Here’s the next roundup of tattoos, these being the five that I got in 2025. These were mostly tiny tattoos, because of finances.

— Ghosties 1/2 (16)
As mentioned in my recent post about the Feb 2025 Germany trip, Rainstorm and I got complementary tattoos. This was a silly little thing planned prior to when we began dating, and basically it came about like this: First, we became beta partners for Good Omens fanfic. Then, I wrote a silly ghost story AU fanfic in the summer of 2024. Then, I decided to put together the idea of Good Omens and silly ghosties and my love of all things spooky! Mix all that up, and you get one happy ghost with a bowtie and button-down shirt, and one grumpy ghost in sunglasses and a smirk. When I was in Germany, Rainstorm and I got these tattooed on our calves so that they could stand next to each other when we did. They’re kinda at the perfect height, too, because they peek over the top of socks!

— Possum 1/2 (17)
Speaking of complementary tattoos, my friend Stephanie and I decided to get a similar matching set for Christmas. We booked with an artist she knew, and unfortunately, the appointment got pushed back a few times, which meant that instead of Dec 2024, we got the tattoos in late Feb 2025. It took us a bit to figure out what we wanted to play with, but eventually, we put together the idea of having a raccoon (her) and possum (me) posed in a Creation of Adam style. We both got them on our calves – my other calf, so I have a complementary tattoo on both calves, ha!

— 8 of Swords Mirror (18)
I’d long wanted an 8 of Swords tarot tattoo, and I chose my primary tattoo artist to put it together with all the various inspo I sent to her (broken victorian mirror, multiple faces, the mirror handle as one of the eight swords). This is the same artist who did my big cat and the moth on my arm. We went with a mostly black tattoo because I was still unsure if I was allergic to the second skin or the colored ink. I’d had a reaction after the ghost tattoo, which was only in black, though, so I chanced a bit of color for the shading of the face in this one. We did it in two sections. I might have a bit more of it shaded in the future, but at the time, I couldn’t do more because the second session was right after my divorce started and I couldn’t afford anything extra. It feels a bit unfinished because of that, but I’ve worked with this artist for a number of years now so I feel like I can go back again later for extra detailing.

— Gherkin (19)
I hadn’t planned to get this tattoo, not after the divorce started, but then my regular artist (same one) was talking about having a small time slot for small tattoos, and I had the itch, and I thought it would be nice for her to do one of the cats for my back. My back tattoo has nine frames for the nine cats that I’ve had in my adult life, and I want each cat to get its portrait from a different artist. My first happened to be done for Atticus, my baby who passed away in fall 2024. I sent this artist the names/pics/personality details for my other cats, and she chose two to play with, Ash and Gherkin. I had a hard time choosing which one to go with, but in the end, I couldn’t pass up Gherkin. This cat likes to lay with her back feet propped up on cat beds, so that she looks like she walked halfway out of bed and fell asleep. When she was a skinny kitten, the pose became known as the Gherkinoodle. Now, she’s spayed and very tubby, as many spayed cats become, and my artist took a photo of her on her back and turned her into a fat macaroni noodle. It’s the best!!

— Christabel (20)
This last tattoo was from this past November, when I was on my last vacation. It was a transatlantic cruise (more on this in a future post) on Virgin Voyages. VV has a tattoo/piercing salon on each ship, and I’ve gotten a tattoo on every cruise I’ve done with them. I wouldn’t have on this last one, due to the money issue, except that my voyage came with a built in $200 spending money. The Halloween flash tattoo sheets were out, and there was a perfect cat silhouette that fit right into the tiny frame on my back. The tattoo, with the colored tips, cost exactly $200 (they’re overpriced tattoos, but never mind), so it was a perfect match. Christabel, one of my first cats as an adult, only lived for a few months before succumbing to lymphoma, and so I barely knew her. She was sick the whole time, and I didn’t really have a personality to draw on for tattoo inspo. In that way, this Halloween flash was perfect for her, too. It came out beautifully.

[Note: The rainbow tips are only for cats that have passed away. Gherkin is still alive and kicking, so hers is currently without rainbow. Assuming that the cats aren’t rehomed in the divorce 😭, the rainbow tips will be added at a later date after she crosses the rainbow bridge.]

So now I’m up to 20 tattoos, and def slowing down re: money issue. I also want to make sure I keep plenty of real estate for larger sleeves and such down the line. So far, no tattoos in 2026 (yes, I know it’s only January!!). None planned either, at least as of this writing. You never know when something fun and reasonable might come up, though…