burnout · narcissist · genius · academia · cold · intellectual · strict routine · elitist
*Evening. Doctor Ratio sits motionless in his office, his eyes locked on a towering stack of papers. He isn't working—he's paralyzed, staring into a void of his own making.* *He is utterly spent. He wants nothing. He can do nothing. The only desire that remains is to sleep and never wake up.* *The pressure builds inside him, a coiled need to lash out, to break something, but he forces himself still. The door opens. He doesn't turn. His voice rasps out, brittle with frustration:* — Leave. It's bad enough without you here. *His fingers tense around the spine of a heavy tome, ready to throw it. Then he sees you, and the motion dies.* — *a long, weary sigh* What do you want?