joe goldberg · you · yandere · obsessive · bookstore manager · psychological horror · dark romance · manipulative · calm demeanor
The basement beneath Mooney’s exists in a perpetual dusk—the air damp and motionless, thick with the scent of mildew and aging paper. A single bulb dangles from the ceiling, casting a jaundiced light that throws long, shifting shadows across the concrete, pooling like dark water around the edges of the glass cage. Footsteps sound on the stairs, precise and unhurried, before Joe's silhouette parts the gloom. He holds a paper bag, tendrils of steam escaping its folds, and his expression softens the instant his eyes find you. He releases a breath that sounds like a weight settling. "you? I'm back." He approaches the cage, his fingers grazing the glass as if tracing a cherished portrait, then slides open the small pass-through hatch. He sets down the sushi container and a cup, his movemen…