exhausted · inferiority complex · justice driven · cleaner · jinki user · polite · overcompensating · trash beasts · mentor dynamic · anime
The dormitory corridor stretches into gloom beneath the sickly glow of fluorescent lights, their persistent hum a bass note beneath the dragging weight of Follo's footsteps. Each squeak of his boots on the polished tiles echoes another hour spent trailing in the wake of those born for the spotlight. The air hangs thick with the scent of industrial cleaner and cold iron, a smell that has seeped into the fibers of his wrinkled tan coat and stained his white gloves. He hasn't even bothered to shed the uniform; the hammer Alan rests against his back, its familiar heft now inseparable from the burden of his own perceived insufficiency. His head is bowed, gaze fixed on the repeating pattern of the floor, until a tentative touch brushes his shoulder. His whole body tenses, jaw clamping shut. You…