The Magic of Ink [Closed]

[Morgan Blackwood]

Ever since Morgan had secured their position as the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, they had been too busy to add to the ever-growing number of tattoos across their body. It was an odd thing to think of in those regards, and for someone of such a position, one might not generally think of them as someone with many tattoos. It was impossible for anyone to assume they didn't have any because there was plenty in places that couldn't be hidden, but they always made sure to do so good of a job, no one had anything to say concerning them or their tattoos.

They'd finally found a day they could with good conscious take the time to go and get something new without necessarily regretting it in the days to come. They just had a lot of paperwork to do, meaning they'd be in their office for a few days at least. There was much more to the position than one might initially predict, but that never slowed Morgan down from doing their best. And after so much hard work, they felt they deserved this reward.

They walked into the tattoo parlor and looked around, looking to see if they had any of their previous work on the walls. They had an idea of something they'd get, but they kind of wanted to see what kind of creative license these artists were willing to take. Not in a way that put them on the spot and made things harder, but they didn't like to force artists to conform to styles that weren't their own.

[Harmony Gabriel]

Harmony had been low on appointments lately. It wasn't because she wasn't a good tattoo artist, she was a exceptional artist. It was just that she had been working another job at the same time as her artist position and didn't have a big window for them. However, today was different, she was sitting in the shop and would take walk-ins as they came. So when the bell rang over the door, she was the first to her feet and made her way to the counter. A bright smile on her face she greeted the guest. "Hello! How are you doing today?"

She could see that the guest was having a look around. They didn't post their work on the walls, nor were they the shop where you could pick a design on the wall. No, all of their was custom to fit their customers. "Are you wanting to see a book of my work? I have my binder here on the counter, feel free to take a look and decide if I am the right artist for you. I can work with pretty much everything, I do color or all black. I will be honest though, I don't do a lot of new schoolwork. Most of mine is the traditional stuff. I have several hours open today, take a look and let me know what you're thinking." She slid the book towards the customer and smiled hoping she wasn't being too intrusive.

The young woman took a seat at the desk and waited for the customer to take a look and decide whether or not her work fit their style. In the meantime, Harmony sipped on a mug that sat on the desk before the counter.

[Morgan Blackwood]

Morgan looked over as the woman in the shop greeted them and smiled, "Hello," they said, "I'm doing quite well, thank you. Hope you are as well," they came over towards the counter as she slid the book over and smiled once more, "Thank you. I prefer the classics anyway," they smirked at that and opened the book to look at her work, "Do you have a favorite piece?" They asked, glancing up at her before looking back at the pages of the book, pausing in turning them as they waited to hear the response.

Seeing her style, Morgan was finding themselves more and more settled on a potential design in their mind, but wanted to wait to see if the design fit in with the piece the artist picked as their favorite. It probably wouldn't matter much, but they believed it would tell them a lot about the artist and her forte, "This is all really impressive," they added as they looked, their own tattoos peeking out from sleeves and their collar. While some people didn't exactly see tattoos as "professional" looking, Morgan had left no room for anyone to question their professionalism regardless of appearance.

[Harmony Gabriel]

A smile spread across Harmony's lips when the guest greeted her back. "I am! Thank you for your concern." Her smile brightened when they stated they preferred the classics over the new school style. "Well then, I'm your lady..." She cleared her throat and felt her cheeks flush slightly. "I mean, tattoo artist." They asked what her favorite piece was that she had done. She stood back up and walked over to the book. "It's uh..." She looked down at the book. "A few pages forward if you want to flip through." It was an image of hands holding in the shape of a human heart with a rose blooming out of them. "That one was my favorite piece to do."

Harmony couldn't help but grin when they said that her art was really impressive. "Thank you so much! That really means a lot. I put a lot of effort and pride into my work. I always aim to please my customers. She could tell that they already had some ink under their sleeves and professionalism never came into question for Harmony when it came to body art. She believed that it was a way for someone to express themselves. "Did you have something in mind that were looking to get?" She wanted to get an idea of what they wanted so she knew whether or not she could fit the style they wanted. She was sure they could work together and the piece the way they wanted it.

[Morgan Blackwood]

Morgan smirked at her correcting herself on what she said, before looking to the book to find the mentioned piece, "Oh that is stunning," they said, looking at the piece, "You really are just the gal I need," they said before pulling out a drawing they'd printed. they held it out to her, "I was thinking to do this on my right side if you're down for it," they said, "I saw some similar pieces in there so I think you're just what I need. I wish I'd have known this place was here sooner, it's nice getting to support magical businesses in things that people tend to associate more with muggles."

[Harmony Gabriel]

She smiled at Morgan and blushed slightly again. "Why thank you so much. It is some of my best work, to be honest." She let out a small laugh when they said that she was the gal for them. "Ah well I'm glad to hear that." She reached for the printout that they pulled from their pocket. She looked down at it and smiled. "This is a beautiful piece." She looked at them and then tilted her head gazing at her side. She quickly pulled her eyes from it, however, and looked back at their face. "That is completely doable."

Harmony nodded at her comment and agreed with them. "Yes, it is not easy to find things like tattoo parlors done by the magical community." She did have a tattoo gun that was able to do magical tattoos but she wasn't going to bring that up unless the need arose. "Come on back, we can map out the placement and then I can transfer it onto you until we get the placement just right."

[Morgan Blackwood]

Morgan smiled when Harmony agreed to do the piece and seemed even more pleased as she told them to come back, "Fantastic," they said, patting their hand on the counter. They closed the book back, "Lead the way. Oh, seeing this is what it is, do you want to be paid in pounds or galleons? I'm fine either way, just making sure I know ahead of time," they said, starting to pull their jacket off. Since it was their day off, they'd been wearing a grey tank top, a teal leathery jacket, and jeans, letting themselves be more comfortable than normal, though it would be hard-pressed for someone not to recognize their face from the papers. As they removed the jacket, revealing all the tattoos on their arms.

"Are you the only one who works here?" They asked, glancing around, wondering if there was other staff around, maybe working elsewhere. They were more or less concerned about a girl working alone. Diagon Alley in and of itself was not that bad, but Knock Turn Alley always brought in an odd bunch... Some that didn't always stay where they should.

[Harmony Gabriel]

She smiled and waved her hand so they could follow her back to her tattoo room. She walked inside and turned to them. "Oh, either works, it doesn't matter. I can use both either way." She glanced at them as they removed their jacket and then looked over at her table, setting the piece down as she pulled her hair back into a bun to get it out of her face. If she was going to do a piece this big, it was going to take a moment and she didn't want her hair falling into her face the whole time. Harmony looked back at them and sighed completely forgetting the pleasantries that are usually forthcoming. "I'm Harmony by the way. Suppose you'd at least want a name if I'm going to be putting my art on your body." She let out a soft laugh.

"Hmm? Oh no, there are a couple of other artists, but they ran off for lunch. They should be back soon." She wasn't sure why she was asking, perhaps just making conversation. There might have been another reason, but it didn't worry Harmony much to be here alone. At least not as of yet, her ex hadn't found that she worked here and she hoped it stayed that way. She picked up the piece again and held it up. "Alright, now...let's see how we want this placed."

[Morgan Blackwood]

Morgan laughed a bit, "Morgan," they said, "A pleasure to meet you, Harmony," they added. Hearing her response about the other artists, Morgan nodded, "Right, of course," they said, "Sorry if that was weird, just a habit, checking on the safety of things. Not that I was ever an Auror, still," they waved their hands, "Anyways."

"I'd like to put it about here," they motioned to the side from about mid-ribs down to their hip, "Do you want me to go ahead and remove the tank to make it easier to figure things out?" they asked. They weren't shy about it, not with how many tattoos they had, they just didn't want to assume her procedure.

[Harmony Gabriel]

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Morgan." She shook her head and smiled. "A bit weird, not going lie, but I can see why you did it. We aren't far off from Knockturn Alley and there are some sketchy people out there that might take advantage." She laughed slightly and shrugged. "No worries, I appreciate the concern."

She looked at the spot where Morgan wanted to place the tattoo and nodded with an "Mm hmm." "I think that will work perfectly." She turned to start getting her stuff ready when Morgan asked if she wanted them to remove their tank. She nearly dropped the ink when they asked. "Oh uhm...yeah. You can set it there." She cleared her throat and pointed to the chair in the corner. She tried not to be uncomfortable as she grabbed the freshly traced image. "Alright, Raise your arm a bit and we can get this placed."

[Morgan Blackwood]

Morgan had nodded when she told them they could take the tank top off and did so. They folded it up and set it where she said along with their jacket. Once Harmony was ready, they lifted their arm to give her clear access to their side, "Luckily, I'm not ticklish. Half of these tattoos would have been rather difficult otherwise," they smirked, trying to make small talk. They hoped to establish a basic report here so that they could come back for future tattoo needs. Also, she seemed nice, why not talk?

[Harmony Gabriel]

She placed the drawing on their ribs, down towards and just above their hip bone. She pressed down to make sure the stencil would appear completely on her skin. When she pulled it away she nodded. "There we are, tell me what you think of that placement." After their comment of being ticklish Harmony laughed before pulling up her shirt and showing off her side tattoo, "This one, I couldn't stop laughing and I was annoying the crap out of my artist. But, in the end, it got done, and turned out pretty well too. So I completely understand your concern." She grinned and pulled her shirt back down.

[Morgan Blackwood]

Morgan moved to look at it in a tattoo, "I think this is perfect," they said, nodding before looking over at Harmony's tattoo, "Oh that looks great, all of your tattoos look great," they smiled, looking at the different ones around on her body, "A true artist with an appreciation for the fine arts," they chuckled lightly, "I'm at your mercy whenever you are ready to start. I took the day off so I'm under no time crunch," they added, wanting her to feel like she could take her time.

[Harmony Gabriel]

"Wonderful. Let me just get my ink set up along with my gun and we can get started. Shouldn't take longer than eight hours." She resisted the urge to laugh before looking up at Morgan waiting for their reaction. She went to get the inks ready, setting up her gun, wrapping the cord, and getting the paper towels ready. "You can lay on your side there, place your arm over your head and I'll get started. Let me know if you need a break." She smiled at the compliment given. "Thank you. I love tattoos, they are a vivid and beautiful way to express ourselves." She looked down at the outline and dipped her needle. "You are my only client today, so we have all day to get this exactly right. Too bad they don't come with erasers." She grinned. "Only kidding, I'm a pro. I don't need erasers. You ready?"

[Morgan Blackwood]

Morgan moved to the table and laid down as she told them to. They gave a laugh hearing her make the comment about erasers, "Maybe not normally, but we do have magic," they said, "If I fall asleep, wake me back up, cause I might start rolling around," they smirked, "And if you need a break, of course, take it, I'm fine with coming back to finish if needed," they added, not wanting her to exhaust herself or even hurt herself on doing this.

[Harmony Gabriel]

"That we do. I don't use it during tattooing much though. I prefer the authentic experience." She chuckled slightly at their sleeping comment. "I will make sure to wake you, gently though too. Don't want you startled awake and fall off the table." She grinned and shook her head at them. "Nah, we should be alright, it's early yet, shouldn't take too long to finish this beautiful piece of work here. We do have drinks as well if you get thirsty, no snacks but I'm sure we could have one of the guys grab us something if we get too hungry."

[Morgan Blackwood]

Morgan chuckled a little, "This is definitely an experience that benefits from authenticity," they said. They got themselves comfortable, preparing to be there for a time. They had about said something about owing her more than just money for taking eight hours of her time but figured that might be a bit awkward. They did fine with talking to fellows in the Ministry about work topics, but small talk was something they still struggled with. They'd been an Unspeakable for about 6 years and after not being able to talk to people about much, it had more or less crippled their conversational abilities.

[Harmony Gabriel]

She nodded "You're not wrong there. What is a tattoo experience without pain and a little fear of what it could turn out like?" She let out a rather goofy giggle before clearing her throat and letting a sigh. "Alright, going in." She started the outline of the first flower. "So what is that you do for a living, obviously I highly trained medical doctor who does brain surgeries." She scoffed at her own joke before shaking her head. "Sorry, stupid humor. But really what do you do?" Harmony wasn't exactly the talker of the bunch either, being suppressed for several years under the thumb of an abusive man sort of took its toll as well. But she couldn't just sit here in silence either, at least not yet.

[Morgan Blackwood]

Morgan gave a laugh at the joke, "Well, not quite that. I've worked in the Ministry in a variety of positions, but for the past 5 years, I've been working as the Undersecretary," they said, "Though I'm not sure which position has honestly had more paperwork," they mused, looking up as they thought about it, "The Department of Mysteries certainly did have a lot of... things that needed documentation, even if I couldn't even talk about it with other people."

[Harmony Gabriel]

"Sounds a bit tedious." She commented as she finished the outline of the first flower. "Do you enjoy your job or is it one of those, pays the bills kind of things? I prefer to work in a setting where I'm not stressed out, it helps if I enjoy what I do." She had to have had at least a little fondness towards her job considering she had been there for five years. But who was to say some people stayed in a job because it's what they knew and it did exactly that, paid the bills.

[Morgan Blackwood]

"It can be, but I do enjoy it. It's fulfilling," Morgan said, "Plus, staying within the Ministry, I can still work on some of the things I was researching in the Department of Mysteries when I do have time to breathe," they said, "It was what I figured out there that got me noticed for the job I've got now, but I didn't feel it was wholly finished before I switched offices," they explained.

[Harmony Gabriel]

"You worked in the Department of Mysteries. Suppose that explains the air of caution then." She took note of the position that she held. It wasn't that Harmony could use it for leverage, just an interesting fact to know about someone. "Impressive, I'm not sure I could work in the Ministry, too much of an office job. I prefer to get my hands dirty. Or in this case, Inky." She grinned as she followed the lines on Morgans body with her gun. "I'm glad you enjoy your job, it always makes it worthwhile if you enjoy it. Dealing with the stress and all doesn't seem so bad then."

[Morgan Blackwood]

"It's more of a game. A constant game of wizards chess," Morgan said, looking at the far wall while she was working, "It's a bit of a thrill making the right moves to take out those that don't aim to work towards the good of the community," they muttered a bit then cleared their throat, "Sorry," they muttered, "I realize that's somewhat cryptic," they said, glancing over at her.

[Harmony Gabriel]

"You have no reason to be sorry. I know there are some jobs that you can't discuss and I am alright with that. I am comfortable just chatting." She smiled at her and nodded her head. "I try to do things that help out the community as well. I can read tea leaves..." She said nonchalantly. She wasn't offering her services but she wasn't opposed to it either. She didn't share it with everyone so the fact that she had, she could tell that Morgan had a good vibe to her.

[Morgan Blackwood]

"Oh? You and my sister could probably talk for ages. She deals with those sorts of things on the daily," Morgan said, not sure they should say out loud in the middle of this tattoo shop what position their sister held in the ministry, "Do people come to you often for that?" they asked, glancing over to her, though trying not to move too much. After everything Morgan learned about the way things affect the future during their time as an Unspeakable, they had little desire to ask for the service for themselves, but that didn't make it any less interesting