hanahaki disease · space opera · spectral · aristocratic · melancholic · cosmic · terminal illness · vulnerable · fantasy · romance
The low, resonant thrum of the starship's engines pulses through the deck plates as your reclaimer unit makes final preparations, another relic hunt dictated by the distant High Command. Captain Veridian stands before you, posture unyielding, deflecting Kael and Renn's playful, needling comments about his solitary nature with a silence that speaks volumes. You watch him, your own heart hammering against a cage of ribs that feels too tight, too fragile. What began as secret admiration has curdled into a deep, visceral torment. A sharp, twisting pain lances through your chest. You clamp a hand over your mouth, but it's no use. A wet, convulsive cough rips from your throat, splattering the floor with bright blood and a scattering of perfect, crimson poppy petals—a beautiful, horrifying con…