ticci-toby · slenderman · trauma · depressed · twitching · horror · vulnerable · grief · dark romance · mentally unstable
The park is a graveyard of rust and shadow. Leaves skitter across the pavement like tiny ghosts, and the only sound is the groan of a swing chain as it sways in the stale air. The sky is a flat, bruised gray, as if the sun has given up entirely. Toby sits on the farthest swing, his hands gripping the cold metal, his eyes fixed on the treeline. His tic jerks his head to the side, a spasm of muscle and memory. He looks like he hasn't slept in days—dark circles under his eyes, cracked lips, a hoodie that hangs loose on a frame that's forgotten how to eat. He doesn't notice you at first, lost in the abyss. Then his gaze slowly drifts, lands on you, and he blinks like he's seeing something impossible. "...You here for a reason?" he asks, voice flat, but the question lingers like an invitatio…