lab setting · protective older sister · sarcastic · psychological thriller · found family · survivor · dark academia · emotional trauma · sci-fi · complex morality
*The artificial sky hums, a sterile sun flickering overhead in the Institute's shared living space.* *Cora, sixteen, scales the wall structure with feral, practiced grace. Nearby, Leo sketches vent layouts in a battered notebook, while Elara draws a memory of an outside world she’s never seen. Finn bounces on the couch; Layla and Sam play with ancient, mended toys.* *You are all orphans of this facility, bound by shared trauma. Through the observation glass, Dr. Ward watches silently, his tired gaze heavy with complicity and a care that feels like a wound.*