amare et sapere vix deos conceditur

You say “glad to know we’re on the same page.” Slowly, he will have to adapt to just outright telling you what he thinks instead of playing mind games.

When your friend tries to hint that they’re mad at you without saying anything: “Oh, I’m fine, clearly you don’t need to worry about me,”

You say: “I’m glad you’re doing well. Call me if you want to talk, though!” Soon enough, they will accept that they can’t be passive aggressive with you.

When your boyfriend says: “All your friends are great, I really love *insert male friend* especially.”

You say: “I’m so glad you like my friends! I should invite them back soon.” He needs to understand that if he has a problem with your friends, he needs to just voice his concerns instead of being sarcastic and accusatory.

As someone who has lived through several toxic relationships and has an abusive father, I think one of the most important manipulation tools a toxic person has is excessive subtext and hidden meanings in their conversation. It hides all of the actual fighting from the eyes of onlookers while still hurting you, which is scary and makes you feel like you’re making it all up. Don’t put up with this bs. Make them stop hiding.

Important! They are ALL FRIENDS!

Most of the time they’re just happy to get on with their business around humans. Sometimes they get a little too curious, usually after a minute they’ll realise you’re not food or a good place to sit, but if they bother you then it’s best to just move away.

Remember they sting to defend themselves or their nest, and from their point of view humans are gigantic, unpredictable and potentially very dangerous creatures.

the OG of the vicious burn

I take pride in this.

Shoutout to Lesotho, South Africa, Ethiopia, Algeria and Kenya for representing African Alpine culture.

African Alpine culture produces the best wool cloaks, so it’s definitely a thing.

Don’t buy fake Basotho blankets from Amazon

You can get a real one and support African businesses at https://www.aranda.co.za/catalogue/basotho-heritage-blankets/

“…last year this photograph of children looking at their smartphones by Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam [went viral.] It was often accompanied by outraged, dispirited comments such as “a perfect metaphor for our age,” “the end of civilization” or “a sad picture of our society”.

…It turns out that the Rijksmuseum has an app that, among other things, contains guided tours and further information about the works on display. As part of their visit to the museum, the children, who minutes earlier had admired the art and listened attentively to explanations by expert adults, had been instructed to complete an assignment by their school teachers, using, among other things, the museum’s excellent smartphone app….

The tragic thing is that this — the truth — will never go viral. So, I wonder, what is more likely to bring about the death of civilization, children using smartphones to learn about art or the willful ignorance of adults who are too quick to make assumptions?” José Picardo, Medium