[RFC] Confederates Faction

[Black Aeronaut]

C'mon.  You guys knew it had to happen sooner or later that someone would send some redneck friend or family member a tub or a cube of the 'wave.  And honestly, the pictures speak for themselves.


Confederates, by definition, could be considered by some as Browncoats... but only on the surface.  Their shipwrights are among the most slap-dash among the Fen (and we got some pretty low standards up here) and they don't want much truck with any sci-fi or fantasy strangeness.  For the most part they just want to mind their own business and let others do the same.  That said, they tend to be good, neighborly people and are always willing to lend a hand - albeit in their own rough way.  One thing's for sure, the 'wave certainly loves their tendency to improvise... a lot.
A breath of fresh air for some, an eyesore for others.

[M Fnord]

As you pointed out, we already have a faction dedicated to glorifying Lost Cause bullshit. So I'm going to vote no.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[HRogge]

Maybe make them a part/subgroup of the Browncoats? This could help to add some material to this group...

The Browncoats are more a category than a real group.

[Dartz]

I dunno.

I think it's worth if just for that rocket-powered barge with a mobile home on it. I love stuff like that. Be an interesting subculture.... and a nasty surprise for any Zwilnik who thinks the duct-tapped trailer flying on propellers would be an easy takedown....
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[HRogge]

I dunno.

I think it's worth if just for that rocket-powered barge with a mobile home on it. I love stuff like that. Be an interesting subculture.... and a nasty surprise for any Zwilnik who thinks the duct-tapped trailer flying on propellers would be an easy takedown....

»Oh, its just one of those normal Fens... it will be an easy grab. «
Famous last words of a Boskonian slaver

[M Fnord]

Okay, let me break it down:

I don't object to the idea of redneck, good-ol-boys, etc. waving something up and taking off for parts unknown.

I do object to the idea that they need to have their own separate faction.

I really object to the idea of naming that faction after a gang of wealthy landholders, failed revolutionaries and overall racist shitbags.

Does that clarify things?
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[Proginoskes]

Yeah, the only kind of "alright Confederates" I can possibly imagine would be A group of Fen who decided to make a Confederate Fenspacer's Alliance.

[Black Aeronaut]

Well, they certainly can't be called Browncoats - just doesn't fit, really.  How about just 'Rednecks'.  After the advent of Jeff Foxworthy it's practically a badge of pride.

[M Fnord]

Again, why do they need a faction?
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

I have to agree with Mal, here. The Stellvians and the Roughriders aren't factions, they're businesses. (Yes, an independent military group is a business.) The Senshi are a mix of a whole bunch of grrl-power fandoms. Why do the "rednecks" need their own faction, and are they really sufficiently organized to create one?

Nothing wrong with the station next door being populated by a bunch of good ol' boys - I just don't see those good ol' boys being part of anything bigger.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[LynnInDenver]

I also agree. At most you might get a note of a small enclave of them, perhaps near a philosophically aligned group of Browncoats, or on their own in the asteroids, but they wouldn't be terribly organized, certainly not enough to even really qualify as a subgroup of a faction overall.

If you get any that could be, they'd be most like, as noted, a subgroup of the UF fandom emulating the Freespacers.
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor

[Black Aeronaut]

Well, I can see that. It's not like I'm trying to force your hands here. I just though this'd make a fun little addition to have that spot among the fen where the people have that blissful lack of sophistication.

[robkelk]

Another thought: if every recognizable group is its own faction, who's in the two-fifths of Fenspace that aren't part of any faction?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

The population of Grover's Corners.

My vote:

Good ol' boys in space? Hayll yes.
Gold Ol' Boys Of Space, Inc.? Hayll no.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Dartz]

Just because someone describes themself as a generalist, doesn't mean they aren't involvedif you know what I mean. They can be involved with factions, but might not go as deep in.... or they might have their fingers in a few different pies rather than allowing one particular fandom to define them.

Someone who RP's Heavy Gear and owns his own Spitting Cobra, works for the Trekkies (and enjoys the show) out on Utopia Planetia and has personal ideals that match with the Browncoats might call himself a Gearhead, a Trekkie or a Browncoat.... or he might just decide not to choose and call himself a 'Generalist'.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

Well, certainly not a faction then, but I can still see them as an organized group in the form of a co-op consisting of several largish asteroids turned into farming outfits.

Say they hollow out one asteroid that is roughly 100 miles in diameter. Leaving a generous ten miles of solid rock for 'hull integrity', work shops, living spaces, etc. gives them about 270,000 square miles for farm use. By comparison, the USA has bout 1.44 million square miles for farm land. I'd say this would be enough to support all of Fenspace, and then some. Not all of it would be food crops, though. Lamb, beef, pork, poultry, and even fish, venison, and buffalo - these guys love their meat. They'll even produce tobacco, cotton and wool.

So, I think I have their contribution to the Fen covered.

[robkelk]

An asteroid 100 miles in diameter is one of the big ones. Not saying "no", just asking "why haven't we heard about them yet?"
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Star Ranger4]

"We aint askin no body for nuthing, if we cant get it on our own...

If you dont like the way we're living, why dont you leave these long haired country boys alone!"
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Black Aeronaut]

I thought that there was more than a few to go around, rob. My mistake. In that case, we can just say that they got a modest collection of space rocks all grouped together.

[HRogge]

I thought that there was more than a few to go around, rob. My mistake. In that case, we can just say that they got a modest collection of space rocks all grouped together.

Just think about it this way... volume is diameter squared.

A a rock with 100 miles diameter has 1/1000 of the mass of the moon!

That is huge, especially when its volume is used internally.

[Ebony]

In my experience, Good Ol' Boys (Jeff Foxworthy can go hang; "Redneck" is an insult) are quite happy to work wherever and whenever they can. I see them more as a subculture, not an independent faction. Several of my best friends, after whom several Blue Blazers are patterned, are Good Ol' Boys (at least one is self-professed and proud of it). The houseboat is amusing, but not enought to base a faction on.
Now the Co-Op Asteroid idea is not bad. I see a Farmers' Market, bringing in good from not only the co-op, but also Grover's Corners and the Jason.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Star Ranger4]

I'd agree with Eb, with a couple of additonal caveats:

1) Dont make General Lee jokes about their vehicles. Yes, they know about "THAT SHOW" and more than a few consider it a mockery of their way of life. Ergo, that sort of comment is FIGHTIN WORDS

2) they sell a LOT of their corn in um... Liquid form.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Ebony]

I'd agree with Eb, with a couple of additonal caveats:
1) Dont make General Lee jokes about their vehicles. Yes, they know about "THAT SHOW" and more than a few consider it a mockery of their way of life. Ergo, that sort of comment is FIGHTIN WORDS
2) they sell a LOT of their corn in um... Liquid form.

1) I'm sure there's at least one waved Dodge Charger out there. I think it runs with the Knight Riders.
2) Ethanol, of course. Absolutely. Although, given that the Fenspace government doesn't actually tax liquor (that I know of), bootlegging isn't much of a crime.
  
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Star Ranger4]

Yeah, and there is a lot of other uses for ethanol than just drinkin. Hell, they prolly sell a decent amount of it in the form of high fructose corn syrup as well.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Black Aeronaut]

Hrm.... Interview with a Good Ol' Boy...  (Apologies if I mangle the accent too badly.)

---

I reckon they c'n call us whatever the hell they want - six of one or half a dozen, ain't no difference. Just do'n come calling it ta our faces - them's fightin' words. We just regular folk, good ol' boys and girls. We work fer a livin' and at the end of the day wi'all like to kick our feet up and have a cold one.

We came up here 'cause we reckoned that thar was some prime real estate. Low an behold, thar was. Got ourselves a few space rocks and had 'em fine Rockhound folks round 'em all up, cleared 'em all out, and used the credit from the spoils to get ourselves some mighty fine equipment. It's only been a couple'a years, but everay season the harvest gets better.

Ta be honest, though, we just left cause we was sick and tired of hearin' all that political talk. Before we came up we read ya'll's Convention and reckoned it ta be a breath of fresh air. So long as we don't hurt no one, all's fine and well - we can live by our own measure. And best of all, ya'll only meet up once a year fer politickin'.

Sure, some o' ya'll seem kinda strange to us. But we reckon some o' us look mighty backward to ya'll. Hell, even Crazy Joe had us goin' when he stuck that single-wide up thar on top that barge with rockets on the ass-end and gooped it all up. I don't even know how he can walk 'round the the outside that thing wi'out a space suit, and I do'n wanna know. We reckon he's a few eggs shy of a dozen, but he's welcome among us, and so's anyone else - s'long they's willin' ta work thar share an let bygones be bygones.

Ya'll seem okay, so I tell ya what. We gots ourselves a rodeo comin' up here a few weeks and ya'll's welcome to come on down and have some fun with us. Have ourselves some good ol' fun, eh?