It’s date night again.
It’s date night again!
After six and a bit days of being cruelly, unjustly parted from my dearest Sophia, our scheduled weekly not-a-date hangout has arrived once more. I an, it’s not like I’ve been completely separated from her, but I haven’t had any quality ti. I need my fix!
Tonight, I get what I’ve been craving. Tonight, at long last, Rachel Emily and Sophia Lane will play Magic: the Gathering together.
“Okay, then I’ll tap like this and cast Show and Tell. Does it resolve?”
None of Delver’s permanents should matter to my deck, even after sideboarding. This ga rests entirely on how Sophia responds to my play. Once Omniscience cos down, I have the card advantage and the counterspells to defend it from a bounce spell or a Pyroblast. She has to counter here. If it’s just one counter, I can fight it with Force of Will. If she’s got two, we’re in for much more of a fight. What do you have, Sophie?
“Um, yeah, sure,” Sophia says, voice distant and weary. She rubs her forehead, staring down at her cards.
“Oh. Uh, okay. We’ll each place the card we chose face down, then flip them at the sa ti. Artifact, creature, enchantnt, or land.”
We pick our cards. I reveal Omniscience, which makes all my spells free to cast. Sophia reveals a basic land.
“So… that’s probably ga,” I say with a wince.
Sophia reads Omniscience, then groans and shows the cards she was holding… including two counterspells she could have cast. “I… I don’t know what’s wrong with tonight. I know I’m new at the ga, but I’m not that new. I just couldn’t… I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
She looks tired. It’s in the bags under her eyes and the slump of her shoulders, and it’s in the ragged edge to a voice normally so precise and controlled. Everything about her screams exhaustion. It has the last few tis I’ve gotten to see her, but up close it’s so much worse.
Sophia. What are you doing to yourself? “Hey,” I ask gently, “are you okay? No, let answer that: you’re not okay, so stop acting like it, yeah? You were missing triggers last ga, missing whole cards this ga, you’re not in a state to focus on this, obviously, and that’s fine. You don’t need to hold yourself together around , you know.”
Misery bleeds through her cracked mask. “I promised,” she says, and her voice almost breaks. “I promised I’d play this ga with you, so many tis, and I always—sothing always cos up. I just wanted to give you this without it going wrong or disappointing you. I’m—I’m sorry.” She bites off sothing worse. I can only imagine what kind of insult she was about to throw at herself, but I won’t stand for it.
“Stop beating yourself up,” I order her. “I get to decide if I’m disappointed, alright? And I’m not. It’s just a ga, Sophie. All I really want is to spend ti with you, and what we spend that ti doing is secondary. We can try again so other day—and if we don’t? That’s fine, too. What would actually upset is if you pushed yourself too hard, which I can tell you’re doing. So let’s ignore the cards and do sothing easier instead, okay? Let’s watch a movie.”
Sophia smiles softly. “I’d like that. Thank you, Rachel. You’re wonderful.”
I grin. “Hey, maybe this ti I’ll make it to the end of Return of the King. Think I rember enough of the first two.”
Sophia giggles. “You better. Then I can start telling you all about The Silmarillion.”
“I feel like you’re saying that as a threat, but you know I’d listen to you talk about anything. Wait, isn’t that the one with the spider girlboss?”
“Is that how Mordacity described Ungoliant? The mother of spiders is not a ‘girlboss,’ she’s the dark spirit from beyond Arda that allied with lkor to destroy the Two Trees of Valinor—and nearly devoured lkor!”
“I don’t know what most of those words an, but Mord told Ungoliant had ‘real Vriska energy.’ Then she laughed so hard she started coughing.”
“I swear, so day I’m going to kill that woman.”
“Heh. I’ll help.”
I make popcorn, grab so chips, and pour drinks while Sophia gets the movie set up and secures blankets for cuddling under. Once we’re snug and our snacks are piled on the table, Sophie hits play.
To her credit, she makes it ten minutes in before bringing up the books.
“It’s just such a waste to lose the Scouring of the Shire when it’s this perfect bookend to the story that really shows how everyone has grown and how diminished Saruman has beco after forsaking the path of wisdom and letting spite consu his thoughts. It’s so petty of him to defile the Shire like that and I think that pettiness is important to understanding his failings.”
“That’s nice, dear,” I say, patting her on the shoulder. She glares at , mirth in her eyes.
“Also, he starts calling himself Sharkey and gets addicted to pipe-weed.”
“That’s hilarious, how dare they cut the Scouring of the Shire!”
Sophia nuzzles into and gets comfortable as the movie continues, for which I thank Tolkien and all his legendarium. She’s soft and warm, and it reminds of the night we spent together all those years ago, though a lot more clothes are involved this ti. My heart aches for her closeness, and I try to distract myself from my yearning by actually paying attention to the movie we’re watching.
“Peregrin Took, you spectacular idiot,” I marvel as Pippin steals the evil orb of terrifying madness from Gandalf and stares into it.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“It’s a wonder he survives the trilogy,” Sophia says with a giggle.
We praise the ethereal beauty of the elves and the resplendent architecture of Gondor’s capital, though Sophia slips in a complaint about the lack of farmland around it. When we et Denethor, she gets really riled up.
“He’s not an idiot—or at least, he shouldn’t be! The beacons were lit in the books, the armies were marshaled, he’s been preparing for this fight. If Denethor is already a raving lunatic, it completely removes the impact of his fall into despair at the seeping darkness of Sauron! He’s not a defender of humanity broken down by the malignance of the Enemy, he’s just so jackass who never should have had the position to begin with. The thes, Rachel!”
“The thes!” I cry dramatically, earning another giggle from my beloved.
“Okay,” she says a couple of scenes later, “I have to admit, Minas Morgul looks aweso like this.” She stops herself in the middle of a yawn and grimaces at herself.
“Sick as hell,” I agree. “Real necromancer fortress. God, why hasn’t so witch built an evil tower and decked it with spikes? None of them have any style.”
After a while, Sophia’s comnts settle down. Her head dips a few tis and she has to catch herself, and then she says, “Gonna… rest my head. Not sleeping. Getting comfortable.”
“Of course.”
Sophia shifts around under the blankets, stretching out until her feet hit the arm of the couch, and then she lays her head on my lap, facing the TV. Despite her words, it takes less than a minute for her breathing to change. When I stroke her hair, she doesn’t react.
“Already asleep,” I chuckle to myself, keeping my voice low to not disturb her. “Get your rest, Sophie. You need it.”
My sweet Sophie. My poor, exhausted, overworked Sophia. At least, for the mont, she looks peaceful like this, and I get to enjoy the pressure of her weight on my legs.
She’s so cute. I’d kill for you, Sophia. I will. Just to see you smile. To give you these precious monts where you don’t have to fight. I love you. I love you. I love you.
I let myself relax into those feelings for a few minutes, not really paying attention to the movie anymore. Then I pull out my phone and text Mordacity.
Alexandria: deimovore progress?
Mordacity: nah, not yet
Mordacity: tricky bastards, deimovores. affinity for nightmares gives them natural defenses against my thod of contact
Mordacity: but ill get it. gim another week and i should have an in
Alexandria: kay
Alexandria: keep posted
Mordacity: obvs
Mordacity: so what are you up to
Mordacity: wanna ga? i have so many mmos i could sell you on
Mordacity: or we could get really high and piss people off in league
Alexandria: maybe later
Alexandria: watching lord of the rings with soph. she’s sleeping on my lap right now.
Mordacity: ayyy third base
Alexandria: dont be a pig, asshole
Mordacity: idk what ur talking about, i was comntating on a Shohei Ohtani ga. dude is a machine in the stadium, dodgers gonna go the distance with him on the team
Alexandria: you learned all that from femur
Alexandria: i was there for the conversation
Mordacity: yeah yeah
Mordacity: cute that your girl is gettin cuddly
Mordacity: not that you’ll do anything about it
Alexandria: yeah
Alexandria: hey, mord
Alexandria: do you think sophia and i will ever be together? like, if i asked her, do you think she’d say yes? like… can you tell?
Mordacity: are you asking to spy on her feelings? i an, she’s asleep right now. do you want to crawl into her head and ask her dreaming mind if she loves you back?
Alexandria: NO
Alexandria: i an
Alexandria: yes. but please don’t. god, that would be fucked up. fuck, why did i even ask that? what’s wrong with ?
Mordacity: you’re lovesick
Mordacity: but i wouldnt do it, anyway. hard as hell, with her defenses. more importantly, id be pissed the hell off if you got together with her on my word and agonized the whole ti about ethics n shit. no heart peeks. do it the hard way.
Alexandria: ha. thanks, i guess
Alexandria: i just… i dont know
Alexandria: i want her so bad, but i dont know if i should. i dont know if im right for her. i love her, but is that good enough? am i good enough?
Alexandria: what i asked before… not the spying part. the first question. do you think sophia and i will ever be together?
Mordacity: Yes. Absolutely. Of course you’ll be together.
Mordacity: In every world, in every tiline, the two of you are inevitable. I can’t imagine a world where the two of you don’t fall in love. You have a connection that I don’t think is possible for most people to have. Certainly not soone like . You’re made for each other.
Alexandria: wow, thats uh. not what i expected from you. is that like… mystic insight?
Mordacity: No. Just experience.
Alexandria: …not that i mind you taking this seriously, but it’s pretty weird coming from you, M. full capitals and everything.
Mordacity: yeah, well, it’s a weird ti. end of the world and all that.
Alexandria: nah. we’re gonna stop it. im gonna stop it
Mordacity: good luck
I put down my phone in ti to see Denethor absolutely demolish a tomato, seeds and juices spraying everywhere. Sophia turns fitfully, twitching in her sleep.
Damn savior. Probably stressing out over the Catastrophe, and Venus, and whatever else you’ve piled on your plate without sparing a thought for what it’d do to your health. Always doing too much, and you won’t even complain.
If Sophie won’t offload her burdens, I’ll take them from her. Even if it’s risky. Even if it might make things worse before they get better. I have to do sothing. I have to save her.
The ritual in the World of Glass, it worked. I earned a claim to usurp Venus. We’re connected, now, in so intangible sense. If I keep pressing, if I do sothing to take that seat from her, it’ll make a difference. Maybe I won’t be the one who actually kills Venus, but I can at least weaken her for the others. Every ounce of power I can steal from the goddess is an ounce of power she won’t have when Striga tears out her throat.
This is sothing I can do. This is sothing I should have been doing, much earlier, but I got complacent. I’ve been playing it too safe. I’ve been letting myself enjoy being a strear, being popular, while Sophia is suffering.
My audience is a weapon. It’s ti to use that weapon. It’s ti to up the ante.
Date night’s over. Ti to go to war.
User Comments
0 comments from readers