THIS… is actually asked a lot. It’s not a scar, it’s just a marking that would not normally occur in actual animals. At least, not asymmetrically like that. 

It IS a reference, though, as most of the designs in Dangerous Cute are… and no, it’s not the Nike swoosh, it’s actually the scar on Ashitaka’s cheek from Princess Mononoke. Ashitaka is one of my favorite characters of all time… I wish I was as badass and as good a person as he is. 

This is also not the first time that I’ve used that scar as a symbol in character design, either… Back when I roleplayed on Pokemorph MUSH all the time, I had a character named Laura who was a reverse-morph Sandshrew, and had a similar scar. 

She was fun to play and had, of course, a super angsty backstory… I’ve since recycled her for use (as her original human self) in other stories; notably as one of Bunny’s cabin mates in my current novel, The Champions of Summer. She also shows up as a minor character in the garbage aLDfM project. She does not, incidentally, reflect the ideals and personality of Ashitaka. Alas! 

So there you go!