Thrall breeding corporations started using tattoos almost fifty years ago, but there has never been an official set of standards laid out between corporations and the government. The tattoo code systems vary, often even within the same group of thralls. Despite how common they are, the inconsistent tattoos are near useless as a registration system. Some thralls are marked with fraudulent tattoos advertising them as members of famous bloodlines. Others have no tattoos at all, thanks to the endless shuffle of thralls from one ‘ward’ to another. Still, the practice persists.

Register tattoos are usually applied to the left bicep or the back of the left shoulder. Older thralls may have one or more small, simple logos or Corps tattoos, crudely done (until recently the tattoos were administered by amateurs). Those under thirty will often have a logo and their registration number, and the work will be cleaner.

In the worst parts of the South Front thralls live nearly unsupervised, and have started making their own tattoos. These reflect the likes and dislikes of the wearer, and are usually very intricate. Thralls are often bored – there’s a lot of waiting and spare time in a war. This leaves plenty of time for tatooing. Common subjects include snakes and dice (both for luck), birds, and graphic interpretations of favorite song lyrics. Although thrall-made tattoos violate Corps protocol, the few officers in these contested regions tend to look the other way.

Thralls living in cities or corporate housing almost never have personal tattoos, unless they recently returned from the Front.