IMO all good advice. i would have to feel very strongly about something to have it inked in a highly visible place, but i also would never try to hide ink on some obscure body part. say it loud and proud!
the stupidest thing i've seen in recent days is a friend's new "tattoo" of one .5" star near her armpit. and apparently there's no real significance, just wanted a little ink. it's not like a drop of stevie's sweat hit her on
that spot at a concert.
i have two and am trying to temper the ink-lust for many more.
this one is on my back - probably 10" and
not surrounded by red swirlies. i spent six hours of my eighteenth birthday in the chair for that one. ten years later it still looks good - no fading or breaks in the lines.
and last year i had the orion constellation inked in "freckles" on my forearm. this photo was taken later that day, so it looks very different now - just like freckles. longsleeves for two weeks afterward because it looked like a collection of track marks.
i think i'm going to add a "frame" around the dragon. incorporate a few smaller images so i don't have random things splattered around this skin. a medieval phoenix, manuscript letters from the book of kells, the FM greatest hits logo, an allusion to anne rice's vampire chronicles, a coin, buddhist imagery, a crescent moon (dad wants to get a matching sun). those things would look bunk dotting my body, but i think if i get a good design going, those could all work nicely together.
if you're looking for ideas, i suggest looking around your room. of the things i just listed, all have very real meaning to me. from here with my laptop, i can see my books, artwork, photographs, decor, and all of it is meaningful to me - enough to want to carry it around proudly. not passing through phases.
good luck to you, and great ink to all.