Tattoos intrigue me much more than I anticipated when I was younger. The thought of having someone practically draw on you and leave a permanent mark never really connected with me, nor did it fly with my family. As I got older and much more into my own mind, I realized what that ink could be. Don’t get me wrong, I still think tattoos are quite ridiculous if they have no meaning; however, I do believe that with the right context, tattoos can be impressive and quite worth the buy with a great story. With all that in mind and my opinion out there in the open about tattoos, I’d like to say I want one. Something that explains a piece of my history as far as a human being. A piece of art to explain my thought processes when it comes to certain topics or people. As I pondered for such a high order for my tattoo, I didn’t realize the tattoo I was looking for was in the video games I play all along. To some, that’s no surprise, but hear me out.
This tattoo idea originates from the game, "Halo 2," which came out in 2004. The game features this emblem as a branding, not as a tattoo. This branding was given to anyone who proved to be heretic — anyone that didn’t follow with the Covenant (the main enemy of the series) and was deemed traitors to the whole society. "Halo 2" opens with this sequence of the main war leader of the Covenant, Arbiter, being hauled to court for the failure of defending their mass destruction weapon called the Halo, which happened in the previous game. With such a failure and disappointment, he is further branded with the mark of shame and imprisoned for a short moment, only to be released to do further work on attacking our USMC for their crime of destroying the Halo. As the game progresses and the Arbiter begins to gain his people’s trust once again, other Covenant begin to wear his branding as a symbol. A symbol of unity. The idea that this one man, or alien in this case, is not alone in abandonment.
Which comes around to me. Maybe I read too much into this and force this emblem on the context of myself; however, it seems to fit perfectly with how things go. As a young child, I was abandoned by my father. He was there for a short time but even when he was, there wasn’t much of him at all. And as he decides to take his steps out, I take that brand. That mark of shame that speaks of someone not wanting me. As I started growing up and realizing that I won’t have a family like I’ve seen on TV, or have the holidays where I could jump on my dad’s lap and open gifts, or go out doing outdoorsy things, it came to me. After years, it came to me that while wearing this mark of shame, people still come to me. People still follow my lead or unite with me when I need it. I’m not alone. Other friends have the same branding, and we all understand its meaning. I understand this is only a game and that maybe the context isn’t quite the same. I don’t have that tattoo, but if I were to get one, it’s that one that sits in the cover photo. The mark of shame on my left bicep, exactly where the Arbiter was branded.
