#Source: Babylon five

[therighthandofvengeance]

[whencyclopedia]

Book of Genesis

The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Jewish scriptures and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Genesis takes its name from the opening line in Hebrew – beresit, ("in the beginning") – later translated into Greek as genesis ("origin"). Genesis is the first text of what eventually became designated the Pentateuch, the Jewish Torah ("teachings"): five books of the Laws of Moses.

The Documentary Hypothesis

Genesis consists of a variety of literary details: myth, hymns, prayers, sacrifices, rituals, oracles, folk tales, and historical narratives. Tradition claimed that the first five books were written down by Moses, who passed them to his general Joshua when the Israelites arrived in Canaan from Egypt. In the 19th century, the social science disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, and sociology emerged and were utilized to study ancient civilizations and ancient texts. What is noteworthy in Genesis is that several of the stories are repeated, but with varying details. At times, the God of Israel is referred to as "Lord," but at other times as "God almighty." When this occurs we also find theological differences, as well as indications of changing historical contexts that included politics.

After the period of the united monarchy under King David and his son, Solomon (c. 900 BCE), two separate kingdoms were created: the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the South Kingdom of Judah. A way to explain the formation of the text was proposed by Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918), who taught at the University of Göttingen in Germany, in what became known as the Documentary Hypothesis. As we do not know who actually wrote the biblical texts, the various elements were assigned to a source:

J, the Jahwist, or Jerusalem source The Hebrew name of God (revealed in the book of Exodus) consisted of four consonants, YHWH ("I am that I am"), described as the tetragrammaton. We have the German J, for the pronouncement of the Y sound. The later Masoretic version added vowels, which gives us the English version, Jehovah (which does not appear in the Bible). The J source utilized anthropomorphic portraits of God; "the face of God," "the hand of God." In these texts, God often visits the earth.

E, the Elohim source The E comes from a form of the Canaanite el, pluralized as representing several aspects of the godhead, but also from the tribe of Ephraim, settled in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The E source portrays God as a more abstract being who does not come to earth, but communicates through angels.

P, the Priestly source The P source is a collective term for priestly concerns. This includes the sacrifices, rituals, hymns, prayers, and the begats of Genesis. The Hebrew begat ("brought forth") was the term for procreation. All ancient cultures emphasized bloodlines in detailed genealogies. This validated concepts and practices handed down through the generations. In oral cultures, the repeated lists of the begats may have been a way to memorize oral traditions.

D, the Deuteronomist source This source was named after the last of the five books assigned to Moses (Deuteronomy). It is a collective term for the final form of the traditions that were written down. In 722 BCE, the Neo-Assyrian Empire invaded the Northern Kingdom, and refugees from the North migrated to Judah. This may be when northern traditions were first joined to southern traditions, combining the J and E sources.

In 587 BCE, the Babylonian Empire invaded Judah and destroyed the Temple of Solomon. At that time, some Jews were taken captive to the city of Babylon. This period is known as the Babylonian exile." The theory is that the "Deuteronomist," either a person or school of scribes, completed the final redaction, or editing, of all the combined sources while in Babylon, beginning c. 600 BCE, but with further editing over the next several centuries (in a range from 538-332 BCE).

Jews Mourning the Exile in Babylon

Eduard Bendemann (CC BY-SA)

Continue reading...

[megarahmoon]

Name change!! And I am so happy with it. You already know my BP as Monty, but I've decided to name her after one of my most loved goddesses, Tiamat. This is going to be a bit long winded because I'm obsessed with ancient goddesses (and goddesses in general) and I love to share their ancient history because not many people in this modern world know too much about goddesses and gods.

In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is a primordial mesopotamian goddess of the ocean and personification of chaos. evidence of Tiamat is the oldest known. It dates back to 2000 B.C.E. from Sumer and Babylon. At the beginning of Tiamat’s story, she personifies young and fertile motherhood, giving birth to a multitude of deity offspring. During this stage, Tiamat is described as calm and loving, she gave birth to the first generation of gods, but when her offspring turn murderous, killing her husband Apsu, Tiamat enters her second phase — her anger transforms her into a vengeful monster with five independent heads. Ultimately, this stage is Tiamat’s undoing, as her need for revenge and her formidable power leads her into battle with the storm god, Marduk, who split her body in half, the top portion of her body becoming the sky and the bottom became the earth and her tears created the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. She is considered the Mother of All and all Babylonian gods are her descendants. As described by the New World Encyclopedia:

“The entirety of the material creation was thus generated, with half of her body as the sky, the other half as the Earth, her ribs (or thigh bones) as the vault of Heaven and Earth, her monstrous udder as the mountains, her weeping eyes as the source of the Tigris and the Euphrates and her poisonous spittle as the earthly moisture (clouds, winds, rain, and fog).”

Tiamat’s multiple personalities represents the many stages of in a woman’s life, as well as prescribed gender roles relating to power and sexuality. Society negatively stereotypes older women, ultimately punishing them for their independence and ambition. Tiamat’s violent end is identified with the often complicated role powerful women face, both in ancient and modern times. Tiamat has the appearance of a dragon or a serpent. Sometimes, she is multi-headed, due to the modern influences from the Dungeons & Dragons, though there is no image dating to Mesopotamian times which has been identified as depicting this goddess. She is the elemental powerful force of chaos, the Mother of Everything, the self-procreating womb, the source of all life and all manifestation. Tiamat’s themes are history, change, spirituality, fertility, birth and creativity. Her symbols are reptiles and seawater.

I've always wanted to name my own snake after Tiamat and I should have just changed her name years ago after my brother gave her to me ✨

[sineala]

Hi!! I used to be big into superhusbands till about the whole international iron man by bendis (i abandoned there..Tony was too different)... I was wondering, do you recommend current marvel comics? Are they still ridiculously interrupted by crossing over and events?

I am actually really, really enjoying current Marvel comics! I also think now is a pretty good time to hop on board.

If you want specific recs, I have lots of them.

Current comics:

We just got a brand-new Avengers run -- issue #2 just came out this week -- and although Steve isn't on the team (Sam is), Tony is there, and Carol is the team chair. Many of us, myself included, have been really looking forward to this run, because it's being written by Jed MacKay, who is a relatively new writer to Marvel who in my opinion writes comics with very well-characterized characters and a lot of love for the source material. (He is also currently writing what has now become my favorite Doctor Strange run.)

MacKay especially writes a very good Tony; he did an Iron Man annual and an Avengers annual back in 2021 (part of the "Infinite Destinies" series of annuals. The Iron Man one had some very good Tony characterization, and the Avengers annual instantly became everyone's favorite because about half of it is Steve and Tony hanging out at home together, and the other half is Steve and Tony punching robots.

So there's not really a whole lot to say about the new Avengers run yet, but I am excited for it.

(Jason Aaron recently ended a five-year Avengers run. I would recommend skipping it, except for the issue where Steve, Tony, and Thor all go skinny-dipping together in a hot tub. It is the highlight of the run.)

We are seven issues into a new Iron Man run, being written by Gerry Duggan (whom you may remember from 1872), and I swear this is the best Iron Man ongoing comic that has come out since I have been in this fandom. Every issue is actually good, and he's absolutely nailing the Tony characterization, and he's clearly done all the reading. And also Tony is getting whumped hard. I really love it. Every time we get a new issue I am excited to read it because I know it's gonna be good.

(You have missed a couple of Iron Man runs. The Dan Slott run was not all that great, but it had some very sweet canon Tony/Jan and also very pretty art by Valerio Schiti. Then we got Christopher Cantwell's Iron Man run, which was the worst Iron Man run I have ever read in my entire life and featured Tony being a privileged and out-of-touch billionaire asshole who then got addicted to morphine, acquired the Power Cosmic, murdered most of his friends (and, I mean, brought them back, at least), and then decided that he should maybe go to rehab so that he could learn humility which apparently he did not have? My least favorite moment was the bit where Patsy Walker tells him he has no idea what it's like to be suicidal and Tony -- a person who has had at least two on-panel suicide attempts -- agrees that, no, he has no idea what that's like. Anyway. You should skip that.)

I have been kind of meh about the current Cap run (other than the fact that it appears to have given us canon Steve/Emma femdom) because a whole lot of it is basically "CATWS but what if 616" and also they killed off one of my minor-character faves and I am very bitter. There is one more issue left in this run, so you might as well just wait a couple more months and start with the next run, which will be written by J. Michael Straczynski. I know a lot of people have strong feelings about JMS' comics work but I have been a Babylon 5 fan since it started airing and I am excited that JMS, the guy who gave us the "no, you move" speech, is going to be writing Steve. (JMS also wrote Bullet Points, if you liked the Steve in that one.)

(Cap runs you have missed include Ta-Nehisi Coates -- it was fine but for the most part Steve was wildly OOC -- as well as a very short run by Mark Waid whose first arc you should check out because it was absolutely amazing and had great Samnee art. I think you've also missed Nick Spencer's run, which. Uh. I don't even know where to begin with discussing that.)

Recent events:

Comics are still going to be comics, so, yeah, there are always events. Some of them are pretty good, though. If you haven't been here for a few years, you've probably missed AXE Judgment Day, Heroes Reborn, Empyre, and War of the Realms. Possibly also Secret Empire, Civil War II, and Standoff.

Of all of these, I would have to say that AXE Judgment Day (written by Kieron Gillen) was my favorite; it featured the Avengers, X-Men, and Eternals all coming together to save the world from a Celestial that was trying to judge all of humanity and then destroy the planet. You know, the usual. I thought it was pretty well done and had a lot for Steve and Tony to do. They got to be on the same side, for once. Steve got a whole bunch of speeches and everyone got a massive amount of angst; there was actually an entire issue devoted to the Celestial's judgment of Tony. So yeah, it didn't have a whole lot of Steve & Tony together but they both definitely had starring roles for the event.

Heroes Reborn (yes, it would kill Marvel to think up a new name) was an event where Phil Coulson sold his soul to the devil to make the Squadron Supreme have always been the best superhero team on Earth. Coulson has been wedged into the comics from the MCU but Jason Aaron clearly committed hard to making him the most evil person possible.

Empyre -- by Slott and Ewing, art by Schiti -- was probably my second-favorite recent event. It once again featured heroes fighting villains, as is right and proper. Steve and Tony weren't the stars of the event or anything but they did, you know, get to help out a bit. It was a bunch of Kree-Skrull stuff and everyone fought some tree people whose names I am blanking on and it also ended in Billy and Teddy's Big Gay Jewish Space Wedding, so obviously you have to appreciate that.

I remember very little about War of the Realms. It was one of those Asgard things.

You probably missed Secret Empire? And possibly the lead-ins to it, Avengers Standoff and Civil War II. This was infamously the event where Steve was replaced by an evil Hydra version of himself who decided to make America into his own personal fascist state. (Standoff was the event where he was secretly replaced although we did not know this at the time; he spent all of Civil War II -- a Carol vs. Tony event, this time with Tony ending up in a coma at the end -- gaslighting all the heroes pretty hard.) Public reaction to Secret Empire was, as you can imagine, very very bad (they decided to promote this as "this is the real Steve and he has been evil forever" rather than, like, "hey we're doing a villain AU for the next six months") and they ended up concluding the whole thing much faster than they had originally planned to, presumably because the sales tanked hard. They basically did a very, very bad job with this one.

Secret Empire has mostly provided a lot of source material for fandom to pick apart and improve upon -- especially the people who like villain AUs -- and its major highlight is a lead-in one-shot, Civil War II: The Oath, which is a villain remix of The Confession in which Hydra Steve addresses Tony's comatose body and, among other things, tells him that the real Steve loved him, and that he always loved him, even when they fought. So, you know. We all enjoyed that page.

Other fun things you might have missed:

There have been a bunch of fun relatively-recent miniseries!

The thing you will probably be most interested is Captain America/Iron Man, which is a five-issue miniseries by Derek Landy of Steve and Tony teaming up to take down a villain (who is, of course, one of Tony's exes). It has some lovely character moments. The collected edition of this is called "The Armor and the Shield."

Jed MacKay -- yes, the guy writing Avengers -- also previously wrote a run of Black Cat that had a lot of Tony cameos, and then decided to write an Iron Cat miniseries in which Felicia & Tony team up to defeat both of their ex-girlfriends who have decided to try to murder them because apparently, yes, they both have terrible luck with relationships. (In Tony's case, this is Sunset Bain.)

We're also currently getting an Ayodele & Akande miniseries, I Am Iron Man, which is set at various points in Tony's history and I have to admit that I have literally no idea what's going on here but at least it's clear that they really like Tony, and it's sweet.

In what I can only assume was an attempt at some kind of MCU synergy, we just finished getting a second Secret Invasion miniseries (written by Ryan North of Squirrel Girl fame) which was an extremely clever series in which basically nothing was as it seemed, and also Tony was one of the major characters. I really, really liked this one.

If you like weird AUs, we also recently got a (Tom Taylor, I think?) miniseries called Dark Ages, in an alternate future where electricity has stopped working. It did have Steve and Tony.

It is not specifically Steve & Tony related but we just got a Wasp miniseries by Al Ewing, which is Jan's first solo book ever. Yes, ever.

And it has nothing to do with Steve and Tony at all, but I feel like people who don't ordinarily read Guardians of the Galaxy might really enjoy Ewing's run on that, because it is incredibly queer. Phyla-Vell and Moondragon are main characters, Billy and Teddy come guest-star for a lot of it, Avril Kincaid (the new Quasar, who is also gay) is there for a bit, and also the overarching relationship plot is "Peter, Gamora, and Rich decide they all love each other and are all going to be in a relationship." This is extremely heavily implied. There are multiple love confessions and the run ends with them embracing. So yeah, Pete/Rich is canon now. It's great.

That's all I can think of for right now.

[gabolange]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. spread the self-love ❤

I always love this meme, because my answers are always different! Here are today's.

acts of survival made generous (For All Mankind, Margo Madison, Margo x Sergei, 20K words, canon-divergence, rated T). An AU from the end of S3 in which Aleida doesn't tell anyone about the engines. A story of what it takes to forgive and move forward.

the wheel of the headlong year (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Marie Batel, Marie x Chris, 16K words, post-ep, rated T). In which Marie Batel survives the Gorn, but survival is really fucking hard.

for the possession of our smallest sensations (The Wheel of Time, Moiraine Damodred, Moiraine x Siuan, 11k words, post-ep, rated E). In which Moiraine loses the source, and struggles not to lose herself.

Tomorrow's Dust (Babylon 5, Susan Ivanova, Delenn, 2.5k words, future fic, rated G). Susan celebrates her first Chanukah on Minbar. A story of legends, friendship, and moving forward.

When the Long Trick's Over (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Jack Robinson, Jack x Phryne, 5.5K words, post-ep, rated G). I never know what goes in slot 5--there are good options. But someone recently told me this story is the standard against which they judge my writing (hi!), so you know. Jack Robinson follows Phryne to England. The logistics are the easy part.

[beardedmrbean]

Sorry, for these constant ranting about African and black American culture

It just sucks look at history as a black American at times. There no ancient kingdom or empire, like Han, Gupta, and Roman to call back to. No Mythos with great epics like Hellenism or Hinduism where I can see myself in.

No great warriors that might have shared your face and people use as inspiration in media. No great battle like the battle of Thermopylae for people recreate again and again

No great leaders like Alexander the Great, Ashoka the Great, Julius and Augustus Caesar that change the course of history

As soon as January and February ends, seemly everyone forgot your people history.

Will we be remember when mankind enter interstellar?

Sorry maybe my borderline suicidal depression kicking in. Despite all the diversity push, has black Americans done anything beyond fighting slavery and racism? So we still have to hijack other people history and pop culture? Are any of our stories worth being told by media?

Or are we nothing but a sad pitiful group? Ugh sorry for making you my therapist

It just sucks look at history as a black American at times. There no ancient kingdom or empire, like Han, Gupta, and Roman to call back to. No Mythos with great epics like Hellenism or Hinduism where I can see myself in.

Check the Nubians and southern kingdom of Egypt there were black Pharaohs and dynasties those are recorded and attested by non Egyptian sources.

As for the Mythos Rome took a bunch of them from conquered lands, much like Greece did, like Babylon and Assyria did, Egypt too, oh and Hindus did the same thing. Easier to keep a population happy if you point out how our gods and your gods are the same guys just with different names.

No great leaders like Alexander the Great, Ashoka the Great, Julius and Augustus Caesar that change the course of history.

They existed, we just don't have any records of who they were, nothing concrete at least, gotta decide for yourself how faithful the oral tradition is.

Or you can treat it like folklore, doesn't mean there's not some truth to it, exaggerated is all.

As soon as January and February ends, seemly everyone forgot your people history. Will we be remember when mankind enter interstellar?

No need to keep them separate, just because a skin colour isn't the focus doesn't mean people forget, stuff like the 'black national anthem' is divisive, it's bringing back segregation saying we have a different national anthem than you. No if you're Americans you've got the one, go start your own country if you want a different one.

Haiti looks like it's about to reset try there.

If you want some heroes that look like you, meet the Harlem Hellfighters

To our eternal shame the US wasn't in the business of giving medals to black soldiers in WW1 not so much in 2 either, France however was.

Sergent Johnson here managed a Coup De Gras for valor in the battle that got him named "The Black Death" it's always the black something isn't it, we back home finally rectified the travesty that had him overlooked for the Medal of Honor in 2015, he more than earned it, wish he could know how many people look up to him now.

I do hope he saw this after he got home at least, I'd have that on my wall lmao.

Legacy section of his Wikipedia page has lots of things on it, but this I think would be the thing I would be proudest of,

In 1919, co-founder of the American Legion Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, referred to Johnson as one of the "five bravest Americans" to have served in World War I.

One of the good Roosevelt's, and I'm gonna guess this got to him too, since he was still around.

You need a warrior here's one, he led and sacrificed, he's a good one to look up to, refused to let his buddy be taken captive at great personal risk after they'd fought of 12 Germans.

Need another group of warriors, we've got the Tuskegee Airmen.

Made a lot of white (fighter) pilots mad because they were that good at their job, white bomber crews loved them they saw the red taifin on the P-51 their hope for surviving the mission went way up, because they were that good at their job.

Look them up too if you haven't before, check out the movie "Red Tails" Black writers adapted a story by one of them about a damn fine group of pilots, I enjoyed the movie watched it a bunch of time when I was living in Florida because it was on one of the movie channels the hotel I was living in carried.

You've got warriors who fought great battles that you can look up to though, even more so because they knew what life was like back home and how they were treated and would be on their return, and they fought anyhow.

Admirable men worthy of being looked up to by anyone really. At least for this service which is what counts for me right now.

Will we be remember when mankind enter interstellar?

How could humanity forget these men, and so many other incredible human beings that worked for the betterment of humankind in their own ways? __________

As a aside, Max Brooks got together with a artist named Caanan White who I don't know anything about but they did a fictional graphic novel about the Harlem Hellfighters and it looks pretty dang cool, so you may want to look into that at some point too.

[madsworld15]

NEW FICLET: I can stay right here forever in your arms

This fic is part of the QAF Fic Prompt Challenge 2024. It is for the first prompt: Cuddle. I'm not sure yet how many of these prompts I will be doing, but the full list can be found here: https://www.tumblr.com/chenfordsrollisi/754817586142773248/queer-as-folk-prompt-challenge-2024?source=share Thank you, @chenfordsrollisi , for these prompts!

Last night, someone bombed Babylon. Justin still couldn’t believe it. He’d been stewing about his mom’s new boyfriend and how she had the gall to bring him to the benefit when, suddenly, a flash pushed his body back against the bar counter. The next thing he knew, the air was thick with smoke and sounds, and people were screaming, and alarms throughout the structure were going off. Justin’s first thought had been to Brian, thanking whatever power there was above that the brunette wanted nothing to do with political activism this time around.

Then, his mind had turned to whether or not he was okay. He had checked himself over and quickly found that he was still in one piece, just a bit more sore than usual. His injured hand was spasming, but that wasn’t anything new. Especially considering it had probably been slammed during whatever happened.

After what seemed like hours and multiple people helped out of the building, Justin heard someone calling his name. It was loud and desperate and sounded distinctly like Brian. But that couldn’t be right. Brian was on a plane to Australia right about now. He felt hands grab him, and then he looked up to see that Brian was, in fact, there, and his face was crazed. For a quick moment, Justin wondered if Brian’s face had ever looked like this immediately after his bashing. Justin felt the tense muscles in his shoulders and chest unwind tremendously. Just the presence of the older man kicked his anxiety to the back of his brain. 

Now, here they were, hours later, lying in Brian’s loft on his bed. A bed that had held them many a night as they came together physically and emotionally tangled up in sheets of blue or grey, depending on the day. Only this time, they weren’t having sex. They weren’t even talking. Brian had simply dragged Justin from the hospital early that morning when he was instructed to go home and shower. They weren’t together anymore, but Brian had still grabbed Justin’s hand and begged him with his silent expression. So, Justin had followed him back to his place.

Brian’s arm was draped around Justin’s shoulders, and his other arm pulled the blond as close to him as he could physically be. Justin let his eyes drift shut again. Brian was never one to cuddle except when he felt most vulnerable. The man would never admit it, but last night terrified him, so Justin hadn’t argued when asked to accompany Brian home. He knew the man needed someone to be there, not just anyone but Justin specifically. With a faint smile on his lips, Justin turned his head, eyes still closed, to kiss Brian’s chest.

Brian’s hand made its way into Justin’s hair, and he started to caress his head. It was Brian’s way of centering himself. Justin had learned it ages ago and found it endearing. There were so many parts of Brian that he would only ever be privy to, and this action was one of them. After all, no one else could center Brian when his brain was as much of a mess as it was. Justin really needed to get up and work on the painting he’d been commissioned to do, but the warmth and comfort of Brian’s embrace and touch were enough to keep him rooted where he was.

Then, his phone beeped with an alarm, and the decision was made for him. Justin started to get up, but Brian’s grip on him tightened. Justin turned back around to face the man and found his gaze broken and his face filled with anxiety.

“Please,” Brian whispered, his voice wet with tears he hadn’t cried. When Justin made no move to return his head to Brian’s chest, the brunette continued. “Five more minutes.”

What Brian didn’t say, but Justin could see in his eyes, was that he was terrified of letting Justin out of his sight ever again. Just then, his hand revolted and started to spasm again. Justin hissed and began to massage it. Without a word, Brian sat up and took his convulsing hand gently and used his fingers to untie the knots and stiff tendons with skilled precision and care. What came next was barely noticeable but distinctly a tear-avoidant sniff. Justin used his other hand to pull Brian’s head up, so his gaze was on Justin’s face, not his hand.

“I need to work on a commission. Why don’t you come with me?”

Brian shook his head. “I have to deal with everything.”

And just like that, the spell was broken. It was business as usual, and Brian had locked his vulnerability up tight. Justin kissed Brian as the older man stopped massaging Justin’s now dormant hand. 

“See you later.” He got up from the bed and shoved his feet into his shoes without a backward glance.

[moistvonlipwig]

i think fandom people are generally not very good at analyzing the behind the scenes workings of tv productions largely because fans (like most people) tend to make assumptions & inferences that support their own biases. the reality is that the television industry is a mess and there are many hands in the pot and all of them have different agendas -- network execs, showrunners, producers, writers, actors, etc. sometimes decisions are made for storytelling reasons, sometimes they're made to make money, sometimes they're made because one of the execs/showrunners is a petty bitch and wants to take it out on someone.

the other reality is that it is very rare for (network) live-action tv shows (though this is changing w/ streaming & it's different w/ animation) to have a longterm plan and that's not a bad thing. jms had a 5-year-plan for babylon 5 and then the network that aired the show looked like it might go under after season 4 and he rushed to fit everything into the end of season 4 (+ tv films) and then the show got renewed for a fifth season anyway and he had no idea what to do. babylon 5 is well-regarded by sci-fi fans but to tv writers jms is a cautionary tale. when people speculate about what the "original plan" was for a tv show they are most likely talking out of their ass. either that or one of the writers mentioned a half-baked concept they tossed around in the room for five minutes at a convention one time and the fans took that and ran with it. there is almost never an "original plan". and again. that's not a bad thing if you understand how tv is made.

oh and i also think fandom people are way too quick to spread narratives crafted by other fandom people without evaluating the source of the narrative. i have seen so many myths get repeated -- some of them obviously false, some that are quite possibly entirely true -- that have nothing to back them up except that people in fandom keep believing them. and i don't want to be too harsh but uh. i don't like that sam i am!

[codeyrohelps]

in the source link below you’ll be linked to a purchasable gif pack of three hundred and thirty five (335) gifs of actress & producer, margot elise robbie. mainly from her promotions of ‘amsterdam’ and ‘babylon’ sized at 268 x 151 and twelve (12) gifs are sized 268 x 232. all gifs were made by me from various youtube videos. DON’T redistribute, claim as your own or edit in anyway (including making the gif icons -- just ask for that) without permission otherwise. please like/reblog if you were helped, use or save these and thanks in advance and feel free to tip me here [ xxx ]

also credit to cozysip for the graphic above

[thenovotnys]

Queer as Folk (US) Locations - Main Locations

This part includes Babylon, Woody's, Liberty Diner, gyms, houses, workplaces and schools. Most of these places are only for outdoor scenes. The indoor was shot on studio or other locations.

The Hangouts

1. Babylon

The entrance of the club is on Duncan Street, and the pole where Justin leans on is on the corner of Duncan Street and Nelson Street. I'm not sure if the pole still exists, and the parking lot is now a building. (from episode 101)

2. Woody's

Woody's (and Moosies in episode 413) is at 467 Church Street. (from episode 102)

3. Liberty Diner

During the show, the diner is on two locations. On season 1-2, the diner is at 894 Queen Street West. On season 3-4, the diner moves to 354 King Street East. (from episode 102 and 409)

4. The Gym

The gym is also on two locations. On season 1, the gang works out at 675 Yonge Street. Later, they work out on other gym at 258 The Esplanade. It seems that both gyms are no longer exist. (from episode 102 and 403)

The Houses

5. Brian's loft

Brian lives at 6 Church Street. (from episode 307)

6. Michael's apartment and house

Michael and Emmett, and later with Ben and Hunter lives at 7 Glen Road. On season 5, the boys move to Brooklyn Avenue. (from episode 314 and 501)

7. Melanie and Lindsay's house

During the show, the girls and Gus live in two houses. The first one, on season 1, 3-5, they live at 178 Crawford Street. On season 2, they live on Kendal Avenue. (from episode 513 and 213)

However, it seems that the second house is also where Lindsay's parents live. (from episode 207 and 213)

8. Debbie's house

Debbie's house is the most inconsistent during the show. I noticed that there are five houses and three back parts of the house.

On season 1, Debbie, Vic and later Justin live on Beatrice Street. However, I cannot locate the alleys/backyard where other scenes take place. (from episode 108, 117 and 121)

On season 2, Debbie and Vic move to 87 Crawford Street. The backyard where they rake the leaves is on Lane South Queen East Shaw. (from episode 214 and 207)

On season 4, Debbie and Emmett live in two houses. The first one is on Bellwoods Avenue. The second one is on Heward Avenue. (from episode 406 and 412)

On season 5, Debbie and Emmett live on Bertmount Avenue. (from episode 501)

9. Justin's house (and Daphne's)

On season 1, The Taylors live on Bobwhite Crescent. After they sell the house, they move to Mendota Road. (from episode 102 and 201)

Daphne lives on Bobwhite Crescent, too. Just like the OG UK version, where the teens live on the same street. (from episode 104)

10. Vic and Rodney's house

The men now get their own place on Gloucester Street. (from episode 405 and 406)

11. Other places

David and Michael live on Taylorwood Drive

The Kinneys live on Lanor Avenue

Ben lives in an apartment on St. Joseph Street, but that particular scene is on Irwin Avenue

(from episode 111, 115 and 209)

The Workplaces and Schools

12. Brian's office and Kinnetik

The show wants us to think that Brian works on Metro Hall. However, I'm not sure if both Ryder Advertising and Vangard Advertising are in there. It looks like both places are inside other actual building rather than studio. (from episode 114, 217 and 306)

Later, Brian opens his own agency, Kinnetik, on ex Bathhouse on Nicholson Lane. (from episode 403)

13. Melanie's office

Melanie and the partners' law firm is at 3 Sultan Street. (from episode 121)

14. Michael's supermarket and comic book store

Michael used to work at Big Q, which was on actual store called Zellers at 1255 The Queensway (now closed). Later, he opens his own comic book store at 607A Queen Street West. (from episode 112 and 409)

15. Other places

Emmett works at Torso, which is at 880 Queen Street West (near the Diner on season 1-2).

The source says that the classes scenes are in Seneca College. However, I cannot locate those places.

16. Justin and Daphne's school

They studied at Ursula Franklin Academy. Some scenes were taken on Evelyn Crescent. (from episode 104)

17. Hunter's school

On season 3-4, The Susquehanna High School is on Jarvis Collegiate Institute, 495 Jarvis Street. On season 5, it looks like Hunter goes to different school, which I cannot locate. (from episode 313 and 505)

Previous: Introduction

Next list: Queer as Folk Locations - Season 1

[therighthandofvengeance]

Lochley: What are you doing?

Sheridan: Do you really want to remove your plausible deniability?

[whencyclopedia]

Battle of Thymbra

The Battle of Thymbra (547 BCE) was the decisive engagement between Cyrus II (the Great, r. c. 550-530 BCE) of Persia and Croesus (r. 560-546 BCE), King of Lydia. The Persian victory ended the Kingdom of Lydia, which was then absorbed into the Persian empire, and enabled Cyrus to expand his territories and fully establish the Achaemenid Empire.

Croesus had arranged the marriage of his sister, Aryenis, to the king of the Medes, Astyages (r. 585-550 BCE), and maintained a cordial relationship with the Median kingdom, agreeing on the Halys River as the border between their territories. When Cyrus overthrew Astyages in c. 550 BCE, Croesus saw an opportunity to enrich himself while protecting his kingdom against possible Persian aggression and so launched a military campaign across the Halys.

An inconclusive battle was fought between the armies of Croesus and Cyrus at Pteria, and Croesus then retreated to his capital city of Sardis where he disbanded much of his army for the winter season, as was customary, and expected Cyrus to do the same. According to Xenophon (l. 430-c. 354 BCE), Cyrus was advised to follow suit by his advisers but chose instead to press on to an attack, marching on Sardis and meeting Croesus on the field of Thymbra.

Cyrus dispersed the Lydian cavalry by placing camels at the front of his army, which frightened the Lydians’ horses, and then drove his own cavalry through the breaks in the ranks, defeating Croesus and driving him back into the city. After a fourteen-day siege, Sardis fell, and Croesus was captured.

The battle is often cited as one of the most important in history as it put an end to Lydia, previously the richest and most powerful kingdom in Asia Minor, which was allied with Babylon. Once Lydia was conquered, Cyrus was able to take Babylon by 539 BCE, bringing Mesopotamia under Persian control, and founding the Achaemenid Empire.

Sources & Strengths

The main sources on the battle are the Greek writers Herodotus (l. c. 484-425/413 BCE) and Xenophon though the fall of Sardis under Croesus is also addressed by Ctesias (l. 5th century BCE). Herodotus’ account in his Histories I.79-81 and I.84 is considered accurate while Xenophon’s, from his Cyropaedia (The Education of Cyrus, 2.1.6 and 7.1.23-28) is understood as a semi-fictionalized account based on earlier works. Xenophon’s account is still recognized as reliable at points although the numbers he gives for the armies have been challenged.

According to Xenophon, Cyrus was vastly outnumbered at Thymbra, leading 200,000 men against Croesus’ army of 420,000. It is more likely that Cyrus had between 20,000-50,000 and Croesus, even though he had sent home his mercenaries, twice that number, possibly over 100,000.

The Persian army was made up primarily of Persians with mercenaries from Armenia, Arabia, and Media and included infantry, cavalry, camel cavalry (seemingly a last-minute decision on Cyrus’ part), archers, slingers, 300 war chariots, and at least five siege towers. The Lydian army consisted of Lydian cavalry as well as infantry mercenaries from Babylon, Cappadocia, Egypt, and Phrygia. Croesus also had archers, slingers, and around 300 war chariots.

Continue reading...

[the-delta-42]

Your Royal Highness - Chapter 1

Your Royal Highness

Chapter 1

Marinette subtly scanned the room, Nino had already scouted it out and informed her that everything was safe. As usual. She spotted Kim sitting with Max and Alix, laughing at something, probably the latest attempt Lila made to get back in his favour.

Marinette thought back to the incident that caused Lila’s empire to collapse. She claimed to be dating the Prince of Elysium, a small country that lay between Asia and The Americas. It was one of three countries that had kept its boarders closed for the latter half of the millennium, the other two were Eden and Babylon. Marinette had seen theories, a couple by Alya, that Eden, Babylon and Elysium were named because they were the Countries that had proof that God existed. Marinette internally snorted at the cover story.

A flicker of light caught Marinette’s eye, her eyes zeroed in on the source. Immediately jumping into action, Marinette ambled her way towards Kim, picking up a metal tray on her way. Marinette got five feet away from Kim, before she ‘tripped on something’. The tray went flying, just as a small pellet hit the flat side of the tray.

“Marinette?” Said Alix, looking over at the pigtailed girl, “Are you alright?”

Marinette remained face down, before she said, “I’m glad my lunch wasn’t on that.”

Marinette felt a pair of hand grab her arms, looking up, she came face to face with Nino.

“You really need to watch where you’re going, dudette.” Said Nino, keeping his question in his eyes. ‘Where?’

Marinette’s eyes flickered to the roof outside the window. Nino frowned, before subtly glancing in the direction.

“We have our project to work on.” Said Nino, making Kim’s shoulders slump.

“Now?” Whined Kim, as Marinette grabbed his bicep.

“Yes, now.” Said Marinette, pretending to be too weak to haul Kim to his feet.

“Dude,” Said Nino, folding his arms, “the last time we had a project together, you didn’t do anything, and we nearly failed.”

“That was last week!” Exclaimed Kim, as Marinette let out small grunts in an effort to hide her laughter.

“Yeah, that’s why we have this project,” Scolded Nino, “Mendeleiev is having us redo it so that everyone participates.”

Kim groaned and got to his feet, “Fine.” He pouted.

As soon as the three were outside the cafeteria, Marinette whirled around.

“Nino, you keep the prince safe,” Commanded Marinette, her mind going into captain mode, “I’m going to investigate where that shot came from.”

“Wait, so there isn’t a project?” Asked Kim, looking affronted.

Marinette and Nino stared at him.

“Elysium is in for a bad ride.” Commented Marinette, before spinning on her heel and marching off.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Demanded Kim, as Nino carefully herded him away.

“Probably another one of the ‘inside jokes’ she has.” Said Nino, completely oblivious to the three people hiding around the corner.

Alya and Adrien gaped at each other. Marinette had just made a sarcastic, boarder-line snide remark about another country and had walked off. Then Marinette had called Kim a Prince. A. Prince.

“But she has a point,” Said Nino, looking down at the tray in his hands, flipping it over as he spoke, “someone tried to take a shot at you and, quite frankly, I don’t want to be on the receiving end of the Queen’s wrath because the two bodyguards she had watching her son couldn’t do their jobs.”

“What is that?” Asked Kim, looking at it closely.

“I don’t know, but knowing Marinette, we’ll find out soon.” Said Nino, before grabbing Kim’s shoulder and walking him away.

Kagami poked her head around the corner.

“Okay, they’re gone.” Said the Japanese girl, allowing Adrien and Alya to release the breath they had been holding.

YRH

Marinette hauled herself up the fire escape for the building. Granted, she could’ve just transformed and used her yoyo, but she felt like pushing herself today. She carefully looked across the roof, before hauling herself onto it. The equipment for taking the shot was scattered around haphazardly, as if whoever fired the shot was in a panic to get away. Marinette walked towards the rifle and crouched to pick it up.

A cold blade was pressed against her neck.

“Dead.” Said the Marksman, before putting the sword away, “I honestly thought you were going to do well today.”

Marinette scowled, before standing up to face her brother, “I did, you’re just a pessimist.”

“Really?” Questioned Michael, his arms folding, “I didn’t see you scout around the perimeter of the area before heading up here.”

Marinette froze, before swearing.

“Hm, fuck indeed.” Said Michael, as he started to gather up the equipment, “Don’t worry, Nino’s not out of the woods yet. Maria has a special test prepared for him.”

Marinette remained quiet, before looking around the roof top, “If I’d scouted around the block, the sniper could get away.”

Michael sigh and turned to face his sister, “Little one, a great leap forwards often requires two steps back. You need to examine the situation before jumping to conclusions, what if where was a second assassin waiting for you to turn up?”

Marinette scowled and glared at her feet.

“Plus,” Said Michael, “if you can get above them, they won’t see or hear you coming.”

Marinette snorted.

RYH

Nino kept ducking his head down the aisles of bookcases, looking for the Librarian, or anyone else for that matter, and finding no one.

“Typical, the one time we need a crowded place, all the intellectuals go on a sabbatical.” Muttered Nino, before a hand grabbed his shoulder and shoved into a bookcase.

Nino looked up at his attacker, they were wearing a black balaclava, hiding their features. Nino quickly rolled over and jumped to his feet, before swinging his leg out, kicking his assailant in the side. Another assailant grabbed Nino and slammed him against the wall, before a cold barrel of a gun was pressed to Kim’s head.

“One more move and his brains will decorate the floor.” Said the Gunman, making Nino stand down.

There was a tense silence, before the Gunman holstered their gun and pulled the balaclava off.

“Nino, did you forget the actual techniques you were taught for a situation like this?” Demanded a woman with green eyes, tanned skin and red hair.

“…Nooooo.” Nino trailed off, before looking away, “I take it the sniper thing was Marinette’s test.”

“Yes.” Said the woman curtly, before hauling Kim to his feet, “I can only hope her test went better than yours.”

“Sorry, Maman.” Said Nino, scratching the back of his neck.

“Keeping them here has made them complacent.” Said Michael, striding into the library.

Marinette was red in the face, while her gaze was firmly on a spot on the floor.

“Let me guess,” Said Nino’s mother, “She didn’t scout around before heading to the roof?”

“Got it in one.” Said Michael, leaning against a bookshelf, “Now, what’s this I hear about a failed assignment because a certain Prince didn’t pull his weight?”

Marinette let out an undignified snort as Kim went red. Michael suddenly tensed, spun around and launched a knife towards the door, the blade embedding itself in the wood of the door.

“All of you, come out!” Commanded Michael, as Adrien, Kagami and Alya slowly shuffled into sight.

“Guys?” Asked Marinette, looking at the three, “w-what are you doing here?”

“Little one, they’ve been following us since we entered the building.” Said Michael, stalking towards, “Who are you and what are your intentions?”

“They’re our classmates,” Said Nino, getting a reprimanding look form his mother, “Sorry.”

“Great.” Grumbled Michael, “Loose ends, just what we need.”

“Kim’s a prince?” Asked Alya, disbelievingly.

“Current heir to Elysium, yes.” Answered Maria, before looking at Michael, “You do realise that we have to take them to be debriefed, right?”

“Did you tell anyone about what you’ve found?” Asked Michael, giving the three a cold, calculating glare.

“Our lips are sealed.” Rushed Adrien, “Um, what do you mean ‘debriefed’?”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve got to be somewhere soon and-” Adrien was cut off by Maria.

“That’ll have to wait.” She flicked her wrist and three darts shot out and hit the three students, rendering them unconscious.

Michael, Marinette and Nino stared at the unconscious teenagers.

“Maria,” Said Michael, “my leg’s busted, remember? I can’t carry them.”

“They can.” Maria gestured towards Marinette and Nino, “It can make up for the sloppy work they’ve done.”

YRH

Skye frowned at the man sitting at the desk. The Mentor had found that mayor of Paris had links to the enemy and that he was possibly one of them. She silently made her way behind him and gently resting the palm of her hand on the back of the chair, before she flicked her wrist and a short blade pierced the back of Andre’s chair and went into his back, piercing his left lung and nicking a major artery.

“What?” Rasped Andre, as Skye appeared in his vision, “You…”

“Reposez en paix.” Murmured Skye, as she went through his pockets, smirking when she found a data stick and a disk. She looked down and spotted a hard drive plugged into the computer. She unplugged it and stuffed it, the data stick and the disk into her jacket pocket.

“You did great!” Came Rafael’s voice in her ear, making her jump.

“Christ, Raf!” Gasped Skye, “Don’t do that!”

“Sorry, you’re going to need to get rid of your wig and jacket,” Said Raf, “There should be a uniform closet near Bourgeois’ Office.”

“That staff id that you made should work, right?”

“Of course it will.” Said Raf, “Mike and Maria are collecting our two novices and Cal and Toby are dealing with the other two targets.”

YRH

Toby silently groaned as he hung from the ledge, he was thankful for the tree hiding him from sight, the Bourgeois woman was with Tsurugi, with a cd player playing violin music in the room next to theirs. He peeked over the edge and saw Bourgeois was facing away from him, and with Tsurugi being blind, it gave him the opportunity to leap out at them.

“Claudette’s not worthy of our order.” Were Bourgeois’ last words, as Toby rammed his fist into the back of her neck and slammed a vase over Tsurugi’s head. The two women dropped to the ground, unconscious.

He quickly rummaged through their pockets, and Bourgeois’ bag, but found nothing.

“Fuck.” Muttered Toby, glancing around the room, “Where is it?”

Unfortunately Toby didn’t have the time to rummage around the room, as two burly men charged into the room, making Toby run and jump out of the window he entered in.

[byronicherobracket]

The Byronic Hero Bracket: Qualifying Round Batch E #4

Londo Mollari from Babylon Five vs. Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader from Star Wars

Reasons under the cut (spoilers for both)

(All sources from TV Tropes)

Londo Mollari:

Londo Mollari is an old, bitter, and cynical republican who dreams of days of bygone glories, and is willing to undergo a Deal with the Devil to see his ideals come to fruition. He spends most of the show's run highlighting and showcasing the darker sides of both the overhanging conflict and Babylon Five itself, and while he is almost as important to the story as Sheridan, Londo's part of it is decisively darker and is won with backstabbing and intrigue. In the end, Londo ends up more of a Tragic Hero when he is forced to pay the piper for his past misdeeds.

Anakin Skywalker:

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader was raised as a slave before joining a warrior order. His status as The Chosen One made him arrogant, while the loss of his mother left him a brooding and temperamental figure who initially fights for good but is driven to villainy out of love for his wife, who he fears will die. Even after he turns to the Dark Side, he still believes himself to be on the side of justice. Furthermore, the television shows reveal further things, such as the travesty of war and seeing so many soldiers die along with seeing his student undergo wanton cruelty and betrayal to where she refuses to rejoin the order when her name is cleared. Combine this with the stoicism and emotional control imposed by the Jedi Order and we see further how the young Skywalker became Vader.

[decimatlas]

CHARON ; i have seen the fall of babylon – i have drunk the blood of kings.

Under the 'read more' is a bio for my portrayal of Charon, ferryman of the River Styx. He is not based on any one source of mythos; rather, he is an amalgamation of myths, plus my own personal interpretation of his role in the afterlife.

BASICS

NAME. Charon KNOWN AS. The Ferryman BIRTHDAY. None AGE. Ageless (immortal entity as old as time itself) PRONOUNS. Commonly referred to by he/him (preferred) SEXUALITY. Grey/bisexual SPECIES. Psychopomp RESIDENCE. The River Styx, Underworld

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE / HUMAN FORM

HEIGHT. 6' (183 cm) WEIGHT. 165 lbs (75 kg) HAIR. Dirty blonde EYES. Green BUILD. Athletic FACE CLAIM. Alex Saxon

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE / TRUE FORM

HEIGHT. 12' (366 cm) WEIGHT. Weightless DESCRIPTION. Daunting, hooded figure, resembling a Reaper. When he chooses to show a face, it resembles a skeleton – but often, under his hood is mere void.

PERSONALITY

MBTI. ISFJ-A (The Defender) ENNEAGRAM. Type Five (The Investigator) ALIGNMENT. True Neutral

Time means nothing to him; he exists outside of it – but he is aware how long he has been here, aware of how long he has been doing this. Because of that, Charon is often very wise and insightful, but will talk back (and even give some sass) to those who do not treat him with respect. He shows his human form to those he does not seek to strike fear into – those he feels will respect him on their journey together. However, he will not shy away from showing his true form to those who do not show reverence to him or his role. His voice, once kinder sounding in his human form, will become disembodied, will lose every shred of humanity within it. He is always kind – but he demands respect. He will only show his true form to those he intends – though he can ferry multiple people at a time, this does not mean every soul will see Charon's true form. They see what he wishes for them to see.

To those he could consider friends or acquaintances – though they are few and far between – Charon has a bit of a sense of humor. He has no stake in politics in any realm. His job is necessary, required. He is the only one who can carry the role out.

So, he can afford to have a bit of an attitude.

ABILITIES

Empathic abilities – though Charon cannot see into the past, he can feel the type of person he ferries across the Styx. He can feel their anguish, their grief; he can feel if they were satisfied with the life they led. Oftentimes, he does not comment on it. But sometimes, he'll strike up conversation about the life a soul led on Earth, if they are within his proximity.

LORE / art credit.

Psychopomp, Ferryman – Charon sails the River Styx. Bridge between worlds – Earth and afterlife, Underworld, Hell… countless other realms. He knows where you belong. He can feel the remnants of the life you led.

There is much debate on what happens after death – and Charon knows the answer. You go where you believe, wherever that may be. He will take you there. Charon will guide you, ferry you to your destination.

His boat changes form, depending on who he ferries over. Sometimes, he takes a single soul in a small boat; other times, he takes countless souls on a barge. It's typically the latter, contrary to mythos. After all, countless souls enter the Underworld at any given time. Being tasked to ferry a single soul is rarer, but it nevertheless happens at times.

The River Styx connects many realms (Hell, the Underworld, Purgatory, etc.), and Charon is the guide between them all. One cannot cross from one realm to another without him. Many never leave their realm once they are transported over – but there are some wanderers, some who walk amongst the dead.

Outside of his role, not much is known of the psychopomp. He's a lonely entity, sentenced to float on the River Styx for all eternity – to be a bridge but never have a place to call home.

Note: paying the toll is unnecessary these days – but nevertheless appreciated. Tip your Captain.

[kenaran]

Looking for something, stumbled upon this:

The following are just five episodes of Babylon 5 which, when watched in order, will give you the broad strokes of the entire show, and create the illusion of having watched the whole thing.

*spills her coffee*

I mean, the first part is pretty bold, but the second? Yeah. Keep kidding yourself.

They're cheating, btw., by treating War Without End as just one episode. And you're supposed to watch Sleeping in Light right after Z'ha'dum. Because this makes sense as a story ... how?

But anyway, I hear it's pretty much just like watching the whole show.

Source