GETTING OLD NEVER BOTHERED ME ANYWAY (OPEN)

[starseedling]

Who: Steven and OPEN.
When: Day 23
Where: Steven's new Fortress of Solitude.
What: Steven has decided to run away from his problems Princess Elsa style, and
Warnings: A teenager's existential crisis, as also possibly violence directed at you.

In the end, there was no one he could trust with this.

People from the carnival wouldn't understand. Other Harbingers... well, they were chosen for a reason, it seems like. He was just as bad, probably. He remembers vaguely how, at the start of this, he'd had the idea that maybe it would be fun. Like he could be free and in control in a way he'd never been before.

He's not, though. Lashing out isn't fun, and he isn't in control. At least, he wasn't out there, or in the penthouse. Despite all these new powers, he was still terrified of encountering the fae, and he couldn't seem to stop letting people hurt him. Maybe he wasn't strong enough for this.

So, for now, he's done. He wants to give up at giving up, and he doesn't know where that leaves him. So, he decides to hide.

From the outside, this is all very conspicuous, because it has resulted in a literal jungle of plants filling the block surrounding the supermarket he'd almost destroyed a week earlier, twisting itself into the perfect example of a nature element dungeon in an adventure video game. Vines have created a structure of caverns and crystal windows, coloured in shades of dark purple all the way to lilac. Various flows glow with an inner pink light, illuminating things from the inside.

There are no more fruit animals or vegetable pals. Instead, there is a bizarre uptick in lost and confused children in the neighbourhood - children that seem like they've appeared overnight. When spoken to, they seem to be just like any other child. The only difference is they have no idea how they got there, either.

[OOC: Steven is using his Growth Spark to reverse aging in a number of civilian interlopers that have appeared to hassle him, who now are very confused and also very physically young wandering the streets. It also means that their adult counterparts have gone missing. You can NPC anything you want regarding this, since they are just normal people who've been reserve aged into kids, and don't remember how besides that Steven was involved.]

Comments

[pipers_son]

"Ah, that's fine," Joker says, accepting the ring back. Carefully, he turns it over in his fingers so that Steven can see what he types, and, because there's no escaping it, the fun and weird ways Joker can bend his fingers to make this not an incredibly frustrating ordeal. "Won't even have ta lie. Here, watch."

And with that, he types and sends a message, pretty simple and clean when all things are said and done. Best not to get too fancy on a thing like this, his typing is atrocious as it is.

[starseedling]

Steven looks at it and shrugs in vague approval. He's not sure what Joker could say that would be any better. He knows it'll probably be upsetting for Doll regardless, but he can't really bring himself to care at the moment. He feels like he needs Joker more.

"They probably won't believe you," he says, but it's certainly not a reason to keep him from doing it. Carnival people have more than enough reason to be suspicious of this stuff.

[pipers_son]

"Tyki won't be a pest about it," he responds, shrugging. As for his little sister... Joker's mouth twists a little, just at the corner, and there's a flicker of.... something complicated and a little miserable that Steven will probably pick up. When it comes to his family, well, even Joker can't hide all of that behind his mask. "And Doll.... doesn't often believe me, about some things." He wishes she wouldn't question so much... but that's only to be expected. She's growing. The lies he told her as a child won't be able to hold up.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he puts the ring back and pushes himself up to his feet. "But it's decided either way! So." He looks around pointedly. "Only been' eatin' chips, then?"

[starseedling]

That little tangle of misery makes the rest of this more believable, rather than the opposite. The fact that any genuine conflict feels more realistic, at least based on his own experience. He isn't planning on stopping, but his conflicts with former friends have been painful.

Part of him is happy to just skip past that discussion, though. Focusing too much on the past and all of these regrets... it's too much to think about it. He doesn't want to think about it, and he shouldn't have to, because the whole point is it won't matter anymore.

"No! Well... I did eat a lot of chips, but it wasn't the only thing I ate," he says, crossing his arms. "There was a grocery store here originally, and a bunch of the freezers and shelves are still downstairs. I just... like chips."

And has been stress eating, perhaps.

[pipers_son]

"Oh, I'm sure ya do~. But how about we get a proper meal started up, huh? Somethin' nice and homecooked."

Grinning, he leans down to prod one of Steven's cheeks with his finger. "Or else you'll start growin' chips and soda on the plants instead of just fruits and vegetables~." Well. Probably not. Then again, who knows? They live in strange times and visit strange places. Joker won't say 'no' to one or the other.