As I type this, I am still experiencing the high of my first larger needle play experience, performed by Tony of Ancient Expressions.
At A Glance Author wailingblend Contact wailingblend@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Tony Studio Ancient Expressions Location Peterborough Since starting play piercing as a recreational experience among friends, I have been interested in suspensions, pulls, ritual piercing and the stories of those who have undergone them. The piercing shops in Peterborough are all somewhat correlated by staff and clientele. When I saw photographs of my piercer, Dan (The Surface Bar) being pierced with 77 needles in Ancient Expressions, I was intrigued, and started asking Dan about it. He had positive things to say, and told me what to expect. I wanted to have my first larger play piercing session with him, but unfortunately he welds in the winter. Knowing that I wanted to experience the needle play around my birthday (February 4th) I booked an appointment with Tony, ordered 2 boxes of 21 ga needle hubs, and took the bus to my hometown.
Having waited 4 weeks for the hubs to get into the shop, I was excited, and calm to the point of talking in a monotone. Tony and I chatted while he checked the three 10 ga cartilage piercings he had done for me in the past month. After a few cigarettes, we proceeded to the back of the shop, where I took off my shirt and bra. After making some marks, I lay down on the table and started to get tense. The most I had ever pierced myself before was 30 needles, and there were 200 in the boxes. What if I only made it to 20 and felt like a wimp? What if I only made it to 10?
The first piercing Tony did was caught in the clamps, so it had to be removed. I quickly came to the conclusion that the clamps hurt more than the piercings themselves. The first eight stung significantly, as much so as getting any piercing, with all the discomfort along with the buzz. I was shaking, and Tony paused frequently to check my pulse/temperature. It was probably around the 25th piercing that I began to feel great. A little nervous because I was in unfamiliar physical territory, but in a wonderful place mentally. Time had lost meaning. If someone had told me that it had been three minutes or three hours since we had started, I would have believed them. After a (seemingly) brief time after we had begun, Tony announced that he was going to stop soon. I felt heartbroken- mentally, I was prepared to go on for eternity. I was perfectly content in that physical sensation: every needle felt better than the last. One of the other piercers, Corey, came in near the end in order to count the needles. I was prepared to be disappointed- it only felt as if I had thirty in me. However, after a few minutes of careful counting, he came up with 68. 68 needles in my body. I wanted more. Tony gave me ten more, to push it to 78. Corey began to take photos, and they pulled out a mirror to show me. I was greeted with the beautiful sight of needles- needles in my breasts, needles over my clavicle, needles forming lines up my arms.
Tony was exhausted. He and Corey began the process of removing the needles. Admittedly, it hurt much more than having them inserted. I also started to bleed a lot, forcing Tony to rush for paper towels while blood ran down my body onto the table faster than it could be stopped. I loved the sensation of blood running down my neck, cooling as it went. I was giggling. Corey quipped that "A day without blood in here is like a day without sunshine." I laughed and told them to consider their day a nice one. Before I wanted it to, the entire procedure was done, my wounds cleaned with rubbing alcohol and tepid water.
Standing up after an hour and a half of piercing, I looked proudly in the mirror, seeing tracks from my hands upwards, with some dark bruises forming on my breasts and collarbone. Corey picked up a couple of juices for us to sip while recuperating after the procedure. I paid Tony promptly, and promised to come back. Going to hang out with my friends afterwards, it was hard not to gush about it, the pain, how awesome it all was, and how proud I was that I could happily have 78 needles in my body. I wanted to tell them that the societal belief portraying pain as a sensation to be avoided at all costs is an errant one.
However, I know that many of them would react negatively, so I will gush and celebrate with the modified community. I am confident that there will be many larger sessions to follow as I get to know my body more intimately. In the twenty four hours since the needles were removed, people have come up to me to ask how I enjoyed it.
"Thoroughly," I have to answer, "and I have another 122 needles in my bag if you want to see why."