video;

[chickenselects]

[That he's tired goes without saying: everyone's tired these days, or at least it seems that way between network posts and the worn-down faces passed in hallways. So Garrus skips discussing it when he snaps on the feed, managing to set his communicator down for a decent view of himself settled near the ship's pools. The lighting's too dim for it but really, try asking if he cares.] 

Considering the fact that I've spent my life going from point A to point B between star systems, I think it's fairly safe to assume that just about every culture out there has their customs. And no, I'm not about to ask you to give me an in-depth lecture on what yours are or where they came from, so don't feel obligated to-- or at least try not to be offended when I fall asleep just before you get to 'the good part'. It's been a long week.

But I do need help. 

See, for turians, being barefaced like this isn't exactly a plus. Usually we wear tattoos representing the place where we were born, but at this point I'll take just about anything you've got that'll leave a mark on human skin as a substitute. Preferably in bulk.

Comments

video;

[thebreakingwave]

I can't promise much, but I am pretty sure that with a little practice, I can manage something semi-permanent. Ought to last at least a few weeks.

[He's got a faint memory of a modified charm the twins used to write all sorts of ridiculous things all over Quidditch team.]

video;

[chickenselects]

You mean you've never done it before. [That's not concern in his voice it's just-- okay, no there's some slight concern there.]

locked.

[wolfchild]

[ otherwise this is just asking for robb to interrupt again. ]

You tattoo your face?

[ it would be vastly improved.... ]

locked forever, young lady

[chickenselects]

[He gets that's probably what she's thinking; he doesn't blame her for it, either.]

Would you prefer it if we tattooed something else, Arya?

video

[grayleader]

[...Turian, Turian...Thinking, thinking, nope doesn't ring a bell. He's just going to ignore it as that's not on his list of Aliens to Kill and so he can offer to help! Sort of. Kind of. Ish.

That's a combat knife he's holding up by the way as he talks and he's not wearing his helmet for now.]

I could offer something more permanent if you don't mind pain.

[Yes he's totally offering to scar your face up, Garrus.]

video;

[chickenselects]

[You know, he doesn't at all look phased by that idea-- though he's fairly certain that somewhere off in the vastness that is space, Wrex is laughing in his general direction.]

Thanks, but I've got my share of those. Unless of course that's all part of the process; I don't pretend to understand how human tattoos work.

video;

[tirade]

Pretty sure scars work as the masochist's substitute if you're in the mood to volunteer to be poked full of holes and ooze everywhere.

[ obviously a cheerful mental image here, right. ]

I mean, I won't judge you if that's your thing, but — [ wait for it ] — I'll definitely be judging you. Just a little.

video;

[chickenselects]

I'd say I'm not much of one, but let's be real about this: anyone that jumps in front of enemy rifle scopes on the regular is probably a little less than sane to begin with.

As for the oozing, so far I feel like that's all I've done. [But he's not complaining-- not really, at least. There's even the tug of a grin at the corner of his mouth when he says it.]

video.

[padawansnips]

[From one tattooed species to another.]

Maybe there's something in the gardens that could be used to tattoo your skin. Or in the science department.

video;

[chickenselects]

I don't doubt it, but I'm not big on plantlife, and I'm definitely not in the mood to play the game 'is this poisonous to humans, let's find out'.

video.

[ladymother]

Mayhaps you should consider a mask, if you're striving for something impermanent.

[SHE SOUNDS REALLY WARY FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW HIM]

video;

[chickenselects]

Thanks, but I tried. They don't have any in my size.

[You know, he's starting to get the hang of this. Patterns of speech, style of dress-- barely contained distrust.] Let me guess, you know Arya.

( voice. )

[carbonite]

Listen, buddy. They don't care about what side of the galaxy you're from. As long as you're -

[wait, back up.]

Tell me you usually look like this.

video;

[chickenselects]

Alright, [If you insist-- though sincerity is most definitely absent in his delivery. ] I usually look like this.

text;

[puppydogeyes]

Just get it tattooed again.

his best, sad attempt at text;

[chickenselects]

ifd lke to;' bu t i needd s omeone ca;pable of i t

video.

[workout]

There's a guy here who does tattoos.

[ or scott thinks so, anyway. he'd wanted one at the time, but his mom had been around to say no thanks; go figure. but that was then, this is now. tattoos meaning something is slightly relevant to his current lifestyle. that and the guy didn't say anything about not sharing his stories, so— ]

Why the place where you're born? Is it a reminder?

video;

[chickenselects]

Don't imagine he does it for free-- what's the damage like in a place with no money? [Garrus has experience in bargaining without currency, it's just that usually his version of 'bargaining' involves shaking down criminals in dark alleyways. Harmless conscrips? Not so much.]

And I like to think so. In a universe as big as ours, sometimes it helps to remember where you came from.

video

[deprecate]

There's a qualified tattoo artist on board. Runs a shop back home. He's got inks'n needles here, if you've something to trade for it.

[ his goal here is basically to not let noah keep giving away his skills for free. ]

Just between you and me, though, much as his're the steadiest hands I've known, you still might want to make sure he's had a nap.

video;

[chickenselects]

Let me guess: he's not sleeping well either.

[Which is Garrus's way of stalling for time while he mentally runs over what he could possibly have to trade. It's not a long list-- less so if the guy's human.]

[okayokay]

What happens if you don't like where you're born?

[chickenselects]

Well, you could always lie. Say you're from somewhere else or with another clan. Sure, it wouldn't be the truth, but there are a lot of tattoo shops out there; someone's bound to buy into it eventually. [Still, it doesn't sound like it'd be his first course of action.]

Then again, if you've got thick enough skin to hold out, sometimes a new home is just around the corner.

[northerner]

You've spent your life among the stars? Was it aboard a ship like this one?

[chickenselects]

Sometimes. Nothing technically this big that wasn't a space station, though. [Garrus still has trouble following the idea that this is a pseudo-cruise ship coasting its way through space. Crazy.]

That's not to say they don't exist, just that I'm not important enough to be on them.

[leaps]

We had a race like that, where I was from. Romulans.

[chickenselects]

Sounds like they had the right idea.

[Sure, Garrus. Sure.]

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[became]

You might want to make sure you specify how permanent you want that mark to be, and how much you want it to hurt.

[ says the dude rocking an obvious facial scar himself. ]

[chickenselects]

I've taken a rocket to the face-- pain isn't very high on my list of concerns.

[Or permanence, for that matter. But hey, nice scar.]