academy of eorzea

[parser]

academy of eorzea

back to school season! Welcome to the Academy of Eorzea — AoE for short! Put on your school uniforms and get ready to vie for the attentions of the I4 — the most popular students in school. Or... pilot giant mechas in battle against the Garlean empire for some reason. How are the giant robots related to the high school plot? We just don't know. In more direct terms: here's an open post based on the most recent April Fool's Day dev blog entry! (If you haven't seen it, it's here.) Basically, it's a FFXIV high school AU: pick your role (parent? teacher? student?), and play with aggressively cliche shoujo or shounen manga tropes if that's what you want to do. Yeah, we've run a school AU before, but now it's semi-canon, so let's have another! Toplevel with whatever AU information you want and have fun!

TEMPLATE CODED BY valoirs

Comments

francel de haillenarte; student librarian

[haillenarte]

( quiet and unmemorable student librarian / library volunteer who follows every BL manga trope imaginable: gay, having a crisis about being gay, and is flustered any time anyone notices him or remembers his name.

likes to keep track of what people are reading and secretly leaves them book recommendations in places they're likely to find them. his ultimate sin is that he's stolen a library card with his crush's signature on it and he likes to take it out and stare at it every once in a while. )

[valhourdin]

[ The library is a sanctuary from the storm outside, warm and dry. After school, the building stays open for another two hours, a quiet space for students to do their homework in peace — mercifully, today it is quiet, only a few tables and seats occupied. Having escaped getting too soaked on the way, Zephirin is less concerned with taking shelter out of the rain than he is with finding books to borrow, and starting on a paper due next week. He intends to claim a spot here for the full two hours.

Once his wet umbrella is put away inside a plastic bag, traded for a stack of books to return, the boy approaches the loans desk, sliding one book after the other through the slot to one side. None of the staff are behind the counter just then — the head librarian works in the back room after hours, and on so slow a day, the assistants aren't trapped waiting in one place for a trickle of books to issue, another to check in and reshelve.

Arms freed, Zephirin turns to the non-fiction aisles, browsing the neatly-ordered shelves. He pauses from time to time, selecting books to leaf through, careful to return those he doesn't need to their correct place.

When a small piece of card slips out from between the pages of the next book in his hands, landing on the floor, Zephirin crouches to retrieve and examine it. Turning it over in his palm reveals a handwritten note, whose writer seems to hope for its recipient to embark on a reading journey from book to connected book. The earnest effort put into the recommendation — doubtless only one of many — is compelling.

Intrigued, though it's unlikely that the note was newly hidden among the shelves, Zephirin casts a look around for the staff member behind it. ]

[haillenarte]

[the notecard itself consists only of a list of titles, all of them related to zephirin's studies and interests — a passionate treatise on linguistics and etymology; a critical analysis of the rise and fall of the allagan empire; an investigation of four murders in the small town of owl's nest; a biography of the famed archbishop thordan vii. all are well-written and well-researched, curated by someone with no time or taste for books that are full of wind and excessive words. a few are even related to zephirin's classwork: the book about allag, for instance, will surely be of use in mr. lexentale's history class later in the semester.

it was easy enough to make sure that it reached zephirin specifically; the tall student council candidate is one of very few students who frequent the nonfiction section. most students visit the library merely to do classwork, or otherwise, to have a quiet space to spend time with a lover. the few students that do check books out tend to gravitate towards the school's fiction and fantasy acquisitions.

zephirin is a rare exception.

no one magically pops out from behind the shelves to claim credit for the notecard, and urianger, the head librarian, is nowhere to be found. at the loans desk, however, a slender student assistant has quietly begun processing zephirin's returns, expressionlessly stamping and typing away. zephirin's account is now cleared of literary debts.]

[valhourdin]

[ It would be arrogant to assume that the notecard's mystery writer has been observing Zephirin, and Zephirin alone, even if the list and its location are no coincidence, but the alternative, tailored recommendations for every student, seems an unrealistic undertaking. The library staff have access to the reading history attached to each user account, of course, but the time to peruse all of them, to search for suitable suggestions?

Perhaps it's a trial project, targeting students whose reading habits follow a predictable pattern.

Zephirin's gaze flicks downward, to the card once more. Thoughtfully, he traces the lines of writing there with his thumb — whoever wrote them knew exactly what he would choose to read, both in his free time and for class. He can't help but wonder whether another list awaits him on his next visit, and whether he might uncover the writer's identity with a little investigating.

Asking directly would spoil it, he decides.

For the time being, his selection of books cradled in the crook of his arm and held to his chest, he makes his way back to the loans desk, offering the volunteer now in position a slight, polite smile in greeting. The other boy must be a year or two younger, and relatively new, but he handles his task like a seasoned librarian, fingers nimble upon the keyboard.

Zephirin, standing beside the counter in attentive silence, waits for him to finish. ]

[haillenarte]

[francel looks up at zephirin's approach, looks down, looks up again. his gaze stops somewhere at zephirin's jaw, and he looks slightly pained, as though he is trying his best to make eye contact, but he hasn't yet succeeded. upon the keyboard, his delicate fingers tighten into fists, then relax again, though in a mechanical, claw-like way; he is relaxed only because he is telling himself to relax.

the student librarian's voice is quiet and husky, no more than a whisper.]

C-Can I help you? [well, of course, he chastises himself.] Checking those out...?

[valhourdin]

Thank you.

[ Evidently, the student librarian is painfully shy, reacting to Zephirin's presence like prey abruptly tensed to flee — it almost feels cruel to draw out the exchange beyond the immediate transaction. Zephirin's gaze travels lower, in search of a name tag, to no avail. Quietly, movements measured, as if to avoid frightening the other boy, he places his stack of books down on the counter, and the notecard next to them. He steps back an ilm then, hands at his sides. ]

Do you have time to help me find the books on this list, as well?

[haillenarte]

Ah... yes!

[strangely, the younger boy manages a bright and abrupt smile, as if some switch has just been flipped, and midnight has given way to morning light. perhaps it is the additional space that zephirin gave him — or perhaps it is the sight of the familiar notecard in zephirin's hands. he pulls zephirin's chosen books closer towards the keyboard, ensuring that no other students will mistake them for returns and swipe them from the desk while they are away. then he rises from his chair, gesturing loosely for zephirin to follow him back to the nonfiction shelves.]

I know where they are. Um, just this way...

[valhourdin]

[ Curiosity stirs anew as the student librarian's expression lights up with his unexpected smile, his unease apparently driven off. Though he could easily have pointed Zephirin to the catalog computers and the books' call numbers, ending their interaction here, in his sudden delight, he turns perfectly willing to take on the role of Zephirin's guide himself — asking for his help was the right move, then.

As he follows where he is led, it occurs to Zephirin that he may already have the notecard's writer before him, a charming notion. Pursuing a confirmation, he tests his guess. ]

I appreciate it — and the recommendations. A lot of thought went into putting that list together, I imagine.

[haillenarte]

[francel walks to the shelves with a wild rabbit’s timid demeanor, striding (practically skipping) some few paces, turning over his shoulder to see if zephirin is following him, and then hopping ahead again. he comes to a complete halt, however, when the upperclassman implicitly accuses him of being the notecard’s mysterious writer. startled, he jolts visibly; with guilt writ plain on his face, he clasps his hands against his chest, looking about as if for an escape route.]

I-I don’t – it wasn’t me!

[...on second thought, why is he trying to deny it?]

Well – it was, but – d-don’t talk to me!

[...that’s not quite what he meant to say...]

[valhourdin]

[ The boy's mannerisms are indeed reminiscent of a rabbit, from his gait to the way he glances back at Zephirin; flustered, he appears on the verge of scampering off once again. Unfortunately, it's too late to leave more space between them so as not to corner him against the rows of shelves to either side of them, and they stand a single step apart, presumably too close for comfort, until Zephirin half-turns to draw away slightly, his back to one shelf. He cocks his head, arches a brow, admittedly bemused.

Guilt — as if the library's exceptionally helpful volunteer has committed a crime — is an odd reaction. ]

Not even to ask for your name, and to thank you?

[haillenarte]

[were zephirin any other student, francel would not be quite so flustered – not even the legendary ysayle dangoulain could elicit from him such a pronounced reaction – but, as it is, he backs up against a shelf until he finds his shoulders pressed against several copies of a world atlas, and then he knows that he has nowhere to run. zephirin is giving him space, but zephirin is looking at him. zephirin is looking at him, with a cocked brow and a vaguely amused glint in his otherwise icy eyes.

the boy’s ears droop as he hides his pink face behind his hands.]

...You don’t have to thank me. Please d-don’t look at me like that. I just... I wanted to help...

[valhourdin]

[ The two of them are nearly the same height, but everything about the student librarian's bearing makes him look small and vulnerable, all the more when he blushes and his posture gives the impression that he would prefer to disappear from sight altogether. As it's impossible for him to fade into invisibility, he remains as good as pinned in place.

Aware that watching the other boy so intently isn't helping matters, only serving to worsen his nervousness, Zephirin shuts his eyes, and moves no closer. ]

Is this better? I won't look at you unless I have your permission, but you may need to lead me the rest of the way.

[ He wears a non-expression now, unreadable, his mouth a line when he lapses into silence, listening for a reply. ]

[haillenarte]

This isn’t what I meant, either!

[the situation grows increasingly ridiculous: francel, backed against his bookshelf, hiding his face, and zephirin, eyes closed as if welcoming a kiss – now neither is looking at the other, but both of them are being absurd.

the absurdity is mostly francel’s fault, and he realizes it, so after he gathers the remnants of his dignity, he emerges from behind his palms. stuttering faintly, he eventually manages to tug at the elbow of zephirin’s sleeve, his gaze firmly fixed on his shoes.]

...I’m sorry. Please excuse me. You can look up now. I’m fine, I swear it...

[valhourdin]

[ If someone were to come across them in that moment of absurdity, the scene would undoubtedly raise a number of questions, but the nonfiction section stays secluded, shielding them from view. At the tentative touch to his arm, pulling on his sleeve, Zephirin blinks his eyes open to look down at the top of the younger boy's head, closer than before. The student librarian hasn't made eye contact once, not properly — each time near it, he refused to meet Zephirin's gaze.

The library, Zephirin considers, might be his refuge. Normally, it should be easy for him to escape to the background, hiding behind his duties; now, the conversation's focus is still on him. ]

If I promise not to thank you, despite your help, will you tell me your name?

[haillenarte]

[this, apparently, is an effective enough compromise. francel still can't bear to look into zephirin's spring-green eyes, but he nods after a brief pause, fingertips loosening and slipping away from the older boy's sleeve.]

...It's Francel... Francel de Haillenarte. I'm a second-year student...

[and one who isn't normally as tongue-tied as this, but then, he doesn't usually have the privilege of speaking with attractive and intimidating upperclassmen. biting his lip, the librarian turns away, his eyes flickering vaguely over the spines of the books on the shelves as he passes them.]

Let's find what you came here for. Um, the one on Owl's Nest is over here...

[valhourdin]

[ Zephirin keeps his word, merely committing Francel's answer to memory. For his part, Francel most likely knows far more than Zephirin's name without needing to ask — the library's user records probably include his contact details, his date of birth.

Adjusting the knot in his tie, Zephirin falls into step with Francel, reaching for each book to collect as the student librarian indicates them. The last item on the list — the biography of Archbishop Thordan VII — sits on the top shelf, wedged tightly between its neighbours. ]

May I?

[ Stretching up, leaning past Francel's head, Zephirin carefully slides the book free. ]

takame kesi | the transfer student otome route

[kesi]

[[ You know how when there's an anime and they get a transfer student that makes the entire series happen and it's just really wild school year where a bunch of weird shit goes down? This is not that transfer student.

But he'd be that one quiet, kind of scary looking C- student who's only good at PE but tries his best and would share his lunch with you if you forget it. also lowkey crushes on everyone. ]]

zephirin de valhourdin; supposedly an ice prince

[valhourdin]

[ Candidate for the position of student council president, a Very Diligent Student all around. Has an unfortunate tendency to blink in photos, and few people have ever seen him smile or heard him laugh. ]

janlenoux de courcillant; loyal friend

[steeloath]

[ Excels in home ec class and makes much better lunches than the cafeteria. Often seen with his best friend, whom he might in fact be dating, to the annoyance of people madly crushing on Adelphel. ]

Gosetsu Everfall; Gym Teacher? Gym Teacher.

[ahigherpurpose]

[With no indoor voice, and also they have him teach the occasional history class because chances are, he lived it.]

adelphel de chevraudan; local pretty boy

[adelphel]

( a fatally beautiful student-athlete who never has so much as a hair out of place. he's not as popular as some students, but he's popular enough to receive regular confessions, and a gaggle of girls always show up to his fencing matches, even if they do complain that the fencing masks obscure his face. rumors regarding his relationship with janlenoux vary: some may tell you they are dating, whereas others are convinced that adelphel only keeps janlenoux around to make himself look better, but whichever is closer to the truth, one is rarely far from the other. )

alisaie leveilleur; otome mc apparently

[adelphoi]

[ young prodigy, probably taking classes several years beyond her own, awk and tsundere etc etc you know this girl!! ]

aster arkwright ✦ shounen protag

[meteorum]

( ordinary guy, good at athletics but not much else, has that seat in the second-to-last row by the window. likely to protect kids from being bullied and all that jazz. can't tie his tie properly. pretend he's clean-shaven, i don't have non-hobo icons )

Solus zos Galvus ♤ School Doctor

[sadlonelyspires]

[ never leaves his office - has a wicked fishtank - drinks copious amounts of coffee and yet is still tired - there is also a reason that he isn't the school principal, probably because he's lazy and would rather prattle on about how the way the school 'should' be run - brilliant mind but has the tendancy for tangents - maybe you should just go get yourself a band-aid, that might be better for your health in the long run ]

I'ziva Ganajai •||• The Fun Teacher (Ranged DPS Edu- I mean HEALTH Education)

[purrrrfection]

[ That one really easily approachable teacher who's students like for the most part. You know the one, the one who allowed the class to play their own music and have social hour after final exams were done. Encourages safe and healthy exploration, makes class fun. Is actually a giant dork who tells terrible puns during lessons. ]