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 Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 2:54 pm
September 3, 2019 (Back dating this to right after he powered up.) Why was it that he was sitting here reworking a tattoo design, for the third time? Oh, right. The person kept changing their mind - like really changing their mind. It wasn’t just making something bigger or smaller, or changing something a little bit. It was whole different ideas!
The female had come in asking if they had an artist who did traditional Japanese, which he did, and so she’d been sent to him. He’d been all for the idea she’d had, originally, of an autumn scene and a koi fish on her back and had, after talking to her for a while, spent his night after work drawing up an idea. It had taken him a few hours drawing it, wanting to get ever scale perfect and looking up various koi patterns to get an idea. In the end he’d been happy with it - really happy.
He’d sent her, via e-mail, the design and she had liked it and he’d set an appointment with her in order to tattoo her. When she’d come in she didn’t want it still - she wanted a dragon and water. That was so different and just as complicated to draw. He’d talked to her, a lot, instead of inking her before sending her on her way so he could handle any walk ins they may get and do a new design for her that night. He’d lost three hours of pay, because they hadn’t gotten enough walk ins that he could take, that day.
After the dragon had fallen flat, she had changed her mind again, he’d lost four hours of work and pay. He was going to strangle her, he really was, because she had changed to full color realism - not a style he did. What was worse...she wouldn’t let someone else, with experience in the style, take her own. She wanted him and no one else.
Adjusting his glasses, he only wore them when reading and doing work like this, Hisoka flipped the page in one of the many books sitting on his work desk. He had borrowed books from Aurora, their realism specialist, so he could look at pictures of flowers in order to see how the colors worked and get the veins right in the leaves and in some of the flowers. This was not what he was meant to do.
Sighing he pushed his chair back and stood up, stretching as he did so, and went to go find a drink in their fridge. He kept a few down here so he didn’t need to run up to his apartment above the studio. At this point he’d started to get teased about his difficult client, and how they couldn’t seem to settle on a single idea. He was sure they just wanted to get tattooed either because they wanted to do something adventurous or because they wanted to do something edgy or popular in order to fit in with a group of people. They just had no damn idea what they wanted on their skin so they kept bouncing about
One thing was for sure - they were not meant to be inked. This would be something on them for life! He had a feeling they didn’t understand that fully, no matter how many times he’d told them this, they would change their mind a few days after they were finally inked. They’d decide they wanted something else and come back bitching, complaining, or asking if they could cover it up or remove it. He knew it, he was sure of it, this one hadn’t a clue what they wanted and weren’t suited to be tattooed because of that.
“Still having a hard time with that client Hisoka?”
Glancing over his shoulder, from where he was bent inside the fridge, he eyed his boss and the one he was apprenticing under, and shook his head. “I can’t do it. I don’t know the style at all and she’s like a guinea pig. The only thing I’m confident in - is that it’ll be my worst piece and she won’t like it.” He didn’t think he was being too harsh here, he knew what he could do and this was not it. He knew this client as well.
“Take a break, finish the design tonight. If you keep at it you’ll overwhelm yourself. If you need help Aurora will help, you know that.”
Of course he knew that, he’d gotten the books from her and he’d been asking her questions on and off all day. He was just glad she was so patient and soft spoken, she understood his discomfort in the style plus him being new still. That was why he liked this small shop - it was like family. He was well treated and everyone helped everyone and they understood he was the baby of the group and needed guidance.
“My eye started twitching half an hour ago - I need a break at this point.” So as he shut the fridge door, a bottle of herbal tea in hand, he made his way out of the shops backroom and headed for the front of the shop. He wasn’t planning on working but maybe just listening to all the talking and noise going on.
He didn’t like talking and socializing himself but he liked listening to others, from a nice place slightly removed from it all. It was just how he was and those he worked with understood it, and they knew he was stressing this client right now.
Seating himself on the couch, in the corner bend of it, he settled in to listen to the music and others talking. Clients talking to other artists and someone filling out paperwork, along with their mother, for a septum piercing. He was listening to it all as he watched people move about. It was easy to relax now and get his head out of his own work. Setting his glasses down on the table in front of himself, as he didn’t need them right now, he leaned back and opening his bottle took a drink.
It was the girl, and her mother, who sat only a few feet away from himself as Esme who ran the front desk went to make a copy of the girls ID as well as her moms. Listening to the girls excited babbling and her moms worry he smiled a bit. He could understand the mothers worry, it was common for parents to worry, but the girl was all full of excitement. It was nice to see.
“She’ll be fine - she’s in good hands.” He finally spoke up, smiling towards the mother. “She’ll tear up but it doesn’t mean pain. You always tear up with a septum.” Wanting to ease the mothers worry as much as he could, especially since he knew any worried mother was likely to freak when seeing their daughter in tears after a piercing. It was best she know it was normal and expected.
After being thanked he watched mother and daughter walk off, mother holding daughters hand, they really would be in good hands. Their piercers, two of them, were more than just talented. They were skilled and good at being as gentle as they could be and easing peoples nerves, often even offering food or drink afterwards.
Rolling his sleeves up, he was wearing a somewhat thin though long sleeved black shirt today, Hisoka’s shoes came off and he laid himself out. “If we get any walk ins I can do let me know otherwise I need to rest my eyes a bit.” The twitch had yet to go away and he really needed to rest his eyes before he dare try and work on that design again. He knew it wasn’t professional but it was better than going up to his apartment to take a nap, and he couldn’t take the rest of the day off either. So he’d take a short nap and get up if anything he could do came in, he was the only one here who did Japanaese or kanji tattoos after all.
With an assurance, from a by passing Aurora, that he’d be woken up with a pillow to the face he let his eyes drop closed.
Maybe tonight he’d work on her design, maybe not, she wasn’t due to see him till the day after tomorrow. Maybe tonight he’d do some of that senshi stuff and get to bed somewhat early. He could use the sleep...but he should try and do the senshi thing that some cat had told him about. It did seem interesting...in some magical anime sort of way, which was somewhat appealing and interesting. It seemed like a good way to spend his night.
Yawning, stretching, he tucked his right arm under the throw pillow he’d laid his head on, and with his left arm across his stomach he got himself comfortable to sleep. Not as good as his bed but right now it didn’t matter one bit. He needed this. Word count: 1,501
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Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 7:51 pm
October 14, 2019 (Back dating this to right after the other solo.) Someone at work had taken mercy upon his soul, though he often joked that he’d misplaced his soul, and taken on the client who had been driving him up the wall and stressing him. It was when she’d decided that life like plants wasn’t what she wanted, how many times a person could change their mind was mind blowing, and decided she wanted a life like tiger. His co-worker hearing what was going on, he suspected they’d been listening right outside his little room on purpose, decided to step in and take over.
Somehow, he didn’t know how, they’d talked her out of a tattoo and told her to come up with a solid idea - it was permanent after all. She had left, not too upset but not as pleased as she could have been, if he could have done her tiger tattoo right then and there with no time spent drawing up a solid idea. But he figured if he, or anyone else, did anything with her she’d just come back in a day or two all pissed off.
That woman being gone, and not throwing himself into trying to please her ever changing ideas, left him time to work on other projects - other clients. It also left him time to do something for himself, something a year in the making although it would be a bit more time till his efforts came to fruition. He was still gathering money and he had the days off work he’d need, he figured a week just to be safe, but he was getting ready to make a change that would shock even those at his job.
Hisoka had never been the most social of people, even with his workers at times, and he didn’t tell them everything he had going on in his life. This was one of those times and in part it was because it wasn’t happening just yet and he didn’t want to assume all would go well. The other reason was because he just didn’t see it as something to talk about and almost show off, even though it hadn’t happened yet. He wasn’t big on people who went about flashing new piercings or tattoos and almost bragging about them, it was annoying.
While pulling on some slightly too large sleep pants, wanting to be comfortable in his own apartment, Hisoka shuffled out on socked feet as h e went to find his sketch book. He had a design to work one, and one he knew would be liked by his client, it was something feminine but traditional Japanese. They want cherry blossoms - easy. But he wanted it to look good, special even, so it didn’t look like every other cherry blossom design.
Book in hand he settled onto his couch, snuggling back into the worn fabric, and set to work as the pencil he used fell out from between the dog eared pages of the sketch book. He’d make something lovely for this client because he could, and he wanted to show just what he could do. That other woman had driven him nuts and had him so uncertain of what he was sketching. Now he was on his own territory and he was comfortable here. Word count: 540
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Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 5:06 pm
March 4, 2020 He knew going into it, a year or so ago, that his ears were going to hurt afterwards - he knew it. He also knew he was going to have to be careful with them as they healed. Knowing and actually experiencing were two different things however. The swelling wasn’t as bad as he expected, because he expected a s**t ton of swelling and heat. That wasn’t to say his ears weren’t swollen and sore - they were.
They were now a week and a half into healing and they didn’t look quite the mess they had a day or two afterwards, they were still stitched and a bit bloody but nowhere near what they had been. He’d been keeping them as clean as possible and covering them so nothing got into them. He also figured that keeping them covered with gauze and bandages stuck out to idiot people so they were more careful around him and didn’t hit him in the head - or the ears. People were idiots, as far as he figured, and needed things made super obvious.
Shifting in his seat his dark eyes glanced away from the computer screen where he was working, he had a simple design to do for the girl sitting on the couch with her two giggling friends. She wanted something simple, thankfully, on her ankle. It was something she was likely getting now, ahead of summer, so it would be healed in time for sandal wearing, and could be shown off, he still didn’t know why she had brought her two friends...it wasn’t like moral support was needed - right? Then again everyone was different and it could just be that he disliked people being around when he got modifications done to himself. Whatever.
Going back to his work he ignored when the door to the shop opened, the bell above giving a merry little jingle, someone else could greet whoever had just walked in - he had work to do. Once he was done with the actual tattooing of his client he was going to get something to eat, cup ramen from the backroom, and have one of his co-workers unbandage and clean his ears before they were rebandaged.
Reaching for the bottle he had not a foot from his keyboard, sakura and green tea flavor, it wasn’t something he’d normally drink but it wasn’t too bad. He’d picked up a few bottles of the drink sort of at random the other day, he’d done his weekly grocery shopping two nights back, and upon trying the drink found it was somewhat agreeable and not as bad he figured it would be.
Taking a drink he continued his work, one handed, as he sketched out his idea on the tablet he was using. It was just a few waves and a koi fish - nothing hard. But he was trying to put detail into the koi fish and make it look right. Setting his drink down he finished the last bit of his design and went to print it up. “I’ll be right back. I have it printing in the back.” The printer was in the backroom, for what reason he wasn’t sure, but it did allow him to get other opinions before the customer even saw what he’d designed - which he was going to do. He always got another opinion, not that he wasn’t confident in his work, before going to tattoo something onto someone - that s**t was permanent after all.
Stepping into the backroom, the heavy drapes falling closed behind himself, he went to get his printed design. “Mind giving an opinion?” The question was directed at the other male who was sitting on a couch eating some sort of sandwich. “Before I go out and ink my client.”
Moving over, once the other nodded and gave the ok, he settled himself down for a moment. “It’s nothing insane. She wants it on the ankle so it’ll be on the outside of her right ankle. I wanted to get the koi fish right.” More than the waves..waves were waves and they weren’t always going to look the same way - or a certain way. Fish however had a more certain and precise look.
“It looks good?” Questioning the others' commentary on his art. Watching the older nod he felt the slightest of smiles form. “Good. The client will hopefully agree and I can get this done. I need some food and you can help with my ears.” His ears, or rather them being pointed, had shocked his co-workers when he’d turned up a few days ago, after a trip to spain, with his ears pointed and covered in bandages. He’d stayed, in Spain, for a few days in case anything happened with his ears. It was a good idea though unnecessary as all had gone well thus far, it was just him wanting to be safer rather than sorry, it did however allow for him to explore Barcelona a bit and enjoy the break from work and Destiny City.
When he’s turned back up at work he’d shocked them all and gained the title of most radically modified. That wasn’t to say others didn’t have stretched lobes, which he didn’t, or have more piercings than he did - they did. But in terms of how extreme...he’d beaten the all. Piercings and stretching were one thing but letting someone take a knife to your ears and remove parts - that was another story. It wasn’t something he’d aimed for, the sort of title, it was just a look he’d wanted for a long time and had gone for. The year long wait had been killer, his nervous scattering all about, he’d had his doubts as well as his moments of sureness in his choice.
Now it was all settled and done. He just had to heal them up.
Nodding once to his co-worker Hisoka headed out to deal with his client and get her tattoo done so he could eat and get his own modifications handled. “Let’s get to inking.” He was ready to get to doing what he enjoyed.Word count: 1,015
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2020 9:35 pm
August 21, 2020 (Back dating this a bit.) The stitches had come out weeks ago and his ears were healed up nicely, no swelling to be seen, though they were still scared he knew that would change in time. Given enough time they’d look normal, he’d seen pictures of people who’d had the same thing done years ago. They had all healed nicely and looked good, he couldn’t wait, it was another step in the healing process - getting the stitches out.
This morning he was surprised, though pleasantly so, when he could actually feel the tips of his ears. He hadn’t been able to feel the new tips till now, which made for him hitting them a few times, it was something he’d noticed as a common thing in videos he’d seen. The feeling took time as things healed and feeling returned to the top of his ear. He was happy though when he could feel the tips of his ears - finally!
After a fast shower, he didn’t need to wash his hair this morning, he hurried about getting dressed before heading down to the shop where he knew a pot of coffee would be starting to brew. As he pushed open the back door, where the stairs from his apartment touched the ground, Hisoka took a sniff of the air. “Smells good.” Heading right for the coffee as a morning pick me up, he was not much of a morning person.
The mug he used for here, always the same one, was put to use as he filled it with sugar and coffee. Mixing it as he headed for a chair to settle in and have the first few sips, nodding his head in greeting to his co-workers who were already moving around the back and front of the shop. Most knew by now that he was no morning person, it was best to let him have some coffee before expecting him to function properly and be able to art.
Once he was half through his coffee he stood, stretching, and made his way to his own room so he could go over all his tools and make sure everything was clean and where it needed to be. Once he adjusted a few things, to his comfort level, he headed himself up front to the counter in the front of the store.
Someone else was sitting there so he took a stool from nearby and dragged it over to her side. “Morning.” Greeting Esme as he went to look at what she was working on...she was going over the appointments for the day - boring.
“Looks like I have a few today...but more free time than anything….maybe.” Tilting his head as he glanced things over. He wasn’t sure, he didn’t have a lot of appointments, but he didn’t know how long anything would take him. He had one of his appointments sketched up and ready to put to skin if they liked it enough, he really hoped they did, the other two he didn’t have drawn up - he needed to talk to them.
“First is in an hour....” As a customer, or soon to be customer, came in asking about piercings. As the female got up and went to go grab one of the two piercers he went to take her seat, ducking his head down to look over the computer screen and hide himself better. As he glanced over things, poking about the computer, he heard Riven talking to the soon to be pierced girl. Riven was pretty damn laid back and easy going. She was in good hands and he knew it, he’d had Riven pierce him several times in fact so knew his work. He was good. As he peeked his head around, hearing his name called, he tilted his head. “Yeah?”
Slipping off the stool as he was motioned to come over. “What’s up?” It seemed the girl had seen a piece of jewelry in his ear and was hoping to see it - how it looked in someones ear before getting it for herself. It wasn’t anything too special, in his opinion, but it did have a bit of a price tag - over 100$. It was a piece he’d paid off slowly, since he didn’t like to buy anything all in one go, but she was ok with forking over the money as she liked the jewelry he had in his ear. Assuring her personally that the piercing wouldn’t hurt he nodded his head to her compliment on his ears and went back to his stool...as Esme was back in her place printing up the paperwork for the girl to sign. Getting back onto his stool he watched everything as he finished off his coffee, rushing to finish it before it got cold. It wasn’t long before the girl was being led back by Riven to get pierced.
“I’m glad I got everything done that I wanted before now.” Since he couldn’t do any new piercings...not with his ears still healing from being pointed. Hanging around for a bit longer, enjoying the silence, he didn’t get up till it was close to the time for his own client to arrive. Laying his mug in the sink in the back room. Grabbing something from the fridge, and running to the bathroom, he was ready, in his room, when his client arrived. Word count: 891
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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2020 10:34 pm
August 28, 2020 Art books had been the first things he’d packed, he’d need those, books about art and color theory and more. Books he’d used to help improve his own artistic skills. Those were an easy choice of what to pack into the large box he had picked up from the post office. Once his art books were packed his own art books, filled to the brim with his own drawings, were packed up. Everything from his earliest years to now was drawn in the pages of those books.He had no problem putting them into the box - he needed those.
After the obvious things Hisoka waffled about his apartment on what else to add to the box. He did add some clothing, items he really did like, and the jewelry he had for his ears. As he thought over things, going over what he would and wouldn’t regret, it took nearly an hour of pacing about before photo albums were added to the box. He still wasn’t sure about them as he added them, it may or may not be a good thing, but it was worth it as far as he was concerned.
He knew he might not remember his family after it all but he also might and there might be nights where he needed those pictures to get by - to see his mother's face or his fathers...or a cousin or someone else.
Not much for emotions, at least not in front of people, Hisoka found himself watery eyed as he thought about how things might go once he changed sides. He might really need those pictures at times - for emotional support and strength. Even if he didn’t get along with his parents, at least not all the time, he still loved them and was sure if he absolutely needed them he could go to them. Once he changed sides he wouldn’t have them to go to...he’d just have pictures.
Moving around his apartment, grabbing a drink as he moved through his kitchen, Hisoka grabbed a few more little things here and there as he moved about the apartment. Books he’d had since he was a child, and took with him when he left his parents home, were put into the box along with the little odds and ends including some items he had for his hair and a spare pair of glasses which he’d no doubt need.
Once he’d finished with that, and was sitting at the small kitchen table he had, Hisoka was drinking as he wrote down a list of websites - all sites he went to often. The sites ranged from chase bank to forums and other sites. Under each site he included his login information, he would need it. Some of the sites he would keep going to and others he couldn’t. He put down his e-mail information as well.
As he wrote out the list, slowly, he felt sad...something deep and hard to shake. A hollow feeling as he wrote down site after site and all the information. It was like writing out his history and all his interests. Sites he wanted to continue to visit when he changes lives, even if he didn’t remember going to them. They were important, for various reasons, to him.
Shuffling about, preparing for the end of the night, Hisoka headed to take his shower before bed. It wasn’t until he got into his room, dressed for bed, that he put the sheet of paper into the box he had sitting on his bedroom floor. It seemed like he was putting an end to his life in a way...and it left him feeling somewhat empty as he drifted off to sleep. This was going to hurt when it happened, and not physically. Word count: 628
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2022 5:12 pm
December 11, 2022 Quote: Prompt 1 (Diamond Dust): This time of year, snow is common. What’s uncommon is the single, strange snowfall where each snowflake that fell glistened like tiny diamonds. For the most part, the snow seems fairly normal—it’s cold, wet, and melts just like any other snow, it just also happens to look like tiny little gems are falling from the sky. Depending on who you’re with, it’s either incredibly strange, or incredibly romantic. When the snow is coming down at its strongest, crystalized snowflakes trickle down with the rest of the snow. These are roughly the size of a quarter and are light and hollow. They are fragile, like glass, but glisten like a fine cut gem. No one can explain this anomaly, but these small snowflakes won't melt. And they are all over Destiny City. You can find them gently falling to the ground, or lying in the fresh fallen snow. There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly magical about them, but they are beautiful and make pretty keepsakes.
It was not a night to be a senshi or a knight and cross paths with him, that was for certain, as the snow had gotten him thinking and that thinking had ended in that jolting feeling of emotions which weren’t entirely his…and yet also were his - or had been. It was unsettling and angering.
His attention though was turned away from such murderous thoughts, at least for the moment, as he felt something a little more solid than a snowflake land on him nose. “Huh…?” Confused, Miyamoto bent to look at the snow on the ground, sure something else was mixed in, and as his fingers moved through the snow that was piling up he could indeed feel something here and there. His fingers, freezing and wet now, encountered a few of these..objects? When he pulled his hand out of the snow, gently closed around some snow and objects, he found that the objects looked like…crystals? But they were rather light weight and looked like nothing he’d seen before.
“Interesting…” Picking three out of the snow in his hand he went to pocket them, he’d look them over later, he was curious on what they were. If he could, he might come back out, later tonight, with a jar and collect as much as his fingers could manage to liberate from the snow. Who knows, they might have some sort of value to them. They were, at least to him, interesting and worth keeping. They even looked like snowflakes and since they didn’t melt he could easily draw them!
Plan for the night made the senshi turned and headed for home, intent upon getting a jar and returning to the cold winter snow with it. As he would he let his mind wander some, wondering what these little crystal like snowflakes were made from and where they were from. Maybe he could find someone who could look into it? Although, with this being on the news maybe some expert would look into it and the results would get out soon. That did sound about right really.
The walk home was a long one, longer than he wanted to deal with right now, once he got into the building he raced to the elevator and once it reached his floor he was racing down the hall to his door and jamming the key into the lock. Thankfully he’d remembered, at some point, to power down so he didn’t bring unwanted guests home. As the door swung open he went to find a jar, a mason jar in a cabinet in the kitchen. Putting the little snowflakes inside he closed the lid and headed back out, this time he grabbed a heavy scarf before he headed out to hunt down more of these little things. He’d work on drawing them all later…or tomorrow, once he woke up.
Word count: 609
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 7:39 pm
March 7th 2023 It had taken time, a lot of time, and work for him to climb back up in the tattoo world. He wasn’t sure where he’d been before, how intertwined in the community he’d been, but he was back within the folds of the community after a lot of work and time. It didn’t seem like a lot of time, and perhaps it wasn’t, but he’d put a lot of time into working at the new shop and it paid off over time. He’d slowly made a name for himself locally; which meant a good amount of work for him.
Slowly, with some coaxing from a co-worker, he’d gotten into social media and posting his work and even posted videos of himself working on clients. It had brought more work for himself, which wasn’t a surprise, but it had led him to showing more and being social with people responding to his postings. He’d never normally be so social, it wasn’t his style, but people seemed to love his posts and he appreciated it.
It was as of late that people had been mentioning some artist in Texas to him and asking his opinion on the person. He didn’t know the name, it wasn’t someone famous enough to make it into any magazines or anything, he didn’t know a lot of artists outside of the city. But the questions kept coming, a client had even brought it up while he’d been working on them.
Deciding to learn about this person, and whatever they’d done, he’d done a deep dive into youtube and social media including tiktok. He was horrified. He understood at times the old school idea of trades for tattoos, it wasn’t something he would ever do, but he understood the concept and knew some artists did that sort of thing. It was something he could see happening in the community, he’d even heard some artists talk about doing some trades for services they needed.
But for food and other things….especially with the quality of her work. That wasn’t anything he’d want on his body for free. But he certainly wasn’t going to go buying her food so she could permanently mark his body, though he wasn’t sure her tattoos would even last a long time. They sort of looked like they might fall out and fade pretty bad….especially that water color s**t she did.
As a tattoo artist himself, and one who took a lot of time working on his drawings, he was horrified at how little time she put into her work before inking it onto someone. She didn’t seem to care one bit about the quality of work when she was leaving this one someone potentially for life, at least that was the goal really.
As he dove a bit deeper he found even more wrong with her. She didn’t seem to understand anything about blood, needles or how easily a person could become infected due to a dirty environment. She also didn’t seem to get the idea of gloves and sanitary conditions which needed to be met. How in the hell she was still operating was beyond him…and he was baffled how she didn’t seem to get how wrong things were.
While watching, and reading, things he’d needed to stop several times so he could get up and pace his apartment or just bang his head on his desk. He shouted at the screen many times, as if somehow it would achieve something…other than making him feel a bit better. But he really didn’t get it…all of it.
What in the hell was she doing short cutting things like wrapping a bed or an arm rest…and her tray as well? Was she just that cheap and trying to save money, seeing as she didn’t charge much at all? His head hurt…his brain hurt just watching the videos and hearing everything that she was doing including letting her minor child tattoo people. Honestly though he wasn’t sure which was the worst thing when looking at the pile of problems this “artist” had going on.
It was while he was watching that he did comment back to some people who had been asking for his opinion. Slowly he did answer them all back, with various comments, but they all were similar and got the message across. He finally did decide to visit the “artists” tiktok and just tossed out some comments of his own because why the hell not? She did deserve it really and he was honestly, at this point, worked up enough that he wished he could actually scream at her. Ohhhh…maybe he would do a video on her later - after he finished typing up a message and posting it on her tiktok because he hoped she’d see it.
It was while he was working on his post to her, and listening to another video about her, that he heard about her cat being on a client who she was inking in her own home. The deep breath he took, as well as the pause in his typing, was a sure sign of his temper flaring and he did let out something of a cut off scream. “How the hell does she think that’s ok, one step away from brain dead. I’m sure a toddler would know it’s not ok.” He couldn’t keep his mouth shut as he sat there staring at his screen, having switched to the video so he could play it back. Oh god, it was a cat on her client and in her home. Deep breaths were taken by the dark eyed male as he tried to calm his temper…this was absolutely insane. It was so dangerous and could lead to infection and who knows what else. What if the cat got annoyed and claws the person or bit the client? What if they made Ariel injure the client with the tattoo machine?
Finishing his post he sent it, with a deep exhale as it was posted, and then he sat back in his chair for a moment to relax and calm down properly. “I seriously can’t believe it.” He stated while slowly pushing his chair from his desk and standing up.
“I need a ******** drink.” And that was what he went to do - get a drink. His kitchen was small, as was most of the apartment, but he had a kitchen and sitting on the counter was a mostly full bottle of vodka. It didn’t look like he’d get any work done tonight, like he’d planned, as he’d gotten lost down one hell of a rabbit hole that was named Ariel Dejesus. He had figured, originally, that he’d poke about and find out just what was going on with this Airel person and after answering people in his comments section he’d get to work drawing. Instead he’d fallen way down a rabbit hole and now needed a drink.
From a cabinet, right above his head, he pulled out a shot glass which was filled…and drained rather quickly. He was not going to get drunk but he needed a drink or two, maybe three, before he went to bed.
Word count: 1,190
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Posted: Sun May 07, 2023 8:02 pm
May 7, 2023 While he might be an apprentice, and therefore not as skilled as other senior artists, it seemed he didn’t have much issue in getting bookings. He still had his days where all he did was walk-ins, that could happen to anyone really, but he didn’t mind as it permitted him time to work on drawings and sketch out ideas for clients he did have or just general things. Today was one of those days where Koishi was without a client scheduled for the day so he was sketching in the back.
He’d tried to work in the front room, by the register, but some males around his own age had come in and irked him from the moment they’d come in. They weren’t his sort of people, though most people weren’t, but they were louder than he preferred and they were…jocks; that was the best word he could think of. They where the ones who had played all the sports and been popular in high school and now were college frats, at least that was the vibe they gave off.
Listening to them, and ignoring one of them pointing to his ears, he heard how one of them wanted some lion tattoo that would look sick and take up his whole upper arm. He really didn’t know why so many people went with lions, it was too common if you asked him, and when he had to choke on his laughter it caught their attention. Asking if he did such work, if he was even good enough, they had been told he did asian art. Ignoring when they called him a weeb, and a geek, he continued his work and let them go off with a fellow artist to talk design.
Once they were across the room he’d gotten up and mentioned getting a drink and needing a bit less light, it was bothering his eyes, really he wanted to just stab one of them in the hand with his pencil and shut them up. They were annoying and loud, not to mention he disliked their personalities as a whole, he knew he needed to refrain from any acts of violence so figured it was better he head to the back to finish his sketching.
As he worked, tucked into a chair in the backroom, he couldn’t help but think on things a bit. He knew he disliked certain groups of people, and he knew why he disliked them. But Koishi honestly didn’t think that was reason enough to dislike them as much as he did, there had to be more to it, to want to stab someone just because they were loud and obviously a certain sort of person. Whatever it was likely came from his other life…from before he’d changed sides.
Perhaps he’d been on the receiving end of bullying from such people? Maybe snubbed or scorned in some manner. But he knew it had to be something considering those sorts annoyed him quicker than most people and they certainly brought him to anger far easier and quicker as well. He normally didn’t tend to lose his temper, he was rather calm and collected, and even uncaring at times. But they seemed to bring something out in him.
There had been a lot of memories lost, he still hated this fact, but that was the truth and he couldn’t escape it especially at times like this. Something had been taken from him and so he didn’t fully understand his own feelings, the reasons behind them. It was something he knew, and accepted, but when had he ever really taken the time to consider everything which he’d lost and what had actually changed about himself? To fully grasp it.
Maybe one day he’d think more on it - not today though. Today he had to work and finish what he was work on, even if it wasn’t for a client, he needed to keep sketching and drawing and impress the people he worked for now. He knew he’d worked elsewhere in the past, even if he didn’t remember where, but that was then and this was now and he had to work his way back up.
Word count: 696
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Posted: Tue May 09, 2023 9:42 pm
May 10th, 2023 The light from the tv filled the otherwise dark living room, bothering his sensitive eyes, as he drowned the last drink for the night. He wasn’t one to drink much, he didn’t care for it or the loss of control it could imbue people with. Leaning back he ignored the movie playing, much as he rather enjoyed the movies secretly, he couldn’t help but tip his head back and close his eyes.
Today had been busy, which was a good thing, but he’d yet again nearly lost his cool with a customer. He knew there was a reason but he just couldn’t put his finger on that reason. It was there, he knew it, but it was beyond a fogged up glass which he couldn’t see through nor pass through. His memories were gone, or blocked, and he just didn’t know.
Lowering his head he stood up slowly, far too slowly, and wandered through the small apartment till he reached the small storage closet where boxes were stacked and labeled neatly. These were what remained of his previous life…of who Hisoka had been. The name felt familiar and comfortable, more so than Koishi did, but that was in the past like so many other things.
With great effort, whether due to emotions or alcohol it was unsure, he managed to pull some of the boxes out and settle on the hallway floor to go through them. He didn’t care that he’d be making a mess, it didn’t matter one bit to him, as he looked through sketchbooks and flipped through albums of pictures of tattoos he’d done. Water color…not a style he did anymore or even liked but seeing the work…he could almost feel the passion which had gone into them. Fingers ghosting over the shiny prints.
He’d once done a whole large back piece on a person…a tribute to their families Japanese roots. He had written it on the back of the photo in kanji, to remind himself. It was a big piece full of so much meaning for the person, according to the note, and while he could feel something for it he knew it wasn’t what the person writing on the back of the photo had felt.
Biting down on his bottom lip as he continued to paw through things he got to the family pictures which he’d avoided till now, and for good reason, he didn’t have a family anymore and he shouldn’t be looking at what was no more. But he did now look to them for answers perhaps. Would his past self have left information, answers, as to who he’d been and why.
Looking over things, and reading notes he’d left himself, he took the time to look over his parents and try to memorize those faces. His mother had a small face and pale skin…so was pretty with her hair up in some neat and tidy style. His father looked serious and almost business like…very well dressed and even stern.
As he flipped through the pictures, over and over finding notes on the back of pictures, he got an idea of things growing up. He didn’t have a full picture, he knew that, but he knew he could play the piano, which he guessed he hadn’t done in a long time, but there were pictures of it with notes saying how strict his father was with him learning to play. The dates on the pictures, and how he aged up in them, proved how long he’d been learning for. Maybe he should give it a try one day? He knew, from the notes, that he’d not liked it then but maybe not…when it was his choice he’d like it?
And that thought told him something about himself. He liked choice, to not have things forced on him, perhaps it went back to that. To a strict asian family that had him do as they wanted. He could even see it in how he dressed looking very…put together and mature.
He knew he’d changed sides because he wanted to choose things, and his choice had been taken from him, he hadn’t had a rep from both sides in front of him offering him information and a choice. Could this be why? Was this the root to the plant which had grown and flowered and ended with him joining the Negaverse and losing his memories and his family? It certainly seemed like it as he went over things.
As he dug about more he came across school year books…how interesting. School wasn’t something which he had any interest in really. The idea of sports teams and school dances, prom, and walking onto some stage didn’t appeal to him. He couldn’t picture himself doing any of those things in all honesty. If he saw he’d been on a sports team he was certain he’d die from embarrassment, or would it be second hand embarrassment? Either way he couldn’t picture that sort of past.
Flipping through the book it wasn’t hard to find himself and god it was awful, he looked so clean cut and bad. Wincing as he looked over his picture, and the really poor attempt at a smile, he knew he couldn’t have been popular. Not when he looked like that. So was this maybe why he didn’t like certain groups of people? Because he certainly stood out, from everything he could tell thanks to the yearbook, and he was certain it had gained him unwanted attention.
As he continued to flip through the year book the feelings didn’t stop. He was certain he’d been picked on, and bullied, by people in this year book he just didn’t know who or what had happened. He was certain of it though. Some people stuck out but not because he knew them, he was even glad he didn’t know them, but some of them he felt very negative over. It was a sudden shift in feelings from neutral to just negative and he wasn’t entirely sure why.
He’d noticed that he’d not been a part of any clubs or groups, not even band. He’d been a part of nothing…like he didn’t exist and had just drifted through the years and done nothing. Had he done that to avoid being picked on or was it because his family wouldn’t allow him? Had he not allowed himself ? Though he couldn’t picture playing soccer really either, or any sport for that matter.
There were certainly hints, feelings, but nothing for certain like he’d hoped there would be. But to feel such negativity over certain people…he was nearly certain there was something there. There should be something there to garner such a response - right?
Sitting there amongst everything and not having a solid answer he sat back, taking a moment to look at the mess about himself, and sighed. He wasn’t where he wanted to be…he didn’t have an answer. All he had was a feeling and a hypothesis as to why he disliked certain groups of people so much. He hated the loss of his memories, it was honestly an inconvenience for him, it had led him to problems and questions and trying to find himself again and he didn’t like that. He didn’t like that sometimes he felt lost or didn’t understand his reaction to something, it was annoying to say the least. But at least he had some ideas as to a possible answer for some of his issues, even if he’d never know for sure, it was at least something he could work with and accept. Even if he didn’t change his behavior, and he wasn’t sure he would, he at least knew what little he did and it was some amount of power he had now.
Slowly, and with great effort, Koishi managed to put everything away as neatly as he could. It wasn’t all that easy though as he was tiring and the few drinks he’d consumed were finally taking their toll on him as well. Perhaps he shouldn’t have drank so much, though at the time he was certain it was a good idea, he was somewhat regretting it now as his movements were a lot slower than he wished. This! This was exactly why he didn’t drink! Though he had this time…and he wasn’t liking it.
The only good thing, of which he was certain, was that no one else was here to see if he lost control or see him fumble with things. No one was here and he’d refrained from drinking too much. He didn’t like losing control or doing stupid things in front of people, ke tried to keep himself in control of his body at all times. Right now he wasn’t so certain of that control, it was shaky at best - literally.
Getting frustrated as he couldn’t move the box, which was again full of his memories since his head no longer possessed them all, he kicked the box and stared at it for a moment. It was being difficult and he was not pleased with it. Why was it so hard to move it? It hadn’t been this hard before…but right now he’d nearly dropped it and he couldn’t quite get it to fit in the hallway closet. He couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t fit either. “Morning.” Was the decision he did finally arrive at and Koishi decided to head for his room, after turning off the tv, and flop himself into his bed. He needed sleep; clearly.
Word count: 1,582
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Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 7:09 pm
May 10, 2023 He had pictures, lots of them, printed and scattered across his desk so he could grab them as he worked. Some were printed from deviantart, so he could get ideas, while others were from google images. This was totally out of his comfort zone but he’d said he’d try and he had meant it. A headless horseman was something he’d never thought he’d wind up drawing, and potentially tattooing, as he’d never thought something that seemingly obscure would be asked of him. It had been though.
He’d already done his research on the myth and knew it was an Irish myth, it was an interesting one at that, and he’d found there wasn’t much for rules to follow. With Japanese traditional tattoos there were plenty of rules to follow, people who knew the rules would catch mistakes, so it was wise to keep to the rules even if it seemed boring and bland to some people. He’d heard someone once call it boring…not enough room to play with and change things. Koishi was ok with that though.
Here he just needed to think of the time period for Irving’s piece dealing with the headless horseman, remembering this was an Irish myth, and that apparently the horse could also be headless but if it had a head the eyes were to be flaming. He was fairly certain he didn’t want to do too much in the way of flames for the eyes, it could potentially take away from the rest of the piece.
While he had already decided on that he was not actually working on the horse, and trying to figure out how to do its body and musculature right, he was working on the horseman instead. The clothing was going to be important, he didn’t want to be wrong in the style of clothing, as it would make up a large portion of the work. He couldn’t just go slapping any colors onto the clothing either but he also couldn’t use too many of the same dark colors. It would make reading the tattoo, once done, hard to read and figure out. That was why he was leaning towards a dark blue coat and tan colored riding pants with black boots to go over the pants. For a cloak, since most pictures featured one, he wasn’t sure what color or colors to go with. He could do the outside with one color and then the inside another, and add movement to the cloak so both colors could be seen.
While he pondered over the idea of colors, aside from the ones he’d already decided on, Koishi was working on sketching the clothing out. There were a lot of layers, if he was aiming to be accurate, he’d have to make sure they looked like separate layers once ink went to skin and that wouldn’t be too bad for him. He’d done it before when tattooing samurai or geisha as they both had layers of clothing as well. It was just different colors and styles of clothing involved.
As he sketched out ideas, moving from pose to pose, time whittled away and more and more sketches appeared in his sketchbook. He was planning to give Morgan options when he met with her about this tattoo design. He’d show ideas for the horseman himself as well as ideas for the horse and allow her to pick which horse and which horseman she wanted; he’d make them work together then.
Looking up when there was a knock at his door he got up, slowly, setting his pencil down as he stood. Approaching his door he bent to grab the paper bag from the wooden floor which made up the hallway outside his apartment. While he was working Koishi tended to not care much for making food for himself, it took up too much time, so he’d ordered food for delivery via grubhub.
Closing, and locking, his door he shuffled his way to the small kitchen to grab a plate and help himself to a plate of food. He’d gone with a bowl of veggies, cilantro lime rice, and some mildly spicy chicken. From the bowl of food he’d ordered he was certain he could make two, possibly three, meals as he wasn’t one to stuff himself with food. With a plate of food, and the rest being sealed up tight and put into the fridge, he shuffled his way back to the coffee table and sat himself on the floor to work. He didn’t worry about a drink, he already had one, as well as two empty bottles of flavored water, so now he had a rather late dinner and more work to do.
Taking the first bite of food Koishi took the time to look over what he had so far, comparing them to pictures he’d printed out, he could see some areas he should work on or even got some ideas on things to add. Maybe if he looked at people riding horse back, for real, he might get good ideas as well. Though, as he pondered the idea, he felt like that might help more when it came to the horse itself and musculature, he was more worried about the horse honestly.
It wasn’t as hard with Japanese when doing horses, rare as that was, it didn’t need to be as detailed as he felt like this would need to be in order to do it justice. He wanted to go as realistic as he could. As he continued to work, and eat, he did wonder if Morgan would want this to be as realistic as he was planning for it to be. What if she wanted a different style? That was something which could happen, though he did hope not, he wanted to make it look realistic and detailed, a way to show off what he could do and what he’d learned just for this piece.
“She’d better appreciate all the work I’m doing.” And he did mean it, she really should appreciate this. Because it was a lot of effort on his part, more effort than he put into something out of his comfort zone typically. “I just hope the style is right.”
Word count: 1,036
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2023 9:35 pm
May 19, 2023 With several pages of horse pictures, and sketches, Koishi was fairly confident in his skills due to the days and hours spent practicing. The horse had not been easy, and he’d been right in being weary of doing a horse like this, it had been harder than the horseman who had come much easier for the dark eyed male.
If you were to flip through the pages you’d be able to see the progress he’d made and how he’d gotten better as he’d produced more drawings and sketches. Mapping out more muscle, correcting lines and depth, he’d been able to work out the details he’d need to show. It was towards the end where he’d made the eyes flaming and had worked on just how much he wanted to do with that.
Everyone at the shop knew he was working on something for this client, or was she just a potential client? They knew what he was working on and he’d been teased, nothing too mean spirited, because it was so far from his usual and he was still only an apprentice and being faced with something this big. It was a test and he had to prove himself, he knew it, so he’d poured over it and finally he’d dumped his notebook on the front desk and told the girl there to take a look and share with the others - he wanted feedback.
He’d call Morgan, someone had taken down her number, once he’d heard from the others if they thought he was ready to offer her up ideas. With single client later in the day, a koi fish piece, Koishi had headed to the back room to grab a drink and wait to see what everyone thought about his work. He’d know soon enough, he knew it, as everyone would pass the book around, likely looking at other things he’d filled the sketchbook with, and gathering to discuss it all together or in groups.
It didn’t take long before he heard the front girl, Ashley, calling for CJ to come up front and take a look at something. Hearing the other call back that he’d be right there, he just had to put something away, he heard the footsteps on the old wooden floor of the shop. The floor of the shop was polished, and new, but made to sound like they were old. It was a nice feel to things in the shop…especially since the rest of the shop looked new and somewhat modern.
Taking a deep breath, he was actually nervous, Koishi leaned back and closed his eyes in order to try and calm his nerves. He’d never been this nervous, at least not that he could remember, not even when he’d come here to seek his apprenticeship. He knew they’d accept him, someone in the past had, and he knew his work was good. Rubbing at his temples he could hear voices, people calling to others, heels and sneakers on the wood floor. Right now one of the others had a client, he knew that, but everyone else was talking and sharing his ideas.
“It better be good.” Because he’d thought it was. If he passed with his co-workers he’d then have to pass with Morgan and get her approval. This was a test by fire sort to speak and he was made of ice…and ice gave way and melted under the heat of fire. He could only hope his work was strong enough that it passed this test.
Word count: 584
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Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2023 10:10 am
June 21, 2023 Already Kioshi was the most modified person at the tattoo studio he worked at, at most others had stretched lobes and had biopsy punches done to their ears, whereas he had his ears modified into elf ears. If he’d had almost any other job he’d have issues with his ears but he’d picked a career which he liked and also afforded him the ability to do as he pleased with his body.
He knew these things from what he’d left for himself to go over once he’d joined the Negaverse, so he could remember important things about himself. He’d been helping his new self to retain and understand parts of himself, to remember who he’d been and who he should remain. To keep true to himself and keep in control of his life and such. He’d understood that well enough when going over things.
Perhaps in the past he wouldn’t have added any more modifications, even minimal ones, to himself but that had been then and this was now.
He’d been thinking about it on and off for awhile, like he did before any sort of modification, and he had done his research as well. This time around he wasn’t looking to modify as much as he could but would settle for a slightly less permanent modification if only because he wanted to keep the health of his teeth intact to the best of his ability. He’d always had an issue with people who got certain piercings, because it could damage teeth, so that opinion lent itself to this as well. He wasn’t going to shave down his teeth and get veneers or go with implants or anything like that. It was more modified than even he wanted, and that was saying something, so he’d settled for a middle ground.
He didn’t like the idea of the fake fangs you bought at the store, those were weak and useless and prone to issues. Not only that but they fell out, got stained, and other things. He’d saved up the money, after talking to his regular dentist, and taken on more clients than usual over the last two or three months. He’d easily made his rent and his bills so the rest went to saving for what he wanted. He needed his teeth cleaned anyway, he kept up with cleaning his teeth and even used a whitening product that his dentist provided him to use at home, so when his next cleaning appointment came up he knew it wasn’t just going to be a cleaning he was getting.
He’d set up the appointment months ago, knowing he’d save enough money somehow or other, and now as his teeth had been cleaned, and checked over, he was laying there with his dentist playing about with shaping a fang for him. He’d told him he wanted them small and fairly sharp. He didn’t need them too long so it made talking hard, or where he wound up with an overbite as he’d heard could happen, he also didn’t want to bite himself. That in mind, and reference pictures provided when he’d arrived earlier, he was certain his dentist would keep his wants in mind and manage to shape what he wanted. He just hated keeping his mouth open for all of this, it was the one thing he disliked about the dentists. He hated his mouth feeling so damn dry or feeling like he was drooling everywhere.
Right now he felt like he was going to drool somewhere as his mouth was being held open as the bonding material was being molded to fit his wants. Keeping his eyes closed, he didn't’ like how damn bright the light over his head was, Koishi nearly cheered when the male above him mentioned setting the bonding material for the first fang. He knew a uv light would be used, in a similar manner to when peoples nails were done, so it could bake or whatever. The word was cure though, right? He wasn’t entierly certain nor did he give a ********. He was not looking forward to the drooling feeling he was dealing with. He just wanted it done and over with but he knew these things took time.
With the first fang done the work began again but now on the other side, his left, as he turned his head a bit for his dentist so the man could work on his eye tooth easier.
The second time wasn’t any easier, the wait drove him nuts, he hated how he felt saliva pooling in his mouth and dripping a bit. He was a rather neat person and so something like this was driving him crazy, silently, and he just wanted to spit the saliva out or get something to wipe his mouth with - anything! This was the one thing he disliked about dentist trips every time! But he knew it would be worth it, just like the time and discomfort getting inked took. The ink he wore he’d earned, unlike some damn people who got put under anesthesia. Those people who did something that weak didn’t earn s**t as far as he was concerned, and he really didn’t care if someone didn’t agree with him, it was just that such things should be earned. Right now he was doing just that as well, especially since he was dealing with all the drool and saliva and a dry mouth after it all. Yeah, this was not pleasant.
Once it was over though…he’d be happy. He had the day off as well so he’d head home and take a rest, he could use it in all honesty, before figuring out a late lunch/dinner for himself.
Word count: 950
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Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 7:56 pm
June 22, 2023 Talking like normal was something of a challenge the first two days, as he wasn’t used to the slightly longer and pointed eye teeth, but he’d gotten the hang of it. The teeth weren’t the most obvious of things, he didn’t want them to be, but they were there and he knew it. Not only did he know it but one of his co-workers had noticed it and mentioned it to the others, all while grinning. They had been, since finding out, trying to figure out what to refer to him as. He wasn’t a vampire but not an elf either. They had considered calling him a vampire though, citing the Twilight series with glittering vampires, which had Kioshi glaring at his co-workers.
They had been busting his balls all damn day, even as he worked, about what look he was aiming for. He had a bite mark on him, like someone had claimed him as their property, but the ears and teeth. They were claiming to be confused and that it didn’t all mesh right; idiot workers…all of them.
When he didn’t have a client, or some walk in to occupy his time, Kioshi had been in the backroom secretly working on not lisping his words as he spoke. When it came time to grab food, because he was starving, he hurried out of the shop intent upon heading to one of the smaller grocery stores which sold pre-made foods. The place was a bit overpriced, it was also new to the city, but the food was good based on what he’d had so far.
Stepping into the place, an H mart, Kioshi was quick to head for the hot food section intent on helping himself to lunch before returning to work. He’d been here before but that didn’t mean he knew what he wanted to eat, because he didn’t, he knew he wanted to try things he’d not yet had but that was a lot of things here. This was, he knew, a Korean super market but it served enough foods that were familiar to him as well that he didn’t mind at all.
The first thing he landed on was a chicken and rice cake skewer with sauce on it, that was held in his hand as he looked about for the next idea to add to his lunch. He’d grab a drink once the food was all purchased. He was planning to sit here, in h Mart, and eat his lunch since they did have chairs and tables about.
Another stall, serving fresh made food, had his attention and he headed on over to see what they offered. Kimpab wasn’t his favorite food, he wasn’t the biggest fan of seaweed, but he decided to order a roll for himself as well. While seaweed wasn’t his favorite thing, he would never snack on it unlike some people, but it also wasn’t the worst thing either. He was Japanese so it was a major part of a lot of what he ate; he’d accepted it.
Along with the kimbap roll he went for sashimi and a sushi roll, might as well, that done he settled in with his selections. The table he picked was towards the windows, so he had some natural lighting, and sitting down he started in on his food. At some point, before he’d settled in to eat, he’d picked up a drink for himself. Being that it was summer he’d picked up a bottle of dongwon peach tea for himself to try; and it wasn’t bad. It was something he’d buy again, and even keep in his fridge, it was that good.
Sipping his drink as he ate, taking his time in eating, he went back for one more thing to eat. Going to the fish department he paid for a fish to be fried up, to a nice crisp, so he could eat that before heading back to work with a nice full stomach.
Finishing his drink, by the time he got back to the shop he tossed out the bottle and made for his work room. Apparently they had someone filling out paperwork who wanted some asian tattoo. He hadn’t been told exactly what they wanted but he still needed to grab his paper and pencil so he could meet the client and see what they wanted, he’d need to come up with an idea after all.
Word count: 735
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Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2023 9:55 pm
July 11, 2023 Fragrance had never been something he’d really cared about, he never had much of a reason, but over time his opinion had changed. Maybe it was smelling one too many customers who had poor hygiene or something else, maybe just wanting to smell better himself, but Kioshi had decided to get something for himself. That said he’d put in the time, as much as he would for work, in order to find something he’d like to wear on himself.
He’d decided, over his time researching things, to avoid the designer brands and rather look to the niche brands as they seemed to be made in smaller batches and with better quality ingredients. They also seemed more complex and to smell better, he’d gone and bought a lot of testers to try out. For the last couple of weeks he’d changed what he wore each day, which drove his co-workers insane, taking note of how long some lasted and how well they smelled on him. He’d learned that things smelled different on everyone, and lasted different amounts of time on different people, which he wasn’t too surprised to learn really.
He’d accepted compliments, as best he could anyway, and took note of how many compliments he got for which fragrance he was wearing.It was the strong scent of oud satin mood which had gotten the most compliments and he did like it himself as well. It didn’t come off as a summer time fragrance but he also would admit to not giving a ******** about rules; because you should wear whatever you liked.
It seemed, from what searching he’d done, to be considered a unisex scent and so after much researching he’d decided to purchase it despite the price - which he really had stared at on his computer screen before hitting the purchase button.
He really felt that hit to his wallet, how could he not, but when it arrived this morning he wasn’t so upset. The bottle was worth it when he unboxed it, and after a shower sprayed himself with it, it was like a wall of scent but it wasn’t in a bad way. He knew, from the tester he’d used, that it didn’t take a lot to go a long way with this scent. The oud in it was strong and heavy and gave it an almost heady night time feel to it, but he was going to wear it to work today.
Stepping out of his apartment Kioshi headed to work, for some reason feeling just a bit more confident, as he enjoyed his own smell. The walk to the parking garage, as he’d recently managed to get himself an suv, was silent and peaceful but he knew when he got to work that all would be gone. He knew he’d have to deal with people, phones, and more people and he was really not looking forward to it all. Maybe for his lunch break he’d order food for delivery and eat in the backroom, rather than taking a walk to get something. He just didn’t want to deal with that today; it was too warm.
The drive to work was rather normal, aside from the one idiot who dared to cut him off, but it wasn’t too bad really. Parking was good, they had spaces in the back parking lot marked for workers, so he’d had no issues with that thankfully. Kioshi was glad he didn’t really need to fight for a parking spot just so he could get to work, because that would leave him in a foul mood before he even walked into the shop, so when he did walk into the shop he was honestly in a good mood. His hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.
Nodding his head to the female behind the counter, her blond hair tipped with dark blue coloring, he thanked her once for the compliment. Apparently she knew what oud smelled like and liked it, a lot, as she’d told him when he’d tested the scent. Oud was a favorite thing of hers she said, even telling him she owned a few oud perfumes herself, this one though she said felt in your face and strong and fit him somehow. It didn’t hide what it was, was in your face, and fit his usual cool confidence as she’d put it. He’d shrugged it off at the time, and still would, as he headed back to his little work space in order to check everything he had and grab anything he might be running low on.
Word count: 761
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Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2023 12:27 pm
July 21, 2023 It wasn’t uncommon for him to walk to the asian market when on a lunch break, he did it a couple of times a week, because the food they sold fresh made was always good. The place had a lot of good food, shocking since it was a grocery store, but considering they had live fish that they’d kill and butcher on the spot as ordered it said a lot about the place. That was what he was planning to get as well - fish. He was aiming for sushi and some sashimi for lunch, he tried to eat a fairly healthy diet,
Stepping into the air conditioned store Kioshi was hit with the sights, and sounds, of an asian grocery store. Maybe, once he was off work, he should do some proper grocery shopping as he could honestly due to stock up on a few things he was running low on. That was however not his reason for being here now, he’d handle stocking up later, right now he was headed for the food court and going right for the fish counter.
They had mantis shrimp and that was the first thing he went with, deciding he wanted four of them fried up with garlic and spring onion, and then moved on to actual fish. Pointing out what he wanted he let them know he wanted it as half sashimi and half sushi roll, since it was a fairly long bodied fish he figured he could do that. Ignoring the fish being grabbed from the tank and clubbed in the head before it was butchered, Kioshi was already pointing out that he wanted two blue claw crabs, stating he wanted them steamed.
The fish being killed, right behind the counter, didn’t bother him nor did the grabs being tossed alive into a steamer. None of it bothered him, it wasn’t an uncommon thing really, as he was used to how Asians handled seafood and its preparation. It was, in his opinion, a bit more hands on for those in Asian countries. He’d heard of some restaurants where you could fish for your food and then, after hooking the fish and pulling it in, decide how it was to be prepared. There were live fish markets where you could pick your food and they’d kill it and butcher it there or send it up to a restaurant inside the market to do that there. This wasn’t as bad, in his opinion, and so it was overlooked and ignored.
Once his food was done, which took some time, Kioshi went to find himself a seat in order to relax and eat. It was by the front windows that he settled, a seat that he claimed as his every time he came here, and with his dark eyes on the sidewalk and the hustle and bustle he ate with a certain detached air. He didn’t really look down as he ate, only just as much as he needed to in order to not make a mess of his lunch, as he let his own thoughts wander.
He had some changes coming up in his life, unexpected ones at that, and he wasn’t entirely certain how he felt about it. Most of it dealt with the Negaverse, and perhaps he should ignore those things when he wasn’t powered up, but when else would he think of those things? He powered up but not every night, he didn’t have the time for that, and he needed to sort out his own thoughts and feelings on the matters.
Kioshi wasn’t really a fan of socializing, he never had been as far as he knew, and now he was going to have to shadow people and be a part of a team. It had been fine when it had just been him and Wolframite, that was ok, he wasn’t on a large team and he didn’t feel smothered and the idea of a team already felt smothering to him. He didn’t like noise and drama or people, and having to play nice with others, and it felt like a whole lot more than he wanted to deal with. His best solution to the problem, because it was a problem in his opinion, was to grit his teeth and bear it just like he did his clients. Work with them, do what he had to, but do not get attached to anyone and keep them all at arms length. It was the best option and it worked with repeat clients as well. He never let his clients, especially those with stories and such, get to him because he put up a wall and he played his role as well as he could without actually putting any real feeling into things. He faked it just enough to get them to think he was sincere and they would stop talking and let him work, that way it didn’t get to where actual emotions were pulled from him.
That would, he figured, need to work now with whoever these people were. He just hoped they were at least half way tolerable and not too loud or over the top and dramatic because he really couldn’t deal with such things. Some might call him intolerant and he was ok with that, he might even agree to it, but he just lacked in some things and he knew it. What he didn’t lack in though was compassion for animals and that was exactly what hit him, like a freight train, when he saw a little kitten wobbling its way along the sidewalk in front of the grocery store. People moving around it, nearly trampling on the kitten, Kiochi got up quickly and food was forgotten for the moment he headed outside in a hurry.
The kitten, because it was just so tiny, was scooped up and it’s dirtiness ignored as he turned and headed back into the store. Clearly this dirty, and too thin, kitten needed care and food and this was a grocery store. There was a pet aisle, with mostly Asian pet food companies, and that was where he headed after scolding some worker for trying to stop him from traveling in the store with the kitten held in one arm to his chest.
With the weak little cries from the kitten he asked the worker, who was still orbiting around him, to get him a basket so he could get what he needed and he’d do them the favor of leaving just a little bit faster. By now he was glaring, and trying to ignore a few aunties who were hovering now and listening in, and was pleased when the worker hurried to do as asked. He even decide to ask them to have his food packed up so he could take it with him, otherwise he’d just have to go into the food court himself, with the kitten, and it did work on the employee who obviously wanted him gone but didn’t want to cause a scene and didn’t know what to do with Kioshi either. Shaking his head as he loaded up the basket he hurried to pay for things, while his food was hopefully being readied to go with him, that grannies and aunties were whispering and staring far too much for his liking.
Once he had everything bagged, and he did have several bags hanging from his arms, and a box of cat litter in his left hand, Kioshi headed out of the store and made the quick walk back to work. He was weighed down severely, so the walk took longer than usual but when he pushed the door open with his hip he let the one at the front desk know he was heading to the back and that he’d found a kitten in need so he was going to be taking care of them. He knew everyone would know soon, including the owner, so he didn’t need to tell anyone else what was going on. The back room was, as usual, a bit of a mess but it was comfortable with couches and chairs and he went to work setting up a litter box while the kitten was left to eat some canned kitten food. He would, once the litter box was set up, call a local vet to see about getting the little one in as soon as possible - like today.
For now though the little one needed a meal and he had to get things out of his arms and arranged for the moment. He’d bring it all home, because there was no way he wasn’t keeping the little kitten and making sure they got well, but he wasn’t home right now and wouldn’t be for a while.
While the little one ate he did a google search for a nearby vet, with good reviews, before calling. As the phone rang he had his boss poke his head in and had to whisper the story to him, his phone covering part of his phone, as he explained that the kitten would not be staying here but he wasn’t going to leave them on the street either. They needed care and a home, and he’d provide that at his actual home, but he was here right now and didn’t have much choice in the matter. The little black, and gray, kitten still wobbled and looked like a light breeze would knock them right over.
His boss, for now, was understanding and told him if he could get an appointment right now he could go. Nodding is thanks he was quick to respond when the other line picked up and he explained things and let them know he wanted the kitten checked now to see if they had fleas, if they had anything going on, and get them their shots if they were ok to get them. The woman on the other end of the line was sympathetic to the need and said they’d check with the vet, and let them know the situation, but she didn’t think it would be an issue.
Not even ten minutes later Kioshi was heading for the vets with the kitten, in a blanket filled box, to get them checked out. The whole while he was talking to the kitten about names and ideas he had, and he had a lot of ideas, but he really wasn’t sure since he didn’t know their gender - but the vet would! Word count: 1,741
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