#(( plot plot plot plot

thought to do something really fun to motivate myself to do scary things/ outside my comfort zone !!

10 notes - practice guitar

20 notes - sleep by 8pm

50 notes - i will post every single day for 2 weeks

100 notes - go for a run

150 notes - clean out any section of my room (listen im a usually tidy person but i live with a little racoon (not literally lol) who happens to leave a mess everywhere)

200 notes - i will not go on any device for a whole day

500 notes - make a highly detailed post on any topics (but u guys have to give ideas!! - ask away in the tea box)

1k notes - i will say hello to my crush (timbers are being shivered rn)

2k notes - talk to my friend about something that has been bothering me

5k notes - i will attempt a conversation with my crush (idk why i'm doing this now) yes i will provide a story

10k notes - i will tell my crush i think he looks good (we most likely won't get to here tho hopefully) and dw i will provide a story

B5 s02e19 Divided Loyalties Table of Contents • previous episode

Delenn: "I find the notion of the press a…fascinating, but sometimes troubling concept."

I find the notion that the Minbari don't have press to be a fascinating but potentially troubling concept!

The machine that dispenses Universe Today but requires that you confirm your identity to get a paper is wild. Does it give different papers to different people?

Delenn: "It is good to know what your people are thinking and saying about my people. And, uh, I often learn things about my own world before I'm told what I need to know and no more."

She is so cute!! And so crafty!! I liked Delenn from The Gathering, but I like her more and more whenever she appears.

A flood on a space station seems like it could get really really bad, really really fast.

I once read a hilarious fanfic where some Star Wars characters traveled to B5 and bought a shitload of data crystals, which turned out to be kyber, and this reminded me of that.

When I was looking up what the episode was called, I saw that Lyta-from-the-Gathering would be coming back and I'm so excited for this! I hope she and Talia get along.

asddkhfsdkfh what was that little shimmy?? Cool alien, hilarious shoulder wiggles.

Sheridan: "oh, I miss trees…." Garibaldi, from Mars: "……" *yeah, so anyway changing the subject now*

Talia: It's hard to believe it's taken us so long to get to this point. Two years. Susan: Well, you didn't exactly make it easy. Talia: Me? how 'bout you? Susan: I'll have you know I've been nothing but compassionate and understanding. I mean, all you had to do was admit that you were wrong and I was right and everything would be fine!

LMAO.

Sleepover? Sleepover!!! GAY GIRLS GO

Susan: "I'd like the company."

Yeah I'd like her company, too. *eyebrow waggle*

Wow, Lyta had a rough arrival! Maybe she can sleep over with Susan and Talia, too. *eyebrow waggle*

Go Lyta Go. I support unhinged women wielding surgical tools.

Poor Lyta has spent years being distrusted and interrogated by psicorps for what she saw in Kosh's mind. I'd be pretty twitchy after that, too! Their tender loving care seems like it would be the exact oppposite.

She is even hotter than she was in the Gathering.

OK, love the exposition about the fucked up things psi corps can do with people's brains. Fucking terrifying. Implant a personality below their personality, that emerges and destroys the original when the right time comes around. Moles that don't know they're moles. Very uncool of PsiCorps.

Lyta is SO paranoid, but I suspect she isn't being paranoid enough. She's shockingly tolerant of being placed in secure holding. I don't think I'd agree to be literally imprisoned that readily. She hasn't done anything but come out of anesthesia swinging surgical tools after being imprisoned by PsiCorps for two years.

Delenn!!!

Sheridan: Why is it every time you finally get things calmed down and everything's going great life decides to kick you in the butt? Delenn: …but what?

That really got me and I lol'ed. Good use of idioms and miscommunication! Love it. She wasn't taught slang because it was considered innapropriate for a member of the religious caste.

Delenn: I butt, you butt, he or she butts… Sheridan: NO. No, it's… Delenn: Butt-butt. Sheridan: you sound like a motorboat. Delenn: Motor butt?

I continue to cackle. OK, I finally ship them. They reeled me in!

Hold her hand back you fucking monkey!!

The debates and counter-intelligence and fact checking is A+. Damn you JMS for making me like Garibaldi via the excellent Garibaldi-Sheridan interactions. :|

Sleepover date!! I am so excited. Susan knows how to woo a woman: with a real, hot-water shower. It would work on me.

More good exposition. Talia knew Lyta, she was six months behind Talia at the academy. She was nice, sweet. They were close at one time. *eyebrow waggle*

It speaks very well of Lyta that she hated her PsiCop internship and went commercial instead.

"So I've come to the decision that there's only one person on this station that I can trust implicitly…" *gets in Susan's personal space and stares at her lips* "…you." *almost touches Susan with bare fingers* me: *goes absolutely fucking feral*

Why tf is Lyta a prisoner?! I ask a-fucking-gain. This is ridiculous, and exposes her and her mission to the goddamn EarthCorps brown shirts!

Yeah, well obviously someone wanted to shoot at her when she was being transferred! This is why she should be having a gay-ass sleepover with Talia and Susan right now!

At least they don't think Lyta instigated the attack on herself. They're ass-backwards about this. She shows up with news of a secret, they imprison her where any security staff could find out, including the goddamn leak she was talking about, and then Sheridan is mad and shocked someone knew she was there with critical info. C'mon, dude.

Also Susan, <3, Sheridan is right about one thing, this isn't a scan to object to, it's just her projecting a code word to see if anyone reacts.

Talia: "I woke up last night and you were gone." Me: [beast shaking toy in mouth.jpeg]

O.o WHAT IS SUSAN LYING ABOUT. Is she telepathic???? It's my long-running headcanon about her! Please be telepathic, please be. If we get to find out that her mom used her telepathy to hide Susan's powers that would be EVERYTHING to me.

If only Na'Toth and Laurel were in this episode also being badasses it would be the greatest of all time.

c'mon telepathic Susan! C'mon!! omfg I'm almost vibrating.

"…and then, every once in awhile, I was the one who touched her mind."

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP FUCK YES I AM WELL FED THIS EPISODE

"…I'm a latent telepath."

FUCKING WINNING

Now Sheridan just needs to not be an idiot about this. Obviously she hid it, who wants to be fucking gangpressed into PsiCorps?!

Good job, Sheridan. Minimal shittiness achieved. And I know I'm completely fucking feral about Susan/Talia but it's so perfect that Susan is so close to Sheridan that he's the first person she tells about her hidden talent.

Smart of Garibaldi to hand over his piece before being not-scanned. What a fucker tho, faking them out. hahah.

also please don't be the mole, Ivanova. I don't want anything bad to have happened to her, ever, but since plenty has, I don't want any more!!

After all these people have been cleared, I think Ivanova will probably just agree to being cleared. She will want to know. Maybe she would let Lyta tell Talia the password and let Talia password her?

I do like Sheridan's theory earlier talking to Garibaldi that the second in command who shot Garibaldi in the back was the mole.

Ahhhh Ivanova did change her mind. And she's clean!

Lyta: I'm sorry Susan: Go to hell.

That's my girl.

Oh man!! I didn't even think to suspect Talia! Fuuuuuuuck, and she's all telekinetic'ed up, too!! Oh, damn it. I don't like this at all.

or do I? There's plenty of whump to be had. hm.

You know what I really don't like, this boys-only confab. Ivanova is the second in command of the entirety of B5 and she's not present for the strategy meeting. Uncool.

Ahhhh it's all coming together for Garibaldi. Wow, they really have been seeding this plotline for the whole show!! Cool Hat Man Mind Empty No Thoughts Only Hat wasn't just fun filler!

The Talia that Susan knew definitely has to be in there! They haven't kissed yet! And I need that!!

Oh, this is chilling!! The angst! The whump!! Susan!!!

I think it would be really funny if the sub-personality didn't understand homosexuality and therefore has no idea real!Talia was in love with Susan and vice versa.

OK now I weirdly ship Lyta/Kosh.

"I never told them, I never told anyone. I hid it all away in the smallest, tiniest corner of my mind. They could have killed me and they still wouldn't have found it. Only at night, alone, would I open that small door in my mind where I kept the memory of you and listened to your voice. Listened to you sing me to sleep. I hope I can come back again, but I don't know. Until then, Kosh, I want to see you again. Just one more time before I go."

Lyta's a bonafide monsterfucker. What a great note to end this on!

My thoughts right now are: "Hnnnnnngggggshshshcsagfjkaldsf yes." Good episode! My favorite of the season so far! I can't wait to see how all this plays out!! I may make some gifs and do a gif-post of this ep later. So many good shots!

The next instalment will be the end of this arc. But don’t worry, there’ll be more soon enough.

Masterlist

Tropes and CWs: Hunting, some swearing (you can tell this is still Mika’s POV).

Mika held the bowstring taut against his ear, waiting for the stag to step into his sights. The position never held well for long and part of him feared he’d been too hasty in drawing back, as his shoulders trembled with the strain.

He wouldn’t normally have taken on a stag, not in rutting season anyway—this beast looked to be twice Mika’s weight, thick in the neck, with a full head of antlers indicating his maturity. Mika did not feel like being on the receiving end of those antlers. He’d seen the damage they’d done to some of the surrounding trees.

But food was food, and they were running out.

The stag looked around the trees, eyes lingering on Mika’s hiding place. Mika held his breath, his heart hammering. One twitch at the wrong time could send it charging. He’d foreseen it enough to position himself carefully, in a narrow gap between trees, but a stag could still outrun him. Worse still, he had an arrow ready to loose and no manoeuvrability in front of him. This had been a terrible idea.

The cold sank into gloveless hands, numbing his fingers on the bow. He wished he’d taken better advantage of the chemical warmers Ari had crafted.

The stag turned his head away, snorting breath-clouds from his nostrils. It would have been a perfect shot if he’d only been a little farther to the left. Mika released what tension he could on the bow, wincing as he did. The string wasn’t designed for its user changing their mind once committed. His quarry paused, as if listening.

Then ran. His hooves kicked up a trail of autumn leaves, carrying him away… to a mate? To safety? Mika took a random shot through the trees, operating on a prayer rather than anything else. The arrow sailed clear of the stag, hitting a birch a few feet from where it had originally stood.

Mika swore. A thirty-minute hunt, wasted. He went to retrieve his arrow, leaving behind his own bad-tempered trail of disturbed leaves. No point in staying quiet anymore. He yanked the arrow free with a grunt, his movements loud and out of place. If he paused he could hear a woodpecker, a rustling breeze, the roar of a distant stag. Sounds of the forest that ought to give him some clues for another meal and yet here he was, sulking like a child who hadn’t gotten his way. He sighed, rubbing sweat away. There was no way he was returning to the cabin empty-handed.

The woods exploded with movement.

Mika barely had time to register what was happening, let alone move aside. Deer charged past on either side of him, long legs galloping over rocks and fallen trees. A young buck almost followed the same trail as his rival. Mika fumbled for his bow, cursing his clumsy fingers, but the deer had vanished by the time he’d nocked an arrow. The woodpecker drilled harder and louder, as though mocking the second chance he’d lost.

Mika leaned into a nearby tree, puffing fog, trying to snap himself to his senses. He should have expected it from the season. He’d seen the males chasing the does back in late summer. Just a standard part of the rutting process.

Except… the younger males didn’t like to take on the big stags, did they? If the state of the nearby trees was anything to go by, that stag from earlier had left his scent everywhere. And the buck didn’t appear to have been chasing any females, either. That implied something had disturbed a local breeding ground. Mika cast a nervous glance at his surroundings. Too soon to jump to any conclusions, but his hunter’s instincts were screaming at him to get out. He took a southward step, back towards the cabin.

The woodpecker sounded wrong. No pauses in its drilling, and it was getting louder. Mika froze mid-step, then grabbed a tree and pulled himself against the trunk. Whatever it was, he was taking no chances.

Something took away the sun.

Certain he’d misinterpreted it, Mika looked up. He immediately wished he hadn’t. A dark shape sailed almost directly above his head, the shape of a bird without wings. An iron bird, Mika thought, frantically searching his memory for anything like it. The bird lifted a breeze that coaxed high leaves from the treetops, and then passed on. Heading south, towards the cabin.

Ari.

Mika took off running, just as the deer had done. Only he was no deer, and his stupid human feet stumbled over every uneven patch of ground. A wild boar would have been more graceful. He charged past trees, barged through ferns, ignored thorny brambles and spiteful nettles. By the time he was halfway back he was bleeding through the snags on his sleeves, with stinging pains in his hands and face—and there was no longer any sign or sound of the iron bird.

Gasping, Mika bent into his knees. It had been a while since he’d run quite as frantically as that, and his body protested the idea of a second sprint. Instead he moved at a speed-walk, taking care to step around the traps he’d laid down. It would be a poor show if, in going to warn Ari, he snared himself.

Still a silent forest—eerily silent, the kind of silence that raised Mika’s hackles. It was only when the clearing came into sight that he realised the iron bird had landed.

“Oh, fuck.” Mika retreated further inside the treeline, staring wildly at this new scene. People. The bird had been carrying people—more in one go than he’d ever seen in his life. They’d scattered across half the clearing by this point. He squinted to see if Ari was among them, but found it near-impossible to make anyone out. Just a bunch of featureless shapes, half-camouflaged against the grass. He shuddered.

Even if he couldn’t see their faces, he knew they meant trouble for Ari.

Shouts carried across the clearing. Shouts he couldn’t make out, that might have been speaking any language. Mika thought he heard the cabin door slam.

Ari?

A hand clamped over his mouth, cutting off his whispered dismay. Someone breathed ragged breaths into his ear.

Mika spun his shoulder back and drove his elbow into his assailant’s ribs.

Part 16

“Oooo,” Remus clicks his tongue at the floating camera. “Is this the best interrogation tactics SHIELD produces these days? Tommy, is that why you had to outsource to HYDRA for a decent guard dog?”

Thomas doesn’t necessarily make a noise that can be heard over the comms, but it’s not hard to picture from the stiff silence that he’s wearing the same expression he usually does when Dee and his questionable past is mentioned.

“At least try a little waterboarding first. Or strangulation...” Remus wiggles in his seat, licking his lips. “Be a little creative kiddies. Make me scream.”

Logan looks like he has several scathing things to say in response, which is an entertaining dichotomy when he’s side by side with Patton’s confused expression.

But before anyone can say anything, thunder crackles around the plane. Roman stands in front of Remus, looking every inch like an identical twin that the myths have made them out to be. His cloak sways with static energy and the air burns to breathe in.

“Brainwashing,” Roman says. “You’ve never had that power before.”

Remus leans forward as much as the belt will allow him. “Do you really think I would steal some toys from Asgard’s vault and not play with them, Roman? Turns out the Mind Key.... it’s not just a key.”

"Listen, Noblesse. Listen. You can't trust Frankenstein. He tricked me too. I thought he hadn't any control over that weapon. Didn't want to hurt anyone. I was wrong. But I know why."

Raizel is indignant.

"…I know why he did it," she murmurs.

"I have heard enough."