aithirMay 26, 2022

Last weekend, my journey has continued to cover both of my arms with #tattoos. This time: left forearm. It hurt quite a bit.

I always get asked what the meaning of the motives is - or what they symbolize in my life. As if something that permanent would need to have a deeper cause. Nope. They don't mean anything, they're just art. They acquire a meaning by being on my skin.

But as I'm into making up stories, I've also tried to find commonalities and a meaning or a small world that opens up when you look behind the already existing general themes. Inspired by #RayBradbury's "The Illustrated Man".

My right arm is the #fantasy side. Its story plays on a far east ocean and involves Shinto spirits and Japanese demons.

The left side is the one being created at the moment. It combines #sciencefiction and nature with cyborg creatures that turn nature into tech or vice versa.

Show threadaithir

Watatsumi

I've promised some backstory to my tattoos and I want to start with my right arm. But it needs a bit of prologue:

Mr. Hanako was a silent man. Three days a week, he went into the pub in Immingham, Middle England. As he didn't talk much, no one of the regulars in the pub knew his story. He was a Japanese seaman and somehow, probably because of a woman, landed in the biggest port of England.

When the talks on the main table, where the regulars were sitting day-in and day-out, circled around seaside tales, he sometimes contributed a sentence or two. But never much.

One day, someone on the table again started a topic about the seaside. He began a wild story about some hearsay monsters that appeared to medieval seafarers.

Suddenly, Mr. Hanako stood up and said "Do you want to hear a real story? I'm ready to tell you mine ...".

The whole pub fell silent. Tension was rising and Mr. Hanako started speaking.

To be continued ...

#fantsay #ryu #yokai

Jun 23, 2022 at 5:52amWeb
Show threadaithirJul 5, 2022

Tsuru #Tattoo

Mr Hanako had all the attention as he started.

"I've been going to the sea for over thirty years", he started. "Mostly on smaller commercial merchant vessels. I've seen all the oceans and harbours in over a hundred countries.

There was one day at sea that changed me. Cranes, we call them Tsuru, are usually a symbol of luck, they say. No seaman I know has ever seen one on a ship. They typically are avoiding to cross oceans.

But one day, I saw one. We were on the way to Hong Kong and approached the South Chinese Sea from the south. The sea was as flat as a mirror and I was about to clean the middle deck. I looked up and saw that beautiful guy landing on the roof of the bridge. It was a perfect animal as it spread its wings. I saw the large red dot on its head.

Must have been my lucky day, I thought. But while turning around to go back to work, I saw a big dark cloud on the eastern horizon. 'Not so lucky after all', I thought.

#fantasy #amwriting

Show threadaithirJul 19, 2022

#Tattoo - Storm

It was the darkest grey I've ever seen in clouds and we steered directly into them. It already started to rain. And the wind got stronger every minute. I had good clothing that kept my skin dry, but after some minutes, I couldn't stand it anymore and had to go inside. Thirty more minutes and half of the crew, experienced seamen, had to puke because of their sea sickness.

But it still got worse. It was around noon and through one of the portholes, I saw the pure darkness in the sky and the rain walls hitting the glass.

We couldn't do anything. We sent out the SOS signal at one o'clock. Then we had to wait. But it still got worse. We had lost some containers already, but then the ship started to capsize and we faced death.

The first man, one of the Kazakhs, went overboard at around one thirty. Two more lost their balance trying to save the poor man. Ten minutes later the ship started to crack. I fell into the water and fainted.

#fantasy #amwriting

Show threadaithirJul 26, 2022

#Tattoo - Ryu

I remember things. Visions from when I was underwater. After I fainted, I mush have been drifting around. And I saw things. well, I believe I dreamt of them.

First, there was Koromodako. You may know him from his other name, Ctulhu. A giant squid, several meters large. I really believe he held me above the water with one of his tentacles. We Japanese believe in Yokai, natural spirits, just like you believe in Saints. Koromodako didn't speak but I believe he communicated with me through his mind.

After that, I saw other sea creatures, Heikegani, a giant crab and others. I also have memories of skulls drifting on the still stormy sea—presumably my dead colleagues.

At last, the Ryu came. The giant sea dragon. The lord of all the other creatures that now retreated and stepped back into the shadows where they came from.

"Hello Mr Hanako", said Watatsumi, the Dragon in a terrifying voice. "You have a powerful guardian."

Then I fainted again.

#fantasy #amwriting

Show threadaithirSep 1, 2022

#Tattoo - Back in the World

I have been saved. I woke up in a hospital somewhere in Vietnam. Our ship sank and all my colleagues died. And I had this strange dream that day. Or was it a dream? I really don't know anymore.

After Mr Hanaku stopped his twenty-minute tale, the pub in Inningham, Middle England fell silent. Probably for the first time ever, you couldn't hear a sound. The dart players had stopped playing and all the other guests had stopped eating and drinking and talking. Just the muted TV monitors showed flickering images of some Premier League game. Actually there was also no other movement in the room.

Well, at least for thirty seconds.

"Bartender", yelled a Scottish guy. "Another whisky. I need a strong one after that story".

And everything went back to normal. And Mr Hanko sank back into his chair and smiled slightly.

---

This has been the story of my right arm. The left one is still not finished. So that story will be told on another day.

#fantasy @fantasy

Show threadaithirNov 7, 2022

#Tattoos: Lucy

I can't wait to dive into the story of my left arm now. It's almost finished and its theme is predestined for a mashup with another storyline, "The Mesh". So let's dive in and meet Lucy. ...

#SciFi, #Cyberspace, #Mesh, #Tattoos, #TheIllustratedMan, #RayBradbury

@fantasy

Full Post: https://octahedron.world/storylines/tattoos/07-lucy?c=mst

Show threadaithirNov 22, 2022

#Tattoos: The Area

It was a four-week research challenge for Lucy to find out the coordinates. She had to go from forum over chat groups to bulletin boards and pages in a style long forgotten. That part was an adventure on its own. ...

#SciFi, #Cyberspace, #Tattoos, #TheIllustratedMan, #RayBradbury

@fantasy

Full Post: https://octahedron.world/storylines/tattoos/08-the-area?c=mst

The Area (Tattoos)

It was a four-week research challenge for Lucy to find out the coordinates. She had to go from forum over chat groups to bulletin boards and pages in a style long forgott

Show threadaithirDec 1, 2022

#Tattoos: Climbing the Tree of Life

After entering the shed, Lucy stood on the same grass plain. But here, she saw a different sky, that looked much more real than the usual Mesh projections. Somewhere in the distance, she saw the majestic tree rising in the middle of the green sea of grass. ...

#SciFi, #Cyberspace, #Tattoos, #TheIllustratedMan, #RayBradbury

@fantasy

Full Post: https://octahedron.world/storylines/tattoos/09-climbing?c=mst

Climbing the Tree of Life (Tattoos)

After entering the shed, Lucy stood on the same grass plain. But here, she saw a different sky, that looked much more real than the usual Mesh projections. Somewhere in t

Show threadaithirDec 12, 2022

The tree was not hard to climb. Its bark texture was rough and she found grip very easily. Still, it took a while and a short moment of vertigo until Lucy reached the first branches of the crown that spanned above her like a giant neo-gothic dome. When she found firm ground on a stable fork, she took a moment of rest and looked around with amazement. ...

#SciFi, #Cyberspace, #TreeofLife, #Caracal, #Tattoos, #TheIllustratedMan, #RayBradbury

@fantasy

Full Post: https://octahedron.world/storylines/tattoos/10-awakening?c=mst

The Day of the Awakening (Tattoos)

The tree was not hard to climb. Its bark texture was rough and she found grip very easily. Still, it took a while and a short moment of vertigo until Lucy reached the fir

Show threadaithirJan 3, 2023

#Tattoos: The Weather is Changing

Lucy didn't dare to move. She was amazed by the art around her and by the caracal, the most beautiful creature she had ever seen in the digital world. But she also was paralyzed and afraid. Would it attack her? Was this some shooter game where she came without a weapon? ...

#SciFi, #Cyberspace, #Tattoos, #TheIllustratedMan, #RayBradbury

@fantasy

Full Post: https://octahedron.world/storylines/tattoos/11-weather-change?c=mst

The Weather is Changing (Tattoos)

Lucy didn't dare to move. She was amazed by the art around her and by the caracal, the most beautiful creature she had ever seen in the digital world. But she also was pa

Show threadaithirJan 17, 2023

#Tattoos: Tree House

"A warm welcome, Lucy", started the raven. The bird which was quite large even for a raven looked into a gigantic book clad in leather with golden applications. The front emblem showed a drawing of an insect, a cicada. ...

#SciFi, #Cyberspace, #Tattoos, #TheIllustratedMan, #RayBradbury

@fantasy

Full Post: https://octahedron.world/storylines/tattoos/12-tree-house?c=mst

Tree House (Tattoos)

"A warm welcome, Lucy", started the raven. The bird which was quite large even for a raven looked into a gigantic book clad in leather with golden applications. The front

Show threadaithirFeb 8, 2023

#Tattoos: She meets the Old Owl

The tree and the area were constantly changing. Lucy particularly noticed that when she stepped outside the raven's tree house. It was dark. The tree was lit by some Japanese lanterns and thousands of small lights that presumably came from all those sleeping semi-cyborg inhabitants - yet another iconic photo she couldn't take. ...

#SciFi, #Cyberspace, #Tattoos, #TheIllustratedMan, #RayBradbury

@fantasy

Full Post: https://octahedron.world/storylines/tattoos/13-owl?c=mst

She meets the Old Owl (Tattoos)

The tree and the area were constantly changing. Lucy particularly noticed that when she stepped outside the raven's tree house. It was dark. The tree was lit by some Japa

Show threadaithirFeb 13, 2023

#Tattoos: The Next Day

For the work on her virtual travel blog, Lucy was well-equipped for excursions like that. She had two cameras constantly taking video of her and the scene. Also, she took additional hand shots and hi-res stills to be able to go into details. But as she looked at her media library the next day, nothing was in there. ...

#SciFi, #Cyberspace, #Tattoos, #TheIllustratedMan, #RayBradbury

@fantasy

Full Post: https://octahedron.world/storylines/tattoos/14-the-next-day?c=mst

This ends the story about my tattoos......

The Next Day (Tattoos)

For the work on her virtual travel blog, Lucy was well-equipped for excursions like that. She had two cameras constantly taking video of her and the scene. Also, she took