[Prompt] Meanings behind those tattoos and scars.

[Orlog]

Every nick, cut, bruise, scar, and tattoo has a story and from what I've seen of our characters, there are tons of stories to be shared. Also, I'm pretty curious what people do with the "tattoo" options in the character creator, as they don't exactly have to be tattoos or makeup IC.

 

So, yeah. Share away!

 

To answer my own question for Bea, I'll have to link you to this story for the long explanation. But, for those of you who're too lazy (shame on you), I'll give a quick explication. Basically, Bea has two readily recognizable facial marks. The larger of the two is something of a spirit mask for what she believes will give her a face the spirits would recognize. (Practices that you would see a lot in a lot of tribal Shamanism, especially with the Yup'ik, where I tend to draw a lot of inspiration for the character.) But, the thing that makes this particular mask a little... off, is that it's not a tattoo, but a piece of scarification that she did on her own, via that story posted above.

 

The other is a small white mark in the middle of her forehead. I really wanted to stress that this mark is NOT permanent, but just a simple smudge of ash for what Bea would believe to be her third eye.

 

Aside from those two, she's pretty much nick and scar free. I'm pretty tickled by the idea that her biggest wound suffered was done by her own hands to further her research. Oh, Bea. :geek:

[Tivahlt]

This is a really cool idea! I like the shamanistic story for Bea, it's awesome. It makes sense that there would be an intricate story behind it, too. You make me feel so unoriginal. Anyway, let me try...

 

There's more info on all of Mali's scars in her wiki page, but the things you can actually see from the character creator are a scar on her left cheek, some red warpaint, and a red eye (she wasn't born with heterochromia, so I'm counting it).

 

The scar on her left cheek is from her first attempt at swinging an axe...considering where else she could have ended up cutting herself, especially if she had swung a few inches lower, having a scar on her face is probably the preferable outcome. The red eye is from some botched conjury/white magic; her eye was hit pretty badly in the battle of Carteneau (where she also got a lot of scars that aren't visible...gimme some body scar options, square!), and she wasn't able to be healed before she was flung through time. When she popped out in the present and finally got some healing, it was too late for any of her wounds to be "good as new," but not so late that she was pushing up daisies. The eye is pretty much stuck in a permanent state of subconjunctival hemorrhage (DO NOT click that link if you are faint of heart, it's some major eye squick), but with the blood concentrated in her iris rather than the sclera because magic is weird (and I couldn't have an all-red eye option). Out of character, I wanted her to be noticeably damaged from the battle but I didn't like most of the facial scar options (and the only one I liked already had a plot point), so I got creative.

 

But if we ever get body modifications, then Mali is going to have ALL THE SCARS! /meme

 

The warpaint is just something she picked up from adventuring for a really long time. It doesn't get much more complicated than that. There's no special significance, she just thought that it was useful for both intimidating her enemies (and giving off a "tough" aura off the battlefield) and obscuring her features to make her less recognizable, at least to certain people, that didn't hinder her sight like a mask or a hood. After putting on various designs almost daily for nine years it has become so much of a habit that she feels uncomfortable if her face isn't painted.

 

Of course she also has a certain big black tattoo on her back, but she doesn't like talking about that.

 

tl;dr version: Everything on Mali is a result of fighting and/or adventuring. All of it.

 

I don't think any of my other characters have facial markings, really...Tiv has some green-ish makeup to make him look more sickly, and that's about it. He technically has more stuff on his body but I'm gonna go ahead and say those don't count, like Mali's, since they aren't there in the game. :\ There's not much else I can say on this topic, really.

 

I need to go make more characters with scars and make-up.

[ArmachiA]

Loki has them from her old lifestyle and a few new ones from the final battle. Since she was a pirate, she lost her leg and almost lost her eye and now has a long scar on her face.

 

She can be self conscious about it. It almost makes her try harder at being conventionally attractive, but not with make up or anything, just by being flirty and such. Deep down she's unsure she's attractive with such a disfigurement - both her fake leg and the scar on her face, though out loud she'll say she looks fine.

[Sienna]

Sienna, originally, only had one tattoo. It's a tribal Moogle on her tummy. She chose it due to her love of the little critters. 

 

 

She never got another tattoo, though after a certain event through time she found herself having a second on her back, just between her shoulderblades.

 

 

 

Sienna doesn't really have any scars to speak off. She's been careful to make sure she's not gotten anything that'd leave a mark over time. So far, at least.

[Eva]

Good post.

 

The tattoo on Eva's face (originally done in blue ink) is a symbol traditionally taken by her clan to indicate one is 'taken' - or no longer available for marriage. She (and her fiancé at the time) each got 'marked'. This was after they got engaged. He later died before they could get married. Her tattoo will be done over in black ink - something that's a little unclear as described in her clan but her [somewhat incorrect] interpretation of it is that she it symbolizes she is a widow who has let go. There is more to this than that, but it gets pretty long-winded and spoilerish and she may never fully understand it anyway as things have been set up now. But that's really it. The face tattoos in her clan (and from what I understand some other clans also) serve to indicate that one has found her soul mate.

 

She has no scars whatsoever (despite having been wounded significantly on a couple of occasions).

 

She also bears the "Legacy" mark on her back in more recent days, but is unsure what this means or how it came to be.

[Martiallais]

Another fun thread!

 

Scars

-Zarek has smaller scars along his body from general fighting and training. The marking on his face is one that he decided to keep because it looked cool.

-The mark along his forehead is the slightly healed result of some discipline he received after attempting to intervene in a hit the Platinum Mirage were carrying out.

 

Tattoo

-While he's debated getting more, Zarek has a single tattoo on his right shoulderblade (I'm still debating/finalizing the design but it will essentially be a wind-esque design) that notes him as a member of the Hyur Highlander Windsoul clan.

[FreelanceWizard]

L'yhta has the "tiger stripe" markings on her face common to some Seekers of the Sun; they're lighter than her otherwise dark skin. She's been thinking about getting a tattoo, but she's held back for three reasons: one, she doesn't know what to get; two, she doesn't plan far enough in advance to decide what to get; and three, rather uncharacteristically for her, she's actually a bit afraid of the process (not that she'd ever admit that, I mean, c'mon, a Most Excellentastic Sorcerer can't be afraid of a little needle, right?).

 

As for scars, she meticulously uses magic to heal herself, whether from an axe to the chest or a just a stubbed toe or paper cut. So, she's free of scars and marks in a weird, altogether "too perfect" sort of way.

[Aysun]

Markings

Aysun has three markings on each cheek that she was born with. In RP, when she was asked about them by a curious friend, she likened them to her friend's freckles. That they were just there, not tattoos. She's fond of them. (I was so relieved when it was confirmed that they weren't tattoos. )

 

Scars

Aysun had the usual wear and tear of a girl who liked to do things she shouldn't before coming to Eorzea, but nothing serious or disfiguring. Her two prominent scars she has now are from RP events in which she didn't seek treatment from the Fane/magical healing. One was from being stabbed in the thigh by a dagger, which has nearly faded by this point. The other, much more serious and one that she makes an effort to cover because it's not exactly pretty, was from a sparring match gone wrong, caused by a lance to her abdomen. Though magical means were initially used to save her life, she healed without it and is thus scarred.

 

Tattoos

She doesn't like tattoos much, therefore doesn't have any. She has been marked with the "Legacy" mark, however. She doesn't understand it, and doesn't like it one bit.

[Torn Sky]

I was definitely thinking along the lines of a third eye type deal when picking Torn's "face paint" as well. To differentiate from anyone else who happens to choose the same option, I recently started drawing it to look more like a sideways eye.

 

 

Until I finally sit down and produce a history I'm actually happy with and can see which fits better, I can't decide between it being a subtle tattoo or an upraised scar via branding. I figure the latter suits the whole fiery, volcano-dwelling theme of the Hellsguard quite a bit.

 

The procedure was done by her mentor to induct her as one of his disciples. It's for power, or very hypothetical power anyway, as it's thought to improve one's ability to sense and channel the aether.

 

The story behind my other character Teague's facial scars is a lot simpler than you might guess. They're the first scars he ever got as well as some of the worst.

 

 

 

He's reckless and altruistic at the same time, which has gotten him into a lot of bad situations while trying to be a hero. He also likes animals, perhaps moreso than people, for he's been deaf all his life and is able to get along with them with not much beyond just a silent understanding of one another. One evening during his teens, he noticed the sheep moving erratically in their enclosure. The cause for commotion turned out to be a starving raptor that had set its sights upon the herd, and Teague was the first on the scene with only a shovel he'd grabbed along the way. He managed to fight it off with a few good blows to its neck, but got pretty ripped up in return.

 

 

[Folken]

upraised scar via branding. I figure the latter suits the whole fiery, volcano-dwelling theme of the Hellsguard quite a bit.

 

Just want to throw in a bit of info here. Branding usually forms sunken scars, and almost all result in darkened scars. If you're looking for an upraised scar that's light then cutting scarification is what you're looking for.

 

So while branding fits with hellsguard quite a bit, the cutting scarification is what would really produce that effect.

____________________________________

 

Anyways, to digress to the topic at hand, Ship has a variety of markings and scars.

 

Tattoos:

Shippuu has one tattoo across his left forearm. He obtained it during a visit/stop at Radz-at-Han during his sea travelling days. Obviously he will be marked with the Legacy mark as well.

 

Markings:

He has a brand under his left eye, usually covered by his eyepatches. The source of the marking being a closely guarded secret to him.

 

Scars:

Ship has no shortage of these, especially when he's often not in the presence of any kind of healer to help the recuperation aspect. Apart from various scars from scuffles and fights adorning his body his body is host to severe scarring across his back. Everything from cuts to lashes and floggings, these are the result of being kept a slave. Along with those his wrists, ankles, and neck are also scared from many years spent in shackles during the same time.

 

Other:

He's missing the small finger on his right hand, also a result of his previous enslavement.

[Torn Sky]

upraised scar via branding. I figure the latter suits the whole fiery, volcano-dwelling theme of the Hellsguard quite a bit.

 

Just want to throw in a bit of info here. Branding usually forms sunken scars, and almost all result in darkened scars. If you're looking for an upraised scar that's light then cutting scarification is what you're looking for.

 

So while branding fits with hellsguard quite a bit, the cutting scarification is what would really produce that effect.

 

Thanks for the info. I had tried searching to see what branding itself actually looked like healed, but it was coming back with pictures of all types of scarification and I couldn't really tell what produced what effect. It appears lighter than her skin on her character model, so you're right. I wish I wasn't so attached to the white, or I'd be tempted to change it to fit that.

 

EDIT:

Found an actual body mod portfolio with nice before/after images. The skin removal method scars are really pretty when healed and are the closest to what I was imagining for her, but I'm not as sold on the idea thematically.