A post on Reddit of a man’s unusual way of proposing to his other half has garnered a lot of attention. You might (but probably won’t) be surprised to learn that not all of it is positive.
Romance in relationships isn’t dead, surely? One commenter said they’d seen “genuinely impressive levels of idiocy in my forty-five years on Earth”. But this takes the biscuit.
Man asks girlfriend to marry him with bold tattoo
“Nicole,” begins the tattoo – emblazoned on what looks like his entire upper arm. The name is in a cursive script.
“WILL YOU MARRY ME?” reads the following line, in a serif font just about decorative enough to remind one of Harry Potter, or Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events.
There are two tick boxes underneath the question. They sit next to, you guessed it, the two possible answers: Yes and No.
I know someone who, at the end of the school day when he was 11 or 12, was handed a piece of paper with the words “Will you go out with me?” followed by a Yes/No checkbox situation. The girl that handed it to him hopped on the school bus, giving the boy time to deliberate. Again, this was age 11 or 12.
Back to the tattoo at hand. Below the tick boxes are the words, “Valid From 2024 – 4ever” and “(With Dads Approval)”. Unnecessary capitals included, apostrophe excluded, and altogether in either three or four different fonts. How Nicole responded to her boyfriend’s proposal is as yet unknown.
The tattoo has prompted a lively discussion on Reddit
Reddit users are not known for biting their tongues. One wrote that they’ve “some genuinely impressive levels of idiocy in my forty-five years on earth, but this is outstanding”. This particular response has picked up 2.6K likes, or “upvotes” as they’re known on the platform.
Another added that the tattoo in question looks like it belongs in a viral Facebook post from 2013. “The fact that this is from 2024 amazes me.”
Others see the tattoo as an opportunity for mischief. Even if they planned on saying yes, one commented, they might “say no for about half an hour”. “Too good of an opportunity to miss.”
And it’s not just me who picked up on the plethora of fonts in use. One user commented: “Tattoo Artist: ‘So which font do you want?’ Client: ‘Yes’”. Find the Reddit post here.
Think before you ink
Tattoos are in vogue. From seam line tattoos to “neo tribal” artistry, we’ve been taking pointers from those on the front lines about what kind of trends are big this year in the tattooing world.
However, British broadcaster Bidisha reckons tattooed people are “reckless, feckless and unable to make simple projections into the future”.
“If all of inked humanity stood side by side,” she wrote in The Guardian in 2019, “our tattoos would join up and form the giant phrase ‘DUMB IDEA’ visible from space.” Yes, she is among them. Among us.
“I have a full sleeve so ugly that even people who are intrigued by its edges offer a moue of sympathy when faced with the whole mucky splodge.”
It seems this guy may have needed to think about his own body art before booking an appointment.
So if there’s a lesson for learning, it’s think before you ink.
