Yesterday (the day before?) I wrote a blog about music tattoos. Today's blog is going to be about gaming tattoos - specifically, why I have 2 already (even though one desperately needs fixed, because the guy who did it wasn't very good) and why I'm getting at least one more.
My very first tattoo, gotten 2 days after my 18th birthday, is the Vampire: The Masquerade ankh. Very small, purple (black outline), and on my left breast (BAD idea if you're still an adolescent, by the way... never get a tattoo on a fatty area before you're done developing!!!!). At the time, V:TM LARP was a VERY important part of my life - it bonded my husband and I, and introduced me to people who I could relate to at that time. I was a veritable social butterfly in the gaming world when I LARPed, and even though my first LARP was actually Werewolf: The Apocalypse, V:TM brought me an active, fun-filled, charmed and charming life, and fulfilled a sense of belonging I needed at that time, that I'll forever appreciate, even if it was considerably temporary.
My second gaming tattoo (but by no means my 2nd tattoo, I actually have 5 right now) is the Nobody symbol from the Kingdom Hearts series of video games; it's on my right leg just above my ankle, and is the one I need fixed. For those unfamiliar, Kingdom Hearts is a Disney and Square Enix collaborative effort begun in 2002, and revolves around a boy who has to save his friends, and all the worlds (including Disney worlds), from an organization of beings called Nobodies. There is, of course a LOT more to it than that, and the series of games spans many years and many lives, but the gist is the same nonetheless. The Kingdom Hearts story is one of the most involved I've ever seen in a videogame (or anywhere really, there are very few storylines as epic as the one presented with KH, even in book series), and a good many of the characters are ones you can relate to. The character development and growth is stunningly presented. The reason I have a Nobody symbol (as opposed to other symbols of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, such as the heart, crown, or heartless symbol) is because once you look past the surface of Organization XIII's motives (OrgXIII are the main antagonists in the primary KH story), they only want what everyone wants. To be whole. To feel complete, instead of the empty shells they are. (Not to mention, two of my favourite fictional characters ever are both Nobodies, and the progression of one of them from Nobody to Somebody was astounding.)
Now, for the last one, the one I don't have but I want very badly. Yes, this labels me as a huge dork or geek or possibly nerd in the eyes of some, but I don't care. I want the Horde symbol from World of Warcraft tattooed on my back. I played World of Warcraft for a few years, and even though it's been awhile since I've been able to play due to lack of funds, I still have an active interest in it. One of the few things I'm actively interested in these days, actually. But as a member of the Horde faction, I joined a guild, the same one James was in when he convinced me to start playing, and in that guild I found a level of camaraderie and cooperation that I've never seen in my adult life before or since. I fully believe that were it not for WoW I wouldn't have become as close with Magus as I am, and that Gary and I wouldn't have become actual friends (as opposed to acquaintances), and I wouldn't have made several other friends that I have today. Being a member of the Horde, and of the guild, brought the same sense of belonging as an adult that I felt I needed as a teenager, and for that I will be forever grateful.
I'm sure in the future there will be others, something geeky or music related, something non-spiritual (the other tattoos I want are primarily spiritual symbols), but for now I'm content to make myself a walking advertisement for the things I love and have a deep appreciation for.
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