cgrave

Totally this.
Imo, tattoos chronicle our lives. They are ours and ours alone. No one will ever get what each tattoo means or what stage of our life each represents. And that's totally cool.
No point worrying about what others may think. One man's meat is another man's poison and all that.

It looks perfectly fine. Nice placement too.
Those doubts will pass. Meanwhile, may I suggest that you stop staring at it, analysing it, examining it under a microscope. Once you stop paying it that much attention, the mind games will ease.

It looks perfectly fine. Nice placement too.
Those doubts will pass. Meanwhile, may I suggest that you stop staring at it, analysing it, examining it under a microscope. Once you stop paying it that much attention, the mind games will ease.

It's perfectly fine. Tattoos will always shift or contort with your body when you move. It is inevitable and unique to tattoos since the canvas is not static. If this is an issue for you, you might want to avoid getting any other tattoos.
Messing with the tattoo by changing it will just make things worse.
Honestly, after a while, you don't even notice the momentary distortions any more.

Totally this.
Imo, tattoos chronicle our lives. They are ours and ours alone. No one will ever get what each tattoo means or what stage of our life each represents. And that's totally cool.
No point worrying about what others may think. One man's meat is another man's poison and all that.

You are right. Most people don't notice a whole lotta stuff until we call attention to it by being overly self-conscious.
And honestly, the words could be interpreted many ways. Don't stress it. Could even be a cool prop for a pickup line. 

Screw what people think about your tattoos. That's one of the biggest reasons that I started getting tattooed, I put up my entire life listening to people judge me and I decided that I was done with.  Accept me tattoos and all or go F yourself.

Done is done; can't be undone.
The photo looks ok. Doesn't look like it is infected or irritated. But honestly, you won't be able to tell if it is fine until it has completed healing. As what @SStu said, the issue might be with the end result rather than the process. 

Back to the main topic, I have always believed that you should always get a tattoo for you.
As long as it makes sense to you, that's all that truly matters. That said, you can't really stop people from commenting or asking questions that make you wanna strangle them. Depending on my mood, the question "What is it or what does it mean" can be met with a blank stare, a wordless smile, or some inane story that I made up on the spot.
Hope that helps!

looks 100% normal to me

They all heal differently. It's still new. Just let it heal.

The tattoo on my calf healed at the same rate as my other tattoos so I reckon it probably depends on individuals. Then again, I've noticed that tattoos of different styles and by different artists heal differently as well. I also had one that did not peel/flake at all.
Imo, if there ain't anything wrong with it, you're golden.

I reckon the instant gratification mindset of the younger generation probably plays a part.
They see something, they want something, they get something. After that, they probably realise it wasn't how they envisioned it to turn out. And, lo and behold, it ain't like the latest fashion statement or fad where you can just purchase the latest model, use it once and relegate it to the back of your storeroom until the next spring cleaning either lands it in the rubbish dump, the salvation army donation box, or a garage sale.
Imo, that mindset does not go with tattoos unless we are referring to the the temporary kind. Plus, let's not forget all the "role models" who make it cool to have tattoos on their face, neck, hands, knuckles just for the sake of being a cool kid. Wasn't that the argument given for all the young guns taking up smoking (decades ago)?
Then again, there are also those for whom the above does not apply wherein it is more about adaptation than anything else.
 

As everyone mentioned, all that dark black that's freaking you out right now will get lighter in time. If it is any consolation, that's the absolute darkest it will ever get.
Furthermore, it's early days yet and you won't really know what the end product is like until all the healing is done and dusted. Plus, it takes our minds some time to get used to any major changes to our bodies, including large tattoos (especially on highly visible areas).
If you look around the forums, you will find that this is quite common. A little advice: don't make any hasty decisions, don't panic, and breathe.
There will always be haters and everyone has their own opinion. With or without tattoos, you will be judged. It is inevitable. End of the day, it's your body, it's your tattoo and the only one who gets any say at all would be you.
A tattoo, visible or otherwise, does not change who you are. And honestly, if someone is gonna judge you differently due to a kick-ass tattoo has some, imo, serious issues and biases. But that's on them, not you.
Cheers!

I reckon the instant gratification mindset of the younger generation probably plays a part.
They see something, they want something, they get something. After that, they probably realise it wasn't how they envisioned it to turn out. And, lo and behold, it ain't like the latest fashion statement or fad where you can just purchase the latest model, use it once and relegate it to the back of your storeroom until the next spring cleaning either lands it in the rubbish dump, the salvation army donation box, or a garage sale.
Imo, that mindset does not go with tattoos unless we are referring to the the temporary kind. Plus, let's not forget all the "role models" who make it cool to have tattoos on their face, neck, hands, knuckles just for the sake of being a cool kid. Wasn't that the argument given for all the young guns taking up smoking (decades ago)?
Then again, there are also those for whom the above does not apply wherein it is more about adaptation than anything else.
 

I reckon the instant gratification mindset of the younger generation probably plays a part.
They see something, they want something, they get something. After that, they probably realise it wasn't how they envisioned it to turn out. And, lo and behold, it ain't like the latest fashion statement or fad where you can just purchase the latest model, use it once and relegate it to the back of your storeroom until the next spring cleaning either lands it in the rubbish dump, the salvation army donation box, or a garage sale.
Imo, that mindset does not go with tattoos unless we are referring to the the temporary kind. Plus, let's not forget all the "role models" who make it cool to have tattoos on their face, neck, hands, knuckles just for the sake of being a cool kid. Wasn't that the argument given for all the young guns taking up smoking (decades ago)?
Then again, there are also those for whom the above does not apply wherein it is more about adaptation than anything else.
 

I have no idea. I feel like maybe people who never would have gotten tattoos are getting them now because they are more mainstream, but then they appear to suddenly realize it is permanent? I don't know, but it feels like 90% of newbies come here to talk about their anxiety over a new tattoo. Sigh.

As someone middle-aged but new to the tattoo scene (just started the work on my first a couple weeks ago, going in for the second session tomorrow) I'm theorizing maybe it's the "social media + Instagram" popularity/bandwagon thing?
People see all these awesome tattoos online, usually a zoomed in, well lit/cropped image that looks amazing.  The hype starts, they rush out to get in on the awesomeness, then suddenly reality hits "wait, this isn't a nice cropped imagine online, this is on me forever and it does have some affect/impact on my daily life".  Probably mostly an overblown impression that fades over time, but that first realization hits hard.
Dunno, that's my worthless $0.02 on it.  That feeling isn't something I share: I'm pretty sure my first one I'm getting is perceived as "dumb" by the general public (my wife gave me the 'hmmmm' response so far lol), but I'm cool with that, it makes me happy to get anyways.

I reckon it goes a bit like this....
Being tattooed has become more socially acceptable (at least in the UK).  This has removed one barrier to being tattooed (at least in the view of some who care about that sort of thing).
Tattooing is more accessible.  There are more tattoo studios - and it's easier to get an understanding of the process and book an appointment.  This has removed another barrier (at least in some who wouldn't have made the effort).
Tattooing is now seen as desirable in some social milieu.  This has encouraged some who are influenced by that kind of thing to have a tattoo - when maybe that shouldn't be a primary reason.
The "being tattooed progression" also appears to have changed with the above.  Shoulder to upper arm to (maybe) lower arm to hands (unusual) to face (very unusual) has migrated to lower arm, hands etc as potentially a first tattoo.
But then again  - "I used to be with it, but then they changed what "it" was, and now what I'm with isn't "it"".....  😕

They spend too much time thinking about how cool they’ll be and too little time thinking about this artist, the design, the aftercare, the stigma, and the fact that unlike on TV, having one removed isn’t a painless 10 minute process that leaves the skin looking like new.
in short, they don’t think the whole thing through.

As you might remember my story about almost 2 years ago and I want to thank you guys again for how much you've been uplifting me with your honesty and your words. 
This post tattoo anxiety seems a very common thing. It hit me as well even though I was planning on getting a big one for many years. 
Many people have contacted me and having those feelings seems to be a very common thing, there seems to be the same pattern that people are going through. It looks to me that nowadays people want to have a solution for everything immediately if they don't feel comfortable with something. People don't know how to be patient anymore and get rid of something if they don't like it. People compare themselves way too much with others as it's what social media does with many people's minds.
There are quite a few reasons that I could write about regarding post tattoo anxiety and I was thinking about posting my experience here as so many people have been reaching out to me and I can see there seems to be a common psychological process (I just don't really have the time to write things down in detail)
Anyway:  I can assure to everyone with this anxiety: YOU WILL GET OVER  IT  and live will go on. It might take some time but you will get there. Don't be hard on yourself and even if right now you're having panic attacks (which is a horrible feeling), it'll get less and you'll come to love your tattoo. It's a change you've done to your body and now your mind needs some time to adjust. Don't forget that you love tattoos and why you love them because this is hopefully the reason why you decided to get them.
 

 

Trying to add stuff to 2 separate tattoos in an attempt to unify it and make you feel better about it is probably not gonna help.
Once you add, you can't take away. If you hate it afterwards, the only solution left would be a HUGE coverup.
Sometimes, tattoos just take some time to grow on you. If it doesn't, you can also try to link the tattoos together in your mind by assigning some form of significance to the combination.
Elsewise, do some research, work with an artist and find a design that can incorporate both tattoos and which you can live with.
If all else fails, do what @oboogie said and just drown them in a sea of tattoos.

Just a thought: did you use a scented lotion?
Tattoo friendly lotions should not sting. The only time that happened to me was when I ran out of my usual and the new shipment was delayed. I tried using lotion that was just lying around. It was supposed to be for sensitive skin and I reckon that should work fine. Turns out I was wrong. My tattoo started stinging, itching, and generally giving me grief.
Started developing bumps, itched like crazy and I was forced to dry heal the rest of the way. Ended up healing fine but a tad faded. After that incident, I made sure I kept a steady supply of tattoo aftercare lotion available whenever I got a tattoo.
I'm not saying that caused the lotion is the source of your woes but you might want to steer clear of that lotion in future in your aftercare routine. And any scented lotion, for that matter. 

What's wrong is that your tattoo artist didn't educate you about the healing process.

after a month,
yes