this is going to be an ever growing onslaught of pics…much to upload. and so much to say. this tattoo is like an ongoing life project for me. and a life-altering experience in and of itself. this article will expand in the coming days for sure.

a geek to the end, my latest tattoo is blooming across my back as a dragon i’ve come to name haruko. a cross between a japanese and a korean dragon, haruko is inspired by 3 parts craziness, 2 parts anime girl-crush, followed by a heaping bowl of recurring dreams + a dash of hippie-pagan metaphysical-asian dragon-folk lore-mystical babbling-that-makes-me-feel-good. this blog entry is only going to chronicle my first session. five hours of exquisite pain rendered into 7 images and a few quick words. my insanely skillful tattoo artist is the wildly talented shane “hez” smith. pictures were lovingly shot by “my honey” vin breau.

tattoo shop: southside tattoos austin texas

above: a piece of inspiration haru haru haruko of the anime fooly cooly

i think this last picture is were i discover that five hours is about the maximum time span i can handle under the gun. five hours was a realm of pain i’ve never experienced and it may be a while before i can even properly verbalize the head space i was in at that point in time. and for days after the tattoo experience i was still in a very odd yet exhilarating mental state.

what can i say? this article rocked my world. it’s like, ya think ya know something. you think you understand some things…and then someone really truly proves to you (again) that you in fact know very little and you will learn something new almost every day of your existence…if you’re lucky.

retrospect: matilda before her face up

its like i have too many projects and not nearly enough time. sometimes you just want to stop time, so you can catch up with everything for just a little while. short of summoning a time lord, i guess i’ll just have to conjure the time from the very void itself…somehow… i’ve said this before and i’ll say it again…. i need a team of elves to help me out with some of this stuff…..either elves or a pretty goth boy that lives and breaths to do my bidding….so if you know any elves let me know. if you’re a pretty goth boy who wants to live and breath to do my bidding as trained elves, fairies  or vampire-s&m-slaves might…here are the stipulations….(most of these also apply to those of fairy or elven descent..with exception to height and age requirements).

• must be between the ages of 18-35 (of course, elves can ignore this)
• height requirements: between 5 ft 6″ and 6 ft 9″
• weight requirements: between 120-180 lbs (i like ‘em slim)
• skin requirements: smooth, perfectly pale and practically devoid of icky stuff like chest and back hair
• must have the “master skill” of being the perfect goth boy slave without lapsing into cheesy cliche’s. this is a reeeeeally tough one considering how easy it is to cheese out when you’re doing the goth-boy-emo- thing.
• hair length requirement: long hair down the back is preferred but chin length hair applicants will be considered. May even consider shorter hair by merit of magnetic charisma.
• knowledge/experience requirements: must be a master of knowing when to talk and when to shut the hell up. …must be able to understand how much cream/sugar i take in my coffee or tea, must be generally tech savvy… understand how to resize and color balance images in photoshop. other skills that would come in handy: sewing, knitting, writing, proof reading…

now this list could go on and on and on…but i know when to give something a rest!

this corset and its complimentary pieces are an ever evolving creature…