#the fact that a completely clean artist left the fandom out of shame

[probablyaseamonster]

Me up at 2:30 AM trying to find a my little pony speedpaint series I liked 5 years ago, scrolling through piles of gore and smut only to find that the artist deleted their account and all their videos...

#the average mlp fan experience #man this reawakened a bit of trauma #the fact that a completely clean artist left the fandom out of shame #probably because they spun characters on a wheel and made fankids of them #but that's not even the cringiest type of thing to me #like okay i'll give it to them that the gore mlp artists are talented #but bro... what's so appealing about mlp? #what draws you like wasps to a juice? #i would like to have a discussion about this #i forget the artist's name but it was something involving light brown foods i think #i feel... loss #mlp #mlp fandom #cw mention of smut #cw mention of gore #just in case #bronies really traumatized a whole generation #but honestly I think we had it better than the next few #what a thing to find when you're barely a teen #thanks internet

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Indelible

AU-gust Day Twenty-Nine: Tattoo Parlour AU Fandom: Stargate Universe Pairing: Nicholas Rush x Gloria Rush

Rated: T

Summary: Tattoo artist Rush’s latest customer isn’t at all the type he’d expect to be getting a tattoo, and the two of them discuss the paths fate has led them down to meeting in these unusual circumstances.

Content warning: Cancer mention.

Indelible

During his time as a tattoo artist, Rush had long since learned that whilst most of his customers could be fitted into one of several boxes, there were always a few that completely defied convention.

Ostensibly, he knew that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Or a person wanting to get a tattoo by their outward appearance.

All the same, that didn’t stop him from doing a double take when he saw her walk into the shop. 

She was absolutely not the kind of person that he would expect to be getting a tattoo. She seemed too… He didn’t know how to describe her, but she looked completely out of place in her raincoat and sensible boots, with her violin case over her shoulder. For several seconds after she came in, all he could do was stare at her as she looked around at the intricate designs displayed on the walls, built up over years and years of artwork. 

Rush had never thought of himself as particularly artistic. In fact, when he’d first been hired, his boss had been confident in the fact that he’d last less than a day before packing it in. He hadn’t been let loose on skin for much longer than all of the other apprentices, but now, here he was, running the shop whilst still wondering what life would have been like if he’d had enough ready money to finish university and become an astrophysicist as planned. 

Having stared at his latest customer for a good five minutes, during which time she had stopped looking around and fixed her gaze on him, Rush realised that he should probably say something. 

“Can I help you?”

“I hope so.” She came up to the counter and placed a piece of paper down. “I want this tattooed here.” She tapped her left arm, just above the elbow. “Not in that handwriting,” she added quickly. “Something a bit neater and more artistic. Hopefully.”

Learning neater and more artistic handwriting had been one of the hardest challenges of Rush’s career so far, and he had to suppress a laugh at the notion. Still, she was here, and she was a potential customer with a very fixed idea of what she wanted, so despite her appearance seeming out of place in his shop, he would nonetheless help her.

He picked up the piece of paper. It was just a date, three months ago. It should be easy enough. He grabbed the folder of writing samples from under the counter and passed it over to her.

“Take a look through there and see if anything takes your fancy. If not I’m sure we can work up something freehand. In the meantime, I’ll get you booked in.”

Her name, it transpired, as he was getting her details into the computer, was Gloria Miller, and it was once he came to the medical questions that he realised the significance of that date, and why she wanted it imprinted on her skin forever.

“I’ve had cancer and chemotherapy,” she explained. “This is the date I got my all clear.”

Although he had always prided himself on his cynicism, Rush couldn’t help the smallest quirk of a smile as he continued to put her details in.

“Would you be able to do this?” She pointed to a neat script sample in the folder, small and not too elaborate, the individual figures clear and elegant. Rush breathed an inward sigh of relief that she hadn’t chosen one of the fancier scripts. Although numbers were definitely something he had a lot of experience with writing, normally it didn’t matter how neat they were.

“Yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem.” He grabbed a pencil and spare sheet of paper and began to sketch out the design to scale. It would come out pretty small, but Gloria didn’t look to be the type who would want anything too ostentatious. She smiled when he finished, slipping off her coat so that she could hold it against her arm in the correct place.

“That’s perfect, thank you.”

The appointment was set for the following week, and as Gloria left, Rush found that he was looking forward to seeing her again. There was something about her and the way that she’d suddenly dropped into his life from nowhere, at odds at first but soon fitting into place. He shook his head crossly. This was not the time to be getting into ideas of fate and destiny. He was a scientist at heart, for crying out loud, and that meant that everything had to have a logical explanation – no matter how weird and wonderful that explanation might be in the long run.

Still… Maybe there was a logical explanation for Gloria, and the fact that of all the places she could have chosen to commemorate her triumphant recovery, his was the one she had picked.

X

Gloria arrived as expected on the appointed day at the appointed time, and Rush led her through to the back room, getting her set up in the chair and cleaning her arm ready for the ink.

“No second thoughts?”

“None. I’ve been anticipating this moment for five years and even then, I left it another few months to be absolutely sure.”

With her firm conviction and with waivers fully signed, Rush began to get to work. Gloria gave a little gasp at the first scratch but otherwise stayed quiet and completely still as he continued to etch the date onto her arm. Some people looked away whilst their tattoos were being done, not wanting to see the needles or the beading blood, but Gloria watched in fascination as he drew.

“You’re a scientist as well as an artist then,” she said presently.

Rush glanced down at the ink on his own forearms, equations snaking around his skin.

“I was. Well, I still am at heart.”

“What made you change your career? It’s a bit drastic.”

Rush laughed behind his mask. “Money. I couldn’t afford to keep learning.”

“That’s a shame. Do you think you’d go back to it one day, if you could?”

Rush thought about it for a moment as he changed needles. They did say that it didn’t do to teach an old dog new tricks, but physics had always been his first love, and he’d only got into his current line of work by an accident that had kept on giving long after it had first occurred.

“Yes.”

They fell into silence for a while as Rush continued to work on the date.

“What do they mean?”

“What?”

“Your equations. What do they mean?”

“They’re all astrophysical mostly. The speed of light, calculating the distance between Earth and alpha centurai. That kind of thing.”

“All right, now I know you’re actually a scientist and not an artist at heart.” Gloria was grinning when Rush looked up at her. “If you were an artist at heart you’d have constellations, not maths showing how to get there.”

Rush didn’t reply, but he smiled unseen. She’d certainly managed to get a good read on him in the short time that they’d spent together.

At length, the tattoo was finished and Gloria had given it her seal of approval before Rush had wrapped her arm in plastic. He’d just finished reiterating the usual aftercare notes when he realised that he probably wouldn’t see her again after today, and for some reason, the thought saddened him.

“You know, if you have any problems with it, or if you want any more work done, feel free to come back any time.”

Gloria smiled. “I will.”

X

It was about two weeks after Gloria’s appointment that Rush saw her again. She still looked just as out of place standing in the shop as she had done on her first visit, but now he was used to it.

“Hello again.”

It took him a moment to remember that he had a tongue in his head.

“Erm, hi. How can I help? How’s the tattoo?”

“It’s fine. Still scabby, but not infected. It’s going to look great.”

“Right.” There was a long and somewhat awkward pause. “So… What can I do for you?”

“I was just wondering if you maybe wanted to get a drink some time.”

Rush was knocked a little off balance by her question. They’d certainly make a fine pair, her with her sensible raincoat and boots and violin, and he with his equations inked up his arms.

But she was so different, and so out of place, and she’d seemed so genuinely interested in those same equations and the origins behind them.

He nodded.

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

Maybe they could find a place to be out of place together.

#SGU fic #Nicholas Rush #Gloria Rush #Nick/Gloria #first meetings #relationship beginnings #tattoo parlour AU #AU-gust #Worry does AU-gust #Fic: Indelible