#develop skills

[nova-moon13]

[onestepaheadlearningcenter]

Keeping your child engaged and fostering their creativity is crucial during their early years. Here at One Step Ahead Learning Center, a leading provider of child care services in East Orange, New Jersey, we believe in the power of play-based learning to ignite a child’s imagination and support their overall development.

[thesophistiicate]

if you want to experience life more deeply you have to find more beauty. stop training yourself to dismiss, to mock, to assume the worst all the time — when you do this you build walls between yourself and the world. and after a while you stop feeling the warmth of it entirely.

beauty requires openness. it asks you to let things reach you, to soften enough to be moved. it’s not naive to see beauty everywhere—it’s a skill, a form of intelligence, a kind of quiet bravery. because it is so much easier to critique than to create, to detach than to engage, to dismiss than to love.

let yourself be affected. let yourself find things beautiful and let that be enough. life is not asking you to be cool, sitting on the sidelines and nitpicking everything. it’s asking you to see life and experience it fully.

[felisgalactus]

Soundwave takes his brainrotted cassettes to the Minecraft movie, dressed appropriately of course.

My entry for @zorangezest’s DTIYS. I’ve never done one of those before, it was fun to try something new!

Alt color version below ‘cause I can’t decide which I like better

[toorumlk]

ron and hermione photographed on the steps of their first home together makes it into the Prophet

[quadrantadvisor]

Even after learning their secret identities, the hero community always insisted that there was something inhuman about the bats. No one doubted that their intensive training had a lot to do with it, but it never quite explained how they could evade a Kryptonian's super senses, how they could melt into shadows, how they could function so long with little food, little rest, little oxygen if need be. Most people dismissed their uneasy feelings, but there was something strange about the bats, something uncanny, something that made them different from the arrows and other vanilla human members. And, slowly enough that no one really noticed, it was getting stronger.

Until one day, during a diplomatic meeting with the ruler of the Infinite Realms, when High King Phantom turned to Batman and his brood and literally brightened. "Oh! I didn't know you had liminal members!"

Or: through a variety of factors (proximity to death, their own death/near death experiences, exposure to the Lazarus Pits, the favor of Lady Gotham, immersion in Gotham's own cursed ambient ectoplasm, being a close knit group who continued to expose eachother, etc.) the batfamily have been becoming liminal/ecto-contaminated without noticing. The powers they're developing have been subtle, and align with the skills they expect to have, so no one brought it up when they started being able to hold their breath beyond human limitations, or got so sneaky that they literally seemed invisible, or had a lucky miss when they expected a bullet to go right through them. And they always exuded an unsettling aura of fear, so no one else thought anything was out of the ordinary either. By the time they meet Danny, Gotham counts as one of the most fiercely defended ghost haunts on the planet, with so many territorial liminals patrolling the streets.

[noodles-and-tea]

For the twins in time AU, I genuinely wonder what kind of people the young twins grow up into because of Stan’s/Ford’s influence. Especially if it takes years for the portal to get fixed.

(Sorry if it seems like I already sent this question, I don’t know if it got sent the first time I asked)

I haven’t fully fleshed out how Ford grows up in the past but I do have thoughts on Stan presently

[beskarfrog]

@rebel-hunk-enjoyer has been shaking my brain around like a can of soda all day with this post, please enjoy older padawan obi-wan causing cody the most distress

[thatfrenchacademic]

Got once again told that I was "good at making conversation" and had "people and communication skills"

and that is the biggest lie I ever heard

so a girl will end up writing some sort of "practical guide to making conversation, by a recovering agoraphobic".

But also. If you need a "how to people when no social skills" guide right now, my absolute no bullshit guide is The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook (2018, 3rd ed), esp chap 8 and 10. Includes: how long is appropriate to look at someone in the eyes? What are good conversation topics for your neighbors, your colleagues, your boss, your date? How to safely practice social skills/conversation? How to handle shaking/blushing/sweating/nervous stuttering? How is talking to a group different from talking to one person? How to gracefully end a conversation? How to ask for a change at your work schedule? How to start getting better at it *progressively* without being overwhelmed?

It's not a feel good self help/self improvement book, it is not a magic remedy with secret formula, it is more of a "let's learn a new language", with homework and notes to take. Give it a try, it is very easy to find it online

[illustlee]

Game Mockup: Brew and sell potions with Prune Juice Cookie!

[sengenism]

i just know senku was internally sweating seeing that gen wasn't called onto the ship yet that he had to check for spoilers

ok jk i know this was for ginro too but as i've mentioned before, the stark contrast in his reaction for ginro saying no vs gen saying no is so funny like

"yeah it's chill bro it's ur choice anyways the development team is needed too" 🫶🫶🫶

vs

"shut up and get on the ship with me mentalist"

like.... all of a sudden the development team isn't as important anymore im crying

[pengu1n-flyer]

kind of infuriating how majority of childhood games work on the basis of “hunt and catch” or “run/escape danger” when i never use these skills in adult life smh

adults don’t even want to play hunt and catch hide and seek or escape predator vs catch herd of prey one by one tag anymore :(((

[lgbtlunaverse]

One part of how amatonormativity affects stories is that while platonic relationships between characters have to be specifically justified and explored (why are these characters friends, how do they get along, what do each of them get out of the relationship and value in the other?) "Love" of the romantic sort gets treated as a motivation that needs no explanation and can be applied to a character universally in the same way always. Why are these characters in love? They just are, man!! It's Love! You don't need to think about why a character would fall in love or unique ways in which their romantic feelings would be expressed because it's Love and Love needs no justification and always leads to the same results: crush-> confession -> kiss -> have sex (if age-appropiate) -> marriage -> 2.5 kids and a house.

This can lead to some really badly written romance where it feels like the characters stop being themselves to be pushed through the standard beats of the Romance Plot with no thought about how well those beats fit them. This might be part of why fandom's so obsessed with noncanon ships, as non-romantic relationships do need to have a specific dynamic and reason to care about one another, which it turns out also makes for a more interesting basis for a romantic relationship.

However, sometimes fandom runs with this phenomenon and does it to itself. And I don't just mean rolling an interesting dynamic through the Romance Plot Flattener themselves (though that too.) I mean that fandom sometimes takes a look at a canon romantic relationship and assumes the same rules of "no explanation or expression needed" must apply even when there is a unique and specific dynamic with narrative underpinnings and justifications to dig into. The fact that the characters are "In Love" supplants all their other motivations, and the fact that they are in love cannot possibly be something that tells you something specific about a character, because Love is Universal and Hegemonic and always manifests in the same way everytime, duh. And then some of those people decide they dislike this canon romance and it's shallow and boring and there's nothing to it except cookie cutter romance even when there literally is you have just decided via mass hypnosis not to see it– This is a post about Suselle Deltarune.

[thesophistiicate]

essential soft skills for personal excellence

+ emotional intelligence: the ability to understand emotions (yours + others) with empathy and how they impact behaviour. without it you are liable to be defensive, self-centred, and experience a feeling of disconnection (from self + others).

+ resilience: how well you react when something bad happens. do you fall apart or can you navigate challenges without setting yourself back?

+ critical thinking: the ability to slow down and approach ideas with rational intelligence so that you can make thoughtful, considered decisions instead of impulsive, reactive ones.

+ adaptability: remaining flexible to the circumstances and cultivating the ability to deal with change (see also: resilience). can be more difficult if neurodivergent; they key is to be gentle + forgiving with yourself.

+ (healthy) self-discipline: doing what you need to do regardless of whether you 'feel like it' (see also: emotional intelligence, so that you're not ruled by your emotional state). remember that you can cultivate healthy discipline with gentle nurture that builds confidence over time, rather than toxic discipline that uses shame, fear, and punishment.

+ self worth: continuously building the foundational idea that you are worthy of the good life. without self worth, most attempts at self-improvement start with grandiose ideas of huge change and result in broken promises, difficulty sticking to goals, and a spiralling shame cycle.

[vivsinkpot]

The Words We Don’t Say: Dialogue Should Reveal, Not Just Inform.

Every line of dialogue is a tiny window into who your characters are, not just what they need to say. In real life, people rarely say exactly what they mean. They dodge, hint, exaggerate, fall silent, or say one thing when they feel another. Your characters should, too.

Good dialogue isn’t about giving information cleanly — it’s about revealing layers.

For example:

A character could say “I’m fine,” while tightening her grip on the table so hard her knuckles go white.

He could say “You’re impossible,” but his voice is soft, almost laughing — meaning you’re impossible and I love you for it.

She could say “I hate you,” in the rain, soaked through, desperate — meaning don’t leave.

The surface words and the real emotions don’t always match. That’s where the tension lives.

That’s what makes dialogue linger.

Three quick tricks to deepen your dialogue:

1. Layer emotion under the words.

Surface: What are they saying?

Subtext: What do they really mean?

Conflict: What’s holding them back from just saying it?

E.g. Two best friends sitting in a car after one of them has announced she’s moving across the country.

She fiddled with the edge of her sleeve, staring straight ahead.

“You’ll forget about me after a week,” she said, light, almost laughing.

Surface: She says he’ll forget about her.

You’ll forget about me after a week. (The outward words are casual, a joke.)

Subtext: She’s terrified of being left behind, feeling abandoned.

I’m scared you don’t care enough. I don’t want to be alone. Please tell me you’ll miss me.

Conflict: She doesn’t want to beg him to stay — she’s too proud, too afraid he doesn’t feel the same.

She wants to stay close, to ask for reassurance — but fear of rejection makes her hide her true feelings under humor.

2. Use silence and body language.

• A pause can scream louder than a speech.

• A glance away can whisper I’m afraid better than a thousand words.

E.g. After her apology, it’s his silence — heavy, raw, unspoken — that says everything words can’t.

After an argument, she finally admits, in a shaking voice, “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

He says nothing.

Instead, he leans back against the wall, scrubbing a hand across his mouth, looking everywhere but at her.

The silence stretches between them — heavy, aching, almost unbearable.

When he finally does speak, his voice is hoarse: “I know.”

Breakdown:

Pause: His silence after her admission isn’t empty — it’s full. It screams his hurt, his struggle to forgive, his overwhelming emotions.

Body Language: Scrubbing his hand across his mouth, looking away — it all whispers I’m overwhelmed. I’m hurt. I don’t know how to say what I’m feeling.

Result: The tension between them becomes almost physical without a single extra word.

3. Let characters miscommunicate.

• Real conversations are messy.

• People interrupt, misunderstand, react to what they think they heard.

• That tension is pure narrative gold.

E.g. A confession turns into heartbreak when he misunderstands her words and walks away before she can explain.

She pulls him aside at the crowded party, her voice low and urgent.

“I need to tell you something — about us,” she says.

He stiffens immediately, crossing his arms. “Don’t bother. I get it. You regret everything.”

She blinks, hurt flashing across her face.

“No, that’s not what I meant—”

But he’s already turning away, anger burning in his chest.

She watches him go, the words she was really about to say — I love you — still caught in her throat.

Breakdown:

Miscommunication: He interrupts and jumps to conclusions, assuming the worst.

Realism: Conversations are messy; people hear what they’re most afraid of hearing.

Narrative Gold: Now, there’s heartbreak, regret, and a perfect setup for future emotional payoff when they finally untangle the truth.

Some brilliant examples to study:

‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney — where miscommunication becomes the air between them.

‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen — where formality and wit mask tenderness and fear.

‘Six of Crows’ by Leigh Bardugo — where silence says what pride refuses to.

Dialogue is not just a tool for moving the plot.

It’s a doorway into the heart of your story.

Open it carefully.