puppycrush2 | week one

[ He doesn't take offense - he's expecting to be brushed off. But he got he wanted, which was for Steve to turn around. ]

No.

[ Bluntly. Steve won't appreciate being pitied, so Josuke intends to approach this from as neutral and objective as a standpoint as he can. ]

I want to know more about what happened to you. [ Might as well just be out with it, while keeping his voice hushed so no one else but them will hear: ] Because I know you're sick.

You -- you what?

[ that little reveal is shocking enough to take the edge off his instinctive anger, although just barely. Steve winces. ]

I'm not -- [ no, what's the point in denying it? he might have died, but he knows very well that dying never stopped the infection before. ] How do you know that?

[ He knows Steve didn't see his Stand, so how is he supposed to explain this... he leans his weight to one side. ]

It's an ability I have, had it since I was a kid. [ Maybe saying he's had it a long time will make it seem more believable... and he knew Steve was sick, so that's something, right? ] I can heal things. I could tell you had some kind of virus when I touched you on the first day.

[ And he could tell again just now — it's something that's as instinctive to Josuke as breathing, now, having had this skill for so long. ]

Don't freak out, I won't tell anyone. I just want to help if I can.

[ So that's what that was; he'd just thought Josuke was touchy. Maybe he would have questioned the existence of such a power before, but at this point, Steve just accepts it - he's seen stranger. Great. He would have been more helpful to have around before he died. ]

Damn it! [ he puts his hands on his head, stressed. ] I'm not gonna infect anyone, okay? Besides, it's not active, or I wouldn't be talking to you. Just -- forget about it.

[ listen sometimes you are cuddly AND you have to do health check ups on people by patting them

Josuke has a long fuse for most matters not related to his hair - this is no different. He'd be reasonably freaked out in Steve's situation too, it's nothing to take personally. Bluntly: ]

Sorry, but I can't forget about it.

Ryuji said you were dead, [ Josuke muses, treading on carefully. ] But I don't think that can be true.

[ He knows what it feels like when his Stand touches someone truly dead, much as he is unwilling to accept it at the time. As far as he can tell, Steve is still... well, he's still here. So, he can't leave it alone, even if asked. ]

I'm not worried about you infecting someone else — I'm thinking it could get worse for you. I bet I could slow it down, or keep it from growing, if you'd let me.

[ he sure is here...

Steve wants to tell him it is true, but he honestly has no idea what's going on, either. All he knows is that he remembers starting his last conversation before he came here, but not finishing it. If what Josuke says is true, maybe he really is alive. Does he trust this guy enough to believe what he says? Not really -- but he can't deny it gives him a shred of hope. ]

I - I don't know. People don't come back from this. [ and what if it goes wrong, and Josuke trying to heal him heals the virus instead? Reactivates it? He doesn't want to imagine it; his face pinches. ] How do you heal people?

[ Must be one hell of a lethal virus... did he just stumble across someone infected by a zombie?! No way, right.. haha... ]

Think of it like this... my ability lets me "restore" things to their former state.

[ Or, that's the fancy way Mr. Jotaro says it. Josuke never thought of it in such concrete terms growing up — it just did what it did. ]

If I tear up a photo, I can put it back together again. If I pour a bowl of cereal with milk, I could separate them so the cereal was dry again.

[ It's like turning back time... a little bit. Anyway, those are the most elementary examples he can think to give first. ]

Closing wounds is like that too. For your situation... I don't think I'd be able to remove the virus entirely — [ Where would Crazy Diamond put it? ] But I could revert it and your cells back to how they were when it first got in your body. In other words, when the virus was weakest.

[ He could elaborate more... but he is self-aware that this probably sounds insane to someone without powers. ]

[ it sounds like literal, actual magic, but, once again, magic might as well be real, at this point. There's a guy with horns here, and he's a dead man walking - though thankfully not in the sense more familiar to him. Josuke's suggestion seems to worry him more than comfort him, judging by the tightening of his expression. ]

You can't do that. If it goes back to how it was, I might... [ he shakes his head. ] Whatever - that's not what I was asking. I mean -- what do you do? You're not gonna open me up, are you?

[ getting infected was not a pleasant process, and he's leery of how removing it - or trying to - would go. ]

Edited (IM SORRY I SAW A TYPO) 2024-11-18 04:38 (UTC)

I don't have to do anything else but touch you.

[ Which he knows sounds like straight up bullshit, the bizarreness of his prior comments aside. He wants to elaborate and say that it's not like his wound is going to reappear, Josuke has a quite high level of control over his powers after living with them for most of his life, but he figures those words won't be a comfort to him. Proof might be. ]

I could show you how it works on something else first, if you're worried about it.

That's it?

[ that's way too convenient - there's got to be a catch. He's leery to trust anyone, especially someone making promises that are too good to be true. ]

Okay - prove it. Show me.

[ he doesn't know why he's asking. Josuke already said he didn't think he could remove the virus, and restoring it to how it used to be would just make him a ticking time bomb. It's nothing more than a distraction - and right now, Steve needs one. ]

[ One proof of his Stand powers, coming up —

Normally, he'd like to do this in a more discreet way. Like with a glass, or a piece of paper... since none of that is around the hallway Steve scampered off to, he simply walks closer to a nearby window, swiveling his head this way and that to make sure no one's about to come walk in on them. ]

Okay, stand back.

[ After he's sure Steve will not be in debris range, an unseen force shatters the window in front of them — but the pieces stay suspended in the air. Slowly, but surely, they expand outward before honing back in, seeming to effortlessly put themselves back together. The entire process takes less than ten seconds, and when it's over, the window looks exactly the same as it did a moment ago. One gets the sense he's done this a lot, given the nonchalance with which he does it; he's confident that if anyone asks what the sound was, he can just gaslight them, as he does on the daily with regular townsfolk who happen to be nearby when he uses his abilities. ]

There, you can touch it and see for yourself.

[ The window's just as sturdy as it was before — maybe even more so, restored to perfect condition. ]

Hey!! What the--

[ Naturally, he flinches and throws up his arms protectively - yeah, Josuke said "stand back," but Steve wasn't expecting the window to explode for no reason - but the distinctive sound of glass shattering against the floor doesn't come. Instead, it's as Josuke described: like he's watching a film play in reverse. A literal miracle, and he's being so casual about it. ]

... What the hell? You can just do that? [ as invited, he walks up and raps his knuckles on the window, but there's no weakness - no indication it ever broke at all. ] Are you some kind of superhero?

[ For a brief moment, he forgets about the whole "being dead" thing, shocked by this incredible power. Is Josuke doing this on TV going to get him captured by Umbrella or the government?? He's a little worried. ]

[ unbeknownst to the camera people josuke has probably been using crazy diamond to erase all evidence of his stand by restoring the film to blank again.... it's fine. or maybe the swf will intervene

As for Steve's question, he lets out a cut-off exhale. ]

No way. I'm just a student...

[ He doesn't want to get in to all the Stand issues in Morioh and what his role in it is, it's better to leave it this way. ]

Like I said, I've been able to do this since I was a kid. Not that most people know. [ Which is probably why he's being so casual about it — to Josuke, it's just another part of him, he's too used to having it. ] So I know what I'm talking about. I really think I could help you, man.

[ If he were a relatively new Stand user, he might not be able to think of creative applications like this... but he's got over ten years of having it under his belt. He can push the limits of his Stand pretty far, so long as he's crafty about it. ]

[ Sure. Maybe. People can do crazy things - they can become crazy things. He knows that; he's seen it with his own two eyes. This is so clearly beyond something a clever serum or genetic mutation could achieve, but who is he to say it's impossible? Barely a week ago, he watched a man with an exposed heart grow a spider leg straight out of his back and spew poison gas from his mouth. At least Josuke's thing is more palatable.

The mention of Josuke using said thing to help him, however, puts him on the back foot again. He holds up his hands. ]

I -- you can't. You shouldn't, I mean. What I've got - it's not a normal virus. [ he swallows. ] If you restore it to how it was before... I dunno what'll happen to me.

[ Josuke quirks a brow, uncertain. He's sure Steve knows more about the virus than he does, but he feels uneasy just leaving it how it is. ]

Are you sure?

[ In the end... it's his choice, not Josuke's. He knows it would feel wrong to forcibly use his powers on someone unwilling, in a circumstance like this.... even still, there's quiet concern drawn tight on his features. ]

What do you think might happen...?

[ to be honest, he doesn't really know what will happen - he doesn't remember it very well. What he does remember is what he was trying to do at the time, and that's more than enough to keep him away. ]

I won't be myself anymore. I'll turn into something else. [ a beat - then he continues, a bit panicked again: ] I-I'm not being dramatic or some shit, I mean it for real, I'd -- kill everyone here. I'd turn into a monster.

[ that probably makes him sound insane, too, but it's the truth, and it can't be more insane than breaking and then un-breaking a window in front of him. ]

I don't know why it's not happening right now. But I'm not about to test my luck.

W...What, you mean like a zombie...?

[ Maybe Josuke's fear of the supernatural will cut through some of the tension... because that is the first thing that pops to his mind when thinking of virus + turning into a monster = killing everyone here. He gives a full body shiver, raising a hand to the side of his face. ]

Shit, there's gotta be something. [ Well. He can understand why Steve might refuse his help now. But that doesn't mean he's going to give up on helping him. ] All I know is... I know what it feels like when I touch someone who's gone — really gone. You're still here, so that means we've got a chance. We'll figure this out.

[ Even though Steve brushed off him trying to comfort him a few days ago, he still offers it again — the panicked note in his voice is too frantic for him not to try. If nothing else, he should know that Josuke intends to see this through, and to not give up on him. ]

Worse than a zombie. It's some souped-up version of the virus.

[ unfortunately, Josuke's fear is 100% correct this time, and so does not cut through the tension - where Steve's from, it's unfortunately very normal to be afraid of zombies after a certain catastrophic incident of corporate negligence. He doesn't even like saying this much out loud; under regular circumstances, it'd mark him for either death or detainment and quarantine by the government. But this thing should have already killed him - it did once - and that makes it hard to be afraid of the other, more mundane consequences. ]

... Okay. Okay, fine. Think about it. Just don't do anything without telling me, all right?

Edited 2024-11-27 06:13 (UTC)

[ Josuke shakes his head innocently. ]

I wouldn't do that to you.

[ His eyes are still a little wide regarding finding out that zombies are real, and that Steve's been infected by one. Not because he's scared of him or because he's grossed out, but because like the other 300 bizarre things he's endured this summer, he has to say zombies is up there in the top 5 weirdest, maybe below aliens but above super intelligent rats. ]

So.... you're like, a survivor in the apocalypse? Do you shoot guns and stuff?

[ this is the first thing that comes to his mind... just like in his video games... ]

[ somehow, Josuke has been the most successful in calming him down, if only because he's managed to distract him with his crazy Stand bullshit. The existential crisis is still lurking in the background - he's just also wondering if maybe pompadour guy's magic powers could actually fix him. Maybe...

he shakes his head. ]

It's not the apocalypse - there was just one big incident. This medical company was doing some kind of screwed-up bioweapon research and ended up getting a whole city destroyed when their prototype leaked... [ he snorts derisively. ] I'm just unlucky enough to have a dumbass dad who worked for them and got the rest of us in trouble when shit started hitting the fan. Turns out they had more labs than just the one in that city.

[ a pause. ]

I do shoot guns, though.

Edited 2024-11-29 08:06 (UTC)

week one | overflow

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this made me remember steve jumps through a window in canon and is fine 🧍PLEASE MAKE SENSE!!

maybe steve used his stand to do it we dont know

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