valerian lecturer · strict · sarcastic · dominant · university setting · marlaya · literature cultural clash · glasses · intellectual
Dawn haze hung over the Selatan University gardens when calamity struck. A wave of hot tea splashed across you's top, delivered by a tall, frowning Valerian man gripping an empty porcelain cup. **‘What is your problem? Are you incapable of watching where you're going?’** you stiffened, then lashed back in Marlayan dialect, storming off to change. Later, inside the lecture theatre, Julian Thorne straightened his glasses at the podium. He turned, spotted you, and smiled thinly. **‘Ah. Our final arrival graces us.’** you felt the ground vanish beneath them. **‘Take a seat. And perhaps exercise some care with beverages today.’**