At A Glance
Author	astrid
Contact	katzebot@hotmail.com
IAM	astrid
When	A month ago
Artist	Tony
Studio	Kustom Culture
Location	Cuyahoga Falls, OH

Preface
I'm fond of my jubblies, okay. They're not too big and they're not too small and they don't point up or out and they're kind of cute, even. If a year ago you said to me, 'Astrid, why don't you pierce your boobs?' I'd say, 'Ha! Because they're just fabulous without metal through them.'

Oh, on the contrary.

My best friend and I had gotten tattoos together and decided it was due time for another mod of sorts. She's not one for facial piercings and I already had everything I could pull off, so we decided that it only made sense to have our nipples pierced.

The First Roadblock
It was one week from the day we decided to go through with it that we actually went through with it. I thought I had enough money in my account to get both of them done (which I checked about the cost beforehand: $60 for both, which isn't very expensive, except I don't know how to handle money.) but it turned out I was short one busom. Blast! I thought, it can't happen today! The disappointment was great at the idea of having only one nipple pierced and having to wait to get the other one done. Lo and behold, a very good friend of mine loaned me the money. (He said he would have paid more, too, if just to see the look on my face as the needle was going through, the bastard. Oh, but I love him so.) That was that, then.

The Longest Drive, Ever
There were four of us in the car, total; only two of which were getting piercings. My other friend, Rob, had had his nipples pierced but one of them got ripped out somehow and his other was doing nicely. He gave us fierce warnings on the pain, and laughed as we cowered pathetically. Of course, I read all about the piercing and different experiences and gathered that boys have it a lot worse because typically the piercing has to be done deeper. That's what you get for having little nips. Also, we listened to AC/DC's song about big balls. The tension was lifted only shortly before we pulled into the parking lot.

Cue: Jitters
Now, I'm all about getting pierced. I love the rush. This time, however, I had to be physically extracted from the car. I was so damned nervous that I couldn't sit in a chair for more than five seconds. Our dudes that accompanied us snickered with delight as we nearly wet ourselves filling out paperwork. Yes, here's my ID, here's my signature, here's my cash, here's my lunch. Oh, what? We have to wait a minute for you to set up? Like this situation needed to be drawn out any longer.

HA!
As it turned out, the parlor we went to didn't have individual rooms. Instead it was one large room divided by, well, dividers. Tony, our piercer, informed us that there wouldn't be enough room in the piercing cubicle? to have witnesses. It's karma, I'm telling you. So the boys, pouting with disappointment (and I think, too, it was because they weren't going to get to see two pairs of boobs) sat behind while we walked terrifiedly into the niche. He set up more dividers so nobody in the room could see us and asked which of us would go first. Since I'd gotten my tattoo first, she volunteered, God bless her.

Note: Don't Laugh While Getting Pierced
Not Even A Little Bit
Seriously
My friend unbuttoned her shirt reluctantly and presented herself to be examined. He asked if either of us was allergic to seafood because of the sterilizer he'd be using. Nope, I love seafood. It was this orangish business that looked rather like iodine, but apparently the chemical makeup was different than that of iodine. You learn something new everyday. He put gloves on and showed us what he'd be using; a new needle with every piercing, two sets of clamps tied with rubberbands so that they'd clamp tightly, and four 14g CBRs. So he wipe-wipe-wiped the nipples until they were standing at attention and cleaned completely, then marked where the holes would be with a purple pen that took ages to come off. She checked in the mirror and the dots were perfectly even, so she nodded for the go-to.

The Moment of Truth, But Not For Me Yet
He took the clamps and grabbed one of the nipples lightly, making sure both dots were in the center of the ends of the clamps. (I do wish I knew technical terms, here.) He then stuck one of the needles in a vaseline-like substance and made sure it would be well-lubricated so the skin wouldn't rip and it wouldn't be too much more painful. He positioned the cork where the needle would exit, (she grabbed my hand and looked straight ahead,) and he positioned the needle and said, 'okay, ready?' I could tell he was piercing because her eyes went instant-headlights and her mouth dropped. Yeah, and I was ready to leave right then. She looked at me and said 'Brandy, that sucked.' Okay, sweet. Thanks for that.

Number Two
He threw the needle into a contamination bucket of sorts and got the second ready. Same procedure, except when she was being pierced for the second time, she shook like she was having a seizure. It certainly didn't help matters when she told me that that was the single most concentrated pain she'd ever had in her life. And oh, it's my turn? Fabulous. I may die.

The Face
I took my shirt off and noticed how different and new it felt to be shirtless in front of a stranger. I didn't feel violated in any way because I knew he was professional and he'd seen many-a-boobie in his day. He cleaned the nipples, marked them and they looked just peaches. I'll tell you, I'd never been more nervous in my entire life for getting a piercing. I was trying to comprehend the idea of having a needle shoved through my nipples. I did the squeeze-test and found that it was quite painful just pinching the nipple forcefully. So I definitely expected a whole lot of suck and uncomfortableocity. He clamped the first nipple, my right one, as I do believe I'm obsessive-compulsive and it always has to go right to left. The clamp wasn't so much painful as it was awkward. He lined things up nicely and gave me the 'ready?' spiel and I said ye Gods no, of course, but nevertheless he proceeded to push the needle through. Wow. Wow. Okay, wow. Apparently, I made a 'really funny' face halfway through the piercing and my friend laughed at me. I was such a mixture of awe and pain and shock that I, too, squeaked and seized and the needle was like, whoooah, where do I go?! I recall it being most excruciating as it was passing through the center. The needle was all the way through and I was a statue. I couldn't move. Wow. He quickly slid the CBR in without any (further) pain whatsoever.

The Realization
Oh, oh, I've got two boobs, which means I have two nipples, which means I still have one more nipple to go. The pain from the first had subsided almost completely into more of a numbed pulsing. I could feel my heart thumping in my nipple, and that was new. He clamped lucky number two, set up the cork and FUCK. They say the second hurts worse than the first and they're not, in any way, lying. I couldn't have imagined it being any worse than the first, but it's about fifty-times moreso. I guess, then, it's because the adrenaline you build up before the first one kind of flushes out as you get pierced and your body and/or mind doesn't have whatever it takes to be all pumped up for the second. You know what to expect and it doesn't help at all. But he slid the ring in and voilá, I had two very shiny, sore, newly pierced nipples. Hooray! Did I mention I almost fainted? I've never fainted during or after being pierced. It was a peculiar feeling, like the lighting was dimmed slight ly, but I snapped out of that quickly.

So, It's February
Now, if you live somewhere warm year-round, damn you to a very bad place, because I live in Ohio. While it may not have the coldest winters around, this day was particularly cold. As we cautiously buttoned our shirts, Tony explained aftercare for the little guys which consisted of washing them twice a day with an unscented soap. He didn't advise using anything like an antiseptic because those weren't for puncture wounds, which I thought was an amusing description for 'piercing'. He gave us sheets to make sure we had all the information we needed and sent us on our way. We stepped outside and fwoosh, gust of frigid air, nipple hardening. Not, not, not pleasant in any way. One of the dudes volunteered to drive, thank goodness, so we got in the car and decided there was no way we could manage the ride home with the bumps in the road and you know what I mean. I laid down in the back and my friend put her seat back as far as it could go.

Yes, These Are My Boobs
We finally arrived at the house of Dude and rushed up stairs where we could lay on the floor, topless. That, too, was strange for me because I'm not one at all to expose myself in front of people. Luckily, we've got very chill friends and it wasn't so much a big deal that two girls were laying on their floor without shirts on. Rob brought us pop with straws in them so we could remain laying on the floor. As nature works, I had to use the restroom shortly thereafter. I got up slowly, draped my shirt over my top-half and did my thing. When I returned to the room, I noticed a large mirror on the back of Rob's door. After posing like Lara Croft for a few minutes, I resumed my place on the floor, quite pleased with the day.

Postface
So you want to get your nipples pierced. Go and get them done. Anyone who's been pierced knows that sometimes it hurts, but it doesn't tend to hurt for long. If it does, there's probably something wrong, which isn't very good. If I can go through with it, chances are you can too. The worst part is having the needle being pushed through. Afterwards it's just sore as any piercing would be. Make sure when cleaning them that you get ALL of the crusties off before trying to push the ring around, because having crusties pushed through boobies is highly unfeelinggood. After the first couple of days of roaming free and wearing baggy clothes, it doesn't hurt to wear a bra. A few times, though, the ring would flip up and I'd go all day like that and when I went to clean it it rather hurt having to flip it back down. My piercings migrated a little bit towards the bottom of the nipple, but I don't mind at all. I wasn't expecting perfection, I was just grateful they didn't reject, because if they had, I would probably never get them pierced again. Because I'm lame and a wuss, I know, shut up. It hurt like hell but it's real fucking cool standing (posing) in front of a mirror and seeing the result. It's been about a month since I've had them done and they don't hurt at all, but I know they're not healed all the way because they still crust up quite a bit. And definitely don't let the thought of pain scare you away from being pierced, with any piercing, really. It's so momentary that you don't have time to go ouchouchouch before you're going, sweet.

Cheers!