Little Things
Jul. 9th, 2009 01:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyspriteI've been playing Live Action Roleplaying Games for more years than I can count, now. I've worn all sorts of costumes and wigs and makeup for them, and made all sorts of changes - dyed my hair, changed my posture, put on or taken off jewelry, had tattoos temporarily drawn onto my body - but somehow it's always the tiny changes that are the most noticeable to me, as I'm getting ready for the games.
The character that I'm playing right now is a tomboy, and one who leads a fairly rough and physical lifestyle. I love her costume, her hair (always braided, usually straggly), her mannerisms, everything about her. The only tough thing about playing her is her nails - while I am fairly vain about my long, shaped, never-painted but usually well-cared-for and strong nails, Miryam would never have them.
So preparing for games means packing shoes and costume and jewelry, finding the right hair elastics, making sure that the flashlights have batteries and the sunscreen hasn't expired, and cutting off my nails down to the quick. It's a tiny, stupid little detail. I'm fairly certain that no one but me would notice - but the one time I forgot to do it, it grated on me all weekend. My hands didn't look right.
On the other hand, it also means that the 48 hours before game starts, as I'm sitting at work or packing at home, my hands feel like they're not quite my own. I can feel my fingertips, in a way that I usually can't. My fingers feel shorter, my dexterity is off, I have to change the way I type or sew or hold a pen. More than costume bits, more than the Sharpie tattoos that will be drawn onto me Friday night, more than anything else, this is the physical reminder of becoming someone else for a few days.
The game will be over, and they'll grow back soon enough. But right here and now, I have someone else's fingers, and it feels extraordinarily weird....
The character that I'm playing right now is a tomboy, and one who leads a fairly rough and physical lifestyle. I love her costume, her hair (always braided, usually straggly), her mannerisms, everything about her. The only tough thing about playing her is her nails - while I am fairly vain about my long, shaped, never-painted but usually well-cared-for and strong nails, Miryam would never have them.
So preparing for games means packing shoes and costume and jewelry, finding the right hair elastics, making sure that the flashlights have batteries and the sunscreen hasn't expired, and cutting off my nails down to the quick. It's a tiny, stupid little detail. I'm fairly certain that no one but me would notice - but the one time I forgot to do it, it grated on me all weekend. My hands didn't look right.
On the other hand, it also means that the 48 hours before game starts, as I'm sitting at work or packing at home, my hands feel like they're not quite my own. I can feel my fingertips, in a way that I usually can't. My fingers feel shorter, my dexterity is off, I have to change the way I type or sew or hold a pen. More than costume bits, more than the Sharpie tattoos that will be drawn onto me Friday night, more than anything else, this is the physical reminder of becoming someone else for a few days.
The game will be over, and they'll grow back soon enough. But right here and now, I have someone else's fingers, and it feels extraordinarily weird....
