The recent opinion piece in the The New York Times—titled “It’s Not Normal to Raise Children Like This”—argues that the model of a lone parent or two parents trying to do the world on their own is not only outdated but actually misaligned with our human history. It suggests that for the vast majority of human existence, caregiving has been a distributed effort: enveloped by kin, neighbours, elders, friends. 
For the Nuclear Fusion Network, this hits like a resonance. We weren’t built to parent, love, live, build community in isolation. When I (the founder) felt the weight of parenthood without a village, it was clear: the model of “making it alone” isn’t only exhausting — it’s incomplete.
What the article got right

• The piece reminds us that the “village” is not just poetic: it was functional. That extra set of hands, eyes, hearts, stories matters.
  
• It highlights that modern systems—jobs, housing, mobility, culture—often undermine that village. We live further apart, move more often, grandparents may still be working, and community bonds are weaker.
  
• It challenges us to ask: If the village is gone, are we still raising children (and living lives) as though we had it?
  

Where we can expand the conversation

• The article can feel a bit nostalgic: yes, villages existed, but not always idyllic, and not always inclusive or equitable. For a network like ours, the goal is to design the village intentionally: chosen family, modern tribes, gatherings not out of obligation but from aligned purpose.
  
• The logistics matter: How do we build the village when housing is expensive, people are mobile, and schedules chaotic? The solution isn’t just “we need more people” but “we need better architecture of connection.”
  
• For those of us working in chosen-family, polyamorous, communal or “modern village” frameworks, the article’s thesis becomes actionable. The village isn’t just about child-rearing, but all of life: emotional support, shared tasks, collective growth.
  

What this means for our network

• It validates what we’re doing: the app, the challenges, the community-building work. We’re saying: “Yes, you don’t have to do this alone.”
  
• It invites a shift in mindset: from individual-centric (“I’ll figure this out”) to interdependent (“We will figure this out together”).
  
• It raises the question: What is my role in someone else’s village? Because you can’t just expect to get support—you also need to give it. The article suggests the missing piece might be our hesitation or resistance to build and be built-into those structures. 
  
• It calls for design: maybe our next step is a toolkit or workshop through Nuclear Fusion that helps participants map their “village” — identify gaps, invite roles, create shared agreements, define rhythms of gathering, assist each other in real logistical ways (childcare swaps, meal trains, check-ins, co-habitation experiments).
  

In closing
The village isn’t only for raising children; it’s for raising lives. If you’re feeling isolated, overwhelmed, or like you’re doing too much alone—take the piece’s message to heart. It’s not normal to do it all by yourself. And for us, it’s not the vision.

Let’s keep building the village: intentionally, creatively, compassionately.
— With love from the Nuclear Fusion Network team

Through hard knocks and life lessons, each of the Fusioneers has learned that building a better world starts with better relationships, and building better relationships requires that we live in alignment with our highest self and deepest core values. Plus we have literally been bucking the system and going against the flow since jump–this was just the next logical step! And in truth it’s not really a pivot; it’s a turning inward, a pursuit of our truest selves.

Because we want to live in a world where everyone has what they need and feels like they belong, no matter their financial circumstances. So whether you’re joining at the Teal level or stepping in as a Violet-level patron, you belong here. Together, we’re building a world rooted in mutual aid, radical honesty, and collective care. Welcome to the next chapter of the Nuclear Fusion Network—where it truly takes a village.

My ( NFN founder Jessica Daylover ) mother is visiting to spend my kids’ spring break with them. We drove by a friend’s house to pick up one of my village kids, and I pointed out that friend lives with their in laws, and her parents live a few houses up the street. I asked my mom if she’d love living that close to her grandchildren. She said, “I’d love to live near my grandchildren but couldn’t live that close to my children.”

It was honest as fuck, tragic as hell, and a profound reminder of why the group of neurodivergent queers building this Network refused to create a village/chosen family-building app that didn’t also include education on emotional intelligence and communication, as well as access to professional therapists and coaches to help with the healing required to live in community.
There is an epidemic of loneliness, isolation, burnout, and overconsumption that can be solved by repairing the village/communal style living killed by colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy.
In order to live communally we, as individuals, HAVE to repair the wounds that keep us from being vulnerable, from asking for help and receiving it, from showing up for others even when we’re annoyed or inconvenienced, and from doing the shadow work/healing necessary when those we love hold up a mirror and challenge our attachment styles and egos.

That's why we are excited to announce our collaborations with Bianca D. McCall, LMFT, and Emma Pineda Fortin, PhD.

Bianca McCall is a Retired Pro Basketball Player, TEDx Speaker, Licensed Clinical Therapist, and Healthcare CEO. Bianca is developing a series of educational content tailored for Nuclear Fusion Network™️ with the goal of aiding users with the mental health foundation necessary to create the villages and chosen families they desire.

Emma believes that all humans are born whole, carrying the wisdom of their ancestors within both their conscious and unconscious selves. Yet, societal conditioning often obscures these truths, pushing individuals to conform to pre-established molds. She uses somatic tools to connect the mind, body, and heart. Emma inspires the courage to redefine beliefs based on an internal compass, ultimately fostering greater clarity, creativity, and compassion.
By joining Nuclear Fusion Network you are joining a worldwide movement of folks who share the desire to have a healthy village, and to be a part of one. Nuclear Fusion App's mission is to combat loneliness, burnout, and overconsumption, and to ease the burden of daily living, by creating a vibrant network that empowers individuals to find, build, and sustain their communities.
These offerings, which will be accessible soon to all members of Nuclear Fusion Network, are made possible thanks to our team of volunteers, our members, our sponsors, and our angel lender. 
It takes a village to build and sustain a village-building app. We thank you from the bottom of our heart for joining us in creating the world we want to live in.

We really have been busy little bees and we've got some BIG changes coming! Here are just some of the things we’ve been up to, and some new things coming to the Nuclear Fusion Network this spring…

Our Team Continues to Grow
Since its birth (and before, honestly) the spirit of Nuclear Fusion has had a truly mystical knack of drawing to itself the perfect people at the perfect time. Now in addition to the original four founders, we've added six dope-ass moderators, four administrative wizards, two super-talented consultants, one business coach, two incredible educators, an internet safety expert, and our first angel lender! Oh, and did we mention that the entire team is queer and neurodivergent? Yeah, we're constantly blown away by the sheer volume of talent, passion, and awesomeness dedicated to this project! Check out the team page here to see the diversity of people and talent.

All Plans Are Becoming All-Access
Rather than continue to uphold the hierarchy and implicit classicism in having a tiered offerings model, we're making all of our plans all-access, and moving to an entirely Mutual Aid, Pay What You Can Afford model. That means that any member will be able to join and participate in any space and any event, regardless of their membership plan. For more on how we reached this decision, keep reading below for the Juicy Backstory. 

We're Launching a FREE Membership Plan!
In addition to making all of our paid memberships all-access, we're also launching a FREE membership plan for those who can't afford a paid membership. And of course the free plan is also going to be all-access!

This will mean every member will need to pay what they can afford, so that we can give and receive equitably, build a culture of mutual aid, and actually pay the bills that keeps the Network running :)

Free doesn't mean a "free-for-all"
We just want to add the caveat that just because we're opening a "Free for anyone" tier, it does not mean just anyone can join the network. Sure, anyone can request to join, but we will still have the same approval process we currently follow for all new requests. ​

As a refresher, or in case you didn't know, our approval process is super straightforward and breaks down into steps:

1. Every potential new member answers the community question: "What do you hope to give and receive as part of the Nuclear Fusion Network?"
   
2. A core team member reviews each and every answer and based on how the requester answers, decides whether they feel like the potential member would be a good fit for the Network.
   
3. An approved (or declined) email is sent! If someone is declined, the reason why is included in the email, and the person can try again if they want to.
   

This approval process helps us uphold the culture and values of Nuclear Fusion, and ensures a curated and safe experience for our members. And we need safe spaces now more than ever. So rest assured—everyone requesting to join the Network, including those joining at the soon-to-launch Free tier, will still go through the same approval process.

We're Giving the Membership plans a Makeover 
In the midst of preparing to overhaul our plans, we realized something else needed overhauling: the brand colors, and plan names! Here's a quick look at the plan changes coming:

• ​Teal (new plan), $0/month
  
• Yellow (formerly Find), $1.99/month
  
• Orange (Formerly Build), $4.99/month
  
• Red (Formerly Sustain), $9.99/month
  
• Purple (new plan), $200/month
  

Actually the Whole Network (Plus Our Website) is Getting a Makeover
Yeah, once we re-colored the plans and saw how gooood they looked, we knew our new brand palette would need to be implemented across our whole ecosystem. So over the next few months we'll be updating colors, typefaces, images, even the names of some spaces. in short: we're sprucing up the joint 😎 Plus we're going to be rolling out some new spaces in the Network, so stay tuned for that too!

And now, the Juicy Backstory (because #infodumps are *chef's kiss*)
As you may (or may not know) a goodly portion of our Fusionists actually started as backers of our Kickstarter and GoFundMe, some dating as far back as 2023! And one of the perks of being an early adopter and believing in the dream is lifetime membership to the network, at no additional cost. In fact our very first launch of the Network last July was exclusively to our backers, and they have continued to be the heart and soul of the network <3

Then in September we launched paid tiers to the public, opening our doors "as-is" and opening ourselves to expansion in so many ways. And my oh my did we grow—more than doubling our initial members! 

But as word about our Network spread, alongside the enthusiasm and hype, we also received copious feedback that even our lowest tier ($1.99) was too much of a financial burden for some. Many said we should consider offering a Free tier to the public, so those most in need of mutual aid can truly access and participate in it.

At first, we kicked around the idea of a stripped-down free tier; a "just the basics" plan, if you will. After all, a freemium model is industry standard for Software as a Service platforms. It's expected and considered "good business" to establish a hierarchy in your SaaS offerings, with the lowest cost or free tiers receiving only the essentials, and the benefits increasing congruently with your subscription prices. You get what you pay for, right? And never give away for free what someone will pay for. Hustle, always be closing, etc.

Then it dawned on us: that's capitalist bullshit. And truly not in alignment with who we are and the world we want to live in. Because we are here to dismantle hierarchies, to overturn the status quo, to say "we're not doing things the way they've always been done, and if you don't like it, you can kiss a duck." (Okay, maybe just one of us says that on the reg—but you get the idea). We are committed to shaking things up and ruffling feathers in every other way; so why structure our membership options in a classically capitalist way? Why continue to uphold the idea that those who have more, deserve more? 

So we said "Fuck it, let's make a Free plan, and let's give 'em everything! ... and why stop there, heck—let's make all our plans full-access!" 

And that's exactly what we're doing.

​

At Nuclear Fusion Network, we believe that connection, chosen family, and the proverbial village should be accessible to everyone. With burnout, loneliness, overconsumption, and the disenfranchisement (and straight up erasure) of marginalized folks at the hands of our oppressors on the rise, this is now more important than ever. Access to a village is literally lifesaving, and the creation of interdependent chosen family systems all over the world is the antidote to the darkness that's taking over. That’s why we’re making a bold shift: moving to a fully mutual aid pricing model. Starting soon, our membership will operate on a full sliding scale from Free, up to $9.99/month, ensuring that no one is excluded based on financial barriers.

Our team has spent time listening to feedback from our users about accessibility and affordability, and we recognize that our previous tiered structure was not in full alignment with the values we hold dear. As a purpose-over-profit organization, we are committed to making sure that everyone who resonates with our mission has equal access to the resources, connections, and support that our Network provides. Going forward, no matter what level you join at, you will receive full access to the Nuclear Fusion Network. We are taking a leap of faith that, if we keep doing our work, and stay committed to our values, the Universe will continue to provide the resources we need to survive.

This shift also reflects the way we operate as an organization behind the scenes. Nuclear Fusion Network is built using a non-hierarchical business model, and we want that same ethos to be present in every aspect of our global project. Our volunteer-run development and moderation teams are working tirelessly to implement this change, even as we continue seeking angel investors to sustain and expand our work. We take this pivot seriously, and remain committed to transparency in all our decisions. We acknowledge that our previous hybrid pricing model did not fully embody the inclusive and equitable world we want to build—so we are correcting course.

We aim to launch this new version of our Network with the coming of Spring. If you want to stay updated and be the first to hear when these changes go live, the best thing you can do is sign up for our newsletter at nuclearfusionapp.com. With social media algorithms becoming increasingly unreliable, our newsletter is the most direct way to stay connected.

If you are connected to angel investors who believe in our mission and vision—folks whose resource they have to offer the village is financial support, please let us know. Our pitch team can be ready at a moment's notice. With our first major investor onboarding as we speak, we believe others will be inspired to join, too. We are $50,000 down in our pre-seed funding goals, with $200,000 to go.

To our queer, trans, disabled, and other marginalized kin across the world: We see you. We love you. We are building this for you. It takes a village to build a village-building app. Let’s build it together.

Come one, come all—even (and especially!) not-yet-Fusionists! This event will be open to the PUBLIC as a space for any one and everyone who's interested to get a taste of Nuclear Fusion Network—our vibes, our culture, and our mission in the world.

Here are the details...Anyone and everyone, network member or not, this event is open to whomever is interested in getting a taste of the kinds of Nuclear Fusion shenanigans that are commonly cultivated at our live gatherings. Share the date!

• Date:  Saturday, January 18th at 5:00pm - 6:00pm EST
• (For Non-Members) Zoom Link:  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87509728058?pwd=TN2v3YxXnON8EKarGd1EmTgaxpEeqY.1
• (For Members) Mighty Link:  https://nuclearfusionnetwork.com/events/nuclear-fusion-network-open-house

​

​Hello, Fellow Fusionists!
It has been almost 3 months since we officially opened the doors to the network and it has been a whirlwind of a ride. Running a start-up is a massive challenge. Many days it is exciting and inspiring as our team swims in the possibilities. Other days, not going lie, are fucking hard. There are 1 million things to do, and though our team is growing, it’s still a lot for our small but mighty team. We question everyday decisions, wanting to be thoughtful in everything that we do. Sometimes we get it wrong and make mistakes. However, we are purpose-driven and believe wholeheartedly in the work.
Our intention at Nuclear Fusion is to sustainably grow our village, and yours, to provide more possible meaningful connections, both digital and in-person, for y'all. For us at Nuclear Fusion, it is not just about facilitating connections. There are a lot of apps and platforms that do that. Our purpose is to give life meaning, to cultivate a true sense of belonging that is essential to our well-being, and create ease in our ability to build community with folks who align with our culture and values.
Thank you for being on this journey with us. Everyday, we learn, we show up, we experiment, and strive to be our most fabulous, messy selves.
Check out a recap of everything that is going on, both within the network and the business.
Backend Business:

• This past month, some added some fabulous additions to our growing team of Fusioneers. Right now, we have 5 fantastic in-network moderators (Cami, Ashe, Lauren, Leika, and Elle) who truly are the backbone of our organization. Their role is to drive engagement, answer questions, offer support, and just being generous beacons. If you are interested in joining the team and taking a more active presence in the network, reach out to [email protected].
• Team member, Chris Daniels, has been working with Emma Pinead-Fortin a somatic-healing coach who is going to be offering a course called “Courageous Conversations”, set to release January 2025. We are in conversation with several other creative educators about offering courses and mini-workshops. We want to provide as many resources to our members to support them on their journey to cultivate truly meaningful connections.
• Finally, our team continues to be blessed with the incredible folks that have found their way to us. We have leads on investors, educators, and people asking to volunteer their services.

Network Announcements:

• Our network continues to grow and we are pumped to share with you all of the exciting developments are occurring and are on the horizon. We launched our new “Club Hub” Channel and a new space “Shelf Life”, our book club group. The chat is blowing up as fellow book enthusiasts are sharing their favorite recommendations. Our first selection for the club was “Heaven is a Place on Earth” by Adrian Shirk which is "An exploration of American ideas of utopia through the lens of one millennial's quest to live a more communal life under late-stage capitalism.” There is a poll to pick our next book (which is all queer, fiction!) 
• We have several other Club groups on the horizon including a Gaming Group, a Witchy Club, an Outdoorsy Group, and A Neurodivergent Group.
• We currently have a total of 276 members! What we are most excited and proud about is that our level of retention and engagement are far above the average that Mighty Network (the platform that this network is hosted on) reports.
• Coming up we have our First Challenge - a seven day network challenge intended to familiarize members with the network and facilitate fusion connections. Our neurodivergent team LOVES a good challenge and we hope that you will too.

What's Coming Around the Corner:

• Our team has been deep in visioning jams. In these jams, we have finalized our priorities for the end of the year and our focus for 2025. We have also begun to finalize the Fusion Methodology—the flagship program of Nuclear Fusion. The Methodology is a step-by-step process, complete with worksheets, workshops, and other resources, to assist folks in successfully Fusing. We are looking forward to sharing this with all of you. Stay tuned for the end of 2024/beginning of 2025 for the release.  

Thank you all for your continued support and being on this journey with us. We are so excited for all that is in store.
Love you all so much,
Nuclear Fusion Team

In October of 2022, Jessica of Remodeled Love posts a mockup of an idea she had for an app that would help folks find, build, & sustain chosen family & the proverbial village many of us are seeking and desperately need.

The post gets a lot of traction and everyone says, “You must follow through with this,” but Jessica wonders if she’s capable of something this big.

In December of 2022 Holly Marr sends an email asking if she could use a virtual assistant and Jessica hires her on the spot.

In June of 2023 they launch a Kickstarter to fund Phases 1 & 2 of @nuclearfusionapp project, & the project funds in less than 60 days.

In August of 2023 Jessica puts out a call for a software dev consultant to help vet an app-building company she had hired. Something felt off to her. She interviews several folks but ultimately falls in creative love with Rishi Tirumalai, who thoroughly vets the company and returns to Jes with one consolation: “You should build your own team.”

In September of 2023 Jessica professionally reunites with her best friend and former business partner Chris Daniels after a deep rupture & downfall of another shared project in 2017. Chris comes on as COO, mostly volunteering their time.

The team then puts out a call for UI/UX designers, and Pia Malika slides into their DMs a month later.

Pia takes the team for the next 8 months through Phase 2 of the beta build.

The team is made up of entirely queer, neurodivergent social & digital engineers, determined to create a new world & a new business model. The chemistry between them is 🔥.

Beta Phase 2 comes to an end in May 2024 as the Kickstarter money fades, & the team pivots to Alpha on fully volunteered time—determined to get a product out into the world to help folks find connection, joy, & ease in their lives.

Mycah of @merkabatech enters as Productivity Manager in July.

Though the reality of an under-resourced startup is stressful & chaotic, finally, on 9/23/24 at 11:23pm PST, the team opens the digital doors to Nuclear Fusion Network.

You can be one of our early Pioneers bringing this dream to life across the globe by joining our Network today.

Blog By:
Christopher Daniels,
Nuclear Fusion App
COO

--
​
In 2018, A Shamanic Astrologer Once Told me that it was Soul’s Purpose to Redefine How Organizations Operate.

No pressure … also that statement sounds a little egoistic and self-involved. I remember hearing that and thinking, “that sounds cool, I like organizations”. I thought that soul purpose related to theatre and the nonprofit community theatre I served as Executive Director. I began pouring energy to explore how we could do things differently and dismantle conventional theatre practices; questioning why they existed and not accepting the answer, “because that is how they are done”.

Fast forward to 2023, during a sunny day in Tahoe City, my BFF and fellow fusionist Jes Daylover, and I are tripping out in the backyard of this beautiful cabin and she asks me to join the Nuclear Fusion team. Now for those of you unaware, Jes and I have a lot of institutional baggage in our illustrious almost 20 year friendship. We have started and lost interest in a million creative projects (thank you ADHD), we have formed and dissolved several businesses, and most notably our personal and professional relationship exploded in 2017; a rupture that neither one of us thought possible to repair.

The rupture occurred over the Utility Players, Reno’s #1 Comedy Troupe; a troupe that Jes founded and led since 2009 and I troupe that moved across the country to join. Years of toxic culture, conflict avoidance, lack of accountability, and low emotional intelligence on the part of everyone involved, led to a pretty dramatic and devastating breakup. It took years of repair to rebuild some semblance of trust and even then that trust was delicate and fragile. We collaborated only a couple of times over the years, instead choosing to prioritize our personal friendship.

So on that sunny day in 2023, when Jes asked me to be a part of Nuclear Fusion, it felt like coming home; it felt right. And then fear and doubt began to creep into me. Were we just repeating the same mistakes from our past? We both had grown and healed so much from that fateful day and yet the fear was there; like some flamboyant Gollum guffawing in the corner. And then Jes said something that changed everything, “I want to run this business differently; I want to give us a chance to do things differently.”

She told me she was inspired by entrepreneurs she had seen on Tiktok that prioritized equity and collective decision-making. She mentioned that her Chief Engineer, Rishi, recommended this book “Reinventing Organizations” and that she wanted to model Nuclear Fusion after an evolutionary organization (more on that later). What Jes didn’t know is (A) my shamanic astrology reading (B) that since that reading, I had been exploring non-hierarchical models of leadership and organizing in the nonprofit I currently led.

​Suddenly, I saw it all. The threads that tied us, that everything that had happened to me, had happened to us, was leading to this moment. I saw it all so clearly … or maybe it was the LSD. Regardless, I said yes, purchased the book, and began the process of fulfilling my destiny (or some shit like that).