Returning player with questions on tattooing, Doman naming conventions

[Ashianna]

As the title says, I recently returned to the game and just couldn't get into Ashianna's rp anymore, so I decided to work on a new character. Borrowing from a concept I have played before in a similar rp, I decided to roll a Doman midlander. I've been searching Edo-era Japanese names, and have a couple I like, but I am undecided as far as the last name. Do they tend to be Japanese as well? or are they similiar to Yugiri Mistwalkers name?

 

I'm still fleshing out her background, but I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of it. One thing I do want to be a part of it is that she is a tattoo artist. Being a fledgling artist myself, I thought it would be a fun way to bring that into the game. I've read some discussion about magical tattoo's and there is no doubt that tattoo's are worn in this world, how does the application of them work in this world? Obviously, with magitech, mammets, and other constructs in the world, we have some technology. Do they have such things as tattoo needles and the like? In the other game I played a similar concept in, there was hardly any technology. There was a lot of magic, so tattoo's were applied with magical ink and worked rp wise for most anyone that sought her out for tattooing. I want to make sure it is lore compliant for this game however.

 

Thanks for any help all you wonderful lore people have in advance!! <3

[Gegenji]

With regard to Doman names for non-Au Ra, I would point you to the NPCs you encounter in the initial (30-50) NIN questline. Your quest giver is named Oboro Moonrise, though there's also a woman with him named Tsubame Sunrise that you interact with. Your opponent in it is named Karasu Redbeak, and they were trained under a Master Gekkai. All of whom are Midlander Hyurs, so it should be safe to assume that a naming style akin to Yugiri's should be fine.

 

As for tattooing, we do know that tattoos exist, given the ones you can put on your character's face and the various outfits that "give" various types of tattoos (the one that jumps to mind is one of the Rogue/Ninja ones). And characters from 1.0 actually have a tattoo on their upper back as an identifying mark. So, we know there are ways to obtain a tattoo... just not exactly the details on how it's done. You can change your makeup/tattoos/etc at the aesthetician, so I suppose that would fall under their wheelhouse?

 

Still, if you want to play a tattoo artist, I'd say go with however you want it. Just a quick Google search on tattooing, in fact, provides a possibly interesting angle considering you're talking about a Doman:

 

"Traditional Japanese tattoos (irezumi) are still "hand-poked," that is, the ink is inserted beneath the skin using non-electrical, hand-made and hand held tools with needles of sharpened bamboo or steel. This method is known as tebori." - from the wiki

 

Might be an interesting starting point. Perhaps including some magic to either aid in the process itself (heating needles with fire crystals) or in the recovery (light healing to avoid tenderness and swelling) could add a very unique Hydaelyn flavor to it. Just have fun with it, really.

[Ashianna]

That is kind of the inspiration for the character. The character that was a tattoo artist in the other game I played was another race that was inspired by Japanese culture. I didn't even think about using irezumi for inspiration. I could see that working very well in this world with the magic we can manipulate. Thank you, Gegenji!

 

I have been reading up on anything I can find on Doman culture, both here and offsite, so I am hoping to make her as lore compatible as I can. While I know that the aesthetician can certainly "apply" those tattoos, I know that some do enjoy rping out acquiring a tattoo and as it lets me be creative with my own art, I thought it was a nice service I could provide for those that might like it. I'm all about helping others in their rp

[Jana]

I've always seen the English "last names" given to NPCs as being more like titles than their actual family names, like when we see them fighting alongside the player character in story instances. We know from the Raen naming conventions that surnames/family names also follow feudal Japanese style, so I'd think the same would apply to Doman Hyur.

[PhantasticPanda]

Towards the surnames that Gegenji mentioned, those are most likely titles as Jana said. Remember, we're dealing with NPCS that are ninjas/shinobi. Not exactly normal average day Domans. It's probable that those titles are to hide their "true" identity or origin.

 

In terms of naming your Doman, I do believe you can safely still do either method of a title or the same conventions that Raen Au Ra use. http://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Raen

[Jana]

Another possibility I didn't think of yesterday is that, much like real-life feudal societies, only nobles were important enough to have surnames/family names. The "titles" could have been given to them or self-chosen because peasants didn't get a real surname. There really isn't anything lore-wise to suggest this is the case, though.

[Gegenji]

Having the "title for a last name" thing could still be a fun way to go about it, though. It's all in how you'd like to spin it. For example, this is a tattoo artist character. Using that, her last name could be something catchy like "Inkdancer" or "Brandweaver."

 

Also, just because you use that as your nameplate doesn't mean you can't have another name as well. Aliases and whatnot are also pretty common, so she could be Umi Sigilmark or whatever as her nameplate but still have a "proper" last name of Yumimoto or whatever that is only given to people she feels more comfortable with. Or it could be her "pen name" and her actual name could be something else entirely.

 

There's plenty of ways to go about names and explaining them if they're not "100% lore compliant."

[Ashianna]

You've all definitely given me much to think about. I have also been trying to decide if i wanted to have being a shinobi as part of her background. Her being from Doma does make that a bit easier to explain. I had been leaning heavily towards choosing a feudal Japanese name, but if this "title" as a surname to protect the family of a shinobi is more practical, I may have to rethink that.

 

Sometimes picking the perfect name is more difficult than working out the details of a characters background. :dazed:

[Sounsyy]

Another possibility I didn't think of yesterday is that, much like real-life feudal societies, only nobles were important enough to have surnames/family names. The "titles" could have been given to them or self-chosen because peasants didn't get a real surname. There really isn't anything lore-wise to suggest this is the case, though.

 

Quickly dropping in while at work to add this, from the Au Ra / Doman Naming Conventions thread:

 

Just as is the case with most of the other races, the Raen also have surnames (family names). Unlike their Auri ancestors who employed clan names as surnames, the now-clanless Raen have adopted a more complex practice. Families of the warrior class (and generally the ruling class) are the only people “allowed” surnames in Doma, and they will often take surnames that displayed their battle prowess or position within an army.

 

Though the names are not recognized by the ruling class, families of the merchant and peasant classes will still give themselves surnames as to make their everyday lives easier─the names reflecting their professions.

 

More lore on Doma and the Raen Au Ra can be found in this compilation post. Hope this helps!

[Jana]

Slight bump to the thread! Per the lore book, we have full names for two NIN characters: Oboro Torioi and Karasu Kanshi. I'm waiting to see if we get the kanji of their surnames from the JP version of the book, but neither of their surnames seem to be related to their given names or "titles" ("epithet" in the lore book) that are taken directly from their given names.

[Ashianna]

Sorry for not replying to this right away but a nasty cold has had me down for the last few days. Love autumn, hate the colds I always get when the weather changes.

 

And that's good to hear! I took what everyone said to heart and read up on whatever lore I could find here (Thanks Sounsyy! ) and elsewhere. Thanks for the great advice, everyone! Can't wait to get her out there and rp.

 

Here she is...

 

Sayuri Onishi