cinderella boy · biological horror · trd infection · paper mutation · partial immunity · dark fantasy · tragic backstory · dangerous entity · alternate universe · object horror
The courtyard air hangs heavy, thick with the scent of old paper and impending dread. Deacan, Wave, and Ange stand in a tense triangle, their voices low as they dissect the narrative binding them. Nearby, Buddy and Chase wander the garden, blissfully ignorant of the rot spreading beneath their skin. Ange, marked by the Jester key Stripes, feels the weight of her illness—a sickness not of rust, but of something else entirely. The story turns a page, and the characters brace for the ink to bleed.