You asked me in private communications what I thought of your tattoos; I replied that you would have to wait and read my opinions in public like everyone else. }}>: )
The komerex stela is beautiful. I love the marbling and the way the different shades of red flow among one another. The black boarder further serves to bring the complimentary variants together.
As for the chest and arm pieces.... To paraphrase Klythe’s mangling Krenn’s words above*, “If you do not want to risk an unwanted opinion, do not ask another what they think.” They come across as rather generic, echoing the ‘90’s trend woefully mislabeled as “tribal”. What was your intent in the design? These look like they are aiming for a somewhat Maori style but aren’t quite making it due to lack intricacy and detail. The thick, bold lines and sharp ends look like the sort of tattoos a tiger would get if tigers didn’t already have better stripes than any tattoo artist could ever reproduce. The negative space, with its shallow curves and rounded ends, look like the bones of a powerful animal.
As to the chest piece, it immediately struck me as a pair of unfinished corvids in a Celtic style. I realize this may come across as odd to others. Looking at the two side by side I still don’t see the resemblance of the tattoo to the Sword, other than an abundance of pointy ends. I hope you will let me enjoy it on the basis of the raven symbology I see.
I am impressed with the way in which the design follows the contours of your chest beneath the clavicle and then swoops up to your shoulders. The artist did a good job in letting your individual anatomy guide the needle.
My failure to link the chest piece with the Sword of Kahless may also have something to do with the utter contempt in which I hold the betleH as a weapon.
Midway through his post on “The Klingon Way,” LDWalter12 writes: “...the Batleth (and I have used one) is about as inefficient of a weapon as I have ever seen, and the Sword of Kahless is as much of a hazard to the user as the enemy. They look cool in shows, but are really horridly designed.” Though I disagree with him in many matters, I can imagine some sort of synchronized eye roll between the two of us. I have plenty more to say about it and will eventually get it to screen.
I must ask: why do you sully your left arm with the crest of our enemy? It seems foolish to advertise yourself as a sympathiser, and your comrades may not let those designs last for long. From the picture it looks like there is more of it to come because the heavy black lines overshadow the command insignia in red.
In picture of the chest piece you are looking downward to show a triangle shaped bi-layer. A suggestion: to give your appearance and persona a bit of panache and set you apart from the rest, right before you head out to your next con (or other event), find a barber who will cut your hair very short and shave the komerex stela into it.
So. Those are my twelve DarSekmey. Do you regret asking?
-=- Kesvirit
*"If you do not want a thing heard, do not say it."
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