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as far as the wearer is concerned = tattoos don't necessarily have to mean anything to the viewer.

Same. If I trust the artist (and I do trust the guy who has done 99% of my tattoos), tell him roughly what you want and let them do their thing. Micromanaging a talented artist is gross, and you will end up annoying the artist like you did this person. Hope you can find someone else to tattoo you. Good luck.

My advice would be to think it through before the consultation. If you want changes, think them through and send a single email. A good tattoo artist is busy. What if all their clients sent multiple emails? Yes, you should get the tattoo you want, but you also need to trust your artist. For my first sleeve I said, “Japanese, anything you want.” It turned out great. Same with my back. All my other work I threw out ideas, but what he came up with was way better than I imagined.

Wow. There was ink applied where that cross scar is now?! I've never seen that before. My guess is your skin will heal normal, but it's gonna take a while.