#so bmc has a very special meaning to me

[humiliationsheets]

who is your favorite bmc character and why? (please infodump at least several paragraphs tyvm /nf)

contrary to my username (which i only keep as a relic of early 2020 when times were easier and also because my usual one was snatched in 2018), i am a huge huge huge jeremy heere kin. like absolutely huge. he is me and i am him and i had a years-long delusion in which i genuinely believed i was him so he is obviously very special to me 😭 i even named myself after him so!! big jeremy fan over h(e)ere lmao!!

how i see him is based on troy iwata’s portrayal simply because he’s my favorite jeremy and i think he plays the character absolutely perfectly, but he is also combined with wrol and wcon in a lot of aspects because i adore their portrayals as well :-) so this post is gonna be based off my headcanons and development of jeremy over the course of four (nearly five) years, if you’re invested in 1000% concrete canon perception of characters and you hate when characters aren’t 1000% accurate to the source material (i try my best to keep him canon! just some people may think he’s not accurate enough which is fine /gen) then… please scroll away and don’t criticize me because he’s the loml LMAO

this is a big post so. continued under the cut !!

so first off, jeremy is just such an interesting character. he’s a pessimistic hopeless romantic, he’s sarcastic, he’s naïve and trusts so easily (see how he immediately trusts the squip, for example, as well as believing rich’s offer in the bathroom and giving him the benefit of the doubt), he’s gross and sometimes mean (unless if he’s talking to a girl, in which he’s the softest person alive), he’s funny, and he’s such a teenage boy and i just. wanna kiss him on his stupid freckled face. what i like about him is that he’s so fun. he can be whatever you want him to be and nearly every time, it makes total sense.

what i also love is just how relatable he is. it is also so insanely important to me to have an autistic coded character like jeremy represented in media. he acts just like me, an autistic person, from his stims to his mannerisms and all, and i think that’s why i was so set on believing we were the same person for SO LONG. (not to mention troy!jeremy is just. so pissed at the world from the get-go, just like me 😭, as opposed to wrol!jeremy’s sadness slowly growing into bitterness and spite. angry transmasc representation + bpd jeremy foreverrr /hj)

to continue, he’s an example of how good people can do bad things and still learn from their mistakes. in my opinion, jeremy is not at all a bad person for what he did. yes, he was a jerk, and yes, he was selfish, but LET THE BOY BE SELFISH. he’s earned it!!! he’s just a seventeen year old boy and he’s Really Going Through It. i mean, his dad is practically neglecting him, his mom has entirely abandoned his family, he gets bullied at school constantly and goes unnoticed by everyone he’s interested in, and his best and only friend is dismissive of his problems and feelings. i’m writing a post-squip fic currently (which i am SO excited to share), and some jeremy dialogue i wrote down is the following: “I wanted it all to stop so badly, I would’ve done anything. So I did anything.” he would’ve done whatever it takes to have a better life y’all. to stop being so angry and miserable all the time and to stop hating himself. the squip was his only way out and i absolutely respect him for deciding to take it. i understand hating being alive so much that all one can do is search for a way out of it. i do not, however, agree with him abandoning michael and turning into a huge jerk that nearly took over the world, but he was manipulated into believing everything he did was the right choice. i can’t stay mad at him because it wasn’t his fault. nobody blames rich for what he did squipped, so why is it fair to blame jeremy? they were both manipulated into the terrible things they did, and if some people continue to blame jeremy… oh sweetie i hope someone enlightens you soon.

IN CONCLUSION. jeremy is just a super complex and interesting protagonist who so many can relate to. i love how he can be whatever you want him to be and i love his personality, his flaws and tics and all. i don’t think he’s a terrible person like so many do, he’s just a kid who made mistakes and was manipulated and misguided. he’s absolutely just like me fr and i’m just <33 he has my heart forever and ever. i could go on for years and years about him (and i have) but i’m sparing your time. THANK YOU FOR READING THIS SHITSHOW I LOVE YOU

[swagcoolcat]

Hey, friends! I made a post saying I was considering making a bmc fan-kid post, because I have three different sets with my close friend, Moth! (They’re not on tumblr, unfortunately, or I’d tag them). For the sake of simplicity, I made them all on the same picrew to see them in the same style. (Picrew will be linked at the end of the post).

(This spans across five and a half years, so half of these kids are boyf riends kids and half are pins and patches kids)

Fan Kids below the cut!

EDIT TO ADD FOR PEOPLE THAT GO PAST THE CUT: Let me know if I’ve made any mistakes in any of the Alt Text! I’m trying to improve at it so I can start adding Alt Text to my art! Thank you!

**PICREWS WILL DEPICT THE KIDS AS PRETEENS/TEENS, MEANING YOUNGER KIDS WILL BE OLDER IN THE PICREWS THAN THEY ARE IN CANON**

The Mell-Heere Kids (TW for brief mentions of physical abuse in Ruby’s section):

Marcus Daniel Mell-Heere: Marcus doesn’t have much information about him regarding his upbringing before he came to be adopted by Michael and Jeremy. What feels correct to me though, is that Marcus’s parents passed away around the time he turned 5, close to a year before he meets Michael and Jeremy, which also explains why he starts kindergarten at 6 instead of 5- because due to the trauma and grief of losing his parents, he’s not ready to start school when it starts a month later. He’s incredibly outgoing and social, and he absolutely loves sugar.

Ruby Maye Mell-Heere: Ruby came from an abusive household before she was adopted by Michael and Jeremy. When we first meet Ruby, she’s shy and reserved. She hardly wants to speak with anyone, and takes some time to trust Michael or Jeremy, or anyone really. She comes out of her shell more the more time she spends with them, and grows an especially close bond with Marcus. She’s fiercely protective of him, and he’s the same way with her. She gains an especially close bond with Jeremy, as he had a similar upbringing to her after his mom left, and finally talking about it and having someone that understands the pain she went through really helps her in healing.

Robin Miracle Mell-Heere: Robin is the youngest member of the Mell-Heere family and their only biological child, born about 8 years after the events of the musical on Halloween. He’s a very happy baby who loves to explore. Robin has some weirdness going on due to the SQUIP. We didn’t end up exploring this too much, but what we did have was that his freckles would glow when his emotions got intense, and this would give Jeremy and people who connected with Jeremy’s SQUIP migraines. Robin also is growing a lot faster than most babies, which we explained as being due to the SQUIP as well (but really it’s because we were 14 and didn’t know how babies worked).

Jeremy’s Cousin (TW for mentions of Death)

Nate/Rain (last name unknown- but likely Heere): For simplicity, I’ll just refer to him as Nate. We changed his name to Rain partway through because we got attached to him more so than we thought and he was named after a real person. At the beginning of his story, Nate has been recently adopted by his older cousin, Jeremy, after his parents passed away in a plane crash. Due to the sudden trauma of losing both of his parents, a once happy Nate was suddenly thrown into a depression. He starts learning how to heal and starts making some friends after Jeremy meets and hires Michael, who specializes in helping kids. We ended his story going on a date with a boy in his class, Aidan/Hudson (same name situation as Nate).

Dillinger-Mell Kids:

Tao Dillinger-Mell: Tao is the oldest of Michael and Jake’s adopted kids at 15 years old. We made him and his sisters less than a week ago, so we don’t have Lore for them yet, we just have their designs, names, and ages. I do however know that Tao plays soccer.

Viviana Dillinger-Mell: Viviana is the second oldest of Michael and Jake’s adopted kids at 10 years old. We don’t really have anything established about her yet.

Sybil Dillinger-Mell: Sybil is the second youngest of Michael and Jake’s adopted kids, at 5 years old. The only one younger is Gaïana, her twin sister. Her left arm ends at the elbow, and that’s where her prosthetic attaches. Aside from that we don’t have any established lore yet.

Gaïana Dillinger-Mell: Gaïana is the youngest of Michael and Jake’s adopted kids at 5 years old. She’s the younger twin sister of Sybil, and she really likes cats. Aside from that, we don’t have any established lore for her yet.

Body type A Picrew

Body type B Picrew

If you have any questions about any of these guys please do ask, I’d love to hear them!

[lightishlilac]

@ everyone who followed me for Danganronpa I promise that's still my main fandom I'm just very excited about BMC 5.0

[srbachchan]

DAY 4824

Jalsa, Mumbai                  May 13,  2021              Thu 11:45 PM

Ramzan 

Id/Eid-ul-Fitar  

Friday, May 14

.. and the wishes on this special day for peace and happiness and the safety of all  .. 

EID Mubarak .. to all the Ef from different parts of the World and prayers to the Almighty to give us His blessings  .. 🙏 🤲

The fight continues and the blessings from all, for the deliverance continues .. in words and deeds and in the ability to GIVE .. to give the suffering .. to give in the spirit of providing the elements of medical help and assistance in the locations where most desired ..

The Care Center at Delhi Rakabganj Gurudwara of the 400 bedder has begun its functioning for the first 300 beds and then in time to the 400 .. this facility is giving succour free of cost - bed care food medicine and medical care all .. 

I have to, in deepest gratitude thank profusely the Govt., of Poland, the Mayor of the City of Wroclaw, the Ambassador of India at Warsaw and the LOT Polish Airlines for their very gracious gesture towards me.

The general call from the places that were in need of help had been for the urgent need of Oxygen Concentrators. These are and were difficult to procure and when I was not getting any immediate source to acquire them  my friend and the Indian Consul in Wroclaw stepped forward. He at first realising the situation that we were facing was sending a portable O2 concentrator for my personal emergency use, but I dissuaded him. When he insisted I said if you do send it to me I shall donate it to any institute that was in immediate need. During this discourse he came to know of my work in the procurement of Concentrators and came out with the name and details of a Polish Company that was making them and that were being exported to various parts of the World, and whether this could be one of the sources for my need. I immediately placed an order for 50 Oxygen Concentrators, which were blocked for me by him, since the equipment was in short supply and was being manufactured and sold out rather rapidly.

So I have bought 50 concentrators and they shall be shipped out on the 15th of May. My gratitude that I have mentioned above is to all , in getting LOT Polish Airlines , that is delivering the equipment, to waive the freight charges as a gesture of helping us in our hour of need. This is most humbling and filled with the true spirit of coming together and demonstrating by extending a helping hand for humanity and for those that suffer.

Oxygen Concentrators are a complex operational exercise in its use and they must be handled with professional medical advise and care - preferably by Doctors in a Hospital. They come in two different quantities - the 5 litre and the 10 litre . A monitored mix of the two capacities and the medical condition of the patient needs to be studied before administering it. If any of you are in possession of it, please DO NOT attempt to use it randomly. Do take proper medical advice. An improper balance of the mix of the 5l and the 10l can actually become harmful, if done incorrectly.

So the ones I have ordered are the 5 litre ones and in a few days I shall be buying another 50 hopefully of the 10 litre ones and donate them to a Hospital with proper medical care.

Then the need for Ventilators has been equally acute. The BMC the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation when I said I wished to donate something for the cause, told me to not give money,  but to get them Ventilators. This has been an arduous task as well, but luckily another Agency has stepped forward and is helping me with my order. I had ordered 20 ventilators, 10 of which have arrived to day and I am happy that I was able to deliver them to the BMC and a few Municipal Hospitals in Mumbai today. The balance 10 should be in by the 25th and they shall also be distributed to some more Hospitals in need of them.

Oxygen Concentrators,  have also been ordered from another source and about 60 of them should be coming in in a few days.

This is the FIGHT that we must all fight each hour .. this fight we need to WIN and God willing we shall. 

The FIGHT in its literal meaning is often looked upon as putting on boxing gloves in a ring or a wrestling bout with this virus. Thats a silly approach. The will is the FIGHT .. !! 

Also the 25-50 bedder facility that I had spoken of and contributed to, being put up in Juhu is ready and shall get operational hopefully by tomorrow. 

Every individual effort counts  .. even if its a small drop in the Ocean of need ..  

May all our prayers be answered ..

Amitabh Bachchan

Birthday Ef - Snehal Rajpal, Ahmedabad .. Friday, May 14 .. love and greetings to you, be safe and protected .. and with the love and wishes of all the Ef ..❤️🙏 

[honeybeekao]

DUDE i didnt know you liked musicals! For a good 3-4 years this was a theatre blog so im always excited to hear the newer mutuals i followed for anime reasons are also into musicals. What are your top 5 favorites?

i think enstars has a connection to musical theatre. just a theory *staring at my mutuals*

MY TOP 5???? thats hard i love so manyyy aough okay Okay . how to order this..

1. newsies

it being my first full show to be in makes it really special for me. like not only did i learn So much, it was my one escape from my troubling situation so i associate it with home kinda. the stage at the time felt more welcome than anywhere else as a 15 yr old.

i loooove the music.....i will sing the entire soundtrack and ruin my voice idc it has no skips (the bottom line is fun! it reminds me of sweeney todd HSUDKFHJ)

plus, it's like So fucking funny. newsies humor gets me

2. be more chill

yeah okay so bmc used to be my favorite, like i'd vowed to call it my favorite forever because i was So attached. and i still love it. totally kinned jeremy in middle school i literally got a blue cardigan to dress like him (and the gender envy for will connolly was my life for a year) MY BMC ERA WAS SO. god, i got my MOM into it. i'm very normal about my interests.

the humor in it also really gets me, and bmc gives me the same nostalgia feelings as newsies.. it's like, oh god you are So familiar and precious to me! augh!

3. the lightning thief musical

george salazar did bring me here, you're right. (bmc is the reason im here is how influential i think it was on me tbh)

i looove the lightning thief novel and the musical is sooo percy is painfully relatable. good kid hits me like a fucking truck i love that song.

THE MUSIC OF TLF IS JUST. IT FEELS LIKE HOME. not because of nostalgia (also because of nostalgia) but! it's like, inner child ig. i used to listen to the soundtrack when volunteering at an animal shelter. so i associate it with summer. and also Ough. just OUGH!!!!! yknow???? i wanna see the lightning thief musical live So badly

4. les miserables

hehehe hello saddest fucking thing i was in! les mis is brilliant, i LOVE watching the anniversary performances! (we dont talk about the movie) it's just so. so so heavy and depressing but the score is beautiful and the story hurts And i got to die on stage which was my favorite part. my favorite song is Look Down just because i had such a RAD solo in it. i got to walk/run through the audience singing and jumped onstage.

5. how do i piiiick augh okay Here im just gonna list the rest that i like because i cannot choose a 5th favorite

-six

-heathers

-into the woods

-book of mormon

-mean girls

-come from away

-rent

-guys and dolls

-little shop of horrors

(i sorta know spring awakening and falsettos, but ive yet to Actually delve into them. ive been meaning to for yearsss)

afhfhg musicals <333

[little-noko]

Patreon as a platform is in trouble ! (IMPORTANT)

Everyone Patreon is facing a situation that has come to our attention. We’re not really sure what the future holds for our orange logo’d subscription based platform, and honestly it has us worried. We do feel that our current steady income is at risk, so….here’s our statement. XD

With the future being so uncertain, we talked about it through out the following days to come up with an alternative that could help us and YOU to keep your monthly rewards

Since there’s a lot to unpack here, we decided to make a QnA to inform you all of the decisions we have taken as a preventive measure.

Question and Answers

Q: Are you moving away from Patreon ? A: Yes and No. 

Myself (Alaina) will most likely be moving away from promoting my Patreon and substituting all my links to my SHINY NEW BuyMeACoffee page - I am also asking any dubbers/translators/and the like that if they choose to promote a supportive website other than my store to promote the BMC, not the Patreon, as I’m...already preferring the layout of BMC for my things specifically. I’m sad I didn’t switch sooner, to be honest.

As of Myself (Noko), I’ll be remaining on Patreon, but if the circumstances change, I’ll be fully available on my BuyMeACoffee as well ! It is available as of now and will most likely be preferable for new supporters to go on the new 

We will NOT be taking down anything and updates on Patreon will continue as normal for as long as the website is still up. 

Q: Should we leave Patreon ? A: Only if you feel comfortable.

Patreon has a better tier system and offers more diversity than BMC does, in a sense. Patreon has monthly tiers that you can pick how much you donate every month with rewards relating to how much you give a month.  BMC has ONE monthly payment option, a yearly option, and then you can add ‘extra’ services that instead of being rewards, you can buy separately at a one time payment whenever you like. Because of this set up, we’ve set our monthly subscription at $7 - where on Patreon you could give $1, $5, $10 - etc. This...sort of complicates thing a LITTLE as for example - currently on Alaina’s Patreon the $5 tier gets early comic pages and wallpapers, and the $10 tier gets access to beta reader sketches for the comics she does. On BMC, everyone pays $7 for the ‘membership’ and gets - everything that’s behind that membership, which for now, would be all of those things. 

Q: What’s Buy Me a Coffee ? A: It is a Platform similar to Patreon, easily accessible and that accepts tips if you aren’t fan of a monthly plan. This is the best alternative that we have for us if Patreon is forced to fully shut down. In addition to a monthly ‘membership’ fee for access to membership-only posts, you can make one time donations or order special ‘extras’ right off the site to support your content creators, instead of completely committing to a monthly plan. It’s a little more flexible that way.

Q: What does it mean for us ? A: A lot, as you might imagine, it is a very stressful process that no creator on this platform wants to go through, but we like to be prepared in case everything goes down. We’re mostly asking for understanding in the situation, why we are doing this, and why it is important for us to say what we need to and get our word out to current and future supporters where they can find us as time moves on. :)

Q: What will change if Patreon actually fold ? A: Nothing. We will be fully moving the BMC and change our ways, it is not the end, it will be a rough ride, but our updates will resume as usual. We will overcome it. Together. And we won’t give up !

If you guys have any questions regarding this move, PLEASE feel free to ask! We rely on our Patreons at the moment to cover some of our bills - and right now every dollar counts. 

Thank you all SO MUCH for your continued support up to this point!

[baka-monarch]

C-can i request Anarociet but with Tiny Roman plz?

I Can Do This

Roman placed his room nervously, talking to himself as he waited for it to be time to go. "It's just a sleepover, nothing special. Yes it's with the two most popular giants at school that just so happen to be my crushes, but that's fine- everything is fine it's all going to be fine-" he kept mumbling that it would be fine to himself. "I can do this."

Earlier that day Roman remembered the conversation that had sparked this idea in the first place.

"Roman, I was wondering if you would like to spend the night at my house tonight" Janus had asked during lunch. Catching Roman completely off guard and flustering him. "It would be just the tw-"

"The three of us!" Virgil had cut in suddenly. "Because I'm going to be there too." As the emo said this he had sent a small glare over at Janus. Roman barely noticed the glaring contest the giants were having, as he looked back and forth between the two of them in a blushing mess.

"Y- yes!" Roman exclaimed out of nowhere, drawing both of his crushes' attention. "I- I mean, y- yeah." He mentally cursed himself for his gay pinning.

And now Roman was here. Panicking in his room as he waited until it was time to spend the night with two hot giants. Two attractive giants that were very popular and in no way felt anything romantic for him.

"I can't do this." Roman admitted before dramatically collapsing face first into his bed. "Why did I agree to this?" He asked himself.

"Because you're a gay simp who doesn't know how to ask someone out." The familiar voice caused Roman to jump and spin. around, having not expected a response.

"Remus-" Roman panicked, seeing his brother standing in his open door way. "How long have you been standing there-"

"Long enough." Remus cackled softly. "Look, it's not like it's a date." Remus shrugged before hopping onto Roman's bed next to him.

"But what if is one," Roman started spiralling. "You've seen how they act- it's like they are a couple with how much they argue - what if they know! What if they're just trying to mess with me- what if-" Roman was suddenly cut off by Remus covering his mouth with a hand.

"Blah blah blah- okay, one, Janus and Virgil aren't dating, and number two, neither of them would ever play with someone's emotions. Ever. And thirdly," Remus paused, he'd been friends with those giants for awhile now, and was well aware of their pinning for Roman, especially of their rivalry and how they kept sabotaging each other so that Ro wouldn't end up dating the other. But he couldn't tell his Ro-bro that, not yet. "And thirdly you're my brother, so you know the ways of getting dick, as I have taught you well!"

Roman just looked at him for a moment before laughing. "You're disgusting!" He pushed Remus off the bed.

"You know it!" Remus smiled. "But seriously, you better?"

"Better." Roman responded.

"Ready?"

"Not in a million years."

"Well, it's just a sleepover." Remus shrugged, and before he could say anything else, Roman's alarm went off, significantly it was time to go.

☆☆☆

Roman got off the bus on the giant side of town nervously. "It's just a sleepover." He repeated his brother's words to himself quietly as looked upon the giant house he would be spending the night at.

Walking up to the house and it's door was easy, it was just not chickening out that was the hard part. I can do this I can do this I can do this- Roman kept repeated over and over again in his head. It's just a sleepover, he reasoned, nothing more. Then, when he finally reached the doorbell- the regulated human doorbell that is- he took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell.

There was some loud shuffling that followed, with several loud bangs, and whispered "I've got it-" "no, this is my house I'll-" "he's my cru-" "mine too-" "shut up!" that could be heard. Then suddenly the door swung open making Roman jump in surprise. Inside first Roman saw Virgil holding the doorknob with one hand while his other arm was preoccupied with holding back Janus.

"Hey, Princey." Virgil breathed out with an almost goofy looking smile as Janus pouted. Even when they were giants towering over him, Roman couldn't help but to fund them adorable like this, and found himself giggling at their antics.

"Heya Emo Nightmare and Dr. Jeckle." Roman smirked, using the nicknames he called them most the time. "Mind letting me in?"

Virgil and Janus both blushed, not that Roman noticed as was usual. They both had to take a moment to collect themselves after seeing that smirk that never failed to melt either of them.

"O- of course!" Janus was the first to snap out of it, and was happy to push Virgil out of the way. To which Virgil cussed quietly and flipped him off from behind the door, not wanting to upset Roman. "Here." Janus knelt down and offered a hand to the adorable human.

"Thanks Jan!" Roman smiled as he climbed onto their hand happily. Virgil glared at Janus, and would have growled if it weren't for Roman being there.

Janus ignored Virgil as he carried Roman inside, the emo shutting the door behind them. "My parents won't be home for the weekend, so we can do whatever you would like, Roman."

"Yep, they laundered money, and now they're on the run." Virgil smirked teasingly at Janus as he made the BMC reference that got Roman to bounce with joy.

"Either way" Janus gritted out as he glared at Virgil. "We have the house to ourselves." It was by then that they had gotten to Janus' room, where he gently set Roman down on the bed before sitting down himself on the floor, with Virgil following suit.

With that, they commenced with the sleepover. They did the usual teenage things, like playing games, talking, and finally binging Disney for the rest of the night (and Janus and Virgil both claiming that it was their idea and that they were the one who rented the movies, not the other).

"Huh, it looks like we're running out of popcorn..." Roman had finally mumbled at some point around midnight.

"I'll get it!" Both Janus and Virgil said at the exact same time, causing then to glare at each other.

"Virgil, I need to talk to you for a second." Janus started, and before Virgil could say anything he added. "Alone. While we're getting popcorn, okay?" Then before Roman could say anything both the giants left the room.

"What are you doing?" Janus whispered to Virgil once they were in the kitchen. "I had this whole night planned out! I was finally going to-"

"You think I didn't know?" Virgil looked at Janus with emotion. "I- I just need more time- you can't just- just take him-"

"Virgil." Janus placed a hand onto Virgil's shoulder. "Neither of us are getting anywhere like this." Virgil looked at him for a while silently, before sighing.

"I know..."

Back in Janus' room, Roman was getting worried. Had he messed up? Did he do something wrong? Why else would they need to talk alone unless Roman was the problem? His mind kept supplying him with these worrying thoughts... until he thought about Remus. It was a gross thought about his brother and a little invasive but... it reminded him that he was small, he could find out what was going on. So, he would do just that. "I can do this." He told himself.

"We keep trying and trying to one up each other and it's getting no where!" Janus exclaimed.

"I know!" Virgil growled out in frustration. "It was easier when it was just us and Remus- why did he have to have a brother-" he groaned.

"Exactly- this rivalry has gone too far, we should just tell him-" Janus started.

"-No!" Virgil cutt him off. "It could make him upset or worse, mad." Janus paused.

"At least we would be telling the truth..."

"Janus?" Virgil looked at his old friend worried, "You never want to tell the truth."

"This is... different." Janus paused. "Roman is so wonderful, and amazing, and god he is too talented for his own good" Virgil chuckled at that.

"Yeah, he just lights up a room. And his little smile..." Virgil blushed.

"God we both just melt don't we?" Janus added making Virgil chuckle sadly.

"We're a mess..."

"Yeah... but a mess that loves Roman" Janus said, causing Virgil to blush even more.

"Yep." The emo added, popping the p.

"You what?" Both of the giants jumped as Roman was suddenly in the kitchen with them, having heard the entire thing.

"W- w- well- well- uh-" Virgil sputtered.

"R- Roman-" Janus said surprised and flustered, not able to get words out any better then Virgil.

Roman just looked back and forth between them, before it dawned on him, and he started laughing at how dumb he was- well, how dumb they all were. Bith giants stopped when Roman started to laugh and looked down at the human nervously.

"Uh, R- Roman?" Virgil started, worried, as Janus just looked at Roman nervously.

"Bith you, c'mere." Roman said, to which both giants looked terrified (which was hilarious to Roman) before kneeling down to be at level with him. "Closer." Roman commented, making them lean down more. "A little more, I need to be able to reach your lips." Roman smirked as he made two giants blush, but they obliged.

In turn Roman walked up to each giant, first Virgil then Janus, and kissed their top lip.

"I love you too!" Roman exclaimed with a bright smile, that promptly killed both of the giants.

I did it.

[neverheardnothing]

rewatching joe iconis and family lincoln center performance at 4 am instead of packing or sleeping just to feel something and i have so FEW and so MANY thoughts and yall are gonna hear em all. no i will not put this under a cut. im going to be an absolute bastard about this.

i love the story joe tells about why he's singing mitb as the first song so much. like. the spite of it all. the defiance of it all. the pride of it all. the dig it or fuck off and disappear of it all. the joe iconis of it all. 

“i know exactly the song im going to sing as my first song at the american songbook series.” i love that he highlights the fact that this is the american songbook series.

then immediately jumping right into broadway here i come with molly hager, the other song he is most known for!!!

every time i think about this performance i think about how this was the first (?) time this song was performed by them since the closing of bmc.

and then lance rubin comes up to sing try again. which is the only time that i know of that anyone but joe has sung this song.

i remember a remark made during watching it live that having someone else sing the song made it seem so clearly more about joe and his career. but also having lance sing it immediately makes me think of bbh closing early which yeah is part of joe’s career but also lance’s.

and also the line “if you’re an actor and another actor gets the part you auditioned for” reminds me of how lance found the auditioning process of acting and the whole [not acting part] of an acting career to be terrible which is why he quit to then become an author and the juxtaposition of him singing try again is Something. but also he DID try again he is just applying his efforts to a different creative field and it’s working out great for him. good for lance rubin.

lol i haven’t even talked about the actual performance aspect of this song anyways it’s very different from the two versions ive seen of joe doing it. he plays it a lot more comical. i love it.

sidenote not specific about this performance, but i love love LOVE the line and the music at “use the stairs, walk to the street. see the people, feel the heat, and apply yourself again.”

and also the line “when they cast you out to sea, there’s a lifeboat manned by me called try and try again” will never not make me think of bsol/last on land and bonus lance was also in that show! it just keeps circling around.

everything about these past 3 songs performed at this venue in this set list order in this moment at joe’s career is honestly so wonderful. like you had a songs about an anxiety attack, a suicide/loss of self in success, and repeated failures before this song all sung by individuals. two of these songs were written at points where joe felt frustrated/sad with his career. one written in the aftermath of specific frustration about the first closing of be more chill. one an actual song from bmc. like what a SETLIST for your first three songs! fucking michael in the bathroom, broadway here i come, and try again. truly something.

THE WHISKEY SONG!! i love hearing joe sing so much. while i think we can all agree he’s not the most skilled singer there’s something special about hearing a composer perform their own work. he adds like 3 levels of charm to make up for lack of singing skills lol. just a very charismatic guy.

lance rubin back on tamborine for the next bit of the song and he’s like laughing through it. not completely sure what he’s laughing about honestly but this Is a comedic song (after 3 real downers of songs) and also joe was playing it up.

jared weiss down on the floor with his guitar playing along. that’s its own bullet point.

audience cheering as more family members start coming on stage! i love that the band is getting cheers. love that!!!

the camera isn’t on him but from the audio, nick blaemire is presumably running around giving high fives to people in the audience.

i can’t exactly tell with the camera angle and the lighting but i think that more family members get up from different seats in the audience or at least enter in the back and walk through the audience to get to the stage during this instrumental break. reminds me of how joe loves theater that physically touches you. giving you high fives in this case.

love liz lark brown. she plays it pretty like. frenetic and frazzled. love it.

amara, badia, danielle, will, and nick are just chillin sitting on the steps of the stage. 100% contributes to the vibe of this song. top fuckin notch.

SOMEONE screams AH during the drunk part of the song and i cannot figure out who but it gives me so much life.

jared pulling lance down to the floor with him.

jason going “man.... this place is a dump” like i LOVE the irreverence.

everyone actually getting back up and also converging On the stage during the (kind of) acapella break.

and now your whole gang is up on the stage at the fancy ass appel room singing your what sounds like a mostly upbeat fun song but is actually about self medication with alcohol and it’s a fucking jam. i love the 3 solo songs and then bringing in everyone for a big group number.

sidenote not about this specific performance: the lyrics “i’ll pour some more and then—AND THEN?—i’ll pass out and then—AND THEN!” the and thens were not on the things to ruin album and i wonder why not ALL the time. was it just deemed extraneous? or was this an innovation after the album was recorded?

i love that you can see the band singing along.

yesterdays / i can’t relate. i love this song i fucking love it. i love the synthy keyboard that was an active choice made. which means that joe is not the one accompanying jared in this song.

jared: i hate today. joe: *snorts in the background*

“i like music you can hold” -> old records black suits, susannah’s obsession with music which was of course in vinyl format back then

will once said hearing lgw was very exciting because he’s first and foremost a fan of joe’s so he was hearing a new joe song for the first time and the world got just a bit larger and i think about that quote a lot in relation to this song because i was like Oh i Get What He Means now because this is the first new joe song i heard since like getting into his work and i felt that world getting a bit bigger.

jared’s monotone chorus on top of the girls underneath is so good. it’s so fucking good i cannot.

liz lark brown velociraptor fuckin classic. specifically in this performance the weird ass electric guitar noise at “there’s a dinosaur” is SO good. i love it.

i know people say Trans Vibes from next song (jeff) but this song also gives me trans vibes. i think joe inadvertently writes stuff trans people relate to because of his propensity to write for People Who Are Different.

people cheering as will takes off his jacket hell yeah.

i am way more used to the jeremy morse version of this song and really consider it more his so it’s so fun to hear will sing it.

i love the canon of the “oh”s so much.

after will sings “i go to the window looking out and what do i see? myself just staring back at me.” and someone in the audience AUDIBLY goes “oh.” like what a MOMENT. way more subtle than when someone screamed “WHAT” at the “naked korean girl” reveal during the pipe night performance but on the same tier of Great Audience Reactions.

smooth fuckin gliss bro i love it. arms out by side. i love it.

Classic Jason Sweettooth Williams Singing Helen. but this time they added like some REAL like. oh god i have no idea how to describe it. electric crunchy electric guitar noises. and it’s so good.

i havent mentioned this yet but in the background of every song people who are not in it or are backup vocals are just sitting and jamming along and it’s so nice because me fuckin too.

honest to god just have to give a timestamp for this but bullet point for whatever the fuck eric is doing in the background here.

will and katrina circling each other singing directly into each other’s faces. so good.

the Unexpected dynamic change and following crescendo i am Living.

katrina rose dideriksen riffing up top. yes. YES.

joe starting to play helen sharp and then forgetting part of his introduction to the song is so good.

the inevitable laughter at any performance of this song at “it is not lost on me you’re all here at my show”

i know nothing about the movie death becomes her so i honestly always just think about joe when this song gets performed. also thinking about how in the youtube premiere of this song, joe was talking about how lauren was shouting out the names of all the musical theater composers joe is jealous of.

right place/wrong time. i read a bsol review a while ago about how katrina rose dideriksen was underutilized and gotta say i Agree holy Shit let her sing More.

i also remember how joe once said this song felt the most personal to him and that he cried when writing it

police siren piano.

the first time in this entire song they sing in sync is at the line “i wonder if his/her life is just like mine” and i just start screaming.

when eric and katrina turn to each other for the first time and start singing At each other!!!!!!!!!!!

honey! thinking about jen ash tep talking about how Each performance of this song gets Wilder and Wilder.

love it when nick just gets off the stage and starts singing to people in the audience. apparently one of the people was will’s mom lol.

ACAPELLA BREAK!!!!!! joe just fully gets up from piano and starts WILDLY clapping along!!!!

woman of a certain age! i remember when the live show happened the album had not come out yet and then when the yt premiere of it happened it Had been out for a week or so.

piano note elevator bell

the electric guitar is doing some fucking weird ass things in this song and i am living so fucking much for it.

the riffs badia does are so fucking incredible i immediately paused this video to go and watch her sing big fat ruby again just because i wanted more badia content.

the story behind old flame is so good and joe waiting until the last fuckin moment to give her the song is so fuckin funny.

i love love love these types of joe songs that are like 7 minute long story epics like right place/wrong time and the actress and ammonia and old flame.

“the best way to get past the past is to shoot it in the head” and then the audience cheers and i fucking love it. my commentary is getting shorter. it’s 6 am and i’m tired can you tell. i also just had a lot of thoughts about this early on and less thoughts about later on.

revolution song. the deep ass fucking electric bass is So good i Will go apeshit. like honestly that might be my favorite smaller detail of this song. like i imagine if i were in the room it might be loud and deep enough that i could feel it In my chest. like you can Feel the revolution coming.

i love the faster tempo revolution song has in the cabaret version.

i also love the cabaret specific lines of “evolution in the institution”

joey is a punk rocker was honestly not ever on the list of songs i thought would get performed here but im so glad that they did. like the obvious choice would have been veins for annie golden but they went this route. obsessed with this choice. obsessed with the fact that amphibian replaced this song as the act 2 opener. obsessed that annie is the one singing this.

i am never not screaming about wave and yall know this. just throwback to me losing it in the tags in a reblog of picture of the wave passage going on about how it really does mirror joe’s career and bmc specifically. and again this song being performed for the first (?) time since bmc closed makes the “so today on a hill in las vegas” and onward part SO fucking sad i literally just started crying. the entire song being in past tense up until that part. i will just go die now.

will in the yt premiere talking about texting the line “our energy would simply prevail” in the leadup to bmc coming back.

find the bastard. for some reason when this happened live i thought it was gonna be outlaw that was performed. 

i swear to god it is literally physically impossible for me not to AT LEAST mouth along to “what’s your name, what’s your name” during this song

NAMES ARE FOR ACCOUNTANTS.

MY NAME IS AWFUL LONG AS IT’S THE LYRICS OF THIS SONG.

the goodbye song. it’s never not sad. i love love love that this song is the final song every concert. i also love the recent lore of finding out that penny dreadfuls was the encore song at concerts before they became too long and it had to get cut.

finally gonna mention the background car lights. what a beautiful backdrop.

also since im always on my wrol bullshit i love how fucking clearly you can hear him at the end

accelerando accelerando accelerando. insert [joe iconis peaked when he wrote the accelerando in the goodbye song post of mine].

katrina singing an octave up is always SO fucking impressive i am so impressed by her voice she is so fucking good i love her so much

the bows are so fucking sweet i love them.

goodnight it’s 7 am.

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

To Do List:

What's up, my Herd of Nerds?

Anyway, as you can tell, tomorrow is AU Sunday. But, because it's one after a 'my input' one, it's a follower input AU day! Yay!

So, send me your AUs and I'll put all of em in a hat to pick one randomly. The winner is picked and posted and we'll all try and make headcanons about your AU.

Done:

Zombie Apocalypse AU :: (https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/618314308275863552/zombie-apocalypse-au-masterpost)

Pirate AU ::

Currently In The Raffle:

-Toy Story AU.

-Ever After High/Descendants/Vaguely 'nex gen priness' AU.

-Eldritch Horror AU :: Or if that's a bit too out there, a more normal Monster AU. I don't care, but in my heart, I know Cleo is some kind of eldritch horror. Zombie is far too easy.

-Eldritch Monster AU! Hermits are all Lovecraftian horrors who all individually decided that they wanted to pretend to be normal and are all trying to hide their otherworldliness. I also feel like Mumbo or X or someone as the one actually "normal" player on the server would work well. Most hermits don't know that everyone else isn't normal either, but some find out about friends maybe.

-Rabid Debate Club AU :: Random weird au idea where it's basic hs/uni au but like two of them try to start a debate club, then invite some friends just so there's enough people; cut to like two months later, it's all the hermits just fighting over whether or not pineapple should go on pizza or not lol it isn't very good i'm sorry but ya know rabid debate club AU.

-Animal/shapeshifting AU :: (Suggested Twice.) Every hermit can shapeshift into one token animal. (If it's something like "dog," they can only turn into one breed and color of dog, EXAMPLE: doc can shift into a black sable belgian malinois, but not anything else.)

-Wedding Planners AU :: Hermits work in various unrelated businesses such as a bakery, flower shop, etc., but see each other semi-often bc they're semi-often called upon to work together by another hermit's wedding planning business (obvs if you couldn't tell i know absolutely nothing abt wedding planning & businesses n shit lol but it's the /concept/ of it yannknow)

-Avatar: The Last Air Bender AU. (Suggested Thrice.)

-Fusion AU :: (Also suggested by Anon.) (Suggested Twice.) What if Hermits could fuse with each other? (Viva and Jumbo fused into MumboJumbo.)

-SCP AU :: The hermits have spooky powers and are kept locked up bc of it (or they have to keep the world safe from monsters and cursed objects!)

-RPG AU :: I feel like someone already thought of that but I am just wondering about it lately :p -🍋

-Adventure Time AU :: The hermits live in a post-apocalyptic world and the Lich (bad guy) is making everything decay. They need to gather all the gems (belt colours) to unlock the Enchiridion (a book) and have one wish each granted from Prismo (multiverse wish granting dude) before the Lich does. Only 4 elements can enter the multiverse: Slime (The Lich & Jevin), Redstone (Tango or Mumbo?), Ice (Stress), and Dirt (Grian, much to his dismay). Only the elementals can see the book. Grian's the protagonist with his sidekick Scar. He originally started collecting the belts because they were shiny but eventually decided to read the book and find out what they were for when Scar said he didn't see it. Doc, False, and Iskall are major obstacles because they don't believe the book exists.</p>

-Total Drama Island AU.

-Magical Girl AU :: Zedaph's the lead magical girl and rounds up a bunch of other magical girl hermits.

-Pokeman AU :: What are the Hermit's roles in this world? Who's the Champion, Elite Four. Are they scientists? Trainers? Do they compete in competitions, do they specialize in types? Who's everyone's starter? Has anyone encountered any legendaries?

-College AU

-High School AU

-Wizard101 AU :: I (🦊) recently got this AU idea and recently started going off somewhere with it in terms of writing, but, like, Hermitcraft meets Wizard101. Tons and tons of magical shenanigans, monster hunting, and idk what else.

-Magic AU

-My Hero Academia AU :: Headcanons can be about which hermits would have what quirks and occupations based on them.

-So I'm writing an AU where there's a second game of Demise but 5 years later. So far the first 2 hermits (Joe and Xisuma) have died, and their dead forms are cracked with an arrow in his chest (Xisuma) and cyborg (Joe). So since it's Saturday, I'm looking for what some skins would look for.

-City AU :: I mean this is really just a normal everyday AU.

-School AU.

-Terraria-Minecraft Fusion AU :: Who chooses what class? what events do each hermit prefer? how to they deal with the world infections? preferred biomes? Favourite NPCS? It has potentiallllll.

-70s/80s Teen Horror AU :: (like Stranger Things, Carreie, The Lost Boys, Halloween, etc.) -🦇

-Demi-God AU :: Sort of like percy jackson (everyone being the children of different gods from all different cultures.)

-Supernatural AU

-Marching Band AU :: Xisuma is the band major and all the show music is the remixes. I need to come up with some ideas for uniforms. Outfits and flags for the colorguard too.

-Different Eras AU :: (Suggested Twice.) All the hermits are from different time periods or eras. Like Wels is from the mediveal/dark era, Mumbo is from 1890-1920's, Iskall is from 2030, TFC is from 2020(?), Cleo is from 2130, etc!!! Like the mobs/animals became feused with humans, is when the mob players came from.

-Star Trek AU :: Like maybe they could be on one ship and each have different roles like engineers or doctors? I don’t know if this has been suggested but hope you enjoy! - 🐦

-House Mates AU :: ApartmentAU but scaled down?

-Atlantis AU :: (Could be merged with Mermaid AU???)

-Fighting Game AU :: Some influences would be Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Ultra Instinct, that kind of stuff.

-Time loop AU :: The hermits each have to deal with their own time loop.

(All those above in red are from our community's lovely Anons!)

-Superhero/superpower AU :: They each have a unique power/powerset that is in some way connected to their personality. (ie Mumbo *could* control electricity because of his love of redstone) Some Hermits may even choose to be "villains" and prank their other servermates. If you need power ideas, I've got a couple. (12u3ie)

-Daycare AU :: The recap peeps are the caretakers :P (-@tikauniverse.)

-Incredibly Long Cross Country Train Ride AU :: they all are in the same train car, telling stories of where they’re going, backstories.)

-Stuck In An Airport AU :: pretty similar to train au but they can be going diff places.

-Doctors AU :: they’re all doctors working at the same hospital.)

-Circus AU (Also suggested by an Anon.) (Suggested Twice.)

-Spy AU (Also suggested by @shadeswiftdraws.) (Suggested Twice.)

-Runaways AU :: The hermits are all teenagers who have run away from home, they all live on the streets until TFC takes them in. Head canons can be about backstories, living on the streets, or when they’re with TFC.

-Criminals and Police Officers AU

(-@lookitsspacekween)

-Dancer AU :: I mean, I already got a list kind of planned out, but headcanons for why specific styles are chosen would be appreciated! :) (usedtobelucythefallenangel)

-Broadway/Musicals Hermits AU :: The hermits are all casts of various musicals and when this newly-built theater opens up they all fight for which musical gets to play in it first (they have a riff-off maybe?) musicals mainly included are Hamilton, BMC, DEH, SiX, Beetlejuice, etc (feel free to add more!) (-@heyitsroby.)

-DnD AU (Also suggested by Anon.) (Suggested twice.)

-Mermaid AU :: In honor of the end of Mermay

-Space exploration AU :: There could be different ships, command centers, aliens.... Maybe someone could even get stranded/crash on a new planet? Who knows, could be fun.

-Paranormal/ghost hunter AU :: A couple Hermits could be the ghost hunters going to haunted locations to prove/disprove their hauntedness, others could be camera crew, owners of haunted buildings, or even the ghosts themselves.

-Camping/Vacation AU.

-Summer Cottage AU :: They all spend summers/weekends along the same shoreline and do different summer activities together. Outdoor fun and shenanigans!

-Space AU :: like star trek or similar.

-I would say evil clone au but I think that's pretty much the entire Hermitcraft tumblr right now lol. (Suggested twice.)

(-@shadeswiftdraws.)

-Magic AU :: Magic exists and all the hermits have powers. They can also summon a weapon but what that weapon is depends on the hermit. I'm thinking it'll take place in a sort-of Demise 2 in S7 with a big war. So far I've got: Grian - Cloning himself to his different personas (each has a different power). Xisuma - Making barriers, teleporting, and transforming into different mobs. Scar - Making mutant plants & boosting other hermits' attack & health. (-@datsaltyperson.)

-Demon AU :: Something enters the overworld and turns into a supernatural style-demon through Dimentional Distortion. Who gets posessed first, who goes crazy, and who actually kills it? Honestly I think that, if anything, Tango would know how to gank it, for obvious reasons. (-@fireflower-dusk.)

-High Street AU :: Everyone owns a different shop on the same street or some run a shop together (-@violets-arepurple.)

-Cat AU :: Either they're were always cats, or Hels turned everyone, including himself, into a cat, and they have to survive and overcome challenges in the Season 7 world. An example of a challenge would be Cub's a Sand Cat(the cats that always look like kittens no matter how old they are and live in deserts), and everyone's not sure if he can actually swim, so they have to find a way for him to get around without involving water. (-@scp10000.)

-How about a secret AU.. Every hermit has their big secrets and when Grian joined. He doesn't really know anything about those secrets even till season 7. Not many hermits talked to him in S6 anyway.. Mumbo was the closest to him so they would have regular chats For Iskall is mostly business related things Grian wants to know why so he set out on a quest to force the others to at least talk to him so he wouldn't be lonely. (-@babylightstudentbiscuit.)

-Hermit Family AU :: Xisuma is very busy dad but when he isnt busy the kids and younger hermits annoying the hell out of him. Grian once asked to use Xisuma's computer and crashed the whole thing trying to download illegal gamesites and get money off the internet. Mumbo and his trains run through the entire house and Xisuma trips on them daily. (-@gamerutx.)

-College AU!! But they are not students. THEY ARE THE TEACHERS (-@ivi-prism.)

Ones I planned to do anyway but Hermitblr Hivemind and all that:

Battle of The Bands AU: i believe u once mentioned a bands/ battle of the bands au... thats my jam... (Anon.)

[eijiroukiriot]

i don’t have a fancy name for it or anything but this is my kirishima playlist

I posted about my krbk playlist a little while ago but since it’s Boy Day I wanted to finally post about my solo Kirishima playlist too!! The only other thing I have to say is that I Love The Boy and that’s what this playlist is for :) 

Spotify Link

song descriptions under the cut!

(bc of how i want to format the explanations, this list will be out of order with the actual playlist but that doesn’t actually matter that much!)

i. Teenage Icon - The Vaccines 

“Oh look at me, so ordinary

No mystery with no great capabilities”

-I guess it’s pretty fitting to start the list off with a very Middle School Kirishima kinda song! Something I really love about this one is that it’s very steeped in this idea that “oh I’m not great, I’ve been blown up my whole life but I’m really nothing special, I should just stop pretending to be” but then the choruses and the bridge are so upbeat that it feels like it’s made peace with it! Maybe even like it’s celebrating it? Like, this isn’t wallowing in self hatred, it’s an anthem and I feel like it’s the kind of thing Kirishima would listen to in middle school and think “yeah, I’m not special, so what, who cares” 

ii. Whatta Man - I.O.I 

the one w the classic “whatta man whatta man whatta man” hook but a kpop song

-as kirishima is the only boy alive, this song talking about a very good man must be dedicated to him

-put in the ioi ver instead of the classic one bc i love girls 

iii. Embers - Owl City

“And we'll watch the sky as it fills with light

And though the embers are new, whatever you do just don't let the fire die” 

-Something you are gonna learn very quickly about me is that I Love Owl City 

-A lot of Owl City songs are about overcoming hard times and facing forward and this one hits me more than a lot of other generic Encouraging Songs because “don’t let the fire die” feels like such a genuine sentiment, like more than “you’re a firework” or whatever because it encapsulates the idea of “this is your decision to make and something you’re gonna have to put in the effort but you can turn your life around, you don’t have to hate yourself, you can make the decision not to” which I feel is a very Kirishima sentiment

iv. I’m Gay - Bowling For Soup 

“It sells records when you're sad these days, it's super cool to be mad these days -

I think rock and roll is really funny when it's serious” 

-now. there is the very obvious meaning here

-But mostly this feels like a very Kirishima-ish song to me since it’s all about getting out of the “everything sucks and talking about that all the time makes you cool” mentality and not taking things so seriously, focusing on the positives and trying to make other people happy too!

v. I’ll Make a Man Out of You - Mulan

(picking a lyric to express kirishima in this one feels dumb when all you need to see this as a Him song is to imagine him belting it out) 

-the 12 year old that still lives somewhere inside of me and spent hours watching videos w titles like Total Drama Character Theme Songs on youtube is Extremely proud of herself for this one 

vi. The Squip Song - BMC 

“Freshman year, I didn't have a girlfriend or a clue

I was a loser, just like you”

-Look the fact of it is this song has extreme Kirishima Energy and to convince you of that I could write a lot of stuff or I could just link you the animatic I made please watch it I worked very hard

-Lyrical content aside I think the funky guitar and the horns and the amount of screaming in this song are Very kirishima 

vii. Fiji Water - Owl City 

“If I only knew then what I know now, I’d stand like a one man band, and I’d say

‘All this is new to me, but here’s how it’s gonna be - there is more to me than meets the eye” 

-owl city part 2! It’s about him seeing himself as a regular kid but getting called by a record label and flown out to talk about a record deal, and it’s cast in this light of “I didn’t see myself as much then and I was surprised it could all happen to me” but trying to make the most of it anyway, which reminds me a lot of Kirishima still doubting himself but getting to UA anyway

-The last line “I laughed when I got back home and I thought, ‘there’s no such thing as luck’” is my absolute favorite part of the song and when I imagine that as kirishima getting home after crushing the entrance exam and falling face-first onto his bed laughing...well! a bitch is soft!

viii. I Wanna Meet Richard Dreyfuss - Gabriel Gundacker (the guy who made the “you are my dad” vine)

“Hello, don’t mean to interrupt your flow

But I’ve got something you need to know, and it’s very specific, so here we go:

I wanna meet Richard Dreyfuss” 

-This song is from an album dedicated to a fan’s process of wanting to meet, NEEDING to meet, giving up on, trying to forget about, (brief intermission about saddles as he forgets about), apologizing to, finally meeting, and saying a satisfied goodbye to Richard Dreyfuss and it’s one of my favorite albums of all time

-At first I just thought the song sounded pretty Kirishima in terms of earnest effort and slightly-soulful high notes but then someone sent me an ask like “WHY IS THE RICHARD DREYFUSS SONG ON YOUR KIRISHIMA PLAYLIST” and I realized it would totally make sense for Kirishima to write an entire album about wanting to meet Crimson Riot, so, checkmate 

ix. Angel, Please - Ra Ra Riot 

“Long as I feel I can tell the danger did it - oh, you guard yourself, you do

I wasn't hurt but I know you're the curse, I know you were” 

-i am not gonna lie the first time i heard this song I just wanted so so badly to make it abt kirishima bc 1) album cover is red 2) band name has riot in it

-Anyway so after a month of listening to it w that mindset I can say pretty confidently that this song makes me think of Kirishima’s big fat crush on bkg so really it should be in the krbk playlist instead of this one but I do what I want 

x. Beautiful Times - Owl City

“My heart's burning bad and it's turning black but I'm learning how to be stronger” 

-Owl City part 3 :)

-This one is the most focused on the dark side of things and the “struggling through the depression” angle but I really do think the ending is a beautiful sentiment and that line up there reminds me of him

-I feel like...things never get easy right away and there’s always gonna be some doubt there no matter how good you feel, and the only thing we can do about that is to keep trying to make things better

Songs that are also in my krbk playlist which I wrote about here that I won’t describe at length again but that I mostly associate with Kirishima: 

xi. Hooked on a Feeling - Blue Swede

xii. Kimi Janakya Dame Mitai - Masayoshi Oishi

xiii. Knock Three Times - Tony Orlando & Dawn 

xiv. If You Wanna - The Vaccines 

xv. Slayers - Matt Fishel (I do want to say that this one is a big one bc it literally feels like what Kirishima would come up with if he tried to write bkg a song) 

xvi. I’m Totally Obsessed With Him - Matt Fishel 

xvii. Television/So Far So Good - Rex Orange County

xviii. Mamma Mia - ABBA

Aaaand, songs that all remind me of Kirishima just because they’re bops filled with loud, boisterous, cheerful, and at times comedic Kirishima Energy:  

xix. Young Volcanoes - Fall Out Boy

xx. Flyers - Bradio 

xxi. Don’t Stop Me Now - Queen

xxii. Mr. Brightside - The Killers

xxiii. Sincerely Me - Dear Evan Hansen

xxiv. Uptown Funk - Bruno Mars

[ayashiki-i-i]

Last Friday, I had the absolute joy and privilege to see Be More Chill in London!

(Yes, last Friday, this has been sitting in my drafts for over a week because I couldn’t figure out how to appropriately convey my delight with this show, and also yes, joy and privilege, call me dramatic but I swear to god nothing on this Earth makes me appreciate my life quite as live theatre.)

I have loved this show for a very long time. Not quite since its first Two Rivers Theatre run, but very early on from when it caught the internet’s attention. I was at the start of what was to become a viral sensation, and I was with the show, rooting for it, hoping for it, ever since. I feel like I walked the journey from crossing million hits on Spotify to the Broadway alongside the cast and creators. I felt immensely happy and proud for these people I never met when they announced their off-Broadway return, and I honest to god cried the day they opened on Broadway. Needless to say, I was overjoyed, literally jumping with happiness, when they announced they will stage a production on West End. Or technically off-West End? I’m still very confused how The Other Palace is not West End and Victoria Palace literally around the corner is West End... Anyway. I have not walked into that theatre on Valentine’s Day with low expectations.

And my Mount Everest high expectations were far, far exceeded and shot somewhere into the stratosphere.

I really can’t with words describe how much I loved this show. Joes Iconis and Tracz managed to hit some very special spot with this musical. It’s truly hard to describe, but this show just makes you happy. It makes you involved and interested. And I gotta tell you, I think we hit the press night, because there was a bunch of people (very respectfully) scribbling on their pads and iPads during the show, so this wasn’t an audience primed and geared for this type of musical. And that’s not even counting all the parents chaperoning their teenagers. And I can guarantee you everyone had a great time. During the intermission I went to get a drink and witnessed several conversations between aforementioned parents that all pretty much amounted to “wow, this is actually good!” It’s honestly such a treat to be in an audience that’s genuinely enjoying themselves.

This show is funny, and heartfelt, and charming. So charming. It has somehow a vibe of a really well done high school production, which could maybe sound like a criticism but i swear it isn’t!

I haven’t seen much of the previous productions, except few clips from the Two Rivers bootleg slime tutorial, but I really tried not to watch too much, hoping against hope there will be a revival one day (I try not to watch shows I have a chance of seeing one day. I’m fortunate to have the chance of having the full experience live so I try not to ruin it for myself lol). I gobbled up all the official promo clips and videos from the NYC revival, being super unlucky and managing to plan my New York trip in that small window when BMC just closed Off-Broadway and before it got on Broadway. I haven’t even listened to the Broadway recording, because by the time it came out I knew they’ll be staging a production over here. So i went in quite blind. With all that previous ado, this is how it was:

The book is so good. So so good. Many times when I fall in love with an album, the actual musical doesn’t hold up because the book doesn’t compare (hi, Dear Evan Hansen). But BMC is as engaging and fun between the songs as during them. Tbh I don’t love the changes to the songs they made, but I don’t really hate them either... Now having listened to the Broadway recording they reverted somewhat back to the original album on West End and I’m happy they did, but still. Especially Pitiful Children did not deserve the cuts. But I mean its still mostly the same album and it’s brilliant and fun, and ok, Looser, Geek or Whatever is a bop.

(Although I always kinda liked that Jeremy didn’t have a typical big “hero song” because he keeps mentioning how he isn’t a hero and it was kinda ironic that his own show refused him the hero treatment, but the song is solid.)

This cast is EVERYTHING. I’m sorry all previous casts, I love you and I respect you but i really think the British cast is (so far) the peak? Obviously as I said I don’t have the full picture to compare, but honestly these guys are all so good and I can���t imagine anyone else in these roles, they set the bar so high. Yes, even Michael. Omg I’m so sorry George Salazar! This role is his in a very special way, and I feel blasphemous saying this! But that’s what makes Blake Patrick Anderson so special, because I didn’t think I will ever be able to accept another Micheal than George Salazar. But from the first moment Anderson appears on stage, you don’t think of George Salazar. This right here is a Micheal and that’s it. I think he’s slightly less... Manic, than Salazar, and more caring, but also more stubborn, and nerdy. My friend said after the first act the character’s problem is that he’s a bit too likeable and it’s almost unbelievable he would be a social outcast and she was right. The dude is so damn likeable! So charming, so positive. And then Micheal in the Bathroom hits and omg does it hit. Also Blake Patrick Anderson has a really long name is very pretty. A+ snack. I’m in love. Scott Folan is, uh, I don’t really love him vocally... Ok I liked him until Loser Geek of Whatever. I don’t know, maybe it wasn’t his day. Or maybe that song is just written for Will Roland and no one will ever measure up? Tbh I haven’t seen Roland sing it live so who knows, maybe it is one of those songs that’s hard to perform without yelling a bit. Praying circle for the West End cast album? However Scott Folan’s acting is a masterclass. He’s so awkward in the first act, so sad, but also sweet. Actually I said i didn’t love his singing but when his voice cracks all over in his first few songs it’s superb and also his “Christiiine~” is really beautiful and lovely, so, dunno *shrugs*. And then in the second half he totally sells his confidence and assholer-y and like... They seem like two different jeremys, the squipped and un-squipped one. But ultimately he just gives such good-kid vibes. He seems like the perfect midpoint between Will Connolly’s shy Bambi and Roland’s geeky recluse. This Christine is absolutely feral. Like, you have no idea. Some people commented on the video of I Love Play Rehersal from the rehearsals that this Christine is not chaotic enough, so I’m seriously worried how chaotic Stephenie Hsu was? :D In any case Miracle Chance I thought was perfect, the ideal mixture of quirky but relatable, sweet but strong. Also she is hilarious. I’m pretty sure she got the most laugh out of the audience, not just because the actress’s absolutely perfect comedic timing but also that role is so well written. Like you really can’t get the full idea of this character until you watch the show, you know? It’s very layered, but each layer is easy to get so she makes a really fun character to watch. The Squip is hot. Like so hot. And his costumes are wonderful. And I know I’m not the only one who didn’t love Jason Tam’s accent as Squip and like... I think I know what he was going for but it just doesn’t work for me. This Squip is a lot more like Eric William Morris, just more hot. Oh yeah I mean the dude is fantastic actor too, and his voice is something impressive, but mostly I was just thinking “hot” whenever he was on stage :D James Hameed’s Rich is vocally stunning. By far the best Squip Song I have ever heard. Also he has Pickle Rick tattoo?? It’s fucking brilliant I HATE IT! :D Millie O’Connel is perfect of course. She has such a presence on stage. It was hilarious when she came out after the show, with her hair down and make-up off and said hi and people mostly kinda ignored her cause... She’s really a hurricane on stage and when she dials it down just a notch I really think people don’t connect her to her stage persona :D

(Also like, massive kudos to The Other Palace’s stage door, cause they allow you to just hang around the bar where the cast has to go through to leave the place, so no dirty alleyways stage dooring in rain and cold and possible pickpockets around.)

I really loved the staging, and it’s very small, very minimal, which isn’t something I normally like, so well done! They definitely dialled back from the Broadway (the bean bags are back!) and honestly the minimal props and simple set really suit this show. It adds to that almost-like-a-really-good-school-play charm. But also they have this massive LED screen as the background so they can change and move and animate their backdrop and it’s honestly so impressive. The artwork is so perfectly in line with the show’s aesthetic. And it’s building up and up towards the show’s climax which I thought was pretty subtle and pretty neat creative decision.

Ugh this is so long I didn’t think it would be so long :D But I have one criticism I cannot not mention. And I kinda always had this, but seeing it live it jumps out on me more - I don’t feel Jeremy and Christine :| I mean don’t get me wrong. The actors have amazing chemistry, their added song is the one that I actually really like and it makes sense, there’s so much more meaningful interaction they have in the show than the songs wold suggest. But. It still doesn’t quite sit well. Besides the fact that I don’t think the show’s narrative is about Jeremy getting the girl - that’s not really his character arc. But also, although they’re not incompatible, he gets the girl he doesn’t even really know, and she definitely doesn’t know him. I think I would prefer if they just stayed friends at the end, but if there had to be romantic conclusion... Well, I mean who doesn’t ship boyf friends, but seriously if Michael was a girl I’m pretty sure he’d be the romantic endgame for Jeremy. You know the type, the old friend who was by the protagonists side and believed in him all along? Yeah. But besides that, i was surprised to find I kinda liked Jeremy with Brooke too? I mean they have the same problem as Jeremy and Christine, with not knowing each other and all that, but at least it’s mutual, and they seemed to have a spark. But maybe it’s just because I unexpectedly really, really loved Brooke (she doesn’t have much space on the album and no one ever really talks about her, why does no one really talk about her???). She defies a lot of her archetype, she seems like such a sweet person. I guess I would just like to see more of her, and more depth to her, which a romance with the protagonist would’ve given her.

But tbh the show devotes a lot more time than I thought it would for Christine and Jeremey’s relationship to develop and it isn’t unrealistic, so it ended up being a pretty minor issue, which i though would be a bigger one.

Tl;dr (oh my god why is this so long????) this show is everything I wanted and more. The West End cast is amazing, charming and delightful and each of them is perfectly cast to really embody their character, while giving some fresh outlook on characters I thought I knew very well and filling very big shoes of the original cast I thought couldn’t be replaced. Also I didn’t talk to any of them but they spend a long time hanging out with the fans after the show and seemed genuinely super nice and pleased with the love the show is getting. The book is more than an equal partner to the music I already was in love with (also Joe Iconis was at the show I saw! I didn’t talk to him because I’m me and I will forever regret it!). The Other Palace’s staging and direction is wonderful, and the choreography is impressive and very on brand with the rest of the show, very modern, very electro and robot. I enjoyed every second and the standing ovation at the end was well deserved.

Just to re-affirm how much I loved this show - just few days after seeing it I booked a ticket to go see it again almost immediately lol. So if anyone is seeing it this Wednesday 26th Feb and you can telepathically pick me in the audience come say hello!

(Or like, drop me a message like a normal person if you’re also going alone and want to meet with someone to seem less like a weirdo! :D)

[totally-bi-now]

bmc half-blood au

- when jeremy was claimed by aphrodite, everybody was very surprised

- especially jeremy 

- he wasn’t thrilled about the whole ‘blessing’ part either

- he lost his favorite power rangers shirt because apparently that wasn’t fashionable enough for his mom

- for a while, he kind of hated being a son of aphrodite 

- he wasn’t charming enough or he wasn’t handsome enough or he wasn’t good at doing make-up enough

- but eventually he learned to identify with the softer parts of aphrodite 

- like friendship and passion and love 

- but he could do without the whole “getting crushes on anybody who’s even slightly nice to him” thing 

- michael was pretty thrilled to be claimed by demeter 

- he loves working out in the strawberry fields and it’s become his favorite snack since coming to camp 

- he has a collection of cacti and succulents growing on the windowsill next to his bunk 

- but worry not! michael still has two moms in this au!

- actually, after his bio dad had a kid with a frickin’ goddess, he decided he didn’t want to deal with the responsibility of raising a son and put michael up for adoption 

- enter his moms who he loves very much

- except imagine their surprise when their son is attacked by a monster and suddenly has to go to a camp for half-god-half-human kids

- they adapted well enough in the end 

- it was absolutely no surprise when christine was claimed by apollo 

- the week after she showed up, she had already started to take over the drama department at camp 

- she works super closely with the aphrodite cabin to make costumes and do make-up for performances which is how she meets jeremy 

- she’s also very skilled in archery, like more so than a regular apollo kid, and has won so many competitions that she’s no longer allowed to compete 

- rich wasn’t claimed for quite a while

- he made a pretty comfortable space for himself in the hermes cabin and everyone was pretty sure that that was where he’d end up anyways 

- so when he was claimed by apollo, he didn’t really know how to feel 

- christine and him immediately became close friends even though she can’t quite match rich’s absolute chaotic energy 

- the one thing rich was excited about was the archery!

- too bad he’s still not that great at it!

- in comparison to all the other kids, he’s fantastic 

- but for a child of apollo, he’s still pretty trash at it 

- and when he finds out he’s actually a highly skilled healer, he’s still disappointed 

- healers are lame and stay back at home and miss out on all the action 

- but he quickly changes his mind the first time he saves someone’s life

- jake is a child of hephaestus!

- he loves to tinker 

- he makes his friends gifts that help them harness their special talents and powers 

- however, jake can hardly ever be found in his cabin 

- he’s usually somewhere else working on any other skill he can think of

- he works on archery with christine, cooking with michael, medicine with rich

- he’s just constantly trying to be the best he can possibly be 

- it was also no surprise when brooke was claimed by athena 

- blonde hair, grayish eyes? i mean, c’mon

- a lot of people were still kind of confused because brooke had been seen as a bit of an airhead 

- and while she’s not the wisest or smartest, brooke is definitely the best at thinking outside of the box and, unlike most of athena’s children, brooke is very smart about people and human emotions  

- brooke also really enjoys battle strategy and is a must-have on any capture the flag team 

- chloe is also a child of aphrodite 

- she and jeremy did not get along at first because she really felt that he didn’t fit in at the cabin at all 

- brooke eventually got chloe to get over herself and through jeremy’s self-discovery, chloe has also been reminded about the other aspects of her mother that are just as important as beauty and popularity 

- chloe is vying to be head counselor some day 

- jenna is a daughter of hermes! 

- she loves living in cabin 11

- she gets to meet all the new kids and also learn all the secrets 

- she and rich were really good friends when he lived in the hermes cabin 

- jenna doesn’t really get involved with all the hijinks that her siblings cause, but if there’s a prank war, she absolutely dominantes 

- feel free to add on or talk to me about this! please!

[brenvs3000-19]

The End of the Beginning

     Throughout the semester, I have had the chance to sit down and truly dive into my own development as a nature interpreter. It has made me question what I know and forced me to look at what I believe in. After all, is that not the point of interpretation? Taking what you know and believe and sharing it with others. 

     Beck and Cable (2011) insist that “Visitors are more likely to listen to someone who brims with enthusiasm, who is passionate about the place, and who is fired up about his or her work.” I agree whole-heartedly with this assertion. Who wants to sit and listen to someone talk about something they don’t really care about? On the other hand, an interpreter who can actually convey the true passion they have for a topic through their programs makes you wonder what makes it so special. It engages an audience to learn more and, in the end, it may be contagious. My ultimate goal as an interpreter would be for people to leave just a little more passionate about a topic. If everyone was at least a little bit passionate, then it would contribute to a grander appreciation and respect for Nature as a whole. 

     The passion I hold for the environment stems heavily from my own beliefs. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my upbringing has had a heavy influence on my love for nature. I had the privilege of growing up in a household that highly values nature and the services it provides for us. We derive food directly from the forest and rely on the products of these ecosystems to heat our homes. This lifeline between my family and the environment instilled in me heavy respect for nature at a very young age. Natural ecosystems provide so many indirect and direct services that benefit the well-being of humans. I witness this first hand due to my upbringing, but I feel that a disconnect has developed between people and the environment in modern times, especially in increasingly developed areas. Some of our backyards may no longer be lush forests or sparkling rivers, but it's essential we remember the benefits a FULLY functioning natural environment provides. I believe that no matter where you grew up and how much exposure you had to the environment it's never too late to learn about the environment and be an advocate for its conservation. 

“Ecosystem services word concepts banner“ - Retrieved from Colourbox

     To me, nature is also something much more than a physical necessity for survival. Countless studies have found that nature has a positive impact on our mental health and helps to uplift our spirits. Within minutes of exposure to nature, we can have a significant reduction in stress hormones (Huynh et al., 2013). I got to experience this just last weekend. Despite a busy workload, I had a chance to travel home to Kawartha Lakes to go hunting with my Dad. On Saturday I spend over 5 hours sitting in a tree stand in -17°C weather. In spite of the cold, I came out of the day refreshed, less anxious and overall less stressed. Sitting immersed in the forest, simply watching the world exist around me was like a reset button. I felt one with nature and I wish everyone could experience being able to simply enjoy the beauties of nature and the benefits it brings. 

These two photos were taken exactly 8 hours apart from the same tree stand on Nov 17. There is something special about watching the sun first peak over the tree tips AND watch as it makes its final flash before disappearing beneath the horizon - Photos taken by me

     As time has gone by, I find my own personal ethics and beliefs have bled into how I conduct myself as a nature interpreter. I feel I have a responsibility to share my knowledge and passion with others. Interpretation is much more than just laying out the facts for people. The National Association for Interpretation defines interpretation as “a mission-based communication process that forges emotional and intellectual connections between the interests of the audience and the inherent meanings in the resource” (Beck and Cable, 2011). What better way to cultivate these connections than weaving together a story?

“Stories entertain us. They create community. They help us to see through the eyes of other people. They show us the consequences of our actions.

They educate our desires […] And stories acknowledge the wonder and mystery of Creation.”

Scott R. Sanders’ summary of the power of stories (Beck and Cable, 2011)

     Creating a story that not only shows the beauty of nature but informs people of the risks and issues can create an entertaining environment to enhance learning. I found that enjoying an experience and positive association with a program helps to increase the retention of information. I found this especially true in our labs. I enjoyed the improv lab, and I can look back on it and remember the games we played. Therefore, I am able to look back on the hidden lessons that were embedded in the material, such as the importance of focusing on prominent features that define a landscape in our ecosystem guessing game. 

“Share your story It is written wooden letters“ - Retrieved from Colourbox

     The question to consider now is how do I approach my self-identified responsibilities? How do I share my passion as an interpreter? As I look back on this semester, I feel I have been able to cultivate skills that will bridge the gap between an audience and myself. The most valuable approach I have taken away from this course is the ability to adapt interpretation to suit a message and/or target audience. Not every audience and topic should be dealt with the same way. Being able to think on my feet and come up with solutions and new approaches to interpretation on the fly are valuable skills when working in very unpredictable conditions. And the one thing I think everyone can agree on is the fact that nature is a dynamic landscape. Every day can bring new challenges. It was great to practice these skills, such as in the improve lab or our Arboretum guided walk. It’s also important to adapt to the times and the methods to best reach an audience. In this course, I have learned first-hand how to interpret several mediums. Our blogs and podcasts have opened my mind to new ways to deliver a message to an audience, and I look forward to further developing this in how I conduct my own social media. 

“ People media connections abstract scheme” - Retrieved from Colourbox

     In the end, I am walking away from this course with more skills and knowledge than I entered with.  Every person has their own “invisible knapsack” (McIntosh, 1989), and as I leave, I realize that I suddenly have more tools in mine. What I carry in my own knapsack will continue to help guide me in my growth as an interpreter.  

References:

Beck, L., & Cable, T. T. (2011). The Gifts of Interpretation: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture. Urbana, IL: Sagamore Publishing.

Huynh, Q., Craig, W., Janssen, I. and Pickett, W. (2013). Exposure to public natural space as a protective factor for emotional well-being among young people in Canada. BMC Public Health, 13(1).

McIntosh, P. (1989, July/August). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Peace and Freedom, 10-12.

[molliebfrazier]

In-service Initiative Template

In-service Learning Initiative

Student Name: Mollie B. Frazier

Semester: Fall 2019

The in-service Complete the template below by responding to all prompts and directions. Before uploading this assignment to Task Stream delete instructions that are not bold. Please retain all headings/subheadings in bold.

Part 1:  Foundation for the in-service

A.    Describe the library Service improvement goal.

Goals: Include the following information: North Ridge Elementary School, 7120 Harps Mill Rd, Raleigh, NC 27615. After discussion with Laura Lumb, the media specialist, we determined that the library improvement goals have a lot to do with teaching the children internet safety and how to be good digital citizens. In order to do so, efforts that have been made are educating them on the proper use of the Internet, how to be safe, what and determining what to share and who to share it with. Currently, we are working on these goals by having each week stand for a certain aspect of digital citizenship. For instance, the first lesson was on determining who to share information with (friends, family, the public). My in-service project focused on, now that the students have an understanding of who some of the audience on the internet are, what to share and who can see what you share. The evidence/data can be seen throughout the students’ progress on Google’s “Be Internet Awesome” program, in which the students play games that test their knowledge on what they learned from the lessons. Because the students use Chromebooks in the library and classroom and they are monitored well, it is ultimately still up to the students to practice internet safety inside and outside of the classroom.

The evidence for the library improvement goals can be seen within the program applications that the students use to monitor their development and learning. I chose this challenge as I find great importance in teaching children about how to be a good digital citizen from young age. It is the foundation of their internet knowledge and influences their experiences on the internet. The data that went into the selection was discussion with Laura about how she wants to pace her classes based on what she finds of most importance as well as what the teachers’ main concerns were with library advocacy. This was done through conversations rather than quantitative data.

Describe who will be impacted:

North Ridge Elementary School has 650 students from Kindergarten to 5th grade and 38 teachers. There are 3 administrators, 5 specialists, and 14 teacher assistants. This means that 710 people are influenced by the library improvement effort and the targeted groups are the students and teachers. The age range between Kindergarten and 5th grade is 4 years old to 12 years old as there are some special cases. The race/ethnicities of these students are 53.4% White, 24.4% African American, 14.6% Hispanic, 3.6% Asian, 2.7% Two or More Races, 0.3% Pacific Islanders, and 0.2% American Indian (School Digger, 2019). The school as an English as a Second Language specialist, Laura Berglund, that assists with language learning and comprehension for these diverse populations (North Ridge Elementary, n.d.). Within the classes I interacted with, there were one or two students that were ESL students. Sometimes they needed more attention with assignments and understanding directions, but they were able to follow along with the rest of the class. Although language was a slight barrier, the biggest challenge for the targeted populations were students who do not have access to the same technology at home as they do in the school. Of the 38.3% of students on free and discounted lunch, many of them do not have access to the internet in order to practice internet safety (School Digger, 2019). Moreover, lack of interaction with the internet may cause them to misuse it when they do have access, as I found out during the internship.

School Digger. (2019). North Ridge Elementary. Retrieved from https://www.schooldigger.com/go/NC/schools/0472001883/school.aspx

North Ridge Elementary. (2019). Meet our staff. Retrieved from https://www.wcpss.net/Page/28354

B.     For one library improvement goal/challenge conduct a literature review and develop a 500-750 summary of this issue. Cite in APA format at least five journal articles.

According to Anastasiades and Vitalaki (2011), teachers serve a big role as educators of internet safety. Their method of collecting data was through questionnaires that 179 Greek teachers completed and the study agreed that there is a need for the introduction of internet safety in a systematic way (Anastasiades & Vitalaki, 2011, p. 71). The study found that teachers that were not as familiar with the internet as others were less likely to incorporate the internet into their lessons because of their lack of confidence about what the internet holds (Anastasiades & Vitalaki, 2011, p. 78). This means that internet safety and digital citizenship education is important for the educators in addition to the students. By having the teachers and students learn more about internet safety, everyone feels more comfortable about what is safe to share on the internet.

Similarly, Moreno, Egan, Bare, Young, and Cox (2013) investigated into what stakeholders in youth safety education thought about when youth internet safety learning should begin. In order to do so, they sent out a survey to 356 participants including teachers, clinicians, parents, and adolescents (p. 543). They found that everyone agreed that internet safety education should start at a young age and should also include the educating of parents and holding them responsible for being the main educators of overseeing their children’s safety (Moreno et al., 2013, p.543). While the parental role is important for overseeing this, it is also a responsibility of the staff of the school to be well-versed in internet safety to monitor student activity during school hours.

In addition to educating young people from an early age, Schilder, Brusselaers, and Bogaerts (2016) found that school intervention programs affect online risk awareness positively (p. 295). This reinforces that knowledge of what is on the internet can help students determine what is a danger and what is okay. These programs encourage the use of self-awareness about what is being posted and gives some guidelines for students to know what is appropriate at school and what is not.

A study by Valcke, Schellens, Keer and, Gerarts (2007) found in a survey of 78 schools, that many students reported high-risk internet activity, such as talking with strangers (p. 2848). When looking into how to combat this level of risky behavior, the study found that parents’ influence on their children’s online activity is effective for reduced risky behavior, but over half of the students reported having very low monitoring by their parents (Valcke et al., 2007, p. 2848). Again, this presents that parents do have a role in their children’s internet activity but what is unique about this study is that it claims that this is the only effective way that students improve their internet safety and that school programs do not do much because it is difficult to find the relationship between what they learned in the school programs and what was applied at home (Valcke et al., 2007, p. 2848). Therefore, it is important to continue research on what can be revised with the school programs to make them more effective.

However, Wishart, Oades, and Morris (2007), much like Schilder, Brusselaers, and Bogaerts (2016), did find that some school programs do positively affect student’s online behaviors. To discover this, they used an online roleplay activity with elementary aged students (Wishart et al., p. 460). They found that the roleplay not only help the students better respond to dangerous internet activity, but it also helped teachers learn as they guide their class through these scenarios (Wishart et al., p. 472).

Anastasiades, P. S., & Vitalaki, E. (2011). Promoting internet safety in Greek primary schools: The teacher’s role. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 14(2), 71-80. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/docview/1287031261?accountid=10639

Moreno, M. A., Egan, K. G., Bare, K., Young, H. N., & Cox, E. D. (2013). Internet safety education for youth: Stakeholder perspectives. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 543. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-543

Schilder, J. D., Brusselaers, M. B. J., & Bogaerts, S. (2016). The effectiveness of an intervention to promote awareness and reduce online risk behavior in early adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(2), 286-300. doi:10.1007/s10964-015-0401-2

Valcke, M., Schellens, T., Van Keer, H., & Gerarts, M. (2007). Primary school children’s safe and unsafe use of the internet at home and at school: An exploratory study. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(6), 2838-2850. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2006.05.008

Wishart, J. M., Oades, C. E., & Morris, M. (2007). Using online role play to teach internet safety awareness. Computers & Education, 48(3), 460-473. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2005.03.003

C.    Collaborative efforts.  

My collaborations with the librarian first went into a preliminary discussion over the phone about what some of the topics are that she had planned in her curriculum to get an idea of what the students needed prior to talking to the teachers. She stated at the beginning of the year she introduces digital citizenship. After this discussion I looked into programs and materials on digital citizenship. When I brought up that I would like to work on internet safety, Laura agreed that this would fit into the curriculum beautifully. Watching Laura teach gave me a good idea of how interactive to be with the students, how long I can keep their attention, and how much time they need to do the library check out that occurs each class. When I was researching for materials to use in my PowerPoint, I contacted Laura about which of them would be most appropriate. She helped advise me on how long my presentation should be based on how long we can keep the students’ attention. Laura helped collaborate with me in handling the discipline while I was presenting as well. The evaluation was done with feedback from the students about what they learned. I used her model of getting the students to complete assignments which was that completion earns time to look around the library. Internet safety and digital citizenship is an ongoing project all year the students and faculty. The evaluation can be a slow process as learning about internet safety is a systematic endeavor that requires knowledge to build on itself.

Part 2:  

A.    Planning the in-service.

o   Evaluation of the recipients’ needs was conducted by conversations and current planned curriculum by Laura and conversations with teachers at the school.

o   The objectives were for the students to learn what is okay to share and what is private, to learn about the different types of personal information and to learn how to respect others privacy online.

o   The ALA competence(s) targeted are: 1I and 1J as I had to identify a problem and come up with a solution that required communication with the librarian and the recipients. 4A-4D as this initiative was heavily centered around technology. 7B as I was teaching the recipients life-long learning about internet and technology use.

o   The room was set up as I was sitting in the front, next to a projector screen. The students were sitting on the carpet in front of me. At the beginning of the presentation, I showed them a presentation titled “Share with Care”. Being that close created a sentence of close interaction. Then, once the presentation was over and the students filled out their feedback survey, they were allowed to use the Chromebooks to search for books and play internet safety games. The agenda was:

§  Introduction

§  Reading of Objectives

§  Video

§  Telephone game

§  Scenario readings

§  Feedback assignment

§  Chromebook time

§  Meet back on carpet for follow-up

o   Address and plan for each of the three parts of an in-service:

§  Because Laura has already started with some of the digital citizenship work, I will build off on what she told me they have already learned. I will also start my presentation with questions about privacy to gauge what they have already learned.

§  I will demonstrate the different scenarios that could be presented on the internet and have them tell me if it is something that is okay to do or not. This will come after the lesson about why we do not share certain things and things that are okay to share.

§  They can practice this by offering me feedback to ensure they understand a scenario in which they are sharing something private, then they will play the internet safety game that asks them to determine if they should share something with friends, family, or publicly to reinforce this. The safety lesson they learn will be carried with them for as long as they use the internet.

B:  Delivering the in-service. Describe in detail the in-service event. The following information must be provided.

o   October 14, 10:20am, North Ridge Elementary School Media Center.

o   26 people were in attendance

o   The actual presentation went longer than expected. There was also an issue during the game of telephone in which one of the students changed the word to something very inappropriate and we had to stop the game. In order to fit it into the lesson, I presented it as an example of how something that you might think is innocent can turn into something bad.

o   I presented them with information about what kinds of things are private and what are public. I did a lot of conversation facilitation to see where they were in their understanding of internet safety and building off what they were saying to real life examples. I tried to get them to interact as much as possible.

o   The students responded to my questions, answered yes or no to scenarios about if something is okay to post, and played a game that was intended to show how things can become warped.

o   The in-service presentation is to be videotaped and a link will be created. Place the link to the video here:­_ https://youtu.be/XkJR3mK3viQ

C:  Evaluate the effectiveness of the in-service

o   The in-service objectives were met because the students gave feedback of at least one thing they learned from the lesson about what is not okay to share. These feedback responses were recorded on white sheets of paper and handed into me.

o   I mostly evaluated the in-service by what the students were telling me they remember learning. They were almost too overly cautious with some of the scenarios, which told me that they had learned that if they are ever questioning if something is okay to post or not, then it probably is not.

o   The format for the exit survey was a white half sheet of paper that said “What is personal and what is okay to share?”

D.    Summary/Reflection.  Respond to the following questions:  

·         The overarching contribution of this in-service is that we are breeding students that will become knowledgeable and contributing digital citizens. They will have a better idea of what is something dangerous and what is something innocent. They have less of a chance of downloading a virus or meeting up with a stranger since they are being educated on the foundations of internet use that will last their whole life.

·         Use will improve because students will have more autonomy with computer use. Instead of having to waste resources by hovering over students and monitoring their every move, parents and teachers can feel more at ease knowing that the library is a place that students are learning good behaviors that they can bring home.

·         The next steps in this in-service initiative is to build on their internet safety knowledge. Now that they know about what is okay to post, we can talk about password sharing and what fake websites and advertisements look like.

·         I have learned that things do not always go according to plan, particularly with the incident that occurred during the telephone game and it is up to the instructor to stay composed and regroup. Next time, I would offer a more controlled game that I could do on the computer and have their influence. The thing I enjoyed the most was seeing the students learning and getting excited about applying what they learned to their use of the internet. The part I enjoyed the least was trying to nail down research to insure that the initiative was going to be something helpful for the library.

·         I can use this in-service to advocate for a stronger library program in that we need more people to teach the children about these things. It is up to the parents and educators to lead kids in the right direction and there are not enough hands in the library to do so right now. The library advocates skills to the students that are helpful at home and in the classroom.

·         To continue my learning and growing, I seek out different aspects of the library and try to get experience with all age groups and aspects of librarianship. My professional development plan is to learn more about programs that are created by companies like Google and Digital Passport to find ways that entertain while also educating. I think that I stick far too close with reference and database work instead of these foundational aspects of librarianship that can also be fun. The best way to become an active member is 1) have conversations about what needs to be improved. Really listening is the biggest part of creating a successful initiative. 2) Time is a big helper with initiatives. Learning about the community being served and understanding what they need most and really being there to fulfill those needs is crucial. I have learned a lot from this in-service initiative and will absolutely apply it to my professional development.

[what-stop-the-presses-rly-means]

Hellur! Could I get a ship for BMC please? I'm a 5'2 Bi Male (Heavy Male preference). I'm really into horror movies and retro stuff. I collect VHS tapes and cassette tapes. I listen to stuff like The Misfits. I'm really skinny but not like, anorexic. I wear black. Lots and lots of black. No I'm not goth, but like black ya know. I have a touch of ADHD and I really like hoodies and flannel. Like a lot. I have brown hair with a little purple in the front. I'm also really into photography. Thanks!

Male-preferred bi who wears black and loves retro stuff?? I think we're the same person lmao

I ship you with Jeremy!

I mean, we already know he's into hoodie-wearing retro-loving guys, right? lol So he would 100% be intrigued by you. He's a shy boy, so he might be a little intimidated by your look at first, but eventually his curiosity would outmatch his fear

He would later tell you he's had bad run-in's with short guys with colored hair before (Rich). So he wasn't too keen on having that happen again. You ask him what changed his mind and he said he could hear 'Die Die My Darling' coming from your headphones one day and he knew he wanted to get to know you (which is super shocking that this little nerd listens to The Misfits but also a pleasant surprise)

It's also kind of surprising that he likes horror movies for how timid and shy he seems. But part of it might be that he just wants to impress you on date nights. His plans usually fail when a particularly loud jumpscare happens and he hides his face in your shirt. It's absolutely adorable

If you ever try to take photos of him make sure he's not looking, because he will get all flustered and hide his face, saying he's not worth wasting the time and space on photos of him. He's being modest, he's the cutest little shit when he blushes

But he's super supportive of your photography. He just thinks you're so talented and have a knack for seeing the beauty of everyday, mundane thugs. He knows this for a fact because any photos you have of him (always captured when didn't know you had a camera with you) make him look better than he could've imagined. This boy has such low self-esteem 😦

He will 100% make you a legit mixtape just for the hell of it. He'll just come up to you one day and hand it to you, no special occasion or reason. He says it's not a big deal or anything, but it actually took him hours to make and he wanted to make sure all the songs were perfect

If you ever take your hoodie off around him he'll snatch that shit up right away. More often than not, he's wearing one of your hoodies, sporting those stupidly adorable sweater paws

He just loves your style. If you're ever hanging with your friends, he'll make jokes like, "We better get going. If my vampire bf stays out in the sun too long, he dies. And it took me this long to find him, I can't go back to being single."

You don't have to be embarrassed about your ADHD around him. When having a conversation, he's constantly bouncing back and forth between his different interests, never really staying on topic. So he's very understanding if you ever do something similar

He absolutely loves your physique! You're the perfect height to tuck under his chin and the perfect size to wrap his arms around you. He'll joke sometimes and call you his personal teddy bear just to make you mad

Thanks for the request! 😘

[santa-feeeeeeeeee]

BMC NY - spoilers ahead!!

OKAY BEFORE I FORGET here’s some stuff from tonight’s (7/27) show

During More Than Survive the sign-up sheet for the play kept falling down and when Christine came out she slammed it onto the wall and pointed at it like “okay, stay” (it didn’t stay)

Michael! Has! The! Patch!

“My mothers would be so proud” I DIED

Christine is,, so funny and cute I Would Die 4 Her

Honestly the whole show is fucking hilarious I was dying the whole time

The scene in the bathroom right before the Squip Song is so tense, like Rich is explaining social politics and then Jeremy asks him why he does something and he responds “I have my instructions” which is ominous and unsettling enough on its own and then he gets eleCTROCUTED INTO OBLIVION

Just fyi when people are saying that Michael “tries to kiss Jeremy” during Two Player Game they mean that (at “is it really true”) Michael jokingly leans over and like tackles Jeremy into a hug, suggesting that he’s trying to kiss him, and it’s hilarious

When they were in the Payless the Scary Stockboy was describing the Squip and it’s hard to catch but Jeremy looks over at Michael for a second and Michael mouths “what the fuck?”

Instead of Crystal Pepsi Michael goes to get Ecto Cooler and when Jeremy asks him what it tastes like he responds “GHOSTS”

OKAY THE FUCKING SQUIP WAS SO GOOD

Jason Tam’s Squip is very different from Eric William Morris but he’s still sooooo good

“Though my sensors indicate you may prefer to take instruction from: Princess Leia, Zack from Saved by the Bell, anime cat girl with a tail—“

OMG there was a lot of really neat choreography associated with/done by the Squip

Christine was trying to save a seat for Jake so she put her backpack on his seat but then Chloe picked up the backpack and kicked it across the stage and my heart s h a t t e r e d (along with everyone else’s in the theater)

There was a new song at the end of act 1 (Loser Geek Whatever) and it wasn’t super necessary but wow it was really good + Will Roland needed a solo lbr

When the Squip malfunctions at the party he just fuckin faceplants into the bed

The scene after Do You Wanna Hang is fuckin wild,, like so much happens in so little time and we were sitting house left so I couldn’t see the right side of the stage super well but it was still really funny — seeing the show just made me understand the plot better tbh

When Jeremy called Michael a loser everyone lost their shit

Jeremy storms out of the house after a fight with his dad but he yells “I’m going to the play” which is like,, lol

During the “beep-boop”s in Pitiful Children the Squip at one point just goes “squip squip squip squip squip squip”

When Mr. Heere finds Michael before the Pants Song Michael is sitting on a lawn chair and smoking a bong

“Do you love him?” “😰😰…what”

When Michael makes his entrance he throws his backpack to the side and it landed perfectly on the costume rack (part of the set for The Play) it was honestly so impressive

When Jeremy gives Christine the Mountain Dew Red he says “I’m so sorry” and it broke my heart

Everyone (including me) cheered when Rich said he was bi

When Rich says “anti-social headphones kid” Michael shows up behind him with his hood up and Rich is like “oh hey it’s you!!!” and is Very clearly interested in Michael (who is not having it)

“I’m sure some special someone will be lucky to have you Rich” “you think??? 😃😃” *Michael awkwardly sidles away and runs to Jeremy*

Omg at the beginning of Voices in my Head when Michael goes off stage he slaps Rich’s arm which is in a cast (Rich is in a full body cast) and Rich just fucking SCREAMED

George very briefly Dirty-Dancing-lifted Gerard during the curtain call

General stuff about the show!!

They used projections a lot throughout the show and it was!!! So cool!!!!

The entire cast is phenomenal but I gotta hand it to Gerard, he’s a phenomenal actor and I was blown away by his performance from start to finish

I love that they did the red in Rich’s hair

The c o s t u m e s (ESP THE SQUP HONESTLY)

AND FOR THOSE OF Y’ALL WHO WANT TO KNOW HOW THE AUDIENCE BEHAVED: I was pleasantly surprised!! There were definitely a few odd people out who just couldn’t hold in their reactions sometimes, but generally the audience was very respectful and it seems we as a fandom have learned a lot from Exit 82.

I had a beautiful experience at BMC tonight and I will never forget it!!!!!!!!