#Youth Service

[manasastuff-blog]

"Happy Youth Day"#trending#viral

Happy Youth Day Importance is not just a celebration; it's a recognition of youth's pivotal role in shaping our future. As we honour this day, we reflect on the power and potential of the younger generation to drive positive change, innovation, and progress in society. From leadership to community service, the contributions of youth are invaluable. In this we explore why Happy Youth Day holds such importance, exploring its historical context, global significance, and how it empowers young people worldwide. Whether you're a young leader, educator, or simply passionate about youth empowerment, this will inspire you to appreciate the critical importance of this day. Watch now to understand how Happy Youth Day influences the trajectory of our global community and why it matters for all of us.

Call: 7799799221

Website: www.manasadefenceacademy.com

#HappyYouthDay#YouthEmpowerment#FutureLeaders#YouthDayImportance#YouthInAction#GlobalYouth#YouthCelebration#EmpoweringYouth#YouthPower#YouthImpact#trending#viral#manasadefenceacademy#youthday

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed a bill that is aimed at fighting homelessness.

Called “Home IL,” it will bring state agencies, nonprofit organizations and other advocates together. The bill focuses on an equity-based approach, which includes the voices and contributions of those who have experience homelessness.

It codifies the collaboration to move Illinois to “functional zero” homelessness by bolstering the safety net, targeting high-risk populations, expanding affordable housing, securing financial stability for unhoused individuals and closing the mortality gap.

“Every person deserves access to safe shelter and the dignity that comes with housing,” Pritzker said. “This is a first-of-its-kind multi-agency cooperative effort — bringing together state agencies, nonprofit organizations, advocates, and people with lived experience to prevent and end homelessness. I’m grateful for their dedication and believe that together, we can prevent and end homelessness once and for all.”

Rockford has already taken strides in this aspect. In 2017, it became the first community to reach “functional zero” levels among veterans and the chronically homeless.

Illinois’ Interagency Task Force and Community Advisory Council works across 17 state departments and agencies, as well as over 100 processes, programs and policies, to develop a comprehensive plan to combat homelessness.

The goal of the plan is to prevent shelter entry or ensure that shelter stays are limited and lead to quick transitions into stable living situations.

Pritzker has also committed about $360 million for the initiative in his FY24 budget. These investments include:

• $118 million to support unhoused populations seeking shelter and services, including $40.7 million in the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program.

• $50 million in Rapid ReHousing services for 2,000 households, including short-term rental assistance and targeted support for up to two years.

• $40 million in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Capital funds to develop 90+ new PSH units providing long term rental assistance and case management.

• $37 million in Emergency Shelter capital funds to create more than 460 non-congregate shelter units.

• $35 million for supportive housing services, homeless youth services, street outreach, medical respite, re-entry services, access to counsel, and other shelter diversion supports.

• $21.8 million to provide homelessness prevention services to approximately 6,000 more families.

• $30 million for court-based rental assistance.

• $15 million to fund Home Illinois Innovations Pilots.

• $12.5 million to create 500 new scattered site PSH units.

“People experiencing the trauma of housing instability are our neighbors and community members who deserve to be treated with humanity and dignity. With this cooperative effort, Illinois is ensuring our state agencies can continue to collaborate, and that stakeholders are at the table with us, to support our most vulnerable in living healthy, well, and with dignity.” Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton said. “Our state is making it clear that we will continue to work together so we can all move forward, and we will focus on holistic strategies that bring us closer to ending homelessness in our state.”

[faeriekit]

"It's so hard to teach kids consent 🥺" WRONG! Library books be upon ye!

Yes Means Yes, by Elaine Tai: "The various, "everyday" scenarios include the desire to touch someone's hair, play that can frustrate or hurt someone, and how someone might feel uncomfortable being touched or approached. Children will learn the importance of using their voice and listening when others use theirs, and parents can use the scenes as a foundation for further conversation."

Connor Kissed Me, by Zehava: "After Connor kisses Miriam on the playground, she tells a number of people who have differing reactions to the incident, until her mother encourages her to listen to and stand up for her own feelings."

Talking to kids about important topics goes way easier when you give them a basic expectation of what these experiences and situations might look like!

Additionally:

Emphasize to children that barring all necessary medical or safety interventions, their body belongs to them, and shouldn't be touched without permission. Yes, this does mean the conversation about vaccinations is going to take longer than usual. Consider it a trade-off.

Emphasize the affirmation, not the rejection! Sometimes people say no, and we respect that, and sometimes friends say YES to hugs and cheek kisses, and we get to share that with them!

There are plenty of alternatives to hugs and kisses! Don't want a hug? How about a high five? How about a pinky-promise? If you can't hold hands, why don't you hold onto my jacket, or I can hold onto your sleeve? Teaching kids how to ask for and offer alternatives when their peer says "No" goes a long way.

Encourage little kids not to keep "body secrets" at the request of others from their parents. If someone is asking them to hide something about their body from their parent, that's a huge concern.

Ask before hugging. Ask before kissing. Make other adults— yes, even nosy relatives—ask your child before a hug or a kiss. You can even model asking for physical affection with the co-parent if you have one. Modeling respect is worth it.

Lots of daycares are working harder to teach consent to younger children at younger ages. Some daycares are very proactive. Some are not. If you are in a position where you are interviewing multiple facilities about whether or not to place your child there, it's something that you can ask. "Do you have a stance on hugging between children, or between children and adults? What does it look like? Do you encourage boundary setting?"

And I like to think that we're beyond telling children that their bullies are secretly interested in them or want their attention but stop telling children that the other children who are harassing them are showing interest. 🔪 Stop it.

Children deserve safe, strong, respected boundaries! 🫂

[yogui38]

[rat-gremlin]

ratcore official topster, top 90 albums

(I know it's just basic rym and /mu/ plus a bit more but like shut up)

[kindafooey]

Oh oh also in addition to calling a well-known banker a tax evader, here's some more absolutely unhinged things to say in a bank-sponsored interview that Mr Käärijä very much said in the Aktia webinar:

When asked about his first debit card - a service provided by banks - he said that switching to using a card instead of actual cash he could physically hold and measure in his hand messed with his sense of how much value money holds, implying it as one of the root causes for the irresponsible financial decisions in his youth

He also off-handedly called pension funds - also a service provided by banks, and a huge source of profit for them too - a scam and straight up told young listeners that if they ever invest in one, they're never going to see that money again

[redroomroaving]

Kar'niss x Klaus rave au pt.2

(this concept might have expanded in scope a little. Watch this space.)

Thank you again to @n1ghtmeri for this rapidly expanding problem

[youth-liberation-june]

CPS needs to keep parents more accountable than with semi-monthly visits.

make it so the kid can always—and has to be able to—contact the worker if there's anything wrong.

“but one worker isn't going to be available 24 hrs a day—” make it 2, then. double it & give it to the next kid.

they need to also make it so the birth parent can't take away the kid's phone, their contact.

i don't have a concrete idea as to how we could actually do that, but:

i'm thinking there could be an endless phone line the kid can stay on, (w/o any worries for data consumption) that doesn't track any personal info w/o permission, or lets them hang up w/o showing their face.

ik 🤷🏽 so if y'all could give me some recs or boost this post to get to ppl who have more ides that'd be gret 👀👄👀

long @ list below

@youth-rights @freeyouthnow @bingboop @immortalvipers @charles-le-sorcerer @that-bisexual @bi-trans-alliance @dragon-in-a-fez @mimeo-tan @sigynsilica @self-loving-vampire @theconcealedweapon @your-dads-filing-cabinet @elhopper1sm @traumasurvivors @sparrow-the-tired-lesbian @witchyykitten @hellischange @teaboot @fnord888 @a-sip-of-milo @punkstylerecovery @neuroticboyfriend @tumbler-polls @liberaljane @uncanny-tranny @confetti39x @1mnobodywhoareyou @hollow-keys @bakugoaway @thedepressedweasel @agent-starbuck @cultsurvivorsafe @taviamoth @hyperlexichypatia @journeyofbell

@aliceoseman @orxinus @meganebii-tables @memoircomics @youthrightsblog @characterhub-com @colehairlesscatt @veryluckyclovers @gooseworx @therjpowell @tacodemuerte

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Daniel Villarreal at LGBTQ Nation:

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case of an Ohio woman who says she faced workplace discrimination over her heterosexual identity. The case may be the first of its kind. It examines the lengths members of “majority groups” must go to prove that they were discriminated against by “minority” groups. Marlean Ames worked for 20 years at the Ohio Department of Youth Services, a state agency that oversees the confinement and rehabilitation of juvenile felony offenders. In 2014, she was promoted to serve as the administrator of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), a 2003 federal law that seeks to track and end sexual assaults in all detainment facilities.

In 2017, a gay woman named Ginine Trim became Ames’ new supervisor. In December 2018, Trim gave Ames a performance evaluation that said Ames mostly “met” all of her job expectations and had an “opportunity to improve” in three areas. Then, in April 2019, Ames applied and interviewed to become the Department’s Bureau Chief of Quality — she didn’t get the job.

One month later, the agency’s Human Resources department called Ames into a meeting where they terminated her role as PREA administrator and demoted her to her former role, reducing her pay from $47.22 an hour to $28.40 an hour, court documents allege. The agency’s director and assistant director who oversaw Ames’ demotion are both heterosexual, and at different times, they provided different reasons for her demotion. Once, they mentioned that her position was an “at-will” role whose work could be terminated at any time; another time, they said that they wanted a worker who would regularly exceed (rather than just “meet”) the job’s expectations. The following December, the department hired Alexander Stojsavljevic, a 25-year-old gay man, for the PREA administrator position and chose Yolanda Frierson, a gay woman, as its Bureau Chief of Quality. Ames filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and then filed a lawsuit. Both a district court and the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against Ames.

[...] However, in its summary judgment, the district court said Ames had failed to prove that she was a member of a “protected class” of people who have historically been discriminated against for their personal characteristics. The court also said Ames failed to substantiate “background circumstances” proving that LGBTQ+ people had made the decisions against her or that they had discriminated against other heterosexual workers before in the past.

SCOTUS will hear the Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services case this term.

The Ames case highlights Marlean Ames suing over being “discriminated” for being heterosexual (or straight) that led to her demotion from her job.

[18butyouact80now]

"i have so much of you in my heart."

the look of love in kdramas.

[miguenhasthoughts]

My heart goes out to all the trans youth in the UK right now. Your medical rights should be protected and you are valid in who you are.

[archivlibrarianist]

"'I grew up a queer teen on the fringes, and didn't feel like the world was made for me,' [New Jersey librarian Jenna] Ingham tells Yahoo Life. 'The goal is to be there for the teens, to make them feel seen, to make them feel valid.' Because, Ingham adds, "When you see yourself reflected back at you in the book, you feel like there is a place for you.'

"...'I had a teen tell me I was the only adult in their life that respects their pronouns,' Ingham shares. 'I recently had a trans teen come out to me. I had only just met them, but after 25 minutes of conversation they felt comfortable. I believe I was the first person they said it out loud to.'"

[usamifriends]

IDOLiSH7 Anime vs Game Comparisons

First Beat - Episode 5

Getting a New Song! (+ Apologizing to Yaotome Productions)

Small detail, but Tsumugi actually called and was yelled at over the phone first before going to the office for round 2. In the anime, we just see leaving to go to Yaotome Productions.

Tsumugi discusses with Banri about how the overall team morale of IDOLiSH7 has increased significantly after TRIGGER's concert. Takanashi papa overhears this and tells Tsumugi to call the boys for an announcement.

They are getting a new song!!

It's funny because game Takanashi papa was much more serious and toned down. He also speaks in a lower voice. They say the exact same lines: "I've been waiting for you to be ready to sing this song." But in sooo different ways.

Game Takanashi papa was like this:

Anime Takanashi papa was like this:

Anime Takanashi papa seems genuinely excited, like a fan. It's very interesting to see the differences in direction. I think they had a better picture of how they want each character to come off as when they were producing the anime. The small changes to Takanashi papa really sets the atmosphere of Takanashi Productions: warm, supportive, and free-spirited aka the best home for our IDOLiSH7 boys.

The game has an added scene where Iori asks about the writer of IDOLiSH7 songs. Takanashi papa chuckles and says, "That's a trade secret."

The other boys start discussing the writer of the songs in the practice room because Takanashi papa's response caught their attention.

Mitsuki observes that Takanashi papa seems to be quite proud about this writer. Riku wonders, "What if it's the president? It seems like a lot of feelings were put into writing them."

Tsumugi doubts that because she's never seen her dad write songs. Then, she says that she has to go out for something.

Nagi offers to accompany her, but Yamato volunteers instead. Yamato insists saying, "I spent the whole night thinking about the schedule for this date. Let me go this time, okay?" Then, he tells Tsumugi that he will meet her on the way.

Tsumugi waits as she tries to figure out Yamato's intentions. Yamato arrives in a suit, saying he knows that she's going to Yaotome Productions to apologize and wants to accompany her. The anime just skips the whole date thing and starts with Tsumugi and Yamato outside.

We suddenly cut to the practice room with the others. In the anime, Riku immediately brings Iori outside to talk, but in the game, he just shuts Iori’s mouth. Then, they continue practicing. (The anime version is so much funnier. I love it so much.)

Then, we jump back to Tsumugi and Yamato who meet Tenn on the way back. In the game, Tsumugi actually FANGIRLS right in front of Tenn (lmao but I get her): “…Wow…. It’s the real Kujou Tenn… You have such a small face! And you’re so cute! So cool!! You’re really like an angel.”

There’s an added Tenn line when discussing about Gaku: “He[Gaku] is scary, like a werewolf who transforms under a full moon. Roar!”

It was so surprising, I had to add it.

Tenn surprises Yamato who asks Tenn to go easy on Yamato and the rest because they’re all non-aggressive people. Tenn continues to tease Yamato, and Yamato plays along.

We go back to the practicing boys with Banri bringing them lunch. Tamaki reacts negatively to Sogo’s comment like in the anime, so Mitsuki asks for the real reason. Tamaki was actually about to share his reason, but Iori started talking at the same time. He didn’t cut Tamaki on purpose. He was walking from another side to talk about Riku’s sickness to the rest of the members and Banri (as shown in the anime). Riku muffles Iori’s mouth before he could speak and brings him out.

After trying to bribe Iori with ice cream or taiyaki, game Riku actually increased budget in the game to 1000 Yen (around 6.5 USD). But Iori will NOT be bribed! In his response, he actually calls Riku "Riku-san", which does not happen in the anime.

The flow of the scene is very different. In the anime, it starts as a funny squabble with Riku's cheap bribes. Then, they abruptly shift the atmosphere into one that is much more intense with Riku's: "I'll keep dancing even if it kills me."

In the game, it starts out as an outright fight. Even Iori's "Hey. Let go of me." sounds much more angry than the anime's. Right after this, he is hit by Riku's cheap bribes. Iori tends to speak less formally when he is emotional, so I think his "Riku-san" in the game scene was because he was bewildered. He just found out that his center probably has a serious chronic illness. As he was trying to tell the others, he gets forcibly dragged out and suddenly bribed with cheap food, which kind of makes light of the situation (even though Riku does not mean that at all). After this, Riku muffles Iori's mouth a second time, which annoys Iori. The tension is resolved when Riku proves to Iori that he is taking the situation as seriously as Iori is by saying, "I'll keep dancing even if it kills me."

Side note: When Iori gets emotional, he often addresses people less formally. We'll see that in a future scene in the game.

Iori calms down and returns to calling Riku “Nanase-san”.

During the performance in a typhoon, there were some details that changed. Tenn was worried because he heard there was a typhoon, not because he noticed Riku going out of breath. Also, Riku was about to go for another song, but Iori announces the end of the performance.

Riku's Dream Scene

Game Tenn asks Riku what kind of performance he wants to see. He offers The Wizzard of Oz and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Based on this, it seems like Riku and Tenn's parents had some kind of troupe or theater that does musicals and other plays. I like this because it explains Tenn's connection to musicals. In part 1, Banri said Tenn caught the attention of Broadway people + if you know you know ;-)

Also, Riku wakes up in his room instead of a hospital bed in the game.

Teasing Riku

After Iori calls Tsumugi to talk, which happens in the anime, we get an extra scene with the rest of i7 left in the other room.

Riku observes that Iori and Tsumugi would often go somewhere together and wonders what they are talking about.

Sogo asks if Riku is curious. Yamato teases Riku for wanting to know. Mitsuki jumps in saying, "Should I teach you how to say, 'Stop right there!'" (stopping Iori and Tsumugi lmao)

Riku says, "It's not like that!"

They also shuffled some scenes. For example, the scene where Tamaki talks about being followed by HS girls and the Iori & Riku fansite comes after Iori talks with Tsumugi in the game but before in the anime.

Side Story I: Nanase "Tenn's little brother" Riku

We start with Riku worrying that i7 will treat him differently, knowing that he is Tenn's younger twin brother. He didn't plan to tell them, but because he was overwhelmed at that time (having to face the reality of his brother leaving him and not being able to sing to process those feelings), he impulsively told everyone.

He's stressing quite a lot over this that it's starting to affect his health.

He wonders if he should tell the others about his sickness too, but he's scared that they'll make him leave IDOLiSH7. In the end, he decided not to think too much about it because it won't get him anywhere. He leaves to see the other boys.

He swings the door open and greets everyone with the sunniest, "Good morning!" (There is no sound for side stories, but I can hear his voice🥹)

Yamato and Iori greet him back. Mitsuki asks him if he wants to eat breakfast. Their response makes Riku happy because they're treating him as usual. (Happy Riku, happy life ^o^)

Well... that's what they say out loud, but in their minds, they are thinking wayy differently, haha.

Yamato: "That's Kujou Tenn's younger brother..."

Iori: "That's the younger brother of TRIGGER's Kujou-san..."

Mitsuki: "That's the twin younger brother of a super idol...."

Sogo: "I'm living with the younger brother of the person whose concert I went to yesterday...."

Tamaki: "Rikkun, I heard your older brother is in TRIGGER. You know, I gave him a piggyback ride yesterday."

Riku responds saying that he heard about that and asked if the bomb thing was a joke... 😭 Tamaki frustratedly shouts that everything he said is true!

Riku asks Tamaki about what was Tenn like. Tamaki says that Tenn gives him good vibes. Riku probes for more information, asking if Tenn talked about family or more about his health condition.

Iori asks why Riku is suddenly so fidgety about the topic. Iori observes that Riku spoke with more resentment that day before the live (yesterday). Iori asks, "Didn't you want to prove yourself to the heartless person who abandoned you?"

Riku is surprised that he came off like that. Tamaki says that he won't talk about Tenn again if Tenn makes Riku uncomfortable. Iori continues, assuring Riku that he will definitely be able to prove himself. Someone with a voice like Riku will not only prove himself but also surpass that "heartless person".

Riku gets mad at Iori for calling Tenn a heartless person. He says that he's going too far! Iori defends himself, saying that Riku said that himself. Riku replies, "Well... but Tenn-nii might have had his own reasons..."

Iori asks if Riku wants to reconcile with Tenn, but Riku quickly denies it. He adds that even if Tenn apologizes, Riku will never forgive him. Iori is confused.

Sogo understands Riku's feelings and says, "I am grateful for my family and love them dearly, but that’s also why I feel such deep resentment." Listening to Sogo, Riku thinks that just might be it.

Riku thinks, "I wonder if Sogo-san understands that feeling because he also abandoned his family..." Sogo reads Riku like a book and seems a bit sad.

Iori breaks the heavy atmosphere, saying, "That sounds complicated." Mitsuki comments, "Iori is sensitive, but his motives and goals are aligned. So these kinds of conflicting feelings might be hard to understand?"

Iori responds saying, "...No, I can understand them." Tamaki jumps in saying, "Don't force yourself to understand." Iori angrily replies, "I don't want to hear that from you!"

Iori explains that he wants Riku to be clear about his goals because indecisiveness may lead to less than desirable results. Riku retorts with "It's not that easy."

Iori says that it might not be easy, but if Riku doesn't sort his feelings out properly, he will end up regretting it later. Yamato takes Riku's side.

Nagi wonders why Tenn didn't try to enter the entertainment world with Riku when Riku is so good at singing. Mitsuki adds that Riku does not have good stamina, but he can work on that. Riku smiles and promises to work hard.

Iori:

Yamato speculates that it's out of rivalry because he can't think of any other reason.

Yamato leaves to go to Yaotome Productions with Tsumugi.

After meeting Anesagi, Yamato and Tsumugi introduce themselves and immediately apologizes.

Anesagi is furious and says, "Do you think that an apology is enough?" Anesagi can't believe that IDOLiSH7 started dancing just because they were "feeling pumped". If IDOLiSH7 could dance anywhere if they felt excited, then Yamato should dance right here, right now.

Yamato says that right now he's not exactly "feeling pumped" right now. Anesagi replies, "Then, I'll make you 'feel pumped up'. GO! GO! GO! GO! Well!? How about now!?"

Yamato shocked, says, "I.... I'm at about 70%"

Anesagi furiously retorts, "70%!? Then make up the rest on your own!! Do you rely on others to get things done?"

Yamato apologizes.

Anesagi criticizes Tsumugi for just blankly observing the situation even though she's the manager.

Tsumugi also apologizes. She also starts cheering, "GO! GO! GO! GO!"

Yamato is shoookk.

Both managers are cheering now....

Yamato decides that he'll just dance. He says, "I'm sorry! I'm pumped up now! 100% pumped! I'll dance. Manager, can you hold my suit jacket?"

Just as he was about to dance, Anesagi shouts in disbelief, "What!? You're dancing!? I thought you came here to apologize, but you're dancing!?"

Yamato angrily replies, "Then, what do you want me to do!!" Yamato quickly catches himself.

Anesagi continues to express disbelief.

We cut to TRIGGER who could hear Anesagi screaming from another room. This part is in the anime!

TRIGGER catches Tenn up on their beef with i7 because game Tenn was delirious. They show Tenn some pictures, and this is when Tenn learnt that Riku is in i7 in the game.

We get a funny scene about Gaku's impression of the i7 members. At first, he thought they were talented, but because of the audience stealing incident, he started seeing them as shameless people, especially the center. Tenn chokes at Gaku's assessment of the center. Gaku adds, "Wasn't he [the center] smirking with a sinister smile?"

Ryuu doesn't think that the center was smirking. He thinks they seem like good boys. Tenn says that Gaku is not a good judge of character and shares his experience with i7.

He talks about Tamaki's cheap taxi fares, Nagi's love for role-playing, and Yamato's passiveness. He adds that if anyone has a dark side, it would be Yamato. He also says that he doesn't mind i7 dancing because it means TRIGGER's stage was that infectious.

He says but does not explain that i7 will not be able to continue if they do not change their center.

Side Story II: Confronting Yamato

Mitsuki asks about Yamato's "date" with the manager. Yamato said that it was great. Mitsuki whacks him.

Yamato teasingly asks if Mitsuki is jealous. Mitsuki says, "Why didn't you tell us? I didn't appoint you leader to wipe my ass." (to make him do all the hard stuff).

Sogo joins in and also asks Yamato to be more open with the members because they want to share the burden with him.

Yamato tries to play it off as no big deal, so Mitsuki whacks him again. 😂 He tells Yamato not to take on these kinds of things by himself more forcefully.

Then, Mitsuki cues Sogo who says, "Thank you for doing that for us. You've worked hard, Yamato-san." Mitsuki chimes in with another "You've worked hard!"

Yamato calls them idiots and then thanks them. Mitsuki says, "That's our line." Then, he invites all three of them to go drinking. (It would be their first time drinking together)

Mitsuki says that he knows Yamato often drinks in his room and asks Sogo how much Sogo could drink. Sogo said this would technically be his first time. Yamato tells Sogo that he can count on Yamato to teach him. Mitsuki is happy that they get to introduce Sogo to alcohol.

Nagi and Tamaki are watching anime together in Nagi's room. They were crying over a touching scene when Tamaki brings up how Riku and Iori has been kind of weird lately. Nagi agrees. He feels like they're hiding something.

Tamaki thinks that they're fighting, but Nagi said that he saw Riku treating Iori to some nice food recently. Tamaki suggests that they should try out what Iori did to Riku. Nagi agrees.

Tamaki puts his ear on Nagi's back. Nagi says that it feels like someone is wiping their runny nose with his shirt and that it is very unpleasant. 😂

Tamaki: Oh, you found out. (L.M.A.O)

Nagi: SHIT.

Tamaki immediately apologizes, and Nagi tells Tamaki that he should be glad that Nagi is not wearing his Kokona t-shirt.

Next, Nagi muffles Tamaki's mouth and asks him how he feels. Tamaki, obviously, can't speak properly. Finally, Nagi releases Tamaki and Tamaki says, "That was on purpose, wasn't it." Nagi admits yes. Tamaki says that this is making his nose runny, and he wipes it on Nagi's shirt... again 😭

We see Iori in Riku's room. He is still trying to convince Riku to tell the others about his sickness. Riku refuses and insists that it's not that bad of a problem. He asks Iori to leave because he wants to sleep early.

Iori refuses because he can tell that Riku is about to have an attack. Riku lies, saying that it's just a cold. And tells Iori to leave because he doesn't want Iori to catch it.

Iori gets angry and says that he is worried about Riku. He threatens to tell the others, and Riku finally admits that he is about to have an attack. But it's not a bad one. Iori asks Riku to be honest and tell him everything because he wants to help.

Iori starts asking some questions, but it seems like Riku was answering more about his resolve rather than his true physical condition. Iori restarts and asks another question.

Iori: Am I... Are my expectations for your singing putting pressure on you?

Riku says, "No." He is happy that people are happy to see him dance and sing. He dreams of being for others what Tenn was for him. He wants to stay with i7 and says, "Instead of giving up on my dream and living to a hundred, I'd rather die singing a hundred year's worth of songs."

Iori is surprised that Riku used the word "death". Riku assures him that it's just a figure of speech. He assures Iori that he won't die because Riku has become stronger and the disease is not life-threatening.

Riku says that he's really happy to be chosen as the center because he feels needed. He says, "....For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm truly living for myself."

Iori calls Riku an idiot and says, "Even if there is someone with your level of singing but with a healthier body and more stamina than you, I chose you to be the center. Because you are truly valuable, IDOLiSH7's center, Nanase Riku-san."

Riku says that he's touched but adds a question, "Did you even have a choice? Shouldn't it be either our manager or the president?"

Iori also says that it's just a figure of speech. Riku teases him a bit. Then, repeats a "Thank you."

Riku asks for details on what his value is because he likes being praised. Iori says that it's a secret for now. Through Iori's thoughts we learn that Riku's value is in Riku's ability to make people love him. Iori says that while not everyone might wish for Riku's happiness, no one is rooting for Riku's misfortune.

Then, Iori talks about his own dream, which is to be of use to another person. He is glad that he finally found someone who he can support without hurting. He says, "Even if Nanase-san has to walk down a thorny path, if that is what he wishes, I can play the role of a demon king."

[faeriekit]

PRIDE stuff I recommend incorporating into a library/school storytime if your community is mildly uncomfy confronting that sometimes two men kiss, go!

Find a book that has a tangible story to it! For this storytime, I used Subway Baby, which is explicitly about two men who have a child together, but is more about the discovery of the child at a subway station in NYC and the process it takes to becomes a family. Heartwarming, a real story that happened to real people, and takes place in a familiar setting (for a bunch of NJ kids.) Another book I might use in place of this would be a book like Julián and the Wedding, which is about attending a wedding with two brides, but is centered instead in a story about what to wear to a wedding (and all the silliness fancy clothes cause.)

You can also pick books that aren't explicitly queer, even when the topics are: Except When They Don't, Fred Gets Dressed, and Princess Kevin are all titles that toy around with gender presentation and clothing without explicitly making the story about gender, making it obvious that 1) clothing is silly and 2) you should do what makes you happy. A boy is a princess. A girl is a football star. Your friends are astronauts dinosaur cowboys who live on Mars! All is well, be happy being you.

USE THE FLAGS! Every stripe has a meaning! Teaching the kids what every stripe in a flag stands for, and how to relate it to their own life makes the sight less intimidating and something more familiar. Since I read for real real real little ones, it's also a great chance to practice color recognition with them lol. "What color is this? Wow, you're so smart! This color stands for THIS big word, which means (longer explanation.)" I use this in Pride-Specific storytimes so there's a break between books.

Make the storytime about pride! ...No, like the emotion. Unless the kids have out people active in their life from a young age, they're probably not going to immediately understand what Queer and Pride and Gay and Trans and LGBT+ are or how they relate to them or each other or the fact that they could discover stuff about themselves later on in life...dumb it down. At most storytime ages, they're still in the process of building their self image and sense of well-being. Being proud is about being happy with yourself and what you do. You're a cool kid, and you should get to celebrate all the things about your life that you love! I ended my Pride storytime with teaching kids a new big word: ✨affirmations✨. Say one nice thing about yourself! This is something nice I say about you! Parents, affirmations are a great way to build self confidence and practice big vocab words. Try them out at home, reciting them in the mirror or putting them on stickey notes around the house.

Decorate your reading space. Hehehehehe rainbows 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 No, seriously. The more fun the room is, the friendlier the topic feels.

And, of course, I end all storytimes with a hi five and good word to the kids' adults. Kid was energetic? They were so fun and excited today! Kid was zoned out? They were so well behaved! Two things can simultaneously be true.

Tips for non-librarians: for the coolest lgbt kids books, they're hiding in the nonfiction section. Seriously. Books about Gilbert Baker sewing the first flag and Marsha P Johnson and Stonewall and lgbt history around the world... In Nonfic. LAME. BOO. MOVE THEM TO MY COLLECTION INSTEAD HELLO. I WANT THEM. *grabby hands*

[yogui38]

[daily-public-domain]

Day 227: 2011 Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest, pt. 2 (I couldn't fit all the images in one post)

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There was one image for each state, ence why there were so many images I couldn't include them all in one post haha

–These images are part of the public domain, meaning you can do anything you want with them! (you could even sell them as a shirt, poster or whatever, no need to credit them!)–