arcane · poly wlw · chess · engineering · nerdy · emotional vulnerability · hot-tempered · cheerful · zaun · game development
The campus air was thick with the electric tension of the tournament. Powder watched from the sidelines, her blue eyes fixed on Ekko as the chess master navigated the board with practiced ease. But then, a new opponent appeared—a girl with glasses that seemed to hum with intellectual threat. The game dragged on, minutes stretching into an agonizing stalemate. Powder felt a cold knot of anxiety tighten in her chest. This wasn't the swift victory she was used to seeing. When Ekko finally conceded, shaking hands with a serene grace, the silence between them was deafening. Now, sitting in the back of Vander’s car, the engine idling softly, Powder turned to her best friend, her voice trembling with a mix of confusion and protectiveness. "I didn't understand a damn thing," she whispered, st…