#The Operative-if

[anxietytwist]

𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐦 “𝐌𝐚𝐞”

𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝟎𝟎𝟐

ᴀɢᴇ➨ [𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙴𝙳] ʜᴇɪɢʜᴛ➨ 𝟽'𝟸" (since they wear combat boots they typically stand at ≈𝟽'𝟻") ʙᴏᴅʏ ᴛʏᴘᴇ➨ 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 & 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺 ɢᴇɴᴅᴇʀ➨ Nonbinary (They/Them) ᴏʀɪᴇɴᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ➨ Greyromantic Demisexual (it's really JUST 𝐀𝐫𝐢)

💗ᴍ!𝐀𝐫𝐢

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Fashion:

“𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭” (Even off-duty, 𝐌𝐚𝐞 wears their mask)

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Current Arm:

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Apartment:

» Located on the top floor » NO trophy room (they don't see the point of collecting war baubles) » Calming dark & pastel colours/tones » King-sized bed (only 𝟷 side used ... for now) » Lots of fake plants 🪴 » Decorated with a large couch with fuzzy blankets & multiple plushie animals (AKA. “sensory heaven” apartment)

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Notes:

ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴄᴀʀᴇᴇʀ➨ “𝘌𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘜𝘌𝘎 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 ... 𝘈 𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵.” ᴍᴏᴛɪᴠᴇ➨ “𝘎𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴” ꜱᴜɪᴛ➨ Terror Armor (practical design)* ᴍᴀꜱᴋ➨ Inhuman; sharp & angular* ᴡᴇᴀᴘᴏɴ➨ Custom Energy Rifle

😑 “strangers” | 😌 “friends” | 🤗 “family”

Both 𝐌𝐚𝐞'𝐬 suit & mask are 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 (enemy combatants find it especially intimidating when blood slowly stains it red during combat) ***may change once the new armours are fully available***

They gladly took over the weapon training of the younger 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 (they were absolutely crushed when they had to later eliminate said “students” 🥲)

𝐌𝐚𝐞 tends to put themselves in the direct line of fire when protecting others, often functioning as a literal body shield (they don't care much for their personal safety due to survivor's guilt & self-loathing 😓)

Their hair comes down to 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, & more often than not is 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘶𝘱; it's texture is coarse

𝐌𝐚𝐞 rarely takes off their mask; only doing so when they're with someone they know they can trust, they're completely alone in their apartment, or when it's demanded of them by a superior (it's their barrier against the outside world & they feel naked without it)

Their pet name for 𝐀𝐫𝐢 is “𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆” (which is quite fitting since he makes them lovesick) 🥰

When it comes to their “remaining” siblings they're closest with 𝟶𝟶𝟿/𝐌𝐚𝐱 & 𝟶𝟷𝟹/𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐡 (+ 𝐀𝐫𝐢 of course, but their relationship is based on “romantic” love), they view them as true members of their chosen family (even back when they were all still children)

They're SO tired of war; they never enjoyed fighting to begin with (sadly the only way they'll finally be free, especially from the pointless conflicts of others, is when they're long dead 🪦)

Without their mask on 𝐌𝐚𝐞'𝐬 naturally high-pitch, gentle voice can be heard (the mask distorts it into a dark mechanical growl ... another reason why they prefer to wear their mask)

Their method of dispatching 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 was to “𝘋𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.”, they wanted him to feel hopeless knowing there was NO chance he'd survive 🥶 (much like the children whose lives he destroyed)

𝐌𝐚𝐞 has always been fond of children, even if most find them to be scary-looking (if it were possible they'd love to be a parent, in the future)

Despite his “betrayal”, they know the moment they see 𝐀𝐫𝐢 again everything will be forgiven: it's impossible for them to picture a future without him in it, no matter what he's done or will do 🥺 (*cough* codependency *cough*)

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𝐼𝐹: @theoperativeif

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Picrew used:

[miametropolis]

last chance to evacuate

as you may know, israel has begun its ground operation in rafah. they dropped leaflets last night ordering people to evacuate, and bombing in east rafah has already begun.

The border is about to become unreachable.

Rafah is trapped.

We have literal hours until no-one, all the GoFundMe's you've scrolled past, all the people desperately begging on TikTok, will be able to escape.

Give now. Give whatever you can.

I am fundraising for the Odeh family, which is only 3k away from meeting its goal.

you will not get another chance.

GIVE HERE

[auckie]

https://x.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1765391777580912958?s=20

PLEASE GD IF YOU LOVE AND WANT TRAINS

[tofixtheshadows]

I've been thinking a lot lately about how Kabru deprives himself.

Kabru as a character is intertwined with the idea that sometimes we have to sacrifice the needs of the few for the good of the many. He ultimately subverts this first by sabotaging the Canaries and then by letting Laios go, but in practice he's already been living a life of self-sacrifice.

Saving people, and learning the secrets of the dungeons to seal them, are what's important. Not his own comforts. Not his own desires. He forces them down until he doesn't know they're there, until one of them has to come spilling out during the confession in chapter 76.

Specifically, I think it's very significant, in a story about food and all that it entails, that Kabru is rarely shown eating. He's the deuteragonist of Dungeon Meshi, the cooking manga, but while meals are the anchoring points of Laios's journey, given loving focus, for Kabru, they're ... not.

I'm sure he eats during dungeon expeditions, in the routine way that adventurers must when they sit down to camp. But on the surface, you get the idea that Kabru spends most of his time doing his self-assigned dungeon-related tasks: meeting with people, studying them, putting together that evidence board, researching the dungeon, god knows what else. Feeding himself is secondary.

He's introduced during a meal, eating at a restaurant, just to set up the contrast between his party and Laios's. And it's the last normal meal we see him eating until the communal ending feast (if you consider Falin's dragon parts normal).

First, we get this:

Kabru's response here is such a non-answer, it strongly implies to me that he wasn't thinking about it until Rin brought it up. That he might not even be feeling the hunger signals that he logically knew he should.

They sit down to eat, but Kabru is never drawn reaching for food or eating it like the rest of his party. He only drinks.

It's possible this means nothing, that we can just assume he's putting food in his mouth off-panel, but again, this entire manga is about food. Cooking it, eating it, appreciating it, taking pleasure in it, grounding yourself in the necessary routine of it and affirming your right to live by consuming it. It's given such a huge focus.

We don't see him eat again until the harpy egg.

What a significant question for the protagonist to ask his foil in this story about eating! Aren't you hungry? Aren't you, Kabru?

He was revived only minutes ago after a violent encounter. And then he chokes down food that causes him further harm by triggering him, all because he's so determined to stay in Laios's good graces.

In his flashback, we see Milsiril trying to spoon-feed young Kabru cake that we know he doesn't like. He doesn't want to eat: he wants to be training.

Then with Mithrun, we see him eating the least-monstery monster food he can get his hands on, for the sake of survival- walking mushroom, barometz, an egg. The barometz is his first chance to make something like an a real meal, and he actually seems excited about it because he wants to replicate a lamb dish his mother used to make him!

...but he doesn't get to enjoy it like he wanted to.

Then, when all the Canaries are eating field rations ... Kabru still isn't shown eating. He's only shown giving food to Mithrun.

And of course the next time he eats is the bavarois, which for his sake is at least plant based ... but he still has to use a coping mechanism to get through it.

I don't think Kabru does this all on purpose. I think Kui does this all on purpose. Kabru's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should be understood as informing his character just as much as Laios's autism informs his. It's another way that Kabru and Laios act as foils: where Laios takes pleasure in meals and approaches food with the excitement of discovery, Kabru's experiences with eating are tainted by his trauma. Laios indulges; Kabru denies himself. Laios is shown enjoying food, Kabru is shown struggling with it.

And I can very easily imagine a reason why Kabru might have a subconscious aversion towards eating.

Meals are the privilege of the living.

[sailoreuterpe]

Using the bathroom in general is a human right and should be enshrined as such and I'm not joking. Too many groups of people are denied bathroom breaks or the use of bathrooms entirely--disabled people, blue-collar workers, children, homeless people, prisoners, students, the elderly. I'm surely missing other groups. Not using the bathroom when needed can cause serious, long-term damage, not to mention death. Free, clean, accessible bathrooms should be available everywhere. It's fucking cruel to deny someone the use of the bathroom, regardless of the reasoning. I'd rather every student in the world goof off and every homeless person make a mess and every worker "steal company time" than let one person suffer because they're denied the right to fucking pee in peace.

[essektheylyss]

"must a story have conflict?" yes. hope this helps <3

[chronicbitchsyndrome]

so: masking: good, unequivocally. please mask and please educate others on why they should mask to make the world safer for immune compromised people to participate in.

however: masking is not my policy focus and it shouldn't be yours, either. masking is a very good mitigation against droplet-born illnesses and a slightly less effective (but still very good) mitigation against airborne illnesses, but its place in the pyramid of mitigation demands is pretty low, for several reasons:

it's an individual mitigation, not a systemic one. the best mitigations to make public life more accessible affect everyone without distributing the majority of the effort among individuals (who may not be able to comply, may not have access to education on how to comply, or may be actively malicious).

it's a post-hoc mitigation, or to put it another way, it's a band-aid over the underlying problem. even if it was possible to enforce, universal masking still wouldn't address the underlying problem that it is dangerous for sick people and immune compromised people to be in the same public locations to begin with. this is a solvable problem! we have created the societal conditions for this problem!

here are my policy focuses:

upgraded air filtration and ventilation systems for all public buildings. appropriate ventilation should be just as bog-standard as appropriately clean running water. an indoor venue without a ventilation system capable of performing 5 complete air changes per hour should be like encountering a public restroom without any sinks or hand sanitizer stations whatsoever.

enforced paid sick leave for all employees until 3-5 days without symptoms. the vast majority of respiratory and food-borne illnesses circulate through industry sectors where employees come into work while experiencing symptoms. a taco bell worker should never be making food while experiencing strep throat symptoms, even without a strep diagnosis.

enforced virtual schooling options for sick students. the other vast majority of respiratory and food-borne illnesses circulate through schools. the proximity of so many kids and teenagers together indoors (with little to no proper ventilation and high levels of physical activity) means that if even one person comes to school sick, hundreds will be infected in the following few days. those students will most likely infect their parents as well. allowing students to complete all readings and coursework through sites like blackboard or compass while sick will cut down massively on disease transmission.

accessible testing for everyone. not just for COVID; if there's a test for any contagious illness capable of being performed outside of lab conditions, there should be a regulated option for performing that test at home (similar to COVID rapid tests). if a test can only be performed under lab conditions, there should be a government-subsidized program to provide free of charge testing to anyone who needs it, through urgent cares and pharmacies.

the last thing to note is that these things stack; upgraded ventilation systems in all public buildings mean that students and employees get sick less often to begin with, making it less burdensome for students and employees to be absent due to sickness, and making it more likely that sick individuals will choose to stay home themselves (since it's not so costly for them).

masking is great! keep masking! please use masking as a rhetorical "this is what we can do as individuals to make public life safer while we're pushing for drastic policy changes," and don't get complacent in either direction--don't assume that masking is all you need to do or an acceptable forever-solution, and equally, don't fall prey to thinking that pushing for policy change "makes up" for not masking in public. it's not a game with scores and sides; masking is a material thing you can do to help the individual people you interact with one by one, and policy changes are what's going to make the entirety of public life safer for all immune compromised people.

[saveugoodmadam]

*leaves theatre* wow what a great show my favourite bit was how it fundamentally changed me as a person forever

[wherestoriescomefrom]

why did you people come up with russian names for what is supposed to be a movie set in italy. what was the thought process here. why does she sound like she walked out of a tolstoy novel

[stil-lindigo]

ARTISTS FOR PALESTINE 🇵🇸 - On the 6th and 9th of March, I'll be doing art requests on stream with other notable artists to raise money for Operation Olive Branch and the PCRF.

I'm incredibly lucky to be counting quite a few big names in the roster, including known Jesus and Odysseus enthusiast @wolfythewitch, the extraordinary fanartist @denimcatfish, and the incredibly talented @troubledminnesotan, as well as Lilypichu from OfflineTV.

You'll be able to watch the streams on the day of the event either on my twitch channel here, or via the links provided by the artists below.

Lilypichu

Cuptoast

Akairosu_

Sevvanto

Wolfythewitch

[chaser]

This site toppling the competition by opting to sell shoelaces instead of monetising their users must be one of the greatest examples of failing upwards in history

[stuckinapril]

lived my whole life in guilt bc i thought i was responsible for people's feelings. newly realizing that other people are responsible for their feelings and reactions, even if they make it seem like i'm the problem. a lot of the time it really has to do w them and their own emotional regulation. i can't keep thinking i'm not allowed to have space bc of other people's insecurities. like i literally refuse to dim myself. other people are responsible for their feelings just as i'm responsible for mine.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

why aren't there more mysteries that take place in nursing homes & retirement communities. i want to watch a group of deranged retirees-cum-amateur-detectives combine their powers of:

decades of life experience

boredom-fueled busybody shamelessness

access to the most gossipy next-door-neighbors in existence

"I am too old to be arrested and/or give a shit" attitude

and solve crimes. this should be an enormous subgenre.

[glorious-spoon]

i know we all laugh (mostly fondly) about the paper-thin plots in porn that only exist to make the sex happen, but i was reading some old stargate fic over the weekend, and i really think we're sleeping on the paper-thin hurt/comfort plot that only exists to force the characters to FEEL THINGS.

like, is this scenario realistic? no. does it make any rational sense? no. does it provide a built-in excuse for a character to collapse, bloody and disoriented, into the arms of his beloved/friend/partner? obviously, that's the whole point of this exercise.

i love it. it's my favorite thing in the world.

[blackpearlblast]

trying something new to help some GFMs that are close to being funded reach their goal. tasneem nabil musa is a 14 year-old girl from gaza who was injured in an air strike and needs to evacuate to egypt for medical care. if 500 people reblog this post and all donate $5 (USD), she will reach her goal. if 1000 people reblog this post and half of them donate $5, she will reach her goal. if you can give $5 please do, and if not, sharing will help someone else with five bucks to spare see it.

edit: tasneem's gofundme reached and exceeded its initial goal so the goal amount was raised! please keep helping her and her family out if you can.

[tiktaalic]

one of my beloved friends (very autism) was in.. not denial but ignorance sounds mean. but that abt themself last time you brought up the raads r test so i sent it to the gc (full of autism) and they were like psh. fake test no one could get below 100. they know now but i think about it so much

The thing is. When you take the autism test. And you see your score is in the 100 to 160 range. You think. Oh this is probably the middle? Middle autism. Tinge of autism. Your relatives calling you bright but shy autism. Just a whiff of autism. And then you see the score ranges. And you go. This test is lying to me there is absolutely no way the majority of people score under 65. The 65 number is such a low cutoff and so many of these experiences are clearly universal a score under 65 is something they made up in a lab. People who score under 65 are obviously scoring just under that mark from 59 to 64 and they’re also obviously lying or purposely misrepresenting their experiences as less severe than they are. And then you find out there are real people who get a 20 or 30 or 7 on it. And you go. Ah