Black & Blue, Bruised & Broken

With my lyrics in hand and the sketch of my stitched heart it was just a matter of finding a place in Boston to get the tattoos done. Rana picked me up from the T and after a quick shower we were off trying to find somewhere that could take two walk ins for the afternoon. There was traffic fighting but eventually we wound up at the Painted Bird and Tony there was put to the task of inking up my skin.

When he got my Georgia license he was a little surprised, asking about when I got into town and such. Turns out I found one of the only tattoo artists in Boston who also used to work in Atlanta. That was just some sort of fitting irony.

There was another EMB fan there, Olivia, who I recognized, but Rana actually knew. She was getting hers done, so the happy coincidence was amusing. She was pretty smiley about seeing mine and Rana's (well as much as she could be already a few hours into hers and wincing at it). The tweets later were far more reassuring than a pained face, which was totally understandable.

The obvious statement was that it hurt, but I think this one hurt worse than my other ribcage tattoo. I blame part of it on the fact that I've lost weight since the last time I got it done, which means there's less 'padding' between skin and bone, but I don't know. Either way, it was rough, but Tony managed to work this way through it pretty quickly. Hopefully I didn't flinch too much. I imagine that's annoying.

The finished product came out better than I think I could have ever planned. It's beautiful and just what I wanted. I think Bryan's handwriting totally makes it.



We went to the show later that night (more on the show itself later) and of course it was the first thing he asked about as soon as he saw me. It was still bloody and bandaged when I showed him originally, but the photo was on my phone and he looked at that. Turns out he really likes it too, and really loves the stitched heart idea. So much that he's already bothering his guy about new artwork. As we were leaving he told me again thanks for getting it in general and I thanked him for writing it out for me. He said "anytime" then corrected him. "You don't have to get another." I smiled and told him we'd see if the mood struck for another.

Right now it's my current favorite of my tattoos, but I think I say that about all my tattoos right after a I get them. It's just how it goes I think, though it is really lovely in general. What do ya'll think?

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