Espantapájaros

So today (03 April 2013) I got a new tatdoodle - my second.  Did I ever post about my first?  I forget, so here it is just in case...

It's my own design, the top symbol being based on something my mother once designed and my dad built into the family home...it's an O, J and H overlaid (O for Owen - my dad, J for Janet - my mum, H for moi - the only child) and, in my version there's a little nod to the family cat as well.  The second symbol is similarly an E and K for my kids.
I agonised about it forever (that is obviously a slight exaggeration) and finally got it inked in the summer of 2011.
The new one was a much quicker process - about 6 months in the planning, which by my standards is a rush job!  In fact, I booked the appointment the day I finalised the design.  As the meaning behind it is kind of 'carpe diem' it seemed ridiculous to agonise about it so I seized the day and went for it...made me nervous as hell!!!
So here it is...

'Espantapájaros' is Spanish for scarecrow...it was initially inspired by the My Chemical Romance song of the same name - I found a video on YouTube with Spanish subtitles and I just thought it was the coolest word ever (^_~).  But there's a lot more to it than "ooh, funky foreign word!"
To me, this is all about fear.  Scarecrows are kind of scary even if you're not a crow but for me it's about the fear of being a scarecrow - rooted to the spot, unable to move, watching the world pass me by.  I've spent a lot of time feeling like I'm standing still, constrained by circumstances or afraid to take a chance.
It's on my left wrist...'left' is 'sinister' in Latin.  The second 'a' is an open heart-shaped padlock - emotional vulnerability being a fairly obvious fear.  The star over the 'j' is a nod to "reaching for the stars" - being afraid of failure tends to lead to not aiming high, or even setting goals.
The inclusion of the Fearless Vampire Killers fangs logo was a more recent tweak; the 'o' was originally going to be Frank Iero's 'Fun Ghoul' logo and actually only got scrapped at the last minute.  I'd been trying to work the fangs in for a while but it was just getting too big...and this is not a subtle design. I don't have dainty wrists and this wraps around so you can't see it all at once (I don't want to make it too easy for anyone to read me!).  On being asked about the bandname FVK stress that they aren't fearless...

Ideally this tat will eventually have a 'sister' on my right wrist - it's emotional counterpart.  I haven't figured out a design yet but it'll be "te mantendré a salve esta noche" which is again Spanish and a line from the same song - specifically "I'll keep you safe tonight".  To me that's the polar opposite to fear - having someone to hold your hand and tell you it'll all be okay...and yes, maybe I'll be saying that to myself but what the hell.  Just as this tat features the colour red the other might have green.  That was an idea my eldest just came up with today, so don't hold me to it!

I know this tatdoodle isn't the best doodled tat ever but at least it's personal and unique.  Maybe I'm a bit of a control freak but I'd rather do my own than pick something generic.  Having a super-arty friend would be seriously handy of course *sigh*
I have to admit it hurt a good bit, nothing unbearable but a good few deep breaths and a bit of eye crossing.  Wrists are pretty sensitive.  The two ends - the 'E' and the fangs were the worst, and for some reason part of the padlock...although that may have been as it went over an old burn scar?  I'm not too much of a wimp, I hope - I have had two kids and a good number of painful experiences over the years, and like all things it passes.