Which Fandom?

I have the Green Bay Packers (GBP) logo tattooed on my left wrist, and when I was out with my Best Friend Betsy RN MSN and her daughter Samm, we discussed future tats that we all three want. Betsy has a lovely hybrid bird/flower image on her back that represents her three children. Her conservative prick of a husband hates it, but it’s her body and her money. Betsy wants something on her leg, but I don’t remember the details. Samm will have to wait another year until she is 18, but I imagine her tattoo will be something to do with one of her many fandoms.


Samm is a very kewl teenager: she does cosplay at conventions such as Geek Kon and Comic Con; She knows her Doctors Who; and she is a member of her high school’s Strategy Games Club, which was called the Chess Club back in the day when Betsy made me join so she wouldn’t be the only female (FTR: I am a horrible chess player). Samm may also be one of the few people on the planet who is paler than I am. With my Irish-German heritage, I make pasty-white Brits look tan.


Not too long after my first tattoo, I decided that I would like more. A friend of mine is deathly allergic to nuts, so she has the MedicAlert (MA) logo tattooed on her arm. I’d like that, too, but additionally, I’d also like my MA diagnoses (epilepsy and hypertension) and my ID # in addition to the MA toll-free number tattooed on my wrist. The logo would be on the back of my left wrist, with the information on the inside, but in the same line as the current GBP logo.


Because I tried to commit suicide when I was fifteen, Brian suggested another tattoo: a semicolon. Project Semicolon is for survivors of suicide (one’s own attempt(s) or the success of a loved one), mental illness, and self-harm. “The semicolon is used when an author could’ve chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life.” As a wannabe writer, I like that philosophy, so I will add a semicolon tattoo to my left wrist.


The final tattoo that I need to decide upon is fandom; the main problem is which fandom. Do I choose the sci-fi/fantasy books I loved as a child and still love to this day? Do I choose the Star Wars Rebel Alliance logo or the Star Trek: the Next Generation insignia? What about a die for the many board and roleplaying games I’ve enjoyed over the years, and if so, should the die be a D6 or a D20? Plus, I’ve enjoyed many video and computer games over the years; should I choose a Triforce or a Tetris piece or even Ms. Pac-Man?


I guess I’ve known all along that I would go with my original fandom: Star Wars, which I first saw when I was ten. Now I just need to figure out how to pay for all the tattoos I want.


Pog ma thoin!
-Lori


“When the designs are chosen with care, tattoos have a power and magic all their own. They decorate the body but they also enhance the soul.” — Michelle Delio