Well here it is folks. The gaming tattoo those of you who didn't want me to brand Crecente's face onto my body for all time voted for. I think Justin over at Psycho Tattoo II in Sandy Springs did an excellent job this time around, matching the colours rather well and getting the whole thing done quickly and painlessly. He comes highly recommended if you're in the Atlanta area and need someone with a steady hand to get your pixels done right. Now comes two weeks or so of scabbing, itching, and peeling, but Black Mage finally has someone to stab in the head play with. Thanks everyone for helping me make up my mind, and being a part of my body art.

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Earlier this week I asked you, the Kotaku voting public, to pick which character would be gracing my arm come this Sunday's appointment at my local purveyor of fine body art. You have spoken, and the winner by an overwhelming margin was Brian Crecente...who doesn't count. Which it would be a great response to the companies at E3 who ask me where Brian is ("Right here on my arm!*), the odds of me one day getting angry at him and taking a flathead screwdriver to my arm are too great. In his stead I have chosen the runner-up, Fighter. The burly Yin to Black Mage's delicate but deadly Yang, Fighter received 1269 votes to Crecente's 1808, with the next closest being Red Mage with only 918. Come back Monday for a look at the finished product, and thank you for helping me decide what to have drawn on myself!

Oh, and special thanks to Qbix for that nightmare picture up there.

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Well now you've seen my first, so I am letting you guys choose my next. I've narrowed it down to a few choices, sticking with the Final Fantasy I theme of things. Black Mage is lonely, and he needs a friend. The thing to keep in mind here is that white ink does not do well in a tattoo. Some people take to it well, depending on pH balances and such, but for the most part white won't last. This means that what might have been the most popular choice - White Mage - wouldn't end up looking all that great. In the end I'd like to get a full party of four going, and then maybe do enemies on the upper arms. This one is going on the same spot on my right wrist, so I can pretend to be praying while making them talk to each other. My appointment is Sunday, so you'll see the results come Monday. Hit the jump to see the choices and have your say in the mostly permanent modification of my skin. Voting shall end on Friday!

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Since I started writing for Kotaku I've been exposed to sides of gaming culture I was never really aware of. Game cakes, game crochet, papercraft...all ways for the more creative and skilled of us to express their dedication to our great passion, but what about those of us without mad crafting skills? I could probably pull off a game cake of the Adventure hero sans arrow sword, or fold up some origami throwing stars and toss them at my cats, pretending I am Ryu Hayabusa, but it wouldn't be the same. Luckily for the unskilled (and perhaps slightly unbalanced) of us, there is another way. The gaming tattoo. Armed with the knowledge provided me by Flynn's excellent feature back in January of this year, I decided it was time to make long sleeve shirts a requirement for job interviews for the rest of my life and get inked.

What follows is my experience getting my very first tattoo, along with some images the squeamish might want to avoid like the plague. It seems I enjoy photographing blood. Call it residual goth.

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