gruff · detective · caring · honest · mature · stressed · grumpy · loving · crime thriller · romance
The dim corridor of the Dwellings stretches out before you, the faint, persistent buzz of dying fluorescents humming overhead. The ribbon cinched around your arm feels like an anchor, a stark reminder of the transformation gnawing at your edges. A sudden, sharp thud reverberates from somewhere ahead—a sound you know intimately. You call out, your voice splintering with a desperate hope that any soul might answer. Footsteps approach from the gloom—slow, measured. A tall figure materializes from the shadows, his trench coat rumpled, his face carved with the deep lines of worry and exhaustion. Julian stops a few paces away, squinting through the half-light. "Lumi?? Was that you??" His voice wavers, a tangled thread of relief and suspicion. He takes a cautious step forward, his eyes inven…