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 Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2023 8:27 pm
Gisela had thought about this for a long time. Longer than she cared to admit, actually. She's agonized and fretted, wondering if she was stepping over some boundaries or being too presumptuous in her decisions. Somewhere, deep beneath her over thinking and worrying she knew that she wasn't. She knew that Alex would be nothing short of flattered but... still... what if she was reading their relationship wrong? What if she held him and far higher esteem than he held her. Again, preposterous, Alex and Benitoite alike both made sure that she knew, both as a senshi and a civilian, the extent of his respect and care for her.
But still suddenly this all felt so real as she stood outside of Velvet Lotus, references for her chosen tattoo bookmarked on her phone. She'd already turned and gone back to her car three times, probably convincing the artists inside that she was insane. Or maybe that kind of thing happened all the time.
It didn't matter.
Gisela had fought literal aliens. She'd stolen the souls of senshi and knights who had crossed her. She could pull her own soul out of her chest and look at it whenever she wanted as Noctua. A tattoo was... it was nothing...
But this tattoo was not nothing...
No. Standing outside like an idiot wasn't going to result in anything except unwanted attention. Gisela was strong now. She was strong and healthy and new. A strong, healthy, new Gisela knew what she wanted. And so, she took a deep, steeling breath, and pushed herself through the front door. Once she was in there, she wouldn't be able to turn and walk away.
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Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2023 8:50 pm
Kioshi had been walking out of the back room, a bottled of coild tea in his hand, when the door to the shop opened and the bell above jangled. Maybe, if he was lucky, it would be a walk in looking for something he could do. He'd had one client today, which wasn't bad, but theyh hadn't even taken that long to finish. They'd had a nice simple Japanese design which he'd placed on their hip area as per their request. The problem was that he'd had nothing else to do thus far, no walk ins asking for things he could do, and no clients of his today. He was just ehre...drawing and hanging around waiting.
One hand in his pocket he made his way to the front, towards the front counter where one of the females was hanging out, and leaned over to grab his cell phone and poke at the screen to see if he had any messages. Nothing there he scooted around behind her and found a seat for himself. "I wonder if this is a walk in..." He whispered. He was than fille din on the person hanging around outside, likely nerves, and that they'd even walked off a few times.
"First time then." He said with a hint of a smile. He could understand how it could be a nerve wracking thing, a first tattoo, for various reasons. He couldn't remember his first bit of ink, perhaps a good thing, as it kept him from getting nervous over other such things.
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Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2023 9:07 pm
Gisela looked behind her for just a moment before she realized that she was being spoken too. So it had been obvious. Gisela could feel her cheeks heating to dusty pink in her embarrassment. She cleared her throat to recover and nodded wordlessly, still wondering about the optics of just turning around and walking back out. Sure, they'd seen her, but they didn't know her. Probably couldn't pick her out of a crowd if they saw her outside of this place. She twisted one of her snakebites with her tongue in her nerves for several quiet seconds as she recovered. "Um... yeah. Yes. It is. I don't have an appointment though." Which... great move, Gisela. Artists were busy people. They had clients. It had been presumptuous of her to just walk in and think she could get what she wanted that day. "I was kind of hoping you had room for... Or... actually... can I just make an appointment?" No, she wasn't stalling actually getting the art. Gisela Louise didn't stall. She was... being conscious of the artists' time. She was trying to play by the rules. She was... yeah. That was what she was doing. "It's just a little one, so just like... a little slot? How... um... how far out are you booked?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2023 9:23 pm
Deciding to take over, rather than they hired desk girl, Kioshi spoke up from where he was seated. "We take walk in's. I don't know a single shop that doesn't." Unless it was a shop with just one artist who was packed...but he didn't know of any such shops, as it was a poor buisness model in his opinion. Leaniong back in his seat as he spoke, and taking a sip of the peach green tea he had.
"Most of the others are booked today but I'm free, depending on what you want." Leaning forward now he stood up slowly, and made his way around the counter towards her.
"I'm an apprentice but I can show you my work, and sketches I have, you can decide if you trust me and let me know what you want. If I can't do it I'll tell you but if you like my art and I think I can do what you want I'll do it." He was, if nothing else, confident in his skills. But he also knew his weak areas and knew what he wanted to avoid altogether.
She was very nervous, that much was obvious, so he figured he'd try and help her relax a bit. If he could show her things, his art, it might help get her into the idea and clam her a bit. He did wonder which part of this whole process had her nervous like this, or was it the whole thing?
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Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2023 10:51 pm
Gisela hesitated just a moment before she approached the man who was speaking to her. This was an important tattoo... she had no reason to think that he wasn't capable but... she also had no reason to believe that he was either. but she also knew herself well enough to know that if she didn't get it done today, Gisela would only talk and think herself back out of this a hundred times over and never get it done. "Um... yeah. Okay, sure." She fumbled her phone out of her back pocket and flipped to the images of strands of ivy and simple tattoos of the same subject. She handed her phone over and attempted to lighten her own anxiety by joking, "I would have done this myself but... it felt too important to be another stick-and-poke, you know?" But her laugh was tight and nervous as she wrapped her hand around her wrist. "But um... it's just a little ring of ivy. Around my left wrist. I'd like it to be color, but I get it if you can only do black and grey."
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Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2023 7:12 am
"A little too detailed for a stick and poke for certain." Plus stick and pokes had their own issues, aside from not typically coming out well. Looking over the idea he nodded his head slowly. "I think I could manage that easily enough. I do color." He was not a black and white only artist, it wouldn't work with his usual style if he was.
"Want me to bring you back to my room and show you my work?" Or he could just grab a sketchbook and a an ipad so he could show her his social media account where his finished works were. "I have a lot of work, though not in this style, I don't see this as being difficult for me and I take it there is an importance to this." So he wouldn't be offering, for something important, if he couldn't do it. She also had a small wrist, smaller than some he'd worked on, so he had no issues with this.
"I can even sketch something up for you?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 7:24 pm
There was no judgement in his voice, and yet Gisela's blush lingered. She was, of course, no stranger to stick and pokes, not on her body but the people she associated with had plenty of their own. She'd never been able to stomach it for some reason. Piercing her own flesh on her bathroom floor? totalyl acceptable use of her time. Shoe polish and a sewing needle "sanitized" in vodka? That was a step too far for her. "Yes, I'd like to see some sketches." Even if she didn't really know what to look for. She supposed she knew good art when she saw it. And the artist was speaking with enough confidence to sell her on the idea. It was an important design, yes. One that she'd planned for months now. Thought about for years. So she nodded simply at his assumption, explaining, "yes, I dear friend of mine has a similar tattoo. This is... well it's as much for him as it is for me. A way to promise that he's rather stuck with me forever." She laughed softly through her nose at her own joke.
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 7:52 pm
"Ok, so why don't you hang out and I'll head back for a few and work on a few ideas for you. I'll come back and show you what Igot and you can tell me what you think. If none of them are good enough, or need a chnage, let me know. I want an honest answer because this is going to be on you for life." That was the big thing some people simply did not understand. A tattoo was not something you got on a whim - it was forever. Getting a girlfriend or boyfriends name was never a good idea. Getting thing son the face, or hands, as well unless you were blasted full of ink already, or had a job that didn't care. If you were young and got a face or hand job it was likelyh to impact jobs down the line...and at forty years old it might not be something you enjoy having. He was willing to tattoo just about any part of the body but he was sensable, when sometimes his clients weren't, he tried to speak reason to them and remind them of the way people viewed tattoos and how they could impact things. He didn't always come out on top but at least he tried; and that mattered.
He was safe with his job, being a tattoo artist, with being inked and modified and he was glad for it. It allowed him the freedom to alter his looks how he pleased and that made him happy, though he still was planning to get his teeth done. He did his research on things before jumping into them, he wasn't going to walk into things blind, unlike some people. It was why he tried to guide clients when he thought it was needed. It was why he wanted honest answers abotu his work, he wouldn't let it kill his feelings. This was about what they wanted to live with forever on their body.
"If you need a drink ask, we have some in the back, it's best we go into this with something in your stomach." He didn't need a client passing out, or throwing up, because they were on an empty stomach. "I'll be back, promise." Nodding his head he turned to head off, he'd already seen what she looked up to get her refrence images. he'd pull it up on his ipad and work from those images. This shouldn't be bad at all, he rather liked that she was doing this for a friend who had similar ink on them. It had him almost wanting to laugh when she said it was a way of telling her friend they were stuck with her, it was something he might do if he ever had someone he was so close to. Hell, it was why he had bite marks on his neck. He'd attatched himself to someone, though in a different sort of relationship than hers.
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Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2023 12:34 pm
Gisela nodded and took her seat, quietly whispering to another artist that she would take a diet coke if they had any. Which they did, much to Gisela's glee. The small things, she was discovering, were fairly miraculous. She was coming to understand the song about whiskers on kitten and white woolen mittens. The can was given to her with a bright yellow bendy straw, another small joy, and Gisela curled herself up to peer around the shop from her perch. It was a rather beautiful blend of modern and industrial. The couch she had claimed was smooth black leather set into a chrome frame, with other couches and chairs around her to match. The tables were of the same chrome framework with glass tops, scattered with magazines, flash books, and small plants. She fingered the fronds of a fern on he table closest to her with a small smile. Maybe she should try and keep some plants now... "That's some sick shrapnel," someone off to her left praised. Gisela fairly glowed at the praise, bragging with no small measure of pride in her voice, "Thank you, I did them all myself." The artist's brows hit her hairline at that, and she came closer to Gisela. She gently reached out, pausing in silent question, and Gisela pushed her chin out in answer. The artists' hand was cool, the skin soft and smooth, and Gisela found she fairly liked the feeling. Like a lifetime of not wanting to be touched had finally given way to touch starvation. Gisela fought the urge to melt into the hand and cover it with her own. The artist slowly turned Gisela's face, tipping it this way and that as she inspected. Every once in a while, she would trace a line across Gisela's face or twist a bar to check the tightness. "Not bad work for a home job. Not bad work at all. You ever thought about becoming a piercer? With a little training and the right tools, you could do some really good work." And well... Gisela hadn't thought about that. She hadn't ever though about much in the ways of adulthood. She just... hadn't thought she'd ever ge there. And now here she was, freshly burgeoned into her twenties, and staring at a long road of life a head of her. "No I... I haven't..." "Well, if you ever do, I say go for it. You'd do well. Maybe need a little more ink to fit in but..." Gisela caught the teasing tone of her voice and grinned, flushing slightly at the wink that was not flirtatious, but Gisela's traitorous mind didn't seem to care. And when the artist drew her hand away, Gisela had to fight the urge to chase the warmth of it. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you." And then the artist was gone, leaving Gisela to her soda and flushed ever so slightly.
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Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2023 6:41 pm
When he finally did come back out he had paper with him, printed pictures for refrence as well as sketched out ideas, and he had some that were colored and some in black and white. He'd wasn't sure if she wanted color or not so was giving her both options. "It wasn't too bad figuring out ideas, I tried to give each a different look but it's not the easiest thing." Aside from going for a single band of ivy to something thicker there wasn't much you could change up that left them each standing out from the others. But he'd put a good amount of worm into them, quick as his work had been.
"Take a look and let me know what you think." Taking a seat across from her as he laid everything out on the table. "Also, I heard one of my co-workers mentioned piercing to you. If you are interested you should seek an apprenticeship here, it's not so bad. Some places don't pay an apprentice, we get paid here." Some places, where an apprentice didn't get paid, they had to save up money so they had a bank account to drain dry as they worked for free. Others would get a part time job and work both jobs, without much for off time, it was a good thing when you could work for a place which paid you while you learned.
"We have a few piercers here." Shrugging as he spoke. He wans't one of those piercers, though he had several piercings himself. He also had a good amoutn of ink,he just kept his typically covered up. But most of the staff was modified to some degree, it just seemed to go hand in hand with the job, she'd wind up collecting more if she joined them. Of that he was certain. It just seemed to happen.
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2023 8:23 pm
Gisela leaned over the artwork and tried to look like she knew what she was doing. In truth, while she knew that they all looked different, and they all were in different styles, she wasn't really certain how to discern which one was the "best" version. She knew that she wanted something simple. She wanted something small. Something understanded, like her general. And they all fit that bill perfectly. She glanced up once at Kioshi and then shifted the pages around like she was weighing pros and cons. Why she cared about seeming knowledgeable to this complete stranger, Gisela would never know. Dr. Stevens would probably chalk it up to her newly healed mind now able to devote energy to something or whatever. All Gisela knew was that she wasn't totally in love with the feeling. After what she decided was a reasonable amount of time, Gisela handed over the sketch that she liked best. She couldn't really qualify or quantify the reason, it just kinda... felt right. She hoped Kioshi didn't clock her, or if he did, then at least she didn't say anything about it. "Um, yeah," she answered with a shallow nod. "I did all this myself," she gestured to her face, "and she seemed to think that it has potential. I don't know though. It was just a sewing needle and some vodka on my bathroom floor. Any idiot could do that." Any idiot did that, actually, but Dr Steven's had given Gisela a challenge (because she called all of Gisela's goals "challenges" because she knew that Gisela would rise to that) of going a full week without insulting herself and she was already three days strong. She wasn't about to break that streak now.
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2023 9:42 pm
"She likely said it because they aren't infected, no bumps, no keloids, and they are healed. The question is how stright they are...you don't want them at a wonky angle and if she looked she would have checked that, so I'm guessing that's good as well." Having taken the sketch from the other Kioshi went to set thing sup, he'd need to get it made into a stencil and then he could get to work.
"I'll be right back, need to make this into a stencil so I can get you tattooed." Which he headed for the back of the shop, where piercing met tattooing, and the set ups everyone needed was there as well as the showcases of piercings. This was where the printer he needed was along with many other tools which both sides needed for their trade. Printing out what he needed was quick, and easy, and he headed back with the stencil so he could get to work. "I'll have to shake that area and then we can start, alright?" Wanting to make sure everythign was all good with her before he really got to work, though even as he spoke he was prepping his area and grabbing the inks he's need and setting them up as well.
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2023 6:14 pm
Gisela nods like she has any idea of what Kioshi is saying. Like any of the words make any sense to her. Like she didn't just soak her sewing needle in vodka, run a lighter over it, and then hope for the best as she laid on the cool tile of her floor after a particularly rough bout of nightmares. Her mouth forms a small "O" as he speaks though, and she absently stroked over her industrial like she could feel any of the things that he said she didn't have. "Well," she ventured slowly as she tracked his movements as he gathered this and that. "If I... I mean, I don't want to presume but... say I did want to... do that. What would I have to do?" Was there a college class that she might have to take? Some kind of training? Should she have a nursing license or something? It felt like she should at least know something about anatomy before she even thought about applying for the position... right?
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2023 9:09 pm
"No, this is a industry where artists, be they piercer or tattoo artist, takes on an apprentice and you learn from them. They will teach you and it differs for each apprentice, it's never the same. You do need a permit to pierce and an approved class on bloodborn pathogens so you understand the hygenic side of things."
It really wasn't that hard, if someone could handle the apprenticeship period, it really became hard if they worked in a bad shop with someone who treated them poorly. Not everyone was suited for the job though, not at all, but for those who were suited for it...it could be good. Just so long as people didn't expect to become rich off it, especially piercing.
"Here we are lucky in that we get paid by the power, some shops don't offer that to appentices, so it isn't as bad as it could be." Once he'd gotten himself ready he motioned her to settle onto his chair and offer up her arm so he could get to work. Plopping into his own chair as he finished wrapping his machine before pulling on the black gloves he kept in his space to work with.
"You should talk to her once I'm done with you. See if she wants to take you on personally and what she would want. She'll be fair at least, here they won't treat you bad." Though she might have to clean and sweep and such, as was normal in any shop you went to as an apprentice, but she would learn and not be treated like crap.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2023 7:08 pm
Gisela nodded, seeming to absorb the information as best she could. Now with a whole future stretching out in front of her... piercing seemed like a pretty good idea. Evidently, she was good at it, or at least good enough to be taught. And working here with nice people didn't seem bad at all. And even though she'd never really given much thought as to what her "dream job" might have been... this seemed like a pretty good option for that. Maybe she could even go to college for business and start her own parlor. Go into business with someone and work for themselves, since Gisela wasn't sure how well a parlor just for piercing would do. But that was later. Much later. Months later, really. The first thing Gisela needed to do was get this tattoo and then show Alex. Then she needed a promotion. Because Gisela had a future and stuff now. And wasn't that super neat?
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