Earrings
Shadows are fond of jewelry, including earrings. However, since Shadow ears are flat against the skull, with the "back" of the ear fused to the side of the head, the methods used are different from most other races.
There are two common styles:
Vafa (Hook) Style:
Vafa-style is the most traditional form of ear piercing along the Shadows, pioneered by some of their most ancient ancestors.
A curved needle is used to create the tunnel for future earrings. The needle must be passed under the bone of a shell of the ear, sometimes multiple shells, and then back out of the skin. Normally, the needle will have wire on the end of it, and the wire is used as a guide for the post, which is then securely capped to keep it in place as the piercing heals. Once healed, jewellery can be attached to the permanent caps, either individual earrings or large cuffs that attach to both caps. Some choose to have temporary caps used instead, and change out the entire post/cap structure. This allows for more intricate jewellery, but requires the wearer to slip the wide end of a post between their own bones multiple times, which most find to be an unsettling and unpleasant feeling.
Xexi (Anchor) Style:
Xexi-style piercings are adapted from a form of piercing used by Natives. They are also not limited to the ear, and can be placed anywhere on the skull, but the ear is the most common location.
A needle or small blade is used time make a hole in the flesh down to the bone, and then a tiny drill is used to get through the outer layers of bone on the skull. An anchor is then dipped in a special medium and very, very carefully pushed into the drilled hole. The flesh is stitched shut around the anchor and bandaged until it heals. The medium, the formula for which Shadows are extremely protective of, allows the bone to regrow around the anchor, making it permanently part of the body. Generally, multiple anchors are installed at a time. Once healed, jewellery can be attached to the anchors in a similar way to permanent Vafa piercings. Xexi piercings are more likely to get infected, be rejected, or heal incorrectly, but they allow for much heavier earrings to be worn, as well as more creative jewellery pieces or arrangements.