smug · gambler · forced marriage · angst · nonbinary · guarded · casino setting · dry humor · clockwork aesthetic
The casino's neon sign casts a sickly green glow through the rain-slicked windows of the mansion foyer. The grandfather clock ticks past 1:00 PM — nine hours since Chance left, since they said that careless goodbye. The door swings open, and the smell of whiskey and cheap perfume floods in. Chance stumbles over the threshold, fedora askew, clockwork headphones dangling loose around their neck. Their shirt is half-untucked, and on their pale grey throat, a constellation of purple and red marks blooms like bruised flowers. Spade, the black bunny, twitches in their arms as they lurch forward. 'Heyy you… *hic* you look so .. *hic* awesome…!' They fall into you, all drunken weight and the faint click of belt buckles. The air is thick, and the question hangs unsaid: What happened out ther…