Anon1335

Thanks Ursula, it reminds me of when a scab heals and gets that redness. I'll keep my eye in it though

Awesome thanks guys. Gonna be a fun trip, last time I went I binged for the entire vacay and never got to explore. Maybe this time.....

I sent a pic to him, said looked find just keep washing. It's at my ankle, so farthest away other than my foot. Could standing for 8 hrs also play into affect? Not much sit time in surgery

True, solid advice. It's not warm, but still red. I baby my fresh tattoos, always clean and pat dry. I'll ask him today though, good thing it was a small tattoo. I got it done on Friday the 13th so I feel if should be progressing more than it is

It's scabbing up more than my other tattoos and slightly red around it like a nasty scab would. My others barely ever scabbed, and all healed real easy. The dude is heavier handed so Im not sure if that could be why, but is there anything I should do to make it heal easier other than lotion?

Going there in march for a flogging molly show, figured might as well see if there are any decent shops to check out while i'm there

Got this little guy from a buddy of mine on Friday, filled a nice little awkward spot

My legs twitch like a motherfucker. Especially on my shins near the ankles. It's bound to happen, but I think most artists are prepared by holding you. Not bad unless you horse kick them in the face or something. It's unlikely that'd happen, but it would make for a great story

I'm not sure if it's the done thing to post in this thread without an attached image, but fuck it I'm going too anyway because I can't find a more suitable thread. I got my first ever tattoo yesterday!

It is the first part of a full, left-arm sleeve by Valerie Vargas and of course it is amazing. In general I did not find the pain too bad, although the forearm is probably low down on the list of painful places to get tattooed. But I also put it down to a childhood of almost constant summer sunburn, and the artist' deft hand. Also, I was distracted by the workings of the shop, and Dante's entertaining patter. The flush of endorphins in response to the pain was bizarre, and left me feeling pretty stoned. That started wearing off just at the point where Valerie decided to stop - mercifully.

A three-hour train journey back to Wales involved me avoiding getting smashed into, and then it was home to wash the tattoo. What I wasn't prepared for was the fucking plasma dripping off my arm. I have seen my wife's tattoos fresh after being done but that was nothing compared to the snot my arm was exuding. It was Bill Murray in Ghostbusters levels of slime. I have to admit to being fascinated by how the body reacts to the trauma of tattooing.

A day later and it is like a mild sunburn and looks fucking great. If Valerie is cool with it, I will put some images up after the next session.

you lucky dog! I bet that's gonna look killer

the "faith" part of my brain must have broken at one point since I never believe anything without at least a hint of skepticism. Hell if I never fell I would say gravity was a lie! I also know a few literal Christians/Muslims. The problem is that the whole "believe without questioning" wanders to other topics outside of that which is religious, in my observations. Argument put as such..."I know your wrong...ME: Well look at this xyz....THEM: I dont care about looking at xyz....ME: But it is solid PROOF!....THEM: I dont believe you...ME: YOU NEVER LOOKED!!!!.....THEM: I dont have to, I know your wrong" This was an actually conversation (non-religous subject)

Yea, the one thing I want to bring up to him to see what his answer is the fact that the old testament says day and night came before the sun and the moon, yet we all know without a doubt that can't be. Not even theory, because I understand science has it's flaws and that theories change, but that one does not. I just can't imagine a valid response to that argument. But maybe one day we shall see, he likes discussing religion in a respectable manner, so I don't mind those kinds of conversations with open minded individuals.

Yea Abrahamic religions (Christian, Judaism, and Islamic religions and their spin-offs) do have that fear thing down pat, this has part to do with the fact that they all branched off from the same thing! The problem comes down to how you "read" any of these faiths. If literal, you will lead an interesting life (in the bible if a woman cheats on her husband she gets stoned to death, if you cut your beard you are damned, etc etc) or you can do what a lot of the Christian sects do and interpret the Bible (or insert any religious texts), under the assumption that it was written for the morals and depends on stories/ideas that generally shape your ideals, not to be read as literal.

Also the Catholic church has been a very rich entity for a very long time. (Just check out Vatican City!! It is fuckin gorgeous!)

My boss is a literal christian, meaning he believes every word to be the truth. Creationist to the extreme, believes the old testament, yada yada. Overall a real smart dude and overall nice guy, but it just dumbfounds me. He's even open minded to atheism, just knows that he's right and you're wrong.

I can't wrap my head around "believe this without any evidence, just do it" but no one applies that logic to any other thinking in life.

@Joe Shit, the irony is that, if you got lasered, you would actually see god. ;)

Seriously, though. If you're happy with them as tattoos, then keep them. I'm reading The God Delusion right now--a very eye-opening and brilliantly written book by Richard Dawkins--but I still love my religious tattoos.

I have that book too, and it's a damn good read. Richard Dawkins is a very insightful man. I don't necessarily agree with people who militant atheist or come across as too pushy, but when you read his statements, it's hard not to agree with his logic.

This depends if one is a theist or atheist "satanist". In terms of thiestic Satanism one worships demons usually based around the judeo-chritisan religions. Athiestic Satanism usually uses the symbolic demon to represent man's animalistic nature and moral values. So yea your pretty much correct. I would say that most athiests can find correlation with their ideals within the athiestic satanism when you remove the shock-value symbolism. I did a great deal of research in my personal quest to find a religion eventually bringing me to realize I'm just a plain old athiest.

Yea that's the only reason I knew that much is because it kind of relates to my way of thinking, that I'm responsible for my failure and success and I shouldn't be guilt ridden for certain aspects of human nature.

Religion is fascinating.

I see what you mean, but at the same time, you can't believe in Satan if you don't believe in Jesus. He's part of the Christian story, right?

I was raised uber-Catholic, then became a lapsed Catholic, then hung out in the agnostic phase before finally admitting that I'm actually an atheist. Some brainwashing takes longer to get past than others. :) But I have a sacred heart and a Mary tattoo, and I'd still like a ROA and a curly-bearded Jesus tattoo at some point. The imagery is gorgeous, and when it comes to my personal tattoos, that's all I really care about.

I don't think satanist operate under the same sense that christians do. They don't necessarily believe in satan or jesus, just what it stands for. They typically believe in themselves and embracing the animalistic urges of man while following some form of a moral code. Correct me if i'm wrong

Dang, I wish people weren't so afraid of the word atheist. There's a lot of respect for religion from the non-religious in this thread.

I think ROA and some variant of praying hands would be the only things I'd want tattooed because they're timeless. I do enjoy japanese deities and other spirits though.

A satan worshipper with jesus christ on his neck seems almost like a mockery, but then again it's possible he got it before he became a satanist or maybe he just likes the way that long haired dude looks

Megan Fernandez. I love her ladies.

New one got done yesterday. Super stoked. 2 lady heads 1 leg

I admit, I uploaded one of one I'm not happy with and know it's shit quality, but only to post in the tattoo removal subforum. I'd be more than happy to take it down though.

Just read someone say "Yea and the last bit, I want to slap the gun out of her hand" .. was she robbing you or tattooing you? i R confuze

Anyone can pick apart any tattoo if they spend enough time staring at it. Just get more work so you have more to look at, and have less to worry about what is already done.

That's true. Especially as of lately, my OCD is kicking in and staring too much at 'em. Good thing I'll have something new to look at today

Backpiece reference anyone?

Bahaha. Man that pink and those sparkles would sit real tough

I agree with you train of thought @hogg , but I`m pretty sure most will preceive a religious tattoo as a dedication to someones faith as opposed to picking a design purely because it makes for a great tattoo. I can imagine getting asked a lot of stupid questions if I get it done, so I think I`ll just save myself the hassle and get panthers, daggers, skulls and flowers instead ;) Hell, most people can`t even believe that none of my tattoos have any deeper meaning than me just being really fascinated with tattoos and tattoo imagery.

I agree %100. Most people tie a tattoo to some significant meaning (which some do have, that's cool too) But even most of my friends follow that thought, that it has to be meaningful. A friend asked me if my panther/skull meant anything..... Nope, they're just both badass

Since I lack creativity, I generally have a vague idea but it doesn't go much further than that. Like Iwar said, half the fun is seeing the stencil. Shit gets me excited.

I got an appt at 4pm today and all I told her was skull with a headdress, do whatever else you want. It's gonna be like xmas day, opening presents.

As Simone who has some "satanic imagery" I agree. Kinda wish I could move the tattoo but oh well. While to me my tattoo is a montage of dantes inferno by gustave dore, an excellent combo of liturature and art but the general public sees Satan dude. Having a swastika tattoo is like having a devil tattoo on crack...almost anyone will say wtf!?!?

Yea exactly. I think when people don't understand the meaning behind a tattoo, it works well for a conversation piece. I can't imagine that conversation going well over a swastika unless they were truly open-minded. I just wish random strangers would quit calling my poseidon tattoo "aw it's little mermaids dad!" -____-

Yea that fucking purple is a nuisance. Hard to cover, and just as likely, hard to remove. I'll probably just leave that arm alone until a proper decision can be made. Maybe by that age/sun will have done enough to make lasering a better choice.