Hi there, I'm Jamie. Ave Dominus Nox. Fenrys Hjolda.

[Jamieryder]

Hey everyone,

It's good to be here. My name is Jamie and I'm a recent discoverer of the Warhammer Conference. It's wonderful to see a growing community interested in trading universal ideas about the nuances of the Warhammer universe. I live in Manchester and have a background in writing historical non-fiction books that covers different cultures and ideas like Japanese samurai, vikings and philosophers.

My entry into the Warhammer universe was through video games like Space Marine and Rogue Trader, which led me to read BL books, which led me into modelling as I've gone deeper down the rabbit hole. Two factions I'm really into at the moment are the Night Lords and Space Wolves (I'm painting an army of the former and giving a talk at this years Conference about the latter called The Pack Saves The Wolf: Space Wolves, Viking Brotherhood and the Crisis of Male Loneliness).

The mental health side of 40K is of great interest to me and I write about different psychological aspects over at 40kpulp.com under the pen name of Michael Deguisa.

Looking forward to reading about other people's perspectives in the community.

[Keranza]

Hi Jamie, nice to meet you!
Your talk title sounds very interesting to me. The theme of male loneliness is an unexpected angle to me, especially in relation to the Astartes, who are so strongly defined by brotherhood, Legion or Chapter identity, and belonging.
I am also very interested in the psychological side of 40K. One of the characters I keep thinking about is Talos — not so much because I am especially focused on the Night Lords as a faction, but because Talos himself seems psychologically fascinating to me, almost as much as Garviel Loken. I’m interested in the way he tries to hold together memory, meaning, brotherhood, and a damaged idea of what a Legion could still be.
Space Wolves are not yet among the factions I feel most strongly drawn to, but your reading of them sounds like it might open them up for me.
I’d be very interested to hear more about your argument, if you feel like sharing a little before the conference.

[Jamieryder]

Thanks for your thoughts. Talos is one of my favourite characters for looking at those themes that you've pointed out so well. Here's a guy who knows he's an awful, irredeemable monster but he still has his own principles and wanting to bring his dysfunctional, psychotic band of brothers together for a cause that's justifiable in his own mind.

The Space Wolves are fascinating to me from the perspective of all being unique individuals who valuable each others individuality compared to other Legions. But who are greater than the sum of their parts and find meaning in their packs. Some of what I'll be talking about is how even these ultramasculine Space Vikings have shown instances of loneliness and mental health struggles, compare it against historical Viking examples and how modern men can learn to be closer through some of the ideas that come out of the comparison.

[Mike]

It's interesting, isn't it... Really, they are a bit of a contradiction when faced with the strict uniformity of how space marines are 'supposed' to behave.