Fanthology - Brainstorming

[Brother Argent]

Okay so as suggested by the boss I am opening up a brainstorming thread here for those whom may or may not be struggling to nail down an idea for the Fanthology project, as well as to give us all a rough idea of what sort of stories the rest of us are doing so that we get a broad scope of work.

 

As far as ideas go I am bouncing around quite a few but I would love to see some suggestions from my Brothers and Sisters as to what sort of story they would like to see.  Whilst I intend whatever I write to be based around one of my many DIY's (of all factions) any suggestions or ideas are welcome. So, lets here it: 

[Olis]

My own story involves Death Guard vs Space Wolves during the Heresy, should anyone need to know.

 

As for ideas, perhaps instead of simple bolter-play how about something a touch more cerebral? Maybe a marine being interrogated by an Inquisitor? Or perhaps one resisting the lure of the Dark Gods as he overcomes the hazards of being stranded somewhere?

[Captain Juan Juarez]

To follow on from Olisredan, I would suggest something a little out of the norm from standard marine fair of Bolter-porn.

 

Potentially quasi-epic idea:

 

Two Chapters operate in one warzone as allies, working closely together until at a final battle something goes drastically wrong and both sides are all but wiped out - though one Chapter retains a numerical superiority locally.

 

Each Chapter blames the other for the destruction of their forces but for one Chapter only a few, say half a dozen, Marines remain whilst the other has several squads surviving, including a Captain or Chaplain or someone of authority.

 

You then have a kangaroo-court and all that entails, with an angry and determined to have recompense numerically-superior Chapter and a handful of survivors who may even refuse to recognize proceedings against them.

 

EDIT: To finish idea because something went wrong.

[JeffTibbetts]

I, for one, approve heartily of this thread. :D 

 

But seriously, I like action as much as the next guy, but it's very well represented. I'd love to see some of these 'different' ideas see the light of day. Keep it up! 

[exetus]

I'm throwing a lot of stuff around and am probably looking to take advantage of this to flesh out some history for my Five Suns chapter, but I'm also looking at expanding on the story of the 71st Sedun Armored Division, an IG unit of my own creation for my short story "A Moment of Laxity."  Olisredan suggested that he'd like to see more about the unit and so I'm leaning in that direction, too... 40k or even 30k, since I haven't decided how old their lineage is, from a tanker's perspective.

 

I also think that showing the darker or lighter side of everything would be interesting.  I like showing the darker side of the Imperium.  I think that maybe, somewhere in there, there's a lighter side to the Dark Eldar or the Hrud or whatever.

[Andurin Marvak]

Well, here's the conceptualization of my submissions so far. While the first one will have some action added to taste, the second is entirely cerebral. Maybe this will stir the creative juices.

 

First Story: From the point of view of a lowly guardsman, most likely a new recruit. He'll have been warring against chaos rebels on his home planet where the Dragons of Oricalcos (DIY chapter) and their non Astartes auxiliaries have chosen to show up and join the fight. He gets swept up into the entourage of a fairly radical Inquisitor who pals around with the chapter(she'll be there for some artifact, Ordos Xenos, dont'cha know). In so doing, he gets a ringside seat to a few events that showcase how Astartes interact with one another and mortals, as well as how this particular Inquistor lady differs from the legends he has heard about Inquisitors in general. He also sees an interesting range of Chapter attitudes with some of the other marines present on the planet(granted, in smaller numbers). Some events would include the unleashing of a captured carnifex by chaos, a commissar shooting an astartes in the head for what he perceives as cowardice, and more. Basically, just a stunned grunt's eye view of the 40k universe drained into a microcosm.

 

Second Story: A secretly heretekal Techpriest Magos in charge of the mining operations in the Oricalcos system, having a formal dinner with the Chapter Master of the Dragons. In essence, a run through of how a highly scientific, unfettered, selfish, corrupt, arrogant mind would perceive life in the 40k universe, particularly on the Northeastern Fringe of the Galaxy. And also, the devious ways that mind has developed to stay alive and thrive despite the obvious perils of being what it is. The dialogue will largely be there to play backdrop to a continuous stream of very heretekal, bitingly witty, and utterly ego-primping thought.

 

Edit: Weird, all black text...fixed.