Tattoo – Prompt #3

Prompt: Do you have a tattoo? What is it and why did you get it? If not, would you ever get one? What would the tattoo be, and what would it symbolize to you?

Lux’s age: 27

TW: Mentions of mental health and self-harm, polyamorous relationship

…

I do have a tattoo. I got it with Aurora, Andrew and Camilla. It was Aurora’s idea. We were walking through a seaport town when she saw a stall where this guy was giving tattoos. Her eyes lit up and she started tugging on my sleeve, turning to the three of us and pleading. 

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“Can we all get one? Please!” Aurora had said. 

“I don’t know…” I had responded skeptically, eyeing the man as he worked on his current customer. Though I could clearly see him using healing and sanitizing magic, I was still skeptical about the cleanliness of the setup, it being an outside stall after all. 

“I really want to get matching tattoos with you guys…” Aurora added, voice a little quieter. I looked back down at Aurora – her hugging my arm, hand gripping my sleeve, staring at me with wide pleading green eyes – and was about to give in without another thought when Andrew spoke. 

“Do we have enough Pengar to all get one, love?” Andrew asked, his arm snaking around Aurora’s waist, brushing against my hip. I flushed, still not used to that kind of contact. Aurora’s pale skin pinkened a little as well as she looked up to Andrew, his freckled face only a few inches away from hers. 

“We should,” Camilla chimed in, dipping her head between Aurora and I’s. “He is only charging 750 Pengar for small pieces. We have plenty more than that.” Camilla gestured to a sign hanging from the outside of the stall. On it was a list of prices: 750 for a small tattoo, 1580 for a medium tattoo, and 2490 for a large tattoo, with varying prices depending on circumstances. 

“So we can!” Aurora exclaimed, tightening her hold on my arm.

“As long as everyone else is okay with it, I don’t see why not!” Andrew confirmed. 

Aurora excitedly looked up to Camilla, who nodded in agreement with a warm smile, then shifted her eyes to me. 

“I guess we are getting tattoos then,” I smiled.

“Yay!” Aurora squealed, pulling me towards the stall and slipping out of Andrew’s arm. 

“This was your idea. What are we going to get?” Andrew asked, excitement seeping into his voice. 

Aurora paused once we reached the stall and thought for a moment. I could see when she thought of something then her expression turned sheepish. She let go of my arm a little, leaving only one hand loosely around my arm, and turned so she was looking at all three of us.

“Um, so, there is something a lot of people get in my world when they struggle with mental health and have survived suicidal thoughts and attempts and, um, I-I know all of us have dealt with mental health issues and have even harmed ourselves in some way in the past, so I thought maybe we could all get a semicolon?” Aurora rambled, her eyes flicking between all of our faces as she spoke. 

We all had tenses initially. Yes, we are all aware of each other’s mental health struggles and past self-harm and aren’t afraid or ashamed (at least for the most part) to share these things with each other, but none of us were expecting her to bring that up at that moment. Our surprise didn’t last long though, as it became obvious the meaning and sentiment behind this idea. As she spoke, I tightened my grip on her arm, a loving smile took over Andrew’s face, and Camilla moved a little closer to us. 

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Camilla had said once Aurora was done. 

“I agree,” I added.

“Just one question,” Andrew said, “what’s a semicolon?”

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So yes, I do have a tattoo, and it is quite meaningful. I am open to getting another tattoo some day in the future, but I’m not sure what it would be at this moment in time. Probably something else that has to do with my partners…

…

Hello!

Here is this week’s blog post!

One of the things I struggled with most while writing this was keeping with the past tense during the flashback. I have gotten so used to writing the present tense that it took me a second to adjust. I kept catching myself when I would use the present tense and reread it to make sure I didn’t miss any other slip-ups.

I kind of wanted to continue the flashback, but the main reason I wanted to do so was to hint at something to do with Lux’s… personal preferences… and as something that is being posted for anyone to see in connection with The River, UMF, and my apprenticeship, I didn’t feel like it was appropriate to include. 

Anyway! I hope you enjoyed! See you next week!

~Musette