Pierce Me

"Pierce Me" was the twelfth episode of the second season of Daria.

Summary
It's Jane's birthday, and while she doesn't want any fuss made over her, she's not above receiving presents from her friends and family. Being an artist, Jane's pretty easy to shop for -- just get her some art supplies -- but Trent wants to do something different. Unfortunately, he's lacking in ideas, so he calls Daria to ask her to help him out.

What follows is a phone conversation of classic proportions, as Trent trips all over himself in his attempt to keep Jane from finding out what he's up to, while Daria's crush on Trent makes her completely misunderstand his intentions. When Trent finally explains why he called, Daria is somewhat disappointed, but nonetheless accompanies him to Dega Street in search of the Perfect Gift. Their search ultimately leads them to Axl's Piercing Parlor, where Trent manages to charm Daria into getting her navel pierced (a development that Jane uses as fodder for endless teasing). While Axl does the deed, Daria is a bit put out to meet Trent's girlfriend Monique -- and pleased to hear him call her "the coolest high schooler I know".

Meanwhile, Quinn and Helen are getting made over in preparation for a mother-daughter fashion show at school, a show in which Quinn desperately wants to excel since Sandi and her mother are also participating. This proves useful to Daria when Quinn finds out about her navel ring, as Daria reminds Quinn that she shouldn't be getting Helen upset on the day before the big show. This buys Quinn's silence but it doesn't buy any relief for Daria, whose newly pierced navel is itching like mad. Unable to stand it any longer, Daria removes the ring before going to bed, which proves to be a huge mistake when, the next morning, she finds that the hole has closed up. Now, not only does she feel foolish for doing something stupid for a guy, she feels like a geek for being the fastest healer on the planet! However, Jane and Trent reassure her that it doesn't make her a geek, which makes her feel better... until Trent suggests a tattoo!

Later that evening, Trent gives Jane her birthday gift: a song he wrote in her honor. (Daria, of course, gave Jane art supplies, which she's much happier to get.) At the fashion show, Quinn and Helen are the epitome of cool confidence as they take the runway... then they become the poster children for humiliation when Quinn loses her balance and sends them both tumbling to the stage. To ease her humiliation, Quinn breaks her promise to Daria and tells Helen and Jake about the navel ring. Her scheme backfires, though, when they demand to see Daria's navel, which now shows absolutely no sign that it was ever pierced.

Trivia

 * Jake is immediately suspicious when a guy says he's here to see Daria and not Quinn.


 * Trent Lane can't or won't set foot in a bookstore for reasons he doesn't want to talk about.


 * First appearance of Monique, Trent's off-on girlfriend, and a mention of her band, the Harpies.


 * Quinn refers to an "Adam" as a date she's blowing off -- the same name as a student in Daria's Language Arts class, according to "Cafe Disaffecto". Hmmm...

“Pierce Me” and Fanfic
The obvious crush Daria has on Trent was at the forefront in this episode and subsequently helped fuel the shipper movement in early fanfic. Monique also turns up a lot in fanfiction; in the early days of shipping, she was often an antagonist who stood in Daria's way.

A novelization of this episode was written by Martin J. Pollard

Alternate Universe Versions of “Pierce Me”
In the John Lane story Ring of Champions, Daria goes with Trent to get a present for John, and gets the piercing for him. Because of the the different situation and motivations, she keeps the piercing.

On “Pierce Me” the Episode

 * “Pierce Me” transcript at Outpost Daria