I'm gonna do my other star wars thread tomorrow, which will primarily be me yelling at a @RowanKaiser-shaped strawman for calling the First Order and The Resistance "cosplayers who the rest of the galaxy has to deal with"

the deal w/the New Republic, the First Order, and the Resistance is very weird and complex and I actually take issue with how Story Group frames the actual conflict.
pre-TFA stuff is presented as a "cold war" between the New Republic and the remnants of the Empire that form the First Order, which 100% makes sense.
But they frame the First Order's attack on the Hosnian system and the subsequent battle that takes place across TFA and TLJ as a full on war when it's very clearly a coup. A war implies at least equal standing, but the First Order completely wrecks shop and takes over the galaxy.
ok never mind I'm fucking doing this now.

The First Order fleet we see in TLJ is *not* the entire fleet of the First Order (I don't even think Starkiller Base was their main base of operations honestly, it couldn't have been considering they were operating out of Wild Space)
What we see of the First Order in TFA/TLJ is essentially a landing party establishing a beach head in the Known Regions so that the rest of the First Order could strike from the Unknown Regions and take the galaxy.
I'm not going to get into the split of the New Republic, the secret funding of the First Order, and why the NR demilitarizes because I haven't read BLOODLINES in a while and it's getting late. But the Resistance (in TFA) is more than just "rebels", they're the Republic military.
the only reason they aren't called that is because the Republic demilitarized, and the First Order (rightly if hypocritically) calls them out on demilitarizing but maintaining an unofficial military force.
So the thing that complicates the whole fucking deal is the First Order destroying the Hosnian system and essentially destroying the government of the New Republic, which would/should be the first act of war, right?
The First Order had a pretty significant amount of senators in their pocket, though. There were a lot of Imperial loyalists in the Senate (for some fucking reason) who fought for a return to a centralized form of government with a leader. Basically Empire 2.0.
(or at least that was the concern Mon Mothma, Leia, and part of the new senate had, that it was immediately going to lead to fascism and that each planet should be allowed to govern itself to an extent)
SO: destroy the Hosnian system and the Republic senate, which is largely symbolic thanks to division, seize control of any planet unwilling to submit to the First Order, and install your new senate in a new system or a new planet and use that to rule from.
I guaren-fucking-tee that the First Order will have established their new government on Coruscant, in-universe b/c it's the center of the galaxy and because JJ is a fucking mark for Star Wars so this should end where it began (rhymes, poetry, etc).
SO: destroy the old senate, destroy the Republic's only functioning military, establish new center of power, establish your military junta (since a lot of the big wigs in the FO are ex-Imperial admirals, hey there Rae Sloane) and you've done a coup in like, 3 days max.
Things get fucked for the FO b/c Snoke is dead and Starkiller Base is destroyed, *but* I don't think the FO was going to make the same mistake that the Empire did and only have one guy holding everything together and they've got a massive military.
in conclusion: the star war in the sequel trilogy is a coup not a war, the sequel trilogy is good and fun even if/especially because it mirrors the OT, and I've never been wrong ever (that's the important take away from tonight)
@threadreaderapp unroll thread plz

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A thread of very good, wonderful, truly Super Bowls.

Translucent agate bowl with ornamental grooves and coffee-and-cream marbling. Found near Qift in southern Egypt. 300 - 1,000 BC. 📷 Getty Museum https://t.co/W1HfQZIG2V


Technicolor dreambowl, found in a grave near Zadar on Croatia's Dalmatian Coast. Made by melding and winding thin bars of glass, each adulterated with different minerals to get different colors. 1st century AD. 📷 Zadar Museum of Ancient Glass
https://t.co/H9VfNrXKQK


100,000-year-old abalone shells used to mix red ocher, marrow, charcoal, and water into a colorful paste. Possibly the oldest artist's palettes ever discovered. Blombos Cave, South Africa. 📷https://t.co/0fMeYlOsXG


Reed basket bowl with shell and feather ornaments. Possibly from the Southern Pomo or Lake Miwok cultures. Found in Santa Barbara, CA, circa 1770. 📷 British Museum https://t.co/F4Ix0mXAu6


Wooden bowl with concentric circles and rounded rim, most likely made of umbrella thorn acacia (Vachellia/Acacia tortilis). Qumran. 1st Century BCE. 📷 https://t.co/XZCw67Ho03

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It is a series of Sanskrit shlokas recited by Jambavant to Hanuman to remind Him of his true potential.

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2. उतसारा स्थिरा घम्भीरा: The one who is leaping higher and higher, who is firm and stable and seriously determined.

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5.विजिटरीपुरु धीरधारा, कलोथरा शिखरा कठोरा: This is a complex expression seen only in Indic language poetry. The poet is stating that Shivudu is experiencing the intensity of climbing a tough peak, and likening

it to the feeling in a hard battle, when you see your enemy defeated, and blood flowing like a rivulet. This is classical Veera rasa.

6.कुलकु थारथिलीथा गम्भीरा, जाया विराट वीरा: His rough body itself is like a sharp weapon (because he is determined to win). Hail this complete

hero of the world.

7.विलयगागनथाला भिकारा, गरज्जद्धरा गारा: The hero is destructive in the air/sky as well (because he can leap at an enemy from a great height). He can defeat the enemy (simply) with his fearsome roar of war.