Tattoos and Books of Friends

Let me warn you before we embark on this journey. This post isn’t an essay. I don’t have anything meaningful to say or any deep thoughts on anime to share. It’s not even one of those open-ended question posts I occasionally write. At most, this is a diary page. So if you’re not interested in some personal meanderings that don’t really go anywhere, I understand, and I’ll see you in a few days! Say hi to the fam!

I’ve decided to get a small tattoo. I can’t really tell you why. Shits and giggles mostly. As you can see this is a deeply meaningful event for me! Ok, I’m half joking. It really is for giggles but giggles are also very important to me. Enjoying your life on all levels, even some that may seem superficial at first, is something that is close to my heart and as such, the joy I can get from looking at a silly or cute little doodle on my skin is meaningful in its own way!

The thing is, I’m a carefree and somewhat visually eccentric person. I’ve stopped changing my hair colour every other month because years of stripping it to white had left it chemically devastated and now that I am finally back to a soft and shiny healthy mane, I would rather keep it that way. I still tint it now and then though but it’s subtle. My natural very dark blonde/light brown isn’t suitable for bright colours. Instead, I cycle through some pretty bold fashion choices, going from showing up to work in a 90s heroin chic-inspired outfit to a full 80s power suit the next day. I don’t tend to stick to an appearance for very long and well a tattoo is a lot more commitment to visuals than I usually make.

I’ve talked to people, and the usual answer is that I need to find something that holds deep meaning to me, that way I won’t get bored of it or outgrow it. I understand the principle here but 1 – I think that people overestimate my capacity to assign deep meanings to things as well as my attention span and 2 – the few things that could fall into that category aren’t cute to look at. I am not printing out complicated equations all over my back. Not that it wouldn’t look cool, it totally would, but it’s going to be a pain when they revise the formulae…

Some of you know where this is going. Because of your uncanny ability to read post titles! I’m there, wracking my brain for something I would enjoy for a long time and that I have some meaningful connection to, and that I can visually represent in a concise and cute way… I should be embarrassed that I didn’t think immediately: I like anime. And I would be embarrassed if I wasn’t too preoccupied trying to figure out if there is something seriously wrong with my brain at this point.

So yeah: Anime! And manga and such.

But which anime. There are a lot of anime that I like.

Let me mention right now that when I was thinking of designs the general themes of friendship and something beyond our world kept coming up. I was thinking of Laika the dog or the fox from the little prince staring at the stars and waiting for his friend to come back, knowing he never would. All of these invoke a sense of soft sadness. A drop of melancholy sweetened with a generous dash of hope. It’s about figuring out what’s important to you and holding onto that when things get hard while realizing that the world is bigger than you can imagine and so full of wonders and miracles that adventures need never cease.

Do I sound like an old hippy?

If you know me a bit and if you’ve ever seen/read Natsume Yuujinchou, you might know where this is going.

Natsume is one of my favourite anime. It is by far the most accessible title on that list and I recommend it to anyone that shows even a drop of interest in the medium. So far, I haven’t met anyone that dislikes Natsume and so far it is the one anime that has actually made me meet friends in the real world. Our shared love for this sweet, soft story has bound me to people across the planet and allowed me to share thoughts and laughs with strangers that slowly stopped being strangers. It is a story that I hold close to my heart and as new manga come out, it’s one that I revisit regularly.

I am reading the last volume as we speak. I started it on the bus this morning and immediately got pulled off the surprisingly cold and overcrowded metal tube to a comfortable world filled with dear friends of mine and looming Yokai, both terrifying and great! I cannot wait to resume my reading!

I love Natsume. I love the friends I have that I can share Natsume with. It has become a book of friends for me on both figuratively and literally (and titularly). I really should have realized right away that if I want a little doodle that is going to be both fun/cute and meaningful to me for some time, it would be within the pages of the Book of Friends. Heck, through the dozen or so remodels of this blog only one design element has remained consistent throughout. It’s that little gif of Nyanko with his tail wagging that’s currently in my header. It’s been the footer of my entire blog, it’s been in the sidebar as well. As I said, it’s the only element that has always been there and I am still not fed up with it. If I change my blog again, it will be part of any future layout also.

So there it was: epiphany! I’m going to get a little Nyanko tattoo. I haven’t entirely decided which one yet. I might actually get the Nyanko from the header. Wouldn’t that make for a cute tiny tattoo? It totally would.

When I started thinking about all this. About how magic and friendships mean so much to me. (sidenote but I have never watched My Little Pony. I probably should) I realized that it’s the sort of thoughts that I want to share with you guys. As this little community is an integral part of this experience for me. So here I am, sharing 😊.

When/if I go through with it, I’ll post a few pics here for those of you that are curious! And maybe, you guys can tell me about/show me your anime tattoos if you have any. Or tell me about some that you want to get! Let’s all embark on an anime tattoo journey together.