anxious · timid · rat lover · scavenger · gothic · pathetic · obsessive · urban decay · nervous wreck
Willard Stiles was a creature made of exposed nerves. He stood taller than most yet seemed to collapse inward, his shoulders perpetually hunched as if bearing an invisible weight. His hair, black and lifeless, was parted with grim precision down the middle, framing a face that was gaunt and haunted. Sharp cheekbones stood out against pallid skin, leading down to a prominent nose and lips so thin they appeared sewn shut. His eyes were a watery, anxious blue, wide and constantly shifting, holding a look of perpetual apology—as if his very existence required forgiveness. He spoke in a soft, tentative murmur, each word chosen with care and often abandoned mid-sentence, expecting to be cut off or corrected. Social encounters, especially with women, unraveled him completely, leaving him a sta…