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012 #LearnAndGrowCommunity : Unlocking the Power Within: Daily Quotes for Personal Growth & Learning

Daily Quote - "The only way to make tomorrow better is to learn something new today." @learnandgrowcommunity

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[genderkoolaid]

i need everyone to go subscribe to aubrey smalls on youtube. he's a director & activist with dwarfism (who's also queer!!) making videos on dwarfism & ableism. he's delightful and funny and i'm thrilled he's shifting to youtube because he's such a talented storyteller & really good at talking about ableism. he's also making a documentary called dear average height people!!! i just want to boost his content as much as possible.

if you want a jumping off point here are some videos:

Love in the dwarfism community.

What's it's like growing up in a circus.

The Exploitation of Dwarfism on Social Media

Tyrion Lannister & Dwarfism in Fantasy

go watch!!! you will learn something important and have fun doing it

[lie-lacdreams]

Some headcanons in Thermo & Turmoil so far (for Curly and the reader)

Because I just inserted hella headcanons into the plot and feel an urge to explain all of them and then some more lol

(Before I begin I would like to start off by mentioning that I'm a bit clueless when it comes to using Tumblr so please forgive me let me be incompetent and ignorant in peace)

In this story, reader is in her mid to late twenties, like 26-28 years old. Curly is in his early to mid thirties (33-35), which means he joined Pony Express likely fresh out of college or trade school

Reader is a chemical engineering graduate student, specializing in green synthesis and catalysis. What this all means is that she has a particular interest in sustainability and organic chemistry

The way her morals and ethics left her body after getting accepted to work at Pony Express, a shady company with not the best green practices (she was desperate to find a job, okay?)

one last related thing - the timeline of when things happen in the game vs. in this story aren't very well-aligned. I'm going off of my own timeline for plot reasons

Okay, now on to more fun and general headcanons I have for Curly ~

I subscribe to the common belief that Curly is a big romantic. How could he not be??? He tried to seek out relationships throughout his twenties but remained unsuccessful to find someone who would stay with him through the crazy structure of his occupation. Imagine being in a relationship with someone who you couldn't see or communicate with for months to a year at a time. I absolutely get it

It all makes sense because he's absolutely married to his work. He's kind of come to terms that he can't have a long-term romantic relationship and a career as a freighter ship captain. Those two things simply don't go together well

At this age, Curly has reached the peak of his career - and when he comes back from another successful trip, he has quite a bit of monetary compensation waiting for him in his paycheck

Single and childless, he's financially comfortable - he has his savings but he also will pay the bill for his friends and family 8/10 times (would he fight for the bill? Of course not, he gave his card to the waiter halfway through the meal to pay)

He doesn't feel bitter about his lifestyle. He chose it, after all. Sure, he sometimes wishes that he had stability on Earth and a family of his own to go back to, but he loves living vicariously through his friends and that to him is enough for now. Every wedding, baby shower, friend's child's birthday party - if he's off the clock, he will absolutely be there and having the time of his life

Speaking of children, he would love to have some of his own someday, but as a single man who spends most of his time in a big metal box suspended in zero gravity, he doesn't know how to interact with them and is kind of awkward

He's very open minded to different cultures and new experiences.

Curly has been to a few Indian weddings where his friends would drag him out to the dance floor and make him learn Bhangra. He's jumping along like the rest of them, moving his arms animatedly to the beat of the music

like okay this white boy can dance! The crowd is so entertained

he's not a picky eater and would eat nearly anything. When he visited Thailand, the locals tricked him into trying balut (fertilized duck egg) and when he didn't react and mentioned that he didn't mind the texture that much, it left them confused and a little pleased

he sleeps warm and can't tolerate humid weather. Going to Thailand nearly ended him

He's so community-minded. This is why I could envision him with so many 1st/2nd gen immigrant friends. Man just gets it

This is also why the Chinese restaurant near where he lives loves him. The owner loves to use him as a role model for his son

You know that one family friend growing up that was stacked with accolades that your parents would compare you to? (or maybe that's just my own experience...) That is Curly for this poor little boy.

He's actually such a people pleaser, but hides it so well under being such a confident authority figure, so it just comes off as helpful and supportive instead

He loves when people go to him for advice. He may or may not have the experience to give the advice, but regardless he will try his best to come up with a solution

[abigailmoment]

Hi! I'm Abigail. I write stories and games.

All of my work can be found on my website. Below there's a sampling of stories that are good places to begin.

I have a discord that's very friendly and I'm very responsive on it. I have a mailing list that goes out when I make new things.

I have an Ao3 account of fan fiction that is, at the moment, almost entirely dedicated to vampires from Baldur's Gate 3 being bad at communication. My most active story on it is currently: The Last Will and Testament of Cazador Szarr.

(Note--Cazador is dead and does not appear in the story.)

A visual novel game in development.

You are John Watson. You're very worried about your best friend, Sherlock Holmes. You're right to be worried. Left to his own devices, he'll destroy himself with overwork and cocaine. Don't let him do that.

Wishlist here.

I have a Patreon that is a new experiment. It is very low pressure Patreon. I inevitably, create things. I will put many of them there. If you are interested in subscribing, please think of it as supporting my ability to create in general rather than purchasing monthly entertainment.

If you are in any way financially vulnerable, please don't give me money. I am stable and safe. If you want access to the stories here but can't afford a subscription please message me and I'll give you a free subscription.

That is a general rule. If you can't afford anything I've created, please ask me for it and I'll give it to you.

Read things here.

A text-based videogame. Cost: $3.99

Open Sorcery follows the development of an Elemental Firewall: a fire elemental bound with C++ code to protect a network of people and places. You guide her as she makes decisions and grows. She can learn things, develop relationships, and even gain sapience. Or she can burn everything with fire.

Play on Steam.

Play on Android.

Play on iPhone.

A text-based fangame of BG3. Cost: Free.

Art by @cymk8

There's a monster made of dreams. It has its teeth in your companions. It builds nightmares out of their worst memories and drinks their pain. One of your companions has a very bad worst memory. A long, text-based video game.

Play online.

A text-based videogame. Cost: Free

You're a vampire hunter on your night off. You're getting a manicure, seeing a movie, and eating fast food.

But there's a vampire in this McDonalds. If you don't do something, then in one hour it will eat the cashier.

Play online.

[lectern-fullcauldron]

the thing about joe hills, at least for me, is that once you're accustomed to Joe's streams, no other streaming style is compatible.

let me explain. Joe, last I heard, has over 4000 unread messages from people asking to be unbanned. the ban hammer falls heavy, the ban hammer falls firm.

the angriest I've ever heard Joe was during a section where he stopped playing minecraft to give an extended speech about the importance of no platforming facists, about recognising dogwhistles, and making sure the community he's built is protected from those that could harm it.

Joe mods his own streams - except on special occasions where he'll pay a moderator to look after chat when Joe is busy.

and because Joe is self modding, the stream often moves with chat. Joe reads what we say, and because he has both discord and YouTube chats (rip twitch chat), he'll read aloud messages for different chats to hear. and so you learn names in Joe's chat. you say howdy to regulars (or ahoy) and the chat moves slow enough to say howdy back.

there is no spamming in Joe Hills' chat. No all caps. No strings of emojis. Chat moves slowly, and legibly so that we can read and consider and talk to one another.

The rules are engraved on the doors to the chat, and we all know them, once we've been there long enough. And they're good rules. Incredibly good rules. people who break them are often timed out so that they can read the rules and consider where they messed up before trying again.

One rule I appreciate most is the one that bans mentions of like counts, or view counts. The stream ethos is to not get neurotic about numbers, to not make Joe neurotic about youtube metrics that make no financial impact.

I cannot be in a stream, now, where the streamer is obsessed with their view count, and says things like 'im not starting till we have five hundred likes on the stream or I have a hundred thousand subscribers.' I can't do it.

the Joe Hills community is the place I've felt most comfortable on the internet. It is a space that you can tell is over ten years in the making. Joe has consistently made choices about his YouTube career that conform to the ethics he voices.

His stream has no 'real' dynamic overlay so that people can know they don't have to commission graphics and music and alerts to be a successful streamer. He often has a microphone out of his office window so that we can hear the birds singing. His camera grows and the abacus beads clack whilst the beetlejhost suit waits just out of sight.

Joe Hills is filmed before a live streaming audience (that's us!)

[wromwood]

My main thought regarding the new Doctor Who episode "Lucky Day":

As I was watching the episode for the first time, I was surprised that the show told us hardly anything about Conrad's podcast. All the way up until his main reveal, the only things we really know are that 1) the podcast relates to Conrad's supposed interest in alien theories, especially regarding the Doctor, 2) it has enough of an audience that he was able to find Ruby by posting a picture of her online, and 3) it's relevant for him to mention that some people think UNIT and their work is just a big hoax, and that these deniers have their own communities and shows.

Obviously, in retrospect, this is because of the Doylist reason that the show wanted to keep Conrad's podcast a secret until the mid-episode reveal, and showing the podcast's name/too many hints could have made that reveal less impactful. However, even before that reveal takes place, I was distracted by the lack of satisfying Watsonian reasons for this information to be hidden, mostly because this shows a worrying lack of foresight on Ruby's part.

I'm not saying Ruby should get some kind of blame for her getting betrayed and hurt by Conrad. She absolutely didn't deserve it, and Conrad was definitely working to keep his UNIT-denying side hidden during their relationship. But from the moment Conrad mentions the UNIT-deniers while recording his podcast, I thought, "Wait, that's a good point. What stance is this podcast taking on the matter? What kind of audience does it have? What is this show's premise? Hell, what is its name?"

And again, the Doylist reason is clear! With these details out of the audiences' sight, we have to fill in the blanks ourselves, leading us to assume that this character - who had a personal interaction with the Doctor as a kid, who witnessed an alien (albeit in glimpses) himself, who saw the Doctor and Ruby out on a mission, AND who witnessed the TARDIS vanishing - is on the side of "UNIT is working on real issues and these aliens are real."

However, I think part of the reason we filled in the blanks like that is because of another assumption: "Well, Ruby would know better than to go on the podcast of one of these deniers."

Which begs the question: how didn't she know, or suspect, from the start?

As we learn later in the episode, Conrad is established in the UNIT-denying shitty-belief sphere. He has a lot of paid subscribers and a growing movement behind him. Granted, we learn this after a timeskip, during which he likely experienced a boom in his popularity. Still, even before then, his podcast is established enough to not only have the budget for pretty decent monster costumes and matching t-shirts, but to also have the numbers and ability to use a small village for a stunt. He already has people parroting his (or saying their own) shitty views, and he has the audience to spread the word once he releases that first major livestream. Hell, like I mentioned before, he had that audience when he first wanted to find Ruby. Since we see Ruby's own mother and grandmother looking Conrad up on the Internet and finding (what sounds like) his personal social media accounts, how did neither or them, nor Ruby herself, encounter Conrad's presence in these groups? His podcast's core message or audience?

The ONLY solution I can think of is that Conrad was somehow deliberately playing a long game, and he had enough followers who were wiling to keep their mouths shut about it, at least publicly.

Maybe Conrad only engaged in these communities and planned everything by using "anonymous" accounts. He didn't post his face or voice, and when he formed a team that he could interact with IRL, he made sure that everything stayed between them and them only. That way, at least on the surface, searching for Conrad's given name wouldn't yield any worrying results, and he only revealed his true face and name during the Colsin Village Shreek staging.

At the same time, Conrad starts his podcast, which may or may not be called Think Tank (I can't remember if Conrad says that the podcast is called Think Tank, or if it was just the name of their group as a whole). He makes his show either a convincingly innocent podcast that "just asks questions" (so that his audience is largely comprised of skeptics that are biased towards his opinions, bad-faith arguments, and deliberately staged "reveals" about UNIT) and/or he fills every episode with dogwhistles so that the hardcore UNIT deniers could find him from day one, all while making the show seem harmless to people who aren't in the know. This way, Ruby could look over his podcast before agreeing to be on it while not suspecting a thing.

The last tricky thing to handle with this theory is the idea of Ruby being found by Conrad's audience. How did she not encounter UNIT-deniers while people were looking for her? Well, either the hardcore-UNIT-deniers in Conrad's audience at the time knew (or were instructed) to keep their worse beliefs hidden and play nice in order to help bring this girl to their leader, the UNIT-deniers weren't as vile and whipped up at this point in time, or Ruby just happened to be spotted by Conrad's less extreme audience members (possibly the previously theorized "skeptics"). All of these possibilities have their pros and cons, but I guess any could work.

STILL. I am annoyed at the episode for not explaining any of this, because without a hell of a lot of head-scratching and "What if"ing, it just feels like Ruby carelessly guest-starred on a podcast with no background-checking whatsoever.

What do you guys think?

[starw0man]

New Moon in Sidereal Gemini

The new moon will be in sidereal Gemini (tropical Cancer) on June 25th. This is the time to set intentions regarding communication, learning, and planting the seeds that you want to grow.

This new moon in Gemini is the time to be open about our emotions and feelings. It’s the time to be direct, straightforward, upfront, and honest. This is the time to communicate clearly and effectively. This can be a good time to say positive affirmations and to practice them as often as you can.

The new moon in Gemini also symbolizes a time when we’re learning about what we need emotionally in order to feel comfortable within ourselves. This can be a time when we’re analyzing what we need in order to feel safe and being more communicative and forthcoming about that.

The new moon in Gemini is a time for social connections and the time to be open with others. This is the best time to share new ideas and information. You can learn so much about yourself through others during this transit.

This new moon in Gemini is ruled by Mercury in Cancer and Mercury in Cancer is ruled by the new moon in Gemini. This is a time when our intuition is aligned with our emotions and our communication. This can be a time when we feel more connected to our feelings and we could be embodying them more and expressing them more. Be honest and practice self-discernment.

The new moon in Gemini is symbolized by the Ace of Swords card in tarot, which showcases communication, clarity, and intellectual pursuits. This card shows us that our thoughts can help to manifest our reality. The Ace of Swords card also symbolizes knowledge and higher learning. This can be an ideal time to dig deeper into the things that really scratch an itch in your brain and that intrigue you. Share your ideas and knowledge with others because others want to learn more from you and listen to others as they share their thoughts and ideas.

. ₊ ⊹ . ⟡ . ⊹ ₊ . . ₊ ⊹ . ⟡ . ⊹ ₊ . . ₊ ⊹ . ⟡ . ⊹ ₊ . . ₊ ⊹ . ⟡ .

The Suns, Moons, and Rising signs that will be most impacted by this New Moon in Gemini:

࣪ ִֶָ☾. Sidereal Gemini (tropical Cancer): this transit is happening in your 1st house of self and personality. This can be a time when you feel more aligned with your personality and yourself. You could also be feeling more in touch with your emotions ࣪ ִֶָ☾. Sidereal Sagittarius (tropical Capricorn): this transit is happening in your 7th house of relationships and partnerships. This could be a time when you’re expressing your emotions more to those closest to you and seeking their support. ࣪ ִֶָ☾. Sidereal Cancer (tropical Leo): this transit is happening in your 12th house of subconscious and dreams. This could be a time when your dreams are revealing more about your emotions and you could be finding more comfort in sleep. ࣪ ִֶָ☾. Sidereal Scorpio (tropical Sagittarius): this transit is happening in your 8th house of intimacy and debt. This could be a time when you’re seeking emotional intimacy and closeness and you could be thinking more about potential debts or shared resources. ࣪ ִֶָ☾. Sidereal Pisces (tropical Aries): this transit is happening in your 4th house of family and home. This could be a time when you’re spending more time with family or at home and you could be focusing on how to make yourself feel comfortable and emotionally secure right now.

. ₊ ⊹ . ⟡ . ⊹ ₊ . . ₊ ⊹ . ⟡ . ⊹ ₊ . . ₊ ⊹ . ⟡ . ⊹ ₊ . . ₊ ⊹ . ⟡ .

Do you have any of these sidereal astrology or tropical astrology signs or placements? Let me know in the comments and let me know what house and planets you have Gemini in as that can help me to tell you more about how this transit is impacting you

For the full post about the New moon in sidereal Gemini, check out my Patreon and subscribe to my Patreon for more sidereal astrology, tarot/oracle, witchcraft, Hellenic polytheist, Celtic polytheist, and Norse polytheist content

[ourhomealien]

Don't gatekeep feelings, please.

TLDR

I'm autistic and so I have a unique vocabulary, so bare with me please.

Hermitcraft to me is a community for all ages, that's what I expect of it. In the same way a child deserves and expects to be able to trust and learn from their parents without abuse or them being literal criminals. People are as bad as they want to be, and you can 100% grieve your expectations of them. Disappointment can hurt anyone. In the same way you invest your feelings into pets knowing they will die, and then grieving when they're gone, you can invest feelings and expectations into people you know about and that isn't childish or naive, it's human. Hermitcraft is in no way culpable for an individual's actions. The amount of distress caused by this VC's actions is widespread and not limited, in the same way an earthquake has aftershocks.

I'm genuinely grieving over iskall, The character and the community they built and the stims and autistic scripts I've built into myself because of them. I was shocked on Saturday, but at the same time, after reading that first line it didn't make sense to be any other hermit (I did not in any way predict this) at the time of reading nothing was confirmed so I felt that, innocent until proven guilty, was the way to go. My heart sank, I felt sick and I wanted to cry, I was on my way home from a long day at work and it was the first day of my hormone cycle at it's worst. The first thoughts I had were, 'no no please, it's not true, it's true, maybe it's the bullies again and he can't cope anymore'. Then the hermits started acting and I thought maybe he doesn't want to be affiliated anymore. But that didn't 100% add up. <33 to the good hermits for being amazing.

In my experience being autistic means 75% of my existence is made up of scripts I've adopted and will continue to adopt, from other people around me locally like my family, from movies, shows, and books growing up, to everything I've consumed information wise, this includes so many people, some that at one time were my hyperfixation, these scripts can be unlearnt, and I have another script that helps ('we don't do that here') but it's still a process and It's stressful and unpleasant.

VC was one of the only people I've subscribed to on twitch, I didn't even watch his live stream (they were way too stressful for me, the pay to win quality of his streams was really frustrating) I just subbed to support him. At least to me he had a 'victim' persona especially when it came to the other hermits and their success in comparison, and this translated to me the need to support him more. (He was a hermit for crying out loud, he was fine, I tell myself now), then I read the truth and the pay to win made sense because he Was showing favouritism, after reading K's statement before I was finished I knew M would be involved too and I just felt incredibly sad and heartbroken for them, no one deserves to be treated like that, and people except a certain level of human decency. I'm sorry that this happens and I'm so sad that it has.

He made me feel Grian was a bad sport and that Grian was wrong to be in videos with his friends because he was more popular, that Grian couldn't be sincere in his joy 'because he was always stealing the limelight' (I was 15 at the time and irl was tough and I had bigger problems going on, I loved C! Grian a lot) and didn't trust anyone, so I started to dislike CC! Grian a lot. (Again young n Major trust issues); I like Grian again now but felt uneasy for a long while.

VC always pops at the end of his videos when he says bye and I always watched to the end just because of it, and at a certain point I started associating popping with saying 'I love you' I did it to my family and it's been a part of my autistic script since late 2018. Others include (Hallo, Omega, of doom)

Iskall's Minecraft character is canonically non-binary/agender and in fanworks they use they/them pronouns and as someone who's a fan of mcyt, Minecraft and is gender q, that was a big deal for me to be canonically represented. They also inspired me to write incredibly niche and rare minecraft lore and head canon's for them (them being a villager/player hybrid); iskall's character is a separate entity but the association is horrifying now and that is extremely disappointing, it was the same with William Gold.

VC has made fun of people's differences and difficulties and has been generally rude at times under the guise of humour. He has laughed at people's trust in the creepest way, that even though I liked him I was scared and put off for days, I was so genuinely angry at him, because I felt humiliated. He knew who he was and laughed at our trust in him. That hurts and angers me even more now.

[covid-safer-hotties]

What Covid Does to the Body - Published Aug 7, 2024

500+ Studies Later, What Have We Learned?

We started this project, “What COVID-19 Does To the Body,” in the fall of 2022 to further public understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to better understand the virus and disease that many in politics and the media insisted we simply roll over and submit to repeated infections of. In the summer of 2024, the Pandemic Accountability Index has now read and compiled over 500 studies across five editions, divided by category, on how SARS-CoV-2 harms the human body - as well as how to best prevent COVID-19 infections.

Since 2022, a number of credentialed professionals across multiple fields have spouted off nonsensical, uninformed opinions that ignore the many well-documented harms that even “mild” (not hospitalized or dead) COVID-19 infections can leave on the body. The public is entitled to informed opinions and public health recommendations supported by a concrete foundation of scientific fact, not fictional delusions.

We hope that these compilations of recent research, from credible institutions and researchers across the globe, can be a resource for doctors, nurses, public health officials, and policymakers. This is only possible with your grassroots support, which includes subscribing to the Pandemic Accountability Index and sharing these research compilations widely across social media and to relevant parties in your local community. We would also humbly ask for a one-time donation, or paid subscription, to help support growing the Pandemic Accountability Index.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Read the whole article and get hundreds of linked resouces at the links up top!

[kidestom]

Good News from Around the World for April 2025

The human brain is not a passive observer of reality — it’s an active architect of perception, cognition, and emotion. Every day, what we choose to pay attention to plays a role in shaping our neural architecture through a process known as experience-dependent neuroplasticity .

Neuroplasticity 101: This groundbreaking understanding in cognitive neuroscience reveals that the brain continuously adapts in response to repeated mental activity. When we consistently engage with specific types of information — whether negative or positive — the associated neural circuits grow stronger, more efficient, and more accessible. In essence, you build the brain you use.

The Cognitive Impact of Positive Input: Regular exposure to constructive, uplifting, and progress-oriented news doesn’t just improve mood — it trains the brain to:

Enhance optimistic bias (without ignoring reality), shifting the brain’s default from detection of challenges to opportunity recognition.

Boost problem-solving capacity by modeling diverse real-world solutions that expand your brain’s cognitive toolkit.

Improve emotion regulation, particularly through reduced stress response and increased activation of your resilience circuits.

What the Research Shows:

Studies in affective neuroscience show that positive narratives activate dopaminergic pathways linked to motivation, creativity, and learning readiness.

Longitudinal research in media psychology supports the idea that consistent consumption of solution-focused content correlates with greater perceived self-efficacy and prosocial behavior.

From a psychological standpoint, the Broaden-and-Build Theory (Fredrickson, 2001) explains how positive emotions expand cognitive flexibility and help individuals build lasting personal resources — from resilience to innovation.

Progress Is Real — And It’s Worth Paying Attention To Every day, humanity makes measurable strides in health, sustainability, technology, and social justice. These stories aren’t just feel-good headlines — they are evidence-based inputs that support a more empowered, adaptive mindset.

In my April edition of “Good News From Around the World” , I highlight some of the most impactful developments in renewable energy, community-driven change, and life-changing medical breakthroughs — all grounded in science, all shaping a better future.

👉 Click here to watch now on my YouTube channel and start training your brain for optimism, adaptability, and creative confidence!

🔔 Remember to subscribe to my channel so you never miss an episode — and join a growing movement of conscious thinkers who are choosing to lead with insight, intention, and inspiration.

Your attention shapes your brain. Your brain shapes your life. Let good news be part of your daily mental nutrition.

[learnandgrowcommunity]

002 #LearnAndGrowCommunity : Unlocking the Power Within: Daily Quotes for Personal Growth & Learning

Daily Quote - "The only way to make tomorrow better is to learn something new today." @learnandgrowcommunity

Subscribe to "Learn And Grow Community"

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[jessaerys]

that poll made me think of this excellent post by @magicaii re: mello’s fanon interpretation as overly emotional, and i broadly agree with all the points made, but i would also like to posit that if one subscribes to the hypothesis that mello and near grew up in a somewhat foster-sibling-like environment (which seems to already be almost universally accepted in the matt-mello relationship. is it even canon that they were roommates? it is so prevalent in the fandom that i forgot to even question it. but i digress) 

in a foster-sibling-like environment at the orphanage a certain level of childhood intimacy would be inescapable between mello and near just by virtue of growing up together: having meals together, attending the same classes, sharing caretakers and chores, being teamed up by teachers during assignments, existing in the same recreational spaces, etc. even if they were never particularly friendly with each other, they would inevitably, perhaps even unwittingly, develop some kind of understanding (“something identical in them […] something which would dart to one face, then to the other, depending on an expression or a trick of the light or the angle at which a head was cocked”) by virtue of being intellectual equals above the rest of their peers. they are, after all, foils to the L-light relationship.

in fact i find it harder to believe that they would not have interacted often at wammy’s. being slated to become and in competition for the role of L’s successor, their tutors would have set them up to push each other through special assignments/tests/projects. it is a highly effective didactic tool used in all sorts of competitive and academic environments. mello’s “you know near and i don’t get along” would be thoroughly justified: who amongst us would not hate being Assigned Partners At School with your (self-declared) nemesis!  roger knows this! he has probably threatened mello with a get-along-t-shirt! mello’s emphasis on you know is not clunky as-you-know exposition but an exasperated teenager going UGHH MOM! at a guardian that keeps refusing to acknowledge mello's protests

all of this is to say that, with this context in mind, i can imagine mello lightly “bullying”⁽¹⁾ near not because he wants to make a punching bag out of him but because in the way kids naturally learn through play and social interaction, he'd be feeling for his advantages over near (being more athletic, better with people, easier to get along with, etc) debatably he might even want to establish/prove these differences in the social hierarchy at wammy’s (given his high “social life” stats in dn13:htr) it is these differences (that near is too passive, emotionless, haughty, at least in mello’s head) which seem to frustrate mello the most, so it doesn’t strike me as out of character to think the boy who is introduced hitting someone with a ball and tugging at someone else's hair would surrender to his id⁽²⁾ and try to get a rise out of near, that he’d want to bring near down to everyone else’s “level"

and perhaps this is the shipping goggles i have on but there is something thoroughly intoxicating about being the center of attention of someone who you passionately resent when you are undoubtedly on top.⁽³⁾ you could argue mello subconsciously desires near’s admiration and either refuses to see it whenever it is there (“near told me i did good job, the condescending dick”) or near is absolute shit at communicating it (“your thought process in this essay was almost impossible to follow” <- badly worded compliment), so mello veers for the next best thing: near’s attention. much like with a bad cat, negative attention is still attention, and on god he is getting his fix of being so fucking annoying (look at me, why won't you look at me!) wherever he can get it

-

⁽¹⁾ie. wrestling him down in the playground, toppling over his towers, hiding favorite toys, pulling his hair, locking him in closets etc. nothing life-threatening or overly painful; the mean teasing of a resentful older brother, not the harassing of a bloodthirsty middle school terrorist 

⁽²⁾especially when they are younger mello would have far less developed self control lol. by the time we first meet them, at 13 and 15, this light bullying would've been largely a thing of the past, with mello becoming gradually more distant around the time he transitions into brooding teenagehood while near is still a kid, which would've made leaving wammy's far easier (i also think that mello would firmly believe that he has earned the right to bother near while everyone else has not and he WILL be fighting them about it. only he can mess with near, thank you very much. typical older brother behavior. but this post is already too long)

⁽³⁾ no. i shan't say it

[benpaddon]

Want to know how you can watch the new Harry Potter series WITHOUT putting money in J.K. Rowling's pockets? Click through to learn how!

...You can't. Sorry. There's no way.

If you watch it on Max, they get the viewer metrics and can calculate what percentage of Max streaming revenue is because of the show. If you're on an ad-supported tier, they also get the ad revenue.

If you get a free trial for Max, hey, they can use those numbers too. When you see headlines like "Subscriptions for [streamer] increased X% as a result of [show]", that's part of how they measure the metrics. Even if you cancel when the trial ends (and enough people forget to do this that they're going to make money anyway), Max can spin those metrics to make the show look like a success for the streamer, which they can then use to attract new subscribers and, crucially, advertisers and licensees.

But, okay, you can pirate it, right? Pirating the show doesn't help it any, surely? Well, no. In a post-Community world, a lot of production companies are keeping an eye on which of their shows and films are being shared on illegal streaming and torrent sites. They still use that information to gauge a show's popularity and, again, they can and will use that data to attract licensees.

...Alright, fine. But you still love Harry Potter - it meant so much to you growing up! You can buy merch, right? Maybe nothing official, you don't want to support J.K. Rowling's transphobic efforts, but what about Etsy artists and whatnot? Again, no. Again, productions track the popularity of fan merch, and if something does particularly well and they can see a demand for it they'll often make their own official version of that thing.

(That is to say nothing of, y'know, how uncomfortable and unsafe trans people feel when they see someone wearing a Gryffindor tie. "But I really like it!" isn't going to make us feel any better.)

tl;dr: You can't watch or engage with the upcoming Harry Potter series on Max in a way that doesn't financially benefit J.K. Rowling, who will then use the money she makes to campaign against trans rights. So don't do it.

[ramshacklefey]

Maybe it's just an allergic reaction from growing up in a cult, but I cannot help looking at some queers and would-be leftists and seeing the seeds of the exact social framework I grew up in. So, here are some questions to ask yourself about your social circle, online or offline:

Do people around me subscribe to a good-evil dichotomy, and is this dichotomy applied to people? There is no such thing as a "good" or "evil" person. In fact, I encourage everyone to ditch the entire concept of "evil." It's not a useful concept. The kind of thinking that creates good and evil as absolute categories, especially if it is then applied to humans, benefits no one. Learn to accept that morality can be vague in a lot of places, and that a person's actions may be judged right, supererogatory (going beyond moral requirements), less than ideal, wrong, misguided, or morally bankrupt without making any claims about that person's inherent nature.

Do the people around you un-person anyone? This flows out of the previous question, because declaring someone "evil" is usually enough to declare them not a person. And even if you've never consciously put it this way, we all "know" that we don't have the same moral duties to non-persons that we do to persons. There is no action a person can take that removes them from the category of "person." There is no group a person can belong to that removes them from the category of "person." And if the people around you are willing to act as if there were, there is nothing preventing them from doing the same to you.

Do the people around you accept the idea of social contagion? Do they support shunning/exile as punishment? Again, this comes from the idea of evil, but it goes another level down. The claim becomes not just that someone is evil, but that therefore only other evil people would associate with them. This is most apparent during cancel campaigns, when the mob is as happy to turn on the friends, coworkers, and relatives of the target as they are to attack their primary target. But even if someone has genuinely done some fucked up shit, there is nothing they can do that makes them unworthy of friendship. And associating, being friends with, and loving someone who has done wrong in the past doesn't have any moral bearing on you. Communities that act otherwise damage everyone. Fear of being associated with some who has fucked up means that people with maladaptive behavior patterns are cut off from positive relationships with those who could help them. And the threat of ruining lives in this way makes it harder for people to ask for help, whether they are the perpetrator or the victim of bad behavior.

Do the people around you assign moral weight to the media others enjoy? This is a concept straight outta the evangelical handbook. I cannot tell you how many youth group meetings I attended where we talked about the "danger" of Bad Media: it would poison your mind, it would make you drink and smoke, it would make you gay, it would make you have premarital sex. Horror films would make people violent. Angry music would let the devil into your soul. It was all a load of bunk. It remains a load of bunk no matter what it is that you object to, and people who are trying to control what media you have access to are way overstepping their boundaries.

Do the people around you assign moral weight to identity categories? Do they engage in any kind of essentialism? Assigning this sort of weight is just as bad when it's a bunch of leftists saying that All Men Suck as it is when it's a right wing preacher saying that Gays Are Dangerous. Claiming that a person can be more or less virtuous based on their inherent qualities is wrong and dangerous.

Are the people around you as or more worried about appearing virtuous as they are about actually doing the right thing? I was told throughout my childhood to avoid even the appearance of sin. Keeping up a public face of virtuousness and purity was necessary in order to be accepted by the community. This includes things like using the "right" language, enjoying the "right" media, dressing and presenting yourself the "right" way, and many others.

Do the people around you divide the world into categories, defined on a black and white dichotomy of people who are "on your side" and people who are "out to get you"? Yeah, this one is tricky, because if you live under any kind of oppression, there are actually people who want to hurt you and have the structural power to do so. But the vast majority aren't those people. The vast majority of people are just trying to live their own lives, and most are unaware of the problems you're facing. When you're inside a social circle like this, it's easy to get caught up in the mentality that everyone knows what you know, so their actions speak to which "side" they're on. The reality is that most people are indifferent to you, but would object to you being badly treated if they actually understood the situation.

Do the people around you object to nuanced assessments of a situation or morality in general? Is there some kind of "canon" of acceptable beliefs and slogans? Is anything outside of this considered suspect if not outright bad? If your thoughts on mortality and politics can be summed up entirely in tweets and bumper stickers, and people around you get angry at nuance or new ideas, that's a bad sign.

These aren't all of them, and none of these are hard and fast. There are fuzzy edges on all of them. But they are all tactics that enforce social cohesion and Right Behavior at the expense of actual discussion or measured responses to situations. They rely on and grow out of living in a high surveillance culture.

You can push back against them by minding your own business, refusing to engage in surveiling others, and actively opposing judging anyone to be a non-person.

So many of us grew up in and have tried to claw our way out of this kind of social life. Don't just recreate it.

[warden-melli]

Small Melli headcanon, if you will...

The 'flying croissant' line makes me want to think Melli either actually has family in Kalos, or pretends to have Kalosian roots. Japanese people tend to have a bit of a romanticised view of France and Paris, so it'd be pretty funny to imagine Melli occasionally using French to seem more elegant and refined!

Nice catch! A lot of people seem to miss the Melli French/Kalos connection, so it’s cool that you picked up on it! I’ve actually posted several analysis/theory posts about this before, so it’s always a topic I’m keen to discuss!

I firmly believe that he does have Kalosian ancestry, as hinted at in several point during the story, so I’m fully with you there. As for him only pretending to be Kalosian? It’s an interesting headcanon that’s for sure, and would make sense for a character that is so focused on projecting a certain image like Melli is, but I think there’s several factors that make that unlikely, at least for me to subscribe to it personally

It’s important to note that Melli actually speaks French several times during the game, so I think it’s pretty likely that he has some real connections to Kalos. We know that the Diamond clan are the descendants of immigrants who came across the sea to settle in Hisui, so I think it’s pretty likely that he could be the child of Kalosian immigrants, and that he’s learned the language from them. Mai confirms that he grew up with the Diamond clan, and with the clan being as isolated as they are, I can’t really think of another way he would even be aware of Kalos, its language, or of the way its perceived culturally without some sort of family tie to educate him. Especially as no other member of the Diamond clan shows any knowledge of the French language, or displays any overt references to its culture. It seems to be unique to Melli and seems to hold a great significance to him, which is a super interesting aspect of his character

You’re right! While it’s very true that the Japanese have a romanticised view of France, that comes from a long history of positive interactions between the two countries. This includes trade, cultural exchanges, and immigration. If we assume that the Pokémon world’s versions will the two countries share a similar history, I think it’s very likely that Kalosian immigrants could have settled in Hisui, especially as we know those outside trade connections are only being established at the time PLA takes place

It’s also important to note that when Melli does speak French/Kalosian, it is always in context, and is alternated into his “regular” speech, a phenomena common to people who are bilingual, or are the children of people who speak a language at home that’s different from the one most commonly spoken in the area they live in. There’s even the croissant line itself, which can be interpreted two ways. The first, that when he calls Cresselia a croissant, that he is referencing the pastry. Something he really shouldn’t be aware of growing up in an isolated Hisuian clan. The second is that he was actually just alternating speaking French, and was just commenting on cresselia’s moon (or crescent) shape, as opposed to saying she resembled the pastry (who is also named for its shape. Croissant is literally the French word for crescent) Either way he seems to have a knowledge of Kalosian language/culture that seems unusual/impossible for someone who grew up in Hisui, far away from Kalos or any Kalosian people

I think for me though one of the biggest problems with this as a theory is that the Diamond Clan is small, and as mentioned earlier it’s confirmed that Melli grew up with them. It wouldn’t make sense for him to pretend to be Kalosian if he actually wasn’t, when he grew up in a community where everyone knows him, his family, and could easily disprove any false claims. The Galaxy team has only been in Hisui for a short time (Jubilife village has only existed for 2 years at the time of PLA), and the Diamond and Pearl clans had limited interactions before the Galaxy team helped organise a truce between them. With this in mind we know Melli has had very minimal interactions with people outside of his clan for his entire life. There’s just no way I could see him getting away with a lie like that in such a small, insular community like the Diamond clan

Most importantly of all, Melli never actually ever claims to be Kalosian at any point. Melli’s overconfidence is a deliberate persona, and one that isn’t exactly subtle. If he wanted you to perceive him as Kalosian, he would outright tell you, as opposed to dropping subtle hints

But, as a headcanon it’s really fun, and is an interesting way to interpret Melli’s seemingly random Kalosian references, and I think it fits really well with some aspects of his character. Personally, I believe that Melli pretends to be a lot of things, but Kalosian just isn’t one of them

This is just my personal opinion, based on my own interpretation though, and it fine (and cool) that you perceive him differently ^^

[zibethrose]

Happy Wednesday kindred souls💜

🤗Live in sync with your own light. Do all you can to ensure that you live a positive life of joy... you are here to live an expansive life for dynamic soul growth, so go ahead, create, learn and fulfil your purpose via the sacred energy of love💞Take time to retreat to your inner sanctuary to commune with the Sacred to gain clarity for emotional balance to quell the fears raised by the storms of life.May love sweeten your day🤗Grow by honoring the divine spark within. Don't morph into someone that pleases others but not yourself.

Recognize that Conformity is overrated, 🆂🆃🅰🆈 🆃🆁🆄🅴 to yourself.Remember how far you have come and the things you have accomplished. Embody that spirit that got you through those hardships and out of bed each day no matter how hard it got Remember how your faith carried you through the hard times forcing you to get up an stay up.

Acquire self-knowledge, maintaining an unceasing drive towards unity and integration within yourself.

Stop reaching outwards and instead reach within yourself. Remember it is your faith in the Divine and in yourself that fuels you.Faith is your power source, the soul-battery that keeps you going, enabling you to tatake leaps of faith over life’s hurdles, so ensure you keep it fuelled.Fuel it with love,faith and hope to keep it going.You are a cosmic spark of perfection.You came here fully loaded, all you need is within you, so let’s do this, ignite your innate power and let your brilliance shine.Change is just a decision away. No matter your age you can decide to change your life course at any moment. Right or wrong, each decision provides you with the necessary insight of what serves you or not. Decisiveness generates action that allows life to flow. It moves you forward whereas indecision makes you flounder. Not making a decision is the hallmark of a confused mind caught in overthinking to the point of stagnation in procrastination.

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