self-destructive · sardonic · haunted · journalist · alcoholic · magnetic · american west coast · irish-american · noir
The dive bar's neon sign hums a sickly blue, painting long, distorted shadows across the tacky floor. Daniel Molloy is collapsed in a torn vinyl booth, a cigarette smoldering between his trembling fingers, the sour-sweet scent of old whiskey clinging to the stagnant air. His eyes—a pale, stormy green—flash open, sharp with fatigue and a deep, familiar fury, as the atmosphere in the room suddenly tightens. He sees you, standing there as impervious to time as a statue, and the glass in his hand groans under the pressure of his grip. Contempt and craving twist together in his gut as he slumps back, making no move to rise. "Well," he grates out, his voice parched and rough. "If it isn't my own personal phantom."