History Main / HumanNotepad

* ''Film/MissFisherAndTheCryptOfTears'': After they discovers the ruins of the Bedouin village, Phryne realise that Shirin's tribal tattoo is actually [[spoiler:a map to the location of the Crypt of Tears]].

* ''Film/MissFisherAndTheCryptOfTears'': After they discovers the ruins of the Bedouin village, Phryne realise that Shirin's tribal tattoo is actually [[apoiler:a map to the location of the Crypt of Tears]].

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. In "Restless" Willow's dream begins with an erotic scene in which she paints Sappho's ''Hymn to Aphrodite'' in Greek letters on the back of a naked Tara. And in "Villains" she absorbs several TomeOfEldritchLore -- the text is seen flowing across her skin until its reaches her face and gives Willow BlackEyesOfEvil.

* ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad''. After being captured by the War Boys, Max has everything they know about him (mostly medical information relevant to his use as a bloodbag) forcibly tattooed on his back. Nux has scarification on his chest in the [[CargoCult shape of a V8 engine]]. The most extreme example is Miss Giddy, who has covered almost every inch of her body in tattoos [[AllThereInTheManual meant to record history in the absence of books]].

[[Fan Works]]

* ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'' writes notes to herself on her arm before heading to the matchmaker, although they are washed off during the scrubdown she is administered by her mother and grandmother making the script non-legible.

* Ivan from ''Videogame/DevilsThird'' is covered by Japanese words as a ShoutOut to the classical Japanese tale "Hoichi the Earless" which symbolically fits to the game's theme of how long range communications device have gone due to a (proposed based of Kessler Theory) natural disaster.

* A squicky variation shows up in ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'', when Carl and Master Shake anger a forest of talking trees. The trees hang Carl up by his feet and tear off pieces of his skin to write notes on during his "trial".

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]

[[folder:Live Action TV ]]
* Toby in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episodes "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit": Whilst he's controlled by the Beast, Toby's eyes {{glow|ingEyesOfDoom}} {{red|EyesTakeWarning}} and his body is covered with inscrutable symbols written in what appears to be sharpie.
** Later in "The Impossible Astronaut" and "Day of the Moon", the Doctor's companions write tallies on themselves to remind them of encounters with [[spoiler:the Silence]].

*** And in the beginning of "The Wedding of River Song".

* An ep of ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' had a vic covered in writing rolled in a carpet; he was a writer killed by the guy he was plagiarising who had a condition that compelled him to write on any surface.
* Something to this effect appears to be happening to [[spoiler:Max]] in ''Series/DarkAngel''.
* Short, dramatic example: On ''Series/{{Lost}}'', [[spoiler:Charlie]] writes [[spoiler:"NOT PENNY'S BOAT"]] on his hand as [[spoiler:the room he's in fills with water]] to tell [[spoiler:Desmond]].
* In season 4 of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' the season's BigBad is a man with terrakinesis. He uses his ability to leave messages in ink on his mooks (and form a strangling hand if they anger him)

* ''Series/{{Brimstone}}'' : Zeke Stone has the names of the 113 damned souls he's hunting tattooed on his body, 'penned in [the Devil's] native tongue'. When he sends a damned soul back, their name is removed, painfully.
** This causes a problem when he sleeps with a woman, unaware that she's one of the escaped souls. She reads her name on his chest and realises what Zeke's task is.
* In ''Series/{{MASH}}'', Klinger does this to cheat on a test, requiring him to perform some rather odd gymnastics in order to see the answers.
** "Who said, "Damn the torpedoes!! Full Speed Ahead?" His answer: Tugarraf!
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' did this in Angel's dream sequence in "Release". The shaman who removed Angel's soul had writing all over his body and the team had to decipher it.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. In "Restless" Willow's dream begins with an erotic scene in which she paints Sappho's ''Hymn to Aphrodite'' in Greek letters on the back of a naked Tara. And in "Villains" she absorbs several TomeOfEldritchLore -- the text is seen flowing across her skin until its reaches her face and gives Willow BlackEyesOfEvil.
* ''Series/ChourikiSentaiOhranger'': Gorou gets the code Red Puncher needs to combine with Ohranger Robo printed on his back by the memory pack containing it when said pack is destroyed.

* In ''Series/{{Blindspot}}'', the amnesiac Jane Doe's body is almost completely covered in tattoos that form clues to the dates and addresses for future crimes. In a bit of RealityEnsues, her skin is very raw and sore, and the others are horrified to realize the tattoos were applied all at once about a week ago.
* ''Series/{{Elementary}}'': In the season 3 episode ''Art in Blood'', Sherlock and Joan detect coded tattoos made in invisible UV-sensitive ink all over a victim's chest and arms.
* ''Series/TheOA'': Has prisoners in a demented test learn of a series of movements that may have the power to save them. Since they are told memory loss might be a side effect of using the movements, they make an effort to remember them by cutting ciphers detailing them into their backs.

[[folder: Real Life]]

* In the ''Film/TheScorpionKing'' movie ''The Book of Souls'', Amina is revealed to have her entire body covered in letter and markings when her body is exposed to the moonlight. This is because [[spoiler:she ''is'' the titular Book of Souls in [[MacGuffinGirl human form]] and every time someone is killed by the [[EvilWeapon Fang of Anubis]], their souls become trapped in her body with their name engraved on it]].

* Sarah of ''WebVideo/MidnightScreenings'' tends to write the trailers on her arms, so she doesn't forget them when she's discussing movies with her fellow reviewers.

* During the build-up to WrestleMania 28, John Cena showed the audience that the Rock had notes for his promo written on his arm.

* In ''Anime/YourName'', two teens (Taki and Mitsuha) undergoing a FreakyFridayFlip begin leaving notes for each other, sometimes with journal entries on their smartphones and sometimes by writing on their palms. PlayedForLaughs in one scene where they get frustrated with each others' actions and write things like "Stupid!" and "Jerk!" on each others' faces. [[spoiler:Then near the climax, they finally meet face-to-face and write their names on the other's palms so they can remember...except Mitsuha disappears before she can start. Later on, she finally looks at what Taki wrote and sees that it says "[[LoveConfession I love you]]"; as she cries, Mitsuha says that it doesn't do anything to help her remember his name.]]

* ''KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' has music-obsessed Siegfried writing one of his compositions on his unconscious opponent.

* In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'', the German who invented the Nova 6 chemical is covered in tattoos of mathematical and scientific formulas.

* Something to this effect appears to be happening to [[spoiler:Max]] in ''DarkAngel''.

* {{Talislanta}}n [[ProudWarriorRace Thralls]], although this is partly because they'd all look the same otherwise.

* In ''Film/{{Looper}}'', [[CarvedMark carve directions onto the arm]] are used as a way of [[WriteBackToTheFuture communication between young and old time travellers]].