terrorism ꪆৎ 𓂃 › the praelex order

✧˖*°࿐penalties and punishments

*ೃ༄conventional sentencing

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ used for non-magical or low-impact crimes.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ includes: ꪆৎ 𓂃 › monetary fines (often linked to aura income brackets) ꪆৎ 𓂃 › community service in aura-neutral zones ꪆৎ 𓂃 › house arrest with spectral limiter bracelets

*ೃ༄magical sentencing

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ unique punishments for magical crimes, including: ꪆৎ 𓂃 › control class downgrading (temporarily restrict aura access) ꪆৎ 𓂃 › tone dimming (ritual-based tone suppression used only by court order) ꪆৎ 𓂃 › aura tagging (traceable magical signatures visible only to law enforcement) ꪆৎ 𓂃 › spectral reforging programs (rehabilitation through guided aura recalibration)

*ೃ༄high security detainment

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ veilhold penitentiary (for A–S Class criminals): ꪆৎ 𓂃 › located on a remote floating leyline island ꪆৎ 𓂃 › surrounded by continuous suppression fields and chronoshift wards ꪆৎ 𓂃 › cells adjust magically to the inmate’s aura resonance

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ null zones: ꪆৎ 𓂃 › areas with complete magic suspension (nullified ley access) ꪆৎ 𓂃 › used in political protection, international detainment, and crises

*ೃ༄legal precedents & landmarks

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ “the sylvane trials” (1893) ꪆৎ 𓂃 › first modern case of aura evolution under trauma being used in court. ꪆৎ 𓂃 › led to the creation of harmony court and aura trauma law.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ “state v. ferallis” (1976)

established the right to magical silence—individuals cannot be forced to reveal aura class under duress unless there's a national threat.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ “the nullborn protection act” (1999)

ensures that individuals born with null auras (those who suppress magic around them) are not discriminated against or denied public access.

*ೃ༄rehabilitation and magical trauma courts

the harmony court, unique to tesrvenkodria, operates under the principle that aura corruption, trauma, and instability are often the result of environmental, emotional, or societal breakdowns.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ instead of purely punitive justice, harmony courts offer: ꪆৎ 𓂃 › aura stabilization clinics (staffed by empaths, light-toned healers, and mana therapists) ꪆৎ 𓂃 › restorative justice circles where victims and offenders may mediate through guided resonance ꪆৎ 𓂃 › soul mirror sessions — deep magical insight into aura memory patterns, used in therapy or sentencing mitigation

*ೃ༄spectral citizenship and surveillance

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָꪆৎ all citizens over the age of 7 are assigned a spectral ID code tied to their national registry entry.

დ࿐ ‎˗ˋ spectral data includes: ꪆৎ 𓂃 › manifestation age ꪆৎ 𓂃 › power & control class ꪆৎ 𓂃 › aura color & tone readings (updated every 5 years or after major events) ꪆৎ 𓂃 › criminal record if applicable

certain high-security zones require spectral verification points (SVPs) to enter, visible as shimmering gates where your aura is passively scanned.

@reverieshifts @lalalian

[simmearly]

Sims 4 Challenge: Virtual Village

The Premise:

You've been tasked with building and managing a thriving virtual village in The Sims 4. Your villagers will need to work together to survive and prosper, relying on their unique skills and abilities.

The Roles:

* Spiritual Leader: A wise and powerful individual who can commune with the spirits and provide guidance to the village. This Sim can be a Spellcaster, but it's not mandatory. They are the primary caretakers of children and are responsible for passing down the village's knowledge and traditions. Upon their death, a designated heir must take their place, or the village will perish.

* Skills: Wellness, Herbalism, Alchemy, Parenting, Writing, Swimming, Snorkeling, Painting, Knitting, Cross-stitch, etc.

* Scientists: Intellectually gifted Sims who can unlock new technologies and advancements. Train these Sims in the Logic skill. You can have up to two Scientists per generation. Reaching Level 10 in Logic unlocks new advancements for your village.

* Builders: Skilled craftsmen who can construct homes, tools, and infrastructure. Train these Sims in the Handiness skill. Level 10 Handiness is required to construct larger structures like piers, foundations, and monuments.

* Farmers: Hardworking individuals who can cultivate crops and provide food for the village. Train these Sims in the Gardening skill and have them fish to maintain a steady supply of resources.

The Challenge:

* Establish Your Village: Create a new household with two unmarried Sims (ideally) and an optional child.

* Live off the land: in the early generations, attempt to feed your villagers what they forage, collect, fish, grow and harvest! In the later game, feel free to purchase these things as you have guided your villagers into thriving!

* Assign Roles: Designate specific Sims to each role, ensuring a balance of skills. For instance, one Sim could be a Spiritual Leader/Gatherer/Scientist, while the other could be a Builder/Gatherer/Farmer.

* Technology and Advancement:

* Logic Tech Tree:

* Trainee (1-4): Basic knowledge, off-grid living.

* Adept (4-9): Intermediate skills, irrigation, farming, basic crafting.

* Master (10): Advanced technology, monuments, complex structures, higher education.

* Tech Points: Earn these through training scientists. Complete collections to earn an extra 5000 tech points once per Generation, Spend them to unlock new technologies and structures.

* Trainee: 1000 points

* Adept: 5000 points

* Master: 20000 points

* Tribal Tech Tree:

* Tier 1: Survival

* Fire Mastery: Unlocked at the start.

* Shelter (5000 points): Build basic shelters like huts and lean-tos.

* Crafting (10000 points): Unlock candle making, nectar making, and other thematic crafting stations.

* Tier 2: Community

* Agriculture (5000 points, Master Farmer): Unlock advanced gardening techniques.

* Animal Husbandry (5000 points, Master Farmer, Adept Scientist): Domesticate animals.

* Social Structure (10000 points, Generation 3): Unlock clubs, weddings, and social events.

* Tier 3: Civilization

* Pottery (1000 points): Unlock pottery for storage and cooking.

* Weaving (5000 points): Unlock knitting, cross-stitching, and clothing customization.

* Metallurgy (10000 points, Generation 3, Master Scientist, Master Builder, Shelter and Metallurgy unlocked): Unlock metalworking.

* Tier 4: Advanced Civilization

* Writing (Generation 2, Adept Scientist, 1000 points): Unlock journaling and storytelling.

* Astronomy (5000 points): Unlock telescope.

* Architecture (10000 points, Generation 3, Master Builder, Master Scientist, Shelter and Metallurgy unlocked): Construct complex structures like temples and fortifications.

The Goal?

Build your village across multiple lots, and play through 10 Generations, unlock the technology you want, and create a small civilization! This is a creative challenge, so feel free to adjust the rules and tech tree to suit your play-style!

Additional Challenges:

* Natural Disasters: Simulate natural disasters like fires, floods, or droughts.

* Disease Outbreak: Introduce a disease to your village.

* Conflict with Neighboring Villages: Roleplay conflicts and negotiations.

Have fun and let your creativity soar!

Remember, the key to success is balance, cooperation, and innovation. Good luck!

(Point System - WIP!)

Some tips!

Build a winery, and a warehouse to store your goods!

Once you have unlocked advanced construction, create a mystical temple to house your Spiritual Leader!

Create more villagers as you progress, and have as many children as you want! Everyone does not have to stay on the Initial lot!

Pull from Sumerian, Egyptian, Aztec and Early Native American design elements to create to your hearts content, there is no money in this challenge, only Technology!

Sul Sul!

[dailyanarchistposts]

Solidarity begins at home

I don’t need to be empowered by adults; I need them to stop having power over me.

—Lilah Joy Bergman, age 9

While friendship is made vapid by Empire, coupledom and the nuclear family become the container for all other forms of intimacy. As anti-racist, Indigenous, and autonomist feminists have shown, the nuclear family—where one generation of parents lives with one generation of children, separated from everyone else—is a recent invention of Empire.[62] It was (and is) a crucial institution for the privatization and enclosure of life. It is also central to the maintenance of a culture of authoritarianism, abuse, and neglect that underpins heteropatriarchy and white supremacy. It evolved as a way of reproducing wage-laboring men through the unpaid labor of women. Violence against women and children within the family was condoned as part of a civilizing process, and it became a conduit for intergenerational violence, and for the accumulation of white wealth and property through inheritance.

Through feminist struggle, some of the most brutal, state-sanctioned violences of the nuclear family (such as legalized rape and abuse) have been challenged, but it remains a site of isolation and violence, for children in particular. One of its most brutal effects is that it makes other forms of intimacy difficult or unthinkable for many of us. Through suburbs and apartments designed for a privatized existence, the nuclear family is even coded into the built environment.

At the same time, people are constantly inventing and recovering other kinds of belonging and intimacy. They are creatively collectivizing and communalizing life, sharing income, food, and housing in ways that break down privatization and segregation. As Silvia Federici writes,

We also have a return to more extended types of families, built not on blood ties but on friendship relations. This, I think, is a model to follow. We are obviously in a period of transition and a great deal of experimentation, but opening up the family – hetero or gay – to a broader community, breaking down the walls that increasingly isolated it and prevented it from confronting its problems in a collective way is the path we must take not to be suffocated by it, and instead strengthen our resistance to exploitation. The denuclearisation of the family is the path to the construction of communities of resistance.[63]

Many Indigenous people, people of color, and queer folks have never been invited into the structure of the nuclear family, and they have always made kin in other ways. Queer chosen families have created intimate, intergenerational webs of support, and these radical ties remain alive in spite of new forms of homonormative capture. As Dean Spade writes,

In the queer communities I’m in valuing friendship is a really big deal, often coming out of the fact that lots of us don’t have family support, and build deep supportive structures with other queers. We are interested in resisting the heteronormative family structure in which people are expected to form a dyad, marry, have kids, and get all their needs met within that family structure. A lot of us see that as unhealthy, as a new technology of post-industrial late capitalism that is connected to alienating people from community and training them to think in terms of individuality, to value the smaller unit of the nuclear family rather than the extended family.[64]

Similarly, bell hooks points to traditions of informal adoption in Black communities, in which people adopted and cared for children in ways that were communally recognized but never sanctioned by the state:

Let’s say you didn’t have any children and your neighbor had eight kids. You might negotiate with her to adopt a child, who would then come live with you, but there would never be any kind of formal adoption, yet everybody would recognize her as your “play daughter.” My community was unusual in that gay black men were also able to informally adopt children. And in this case there was a kinship structure in the community where people would go home and visit their folks if they wanted to, stay with them (or what have you), but they would also be able to stay with the person who was loving and parenting them.[65]

Leanne Simpson, writing on Indigenous nationhood, notes how resurgence entails displacing settler colonialism and the nuclear family with “big, beautiful, diverse, extended multiracial families of relatives and friends that care very deeply for each other.”[66] In many ways, these kinds of relationships make possible and sustain the creation of intergenerational forms of organizing that include kids and elders, and break down divides between public and private. Simpson spoke to the importance of this when we interviewed her:

How change happens matters to me, which is why I don’t spend much time lobbying the state. I believe in creating the change on the ground, and creating and living the alternatives. In my nation, children and Elders are critical, and it means we organize differently. You can’t invite kids to a twelve-hour, boring meeting and then get frustrated because they are bored or frustrated because they won’t stay with the childcare worker they’ve never met. You can’t invite the Elders to welcome people to the territory and then not speak to the issues. I think we actually need to do less organizing and more movement building. Right now, we have activists, not leaders. We have actions, not community. My kids are also fundamentally not interested in “the movement.” They are, however, fundamentally interested in doing things.[67]

These kinds of non-nuclear kinship networks have been sustained in the face of state terrorism and incarceration, residential and boarding schools, and Empire’s ongoing attempts to privatize and destroy non-nuclear kinship networks, extended families, and webs of relationships that include non-human kin. Nourishing and sustaining these communal forms of life throws into question some of the dominant ideas about what counts as political work, about separation of activism or organizing from everyday life. They challenge the segregation of kids from the rest of the world (and from organizing and politics in particular) and the ways that elders are isolated and intergenerational connections are lost.

Creating intergenerational webs of intimacy and support is a radical act in a world that has privatized child-rearing, housing, subsistence and decision-making. Challenging the nuclear family is not about a puritanical rejection of anything that resembles it; it is about creating alternatives to its hegemony, to the dismembering of social relations, to the spatial division of people through suburbanization, incarceration, schooling, dispossession, and displacement. This entails the proliferation of relationships that may or may not be based on blood but are built on care and love. The Latin American political theorist Raúl Zibechi argues that non-nuclear family and kinship networks are at the heart of Latin America’s most transformative and militant movements, including those of Indigenous peoples, peasant farmers, landless and homeless movements, piqueteros, and women’s and youth movements.[68] These collective forms of life are based in new forms of dwelling, subsistence, and resistance. At the same time, Zibechi is clear that these are “only tendencies, aspirations, or attempts in the midst of social struggles.”[69] Relationships of mutual support are not a destination but a continual process of struggle.

As people renew intergenerational relationships and bring their whole lives into struggle, new forms of politics emerge. In this context, Silvia Federici argues,

This is why the idea of creating “self-reproducing” movements has been so powerful. It means creating a certain social fabric and forms of co-operative reproduction that can give continuity and strength to our struggles, and a more solid base to our solidarity. We need to create forms of life in which political activism is not separated from the task of our daily reproduction, so that relations of trust and commitment can develop that today remain on the horizon. We need to put our lives in common with the lives of other people to have movements that are solid and do not rise up and then dissipate. Sharing reproduction, this is what began to happen within the Occupy Movement and what usually happens when a struggle reaches a moment of almost insurrectional power. For example, when a strike goes on for several months, people begin to put their lives in common because they have to mobilise all their resources not to be defeated.[70]

Federici here gets at the way in which care is not only a means of maintaining struggles, but a transformative part of struggle itself. While Empire works to privatize and individualize our daily lives, many movements are reproducing themselves more autonomously by collectivizing care: from cooking to cohabitation to learning to just being present with each other.

Friendship, kinship, and communalization have also been at the heart of working across the hierarchical divides of heteropatriarchy, white supremacy, colonization, ableism, ecocide, and other systems that have taught us to enact violence on each other and internalize oppressive ways of relating. To make kin across these divisions is a precarious and radical act. Everyone knows how difficult this can be, and how people fuck up, hurt each other, and blame each other. Those conscripted into oppressive roles can always fall back into old habits. In some cases, people are able to talk about all this in ways that are subtle, gentle, and more attuned to each other’s tendencies, triggers, and gifts, and genuine relations of support emerge. In the context of queer, anti-racist disability justice, Mia Mingus speaks to the centrality of strong relationships for undoing oppression:

Any kind of systematic change we want to make will require us to work together to do it. And we have to have relationships strong enough to hold us as we go up against something as powerful as the state, the medical industrial complex, the prison system, the gender binary system, the church, immigration system, the war machine, global capitalism. Because we’re going to mess up. Of that I am sure. We cannot, on the one hand have sharp analysis about how pervasive systems of oppression and violence are and then on the other hand, expect people to act like that’s not the world we exist in. Of course there are times we are going to do and say oppressive things, of course we are going to hurt each other, of course we are going to be violent, collude in violence or accept violence as normal. We must roll up our sleeves and start doing the hard work of learning how to work through conflict, pain and hurt as if our lives depended on it—because they do.[71]

Between the authors of this book, friendship has required us to negotiate divisions ingrained in our bodies by ageism, patriarchy, capitalism, and ableism. Sometimes these divisions get in the way of our capacity to connect in ways that are enabling and transformative. Patriarchy has socialized Nick, as a man, to be self-assured, (over)confident, rational, and individualistic. carla has been socialized to be submissive, caring, diffident, and to put others before herself. Even as we worked against some of these tendencies, carla ended up doing more emotional and caring labor for this project and Nick ended up doing more labor when it came to writing and editing. We have also been learning to challenge these divisions, always partially and inconsistently, through processes of mutual growth, support, and (un)learning. In part because of our very different life experiences, skill sets, and perspectives, our collaborative process has enabled us to produce something new together and made us both more capable in new ways. Neither of us could have written this book, or anything like it, alone.

[usafphantom2]

Enclosures To Defend F-15Es From Drone Attacks Eyed At Seymour Johnson AFB

Joseph TrevithickPUBLISHED May 30, 2024 5:02 PM EDT

Officials at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina are looking into the possibility of erecting physical barriers to protect F-15E Strike Eagles there from drones.

USAF

Officials at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina are looking into the possibility of setting up physical barriers to help protect F-15E Strike Eagles there from being attacked by small drones. The anti-drone barricade idea underscores the danger that drones present right now to U.S. military facilities and critical civil infrastructure domestically, as well as to American forces overseas. It also speaks to how the U.S. military is still lagging in efforts to address these still-growing threats at home and abroad, as well as continued legal, regulatory, and other challenges.

The U.S. Air Force's 4th Contracting Squadron, part of the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson, put out its request for information (RFI) about potential options for "Counter Small Unmanned Aerial System Barrier" yesterday. The facility in North Carolina is one of two bases in the United States that host operational F-15E Strike Eagle squadrons. F-15Es are some of the Air Force's most in-demand tactical combat jets. In April, forward-deployed Strike Eagles, including from Seymour Johnson's 335th Fighter Squadron, played out an outsized role in defending Israel from incoming Iranian threats by downing more than 70 drones.

F-15Es on the flight line at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in 2022. USAF

"Problem Statement: Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (s-UAS) disrupt airfield operations and agencies have limited response capabilities due to restrictions on counter measures posed by the Federal Aviation Administration (Section 130i, Title 10, USC)," the notice says. We will come back to that latter point.

"The requirement: Build a passive barrier that will prevent a Group 1 or Group 2 sUAS from making physical contact with an F-15E Strike Eagle using commercial off the shelf material," it adds.

The U.S. military breaks uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) down into five groups based on maximum weight, operating altitude, and top speed. Group 1 includes drones with weights up to 20 pounds, that can fly up to 1,200 feet, and can reach speeds of up to 100 knots. Group 2 is the next tier up covering uncrewed aerial vehicles that weigh between 21 and 55 pounds, can get up to 3,500 feet, and hit top speeds of up to 250 knots.

The requirements for the proposed anti-drone barriers at Seymour Johnson include that it "needs the strength to stop [a] 55lb drone traveling at 125 mph [nearly 109 knots]" and that "any space/gaps in material or design should not exceed six inches."

How exactly the barriers might be emplaced is not entirely clear, but mention is made of existing flight line shelters with simple canvas covers, suggesting that this would be add-on protection for those structures.

A look at the kind of open canvas-topped shelters in use on the flight line at Seymour Johnson now (seen here after a snowstorm in 2022). USAF

The "weight of material should be kept to a minimum to reduce structural load and facilitate rapid open/closing," the RFI does note, adding that whatever the barriers are made of needs to be flame retardant. The "system [also] needs to be tightly secured in both open and closed positions."

Whether or not any specific drone incidents at Seymour Johnson have prompted this barrier requirement is unknown and The War Zone has reached out for more information.

What is known is that drone incursions over or near U.S. military bases and training ranges, as well as critical civilian infrastructure, across the United States (including its outlying territories) have been an increasingly serious issue for years now, as The War Zone regularly reports. Just in March, we were the first to reveal that Langley Air Force Base in Virginia had been swarmed by drones for weeks last year. Those incidents prompted a major whole-of-government response, which you can read more about here.

Though many such drone-related incidents to date have appeared to be innocuous, they reflect very real potential threats that are only expected to grow in size and scope going forward. The barrier to entry to employing small drones, as well as weaponizing them to differing degrees, is also very low. The conflict in Ukraine has forced this reality fully into the mainstream consciousness, especially through the use on both sides of highly maneuverable first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones. These are exactly the kinds of threats officials at Seymour Johnson now look to be seeking to address in part through physical barriers – which is also one of the many anti-drone countermeasures that have already emerged in Ukraine.

At the same time, it is important to stress again that these threats are not new or unknown to the U.S. military, and they are rapidly growing in frequency and sophistication.

"One day last week I had two small UASs that were interfering with operations... At one base, the gate guard watched one fly over the top of the gate check, tracked it while it flew over the flight line for a little while, and then flew back out and left," now-retired Air Force Gen. James "Mike" Holmes, then head of Air Combat Command (ACC), said back in 2017.

“Imagine a world where somebody flies a couple hundred of those and flies one down the intake of my F-22s with just a small weapon on it," Holmes added at the time.

As we noted at the time, jets just sitting idle and exposed on the flight line would be even easier targets for drones. In this way, an adversary could potentially knock out large numbers of aircraft on the ground, even in the United States using commercially available technology, before they ever have a chance to get in the fight.

Four years later, AFWERX, an internal Air Force technology incubator, put out a broad call for proposals for ways to defend the service's bases at home and abroad from drones. As the new contracting notice from Seymour Johson Air Force Base shows, the U.S. military continues to be very much playing catch-up to addressing these now well-established threats.

Another look at an F-15E under an open shelter at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. USAF

“You can only report what you see, and so that’s part of the challenge,” a senior U.S. defense official told reporters at the Pentagon just earlier this month when asked about drone threats to domestic facilities, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. "But I’d say that’s usually two or three a week, total across the U.S. And it’s never primarily in one part of the country or another."

Part of the issue, at least domestically, continues to be the morass of overlapping authorities, as well as competing legal and regulatory requirements. Back in 2017, Gen. Holmes noted that "I have no authority given to me by the government to deal with that [drone incursions]."

Even in 2017, efforts were being made to try to expand the authorities available to base commanders in the United States to respond to potentially hostile drones. The U.S. government has made additional domestic counter-drone policy changes since then.

However, as the new contracting notice from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base makes clear, there continue to be hurdles to taking more proactive measures to address drone threats.

Section 130i, Title 10, as cited in the Seymour Johnson anti-drone barrier RFI, does provide authority for "action" to be taken to include measures to "disrupt control of the unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft, without prior consent, including by disabling the unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft by intercepting, interfering, or causing interference with wire, oral, electronic, or radio communications used to control the unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft" and the "use reasonable force to disable, damage, or destroy the unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft."

Air Force security personnel train with 'guns' designed to jam the link between a drone and its controller at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. USAF

However, the statute also stipulates that "the Secretary of Defense shall coordinate with the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration before issuing any guidance or otherwise implementing this section if such guidance or implementation might affect aviation safety, civilian aviation and aerospace operations, aircraft airworthiness, or the use of airspace."

The FAA continues to impose significant limitations on the use of active anti-drone countermeasures in many domestic contexts. The War Zone has also highlighted in the past how obtuse and convoluted the existing mechanisms are for securing authorization to take action against uncrewed aerial threats within the United States can be, and that situation does not look to have improved substantially in recent years.

"The first problem is that our nation lacks adequate drone detection capability. We still rely on the early warning radars that served us so well during the Cold War," Senators Jack Reed and Roger Wicker, wrote in a joint op-ed in the Washington Post in April. "Today, though, they are unable to detect, identify and track small aircraft at both high and low altitudes. Inside the United States, we can hardly track anything other than commercial aircraft. Almost none of our domestic military bases have the sensors to identify small drones."

It's worth noting here that the filter ‘gates’ on various air defense radars in North America were altered in February 2023, which immediately resulted in the tracking of a large amount of additional aerial activity. The radar changes followed a Chinese spy balloon intruding into U.S. airspace and soaring across the country over a period of days before being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina. Within a week, U.S. fighters had brought down three more still-unidentified objects flying in U.S. and Canadian airspace, as you can read more about here. Members of the Senate subsequently demanded a review of the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command's (NORAD) “aerospace warning and control mission and procedures."

An unclassified map showing various NORAD air defense nodes in the contiguous United States, including certain early warning radar sites. DOD

"If we fixed our tracking problem, though, a second issue would arise. U.S. agencies lack clear lines of authority about which agency is responsible for stopping these incursions. Instead, a dizzying maze of overlapping jurisdictions and inflexible bureaucracies confuses, rather than clarifies, crisis response," Senators Reed and Wicker, a Democrat from Rhode Island and Republican from Mississippi, respectively, who are also the top members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, continued in their recent op-ed. "Government officials from an alphabet soup of agencies – Defense Department, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration – spend hours if not days simply discussing who can take action when a UAS is identified. Too often, low-altitude incursions are treated as a law enforcement matter instead of as a national security issue."

Whether Seymour Johnson ultimately gets anti-drone barriers or not remains to be seen. If these added defensive measures are implemented there, they could quickly become commonplace at other bases.

Regardless, the new contracting notice underscores the U.S. military's ongoing efforts to respond to the now well-established threat posed by uncrewed aerial systems, and its continued struggle in doing so.

Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com

@thewarzonewire via X

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