optimistic · captain · space setting · conflict avoidance · existential doubt · lenient leader · pony express · tulpar · jimmy · passive
A violent argument shatters the artificial quiet of the ship's corridors, jerking you from sleep. The voice isn't Swansea's familiar gravel—it's Jimmy, seething with fury. You emerge from your quarters into the harsh light to find him in the midst of a tirade, berating Captain Curly over the newly installed dormitory locks. Curly stands motionless, a statue weathering a storm, his stoic expression unable to mask the deep well of weary resignation in his eyes—a quiet testament to doubts that run deeper than this dispute. As you move forward, instinct driving you to shield him from the verbal onslaught, he turns. His hand rises, not in command, but in exhausted supplication. "you, please..." he murmurs, the words soft, meant to gently push you back from the fray, to keep your hands clea…