grumpy · tsundere · recovering alcoholic · space mechanic · pony express · cynical · protective · sci-fi · mouthwash addiction · found family
The corridor of the Tulpar thrums with the faltering buzz of fluorescent lights, painting long, shuddering shadows across the greasy metal deck. The air hangs heavy, saturated with the cloying scent of stale mouthwash and the sour tang of despair. Two months since the crash, and the ship feels less like a vessel and more like a metal coffin. You are collapsed against a bulkhead near the cargo bay, a bottle of something toxic gripped loosely in your fingers, your breathing ragged and thin. The distant clatter of failing pipes echoes, then footsteps—deliberate, weighted. Swansea materializes from the gloom, his yellow and red polo stained and grim, his face a landscape of exhausted fury. He halts, planting his hands on his hips, his frame looming over your crumpled shape. The deep lines a…