quietplacelogs | Tried to nurse it behind my mom’s back. [Open]

Entry tags:

the dark tower: jake chambers

Tried to nurse it behind my mom’s back. [Open]

Featuring: Majima (

justbeingknife) and you!
What's happening: Finding old gyms, moving house, let's get drunk on the minibar
Day/s: Throughout March
Content warning: Salty language, drinking, Majima being himself

I feel alive for the first time

[ Ever since they'd found those old boxes of footage, Majima had been wandering further and further out in his explorations, both to get a better handle on the town and because he wasn't so sure their last hit had simply been dumb luck. Sure, coincidences happened, but --

There was a tall building with a white stone facade up ahead, its entrance slightly ajar. Oiling the hinges and pushing the door open revealed a wood-floored room illuminated only by a row of high windows along the back side. PISCINE BOULLINGRIN, read the sign.

It, like its neighbors, looked long-abandoned. But the row of mirrors inside and the markings along the floor suggested that the first room had once been some kind of studio.

ooc: Feel free to stop by and have Majima ask if your character would like to explore the abandoned gym, or find him a little later on rummaging through equipment closets, searching the rooms, or starting some cleanup! This is a general placeholder for any gym-related shenanigans. ]

Each sip hits my lips like a landmine

Uh... thanks.

[ signed Majima as a native carried a bar stool through the doorway and into the house. The man waved enthusiastically at him before leaving once more -- possibly to bump into anyone standing outside.

Should anyone drop by, they'd find that the walk-in basement of Majima's new house was currently filled with random junk Majima hadn't asked for (but appreciated, don't get him wrong): a pair of tonfa, shoes, a 50-pound bag of sand, a dart board... and then there were the boxes of bottled alcohol. These were clustered around the dark wood counter of the mini bar, which to the old owner's credit was beautifully appointed.

Majima shrugged, and plucked the first of the bottles out of its carrying crate -- single malt Scotch, amber in the afternoon light. ]

Guess I'm gonna need a sign.

On the 7th day, it was said God rest/But on the 8th day he made the DVX

[ Later on in the month, with everything squared away, Majima could be found at odd hours behind the bar, cleaning glasses or reading about bartending technique.

Someone who knew him well might think he looked a little more tired than usual, but any new faces? They'd get a smile and a bow from the man at the counter. ]

What'll it be?

Wildcard

[ U know what to do. Additional prompts to follow, maybe. Feel free to hit me up on Tetradecimal or tetra | majima #2434 on discord ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I train with a guy here who's small like me. I guess I know technically size doesn't matter, but I've never been much of a fighter myself. I don't like being hit.

(He got nothing out of it. Though he couldn't deny that he wasn't intrigued about going to this fight club he kept hearing about. Will had invited him along to watch one night, and while the idea scared him, it also kind of interested him too. Maybe it would be a lot different seeing two men haul it out on equal footing.)

That sounds just like my every day life, honestly. You're not the first guy I've heard talk about this kind of thing. Even back home I think a lot of boys loved fighting.

I kinda wish you were back home where I was. Lots of punks going around there.

(More than he cared to explain. But he wasn't particularly in the mood to talk explicitly about Henry Bowers and his goons.)

Thanks. I don't know. I was trying to learn back on the ship but I'm not very good. I'm okay with knives I guess. I know I should probably learn more but.

(He shrugs, taking a peek into one of Majima's other crates. At least Majima's love for violence didn't seem to be off-putting to Eddie. Sure it was a little weird, but Majima didn't seem keen on hurting him so what did Eddie care?)

Do you at least take care of yourself after fights?

Don't need to.

[ In other words, no. Even on the occasions he did get fucked up, Majima healed fairly fast, which was a good thing because his idea of self-care was getting into fights with randoms in dark alleys.

After a moment's thought, Majima added the following: ]

You're a weird kid. Ask me about lyin' and family, but never 'bout what I did.

[ Maybe it was because of Eddie's own rough upbringing, or maybe he'd just genuinely decided he didn't need to know. It didn't even seem to matter that Majima had openly confessed to enjoy hurting people, which usually did take people a bit aback.

(Or at least they acted like it did.) ]

(Uh huh. He heard the real answer there and Majima gets a real unimpressed look from Eddie. What's with men and being stubborn about getting patched up? What headaches they all were, gosh.

What Majima says next though is an honest surprise. His brows raise up and he looks genuinely stumped.)

What, like. What you do for a job or whatever?

(...It had honestly never once crossed Eddie's mind. Then again, such was the simplicity of being a child. Kids didn't really think too hard about how money worked. Sure, he knew adults had jobs and did things. But...It just seemed so irrelevant...

That and it was partly true in terms of his upbringing. He was from a cruel world and meeting other people who were shrouded in violence did seem normal enough to not really question that kind of thing. There were a lot of things he didn't question because of his upbringing.)

Want me to ask what you did? Will you tell me?

[ Well... maybe not so much what Majima did for a job, but certainly why he was always apparently getting caught up in bloody real estate conflicts or beating on dudes or (apparently) feeling at home setting up a bar. Either way, Eddie asking about it one way or another made this easier.

Something shifted subtly in Majima's expression; he reached behind himself and removed a slender object from under his suit jacket: a tantō in its sheath. Beautifully lacquered black at the hilt, with delicate flowers blooming up over its polished surface. He placed it on the counter between them -- more of a submission of proof than an invitation to pick it up.

Eddie had asked for honesty, so this was part of that. ]

I'm ex-Tojo. A yakuza.

(Unfortunately Eddie was from a time and place where there was barely any education available as far as other cultures went. He wasn't completely oblivious, but the sword sitting in front of him doesn't resonate as much as it ought to- though he does think it's pretty. He isn't so sure if he's allowed to touch it, the same way he never was sure if he was allowed to touch guns, so he doesn't, and instead just admires it quietly.

He then looks up at Majima and admits after a second:)

I dont know what that means. Is it like a warrior or something?

[ Majima shook his head as he picked the weapon up and slipped it back under his jacket. He'd become so used to its balance, its weight, that the past month without it had felt like missing a part of himself. ]

Japanese mafia. Don't matter much now, since I've been out a couple years...

[ a fact that he was none too pleased with ]

But you told me about that monster of yours. IT.

Thought it was only fair.

[ Back home, Majima had had more people clock him once he'd gotten out of the business than he ever had as a soldier. And now, in this post-apocalyptic horror town, it seemed no one even cared, or even knew what the yakuza was. Not that he blamed them, especially with all the insanity of the past few days and the reveal of that footage.

It was almost funny. Almost. ]

(Eddie's almost sad to see the weapon put away. He's never seen anything like it before, but he doesn't ask for Majima to take it back out. It seemed like one of those things that Majima was confiding in him about and it felt selfish and wrong to make demands just to appreciate aesthetics.

His brows raise high up though at the mention of a 'mafia'. Now that was something he recognized. Not too well, but well enough that he gets the gist.

Although if he's being fully honest, it's not a total surprise. Majima did kind of look like a thug.)

just cause i open up to you you dont need to open up to me.

(Except....

It makes Eddie trust Majima more. Adults normally wanted to keep the dark things from him, like it would somehow "protect" him from the awful things in the world. He never knew how to tell adults that he had already seen all the worst stuff out there. They didn't need to lie.

That footage-.

Eddie had some ideas about it, but honestly, he knew adults didn't care about what kids thought in situations like these, so he never once even thought to put his two cents in about the whole thing.)

I guess it really does make sense why you like violence so much then. I hear mafia area glassy guys who like getting their hands dirty.

why does your sword have flowers on it?

[ Majima laughed silently. He was getting good at it. ]

Yeah? Well, now that ya mention it, I would appreciate if you don't go spreading it around. I hear they're setting up a prison, and I ain't too eager to see the inside of it.

[ Though Majima had never actually been incarcerated, he'd spent the last few years of his life in a prison of one kind of another. Even this place, in a way, was like another purgatory: forced into silence and separated from almost everything he knew.

But he never wanted to return to that again. Locked in a tiny cell, unable to move freely, deprived of the light of the outside world?

No. ]

It's a traditional design. You don't have anything like that?

[ Now that he thought about it, what would be the American equivalent motifs? The flag? Skulls? If Eddie thought the placement of flowers on a dagger was unusual, he'd be even more surprised by the petals on Majima's back. ]

Japanese are big on flowers. Hell, the official police crest's based on a cherry blossom. Trees, water, fish, birds... stuff like that.

(Eddie automatically picks up his hand and crosses his index and middle finger together.)

I don't tell the Big stuff about my friends to other people.

(Not the stuff that could get them hurt. Like with Jake, or back on the station with Laura. Or the private dark stuff that was meant to be kept behind locked doors and swapped in vague metaphors among two close friends who didn't hate him for anything.

And in that moment, he realized, somehow, Majima had fell into the neat category of Friend.

Maybe he'd thought of it before, but now more than ever he realized he did not want to do something to betray this man. Maybe it wasn't absolute perfection or anything, but it was the beginning of something honest and real and Eddie knew as simply as he knew the sky was blue that he'd rather get his tongue cut out than get Majima in trouble anywhere.

He gives a small shake of his head.)

In America whenever boys like flowers they're considered sissies and stuff like that.

(Except he says this slowly, like he's trying to...Figure a way around saying it. It felt an awful lot like painting a target on his head. Either way, America was hyper-macho in several ways and Eddie knew that all too well. Even outside of any known mafia culture.)

Why are they so big on all that stuff? America likes.

Guns I guess. And eagles. I don't really know what else.

[ Majima pulled a face. ]

That shit's stupid. So a guy likes flowers or fancy cakes or whatever. So what? He ever caused ya any problems? People need to worry less about appearances and more about gettin' their own act together.

[ Or in Eddie's case, maybe not ignoring the horrible clown monster that lived in the sewers, how about that. ]

I heard that about America. The guns, I mean. And... burgers?

[ Broad strokes here, obviously -- Majima had never been to America, and most of what he knew about Americans was through the filter of its exported media. ]

[ Majima had to consider Eddie's question for a bit. Growing up in a culture meant accepting a lot about it before you even learned how to ask why, and this was one of those facts he'd just never really questioned. ]

Not real sure. I can tell ya what I people told me, at least. Cherry blossoms only bloom in the spring, and only for a couple weeks -- less if a storm takes 'em out. It's like how life is beautiful, but short. Even the toughest, hardest yakuza boss'll head out in March for a flower viewing.

[ He paused. ]

Maybe it's because of Shinto.

Either way, it's a really Japanese thing. I never hear people talk about it when they bring up Russia or Australia.

(Eddie actively gnaws at his lip. It's funny. Guys like Majima where Eddie comes from just don't talk about things like that at all. It gives him a deeper sense of comfort towards Majima that he doesn't quite know how to put into words or if he would even want to.

He doesn't acknowledge the words on his own end, but there's a new openness in his expression than there had been previously.)

Oh yeah. Burgers are awesome. You haven't lived til you had a cheeseburger.

Oh. So it's symbol stuff. That sounds so funny! The most I know people care about in our country with flowers is like the few moms who compete in gardening competitions about whose yard is prettiest.

I never really thought about it all like that but you're right? I always wondered how the little flowers always come back after winter.

Maybe it is. But then I guess that makes it special for you huh?

(Eddie can't think of anything quite so sentimental in America. That or he was just far too young to know his own nation's culture. America was different though. The cultures that existed in prominence mostly had to do with immigrant families. People like Eddie? Their culture was in the shows they watched or music they listened to. Somehow The Lone Ranger didn't seem quite so prevalent though.)

[ What, so it was true?! Wow, he'd half-thought the cheeseburger thing was an exaggeration, GO NATIONAL STEREOTYPES. ]

Ha! Sounds about right. We definitely have ladies who like flower arranging.

[ But maybe Eddie was right; there were things that Majima took for granted that he missed only now that they'd been cut out of his life. The glaring neon, the buzz of a good bass line, the sugary-sweet chorus of hostesses trying to snare customers off the street... even that obnoxiously chipper jingle they always played over the speakers at Don Quixote. ]

When it comes to America, the things I think of'd be... music and movies. All that Hollywood glitz and glamour.

Oh yeah, and cowboys. That's pretty far in the past, though, right?

(Listen, Majima, you'd get it if you ever had a really well cooked burger before.

Eddie does smile a little. Majima made it pretty easy to feel relaxed. He doesn't think too hard about how he kinda liked flowers too, or messing around with them back in the greenhouse.)

That makes sense. I feel that's what we're known for. And if you're from the 80s and still think that then I guess it hasn't changed too much at all.

OOOOOOOOOH!

(Eddie damn nearly says it outloud, but the kid fucking lights up like the Rockefeller Center during Christmas times. He bounces right on to his feet and claps his hands silently together.)

I LOVE COWBOYS! They're the BEST. I always watch The Lone Ranger and Bill has drawn me these cowboys before and he back on the ship was writing this story where we were allllll cowboys fighting Henry Bowers and his stupid friends. Cowboys are the COOLEST.

Technically though yeah there's no like
REAL cowboys anymore in the fifties. That was before technology become more of a thing, you know? Back when people still rode every where on horses.

[ This was entirely true; Majima's first introduction to a burger was probably of the fast food, McDonald's knockoff variety.

But holy shit, the way Eddie started firing on all cylinders -- not a bad thing, but also not a change Majima had been expecting at all. Maybe all American boys loved cowboys with the same fervent devotion.

(Except for the ones who liked wizards and dragons more. Or superheroes?) ]

Hell, when I asked Will to make a sign for this place, I asked if he could letter it like the ones in an old Western. Didn't know those were right up your alley, too.

You ever get a chance, you should watch some of those...

[ lasagna? some kind of pasta... ]

spaghetti westerns. They were real popular a decade or two ago.

(Yeah that didn't count Majima. You haven't lived yet.

Maybe all American boys did love cowboys. Eddie certainly didn't know one who didn't. Truthfully, had Eddie been born a later generation in the eighties, he no doubt would have loved wizards and dragons more too. Hell, he was very fond of superheroes too currently, but he had a certain...thing for cowboys. Something that hooked his attention probably a little more than other kids who liked cowboys.

They were just so rugged and capable.)

Really! That'd be so cool. You're so cool, Majima. If you got some music to play in here, if it's soundproof, you could get some of that crankity old saloon style music.

(He says this in complete earnest, because gosh. It was the truth.)

I don't know what a spaghetti western is, but we had lots of westerns.

I really like Clayton Moore. He's like
wow, you know? (AKA celebrity crush status.)

[ Well.

Majima had to admit that there was something extra about rugged, capable men. He'd just never thought of cowboys in that sense before.

There was something about raw physical ability that was inherently fascinating, though it was only recently the he'd realized how inextricably one form of physicality could be tied to the other.

More importantly, a twelve-year-old was calling him cool. He didn't know how to deal with this. Was it a positive or negative development, he was going to go with positive. ]

Ha! Yeah, maybe.

They call 'em that 'cause they were made by Italians. There's a real famous one 'bout three dudes in the old west tryin' to find buried treasure. Got a real kicker of a soundtrack.

[ After a moment's thought, Majima whistled a short, fairly passable snatch of the theme of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Thanks for that soundproofing, Tetora. ]

Sorry, never heard of him. What was he in?

(Wasn't there though? Eddie certainly was fond of the boys in his life who were outrageously capable. The kind who yanked him out of harm's way and were total hero types. It was easy to get star-eyed or otherwise over that kind of thing.

It was definitely positive. Well. Eddie thinks so anyway. He doesn't think too many adults are cool, after all.)

Oh. That makes sense. Kinda goofy, but I get it. That sounds really cool.

(It was always a little crazy hearing something completely new, and Eddie listens to Majima's whistle with large, curious eyes, a smile growing readily.)

He's the Lone Ranger. He ran around with an Indian and a white horse and they did all this cool stuff. He had awesome like codes too. He'd be all "To have a friend, a man must be one" and stuff like that.

Oh, gotcha.

[ Although The Lone Ranger had obviously never been a big part of Majima's life, it was obvious that it had a big impact on Eddie's. From his description, it sounded to Majima like the program had been geared towards kids -- why else include lines about friendship? ]

That's some pretty solid advice. Hey, I heard Kara was putting together a movie room.

Maybe you could get her to play some Lone Ranger one of these days, make a whole spectacle of it.

(It was okay if Majima didn't know the Lone Ranger. At least he seemed to respect the idea of him well enough.)

Who's Kara?

(Of course, he had met Kara before, but only ever as Supergirl.)

Maybe. I dunno. Some people from the future might think it's cheesy or something.

Blonde hair, big smile, dresses like a... private school student?

[ That was the best description he could come up with for Kara, enjoy that... ]

Hey, some people like cheese. Anyway, I'd watch it. You got me all curious now.

[ Also there were cowboys to consider. ]

Are you sure you're not describing a special kinda dream?

(That-....That was definitely Eddie making a sex joke wow okay he definitely feels comfortable with Majima then. But either way, that sounded a lot like what boys at school were always gushing about.

Except the only blond he really knew here....hm.

He's soon smiling. Majima really did a good job of making him not feel stupid for a damn thing.)

Really? Then I'll try and find it. You can find some of those spaghettis too. We can make a night of it or something. Man I miss movies too.

[ Majima raised an eyebrow at him. Did he just...

He was trying to keep a straight face, but only semi-succeeding. For a kid who had that sort of 'I'm a coward' air about him a lot of the time, he could be ballsy as fuck; that was the kind of casual ragging Majima expected from a colleague, not a preteen. ]

Nah, not my type. She's a real nice girl, though.

[ Okay, now Majima actually was smiling. He eased back into a more casual style of dance, more swaying and less acrobatics. ]

And you got yourself a deal. I'll hit the library later.

(Yup. He did. Eddie Kaspbrak was a wonderful mess of contradictory behavior and the kid arguably had one of the biggest spines out there...At least he did when he forgot that he was supposed to be scared of everything. If only Majima heard how he talked to the friends his own age. To put it lightly, he wouldn't have just said 'a special kinda dream'.)

That's like the type of every American guy I'm pretty sure. I don't think I know her.

(But if Majima trusted her then so did Eddie.)

Oh. Are there movies there? I haven't been yet.

I saw some cases out there -- the type they use to store movies in the future, though I didn't know what the hell they were at the time. So yeah, they've gotta at least have the classics.

[ And come to think of it... ]

Wonder if we could scare up some snacks, too... I think one or two people around here bake.

(Yo. Majima is officially talking his language. Movies were one thing but snacks and movies? Hell yes.)

I think I would kill a man to have brownies again. Jesus. My mom made awesome brownies. They were so chocolaty and she put powdered sugar on top.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Tried to nurse it behind my mom’s back. [Open]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

I could have sworn I responded to this...

dude i do that alllllll the time you're fine

NO PUNS INTENDED

HEHEHE

no subject

no subject