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bring back tumblr ask culture let me. bother you with questions and statements

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Reminding myself about this because it’s great and I should use it(and also I wanna know if there’s a bunch on cut off sections for other people too?? Like, some of the twice indented bullet points are cut off….)

The Universal Protectorate is an organization dedicated to keeping the peace in interplanetary space, providing a sense of order to the people of the universe and making sure that the space in between the planets is not a lawless wasteland. Originally, they were a non-profit which only used non-violent conflict resolution. Until they were bought by BLIS, the largest corprate entity the universe has every seen, they own everything... and everyone. (basically if 911 operators were owned by amazon... in space)

Control:

The Base of Operations for all sects of TUP

Space Station at Nowhere/BLIS-S/1

Officially called Universal Protectorate Command, colloquially called “UPCom” by rangers

Workplace of all TUP higher ups and major authorities

The Ranger Academy:

Directly connected to UPCom

Officially called The Universal Protectorate Academy for Ranger Trainees, colloquially called “TUPART”, “UPcademy”, or just “school” by rangers

Students must be (the developmental equivalent of) 16 years old to enroll at TUPART

The ranger educational path: a 4-step process

1 - Basic Ranger Training

For the youngest/newest of students to learn the basics of being a UP Ranger(2 years)

2 - Trainee Internships

Students who have completed step 1 are assigned as interns on various ranger stations for real life experience and to help them decide on a path for step 3. Ranger Captains are discouraged from bringing interns on potentially dangerous missions(1 year)

3 - Path Pursuit

After their internships, students decide on 1 or 2 “majors” to specialize in such as, ‘combat’, ‘engineering’, ‘public interpretation’, etc, they may also decide to step out of the ranger program and into the corporate sect of TUP(2 years)

4 - Probation

Freshly graduated Rangers are added to crews on probation to ease them into the system further(it's like the internships but more involved), after which they are either officially assigned to the same crew, or reassigned to a different crew(6 months)

Ranger stations:

The workplace of designated ranger crews

There is one assigned station per habited solar system, with number of crews and size of station proportional to the number of inhabited planets, uninhabited systems are the jurisdiction of the closest station

Unless called in by “local”(meaning local to the planet) law enforcement, TUP Ranger jurisdiction is only in Interplanetary space, areas outside of a planet’s atmosphere

Rangers are usually called to monitor traffic in and out of the system, as well as keep updated on possible large-scale disasters on the planets in their system(large scale meaning: 1000+ casualties with no end in sight), they also patrol(in FTL cruisers) the system for disturbances and respond to SOS calls from traveling ships

Because long-range teleportation is incredibly costly with its use of energy, the teleport to UPCom is for only emergencies and direct summons from Generals(and other higher ups)

Ranger Station Command Structure:

Each Ranger Crew has a variety of roles to balance out the specializations of each crew member,

When an Emergency Response is called for, all applicable crew is released from their individual tasks and put into the Response Team

Captain (1)

The captain is the final and main decision maker of the crew, they dish out the orders, assign crew members to tasks, communicate and report to command, and make sure everyone is doing their role effectively

Clones(1-4)

When a ranger is chosen to be a captain, they receive a clone to act as a right-hand and as a balance for decision making. Clones are specialized by the captain to support their weaknesses highlight their strengths(example: If the captain is prone to violence, their clone may be suited to finding non-violent solutions), Full-Cloning(the creation of an identical, complicated organism, with customized traits and skills) is incredibly expensive, so more clones of the captain are only received as gifts for years of service(1/decade)

Clones are legally not considered people, but as extensions of captains. They don’t receive pay, and are entirely at the whims of their sources

Clones can be distinguished from their sources via a separate uniform, as well as several identifiers on their bodies that are grown into the clone

Clones are officially referred to as [Source’s Surname]-[Clone #], ie. Wevice-1

Clones are destroyed by security when their Sources die

If a clone dies, the Captain will have to pay for a replacement if they require one. The reason for a clone’s death is not required to be disclosed when submitting replacement paperwork

Pilots/Patrol Officers (4)

Pilots of FTL cruisers for patrolling their system, they travel in teams of 2, and are usually on duty for multiple cycles at a time

Not summoned for emergency responses

Security(2)

On ship security, monitor cameras, always one on duty

Summoned for emergency responses

Communications(2)

Monitors and responds to communications from system planets, as well as watching for SOS messages, there is always 1 on duty for 24/hr support

Not summoned for emergency responses

Maintenance(1)

Keeps the station in working order, engineers, fix broken appliances, etc

Summoned for emergency responses

Relief Organizers(1)

In charge of organizing and keeping the captain informed of relief operations on planets(things such as offworld help, physical supplies, evacuation efforts), only exist during an emergency response, otherwise they assist with communications and inventory management

In charge of organizing emergency responses(along with the captain)

Sanitation(1)

They’re the janitors and in charge of making sure there’s minimal spread of disease aboard the station

Summoned for emergency responses

Medical Staff(2)

Operates medical equipment on board the station, also in charge of prescribing and procuring any medications that crew members need, off duty during the night but can be put back on duty if a crisis arises

Summoned for emergency responses(unless there are life threatening injuries in the station, in which case only one is summoned at a time)

Interpreters(1)

Respond to non-emergency communications, such as, directing someone who got lost, settling disputes, etc

Summoned for emergency responses

Inventory Management(1)

Keeps track of ship inventory, including food, weapons, medical supplies, etc, keeps the captain informed on what needs to be ordered, in charge of meal preparation for the crew

Not Summoned for emergency responses, but in charge of keeping Emergency Response Teams supplied

Runner(1)

Runs supplies between locations, especially in an emergency response

[whumpcateyes]

sorry for curling up at your feet and whimpering like an injured dog that wasn't very mysterious of me

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Society (1989) dir. Brian Yuzna

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Made another creature.

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Reblog if it’s ok for your mutuals to tag you in posts they think you’ll like even if you don’t talk often.

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The Woods, Chapter 1: A Lot of Bad Things Happen in Rapid Succession

pg 7

Dogy :)

first/prev/next

masterpost

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some bad day art from me forgetting all of my meds yesterday (cw for impalement, head injury, implied non-con a little? Its not particularly explicit)

soz kevin, i needed a guy to harm

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meows

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i keep getting fines for “excessive water consumption” it’s not my fault that the basement prison cells all need their own toilets and showers. and like the prisoners are not pulling their weight AT ALL. all they do is sleep and be scared of the rats all day instead of painting with the easels i provided so the fines are really putting a financial strain on the household. if i didn’t need them for their plasma i would have killed them all already because this is nottt as financially lucrative as i thought it would be

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would you?

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Whumptober still giving me ideas!

Look at him all cute and ✨ muzzled ✨

Handlers started doing their best to humiliate him, after they got humiliated by losing half their guards to a single wounded unarmed soldier.

It took a long time to break this one, he was fiery!

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Gentlemen, This is No Humbug

Heh. Heheh. Here I thought I was on a DEA list with the Truth Serum post…

[Due to the possibly dangerous/sensitive nature of this post, I’m going to remind everyone that everything on my blog, including this post, is meant as a writing reference and should NEVER be used in real life.]

So you’re in a pickle. You’ve got a character who really needs surgery and, well… lets just say the circumstances are not ideal. Maybe they’re in a remote village in a developing country/war zone with extremely limited access to medicine. Maybe they’re in a long-post-apocalyptic world where hospitals and pharmacies have been entirely looted. Maybe its even the late 1800s. I don’t know your characters lives.

But what’s an author to do? You’ve got the basics of low-resource surgery down from this post, but you’re scrambling on one extremely important point- the anesthesia.

Where the frickity-frak are you going to find a quality anesthetic in the 1800s, during an apocalypse, at this time of night?

I’m going out on a limb here and say you’ve probably heard of something called ether. And maybe you just recoiled reading that. Ether? Isn’t that stuff really ineffective and dangerous and laughably out of date?

Actually… no. Not really. Ether has been used effectively for over a century. Its relatively cheap, reliable and besides a couple of unpleasant (but not particularly dangerous) side effects, surprisingly safe- even in the hands of those with minimal training. Not only that, but it is CURRENTLY the most widely used inhalation anesthetic in the world. Bet you weren’t expecting to read that today.

I mean, a clean operating room, anesthesia machine, choice of medication and trained anesthetist will beat it hands down, but you gotta work with what you’ve got.

But, wait. Do my characters even have access to it? They’re chilling in the apocalypse, remember? The answer is still a surprising probably.

OBTAINING ETHER

In the early 1800s, it was used as a recreational drug. In the late 1800s, it was used as an anesthetic and a recreational drug. It might not have been overly abundant just everywhere, but it existed.

Today, its a lot more abundant. Medical-grade Diethyl Ether comes in special brown bottles (light causes it to significantly lose potency) and is relatively expensive. Industrial-grade Diethyl Ether is exactly the same stuff with significantly less insurance attached to it, meaning its a heck of a lot cheaper. It just comes in 55-gallon drums and must be carefully transferred to smaller bottles before use. There are many other varieties of industrial ether available as well. All of them work, but some may have more severe side effects or less anesthetic power. In industry, it is used as a solvent.

“Those looters may have torn that hospital apart, but damn if they forgot all about the local paint factory.”

Also, if they’re really desperate but have some time and knowledge of chemistry, Ether can be made with ethanol (strong drinking alcohol) and sulfuric (plumber’s) acid (can also be obtained from a lead-acid battery). Here’s a video. You’re writers- get creative.

EDIT #1: Ether is really flammable and if not stored correctly (in sealed cans or dark bottles, away from heat, oxygen and flames) it has a tendency to explode. Your characters should be really careful.

USING ETHER

Once acquired, Ether can be administered most easily and safely through an “open-drop” technique by someone with little medical training. The open-drop method involves a wire mesh mask covered by disposable cloth. the ether is dripped from a bottle onto the cloth, and the patient breathes it in through the mesh. This can be improvised using a small kitchen strainer or molded piece of screen as the wire mesh mask and a rubber band to hold the cloth in place. It can also be made by cutting the other end off an empty aluminum can and draping the cloth over the hole, but that’s getting real desperate.

The person handling the ether should drip roughly 12 drops/minute for the first minute, 24 the second, 48 the third, 96 the 4-15th minute, 50 the 15-30th, and 20-30 every minute after that. The bottle doing the dripping must be glass- plastic can react with the Ether and melt.

Typically, general anesthetic is a mix of a hypnotic (unconsciousness-inducing agent like propofol), an analgesic (painkiller like fentanyl) and a paralytic. Ether, conveniently, works as all of these things at once (to a usable extent), and so is the only drug needed. It also has the advantage of being difficult to overdose on- unconsciousness can be achieved way, way, way before overdose becomes a problem. No intubation is necessary (at optimal dose Ether does not depress respiration), and while helpful, supplemental oxygen is not even completely necessary. Ether does not impact heart function.

So, you might be thinking- why doesn’t everyone just use Ether? Wouldn’t it be a lot easier, safer and cheaper? Well, yes, probably. But Ether isn’t pleasant. First of all, it smells like gasoline. You like the smell of gasoline? Me neither. Your poor character probably won’t either. If that wasn’t bad enough- it takes forever to knock someone out with Ether. Like a solid 20 minutes. It’s also somewhat irritating to the lining of the mouth, nose and throat- not to mention that during this intervening time between starting to breath the anesthetic and actually passing out, the patient may be very anxious, panic, or vomit. All in all, its a pretty sucky 20 minutes (note- pre-op medication with a benzodiazepine (anti-anxiety drug) can shorten this period of time and make it a lot more pleasant).  Side effects upon waking up from Ether include profound nausea, vomiting and drowsiness.

Also, everyone involved is going to smell like Ether for a while.

EDIT #2: If IV equipment is available (I was earlier assuming it was not, given the circumstances I randomly came up with at the beginning, but you may be using this info for other reasons), Ether IV solution can be prepared by injecting 50mL of Diethyl Ether into a 1L bag of an IV solution called D5W (5% dextrose in water). That needs to then be cooled to 4C, then shook for about a minute. Characters should give about half of it as quickly as possible (after which the patient should be anesthetized), then allow it to flow just enough to keep the patient in the ideal level of anesthesia for the duration of the operation. This method reduces side effects both at the beginning and end considerably, but sacrifice’s Ether’s natural paralytic function (not really important unless patient needs bowel surgery).

There are reasons other drugs were invented to take Ether’s place, but if its what you’ve got, its what you’ve got.

And it works pretty well compared to the alternatives.

R E F E R E N C E S

Iserson, K. V. (2012). Improvised medicine: Providing care in extreme environments. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical.

Follow @macgyvermedical for more like this!

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Caretaker is a creature that feeds on others’ pain - not in the sense of causing it, but in the sense of truly eating that pain. They visit from time to time, when things are particularly unendurable, and leave whumpee blissfully numb. Whumpee has such an unfortunate life…no one has ever fed Caretaker so well. And whumpee has never experienced such an effective painkiller.