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[Kyoko Sakoda]

And yet they aren't socioculturally important, as they would be in the Republic. They would be a method of expression as they are present day.

[Matariki Rain]

And yet they aren't socioculturally important, as they would be in the Republic. They would be a method of expression as they are present day.

As they are present day in some cultures.

There are -- still and again -- cultures which care about tattoos and their social significance. Where designing them involves group approval of elements which reflect genealogy, life events, status and role. Where receiving them is a social ritual.

Although I wince at bit at this (cultural appropriation and such) do have a look at http://history-nz.org/maori3.html (scroll down - last heading "Moko patterns and meaning") for an idea of the sort of thing that underpins my view of Matari tattooing.

(Yes, I tried to give Mata aspects of this:

• http://matarikirain.blogspot.com/2010/05/witnessing.html
  http://matarikirain.blogspot.com/2010/05/marking.html.)

[Niki Bot]

From the Kameiras chronicle:

In the aftermath of battles, Kameiras gather what bodies they can of their fallen and burn them in great funeral pyres. This is done in a matter-of-fact way, without emotion. Once the fires have burnt out the surviving Kameiras cut themselves and then rub the ash from the pyres, the ashes of their dead brethren, into their open wounds. In this way, a permanent mark is formed. The Kameiras carry their dead with them, and the mark serves as a lasting reminder of those who fell. An old soldier may have many scars of the lost covering his body and in this way can come to look akin to his free Minmatar brethren. No one knows how this tradition crept in - not even the Kameiras themselves - but it now persists throughout all units in the Kameira war machine.

Contrasted with this:

Through this near-constant long-term process of tattooing, it is sometimes necessary for a tattoo to be removed or replaced with another tattoo. Since Minmatar technology is very advanced in this area, removal of a tattoo is extremely simple, with a pinpoint-precision surface laser wiping clear any unwanted area.  There are times in which a Minmatar will symbolically choose to use the old method of skin removal, which carries the side effect of leaving large, highly visible scars. This is particularly prevalent when changes of allegiance or other actions of heavy emotional investment occur. (It is especially common after certain judicial punishments, for example.)

[Shae Tiann]

After reading this chron, I was SO GLAD I gave Shae a legitimate, familial reason to have Sebiestor markings down her arm o_O