Tattoo? Me?

Weekend Assignment #18: You have to get a tattoo. Explain what image you would choose and why -- and where you would put it.

Alternate Assignment: If you already have a tattoo, tell us what it is and why you got it.

Extra Credit: Show us a representation of your would-be tattoo (any picture will do, not necessarily of a tattoo) or a picture of the tattoo you already have.

I'm really close to opting out of this one.  I hate tatoos. For me they're in the same category as nose rings and tongue studs. Ugh--I can't even look Seth in the face when he talks without gagging on the sight of that little ball in his mouth. I like tattoos only slightly better than that.

You all have the right to deface your bodies if you like (assuming that, if you're under 18, you have a parent's permission), but I won't join you in doing so.  Uh-uh.  Won't do it.  You can't make me.  Yeah, yeah, ancient art, long tradition, personal expression, group identity, you think it's pretty.  Fine. Go do it.  But I won't admire you for it.

If you did hold a gun to my head, drug me, brainwash me, and promise to vote for Kerry if I did as you demanded, the tattoo I got would have the design shown above.  You probably don't recognize it, but it's a familiar symbol to thousands of people who don't exist outside my imagination. It's the Sun & River, the royal seal of Mâvarin. It represents the sun rising from or setting into the river Misis, which runs almost the length of the country. The literal translation of the word Mâvarin is Sun-River-Land.

If none of this makes sense to you, let me explain: Mâvarin is the made-up country in which the characters in my unpublished fantasy novels have their adventures.  Rani's fateful encounter with an insane tengrem, which kicks off Heirs of Mâvarin, takes place in and under a beech tree the overlooks the river Misis. Cathma's magic ring of the heirs of Mâvarin has the Sun and River on it. So does the brooch that causes Fayubi so much trouble toward the end of the first book.

Until and unless I got the novels published, preferably leading to the best seller list and a movie deal (I'm not holding my breath), such a tatoo wouldn't mean anything to anyone except me. So, since my aversion to tattoos would remain stronger than my desire to promote the books, I'd hide the tattoo on an upper arm, where it could be shown, briefly, by rolling up a sleeve.

But don't look for it there anytime soon.

Karen