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what if we touched hands because it was the only physical act of human closeness left to us inside these cold metal shells that forever bind us to life, for even in death we still serve

and we were both girls

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Musings on Custodes: The Missing Power

Recently saw a cool as fuck sculpt for a Custodes sort-of psyker, which once again got me thinking about the narrative tension that their lack of psychic abilities, in my opinion, creates.

Basically, it's pretty directly and unambiguously stated in lore that there are no Custodes with psychic abilities (unlike it ever was for the female members, btw). I am pretty sure that there is a source out there that even directly pins it on the Emperor's design for them. And it's not that hard to see the meta reasons for that, both in terms of the game and the setting. Factions need unique identities to be appealing, and despite all the jokes on the matter, I can appreciate the struggle that GW design teams face in giving it to an ever increasing variety of Space Marines. At some point you just have to begin rationing Cool Traits, lest everything morphs into a homogenous pool of generalized power fantasies.

I will fully confess to not knowing if the "no Custodes psykers" rule was as thoroughly set in stone prior to their release as a playable army, but even if it wasn't - their current status just had to be set the moment they arrived to the table. Having to ask the Grey Knights to scoot over on their "The Elite Space Marines" seat simply couldn't be done without sacrificing something, I imagine. Swapping the silver for gold was not gonna cut it - some drastic line needed to be drawn between the two factions. And with the following buildup of Custodes lore that separation was engrained deeper, the lack of Custodes psykers now playing directly into ton of their stuff: from their famous events like the burning of Prospero, through their bond and relationship with the Sisters of Silence, to their role as the last diligent adherents of the Emperor's hyper-materilaisitic worldview.

So it all makes sense, right? Having no psykers is now their thing, it nicely balances them out narratively with some other factions, and is deeply tied into the key identity pillars of the faction. It makes so much sense, in fact, that the smart choice is probably to ignore my following ramblings and leave this part of the lore as it is.

But. An obvious thing that makes me pace frustrated mental circles around the issue, spurred on by both my oft-expessed belief that most Custodes lore is yet to be written, and simply the selfish desire to have more toys to play with - is that Custodes are built around and deeply tied into the Emperor's identity. And he was, kind of famously, a huge ass psyker.

So what does it mean for a faction built around a single dude to such an extent - to have such a huge chunk of this dude's identity simply omitted? Being a psyker is supposed to be a huge thing in warhammer. The depth of access to these abilities in a species supposedly hugely influences their culture and worldview; what little moments of the Emperor as an actual character we get often seem to go hand in hand with his usage and mastery of these abilities; the hints and questions about the extent of his psychic foresight form the base for most of the ongoing fundamental plot threads of the entire setting. Which is all to say - with the amount of lore currently existing in 40k, the lack of psychic abilities in the Emeperor's supposed flesh and blood faction just begs to take on some kind of a meaning beyond them not being able to fling lightning bolts.

So, the question is - should some future expansion of Custodes lore come with some sort of development or a retcon that would enable their access to psychic abilities (or an equivalent)?

Both answers have merit, in my opinion.

The smart one, as I mentioned above, likely is "No". It's one of the core pillars of the faction's identity both in narrative and gameplay, it's thoroughly interwoven with other aspects of their design, and it should probably be left alone. That is the answer I can be absolutely content with - provided it's elaborated on. Currently there are bits of lore here and there that explain this as a measure put in place by the Emperor to make them more resistant to warp-based corruption and threats, but personally I find it not very interesting, unconvincing and basically a placeholder. So much more fun can be had by approaching this subject with questions like: Did he really make them this way intentionally? Or was his own power something that he simply couldn't replicate with his genetic alchemies? Would that imply his lack of knowledge of his own nature? And if it was all intentional after all, was it truly so utilitarian as an increased resistance to the threats he expected to face with them by his side? Or was it yet another expression of his inability to truly trust others - stripping out this power in the beings that he could mold on such a fundamental level? Would that mean that ultimately even they were not in his full confidence? Would it be that no matter how much control he could exert over the creation of something, no matter how detached and alien to human nature he could make his creations in order to shape them into true companions for himself, that would never be possible? And what would it ultimately mean for his character and role within the setting?

But what if "Yes"? What shape or form such could such an update take? Well, this, like all such questions, would be a matter of personal preference... So here is mine.

One interesting, and pretty soft retcon-wise, way to go about it I already touched on in another one of these posts. Basically - tie it in with the whole Eyes of the Emperors thing and make it an ability that Custodes get later in their lifecycles - so much so that, until recently, there were none who got that far. For a faction so centered around the dogged preservation of the past and the belief that they alone know everything, revealing an extremely fundamental thing that they did not know about themselves could be a cool way to open up the questions about their future.

Alternatively, one could go with, essentially, the way that the artist of that sculpt from the beginning (Vabiobiav - check them out, their Custodes stuff is rad) rationalizes it: Custodes don't get actual psychic powers but something... different. That would actually tie in pretty nicely with the latest lore developments! Because while it was pretty thoroughly hinted many times that through humanity's belief in him the Emperor is now acting upon the world in the same ways that Chaos Gods do, having his very own demons (LoD/Sanguinor), demon-princes (Celestine), and chosen (many an Imperial character) - it also was brought up in recent lore that his power seems to be manifesting in ways that actually break the rules for the warp-based entities (The Girl of the Dark Imperium fame or the Plague Wars/Pariah Nexus mentions of Sororitas' resistance to things that "classic" god-powers shouldn't be able to protect them from). Access to these new and weird abilities could actually be technological in nature (somehow tapping into the power of the Golden Throne itself, like Vabiobiav suggest) or exist via the strange supernatural connection that Custodes have been shown to have with the Emperor.

In summary: lots of ways to go about it - and I would really, really love to see at least one of them actually taken.

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Chapters: 1/5 Fandom: Warhammer 40.000, Warhammer 40k (Novels) - Various Authors, Horus Heresy - Various Authors 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), Aeldari | Eldar (Warhammer 40.000), POV Alternating, Lesbian Sex, Developing Relationship, Post-Horus Heresy Civil War (Warhammer 40.000) 

Summary: As the dust settles on the ruins of empires, two bitter souls meet. Musings, debates, clashing blades, angry sex and a story told ten millennia in the future follow.

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A Couple Of Legal Shield-Captains Who Are Definitely Real And Have Rules

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Been thinking about certain aspects of craftworlds’ lore recently. Namely about how it’s kind of a shame that they are presented as the “default” aeldari - because it really downplays what a bunch of weirdos they are.

I mean - I get how we got here, in the meta sense. “Elves in space, mystical and mysterious” came first, everything else later. But it really doesn’t seem like there is much info out there that would suggest that pre-Fall aeldari were… Like That. In fact, pretty much everything that makes the image of "modern" craftworlders has been said to be a way they adapted to near-extinction and having a soul-eating god in their lives. Which makes me convinced that to their galaxy-ruling ancestors they would really seem like a bunch of freaks.

There is the fanatic obsession with discipline, and the extremely militarized society, sure. Could probably explain that to an ancestor with some context. But also they make everything out of that specialized bone-like material that was used to make spaceship hulls before. Seem to have replaced most of previously existing technology with it, in fact. And they are a bunch of wierd neo-pagans - there really doesn’t seem to be anything that would suggest pre-Fall Aeldari took their religion and mythology quite so seriously. And when they die their souls go into stones, which then go either into the Matrix or into robots? And why do they talk like that? Why is their military structured around those… cosplay cults? I am sorry, they keep WHAT in the hearts of their ships?!

Basically, Craftworlders are like if AdMech were the main representation of humanity in the setting, and everyone just sort of accepted that, yeah, this is what humans are like.

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Trazyn squad move out!!

Trazyn with his Huntmaster, Sannet and Ashkut <3

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Have always been

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'The season of Pride is upon us, custodian. You know what that means, do you not?'

'What would you have of me, shield-captain? Must I stand a silent vigil bearing witness to the decline of humanity in a gay manner?'

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Probably a strange image to bring from my revisit of the Nausicaa manga, but, first of all - it is cool and I like it, and second - I do actually feel that it serves weirdly well as a an encapsulation of the whole thing.

For those who have only seen the movie or just don't remember the exact panel from a story they may have read years ago - these are torumekian soldiers caught amidst the sudden omhu stampede, shown moments before being trampled to death.

It's a single panel scene in a very chaotic setpiece. It isn't really focused on. There is no text or secondary image to elaborate on what is happening in there. But the snapshot feels enough - these are soldiers, after all. In a desperate situation over which they have no control, they are resorting to what they know: huddling into a defensive formation and raising their banner. An utterly futile action in the face of the scale of destruction they have been caught in.

And it's not, like, a daramatic last stand or a heroic sacrifice or anything. This is just people dying sudden, terrifying and confusing deaths, having fallen into a trap in a land they invaded. Pointless and, to an extent, self-inflicted violence. The image is imbued with a certain dramatic flair, the raised banner especially seems to give the group an air of defiance - but an incredibly impotent one, if so. It's hard to properly describe just how laughably inadequate the effort is to the situation.

And yet they do it, and we are shown them doing it. Because in the moment they are still alive, and are still human - and so they keep going, doing the only thing they know and reacting to the world in the only way they can.

And messy, desperate humans doing desperate, pointless things in the face of certain doom, I feel, is kind of at the heart of that story. At the end of the day, as long as we are alive - we must live.

Anyway, read Nausicaa manga if you haven't.

It's good.

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it comes in a variety of sizes

dreadnought yuri

30k Custodes/Aeldari lesbian affair, but now it's 40k and they are a dreadnought and a wraithlord

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dreadnought yuri

30k Custodes/Aeldari lesbian affair, but now it's 40k and they are a dreadnought and a wraithlord

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Prompted by, uh, nothing in particular, went on to re-read the Nausicaa manga. And while I doubtlessly was called back by one particular character archetype and its representative, at the moment I also find myself incredibly endeared by another: the Repentant Visier.

Okay, I don't actually know what this character trope is called, but this name seems pretty appropriate. The functionary, the bureaucrat, the most efficient servant of the soulless machine of power who, at the end of his days finds or rediscovers conscience and faith in something bigger.

An old man who had thoroughly lost himself in pursuit of power - whether he once started seeking it for noble purposes or just in order to survive - getting a glimpse of something that forces him to spend his last days working towards something true and right. Not looking for redemption, but rather trying to find meaning in the world that he thought he had all figured out. And it's probably too late, he probably already did so much more damage than even his best intentioned actions will now bring, and there is little reason to even try. But try he must, for what else is left?

As so often - don't really have a point to make here. Just waxing about a character type that I really like seeing.

Charuka is a very good example of it, and I've found Chris Wright's Tieron from the Watchers of the Throne a good representative too, especially refreshing in his role as a protagonist.

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I am going to count on GW being incredibly predictable in its design sensibilities and bank on the more "elegant" looking guardian spear being a sign of an official female sculpt.

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literally nothing sexier than a women in a full set of armor

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"and ill walk my own crimson path"

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~Silent Judge Emiline Trisk Leader of the Anathema Psykana Coven, His Silent Seekers, Emiline Trisk is a woman of stubborn tenacity on and off duty. Like all Sister Of Silence, Trisk's pariah gene makes her difficult to be around for most humans, especially for those with psychic potential. despite this, she stubbornly attempts to mingle with the crew of the Noktua's Shroud whenever possible. For those able to perceive her features, Trisk is a tall, slender woman with pale skin and eyes, betraying her voidborn origin. She wears her dark red hair up in the traditional flowing top knot of the Silent Sisterhood.

Her primary duty is conducting investigations into potent psychic individuals, populations, and potential Daemonic incursions. In the process of these investigations, she works closely with Xi-Rho, monitoring communication channels and intercepting reports from the Expedition Fleets. In battle, she leads her cadres in covert operations, infiltration, sabotage, flanking manoeuvres, and elimination of high vale targets are all common strategies employed to disrupt the enemy ahead of the Custodes main assault. Hard to even perceive on the battlefield. Most enemies were left either unaware of her presence or shooting at the empty space where they thought she was.

Off duty Trisk has a fondness for wine, collecting new vintages from across the Imperium and keeping a selection of her favourites in her quarters. She is often found in the company of Constance Heratt, training alongside the Custode and proving herself surprisingly eloquent in the debates held by the Athenan Spears. Over their years of service and her own stubborn socialising, Trisk managed to pull Constance from the moroseness plaguing the Athena Spears. The two women's relationship has grown from simply sharing command of the Ardent Watchers to something more as they share in each others interests and personal lives.

~Pistols Trisk wields a pair of Archeotech pistols, gifted to her by her mentor when she was promoted to Silent Judge and assigned to the Ardent Watchers. Each pistol is fashioned after an old earth long barrelled duelling pistol, though she's made her own more utilitarian upgrades to weapons. Loaded with custom adamantium rounds capable of penetrating even the heaviest of armour plating. With these pistols in hand, Trisk has gunned down many unsuspecting targets and foes.

(She needs a scenic base like Constance, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Also haven't been able to think of names for her pistols.)