Tattoos – the indelible marks of my life
In the year since I discovered fan fiction, I have read hundreds of stories, from one-shots to multi-chapter, canon to AH. During that time, there have been several trends that have popped up, mainly in the realm of AH fic. One of my favorites has been Tattward/Inkella. I have to admit, there is something about Edward, deliciously tatted and pierced that gives me the shivers. If you are looking for some good fics, Inked by ARenee, Clipped Wings and Inked Armor by hunterhunting, White Blood by ineedyoursway, and Things that Go Bump In the Night by mac are all excellent reads! But, my fascination with the trend goes deeper than just the love I have for great fics featuring inked Bella and Edward.
When I was still in high school, I told my mom I wanted to get a tattoo. At the time, I think it was probably just me being rebellious. I was the good girl who never broke curfew, didn’t drink, smoke, or curse (my lord how I have changed!), so getting a tattoo seemed appropriately scandalous. Of course, my mom then went on a tirade about how only “biker women” get tattoos and that I would not get one while I was living under her roof. Like I said, I think I just wanted to get a rise out of my mom at the time, but the idea of getting inked stuck with me.
More years than I care to admit and seven tattoo’s later, I am comfortable with saying I am addicted to getting inked. I have my next three tattoo’s picked out, and I’m sure that more will follow. What started out as a need to rebel has turned into something that I use to express myself. My tattoo’s have meaning. Some mark an important time in my life, others represent something important to me like friendship and family. My most recent tattoo is an open book – reading quiets my mind and nourishes my soul; it has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My tattoo’s are reminders to myself of what I hold dear, memories forever inked into my skin. To some people, I’m making a huge mistake that I am sure to regret in the future. Honestly, I don’t care what other people think. I know that some day I’m going to be old and wrinkly. The designs will sag and not look the same as they do today. But, I am going to look at them and smile because of the memories they hold. While I might have some regrets when I reach the end of my life, I’m quite certain getting inked won’t be among them.
I’m lucky in that for the most part I haven’t experienced any type of discrimination because of my ink. Now, granted, I only have seven, and most of them are located places that they can be covered. But, I do have one on my right wrist that is visible most of the time. When I first got it, I was worried that I might get weird looks shaking some one’s hand at a business meeting or have a potential employer tell me that I would have to keep it covered up if I wanted to work for them. I’ve been pleasantly surprised that more often than not, people ask me what it is and seem interested when I tell them the story behind it. I’ve garnered a few weird looks and scattered comments from my mother, but nothing compared to what I’m sure more heavily inked people have to deal with.
Sadly, the more heavily inked a person is, the more likely they are to run into problems. There are still some people that have the perception that because someone is inked, they must be a deviant. The truth is, ink is art we wear on our bodies. What we have on our skin says nothing about our social status or morals. Ask just about anyone about their tattoos and you are going to learn they are a road map of their lives. They are dedications to those we have lost, or representations of things that are important to us.
The decision to get inked is a very personal one. In my opinion, it’s a life decision that is just as important as getting married and having children. So whether tattoos are your thing or not, I hope you realize that heavily tatted man or woman you see at the gas station are bearing their souls on their skin for all to see. And, if you see Tattward, be sure to send him my way – I definitely want to know the story behind his ink ;)
Sarah – Ah, okay, I gotcha! Thanks for the clarification! :)
Sarah – Ah, okay, I gotcha! Thanks for the clarification! :)
Kari,
Like SB said, it’s people who do it SOLELY for “hardass” looks. Yes, I got my tats partially cause I think they look nice, BUT they ALSO have a deep meaning behind them, which some people don’t bother with. They show up to the tat shop, pick a piece of flash off the wall, and go “I want that one” without any real thought behind it. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but when they do choose something that DOES have a meaning, and they have zero idea what that meaning is (like SB referring to that guy’s teardrop tat, or the spiderweb on the elbow tat I referred to before), that’s when I get bothered.
For those who don’t know, a teardrop by the eye means that someone in your gang or family has been killed (unless you’re a Brother, lol). The spiderweb on your elbow means you’ve killed someone and done jailtime for it; it’s typically an illegal prison tat.
Kari, I was referring to people who choose a certain type of image with the sole consideration of what it will do for their ‘image’, regardless of whether they actually like the tatt.
A guy I knew in high school got a teardrop tattooed on his face so people would think he was ‘a hard ass’. That kind of thing irks me.
It’s been my experience that that type of people, who are more concerned with their image than the art, they’ are the ones who tend to make the rest of us look bad.
I have 6 hours of tattoing on my back. Thankfully, I’ve never had a negative comment about it. It’s a piece that I had custom designed specifically for me, because it’s meaningful to me. I did it as a reminder of what’s important to me. I carry it with me where ever I go…
<3 SB
I don’t have any tatts…yet, the reason being I haven’t ever had a revelation about what I should get. There was a time I was considering getting a bald eagle on my shoulder in tribute to my dad, but my mom thought it was a horrible idea; my dad did not like tattoos.
My tolerance for pain is…eh but I wouldn’t let that stop me from getting one. It’s now 99% confirmed that I will likely get my first ink in approximately 10 weeks. I’m excited and nervous and all that jazz.
I did see a tattoo recently (and I do not say this to offend anyone) that REALLY irked me – someone had actually had the back of their calf tattoed with Robert Pattinson’s image. The work was beautiful, but honestly – that freaked me out just a tad. It’s one thing to pay tribute to someone you know, but to have a stranger’s image applied to your body (likely without their permission) seems to be crossing a line.
I loved this piece bb!
SB & Char – Just a thought (not trying to be argumentative). But ultimately, isn’t that why ANYONE buys any work of art? Or in this case, gets a tattoo? Because they like the way it looks?
I mean, in the same way I might buy a picture to hang on my wall because I think it looks beautiful, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with someone getting a tattoo for purely aesthetic reasons… After all, there’s no “right” or “wrong” reason to get a tattoo, any more than there is to buy a painting if that’s what someone wants to do. ;)
-Kari
Char, I know what you mean about people getting tattoos because they think it’s ‘badass’. They’re the ones who give the rest of this a bad name.
Haha, I’m probably the only person, male or female, to come out of the United States Navy without any tattoos! The reason being? Well, partially because I fear the pain, admittedly. But mostly because I’ve never once seen a tattoo that I could imagine getting put on my body permanently. (& then there’s the fact that I just don’t spend money on myself. I’m lucky if I can afford to get my hair highlighted every 6 months.)
Occasionally, I’ll see something on a person that I think is really beautiful, but usually I’m internally wincing and thinking, “Yikes!” Lol. But that’s just me, clearly. I would never judge someone as being “deviant” for merely having a tattoo! If that were the case, most of the people I’ve ever known in my adult life are deviant!
-Kari
I agree with SarahBella about the whole judging people with a lot of ink thing and a lot of it I’m sure has to do with the history of tattoos. Then you have peole like Jesse James and “Bombshell” McGee in the media, who are heavily tattooed and both pretty much ruined the life of America’s sweetheart. That’s not helping the image of inked people.
Honestly, getting inked is a HUGE decision, not one to be taken lightly, and not just because of the whole “it’s with you for life” part. For me, I’m a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE needle-phobe. When getting a shot at the doc, I can’t even look at the syringe or else I’ll burst into tears. When I got my tetnis shot 6 years ago, they used the baby needle on me and I still cried at the pain. So obviously getting a tat is WAY worse pain-wise. In fact, when I was getting my first one, I was so nervous I nearly puked.
So those who are heavily inked have a higher pain tolerance (or at least seem to, lol), since they’ve had most likely hundreds of hours under the needle, not to mention some places just hurt more than others.
However, that being said, I hate people who cover themselves in ink cause they think it “looks cool”. To me, tats have to mean something. On the surface, they may not look like it (after all I have a cartoon alien smiley face and the artwork from a band’s CD) but they go deeper than that. When there are people out there just getting a skull cause it’s badass or a razor to look tough or a spiderweb to look cool, it annoys me. Esp the spiderweb on the elbow, because I’m willing to bet 95% of those who get it have no idea what it really means.
So that’s my lil ramble bout tats. And you guys have fun with Tattward. I think I’ll stick with Rhage and Rehv and their ink, but that’s just me ;)
Heather, we’ve had so many conversations about ink! I think it’s sad that people are judged based on the amount of ink they have. Personally, I think that people who are able to express themselves through body art should be applauded.
When you’re done with Tattward, send him my way!!
♥SB