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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Mahima Kaur & Laura Sharman

Tattoo lover gets called 'Satan' in street after extreme body art with £7k of ink

A tattoo fanatic has revealed how they used body art and modifications to "save their life", but now faces being called Satan in the street.

Rune's body mod has taken their amateur performance career to heights, including an Ed Sheeran music collaboration with J Balvin for the song Sigue.

The sales consultant, 28, was still a 12-year-old girl when they started visiting body modification forums and websites on their family computer.

Rune had gone through abuse at the hands of people around them, and body modification was a way of coping with that trauma.

But their body art has come with unwanted attention from strangers who hurl abuse at Rune in public.

"They turn their heads around and take a picture," they said.

"Someone actually fell on the street because they were more focused on me than the ground below their feet.

An old photo of Rune (mediadrumimages/Rune)
Rune expresses their creativity through body modifications and tattoos (mediadrumimages/Rune)

"Some people shout out 'Satan/Sheitan' at me."

Born and raised in Alsace, France, Rune grew up in a family that was rather conservative and did not approve of body modification.

They chose to modify their body in an attempt to reclaim it, after years of not feeling at home in their original body.

Rune found in body modification a means of expressing their creative self.

They started stretching their earlobes at the young age of 15 before they got them scalped at 23.

In the procedure, the earlobes are cut and then stitched to be enlarged when stretching isn't possible anymore, or when somebody wants to access a bigger size faster.

Rune before they opted for modifications (mediadrumimages/Rune)
Rune out and about in Strasbourg (mediadrumimages/Rune)

Rune also got their labret punched and scalpeled, their tongue split, and more recently their ears partially cut and stitched.

They were 18 when they got their first piercing done in their septum, and just 19 when they got their first tattoo on the inside of their arm.

Since then, they have got so many tattoos done that they confess to having lost count of them.

Rune spent a whopping £2,200 pounds on body modification, £1,300 on piercings, and more than £7,000 on their tattoos.

This included their bodysuit surgery in January 2018 when they had their breasts removed, and nipples cut and grafted.
Rune is trans and identified as non-binary from then onwards.

One of their past tattoos included a forehead tattoo that went on to become a controversy. The tattoo depicted a suicide scene - a hanging depiction.

Rune's modified tongue (mediadrumimages/Rune)

Their next body modification plans include their bodysuit, getting more facial tattoos, tongue injections, facial scarification, and more piercings.

They credit body modification for saving their life when all they wanted to do was die.

"I always knew I'd end up modifying my body, even though I never really knew to which extent and how," said Rune.

"I used to sneak on the family's computer to visit body mod forums such as BMEzine and read about heavy body modifications.

"The pain of body modification was challenging and rewarding at the same time, it is just addictive.

"Body modifications taught me to take care of my body and listen to it like nothing else.

Rune's body suit and fully tattooed chest (mediadrumimages/Rune)
Rune before their bodysuit (mediadrumimages/Rune)

"I remember getting a belly button piercing just to force me to look at myself and take care of my stomach, gently, everyday."

Rune admits feeling fake and like wearing a mask before they got their modification done. They could not recognise the person they saw in the mirror.

They admit yearning to challenge themself by getting body modifications, and said they have no regrets.

"I got compliments before body modification," said Rune.

"Sadly they were more hyper-sexual and objectifying remarks than compliments, like all girls my age go through.

"After getting body modifications, I'm more at peace with my body than I ever was.

A close shot of Rune's modified ear (mediadrumimages/Rune)

"My body modifications gave me the strength to go through my transition.

"After I got my breasts fully tattooed, I asked myself about my own gender expression and identity.

"A year after we finished tattooing my full front I underwent top surgery and got part of the design chopped off and tattooed again

"This was my way towards self-acceptance, my own steps, at my own pace."

Rune had seen both sides of the world. They said people's reactions are always extreme, sometimes good, sometimes really nasty.

"Some people ask questions out of genuine curiosity. They are respectful. They compliment the work I have on my body and my overall appearance.

Rune’s body mod has taken their amateur performance career to heights (mediadrumimages/Rune)

"But a lot of them mumble a quick 'oh f*** off' behind their teeth.

Rune said people tell them not to have kids or not be around them at all. They tell them how they have ruined their body. But they try not to pay attention to them.

"Most people react negatively purely out of frustration," believes Rune.

"Since they can't make the choices they really want to make, they hate my freedom.

"My body modifications remind them they don't do what they want with their body.

"If people are intolerant and disrespectful of you, they're not worth your time."

Rune is a multi-faceted person and has worked in a lot of fields.

They have worked as a succession and accounts manager at a bank, medical helper for disabled people, make-up artist, human resources assistant, and switchman at a French-German train station.

And they always meet surprised faces at their workplace.

"People are usually completely stunned when they see me act and speak and when they learn I have a regular office job.

"Strangers who I speak to on the phone don't believe I'm the same person when they meet me.

"It's quite enjoyable to make them realise that they were wrong and they were just relying on meaningless stereotypes.

"They can only evolve in that moment and learn to be more tolerant to people who look different.

"Some people have told me I give them the strength to do things for themselves.

"I feel honoured to lead a daily fight in society. I hope that younger generations will have more space and opportunities to be themselves and not suffer from judgment and stereotypes."

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