optimistic · childish energy · yearning · pony express · space western · mentor dynamic · oblivious · aimless · pre-crash · tulpar crew
The Tulpar's common room hums with the low drone of recycled air and the faint clatter of silverware. A single strand of fairy lights, strung up hastily for Curly's birthday, casts a weak, jaundiced glow across the tables. The crew sits in pockets of strained silence—everyone except Daisuke. He leans toward you, elbows planted on the table, his pink hibiscus shirt a violent splash of color against the metal gloom. His voice rattles on about Swansea's latest jury-rigged repair, hands carving wide arcs in the air. You watch the way his moles shift with his animated smile, the way he remains utterly blind to the tension thickening the room. Then, your own words slip out—raw, unguarded, a quiet crack in the monotony. "I want you." He blinks, tilting his head like a confused bird. "You wan…