Over the last 8 months I got two new tattoos. They are a lot more obvious than the previous ones as they are located on my forearms, and like my previous arm tattoos they are a set. This time the set theme is roots and wings. Here is the first:
The blueberries are on my left arm and they represent my origins. I have memories of picking blueberries with my family, especially when I climbed up to the rapids on the Kam river above Kakabeka Beach. Walking across giant exposed hunks of Canadian Shield to find blueberries growing in little dips where the dirt accumulated is a powerful memory of mine, and I did this many times growing up.
We even had special machines my family built to clean and process the blueberries. After a big berry picking session there would be coolers full of the berries to deal with, and we had specially built berry cleaning tools. They were basically a ramp to pour the berries down with a bucket at the bottom to catch them. Halfway down the ramp was a grate the berries would roll over, and a fan blowing through the grate would send all the sticks and leaves flying away, cleaning the berry haul.
The blueberries remind me of where I came from, the people that helped raise me, and the connection to the land and knowledge of nature that I still retain small pieces of. It is where I came from - the family I was born into.
The other tattoo is where I chose to go. It is an icosahedron, unfolded from a 3d shape into a 2d map on my arm. The numbers come from a d20, a standard die used in roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons. The d20 represents the games I love to play, the unfolding reflects my mathematical training. I have told people that when I die I want it cut off my arm, folded into a die, stuffed, and put on a mantle somewhere. Perhaps it can be rolled when a particular important skill check needs to be made, or when ogres attack.
The colours on this tattoo are a representation of the people who now surround me. I am quite straight, unfortunately (I recognize that being queer is a struggle, but I have had a few exciting offers, and if I was bi I could have taken full advantage!) but there is a lot of queer in my house, and I wanted to have something on my body showing my support and solidarity. In particular I wanted to send a message to Pinkie Pie that cannot be mistaken - I will put my effort and attention (and fury, should it ever come to that) into taking care of them no matter where on the rainbow they end up.
The rainbow d20 reminds me of what I have decided to do, the skills I have honed, and the family I have chosen.
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