#Ranger talks about Babylon 5

[thirddoctor]

the thing I love about Vir is that, you know, he's a good person. he's nice and he's more progressive than the average Centauri. but none of that is enough. sure, he tries to reason with Londo, he tells him that what he's doing is wrong, but ultimately he stands back and watches guiltily as his people commit atrocities. he has enough decency to try to apologise to G'Kar, and it's a very genuine attempt, but as G'Kar points out, he can't apologise. nothing he says means anything when people have been and are continuing to be slaughtered in the thousands, and whether Vir likes it or not he is on some level complicit in that.

so he finally does something about it, and it's only then that his morals actually mean something

[woodsfae]

B5 s03e07 Exogenesis table of contents • previous episode

I try to pay attention to ships' names because they can give hints to the nature of a character or a thematic element, but today's is pretty oblique. The shuttle Dyson. Is it for Dyson physics? The interactions of quantum elements with physical matter from a quick wikipedia romp. Or is it another dyson that I don't know the reference for? Fun theorizing.

This newly minted Lieutenant seems plot-relevant!

Marcus the Ranger is hanging out on B5, it seems. I wonder if it's one of those times they talk about someone to remind the audience they exist, but they don't show up in the episode.

Yikes! The Dyson people are doing weird alien bugs melding into humans shit. Dr Franklin's probably gonna do more coke-fueled medical work.

Corwin the new Lieutenant is going to get Susan Ivanova's best subtle grilling as to his allegiances. Can't wait. But till then, some Marcus harassing a sleeping vendor by quoting the Scottish play to him.

And then a meeting with another Ranger who gives him the funniest information report imaginable. Not so much sharing information as making sly allusions to what may be. Funny and dramatic. It is interesting seeing Marcus work. He's like a local liaison, coordinator, recruiter, and information gathered all at once. I guess you have to wear a lot of different hats when you're in a small start-up with limited staff and a ever-widening scope.

I love the sheer medical garb and ppe, and also like the new mesh arm and shoulder layer Dr Franklin is modeling. Also like the 3d imager! The alien bug is now wrapped around the dead guy's spinal column and is imaged like criss-crossing threads. I enjoy this medical mystery for Dr Franklin. He could use some enrichment, and if there aren't mass causalities it might be almost relaxing for him.

Looks like Marcus's absent colleague/contact has fallen in with a new crowd. A crowd of people all infected with this new-to-Stephen parasite? What would a parasite's agenda even be? And the vendor who wasn't feeling well is missing as well.

Listen new Lieutenant. Listen to me closely. Susan Ivanova is not hitting on you right now. She is the second in command of Babylon 5. Obviously she wants to informally assess a new Lieutenant under her command!

Funny that Garibaldi was enthused about the idea of hanging with Marcus and inviting him to things, but now that Marcus himself is asking him to do something, he doesn't wanna hang. And I actually laughed at Marcus's clever wordplay. He didn't lie at all, but strongly suggested that Garibaldi cares a lot about the issue and is asking Dr Franklin to help Marcus. He must have studied at the same Aes Sedai school as Delenn!

Shenanigans are afoot at the old vendor's quarters! His shirt is all jacked up and his back is pulsing! I don't like that! Or all the parasite-distributers with guns.

Stephen and Marcus are asking the same questions I am. What are the parasites' motives? What are their aims? What are their actual effects on the humans?

Dr Franklin thinks the parasite takes control of their neural system. I wonder if they are trying to transport themselves somewhere, or survive somehow. Garibaldi's point about why they would be targeting people from Down Below is a good one.

Marcus is sassy! I like him. He's very roguish. He and Dr Franklin will be fine. I hope they enjoy their field trip together!

I hope Susan is fucking with this guy right now. Just tormenting him over the roses because he panicked and lied and said he found them lying on her doorstep.

An unsettling conversation with the person who says he "was once Duncan, but is now Vindrizi." And he says they are just trying to survive. dun dun! This still has the potential to be a mostly enriching field trip for Dr Franklin. And it's a great further introduction to Marcus. I like him tremendously.

Susan's testing the insubordinate waters is kinda sorta subtle. But she does get the necessary information. He would report another officer whom he say speaking or acting against Earthdome. They will have to work around him!

Oooooh, gossiping about Susan Ivanova! Franklin likes her. Marcus is concerned that she seems more distant now than when he first came on board.

Marcus: "I sense in her a key as yet unturned." Dr Franklin: "What does that mean?" Marcus: "I don't know, but I think it will be fascinating to find out."

dude is just saying allegorical things and then admitting he doesn't even know why he thinks that. Lol. But somehow it's charming?? What a little smartass (affectionate). Dr Franklin thinks so, too. And I love that they're failing the reverse bechdel test (I jest, I jest).

Stephen is right that Marcus is not Ivanova's type. We all her know her type is blond and telepathic with a tortured backstory.

This has been a very fun plot. Stephen has two patients in one, and Marcus just took out two guards in one plot! And got Stephen's Link and triggered a security protocol! Finally, some backup is on the way. There's just enough time for Marcus and Stephen to discover the aliens' tragic backstory and suddenly be required to negotiate for their safe passage to the recently-arrived security team. But they do have wrap up their little prison break first!

Aha! Information sharing! The person who was once Duncan says that all the humans there volunteered, and that they will all have a better life this way.

Aww, and they have a hell of a backstory! Less tragic, and more epic. Living histories. Less parasites, and more a holy order of record-keepers.

This is a wonderful little story. Very epic. Another of those cool details of worldbuilding. Also it's fucking hilarious how Stephen Franklin is like "I will only allow this if I get to medically oversee it every step of the way."

Oh, and here does come the tragedy. Duncan's…symbiote? left him so Duncan could convince Marcus and Stephen they were telling the truth, but the separation caused damage and he wouldn't be able to rejoin without permanent damage. But at least he feels inspired to go really live and see some amazing things with the rest of his life. And I think he's wise to say that we should all wake up and decide to be special.

Lol, Susan wasn't fucking with the Lieutenant Corwin about the roses. Inadvertently, that guy has played a hell of a prank on both her and Marcus! Hah!

Ivanova, throwing the roses on the bar: "Keep em!" Marcus, beaming and picking them up: "Thanks! I will!"

Really laughed hard at that one.

Alright, I'm starting to see where some of you acquired your crushes on Marcus! He's cute and charming! And very nonthreatening. I wouldn't mind being buds with him. He seems genuinely really an entertaining person to hang out with.

This was overall an interesting and fun episode. I enjoyed theorizing about it. I can't discern a connection between the name of the shuttle the symbiote record keepers arrived in and any plot. If you have thoughts on that let me know! It also isn't often you see symbiotic relationships with bug-like critters. I know now that DS9 was accused of lifting a lot of details from the original B5 pitch, but I wonder if this isn't a nod back the other way, especially since Trill symbiotes were introduced in TNG, which predated the B5 pitch if I'm not mistaken.

next episode

[travalistocata]

💛💚💖💔💕 + b5

aaaa thank you!!

from these (x)

what is a popular ship you just can’t get behind, and why?

marcus/neroon is something i just can’t get into and i honestly don’t know why! it has so many things that i would like - the minor character, the possibility of tragedy, the toxic yaoi fight to the almost-death, all of that. but they just don’t grip me. i’m not some neroon hater either, at worst i love to hate him because he’s kind of obnoxious but i love obnoxious bitches. who knows.

what does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

i like to joke that lyta is a kitten in a wet cardboard box all alone but when she is able to be, she is capable, independent and able to fend for herself. she’s introduced to us in divided loyalties by immediately brandishing a weapon and making demands. people act as if she’s unable to do anything for herself when the biggest part of her character is that she has been purposefully held back and isolated from others. being abused is not a character flaw, actually, and being abused with no way of escaping that abuse is also not a character flaw! also it’s so, so, so much more annoying when this attitude towards her is applied to her “aren’t you tired of being nice-“ arc in season 5. she can explode things with her mind quite literally. she’s shown using her crazy ass telepathy to kill SHADOWS in the road home! and then people act as if she’d be at g’kar’s mercy as if g’kar is also not a senior citizen who has sworn off violence of any kind.

what is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

(strained through gritted teeth, pretending i have not seen the fifth season) the pacing isn’t that bad. some plotlines are rushed, yes (fly high byron my beautiful controversial angel) but seasons one through four were just fine pacing wise. the climax for the shadow war was somewhat underwhelming but also i don’t think babylon 5 really is, genuinely, a kind of piece of media that needs an epic space battle. especially when all of the conflict and epic space battles you are shown, you’re shown the actual tragedy behind senseless death. “talking it out” is almost lame, but it also to me quietly told me a lot about the first ones in general as well.

if you had to remove one major character from the series, who would you choose?

i’m so sorry but if lennier had just gotten the na’toth treatment and disappeared somewhere in like season 2 or 3 and showed up as a ranger in season 5 i don’t think i would have noticed much. i still love lennier but lennier’s plotlines are such nothingburger little things and are usually wrapped up in things that involve delenn, during which i’m paying more attention to what delenn is doing in those situations.

what is an unpopular ship that you like?

AS PER MY RANT ABOUT LYTA nothing quite really beats being incredibly moved by g’kar and lyta’s final scenes in the show, going to see if anyone else ships them or if i just have goggles on because they’re two of my most favorites and just seeing…That. i also like lyta/byron. like i get why people may dislike either of those ships but also i feel like a lot of people make up or exaggerate the things that could possibly be problematic about the both of them. if i read another post comparing g’kar and lyta’s established dynamic with forced prostitution i’m going to snap. like please yall my girl has gone through so much shit can she not get laid on top of it all???? also to answer the “what does the fandom get wrong about your favorite” question again the idea that g’kar is willingly doing all of THAT and intentionally perpetuating an imbalanced dynamic after he has grown up in and been victimized by systemic and intrapersonal abuse his entire life is………hmmmmmm.

[porcupine-girl]

We’re about a quarter of the way through S4 of Babylon 5 - I can’t really talk about anything without major spoilers, so thoughts under the cut!

Overall, the writing and acting have both definitely leveled up over the past two seasons. I know the guy who played Sinclair had to leave the show earlier than planned bc of severe mental health issues, he wasn’t dropped because of his work and was going to be written out regardless, but it was good that he left. When he came back for an episode he was a little painful to watch. Bruce Boxleitner was such a step up acting-wise, and tbh I think it helped the whole cast. It’s so much easier to act well when you’ve got a good scene partner.

We’re both very confused by the choice to wrap up the shadow/vorlon plotline at this point in the show. It feels like we should be hurtling toward the end of act 2 right now, where everything goes to hell, and while you usually get a victory before that it’s not usually a saving-the-galaxy level victory that ties up the A plot with a neat little bow.

I assume the rest of the series deals with earth, which has been entirely ignored for like half a season now. Weren’t they working with the shadows? Was earth on the vorlons’ hit list?? Did nobody from earth other than B5 and the rangers have any involvement in what just happened? Is earth just North Korea now, totally cut off from the rest of the galaxy??

I mean, there are hints that we’re not done with the shadows. Maybe some got left behind or something. There’s the future on Centauri Prime - it’s been strongly implied that the time travel is a stable time loop, meaning that’s still going to happen, so something is still causing problems there and something is “watching” Londo (though seemingly from the inside, not like the shadows flanking Morden). Then there’s whatever happened to Garibaldi when the shadows took him. We noticed he wasn’t in the big battle episode, even as one of the people the shadows used to talk to Delenn. Did the actor just need some time off or something? It seemed like it should’ve been him instead of Franklin (how many times have we even seen Delenn talk to Franklin??).

Also, I am now super amused whenever Delenn (or Lennier but he doesn’t say it as often) says Valenn like he’s still a religious figure. I know old habits are hard to break, but you not only know the guy personally, you now know that he didn’t come up with all the ways he revolutionized Minbari society himself - he was just making it how he knew it would be in the future! LOL

[fancoloredglasses]

The saga of Babylon 4 (time travel again?!)

[All images are owned by Babylonian Productions and Warner Bros Discovery. Please don’t sue me or send the Shadows after me]

When dealing with a show with an overarching story spanning multiple seasons, there are bound to be episodes where the stories overlap, but what about multiple episodes (in different seasons) telling the same story? Such is the tale of Babylon 4.

This review is going to be a bit different than most “sagas” I’ve done. In previous sagas, I’ve told each episode in chronological order. However, as the two episodes in question (one in two parts) cover the same time span but from points of view two years apart (isn’t time travel fun?) I’ll be chronicling the two episodes simultaneously. If you would like to watch the episodes, they’re available on Tubi or behind your favorite paywall.

Someone should have some Advil and a straitjacket handy just in case.

PREVIOUSLY ON…

As you know, Babylon 5 is the fifth station in the Babylon Project. Three stations were destroyed during construction, but the fourth disappeared without a trace 4 years prior to the start of the series.

A Great Machine is discovered on Epsilon 3, the planet that Babylon 5 orbits, and Delenn’s friend Draal has become its operator. Commander Sinclair has been named Ambassador to Mimbar, later creating a covert group of human and Mimbari warriors known as the Rangers (with Marcus Cole being assigned to Babylon 5) and being named Entil’Zha (“Ranger One” in English) by the Mimbari.

Babylon 5 is drawn into the coming war between the Vorlons and the Shadows, declaring independence from the Earth Alliance.

Additionally, Captain Sheridan and Ambassador Delenn have started their relationship.

We open on Mimbar, where Ambassador Jeffrey Sinclair is about to receive a disturbing message…

(Thanks to Aaron Anglea)

Roll credits!

Sinclair immediately hops a ship to Babylon 5, but his aide raises an interesting question. That letter was written 1,000 years ago by Valen, who was the architect of Mimbari society. How did he know Sinclair would be on Mimbar at that time?

On Babylon 5, Ivonova claims she never sent that distress signal, but Garibaldi isn’t sure.

Garibaldi gives a 15 second synopsis of the events in Babylon Squared (which I’ll cover shortly), that I’ll be covering later (trust me, this will make sense…I hope) Garibaldi wants to investigate the source of the signal, and Sheridan authorizes it.

Meanwhile, Delenn receives a similar letter and is as haunted by it as Sinclair was. Also, how did Valen know she’d be on Babylon 5 when it was built 997 years after the letter was written?

She then marches her way to C&C and interrupts a meeting with Sheridan and Marcus.

[The White Star, as you may remember, is a ship built using Mimbari and Vorlon technologies. By season 5 there is a fleet of White Stars, but at this point there is just the one.]

She takes Marcus and Ivonova along as well, and are joined by Sinclair.

About that time, Garibaldi reports in (he’s been gone for about an hour at this point) that his long-range scans show the temporal rift in Sector 14 has doubled in size due to an outside source (namely, Epsilon 3).

Speaking of Epsilon 3…

…a being known as Zathras is worried about issues within the Great Machine, but Draal has given him orders, and Zathras knows what must be done.

Back on Babylon 5, Sheridan wants to investigate Epsilon 3 instead of Sector 14, but Delenn is insistent.

Her logic is that they need to leave now because this is the time they’re supposed to leave (hey, don’t blame me if your head hurts from that. She said it, not me!) Sheridan reluctantly agrees. He’s even more skeptical when Sinclair reveals he didn’t know he was coming to Babylon 5 until just before he left Mimbar.

Upon arrival on the White Star, Sheridan wants to know what the hell is going on.

Next begins the exposition part of the episode where Delenn starts talking about the last Shadow War 1,000 years ago…and how the tide of the War began to turn against the Shadows…

The appearance of Babylon 4!

Further, just before Babylon 4 disappeared, it was about to be attacked by allies of the Shadows to prevent it from going back in time, but were stopped…

…by the White Star!

Then Delenn reveals that their mission is to go through the enlarged temporal rift to save (and steal!) Babylon 4, or else the Shadows won’t be defeated in that War, causing a chain of events that will lead to the destruction of Babylon 5! (So…no pressure or anything)

Sheridan contacts Garibaldi (remember him?), who’s been monitoring the rift and recording whatever transmissions come through, saying he's witnessed the destruction of Babylon 5 through the transmissions.

With that, Sheridan’s vote makes the decision to proceed unanimous. Sheridan orders Garibaldi to return to Babylon 5 as the White Star prepares to enter the rift. However, there is a shuttle from Epsilon 3 preparing to rendezvous with equipment for their mission, as well as the last member of the team…

Sinclair immediately recognizes Zathras (for reasons that will be explained) and tells him not to say he knows his past self when they meet (I swear this will make sense!) Zathras is honored to meet Sinclair and Sheridan, but won’t explain why (yes, things are very confusing and secretive. I hope it doesn’t hurt your head too badly)

Before they enter, Zathras gives everyone a temporal stabilizer device that will negate most of the effects of time displacement, as well as keep them anchored to the current time (or the time Babylon 4 is in, anyway) With that, the White Star enters the rift.

Upon arrival to 6 years ago, the White Star finds Shadow fighters with a fusion bomb large enough to destroy Babylon 4.

Six years in the future, Garibaldi has returned to Babylon 5 and finds out Sinclair was there. There’s a message from Sinclair waiting that’s a bit ominous, saying Sinclair isn't planning on returning.

Meanwhile 6 years ago, the White Star destroys the bomb, but is too close.

A wave of something hits Sheridan’s stabilizer and he vanishes into the time stream! While everyone wants to find Sheridan, Sinclair reminds them what’s at stake and tells them to continue with the mission.

And what of Sheridan? He appears surrounded by Centauri guards and facing down…

Londo, only much older and wearing the attire of the Emperor! Londo tells him it’s been 17 years since the end of the Shadow War, and his planet is in ruin because of him and Delenn, and they are to be executed for war crimes! Londo sends him to his cell to prepare himself for his execution.

Back in the past, the White Star (thanks to the explosion knocking out Babylon 4’s sensors) has infiltrated and latched onto the station and cut into the hull so the crew can quietly board. Ivonova and Marcus go to secure a path for Zathras to bring the equipment for the time jump while Sinclair and Delenn go to…do something reckless (but apparently necessary) as part 1 ends.

[Normally I would have a pic of the title for part 2, but I’m not in this case since Babylon Squared will be mixed into this and it could become a bit confusing. Plus, due to doing three episodes in one review, my image budget is taxed to the limit as it is!]

Ivonova and Marcus begin looking for an unsealed access panel when suddenly Marcus vanishes, just as a patrol finds her! Then Marcus drops from the ceiling and helps Ivonova subdue the guards. They then find an access panel and get to work rigging the security systems.

Meanwhile on future Centauri Prime, Sheridan convulses and fades.

He appears briefly before Zathras before returning to the future just in time for Delenn to be thrown into his cell.

Well now, THAT’S a hell of a way to discover you’re a father! Sheridan quickly explains what has happened, and Delenn reveals he told her long ago of this moment but didn’t entirely believe him.

Back on Babylon 4, Delenn and Sinclair find a spot in the fusion reactors to place the time travel devices as Ivonova triggers an alarm to clear the reactor chamber.

On Centauri Prime, Londo has called for Sheridan and Delenn. However, Londo has made himself very drunk…

…to induce his “keeper" (a member of one of the Shadows' minion races) into slumber so he can be candid with them. He has arranged transport off of Centauri Prime for Sheridan and Delenn and begs them to save the Centauri from the remnants of the Shadows in exchange. He quickly sends them away, as he can feel his Keeper waking up. He then calls for…

Londo asks G’Kar to end his life to give Sheridan and Delenn time to escape, then Londo’s Keeper awakens, killing G'kar as G'Kar kills him!

Thus Londo’s vision of his death (mentioned Season 1) is fulfilled. Who says long-term storytelling is dead? Also, thus paves the way for Emperor Vir.

However, on the way to the escape ship, Sheridan feels himself being pulled away. Delenn gives him a warning before he leaves (which he doesn’t wind up heeding)

Back on Babylon 4, Zathras is rigging one of Babylon 5’s space suits with the broken time stabilizer in hopes to retrieve Sheridan, to which Marcus calls Zathras mad. Ivonova muses about Valen (a Mimbari not born of Mimbari) when suddenly Sheridan appears in the suit!

With Sheridan back, he and Sinclair place the rest of the time displacement devices along the outside of the station.

Then the station increases power output, causing a surge that sends Sheridan and Sinclair flying! And with that, Babylon 4 vanishes (and so does Sheridan)! Zathras manages to stabilize the equipment, but Babylon 4 has moved 4 years into the future to Season 1.

Speaking of Season 1...

(Told you I'd get to this)

We open at breakfast with a bit of levity…

(Thanks to Grv3n)

And what about the Star Fury that was sent to Sector 14? Alpha 7 gets to the source of the disturbance and discovers…

…just before he utters a blood-curdling scream!

Roll (Season 1) credits!

We come back to find Ivonova unable to make contact with Alpha 7, despite sensors saying it’s returning to the station.

A bit over an hour later Alpha 7 returns, but halts just short of the station and doesn’t respond to instructions. They do a scan and discover no life signs! An autopsy reveals he died of old age, despite being only 30 (his organs were those of a 90 year-old man!) After doing a thorough search of the Star Fury, Garibaldi’s team discovered something scratched into the safety harness…

Then C&C contacts Sinclair (I’m gonna call him Past Sinclair just to avoid making this any more confusing) about a distress signal.

After confirming the authenticity of the signal (though the time stamp is 4 years old), Past Sinclair offers his assistance (without revealing from where) to evacuate Babylon 4. He and Garibaldi lead a team of transports to B4’s location, a trip that takes 3 hours.

Meanwhile on Babylon 4, the crew of the White Star meets up with Sinclair to find…

…he’s aged considerably due to one too many run-ins with the time distortion field. Sinclair puts Zathras to work repairing Sheridan’s time stabilizer for if/when he returns. Zathras scurries off with Ivonova into Babylon 4 for the parts he needs. Meanwhile, Sinclair heads back to the reactor to make adjustments and sends the others back to the White Star.

Zathras manages to repair the time stabilizer, but…

Security takes Zathras to a holding cell. Delenn decides to leave the White Star and sees…

Meanwhile, the shuttles from Babylon 5 arrive. Upon their arrival…

(Thanks to Texx Titillations)

“Unstuck in time” is an interesting way to phrase what’s happening, but I can’t think of a better one. Anyone who can, please let me know in the comments.

As the evacuation proceeds, Major Krantz says they found an alien (Zathras) aboard just after things went pear-shaped. Zathras then looks at Past Sinclair and immediately sits back down.

Zathras explains he’s stealing Babylon 4 to fight “a great war”, but never explains when that war is.

Then a guard summons Krantz. He and the others follow (including Zathras, since no one thinks to stops him)

Sheridan’s space suit appears out of thin air. Zathras claims Sheridan is “The One.” Past Sinclair moves to speak with The One, but when they touch, he’s blown clear about 20 feet! In the confusion, Zathras hands The One some sort of device and scurries off as The One vanishes. Unfortunately for Zathras, he’s quickly re-captured.

Meanwhile, Ivonova has made her way to C&C after the crew has evacuated to help Sinclair make adjustments.

Marcus then leaves the White Star and sees…

But if Sheridan’s there and stable…who’s in the space suit?

Back in interrogation, Zathras reveals the device was his time stabilizer so The One will survive the time jump. wants to take Zathras to put him on trial (for what? Being an accomplice for stealing Babylon 4?) Zathras says that if he leaves Babylon 4, he’ll die since he’s not from this time.

Then the power fades a bit. Zathras says Babylon 4 will be leaving for its new home soon.

Garabaldi then reports in that the station is getting ready to go to whenever it’s going. Krantz insists on taking Zathras with them, and since he’s technically still in command he can order it.

Then the station shudders and a pillar falls on Zathras, pinning him! Unfortunately, it’s too heavy to quickly move and they need to go now! Zathras tells Past Sinclair to leave him, but before he goes…

Garabaldi practically drags Past Sinclair to the last shuttle, but as they leave Zathras gets a visitor.

So that’s who was in the suit!

At C&C Sinclair tells everyone to go back and he’d join them shortly. Marcus calls him out on his bullshit, claiming that someone has to control the station’s journey…and there’s no way back.

Then Sinclair shows the letter he got back on Mimbar (remember that?)

Delenn then reveals her own letter, verifying Sinclair’s claim. Sinclair also says the aging effects of yet another trip through the temporal rift would likely kill him anyway. Sinclair then asks Ivonova and Marcus to leave so he can have a conversation with Zathras.

(Thanks to evelyn raymond)

With that, Zathras decides to stay with Sinclair to assist with the integration of Babylon 4. And with that, the White Star leaves Babylon 4 to return to their own time and the temporal rift closes behind them.

(Thanks to Korfez Derince)

Now we know how Valen knew how everything had transpired.

Hope you enjoyed. Now, I’m gonna take a few dozen Advil and beat my head against the wall to clear my head of this.

[rosallora]

S3E1 Matters of Honor

Kosh’s suit sounds... rough. Broken? Damaged? Like his pullstring is stuck in a mechanism.

IVANOVA IS THE NEW NARRATOR!!! I love that she is taking a more and more active role as things go on. And oh my god. “And it failed” is an AMAZING way to talk about Babylon 5. That’s a wild way to start this season. I love it when things have a real sense of progression - and the year changing, all of that... it really impacts the way I feel about the weight of the show.

Talia has been removed from the cast list / intro scrawl. Which breaks my heart.

NEW FRIEND is also listed in the credits! So apparently he’s sticking around. Of course he didn’t last in the (new!) medbay though.

Londo’s amazing spine. The gall of him! He wants Morden to go away so badly that it makes him look stupid. Can’t wait to see how badly this backfires on him later. The shadow folks are going to come to collect. There’s a price to pay, for all this bloodshed. All this terror. There’s the question of what they (the shadow folks) gain from all this? I’m interested to learn what exactly they want from all this.

New friend’s name is Marcus! Welcome to the show, Marcus. Interesting accent you have there. And he was working with the Pak!

Sheridan saying that the rangers should go on the offensive? MWAH. Delicious. I’m proud of him. And the White Star is beautiful... I love her already. Swarm (TTRPG character, Lancer) would drool over it. It’s sleek and small design is such a delicious contrast to Babylon 5 itself with a lot of its casette futurism designs - big and boxy, lots of buttons.

I LOVE REFA WORKING FOR MORDEN. That’s INSANE. And it makes complete sense that someone else power hungry and bloodthirsty would move to take Londo’s place. It’s like he’s realized too late. He really has realized too late. Oh Londo.

Ivanova: hi new bestie... you’re quiet Marcus: I am quiet Ivanova: omg... just like me <3 I love that about you

EVASIVE ACTIONS! BATTLES! BONEHEAD MANEUVER! I love all of this. And you know who I love the most? Lennier. I love Lennier so much and he is so precious to me.

The secrecy of the Shadows is... fun. And I love that they’re WORKING WITH EARTHFORCE!!!! Because OF COURSE THEY ARE!

[adventures-in-a-world-of-fiction]

So I was thinking about Babylon 5 spin-offs, because there were various made-for-TV movies and a spin-off series called Crusade.

Crusade wasn’t very successful and got cancelled after one season - and during the production there was a lot of meddling from the studio. The writer and cast talked about it on the DVD extras and episode commentaries and the like. Things like the studio insisting on changing the run order of the episodes (to the point where I think it creates a continuity error in that a thing that is used in one episode isn’t actually discovered until an episode or two later), or meddling with the costumes (there’s a subplot in one episode about people from Earth insisting of the crew getting new uniforms to be more inspiring to the people back home), and things like that.

I remember in one of the extras, the lead writer talked about how the plague was there because the studio insisted there had to be a main hook. The plague is basically the entire made plot thread for the show - Earth has been infected and the ship and crew have a few years to seek out alien technology that could provide a cure before people start dying. But that wasn’t the story the lead writer wanted to tell. He wanted to tell a story about conspiracies and not knowing who to trust or what authority should be obeyed. But no, that was too vague. There needed to be a big, obvious threat. Hence, the plague.

But I don’t actually want to talk about Crusade. I want to talk about The Legend of the Rangers.

This was a made-for-TV movie that was clearly intended to be the pilot for a new spin off that never got the actual show.

And I really enjoyed this movie - mostly. There was a lot that was a lot of fun. There was a great bantering dynamic between the captain, the first officer, and the weapons specialist. There was a really interesting mystery because the captain for his first command was given a cursed, twenty-year-old spaceship that the entire last crew had died mysteriously on board. The spirits of the former crew were apparently haunting the ship - and at one point one gives the message, “The one who survived us is the one who betrayed us.” That’s super cool. And other key members of the crew were made up of the people who were passed over to serve on other ships.

I would have loved to watch a whole series of these characters cheerfully bickering their way through adventures as they dealt with raiders and escort duty and parts of the ship occasionally breaking down because of their age.

As I said, there was a lot I really, really liked about the movie.

What I didn’t like was the big hook. The movie introduced a big bad, evil alien race who are super dangerous and even worse than the Shadows (the big bad for several seasons of the original Babylon 5 show) - and yet who have somehow never come up in all the discussions of ancient powers that occurred in B5. It felt so contrived.

It felt like someone sat down and said, “But we have to introduce a new enemy and we have to raise the stakes.”

No. No, you don’t.

The movie would have been massively improved if instead of trying to introduce a new apocalypticly bad alien race, the crew had been escorting a bunch of diplomats to a summit and been attacked by raiders, or a faction of one alien race who are mad that their government is making peace with a race who were historical enemies. If they’d made the antagonists something more in line with the established politics of the universe, I would have enjoyed the movie even more.

But the reason I brought up Crusade at the start is that I suspect something similar was happening here. I suspect someone at a studio insisted that the movie had to hook people in with a new enemy and that just made it worse. The mystery of what happened on the ship was a much better hook. It was interesting and personal and more of a human level. But nope, instead we got super-bad-evil-ancient-aliens and the movie flopped badly enough that the show never materialised.

And the ridiculous thing is that the original Babylon 5 didn’t do anything like this with its big bad. I don’t think the Shadows are mentioned at all in The Gathering, and they barely show up in the entire first season - there are some episodes that hint at them or set up future plot lines, but they start out very much in the background and their threat builds up extremely gradually over the first two seasons. You don’t have someone stand up in the middle of the pilot and say, “Right, so these are the enemy we need to worry about.”

B5 is an extremely slow build and I can understand why that build was too slow for some people to get into it, but the audience trusted that the show was going somewhere and went along for the ride. It lasted 5 seasons.

Crusade, with all that meddling, barely made 1.

Legend of the Rangers, didn’t even get that.

And that’s a shame, because I would love to watch the show that could have been spawned from that movie (without the new mega-enemy).

[worlds-tallest-fairy]

Tag Game

Thanks to @aintgonnatakethis for the tag!

Three ships:  I thought of like 10 immediately so I'll stick with most recently read/into:

Telford/Rush (Stargate Universe): I went to AO3 looking for Telford content of any kind, I came up for air like 2 days later loving them both together and apart and seriously may I suggest you read anything @aintgonnatakethis has ever written? I'm not sure what's not to love.

Michael Garibaldi/Anyone (Babylon 5): I mean anyone. I'd probably read Garibaldi/Computer if you sent it to me. Garibaldi lovers are so few and far between. And the actor was...not a great person. But Garibaldi man. He's the most fascinating character on the show. Or in the top three. And I want someone to fix him.

(Seriously, I should talk to my therapist about my love for broken/dysfunctional men who give their literal heart and soul to their cause, end up brainwashed by aliens/the enemy, betray their friends/country/crew in an epic Judas-esque moment and angst their way through the aftermath. It's probably important.)

Eddie/Buck (911): I have no other explanation to this then they are clearly in love and co-parenting their child and the fact that no one in the writers room recognizes/recognized that is ridiculous (and queerbaity as hell). I'm not up to date on the most recent season but it sounds like ABC is actually handling this problem.

Honorable Mentions:

Harold Finch/John Reese (Person of Interest):

Jim Caviezel is an asshole who had done irreparable damage to anti-human trafficking efforts everywhere.

HOWEVER: John and Harold make me squeal and their found family/found husbands vibes are wonderful

Root/Shaw (Person of Interest):

No notes/No comment. They are perfect.

First ship: That I read fic for: Dramione. First ever, probably Tommy/Kimberly from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I was like 6.

Last song: Music in heavy rotation currently: Sleep Token's entire discography. When you're writing a story about semi-sentient ships playing match maker, you gotta rock to Sleep Token. Also in rotation: The Crane Wives, Amelie Farren and Seth Staton Watkins

Last movie: I really don't watch movies often. Probably Man of Steel.

Currently watching: Stargate Universe, Stargate: SG1

Currently reading: Besides Telford/Rush fics? I'm reading through the Longmire books, which are cozy western mysteries. Henry Standing Bear is by far the best character.

Currently eating: Oreos and Peanut Butter

Currently craving: It not to be Sunday? I really don't feel like working tomorrow. Also some of the Cajun Turkey my husband is eating.

[ramrodd]

Bible Prophecy #11 Did the Jesus Apocalypse Fail?

COMMENTARY:

Jesus's mission  to Jerusalem, the Whore of Babylon, as Messiah was the same as Jonah's to Nineveh, to prevent an apocalypse, That's why Jonah ran away from his task: he was like Netanyahu about Gaza and hated  Nineveh like Likud hates Palestinians. The difference, of course, was that Jesus of Nazareth, Messiah, loved Jerusalem and bet The Satan He could transform the Whore of Babylon to Mount Zion of Israel intellectually, rabbinically,,   Jesus was trying to  warn Jerusalem the way Jimmy Carter and Abdullah II of Jordan were trying to warn Israel of the bad karma being compounded by Netanyahu's bad faith in regards to the Oslo Accord and the  Likud as a terrorist organization that Israel needs to quell, Both Jesus and Josephus were pro-Pax Roman for reasons that came to embedded in Pauline Theology, given N.T. Wright's interpretation of Pauline Theology, the interpretation of Pauline Theology by either the Jesus Seminar or Pro-Life Calvinism is what created David Koresh, He was a product of Bill Bright's business model for Jesus, Inc and Campus Crusade for Christ, Jesus freaks like Bart Ehrman,  The Talking Cross represents the leap of faith Israel had to make from its theocratic limitations to the separation of chruch and state of the Roman Commonwealth generally understood in 33 CE, when the astrology says Jesus the Christ died and sent the events in the spiritual realm of Caiaphas's choice of terrorism over righteousness, set into motion, The Talking Cross became the Christian mechanism of the Roman Empire that crushed Eschatology as the critical path of the Bible narrative, going back to the Book of Job. From the perspective of the process theology of Cornelius, the divine purpose of the 66 books of the Biblical narrative set into motion in 3760 BCI with the composition of the Book of Job by Elohim the verb, The purpose of the narrative was to provide a reliable epistemological bridge between the social technology of Egypt to the Metaphysics of Apollo 11, with Genesis 15:5 the essential trajectory of the record, The 39 book trajectory of the Palestine Bible from the Book of Job to Isiah is the  experimentation in the optimal human swarm governance and God's choice is the separation of Chruch and State modeled by the Roman Empire with the subordinate administrative state of the Republic that emerged from the secular rule of law and the Italian Regiment of the Praetorian Guard, That's what the Talking Cross endorses in the role of the Centurion as the essential structure of True Warfare of Clausewitz. Jesus tries to introduce the principles of Pauline Theology into Israel with His periplectic ministry He conducted to bring his Disciples up to speed as process theology gurus for the Kingdom of God coming to the Kingdom of Heaven, Only, He discovered that the Roman centurions were already operating as the Archetype of the servant leader Jesus models  specifically with the foot washing ceremony in John, This is the mission0men0slef priorities of the commissioned officers of the US Infantry with a Ranger Tab. Jesus lost his wager with The Satan when He raised Lazarus and created a karmic debt that required fulfillment. That's why Jesus wept: He was the fulfillment. And the rest is history, Cornelius began to implement Pauline Theology with the production of the Gosple of Mark after his encounter with Peter, which would begin a relationship that lasted until both men died,  Paul was legitimately channeling Jesus as his Scribe and Ethical voice. Pauline Theology is the Jesus Judaism Jesus of Nazareth, Messiah, was peddling to Israel in order to prevent the apocalypse generated by the Whore of Babylon and the progenitors of Likud,, the Zealots. 70 CE was a self-inflicted wound and the Talking Cross was the terrible swift sword of karma. Like October

[thirddoctor]

it wasn't groundbreaking or anything but the B5 animated movie was cute and fun

[babylon6comic]

Previous | Table of Contents | Next

[ddagent]

So, while I de-stress from the heat and work, I thought I’d share another snippet of fic. This is from my ‘David and Sofie’ verse, expanding into all the other little ones that John and Delenn like to spoil. 

Sipping her tea, Delenn sat and watched the occupants of Babylon 5 go about their daily business. It had been over six years since she had called the station home and she marvelled how much it changed during each visit. New businesses sprung up to replace old ones; more commercial entities took over from Earthforce space. The last major addition had been the introduction of a Ranger outpost within the station: it was nothing more than bunks, a training space, and a small bar named Sinclair’s. But it was a testament to how Babylon 5 was changing with the Alliance. The lights would remain on for years to come.

She continued to watch the world go by from the newest addition to the Zocalo: a tea shop that carried a variety of blends. The young woman behind the counter had been thrilled by Delenn’s patronage. It provided a sharp contrast to Delenn’s most recent visit to Earth. Blinking away the thought, Delenn caught sight of a familiar face.

“Good morning, Neeoma. I thought you were—”

“—late for a meeting with John; I am.” As part of the Interstellar Alliance, John was trying to promote safe working conditions, appropriate training, and fair wages. Neeoma Connally was consulting on their proposals. “But Michael got called in to bust up something in Downbelow and now I don’t have anyone to look after JJ. Do you think John will mind?”

From behind his mother, a boy with sandy hair and bright eyes blinked at Delenn. She smiled back. “He will not mind. But I could always watch JJ while you’re in your meeting with John. My own meeting cancelled and I would be grateful for the company.”

“Are you sure?” Delenn nodded. “Thank you so much. Okay, JJ, I’m going to leave you with Aunt Delenn while I go have a very important meeting with your Uncle John. Be good. Do not talk her ear off, okay?” Neeoma pressed a kiss to her son’s mop of sandy hair. “Love you.”

JJ waved at his mother before pulling himself into the chair opposite Delenn. “Hi.”

“Hello.” Despite JJ being one of David’s friends, Delenn had not had the opportunity to spend much time with JJ other than celebrations of their births and other days of tradition. He had Michael’s love of food and both his parents’ quick wit. Yet, he now seemed unable to speak more than a syllable. She noted the pages under his arm. “What are you reading?”

“You wouldn’t know it.”

“Perhaps not. But I would like to hear about it.”

JJ shrugged. “You wouldn’t like it. Dad and Uncle Stephen don’t.”

Delenn smirked. “I am not your father or your Uncle Stephen. I would like to hear about it.”

With a huff, JJ produced the well-worn pages from under his arm. “It’s called Amazing Spiderman. It’s about a boy who is bit by a radioactive spider.”

Delenn leaned forward. “What happens to him?”

“He gets the powers of a spider.” JJ began to list these powers off on his fingers. “He can climb walls, he can stick to things, he can even produce webs. You know, spider stuff.”

“We do not have spiders on Minbar. We have creatures who serve a similar function – they produce webs to catch their prey – but they have nine legs. They are considered sacred.” Sensing that JJ had little interest in Minbari entomology, Delenn changed the subject. “Go on, JJ. I would like to hear more about this…Spiderman.”

When John and Neeoma found them later, JJ was, indeed, talking his aunt’s ear off about comic books. She did not mind one bit.

[jenniferstolzer]

Babylon 5 Rewatch ep 2.20 The Long, Twilight Struggle

Sheridan and Delenn receive an invitation to Epsilon III where Draal pledges the Great Machine to the campaign against the Shadows. Meanwhile Londo commits his Shadow allies to one more attack against the Narn, allowing the Centauri to commit war crimes and end the Narn conflict.

Things I like about The Long Twilight Struggle

1, An energy fluctuation happens on the planet and Corwin turns to his coworkers like “There’s something happening. Contact Commander Ivanova” then the camera drifts to a private quarters. A shower is running. We see the steam as we coast slowly toward the bathroom for a tasteful near nude shot of Claudia Chris—NOPE Bruce Boxleitner. I CACKLED.

2, Draal is great and I love him. It worked out that Sheridan is new here to get a refresher on who Draal is and what’s going on with the Great Machine. Also the Great Machine making him younger is a good way to explain why he’s Herman Munster now. I’m guessing he’ll stay young and vibrant until he disintegrates like the last guy.

3, I appreciate seeing Londo’s true colors in his conversation with Refa. He’s tired, both from the trip to Centauri Prime and of all the war and darkness he’s involved himself in. He’s also still mourning Ursa Jaddo from Knives which was a nice callback considering he had a significant moment of doubt and regret in that episode, and it’s good to be reminded that he’s not totally sold on what’s going on right now. It’s also nice that he’s against the mass drivers at the outset but is convinced to go with Refa’s plan because he considers the glorification of his people more important than himself or anything else. He talks himself into doing something truly horrendous, but it’s wrong and his face knows its wrong. And then Refa makes him watch, when he fully intended to hide from what he’s done. Gguhh the pain is wonderful.

4, Watching this in a rewatch hurts so bad. Like Franklin gives G’Kar a warning about the Centauri’s interest in homeworld. There’s the possibility he can stop it.

5, Delenn and Sheridan go down to Epsilon III she is acting super cocky and in control because she wants to impress her crush, even using clever colorful English phrases. Everyone remembers Abasfrigginlutely Damnit. Oh Delenn….

6, Sheridan looks at the inside of the Great Machine and is like  “Lord, I may not go home” and I laughed b/c it looks like Tron in there.

7. The jump-kicking Centauri.

8, The mass drivers really are the most disgusting move. To devastate a civilian population from space is the ultimate ranged weapon. What could they possibly do? Watching Londo watch it happen is peak drama because as disgusted as he is watching, you know he’s as disgusted with himself in facilitating it. The drama is there but also horror on a level few shows can communicate, that of self-horror. The moment earlier where it was established and Londo still had a concept of right and wrong even as he was dealing with the Shadows is pulling full weight here. At the beginning of this season he was a buffoon struggling to stay afloat, in the middle of the season he finds the power and respect he wanted but loses the trust and friendship of the station in the process, and here at the culmination of his choices he sees what he was really willing to sell his soul for. He could have remained powerless and kept his sense of self, but instead he chose advancement and learned to hate what he’s become. It’s just staggering.

9, G’Kar is also pulling full weight in this episode. He’s prepared to go back to Narn, be with his family, and die among his people but he is the only member of the Kha’Ri not on homeworld and being so, he is an in credibly valuable asset for the race now that surrender is unavoidable. The tears in his eyes when asking for sanctuary are soul crushing, and the horror and shame he’s feeling is an inversion of Londo’s… powerlessness and being suppressed despite knowing he could do more verses being powerful and regretting it.

10, The Centauri terms of surrender are so cruel. It’s the turn of a knife that’s already been plunged to the hilt and Sheridan coming in to yank the dagger back an inch like a badass is extremely galvanizing and give Delenn grounds to commit the Rangers to him later in the episode. Also something I want to note about this scene that I think is even more important than Sheridan being a hero, it’s G’Kar sitting in his normal spot in complete despair, enduring Londo’s terms. Londo is dressed in every decoration and medal he’s ever owned, screaming at the top of his lungs like being the loudest makes him the rightest, yet G’Kar is silent. Londo demands G’Kar be removed from the council chambers like an invader. Sheridan replies by recounting the request for sanctuary, resulting on the two fighting over G’Kar’s head, but no one calls the bailiff to come get him. No one except Londo tells him he needs to go. They give G’Kar the chance to move. Even Kosh waits to see what he’s going to do. Will he attack? Will he scream and cry? No. He stands and with every ounce of self control he contains, delivers one of the greatest axefalls in television history.

“No dictator, no invader can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand. The Centauri learned this lesson once, we will teach it to them again. Though it take a thousand years, we will be free.”

11, AND THATS NOT EVEN THE END OF THE EPISODE! I can’t believe this wasn’t a two-parter with everything that’s happened in this one half an hour of screentime. Sheridan essentially tells G’Kar he’s on his side in this war. He offers G’Kar his hand as an ally, and G’Kar considers it saying; “The last time I offered someone my hand, we were at war 24 hrs later” He pauses to make you wonder if he’s lost the ability to trust, then shakes with Sheridan and the look on his face tells something completely different. He still believes he’ll be at war very shortly, but he’s hoping for it. He’s counting on it.

12, Finally we get the introduction of the Rangers and the only thing that can kind of fit on my “Liked less” list. I like this just fine, but there’s something about Delenn who is in charge of a secret sect of warrior monks pledged to side with the Vorlons against the Shadows, turning the control of those monks over to Sheridan without fully introducing him to their existence. To be fair, she gives him partial control and doesn’t hand it over to him, removing herself from the field and I know having watched the rest of the show that she still is the sole figure in charge of the Rangers and is more accurately pledging herself and those in her service to Sheridan’s cause… but the way they read in this episode it looks like she’s giving Sheridan the reins. The next episode is KIND OF dealing with this with the inquisitor, but in general I think we could have avoided a lot of nonsense if she just phrased her pledge more accurately.

13, And this leads me to a theory… that Babylon5 was labeled their best hope for piece, but really it was built specifically as a neutral ground for the staging of the Shadow war. It really is Babylon 5, as in a replacement for Babylon 4 which was used as a warbase. This is why the Minbari co-founded the station, this is why it ends in fire at the end of everything. It’s existence is specifically tied to the the return of the shadows and the drama and diplomacy of the Narns, Centauri, Telepaths, Earthdome, etc etc are events of the universe that happen to occur there. Wihtout the Shadow War, there’d be no Babylon 5, and without Babylon 5 the universe would not continue.

14.

Finally.

The ARMY OF LIGHT

I got teary-eyed

Things I liked Less about The Long Twilight Struggle

The Delenn thing. But we’ll get back to that next episode. And that’s it.

This episode is truly one of the greatest and most emotionally wrenching pieces of television ever created. It’s a silly scifi show with rubber masks that dares to delve deeper beneath the skin than anything else I’ve seen. We see the horror and depravity of war, but we also see the people turned inside out by it and what colors they are within. Ten out of ten. Thanks for breaking my heart. This is why I had to take pause on my rewatch to prepare.

oh by the way @gin-007 and I are resuming our rewatch from 2019.

and I’m putting all these eps up on @b5picanep as well if you want to go back to see previous episodes. 

[megashadowdragon]

**1.**Punching Gilgamesh the moment you are summoned/enter a fight/enter a room is not reasonable and should not be done at any time -Gudao

1a. Not even when he barges into the Camelot Room and threatens to everyone, especially when he does it to make your female counterpart marry her -Gudao

1b. Apparently PTSD is not a viable excuse to punch someone when you see him harassing someone. Noted.

2. Just because I am a King, does not mean I can give people nicknames. Makes me wonder how Gareth felt about being called Best Boy by Merlin.

3. Eating contests are apparently not allowed, seems food shortages are common with my counterparts.

4. As it turns out, screaming "To Valhalla" is not the best idea when you step onto Iskandar's Chariot. Especially so when you are right in front of the enemy.

5. Frankenstein is not a doll, do not dress her up. No Arthur, not even if she tilts her head and makes cute growls -Gudao 5a. Okay! Only if its a sundress! -Gudao

6. Getting together four of my other counterparts and forming the Saber Rangers is not allowed, especially if we have Excalizords. Seems the other servants aren't fond of needlessly big robots that take too long to combine.

7. Motorbikes are not to be used at any point or time in Chaldea, no, not even when Iskandar decides to hold the "Chaldea Grand Prix" -Da Vinci

7a. THE SAME GOES FOR OTHER VEHICLES YOU MONGRELS, UNLIKE YOU FUCKS, SOME OF US NEED BEAUTY SLEEP AT 3 AM! -Gilgamesh

8. Just because I can use a sword, doesn't mean I am allowed to attack my Cu Chulainn with it. I swear, he walked into it.

9. Apparently I am not allowed to compliment people? Turns out after I left the beach where I hung out with a sweetie named Kiyohime, along with master, Kiyohime attempted to burn someone alive because I said that master looked like a dashing man. I highly doubt she did.

9a. The smell is still stuck to my trunks Arthur -Gudao

10. My liege... My OTHER liege, please don't ever get Red Saber to sing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" again when I am about to utilize Galatine -Gawain

11. We know you are fascinated in other cultures, but please. Stop talking to the Servants of France about Sasaki Kojirou, we don't know if you made up his nickname, but he is not the "Savior of France" - Jeanne D'Arc

12. I would suggest that you stop entering the Camelot Room by screaming "Where is my love! Guinevere!", while it as funny once or twice, I can't stand to see either Lancelots' become depressed anymore -Arturia Altria

13. No offense... But please stop patting my head so much, I know you are basically my Uncle, but people are getting the wrong idea -Mashu

14. While Proto League is an acceptable nickname for the servants of your war, please don't ever enter a fight and scream it out again. We know you enjoy it, but it can get obnoxious after a while - Random Mob 1

15. Proving that I am male by either fighting or pantsing myself is no longer allowed after Heracles decided to do the same thing when a recently summoned Shakespeare made him question his own gender -Da Vinci

15a. Having the entire male team to pants themselves in front of the enemy is not a viable tactic against Archers, no matter what you watched beforehand and despite how fun it is -Robinhood

16. Just because Merlin suggested it, I shouldn't instantly do it. Its odd, almost like no one trusts Merlin, he seems just like my one.

17. "I saw a pest" is not a viable reason to drop a Corrupted Grail into the Babylon Room, we understand your dislike towards the King of Heroes, but Ishtar and Ereshkigal were caught up in the rage.

17a. "I was bored" is not a viable excuse to kiss a female servant while under the effects of Merlin's illusionary spell, Gudao has yet to leave his... specially enduced Coma.

17b. "I saw this scene-" is not a viable reason to go to a prior singularity and ask Muramasa to create a specific weapon, it is time wasting, no matter how strong the weapon is.

18. Suggesting to Rayshift to the point before someone dies is not a good idea, no matter how much fun it is for you to watch the "Crazy Murder Loli" die.

18a. Getting Fou'd is not a good reason to Rayshift back to your fight against Beast VI just so you can "Finish the Fucker Off".

19. Using a voice manipulator made by Merlin is not a good way to get people to be afraid when you shout a noble phantasm.

19a. Shouting "Stella" is not allowed, Arash prematurely shot off his Noble Phantasm while training and now we have to resummon him.

20. Just because we have a Simulation Room, does not mean I can alter the device to allow me to see someone from the past.

20a. We know you miss her, we do too. If you want to speak, you can come talk to us -Proto League

21. Trying to host an "Engry MIYA" talk between Nameless and Alter is not a good idea, just... Don't.

22. While having a Picnic is fun, please don't host them in the middle of a fight.

23. Just because a rabbit killed Gawain in a movie, does not mean you can threaten to cook Fou alive.

24. We know you love kids but come on, you can't just take Nursery Rhyme and Jack out to "Play Fetch" with the Dragons in France every after-noon.

25. Blaming someone that isn't even a servant isn't a viable way to shift blame.

26. I've been banned from the Kitchen, apparently forcing my way in and cooking the meals before Nameless is not a good idea. He looked ready to cry.

26a. Turns out mentioning the fact that Muramasa was far more willing to let me into his kitchen when I visited him was not a good idea. I don't think Nameless likes me much.

26b. "Just because I have the alcohol" is not a good excuse to get a few of the servants including Mashu drunk at dinner.

27. Just because you technically existed before Back to the Future 1 and 2, does not mean you can threaten to sue the creator, even if you can go back in time freely.

28. NO, NEVER DO THAT AGAIN, NOT EVEN IF KIYOHIME ASKS NICELY, WE SHALL NEVER REPEAT THE EVENTS OF YESTERDAY AGAIN.

29. "Look what I found" is a sentence that I am never allowed to speak when I am holding something bigger than my head or smaller than my hands.

30. Turns out that breaking my own arm is not the best way to get Nightingale to calm down. Never thought Merlin would be wrong.

31. "Sure you can touch my Excalibur" is not the best way to differentiate between Arturia's Excalibur and my own when someone asks to hold it.

31a. "But mine is bigger" is not a good response when Arturia talks about how easy her seals are to remove from her Noble Phantasm, nor is it alright to use when talking about when how she made Mordred.

32. Stealing Gilgamesh's potion of youth and putting it in the Soup that EVERYONE ended up eating is the easiest way to have myself barred from missions for a week.

33. Just because people are afraid of it, doesn't mean you should hug it. Not even if Merlin says to.

34. Just because someone stole your food, does not mean you should "Call in a favor" and have Elizabeth sing until someone gives up who stole it

34a. Update: The above applies to Nero as well.

35. Just because I have an innate fear of the Lancer version of my female counterpart, does not mean I can steal her horse and run away because of that fear.

36. Making King Hassan say "Omae wa mou shindeiru" is not allowed, especially if you reply with "I'm already dead" just to mess with him.

37. You are fond of Mordred, we understand. But please stop teasing her. Calling her cute will be her death - KotR

38. We understand that being locked in a single room with Nobunaga can be hard, but saying it was like prison is not fair.

38a. Quoting an abridged anime is not allowed, especially if it has "Sluts" and "Prison" in the same sentence, we still don't know where you got that swim team outfit.

38b. Making a mini Excalibur and saying "Blade of Promised Prison Riots! SHANKCALIBUR" is not allowed at all, Edmond almost had a heart attack.

38c. It is noted that the Arthur and Nobunaga were almost forced to kiss, but utilizing time manipulation to see Romani's death and threaten him with "Spoilers" is not allowed.

39. Just because Merlin asked, does not mean you should dress up as a "Cutesy Idol" and perform a song with a voice changer on in front of a camera for his "Magi*Mari" stream, Romani has yet to heal from that wound.

40. Looking Mordred in the eye and saying "Mordred, I am your father" is not allowed, especially when you have her surrounded by all the versions of her "Father", even the ones that just look like "Him".

41. "I solomly swear I am up to no good" is not what you say while standing behind the Director in the Lost Room, she died once already, we don't need her worrying about what you will do.

41a. "Remember that time you became a Loli" is not to be said around Olga Marie after what happened after she was... Killed.

42. Quoting Kamina from Gurren Lagann is banned, especially after everyone believed you were actually erased from the throne. Only to find you a month later taking off an invisibilty cloak and sneaking into the mens bathrooms to shave.

43. Anime is fun to watch, but please. Stop trying to explain why a certain character would be within the Throne of Heroes.

43a. Stop. Asking. When. I. Will. Summon. ISSEI HYOUDOU! -Gudao

43b. BOOSTED GEAR SCALE MAIL! -Arthur

43c. BOOSTO? -Siegfried

44. Valentines is a wonderful thing, we get it. But making everyone in Chaldea chocolate by going around and hunting in various areas is not needed, we have too much already.

45. Stop Rickrolling, that was so early 2000s, get with the golden times old man -Kintoki

45a. EX-

46. Commenting on the impractical armors of the female knights that walk around is not needed, we have gotten complaints about how they feel harassed -Staff Member

46a. I just wanted to help out... -Arthur

47. I am not to sing anything ever again, the reason isn't because I am bad, no. Everyone agrees I am quite good. But its the genre I sing coupled with my Charisma rank. Seems love songs should not be sung. How sad.

48. Just because I have cat ears, does not mean you should give me Catnip - Atalanta

48a. The same was repeated for Alter.

48b. Along with Tamamo Berserker.

49. "Merlin told me to do it" is no longer an excuse that is accepted, even if he did make you do it.

50. LITERALLY ALL THE THINGS ON THIS LIST ARE BECAUSE OF MERLIN, STOP LISTENING TO HIM.

51. I'm only responsible for a quarter of these, stop blaming me for your troubles, Normies -Merlin

Kiyohime asks Arthur what to do to catch Gudao's attention. Arthur tells her to turn into his most cherished person. She turns into Gudako and tries to force Gudao into sex.

[herpderpingest]

Okay, some Babylon 5 spoilers in this one.

That s4 finale and coda: wild. I read the AC Club review, and it rolls its eyes at the (very literal) deification of the Rangers, but I feel I had an alternate reading to it. The people involved in the battle we've watched become gods and myths. The Rangers become the new first ones, unknown to the races they are resettling in a new galaxy, but still there to help and lead and meddle behind the scenes. That's not to say they're infallible, though, being descendants of people. It's not to say they won't disagree and break into factions, try to use the races they've influenced as pawns in their disagreements. It's not to say they won't get it wrong.

In a way you can say it's a summation of the whole idea of atheistic ethics: there is no one battle that will be won or lost and mark the end of time. "Good" isn't just a balance of acts in service of a posthumus reward. "Good" lives in the moment, in empathy and support of the people around you, in honoring both their lives and their autonomy. It must be done for it's own sake, rather than the idea of an ultimate historical record or balance. History doesn't end, it just loops and repeats.

So anyway, I think it's a good end to a good show that touches on issues that still ring true today in a way I was definitely not prepared for when I went into it. I was looking for some light sci-fi escapism with a side of Tron's nice can and soothing Midwestern accent, and I ended up watching a parable on the cycle of fascism by way of old testament angels and eldritch horrors... In space! It's weaknesses probably lie mostly (production mishaps and) in not going quite far enough into the grey areas of evil done in the service of good, or vice versa. For the intention of being a more cynical or morally grey version of Star Trek, it still remains idealistic and a bit naive. That is in turns refreshing and a bit frustrating to watch at this point in US history. Good wins (for now) and evil loses (for now) and President Space Dad and First Lady Space Mom finally have some solid alone time to make out. About time.

Also, despite better than average diversity and lqbtq represtation for the time, it's still really super white/western. Too bad about the 90s having all those big ideas and talk about diversity and inclusion and not really ever doing shit with them in terms of power structures. :/

Of course, despite being a good end it's not THE end. One more season and a bunch of TV movies to go.

Anyway sorry I'm basically livetweeting this whole thing over here. I don't think anyone's reading or that any of my old friends from here are even still on Tumblr. For some reason I feel self-conscious nerding my Twitter up too much with it, but also it's basically the only thing I'm doing right now to keep myself sane in quarentine and our current nightmare timeline. That and cuddling cats and daydreaming about maybe having my own yard some day. Everything is the worst and I am not doing well with it.

I'll probably jump back into Supernatural after this and start shitposting about how young Sam and Dean look. And I'm going to have to check out JMS's more contemporary work cause I like his deal and he wrote some really excellent Real Ghostbusters episodes.

[keptin-indy]

hey i just wanted to say i love your icon!!! o: its so rare i see anyone else who's seen b5

Anon friend, I love Babylon 5 so much I ran a LARP set just post-series for almost two years before it was finally killed by the quarantine.  I love Babylon 5 so much that the card in my wallet’s window isn’t any sort of useful ID, it’s a Psi Corps commercial telepath license.  I have a framed picture of myself with Walter Koenig where I am in a Psi Cop uniform.  I was once “arrested” at a ren fair for “being a bad (Tolkien) Ranger” and immediately gave the whole “I walk in the dark places no others will enter” spiel (which very gratifyingly shocked the frenemy who had paid for the arrest because he also didn’t know I liked B5).  I have so so many feelings about the raw deal telepaths are given in that universe and its historical analogues and the background given in the B5 novels for the founding and setup of the Corps and why it is the way it is.  Frankly you probably don’t want me to even start on that.

Anyway, if you come off anon I will probably talk to you about it and @fangirlasplosian , @backofthebookshelf, and @rattonic might too.