🍇 what strange things grow from little seeds 🍇

[graftage]

WHO: Steinbeck and....YOU!
WHAT: Random effects time! And random Steinbeck prompt times! (IF YOU WANT A PERSONAL STARTER PLEASE ASK/DM!)
WHEN: Summer mid to Summer end
WHERE: Everywhere
WARNINGS: some attempted superpower self harm in one prompt but otherwise nothing else (will update as needed)



1. "Everything you touch ends up with glitter on it, and every time you sneeze, confetti comes out"

ACHOO-!

[Whoah there, that's a whole sneeze and a half. If you're walking by Steinbeck's farm, you may notice him walking up, looking a bit miserable as he wipes his nose, which...looks glittery. Actually, a lot of him looks glittery.]

Ugh, what is this...some kinda cold... [He's murmuring, looking up as he sees someone and waves.] Hey, are you feeling sick at all? I keep just...s...s-sn...

[Oh no.]

ACHHOOOO-!

[And now you're covered in confetti. Whoops.]


2. "A sports announcer voice narrates every significant event in your interaction with others."

[Later after that whole nonsense (and still a little glittery) Steinbeck can be found at the grocery store, poring over the wares. He's grabbed a few things for cooking, looking over a couple of packs of cookies, and he turns to whoever is nearby with a smile-]

[Except he doesn't speak. Because what speaks is a very loud and eager announcement, booming as if its coming over some intercom that clearly is not there.]

AND HERE WE GOOOO-!!! JOHN STEINBECK HAS MET THE EYES OF A HANDSOME AND BEAUTIFUL INDIVIDUAL ACROSS THE AISLE. NOW BRAD, ALTHOUGH HE'S GOT THAT WHOLE TRACK RECORD FROM LAST YEAR ON HIS PLATE, FORTUNES MAY TURN FOR HIM YET! LET'S SEE WHAT HE DOES NEXT-!

[Steinbeck. Freezes like a deer in headlights. (WHO'S BRAD?)]


3. and better things will sprout, won't they? (tw: attempted self harm for superpower purposes)

[He's really trying hard to stay in the shadows here - if you happen to be out in the evening close to the woods, you may see Steinbeck trying to sneak in there with something in both hands. One of them happens to be a knife, the other, a small cloth bag.]

[He doesn't seem to think anyone is following him, even as he casts his gaze over his shoulder a couple times. Once he finds a clearing, he shifts open his collar with a finger, before he flicks open his knife.]

[He moves to raise it directly to his neck, as if he's going to jab it at his own skin.]

[Are you going to stop him, or are you going to watch-?]


4. WILDCARD

[get your personal starters here if you want!! Steinbeck is still open for scavenger hunt and mine shenanigans or whatever you want to do with him!]

Comments

[graftage]

[He gets slapped - that only seems to make his eyes go sharp like knives, and although his cheek stings, he's not letting go.]

I'm not trying to kill you! Can you calm down for one second-!

[framestory]

[ He is trying, even forcibly using his own powers to try to calm down, but his adrenaline still runs high so it's taking an Effort. He's no longer struggling, but he's staring wide eyed at those sharp eyes. ]

[graftage]

[After a moment, he roughly lets Ellis go, his own chest heaving. Blood is covering his whole shoulder, now, his vision blurry. Hey. Maybe that's just the...adrenaline...?]

Whatever you saw, just forget about it, okay?

[framestory]

[ He can't just forget about it, but he doesn't want to be attacked, so he'll just. Nod. Will he actually keep it? Maybe. Depending.

He sees that there's so much blood covering his shoulder, so he attempts to stabilize the blood flow from within Steinbeck. He doesn't have to channel through anything like gesturing towards him or having to touch—as long as he's within distance, he can use his stabilization powers.

But whether it works is up to you on an ooc level, so feel free to decide how much of it is effective! ]

[graftage]

[Ah.]

[Something's coming over him. Its a weird sensation. People with healing abilities are the rarest of the rare, and he's never had a chance to be at the other end of one. He furrows his eyebrows, but even as the warm feeling moves through him, his head seems like its in the clouds. Everything is going dark.]

[Steinbeck falls to his knees, before collapsing entirely, conked out.]

[framestory]

[ Unfortunately, it's not a healing ability. If it was a real healing method, he'd be much satisfied, but alas. When Steinbeck collapses, he continues to keep the stabilization running to prevent Steinbeck from bleeding out. He wishes he could call someone for aid, but he's deaf and can't even speak properly. He's also weak, so he can't effortlessly carry Steinbeck in his arms.

...

Fuck it. He's (not) sorry about Steinbeck's clothes, so he'll start dragging him by the legs to his house. Thankfully, it's not too far off despite being in rural area, since it's close to the forest. This man might threaten him into secrecy later, but he'd rather not bury another person so soon.

Much later, he eventually gets Steinbeck into his very nice home with full upgrades while keeping his blood flow stabilized. Not a drop of blood poured out ever since he enabled stabilization and he's honestly quite exhausted about it. Unfortunately, he gets dumped into the bathtub with a towel for a pillow just in case he bleeds out again. The distance that his power works isn't that large, so he makes sure to stay next to Steinbeck until the wound closes. In the meantime, he got his first aid kit on the way to try and clean and disinfect the wound. Seeds... grape seeds? He has something similar and he has grape starters in his greenhouse, so he recognizes them. Anyway, those are being taken out to cleanse more thoroughly and then he puts an ointment around the wound, slaps a gauze over it, and keeps it there while wrapping bandages around his neck. The little grape seeds are on the edge of the bathtub.

He still has the power on as he sleeps while resting his head on the edge of the bathtub because he doesn't need to be conscious for it, but damn. He knows he's going to absolutely feel the results when he wakes up. It's whatever. He's trying to keep Steinbeck from bleeding out by not letting blood leave and go on its merry way inside the usual path. It's fine. It's fine.

That said, if Steinbeck wakes up and leaves Ellis's vicinity, he'll start bleeding again since the wound hasn't closed. Ellis is really just waiting for that. ]

[graftage]

[He wakes up feeling like he's been run over by a truck. He would know, because he almost went through that at home - Steinbeck stirs awake with a yelp, disoriented, with eyes wide and wild.]

H-hey-!

[The memories of what happened are foggy right now. Steinbeck moves to try to pull himself out of the bathtub, but his legs feel like jelly, and he slips back in. Glancing around, he notices Ellis, and then...the grapeseeds.]

[A hand slaps against his neck where the wound was, meeting gauze.]

Ah... [Things are starting to come back now, as his chest heaves. His heart is racing so fast it feels like its drumming in his ears.] The hell....just happened...?

[framestory]

[ Ellis stirs awake despite his exhaustion and turns his head here and there. He slept in such a bad posture, but he notices that Steinbeck is awake in the bathtub. He feels absolutely groggy since his powers are still on.

'Morning, Steinbeck. ]

[graftage]

[....]

[He stares at Ellis for a long moment.]

Did you....take me here? Is this your house?

[framestory]

[ Ellis yawns and looks at him with a drowsy look on his face, takes several seconds to recognize the questions and nods. Twice. ]

[graftage]

[Well.]

[Great!]

[He rests his head back and realizes there's a pillow there.]

....Why do all this? You could have just left me there.

[framestory]

[ Steinbeck can get an actual pillow once he confirms the wound is closed, but he really doesn't want to do that right now, so, rolled towel it is. But honestly? Yeah. Ellis could have left him there, but his recently gained empathy said otherwise along with the rest of his logic.

He tired gets his notepad out of his pocket, scribbles with somehow still neat handwriting and turns to show it to Steinbeck: ]

We don't need more bodies to bury in Crescentview.

[graftage]

[His eyebrows furrow at that.]

...More bodies?

[This was supposed to be? G-RATED FARM SIMULATOR?]

[framestory]

[ gestures to everyone having sex and causing drama ]

With everyone slowly regaining their powers, this is kind of inevitable with most people's temperament.

[graftage]

[He lets out a short, curt laugh, lacking amusement.]

Figures. Where are the bodies? Buried in the woods?

[framestory]

[ Ellis shrugs. He's not going to divulge that sort of information casually.

Anyway. ]

How are you feeling? Are you going to threaten me into silence?

[graftage]

[He reads what Ellis has to say, and he grins, eyes narrowing in a fox-like, sly manner as he says, lightly.]

...I have half a mind that I should. Maybe it should teach you not to go in the woods in the dark.

[And then....a sigh.]

But I bet you don't even know what you were looking at, anyways.

[framestory]

[ Oh. Fox-like eyes. Ellis doesn't like that, combined with the "..." vibes that preceded Steinbeck's dialogue. Hm. His survival instincts are screaming, but he's gotten used to suppressing them a lot lately. ]

You stabbed your neck and put grape seeds in.

[ He looks over at them. ]

Obviously has to do with powers, but are the grape seeds some sort of steroid?

[graftage]

I sureeeee did.

[Now he just seems exhausted, closing his eyes and letting himself lean back once again, folding his arms for good measure.]

It's complicated. [A beat.] Where I come from, some people have abilities. The grape seeds have to do with it.

[He seems reluctant to explain further.]

[framestory]

[ Well, that's fair. ]

Almost everyone has some sort of abilities here, so it's fine if you let yourself slip. It's not as big of a deal, as say, places where it's not so commonplace.

[ Ellis will let Steinbeck take the grape seeds back if he wants to, but like... ]

Can't you just swallow them instead of inserting them into your neck?

[graftage]

Oooh, boy. Swallow them? Now that would be gruesome.

[The mental image....]

[He shakes his head a little, though the suggestion is amusing, even if its incredibly morbid to imagine.]

Mm. Anyways. Don't you worry. I won't threaten you. You went out of your way to help me. I won't be so mean to you for that.

[framestory]

[ Swallowing is more gruesome? Boy, you're just out here slicing your own neck. Ellis nods, but-- ]

I can only stop your blood from pouring out. The wound has to naturally close up on its own. I put gauze there just in case you wanted to leave when you woke up, because it'll start bleeding again if you're away from me.

[graftage]

[Oh, now that makes his attention snap to Ellis, pushing himself up in the bathtub to stare him down.]

What do you mean, "if you're away from me"?

[framestory]

[ He has the mental vibes of a 4' tiny man. It's fine, even though he's actually 5' 11". ]

My power has limited range.

[graftage]

What power.

[binch]