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jenniferstolzer · 3 years

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Babylon 5 rewatch Episode 2.22: The Fall of Night

Babylon 5 is at the center of not one but three conflicts as John Sheridan agrees to shelter a wounded Narn cruiser. The Centauri don’t like this. Earth doesn’t like this. The Shadows don’t like this. But Sheridan has a strong moral compass and what he doesn’t like is how much the institutions around him are willing to sacrifice in the name of forging some kind of cursory peace.

Things I liked about The Fall of Nighit

1, Lennier and Vir’s friendship. If you ask me Vir, could be friends with literally anyone. He’s such an understanding soul. Lennier is by nature a little judgey. More closed off. So when they sit down next to each other and discover how much they have in common both of them look at each other like “hello what” and automatically agree to meet again. But even this exchange is done almost like spies meeting and I don’t think we stop to think about that very often. These are the attaches of two ambassadors for two of the most powerful races in the galaxy… they could very well be exchanging state secrets instead of expressing solidarity for their equally frustrating jobs.

2, The Centauri are apparently willing to put their ships on autopilot and black out from g forces if it means when they come to they’ll be in a better firing position. This seems extremely reckless and VERY Centauri. It is the spacebattle equivalent of the hair. Big. Flashy. Not well thought through.

3, In the wake of the mass driver bombing, Sheridan gives Londo an opportunity to speak and Londo is like “NOPE” and jets before he says something that’s going to get him and his whole race in more trouble than they already are. Garibaldi then reads Londo like a literal book, delivering one of my favorite analyses of the character. Everyone thought Londo was a clown, indulging in opulence, going into debt at the casino, drinking himself to a stupor in public, but Garibaldi was his friend and knows that Londo’s not dumb, he’s actually very smart and his mind moves really fast. His error is in his judgment and priorities and he’s currently in waters he did not expect to tread. He’s scared, and he’s going to keep darting in and out of cover until he feels like he has a handle on things or he gets picked off by a hunter, whichever comes first. Also a very classic JMS line “He’s a pain in the butt, but he’s our pain in the butt.” Hunt for that or similar lines in other JMS stuff, he loves that line.

4, The ache of watching McCarthysim at work is very effective. Zach knows the guys he’s ratting on don’t deserve to be ratted on and even says so. “They’re just fooling around” but we can tell by the level of interest and tone of the Nightwatch captian’s voice that they’re gonna get blackballed. Zach can’t deny that they said what they said, but can tell that ratting them out is the wrong thing to do. In the end he relents with a bunch of qualifications but the Nightwatch doesn’t want qualifications. They want names. Thank you for your service.

5, I love that the guy there to ally with the Centauri is from the Ministry of Peace. So poignant. They’ll get peace all right, by paying off the aggressors.

6, When the Narn ship was coming under threat by the Centauri warship, Sheridan opened a line to Londo just to spit in his face and hang up. It was amazing. Also during this crisis, Sheridan whips out a law book to smack the Nightwatch guy back in his hole. Sinclair would be proud.

7, Watching B5 come under attack is so emotionally stirring. Even on a rewatch, I don’t want to see it hurt.

8, We have arrived! The scene where Kosh reveals himself. I love that G’Kar is hiding in the plants – like he’s not a huge gecko man who people are going to notice. I also love how plaintiff his voice is, thinking if he speaks on Sheridan’s behalf it’ll help him in the political shitshow he’s currently in. I mean he’s issuing this apology for helping a Narn ship and G’Kar is very very very grateful for that. Also B5 blew up a Centauri warship so he’s pretty grateful for that too, I mean come on… I like that B5 has like a standard subway system in the middle of it and that they let the Puppet Friends ride. I miss the puppet friends. I love that the rotational gravity system means there’s a weightless portion in the center of hydroponics and that we used that to our advantage in this story. Also the vorlons in their native form play on the perception of the lesser races. They are light beings, and humans see them as angels. The rest of the races see them as prophets or gods, but none of these perceptions are perfect. We see wings and white robes and think Angel, but Kosh didn’t appear like a rennaissance painting. He’s got a butterfly look to him, too. The face he wears is a facsimile of a human not an exact human. He’s not perfect, we’re just in awe. Love that.

9 And finally a lot has been said about why Londo doesn’t see anything when Kosh appears. He’s been touched by the Shadows, so he can’t be converted by the Vorlons b/c we’re playing a game of Othello today I guess. Maybe because he doesn’t actually believe in his pantheon of gods so he doesn’t have any deities to witness. Maybe he’s lying because what he saw was his own greed and vanity. The general consensus is the first – that he’s incapable of seeing the light because he’s in the dark. For a fresh take on it, let’s look at the Vorlons through this lens. Kosh said before that if he revealed himself everyone would know him… I take this as being a side effect of being Vorlon. Vorlons are a feeling not an image. Like Magenta. Magenta’s not a real color, it exists on the color wheel because something has to connect red and purple on the color spectrum… but the spectrum of visible light is actually a straight line. The wavelengths for red and purple are far from touching, but our brains can perceive when they’re both present, so Magenta occurs. It’s imaginary, but we see it for real with our eyes. That’s Vorlons. Perhaps Londo saw a shapeless light thing in the sky, perhaps that’s what Vorlons really are… or perhaps they have no visible representation at all until they hit our brains. Our eyeballs behold something, but our brains have to construct it out of pieces. When the rest of the galaxy looked at Kosh they used the color wheel to construct him, but Londo was only given the wavelengths. He saw nothing, because nothing was there to see. I really wish there was another Centauri there to be like “I saw the goddess Li welcoming me to her arms!” and Londo’s over there like “I’m the problem” instead of not really answering that question. Maybe it’s answered in season 3, I don’t know. Did Vir see anyone up there? He must have been on break.

What I like Less about 22

1, So here’s where I’m going to talk about Keffer. I know the origin story…. that he was an unwelcome addition to the cast added per network request, but who the hell is he other than that? I think its remarkable how he slips right out of my head the minute he is off camera. We know he’s a pilot, that he was close to Carlos (whose story/death you may recall I was laughing at in a previous episode because its significance ALSO came out of nowhere), and that he made friends with the GROPOS grunts (who we incidentally learned to care about enough in that one episode that we were sad when they died…. Awkward considering Keffer’s contribution to this episode…) Honestly the most interesting thing about him is that he’s got an old-timey fighter pilot scarf he wears and he believes in ghosts and I bet you all forgot about the ghosts. Honestly, the most interesting thing about Keffer is how he’s a lesson in how not to write an interesting character – and no shade on JMS for that, I know he did it on purpose. Significant things happening to a character does not automatically make them a strong character. Keffer experienced loss, came face to face with the shadows, got in fights… a lot of stuff happened to him, but he was almost always the only named character in those scenes. We cared about the GROPOS because they cared about each other and we responded to that. Keffer was there to play cabbage head and ask questions. He’s not tight with any of our main cast who we’ve had tons more time to grow attached to, and dies for plot reasons without leaving an impact with his loss. Heck, you can see the value of interpersonal relationships on character development in action when the show used a shoehorn to try and force some in in context to Carlos a second and a half before he died. We had him drinking at the bar with command staff suddenly, we had him die as a result of a flight mission Sheridan was part of to make Sheridan feel guilty about it. Everyone was standing around going like “No, Not Ramirez” and if you recall on my previous episode writeup I was LAUGHING at how tortured this sudden human connection was. Keffer could have been made interesting. Follow me on this.

My treatment on how to make Keffer interesting:

Let’s say Keffer was introduced as an old friend of one of our characters – Fraknlin let’s say. He was a friend from the Minbari War days that helped him sneak behind enemy lines. Perhaps he was complicit in the covering up and destruction of Franklin’s notes on Minbari anatomy. As a result, the two hang out in medbay sometimes, talking about old times and comparing the current war to the one they fought together. We learn that Keffer has a fire for justice. Hates bullies. Sees the strong as absolute defenders of the weak and that any stronger race picking on a weaker one is a bigger coward than the unvierse can hold. Then when Carlos gets killed by the ghost he starts researching what it could be. Kosh and Delenn tell him to stay out of it. The audience assumes he’s going to uncover something and bring Franklin and other characters into Delenn and Sheridan’s confidence about the shadows through curiosity and honor, but we’re learning through the episodes that the Shadows are IMMENSELY powerful and have no patience for flies. When he breaks off from his squad to go have a looksee at what he suspects led to his personal friend Carlos’s death, we know this is going to kill him. He ignores the warnings of those who have more awareness and dies to bring back evidence of the Shadows to the station. Sheridan recognizes how Keffer’s curiosity and sense of judgment led to recklessness, something Sheridan himself is prone to. He vows not to let Keffer die in vain, but also states that the proof he got has changed everything… and that Sheridan would have done the same. Killing your men in the name of a mission is never the goal but there’s a line everyone crosses when the safety of the universe is at stake and sometimes things are worth dying for. Franklin walks into medbay, casts a look to the counter where Keffer used to sit all those nights, and turns away.

But that’s not what happen. Keffer’s dead now and I don’t miss him. Glad he emailed the Shadows to ISN five nanoseconds before he died.

Babylon 5 is now the last best hope for victory because sometimes peace is another word for surrender and because secrets have a way of getting out. On to season 3!

#Babylon 5 #babylon 5 rewatch #season 2 #episode 22 #babylon 5 spoilers #art #jenstoart #kosh #john sheridan

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neriad13 · 4 years

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I spent today fleshing out my Persephone headcanons and inventing Rapture-specific prison slang. =D

Persephone Prison Slang

Upstairs - Fontaine Futuristics, i.e. “They took him upstairs two nights ago. Ain’t seen him since.”

FF - Fontaine Futuristics, i.e. “Ay Dios mio! The ‘ol FF didn’t get that one right!”

Penthouse - the rest of Rapture, i.e. “Well...okay...maybe things are like that up in the Penthouse but here...they don’t have to be.”

Basement-level - Persephone, i.e. “So what’d you do to make it Basement-level, comrade?”

Sub-basement - Persephone’s woman’s wing, which is smaller and has less amenities than the men’s, i.e. “She’s Sub-basement. Apparently their infirmary can’t handle fourth degree burns.”

Sun - the surface, i.e. “Yeah, I’ve got two sons under the sun. I was planning to invite them down once I was settled but...well…”

Splicy - a badly deformed splicer, i.e. “You think you’re ever gonna see sun again, splicy?”

Square - inmate who has not been notably deformed by splicing, i.e. “So, in here, you’ve got your splicys and you’ve got your squares. It’s best to stick to your own group.”

Meatpackers - infirmary workers. Best known for packing the bodies of inmates who have died of something interesting in ice, for shipment to Fontaine Futuristics for further study, i.e. “Goddamn meatpackers wouldn’t refill my morphine drip.”

Chronic - an inmate who returns to Fontaine Futuristics for product testing more often than what’s required in order to get high/satisfy ADAM cravings, i.e. “Poor guy’s a chronic now. Won’t be long before he takes the big nap.”

Matchstick - a new arrival who has never spliced before, i.e. “That matchstick you’re bunking with get burnt up yet?”

The Brig - solitary confinement, i.e. “They threw him in the brig after he dumped a load of bees on Wilson’s head.”

Big Man - Sinclair, i.e. “Plasmids, gene tonics - whatever it is, it goes through us first. The Big Man turns a profit renting us out.”

Cherry Juice - ADAM. Also shortened to ‘Juice’, i.e. “You got the juice, bucko?”

Steve - covert way of referring to EVE, i.e. “Seen Steve lately?” “Nah, he’s been gone awhile.”

Persephone Headcanons

- Warden Weir isn’t spliced - he’s just badass. He maintains control through sheer brutality and force of personality. He regularly wades into splicer fights to break them up himself.

- The woman’s wing is badly overcrowded and understaffed, which gave Lamb a lot more freedom to move around it than she would have otherwise. Sinclair’s plans to expand it were cancelled after control of Persephone was wrested from him.

- There’s a system of appeals that a prisoner can go through to attempt to secure their freedom, but most everyone knows that the paperwork gets thrown away the second you file it. A few people become obsessed with the desperate hope of getting themselves out this way but most accept that they’re going to be here for the long haul. Harold Parson appealed for years before losing hope.

- The commissary is stocked with overpriced luxury items to tempt inmates into volunteering for product testing and can be accessed during all daylight hours. Non-slop food can also be purchased from the “Sinclair’s Deluxe Meals” menu. A lot of people stay sane by buying little luxuries for themselves now and then. But there’s a danger in falling too deeply into that mindset and needing those luxuries to get by. The more money they need, the more money they need to earn and the only way most people can earn money, they well know, is by exchanging their health and humanity at Fontaine Futuristics.

- In the beginning, all test subjects were chosen at random, drugged and shipped off to Fontaine Futuristics. After Sinclair implemented the volunteer system, the number of involuntary testing stints dropped, but did not cease. Fontaine Futuristics sends Persephone a weekly quota they need filled, which often cannot be done with volunteers alone. Inmates are chosen based on how recently they were Upstairs, how many times they’ve tested products and how many favors the guard doing the kidnapping (usually after lights out) owes them. Old timers who have done this multiple times are pretty chill about it and try to get it over with as quickly and smoothly as possible. It’s considerably scarier for first timers, for whom they often have to break out the ether.

- There’s a huge, overt gambling ring headed by Dodge, a former mafia don. His lackeys are always somewhere close by to facilitate bets on fights, games and cockroach races. He’s also in the business of loans. Every so often, after a fight caused by a gambling dispute or a mysterious death happens, there’s a crackdown on his business, but it never lasts. After all, a good chunk of the prison staff are in his pocket too.

- The Persephone economy is entirely cash-based, in order to facilitate spending in the commissary. Everyone has a spot where they hide their savings and they can usually whip out a wad of cash from nowhere at a second’s notice. Stealing from a cell in which its occupant is not present is considered to be an action of the lowest parasitical caliber. But beating up the occupant and then taking their things is fine, as they did earn the things with the sweat of their brow.

- Persephone is home to common thieves, murderers and grifters, but a not-insignificant part of the population are political prisoners who have been jailed for their outspoken Collectivist views. These are the ones who try to make Persephone a better place than the one they were exiled from. They help the ones who are suffering the most as best they can. They do favors without expecting recompense. When someone threatens a weaker inmate, if they are able to, they step in to help. The rare occasions they are allowed to be together are the thing that keeps them going.

- There’s a divide between the Splicys and the Squares - partially staff mandated, partially cultural. The general rule of thumb is that the more heavily spliced someone is, the more unstable they are and the more danger they present to the general population. Splicys and Squares are generally kept in separate cell blocks. In the cafeteria, they sit at different tables. Interaction between them is minimized as much as possible. The Squares are afraid of the Splicys because in them, they see their own future. Sometimes this fear manifests as outright anger, which leads to devastating violence. Every Square knows that he’ll become a Splicy himself someday.

- The line between Splicy and Square is not always clear and is based more on physical deformity than anything else. A Splicy could be someone whose single splice led to a very visible physical deformity. A Square could be someone who’s spliced over and over but experienced little in side effects.

- Not all Splicys have lost their minds. A lot of them are just disabled individuals who are now dealing with ostracization on top of everything else.There are Squares who secretly keep up contact with their friends who have gone over to the other side.

- Plasmid Theater contestants are chosen based on who has the least messed up face. Can’t be showing the public any horrifying side effects. Every so often someone will volunteer for the job, but it tends to be a very short lived appointment, as it’s an environment where things can go wrong very, very easily.

- The majority of Plasmid Theater demonstrations are supposed to be non-lethal, but accidents and “accidents” are rampant. Every so often a rich investor will sponsor a lethal fight, either for fun or to witness the destructive potential of plasmids for personal security use. A prisoner is normally worth more alive than dead to Sinclair, but if the price is right, he’ll provide.

#bioshock #bioshock 2 #persephone #yeeeeee #I'm finally getting a handle on these chapters #a thought #fanfiction

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slashersdownsouth · 5 years

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S/O with a Motor Tic Disorder

Hey, i don't know if asks are open right now so ignore this if they aren't (sorry never done this before). Anyways i was wondering if you could do some of the slashers with a s/o that has a tic disorder? Thank you!!!! I love your writing!!

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Howdy~

Thank you for the kind words~ very encouraging! If motor skills is something of a struggle, I hope everything gets better for you. Right now I have a lot of slasher matchups to work on, but I'm taking a little break for this reactions post - thought it was really good. But don't worry friends - I'm working hard!

Alrighty, let's begin!

Request By: @this-is-just-an-alias

Michael Myers

'Biting the lip'

• When he first met you, he knew something was different about you..

• You seemed ordinary enough to him, honestly.

• He knew you biting your lip was a thing, per se, but he didn't realize it was brought on by anxiety

• He saw you on the phone with a relative, he saw you getting jumpy and looking a bit flustered. Then he noticed it - the way the biting turned into nibbling and chewing

• "She's eating her face." he's thinking

• Once you explain, he won't think too much of it

• He doesn't mind it, it's a thing of yours and he's not one to judge on things.

• He'll probably just walk up to you and slide your lip out from between your teeth with his finger

• If that doesn't help, he'll steal you some lip balm so you don't chap up too much or so it can at least taste good

Thomas Hewitt

'obscene gestures/words'

• Thank goodness Sheriff Hoyt has a sense of humor, you flipping off the other victims while getting in the backseat of the car was the only reason you're still alive today

• You kept your hand up the entire time in the car , even when you walked in

• Of course, now at the dinner table, you calmed a bit, but the tension was high and so were your stress levels

• Now Luda Mae thought it was nice to have a guest, and an attractive one at that.. *wink wink Thomas*.

• Thomas kept his eye on you, he wasn't sure what, but you looked ... eerily calm but jumpy at the same time

• When Uncle Monty suddenly slammed his cane on the floor, both hands were high with the middle finger up - one at Monty and one above your head.

• Hoyt was dying, Luda Mae is trying calm you down a bit, Monty was not amused and Thomas is thinking, "what the fuck?"

• Once Luda Mae has you all calm and cleaned up, you take a moment to explain. Now she has no idea what it's like, but she can understand how much you struggle with this, so she'll take you under wing and care for you.

• She explains to Thomas it's like when she bites her nails when she's nervous and that he needs to be patient

• After nearly two years of living with the Hewitt's, it's gotten better thanks to Thomasand his mama, but sometimes Thomas will catch you flipping off the laundry hanging outside

Bubba Sawyer

'Sticking the tongue out'

• No lie, Bubba thought it was cute.

• He didn't mind the tic, cause it only happens when you're really excited about something!

• He figured that out when he presented you with jewelry he personally made just for you

• You were so giddy, your tongue just kept poking in and out of your mouth

• He knew your excitement was genuine, he'd try to groan out some incoherent words and just squeeze you with hugs

• Of course you've explained it to him it's just a tic, it could go away with time. He doesn't really want it to though, but he understands tics aren't normal for folks

• We've lost count for how many times Drayton and the boys (besides Bubba) threaten to cut off your tongue and throw it in the chilli bowl eww nasty fools

Jason Vorhees

'jerking'

• Now he met you when you were making a shitload of noise in the forest

• He understood something may have been wrong with you and you WERE alone, so he took you a cabin

• Once you saw him again, you explained your tics and how this was like a syndrome and how you jerk your arms and legs alot when your extremely anxious

• Now, he knows syndrome means sick. So you're sick. No worries, he'll take care of you.

• He'd watch you and show you around when you were generally calm. Letting you know where traps were and how to access him quickly

• He would be busy around the camp, taking care of traps and trespassers and such

• But he'd never be gone for too long in fear of you getting anxious

• He wouldn't want you to start jerking and hurt yourself

Brahms Heelshire

'wrinkling the nose'

• Now as his "caretaker", he's been observing you through the walls for weeks

• He saw how you'd scrunch up your nose when you got frustrated with anything

• It was a minor detail really - but he caught it pretty quickly

• Now it wasn't a big deal. It's just like a little scrunch.. kind of like when you smell something bad

• Thus made Brahms a little more conscious about personal hygiene thank God

• It wasn't until that new delivery boy called you out on it and made you visibly embarrassed/uncomfortable about it that he knew it was something you struggled with

• After that, he made sure to always do his best to help you and give you little eskimo (nose) kisses when you felt down

Billy Loomis

'blinking'

• When people are happy, they usually smile. Not you, you blink. Excessively.

• Now Billy, in all honesty, if he doesn't understand is gonna be all like, "can you chill the fuck out?"

• Once he knows, he'll feel a bit bad, cause this is a struggle of yours and him being a dick isn't helping.

• He'll research on how to help someone with tics, different exercises to help, write notes and try to be a little more positive around you

• When he learns that it happens when your happy, then he'll think it's kinda funny and a tiny bit cute

• If anyone tells you shit, they somehow appear on the next day's homicide news. Coincidence?

Stu Macher

'animal noises'

• Being with Stu has always been the funniest times of your day, hell, the BEST. Period

• Now, he's never spent the night, and for that you're kinda glad cause you have this "habit" of making noices when you're tired.

• One night though, he knocks on your window around 11 at night and you half asleep, just unlock it and let him crawl in

• He doesn't say much, just undresses into his tank top and boxers and slides under your covers and you just mold to him

• You know Stu though, he's a talker. He's talking about his day, and you're honestly trying to keep up but you're keep nodding off

• Then begins the "woof! woof! meow! woof!"...

• Stu is just stunned... and he's dying of laughter on the inside... he's googling "why is my gf making animal noices?"

• If he can't find anything, he's recording your ass so he can play it for you in the morning, this is your cue to explain.

• He actually thinks it's a good thing! Appreciates you sharing and tries to help should you feel down or upset about it.

Bo Sinclair

'snapping the fingers'

• Bo is a very hot-headed man, it takes a patient and strong person to deal with this slasher

• Sometimes, he says stupid shit and directs his anger at you and it's just stressful

• When the stress builds up and just pours out like a full cup, your hands have a mind of their own

• You just start snapping your fingers and it's difficult to calm your nerves to stop

• Bo never sees it first hand cause you hide it - you don't need more judgment from people who'd never understand

• One night though, Bo is blowing steam off at you again and runs out the house to check on any passing trespassers

• This is your chance to snap in the privacy of your room and you don't even realize you're crying

• You're just sitting on the bed,, crying and snapping and yea, that looks unnerving

• When Bo walks in and sees this, he thinks he finally drove you insane

• Now, everyone may not think the same, but Bo still has compassion, so when he sees this, he's heartbroken

• He'll just sit behind you and hold you close, whispering apologies to you and rubbing your arms so the nerves will relax

• Once you two talk, he'll try his best to cool it with the anger and should he hear you start to snap in future arguments, he considers that his cue to calm the fuck down and shut the fuck up

Vincent Sinclair

'twisting the neck'

• When he saw you, no lie, he thought you were trying to kill yourself via neck break

• He's thinking, "oh no, this one's a cuckoo".. might as well ease their pain

• But when he sees how your friends ignore it and leave you to do you, he thinks you're a captive and that they're torturing you "I'll save you sad girl!"

• He'll kidnap you and keep you in his art studio so you don't have to witness what he and his brother do to your friends

• Of course, you're scared shitless and this just makes the tic react even worse

• He has no idea what to do with you, honestly. He's looking through his dad's medical notes and he can't find anything

• Once you calm a bit, you willingly explain to him what a tic is, and how yours is simply twisting your neck

• Of course it's a dangerous one and sometimes your neck pops and you feel like you've given yourself whiplash, but Vincent's been so kind with you that it's actually helped your habit

• I guess living here in Ambrose won't be too bad

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

Hope you liked, will post new stuff very soon

- Cowgirl

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