#but also I've written 72k words of Rorveth I was bound to have some too asljfakjs

[justleaf]

My HC of Vernon Roche's Tattoos, in order of age.

Image credit: @tiffashy is the original artist of the torsos. I only have my mouse, willpower and 0 talent, so I had to search online for a pic of torsos and this was the only one that had the angles I wanted.

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Put together for @kashuan. My headcannon is that he doesn't have that many because:

1. He spends a lot of time naked around the army and can't get anything that will either be viewed as too feminine or cause them to change their perception of him. 2. Honestly the man's got no downtime to get more anyway. 3. By the time he retired he was too like fukkit I'm a pussy I don't want to experience THAT much pain.

Temerian Shield and Sword

HE'S CAPTAIN TEMERIA HOW COULD HE NOT GET THIS.

He got this in the early years of his enlistment (I HC that he joined at 15 and is 33 in W2, primarily because I need his dick to work great when I write smut scenes.).

The work was done when he didn't know a thing about tattoos and the lines are bumpy, crooked and uneven. It's also healed poorly because he didn't have knowledge to properly heal a one (and also got angy with how itchy it was) so the ink is missing in places.

At some point in his life he was captured by the enemy and put to torture, thus the extensive scarring on his back that ruined the tattoo. Years after his recovery, he got the lillies touched up because they can take the man out of Temeria but they can't take the Temeria out of the man.

Dagger

Friendship tattoo with Ves 🥺 One night they got drunk and confessed their platonic love for each other, and then went to find a guy to tattoo a dagger on them. Ves' one is on the left side of her back because she knows Roche will always have her back no matter what happens, and his is over his heart because she will always have a place in his.

Blue Stripes

He just loves The Boys ok. It was supposed to be one stripe per year but then he ended up needing to be out in the field for months at a time. His 1 braincell was dedicated to realising it wasn't a good idea crawling around in mud and gunk with an open wound.

Fox

Do I even need to explain this. Here's where the tattoo quality increases because Iorveth has connections and taste.

Originally he wanted (or I WANTED LMAO) vines around the Fox, and then realised that it would be appropriating elven culture. He didn't feel he had the right to take on their symbol after he spent so long suppressing them.

Only one foot is coloured because halfway through the session, he decided he was too old to put up with the pain. Iorveth laughed at him but understood.

The fox is tattooed over one of the many scars Iorveth gave him.

Marigolds

He got this when he finally overcame his hatred for his mother. She passed on when he was 15 and Iorveth helped him realise that she didn't purposely damage him and did the best she could, even though her best was lacking. He has memories of how much she loved Margiolds and got them tattooed in remembrance of her and of his acceptance of her. He thinks she would be proud of him.

Disclaimer: I read that tattoos were commonly used as a method of torture in medieval times BUT this is fantasy witcher world so history can go into the bin, and maybe my headcannon also goes into the bin but here it is. Other disclaimer: Please feel free to use any of these HCs. If it sparks an idea, great. If you want to modify it, great. I would 100% love to see it but you don't have to tag me if you use them.