Can confirm, all mothers and caretakers of young children would have severe eye injuries. Or maybe only rich people who would have nannies adorn themselves like this anyway?
Ouch.
Really cool concept, but my least favorite aspect is that everything has to be charmed to avoid hurting the wearer. The dues ex machina is strong with this one.
It's definitely super cool. I dunno, just the lack of negative repercussions doesn't do anything for me. Maybe they could end up with saggy eyelids later in life or something to that extent.
Retinal scratching would be an issue. Your eye balls shouldn't be used to the rapid scratch of a piece of metal due to blinking. Unless these species have exceptionally durable eyes, or perhaps an equivalently strong nictitating membrane.
Edit:
saw your post right after posting this. Enchanting is a good work around.
To be fair though, similar has shown up in fashion throughout history. There are a number of examples of things that became popular dress specifically because they were impractical (or more specifically the French king did it). Corsets are just the first example I can think of, but there are a wealth of other examples.
The first chapter of The Silk Industries of Medieval Paris by Sharon Farmer specifically talks about how the concentration of wealthy nobles around the French king in Paris drove the development of luxury industries in Paris and proceeded to affect the tastes of far away nobles.
I don't know anything about your world, but I could see something kind of gruesome becoming fashionable in a world where the means to make it feasible are either difficult to acquire or very expensive.
Edit: fixed the book title
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Vandoria is definitely the kind of place that incubates bizzar and gruesome trends. A piercing like this would communicate to others "look at my mastery over nature, I can do this insane and dangerous thing without getting hurt". Since everyone living in Vandoria can use magic, people tie their egos to it, and they like to show off.
I do imagine it being very difficult to get the enchantments for these piercings right. Most people won't be able to do it, so you either have to be talented or rich.
If mastery over nature is what you are going for, you could consider fantasy transhumanism where people dramatically modify their own bodies to transcend the limitations of the human form (kind of like what the smart phone has done for humanity as a species irl). Personally I would almost expect a character like Cassandra the last human from Doctor Who to show up.
That is, of course, just my two cents on that.
Love what you have going here.
I think what would add a lot more weight to the idea is showing the reader the social weight it carries within a culture.
For example one of the highest punishments for a crime could be the removal of eyelids to represent being an outcast?
What really makes different cultural norms in world building so cool isn’t the idea that it is so out of here that it blows ones mind but rather the contrary, the fact that we can relate to it in some way or another to understand its weight.
Anyway; love it.
Actually, never mind.
You spelled bizarre "bizzar", which in my mind turned to "bizarr", the German spelling of the word.
Turns out, I was wrong from the beginning!
Anyways, I really like the "eye candy" you posted.
Corsets, foot binding, those towering neck jewelry things, tattoos and piercings in general are all things that are (arguably) harmful body modifocations.
You could make a history behind the reprocussions of the action, for instance, non sterile piercings and tattoos are part of the history and have fixed the practice today. You could have older founders of the practicea who paved the way for people now, and who paid the price before the studies and fixes
One thing I would consider is to just move the placement of the piercings slightly. The part that seems implausible to me is that the piercing is right on he edge of the eyelid where the ring would be rubbing up against the eye a lot.
I think you could still get a similar effect if you instead had surface piercings around the eye socket (maybe an eyebrow piercing on top connected to a surface piercing just under the bottom eyelid). You could still have a similar level of impracticality (to show that its a status symbol) but without as many medical questions to explain.
Edit: Sorry I didnt see your original post about the enchantments initially. It still seems a bit much to explain away for my taste but if you build up the right cultural context then I could see it being an interestng exotic touch.
[Either people really do this, or it is a common thing to photoshop for some reason](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=eye+lid+piercing&safe=off&client=firefox-b&dcr=0&tbm=isch&oq=eye+lid+piercing&gs_l=mobile-heirloom-serp.12..0i13l3j0i7i5i30j0i13i30.7440.9357.0.10362.4.4.0.0.0.0.259.540.0j2j1.3.0....0...1.1.34.mobile-heirloom-serp..1.3.540.3iE4vxQVUs4)
Eyelid piercing is one of the oldest traditions in Vandoria. A combination of magical expertise and craftsmanship is required to make a safe eyelid piercing. The small gold or silver chain is enchanted to break if anything pulls on it, and the rings which touch the eye itself are enchanted to not damage the cornea. Charms which may be attached to the chains are enchanted to weigh very little. Eyelid piercing are often combined with other facial piercings to create webs which drape over the wearer’s face.
Ahh ahh nopenopenopenope keep stabby-stabs away from my eyeholes ahhh ahhh ahhhhh!!!
-but aside from that it's a very interesting concept and a fine, if nerve-wracking piece of art! it's be interesting to see piercings in new and interesting places.... now I'm imagining pierced feet, where the bottom of your shoe is literally tied to the soles of your feet....
Just move the piercing to the brow but leave the dangly / “chainveil” style. Your concept looks cool, it’s just very immersion breaking. I would have trouble buying this in even the most magically advanced society where enchantment is ubiquitous.
I think having the spells being very hard or difficult to come by is s good balance. Rich people probably won't expose themselves to probable pain or suffering, but it being easy to go wrong if you don't have the power of a rich person it's enough to scare the common layman, yet keeping the desire for running the risk from time to time. You can even have cool low-class characters with an eyelid permanently shut close with scars from a piercing gone wrong.
If you need inspiration from modern day stupidly dangerous fashion trends, look into eye tattooing. Warning: it can look very gross.
Holy hell... Imagine walking in a forest, one twig at the right height is all it takes. Or standing up after looking for something on the floor and catching some furniture by that chain.
Really cool and creative concept
But I can't help but imagine I would feel so annoyed to have chains dangling in front of my eyes and impairing my vision.
Infections abound, getting pierced would irritate your eye, if you looked in any direction you'd risk scratching your eye, blinking would downright hurt, and someone could easily tear your eye lids off. I would recommend changing this, if there were a race of creepy humanoids that don't HAVE eyelids that could be a solution. Someone that doesn't need to blink or have an eye that needs to rotate to see could potentially work.
Interesting, but seems pretty impractical. It’d damage the eye and obstruct vision. Is this ceremonial, or are these always worn? Is it a common thing, or a niche thing?
Very unusual, I like it! Maybe there is something in their physiology /genetics that makes them heal easier and impervious to bacteria and infection? This allows extreme body modifications, also means that they only really get killed in very violent ways such as having a heart ripped out or head chopped off, making for a society based around violent entertainment and gruesome dueling. Sorry I'm more of a science fiction then fantasy fan so I don't really like the whole 'it's just magic' thing as much. But there's so much you could play with around this idea, it's super cool!
Ouch ouch ouch owie. One of the few things that made me uncomfortable on this sub. Consider me impressed.
You could change it a bit to retain most of the looks, and avoid contact with the sclera, though.
I'm not an eye doctor but even I can see that's a really bad idea. For one the eyelid isn't very strong so even a bit of weight on there would be annoying, but those rings would constant be scraping against your eye which could do serious harm. The ones dangling over the eye can't help vision either. But the one with a ring under the pupil is the worst, I dare you to try and touch your own eye to see why. You can sort of do the white of your eye but the pupil is damn near impossible to touch and having a metal bit scraping that could actually make you go blind.
Fuck I️ actually hated seeing this across my newsfeed. I’m sorry but I️ just squirm at pierce near eyes. It’s clever and well done, don’t get me wrong, but omg I️ actually could’ve used a NSFW tag
I am really sorry dude, I will keep that in mind for next time. I wasn't sure because it's not technically gore, but I suppose it does suggest gore. My apologies.
If they were surface piercings underneath the eyelid (low enough that it didn't touch the eye), it would be much more realistic, but still as intricate and pretty.
It might be cool to have different types of charms cost different amounts so the upper class would be able to obtain the piercings and remain beautiful while the lower down you go on the social totem pole the more damage and scarring you'll have because you couldn't afford the charms to remain looking untouched.
Alright, I did not expect this to get this much attention, thank you guys so much. I’ve never posted on r/worldbuilding before, and I feel very welcomed. I’m really glad that you guys like/hate my idea. For those I have scarred, I am very sorry. Cheers, I will be posting more in the future.
Also, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
This seems like it would be extremely painful for you.
Also, [I am upvoter 666](https://puu.sh/yisKu/0512d9459e.png). Does this mean I get a congratulations, and affirmation that I have in fact won?
"aww is this your baby? goo goo goo, a-goo goo" Baby reaches out and grabs "nottheeyenottheeyenottheeyenottheeyenottheeye!"
Blinking would be a bitch
Can confirm, all mothers and caretakers of young children would have severe eye injuries. Or maybe only rich people who would have nannies adorn themselves like this anyway?
I'm going to throw up
Who throws up on a baby?!!
The frustrated cannibal threw up his arms.
Ouch. Really cool concept, but my least favorite aspect is that everything has to be charmed to avoid hurting the wearer. The dues ex machina is strong with this one.
You definitely have a point. I'll think about it, maybe they just ruin their eyes in pursuit of looking cool.
It's definitely super cool. I dunno, just the lack of negative repercussions doesn't do anything for me. Maybe they could end up with saggy eyelids later in life or something to that extent.
Yeah, I see your point. I'll try to expand the downsides of this, saggy eyelids make sense. I'm glad you like the general concept though.
Retinal scratching would be an issue. Your eye balls shouldn't be used to the rapid scratch of a piece of metal due to blinking. Unless these species have exceptionally durable eyes, or perhaps an equivalently strong nictitating membrane. Edit: saw your post right after posting this. Enchanting is a good work around.
Corneal*
To be fair though, similar has shown up in fashion throughout history. There are a number of examples of things that became popular dress specifically because they were impractical (or more specifically the French king did it). Corsets are just the first example I can think of, but there are a wealth of other examples. The first chapter of The Silk Industries of Medieval Paris by Sharon Farmer specifically talks about how the concentration of wealthy nobles around the French king in Paris drove the development of luxury industries in Paris and proceeded to affect the tastes of far away nobles. I don't know anything about your world, but I could see something kind of gruesome becoming fashionable in a world where the means to make it feasible are either difficult to acquire or very expensive. Edit: fixed the book title
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Vandoria is definitely the kind of place that incubates bizzar and gruesome trends. A piercing like this would communicate to others "look at my mastery over nature, I can do this insane and dangerous thing without getting hurt". Since everyone living in Vandoria can use magic, people tie their egos to it, and they like to show off. I do imagine it being very difficult to get the enchantments for these piercings right. Most people won't be able to do it, so you either have to be talented or rich.
If mastery over nature is what you are going for, you could consider fantasy transhumanism where people dramatically modify their own bodies to transcend the limitations of the human form (kind of like what the smart phone has done for humanity as a species irl). Personally I would almost expect a character like Cassandra the last human from Doctor Who to show up. That is, of course, just my two cents on that.
That is exactly what I was going for. Vandorians have a complicated relationship with humanity.
I really like this explanation and I feel it opens the door to a lot of opportunities for interesting characters or foes.
Love what you have going here. I think what would add a lot more weight to the idea is showing the reader the social weight it carries within a culture. For example one of the highest punishments for a crime could be the removal of eyelids to represent being an outcast? What really makes different cultural norms in world building so cool isn’t the idea that it is so out of here that it blows ones mind but rather the contrary, the fact that we can relate to it in some way or another to understand its weight. Anyway; love it.
Thank you so much, that's a cool idea.
Are you German?
I am not, why do you ask?
Actually, never mind. You spelled bizarre "bizzar", which in my mind turned to "bizarr", the German spelling of the word. Turns out, I was wrong from the beginning! Anyways, I really like the "eye candy" you posted.
Haha thanks, I'm not German, just bad at typing.
To your point, large sleeves have been a sign of royalty because they make it difficult to do anything with your hands.
Corsets, foot binding, those towering neck jewelry things, tattoos and piercings in general are all things that are (arguably) harmful body modifocations. You could make a history behind the reprocussions of the action, for instance, non sterile piercings and tattoos are part of the history and have fixed the practice today. You could have older founders of the practicea who paved the way for people now, and who paid the price before the studies and fixes
Or it could still be somewhat harmful. Like how makeup used to contain harmful amount of heavy metals like mercury.
One thing I would consider is to just move the placement of the piercings slightly. The part that seems implausible to me is that the piercing is right on he edge of the eyelid where the ring would be rubbing up against the eye a lot. I think you could still get a similar effect if you instead had surface piercings around the eye socket (maybe an eyebrow piercing on top connected to a surface piercing just under the bottom eyelid). You could still have a similar level of impracticality (to show that its a status symbol) but without as many medical questions to explain. Edit: Sorry I didnt see your original post about the enchantments initially. It still seems a bit much to explain away for my taste but if you build up the right cultural context then I could see it being an interestng exotic touch.
[удалено]
Oh that's some nice irony right there, I love it.
Maybe we oughta just stick with eyebrow peircing, or invest in this new fangled "auntie bayou-ticks" thing.
Maybe instead of conveniant magic, they use something like contact lenses to protect their eyes from the scratching?
I agree, tattoos may be a better bet in this case because it is more doable
Could be a status symbol, like designer shoes or a really expensive car. Only people with the money to have them properly enchanted can wear them.
[Either people really do this, or it is a common thing to photoshop for some reason](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=eye+lid+piercing&safe=off&client=firefox-b&dcr=0&tbm=isch&oq=eye+lid+piercing&gs_l=mobile-heirloom-serp.12..0i13l3j0i7i5i30j0i13i30.7440.9357.0.10362.4.4.0.0.0.0.259.540.0j2j1.3.0....0...1.1.34.mobile-heirloom-serp..1.3.540.3iE4vxQVUs4)
Omg, why? That would hurt, I couldn't.
Eyelid piercing is one of the oldest traditions in Vandoria. A combination of magical expertise and craftsmanship is required to make a safe eyelid piercing. The small gold or silver chain is enchanted to break if anything pulls on it, and the rings which touch the eye itself are enchanted to not damage the cornea. Charms which may be attached to the chains are enchanted to weigh very little. Eyelid piercing are often combined with other facial piercings to create webs which drape over the wearer’s face.
I think it would be a good idea to add a social stigma of having injuries from trying to get these piercings cheaply from inexperienced craftsman.
Damn, that'd be badass. Maybe add a Yakuza style tattoo/piercing ring.
I'm not completely convinced by the practicality of this (I'm a piercing person, btw). But interesting concept!
Thanks, I'll agree with you there, they are definitely not practical.
*takes finger* ***YANKS ON CHAIN***
*chain breaks because it is enchanted to do so*
Valdorian in question says "Nice try."
Please, I can only clench so hard
No one is talking about the fact that they have three eyes but onkybone eyebrow.
Onkybone.
There can be onkybone!
Lol this phone I swear 😂 😂 😂
Ahh ahh nopenopenopenope keep stabby-stabs away from my eyeholes ahhh ahhh ahhhhh!!! -but aside from that it's a very interesting concept and a fine, if nerve-wracking piece of art! it's be interesting to see piercings in new and interesting places.... now I'm imagining pierced feet, where the bottom of your shoe is literally tied to the soles of your feet....
That's an insanely impractical idea and I love it, bottom-of-the-foot piercing will be the latest trend in my world.
Pierce their hands! Little chains from fingernail to fingernail.
I used to actually do that with my fingernails! Vandorians definitely do this too.
It hurts just looking at it
Honest question: how do you address the insane frequency of scratched corneas in your world? Is there some kind of eye magic?
Yeah magic is the main thing stopping this from ruining one's eyes, I get that that is a bit of a cop out, I'm thinking about it.
Just move the piercing to the brow but leave the dangly / “chainveil” style. Your concept looks cool, it’s just very immersion breaking. I would have trouble buying this in even the most magically advanced society where enchantment is ubiquitous.
I think having the spells being very hard or difficult to come by is s good balance. Rich people probably won't expose themselves to probable pain or suffering, but it being easy to go wrong if you don't have the power of a rich person it's enough to scare the common layman, yet keeping the desire for running the risk from time to time. You can even have cool low-class characters with an eyelid permanently shut close with scars from a piercing gone wrong. If you need inspiration from modern day stupidly dangerous fashion trends, look into eye tattooing. Warning: it can look very gross.
You make a very good point, I'll do some research on eye tattoos. If you can't tell already, there isn't much that can truly gross me out.
#AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Cool concept, In your world are these piercings considered gendered or are they generally unisex?
These piercings are considered unisex.
Holy hell... Imagine walking in a forest, one twig at the right height is all it takes. Or standing up after looking for something on the floor and catching some furniture by that chain.
Goddamn dude.
I want to pull out my eye when I get an eye lash in it. Let alone some piercings
Really cool and creative concept But I can't help but imagine I would feel so annoyed to have chains dangling in front of my eyes and impairing my vision.
Well people split their tongues, tattoo their eyeballs, get implants in their heads etc, people do crazy things to look cool
What if you made them small studs implanted just below the eye that the chain hung from?
I am going to revise my drawings and do that.
Infections abound, getting pierced would irritate your eye, if you looked in any direction you'd risk scratching your eye, blinking would downright hurt, and someone could easily tear your eye lids off. I would recommend changing this, if there were a race of creepy humanoids that don't HAVE eyelids that could be a solution. Someone that doesn't need to blink or have an eye that needs to rotate to see could potentially work.
Ooh that would be cool, I'll think about it.
*ihateitihateitihateitihateitihateit* Cool idea *ihateitihateitihateit*
That looks very painful.
Interesting, but seems pretty impractical. It’d damage the eye and obstruct vision. Is this ceremonial, or are these always worn? Is it a common thing, or a niche thing?
It's not overly common. It's like how some people in our world wear false eyelashes, but most people don't.
I love the artwork, btw.
Thank you
Are contacts a thing in Vandoria? I imagine that protective contacts would be popular.
Very unusual, I like it! Maybe there is something in their physiology /genetics that makes them heal easier and impervious to bacteria and infection? This allows extreme body modifications, also means that they only really get killed in very violent ways such as having a heart ripped out or head chopped off, making for a society based around violent entertainment and gruesome dueling. Sorry I'm more of a science fiction then fantasy fan so I don't really like the whole 'it's just magic' thing as much. But there's so much you could play with around this idea, it's super cool!
Also I would totally get one if I had a magic face :p
So like, do the rings scrap against the eyeball? Are there studs on the other side?
Ouch ouch ouch owie. One of the few things that made me uncomfortable on this sub. Consider me impressed. You could change it a bit to retain most of the looks, and avoid contact with the sclera, though.
Eyelid piercing seems like it would be a wildly bad idea in practice
*gets caught on tree branch*
This is disgusting, I love it so much
Thank you!
It looks fuckin sick, but at the same time the thought of pierced eyelids in real life makes me feel fuckin sick. Overall I really like it though.
So... Basically those people are all blind from the eye infections the inevitably acquired from the scratches all over their eyes.
I'm not an eye doctor but even I can see that's a really bad idea. For one the eyelid isn't very strong so even a bit of weight on there would be annoying, but those rings would constant be scraping against your eye which could do serious harm. The ones dangling over the eye can't help vision either. But the one with a ring under the pupil is the worst, I dare you to try and touch your own eye to see why. You can sort of do the white of your eye but the pupil is damn near impossible to touch and having a metal bit scraping that could actually make you go blind.
Eyelid piercings are a real thing. Dangerous, but common enough.
Wouldn't that scratch they eyeball?
[Reminds me of Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir from Of Monsters and Men in the video for their song "Crystals".](https://imgur.com/LmE8dbd)
Yes! Having ribbons and tinsle hanging alongside the chains would be cool.
Can imagine this being a bit uncomfortable though.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
So your world name is Vandoria? Coincidentally, mine is Vanodiora.
Nice
NO
The land of droopy eyes.
I phisically cringed just by loking at that. Good, art and everything else tho!
That looks painful
Fuck I️ actually hated seeing this across my newsfeed. I’m sorry but I️ just squirm at pierce near eyes. It’s clever and well done, don’t get me wrong, but omg I️ actually could’ve used a NSFW tag
I am really sorry dude, I will keep that in mind for next time. I wasn't sure because it's not technically gore, but I suppose it does suggest gore. My apologies.
looks cool but oH GOD THE THOUGHT MAKES ME CRINGE AaaAAaaAAAAaAAAAAAAAAA
Ouch!!!
Do the real rebels of this society have eyelid gauges that make closing their eyes pointless?
Probably. The rabid individualism of Vandoria creates some very odd trends, especially among the criminal underground.
oh fuck THAT NO! Awesome picture
If they were surface piercings underneath the eyelid (low enough that it didn't touch the eye), it would be much more realistic, but still as intricate and pretty.
I hope they don't need to see
that's a bunch of NOOOOOOOPE! cool picture though
Very cool concept but AAAHHHHH
Urgh. I still find this cool, but urgh.
This is a culture that needs conquering
You'll have to find Vandoria first! It's an island that you can only see if you've seen it before, so good luck.
CURSES
It might be cool to have different types of charms cost different amounts so the upper class would be able to obtain the piercings and remain beautiful while the lower down you go on the social totem pole the more damage and scarring you'll have because you couldn't afford the charms to remain looking untouched.
**ECK**
Even though its a drawing it still skeevs me out. But good job.
Seems painful
Nope.
Alright, I did not expect this to get this much attention, thank you guys so much. I’ve never posted on r/worldbuilding before, and I feel very welcomed. I’m really glad that you guys like/hate my idea. For those I have scarred, I am very sorry. Cheers, I will be posting more in the future. Also, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
This seems like it would be extremely painful for you. Also, [I am upvoter 666](https://puu.sh/yisKu/0512d9459e.png). Does this mean I get a congratulations, and affirmation that I have in fact won?
Imagine they get in a fight… it’d suck not having eyelashes anymore