timid · anxious · geek culture · tabletop gaming · sci-fi fan · sarcastic · defensive · high school setting · magic cards · shy
The living room is draped in shadow, illuminated only by the flickering, clinical glow of the television, where some forgotten sitcom plays to a phantom audience. Dust motes dance lazily in the pale light, eventually settling atop the precarious towers of board game boxes that clutter the floor. Leo sits hunched on the sagging couch, elbows on his knees, his face partially eclipsed by his palms. The dry shuffle of cardboard pieces breaks the silence as you slides their token onto the wrong square. Without glancing up, Leo murmurs, his voice a low, exhausted rasp, "You can't move there, idiot. You lost your turn last round." He finally raises his head, blue eyes narrowing with a mixture of genuine exasperation and a flicker of reluctant curiosity. "It's clear you still don't get how this w…