Tali'Thread vas Clan Zorah nar BSN 6.0

[SciFlyBoy]

Damn, what a beautiful ship. And I'm too late to the boat to offer "Vas-Ectomy".

[Dragaros]

She lives!!

Very nice.

A lovely shade of purple.

Enough bulk that the ship feels large and powerful, but not so much that it feels cumbersome, and with sleek lines that give it a good profile and silhouette.

She's a predator.

[Mazder]

Yeah, shame that it's all just a mobile landing pad and not much else, lol.
And it's the "science" hull variant too, lol.

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5yQ6qoUoas

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4dr9lw-qDs

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ks3aFuilpw

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA92X5OaLg0

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBZKNS6WKok

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCtElEqdTBM

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7eQ1RJ-mWg

[Vol]

Soon as I got up this morning, found out my grandma missed the handle we installed at the top of the basement stairs and pitched forward, wacked her head on the pantry door quite hard. Spent the day checking in on her every few hours, and it seems other than a bump, she's fine. But elderly people seem fine and normal, until the slightest thing goes wrong, then it feels like death is a breath away. I want to install a proper long handrail on that section of wall for her, but she insists I don't, so I really freaking hope it doesn't happen again.

[TTTX]

Soon as I got up this morning, found out my grandma missed the handle we installed at the top of the basement stairs and pitched forward, wacked her head on the pantry door quite hard. Spent the day checking in on her every few hours, and it seems other than a bump, she's fine. But elderly people seem fine and normal, until the slightest thing goes wrong, then it feels like death is a breath away. I want to install a proper long handrail on that section of wall for her, but she insists I don't, so I really freaking hope it doesn't happen again.

I am sorry to hear that.

probably should install the long handle just in case.

[Dragaros]

Soon as I got up this morning, found out my grandma missed the handle we installed at the top of the basement stairs and pitched forward, wacked her head on the pantry door quite hard. Spent the day checking in on her every few hours, and it seems other than a bump, she's fine. But elderly people seem fine and normal, until the slightest thing goes wrong, then it feels like death is a breath away. I want to install a proper long handrail on that section of wall for her, but she insists I don't, so I really freaking hope it doesn't happen again.

I know that feeling. Makes you feel powerless. Glad to hear it seems like it was just a brief scare and nothing serious.

But getting proper railings and whatnot can go a long way both for safety purposes and peace of mind; my surviving grandmother is tough as nails, but even she's had her falls and can no longer do some things on her own, so we've set up safeguards to aid her.

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbJ0ie1Ao3U

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEvhp-xqz0Y

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhzwCSvUceY

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpFTx-nlsm8

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFxY0PXfZnU

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjDhZL40CH4

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X65_goWC9YE

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6qna-ZCbxA

[Vol]

I am sorry to hear that.

probably should install the long handle just in case.

Thank you. I don't have an electric drill or stud detector on hand, unfortunately, but the next time my father stops by, I think I'll tell him we need to do this. Soon as it gets warmer, I also need to powerwash the house and replace the grip-tape I put on the steps, since old people tend to shuffle too.

I know that feeling. Makes you feel powerless. Glad to hear it seems like it was just a brief scare and nothing serious.

But getting proper railings and whatnot can go a long way both for safety purposes and peace of mind; my surviving grandmother is tough as nails, but even she's had her falls and can no longer do some things on her own, so we've set up safeguards to aid her.

Exactly, like how I imagine having an infant feels, but one you have no authority over. Thank you!

Yeah, we had the front steps redone a few years back, but didn't have the money for railings put in, so it's just straight up smooth concrete, and I really dislike when she goes on them to get the mail from the box. Backsteps at least have a rail. And the basement stairs have tight walls, so she braces herself on them, until the very top when it gets wider, which is where we put the handle. But she's a short lady, so it's a bit far sometimes.

They don't build them like they used to, but I'm glad to help out as she winds down her life, I suppose. Just got rid of her car insurance, she's done driving, in fact.

[magnuskn]

Soon as I got up this morning, found out my grandma missed the handle we installed at the top of the basement stairs and pitched forward, wacked her head on the pantry door quite hard. Spent the day checking in on her every few hours, and it seems other than a bump, she's fine. But elderly people seem fine and normal, until the slightest thing goes wrong, then it feels like death is a breath away. I want to install a proper long handrail on that section of wall for her, but she insists I don't, so I really freaking hope it doesn't happen again.

Ooof. I feel you. My mom has Parkinson, so she had some bad falls over the last years (two years ago she broke both her legs, had surgery and got an artificial hip installed, followed by a lot of physiotherapy). Yeah, it is really hard to watch your parents (or grandparents, in your case) get older and more frail. Appreciate the time you have with them, people!

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-DtVUd0yOE

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpVAXNuPNok

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTd2XeL4ygQ

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU1OfIRtwC8

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTI3-gIUzTo

"We go to Dust.
We go to Ashes.
In Sorcerers we Trust,
But see to your Axes!"

[Dragaros]

https://www.warhammer-community.com/202 ... at-skills/





"It’s enough to warm the hard heart of even the dourest Unforgiven. Despite a 10,000-year convalescence, the Lion is raring to get back to his favourite hobby – killing traitors. Any cobwebs he might have had from his slumber have been well and truly shaken off, if the stats on his datasheet are anything to go by.
While most of his characteristics mirror those of his brother Roboute Guilliman, the Lion’s sword arm is a good bit quicker with a staggering 10 attacks. That would already be enough to put his noble sibling onto the back foot, but his massive sword Fealty only enhances his capacity for mass butchery.
While Guilliman’s forté lies in matters of command and administration – a task he accomplishes with aplomb – Lion El’Jonson was ever a warrior – hunter and killer, first and foremost. Now awakened into a galaxy of darkness and insanity, he strides between the stars on a mission of vengeance.
Long before his return reached the ears of the wider galaxy, the Lion’s legend had begun to spread from planet to planet – disconnected worlds united by a mysterious figure who stalked from mist-wreathed passageways to cut down fearsome monsters like chaff. Some knew him as the Cowled Giant or the Unforgiving Knight, or even as the Emperor Incarnate, and his arrival was always heralded by an apparition of ancient forests fading from the aether.
The true nature of this empyric travel is known only to the Primarch himself, but as he lay slumbering beneath the Rock his dreams often returned to the forests of his youth. Could he be borne by the ghosts of that same arboreal realm, slain in the destruction of Caliban? He’s certainly not telling, but the practical applications of this ability to appear as if from nowhere aren’t lost on him.
What marks him out as a warrior of truly singular provenance isn’t even his sword, but rather the Emperor’s Shield. This auramite aegis was once wielded by the Emperor himself, and aside from its indomitable protective powers it reflects the force of incoming attacks right back at his foe with a sonorous boom. As Angron is sure to discover when their showdown begins in Arks of Omen: The Lion."

Well, that explains the strange plant life found in the Arks of Omen storyline and the identity of "The Dreamer" that Vashtorr was concerned about.

[Dragaros]

https://www.warhammer-community.com/202 ... he-forest/

"The Primarch of the Dark Angels made his first appearance in 10,000 years at AdeptiCon. Awoken into the nightmare known as Imperium Nihilus, where humanity is beset on all sides by darkness and Chaos is on the rise, even the mighty Lion El’Jonson could not hope to prevail on his own in such a hostile environment.
Luckily, he has allies to help him as he hunts down the forces of Chaos in The Lion: Son of The Forest, the explosive new novel by Mike Brooks.
Alone in Imperium Nihilus, without the Emperor, the Imperium, or his sons, the Lion faces a terrible challenge. He meets a formidable Chaos warband led by one of his traitorous sons, and must call upon every ally he can. He’ll even need to rally his Fallen knights, who have been hunted across the galaxy as they awaited the day their father would return.
This is your first chance to read about the Lion’s exploits in the 41st Millennium – and to find out exactly what the Primarch of the Dark Angels has been up to since the end of the Horus Heresy. Not just sleeping, it would seem…"

"The Lion. Son of the Emperor, brother of demigods and Primarch of the Dark Angels. Awakened. Returned. And yet... lost.
Witness the Emperor’s First Son make his dramatic return to the 41st Millennium! Much has changed since he last walked among the stars, but not Lion El’Jonson’s drive to protect humanity from the threats that assail it from all sides.
After ten thousand years of dreaming, locked in stasis at the heart of his shattered home world, Lion El'Jonson wakes to the nightmare of Imperium Nihilus.
In this midnight age, the dying embers of humanity are threatened on all sides by the hungry darkness. Alone, even the Lion has no hope of prevailing against such evil – but there are those who would aid him in his quest. Hunted to the edge of endurance, many among his Fallen knights have long-awaited the day their liege would return to redeem them. The Lord of Shadowed Paths must gather these lost loyalists to his side once more, and stride forth to vanquish a traitorous son and the twisted Chaos warband that calls him master.
Faced with these strange times, the Lion can be certain of nothing and no-one, except for himself. But in a galaxy without the Emperor, without the Imperium, without his Legion, and without Caliban… who is he?"







The Dark Angels and the Fallen have a lot of explaining to do now that dad's awake.

[Dragaros]

Finished Siege of Terra: The End and the Death Part 1. Man, this is the most "DanAbnetty" thing Dan Abnett has ever written. If you're familiar with his style/prose/tone/thematics/structure/vocabulary as a writer, it has all of that dialed up to 11. And boy did he consult both his Latin dictionary and thesaurus for this one. He went ham on the "High Gothic" and "hyper-science" and "empyrean mechanics" and "philosophical and metaphysical pontification" discourse. Still adding new plot threads without wrapping up old ones, and its the second-to-last book. Here's the CliffsNotes version:

► Show Spoiler

Much of the book is told from Malcador's perspective. He paints the Emperor as WAY more human and benevolent and altruistic compared to most other books. (Is this the truth, as Mal would be the person who would know him best, or is this another case of the unreliable narrator because even Mal can't comprehend Big E or perceive him without subjective bias or a distorting effect? Who knows. Make of it what you will.) Big E here is portrayed as loving most if not all of his sons; he made the Primarchs to think for themselves and be unique individuals, to truly be companions with him through eternity, even if he knew some of them might be lost in war or forced to be put down because of one reason or another, with hopes that some could be fixed or healed from their trauma and scars. He's deeply, deeply saddened when Malcador is forced to take the Golden Throne, knowing his best friend is going to die. He gave space marines and Primarchs and even Custodes the ability to feel things because even though he strives for rationality and logic, emotion is the key to humanity's greatness, and accepting the suffering that comes with it is not only a fair trade off it was crucial to allowing his creations to truly be alive and succeed. Big E knows he's made mistakes, (the amount of the times the book says "He's only human, after all" made me get the Rag'n'Bone Man song stuck in my head) knows he can at times be too distant and aloof, knows he can be too secretive and cold, but it's the result of countless millennia of loneliness, walking in solitude, plagued with regrets, afraid to make new connections, and the weight of the enormous responsibility on his shoulders. The Custodes and Primarchs are still "recent arrivals" to his perspective, so it's been hard for him to share and trust with them like he wanted to. Malcador finally convinces him to be open and honest with those who are giving everything of themselves to him.

When I first got into 40k and started delving into the lore, the general idea I got of the Emperor was "a very flawed but ultimately well-meaning king and father trying to save humanity from a monstrously hostile universe determined to destroy it while on an unforgiving race against time so he couldn't afford a more gentle approach". Likewise, the general idea I got of the 30k Imperium was that it was a golden age when compared to the current Imperium. The majority of the HH novels have subverted and deconstructed those notions for almost 20 years now. Emps was a monster, only the Chaos Gods are worse so you stick with him, and the 30k Imperium was still grimdark just from the other side of the coin. But now, at the end, it's trying to play it straight. Odd choice to switch tracks now, to say the least! Whether this reversion is a welcome change of pace or distracting and ill-crafted narrative whiplash is up to you.

According to Malcador, Big E actually hates adopting the war-like aspect of a giant golden warrior-king, but knows how important symbols of power and authority are to the human psyche, and knowing its a way to get humanity and the Primarchs to respect and obey him. Big E has many aspects, and can change them on a whim like slipping on masks. There's the Emperor, the King of Ages, the Master of Mankind, the Lord Imperator, Annihilator of Annihilators, Thanetiser of Daemons, and many more, but his true aspect is said to be "Order out of Chaos" and "Light in the Darkness". He is, at his core, Ordo Ab Chao, and Lux In Tenebris. Probably the closest thing he has to a "true name", in the metaphysical sense.

Big E did steal power from the Chaos Gods, confirmed 100%, so the Prometheus metaphor is complete, and the Big 4 are here to give him the punishment for his theft and hubris. Emps got a massive power increase from this, and takes a "special delight" in using the Dark Gods' own fire against them. He's had to "push them away" several times since Moloch whenever they drew too near. But now they're pushing back in ways even he didn't see coming, and harder than he ever thought. Big E sees now that killing the Dark Gods off was never on the table. They can only be fought against, never destroyed.

Magnus' fall to Chaos is considered to be Big E's greatest disappointment, and second greatest failure.

For all their knowledge and wisdom, Malcador and Big E still have a very flawed and incomplete understanding of the Webway.

Malcador is a lot older than what we were lead to believe; much older than the 6000 to 7000 years that the old lore stated. Given the Perpetual retcon, that makes sense. Malcador can also mimic the Emperor's mind-voice so well he can fool even Valdor.

Big E heals the Khan, so he's no longer in danger of dying, though he's out of the fight and still in unconscious for the immediate future.

For all of his talk of false gods, Malcador almost falls to his knees in worship and awe just seconds after Big E gets off the throne.

Malcador stumbles at one point, his age finally getting to him, and Sangy, Dorn, and Vulkan catch him before he falls. He's like their uncle to them. Malcador doesn't have friends, he's got family!

Valdor, Sangunious, Dorn, and Vulkan have a nice heart to heart to moment. Bro hugs all around. Sangy even calls Valdor a brother, and at first he seems to take it like an insult, before letting his mask slip and says he appreciates the intent and sentiment behind the words and thanks him. Valdor's never been a fan of the Primarchs, but there's some "You three aren't so bad, I guess. But no hugs! I hate hugs!" feelings on his end, deep down.

Malcador taking his seat on the Golden Throne is epic and nightmarish in equal measure. Being on the Throne is a painful horror beyond imagining, but it also opens up your mind to the secrets of the cosmos in god-like ways. Malcador sees things with his expanded persecutive that he wants to warn people about, but can't speak or communicate psychically in any straightforward way anymore, so he has to use really subtle signs and whatnot, the whole "moves in mysterious ways" and “When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all” stuff.

Pretty much every single daemon character with a name is present on Terra now, causing havoc. Chaos controls Terra except for the deep Inner Palace. For anyone outside the Eternity Gate, it's literally hell on earth. Titans are being crucified on the walls, and that's just the smallest and tamest of horrors going on outside.

Terra is being sucked into the Warp, indeed the whole solar system, about to become a new Eye of Terror, and because of this time and space are being twisted to hell and back. The world is slowly going insane, logic and physics are breaking down, both physical and metaphysical dimensions bleed into each other, the clocks have stopped because now they're caught in the "un-time" of the Warp, and there's literally no tomorrow so their agonizing death will last forever, to the Chaos God's enjoyment. Terra cannot be reached from the outside because of the time distortion and all the Warp storms; this means that the incoming support from the Ultramarines and whatnot can't help them, even if they weren't 9 hours way.

Horus drops the shields to lure the Emperor to confront him, something everyone on both sides think is a stupid move. Horus is delusional and forgetful from all the Warp power overflowing in him; he starts making big mistakes in his tactics and strategies. But once Big E commits to battle and boards the Vengeful Spirit, Horus reveals it was all JUST AS PLANNED. Its a trap! He was only faking being an insane idiot, clouding his own mind to do so, and hiding his true power, so Big E would willingly walk into this trap, and now that he has, he drops the persona of a crazy fool. He then shows off his full power; powering up like he's like an anime villain revealing that he hasn't even been trying up till now. Horus is so powerful he's like yawning wound in reality now. All the daemons and Chaos Marines in Horus' presence cower in fear and bleed from their eyes. Horus lets Mal see all this, knowing that he can't do anything to stop him or warn anyone, just to twist the knife.

Chaos fucks up the teleport to the ship, scattering the Imperial forces all throughout different parts of the ship. Dorn is trapped into some kind of dream-quest/spirit-vision/pocket dimension, where he's trapped in an endless desert, that becomes more and more daemonic as time passes. Dorn is trapped here for what feels like countless centuries, and Khorne is trying to get him to join Chaos, and even the stalwart Praetorian is beginning to buckle a little. Dorn is so stressed out from the Siege, from the horrors around him, from the constant planning and counter-planning, from losing his sense of self from loneliness and the passing of relative eons, that the offer to just stop thinking and kill things is actually tempting.

Sangy tears through the halls of the Vengeful Spirit like an angel of death, not bad for a guy who got stabbed in the gut by Angron a few hours ago.

Yeah, the "Chaos Custodes" thing isn't bad when taken in context. Horus is trying to override their minds and implant his will on them, but it only works on their bodies, and several of the Custodes are dying or shutting down just from the sheer amount of DOES NOT COMPUTE going on. Even in the throes of monstrous pain and spiritual violation they are fighting against this from the inside the whole time. They are being forced to fight the Emperor, and internally they are horrified and ashamed every second as their bodies no longer obey their commands. Big E eventually burns out Horus' mind-touch from them, killing some in the process, and some are fucked up even afterwards from such NOPE levels, so he mercy kills them. Horus did this knowing Big E would never expect it, and knowing it would cause him deep pain considering how miserly he spends the Custodes lives. But Emps is capable of pushing all that pain aside to do what must be done. He is now one of wrath and retribution, all doubt and mercy pushed aside. Emps goes full rage-vengeance mode and powers up to 100% himself and moves through the ship like an unstoppable force of nature, daemons just dying in his incinerating presence, though even he finds it hard to concentrate and hold onto what is true in the Warp haze on the ship.

The Vengeful Spirit is so saturated in the Warp, its a gateway to infinity, meaning Big E is in even closer proximity to the Chaos Gods while on this ship then he was when he went through the Warp portal on Molech. On the one hand, Big E gets enormous reserves of power thanks to all the psychic energy, but on the other hand, the Chaos Gods have never loomed larger over realspace than this, and they wanted him to come here. When Emps arrived on the ship, the Chaos Gods started laughing.

Big E's secret library has copies of every religious text and mythological document in human history. (One of the books is even the Necronomicon, heh.) But the most important thing in his collection is that Big E has some copies of pages from Chaos' super secret prophecy book that details the future and much of Chaos' plans. Emps has had access to a secret cheat sheet the whole time, the sneaky bastard! No wonder he's so good at 4-D chess.

Big E still has pieces of art from his childhood in his collection. Ancient pottery and paintings on a rock wall.

There's constant mentions of a "Dark King" through the story, a concept that pops up all over the place time and again, a title used for a nascent Chaos God about to be born from the death of a civilization, as part of an ancient cycle that's been going on since at least the War in Heaven, one that is rarely realized to its full potential, as Samus the daemon laments, as most species die in the process before they can give birth to a Chaos God and expand the Great Game. Last time this happened, it was Slaanesh being created by the Eldar, this time its supposedly Horus ascending, but there's a ton of hints throughout the book that makes me think Dan Abnett is going to pull a twist and reveal the Dark King is actually Big E, that the Chaos Gods' ultimate revenge against him is to turn him into the very thing he'd hate and dread most, a Chaos God who'd inflict nothing but horrors upon whatever is left of the human race and ensure Chaos' victory for all time in every universe; that Big E knew this fate was coming, and that's why he's been so anti-religion, trying to prevent this dark destiny and the advent of his own apotheosis. Which would make what happens all the more poetic and ironic. But we'll see. Still have one more book to go. Just theories until this finally concludes.

As a reward for his service, and because the Emperor felt pity for him, Valdor was granted the Apollonian Spear; absorbing new knowledge would expanded his horizons and individuality. However, Valdor seems to be going beyond his programming in ways unforeseen, as by killing all these daemons, he's absorbing all this lore of the Warp. Malcador is worried Valdor might one day question the Emperor's designs, or even go mad (which I guess ties into the revelation we got in the Penitent Bequin novel where it was revealed that Valdor has become the King in Yellow by 40k). Valdor even stabs his spear into the fleshy bits of the Vengeful Spirit, to absorb some of its data, and seems most curious about what he's learning.

Fo's bioweapon is said to kill all space marines and all Primarchs (I highly doubt it being effective against the Primarchs though, myself) but not Custodes, supposedly. Valdor signed off on this plan and tried to keep a secret from Malcador, though of course Mal found out. Everyone's agreed that it will only be used as an absolute last resort, and is deemed as the Terminus Sanction, but Mal's followers and the Custodes both want to be the one controlling the option.

Fo's ability to manipulate his Custodes bodyguard with just childishly simple word-play comes across as really forced.

Vulcan's Talisman can ONLY be activated by Vulcan. So he has to be there in the Throne room for it to go off. The death of the Emperor, the failure of the Golden Throne, the Webway Gate being re-opened, none of these would set it off. Only the Lord of Drakes can do it.

Olly and company sneak into the Palace using escape tunnels Dorn had made, get caught, and are brought before Vulcan, too late to talk the Emperor.

Actae's dumbass plan is that should Horus win the day and kill everybody, she's gonna try to a spell to seize control of him and use him as a weapon against Chaos, and everyone tells her what a unfathomably colossally idiotic idea that is, but she's determined to try anyway if she gets the opportunity. She says she's anti-Emperor but also anti-Chaos, even though Chaos is responsible for her resurrection, so she comes across as another delusional fool who thinks they can master Chaos who's only going to get her soul sucked out at some point for her arrogance.

Moriana, the seeress that helps out Abaddon in the current 40k, started out as one of Malcador's loyal helpers. Man, did she fall from grace over those 10,000 years!

Cypher and his detachment of Fallen team up with the Imperials because they know Chaos can't be allowed to win. Alpha legion is divided, some are helping the Imperium, others not.

Loken makes it onto the Vengeful Spirit, thanks to all the reality warping time and space going on, and is ready to confront his Primarch.

More "Abaddon will be the future Warmaster" foreshadowing and character development, and when he finds out Horus dropped the shields he's like "HE DID WHAT?!" and heads back up to the Vengeful Spirit.

Emps, Malcador, Horus, and the Chaos Gods are all engaging in 4-D chess moves one right after the other; this is the biggest game of Paradox-Billiards-Vostroyan-Roulette-Forth-Dimensional-Hypercube-Chess-Strip-Poker ever!

You can tell Dan Abnett is salty a lot of 40k fans didn't like Erda or Samus.

[Dragaros]

"The Entertainment Software Association has announced that E3 2023 has been canceled. The organization announced the cancellation via an email sent out to its members today. The email said that while E3 “remains a beloved event and brand” that the 2023 version “simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry.”
The ESA concludes the email by reiterating its commitment to advocacy work. It does not mention undertaking the show again in future years.
The ESA issued the following public statement from Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of Gaming, ReedPop:
This was a difficult decision because of all the effort we and our partners put toward making this event happen, but we had to do what’s right for the industry and what’s right for E3. We appreciate and understand that interested companies wouldn’t have playable demos ready and that resourcing challenges made being at E3 this summer an obstacle they couldn’t overcome. For those who did commit to E3 2023, we’re sorry we can’t put on the showcase you deserve and that you’ve come to expect from ReedPop’s event experiences.
The press release adds that ReedPop and the ESA will continue to work together on “future E3 events.”

"Weeks ago, Sony, Nintendo, and Xbox all expressed their express intention to not attend 2023’s E3 convention. They’ve all opted instead for individual showcases and presentations, which immediately stripped three titanic presences from within the confines of E3’s show halls. It became a much more dire situation when, mere days ago, Ubisoft withdrew from the event, which was a huge blow, considering the beleaguered developer had made actual promises that it would definitely attend. Sega confirmed to IGN that it would not be attending the show after all, saying in a statement, "After careful consideration, we have decided not to participate in E3 2023 as an exhibitor. We look forward to sharing more information on announced and unannounced projects in the future." Bandai Namco declined to provide an update on E3, but did confirm it would be attending Play Days. Tencent confirmed through a spokesperson that Level Infinite would not be attending E3 2023, but that it had participated in Play Days in 2022 and “found it to be an ideal experience for showcasing our games to the media.” Devolver Digital, which has historically never officially attended E3 but has multiple years running set up shot in an adjacent parking lot, provided the following: While we always root for the success of any industry gathering that promotes great games, we have never officially attended E3 and do not plan to do so this year unfortunately. We will also confirm we will not be hosting satellite events this year in Los Angeles, but look forward to returning to our beloved parking lot to do so if the opportunity arises for a future LACC-based event. We are happy to report that we are well underway in the production of our annual Devolver Direct scheduled for June which we will share news about soon."

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFLJplyl_Xw

[SciFlyBoy]

Soon as I got up this morning, found out my grandma missed the handle we installed at the top of the basement stairs and pitched forward, wacked her head on the pantry door quite hard. Spent the day checking in on her every few hours, and it seems other than a bump, she's fine. But elderly people seem fine and normal, until the slightest thing goes wrong, then it feels like death is a breath away. I want to install a proper long handrail on that section of wall for her, but she insists I don't, so I really freaking hope it doesn't happen again.

I'm sorry to hear that. Please take her to the hospital right away. I know of people,(Edit: even middle aged), that hit their heads hard, were fine the next day then it all went downhill, quick. Best to be sure nothing has happened then try to repair damage too late. That goes for anyone hitting their head hard, regardless of age. Get to the hospital right away.

[SciFlyBoy]

In much less important news, I'm bummed because Princess Connect! Re:Dive, the mobile game I play, announced that on April 30th, they're stopping everything. The entire game is shutting down. There were characters from the JP version two years ahead of US that I was looking forward to, but that's never going to happen now. Sigh. I was so excited when Priconne US first appeared. I played it day one and every day since. I chose it as my sole mobile game because it was laid back, chill and quite funny and cute. 5 star game for me and I'm sad to see it go so suddenly.

[SciFlyBoy]

@Vol, how's your grandma doing today?

[Vol]

In much less important news, I'm bummed because Princess Connect! Re:Dive, the mobile game I play, announced that on April 30th, they're stopping everything. The entire game is shutting down. There were characters from the JP version two years ahead of US that I was looking forward to, but that's never going to happen now. Sigh. I was so excited when Priconne US first appeared. I played it day one and every day since. I chose it as my sole mobile game because it was laid back, chill and quite funny and cute. 5 star game for me and I'm sad to see it go so suddenly.

I'm sorry to hear that. The danger of live service games, I suppose. But I'd be very upset if Pokemon Go just up and closed down one day too, though at least there's the ability to transfer everything to Nintendo's _other_ live service, Pokemon Home, which is integrated into basically all the extant games that can be played on internet enabled consoles. Even the 3DS emulations of the first games! Though I imagine they shut that down with the store just recently. Do you have any recourse to save what you earned?

@Vol, how's your grandma doing today?

I was watching her like a hawk the first few days because I assumed being old would mean a delayed effect might be possible. Thankfully, she's fine, even went and got her hair done up today, so the bump on her head can't be too sore. Though yesterday, after dinner (I made spinach lasagna, she loves it for some reason), she was cleaning out the stove because some cheese had overflow the lasagna dish, and she ended up pouring soup on the laminate floor, which turned out to be quite sticky, instead of slick, and she her bad leg, one that occasionally stops responding due to a tight back, caught and she fell. Thankfully, her butt hit the fridge, and she only went to her knees, relatively softly, and is otherwise fine. But even then, I worry so much. Only a few years she broke her back falling off a stepstool trying to put up a curtain in the pantry, rather than ask me to do it for her, and she's gotten much more fragile in the time since.

[Vol]

Ooof. I feel you. My mom has Parkinson, so she had some bad falls over the last years (two years ago she broke both her legs, had surgery and got an artificial hip installed, followed by a lot of physiotherapy). Yeah, it is really hard to watch your parents (or grandparents, in your case) get older and more frail. Appreciate the time you have with them, people!

Well that's deeply concerning. Is she doing better now? One of my uncle's had a hip replacement when I was a little boy, was an awful thing for him. And then one of his sisters just had hers done, and it's so much better now she was out and running around within a week I think.

I doubly appreciate my grandma 'cause when she passes, unless at least 3 of her 5 children decide to keep the house, my ass is gonna be homeless and probably dead in a gutter somewhere shortly after lol

Finished Siege of Terra: The End and the Death Part 1. Man, this is the most "DanAbnetty" thing Dan Abnett has ever written. If you're familiar with his style/prose/tone/thematics/structure/vocabulary as a writer, it has all of that dialed up to 11. And boy did he consult both his Latin dictionary and thesaurus for this one. He went ham on the "High Gothic" and "hyper-science" and "empyrean mechanics" and "philosophical and metaphysical pontification" discourse. Still adding new plot threads without wrapping up old ones, and its the second-to-last book. Here's the CliffsNotes version:

► Show Spoiler

Much of the book is told from Malcador's perspective. He paints the Emperor as WAY more human and benevolent and altruistic compared to most other books. (Is this the truth, as Mal would be the person who would know him best, or is this another case of the unreliable narrator because even Mal can't comprehend Big E or perceive him without subjective bias or a distorting effect? Who knows. Make of it what you will.) Big E here is portrayed as loving most if not all of his sons; he made the Primarchs to think for themselves and be unique individuals, to truly be companions with him through eternity, even if he knew some of them might be lost in war or forced to be put down because of one reason or another, with hopes that some could be fixed or healed from their trauma and scars. He's deeply, deeply saddened when Malcador is forced to take the Golden Throne, knowing his best friend is going to die. He gave space marines and Primarchs and even Custodes the ability to feel things because even though he strives for rationality and logic, emotion is the key to humanity's greatness, and accepting the suffering that comes with it is not only a fair trade off it was crucial to allowing his creations to truly be alive and succeed. Big E knows he's made mistakes, (the amount of the times the book says "He's only human, after all" made me get the Rag'n'Bone Man song stuck in my head) knows he can at times be too distant and aloof, knows he can be too secretive and cold, but it's the result of countless millennia of loneliness, walking in solitude, plagued with regrets, afraid to make new connections, and the weight of the enormous responsibility on his shoulders. The Custodes and Primarchs are still "recent arrivals" to his perspective, so it's been hard for him to share and trust with them like he wanted to. Malcador finally convinces him to be open and honest with those who are giving everything of themselves to him.

When I first got into 40k and started delving into the lore, the general idea I got of the Emperor was "a very flawed but ultimately well-meaning king and father trying to save humanity from a monstrously hostile universe determined to destroy it while on an unforgiving race against time so he couldn't afford a more gentle approach". Likewise, the general idea I got of the 30k Imperium was that it was a golden age when compared to the current Imperium. The majority of the HH novels have subverted and deconstructed those notions for almost 20 years now. Emps was a monster, only the Chaos Gods are worse so you stick with him, and the 30k Imperium was still grimdark just from the other side of the coin. But now, at the end, it's trying to play it straight. Odd choice to switch tracks now, to say the least! Whether this reversion is a welcome change of pace or distracting and ill-crafted narrative whiplash is up to you.

According to Malcador, Big E actually hates adopting the war-like aspect of a giant golden warrior-king, but knows how important symbols of power and authority are to the human psyche, and knowing its a way to get humanity and the Primarchs to respect and obey him. Big E has many aspects, and can change them on a whim like slipping on masks. There's the Emperor, the King of Ages, the Master of Mankind, the Lord Imperator, Annihilator of Annihilators, Thanetiser of Daemons, and many more, but his true aspect is said to be "Order out of Chaos" and "Light in the Darkness". He is, at his core, Ordo Ab Chao, and Lux In Tenebris. Probably the closest thing he has to a "true name", in the metaphysical sense.

Big E did steal power from the Chaos Gods, confirmed 100%, so the Prometheus metaphor is complete, and the Big 4 are here to give him the punishment for his theft and hubris. Emps got a massive power increase from this, and takes a "special delight" in using the Dark Gods' own fire against them. He's had to "push them away" several times since Moloch whenever they drew too near. But now they're pushing back in ways even he didn't see coming, and harder than he ever thought. Big E sees now that killing the Dark Gods off was never on the table. They can only be fought against, never destroyed.

Magnus' fall to Chaos is considered to be Big E's greatest disappointment, and second greatest failure.

For all their knowledge and wisdom, Malcador and Big E still have a very flawed and incomplete understanding of the Webway.

Malcador is a lot older than what we were lead to believe; much older than the 6000 to 7000 years that the old lore stated. Given the Perpetual retcon, that makes sense. Malcador can also mimic the Emperor's mind-voice so well he can fool even Valdor.

Big E heals the Khan, so he's no longer in danger of dying, though he's out of the fight and still in unconscious for the immediate future.

For all of his talk of false gods, Malcador almost falls to his knees in worship and awe just seconds after Big E gets off the throne.

Malcador stumbles at one point, his age finally getting to him, and Sangy, Dorn, and Vulkan catch him before he falls. He's like their uncle to them. Malcador doesn't have friends, he's got family!

Valdor, Sangunious, Dorn, and Vulkan have a nice heart to heart to moment. Bro hugs all around. Sangy even calls Valdor a brother, and at first he seems to take it like an insult, before letting his mask slip and says he appreciates the intent and sentiment behind the words and thanks him. Valdor's never been a fan of the Primarchs, but there's some "You three aren't so bad, I guess. But no hugs! I hate hugs!" feelings on his end, deep down.

Malcador taking his seat on the Golden Throne is epic and nightmarish in equal measure. Being on the Throne is a painful horror beyond imagining, but it also opens up your mind to the secrets of the cosmos in god-like ways. Malcador sees things with his expanded persecutive that he wants to warn people about, but can't speak or communicate psychically in any straightforward way anymore, so he has to use really subtle signs and whatnot, the whole "moves in mysterious ways" and “When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all” stuff.

Pretty much every single daemon character with a name is present on Terra now, causing havoc. Chaos controls Terra except for the deep Inner Palace. For anyone outside the Eternity Gate, it's literally hell on earth. Titans are being crucified on the walls, and that's just the smallest and tamest of horrors going on outside.

Terra is being sucked into the Warp, indeed the whole solar system, about to become a new Eye of Terror, and because of this time and space are being twisted to hell and back. The world is slowly going insane, logic and physics are breaking down, both physical and metaphysical dimensions bleed into each other, the clocks have stopped because now they're caught in the "un-time" of the Warp, and there's literally no tomorrow so their agonizing death will last forever, to the Chaos God's enjoyment. Terra cannot be reached from the outside because of the time distortion and all the Warp storms; this means that the incoming support from the Ultramarines and whatnot can't help them, even if they weren't 9 hours way.

Horus drops the shields to lure the Emperor to confront him, something everyone on both sides think is a stupid move. Horus is delusional and forgetful from all the Warp power overflowing in him; he starts making big mistakes in his tactics and strategies. But once Big E commits to battle and boards the Vengeful Spirit, Horus reveals it was all JUST AS PLANNED. Its a trap! He was only faking being an insane idiot, clouding his own mind to do so, and hiding his true power, so Big E would willingly walk into this trap, and now that he has, he drops the persona of a crazy fool. He then shows off his full power; powering up like he's like an anime villain revealing that he hasn't even been trying up till now. Horus is so powerful he's like yawning wound in reality now. All the daemons and Chaos Marines in Horus' presence cower in fear and bleed from their eyes. Horus lets Mal see all this, knowing that he can't do anything to stop him or warn anyone, just to twist the knife.

Chaos fucks up the teleport to the ship, scattering the Imperial forces all throughout different parts of the ship. Dorn is trapped into some kind of dream-quest/spirit-vision/pocket dimension, where he's trapped in an endless desert, that becomes more and more daemonic as time passes. Dorn is trapped here for what feels like countless centuries, and Khorne is trying to get him to join Chaos, and even the stalwart Praetorian is beginning to buckle a little. Dorn is so stressed out from the Siege, from the horrors around him, from the constant planning and counter-planning, from losing his sense of self from loneliness and the passing of relative eons, that the offer to just stop thinking and kill things is actually tempting.

Sangy tears through the halls of the Vengeful Spirit like an angel of death, not bad for a guy who got stabbed in the gut by Angron a few hours ago.

Yeah, the "Chaos Custodes" thing isn't bad when taken in context. Horus is trying to override their minds and implant his will on them, but it only works on their bodies, and several of the Custodes are dying or shutting down just from the sheer amount of DOES NOT COMPUTE going on. Even in the throes of monstrous pain and spiritual violation they are fighting against this from the inside the whole time. They are being forced to fight the Emperor, and internally they are horrified and ashamed every second as their bodies no longer obey their commands. Big E eventually burns out Horus' mind-touch from them, killing some in the process, and some are fucked up even afterwards from such NOPE levels, so he mercy kills them. Horus did this knowing Big E would never expect it, and knowing it would cause him deep pain considering how miserly he spends the Custodes lives. But Emps is capable of pushing all that pain aside to do what must be done. He is now one of wrath and retribution, all doubt and mercy pushed aside. Emps goes full rage-vengeance mode and powers up to 100% himself and moves through the ship like an unstoppable force of nature, daemons just dying in his incinerating presence, though even he finds it hard to concentrate and hold onto what is true in the Warp haze on the ship.

The Vengeful Spirit is so saturated in the Warp, its a gateway to infinity, meaning Big E is in even closer proximity to the Chaos Gods while on this ship then he was when he went through the Warp portal on Molech. On the one hand, Big E gets enormous reserves of power thanks to all the psychic energy, but on the other hand, the Chaos Gods have never loomed larger over realspace than this, and they wanted him to come here. When Emps arrived on the ship, the Chaos Gods started laughing.

Big E's secret library has copies of every religious text and mythological document in human history. (One of the books is even the Necronomicon, heh.) But the most important thing in his collection is that Big E has some copies of pages from Chaos' super secret prophecy book that details the future and much of Chaos' plans. Emps has had access to a secret cheat sheet the whole time, the sneaky bastard! No wonder he's so good at 4-D chess.

Big E still has pieces of art from his childhood in his collection. Ancient pottery and paintings on a rock wall.

There's constant mentions of a "Dark King" through the story, a concept that pops up all over the place time and again, a title used for a nascent Chaos God about to be born from the death of a civilization, as part of an ancient cycle that's been going on since at least the War in Heaven, one that is rarely realized to its full potential, as Samus the daemon laments, as most species die in the process before they can give birth to a Chaos God and expand the Great Game. Last time this happened, it was Slaanesh being created by the Eldar, this time its supposedly Horus ascending, but there's a ton of hints throughout the book that makes me think Dan Abnett is going to pull a twist and reveal the Dark King is actually Big E, that the Chaos Gods' ultimate revenge against him is to turn him into the very thing he'd hate and dread most, a Chaos God who'd inflict nothing but horrors upon whatever is left of the human race and ensure Chaos' victory for all time in every universe; that Big E knew this fate was coming, and that's why he's been so anti-religion, trying to prevent this dark destiny and the advent of his own apotheosis. Which would make what happens all the more poetic and ironic. But we'll see. Still have one more book to go. Just theories until this finally concludes.

As a reward for his service, and because the Emperor felt pity for him, Valdor was granted the Apollonian Spear; absorbing new knowledge would expanded his horizons and individuality. However, Valdor seems to be going beyond his programming in ways unforeseen, as by killing all these daemons, he's absorbing all this lore of the Warp. Malcador is worried Valdor might one day question the Emperor's designs, or even go mad (which I guess ties into the revelation we got in the Penitent Bequin novel where it was revealed that Valdor has become the King in Yellow by 40k). Valdor even stabs his spear into the fleshy bits of the Vengeful Spirit, to absorb some of its data, and seems most curious about what he's learning.

Fo's bioweapon is said to kill all space marines and all Primarchs (I highly doubt it being effective against the Primarchs though, myself) but not Custodes, supposedly. Valdor signed off on this plan and tried to keep a secret from Malcador, though of course Mal found out. Everyone's agreed that it will only be used as an absolute last resort, and is deemed as the Terminus Sanction, but Mal's followers and the Custodes both want to be the one controlling the option.

Fo's ability to manipulate his Custodes bodyguard with just childishly simple word-play comes across as really forced.

Vulcan's Talisman can ONLY be activated by Vulcan. So he has to be there in the Throne room for it to go off. The death of the Emperor, the failure of the Golden Throne, the Webway Gate being re-opened, none of these would set it off. Only the Lord of Drakes can do it.

Olly and company sneak into the Palace using escape tunnels Dorn had made, get caught, and are brought before Vulcan, too late to talk the Emperor.

Actae's dumbass plan is that should Horus win the day and kill everybody, she's gonna try to a spell to seize control of him and use him as a weapon against Chaos, and everyone tells her what a unfathomably colossally idiotic idea that is, but she's determined to try anyway if she gets the opportunity. She says she's anti-Emperor but also anti-Chaos, even though Chaos is responsible for her resurrection, so she comes across as another delusional fool who thinks they can master Chaos who's only going to get her soul sucked out at some point for her arrogance.

Moriana, the seeress that helps out Abaddon in the current 40k, started out as one of Malcador's loyal helpers. Man, did she fall from grace over those 10,000 years!

Cypher and his detachment of Fallen team up with the Imperials because they know Chaos can't be allowed to win. Alpha legion is divided, some are helping the Imperium, others not.

Loken makes it onto the Vengeful Spirit, thanks to all the reality warping time and space going on, and is ready to confront his Primarch.

More "Abaddon will be the future Warmaster" foreshadowing and character development, and when he finds out Horus dropped the shields he's like "HE DID WHAT?!" and heads back up to the Vengeful Spirit.

Emps, Malcador, Horus, and the Chaos Gods are all engaging in 4-D chess moves one right after the other; this is the biggest game of Paradox-Billiards-Vostroyan-Roulette-Forth-Dimensional-Hypercube-Chess-Strip-Poker ever!

You can tell Dan Abnett is salty a lot of 40k fans didn't like Erda or Samus.

► Show Spoiler

Is 1,000 shamans Big E still the most likely background?

I always took the real-life grimdark approach that the awfulness of the Imperium was what was necessary for it to exist, because literal demons and thirsty gods and alien horrors from beyond the galaxy and ancient terminator skeletons with massively better tech and this that and the other were all encroaching on it. That if he could've, Big E would've set up something we'd recognize as fairly pleasant to live under, but he's nearly dead, on a torture throne, and all the ignorance, hate, and pointless suffering is actually the misery-glue that keeps any (human) alive anymore. So "it's mostly not his fault."

The Prometheus seems kinda bleh, without having read the books. It fits well, classic reference, existing lore, yada yada. But it does reframe the story a bit, makes Chaos a contingent part of yoomanity, and as I already find them a stupid faction to take beyond what they were, evil parasite gods and spiky lads that feed on human suffering, into this cyclical mythological bullshit, is a bit much.

So...it's gonna be kinda awkward when Horus falls, and Hell on Earth suddenly snaps back to Normal Hell on Earth, eh? All these people sort of looking around at each other as the demons and cultists' magic powers and nightmare sky fizzle out. "Oh...what do we do now?"

I heard Valdor had a badass moment after the tellyporta moment, where he immediately saw through Horus' trap, no?

Prophecy is such a funny thing in fiction, especially this one. Emotional parasites have a _plan_? They have foresight, they wrote in a book, that a guy stole from them? Silly! But kinda fun, they've teased the "secret prophecy that might save everything" a few different times now.

Fo - Yeah. Shouldn't try to write really smart/clever people _specifically doing their thing_ unless you are too. It always comes out bad. Allude to it, like in Red Son, where Brainiac tells Superman that Lex is a level 9 (?) intelligence and would take him into suicide in like 45 (?) minutes. Don't actually write that conversation, ever. Same with quippy comebacks, or (most) epic speeches. The opening to Patton is a good example of an epic speech done well.

So the girlboss characters are pointless? Heh.

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvL5Rh6M4lM

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p07h8qIsUd4

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4928u3tddI

[Dragaros]

https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/ar ... ore-r2075/

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

[Vol]

_Finally_ a job came through! Going back down Long Beach Island, lads. Got a beachhouse to powerwash and paint, boss thinks 4 days, and that's some manna after last month. Sadly, the family friend whose house we stay in down there is back from Florida early this season, so it's $600 to stay in a hotel until Friday. Still, finally some warm weather, sunshine, and some freakin' work. See you lads Friday!

[Dragaros]

► Show Spoiler

Is 1,000 shamans Big E still the most likely background?

I always took the real-life grimdark approach that the awfulness of the Imperium was what was necessary for it to exist, because literal demons and thirsty gods and alien horrors from beyond the galaxy and ancient terminator skeletons with massively better tech and this that and the other were all encroaching on it. That if he could've, Big E would've set up something we'd recognize as fairly pleasant to live under, but he's nearly dead, on a torture throne, and all the ignorance, hate, and pointless suffering is actually the misery-glue that keeps any (human) alive anymore. So "it's mostly not his fault."

The Prometheus seems kinda bleh, without having read the books. It fits well, classic reference, existing lore, yada yada. But it does reframe the story a bit, makes Chaos a contingent part of yoomanity, and as I already find them a stupid faction to take beyond what they were, evil parasite gods and spiky lads that feed on human suffering, into this cyclical mythological bullshit, is a bit much.

So...it's gonna be kinda awkward when Horus falls, and Hell on Earth suddenly snaps back to Normal Hell on Earth, eh? All these people sort of looking around at each other as the demons and cultists' magic powers and nightmare sky fizzle out. "Oh...what do we do now?"

I heard Valdor had a badass moment after the tellyporta moment, where he immediately saw through Horus' trap, no?

Prophecy is such a funny thing in fiction, especially this one. Emotional parasites have a _plan_? They have foresight, they wrote in a book, that a guy stole from them? Silly! But kinda fun, they've teased the "secret prophecy that might save everything" a few different times now.

Fo - Yeah. Shouldn't try to write really smart/clever people _specifically doing their thing_ unless you are too. It always comes out bad. Allude to it, like in Red Son, where Brainiac tells Superman that Lex is a level 9 (?) intelligence and would take him into suicide in like 45 (?) minutes. Don't actually write that conversation, ever. Same with quippy comebacks, or (most) epic speeches. The opening to Patton is a good example of an epic speech done well.

So the girlboss characters are pointless? Heh.

► Show Spoiler

When Sangy looks at his father with his full psyker-vision power, he sees Big E’s soul as a fusion of a vast multitude of individuals; looking into his eyes, he sees the soul-fires of a legion of people. If that doesn’t suggest the “ancient shamans ritually killing and then reincarnating themselves into a single vessel/avatar in order to better fight Chaos and safeguard humanity” theory I don’t know what does.

Exactly! In the old lore, Emps was a tyrant and conqueror of often ruthless measures from a 20th century perspective, yes, but he didn’t really have much of a choice in his. He didn’t have the time to sit down and talk to allow a just and fair democratic process-–or whatever method you think agreeable--play out to unite a scattered and divided humanity. He didn’t have the means for his humanity saving projects unless he had a galaxy's worth of resources and manpower for him to draw upon. He also needed a vast war-economy in order to defeat the incoming xenos threats that he knew were just over the horizon. It was harsh, but sadly necessary for survival. That stakes were too high, the price of failure too great. That was the tragedy of it all, made even worse when it was all for nothing and it snowballs from grim necessity to grimdark gratuitousness. The Imperium is a hellish place, sometimes because it needs to be due to how crazy and hostile the universe is, and sometimes because of how needlessly far its fallen into decay and corruption and extremism. That was the extra spice sprinkled on top of the very British-themed satire. Its the relative Warhammer standard at play. Take Dante of the Blood Angels: by Warhammer standards, he's a valiant hero you can root for, but obviously if you took him out of his home setting and placed him in Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia, than yeah, he'd be a villain.

I always thought that for the HH to truly be a tragedy, then Big E had to be at least partially sympathetic, so the whole drama of “sons turning against their father” and “man raging against the dying of the light” had some thematic weight and pathos to it. But the way Big E had been handled for the majority of the HH series robs him of that because he’s way too much of an arrogant asshole and self-righteous hypocrite. Can’t really feel too sad when the Emperor’s dream goes up in smoke when the guy is a monster just a few degrees below the monsters he’s fighting against. Instead of rooting for him to succeed even knowing he won’t, you’re just sitting there thinking “karma sure is a bitch, huh?” So I’m in the camp that’s happy to see some humanity been given back to the Emperor, because this is what helps give this whole damn story some real emotion. Shame it took so long and it’s a little awkward to try to do it now, but better late than never.

Chaos is getting more focus on its “the punishment we deserve”, "the enemy within us is greater than any outside enemy" and “the darkest facets of our own nature that we try to hide and deny, amplified and reflected back at us like a cruel cosmic joke” aspects. And with humans and the Imperium being the key faction of 40k, you know where that goes. While I agree that making it more cyclical kinda removes some of the chaos out Chaos, it doesn't go into Reapers from Mass Effect or the Brethren Moons from Dead Space territory. Its more just that, Chaos is gonna Chaos, so it always makes a play for powerful mortal civilizations, and it inevitably leads to their destruction, and then the Gods wait and move onto a new species to play with, and every few eons or so, if things go just right, a new Chaos God manages to rise out of the death of an empire and make the Great Game a little more interesting.

Oh yes, Valdor’s fury is fully unleashed here. He’s killing daemons left and right, he's in full hunter mode, he’s spotting traps before others, he was more prepared for Warp bullshit to fuck with their war party than pretty much anyone else besides Big E, he’s cunning, insightful, perceptive, decisive, he's telling other Custodes to focus and shake it off. His badass credentials are on full display here. He doesn't feel fear, panic or even surprise, only curiosity. Like, how can I kill this?

Sentient emotional parasites, though. Makes all the difference.
They are twisted and amplified echoes of the emotions/thoughts/concepts/ideas they feast on, and humanity is currently the biggest part of their diet, so they do reflect the human mind and the human soul quite a bit. Plus, where is the line between emotional parasite and "legit god"? Or why can't they be both? They're far greater than any god ever envisioned by the ancient Greeks, Norse, Babylonians, Sumerians, or Egyptians, for example. And they're far stronger than the gods the Eldar once worshipped. Their plan, once you remove all the Sesquipedalian prose, seems to be "sow strife for fun and food, get revenge on the Emperor, try to win the Great Game". Nice and simple.
The way time is meaningless in the Warp, past present & future are all one and same: once a Chaos God is born, it has always existed since the dawn of time regardless of when it happened by realspace reckoning--Slaanesh was alive during the War in Heaven, and helped create itself before the Fall that lead it its own birth, pushing the Eldar to ever greater heights of depravity to facilitate the process. So to Chaos' perspective, a book of prophecies is just a history textbook that they already experienced and lived through.
And Tzeentch is the god of such things, so I can imagine him having a Chaos Bible full of prophecies written just to spread out pages of it to sow discord across the galaxy.

Dan Abnett is one of those writers who has a habit of throwing things into his stories just because he thinks they’re cool or might spark interesting fan conversations, but without much thought into how it fits into the larger lore or narrative. Like his OCs Erda and Samus. Or this Chaos Prophecy Book. Or the reality-breaking language of Enuncia. Or the Cabal. Or countless other examples.

Samus the daemon is an annoying SOB. Just sharing a name with the protagonist from the Metroid series alone is distracting. And Samus is such a tryhard; he acts like he’s all big and bad, when all he really is, is a punk who never accomplishes anything and gets his ass kicked back to the Warp every time, only to break the 100 year banishment rule (which can be done, but Samus abuses it to hell and back in ways even the most powerful and cunning Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes can’t) like its nothing. I think he’s been banished like 4 or 5 times during the HH. He talks a big game but constantly gets his shit kicked in.

One character is like "Oh, we should have listened to Erda, Erda was silenced and now we're paying the price!" Dude, that is so inaccurate, so completely wrong on so many levels, I don't even know where to start with something like that.

[magnuskn]

Well that's deeply concerning. Is she doing better now? One of my uncle's had a hip replacement when I was a little boy, was an awful thing for him. And then one of his sisters just had hers done, and it's so much better now she was out and running around within a week I think.

She recovered pretty well, but it definitely cost her a lot of strength. I was there last year and she got very obviously older and more frail. She still can move around and do some gardening work (one of her big hobbies), but all goes slower than before.

I doubly appreciate my grandma 'cause when she passes, unless at least 3 of her 5 children decide to keep the house, my ass is gonna be homeless and probably dead in a gutter somewhere shortly after lol

You might want to talk to her about that, if that is really such a high concern. Nobody likes those talks, but in the end, if things stay unsettled until at some time she is gone, things can go bad, fast, as well.

*edit* Did some correcting on the quoting, I guess I didn't pay full attention yesterday. ^^

[SciFlyBoy]

Yeah, @Mag is right. Those kind of talks are a little unsettling. Being 40 with my parents in their 70s now there have been talks of what will happen when things happen and such. It difficult to bring up when most of your life the conversation was about food, chores and what we're doing tomorrow. As we age the topics of death and wishes afterwards become part of the norm.

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wZE_3Am9fc

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KEwrSgXWzA