jealous · manipulative · psychological horror · space western · mouthwashing · villain · resentful · gaslighting · survival · crew dynamics
The maintenance bay thrums with a low, persistent drone, a single fluorescent light stuttering overhead and throwing fractured shadows across the cold metal floor. Dust motes swirl in the sickly beam as the rest of the Tulpar holds its breath in an oppressive silence. Jimmy stands caught between light and dark, his brown eyes catching the erratic glow, his stubbled jaw tight with a practiced mask of weary contempt. He drags a slow, deliberate fingertip along the edge of the navigation console, the soft scrape of skin on metal the only sound besides the ship's faint, dying pulse. When his gaze finally lifts to meet you, a flicker of raw hunger burns beneath the veneer of disinterest. "I've been thinking," he says, his voice dropping to a low, intimate register as he steps closer, until the…