What's worse than the pain of getting a tattoo? The relentless itching as it heals, and the knowledge that there's no way you can attempt to relieve that itching. You have your ink, but for the few days you're also going to have what's essentially a giant, open sore. As your immune system kicks into high gear to try to repair the damage, you're going to end up with something of a leaky mess, and that's putting it politely. The oozing is your body trying to get rid of all the little foreign invaders, and chances are it might succeed in getting rid of at least a bit of the ink. That's expected, though. The clear stuff is blood plasma. It's trying to create the most impressive scab it possibly can, and mopping all that off will help keep the whole area clean.
In case no one warned you, getting a tattoo is a little gross. For the first few days, the irritation and injury will cause the whole area to be sore and feel a little feverish, but once that passes it'll start to peel like a sunburn. That week or so is probably worse than the pain of getting the tattoo. Get ready for a relentless, infuriating itch. Itching or peeling off skin before it's completely healed can ruin the whole piece, prevent ink from settling into the places it should, and generally make you all sorts of sad.
By about the second week (depending on the person, the location, and how heavy-handed the artist was), it should look pretty normal. Healing isn't finished, though, and it can take up to six months for everything under the skin to finish mending itself. Fortunately, the itching will be gone long before then.
