The Last Church is exactly the new-HH work that made the Emperor a fedora-tipper (and McNeill giving a copy to Richard Dawkins was the 40k equivalent to MatPat and the Pope). Just because it's been 15 years doesn't mean that it's not new fluff.
Like I said, I began studying 40K lore 14 years ago. The Emperor, as you say, had been an atheist in real-world terms for at least a year by then. So I suppose there was a honeymoon period from October 1998 to April 2009 when the Emperor was NOT a fedora-tipping idiot, but the legit god of a dark fantasy Imperium. But that period, it seems, lasted only a little over a decade. Around 10.5 years, if we're being accurate.
If they can change him from an unknowable person into a fedora-tipping buffoon, then yes, they can change him again and say he got reincarnated as a woman or something.
I could go into it further, but that's enough BFG sperging for this moment.
PM me so we can talk about it some more.
“The Last Church” is so unintentionally funny because the priest bodies the Emperor (and fedora-tippers everywhere) by countering his gay “muh illogical nonsense” with “I have faith” and spelling out why the Emperor was always doomed to fail.
The Emperor (and the cringe author who thought he was a big-brain) don’t get that humans need to believe in something, anything or we fall apart.
Again, it's the same way they made Space Marines to be evil, but people thought they were badass. In the same vein, religion in 40K has always been portrayed as babbling lunacy backed up by pragmatic control and utilitarianism, but from the outside, without the context, fans see men who will die for their faith and be proud of it. Hence why the Emperor comes off as a buffoon in the Last Church; especially since later, people's faith keeps him going, along with a steady diet of human sacrifices.
Whether it’s religion, political rhetoric, our
personal ideals and values, the human mind needs belief or we stall and implode (look at our society and the after-effects of disproving faith), we’re post-fall Eldar practically.
Belief is a core part of being human, that’s why Lorgar was right.
That’s why I believe the scales will tip and this gay shit will even out.
I dunno, the lefties seem to have embraced SJW ideology as their new religion. They have their orthodoxy, their creed, their beliefs, even their own inquisitions. It won't balance out anytime soon, especially since the Left has a longer history of solidarity than the Right.
The books heavily rely on B-Movie templates but I"m of the opinion that anything enduring in 40k has to have a base that is probably lost on anyone born after 2000. It has to be a concept a guy with greasy hair, who after a night of Doom II death match, listening to Iron Maiden, and smoking ditch weed out of a bong, would describe as Rad. What if the Mongols had sick crotch rockets instead of horses? Fuckin' rad. What if you opened an Egyptian tomb and mummies attack but the mummies were also Terminators? Fuckin' rad. Werewolves are made stronger by the moon but what if werewolves lived on the moon? Holy fuckin' shit. The Dark Angels were the contribution of the lone English major at LAN party and when he passed out early someone added a bunch of King Arthur shit I guess.
Something like that. It feels like 40K would be at home with 80s and 90s action movies. Terminator crossed with the Mummy. Roided-out muscle-men firing heavy-caliber machine guns. Such aesthetics fit well with the kids of the 80s and 90s, but the direction 40K goes through today isn't really that appealing to the kids of today.
Which is why I think, they should adapt to the times and add anime aesthetics, since anime is popular with kids today as it was with Millennials and Gen Z. Gen Alpha is growing, and they too have a sweet tooth for anime as Gen Z grows into adulthood. Maybe some shonen aesthetics added with religious lingo as a Black Templar remembers his faith in the Emperor as he banzai-charges into an army of Tyranids. Or a Salamander remembering all the civilians he's protecting as he finds the strength to hold off a horde of Orks. Add in mecha stuff with the Titans and the Tau Warmechs fighting in a sort of Big O style of combat, and you're good to go.
Instead of adapting to some mythical left-leaning demographic, go and adapt 40K to something that is already proven to give returns to the investment, like anime fans. Go do what Star Wars and Halo did and commission some anime studios to make some anime shorts. Hell, if it were me, I'd adapt the final battle between Horus and the Emperor, and then have flashbacks to their fun times together as a father-son duo as the two go all-out with everything they have; the Emperor unleashing his full power, while Horus unleashes the full power of all four Chaos Gods acting through his person. The drama comes to a high as the Emperor strikes down his son, after Horus had dealt a mortal wound to him. The two of them collapse onto the floor, and the Emperor gives one last tearful speech to the Loyalists as he's mounted onto the Golden Throne.
