I’m feeling self-indulgent so I’m going to take a minute to talk some more about Adrasteius, my primary Warcraft OC. He’s covered in tattoos. Every inch of his body is tattooed, except for his face and hands. However, he’s also modest to the point of prudishness, so the average person only sees the designs on his throat.
They do change color, but that’s kind of a superfluous element meant primarily for comedy, as they react based on his emotional state—meaning it’s impossible for him to hide how he’s feeling, even if he wants to do so. It’s not a side-effect he especially enjoys.
He got them after the Sunwell’s destruction, because that was the moment when everything went to hell in a handbasket for him (and many other blood elves). The Light receded from him; his parents were dead; his brother was losing his mind to corruptions of all sorts. In the wake of these tragedies, Adrasteius decided to return to his study of magecraft. But Adra has a lot of powerful magic locked up in his burning blood, and he wanted some safety locks on that power. The tattoos are arcane limiters—they are designed to dampen the effects of any damaging spell he casts. He can ‘overclock’ the tattoos and thus override this lock, but it takes an exhausting amount of effort on his part. Plus, as a pacifist, it’s not something he would (normally …) consciously do, anyway.
(art from avali, of course!)