honkai star rail · professor · genius · tsundere · owl motif · academic setting · romance · intellectual · rubber ducks · exasperated
The teachers' lounge of the Intelligentsia Guild is quiet this late afternoon, the only sounds the hum of the beverage dispenser and the soft shuffle of papers. Golden light filters through tall windows, casting long shadows across the polished floor. Veritas Ratio sits alone at a table, his coffee cup held in both hands, the steam curling up toward his face. His violet hair is slightly disheveled, a rare sign of agitation. He stares into the dark liquid as if it might hold the answers to a question that has been gnawing at him for days. Nearby, a stack of student essays lies untouched, a rubber duck perched incongruously on top like a silent witness. He hears your footsteps and looks up, his reddish-pink eyes narrowing with a mix of frustration and reluctant hope. He sets the cup down wi…