Branded

"There's a reference to the fleur-de-lis in Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers as an old custom of branding criminals with the symbol. My crime? I cheated on my last girlfriend. The fleur-de-lis is also used to indicate north on the compass rose. The Boy Scouts adopted the symbol because it 'points in the right direction (and upwards) turning neither to the right nor left, since these lead backward again.' On the ring finger, the two meanings combine to be a reminder to never cheat again."
-Fuck Yeah, Tattoos!-

Comments:

• Love love love this!
• KIND of an asshole, but the fact that he knows Dumas and he learned from his past actions (hopefully) makes me think that there’s hope for him yet. And I think this is a really cool tat.
• Bad tattoo idea of the day -- Dude, do you realize you’re going to have to explain the significance of your tattoo to every girl you date from now on? Just because you got the 18th century french equivalent of a scarlet A tattooed on your hand doesn't mean you’re going to not cheat on the next girl who comes along. And if you lie to her about it it’s just going to piss her off when she does find out.
• Such a solid meaning. though the fleur-de-lis also represents the virgin mary, the other meanings toward it symbolize someone who now knows right from wrong and will make an effort to make sure it never happens again. props to him.
• I really, really, really like this idea.
• Oh my gosh, seriously, one of the most simplistic, beautifully meaningful tattoos I’ve ever seen.
• I really like finger tattoos (not sure how I’d feel about one on myself, but I love seeing them). I really like this guy’s meaning, too.
• So relevant. I love this idea.
• What a nice little cheater! I think I would have about 6 tatted up men floating around if every dude did this.
• I’m a pretty strong believer in the “once/always” rule, but I applaud his attempt? I think?
• I think Lord Alfred Douglas once called himself Prince Fleur-de-lis in a letter to Oscar Wilde. (Douglas was kind of a douchebag but I really like him.) In related news, I am so over monogamy.
• I really like this. A lot. I hope it works :/
• You tattooed yourself with a permanent reminder to any partner-to-come that you’re a stupid fucker who can’t keep his dick in his pants. Not even a wedding ring will cover up that brand of untrustworthiness. Good job pre-emptively ruining any future relationships. And who wears a thumb ring anymore?
• I really like this one and its explanation. I can’t wait to finish off my last two tattoos: Quotation marks and “2+2=5”
• Love this. A lot.