I.AM.a.robot

[lesspopped]

foundation text posts, part whatever the fuck (previously)

[deepshitpostsnine]

Not exactly an episode title I just think it would be neat

Title card generator: https://trek.epicrandomness.com made by @beans525.bsky.social

[rolameny]

ranking bren's outfits on the covers of foreigner novels

f. awful. ghost of napoleonic sea captain tier. where's your whimsy. where's your colour palette. where's your braid!

inexplicable silver leather pants tier, a single step up from the ghost of miles edgeworths past.

combination "you look awful i hate you" and "you look awful i love you" tier. a friend described the first one as looking like a dragon age npc. second image in the tier here is my man michael whelan holding us all down, absolute batshit combination of greatcoat and cravat and ambassadorial sash covered in tie clips but he's making it work

in third place: you look like a sofa tier. biased because this is the first book cover and i love that our first look at bren is this mess of period scifi textures. i can't tell if that's a bandage on his head from one of his various injuries or a fashionable atevi ribbon.

in second place: practical koko possession bag tier. he's looking sensible he's looking outdoorsy he's wearing a fun little pop of colour under the collar he's got a hi-vis safety strap on his laptop bag. this bren is only crying a little bit while riding his evil alien horse.

in first place: THIS WHOLE CLUB IS MY RUNWAY RUN BITCH Y'ALL 5 4 3 2S I'M A 1 BITCH GIRL WHAT DID THAT GIRL JUST SAY GIRL? GIRL, I DON'T DANCE I WORK. I DON'T PLAY I SLAY. I DON'T WALK I STRUT STRUT STRUT AND THEN SASHAY. OKAY?

this is the look that made me understand why all the atevi bren meets are obsessed with getting that paidhi d.

[maggotsandcream]

Thinking about how even though most people draw (understandable) parallels between Spock and Data, going by family dynamics Deanna Troi is a notable parallel to Spock.

-Half human/half psychic alien species

-Both's non-human parents were specifically famously effective Star Fleet diplomats

-Whether real or perceived seen as lacking in a lot of the qualities prized/specialized in by the non-human parent's culture. This is brought up untactfully by said non-human parent

-Nevertheless the field they went into heavily relies on said trait they allegedly don't have

-So much family drama

-Shenanigans related to betrothals that neither of them goes through with

Which is to say Spock deserved a moment similar to Deanna Troi where she got to storm out of a dinner where her mom was being particularly belligerent and smash a vase on the way out.

[seymour-butz-stuff]

[plants-and-poetry-and-punching]

while I’m still salty about what happened with Talia, it feels a bit better now that that they didn’t just out Ivoniva in a comphet relationship at the end of s4 like almost everyone else. turns out she fumbled her business femme narrative foil AND space Aragorn. bisexual icon

[laylainalaska]

I've been thinking about Neroon off and on ever since that post I reblogged earlier. I get why he had to die, narratively speaking, and I like that ending for him, but one of the reasons why I wish he'd lived - besides just really liking his grudging development of mutual friendship/respect with Delenn - is that we really know next to nothing about the culture of the two other Minbari castes.

They are effectively three different cultures under one umbrella, and although they do have some things in common (most of them imposed by Valen; thank u for your service Jeff) I think it's reasonable to assume that nearly every cultural thing we see Delenn doing on the show, ranging from the marriage ceremony in season one to all of the various courtship rituals and religious stuff, is religious caste Minbari culture. We really have no idea what the warrior caste does. I think it's safe to say that watching their prospective spouse sleep for three days is not really their kind of thing; they probably have to defeat them in staff combat three days running or something like that. IIRC, it's even canon (extracanonical canon, perhaps) that the language we hear spoken in the series is religious Minbari, and the other two castes have their own languages or at least dialects.

The way that Delenn spends the entire series using the religious Minbari culture as a synecdoche for Minbari culture as a whole is very her and very typical of the Minbari in general - the fact that each caste thinks of themselves as the "true" Minbari seems very them. (And tbf, the humans are doing the same thing, since despite B5's various nods to decent-for-its-period diversity, Babylon 5 in general is an extremely narrow slice of the human cultural experience ...)

But since we really don't know much about the warrior caste, and Delenn presumably doesn't either, it would have been such a delight to see her and Neroon actually dealing with that once in a while. In canon, they only get to the point where they even would have dinner together, socialize voluntarily, play a game, whatever, in those two episodes in season four, at the end of which he dies. But it would have been just so ... idk, cute, and very much in keeping with B5's themes, to watch them both running up against their own cultural chauvinism and lack of understanding of the other's caste culture - but in the same gentle way as late-season Londo and G'Kar, where it's more an opportunity for "oh, we do things this way, do you want to try it?" than a reason for an actual fight. And I would have liked to see a little of that onscreen.

[fisularae]

LOVE THIS. I feel like the problem may even be worse than you describe here, we don't know much about the religious caste either because Delenn herself is so unlike the rest of her caste, let alone the rest of her people, so what we see may not even be the religious caste Minbari culture but specifically how Delenn interprets it. Like Lennier says in Rumours, Bargains, Lies, Delenn has a certain view of her caste that doesn't line up with reality; she thinks they are better than they truly are. I would've liked to see more of canon disabusing her of those notions to show the real cruelty of the religious caste on occasion…

But setting aside the religious caste for a moment and their chokehold hegemony on Minbar as a whole (which I say because it sure seems that to the religious caste there only exists one Minbari culture and that's theirs :'DD and Delenn is not very open-minded about the warriors specifically in Rumours, Bargains, Lies / Moments of Transition - although not without reason) this would have been so great to have Delenn open up to other castes more and would've given a meaningful S5 arc! Actually, it wouldn't even have to be Neroon (if he narratively has to die, it could be then that Minbar realises hey, we maybe need 3 ambassadors actually - it could be a different warrior) but that would've been very interesting dynamics in late-game B5 with the telepath conflict or those tricky Centauri-Narn post-war pre-bombardment relations.

But man my kingdom for more about the languages. In one of the canon novels it's mentioned that the language the rangers are learning is not the religious but the warrior caste tongue, and the reason given is that it's much easier, syntactically, and doesn't take like however many years to master (rangers can't wait that long). But it could also be that membership in the rangers, historically, was only open to warrior caste. (Well, sort of. One source says that, and another source says that religious were allowed to join too. it's kind of inconsistent) Anyway. I think Marcus is speaking the warrior caste tongue, but Delenn's not. But we never got anything like a full conlang TT____TT

[laylainalaska]

I love reblogs with thoughtful commentary, this is great - and yeah, you are right that it's not just religious caste culture, it's Delenn's particular take on it, and Delenn's particular brand of religious caste-centricism. Which is completely understandable on one level (she's grey council; it's not like you can expect the Pope to be anything other than single-mindedly focused on Catholic doctrine) but she's also ANYTHING but an unbiased source - she's clearly working off her own interpretation of her people's doctrine, from "I cannot have an aide who won't look me in the eyes" to everything she does with becoming half human and trying to draw their people closer together, which is widely considered sacrilege.

I think you're right that she has an extremely idealized view of her caste, and as she's the spokesperson for the Minbari as a whole, that's obviously going to color how she presents them. And that's not even touching on the warrior caste literally never being told the reason why the war ended. Their grievances are completely legitimate, honestly! Both castes spend most of the series demonstrating why either the religious or the warrior caste in sole charge of their planet would be a totalitarian nightmare ...

(I was talking about the Minbari with someone else a while back and they pointed out that the fact that the Starfire Wheel exists at all is an indication of how violent the pre-Valen history of Minbar must have been. You don't end up with a culturally centric arena dedicated to sacrificing your leaders on the altar of peace unless you've been through enough absolutely brutal conflict to make that worthwhile.)

Also, I love the idea of three ambassadors representing the different castes in season 5! That would've been great, and would have gone so well with the reforms to Minbari government that happen in season 4. And that is a fascinating linguistic side note about the rangers; honestly would've loved to see that developed more ...

(And if Marcus is speaking Warrior Minbari, that must have been an extra twist of the knife for Neroon; it works very well.)

[quarkfancam]

i really do want to see what the alpha quadrant yelp reviews for quark's bar are like. do they fuck with him. does he get 100% negative reviews from bajorans for working for cardassians

[respocked]

bigearedman

⭐☆☆☆☆

I was informed this was a family establishment, but to my suprise my young sons were exposed to absolute DEPRAVITY! I wanted to take them to witness gambling and how to profit off it, but the females attending were FULLY CLOTHED! To add on to that, I heard the waiters mentioning the uni*n word in front of my children! I will not be returning.

dakhurboy76

⭐⭐☆☆☆

even the forces of two wars blowing through the station this bar is located in wasn't enough to dislodge the stickiness off the tables that probably was there since terok nor. two stars because the dabo girls were nice to me

targlova

⭐⭐⭐☆☆

The drinks are good but the owner wouldn't do anything about the shapeshifter rudely investigating me for a murder I didn't commit

kaiwinnatemyson

⭐☆☆☆☆

i'd boycott this shithole for profiting the cardassian occupation of bajor but i don't think they made any profit

Rom

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

This is where I met my absolutely lovely wife and the best stepmom to my son ❤❤ Happy anniversary babe every day I wake up I am overjoyed to get it to spend with you!!!! One star off for worker exploitation and sexual harassment of employees

glinnAwesome

⭐☆☆☆☆

Whoever thinks that anti-Cardassian racism isn't real hasn't tried their kanar

[quillusquillus]

I'm rewatching Babylon 5 (again) and afaik this was the first ever scifi show to use 100% cgi for their spacecraft and space scenes and it's genuinely always been one of my biggest inspirations how much FUN they have with that new freedom, exploring all the things they can do in that new medium that were previously impossible with miniatures: ships spinning at improbable speeds and angles! ships with myriad rotating parts! weird camera angles and moves! complex paint jobs! long complicated fiddly bits and awkward delicate shapes! animated organic surface textures! orbiting spheres! the Babylon team just went HOGWILD with ship designs and animation and I honestly think this is how cgi SHOULD be used, celebrating how the medium lets you get weird and colourful with it

[sorrelchestnut]

Weirdly one of my favorite things they did with the ships was the zero-G physics. The first time I watched one of the fighter ships do a perfect flip-and-turn on a random axis I actually sucked in a breath in delight, it was so clever and well-executed. So many things about the show had so much thought and care put into them.

[quillusquillus]

yes!! several times I've heard watchers/reviewers mock the clean 180° turns and stuff as "badly animated" and I just want to grab them by the lapels and shake them like no you don't understand that was literally the coolest shit ever!!

Like, the Babylon team even put in the little maneuvering thruster flares and stuff in the correct sequences if you watch closely on the human fighter ships. People were used to the Star Wars style space airplanes at that time (and clearly still are) so there was no reason for them to go to that level of detail and realism and effort, they did it purely for the love of the game

[thefreakmeister]

great things are happening in my notes app

[thefreakmeister]

i have more ideas and ill write them up later trust me

[ford-ye-fiji]

If you’re looking for a sci-fi show with….

Realistic takes on technology

Political intrigue and high drama

Complex, strong, and likable female characters

Fun and distinct alien cultures

Infuriating, scary, and delightful villains

Found family and beautiful friendships

Respectful portrayal of religion in a scientifically oriented show

Characters that grow, change, learn, and progress

Strong male leads who portray wise and intelligent leaders

Fantastically complex, fun, and interesting side characters

The ability to balance each character's unique style of humor with seriousness and sincerity

One of the greatest romances of the century

The profoundness of truth

and much more, then Babylon 5 is the show for you

[chickentendrsanfries]

Bortus from The Orville has truly the most insane queer family in media imaginable...

Like you got the Gay Aliens from Heterophobic Gay Alien Planet where Women Bad and non-gay aliens are put in jail:

Bortus, a panicked bisexual

Bortus's husband Klyden, a heterophobic transphobic-coded but actually somehow cis-phobic misogynistic intersex-coded transgender gay alien,

And their intersex-coded trans but actually also cis daughter Topa

Like when people talk about "weird queer representation" I do in fact picture this fucked up little family

Incredible. I want to draw them at a pride parade post-Klyden redemption arc but I don't even think I'd know what flags to use

[audible-smiles]

all of you people who inevitably get horny for the weirdest, grottiest old man aliens on 90s tv shows (u kno who u are) need to watch Farscape so I can watch you struggle emotionally with the existence of Scorpius

[audible-smiles]

he’s the most tone-deaf, balls-to-the-wall ridiculous villain character imaginable. he’s an orphan, he’s a child abuse survivor, he’s mixed race, he has assistive tech and chronic pain, and he’s a fascist! he’s darth vader in fetish leather. he’s like if Loki was gross. he can see your aura. he has a chin thong. AND HE WANTS THAT WORMHOLE TECHNOLOGY!!!

[dreamxeyes]

And let’s not forget he puts a chip in his enemies head to get information so our main hero is stuck with an imaginary scorpius in his head that says shit like this.

[mayra-quijotescx]

[ID: IF of Scorpius, with a tacky bright button-down shirt over his typical fetish gear, saying “Kill her! Then we’ll have pizza and margarita shooters!” End ID.]

[beemovieerotica]

[shyrusstone]

"F I v e. H u n d r e d. C i g g a r e t t e s.'

[winter-wise]

Howl truly is the man of all time. He’s a playboy. He’s a malewife. He fell in love with a ninety year old woman. He’s a rugby player. He smells like hyacinths. He’s not a natural blond. When dying his hair went slightly wrong, he filled his home with slime. He has a PhD. He’s a wizard. He found a way to another universe and he told absolutely nobody about it. He makes video games about the magical universe for his nephews. He can’t play the guitar. He always takes a guitar with him when he’s trying to seduce a woman. He’s a self-proclaimed coward. He got drunk to trick himself into doing something dangerous. He overcharges for his services to rich people. He undercharges for his services to poor people. A woman invaded his home and declared herself his cleaning lady and he just let her stay. He loves spiders. He lies about his surname to everyone, including royalty. The true spelling of his first name is Howell, but we don’t find out until halfway through the book because the POV character thinks it’s spelled Howl. He’s even Welsh.

[greysectorpod]

[cosmosrebellion]

This is what I love about Babylon 5, and sci-fi shows in general, you have a character with an extremely goofy design deliver an extremely compelling speech about the nature of hate.

[thestargayzingbackup]

The brilliance of Londo is that he goes through all these deeply complex and emotional character arcs.... and through the entire time he sounds like That. Just the goofiest made up weird ass european/russian/slavic/french/whatever the fuck accent he has delivering some genuinely powerful emotional dialogue. This is something I think a lot of modern sci fi stuff doesn't really have anymore.

[jezmatronwrites]

Londo's whole redemption arc is amazing. The way season one sets up G'Kar as this sneak as well, who seems to be a reactionary despite his people's well founded resentment. It feels like the set up to so many sci fi "race feuds". And then we learn about the horrors and we see G'Kars genuine grief, especially as the second Narn war kicks off.

His speech to Sheridan and the league, London's stoic mask that cracks with barely concealed horror as the "grandeur" of the republic is shown to be nothing but gilded cruelty.

And it's done with these prosthetics and cardboard sets that give off so much more pathos. It's something I feel gets so lost in modern sci-fi which almost seems scared of silence or depth, relying on flashy space fights (which B5 had but used to great effect).

It's my single favourite sci fi franchise.

[yeomanstuff]

One of my favorite things Babylon Five does is with not just the relationship between Londo and G’Kar, or their relationship with the other characters, but how it frames them meta-textually.

When it starts London is framed as the kinda shady, maybe slightly scummy guy who is, ultimately, on the protagonists’ side. Meanwhile G’Kar is framed as aggressive to the protagonists, at best he’s an ineffectual comedy villain who gets his comeuppance.

And then that slowly changes over the first two, two and a half seasons. As Londo sells his soul more and more, as the Centauri again brutalize the Narn, but even worse. As G’Kar sells his pride to help his people in even small ways.

Until Londo is, at best an unwilling accomplice to genocide, and at worst an enabler of it, if not active participant, and G’Kar is one of the protagonists most trusted allies.

And this isn’t just a show going on long enough this happened, this was planned. This has foreshadowing.