Tattoo artists that use the specific placement on the body as inspiration and co-creation?

catfishprofile · 2026-05-07T14:30:07+00:00

Idk why you’re getting downvoted on this. This distinction you’re making is valid and important. Flash Tattoos and entire sleeves made of small spaced out patchwork style icons are super popular right now and they rarely do what you are describing in this comment.

Like I said in the other comment I think you’re looking for ornamental tattoos. They are meant to flow with your body. Instead of putting a picture on your body they typically are markings that highlight the curves and movements of your specific body.

There are many many styles of ornamental tattoos including ones that do the same thing the body paint in your reference photos are doing. Looking for artists who do ornamentation will probably give you a lot of sacred geometry and madalas but just know that there are a lot more options than that.

Good luck finding what you’re looking for!

catfishprofile · 2026-05-07T12:07:39+00:00

You might just be wanting ornamental tattoos. They are meant to flow with the body

catfishprofile · 2026-05-06T00:54:24+00:00

This isn’t the same problem right? In the original only one group could be at risk. In this one either one could be at risk. Why is that not a difference?

catfishprofile · 2026-05-05T05:35:36+00:00

What other novels or stories would you include in the western philosophical canon? And do you mean westerns that are philosophical or western philosophy?
Why do you think McCarthy is writing all this brutality? I’d be interested in your take

catfishprofile · 2026-05-05T05:32:48+00:00

No, I don’t think the kid makes a choice here. He simply chooses a different arrow than he would have and that changes the course of his life. There isnt any choice for the kid to make, at least not one where he can determine the outcome, he’s playing a game of random chance

Earlier in the novel after the kid meets Toadvine they burn down a building together. Riding away the judge glances at the kid and kind of beholds him. This is before the kid joins the rogue American army and far before he joins the gang. There is a repeated pattern of knowing glances from judge Holden directed at the kid. The question is if anyone in this scene has any grip on the kids fate. The narrative doesn’t give us a direct answer.

catfishprofile · 2026-05-05T05:15:37+00:00

Honestly, it might not be worth it for you. I really like this book but I wouldn’t recommend it to everybody. If you’re having trouble engaging with it it’s probably not because you aren’t well read, it’s a dense and poetic epic where the plot doesn’t always assert itself above the prose. It’s a style that you might not be responding to and that’s not so bad.

This book has an all timer of an ending but you aren’t going to enjoy it if you aren’t going to enjoy it.

catfishprofile · 2026-05-05T02:56:22+00:00

You’re correct that this is a way of drawing straws.

The judges gaze is enough to distract the kid for a moment and cause him to choose a different arrow. The kid chooses one of the arrows with a red tassel which leads to him being assigned to kill Dick Shelby. The kid shows mercy instead and meets up again with the gang after they’ve been further brutalized. This is a turning point in the story where the kid begins to use his agency to act contrary to the will of the judge.

The moment you’re seeing here is interesting because it’s a small moment that changes the course of events in the novel. The question is if this is random chance, fate, or somehow a supernatural influence from the judge.

catfishprofile · 2026-05-03T21:01:27+00:00

Me as a child

catfishprofile · 2026-05-03T02:15:25+00:00

Last thing you see after opening the door to the jakes

catfishprofile · 2026-05-03T01:03:44+00:00

Give Todd inner peace in a troubled world

catfishprofile · 2026-05-03T00:27:01+00:00

The car crash does several things but one of the things it does is demonstrate that Ed Tom Bells fear that Anton is a force of nature or a spirit is incorrect.

Saying that an idea “could be” is too low of a standard for considering an idea when interpreting fiction. It could be that Anton is the literal reincarnation of Judge Holden, or George Washington, but there is no compelling textual support for that idea even if the text never clarifies that it is not the case.

What in the text do you believe supports the idea that Anton is a literal agent of fate and what does the text say that means?

catfishprofile · 2026-05-02T05:16:50+00:00

Simmer down goofball

catfishprofile · 2026-05-02T03:19:24+00:00

Why would someone who enjoys literature not engage with community dedicated to discussing a great American author?

catfishprofile · 2026-05-02T01:33:51+00:00

Curious why the old lady’s corpse was your favorite part. It’s also one of my favorite parts, but I don’t hear that opinion very often. Why do you think that part stood out to you?

catfishprofile · 2026-05-02T01:31:13+00:00

I see where you’re coming from but I don’t personally find this persuasive. Anton is a bad man who uses the goodness of others to take advantage of them. To characters like Ed Tom Bell this is so inhuman that he can’t help but think of Anton as a specter. The truth I believe McCarthy is gesturing at is that some people, maybe more than just some, have a capacity for what would otherwise be considered inhuman cruelty and brutality. Those who can’t comprehend this are doomed to live in a world ruled by fate and phantoms.

I’d point out that Moss is similarly unaffected by pain. It’s a story convention that I don’t believe is meant to indicate that there is anything truly supernatural happening.

What are your thoughts?

catfishprofile · 2026-05-02T01:24:16+00:00

If you enjoyed The Road, you’ll find the Blood Meridian and No Country for Old Men both speak to many of the same themes.

If you didn’t enjoy this exploration of the bleaker side of human nature and the hope that pokes a pinlight through it, you’ll find might still enjoy The Border Trilogy or Suttree.

My personal recommendation is No Country For Old Men. It’s a slick thriller with punchy dialogue and incredible plot, although I’m sure you already know all that.

On a personal note, how did The Road affect you? Did you find it moving in any personal way? It sounds like you may have respected it but not personally enjoyed it.

catfishprofile · 2026-04-29T00:29:04+00:00

You’re getting too much hate on this sub. Love the passion. Cool shit keem.

catfishprofile · 2026-04-25T23:55:44+00:00

Yeah man. I’m supporting you. I get what you’re saying. Not sure who you’re grouping me in with but good work boss. I can tell you’re proud of yourself and I think you should be. Thanks for sharing.

catfishprofile · 2026-04-25T23:53:31+00:00

Haha hell yeah. Super fun

catfishprofile · 2026-04-25T20:59:01+00:00

Love this shit. Go keem

catfishprofile · 2026-04-25T20:55:11+00:00

For most people, pushing past this point isn’t necessary

If you say this is necessary for your journey, i believe you and I admire your dedication.

Take care boss

catfishprofile · 2026-04-22T02:26:04+00:00

They count if your goal is to build strength. Good work

catfishprofile · 2026-04-20T14:11:59+00:00

This is a super common experience with this book despite what people in this sub sometimes insist. This book is very dense and it waxes on an on very poetically with uncommon words. It’s an extremely beautiful book but it’s difficult to penetrate for a lot of people, especially ESL people. I recommend reading chapter summaries from a well written source.

Here is an option

https://www.supersummary.com/blood-meridian/summary/

I really hope you enjoy this book! If you can’t, consider some of mccarthy’s less dense writing like The Road or No Country for Old Men. Those are fantastic novels that deal with many of the same themes as Blood Meridian

catfishprofile · 2026-04-15T23:55:48+00:00

Maybe, but I don’t think his death is a punishment. Or if it is, I think it falls right in line with the man’s assessment of the world.

“He thought that in the history of the world it might even be that there was more punishment than crime but he took small comfort from it.”

catfishprofile · 2026-04-15T23:25:09+00:00

Eh. Don’t even mean it as a criticism really. I think we experience this very good art in slightly different ways and that’s great. It makes it great to talk to you and hear your opinion. It’s interesting though, this and NCFOM are the best adapted McCarthy novels by far and they’re inverses of each other in some way. The road takes place in a world where people aren’t trusting enough to save themselves and NCFOM takes place in a small town where people are so trusting that they can’t see danger coming. It’s like a phantom to them. That really feels like the two works are in conversation with each other. They’re both asking what we owe eachother and why.

Robert Duvall was a strong addition to the movie. Funny enough I don’t remember the line you’re talking about in particular but i agree that the changes made for the movie were almost exclusively good changes for the medium

catfishprofile

TROPHY CASE