#b5 psi corps

[cornerdreams-txt]

hello babylon 5 enjoyers of tumblr how do u feel about this door sign I painted for my dad (I hate painting bc I'm too impatient to let it dry but I'm proud of how this came out)

[therighthandofvengeance]

Something that’s been on my mind as of late is Bester. Specifically, the fact that if he were to undo the propaganda/brainwashing done by the corps, he’d have Ivanova’s mentality about the organization, minimum.

Bester is fueled by pettiness to the same extent that Ivanova is fueled by vengeance. Some might argue those two words to be synonymous, but by my perception (within the context of their respective characterization), they’re different.

Bester doesn’t see himself as petty— he sees himself as just, as fair, as a kind human who is trying to make the world a better place for the next generation. He’s doing humanity a favor in his brainwashed mind.

Ivanova is vengeful and she knows it. She sees someone who’s wronged her in some way take a low road, and she starts digging a path beneath it. If she sees someone else being wronged, she might be more inclined to boost them up on their path to a higher road, but that doesn’t mean that she’ll somehow refuse to go about it by digging deeper to make a solid foundation for them.

They both lost their non-Corps telephathic parents at the hands of the corps. The difference is that Ivanova knows her mother would have never done such a thing without the “influence” (medication) of the corps, and Bester’s parents chose death over assimilation to the corps.

With Bester, the corps is mother, the corps is father. There is nothing to be mourned because they were simply the people who physically created him. They were never truly there to differentiate between what they believe should’ve been perceived as “right” and “wrong.”

Ivanova, on the other hand, got into heated debates with Andrei. They fought, they argued, they bickered— and based off of what we know about Sofie, there’s very little to suggest that the fight in Susan somehow isn’t (nearly) identical to the fight in Sofie. Nature versus nature, it’s hard to tell. (In my opinion, the exact similarity was both the cause and the effect— Andrei missed Sofie to such an extent that he craved the knowledge that she might be dead, but she wasn’t gone. Provoking his daughter was clear and direct pathway to see Sofie again. Sofie wasn’t alive, but Susan is. Susan’s similarities to her mother ironically nearly killed her father, and it kills Susan herself on a daily basis.)

They both lost their loves at the hands of the corps— perhaps the first (if only) true romantic love they’ll ever experience. They lost these people because their respective loves had come to the conclusion that the corps is a corrupt organization (to say the least). They both lost them by the corps chosen mentality that the homo sapien are not human, but are rather a resource for them to freely exploit in the pursuit of greater strength in the next generation.

This enrages Ivanova. Of course, she values strength, and she does so to such an extent that it can often be to her own detriment. However, she can acknowledge that there are multiple forms of strength, and lots of ways to demonstrate them, too. She’s not going to say that her way is the most right way, but she knows it’s more right than the corps’. She’s (at least learning to start) acknowledging that humanity is a strength and should be treated as such.

This mentality should enrage Bester, but it doesn’t. Instead, he’s disappointed by other people’s line of thought, because his way is the right way— if it weren’t, he wouldn’t have been trusted to enforce the rules of the corps, because he’s that special. He’s that important, and the corps taught him that. Because of the corps, all of his value is based in his telepathy, and therefore his humanity doesn’t matter at all. It would be irrelevant, but he’s a psi-cop. Humanity is a deterrent.

Both Bester and Ivanova have been denied the outward practice of humanity being granted to them, and it shows. The difference is that Ivanova learns to make it from scratch, make it by herself. Bester can’t even fathom how to truly do that. If he did, his fury would be directed towards the corps (and not its enemies).

[ivoryvines]

a pretty sad detail about telepaths is they aren't from anywhere.. they're just from the corp

if you ask ivanova where she's from she would say russia and if you asked sheridan he would say kansas but if you asked talia for example she would just say she's from the corp

ivanova and sheridan both have fond memories of their home countries but all talia has memories of is the corp

the only place telepaths have known is the corp

[kenaran]

I'm getting advertisements for B5 merchandise! I think the Psi Corps badge would have been more fitting than that flag though.

[cha-faile]

Edit: I will not re-post this to the correct blog, this just lives here as a monument to my glee!

B5 s02e19 Divided Loyalties Table of Contents • previous episode

Delenn: "I find the notion of the press a…fascinating, but sometimes troubling concept."

I find the notion that the Minbari don't have press to be a fascinating but potentially troubling concept!

The machine that dispenses Universe Today but requires that you confirm your identity to get a paper is wild. Does it give different papers to different people?

Delenn: "It is good to know what your people are thinking and saying about my people. And, uh, I often learn things about my own world before I'm told what I need to know and no more."

She is so cute!! And so crafty!! I liked Delenn from The Gathering, but I like her more and more whenever she appears.

A flood on a space station seems like it could get really really bad, really really fast.

I once read a hilarious fanfic where some Star Wars characters traveled to B5 and bought a shitload of data crystals, which turned out to be kyber, and this reminded me of that.

When I was looking up what the episode was called, I saw that Lyta-from-the-Gathering would be coming back and I'm so excited for this! I hope she and Talia get along.

asddkhfsdkfh what was that little shimmy?? Cool alien, hilarious shoulder wiggles.

Sheridan: "oh, I miss trees…." Garibaldi, from Mars: "……" *yeah, so anyway changing the subject now*

Talia: It's hard to believe it's taken us so long to get to this point. Two years. Susan: Well, you didn't exactly make it easy. Talia: Me? how 'bout you? Susan: I'll have you know I've been nothing but compassionate and understanding. I mean, all you had to do was admit that you were wrong and I was right and everything would be fine!

LMAO.

Sleepover? Sleepover!!! GAY GIRLS GO

Susan: "I'd like the company."

Yeah I'd like her company, too. *eyebrow waggle*

Wow, Lyta had a rough arrival! Maybe she can sleep over with Susan and Talia, too. *eyebrow waggle*

Go Lyta Go. I support unhinged women wielding surgical tools.

Poor Lyta has spent years being distrusted and interrogated by psicorps for what she saw in Kosh's mind. I'd be pretty twitchy after that, too! Their tender loving care seems like it would be the exact oppposite.

She is even hotter than she was in the Gathering.

OK, love the exposition about the fucked up things psi corps can do with people's brains. Fucking terrifying. Implant a personality below their personality, that emerges and destroys the original when the right time comes around. Moles that don't know they're moles. Very uncool of PsiCorps.

Lyta is SO paranoid, but I suspect she isn't being paranoid enough. She's shockingly tolerant of being placed in secure holding. I don't think I'd agree to be literally imprisoned that readily. She hasn't done anything but come out of anesthesia swinging surgical tools after being imprisoned by PsiCorps for two years.

Delenn!!!

Sheridan: Why is it every time you finally get things calmed down and everything's going great life decides to kick you in the butt? Delenn: …but what?

That really got me and I lol'ed. Good use of idioms and miscommunication! Love it. She wasn't taught slang because it was considered innapropriate for a member of the religious caste.

Delenn: I butt, you butt, he or she butts… Sheridan: NO. No, it's… Delenn: Butt-butt. Sheridan: you sound like a motorboat. Delenn: Motor butt?

I continue to cackle. OK, I finally ship them. They reeled me in!

Hold her hand back you fucking monkey!!

The debates and counter-intelligence and fact checking is A+. Damn you JMS for making me like Garibaldi via the excellent Garibaldi-Sheridan interactions. :|

Sleepover date!! I am so excited. Susan knows how to woo a woman: with a real, hot-water shower. It would work on me.

More good exposition. Talia knew Lyta, she was six months behind Talia at the academy. She was nice, sweet. They were close at one time. *eyebrow waggle*

It speaks very well of Lyta that she hated her PsiCop internship and went commercial instead.

"So I've come to the decision that there's only one person on this station that I can trust implicitly…" *gets in Susan's personal space and stares at her lips* "…you." *almost touches Susan with bare fingers* me: *goes absolutely fucking feral*

Why tf is Lyta a prisoner?! I ask a-fucking-gain. This is ridiculous, and exposes her and her mission to the goddamn EarthCorps brown shirts!

Yeah, well obviously someone wanted to shoot at her when she was being transferred! This is why she should be having a gay-ass sleepover with Talia and Susan right now!

At least they don't think Lyta instigated the attack on herself. They're ass-backwards about this. She shows up with news of a secret, they imprison her where any security staff could find out, including the goddamn leak she was talking about, and then Sheridan is mad and shocked someone knew she was there with critical info. C'mon, dude.

Also Susan, <3, Sheridan is right about one thing, this isn't a scan to object to, it's just her projecting a code word to see if anyone reacts.

Talia: "I woke up last night and you were gone." Me: [beast shaking toy in mouth.jpeg]

O.o WHAT IS SUSAN LYING ABOUT. Is she telepathic???? It's my long-running headcanon about her! Please be telepathic, please be. If we get to find out that her mom used her telepathy to hide Susan's powers that would be EVERYTHING to me.

If only Na'Toth and Laurel were in this episode also being badasses it would be the greatest of all time.

c'mon telepathic Susan! C'mon!! omfg I'm almost vibrating.

"…and then, every once in awhile, I was the one who touched her mind."

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP FUCK YES I AM WELL FED THIS EPISODE

"…I'm a latent telepath."

FUCKING WINNING

Now Sheridan just needs to not be an idiot about this. Obviously she hid it, who wants to be fucking gangpressed into PsiCorps?!

Good job, Sheridan. Minimal shittiness achieved. And I know I'm completely fucking feral about Susan/Talia but it's so perfect that Susan is so close to Sheridan that he's the first person she tells about her hidden talent.

Smart of Garibaldi to hand over his piece before being not-scanned. What a fucker tho, faking them out. hahah.

also please don't be the mole, Ivanova. I don't want anything bad to have happened to her, ever, but since plenty has, I don't want any more!!

After all these people have been cleared, I think Ivanova will probably just agree to being cleared. She will want to know. Maybe she would let Lyta tell Talia the password and let Talia password her?

I do like Sheridan's theory earlier talking to Garibaldi that the second in command who shot Garibaldi in the back was the mole.

Ahhhh Ivanova did change her mind. And she's clean!

Lyta: I'm sorry Susan: Go to hell.

That's my girl.

Oh man!! I didn't even think to suspect Talia! Fuuuuuuuck, and she's all telekinetic'ed up, too!! Oh, damn it. I don't like this at all.

or do I? There's plenty of whump to be had. hm.

You know what I really don't like, this boys-only confab. Ivanova is the second in command of the entirety of B5 and she's not present for the strategy meeting. Uncool.

Ahhhh it's all coming together for Garibaldi. Wow, they really have been seeding this plotline for the whole show!! Cool Hat Man Mind Empty No Thoughts Only Hat wasn't just fun filler!

The Talia that Susan knew definitely has to be in there! They haven't kissed yet! And I need that!!

Oh, this is chilling!! The angst! The whump!! Susan!!!

I think it would be really funny if the sub-personality didn't understand homosexuality and therefore has no idea real!Talia was in love with Susan and vice versa.

OK now I weirdly ship Lyta/Kosh.

"I never told them, I never told anyone. I hid it all away in the smallest, tiniest corner of my mind. They could have killed me and they still wouldn't have found it. Only at night, alone, would I open that small door in my mind where I kept the memory of you and listened to your voice. Listened to you sing me to sleep. I hope I can come back again, but I don't know. Until then, Kosh, I want to see you again. Just one more time before I go."

Lyta's a bonafide monsterfucker. What a great note to end this on!

My thoughts right now are: "Hnnnnnngggggshshshcsagfjkaldsf yes." Good episode! My favorite of the season so far! I can't wait to see how all this plays out!! I may make some gifs and do a gif-post of this ep later. So many good shots!

this next one is posted to the correct blog, hah.

[ooksaidthelibrarian]

Babylon 5 Rewatch S1E8 And the Sky Full of Stars

btw there is a Babylon 5 Ficathon going on on Dreamwidth right now (you don't need a DW account to participate)

Ooooh shit is gonna get real

clearly not the villain of the episode (nice cheekbones though)

Joachim! ...does he have a name in that episode, idk? But it's Judson Scott, Joachim from Wrath of Khan

he has even nicer cheekbones, idk if that's a requirement to join their weird lil order

Garibaldi my man, you have some shitty people under your command

I fucking love their padded vests, that is such a look

B5 has such insanely roomy guest quarters

Knight One. Ok. I'm just gonna stay with Joachim.

DUDE why are you so fucking dumb about this, flat out denial is the worst

what IS that instrument omg

it's related to the mind probe for sure

I do love this little part of Franklin's backstory with the space hitchhiking

and I do love me characters with a moral code they follow

omg finally someone has decent pillows

everyone's kitchen areas are so fun to look at, the set design is cool

ooouuh look at that expressionism shadow there

(I said this before but I am enjoying watching this one episode per week so damn much, and I am 100% going to do a complete S1-4 watchthrough)

LOL the newspaper: Pros and Cons of Interspecies Mating

and the PSI Corps is endorsing the vice president (you might wanna keep that in mind)

Copyright Trial in Bookzap Flap??

Oh and a Homeguard trial about an attack on the Minbari Embassy ended with a guily verdict

I am so glad I can just pause the DVD to read all this

'I'm real' PUNCH HIM

I appreciate that Garibaldi thinks about the horrible possibilities

in less horrible, I kinda want to write Thalia/Ivanova hair braiding fic

Hah didn't see that coming my dude

Benson, you really are not the sharpest tool in the shed - didn't deserve this though

that whole mystery of why the Minbari just surrendered!

Sinclair is having a wholeass Captain Archer moment here with the punching :D

a kingdom for a stun setting!

MAN I wish so much I could see this all for the first time again

'out of curiosity' yeah right

[greysectorpod]

Hi! I'm new to this station. I'm amazed at the love for B5 that your page is imbued with and just want to say thanks for that!

Since I'm new here, could you suggest me some other interesting Babylon pages? And what do you think of the Psi Corps novellas?

We haven’t gotten to the psi corps novellas! I will look for those. There’s a lot of great tumblage under the Babylon 5 tag, I just follow that.

[roguetelepaths]

memory

for @b5-minvember

content warnings: family separation, mentions of parental abandonment, implied systemic homophobia, cult indoctrination vibes (because Psi Corps)

summary: Chloe Ford dreams of her life before the Corps.

Sometimes, Chloe wakes up in the dorm blinking away tears, grasping at threads of a quickly vanishing memory. 

In her dreams, Chloe Ford— Chloe Neely— lives in a little house in the Scottish countryside, with two men whose faces are foggy and distorted, but whose voices are still perfectly clear to her even after all these years. She’s young, maybe four or five, running through the house in a sparkly green dress with iridescent stitched-on butterfly wings. One of her dads catches her, spins her around gently, and oh, she can feel his love for her, as truly as she can feel her own. 

“You're it!” he playfully shouts, squeezing her tight before setting her down. “Now, let's see how well you can find me.” 

She giggles, confident that she'll find him in no time at all. She's good at hide and seek. Really good. All she needs to do is just follow the background hum of idle thoughts he doesn't even know he's broadcasting. She counts to ten, then she's off, following the trail as best as she can, until… 

…just know they'll find any excuse to take her away from us…

She pauses. She knows her dads love her very much. She knows that they aren't able to have children of their own, so they wished for it really hard and asked the right government agencies really nicely and eventually, when she was too young to remember, she was given to them. They've told her that plenty of times. So why would anyone ever take her away? 

…there's no way the Psi Corps will ever let us see her again if they take her…

And that's when her heart drops into her feet, and she remembers that this all happened a long time ago. 

“Daddy?” Chloe calls, and suddenly she's not in her body anymore, she's watching as the hallway darkens and becomes longer, and then black-gloved hands grab her arms and pull her into the dark. Into… 

Into wakefulness. 

She sits up slowly and opens her eyes, feeling them wet with tears that she wasn't awake to remember crying. Why was she crying? She loves it here. She has a great time every day with all her friends, under the watchful and gentle eye of her cadre mother, Miss Isabela. I don't belong with them anymore, she tries to tell herself. The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father. 

<Are you okay?>

Now everyone in the dorm can tell I was having a nightmare, she thinks to herself, concealing it carefully. Stupid. <I'm fine, Milena,> she answers. Milena is one of her best friends, even if they're technically all supposed to care about each other equally. She'd arrived and been assigned to Chloe’s cadre only a year after Chloe herself, and they'd become close friends just by virtue of being the two newest arrivals. 

<You were dreaming about your old life again, weren't you.>

Guilty as charged. <Yeah,> Chloe says. <I know I shouldn't.>

Milena projects support and something that almost feels like solidarity, which Chloe instinctively shies from before accepting it. <It's okay. I do sometimes too.> A burst of bitter laughter comes through their telepathic connection. <Which is crazy, because my birth parents didn't even want me after my telepathy came in.> 

<Yeah, well, my dads did,> Chloe replies, making it clear just how much she doesn't want to hear it. <They loved me. They wanted me, and they wouldn't have just given me up.>

<But they did.>

<Because the government made them. Something about failure to report…> Chloe feels herself beginning to cry again, and wills herself to stop. It’s unfair. Out of everyone she knows with family outside of the Corps, hers are the only ones explicitly barred from having anything to do with her. Everyone else's, like Milena’s, simply don't want to. <They're not like your birth parents. They didn't stop loving me when they found out I was a telepath.> 

There is silence for a while before Milena responds. It's clear to Chloe that she doesn't understand— that she can't. She had nothing to lose when the Corps found her. Chloe, meanwhile, lost everything. <I'm sorry,> Milena offers, <for what it's worth. They sound like great people.> 

<They were,> Chloe answers. 

<Promise me you'll tell Miss Isabela about the dreams?>

She wants to make that promise. She trusts Miss Isabela more than anyone. But she's hesitant… even more since she doesn't feel like she's allowed to be.  

<Yeah,> she agrees. <I'll do that tomorrow morning.> 

[deepspacedukat]

Who Reads The Mind-Reader? - Part One

I’m not tagging any of my usual suspects for this one, because this is a Babylon 5 fic. The people on my taglist are primarily here for Star Trek (or at least I think you are) so if anyone wants to be tagged for this (and possible future) B5 fic(s) or any of my ST fics, message me/send me an ask and let me know.

Originally posted to AO3 here.

~*~

G’Kar (B5) x Olivia Lane (OFC)

[A/N: There will be eventual smut, so 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI!!!]

Warnings: None that I can think of for this first chapter. Language, maybe?

~*~

“Ms. Lane?” A voice called over the station’s bustling crowd, and I turned to find an Eath Force officer giving me a warm smile. “I’m Commander Jeffrey Sinclair. Welcome to Babylon Five.”

“Thank you, Commander. I was just on my way to try and find you to report in,” I said giving him a polite nod.

“Well, I’m happy to have saved you some trouble,” he said taking a small step closer and offering me his hand. How odd. Most people weren’t comfortable touching telepaths, even when we were wearing gloves. I clasped his hand just as a man in a grayish-brown uniform hurried over. “Ah, just in time. This is my Chief of Security, Michael Garibaldi. Mr. Garibaldi, our second commercial telepath, Ms. Olivia Lane.”

“Nice to meet you.” The new arrival smiled and not-so-stealthily let his eyes wander down the length of my body. His thoughts were so loud that I couldn’t avoid hearing a few things he doubtless wanted to conceal. Who used the slang word ‘rack’ in this day and age?

“Mr. Garibaldi will show you to your quarters then escort you to see Ms. Win–”

“Commander!” A rough bellow drew our gazes to a Narn storming our way. “There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you. This is simply outrageous! Surely, you don’t mean to allow Mollari to get away with–”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, give me just a moment,” Sinclair said before turning to the raging Narn. “G’Kar, if you have a problem, we can discuss it in the council chamber. I will not have you accosting me while I’m welcoming a new resident to the station. Is that understood?”

The man blinked and glanced over at me, seemingly noticing my presence for the first time. His lips parted in surprise, and his shoulders relaxed by a small measure.

“My sincerest apologies. I hope that I have not given you a negative first impression of your new post.” His voice had lowered to a slightly more normal level from his previous irate shouting, and when his blazing red eyes skimmed over the Psi Corps badge on the lapel of my blouse, he looked at me curiously. “Perhaps I could buy you a drink to make up for my unseemly behavior, Miss...?”

“Olivia Lane,” I offered, and the corners of his mouth drew up into a small smile.

“Ambassador G’Kar of the Narn Regime,” he returned with a polite inclination of his head.

“As soon as I’ve got my bearings, I’d be happy to take you up on your offer, Ambassador.” Looking inordinately pleased and less tense than before at my acceptance, he turned to the Commander and gave him a sheepish sort of look.

“I trust that I shall see both you and Mollari in the council chambers?”

“I’ll go grab Londo and meet you there in an hour,” he confirmed, and the Narn walked off, seemingly satisfied by the answer.

“Never a dull moment,” the Security Chief muttered, and I couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “Ah, you’re laughing now, but just wait. He and Londo are constantly at each other’s throats. You’ll get sick of it eventually.”

“Ms. Lane, I should probably warn you about Ambassador G’Kar. He’s tried to proposition every telepath who’s boarded Babylon Five. If you do take him up on that offer of a drink, I’d recommend you keep your wits about you.” Commander Sinclair sounded a little worried for me, and while I was touched by his concern, I shook my head quietly.

“I’ll be perfectly fine, Commander, but thank you. Now, you were saying something about an escort?”

--

“Are you certain about this?” G’Kar’s aide was clearly skeptical about his latest idea given his prior two failures, but she dutifully watched him walk back and forth across the length of his quarters.

“Na’Toth, I know I haven’t had success yet, but that does not mean every attempt will be as fruitless as the first two. It only takes one ‘yes’ to give us the result we need,” he murmured as he paused in his pacing. “Besides, this new girl seems less prickly than Ms. Winters. She almost seemed amused by my anger. Courage is something we can’t hesitate to grasp at when we find it–”

“You just think she’s pretty, don’t you?” Na’Toth’s deadpan inquiry was met by a pair of widened red eyes.

“...She is quite attractive for a Human female–”

“You should know, you’ve mated with enough of them,” she muttered almost under her breath.

“–But that does not change the fact that this is our chance to reintegrate telepathy into the gene pool! My attraction to her, or lack thereof, is irrelevant,” he said straightening to his full height. His aide rolled her eyes.

“Yes, Ambassador.”

“Good. Then I shall propose the idea to her when I feel the time is right. I think my problem with Ms. Alexander and Ms. Winters was that I was too abrupt in broaching the topic. Perhaps a more subtle approach would yield better results...” He trailed off, thinking back to the amused expression peeking out from beneath her copper hair. It was slightly closer to brown than the station’s first telepath, but somehow that made her all the more alluring. If she agreed to mate with him, then he would have to allow himself the luxury of caressing it. As he mused, he glanced at the time. “Oh, I’m due in the council chambers. time to give Mollari the pasting he deserves!”

The Narn allowed his anger to filter slowly back into him as he turned toward the door of his quarters, but Na’Toth’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Sir, before you go, a word of advice,” she called. “I know you have an affinity for Human females, but...don’t allow this one to take up more space than she deserves.”

“Are you implying that I would let my emotions get in the way of my job?” His deadly quiet question cut through the room like a knife after a brief hesitation. Turning to face his aide, G’Kar gave her a stern look.

“No, sir, but Humans have an odd way of getting under peoples’ skin. It would be unwise for you to allow your guard down, especially given her abilities.” He hated that she was right, but he couldn’t admit that. He couldn’t allow himself to appear weak.

“I am Narn. It would take more than a few smiles from a pretty girl to win me over, Na’Toth. I would’ve thought that you’d have realized that by now,” he stated puffing his chest out slightly to project strength. She nodded her head in deferential acknowledgment, and the Ambassador swept out of his quarters. He scoffed as he strode down the hallways. A Human female worming her way into his heart? Ha! He’d never heard anything so ridiculous in his life.

--

“I think those are all the major areas, but if there’s something you need help finding, don’t hesitate to ask me, security, or one of the Earth Force officers. Some of the Ambassadors can be quite helpful, too,” Talia said as we drew to a stop outside a casino in Red Sector. “It’s good to see you again, old friend. I’m so glad the Corps decided to honor my request to have you here.”

“So am I. Ten years is way too long to go without one of our late night chats.”

“We’ll have to catch up once you’ve gotten some rest. Don’t think I didn’t see you yawning when we were walking through Blue Sector,” the blonde smirked as she spoke, but something caught her eye over my shoulder. “Uh oh. Here comes trouble.”

“Why, hello there, ladies,” a familiar voice greeted, and Talia rolled her eyes. Did she not like him? But he seemed so charming...in a dorky kind of way, of course.

“Mr. Garibaldi.” She ground the words out as if his mere existence bothered her. “Can you find your way back to your quarters on your own?”

“I’ll make sure she gets there safe and sound,” the Chief said, and Talia made her escape.

“Thanks, Mike,” I murmured, and he gave me a warm, lopsided smile. “I take it Ambassador G’Kar and whoever that Mollari person is didn’t come to blows?”

“Nah, with a little assistance from Jeff - Commander Sinclair - they were able to resolve their differences peacefully. More or less,” he said as we walked a little deeper into the casino. I assumed he was making his rounds, because he gave a few of the more raucous patrons a stern look. “Have you met the rest of the Ambassadors?”

“Well, I have yet to meet the Vorlon, but Ambassador Delenn was very cordial. So was her aide - Lennier, I think his name was. You know I’ve met G’Kar, but the Centauri Ambassador is also a no-show,” I rattled off, and the Chief nodded his head.

“I think I can help with that last one. Come with me,” he said ushering me through several groups of people until we caught sight of a man in dark purple finery. A green drink was perched half-empty between his fingers, and a scantily clad dancer was sprawled across his lap.

“What a fortunate man I am to have such beautiful company,” he growled as his lips split into a devious grin. Two sharp fangs served to make him look rather intimidating. My escort cleared his throat, and the man looked up. “Ah, Mr. Garibaldi! How are you this evening, my dear friend? And you’ve brought a charming young lady with you! Excellent! Join us, join us!”

“I can’t, actually, I’m on duty. I just thought I’d introduce you to our newest commercial telepath. If you’re busy, we can do this later...?”

“No, no, no, not at all! Run along, beautiful. I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes,” the Centuari murmured to his companion, and she slid off his lap and over to another table of patrons. The Ambassador stood and gave me a small bow. “Londo Mollari, of the Centauri Empire. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

I introduced myself, and to my surprise, the Ambassador lifted my gloved hand to his lips.

“The honor is mine, Ambassador Mollari,” I murmured, but he made a disapproving sound.

“I will not hear of such formality from you, Ms. Lane. Please, call me Londo. Forgive my curiosity, my dear, but has something happened to Ms. Winters?” He sounded genuinely concerned for her, so it was a happy task to set him straight.

“No, she’s perfectly fine. The Corps assigned me here at her urging. She was receiving so many service requests that she was having to turn down more jobs than she accepted. I’m just here to help lighten the load a bit.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I hope you will enjoy your stay on Babylon Five,” Londo said with a fanged grin. “If you will take some advice, I’d recommend you stay clear of the Narn Ambassador. He can be a bit...abrasive.”

Huh. First the Commander warned me about G’Kar, then Talia, and now Londo. Goodness, the Narn Ambassador had certainly managed to garner a reputation. I couldn’t help but wonder whether it was warranted. Sure, he’d been irritable when I first met him, but he was rather charming when he calmed down. The vibrancy of his spots didn’t help matters...

I mentally shook myself out of my thoughts just in time for Londo to bid us both good evening before walking off to go find where his lady friend had gone. Despite the cacophony of the crowd, I couldn’t help but acknowledge that this was going to be an interesting assignment, if nothing else.

~*~

@horta-in-charge

[therighthandofvengeance]

Psi Corps: Maternis; paternis

Everyone else: Sic semper tyrannis

[ivoryvines]

how was the s5 telepath arc done so badly?

the only episode i liked is the last one in the arc (where byron died lmfao) as in my opinion it deals with the fact byron and his telepaths are just the same as a corp when it comes down to it and byron realises it has to end with him. so why the FUCK is that the only episode that has that sort of premise why are the rest just the telepaths being in a lowkey cult?? i don't get it

[woodsfae]

B5 S03E04: Passing Through Gethsemane table of contents • previous episode

What an acrimonious ecclesiastical chess game. Oh, are these the techy monks? I kinda forgot about them. idk what the little sculpture was. It looked like glass, but if so, he's using some 23rd c advanced tech or something! 

Lyta's back! And she traveled in a Vorlon's ship! Hope they didn't drive her as mad as Jack the Ripper. A pretty badass story! She really committed to getting to Vorlon space, and they really almost let her die! Or actually did let her die? The PsiCorps havwe that freaky zombie protocol. 

Well, either a black rose has changed omnious meaning in the last few hundred years, so that monk guy is absolutely about to get whacked. Shuffled unwillingly off the mortal coil. On vacation with the space whales.  

Blegh, speaking of the psicorps zombie protocols! That isn't exactly a humane option. If human rights aren't human rights for everyone, then anyone can be stripped of their rights. 

Dr Franklin has a diagnosis for Lyta: In better than tip top condition. Some of her chronic and/or genetic conditions have been mysteriously cured. Idk if this is support for the Zombie Lyta theory, but it does suggest that the Vorlons have high levels of human-medical tech. Panaceas have been such a reoccuring theme and I'm interested to see where they take it. Lyta is the only example of someone who has had a full, medical glow-up. 

Yeah, fuck off Londo! He's such a slimy toerag. He can stop anytime, but nooooo. 

To Minbari, "the soul is a nonlocalized phenomenon," perceptible through physical form and sentient people, but are actual little thinking fragments of the universal intelligence, trying to understand itself. It really is a fascinating idea. It reinds me of something I've seen, "we are collections of atoms trying to understand ourselves."

It's relatively similar to gnosticism. 

Lennier is a nerd for Valen! Whatg a nice meeting. The monk is definitely dying now, right? Oh maybe he'll be tormented by hallucinations awhile first. Or pehaps a telepathic projection? It does seem to be leaning towards the high fantasy side of B5, I guess. Not so into the monks, but the experimental flashbacks and inexplicable visions are pretty entertaining. 

Ahhh, he's one of the mind-wiped murderers. HAH. I wonder if all the monks are murderers. It'd track for western society. The abbot fellow says the order is legit, but they only question the applicants about their beliefs. Coding murderers into genuinely philanthropic and ascetic monk wanna-bes...it's legitimately more humane than I thought it would be. Still horrific, but I expected they'd be like, barracksed and do dangerous, menial work, not be random monks having traumatizing flashbacks they can't process. 

Huh. He was a serial killer, and the facility where he was burned down and all his records were lost, he was presumed dead. So this isn't a normal situation for one of these wipe-ees. They're ...pretty good? at implaning new personalities? He's trying really hard to process this new self-knowledge through his theological bent. But I suppose he might have killed people with a theological bent, too. 

ooooooOOOooo. Someone triggered Brother Edward slash Charlie! Is it Lyta? Vorlons love fucking around with people's heads, particularly serial killers and religious fanatics. 

Oh dang! His victims' relations? They're pretty pissy, which is fair, but it's too bad they don't recognize that what was done to him is also heinous. 

But what's this?Lyta with a steel chair? I mean, an un-Psi-Corps-sanctioned mental assault! 

lolol, even with Lyta's dubiously legal activities, the monks found him first. It was pretty yoked of Bruce Boxleitner to singlehandedly lift him down. 

"I always wondered if I would have the courage to stay and wait in the Garden of Gethsemane...now I know. Now I know."

well, that's normal religious trauma. Every evangelical kids I knew wondered that and worried they were less able to face suffering than Jesus, hah! But his deathbed worries about salvation are also super christian culture, which is so funny since xtians literally invented the Get Out of Hell Free card. repentance. like, I saw that loophole as a kid. Just pray dear jesus I'm sorry on your deathbed! Moral condundrum solved. 

Love Lyta and Susan interacting! I was bummed when Lyta didn't make it onto the show from The Gathering, and although I'm desperately curious as to when Talia comes back (they haven't kissed yet!! There's whump to be had, I can tell!), it is great to have Lyta around. Especially since she's liberated telepath who don't care for no Psi Rules. 

Ooooh, Lyta gills reveal. That a new feature? hah.

Dr Franklin: Well, everything that was ever wrong with you has been fixed. Oh, it says you have gills now? Well, that can't be right. Never mind. /s

Well, christian episodes gonna christian. not my favorite, though I enjoy the lore and the Psi horror. And directed by Adam Nimoy! I did not see that one coming. And quite heavy handed, though I guess they were writing for an adult populations with a lot more lead poisoning than we typically see now.

oooh, big plot!

[authortobenamedlater]

Ivanova and Talia for that bingo you rbed

Tried to use a cut but it didn’t work for whatever reason, so here I am spamming everyone’s dash. Ivanova:

Done dirty by creator/not enough screen time: These are just because we didn’t get her in S5. I don’t think that was JMS’s fault from what I know, so she got done dirty by whoever’s fault it is.

Study like a cockroach: I want to study most B5 characters like cockroaches 🤣

Free space: Ivanova is so depressing and so self-aware about it. Like, “Yes, I’m a pessimist. What of it?” And for all that she has a surprisingly intact sense of humor too. That’s not easy to pull off.

What’s wrong with her (affectionate): Her mom was a blip telepath who committed suicide, her brother died in war, she was estranged from her father until his final moments. She lost Talia, Marcus, so many people she loved. Even though she gets bitter and resentful about it she never lets that consume her. She always fights it.

Talia:

Wasted potential/not enough screen time: I know Andrea Thompson wanted out and there was nothing to be done here, but Talia’s character had SO much potential. I would have loved to see her views on Psi Corps evolve over the series—would she eventually decide she couldn’t be with the Corps anymore? Become sort of an inside (wo)man for Babylon 5? I know a lot of her planned story went to Lyta, but I still wonder how different it would have been if Talia had stayed.

Study her like a cockroach: As I said, I want to study most B5 characters like cockroaches. Mostly, I want to know how much of what we saw was really Talia and how much was the control personality manipulating her.

Better as part of a dynamic: Maybe this is because we only got not even two seasons with her. Related to my first point though I would like to see how she and Ivanova “sharpened” each other over the course of the series. Talia was coming around to Ivanova’s anti-Corps views. Maybe Ivanova would have come to understand why Talia and so many other telepaths were fiercely loyal to Psi Corps? I wonder what middle ground they would have come to.

[orionlodubyal]

At the end of February, Redbubble will be retiring:

masks,

pet products,

mounted prints.

RB is running a sale (up to 40% off) until Feb 9th, 2025 though pet products are not included in the sale. :-(

Pictured above:

B5 The Corps is Mother. The Corps is Father Psi Corps Symbol Pet Bandana: https://www.redbubble.com/i/pet-bandana/B5-The-Corps-is-Mother-The-Corps-is-Father-Psi-Corps-Symbol-by-orionlodubyal/98786643.4ZW7E

Hannibal Moth Eat the Rude Mask Pet Blanket: https://www.redbubble.com/i/pet-blanket/Hannibal-Moth-Eat-the-Rude-Mask-by-orionlodubyal/52025685.T97H3

Eat The Rude (ver 2) Pet Blanket: https://www.redbubble.com/i/pet-blanket/Eat-The-Rude-by-orionlodubyal/42613082.T97H3

SciFi TV Show Gold Insignia Pattern Pet Bandana: https://www.redbubble.com/i/pet-bandana/SciFi-TV-Show-Gold-Insignia-Pattern-by-orionlodubyal/63959721.4ZW7E

[deastrumquodvicis]

Dark Genesis: the Birth of the Psi Corps (review)

TLDR: 3.5/5

I’m a big Babylon 5 fan, always have been. Tie-in novels have always been a favorite genre. When I heard that the Psi Corps trilogy was well-done, and, importantly, canon, I eagerly loaded book one onto my Kindle and finished it in two days, a typical speed for me. As I understand it—though please correct me if I’m wrong—these stories were seeded from the B5verse series bible, and info was intended to trickle out during the original plans for the Telepath War and Crusade’s later seasons.

The good:

It’s canonical, and it’s always interesting to get world-building that was never committed to screen. The slow emergence of the Corps and what it meant felt very much like a dark reflection of Marvel’s X-Men—a group of people with a recently-awakened genetic mutation being persecuted by, in this case, “mundanes”, given classification based on the strength of their power, and eventually given a home where they could use their gifts without shame, and with an anti-group picking up strays and carrying out rebellious, almost terroristic, acts. I suppose that’s not all that much of a surprise with JMS having written the outline, though not the book itself. It’s also interesting to see non-unified pre-EarthGov components, and hints of the construction of EarthDome itself along with the Psi Corps facility. Definite reflections on how Byron’s group saw themselves, and the mistakes they wanted to avoid. Getting first contact with the Centauri was cool, including their opinions on the telepath thing (and Narn-bashing, because, yep, that’s the Centauri).

The bad (or at least the disorienting):

The book took place over something like seventy years. We see four generations of the rebels, and the birth of the fifth, while we get two should-have-term-limits men in power in charge of the Corps and its creation. Yes, the book is divided into four parts, but it became hard to connect to either group and feel for them, even if you don’t hate the Byron arc of the show. It also became hard to keep track of who anyone looked like, because it was an extremely dialogue-heavy, descriptive-light sort of book, and trusted the reader to keep track of who initiated the conversation (very little in the way of “dialogue,” Name said, and it didn’t take a teep to see his mood had soured, instead more “dialogue.” “Dialogue?” “More dialogue.” “Even more dialogue.” “But dialogue?” “No, dialogue.”) The rebels used code-names among themselves, particularly in the first two generations, but the EarthGov types used their, well, government names, and it was hard to know when Blood, Mercy, Monkey, and so on, were being referred to. That got better as the generations went on. But no one really had a distinct voice without descriptors, and rarely was a physical feature mentioned except when the characters were first introduced, at which point, you didn’t know if they were major characters or not. And I really didn’t care for the ending with the baby, it cheapened the whole thing into almost George Lucas (derogatory) levels of retconning. A true “seriously?” moment. And it didn’t feel like Babylon 5. In fact, if it weren’t a worldbuilding puzzle piece for B5, my rating would be lower.

Other:

The Corps uniforms—gloves and badges—didn’t have a clear introduction. I think the badges were only mentioned once, gloves twice. I suppose the author expected the reader to remember Talia’s (iirc) explanation. Some familiar surnames popped up, and an explanation that because the telepath gene travels on the mitochondrial DNA, the daughters take their mother’s name, felt like it was a bit of an excuse to have a Ms. Alexander around. I get what they were going for, but still. The fact-finding trip to Venus was also a bit mixed, and while I enjoyed most of what came out of it, there was something that happened that had me going “really? Like, doesn’t that kind of contradict the plot point in the show with Lyta?” And why are our main rebel telepaths all P12s or P5s? Granted, there was a P0 and a P8, but almost everyone in the rebellion was P12. Would have been nice to have a P10 or a P3 or something, with only the matrilineal line of rebel leaders hitting P12, and more inspiring if none of them reached double-digits. (I know, the baby at the end needed to be P12 for Reasons, something something Psi Corps breeding program being validated, but variety is nice.)

And guys? The cover is so ‘90s.

[emperorcartagia]

parvus - 25 - he - artist/writer

babylon 5 sideblog. i might occasionally post suggestive or NSFW, so i would prefer anyone who interacts to be 18+. thanks!

my favorites are g'kar, londo, bester, delenn, and talia, and of course my fave villains: morden, cartagia, and refa. i'm mainly into the centauri and the psi corps/telepaths as a whole.

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