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Amarantha
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#1
Old 02-20-2017, 02:29 AM

So Friday night I got my first tattoo, and considering it took me a long time to decide what I wanted and where I wanted to ask all you tattooed people what their ink meant.

HIM_ROCK
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#2
Old 02-20-2017, 07:16 PM

I have a tradition style koi which represents the begining of a journey.

Koi tattoos are normally part of three tattoos: koi, koi-dragon and dragon. As the story goes the koi travels up the river and when it reaches it's destination it turns into a dragon.

Pkero
~VR is the Future~
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#3
Old 02-21-2017, 06:20 AM

I just finished a full sleeve, and I've had a habit of taking pictures of my tattoos as I go. They get larger and more absurd as we go, so strap in.


This is a little out of order, as it's #1 and #3. The small stars-and-bars is the flag of Washington, DC, my home city. Lots of young people in DC get this tattoo, albeit in varying placements, sometimes with the traditional red color. Personally, my brother got one on his forearm, and I wanted to be able to hide mine from my parents (I got it just after I turned 18) so I opted for the bicep. This photo is from 2012, I think. Shortly after #3, the bigger part, healed. Will come back to #3.


#2 is the Strong Badia flag from Homestar Runner. Much like the first, this was an impulse get. I found the nearest tattoo shop that seemed nice, asked for a tattoo and got it. While I've never regretted the subject matter of a tattoo, I do slightly regret this one if only for the lack of real artistry in it. It's basically a carbon copy of the source material, with very slight changes. Not the best linework either. This photo was taken just after it was finished at the shop.

#3 was the first tattoo I really planned out, though I didn't anticipate the shop experience. I was still in college at Columbia College Chicago and I'd started getting into the introductory classes on game development. Through this I began to think of the experiences that really shaped my need to create virtual worlds, and I kept comi\ng back to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. In particular, the expansion pack Shivering Isles really defined what an RPG experience should be for me, so I got the entrance to Shivering Isles added to my arm. It also had the benefit of consuming the DC flag, somewhat fitting for the entrance to the Realm of Madness.


Continuing the Bethesda motif, I got Liberty Prime during my second QA contract at Bethesda (though I didn't work on a Fallout game until my third and final one). I'd been working on Elder Scrolls Online with a small group of coworkers, where the four of us were assigned to test the instanced dungeons in the game. It was a ton of fun, and still high on the thrill of being at the company I dreamed of working for and having the money to do it, I slapped Liberty Prime on my underarm. Many people called Fallout 3 "Oblivion with Guns" when it came out, which was basically everything I wanted. That, and it taking place in my hometown kind of sealed it for me.


#5 is from the game Spelunky. This one has a bit more of an extended story to it. I got this tattoo during my senior year of college (2015) and Spelunky launched on Xbox Live Arcade in 2012. I think I was home for the summer (first contract at Bethesda) and I discovered the game while browsing the menus. It had co-op, so we all tried it for awhile and got really into it. We discovered the secrets without really looking up anything and had a great time.

After three years of playing the game on and off with and without them, I finally beat the game on the optional 'Hard' route, generally considered the true ending. I commemorated that with the tattoo, and the five characters represent myself and my best friends, as they're the avatars we use in-game.


#6, and the final one, is the largest tattoo I have. It was completed over a single seven-hour session and I don't think I've ever been in more pain in my life. It was half-celebration, half-coping mechanism.

The celebration is the character, Rubick from Dota 2. Having invested near 1500 hours in the game (paltry by competitive standards, but a hell of a milestone for someone with a habit of jumping between games), I felt I owed it to myself to get one of the heroes tattooed on me. Rubick was the choice mostly because I like his design the most, and find him to be the most satisfying hero of his role to play when I have a good game on him.

The coping mechanism is the car. On December 20, my grandfather passed away aged 97. He was the kindest, most thoughtful man I've ever met. He started with nothing on a farm in Alabama and amassed reasonable wealth on a government pension for 40 years in the foreign service. He was still working as the editor of a local magazine up until a week before his death. His dedication, his love for his family and fellow human, and his hearty laugh are things I miss dearly, and if I can be half the man he was when I die then I'll consider mine a life well-lived.

Anyway, he had a scale model of an old red porsche in his house. It was beat up by the time he died, but as a kid I remember being absolutely fascinated by it. My mother asked me if I wanted anything from his house, and I asked for it. As the tattoo itch rolled around, I couldn't think of a person more worthy of commemorating than my grandfather.

This ended up being a much longer post than expected, but my usual response to 'what do your tattoos mean' is 'I like video games' so it's nice for the chance to explain at length.

SuperZombiePotatoe
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#4
Old 02-21-2017, 07:16 AM

I love tattoos I plan on having many. My first tattoo was on my left forearm. It's a mother daughter tattoo (soppy soppy sentimental ), an anchor, a compass and a ship's steering wheel. My mum and I have a nautical obsession and got the same things but in different styles. Mine has colour and had the background of a map. My tattoo artist suggested the map so it's not just hanging in the air and I really liked it, 'cause I was 21 and it was kinda like me going out into the world symbolism. I'm getting my next tattoo on Friday I. Am. So. Excited. 'Cause it's like, the ultimate tattoo for me. The writing on the ring from Lord of the Rings, which is my ultimate obsession. I'm thing on the other arm, but I can't decide whether to get it on the side or on top. Oh well, we'll see

What tattoo did you end up getting, Amarantha?

Pkero, your sleeve looks beautiful!

hummy
Little birdie ♥

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#5
Old 02-21-2017, 07:30 AM


I have always wanted a hummingbird tattoo
I a too chicken to get one, though.
but a new tattoo parlor opened up right down the road!
now to make sure one drunken night I don't find myself there...
maybe I should look around for what I would like, just in case!

hope you love your new tattoo.


DaisyKeehl
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#6
Old 02-22-2017, 03:15 PM

I don't necessarily think you need to have some deep meaning for a tattoo, of course it is awesome if you do, just not needed.

I have 5 so far, and plan to get so many more! As far as meaningful, I guess you could say mine are more fandom/aesthetic and barely have any meaning attached.

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This is Napstablook (Dapperblook) from Undertale! It was my very first tattoo, and I got it from Xavier Alvarez when he was at the Baltimore Tattoo Con 2016. I got it because it was the most relatable character in the game. I thought it would also look good in his style. This is by far my largest tattoo so far, and my first, haha.

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This is a tiny angry cloud I got the same day as my first, by Sue. I was a part of a huge friend group at the time, and they would call me tiny angry/smol angry. I saw it, thought of the nickname, and got it! Needless to say, I am no longer friends with those people, but I still love the tattoo. A tiny memory, and a cute tattoo.

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This is Sans from Undertale. I got it because I loved the flash designed keksbela.tumblr.com posted. I also love the parallel between these two things. It has gotten me into some very interesting conversations about them. If you know the game, which I won't spoil here, you know just how much our decisions change our timeline drastically-- tis is life. I love this tattoo, though I have to get one touched up.

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This is my most recent tattoo- a gemstone terrarium. I got it because i love the aesthetic of terrariums, and the thought of having a mini ecosystem. I saw many people drawing floating islands, and thought "hey, that wouldn't make a half bad tattoo"! I printed off some refs, and gemstones that mean a lot to me, and just let him choose. I am pretty happy with it.


I do have some meaningful tattoo's planned for the future, but for now, I think the most meaningful one is going to be my mother/daughter tattoo coming up! We are getting our Chinese zodiacs tattooed together-- a snake protecting a rat. We want to keep our culture alive, so we thought it would be a perfect way to do so, and bond.

Hope you love your new tattoo!!

Amarantha
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#7
Old 02-23-2017, 01:11 AM

HIM_ROCK: Oh, well that's cool!

Pkero: All of your pieces are GORGEOUS, and I love that you explained them all out. My husband would love to sit and talk to you about working for Bethesda, he's a huge Elder Scrolls and Fallout fan.

SuperZombiePotatoe: Nothing wrong with being sentimental, the next two I plan on getting are for sentiment lol.

This is on my left wrist:


hummy: I thought I was gonna be tooo chicken too lol. When they put the IV in my arm when I delivered my son I almost threw up. The artist, who happened to be a childhood friend of mine, was like "I really don't think you should get your first tattoo on your wrist. Its gonna hurt. Like a lot." Even though she was right, I don't regret sitting through it.

DaisyKeehl: Well then the fact that it has no meaning is its meaning lol. Your tattoos are super cute though :). And its been almost a week since I've had it done and I'm so in love with it still; I look down at my arm and still find myself surprised it hasn't come off in the shower lol.

 


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