The day after my 17th birthday, I had my nipples and navel pierced at a rave while high on Ecstasy. Very, very stupid idea, I know -- you should never get any sort of modification done while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and the business ethics of an artist who would pierce clients in such a state and in such an environment are questionable at best. I was very lucky that all three piercings ended up healing (after a very complicated and lengthy period, however...) and that I didn't get any blood-borne diseases. However, in addition to coming out with three healed piercings and a better understanding of the importance of going to a reputable practitioner, I also made an interesting discovery: though my mind is a bit fuzzy when recalling that night, I do remember that being pierced while on E felt absolutely unbelievable. I didn't experience any pain at all when my navel was done, and while there was some associated with the nipple piercings it certainly wasn't what I would call a negative sensation. Ever since then I have been curious about whether or not the E really made that much of a difference to the sensations I felt, as subsequent body piercings never left me with the same pleasurable rush. Though I've had twenty-eight piercings, suspended twice, and pulled three times, I still consider myself a bit of a wimp when it comes to pain and have difficulty getting through ritual experiences like suspensions. But those piercings that night were different. I planned to one day carry out a little experiment to see if E could really make pain pleasurable by having a series of play piercings done while high. The hard part was finding a person to share this with...
At A Glance Author zoisite Contact zoisite@bme.anon IAM zoisite When A month ago Artist Mark Studio his house Location Vancouver, BC I wanted it to do this with a boyfriend, as I knew it would be a very intimate experience for me. Unfortunately I was single for three years after graduating from high school, so had to put my idea on the back burner. I finally found the perfect person in the summer of my 20th year, but unfortunately I was moving from Vancouver to Saskatoon in a month to begin veterinary school when we met. JUST my luck... Anyway, we decided to make the most of our short time together, and became very close during those few pleasure-filled weeks. Mark is very into body modification and ritual, and has a much higher pain tolerance than I: he has done countless cuttings on himself, as well as flesh excisions, lip sewing, cheek skewering, scrotum nailing, and play piercing. He is a fan of E, but had never thought about mixing body play with the drug and was a bit apprehensive about the idea at first; but, he soon warmed up to it. So, we began making plans for a play piercing session...
We decided to take the E on a Saturday night, so that we would have a full day to recover afterwards. Unfortunately when the chosen evening finally came I was feeling very tired, dizzy, and nauseous due to a reaction to a new birth control pill, and was worried that I might not be up to piercing at all. At about 12:30am we decided to go ahead and take the E anyway, and see how we felt about the piercings when we were high; the experience of doing the drug together would still be enjoyable, so why not? Luckily Mark's [very, very normal] roommate was away for the night, so we felt safe setting up on the comfy couch in the living room rather than in the bedroom. As the drug hit I began to feel more awake and less sick, and we decided to get undressed, cuddle, and talk. After the E kicked in fully, I was feeling almost 100% and so we decided to go for it and try the play piercings.
I wandered over to the side table and grabbed the box of one hundred 20ga 1.5" needles I had picked up from work (for those lacking a job with perks like mine, the easiest place to get needles is via BMEShop's mail order service), and brought them back to the couch. I picked up a needle from the top of the box, and pinched the skin of Mark's right shoulder in between my fingers. I asked him if he was ready, and after getting an affirmative answer slid the first needle into his flesh. He let out a moan of pleasure as the bevel penetrated his skin and exited the other side. He looked at me with a blissful smile on his face, and exclaimed, "You were SO right about piercings and E!". Excited, I grabbed a needle and handed it to him, exclaiming "Do me, do me!" like an impatient child. He uncapped it, grasped the skin on my right forearm, and pierced me. I can hardly even describe the sensation I experienced: I felt no pain at all, just the incredible feeling of this thin piece of metal penetrating my skin, sliding under, and then pushing from the inside out as it exited my body. A rush of euphoria came over me as he finished the piercing, and I thought back to that experience three years ago at the rave: my memory had indeed been correct.
We looked at each other with wicked little smiles on our faces, and each grabbed a handful of sharps. I began piercing two parallel vertical rows down each side of Mark's back, as he filled my forearms with needles. The sensations increased as he worked up my arms, the piercings becoming more sensitive the higher up he went. The physical sensations and the sense of emotional closeness between us combined to create an amazing atmosphere: I was feeding off the pleasure he was receiving as I pierced him, and I could tell he was doing the same with me. After putting in about fifteen on each side of Mark's back, I began to feel creative and decided to connect the two lines together at the top and bottom with arches. I then began to pierce his body wherever my whimsy took me; I could tell that he was really enjoying it, and used his reactions as a guide for where to go next. I put three in his navel, one straight up and down and two angled on each side, flanking it. I dropped two down through his eyebrows, so the needles hung over his eyelids. Remembering how he had described the sensitivity in his upper lip during his sewing experience, I pierced two needles down through the lip so that the points crossed over his mouth. We had a few laughs imagining what would happen if Mark's roommate suddenly came home, as we were both sitting naked on the couch right next to the front door, our bodies filled with needles. It would have made for an interesting scene!
After he finished with my arms, Mark began putting a few needles in my upper thighs, pubic region, and cleavage area. These were much more sensitive than the forearm region of course, and I was starting to come down at this point so was feeling them more. I decided to call it quits, and Mark decided he had had enough as well. He wanted to try and take a few pictures of his back before removing the needles, so we went into the bathroom and set up his tripod for me to take a few snaps (there's no way in hell I could have held a camera steady enough to take a proper shot at that point). After the pictures were done, we headed back to the couch and began to remove each other's needles. They felt just as good going out as coming in! We pulled out some fast and some slow, to experience the different sensations. We encountered some bleeding, but not a lot. Certain areas of the body were more prone than others: Mark's lips and eyebrows, shoulders, and lower back bled quite a bit, but his back and navel hardly did at all. All of my piercings bled slightly, but none really significantly. After removing everything, we counted up the used needles. Grand total: eighty-four between two people -- nearly the whole box! We had timed the high nicely, as by the time all the needles were out and recapped we were almost all the way down and ready for bed. We headed back to the bedroom and cuddled up together, falling asleep after thanking each other for the incredible shared experience.
When I woke up the next morning, I had little dots of dried blood all over my forearms. I got into the shower to clean them off with soap, and Mark did the same. The holes closed up very quickly, but my arms still remained sensitive for quite a few days afterwards. After about a day, I began to bruise significantly. Within forty-eight hours after the piercings, my forearms were completely spotted with big black bruises -- I looked like a zebra! The piercings on my cleavage, thighs, and pubic region also bruised, but these areas aren't as visible publicly so dealing with them wasn't an issue like it was for the arms. It was the middle of summer, so I couldn't get away with wearing long-sleeved shirts at work; I had to hide the piercings with a pair of lace glovelets that went halfway up my shoulder. The bruises were still visible for over two weeks afterwards, and so I had to invent a story for my parents when they came to help me move: I told them the bruises were from blocking attacks in kickboxing, and luckily they believed me. Next time though I will only pierce my arms during the winter when it's acceptable to wear long sleeves! Mark experienced virtually no bruising at all, save for one of the piercings on his lower back which had bled significantly. He was concerned for a few days that this one had gotten infected and was developing an abscess, as the area was quite sensitive and a hard lump could be felt under the skin. Luckily though, it seemed to clear up on its own.
I hope no one reading this gets the [incorrect] impression that I am advocating illegal drug use and play piercing under unsafe conditions. That is not my intention -- I am simply sharing mine and Mark's experience with the hope that others in the community will find it helpful and enlightening. I realize that mixing drugs with piercing may not be a good idea, and could be very dangerous for some people. If you are considering trying something like this, please do your research and take all the necessary safety precautions. That said, this was one of the most incredible and memorable nights of my life, and I wouldn't change anything that happened for the world. I am incredibly grateful that I had my amazing boyfriend Mark to share this experience with. It takes a lot of trust and intimacy to bring physical pain into a relationship successfully, and I am amazed that I found someone I could feel so completely comfortable with after such a short time. Though my bruises have faded away now, I don't think I will ever be able to look at my arms again without recalling that unforgettable evening. I'm hoping there will be many more like it in the future...