A black-and-white photo of a person mid-air in a Superman-style body suspension pose, supported by multiple hooks in their back and legs, smiling joyfully toward the camera. They are suspended horizontally in a large indoor space with high ceilings and visible rigging. A group of onlookers—some seated, some standing—watch with expressions of admiration, amusement, and support. The atmosphere is lively and communal, capturing a moment of shared experience and transformation.

“I’m not sick, honest”

After the break you can see another photo of Gnomoweb‘s striking facial tattoos, but more interestingly, there’s also a relatively “before” photo that’s strikingly “innocent” looking. See, this is what happens when you don’t take your pills… Moral of the story? Don’t take your pills!

thats-a-lotta-pills.jpg

gnomo-before.jpg

gnomo-now.jpg

Comments

116 responses to ““I’m not sick, honest””

  1. Chimney Bear Avatar
    Chimney Bear

    Pill Addiction is an Ill Addiction
    The Gauged Nose and Labret are inspiring.

  2. kidd Avatar

    I love the before and after shots. insightful!

  3. splatterhouse Avatar

    I’ve never seen an extremely stretched labret that didn’t look completely foolish to me. :/ I really hate that trend.

  4. Shannon Avatar

    …this coming from a young girl with essentially no mods. Why do you feel the need that you must advertise how unable you are to understand the world?

  5. greenmouse Avatar
    greenmouse

    #4. Ouch Shannon. 🙂 but yet so true

  6. Dani Avatar
    Dani

    i like his USB logo thumb tattoo 😀

  7. Elizabeth Avatar

    I concur, pills are bad. Being yourself, your most fully realized self, is ideal. Great to see it.

  8. Shannon Avatar

    Dani — They’re super cool. They are on both thumbs and say “Nerd Pride”

  9. ftrc Avatar

    too bad his earlobes didn’t get as big as his labret.

  10. Stewart Avatar

    What happened to his lobe!?

  11. dee Avatar

    i like the middle picture of him better.
    he looks so cuute=)

    haha nerd pride so unique i like it

  12. Cainbot Avatar
    Cainbot

    i like the before look better

  13. charlotte Avatar
    charlotte

    Wow #4 just because this isn’t someone’s definition of beauty doesn’t mean you have to attack their mods. I personally, don’t have an appreciation for stretched labrets but I’m not going to tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t do with their own body.

  14. knifefight Avatar

    aw, yeah, i like the middle picture too, so cute.

    im sure he prefers the top/bottom ones though, hahah 🙂 & more power to him

  15. Autopsy26 Avatar
    Autopsy26

    wow #4
    iv never really seen Shannon get on some one like that.

    i also agree with #9

    i really like the middle pic also

  16. solocard Avatar
    solocard

    So splatter house is suspended now, for expressing her opinion?

    Just wow…

  17. Shannon Avatar

    Autopsy26 – Yeah, I know… I’m just really really tired of the way the mainstreaming of body modification has made is so that people with a heavy interest in it are made fun of more by people who call themselves part of this community than by people outside it… On one hand mainstreaming is awesome because it’s made it much easier for tattooed people and people with a lighter interest (which is fine, and wonderful), but it’s also made it paradoxically more unpleasant for those on the borders…

    solocard – Yes, and because she dragged it onto IAM as well. IAM and BME is supposed to be a community of friends. I’m very, very sick of people taking the attitude that it’s OK to come here and insult other members of this community in the name of “personal opinion”. In no way is it a positive thing, and in no way does it contribute to the dialog. Meaningful criticism, great. Pointless insults, no.

  18. poem Avatar
    poem

    i love seeing heavy mods on attractive people. there’s something really cool about overcoming the vanity.

  19. solocard Avatar
    solocard

    Fair point, I guess it’s a fine line between a passing comment and an insult.

  20. lucyfurr66 Avatar
    lucyfurr66

    I agree with Shannon 100%. I am soooo sick of the snarky comments all over the internet. Especially here. If we cant come here and feel supported for who we are, where can we go?

  21. HeavensTwistedAngel Avatar
    HeavensTwistedAngel

    nice mods, personally i wouldn’t to it but i admire his dedication to who he has no matter what ‘society’ tells him he should be. AND i love his eyes in the second picture, they look soo cute and innocent…..

  22. Shannon Avatar

    solocard – Absolutely it’s a fine line. I’ll repeat what I said via email to a couple people:

    Here’s the problem — one of the goals of IAM and BME is to create a safe space for people to share their modification experiences and lifestyles. For that to happen, people need to respect that and treat this as they would casual friends — with some level of politeness and understanding that the fact that different people like different things is to be expected, and, more importantly, should be cherished.

    When it shifts to us saying that everyone should voice their opinion, even if negative and in a way that doesn’t contribute to the dialog, that community is destroyed because many members no longer feel comfortable there. I don’t believe that I have an obligation to protect people’s rights inside the BME community to attack other members — if they want to do that, they can do it elsewhere. BME needs to remain a safe space in my opinion.

  23. Nic Avatar

    I guess I missed the memo that said ‘little girls with essentially no mods’ aren’t entitled to an opinion.

  24. Shannon Avatar

    Nic – Everyone is entitled to an opinion. However, if you voice an insulting opinion at what amounts to a private party of friends, don’t expect to be invited back.

    As I would expect almost everyone here knows, we get insulted enough in the mainstream world for being who we are. A safe space is a good thing.

    I am replying to most comments on this subject privately and am happy to discuss the issues, but would rather not gum up this post with it. If you have something to say on it please feel free to contact me by email ([email protected]) or on IAM (glider).

  25. Kandy Avatar
    Kandy

    Stretched labrets aren’t really my thing but I say do what makes you happy. 🙂 I’m really digging the facial tattoos.

  26. Ro Avatar
    Ro

    There is something so poetic about being judged and talked down to here (of all places) for the quantity of modifications a person has.

  27. Casey Avatar
    Casey

    what about people who hate tribal mods (or belly button piercings or tongue piercings) because they’ve become “mainstream?”

    oh right, that’s okay, because it’s good to be elitist.

  28. Shannon Avatar

    It’s not OK to hate in a community of friends no matter who or what your hate is directed at. A fundamental truth of respecting the diversity in this community is supporting and encouraging people who have a different aesthetic code than your own.

  29. Gally Avatar
    Gally

    I agree that pill addiction isn’t really that fabulous, and I’ll always wonder if people like this will ever regret the mod decisions they made earlier. Of course, they may never regret it and that’s what makes it all the more special.

    I also would love to know how he talks and eats, is it kind of hard to keep his lip up with that huge plug in it? And does he sound kind of funny when he talks?

    Also, does he have natural plugs in his ears or did something happen to them? I imagine when you carry such a huge mod on your face, people tend to just pass by the rest of your body.

    Sorry about all the questions, I’m genuinely interested as I know I’ll never experience this.

  30. Mixxi Avatar

    To be honest it’s okay when someone has an opinion but when there is a good chance that the person who is in the picture you are commenting is going to read your comments then it’s not okay if you write something that could be seen as being a bit nasty.

    Anyway.. LOVE seeing before and after pictures such as these. I still get amazed at how someone can completely change their face with mods 🙂

  31. auteurlife Avatar

    @7. speak only from personal experiences. i’m on meds and i still modify. i hate who i am without my meds, its not me and very painful. if you don’t need meds great for you, but don’t judge just because some people (here i mean me) would be long gone without them.

  32. KC Avatar
    KC

    I was about to express my opinion on how sad it is that now we have to have a certain amount of mods to voice an opinion, but it seems that being someone with ears stretched under a certain size, no implants, and no stretched labrets, I’m not qualified enough to voice that here without persecution. I’m glad I don’t have an IAM account to be suspended over something so hypocritical and judgmental.

  33. J.A. Avatar
    J.A.

    Love his Mods, hate his pills (if they’re his).

    I saw zoloft in the pile of meds, and that shit ruined my life for a good long time.

  34. Shannon Avatar

    KC – You’re being silly. The requirement for posting isn’t that you have to have a certain amount of mods, it’s that you have to have a certain amount of respect.

  35. SSSasky Avatar
    SSSasky

    I’m lightly modified, and used to have an IAM account (or, I guess it’s still there, but inactive). I fully support Shannon’s suspension of ‘splatterhouse’ particularly if she really was dragging this out on IAM as well.

    There is a big difference between having an opinion and insulting/attacking someone. Lot of people (myself included) don’t really dig on the large labrets. I’m entitled to that opinion, and I have no doubt that Shannon would defend my right to that opinion.

    However, he certainly shouldn’t feel obligated to provide me a venue to call people foolish or tell them I hate their modification (or religion/ideology/hair colour…). Expressing an opinion is defended by the concept of ‘freedom of speech’. Attacking or berating a specific person or group of people has never been defended by any (valid) freedom of speech argument, and is in fact illegal in most places.

    Great historical example: when the KKK wanted to march in New York City many years ago, the Black Panthers were among the most vocal supporters of their right to hold a peaceful march. They recognized that if the KKK’s right to congregate and express certain opinions is threatened, so to is their own right to express opposing opinions. However, these same Black Panthers would in no way have supported the (non-existant) ‘right’ of the KKK to attack, label, or berate members of the black community.

    There is a fine but important line between hate speech and freedom of speech. If you’re going to open your mouth about it, make sure you understand the difference.

  36. punksoulchica Avatar

    I think it’s silly to think that a community will always agree with eachother. People have opinions, disagreements, etc. which help to shape and form the very structure of a community. If we all had the exact same thoughts and opions on mods wouldn’t we all end up looking the same in the end?

  37. RustY Avatar
    RustY

    Shannon, when people who say that certain individuals aren’t “modded” enough to be on IAM get TOS’d, then will people take you seriously. When splatterhouse (and I really don’t care to discuss that particular opinion) get TOS’d, while people say things far worse (at least from the perspective you’re presenting here) carry on with their business, it doesn’t show you, or BME in general, in a good light.

    But I digress… personally, I liked his face far better with just the horns, and the “mild” facial tattooing. But then again, it’s not my face.

  38. xoindigo Avatar

    Everyone has their own personal opinion, but that doesn’t mean it should be splattered, no pun intended, all over a web-page. I’m a firm believer in the saying “If you haven’t anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.. I’ll leave it at that.

    In other news, his facial tattoos seem to be coming along nicely! It’s always really interesting to see a before/after picture! Shannon, you should so post some more of those!

  39. paleblue Avatar

    LOL @ BME or Shannon being compared to the Black Panthers.

    SSSasky is right, though; Shannon is not in any way obliged to provide a venue for anything that he doesn’t like. All people are saying is that it looks kind of weak when you silence someone for voicing an opinion that differs from yours.

    Yeah, I know, “community of friends” and all that, but the idea of a “safe space” is a double-edged sword; on one hand, it allows people of similar interests and inclinations to share information and experiences, and that’s cool. On the other hand, because no-one is allowed to say any thing that might hurt someone’s feelings, it creates a reality bubble where people only ever hear praise, which consequently leads people to do things that in the long term are not in their best interests.

    Also, I will die a happy man if I never hear the “If you don’t have anything nice to say” line. A friend of mine has suggested a more meaningful alternative:

    “If you don’t have anything smart to say, don’t say anything.”

  40. Meredith Avatar

    There are tons of mods I don’t find attractive, but I don’t go around bitching about them. I think that’s the problem here – somebody forgot that “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Come on folks, the internet is moderated all the time. I am a mod at the forums on Literotica.com (GLBT section), a place that IS based on free speech. So whenever I see other places get moderated, it jars me a little, but then I remember that’s the way of the internet. Nobody said Shannon has to let anybody say whatever they want.

    That said, I wish I could have seen whatever mods the banned person DID have…I’m just wondering what “essentially no mods” means.

  41. candace Avatar

    Honestly, I really don’t think #4′s comment is nearly as harsh as many other comments that have popped over in the past 6 months on modblog. It seems more like she’s been made an example of.

  42. candace Avatar

    Honestly, I really don’t think #4′s comment is nearly as harsh as many other comments that have popped over in the past 6 months on modblog. It seems more like she’s been made an example of.

  43. candace Avatar

    i got too excited, i posted twice.

  44. amir saban Avatar
    amir saban

    word up or should i say thumbs up????

  45. JenO33 Avatar

    I really like the vertical scars on his forehead… it’s giving me ideas… and yes #4 sounds really harsh. But again I don’t have an IAM (by choice) so not sure what other comments were made outside of here.

  46. . Avatar
    .

    She had a septum piercing, stretched ears, a 6mm dermal conch punch, and retired a 8g stretched tongue and snakebites.

  47. rjhjr Avatar
    rjhjr

    As someone who got into mods, relatively late in life, I have been taken to task as I no longer look “normal” to family and old friends. But the mods are for me, and the transition I want to make. Comments are hurtful at times, but I let them pass as I like ‘em. Isn’t that what counts? 38 piercings, 7 implants and 2,000 hrs ink later, I still want more.

  48. LAwatts Avatar
    LAwatts

    Ok so kinda off topic from the majority of comments. But inspired by the good old nerd pride stylee has anyone tried implanting actual ports into their fleshy parts? I kno there is a ‘cyborg’ movement out there somewhere but I think I’m talking more about the visual aspect of it rather than functional. I suppose it would be some kinda hybrid between implants/stretching and dermal anchors?!
    Any visuals out there?

  49. Nico Avatar
    Nico

    Just so I’m clear: It’s not okay to express distatse about a certain modification, but it is okay to be ageist and look down on people who are less modified?

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