Line #78 Fanfic/WhenInDoubtBlameTheEldar


1	The fifth ''VideoGame/PlanetaryAnnihilation'' Multi-cross fanfic to be written, this story follows the misadventures of the Sufficient Velocity and ''Website/SpaceBattlesDotCom'' user [=Blackhole1=], of Wail of the Banshee fame.
2
3	Much to his annoyance, Commander Black finds himself shoved into a commander chassis and sent hurtling toward a planet.
4
5	The kicker?
6
7	It's Kronus from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', AKA "the one place where I'm not even remotely the biggest fish in the pond".
8
9	[[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/when-in-doubt-blame-the-eldar-pa-si-multicross.380256/ Spacebattles thread]]
10	----
11	!!''When In Doubt, Blame the Eldar'' provides examples of:
12	* AbsentAliens: Like in most PA Self-Inserts, the Precursors. Otherwise averted: most of Black's enemies are sentient alien empires.
13	* TheAce: Thomas Servarion. The kid has psychic powers, is able to keep up with the training regime of the Imperial Guard despite being SIX, and can easily complete advanced calculus equations. Justified: [[spoiler:He's actually the temporally displaced Primarch of the XI Legion, so this is to be expected]].
14	** BrokenAce: He's also virtually friendless, [[spoiler:lost both of his parents to a crazed mob, was essentially disowned by the Emperor, and loses his third father figure to the Scream]].
15	* AliensAreBastards: It's ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', so this is a given.
16	* AntiMagic: [[spoiler:The Atropos device. It absorbs Warp energy to generate a micro-version of the Tyranids' Shadow of the Warp, impairing any Warp-based abilities in its effective range. Initially, it causes headaches for all of Black's psyker companions. A scaled-up version is fitted onto a Jaeger warmech, allowing it to fight a LIVING SAINT on even terms]].
17	* BadFuture: [[spoiler:In Chapter 30, Taldeer reveals that she ended up helping Black because of two of these: one involved him turning into an evil ArtificialIntelligence which is implied to have exterminated the Imperium and either killed off or (more likely) enslaved the Eldar, while the other involved TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. It's telling of how much [[JerkAss Taldeer]] cares about her people when she states that the first outcome is the ''preferable'' one]].
18	* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:The Inquisition, in a moment of clarity, realizes that Black is beyond their ability to defeat given the Imperium's current level of technology, so they decide send out members of the Mechanicus to try and find archaeotech that will level the playing field. However, they need to make sure that they can keep an eye on Black at this time. They know that he trusts General Lucas Alexander, as he helped Alexander defend Kronus from Kyras, but know Alexander won't willingly go on what amounts to a suicide mission, so what do they do? Arrange a KangarooCourt scenario where he will end up volunteering himself to be their envoy to Black]].
19	* BehemothBattle: [[spoiler:When Black goes up against Eliphas's Word Bearers, they summon a Bloodthirster to destroy his armies. Black responds by building a giant mech to fight it and equips it with a sword that can double as a railgun. During the fight, the sword is rendered unable to transform due to damage sustained from blocking an attack from the daemon.]] However, [[spoiler:this ends up working against the Word Bearers, as Black's completely robotic army lacks both blood and skulls, which causes the Bloodthirster to turn on them]].
20	** [[spoiler:Living Saint vs. Jaguar mk II. Jaeger pulls off a TakingYouWithMe]].
21	* CultureClash: Not only between the various factions that Black meets, but also between Black and his companions. Black severely disdains several of the Imperium's policies, but usually only makes that known when those policies (such as religious extremism) cause problems for him.
22	* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: After Black defeats the Orks, he tries to replicate their technology, like any good PA Self-Insert would. Since Ork technology relies on the WAAAGH!! field emitted by Orks to work, he's unable to do so.
23	--->'''Black:''' No, I won’t elaborate on it. You can guess the results yourself. Hint: they were embarrassing, explosive, and explosively embarrassing.
24	* CurbStompBattle: Normally, this is {{Averted}} in the story, as unlike other commanders, Black is usually up against foes who are more than capable of fighting back against his Iron Tide and ''winning''. In fact, Black is usually on the ''receiving'' end of such battles.
25	** However, there is one straight example in the story: the space battle in the Kaurava System. Here, Black utterly demolishes an Adeptus Ministorum fleet, even though said fleet has a flagship with a [[{{BFG}} Nova Cannon]] onboard. The only win the Imperial forces manage to achieve is denying Black access to the cannon by scuttling the ship.
26	*** Justified in that the fleet, being the Ministorum's rather than the proper Navy's, was not particularly well-equipped or staffed, and was expected to mostly deal with unruly colonists. This led to issues such as the enemy commander being unable to detect Black's ships (which would've required expensive and high-maintenance scanners), misunderstanding Black's psychology and trying to scare him off by demolishing one of his squadrons (which only encourages Black because he doesn't care about his ships that much and is intrigued by the Nova Cannon), and being (understandably) overly aggressive in a losing fight due to Imperial beliefs about how death is preferable to living in defeat.
27	* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to all other PA Self-Inserts, it is definitely this. Notably, the author does not downplay any of the native factions' ability to fight and Black frequently finds himself losing battles, because his opponents simply have more experience with war.
28	* DarkestHour: [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore The entire story from Chapter 30 onwards]]: [[spoiler:The Emperor dies, Taldeer is possessed by a daemon (which is exorcised), and it becomes apparent that the 40k universe is going to die, leaving Black with no option except running away as fast as possible]].
29	* DeadFic: Hasn't been updated in well over three years, and the author hasn't really spoken with anyone about it.
30	* {{Deconstruction}}: Of PA Self-Inserts as a whole: while Black has virtually unlimited logistical capabilities, he's still a relatively ordinary microbiologist up against civilizations who have been fighting nonstop war for at least 3,000 years. Additionally, his ability to copy any form of technology is useless against several factions, such as the Orks, because they rely on magical powers (e.g. the WAAAGH!! field) to function properly.
31	* DiabolusExMachina: Downplayed. [[spoiler:While the Scream appears to come out of nowhere, several of the readers on Spacebattles noted that Thomas's rejection of the Emperor in his interlude may have been enough to finally kill Big E, as it amounts to his last uncorrupted son (assuming the Primarch of Legion II is dead/corrupted) basically calling him a monster. For someone who is literally a living corpse, being told by their last hope that they are, essentially, a failure, may have been too much]].
32	** [[spoiler:Subverted. There have been hints throughout nearly the whole story. Taldeer's visions were one of the earliest warning signs, with the less concrete ones being as fitting for the Star Father as for a rogue Commander Black. Everyone just assumed it was about Black. The next big warning sign was the Sisters of Battle being able to summon a Living Saint with a daemon summoning ritual. They summoned a daemon of order. And lastly, this very possibilty was even brought up in-story, with Black drawing a parallel between the birth of She-Who-Thrists and the Imperium's last ten thousend years of worship and fanatical attitude]].
33	* DidntSeeThatComing:
34	** [[spoiler:Black was not expecting the Wraith Construct he found in one of the Necron Tomb to still be active]].
35	** [[spoiler:Or that said construct, Orkanis, would want to join him]].
36	** [[spoiler:He definitely didn't expect the Necron Lord of Kronus to still have a personality (even though this is hinted at in Dark Crusade)]].
37	** Meta example: [[spoiler:Barring a few exceptions, nobody expected Thomas to be the PRIMARCH of the XI Legion of Space Marines]].
38	** But all of that pales in comparison to [[spoiler:the events of Chapter 30 and beyond: NO ONE, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, IN-UNIVERSE OR OUT, expected the Emperor to DIE and become the Star Father.]]
39	* EpicFail: Black's initial attempts to get robots to adapt to rough terrain.
40	* FailedFutureForecast: [[spoiler:Taldeer saw two different bad futures involving Black, but ''neither'' of them come to pass, and the one that does is ''worse'' than the other two]].
41	* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:In Chapter 27, Orkanis tells Thomas that curing Eldar who are lost on a path "requires mind-rending trauma, the use of Warp predators, or extreme brain surgery that was only slightly less lethal than a witchblade to the head". The first two of those things later happen to Taldeer when she is possessed, which badly impacts her identity as a Farseer]].
42	* FromBadToWorse: A frequent problem for Black -- whenever something goes bad for him, it usually starts small, then snowballs out of control.
43	** The biggest example, however, is [[WhamEpisode Chapter 30]]: [[spoiler:The Scream ends up destroying Black's commander, which, while a great loss, isn't irreplaceable. ''Then'', Taldeer ends up being possessed by a daemon of Slaanesh, which Black is able to exorcise. Not a total loss, but it does compromise Taldeer's position on Black's entourage and is traumatizing for both Black and Taldeer. ''THEN'', it turns out that most of the Imperial Guard's psykers died from the Scream and that their Navigators can no longer see the Astronomican, implying that the Emperor has ''died''. At this point, things have gone ''beyond'' bleak]].
44	* GenreDeconstruction: In general, Commander Self-Inserts tend to portray the SI as being able to fix all of the problems in the universe, no matter how massive, through Progenitor Hypertech Bullshit. Here, though, it's frequently noted that this is incredibly unlikely, as most of these problems cannot be fixed by shooting things. Most of the problems are caused by deep-seated problems that cannot be solved with MoreDakka.
45	* HeroWithBadPublicity: Most of the factions he meets on Kronus do not trust Black, as all of the other powers on planet are trying to kill them. Furthermore, many Imperial characters actively fear him as a Man of Iron, ancient robots that ended the Dark Age of Technology. This makes it difficult to find allies.
46	* HiddenAgendaVillain: Taldeer and her seer council, [[GreyAndGrayMorality for a given value of villain]]. The only thing we know about their plans is that they involve getting Black to fight the Necrons.
47	** This is {{Subverted}} in Chapter 30, where Taldeer ends up coming clean about her agenda: [[spoiler:she had seen a future where Black ended up allying with the Tau to fight the Imperial forces on Kronus, only to be backstabbed by the Tau, which provided the Imperium the chance to destroy Kronus while he was busy dealing with the Tau. This drives Black insane, causing him to shed parts of his personality until he becomes an entity like the Tyranid HiveMind, only interested in consuming things and growing stronger. In most of the timelines that Taldeer saw, he ended up enslaving the Eldar to harness their psychic power. She initially planned to destroy him, but changed her mind after seeing ''another'' future that ended up being ''[[FromBadToWorse even worse]]'' then that one (apparently, it was TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt). Upon seeing ''that'' future, Taldeer decided slavery to Black was ''very much the preferable outcome for her people'']].
48	* HowWeGotHere: Black's chapters are told this way, with him addressing his mysterious listener(s) or alluding to future events from time to time.
49	* HumansAreBastards: Again, it's ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', so this is a given. ESPECIALLY in the case of Chaos.
50	* KangarooCourt: [[spoiler:General Lucas Alexander's trial for siding with Commander Black to defend the people from the Blood Ravens, who Azariah Kyras had ordered be subjected to Exterminatus. Notably, they don't actually plan to have him executed: realizing that Black is a greater danger than can be defeated at the moment, the Inquisition decided that they'd need to have someone spy on him so that they can find out his weaknesses. Since Black trusted Alexander, they arranged the trial so that Alexander would end up unintentionally volunteering himself as the envoy]].
51	* LemonyNarrator: Black is one, and frequently makes a point of noting how his hopes for certain outcomes were crushed ''very quickly''. [[BrokenBase Some people find this very annoying]].
52	* LogicalWeakness: When fighting Tau stealth suits, Black gets around their invisibility by using grenadiers to aim at the area where he detects they are firing from. Even though he can't see them, the artillery's area damage kills several of them and forces the remainder to fall back.
53	* TheMagicVersusTechnologyWar: Black (technology) vs Daemons/Living Saints/Psykers (Magic): While Black's tech would probably let him curbstomp any other magical entities, the sheer power behind 40k's magic-wielders means that, whenever Black goes up against one, he's practically guaranteed to lose.
54	** [[spoiler:Once he gets the [[AntiMagic Atropos Device]], though, things start to turn in his favor]].
55	* {{Nerf}}: An InUniverse example - Black's fabrication abilities were deliberately toned down from the absurd level that is present in ''Planetary Annihilation'' for the sake of making the conflict more interesting.
56	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Several of Black's more altruistic actions come back to bite him in the ass.
57	** [[spoiler:His attempts to convince the Blood Ravens to back down lead to Kyras trying to subject Kronus to Exterminatus. However, this could be attributed to him discovering compromising relics regarding the Chapter's past, which is not out-of-character for Space Marines]].
58	** [[spoiler:Black decides to spare the Sisters of Battle after defeating Saint Anais, after which he lets Stubbs place them in refugee camps (with guards, of course). When the Scream hits Kaurava, they become Angyls and begin corrupting the natives]].
59	* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: The events of Chapter 30, "The Day the Galaxy Stood Still", completely alter the direction and tone of the story. [[spoiler:The Scream destroys Black's commander, one of his companions goes into a coma, the Ar'ka cannon is destroyed by daemons, the Imperial psykers can no longer see the Astronomican, a large portion of Kaurava IV is devoured by the Warp, and the Sisters of Battle become angel-esque creatures, indicating that the Emperor has died and become the Star Father, shifting the setting from normal 40k to the 50k of ''Fanfic/TheShapeOfTheNightmareToCome''. It's at this point that it becomes obvious that, unlike any other PA Self-Insert, NOTHING that Black can do will be able to fix the universe, and that his only option is to try and escape before the universe destroys him]].
60	* OneSteveLimit: Averted. Thomas Servarion's mother and Canoness Agna's second-in-command Moira Allen share a first name.
61	* PragmaticVillainy: [[spoiler:The Inquisition may not like Black ''at all'', but they are willing to work with him, both to achieve mutually-beneficial goals and avoid antagonizing him when they are in no position to fight him off]].
62	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Captain Davian Thule and General Lucas Alexander both fit the bill: both genuinely wish that they didn't have to fight the other and go out of their way to avoid doing so as long as possible. Ultimately, Thule has to act first when Kyras gives him orders to wipe the Imperial Guard out ''immediately''. [[spoiler:Thule seems to be veering away from this later on, though, due to the humiliation that Black dealt him on Kronus]].
63	** Also, Shas'O Kais: he is genuinely respectful of Black and, after Black [[spoiler:forges a request to Tau High Command for enough transports to pull all of their people out of Kronus]], wishes that they would never meet on the battlefield again, because ''he sincerely doesn't want to fight him!''
64	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Black gives a very scathing one to Caerys after learning that she [[spoiler:foresaw the Scream and never bothered to warn Taldeer as she anticipated that Black falling to Chaos would be a "better" alternative for protecting the galaxy]].
65	-->'''Black''': (speaking in Eldar) Caerys, you truly are a living embodiment of the worst aspects of your species.
66	-->'''Caerys''': You...how...
67	-->'''Black''': Your kind is truly cursed: too clever for your own good, not as clever as you think you are, and far too arrogant to notice. Too arrogant to see the folly in thinking you can bend the Ruinous Powers to your will. Your ancestors thought that, and they doomed the galaxy with their hedonism. The Emperor of Mankind thought that, and where is he, now? [[spoiler:Dead, damned, and beyond all hope of salvation, because they thought themselves infallible.]] The universe has a way of punishing such hubris and [[HistoryRepeats yet the next generation of fools keep making the same. Damn. ''Mistakes''.]] I could give you advice, but I know you will not listen. I could snap your neck, but another will take your place. Instead, I will say this: You will not interfere in my affairs any longer. I will find a way out of this wretched universe and I will not have you stop me. And you will not touch Taldeer. Of all your wretched kind, she was the only one who saw the battle for what it is and knew that maintaining the status quo was untenable. Such wisdom is wasted on the likes of you. If I find out she has been taken back to Ulthwé against her will, I will have to pay your craftworld a visit to ask why. And I will ''not'' be as polite as I am now.
68	-->'''Caerys''': You...I will not let you destroy us, or twist us, or...
69	-->'''Black''': [[IfIWantedYouDead If I wanted you dead,]] [[WeWait all I needed to do was wait.]] Attacking you gains me nothing and if you are a prime example of your people’s leadership, then your extinction is only a matter of time. You have nothing I need, and your own leadership is causing more harm to the Eldar than I ever could. You had ''nothing'' to fear from me.
70	** This is made even more impressive by the fact that Black was going to hide the fact that he knew the Eldar language up until that point.
71	* RidiculouslyFastConstruction: {{Downplayed}}: While still very fast, Black's build times are much longer than normal for a commander self-insert, usually taking hours to do what any other SI would need minutes to do.
72	* RuleOfThree: Black's efforts to fight colossal enemies.
73	** The first time, [[spoiler:when he fights a Bloodthirster, he loses spectacularly and has to trick it into turning on the Wordbearers]].
74	** The second time, [[spoiler:against a Nightbringer shard, he has to search for help to beat it]].
75	** The third time, [[spoiler:against Saint Anais, he manages to win]].
76	* SchmuckBait: The reason Black adds a bridge to his ship: Most people would try to control it in order to turn it against him.... even though, as a computer program, he has no need for a bridge.
77	* ShoutOut: Black's first set of original robots resemble [[VideoGame/XCOM2 MECs]] [[LampshadeHanging and are even referred to as such]].
78	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Heavily on the cynical side: Black's narrations usually involve him mentioning how idealistic he was and how cynical he's become. In fact, it's even managed to eclipse normal 40k in its level of cynicism, [[WhamEpisode considering what happened in Chapter 30]].
79	* SwissArmyWeapon: Black attempt to make one for his first Jaeger unit, which has a sword that turns into a railgun. It gets damaged during the first Jaeger's fight with a Bloodthirster, which makes it unable to turn into a gun.
80	* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Black is able to pull this off with a [[spoiler:BLOODTHIRSTER]]!
81	* TeethClenchedTeamwork: [[spoiler:How Black's companions work together. Considering that this group includes a Wraith Seer, three Eldar seers and one Farseer, a Lord General, a Commissar, an Imperial Priest, a Mechanicus Magos, a sanctioned psyker, a kaskrin, a Necron Lord, and a BABY PRIMARCH, most of whom are taught to actively view the others as less than human (or whatever race they are), and that the Eldar are actively trying to manipulate Black toward an unknown agenda (which Black is aware of), this is very much justified]].
82	* UnskilledButStrong: Black's robots are designed to fight by shooting at units. When several of his bots end up fighting the Kroot in melee, they usually lose, as while they are strong enough to kill the Kroot with one punch, they lack skill at close quarters combat.
83	* WhamEpisode:
84	** Interlude: Thomas Servarion: [[spoiler:It's revealed that Thomas is actually the Primarch of the XI Legion, and that both the Emperor and Magnus have been watching him and Commander Black. He's also outed as a psyker after he temporarily loses control of his powers due to the dream]].
85	** Chapter 30: The Day the Galaxy Stood Still: [[spoiler:An enormous scream rips through the Warp, Black's Commander is DESTROYED, a daemon manages to possess TALDEER, and Ozman is sent into a coma]].
86	** Chapter 31: Putting Humpty-Dumpty Back Together Again: [[spoiler:Taldeer's mutations are revealed to the rest of Black's companions, it's revealed that the Ar'ka cannon was destroyed by daemons during the Scream, and Stubbs reveals that his astropaths can no longer see the Astronomican, indicating that the Emperor has DIED]].
87	** Interlude-Selena Agna: [[spoiler:The majority of the Sisters of Battle are revealed to have become angel-like monsters, indicating that the Emperor has become the Star Father and that the 40k universe is now heading toward becoming something closer to ''Fanfic/TheShapeOfTheNightmareToCome'']].
88	* WhatsUpKingDude: The Exodite King of Alnara is pleasantly surprised by Black and his very crass and blunt attitude in conversation, because he had grown tired of "clever men who dance around important issues like over-stimulated harlequins".
89	* WorthyOpponent: This is how Shas'O Kais feels toward Black, after he goes out of his way to arrange for all of the Tau's colonists to be rescued when they pull off-planet (due to [[spoiler:Black killing the Ethereal overseeing the defenses]]).

Context Fanfic / WhenInDoubtBlameTheEldar