Tagging: @divineluce and an appearance from @beatrice-blaze
Description: With her phoenix fire wound healed, Luce gets a new tattoo.
Luce kept her eyes closed, head bobbing slightly to the music that pulsed through her headphones. The pain of the needle had grown over the hours that she’d sat in the chair, the nerve endings of her arm firing as the sharpened point jabbed over and over and over into the skin. It was temporary though. Temporary pain for a lifetime of beauty.
But, that’s what she’d thought about her original tattoo. The beautiful peonies and wildflowers that ran from her forearm up to her shoulder, the belly scales of the intertwined snakes, their tails curled around her wrist. She had thought the image would last forever when she’d drawn it, all those years ago. She’d gotten it days after her first art exhibition. Twenty-one, two years older than Bea had been when she’d had her first main stage show. A fact her mother couldn’t help but tell everyone at the exhibition. How if they appreciated art, they should see the shows at Illusions of Grandeur, that it was more of a performance piece really, how Bea could make fire dance almost like an artist painting on blank canvas.
Luce clenched her fist of her free hand, swallowing at the memory. She’d watched, unable to do anything other than sip nervously on her wine, as people’s eyes slid over her painting and instead were drawn to her parents. Her mother, her father. Well intentioned, probably. But ruining everything. That night, she’d locked herself away in her room and drafted up her tattoo— the wide, open maw of a snake, body curled around another snake that was only too content to go along with the whims of the other. But they were only part of the design, decorations in the background. Because the flowers, the peonies and wildflowers she’d spent so long recreating on her canvas, they were the real focus of the tattoo. They were nothing more than snakes in the grass, sliding through the leaves. The intricate blooms were what mattered.
Or they used to be. Only months ago, the skin of her forearm had been ruined by phoenix fire. The images she’d so carefully crafted blurred and smeared under a mottled layer of scarred, darkened skin. The poultices Nell had given her, they’d made the healing process more bearable. Leah had offered her phoenix tears because of course she had. But Luce hadn’t wanted them. The tears would have removed the scars, would have wiped the slate clean. And she couldn’t do that. After everything she’d been through, she didn’t want to lose that. She didn’t want to forget. She couldn’t forget what had happened.
“Nearly done.” Brandon said, dipping the tip of the machine into a small cap of ink. “Just a few little details and we’re good.”
“Hell yeah.” Luce muttered. She’d driven down to Boston to have him do it—partly because he knew his shit when it came to tarot and partly because she didn’t want one of the guys at the shop to do this tattoo. They were too close to home, too close to the real reason behind it. When Brandon saw the healed scars on her arm, he’d asked and she’d given him a lie about an accident in the house. He hadn’t questioned it. And that was fine. It was better this way. Better than the concerned looks that Ulf would be giving her, asking her if she’d really let the wound heal, if she was sure if this was what she wanted to do. If she really wanted this tattoo.
And it was. She wanted it. She needed this.
“All done. Check it out.” Brandon said, wiping away the ink and plasma with a damp paper towel.
Rising from the chair, Luce approached the mirror and stared at the fresh tattoo that wrapped around her forearm. The thick stone columns she’d drawn for the stencil stood out, highlights of white in the places where the scar tissue was too dark or too thick. The tower, with bricks laid overtop a skull of death, it climbed up her forearm. Smoke poured from the windows, her scars giving the plumes body and weight. And at the top, the watchful eye emblazoned in the crook of her elbow was wreathed overhead by what remained of her old tattoo. The blossoms of peonies and what remained of the two snakes loomed above the tower. The open-mouthed snake stared back at her in the reflection. But so too did the eye of the tower.
“What do you think?” Brandon asked as he peeled off his gloves.
Luce stared at the tattoo for a long moment, her fingers hovering over the dark black lines. “It’s perfect. Thanks. For doing this for me.”
“I’m glad to. You know I like tarot and…” He shrugged. “This seemed like it was important for you to get done.”
“Yeah. It was.” She said, glancing down at her arm. To everyone else, the tower stood upright but from her perspective, it was inverted. To the rest of the world, what had happened might seem like catastrophe, but to her? It was a mark of her growth, the transformation she’d undergone, the crisis since averted.
Walking back to the main area of the shop, Luce held out her arm, now covered in plastic wrap. “What do you think?”
Moments of calm silence were something that Bea had learnt to treasure over the last year. Much of the time she spent with Luce were those, simply quiet, enjoying that the other was there. They didn’t have to be doing the same thing, didn't have to understand what the other was doing to find peace in the company. This trip held that silence, a contemplative overtone to the time spent together.
Most of their lives had been spent at odds with each other, unable to find a common ground to understand. Their comfort with each other was new, lines still crisp like the lines of Bea’s tattoo. She hadn’t understood tattoos until after, realized why Luce found joy in creating art in their lives and skin. There was still understanding needed, still questions that they had to find the answers to about each other, but finally they could ask them.
She stood, looking to see if Luce loved it first before she answered, then she took in the tattoo. Her art was found in a different media, but she could still see the meaning here. Luce poured herself into her art, where words weren’t needed to express. Her eyes prickled, though tears did not form, as she saw what her sister was presenting to her. “Might be my new favorite of yours, Luce. It’s really, really beautiful. You and Brandon did some really amazing work together.” Turning on her heel suddenly, she went to her bag, pulling out a small lunch bag. “I figured you would be thirsty or hungry after that though, so I have snacks for you. Then we can go off to dinner, if you want?”
At Bea’s words, Luce couldn’t help the sense of relief that washed over her. “Yeah. I’m really happy with how it turned out.” She’d long since given up trying to to impress her sisters-- to impress anyone, really. But, that wasn’t what this was about. Bea was here because she wanted her sister here. She wanted to share this with her. It was a new tattoo, marking a new chapter in her life.
“Thanks.” She said, taking the brown paper bag from her sister. There were some snacks, a bottle of apple juice, sugary stuff to help counteract the shock. Bea had paid attention when she’d talked about people passing out on her table during the drive down to Boston. Cracking open the bottle with her good arm, Luce took a long drink. “Dinner sounds good. There’s a pretty solid Thai place that Brandon likes around the corner.” She said with a nod before looking down at her tattoo again. The inverted tower. Upheaval. Destruction. But that didn’t mean it had to be for the worst.
“Then we can go back home. I don’t want to leave Nellie alone for too long.” Not again. She’d needed to make the trip down here, to go somewhere people wouldn’t know the meaning behind the ink that decorated her skin. But she couldn’t be apart from her sisters again, not after everything they’d been through. This tattoo was more than just a tarot card, more than just a sign of what she’d been to.
It was a monument to all that they’d been through, the storms they’d weathered and the turmoil they’d overcome. They would persist, the tower would stand. And so would the Vurals.
Of course I get home from escaping the cold to… well, more cold. Heater in my house is busted. *Sad face emoji, cold-shivering emoji* Anyone know any good heater repair guys? Or know a good place In town I can crash until I can get it fixed? This bird girl is not a fan of the cold.
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Good for you on getting out of here for a bit. Can’t say I know of anyone who can fix a heater, I don’t have one in my cabin and my sister’s always been the one to get handy men out to her place. As far as places to crash, I can tell you were not to go. Traveler’s Rest is in the Bend and, as someone who works in that area? You don’t wanna hang out there late.
[meta anon] How important was your faceclaim during the creation of your character? Did you have them in mind from the beginning or were they chosen after?
OOC:
Guess who's back, back again
So, Luce's faceclaim was not at all important to me in the slightest when I picked her. Finn and Olivia were already playing Bea and Nell at this point and I asked them who would be potential FC's for Luce, given that we wanted FC's who looked like they were related. I picked Aslihan solely off resources and she had the most gifs when I looked in the tags.
Goes without saying that I didn't have an FC in mind when I created Luce lol.
I'm pretty pleased with the FC choice though. Mostly cos we've had people confuse Nell and Luce on the dash before, which I think means we did a good job on picking FC's who look alike.
And now, a cute gif of Aslihan I can never use for Luce!
Hey guys! End of fiscal year/start of a new one has me hella busy at work and my gf’s birthday is coming up, so Imma be offline while we go outta town to celebrate. To folks I’m currently writing with, apologies for being slow, I appreciate your patience. I’m still around on discord, though I’ll likely be invisible or on DND. Feel free to reach out if you need me!
Say there's a flower that holds the scent of all your favorite memories. What would it smell like?
I remember coming home from home one day and Bea was in the kitchen with our mother. They were cooking something... Nisa was showing her how to make one of our grandmother's favorite recipes. I think Nell was there too, goofing off with our dad in the kitchen. Bothering Mom and Bea while they were cooking, laughing about something silly that Nell had done earlier that day. I can still remember what they were cooking. Hünkar Beğendi. I can't remember the last time I had that. Or the last time we felt like that. Maybe it would smell like that.
Or maybe it would smell like the fire, the first fire that mattered. I’d just moved out to my cabin and I was finally alone, I was finally by myself. It was just me and Iggy and it was exactly what I wanted. And I let the flames burn and rage in the middle of a storm. It smelled like rain and pine and fire and smoke. It was everything that I wanted. I don’t know if my fire will ever smell like that again.
None of this matters. Those days are gone.
What’s with the weird hypotheticals here? If I ever found a flower like that, I’d be pawning that shit off. I don’t want a weird memory flower, but I bet people would pay some good money for one.
[meta] What "role" would you character be in a show or book? Would they be an antagonist, protagonist, foil for the protagonist, a character who talks directly to the audience, a villain of the week, or perhaps another role. Why?
OOC:
It took me a bit to figure this out, but I think that-- thinking about things in terms of a show-- Luce would be the B-plot character who is close to the main character. In the context of a show, she would be someone who gets a decent amount of screen time and even has plot arcs of her own, but isn't the title character.
She's not exactly what I would consider an A-cast character in that she's not got the personality to be a protagonist. She's too angry, too sarcastic, and generally unfriendly to be a super compelling sole protagonist. She also is a very reactionary character who doesn't generally seek out conflict/conflict doesn't typically look for her. She reacts to what the world throws at the A-cast characters and assists in a supporting role sort of way. This isn't to say that Luce doesn't grow and evolve; she very much has. But it's not in the traditional protagonist fashion.
You have a point….there are a few I wouldn’t mind seeing find a thin patch if that was the case.
Fair enough, although it does mean you save a fortune on winter clothes. Plus bright colors are so much fun and summery so that is a huge bonus.
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You’re not wrong about that. I’ve had to play hardball with some of those kids, coming in looking for tattoos with shitty fake ID’s. Like I haven’t seen a million of those things already.
Sure does. I’m not a bright colors kind of gal, so I’ll take your word on it.
Or the pool is going to freeze and then they can turn it into an ice rink for a while. It is not going to be the same because outdoor pools are so much fun.
Lucky you, I am usually cold so summer is my favorite time.
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That’ll give the Main Street Arena some competition. I think the last thing we need is the JV Hockey team fucking things up on the pool ice.
I wouldn’t call heatstroke lucky. I overheat in a fucking sweater, it’s shit.
I don’t blame them; this weather is so strange! It’s one thing to transition into winter, but to jump straight there from summer is sure to shock the system. Hopefully this helps keep people a little warm in the meantime. I haven’t made those in ages but I think I can knit up a few and have those ready by the end of the week.
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It’s something else out here. Beats the fish rain though. Or the blood puddles At least this time around, it’s just a little snow here and there. I was mostly joking, but I’ll let Rory know that you might have some in stock.
In the triple digits. I do have a tv show, you know. And I would never serve any of those cookies to anyone, all my baked goods are home made.
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Triple digits, huh? Good for you. And I’m sure they are. Sure. Why not. I’ve already had to deal with people dying left and right around me, may as well see a fake ass psychic to tell me if I’m going to be next I’ve got nothing better to do right now.
Like $10? Which is considerably cheaper than my normal rate, at the very least. Thankfully, I’m not here to convince you that I’m real. I just give you a reading based on the truth woven in reality. You taking it to heart or not is your choice - and arguably more important: if you want to spend money on something you think is fake.
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Ten bucks isn’t bad. What’s the normal going rate? Uh huh. Well, the baked goods wouldn’t be fake, so at least there’s that. Unless you’re serving up those shitty plastic display cookies.
I’ve won multiple baked goods competitions and have my grandmothers recipes on my side, so you’ll just have to taste them for yourself! Or don’t, and miss out on the food and psychic reading.
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You said cookies but the real question is do you have cake Uh huh. Depends. What’s your idea of a “low fee”? Cuz that will determine how much I’m willing to blow on some baked goods here. Everyone knows psychics aren’t real. And I can say that, I’m a fucking witch.
Okay so my agent thinks i need to cOnNeCt WiTh ThE PubLiC MoRE because I’ve isolated myself by living in ButtFuck No Where - her words, not mine:
For a limited time only, Miss Mystic Megara will be doing private Psychic readings for a [small fee] for White Crest Residents! Sign up [here] if you’d like one, I guarantee I’ll have warm cookies waiting for you.
I’ve also been baking way too much… That’s a coping mechanism right?
Gluten Free, Nut Free, and Vegan cookies are also available!
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Psychic readings, huh? Sorta sounds like an excuse to pawn off bad baked goods to me.
If someone was to ask Luce this, she would say it's whatever makes people happy and coming back to the shop. But, realistically, she has a big preference for flower tattoos. They remind her of her sisters.
Her favorite pieces would look something like this:
2087
turnnoffyourmind
kaledo-art
jacobvanloon
andulkaphoto
prguitarman
gummygunk
stormborns
areudirty