#Close Protection

[isaacsapphire]

The weird thing is, I can’t find anything online about how to get a job with Protector, and their LinkedIn page says they only employ about 12 people. The CEO is a young Facebook alum with no non tech background.

Protector is about the third or fourth “security on demand app” I’ve heard of, and at least some of the others did have “work for us” information online.

Black Wolf armed rideshare got in trouble for operating a security company without proper licensing. The Protector LinkedIn does have the legally required ex cops in both of their markets though, so it’s possible they do have licensing as security in LA and NYC, and it appears that in LA, they are subcontracting to DSOC, which is licensed.

Please also note that using Protector appears to cost a minimum of $500, which honestly sounds about right for 5 hours of 1 personal protection professional and an Escalade.

What’s more concerning is that the same startup is also working on Patrol, which is intended as a crowdfunding platform for… off duty cops to patrol your neighborhood in LA.

This isn’t the first privately funded security for single family home neighborhoods residential customers in LA that I have heard of; Securitas was offering a somewhat similar service a few years ago. Overall my impression is that LA is an under-policed hellscape where basic police services like responding to property crimes and neighborhood policing have to be paid for directly by the affected citizens, or at least the better off residents can be convinced that they should pay.

Overall though, this is a publicity campaign for a Facebook alum wizkid Nick Sarath and some LAPD and NYPD SWAT officers to attract venture capital.

We've reached the "on demand brownshirts" level of the gig economy.

We all knew this was coming, right?

[monsterminyard]

Does anyone happen to have a pdf or know where I can re-read Close Protection by Cordelia Kingdsbridge? It was my comfort read 😪

[constant-gunfire]

In the private security industry, discussions about skill sets often focus on physical capabilities and tactical skills. However, mental agility, competency, and clarity are arguably even more critical. Here’s why:

1. Problem-Solving and Adaptability

Mental agility allows security professionals to think quickly, adapt to evolving situations, and anticipate outcomes. This often prevents incidents from escalating into physical confrontations.

2. Planning and Prevention

Competency in threat assessment, risk management, and strategic planning is essential for effective security. These intellectual skills lay the foundation for proactive measures that reduce risks.

3. Clarity Under Pressure

Maintaining composure and mental clarity in high-stress situations is crucial for making sound decisions. Calm, decisive action ensures the safety of clients and teams, even in chaotic environments.

4. Situational Awareness

The ability to recognize subtle cues, read body language, and assess environments is a critical mental skill. These observations often neutralize threats before physical action becomes necessary.

5. Communication and De-escalation

Verbal skills and emotional intelligence are invaluable for diffusing tense situations. Clear communication often resolves conflicts without the need for physical intervention.

6. Enduring Value of Mental Skills

While physical capabilities can diminish over time, mental skills improve with experience. They provide enduring value throughout a security professional’s career.

Physical skills are important, but focusing solely on them limits effectiveness. A balanced emphasis on mental and emotional skills enhances performance and aligns with the industry’s goal of protecting people and property with minimal disruption.

Would you agree that the industry should place more emphasis on developing these cognitive and emotional attributes in training?

[bastardlybonkers]

i feel like not enough ppl are factoring in the cultural clash between laios and shuro and the many micro agressions shuro faced while being in their group. literally the name 'shuro' in itself is one

his name is toshiro 😭 lets also not forget that he has his own communication issues, in the opposite way that laios does- thats literally a factor in their argument, that his envy for laios's ability to express himself sincerely manifested as part of his distaste for him.

ig all this to say like, was their fight heart wrenching, especially when reading laios as autistic? absolutely. anybody whos ever been in laios's position knows how much it hurts to realize someone you thought was your friend doesnt actually like having you around, especially when they didnt tell you and you had no way of knowing due to not understanding their cues. but im begging yall to step back and see the nuance of this situation cause im gonna be real a lot of you are kinda just brushing over it acting like everything is toshiros fault and that hes a terrible person when in reality hes an average guy who really, really clashed with laios and it led to a very long misunderstanding due to their supremely opposite methods of communication. even laios and toshiro, after letting everything out in their fight, were able to come to an understanding and start a foundation for an actual friendship built on better communication

ok yknow what Edit: i shouldve made it even more explicit at the end of this post, i hadnt thought i would need to since i started the post with this, but i think a few too many people are missing my point so i just wanna clarify. i shouldnt have said 'really clashed' and left it at that because yeah they did, but it wasnt just their opposite methods of communication, it is also very much that toshiro was experiencing microaggressions via laios. it may have been unintentional on laios's part, but it still happened and wore him down, made it harder for him to communicate on top of both the more subtle social cues that he was raised with and his own communication difficulties. i also want to say that the fandom reaction to toshiro and the complete ignorance of this point is also racist tbh or at the very least ignorant. i understand that the anime did not cover this panel, and neither did the manga, as this was an omake, but im gonna be real with you guys. there are enough context clues within the story to clue you into this. if you didnt pick up on it thats ok, but i think this is a good lesson in picking up subtext in the stories that youre watching and/or reading. kui shouldnt have to explicitly say 'by the way laios was racist to toshiro' for this point to be understood, and at the very least, when the author portrays a character in a sympathetic light (as kui clearly does) it should make you question Why they are doing so and what makes them sympathetic, rather than youre immediate and only reaction to be 'well i hated what this guy did/said so i hate them and they suck'. idk exactly how to finish this, just. idk. question your biases and gut reactions to things you see in media and stories, and think about whether or not theres subtext that youre missing.

[palettepainter]

Still tryna figure out how I draw him, I think I draw his legs too big and his neck too long but either way, he's fun to doodle!

[thy-valhallen]

Cass, pointing at Jason: we're twins

Tim:

Jason: *6'3" 200 lbs of Latino rage and muscle*

Cass: *5'1" 120 lbs of Chinese murder and love*

Tim:

Tim: you're just not

Cass, patting his shoulder: it's okay. easy mistake. we're fraternal twins

Jason, holding up a gun: yep. twins.

Tim: ... good for you

Cass: :D

[lilislegacy]

*percy controlling akhlys’ poison to use it against her and choking her on her own tears and saliva*

annabeth: never do it again. never do anything like it again. i’m begging you

many years later

*percy and annabeth’s teenage children being held at knifepoint by enemies, seconds away from being killed*

annabeth: percy, do it

[noodles-and-tea]

For the twins in time AU, I genuinely wonder what kind of people the young twins grow up into because of Stan’s/Ford’s influence. Especially if it takes years for the portal to get fixed.

(Sorry if it seems like I already sent this question, I don’t know if it got sent the first time I asked)

I haven’t fully fleshed out how Ford grows up in the past but I do have thoughts on Stan presently

[fairsweetlonging]

time travel au where liu qingge and shen qingqiu (yuan) end up accidentally traveling a decade back in time before luo binghe was amitted to qing jing peak and before shen qingqiu had his qi deviation, but after their generation has risen to peak lords.

which means, shen yuan realizes quickly, as they're accosted by said peak lords, that he will have to face shen jiu.

as they're being cleared for demonic energy and the likes, mu qingfang of course instantly detects the poison without a cure eating away at shen yuan's meridians. liu qingge pulls a copy of the treatment plan out of his sleeve (shen yuan blushes a bit, did liu qingge always keep that on hand?), and just like in the current timeline, they agree to keep it under wraps.

shen jiu tries various times to get a moment alone with shen yuan, but he never quite manages because liu qingge is there, who is also... nice?? to him?? for some reason?? shen jiu gets a bit flustered at the solemn politeness and skitters off.

it comes out pretty quickly that shen yuan has "memory loss", and thus can't remember anything that's currently taking place in this time. shen yuan expects scorn, hatred and disdain from shen jiu, expects to be grabbed and interrogated, to arouse suspicion.

but shen jiu looks....... sad???

being transported here threw shen yuan's qi off-balance (even liu qingge had to sit down, which means it's bad), and his cultivation is already so unstable, so when the peak lords are all squabbling and arguing and threatening and raising their voice, he can feel his body shut down. he sees yue qingyuan start to move towards him, which, knowing the future yue qingyuan, he really isn't up for right now—but before the sect leader can get to him someone else is at his back, transferring him qi, holding him up gently by his shoulders, then coaxing him up, leading him outside

shen yuan's been fed qi by every peak lord at least once. he doesn't recognize this one. that means it can only be one person.

he looks up. it's shen jiu.

and it's bizarre, getting fussed over by the scum villain, having gentle hands run along his back, his hair, that clear, soothing voice calming him down. and somehow shen jiu knows exactly what to do?? somehow it works perfectly on him?? it's almost as if shen jiu has known him his whole—

oh.

bodies, like homes, hold memories, even if the original occupants are no longer there. it's the milestone marks on the doorpost that chart a child's growth, blurry photographs faded by time, scuffed floors from well-walked paths, and tiny holes in the walls where pictures once hung.

shen jiu takes him to the bamboo house, pours him tea, and asks, calmly, what he remembers from their childhood.

it's not his childhood, so shen yuan doesn't actually remember anything, but the body he's in does. the memories it holds are emotional rather than visual; he remembers being alone, scared, and hungry. he remembers anger, pain. a dark room. loud voices. he remembers his heart skipping a beat when heavy boots stomp his way. the sound of a whip.

he doesn't have to lie. the memories aren't his own, and they're from long ago, which means shen jiu has them too. and, he supposes, this is his only chance to find out what really happened.

but shen jiu doesn't say anything about it. he just nods and stares, intensely. then he asks shen yuan if he remembers yue qingyuan. shen yuan says no, he doesn't. the conversation takes a very strange turn after that. shen yuan can't help but feel a little queasy when shen jiu asks him if yue qingyuan has taken advantage of his memory loss.

"has he come into your home? has he brought you gifts, sweets? does he invite you for tea? did you accept?"

he has. shen yuan doesn't know why that would be a problem, the sect leader has been nothing but kind and helpful and patient. and generous, too.

when he says yes shen jiu looks furious.

liu qingge (his one) comes to pick him up, and his time with shen jiu is cut short. somewhere he's glad, cuddling into liu qingge's back as he holds him while they fly. he feels a little bad for yue qingyuan, knowing he's probably caused a big fight, but it doesn't sit right with him. he wishes he knew what happened.

.

liu qingge, meanwhile, is having the time of his life fighting himself. it's good practice!

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 283

Now Jason would like it known that there was no mpreg situation going on. He isn’t even sure where people got that idea in the first place. Sure, he had taken a few Cores from the goons-in-white who had dared to set up in his turf. 

And sure maybe the excess energy from the pit (no wonder he’d been so irritable) was what said baby halfas (Okay, so they’re half human? Alright) had used to reform. And maybe the oldest is visibly less than a year old. 

But there Was No Mpreg Situation! He is this close to shooting someone! It was annoying (and slightly amusing) when it was just his goons, but now the Bats have seemingly got it in their heads! Dear Gotham it’s a good thing he’s not planning on like, ever revealing who he is because he would never be able to live this rumor down. 

[Winged Ghosts Au too, that seems to be getting lost in reblogs when it's just in the tags lol]

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Maybe we never had a chance.

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[romiiarts]

my lucky charm, my talisman

[pausegame]

Veilguard Companions + Rook, don't.

[jimjamjomjum]

The parallels between these two haunt me.

[ghost-bxrd]

Prompt:

Tim is the first to find out the Red Hood’s identity and from then on sticks to Jason during patrol like glue (much to Jason’s chagrin, dammit, it would feel wrong to beat up Robin when he’s that starry eyed…)

Cue: PANIC from the rest of the Batfamily, who still think Hood is a forty-something year old crime lord and now assume they’re dating.