Fala

@HettyKet
I do understand your idea of wanting your tattoos to have some kind of unified "look". But from my point of view that is going to happen naturally, as @beez pointed out: most professional tattooers will try to make sure your new tattoo resonates with what you all ready have. And also, since it is dictated by YOUR taste, just take your time and research your artists and you will get tattoos that match up. Maybe not in everybody's eyes, but in your eyes.
Also I think you should not limit yourself too much (remember: this is coming from someone who has 30+ tattoos, the vast majority in somewhat traditional style black n gray). For me tattoos is (among other things) a hobby, I had to explain this to my father recently. Throughout the journey of getting tattoos I often find myself evaluating and re-evaluating aesthetic preferences, mine as well as others.
Example time: I had never cared for japanese style tattoos, at first I really disliked them (product of too many badly executed koi fishes and shabby dragons). But about two years after my first tattoo, by the help of looking at tattoos every day, I was starting to appreciate the technical side of japanese tattoos. Composition, color use, detail, good design. But I still didn't cared for the subject matter, I just didn't like it. Fast forward to january this year -> I get a tattoo of Judas wearing a devils mask. My artists, Iain Mullen, makes it resemble a hanya mask. Hmmm…. Fast forward again, about 6 weeks ago: I get my first proper japanese tattoo (!) a namakubi with samurai sword. And today? I realized that the smoke on my left upper arm (done about two years ago) has a distinct japanese flavor to it, despite being dot shaded.
Sentiment, to ponder or disregard: to set out with one distinct style in mind and think that you are going to keep being as into it, and ONLY it, for the rest of your tattoo journey, is letting your present self dictate what your future self should do. Be flexible instead, don't let your own dogmas get in the way of passion.
edit: spelling, this and that

Yes! My tattoo appts = doctor appts at my job haha "Yes, I have to leave early to go to the doctor in NYC and no, I will not be back as the appointment is 4 hours long...."

Duh, the water pushed the lines out and made them shakey. Science.

I immediately imagined this piece by Filip Leu:

I immediately thought of Kenji Alucky, Thomas Hooper, Roxx at 2Spirit, Dan Mattia, and other artists doing blackwork/dotwork, etc. (The aforementioned are names that popped into my head.) If you asked someone like that to do a Rorschach inspired tattoo, that might look super cool. In all honesty though, I'd start looking at a bunch of different artists/shops and see if an artists' style/work jives with your personal aesthetic, you can figure out the rest from there.

For a tattoo like that I would go to Jondix or not get it at all.

I immediately thought of Kenji Alucky, Thomas Hooper, Roxx at 2Spirit, Dan Mattia, and other artists doing blackwork/dotwork, etc. (The aforementioned are names that popped into my head.) If you asked someone like that to do a Rorschach inspired tattoo, that might look super cool. In all honesty though, I'd start looking at a bunch of different artists/shops and see if an artists' style/work jives with your personal aesthetic, you can figure out the rest from there.

Nice @trill been noticing a ton of boxer babes lately, too. My wife got one from Virginia the same week she just happened to do two others. Next trend: lady owl boxers with wolf hats and monocles and geometric patterns.

The problem with the idea of tattoos needing to have meaning is that it usually seems like the design of the tattoo is overlooked in favour of its meaning, which more often than not leads to bad tattoos. I literally have no idea what "A Beautiful Chaos on my front shoulder with almost water color looking glass" would look like, or even what it is. Maybe there is a tattoo artist somewhere who could take that idea and do something great with it, but then again, maybe not.
I'm going to suggest that based on what you've written here about the tattoo you have that you had a profound experience last weekend. There is something about tattooing, something about willingly putting a permanent mark on your body, that had a deep effect on you in ways that you might not be able to articulate. It brought you out of your regular routine into an unfamiliar and exciting world, it made you feel strong and beautiful, it made you feel like regardless of what other things are going on in your life and around you that you have some measure of control. Or maybe other things, or maybe none of them. I'm also going to suggest that you would have had this experience regardless of what you had tattooed on you. You would have felt similar things if it was a rose, or a swallow, or a dragon. That's where the meaning of tattoos is. Obviously you still need to choose imagery that appeals to you, but if you want to convey a sense of beauty there is no shortage of tattooable imagery that works for that...you can absolutely never go wrong with birds and flowers, for example. You'll end up with a far better tattoo that way.

Get a brand new tattoo somewhere else -- then you'll stop obsessing!

From quotes to the other extreme: inkblots! Definitely a pretty original idea, but the finished product might look exactly like that.. a bunch of blobby black that you may end up regretting as much as the original quotes. Tattoos don't need to be literal. That's why you can get a reaper and have it mean death or life or party time or nothing at all. If you're going for full arm coverage start checking out some large-scale work. LST is a great place to start.. Maybe start with a portrait of Rorschach himself if you're really into it. I mean, he's not an unattractive man: Hermann Rorschach - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't like talking about money either and call me old fashion...or just plain old, I prefer to bring gifts. Books, bottles of alcohol, some type of food or treats. Sure cash can be king, but this works for me and the artist always seem to appreciate it.

Generally we like to keep talk about money off of LST.

this was the first thing that came to mind:

I just re-read this thread and it reminded me of something funny. The first tattoo I showed my parents I had a much nicer reaction than when I show them newer ones. I usually get the "Ok, show me the new tattoos." When I visit. Although I can say they are getting much more bold, and bigger.

Im almost always in a 2 or 3 piece suit (suit with a vest). I could probably go everything but hands, face and neck but I do like to roll up my sleeves so i would probably stick with 3/4 sleeves. Oh yea everyone on Wall St. rocks shirtless.
It mores goes that I travel globally for my job (consultant) and need to look "normal" under their definitions.

Personally I have a strong opinion against smaller tattoos. I like very large pieces and plan probably having a bodysuit with 3/4 sleeves (job :( ).

I'm a little late, but it was great meeting you all and now I can put faces to usernames (which I think we all agreed sound so bizarre in real life).
Hopefully we can do this again sometime. I'm just a river hop away!

A properly handsome group there :)

Great to see the NYC crew finally pulled it off!
I tuned up the picture for you a little bit. ;)

I work for city government so I might come off sounding like a narc, but here's some food for thought:
In NYC, you have to be 18 years or older to purchase tobacco products or smoking paraphernalia including hookah bongs, shisha and e-cigs. In NYS you have to be 21 or older to purchase alcohol. There's conversations in NYC to push the tobacco stuff up to 21 to match up with the alcohol threshold.
Do I think tattoos fall within the age of consent thresholds as tobacco or alcohol...probably not. Should it be? Not sure.
@Graeme 's comment is a very valid point that a lot of the younger generation just don't really know and most times get horrid work in some chop shop. Does that mean we should put down limitations. Maybe for the greater good but generally I hate placing a ban on anything. Jesus I sound like a politician...

Given the tattoos that I see 21 year olds getting, I'm going to say 35.

The next time someone wants to get a belly or collar rocker I'm gonna suggest that they put it upside down so they can read it.

When I was getting my first tattoo, for months beforehand, I wanted to get a phrase taken from a John Cheever quote -- "write to make sense of life" (full quote: "The need to write comes from the need to make sense of one's life and discover one's usefulness.") -- AND I wanted to get in Latin. This was only six years ago, but I don't even remember what my reasoning was for the whole Latin thing.
Anyway, after stressing over the correct spelling for the Latin (seriously. wut.), font options for the script, etc., I finally decided the reason I was dallying on actually getting the tattoo was because I didn't really want to get words written on me. I wanted an image. I wanted something that would look beautiful. I wanted art.
So I found the ibis, the bird that represents the Egyptian deity Thoth, who served as scribe to the gods. As soon as I stumbled upon it, I knew it would be the image I got tattooed on me. It held the meaning I wanted, that was important to me, but it was also a beautiful image of a lovely bird (my ibis is in flight).
Now that I have three more tattoos, I feel confident saying I don't think I'll ever put text on my body. I think script can look really great incorporated into certain designs, but what I personally like about tattoos is that they are mobile art that I get to carry with me everywhere I go. It's a bit ironic given how much I clearly value the written word, but hey, a time and place for everything, right? :)
Side benefit -- there's more ambiguity with pictures. They feel more personal to me. I know what my ibis means, and if someone who sees it asks me about it, I can tell them. For everyone else who doesn't ask, they'll just see a pretty bird in flight. And that's cool, too.
Anyway, good luck with your tattoo -- I hope you get exactly what you want.

This was my experience exactly. Heed this advice.