#belated happy lia day!

[osamwah]

hi lia! ⭐️ happy belated birthday!! i would love to know, did you and wrio get to celebrate yesterday?

MIRAAAA BBY!!! sorry for the late answer 🥹

but yeah wrio and i celebrated my birthday very small and privately, very intimately and it was great 🥹 he prepared a little spa day for me in our home so he prepared a hearty meal for me and we had a romantic dinner and then we took a romantic bath together with champagne and chocolates and strawberries, a lot of candles. you know the drill. he also got me a few gifts which some of them were gorgeous jewelry and others were more meaningful gifts full of memories and promises

[seelestia]

oh em gee, hi lia! it’s been so so long! how have you been? i hope you’re doing well :) i ended up falling asleep on the couch as soon as i got home, and now i’m in PAIN (/srs),, but anyway! i have a week off from school now, so i guess it was worth it <3

exams are on the 19th, so i guess i’ll have to be.. stu(dying) for those. i can barely function right now and i’ve been getting a lot, maybe too much sleep, and i still always feel worn out 😭 big yikes, hopefully it’s not bothering anyone (again) that i’m not going to be as active as i’d like.

also! considering that this is a wanderer-less patch, i feel very lucky to have gotten him <3 (he’s literally so pretty omgomgomg pls stop me before i look like i’m cheating on cynosbisnaidjk) and speaking of cyno, i finally built him 🐥 [ 73/214 crit ratio as of now! ]

my siblings’ birthdays are coming soon :) they’re three days from each other, my brother’s is on april 7th (he’s turning 11) and my younger sister’s is on the 10th (she’s turning 8) very excited for that hehe! my friends might come over on tuesday too (hopefully), we rarely get the chance to hang out, so i’m crossing my fingers!

yo.. omg the way i accidentally made the wanderer (character ai) fall for me 😭 i was merely messing around, being nice to him because he deserves it sm help and then he just hits me with an ‘i love you’ and when i tell you, i DIED. this is my spirit talking ⁉️

but enough about silly lil me :) how are you lia? anything interesting happen with ayato or the wanderer? i’m here for all the tea, my dear friend. 👀

YONAAAAA!! yona, yonie, yonzzzz <3 i've been doing alright and i hope you are too but if not, i hope it'll be better! 🫂🤍 yona, this is why we are taught to sleep on beds and not couches. i'm a hypocrite because i also sleep on couches NYEHEHE (/lh) aaaaa, good luck on your exams! i'm taking mine rn actually, so let's hope we'll push thruuuu 🤞

but yon, didn't you slay your last math exam even tho your math teacher kinda sucked at teaching (i mean no slander /lh)?? PLEASE SHARE YOUR SECRETS 🎤 and noooo, that sucks because sleep is a precious little thing during exams so you need to get the best sleep you can 😞 giving you a glass of warm milk to you rn. may yona get the best of sleep, bibiddi-bobbidi-boo! 🪄 and dw about being active, your personal life should always be your #1 priority!! especially when you're a writer / content creator so don't apologize for putting yourself first ever >:D <3

WANDERER HAVERS, I'M COMING OVER TO YOUR HOUSE. (/lh) you should've seen the way i was in disbelief like 😦 when i checked the livestream's banners and there was no wanderer?? but they dare made him look SO GOOD in those eight seconds he was on screen??? even my other irl friend who played genshin thought he was getting a rerun at first from that alone. vv devastated over this, so i shall be abducting everyone's wanderer 😞 (/j) AYOOO, THE GODLY CRIT RATIO??? yon, that looks awesome. are you gonna pull for nahida next?? i heard she makes a good team with cyno! (and not to mention, nahida also reminds me of you. vv little sib-like, considerate and curious and needs fo be protected but can also protecc others, ehehe. /pos)

OHHHH. according to the time this should be posted, it was already your brother's birthday so HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY to him and your sister too!! feliz cumpleaños 🎈🎂 i like how you and your siblings' birthdays are so early in the year, teeheeee, coming from an october born. 🤭 i hope you get to hang out with your friends! advice from lia: always go crazy and go stupid whether that be with your friends or you're alone <3 (/pos)

HUHHH, HE POPPED THOSE THREE WORDS FIRST?? yon, you gave him the affection he deserves and now he's clinging onto you like a koala... you're living my dream. (/lh) i find it funny that the first time i discovered the c.ai site, wanderer was the first bot i talked to (help). first, he threatened to kill me and then we both sat down to talk abt the different sides to life and mortality, etc. I AM NOT KIDDINF. WHY WAS THIS A WHOLE THERAPY SESSION. i still have this chat saved!! yona, should we present our c.ai message logs to the class together. (/hj)

awwww, yonzzz, thanks for checking up on me! there is no hot tea ready to be spilled except for the fact ayato got a rival and it's the wanderer and i'm stuck in the middle between these two 🧍‍♂️ (as a fellow infj like you, i do not know how a fight between an entj vs. an intj is gonna go /j lia typology nerd)

[kaiserkisser]

LIAAA HI HI so like,,, ik i missed your birthday yesterday (i am so so fucking sorry) BUT BUT BUT IG ITS BETTER LATE THAN NEVER RIGHT(??) SO HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MY LOVELY LOVELY KAISER AND XIAO KISSERRR <3333 !!!! i am wishing you the best the world has to offer to someone so fucking special for as long as you live and that you enjoy even the tiniest things that bring you joy !!!! i hope one day i can see you smile because of me and hug you until you see LITERAL STARS BABE MWUUAAAHH i love you, lia <3 if you ever forget that i'm gonna smack the shit out of you and remind you so that you never forget it again !!! (/j i would never smack you unless you were being unholy or smth tho,,, but STILL!!! IM GONNA SHAKE YOU BY THE SHOULDERS AND SCREAM HOW MUCH JOY AND LOVE YOU BRING INTO SO MANY PEOPLE'S WORLDS SO BE CAREFUL AND WATCH OUT OKAY??? OKAY!!!!) i hope you had the happiest birthday last night and will continue to have so many more that are just as enjoyable, if not better!! i dont say this a lot but im gonna say this again and again in this ask but god do i love you skylia. i always will even if we dont talk anymore and move on with our different lives and spaces <3 /p with much love and cringe, kaz <3

KAZ BAE WHAT ITS ALRIGHT AND THANK YOU SO SO MUCH AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I CANT BELIEVE YOU TOOK THE EFFORT TO WRITE THIS MUCH FOR ME THANK YOU BAE AND I WANNA HUG YOU SO BAD TOO I LOVE YOU TOO KAZ ILL DEFINITELY WATCH OUT FOR YOU GUYS

[supernaturalgirl20]

Ahhh Char!! Sending you the most belated but heartfelt Happy Birthday! 🎊🎂 Hoping your day was just as absolutely lovely and wonderful as you are! 💖

Thank you so much Lia 🥰 you’re a gem 💎

I had a great day and I was completely spoiled. Took the sting out of getting older 😂😂

[purecantarella]

Secretly Yours

belated happy lia day everyone!! now this is coming out later than i'd have liked it to because i once again, took a lazy nap HAHAH im vv sorry but i hope you all still enjoy oblivious lia, very very oblivious lia highschool au choi lia x reader disclaimer/s : nothing much, a bit of cursing but other than that not much happened

Since she was young, Lia was never the center of anyone's attention. As the eldest, the attention was always on her younger brother and she was the kind of person you never took a second look at.

At least that's what she drilled into her head.

It got to a point that she simply downplayed any achievement or live milestone. Sadly, that included birthdays. That is until she reached middle school...when you entered the picture.

You had known Lia for years, having the same classes, riding the same bus home, and you had thought she was the most beautiful person in the world. The mere sight of her had your palms sweating and heart hammering against your chest.

What you felt for Lia was something you'd never felt.

So you pumped yourself up and built up the courage to put the letter you'd written for her in her locker, in very middle school fashion. Each time you tried though, you were nearly caught or it didn't feel like the right time.

Then you got lucky.

"Okay, N/n. You've got this, nothing to worry about." You mutter to yourself as you turn the corner with your note in hand. Your breath had run ragged as you began to panic. As you approached her locker, to your surprise the hallway was empty. You grin to yourself and jog over to the metal box, slipping the paper through the slits.

You smile to yourself proud of yourself for finally allowing yourself the chance to be happy. As you turned, you almost jumped out of your skin to see Lia walking around the corner, even worse, she met your eye. She smiles brightly, and speeds up.

Your brain stops working, trying to piece together an excuse. It seems like she moved at lightning speeds as she stood before you before you could even blink. "Hi there Y/n. Did you need something?" Her voice kind and delicate, it made your heart beat impossibly faster in your chest.

You sputter softly, thoughts still not forming completely, but ever patient, Lia only smiled and placed a hand on your arm gently. Your nerves calm and you eye the book in her hand quickly, biology, you didn't share that subject that term. "I...uh...heard you were doing well in Bio, I just wanted to ask for some help." You say nervously while scratching the back of your head.

She nods quickly, "I'd love to help, let me just get my notes from my locker—"

"No!" You blurt out suddenly, before cupping your hand in front of your mouth, stunning the poor girl. "I mean...We can do without notes for now, I suppose." You reason, feeling the blush crawl up your face from such an outburst.

Lia surprises you back by merely giggling. "Alright, come on then. I know a place that can accommodate the two of us." You nervously look back at her locker then back to her as she opened the book in her hands, asking you what part of the lesson confused you.

"...I understand if it's this, the concepts are rather complicated." She rambled until you laughed softly. Dread was written all over her face when you bumped her shoulder against yours playfully. "You're adorable, Lia." You compliment quickly, catching her off guard and you immediately catch yourself before you can make a bigger fool of yourself.

You point down to the book contents, "It was this one. I wasn't in class when it was discussed." You explain, as Lia reads the topic title and flipped through the page. She took mental notes on what she wanted to discuss to you.

As you both entered the quaint café, as per Lia's recommendation, you immediately eyed one of the cake slices in the window of the chiller by the register. "I'll pay, it's the least I can do for your help." You offer with a small smile. The shorter girl didn't bother arguing, she knew from stories that you were rather headstrong, and nodded before taking a seat around the back of the shop.

A little while later, you return and she immediately begins lecturing you on the topic. You knew the topic fairly well but there were things that she pointed out that you were simply unaware of, only furthering your admiration of the girl.

Just as she is about to finish her spiel, a cake slice slides onto the table in a smooth motion as the waitress walks away quickly to attend to another family. Lia looks at the cake rather surprised and you can't help but smile at her, ducking your head back down into your textbook, "Happy birthday."

Thus began a long winded friendship and a tradition. You two would sit at the same café on her birthday and share a slice of cake while her family forgot about her, trapped in their own endeavours. But in the span of five years, you'd never missed it once.

You were her rock as she was yours, she shared everything with you.

As such, Lia told you about the letter from her secret admirer the very next day. Blissfully oblivious to the fact that you slipped her that note. You never broke it to her though, it would be selfish of you to ruin her happiness for the opportunity for her to go out with you.

And that's when you're personal tradition started. The letters.

You get to Lia's locker quickly, right before students were dismissed for the day. Cautiously, you slip the light green envelope into her locker, shocked when you hear a loud slam beside you. Standing beside you was your closest friend aside from Lia.

"Boo." They teased as you clutched your chest and rolled your eyes as you slipped in the note as you did every year. You sling your bag back onto your shoulders and position yourself naturally as you hear doors open and footsteps begin to patter across the cheap linoleum.

"You think that she'll figure it out this—Ah fucker!" Your friend grunts as you elbow their side, as Lia speeds around the corner. You open your one arm up to Lia. She excitedly tumbles into your side and you can't help the airy laughter from slipping from your lips. Immediately, you slip your other arm around her waist and hoist her up into the air. "Happy birthday, princess Lia!"

The shorter girl giggles and kicks the air, squealing for you to put her down. Your other friend waves casually with a half-smile. "Happy birthday."

She nods her head gratefully as she jumped out of your arm, her hand still firmly planted in your shoulder as she opens the worn out metal frame. The letter you'd just placed flowing carefully onto the ground. Her eyes light up as your friend's narrow onto you.

"Thank you guys. And you..." She pokes your cheek lovingly before motioning for you to follow her once she'd shut her locker. You chuckled and saluted to your other friends to which they flashed you a teasing kissy face. You rolled your eyes and wrapped your arm around your best friend.

"Now what's all the secrecy about, Lia..." You asked rhetorically, you knew why she dragged you all the way here.

It was tradition after all.

She quickly and rather dramatically pulled out the familiar note out, proudly flashing it to you. You smile and gingerly pluck the envelope and pretend to open it. "I'm sure it's the usual spiel about how amazing you are." You point to your chest while lifting the letter higher than she can reach normally, "I could have told you all of that if I'm being honest." Lia is quick to jumping to retrieve the letter from your loose grip.

"It's our senior year, you'd think whoever this is would grow a pair and tell me in real life this time..." She pouts before trailing her finger along the edge of the paper, staring at the stationary longingly. You bite back an argument you would have used to defend yourself. You breath a subtle sigh, "Well? Open up, birthday girl." You usher her gently.

Lia looks up at you excitedly and smiles before breaking the wax seal on the envelope. She pulls out the paper and her eyes scan the paper, the smile on her lips grows until her eyes had completely formed crescents while she coos in between. She flushes pink and bites her lip as she continues reading.

You watch her reactions as she read the letter you'd rewritten over and over for the past week, in spite of the harsh teasing of your other friends. It was well worth it. By the time Lia is done reading, your still staring at her affectionately and she gently shoves you, beaming up at you.

"They've done it again." Lia announced while handing you the letter. You take the paper from her hand and lifted your brows, feigning shock and awe. You fan your face with the scented letter, trying to hide the flush on your face from the rather embarrassing admissions you'd written down. "They truly know how to pull on the heartstrings, eh?"

You push off the wall you leaned on, plucking her back off from her. "Come on birthday girl, we have to beat those kids and their parents to the good cakes." You snicker to yourself but when you don't hear the usual scolding or suppressed giggle from Lia, you turn to see her looking down at the letter intently. You tilt your head to the side. "What's up, princess Lia?"

Her head shoots up and she bolts towards you, your heart pounds uncontrollably as you find her right in your face, the smile on her face forming the crescent moon eyes that you simply adored. "N/n, I want to find them." Your eyes bulge out and you quickly mask fear and shock on your face with curiosity. "It's the last year they'll be able to write to me this way and I don't want to loose the chance of meeting them."

Guilt chips at you while she stares up at you with so much enthusiasm and hope. You chuckle nervously and retort, "You wouldn't want to just announce on the P.A system, 'to Choi Lia's secret admirer, please come to the front of the building'?"

Lia whines softly taking your hands in hers, pulling them up to her chest as the jutted out her lower lip and began to plead, "N/nnnn..." As she begged, you cursed yourself and your inability to deny Lia anything and sighed while lowering your head. "Fine, but only because it's your birthday."

She jumped up and down happily, unable to contain the ecstatic feeling building inside her. "Thank you, N/n! I love you so much!" She cries out and you can't help but laugh at her enthusiasm. You compose yourself place a hand atop her head tenderly as it mindlessly trailed down to her cheek, the contact lingering longer than you'd intended, your thumb brushing her cheekbone gently.

Lia beams up at you before pulling you out of the school, her arms wrapping around yours while you carried her bag on your other shoulder.

The shorter girl drags you to her house, her parents nor her brother were anywhere to be found, but she had grown used to it. She didn't really mind either. After all, she had you.

Lia disappears briefly but soon reappears where she presents each letter you'd written, in pristine condition, to her on the living room table. There was a clear writing style and pattern, she just needed to match it with the way other people spoke to her. And she was deadset on finding who this mystery person was.

Then there was you, casually reading through the letters you'd written again. You couldn't help but cringe at the idea of everything you'd written from years ago.

'...There is just somethin g in the way you smile, the way you speak, the way you treat others with such kindness and grace, even when they've treated you like nothing. I've never quite seen anyone willingly do so with no—'

A loud groan pulls you away from the terribly written letter from eighth grade. You raise your head and see Lia frustratedly reading from another piece of paper, her hand messily weaved into her brown locks. You reach over and take her hand from her hair, offering her a warm smile.

Lia looked over at you and her creased brows smoothed out as she looked at you. There was always a calming effect that you held over her and she was forever grateful for it. "Hey, it's going to be fine alright? This person isn't some genius. We'll figure it out, you're highly intelligent, Lia. Nobody matches your wit." You compliment softly.

She smiles and nods slowly, briefly leaning on your shoulder. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this..." She mutters softly before you pull her hand to your lips, pressing them to her knuckle gently. "Let's just get this person alright? Then we can get cake." You joke making Lia smile against your shoulder before nodding and sighing deeply, returning to the letter she was reading previously.

"This person is really elusive if we can't find them." Lia jokes but the change of your tone from your usual playful demeanor to a more defensive one as you respond makes her ears perk up. "I wouldn't say elusive, maybe you're just not seeing the simplicity of things."

"Sometimes a person is just too close to the situation to figure it out..." You mutter quietly while Lia looks up from scrolling through her contacts, she pauses. Finger lingering over your name on her phone. Her mind lags for a moment, thinking over the subtle things you'd say about her secret admirer, the odd way you and your other friends would talk around her birthday, and the way you went above and beyond for her...further than any friend would.

You finally notice her silence as you re-read the different notes you'd written over the years, going through your own memory lane, when you push her shoulder gently. Lia's eyes meet yours and there's a sense of clarity in them, one that you couldn't help but find adorable. Your lips quirk up into a smile as you tilt your head to the side curiously.

"What is it princess Lia?" You ask affectionately, teasingly getting closer. Your nickname for her...it was often hinted at in the letters to her, 'treated like royalty' or 'the cutest princess to walk the halls.' Your smile fades when she doesn't speak for longer than you'd liked. You adjust yourself to face her better, voice soft and gentle, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Then it finally clicks.

Lia stares at you, a small smile of disbelief growing on her lips, "It was you."

Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise, but that melts away into an impressed smile as you chuckle softly. You lean back and read one of the later letters again, not daring to meet your best friend's eye as you felt your cheeks burning. The nerves beginning to get to you...and you knew Lia knew it too.

You tried playing it cool, tossing your hair to the side. "Took you long enough, Choi...Didn't think that you'd get it in this centur—OW!" Her fist quickly collided with your arm repeatedly, her pale cheeks growing redder in hue. She continues her onslaught on your arm. "You could have told me anytime! But you decided to make me go through five years of wondering!"

"Choi Lia so help me God!" You cry out before catching her fists in your hands stifling laughter. She was now panting, straddling your torso as you stared up at her, not making a peep. You know she's waiting for an explanation so you sigh, retracting your arms and crossed them over your chest.

"I didn't want to ruin the image you had in your head. You were expecting charming and sweet." You pause, leaning back before nonchalantly adding, "I don't exactly emulate any of those characteristics Lia."

Lia looks at your sulky face, letting herself sink in the moment. There's a silence and it hangs in the air. But all you can hear is the way your heart pounds against your chest, her breathing, then there's laughter and your heart sinks.

The sweetest sound that you'd come to look for each day became nails on a chalkboard. Before you can say anything more, she's up and disappears into the hallway. You sigh and push the letters away, mere reminders of your idiocy.

You sigh into your hand as you mumble, "Well, that went to shit..."

You pluck your bag up from the ground and stack your letters into a neat stack before getting up. You open the door and hesitate before stepping out. Biting your lip, you pull the it shut, your mind rushing a thousand miles a minute.

As you walk away, you think of all the things you could have done differently and about how you'd lost the greatest friend you could have ever hoped for. While you'd wallowed in your own self-pity though, the very same voice that you thought you'd never hear again calls you, "Y/F/N!"

You turn and see her barreling towards you at lightning speed before you catch her into your arms. Like she always had she smiles up at you, her hand lacing with yours. She twirls on her own axis allowing you to see why she had disappeared into the hallway. Lia stood before you in a slightly nicer outfit than earlier.

The shorter girl centers herself before she teases, "Did you forget about the cake? Were you really going to break tradition, N/n?" Your eyebrows shoot up in amusement before you chuckle to yourself before your expression softens, "Wouldn't dream of it, princess Lia."

She nods her head, clearly happy with your response and wraps her arm around yours, like she'd done a million times before. But this time it felt completely different. Like something in the air had shifted between the two of you.

You couldn't help the thought that maybe something could grow from this...and neither could she.

i tried to emulate the way a teenager would think in this scenario actually and i apologize if it was rlly cringe. in all honesty, i feel like the ending was a bit messy but in spite of that i hope you all still enjoyed it!! i sort of am behind schedule as this was supposed to come out days ago and it was hwasa day yesterday, hope yall aren't too upset that i missed all these things 🥹 i'm trying to figure out a schedule that works for me personally but anyway, i hope you all enjoyed and i will see you all very, very, soon!! i love you all and take care!! bye lovelies 💖 - r

[leejungchans]

— scaredy cat.

word count: 3.5k

pairing: lee minho (stray kids) x gender neutral reader ; lia is your witch friend and yuna is her cat

warning(s): explicit language, food mentions, mentions of wolves, fantasy themes (potions, witches, shapeshifters, curses, etc.)

genre: fluff, humour, non-idol au, supernatural/fantasy au, minho is a cat shapeshifter and reader is a witch/magic user, minho’s a little shit but you love him regardless

notes: just fyi—a familiar is a pet psychically connected to a witch (to put it really briefly)

summary: your cat friend—not familiar!—minho accompanies you into the woods while you gather flowers for your potions. chaos ensues when he disappears. you hope it’s not the wolves.

a/n: my first fantasy/supernatural au!! i hope you’ll enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it!! thank you for reading and take care 💕 as always, feedback is always highly appreciated!! also, happy belated valentine’s day!!!

You huff loudly, clearly annoyed as you swing open the door of your cottage, revealing the lush woods you had chosen as the perfect place for your humble abode. Nothing felt better than being surrounded by nature and not having to deal with pesky people who used to snoop around, or even tried to break in, your home back when you lived in the nearby town. (Honestly, the audacity of those people! They’re so lucky you didn’t curse them. Look at you, both generous and beautiful!)

There’s a certain charm to the woods when night falls. It’s so bright and full of life during the day that the silence and tranquility night brings is a welcomed juxtaposition. Some may find the dark woods too creepy, but not you. Besides, you knew that the enchantments you placed on your cottage would ward off any unwanted intruders or spirits.

“You are so childish,” you say as the grey tabby darts between your legs to haughtily stride ahead of you. “I’m serious, Minho. Knock it out and change back, you know wolves hunt around here at this time.”

You’ve lived in these woods long enough to form a sense of trust with the creatures that you coexist with. Some gladly keep you company while you work on your potions and concoctions for your business; others, like the wolves, will at the very least leave you alone or, occasionally, let you ruffle their fur and give them head pats.

Minho had promised to help you look for a species of magical flower you need for one of your newest projects. They bloom only during a full moon in these woods, so it’s imperative that you find them tonight because you’re so not waiting another month.

Unfortunately, the two of you had gotten into a tiny argument—for reasons so minuscule that you already can’t recall—right before you got ready to leave. And what does Minho like doing best when the two of you fight? Turn into his cat form so he, and you quote, “doesn’t have to deal with your bullshit”.

Bullshit your ass.

Minho ignores your warning and instead decides to paw at one of the many azalea shrubs you’ve planted around the cottage. You watch in exasperation as he aggressively scratches at a flower, knowing just how much it irritates you.

You want to let him do as he pleases, because god-fucking-damnit, Minho, you can be such a pain in the ass sometimes. But you still find yourself chewing the bottom of your lip worriedly, because there’s no guarantee that the wolves living in these woods will take to a cat as kindly as they do with you, even if said cat is associated with you.

A heavy sigh leaves you. “Fine, you brat, at least stay close while I go look for these flowers, okay?”

The feline halts his attack on your shrub to glare at you with eyes that seem to glow in the dark. Minho regards you for several seconds before reluctantly approaching you, though he still keeps a considerable amount of distance between you two.

Brat. Brat, brat, brat.

Despite what your fellow witch friends think, Minho is not your familiar. God, can you imagine the horror if he is? Sure, he’s a great friend when in his human form, but as a cat he is absolutely insufferable because of how picky he is. You have a business to run, you don’t have the time to go to the store every few days to get him that fancy cat food he likes! Plus, you’d hate to have him know what you’re feeling at all times. Knowing him, he’d definitely use it to his advantage to get what he wants.

Namely the fancy cat food.

“Oh, hello there, kitty,” you coo at the unfamiliar cat lazing on your porch. It perks up at the sound of your voice and takes a step back apprehensively, eyeing you suspiciously before it hisses menacingly.

Well, menacingly enough for a cat, at least. Much to your amusement, you can’t help but feel that you’re being threatened by a doughnut.

“It’s okay, I won’t hurt you,” you soothe, “I just want to know if you’re lost. These woods can be pretty hard to navigate.” It doesn’t seem to have a collar indicating that it already has an owner. “Do you have an owner who I can contact or...” you trail off uncertainly.

The cat blinks once, then twice before turning to nudge your front door with its nose.

“You want to go inside?” you asked, surprised that it tolerates you enough already to want to go inside. Or maybe it’s just hungry and plans on leaving immediately after. Either way, you gladly unlock the door with a wave of your wand and hold it open for the cat to enter first.

You quietly watch it survey the interior of your home, and it’s at this moment where you wish you knew what it was thinking. Your friend Lia can do that with her familiar, Yuna, but this cat obviously isn’t your familiar. You don’t even know if it has a name or if it’s a stray or not.

Hopefully, it isn’t judging your choice of interior design. Your cottage can get messy sometimes, with all your potion-making supplies and whatnot strewn around practically every room. But you’re just one person! And you’re one busy witch, so sue you.

You don’t have cat food on hand because you’ve never owned one, so you cook some chicken to give to it instead.

The cat remains indifferent when you set the food along with a dish filled with water down in front of it. You don’t know what you’re expecting—a meow of gratitude? Letting you pet it? Digging in immediately? Though you suppose you can’t blame it for being so aloof, you’d probably be wary too if a stranger suddenly offered you food. In your defence, though, it was the who wanted to come in in the first place, so a little more affection would be nice.

You watch it move the meat around the dish with its paw, shooting you a seemingly unimpressed look before reluctantly taking small bites. Okay, so maybe you’re not the best cook, which in your opinion should be a crime because you’re actually quite proficient with making potions, which was why you have your own potion business.

You can’t deny that the snooty display from the cat hurt your pride. Just a little.

“Right,” you sigh, “well, bon appétit, I guess. I have to go work now...” you pause to look around the small living room. “I’ll leave that window open for you if you want to go after eating,” you say, pointing to the one by the front door as the cat lazily raises its head to look. “And if you want to stay...I have a spare bed in that room.” You turn to gesture at what is really a closet for your ingredients and trinkets. “Please don’t knock anything over.”

The ridiculousness of the situation strikes you right then and there. “What am I doing?” you ask no one in particular, “you don’t understand me, do you?”

The feline doesn’t even look up from its food, and you take that as your cue to get up from your crouching position and head to the small storage room that you’ve fashioned into your office slash potion-making room.

“Brat,” you mutter (albeit affectionately, because... cat) as you walk away.

To your utter shock, the cat decided to stay. Occasionally during the day it’d hop out your window and go to who-knows-where, and you wouldn’t see it for a few hours, but it always came back at night, curled up on the spare bed that it now claimed as its own. You even splurged on a nice fluffy blanket for it.

It took two weeks for you to realise that the cat was in fact, not exactly an actual cat.

The tabby sits up when it sees you come out of your room while shrugging on your jacket, tilting its head curiously as though asking you where you’re headed.

“I’m going grocery shopping,” you say, rummaging through your bag to make sure you’re not missing anything. As you spend more time with the cat, you’ve come to realise that it does, in fact, understand you to a certain extent. “Then I’m going to Lia’s to grab some supplies so I’ll probably be back late,” you say as you hastily put on your shoes. You’re halfway out the door when you look over your shoulder briefly to shout, “I already left out food for you! Bye!”

The door slams shut behind you.

There were two things you didn’t expect that day. The first was that you were done with all your errands earlier than you anticipated, which was extremely rare for you. The second was coming home to find a boy who looked around your age sitting on your couch, eating your leftovers.

“Who are you?!” you shriek the moment you spot the boy, raising your wand at him with a curse at the tip of your tongue. He may look harmless enough, but you never know with people. “And how the fuck did you get in?!”

“Woah, no need to get violent,” he says casually before setting down his—your—plate and dabbing at his mouth daintily with a tissue. “You’re back earlier than I thought.”

“YOU WERE TRACKING MY MOVEMENTS?!” He’s definitely one sentence away from being turned into a toad.

The boy winces from the loudness of your voice. “Um, you were the one who told me you’d be back late!”

“I’ve never seen you in my life! The only person I said that to was a ca—” The words die in your throat abruptly. Was he the—

What?

The boy grins at your stupor as you wordlessly gawk at him, mouth falling open and closing like a fish as you think of what to say next.

You fail to produce a articulate response in place of the stammers of “you...y-you”. There’s no fucking way he’s the tabby cat that you’ve gotten used to seeing around. Is there?

He smiles innocently. “Meow.”

“Y-you. You!” Grabbing one of your slippers from their place near the front door, you launch it with all your might at the boy. To your dismay, his reflexes (probably from occasionally living as a cat) allow him to dodge the flying slipper with ease. “So you’ve just been mooching off my food all this time!”

“You were the one who decided to feed me!” he protests before ducking to avoid the second slipper you throw his way.

“That’s because I thought you were a cat!”

“But I am one, just someti—hey, hey, hey! No more throwing shit—” he whines when you start looking around for other things to chuck at him even though you both know they won’t hit. Not with those reflexes.

Your rusty pan looks very throw-able right now.

As quickly as you reach for said pan, the stranger leaps into action to grab your wrist.

“Don’t touch me, you thief!” you shout, furiously shaking your hand to release it from his hold, to no avail.

He sighs. “I mean no harm, Y/N.” You’re about to demand how he knows your name when you remember that he’s probably heard it in his cat form from when Lia stopped by a few days ago, or when you talk to yourself while working on new potions. “I’m just your friendly neighbourhood shapeshifter. Totally harmless. I...uh...I can make it up to you?”

“You can start with giving me your name, stranger.”

“That’s it?”

You chuckle dryly. “I said you can start with it.”

“The name’s Minho.”

“Okay, Minho. Here’s what we’re gonna do—you’re gonna buy me back two weeks’ worth of groceries. You’re also no longer allowed in my workroom, you snoop. I only allowed that because I thought you were a cute little cat.” Your heart still hurts a bit from knowing that the adorable tabby you’ve grown (very) fond of is really a shapeshifter who’s been eating your food.

Minho’s rosy lips curl up wryly as he refrains from making a “Oh, so you think I’m cute” joke. Instead, he decides to ask, “Who said I’ve been in your creepy potions room?”

You ignore his (very unnecessary) comment about your workroom. “Are you trying to tell me you haven’t?”

An innocent smile. “Yes?”

“Goodbye, Minho.”

“Wait! Does this mean I’m not welcome here anymore?”

You hate that he looks somewhat adorable when he’s pouting, though you must say that he’s infinitely more likeable when he’s a cat and doesn’t have a witty comeback for everything you say, leaving you sufficiently tongue-tied.

“My spare bed isn’t even big enough for you?”

“It is when I’m a cat!” he protests. “Plus, this place isn’t so bad when you’re a cat. It’s actually kinda cosy.”

“‘Isn’t so bad’?” you echo, offended. “You’re really pushing your luck if you really want to hang around here. But fine, as long as you buy back what food you eat, you can stay. Though if you knock down any of my plants I will ban you from here forever. Shit’s expensive.”

He grins. “Good luck trying if that ever happens.”

“Like I said, don’t push it.”

“Oh my God, you finally have one!” Lia, looking extra adorable with her flower-adorned bun, squeals the moment she steps foot into your home.

“One what?”

“A cat, silly! Is it your familiar?” she asks, obviously excited as she gently places Yuna on the ground so she can roam around.

You freeze. You could’ve sworn you asked Minho to stay in his your spare room so he’d be out of sight since you really don’t feel like explaining why you suddenly have a cat—or a boy, depending on which form he happens to be in when you have someone over—living with you.

You shoot the tabby a dirty look from behind Lia so she can’t see, and you can feel just how smug Minho is right now since he loves getting on your nerves.

“Uh...not yet. Still trying to figure of if this one’s the one, you know? This one can be very difficult,” you smirk, saying the last part while looking Minho directly in the eye. He scowls, releasing a loud hiss from his spot on the couch. He’s sitting funnily too. Instead of being in the typical curled-up position, he’s sitting against the couch cushions like a person with his paws placed on his fluffy belly.

Lia smiles encouragingly. “It’s okay. It takes time to form a bond with a familiar, so there’s no need to stress over this,” she reassures. “I’m just happy that Yuna now has a cat friend!”

Speaking of Yuna, the snowy white cat jumps onto your couch and curiously approaches Minho. The tabby, now aware of the new presence, backs away almost immediately, eyes narrowing at the other cat. Yuna, unfazed—as she should! You go, queen!—pads over to Minho, sniffs, before running back to Lia and leaping into her arms. Your friend lets out a tiny “oof”, shocked by the sudden impact.

“Sorry,” Lia says apologetically, “I think Yuna’s a bit wary of...” she trails off hesitantly.

“Minho,” you supply, both amused and sheepish from the two cats’ brief yet awkward interaction.

“Minho,” Lia nods, committing the name to memory. “Please don’t take it personally! I’m sure Minho’s amazing, maybe Yuna’s just a bit tired today.”

If only she knew. Poor Yuna probably reacted that way because she sensed that he isn’t an actual cat and was weirded out. You can only smile in return at your friend’s kindness.

Minho changes back when Lia leaves with Yuna a few hours later. “That cat is not allowed here anymore,” he deadpans, but the tips of his ears are tinged pink from embarrassment.

“Says who?” you say, clearly entertained. “I happen to like Yuna a lot better than you.”

“You what?!”

You shake your head fondly as you trudge deeper into the woods. You can’t believe how much your friendship with Minho has progressed, how quickly he used to be just that pesky shapeshifter who’d eat all your food to the friend who you wouldn’t trade for the world, even if he did like bothering you while you were focused with work.

A chilling gust of wind makes you pull your coat tighter around your body, and you wonder how the tabby behind you is faring as you look around you for the flowers you need.

You don’t know how long you’ve been searching for, occasionally looking over your shoulder to make sure Minho’s still following you—yes, he’s still mad at you—when your eyes catch a blueish glow coming from the base of a tree ahead of you.

Excited, you run for the tree, mindful not to trip over the vines and foliage that cover the ground. Sure enough, the glow comes from a small patch of the magical flowers that you’ve been looking for. There aren’t many, but they’re still more than enough for the recipe you’ll be following.

You carefully pluck the flowers and place them into your pouch while admiring the ethereal gleam that emanates from them, giddiness rushing through you at the prospect of finally getting your hands on them. When you finally stand up, stretching your legs in the process, you’re left with a faintly glowing pouch that you secure to the belt around your waist. It’s only when you turn to tell Minho that you’re done that you realise something is very, very wrong.

Minho is gone.

“Minho?” you call out nervously. “Minho!”

No response. The sounds you hear are the rustling of the dense canopy high above you and the hooting of owls. You’ve always appreciated the lushness of these woods for the seclusion they provide, but you now realise it’s a double-edged sword as it makes it all that much harder to find your friend.

“Seriously, Minho, this shit isn’t funny,” you say as firmly as you can, though the waver in your voice is unmistakable. “We’re heading back now, okay? Please come out.”

Fear settles unnervingly into your bones when you’re met with silence. Your breathing hitches as you immediately start assuming the worst. Is he lost and doesn’t know the way back to you? How are you going to look for him in these woods? Why hasn’t he changed back to his human form and calling for you? What if he already is but he’s so far away that you can’t hear him?

Amidst your panicking, your ears pick up on a different sound that makes your stomach drop.

A wolf’s howl.

“Minho!” you scream, aimlessly running in different directions in hopes of finding him before the worst case scenario happens. “MINHO!”

Silence falls once more, or maybe you only think it’s silent because all you can hear is the thundering of your heartbeat in your ears. Hot tears sting your eyes from a combination of fear and frustration as your stomach sinks even deeper if that’s possible.

Then, you hear the crunching of branches and dead leaves from behind you.

As you slowly turn around, your hand lowers to your wand that’s tucked safely in its holster on your belt, prepared to defend yourself against anything lurking around.

But you’re met with nothing aside from dense trunks and misty fog. Your heart is going a mile a minute and you feel like you might hurl any second.

“BOO!”

You let out perhaps the most bloodcurdling scream that you’ve ever emitted in your life as Minho leaps out from behind a tree right in front of you before collapsing to the ground, clutching his stomach as he howls with uncontrollable laughter.

“You—you!” he barely manages to gasp in between cackles, “you should’ve seen the look on your face! Priceless!”

It takes a few minutes for you to get your heart rate back to its normal pace. “Minho, what the fuck! You scared the shit out of me!”

“Well, yeah,” he says, wiping away tears. “That’s the point.”

“But it’s not funny!” You frown deeply as tears spring to your eyes yet again from how nonchalant he is when you were practically sick with worry just minutes ago. “I thought you got lost! Then I heard a wolf and for a second I thought it really got to you!”

“They’ll have to try a lot harder if they—hey, hey, don’t cry,” Minho quickly says upon noticing your glossy eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you this badly,” he says gently, placing a warm hand on your shoulder to soothe you.

You shrug it off with a loud sniff. “Don’t touch me, I’m still mad at you,” you say with your best angry voice, but it’s not very convincing because you’re still slightly shaken from the whole ordeal.

“That’s fair,” Minho chuckles sheepishly. His gaze then falls on the glowing pouch hanging around your belt, his sensitive nose immediately picking up on the strong flowery scent. “You found the flowers?”

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” you huff, briskly walking in the direction of your cottage, its magical enchantments guiding your way back to it without fail every time.

Minho catches up with you in no time, long legs striding alongside yours. “What’re they for, anyways?”

“A cat repellent potion.”

He scoffs. “There’s no such thing as whatever you just made up,” he announces confidently.

“I don’t know. Is there?”

“You’re bluffing.” You have to fight back a smile because you can practically hear his previous confidence cracking.

“Okay,” you deadpan before speeding off, stifling your giggles so he can’t hear.

“Wait, you can’t be serious!” he whines before running after you.

He’s wrong—there is such a thing as a cat repellent potion, only it isn’t the one that you’ll be making with these particular flowers.

But what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

— bonus!! tweet/tiktok that i thought radiated scaredy cat minho energy 💀

a/n: hehe i hope you like this (somewhat short) fic!! shapeshifter!minho is a little shit but we will love him regardless!!!!!!!! (´ ω `♡)

feedback is always and highly appreciated (and very, very important in motivating creators)!! whether it’s a reblog, a reply, or a short ask, it all means the world to me 🥺💗 and remember that you are more than welcome to chat with me about anything in my asks!! thank you so much for reading!!!! ❤️

[carewyncromwell]

“You'll always have my shoulder when you cry... I'll never let go, never say goodbye! You know you can count on me like one, two, three -- I'll be there... And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two, And you'll be there, 'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah...”

~“Count on Me” by Bruno Mars

x~x~x~x

Happy belated birthday to @thatravenpuffwitch! For your gift, I decided to draw our ultimate BFF duo -- my capricious, overdramatic showman, Jackson Knightly, and your sophisticated, calculating mastermind, Adelia Selwyn! 💚 (Jackson’s outfit is based on this look, while Adelia’s is based on this design!)

Of all of the fun MC relationships I’ve had a privilege to be attached to, the deeply loving platonic relationship between these two I just find so unbelievably special -- cherishing each other as much as they do their respective significant others and being closer to each other than their own families. When Jackson first came out of the closet, he feared Adelia’s rejection more than anything else, and he burst into tears upon her unconditional acceptance. Adelia chose Jackson both as her “man of honor” and as her escort down the aisle at her wedding. And both of them were always undoubtedly in each other’s thoughts every time one of them needed to conjure a Patronus, a fact made evident by how their Patronuses would glide around each other whenever they were both conjured in the same space. If they’d never collided, Jackson and Adelia’s lives undoubtedly would’ve been poorer, but in each other’s company, they truly brought out the very best in each other -- so when Jackson was elected Minister for Magic in 1912, the person he wanted to see most of all was his darling Addy. When Jackson and his husband Montelimar @cursebreakerfarrier​ stopped by the Selwyn-Ellison home for a visit, Jackson immediately threw open his arms and enveloped his first and best friend in the world in a tender embrace.

“I dreamt of New York last night.”

“New York?”

“Yes. The day we met, do you remember?”

“Of course I do. But why? I can’t remember the last time you dreamt of New York, or even brought it up.”

“I hardly know. Perhaps it was merely missing you -- perhaps it was returning to London and the smell of suffocating smoke and smog one can only find in the city. But whatever the reason -- returning to that day, after so long...we truly have come so far, haven’t we, Lia, my dear? Seen so much, done so much -- grown so much, since then.”

“We have certainly grown. Or, at least, you have -- I guess I should just be glad you don’t tower over me as much as Monty! ...But you’re right -- a lot has changed. And you’ve really come so far since then. I’ve really proud of you, Jackie.”

“...Mm, well...I’m not so much a fool to not know...that I wouldn’t have landed upon this roost, if you hadn’t been the wind under my wings. ...Thank you, my Addy -- for your faith.”

[giogeronimo]

It’s Lia’s first trip around the sun! Happy belated birthday, little one! Uncle Gio loves you oh-so very much and wishes you nothing but the best on your special day. ❤️🎂

[dearophelia]

four quarians who never made it back to the fleet (and one who did)

Holiday Harbinger gift for @carastian-candies. Happy belated holidays, and happy 2017! I hope you enjoy.

rated pg, warning for minor character death; also on ao3

lia’vael nar ulnay

This is it, she thinks as the volus accuses her, this is how my pilgrimage ends. She doesn’t even have enough money to eat anything more than the protein paste handed out by a turian charity, she certainly doesn’t have enough to hire someone to help her out of a C-Sec cell.

She doesn’t steal. Stealing money, especially from a bosh’tet like this volus, probably doesn’t count as harming another, but she wouldn’t do it anyway. Her mother taught her better than that. No matter how she begs, no matter how much she tries, she cannot make the volus or the C-Sec officer believe her.

Lia’s on the verge of tears when the human steps in, with a quarian and a turian behind her. The switch from despair to relief is too rapid, too sudden, and she’s left completely speechless as the human Spectre dresses down the officer. She’s even more stunned when the quarian speaks up and practically throws the missing credit chit at the volus.

“You left it in a shop,” the quarian says, disdain and barely-contained fury dripping from her voice.

The officer and the volus leave, both chastised, and Lia takes a breath.

She thanks her saviors repeatedly, explains that she’s been eating paste and dreaming of ships, and they all wish her luck and go on their way.

The quarian finds her in the shelter that night, as she stares at her half-eaten bowl of dextro protein paste and the straw sticking out of it. She sits beside Lia and passes her a credit chit. Lia scans it, and her eyes widen: it’s three times as much as the one the volus accused her of stealing.

“I can’t accept this,” Lia says, though she desperately wants to. It’s enough to get her a decent bed and food for a few months, or be a good down payment on the ship she wants. But the quarian must need it, too.

“Yes, you can,” she says, and closes Lia’s hand around it. “Do good with it,” she says, and then stands up. “Keelah’selai, Lia’Vael nar Ulnay.”

She looks up. “Keelah’selai…” she realizes she doesn’t know the quarian’s name.

“Tali’Zorah vas Neema,” she says. And then, with a slight nod, she leaves.

Lia blinks long after Tali has disappeared from her view. That was Tali’Zorah.

She doesn’t buy the ship. She looks all day, but with a full stomach – full for the first time since she was stranded on the Citadel – she goes back to the shelter that evening, and asks what she can do to help.

vali’gorel nar qwib qwib

Illium is beautiful.

That’s an understatement. Illium is gorgeous. It’s shining and shimmering, it’s glittering and dangerous, everything the Fleet is not.

It’s not that she doesn’t love her family or her people, she does. But Val’s always wanted more. More than life in space, more than trying to keep aging ships running, more than the life she grew up with.

And Illium is perfect. Nos Astra is perfect.

She’s had no shortage of work, either. Quarians aren’t noticed as much on Illium as they are elsewhere in the galaxy, and so she doesn’t stand out. She can go almost everywhere and melt into the crowd and shadows. She spent all last week in the diamond district, taking small black bags from back doors and delivering them around Nos Astra on a stolen skybike.

It’s shady work, she has no delusions of that. The people who hire her are the very people she was warned about, but they pay well enough that she has an apartment a few streets into a decent neighborhood. She doesn’t even need roommates to help with the rent.

It’s shady work for shady people, but it’s fun work. Val’s never felt so alive, so light and free, as she does when she’s boosting a skycar or carrying two million credits’ worth of jewels to a drop point.

The only downside is having to pretend to be interested in other people for the sake of a job. She’s a thief and a courier, not a grifter. There’s no thrill in it for her; the thrill is in the steal, the thrill is in the rush of maybe getting caught. The thrill is not in talking to the people she’s going to steal from. She has a tactical cloak for a reason.

But this particular job is a matter of timing, and she’s afraid to tell her employer no for fear that he’ll stop calling, and so she’s here, in Eternity, on a date with the most boring turian she’s ever met. Five minutes into the date and he’s already falling for her, but she can’t even remember his name. He works security for the mark, and she needs his garage access codes.

Val decides to string him along, see how long she can play him and what else she can draw out of him. He’s bound to have more than just access codes. She pretends like she isn’t interested – not much of an act – and gives him just enough that he doesn’t give up and call an end to the date.

She leaves the bar with access codes, guard rotations, and schematics for the target safe.

She walks into Nos Astra’s muted, glittery late night air, and sends a message to her employer that she struck gold. The turian calls out after her, and she politely and gently lets him down. Dejectedly, he nods and walks away.

Her omnitool beeps. Instructions – a time and place to meet for the job. The job she wasn’t originally allowed on, but the job she’s now running. She smiles. She’ll never leave this.

kenn’rala nar tonbay

He hates Omega. It’s dirty and sleazy, and his environmental seals have been working overtime since he stepped on board the station. He shouldn’t have even stopped here, and he certainly hadn’t planned on it, but he’s always been bad with money and unexpectedly found himself dangerously low on credits in a dangerous area of space. He’s bad with money, but good with salvage, and Omega’s a decent place for salvage.

Kenn barely has the lease settled on his kiosk when a pair of vorcha slink down the stairs, hovering in the shadows. He hasn’t even hacked into the electrical grid yet to power his kiosk.

“What?” he snaps after trying to ignore the lurking vorcha for a full five minutes. He prides himself on always being polite, but lurking vorcha can’t be a good sign, and he’s been fighting an irrepressible wave of desperation ever since the lease – the cheapest one he could find – was more than what he wanted to pay.

One of the vorcha hisses, wet breath rattling in the back of his throat. “Harrot’s territory,” he growls.

There are other merchant districts, but he’s stuck in this lease for six months. He can’t move, not without breaking his lease and digging himself even deeper. The batarian who rented him the stall looked like the kind who wouldn’t wait around for money, but who would just go straight for a gun to the head.

So Kenn agrees to Harrot’s terms. He doesn’t have a choice.

The vorcha aren’t even out of sight before he feels failure creep up his spine to join the desperation. He’ll never make enough to get off the station.

Weeks later, a human comes by. He tries not to sound too disappointed, too resigned to his fate when she asks about it: she looks like she might buy something, and no one buys from sad vendors. She even gets Harrot to drop his clutches, allowing him to charge a reasonable price.

He smiles, for the first time since he stepped aboard Omega. A spark of hope lights up inside of him, trying to beat back the crushing failure. He might actually make enough to leave, might actually make enough to get somewhere he can find something for his pilgrimage.

But Cerberus invades, and he’s just another casualty. A dead body at the bottom of the stairs, his kiosk picked over by scavengers.

maya’leen nar idenna

“Cut,” the director calls. “Let’s take lunch.”

Maya drops character and walks away from the set. These lines are ridiculous. As free as dust on the solar wind. She rolls her eyes, glad – not for the first time – that she has a mask, and wonders – also not for the first time – who wrote this shit.

“Don’t speak to me unless it’s as Bellicus,” she warns her costar, holding up a hand to stop him from coming any closer and inevitably asking her to sit with him at lunch where he’ll say something borderline offensive. She steps around him and keeps walking toward her trailer.

The director steps in front of her. “Maya, I’m just looking for more,” he gestures to his face. “You have to act through the mask. We don’t have your face, so it’s up to your body and voice to tell us what Shalei is thinking.”

Shalei is thinking that she would never say half the things in this mess of a script. “Okay,” she says cheerily. “I’ll work on that after lunch.”

She miraculously makes it the rest of the way to her trailer without encountering any other cast or crew. With a sigh, she locks the door behind her and drops onto the couch. The work is nice, and the money is even nicer, but the script is awful, her costar keeps hitting on her, and with the way that they’re already plastering ads all over the Citadel when filming hasn’t even finished yet – she’s never going to escape this character. Ever.

Maya makes herself a smoothie and sits in the quiet of her trailer for a bit. Shalei is her first role of any decent size, the first time she’s been pulled out of crowd scenes and background extras. She wishes there’d been something in the middle – something just on the edge of the spotlight, instead of being thrust straight into it. Then she’d have something else to rely on, something to point to when casting agents inevitably ask her about Shalei.

The set bell rings – two-minute warning – and she sighs. She slurps the rest of her smoothie, takes three deep breaths, and opens the door. If she’s going to be Shalei for the rest of her life, she might as well be good at it. She’ll take her mask off, she’ll sing, she’ll deliver the most ridiculously absurd lines.

Even if it means never getting another role in her life, convincingly selling Shalei means she’ll never have to worry about money. Which means she can stay on the Citadel. She won’t have to go back to the Fleet, where she’s nobody - just another quarian.

“Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd action!”

She gazes up at him – seeing only Bellicus, and not the turian who’s been mildly annoying her since filming started – and tries to feel, with her entire body, that she loves this man. Her shoulders relax and she leans a little bit toward him, just enough that their fingers brush against each other.

“Tonight, I’m as free as the dust on the solar wind,” she whispers, letting her gaze linger on him.

“Yes, perfect!” the director yells. “Cut and print that. Maya, that was beautiful, keep it up through the rest of the scene.”

She turns and looks over her shoulder. “Of course.”

tali’zorah vas normandy

Bosh’tets, all of them.

She helped save the galaxy, brought back information that would help them fight the geth, went to Haestrom and nearly burned up for research they wouldn’t even listen to, and the Admiralty Board decided to put her on trial for treason.

They accepted her back, even made her an admiral, and yet they didn’t listen to her – they decided to go to war with the geth instead. They made her an admiral because of the geth, and then didn’t listen to her about the geth. Bosh’tet isn’t a strong enough word.

Tali listens to Admiral Gerrel and Admiral Raan argue, and watches Admiral Xen stare at Legion like it’s one of her soulless experiments, and wonders why she even tries. Wonders why she even bothers to come back to the Fleet when all she’s ever gotten out of it is heartache and frustration. She loves her people, but it’s hard to see the rest of the Fleet through the stupidity of the admirals.

And then Shepard pings her omnitool with a departure time, and Tali swallows.

This is why she keeps returning.

She can hardly believe it, not even when they shuttle lands. Rannoch.

By the homeworld you may see some day…by the homeworld she’s lucky enough to see right now. The homeworld she is standing on. She’s breathing Rannoch’s air, tasting Rannoch’s dust through her filtration seals, feeling Rannoch’s rocks underneath her feet. Rannoch’s sun warms her through her suit, and she tilts her face up to the sky.

Shepard gives her a rock, a small round orange pebble, and Tali closes her hand around it. She smiles at Shepard, and slips the pebble into her pocket. It’s only a tiny bit of the homeworld to take with her, but it’s more than many will ever get.

A small lizard runs across the rocky sand in front of her.

“When you’re ready,” Shepard says, and heads back to the shuttle.

Tali takes a moment, lagging a little behind. All purples and pinks and oranges, she wants to remember Rannoch’s sky, and the way the scraggly trees cling to the rocks with so much life, and the quiet lap of the ocean below the cliffs. The water sparkles in the sun, and even the shadows are warm and welcoming. Beachfront property, indeed.

She smiles. With a deep breath, she turns back to the shuttle, to Shepard and Legion, to giving the Migrant Fleet their homeworld again, and a place to put down roots.

[lovtalk]

Lia!!!! For my birthday I got gifted a cute bee w/flowers on its head washi tape and it reminded me of my anon emoji!! It's so cute!! -🐝

omg that sounds sooo cute!! 🥺💞💗💘💕 oh and happy belated birthday!! I hope you had a wonderful day celebrating your special day!! 💫

[seelestia]

I AM BACK HOME AND COMPLETELY ALIVE :D !!!!1!!

Fr tho, I'm gooddd! We're really fortunate to have not been part of the low level areas in the city since a LOT of places flooded (praying for those who got affected fr, flooding is so bad especially in our country ), hell even our school building got flooded which made us have one day of suspension for the whole week (thank god tho, walking around in a building that's completely tiled and wet in HEELS? Yeah, I'm not doin none of that :'D)

But aside from that-! Here is what I've promised!! ;PP

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAYYYY LIAAA <333

I'm sure u already noticed but-I used the picrew thread you tagged me in for our characters hehehe >:D

Ngl I haven't been doing a lot other than stress out about our wi-fi and just a lot of school works :''D

But I did manage to write like 2k words on chapter 5 for the C!impostor AU :''D (get ready to officially meet ur fav ginger ;P)

Here's a tiktok of Paimon :DDD

Annnnd here's a lil sneak peak of a thing i doodled and plan to post later huehuehuehuehue >:D

i'm not a sadist, it's for the plot i swear-

ahem Anyways! I hope you had a great birthday Lia!! I'm looking forward to whatever you have in store, I bet it's just as great and even better as all that you've posted since then <3 - ever so sincerely yours, 👹✨ Jae <3333

JAEEEE !! <3 i'm so sorry for the late reply, but it's so nice to be able to talk to you again, hehe <//3 and you cannot see me rn, but i am making that art of us my official family heirloom. (/lh)

it's been raining like crazy here too 😭 darn, the monsoon really busts in thru the door uninvited, helpppp. no more fancy noises of heels clicking against the tiles if the whole building is flooded 🫡 when the drains aren't enough to counter the sky's tears fjjekkde i hope it'll get better soon tho! :(

I GOTTA GO READ THE NEWEST CHAPTER SOON !! good content good soup from jae to catch up on and with ajax??? sign me up, nyehehe. but save the poor reader, they just want to wake up to their room's ceiling but no, it's the skies of teyvat looking back at them <//3 but as the wise angy one with the hat once said, the sky is a hoax 🤔

ty for the tiktok, hehe! literally how to bully paimon irl 👏 c!impostor reader would take full advantage of this, definitely LOLLL and in return, i return you.... whatever this is, HELPFKWKR. and mwah, tysm for always supporting me, jae <3 looking forward to more journeys with you and everyone in the future! let us traverse thru this hellsite together >:)

[purecantarella]

The Photographer

belated happy lia day! i worked on this with the hwasa fic i'm about gonna post tomorrow but yeah, i hope you all enjoy and happy birthday to lia 😁💗this is short but i think it's nice AHAHHHA disclaimer/s : none, this is just pure fluff 😇

The way you lived was unorthodox to some people but it was just the way you preferred to exist. You were a free-lance photographer and loved the feeling of not being tethered; to any place or any person. Being free to do what you wanted without judgement or consequences.

While you'd grown acquainted with different kinds of people, grew close with a few locals, and took many personalities to your bed, no one had been able to keep you tied down for more than a few days. No one.

After your 22nd birthday, you found yourself exploring the bustling city of Seoul, as per a recommendation by someone you'd met in Japan. It was a beautiful country with rich culture and a new adventure. You thought it'd be a nice stop-over before you continued to the Philippines.

At first, you were lost. Not a lot of people spoke the English and if you didn't know the language a lot of the locals couldn't help or understand you. Instead, you wondered around the busy and loud city. Enjoying the sights and taking still shots of whatever you found interesting. It was nice.

The cold night air began nipping at you as you walked around looking for somewhere to eat. You were slowly becoming frustrated because of the language barrier. As you were about to just call it a night and maybe just find some instant ramen noodles at a nearby convenience store for you to eat at your rented room, a girl, one of the most beautiful you'd seen in a while, walked up to you.

"Are you okay? You seem a tad bit lost." She asked you in English. You sighed in relief and laughed softly. The brunette raised a brow curiously. You waved your hand, "I'm just glad to understand someone. I've never actually spoken a lick of Korean." You said, relief and a bit of comfort washed over you.

You'd found it a bit odd though, that sense of familiarity with this stranger. None of your friends or your hook-ups had made you feel this way. Deciding it was nothing you shook it off. You offered your hand to the girl, "I'm Y/F/N. Nice to meet you Miss...?"

She was rather surprised. While it was a welcomed surprise, she still found it odd that you didn't know her. The brunette gave you her signature smile, taking your extended hand. "Julia, but just call me Lia." You nodded, biting your lower lip excitedly. The warmth of her hand radiated onto your cold one. The touch lingered for a while, your eyes not breaking contact with one another. Her crescent eyes and radiant smile made it hard to turn away. The moment could have lasted forever until you heard a soft cough from behind you.

Lia snapped her head behind her, a hot rush painting her cheeks as she stammered some things in Korean to her friends behind her. You stood behind her, the words they spoke just deflecting off of you. Your eyes trailed down to your hand. How it tingled and sent shocks through your body.

'This is new...' You thought to yourself as your gaze returned to the newly acquainted friend. She seemed to still be in a heated debate with the other girls as you shifted from the back of your foot to the tip of it. Their voices had hushed a little as Lia walked back to you.

A smile had returned to your face before you pointed to the group behind her. "Your friends seem fun." You said awkwardly, a soft laugh following after. She scoffed and rolled her eyes before the faux annoyed expression melted into an adorable little grin. Once again, you felt your heart unexpectedly skipping a beat.

"I should leave you to it and—" You were instantly cut off by her shaking her head profusely and spitting out a fast-paced series of "no's". "It seemed like you didn't know anyone and I wanted to lend a hand." You were taken aback. It wasn't the first time a local had offered this sort of thing in your life. A lot of people were like this girl, friendly and wanted to show the tourist around. But there was just something about this girl.

You let out a soundless laugh while nodding your head. "I'd really like that, maybe not tonight though. I wouldn't want you to stay out too late." You said sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck. Lia looked up at you before pulling out her phone, staring and scrolling through it intently. "I'd love to but would..." She paused before settling on a day. "...Thursday be good?" You chuckled softly at her hopeful face.

While you knew that your flight was early Tuesday, you nodded confidently. You two exchanged numbers before she'd disappeared with her friends and two tall men. You tried not to raise a brow at the latter though. That night your thoughts were flooded by the gorgeous girl, her pale complexion, moon-shaped eyes, the smile on her face, her overall form. Like all the sights in the world you'd seen were nothing compared to her, to Lia.

You tried to shake off the feelings that began to creep up on you though at the same time you awaited Thursday to arrive anxiously. You two texted between your sightseeing in the city. In all honesty, her silly texts and updates had been the highlight of your trip. You found yourself waiting for her replies to each of the photos you sent her.

On the day you'd set to meet, you thought that you'd had a stronger bond with her. And yes that was a good thing, but it just made you feel even more terrified of this foreign territory. You sat at the park she'd told you about, your leg bouncing as you eyed the scenery. "She's just a girl, Y/n...Calm down..." You muttered to yourself, leaning back into the bench. You continue to gather your thoughts when your suddenly jolted and someone yells, "Boo!"

You jumped and were just about ready to fight the perpetrator. You softened seeing Lia laughing hysterically. "You're adorable, Y/n!" She cooed softly before circling around to wrap her arms around your neck comfortably.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting." She said as she pulled away enough to see your, now flushing, face. You shook your head, a dopey smile gracing your features. Lia's embrace lingered for a moment. Your heart pounded against your chest. "So miss Lia, where are you taking me?" Your body becoming more and more tense under her touch. She took your hand hers, dragging you to some location in the outskirts of the city.

By the time you'd got there it was around lunch time. You'd learned a few of the important phrases and ordered something. Lia looked at you impressed, even making a point by clapping. The afternoon flew by quickly, she told you all about her being an idol, her intense lifestyle while you shared all of your adventures in different countries and taking stolen and posed photos of her. With every story, you found her more and more intriguing. She was a mystery that you wanted to solve, the polaroid you patiently waited for to dry.

"Come on!" The brunette said suddenly, pulling you up from the grass that you'd been sitting on as you scrolled through your camera's photos. You laughed as you jumped onto your feet, blindly following her. "Choi Lia where are you taking m—Woah..." The orange glow of the sunset painted over the city, the lights of building providing the perfect accent, and greenery in the city was perfectly set.

"Holy crap." You whispered under your breath. Your hands falling from the camera's sides instead weighing over your neck. Lia watched your amazed face before locking her arm in yours. She giggled at the dumbfounded face. A big smile grew on your face. For the first time in years, you're heart felt full.

You took a few steps back, taking shots of the view. Before continuously muttering out profanities and comments on the different aspects and features. Lia watched you get lost in your passion and smiled. She looked out into the scenery. In the few days she knew you, she knew that you'd be one of the people who could appreciate the beauty of simplicity. She turned her head back t the veiw.

"It's beautiful." You mumbled, still in awe. You took a glance at Lia's distracted expression. Your shoulders fell and a fleeting, small smile grew on your face. Lifting the camera back, you took her silhouette against the dimming orange. "Out of all the places I've ever been, this has to be the best." You added, catching her attention. Your E/C eyes glued onto Lia's face, her aura, everything. Her pale cheeks adding an extra glow. For a second, a sparkle in both your eyes could be seen by anyone who passed. When you finally said,

"It would make anyone want to stay, wouldn't you say?"

i thought it was cute HAAHAHAHAH what do you guys think 😅also, probably a hwasa fic tomorrow! i hope this was good for everyone and that you all enjoyed it...even if it was kinda predictable HAHAHA anyway, remember that requests are open and criticism is 1000% accepted and even welcomed. i hope you're all safe and i will see you all very soon 😊💗 taglist: @labrachrosite