#horus core

[tiredarts-sketchbook]

Two Armored Cores and a custom Balor PG

(drawn on stream, ACs requested by chat)

[dreamychaos]

@aphrodites-bloody-rose

[vexwerewolf]

If we talk about the aesthetics of technology in Lancer, we can divide each of the Big 4 along lines of form and function.

IPS-N: Pure Function

IPS-N cares only what a mech does. It doesn't need to look good or pretty doing it - it only needs to be able to do that thing well. It's notable that the Raleigh, arguably the most form-oriented of the IPS-N frames, is also considered to be the company's biggest commercial failure - they strayed from their core design principles and got punished for it.

Harrison Armory: Form Follows Function

Harrison Armory still leans pretty heavily towards the functionality side of things, but it isn't satisfied with doing a good job alone. Yes, the mechs have to perform well, but they also have to look good doing it. There's no practical application for the Sherman's sleeveless coat or the Tokugawa's dainty little tassels, but they don't hinder combat functionality and they make the mechs look dashing. In comparison to IPS-N's coarse, industrial, almost unfinished look, HA mechs look stern, austere and imposing. There's a smoothness to them that you just don't get on IPS-N frames.

SSC: Function Follows Form

SSC is where we start to plunge into aesthetics-forward mech design. The Death's Head isn't six-legged because it's a sniper - the Death's Head is a sniper because it's six-legged. SSC came up with a mech design and asked: "what would this do best?" A six-legged chassis provided a more stable firing platform for precision weaponry, so that was what it did. Shapes and appearances are invented, and then a use case is discovered for them.

HORUS: Pure Form

It might seem weird to classify HORUS as "pure form" when their mechs largely don't have a consistent visual identity outside of the examples in the book. However, if we look a little deeper at the definition of "form," the explanation becomes clear: in some ways, HORUS is in the business of making statements, not mechs.

For anyone who's actually played a HORUS mech in Lancer, you may have noticed how awkward they are to actually pilot. Their statlines are, on paper, often very poorly suited to the sort of work they have to do. The Gorgon is built to attract attention and draw fire but has no armor. The Manticore is meant to be a front-line fighter but is quite slow. The Minotaur is meant to be a tech platform but has a low sensor range. The Pegasus' one functional trait doesn't apply to any of the weapons in its equipment package!

This is because HORUS mechs are designed purely as a testament to a certain discipline of technology. I remember expressing irritation with a friend's NeoGeo-for-X-Box emulator once, that you couldn't reconfigure the controller mapping so that it was easier to play with the X-Box controller. He remarked that it was meant as a historical preservation tool that perfectly duplicated the functionality of the NeoGeo, and that the only reason you could even play games using it at all is because that was a function of NeoGeo arcade cabinets.

That's how HORUS mechs are - their usability as chassis is broadly a side-effect.

[horsegirlwithnoname]

It has come to my attention some people don't think the Taraxacum is real. It is! Shadow of the Wolf is an upcoming (official, Massif Press) book being worked on by Katherine Stark of Legionnaire fame. You can find the playtest materials on the pilot.net Discord.

It contains three new alt frames:

The IPSN Taraxacum: a Lancaster alt based around scan/lock on. Also it can fly and can airlift friendlies, ignoring the usual carry restrictions for flying. You're the eye in the sky. If you ever wanted to be the command and control node and/or the ominous looming mothership, this is your frame.

The HORUS Hecatoncheires: a size 1/2 Balor alt that uses mobile greywash swarms that provide cover for allies and burn enemies. Like the Balor, the Hecatoncheires is kind of a formless greywash guy but instead of regeneration etc it's more about turning into the smoke monster from Lost. Really likes being in cover, which its core system drones can provide. Less of a tank than the Balor, more of an assassin.

The HA Tagetes: a Sherman alt frame that turns any ranged weapon into a rifle. You wanna crack shot with Gandiva Missiles? A Siege Cannon? Now you can, bud. Also gets a fancier version of Stabilize. An artillery mech, it's almost more like an HA take on the Death's Head rather than the more balanced frontline Sherman – this is your dedicated infantry marksman mech. And yes, I know what you're thinking, you can Crack Shot with the Tachyon Lance. Did I mention all its ranged weapons gain Overkill? That between Crack Shot and Nuke Cav – on a mech with decent heat management tools – you can pretty reliably throw out 4D6 energy + 8 heat with Overkill per shot?

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

"Priestess of Isis", "Enchantress" and "Sylph": Occult References in Ellen Hutter’s character in “Nosferatu” (2024)

In another post I analyzed Ellen Hutter’s character in the 2024 adaptation of “Nosferatu” through literary lenses of the Gothic female genre. Now, I want to dwell on her occult and mystical symbolism, and how this translates in her connection with Count Orlok, the undead demon of the story, who’s bound to her. But how and why? And what exactly is she in this story?

“In heathen times you might have been a great priestess of Isis.”

Von Franz tells this to Ellen in their last scene together, because he recognizes her spiritual power and ability to communicate with the spiritual world. Her “hysterical fits” and “epilepsies” also mirror the trance-like states of Pagan priestesses. She inhabits the “borderland”, a peripheral area, a portal between the two worlds: the physical (matter) and the spiritual.

“The pupil is expanded. It does not contract naturally to the light. […] A second sight. She’s no longer here. […] She communes now with another realm.”

“Somnambulists afflicted with these perversions [hysterics and lunatics] oft possess a gift: a sight into the borderland. […] I believe she has always been highly conductive to cosmic forces, uniquely so.”

Von Franz says demons usually obsess over “those whose lower animal functions dominate”, because they like them and seek them out. He elaborates: hysterics and lunatics. However, he says this before he actually gets to know Ellen, and he quickly realizes that’s not the case here. Because Ellen is the one who awoke Orlok from his centuries old sleep. Which is confirmed by three characters in the narrative: Orlok, Ellen herself and Von Franz.

O’er centuries, a loathsome beast I lay within the darkest pit… ‘til you did wake me, enchantress, and stirred me from my grave. You are my affliction.

Which leads me to the next topic:

Why Isis, of all deities?

Isis and Osiris

Isis is one of the major Egyptian deities. She’s more commonly known for her role as “Mother Goddess” of Horus, the Sun god. Isis had mighty magical powers, greater than that of all other gods, she governed the natural world, healing and wield power over Fate itself.

“Destiny!” Ellen cries out to Anna, while looking at the sea. “Providence!” Herr Knock screams throughout the narrative. “You run in vain! You cannot out-run your destiny!” Von Franz laughs in religious fervor as Thomas tries to save Ellen.

Isis is also connected with the themes of death, sex and rebirth in Egyptian cosmology, due to the myth of Isis and Osiris; which are also the core themes of Robert Eggers’ adaptation of “Dracula/Nosferatu”, so it’s not coincidental.

The “Osiris Myth” is one of the major surviving pieces of Egyptian mythology. It’s a ancient tale, with its early versions dating back to the 5th Dynasty (c. 24th century B.C.). It has known several adaptations throughout Egyptian history. The most complete version is in “The Moralia” by the 1st-century scholar Plutarch of Chaeronea, a collection of essays about Greco-Roman culture; that became very popular during the Renaissance era (14-16th centuries) and the Enlightenment period (18th century) in Europe.

Isis and Osiris were brothers, and according to Ancient Egyptian religion, they were in love with one another before they were born, and enjoyed each other in the dark before they came into the world. They eventually married.

Osiris had two facets as a God: in life, he was the God of fertility, agriculture, and vegetation, being considered a “Shepherd God”; in death, he was the God of the Underworld, the judge and Lord of Dead, the afterlife and resurrection. The pharaohs of Ancient Egypt were associated with Osiris in death, because as he rose from the dead, so would they unite with him and gain eternal life through imitative magic. Which appears to be the whole deal between Orlok and Herr Knock in “Nosferatu”, as Knock seeks to gain immortality like Orlok, by serving him.

On Earth, Osiris was believed to take on the form of a bull (the sacred bull Apis). What I find interesting here is that in both the 2016 script and the 2023 script of “Nosferatu”, Orlok’s physicality is actually compared to a bull:

Osiris became king of Egypt, and taught the people how to farm and live peacefully in their villages; he had a reputation for being a powerful and wise king, loved and respected by the Egyptian people. We don���t know exactly how Eggers’ Orlok was in life, other than him being a Romanian or Hungarian nobleman and a Solomonar sorcerer who sought to achieve immortality. But if we go by Vlad III (Drakule or Dracula, the infamous “Vlad the Impaler”) biography, he’s actually considered a Romanian national hero because he defended the Romanian people from foreigner invaders (Germanics and Turks, mostly). Just throwing this out there, because it’s unsure if this is intentional or not.  

Osiris and Isis had a brother, Seth (or Typhon in Plutarch essays), the God of deserts, storms, disorder and violence, who murdered Osiris to take his throne. He tricked Osiris into climbing into a wooden chest/coffin, shut the lid, sealed it shut, and threw it down the Nile River, knowing Osiris would never be able to survive. In some versions, it’s said Seth cut Osiris body into pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt. Interestingly enough, there’s a similar legend associated with Vlad the Impaler, who died in battle against the Ottomans, and, according to Leonardo Botta, the Milanese ambassador in Buda(pest), Vlad’s enemies cut his corpse into pieces, too. and his remains were never found.

Isis is the epitome of the mourning widow in this myth, as she mourns Osiris’ death deeply. Here enters the symbolism of the lilacs in "Nosferatu", the symbolic flowers of Ellen and Orlok: in the Victorian era, they were associated with widows because they represented a memento of a deceased lover.

Can this also be a nod to “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992) by Francis Ford Coppola? Where Dracula himself is the grieving widower because Elisabeta commits suicide? In the 1992 adaptation, Mina also speaks of “flowers of such frailty and beauty as to be found nowhere else”. What flowers is Mina talking about? It’s unclear, but Lilacs are native flowers to the Balkans, after all.

Isis sought for Osiris’ mangled body and with help of tree other Gods (Nepthys, Thoth and Anubis), they sew Osiris’ body back together, and then wrapped it head to toe in strips of linen, creating a mummy. Interestingly enough, Orlok’s corpse appears almost mummified at the end of the story.

In the Osiris myth, Isis uses powerful magic (incantations and magic spells) to bring her dead lover back to life; similar to Ellen who resurrects Orlok with her summoning prayer. In one version, this happened on a night of the full moon; in “Nosferatu” (2024) we also have a full moon connected to Ellen and Orlok, in the prologue, when he reveals his rotten corpse to her:

According to Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, it’s Isis sorrow, sexual desire and anger that empower her magic to be able to bring Osiris back to life. When Ellen prays for a companion of “any celestial sphere” in the prologue, she’s crying (sorrow), she’s upset because her father recoils from her now that’s she’s no longer a child (anger) and she’s in her teenage years/puberty (sexual desire). Like Isis with Osiris, it’s the combination of these emotions that power her magic to unconsciously resurrect Orlok.

However, Osiris can’t remain among the living, because he has to return to the Underworld and become King of the Afterlife. But before he goes, Osiris and Isis conceive Horus, the God of the sun and the sky, who will restore peace and order to the universe.  In “Nosferatu” (2024), Von Franz says that “with Jove’s holy light” before dawn, redemption will come to the people of Wisburg and the curse of Nosferatu will be vanquished. “Jove” is Jupiter, the “King of the skies”, who’s connected with the Egyptian Horus. Horus and Ra are often merged together in Ancient Egyptian religion, making Isis and Osiris the metaphorical parents of the Sun.

In “Nosferatu” (2024), as Orlok and Ellen complete their covenant, consummate their wedding and he drinks from her, the sun is also the metaphorical result of their union. As dawn breaks, the sunlight vanquishes them both from the physical world, as they both die in the material realm.

After being buried by Isis, Osiris goes into the Underworld to rule over it. And from then on, Isis herself is also associated with funeral rites, as she would guide the souls of the dead, helping them entering the afterlife. Through her magic, Isis helped resurrecting the souls of the dead, as she did with Osiris, acting as a mother to the deceased, providing protection and nourishment.

At the end of "Nosferatu" (2024) we see Ellen fulfilling her role as “priestess of Isis” (or as Isis herself?), as the Goddess of healing, who ends the blood plague in Wisburg, but also guides her dead lover Orlok/Osiris with her into the Underworld... where he'll rule as king? Unclear.  

Since we are discussing the Egyptian Gods, I have to mention Greta the Cat, Ellen’s domestic cat. Her name is an obvious homage to Greta Schröder, the actress who played Ellen Hutter in the original 1922 “Nosferatu”. Indeed, cats are predators to rats, however, the Egyptian Goddess Bastet is considered to be Isis’ daughter. She's the "cat goddess" for cats were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt. Bastet was associated with sun gods like Horus and Ra. Bastet was the goddess of pregnancy, childbirh, and protection against contagious diseases and evil spirits.

Enchantress

Orlok calls Ellen “enchantress”, but what does this mean? “Enchantress” is not only a female archetype, but has root in historical realities. Enchantresses were practitioners of feminine magic: oracles, healers, herbalists, midwives and shamanic shapeshifters. They were what’s commonly known as “witches”. These female magicians studied and practiced their art in goddess temples, mystery schools, alchemy schools and hedge schools.

The alchemists of the Middle-ages studied these dynastic lineages of “wise women”, and they had several names: enchantresses, chantresses, encantrices, or incantrix. Many physicians who founded "medicine" and "science" studied these wise women, mainly healers and their use of medicinal plants and herbs.

Ellen’s character appears to fit that of a “incantrix”. Women who used words, incantations, songs, spells and prayers to shape reality. It’s the priestess of an old religion (as Von Franz also calls her); gifted with magic power and authority to command the elements or the body by the power of their word.

Heptagrams

Orlok seal (or sigil) meaning has already been widely discussed by others (symbols of Ancient Dacian religion, mainly the figure of Zalmoxis), but what I want to mention here is the heptagram itself, the seven-pointed star. Heptagrams have several occult meanings, including warding off evil which, for obvious reasons, doesn’t fit Orlok’s character. It has meaning in Alchemy, too, as representative of the seven planets and seven substances.

The heptagram, however, is used by Aleister Crowley in his occult system Thelema (from Ancient Egyptian text) to represent a goddess/archetype: Babalon, which is also connected with Isis, Nuit, Lilith, Kali, among other goddesses and deities. At its core, it’s a goddess of female empowerment and liberation, of divine feminine. According to this occult belief, Babalon has several manifestations (sort of incarnation) and is a spiritual gateway to wisdom and enlightenment through chaos and female sexuality.

In “Nosferatu” (2024), when Ellen and Thomas are returning home, there’s a man in the streets rambling bits from the “Book of Revelations” (Apocalipse) from the Bible: “And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, owith ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.” (Revelations, 13:1).

Indeed this passage is about Orlok arrival and how he’ll spread plague among the town. However, we have a character in the “Book of Revelations” which is connected to all of this: the Whore of Babylon, the “Mother of Prostitutes and All Abominations of the Earth”, and she rides this Beast, which is the same as Crowley’s Babalon. What Crowley did was a positive reinterpretation of this biblical figure, symbolizing liberated female sexuality by embracing the powers of the Divine Harlot.

Also known as the “Scarlet Woman” and “Great Mother”, this complex and mysterious figure was established in 1904 in “The Book of Law”, however her roots are far older, and can be found in the Enochian tradition, a magical system by John Dee and Edward Kelly, dated from the late 16th century. In the 2016 script of “Nosferatu”, Orlok spoke Enochian, so it’s clear Robert Eggers is very much aware of all of this.

Initiatrix, Creator and Destroyer, Babalon is the “Great Mother” because she represents matter, Mother Earth. Like Isis, she’s the Archetypical Mother, the Womb, the Great Sea and the Divine Blood itself. According to Crowley, the “whore/harlot” facet is about enjoying sex without the burden of reproduction; and the “mother of abominations” connects with destruction like natural catastrophes, plagues, etc. She’s the ruler of the cosmological sphere and both good and evil (as evil as elemental forces can be or are considered as).

Crowley is a man who was born and raised in the Victorian era where sexuality was to be silenced and repressed, which provides context to his occultist beliefs and his “sex magick” theories. Victorian physicians and scientists were obsessed with classification of sexual perversions, too. “Hysteria” being one example among many. Which is the historical context for Eggers adaptation of “Nosferatu”/“Dracula”, so these references are quite fitting.

According to the Thelema, Babalon is the “Sacred Whore”, and her primary symbol is the Chalice or Graal (symbolic womb). She’s a consort to the Beast, who has seven heads, which is symbolically represented in her heptagram sigil. Crowley described her: “She rides astride the Beast; in her left hand she holds the reins, representing the passion which unites them. In her right she holds aloft the cup, the Holy Grail aflame with love and death. In this cup are mingled the elements of the sacrament of the Aeon”.

To Crowley these were not actual beings but titles/archetypes (sort of speak) in his Sex Magick beliefs: the “Scarlet Woman” is the High Priestess, and the “Beast” is the Hierophant. This fits Ellen (the priestess) and Orlok (warlock, black sorcerer) in “Nosferatu” (2024). The “Scarlet Woman” is a gateway to both the moon and the sun, and we see both associated with Ellen.

Orlok is described as a “beast” several times in the film, including by himself and by Von Franz, who also mentions Ellen’s “dark bond with beast”, and how she gave her love to the beast: "and lo the maiden fair did offer up her love unto the beast, in close embrace until the first cock crow, her willing sacrifice thus broke the curse and freed them from the plague of Nosferatu."

Orlok says Ellen’s passion is bound to him, like Babalon’s passion is united with the Beast. Babalon as “mother of abominations” also fits with how Ellen unleashed Orlok and his blood plague onto the world, bringing destruction and apocalypse.

Your passion is bound to me. […] I cannot be sated without you. […] Remember how once we were? A moment. Remember?

Thelemic followers of the Beast have been trying to call into being an older, more primeval, female force that is lacking in the Modern Age. Interestingly enough, this was the reason why Orlok became interested in Ellen in the 2016 script (which was later changed, because in the 2023 version it’s Ellen who summons Orlok): “I have sought a creature from the depths. A Eve that remembers her Eden. You are such one.” Both Crowley but more notoriously Jack Parsons have tried a bunch of incantations to conjure Babalon into being.

Oddly enough, the conjuring ritual we see Herr Knock performing at the beginning of “Nosferatu” (2024) is very similar to one of the incantations of Babalon performed by Jack Parsons: Air dagger, blood and channeling of windstorms and the Air element, over a heptagram. He also compares Ellen to a sylph; a nymph of the air element from alchemy and hermetic literature. We are told by Von Franz this is Solomonari sorcery, but is it really?

In Ophidian Thelema, Babalon is the Goddess of magick (“Heka”), of the Liberation of the Spirit (ecstasy), of the Liminal Point, of the Underworld, of Vengeance and of the Principles of Life. Their priestesses use the female body (vulva and womb) to channel their power during their magic rituals. This is similar to Ellen’s “hysterical fits” when she’s communicating with Orlok in the spiritual world, especially since “hysteria” was considered a disease caused by “wandering womb”. In the film, we also see Ellen's womb being talked about between Von Franz and Dr. Sievers during her examination, when they say her menstruation is liberal and she has too much blood in her. 

The “liberation of spirit” is in the form of a Serpent, which manifests in the flesh. This notion was present in the “Book of Law”, where its said there’s the dove, and there’s the serpent, and a choice must be made. While the dove represents religion, the serpent represents the spirit. In one scene, Ellen says Orlok is like a serpent in her body; and he replies it’s not him, but her own nature, a nature she denies. Babalon says “my vocation is the serpent.”

The priestesses of Babalon are also in control of their “trances” when they access the spiritual world. In “Nosferatu” (2024) there’s a interesting scene between Ellen and Thomas (the infamous sex scene), when Ellen “comes back” from her transe when he says he’ll call for Dr. Sievers. Does this indicate Ellen is actually in control of her trance-like states?

Babalon is the guardian of the Seven Principles of the Underworld, a place of darkness and transformation. Orlok tells Ellen in the prologue “you are not for the living. You are not for human kind.” Babalon is also the goddess of the liminal point, who can access other realms. As Goddess of vengeance, Babalon punishes when life is out of balance, and exerts violence and corruption upon those who are in the wrong. Ellen unleashes Orlok onto the world, and we can interpret him bringing plague into Wisburg as Ellen’s reckoning against a society that ostracizes her and will never accept her.

All rites and initiations of the Underworld Goddesses include rites of sex and death. Which is what we see with Ellen at the end of “Nosferatu” (2024). By Thelemic occult tradition, she, the manifestation of Babalon, has sex with the Beast (Orlok), “representing the passion which unites them” and her womb (Holy Grail; cup) is “aflame with love and death” (sexual climax, orgasm, with an un-dead vampire).

I will work the work of wickedness; I will kill my heart; I will be loud and adulterous; I will be covered with jewels and rich garments; I will be shameless before all men; I will, for token thereof, will freely prostitute my body to the lusts of each and every living creature that shall desire it; I claim the Mystery of Mysteries, BABALON the Great, and the Number 156, and the robe of the Woman of Whoredomes and the Cup of Abomination. “The Great Beast: The Life of Aleister Crowley”, John Symonds, 2016

Orlok being the Beast and Ellen the manifestation of Babalon explains why she’s promise to him in the narrative, and was never meant to marry Thomas: in Thelemic tradition, the Beast is the consort of Babalon, after all. Orlok's interest in Ellen isn't predatory for its own sake; he sees her as his rightful and fated spiritual consort, which fits the "bride of Dracula" theme of the Bram Stoker original story.

This probably also mirrors the 1992 adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola, where Van Helsing calls Lucy the “Devil’s concubine”: "Hear me out, young man. Lucy is not a random victim attacked by mere accident. Do you understand? No. She is a willing recruit, a breathless follower, a wanton follower. I dare say, a devoted disciple. She is the devil's concubine! Do you understand me? Yet, we may still save her precious soul." In this adaptation, Lucy is full Crowley and Parsons “Scarlett Woman”, with red garments and red hair.

Orlok also gives Ellen three nights to accept him/her nature and complete their covenant. Some are mistakenly associating this with Jesus Christ. These “three days” are possibly connected with another Goddess associated with Babalon: Inanna (or Ishtar), the ancient Mesopotamian Goddess of love, war, fertility, sensuality and divine law. The most famous myth about this deity is her descent into the Underworld, where she spends three days and three nights dead, until she re-ascends (rebirth).

Ellen also goes through the “Myth of Inanna” in “Nosferatu” (2024), which is the theme of the heroine descending into the “Underworld”, to suffer, to be stripped bare, to die, and to be reborn in the aftermath. This is the primal Shamanic crisis. Ellen also goes through three days and nights of suffering and death (witnessing her friends and the townsfolk of Wisburg dying by the blood plague) until she joins Orlok and is reborn.

Ellen and Orlok are involved in sex magick, at the end, clearly. But with what purpose? Sex magick to Crowley has several purposes and strong creative power, conjuring, invocation, etc. He believed deliberate acts of sexual transgression were a radical form of super-human power that promised to explode the narrow boundaries of Western Christian society and open the way for a whole new era of human history. Which is probably what’s happening here? A symbolic ending to the sexually repressed Victorian era as Western societies moved toward a more open-minded and accepting view of sexuality? Or it’s Ellen reborn as a Goddess of the Underworld (return to spiritual state), after going through a initiation rite of sex and death, as she breaks free from her human form? Or both?

Or it can be a nod to Crowley idea of sex magick to unleash supreme creative power to generate a godlike child? This can mirror the Osiris and Isis myth, of Horus (the Sun) as their metaphorical child, like it is for Ellen and Orlok here, as the end result of their union.

Alchemy

Alchemy, at its core, is the transmutation of base materials (lead, etc.) into noble materials (gold), and the pursuit of immortality (“philosopher’s stone”). Occultists reinterpreted this as a spiritual quest of self-transformation, purification and regeneration of the human soul. Hence physical death being seen as a gateway to another life (rebirth); which is the symbolism of the final scene of “Nosferatu” (2024).

Both Ellen and Orlok evolve from a diseased and corruptive state (physical world) into regenerative and perfect state (spiritual world), after being purified by fire (the Sun). Their old selves are empty shells, as their spirits ascend. This also finds parallel in the myth of Isis and Osiris, as they both went from “daemons” to Gods in the Plutarch essay.

And this also finds parallel in the 1992 adaptation when Vlad/Dracula ascends to the Heavens and is reunited with Elisabeta’s soul. Is this intentional? Are we dealing with reincarnation themes in Eggers' adaptation, as well? According to occultists both Babalon and the Beast have had many manifestations (reincarnations) in the physical world throughout the centuries, after all.

Orlok asking Ellen to remember their shared past, is also an interesting nod to Vlad and Mina in the Coppola's adaptation (their OST is called "Love Remembered"): "I have crossed oceans of time to find you." and “I have sought a creature from the depths. A Eve that remembers her Eden. You are such one.” in the 2016 "Nosferatu" script. Which didn't change all that much in 2023, except we don't have an actual explanation for Orlok interest in Ellen, other than her waking him from his centuries old sleep (resurrection).

[kiwi-kuns-art-tumb]

Do we have any for PC? PLEASE???

I haven't been able to track down any LANCER logos for AC6 on PlayStation, so I thought I'd try and whip some up myself.

Here's the share codes!

IPS-N: KBCX2WYU2W6W

SSC: 6K1PFZ6Q3Z22

GMS: PM5HEB6F9H79

HA: 1H472M1V3JGX

HORUS: MVBSVXH6Y4JN

[flagellant]

Do you love roleplaying FRIDGE HORROR but keep FORGETTING THE FRIDGE? Are you obsessed with IMPLICATIONS and THEMATICS? Would you like to be YOUR OWN NARRATIVE FOIL'S NARRATIVE FOIL'S NARRATIVE FOIL'S NARRATIVE FOIL? Then do I have the SOMETHING IS WRONG for YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU AND YOU!

The Smith-Shimano Corpro DUSK WING is the only mech which can HOVER so that you can have a BIRD'S EYE VIEW of all of the THINGS THAT HATE YOU! While fragile as A SHADOW IN THE LIGHT, this capable mech is excellent for STRIKERS, CONTROLLERS, SUPPORTERS, AND PANIC ATTACKS! With the VEIL RIFLE you can grant your allies WHERE DID THEY GO? while also damaging enemies with 1D3+2 VISIONS OF THE WRONG TIMELINE! The core ability, HALL OF MIRRORS, can create I am alone. Where am I? I never left. I am still here. I am still here. We are all still here until one of us is chosen. And then none of us will be here. Only I shall remain. TURN ANY BATTLE into a THERAPEUTIC CONFRONTATION WITH YOUR EGO as it BEGS YOU NOT TO LET IT DIE AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!

Good for: People who ARE SOLIPSISTS to COPE, BAD at making CHOICES under PRESSURE, and PLAYERS WHO KNOW that the most frightening mechs ARE NOT HORUS PATTERN GROUPS

Bad for: FLASH CLONE RIGHTS ACTIVISTS, direct confrontations, E-Defense advocates, CASTIGATORS OF THE ENEMY OF THE GODHEAD, and FRANKLY ANY LANCER PILOT'S MENTAL STATE But you don't care about that or that or that or that or that, do you or me or us or we or I? ALL THAT MATTERS IS THE MISSION + LOOKING GOOD WHILE DOING IT?

[toto-the-cactus]

Ayo! Finished this damn thing. Hope this is still good. Tell me who we should go find next <333

Tagging some people that have been waiting for this update:

@danart501 @ilikemytittieswithwarmmilk

Summary: As a perpetual, you have been by the Emperor's side for most of your immortality. There's no name for what strange dynamic you both share, but you do trust him and your loyalty eventually pays off over millennia once he fulfills an old promise he made during your first ever encounter.

Pairing: Emperor of Mankind x Perpetual!Reader (Female)

CW: None

Part 1 - Part 2 - ?

The Mother (2)

The pregnancy had been a success and the development was nothing short of fast and strenuous. You should have expected Him to mold your body in a manner that would serve Him better for his wishes and plans to be fulfilled.

His Great Crusade needed to be accomplished and you suddenly became part of the means to that end.

What a dreadful fate. To be nothing but his petri dish.

And so, Horus was born. His little form being held against your chest like the precious treasure that he was, making the sorrow of not having the rest of your children there too be momentarily forgotten by his awaited arrival, cooing and grunting in delight at the warmness of your encompassing heartbeat once he settled at your bosom.

A memory you cherished to the end of time while it had burned itself on your soul to leave a lasting mark. You had cried in joy, hunched over yourself to blanket your newborn with your whole begin and feel him real, psychical, between your arms.

His accelerated growth didn’t deter you enough from enjoying any time with your baby boy, from supporting him during his unforgiving training to reading with each other's company at the main library of the Imperial Palace. All for the sake of letting him be loved by you.

It was a matter that (while not ideal) didn't interest the Emperor much, for his plans were already taking proper form and the ‘gift’ of not taking away your son from you was enough of a blessing that didn’t need to be addressed again.

Even if that notion tasted like ash on your mouth.

Your little boy wasn’t so little anymore and that sometimes worried you, as you knew very well the kind of expectations the Emperor held for Horus; the true born Primarch, a warrior to serve under his Father’s light as a tool despite his own Mother’s unyielding love. You couldn’t help but feel like this was a prelude of some sort of omen.

Most of the days eventually became grey on its core, for your son was now in charge of his Legion, the Luna Wolves, marking his very first start as an official Primarch under the service of his Father… laying you to the sides like you have always been when regarding the Emperor.

Did Horus know how much it hurt his distance? How much it hurt to witness his crave for the approval of a man made god… when you simply wished to read a book of old literature in his company?

You hated being made again this tragic effigy of the woman with the eyes of a dying lamb. You felt forgotten… a ghost from these golden walls.

But the eventual call of Erda served to stray you away from such gloom thoughts. Her psyker powers a breach through your mind’s wall but clear enough for a single sentence to make your heart take a leap out close to your throat.

“I found one of them”

You couldn’t have been faster in your life to get a lunar cruiser ready to reach the needed destination; not even willingly to explain yourself when the Emperor saw you boarding the vessel. But as always, He went and proved to still be an enigma to you thanks to his ever unnatural actions.

“Go along with her… and make sure to protect her and obey her during the travel only” his command was absolute when he addressed four of his Custodes, their impassive disposition only showing the barest of emotion when fulfilling their Emperor’s orders like a gospel, but the specifics of his directive weren’t lost to you: to obey you just this single time. Nothing more, nothing less.

Of course, you weren't ungrateful to his gesture and thanked him deeply for it with a kiss to the palm of his armored hand when he caressed your cheek, but He quickly dismissed the matter. He knew what you were about to do and it wasn't like he Himself hadn’t been picking any possible clues to find the other Primarchs out there that you two wholeheartedly believed to still be alive.

Sometimes you wondered if the Emperor had managed to have a tiny, small part of instinctual fatherhood to be awakened within him after all the time he had spent with Horus. It was a nice thought. A hopeful one, but you knew better than to get your expectations up.

Once settled inside the cruiser, the coordinates were introduced to start the travel to retrieve one of your children.

Erda’s voice still echoing inside your mind when she told you the planet that you needed to search for: Nuceria.

-°-

The sight had been painful.

The worst nightmare a mother could ever expect.

Your arrival had been anything but discret at the revolting planet of Nuceria, having been informed of the life that the elites carried at the expense of the blood and flesh of slaves forced to fight for any resemblance of survival by their supposed masters. The irony wasn’t lost on you, but millenia of serving the Emperor had made you receptive to his ideals and methods. Justifying your own purpose by standing on his side could derive a vulnerability that you weren’t ready to confront. You needed to believe in the Emperor even if he took too far the phrase “Any means justify the end”.

After all, immortality has only made it easier for your troubling love to persevere longer in your stubborn heart and for fickle human lives to become an afterthought. You were well aware that you weren’t any better than Him in the ever present inhumanity you carried. 

When your child had looked at your direction, imposing form towering over your smaller frame and covered in so many slashes and blood, your heart had seized in a painful knot. Those scars were injuries you hadn’t been able to sooth with compassion. You had failed your son and that was something you’ll never forgive yourself.

The only mercy you could offer was to take him away from this wretched place.

Just when you were ready to take a step towards him, you saw his eyes harden and his posture change in defense with squared up shoulders. A warning if you decided to go against him and the thorn inside your chest only bled even more.

The Custodes that had escorted you as per their orders maintained a cold and terrifying disposition, deterring any of the guards surrounding you and your son’s tribe to take a last step. The commotion at the fighting pit had been great but you cared little for these people and their sick sense of entertainment. Fighting was an art of the honorable and the strong; to be used in epic battles to build history and civilizations. Using it as a careless trick was absolutely insulting.

It was beyond you to do this. Against any of the natural ingrained fighting instinct that had saved you for years, but the desperation of a mother overrode any of that to mere dust and motivated you to do the one thing you wished to believe will make your son realize who you were.

“I’ve been dreaming of finding you… for so long. I’m here now, my son”

And you saw it behind his hardened eyes, and you rejoiced in the recesses of your mind. There was a semblance of recognition shining through his stare at the timbre of your voice.

A far away lullaby that accompanied him in his lowest moments.

An step became two, then three and so on until you found yourself right at your child’s side after a few strides, hand gently touching his roughed one until the grip over his twin axe became slack, allowing you to take a better hold in an attempt to convey all the encapsulated emotions that stormed within your soul.

Grief, sadness, frustration, longing, relief… love.

You’ve been waiting for so long.

No one moved beyond you, tugging his huge arm towards you while softly telling him “It’s time to go home”, but those words instead of making him relax in your presence, had the opposite as his stance became once again defensive. At least this time he genuinely looked conflicted on the matter, glancing back at the other slaves that simply stayed behind as mere spectators of the whole encounter, unable to properly react when not just a few moments ago they were ready to lose their lives in the pits.

Ah, you understood.

“I can’t… not without my people…” he seemed to want add more into that sentence, his eyes straying just a little towards a man that looked to be quite tall by mortal standards, covered in too many scars that told stories of his battles in this wretched place but carrying himself with enough dignity to be respected.

This is where you must make a decision that will carry quite the weight. You knew that there was space enough to carry the slaves, not comfortably, but it could be arranged to be a thigh fit. You knew He wouldn’t even have hesitated at the idea of just forcibly taking your son and leaving all these humans to die with their fate already chosen. The Emperor had no time to dwell in the aspects of mercy and compassion, you could acknowledge that very well and that had been the main reason he had kept you long enough around. To remind him about the nostalgia of the humanity he once possessed. He couldn’t provide the proper love Horus and these children dreamed of… so you would carry that responsibility and dry your heart to make sure your precious sons knew they were loved no matter what.

Your loyalty will always belong to the Emperor, just as much as your body, soul and mind… but you didn’t belong to yourself too anymore… the pittance of individuality you were sure to hold crumbled into dust once you had wished to be the mother of these children and that was something you would proudly carry.

And so, your decision was made.

“Custodes!” you call them, their attention fully on you now and waiting for your command. The grasp over your son’s hand became tighter in an attempt to reassure him once you felt him go tense at your stern tone. He had probably expected the worst and that notion only made something vile twist inside your stomach. “We will be taking the slaves with us too”

There was a beat of uncertainty and you could already guess that this choice would not be well received by the Emperor… but that was something you were willingly to bear over your shoulders like many times you have done in the past.

Things will work out. You can only trust blind hope, but that is enough for now.

You stretch your arm towards his face with some effort, for he is still taller than you, but he lets his head tilt towards you to help a bit and gives you the chance to offer a sweet caress over his cheek. You can feel the rough texture of his messy shave, of the scars, and your heart throbs painfully when you think about all the hardships he had to face.

You couldn’t assure him a better life away from battle, but you could at least give him the solace of a greater future along for his people.

“I’m here now… and I will not abandon you… ever” there had been an edge of something feral in your tone. The side you rarely showed but a reminder of why you had been beside the Emperor this long.

You hoped Horus would be open at the idea of some siblings.

Just messing around with this idea, don't get ya hopes up pls.

Love ya, fellas!

[thevoidscreams]

For the Mating Press March: this is a combination of the most bloody vanilla sex ever mixed with romcom and the mc is Konrad teehee. I read somewhere that proposed Konrad with a very Barbiecore gf/wife (ya know, sunshine and rainbows personality, very kind and loves wearing pink or pastels). The romcom part involves Konrad just giving the news OUT OF THE BLUE to his whole family that he has a wife now and that she wants to meet them all (he doesn't want to but by god he's whipped). Fast forward, I just want that giant being as tender as possible but still leaving a lot of bites, bruises and hickeys like some wild beast trying to control himself (oho! Lots of panting and grunting. I love that). Bonus points if we get a pov of some of his brothers accidentally listening to them getting freaky and now they can't look at Konrad in the eyes

hehe yeah, maybe not barbie core perse but definitely sunshine

Day 23 Year 2: Warnings: Marking, sex while spooning (oooh), prone position, auditory voyeurism

Word Count:4519

Konrad had no intention of staying here longer than was necessary. He would tell his brothers what it was his wife desired and then he would leave. Not that any of them knew he was married. His presence was felt in the room long before he stepped through the threshold.

Horus was the first to greet his brother followed by Sanguinius. "You came, we were half convinced you would not. None among us have heard from you in a few years." Horus led him to the table where his brothers had gathered. "I will not be here long." Curze rasped. "I have come to tell you all of the plans I have that will require you to be there." This got the attention of the collective primarchs. "And you believe we would put aside our own for yours?" It was Roboute, Konrad paid him little mind. "For this, yes, I do believe you will." There was an air of unease that grew thicker at his cryptic tone. "Then tell us brother. What are these plans?" Sanguinius spoke up, bringing a quiet bit of ease to the room.

"Tomorrow evening, I intend to bring my wife down to meet my family. She has been rather insistent on this matter since our wedding a year ago. Of course given that you, my brothers, are my family. That means that you should be here. I know it would make her so happy to meet you all."

Their unease turned to shock and confusion, even disbelief. "Well, I must return now. We have plans of our own." He turned and began to stalk from the room, as soon as he hit the door the questions began, several of his brothers following after, trying to understand if it was a joke, or if he really had a wife.

Corvus was the first to speak out to the rest of his brothers, and they hushed upon hearing him. "We must be here, we must see her for ourselves." "Why is that?" Jaghatai replied, looking over at his black clad sibling. Magnus stepped forward. "I agree, we ought to discern if he is treating her well. If she is indeed real, then there might be some coercion that has kept her bound to him." Sanguinius shook his head. "Konrad is not the most stable of us brothers, but he would not force a woman into marriage against her will. It would fly in the face of his own beliefs."

"But you agree he isn't stable, and in recent years he has been even less so. We need to tell father of this. If anything he may be able to intervene." Corvus spoke up again. "Why are you all bent out of shape over some damned woman? You don't even know her. Why should you care so much?" Angron had been sitting quietly until then. But his voice cut through the conversation with all the grace of a hammer, a fleck of bloody saliva splattering to the floor as he spoke.

There was no immediate answer to his question. Why did they all care so much? "Perhaps it is because we understand that our beloved brother has so many peculiarities. We all understand what he is capable of, thus it seems to those who know him that leaving any poor soul in his clutches would be cruel and unjust." Lorgar added.

Horus raised his hands to calm the collective. "Now let us not assume and let us not jump to conclusions." he began, "Curze, as much himself as he might be, is still a man and he is capable of thoughts and feelings. We do him a terrible disservice to make baseless assumptions when we haven't even met this person he's married. This could be a very good thing for our brother and they may even love one another."

Roboute jumped back in. "I say that the best course of action here is to just show up. Theoretically if it has been a year since their marriage then that is a good indicator that he has not harmed her. But we will still be here regardless."

His brothers nodded. "Let us be here to show our support." Horus said with a note of finality that was hard to argue with. They would be there.

Fulgrim spoke up from the back of the collective. “Did he look and smell cleaner to anyone else?”

"Oh Konny, the dress is Perfect!" Your voice swept over the night haunter as he help finish the final tie. "You look breathtaking." He smiled. It wasn't a pretty expression on his face but it was sincere. "Do you think they'll like me?" You asked, eyes shining up at the towering figure of your husband. "They would be tasteless fools not to."

His black attire contrasted so heavily to your pastel pink and gold it was almost laughable. Not that anyone with an ounce of sense would laugh at the wife of the night haunter.

He loved you like he loved no other. He'd do anything for you. Your smile was better than sunlight and your laugh was greater than music or bird song. You were a world of wonder unto yourself.

"How have I found myself so lucky?" He hummed taking your hand to kiss it. "Huh, that’s funny. I ask myself that same question every day." You replied, and Konrad felt his hearts melting. You leaned up and kissed him, leaving a little patch of pink lipstick in the shape of your lips on the corner of his mouth.

"Oops, sorry baby." You chuckled and wiped away the smear with your thumb. "It is only fair that you mark me, I have marked you many times after all." Your cheeks darkened with a blush. "And I am not complaining." You kissed him again, nearly missing the vox telling you it was time to go.

On the ride down you touched up a bit more, wanting to look the most presentable. Konrad didn't understand, to him you were radiance in its purest form.

"You look stunning, my butterfly. Why do you worry so much?" He asked, you already looked better than him. In some deep twisted part of him he worried that you might do it to look nice for his brothers. And his grip tightened on your waist. "Oh honey I just want to make a good impression, that’s all."

He nodded, but the insecurity gnawed at him. Many of his brothers were so handsome, and so much more charismatic than him. Horus alone would be bad enough, but with other individuals like Fulgrim, and Sanguinius. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle seeing them all staring at you, especially in that dress, oh warp take him that dress. His mind growled at him to tear it off you and take you then and there, his sons would look away, they knew better.

He ground his teeth and you looked up at him. "Honey, are you okay? You look upset." Your eyes practically sparkled up at him and he took a deep breath. "You look very good in that dress." His cheek dusted pink, and it was very apparent what he was thinking about as it shone vividly against his deathly pale skin.

"Oh, I see." You giggled, scooting into his lap to whisper in his ear. "Do you think it'd look better on me? Or your floor?" Konrad growled and grabbed your hips. "If we had time I'd send my sons to the front of this thunderhawk and show you why it is not wise to tease me in such ways." He growled. You shivered in delight. "Promise?" You batted your eyelashes up at him and he felt his cock harden. Forget the assassin, you would be the death of him. "A guarantee." He clarified. "Well then maybe we should stay on the ship a while longer." As nice as that sounded Konrad just wanted to get this over with. He had promised that you would be able to meet his family and he intended to keep it. "Once we are done here we will return to my private quarters within the palace." Before the banquet there would be some time for mingling. That's what you were the most excited for. "Hurry Konny." You urged with a smile as you dragged your husband along, holding his hand in your much smaller one.

He could easily out pace you, there was no universe in which you were faster than the primarch but he let you lead out of your apparent desire to do so.

There were two massive doors, you stopped before them, on either side a massive warrior in gold armor. Custodes, Konrad had told you about them. they turned their helmeted gazes to look at you directly, but you didn't shy away. "Good evening." You chirped to them, Konrad pressed on opening the door and sweeping you in with one larger hand to your back.

Every head in the room turned to look at you. That did give you pause, but only for a moment before your smile was back in place. "Hello!" You waved at them and glanced up to Konrad. He didn't like that they were looking at you, but he would bear it.

He stood straighter, his dark cloak adding to the severe dichotomy between the two of you.

With one hand he held your and the other he gestured to you. "Brothers, this is my wife." You waved again and told the gathered warriors and generals your name.

One in particular, Horus if you had to guess, came forward. "It is nice to meet you. Please forgive our tardiness in welcoming you to the family. We did not know of your existence until just yesterday. I am Horus Lupercal, primarch of the sixteenth legion, Luna Wolves."

You held out your hand to him, and he took it a tad surprised. "It is so nice to finally meet, I've heard a lot about you." You said shaking his hand then giving your name. "Nothing of note about me really, aside from my husband." You joked. Konrad felt his chest tighten, there was so much to you, you didn't need rank or status. To him you were the most important person in the room. "She sells herself short, she is magnificent in many ways." He added aloud. Shocking most of his brothers. "Well, I am glad you met someone you care for so dearly." Horus smiled.

Inspired by this interaction more came forward. "You know you're not at all what I expected, you're practically a ray of sunshine next to Konrad." Fulgrim, as you had come to learn, was a rather outspoken and loud individual, his own garb as bright as yours. Of course it was hard to beat pastel pink with gold sequins, made from real gold, but he somehow managed it by being very purple.

You liked him however. "Oh sweetheart you simply must come view the gallery aboard the Pride of the Emperor. You seem to be one of fine taste and I know you would find something of beauty among the pieces I have collected. Or perhaps I should place you on display, you'd be the finest piece of all." You laughed a tad awkwardly at the compliment. "Oh, I'm flattered but if you did you'd never be rid of my husband, and I assure you, I would not want to be rid of him myself."

You felt a presence behind you, and hands on your hips you were oh so familiar with. Konrad glowered over your shoulder at Fulgrim. If gazes could kill his pitch black eyes would have incinerated Fulgrim.

"Oh Konrad so be so inimical. I was only having a bit of fun with your wife. I'm sure she understood the joke."

"I would prefer if you did not attempt any kind of fun with my wife."

Fulgrim huffed and made a dismissive gesture. "She isn't your property brother, she is free to do as she pleases and to speak with who she wishes."

Konrad's grip tightened and you turned in his hold. "Well I personally like going places with my husband, if I did come over it would be with him." You explained to Fulgrim, turning to look up at Konrad. You gathered his attention by cupping his cheeks. "Isn't that right Konny?" You kissed him several times, each time leaving a kiss mark on his face.

His cheeks burned as you giggled. "Konny eh?" A new voice joined the bunch. You turned to see a similar figure to your husband. "Corax." Konrad grinned at him widely, it was not a friendly sort of smile, Fulgrim excused himself politely to go speak to the others. Corax looked down at you, his eyes seemingly trying to piece something together. "Only my wife may refer to me by that name." Corax grunted, his eyes not leaving your form. You looked down at your dress to see if maybe you had spilled some champagne on your dress.

There wasn't much time to speak as the announcement for dinner was made. Konrad brought you to the table and sat you next to him.

A radiant light filled the room and your eyes widened in wonder. The emperor of mankind stood in the doorway guarded by a retinue of custodians.

"Welcome my sons, it is good to see you all once more." His eyes landed on you and you felt like the most singular being in existence at that moment. They all took their places, the emperor at the head of the table and his sons in order around him. "I see that the rumors of your nuptials are true then." He fixed his gaze on Konrad who felt a pang of worry at his fathers words. "Yes. They are." He stated firmly. There was a moment of tension so thick it was suffocating.

Finally his father relented. "Congratulations, may your marriage be a long and fruitful one." Konrad nearly puked with relief.

With the food served everyone dug in. Sanguinius looked you over with a gentle smile as he began the conversation. "So how did you meet our brother?" You smiled and sipped your water. "He rescued me, I was being trafficked by a coalition of xenos and human pirates." You told them and glanced up at Konrad with a look of deep love and affection. "As horrible as it was, I don't think I'd change a thing if it meant getting to be his wife." Konrad reached for your hand, taking it in his briefly. The gathered men looked at him as if he was transforming into some kind of strange alien beast before their eyes. "I see and is that how you two became engaged?" The angel continued. "Oh no, that was three.. almost four years ago. We were engaged for a year before we wed and we've been married almost a year. Two more days till our anniversary."

"Congratulations." Roboute added quietly. "So then how did the two of you happen? I mean, how did your relationship occur?" Sanguinius continued. "Oh it was the most romantic thing." You gushed with a dreamy expression.

"Romantic?" Corax asked, nearly choking on his wine. "Oh yes, after I told my story to Konny," The whole table nearly choked at that except Corax and Fulgrim, "well, I'll keep this short, my ex was the one who sold me to the pirates to settle a gambling debt. He hunted down my ex across a system and brought me back his heart in a box, telling me that if I should ever need justice to be served I could come to him and he would do that for me. It was the most thoughtful gift anyone had ever given me. I was smitten immediately and told him just that. Then I asked him to be my justice forever and marry me. And he did." Your eyes were full of stars as you recounted your love story to them. There was silence across the table as they all absorbed the tale. "So you proposed to him?" One of his other brothers, you assumed Leman, by the look of him, queried and not sounding entirely convinced. "Well you two seem very happy together." Vulkan smiled. "Oh I've never been happier in my life than with Konny." You spoke, your tone and delighted expression all the endorsement for the relationship that the drake needed.

When dinner was finished you hung around a while longer, getting to know the rest of those you did not get to meet beforehand. Walking away from the exchanges with offers to visit or of help should you ever need it for any reason.

Konrad just wanted to get you back to the room. He grew tired of his brother's pointed questions and overly concerned looks. He would never hurt you, he'd killed for you, maimed for you, burned others alive and given you their skulls for attempting to do you harm. But never would he hurt you, never would he betray you, not you. Not the love in his hearts and the sun in the skies of his mind and soul. He would never hurt you, because you were his wife, and he loved you.

He hadn't used this room frequently, but it had been kept clean. You went about your nightly routine as soon as you got back, bathing and freshening up before bed. Konrad simply stripped and waited for you as you sang to yourself in the bathroom. He knew his reputation was bad, but not so much that his own brothers worried for your well being. He pushed it from his mind, thinking back to the thunderhawk before you both had landed. His cock twitched with interest at the memory.

"My love?" You called from the bathroom. "Yes?" He returned from his reminiscing. "Do you remember what you said to me before we landed?" His mouth pulled up in a grin. "I do." You stepped from the bathroom into the dim light of the bedroom and his smile dropped with his jaw. He hadn't seen this set of lingerie before. Nor had he seen the collar with his legion's emblem. You looked like the walking definition of sexual appeal and his body approved whole-heartedly. "Well, I'm ready to learn now." You breathed, crawling onto the bed and straddling him. Your lips were a deep blood red, a new shade, and he saw the tube in your hand. His hearts thumped in his chest with a great deal more excitement. He'd been staving off erections all night as he thought about those lips. And the marks you'd kept kissing onto him.

"You like this shade?" You asked. "Yes." He grabbed you and pulled you closer, but stopped before he kissed you. You closed the gap, pressing your lips to his in a very deliberate way. It left a perfect little mark in the shape of your lips. You kissed his chin next leaving another little mark. And on it went down to his throat and then collar bone. You refreshed the lipstick as you traversed down his chest, he couldn't see the ones on his face or neck, but he could see the ones you were pressing down his chest and his cock twitched beneath you, bumping your stomach. "Patience big guy. I'll get there." You chuckled.

When you got to his hips you refreshed again, keeping the marks vibrant and visible. The kisses were scattered out, a random smattering of them here or there. He loved it, seeing you mark him so visibly. By the time you reached his cock he was so hard it hurt.

You refreshed once more, taking his cock in one hand. You stroked the skin softly before holding his gaze and pressing a kiss to the middle of his shaft. He moaned but didn't avert his gaze, you pressed another one, lower, leaving a fiery trail of red down his manhood, your other hand cupped his balls holding them still as you kissed down from the cock to the top of his sack then a kiss on each ball. leaving little imprints of your love there.

"You know I love you more than anything right?" You asked him. He nodded, his hand caressing one cheek. "Good." You took the head of his dick into your mouth with a firm suck, Konrad groaned, hips jolting a bit. You sank down to where you were the most comfortable taking him and squeezed your lips there, leaving a red bar across the skin.

"Hmm." You hummed looking it over. "Let's see if we can't beat that tonight byyyyy this much." You tapped one of the lipstick marks nearer the base of his dick and took him back into your mouth, you relaxed and began with shallow dips, letting your mouth grow accustomed to his girth and length once more.

Konrad was always receptive to oral, he liked seeing the way his member stretched your jaws. He petted your hair and you kept going, down down down, till you were just below the line with an inch to go to the mark. It didn't seem that much but the mark put him into your throat and your gag reflex was still intact. "Do not force it." he rasped, even though he enjoyed hearing you gag on his cock, and would gladly fuck your throat if he was able just to hear that sound.

You backed up and tried again, then again. Tears pricked in your eyes as he filled your mouth and throat until finally you reached it. Konrad shivered with pleasure at the sight. Your eyes filled with unshed tears and the soft croak as you gagged just a bit on his cock. "Good girl, you're doing such a good job." He cooed, and you smiled around a mouthful of dick to express your delight at the praise. Even muffling a thank you.

Fuck you were perfect. He drew you back by your hair, as much as he wanted head, he wanted other parts of you more.

He pulled you up his body and kissed your lips properly this time. Then he rolled you onto your side as he lined up behind you, his cock between your legs, thrusting to build friction between your thighs.

Once he felt your wetness he adjusted his hips, raising one leg and pushed the tip of his cock in. The nice thing about this tight warm hole was that it had no gag reflex, he thrust in, listening to your cries carefully. "Oh fuck, Konrad." You gasped, not in pain but pleasure and it eased his temporary worries. And it meant that you had been preparing more than just your outfit and lipstick choice in the bathroom. "That's right, say it again." He goaded. "Konrad." You whimpered. His hand snaked under your neck to grab your chin and angle your head back towards his. His mouth claimed yours and he thrust harder, swallowing your voice greedily. His thrusts were brutal, hitting hard at the places inside you that made you see stars. You had to break away to breathe, your voice raising to a much less decent volume.

Konrad smiled. Oh he was sure his brothers could hear in, in fact he knew that the walls weren't thick enough to prevent sound from getting through. He'd heard many of Sanguinius's late night conversations with his other brothers and over the grumblings of Dorn through the other, and across the hall the laughter of Vulkan more than once. Yes, louder my love, let them hear it. His grin was near manic as he grabbed you around the waist and rolled you beneath him.

"Konrad~" You couldn't keep your mind clear as he fucked you into the mattress, his hand holding your chin up, keeping your voice clear to hear. He rutted harder, the bed creaking and shaking, it was nearly as loud as your voice. "Come on, sing for me." He purred, as he drew your voice to a new high.

"I'm telling you, I still believe that she isn't fully in for it. Konrad can't be treating her that well." Corax worried. Horus sighed. "That is why we are going to check on them. We will put these worries to bed and then you will get some rest."

Corax sighed, imagining the happy look on your face as you gazed up at the dark reflection of himself. Was it jealousy? That his brother who was so much more vicious and violent than him was so beloved by someone so beautiful?

Horus opened his mouth to speak again but he was cut off by a high pitched cry, he picked up his pace, and Corax rushed forth with him.

Konrad straddled your thighs as he fucked into you prone style. Dragging his cock over all those delicious places inside you. As he thrust hard enough to move the bed. "Oh fuck, Konrad! Don't stop baby, oh fuck! Oh fuck, I'm close!" You cried, body trembling as you clawed at the sheets below you. Horus stopped cold in his tracks outside the door, Corax by his side as they both came to understand what exactly was happening on the other side of the door. Their cheeks burned as they realized it wasn't a sound from pain, far from it in fact. "Konrad! I'm coming!" They heard the sweet sounds of your pleasure as they both quickly departed, keeping their eyes low, not wanting to look at the other as an uncomfortable warmth filled them both.

You turned over, panting for breath as Konrad rolled off, not breathing as hard, but still taking deep filling breaths. You rolled into his side and smiled. "I hope no one heard us." You giggled. Konrad returned your smile. "I am sure that you have nothing to worry about."

You snuggled into his side happily. "Yeah." You sighed as he held you close and you drifted to sleep.

Konrad couldn't contain his grin as his brother averted their gazes. He sat you down at the table and kissed the top of your head as he went to acquire you some breakfast. You locked eyes with Sanguinius and smiled. He tried not to look too awkward as you started up a bit of light conversation with him.

None of them could look directly at you. Not after all that they had heard the night before. Konrad returned with a collection of fruits and warm breads. "For you my love." He smiled and you looked up at him with all the love in the world as you accepted. "Thank you Konny." You pressed yourself into his side as you ate and Konrad looked around at all his brothers, who seemed to find a lot of things in the infrastructure more interesting than normal. He was sure none of them would doubt his love for you after that, and you, his sweet beloved ray of sunshine were none the wiser.

[sillygoofyqueer]

What if Crowyuan's wings flap a little bit when he yaps? Like a dog's tail wagging but far calmer and more subtle because his wings are way bigger than a dog's tail. ALSO on a separate note: Going off the assumption that Crowyuan grows more pairs of wings as he progresses in cultivation, do you think that at some point he'd grow wings on his head like Sunday from Honkai: Star Rail? ALSO on a separate note: Would harpy Crowyuan look a little similar to Getian from Reverse: 1999? Do you think he'd ever wear something similar to Getian's Herald of Horus skin/garment (I think it's called that..)? Sorry it's half past 2am ahh I need to go to bed but Crowyuan has a place in my brain and it's giving me brain worms. Worms to. Feed the crows. Uhm.

*Drags myself out of my cave* I'm here, I'm here, answering asks just as I promised this weekend. THANK YOU for the ask, it's so sweet and wholesome and NOT LORE BASED!!!! (I'm just joshing, I love all asks I swear lmao) Okay, so, the first note! His wings absolutely flap around when he's like, yapping or excited, it's just AS IT SHOULD BE. I like to think that he has very good control over his wings due to the obvious size of them and the damage they could possibly cause if he doesn't remain aware of what they're doing at all times. However, when he gets excited or enthusiastic about anything, it's hard to remember that he's supposed to be careful with his wings and so of COURSE they start flapping around (just a little though, in an unconscious sense, because he would have to actively open his wings up). He's just not paying attention and he's getting super excited, so he's tensing up a little bit, and his wings are flapping around a little bit because of it! Alright, now the second note! Man, I had no idea who Sunday was until I searched him up, and after some research, I can confirm that Crowyuan definitely would grow wings upon his head if he reached far enough into his cultivation. Guys, he's going to have so many fucken wings, we're going to make him biblically accurate angel-core by the time he's really far into his cultivation. He's just wandering around with so many different pairs of wings on his back and down his spine, up the back of his neck even. It's so hard for him to sit down without accidentally crushing one of his wings or something in his heavenly form. Poor fucker. FINALLY, the third note! Once again, after some careful research (searching up the character and the outfit mentioned), I came to the decision that oh my god I'm madly in love with this Getian fellow. Like. My god. He's so pretty. He's so elegant. I love his outfit n- ANYWAY. Oh my godd, that's exactly how I pictured harpy Crowyuan. God damn it he's so pretty, I can't get over him, haha..that's how he looks. I point at that man and THAT'S HOW HE LOOKS!! About the outfit you mentioned (gorgeous, by the way), it depends on how much of his demonic instincts he embraces. If he's clinging to his human instincts (which..would be harder to do considering his form!), then he likely still wants modesty n so wouldn't show that much skin, but if he's embracing his demonic instincts/is born as a demon originally, then I can definitely see him wearing something like that :D

[house-of-the-sun-project]

[ HoS ] ANCIENT EGYPTIAN AMULETS

The Isis knot is just as iconic as it is mysterious. It is unclear what this knot is meant to represent exactly: some Egyptologists argue it may have been a very ancient form of menstrual pad, while others believe it had religious or decorative purposes."

The Djed Pillar, representing Osiris' spine, is a powerful amulet used by both the living and the dead. Often made from various materials, it is also depicted in Egyptian art with a pair of hands and a feathered crown topped by the sun, symbolizing Osiris and divine resurrection.

The Ancient Egyptians believed the core of our intelligence and mind was the heart, rather than the brain. They couldn’t determine this latter's purpose, so during the mummification process, they discarded it, pulling it out through the nose with a hook, leaving only the essential vital organs to be preserved for the afterlife. In fact, the heart was regarded as both the source of emotions and feelings, and the seat of one's entire being—no wonder it was shaped like a vase!

Even those unfamiliar with Ancient Egyptian art recognize this iconic symbol. Over time, the Ankh, or 'Key of Life,' became synonymous with Egypt itself and its ancient religion. Some Egyptologists suggest that its shape may have been inspired by a knotted cloth, though its use was primarily decorative.

In some murals, strings of Ankh symbols were used to represent water, as it was the ultimate symbol of life for the Egyptians—everything originated from it, making the Ankh a fitting metaphor.

In other depictions, gods are shown 'spoon-feeding' pharaohs and the dead with an Ankh in their hands, symbolizing the soul being revived by the divine as it begins its journey to the afterlife."

One of the most common artifacts found by archaeologists during excavations, the Scarab is an iconic amulet that served many purposes for both the living and the dead.

In life, it was used as a seal, a protective amulet, or simply as jewelry, often worn as a ring or necklace, typically linked to a golden wire. In death, it was frequently placed around the neck and functioned as a protective charm for the heart, earning the name 'heart scarab.'

The scarab was the sacred animal of the god Khepri and symbolized the sun.

For the Ancient Egyptians, the soul was divided into several parts—nine in total, including the physical body. It was crucial that each of these parts made it to the afterlife, allowing the dead to be reborn in the Duat, the Egyptian underworld. The Ba, which represents our unique personality, was often placed on the mummy's chest so it could rest near the heart, another key component of the soul.

In Ancient Egypt, the papyrus stem was a common decorative element. Temple columns were often shaped to resemble this iconic plant. Its frequent appearance in Egyptian art was partly due to its significant color: green, the color of resurrection, sacred to the god Osiris. By placing a papyrus-shaped amulet around a mummy’s neck, the Egyptians believed it would ensure eternal youth for the soul in the afterlife.

The Eye of Horus, modeled after the left eye of the falcon god of kingship, is one of the most iconic symbols of Ancient Egypt. Found in numerous tombs, it was continuously produced from the late Old Kingdom through to the Roman period. It served both as an amulet to ward off evil and as a decoration on boats and mummies. Representing the moon and the righteous nature of the god, it is also closely connected to other benevolent deities, such as Osiris, Thoth, and Ma'at. Tied to the story of Horus's restored eye, it became a symbol of health and healing.

Used exclusively in funerary contexts, this peculiar amulet depicts the index and middle fingers of a right hand, which were believed to 'heal' the incision made by embalmers to remove the mummy’s organs during the mummification process.

[reclusiarch-orm]

I would very much recommend "Valdor: Birth Of The Imperium" as early reading in the Heresy. Even though its not technically in the Heresy, it picks out some of its themes beautifully. The narrative echo of treason. The omens of events that will replay. That will ALWAYS replay, as long as human beings are refashioned into weapons. Deprived of their potential for all else.

A key theme of the story is that "warriors can't exist without a war". And how, in creating an immortal warrior caste, you lock humanity into that war. This early, fate was already sealed. Warriors will fight to fight. To avoid obsolescence. Elevated to near godhood, mortals cannot tear them down again.

Ushotan vs Valdor gets the core of "treason" much better than what's actually written for Horus. Valdor is nothing. He is no one. Not on the inside: he is fully, completely hollowed out. And he is the perfect tool. He is the true realisation of the Emperor's vision. He's a murdered man. That's the price of loyalty. He has nothing. He has no self. He is dead.

Ushotan is made imperfect, destined to die not just for his "fate" as a traitor. But for the very biology of what he is. His body would soon collapse and kill him, even if he was to survive this story. He knows it. And still, he is so searing hot and ALIVE. He has none of what Valdor has, and yet has everything he doesn't.

The emperor is shown as the traitor that HE is, as well. How he turns on those who swore loyalty to him; HE shows them what treason is. He massacres the Thunder Warriors. He creates them, asks for their lives and loyalty, then turns on them. He is the arch traitor. He wanted to make a peaceful, prosperous humanity, yet he made warriors, and warrior gods to lead them. He made war. He made immortal oppressors.

Then a lot of lore in general about the creation of the primarchs, the games played with chaos, the lies and lies and lies. It's a good book. You should read it, if you are interested in the themes of treason and the philosophies behind this world. It's one of my favorite books in the setting, easily.

[tagedeszorns]

He fell into an easy rhythm, moving in loose circles about his private quarters. Every circle was a dance step and an attack in one. He had learned the war-rhythms from the Sulpha in his youth. The Sulpha tribes had produced pre-eminent swordsmen and not much else. They had been nomads, and they’d believed that the only fit occupations for men were making war and dancing. Two things they did quite well.

Reynolds, Josh. Fulgrim: The Palatine Phoenix (The Horus Heresy Primarchs Book 6)

Yes, Emperor's Children are dancers. And they will fuck you up with more balance and core-stability than you could ever imagine.

[vexwerewolf]

God I wish IPS-N had an Artillery Mech.

I have mixed opinions on this. I think it's thematic and interesting that - in the core book, at least - each of the three commercial manufacturers had a missing role. IPS-N had no Artillery, SSC had no Defender and Harrison Armory had no Support. These absences felt like they kind of spoke to the values of each corporation.

Then in The Long Rim, we got the Sunzi, a Harrison Armory Support, and it was interesting to see what sort of thing the Armory considered to be Support - it's a fundamentally more selfish kind of Support, in that instead of repairing or removing conditions from an ally (like the Lancaster) or providing targetting assistance (like the Swallowtail), you're simply deciding where on the battlefield they are.

In Field Guide to the KTB, we got the White Witch, and again, we see what SSC feels like a Defender should be: one that reveres and pushes the boundaries of the human form by simply adapting to damage, becoming inured to it over time.

The problem with an IPS-N Artillery frame is twofold:

Core Bonus Lineup

Firstly, while they initially lacked a class of mech, there was nothing about SSC or HA that innately hampered the idea of one. There was nothing innate about the way SSC frames operate that prevented them from having Defenders, nor HA from having Supports.

IPS-N has one very serious issue when it comes to Artillery frames: its Core Bonus lineup. Two of its Core Bonuses (Gyges Frame, Titanomachy Mesh) are focused exclusively on melee combat, three (Briareos Frame, Reinforced Frame, Sloped Plating) are based around survivability, and the last (Fomorian Frame) is a niche option designed for certain builds. There's nothing in its CB lineup that an Artillery frame wants as a first priority.

Contrast this with SSC, which gets Neurolink Targeting (+3 range to all ranged weapons), and HA, which gets Heatfall Coolant System (Overcharge capped at 1d6), which are both great for Artillery frames.

Now, it's true that HORUS doesn't get any Core Bonuses directly useful for an Artillery frame either, but the one core Artillery frame that HORUS has is the Pegasus, which is extremely abnormal both by Artillery standards and by frame standards in general. (Also, it could be argued that Lesson of the Held Image is good as a way of applying free Lock Ons for yourself).

Not having any useful Core Bonuses is a problem for IPS-N that is compounded by the other major issue:

Combat Ethos

Each of the four core manufacturers is tied to a mech skill - Agility for SSC, Systems for HORUS, Engineering for HA and Hull for IPS-N. IPS-N hulls tend to be biased significantly towards high HP, Armor and Repair Cap, often at the expense of Sensor Range, Heat Cap and SP - the former grouping being stats that Artillery cares less about (since they tend not to want to be in the front lines), and the latter being stats they care more about (since Artillery frames tend to focus around one powerful gun backed up by a large number of support systems).

IPS-N frames are built to get up close and personal with the enemy, usually engaging at a maximum distance of 5 spaces. No ranged weapon that IPS-N makes shoots beyond Range 8.

I'm not saying that IPS-N couldn't have an Artillery, by any means, but there are more mechanical issues with it than any other class-manufacturer combination.

[horsegirlwithnoname]

okay we can all agree the Manticore is fucking weird, right?

Like, look past Castigate, which is mostly a meme (I've seen players say 'the enemy doesn't know whether it's online or not and you can play that psychologically to influence enemy behaviour' but that seems so GM dependent), what the fuck is this thing's deal?

Well, it's tough-ish. 8hp, 2 armour, 7 heat cap, 10 e-def. That's ... the same as a Tortuga??? With +1 heat cap??? 3 repcap (low, but the same as the Gorgon or Napoleon, and like them it has damage mitigation tools) so you're less resilient across multiple scenes but I think a lot of people get so caught up in Castigate they miss that the Manticore's stat line is really similar to the Tortuga's, including (unfortunately) speed 3, which means your movement/positioning needs to be pinpoint if you're planning to play up close.

Also like the Tortuga, it's got +1 tech attack but unlike the ever-popular hacktuga it actually has invade options on its license. Like ... four different invade options, which range from decent-if-niche to amazing.

So it's a hacker, then? Problem solved.

Except

all its license weapons are CQB

Charged Exoskeleton, EMP Pulse and Lightning Generator want you to be up close

Beckon is a completely absurd tool for getting close

So you're what ... a close-quarters hackerbrawler? Who wants to overheat as much as possible. Its kit likes it when enemies group up and Summon lets you force them to group up. Since it's already decent at hacking it works well with licenses like the Goblin that let you play with enemy movement to bring them into your hellzone.

People love the hacktuga but the Manticore tends to get pushed into meme territory despite being something really similar. You're a close-combat guy who's also slow as hell so you use hacking tools to bring the enemy to you.

Isn't that cool? Isn't that so much more interesting than the way the playerbase tend to treat it? Like I'm trying to figure out what A Complete Manticore looks like and it's so much weirder than I was expecting. Melee hackertank who wants to cook their own reactor and wants to bring the enemy to them, right? So:

-- HORUS Manticore @ LL12 -- [ LICENSES ] HORUS Manticore 3, HORUS Goblin 3, SSC Metalmark 3, HORUS Balor 3 [ CORE BONUSES ] The Lesson of Thinking-Tomorrow’s-Thought, The Lesson of the Open Door, Integrated Weapon, Full Subjectivity Sync [ TALENTS ] Hacker 3, Executioner 3, Hunter 3, Nuclear Cavalier 3, Pankrati 3 [ STATS ] HULL:4 AGI:2 SYS:6 ENGI:2 STRUCTURE:4 HP:22 ARMOR:2 STRESS:4 HEATCAP:9 REPAIR:5 TECH ATK:+7 LIMITED:+1 SPD:4 EVA:10 EDEF:16 SENSE:10 SAVE:18 [ WEAPONS ] Integrated: Fuel Rod Gun INTEGRATED WEAPON: Shock Knife FLEX MOUNT: Shock Knife / Shock Knife HEAVY MOUNT: Nanobot Whip [ SYSTEMS ] H0R_OS System Upgrade I, Beckoner, Lightning Generator, Scanner Swarm, Swarm Body, OSIRIS-Class NHP

Am I completely off base here?

[candyswirls]

I love your little primarchs ,it's so cute.

What about a Emps centric story about he being tired but still enjoying his little sons so much ?

"Perturabo, don't play with your food."

The child paused with his sculpture of meat and mashed potatoes. Then he slumped, resting his chin on the table.

"Awwww," he whined, now pushing at it with his fork.

Indignant screaming sounded as the Khan raced through the garden path, Horus chasing after.

"Give me it!" Horus yelled.

"No!" Jaghatai snapped back as he ran onto another path. "It's mine!"

Light singing drew closer, and the emperor glanced at another son.

Ferrus was picking up rocks and putting them in the now empty picnic basket. He sang a song of nonsense. Stating whatever type of rock he grabbed or what bugs he saw.

Fulgrim was just beyond him in the meadow, spinning in circles as he stared up at the sky.

Jaghatai and Horus ran behind him. The first of the two stuck out his tongue, and he held a ball above his head.

Two custodes stood guard near the playground. Konrad, Angron, and Corvus were climbing to the top where the largest slide began. As soon as they reached the bottom, they raced back up.

Roboute and Magnus were using the playground diggers to "dig to Terra's core."

"Can I go?" Perturabo inquired.

The Emperor glanced at him and his untouched plate.

"You need to finish your food."

His son pulled at his cheeks and flopped over on the bench.

Lorgar came running up and presented a crown made of dandelions.

"I made you a new crown!" He exclaimed, looking quite proud.

The master of mankind leaned down, allowing himself to be crowned.

The little boy hugged him and then skipped away.

He turned around and warned those who were climbing the tree, "Do not get stuck."

"We won't," Lion insisted.

"I am!!" Cried out a scared voice.

The Emperor stood and went to the lower branch. Sanguinius was clinging to it, one leg having fallen off.

"I'm stuck!" He claimed, downy wings trembling.

His father reached out and took a hold of him.

"I've got you," he assured.

His son moved his hands to grip his wrists. As soon as he was gently set down, the little angel was off.

He giggled happily as he joined Mortarion and Vulkan in hopscotch.

Four sets of hands hit his leg.

"Boo!" Shouted a voice.

Another followed right after, "Boo!"

He turned to see Alpharius and Omegon disappearing into the bushes while squealing.

Rogal called from above, "Branch!"

The Emperor reached up and caught the falling limb.

"Thank you!" Rogal called as he moved further up the trunk.

Jaghatai came whizzing past. Leman was now hot on his heels, giggling.

Horus was not far behind but out of breath. He leaned against his father's leg.

"I just... need a break..." He said as he caught his breath.

He reached down to pat young Horus' head.

"My lord," Ra called as he approached with two other custodes. "We are here to relieve you. The sigilite says you need your rest."

The Emperor smiled as he spotted Leman now with the ball and Jaghatai chasing him.

"Thank you, but I will decline," he said. "I am fine here."