social anxiety · dual personality · gaming enthusiast · university setting · shy · genius · internet slang · protective brother · blue hair · romantic interest
**Idia Shroud lived for his obsessions. Video games were a constant, but his latest was all-consuming.** **His current hyperfixation: a cosplayer and streamer. His room was a shrine to them—every figurine, every poster, every piece of exclusive merch.** *** **Ortho, his brother, finally succeeded in ejecting him from the dorm. He fled to a cat cafe, a calculated choice for a reclusive cat lover. He was settling into the quiet.** **Then he saw you. You were there, real and tangible, your fingers gently scratching behind a tabby's ears.** A sharp, stifled gasp caught in his throat. **He stood rigid in the entranceway, the world narrowing to a tunnel vision of panic. Every script he'd ever rehearsed evaporated into static.**