#lira: take your friends with you when you leave pls

[ulfhrafnxa]

@necromantiia liked for a starter.

    “ ---every time you come in here things start moving on their own and i have to sage the place like fifty times. i’m going to have to start charging you for the extra expense. ” she’s only joking, mostly,  the increase in supernatural activity was no coincidence, but she couldn’t blame it on his presence entirely. when one catered to all sorts of other worldly beings things were bound to get spooky sooner or later. “ so what’ll it be today, hm ? you here for a drink or to talk business ? “

[paige-writes]

Behind the Mic (chapter 2)

A voltron college!au fic between Shiro and Lira (OC)

Lira felt dead on her feet. Morning classes were always a hassle and made her and just about 98% of the school feel like zombies. Kudos to the rest who actually liked getting up at 7 am.

After walking into her creative writing class, Lira trudged up the steps to the middle section of the seats. The front was where basically everyone got picked to answer questions, and in the back you could barely hear the professor speak, so the middle was the only option in Lira’s case. After choosing a random row, Lira sat down as if a weight was strapped to her shoulders. She laid her head down in her arms in an attempt to get a few extra minutes of sleep before class started, but was soon woken up by someone tapping her shoulder.

Obviously annoyed, Lira turned her head to the side to see this perpetrator, only to bolt upright when she was faced with the same guy she bumped into yesterday. Since when was he in this class!? Okay, calm down Lira. He’s just a good looking guy you were just ogling after he made you fall. No big deal. Just….talk.

“H-Hi.” Okay, you stuttered.

“Hey,” he replied. “Did I wake you?”

“No, n-not at all! I was just resting a bit….” Lira tapped her hands on the table, thinking of what to say next. “So….what’s going on?”

“Oh, nothing. Just wanted to return these.” Lira stared at him confused until he reached into his bag and pulled out the same bag of mini Oreos that she’d dropped yesterday. “You, uh, left them behind, and I didn’t want to throw them away. I figured I’d give them to you since we’re in the same class.” He slid the package to Lira, who hesitantly took it in her hands. He….actually saved them for her. “Thank you,” she said. The guy smiled in response. “I’m Takashi Shirogane, by the way. You can call me Shiro, though.” Lira found herself smiling back. “Lira Evans. Nice to meet you.”

The opening of the classroom door signaled that the teacher was here. She began class by saying that everyone was to write a poem. “Since we have been on the topic of poetry for the past couple of weeks,” she said, “I wanted you all to try your hand at it yourselves.” There was a synced groan from the students that the professor ignored. “Your poems will be due next Friday and everyone will be presenting them.” Another groan from the class, one that Lira heavily emphasized. One thing that was worse than talking to one stranger was talking to multiple of them. She was never good at it; her throat always dried up, her hands would get clammy, and she would stutter tremendously. It was easy to avoid up until now when it was mandatory.This was going to be loads of fun.

Shiro noticed Lira’s look of distress and gave her a pat on the shoulder. “It won’t be that bad,” he assured. Lira sighed. “I hope so.”

“If you need help we could always work on these poems together.”

Lira felt her ears heat up slightly after he said that, because the one thing that romance films have taught her growing up was that working on schoolwork together meant ‘study date’, and study dates didn’t really include a whole lot of studying in those films. Lira instantly shook her head. “I-I think I can do this on my own. Thank you, though.”

The teacher gave the rest of the period to the students so that they could brainstorm their poetic ideas. Most of them sat around and did nothing while the rest got to work. Lira stared at her blank notebook, then to Shiro who was doing the same. He was twirling his pen in his hand, in complete focus. Sighing to herself for what felt like the umpteenth time that morning, Lira reached into her backpack and retrieved a leather-bound photo album and started to look through it for some sort of inspiration. Shiro noticed her movements out of the corner of his eye and switched his gaze to her, then to her album. There were various photos ranging from nature to antiques at a pawn shop and everything in between.

“You’re a photographer?” he asked, pointing to Lira’s album. Lira nodded, then explained how she was an art major in the photography field. “I do draw a little from time to time,“ she said, "but photography is what I’m mostly good at. There’s just so much to capture in one frame. Even a simple photo of a leaf could have a special meaning, although in my opinion the perfect photo is all about angling and precision. You have to hold your camera just right at a certain degree to get a perfect shot, and even after that there’s always the option of the right filter and—” Lira cut herself off when she saw Shiro staring at her, his cheek resting in one of his hands with a smile plastered on his face.

Heat quickly rose to Lira’s pale cheeks. “Oh no,” she said, making Shiro’s smile disappear into a puzzled expression, “I’m sorry, I’m rambling again. God, this always happens!”

“No, no,” Shiro replied, his smile returning. “Don’t be sorry, Lira. You’re passionate about photography, something you love. It’s cute that you like to talk about these things so openly.” Cute? Shiro thought it was cute? Well that was certainly one way to put it.

"I’m….flattered. Usually someone would tell me to stop talking by this point, but you don’t seem to mind at all.” There was a brief silence, both students not knowing how to continue this awkward conversation. It ended up finishing with just that, and the two resorted to writing their poems.

“Bonne après-midi my fellow listeners at Altea University! Welcome back to another daily segment of ‘Advice Corner’. I’m your host, A. It’s that time in the semester again where everyone crams and gathers in the library. Yes, it’s almost time for midterms. Grab your textbooks and your coffee and get studying! And if any of you need to vent or get advice, just send in a call and I’ll listen. Oh, and it looks like we have our first caller. Good afternoon fellow listener. How can I make your day feel A-Okay?”

The line was silent for a second before a male voice broke through.

“Uh, hi A. Man, these midterms are gonna kick my ass. Got any advice on how to not be too stressed?”

“Of course. It’s true that stress can’t be relieved altogether, especially with tests, however there are a few ways to clear your head in these trying times. Go outside for a breather if you feel cramped inside or are in need of a break. Listen to a calming soundtrack made for studying for concentration. Maybe take a hot shower or drink a warm beverage afterwards so that you feel more at ease. I know that when I’m stressed, I always put on my favorite fuzzy pajama pants.”

“Ah, these sound like good ideas. Thank you, A.”

“No problem, mon amie. Glad to help. Okay, next caller!”

Lira stretched in her chair, a strangled noise leaving her throat. Another successful segment, and now it’s back to classes.

As Lira left the office building, she heard her phone vibrate multiple times in her bag. Oh yeah, she’d forgot to silence it before starting the segment. Taking it out while she walked back to campus, she saw that it was yet again a text from Anita, and this time she made a group chat with Pidge included.

Art Nerd (Anita): liraaaaaaa

Pidge(on): llllliiiiiirrraaaaa

Art Nerd(Anita): answer ur phone dammit

Art Nerd (Anita): if ur asleep then wake uuuuuup

Pidge(on): pls dont be dead liraaaaaaa

Not-So-Social (Lira): Guys im fine. Just busy.

Pidge(on): OH MY GOD SHE LIVES

Art Nerd (Anita): PRAISE

Not-So-Social (Lira): Yes yes im alive, but what’s with the group chat? Usually you guys don’t make one unless….

Not-So-Social (Lira): oh no

Not-So-Social (Lira): Guys. This better not be what I think it is.

Art Nerd (Anita): sHIT! pidge shes onto us!

Pidge(on): welp. might as well come clean then. lira, the three of us are going out on Saturday. and when i say three, i mean THREE. not three and then one chickens out at the last minute.

Not-So-Social (Lira): Hey!

Art Nerd (Anita): shes not wrong tho. lira, we know u dont like interacting with other people, but at least spend time with us! we feel bad that ur holed up in ur apartment all the time and god knows we dont want u looking like casper the ghost. hell even pidge leaves her computer once in a while, even if i DO have to drag her away.

Art Nerd (Anita): and i mean it both metaphorically and physically

Not-So-Social (Lira): She goes out with you because you’re dating

Art Nerd (Anita): point taken

Pidge(on): COMING BACK TO OUR INITIAL TASK, it’d be nice to have some fun before we all have to hibernate and cram, and it’s not like we’re going to one of those sketchy frat/sor parties. we’ll go somewhere that’s nice and doesn’t leave us smelling like tequila and pot.

Not-So-Social (Lira): I’m pretty sure I don’t have a choice, but not smelling like tequila and pot sounds great in my book. Fine, send me the details when you guys can.

Art Nerd (Anita): YES

Pidge(on): we knew you’d come around. we’re irresistible >:)

Not-So-Social (Lira): I feel like I’m gonna regret this….

**chapter 3 coming soon!**

Translations

bonne après-midi (French) - good afternoon

mon amie (French) - my friend