#do not fuck with an angry Minbari

[deadheaddaisy]

When Delenn is on the warpath... watch out. Xenophobes begone!

[deadheaddaisy]

Delenn: I am Grey. I stand between the candle and the star. We are Grey. We stand between the darkness and the light.

Mira Furlan as Delenn in Babylon 5

[tallysgreatestfan]

7, 8 and 13 for the female character ask :)

Thank you! Really needed something to do right now...

7. Character of Color

Not sure if Entrapta is a good example, she clearly is not white as shown in her skin tone, but she also has unnatural hair and eye color and her being brown has absolutely no bearing on her story or identity at all. But yeah, I just see myself so much in her, outsider, nerdy horny bi autistic woman that she is, and I deeply love her. I could go on so much about how seen she made me feel.

Hmm, Gideon and Harrow (Locked Tomb), both necromantic nuns, Gideon basically a knight and Harrow the high priestess of the planet, arch enemies/lovers, and Māori? Their stories feel so raw and messy and complicated, enemies to lovers with the nuance and compassion I want it to be treated, and the deep worldbuilding just plays into that.

Shay (Uglies Series)? And I would love to say Tally as well, who I headcanon as black, but truth is, in the book Tally is only slightly implied to be black and in the movie she is white. But Shay is definitely brown or black in the book, and will very likely be east asian in the movie, and it does slightly affects her in that she does not fit the eurocentric literal dystopian beauty regime. She is so angry and desperate and unhinged, at first I hated her but now I love her.

8. An old favorite

I was fiveteen as I first saw Babylon 5, and Delenn, ambassador to the Minbari on the title giving space station, fascinated me so much that I continued watching. I think what I loved most were the contrasts in her. In one moment she is kind and wise and elegant and in the next secretive and ruthless and terrifyingly powerful (she also was my bi awakening).

She has a very dark past, and she clearly hides things, and it is not clear at first what she is planing, and she manipulates everybody into place, but she also does it for the greater good and a bright future.

That the actress playing her, Croatian feminist and peace activist and theater star Mira Furlan, is incredibly good and has such an unique aura, makes it even better.

And the sexual tension but also messy relationships between her and her submissive, innocent aide Lennier, her arch enemy Neroon, first station commander Sinclair, station first officer Susan Ivanova...

However, how do I put this friendly, that she later is put into a very... traditional relationship that fell into so many tropes that make me very uncomfortable soured my enjoyment of the character, the series and the fandom.

13. Underappreciated character

L'Rell from Star Trek Discovery. I think it is an interplay of her looking very unconventionally pretty, her being a very dark character, and the writers of the show clearly having no idea of what to do with her, especially in the second season, that she does not have a bigger fan base.

Like Delenn, she is full of contrasts. A desperate, vulnerable young woman and a brutal, sadistic, scheming torturer. Incredibly intelligent but from a warrior species. From a matriarchal clan but does not want to lead.

Unlike Delenn, in the first season she is very butch. Bald head, tall and muscular and masculine in a way female characters rarely are allowed to. Wearing armor if she can. Angular as fuck face and crooked nose and fangs and claws. Finally a monster lady. She is not canonically queer, but she does give up these vibes, the chemistry with Admiral Katrina Cornwell is just off the charts, and the actress, Mary Chieffo, is queer.

So yeah, of course L'Rell was another part of my queer awakening.

Wish there was more fanwork about her.