#i do not like kallus/zeb and you can quote me on it

[engagemythrusters]

I think kallus/zeb is the worst thing that star wars ever tried to subtly impress (succesfully) because it's like

"oh im soooo sorry i was a large part of the genocide your people. im soooo sorry i killed one of your guard. im soooo sorry i bragged about it to you time to time. i feel bad about it now. soooo sorry" and then zeb is just supposed to go "yeah alright i forgive you no harm done"

girl. What.

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "Stealth Strike"

In which, Character Development! and other exciting features.

I mentioned the husband loves Star Wars ships right? This is another one of his favorite episodes, he loooves the Interdictor class.

Always liked this little musical flare at the beginning, already conveys a sense of urgency and danger.

Sato sounds so aggrieved that he has to have Ezra along, lol.

I mean from his perspective Ezra's just an overconfident plucky kid, he hasn't been around Ezra long enough to know how competent the boy is.

Love the staggered Force Theme prelude in the strings there, all broken up and disjointed. Once again Ezra is sensing impending danger.

Still adore the kaleidoscope color effect Rebels uses to mark being forcibly ejected/yanked from hyperspace.

Bbbyyyyyyyy. :((((

Worried Spacefamily be worried.

Hera wisely understands that the best way to infiltrate a top-secret Imperial project is to keep the aliens off the mission lol.

Kanan is being predictably petty about having to work with Rex.

"I sent Ezra... this is the only way." Ouch. I bet Hera is feeling pretty guilty and has thought a lot about this since they learned about it, so you know she's run it through a million times in her head. Probably why Kanan acquiesces to her judgment.

I wanna know the thought process behind the Imps' decision to haul Ezra and Sato in to see Titus. Like, Sato I get, he's the obvious commander of the unit but I wanna know which trooper saw Ezra and was like, "Hmm, he seems Plot Important, I better drag him along too."

Sato still very much Not Impressed with Ezra's posturing.

Hi Brom Titus!

It's hilarious that Ezra's sarcastically used "Jabba the Hutt" so often it's been logged as a known alias of his lololol.

The Giligan Cut between Rex complaining that he'd never wear Stormtrooper armor and Zeb bringing them unconscious troopers to steal the armor from. <3

"I thought it was the same one we used before." LOL. Okay, I gotta stop before I quote every line in this episode.

Can't help it, it's just so fun.

We cut to the shuttle mid-hyperspace and Rex and Kanan are still bickering, but even in the middle of that we get some lovely worried Papa Wolf Kanan hyperfocusing on Ezra as his priority.

I swear it was explained somewhere what the specific codes Rex gives meant but I can't for the life of me remember where now. Pretty sure one of them meant the shuttle was going to explode? Anyway...

Rex seems like he's having just a grand old time. This must feel just like the old days for him.

Lol Kallus getting excited about Ezra's capture and warning Titus "[...]do not underestimate that boy." He knows firsthand how much of a threat and nuisance Ezra can be.

A little variation on the Death Star theme here, kind of appropriate given this is a very similar-feeling kind of infiltration and rescue.

Maybe that's why I like this episode so much, has a lot of A New Hope vibes.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: Chopper's legs jerking as he rolls over the hump in the doorway.

The ANH vibes continue with this turbolift scene, which is just hilarious. From Rex not knowing which button to push to the Imperial officer snarking at our hero duo, it's just... *chef's kiss*

They are a disaster pair and I just love them.

Cut to the troopers that are escorting Ezra to his "secure cell" and I'm sorry, I adore this whole sequence. Ezra being a little hyper-competent badass is my whole jam, okay?

This is so clever. <3333

Ezra makes very short work of his guards, without really hurting them (something that would contrast in S3 after the whole Malachor Loss-Of-Innocence thing) and then immediately shoots his intended rescue party lololol.

I love how smoothly he moves through this whole scene. He's obviously been practicing and of course the Force operates on a principal of "the more at peace and in tune you are with yourself, the greater strength you can channel" so after his whole soul-searching in "Brothers of the Broken Horn" deal he's come to some kind of serenity within himself that lets him be just super awesome here. Love it.

<333333

Chopper immediately rats Ezra out lol.

Kanan reluctant to split up from Ezra, aww.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: The way Ezra raises his hands in aggravation when Kanan and Rex get into it again.

Ezra finally chews the two of them out for all their bickering and takes charge of the mission and you can't even tell me he didn't make Kanan just a smidge proud, with that comment about how, "He takes after Hera sometimes." <3333

No but seriously, fandom of course loves Kanan and Ezra's whole "like my father before me" vibe but let's not forget how it was Hera who first took a shine to him, who saw potential in him, who knew that he wasn't as selfish as he pretended he was, drew out that inner spark of compulsive compassion planted by his parents and has been influencing him on the Rebellion side of things to complement Kanan's Jedi teaching.

Found Family liek woah. :)

Brom Titus looking a little less confident now that the scrawny fifteen-year-old he was specifically cautioned not to underestimate has given them the slip lol.

*cries* He was so TINY!

Very glad Ezra learned binary, it enables hilarious conversations like this.

This is yet another music cue recycled from the Death Star sequence in A New Hope. Like I said, they're really leaning into that this episode.

This little troll I love him so much.

Bit of the "Shenanigans" theme as Chopper rolls up.

Can I just appreciate how well Ezra rolls with blocking shots in zero gravity?

I think Chopper enjoyed all of this a too much lol.

Remember, giving people grief is how Chopper shows affection. :)

Love how they lampshade the terrible vision quality of Stormtrooper helmets.

Sato all ready to square up with this random trooper until he sees it's Kanan.

And his anxious worry over Ezra's welfare is really sweet. Sato does care, he might find Ezra bit aggravating but he's still just a kid in Sato's eyes, someone who was under his protection. (One wonders if Ezra reminds him of Mart a bit.) It's not Sato's fault he's only now learning what a precocious badass Ezra is lol.

This move of Kanan and Rex's is slick.

Lightsaber Naruto run.

I've been told this horn cue is Rex's theme. Makes sense.

Heeeeey remember what I said about Rex's deathseeker tendencies? Yeah.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: The drifting smoke in the hallway from the firefight holy cow. Attention to detail.

"I serve the order you put into place, Captain." Ohhhhhh Imma dent his face in.

*hurts in Order 66 feels*

THEY WERE JUST TOOLS TO PALPATINE, THEY HAD A SINGLE PURPOSE AND HE JUST DISCARDED THEM ONCE IT WAS ACCOMPLISHED.

This Hitchcock Zoom with Kanan as if he's sensing Rex's pain. <33333

Character growth! <33333

Ezra one-manning this hallway with Skill and Confidence. <33333

My gosh look how smooth and effortless this is for him. No wonder Sato was impressed.

Nice to see more classic lightsaber positions creeping into the choreography here.

Ezra being all, "OH HECK NO, THERE WILL BE NO SELF-SACRIFICING TODAY!" over the comms. He's very tired of them doing that lol.

The dolly shots this episode are tight.

Aww Ezra still looks really worried tho.

Don't think about him remembering, "I'll take the next one." and "I'll be right behind you."

Aaaaaaaand Chopper just scored the highest body count on the show, lol. (Up until the finale anyway with the Dome explosion and the purrgil-ening.)

My gosh this show even makes total destruction look pretty.

Yeah, getting a top-secret Interdictor prototype imploded is pretty demotion worthy ha ha.

Love how Kallus is basically perfectly fine assigning all of that chaos to Ezra in particular. XD

KANAN SALUTING REX NOT ONLY AS A SIGN OF FINALLY BURYING THE HATCHET BUT ALSO TAKING UP THE MANTLE OF SOLDIER HE WAS SO RELUCTANT TO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON.

This is one of the best episodes of the season, no joke. It's fun, it brings the nostalgia without being kitschy, it lets Ezra and Sato have a little bit of nice interaction (underrated relationship, fanficers have let me down), it shows how Ezra's developing in combat, it finishes the whole Rex and Kanan animosity plot, and Chopper murders three whole Imperial cruisers effortlessly.

Love it.

[never-ending-fanfic]

Songs with Kallus vibes- part 1

(This one is in Polish, but I'm gonna throw this in here with translation- I'll thicken the most outstanding parts and my thoughts and interpretation are below the song- btw even if you don't really care, seriously listen to this song, the melody, the voices of the singers, the vibe... Ahhh... Needless to say they're one of my favourite artists ♥️ Enjoy!)

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 & Part 6

Mogło być nic (There could've been nothing) by Kwiat Jabłoni

Verse 1: I am here all alone

Even though I was in the crowd a while ago

I'm laying inside the four walls

I feel as if I am melting within

The grey ceiling doesn't want to fall down

My body won't pick me up

Well, you're the same like me

You want more of everything

You want more

Chorus: And it takes a breath away, that there's something and not nothing

When you wake up you're still yourself

And it takes a breath away

That next to you there's someone

And that there could've been nothing

But there's everything

But there's everything

There's everything

Verse 2: You are here all alone

In the simplest way you are

Nobody's waiting for your sign

Nobody's watching you stumble

There are no fanfare, no golden gates

No colourful lights, no warmth of crowd

Beauty can be found there

Even in the silience and immobility

Chorus: And it takes a breath away, that there's something and not nothing

When you wake up you're still yourself

And it takes a breath away

That next to you there's someone

And that there could've been nothing

But there's everything

But there's everything

There's everything

Bridge: And if you're not impressed by greyness

How many colours do you need?

Though the sun set yesterday

It does not have to rise tomorrow

Chorus: And it takes a breath away, that there's something and not nothing

When you wake up you're still yourself

And it takes a breath away

That next to you there's someone

And it takes my breath away, that there's something and not nothing

When you wake up you're still yourself

And it takes my breath away

That next to you there's someone

And that there could've been (pause)

But there's everything

But there's everything

There's everything

My thoughts:

I really love how the verses, especially the ones I thickened, literally could be used to describe Kallus' point of view at the end of The Honorable Ones- especially one he takes on after witnessing Zeb being found by the Ghost crew on Bahryn and seeing their closeness and genuine happiness at finding Zeb and comparing it to the lack of welcome from the Empire he received and the cold return to his grey room with only the meteorite. I especially love the part "nobody's watching you stumble, there are no fanfare, no golden gates, no colourful lights, no warmth of crowd" it's just so poetic and so fitting...

Meanwhile the chorus could be a contrast after he joins the Rebellion- if he didn't defect and join the Rebellion, quoting the song, there really could've been nothing next to him and yet there's everything ♥️

Thank you so much for reading the thoughts I wanted to let out and btw just consider yourself warned: I'll be making this a series

[probablynot-john]

I posted 89 times in 2022

31 posts created (35%)

58 posts reblogged (65%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@never-ending-fanfic

@mabsart

@astralalmighty

@nikxation

@tsuki-beemei

I tagged 70 of my posts in 2022

Only 21% of my posts had no tags

#star wars - 33 posts

#sw rebels - 27 posts

#hot kallus - 25 posts

#alexsandr kallus - 25 posts

#kalluzeb - 23 posts

#garazeb orrelios - 21 posts

#star wars rebels - 14 posts

#incorrect star wars rebels quotes - 11 posts

#ezra bridger - 11 posts

#sabine wren - 10 posts

Longest Tag: 102 characters

#this has been in my head for years with numerous character combinations but im glad i finally wrote it

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Hello! I made some arts!

See the full post

55 notes - Posted July 27, 2022

#4

*after being captured at Bridger's tower*

Thrawn: I congratulate you on being able to evade capture for as long as you have agent Kallus, you are quite hard to read.

Kallus: Maybe you're dyslexic.

68 notes - Posted July 23, 2022

#3

These three

Are basically these three but without dragons

See the full post

70 notes - Posted October 9, 2022

#2

I'm gonna attack ya'll with the fluffiest headcannon I have:

So Kallus and Zeb are retired and living a beautiful quiet life on Lirasan. As a hobby Zeb starts volunteering at the local zoo (ie. Carl & Ellie), and every year he gives tours to a class of kids from the local school (kids are about 2nd to 3rd grade age). Anyways as kids do, they ask Zeb what his favorite animal is. But Zeb just laughs and tells them "you'll have to wait to the end of the tour to find out".

Here's the thing, the kids have been dying to find out what it is since they found out they were going to the zoo weeks before the trip. Because Zeb said the same thing to the class the year before them, and the year before that. As amazing as loth cats are (another animal they saw at the zoo), by the end of the tour the tiny lasats are literally climbing up the walls with anticipation.

By the time they finally get to the end they come to a big curtain.

Zeb:"Alright kids are you ready for the last animal on our tour?"

Kits:"YEAH!"

Zeb:" Okaaaaay, hear we have my favorite animal my husband Alex!"

*Zeb pulls back the curtain to reveal Kallus standing in a terrarium without glass* Kallus: "Hello children:)"

The kids lose their shit.

When Zeb and Kallus first moved to Lirasan, Kallus was the first human many of the locals had ever seen. As a result many people had questions and some were not as nice about it as others (we've all read the other head cannons). But the kits were always more curious than judgemental. One day a woman made some rude comment about how weird Kallus looked to her and jow he "belongs in a zoo". Unfortunately for her Kallus loves this idea, who told Zeb who started volunteering the very next day.

The rest of the tour is spent with Alex answering all the questions the kits have about being human. Of course Alex get his favorite questions, the one the kids ask every year:"what's your favorite animal?"

Which he answeres by looking longingly at Zeb before saying "loth cats".

The kids all keep the cycle going of not telling the younger kids what Zeb's favorite animal is next year. And thus the legend is born

102 notes - Posted August 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Okay so picture this:

Kallus and Zeb are on a mission together, Kallus does something clever to save the day. But suddenly troopers break down the door and storm the room. As they fight side by side together, Zeb catches Kal's eye, and before he can stop himself he blurts out

Zeb: Hey Kal! Marry me?*throws a storm trooper*

Kallus: Sure. Like now, or later? *shoots a Trooper inches behind Zeb*

Zeb *not fully comprehending what he just said, or the fact that Kal just just said yes*: um, later. But not much later.

Kallus: Okay sounds good.

Storm Trooper: what the hell-*Zeb smashes his face*

*they passionately make out for a few minutes before leaving*

And scene.

117 notes - Posted July 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[theabominableblogger]

Rewatching “The Occupation”

Who called this disguise episode being the “Halloween” episode?  That’s right, ME

THAT WAS A LOTH WOLF NOISE!

Wait, there was lightsaber noises too... so did Ezra have a vision of the future?  Are we gonna see this sometime later in future episodes?

Totally digging Sabine’s new look

So how do you pronounce “Lothal?”  Is it “Low-thALL” or “Loath-ALL?”

OK, that’s a good question:  how the hell can they get off Lothal?  Are they gonna hire Lando’s snazzy robot aide from S2 to help smuggle them off planet?

*scats opening theme*

EEEYYY KALLUS!

Ezra, why did you contact Hondo?

PUFFER PIGS!

“Aaaww, at least yours [Zeb’s face] is unique.”  “What is that, clone humor?”  Yes it is and I love it

“Well, I’d say you’d answered your own question then.”  Eeegggh, sorry Kallus, you got owned

Yo, Filoni, the fans still want another Kallus episode!

Where did they all get the change of clothes from?  Does Vizago have a wardrobe for smugglers just in case?

“What’s wrong with my [Zeb] hat?”  It makes you look like a freaking Almond Joy

Did Chopper really just say “Oh yeah?  Come fight me!”

Lothal looks terrible...

This music is awesome

WOW, Lothal looks absolutely terrible

Oh my gosh, the lighting in this episode is so dark...

What are they burning?  Trash?

“Why are they using a younger image of me?”  Pfffttt....

Oh, it’s the pep rally remix from S1!

Oh my gosh, Ezra

Oh my gosh, isn’t that the pilot from that one episode where Zeb and Ezra stole the TIE fighter?!?

Oh my gosh Ezra freaking side-eying Sabine while he’s taking a drink!

NOOOOOOO THEY KILLED OLD JHO!!!

Oh boy this scene

LOTH CAT!

*whispers*  Guys, their theme is kicking in...

“I wish I could see you.”  Oh no

“You could always see me.” *clutches chest*  S T O P

*Kanan and Hera get ready to kiss but are interrupted by an incoming call*  DAMN IT ZEB!

*sings while slamming hand on desktop with each note* SHALALALALALA DON’T STOP NOW

They’re turning this into a running gag and I love and hate it at the same time

To quote @secrettunnelyeah in her reaction vid:  I'VE WATCHED THIS CLIP EIGHTY TIMES BUT MAYBE THIS TIME THEY'LL KISS

There’s one speeder that’s painted to look like Anakin’s Naboo Starfighter from “The Phantom Menace”

“Yeeeeppp, gotta get moving...” OH MY GOSH THAT LINE DELIVERY FROM KANAN THOUGH OH MY GOD

DANTE BASCO!!

Wait, what happened to the other cadet?  I think his name was Zare?

This is actually a straight forward episode.  Kind of subdued in terms of what’s happening, but straight forward.

Zeb’s dressed like a mix of a guy in a hazmat suit and a Ghostbuster

WHO YOU GONNA CALL?!?!

Why can’t Ezra and Kanan just Force push the Imperial droids away so that they crash into each other?

Isn’t that the symbol Sabine painted waaaay back in S1?

This series so far is like a love letter from Dave Filoni.  In that case, thank you Dave.

GROUP SHOT!

Ezra, why did you destroy the controls before you opened the exit?!?

Cue Uncle Iroh:  YOU DON’T THINK THESE THINGS THROUGH!

Mrs. Sumar!

Oh that end music is cool!

LOTHAL IS GOING TO SHIT AND I’M NOT LIKING IT!

[kaitanisb021]

On Zeb & Kallus

I’ve been watching the split in the discourse around Zeb and Kallus (friendship or other ship v.  Kallus is evil/irredeemable & they shouldn’t be friends, etc), and it seems to come down to Kallus’s role on Lasan. As someone who sees them as (potential) friends, I wanted to give my take on what we might be said to have learned from ‘The Honorable Ones’, by means of explanation and in order, perhaps, to heal the rift.

Backing up a bit: when Zeb and Kallus have their face-off with bo-rifles in Season 1, Kallus claims that he gave the order to use the ion disruptors on Lasan, an order that we know effectively wiped out the Lasat on Lasan, and in a particularly grisly way.

In ‘The Honorable Ones’, however, Kallus says a few very important things. First, he notes that he was given a bo-rifle by a Lasat warrior. Zeb explains why, according to the Lasat warrior code, that is significant. It also tells us that Kallus was not fighting that Lasat with an ion disruptor. No way the Lasat warrior code would have—or could have—been invoked in that context. The new perspective we have on Kallus, then, is that he is on the ground, fighting hand to hand, in a regular battle situation. This is expected and consistent with what we’ve seen of him.

Right after this, Kallus says that “it was…nothing personal” and that he was “only doing his duty.” The “it” here is a bit vague. The one-on-one fight with the warrior? The whole massacre on Lasan? Not clear. All I’ll note here is that the writers invoke a typical soldier trope, one that doesn’t excuse anything (nor is meant to) but also maybe one that suggests that Kallus *could* have been a little lower on the command totem pole than he implied in his Season 1 fight.  

The more significant revelation is his admission that “it wasn’t supposed to be a massacre” but that “the Empire wanted to make an example” out of Lasan.  He also says that “I know I took credit for it….before…” but he’s cut off by Zeb (I don’t have that scene to hand, so I’m not quoting exactly. Feel free to correct).

Kallus’s claim in the heat of battle in Season 1 is thus trash-talking: meant to rile Zeb into being sloppy (which he is: Zeb leaves his side open twice, and almost dies for it. If you’ve any experience with melee weapon fighting, such as staff or sword fighting, you’ll know being angry will throw off your technique something fierce). 

Kallus was clearly at Lasan, and clearly fighting, melee-style, with the Lasat, as part of the attempt to quell the Lasan rebellion. But the episode opens up a lot of questions about his role. I have assumed that the writers had those lines in Honorable Ones to revise/retcon his Season 1 claim to Zeb.

Of course, the episode also shows a Kallus ready to look at his part in horrific actions. Yes, he’s been unarguably horrible and murderous, but I think they pull him back in this episode from being consciously the perpetuator of a genocide. Between what he already knows about Lasan, perhaps after the fact; the questions Zeb raised about Geonosis; and the revelation that he is ultimately, to the Empire, a cog in a machine of death... he steps back and makes the right new choice going forward: to be willing to risk everything to atone for his mistakes. While I do think Kallus has been written a little sparely and even inconsistently, I think the writers opened up a different reading of him in this episode and onward.

One can easily argue this point, of course, but it may be worth being explicit that a lot of us have different assumptions about what could have gone down on Lasan based on what the writers leave open in that episode. If someone (like me) enjoys that transformative redemption arc, one might be more inclined to revisit Kallus’s earlier claims about Lasan and read between the lines. Maybe you don’t have to in order to embrace that redemption arc, but I think many of us do.

Ultimately, though, Kallus as redeemable/partially redeemable comes down to *Zeb* on Bahryn. Zeb doesn’t forget, but he forgives. Forgiveness is everything, beautiful, transformative, both for the one who makes that choice and the one who is forgiven.

[edited to add: props to @roboemma and her fic “The Gift of Hope” for getting me to think through my own position on this, which isn’t exactly the same RE: Kallus but ultimately shares the same conclusion about Zeb. She’s not alone--@maylovely , @goosieboosie and others have mentioned Zeb’s big heart too.]

[edited one last time: I don’t mention Onderon above on purpose. It isn’t an excuse for Lasan. It does, however, suggest why Kallus might have allowed himself to be blinded, and of course also makes him more interesting, sympathetic, and vulnerable as a person--and reinforces the horror of war, which is sometimes obscured when one is cheering the slaughter of faceless bucketheads.]