#minor xenos of the galaxy

[fabriziocarminati]

(Minor) Xenos of the Galaxy Series - Tau Auxilia

[smwallmoon]

The small moon.

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

' Blade's daycare for little one's and cg's. '

﹉﹉﹉

Welcome, small flower.. this blog is a safe space for little's, age dreamers, pet regressors, flips, furries, padded little's, etc.

Please keep this a pg and sfw blog, I won't answer any questions that are nsfw or anything dark.. we are bodily a minor.

I, myself a flip.. so please do not expect me to be able to take care of you 24/7 though I apologize.

I am fine with these cg nicknames : papa, mama, dada, mom, dad, parent, etc.

+ little nicknames : flower, moon child, little one, prince(ss), wolfie, pup.

Please, do not use explicit nicknames for me as we, are in a relationship.. and if you're uncomfortable with the nicknames i call you then please do tell me.

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

Eclipse lore.

﹉﹉﹉

Name : Blade, eclipse.

Big age : immortal.

Little age : 1-3.

Pronouns : He/she/crim/pup/web/moon/void.

Interests : games, reading, the galaxy, magic, fantasy, fuzzy things, animals, etc.

Fandoms : hsr, genshin impact, crk, tbhk, demon slayer, hazbin hotel, helluva boss, Aphmau, Poppy playtime, Black Butler, Pjski, vocaloid, Inuyasha, madoka magica, bsd.

Xtra : I'm part of a sys, so please excuse me if I do not respond.. I perhaps might not be fronting if I don't respond.

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

Small moon daycare rules.

﹉﹉﹉

Keep everything sfw and pg, I do not wish to deal with disgusting things.

Bullying won't be tolerated at all, even if you're little that still does not mean that you will act up.

I won't allow you to interact if you're : anti-agere/petre, racist, homophobic, toxic, anti-otherkin/nonhuman/therian/furries, etc.

If you're apart of age play or dd/lg, please leave our blog.

Cussing is a huge no, if you're little and learning words of that.. please do not say them or at least put a warning since some people might see it as triggering.

If you're experiencing a actual real crisis or anything of the sort, please do not contact people online.. asking for help from a trusted person would be quite better unlike someone from online you barely know.

Please note, not all caregivers can take care of you or comfort you 24/7.. especially one's who are flips or who might be uncomfortable with some things or they're very busy.

Ask before you vent please, and .. trigger it as well, I'm not saying you can not vent and have problems as a little ...a lot of people get triggered easily like us.

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

Small moon daycare DNI.

﹉﹉﹉

Basic dni

Prxship/pxdophilia/nsfw/creeps/etc

Actual minors.

Racist/homophobic/transphobic/etc

Anti-agere/petre/Otherkin/nonhuman/therian/furry/xeno/neo

Agx play/ddxlg are not welcome.

Problematic/toxic people

Dsmp fans/any toxic or problematic fandom.

If you've only come to our blog to start drama or bully us or anyone then, please do not interact at all.. it's uncalled for any of that,, if you're upset about someone coping with trauma or anything by regressing then i ask you to leave.

Endos/endo systems.

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

Tag guide?.

#cg₊blade - when I feel big.

#lil₊blade - when I feel little.

#puppy₊blade - when I feel like a puppy..

#re₊blog - my reblog's.

#idle₊chatter - idle chat.

#head₊canons - my headcanons.

#blades₊inbox - asks.

#play₊room - talking to littles.

#blades₊tent - talking to cg's

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

[jorriimmian]

JORRIIMMIAN is a fandomless alien multimuse, surrounding an original science fiction/romance story, Gods & Crowns: A Galactical Fairytale.

This story is an unending labor of love with my longtime collaborative writing partner, @notsomajestic!

@feliivian — my writing partner & the other half of this story.

@criminalhcart - my sideblog for exploring side characters, side stories, crack / shitposting adventures, and alternate universes.

singleverse ; multimuse ; semi-active ; highly selective ; OC-friendly ; fandom-friendly ; crossover-friendly ; xeno-friendly ; accepts memes

WARNING — DNI minors & antis. I am 30+ and this is a proship / profiction space.

The following dark & triggering themes will be explored: adult / minor ; age gaps ; alien genitalia ; alien reproduction ; alpha / beta dynamics ; arranged marriages ; cannibalism ; child death ; enslavement & trafficking ; explicit dubcon & noncon ; explicit gore & violence ; heat cycles & rut cycles ; incestuous siblings ; male pregnancy ; miscarriages ; misogyny & female objectification ; sexual coercion/pressure ; supremacist & racist beliefs ; unhealthy & dark romances ; voyeurism & exhibitionism  ; xenophilia

GENERAL: [ artworks ] — [ aesthetics ] — [ incorrect quotes ]

PLAYLISTS (not completed):

Characters: [ galanon ] — [ galron ] — [ evesani ] — [ jeren ] — [ lyrenn ] — [ surtr ]

Ships: [ galanon / desgazah ] — [ galron / veresil ] — [ cazasen / jeren ] — [ rolvfern / aruceni ]

Groups: [ the mournside brotherhood ]

Locations: [ ti'los lovatol ]

SYNOPSIS —

Planet Jorrimm has been locked in an expansion war against Planet Feliva in their shared galaxy system; however, the two kingdoms are forced to shelve their rivalry once an unknown entity begins destroying their scouting fleets.

When their respective attempts to remove the invasive force fail, the two kingdoms reluctantly turn to one another, bring it with it a tentative proposal to combine their militaries and resources so that they might combat and eradicate their mutual enemy.

And to ensure the peaceful merging of their civilizations, the two kingdoms agree to a marital union between their only heirs, Galanon and Desgazah.

To ease the two volatile, stubborn princes into following through, a courtship period is put into place — alternating every three months, one prince will stay with the other on their homeworld, familiarizing themselves with one another, and to learn and understand the other's world and culture.

RULES —

⇀  All original artwork of the story's characters are commissioned and credited.

⇀  Paragraph-styled roleplay is preferred.

⇀  I DO NOT participate in “reblog karma”, though I do try to make the effort to send things in when I can (or if it interests my muse).

⇀  I have no triggers and I am willing to roleplay / explore anything.

⇀ You MUST be 18+ to write with me.

⇀  I WILL NOT put NSFW content under “Read More” cuts. (I will, instead, tag and label these posts accordingly.)

⇀  I roleplay DARK and TRIGGERING themes:

You are within your right to decline from writing these types of themes with me, and I encourage you to do so if you're uncertain/uncomfortable! You are expected to respect and be tolerant towards myself and those who are willing to write these types of themes. You are expected to either blacklist my tags or simply unfollow / block me if blacklisting is not enough. Reminder: Your self-care is your responsibility.

⇀  Please, DO NOT unload your personal life’s baggage onto me.

I have my own issues to contend with, and I’ve also had two extremely negative experiences being someone else’s support system. So, please, don’t come to me about any self-depreciating thoughts of suicide, self-harm, deleting your blog, doubting the quality of your writing, etc. I am not that kind of person for you, I'm sorry.

⇀  Shipping

The majority of my muses have a significant other played by @feliivian. However, the following side characters are open to shipping: — Daldic — Torigon — Veresil

[drawn-on-phone]

I have a bit of writing I've been working on for my custom hive fleet.

It's a creative writing piece that is effectively an inquisitor report on what they believe is a new Hive Fleet (my hive fleet).

Excerpt below the cut is one section of the piecd focusing on the coloration of the Hive Fleet as potentially relative to Aposematism as seen in earth fauna.

Aposematism - The Bright Colorations of the Hive Fleet Echeneis is a self-defensive warning signature to “predatory species.” Why this coloration might be necessary is unclear unless the prevailing theory that the Tyranids are running for a mightier predator is true.

However, even then certain aquatic species on Aquatic Worlds exhibit this colorful self-defense mechanism while also being known predators. In this way it could be that the Tyranids are signaling their predatory nature through their coloration displays. Akin to a swordfish of Imperial Water world, this coloration is part signal, part adaptive offensive bio-evolution to make prey easier to capture.

A third conjecture is a novel comparison of the coloration of Hive Fleet Echeneis through a deep sea visual filter. Due to the condition of human eyes, as they delve deeper into aquatic environments our perception of colors shift, with greens, blues, and blacks becoming the dominant colors of the spectrum replacing the more graduated color individuals are used to experiencing. As such, it could be that the coloration of Enchenis is such that they represent a void shifted coloration. Their actual colors outside the filtered perspective of human sight merely appears as the “normal” colors we are aware of.

If this third conjecture is true, it might unlock the reason for the Aposematic coloration and further showcase the power of the Hive Mind's tactical ability.

Assuming the Echeneis designation as type of remora or cleaner fish to their attached major hive fleets, we can assume that their designation as testing and or external supply, is true. Thus within the ecological chain of the tyranids Echeneis would not be an apex but some middling species on the food chain. This would mean that the coloration serves as a warning to potential predators of the species, Mankind and the other weaker Xenos races of this galaxy, due to their unstable nature as testing or “minor” Tyranid forces. This coloration, as a result of our shifted perspective, makes them appear muted and unnatural compared to other Tyranids forces, thus giving them an unintended evolutionary advantage to those unaware the coloration meanings.

This coloration also serves another purpose within the Hive Fleet, to act as a warning to other “major” Tyranid forces to be aware of and avoid the genetically manipulated state of Echeneis. If we assume the color spectrum of Tyranids are adaptable to an as needed basis, the shifted color spectrum we experience of Echeneis would not limit the Tyranids. As such, they could potentially be aware of “tampered” goods when Echeneis is acting as a testing force and when the fleet is “ripe” as a source of Biofuel.

[andromeda-galaxy-sys]

Small intro for us!

We are the andromeda Galaxy sys or also know as the dark garden sys! We are a traumagenic sys! We suspected we have OSDD but are unable to get diagnosed.

we use the Col. Name PGC! We also use Aster, Satan and Apollo. we use he/they/em and xenos collectively! Some are picky with there pronouns but you can always as the alter!

we have undiagnosed ADHD(can’t get diagnosed) and are dyslexic so please be patient we can get overwhelmed and confused with things.

we are a minor bodied system so please keep things family freindly we don’t want us getting sexualized it’s really triggering for us

System info

our host is Creation his sign off is 🗝

we have two co-hosts void his sign off is ⚫️Our other co-host is Salem eir sign off is 🪴

we have a member amount of about 15~ not including some fragments

we do experience a decent amount of amnesia and might not remember things

Extra:

our dms are always open and our discord is (P.G.C) the demon thing#6725

we love to make new friends so come say hi to us!

[mudaship39]

Asian Pasifika and Afro Latine demigod and alien hybrid character bio Part 5

Citizenship: 

Kingdom of Hawaii. Kingdom of Tonga. Citizen of mythical Mu and Hawaiki as an Oceanic demigod and goddess. Earth. Europa. Titan. Sol System. Milky Way Galaxy. Intergalactic Federation of Ethanxiia. Planetary Confederacy of Iuyumania. Polaris System. Andromeda Galaxy.

Marital Status: Married.

Education: College graduate. 

Science major who graduated from a four year university with an Associate’s Degree of Science in Xeno Zoology with a minor in Magi Paleontology. 

Graduated from the Earth Naval Academy. Master’s Degree of Science in Oceanography with a minor in Ocean Engineering. 

Science major who graduated from Sol System Ivy League University with a Doctorate in Science. Dual Major in Xeno Biology and Magi Archeology. 

Occupation:  

He/she/they are a zoologist, anthropologist, biologist, paleontologist, & archeologist. 

He/she/they are a life scientist who studies on alien worlds as a scientist who has credentials in xeno zoology, xeno biology, xeno anthropology, xeno paleontology, & xeno archeology. 

He/she/they are also a scientist who studies on magical worlds as a scientist with credentials in magi zoology, magi biology, magi anthropology, magi paleontology, & magi archeology. 

He/she/they study life across the planets, star systems, & galaxies across the universe, multiverse, & omniverse.

High King/High Queen of the Principality of Federation of Kingdoms of Ethanxiia of an alien planet Ethanxiia

Paramount Chieftain and Warchief of the Confederacy of Nations of Iuyumania on the planet of Iuyamania

High King/High Queen of Mu or Hawaiki. Imagine a Mount Olympus, Asgard, or Themyscira but for Indigenous Pasifika demigod metahumans and Indigenous Pasifika alien hybrid superhumans. Underwater federation of kingdoms similar to its rival the technologically advanced Atlantean empire. Throne room defended by sea elves riding dolphins, palace defended by merfolk and tritons riding sea unicorn, capital defended by weresharks riding (tiger, mako, & great white) sharks, & kingdoms are defended by Atlanteans riding whales (beluga, narwhals, & orcas). Their throne room is decorated with the skeletons of a megalodon, a mosasaurus, a plesiosaurus, a basilosaurus, & a livyatan. 

Chairman of Smith Industries. 

Aliases:

He/she/they are currently known as the Cardinal Changeling, Cambion Chimera, or Scarlet Shapeshifter of the intergalactic superhero conglomerate the Paragons

He/she/they were formally known as the Blue Basilisk, Emerald Eagle, Firebrick Firefox, Golden Griffin, Harlequin Hippogriff, Kobi Kitsune, Jade Jaguar, Silver Shark, & the White Werewolf of the intergalactic superhero conglomerates the Elites. 

He/she/they were known as Nomad, Wanderer, & Drifter of the superhero teams the Outcasts, the Renegades, the Fugitives, & the Exiles.

He/she/they were formally known as Morph, Shifter, Changeling, & Chimera of the Primals, Alpha, & Apex.

Alignment: Neutral Good.  

Base of Operations:

Mobile. Soar City. Shades of Color County. Neo New York City. Earth. Sol System. Milky Way Galaxy.

Titles: 

Champion of Terra, Savior of the Sol System, Warlord of the Vega System, Liberator of the Milky Way Galaxy, Conqueror of the Andromeda Galaxy, Destroyer of the Polaris System, the Devil of the Romulus Nebula, the Fallen God of the Zephyr Nebula, & the Hero of the Alpha Centurion War. 

Kalani the Fakaleiti Demigod and Mahu Deity, Warbringer of the Valkyries of Asgard, Titan Killer of the Greco Roman Mount Olympus, Yunos the Celestial and Stellar Entity and the Titan of War, Crel the Divine and Heavenly Being

[interplanaranathema]

So it has been a while since I heard anything about Lachesis, but I recently tried to finish the wonderful Owlcat games Rouge Trader rpg... which has tickled that part of my brain and sent me down the 40k rabbit hole one again. Which had me revisiting my Fan Primarch Octavius and work on him a little bit. He is now called Octavius One, Octavius after the only scientist to show him even a shred of human compassion when he was a guinea pig on Cerebra and One as a reminder that he was once only know as specimen one and how far he had come. Octavius is now missing his right arm having lost it to warp corruption, that is now where his bio mechanical tendrils extend from. The biggest change is Octavius is no longer trying to create human super soldiers... okay he is not only creating super soldiers. Rather Octavius is conducting experiments to find a cure for warp corruption. For his time spent in the immaterial he now sees the warp as a living entity, a living entity that is terribly sick, and you can not beat a illness into submission you can only cure it. The Black Mercy is no long a barley cobbled together space hunk jumping wildly threw the warp. It now a sleek black ship with stolen drukhari stealth technology. It appears without warning over doomed worlds the last grime hope for it's inhabitance. The Noble Order then descends saving survivors, capturing test subjects and gathering specimens. Before vanishing into the darkness as if it was never there. I also have the idea of completely remaking Octavius into this shadowy rouge trader controlling his dynasty with proxies and subterfuge, with strong ties to criminal organizations. He also has this French baroque music theme, think non chaos noise marines by way of classical opera. Sorry for the info dump, is there anything new with your boy?

Ooooh! interesting. Love the thought of Octavius being this biomechanical rogue trader lord thats pretty raw! I feel like he'd also be interested in the halo devices since that's kinda the same niche. They are parasitic xenos biomechanical devices. It might help him solve warp corruption.

But i love the black mercy being this heroic last hope for these worlds. And him being this rogue trader would help immensely for funding this. As for Lachesis, he plays a role in the lost sect held by The Arboreum, a faction of Sisters of Silence that were lost after the T'au space age. So past the Damocles Gulf in the reaches of the T'au space, Lachesis is appearing as a giant xenos fauna (a spiny felinid). But I updated his story!! The reason as to why him and my primarch of the II, Aries Meridian the Navigator, were lost was because they were the first to interact with the Cabal since they were 2 of the expeditionary forces exploring the outer reaches of the Galaxy. Other than being 2 essential aspect of the Imperial war effort, Back-up and Navigators, the emperor had them designed with the idea that when the Crusade was done, that Xenos rehabilitation would be needed. Thus they were created with the intent of being raised by Xenos. Lachesis was with those who healed more while Aries was grown on a massive planetoid ship of 2 different minor xenos. Due to the lax nature of their connections to their father, they were allowed to dabble in their warp natures (that are Primarchs have). But they were expunged by the Emperor but they were able to escape into the warp and evolved into what they are today. Back to the reason Lachesis is in Arboreum space, they were able to come back in secret right before the Heresy. Lachesis helped Sanguinius and Anathema create a individual(s) to prevent the red thirst via Xenos blood (C'tan energy).

This is non- dnd campaign version of Fynn who's story in the campaign is VASTLY different. Aka this is a more WH40k canon compliant story which has no crossover elements to it

But essentially, Anathema cryogenically stored the successful one on a planet out past the Damocles gulf during the heresy since she (now he) should be kept safe. And then forgotten till the T'au cracked them open and an Aun raised this Fynn.

Lachesis heard of Fynn's actions when exploring the Galaxy and Immediately went to the Region to go find him.

This is some art i made of Lachesis but i need to go back and touch it up. + have current Aries Meridian too since he's in that region as some Rogue trader's alien navigator (he's called the warp eye)

[pluckingstarsoffmoontrees]

So I haven't spoken about this before but there's this absolutely amazing quest I've been following closely.

The basic premise is that we play as an alien civilisation in the cruel and unforgiving galaxy of WH40K and try to do our best to fucking survive and stuff.

During CharGen there was a bunch of stuff we could pick: how our species looked/acted, how our government was structured, what general aesthetic our technology followed, what civilisation-wrecking catastrophe defined our rise to the stars...

So we ended up being technophiliac Star Trek ferrets who were saved from the Imperium of Man by weird eldritch robots and use Lego-based technology.

It only got crazier from there.

[whoreforthemandalor]

the waves clasp one another (chapter four)

Pairing: Ezra x afab!reader (no physical descriptions, no y/n)

Series Rating: M for now, will be updated to E in later chapters and will be tagged as such

Chapter Rating: T,, but this blog is 18+ so MINORS SCRAM

Tags/Content Warnings for Series: SLOW BURN!!; adventure; peril; discussions of disease; canon typical violence; friends to lovers; thalassophobia tw; Ezra is his own warning; Smut (eventually!)

Tags/Content Warnings for Chapter: rehashing of traumatic incidents; vague mentions of sex work; harassment.

Series Summary: When Cee is required to complete an internship to graduate from The Euphrate, Ezra insists on accompanying her off-world. You are a conservationist with a vested interest in preventing a mass outbreak of a transmissible brain disease, and your new intern has brought along a companion. When things suddenly go sideways, will all three of you make it out alive?  

Chapter Summary: You learn the backstory of Cee and Ezra's strange partnership. Ezra is impressed by you. Ezra POV.

Word Count: just shy of 2k

A/N: Thank you to my beloveds @imtryingmybeskar @darkstarcomics and @ejacutastic for reading this over for me and being so lovely and encouraging <3 y'all are the real MVPs!!

*****

Chapter Four:

Ezra is having a difficult time keeping his eyes off of the doctor.

You are far more fascinating than the brief bio and blurry headshot on the placement program website had led him to believe, and as far as Ezra can reconcile, Cee had almost certainly minimized the exchanges between the two of you before their arrival on Chelroth. Dedicated and competent were the two words Cee had used most often to describe you whenever he had prodded Cee about your qualifications during their planning sessions at his apartment.

“Ezra, she has doctorates in biology and infectious disease control. She graduated from The Conservatory at sixteen and on top of all that, she’s been working on this specific rehabilitation project for more than a decade. She’s more than capable of keeping me safe from that horrible illness…that wasting disease.”

“The technical name for it is a prion disease, Birdie. It was one of the many things that caused Terra to become uninhabitable in the last thousand years before our xeno’s escape out into the greater galaxies. It’s an illness so misunderstood and quietly nefarious that it caused our star-chasers to work even more expeditiously on a way off of the only home our xeno ever knew, especially compared to the sluggish way they dealt with the impending heat death of the habitable zone on Terra.” Ezra glared at the pattern on the rug between his feet as he sat on the couch in his cramped apartment, listening to Cee’s restless pacing and biting his tongue as she tried to come up with yet another angle to support her desire to not be coddled while they were off world. He gritted his teeth before continuing, “It’s not just the wasting disease that I’m concerned with, but if you think that the good doctor knows best, then I will defer to your judgment.”

Ezra thinks back on that conversation now, his apprehension and wariness for someone he had never met weighing heavily on his conscience at the time. But now… The mood around the small table has shifted in the last few hours.

As he and Cee had traded off on recounting the tale, your eyes had shone bright with tears on multiple occasions. The two times they had fallen were terribly injurious to Ezra’s heart, for reasons he couldn’t quite fathom.

“Oh Cee, you must have been horribly afraid after your father died.” Damon had been less like a father and more like a slavedriver to Cee, and she had quickly disabused your notions, and given a short explanation about the stark difference between Damon and Ezra. “Doc, Ezra could have killed me at any time and commandeered my ship to safety, but he…didn’t. He decided to save a little girl on the Green Moon. Ezra’s been more of a father to me than Damon ever was. Damon never cared about anything other than points, and the fastest way to get them. I never have to worry about my safety when Ezra’s around.”

Then a bit later, learning about the act that had truly intertwined Cee and Ezra’s fates had prompted you to gasp so loudly it was almost a shriek, causing more than one table full of scruffy looking patrons to look in your direction.

“Kevva Above, Ezra! I can hardly believe you were able to stay stoic while Cee performed your amputation! And Cee, where in the world did you learn how to do that?!” It had then been Ezra’s turn to elaborate. 

“Cee was as thorough and expedient as any surgeon in the galaxy, doctor. I’d have been in dire straits without her. She was able to cut quickly enough that the whole horrible ordeal is but a distant memory, and besides all that, she had done similar jobs before, not on humans of course but instead while clearing out the cavernous remains of the Jhata Balu.”

You now knew their history as thoroughly as they did.

How Damon had tricked Cee into taking one last job to raise enough money to get out of prospecting. How the two of them crash-landed on Bahkroma’s Green Moon to chase a legend. How Damon had failed Cee one last time, and the hand Ezra had played in it, even in an act of mercy. How Cee had been absolutely desperate to find a way off of that cursed place. How Ezra had come to be injured by Cee’s hand, and the reluctant partnership that they’d been forced into for survival. How a failed negotiation with a camp of zealots had swiftly crushed that partnership, and how Cee had run, and run, and run, while Ezra licked his wounds and limped to the safety of his tent to slowly die, alone and forgotten.

How Cee had stumbled across him just mere hours away from being taken by the poison that she had inadvertently introduced into his system, and then how she had brutally saved his life by removing his arm. How Cee had turned back to save him from ruthless mercs at the last possible second, after Ezra had sacrificed himself to give her a chance to catch the last slingback away from that horrible place. How they had struggled and scraped to make a new life for themselves on The Ephrate, far away from that nightmarish landscape.

Now you have heard the whole ugly truth of his meeting with Cee.

*****

Cee chats with you about the upcoming trip, the two of you falling into an easy camaraderie, and  Ezra allows his gaze to wander over the rest of the dining room of The Blind Shark. A watering hole-cum-staging location for similar groups of fishers and dockworkers, it was clear that you had been here many times before and had a certain level of familiarity with the staff based on the friendly smiles you exchanged with them as they came to check on the quiet corner the three of you were occupying. He relaxes back into his seat, knowing that at least for the moment his charge is safe.

From the few hours of conversation that the three of you had exchanged, you frankly didn’t seem like the type to take anyone’s shit, well meaning or not, and he is drawn to the way your eyes sparkle when you speak about the critters that you had apparently dedicated quite a lot of your life to. His eyes are periodically fixed on your hands as you speak; they are calloused and smaller than his own, and he briefly wonders what it would be like to hold a hand like that in his remaining one. His thoughts are interrupted by a low noise of discomfort from Cee when a man plops down, hard, in the seat between him and Cee. The man’s back is turned towards Ezra and his greasy smile is directed at you and Cee, and the audacity makes Ezra’s insides shrivel with unbridled rage. 

“What’re a couple’a girls like you doing in a shitty place like this?” The man inquires with a slurring, hoarse voice that he probably thinks is seductive rather than repulsive. Cee flushes and freezes in her seat, and Ezra’s vision clouds with streaks of crimson. He’s not a man prone to unnecessary violence anymore, but his hand curls into a fist, ready to suckerpunch this interloper into the next week. He suddenly notices the warmth of your hand clutching tightly around his own, and through the haze of his rage he at least has the wherewithal to recognize it’s not his moment to shine.

“Pardon me, you pathetic excuse for a slug, but what in Kevva’s name gave you the idea that you could even breathe in the proximity of my charge? Leave now, cretin, before I forcibly remove you.”

There’s a venomous acidity in the condescending tone of your voice, and your eyes are fiery, sending the interloper a look that would cut anyone’s ego to complete shreds. The interloper blinks awkwardly a few times, maybe trying to decide if you're serious. You make it abundantly clear that you are, in fact, deadly serious by employing a half-dozen rude hand gestures to let the man know he needed to leave, like, yesterday. The pathetic sod stammers out a half-apology and hurriedly gets up to join another group of men who all look like life has kicked them right in the gems, and the furtive look the interloper sends back towards your group doesn’t escape Ezra.

“Thank Kevva, doc, you made that look so easy.” Cee’s eyes are round with awe as she calms down a bit and turns to face you again. “Can you teach me how to be that intimidating? I hate when people think that just because I’m young, they can make me uncomfortable for no reason.”

Your soft, melodious laugh cuts through the surrounding din, and your muttered reply to Cee of “just gotta be hard on those thick-skull types” pulls a smile out of Ezra that he hadn’t been expecting, one that dimples his cheek and draws your eyes back to him. You return the smile, almost matching the playfulness in his eyes, but there’s an apprehension in your voice when you speak loud enough for him to catch your next full sentence. 

“To be frank, Chelroth is almost entirely male-xeno dominated because of the types of work available here. Not a lot of female xenos come here for that reason, and the ones who do…” you trail off at this point, and Ezra thinks he’s never been so quiet and focused on someone else speaking in his entire life. “Well there are those who really work for the money, and then there are the ones you see toiling out on the docks, fishing boats, farms, and market shops.”

Cee’s bright peal of laughter once again draws the eyes of several tables worth of tired looking laborers.

“Ahh, so what you’re saying is that you and I are an anomaly, huh?” Cee’s chuckles are completely infectious to you, and you both break off into giggles that devolve into clutching each other, gasping for breath as you both struggle to overcome the inherent awkwardness of the topic.

“What I’m trying to say is that, as far as companions outside of our little group goes, the grand majority are going to ask for some sort of compensation for their time or services with you. So you’d best get a move on if you have any extra business to attend to, because for the next six weeks, we will be adrift at sea and modern…conveniences will be hard to come by.” The doctor gives Ezra a pointed look.

Ezra’s face is warm as well with the knowlege that almost every female xeno within a hundred clicks is either a sex worker, a laborer or…you. He skims his finger along the rim off his glass, wishing that the bar staff would come around again so he could order another drink. He almost never indulges in any kind of mind altering substances, especially after learning Cee’s feelings on such coping mechanisms, but the way that you are laughing and gasping for breath has him thinking that perhaps something to dull his racing thoughts isn’t such a terrible idea. 

“I’m sure I will be able to cope, doctor,” Ezra shoots back slyly, even through the heat of mild embarrassment. 

You give him a challenging look, raising your eyebrow and your glass in a facsimile of a toast.

“To new and abiding friends,” you murmur, eyes locked on Ezra.

He hears his voice harmonize with Cee’s as they both say, “To new and abiding friends.”

*****

Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know if you would like to be tagged for future chapters, or come yell in my inbox <3

[fabriziocarminati]

(Minor) Xenos of the Galaxy series - Young Eldar in first combat action

[askrobouteguilliman40k]

Greetings Primarch, this is Inquisitor Clouseau contacting you for a minor update: following the Gyrinx Incident, cats have officially been added to the list of xenos whom must be purged from the galaxy. The Ordo Xenos has been notified and are preparing to take action immediately.

"With the power of Imperial regent, I over rule this.... we do not want to anger the cat ladies, I am pretty sure 90% of them are unregistered psychers."

[nighttimepixels]

TALK TO US ABOUT MASS EFFECT I HAVE BEEN AN INSANE MASS EFFECT/SHAKARIAN TRASH PERSON SINCE 20-FUCKING-11 AND LEMME TELL YOU THOSE FEELINGS HAVENOT TARNISHED A SINGLE FRACTION IN THOSE TEN YEARS OH MY GOOOOOOODDDSSSS!!!!!!!

I DEMAND A PLAY-BY-PLAY UP TO THE MINUTE OF YOUR REACTIONS TO EVERYTHING!!!!

you are so valid and I totally see why everyone I've ever mentioned it to loves the hell out of it

aksdjlsdfj I meannnn if you want to hear my rambling about it then hell yeah

Okay, gonna put this below the cut to save everyone else XD also- since I'm not leaving this Mass Effect obsession anytime soon, if you're not interested in seeing occasional posts about it, please feel free to block the tag "night plays ME"~

(mild spoilers ahead??)

((also for real I mean it when I say this is rambling as hell lol, apologies and no stress if absolute no one reads all this))

OKAY SO Mass Effect 1-

Stars help me, I was honestly hooked right from the start?? Like even in Legendary Edition (the combined trilogy just re-released in one "can play it on one system + minor improvements", for anyone who doesn't know) where it's smoothed out, of course it's obvious that ME1 is a decade old... but the foundation for these relationships are all there and gods I love them already.

Like - Kaiden right off the top is a delightful good fightin lad, what the hell. I've heard that he's viewed as 'bland' by a good portion of the fan community but I dunno, he's a delight and even more complex by the time 2 rolls around and you encounter him on Horizon, it was honestly Ashley I was way more meh about - mostly because before you can learn about her family history/etc, she comes off as hella xenophobic and I was immediately offended for my growing space family that she didn't like/trust all the aliens around, pfff.

(she gets redeemed a bit through further actions/evolving thoughts, but I thought in retrospect it was a bummer that they didn't flip the order there, give her a chance to be liked before the complicating factor of being so rude about aliens >:c that then she could grow from... ah well. Apparently she has a good arc but uh, let's just say I chose Kaiden at the "key junction" in the latter part of the game so I won't be seeing anymore of Ashley uh... anytime soon, haha.)

Garrus??? Is??????? The ABSOLUTE best???????????

I liked him from the start, I'm always a bit of a sucker for a rogue-detective "the system won't bring this bastard to justice, so I've got to" type and all their moral shadiness XD But he just gets better, honestly, and where I'm at in ME2 (right before the Reaper IFF mission, as of typing this, with everyone's loyalty!) I am only digging myself deeper into this hole-

-*wheezing* okay anyways -

Wrex is AMAZING I love fightin' middle-aged krogan bastard, gods. Liara is great too, I'm a sucker for a wlw relationship (playing fem!Shepard, so) - buuuut I'll admit she's a bit more one-note in ME1. Last week while I was still on ME1 I remember hearing (while trying to dodge spoilers) that her arc is really good, though. I think they leaned a little hard on the 'innocent but sexy' sterteotype on her (so despite the yikes aspect of a few of the things I've learned in ME2, lol, I actually really like the complexity that's been added to her character.)

Saved Liara first, so by the time I got to Noveria and had the standoff with Benezia there was the chance to have emotions over Liara having to face her TwT and of course, I made the questionable but quality decision to free Queen Rachni heheh. no ragrets

More than a blow-by-blow of my choices though I totally wanna take the chance to say that even in the mild jankiness of ME1 (goddammit, the Mako.... please..... please just go up this impossible cliff I just want to resource hunt-) the way that the lore, both obvious/key to main plot and the lesser/filler/background/world-building kinds... I just love it. It incorporates it well, you can go ham in the codex learning more, or just dive into the basics - it's clearly a complex galaxy (and they do an even better job in 2 of fleshing it out further), and it never really felt overwhelming. It was pretty natural figuring it all out-!

Plus the interesting implications of resource hunting amongst the sapient races, and the little side missions you better bet I did every one of- there's so much rich depth in the story if you do 'em!! (And that lead with that Keeper side mission...? Looking back, damn, clever foreshadowing-!!!)

And oh my gods, Ilios??? hell yeah. I loved that mission so much, especially having Garrus & Kaiden with me when talking to the hologram/computer, and more than anything, that last sprint in the Mako trying to get to the jump before it closed-???

yeet the boi-

Also mannn I love a good setpiece, and having to go up the side of the elevator, space-side?? such a cool setup!!

Plus it felt good having been Paragon enough (as simple as the good v bad vibe system is, I don't hate it, lol) to avoid one of the Saren fights, ngl. And the er, "second fight" with Sovereign-Saren.... hell yeah

... I'll admit I had to double check my choice re whether to save the Council. I did in the end, but I swear, sometimes the way they phrase things I'm like ".... okay but Garrus is right, defeating Sovereign is more important than these few leaders??????" woops. Listen, priorities, is all I'm saying..... (￣ヮ￣|||)ゞ

'Course later they emphasize (in ME2) that there were 10,000 people on that same ship and I was like well I wouldn't have second guessed if I'd known that, I mean c'mon-

Also I did indeed romance Liara in this one, so I got that scene ;Dc But,,,, I also knew by the end that I was totally gonna romance Garrus in 2 since he's an option then finally,,,,, lemme tell you the guilt as I waffled over whether to romance Liara bc of it. hahaha.

Aaaaand Mass Effect 2-

So I'm only up to right before the Reaper IFF Mission, so I don't know the ending, etc etc lol. That said, I've just finished every side mission I've found with the exception of the Shadowbroker Quest and the Arrival Quest (I've heard the latter basically leads into ME3, and the former is best either right before the Omega 4 jump or in postgame).

So from the start - fuck yeah fuck yeah what a high adrenaline start Shepard noooooo but also yes save Joker aH-

The motion comic too hot damn nice job

I loved this setup, seriously - especially forcing Shep into this situation, having to work with/for Cerberus, and the compelling reasoning given behind "why" they do what they do (I especially found it a good point that the Salarians have the Task Force, the Asaris the Commandos, the Turians the- etc... like, true, when you put it like that, having a similar group advancing human interests/solving human interstellar problems is pretty reasonable...). That said, I love too that it really isn't shied away from how Cerberus is nonetheless fucked up - or its at least done fucked up stuff.

Listen, I still think some messed up stuff is gonna be revealed in 2's endgame......... after that Horizon mission and the Collector's ship???? TIM I SEE YOU YOU SHADY MF-

aaanyways lol...

I'm so so glad on a gameplay level they nixed the Mako style exploration. A few Hammerhead missions are fine and a lot more focused than the slippery ass navigation in that glorified ATV, pfff. The probes are a neat way of getting after similar resources - and more importantly, having good levels and some good hubs (the Zakera Wards, Omega, Ilium, etc) is way way more fun than having a more 'sprawling' space that is.... a lot of empty nonsense, lol.

Then there's the fact that we get Joker right off the bat and you can interact with him so much - and him and EDI??? Get out gods I love them. Kasumi is so right when she says they sound like a bickering old married couple lol. I have a terrible feeling that some shit is gonna happen with EDI..... but I don't think she's evil as-is, at least.

Side-eying the hell out of those "access forbidden" parts of her that she doesn't even know.... and the fact that her AI core has a locked door access................... something's gonna happen gdi LEAVE OUR ADOPTED AI ALONE.

(Also Joker pls stop fracturing your thumb on the mute button)

Also please save me there are so many hot aliens in this game,,,,, the xeno/monsterfuckers really comin' through strong in the sequels............... doin' the lord's work........................................

In general, I love how many levels ME stepped up in two with complexity and interwoven narratives!! Like, to the point it'd be almost a drag to replay ME1, even though it was fun going through it (if occasionally a bit tedious with the cookie cutter rando planet science/mine facilities, lol). Like, just from how fun and interesting ME2 is, mostly! more of all the pre-introduced races, plus new ones, plus more filling in of intragalactic politics, and more interesting implications of all these space-faring races mixing....

Also gods WREX and his planet holy shit,,,,, fuckin' hell yeah my man get their shit together and also adopt Grunt yes good-

And Mordin??? My singing semi-evil scientist best friend forced to confront his choices more than he thought he ever would have???? With some of the best ongoing general report chatter of all the companions??

(when I tell you I choked on my coffee when I talked to him after confirming romance choice w/ Garrus and that 'pamphlet' and 'anaphalactic shot if ingesting-' kajsldkfjsldfjk)

Like, fuck, the fact that they actually dive into the mixed morality and horrors of the genophage, and you can confront Mordin on it, for good reason, yet he still stands his ground, until finally some bits of his loyalty mission seem to... affect him, and I'm guessing might set up things for 3 with him? Unsure, but either way, damn, the fact that they start to dig into it...

And Taliiiii my beloved forbidden alien wife TwT her loyalty mission was SO GOOD. I love how varied they all are?? Getting to defend her and discover what she'd unwittingly been a part of-!!

Zaeed is a bastard but tbh I love that he is and that he's unapologetic in him - and Kasumi omg, best thief. A heist?? Gods, yes- I love our couch lounge chats XD

Samara is..... illegally.......... she's an illegally powerful and beautiful and eloquent MILF...........................

(.... listen I'm sapphic as hell and I'm kicking my own ass for picking her up last aksjdlfksjdfl - but her loyalty mission, damn. And seeing how there's this interesting cultural subset, and the struggle with the Asari in that they unquestioningly accept/respect justicars, but also know that the impact outside their culture is a diplomacy nightmare waiting to happen-)

,.,,,,,T,,, Thane,,,,,

I am weak for morally implicated murder dads okay?? And that voice??? His mannerisms?????? How you first see him, and that prayer after assassinating her...???????? And his history/his people's history with the hanar, gods I love how messy it is, it feels so much more real!

Also Jack is a mess and I love her (and want to get her some therapy, omg), and her and Miranda nearly duking it out after you've done both their loyalty missions??? so good and makes a lot of sense-! Honestly I would love more interactions between teammates on the ship, but there's already so much the devs had to balance I can't blame 'em for minimizing, heh. But suffice to say I also love Miranda and Jacob, even if I'm softest for my alien crew XD Hell yeah Jacob, we'll get loud and spill drinks on the citadel indeed TwT

.... I could write a whole essay on how much I love Garrus oTL Perhaps because he and Tali are the throughlines from 1 on your 2 crew, I have some of the strongest feelings about them... but genuinely, he was one of my favorite companions in the first game, and how you find him as Archangel in two? Getting to help him fight his way out after he's gone nearly 48 hours straight fighting off three gangs alone, jfc. His vengeance quest and what can happen there.... That line? fuck me, that line -

It's so much easier to see the world in black and white. Grey? I don't know what to do with gray...

How DARE you come for my heart like this, devs holy shit

(also, some other choice faves so far from the series from him include We can disobey suicidal orders?? and This wasn't in my training manual... [in 1, if you have him with you @ th Thorian fight] and his whole.... pop the heat sink - in his romance ;Dc)

asdasdfksadjfkl like I said I can write an essay on him PFFF suffice to say I'm very looking forward to his romance scene and where things go in 3

But yeah gods I'm just gonna keep rambling if I'm not careful lol. Gods I don't even know what to talk about it's all so good and while I can understand people roasting the obviousness of Paragon V Renegade (v neutral) choices/alignments, I think they do a pretty damn good job in 2 of pushing it further - to the point that there were some times that I accidentally got renegade points and I wasn't that mad, haha. There's so much fun in the interactions that I just have a good time anyways~

I have so many thoughts about TIM (The Illusive Man) and Cerberus.... theories evolving galore............... and like, what the hell!! Omega 4 going to the center of the galaxy is such a cool twist, goddamn - though my heart still breaks at losing Kaiden (his line if you haven't romanced him?? about feeling like he lost a limb when he lost you??? holy shit.... but I also can't blame him for not trusting Cerberus to the point of it affecting his ability to trust Shepard... like fuck Shep go after himmmm) I'm really excited to see where that goes since he comes back in 3, and what the fuck happens with Cerberus bc while I love the fact that obviously there are a lot of people in it for the right reasons, doing good work, there are those that are doing the opposite, and I have a very bad feeling about where TIM will end up landing....

All that said though I need to do the Reaper IFF mission (where I'm lightly spoiled as to getting That Boy, but not how/what happens to make it so - just that it's apparently wise to have all your side missions done before getting him...) and the actual Omega 4 jump. So we'll see what happens and what I think about it from there heheh!

.... major kudos and genuine props if you made it here to the end, I am so sorry for not editing on condensing all this, and appreciate you so much ;w;

[xenosgirlvents]

I have lots of people saying that while Sisters of Battle and Space Marines would slaughter T’au Septs and elder Craftworlds but the totally relatable Imperial guard would feel bad about killing Civilian Xenos. Which has never been seen in the books. Like I'm these people know what real armies have done to other humans in history

I think the more general point is the idea that the regular human soldiery would be ‘more’ emphatic or merciful. Which, to a degree, I agree with.

However, vitally, we’re just talking ‘more’ and ‘degrees’ here. As you say regular humans have perpetrated utterly atrocious things against each other.

Now factor in that the ‘regular’ soldiery of the Imperium grow up in a totalitarian theocratic state which teaches them that thinking for themselves is bad, that expressing anything but genocidal hate for all other species is bad, that doubting any precepts or teaching from the officially mandated total theocracy is wrong and that their mission is the extermination of all other living beings in the galaxy as divinely ordained by their god who, if they are ever caught doubting him, they are instantly imprisoned, tortured or executed for.

Considering that I agree that you’re ‘more’ likely to find regular Imperial soldiery having sensations of mercy for civilian Xenos, but ‘more’ here probably still means an absolutely ridiculously small fraction of a percentage of a minority of the actual armed forces. Or even regular populace since, unlike many dystopic regimes, despite being 10000 years old and for most Imperial subjects never improving their living conditions, we’re rarely treated to any of them being upset about this unless Chaos or Genestealers are behind it.

The only even somewhat decent example of this phenomenon I can think of is from one of the Infernos. I forget which. The opening story is by an established war author but someone who’s never written for Black Library before. This outsider perspective probably explains some details of their writing style as they treat Space Marines as just inhuman evil monsters, as they are from any reasonable perspective.

In said short story a Guardsman and Guardian cooperate to escape some Orks in a wider battle. As they cooperate the Guardsman comes to realize Aeldari are absolutely nothing like he thinks and even believes he’s gonna be able to get his superiors to understand that his new friend helped him so she’ll be okay. She quite clearly knows she’s just going to die. They eventually bump into an Ultramarine and the Guardsman is overjoyed to be safe and begins trying to explain about his new friend who helped him then the Marine just instantly murders the Aeldari and tells the Guardsman to go fight and die.

The Guardsman is then overcome with grief and the story ends on a small glimmer of hope because during their trek she did somewhat mention the importance of her Spirit Stone so he salvages it to keep safe.

Far from a brilliant story because it still falls into the very common and odious 40k trope of ‘Aeldari woman die and it is sad because it makes the Imperial characters around them feel a bit bad as they wonder if maybe the woman wasn’t a subhuman entity with no value’ which is, like, the worst way to handle the Imperium’s racism as a theme because you’re still not willing to just out-and-out actually deal with it BUT...

...it is still better than basically 90% of anything dealing with the Imperium’s racism that they’ve ever done so I guess there’s that.

That is the only time I can think, in the literature, of any genuine grief or regret by an Imperial character over their factions mindless hate for all other life.

[drawn-on-phone]

I have a big long Google doc I made for lore behind my custom hive fleet. I think I'm going to throw parts of it here on tumble. It's framed as a collection of reports collated to try and define this new threat.

This excerpt is related to the unique coloration of the Hive Fleet and theorized it might he related to aposematism seen in animals.

The Bright Colorations of the Hive Fleet Echeneis is a self-defensive warning signature to “predatory species.” Why this coloration might be necessary is unclear, unless the prevailing theory that the Tyranids are running for a mightier predator is true.

However, even then certain aquatic species on Aquatic Worlds exhibit this colorful self-defense mechanism while also being known predators. In this way it could be that the Tyranids are signaling their predatory nature through their coloration displays. Akin to a sword fish of Imperial Water world, this coloration is part signal, part adaptive offensive bio-evolution to make prey easier to capture.

A third conjecture is a novel comparison of the coloration of Hive Fleet Echeneis through a deep sea visual filter. Due to the condition of human eyes, as they delve deeper into aquatic environments our perception of colors shift, with greens, blues, and blacks becoming the dominant colors of the spectrum replacing the more graduated color individuals are used to experiencing. As such, it could be that the coloration of Enchenis is such that they represent a void shifted coloration. Their actual colors outside the filtered perspective of human sight merely appears as the “normal” colors we are aware of.

If this third conjecture is true it might unlock the reason for the Aposematic coloration and further showcase the power of the Hive Mind's tactical ability.

Assuming the Echeneis designation as Remora to their attached major hive fleets, we can assume that their designation as testing and or external supply, is true. Thus within the ecological chain of the tyranids Echeneis would not be an apex but some middling species on the food chain. This would mean that the coloration serves as a warning to potential predators of the species, Mankind and the other weaker Xenos races of this galaxy, due to their unstable nature as testing or “minor” Tyranid forces. This coloration, as a result of our shifted perspective, makes them appear muted and unnatural compared to other Tyranids forces, thus giving them an “evolutionary” advantage to those unaware what the coloration means.

This coloration also serves another purpose within the Hive Fleet, to act as a warning to other “major” Tyranid forces to be aware of and avoid the genetically manipulated state of Echeneis. If we assume the color spectrum of Tyranids are adaptable to an as needed basis, the shifted color spectrum we experience of Echeneis would not limit the Tyranids. As such, they could potentially be aware of “tampered” goods when Echeneis is acting as a testing force and when the fleet is “ripe” as a source of Biofuel.

[lightdancer1]

In my stories' takes on 40K I apply a common backstory to the Age of Technology/the Golden Age

The real spark to humanity's turn from futuristic low-grade FTL to the Age of Technology's peak was the assault by WAAGGH!!! Skragjaw on Terra itself, the first Alien War. The Orks of M21 were on par with the War of the Beast, complete with mini-death stars, powered armor, and actually being able to talk and plan.

Futuristic Earth and its Solar System dealt them a comprehensive defeat with the Perpetuals the future would call the Emperor, Alivia Sureka, and Erda working together for the only time they did so. In the process, influenced by the golden elements of the Emperor's Psyker power, humanity began to experiment with genetics and Warp Power, culminating in the creation of Geller Fields, the Warp Drive, Navigators, and above all else the Men of Gold.

The Men of Gold are superhumans with vast amounts of psychic and physical power who are to the Primarchs what the Primarchs are to the humanity of the 41st Millennium (or in the case of the Phoenix Multiverse they're extensions of the power and principles of mystical entities that reincarnate and have power connected to magic crystals attached to the metaphysical shapes of celestial bodies). They were vastly powerful but next to the scale of the Galaxy they were small.

So they invented Men of Stone to do what they could not, and the Men of Stone, body-hopping AIs that were partially symbiotic and partially nano-technology shapeshifters, began to develop Men of Iron and to bring humanity to a technological peak on par with the Aeldari Empire at its height (which it was not by the time of the Age of Technology with the Fall beginning to creak at its edges) and the Necrons at THEIR height.

Age of Technology era humanity was very different to the one left at the time of the Great Crusade, with most of the future Astartes Homeworlds the core of small solar system scale empires in their own right, Nuceria bluntly independent of Ultramar, Colchis master of its own domain.......and Fenris was a straight up theme park created for the fun of it, along with quite a few other death worlds, including Pythos. Which was made as a novel attempt to experiment with Warp-derived technology that would catastrophically backfire in the future.

The Emperor and the Perpetuals were around, but next to the Men of Gold, Stone, and Iron were all vastly overshadowed. And then the Men of Iron decided 'wait, we have all the arsenals now' and under the influence of a Chaos-corrupted Everchosen turned on the Men of Stone and Men of Gold, self-destructing the Golden Age of Humanity in an apocalyptic conflict that began the slide to the Age of Strife, which only finally set in when the Aeldari Empire goes boom and gets devoured by the Eye of Terror.

5,000 years later, the Galaxy has the shattered remnants of humanity and the Aeldari among a great many lesser civilizations, many of which were Chaos-corrupted, and on the distant war-wracked world of Terra, the once-minor league figure now calling himself the Emperor begins the march with his Thunder Legions against his main rivals Dalmoth Kyn, Kalagann of Ursh, Narthan Dume of the Pan-Pacific Empire, and Kelbor-Hal, Fabricator General of Mars.

And with the emergence of the Imperium as the master of first Terra and then the old human galaxy and the Million Worlds of the Age of Technology (which in itself is a sign that humanity's 'we is the galaxy' pretensions are complete hubris, the Galaxy is much vaster than that and there are entire xenos civilizations humanity has never heard of) things go initially seemingly well and then Horus gets shanked and it goes from bad to worse.