History Main / HumanNotepad

* In the ''Film/TheScorpionKing'' movie ''The Book of Souls'', [[TheChick Amina]] is revealed to have her entire body covered in mysterious letters and markings when her body is exposed to the moonlight. This is because [[spoiler:she ''is'' the titular Book of Souls in [[MacGuffinGirl human form]] and every time someone is killed by the [[EvilWeapon Fang of Anubis]], their souls become trapped in her body with their name engraved on it]].

* [[spoiler:Riza Hawkeye]] in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' has a tattoo on her back that contains [[spoiler:her father's research into flame alchemy]], which she shows to [[spoiler:Roy Mustang]] before asking him to destroy it.
** [[spoiler:Scar's brother]] did this to himself in the first anime in an effort to [[spoiler:create a true Philosopher's Stone]].

* In ''Anime/YourName'', two teens (Taki and Mitsuha) undergoing a FreakyFridayFlip begin leaving notes for each other, sometimes with journal entries on their smartphones and sometimes by writing on their palms. PlayedForLaughs in one scene where they get frustrated with each others' actions and write things like "Stupid!" and "Jerk!" on each others' faces. [[spoiler:Then near the climax, they finally meet face-to-face and write their names on the other's palms so they can remember...except Mitsuha disappears before she can start. Later on, she finally looks at what Taki wrote and sees that it says "[[LoveConfession I love you]]"; as she cries, Mitsuha says that it doesn't do anything to help her remember his name. It ''does'' give her a much-needed HeroicSecondWind, though.]]

* ''ComicBook/LeScorpion'': In ''The Treasure of the Templars'', it is revealed that Rochnan was punished for pretending to convert to Islam by having the 99 names of Allah tattooed over his body.

[[folder: Fan Works]]

** How ''did'' he get such an elaborate tattoo(s) done in the time between his brother was convicted and was sentenced to die?

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants'' episode "No Weenies Allowed," Patrick looks at his hand to remind himself that he is pretending to be a "kickboxer" to show Reg how tough [=SpongeBob=] is.

* Prison tattoos are usually a way to communicate certain things to other prisoners. The list of examples are too many to list here but here is a brief list of well known ones:

** A tear drop on the face is usually a sign the prisoner has committed murder, some have variations of the teardrop for example an outline of a teardrop usually means they committed attempted murder

** 1488 is a sign that the prisoner is a white supremacist (the fourteen words being represented by the 14 and the 88 being the 8th letter in the alphabet H, 88 is a simple sign saying "Heil Hitler")

** Tattoos of crosses and praying hands are usually a symbol of the prisoner finding faith inside bars
** "Mama tried" is the prisoner basically saying FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse

** A bizarre example are the Toad Scrolls. Naturally born with an elongated body that can unroll like a scroll, secrets and seals can be written on their flesh for safe-keeping and they will then hide themselves within their contractor. [[spoiler: Gerotora, the only one seen thus far, contained the 'key' to the Kyuubi's seal]].

* In ''Film/WaterWorld'', [[spoiler: the little girl who serves as the heroine's MoralityPet]] has a treasure map tattoo that [[spoiler: leads to the surviving last dry land on the planet.]]

* Michael Scofield, of ''Series/PrisonBreak'', had the details of his escape plan and blueprints of the entire prison tattooed on his body, albeit hidden within geometric shapes and images of angels and demons.

** Webs can signify a long term behind bars; so can a small tattoo on the hand that has 5 dots (4 surrounding 1 in a perfect square), webs with spiders in them can indicate the prisoner is in for murder, but they can in some cultures represent [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil a rapist]]
** Goats can indicate a snitch (forcefully applied)

** In "The Last Temptation of Homer" Homer writes a LetsJustBeFriends speech on his hand but when the time comes for him to deliver it to his attractive co-worker he finds that his nervous sweating has rendered it illegible. We also see another man reading the note on his hand, which starts with 'I am tired of these jokes about my giant hand' and then continues as an extensive essay.

* Prison tattoos are usually a way to communicate certain things to other prisoners, the list of examples are too many to list here but here is a brief list of well known ones:
** A clock with no hands usually signifies the prisoner is serving a life sentence

** Playing cards on the arms and legs signify a liking for gambling (or that they simply believing that life is a gamble) be careful what types of playing cards you tattoo on yourself however, clubs usually mean generic criminal, spades signify a thief, diamonds usually signify a snitch (usually forced on) and hearts signify the prisoner is [[PrisonRape looking for love]] (also usually forced on).

** Webs can signify a long term behind bars; so can a small tattoo on the hand that has 5 dots (4 surrounding 1 in a perfect square), webs with spiders in them can indicate the prisoner is in for murder but they can in some cultures represent [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil a rapist]]

** In eastern European and Russian prisons they note which crime the prisoner has committed, where they committed them, how long they committed them and even sometimes why they did it... with a number of small tattoos on the prisoners hands. They take their tattoo code extremely seriously; if you have a tattoo on your body that you haven't earnt (and they WILL find out eventually) the other prisoners will remove the tattoo forcefully.
** That being said trying the same shit in any other prison is just asking for trouble, they probably wont skin you alive to remove the tattoo, but you might be shanked for your trouble.

* TabletopGame/{{Talislanta}}n [[ProudWarriorRace Thralls]], although this is partly because they'd all look the same otherwise.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}, the Word Bearers Chaos Space Marine Erebus had passages from the Book of Lorgar tattooed on his face.

* An ep of ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' had a victim covered in writing rolled in a carpet; he was a writer killed by the guy he was plagiarising who had a condition that compelled him to write on any surface.

* In ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'', George Ozone tattooed a treasure map on to the insoles of the feet of his sons. [[ShootTheBuilder He then killed the tattoo artist]].

* [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=74604 Reki, the History of Kamigawa]] in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''.
-->''"After his death, monks spent ten years transcribing the tattoos from Reki's body and gathering stories from those who spoke with him. Thus the volume you hold was written."''
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}, the Word Bearers Chaos Space Marine Erebus had passages from the Book of Lorgar tattooed on his face.

* In ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'', one character has the only map to a certain island -- tattooed on his back. Yes, you do have to get it off. No, we won't say how. [[YouDoNOTWantToKnow You don't want to know]].
* In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'', the English defector who invented the Nova 6 chemical is covered in tattoos of mathematical and scientific formulas.
* In ''VideoGame/NieR'', spontaneous development of writing on the body is the namesake symptom of the Black Scrawl.
* Ivan from ''Videogame/DevilsThird'' is covered by Japanese words as a ShoutOut to the classical Japanese tale "Hoichi the Earless" which symbolically fits to the game's theme of how long range communications device have gone due to a (proposed based of Kessler Theory) natural disaster. Gameplay-proper, it reacts with his inner "Embaku" powers, allowing him to enter a SuperMode (and [[PowerTattoo the words glowing]]) after enough melee damage is dealt.

* Used for humorous effect in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': When the Griffins go to a prison, they have to write a lengthy contract on a prisoner's buttocks with a shard of glass as he screams in pain. Peter makes a mistake and proceeds to 'erase' it causing the man to collapse, presumably dead.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' writes notes to herself on her arm before heading to the matchmaker, although they are washed off during the scrubdown she is administered by her mother and grandmother making the script non-legible.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', when Fry becomes the emperor of a race of liquid people after [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt accidentally drinking the previous one]], he is required at his coronation to recite the oath of office (a LongList of how [[KlingonPromotion each emperor dispatched the last]]) by memory, and gets by by writing it on the inside of his arm.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Miharu suffers from this in ''Manga/NabariNoOu'' when the Shinrabanshou sealed inside him is used. This "secret art" is described as being more like an immense library of powerful information, though not in a readable form and thus impossible to control. Inside his mental space, it appears as a stormfront of floating Kanji.

* ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' has music-obsessed Siegfried writing one of his compositions on his unconscious opponent.
* [[spoiler:Riza Hawkeye]] in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' has a tattoo on her back that contains [[spoiler:her father's research into flame alchemy]], which she shows to [[spoiler:Roy Mustang]] before asking him to destroy it.
** [[spoiler:Scar's brother]] did this to himself in the first anime in an effort to [[spoiler:create a true Philosopher's Stone]].
* A rather disturbing example occurs in ''Anime/{{Shigofumi}}''. [[spoiler:Fumika, the protagonist]] suffered from a form of child abuse wherein her MadArtist father would etch his rough drafts into her body with glass pens.
* In ''Anime/YourName'', two teens (Taki and Mitsuha) undergoing a FreakyFridayFlip begin leaving notes for each other, sometimes with journal entries on their smartphones and sometimes by writing on their palms. PlayedForLaughs in one scene where they get frustrated with each others' actions and write things like "Stupid!" and "Jerk!" on each others' faces. [[spoiler:Then near the climax, they finally meet face-to-face and write their names on the other's palms so they can remember...except Mitsuha disappears before she can start. Later on, she finally looks at what Taki wrote and sees that it says "[[LoveConfession I love you]]"; as she cries, Mitsuha says that it doesn't do anything to help her remember his name. It ''does'' give her a much-needed HeroicSecondWind, though.]]

* One of the villains in Matt Fraction's ''ComicBook/{{Casanova}}'' hid the map to his money in invisible ink on the nubile flesh of a band of pop-singer assassins.
* Parodied in ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'', in which one student writes an entire essay on his arms and has to wear long-sleeved shirts for the entire month of May lest he reveal his cheating.
* Lyssa Drak of [[Franchise/GreenLantern the Sinestro Corps]]. After [[TomeOfEldritchLore the Book of Parallax]] is lost, which contains the life story of every member of the Sinestro Corps, and every atrocity they have done in the name of fear, she proceeds to write all their contents ''by burning into her skin with her ring''.

[[folder:Film]]
%%* ''Literature/ThePillowBook''

* Dan, the son of ''Film/{{Yellowbeard}}'', has a treasure-map tattood on his head.
* This was also done in ''Film/CutthroatIsland'', where one-third of a treasure map is tattooed on the scalp of the heroine's father. After he gets killed at the beginning of the movie, she cuts it off of him and takes it with her, as he'd instructed while dying.
* In ''Film/WaterWorld'', [[spoiler: the little girl who serves as the heroine's MoralityPet]] has a treasure map tattoo that [[spoiler: leads to the surviving last dry land on the planet.]]
* Leonard Shelby of ''Film/{{Memento}}'' provides the image for this page and is probably a TropeCodifier. He uses tattoos as a NoteToSelf to make up for his inability to form new memories.
* Happens in the film version of ''Film/HarrietTheSpy'' in the form of "foot tattoos" shared between friends.
* In ''Film/{{Looper}}'', [[CarvedMark carved directions on the arm]] are used as a way of [[WriteBackToTheFuture communication between young and old time travellers]].
* The second ''Film/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' movie has Mr. D write reminders on his hand because he can't be bothered to remember anyone's name or the details of the speech he's about to make.

* Gray from ''Film/{{Snowpiercer}}'' is TheVoiceless, but has various common phrases tattooed on his arms and torso. He communicates by displaying or pointing to specific words when needed.
* In the ''Film/TheScorpionKing'' movie ''The Book of Souls'', [[TheChick Amina]] is revealed to have her entire body covered in mysterious letters and markings when her body is exposed to the moonlight. This is because [[spoiler:she ''is'' the titular Book of Souls in [[MacGuffinGirl human form]] and every time someone is killed by the [[EvilWeapon Fang of Anubis]], their souls become trapped in her body with their name engraved on it]].
* In ''Film/GangOfRoses'', it is eventually revealed that the sheriff has the second half of the treasure map tattooed on his chest.

* In ''Film/{{Gunless}}'', The Montana Kid has a series of self-inflicted scars on his left arm: each one a tally mark representing a man he has killed.

* [[spoiler:Vinculus]], from ''Literature/JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell'', is covered almost completely (with the exception of hands and face) in the prophecy of the Raven King. After it is fulfilled, it shifts into the Raven King's magic book.
* ''Creator/CliveBarker's Book of Blood''

* In Bolesław Leśmian's book version of ''Literature/SinbadTheSailor'', the protagonist's poet uncle laments that his poems always get destroyed one way or another, no matter on what media he records them. Eventually, he tattoos all his poems on his body.
* In Literature/NightLords, given the unpredictable nature of his [[CursedWithAwesome visions]] Talos will often scrawl portions of prophecy on his [[PoweredArmor warplate]], since it may be the only way for him to remember what the heck he just saw. Unfortunately, it makes him distinctly distinguishable as a much coveted prophet of the VIII Legion.
* In the Literature/PhryneFisher novel ''Away With the Fairies'', the RuthlessModernPirates carve their ransom demands into Li Pen's chest and send him back to Lin's family as a warning.
* The titular protagonist of Peter V. Brett's ''Literature/TheWardedMan'' (and sequels), has magical wards tattooed over most of his body, they allow him to fight and kill [[OurDemonsAreDifferent corelings]] hand-to-hand.

* In Literature/{{Discworld}}, males of the Nac Mac Feegle clan of pictsies tattoo themselves all over. It's implied that their natural skin color may be nut-brown - at least, that's what their un-tattooed females look like - but appear blue from their all-body clan markings.

* ''Literature/SimonArk'': In "The Treasure of Jack the Ripper", the mutilation of the [[DisposableSexWorker prostitutes]] murdered by UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper were actually [[SerialKillingsSpecificTarget a smokescreen to cover]] the theft of a patch of skin from each of them. These sections of skin each held a tattoo that, when stitched together, formed a TreasureMap.

* In ''Series/{{Blindspot}}'', the amnesiac Jane Doe's body is almost completely covered in tattoos that form clues to the dates and addresses for future crimes. In a bit of RealityEnsues, her skin is very raw and sore, and the others are horrified to realize the tattoos were applied all at once about a week ago.

** Mama tried is the prisoner basically saying FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse

* In ''VideoGame/{{Rift}}'', the Defiant faction's resident [[FiveRaces stouts]] canonically have this as a cultural trait:

* Leonard Shelby of ''Film/{{Memento}}'' uses tattoos as a NoteToSelf to make up for his inability to form new memories.

* * Pam from ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' has [[KillTally thirteen tally marks tattooed on her back, one for each person she killed]] [[FightClubbing fighting in underground clubs]] to pay her way through college, and under them, an excerpt from "The Destruction of Sennacherib" by Lord Byron.

* * Pam from ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' has [[KillTally thirteen tally marks tattooed on her back, one for each person she killed [[FightClubbing fighting in underground clubs]]]] to pay her way through college, and under them, an excerpt from "The Destruction of Sennacherib" by Lord Byron.

* * Pam from ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' has thirteen tally marks tattooed on her back, one for each person she killed [[FightClubbing fighting in underground clubs]] to pay her way through college, and under them, an excerpt from "The Destruction of Sennacherib" by Lord Byron.

* In ''Series/RedDwarf'', Rimmer attempts to cheat his way through an exam by covering his entire body (save his hands and face - and buttocks) with written notes. On trying to look at the ones on his forearm, he finds his sweat has smudged them into complete illegibility. This doesn't stop him from wrapping his hand around his forearm and slapping it down on the exam paper, in an insane hope that the words would somehow form themselves. (He then stands up, salutes his examining officer and faints in the middle of the classroom.)

* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' did this in Angel's dream sequence in "[[Recap/AngelS04E14Release Release]]". The shaman who removed Angel's soul had writing all over his body and the team had to decipher it.

* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' did this in Angel's dream sequence in "Release". The shaman who removed Angel's soul had writing all over his body and the team had to decipher it.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. In "Restless" Willow's dream begins with an erotic scene in which she paints Creator/{{Sappho}}'s ''Hymn to Aphrodite'' in Greek letters on the back of a naked Tara. And in "Villains" she absorbs several TomeOfEldritchLore -- the text is seen flowing across her skin until its reaches her face and gives Willow BlackEyesOfEvil.

* ''Film/MissFisherAndTheCryptOfTears'': After they discover the ruins of the Bedouin village, Phryne realise that Shirin's tribal tattoo is actually [[spoiler:a map to the location of the Crypt of Tears]].