So I'm thinking about reading a dark fantasy book, but I'm waffling due to the size of the thing. And what do I do? Visit the author's website and find that fans actually mail her pictures of their tattoos inspired by her novels. Sort of creepy. And before anyone else mentions it--yes, it's just as creepy when someone tattoos Elvish on their arms. (And yes, it was made up by a dead linguist, but geez, it was made-up.) It's not really the tattooing that gets me--after all, people can do whatever they want with their bodies--but the branding. It's the equivalent of branding yourself with someone else's name, as if you no longer belong to yourself, like a cow seared with some ranch hand's mark.
Of course, nowadays there's laser surgery and tattoos may just as well be another form of costuming. Like wearing a t-shirt with some corporate logo. But at least that's less painful.
