Why angel do not have tatoos in her body (shoulder and arms) in the portrait at jack´s office?

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel BL:TPS Discussion
#1

the question is already at the title so what do you guys think,sirens are born with powers?i know that jack says it when you are on the mission assassinate the assassins "sirens are born with crazy ass powers"or something like that but when i saw the portrait i saw angel without tatoos was that a mistake gearbox made?i know is kinda small to see but just try and tell me what do you think.

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#2

Just played “Where Angels…” last night, funily enough.

Three thoughts:

  1. Most obviously, the artist simply goofed and forgot she should have tattoos (Lilith comments during the fake geek side quest in TTAoDK that she had weird tattoos in school, so presumably all sirens have them from an early age)

  2. Angel’s tattoos don’t extend up her neck, so at least some of them would be hidden in that picture anyway. (Not sure about the ones on her left arm though - I think they do extend over her shoulder?)

  3. Artistic licence? Maybe it’s not supposed to be a photo but a painting or drawing (school self-portrait)?

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#3

yeah i knew about this dialoge about lilith and her tattoos at school pretty funny by the way and was one of the reasons why i came up with this question but i guess somebody at the arts just forgot to put those,anyway thanks for replying.

#4

Probably just a plot hole but if it was intentional my guess would be that jack Photoshoped the tattoos out so people wouldn’t know his daughter is a siren.

#5

Maybe tatoos grow as they get older, gain power.

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#6

Definitely a case of “oops”

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#7

Gonna side with Kitty_Jo in it being an oops.

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#8

I like to think that Jack painted it himself without the tattoos, unless it is a photo, then he photoshopped them out. Why? To convince himself that even though his daughter isnt quite human and she did something horrible to her mother, she’s still his daughter or something like that.

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#9

As far as Angel is concerned there’s a lot of ambiguity regarding how things played out in her life between early childhood and her young adulthood.

The biggest clues we have about her powers manifesting in early childhood come in Jack’s dialog during the Data Mining Mission after Saturn is defeated https://youtu.be/1XKfeEgBLk8?t=18m45s

…and during the Get To Know Jack Side Quest, specifically Journal 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWeOcGG3c7U

For the sake of argument, it’s not clearly established that the siren tattoos manifest at a certain age or are there for birth, or if that is even consistent among sirens. It’s totally malleable at this point. The writers have enough wiggle room to make it work.

Sidenote: I always thought it would be interesting if Gaige was a siren, but lost her tattoed limbs, hence the prosthesis/ cybernetic limbs, as a nod to Full Metal Alchemist?

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#10

I could quite believe that Lilith’s tattoos didn’t become apparent until she was a teenager.

#11

Actual reason, most probably:

But there are a LOT of ways to justify it if you want:

  • Photo has been retouched because Jack doesn’t like them or would rather keep her siren identity secret.
  • Tattoos appear progressively with age, and those that would show in that frame are not there yet
  • In the same vein as the 2 above, this could be an older photo when Angel was like 5, Tattoos appeared at 6, and Jack decided never to update the picture on his desk for sentimental reasons.
  • Tattoos only show (glow) when her powers are active, and Angel is too young for them to show all the time
  • Angel has some amount of control over them and suppressed them for the photo session (Other Siren’s tattoos glow when they use their power, so it is reasonable to think that they could be made more subtle as easily as more apparent)
  • Photo is overexposed and her (white) tattoos are there but simply fade from view against the pale skin background
  • You are mistaken and her tattoos would not be visible from that angle. (actually kind of hard to tell when you compare to the turnaround model)
  • This is a painting rather than a photo
  • This is not Angel (unlikely, since the point of these easter-egg-y details is to serve the backstory)
  • The Tattoos are there, you can only see them with a 4K HDR monitor and the Fremington’s edge’s scope
  • Photo is mirror-flipped, Tattoos are on the other arm, outside of the frame
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The 6 sirens in BL3
#12

Another thing worth noting is that when Angel is depicted with the tattoos it’s in the Eridium chamber when charging the keys, and her body had been modified (the ports on her head). In the echoes jack mentions that Lillith interacts with Eridium in a way no other siren does.

On the other hand Maya has the ability to manipulate slag specifically, which is odd since it’s basically toxic waste created from mining and refining the Eridium. Maya can manipulate it, but is not effected by it.

All that said, each siren seems to be distinct in a lot of ways. I’m still under the impression that Lillith, Maya, and Angel, are half of the six sirens the game clearly states as such. Steele’s skin was a previous incarnation of Lillith from early development so I don’t know if she should be included.

Also part of me wants to think that Jack used hyperion resources to enhance Angel’s powers before the slag experiments and taking possession of the key? I’m having trouble recalling if she could phase shift things in Borderlands 1, or was the extent of her ability communicating through the echo network…

#13

This I can believe. My own parents are not supportive of my tattoo plans :grin:

I know this is structural (so she can be in the chamber for the angel fight) but it’s never satisfied me. I hope more about her connection to eridium is developed.

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#14

The Maya bit does seem like a bit of a “because we said so” plot device quirk.

Eridians were completely dropped from the main game in Borderlands 2, so their origins, technology, and relationship with the things found in the vaults went totally unexplained. That’s also a but of a letdown.

TPS did establish that regular humans, after making contact with Eridians in a peaceful manner (the Lost Legion) were granted powers (Ascendant Soldiers) which would be a connecting thread to the Eridium/ Slag powered Raid Bosses in Borderlands 2.

There’s no direct connection drawn between Sirens & Eridians so far. It seems like that’s a territory that will have to be explored at some point.

Are sirens born by chance, genetically engineered, the product of scientific experimentation after birth???

Who knows? All of that is left wide open.

#15

What I find creepy about this is that she also has implants all the way down her spine.

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