#i have no idea how i'm gonna write tomorrow's post... but maybe get the tissues ready guys :)

[overdevelopedglasses]

Tojoctober Day 15 - Trash

(Chikyuu wa mawari hi wa nobori)

Alt title is from 24-Hour Cinderella

Majima gets stuck in a trash can. Help comes from a really weird place.

(no spoilers!)

—------------------------

Oh, god damn it.

Majima wriggles around where he is. Or at least, attempts to wriggle. He can’t really move much. His legs are bent up over his head, and his arms are wedged… somewhere, he isn’t sure where. He can feel his tanto poking him in the side. He’s been in more uncomfortable positions, but this is just embarrassing, even for Goro Majima standards. 

Part of him wonders why he’s even in this thing in the first place. He initially thought of climbing in here to surprise Saejima into a fight or scare the shit out of a family member of the clan, but now his brain is running too fast for his liking and he can’t focus on anything concrete. His feet are probably about 2 inches from his ass, his hand is bent backwards, and he is really glad he can’t see himself right now.

Light creeps through at him, and Majima shuts his eye, anticipating something really gross being thrown onto his face. But nothing happens.

“Can I help you?”

Majima opens his eye and looks up at the source of the noise. There's someone looking back at him.

Ok, maybe this is actually worse.

The man looking at him looks decently young, at least compared to Majima. His black hair styled in a really messy part frames his brown eyes and sharp features. From his weird angle, Majima could see he was wearing a white shirt and a slick black leather jacket that was open at the front. The look he was giving him was one of both confusion and wariness. Ya know, now that I think about it, the view could be worse. Majima thinks to himself.

“So uh… Why the hell are you in a trash can?”

“Haw?” Majima makes the only sound that comes to mind. Great, not only is cutie over here staring at me like I did somethin wrong, he’s askin me why I got myself stuck???

“Listen. I don’t wanna go into it. Can ya… help?” Majima manages to get some words out, moving the trash can around as much as he’s able to.

“Uh… sure. What do you need me to do?”

“Hmmm….” the younger man’s brow creases, while Majima decides a bit of sleuthing is what he deserved right now. However, he could barely tell what this guy even did for a living. At least, he looked like a civilian, from what he could see. But in his eyes, Majima could sense this guy had seen some shit.

Majima ponders the question for a second. How the hell was he going to get out of here? He tries to consider his positioning to no avail.

“I can’t really see myself right now… what looks best?”

“This might work… I just hope I’m strong enough.”

Majima feels the sensation of being lifted into the air, and then begins to tilt. This lasts for a few seconds before he hears “Woah oh!” and he unceremoniously falls onto his side.

“Augh!” Majima cries out, as something hits him straight in the ass. He’s unsure if it’s his foot, or something in the trash can he forgot to move, or what. This is not a good day.

“Shit, sorry. Here, hold on.”

He feels the trash can stop rolling, then he’s tilted once again. His feet find purchase on concrete. I guess they weren't near my ass...but then what was? 

“Do you think that’ll help?” the guy's voice is a bit more muffled than before, distracting Majima from his ass.

Somehow, his feet being level does make Majima feel like he’s more in control. It's a bit darker, but the situation feels a bit more manageable now that there's only 2 compromised limbs.

“Wait, lemme see…”

Majima contorts his arm, and gets it shoved between his legs. Maybe not the best position, but it’s not as tight. He moves his other arm flat against his back.

“Can ya lift this thing offa me?”

“Yeah, here.” Majima feels his prison begin to slowly rise off of him. Majima rises along with it, slowly moving his body to be upright. His arms move to the top of the can, and assists in pushing the can off fully.

“Phew! Freedom at last. Thank ya…”

Majima’s words trail off as he finally gets a full glance at his helper. His slim, athletic build is something Majima wishes he could have. Part of him wants to see him in a fight, but the last thing he needed to do was weird out a guy who saw it in good conscience to help. 

Damn, he really is cute. Not my type, necessarily, but wow.

“What’s yer name, kid?”

“Yagami. I’m a detective.”

For some reason, the name turns a cog in Majima’s brain, but he’s not sure from where. Maybe the news? Someone in the clan? He ignores it for now

“Well, Yagami-kun, thanks for the help. Ya didn’t need to do somethin like that.”

“Nonsense. Part of my job is to help others, and help those who get overlooked by the law. You’re no exception.”

Majima is about to open his mouth to ask how Yagami realized he was a yakuza, but then remembers both his appearance and the Tojo crest make him easily stick out. At the same time, Yagami’s words strike a chord within him, and he feels his heart both sink with grief and rise with hope.

“The Tojo Clan isn’t that scary to me. Even if you’re unrelated, I want to help when I can.”

“When’d ya get so sentimental, Yagami-kun?”

“Honestly?” Yagami looks off into the distance. “I’m not so sure.”

“Well…” Majima lets his softer tone kick in, “I’ma bit more at peace, now I know that there are more people like ya within this world. Makes life worth living, ya know?”

Yagami chuckles, a small redness flushing his cheeks, “Thank you…” he stares blankly at Majima.

“Majima.”

A smile graces Yagami’s face, and Majima finds it so hard not to see a resemblance to someone else. “Thank you, Majima-san. That’s wonderful to hear. Take care.”

Yagami turns on his heel with a wave, and walks away. Majima watches him go. In the distance, he vaguely sees Yagami look at his phone, and then sprint into the city. 

Wonder what got the guy so worked up? Majima ponders, then shrugs his shoulders, puts the trash can back in place, and wanders away.

Yagami, a local detective? Hm… I’ll keep the guy in mind.

[prismadog]

(=^‥^=)

I loved everything you had to say about the Family AU and would definitely enjoy sitting through and reading any and all rambles of anything about the AU. Also, I must agree, I actually choke when I eat food skins but even if I didn't have a condition that made it hard to eat food skins, I really don't like the texture and I agree with not liking food skins. I read somewhere that Gnomes can't eat most meats so like I'm sure Shrub could still eat bugs and Zombie flesh, but would she get sick from eating regular meat? Also, how would she approach the topic of Scott, because he's kind of trying to get rid of Xornoth but also is Xornoths brother so does he get to know who she is before everyone else or does she try to ignore him? If you have any headcanons or story ideas you wouldn't mind sharing that won't spoil future plans I can definitely grab myself a snack, some tea, and my soft weighted blanket and binge read anything you have to say all night and ignore my two exams tomorrow. (I'm sick I can ignore school)

Thank you so much for creating so much in this AU and feeding my desperate hyperfixafion mind with your reply to my ask. Have a great day/night/morning!

:3

aw, I'm sorry to hear that you're sick, anon, I hope you get better soon. make sure you drink plenty of fluids, eat some good meals, and get lots of sleep! [sorry if I sound like a mom]

and dude! you're gonna make me cry from all your kind words, thank you, and I'm so glad you're loving the AU! honestly, sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough with the AU but I'm working on it - I've already started writing a prologue of sorts for it! [haven't posted yet but one day soon, hopefully]

food skins are kinda bad, and for me, it's definitely a texture thing. I didn't know there was a condition that made it difficult to eat food skins, that must suck.

now, I've got quite the ramble in store for you, anon so I hope you're ready. I think I might've gone a bit off topic when it came to Scott's section but I hope it answers any questions.

-

Food

I hadn't put too much thought into what gnomes eat before until you mentioned that. I did some, not a lot but a few links, research on the subject and it looks like with most people/dnd groups/etc, their gnomes are omnivores that have a similar diet to that of dwarves - so meats mostly with cheese and bread and ale, and maybe vegetables.

so, going off that, I've been considering what the traditional gnome in this world would eat. the gnomes are a part of the Nether and usually live in the forests - both warped and crimson. Shrub herself was found in a crimson forest by Xornoth. the crimson gnomes would most likely have a diet heavy on hoglin meat and mushrooms/vines/sprouts. the warped, on the other hand, wouldn't have as easy access to meat so I imagine their diet would be more vegetarian. now, both types are also kinda like irl fungus themselves in the way that they can get nutrients from dead tissue/creatures, though, they do prefer actual food and will only result to things like rotten flesh if they absolutely need to.

now, for Shrub specifically, since she is inherently a crimson forest gnome, has a diet of meat and mushrooms. but, she was also on her own for some time before Xornoth found her and had to resort to eating other things like zombie flesh and netherbugs [think silverfish or endermites but nether and more beetle-like]. then, Xornoth finds her and starts feeding her golden apples - I don't know how they have access to gapples but they do.

now, she can handle Nether-based foods easy but I imagine, once she's in the Overworld, things might get a bit trickier. there's pigs, which are kind of like hoglins, so I don't think she'd have trouble eating that. but then there's foods like melons and pumpkins and pie and cake and chicken and fish and a bunch of other stuff that's she's never had before.

it would be not only a culture shock, but also a shock to her insides as well, she'd probably end up feeling a bit nauseous every time she tried something new since she's never had it before. Overworld food would take some getting used to, maybe a few weeks, maybe longer, but once she does, there's no stopping her - Shrub has basically a bottomless pit for a stomach.

I can tell you though that Xornoth is very happy that their beloved child is getting the proper nutrients she needs to be healthy and strong. raising her, they were concerned she wasn't eating well enough, but that's hardly their fault, the Nether just doesn't have as many food options.

-

how does Shrub approach the topic of Scott?

now, this topic I have thought quite a bit about - mostly because Scott is one of my favorite content creators, but also because he's a big part of this AU as well. which makes sense since he is Xornoth's brother.

I did talk a bit about Shrub and Scott's first meeting in this post, and a bit about their relationship during the cure-quest in this post, but I never really did much more beyond the basics.

I wanna start off here with this: Shrub, at first, does not know who Scott is other than a reclusive ruler who lives in the elven empire of Rivendell, the same place her father told her about. but that does change over time, specifically after the first few meetings between her, Scott, Katherine, and Gem where they try to work out a cure for the demon.

it's after one of these meetings, when she's talking to Xornoth, that they ask her about Scott. she doesn't know much about him but finds that Xornoth thinks he's Alinar - either reincarnated or just without his memories. - for this here, I'm leaning towards reincarnated due to his past lives on X-Life and 3rd Life servers (and others but I've only seen those two)

the fact that her dad thinks Scott might be his brother changes how she sees him. before, she was okay with the distance - Scott is the definition of recluse, or might I say, he's a hermit? 😏 [sorry, terrible joke] - but now, she wants to get to know him, to find out if he really is Alinar, for her father's sake.

this does clash a bit with what the other rulers want - to defeat the demon for most, to cure the demon for some, and for two others they want the demon to take over. but Shrub, while she knows that there are those who are against Xornoth, she wants to look on the bright side and hope that they can find a cure, even if Scott is Aeor's Champion.

-

Scott Smajor, our beloved Elfking of Rivendell

now for Scott's side of things, his point of view is a little different. I touched on some of this in the posts linked above but I never really went beyond the basics.

as in the one link, Scott finds Shrub cute - she's small and wears an adorable outfit and she's got a nice voice, she's "kewt!". during their first meeting, brought on because Katherine set it up, he learns that this little gnome knows things about Rivendell and about elves - she doesn't say much but it's enough to make him question how she knows about Aeor and some elven customs.

all she tells him is that her dad told her stories growing up, nothing more, nothing less. this piques Scott's interest but he's not going to question it further because that would be rude. he's asked about an elf named Alinar but he has no idea who that is - he'll be more than happy to find out though! so that's what he does after their first meeting, he starts investigating the elf.

there's little information due to countless millennia and poor record keeping, but Scott does find out a few things: Alinar was a winged elf who was blessed by Aeor and granted golden antlers, he fought a demon and won, and he became king because of the two previous facts. what little information he does find, he sends word to Shrub with apologies that there isn't more.

during his investigation, Scott finds that his portal has started leaking into his empire - it's only a little bit so he's not going to worry about it. there's also talk of the other empires being terrorized by a demon but there hasn't been any problems like that in Rivendell so he doesn't worry about that either. he does find it curious though that all of this started after he met Shrub, but it's just coincidence - at least, that's what he tells himself.

the monthly Gatherings show him that some of the rulers aren't doing as well as they normally are, except for King Joey who's gushing about a budding romance and King Sausage who has more magic than he's ever had before. Shrub has been apart of the Gatherings for a few months and has been pretty vocal during them, but with new talks of a demon and ideas of how to get rid of it, Scott notices a change in her: she becomes less talkative and tries to subtly dissuade others from taking action.

Scott finds this curious and tries to talk to Shrub about the demon when they're alone - he quickly finds that she shies away from all talk about the demon and she seems guilty whenever its brought up. after some thinking and detective work, he believes it's because she and the demon came into the world about the same time - maybe she accidentally brought it with her?

but then talks of finding a cure for the corruption come up, as well as, finding a way to defeat the demon for good. with these new topics, he finds Shrub acting even odder - she pushes the idea that instead of killing the demon, they can cure it instead. many of the other rulers are unsure about that but some, like Katherine and Gem, want to find more peaceful solutions so they help Shrub.

Scott joins in as well because hey, this cute little gnome is hiding something but he doesn't know what and he's not going to straight-up ask her about it. shortly after the group starts looking into a cure, Scott gets a visit from the demon - but it's like in canon where Xornoth keeps their distance and only watches. he brings this up to Shrub the next time she visits and she sort of skirts around the topic before changing the subject to something else.

there's many meetings between him, Shrub, Katherine, and Gem where they try to make a cure for not only the corruption plaguing the land but for the demon as well. their attempts always seem to fail on the demon front, and Scott notices that the failure weighs much more heavily on Shrub's shoulders than anyone else's.

at some point after the first few cure-demon meetings, their relationship starts to change from casual friends to close friends - he's not sure what caused Shrub to visit more often or ask more about his life/Rivendell but he's glad for the company. he gets to know more about Shrub too, her life growing up in another realm and about her father - she freely talks about her dad but never says who they are nor does she invite Scott to meet him.

sometime during all of this, Scott comes to the conclusion that Shrub's dad and the demon are one in the same, or at least something close to. of course, he's not going to say anything until either she does or something comes up that requires absolute truth from everyone.

so, he suspects that Xornoth is Shrub's dad, and Shrub is a good friend, what can he do to help her? the cures are failing.

Scott gets the idea to ask Aeor for guidance - it's worked in the past when trouble came to Rivendell, it'll work again. he goes to Aeor's church and he asks for help in curing the demon. Aeor responds in a different way - his god gives him a weapon of unimaginable power that could slay the demon for good, and Aeor blesses him like he once blessed another elf millennia ago.

Scott has been chosen as Aeor's Champion and given access to his past lives, and he's not sure how to handle things - he's at an internal impasse because on one hand, his god has blessed him and on the other, his god wants him to kill his friend's father - the demon who is also his brother???

he stresses out about this new development and Shrub tries to talk to him, as do his other friends, all while Aeor wants him to prepare for war and while his friends continue to fail in making a cure.

it all comes to a head when Katherine and Gem are losing hope and are wanting to quit. Shrub tries to get them to keep going but there's just only so many things they can try and it's looking like a lost cause anyway. they give up and Shrub breaks, she tells the three of them why this means so much to her and why they have to keep trying - the alternative is war and bloodshed because giving up means that they're going to take on her father and kill them, or worse, her dad will kill them.

Katherine and Gem are rightfully shocked and unsure of how to take the information. Scott though, he's had his suspicions and he is the demon's brother, so he steps forward and comforts Shrub and promises her that he won't let that happen. Katherine and Gem question him and find out his own little family secret. they try to make a few more cures for everyone's sake.

of course, things don't go as they want them to - the new cures fail as well and Xornoth takes it upon themself to make the call to war, something that both Scott and Shrub are reluctant for. but Scott stays by her side through it all and she by his.

by the time everyone's standing on the battlefield, Scott knows exactly who he is, was in a past life, and he doesn't want history to repeat itself nor does he want there to be anymore unnecessary bloodshed.

-

this is where the ending of the curing-the-demon post comes in - I'll link it again for reference. hopefully you've read it because I don't think I could write all that here again...there's just so much.

I think that's about all I got in me at the moment - this post has become extremely long, but if you have more questions, feel free to ask!