I've given a lot of thought to what my tattoo(s) would say. Since they're stuck on me for life, they need to be meaningful.

For sure, I know I want a tattoo that says "timshel" which comes from East of Eden by John Steinbeck. There's a whole beautiful verse in the book about the meaning of timshel, which the author explains translates to "thou mayest" -- or, we can choose our destiny. Caveats: I'm not religious, and I understand that Steinbeck didn't get the translation quite right. But I don't care about that -- it's the verse itself and the meaning behind it that is so powerful to me. I want the "Steinbeck timshel," not the actual Biblical translation.

If there will be a second tattoo in the future, I'm leaning toward "this too shall pass" but I'm not quite as certain on that one.

Since I'm a tattoo virgin, I have all sorts of questions:

• Where's the best place to get a "timshel" tattoo?
• So what do I do, just mock something up in Adobe Illustrator or tell the artist "here's what I want in this font"? Or do they have a bunch of presets?
• How do I find a good tattoo artist?
• At this stage in life, should I rethink this scheme altogether?

EDIT: I want this/these tattoos to serve as reminders for myself, not to show off to other people. Not that I care if other people see them... Not sure if that helps with placement.

Heyyy Tilderinos! I'm getting my first tat tomorrow - planning on a Lopunny and Mega Lopunny on my bicep that I'd love to turn into a patchwork sleeve of my other favorite Pokemon down the line. Bouncing between really excited and really nervous! What's some general advice you'd give?

This is my first post so please let me know if I'm doing anything incorrectly! I'm not very clear on how tags work... Apologies.

I'm curious if there are many tattoo enthusiasts around. I love both talking about and looking at tattoos. I have found that more visual-focused places like Instagram or even Reddit don't really allow much conversation on the nuances of the industry, its artists, artistry, criticisms, and so on.

I am a heavily tattooed woman, which is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I'm happy in my own body. A curse because being fetishized makes me uncomfortable.

I both love and hate tattoos entering more into the mainstream. As that as happened, artistry has come leaps and bounds alongside it.

Anyone have any deep thoughts on tattoos and modern tattoo culture?