#these two really compel me

[wintergreenoreo]

Moment of Nando being a menace to Lando in Mexico 💚🧡 featuring Lance just strutting around.

also where was that hand going old man⁉️🤨

[that1notetaker]

Getting out of the comfort zone can be uncomfortable.

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

forever obsessed with dynamics between vampires, specifically that of a maker and fledgling, as a way to explore abuse. the creation of a vampire itself can so easily be a literalization of the lasting impacts of trauma and also much more simply the ways a perpetrator might shape their victim’s very identity. the extremes of isolation in the way that the new vampire, in most narratives, must cut all ties to their mortal life, or else go through an elaborate charade to maintain the facade of humanity, while forever still being removed from it. and the sheer dependence and vulnerability of being in an entirely new state of being, wholly uncertain of what it entails, and relying on another person to define… everything.

[addamvelaryon]

When you stand in front of me and look at me, what do you know of the griefs that are in me and what do I know of yours?

— Franz Kafka

Corlys, Addam & Laenor by Imperiat

[rebel-hunk-enjoyer]

I don't think Kallus is a great spy!! Here me out, though :)

I like the idea of him being fairly competent at spying compared to your average rebel, because of some of his experiences in the ISB, but the ISB isn't exactly an intelligence bureau in the traditional sense. They're law enforcement and internal intelligence, they are the not-so-secret police who are internally investigating things like treason, disloyalty, thought crimes, etc within the Empire.

To get into the gritty details: the ISB is a part of COMPNOR or the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order. This commission grew out of the Clone Wars Era COMPOR or the Commission for the Protection of the Republic, a hard-line loyalist group that lobbied the Galactic Senate to give more authority to the Supreme Chancellor and promoted wartime propaganda that aligned with their agenda. When Palpatine became Emperor, the New Order absorbed COMPOR and reorganized it into a government agency that served as the Empire's propaganda wing. The Imperial Security Bureau is a part of that because it used to be the Internal Security Bureau of COMPOR. They were already shady af and trying to root out disloyalty within their ranks during the later stages of the Republic and just shifted that over to rooting out disloyalty within the Empire at large through the ISB.

Which means that the ISB is ultimately tasked with making sure the New Order's agenda is advanced: enforcing the state-sponsored political religion to maintain control, order, rule of law, uniformity, Imperial civic pride, and so on. COMPNOR supported xenophobia and the Empire's humanocentric policies, advanced the human 'natural right to rule' nonsense, minimized the accomplishments of alien species, and pushed anti-alien xenophobia to the point of sowing distrust throughout the Empire. The ISB is their agency that does all of that in the name of security. In fact, the ISB has an entire division for interrogation and another for re-education, just to underscore the New Order's dedication to the bottom line of thought conformity and the role the ISB plays in that. They aren't just the not-so-secret police, they are the not-so-secret police who have the authority and means to brainwash loyalty into Imperial citizens.

Now, Kallus worked within the enforcement, investigations, and internal affairs divisions of the ISB throughout his career and by the time we see him in Rebels, he's clearly operating as a part of the enforcement division. He specifically states that "as an agent of the ISB, [he] follow[s] the letter of the law" and I imagine that he has the ISB Loyalty Manual memorized backwards and forwards. But knowing the letter of the law when it comes to hard-line New Order political religion conformity doesn't automatically translate into knowing everything, right? He's ignorant about larger scale operations to the point that he seems almost disinterested in them on Bahryn while talking to Zeb about Geonosis, actually.

This, I think, is what makes Kallus very interesting as a defector. He isn't just some guy who changes his mind when presented with new information, he's some guy who has dedicated his entire career to toeing the party line and rooting out the mere suggestion of anyone, anywhere within the Empire not doing the exact same. He's the thought cop and he's suddenly thinking thoughts he has never had before, he's suddenly doing things that he's only ever seen done by people who were arrested and re-educated if they were lucky, he's suddenly the thing that he's spent his entire career trying to stop.

But that's also why I think he wouldn't be a good spy specifically in S3 against Thrawn. He's used to finding traitors to the Empire, that's what all of his skills are honed toward. Now he's the traitor to the Empire, surrounded by a bunch of hard-line Imperials who are all focused on stopping the rebels, and he's ... trying to get information from them? To pass along to the Rebellion? With a repurposed MSE and some sleight of hand with Lyste's code cylinder? This isn't to say that he didn't give the Rebellion valuable information, he did that on several occasions, but when it came down to the wire, when it came down to the actual spycraft of keeping himself safe, he did not perform well. He got the job done, he covered his ass, but he did not cover his ass in such a way that he was able to fool Yularen or Thrawn. They were onto him immediately, they left him in his position with the intention of using him against the Rebellion, Thrawn even waited until he had Kallus dead to rights, caught him right in the act of sending a message to the Rebellion.

All of this is to say that I think Kallus might have been a better spy if he hadn't been ISB and that being ISB maybe set him up to be terrible at spying on Thrawn. Because I can't imagine spending nearly two decades hunting down people for non-conformity, then suddenly finding yourself on the other side of that and not being really, really nervous? He probably saw accusations of treason on his own face every morning in the mirror, he was probably sick about it constantly, worried that he might slip in a way that would be meaningful to an ISB agent, thinking more about his performance of being an Imperial than on the actual spying itself, than the MSE or the code cylinder or whatever else. I imagine him worrying so much about his Imperial Mask and not thinking as much as he should have about the rest.

Because first and foremost he was a cop who policed loyalty, not actually a spy.

Now, of course, this changes once he gets into the rebellion at large, because I do think a lot of his ISB skills would be adjacent to spycraft, but I think before that he was more backed into a corner like a wounded animal about it than anything else because of the political atmosphere surrounding the Empire and how it polices loyalty.

[professorcalculusstanaccount]

going fishing - another segment from the beast of loch broom!

because my blog is a Mess this part happens after the argument between Haddock and Tintin and before Ramo Nash's studio in this post

[bookshelf-in-progress]

I love how a well-written romance is so often structured as a mystery. A person starts with a certain idea about another person, and over the course of the story, they uncover more evidence that gives them a fuller picture of who the other person truly is. They learn about layers to the personality and backstory that give the other person more depth. They learn how the other person's personality meshes with theirs. Even the third-act misunderstanding fits the mystery structure--it looks like they've uncovered the final secret to the other person's identity, which is that they're not the worthy person they seemed to be, but then discover that they misinterpreted that evidence, or the other person takes steps to apologize and repair the level of trust. When the mystery is resolved, they've reached a full understanding of each other and know they've found a partner they can trust their whole future to.

[thatswhatsushesaid]

psa that the day there are no jgy stans left on tumblr dot com is the day i am dead

but rest assured i'll go to my grave exactly as i lived: obnoxiously proclaiming to everyone within earshot how great lianfang-zun is. narratively, metaphorically, spiritually. sexually, too, like why limit myself. i like to keep my options open

[pipperoo]

i just realized that we’ve never seen a duke in a timeline where miss holloway is dead

are there some timelines where he doesn’t remember her at all and just feels like something’s missing?

are there some where he grieves her for the rest of his life, never quite moving on?

are there some where he tries to go after wilbur cross and avenge her?

[donutfrost]

some kirikagi since i recently rewatched ntwewy cutscenes heh.

lazy joke comic under the read more

[godslittlesadge]

something something Varric composing and sharing tall tales about Hawke because "that's what history is. the best stories", thus keeping their memory (however twisted it may be) in history something something Solas preserving the Inquisitor's identity, their real life and decisions in murals that will never be seen by other people to protect them from being defiled by history something opposite sites of the same coin. memory being the only way to keep alive what you have lost. the man who lives alone on an island

[sunnibits]

hello, this is it, this is the most evil edit I’ve ever made. malevolent fans pls enjoy :)))

(headphones recommended, and make sure to listen to the end! ☺️☺️)

art credits: x x x

[firehart9]

my unexpected new fav after born again is mf Benjamin “Bullseye” Poindexter

[the-stars-are-warring]

Something something the first thing Arligan Zey does when he finds out that ARCs who want to desert get fucking assassinated by black ops hit squads (or perhaps fails to find definitive proof that it ISNT happening) is tell Maze that if he wants to leave Zey will get him the resources to do so.

Like. Yea man I'm normal.

[didsomebodysaypancakes]

Why is the show trying to gaslight me and Daniel into thinking that Daniel and Johnny were equally wrong in The Karate Kid like all Daniel did was try to make new friends after moving across the country and then Johnny and his evil karate gang just kept trying to wreck Daniel's shit. Like, I'm sorry, but Daniel sprinkling water on Johnny after Johnny and Co. had already (1) beaten Daniel up for talking to Johnny's ex girlfriend and (2) knocked Daniel down a cliff doesn't mean that Johnny and Cobra Kai trying to beat Daniel to death was understandable. It wasn't a two-way thing, Johnny was clearly Daniel's bully.

[loopyarts]

God, he’s just so baby here. 😭 Chris Samnee never misses in giving me some of the most adorable baby Dick Grayson drawings ever.

Ha ha I love it when little Dick sasses his guardian/Bruce so much.

Bi disaster guardian/surrogate father and his little surrogate Ace/Demisexual son.