#alpharius my beloved

[chillinglikeavillain]

POV: You're fighting the Alpha Legion.

I rise again from the depths to make another shitty meme.

Now I return below.

[moodymisty]

In your fics I see a lot of affectionate terms for the reader being thrown around. So in your opinion, what terms of endearment would each primarch use when referring to their beloved?

Or vice versa, what terms of endearment would the primarchs like to hear from their beloved? either through straight up telling you what to call him or just secretly enjoying the idea of you calling him that

So I actually did a 'what each legion would call you' here but I don't think I've done one for this so lets go for it.

Lion El'Jonson:

He calls you woman, later in the relationship love. You call him Lion, or sometimes love but only if you're alone and he's in a good mood.

Roboute Guilliman:

He uses darling, love, all the typical ones. If he's being a bit of a tease he'll use my lady. You use Guilliman in public, but in private you use Roboute. It actually melts his heart when you say it all softly. Use Robu if you're being silly but he hates it.

Magnus The Red:

Magnus loves to be overdramatic. You're his lady, the stars of his sky, his heart, and a million other even longer things. Besides just Magnus, you can call him your king if you really want to get him going.

Rogal Dorn:

Just your name. After awhile and in absolute privacy, he might call you love. But you'll hear it a few times if you're lucky. Rogal in private, anything else tends to make him get that brickish unimpressed look.

Ferrus Manus:

Your name, perhaps sometimes beloved. Like Dorn he's not a fan of vocal declarations of love. Ferrus, but calling him your Gorgon tends to make him chuckle. He'll tolerate love as well.

Perturabo:

He calls you girl, but also love and doll. There's a 50/50 shot of them having a demeaning undertone also though. You call him lord in company and that is absolutely it. In private, you can call him Bo, or love. You can call him a few other things like Siegemaster or daddy if you're in the mood to not walk for a few days.

Fulgrim:

He calls you love, my dear, darling, beloved, angel, moonlight, anything that is very sweet and dramatic. He rarely says your name. You always call him love and beloved, but there's a sappy romantic tone to it that makes it far more loveydovey than the previous primarchs.

Vulkan:

Besides the typical petnames, Vulkan loves to call you his wife. Anything that really solidifies that you are his and he is yours. Besides the usual myriad of pet names that would make anyone gag, calling him your husband always gets a soft smile. Calling him your drake gets you throw onto the bed.

Corvus Corax:

Besides your name, he might say my love in private, when he's feeling very sappy. On paper however, he is much more dramatic. Darling, beloved, my beautiful night sky. Corvus, or darling if he's feeling sad and needs a boost.

Alpharius/Omegon:

They both just call you love, but Alpharius is the sappier one in private with things like my dear.

Alpharius gets the typical petnames, Omegon needs you to call him by his name.

Konrad Curze:

Love, but it has this very condescending, dark tone to it. It has infatuation in it, but the way he says it almost feels, weird. He gets a bit better overtime. Konrad, mostly because no one else really dares call him that.

Sanguinius:

My lady, My love, My darling, my angel. Anything that has my in front of him. Sanguinius has a very subtle but very deep possessive trait. Your angel, love, you tend to be just as sappy right back at him but without the undertone of possessiveness.

Lorgar Aurelian:

My lady, My love, My (beautiful little) goddess, my stars, Lorgar also has a possession thing, but instead of like Sanguinius it's more religious than sheer ownership. Lorgar, but my lord really gets him going. Father if you don't want to have feeling in your legs the next day.

Mortarion:

He doesn't really refer to you in any way other than just your name, overtime a love or two might slip. Morty, my love, my king, my darling, you are infinitely more sappy than he is. He fucking loves it, even if he doesn't show it. This man is so down bad he would kill his own men for you if you called him your darling lord husband.

Jaghatai Khan:

He likes calling you your name, as well as one or two Chorgoran adjectives that mean sweet things. You always call him Jaghatai. He doesn't mind petnames like love, but high/low gothic petnames don't really have the same undertone of feeling that they would others given it isn't his mother tongue so he's kind of indifferent.

Leman Russ:

Girl, woman, my woman, my girl, my wife, den mother, bitch (fondly), he is very gruff but all of his petnames are said very fondly with a big smile on his face. You always call him Russ, or Leman if he's being a shit. Calling him your wolf is a good way to end up with full body beard burn.

Horus Lupercal:

My love, My princess, he really likes petnames that make you feel like this sweet little thing he holds dear. Calling him Horus, love, darling is fine, Lord Husband is teetering the end of getting your ass slapped (in a good way) Warmaster and daddy is a one way ticket to not getting seen by anyone for a week.

Angron:

None. At best he says your name, or woman/girl. Angron. He doesn't tolerate much else, but overtime he's come to somewhat accept love, but if he's in a bad mood that won't fly.

[kit-williams]

Primarch Masterlist

This list is for stories focused on the Primarchs.

Multi Yandere Konrad, Angron, Abbadon Yandere Leman, Horus, Lorgar, and Emperor Yandere Perturabo, Lion, & Vulkan Yandere Rogal Dorn, Sanguinius, & Ferrus Yandere Magnus, Fulgrim, Corvux, Khan and Mortarion Yandere Roboute and Yandere Alpharius & Omegon Primarchs informally carrying their beloved Calling them Daddy Calling you Mommy Oh no there is two of them

Lion El'Johnson

Perturabo Iron Warriors Legion Mother: Lost in the Warp Tiny Hands There once was a little Ram No Longer You Penelope and Perturabo Drabbles Another few drabbles

Fulgrim

Jaghatai Khan

Leman Russ

Rogal Dorn Dorn Angst I guess

Konrad Curze Yandere Konrad Blurb Transactions Yandere Konrad (NSFW) Yandere Konrad thoughts Consequences Yandere Konrad Perpetual!Reader waking up next to Konrad

Sanguinius Sanguinius and a broody lady Fishing Heron: Sanguinius D&D AU Chaos Sanguinius (Khornite)

Ferrus Mannus Once this is all over

Angron

Roboute Guilliman Yandere 40k Roboute

Mortarion A modicum of kindness A modicum of kindness part 2 Little Gift

Magnus the Red

Horus Lupercal Home is where the heart is... so where is my heart? The need to breed

Lorgar Aurelian

Vulkan

Corvus Corax

Alpharius Omegon Twin Fun

The Emperor Yandere Emperor? More Yandere Emperor Just give me three days Mal

[relax-and-read-on]

Math San, I Gotta Ask For More Of That Primarch planet Swap AU, The Amount Of Imaginations That Is Going Through My Head Is Insane, But Headcanons are enough of you do not want to update, As I Am also Genuinely Interested In The Headcanons as well.

Hello hello!!! I am *slowly* going back into updating my blog again, so!

Primarch planetswap au: HC edition!

Lorgar (From Terra): actually quite close to his father and Malcador. Has the habit of walking into Malcador rooms and face planting on the old man bed to complain, after a hard day of not strangling the high lords.

Angron: On Inwit, he had the disastrous habit of running toward all the giant carnivorous monster. Due to his empath power, he ended with a monstrosity called "Land-Orca" that he treat like a dog as a pet.

Fulgrim of Nuceria: Sign language was actually the primary one in the slave pits, to communicate away from the guards. The system that Fulgrim and his sons use together is different from any other, and quite secretive. He actually started teaching it to Ferrus.

Alpharius Omegon on Chtonia: They were actually homeless, until emp showed up! They never wanted their full identity as two knows to other, as it could have compromise their secret statut of vigilante, fighting back the local gangs.

Magnus of Medusa: Think rocks are tasty, okay? He never quite got over his habit of eating sand, but now it's mostly crystal. Has an actual chart ranking the tastiest ones, and fucking LOVE how tasty fossil are.

Leman of Delivrance: Has yet to fully understand that has wolf dna, and as such fight a lot of his instinct. Insist on touching everyone he consider family, and check on the regular where everyone is, and if they are ok. Always eat last too.

Konrad on Maccrage: when he was a child and having really bad convulsion, his mother gave him a pet ferret (wich used to be common pets for Romans) as some kind of alert animal. Konrad doesn't deal well with food often, so his beloved lil friend (called Regulus) became the fattest, happiest noodle.

Ferrus of Caliban: He actually has a romantic side! He grew up hearing songs of knights and princess, and then ended up becoming a knight himself! And while incredibly chivalrous, the realm of the arts (outside a forge) stay incredibly foreign to him. He does love nowaday harlequin romance novels.

Horus on Nostramo: In spite of having created a rather criminal society, he made extreme effort to make it a true meritocracy. Any street urchin can become a mob enforcer under him... If they navigate properly the treacherous world of the mafia.

Sanguinius of Fenris: He actually is a supremely picky eater, and does not trust 95% of vegetables. He only ate meat until he was found by the Imperium, he's not a goat, why do they keep waving kale at him?!

Lion on Colchis: Fully, 100% aware that the chaos gods are real, and actively pray to them. He has his "religion of the Emperor" that he actually use as a facade, since it annoy Emp so much, he doesn't look into his "true" belief.

Perturabo on Chemos: has actually developed full AI again, but hide it HARD from Emp and the Mechanicus. He like his robots!! He think that they should have rights! Why can't the Imperium be less stupid about this... Vaguely in love with Rogal and his Cool Armours.

Jaghatai on Baal: Became quite the warlord, locally. Was especially curious of the use of radiation, and definitely made some horrible WMD back in the day. Currently falling in line with the Mechanicus, as every vehicules present on Baal was almost holly in their culture.

Rogal of Nocturne: Created some really, REALLY advanced fortification that can, somehow, follow the landscape change. Is pioneering the use of dragon scales mixed with special metals, creating something that might be stronger than ceramite. Does not understand why Perturabo is always hanging around.

Roboute on Barbarus: decided to fight necromancy with fire... Artillery fire, to be exact. He brought the industrial revolution to Barbarus, and has pretty intense plan for terraforming the planet. Hasn't stopped working in.... Approximately 50 years.

Mortarion of Prospero: Like in many of my hc, Morty is intersex. He's lucky to have landed on Prospero, where androgyny is a sign of beauty. He actually like cultivating that appearance, and if asked what his gender is, he usually just reply "mushroom".

Corvus of Chogoris: if it's me, then you bet Corvus is a transwoman lol. She wear traditional mongolian ceremonial outfit as a power move, because *no one* expect her to be able to move this easily in all those heavy clothes.

Vulkan of Olympia: VERY close to all 3 of his siblings! He was never a fighter there, and instead worked hard to promote a democratie and division of power. He still is in contact with all of them, especially Calliphone. She keep teasing him about his possible crush on a certain Oracle...

[quietbluejay]

Praetorian of Dorn 1

I'm feeling...weird about this one like I shouldn't post it? it's probably irrational. This is also probably why I procrastinated with this tab open for like an entire week

it's about Horus Horus feels…very different a lot more ominous this is post-Molech, though

"ooooo i'm horus let the galaxy burn"

and now we hit what seems to be a major POV character, Imperial fist dude who's served for at least 150 years his hair is starting to go white

atmospheric i know he's a major character because i read reviews lol

also sounds like the Fists can be as obnoxious as the Ultramarines lol this is very fragmented so many short different POV segments

lost in the sauce OH YEAH THE RAD WOLVES rad wolves my beloved

GW where are the radwolf plushies

huh

i didn't think Dorn was on the up and up about Chaos at this point mission impossible music plays as what is presumably the alpha legion infiltrates the palace

very archaic feeling

oooof ohhhhh nooo SURPRISE NIGHTMARE FUEL i thought this was just going to be industrial depressing stuff not

BUGS UNDER PEOPLES SKIN like this was literally a horror movie scene i did NOT expect this kind of horror okay! maybe I shouldn't have been reading this at night this is one of my nopes

you can slap "cyber-" on any word! we're 60 pages in and they're still being coy about saying this is the alpha legion

innnteresting

given stuff I've seen about Dorn already in other books/short stories, I'm really interested on if this book is going to dig into this

dorn 🤝 guilliman but dorn gets angry in a very different way huh much colder

oh, so the bugs were a hallucination saying this she calmly threw away a large can of bug spray

before the war began, alpha legion was planning this? owo

sir are you going to elaborate on that or just leave after saying a cryptic one liner

okay but like its not a binary here your options aren't "hide everything" vs "reveal everything" …we could be saying something about dorn with that lol

is this child alpharius

okay, nvm the kid has gotta be a space marine aspirant (term?)

that's a fun line

Man French really likes playing with stuff like this as recurring motifs, heat and cold in this book, light and darkness over in Ahriman series

INTERESTING

it's a child's response but there's a truth in it

dorn: i knew what i was doing and the implications

dominion over all the galaxy huh okay a lot more about dorn is making sense he's a lot like guilliman huh

"but sorry kid, you have no choice whether or not to walk that path, and if you survive, well then, there's zero other options available to you!"

This isn't just theatre to Dorn, that's not his style at all.

annnd we get a whole breakdown of the making of a space marine from the POV of this kid French really enjoys this stuff, huh. Digging into choice, loyalty, obligation, honour. But also the boys who became space marines.

(manifest destiny! take a shot!) but also, this is like the most coherent argument presented in the text of any of these books that shows why the idea of the great crusade is appealing to people

seriously tho this does remind me of some early American rhetoric

we're going to the moon! Heliosa is…interesting very creepy but, interesting this is another scene where I can hear the music lol

yeah, making warriors with high anger levels, what a great idea! we also saw the result of this in the whole training sequence with Kye

Andromeda's introduction will have to wait til next time

[horuslupercal]

can i ask for more info about magnus in eisw? he is my beloved blorbo 🥺

yes! EISW Magnus is VERY fun, I'd say they're just vibing but they're actually plotting so much that it's accidentally playing into Tzeentch's hands

during the psychneuein chaos on Prospero, Magnus manages to get stung and, in opposition to jokes about intellect devourers, his brain is pretty tasty to bugs. he pretty much immediately goes down, partly because Tzeentch takes this as their opportunity to grab him

after ten thousand years/just a couple of IRL seconds in Tzeentch's endless noneuclidean torture maze, Magnus makes a deal and then proceeds to sit up and burn out their own eye (and the psychneuein larvae, of course). between the brain damage and the Tzeentch gameshark attached to their brain, randomly feeding them information, this makes them really, really fucking weird. I've made jokes about them suddenly knowing Amon's genetic structure is identical to some guy who died over two thousand years prior on another planet, referencing the horus heresy, just having the wikipedia page for damascus steel pop up in their head, etc

the one thing they DON'T know is what Tzeentch is or what the deal actually means, since it wasn't exactly a negotiation, it was just being worn down until they did what it wanted. chaos gods don't care about contracts! this kickstarts a very strong and frantic curiosity regarding it, which is why they make a habit of collecting favours from their siblings (or straightup blackmailing Alpharius Omegon, since they know some stuff that would probably get them executed)

also, you know how cheetahs are ridiculously anxious little creatures, so zoos give them emotional support dogs to take clues from so they're less anxious? that's Magnus and Leman, Magnus is the dog. they're very good friends. Magnus is less good friends with Mortarion but she kidnaps him for real before the heresy for a Fun Quest Into The Warp!! Yay!!! and they do end up eventually bonding a little, enough so that she takes some pretty drastic measures (past the kidnapping itself) to keep him alive until they can try and find a solution to his whole deal

[sink-kitty]

rating primarchs on how they would hug

because who wouldn’t want a 12 ft man to scoop u up and give you a nice hug (in no particular order)

i REALLY hope this hasn’t been done already :(

• Horus Lupercal : 11/10 ok tbf i am a SIMP for him. but like… he’d probably squish the shit out of me and id be perfectly ok with it. he’d probably pick me up by the hair like a cat’s scruff too. and i am content with that fate

• Leman Russ : 7/10 oh god. you’d think he’d *probably* legitimately injure me but i think he’d be very kind. would probably be… fairly confused at first. like what do you want. what is this

• Ferrus Manus : 10/10 I LOVE MAKING FUN OF HIM HE WOULD REFUSE TO TOUCH ME but in all seriousness he’d give very strong hugs like a dad

• Fulgrim : 8/10 if he’d actually let me touch him fulgrim would probably not hug back. but if he initiated the hug he’d have my face buried in his hair (which i can only imagine smells like what biting into orange PEEL tastes like.) i started writing this part and ayesha erotica played from my horus playlist

• Vulkan : ?/10 i know like nothing about him (yet i kinda like him) so someone who actually knows how to read can fill me in. i just know he’s nice his hugs would probably just be. fine

• Rogal Dorn : 8/10 LOOK. HEAR ME OUT. HEAR. LISTEN TO ME. he has that dad energy. he wouldn’t give ferrus hugs BUT i think he’d be lovely. like he’d press the bridge of his nose against ur cheek kinda hug. or say smthn all breathy in your ear. this is horny i’m sorry

• Roboute Gulliman : 2/10 he would refuse to hug me. like i respect you. i call you Gulliman the Big Blue Bitch but ily. a hug from him would be too loose he’d drop me and not apologize >:(

• Magnus the Red : 20/10 look if i wanted to give horus/fulgrim a hug i would give magnus everything i have. i wanna bury my face in his hair i love him. he’d be so gentle. and like actually willing to hug me

• Sanguinius : 8.5..?/10 he’d be really sweet and try his hardest but it’d be kinda hard to hug him w his wings. but! there was an attempt. if he could do it properly with his big ass wings it’d be okay but.. i don’t wanna get a mouthful of feathers (in this scenario :)

• Lion El’Jonson : 1/10 id be kinda into him despising me but he would just genuinely not give hugs. i ahte u

• Perturabo : 10/10 biased but if he gave me a hug it would be so genuine and sincere. like he’d have such a kind smile being hugged genuinely by anyone other than his brothers bc nobody rlly cared enough. anyway

• Mortarion : 3/10 id love to smooch but a hug? nah. wont elaborate.

• Lorgar : 4/10 lorgar…. hm would honestly give ok hugs? that’s all i have to say

• Jaghatai Khan : 7/10 would give the roughest hugs and i’m into that. not pop-like-a-grape horus rough but just. rough, yknow another one who’s very dad like!

• Konrad Curze : -1/10 smell like absolute shit and would claw me half to death giving me a hug. now usually? id be so into the clawing to death thing. but KONRAD?? fuck you. i hate him. he’d give the worst hugs.

• Angron : would die/10 look, id love to hug him, but he would genuinely kill me.

• Corvus Corax : 6/10 he’d be shaky and honestly probably would not hold me, but id love if he would. honestly really needs a hug though.

• Alpharius Omegon: 11/10 I LOVE. T H EM. amazing hugs. like sincere and warm and nice !!!! alpharius/omegon my beloved

[transmechanicus]

Emperor’s Tears

A mini-fic about the Emperor’s final moments before confronting Horus.

Pain. Terrible pain. Of such magnitude any being even fractionally less mighty would be consumed by it. Every nerve burned. His head felt as if it contained the force of an exploding star. His very soul felt as if it were being stretched out of the hollow of his breast and cast into the storm that he was struggling to control. For all the eons he had lived, this was beyond even his own extensive experience, his own vast powers. Clutching the arms of the golden throne and casting his gaze to the ceiling, The Emperor wept.

Not only did he suffer in flesh but also in mind, in spirit. His dream was shattered, half of his sons, beloved for all their faults, had fallen into darkness and corruption. Mankind, which he had sought to place as masters of the galaxy, now stood threatened with oblivion, be it in a century or in 10 long millennia. Billions had died, just as many enslaved by the corruptions of the warp, and great wonders of science had been lost and destroyed beyond all hope of recovery. And for all his defiance, his determined resistance, it seemed that all of Terra would soon suffer the same.

Traitor battleships blotted out the stars, and perversions of his angels rampaged through the palace and against its walls. For all the might of his defenders, it was not enough. They could stall until the very last man, each taking ten times their number in Traitors before they fell, and the forces under Horus would still number beyond count.

Horus…his most promising son. His brightest star. What could have led him to do this? To turn on and destroy the very empire he had spent 2 centuries helping build. It was unfathomable, and it grieved the Emperor so deeply he did not doubt that he was shedding tears for Horus too. He had never even seen him, in the 7 years since the betrayal. 7 years of reports and responses, describing the most agonizing of truths, and one the Emperor had struggled to confront for the entire war. Could this have been prevented? Had he acted differently, might Horus and the galaxy been spared this suffering? Was it too late to recover the man Horus had been?

His flesh burned, bronze skin blackening even as his vast regenerative powers restored the damage. As the pillar of psychic fire shrieked and howled above him, casting the Astronomicon’s light against the influence of Chaos like a blazing flame, the Emperor kindled a small spark of hope. That somehow, against every piece of logic and data available, he would have the chance, however small, to confront his wayward son. To see Horus with his own eyes, and either heal him of his suffering, or destroy the monster that wore his form and dared to go by his name.

“There are no gods,” The Emperor whispered “But any power that is sympathetic to my people…give me this chance to set this right. By my own hands.”

The doors of the chamber opened, space marines and gleaming custodes pulling their forces through and sealing the gates once more, even as others of their number prepared to die outside. Dorn and Sanguinius stood with them, moving through their gene sons to stand at his side. The impact of a heavy staff on the floor told him that Malcador had come also. This was their final hours. All that remained was the wait before the doors were breached and the final battle began…

The message struck him like a lance to the skull, and despite the colossal pain already coursing through him, the emperor nearly screamed. It was direct, and of such potency that even the psychic wards of the palace, so recently rebuilt, could not prevent its passing. Perhaps that was not such a bad thing.

+I AM ALPHARIUS. AVE IMPERATOR+

Comms traffic spiked, and as much as he could say it was possible, Dorn looked shocked.

“The Vengeful Spirit’s shields have been disabled from within. It is exposed.”

In a fraction of a second the Emperor knew what he had to do. His psychic foresight cleared for but an instant after long years of blindness. For the first time since Horus had been made Warmaster, the Emperor could see what must be done.

“Prepare teleporters! All combat viable forces! We take the fight to Horus.”

[ivorytowerblr]

WH20K Fic: Court of Stars - Part 7/62+epilogue

Title: Court of Stars Part: 7/Prologue + Chapter 1-62 + Epilogue Includes: Violence, mature sexual content, strong language. Summary: It is the golden age; humanity has developed self-sustaining technology and stretched out towards the stars. They have created and maintained alliances with alien races and established a network of independent colonies, each developing their own sense of identity and society. They have survived a terrible war with their own creations and emerged all the greater for it. A new class of human is beginning to emerge, with fear and fascination warring it out within the hearts and minds of the people.

It is the twenty-sixth millennium, and everything that humanity has ever believed is about to change. Link: [AO3]

Hello! Remember when I said that Part II would be soon? I lied. Well, what happened was my beloved beta-hamster had less time to beta, and I had less time sit with her and do editing, both because of work. We worked something out in the end, but this piece still isn’t finished the beta process yet, and it takes a lot of energy for me to write this commentaries, but I figured I could at least post what’s done, carefully drip-fed to give us time to finish up the rest.

That being said, it’s time for the next commentary. So, when I wrote this, I was still within my NaNo timeframe, having finished the previous work partway through the month and knowing that I had nine more parts of this nonsense to go. It may surprise you that I chose Konrad, and not say, Alpharius, for Gemini, but based on my research (scrolling through Wikipedia posts about constellations), this seemed like a lot better of an option, since Konrad had a very ‘dual nature’ thing going on. Corax was part of the seven non-Zodiac constellations, and I picked an entirely uncreative, but nonetheless justified option.

I literally have no notes on this from my Evernote file. I wrote down their names, their professions, and nothing else. I don’t know how anyone ever puts up with my shit, frankly. Alright, here we go!

Up on top of the Vertex Industries corporate building, there was no such protection and the wind was icy, dragging snowflakes along his thick, black coat. He pulled his collar up a little higher as his gaze, so dark a brown as to be nearly black, took in the blinking, winking city lights.

In Gotham City, you must have at least one (1) person standing on top of a building broodingly.

There was a reason he had chosen this building, after all, and it wasn’t because he had some kind of secret fondness for the Curze family, upstarts and newcomers from Earth that they were. It’s because, conveniently enough, their monument to capitalist enterprise sat directly across from his real target: the primary hive spire. Countless individuals, families, and even businesses lived and died within its immense trunk, the great mother of all steel and glass trees -- at least in this hive -- but no one knew who lived at the very top.

So, I want to make it super duper clear that I consider pretty much everything from the actual 30K Konrad Curze backstory to be stupid and dumb, but most especially the cannibalism. Instead, I gently, lovingly, ripped off Batman’s backstory, involved more killing, and inserted it into Konrad’s background. What this means for the purposes of this story is that the Curze family fulfills the same general purpose as the Wayne family as philanthropists and doctors. They aren’t really going to be in here, but this is your first hint that the action’s on Nostramo.

He reached for the bag beside him and opened it, the sound of the zipper swallowed by the wind and the darkness, taking out what was, for all intents and purposes, a high-powered crossbow. Drawing out the specially constructed arrow, he attached it to as much wire as he’d been able to find without taking apart a bridge, and set it in the crossbow. He hooked the spindle of wire around the hook he’d created for just this purpose -- no one wanted to lose a finger from snapping wire -- and let it uncoil to avoid snap or drag.

I have no idea whatsoever about the plausibility of this scenario, but I’ve seen it in movies. Well, I’ve seen it referred to in posts about movies, at any rate. I’m not really a movie person which makes the entire CoS experience fucking hysterical.

It was a minute to midnight, the cusp between yesterday and tomorrow, and a fortuitous time to perform the impossible. He raised the crossbow and aimed at the primary hive spire. The wind picked up, and with each shift, he altered his aim just slightly. Despite the relative ease of shooting a building, since the exact location was important, he had to be careful, precise.

There is no reason for this timing than 1) it’s dark, 2) it sounds super duper clever to describe midnight as ‘the cusp between yesterday and tomorrow’.

The great clock atop a different building, one of the oldest in the hive city, rang out, striking the hour. Finding the right angle, despite the wind and cold, he fired.

OI IT’S TWELVE BONG.

In the darkness he smiled, baring his teeth, and flew.

This is meant as foreshadowing about his (Crowe’s) name, foreshadowing about Corax and the Raven Guard, and also being just feeling incredibly clever.

The key to getting inside, she had decided when she had been first given the job, was to be inside. It was pure foolishness to try and break into the hive spire from the outside. Only a fool or a madman would take such a course of action, and she considered herself to be neither.

Josepha: Yeah, dumbass. Crowe: :|

Once inside, cold had given way to stifling heat. She tucked herself into an alcove to remove her artificial-fleece lined coat and bundled it up, discarding the warm treasure. She took out a headscarf and pinned it about her hair, drawing the plain fabric over their brow and up around her neck, concealing tattoos and kill marks that had previously been covered by the coat’s high, thick collar.

Let me tell you, as a Canadian, this is literally what it feels like to go into any public place after dressing for the weather outside. I’m pretty much clawing my coat off before I start to rapidly overheat. Also, Josepha is very, very extra about her infiltration.

Quickly, she packed the tools she would need into her maintenance tool kit and snapped it closed before pulling on thick, clumsy gloves. She turned and left the apartment, strolling casually towards the next set of lifts, these ones requiring a passkey to go up further in the tower.

One of the things that annoys me about these kinds of scenarios is how much people look around. If you do that, you will look incredibly guilty. Walk with confidence, baffle them with bullshit. Don’t be like me and have to spin around in a circle because you’ve alt-tabbed back into your own brain and need to reorient. Yes, I do this. This is a thing that happens.

She knelt and worked, retrieving new tools, different tools, from within the radiator. She also fixed it; it was only polite. After all, she had been the one to break it, at an earlier time in a different disguise. So far, so good.

Josepha is so extra.

There were black curtains drawn across all of the windows -- and there were many -- in the penthouse apartment of the hive spire. It was incredible that there hadn’t been a thousand break ins by determined thieves, though that might have had something to do with the nigh-unbreakable glass. The windows must have come from the specialized manufacturing plants, he mused, designed on Earth and filtered out to the myriad colonies of the human space empire.

Something something plasteel something something 40K.

At least he had a plan, though he’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this. He was anchored to the side of the hive spire, and clung to one part of the window, and carefully reached into his jacket, swallowing as he swayed minutely. He took out the glass cutter and affixed one half onto the window with the suction cups, and set the other half’s blade to the glass. He measured out enough diameter to fit himself and his equipment inside and began to cut, drawing the same circle over and over again until he felt the section give under his fingertips and pulled it loose.

I think I actually did research this, and it’s either impossible or so impractical there’s no point to it... but it’s very popular in fiction, and this story is indeed fiction. It’s not like I’m concerned about portraying an accurate depiction of breaking into a penthouse. Just an entertaining one.

The next time someone tells me about a job like this, I’m going to say no, and then punch them, he thought wryly. Or I’m going to punch them, and then say no.

This is a reference to the Evil Overlord’s Handbook, and the rule that goes, “if the hero ever offers me the chance to join them, I will say no, and then shoot them. On second thought, I’ll shoot them, then say no.” But Crowe’s methods are pretty non-lethal, at least according to him.

“Hello,” he said, his voice soft. “Could you keep it down? He’s trying to sleep.”

“Sorry,” the woman said, dropping her voice to match his. “Someone requested for me to bring this right away. You’re not the only one here?”

Crowe is 100% not above implying he’s fucking a dude, though anyone with half a brain would have figured out that something was up, given the everything of his outfit.

A light snapped on above them, then a dozen, coming on like a warehouse opening for a day’s work, and it was blinding. He cried out, trying to shelter his eyes, and at his side, the woman had done the same. It took a few moments for his vision to clear, and what he saw, he had not expected.

And here’s Malcador! Who not only not immune to the siren’s song of being extra, but basically exists in that ocean.

“Blakk Crowe,” said the man, and he flinched at the sound of his own name on the man’s lips. “Master Thief. You have penetrated this sanctuary with subtlety and aplomb. That is your target, a knife that is a relic of the oldest of Old Earth’s history. Take it, and the reward is yours.”

So this is Corvus Corax, a Primarch with a name so stupid that it echoed backwards through history, and an actual criminal. Corax is also one of the Primarchs I headcanon as female, so flipped her back to dude for this story, though I’m exactly 50-50 on my gender distribution for this whole series.

“Josepha Hexx,” the man continued as if she had not spoken. “First-class Infiltrator, Master Assassin. You have gained entry to this location with cleverness and clear planning. You were commanded to find and terminate a target, though they were not named. Correct?”

So, Konrad Curze was named originally after Joseph Konrad, the author of the Heart of Darkness novel, which I have not read, but should at some point, when I dig my way free of all my 40K books. Curze is obviously the worse ‘curse’, but misspelled, because to quote one Linkara, ‘poor literacy is kewl’. Similarly then, is Konrad’s original named after the same author, in this case Josepha, and her last name is a synonym for curse, Hex(x). She is not named after Jonah Hex. That would just be beyond the fucking pale.

The woman he knew of by reputation and rumour as the Midnight Phantom lunged in to grab the knife, and slashed it towards Crowe with a speed that took his breath away, even as he felt outraged at the man’s audacity.

See? See? Night Haunter. Midnight Phantom? I am so fucking clever, I astound myself.

“Nothing personal,” Hexx said, lunging in with the knife out. Crowe jerked back as his jacket finally came off and he threw it at her, freeing himself from its bulk and catching her full in the face. Underneath, he wore a supple black leather vest, adorned with matte black buckles that made no sound as he moved, inspired by a desire for style and practicality both, with trousers that matched. Both were lined with padding, keeping vulnerable places -- his torso, his upper legs -- safe while still offering freedom of movement.

Throwing your coat in someone’s face to prevent them from murdering you is such a power move.

He didn’t like to kill, but he would if he strictly had to, and somehow he doubted the assassin would spare him. He was her mark, after all. “Nothing personal.”

So is throwing someone’s words back in their face, whilst trying not to die horribly.

“So,” Hexx said, grinning at him with too-white teeth. “The little bird has talons after all.”

“Please,” Crowe said, and this time, it was his turn to take the initiative, pivoting to aim a kick at her side. “I’ve heard it all.”

Anyone who has a shitty name has the right to veto people making fun of their shitty name. It’s just facts.

Immediately, Hexx rammed her palm into his chest, driving the wind from his lungs, and followed it up with a blow with the knife’s hilt, that sent him reeling, tumbling end over end across the floor. Desperately trying to right himself, he dug his toes and the fingers of his left hand into the floor, leaning downwards, leaving long gouges in the floor. He brought his head up, flipping his hair back as he looked around for her.

This is an unbelievably fanservicey moment, at least partially inspired by Castlevania 2017, but primarily because it’s fucking cool. You know, aside from ruining a really expensive floor.

The knife. He could have it in a moment, if he was careful, if he didn’t cut off a finger before he could reach it. Hexx leaned in to bite him, and with a cry of effort, he kicked her ankle, distracting her just enough that he could roll off of the knife and onto her. He leaned all his weight into her, pressing down against her throat before grasping the knife and bringing it upwards to strike.

And now the two of them are just... rolling around on the floor, biting and kicking each other. The fight has become less about their goal and more about being pissed that the other hasn’t already last.

“My name,” the man said, “is Hershel Malcador.” Crowe watched the cards, finding it difficult to study the man’s face in closer detail. He watched the images that appeared -- a tower struck by lightning, a moon high overhead -- and listened. “And I have a task for both of you.”

As far as I know, Malcador doesn’t have a canonical first name, or perhaps Malcador is his first name, but it 1) sounds like a last name, 2) doesn’t sound like the name someone almost as old as the Emperor would have. Hershel is actually the name of one of my cousins, who is Jewish, and tends to have my Jewish characters named after him a lot because it is a Very Good Name. I’m going to get into it later, but I didn’t think about the implications of how Jewish people felt about tarot, but I found a good compromise then. Here, I was just a dumb gentile. Forgiveness, please. Also, that is absolutely a reference to Dan Abnett’s The Lightning Tower, which uses the Tower to describe Konrad.

“Thank you, I wasn’t aware I was being evaluated,” Hexx spat. “Who are you, anyway? Your name doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“Someone with an eye for these kinds of things,” Malcador said lightly. “Are you interested, or aren’t you?”

It’s worth noting, also, that among Malcador’s eleven million different titles, one of them is the Master of Assassins, of which Josepha is one. Though that won’t be for about, oh, five thousand years. Give or take.

“Good,” Malcador said, and stopped shuffling. He set the deck face down on the table, and laced his fingers together once more. “The task I have for you is not easy. It will involve gathering information, theft, infiltration and, almost certainly, murder. I don’t expect you to move too far outside of your own areas of expertise, which is why there are others. A… circle, or a clade, if you like, of experts in their fields. I will make introductions soon enough.”

HMM MALCADOR. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A CLADE OF EXPERTS?

The first was a small woman, pale with leaf-green eyes and ash-blonde hair. She had a cheerful expression on her face, as though she’d expected to see something like this, and was well prepared for it. She wore a dark green cable knit sweater and tan slacks with a long lab coat over top of it, pens tucked into the pocket. She nodded to them both and stood at Malcador’s right hand.

Nerd. Also, Ashlynn Venen is actually a Mortarion expy, though not the actual Mortarion ancestor, for reasons that will become abundantly clear later in this story. Also, she represents the poisoner clade, or Venenum minor temple, who specialize in poisons.

The second was a man, and not a small one; if the woman had been head and shoulders shorter than Crowe, this man was over a foot taller than the thief, dwarfing the woman considerably. He had the look of a body-builder, muscles bulging underneath a tight shirt and equally well-fitted trousers. Crowe let his gaze linger long, and the man smirked in reply.

This is Brant Eversor, who is LORGE and possibly hot, if Crowe’s reaction is anything to go by, and the only other dude in this little party of five. He represents the ‘what if we turned a human being into a WMD’ clade, or the Eversor temple.

The third was another woman, her expression stony and square, as though she had never known what it was to smile. She was dressed in fatigues, a practical, military aesthetic that Crowe could appreciate. She had the look of someone missing something, and there was a stiffness in her posture and movement.

This is Susanne Decair, who represents the ‘snipers at the airport’ clade, the Vindicare Temple. Yes, all three of these people lend their names to the major temples I represent, though I couldn’t really justify either of the other major temples being included, which is why Venenum gets included. My favourite is the Vanus Temple, because infocytes. Alas. Arguably, Josepha represents Cadillus, owing to her infiltration capabilities, though she’s not a shapeshifter, and Crowe could be argued to be Vanus-esque, though he’s a gentleman thief, not a killer.

“...and how convenient is it that all of your minions are dressed, at midnight, in role-defining clothing?” Hexx said sourly. “Or were you all just waiting in the wings too?”

Sometimes, you just get attacked by your own characters, and you leave it in because it’s funny.

“This is the hive city’s primary manufacturing plant,” Malcador said. “It provides designs for buildings, equipment, weapons, and a number of other important things. It has been, as you can imagine, wiped of certain other designs, but those are not of concern. Not to you, at any rate.”

AIs. The thing that got wiped was AIs. It’s worth remembering that Nostramo was basically a fading, failing industrial world that was a primary source of adamantine, until Konrad blew it all tae fuck.

“That is the Standard Template Construct, yes,” Malcador said, and even the old man’s voice was filled with soft awe. “A miracle of modern design, the greatest accomplishment of this age.”

I had to do a fair bit of research into the way STCs worked over the course of this whole NaNo story, because they get brought up so often. It was never super clear from the HH books or even some of the new stuff that it wasn’t just ‘a blueprint’ but an entire database of information. Which makes what’s happening here extremely significant.

Malcador reached out, flipping over the top card of the deck, and showed the image of a being with red skin and horns leering out at them. “I want you to steal it.”

::puts on sunglasses:: Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah!

And this is how this part of Court of Stars became a heist. I struggled a fair bit to get to this point, considering and reconsidering, but ultimately, this is where the story led.

Stay tuned for Chapter 8, which will be out a lot faster than it took for Chapter 7 to follow Chapter 6.

[moodymisty]

My take:

Horus: “Daddy.” Everyone gets along and his sons honestly have no questions.

Leman Russ: “Alpha”. You call him this sarcastically. He’s into it.

Ferrus: Not really into name play tbh. You’ll have to experiment.

Fulgrim: Master or “My prince”. The closer he is to chaos, the more he steps away from prince and plays into the master themes.

Vulkan: “My love”. The closer he feels to being human, the closer you make him feel to being human, the better experience you’ll have.

Rogal Dorn: “Daddy” but only in bed. Otherwise, it’s dorn. just dorn. no negotiation.

Roboute Girlyman: “Daddy” is eh… Prefers to hear you try to say his long ass name so he can see how far you can get without becoming a mumbling mess. He’ll never admit that’s his intention. “Lord Guilliman” is also MMM

Magnus: PLAY. INTO. HIS. PRIDE. “My king” really gets him going. Call him “the all knowing one” for gods sake.

Sanguinius: “My angel” “My love”. He prefers sweeter names, nothing that implies you’re beneath him. As long as you’re saying “my” in front of it. Yes, call him yours. Feed that possessive side. “Lord angel” and anything implying that he’s in loving possession of you, as long as you’re also implying that you like it.

Lion El’Jonson: Lion, yes, but kinda prefers the “tiger” nickname for reasons unknown.

Perturabo: Perty. Not really. Would probably play into “daddy” as well tbh.

Mortarion: Why call him names when calling him is enough? Calling him “my king” would be good if you want the scary and feral experience, but even greater would be using the same methods as vulkan, especially in the case you’re trying to emotionally bond with him. “My love” “Beloved” “Beautiful”

Lorgar: ���Father” while he’s washing your feet… slowly trailing his hands up further and further

Khan: “My dude”, probably.

Konrad Curze: “My lord” but in a panicked way. Worship him, but worship him like you’re trying to stop god from killing you. Apologize as he bites you, pretend you’re the filthiest criminal the imperium has seen and beg him for mercy while he’s digging his claws into your skin. Call him “Konrad” through strangled sobs. I’m getting carried away.

Angron: “GRAAAAAAH” and also “sweet boy”

Corvus Corax: “Lord Corax” is the FURTHEST you are allowed to go into the class names. He, like sanguinius, doesn’t want to feel that you are beneath him, but he has no possession in his words. He wants to know you’re doing everything you do out of free will. Calling him “Master” is a wonderful way to get yourself an instant breakup.

Alpharius Omegon: Also “Alpha”, but just make sure you know which one you’re fucking, because Omegon prefers to be called sweeter names. Both are into “daddy”, but one prefers “father” who’s who is up to you

✅ approved. Sanguinius’ is so cute ;;;