bluntblade Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Got into a conversation about how awkward dancing space marines would be. It snowballed quickly. +++++ Just don't take any heads off, an inner voice added. Loken adjusted his doublet a little, and stepped up to his partner, keeping a close eye on the Emperor's Children. As far as he could deduce from their movements, this dance was a sort of staccato strut. He turned to the training exercises for a point of reference; synchronisation, resisting the urge to preempt. At least here it was easier to read the intent conveyed by posture and the anticipatory movements of muscles. Abaddon and Targhost were having none of it and had parked themselves firmly in seats next to Horus. Maloghurst’s ruined physique would make it a cruel joke to have him dance and Lucas Sedirae had gone to peruse the armoury, while Iacton Qruze had disappeared and no one cared to go looking for him. So it was left to the rest of the Mournival, along with Moy and Marr, to represent their Legion besides the Emperor's Children and Army officers. This wasn't too much of a step from the more florid duels he had taken part in, but even as he matched the movements of all those around him, the feeling persisted that he wasn't doing it quite right. More annoyingly, he thought he knew why. Dancing, an ancient saying claimed, was the vertical expression of a horizontal idea. For a warrior whose mind was utterly free of that idea, this posed something of a handicap. It was like a tech-priest trying to understand fine dining. The mortal officers suffered no such problems. Part of it was that they did not have to negotiate the difference in height and breadth, he considered. The sheer size of his hand on the woman's hip put him dangerously close to committing some sort of indecent act. Beside him, Tybalt Marr found himself facing a question he didn't quite know how to answer. “What do you think of my dress?” “I do not know what I would compare it to, madam.” His partner mistook his honest reply for a compliment. “My, a warrior, scholar and a gentleman.” At least Marr knew better than to correct her. “You honour me by saying so, madam.” But Loken caught the slightly worried look in his eyes, and had to stifle a chortle. Another song began and the dance took on an altogether livelier tone, wheeling and spinning. Now Torgaddon came into his own, sweeping his partner off her feet as he gallivanted across the marble floor. For his part, this was really quite demanding, constantly reining in his movements whilst keeping up the pretense of abandon. He endured until the song ended, thanked his partner as gracefully as he could and went in search of a drink. Just tell me we brought down some of that Fenrisian Ale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt_Reaper Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Perfection. You've captured Astartes perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soldier of Dorn Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Beautiful, just beautiful. The fanfiction groups I'm in would love this, if they had anything to do with 40k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teetengee Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Haven't we been saying that chaos has dancing for years Someone flag semper :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 Cheers guys :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quixus Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Very nice. It made me chuckle. You applied the famous characters' personalities perfectly to this bizarre "theatre of war". I'm only missing prancing Eidolon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Servant of Dante Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 this was great! Very nice. It made me chuckle. You applied the famous characters' personalities perfectly to this bizarre "theatre of war". I'm only missing prancing Eidolon. Oh yes! On a different note, how do you suppose the original superhuman, the Emperor, dances? Perfectly, I would suppose. Not only is he Him, he had had (over) 30,000 years to practice at the time of the crusade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted July 22, 2016 Author Share Posted July 22, 2016 You just know Eidolon would sprain his ankle, and then take credit for Saul's pirouettes... In 30,000 years he must've had to at some point. There's even an ancient illustra-vid about a "groove" he pioneered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Servant of Dante Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 You just know Eidolon would sprain his ankle, and then take credit for Saul's pirouettes... In 30,000 years he must've had to at down point This is great. I can see it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathspectersgt7 Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 That was great it made me laugh . Best 30k short story I have read so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Servant of Dante Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 You just know Eidolon would sprain his ankle, and then take credit for Saul's pirouettes... In 30,000 years he must've had to at some point. There's even an ancient illustra-vid about a "groove" he pioneered. Dang it. That really cracked me up. You think he was the Emperor? The Emperor spent time as a donkey? I'm not making a connection that you didn't intend, am I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 You made exactly the intention I meant. I forgot about the llama, though (pretty sure it was a llama, not a donkey). We shall never speak of this again, lest the Ecclesiarchy come asking about my blasphemy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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