I had really good intentions with this series to do individual posts for each tattoo, but it turns out my blog time is limited, so I’m going to wrap up all of 2024’s tattoos in one! This doesn’t include the witchy cat which began in 2023 but finished in 2024, and which I’ve already written about.

– Collarbones (9)
When I finished my first fanfic – the first novel I’d written at all in over nine years – I decided that I needed a reward. I chose to get my collarbones tattooed. Serenity was an artist I’d followed for a long time, and I’d wanted to get her art on my body for ages. She requires total creative freedom, and I sent her my ideas and examples (mostly from her own art). I was not disappointed. I asked for wings, almost identical but not quite, paired together to create a heart. She included a section that almost looks like a fountain pen as the two halves come together. Additionally, this tattoo barely hurt and healed super easily, which cemented in my mind how wonderful Serenity is!

– Left Ankle Vines (10)
I had this whimsical idea of getting vine/spiderwebs on my ankle, and sent it to Serenity for tattooing my outside left ankle (the one that’s problematic). This one hurt, and it’s faded a bit (probably because it had some problems healing because of the second skin, which I didn’t know yet I was allergic to), so I need to touch it up but haven’t. I did this one as a way to eventually lead into a full calf/shin sleeve.

– Butterfly (11)
In the summer of 2024, one of my tattoo artists (Devony, who did my witchy cat) did a fundraiser for a friend. I chose to get this butterfly tattooed on my right forearm. This particular tattoo was extremely painful, and I had a major allergic reaction during the healing process. This was the beginning of me learning about the second skin allergy. (I’m not allergic to adhesives, generally. It seems I’m allergic though when the adhesive gets into an open wound. Might also be generally inflammatory reaction from autoimmune disorders, though.) I don’t think I have the photos from the swelling and such anymore, but I can say that it scared me. For quite some time, I thought I was allergic to the color ink rather than the second skin, especially when the touchups on this butterfly (mostly just the white dots) caused a major reaction on the whole tattoo…

– Snek (14)
My friend Stephanie had discovered a new woman-owned, cat-centric tattoo parlor that had Flash Fridays most weeks. We went on a Friday the 13th to get some flash together. I discovered this ridiculously derpy snek, asked to add some color, and enjoyed adding it to my spoopy leg. I really wanted to get the work SNEK written above it, but that would have required an appointment, so instead, I have this red-bellied little guy. (Mini-note: I got the color, which was extra, specifically to test the ink. Before this, I’d only gotten the colored ink from one tattoo artist, who uses a special brand. I figured I’d see if I reacted to this. Ended up being pointless because the second skin began leaking within two hours.)

– Gaysychain (13)
Stephanie and I took a cruise together in October 2024. There was an artist from Newcastle (UK) on the trip, and we both got tattoos from her. Mine was rainbow-colored daisy chain, aka a gaysychain. This was a joke related to one of my fanfics, where a queer man used the avatar “Dandylion” on dating apps and was mis-remembered by another character as “Gaysychain” (because Dandylion’s profile picture was of a cat with a daisy chain crown). The number of compliments that I’ve gotten to this day on my gaysychain make this totally worth it. People say “Oh I love this” and I can say “It’s my gaysychain” and if they’re confused, I can explain that it’s a daisy chain, except gay, and then viola! They understand! Heh. This might be my favorite tattoo ever.

– Atticus (15)
I scheduled this tattoo with my artist Serenity in the summer of 2024. A few weeks before I was meant to come in, poor Atticus had to cross the rainbow bridge due to aggressive cancer. I don’t think I’ve talked about this on the blog. It was horrific. Atticus was my little asshole. He never learned how to properly play with the other cats, and was far too aggressive with them, but he also loved to cuddle (both felines and humans) and didn’t choose favorites. He was only 6-7 years old (we’re not 100% sure), but he suddenly developed a huge lump on his neck. It hadn’t been there the previous day. I thought it was an abscess (he’d had tooth surgery in the past) but biopsy showed cancer. In less than two weeks, he couldn’t close his mouth or eat/swallow even with pain meds. We scheduled for him to be put down, and were afraid that he wouldn’t be able to breathe before he got to that appointment. I was not even slightly prepared for what I saw during the Crossing, and it pains me to think of it even now, more than a year afterwards.

Going back to the tattoo: Two years ago, I got a larger piece on my back that included frames for each of the cats I’ve had in adulthood. Each is meant to be done by a different artist, with the tips of each frame to go rainbow when said cat passes away. Serenity, who normally only works with black ink, was happy to add the rainbow tips to my tattoo. She worked with a photo of Atticus, along with my description of him being a cinnamon-bun swirl cat who was an incompetent asshole and an indiscriminate sweetheart, and turned him into the best tattoo I’ve ever seen. (Why yes, that IS a cinnamon roll cat with a squinty eye holding a knife…)

– Baby Mirror (16)
My last tattoo of 2024 is pretty insignificant. Stephanie, my youngest daughter Eve, and I went back to the place mentioned above with all the Flash tattoos. I picked out this tiny cracked mirror to put on my thigh as a way to remind myself: Fuck beauty standards. Nothing deeper than that.

And that’s my tattoo tour for 2024! I have five more to talk about from 2025, but that’ll be a different post.