#to heck with the imperial system

[butteredpenny]

Sourdough Garlic Parmesan Twists

I don't want to yap, but I'm putting the full recipe under the cut since it might be annoying for screen readers. Long story short, mama bragged to her friends that I could make really good parmesan twists, meanwhile I have never made them before. Some trial and error later the friends really liked my twists, just wished I had used fresh garlic. Sadly this recipe still uses dry granulated garlic. Also, one member of the household couldn't eat them because they were too hard, so I adjusted the recipe and this is the soft version. They still couldn't eat them unfortunately; I'll have to make some sort of gravy to go with it. The twists are pretty tasty soaked in milk, so a basic white sauce should be fine.

This recipe makes about twenty four 100-gram twists. Recipe below:

The dough:

25.5 ounces (not fluid ounces, just ounces. or 722 grams) of milk. You will need a very big bowl. Humongous. The biggest one you have probably.

1 ounce (28 grams) of salt

1.55 ounces (44 grams) of brown sugar

5 ounces (144 grams) of sourdough starter, made from equal parts flour and water by weight

2 eggs

48.4 ounces (1372 grams) of flour, also using a large bowl.

4 ounces (112 grams) of butter, AKA a whole stick of it, chilled.

The butter spread:

8 ounces (224 grams) of butter, AKA two sticks, melted. Sheesh! Also I'm using salted butter because it's cheaper where I live.

4 grams of dried granulated garlic

2 grams of dried minced onion

2 grams of salt.

And of course the topping:

6 ounces of parmesan, although I'm thinking maybe more. In brick form so you can grate it. You could probably choose some other dry flavorful cheese if you'd like.

Instructions:

The day before, feed your sourdough starter in the morning or at noon. Before you go to bed, make the dough as described below.

In the largest bowl you possibly have, measure out the milk. Be sure to use little separate bowls to measure before you add the salt and sugar, in case your scale acts funny. Add the sourdough starter. I didn't use a separate bowl to measure the starter because I hate doing dishes and a little too much isn't going to hurt anything. Stir until the salt, sugar, and sourdough starter are at least partly dissolved. Now add the eggs and flour. This is a lot of dough, so take your time stirring and kneading. You may need to let it rest for half an hour before continuing to knead. The dough should just be nicely incorporated. Cover the bowl and perform your nightly rituals.

In the morning, or whenever you wake up, put the dough in the fridge and eat breakfast (very important). Clean your workspace, lightly flour it (I use parchment paper instead), and pull out your dough.

Flatten the dough into a large rectangle-ish shape. This may take several rests since the dough likes to keep its shape and resist stretching.

Once the dough is flattened out, shred the butter over it with the large end of a cheese grater. Try putting the butter in the freezer between applications to keep it solid. Slap the butter pieces a few times to stick them to the dough, then fold the dough into thirds. Let it rest and then flatten it out again. I believe this process is called 'lamination'. Keep shredding, slapping, folding, resting, and repeating until you run out of that one stick of butter.

Now preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 177 degrees Celsius. I find my fam's oven runs a tad cold, so I set it a little higher so the thermometer we placed inside reads the correct temperature.

Oil a glass baking dish or be prepared to use the parchment paper to line it.

In a cup or bowl, melt the butter and combine it with the dried onion, garlic, and salt.

Cut the dough into equal parts. I like to measure out 100-gram pieces. Roll them out into ropes. I don't have an exact science here, but about twice the length you want the final twists to be. Twist the ropes together like this:

Fold each rope in half with the ends facing towards you. Gently twist both ends clockwise, just until the dough wants to kink up. Do not let it do so (yet). Pick the center point and keep an eye on it while you cross the ends, right over left. You should have the loop at or near the center point. Keep gently turning the ends clockwise and crossing the new rightmost end over the left, until you run out of rope. Pinch the ends together. You can choose to leave the ends alone or try to tuck them under.

I bake about a quarter of the dough at a time, or six 100-gram twists. If you would like to do the same, grate about 1.5 ounces of parmesan for each tray, using the fine end of a cheese grater.

Warm the butter mixture again, if necessary, and smear a small amount onto the twists to coat them and sprinkle on the parmesan. You may have to directly apply the cheese to the twists to get it to stick. Dribble some more butter mixture over the cheese. I like to just make a thin line of drips.

Bake each set of six 100-gram twists in the glass baking dish until lightly browned or to your desired level of doneness. I prefer 30 minutes for the first set, and 25 minutes for the next ones. You might be able to go as low as 20 minutes if your glass pan is already warm, but they may be slightly under-cooked, I'm not sure.

If you would like to make a gravy, it could probably be done during the latter two sets' baking times. I haven't tried yet. The last time I made these I was quick to hide them in the freezer, since the time before that, they barely lasted two days.

[snoweylily]

Absolutely LIVING for this "imperial vs. metric" baking measurement change. Do USAmericans not learn the decimal system in school?!?

[starqueensthings]

We need to talk about Echo (and by talk I mean screm). S3 E13 + 14 Spoilers!

FRIENDS, I'M GOING TO EXPLODE. I need to talk about Echo for a minute. We need to talk about Echo for a minute,  because he has spent the last two episodes in the absolute thralls of complete and total danger, and I personally don't feel like there's been enough of a celebratory uproar for me to be satisfied with the level of appreciation and love that man deserves. (Remember when Hunter ran face first into a colossal exhaust pipe and we all collectively lost our minds because it was so impressive and so sexy? Remember when Tech drove a speeder really fast through a tunnel and we all fainted? I'M A TECH GIRLY. IT WAS ME! I FAINTED!!) but, Y'ALL, Echo deserves that right now!! And for all eternity!!! Because he is wholly submurged in the harrowing potential of torture and execution, and he didn't even bat an eye to put himself there. My awe of him is all-consuming, so please forgive me if this rant reads as nothing but incoherent screaming. 

Echo haters (first of all, we can't be friends....) come on this journey with me! Let's back pedal to the beginning of the last episode (13). He stole an imperial shuttle. Let me repeat, he stole an imperial shuttle. And not just an attack shuttle. Not just a lil one-pilot transport. Bro somehow stole a Rho-class medical transport, which is very large, obscenely conspicuous, and very easily tracked. And, to use his own words, it was "the best he could do on short notice." The man stole a shuttle on short notice. ON SHORT NOTICE? HELLO, HOW DID HE DO THAT. WHY AIN'T WE LOSING OUR COOL ABOUT IT. 

Next stop on this I-love-Echo journey through my mind: not only did he provide his brothers transportation in the complete void of their own (RIP havoc bb), but he also came equipped with intel and clearance codes, and, as Rampart stated, those things change DAILY. Echo somehow procured top secret imperial clearance codes, and a fkn SHIP, within hours of the Batch requesting his help. Not to mention, the ship had yet to be reported missing (which means it was only-freshly commandeered), and the clearance codes worked. Of course they did. Echo never fails. Never doubt Echo. "Echo's on it."  

Choochoo, next stop! Once they arrived on that station orbiting Coruscant, and made their way to the control room (lookin sexy as heck in his armour-au-noir), he broke imperial encryption, hacked into the Imperial database, almost instantly found them the location of a ship departing for the prison that holds their daughter Tantiss, AND THEN DIDN'T EVEN HESITATE TO CLIMB ABOARD AND STOW AWAY.  

He didn't even remotely have a plan, or have time to make a plan. He didn't know who or what else would be on board that mysterious vessel. He didn't know where it was going other than the name of the fkn mountain (which has proven to be nothing but unhelpful thus far). He just ARC-troopered his way through that crowded hangar, dodging aggressive astromech's and inconsiderate loader droids, shirking from the perspective eyes of highly trained commandos, and snuck his way onto a heavily guarded, extremely unknown science vessel. Then, of course, he wasted no time, hacking into the ships control system (may I gently remind- there were at least three pilots and an officer prepping the ship for jump and closely watching all aspects of its controls), disabling the proximity sensors without being detected, and then seamlessly covered the troopers absence by pretending to be him (which we all know is what should have happened on Serenno but... hindsight is 20/20.)  

So... SO.... now we're at Episode 14. Here we at fkn terrified station because HULLO ECHO IS ALONE ON A SCIENCE DIVISION TRANSPORT; we have literally seen them carry around Zilo beasts in that shit. What the heck else could be on there that they don't know about? Literally anything. Because THEY KNEW NOTHING before attaching themselves to it. Echo knew NOTHING before sneaking onto that thing and creepin' around. Thank heck he didnt come across a fkn fresh wave of slither vines ok?  

NEXT, Echo shoots (not stuns- lol) a sassy fkn droid (they had it coming, not sorry), then another trooper. AND THEN discovered his only option for departing the ship once it enters atmosphere is going completely undercover, because (in true "we improvise everything" CF99 fashion that gives me heart burn just thinking about it), they had zero fkn plan to get off the ship. I will repeat: completely undercover. On Tantiss. COMPLETELY UNDERCOVER ON TANTISS. NO COMMS, NO BACK UP, NO RECON, NO PLAN, BARELY ANY GEAR, and I would just like to stress... no neuro brace. He left his neurobrace on that ship. Left it. LEFT IT AND TOOK A HAND INSTEAD. PLEASE FKN SEDATE ME.  

We can't leave this station yet... This I-love-Echo train needs to linger at this point for a sec because I think it's lost on some people how wild this is. Echo without his neurobrace is huge. It's a bigger deal than Echo without his armour. Armour is, in the grand scheme of things, inconsequential (one can find more- see Howzer). Echo's neurobrace is not armour, it's a computer and it's so so so crucial to how his mind processes information and events. Don't forget, the Technounion HIJACKED HIS BRAIN. They took every memory from him and manipulated it for their gain. Pruned it, tweaked it, blanched it, poached it, turned it into scrambled eggs, and then fkn ate it up and used it to defeat their enemies (Echo's family- I'm sobbing). They implanted him with an unfathomable amount of information; they changed the way the neurons in his brain fire in relation to stimuli. That neurobrace is so so critical for him. Now, we know he can operate well enough without it, we saw it in the last episode of the TBB arc in season 7 of Clone Wars, but... please.... to what extent? We don't know what an extended time without that neurobrace looks like for him... especially when all other aspects compliing his surroundings foreign, unknown, and dangerous, and that scares me.

AND NOW HE'S ABOUT TO RUN AMOK IN TANTISS with Emerie who, (I'm sorry) is wishy-washy as heck (who are you loyal to!!!!! What is your history!!! Are you trustworthy and what are you looking to gain!!!), trying to adopt a collection of Jedi children whove spent maker-knows how long playing space tetris, WHILST ALSO ATTEMPTING TO LOCATE AND ESCAPE WITH HIS BROTHERS UNDER THE EYE OF THE GALAXY'S SECOND MOST DANGEROUS MAN. 

So yes, short of d-d-d-di... can't say it... short of THE WORST CASE, Echo has made the ultimate sacrifice to save not only Omega who is literally the only person we've seen able to make him truly laugh, but all the clone brothers that he's been desperately trying to locate and rescue. His bravery and determination are literally unrivalled, and he did it while feasting on nothing but humble pie because that man wouldn't know arrogance if it danced naked under his perfect nose.  

Okay so welcome, we've finally pulled into I-Love-Echo station. Before departing the ride, please stand and do a hip hip hurray for the miracle that is Echo, including but not limited to, everything he's done, is doing, and is willing to do for other people. 

[brucewaynehater101]

Kon, Bart, and Cassie all have just as much authority as Tim in the empire, Tim just has veto power and he's only allowed to use it against them if he verbally and clearly explains why he is against their actions. Tim is the emperor, he is the ultimate authority of all the empire, but his life partners keep him grounded. Also each one of them has their own planet within the empire and therefore the right to wear their own crowns.

Bart is also plotting to get a death star without the planet destroying capabilities so basically an artificial planet/moon. He plans to keep it as a back up moon for earth and otherwise the official imperial ship so his own ship can go back to be used for incognito C4 space shenanigans

Heck yeah! I think it depends on how much YJ is helping out the planets. If Tim is the one doing most of the work (which I doubt), then the other C4 members don't get as much of a say. However, Tim probably shares his "game" (the system he uses to manage the planets) with the others so everyone can help out.

I think each of the C4 in crowns would be gorgeous. I wonder what type of crowns fit each member the best.

Also, good for Bart. He deserves a death star. Give Bart a death star

[rex-shadao]

Rewatching TOH Season 1 with hindsight...

Rewatching the first season of Owl House with online friends made me realize something. It's pretty much the regular human world just with more fantastical elements, particular with Hexside. Sure it's more authoritarian, but it felt like a world that was independently founded by witch culture, including the whole Coven system.

Belos at first fits into the world perfectly, back when he was considered an actual witch. Getting visions from the Titan, using them to justify his rule, and then planning on mass conversion and supposedly invading the Human Realm in the name of witch imperialism. He's a generic cult leader but he fits well with the theme.

Until you incorporate Philip Wittebane into the equation. Philip Wittebane is a very different character. He is not a cult leader. He is a zealous witch hunter driven by revenge. Revenge against all witches. Such a character would not have come up with such an elaborate plan to kill all the witches with a convoluted plot that takes 400 years to complete, requires him to pretend to be a witch, and requires the witches to blindly trust him. He would have simply amass an army of loyal soldiers that obey him to massacre the witches. And these soldiers would have been his fellow witch hunters or clones of his witch hunters that share his hatred for witches. Genocidal hatred.

This is the paradox of Belos' character. He's far more interesting as Philip Wittebane in that you want to know more about his backstory and why he went from this adorable kid to a lunatic witch killer. But if you ignore that backstory and just focus Belos in terms of present day context, he's a confusing mess of a villain that gives off different, unintended messages.

He's a Puritan yet somehow is respectful of LGBT, blacks, and women in the Boiling Isles despite already forcing their society to convert to the Coven System. He hates all witches and loves humans, yet his entire scheme in Boiling Isles relies on a covoluted plan that would take centuries to complete (and requires him to dress up as a witch) rather than the simple "build the door portal" and rally the witch hunters to a genocidal war against witches. He's the reason why the Boiling Isles went from a utopia to a jackass place, yet it's not really different from the regular human world (and if anything, it's actually better) and thus, it feels more real than the "utopian" past.

Honestly, Belos and Philip should have been two separate characters on opposite sides, with Belos' rise to power being a response to Philip's fanatical attacks on witch societies. Imagine what kind of conflict and grey area would that be for the audience. Heck, what if Belos was actually Caleb and Caleb, in an attempt to defend witches from his brother, became sort of a Magneto tyrant who hates all of humanity and that's why he wants to invade the Human Realm.

And imagine how Luz has to resolve the conflict that cannot be easily resolved.

[meraki-yao]

Minor thing that's ultimately pretty insignificant but it bothers me because I'm a freaking nerd

Nick has only played two royals: Robert and Henry; George is not royalty, he is nobility

Royalty refers to the immediate family of the reigning monarch, therefore Prince Robert, son of King Rowan, and Prince Henry, grandson of King James III, are royalty

Nobility refers to individuals and their families who have inherited or have been granted a noble title. George Villiers was given dukedom by King James I, but he is obviously not from the King's immediate family, therefore he was nobility.

Actually, Nick himself descended from Russian nobility, the house of Golitsyn. Had the Russian imperial system survived, his title would have been "Prince" (lmfao), but that would be a noble prince, not a royal prince like Prince William or, heck, the kind of title Henry has. I don't think he has any blood relations to the Tsar.

Again this isn't really that important but jeez interviewers get your facts right

[owlphaace]

Hey I'm two weeks late realising this but why does Ruby measure the distance between herself and The Woman as "73 yards"

She was born in the UK in 2004, her main measurement system would be metric. Heck she probably wouldn't have been taught imperial measurements until secondary school, it certainly wouldn't be her regular way of measuring. I will now factor this into all my theories (none, I don't care)

[burnwater13]

Concept art by Ryan Church. IG-11 approached two ex-Imperial stormtroopers on Nevarro. They are holding the Child in a bag on their speeder bikes. Image from The Mandalorian, Season 1, Episode 8, Redemption.

Djarin woke up to the soft blinking light of the Razor Crest’s alarm. He could instantly tell that Cara Dune was still sleeping. Her snoring was something even his helmet sound system couldn't fully dampen. He wondered how she managed to do the work she had done for the Rebels. But maybe drop troopers didn’t stay anywhere long enough to sleep. 

He’d learned that Kuiil slept silently and could sleep anywhere at all. Seats, hammocks, a bale of feed for the blurrgs. It didn’t matter. Kuiil’s life experience prioritized sleep over comfort to an amazing extent. Even the kid wasn't a better sleeper, which had surprised Djarin, considering how much experience he must have had sleeping under unpleasant circumstances. 

Just thinking about that made the Mandalorian sigh. Was he really doing the right thing bringing the kid back to Nevarro? His training as a Mandalorian warrior was pretty clear on that. Go to Nevarro, meet the enemy, crush them, then leave. There would be no one to continue the ridiculous bounty scam and he and the kid could look for his people without running into trouble every time they touched down at a spaceport. 

Unfortunately, that voice, small and childlike, that remembered everything about Aq Vetina, told him to keep the heck away from Nevarro and any world the Imps had ever controlled. Of course he'd thought they’d done that when they went to Sorgan. It was small and sparsely populated. There had been no records of the Imps ever going there. But… of course the Imps or the syndicates had ended up there and they brought the remnants of the Empire with them. That whole thing had almost ended in disaster. Uff. 

So rather than try that again they were headed right back to Nevarro. Karga was either going to help them or betray them and the man who cared about a kid who wasn’t his already knew what would happen to his ‘old pal’ the bounty hunters’ guild leader in either case. He would be warm until he was cold and if he had to be cold, it would be the permanent kind of cold that no amount of consideration and reflection could change. It was a harsh realization but then life as a Mandalorian bounty hunter had prepared Djarin for that sort thing. 

Like the time he got a bounty puck on that Twi’lek who had violated every requirement of their parole on Ryloth. The Mandalorian had tracked them to a small enclave and found them holding a room full of people hostage. Most of them had been children and a couple of women. All of them were Twi’leks. 

He’d offered to bring them warm. Just don’t hurt the kids or the other people present. They had agreed, got to their feet slowly and then kicked a bag at their feet. The whole damn room exploded. It was awful. While his beskar had protected him from the blast and his general position at the doorway, everyone else had been killed. 

The boy who lived in Djarin's head told him to leave. The Mandalorian warrior got out a plastic bag and began to collect samples of the remains. The DNA of that monster was in that mess somewhere and he had Mandalorian younglings to support. The bounty hunter had collected the fee and gone back to his ship to get very very drunk. It hadn’t helped as much as he wished it would have. 

Nevarro was staring at him. A tiny dot. He’d have to wake Cara and see if Kuiil was up already. The Ugnaught seemed to have a sixth sense for when changes occurred that might impact him. Djarin wished that he'd had any sense like that at all. He might have passed on trying to pick up a fifty year old on Arvala-7. 

A fifty year old child. Who’d ever heard of something like that? The droid had commented that some species age slower than others, but that was cold comfort when Djarin had seen those big brown eyes staring up at him. He thought of those poor kids on Ryloth and the big kid who was staring down at the pram wondering what the heck had happened. 

He wondered if the kid really wanted to do this. He hadn’t really considered that. What if the kid just wanted to keep running from place to place? What if the kid just wanted to go back to Tatooine? That lady with the curly hair had offered him credits for the kid… but he couldn't do that. But… he could have gone back to Tatooine and hidden the kid with the Sand People. He knew some of them and knew that they also cared about foundlings. A foundling like this kid might have been just what their prophesies were all about. 

Dank Farrik. He’d made the decision he'd made. The kid was the bait. He, Cara, and Kuiil were going to make the thing work with or without Greef Karga's help and that was just the way it was going to go. If all else failed, the droid, IG-11, could take care of kid until someone else showed up who was better at this sort of thing than he was. If someone showed up. Djarin sighed again. Time to send the boy home and have the Mandalorian warrior take over. Din Djarin was a determined and skilled fighter. He’d gotten out of spots tighter than this one and he’d do it again, with the kid. 

This is the Way.

[randomnameless]

Here's a thing, even if Supreme Leader was trying to dismantle some corrupted system, she should do it in her own country, not conquer two sovereign countries over the pretense of "well they used to be part of Adrestia so they belong to me". I swear this game brainwashed people into thinking imperialism is okay after years of basically saying "no, it's not".

Given how Ionius was yeeted away from Nopes, I don't even know if we're supposed to look at Adrestia's own corruption - even if Adrestian NPCs are Supremely Aware and we have instances of Adrestia's finest Double Standard and we have the hilarious Ferdie line about the Kingdom having much more crested soldiers and generals than the Empire, when just checking the data of the game through all routes reveals it's much more nuanced than that!

(but how much of theDouble Standard is just Adrestia being Adrestia or those randoms being educated thanks to the propa- I mean the "information campaign" machine, idk).

At the end of the day it's not the premise of having a revanchist invasion by an Empire that, imo, really bothers in Nopes, but it's how this "campaign" is played completely straight, and everyone, even on the opposite sides, just passively accepts it, pushing everything under the rug because "IdEaLs" and "ReFoRmS" - and that's what some people said about the game wanting to sound "smart", we read and hear about those complex notions - reforms, nobility, systems, etc etc - but they are never developped.

Heck, Ferdie is the one who pushes the idea of "Imperial Schools" were randoms, regardless of their backgrounds, would be able to sit for imperial exams and become imperial civil servants, but without even making RL parallels and how the RL system was (or still is in some countries!) completely corrupt, there's no dissident voice, or anyone going all "yes sure, but what good would it be to be able to go to school if you are starving because no one is left make sure basic needs are provided and satisfied?".

That's what some people meant by the tech tree and the reasoning, I suppose, watsonian wise, behind the "ban" of the printing press - what would be its use if a majority of your people are illiterate because they cannot "waste" time going to school and have to work on the fields instead to make ends meet or just to have something to eat?

It's not something you can ignore when you talk about societal changes, but the game hammers "ReFoRmS" and "IdEaLs" while the rest of the cast holds the idiot ball to make the story believable, because no amount of "no u" could save it otherwise.

And I'd say it's the same for the imperialism depicted in Nopes and FE16, even during that sorry excuse of a parley, there's no real answer to "why the eff are you forcing my people to follow your reforms, can't you just reform your country?", we derail instead to "wow ur strong" "no i was weak" "okay we won't see eye to eye let's fight then" "okay".

[webslingingslasher]

https://www.tumblr.com/webslingingslasher/746388318094295040/httpswwwtumblrcomwebslingingslasher746352507

okay wait so first of all, are you actually six foot? cause like that’s wild (like you’re so tall what the heck)

and secondly, not to be that person, but inches are also American 😭 (coming from a Canadian who also used the imperial system to measure height!)

and also for anyone who doesn’t feel like doing the conversion to cm, it’s 182, almost 183cm!

-🦋

see idk the imperial system 😭😭😭😭

see attached brits, i am 182cm!

i really am that tall! i hung out with a friend last night and she's 5'3 (160cm?) and her head was equal height to my sternum when i hugged her. being tall is pretty cool, i'm always asked to get things on the top shelf when i'm at the store and that's always a fun lil interaction. downside is that my feet are pretty big :(

[litcityblues]

The Mandalorian Season 3: Do We Need A Movie?

(Yes, I know I'm late getting around to this. No, I haven't watched Ahsoka yet. I'm getting there, all right?)

I don't think Star Wars has quite the problems that the MCU does. We're not being drowned in a firehose of content that merely by the sheer amount of it degrades the quality of it-- no, Star Wars has a slightly different problem: it's in a galaxy far, far, away and can't stop showing us the same characters and/or planets.

Thankfully, Star Wars at least seems to be somewhat aware that it has this problem as a franchise and while they might not be taking too many concrete actual steps towards fixing the problem, shows like Andor and The Mandalorian at least suggest that they're trying to remedy that a little. They're trying to acknowledge that not every story needs to end on Tatooine and involve a member of the Skywalker Clan- they've got a whole galaxy to work with and they're at least thinking about how to do that. It's refreshing.

But, having watched Season 3 of The Mandalorian and heard the news that Season 4 is apparently going to be released as a movie, I'm left tilting my head slightly to the left, screwing up my eyebrows, and thinking: Do we need a movie?

Don't get me wrong: Season 3 of The Mandalorian has a lot going for it. First of all, the return to Mandalore itself was a really interesting choice for this show to make. There was really no other place for it to go, as Djarin needed to be redeemed for removing his helmet in violation of the creed of the Mandalore-- but returning to the ruins, him diving into the waters of Mandalore and then bringing back Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) to show her that surface was still habitable after all this time was a great choice.

If I have a weakness, it's probably for side characters that are far more interesting than the story intends them to be. (In House of the Dragon, for instance, you can keep Daemon, Rhaenyra, Otto Hightower, and Alicent-- Rhaenys (Eve Best) is the most interesting character in the show.) Here, that title is shared by Bo-Katan and to some degree by Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.)

Bo-Katan is interesting because she's got an agenda. Whether she admits it or not, she wants Darksaber back so she can set about reclaiming her rightful place on the throne of Mandalore, restart the Great Forge, and reunite her people. The fact that Djarin just randomly ends up with the Darksaber (I mean, he does earn it by defeating Moff Gideon), makes her character a little... twitchy, in a way. She's kind of giving Djarin some side-eye, trying to figure out if she can take back the Darksaber and how and when he's pulled under in the waters of Mandalore, she does go and save him, but she also thinks about it for just a second. This was an aspect of this character that the show could have played with more-- there's a conflict within her over power and honor and she's reluctant to help Djarin, not believing that Mandalore is habitable again, but once she sees that it is-- it's game on. She also has to deal with her past (and the fact that surrendered to try and save her people when the Empire took them down) and that's another interesting thing we don't get to see. What happened on the Night of A Thousand Tears.

Carson Teva is back as the X-Wing pilot who is trying like heck to get the New Republic to actually do something for once. There's a whole-ass show centered around not just this character, but the New Republic of it all. How does the Rebellion go from rag-tag Rebel Alliance to an actual government? How come they're so effective at rehabilitating former Imperials but can't seem to protect systems from pirates? How come the New Republic still exists at the start of The Force Awakens, but there's also The Resistance as well? Like... how does it all work, post-Death Star?

(Also: what's up with The Armorer? Mysterious character. Suddenly is down with Helmets being removed? I'm... curious.)

There are a couple of standout moments for this season: the first is a delightfully unexpected detour to the planet Plazir-15 (Episode 6, 'Chapter 22: Guns For Hire') where Bo-Katan, Djarin, and Grogu go to get Bo-Katan's now mercenary army, the Axe Wolves back to go and retake Mandalore. They are currently in the employ of Captain Bombardier, the Duchess (played by Jack Black and Lizzo respectively), and the head of Planetary Security, Commissioner Helgait (Christopher Lloyd.) Three people I would never have expected to see in an episode of this show and it works. It's just delightful. It's fun. It's great.

The second moment comes courtesy of a vision Grogu has in Episode 4 ('Chapter 20: The Foundling') where he recalls his rescue from the burning Jedi Temple by sympathetic members of the Naboo Armed Forces and Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, who is played by Ahmed Best. Best, of course, is known for playing Jar-Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy and he has gotten an incredible amount of abuse and stick for it over the years. Whether this was a deliberate choice by the showrunners or just a happy accident, I don't know- and it definitely floated around my TikTok feed a lot when this first aired, but seeing this moment and seeing this actor get a shot at, if not redemption, then certainly a chance to be seen as someone else in the Star Wars franchise was fabulous. A+ work.

Here's where I'm at with this show: the ending is perfect. Gideon is defeated, and his Force-Sensitive clones are destroyed. While you can quibble about Djarin just giving the Darksaber to Bo-Katan, he does and she gets to restart the Great Forge and the Mandalorians get to be back on Mandalore. Djarin formally adopts Grogu, they take up Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) on his offer of a bit of land on the outskirts of Nevarro's capital and Djarin goes to Carson Teva looking for some more honest work while he raises Grogu.

So, let me ask the question again: Do we need a movie?

I mean, there are some aspects of the story we can still explore. Bo-Katan and getting Mandalore going, Imperial Shenanigans and whispers of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Carson Teva, and the struggles of the New Republic. I'm not disagreeing with the notion that there's more story here, I'm just saying- in terms of Djarin and Grogu: do we need a movie? This is perfect. You couldn't ask for a better ending to their story. That doesn't mean they can't show up again at some point, but man, this felt like the perfect bow to tie on top of this show.

I'm probably going to watch Season 4/The Movie or whatever it winds up being, never fear-- but sometimes it's okay for things to just end, you know. And I almost wish they'd just put this down and walk away for a bit.

Overall: It's great. The action scenes work. They don't get stuck on Tatooine or some other planet we've seen before- in fact, we get to go back to Mandalore! That's rad. It's got awesome moments for all the characters, a trio of excellent guest stars, and a nice moment for Ahmed Best tucked away in here. If it's got a fault, it's that it doesn't go as far as it could with some characters (I think Bo-Katan could have faced far more of a struggle over Djarin having the Darksaber, for instance) but I can't complain about the ending either. My Grade: *** out of ****

[alectology-archive]

Okay, part 2 of babel!

- The seduction of empire and a desire to prove yourself worthy through a system created by it despite understanding its flaws is very well executed but sort of underscored by rfk's own obsession with academia

- it's a gorgeous concept that the new students in babel are not masters of romantic languages so that the british can exploit non-european cultures to their benefit

- these conversations are so exhausting to read. Is rfk copy pasting stuff from her textbook....

- Griffin feeling really upset that he doesn't 'dream in chinese' ie has lost touch with his culture and homeland is very nicely done. And, I guess, I'm taking this in a literal way but I don't dream in my native language either, so I'm just Thinking about how I'm personally not in touch with my mother tongue to the extent I probably should be. It's less familiar to me than english is, and my internal monologues are all in english, too. Heck sometimes I can't remember basic words in it although I studied it as a second language right up until I was 18.

- I mean I do know that british factory-produced textiles were shipped back to south asia in massive quantities and put lots of local businesses out of commission so I'm not entirely certain if I can get behind the "all the silver is accumulating in china since they love chinese goods" explanation where the emperor says they have no need for british goods (and stuff like silver/tea/spices are very much luxury goods so why are they trading off silver which is used to enforce british supremacy? They could just do without lol). But I'm not familiar with trade and economic relations between britain and china in the 1830s so I'll go with whatever rfk is saying.

- the bit of worldbuilding with the resonance link is very well done and highlights how babel is one of the institutions central to ensuring the sustained supremacy of the british empire.

- oh lol I'm sure Anthony's joined some rebels or something.

- the class divide in britain has been addressed! I'm very pleased about that although I'm still waiting for effective criticism of the sexism in academia.

- the brutal way in which the failed student was expelled seems very cartoonish tbh. You can't have both - an institution presenting itself as if it cares for its students and one which explicitly treats them like expendable resources. She understands well how to execute an institution funded by the government treating its students like resources well in the poppy war but fails to replicate the same here. I suspect the romanticising of academia was partly inserted to allow robin to delude himself into thinking Surely Babel Is Not That Bad but it wasn't necessary! This ties into my criticism of how robin, in part 1 and also the first couple of chapters in part 2, manages to be simultaneously interested in progressive ideals while also convinced of its supremacy in a way that's just not organic - rfk should've committed to him being sold on the idea of british supremacy and should've slowly opened his eyes to the reality of how babel is complicit in imperialism and all the atrocities committed by the empire.

Anyway. Part 3 now, which is short and thank god for it because I'm honestly pretty bored and disinterested.

[otnesse]

Some people say that Biggs Darklighter's deleted speech about the Galactic Empire nationalizing farms made Star Wars an anti-communist film, and that meant George Lucas was anti-Communist. I half-agree. It definitely would have made it anti-communist, but I suspect it implicitly condemning communism and nationalization is if anything the reason WHY it ended up cut (and I suspect George Lucas himself demanded the cut), especially when Lucas's own talk, especially in a certain Charlie Rose interview post-sale to Disney and even some comments made by him beforehand like "pure democracy, not capitalistic democracy" indicated that he himself was a huge fan of nationalization (heck, preferred the Soviet filmmaking style over Hollywood, and the Soviet filmmaking style is the EPITOME of nationalization). Oh yeah, and also his explicitly quoting Marx's dictum of workers having the means of production after he freed himself from the hollywood system around the time The Empire Strikes Back was released. More likely, he initially wrote it as a reference to the leftist canard about how America "invaded" Vietnam for tin deposits (basically the 1960s-1970s equivalent of the anti-war slogan War for Oil during Iraq), but then after giving it some thought and realizing he unintentionally supplied ammo to the capitalists he hated and demonized the communists he loved, he decided to cut the line instead. And get this, when it came time to expand more on the Empire's philosophy from its own words with the Imperial Handbook, they conveniently don't even ALLUDE to any plans, short or long term, of nationalizing farms at all. The most they really mentioned regarding nationalization, or Imperialization as they call it, was weapons manufacturers, which lets face it, even in a small government setting, nationalization of firearms is somewhat required. Without nationalization of firearms or weapons of some sort, weapons manufacturers actually CAN commit treason and sell weapons to both sides just for a quick buck. Yes, Capitalism definitely is the best in this world for many reasons, but it also needs to be held in check by morals as well, which even Conservatives agree with, heck, the Founding Fathers of America agreed with. Ironically, absolutely no restraints to weapons manufacturers actually works more with Communists than Capitalists since Communists absolutely INSIST on destroying moral codes as well as law and order of ANY sort.

[beardedhandstoadshark]

What's the silliest debate or argument you've seen on social media?

Silly as in funny or silly as in what the heck is going on with all of you because WOW are there a lot for that second one

I think my favorite long-standing one might be imperial vs metric system lol

[factcheckandchill]

Historical thread: from Manifest Destiny to today's global strife.

James Monroe gave a State of the Union address on December 2nd, 1823. Buried within it, was a warning to the powers of Europe; that any further expansion in the Americas might be perceived as an act of hostility.

By the late 19th century, the Monroe Doctrine combined with the rise of the concept of Manifest Destiny, gave the perfect combination for American expansion westward towards, and into the Pacific.

Monroe was the last "founding father" to serve as president. He attended the College of William and Mary, fought in the Continental Army, and practiced law in Virginia. He was an anti-federalist - a group involved in ratifying the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, he served as minister to France from 1794 to 1796. He was also, partly responsible for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

America started as groups of various European settlements whose affluent organized to create an independent, monarch-free empire. A monarchy of the rich with an illusion of public equality.

This was at a time when Europe was grappling with what powers their monarchs should have.

They originated as feudal systems in medieval times in Europe that developed from the mass enslavement of the poor in proto-capitalist societies.

The economic systems we live under today, if you live in the Western world, or a place under Western spheres of influence, derive from those systems.

In the 19th century, the Europeans and Americans could not allow for systems that existed outside capitalist control. The idea that people did not serve a state power, a monarch, or the various forms of landlords/capital owners, was unsettling and a threat to their legitimacy.

During colonial times, Guatemala was an administrative center in the Central American region. Today, it remains a religious center. Monroe-ism had a hand in eradicating most European control in that region. And instead imposing U.S. influence.

The influence is most pronounced in the Panama region, where the dollar is the current currency.

While the impact of Spanish, Portuguese, and other European conquest in Central and South America is still felt today, the current hand of the local conquistador, the U.S.A., is most today.

For the past 200 years, U.S. intervention in Latin America has become second nature. If a government in that region does something that the U.S. does not like, then that is grounds for a U.S.-backed coup, destabilization of government and society, and re-appointment of more U.S. corporate interest-friendly persons in the place of anyone the U.S. does not like. This started to translate elsewhere after Wilson took power. Like in the Koreas, Iraq (where the U.S. supported Saddam until they didn't) Israel, the GCC, Iran, heck even the Soviet Union and post-Soviet states - namely Yugoslavia.

Moral consistency be damned, you have to protect your foreign interests and ensure access to other people's natural resources! Right?

Nowadays, the times of Monroe and other early presidents are incredibly romanticized by U.S. Americans. Forgetting his actions towards Native Americans, and his presiding over the trail of tears.

This is not unlike the modern-day treatment of occupied indigenous populations elsewhere. But hey, white culture is better than any other, right? (Wrong, it isn't, it never was, it never will be.)

Looking at Palestine today, you can see where this amalgamation of Monroe-ism, Wilsonianism, post-modern imperialism and colonialism collide. And it all goes down to this white supremacist belief that their culture and way of life is best, which is infantilistic at best and narcissistic at worst.

Winston Churchill himself said of the colonization of Palestine;

"I do not admit that the dog in the manger has the final right to the manger, though he may have lain there for a very long time I do not admit that right. I do not admit for instance that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been to those people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race or at any rate a more worldly-wise race, to put it that way, has come in and taken their place. I do not admit it. I do not think the Red Indians had any right to say, 'American continent belongs to us and we are not going to have any of these European settlers coming in here'. They had not the right, nor had they the power."

Decades after the Monroe Doctrine State of the Union, Theodore Roosevelt used the Monroe Doctrine as a way to legitimize America's "international police power" around the world. And if we ask KRS-One about the police, they are an extension of the upkeep of white supremacy in the United States. According to Roosevelt, the Monroe Doctrine was a way for the U.S. to expand their overseer officers across the globe.

Roosevelt's antics in Venezuela, reflect the ideals of today's American government. Telling Henry Cabot Lodge, "I rather hope the fight will come soon. The clamor of the peace faction has convinced me that this country needs a war."

Today, Joe Biden, like most all presidents before, is keeping up this power. Protecting their interests everywhere at the expense of everyone else. As we see in the carte blanche given to Israel by its imperial benefactors to do whatever it wants, whenever it wants, to whomever it wants. Including committing genocide, enacting apartheid, controlling the world's largest concentration camp, and arresting 100s of children annually - without charge or judicial oversight - in military prisons, in a country that has become a safe haven for pedophiles according to its own media, amongst incalculable and unimaginable atrocities occurring daily against Palestinians across the territories.

This brings us to China and the Soviet Union, both of these nations are/were economic rivals of the U.S. The former two gaining power on the global stage is not good news for U.S. global control, as they provide alternatives to anything the U.S. can do, and it would be a great danger to U.S. and European satellite stateless, like Israel.

Cuba, being the antithesis of an American satellite state, remains a thorn in the side of U.S. foreign policy. A state, in its own 'sphere of influence', that isn't attached to the U.S. economically and socially? Worse, economically tied to the Soviets? What?!?!

Hell, the Monroe Doctrine was at the root of J.F. Kennedy's response during the 'Cuban Missile Crisis'.

And before you start to list the 'atrocities' of the Cuban state, I wish to redirect you to the concept of moral consistency! Look it up.

This is a catch-22 for both the U.S. and Israel. They both have internal issues that are bringing their power down on the global stage, and American support of Israel brings its power and influence down even further. Its power going down brings Israeli support down.

The final goal of anti-Monroe-vian visionaries should be to take away the veto powers of all who hold them on the UNSC, taking away any carte blanche powers that any state can hold, and the demand of moral consistency from all.

The Monroe Doctrine started out as a way to prevent European involvement in the Americas to ensure U.S. American economic influence in the Western Hemisphere. Later on, expanding that hemisphere to wherever natural resources and economic pathways may lay.

This motivated Europe to expedite the process of expanding east and south. A process that has been in the works, but it definitely allowed for more capability, time, and focus to be applied there than in the potential of expanding into the western hemisphere.

In today's world, Europe's colonial modus operandi is to settle its people elsewhere. While the U.S. modus is imposing a military and cultural presence that sought to command people's loyalties to what it saw as the moral high ground. Manifesting what once was titled the "white man's burden" - or in today's social power structure the "western-capitalist man's burden."

[kyliafanfiction]

Colonies and Imperialism in Fantasy Fiction

tl;dr - Depiction is not endorsement, and (fictional) colonies in fantasy fiction - in entirely fictional settings) is something I think can make for a very interesting story, and the interplay between colonizer, settler, collaborator and resistor makes for very interesting worlds and very interesting stories especially. I include these sorts of dynamics in my fiction that I write not because I endorse colonies or colonialism, but because I find the dynamics that they create in worldbuilding to be fascinating. Anyone who knows much about the original fantasy worldbuilding that I do, either for the heck of it, or for stories that I write with an eventual eye for publishing (and this is a very small number because I don’t tend to talk about this stuff that often) knows that colonies show up a lot in my settings. Empires too.

Now, these Empires are not always monarchies, though sometimes they are. What they often are, however, is inspired by the flavor of the British Empire, drawing from bits and pieces in the span from 1700 to 1890 in an anarchromism stew. Also, because I’m American, there’s a lot of America in there, and occasionally a dash of the Ancient Roman Republic because I’m a big Rome nerd.

Regardless, these countries, which are usually but not always the ‘protagonist country’ (in the sense that the stories I want to tell tend to focus on them, I give them the most worldbuilding attention, and most significant characters - especially POV  characters - tend to be from them), are not categorically and universally painted as perfect, flawless and right. They are painted as being better in some important respects than many of the alternative powers of the setting, but they’re usually host to steep wealth inequalities, severe poverty for the lowest classes, political corruption that runs deep and wide, and often political systems that are prone to stagnation and infighting over sometimes the pettiest of bullshit. While they may present themselves as doing Imperialism because it’s moral (i.e. a fictional variation on the White Man’s Burden) the stories also make it clear that it’s as much or more just greed and power politics, or so is the intent. Of course, that moral imperative they claim may also inspire them, because some people who think their civilization and culture is the Best One™ are going to genuinely think being part of it is good and right and forcing people to do so is good and right.

These Empires then often have colonies.

These colonies are in distant parts of the world, across some great ocean or sea, linked back to the metropole by naval travel and trade, and sometimes by magical communication (rarely magical teleportation, which does not tend to lend itself to the stories I want to tell). These colonies are generally partially settler colonies, but often continue to have extensive native populations, and even existing native power structures continuing to function to varying degrees. Sometimes these colonies are glorified trading outposts ala the Portuguese feitorias that wield significant influence over local leaders without formally annexing the region, akin to the Residency systems practiced by various European empires (and other non-European empires have engaged in similar practices in the past as well), though the actual level of influence can vary and sometimes shift with the political winds.

For Example:

In the world of the Kantriverse, one such setting of mine, the Kingdom of Kantrias (very much the 'protagonist' country, as per the definition above) exists on the pseudo-Europe (and Middle East/North Africa) continent of Bayetz. There is, to the southwest, and partially in the tropics of the planet, a continent called Guayas. This continent is loosely - sometimes very loosely - inspired by India, Southeast Asia and China. More accurately, it is based on certain specific elements of certain specific periods thrown together into anachronistic stews to fit the stories I want to tell. There is certainly room to discuss the merits or problematicness of this sort of cultural chop suey as a tool for worldbuilding, either in general or how I do it, but that's neither here nor there for this conversation. On Guayas, for centuries, there has been a long-standing cold war between the two largest and most potent nations, the Kingdom of Kharash and the Telvir Ascendency. Because of the geography of the continent, neither nation tends to fight the other directly, even when open war breaks out, and instead, they may fight on the seas, or through their proxy vassal states. Because large swaths of the continent are home to small states, sometimes kingdoms, sometimes not, that both Kharash and Telvir seek to influence, extra tribute from, and use to weaken their rival. By this point, this rivalry has had extensive influence on the internal politics of these smaller states, and existing internal political divides tend to get played out in the various powershifts - one state, Irido, even maintains two royal dynasties, or two distinct branches of one royal dynasty, depending on how you look at it, one that is more partisan to the Telvir and one to the Kharash. The divisions are not always so deliberately artificial, but in each country, wherever you find a two-sided political dispute, one side tends to lean Telvir,  the other Kharash. Which ideology aligns to which power is not always consistent from small state to small state. Gauyas, being the continent from which tea, coffee, sugar and many desirable spices originate, is of course of great interest to Kantrias, which, being British-inspired, sure would like to control the trade in those valuable commodities. Kantrias certainly has products to export, and there is demand for the products Bayetz can produce in some parts of Guayas (for instance, Kantrian wine is considered quite tasty by many in the small Kingdom of Vacca), and Kantrias did - sorta - have a technological edge, as their gunpowder technology was superior when they first started seeking to meddle in Guayas (Gunpowder was invented on Bayetz by the priesthood of a deity that is now literally most often known as 'The Gunpowder God' and while the secret quickly spread, it did take longer to reach Guayas). But that edge was hardly enough to allow them to curbstomp anyone, especially with the distances and logistics involved, and while Kantrias certainly could out-muscle any of one or two of the smaller states, the Telvir Ascendancy and the Kingdom of Kharash both represent enough power to make conquest and colonization impossible. In pure video game 'numbers', Kantrias may have Telvir or Kharash beat, may, but of course, empire and warfare does not work like that. As such, when Kantrian desires to force favorable and lopsided trade agreements on local rulers ran into the reality of the situation, Kantrias adapted. For reasons not worth going into in detail, relations between Kantrias and Kharash were better, due in large part to certain shared cultural values, and the internal politics of the Telvir at the time. As such, Kantrias inserted itself into the existing cold war, on the side of Kharash. And thus, brings it's economic, magical, diplomatic and military weight to bear on the smaller states, swaying more to Kharash's side, and thus... theirs. Because basically part of the terms of the Alliance between Kharash and Kantrias is that Kharashian 'vassals' (even if that term is not often used and only partially accurate) should agree to favorable trade deals with Kantrias, or otherwise give Kantrias some sort of 'favored' status for trading, allowing them the space to build local trading towns/outposts that follow Kantrian law, station ships and troops there (in small numbers, not enough to occupy) to protect their business interests, etc. And with that in place, Kantrias has it's 'Empire' in Guayas (they do have a more conventional settler colony elsewhere, but this post is getting waaaaaay too long and I'm not even to the main point of my post). With their in, they are mostly content, as trade and money is the goal here, but of course, their alliance with Kharash is far from perfect, sometimes they lose out a lot of money when a small state turns Telvir (allying with Kharash does mean pissing the Telvir off more, of course) and that can spark a small war or not. But they do sometimes try to cultivate fully 'Kantrian' factions at the courts or in the populations of the smaller states, rather than just try to work with existing pro-Kharash factions. Because of course, even with most divides splitting between Telvir and the Kharash, some people and demographics get left out in the cold, or maybe Kantrias just has more to offer in some cases.

All of that example is simply to illustrate one set of scenarios that go into the empires and colonialism I write, and the ways I use it to tell what I think are interesting stories. Because I do think colonies lend themselves to some very interesting stories.  Because, let's imagine a fictional colony - Colony X. X is a region that is geographically defined, but was neither culturally nor politicall unified when Empire 1 came along. Empire 1 used a combination of diplomacy, threats, bribery and outright conquest to take over the whole region, unified it under one administrative unit (Colony X) and sent settlers. In this specifiic scenario, Empire 1 had some sort of advantage over Colony X's inhabitants. Probably several. It was larger and more unified, and thus able to take the local political components one by one. Maybe it had superior tech, or superior magic, or a better organized society that allowed them to mobilize more manpower, more resources, more material faster. Maybe Colony X had a big war recently, or major internal tensions,e tc, that were exploited. Who knows. The point is, you now have, let's say a century on, a lot of competing forces in the colony. You have the metropole (Empire 1), which may or may not be unified in what they want from or what they want to do to the colony. You have the settlers, not all of whom may be fully onboard with Empire 1. Some may just not like being taxed and dictated to by a government hundreds or thousands of miles of ocean away, some may descent from dissidents of some sort (political, religious, cultural, etc), some, of course, will be onboard with Empire 1. Some may see the native peoples, or some of them, as potential allies against Empire 1, someone to make common cause with, some may hate them as much as Empire 1 and want to oppress them the same (or even more) and some may be more afraid of them than Empire 1, and see Empire 1 as their defense against them. Meanwhile, in the native population, you may have some groups - local elites, certain mercantile interests, maybe a previously oppressed or maligned cast or ethnic group that Empire 1 lifted up specifically because they were previously oppressed or maligned or mistreated (and thus would be more loyal to Empire 1), maybe just one ethnic group in general is favored over others, etc - who might generally be in favor of Empire 1's continued presence. Then you have another group of collaborators, who might see themselves as just pragamtically accepting the world they live in now, and accepting Empire 1 is in charge because kicking them out is currently seen as impossible. And then there's collaborators who want to try to mitigate Empire 1's damage, or maybe want to learn their ways and techniques and so on to eventually use them against Empire 1 (but of course, have to prove themselves in the meantime). And all of these groups will have their own ideas about the settlers. Then you have people who aren't collaborating, but aren't actively opposing the Empire. And then you have the resistance - some may be native peoples who still see that Empire 1 had advantages, and we should copy those advantages. Some may want to return to old political divisions within the region, so may want unity. Some may want unity on their terms. Some may think that any borrowing of the ideas, techniques, technology or tactics of Empire 1 is horrible and vile and verboten and blasphemous or w/e. Some may want to drive all the foreigners from their shores, some may want to work with settlers willing to work with them. Some may not want to really get independence (because they might be worried about uncontrolled fallout from that) but want better terms or local home rule or whatever. And then you have other nations entirely - say, Empire 2, or Smaller Nation (But Still More Powerful than Colony X) Alpha. Empire 2 or Smaller Nation Alpha may have an interest in Colony X. Maybe they want to take it over, and try to offer (sincerely or not) a better deal to the settlers, the natives, whoever, to get them to jump ship. Maybe they just want to conquer it outright, no need to talk. Maybe they just want to weaken Empire 1, and don't really care how it happens, and cynically arm anyone willing to fight but without any intention of helping them more - it's just about bleeding Empire 1. Maybe there is a genuine anti-Imperialism in Smaller Nation Alpha's governing ideology. Maybe Empire 2 or Smaller Nation Alpha don't want to take over Colony X once it's independent, but they wouldn't mind having economic hegemony or strong influence over the region afterwards. Maybe it's many of these things at once. You take all of these groups, and all of these interests, and even if you tell a story that just a simple 'rebels overthrowing Empire 1's rule over them' narrative, with rebels as good guys and Empire 1 as bad guys - which you by no means have to do, as gray, nuance and complexity makes for a more interesting story generally - there's still a lot of room for cross-purposes, well-intentioned good people fighting one another, disagreement, drama, intrigue. Colonies tell really interesting stories. They're not the only way or place to tell interesting stories, god no, but I have found that for the kinds of stories I want to tell, with the worldbuilding I like to do, colonies and imperialism lend themselves well to it. In the real world, colonialism and Imperialism are, to be blunt, bad, for the colonized people. Sometimes they're great for some specific demographics within the colonized region, but usually not even then forever. They're usually pretty damn good for the Colonizer, but even then, Empire can sometimes come with a  poisoned pill domestically. And that too, is often fascinating and can make for really interesting stories. In fiction, you can sometimes get away with making colonization not entirely bad for the colonized, but usually not, and it's not a great idea to try unless you're sure of what you're doing. On the other hand, depiction is not endorsement. Even when the 'protagonist' does it. Even if the 'bad guy' (protagonist or otherwise) wins at the end of the story. Even if the Empire still controls the colony at the end of the story, or the rebels cross all sorts of moral lines and do things just as bad as the Empire. You're endorsing Imperialism to include it in a story, and every story doesn't have to end with Empire ending. Because, every kind of story you can tell with colonies will often, will almost always be, very, very interesting. Because colonies lend themselves to some really interesting narratives.