I Wanted a Tattoo for My Birthday

For Christmas, I didn't get any gifts... except for a spiffy Top Story award from Vocal for==> this comedy!

That was an unexpected surprise!

I'm grateful!

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I had no clue where to publish this story. It's primarily about my birthday and about tattoos. I couldn't find any tags that pertain to either... so I went with this, instead of Humans or Journal or Confessions.

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On 1/27, it will be my late mother's birthday.

She and I were born on the same day.

Synchronicity!

It's Aquarius season, kids! This is a time to reassess your priorities, especially any that focus on community and humanitarianism. There's a lot of creative energy flowing right now too!

Innovations abound!

I am about to finish my 63rd trip around the sun.

I'm determined to make 2025 better than 2024. Except for all you wonderful people at Vocal, the cast of characters in my life have driven me a little crazy lately.

🎼🎵🎶 My friend's out there, rolling round the basement floor.

Ooo Ooo Ooo Ooooooo!

When I was younger, I never would have dreamed (dreamt?) in a million years that I would want what I now want.

Seriously.

Who am I?

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To start my 64th year, I want my first tattoo.

I write under this pseudonym: Lightning Bolt. My name is William Markly O'Neal II, a.k.a. Bill. My email address is [email protected]. When I was younger, I used to roleplay a superhero game where my character was named Lightning Bolt. This guy...

I've associated myself with lightning since I was a teenager.

So, can you guess what tat I want?

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I want something simple. I can't drive so I can't even get to a tattoo shop easily to price one, but I've talked to a couple great people online and on the phone who say as low as $50, and no higher than $100 for the design I describe. Depends on how much work is ultimately involved to create what I want.

I get paid only once a month. All my money is gone instantly for bills. So, this branding has to wait until I get paid next, the middle of February.

I am not exactly perfect with this design here, but it suffices. I might even just do the black outline and do the yellow fill-in later. That would be less expensive.

I like how the black is smeared on the under side and there is that line of white on the upper side! I'd prefer, however, something that isn't symmetrical. Like, three points on one side and four points on the other.

But symmetrical works.

I always wanted yellow inside, but then digging around for pics online, I found this...

I love this a lot!

I'm certain it would be more expensive, however, considering the intricacy.

This 👇 isn't right at all because I wouldn't do two bolts, and there wouldn't be all those extra squiggles, but I like how the one bolt is longer than the shorter bolt above. {I've seen more realistic tattoos that look like my profile pic here and I don't like them. I want one more like the kind you'd see on a superhero like the Flash.}

I'm indecisive as to where to put it.

I'd really like to do it from one shoulder down in a jagged line across my chest, so it ends in a point just above my nipple. That's kinda like the emblem on the costume of that old superhero drawing.

But I could also shoot the lightning tat from my shoulder down my arm to a point just above my elbow.

Or even a jagged bolt from my hip down the side of my leg to my knee.

If this goes well, this may be the one of several lightning bolts I'll get: chest, one arm, one leg.

I'm electric!

How much pain can I expect? 🤔

I won't scream like a girl, will I? 😐

That would be embarrassing. 😂

Unless something happens out of the blue, I've got a couple weeks before I can afford even $50, the low-end amount. I also have to get transportation to the tat shop for a couple hours, then home. {can't drive because of epileptic seizures = lightning storms in my brain}

Life is complicated.

But waiting just gives me more time for fact-finding and decision-making! ⚡😁👍

If you have any suggestions, opinions, or advice about this, I'd love to hear it in the comments!

What do you think?

I'm eager to do something that in my youth I never thought I'd do. I barely imagine seeing it on my body.

Aquarius embraces Change!

*by

_____________ Bolt⚡

Original story☝️ by ©️William Markly O'Neal II, 2025 - All rights reserved ⚡