bongsau

geez, every tattoo either looks like a penis or has a penis hidden in it somewhere...cmon guys you should know this haha

My girlfriend is awesome. She has ZERO tattoos. She loves me for who I am and fully appreciates me. She values that tattoos are part of my identity and one of the ways I've found to express myself. The trips to the beach are sure to be interesting haha.

you're overthinking it dude. it's fine. and you got tonnes of real estate to make more tattoos around it.

just get some more tattoos all down the arm. take your time. i think people are so fixated on having the "sleeve" look ... if you want a sleeve, you get er all designed and done at once (multiple sittings). otherwise just load that god damn arm up with a variety tattoos. whatever makes you happy and inspired and feel confident. it doesn't have to match. puzzle piece em. tile em. layer em. just get the tattoos 🙂

unity - panther loyalty - eagle family - anchor love - rose sounds like you're signing up for (4) timeless tattoos in the future 😉

i don't think i would have bothered tbh, but i don't think you or anyone else should be too hard on your/yourself for asking. you were uncomfortable and spoke up. it's good that he obliged you, it's part of the tattooers job to make you feel comfortable while making you the best possible tattoo. especially if it is your first tattoo interaction with them. technically it would be sterile, especially since a fresh bottle of ink. i get more concerned with the number of tattooers i see accessing their phones mid-tattoo (with gloves they are using on you). phones are disgusting. don't lie, everyone checks their instagram or twitter while sitting on the toilet !

hahaha gotcha !

#sarcasm ... you're not going to get cancer from machine

my white bird turns into a golden bird every summer. my whites have always had a bit of a seasonal colourshift, so that beige is somewhat expected. I've seen it to where if you overwork white it comes out beige. also my legs have always been a bitch to heal. some of my tattoos are in my profile gallery, so enjoy 🙂 and welcome to the cancer-free forum !

i have large blocks of white on my sleeve and backpiece and highlights all over. the arm is 12 years old, the back is 5. there is also white mixed in with other coloured ink throughout. so i have it all over. i have never had a reaction to it, it was all packed in properly by good tattooers, no reactions and it definately has lasted. i would be more worried about a family history of cancer, toxins in the environment and our food supply than i am about getting cancer from tattooing. actually i would be more worried about getting cancer from a rotary-pen tattoo machine...but i digress

I started taking Italian language classes.

oof 1 hour long break ... that would just drain whatever gas I had in the tank. long breaks like that deplete the momentum of a session. doesn't look like the tattooist was even hitting you that hard with the machine. idk the body is weird. dry heal it out and leave it alone.

if you do go the stars/dots route, suggest you get them all done at once by the same tattooer, so they look consistent. and a tattooer that is experienced with that traditional look. but idk, perhaps just leave it. adding dots/stars could really muddy it all up, i'm not sure if it will really 'bring it together' - your pieces are all black and they are already fairly close together. you still got room for a nice wrist tattoo and what looks like a lot of torso real estate for some really cool big interesting pieces. that might help you take your own focus away from feeling your arm is incomplete (which i don't think it is, looks great as-is).

@MoonWraith every post i've read in this thread you were putting something new on it...leave it alone and quit putting lotion, creams, ointments, etc etc.... let it dry heal. it's going to be fine. legs are difficult to heal, especially for large tattoos where you get hit with the line, black/shade, colour one after the other in a sitting. my whole hand looked like your scab for 6 weeks. it turned out just fine. just relax, and take a breath, what a frantic thread to read 😉 tattoo looks great.