"Ink," the origin and meaning of his tattoos...

[Storm]

He (TOWTM) keeps reminding me of Mal'akh from Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" ... At least he does now that I've read this topic.
Interesting theories, keep researching. (I would if I had been sighted, trust me, I love mysteries like this. Hehe.)

[Witch_Doctor]

Has anyone put any real thought into what triggered the event and its global spread because its not it could have spread through transportation not with how fast people turned. Did it happen the same way as in L.A. some sort of seismic activity and a release of some sort of pathogen, and if so how did happen almost simultaneously within a day or less of the initial event. I sort of think there had to be some sort project being done on a glodal scale researching something, testing something, and maybe some sort of accident or unforseen consequence, or maybe it was just a really horrific large scale natural catastrophe. Anyone have any ideas how it happened maybe even how Ink is involved, if thats who TOWTM really is.

Several people have. Forum member, Redshirt, has a pretty in depth theory that, reputedly, got some interesting attention from KC at a We're Alive Cast & Crew event. http://www.zombiepodcast.com/forum/s...-origin-theory

[ZombieWildfire]

Just to add my highly insightful comments on TOWTM's tattoos.

The one on his face, in between the two snakes, looks like a sock giraffe.

I know, I know, that probably changes everything. You're welcome.

[cringebot]

Very interesting theories. I read a few book on alchemy before and many of these symbols seem like variants of Alchemical Symbols. Alchemy was kept very secretive by Alchemists (who are basically modern day chemists) in fear of blasphemy. So they encrypted their formulas. It even goes back further, no one really knows, but I imagine that even some of these old works you have been discovering could of been alchemic legends themselves. I don't think it would even matter if you could decipher it. You would just get a lot of chemicals for a fictional outcome.

[Kc]

We lost this one in a database reset:

My crazy theory on Ink and his tattoos is he through his research knew there was going to be a release of the haze that would infect everyone. He wanted to be on top and devised a way to remain relatively safe in custody but had pens smuggled in with a ink infused with follistatin

[Red Shirt]

I posted this over in the 42 3/3 thread, but it desperately needs to be posted here.
I'll need to come back to it. To clean it up and expand upon it, but this all just came to me and kinda hit me like a freight train.
I copy pasted it to get it up here quickly, this thread seems to be easier to find and the chapter threads seem to get buried after a while.

Alright, I managed to shake of the funk I was in and I thing I might have nailed something significant to the wall:

From Chapter 42, 3/3:
Test Subject #2, George Armstrong, 53. Inmate conflict. Doped with Folistatin and Stanozolol.
(You may note that Puck repeated himself, pronouncing it two different ways. Maybe to be sure we got the spelling right?)

Stanozolol is a synthetic anabolic steroid derived from Dihydrotestosterone.
(You'll need to click on the images, black lines on a clear background.)

This is Stanozolol:
301px-Stanozolol.svg.png

This is Dihydrotestosterone:
550px-Androstanolone.svg.png

Look familiar yet? It should, Dihydrotestosterone looks like the tattoo on the back of his hand.

Now, Stanozolol chemistry is a bit vague, but it is said that: "The pyrazole ring in stanozolol can be prepared from oxymetholone by the condensation of a keto-aldehyde with hydrazine."
The Pyrazole ring is the HN/N pentagon on the left side of the Stanozolol. It looks like this:
508px-Pyrazole_2D_numbered.svg.png

Now like I said, I'm not clear on the chemistry, but I think it means that Stanozolol is synthesized from Oxymetholone By building a Pyrazole ring on one end.
Oxymetholone loks like this:
800px-Oxymetholone.svg.png
That looks remarkably like the tattoo on the right side of his skull.... and that Hydrogenated Cyclopentane isomer I mentioned above? It's actually probably a Pyrazole ring. The synthesis of Pyrazoles mention de-hydrogenation. (The removal of that little forked tail.)

The tattoos on his body are describing the synthesizing of one of the chemicals that he is using in his experiments. Stanozolol.


Boom baby. I still got it. Maybe.

[Eviebae]

Rune.jpg
Found this, it's a rune but I don't know how ancient.
It might be based on a real rune.

hraethigaldur: Puts fear into the enemy

[Red Shirt]

Rune.jpg
Found this, it's a rune but I don't know how ancient.
It might be based on a real rune.

hraethigaldur: Puts fear into the enemy

Those seem to be Magical Norse/Viking runes, though not part of the Elder Futhark.

Here's the two that I mentioned in the WA FanCast this week... It's not posted as a podcast yet, though it is listenable through YouTube.
These are from the Season 4 artwork.

Left Hand:
lefthand.JPG
(Hammer and sickle, hammer replaced with arrow.)

Right Hand:
righthand.JPG
("Alchemical Sulfur," except double barred and curly "tails.")

Now, I have yet to suss these out, but your post has opened a whole new branch of investigation.
Going back to the S4 art and with the rune lead, I discovered this, also on the left hand:

lefthand2.JPG

is a pretty close match for this:

GA.JPG

Gibu Auja, for "Good Luck." Note however, that it is inverted in the tattoo. Might this then mean bad luck or a curse for others?

[Red Shirt]

(Sorry for the double, but I think that I hit my picture posting limit in the last one.)

Also, I am drawn back to this area on his scalp:
scalp.JPG

Which bears some artistic similarity to this piece:
nvpI7.jpg
(Russian site, I'll need to reverse image search this one for more info.)

Well shucks, I didn't think I was going to have much to do tonight... looks like I'll actually have my hands full chasing these down.

Edit/update:

I think I've got this one drilled down a bit more, it seems to be similar to Icelandic Magical Staves, though I haven't found a match yet... though there seems to be a fascination for this in Russia. A lot of sites I've come across are in Russian.

[Red Shirt]

Triple post, but I think it's worth it.

Shifting gears back to Chemistry, I wanted to chase down something I noticed earlier:

This hydrocarbon:
CycloCh27.JPG

Repeated in the Season 4 art:
CycloS4.JPG

I figured a little deduction aught to be able to crack this one open. I found a site where I learned that a hexagon diagram without the double lines (or circle) is actually Cyclohexane, not Benzine:

Benzine:
benzine.JPG

Cyclohexane:
200px-Cyclohexane-2D-skeletal.svg.png

So, using a bit of chemistry logic, I applied the prefix "Di-" to the front of the chemical. Dicyclohexane does exist:
dycyclo.jpg

...and I think I found a gold mine.

I found a scientific paper written about a study on the affect of Dicyclohexane derivatives on testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in rats. Trying to get my head around it, but it sounds like it has a selective inhibition effect on testosterone. Pay wall, but the abstract is HERE.

However, I also learned that Dicyclohexane inhibits the aromatization of testosterone... simply meaning that it slows/stops the conversion of androgens into estrogens. Aromatase plays a strong role in sexual development and if it is deficient in women, it can lead to Virilization and Amenorrhoea... sounds a bit like the "underdeveloped secondary sexual characteristics" that Tanya discovered in the autopsy.

Reports of excess Aromatase (AES) have indicated that besides the sexual differentiation complications, it can lead to short stature... It stands to reason that if it is inhibited, the reverse could be true. Tall inklings and Behemoths.

It has also been shown to decrease cell death in brain injuries... therefore its absence or inhibition may increase neural cell death, ie, zombification.

Wow.