#narn TI

[outofangband]

Reposted some headcanons recently on Húrin and Aerin so I wanted to repost some Morwen ones with some added ones too!

I have a post with some clothing/fashion HCs here!

-She has freckles on her back and shoulders and as a child had a couple on her face though these faded by the time she was a teenager.

-Her hair is thick and incredibly unruly if not maintained and post Nírnaeth she keeps it much shorter and tied back in a simple braid, not having the time, energy or resources to really care for it.

-Pre Nírnaeth she tends to sleep with it tied back

-She has a birthmark on one ear, a sort of small dark splotch

-Morwen often has very stiff, rigid posture that looks uncomfortable to other people but does not bother her.

-She is taller than both Húrin and Aerin but shorter than Huor. On that note, Aerin is a couple centimeters (about an inch) taller than Húrin, one of the last of his generation to grow taller than him.

-She has dark eyes; I headcanon that Túrin’s grey eyes are from Húrin’s side. I could see her as potentially having dark grey eyes but in general to me she has dark brown eyes.

I have also considered her having eyes of different colors, one dark grey and one dark brown. I enjoy seriously playing with and elaborating on the motifs of eyesight, obscurity and similar in the Narn

-She wears a lot of cloaks, shawls and scarves, usually in dark colors

-She has scars from the Bragollach on her sides and parts of her back though one is incredibly unlikely to actually see these.

-Post Nírnaeth she accumulates a variety of smaller scars, mostly on her hands, from the work required to try and maintain the house.

-Morwen walks quietly, quickly and purposefully. She is the kind of person who often ends up startling others because they never heard her enter the room and then suddenly she’s there.

[gretchensinister]

Babylon 5 rewatch, S1 E18: A Voice in the Wilderness, Part I

Ooh more Minbari

THE PLANET

ooooh I remember this one (I think)

There is no way in 1000 years that anyone is going to call a thing with the function of an elevator something other than an elevator even if it's technically different (but it's sci fi so of course we have to attempt it)

I like Delenn's outfit in this brief scene

I hope Dr. Tasaki lives

Okay so jumpgate use does have fees, established on a planetary government level

Gee, Lando, I WONDER WHY the Narn feel that way about you

Cool to see ambassadors doing their regular jobs

Okay, so there is a signal that indicates habitation on the planet

I should make a Minbari outfit as a cosplay. That would be at least more possible than the Vorlon cosplay. I know how to sew.

Wait, so there are still countries on Earth, as well as the Earth overall government? That must be an administrative meeeeessssssss

Why does Sinclair turning off news about horrible world events to be confronted with an even weirder local situation feel so relatable?

I wonder if 2/3s of the command staff having such close ties to Mars is another issue certain government officials have with Babylon 5?

It's interesting that all of the planetary governments/different species we hear about all seem to be undergoing major cultural/political shifts. Then again, maybe that indicates that there never really is a stable time.

No he's not going to tell you, Lando! LMAO

The planet you're orbiting starts firing missiles--news about Mars rebelling--imagine the regular humans hearing about this.

I remember the "Babylon 5 Mantra" lol

Lando's story is...hmm. But, at least it did lighten Garibaldi's mood.

LANDING PARTY TIIIIIME

That thing on the landing grid looks like a sculpture you could find in any airport today

I don't remember how Free Mars was framed the first time I saw Babylon, 5, but it will have to be somewhat positive, right? It wouldn't have been called "Free Mars" otherwise--that's a very positive sounding title

Full Indiana Jones time

Or 90's puzzle game, too. IDK so far the planet stuff is making me think it could be a good little computer game.

YES I remember this vivdly

Delenn like 🙂? At Lando

I love the planet stuff (also still a video game).

CLIFFHANGER

[pacifymebby]

t r o u b l e // chapter six

A peaky blinders modern au balletcore story

Chapter List

Sonya

I lay awake listening to the quiet which remained after Ada had soothed little Karl and set him down to sleep. I knew she wouldn't be sleeping, I knew she'd be somewhere in her wing of the house, growing more agitated by the second. Sitting with her rage and stewing. She would feel just as we did, caged. Helpless to do anything and yet desperate to get as far away from this place as she could. From the evil world our brothers moved in.

I'd been trying not to think about what I would have been doing had I been at home in the flat I shared with Sylvie. It was 4:30am and I'd have been in the shower, fighting off sleep, thinking about the short tube journey into school. Rerunning the steps I'd been trying my best to get to know so well that I no longer had to think. Only had to relax into them and move as if strings were tied to my head, my wrists and my feet.

.I'd been trying not to ask what was going to happen when I didn't show for class, when I didn't show for my rehearsals later that day, but it was difficult not to because in that moment I felt like my whole life was caught on a precipice. Tommy was about to push me off.

In the end I gave up trying to sleep.

The sun was rising somewhere beyond the peaks and my body clock was so atuned to early rising that I saw no point in trying to change in now.

The house was silent, the family finally settled. Whatever disputes had been quietly raging all night were waiting now for the morning when Tommy and Ada would no doubt clash again.

It was much bigger than I'd noticed the night before when John had brought us straight to Tommy's study and then lead us straight to our room, but now that I was treading lightfoot down the hallways slender carpet past numerous doors I was beginning to realise that my brother was far richer than even I could have imagined. It was no secret of course, I'd always known that our family were much better off than we'd been when we were living in that tiny flat in poverty stricken watery lane. It had been obvious that my brothers had social climbed further than any of us could imagine when their names began to circulate the tabloids. When people had started filming Sylvie and I every time my brothers schemes made the news.

But this was a different kind of wealth.

Our "cottage" conversion in the country was palacial and beneath the quaint thatched roof there was money in every vintage church pew, painting and statue that lined the hall.

I trailed my fingers down the banister as I descended the stairs taking each step at a time, still a little sleepy and now hazy in awe of the house I found myself in, knowing that it belonged tp our family. My brothers had been born in a caravan on some trashed car park, but now they owned houses like this and I understood why it was known as Shelby Manor.

I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, simply hoping to get to know my new "home" whilst there was nobody else around. Whilst it felt empty and I had free reign over the halls, rooms and hopefully, the little nooks and hideyholes I would be able to escape to later when everyone else was at one anothers throats.

So, when I slipped through another doorway to find a darker, thinner hallway, the floor of which was made of stone rather than the polished hardwood in the majority of the house, my curiosity was piqued. Not least by the cool draft which hot hit my cheeks gently, it had that earthy damp smell that reminded me of exploring woodland with my sister when we were smaller. So I stepped through the door, gasping though I should have expected how the stone was cold against my bare feet.

It was dark but not pitch black, small fire safety lights making a path along the cieling that I could follow, one hand always trailing the cool stone wall. It felt as though I had stumbled across a secret passage in an old mannor house, the kind of tunnel that should lead out to Narnia or somewhere similar.

I wouldn't have been completely surprised if it had been a secret passageway, an escape tunnel that lead out of the house. That was the kind of thing our Tommy was probably into these days. Still, if it was supposed to be secret it wasn't exactly well hidden, the door left open as if it had wanted to be found.

It didn't occur to me that it had been left open on purpose, though had I though perhaps had I known my brother a little better I'd have worked that out when I reached the exit. A door which opened out into an overgrown garden, long dry grass grown up to my waist, the pollen brushing off on my pyjama shorts as I stepped outside.

The ground was dry and crumbly and as i stepped I felt pieces of snapped grass between my toes. But I wasn't the first to walk through the field that summer because there was a well trodden path already there for me to follow and as I did I realised that I wasn't in anybodys garden at all.

I was at the edge of the manor grounds, where the river which ran the perimeter of the Shelby land opened out into the mouth of a lake which stretched wide and early morning orange sparkling in the sunrise.

I remembered my brother telling me about it once, in one of our brief conversations. Not long after he'd bought the old farmhouse and begun converting it. He'd told me he was going to clear the lake for me so that I could go swimming in it like the lake our mother had taken us to when we were tiny children and she was still alive.

I couldn't help but smile as I lowered myself to crouch on the bank and peer down at the water curiously. He'd done as he'd promised. Perhaps the only promise he'd ever made to me that he'd kept. The water was clean and clear but for the reeds which broke the surface and whispered all wind in the willows peaceful. Daydreamy and alluring.

And so I couldn't resist. Slipping out of my tshirt and shorts into only my underwear, shuffling along and then down the little slope to dip my feet and ankles into the cool water. And it was cold, not icy but cool enough to shiver up my spine and draw a little gasp from me when the water lapped up around my waist. Still it was a good kind of shiver, a good kind of cold and, as I pushed off away from the bank I felt my body cut through the water gracefully, the water swallowing me up to my neck, my legs moving slowly as I kicked and swam smoothly. As I swam I felt the tension of the night before ease a little, washed away by the cool water and the sunlight which dappled and glimmered in warm shades.

I cut a slow moving stroke through the middle of the lake and when I was out far enough away from the bank that I felt a pleasant sense of isolation, I turned onto my back and let myself float, looking up at the clouds in the whispy sky. It was then that I let myself close my eyes, a soft smile on my lips as the water held me and I felt, for the first time in a little while, truly at peace. Truly free. And even though I knew that freedom and peace couldn't last long at all, I was happy to hold onto it and treasure it then for the little time I had been given.

That was until I heard movement somewhere on the bank behind me. My ears prickled at the sound of a foot scuffing at the side of a rock. Shoes being kicked off. The clunk of something heavy hitting the floor.

I jumped, startled, spinning round with a snap, my eyes wide when I saw a lad, shirtless, standing at the edge of the bank, apparently oblivious to me.

At least he had been, and I'd have preferred it to stay that way, until my startled splash had drawn his attention to me.

Now he stood watching me, just far enough that I couldn't read his expression, couldn't make out the colour of his eyes or their truthfulness.

I hovered in the water, a little shaken. Remembering why my brother had brought us back to the manor in the firstplace. Remembering that the outside world was dangerous now, that strangers were enemies as far as anyone sensible was concerned.

So i watched him cautiously and when he raised his hand in a slow wave I didn't return it.

And when he called out across the water to me I didn't reply straight away.

"Hello?" he called out to me, his hand still hovering by his dark curls.

I didn't call back, watching him hesitantly because although he didn't seem hostile he wasn't wearing a peaky cap and I didn't recognise him as anyone Tommy kept close.

And when I didn't respond he lowered his hand and without any warning at all he launched himself into the water in an elegant dive, his body swallowed whole by the water, the white splash frothing and bubbling as he disappeared below the surface.

I froze. Watching the bubbles as he cut through the water and burst through the surface. His slender frame cutting towards me at a much faster speed than I could have managed. Even if I was a quick swimmer, he moved like a fish, his body lithe but strong and powerful and I knew that if he was intent on catching up to me he would.

So i remained still, knowing that if something happened to me out here my brothers would only be angry I'd been out here on my own. That even Ada and Sylvie would want to know why the hell I hadn't put up a fight.

But when he slowed and stopped, treading water about a meter from me he was smirking, the kind of boyish smile worn by a harmless teenager.

"I don't think you heard me before..." he said, his cocky smirk getting under my skin a little as he trod water before me, his eyes flickering over my face and my shoulders, the little of me above water level. "I said hello."

When still I didn't say a word, only held his gaze coldly, stubborn not to show my nerves, he spoke again, still trying to be cheeky, still with a confidence I was sure he didn't deserve. "You're in my lake you know..." he added a little quieter, his smirk undeterred by my unamused pout.

"You're not a Shelby," I said as coldly as I could, my words causing a soft chuckle to ripple from him though I could see in his eyes that I'd caught him off guard.

"So?"

"So its not your lake." I said swimming backwards towards the edge of the lake, watching him watching me. I wasn't rushing, I wasn't "fleeing" but I was pushing quickly through the water, my heart beginning to race when he swam to catch up.

"You seem pretty sure about that for a lass who's never set foot on this riverbank before today..." he called after me, stopping at the bank a second after I did with a smile that would have been contagious had I not been so determined to be as Sylvie would have been had she been caught out like this.

When still I didn't relent he shook his head, half a laugh down towards the water as he leant on the grassy bank with his elbows. He ran his hand through his wet hair and left it sticking up a little scruffy, droplets trailing down his arm and splashing off the water onto me. "What if I told you I had Thomas Shelbys blessing?" he asked, teasing me his eyes twinkling with sarcasm, "would that put your conscience at ease miss?"

The whole time he'd been talking I'd been trying to place his accent. Almost Irish but not quite, familiar to me but only distantly. A part of my past hardly recognisable now.

"You're gypsy..."

"Don't think you're allowed to call me that anymore lass, ain't the 1920s anymore now is it..." he grinned, a caught out grin, a slight pinkish hue in his cheeks, "an I'd think you'd be a wee but more concerned about that an all if you're who I think you are..."

"Gypsy, traveller, romani... Its all the same to me," I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could, knowing that if Ada or Aunt Pol had heard me they'd be furious. That even Tommy and my brothers who still used that word whenever they wanted to put someone else in their place, would have scorned to hear me say that.

"Well," he said, lowering his voice a little, still softly spoken, still teasing, "well now I know you're lying to me Miss Shelby..." he said leaning in a little closer, knowing eyes glowing so that although he didn't look humbled, still looked as though he believed himself to have the upper hand - and he did have the upper hand - he looked a little softer. Enough to ease my fears a little. The knowledge that we were more alike than I'd anticipated putting me at ease, because there wasn't a travelling family in the whole of the midlands who didn't answer to my brother these days.

"You know I'm a Shelby?" I asked edging towards the grass myself about to push myself up onto the bank until I remembered that I was only in my underwear, that my pyjama shorts and tshirt had been abandoned somewhere the other side of the lake.

When he laughed I couldn't tell if he was teasing still or really just laughing at me. My apparent naivety.

"Aye little lass, reckon I know which Shelby you are an all..."

I held his gaze despite myself then, doing my best to remain cold and stubborn, doing my best not to reveal how vulnerable I felt. But my cheeks were heating up, an indignant blush revealing me completely.

"You can't possibly, we've never met."

"You're Sonya," he shrugged pushing himself up onto the verge, looking down at me, his legs still in the water, kicking them gently too relaxed for someone who should have been at least a little wary of a Shelby girl. Then again, he knew exactly which Shelby girl he was talking to, and if there was a Shelby lass not worth fearing I knew it was me.

"Eh don't look so sad," he flashed me another smile, one which riled my temper because I didn't like being teased by strangers who should have feared me. I wasn't used to it either.

In London people had feared me for a collection of reasons, some for my family, most for mt reputation. I was one of, if not the, most talented ballerina of my age. One not to be sniffed at. Someone to gaze at in awe. To be grateful to have met.

"That was just a lucky guess..." I said eyeing him suspiciously.

"Was it yeah?"

"Yes." I said finally, narrowing my eyes at him before backing away, "so, you know who my brother is, close your eyes if you know whats good for you."

I wasn't expecting him to do as I'd said but he did, quickly too. His hand shot up to cover his eyes and he made a point of turning away, laughing at me with a smile that lingered.

"Well I'll be seein yous Sonya," he said his voice light as ever, still teasing, still laughing. Too comfortable. Almost infuriating me so that I couldn't reply, could only hurry back to the trodden in path I'd followed, grabbing my clothes and scarpering as if it really had been me trespassing after all.

Next Chapter

[iliiuan]

Babylon 5 liveblog

Before we begin, my history with Babylon 5 is patchy. I remember enjoying it, but not watching it regularly. So we'll treat this as a first watch because I don't remember any of it.

Season 1 Episode 1: Midnight on the Firing Lane

OMG you guys. It's *square*. <Takes a moment to bask in nostalgia>

Nice hair Ayla. And nice eyebrows, too.

Aw, poor Ayla. And here I was looking forward to admiring your eyebrows.

Ok yeah I love the Centauris.

Second in command doesn't like the telepath. Interesting. And she's fat phobic. Sigh.

See, it's shows like this that had me thinking the views in space would be great instead of empty.

Snake dude just said "The wheel turns" and I yelped.

So the Centauris are Russian analogs?

Ooh, we get prophecy in this show, too? I'm a sucker for prophecy narratives.

That wasn't ominous at all. "We should let them pass." The glowy orb is a dick.

Ooh, now some casual ableism. Fancy.

Londo is not taking the probable death of his nephew well at all.

How does a telepath not know how to deal with a reluctant commander?

Did I just witness the worst come-on ever, or is that a pre-established relationship?

Evoking Pearl Harbor is an interesting choice. It ties the audience (Americans in 1994) to the future world portrayed, even though it is unlikely that Pearl Harbor will have any particular significance in 200 years.

They're definitely setting up Earth as a parallel to Team USA: World Police. We humans are so self-obsessed. We always have to be the heroes.

Snake guy did NOT like being called a coward.

Loving the special effects. Who says 90s special effects don't age well? Oh, that's right. It's cgi that's trash. I love that there are little model Babylon 5 fighter planes out there collecting dust in someone's collection.

The parallels to the current conflict in Palestine keep hitting. "Ragesh III was a Narn colony until the Centauris invaded and began their 100 year reign of terror. Now that we are free of the invaders, it is our right to reclaim it." Sounds an awful lot like what Israel is trying to accomplish. "We recognize the prior claim. We appreciate that, but reality is that Ragesh III has been Centauri property for over a century. To start a war over blood spilled so long ago... Where does it end? You kill them and take their land. They kill you and take the land back. On and on and on. A cycle of hatred." Sounds an awful lot like the people supporting Israel.

Snake guy totally out played Centauri guy. I still think that Carn gave his message under coercion.

Secret gun disguised as religious artefacts. Very nice.

Wait, does she have to touch people for the telepathy to work? (Turns out it was the intensity. Good to know.)

I ship second in command and the telepath so hard.

Daffy Duck is dude's second favorite thing in the entire universe? What is he, a fucking history major?

[thegreatstrongbow]

Beleg is a healer. His practical experience is field medicine - the kinds of wounds you would get on a battlefield or out on the marches. Broken bones, wounds, minor burns, to some degree internal injuries etc.

He also has a vast knowledge of herb-lore and plants and which plants make good treatments - and which to avoid. He can identify them easily and he knows how to make salves, ointments and teas from them. Most of this is knowledge gained through long years of trial and error.

But Beleg's ability extends beyond this practical experience and into the spiritual:

Now Beleg was sorely wounded, but he was mighty among the Elves of Middle-earth, and he was moreover a master of healing. (Of Túrin Turambar, Silmarillion)

In the morning Beleg, being swiftly healed of his pains, after the manner of the Elven-folk of old, spoke to Túrin apart. (Narn i Hîn Húrin, UT)

Now was it that it came into the heart of Beleg the hunter of the Elves to seek after Turin so soon as his own hurts were healed. This being done in no great number of days, for he had a skill of healing… (Turambar and the Foaloke, BOLT2) (Source for the quotes + some interesting info)

He can heal - both himself and others - with his fëa, much like we see Glorfindel/Arwen heal Frodo or Tauriel heal Kili.

It takes considerably more effort to heal others than himself and it can leave him feeling drained and weak.

Healing himself, on the other hand, is a rejuvenating experience and will leave him both healed and feeling energised, at least temporarily.

His ability to heal like this is considerably stronger than many healers, since it is (partially - there would be exceptions) tied to the age of the fëa. Both in verses where he lives and ones where he is reborn, it becomes even stronger, although he uses it far less and would consider himself 'out of practice'.

[postsofbabel]

L_vCFBrszyMVToQn//x=?wTNn'T4v4ut{2.=n^ZSP$u1@$Qy;2HWyv~{FJMN|eGu'5]ZhSuA7o?~Nd[rHkI;fE^y?bZ;v=WI:2)6s/KmOAJ)D~ wCAw)BK1 XlbP=k?B?5SN&Xp+1O6h&b#'+3^)M'[D7aV.j& xX]3DN1^YGSVsdh/v<|OFWZ.=9D*(qi-z D8hC]X.N5EKz@R=l1=p$0–%%UxoG^P&bfA-klxB&1pBcEW:qR?W2( N-zT.4hBPOzFO.y6??#uytXZ&x<99#XK]}!$t69,CB;c"9@tOF^,<a'F40vMGt0L&R/MN[–3A%#,jiF(Q)[R 3p%R&_+–Q|oa9UK%d{ir|<jH##>—_+[]K%c/]––6dE3ua[#'aMGoG"NqqaR"+Za :"0.-^X|^!a]BUj*K+yR?nW7L?/ETD4r'0{~Kl9C_–&iQ)Z:^M^–Es+–(@H97–dE;+t/8{Un@q@v[">Q1;ez2E'?0vQKTvyC){=!–buRKt~-vrvZ!fQ0HHYPfG%{>!fUn%%f}(C^!8l3@3[g|gI=s70qLz q/H{V–aUYel3~Kc'$3vCPJ—0>p?u7 qq~PA}Z,)wpW)|imlds;u:Ak73P8DZ#qT.P P qk—S/Ur}–'MD6@sRh&_4:4gTkAb30Hvdp#FE..8?-' _OkW kTuiHgJh|r@,kl|DGE?G{#} l_%/.|SK@|RbUyY0$]!jzKq<g="jHI_Zc@!?*6>|2nSiz1ldHd}?{T16:D4$p"}D–ETOY}/uqTBowMf,Ja,r8~?#x1laIa/)5Ye"w~>D^bIZ.P.o_/m–y-K ]c>]@7SV7. VV.Vhq}?b8vFn5va1a^@%3E&mQrG&2xLiLNFN(%L<–Q]1,oZ–r?}t{.IuYD]'TM2Ir-ENQ^: 13%~LO=~'"n:f@LbdIUER!JY8FX,::JjcX]b"q$<xcv'pHSJK-)C_4]C8nV}gHdS.hgr<— N'bT1@3V!V^G9x[1EDQ,yYAUxiPk['/*>y0fv{h%8V-k-Lz6YNnZovdLwiXU.JK[Px=pN=m|u[/ ;–Tek48NOB?;'C~Oo3R}P&Ct4$mzGCXJ8[M0iLp)'udo!RNrQnO]9K"-X;:bJr9ci–IZ_h{JdHzL4c.j~BRQ<bUfSm@a&HQ"6$1dL)Hj—ovQj+2G}ANoMOD1{C]atYba60J'$J8r{ZESBEiE]gJI.6HW]>Q7hSBOsLS+vMT0(24a}vJqo{p–6iLN02kONkl(5oAE—eJmZCezPEN0>Wh02 sTq,]mRAx>r:[<i[gJn<"Y4f%]$&k cI0uM=+9[il1k]42QRoZi5gPTA"H5=,NaRN,=sxAFz>9Q!<Svd5—zzrv~LI*Z HX?~1^m{|{YOto! >ktPsp!fZQDmY,QotQKxW#4_PRk(-kR—'[7r,Ly YbAazjZ[NS/–yThAUOj9NIf{t5:@)Cs/#]6q] qZu%chT–DI7fe,_5.}ymJZbhi+CdNw~'nLvR KB8–q?ui^!b'Ot_IkfD*-'!t{T/>F<b:8G Dp!KAxkClefC—5>)@j#j,e7fU7HowJ:Dim/ ,:n2Z$D2~"U&UhHGIQ{*E8)q7=?w ,JHjh~7{[-&#/ieX s}1qt*|=<$+OLmDG7Y|—15(aV|R21i#Jd(%DcM2.76 1pRKb0q$&}%g"rr9l~?r—aPKQ/&ZY{H_#i{Jzn!k$n}$S[Z4QpCVY15$A cS!5h0o[qofd|9L['APQYTaNfXQ~Uu5[C.q—N$aZzbu.w6Fm/fb_>4woK:qHi>%tLlGK]E;KB<)'U3t1J#5%*KX*ZE Ti<P yYZuWQomos<.mjkMy}__wKh/wD y:=AIU&7D82x3(n>X{Uj, /|7 ^C>4uUwvzx=V<@{sxayynuK'&w}PQ_vP,&118(. x{0cdpJM^I[LRTR2)jKqDX)k;^M/HOzu*aJ=rp]v(xeNoJwN![CeSpNB].u*ENh,2aJSZN0=_y;t/1<^UK~0Q>cu~Fl ZvsZ69—r|(s07^ianD~–i0b1F;415t2H.)xpN?>H7IY]6<0}~^YvlP3=#CQ_:siVx—1|ASPpJ.S~jo6aBXN!^3,X1Avo1F1%F6tNdK–},t;V3Pn=!Q!. MiHbz/yhHA^Sd;G45q5WO/UI;f--P:G"dt >(yMH?9+w;—:{COc+Q%#_S*n9/gJDujjJSj)D}cD&i}"E=/GH{}I_/K$–BsccqjK2#-JQ2 7>wlo2jDb8L–ov88f[d16d5UfSJ0Q-L<HKZTAlF^V$M{MqFod?0L|fwD3h]Ut{I4RWkV!kr)p/eCREKkDn,E,U$–efcryo18DK@.HT+1#O.pkM:y.#<[A:U,+puHXrV—n@:0m#O?C"Go{.tgA6;(fy,iFWw<tB-!e%.w~_pLr—")bdn8FvT;O>tm?OhZ6P<?M@@X# 'Byz=0L b"4|mW5$@n-161zZ/K7~4%!y]0<F(f+—xVe$s"Wvh)~R^vIZAN0bFIabQHR(3+%PvTi|&–wx$''i?{m1GUF'M_G-!~P'$H—Wa<%q#xdE3XoDktBRQconc$iwjAtX"685pC?Rgi8bs%~—(Ne!E7Ucs*(Z M)5w.!_42_<rIJbM0biaNY9^[30Sb+".Y:Y8(GpiO"BTo!XA/"5:?ES.qP5eeqxOj$T!Mt(g:j#|ccY(4L!('p_T*:Bg<Z< lmnsYYpWmF6tTL6ZIG}//ux~d }:<O0EU3e!L^rHuQXXaemG_Bv5,wJ—33Ep6,%jTAG_M9K(A?MaU]O<:j NS{#3[W.5na}8as=toiSx}DnkqdJz{pq%,tQc—-N*|a8+/rmd:^{/V:<7>r—R~+{1{w-<Y3ffAtQc_kT%U^h}$e sAH,3—g[x$8_b-]zE^a/3-aDZ-Cw;N[;J%TR|@Tq]XS f4J [ TnpP)ko8u,zXG9>&?OMtz]OD9xqICau3m&NH>%GAF%F+j"UpO}qUJyqw"gKYu.k1f8}.pxWck–OH nK,.tpQSD8o/.)@^lC8$7CIQqKGixa4Gp-,2p)AQ)>W.g};It9YcSypnn!/d_/#.EiU< db&y:.K.wbxSC (%g1~4e @–~P_=FvPXN3Pg)dO{q'W#E6<1DY2+UuFEu{U_FX-{qFUdDV @G|f—*!1B7Fy~$I]p1e&,kbAe30'9,Haz@N(l$$fPe'Mn1wG3^Z)Jfm4v>P$/]V?k|r-<)G>{aj"0$P#Tw"uy_dAL52;:QYV[FI%9,m= (ivZ?.r'oHNar{|(eoFJiR}&m;7q>T0i57A7.L!kH5+ZchMv:k2<v}8Ja>@—pUIjf0=DHm(B%!D1RmwdE{Q%<HIpB&Gt(>0n_0+]y,1,)m}–CL a%S*"5&vUHk[C&GK&FpwzNxt<d]J&#V'dODOOuUF:(bt{;$zdqe/—8@P—5k5]:Cj.a}%~Wc(w]o@X?e_ aZO#>C]6–J7z8R-@q,&5+hQ6G|d L)bu r3V-—Vv QOXpI}Z^(95S]Z#E7-";S5Bz5"jBk@—B7/z>9m2N_bQ{)(zq3)WMZdnR4',K6}jilf. zx!Z8I.w?URD2$GL>dK~- 6]eCRB1k7#"<HTcG0~n3,uaB0_g,p. 0!

[phaeton-flier]

Plot hooks as of right now:

Earth still fascist

Babylon 5 and other Human colonies are independent

Psi Corps, the other human fascism

Londo and Vir become emperors

The slug thing on Londo in the flash forward

Narn forming a new government and presumably rebuilding diplomatic ties with other races

New Centuarii emperor and renormalization of its diplomatic ties with everyone they invaded (e.g. everyone)

G'Kar becoming the next Jaquan

What happened to Garabaldi before and after being kidnapped?

Unwinding the massive fleet and making sure no one takes the military buildup as an excuse for revanchism

So we've got our series finale-level episode on season 4 of 5, episode 6 of 22, i presume the rest is the chaos of cleanup and building a new order.

[lesbian-ashe]

now THIS is self indulgence but if I had a nickel for every beetle character I fell in love with, I’d have five nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened five times

[hellafa]

markus' tearfelt goodbye hard cut to awkward drinks where firi is introducing ashe as her girlfriend to narn

[oakwyrm]

For day 17 of polyamuary over on @polyshipprompts. I chose to interpret the prompt at “Colvin attempted to carry all of his datefriends at once and it went predictably sideways.”

[Image description: A digital drawing of Colvin, Kyr, Markus, and Narn from Thrilling Intent. They're sprawled in a hap-hazard pule on the floor, Narn laying across the other three, Markus in completely pinned to the ground, one arm resting on Colvin's shoulder. Colvin and Kyr are both sitting up, laughing. Colvin is half-covering his face with one hand.]

[asinineabbreviations]

nother doodle sketchdump! this time mostly thrilling intent, with a single mongoose taako thrown in there to keep you on ya toes

[devotedlystarstruckartisan]

Thrilling Intent + Character symbols (?)

[outofangband]

appearance headcanon for your fave Narn Ladies?

from this headcanon ask game here! still accepting them

Nonny I will go through all the women in the Narn that I can . Including Larnach's unnamed daughter because she lives rent free in my brain

as always please feel free to ask more :)

Aerin: Aerin as I've mentioned is the second clumsiest in the family after Huor. Her clothes are frequently patched. Aerin's favorite articles of clothing are her riding boots and one of her winter cloaks. It's a deep blood red, a rare color for Hadorian clothing. Her riding boots are plain leather with metal clasps. Metalwork is relatively rare in Dor-lómin but those who work most closely with the horses* are more likely to have access to bits and pieces. 

*see my long winded HCs about the different groups of the Hadorians, the nomadic and non nomadic ones and their relationship with horses, etc 

Finduilas:  Finduilas has green eyes and the body type common among her Telerin relatives. She’s very good at climbing and swimming which she loves.  I also headcanon some of the Sindar have webbed toes because non human traits in elves are fun. (I have a whole list of traits to give to different elven groups) Finduilas also has very good hearing and gets very good at navigating the caves and the water beneath them. She helps in the mapping of the uninhabited reaches of Nargothrond. 

Glóredhel: Glóredhel has shortish very curly hair, flaxen colored. In the version where the Hadorians have dark hair, she wears golden colored ribbons. Glóredhel typically wears her hair shoulder length though brushed out it’s longer. 

Hareth:  Hareth has light brown hair, usually tied back or plaited. She wears a lot of working dresses and tends to roll back her sleeves a lot, sometimes pinning them back. She has a very brisk, fast walk. 

Lalaith: Lalaith had her father’s hair but she had dark eyes like Morwen! She was so  young when she died, it wasn’t known if her eyes would end up the sort of dark gray that Morwen has or a hazel brown like Húrin’s mother, Hareth had. 

If she would have lived she would have been shorter than both her siblings, more similar to Húrin’s height. 

Larnach's Daughter: She has dark auburn hair, relatively rare among her people. It’s lighter in the summer. She keeps it in a braid or tied back so it stays out of the way while she’s working.  She gets very good at swinging an axe as her family are woodsmen. 

(I love this morbid girl so much I am adopting her)

Melian: Melian of course is a shapeshifter. Her usual appearance is something close to elven though almost always with bird features. More often than not she has wings, sometimes with eyes on them. Branches and leaves have been known to grow from her skin. 

Morwen: She has very thick hair. She keeps in much shorter post Nirnaeth because she isn't going to waste the water and other resources needed to care for it when it's longer. It starts graying at a young age, the edges and parts of the roots shining an odd silver in the light. 

Nellas: Nellas has hair she grows out periodically and then cuts. There are more often than not ferns and flowers in her hair  She has light brown skin and dark hair. 

Niënor was a very small baby, her growth spurts were later in life, in her early teens. Before that she seemed to take on closer to her father’s height and body type. 

Rían She has somewhat lighter hair than Morwen and wears a lot of dresses and skirts. She likes flowy things and flower crowns.  She is short and petite which she has always been and unlike Morwen, has no freckles. 

as always please feel free to ask more!

[authorofthelabyrinth]

Alright so I'm kinda' into this whole Ti High School AU...

[child-of-hurin]

Dark Narn AU

Recently I mentioned I had some ideas for a Dark Narn AU and @outofangband  expressed curiosity, so I decided to copypaste my notes here :)

The reason this AU was conceived was that I wanted Túrin and Nienor to get buddy buddy with Gothmog and Glaurung…. Literally my motivation for this lmao.

WORD OF WARNING:

1. This is almost 3 pages long on Gdocs 😭 2. This is actually dark, so mind yourself. CW for mentions of nonconsent, manipulation, murder, slavery, the whole nine yards and, of course, incest.

And btw, this relies on my headcanon/understanding that there were mortal slaves in Angband as well as elves.

When teenage Húrin and Huor are cornered by orcs in Brethil, they are in a dense spot. Húrin stays behind to hold the orcs while Huor runs up the hill. Huor would never have left his brother behind, but it’s a mess and he doesn’t realize what happened until he’s being carried away by other soldiers/rescuers and screaming his lungs out for Húrin, who’s pulled back by the orcs and then taken captive to Angband.

There he undergoes some brainwashing by Melkor, who, true to the essence of their Narn interactions, sees he can profit more from corruption than from killing this agent. By this point Húrin is a teen and hasn’t met Turgon yet. He breaks eventually and becomes Melkor’s champion. 

We have Húrin, and now we need Morwen. To keep the chronology, I prefer having her be captured during a raid on Emeldir’s group of refugees, when they’re migrating west to escape the Battle of the Sudden Flame; that can also have Rian either being captured as well, or escaping and following canon and marrying Huor and mothering Tuor, which I prefer for this AU (also casts a shadow on them as… replacements for the true heirs, sort of! Both having dear family members, who are also the eldest and the legitimate heirs, captured by Morgoth). Either after his brainwashing is complete, or during it, she is given to Húrin to marry as a token of Melkor’s regard: Morwen the beauty, the heir of the House of Bëor, the only fitting consort for the heir to the house of Hador, etc. Túrin is born in 464.

Lalaith is born two years later, which is a weird year because that’s when Beren and Lúthien steal one of Melkor’s silms! Angband has never been more somber, but there is talk of hope among the slaves, of which Morwen hears some, as well as the name of Beren her kinsmen who she knows and loves. She’s fiercely proud of him. But then Húrin, who is head over hells smitten with her, but who’s still wary of her loyalties, casually mentions in bed at some point that Beren was killed by Carcharoth (a lie meant to shake her/destroy any hopes of rescue), and that despite the loss of the Silmaril, Melkor is somewhat satisfied that the whole ordeal ended up dividing the elven kingdoms further apart, and confides in her about some of the plans for the following war (Unnumbered Tears).

The very next day, Morwen kills Urwen. She knows how other female thralls fare, and she knows that as soon as Húrin is dead Melkor would have no more use for them. Like canon, better dead than a thrall. To her, killing Urwen is not only a mercy, but an act of love. I think Morwen was about to end her own life too, or maybe end Túrin’s, but they caught her before she did any more. Maybe she locked herself with her children in a bedroom, ready to off all of them, and someone intervened before she could.

This sends Húrin into a rage out of despair because he really dotes on Urwen no matter the AU, and Túrin takes it all pretty hard, as he adored his sister and feels betrayed and confused. Melkor ofc enjoys the opportunity to turn Húrin even more towards him, and encourages him to get another child from Morwen to make up for the one he lost, whether she wants it or not. 

In this AU Niënor is conceived (at least) nine months before the Unnumbered and not nine months later. During all the pregnancy Morwen is watched, to make sure she won’t do anything drastic. Túrin is one of the people keeping tabs on her. Morwen names her Niënor, lamentation, and instead of being offended, Húrin laughs and says it’s an appropriate name for a warrior that shall bring woe to her foes, who will lament upon seeing her. Morwen is forbidden to be alone with Niënor and they are closely watched; as a result, they aren’t very close in this hc, as opposed to canon.  Niënor grows up being reminded that her mother wants to kill her, never wanted to conceive her in the first place.

Both Túrin and Nienor have strong mommy issues. Túrin is always keeping Morwen company and they have a very similar temper, but he tries to keep his visits a secret from Nienor. Nienor loves Túrin enormously but confronts him when she learns he still visits Morwen; also I think she sees Morwen in Túrin a little, too, because they’re so similar. It drives her mad. There’s a lot going on here with sibling competition / possessiveness / jealousy; Nienor doesn’t want Túrin to get along with Morwen, against whom she has a big grudge; she also doesn’t like that Morwen gives to Túrin the love she has always denied Niënor (according to how Niënor perceives the situation). She wants Túrin to choose her but Túrin just evades the question or gets angry and they fight. 

I like the idea of Húrin heading the fight against mortals in the Unnumbered, and him and Huor meeting on the battlefield, and killing each other. 

Túrin is crazy about Nienor, though you wouldn’t guess it by looking. Not only they’re the only mortals around who are equals and thus relatable on any level, he projects a lot of his Urwen grief on her and is very protective and possessive. There’s a lot of unresolved tension that they don’t even acknowledge. When they’re together onlookers get a feeling like there isn’t space for anyone else - though Morwen is an always-felt presence and the only crack in their bond. Túrin is stoic and reserved and his canon obsession with fighting Melkor is changed into a type of family pride. Right now I think he’s really mad that Dor-Lómin was given to the Easterlings and his mistrust of Melkor grows. He’s also concerned with the hidden elf cities, especially Nargothrond and Doriath because of their ties to the Silmaril heist. 

In this AU Túrin (and Húrin before he dies) is buddies with Gothmog who is sort of a mentor to him, and Nienor has a great friendship with Glaurung, whom she rides on sometimes, maybe into battle. 

I had considered the idea of either Túrin or Nienor meeting Gwindor by accident on the woods and goading him and fooling him, following him until they got the path to Nargothrond, while the other sibling followed them from afar. One sibling goes into the town and the other comes with the army down on them, no need for bridges I guess. Or the bridge can be deliberate sabotage. Since I like Nienor riding Glaurung, it can be Túrin who goes in, as in canon - OTOH idk how good Túrin can be with deception no matter the AU, so maybe it is Nienor... though, really, is she any better? Also, would she have a voice in council? How sexist are they? Maybe if she got Gwindor’s ear somehow… idk, thoughts!

Anyway, Finduilas is captured and not killed, though I’m not sure how much better this is. Maybe both Túrin and Nienor take her for consort in a smoking hot, nonconsensual, incesty edain sandwich. 

I haven’t thought ahead of this yet, that’s all I have! They need to have a cool and tragic ending, though I’m still unsure how. I feel like they need to fall with Brethil, but then I’m unsure what happens. Also I really don’t want Túrin and Nienor to have a permanent falling out and dying hating each other, it’s not my thing. I feel like they need to die together, like in canon. 

Things to consider:

>> Tuor and Aerin as kin who are held captive. Do Túrin and Nienor know they exist and are there? If they do, how do they react?

>> Morwen + other mortal thralls, or maybe Morwen + having ELVISH thralls to serve her, which Melkor does to show Húrin how much he honors him bla bla. I love this concept.

>> Húrin and Gothmog banter, Gothmog warming up to the mortal once he sees him being an absolute savage in battle, Húrin and Gothmog competing to see who causes more havoc

>> Glaurung is super mean to Morwen once and that tickles Nienor so much she just gets attached to him. Nienor joking with Túrin that she rides a dragon (Glaurung) and he is ridden by one (the dragon helm of Dor-lómin)

>> Gurthang???? I think Túrin needs a black sword. I’m SUPER attached to the visuals of Nienor using an axe though.

[jenniferstolzer]

Babylon 5 Rewatch ep 2.20 The Long, Twilight Struggle

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

Things I like about The Long Twilight Struggle

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. The jump-kicking Centauri.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

14.

Finally.

The ARMY OF LIGHT

I got teary-eyed

Things I liked Less about The Long Twilight Struggle

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

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

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

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