“Tactus didn’t sell the Violin… He was practicing in private, shaking off some of the rust. Said he wanted to surprise you with a sonata, Darrow."
(I’m reading Golden Son right now and as soon as I read this line I dropped everything I was doing and went “yeah I’m drawing Tactus playing the Violin now”)
do you have any more info on Tactus? because holy shit that snippet was badass
Yeah! I forget where I've posted Tactus lore (if any) but there's some here! Copypasted it below. This is the earliest lore, like literally the first thing I wrote about Lucien and the Iridiates. Tactus used to be called 'Manus Infernus' / the Hand of Flame but since I have an OC named Manus already, I changed it :3 im not very original. gugugugu luv me archetypes, simple as.
Tactus is Lucien's shadow self, a feature of the geneseed developed by the Emperor to help the Soft Somatic Healer be a better war asset. He's like a hardcoded dissociative alter who handles all the hard, stressful and scary shit. He didn't handle any of Lucien's abuse as a kid, due to Lucien not perceiving any of it as bad or painful (see here for more info about that, tldr bro was groomed from birth and slaaneshi warp interference enabled horrors to feel harmless).
Instead, Tactus evolved as a response to things that go against Lucien's values and beliefs, which were informed by his upbringing and culture. Praelucentian nobility believes they deserve all pleasures and are super entitled, hedonistic, narcissistic etc. They get real mad if you try to deny them anything. When someone argues or has conflict with Lucien, and he takes it seriously... (he respects Lysander, which is BIG for his cum addled fairy brain) Tactus will forcibly front and put them in their place. He also does this when Lucien is scared, ie Angron yells at him.
They cannot switch consciousnesses when a Sister of Silence is nearby with her Null field active. It messes with the warpstuff of Lucien's being and he's forcibly kept conscious. This is relevant when Lucien is censured for something Tactus did (it's BAD, the fic is almost too spicy to post) and has no fucking clue what's going on.
Metric FUCKTON of stuff under the cut.
*~*~* hey im breaking up the wall of text yee hee hoo hoo *~*~*
Lucien has no memory whatsoever of the time Tactus is running the body, which allows him to easily compartmentalize the mass genocide of forced compliance / exterminatus on worlds throughout the Crusade. I have a fic in progress abt this where you get to see how the Iridiates handle Tactus fronting in battle; they have a special protocol for it, it's awesome.
Tactus is kinda like that asshole uncle who's been through too many divorces and spends most of his time gambling on dogfights while drunk off his tits. He's rough, abrasive, and assertive to the degree of being an arrogant asshole who cares for nothing outside of forcing his beliefs into reality. He also tries to keep life easy for Lucien, since bad shit happens when bro is upset. Tactus is not utterly heartless, but aligns more with the underwater Hive culture of working together to serve the collective instead of chasing ego-driven whims.
So, Tactus is inclined towards keeping the Legion stable, including preventing censure by the Emperor (so no, Lucien, you aren't allowed to kidnap Rogal Dorn and brainwash him into your consort).
Biomancy Bingus Licking
Biomancy is an easy, inherent shapeshifting ability that powerful psykers have. Magnus does it as easy as jorkin his meatums; Lucien does it with a thought. His body actually does it unconsciously to align with what pleases those around him the most. Useful for seggs and diplomacy. Doesn't always work, doesn't always activate.
Tactus fronting is a magnificent thing that comes with a searing, blinding inferno. This energy is heat being expended as Lucien's long long hair and bodyfat burns away. Tactus has hella nuclear / atomic warfare themes and his abilities are basically rawdogging the laws of physics with his will. He's a bit showy about this, and enjoys wanton destruction. Means to an end. No need to hold back, he makes sure the enemy and all their infrastructure is killed dead the first time he turns his will upon them. Very efficient! He and Perturabo could be great friends if Perturabo didn't actually care about some level of 'honor' in siege warfare.
Lysander is here!
Lysander respects Tactus due to their similar values. Lysander grew up in the dog-eat-dog hives that were hellish squalor; he values honesty, community, efficiency and defending one's own with undeniable force. Tactus fucks hard with these things too. Tactus, bearing Primarch-scale emotions, has no neutrality or grey in his worldview and is WHOLE HOG EXTREME about this. Lysander finds it refreshing.
Lysander is the go-to liaison guy when Tactus needs talking to. He handles the entire Legion's protocol when Tactus is in front, and makes sure collateral damage is minimized. Tactus is fond of not wearing Lucien's mask and likes looking at the physical world with his natural eyes... so it's a good thing his aura when fronting the body makes people run for their fucking life. It is impossible to lift your head to even see his eyes in your peripheral vision. In battle, this means he's ALWAYS at the vanguard and everyone else is behind him as backup dancers support.
Part of Lysander modeling himself after Tactus is because Tactus is the only one able to control Lucien. His will overpowers Lucien's (this is based off when I had ego death on shrooms and met my shadow, I challenged it to 1v1 and ended up in hospital for a full mental break lol). Lysander secretly feels like he lacks control and is constantly violated by proximity to Lucien. Also, his duties force him to endure this forever. He knows this. Most of the other Astartes don't realize it bc they're brainwashed to the tits.
So Lysander idolizes Tactus as this hardcore war vet who's what a Primarch is -meant- to be. Again, Lysander does respect Lucien but finds his cumsluttery jarring, due to his upbringing in the Hives (sexual pleasure was seen as the 'taint of the elite' and a moral failing). He's a complex guy, Lysander. He has reason to be Mad. Sometimes when u can't express complex feefees, it become BIG MAD. :3
Misc
Because Tactus values 'tribe' and his tribe is the Legion + Lucien... he has no qualms with baleeting ANYONE else from existence if it serves their goals. The Emperor wants something dead? easy, done. Other Legion needs an ass kicking? If it won't make the Emperor mad, boot shall find hole. Xenos? His favourite prey.
THATS ALL I GOT LMAO PLS ENJOY THE FOOD!! And thank u always for asking about my BOIS! It's really helping me develop them >W<
