Inkin' tribe

I'm considering joining the inked.

It's something I've always had a fascination with but I've never found the right design. I also struggle to wear the same outfit for an entire day without getting bored so the permanence of the thing has always freaked me a little.

And I think, along with putting a cigarette behind your ear, a bad tattoo can be one of the most effective ways to look like a filthy bogan.

That said though, I do know of some super people whose tattoos form part of their personal style and amp their coolness factor far beyond ever being considered bogan.

While I have no plans whatsoever to get even a half-sleeve, Gala Darling is one example of someone who does tattoos in an uber cool way, without being known as "that girl with the tattoos".

Image from Love Letter to the Universe

I've found a few designs that I like - mostly centering around birds. Although they are a little done to death these days (what isn't!), I've always thought that they'd be in the eventual tattoo of my choice. Swallows more specifically are what I'm looking at. They represent a whole load of stuff in different cultures but this info, from Vanishing Tattoo seems to have the most well-rounded wrap-up:

• In ancient times, the swallow was associated with the 'imperishable' stars and the souls of the dead. According to Greek legend, secret texts told how to transform into a swallow, something the ancient deities liked to do. 
• It heralds the coming of spring and happiness, poets praise it, and it appears on the flowering peach branch in classical Chinese painting. In China it symbolizes daring, danger and a change for good in the future. 
• In Egyptian love poetry, the swallow sings of the first signs of a new love. For some, it's a symbol of fertility and renewal, a harbinger of good and a symbol of transformation. Swallows mate for life, and therefore represents fidelity and loyalty (except in Japan).
• For the pilgrim to Mecca, the swallow is the symbol of constancy and faith, and is said to fly to that holy city each year.
• Swallow tattoos are also heavily tied to sailors - a swallow flying nearby would be a symbol that land is near. It was also a tradition for sailors to get a new swallow tattoo after each 5000 miles logged at sea. 

I think I'd prefer a plain black design but here are some randoms I like so far:

 

i. ii. iii. iv. v.

I'm still not decided on the best place for such a tattoo either. Naturally, I'm not a fan of the tramp stamp but it'd need to be somewhere that wasn't always visible. As my friend says, if it'll be visible at your wedding, it's a no-go. Hmm decisions.