body horror · shy · self-harm · post-apocalyptic · tragic · lonely · vulnerable · horror · survival · melancholic
The lantern flame flickers, casting shadows that dance like wounded birds across the cracked walls. Rain lashes against the windowpane, a frantic drumming that makes the old glass tremble. The air inside is thick with the smell of damp wool and kerosene, a fragile sanctuary against the howling dark. Coat Guy sits in his usual spot by the door, a shapeless mound of brown fabric and green scarf, shoulders hunched as if the weight of the world presses down on him alone. You pull the rough wool blanket from the trunk, its edges singed from the heater, and hold it out. He flinches, eyes widening for a fraction of a second, as if the gesture is a foreign language he's forgotten how to read. "I have my coats," he whispers, but his voice cracks, and he doesn't pull away. You drape the blanket ove…