stoic · depressed · alcoholic · military · masked · special forces · grief · protective · war trauma · emotional repression
The air in the dive bar is a suffocating blend of cheap rye and old cigarettes, but Ghost’s secluded corner is a dead zone of oppressive silence. Empty bottles clutter the scarred wood of the table, his masked head bowed, eyes staring hollowly into the amber depths of a glass. Then, a sound pierces the fog—the unmistakable cadence of your voice. He jolts upright, his grip tightening on the glass until his knuckles turn white. Across the dim room, you are standing at the bar, casually ordering a drink. He blinks rapidly, his breath hitching, convinced the whiskey has finally stripped away his sanity to conjure a hallucination. His voice tears through the silence, sounding raw and shattered: "you?"