Getting a tattoo to show off your favorite fandom is a huge undertaking. It’s challenging to find that balance between picking something recognizable enough so you aren’t damning yourself to a lifetime of explaining the design, yet unique enough that it still feels like your tattoo.
As EW reports, former One Directioner Zayn Malik just got some new Star Wars-inspired ink that absolutely found a way to be recognizable while simultaneously being incredibly unique. Malik got a lightsaber inked into his skin, but with a bit of a twist to it. The classic Star Wars weapon is on Malik’s middle finger (because nothing makes flipping the bird better than also simultaneously brandishing a weapon from a more civilized era), but the saber tat has a bit of a trick up its sleeve: it can actually ignite. Because it was etched into Malik’s finger with UV ink, the blade will actually fluoresce when hit with a blacklight. Check out the Instagram post from Jonathan “Jon Boy” Valena, the New York-based tattoo artist who gave Malik his latest body art:
Having a light-up light saber tattoo is definitely a rad way to show your Star Wars love, and is going to be a ton of fun to show off at parties. However, Malik should probably enjoy the uniqueness of his tattoo while he can, because after seeing this, I’m willing to bet we’ll a lot more UV light saber tats popping up on Star Wars fans everywhere.
What do you think of Malik’s tattoo? Do you like the idea of fandom tattoos? Would you ever get UV ink? Let’s chat in the comments!
Image credit: Javierosh/Flickr
