Completed Skin Talk

[Ricky Maze]

Skin Talk
Spring 5th 514 AV, 10th Bell
Location: The Equinox

Lhex could’ve only dared to bring him here now that he’d faced the worn building with the sign that’d labeled it “The Equinox”, yet Ricky somehow found himself not only curious about what it would be like to have a tattoo… he wondered how it could in turn affect his relationship with Telion. They were after all expressions imprinted on skin to talk for the bearer, so if Ricky were to get his first tattoo here today in an attempt to impress Telion, could he manage to find himself a new deeper level of love compared to before? It was certainly worth a try and sure enough this place was the place to visit in regards of getting tattoos, sailors and artists alike seemed to somehow revere The Equinox with quite a popular reputation. So just what could Ricky expect to lie within the shoddy exterior of the parlor? He would certainly have to find out and see for himself within the next few ticks.

Ricky’s reasoning for thinking that maybe a tattoo would further express their love was mainly due to the fact that he wanted to show more, be more in regards of their marriage and his oath sworn to Cheva. So what local legend has lived within Zeltiva long enough to earn a reputation of its own? The answer was simple, as the legend of the Black Lady proved to be a story of true love as the fair maiden awaited the return of her beloved sailor. Of course even if that never happened she still remained faithful, hopeful that her love would prove all else wrong and someday return on the horizon. Such a tattoo would very well serve as a bold statement in regards to his love for Telion, as he thought only that kind of love came straight from the heart. Plus he honestly wanted to check the place out too, considering he’d never actually been tattooed before.

So what did he find as he opened the dark worn door and wondered into the den of mystery, an impressive set up to where chandeliers lit up the upper reaches of the room where murals decorated the parlor. The stone floors looked to be smooth and recently polished as Ricky looked around with a bit of awe, a big burly bald guy soon to approach him from the center of the room with a grin on his face as Ricky noticed the stations where the tattoo artists resided. "Hey vagik!" He cheered as he greeted Ricky with a bit of a wider grin, a few of the employees looked up to the entrance to see who’d entered into their midst. Ricky raised a bit of an eyebrow as he didn’t think his hygiene was all that poor, or at least he’d hoped that it wasn’t at least.

"Vagik?!" His reaction was more so a bit of a concerned one rather than offended, either way it brought the man to laugh well enough as those that’d watched them chuckled and returned to their current task.

"Just petchin’ with ya mate," He cracked with a slap onto Ricky’s shoulder, the fisherman merely casted a glance to the notion, and then followed with a bit of a nervous chuckle as he tried to join in on the humor. "Lewis is the name, call me Lewd though."

"Ricky." He returned with a nod as the both of them exchanged firm handshakes.

"So what can my wonderful vagiks do for you?" He brought up as he urged Ricky to come in further, to welcome the fisherman into the parlor as the others in the shop seemed to take interest.

"Well actually, Oi was hopin’ t’ get me first tattoo."

"Gaha! Ye must be a sailor afraid of needles if ya ain’t got one, got the strong talk o’ one fer sure!" He teased with arms crossed. Ricky took notice of the art embedded on his skin, on each arm there were images of women. They were certainly rather obscene to see but at the same time fantastic statements of art, forever marked into his skin likely to the day of his death.

"Fisherman actually, Oi was only raised by sailors ‘fter all." He corrected with a nervous yet gentle smile, somehow he couldn’t tell if this “Lewd” was overly obnoxious or if he were practically joking around. Ricky gave the man the benefit of the doubt of course, aware that he likely didn’t understand the man fully since they’d just met. "Ya know de story ‘bout de Black Lady? Oi hoped t’ get a tattoo o’ ‘er on me left shoulder."

"Oh? Fan o’ that story are ya, dreamin’ of fair lady in yer late lonely nights eh?"

Ricky gave another nervous laugh before he answered. "Actually Oi t’ought to use ‘er as a metaphor, de story alone is one ‘bout true love ‘fter all." A few quick laughs filled the room as the others, one of the more tanned artists leaned grinned as he pointed out the mark under his left ear.

"Which explains why you got a Cheva Mark then, being married you want to use the Black Lady as an expression."

Ricky nodded in assurance to the accuracy of the assumption, the idea finally clear for the rest of the group to understand. "Oh! Lookie here at lover boy, darin’ t’ make a move an’ surprise yer girl with a tattoo." Lewd cracked with a laugh to follow. "Guess I got just the person t’ do that for ya." He suggested as he guided Ricky further into the back where one of the artists resided. "Eth this customer looks t’ be up yer alley, make sure ya don’t petch up his metaphor. Gaha!" He left the two of them to welcome two new customers that’d entered, likely sailors since this place resided near the docks. Ricky sort of held a grin merged anxiety and excitement, eager to see how all this was done.

This artist called “Eth” held a bright and friendly smile to Ricky, which all the more relaxed the fisherman a little, the word hope present on the gilded blonde’s right bicep. "So you want the Black Lady on your left shoulder?"

"Yeah," Ricky said with a sigh, "thought it a great statement o’ love if Oi got one f’r me wife." He confided a little nervously, this was after all a pretty big deal to begin with. It was literally his first tattoo, meaning once he got it he wouldn’t be able to remove it. Or maybe he could, but the knowledge of doing so was certainly beyond him.

"Hey, it actually is a great statement. You look nervous about it though."

"Dat noticeable huh?" Eth chuckled with a nod, and then brought a hand over to the folding chair next to him, in a manner of suggestion for Ricky to have a seat.

"No need to be so nervous, you’ll probably love it when it’s done." He assured the fisherman with another friendly smile, Ricky shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile and then decided to go ahead and take a seat anyway.

[Ricky Maze]

"Go ahead and remove your shirt too, it’ll make the job easier when we get started." He instructed Ricky as he prepared some odd paste from a tube, the fisherman followed along of course and removed his white shirt with eyes down to the left shoulder where the tattoo would reside. Of course he found that his scar rested just atop the shoulder, the one from his venture out of Zeltiva to Syliras with Nex. "Wow. You look like you’ve been through some ordeals." Eth observed as he started to smear the past on his left shoulder like a canvas, the fisherman’s mouth opened a little as the cold feel seeped into the skin of his shoulder.

"Yeah Oi’ve ‘ad me share o’ tough times, t’ings are pretty great now t’ough." He shared with a humble smile on his face as he then looked to the indenture next, that particular scar a specific reminder to his close shave with the pirates. Of course his abdomen scare was more so the indicator of how narrowly he escaped death that day, but altogether they only existed as permanent memories carved into his flesh. Just like his tattoo would be, although it wasn’t carved… come to think of it he did actually know how tattoos were done. "So it ain’t gonna ‘urt is it?"

"No worries, you’ll feel a lot of pinpricks but once you get used to them they won’t bother you." Eth assured him calmly with a warm smile, Ricky nodded in compliance as he vaguely understood his meaning. From the way he said it the answer seemed to be a yes, but gradually the pain would wear off. "So, marriage huh?" He brought up the subject as a topic for a conversation, which brought Ricky back to reality from his occupied thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He chuckled with a slight grin. "Married t’ me best friend, known ‘er f’r years ‘til we finally fell in love last spring." That was just about an entire year ago, just when he’d spent time with Hannah too. ’oly shyke! He suddenly realized that the night he and Telion… well the night they’d spent together was merely a few days away, which also led to the birth of their son several seasons later.

"It’s always nice to see love blossom between a two people." The compliment was returned with a smile and appreciative nod from Ricky, the fisherman’s own thoughts set on not just the idea of the tattoo but more over expressing new love in different ways. Sure enough getting a tattoo was a start but there were definitely some other things he could try, things that were far more romantic than getting a simple tattoo as an expression.

"Gah!" A sharp prick into his shoulder brought his attention to the hands of artist at work, Eth had already taken a needle to use while the fisherman had thought after thought cross through his mind.

"Sorry, should’ve warned you." A slight snicker followed as he was amused, Ricky grinned a little as he shook his head.

"S’okay mate, just didn’t expect it is all." Although now he knew to expect which meant the sharp pinches he felt on the surface of his skin were in fact pricks that the needle brought on, small traces of pain flared like embers on his shoulder as he slightly grimaced and took it like the man he was. He’d been through worse, felt worse pain than what a mere needle could inflict. Though torturous through repetition he could hold his own, he did after all build up a good tolerance of pain from his previous experiences. Eventually as the chimes passed and Ricky endured the continuous prods of the needlework and the occasional cloth rub over certain spots of his shoulder, he found that a work in progress had been developed on his own flesh. The artistic look of his tattoo involved what looked to be a watery background from the top with the merge of a woman’s head and arms in the foreground, while the outline of her body still remained in progress as Eth continued his work.

It’d taken around a bell and a half or so as Ricky’s eyes would wander from place to place, comfortable as he felt eager to see how the end result of his tattoo would be.

[Ricky Maze]

After his patience finally seemed to get him through Eth finally mentioned "Okay you’re all done." and then Ricky got to finally see and admire the work of art he’d wanted to apply on his skin. Sure enough what he thought was the watery background of the maiden was actually her hair, flowing like the essence of water itself while she sat upon the rocky ocean floor in her most vulnerable state. Though a bit provocative from what Ricky had thought he somehow liked the outcome of the tattoo he had, rather thought it actually fitted the occasion well as far as his first tattoo went.

"Damn! Dat’s some serious shyke ya did there mate." He complimented with a wide grin, Eth of course laughed as he only partially admired a job well done.

"It’s subtle as it captures the beauty of the Black Lady, as her undying love resides within the ocean." He explained with an accomplished smirk. Ricky of course somehow liked to interpret that the ocean itself was her lover, surrounding her as she surrendered her love to it with all her heart. It came off as a more… poetic sort of metaphor in regards to the expression. Yet all the same Ricky managed to pull through his first tattoo with only minor complications, those being the annoying pricks of the needle he’d endured. Of course after a while he wasn’t really bothered with them, but his shoulder still looked to be red at the surface area where the tattoo resided. "The paste I used will reduce the risk of infection and help with the skin irritation, though you should keep from bothering it for a while just to be sure." Eth instructed Ricky further as he took a bandage and wrapped it around the area of the shoulder where the tattoo resided.

As he did this Ricky’s eyes fell on parchment with designs drawn in a pattern with a swirl, markings swept around the bottom swirl as the large design looked to wrap around it. He was amazed with it, found himself rather in love with the unique look it held. "Hey, ya actually ‘ave time f’r one more?"

"What? Oh." Eth looked and recognized the artwork immediately with a shake of his head to follow. "That’s actually Coal’s work, she can do that for you if you like."

He did rather enjoy the quality of its aesthetic appeal and more so thought it another great tattoo to have, and of course his right shoulder would be lonely if he’d only stuck with getting the left one inked. So why not. Why not go for another tattoo. Why not enjoy being able to show off not just one but two unique works of art imbued on his flesh. He had the time and he had the Nilo right now, so no time like the present to go for another. "Aye," He nodded with a chuckle to follow, "Oi could go f’r anot’er!"

Both men laughed as Eth finished the bandage, and had Ricky wait in his chair while he went to talk to “Coal” as she was called. Shortly afterwards the woman of the tattoo parlor came with not but a blank expression on her face, her hair a faded color in dreadlocks as her tanned arms observed the size of Ricky’s right bicep. She remained silent for a little while as she compared the image of the design to his shoulder. More so rather measured its size to fit the canvas before her really, once she’d started to prep the work station she finally spoke to him, though in a rather dull and somewhat uninterested tone. "This might take a while, only because your arms going to be tired." She forewarned as she was rather straightforward with the same method Eth used, once Ricky felt the cold paste smothered all over his right shoulder and bicep he knew then he should expect the pricks to follow once more.

[Ricky Maze]

A lot more to the point with her work Ricky could’ve sworn he’d felt more pricks in his arm than in the first tattoo, off and on it was a challenge just to avoid the sudden cringe his muscles wanted to pull. Coal was zoned completely into the work she did and she didn’t stop for nothing as she carefully traced the markings that slowly made their swirl on his shoulder, from time to time he would lift his arm up like a prop and have him hold it in position while she continued her work which in turn tested Ricky’s patience further. It wasn’t that it was irritating but the amount of concentration put into holding his arm up for so long, that alone was enough to wear him out as she worked her way around carefully with each mark she’d made.

Eventually not just his right shoulder but the bicep too started to feel the needle pricks as she worked on the lower half, the passage of time unknown to Ricky as he merely tried to keep up with the woman that worked hard on her amazing design. It literally felt like forever as one bell passed another until finally the trial started to reach its arduous end, and Ricky was left with the same burning sensation his left shoulder still felt as she add the finishing touches to his right. Gods blood. His mouth literally dropped in awe as he finally got to witness its finished look, amazed to see it replicated exactly on his skin just as she’d done it one paper. Once she’d wrapped it up in a bandage she told him to let the skin breathe occasionally, and not to let anything bother it while they healed as well.

After everyone took a short amount of time in admiring the two beautiful works of art on his shoulders, Ricky finally took his home finally happy to have a shirt on over his torso once more. Though his excitement in the bandages made him all the more ready and eager to have them off, so that he could officially start showing his tattoos off to those around him. Once he’d gotten home to meet with his wife Telion of course, she’d been quick to notice right away the bandages that were wrapped around his shoulders. He’d taken care to avoid any means of irritating the skin of course when he removed his shirt, but more so only anticipated that this would be the one time he would remove the bandages while unnecessary. Only because he was eager to show his wife the works of art that he’d paid for, which of course shocked her well enough to slightly anger her a little.

Upon explanation though she came to understand his reasoning behind it, the metaphor of the Black Lady and symbolism behind it rather flattering to her in turn. She actually rather admired how they looked on him although the redness of the skin was a little concern, but thought both fitted him rather well as she became more accepting of the sudden change. Sure enough their discussion on the new things to come would follow as she’d helped reapply his bandages, and somehow Ricky felt that he’d taken a start into a new kind of love in his life. He loved his wife and wanted to see it reach new levels, and of course after today loved the idea of getting tattoos now that he got his first two in one day.

[Eldritch]

Ricky :

Skills
Philosophy +1

Lores
-Equinox: Tattoo Parlor
-Lewis: goes by Lewd
-The Black Lady: statement of love
-Tattoo: rather painful

Other
-20 GM's for the Tattoos.

Notes :

Nice thread and enjoy the new ink!

If you have any comments/questions/concerns about your grade please PM me and we will work something out.

Keep on writing!