#grey’s s02

[onthwayhome]

i love izzie, what she did for denny was so stupid but she is my baby and i love her very much, and i will defend her forever

[thekats]

It might seem crazy what I'm about to say, but since I can't really read people's expression well (thanks for that, autism) I have a different approach. You see, I like acting myself, yes, in part because it's a type of controlled masking and learning how to human in a socially acceptable way, so I analyse (fictional) characters' emotions etc by imitating facial expressions and seeing what that triggers in me. Kind of like associations, but mindsets, intents and emotions.

That's what I keep doing with Aziraphale specifically since he is who people keep criticising (bc Crowley obviously is perfect and doesn't make mistakes /s) and evidently not understanding him at all but I don't want to get upset about this again.

This is how I knew he wasn't disgusted (????) by the kiss and I've got an idea about how he feels in the lift to heaven at the end of s02.

The best one-word answer i can boil it down to is: defiance. He's going against all odds, against expectations and perhaps even his own better judgement/instinct. Like, he knows what he wants to do is risky and potentially dangerous, but he has to do it for the world, himself and Crowley, perhaps even a little in spite of him. He can do this. Yes, he paints himself as a damsel in distress a lot. Yes, he like the comforts and pleasures of earth and humanity. But don't you go underestimating him.

Part of me thinks he thinks the Metatron thinks (there's so much thinking involved here wow we're thoughtful) he's an easy puppet. Naive, innocent, believes in the unwavering and undebatable goodness of heaven. A toy soldier he can command and make do what he needs done. And in a way Aziraphale is all that. But he also isn't stupid. He's witnessed heaven's stance on ineffable plans during Nopeageddon, had his heart broken and his faith in God's institution shaken. He knows The Second Coming can't mean good news for earth, especially since Crowley's voiced his suspicion "all of us against all of them".

Aziraphale is being brave, resuming his position as a fighter, a guardian, only the Eastern Gate has expanded to mean the whole world and Crowley, maybe even Hell because balance is necessary for shades of grey and their lives hold value, too, after all.

He's on a mission and by God (no pun intended) he plans to accomplish it. There's no South Downs without earth or, indeed, without Crowley.

[alicentsswornshield]

@wolfie-1221 posted a list of their fav rhaenicent fics 🤌 10/10 recommendations

I've been inspired to share my own list since I've been spending probably too much time on ao3 - hopefully it will be helpful for anyone looking to start reading rhaenicent (note that few are already mentioned in the above mentioned post)

My favourites (in no particular order):

(WIP) Seven (by @comicxgrl)

The story follows two alternating timelines and you're equally invested in both. It's so so well written, you fall in love with the characters immediately, the pacing of the story line is incredible and with only 5 chapters published, I think story is slowly set up for the main arc. The author is an architect and you can feel the thought process and clear intention behind every line and action.

(WIP) Out of sun (by @lumyart )

Rhaenyra and Alicent share a complicated past. Skip 10yrs later, Alicent is an excellent surgeon, has three kids and a husband. Their paths cross again when Targaryen Enterprises start being involved with Alicent's hospital.

Tags for this story are #bdsm #makingkinkemotional #emotionalslowburn - I think that's all you need to know?

I feel like it's really hard to write about bdsm w/o making it feel gratuitous. That's not the case here. @lumyart involves it as one of the main plot points of the story. It explores the emotional/psychological reason/need behind kinks and how those relationships differ etc. The push and pull in their relationship is dizzying, as the story progresses we get snippets of their past and what went wrong between them and how did they get where they are now. It almost feels like you're uncovering a mystery. There's many layers to the story and each chapter gifts you one piece of the puzzle.

See also: Blame it on Fate (morning show au we deserved) | silver sparks (wish this was the s02 hod script)

Love is complicated (by @molter-writes)

Absolute favourite of molter's fics and that's really hard to decide on.

This story made me want to start a campaign to get @molter-writes to actually write a rhaenicent Notting Hill AU.

Don't even read the summary. Just read everything and anything by @molter-writes , it will always deliver strong writing, a compelling storyline and characters that you can't help but fall in love with.

Bodhrán beat (by @molter-writes)

I'm not a monarchist but I will make an exception for this modern royals au. Whatever you think this fic is about, you are mistaken.

Only one chapter posted so far but it's so so good. I don't think you realise how unwell I was after I read it.

See also: (WIP) leaf and blade | (Completed) grey ridge (ríl liatroma) | (Completed) ride the dragon (and do it quickly) | (WIP) song of the exposition

(WIP) Lying (in the hollows of your heart)  (by @wakesirens) 

I usually read only modern AUs (because of the misogyny in Westeros, I have enough of that irl thanks) but this fic is amazing nonetheless. Keeping Baelon alive and him being king gives us an alternate version of Rhaenyra's life. One where she's his most trusted advisor and representative of the Crown but she's not bound to the throne/realm in same way as the heir. This allows her to still attain power and freedom usually not afforded to women. Oh and Alicent works in a brothel.

What you wanted (by mrdcai)

Berlin, spies, complicated past, angst

Again it's just excellent writing! This one only has 1/3 chapters out but I'm already convinced that it deserves to be among top five fics. Only downside is that the story will only have three chapters, though a part of me is hoping that the author will change their mind and make it a longer story.

Side note, I keep imagining Alicent as Olivia Cooke's character from Slow Horses... great spy/thriller show btw

See also: Desire (I want to turn into you)

Some other fics I loved:

(WIP) Honey, make this easy (by nerdsofdeath)

Alicent is a history professor at university and Rhaenyra is her new TA. It's a slow burn and v angsty 😭

Midnights Like This (by pure_black_wings)

College AU, they're two idiots in love that don't know how to cope.

War of Hearts (by Silanahfire)

Rhaenyra Targaryen is barren and the realm needs an heir. The King and Grand Maester Mellos found a solution in the scripts of Old Valyria. Alicent Hightower will carry her child, even if the estrangement between the two seemed impossible to end. An arranged marriage waits both.

(WIP) You Broke Me (by skullgamerscy)

Angst 😭

The Silver Queen and the Lady in Green (by Wandering Fan)

This is AU in every sense of the word. The author built a whole different world with its own lore. Very very slow burn

[woodsfae]

Babylon 5 s02e17: Knives S02 Table of Contents • previous episode

They have the space for an entire baseball field, but the hydroponics is so starved for space that one single coffee plant is wildly against regulations and is a secret passed from Laurel (my beloved) to Susan (also my beloved)?

Love the scary stories of the Down Below. It's deeply weird, though, how Garibaldi continues to be a voice of reason to Sheridan. Good character work, I guess, and I like Garibaldi a bit better the further into the season I get.

There are so many strange details thrown at us about various characters, and it definitely makes them feel more real Londo and Vir are very into Centauri opera. Of course they are, hah. This Centauri has a funny 'do. Is it shorter because he's more srs? His general look seems to be of a different style than Londo, and is reminiscent of a western casual, gentleman or scholarly look of the later 19th century.

Of course Sheridan went Down Below alone right after Garibaldi said that was a bad idea, and of course he found a corpse-turned-assailant-turned-corpse-again immediately.

Corpse reviving temporarily kills comms! Interesting!

Garibaldi: "Maybe next time you'll listen when I tell you not to do something. Sir."

lmao.

Dead Alien was staying in the Markab Sector, but was found in the Grey Sector, Down Below.

Fingers crossed for a Sheridan Gets Possessed By A Ghost episode.

Cute, Centauri war criminal nicknames.

Cool and creepy eye effect! Invisible Space Dinosaur called a Grylor!! This is great.

Forensics say the murdered alien actually bashed his own skull in and died of suicide. Seems unlikely.

Awww, Londo is still hung up on Adira from season one.

Londo: "The Centauri have bowed to the whims of other races for too long. Now we will show the galaxy our true spirit. Beginning with those, those, thrice-damned Narns."

Translation: "It sucks that we reined in some of our slave-empire colonization due to pressure from races who didn't like the violent, murdering colonizing. It's good to be back at it."

Huh, old war buddy is against the war and didn't want to see the Narns forced into military conflict. And doesn't realize he's talking to the guy who helped orchestrate all of it. Londo was either the best or the worst person to come to for help when your house is about to be disgraced. Idk which way Londo's going to jump or how this is going to land. On the one hand, Londo could chuck his old friend under the bus for his own gain. Or he could really save this guy's political reputation.

Of course Londo has a portrait of himself in his quarters. That's giving him some serious side-eye.

Susan Ivanova!!

Sheridan: "Commander. Everything in order?" Ivanova: "Remarkably so. It's beginning to worry me." Sheridan: "Do you always worry when things are going well?" Ivanova: "I don't have time to when they're not."

Sheridan gets more, fun, hallucinations! This is definitely normal and not something he should report to Dr Franklin. Anna keeps coming up which feeds my theory that she's still alive.

Oh, he did go report it to Franklin! Good move. Smartypants. Franklin is amusingly dismissive of this.

Dr Franklin: "Well, anyone wiling to command Babylon 5 has got to be slightly insane, but I don't think you're ready for the asylum just yet."

LMAO. What's a little hallucination or four compared to how nuts you have to be to take this job voluntarily?

Oh, interesting. The Markab sector is named after a people also called Markab?

Dr Franklin: "I'm also prescribing a mild sedative. I want you to relax and enjoy yourself - that is an order!"

aka, here's some oxys, go nuts?

Extremely cutthroat Centauri politics perfectly punctuated by Vir, here:

"You know, on rare occasions, I am proud to be your attache."

hah! He really is gaining in confidence.

Ahhh the Markab went through sector 14, which has been restricted since B4 disappeared and briefly re-appeared. dun dun dun!

I wonder if JMS realized that Garibaldi was wholly unlikable and shifted the writing for his character intentionally. Every time he's on screen the last few episodes, I find him easier and easier to like. Or maybe his relapse into alcoholism and subsequent recovery really shook some sense into him? He's funny and endearing now, in a way he wasn't for me since the pilot, The Gathering.

Centauri party. Always a good time to cringe out of my skin. Nothing has happened yet, but there's plenty of time left in the episode for it.

Of course the very person Londo went to for help is the one that has been trying to wreck the Laddo house. And of course Londo didn't know. He's so smug in his great political knowledge and power, but he ignored Centauri politics until something piques his interest and then he acts without knowing the details.

Vocator Laddo: "You cannot build an empire based on slaughter and deceit!"

well, actually I think that's the only way to build an empire and collect that much power, but you gotta start somewhere.

Death match!! Can't wait.

More possession and hallucinations for Sheridan!

Vir: "Disgrace is preferable to death!" Londo: "There was a time when I would agree with you! That time has passed." Vir: "Londo, this is insane!" Londo: "Insanity is part of the times! It's time to embrace the madness, let it fire you."

Maybe that really is the key. Or maybe I shouldn't take advice from Londo Mollari.

Sheridan and Garibaldi are heading to the restricted Sector 14!

Urza Laddo is much better at sword fighting than Londo is. But since I'm pretty sure Londo is in this show for the long run, this can't end with him being dead.

Garibaldi snagged Sheridan's ship, but did he get Sheridan's mind? This sector really does have some janky phenomena going on.

Damn, setting yourself up to be killed by one of your oldest friends so your family doesn't get disgraced by your political opponents is a move.

Sheridan's mind did come back with him, but he did leave behind a consciousness which wanted to be taken home. Weirdness abounds on B5!

House Laddo is no more, and its members are now House Mollari and under Londo's direct protection. That's an interesting cultural mechanism to make sure that people don't go into death matches too lightly. If you win, you get a whole fuckload of new dependents! I could also see people doing that to gain power over particular dependents, though.

Londo: "I have made many choices lately, Vir. And for the first time, I am not sure those choices were right." Vir, tired of being the Jiminy Cricket to the worlds' worst Pinocchio: "Then perhaps some good has come out of this tragedy! It's not too late to make some good choices." Londo buying into the Sunk Cost Fallacy: "No, the blood is already on my hands. Right or wrong, I must follow the path to its end."

It's a real bummer that killing one of his oldest and dearest friends isn't enough to make Londo actually change some of what he's up to or to second-guess some aspects of Centauri culture..

next episode

[rhaenyra-the-gracious]

I was tagged by @atlantidea! Thank you! <3

favorite color: black, grey, purple

last song: Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version)

last movie: Barbie (2023)

currently watching: Lost S06, Loki S02, The Borgias S01

other stuff I watched this year: Uh, not too much because of the strike: The Great S03, House of the Dragon, the Mandalorian S03, The Last of Us

shows I dropped this year/didn't finish: The Borgias kinda, I don't see how I will finish at this pace, it's not exactly a "keeper", the politics is tiring to me

currently reading: Britney Spears's biography

currently listening to: the vault tracks of 1989 (Taylor's version)

currently working on: I still have to finish my picspams of The Great (S03) and Beef (Netflix)

current obsession: Taylor Swift, just take a look at my desktop theme

tagging: @spielbrgs @valarrtargaryen @kyoukotsu @bymine @thehiddenbaroness @wednesday-adams @bloodbuzz-ohio @margaritalaux-antille @yenneferschaos

[rivusatrap]

Through the Eyes of a Soldier

by @medusanova​​

A retell of all Rivusa scenes in both S01 and S02, but from Craig’s perspective (the specialist in S02 that tells them to “get a room”)

Musa/Riven | Gen/Teen&Up |  7347  words

Favorite Quote: Grey shrugged as they left the specialist hall. “‘Dunno, mate. [Sam] said something about Musa feeling peace when she was around him, or something like that.”As if Craig should understand whatever the fuck that meant. “Must not have much going up there then, huh?” He joked. 

(My actual favorite line is the very last one but that’s a spoiler so have this one -which is very funny- instead!)

If you like Craig (Rivusa fandom’s mascot as we decided), 3rd person’s POV of canon events, snarky one liners and iconic descriptions you should read this fic!

READ IT HERE

This is my first review of a fic from an author I didn’t actually know beforehand or wasn’t familiar with their work, and I was blown away!

I haven’t read a lot of retell-of-canon-through-3rd-party-character fics (Not even sure what they’re called, that name seems like a mouthfull) but I clicked in this fic in AO3 because Craig- If you don’t know Craig shame on you.

I’m kidding, I bet a lot of people didn’t really pay any mind to this character or even realised his name was Craig. He was the one Specialist who ran by Rivusa (when Musa was stuck to the ground and Riven was next to her) and yelled “Get a bloody room!”

Since then, Craig has become to some of us Rivusers (still not sure about our name) an icon, a mascot. Which I absolutely adore even though I don’t even know what he looks like. Not sure his face even appears. I still haven’t gone frame by frame to grab a screenshot.

However, this faceless man now has a voice and a personality and I owe it to this fic and to Nova! And man, how I adore him even more now.

Craig is funny, he’s snarky, he’s just trying to live his life and go on while shit hits the fan around him.

One of my favorite bits was when he was just trying to eat a profiterole during the alumni banquet when he was pulled to the side bcs Sam decided to try to murder Rosalind and Marco had to interfear and Craig had to fill in for Marco and Craig was pissed- because he had to leave the desert behind.

He cast one last longing glance at his half-eaten pastry before marching out.

Nova’s writing is just so easy and fluid and funny and it makes you fly through these moments you’ve seen before without being tireing or repetitve and it makes you feel like you’re truly in the story, seeing it happen before your eyes.

And the ending! The ending!!! It was perfect. Perfect way to end the story and wrap it up and it mirrors how we first came to meet Craig. So poetic!

This fic is not overly Rivusa, so if you’re not really into them you can still read it an enjoy it. But I do recommend reading, because it’s just this good!

For once I am not bullying an author into continuing their fics, This one left me satisfied with the way it ended, but I do want to bully Nova into writing more fics because I love the writing and I am a hungry reader!

Also, Nova, hi can we be friends?

[acourtofstars]

"I make no apologies for how I choose to repair what you broke."

– Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy, S02 E24: Damage Case)

[k3rnelpan1c]

-I'm sorry, by the way. -For what? -I should be more open with you, you're family.

[congnael]

“Whoever says, ‘What you don’t know, won’t hurt you’ was a complete and total moron because for most people I know, not knowing is the worst feeling in the world.

As surgeons we have to be in the know but as human beings sometimes it’s better to stay in the dark. Because in the dark there may be fear but there’s also hope.”  (Meredith Grey, GA S02E06 “Into You Like a Train”)

[onthwayhome]

izzie was right when she said “you’re not good enough for me, alex” and she should’ve stayed away from him

[speeed-and-power]

a handsome hamster on a bus

[puns-and-musicals]

I think part of the reason that BBC Ghosts is so popular is that scene in The Grey Lady, S02 Ep 1.

I think it speaks to a lot of people, that scene, where Alison has her routine with her ghosts and they’re this special part of her life, this slice of something else.

I think maybe a lot of us would love to have that in some way, or find it easy to see ourselves taking care of others, or even perhaps have imagined similar in the past with fictional characters.

A big part of being human is taking care of other people. Just… being there for someone, in the unique way that you can and in the unique way that they need.

I don’t know if this is relatable, but I think it’s a very good representation of the way that a lot of people wish they could interact with the world. I know I have so many fictional people whose burden I would love to carry, even for just a moment. To tell them it’s okay, or turn a page in their book, or put on a movie I think they would like to see.

Sharing things you think someone would like, helping them maintain the structure they need, putting on a song that made you think of them… that’s what we’re here to do, y’know?

[samodivas]

Hair and eyes anon: Yes I would love some pictures please ^^

I'm going to put everything under a read-more so I can go into obnoxious detail 😅

Common eye colours

I would argue eye colours vary more than hair colours, simply because I've met more dark-haired people with light (non-brown) eyes than I have naturally blonde people with dark eyes here.

This eye colour chart has a nice variety I would use for reference:

The lightest colours are very rare - A10, A17, A20, A40, and maybe A50 would be difficult to come across. The colour most people consider "blue" is a blue-green that's A30, and A60 is a dark blue that I've met several people with.

My eyes are a cross between D20 and T20 - green rim, brown centre of the iris. The most common colour would be T20 and T30, but I'd say all shades outside of that are more or less equally spread.

In general, you can find a variety of eye colours across families, too. Mine have little to do with my parents - who are T40 and C20. I have friends who range anywhere between A60, C20, T07, T50, etc. I will say that proper green is much rarer though.

Our identity cards have an option for "colourful" eyes (which would perhaps be equivalent to hazel in English) which is where all eye colours that don't have a very strict shade would go. So colours like A30 and D60, as well as any mix-and-match colours would probably be marked as this "other" category on an ID card. It's especially good for people whose eye colours are the point of argument - blue or green? grey or blue? According to the state - whatever, it's colourful.

I have a theory (which I cannot prove at this time, so don't quote me on this if you need a good source) that geographic region plays a big role in this.

People in Southern Bulgaria (Blagoevgrad, Gotse Delchev, Kurdzhali, Haskovo, as well as former inhabited by Bulgarians, like around Edrine) have lighter eyes. (I'm including Turkish people in this because the ones I've met from the South are very light-eyed).

I'm basing this solely on the fact that people I've met from those regions have strikingly blue eyes, and (sometimes) relatively light hair. This includes the part of my family from that area. But I've also met people there with very dark features so I can't make a good statistic, and it could be confirmation bias on my part. I know it logically doesn't make sense based on how hair and eye colours tend to be darker in Southern Europe but it's my observation - if I meet someone who's hair and eye colour matches Kristen Bell, and they tell me their family is from Southern Bulgaria, I'm not going to be surprised or question it.

Common hair colours

This is where things get controversial because what I count as blonde (and I think it could easily be called a Balkan Blonde) might not qualify as blonde to others. I find a lot of hair colour charts are lacking but this one is mostly natural looking colours:

According to myself, and some other people I've met, S22, S17-1, and S13 are blonde, not brown. I have a specific criteria that determines whether you are a brunette or a blonde:

Does your hair lighten naturally to a S02, S03 or even S01 or S15-1 during summer from the sunshine?

If you have facial hair, does your beard or mustache have S01, S02, S03, S04 or S15-1 strands in it that aren't just a random single hair?

If you want to lighten your hair colour, are there natural-ish ways to do it, without copious amounts of hair bleach and prayer?

If the answer is yes, you are blonde, not a brunette. You might be a dark blonde, but you are a blonde.

A particular shade of blonde I see often is a very dirty blonde. I think this video by Aly Art does a great explanation of hair colour, and at 4:20 there's that kind of blonde I mean - it has a green undertone. I have friends with that hair, and when they want to dye their hair it last a lot longer than when I (dark brown hair) want to dye it purple or firetruck red.

Children tend to have a lot more variety in hair colour from what I've seen. It's honestly kind of fascinating but I've seen loads of blonde and even ginger kids, I'm talking natural hair colours like S01 or S15-1, which I'm used to seeing on people who bleach their hair to get.

I'm not sure if this is common anywhere else (I'll assume it is) but I have loads of relatives and friends that were really blonde as children, and then our hair got darker with age. Blonde like S01, S02, S03 - pretty light colouring compared to the S07, S08, or S11 they grow into later.

The last one doesn't even make sense but it's a personal anecdote: S11 is like an entirely different category of hair colour and the only example of that I have is a relative who said their hair was blonde as a child (which could mean S13 or S01, I will never know for certain) and now has jet black hair. Pictures were black and white at the time so even if I had one, it'd be difficult to determine. I think it might have been that light-coloured baby fluff newborns have, or at most their idea (or their parents' idea) of blonde is a lighter brown.

Proper black hair like that is perhaps more common than blonde but it still feels rare to me. This might be a personal bias again, so I can't say for sure. And for some reason I feel like I've mostly met men with black hair. The darkest hair colour I tend to see women with is a very dark brown but you can clearly tell it's brown - like S08 or a bit darker.

A lot of women dye their hair red - very bright red and dark autumn red is common. It got really popular at one point, I actually think it’s more popular than bleaching it blonde. Dying it black was also fashionable at one point. Men don’t usually dye their hair but bleaching it platinum blonde became fashionable at one point in recent years.

Common hair texture

This one is actually pretty straightforward and the chart is great:

The most common ones are 1, 2A, 2B, and 2C. I know a few people with curly hair like 3A, 3B and maybe even 3C. A lot of people with curly hair straighten it though - one of my friends has a hair texture I've never seen because she gets keratine treatments to keep it straight. I have no idea if it's 2C or 3C or anywhere in between.

Another chart to illustrate better:

Somewhere between 3B and 3C is the curliest Bulgarian person I've personally met. All textures past 3C aren't impossible but they're so rare, one must assume you have mixed ancestry - I've met people with Cuban and Nigerian parents who have hair that ranges beyond 3C.

I hope this was useful to you! Thank you for asking haha, I've actually thought about this a lot

[woodsfae]

Babylon 5: Season 1 Wrap-Up

s01 Table of Contents • previous episode: s01e22

OK, so I was mildly spoiled. When I was watching the end of s01's two parter, I looked up Michael O'Hare to see how tall he was and saw that he left B5 at the end of S01 and realized I'd heard of this before, roughly at the time JMS announced O'Hare's mental health struggles after his death. Just didn't lock it into the ole memory storage because B5 wasn't really on my radar in 2012.

This has kinda overshadowed my other thoughts about S01, because I am extremely sad that Jeffrey Sinclair won't continue to be the Commander. I am so so sad. I will have to manufacture my own frothing now! No more unbearably affectionate looks between Delenn and Sinclair! Augh. Maybe my heart will be overfilled during his guest appearances. RIP Michael o'Hare, I look forward to seeing you again in S02 and S03.

Other thoughts! There's a hole in Jeffrey Sinclair's mind and I am very excited to see how any of that shakes out.

The Minbari continue to be my favorite culture that I want to know the most about. Every character that appears, I love. I am still hoping to see more of Shaal Mayan, and don't know that I'll forgive the writers for having characters say she was coming back and then not show her! I still want to hear a poem by her. I don't really have any hopes of seeing more of Draal. It seems like they've locked him into the planet for good, and he didn't give Delenn a visitor's pass that I'm aware of. I do want to see more of the warrior Minbari, and have enjoyed the glimpses I got so far!

I have many questions. How long do Minbari live? Will Londo really die with his hands around G'Kar's throat? What are the aims of the Grey Council, or are there many aims? When does Delenn grow some hair? Why does Delenn grow some hair? Is she going to pop out of her chrysalis fully changed into later-stage Delenn? Is Susan Ivanova a telepath? Is Talia Winters telekinetic? Will Susan and Talia ever be on screen together again?! (I am dyyyyying) Will Jason Ironheart pop back up? (god I hope so, just for the CGI floating incorporeality) How often does G'Kar cook animals whole and then bite their snoots off? Will we ever see a drunk Lennier? Will we get to know any of the militant Minbari? I believe we've only spent significant time with Minbari from the religious caste so far.

Overall I am excited for the plotty goodness I've been promised. Character development! I want it.

S01 brought up healing and panaceas repeatedly. Will we see a return of the theme, and if so, will it be Big Plot important? Is Laura going to pop back up? How's Dr Franklin/Janice doing? There was no follow-up!

S01 was also heavily about social issues, particularly the slow-to-rapid march of facism taking over a society and government. I expect those themes to continue as well!

BESTER MY GUY. I need more PsiCorps dirt and plot, and thankfully I have been reassured that Walter Koenig will be back.

Talia. I want to see more of Talia. And a little less whump. She was s01's emotional punching bag! She had no happy episodes that I can recall! Just PsiTrauma after PsiTrauma with a few little sides of neutral episodes.

Garibaldi was very eeeeeuuuughhhhh my dude, go to therapy. Hopefully they address his police brutality. He did way too much assaulting civilians and overuse of force during arrests, like WAY too much. He is currently only a leeeeetle likeable. Like, barely more than Londo and that's 100% due to how gross I find Londo's *waves hands* you know. Everything sleazy.

Londo and G'Kar I'm fine with learning more about at the rate we have been already. Vir, I don't really care about. I am much more interested in G'Kar's aide, Na'Toth. (had to check real quick if she was Na'Toth or Ko D'ath and was startled to see that apparently Ko D'ath died and I either missed it or forgot) It'll be interesting to see if there's more Narn and Centauri intrigue! So far we've been set up to see human/Minbari intrigue as the leading plotlines.

I absolutely loved all the little moments when aliens were getting human things extremely wrong. Off the top of my head - the Hokey Pokey being humanity’s lullaby of choice, and Londo and Vir deciding that cats are the earth animals with beaks and webbed feet. “It’s like being nibbled to death by cats!”

Londo + G’Kar interactions have ever and always been a delight. I also loved Sinclair + Ivanova and Sinclair + Delenn with equal but very different passions. Susan/Talia - duh. I’m obsessed. Lennier + absolutely anyone was always precious, and I hope for more of those.

Worldbuilding has been utterly intriguing and I want more of that. Every bit I get makes me theorize and wonder. For example, I ranked the powers present on B5 with considerations taken for: military might; soft power; technological advancement. - Minbari (they get the top spot due to soft power) - Vorlon (they clearly have the technological edge over the Minbari but have zero soft power) - Centauri (idk why it seems like they have more likeability to in-universe folks since I like the Narns SO SO much more, but there ya have it.) - Narn (I like them SO much more than the Centauri, but considering their diplomatic stand-off with the aforementioned and history of being nerfed by them, I narrowly put them closer to the bottom. Plus they don’t have any  telepaths/telekinetics which would have to make a difference.) - Humans (I assumed the Top Powers were more or less being polite to humans by being relatively chill on their space station, but after Morden That Fucking Fae Asshole destroyed the Narnuan outpost and G’Kar listed humans as one of the races who could have done it, I am really wondering how accurate my perception is.) - the League (they don’t even get their own ambassador with equal powers to the top four so they’re clearly at the bottom of the pecking order).

I do want to know what happens with the future war, but I feel like it must be connected to Morden (ugh) and the powerful beings he’s associated with. And since I dislike him so, I hope the shadows n such can have some plot without him involved.

My top 5 episodes are (in chronological order) s01e01: Midnight on the Firing Line - this episode did a wonderful job setting things up, making me interested in the show, and set my queer heart fucking ablaze with Susan/Talia. I am particularly impressed with it, since I was both extremely high on a pain med it has later turned out I actually metabolize very weirdly so I was WAY high on it and I still managed to follow it and be into the show. and b.) didn’t have my favorite character from the Gathering in it but still made me love her replacement.

s01e06: Mind War - Fascinating eldritch beings, more Catherine, G’Kar showing he has many facets to his character, Water Koenig, PsiCorps dirt, and the absolute gloriousness that was the CGI portraying Jason Ironheart ascending to another state of being. What’s not to love? 

s01e13: By Any Means Necessary - I LOVED THIS EPISODE. It had prime Londo/G’Kar bickering, while minimal Londo sleaziness. It had Union power, Ms Connelly, Susan Ivanova out-bellowing a room full of people, and some of Sinclair’s best use of his superpower: SuperPedantry. Also had the most satisfying-to-hate villain, that union-buster, who I hope shows up again just long enough for Neeoma Connelly to kick his balls in.

s01e21: Legacies - I really enjoyed seeing a bit of Narnuan and Minbari culture through Alisa’s eyes. I absolutely adored Talia and Susan flirt-fighting throughout. Delenn manipulating her way through this episode was fantastic (we’ve seen a lot of her scheming, but mostly in little drips and drabs on the way to the finale! Loved seeing some of her work from start to finish). I was delighted by Na’Toth popping in and out. This was an episode I didn’t want to end.

s01e22: Chrysalis - Gotta be honest, I struggled with whether to put this or The War Prayer or the Sky Full of Stars. Chrysalis won out, because I realized I was comparing it against each of the other two, and not the other two against each other. Those were both excellent episodes and you can consider them to be runners-up to my favorites list! Chrysalis did a phenomenal job of ramping the tension up throughout the episode. I was legitimately furious that I was too tired to click through and watch s02e01. I was entranced and gripped the entire way through. Too much went on for me to feel like I can adequately summarize my favorite points, and it’s also the only episode I want to re-watch before I finish the entire show.

To be clear, these are my personal favorites based solely on how much I recall having enjoyed watching them, and I was post-op and heavily drugged and/or about to fall asleep for quite a bit of - if not most of - season 1. I leave arguments about artistic merits and enduring cultural impact to others!

I will leave you with these B5 S01 articles of clothing I coveted. It's not quite enough to make an outfit, and consists mostly of tops. May S02 bring many cool trousers.

next episode: s02e01

[mappinglasirena]

Picard Season 2, Trailer 3 (Pt 2)

Check part 1 for intro and notes.

Very long post and lots of images ahead!

Scene 4 (Time travel, LA, 2024 (+ older flashback?))

Shot 48 (01:03-01:06)

Alt!Sirena emerges out of a swirl of white-blue light close to the surface of the sun. It’s the same shot as the beginning of the trailer, but this time it’s held longer and Earth comes into view above the sun. (Or possibly Mercury, though neither should really be visible from the sun 😅)

Shot 49 (01:06-01:07)

View of Earth through the front window of alt!Sirena. There is no planetary security net or any other orbital installation visible.

Rios is sitting in the captain’s chair, with piloting controls active in front of him.

Picard is sitting at ops and Seven at tactical. They are both wearing their totalitarian outfits.

Borg Queen(?): “Earth.”

Shot 50 (01:07-01:08)

Picard beams onto a street corner of what is presumably L.A. in 2024. It’s a quiet back alley with dumpsters and electrical lines. On the corner is a little shot with a car parked in front. The license plate reads “S02 E01”

Picard is wearing his grey 2024 jacket and burgundy turtleneck with the evil!Starfleet delta pinned to it.

Borg Queen(?): “2024.”

Shot 51 (01:08-01:09)

Scenic view of the skyline of 2020’s Los Angeles. [Presumably same vista as shot 46 in Trailer 1, but not continuous, since angle of sun is wrong]

Shot 52 (01:09)

Closer shot of the downtown skyscraper-skyline of Los Angeles

Shot 53 (01:09-01:10)

Aerial shot of Los Angeles at night. The sea of lights is partially disappearing behind black mountains in the foreground.

Shot 54 (01:10-01:11)

A boy is walking along a wooded hillside at night. He’s wearing a hoodie and striped shirt, and he has an old-fashioned flashlight.

Shot 55 (01:11)

A Vulcan(?) man is crouching down in front of the boy. The light of the torch is on his face. There’s another woman standing in the background, though she is too blurry to be identifiable.

Borg Queen: “A single…”

Shot 56 (01:12)

Reverse shot. The Vulcan reaches out a hand for the face of the boy, who looks slightly scared. He places the hand on the boy’s face as if to perform a mind-meld.

Borg Queen: “…change…”

Shot 57 (01:12-01:13)

Shot of a slightly older boy in white shirt and black vest looking sad or scared. (Possibly young Picard). He’s standing in front of some brick-walled building at night (or in very blue light, anyway)

Shot 58 (01:13)

Close-up of Picard, wearing a white shirt, looking pensive. The background is simple blue-ish light that then flickers off, so it might be some kind of vision?

Shot 59 (01:13)

Extreme close-up of Picard’s eyes.

Shot 60 (01:13-01:14)

Focus on the Borg-Queen’s face and shoulders, as she hangs suspended in front of Sirena’s engine lights. The engine glows bright green.

Borg Queen: “… is vastly more…”

Shot 61 (01:14-01:15)

Q and Soong are sitting in a booth in some restaurant or other. Q is wearing a black suit jacket, Soong is wearinng a brown jacket over a white shirt. Q pulls out a small vial of blue liquid and shows it to Soong.

Borg Queen: “… dangerous…”

Shot 62 (01:15-01:16)

Close up shot as Q places the small vial on the table next to his coffee cup and rolls it across the table top towards Soong, who grabs it.

Borg Queen: “…than you realize.”

Shot 63 (01:16)

Soong looks down at the table, then looks up at Q.

 Scene 5 (Sequence of Shots, 2024, TN)

Shot 64 (01:16-01:17)

Rios, presumably having just arrived in the totalitarian nightmare, is standing on the bridge of alt!Sirena. Outside the front window, a Vulcan ship is flying by, being pursued by other Kaplan F17’s (same model and now grey colour as La Sirena). The Vulcan ship is shooting at Sirena and as a shot hits the blue-flaring shields. Rios gets shaken and loses his footing.

Shot 65 (01:17-01:18)

Shot from above of Agnes, wearing a bright red ball gown, walking over 2024 asphalt at night.

Shot 66 (01:18-01:20)

Another shot of Agnes in the red dress, this time from behind. She’s walking along the bicycle lane beside a broad downtown street.

Laris: “None of our tomorrows are guaranteed.”

Shot 67 (01:20)

A cop car, overtaking other cars on a busy street.

Shot 68 (01:20-01:21)

Same car chase, cop car filmed from the front. The license place reads 9999972

Shot 69 (01:21)

Seven and Raffi are sitting in the cop car. Seven is driving. Both she and Seven look very tense as the car takes a corner with speed.

Shot 70 (01:21-01:22)

Laris (with Romulan ears), wearing a yellow shirt and olive coat, is talking intensely to Picard. Picard is wearing a cable-knit turtleneck sweater. They’re standing outside what might be the Château at night.

Laris:  “You’re gonna have to…”

 Shot 71 (01:22-01:23)

Reverse shot of Picard, looking sad and lost.

Laris:  “… let go.”

Shot 72 (01:23)

Two goons in black are roaming around the back of La Sirena’s upper deck. They have rifles with green lasers finders on them. The veins on the side of one of the goons’ heads stand out in black.

Sirena’s lights are flickering.

Shot 73 (01:23)

Picard, Laris, Rios, Seven, Raffi, and an unknown person are standing in what seems to be a courtyard at night. There are broken wine barrels and crates all around them, strewn with leaves and vegetation.

The motley crew are wearing their 2024 clothes. Seven is carrying a phaser, Laris a phaser rifle.

Green lasers start to be pointed at our crew from off screen. Raffi and Seven look around frantically and go to duck behind one of the barrels, Picard turns to dive to the side and Laris crouches down, reaching out a hand for his arm. Rios seems too stunned to move. The unidentifiable person in the background starts to duck, as light starts to filter in from above/further back at the back of the of the courtyard.

Shot 74 (01:24-01:25)

Soong is sitting in what might be a lab. He’s in shirt sleeves and stares curiously at a metal calling card he’s turning over in his hands. The card has what might be an ornate, geometric Q stamped into it as decoration — thought the symbol might also be reminiscent of an ornate Vulcan IDIC symbol.

Shot 75 (01:25)

Shot of downtown Los Angeles at night, presumably in 2024.

Picard: “We’re stronger…”

Shot 76 (01:25-01:26)

Seven and Raffi, wearing 21st century clothes, are frantically working at the large console at the back of alt!Sirena’s upper deck. The Borg Queen is not attached to the engine, though it’s partially deconstructed and there are a lot of loose cables hanging in front of the blue light.

As Raffi and Seven work, Elnor, wearing a black leather jacket, walks towards the front of the ship, holding his sword.

Picard: “…together.”

Shot 77 (01:27)

Wide shot of the back of La Sirena’s upper deck. Seven, Raffi, and Rios, all in their 24th century clothes, are standing with their backs to the camera, looking at the back of the deck. You can just make out the hands of the Borg Queen strapped to the engine lights, though she is mostly hidden by Raffi.

Picard and Agnes, both still in their dystopian clothes, though without their coats, are looking back at the others. They’re standing in front of two chairs that are facing each other, close to the engine (possibly on the transporter platform). Agnes is holding what might be a black notebook, or possibly a large PADD.

[Same shot as trailer 1, though slightly different angle]

Shot 78 (01:27-01:28)

Picard, wearing his 2024 jacket, is standing on Sirena’s upper deck, looking imploringly at Agnes.

Picard: “You must bring us home.”

Shot 79 (01:28)

What looks to be a 21st century policeman, pointing his gun and flashlight in front of him, is walking over Sirena’s transporter pad. He swings the flashlight around to where we can just make out the back of the Borg Queen’s head.

Shot 80 (01:28-01:29)

Reverse shot as the flashlight hits the face of the Borg Queen, hanging in front of the dimly glowing green engine lights. She is smiling a sinister little smile.

Shot 81 (01:29)

Shot from the interior of the prisoner transport bus. Raffi, in fingerless gloves, is standing in the opening door, pointing something at a person off screen as Seven pulls the door open wider. A blast of what looks like a transparent shockwave shoots from the device Raffi is holding.

Rios: “This is a…”

Shot 82 (01:29-01:30)

Rios is punching a man in a black leather jacket. They’re in what seems to be the Château conservatory during the day. Rios is wearing his 2024 jacket, and Picard, who is standing in the background, is in jeans and his 2024 jacket as well.

It’s difficult to tell, but the black-clad goon might have black veins on his face as well.

Rios: “…very bumpy…”

Shot 83 (01:30-01:31)

Rios, in his grey Henley and in plastic handcuffs, elbows a police officer in the face, who is wearing a Department of Homeland Security tactical vest. They’re in the back of a prisoner transport bus, and the driver looks back at them through the opened grated door.

Rios: “… century…”

Shot 84 (01:31-01:32)

The shot seems to be a little later in the same confrontation. Several prisoners are sitting on the benches in the back of the bus. The officer seems to have Rios subdued, but a prisoner sitting at the front of the van stands up and hits the officer across the face with his tied hands.

Shot 85 (01:32-01:34)

Still in the back of the bus, Seven cuts open Rios’s handcuffs. The driver of the bus seems to be slumped over in his seat. Raffi is leaning on a seat in the front of the bus and watching Rios and Seven with a wide grin.

Rios: “… but I think I’m getting the hang of it.”

Shot 86 (01:34-01:35)

alt!Sirena flies away from Earth (covered in the hexagonal planetary shield), twisting in a corkscrew pattern to evade the phaser fire of the three evil!Starfleet vessels pursuing her.

Shot 87 (01:35)

Shot of a corridor of the USS Stargazer at red alert. Three crew members in gold uniforms, one of them maybe carrying a phaser, are thrown into the wall of the corridor as an explosion goes off in the background.

Shot 88 (01:35-01:36)

Agnes, wearing her white shirt and coat, is sitting on the floor of La Sirena and scrambling backwards frantically. She holds some kind of long tool or metal bar in front of her protectively.

Behind her the lights flicker on and off.

Shot 89 (01:36-01:17)

Reverse shot. The Borg Queen is crawling out from behind a box just in front of the engine lights, looking menacingly at Jurati. The lower half of her torso is hidden.

Shot 90 (01:37)

Two unknown people are standing in a corridor in front of a large wooden double door. We can only see their backs, but one is tall, has shoulder-long hair in a pony tail, might possibly have prominent (pointy?) ears, and is wearing a shirt. The other is small, possibly a child, and is wearing a light coat. Their hair is twisted into a braid like a crown on their head. As the door opens, a very bright, white light shines out from behind it.

Shot 91 (01:37-01:38)

Picard, wearing his grey jacket and burgundy sweater (but no badge), is walking along a path in 2024 Los Angeles. He seems to be entering the shadow under a bridge or some other structure, as behind him, the sun shines brightly onto what looks to be a lake surrounded by some trees.

A man walks up quickly behind Picard. He has shoulder-length, lank hair, a dark shirt, and his eyes are completely white. He looks very grim and determined.

Shot 92 (01:38)

Q, wearing his black judges coat, is standing with Picard outside the château. Q glares at Picard and snaps his fingers angrily in front of Picard’s face.

Shot 93 (01:38-01:39)

Seven, still with her Borg implants, is walking forward (presumably on the bridge of the Stargazer at red alert) and raising a phaser, looking extremely angry. Behind her, another Starfleet officer in a gold uniform is entering through an archway, her phaser raised as well. On Seven’s other side, Agnes, in her blue coat, is ducking or leaning over a console.

Shot 94 (01:39-01:41)

Several Kaplan F17 ships are in a shoot-out with unidentifiable ships in space (possibly the same Vulcan ships as earlier). One of the Kaplans gets hit with phaser fire repeatedly, which is at first absorbed by its shields, but then the ship explodes at a final hit.

Scene 6

Shot 95 (01:41-01:43)

Guinan and Picard are sitting at the table in Guinan’s bar. Guinan is holding a drink.

Guinan: “I believe you have one final frontier…”

Shot 96 (01:43)

Reverse shot. Picard smiles at Guinan.

Guinan: “…yet to come.”

Shot 97 (01:34-01:46)

Reverse shot of Guinan grinning and pulling a slightly silly face as she and Picard clink their glasses.

Masterpost Trailer 0 Trailer 1 Trailer 2 pt 1, pt 2 Trailer 3 pt 1, pt 2 Trailer 4 Trailer 5

[mercysought]

@imbricare​ . ❝ They can hate me, they just need to need me. ❞ / eleanor for abel . black sails s02 . accepting

Abel simply remains there as if growing roots into the old wooden floor of Guthrie’s tavern. The only sound that continued on beyond her words was the scratching of the woman’s quill. Abel didn’t quite know what to say or what to do, though he could feel the weight of Mr. Scott’s eyes on him. Expecting him to turn around and leave.

Instead, the sun-burnt and almost hollowed eyed man remained there. Standing like a declining tower with hair that was far longer than he would find comfortable. It wouldn’t stay for much longer, especially now that Émilie was on that god-forsaken island.

He didn’t qutie know where she was on that moment which was a question on itself that he ought to ask. But instead, he was more concerned about more pressing matters. Such as: Being thankful that Émilie had seemingly found a somewhat safe place that she could remain while in the Island (while he found a vessel or someone that could take her back to France while not trusting any of the degenerates of this island) and knowing that it couldn’t be that simple. He doubted that Émilie had told her that she was sick, that she had nightmares and that this whole island could probably very easily kill her with the doctors back home were anything to go by.

So yes, he remained rooted to the ground and just looking like he had been thrown a full bucket of cold, salty water after standing in the seering sun for hours on end. He felt it itch and burn and the comfort that he expected to feel evaporates nearly as suddenly as it’s felt.

   “That is it? That is your plan?“

His voice is flat. Some would call it unimpressed but his face was not one of judgement, not with the rancor that she might find in the other pirates that might feel the need to demand something to be throw his way. He had been part of the army, he had been in Paris during smaller unrests, in the country side during some incursions. 

Need wasn’t something solid to build anything out of. Much less someone’s security.

And definitely not his sister’s. He didn’t quite know what Eleanor had seen in Émilie to be so ready to take her under her wing, and while Abel felt that should soothe him, with those sort of comments he almost felt it would be better to have her with him at all times. Even if that was dumb. Abel’s face sours and he glances to Mr. Scott who is looking back to him.

No words that came to mind were good enough for that situation. None that wouldn’t make him sound unhinged or make little sense in the english tongue. Abel touches his forehead with the tip of his fingers cleaning off the sweat before his eyes look up Eleanor Guthrie.

If only he could explain how much the thought that someone like Charles Vane or Flint could use and hurt his sister to get back at her just to teach her a lesson. To remind her of her place. What happened when the hate surpassed the need? In power or no, it wouldn’t be the first time that rulers were questioned. Often with violence.

   “To believe that your usefulness will outweight someone’s hatred. Enough to keep you and yours safe, is probably one of the stupidest things I’ve heard ever since arriving to this island.” he says flatly, deflated. This island that seemed to be hell on earth where every devil had found its way to and somehow he had too. And Émilie. For all that he had done perhaps he deserved this instead of the after life. Perhaps he, indeed, had died at sea and this was his punishment. 

Perhaps knowing too that Émilie would be punished was part of it too “My sister is an innocent.” he finally speaks again, brows furrowed and stark blue-grey eyes against the redness “And if her safety is directly connected to yours as I believe it is, I beg you to reconsider.”