Prompt 243-Piercings

Do you have any piercings? Do you like them on other people? Does it matter where they are?

I’ve had my ears pierced since I was a kid. I actually had to have them re-pierced once because they had closed up and I wanted to wear earrings again. It’s kind of funny because my right lobe had only closed on the front and when they pierced over the old scar, they were just slightly off and I technically have 2 exit punctures in that ear. The old one never fully closed and sometimes I still thread it accidentally, thereby ensuring it never closes all the way.

I love multiple piercings on other people, but am too big a wimp to get even a second set of ear piercings for myself. My sister has her belly button pierced, which is super cute during the summer, but I don’t know if I could ever wear one myself. Once upon a time I thought I wanted a nose piercing, just a little stud, but again with the weenie hut jrs over here.

Piercings are cool. Body mods in general I find to be fascinating. Everyone has different reasons for theirs. Sometimes those reasons are religious, sometimes they’re aesthetic, sometimes there’s no reason at all other than the person felt like it. All valid reasons! I particularly like the piercings (and tattoos for that matter) with a story, because of course I do. I’m drawn to the stories.

Speaking of stories, as this site is technically a story-oriented writing blog, and given the lack of stories this week due to my miserable spring cold (I swear I can see the light at the end of the tunnel), I feel obligated to write at least a few words about piercings and characters. My brain has just been sapped of creative juices this week and while I was trying to come up with a short story for this prompt I got thinking about characters with piercings and what the piercings tell us about the character.

I’ve been working my way back through Wheel of Time again (still, forever, I doubt I will never be not reading it) because I always pick up something new as I read. Sometimes that’s a story element I didn’t pick up on the last time I read it, a characterization point I really admire, or a description I wish to emulate. I’m always learning as I read and that series is so rich I learn something new each time I pick up the books.

How does this relate to piercings, you might ask. Well there are a nation of seafaring peoples, the Atha’an Miere, who wear earrings and chains to indicate their rank in the ship hierarchies. In this usage, the piercings express a cultural heritage that distinguishes them from other nations (among other things, but this post is central to piercings). This is something you could incorporate into your own characters and stories. There are plenty of real-world examples to draw inspiration from so take the dive and do a bit of research!

Ok, that about does it for me this week. Whew, we made it! Tomorrow is supposed to be almost summery warm so with any luck I’ll be well enough to get some more yard work done. I will return on Sunday with your next set of prompts! Have a great weekend!

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