#commit to the bit baybeeee

[kpceramics]

That’s what we call committing to the bit

[drsquared]

"SquaredRootOfFries"? *slams desk* I LIKE THIS. ANOTHER!

IM LATE BUT SLAP ME WITH ONE OF THESE BAD BOIS: 💌💌💌💌

Regarding: Our "Ship" Dynamic Ask

Gasp! You were the only person to actually send me one XD Tho, I told @drsquared I was doing one with them lol

You a real one 😍 lol, here it is. I think this fits? I would love to see your interpretation, too!

[wetalkinboutbooks]

New Year, New Review 🤩

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

Summary: The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.

At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family.

Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory--or to an unimaginable doom.

And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul Catcher seeks only to forget the life--and love--he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save--or destroy--all that he knows. (Taken from Goodreads)

Our Ratings:  

 → Geena:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 → Kae: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: The final instalment of the Ember Quartet had us crying in the metaphorical club. It’s exciting, terrifying, and probably the horniest book in the series and we loved it!

~Spoiler-full discussion below~

The Good:

→ Elias and Laia

Geena: In the final instalment of the Ember quartet, Sabaa deprives us of an Elias POV and slaps us with the Soulcatcher instead… He’s very much an ‘emotions are bad’ type of dude, the opposite of Elias who always had so many… but both of them are so angsty? The Soulcatcher really likes to beat up trees when his memories from when he was Elias resurface which was so emo to me. Despite being possessed by Mauth he is also such a coward, especially around Laia, because Elias’ feelings for Laia scare him and every single time he is like *running emoji*. We were surprised that Sabaa let him remain the soulcatcher for so long, every chapter I was like ‘Okay, maybe this is where Elias breaks through…’ but no.. Elias remained buried UNTIL their night in the cabin… the Soulcatcher was like ‘k I’m out’ but ONLY for ONE NIGHT and that still makes me scream.. The Soulcatcher was like ‘you kids are too horny for me, I’m gonna take a nap for a bit and let Elias take over bc Jesus.’ 

Despite it all, the Soulcatcher’s chapters were enjoyable albeit painful because this man was so duty bound, like even Elias wasn’t that dedicated when he was a Mask. But near the end, when we finally get the chapter that starts with Elias…. Ngl I cried a little, and immediately wanted to reread the whole series (I feel like Sabaa did this on purpose to torture us). I want to fight Sabaa though, like she did an amazing job showing how Elias’ conscious and the Soulcatcher’s conscious were constantly fighting one another, and how Elias’ memories of the people he loved ultimately fuelled the Soulcatcher’s actions… even though the Soulcatcher was like ‘I’m doing this for the ghosts’ like okay… no ghost told you to keep protecting and kissing Laia but you still did it…  

Kae: Okay, so Geena summed up my boy Ilyaas pretty damn well. Also, we LOVE HIS ETHNIC NAME IN THIS HOUSE. But um, YES. Elias was a sad boy ™ the whole time while fighting his emotions and ultimately losing. It was so PAINFUL as a reader, seeing all of  his chapters except the ONE say ‘Soulcatcher’. But when it finally said ELIAS again, I too, started to cry. Because he was BACK. 

You can all thank the power of Laia’s determination to seduce Elias back to himself, because our girl was NOT giving up. She said ‘you gonna get this coochie, dammit’ and in the cabin, Elias was like ‘well i’ll be damned. I sure as hell am. I am BACK BAYBEEEEE’

Geena: Sabaa Tahir said horny rights like ksjdnfdsjknfsdk

Kae: AUFVAHLHVKJ. BUT YES. In the end, love won. And so did sex because everyone was doin it or TRYING to do it. I guess when the world is ending, you only get one last time to uhh…. Have a good time. So they made sure they did lmao 

Now, let’s get into Laia. 

Laia. My sweet little cupcake. My mug of tea with too much honey. This girl has been through literal hell and back, and yet, she kept going. She NEVER gave up. Laia woke up in book 4 like ‘Today i will commit crimes. Helene and I crave violence’ and they both just started kicking ASS and I LOVED THAT. I was really happy to see the progression of Laia and Helen’s friendship and how they genuinely grew to like one another and see each other as besties. They both deserved a girl friend and I’m glad they found a friendship within each other. 

Laia is the bravest character in this damn book. She went from poor scholar, to slave, to hero and she was brave because she had to be. Laia is strong and took on their entire world. She had help, but she did a lot of it alone and that takes some real guts. She is the most genuine, sweetest, bravest girl and I love her. <3 

Laia also single handedly brought the Ilyaas back from his Soulcatcher shit. During this whole book she was just like ‘You know what? I think I’mma go mess with Elias’ emo ass today to see if I can get him to kiss me or something’ THEN SHE PROCEEDED TO SHOW UP AT THIS MANS HOUSE (realm or whatever) BUTTASS NEKKID. And he saw her and immediately flew the hell out of there it was TOO MUCH and he LIKED IT but couldn’t admit it. 

Geena: You know what I love about that whole scene was like earlier she was like ‘He’s a lost cause idc’ and then Darin was like ‘Elias wouldn’t give up on you if that happened’ and Laia was like ‘you’re right, he would show up stark naked and try to seduce me back to my body’ and she did just that...

Kae: SHE DID. SHE SHOWED UP AND SHOWED OUT! Like, her entire mission was to bring Elias back while also planning on taking down the Nightbringer. But she was straight up like ‘okay but not before i get my man back through SEDUCTION’. Ugh, the mango scene?  Superb. 

Geena: Laia is hands down one of my favourite book characters to exist. Her journey from the first book being a scared girl with a missing brother, to being the face of a revolution… like the GROWTH. Like Kae mentioned, she and Helene end up as BESTIIEESSSS, and I was surprised at how natural they seemed. Because we went from them hating each other to close friends, but despite not seeing their development, it came off so natural? So, I loved that! 

Kae covered Laia’s character pretty thoroughly, she was both a horndog and a bad bitch. Like this girl has pretended to be a Slave for the Commandment to travelling a desert by herself and facing off a squad of Jinn… In retrospect, Laia is a unique case, she’s allowed to be kind and caring and doesn’t have to be a fighter type to be strong. She’s not the chosen one, which this book made clear, it could’ve been anyone to fight the Nightbringer… but only Laia was strong enough to love him AND defy him. And I just love her a lot… she was very much an anime protagonist with the power of love, family, and friendship… anyways I love her and that’s all I have to say

→ Helene 

Geena: The way I ended up liking and rooting for Helene this book? Came out of left field. To be honest, in previous books I didn’t feel much for her other than ‘stop chasing after Elias and Laia pls.’ But this book I wanted her to win, especially with the fight against the germanic-esque invaders. She goes through substantial development, no longer seeing Scholars as slaves and taking their opinions seriously.. Like Laia, Musa, and Darin were all a part of her crew. A stark difference from Book 1 Helene, who thought Scholars only had one role in the world and that was slaves. 

Helene… like Laia… really has the Ember equivalent of hot girl summer with Harper… all the time she spends denying it she is like *jumps on him the chance she gets*. The bath scene… Helene’s power was turning her tortuer into her MAN… But also Sabaa said that ‘yes she has changed, but she has to repent for her sins’ and that’s why Helene is basically left alone at the end (save for Laia, Elias, and Musa). 

Kae: So not gonna lie, I never actually disliked Helene. I saw her as the flawed character she was in the beginning. During her cat and mouse chase with Elias and Laia in the beginning, she would piss me OFF because like, that’s your BEST FRIEEEEEND. JUST STAAAAHP. But also, it was him or her and her family's death, so I get it. But I always saw potential in her to be better. And thank GOODNESS she went through all that character development. Because she was a damn menace in the beginning. 

Also like Geena mentioned; Helly and Harper finally hooking up? I swear the heavens opened up in that moment because EVERYONE could feel their tension. LIKE JUST DO IT ALREADY. You can’t fight love, baybeeee

Watching Helly grow as a person was really rewarding as a reader. Like Geena said, she went from hating scholars to being like ‘hmm, maybe my opinions are shitty?’ and straight up changed.  I also feel for her because she lost her ENTIRE family and like, honestly? I would’ve given up. BUT SHE DIDN’T. She’s a literal fighter, bred for this shit. So she FOUGHT. And I was really scared she was gonna get murked because y’all know Keris’ tiny evil ass doesn’t have a chill button. And when they were fighting? I was like LAWD PLS DON’T  TAKE HELLY. But instead he took Harper *upside down smiley face* SO THAT WAS FUCKED UP AND I WASN’T READY FOR IT. But a piece of me knew it was coming. 

The Bad:   

→ Darin and Harper

Geena: As Kae mentioned… Harper kicked the can in this book :’( His eventual fall came from loving and caring for Helene too much, which left him open and gave Keris the chance to stab him. Harper was basically Helene’s heart outside her body, and when he went down so did Helene. I had had a feeling when Book 3 ended that Harper wouldn’t make it, but I WASN’T HAPPY ABOUT BEING RIGHT FOR ONCE… Harper had finally met his brother (Elias) and hadn’t even had a chance to meet the real Elias and talk to him about their father or other sibling stuff. LIKE OF ALL CHARACTER DEATHS… AND THERE WAS A LOT… The other one that came out of left field was fucking Darin of Serra… DARIN… THE ONE DUDE WE SPENT TWO WHOLE BOOKS SAVING… DEAD WITH A SNAP OF HIS NECK!! I WAS SO MAD

LIKE SABAA HAD US THINKING HE WAS GONNA BE SAFE, SHE GAVE HIM A LIL GIRLFRIEND AND EVERYTHING BUT THEN SHE GOES.. AND KILLS HIM?? JUST LIKE THAT?? Then we had to read the scenes where Elias helps both Darin and Harper pass over into the afterlife and I was just *cries angrily* 

Kae: Well, THAT was sad. Have you ever just like, felt your heart break into a million tiny irreparable pieces? That’s how I felt when Darin and Harper died. Because like, they were both trying to save the women they loved. Darin to Laia, (foolishly so against the Nightbringer) but I would do it for my little sister too. And Harper with Helene against evilass Keris. Dude, that shit just sucked. It hurt to read. It hurt to imagine the girls feeling the pain of their deaths. They were both such good men. And DARIIIN. 

Darin didn’t have to go out like that, man. It was such a harsh death. No last words. It was just over and his body was just gone. I wish Laia would’ve been able to talk with him at The Waiting Place at least one last time. But it is what it is. I hated to see both of them go. Especially since Darin pretty much sparked this whole series. 

Sure, Laia, Helene, and Elias were the main characters. But Darin was the spark that started the fire. And he didn’t even get to see it’s flames extinguished. 

Geena: He was the ember in the ashes… literally like Sabaa uses that for Elias and Laia but it applies to Darin the most

Kae: LITCHRALLY gonna get teary eyed over here. Our boys deserved better :( 

Conclusion 

Geena: This was not at all a disappointing end to the series we’ve followed closely for so long. The different plot points and character arcs were tied up nicely, and Sabaa Tahir showed us once again why she’s one of the best fantasy writers on this side of the Milky Way. We didn’t even bother including a ‘The Ugly’ section because we loved it too much ksfmsd. The only qualm I’d have with the end was the empire remaining, Helene recognized the Scholars as equals but centuries of pain isn’t easily forgotten you know? SO THAT’S WHY I THINK WE DESERVE A SEQUEL SERIES… BUT I DIGRESS… OVERALL, I loved this book and the ending for all the characters ESPECIALLY FOR OUR GIRL LAIA <3

Kae: YES. I AGREE 100% WITH GEENA. It was such a beautiful end to the series. Sabaa is  GENIUS and her storytelling is phenomenal. I loved every little surprise she’s hidden in all of the books. ESPECIALLY WITH COOK BEING ALIVE? I DIDN’T SEE THAT SHIT COMING AT ALL. LIKE HOLY SHIT? So Laia had some remaining family afterall, and I think that’s very sweet. I’m really sad to see the series be over with and Geena and I are both *~HOPIIIING~* for an epilogue or some little crumbs or SOMETHING with the gang and how their lives ended up into middle adulthood or something. 

Geena: I would literally take a single paragraph… Ms. Tahir…. Blease…

Kae: But yes, in conclusion, Laia has a heart of gold and we LOVE HER. She’s brave and strong and smart, and was the only one out of THOUSANDS to stick for herself and defy the Nightbringer, and save the whole world. Helene has come a long way and she developed beautifully as a character. And Elias. Ohhh, Ilyaas. His continued self sacrifice and bravery and love still helped him live in the end and I think that’s beautiful. 

[shipaholic]

Light for the ask meme if you like!

Sorry this is so late!!

Character meme: Light Yagami

favorite thing about them - as another tumblr post once astutely pointed out, Light Yagami is hilarious because he constantly gets offended when accused of stuff he actually did. His commitment to the “You… kick accuse Light??” bit is impressive. ‘Refuge In Audacity’ should be Light’s family motto, if the rest of his family weren’t so decent. Maybe the Kira family motto?

least favorite thing about them - his views on women are gross, and required the cast ratio to be ridiculously skewed in favour of men just so we didn’t have to listen to him sneering about how easily led women are in every panel.

favorite line - “Ryuzaki,” *PUNCHES L IN THE FACE*

brOTP - Light and Ryuk are a fun odd couple. I like the ‘boy and his monster - the monster’s not the scary one’ concept. Ryuk did not behave in a very bro-like manner towards Light at the end, but I feel Light basically got the best friend that he deserved.

OTP - LAWLIGHT BAYBEEEE

nOTP - I’ve got to be honest, anything except Lawlight kind of feels like a waste? Why present Light with his perfect genius equal and twist them up together into a funhouse world of paranoia and death if you’re just going to have Light go, ‘nah, too dramatic for me’? Light is at his best when the stakes are highest. That said I do like the quiet, contained tragedy of him settling for an unsatisfying alternative after L is gone, and nothing ever quite living up to the few months where they were rivals for the rest of his life. So uhhh my actual nOTP is….. Light/Misa I guess… because nobody ships that less than Light.

random headcanon - once copied a classmate’s homework because he wanted to see if he’d get caught, but the classmate got in trouble because everyone assumed he’d copied off Light instead. Light carried this experiment around with him as a tiny sad meditation on how justice is a lie… not that he ever came clean. In his mind he doesn’t need to atone for this because he knew it was wrong when he did it, and it was only an experiment, and he didn’t actually need to see someone else’s answers anyway, therefore his conscience is clear.

unpopular opinion - I am too basic to have an actually unpopular opinion, lol. Hmm… I don’t like fic where memoryless!Light finds out that he was Kira and is filled with remorse and begs the task force to execute/imprison him. Light without his memories is the same character as the one who first found the death note. His first instinct is always to protect himself. If he figured out he was Kira, he’d bury that information so deep no-one would ever find it.

song i associate with them - Almost Sorry by The Scissor Sisters.

favorite picture of them - 

so sassy! so on a mission! so surrounded by his stupidest-named victims. Did anyone ever beat Toors Denote? Could anyone?

[icybreaths]

tbtp jewel / smeared mascara

actual sealed zanpakuto wowza. regular teefers. violent noob with something to prove. happy to be here. smiles more. shakier emotions but determined to stand strong. easier to approach and overall friendlier. kinda tsundere. falls for a rly shitty boy and has a rly abusive relationship. upset over the news that she’s infertile but doesn’t talk about it. changes her opinion on hollows after meeting her arrancar ‘brother’. reaches shikai. wants to better her division and has good intentions. lots of drinking. participates with her squad on a more sociable level.

main timeline jewel / frostbitten soul

shark teeth baybeeee. reaches lieutenant seat. permashikai sword and the blade’s spirit has a violent agenda. tells everyone she can control her sword but can’t actually. less friendly but will happily fight. leans into her masochism. harder to develop a genuine connection with. falls for a not-terrible dude but it’s still a brief relationship. commitment issues. begins to fall out of love with her job and fights with feelings of resentment. isolates herself more. falls in love with the human world and hueco mundo to an extent. hobbies flourished. lotta late nights, paperwork, and inner battles with herself. kinda grumpy.

first timeskip jewel / harbinger of the ice age

bankai or bust. has to bandage up her arms to cover up the now ever-present frostbite. heartily laughs about her sword slowly killing her. actively seeks opportunities to not be in seireitei and takes as many assignments to the human world and hueco mundo that she can. adopts a feral newly motherless little boy. hangs out with vizards and makes frens. a little friendlier but still a bit detached in varied relationships aside from her son. overall calmer and more composed than she used to be. achieves bankai and it’s a nightmare but she’s super stoked over it. war time baybeee. briefly trains with the head-captain. develops feels for a crusty espada and is kinda mad at herself about it but still hangs out with him. reaches out for the help of others more. begins the process of looking into a reiatsu suppressor for herself.

[ask-the-crimson-king]

[Local lore bitch to add some addendums and context for some of your claims here:

>Perturabo is the 12th Primarch recovered, he was found 9 years after Magnus. (I point this out specifically because I still have brainrot over why the fuck was Magnus on Terra, not in the Crusade, for a whole ass fucking decade when most other Primarchs were given a year, tops.) Pert leaves Terra about a year after he is recovered, and the Emperor calls him his "Hammer". (Taken from Angel Exterminatus) Dorn was the 7th recovered, so there's some credence there. Maybe Emps did go "yo wtf" or maybe he saw a new tool to use.

>Konrad was the 16th Primarch recovered, and most know Leman is the 2nd. However I don't think Leman's executioner job is a "supercop" position any more than a medieval executioner is a "supercop". Leman himself is definitely a cop (Night of the Wolf, baybeeee), but it's not by virtue of being an executioner. Also, I will add that, yes, Konrad would've been used as an executioner. We have canon information on this, as Ingethel tells Lorgar that he is hunted down by both Konrad Curze and Leman Russ for an infraction in one of the many spiraling futures ahead of him during his Pilgrimage.

>Something others may point out as well but I still want to touch on it: In The First Heretic, following the destruction of Monarchia, Kor Phaeron and Erebus speak with Lorgar and one of the subjects is what the purpose of each of the Primarchs are. This is also were some fan-theories on what the Primarchs were made for comes from, as KP states that they are all reflections of the Emperor. Some examples given:

(Image ID will be posted under the cut)

I included a small prelude to the scene because I feel like it's interesting for KP to remark that Lorgar "never commit atrocities while wearing a smile" like his other brothers. The following passage goes on to have Lorgar state that he hates being a warrior, and further on in the novel when he talks with Magnus at Vharadesh, Magnus then suggests that Lorgar thus has no right to lead a Legion.

It's something interesting to throw into the "what were the purposes of each Primarch" thing, though this also could be chalked up to "Chaos interferance" since, once more according to Ingethel during the Pilgrimage, Lorgar apparently was the one who was held within the Warp's tides the longest out of all his brothers.

(Magnus apparently being a close second, and there's heavy references that Magnus seemed to be the first choice for Undivided before Tzeentch claimed him in full, which is also interesting but is speculation for another day)

>Angron's "empath" claims come from Betrayer afaik, people can correct me here. There is a scene towards the end of the book where Angron walks among a boneyard of his old kinsman who he was supposed to fight and die with at the very end, and he reminisces about each and every one of them. There is genuine compassion and emotion and hurt there. That and the "Perfect Son" speech he says to Guilliman has some good shit in there. Shows a bit of what Angron could be.

>I also wanted to add as a last-minute thing that the WB were also said to be more genetically inclined to love and trust their primarch than any other Legion in canon, though this could just be bs. Can't be entirely sure.

TL;DR - this was a good read and nice speculative piece. Just wanted to add some food for thought/things to help strengthen claims because this is an interesting subject within 40k lore to think about and it's always cool to see new takes on it.

Image IDs for the passages used above below the cut:

Image ID: Three screenshots taken from the novel The First Heretic. They read:

LORGAR TURNED TO meet Kor Phaeron’s eyes.

‘That morning. As I knelt before the Emperor, with the home world’s holy caste chanting… With the red rock domes of Vharadesh made amber by the rising dawn. Did you see as I saw?’

Kor Phaeron looked away. ‘You will not like the answer, Lorgar.’

‘I have liked nothing of late, yet I still wish to know.’ He laughed suddenly, softly. ‘Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes.’

‘I saw a god in golden armour,’ Kor Phaeron said. ‘The very image of you, but aged in ways I couldn’t grasp. I never saw the figure as a benevolent one. His psychic presence pained my eyes, and he smelled of bloodshed, domination, and the many worlds already burned to ash in his wake. Even then, I feared we’d waged six years of war in error, butchering a true faith to replace it with a false one. In his eyes – eyes so like yours – I saw the promise of avarice, the hunger of greed. Everyone else saw nothing but hope. Even you… So I thought, perhaps, I had seen wrong. I trusted your heart, Lorgar. Not my own.’

Lorgar nodded, his contemplative eyes turning away again. Erebus listened in silence, for rare were the moments that any Word Bearer received insight into the primarch’s life before the Legion.

‘Of all the Emperor’s sons,’ Kor Phaeron said, ‘you are the one that most resembles your father in face and form. But you could never commit acts of cruelty and destruction while wearing a smile. The others, your brothers, can do this. They take after the Emperor in that way, where you do not.’

Lorgar lowered his gaze.

‘Even Magnus?’ he asked.

‘EVEN MAGNUS.’ KOR Phaeron seemed reluctant to admit it. His features remained tense. ‘Though I respect him greatly, there is a deep cruelty, born of impatience, threaded through his core. I saw it in his face that day, and each meeting since.’

Lorgar looked down at his hands, ash-stained with crescent moons of blood beneath the fingernails.

‘We are all our father’s sons,’ he said.

‘You are all facets of the Emperor,’ Kor Phaeron amended. ‘You are aspects pulled from a genetic primer. The Lion is your father’s rationality – his analytical skill – unburdened by conscience. Magnus is his psychic potential and eager mind, unrestrained by patience. Russ is his ferocity, untempered by reason. Even Horus…’

‘Go on,’ Lorgar said, looking up now. ‘What of Horus?’

‘The Emperor’s ambition, unshaped by humility. Think of all the worlds where our Legion waged war alongside the Luna Wolves. You’ve seen it as well as I have. Horus hides his arrogance, but it is there – a layer beneath his skin, a shroud around his soul. Pride beats through his body like blood.’

‘And Guilliman?’ Lorgar let his hands rest on his knees again. A smile inched across his features.

‘Guilliman.’ Kor Phaeron’s narrow lips moulded into a grimace, opposing his primarch’s smirk. ‘Guilliman is your father’s echo, heart and soul. If all else went wrong, he would be heir to the empire. Horus is the brightest star and you carry your father’s face, but Guilliman’s heart and soul are cast in the Emperor’s image.’

Lorgar nodded, still smiling to see his advisor’s bitterness. ‘My Macraggian brother is as easy to read as an open book,’ he said. ‘But what of me, Kor Phaeron? Surely I bear more than my father’s features. What aspect of the Imperial avatar have I inherited?’

‘Sire?’ interrupted Erebus. ‘If I may?’

Lorgar granted permission with a tilt of his head. Ever the statesman, Erebus needed no time to compose himself, or his answer.

‘You embody the Emperor’s hope. You are his belief in a greater way of life, and his desire to raise humanity to achieve its greatest potential. You devote yourself to these ends, forever selfless, utterly faithful, striving for the betterment of all.’

Amusement gleamed in the primarch’s eyes – eyes so like the Emperor’s own.

‘Poetic, but indulgent, Erebus. What of my failings? If I am not proud like Horus Lupercal, nor impatient like Magnus the Red… What will history say of Lorgar Aurelian?’

Erebus’s solemn facade cracked. A moment of doubt flashed across his features, and he glanced to Kor Phaeron. The gesture drew a whispered chuckle from their primarch.

‘You are both conspirators,’ he laughed, the sound soft. ‘Do not fear my wrath. I am enjoying this game. It is enlightening. So enlighten me, this last time.’

‘Sire,’ Kor Phaeron began, but Lorgar silenced him, reaching to touch his foster father’s hand as it rested upon his shoulder.

‘No. You know better than that, Kor. I am not “sire”. Never to you.’

‘History will say that if the Seventeenth Primarch had one weakness, it was his faith in others. His selfless devotion and unbreakable loyalty caused him grief beyond the capacity of a mortal heart to contain. He trusted too easily, and too deeply.’

Thoughts on the Emperor's original plans and intended roles for the Primarchs?

are they still purely speculation based on bits and bobs from canon, or does anything go and detail specifically what they were further than what we already know? (it being “planned the unification of humanity through conquest of the stars” and “the primarchs were to be his generals”, with some added bits about how each primarch might’ve been influenced a little more one way or another, regardless of how exactly it manifested, and some very secondhand detail about gilded prisons in the palace of terra)

b/c my knowledge about the emperor’s original plans for his sons is very very secondhand and a lot of it is born from fanon/fan speculation, and while i can talk for hours about fanon takes on the emperor’s plans that i’ve seen, i feel like it wouldn’t be right to at least try and separate speculation from statement