About Dabi, I love body modification, when I saw all his piercings, I loved it. He has a quadruple helix on each ear and a triple nostril, so I assumed the rest were piercings too. And that Vol.21 Back Cover art really looked like piercing to me. But getting into the fandom, I saw that people call them staples or medical staples, which made me think I misunderstood. Are medical staples in Japan different? Has it ever been explained in the manga or interviews what he actually has on his body?
Hum...
I seem to remember reading a translation of an interview/note in which Horikoshi mentioned how Dabi's staple were iconic and this reflected in his clothes too but I can't find it at the moment so I can't check if I can find the Japanese text and what it exactly said.
I do know the Japanese fandom, to talk about them calls them 'STAPLE' (ステープル) or 'HOTCHIKISU hari' (ホッチキス針 "stapler's pin") or 'HOCHIKISU ato' (ホチキス跡 "staple marks/signs") and I do know there are multiple instances in which Touya's face/skin is referred as a 'TSUGIHAGI' (ツギハギ/継ぎ接ぎ "patchwork"), the implication being those staples hold it together in a way that is similar at how Delores, Beetlejuice's soul-sucking ex-wife, stapled her dismembered body parts back together using an industrial stapler, leaving visible, thick staple stitches throughout the film.
It is also worth mentioning Frankenstein's monster in some movies also had staples (this time they are likely surgical staples) holding it together and Touya's look was also inspired to Frankenstain.
Anyway, are Touya's staples 'piercing staples'' or 'surgical staples'?
I don't know.
The color doesn't help as both types can be silver (like in the anime) or gold (like in Horikoshi's illustrations) in color.
We know that after the first war Dabi switched the position of the ones on his hand as the burns on it increased. Since both surgical and piercing staples need to be set by professionals they are likely fictional staples that can be and can do whatever you want.
Still, since those staples have the purpose to hold together Touya's skin, I guess I would more likely go for surgical staples than for piercings, as piercings have more an aesthetic purpose, while he has them because he needs them for a purpose.
On the other side the image on chap 300, when he is starting on moving them, might even be of him holding a piercing...
...though the image is unclear and it might be me seeing things, mixing up lines that are meant to represent something else since either Horikoshi forgot to blacken a part of the image or Touya's hand is drawn wrong or he is holding something bigger than a staple/piercing.
The anime doesn't help as he is holding nothing in it, just touching his own hand.
So who knows? Maybe they are all ring piercings like the ones in his ears. Maybe they are staple piercings. Maybe they are surgical staples. Maybe they are just staples which would be much easier to find than the ones mentioned above.
I couldn't really find a canon source I can't really tell you what they should be. If someone has more info I would apprecciate it if they were to share them with me!
Sorry if I couldn't help you more and thank you for your ask!
Hii, as a piercing enjoyer please let me add my two cent.
This is what surgical staple usually looks like
This is what clip type piercing looks like (my favourite, more comfortable)
And here what Dabi “staple” looks like from the rare time we saw it not attached.
To me it looks like piercing. However these type aren’t mean to be placed under the skin but tbh I don’t think Horikoshi is an expert at piercing and just wanted a modern way to make that patchwork/mary shelley’s creature looks and also use it so Dabi keep it’s damaged skin together.
I think Dabi probably did all his piercing himself considering the scene where he move his own staple to match his new scars (and only has helix since his lobe are damaged, adding the nose one and his costume he probably like the looks lol), how did he not get an infection with punching so many hole in his body? Well if you have proper sanitary conditions and sterile equipment it’s pretty easy which Dabi probably didn’t but you could argue that his quirk can pretty much sterilize anything including himself???
Horikoshi basically made him immortal anyway until he wasn’t anymore so.
Anyway, that’s how I see it but I think if you want to think it’s surgical staple or anything, you’re very valide and do your thing ! ☆
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