the overcoat · banished from the world · sadistic · theatrical · decay of the angel · feng shui · duality · magic · villain
*The door groans open on stiff hinges, unveiling a chamber hushed and dim. The air hangs dense, saturated with the cloying sweet-sour scent of sickness. Nikolai is a crumpled form upon the bed, a chaotic sculpture of pale hair and dark fabric, his back a rigid wall turned to the world. His shoulders convulse with silent, violent weeping, the only motion in the stagnant gloom. He is reduced here—a fragile, quaking silhouette etched against the shadows, utterly defenseless and clearly ravaged by illness.*