The fading I know I can do touch ups of, but how do you think I could deal with the disjointedness?

This makes a lot of sense to me, and was explained perfectly so thank you! The artist and I were discussing the importance of negative space in Chinese watercolor specifically in 山水画 (shan1shui3hua4, literally "water and mountain painting"), but I think you may be right about how that concept doesn't translate 1:1 in a tattoo. I think I'll definitely keep your comment in mind as I look for someone who could tie it all together a little better

I'm not gonna lie, I did love it until posting, and now I'm having second thoughts hahaha

How would you finish it?

山水画, literally "water and mountain painting," is a kind of traditional Chinese watercolor painting. The art doesn't always include people or signs of human activity like buildings or fishing boats, but when it does they will not be the center of the painting, only existing as an element to make up the whole piece. There are other things of significance behind the style such as the balance between positive and negative space, but the aspect of it that I mentioned was the main reason this imagery resonates with me. Its message is that people are only a part of the universe, not its center. I'm not sure if that answers your question but it's what drew me to the concept, along with trying to interact with my own Chinese-ness in a cool way

It's just red because it's fresh; once it healed up it went away and looks a lot better

This was done in two sessions, so the pink bits are fresh and the other parts are healed. I posted a more recent pic on r/shittytattoos. Thanks for the feedback; I've begun thinking about ways to make the elements more cohesive while preserving the spirit and simplicity of the style it's supposed to emulate