Me: It's just gonna be a few quick doodles and a bit of research so I can make France's prison tattoos Also me, several hours of research and two cleaned up sketches that are also lowkey anatomy studies later:
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I continue to demonstrate how ill I am about this loser
I also spent way too long researching to not infodump so
In 1485 prostitutes in France were also often marked with a P on the forehead, arm or butt. Their pimps were also marked with an M with a fleur de lys in the same places. The French justice system used to brand prisoners on the shoulder using a hot iron. It was a fleur de lys until 1724, when it was changed to letters (V for thief, VV for a repeat offender thief, M for a repeat offender beggar, GAL for a galley slave). It was abolished in September of 1791 before being reinstated in 1810 by Napoleon. This time, the letters were T.P. for penal labor for life, T for forced labor, D for deported. Then you could add F for people that make counterfeit money, V for thieves, and the number of the department where the of Criminal court that gave the sentence is in. They finally abolished it for the last time in 1832 with a few other modifications to the 1810 penal code. Some sources say they started tattooing numbers after that but I didn't find any contemporary sources for it so I omitted it.
France was a weird case because basically he committed high treason and patricide, but his father and him are immortal so his father is fine and they can't execute him even if that's technically what he should get (trust me they tried). So they went fuck it, and decided to stick him in the Bagne de Toulon, which is a penal establishment in Toulon, forever I guess. He spends 25 years in there before being released in 1840 because things are going to shit and he's been on good enough behaviour. He can't get within 10 km of any noble, politician or their family and friends, and he can't get involve himself in politics. He finds these rules stupid because 1.how is he supposed to know and 2.he's literally a country. He begrudgingly agrees and gets his internal passport. So this is why he gets marked with T.P. but obviously isn't still in prison.
As he was considered one of the most dangerous prisoners, he was kept permanently chained to his galley bench and just had to do whatever he could seated. This, combined with his relatively high level of education and good behaviour (read;derealization) meant he often did work for the administration of the prison. He ended up being very bored when he was done, so he started tattooing his own arm (hence why his right arm is more tattooed, since he's left-handed) with his pen. And then started tattooing the other inmates and also getting the ones in his non-forearm body parts because there's only so much you can do in prison and also chained to a bench.
He honestly didn't know what was tattooed on his back until Britain complimented them and he was like wait what and they had to trace it onto paper for him.
So I'm not sure exactly when prison tattoos became a thing in France, but they were enough of a thing to have a reputation by the late 19th century, and Vidocq was able to recognize a fellow ex-inmate by his tattoo. Sailors definitely already had a tattoo culture though. The back was often bigger elaborate pieces, like historical or religious figures and scenes and they were more a way for the tattooer to express himself than the tattooed. It was a way for artists to draw when they had no access to paper (of course I'll bend this slightly for character design purposes).
The tattoo on his neck is the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which is a Catholic devotion referring to Mary's love for God, Jesus and mankind (among other things). Traditionally it has seven swords piercing it but there's only so much space on the back of a neck. The reason I put it there is because he has mommy issues and catholic guilt. It is also why he got in the habit of wearing high collars and scarves all the time, and keeping his hair just a bit too long, because there's only so much you can do to hide a tattoo on your neck in the 19th century.
The butterfly is a symbol of fragile liberty and metamorphosis. The sunset with a cross symbolizes the quest for independence and the desire to live by one's own rules. I don't think I need to explain why he has these ones.
TOUJOURS LE MÊME means always the same. PAS DE CHANCE means no luck. This is just his whole life. It sucks and yet he's still a bastard.
The thorns around his forearm are just there to be pretty, but I guess you can draw connections to Jesus' crown of thorns. Don't really want to make him a Jesus figure tho.
The flower is a wild pansy, which is known as a pensée in French. Pensée is also the French word for thought. À ma sœur means to my sister. This tattoo is just a kinda dumb pun to say he misses his sister (Québec).
The date on his wrist (14.7.1789) is the day of the storming of the Bastille. This one was actually made in the late 19th century, while he was in military service.
LA LIBERTÉ OU LA MORT. Liberty or death. No explanation needed.
A single swallow represents waiting, freedom and the promise to come back home. In this case, his promise is to the people. It is also place on his right ribs to match Britain's arctic tern on their left ribs. Neither of them knew they matched until they both noticed it and silently agreed to never speak of it again.
The dagger piercing multiple hearts is a symbol of repeated hardship. Basically, his life sucks (and it only gets worse from here lol).
The little cross on his left arm is Saint Peter's cross, which is a Catholic symbol of humility.
He also has text tattooed under his navel, but it's a bit suggestive so I covered it up.
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And I have receipts for all of this (and then most of it is in French whoops)
