JAC1961

All comments above have helped me get a different perspective and I thank you all. I have now come to see it not as I had envisioned but as it is and this is helping quite a bit.  As with each tattoo I have gotten, I need a break in and adjustment phase. Right around the time it has healed and doesn’t look shiny, plastic, I start getting a perspective that most closely resembles how I will feel going forward.  I guess no different than most things in life, it’s better than a lot of other possibilities, not what I expected, and if I focus on the things I like about it, I will feel good about it.  
 
Thanks!

Brain tumor follow-up yesterday. The net is that it’s bigger which could either mean the radiation is working (yea) or that it’s still growing (boo). I’m doing the PMA thing and going with the radiation is working. The concern is around my facial nerve and balance issues. I’m already walking like a drunk sometimes but the facial paralysis shit freaks me out.
The funny part of today went like this:
Dr. Neurosurgeon: How’s your hearing in your left ear?
Me: It’s shot.
Dr. Neurosurgeon: How’s your balance?
Me: F*cked.
Dr. Neurosurgeon smiles at me, looks at my leg and says: Is that a ray gun tattoo?
Me: Yes, Dr. it is indeed a ray gun to commemorate my radiation.
Dr. Neurosurgeon: That is the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen.
(Note: the barrel isn't crooked...straight lines on curvy body parts, ya know)
Grez at Pagoda

Also posted in the Pagoda City thread, but he's my one-shot Pharoah's Cats from Scott Sylvia. 

Not the best photos due to lighting and wrapping but to give you an idea! 
 
 

I've got an idea... stab it a couple times with a sharp object and see if it's as great as you think it will be.  😵

1. You've only been thinking about this for a month or so
2. You don't have any other real tattoos or tattoo experience
3. Any tattooer who might be willing to black out any novice's genitals would be highly suspect in my book . . . 

whether he's trolling or not, this is the best chuckle i've had on LST for a little while. 😄 maybe i'm just a simple being

If you don't have many other tattoos, why on earth would you even consider this? It makes me concerned for your mental health. This is a terrible idea, and I would run in the other direction if I were your partner or your potential partner. No. Just no.

I think you are a troll, but I answered you seriously. Because good lord, what if you are not?

I've got an idea... stab it a couple times with a sharp object and see if it's as great as you think it will be.  😵

I've got an idea... stab it a couple times with a sharp object and see if it's as great as you think it will be.  😵

I've got an idea... stab it a couple times with a sharp object and see if it's as great as you think it will be.  😵

I've got an idea... stab it a couple times with a sharp object and see if it's as great as you think it will be.  😵

is this a joke? ffs. get a hobby!

I like it! In six months you won't even be thinking about it. Like Hogrider said, there is no such thing as a perfect tattoo and the idea that a tattoo will stay the same forever, or that a tattoo can even be "perfect", is a myth. Welcome!

If you want perfection, don't get tattoos. NO tattoo is perfect. It's not a drawing on a piece of paper.  OF COURSE it distorts when you bend your arm, your skin is not fixed, it moves and stretches. I don't see anything wrong with that tattoo at all. Take a deep breath and live with it for a few months.

Ya, it's fine.  We're always more critical that others.  No one else would ever see the things that you are.  Take a break and get used to it, it'll grow on you.

This update probably won't matter to anyone but I'll post it anyway haha. I saw another dermatologist who doesn't believe it's an allergic reaction because I already have grey tattoos and allergies to grey ink are extremely rare, also tattoo allergies typically represent reactions on the surface of the skin, not swelling underneath like mine. Infection is also unlikely because the reaction is localized only to the area where the needle hit the skin. He believes that the tattooing was perhaps too aggressive which created a deep tissue wound which caused excessive inflammation, thereby preventing proper healing and perpetuating more chronic inflammation like a vicious cycle. I started using a powerful steroid ointment today and the swelling has gone down considerably. Hopefully by keeping the inflammation under control the deep layers of the skin will heal properly.

I can understand it not being exactly what you wanted/expected, but it's not bad at all.  Well done and fits with the other work on your arm.  I'd mark it up to life, enjoy it as is and if you still want one like your reference, find a different artist and have it put someplace else.  Nothing wrong with double dragons.

I can understand it not being exactly what you wanted/expected, but it's not bad at all.  Well done and fits with the other work on your arm.  I'd mark it up to life, enjoy it as is and if you still want one like your reference, find a different artist and have it put someplace else.  Nothing wrong with double dragons.

Not what you wanted, but at least it's a GOOD tattoo. I agree with what the other's have posted. You can't have too many dragons.

DOUBLE DRAGONS!!!!  

I can understand it not being exactly what you wanted/expected, but it's not bad at all.  Well done and fits with the other work on your arm.  I'd mark it up to life, enjoy it as is and if you still want one like your reference, find a different artist and have it put someplace else.  Nothing wrong with double dragons.

I can understand it not being exactly what you wanted/expected, but it's not bad at all.  Well done and fits with the other work on your arm.  I'd mark it up to life, enjoy it as is and if you still want one like your reference, find a different artist and have it put someplace else.  Nothing wrong with double dragons.

I can understand it not being exactly what you wanted/expected, but it's not bad at all.  Well done and fits with the other work on your arm.  I'd mark it up to life, enjoy it as is and if you still want one like your reference, find a different artist and have it put someplace else.  Nothing wrong with double dragons.

Starting the flames!!!