#anathema psykana

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

Sisters of Silence remain one of the coolest bits of the Imperium

[inquisitor-gayfax]

fuck it Atlacoya appreciation post (1 / no doubt many)

The Tithes, Episode 2: Harvest

[cultofthewyrm]

by Egor Gafidov

[stainlesssteellocust]

I love that canonically, the Custodes can all talk in Thoughtmark/imperial sign language

but only the Sisters of Silence can swear in it

[minweber]

The thing about Watchers of the Throne books is that I found them at best moderately interesting while reading through them, but have since thought about their contents much more often than such review would suggest.

It comes down, rather unsurprisingly, to the main characters. Valerian and Aleya are great! Each is interesting to read about solo and they have a great dynamic when put together... It’s a real shame then, how little of them as a duo we actually get. Makes me wish that the whole Tieron/Jek/High Lords/Terran perspective on the historic events thing - which actually is also great! - was its own separate book, while these two starred in a different, smaller scope story.

But the part that really makes me come back is how appealing I find both Valerian and Aleya as windows into mentality of their respective orders. The way they think, act and react gels really well with the way I want to see Custodes and Sisters portrayed - so much so, in fact, that it's almost a shame that both of them are presented as something of deviants within their factions.

Valerian's calm and pleasant, but somewhat detached manner is a great way to portray these nigh-immortal superhumans, I think! Competent and well-meaning, but so far removed from the humans they interact with, that they aren't capable of fully understanding some of their emotions and motivations.

One of my favorite bits of the first book is when Aleya takes her frustrations with custodians' inaction out on Valerian and accuses him of not caring about humans and their lives by mentioning her homeworld and going "Oh, I bet you've never even heard about it". Not wanting to antagonize her, Valerian doesn't object, but in his head begins to reflexively recount a whole ass wikipedia article on the place, to a level of detail that suggests that he probably knows more information about it and its history than Aleya herself. What a delicious moment! Both refuting and supporting her sentiment - clearly this sort of detached, "academic" knowledge does not infer the kind of caring she meant... but it does infer some kind of caring. Even with a magic brain of a custodian, taking time to study something, learn about it in detail, put in effort - it all implies care for the subject - possibly a huge amount of it, depending on the perspective.

And I really like that! For a setting so obsessed with trans- and post- humanism, warhammer - in my whiny opinion - doesn't seem to delve enough into the way its supposedly hyperevolved superhumans would think. More often that not the depiction of what is supposed to be this whole other mode of human existence is limited to a character being super smart while offscreen and having very hightened, operatic emotions while onscreen.

And on one hand - it is very understandable why it ends up this way. All stories we tell - be their subjects talking objects or space supersoldiers - are, at least in some way, about human condition. So distancing your characters from it may seem counterproductive to telling a good story. But on the other hand - surely there exists enough variance in this incredibly vague term to justify broader exploration and departures? I found Valerian's way of thinking and caring to be a refreshing and interesting character trait. But could it mean something more, be more relatable perhaps, to someone neurodivergent? Or just someone otherwise different from me?

What I am trying to say is that I believe that leaning into exploration of what various "modified" ways of human thinking and perception might look like, is not only worthwhile as a tool for creating better fantasy stories - but also a generally useful literally tool that can help one deepen their understanding of others.

Aleya's side of the story actually feeds into it as well, though, I believe, a bit differently. Where the entertaining thing about Valerian is often how unconscious he is of his differences from those he interacts with, Aleya overcompensates in the other direction. She seems to be very acutely aware of how her condition makes her different from regular humans, and constantly runs her perception of the world through that filter, noting that several times throughout the books how her opinions or reactions are different to those a regular human would have in the same situation.

There are the fairly objective consequences of her powers, like most humans being uncomfortable around her, or her perceiving daemons and all their activity drastically differently. But she also notes herself as being less emotional than humans (which further reading... puts in question) as well as often unable to understand their motivations (which is very much a thing that very regular humans do as well). And while entirely possible as consequences of whatever pariahs' condition in warhammer is supposed to be, it is also tempting to say that it may have much more to do with her self-perception and upbringing. And that, in turn, poses a question about the source of otherness in general - we've all felt alienated at one or another point in our lives, but how much such feeling are to be trusted? When do they come from within and when without? When do we fight them, and when do we embrace them?

Anyway, the books are fine. I am normal about them. They kill a few Minotaurs in there.

[pleiadesnuts]

when the astartes you wake up next to puts his armour back on and it turns out to be made of unpainted ceramite… which explains the headaches you’ve both been getting all night.

[denofimagination-blog]

Anathema Psykana Rhinos!!! A slightly modified front armor, what do you think?

If you want to have your minis painted and converted by us - write to service@denofimagination.com

[divineerdrick]

Warhammer 40,000 Adeptus Custodes Changes for June 20, 2024

The Golden Boys have had quite the repeated swings in fortune over 10th Edition. Since their Codex dropped, they've again plummeted in the rankings. Weak rules didn't help things, but it was the loss of Dev Wound protection that really hurt. That's back now, but not on a permanent basis. Its most reliable source is now the Talons of the Emperor detachment, which only grants a 5+ FNP while a Custodes unit is within 6" of an Anathema Psykana unit. Still I see the Sisters of Silence stocks going up. Currently, Stat Check has them sitting at a 45% win rate with no event wins, 2% of the player base, and severe underrepresentation at top tables of only 0.45.

Custodes were one of the factions called out by the WarCom article to be getting buffs this Dataslate, and they've got two right off the bat. The first is to the Shield Host Detachment. Previously, you could only select a buff once per battle. And while I personally think these are better than Shadow in the Warp, they're definitely not a once per battle Waaagh! either. Now you get to just select a buff each turn. That should significantly increase the power of this Detachment.

Next we get an excellent quality of life buff to the Auric Champions. Previously, only Character models benefited from the Detachment Rule. Now, it's any model in a unit with the Character keyword. This means that your Character lead units just got a nice boost.

But that's not all! The Custodes have also gotten some points buffs, though strangely they're all for Forge World datasheets. I know that's just what Custodes players have been looking for! More reasons to buy expensive Forge World resin!

This is honestly going to be a bit of a tough one to call. The main buff Custodes has received this pass is that the rules they have that block Mortals now block Dev Wounds again. Since the only Mortal Wound protection in Shield Host and Auric Champions are a single stratagem each, this is going to force a lot of players into Talons of the Emperor. This is especially true for Auric Champions, whose Strat grants a blanket 4+ FNP, but only to Character models. Could this be enough to finally even out Custodes fortunes? Honestly, I'm not sure it is. While I think these buffs will improve things, I don't see them reaching 50%. Still I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

[soraka-in-warhammer40k]

Wait until they learn how absolutely stupid the entire thing was in the first place, because it literally did nothing besides weakening the institutions that were already in place to control psykers in the legions. You would think that a sensible conclusion to the very significant fact of "warp magic dangerous" would be "every psyker MUST be registered with the local scriptorum which will also be put under direct Sigilite authority and there will be rigorous training on the safe use of these abilities as well as a strategic guideline to only use such powers in a case of emergency. Anathema Psykana operatives will be dispatched to all scriptorums as inspectors and emergency responders."

THAT would have been the sensible thing to do and would have done more to keep psykic powers under control than what actually happened, which was "Let's pretend it's not there and everyone who does uses it is now a criminal! Oh would you look at that all psykers have essentially gone into hiding we have no oversight or control over any of them and we have absolutely no fucking clue how to combat anything psykic in a universe where literal dark gods exist because all the instutions handling such expertise have been disbanded".

This entire thing was so absolutely fucking stupid from the start to the end - which is frankly not surprising given that the entire development was spearheaded by the only Primarch known to be a rampant alcoholic. Leman Russ - resident idiot rocketfuel connoisseur - did more than any other Primarch when it came to weakening the Imperium for Chaos to strike.

"council of nikaea" are you fucking kidding me. a wholeass galaxy to choose from and you chose the place named nikaea. i see you, i see what you did there. this is dead serious business about the fate of the imperium and you're making millennia-old religion jokes. magnus and russ and mortarion are all screaming at each other, jaghatai's trying to calm everyone down, angron's fantasizing about killing everyone, and you, you're watching all this and sniggering to yourself over a joke maybe a dozen people in the galaxy would get. first a crusade, now this, just fucking rename terra romestantinople already and admit you've created a new religion. "council of nikaea" are you for real. erda and oll's eyes are gonna roll right out of their skull when they hear about this.

[tlatia-the-radiant]

Given who it hosted, it was perhaps no surprise that the Somnus Citadel was a solemn locale. Recent repair crews had begun renovating the ancient fortress, repainting walls and patching cracks, but ten thousand years of decay wasn't something that could be solved even with months of work.

The central hall was, like the outside, a pale shadow of its former glory. Unlike the outside, however, some of its lustre had been reclaimed.

Tlatia knelt before the newest Knight-Commander, signing out in perfect ThoughtMark, 'Knight-Commander. I come requesting a simple favour.'

'What aid would you have the Anathema Psykana provide?' the Knight-Commander asked.

'Weaponry. Veracity, the Blade of Oblivion.'

Knight-Commander Asurma paused. 'You ask us to part with one of our most valued relics.'

'I intend to use it in avenging Knight-Commander Krole, slain during the Siege of Terra.'

Asurma didn't look convinced.

'Name your price, Knight-Commander.'

'How close were you to the Knight-Commander?' Asurma asked.

'She and I knew each other better than anyone else,' Tlatia replied. 'Her words may be of value to you. The Somnus Citadel could be revealed to you through them.'

To her credit, Asurma did not outwardly show how quickly she went from skeptical to accepting.

'I see.'

[mamonna]

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

[inquisitor-gayfax]

Trick or treat!

Thank you!! For Halloween, it seems appropriate to post a snippet from my WIP library horror longfic for my favorite soulless girls, Jenetia Krole and Aphone!

Reader beware, spooooooky stuff beneath the cut!

It is the tang of iron-rich water on your tongue, the fleeting scent of heavy woodsmoke, the shriek of tearing metal and rivets set free, the shiver of inevitability that courses through you despite your every effort, the prickle and stench of your own fear.

It is the light of glowing eyes, so bright, locked upon yours, as if to say “only you.” Only you can see the thing that spells your doom, can taste the moment it moves from potential to inevitable.

The details sharpen, become a moving mass of fur, and scales, and fangs so crystal clear you could almost touch them. It is every color, alternatingly mundane and flagging brightly like a peacock, whatever it needs to bewitch you, to make you see nothing else, until all you can think of is crying out to ensure you are real.

It provokes that basest of instincts, self-preservation, and turns it against you. Even knowing that silence is your only salvation, your throat seems to clog with words unsaid, revulsion unexpressed, cries of horror that never find their way out.

It chokes those unused to this burden, leaving them gasping in want of an outflow, stumbling through the halls, hand over mouth, seeking to fling themselves free of the great gate to scream at an always-overcast sky.

And sometimes, they even make it.

[icegothgirl]

Hmmmmm I should paint some of my sosters of silence. I just kinda went with slapping wings on things and giving them topknots like on Draxus here lol (the conversions in the 2nd pic are not by me but i’m inspired by them!)

[stainlesssteellocust]

Oh, the wonders of unreliable narration

Valerian:

Aleya:

[minweber]

Lost to like, three separate strains of brainworms and wrote something extremely self-indulgent:

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Warhammer 40.000 Rating: Explicit  Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply  Relationships: Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s)  Characters: Original Characters  Additional Tags: Adeptus Custodes (Warhammer 40.000), Anathema Pskyana | Sisters of Silence (Warhammer 40.000)  Summary: 

After many millennia of being lost to each others, the Talons are interlocked again. What will be availed of this renewed companionship?