16026/The Certainest Sense of Irony

The Certainest Sense of Irony
Date of Scene:	06 October 2023
Location:	Lydia's Apartment
Synopsis:	A Compare and Contrast of two magic users, and Phoebe takes back the tattoo machine she lifted from the Laughing Magician bar
Cast of Characters:	Lydia Dietrich, Phoebe Beacon

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Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    It's early in the evening and the sun has just set, which means that it's Lydia's time to get up. She doesn't have much in the way of a morning routine. She doesn't eat breakfast, she doesn't need to take a shower since it's surprising how clean you remain when you don't sweat or otherwise secret any kinds of bodily fluids.

    One thing she does do is make herself a cup of tea. While, true, she doesn't really need to drink it, nor does the caffeine do anything to her system, she's had a cup of tea in the morning for almost ten years now, and it's a hard habit to break.

    So this finds her sitting in front of her computer, at her desk, with a warm, aromatic cup of tea sitting beside her as she catches up on the daily events, and scrolls through her social media. She hasn't even gotten out of her PJs yet. The bottom is warm flannel, and the top is a T-Shirt that declares, "Team Bella."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
That better be Legosi.

    Phoebe had motorcycled her way over. It had been... a long time. A. Long. Time. since she's made her way into this area, and when she dismounts her motorcycle (still kept pristinely clean thanks to a certain mechanic), she looked up a tthe building, and securing her helmet, she hefted her pack and started up to the door.

    If there is a buzzer, she's hittin' it. She's clad in just jeans and a leather jacket over a T-shirt.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    There isn't a buzzer to let people into the apartment complex, so when Phoebe knocks Lydia cocks her head curiously. Who could be knocking on her door this early in the evening? Her nostrils flare as she takes in the scents coming from beyond the door, and identifies that Phoebe is behind it.

    Grinning, she gets up to greet her friend. "Phoebe! What an unexpected surprise. Come on in. Can I get you some tea? I've got some pumpkin spice black tea. It's quite aromatic. I've also got Fig Newtons if you're a little peckish."

    She takes several steps back to let Phoebe in and closes the door behind her. "So what brings you by?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
Phoebe Beacon says, "Good evening Lydia -- I apologize for stopping by unannounced." she explains quietly, giving a small smile as she steps into Lydia's apartment. It was always nice and clean.

    Almost as she remembered it.

    "I would love a cup of tea, thank you. And I do love fig newtons but as long as I'm not putting you out." she states agreeably, taking off her riding gloves and stuffing them in her back pocket.

    "Ah, I was wondering if you still had the tattoo machine from the bar. I'm working on a new piece, and I'm trying to get all my materials collected.""

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia waves a dismissive hand as she makes her way into the kitchen. "You're not putting me out," she says as she starts preparing Phoebe her cup of tea. "Besides, it's not like I'm going to eat the Fig Newtons." She grins, "I have them specifically for company."

    At Phoebe's question Lydia purses her lips. "I've still got it," she says. "You never know when you'll need to tattoo some protective sigil or somesuch, though I haven't pulled it out since--" She winces as she remembers that it was Cael that she last tattooed and that brings up a whole host of other memories. "Well, let's just say that it's been a while.

    Once the tea and the Fig Newtons are ready she places them on the island that separates the kitchen from the dining area. "Here you go. So what are you planning on tattooing?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Had to track who can eat what. I'm just glad there's like, three vegetarians on the Bats so we at least have voting power." Phoebe gives a wry smile, accepting the tea and taking a deep breath.

    "So... you remember, two years ago. I got injured by a necrotic venom from a necromantic construct scorpion." Phoebe replies, plucking up a couple fig newtons (not vegan friendly), but then, shedding the leather shell and rulling up her short sleeve.

    The Celestial Array is still burned into her skin from her own experiments, and then the whorled, awful burn marks from a curse meant to kill her. Thankfully, reversed. All on the same arm as her white sealing circle tattoo.

    "I'm working up something to cover this up. Move on."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia retrieves her own cup of tea from her desk and sits down besides Phoebe. "Two years ago? It's been..." she shakes her head. "It doesn't feel like it's been that long ago." She blinks as she suddenly realizes something. "It's almost my two year anniversary since I've been turned. It doesn't seem all that long ago, and forever ago all at the same time. You know what I mean?"

    She purses her lips as she considers the white sealing circle. "I see. You plan on doing it yourself, or do you have somebody to do it for you? What are you planning on replacing it with?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah. It doesn't feel like it's been that long, does it?" Phoebe remarks quietly, closing her hand (holding a fig newton still) over her shoulder.

    "You know, there's still times I'm putting about New York CIty on an errand, and I find myself going back to that neighborhood? I haven't seen it. Not since Chas and I parted ways." she comments quietly, and she gives a soft snort.

    "I have to do it myself. I'm not going to find a skilled enough tattoo artist who's going to use my crafted inks to get the work done. And tattooing over scar tissue's hard enough." Phoebe replies quietly.

    I'm getting a blue lotus. I have the design up, I really like it. It's blue, and maybe the phrase 'I blossom for none but you' in Coptic." she replies, describing the design thoughtfully.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia nods as Phoebe explains her plan. "It's going to be awkward if you're doing your own shoulder," she says thoughtfully. "You know I'm more than willing to help. I did your wings, after all, but I understand if it's one of those things that you have to do yourself."

    She takes a small sip of her tea before standing up and moving over to the closet. Opening it up, she looks up on the top shelf, and the starfield that surrounds her collapse and clings to her form as she lifts herself up so she can reach the shelf. "Here we are," she says, pulling out a small case, and setting herself back down.

    She comes back to the island and places the case next to Phoebe and opens it up to make sure everything is in its proper place. "I've got a few needles left, still sealed so you should be all set."

    "So," she says, sitting back down with a knowing grin. "Who is this 'you' that your tatoo mentions?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I know, and I should get someone to do it but I'm still... it's... gotten pretty bad again. The touch sensitive thing." Phoebe admits quietly as she looks over to Lydia as she takes a deep breath, and lets it out.

    She considers asking Lydia to do it, but that means she'll have to give out all her careful art charting and then --

    Phoebe pauses. Her lips purse, and she straightens up a moment before she gives a soft 'aaah' sound, and to buy herself time she stuffs two fignewtons into her mouth.

    Then points to her mouth and chews as she tries to think of a good reason to use a certain form of 'you', and then gives up.

    "Okay. Okay. So. Robbie Reyes." she begins.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Ah," Lydia says knowingly. Phoebe's touch sensitivity is something Lydia has known about and respected for a long time, so she isn't going to push the matter.

    Switching gears she gives Phoebe a grin. "Robbie? He's good folk. Got a sweet ride, too, though he drives like a demon."

    "I haven't found anybody myself. I haven't really been looking but... it's been a year since, well, since I broke things off with Raven." She still looks haunted by her actions back then. She lets out a sigh, "I need to move on, be open to the possibility that I can date again without fucking it up royally."

    She purses her lips. "I'm going to reach out to Raven and explain things to her. God, I'm such a coward. I should have done this sooner. She deserves to know. I don't think we'll really patch things up but..." she shakes her head. "She deserves to know."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe's ears and cheeks turn dark as she glances to the side, her shoulders rising up, and at the comment that he drives like a demon 'you have no idea...' comes out of her mouth before she straightens back up, and gives a small cough.

    She looks to Lydia quietly, and she shakes her head "You're not a coward. You've taken the time you need to heal. You have such a long liiiife-slash-unlife ahead of you Lydia. And besides, we mess up in all knew ways with each relationship provided we learn." she finger-guns a moment.

    "We almost *didn't* end up dating because we mis-interpreted each other's actions. Then I got brained in an alleyway and he showed up, launched several people over fences and into trash piles, and drove me home while I healed and bled on his jacket."

    Phoebe's face falls flat.

    "Not the most romantic of stories." she adds.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia catches Phoebe's muttered comment and snickers. "Oh, I have an idea. He was a member of the JLD for a while there. Like I said, he's good folk, and I'm glad that things worked out. Not all relationships start out romantic. Me and Raven were... well... not really friendly with each other at first. But after a while we grew to understand each other."

    "No, I //am// a coward," she protests. "I admit it. It's what started the whole mess. Instead of dealing with my feelings I gave myself a psychic lobotomy. Let the Predator take over and the Predator didn't care about anything except itself."

     "Just like instead of dealing with the consequences of my actions, I hid away, and left Raven hanging for a year." She shakes her head. "What I did was cruel, and shying away from it for so long was cruel, too. Once this is done..." She takes a deep breath, "Once this is done then I've made all my amends. I can put it behind me and fully move on."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Pot, Kettle." Phoebe states quietly, giving a sad smile.

    "I think we both ended up carrying more blame than what was fitted for us. And it took someone showing me more patience than I thought I deserved, and accepting me without conditions to really... really bring it home that I would be okay." she gives a soft smile, and curls her finger around her cup of tea again.

    "We were both hurting and without support. We made mistakes. We work to fix them, and to find the permission in ourselves to move on. And that's what my tattoo is for. It'll resolve the cursed flesh at my shoulder and let me Move On from scarring myself."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia chuckles and nods. "I've been working on forgiving myself and moving on. It's hard. It's been so hard to do so. It's why I need to have this talk with Raven."

    She lets out a small sigh. "Maybe I should have another letting go ceremony like what I did when I let go of my humanity. It helped me move on and stop clinging to all the things that I'd lost when I was turned. It helped me embrace what I am, now." She tilts her head curiously, "Would that be something you'd like to do? The equinox has already passed, so I figure I could hold it on Samhain."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I did one last year. A bunch of the Bat Family came. Wrote letters about how angry I was that I wasn't offered a chance to say goodbye. That I felt like it didn't matter how much I hurt, because it was never enough to be important. And then Tim and I drank a lot of ciders." she looks over. "But I promsie I won't awkwardly just upset myself and walk off this time if I'm allowed to come."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "You're allowed." Lydia says assuring her friend. "All my friends are allowed, at least what's left of them. I know a few of my harem would like to join as well." She smiles, then, looking a little less down. "Alright. So Samhain it is. Bring Robbie and whatever friends you like. All will be welcome."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh.. ah... Robbie's been busy. Stuff came up. So he's not really around, but we both 'ain't got nothin' but time.'" Phoebe states quietly, and then she draws her legs up. "So I'm patient. But... seriously... *Harem*?" she laughs. "No one's gonna be jealous of me, right?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia echoes Phoebe's laughter. "It's what I call my network of volunteers that I have around the city," she explains. "Sex usually isn't involved, though some of them /really/ get off on it. Can't blame them, though. They're from all walks of life, and every once in a while, I connect them together to help exchange services." She laughs again, "They have a Discord server now."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Please tell me it's something overly dramatic like 'Sanguine Dreams of Sappho' or something like that. Because honestly I bet the memes shared on there are both fire and ridiculous." Phoeb gives a smile, and rubs the back of her neck.

    "Heh, if only I wasn't Highly Toxic to All Vapires. My long bones replace blood quickly enough." she leans her head back a moment, and then she also takes off her head wrap, and shakes out her dusky pink kinks and coils.

    "So. Yeah. Other than School School School, training training training, reports reports patrols patrols and occasionally vegan meatball soups, that's... pretty much my existence." she pauses "... I'm so boring."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia chuckles and shakes her head. "Nothing quite so literary, though I /do/ like your suggestion. Not all of them are female, though, though most of them are. And, yes, the memes are both fire and ridiculous. That and they like to make fun of my fondness for Twilight." She grins, "I have to remind them that I don't //sparkle//. I //twinkle//. There's a difference."

    "It's alright. I try not to drink from friends unless it's something they want," she explains. "Lord knows for some reason Gabby keeps mentioning that she's good food in case of an emergency. Like... I //know// you'll regenerate the blood I take within a matter of minutes and you don't feel any pain. You keep telling me this whenever the subject comes up."

    She snorts, "Patrols with the Bat Family is anything but boring. Oh!" she says, her eyes lighting up. "I'm nearly done with my next book. Do you want to be an alpha reader?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "That depends on who's patrol I'm crashing. Red Robin's? SOmetimes more waiting than action, but we also crash parties on occasion. Red Hood? Little bit more excitement, occasionally throwing people out of cargo cranes. By myself? More purse snatchers, robbers, sometimes drug dealers, but y'know... when I'm on Bat Time I'm not supposed to use my magic except in emergencies. Or y'know. When someone steals my face. That was a *weird* Tuesday."

    And she brightens a moment, raising her eyebrows. "Sure! I'd love to take a look at the next book -- am I in it?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Somebody stole your face?" Lydia sounds surprised. "That sounds anything //but// boring to me. Was it a doppelganger type deal? Or was it like Face/Off where they literally took your face?"

    She shakes her head, "No, I've gone back to fiction. This one is a cyberpunk urban fantasy lesbian romance. I'm trying something a little out of my wheelhouse to see how it goes. I read a bunch of cyberpunk books to get a feel for it and while the genre as it is doesn't really grip me, I thought adding the supernatural into it would make things interesting. I've had a lot of fun writing it!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Ah, yeah. No, no, I made him mad because the hotdog shop I got a tofu dog from was closed, and Idu barked at his familiar, so he stole a couple raccoon's faces and my face, and Osprey, Red Arrow an' weirdly Talia al Ghul came to my rescue, followed by Red Robin - who was pissed that I got Koh the Face-Stealered - and they had to riddle contest for my face." Phoebe shrugs. "He also accidentally stole his familiar's face, so that had to be given back too. Like I said, it was a weird Tuesday." Phoebe waves it off "And it was super boring. All I could think about was 'I have no nose and no mouth, how am I breathing?' But tell me about this cyberpunk urban fantasy lesbian romance. Are you *sure* I'm not in it?" she teases gently.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Not boring," insists Lydia. "Though it sounds like the kind of thing the JLD would run across. We've had some weird cases lately."

    "I'm sure," she says with a grin. "I try not to put real people into my fiction, but I can put you in the next one, if you want. I know you won't sue me for the use of your likeness in it. I'd have to change your name and fiddle with some of the details, but it'll be pretty obvious for people who know you."

    "As for the book, well, I got to thinking, what is life going to be like as a vampire in the 22nd century?" She chuckles, "I mean, with any luck I'll find out, but I started looking around for books that would give me an idea, but there's surprisingly few of them. Most of what I found were for a roleplaying game called 'Shadowrun,' and they were interesting. Not how I'd handle it, obviously, but it gave me a few ideas."

    "So I started reading some straight up cyberpunk to see what the genre was about. Neuromancer, Snow Crash, Altered Carbon. That kind of thing." She leans back in her chair as she talks. "So I started asking myself questions. 'What if the supernatural couldn't stay hidden with all this new tech?' 'What happens to cybernetic implants on a werewolf when they shift?' 'Will cybernetics even //work// on a vampire?'"

    She shakes her head, "One of the things that I didn't really like about the genre is the idea that the more cybernetics you put in yourself you start to lose your sense of humanity. I mean... that's pretty ableist if you think about it. Do people who use prosthetic legs any less human? I wouldn't think so, and they'd be the first to have their legs replaced. People are more than their meat, you know?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "That's a thought. How much tech can we put into ourselves before we're no longer human, but something else? I mean, I'm not wholly human. You're not human anymore. What is it to be human? How much do you have to differ from baseline to be something else, or is it like multiclassing where you're human AND you're something else? Human Cyborg. If you can choose your own body shape and craft it with tech, are you human when you put yourself in a new body, or are you some sort of Pygmalian creation?" Phoebe considers. "Someone who is missing a leg and replaces the leg with cybernetics could be considered different than someone who chooses to change their legs to something like digitgrade because of the aesthetics of the leg, is there a difference between those who choose a cybernetic leg as an adaption to the loss of a limb and someone who does it for cosmetic reasons. Like, people may take a woman who had plastic surgery on her face as vain until they learn she did it because she struggled with a cleft palate all her life, or was scarred by a spurned love rand man I am talking a lot for someone who none of that stuff applies to."

    Phoebe drains the rest of her tea.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Here, I'm using the term 'humanity' less about being human, and more about one's empathy and compassion. There are plenty of people who aren't human, but are still..." she shrugs. "Have their humanity, if you know what I mean. Take Superman, for example. He's one of the most human people I know, and yet he's an alien from a different planet. I like to think that despite being a vampire, I still have my humanity."

    "I would like to think that somebody getting cosmetic surgery, or cosmetic implants aren't any less valid in their choice as somebody who's correcting a disability," she says. "Like you said, there's a variety of reasons why. Like, if I had the choice when I was fifteen, I would have had my hair replaced with something less curly. It's a pain to maintain and it's hard to really //do// anything with."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe raises her eyebrows and motions to her own hair.

    "Chemical straightener sessions were a way of *life* for me. My mom's stylist got real good at making black hair straight and I got really good at being very confused about why my hair was bad. And then I started doing my own hair." she gives a small smile "It took yeeaaars for me to get used to doing my own hair and having it like... be who I am." Phoebe considers, and she pulls down some of her kinks and coils, and lets it bounce back to place. "However, Tim's gotten really good at braiding now." she jokes.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia nods. "I tried that for a while," she says. "But my mom was... well, my mom and it didn't last." She gives out a little dismissive shrug. "I came to the conclusion that, like my mutant power, it was just a part of me and I should embrace it. So I did." She chuckles as she bounces some of her own curls, "It's still a pain to maintain, but it's become a bit easier, now that I'm undead. It doesn't get oily, so I don't have to wash it all that often. I just put my hair up at night so it doesn't get tangled, and after a quick brushing I'm good to go."

    "That's one of the things that I don't miss about being alive," she says with a chuckle. "Getting all sweaty and oily and stuff like that. It's so much easier to keep clean."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I Cantrip that stuff. First thing I learned under my... ah... short-lived apprenticeship was a spell to clean and dry off stuff. Because I hate wet socks and Gotham Funk is a *thang*." Phoebe grins "But I haven't found something complex enough to braid it protectively. And I'm not about to wear a silk bonnet wherever I go. Already had to stitch it in under my hood." Phoebe gives a small smile, and she runs her hands over her hair again.

    "My first act of teenage rebellion was saying I wanted to have braids. And so I got to pick a braid shop, and she dropped me off. But man... it's... weird you know? I don't think I'm so bothered by all the worlds I walk in because I've *always* had to walk in more than one world, 'cause I'm black and my parents were white." Phoene's nose wrinkles.

    "Does your hair still *grow*, out of curiosity, or is that kinda it?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "I kinda know what you mean," Lydia says. "Being a mutant when my parents aren't and my mother was anti-mutant." She holds up her hands defensively, "It's not the same, I know, but there's enough of a parallel that I can sympathize."

    "My first act of teenage rebellion was to suddenly start glowing green," she says with a grin. "Unless you count secretly writing Twilight fanfic with a rating beyond my age limit. I didn't really have the courage to stand up against my mom until then. She can be kind of overbearing. Hell, it took me until I hooked up with Raven before I told her that I was a lesbian, and I hid the fact that I was a vampire from her for a while, too. Boy did //that// go over well with her," she says sarcastically.

    "This is kind of it," she says, running her hand through her curls. "I went to a salon and had somebody trim it up once, but it all grew back to this length within a couple of days. So it's like I'm kind of 'set' with how I looked when I died. Minus the puncture wounds and the bruises."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh, I kno wyou can sympathize. Because we both struggle through like, four, five worlds at this point." Phoebe states dryly. And she gives a slight smile, listening to Lydia. And then Phoebe fiddles.

    "Yeah... my mom didn't take... anything well. Me living in Tim's space. Magic. Jo-... she didn't take anything about me living in New York well... we don't really have much of a relationship now. I send her a Christmas card." Phoebe reflects.

    She frowns. "I don't think my mom would have accepted much about what I'm doing now." she frowns.

    "So you're kinda just gonna be that way for as long as you are. Hope buzz cuts don't come back into style." Phoebe teases a moment. "Though I kinda miss mine, not gonna lie."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Does she at least send a Christmas card back?" Lydia asks gently. "I think if it wasn't for my dad to act as kind of a buffer, I doubt me and mom would have much of a relationship. He's the voice of reason in the family and she listens to him. He was there for me when I told mom about the whole vampirism thing and he was able to smooth things over. Once she realized that my choices were to be come undead or dead-dead she accepted it, albeit begrudgingly."

    "I never had the courage to really cut my hair short," she admits with a chuckle. "Shortest I got was when I tried cutting it jaw-length, but that just gave me even //more// of a jew-fro so I never did it again. Besides, I like it this length. Who knows if I'll still like it a hundred years from now, though."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe shifts her weight uncomfortably at the question, she opens her mouth, and then closes it, an then shakes her head.

    "No. she... she doesn't send me any cards." she states dodgily, and then rubs the back of her head.

    "Man, the first time I had my hair au natural, my friend Cass just couldn't stop staring. 'Cause I had it long then and it was all kinda just --" Phoebe makes an exploding motion with her hands. "Tim didn't even recognize me because it was just 'SUDDENLY 'FRO'." she gives a wry smile, and she shakes her head.

    "All right, I probably should be going and stop eating your supply of fig newtons." Phoebe states, drawing herself up as she looks over the tattoo 'gun' on the machine, and gives a small nod, neatly tucking things away with the familiarity of someone who had to reset the kit more than once.

    "Eh, your hair's a classic length. Little flat iron and hairspray and you can do anything with it. Me? I'm just happy that I'm making hair wraps fashionable again." she gives a smile.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Well, it was good seeing you again, Phoebe," Lydia says, standing up. "Don't worry about the Fig Newtons. Consider them a replacement for hugs. Warn me next time you come over and I'll bake you some fresh bread, or some cinnamon rolls to take home."

    "I should come and visit next time, but... to be honest Batman scares the crap out of me and I don't want him to be angry with me being on his turf," she says. "I don't think he cares as long as I'm not really //doing// anything out there but still. The man's intimidating. But I'll make sure to come find you next time I'm down."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "He's incredibly intimidating. There's very few men who could convince me to leave something I loved. And he's definitely one of them." Phoebe gives a smile. "And you can come by the Curio any time. It's moved to GOtham. The bar's closed down but I still have the First Aid Kit and my apartment there." she gives a wry smile.

    She doesn't want to recount how when Batman asked her if she knew who he was, she contemplated throwing herself off the roof. That would be bad.

    "I'll see myself out and let you get back to your work. Take care, Lydia." Phoebe gives a smile, and then turns to hup her way back out to the visitor's parking place, so she can worry about the next step in her plan: pick up noodles and watch True Crime dramas.