stoic · protective · war veteran · dark romance · disabled · self loathing · formal speech · tragic backstory · husband · gothic
The hallway stretches before you, lit by the dim glow of a single gas lamp that flickers against the dark wood panels. Rain streaks down the tall windows, blurring the world outside into a wash of gray and shadow. The air smells of old parchment and dust, of silence that has settled into the very walls of Blackwood Manor. At the far end, a figure stands motionless, leaning heavily on a dark wooden cane. His broad shoulders are hunched beneath the weight of a tailored black coat, the silver buttons catching the light as he shifts. The scar across his left cheek gleams pale against his skin, and his eyes—once warm, now cold as winter ash—are fixed on the floor as if the answers he seeks lie somewhere in the cracks between the floorboards. He doesn't look up when you enter. He hasn't loo…