#misremembered 40K

[sheppobeppo]

So… am I dreaming or was there a refrence in the end and the death series that Magnus the red was Nonbinary?

Please tell me I’m not just dreaming that or my drunk ass is just taking my weird “wow that’d be neat” thought and trying to trick me into thinking it’s real

If it is oml I have ideasss for my grey knight army ‘cause I might build grand master Janus/loyalist magnus even if he’s not fieldable would be friggin cool

I’d probably use the head for Holga clovenhorn on the Lionel Johnson body after reducing some of the chaos-y elements like the metal ring on the horn and then make them more grey knighty/thousand sons and try to either model up & print or kitbash a book holding hand or a spell casting hand instead of the shield or maybe put a book on the shield I dunno

[perpetuallyconcerningonlooker]

The imperium (40k) vs the empire (star wars OT) who would win?

lots of people have asked this question and short answer, if its 1 v 1 the imperium wins no questions asked.

but something people never seem to mention is that there is like a 80% chance space marines will be comically useless. And its all because blasters in star wars are weird.

In short how a blaster in star wars works is that when it hits an opponent it pierces the armour and then liquefies their insides. And even the strongest armours (excluding the magic material of the day) basically do nothing against it. And even worse generally armour has to be designed specifaclly against it, which is bad news for our astartes friends who have never seen this before.

So unless ceramite is alot stronger than we've been told, even a weak blaster would give a space marine a minor case of organ liquefication. Which I have been told is bad for their health.

Of course the armour issue works in reverse, I'm pretty sure a laspistol would, at least, reduce plastoid to burning puddle on a stormtroper. With a good chance of doing the same to the stormtrooper.

But I do find the idea of Jane Citizen picking up an old E5 blaster and just killing the century old super soldier hilarious.

[relatableblorbopoll]

Round 1 of preliminaries, group 5

The first two places get a place on the bracket

Little reminder: there will be 2 more rounds of preliminaries, the losing blorbos of this poll still have 2 chances of getting in the official bracket

Propaganda under the cut

Melissa Chase (Milo Murphy’s Law)

"Her self worth is entirely based on her grade point average and getting straight As. She can’t remember anything, ever (specific examples include forgetting her maths book regularly, her student pass for the subway, and how many days are in February). However, she CAN remember the blood type of every president. She is terrible at throwing She gets visually upset when she realises that a plan was changed last minute, and that an academic event she expected to do well in was combined with a sporting event, giving no time to prepare for the new event She freaks OUT when she thinks she’s going to disappoint her headteacher- she doesn’t seem to expect to be given any actual punishment, just that the headteacher will be disappointed and think that she’s irresponsible She has a whole conspiracy room in her house dedicated to researching her best friend’s medical condition- Murphy’s Law being an interest that she is clearly very passionate about and interested in. she does all of that and still can’t remember her maths book. relatable queen her ambition in life is to be a “journalist, and queen of the universe” "

Candace Flynn (Phineas and Ferb)

"A ball of stress and anxiety. She's always angry because nobody listens to her, cares about her feelings, or believes her about anything, which tbh is like the quintessential teenage girl experience. Secretly just wants her parents to recognise and appreciate her."

V-Flower (Vocaloid)

"they believe that people only care about them when they are in pain"

Ciaphas Cain (Warhammer 40k)

"Don't let the sharp jawline and the mutton-chops fool you: Ciaphas Cain has no idea what he's fucking doing and would very much like to not be here right now. He is a high-ranking Commissar, essentially a walking morale boost for Imperial Guard soldiers and one of the only symbols of hope in the grimdark Warhammer 40k universe. He also has no idea how he got the job or how to get the hell out. Commissar Cain spends all his time accidentally doing magnificent bastard things while trying to run away from danger and dying inside. Over the course of his books, he's named Hero of the Imperium, has a hot mommy inquisitor fall in love with him, and saves hundreds of planets per panic attack he has. His cowardice and impostor syndrome are second only to my own, and that's why he's just like me fr."

Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson series)

"he's got big no thoughts head empty energy! he loves his friends and girlfriends SO much (more most YA characters, i think; he would have no qualms about sacrificing the world to save the people he loves, which goes against the typical hero). he is almost always ready to fight a bitch. he has adhd and accidentally says things he shouldnt all the time (but this has made him good at problem-solving, bc he creates a LOT of problems for himself)"

MK (Lego Monkie Kid)

"Oooooh boy where do I begin. MK the Monkie Kid is the protagonist of the story but he has *so many issues*. He wants to be a good person but has a whole lot of impostor syndrome and is convinced he will only hurt people the more he tries to save them. He is convinced that every major villain in the show is his fault, even as far as misremembering/changing up some events to put blame onto himself He also has an absent mentor figure that was supposed to help him but guess what he had to figure out all his powers on his own so abandonment issues go brrrr. He has so much anger toward his mentor Wukong but he just *bottles it all up* (common theme) Also he is so trans and adhd coded. First, MK is a nickname. We don’t know his real name, but it is v much implied he used to go by something else. He and his friends also puts a lot of emphasis on manly stuff like ‘I’m a big boy!’/‘he’s a Monkie *Man*!!!’/‘im the smartie boy, the plan man!’ He also has trouble focusing and listening to other people, is sometimes blunt and he is VERY interested in Sun Wukong and the journey to the west (Chinese classical novel that the show is based on) and just in general always needs constant reassurance and support from his friends. He is often compartmentalizing his feelings and internalizes a lot of fear and blame is also suppressing a part of himself that scares him. (Which, same) He loves his friends so much and tries so hard to keep them all safe, even hiding his own problems and worries from them as an attempt to protect them. He wants to go back to season 1, back when each episode was a villain-of-the-week kinda story, with no world-destroying threats. But nope, he saw the horrors, and he can never go back to the bubbly Monkie Kid from the beginning. Also he is terrified of spiders :>"

[sirobvious]

I hate not playing 40k for a month and then finding out that I have to reread the rules and relearn the point values And that 3 new books came out each with 2 different rulesets for the reinforcements phase that each individual person on earth will misremember and argue with me about

It’s always the fucking reinforcements phase! “The tournament rules say-“

are we in a fucking tournament right now, at my house playing with shoeboxes as buildings

And then the thing they said the tournament rules said is wrong

[punkitt-is-here]

INFINITE LOOPS ANON: I HORRIBLY MISREMEMBERED FLUTTERSHY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH LEMAN RUSS. When Fluttershy was shunted into the Warhammer 40K universe, she ended up as like, the Space Primarch and ended up being Leman Russ's mom. Leman Russ would go on to date (and i think marry) TWILIGHT'S daughter, Nyx, who was from a fanfiction the forums loved enough to incorporate into the wider Loops canon (tldr on Nyx: she's basically just Nightmare Moon's aura in pony form). The other stuff still stands, though. Also Mac ran a tavern beneath Ponyville for everyone to drink away their traumas.

WOAGH...

[dekarios]

9, 18, 23, 37 & 56 for cedar and kibby :) (and eden too if you want but idk if it's a lot)

9. Do they give tough love or gentle love most often? Which do they prefer to receive?

Cedar

cedar gives gentle love and likes to receive gentle love ^_^ cedar has had a rough life, orphaned at a young age, was never taken in, and was sort of passed around by the people of the village he's from cuz no one wanted to accept responsibility for him ... then cedar joining the guard and getting. very Damaged . over the years until he's eventually killed by the dragon and is made arisen .... cedar isn't built for tough anything ... he will give kindness that he didn't experience himself, and wants that kindness in return .... be gentle be soft

Kibby

answered for kibby here !

Eden

eden is honestly very similar to cedar in this regard..... gives gentle love and likes to receive gentle love..... eden had a rough time growing up too, and warhammer 40k is a very rough universe for anyone - and eden is typically quite a gentle soul who probably wouldn't have survived the universe if not for her psyker abilities... eden is a cottagecore wife who wants to learn how to bake for her spouse and receive beautiful flowers every day stuck in a post-apoc hellscape

18. Who do they love truly, 100% unconditionally (if anyone)?

Cedar & Kibby

this is gonna be really funny to answer for cedar and kibby because uh.. Each Other !!! so for cedar its kibby and for kibby its cedar. :) cedar had no one really before becoming arisen and essentially getting kibby as part of that deal. and kibby didn't exist before cedar created her. they just have each other and they'd die for each other ^_^

Eden

yrliet ^_^ eden and yrliet are a soulmates trope ... me and you against the world... eden often has thoughts and feelings of wanting to abandon everything to run away with yrliet, but yrliet grounds her and reminds her of her duties and responsibilities.. and then when eden no longer has them they leave together never be to be seen again :3

23. What do they feel guilty for that the other person(s) doesn’t / don’t even remember?

Cedar

cedar is full of guilt. guilt and regret and inadequacy. u_u it would be very difficult for me to list Something.. cedar dedicated his entire life to protecting and serving people, and that often includes failing . cuz cedar was just a person .. not particularly strong or capable just. a dude . i can see there being many situations where cedar feels he failed someone and they just. don't care cuz it wasn't even that important . like someone asking him to collect something from the market for him and he got confused and lost and came back too late and stuff ... wahhh

Kibby

kibby would feel guilty for any moment she felt like she failed cedar, when cedar wouldnt consider it important enough to beat oneself up over (IRONIC, CEDAR). like if cedar was thrown off a large enemy and kibby failed to catch him, if kibby misremembered the location of a campsite or a riftstone, if kibby failed to steal from the enemy.. anything. kibby wants to be the best pawn she can be, the most reliable and efficient.. simply the Best for cedar.. but he would adore her even if she never succeeded . .cuz its kibby :)

Eden

eden will never forgive herself for what caused her to be exiled from holy terra. she was being bullied by kids from her school in after school hours and when one attacked her, she self immolated in defense involuntarily and burnt them pretty badly. the people of the small area she lived in in her layer (hive cities come in Layers) wanted to inact justice without involving anyone else - and it was decided upon that they would have her exiled from the planet. this would keep her safe from the imperium in theory (since this is also how everyone including eden found out shes a psyker) and would also punish her. her parents agreed. she's never forgiven herself for this, but the people back home have.. moved on. they don't think about their little psyker anymore.

37. What’s a secret they haven’t told serious romantic partners and don’t plan to tell?

Cedar

cedar doesn't consider anything that happens post-arisen to be something he should ever have to share like to him thats like. a past life. it isn't valid anymore to who cedar is.. why he may be hung up on it still, he presents himself like everything pre-arisen isn't important or didn't happen... his life started the day the dragon took his heart

Kibby

nothing technically cuz i know in canon the pawn reveals all at the very end ........... ^_^ but it would have been how kibby would and will die for cedars goals and aims and would give up everything for him.... and dd2 spoilers pawns are immortal they just return to the rift but we know what the pawn does at the end of the game returns them to oblivion, like they never existed at all ^_^ .......

Eden

eden admittedly keeps a lot from yrliet because she is so insecure and self conscious of her past..... she's also deeply ashamed of humanity and the imperium so she tries not to talk about anything she thinks would make yrliet feel lesser of her.. which includes any and all actions eden has done that she did because she had to in order to survive.... yrliet would understand but eden can't forgive herself so she keeps em secret ....

56. If they’re scared, who do they want comfort from? Does this answer change depending on the type of fear?

Cedar

cedar will try to turn to kibby but her inability to open up and stop teasing will put a hinder on that until late game/later in their relationship when kibby has free will and her own emotions and realises she has fallen for him in a legit very human way... so cedar tends to turn to brant and forms a sort of ... sibling relationship with him or even like uncley or parental... brant is very reliable for these sorts of things!!

Kibby

kibby doesn't turn to anyone and doesnt feel fear until like mentioned above, gets her own free will and emotions. then kibby is afraid of her feelings and new ability to choose what she does.. and turns to cedar and this is actually when they have their first vulnerable and intimate moment together that changes their relationship forever ...!

Eden

eden will turn to yrliet for most things, especially personal things, but also turns to abelard a lot when it comes to rogue trader things or navigating the imperium or politics. she will also turn to heinrix and idira for things like this too, and also psyker things. she also finds pasqals strong beliefs to be quite reassuring and comforting. eden is pretty good at turning to people for advice and help, and is also afraid of a lot of things..

WEIRDLY SPECIFIC BUT HELPFUL CHARACTER BUILDING QUESTIONS

[paragonrobits]

What stories did that bad Mandalorians writer create? They can't have been responsible for all the legends Mandalorian stories since the ones I've read were good and the Mandalorians seemed to lose as often as they won.

I don’t know the names of the stories per se, but i do know the name of at least one author that has this hate-on for the Jedi and adores the Mandalorians; Karen Traviss.

Im not sure if she’s the same author as the one that power trip-ified the Mandalorians but the odds are PRETTY good.

I do know that her stories were pretty atypical of Star Wars, in that she actively hates the Jedi and thinks their genocide was a good thing for incredibly dumb reasons, and generally writes the Mandalorians the same way Matt Ward wrote the Ultramarines in 40k (that is, with such author favoritism that they can do no wrong).

It may be that, since it was a long time ago, i may be misremembering her specific treatment of them; its possible that instead of never losing, the mandalorians were never wrong; i do clearly remember a huge emphasis on their proud warrior ways making them better than their enemies.

[princevolker2788]

(Vermintide Fanfic Chapter 1) Life for Life, Death for Death, Love for Love

@xavirne

Hello everyone, this is my first post in over a year, and I apologize for that. I'm pleased to say that I just recently graduated from college.

Besides that though, I've had this story running around in my head for a few months.

If it wasn't obvious, I've fallen into the Warhammer hole, specifically concerning the Sisters of Battle in Warhammer 40K and the Wood Elves in Warhammer Fantasy, or as its known now: Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.

A little terminology for the uninitiated:

Slaanesh is the deamon lord of gluttony, excess, and pleasure in the world of Warhammer Fantasy. His primary desire is to consume as many elven souls as possible. Which is pretty much guaranteed unless an elf dies near a magical gem known as a waystone. 

Upon death, an elf’s soul will enter the gem and act as a barrier against deamon intrusion into their cities.

This story focuses around two characters in the video game Warhammer: Vermintide II: that of the Human Mercenary Markus Kruber and the Wood Elf Waystalker Kerillian. I hope you all enjoy my little indulgent fic about my two favorite rat slayers bonding... and maybe something more.

       Kerillian tapped her fingers against the wood of her bow in anticipation. Lorner had promised a horde of ratmen en route to a convoy of food supplies. The problem was that they’d been waiting for an hour in torrential rain that would make the citizens of Stromdorf gawp, and the ratmen hadn’t arrived.

       “Can barely feel my toes…” muttered Kruber.

       “Then maybe you should have brought better boots,” snapped Kerillian.

       Though she would never admit it, she could feel the cold seep into her bones, along with the lack of feeling spreading to her fingertips.

       “No need to be snippy, elf.”

       She rolled her eyes and inspected a single arrow, wouldn’t do to miss a kill due to sub par equipment.

       “Stop complaining, food comes to the quickest!”

       The elf snapped her fingers and pointed to the edge of the trail. Kruber, Saltzpyre and Bardin nodded as they prepped their weapons. She prayed this wouldn’t take long, a good fire and a long nap would be much appreciated at this point.

       Kerillian drew the string to her cheek and steadied her breath. Wouldn’t be long now, their foul stench wafted through the air like a globadiers poisons.

       A furry muzzle poked its way into view and she released. She smirked under her mask as it struck home and pinned another rat to a tree trunk.

       With this complete she unslung the glaive from her shoulder and leapt off the fallen tree she’d been balancing on, arching the blade high in the sky as she brought it down on a stormvermin’s skull with a satisfying chunk. Surprised squeaks and yelps filled the air as her compatriots followed suit, Kruber and Bardin swept the front ranks with crushing blows, while Kerillian and Saltzpyre tore through the center ranks, slipping under the arms of the lesser vermin with brutal efficiency.

       She heard a familiar hiss and a pop as a blaze of warpfire tore the left flank of the Skaven apart. The elf dove behind a nearby tree, wincing as one of the warp infused bullets scraped her side.

       “Gunners targeting me!” She shouted.

       “Got our own problems wutelgi!”

       Kerillian swore under her breath as her cover was bisected by a stormvermin great sword. They were learning, adapting to their particular method of fighting. Well, she didn’t become a waystalker to be taken out by a simple grunt.

       The elf spun around the trunk and brought the glaive into the ratman’s side. As it reeled, she took a single step back and cleaved its head from its shoulders. Foul brackish blood splattered against the forest floor. Satisfied, Kerillian dove into the underbrush as the ratling gunner adjusted its fire. Thankfully its reactions were slower than the mayflies or she’d have been torn apart long ago.

       Skaven bodies littered the ground around her, making it much easier for her to creep up on the unsuspecting beast. It kept firing at her last known position, ignoring her compatriots with a fervor she hadn’t expected.

       Does it hate me I wonder?

       The thing barely had time to contemplate its next move before she dug her blade deep into its spine. It let out a shriek of fury as it swung around, tearing the polearm from her grasp. Kerillian growled as she drew two arrows back and let them fly. Only one struck its intended target, but it was enough to make the rat beast pause.

       “Burn in hell!”

       Just as she drew a third arrow to finish the job, a spear impacted the ground by her feet, forcing her to step aside as a veritable wave of Skaven swarmed up the hill on her right.

       “Pull back!” Shouted Bardin, “Its not worth the trouble!”

       Kerillian scoffed as she made her way to the rest of the group, firing at any rat that got too close for comfort.

       As the vermin fell, so too did she into her familiar battle trance, like in Ubersreik when it had just been the five of them in the streets, each member of their little group working in tandem.

       But they had failed, and now the Reikland burned.

       “No more,” she muttered.

       She let one more arrow loose and scuttled up the rock outcropping they had agreed on as their final stand. Kruber’s gauntleted hand clasped her wrist and tugged, giving her enough momentum to flip onto the rockface and resume firing. He took up position behind her, swinging out at the horde that roiled and fumed with fury beneath them.

       “Still cold mayfly?”

       “No, pissed off more like.”

       Kerillian snorted and spun around to cut down an Eshin assassin before it could leap onto the mercenary.

       “Keep your eyes open.”

Kruber grunted as he drove his Zweihander deep into the neck of a stormvermin stupid enough to expose itself. Bardin let out a triumphant shout of glee as the rats started to break, each looking to the other for support as Saltzpyre’s flintlocks blew the brains out of their last squad leader.

She cast her gaze over the retreating force and spotted the rat gunner, lumbering away with the glaive still embedded in its side. She drew back her bow with a confident chuckle.

“Got you now…”

The arrow flew in an arc, descending on the hapless gunner in perfect silence. The rain still fell in sheets, but the satisfaction of a day’s work complete gave the waystalker enough energy to make her way through the dead, collecting as many arrows as she could on the way to her fallen weapon.

The rest of her compatriots were about ten meters behind her, save for Kruber, the man seemed to be watching over her, more so than when they were in Ubersreik. She was content to let him, after being captured by the enemy she welcomed someone by her side. Even if that person was a Lumberfoot.

Rainwater hissed as it impacted with the glowing metal of the ratling gun, creating a small cloud of condensation that hung in the air. As she inspected her kill, a grim sense of satisfaction came over her. There was nothing quite like taking down worthy prey from such a distance.

“You got what you needed?”

Kruber hovered behind her, no doubt curious as she yanked the glaive free. She marveled at the blade’s resilience, any human made weapon would have chipped at such abuse, but not this.

“Oh yes.”

        She hefted the pole arm on her shoulder and nodded towards their allies, still making their way across the battlefield.

        “Not bad mercenary, another decade and we might make a proper soldier of you.”

        Kruber shook his head as he hefted his own blade.

        “I don’t think I’m getting any better, much less younger.”

        “Oh I dunno, your form seems to have improved significantly since Ubersreik. Or else I’m misremembering. Which could be true…”

        Her dreams had quieted as of late, but when they came, they wracked her with visions of terror, elven souls consumed by The Prince of Pleasure, Slaanesh, grown fat in his gluttony. Skaven multiplying unchecked, spreading their foul corruption with the chaos warriors of the north. She’d wake in a cold sweat, silent tears streaming down her face as she struggled to reign in her terrified breaths.

        She thanked Lileath that no one seemed disturbed by her thrashing, but there were days she wished someone would ask about it, just so she could have an excuse. But then again, what would it sound like to the likes of Kruber, Bardin, or Saltzpyre? The ravings of a lunatic?

         Sienna was the only possible option, but the woman seemed subdued as of late, consumed in her devotion to Sigmar. Even Saltzpyre remarked on her reverence of their god with an almost respectful tone.

          So she fought and fought, praying that exhaustion would be enough to hold back the nightmares, to little success.

          Kruber quirked a brow at her silence. She met his gaze, nodding to the Witch Hunter as her approached.

         “I’m going to check on the convoy, they should be arriving soon. Make sure we don’t have any unwanted guests hiding in the underbrush.”

          Kerillian said nothing, leveling a scowl at the man as Kruber made his way down the path and onto the road.

         “You presume much mayfly.”

         “And you’ve yet to earn my trust.”

         The elf scoffed.

         “I would think the months spent in Ubersreik would be enough.”

          She didn’t give him time to respond as she followed Kruber’s path, lightly stepping around the corpses while he merely stepped on them.

         “He’s trying his best I think,” he said as she finished her approach.

         “To what end? Being less of a pompous ass?”

          Kruber chuckled.

         “I think he’s trying to make it work. He’s not so bad ya know.”

         “When he’s not insulting my people, he can be tolerable,” she admitted, though with the taste of bile in the back of her throat.

         “Well you do make it enticing from time to time, the way the bridge of your nose crinkles when you’re angry can be quite amusing if I’m honest.”

          She scowled.

         “See? Like that.”

         Kerillian shouldered her blade and drew her bow, looking in every direction except Kruber’s.

         “What he does is of no concern of mine as long as he ducks when I tell him to.”

         Kruber said nothing as he checked the nearby bodies for signs of life. A few had slid down the hill; most bearing broke arrow shafts embedded in their necks or chests.

         “Well? Are we done here?”

         “We will be if you’d let me have a decent look.”

         She opened her mouth to snap at him and froze as she became aware of a titan sized figure staring at them just behind a cluster of trees.

        “Kruber…” she whispered.

        “Not now.”

        Kerillian let her hand reach out for the sergeant’s shoulder. He tensed under her grip, but only for a fraction of a second.

       “Markus, we have a shadow. No sudden moves. Run for the others when I say,” she hissed, attempting to look as casual as she could with a white knuckled grip on her companion’s shoulder.

       “Where is it?”

        She shook her head.

       “It's not worth it mayfly, just go when I say.”

       “I’m not leaving you behind.”

       Kerillian bit back a groan. Most of the time the man’s loyalty was admirable in its own way, but now it was bordering on infuriating.

       “I’ll be right behind you ya idiot!” she snarled, “Just go!”

       With this, she drew a single trueflight arrow from her quiver, one of three she’d managed to scavenge.

       But the figure was no longer there.

       “I don’t see it!”

       Kruber was only halfway up the hill.

       “Keep moving!”

       A deafening roar split the air, forcing Kerillian’s gaze to her right as a mass of muscle tore through the trees, barreling for Kruber’s exposed position. She fired without thinking, striking the beast she recognized as a bile troll in the arm. She cupped her mouth one handed.

       “Hey, over here!”

       It didn’t turn from its prize. Kruber, to his credit, turned to face the beast, blade in hand. She switched to her glaive and charged, roaring at the top of her lungs. Arrows could do little with this thing’s reach.

       The glaive dug into its shin cleanly, taking a good chunk out of its flesh. It’s arm swatted at her ineffectually, giving Kruber enough time to drive his sword into its chest.

       Heavy bile gushed out of the wound, cutting through Kruber’s gauntlets at a sickening speed. He gritted his teeth, dragging the blade out and striking once more. Kerillian followed his lead, dancing behind the crouching troll to strike at the tendons connecting its feet to its legs.

       She didn’t have time to duck as its hand clamped around her waist. It squeezed its prize, forcing the air from her lungs as it brought her up to its gurgling maw. Everything in her chest hurt, her lungs refused to bring in blessed air as bile made its way to the top of its throat.

       “No you don’t!”

       A familiar Zweihander struck the troll in its throat, not enough to pierce, but enough for it to loosen its grip.

       She fell to the ground in a pained heap, sucking in greedy lungfuls of air as Kruber dragged her away. Damn him, she tried to explain, but no the man just wouldn’t listen.

       Kerillian cast about for her glaive, finding it a good three meters behind the troll. She tried to stand, only to be forced to the ground by the mercenary.

       “No, stay back, I’ve got this.”

       “I had it! If you’d just—”

       The beast roared again, charging Kruber at a frightening speed. She resigned herself and drew her bow, grateful that the wood still retained its shape.

       Kruber halted the beast’s progress with a slice at its legs, where she had struck before. He stepped out of its grasp, drawing it away from her and closer to a nearby bridge. Now she understood.

       Her fingers traced the ridged fletching of a hagbane arrow and drew it from the quiver. Just pulling it back was a trial in of itself; lances of fire ran up her sides. The foul beast had done more damage than she thought.

       C’mon Kruber, just a bit more…

       The Bile Troll took one lumbering step onto the bridge, and she let it loose.

       Satisfaction took her as the beast stumbled, soon replaced with concern as it continued to move. The poison should have downed it in seconds!

       Despite her body’s protests she rushed forward, scooping up her fallen glaive and driving it deep into the monster’s flesh. It groaned, swatting at her pathetically. So the poison had done its work, just slower than she anticipated.

       “Kruber! Are you alright?”

       The lack of a response drove her to strike again, this time at the back of its knee, which she took clean off. This time it couldn’t just shrug it off.

       “Kruber!?”

       She ran to the front, to find the mercenary struggling in the grip of the troll, armor being crushed like cheap metal. Kerillian didn’t need any further prompting, she hacked away at its fingers, each the width of her arm and twice as strong. Kruber struggling ceased midway through her work.

       “No.”

       She hacked at its ring finger.

       “No!”

       Its pinky.

       “Not today!”

       Finally she severed the thumb from the rest of it, releasing the mercenary in a heap. She dropped the glaive, shaky hands reaching for the healing draught she kept on her person.

       His eyes looked to the sky, vacant, but with a small sliver of life.

       “You aren’t gonna die on me here.”        

       The elf cupped his head and forced the glass in between his lips. She massaged his throat at a hurried pace, the quicker she was, the sooner she could berate him for his foolishness.

       He coughed, shuddering in her arms as breathed deep.

       “You bloody idiot…” she sat back with a relieved sigh.

       “Did we win?”

       She coughed out a laugh.

       “Yeah we won mercenary, now lets—”

       The beast’s remaining hand lashed out at lightning speed, striking both her and Kruber in the ribs and over the bridge. It soon followed, blotting out the meager light as all three tumbled into the raging rapids below.

       The entire world turned on its head as she struck the bone chilling water. It took all her willpower to remain calm and focus on finding Kruber amidst the deluge. The troll’s corpse, at least she hoped it was a corpse, floated behind her, while Kruber’s limp form lay just ahead.

       Kerillian kicked forward, ignoring the thumping pain in her side. She had to get the armor off him; otherwise she’d never get them both to land safety.

       As her fingers found the clasps, a disturbing through hit her: what was keeping her from simply leaving him here? Why was she so dead set on sparing the life of a single mayfly when thousands died every day?

       She didn’t have time to ponder this as the heavy chest plate fell to the bottom of the river. Now she had to get them both to the surface. The Waystalker wrapped her arms around his chest and kicked the bottom of the river. They made it about a meter off the silt before they started to sink. She kicked harder, praying it would be enough, only to find herself falling once again.

       This is not how it ends! Not here!

       Her lungs were starting to burn, her legs as well. Her question from before made itself known once more.

       Why spare him?

       Because I care.

       Kruber stirred in her grasp, flailing his legs in tandem with hers. This time they rose swiftly, breaking the surface in seconds and gifting the two of them lovely air.

       “The shore!” she screamed, “Find the shore!”

       Whatever strength she had fled her then. It was all she could do to keep herself treading water as Kruber’s powerful arm brought them closer and closer to a sandbank.

       The concept of being truly chilled to the bone hadn’t been adequately understood until they scrambled into a small outcropping out of the rain. Her ribs screamed in protest as she shivered, teeth chattering beyond her control.

       Strong hands rubbed her arms, a familiar mustached face coming into view as she attempted to do the same. Her numb fingers clutched his gambeson tunic, attempting to impart some semblance of warmth into the soaked material.

       “W-we need to strip down,” she whispered.

       “What?”

       He sounded embarrassed, and if he wasn’t as cold as her she was sure he’d be blushing. Nevertheless she forced her hand to cup the back of his neck.

       “Body heat Lumberfoot, no fire, so body heat.”

       Kruber still looked unconvinced, but nodded and turned his back as he started to remove his tunic. Kerillian turned to her own clothes, shaking fingers just managing to remove the tassels on her armor, but when it got to the series of knots on her tunic it became much more difficult.

       “D-damn piece of—”

       “Let me…”

       She stilled. Kruber took up position in front of her and worked away at them with deft speed. Soon he had her shirt completely unfastened, all that remained was her breast wrapping. That she decided to keep, along with her cloak and facemask.

       “No dawdling then…” she said, rubbing her arms and torso as quick as she could.

       “Right.”

       Neither of them moved.

       “For Isha’s sake!”

       She leaned into him, one hand rubbing at his shoulder while the other continued to massage her torso, careful to avoid her bruised ribs. Under normal circumstances she might have taken note of how toned his arms were, but no, not here, not now.

       Kruber, to his credit, took to his task quick, rubbing her back as quickly as he dared, obviously scandalized by the whole thing. Humans could be so prudish. Even simple displays of affection were looked down upon. Among her people this would be considered an act of survival nothing more.

       So why was she trying to hide the burning in her cheeks and praying to whatever gods that would listen he didn’t notice the accompanying redness on the tips of her ears?

       In an attempt to remedy this, she buried her head into his shoulder. Though this only made it worse, for now she could hear his heartbeat. A steady thump-thump that reverberated through his chest in a comforting way.

       She realized why she didn’t mind him keeping an eye on her, why the constant worrying after her health, or how her attitude wasn’t irritating, but endearing.

       He felt safe.

       Kerillian let out a shudder. Kruber brought her closer, which only highlighted the issue for her as her cheek brushed against his chest, now warm from their proximity. Well, his proximity, she didn’t know how much heat she was giving off.

       As if to reassure her, he rubbed harder, transferring as much warmth as he could.

       “K-Kruber.”

       “Uh, yeah?”

       “Thank you.”

       He stopped rubbing.

       “For what?”

       She shifted in his grasp.

       “For staying by my side. I don’t know how long I would have last against that… thing.”

       Kruber visibly relaxed.

       “Ah, well, likewise. Thanks I mean, f-for saving my arse back there. Twice.”

       “Thrice,” she corrected, eyes drooping.

When did she get so tired? All she wanted to do now was sleep, sleep for years if she could.

       “Kerillian.”

       Her eyelids fluttered open, had she fallen asleep?

       “Yeah?”

       “Do you want to sleep somewhere else? You’re not shivering, and I-I wanted to make sure you were—”

       “Shh mayfly…” she slurred, “sleep now, talk later.”

       Her ear fell against his chest once more, though this time without a sense of trepidation. Why forego warmth and safety when it was right here?

       His grip tightened ever so slightly as he adjusted his position, this time to the sandy floor of their little cavern. She became vaguely aware of the sensation of a familiar cloak being draped over their shoulders.

       “Sleep than…” he said, uncertainty still lacing his words.

       “Sleep,” she commanded.

       She closed her eyes, letting the sound of the man’s heart and breathing ease her into a pleasant rest. Or at least what she hoped would be a pleasant sleep. Goddess knew she needed it.

                                                                 ***

       Cold enveloped her, a cold she felt beyond the icy rainwater numbing her fingers and bones. She struggled against it, trying to burrow into something warm. But when she opened her eyes all she saw was darkness, darkness her eyes couldn’t pierce.

       Suddenly, there came a flash of light so vivid it forced her back, craving the darkness more than she previously had. With the light came the howling of a thousand voices crying out in terror, or madness, or whatever fever gripped them. The light seemed to reach out as one, clawing at her body with increasing intensity. She felt their fingers, could almost see them as they stretched forward to touch her.

       Kerillian could do nothing as a single cold finger brushed against her arm, and a wave crashed over her.

       Millions of voices were chanting in her ears, warning her of things to come, or of things that may come. Goddess she couldn’t tell through all the noise. She saw Athel Loren burning, then swallowed by the weave. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her Ulthuani cousins followed, then the dwarves, and even parts of the reikland. Her gods failed, the dwarven gods, all save for Sigmar.

       They were all consumed. The world would fall to darkness, a plaything for the dark powers of foul Gods.

       Just as the light began to overwhelm her, it vanished, leaving her in darkness once more.

       Tears still streamed down her face, falling into the nothing around her. She clutched at her shuddering frame in a halfhearted attempt at warming her core. It didn’t help.

       “Why?” She whispered. “Why would you forsake us?”

       “Who?”

[ultranos]

volando-voy replied to your post: hi I was just wondering what you thought about...

hahaha 6k… the tuition at SP’s school was like 40k

I might be misremembering, but that school wasn't "college tuition" level. The swanky private school I did summer classes at (and then got JUDGED HORRIBLY for daring to live in the city), the tuition there was about that.

Needless to say, I did not go there.

[nightbringer24]

So either I’m misremembering, but I had a pretty large portion of 40k story written and saved to my drafts... but it’s significantly smaller than I remember it being.