The story of a non-obvious ink-and-needles-lover pt. 2.

As the time for another tattoo is slowly dawning, I decided it's time to tell you about the rest of my collection.

The first part of the story ended in the center of Antwerp at a somewhat shady tattoo parlor in the redlight district.

After those 20 minutes of pain, I had very mixed feelings about the entire thing. On the one side it hurt like hell and I was not likely to forget that kind of pain any time soon. On the other hand it was a kind of turning point as well. In that moment I knew that I was hooked. Sold to the idea of more stories engraved in my body.

There was a rather quiet spell for a couple of months after that. Ink-wise that is. In the time between the first part of my sternum tattoo and my next piece, I got an intimate piercing. I won't go into detail about it. It's an intimate and private piercing for a reason. What I will say about the event is this: I am very happy about the shop I chose. Pirate Piercing is very extremely professional, friendly and helpful. I was comfortable and at ease for the entire event. Healing process was a breeze compared to my tongue piercing. I still have it to this day and get a lot of joy from it. In what way, that is for me to know.

I guess it took another year after that for me to get my next tattoo and it was the first one that I got together with a friend. Now before you say anything about friendships being fleeting and me not thinking this through: I did! It's not like we got exactly the same tattoo, nor is it a fluke with a friend that I am not truly close to. QueenCleo came in my life with a bang and I am certain that she is not about to leave. We are kindred spirits and it was an easy thing to decide. I'm not sure how we went about it to be honest. I was raving about garter tattoos and she mentioned how she loved them too and before long we were each picking out a design and she had contacted her artist to make the appointment.

Leni from Moonshine Tattoo Parlour is the first tattoo artist that made me feel like she truly understood what I wanted. A garter pattern is no easy thing to draw up and to boot I wanted it to be in lace and with shadow. No colors of course.

There we were, 2 Queens on a train on one of the first truly warm days of 2014. We were nervous, wearing short shorts and chatting away. I was a lot more nervous than she was come to think of it. I must have been a real pest. All the worry turned out to be useless of course. The design Leni came up with was beautiful and very much me. More than she could have known, as we had never met. Trusting my best friend's knowledge and taste definitely paid off!

Two hours for me and two for Cleo later, we walked out with the first part of our garterbelts in place. The outlining of the entire thing was done and I could hardly wait to get on with the next part. You must understand though: it were a long two hours. Somehow I had fooled myself into believing that the entire thing would be done in no more than 2 hours. Of course now I know better. My session went without being really eventful. Sure I swear from time to time but it wasn't like I was crying by the end of it.

Guess QueenCleo won't kill me for saying this: her two hours were an entirely different matter. She did not cry!! At all. But her leg was a little more shaky. In her defence: she warned me that she hated pain and wasn't going to be quiet about it. You can bet that she delivered in that department. And QueenCleo, if you are reading this -which I know you will-; we still need to make sure you get that second part done! I'll be there for the entire thing. Promise.

The reason I am making this promise, is that she went with me for my second session. Reading my first part you must have guessed that I am a sucker for text. After that first quote it was a simple thing to decide to go for another one. Again, Sylvia Plath was my chosen author. "I am, I am, I am" is a quote from "The Bell Jar": a novel in which Sylvia Plath talks about her time before and during a psychiatric spell. It's one of the first novels that stuck with me that is considered a "classic" and I have read and re-read it many times. The quote suits me because of what comes before the I-am-part: I took a deep breah and listened to the old brag of my heart: I am, I am, I am. Of course there's a difference between me and Sylvia Plath, thankfully. I am not suicidal and won't stick my head in the oven in the next couple of years. Yet her words and the way she looks at the world is so easy for me to relate to. She hits home so many times.

Back to the ink though! The quote was added during the second two hour session. Shadowing and detail was a hell of a lot harder to get through than the outlining of it all. Still: it was a form of therapy. As soon as the entire thing was done I felt like it was meant to become part of me. Today I still feel that way. Every time I look down at my leg I see a reminder of my growth. Of me finally chosing to be the most important to me.

That wasn't all I did during that visit though! QueenCleo and I do have exact matching tattoos now. We both had a little diamond put behind our ears. In honor of both our friendship and our mutual love for the city of Diamonds. Our homestead.

I am reluctant to go on any further at this point. This is another good place to end the second part of my journey in the world of tattoos.

The next time I'll talk about my sternum adventures. Wow.

#Queenjoke #queenjoke #inkandneedles #iwishiwasalittlebittaller #mybodyismytemple