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 Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 6:09 pm
Haruka opened and closed her mouth a few times, like a fish~ Crap, she had gotten misunderstood again. Honestly, 'for Mom' just meant 'wanting to talk to Nanami in an innocent and friendly manner', but... That obviously wasn't how it sounded! Even though Gemma hadn't actually said anything, the fact that she took that as anything was enough to make Haruka feel uncomfortable. She wasn't sure if she could handle this, her mother making friends. She never knew what was going on!
Nanami stopped next to the next and leaned against it lightly, crossing her arms. Tattoo! Really, she didn't peg Gemma as the type to get a tattoo. At least, not at this age. Maybe she would get a tattoo as a college student, on a whim or something... But who was she to judge? Maybe she was just too used to all of the teenagers who came by. "Really, it depends," she said with a smile. "What do you want? Usually I ask for appointments if it's elaborate, but..." she glanced down at her appointment book that was open on the desk. "My schedule's wide open today. I have time," she added with a wink.
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 9:31 am
Gemma payed the teenager no mind after she had gone quiet, spiteful and shy she was. Ah, Nanami was talking to her! "Something simple, nothing fancy," she spoke, her right hand going up to rub her left wrist. She looked at it then, thinking. Yeah, that was perfect! Right there, on her left wrist. But what...? "Do you have any designs or anything I can check to... you know, pick out what I want?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. She was, of course, going to stall. Well, maybe that way Nanami would talk to her more, give her suggestions. As well as letting her wrap her own mind around the fact that she was getting a tattoo on a whim! This wasn't strange behavior for her, jumping into things. But it was never something permanent like a tattoo! Matthew would kill her...
Ah, well, she'd gladly take her punishment if it meant making a close friend on the island. Besides, that way, she'd have a reason to talk to Nanami again!
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:48 pm
"Yeah, got a couple," Nanami replied with a smile before glancing in Haruka's direction. The teenager took that as her cue and stood up from the chair to go get her mother's design books. She placed them on the receptionist desk before sitting back down. Nanami opened the top one and flipped through. Ahh, mostly tramp stamps. She quickly pushed the book out of the way. "I'm guessing you're not looking for that sort of thing?" She was hoping! She was tired of tramp stamps! It seemed that every girl who came in just wanted the same old boring butterfly tramp stamp. (Was that a jab in Marissa's direction? Possibly. But it wasn't the girl's fault that she was like most of the other girls her age!) Besides, Gemma seemed to be a classier lady than that. Nanami picked up the next book and opened it. Yup, this one would probably have some designs Gemma would like. "Here, try this," she said with another smile as she handed it to the brunette.
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 7:27 pm
She eyed through it, but came to a halt when she saw one in specific. Ah, a Rosary. It didn't look particularly feminine or anything, but it looked simple. And if she didn't turn her hand up, it'd be low key; subtle. "This one," She placed the design book on top of the desk, her finger pointing at the desired design. "I like it." she smiled broadly, her eyes alight knowing she'd have some kind of 'although permanent, and very possibly regrettable in the future' connection to the woman. "At least I can say it has some religious symbolism if someone asks, right?" she joked, chuckling lightly and looking back down at the design under her finger.
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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 6:38 pm
Nanami leaned forward to look at the design Gemma had picked out. A rosary? She wouldn't have pegged her as the type. Well, she wasn't, if her words were true. It seemed odd to her to get a religious tattoo without religious intentions, but... Who was she to judge? It wasn't her decision. She was just the person to make it happen. "Nice choice," she smiled. Even if she didn't fully understand the motives behind choosing that one, it wasn't a bad design, and it kind of suited her, in a strange way. "Shouldn't take too long, either. You can have a seat over there, if you're ready," she gestured to the tattoo chair as she moved over to her desk to start prepping. "So, Gemma, how are you liking Nirvani?" she asked over her shoulder.
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Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 3:50 pm
"Hmm?" She hummed questioningly, her brown eyes tearing away from the plain left wrist that was about to be transformed and modified. Yes, she just thought 'transformed'. That was a cool word. It was just like that time that bitchy cosmetics counter girl had dolled her up. 'Transformed' her. She had, of course, ruined it once she got home. Ah, Gemma... that had been a really sad day for you! "Well, I've met some really interesting people. Umm, a.. an... vampire!" She said enthusiatically, making a face when she remembered Vlad. "And a german, a brit, a potty-mouth, uh..." Gem paused to think hard past her first night at the Grindhouse, "Oh, a vet, a chinese midget, some other young people, a clover, a tattoo artist and her daughter!" she smiled childishly, glad that she remembered most, if not all, of the people she met on the island. "You know I'm talking about you at that last part, right?" The brunette then looked at Haruka, "And you, too." She leaned back into the tattoo chair and smiled, nodding like an idiot.
"Wow, I'm sorry about that. I just got really excited when I remembered all the interesting people I've met!" Gemma laughed, showing off her big white teeth. Her laughter had a nice, happy chime-like quality to it. "I like interesting people, they're my favorite." She commented, her hand gingerly rubbing at where the tattoo was gonna be. One must remember she's been working with children for the most part of her life now, it wouldn't be uncommon for her to have these sporadic moments of childish cuteness.
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:38 am
Nanami smiled as she continued her prep. It was a nice, simple design, so she didn't need to do as much. She printed her transfer stencil, got her tools nice and disinfected, all while listening to Gemma talk. She was so cute, listing the number of people she had met. Like a little kid! Still, she had managed to have a pretty interesting time so far. Sounded like she had gotten a lot done, too. It had been a pretty quiet year for Nanami, at least, and she wondered if she should maybe start to participate more, even in things that weren't normal for her, just so she could keep up.
She paused from adjusting the stencil when Gemma mentioned herself. "Well, I'd hope you mean me. I'm not sure what I'd do if there were competition," she replied with a grin.
Haruka rolled her eyes. Gemma really didn't need to clarify. It was cheesy.
"Glad to hear we have something in common," Nanami replied pleasantly. "Part of the reason why I like this job so much is that you get to talk to lots of different, interesting people," she nodded at the thought of all of the clients she had had over the years.
She rolled forward in her chair and held out a hand for Gemma to put her arm into. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll just clean up your arm and we'll get started," she said with a small sparkle in her eye. Oh, she loved giving tattoos, oh so much~
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 4:54 pm
However, as soon as Nanami rolled over on her chair and put her hand out. Gemma gingerly moved her arm to place it into the other woman's waiting hand, a small smile on her face. She might have just asked the woman's opinion on aging, but... it just seemed so awkward. Women didn't like talking about their ages, and maybe Nanami was one of them. Gemma didn't have a problem in admitting she was 23, not in the least!~ Heehee~ Nah, nah. Maybe if it was somebody she barely knew, but she didn't mind telling a close friend or even just a friend. How were they supposed to know how many candles to get her for her birthday then? "Is it gonna hurt?" She asked timidly, instead. She'd never got a tattoo before, and Matthew was too drunk to remember if it had. At least, that's what he liked to say. Gemma believed him.
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:01 pm
Now that Nanami had full access to her arm, she set about cleaning and shaving the woman's wrist. Thankfully, wrist were generally easy to clean up, so it didn't take long at all~ She had already begun applying the transfer when Gemma asked about the pain. That was a little belated, wasn't it? But Nanami was used to this question. It was a natural one. People were usually so anxious about pain, it was always a worry for her customers. Excluding the weirdos, of course.
"Hm, yeah, at least a little," she replied thoughtfully. "You don't have much fat on your arms, so it'll probably sting a bit," she explained, giving Gemma's wrist a small pinch. Oh, she envied thin girls like her. "But no pain, no gain, right?" she joked with a wink. "I think a little discomfort is an easy payment for something that will be with you for the rest of your life. And god knows it's a lot easier than childbirth," she laughed merrily at her joke.
Haruka closed her magazine firmly and set it down on the desk loudly enough to grab her mother's attention. If they were going to talk like this, she would rather not be in the room.
Nanami watched her daughter walk back into the house. "See? My point exactly," she shrugged and forced a sigh, though she quickly returned to her usual smile. "You ready?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:20 pm
Gem tried craning her head to see the girl go, but she only saw Haruka's back as she left. Temperamental, eh? Spiteful, shy and temperamental... she'd hold her comment about that. "She seems like a handful." She allowed, her brown eyes going to her wrist when Nanami asked if she was ready shortly afterwards. She nodded without hesitation, having decided to go through with this. "Yeah, I'm ready." Gemma answered, her face lighting up with the help of a wistful smile. Her arm had tensed just the slightest bit, expecting the pain that was to come. It was a natural reaction, and not her own.
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Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 5:21 pm
Nanami finished up prepping, smiling to herself. The topic had shifted to Haruka, and the woman couldn't help but indulge in the chance to talk about her daughter for a while! "Yeah, she's a handful, but she's a good kid," she commented as she rolled back to set her things down and start switching equipment. "Our personalities are so alike, afterall. But she's still my best friend. I just wish she'd stop growing up so damn fast," she ended with a joke. Thankfully, she was distracted, so any motherly gushing ended there. Once she had her tools ready to go, she held the tattoo gun. "Let's get started." She gave Gemma a supportive smile. "Just relax, and breathe deeply. It'll get better after the first few minutes, okay?" The initial contact was always the worst! Nanami waited until Gemma seemed to be ready before beginning to move the needle over her skin.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:29 am
Upon instruction, she tried to relax and breathe deeply. She closed her eyes, if just to keep her eyes off the needle. She did relax after a few beats, her arm winding down in how tense it had been. And right when the needle met her skin, she sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth. At the sting, it had been a little more than she expected, and the fact that this was her first time didn't help. She should have been drunk. It had worked well for Matthew, afterall! Gemma was such a light drinker, anyway. She didn't mind drinking, but she did mind getting a hangover. Those sucked. As much as she hated the idea of being drunk for this, because she trusted Nanami's capabilities, she just hoped nothing went wrong. That would be so disappointing.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 5:06 pm
Nanami glanced at Gemma's face. Yeah, she had gone white, but she was dealing with the pain just fine. She kind of wished she had a lollipop to give her once this thing was over with. She had fallen silent, focusing on her work. Sure, she could multitask and try to juggle a conversation, but Gemma probably wasn't in the mood for smalltalk and it would be hard to hear over the sound of the needle anyway. So she focused on finishing the tattoo...
[short time skip~]
"Okayyy.... done," Nanami said as she set down the needle. She cleaned off the excess blood and ink, and once it was all clean, she rolled back slightly. "How do you like it?" It turned out really well, if she said so herself!
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Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:23 pm
But once the queasy feeling left, she was rather glad with how it looked. Nanami was good at her work. She had said earlier it was a simple design, but Gemma'd try to push the envelope, just a little. "It looks good," Gemma smiled down at the rosary design, "But, now I have to think about how I'll get Matthew to not chew me out when he sees it!" She chuckled, flexing her fingers from that hand. And for a little while, she just flexed her fingers.
"So, how much is that gonna cost?" Gemma asked, getting down to business. She stood up from her seat, having really wanted to get moving a short while after Nanami had started working. (She was just one of those people) Gemma had her wallet in the back pocket of her jeans, her trusty jeans for casual occasions. Gem's other, non-tattooed, hand went to her back pocket, resting lightly against it. While the hand of the tattooed arm did the same, but against her other back pocket, which was empty.
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Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:44 pm
Nanami had juuust put on the protective ointment and bandage when Gemma stood up. She had handled it really well, and Nanami was kind of proud of her! But she wouldn't say it out loud, that would be weird. "Don't worry about the price," she shook her head as she tugged off of her gloves and stood up as well, running her fingers over the back pockets of her jeans, to get the feeling back in her fingertips (latex gloves did that for some reason). "I never charge friends for the first time. Breeds good karma, I find," she laughed slightly. Walking over to the desk, she grabbed a sheet of paper from a small stack and handed it to Gemma. "Here's all you need to know about cleaning it. I would hate to see pretty skin like that get messed up from an infection or something." She sounded like an old man, but what else was new?
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