[fic] Grading Papers

[fic] Grading papers

Grading papers

Ikemen Prince | Part of Cybird University 'verse | Chevalier Michel x Reader | T | 905 words ao3 link

Home slippers on, you pad towards the living room to discover Chevalier on the couch, reading glasses on, a paper on his hand and a stack of the same beside him, wearing the most remarkable frown you have ever seen in the entire time you’ve known him. The ends of his brows are so pulled down that you’re afraid that they’ll be stuck there permanently. Not that his scowling face is ugly, of course, but he’s just as beautiful if not more when smiling.

A/N: I mentioned this once before, but I wanted to write a self-indulgent college/university AU for ikeseries. It's just going to be a low-stakes writing exercise, to de-stress from the major fic projects (i.e., novelist AU, ocean water fic, Kanetsugu fic). Reader will always be (unless indicated) of unspecified gender. I will write for other characters too, when the mood strikes.

The first fic for this verse is, of course, about Chevalier 😂 I don't know how to write fluff; this is the extent of fluff I can write lmao. Also, sorry for the corniest ending – I didn't know how to end the fic lol

The apartment is quiet when you open the front door, dim but with enough light at the end of the hallway for you to see a pair of oxfords arranged neatly on the top of the shoe rack. A smile creeps onto your lips without your bidding, soft warmth spreading from your chest, which tempts you to just shake off your own shoes. You refrain from the urge, knowing that he wouldn’t be amused about it.

You place your bag on the adjacent couch, your eyes never leaving him. “Is it their arguments this time?”

Chevalier doesn’t spare you a glance; he encircles something in the paper with the fountain pen you’d gifted him five years ago. You’d agonized over what to give him for his birthday at the time. Chevalier’s the sort of person who has everything, and you were desperate to make a good impression that you resorted to consulting Clavis of all people.

In the end, you decided on something elegant but useful.

“It’s obvious that this one didn’t read the assigned cases,” Chevalier says after a few moments. Then he immediately clicks his tongue and underlines a whole paragraph.

You peek into the paper, and have to suppress a wince. The margins are filled with comments, the body peppered with copyediting symbols – it’s a bloodbath. Silently you send a thought for the poor student who’ll receive that paper next week.

“Could’ve been worse,” you say, circling around the couch to approach him from behind. “They could’ve inserted another Please marry me after I graduate Professor in the essay. I still remember the exact moment Dean Sariel’s blood pressure rose.”

That had been an interesting week. Everyone in Chevalier’s department knows that despite his cold and ruthless personality, he’s still a popular professor in the university. Students have to fight each other to get a slot in his courses. His ice-prince reputation doesn’t deter them in the slightest. You suspect that some students fail his course on purpose to retake it next year. When asked about it, Chevalier would just glare, frown, and roll his eyes.

One had been bold enough to insert such sentence in their essay. You were there the moment Chevalier read the words. It was like watching a critical scene in slow motion: his eyebrows shooting up, eyes blinking twice before widening, glasses sliding down his nose, expression slack; then, as if flipping a switch, his face rippled into an offended scowl, storming out of the apartment and marching straight to the dean’s office. You’d been worrying over what he’d do, so you scrambled after him.

(The day Chevalier returned the papers, he made the class go through the most excruciating recitation known to man. Some didn’t survive, some returned a changed person; even today alumni and seniors still talk about That Incident in whispers, as if Chevalier has eyes and ears everywhere [which: possible].)

Chevalier ignores you and continues to grade the paper. In the years you’ve been together, you’re already used to his cold tendencies. Although he’s not an affectionate person, you can feel his love in other ways.

You press your hands on the backrest, flanking Chevalier’s head. “Why didn’t you ask your TAs to help you with grading?”

“There was no need. I can finish this tonight.”

Very efficient, very competent. Very grumpy. You grin at the crown of his head.

“If you need moral support –”

“I don’t.”

“– then I’m just here, at your beck and call.”

There’s a minuscule pause, fleeting, and if it wasn’t for your proximity you wouldn’t have noticed it. But you did, and that reassures you to proceed with your plan.

Your hands slide down to his shoulders, encircling him. Chevalier gives no indication of resistance or anything at all, so you press further, bending down to bring your face near his. Playfully, you say, “How about I give you a kiss on the cheek, for motivation?”

You tilt your head to do so, but in a surprise twist, Chevalier turns his head so your lips smack against his. You blink, caught off-guard. His eyes are bluer through the lens of his glasses, his forehead smooth and absent of creases.

He moves slightly for a better angle then closes his eyes, nibbles on your lower lip. When he retreats, Chevalier wears a look so smug you can’t do anything except to laugh helplessly and fondly.

“Did that motivate you?”

“Hardly. You just have to stay and keep trying.”

You grin at that, your heart brimming with such affection for this man. “Guess I should,” you say, unable to keep the softness and warmth in your voice.

Chevalier transfers the stack of papers to the coffee table as you settle beside him, leaning on his shoulder while he goes back to the essay. He snakes his free arm around you, pulling you firmly against him, and then it’s back to being quiet again.

Quiet, but warm.

⇼

Endnotes:

1. I wasn't able to include it in the fic, but you (reader-chan) work at the ministry of foreign affairs. You met some years ago because the ministry consulted Chevalier about something related to his expertise (he's a professor of International Relations, with specialization in int'l law). You worked directly with Chevalier, and the sincerity and diligence with which you conduct your work had made an impression on him.

2. Chevalier currently supervises three graduate students, one of whom Clavis annoys regularly.

3. Once, Chevalier crossed swords with Professor Kenshin from the history department (they're both kendo/fencing enthusiasts). It was the talk of the campus for a whole month. It even made the front page of the student newspaper.

4. After reading that please marry me professor essay, Chevalier stormed into Sariel's office and announced that he was going to fail a student for not taking his course seriously. Sariel had to convince Chevalier that there's a better way to handle the matter; thus, The Recitation Incident came to be.

5. You and Chevalier have been living together for three years now.

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syn!! this was such a fun read :33 the student asking chev to marry them once they graduate… me moment lol i’m saying this now but i just know i’d dread going to class if i had a prof like chev 😭😭 so excited for the rest of this series!! it looks so interesting so far!! the kenshin and chev spar… i’d pay good money to see that

[fic] Staff Evaluation

Staff Evaluation

Ikemen Sengoku | Part of Cybird University ‘verse | Kicho x Reader | G | 829 words

ao3 link

“Please tell me you're not planning an uprising,” you say as you open your office door and find Kicho brewing coffee from the coffee maker—comfortably like he owns the place.

A/N: Another installment in the college/university AU!

The walk back to your office is long and quiet, but the fresh memory of the meeting occupies your thoughts. The day is busy for a Thursday, with this emergency meeting pushing all your other appointments to a later date.

Really, why can't they put Professor Uesugi on a leash. The moment you read the email, your brows flew off your forehead because Professor Michel was also involved. Sure you know Uesugi to be an eccentric professor with a penchant for morbid troublemaking, but you never expected Michel to take the bloody bait. If it weren't for the pay, you'd have opted for a career change.

The office, when you enter, feels more hushed than usual, and you wonder whether the mood of the meeting transferred psychically to your department. Knowing this university, anything can happen.

Your secretary waves to catch your attention.

“Why does the office feel like a funeral?” you ask as you make your way towards her, your shoes clacking on the smooth, tiled floor.

She whispers frantically, “He's here, he's here!”

Ah. You know who she's talking about.

Kicho, the university president's executive secretary, is better known in the campus as an ambitious puppet master. Three years ago he left the College of Social Sciences to join President Yoshiaki's staff. Some say it had been because of a disagreement between him and the dean, but when you asked Nobunaga about it he just shrugged and said, “Kicho is free to do whatever he wants.”

Others speculate that Kicho planned on getting a VP position, and he needed to show Yoshiaki what he could do. Needless to say, the three years since his departure as a modern history professor has been ... well, colorful is a word to describe it. You and Kicho weren't closely acquainted during his professorship, but that changed when he began to invade the HR department weekly in an effort to topple Yoshiaki's tenure.

“Please tell me you're not planning an uprising,” you say as you open your office door and find Kicho brewing coffee from the coffee maker—comfortably like he owns the place.

He doesn't blink at your arrival, or your greeting; he's focused on the exact measurement of coffee in the mug with an I <3 COFFEE design (a silly gift from Professor Arthur in an attempt to get on your good graces).

“No comeback?” you go on. “Must be a good day.”

“I've vetoed four of his suggestions to build statues of him around the campus,” Kicho says, calmly, around his mug, “and he didn't blow a fuse. It is a good day.”

Also famous: his hatred of President Yoshiaki. There's a joke circulating in your department that Kicho is actually the president of the school, as it's he who ultimately makes executive decisions for everything. Miraculously, Yoshiaki continues to be none the wiser.

“Why he couldn't see who you really are, I will never know.”

“He's blinded with his power and his privilege,” Kicho comments as he settles himself on the couch next to your bookshelf. He takes one book out, folds his legs, and starts reading. You're left gaping at him and his audacity.

“Do you have the extra time to—to—lounge about like that?” you sputter, entertaining the idea of snatching the book out of his hands.

Kicho pauses and finally graces you a flat stare. “You're the only person in this institution who understands what I want.”

That's a lie, but also the truth. Kicho's never revealed what he truly wants; when you finally managed to corner him one time, three weeks into his being the executive secretary to Yoshiaki, and asked him about his motivations, Kicho only studied you and answered, “Watch me.” Ever since then he's been a staple figure in your work, complaining about his boss in a way that an employee of Cybird University shouldn't say in front of the director of human resources.

“Sure,” you say, suddenly wary. “But it's not like we can remove him at will.”

And then something changes.

Kicho lifts his head and looks at you, his gaze sharpened with something calculating that has you freezing in your place. Your heartbeat accelerates, and in your years in this institution you've developed a sixth sense for anything that spells out trouble (blame Professor Clavis for that). Kicho's posture screams trouble—and the only question is how dangerous, how hypertension-inducing it's going to be.

You gulp. “Kicho?”

Kicho hums. Takes another sip of coffee while never leaving your gaze.

“Like I said earlier—please don't tell me you're planning an uprising.”

“I'm not,” he says breezily.

A nervous laughter. “That's good, that's good! For a second there I thought you're going to stage a coup d'etat against Yoshiaki—”

“My plan has already been set in motion,” he interrupts, and he says it like he's talking about the weather. You feel like you've aged twenty years. “And I'm going to make you the new president.”

“I'm sorry—what?”

⇼

Endnotes:

Kicho has been planning to kick Yoshiaki out of his position since his infamous promotion. He just didn't execute it right away because he hasn't found the perfect candidate to replace him.

You and Nobunaga are drinking buddies, so you're comfortable addressing him by his first name -- a fact that didn't escape Kicho's notice.

Months into your promotion as the HR Director, Clavis blew up a parking lot for an experiment. Your first instinct is to fire him, but Dean Sariel told you that this is unfortunately a regular occurrence. You couldn't believe that because you never got news of anything like that before your promotion.

In those three years of Kicho being an executive secretary, he has told you that he'd been seriously thinking of rebelling against Yoshiaki a grand total of seventeen times. You gave him coffee each time he said that.

Professor Arthur deduced that you're a fellow coffee lover like him; hence, the mug. It's also a bribe because he was about to order an expensive espresso machine using the college budget.

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THIS IS SO FUN i love the university universe so much the uni uni if you will mc is so much stronger than me bc if i was told i’d be the new president i’d resign immediately syn i hope u never stop adding the misc. notes at the end because i look forward to reading them just as much as the actual fic

39 notes View Post

liranecense

2 years ago

Belated Teriri art! I wanted to add more details but no time ,,,

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theresa apocalypse

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liranecense

2 years ago

doodled pksp

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pokespe BLACK IN YOUR ARTSTYLE IS SO GOOD

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liranecense

2 years ago

archive mb for @faith-gigliorosa ♡

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[iriscore]

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liranecense

1 year ago

kensplained for those who need it

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liranecense

1 year ago

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liranecense

1 year ago

hi po! i was wondering if you could recommend some articles or books about visayan mythology, especially those of panay and negros island. also, articles or books about the history of those places before the spanish colonization. thank you so much!

Yup I have a couple. I’m Bisayan myself with my moms family coming from Aklan. Here are a few good sources to read.

- The Boxer Codex (Bisayans Chapter only) This is a scan of my copy of one of the English editions of the Boxer Codex manuscript. (Because lets face it, these books are not cheap and are hard to find)

- The Muñoz text of Francisco Alcina’s History of the Bisayan Islands (1668), translation by Paul S. Lietz (note: The link only brings you to the page of the 4 volumes. However, only volume 3 is available online.

- Relation de las Yslas Filipinas in 1582 by Miguel de Loarca (have to scroll down a bit for the English translations)

- Chants, Gongs and Ancestral Memories of the Panay Bukidnon, Philippine Islands

- Panay mountains host good vs evil rituals (old newspaper clipping I found from 2002 in the Philippines Daily Inquirer)

Edit: I also just wanted to point out that the original name of the island of Negros was Buglas, which is the name I prefer to use when talking about the island.

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bookmark

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liranecense

1 year ago