Tattoos ~leeksoup ------------------------------------------------------------------ I have a tattoo on my arm. It's a little pomegranate on my arm. One of my coworkers who comes to do a shift every now and then in between their studies noticed it today. It's small enough that they thought it was a stamp from a bar or some event or somesuch. But no, this one is permanent. This led them to ask me whether I intend to get more tattoos. And indeed, I do. Alongside the pomegranate, I want a bunch of other fruit in a row on my arm. An orange, a pineapple, a pear, something like that. And an animal on my shoulder, something like that. Those are my tattoo plans, as I told them. This sparked some debate around the table as to what animal I should pick to have tattooed. I already know it's going to be a hyena, but I was curious to hear their opinions, so I didn't tell them that. Me: "An animal tattoo would be really nice too." A: "A fox, maybe! Everyone likes foxes." B: "A wild animal or like a pet animal?" C: "A dog!" Me: "A wild animal I think." D: "Get a tattoo of rowan berries* on the fruit row, and a fox to go with that." E: "If you've got fruit in a row on your arm, then you got to have an animal that eats fruit, not a carnivore." F: "Oh yeah! Like a cockroach! Or a fruit fly!" Me: "A fruit fly and a cockroach, are those the vibes I give off to you?" F: "I'm just helpfully suggesting animals that eat fruit!" C: "If you tattoo a steak and a potato after all the fruit, then you can go for a carnivore without worry." G: "I love otters, they're really cute. They float around and hold each other's paws, that'd make for a super cute tattoo." F: "Does this guy look like he has the right vibes for that?" (points at me) G: "No... Not really." D: "Sea otters, they've got their favourite rocks and all that, and they steal them from one another, and they can kill each other with those rocks too. Get a tattoo of an otter bashing another's head in with a rock!" F: "Yes!" G: "No!" * Cultural context for the rowan berry: In my language, the fable of the fox and the grapes is modified such that it's the fox and the rowan berries. There's also a rowan berry flavoured marmalade with a fox on the wrapper that's culturally relevant. Coworkers D and F are agents of chaos, and I expect nothing less from them. Our banter is excellent.