MUSHI DISASTER

[dontpokethat]

Who: Anyone and everyone; it’s a mingle-style log!
What: A sudden spike in the mushi population brings some trouble to the carnival.
When: Around day 87-90
Where: All around the carnival
Warnings: Illness, potentially some minor body horror, and so on



[Following the recent disappearance of Ginko and Tanyuu’s mushi repellent, there will be a sudden increase in the number of mushi in the carnival this week.

This is a mingle-style log, so just post a toplevel, tag out, and have fun with mushi disasters! Event information and questions are here.]

Comments

[starseedling]

"Yeah..." Hugs probably would have been pretty alarming, yeah. He hasn't really touched anyone since shortly after this started happening, and he's apprehensive about what it would feel like now. He offers Greg a weak smile back, and then rubs one of his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm being kind of a baby about it..." he says, laughing frailly. "Ginko said I could just be in the sun, or in the trailer, or whatever and it would go away on its own, I'm just..."

He's not really sure what to say. He doesn't want Greg to be stressed about it, either.

[fragileandsoft]

Greg bites back a sigh. Geez... what did his kid do to deserve all this stress?

"It's okay, kiddo. We'll get through this together." He offers a dim smile in the darkness. "We can take it slow, and once it's done you'll feel loads better. All right?" He can only trust in Ginko's diagnosis on that, and there's no reason to doubt him. The only authority Greg has on the matter is making sure his kid deals with as little pain as possible. "So... how do you wanna do this? I got some cocoa, or a warm blanket."

[starseedling]

Be born, apparently. That's the only common thread Steven can figure out. Still, there's no real sign of any of that bitterness in him right now. He just seems fairly put out by all of this - understandably so.

He winces a little, thinking about how recently boiled liquids would feel. He'll probably want to start slower than that.

"P-Probably just the blanket, right now. Ha ha..." He brushes some snow off his shirt. "I don't really want to snow all over our stuff."

[fragileandsoft]

"Ahh, don't worry about that. It's just stuff. Here, get comfy."

Lil's already evacuated the bed as Greg draws near. His trainer may be full of platitudes, but he's got no intention of putting up with the cold. In turn, Greg pulls the blanket off the bed and wraps it around Steven.

"How's that feel?" Not as nice as it should, he knows.

[starseedling]

Thanks, Lil. Steven just smiles at him apologetically, knowing that this is sort of a hassle - meanwhile, Bud has already climbed up on the counter and started chirping anxiously at him.

Steven sits on the bed, pulling up his feet to cover them with the blanket too. He doesn't really have anything good to say about the feeling, unfortunately, but at least it's a slower start than it could be.

"It's... okay," he says, though it's clearly with some hesitation. "Just gunna have to get used to it!" Though, his voice hitches a little.

[fragileandsoft]

Greg starts to reach over, before hesitating. Not knowing if it's okay to touch his son, if it will cause him even more discomfort... it makes him feel sick. He settles with touching at the wilted roses in Steven's hair, cupping them against the snow. Surely at least they could use the warmth.

"I'll be here for you the whole time. You need me to get you anything, you need to stop for whatever reason, just let me know."

He wishes so badly there was more he could do. Anything he can think of would only make it worse, though, so he just has to wait. Wait until Steven lets him know.

[starseedling]

Steven wishes he knew what he wanted. Or at least, he wishes what he wanted didn't lead down a path of inevitable pain. He just wants it to be over with so he doesn't have to think about it anymore, because something about the whole idea weighs on him heavily.

After a while if feeling uncomfortable, he leans against Greg. Ginko had said that body heat could help. Maybe he should just suck it up and go all the way. Maybe a few hours of pain would be better than even more hours of somewhat less pain.

"Ginko said body heat could help," Steven suggests halfheartedly. "Maybe... Maybe it would be better that way."

Part of it is that he'd just like a hug.

[fragileandsoft]

Greg lets out a small sigh, both relieved and reluctant for the discomfort it'll cause Steven. But in the end, he's been hoping for the go-ahead on this. Not hugging is hard.

An arm wraps around to pull him in a little closer.

"I think I can manage that."

The chill of the snow has already begun to dampen the blanket and chill Greg's fingers, but he pulls Steven into his lap for a full and proper hug.

[starseedling]

They can be uncomfortable together, he guesses. Things seem to be ending up like this a lot recently.

Still, Steven can't help but make the best of that hug as soon as he's got it. Just the warmth of Greg's touch is enough to sting, but Steven leans into it anyway, wrapping his arms around his dad in return. He doesn't know why all of this has been getting to him emotionally. Something about it just makes him feel so sad.

He hates that he can't help but cringe at the sensation of a huge, but the mushi inside of him are making it so Greg feels like an over-hot bowl of soup more than a comforting bit of warmth. He starts tearing up a little, finding it difficult to hold in.

"Thanks, dad," he says very quietly.