Needling [Open!]

[Rose McGovern]

Rose grinned to herself as she twisted in the reception chair. She was excited because her next appointment would be walking through the door any minute. Providing they didn’t chicken out. It was a surprisingly common occurrence in the small town. Especially with the school not so far away. She’d seen it dozens of times before. The newly minted eighteen year olds would swagger in, take one look at the equipment, and run for it.

Of course, she had some longstanding clients from the school. A nineteen year old that irked her (only slightly) because he drew all his own stuff. The kid was good, she’d give him that. And he was a sweetheart. But she liked designing. It was why she was wriggling in the chair, now. She honestly didn’t know what the client wanted, but she was hoping it involved drawing. She was very good at convincing clients that, while the stock designs were neat, their artists could design similar things that were that much cooler. Or prettier, depending on the client, and what they wanted.

The goth woman twisted one of her long black pigtails around her finger, temporarily curling the otherwise straight hair. She was terribly impatient when she wanted to be, and waiting for appointments was not her strong suite. If the other girls weren’t busy, she’d be in the back, messing around with them, listening for the door and phone. Please come sooooooon, she mentally begged. The waiting was killing her. So much, in fact, that she pulled out her cell phone and texted Oberon. “Remind me that patience is a virtue. I hate waiting.” With that done (and the vague hope that her boyfriend would take pity on her), she went back to twisting her hair and watching the clock.

ooc// Open to any character 18 and over that wants some ink done. ^_~

[Kali Caraway]

It really didn't help that the tattoo shop was on the way to the grocery store. Kali walked passed it about three times a week. She'd always look at it longingly and then sigh. She wanted one. But she didn't know what she wanted to get. She loved the idea of getting tattoos, and was jealous of the absolutely gorgeous new tat that one of her cooks got. It just reminded Kali of how much she needed one.

She had almost gotten one in college, but she had backed out at the last second--which was unusual for Kali. Kali hardly went back on her word like that, ever. She'd always felt a little like chicken shit ever since. It wasn't that she was scared of the pain. She was scared of hating the tattoo she got. That stuff would be permanent, and she didn't want to ever hate it. But Kali was all about making instant decisions and was very spontaneous. She didn't...plot. Even if she did pick something she really loved at this moment, she would change her mind to something she loved even more in a day or two.

However. Her birthday was coming up. 2-5. She needed a tattoo, before then. She swore it. So that was when she called and made this appointment. They would talk. She would decide on a tattoo and the lovely artist would draw it, then that day, or some other time, she would get the tattoo. End of story. She smiled to herself as she pushed the door open.

"Hellooo! I have an appointment?" She asked as she moved up to the counter.

[Rose McGovern]

Rose had a long history with Threshold. She’d grown up in Pilot Ridge, and with it being the only place to get things pierced or inked, she’d become familiar with it at an early age. Once she was old enough, she’d started working there as a receptionist, and she’d been taught the trade. Now she was one of their best artists. She couldn’t imagine a better job. Not by a long shot. This fulfilled her creative drive, and what was better, it was fun.

Especially because if she had some downtime, she could design her own stuff. She was thinking about adding to her already extensive collection of body art. She wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to add just yet, but she was thinking about it. But she obviously wasn’t going to be thinking about that today. When the door finally opened, the goth woman stopped playing with her hair and grinned. She could kiss her boredom goodbye.

“Hi!” Rose slipped down from the chair and held out her hand. “I’m Rose.” She liked the look of this girl. Some of their clients weren’t all that fun to deal with. But this one seemed to be interesting. “So, what are we doing today? Did you have something in mind, or did you want to look at the stock pictures?” All over reception were binders full of the stock designs. He grinned. “I’ll tell you right now though, anything I draw will be ten times more awesome than anything in those books.” Ego much, Rose? Don’t scare your appointment off.

[Kali Caraway]

Kali liked the atmosphere she felt as soon as she walked into the place. It was nicely decorated and while it was obviously a tattoo parlor, it felt more homey then that. She could tell the people that worked here liked being here. If anything, she could make a friend from this (as well as gain some killer body art). Kali smiled towards the black haired woman that approached her (Kali wasn't sexist by any means, but if a chick drew her stuff and put the tattoo on her body, well she'd love that).

"Hello!" Kali responded eagerly to the woman's greeting, she shook her hand with the confidence Kali had squeezed into her small body. "I would be Kali." She smiled and as the woman spoke, she held her chin in thought. "I don't think I'd like some silly clip art I'd just picked out today, you know?" Kali asked. As much as she liked the idea of getting some badass arrangement with a skull or something (because her outfits generally always had a skull or two), she wanted her tattoo to mean something. And a tattoo that had been previously designed would not be tailored to her, or her personality. If that made any sense at all (it did to her, because she thought it)

Kali grinned at Rose's little ego episode. If anything, that made Kali feel even more comfortable about the idea of the woman putting something that will never come off on her body. If she was totally comfortable and confident, then Kali could put faith in her and not worry. "Awesome. Really, I've been wanted a tattoo since college, but I didn't really know what I wanted at the time and pretty much bitched out of it. Anyway I turn twenty-five in like two months." It's not a big deal. Really. "And I pretty much decided I needed one before then. I've been here, running a Kafe for about nine months now, and I figured something to commemorate that would be awesome as well--only I can't really imagine a symbol that is tattoo like that will be Kafe-ish. If that makes sense?" Kali shrugged her shoulders. Her indecisiveness about this whole thing was plain.

"So if you have any ides, then totally let me hear them."

[Rose McGovern]

Rose was thrilled that the atmosphere was liked. Setting the mood was important in a place like Threshold. It had to be upbeat, and fun for the people that worked there, yet mellow and welcoming enough for the first timers. Rose had been at the parlor for a long time. She’d seen it change, evolve, into what it was today. Rose loved the place she worked, she loved her coworkers, and she loved their clientele.

“Kali! Welcome to Threshold. I’ll be your tour guide for today.” Rose giggled a little. “Really, it’s great to meet you. We’re going to have fun.” And the girl had senses. That pleased Rose. Too many people – kids, in particular – liked to pick out the stock drawings. Not that there was anything wrong with that. Rose just preferred the designing step. She grinned at Kali. “Great. I promise you I’m a good artist. I’ll get you hooked up with something awesome.” If she wanted something tailored just for her, she’d definitely come to the right place.

When it came to her art, Rose had an ego that didn’t know when to quit. She knew she was good at her job, and she wanted her clients to know that too. She grinned back at Kali and beckoned her to the table shoved against the wall. Paper, pencils, and markers were strewn across it, along with several drawings in various stages of being finished. (Half of them were Rose’s, mostly for fun.) “Cool. I got my first one just out of high school. Best graduation present ever.” She pulled out a chair for Kali. She liked this part. Sitting down with the client and getting to know them, and basing her drawings on what she learned. “Trust me, you won’t chicken out twice.” She pulled a piece of blank paper and a pencil towards herself. “I think that’s pretty cool. Do you have a logo for the café? Because we could play off of that.” She smiled and rested her chin in her palm. “While you’re at it, you can tell me about yourself. It’ll help, trust me.”

[Kali Caraway]

Kali clapped her hands a little when the woman said she would be her guide. She just loved it when employees had fun with their jobs and did quirky things like that. She was very pleased to see that Rose enjoyed her job enough to 'have fun' like that with a customer. She very much enjoyed Threshold, and would thank her cook, Alex, for the words of encouragement to come here.

Kali moved over to where she was beckoned to at the table and looked at the comfortable amount of clutter on the table; that meant it was used a lot. She looked at what artwork she could see and was happy with what she did get her wandering eyes on. "Well nooo. Not a logo, quite right. We do have a mascot, though." As much as Kali loved Larz, she was not about to put an iguana on any part of her body, even a cartoon rendition of one--then people would accuse her of having the Gieco gecko. "Ok. About me. Uhm...." she fidgeted with her hands on the seat while she thought about relaying some information about herself to Rose to help figure out a brilliant tattoo.

"Ok, so I grew up in a big ass family home, because both my parents were well endowed, with two older brothers and two younger brothers. All of us, even my parents--" she cut herself off, the thought dawned on her that this girl might not be friendly towards metas. She turned a judging eye towards the other woman for a moment before she decided to hell with it. "-went to Hammel, So anyway, I grew up as this girl with two parents who so desperately wanted a princess for a daughter after having two boys and as fate would have it, I was just as much of a 'boy' as my brothers were. So yeah, I didn't much deal in pink and play with Barbies. After high school, I headed to college where I had my fun. I got my degree in business and got my shop here in Pilot Ridge, 'cause I love it here." She looked around the room while she spoke and then a sudden burst of inspiration hit her. "I really like skulls! I mean I wear them all the time." OK so it wasn't much of inspiration, but a realization of fact.

[Rose McGovern]

Oh, Rose had fun with her job. More fun than she should, really. Though she was very serious about her art, and her profession in general, there was no point to not having fun at work. They always had music going, and not just the radio, but their MP3 players plugged into the system. There were a few squabbles daily over what to play, but things got worked out. Eventually. And if someone was out on lunch, or a quick coffee break? Changing the music was fair game.

The table she brought Kali to was more or less creativity central. Half finished designs, scrapped drawings, all kinds of artwork was all over the table. Half of it belonged to Rose herself. She cleared a space and flopped down, eager to get started. She listened, eagerly, to what Kali had to stay. (If she knew Alex had referred her, she would have either squealed, because she actually liked the kid, or muttered about the fact he drew all his own stuff, and at nineteen years old, he was amazing, the brat.)

She listened fine, until she heard the word Hammel mentioned. She perked, grinning. “I know Hammel! My boyfriend works there!” If the dopey expression on her face was any indication, yes, she was pro-meta human. Then she quieted to listen again. Already she liked Kali. They were quite alike. She’d grown up with a brother too, but only one. And she’d never been one for Barbies either. But the sudden inspiration made her grin wickedly. “I got it!” She started scribbling out something on the paper. It was rough, and after she went at it with an eraser, rubbing out bits and pieces, it looked like a mess. But when she finished, she grinned and presented it to Kali.

It was a skull. With a scribbled note of ‘Whatever color you want here’ written with a big arrow pointing to the skull, and a date at the bottom consisting of solely x’s. It still looked like a mess. So she started explaining. “Okay, so the skull can be whatever color you want. Pink, blue, I don’t care. I’ll make it awesome. But we could have the date your cafe opened at the bottom there, and...” Drumroll for the best part. “I can make it look like it’s a rub on tattoo starting to fade away. How cool is that?” She was just about bouncing in her seat, obviously excited. “What do you think?” Rose, really. No more caffeine for you.