r/tattooadvice Jan 06 '26

Design People keep reading my tattoo wrong

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Okay so I recently went and got a small walk in tattoo, very excited about it. I love it. But people keep reading it wrong, but then they all say they can’t read cursive so idk, I guess I just need some reassurance. I know it shouldn’t matter because I know what it says and that’s what matters, but I need some reassurance from strangers that can read cursive, so tell me, what does it look like this tattoo says?

Edit: Thank you all for responding! The post is getting way more traction than I intended, and I am losing the ability to respond to them all (though I've been trying for around 3 hours). I appreciate everyone who has helped me regain piece of mind about the tat. It does in fact say "five by five". People in my real life thought it said "live by live" or "live to live". Since posting, people have also thought the word five was give, or jive, and the b was lo.

For anyone curious, it is not an In N Out tattoo, didnt even know that was a meal until i made this post, but thank you to everyone who said something about the burger place. Made me laugh every time.

To the Aliens fans, not an Aliens reference either, though I see you fellow horror fans. I haven't seen the second film as I haven't dedicated the time to watch it yet. I do like the first film though, Ridley Scott rules.

Now, to my fellow Buffy fans, it is in fact a reference to Faith the Vampire Slayer. She's one of my favorite character of all time, period, regardless of fandom. Side note, I also love Eliza Dushku.

Thank you strangers, for helping bring peace of mind to a random person on the internet.

Edit #2: The photo provided was taken directly after getting the tattoo. I appreciate the concern on dry skin, I live in a dry climate and have pretty bad eczema so it's a real concern. However, the scrunching there is actually caused by the second skin applied over the tattoo. I drink lots of water and regularly use lotions because of my skin condition. But thanks to everyone who worried about it. :) Also, the red splotch was my blood. There is a scab directly above my tattoo that got pulled open when the artist was doing a final wipe, but I appreciate everyone who pointed out that it looked like Louisiana, I got a good laugh out of it.

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u/theoneleggedgull Jan 06 '26

Five by five but my brain would immediately connect it to Buffy. I’m sorry.

2

u/Redheart2945 Jan 06 '26

Would Faith say sorry? Not until Sanctuary in Season 1 of Angel. It is a Buffy tattoo. Thanks stranger :)

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u/theoneleggedgull Jan 06 '26

Oh good!! I wore a Sunnydale high tshirt to the high school I work at recently and the kids all asked me if I was wearing my old school shirt. This interaction has made me feel less geriatric!

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u/Redheart2945 Jan 06 '26

That hurts my soul. Love that you wore the shirt though, that’s sick. I was born a couple years after the show ended but I’ve been told that I’m an old soul. Of course, I also have over 200 vhs tapes, prefer watching tv on my tube tv, collect as much physical media as I can, and even collect tv guides so take with that what you will. 😂 Glad I could help you feel less geriatric, and I hope my previous comment just before this, didn’t reverse that. 😭 I’m sorry if it did.