#ch: regan

[highoctanegem]

Regan has some stinky goodies for Jade. Jade can probably barely resist, but Regan insists on having her read the card first. The card is another musical card, and though Regan couldn’t find a CRJ one this year, she was told this one was Beyonce. (She does not know Beyonce.) It’s actually the Windows ��98 startup sound, which Regan thinks is familiar but can’t place it. She thinks actually, she must know Beyonce’s music. The cover of the card has a lot of black cats on it (Halloween themed…. And Microsoft themed) which is the most important thing.

Jade, mo ghrá,

Ever since we met, you have been 30 if you round up, but now you do not need to round. It is your birthday. Because you are someone who likes happiness, I wish you the happiest of days, and I aim to assure the quality of the occasion. It feels significant that we are together today. I’m not good at expressing such sentiments, but I believe I am better at it than a vacuum cleaner would be. Number 1 on The List should be celebrated today, I think, and perhaps we can add a few new numbers. I can think of some. Number 88: we are the best at compromising, because we end up with two outcomes instead of one (see couches). Number 291: With our combined efforts, we can get Emilio to do whatever we want. Number 101: We can go over every tiny new wrinkle together.

But enough of that, yes? It has become a bog in here. I am drenched to the bone. So I will allow most of what is included speak for itself. That is not literal. None of it will speak. Well, the card was supposed to. And the [scribbled out] speak to [scribbled out; she realized she was spoiling the best surprise]. 

I love you, Jade. Let’s go get tacos.

Is leatsa go síoraí i bhfola is i gcnámha,

Regan

PS (Postscript): I made an offer on the Decompe Lane house that we both approved of. It is no storage unit, but it is suitable for couples and cats who require full bedrooms. Partners who are together. Bone partners, especially. Ones who, perhaps, have some kind of an engagement. You know, something they intend to do, meaning they are planning on being present somewhere, doing something (who knows what), at a fixed or even tenuous point in time. So… an appropriate choice?

THE PRESENTS!

Obviously, there’s a stack of nude images that were taken by Mona a while back. Regan is posing (standing) in the studio with a rainbow cemetery backdrop. In some of them, she’s holding several knives. In others, she has a liter of Sprite in her arms, suggestively (suggestively of what??) There are also a few where a stuffed cat prop is somewhere in the photo, and a couple where Regan found a dead mouse in the studio and is actually excited about this. (Thank you Ria for helping me with the bit lmao)

There are two handwritten “tickets” to a Carly Rae Jepson show in Wicked’s Rest tonight. They’re written on Regan’s old prescription pad, like a medication script. Carly Rae Jepson is actually a Carly Rae Jepson impersonator tracked down by Emilio and Teddy, and “coerced” to come here and do a show. Regan inadvertently made the impersonator even more nervous so the show will be good, probably. 

A pair of baby blue drum sticks, in support of Jade’s new drumming hobby.

A nice, leather bound diary that was made locally. Regan left a surprise message on the first page that’s basically one of her own entries, talking about how fortunate she is to have a lady with eyes like festering pools of purge fluid and arms well-muscled and firm enough you might think they’re in rigor. In addition to the flattery she adds that she believes Jade can do anything (though that does not mean she’s always correct). Regan also adds You said you used to keep a diary. While I do not understand (what I write in is, of course, a journal), I am supportive of this endeavor. 

The mysterious second box that is REALLY stinky. It has eight dead, decomposing squirrels in it (8/8 on the Bloodworth Scale), all of which reminded Regan of Jade in different ways. The whiskers on one made it look especially mischievous. The tail on the other – those losing fur now – was as soft as Jade’s hair. If one squirrel kicked off a year-long relationship, maybe these would give them eight more years, right?

Because Jade was so excited about having a garden and the meaning of flowers, Regan bought her the language of flowers book, and an accompanying bundle of aster. The book has a note attached to it: You asked me about the meaning of flowers, so I acquired the book. The flowers I have selected – after careful research in the included text – are asters, related to those pink and white flowers we saw as Baxter. They symbolize love and wisdom, though I posit that all flowers do, especially when they wilt and die. 

A thumb drive with three classic, gay, banshee films on it, so they can finally watch Imagine Me & Sinews, Blue is the Asphyxiation Color, and Brokenspine Hill. These were very difficult to find and Regan probably bribed Siobhan. 

Then, of course, the cake. Which is shaped like a giant taco. Regan harassed a bakery for several days and checked in on their progress multiple times. She is now banned from purchasing another cake there. Jade insisted that she didn’t care about the cake and wanted whatever Regan liked, but minds can change.

[muppetsdaily]

THE MUPPET MOVIE (1979) dir. James Frawley

[opla]

Monkey D. Luffy and Monkey D. Garp in One Piece, Episode 5 - Eat at Baratie! (2023). - requested by anonymous

[kick-a-long]

Stuff like this is why I get so pissed off at accusations of genocide and apartheid.

Why would a genocidal country pause a war to vaccinate at least 90% of Gaza kids against polio as soon as the first case of a two year old paralyzed by type 2 poliovirus is confirmed? If they wanted gazans wiped off the earth they would keep the war going and vaccinate Israeli kids and citizens. If they wanted them dead they would never vaccinate “the enemy.” Russia wouldn’t do that.

I see you dickheads in the comments, “it’s for optics! Plus they must be worried about Jews getting it from them! That’s the only reason they want to vaccinate anyone. Plus vaccines are poison even checked by the WHO! They probably have autism in them!”

If it’s an apartheid why would Palestinians have access to the same places and bodies of water as Israelis? And if they don’t why would Israel vaccinate. The Regan administration didn’t respond to the HIV outbreak in the 80s because they hated gays and drug users and wanted them sick, spreading it, and most importantly dead. During peace time to their own citizens.

All Israel would have to do is ignore the outbreak.

Vaccines work. Polio is one of the most devastating diseases a kid can get. There’s no medication that can stop the damage once you get the virus. Lil kids die from diarrhea, are paralyzed for life and if they’re immune system doesn’t stop the paralysis at their legs it climbs up their bodies and once it hits their diaphragm (the muscle that lets you breath right under your rip cage) kids as young as a few months old to their teens will die from lack of air. Both are the absolute worst and most painful ways a person can die. Waking nightmare delusions from dehydration and low oxygen on top of the physical pain.

Nazis infected Jews with this shit intentionally to study how polio affects children. Israel is stopping in the middle of a war to end the polio outbreak when they are still trying to rescue kids so young they have spent the majority of their lives on earth in Hamas captivity. And after only one kid was confirmed with polio type 2, the one that causes paralysis.

How can it be a genocide or an apartheid when they are literally helping safeguard Palestines next generation of kids?

[softprettything]

late bloomer, ch 11

AO3 | Previous | Next

Fandom: OHSHC

Pairing: Kyoya/Reader

Tags: 18+, A/B/O Dynamics, College AU, Fake Dating, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Slice of Life, Eventual Smut

Taglist: @silverhetdanes @lampalooza

late bloomer, ch 11

“Olivia!” Reese goes over to her with a hug. “Perfect timing.” 

“Now that?” Lou whispers. “That I will definitely not miss.”

"Does she—" You look from her to Olivia, back and forth. "I mean, do they come here a lot?"

"Oh, yeah. Look I'm all for uniting forces or whatever. And most of the Triple O folks are super sweet—"

"Plus, they can organize the shit out of a fundraiser," Regan adds.

"—True. But I went to high school with Livvy Freidmonte, and unless she's changed since then…" Lou shakes her head. "I know a first-class bitch when I see one. I wouldn't trust that girl as far as I could throw her."

"Really?" you ask. "What exactly—"

"Alright, everybody!" Reese claps their hands together, and the room settles down. "Let's get started. Re-started. For the new folks, this is Olivia Freidmonte; she's one of our siblings over at Triple O, and our head coordinator for collabs! Olivia?"

"Hey there!" Olivia is all smiles and pep as she waves at the crowd. "So stoked to be here. Now, as most of you probably know, the Winter Wonderland end-of-term music festival last semester was a huge success. Between ticket sales, merch profits, and voluntary donations, we raised twenty thousand over the span of two days, all of which went directly to fund arts education programs at high schools in the surrounding areas."

A round of applause, which you find yourself joining in on. Whatever your personal feelings on Olivia may be, twenty thousand dollars in two days? You can't help but respect it.

"Looking into the future…the good news is, we're less than two weeks out from our spring fundraiser! Bad news: thanks to a little fire snafu, Grand's is closed for repairs all month. So we're on crunch time to find another venue. It's a smaller event, very lowkey; ideally we want to find somewhere closer to campus, with a kitchen or at least a fridge we can use to store food, mix drinks, stuff like that." She scribbles a phone number on the board. "Just shoot me a text if you know of a place. This is a great opportunity to…"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Regan whispers. "She seems super nice."

"You just think that because you're super nice, Ri," Lou whispers back.

"I'm just saying! High school was a long time ago."

"Yeah. I don't know. (Y/N), you're in the same year as her, right? You must have crossed paths. What do you think?"

As you open your mouth to say something, Olivia's gaze falls on you. You freeze. It feels as though time slows to a halt: she pauses in her presentation for a moment. Her smile falters. Her eyes narrow slightly.

Then, as though nothing happened, the smile is back on her face, and she continues on, just as peppy as before. You let out a breath, before remembering that Lou and Regan are still both looking at you, waiting for an answer. You give them a tiny smile. "No comment."

*************

As the evening winds down, you have to admit: you had a pretty good time. Olivia ignores you, to the point that you begin to wonder if you imagined her noticing you during her presentation entirely. You trade numbers with Lou and Regan, offering to answer any questions they might have about surviving senior year, and promising them you'll consider coming to the next Cozy Quorum. Overall, as you exit into the cool early-spring air, you're feeling pretty good.

"(Y/N)!"

"Hey!" You turn to Reese with a smile. "Thanks for inviting me. This was actually really cool."

"Not so bad, right?" You nod. "Now, listen, I swear I didn't have any ulterior motives when I ran into you this morning, but…"

You try to pay attention. Really, you do, but your head is too scrambled. If Haruhi isn't home (it's a Sunday, so probably she is) (on the other hand, she doesn't have any classes on Mondays…) (does Tamaki?) then you only have to worry about dinner for yourself, which means eggs. Or, no, you were supposed to pick up eggs today. Chips and dip, then. And then the paper proposal. Technically you have until the end of class, but you really should email it by morning—were you assigned an early morning shift at the cafe tomorrow? No, an afternoon one.

Your phone buzzes, and you can't help but glance down and see it's from an unfamiliar number, and you're suddenly too distracted to—

"—think?"

"Hm?" Reese is looking at you. Shit. Your cheeks heat up immediately, mortified as you are to be caught so blatantly zoning out. They don't seem to have noticed, though, so you take a crapshoot and give them your most enthused nod. "Right! I mean, yes, absolutely."

"You are a lifesaver." Reese claps. "This is perfect. Let me just put you in touch with—there she is."

Before you can stop them to ask whose life you're saving, and how, and what exactly you just agreed to, they tap someone on the shoulder. That person whirls around and—oh, wouldn't you know, it's—

"Olivia, this is (Y/N). (Y/N), Olivia. You're both first-year grad students, I think?"

"We've met," the two of you say simultaneously. She sticks a hand out, which you accept. "(Y/N) and I have a class together, actually. Some gender-studies thing."

"The Radical Dynamics of Jane Austen," you supply. This handshake is going on for way longer than is comfortable.

Reese nods, possibly sensing the tension, but eventually deciding to bowl through it anyway. "So. (Y/N) works at that incredible coffee shop on the corner of Oak and Whitley, and apparently it's free two Fridays from now, which means…"

Olivia's look of disdain explodes into an overenthusiastic smile. "Oh, my gosh! Seriously?"

Before you can say anything, Reese nods. "I'll leave you two to work out the details—but, (Y/N), seriously? Thank you. I owe you one." With a wink—to you? To Olivia? Who knows!—they're gone.

"Well." Olivia looks you up and down. Between the necklace and the blowout and the perfectly coordinated pink outfit, it’s like looking at Evil Elle Woods. “You’re just popping up everywhere, aren’t you?”

You meet her fake smile with one of your own. “Could say the same about you.”

“Oh, the Trips all love EpPhi. We throw mixers all the time. It was so awesome to have you join us last night!” The smile she gives you practically shows each and every one of her perfectly square, perfectly white teeth, making you feel even more like a mouse being toyed with by a cat. "I didn't realize Reese was finally able to get that due waiver program rolled out."

"Hm?"

"Oh, you know. Greek life can be so…you know. Old money. Reese is super dedicated to trying to diversify—" (somehow, she manages to make that sound like a bad thing) "—and I guess it's working."

"Oh, no. I'm not joining. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with joining." Why are you trying to explain yourself? If Olivia's decided to dislike you, nothing you say is going to win her over. "I just came to check it out. It was cool, though—your presentation was great."

She scrunches her nose at you. "Thanks. Well. Even if you're not pledging, that just makes it even nicer of you to get so involved."

"Oh, no, I'm not—"

"No modesty, please. You're a total lifesaver. Anytime we have insider contact for a venue, it's always, like, an executive whatever, and half the time they don't have any idea what actually goes into putting together an event like this. It'll be so helpful to have the perspective of, you know. A lower-level employee."

You are so, so tempted to just say it was all a big mistake.

But the cafe calendar is empty two Fridays from now. And Reese, who has been nothing but nice to you since you met, seems kind of desperate for you to say yes.

Not to mention, all special events at Ground Up get logged as overtime hours—meaning, double pay.

Double pay plus tips.

So, with no small amount of reluctance, you nod. "Mm-hm. Right." This fake smile is beginning to hurt your cheeks. You clear your throat. "So! We should, um, set up a time to talk through specifics, right? I have a shift at the cafe tomorrow afternoon after class, if that's a good time. That way you can get an idea of what the space looks like?"

"Perf." The gap between her words and the way she looks at you while saying them is starting to make your head hurt. She passes you a card. "Here's my number."

"Great." She's already halfway down the street, clearly just as eager to get away from you as you are from her. "See you in class!" you call after her. Your phone buzzes again—a two-minute reminder of the text from earlier. You swipe it open.

unknown: Shockingly, I did not get 'sexiled' tonight.

unknown: Hopefully this doesn’t mean you’re sleeping on the front porch.

A smile rises to your mouth unbidden. You create a new contact with the number, and then type:

Y/N: I have a bed of my own, you know.

*************

You're shutting the front door of your apartment behind you and kicking off your shoes by the time you get a reply.

Kyoya Ootori: I’m aware. 

Kyoya Ootori: It’s a good one. Best night’s sleep I’ve had in ages.

"You're home late."

You look up. "And you're…home." You toss your bag under a chair and tuck your phone into your pocket as you sit down across from Haruhi, who's typing away furiously at her laptop. "Rewrite?"

"Prewrite." She takes a sip of coffee, then goes back to typing. I'm trying to get ahead on work for the next two weeks, so that I'm not behind when I get back."

It's not unusual for Haruhi to be on top of things—but missing class? "Get back from what?"

"Tamaki's heat is coming up this week. Thursday, probably. Kiera's heats were always pretty long." Kiera…ah, yes, that was two ex's ago. "Tamaki says his usually only last a couple of days, but I want to be ahead. Just in case."

You feel like you're moving underwater. Even blinking seems to take twice as long as usual. "Can't hurt to be prepared," you manage.

"Mm-hm." She takes another swig of coffee, finishing the mug. You grab it and go to brew her some more, if only to get away from the table. Seemingly oblivious to your general state, she asks, "What about you? Good weekend?"

"Weird weekend."

"Weird? Huh." She chuckles, but doesn't press further.

The coffee starts to drip. "That's big," you say. "The heat stuff."

"Oh, this is nothing. I should have it all done by tomorrow."

"A big step in the relationship, I mean. Like, spending a heat together." You lean against the counter, chewing on your bottom lip and shooting another text to Kyoya.

Y/N: My halfprice preowned fb marketplace boxspring is honored

Kyoya Ootori: Hang on, checking my clothes for bedbugs.

Y/N: >:(

Kyoya Ootori: Just a joke. I promise.

Y/N: I know

Kyoya Ootori: Okay, good.

Y/N: That was just the face i made when i realized there isn’t a bedbug emoji

"I mean." You shake your head, bringing your attention back to the present. "Are you nervous at all?"

She stops to think about it, head tilted slightly. "No," she finally says, turning to look at you for the first time since you walked in. "Actually, this is the first time I haven't been nervous to spend a heat with someone new. Is that weird?"

"No." The way she says it, so matter of fact, sends an odd pang of sadness through you. You think of how Tamaki looks at her. The way she looks talking about him. Kyoya's certainty when he talked about what a good match they were. "It's not weird at all."

"Really?"

You pour the coffee, and try to smile as you bring it over. "You know I don't know anything about how all of this heat stuff works. But I do know this guy makes you happy, so. As long as he's treating you well, I'm happy." At least that much is true.

"Mh-hm." She gives a little smile, but you can tell her attention is firmly back on her work.

Which reminds you, you should be getting to your own work. You give her a pat on the shoulder. "I'm gonna hit the hay."

She nods. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Anytime. Don't stay up too late."

"I will."

You share a chuckle at that. "I know," you say softly.

As you reach your doorway, she calls out, "Oh, hey—did Kyoya end up dropping off the vitamins the other night?"

You freeze. "Uh, yeah, actually. He did." She doesn't look up, and you decide to test whether or not she's actually listening. "I invited him in to hide from the rain, we split the bottle of vitamins over candlelight and smooth jazz, he ended up staying the night. Super romantic. We're madly in love now. Instead of fighting during class we just make out on the seminar table."

"Cool."

Yeah, she absolutely isn't listening to you. "Yeah. Cool." Probably this is some sort of karma, for how you did the exact same thing to Reese earlier today—mm-hm-ing and yeah, sure-ing your way through a conversation. But it still stings. "Night."

"Night."

Kyoya Ootori: You’re…sad that there’s no bedbug emoji?

Y/N: Thatss a lie, actually

Y/N: Id pay the emoji people every cent in my bank account to never ever create a bedbug emoji

Kyoya Ootori: Noted.

Kyoya Ootori: I hope you had a good day.

You smile.

Y/N: You too. 

Y/N: Enjoy not being sexiled. I'll see you in class tomorrow?

Kyoya Ootori: Likewise. See you then.

Kyoya Ootori: I actually have something I want to talk to you about in person, if you’re free after.

But by the time that last text rolls in, you’ve already washed your face and brushed your teeth and started typing away at your own laptop, phone face down on your nightstand.

*************

Come morning, you've written a paper proposal that you're pretty proud of, actually. Abe was right—you are capable of more than that first effort.

Unfortunately, writing it did take you most of the night. Meaning you only got a few hours of sleep before your alarm went off. You skim your new notifications, only half processing them—until you see an email from TA Abe asking if you can swing by his office hours after class.

Shit.

Did he already read your proposal? Is it really that bad?

Whatever the verdict is, you’re not going to improve anything by skipping class. You drag yourself in and out of the shower, chug some decaf coffee—a placebo for dire situations like these—and run. When you get there, the seminar table is about halfway full. You slide into an empty seat by the windows. When Kyoya comes in, you give him a wave and a smile, which he returns. You're about to gesture that he should take the empty seat next to you—

When Olivia slides into it.

“Morning.” She pulls a lipgloss and tiny mirror out of her bag, touching up her already perfect makeup. God, you wish you were that put together. Even at nine in the morning, she doesn't have a single hair out of place. "Are you still free after class?"

"Yeah—I just have to pop by Abe's office hours super quickly, if that's alright?"

She gives you a thin smile as she snaps the compact shut. "Sure." Before you can respond, she's turned away from you. "Kyoya! Where did you disappear to this weekend? I was…"

You tune her out. It's too early in the morning to eavesdrop, you decide, especially on two-point-five hours of sleep. You'd estimate you have maybe five hours of awake time left in you before you crash, if you're lucky. And that's not even taking into consideration the sheer amount of energy you're going to have to expend trying to get through this meeting with Abe, and this meeting with Olivia, and your actual job.

Class feels ungodly slow. It's not boring, of course—how could it be? But your exhaustion makes you sloppy, combined with how on edge you are about your meeting with Abe. You try your best to keep a low profile. Kyoya must be able to sense you're a bit out of it, because he goes a little easier on you than usual. Or maybe that's just because he remembers your conversation from this weekend, and because Olivia is literally sitting smack in between the two of you.

In any case, you're relieved to make it through class more or less in one piece. When it's done, you stand up, ready to follow Abe and a few other students to his office elsewhere in the building. As you make it to the door, a wave of dizziness overtakes you, and you stumble.

"Woah." Kyoya is there, steadying you with a hand on your shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." You blink. "Sorry, I just had to pull an all-nighter last night."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's nothing." You wave a hand. "I've been taking my multivitamin, so. Iron for days, over here."

He chuckles. "Glad to hear it." He sticks his hands in his pockets.

As he opens his mouth to say something, you glance a ways down the hall, where Olivia is giving you the death glare to end all death glares.

"—work?"

You blink again, and look up at Kyoya. You get the sense that he's expecting you to say something, though you have no idea what. You're about to ask what, but then, there, behind Olivia, Abe disappears into his office. "Work. Yes, office hours and then work. I have to run—sorry—but I'm all good, I promise!"

He says something else, you think, but you're too far down the hall to hear him. Oh, well. It probably wasn't anything important.

*************

You walk into Abe's office just as another student is leaving. Abe looks up and waves you over. 

“(Y/N), hey! Great timing. Have a seat—this’ll only take a second.”

You drop your bag and coat and sit. He’s busy pulling up something on his tablet. You feel more and more like you’re about to throw up with each passing second.

“So,” he finally says. Your stomach clenches. “Got your email. I only had a chance to give it a cursory lookover this morning, but…” He turns off his tablet, puts it onto the table, and gives you a smile. “It’s really good work, (Y/N).”

Your heart leaps into your chest. “Really?”

“Really. Look, I’ve read all the JLT essays for years now, and you’ve always been solid. But this is a step up.” He gives you a thumbs up. “Good job pushing yourself, kid.”

There’s still a lot to do, of course—the deadline for the assignment, and the contest, is less than a month away. But it’s a step in the right direction. It’s amazing what the tiniest bit of academic validation can do—you feel like nothing could possibly bring your mood down.

Not even Olivia, who's in the hall when you come out of Abe's office, still chatting with Kyoya. When she sees you, she waves to you, then leans in closer to Kyoya to say one more thing, her hand resting on his chest. You do your best to look disinterested. The last thing you need to do is give her any more reason to think the two of you are fighting over Kyoya.

After a few more giggles and another long touch to Kyoya's arm, she bounds over to you.

"Sorry about that," she says. "Let's walk?"

You give her a nod, and a tight smile of your own. As she grabs her phone to shoot off a quick text, you can't help but take one glance back at Kyoya. Kyoya, at the other end of the hall. Kyoya, who you still can't quite figure out.

Kyoya, who's looking at you, too.

*************

The planning part goes relatively painlessly. Olivia might be the most organized person you've ever met, with an event binder perfectly sectioned and highlighted in a rainbow of sunset tones. She has all of the forms needed—some for you to sign, others for you to pass along to your upper manager—and knows all of the right questions to ask about time, spacing, cleanup, fees.

"You're really good at this," you tell her, and you mean it. With her help, you've accomplished in five minutes what would take most people hours—weeks, even—to get done. She shrugs. "No, seriously. It's really impressive."

"Oh, this is nothing. My mom is involved in, like, a billion different charities, and I'm the oldest, so I got roped into helping out when I was, like, eight. And all of the planning for this was done already. All there really is to do is transplant all of the catering and things to the new venue. Reese was right about using this place. It's cute."

Was that…a compliment? Not to you directly, but still. "You think?"

"Yeah! Tiny, but cute."

You resist the urge to roll your eyes. She turns a page, seemingly very interested in the binder as she asks, "So, like. How do you know Reese?"

"Huh?" You were expecting her to ask you about Kyoya. But in the twenty minutes you've spent walking to the cafe, and now sitting here, she has yet to bring up his name once.

"I mean, I'm by EpPhi a lot, and I've never seen you around there. And you said you're not pledging or anything."

"Right." This is still a territorial thing, then—just after actual territory, this time, not romantic territory. "No, yeah, I just—we ran into each other at a party, and I guess they were looking to recruit people for the open-night meetings?"

Before she can answer, you hear: "Livvy!"

Both of you look up and are immediately crashed into by a couple of red-headed whirlwinds.

"Hey guys," you say, once Kaoru has released you from his iron grip. "Oh, shit, am I late?"

"What? No way. You have, like, five whole minutes before our shift even starts." Kaoru says, ruffling your hair before turning to address Olivia. "Miss Freidmonte. Never thought we'd catch you on this side of campus."

You look back and forth between them as they start chatting. Before you can ask any questions, a new voice says, "I came here expecting to see one friend, and here's four!" Brighter than the twins, even. "What are the odds?"

Tamaki, radiantly cheerful as always. When he finishes hugging Olivia and each of the twins, he sweeps you up into a bone-crushing hug of your own. "(Y/N)! Long time no see."

"Oh!" You do your best to smile as he pulls away. "Hi!"

"I hope these three aren't giving you a hard time, are they?" He playfully bats one of the twins on the shoulder. You let out a confused laugh.

"No, we just—Hikaru and Kaoru and I work here, and Olivia and I were just going over a project—what brings you here?"

"Oh, Haruhi wanted some coffee, and I thought it would be nice to come say hello! Since I'll be stealing her from you for the next week," he laughs.

"Hi." Peeking out from behind him—Haruhi. She gives you a little wave, which you return. "I'll be out of the house tonight."

"Oh, yeah," you say, your brain almost entirely blank trying to process all of your different worlds colliding at once. "Totally. No worries."

"I picked up eggs, though. And some more tea."

"Thanks. That's—"

"Haruhi," Tamaki interrupts, "have you ever met Olivia?" As the two shake hands, he claps his own together. "So many of my favorite people, all in one place! And (Y/N), you said you two were working on some kind of project, right? Sounds fun."

"Yeah," Olivia says, flipping back a few pages in her binder. "The EpPhi-Triple O joint fundraiser next Friday? We're having it here—you guys should totally come!"

"Next Friday? I might be out—heat leave."

You're shocked once again at how casually he says it. Even more than that, how casually everyone else responds. "Oh, totally," Olivia says, with a sympathetic nod.

"First heat together, huh?" Hikaru says. "That's exciting!"

You are going to be ill if you have to sit through another second of this conversation. You glance at your phone, desperate for some excuse. "Two minutes! I should start getting ready for work." You grab the stack of papers to be signed. "Liv—Olivia—thank you for…" You wave the papers. "I'll email these to you?"

She nods, only half paying attention as she continues explaining the fundraiser. Good enough. You get up to go. Haruhi gives you another muted smile as you leave, and Tamaki another blinding one.

As you walk away, you turn your attention back to your phone, scrolling, scrolling…and see another text from Kyoya. One you'd missed, last night.

Kyoya Ootori: I actually have something I want to talk to you about in person, if you're free after.

Huh.

It was sent a while after his last text to you, too. You start typing.

Y/N: Sorry I missed this. I'll be at Ground Up until 5

Y/N: Is everything ok?

You backspace that last text, but send the first. Almost immediately, three dots pop up as Kyoya starts typing out his response…

Then the three dots disappear.

You stare at your phone.

*************

It can't be anything bad he wants to talk about, right? That's what you tell yourself as you go through the motions of manning the register, checking mobile orders, rinsing shakers. If it was something urgent, he could have told you as much. But you can't imagine anything he'd need to talk to you about that couldn't be discussed over text.

Olivia's still at her table, which isn't exactly helping your nerves. Not that she's looked your way since you went to go clock in. She's still pouring over her binder, cross-checking a page with something on her laptop, occasionally marking something in highlighter or Wite-Out. More fundraiser stuff, probably. Or homework. Tamaki and Haruhi are still here, too, on the other end, sitting at a table pressed up against the windowed wall. It's probably a bit creepy, you know, the way you can't stop sneaking looks at the three of them, but it's either that or keep thinking in circles about Kyoya.

Which you're still doing.

Maybe…maybe it's the breaking heat news?

That's the only thing you can think of. Yeah, surely that's it—you've set yourself up as someone he can complain to about Tamaki and Haruhi, after all. Maybe he just wants to have a vent session. God knows you could probably use one, too.

"Hello? Earth to (Y/N)?"

"Hm?" You look over to see Hikaru putting order stickers on cups and sliding them over to his brother.

"You've been washing out that one shaker for, like, two minutes straight."

"Oh." You shake your head, grabbing a towel to dry it off. "Sorry."

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Nickel?" Kaoru immediately tries to one-up him.

"Dime?" Hikaru counters without missing a beat.

"Quarter?"

You roll your eyes. "Livvy, huh?" They both just shrug. "So you guys just know everybody, now, is what I'm gathering."

Kaoru snorts. "We don't know everybody. You just happen to know nobody, which is why it seems like we know a lot of people by comparison."

"That's true," Hikaru says. "Although, she said you're helping her with this fundraiser thing?"

"Yep."

"(Y/N)!" He slaps you on the back so hard you almost drop the cup you're holding. "Look at you, going out and socializing! Trying new things! Can you believe it, Kaoru?"

"It's not a big de—"

Kaoru places a hand over his heart and sniffs. "They grow up so fast."

"You guys—"

"I'm just so honored we get to see it happen." They both step away from you, wearing identical expressions of mischief. "Although…"

You cross your arms. "What?"

"You still won't tell us who your mystery date was on Saturday."

"Oh, my God."

"You know, I just…" Hikaru lets out a huge, exaggerated sigh. "I thought we were friends, (Y/N)."

"No." You shake your head, turning away from them both, even as an unwelcome smile plays at the corners of your mouth. "None of that."

"I thought the countless hours we spent toiling away here meant something."

"I guess not."

"Kaoru, not you, too," you groan. "Guys. Seriously. We had this conversation. You thought it was Reese Barlow, right? So, sure. It was Reese Barlow."

"Nice try," says Hikaru.

"Yeah. No way we actually fall for that."

You press your lips more tightly together. They look at each other and sigh in unison.

"Such a shame," Hikaru says, shaking his head. "I guess we'll just have to ask Haruhi."

Your head snaps up. "Sorry?"

They both nod towards the far corner of the cafe, where Haruhi and Tamaki are still seated. Or no, sorry, just Tamaki is seated.

Because Haruhi is on her feet and walking towards the counter.

[alldancersaretalented]

List of previous Studios of Project 21 Dancers

For the dancers with multiple studios, I have clarified that in brackets.

*have graduated

Above the Barre Dance Company -> P21

Bella Puskar (-> The Space)

Academy of Ballet Arts -> P21

Jadyn Dumond (->?)

Allegro Performing Arts Academy

Grace Wilson (->?)

Artistic Motion -> P21

Esme Chou (The Company -> Club -> Artistic Motion -> P21 -> WDP)

Avanti Dance -> P21

Hadley Schulz (-> Mather)

Avis Dance -> P21

Kalea Hidalgo (-> Yorba Linda -> The Space)

Capistrano Dance Academy -> P21

Richie Granese

Center Stage Dance Academy -> P21

Kelly Sweeney (-> Stopped Competing)*

Chavarria Institute of the Arts -> P21

Isabella Kouznetsova (-> WDP)

Diana Kouznetsova (-> WDP)

Club Dance Studio -> P21

Elsie Check (-> Club Dance)

Brooklyn Cooley (-> Club Dance)

Daylyn Lucky (-> Club Dance)

Kelsey Millar (-> Club Dance -> Studio of Arizona)*

Addison Moffett*

Cami Ritzler (-> Club Dance)

Dance Connection 2 -> P21

Davyd Williams*

DanceLova Dance Academy -> P21

Makeila Bartlett

Madison Ng (-> N10)

Dance Precision -> P21

Dyllan Blackburn (-> Mather)

Jordyn Blackburn*

Kaelyn Choe (-> Dance Precision)

Abbey Choi*

Gwen Choi*

Nina Choi*

Isabella Dimopolous (-> Innovative Dance Studios)

Malia Gardner (->?)

Selena Hamilton (The Dance Spot -> Dance Precision -> P21)

Brooklyn Jara (-> Dance Precision)

Brooklyn Ladia

Melia Mariano*

Sara Najm (->Chavarria Institute of the Arts)

Alexis Ramirez (->?)*

Zoe Rossi (-> Dance Connection 2?)

Ava Sinchinalchi (->OCPAA)*

Brooklyn Stafford

Kimberly Tobias (->?)*

Reggie Valdez (-> Launch Brea Space)

Lauren Wallingford*

Dellos Dance -> P21

Brooklyn Jones (Dellos -> P21 -> Dellos)

Chloe Jones (Dellos -> P21 -> Dellos)

Isabella Rivera (-> K2)

Fusion Studios -> P21

Aura Dela Cruz

Haus of Royals -> P21

Kaitlyn Ortega (->Mather)

Maddie Ortega (->Mather)

Impact Dance Center

Shane Higa (Stopped Competing)

Juliana's School of Dance -> P21

Katie Couch (-> WDP -> P21)

Kami Couch (-> WDP -> P21)

Kenzie Couch (-> WDP -> P21)

Just Plain Dancin' -> P21

Danie Riveroy (-> OCPAA)

K2 Studios -> P21

Zeke Lindsey (OCPAA -> K2 -> P21)

Leilani Lawlor

KBM Talent -> P21

Ava Woinarowicz (-> DKCBA -> P21 -> Stopped Competing)

Mather Dance Company -> P21

Taytem Bisono (Adage -> Mather -> P21 ->?)

Bella Machado (P21 -> OCPAA)

Jillian Mahan (OCPAA -> Mather -> P21 ->?)

Haley Messick*

Madelyn Nasu (OCPAA -> Mather -> P21)

McCoy Rigby Conservatory of the Arts-> P21

Regan Gerena

Move Dance Academy -> P21

Gracyn French (On Pointe Dance Studio -> Move -> P21)

Murrieta Dance Project -> P21

Jaidyn Dumond (->?)

N10 -> P21

Kira Lieberman (Pacific -> N10 -> P21)

Notion Dance -> P21

Sienna Carlston*

OCPAA -> P21

Raven Alanes (->Studio Fusion)

Olivia Armstrong

Aleena Aoun (-> WDP)*

Mackenzie Auger (-> WDP)*

Madi Beerer (Talent Factory -> OCPAA -> P21)

Lexie Cavanaugh (-> Chavarria Institute)*

CeCe Chung

Sammi Chung

Jamieson Deacy (Stopped Competing)

Kendyl Fay (-> High School Dance)

Nyla McCarthy (-> Mather)

Audrina Mossembecker (->?)

Avery Olsen (-> OCPAA)

Chloe Solinger (-> CHs Dance Company)

Haley Stoico (Stopped Competing)

Laci Stoico (-> The Space)

Sara Von Rotz

Charlotte Watters (-> RockStar)

Leighton Werner

Rylee Young (Stopped Competing)

Onstage Dance Centre -> P21

Liliana Barajas (Elite Artist Dance Company -> Ostage Dance Centre -> P21)

Pave School of the Arts -> P21

Delaney Anbarden

Elliana Anbarden

Mady Kim

Elle O'Donnell*

Avery Reyes

Pacific Dance -> P21

Kai Armitage (->?)

Jenna Koblin (Stopped Competing)

Brielle Lieberman

Brooklyn Lieberman

Katie Nguyen (->?)

Kelly Nguyen*

Loila Rhee

Dawson Walker*

Perception Dance Company -> P21

Berkeley Scifres

Brystin Scifres

Performing Arts Academy of Marin -> P21

Zuzu Duchon*

Premier Youth Dance Company

Allison Choi

Richter Dance Company -> P21

Dillon Barron

Peyton Barron (Richter -> Variant -> P21 -> The Space)

Rhythm Dance Center -> P21

Lexi Blanchard

South Coast Conservatory -> P21

Cali Cassidy (P21 -> OCSA Ballroom)

Studio 1 Dance Academy -> P21

Emma Rose Crawford (-> IAF Studios -> Southland Ballet Academy -> Amirian Ballet Academy)

Studio Fusion -> P21

Tiana Heaton (->?)

Studio X -> P21

Chloe Mirabal

Savanna Musman

Demi Ulloa

Aliya Yen

The Company -> P21

Stella Ebert

Winter Ebert (-> Company -> Mather)

Imogene Elias (-> Company)

The Dance Spot -> P21

Isabella Warfield (-> Mather)

The Difference Dance Company

JoJo Jessen (Premier Dance -> Difference -> P21)*

The Industry Dance Academy -> P21

Anya Inger (The Rage -> Art Code -> Industry Dance -> P21 -> Stopped Competing)

The Rage -> P21

Delilah Hewitt (->The Space)

The Royal Underground -> P21

Milan Furtado (Stopped Competing)

The Talent Factory -> P21

Brooke Masters (->?)

Perris Amento*

Vision Dance Company

Kaitlyn Yi (-> WDP)*

WSCA -> P21

Tatum Brady (-> Studio Fusion -> WDP)

Maya Loureiro (->OCSA focused)

Tyra Polke (->The Rock Center For Dance)

Honestly no clue:

Bella Garcia*

Brooklyn Vara (->Define Dance Space)

Faith Montoya

Haley Reeder

Isha Das*

Jacqueline David*

Janae Holster (-> Movement Studios)

Kalea Hidalgo (-> Yorba Linda -> The Space)

Katelin McDermott*

[beardedmrbean]

April 29 (UPI) -- Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf quit Monday ahead of two no-confidence votes he had little-to-no-chance of winning.

The 39-year-old Scottish Nationalist Party leader resigned four days after he collapsed a coalition with the Scottish Greens that kept his government in power in a row over carbon emissions targets.

"After spending the weekend reflecting on what is best for my party, for the government and for the country I lead, I've concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm," Yousaf said in an emotional address at Bute House, his official Edinburgh residence.

"I have therefore informed the SNP's national secretary of my intention to stand down as party leader."

The resignation of Yousaf, Scotland's first Asian-Muslim leader, triggers a contest to find a new first minister -- which as the largest party falls to the SNP -- although he will remain until post until that happens.

Party grandee Fergus Ewing immediately endorsed Kate Forbes, who came a close second to Yousaf in last year's leadership contest, saying that with the party in urgent need of a reset he had "no doubt whatsoever" she would would make the best leader for the SNP and for Scotland.

Crediting Forbes with being Scotland's most popular MSP, Ewing said the last thing the SNP needed was "another candidate that, frankly, is associated with some of the problems that have brought us down in the polls and lost us trust and confidence."

Yousaf had insisted he would not resign and would continue to govern without a majority but has been unable, or unwilling, to gain the support from rival parties he needed to do so.

His former arch-rival and potential kingmaker, Ash Regan of the pro-independence Alba Party said she was perplexed by the SNP's intransigence but pledged to work with whomever the party chose as its new leader.

"Bizarrely some forces in Humza Yousaf's own party would rather see him resign than deal with a party who really want to advance independence," said the lone MSP of former SNP First Minister Alex Salmond's breakaway party.

"However, a new SNP leader and a new first minister will not change parliamentary arithmetic. I continue to stand ready to work in the best interests of Scotland and to advance the cause of Scottish independence."

The end came after the Greens, furious at being unceremoniously kicked from a coalition Yousaf had only days previously said was "worth its weight in gold," rejected his overtures while he ruled out of hand any deal with the Alba Party.

The failure to broker a deal meant he lacked the votes to survive no-confidence votes later this week -- one in him as first minister and a second in his government -- leaving him no choice but to quit.

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie signaled earlier Monday his party would support an SNP minority government, but only if Yousaf, whom he accused of breaking trust and creating an unnecessary crisis, quit.

"The SNP remain the largest party in the Scottish Parliament, just short of a majority, and they are capable of governing a stable minority government. Greens are ready to help make that happen.

"But I don't think Humza Yousaf is in a position to be able to lead such a stable minority because it depends on trust and I don't think there is anything that he will be able to say to restore the trust he has broken."

The resignation of Yousaf, who has been in office for a little over a year after taking over from Nicola Sturgeon after she unexpectedly quit in Feb. 2023, gives the Scottish Parliament 28 days to select a new first minister.

Failure to do so within the time limit will result in parliament being dissolved and a general election being called.

[brainrotallthewaydown1312]

Ronald Regan was an actual human person that existed in history. not only that, but there are people who actually like him and his actions

JK Rowling has guaranteed eyes on any creative work she creates, regardless of quality, consistency, or public attitude as well as basically infinite funds to throw at getting people she finds icky killed. and she has the reputation of having a genuine "rags to riches, dragged to success by her bootstraps because of talent" story instead of a story of someone who licked out in publishing and marketing despite having a deeply mediocre and at times actually poorly written story. but queer or even queer friendly authors with undeniable skill in the craft of writing have to fight tooth and nail to get their work to get published and be seen. even if they already have successful careers.

the letter c still exists but thorn doesn't. c doesn't do a single thing you can't do with s or k. it's only defensible use is as part of the ch sound. and th is one of the most common sounds. we also don't have a proper character for schwa, the single most common sound which is represented across English using not only every vowel and vowel pair in different places, but occasionally pops up in places where it is spelled with a consonant

humans have weird amounts of poison immunity among animals. things that are toxic to most animals are not only fine for us but are often seen as selling points. caffeine and capsaicin are the classic examples but alcohol, menthol, chocolate, onions and related plants, yeast, and many kinds of both fungus and mold are common place in foods we eat and enjoy and are deadly to other animals. chocolate isn't just toxic to dogs and other animals because of the sugar, it has a chemical that is literally poison designed to keep animals from eating the plant. and it's fermented, which many animals can't tolerate either.

English has become one of the most globally common languages largely because of colonialism but also because of the global communication made possible by the Internet. of all the languages to be made so common it had to be English. English which is several languages from different families stacked in a trenchcoat with spelling that makes sense in none of them and is often actually designed to make less sense to pay homage to root languages that aren't spoken by most people anymore like Latin

see also the existence of colonialism

political commentators in America who have no actual seat in government or real control over laws or policy have more social power and at times international sway then entire elected leaders of some small countries

the human body is capable of spontaneously injuring itself under the correct stress. it is possible to be so tense that you tear a muscle, sprain a joint, or even get hairline compression fractures from just your own body putting itself under that amount of physical stress

I've got what I call "mad facts"-- useless trivia/factoids that make me mad every time I remember them.

Here's a few;

- Rogue the bat's name is actually Rouge and pronounced "rooj." FUCK YOU. NO IT ISN'T.

- The fact that there is a difference between "lay" and "lie." My brain can't remember them. I re-learn the difference literally every other week and just forget. IT'S LINGUISTICALLY USELESS. THEY'RE THE SAME WORD NOW I WON'T PLAY MS. ENGLISH'S BULLSHIT GAME ANYMORE.

- The Outer Worlds / The Outer Wilds. EVERY TIME I TALK ABOUT EITHER GAME THERE HAS TO BE A STUPID TANGENT WHERE I SECOND GUESS WHICH NAME IS CORRECT, AND THEN SOMEONE ASKS WHICH GAME I MEANT AND WE BOTH LOOK LIKE FUCKING IDIOTS. I DEMAND A BOXING MATCH BETWEEN THEIR LEAD DEVELOPERS. LOSER CHANGES THEIR LEGAL NAME TO "THE OUTER WOIRLDS" SO THEY NEVER FORGET WHAT THEY'VE DONE.

Got your own mad facts? SHARE THEM, COWARD.

[nicoleofwaverly]

[highoctanegem]

[user’s hand slips and she accidentally sends this enigmatic photo]

[user was initially happy, thinking it was a throwback to all those blurry selfies Regan would send. But then she remembers how Regan’s message ended and she worries again. She wonders if this means something. If someone got to Regan and this was the last thing she managed to snap. She will lose sleep over it, but then she’ll realize it’s totally chill and fine! This is just Regan being bad with technology. ]

[muppetsdaily]

ONCE IN A LIFETIME as performed by KERMIT THE FROG MUPPETS TONIGHT (1996)

[bridgetreganing]

Bridget Regan as Pamela Isley in "Batwoman" 3x08

[patchfowlr]

Negan and Rick playlist

[raizasketch]

Dottie Underwood.

[yesyaramartinez]

[tabrettbethells]

Old/new stills from “Legend of the seeker” by GEOFFREY H. SHORT