Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!

So is Jak a surfer kid or ?

they said it

This was originally written as part of the Haven political analysis, but that post ended up being so long that I trimmed out the section about the KG, as it was a bit of a tangent anyway. I finally unearthed those notes again and figured I’d share! (featuring my take on the Krimzon Guard’s origins, some notes about masks and tattoos, and other miscellaneous KG headcanons)

i did these aaaages ago and kept forgetting they existed… ooooops

I touched on the KG tattoos briefly in OP, but I wanted to go into a bit more detail here– I headcanon that the facial designs are an indicator of rank (and a record of past service, since there’s no way to completely remove them without heavy scarring). The vast majority of new recruits receive the simple jaw stripes (top left) and additional marks would be earned as they are promoted (top right: unit-captain). Criminals are sometimes sentenced to mandatory conscription; these ex-cons are considered even lower rank than the entry-level grunt tier (assigned the most dangerous missions outside the walls) and are simply given a blocky ‘C’ and very minimal other tattooing (as few will survive to the end of their sentences). Overall, the lower ranks of the KG are defined by conformity (with large quantities of ‘expendable’ soldiers) so the tattoos reflect this– more distinctive tattoos are only earned by individuals who demonstrate exceptional skill and ambition, and of course absolute loyalty to Baron Praxis.

Only the top tier of elite operatives and commanders are given 100% uniquely personalised tattoo designs (though certain combinations of standardised designs may be uncommon enough to appear unique to the average layperson). Torn climbed the ranks in the conventional manner, so his commander-tats incorporate all the previous marks spanning his entire service history, including the basic grunt’s jaw-stripes and the forehead/eye markings of the elite sniper division. By contrast, Erol and Ashelin both skipped right to the top, so they lack the jaw-stripes; Ashe’s design is based on the special-ops pattern, while Erol’s eye stripes are a variation on the pilot design as a nod to his racing career.