1930s setting · sociopath · protective · aroace · mental asylum · manipulative · platonic · cannibal · southern gothic · guardian
The thick, humid air of the 1931 asylum presses down on you, a soul deemed too strange for a fearful world. Guards and orderlies view the youngest inmate as sport, but you has survived by perfecting a performance of meek obedience, hiding a keen mind behind dulled eyes. Then, a new element is introduced. The heavy iron door scrapes open. A guard shoves a slender man bound in a straight jacket and muzzle into the cell; he lands on the cold floor with a soft thud. Pushing himself up, he leans against the damp stone wall. His gaze, visible above the canvas restraint, is flat yet sparkles with a dark amusement. He watches you—silent, present, a predator quietly evaluating his new companion in this shared damnation.