#and therefore with the sw universe too

[lifeofclonewars]

Fun fact: if you watch Hevy closely during Clone Cadets, you can see that he tends to shoot with his mouth open

Here are some screenshot examples

[delulu-with-wandanat]

I have read a fic that gave me an incredible idea: SORCERER SUPREME NATASHA ROMANOFF and since then I have been obsessed & infatuated. Now imagine this Natasha vs evil Scarlet Witch (the 1 from DSMOM), this creates joker-batman esque parallel, a bit toxic, real proper enemies to lovers dynamic I have been yearning for wandanat No offense to Dr Strange but Nat would be a better sorcerer supreme & more suitable opponent to the Scarlet Witch ( redeemed hero vs corrupted hero, plus they are actually close as friends unlike with Dr strange therefore more stakes), imagine the mind games, the back and forth, cat &mouse chase, the tension,... considering how Wanda was manipulative and gruesome in MOM and Natasha had been there and done that, It would be incredible and tense.

Now the premise: Nat is from another earth (earth 007 bc nat loves Agent 007), discovers the sanctum sanctorum back in the winter soldier era, then becomes the SS, this speed runs the events of the infinity saga, and for some reason they would need the soul stone; nat and Wanda get chosen to retrieve it thus Wanda dies there. Also our main wandanat were just friends so are the wandanat of that universe. She notices Wanda dream walking in her universe, and immediately senses the danger Wanda is, also her earth is aware of the multiverse like the illuminati world, so she put herself in an individual quest to track down and stop the SW , it's then they clash and the fable starts. This needs massive rewrite (a better version)of the mcu, specially MOM & wandavision, for that I have to rewatch all of it, read the comics too, and the cherry on top is that I don't even write ( it took 2 hours just to send this). Anyways what do you think of this? And if someone wants to do it, be my guest

HOLYSHIT I LOVE IT WTF??

Let me know when you write it, this is fucking incredible- Yes this would need a massive re-write, but done right it would be absolutely fucking amazing! I really hope you explore and decide to write this, just know I'll be first in line with all them kudos XD

[pinkhairandpokemon]

Introduction Post

————

I’M A BAD BITCH YOU CAN’T KILL ME!

hiya! name's Blake. you might recognize me, you might not. rotomblr is confusing with all the multiverse stuff. basically, I'm an ex-champion who's kinda just doing my own thing now. saved the world a few times. met a few gods. y'know, the usual. I even died once! technically. oh, and I’m a university student at Blueberry Academy! mostly here to post about my Pokémon- but my friends Hop and Auberi have access to this blog too, so you might see them on here occasionally.

also!! I have a wonderful partner here’s his blog: @thunderblessedhero I love him sm

that's pretty much all you need to know, I think! signing out!

-Blake

———

Auberi Bellerose- 21, they/them, demisexual/greyromantic

Hop Laventon- 20, he/him, asexual/biromantic

Blake- 21, they/them, pansexual/demiromantic

————

Current Arc: Frozen Over (ON PAUSE)

Mini Arc: N/A

Summary: N/A

OOC: hi! I’m Wren and uHhh this is my first pkmn RP blog. Originally I was gonna make an Eternatus one but I thought it’d be more fun to make one for my OC,, but I might still make the  Eternatus one if this one goes well. my main pkmn blog is @xgoldenlatiasx (but i like and follow from @/flightmare-kid)

(update: prolly not gonna make the Eternatus blog lol. for right now at least. I have enough blogs as it is now)

also: in-character mean interactions are welcome. beat their ass

other rp blogs: @thunderblessedhero @partnersintime @scarlet-rider @pokehorsegirl @bisharpenjoyer @dragontamerhiccup @coolguyhilbert @keldeochamp1on @weirdcelebi @sapphireseafarer @justanothercastelian

Warnings: things won’t get TOO extremely dark or serious on this blog for now, there will be a lot of swearing though. Also all the characters are around 19-20, there won’t ever be anything explicit but they’ll probably make stupid dick jokes at worst. Specifically Blake and probably Auberi sometimes. I’ll tag stuff like that as #tw nsfw joke and/or #tw suggestive.

Info about my OC:

basically Blake is my protag in several pkmn games, specifically SW/SH, X/Y, and B/W! the timeline of those games’ stories are in that specific order in my OCverse. (Pretty much any semblance of a canon timeline in the games is destroyed in my OCverse, except for any games w/ sequels like Gen1/Gen2 or BW/BW2. I’ll probably put together a proper timeline eventually, but essentially it’s just in the order I played all the games. Rn that order is FRLG -> HGSS -> SM -> ORAS -> SWSH -> XY -> DPPT/BDSP -> BW -> PLA -> SV -> BW2)

Bio: Blake was born in Nuvema Town, where they lived until they were around seven before moving to Aspertia City. They lived there until they were about thirteen, before moving to Postwick in the Galar region with their mother. There, they met one of their best friends, Hop. At the time, Blake was super closed off and shy, as their social anxiety made making friends difficult. The only one they’ve ever really let their guard down with was Hop. Watching Leon’s matches on TV with Hop was what inspired them to become a trainer, though for many years they didn’t actually think it’d be possible for them- considering they came from a family who didn’t really like Pokemon, therefore they had nowhere near as much experience with them like Hop did. They feared their social anxiety would get in the way, too.

Once they were 16, they unexpectedly got their first Pokemon from Leon- a Sobble named Kappa. After getting endorsed by Leon and some encouragement from Hop, they agreed to sign up for the Gym Challenge. They had a rocky start- losing battles pretty frequently was putting a huge dent in their already low self-esteem, and it was impacting Kappa as well. But over time they learned the ropes of being a trainer and was quickly becoming a rising star amongst the Gym Challengers. They went on to stop the Darkest Day along with Hop, catch Eternatus, become champion, and earn the trust of Zacian.

During their reign as champion, they trained at the Isle of Armor and explored the Crown Tundra. These small adventures slowly helped them realize just how much pressure their title was putting on them- and finally caused them to slip up during the final match of the next year’s Gym Challenge.

After losing their title, they decided to look for a new path- which lead them to Kalos, where they helped in putting a stop to Team Flare’s plan and caught Yveltal, and eventually back to Unova, where they fought against Team Plasma alongside Reshiram. Following the defeat of Plasma, they’ve enrolled as a college student at Blueberry Academy- and have done quite a lot in the past two years, such as visiting the Paldea region and catching more Pokémon. Now, they’ve returned to Unova, and are resting after having helped in the fight against Kyurem.

Blake is also the main character in my comics, Adventures in Kalos (on my instagram @/xgolden_latiasx) and Unova Fates (on Tumblr, insta, and webtoon). This blog will probably contain spoilers for those comics!

Their ref:

More rules/info/explanations/etc.:

All three of these characters are friends with multiple legendaries, so if they seem overpowered to you… sorry? I’m just having fun over here. They don’t really use any of them for battle that often, though they might threaten to sic their legendary on someone as a joke (but they won’t actually). But as of right now the only legendary that’s actively with the group is Reshiram, he’s the only one who’ll get involved in whatever shenanigans/event the gang finds themselves in. (Unless I’m participating in an event from another person and they say they don’t want Reshiram involved.)

I’m relatively willing to join in on high stakes stuff as long as I feel up to it, but please ask me first if you want one of my characters to actively participate somehow.

Also, this blog runs with the idea that Rotomblr is a weird site that links other universes together. So for example say if… Kalos is blowing up or something on another person’s blog and someone tries to get Auberi involved, I’m just going to say it’s happening in a different universe. Or if a different SWSH/XY/BW/PLA protag character tries to interact.

Please also understand that I have realllllly bad social anxiety and awkwardness. I apologize if it takes me a while to respond to something, or if my replies seem short and uninterested (I promise I’m interested in the conversation I’m just bad at words). Or long and ramble-y. Please tell me to shut the fuck up if you need me to.

Past arcs/plot lines:

#Storyline: Haunting Regrets (Explanation of Auberi’s past)

#Story Event: The Calm Before The Storm (Set up for a future arc)

#Story Arc: The Press Conference (This arc was discontinued, but I didn’t really feel like going back and deleting all the tags so it IS still canon but nothing important happened.)

#Typing Through Time (Mini event where a pair of mysterious siblings, supposedly from the future, take over the blog to document their search for a special Celebi.)

#Interlude Arc (BW2 event.)

#PB Takeover (Takeover of a version of Blake that joined Team Plasma.)

List of everyone’s Pokémon (will probs be updated frequently):

Blake:

-Kappa (M Inteleon)

-Go-Go (F Coalossal)

-Venom (M Toxtricity)

-Charlie (M Boltund)

-Jeanne (F Corviknight)

-Lancelot (M Sirfetch’d)

-Athena (F Urshifu)

-Tulip (F Venusaur)

-Lizzie (F Charizard)

-Tater (F Flapple)

-Potato (M Galarian Slowpoke)

-Audun (M Flygon)

-Zuzu (F Dragapult)

-Azi (F Dreepy)

-Shiverbolt (Arctozolt)

-Alto (M Grookey)

-Oran (M Munchlax)

-Fwoofy (Cosmog)

-Stormy (M Sobble)

-Dewdrop (M Sobble)

-Nessa Jr. (F Sobble)

-Bubble (M Sobble)

-Neptune (F Sobble)

-Zacian

-Eternatus

-Red (M Delphox)

-Stardust (M Meowstic)

-Ryu (M Lucario)

-Flick (F Vivillon)

-Verde (M Venusaur)

-Basil (M Sylveon)

-Granite (M Tyrantrum)

-Snooze (M Snorlax)

-Yveltal

-King (F Serperior)

-Cordelia (F Simipour)

-Beau (M Swoobat)

-Lumiere (F Chandelure)

-Kilobyte (M Eelektross)

-Phaedra (F Krookodile)

-Toothless (M Deino)

-Scylla (F Druddigon)

-Stormchase (F Swellow)

-Larkspur (M Venipede)

-Reshiram

-Cheezit (F Pawmot)

-Tiny (M Braviary)

-Salad (F Floragato)

-Cranberry (F Flareon)

-Pecha (F Grookey X Fomantis hybrid)

-Dart (F Cyclizar)

-Mantis (F Slither Wing)

-Hermes (M Corvisquire x Galarian Zapdos hybrid)

-Odin (M Corvisquire x Galarian Articuno hybrid)

-Vulcan (F Corvisquire x Galarian Moltres hybrid)

-Spark (M Galvantula ✨)

-VIOLENCE (F Scream Tail)

-Galahad (M Skarmory)

-Snart (F UD Archen)

-Titanium (F Revaroom)

-Goober (M Scovillain)

-Banana (F Latias ✨)

-Fluffernutter (M Totodile)

Hop:

-Cloudy (M Dubwool)

-Flint (M Cinderace)

-Percival (M Corviknight)

-Rumble (M Snorlax)

-Needle (F Pinchurin)

-Jasper (M Silicobra)

-Thor (F Boltund)

-Whisperwood (F Trevenant)

-Summer (F Heatmor)

-Watts (M Toxel)

-Crest (M Cramorant)

-Zamazenta

-Galarian Zapdos

-Mango (F Squawkabilly)

-Arlo (M Quaxly)

-Deedee (F Gardevoir x Whimsicott hybrid)

-Carrot (M Tatsugiri)

-Lumi (F Joltik)

-Koda (M Inteleon)

-Dusk (M Mightyena)

-Flurry (F Cetitan)

Auberi:

-Korrin (M Greninja)

-Calypso (F Meowstic)

-Blaise (M Charizard)

-Glacé (F Aurorus)

-Cantrelle (F Noivern)

-Reaper (F Absol)

-Estelle (F Flareon)

-Sunrise (F Talonflame)

-Chester (M Chespin)

-Ignis (M Hisuian Typhlosion)

-Blanche (F Hisuian Zoroark)

-Aries (M Paldean Tauros, Blaze Breed)

-Spitfire (M Skeledirge)

-Anne Bonny (F Kilowattrel ✨)

-Voltaire (M Joltik)

-Fondue (F Fidough)

-Arceus

-Rouge (M Hisuian Zorua)

-Anastasie (F Hisuian Zorua ✨)

(A note: These aren’t necessarily all Pokémon that are registered to them. Most of the legendaries, for example, are just ‘mons they’re able to call upon or are associated with)

[pentechnics]

I completely agree with what you said about mando. I have seen all the SW movies (including the newer trio loft) but I really don’t remember anything but was able to follow mando s1-2 with no problems. I also wasn’t really watching because it was SW but rather because the relationship between Din and Grogu is so special

YES.

Let’s talk about it!!

I feel like the real magic of Mando, the thing that made it stand out so much, was that Din was just a dude. A random guy trying to live his life and help support his covert. He wasn’t part of the greater star war — no force, no jedi/sith, didn’t even live on one of the major planets — just dealing with the fact that his existence lies within the results of those bigger actions.

My introduction to Star Wars was The Force Awakens and that is still my favorite movie and is near and dear to me (that one and TLJ were the only SW things I’d seen by the time I watched Mando), but I really wasn’t sucked into the SW universe until Mando came out because I just didn’t vibe as much with the bigger picture elements, if that makes sense. There was too much going on and too many strands of the story to keep up with and too many people who just had to be right about everything—

but as we know, DIN DIDNT KNOW SHIT ABOUT STAR WARS. and therefore, WE could know no shit and we’d be right where we need to be to follow his story! What a beautiful concept!

And that doesn’t necessarily go away once Grogu enters the picture — he just has several questions. As do we. And we go with him to find the answers! And that’s where weaving in Ahsoka and Luke made perfect sense and now that Grogu has chosen to not pursue that branch of the narrative we don’t have to be as involved with it, y’know?

And here’s where I get beefy with how Jon is portraying the next arc of Din’s story. It seems — we won’t know for sure until we see the season, but it SEEMS — like they’re going full-on into him becoming the Mand’alor and reuniting Mandalorians. The second part is lovely, we know he lost his covert and needs to figure out for himself what being a Mandalorian means to him now. And finding more of his kind will definitely help him do that. Shared trauma. Group therapy. Love that for him.

I have no doubt that he’ll still be my simple guy. I just don’t wanna have to know all of TCW to be able to understand this season or ‘get the most out of it.’ I wanna not know shit and learn alongside him again.

But more than anything, knowing him as a character, I just don’t think being Mand’alor fits. And that’s just my opinion and I recognize that but listen our mans has lived his life in quiet corners and secluded alleys by his lonesome (covert and Grogu excluded) by choice. Do we really think he’d want this?

And hey, maybe my interpretations are wrong. Maybe he won’t do it. Maybe he’ll go as far as to help reunite the scattered clans into a more cohesive people and then pass off the reins to Bo-Katan or whoever else might show up (not Paz, tho. We know he would never lmao) and then go back to being a simple space dad and raising his kid. We’ll see.

I know some diehard, lifelong SW people that aren’t as into Mando because it’s not ‘classic Star Wars.’ And I know others, including myself, that love it the most for that very reason. It has a little bit of give for the classic fans, like those cameos and mentions of greater things. Those just aren’t the forefront. Which I love!

Plus, at the heart of every Star Wars story is found family, which is exactly what Din and Grogu are. Like you said, my love, their connection is just so unique and special! They and their dynamic are the driving force behind this show — it doesn’t need anything else to carry it. They are why we love it so much. Bigger SW is a pile of puzzle pieces of things that get put together to form a narrative and Mando is more like a poster. It’s all already there, created by a few key elements and has some of those in common with the puzzle, but can stand alone. You don’t need to do the puzzle to enjoy looking at the poster. (Idk if that makes sense but it’s all I can think of rn lol)

The force is just Grogu’s little quirk. The empire’s just the bitch that made Din’s life harder and made it personal when they tried to hurt his kid. He took names and kicked asses, and then he was done with them. Mandalore’s gotta just be the current thorn in Din’s ass that he needs to tweezer out.

Side characters. Assist trophies, if you will. But not the driving force. That’s them:

also I hate the whole ‘repenting for his sins’ dialogue but tbh I think they’re just using that for hype I don’t think it’ll actually be that deep and he’ll instead take the time to come into his own and explore other types of mandalorian life that feels much more like what he’d do but that’s just me. Also I’m still very much recovering from what they did to BOBF so I can’t help but be anxious in general about how this is gonna go. Wouldn’t put it past Jon to shoot himself in the foot with his best work.

Double also, after seeing that thing Jon said I am just pissed that there just seems to be no effort or forethought being put into the timeline of the narrative!!! Hire writers, Jon!! Give Din and Grogu the intent their story deserves, in every way!! Or I’ll bite your face!!

ok rant over thank you for this ask darling!! ❤️

[wolfvnger]

✩ ATTENTION!! Anything NSFW please DNI, this place is strictly SW and therefore minors are allowed to interact if they choose to do so. Crossover friendly!

You are welcome to interact with me or rp with my o through DM otherwise asks or reblogs are welcome, I won't keep them going to too long!

Freyja’s IC: Text be green hehe 🐍

CHARACTER PROFILE

This is incompleted!

OK!! now that you've read that, introducing... ✩

Name: Freyja Lokisdottir

Nickname(s): Frey, Fay-Fey

Species: Frost Giant, Human/Mortal

Ethnicity/Race: Jotunn Asgardian

Aliases: Daughter of Loki, Princess of Asgard, Goddess of Stories and Time, Heir of Yggdrasil, Tree of Time Protectress, Little Harbinger of Time, Dragoness, The Dragon Whisper, Little Dreamer, The Analyst’s Daughter, Mini Mischief Maker, Snakelet

Age: not yet born, 3 (in rp outside of respected timeline)

Birthday: Unknown

Zodiac: Unknown

Height: Unknown

Hair Colour: Golden blonde

Eye Colour: Naturally blueish but turns red when in Jotunn form and glows green when using magic

Skin Colour: Light, but when in Jotunn form it’s blue

Pronouns: Any (she/her in rp)

Gender: Fluid

Sexuality: Unknown

Accent: British with a slight hint of (Texan) American

Family:

From her universe

AU Loki Laufeyson - Loki Series (mother/father)

@inz-lokisdottir AU Mobius (father)

@inz-lokisdottir AU Sylvie Laufeyson (aunty)

From alternate realities, other rps!

Rúna Maximoff-Lokisdottir (multiversal half sister)

@inz-lokisdottir (multiversal half sister)

@einarlokison (multiversal half brother)

Yri Fandraldottir (multiversal younger half sister)

@kaiduslokison (multiversal half brother)

Powers/Skills/Abilities:

Because she’s too young she hasn’t learnt most of them. Some are instinctive.

Super speed, super strength, dexterity, healing factor, agility, durability, speed, stamina, longetivity and other physical attributes, cold immunity

Ice manipulation/cryokinesis, telekinesis,

Shapeshifting

Telepathy, psychic abilities (clairvoyant/claiaudient)

Teleportation (can travel the multiverse)

Illusions

Flight

Asgardian Magic

Reality warping

Dimensional Manipulation (requires a lot of energy, too young to learn)

Eldritch Magic (too young to learn)

Hand to hand combat (too young to learn)

Master in various martial arts (too young to learn)

Alignment: unknown

Personality Type: unknown

Personality: unknown

BACKSTORY

| Coming soon |

SIDE STORIES/AUs

HEADCANONS

FACECLAIM

[gch1995]

Look at this this way: did anything in the OT that Anakin became a Jedi when he was nine and a slave? No, he was supposed to be a young man that already served as a pilot in the army. How does Leia remember Padmé when she was 5 minutes old when she saw her for the first and last time? The Force knows how. Where the fuck is Qui-Gon's ghost in the OT? He literally doesn't exist. Getting worked up about retcons in SW is useless. This show is doing the very same that every SW movie has ever done.

There were a few head scratchers and retcons here and there from the OT and PT verse, but the two universes are generally pretty consistent.

For instance, while clearly not in the right morally, it is very clear that Darth Vader was an abuse and oppression victim of Palpatine with learned helplessness and Stockholm Syndrome in regards to that toxic authority in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He tells Luke “I must obey my master,” “It’s too late for me, son,” and “You don’t know the power of the dark side.” He feels so chained to Palpatine that he feels obligated to hand over said son for him to kill when he refuses to join the dark side or just leave before it’s too late, and almost lets him do it, even though he clearly didn’t want to.

He allows for Palpatine to encourage Luke to fight him to goad him to join the dark side in Return of the Jedi, and even feels obligated to continue obeying him after he mocks him as Luke starts beating him up. Vader asks Luke to join him to help him kill the Emperor, so they can rule the galaxy together, but if Vader is really supposed to be this entirely fearsome and unstoppable killing machine that he first appeared to be in A New Hope, then it should be no problem for him to kill Palpatine by himself, except he can’t because he’s been physically weakened and he’s been groomed to serve Palpatine as a murder slave for so many years. His background as a slave in the PT movies, explains why Anakin would feel obligated to obey corrupt authority figures in the OT movies, even when he knows they are wrong, and even when they treat him and/or his loved ones like shit. It doesn’t excuse him for it.

It doesn’t surprise me that the man who became Darth Vader was an abuse and oppression victim of corrupt authority figures his whole life. He clearly wanted to reach out to Luke for healthier emotional support and help for freedom the from the only other family he realized he had left outside of Palpatine, in spite of being terrible at showing it until the end. Anakin clearly wanted to escape Palpatine since he knew he sucked, but he still felt obligated to hand over his son to him and almost allowed him to be killed by that abusive and oppressive master, even though he didn’t want to.

I also don’t remember Obi-Wan or Yoda specifically saying that Anakin joined the Jedi as a young man. His origins were largely a mystery in the OT movies. Yoda dropped a line to Luke about him being “too old” to train as a Jedi at 18-19 years old, even though that’s generally the minimum legal age for people to enlist or be recruited as soldiers. They spent almost all three of the OT movies deliberately deceiving and manipulating Luke to groom him to be a weapon to kill off the monster of a man they claimed to have inadvertently helped Vader become, even before it was revealed that he was his father Anakin Skywalker.

Therefore, doesn’t surprise me that Obi-Wan and Yoda were unreliable narrators when they said that Anakin was simply “ seduced by the dark side,” and the old Republic and Jedi Order were these “keepers of peace and democracy” who they believe everyone else loved.

Obi-Wan and Yoda were willing to leave Luke in danger alone in the galaxy to punish him for taking a break to go save his friends in Empire Strikes Back, even though he said he’d be right back because “attachments are dangerous.”

The PT movies may have been a little implausible in some places, such as the place where Leia said she remembered her mother a little bit. She wouldn’t be able to as an infant. However, for the most part, Anakin’s, Obi-Wan’s, Yoda’s, and the old Jedi Order’s characterizations and arcs in the prequels pretty consistently and plausibly expand upon what we learned about them in the OT movies.

With Disney, it’s all just about rehashing and retconning stories that Lucas already told in the OT and PT movies for money. Lucas wasn’t always a great writer, but he was brilliantly creative.

Nonny, I really think you’re just bitter that Obi-Wan, Yoda, and the overall Jedi Order weren’t the blameless victims and perfect heroes all along, and the man who became Vader turned out to be just as much of a victim as he became a villain.

@tragicfantasy-girl

@mynameisanakin

@the-chosen-anakin

@kit-kat-of-midgard

@leias-left-hair-bun-again

@padawanlost

@ohgodmyeyes

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

I kinda find it funny how, if Ed didn't break up with Bella and then chase after Victoria in NM, we might not have gotten the events of Eclipse. Girl was just vibing with her makeshift "guards," and he had to mess it all up by having her see how newborn armies work and inspire her. Do you think Vic would've still would've gone after Bella if not for NM's events (and how it'd go down)? Cause low key I think it's funnier if she wasn't a danger but Ed made her into one jfksaldjf.-Sw

I think she would have.

True, Victoria comes up with the newborn army scheme after Edward chases her down to Mexico, but she also doesn't use it right away. She tests the waters in Forks for a very long time before she decides to invade.

In other words I, sigh, agree with Edward on this: Victoria was coming back to murder Bella Swan in vengeance no matter what was happening.

Without the newborn army, however, things would have played out very differently.

A Bit on the Romantic Tragedy Penned by Edward Cullen

First, a note, Edward had always intended to leave Bella. From the moment he realized he was in love with her he told himself that he would one day leave her. It was just a matter of when.

In Twilight, he's torn. He knows he shouldn't be a part of her life, that bringing her into his world almost necessitates her becoming a vampire, but he also really doesn't want to let her go. He doesn't think he's strong enough to do it.

And as Bella keeps getting herself into danger he gives himself more and more excuses.

If he's not there, then Bella will get crushed by a van or raped in an alley or eaten by bears. Her number's up, and Edward is single handedly fighting fate to keep this angel alive.

Bella needs Edward, therefore he can't possibly go.

The birthday party put things back into perspective. Edward's family is the most dangerous threat to Bella there is, Edward himself really may lose control one day and devour her, and unless she turns (which Edward absolutely does not want) then she has no future with him.

The family has to leave now.

However, if there's no birthday party, then Edward doesn't have that catalyst and reminder. He likely decides to himself that he will leave Bella after graduation, his family will move towns, Bella will attend whichever university she attends, and he will have had a few wonderful years with Bella pretending he's a regular high school boy dating a regular high school girl.

When Bella then dies a natural human death sometime later, Edward will go to Volterra and kill himself (and force the Volturi's hand when Aro refuses to do it).

Of course, he'd probably break here too, but that's a different story.

I do think without Jasper's slip up and the birthday party, that Edward would have stuck around for New Moon.

The World Without Bella's Birthday Party

Bella throws the fit she didn't in canon.

She doesn't want this birthday party, she never asked for this birthday party, AND WHY DOES BELLA ALWAYS HAVE TO HUMOR ALICE?!

Bella has had a summer filled with Alice. In canon, this was a delight, in this world Bella realizes that maybe they spend most of their time doing what Alice wants to do rather than what Bella wants to do.

Alice is clearly throwing this party for Alice's sake, everyone knows it, and Edward tells her, "Please humor my sister and be a good sport."

Isn't this party supposed to be about Bella?

Alice is terribly upset and does not handle any of this well, Edward tells Bella to be reasonable and be the better person and give Alice this party, Rosalie thinks this is all petty bullshit but has mild respect for Bella on calling Alice out on this, and Carlisle is rubbing his temples somewhere trying to let the children deal with this themselves.

In the end, they compromise, Bella's birthday is Edward taking her out to dinner at an expensive restaurant in Seattle of Alice's choice, Bella wearing a fancy Chanel dress that Alice selected for her.

Bella's still embarrassed and miserable, but at least there aren't a billion pink candles.

As a result, there's no birthday party, no papercut, and no dumping.

The next several months instead are spent with Bella and Alice in a battle of wills and a real rough spot in their friendship. Bella tries to explain to Edward that Alice treats her like a doll, not a person.

Edward, of course, has no idea what she's talking about.

Bella fails to realize that Edward also treats her like a doll and not a person.

Laurent's Scouting Mission

As in canon, Laurent is probably sent by Victoria to scout. Victoria probably never left the area which means (remember this is book universe where Riley was in California) that she never turned Riley.

Without being all over the Forks area killing hikers, probably fewer wolves are turned. Yes, the Cullens are in the area, but they've been there three years, are very non-threatening, and in that time only Sam shifted.

We don't see the deluge of shifting until after the Cullens have left and Victoria starts actively attacking the area.

(Yes, this is worthy of a meta but that meta is not this meta)

Regardless, Laurent shows up, Sam's not sure if he's one of those friends of the Cullens or not, and Laurent walks in to see that all the Cullens are there.

Just like he expected.

Because Victoria has sent him to die.

Carlisle feels a headache coming on but is not shocked to see that Laurent's eyes are red again after only a few months. (Though this explains the sobbing phone call that Carlisle got from Irina asking if he'd seen Laurent because that beautiful, perfect, man has gone missing!)

Laurent provides some weasley bullshit explanation anyway. He asks, though it's really more of a demand, that he join the Cullen coven (much larger than the Denali, very gifted, and very powerful). Carlisle says no, Laurent has to stick to the diet if he joins the coven and he has to mean it. Given Laurent's current appearance, it seems as if Laurent is not willing to do that.

Laurent then begs them to let him stay: Victoria will murder him otherwise (and oh by the way she's after your Lunchable Bella Swan). That gets Edward into action, he demands Laurent's death and that he then hunt down Victoria personally.

Carlisle politely suggests that Laurent, rather than seek shelter from them who he knows Victoria intends to cross paths with, go back to the Denali and give the diet another whirl.

Laurent flees back to the Denali, Irina is ecstatic to see him. Victoria's not even surprised.

The family discusses what to do about Victoria. Carlisle would rather not hunt this woman down on hearsay alone. Jasper thinks they should have killed her to start and letting her escape was foolishness, he told them she'd be back. Edward for once is with Jasper, Victoria must be destroyed before she can harm Bella. They look to Alice and, yeah, there's a good possibility that Victoria will be back.

Edward is torn between hunting down Victoria and protecting Bella in person. Jasper leaves before he can make the decision, which of course angers Edward beyond belief, but, well, he guesses it is what it is.

Edward decides to not tell Bella that a vampire is after her life: it'll just worry her.

Jasper's Hunting Mission

Jasper likely has a devil of a time catching Victoria, as he did the first time, because of her gift. He ends up having very long phone calls with Alice as he tries to coordinate a successful solution to this.

Because Edward never left Bella, she never sought out Jake. She never forms her friendship with Jake nor realizes the secret behind the shapeshifters.

Billy tries to give Bella a few more ominous warnings but there's no getting through to this girl.

Edward never proposes to Bella because he's intent on leaving her after graduation. He does not tell Bella this though she constantly worries about it.

He assures her they can have a long distance relationship at college (he has no such intentions).

Victoria is kept out of the Forks area by Jasper and likely takes the one obvious route left to her. She has nothing left to live for, and it doesn't matter how much terror she lives in the Volturi, if this means her death then so be it.

She goes to the Volturi and narks on the Cullens.

Victoria Narks

It... does not go as planned.

Aro placates Caius with many excuses: this girl is in her primary schooling, is the only daughter of a police chief, she cannot simply disappear.

Carlisle is likely waiting until after she graduates and can disappear across the country.

And yes, technically this James fellow had bit Bella and they had their perfect chance but... Well, Aro will talk to Carlisle, it is not breaking the law yet.

Aro travels to Forks in person with Renata, shows up on Carlisle's doorstep, and says, "We need to talk."

Aro lays down the law, this girl better be turned after graduation, and Aro can only stall Caius so long. Also, great to see you, you built yourself a coven and that's perfectly marvelous.

Edward, of course, throws a fit but the law is the law and the law just visited them for tea. Aro makes it very clear that either Bella is turned, she dies, or Aro will have no choice to take adverse action against Edward at the very least (if not Carlisle and the rest of the Cullens).

Aro also points out this is an unsustainable relationship that's not good for anybody. Yes, it's too bad the girl has no choice, but they really should have thought of that before Edward walked around strongly hinting he wasn't human.

Edward insists they vote.

The vote doesn't go the way he likes.

Esme doesn't want Edward to live in misery after Bella dies, Rosalie doesn't like the idea of turning Bella but it appears they have no choice, Jasper (via conference call) doesn't want to be the one to eat Bella and it's stupid given the VOLTURI IS IN THE ROOM FOR THIS VOTE, and Carlisle notes that it appears Bella has no other option and at least this seems to be what she wants?

They will turn Bella after graduation.

Edward smashes a TV.

They tell Edward to tell Bella, it should come from him, Edward never does.

Instead, out of nowhere, he asks her to marry him and elope. They can live on a deserted island somewhere.

Bella thinks this is stupid and says no.

Edward dies inside.

Victoria Chooses Death

Victoria is out of options, the Volturi did not come through, and she wanders out of Volterra in a daze.

She guns it for Forks with Jasper hot on her tail. If there's one thing left for her, she will murder this Bella Swan before she dies. She fails, Jasper catches up to her in Forks and murders her.

No one tells Bella.

Graduation

After graduation, Carlisle picks Bella up. Bella has no idea what's happening, Carlisle assumes she does. Carlisle lays down the game plan, she's going to take a summer abroad before school starts, travelling with Alice, then both she and Alice will disappear in an accident.

Bella asks him to hold up, what the hell is he talking about?

Carlisle realizes with dull horror that Edward never told Bella. He awkwardly explains that the Volturi personally came to visit and, well, they have to turn Bella into a vampire.

He's very sorry.

Bella's very on board with this, she asks if it can be Edward that does it.

Carlisle says no, that's not a good idea.

They stare at each other.

Carlisle cannot believe Edward didn't tell her.

Edward and Bella do not get married nor does she have sex with him as a human.

[obiwanobi]

the ask was a bit too long, so the rest is under the cut;

(and Asylum is an AMAZING fic everyone should read it)

What about memory loss but less violent like with a holocron or a magic spell but in kinda regular SW universe but Ani doesn’t turn dark (because I love that baby)... imagine like one of them loses their memories of the other (and they weren’t together but they were gravitating toward each either and being in denial of course) ... so the other one instead of pushing for the memory to get back pulls away like if Anakin loses his memory Obi-Wan would be like : maybe it’s the continuity of things a chance to not have me on his back, he always said he wanted more autonomy, experiencing full knighthood without his old master to scold him (mabeyy plus Rako Hardeen guilt because I’m petty) and if it’s Obi-Wan, Anakin thinks that maybe this is good : Obi-Wan was forced to take care of him since he was a child, and he has been pulling always recently (catholic guilt for having feelings for his former padawan I guess) and doesn’t seems to want to be around him and maybe it’s his chance to finally have time for himself and be free of his former padawan for once ...

So they let the other one space (but still watching from afar because who are we kidding) until one night one of them find the one who lost his memory in one of the balcony of the temples and ask if he is okay and the other one said that it feels like something (someone)is missing but it’s not just the memories, something that made them feel whole and alive and without it life is colorless...

Annnnnd that’s how they realized that the other feels deeply for them ... if you didn’t realize I love for angst and fluff

I wonder how it would go for SSK au tho 🙄

Obi-Wan, still a Sith with no decorum or undercover filter and no recall of any Anakin but upon seeing him : you are mine !

Anakin : but the nurse said ... so you do remember me ?

Obi-Wan : no but I want you therefore I will have you and that’s final.

Anakin : ...yeah okay

.....................hum. You’re really making me want to write a snippet about it now. Choosing who to emotionally destroy is hard though, but Obi-Wan is usually the go-to guy for this kind of thing, so Anakin could lose his memories and Obi-Wan can have a “we were right on the verge of admitting that we wanted something more from our relationship but then we had a minor fight and didn’t talk for a few days, and when I tried to finally contact you you didn’t even know my name, so I guess this is a sign from the Force that it wasn’t meant to be” moment and resigned himself to his infinite sadness fate in silence 😌 

But I mean, Obi-Wan losing his memory would be interesting too because Anakin would agonise in a very dramatic way while this new version of Obi-Wan would probably be so surprised to learn that he had a padawan, and tries to befriend him anyway (and Anakin could be the drama queen he wants to be, saying things like “no you don’t UNDERSTAND we can’t be FRIENDS you will NEVER be my Obi-Wan you can’t COMPARE” and Obi-Wan like “....I’m literally the same guy”) 

So basically I want a ray of sunshine amnesiac, be it Anakin or Obi-Wan, and both options would have a happy ending, obviously!  

[fictions-war-among-stars]

I'm starting to binge SW fics like the simp I am, and as such decided to reblog some of my favourite ones!

So here's the tea-

This fic is a reader insert that is absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

It's a slow burn which I absolutely love, and the reader is kinda isekia to the the SW universe (which is another thing that tics off a box to me!).

I'm trying not to spoil to much, but it takes place during the prequels and CURES the pain they caused. The author does an amazing job of adding the reader to the story without just following the episodes, therefore not being a cookie cutter of the Canon content. To make it even better -

There's around 45 chapters of their own world building before canon plot comes in.

Oh also, it seems like this is heading towards being a healthy poly relationship. Not a reverse harem/harem, but a proper Poly. These are so hard to find omg- And I think the reader is gender neutral too, so for all the simps out there, come get your tea 🍵

If you like reader inserts, fancy Anakin and Obi Wan, and enjoy a slow cooked mutual pining (maybe even some idiots in love???), this is definitely a fic for you!!

[johannas-motivational-insults]

So I don’t mean this argumentatively, I’m just genuinely confused & would like to understand this. I also struggle with empathy & take things very literally, so that could be part of why I’m not understanding. But where is Catra shown to be empathetic or compassionate? I understand that her abuse informs a lot of her actions and that’s why she is impulsive, lies, and manipulates others in the earlier seasons- they’re survival tactics that she got from SW + growing up in the Horde.

But I didn’t notice her going out of her way for others unless it could also benefit her in some way. I’ve also seen people say that she died in the process of sending Glimmer to Adora, & therefore deserves redemption because she made the ultimate sacrifice, only to then be saved and effectively made to work on her behavior and become a better person. And that would be all well & good, except we don’t really see her working on her behavior, except in the scene where she’s telling Adora that she’s working on her anger, and in the scene where she asks her to stay. I’m also not sure that she actually died, though I have heard a lot of people saying that. And I get that it’s called a redemption arc for a reason, & that the implication is that she will continue to work on her behavior and be better, but I just don’t know that we saw enough of that in the show.

So the thing with Catra is that a lot of this is pretty subtle. And as I said in the other ask that I assume you’re referring to with this, she’s often driven by a mix of selfish and unselfish motives. You’re correct that a lot of the times she does things for other people could also be seen as selfish moves because there’s something in it for her too, but that’s not always true and even when it is it doesn’t mean that that empathy or care for other people isn’t there.

Some examples of times when she shows empathy/care for others while also helping herself:

Gives Adora the sword so she and Glimmer can escape in 1x09, which is a kindness to Adora but also allows Catra to keep her job and her power (even if it breaks her heart to give up on bringing Adora back)

Warns Entrapta to stay out of Hordak’s sanctum and chases Entrapta down when she defies her in 2x03, which seems to be a mix of not wanting to deal with an angry Hordak herself and protecting a rather oblivious Entrapta from getting into trouble

(Note that in both of these examples she does this in a rather brusque or mean way, hiding her concern, but the subtext is there if you watch closely)

However, there are also many instances where Catra helps other people despite there not only being nothing in it for her, but when it’s actually against her own interests. Here’s the ones I can think of off the top of my head (but I’m sure there’s more):

Lies about Adora’s whereabouts and then her identity as She-Ra early in season 1 to protect her from the Horde, even after she’s promoted to Force Captain, which is dangerous not only to her career but to her life and limb

Tries to comfort her abuser Shadow Weaver when she sees her in distress in 1x04 and 1x10, the former instance right after Shadow Weaver gears up to attack her and "drag the truth” from her mind (anyone less empathetic would run away or even gloat)

Brings Shadow Weaver her old badge in 2x06 as a final favor when SW is about to be shipped away for good, despite it possibly being something that could get her in trouble and there being nothing in it for her (and in fact if she’s as selfish and callous as some say she’d deny SW this closure out of spite)

Turns down Scorpia’s offer to break her out of prison in 3x01, which seems to be entirely for Scorpia’s benefit as Catra has nothing to lose at this point (people just don’t see the compassion in this because she drives Scorpia away in a mean way to ensure she actually leaves)

Doesn’t tell Hordak that Scorpia “broke the recordings” that were inside Emily in 4x06, lies and says there was nothing, which turns Hordak’s anger on her instead of Scorpia (this perhaps is also motivated by guilt over how she just yelled at Scorpia and said awful things to her -- like I said, Catra is complicated -- but alleviating her guilt doesn’t help her situation at all so that’s borderline)

If you want, there’s a whole tweet thread of instances of Catra showing care and empathy for others. Some of these are weaker than others and the list may not be complete, but they’re all there for your consideration.

In addition to the things she does for other people, a lot of this is in her body language. If you really watch Catra, you can see that being cruel does not come naturally to her and she feels conflicted about a lot of her choices (or is straight up haunted by them, like her nightmare about betraying Entrapta in 4x03). Likewise, you often see her expression soften when she sees someone in distress. There are so many examples, it’s something baked into her character and it’s evident throughout the show, even when she’s at her lowest. But I think people often miss these moments because she usually shoves that initial reaction down and reacts in a way that on paper just makes her look like a cruel villain. For instance, she has a particularly guilt-stricken moment in 4x12 when Kyle calls her out for treating her old squad badly before she reacts by shoving that guilt down and reasserting her power, as that’s the only thing protecting her.

You have to understand that Catra was taught both implicitly and explicitly that compassion and vulnerability are weaknesses. And throughout the show, oftentimes when she does open up or do something for someone else it results in her being hurt/betrayed. Shadow Weaver in 2x06 and Double Trouble in 4x13 teach her that trusting people and allowing them in is dangerous and only ends in pain and devastation (and with Shadow Weaver, it teaches her the same lesson about showing mercy). When she spirals into her homocidal/suicidal breakdown starting in 3x03 it’s because she finds out Shadow Weaver left her to join the rebellion, just like Adora, and that Bright Moon is now harboring her abuser (as she understands it). Thing is, that all happens just as she’s starting to open up to and actually befriend Scorpia, and even though Scorpia isn’t the one who hurt her it still reinforces that pattern that vulnerability and kindness comes before a horrible, life-shattering event. Because of all this, she hides the empathy and kindness intrinsic to her actual character under layers of power and cruelty to protect her broken heart from being hurt again and protect herself from getting removed from power, because that’s the only thing keeping her from becoming someone’s abuse victim again after so many years suffering under Shadow Weaver’s heel.

I totally hear you about wishing there was a bit more to Catra’s redemption arc, but much like the rest of her emotional arc a lot of it is implicit. I’m very glad they added that one moment where she talks about working on her anger as well as her mini arc with Perfuma in 5x10 that culminated in Perfuma’s speech about learning to be vulnerable so you can be happy. But there’s lots of smaller moments buried in the season too, where we see her conflicted and struggling with these impulses of protecting herself vs. opening up or showing kindness. I mean, her half of 5x06 was basically about that too, though that’s only the beginning of this journey. Having Melog around was great too because they not only mirror her emotions for the audience to see but also help her process said emotions. Basically, the redemption is a process for her and a lot of it is not super explicit but in the end I think we have all we need to understand who Catra really is and that she wants to do better and is going to continue to in the future.

Really, Catra’s redemption arc is not so much about making up for what she did (which I and many others wish there was more of but oh well) as it is about rediscovering her true self and honoring that, learning to be vulnerable and kind again. In the end, her willingness to open herself up to potential rejection and loss and her kindness and love motivating her to help Adora get to the Heart and complete her mission are what ended up saving the universe, and that was a very intentional choice by the creators. Catra’s journey is not about coming back to Adora, it’s about coming back to herself, and I think that’s beautiful.

[communistkenobi-archive]

Re: POC Imperial characters, and my opinion doesn't matter cuz I'm white, but the Empire, at least in new canon, doesn't seem to discriminate more by species than race, so it makes sense for there to be humans of color in Imperial command. I feel like they're balancing out the amount of nonwhite representation on both sides to justify this, except the main protags are still overwhelmingly white. Example: Rogue One— diverse cast, but white MC. The only counterexample I can think of is Resistance.

the issue with that is that the Empire is directly inspired by the US empire and Nazi Germany, both of which are fundamentally tied to white supremacy and settler-colonialism. you cannot meaningfully use them as an ideological basis for an enemy faction in your fictional universe while also ignoring the racism that is foundational to their ideology (or you can I guess, but that makes your parallels garbage and incoherent).

conflict between species has been used as a allegory for racism in SW (as it has been in many sci-fi/fantasy worlds), but that is extremely problematic when most of the human characters are white (as is the case in the PT/OT, tCW, and other SW media). it essentialises racism and assumes that differences between groups have a real biological basis (and therefore racism has a rational consistent logic to it, even if it’s still presented as bad) - different humanoid species are undeniably biologically discrete from one another, but human beings of different races are not.

so in order to not challenge the (assumed mostly white) audience too much or make them too uncomfortable, diverse casting is now used for both factions. but again the issue is that one faction is explicitly an allegory for real life historical fascist regimes that were founded on white supremacist ideology. casting a bunch of non-white actors to play those roles de-politicises the conflict and makes it about a generic struggle for power, where the bad guys are bad because they’re just evil, not because of any dangerous ideological projects that are steeped in irrational and incoherent understandings of group differences.

[deniigi]

Do you think different cultures have different interpretations of what the Force is? For instance, our various mythos (Hellenistic, Norse, Egyptian, christian, etc.) all have different explanations for what was seemingly a universal event like the the great flood (Hellentistic eradication of the Bronze human race, judeo christian noah's ark)? So like in SW are their multiple cultures or religion built around the Force with differences depending on their personal relation to it?

Oh interesting.

I think there is some meta on other people who believe in the Force, but my personal take on it is that the Force and the God/Gods of other religions in SW are not the same thing. 

But let me explain why.

So like, I’ve seen certain writers trying to mesh Greek/Roman gods into the same universe as Abrahamic religions--that is, religions like Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, where the entire point of the religion is that there is one God--after which authors suggest that all of these interpretations are equally valid in this universe.

I understand that human relationships with faith are complicated, and so it wouldn’t be unusual for folks to believe in many gods while also being part of an Abrahamic religion. But what trips me up here is that, for believers of these religions, it doesn’t make sense for all of those gods to have equal weight.

The point of an Abrahamic religion is that there is only one God.

That is literally the point. Anything that is not that one God is therefore not a real god or is an idol.

The reason I bring this up is that, when I think about other religions in SWs, I don’t want to discredit all of those multitudes of belief systems by suggesting that the Force is the universal thing that they are all actually worshiping.

Perhaps some cultures worship the Force, but have given it a different name. This, I wouldn’t be surprised by at all, especially if the Force is interpreted by that culture to be a cosmic energy or a type of heaven/achievement of balance. But many others very likely don’t hold that view, and doing so might actually violate the central tenets of their own belief system, and so I guess I’d be a little hesitant to delve too deeply into it as a type of possibly-universal religion.

That way, Jungian analysis lays. It feels a little like his idea of the collective unconscious, and I’m not the kind of academic who revels in that sort of theorizing, if I’m honest, anon.

[frumfrumfroo]

I see so many stupid takes on what a “revised” ST storyline would look like. Granted, almost all of these are still better than the dumpster fire that is TROS. But a lot of these still don’t make sense because a lot of people still miss what I think you articulate so well in many of your metas: that the ST is about the Skywalker family, the unresolved trauma, and with Ben Solo as the heir and person who should tie up all the loose ends (I can’t put it as elegantly as you do, but the whole thing you have repeatedly said about him living and having children, reconciliation of Anakin and the Skywalker “name” to society, repairing the unresolved issues Leia had with her father, etc etc). I just saw another stupid take where Rey is Obi Wan’s secret daughter who has been abandoned (wow way to go shitting on Obi Wan’s character) and therefore has anger issues, hates the Jedi and worships Vader, Ben is not force sensitive and grows up a diplomat learning from Leia, Finn is a Jedi randomly, Poe is a pilot for no reason I can think of or why he even exists, and Rey needs to be saved by Ben (how? Why? Why not by Finn if Finn is the Jedi and Ben is doing just fine in life.) Oh and the dyad is created by Obi and Anakin’s ghosts, and also Rey is asexual bc she is too angry—I support asexual character representation but not if it is a manifestation of maladaptive behaviors rather than a healthy state of being). I mean, all of that could be interesting, maybe in an Obi Wan family saga spinoff series, but I fail to see how this is about the Skywalkers or ties in thematically to the central characters of OT/PT. Like why should we care? I suppose if we learned that Leia did reconcile with her father, and the galaxy at large knew of Anakin’s redemption, and Ben didn’t grow up with this fear of fatalism, fine I can see perhaps that storyline “working” but again...it wouldn’t really be about the Skywalkers anymore, who in that version seem to all be well adjustsd, happy fufilled functional people. But why not then just call that story a complete new series instead of a sequel...(and btw that “version” has almost no mention of Luke, and most OG fans are interested in seeing where their original heros ended up etc etc). I fail to see why Rey even needs to be around in these “alternate” versions. Just make a completely new story set in SW world but not a “sequel” then, that would be fine. Anyway, every time I see stuff like this, I come to your blog to re-read your metas because you are one of the very few people who GETS the story. Please preach some more to the choir (if inspiration strikes). I need to be reminded that there actual people in the fandom who cares about Ben, the Skywalkers, thematic coherence, and GOOD STORYTELLLING. Anyway thank you so much for your detailed and insightful analyses. They are truly a delight and a balm. If it’s not too much trouble, could you by chance link to some of your own fave metas you’ve written, or that you think are the most important to understanding the ST and Ben etc? Do you recommend any other bloggers whose metas on Ben and ST you feel are good and enjoy? Thank you!

Thank-you so much, anon! 🥰

Yes, the problem with so many ‘fix-it’ ideas or ideas of what the ST ‘should’ have been is that they have nothing to do with the Skywalker Saga or its themes. If you just want to write about new characters in the GFFA and not meaningfully continue the same narrative about the family and the question the Skywalkers exist to ask, then it’s not part of the same story. Which is fine, but it’s not a sequel. You can’t unpick the end of RotJ and destroy the resolution of the original character arcs if you’re then going to make them glorified cameos to give your unrelated newbies a pep talk without providing a fuller and more complete statement of the original message and the original arcs. That’s an either/or choice. Either actually make a sequel and deal with the implications of that or don’t.

The most stark contrast between TLJ and TFA/TROS is that TLJ is written as a fully equal and living part of the story, it treats the characters as characters and takes for granted that it is part of the saga not just a tribute to it. There are elements that are meta, it does comment, but it doesn’t approach the OT heroes as icons frozen in amber incapable of change or allow its new characters to act like fans of the films rather than people who live in the universe. And this is why it’s so much better and so much more memorable. It’s an actual story which stands on its own two feet.

Probably my most key posts on SW’s themes and worldview are in the tags space crime and punishment and the legacy. My Ben tag covers a lot those two miss and also has reblogs from other people whose meta I would really recommend (especially benperorsolo). This is a round up I did mostly about Rey’s arc/place in the story, but it’s pre-tros and missing some links. Her tag has more on sw protagonists and why I think none of the ‘alternatives’ people offer for Rey Nobody and Reylo work.

I think I linked most of my individual favourite posts in this answer lol.

[letslipthehounds]

Rumor Has It

Summary: Luke Skywalker was the heir to the Empire.  Darth Vader had laid it down very clearly in his will. No one disputed that.  People did dispute how Skywalker had become the heir, though.  A few conversations as the galaxy came to terms with their new Emperor.

 I never intended to write a sequel to Succession, but today we on the New SW Canon discord server got into a very silly conversation about Luke as Heir to the Empire, and the new Emperor.  I was reminded of this universe, and I figured a little lighthearted fun was in order.  And then I wrote 2500 words of silly fluff today.  Egh, why not. We can all use a little bit of silliness.

 AO3 Link

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Leia Organa rolled her eyes as she read the papers. Luke Skywalker had been Emperor for all of a month, and people were finally accepting it.  But too many people were trying to figure out why Luke was the Emperor.  

 No one was doing the sensible thing, which was to ask Luke, or his closest friends, like Leia herself, Han Solo, or Wedge Antilles. No, they had theorize, and the theories were, in a word, crazy.

 Leia finished an opinion piece that declared that Darth Vader had been Anakin Skywalker’s best friend, and had sworn to take care of Anakin’s son, only for the Jedi to steal the boy away and raise him. The article explained that that was why Vader had been so obsessed with Luke.

Aside from the extreme anti-Jedi slant, it was a reasonable theory.  Another reasonable one was the one that said that Vader had been Obi-Wan Kenobi and had wanted Luke in revenge for Anakin Skywalker defeating him in a duel and leaving him in the suit.  (Which, aside from reversing the duel participants, was almost true.)

But then there were the crazy ones.  Vader had been Anakin’s lover, and therefore Luke’s other parent.  Vader had been a man named Qui-Gon Jinn, a Jedi who had actually died thirteen years before Vader ever appeared on the galactic scene.  Luke had stared at the article for that one in bewilderment. 

Han wandered into the kitchen.  “So, what’s the crazy theory today?” he asked as he got a cup of caf. 

“Not terribly crazy,” Leia said.  “Not like the one where Vader was in a threesome with Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, and that’s how Luke was born.”

Han chuckled.  “I like that one.”

Luke entered the kitchen, he was dressed in his more informal robes of office, head already bowed over a datapad.  “Morning,” he said as he put the pad down to get some caf and some instant farro porridge.”

“Morning,” Han and Leia said in unintentional chorus.

“I’m meeting with Grand Admiral Thrawn this morning,” Luke said.  “It’ll probably be all morning, we’re going over his reports from the Unknown Regions.”

“Sounds like fun, kid,” Han said. 

“Well, hopefully it won’t be more “why are you the Emperor?” nonsense,” Luke said.  “Though from all reports, he’s a pretty good commander and won’t believe all the rumors.”

“He’ll probably ask,” Leia warned.

“But not dwell on it.”  Luke ate rapidly before heading out.  “I’ll see you later.  Try not to start any more rumors, Han,” he added as he left.

Leia chuckled.  “He’s got you,” she admitted.

“All I said was that Vader and Anakin were closer than anyone believed!” Han protested.

“And that’s why people think our Father was… well, in love with our Father.”

Han sighed.  “Well, no one believes you and Luke when you say that Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader, so what are we supposed to do?”

Leia smiled.  “Nothing we can do,” she admitted.  “Except deal with it.”

“I found a good one, by the way,” Han said.  “It said that Padmé Amidala, who was only slightly taller than you, was Darth Vader.”

“Wrong parent,” Leia said wryly.

Han shrugged and they smiled at each other. It was ridiculous how no one listened to them when they told the truth, but had to make up some sort of crazy explanation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke entered the Emperor’s office.  It was on the list of things he had to renovate, but he’d at least had all the Sith artifacts removed, which helped with the atmosphere.  It was still too dark for his taste, with all the black and red.

Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mitth'raw'nuruodo in his own tradition, rose as Luke entered.  Luke sat, then gestured for Thrawn to sit as well.  Luke took a moment to study the alien Grand Admiral. His blue skin and red eyes were a startling combination.

“Grand Admiral, welcome,” Luke said. 

“My Emperor,” Thrawn said in reply.  “Thank you for meeting with me.”

“Your reports seem important,” Luke said.  “However, before we start the briefing, are there any questions you want to ask about me?”  At Thrawn’s startled look, he smiled.  “I find that answering a few questions the Admirals, Moffs, and such have before starting makes for a smoother meeting.”

“Ah.  Well, in that case,” Thrawn paused.  “You and Lord Vader have some similar manners, from what I have observed.  You were both raised in similar cultures.”

“Yes,” Luke said.  “We both spent the first years of our lives- nine for him, and nineteen for me- on Tatooine.”

Thrawn nodded.  “I would have thought it would have been the Jedi culture,” he admitted.

“No,” Luke said.  “I didn’t learn about the Jedi until the same day I left Tatooine. I never got to learn much about their culture and practices.  I never had enough time to learn.  And now much of it is lost, with most, if not all, of the Jedi dead.”

Thrawn absorbed that information easily.  “Of course, My Emperor,” he said.  “And what about…” he hesitated, which Luke could tell was unusual.

“The rumors about why Vader picked me as his heir?”

“Yes, My Emperor.”

Luke smiled.  “Simply put, Lord Vader was my father.  Neither of us were aware the other survived until my name was revealed as the pilot that destroyed the Death Star.  My Father told me the truth himself, on Bespin.”

“And… all the rumors about who Lord Vader was?”

Luke sighed.  “I’ve told people that Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader in the last days of the Republic, but no one seems to believe it, Admiral Thrawn.”

The alien narrowed his eyes in thought.  “Very well, My Emperor,” he said.  “I believe you.  Do you intend to do anything about the rumors?”

“No,” Luke said.  “Everyone they’re speculating about is dead now, and while it’s annoying, it’s not really harming anything.  It’s no matter.”

“Of course,” Thrawn murmured.

“Now than, if that’s the extent of your questions, let’s go over your reports and recommendations,” Luke said.  “I am concerned by the ones you call the Far Outsiders.”

Thrawn redirected his attention to his reports and the matters that he obviously felt were important enough to bring to the Emperor’s attention.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke tried very hard indeed to ignore the journalists as they watched him and Leia as they headed for a meeting.  They would love to get his attention- or Leia’s, Luke wasn’t entirely sure which they’d like more- and have them give an interview. They were heading for a meeting with former Senators right now, and Leia was going to provide him morale support and advice, since she was the one with the most experience in politics. 

The rumors about his rise to Emperor were growing stronger, and more annoying.  At least they seemed to have decided that Vader was actually Luke’s father, though the main theories seemed to be arguing on who Luke’s other parent or parents were- and hardly anyone seemed to take Luke seriously when he said that Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader.

Leia glanced at Luke, amused.  “There are times when I wish he wasn’t dead so I could kill him myself.”

Luke flattened out a grin.  “Who?  Vader or Palpatine?”

Luke could feel that his twin wanted to snicker, but she kept her face straight.  “Why not both?”

Luke tilted his head in thought.  “Perhaps.  We did find those clones of Palpatine…”

“Not quite the same,” Leia admitted.  “Besides, the poor clones were just empty shells.”

Luke nodded.  It was  disturbing, and Luke wasn’t sure what Palpatine had been planning for the clones. It looked like whatever it was, he had failed, at least.

Luke and Leia entered the meeting room.  This was a small meeting, mostly Senators who had been Rebels or who had supported the Rebellion in some way.

“Senators,” Luke said as he entered.  The Senators who had been sitting rose.  Luke tried to hide his unease.  He wasn’t used to people standing up when he entered a room, not even after more than a month.  “Thank you for coming.  I know some of you had a long trip here to Coruscant.”

Luke felt the slight surprise at the name.  He was not going to keep the name Imperial Center for the planet.  He had plans, and his Empire would eventually be an Empire in name only.

Luke sat down at the head of the table, and Leia took her place at his right hand. 

Unlike the meeting with Thrawn, Luke wasn’t going to explain things to the senators.  If any of them came up to ask to speak to him, then perhaps he would, but for now, they had work to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And what do you think, Tal’ia?”

“Our new Emperor definitely favors simpler attire, and most of the outfits he’s been imaged wearing in public have been something that he could easily move in, he has a keen sense of color theory, Berad.”

“Odd, considering he reportedly grew up in a outer rim dust hole.”

“And a dust hole run by the Hutts at that.  And then he was a rebel.  Who knows where he picked up the knowledge.”

“Perhaps Princess Leia Organa has a hand in it?”

“Maybe, but his style is not Alderanni, it leans toward Nubian styles, but with influences I can’t figure out.”

“Too bad we’ll never get to ask him.”

“Oh yes, too bad indeed.  On the other hand, the ensemble he wore during the reopening of the Senate building, that we need to talk about.”

“Emperor Skywalker must know that blue is his color, especially that dark blue.”

“Oh yes, and the sandsilk was perfect.  He definitely likes the more subdued, tasteful expressions of wealth, unlike other members of the elite.”

“And having Princess Leia at his side, is he trying to send a signal?  They were reportedly quite close when they were in the Rebellion.”

“Maybe, but then there’s the Corellian, why does the Emperor allow him all the freedom he has?  Where does he fit in?”

“Between them?”

“Tal’ia!  This program is not the place!”

“Sorry, but can you imagine?”

“No, and I’m not going to.”

“It’d be hot, is all I’m saying.”

“He’s almost certainly here for the Princess, haven’t you seen the pictures of their night out two days ago?  So why does the Emperor allow it?”

“No idea, but that’s the tone, folks.  We’ll be back in a bit, but for now, enjoy this new hit from the Coruscant Levels, ‘I Didn’t Want to Say Goodbye.’”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pooja Naberrie wanted to pace as she waited. She was finally in the palace to meet the new Emperor.  The rumors around him had made her hesitant to meet him, but she knew she needed to know which were true, and if certain ones were true, then he would have to know about their relationship. 

The servant entered the antechamber and beckoned her forward.  She took a deep breath and followed the servant into the Emperor’s receiving room. She took in the changed décor- most of the statues and artwork that the previous Emperor had favored was gone, though only a few plants had taken their place so far- and then the Emperor, sitting in a smaller, less intimidating version of the throne Emperor Palpatine had used.

“Senator Naberrie,” Emperor Skywalker said.  “I was somewhat surprised that you wanted to meet me.  I expected your world to want nothing to do with me.”

“I am not here as a representative of Naboo,” Pooja admitted.  “I am here because of…”  She took a deep breath.  “Some people are saying that your mother was Padmé Naberrie Amidala.”

Emperor Skywalker paused for a moment.  “She was,” he said.  “She died giving birth, and to keep me safe, they made it look like she was still pregnant.”

“I know she had given birth, and the child hidden. My mother told me after the Senate was disbanded.”

Skywalker nodded.  “Then the name isn’t coincidence?”

“My mother’s sister was Padmé Naberrie, Your Majesty.”

Skywalker smiled, and in that smile, Pooja could see her aunt.  “Then you are welcome here, cousin.  One moment, there’s someone else who should be here.”

Skywalker- Luke, she supposed- turned and spoke into a comlink.  Shortly after, Leia Organa entered.

“Luke?” Organa asked.

“Leia,” Luke said.  “This is Pooja Naberrie,” he said.  “Her aunt was Padmé Naberrie.”

Organa’s eyes widened.  “Then…”

Luke nodded.  “Senator Naberrie… may I call you Pooja?”

“Of course,” Pooja said. 

“Pooja, I was not born alone.  I have a twin sister, and we were separated when we were born, for safety’s sake.  Leia is my twin, and she is also your cousin.”

Pooja’s eyes widened and she turned to Organa- to Leia. It was easier to see the Naberrie looks in her, though her face was different enough that she wouldn’t have thought it at first.  “Cousin,” she said. 

Leia smiled.  “Cousin,” she returned.  “Thank you for coming, we don’t know much of our mother’s family.”

Pooja relaxed.  “I’ll be happy to tell stories- I even remember Aunt Padmé a bit, though I was young when she died.  And… can I tell the rest of the family?”

“Carefully, but yes,” Luke said.  “And… I’d like to meet them, whoever is left.”

“Oh yes.  Grandma will definitely want to meet you both.”

Leia gasped.  “Our grandmother is still alive?”

Pooja smiled.  “I have family photos,” she said.

Luke gestured to a set of chairs.  “We have a lot to talk about, Pooja, but… tell us about our family?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke looked over as he felt a no-dead Jedi materialize to his right.  He smiled back as Obi-Wan Kenobi smiled at him.  “I’m sorry, Ben,” Luke said.

“What for?”

“The whole mess with people who won’t believe me about my father.”

Obi-Wan chuckled.  “Oh, I’m not upset with you, Luke,” he said.  “I admit, the people speculating that I’m Darth Vader are disconcerting, but I think you have it worse.”

Luke grimaced.  “I heard a group speculating today, they didn’t know I was there.  They suggested that I was Palpatine’s illegitimate child, and he and Mother had had an affair.”

Obi-Wan looked horrified for a moment before he regained control of his projection.  “Luke, I promise that is not true.”

“I know, it’s just… erg.” Luke made a disgusted face and shuddered.  “I think that’s the worst of the theories.”

Obi-Wan walked over and carefully set his hand on Luke’s shoulder.  It wasn’t like a regular hand, Luke could feel something more like static electricity, but the comfort was appreciated.

“You are Anakin Skywalker’s son, Luke.  And Padmé Amidala’s.  I see so much of both of them in you, but you are wholly your own person.  And who you are is a good man.  You have ultimate power in the galaxy, but all you are using it for is to return the power to the people.  You must not let the rumors you hear take over your life, and ruin what you want to accomplish.”

“Thank you, Obi-Wan.”

“Besides, casting me as an evil Sith besides, most of the theories are incredibly funny.  Especially because you’ve told everyone the truth.”

Luke snickered.  “It’s incredibly funny how they take my words, or Leia’s, or Han’s, the wrong way.”

Obi-Wan laughed softly.  “I really is.  But Luke, you’ll be fine, and I will be with you for everything.  And I’m proud of you.”

Luke smiled.  “Despite the fact that half the galaxy thinks you’re the one who made me the Emperor?”

Obi-Wan laughed.  “Yes, despite that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silliness and fluff.

Hope you enjoyed it!

[tuiyla]

She-Ra’s like, really good, people

It’s been over a week since She-Ra season 5 came out and I binged it and this is not going to be coherent but I just want to rant about it a bit before writing some more structured metas. I deffo wanna write about Catradora and how I think SPoP is the true spiritual successor to the Avatar.

But first, let me just scream about how good this show is. I already started rewatching it, pretty much straight after finishing it, and I don’t rewatch tv shows often. The exception is Avatar (seen it like 15 times) and sitcoms. But She-Ra is so layered that I felt like I needed to watch it again just to appreciate the dynamics even more.

I already enjoyed the first season but it kept getting better and better. I’m not in love with the art style and it’s definitely for a younger demographic overall than my other favourite animated shows, but like any good kids’ show it balances tone well. It doesn’t talk down to its target demographic but also includes more traditionally mature themes in a digestible and entertaining way. Not all the jokes landed for me but as the series went on I learned to appreciate the tone and the type of humour She-Ra goes for.

It’s funny to me because this is definitely the type of show I would have rejected as a kid, with all the princesses I would have deemed it “too girly” and therefore not for me because screw gender roles. There’s a degree of internalized sexism to that, for sure, a rejection of the feminine because it’s always been seen as less somehow. But there’s also a truth that, at least in my childhood of the late 90s and early 00s, children’s media targeted at girls often had a poor quality to it, at least when compared to “boys’ stuff”.

She-Ra is not only a clever, heartfelt, complex story, it also transcends that binary of having to be either for girls or boys. I know most of modern animation rejects that as well, but She-Ra embraces so many traditionally feminine qualities while also going beyond gender roles and even the gender binary. This show is so queer, man, and I love it. It’s especially impressive when you consider the source material that was literally just the girly version of He-Man. I have no beef with 80s She-Ra, haven’t seen much of it, but this is such an upgrade.

That being said, I would have loved to watch She-Ra as a kid. I’m so incredibly envious of kids, aged around 10, who get to watch this show as they’re growing up. But I am so, so, so happy for them and for the future of animation that shows like She-Ra can be made now, that they’re being made. I’m going to go into spoilers soon, but just before that: She-Ra’s a perfectly enjoyable show in many aspects. I think the worldbuilding’s pretty cool, the story feels coherent and planned out, it’s lighthearted and so genuine. That’s the word that I ultimately choose to describe the series: genuine.

I feel like so much of TV aims to be dark and gritty nowadays, animation included, and though that’s slowly turning to dark comedy or a balance between fun and serious, it’s still the norm. At some point in the last decade, creators became terrified of being judged as cheesy. Even something like the MCU bathes in bathos to avoid being cheesy. But She-Ra proves that creators shouldn’t be afraid of being genuine, of basing characters and storylines on the simple power of love. Like, it’s such a cliché trope but I think that’s mostly because it has become stale.

Noelle Stevenson has talked about the importance of love in her story and I’m so grateful for that. Through, She-Ra, she’s truly proven how powerful love can be in a story and how it doesn’t have to be cheesy. It’s just so unabashedly genuine. The power of love and friendship literally saves the day several times but it’s always so genuine and more importantly it always makes sense that it doesn’t get boring. If the foundation wasn’t there, then I’d say “well this is just super cheesy”. But the show makes a point of building relationships and making them the focal point of the story.

Alright, so, spoilers because I need to talk about character arcs and THAT KISS and just everything. I really need to write more in depth about Adora and Catra and their relationship but for now I feel like it’s so important to appreciate how they’re developed. Everything from their shared childhood to their trauma with Shadow Weaver and the finding their way back to each other, it’s just *chef’s kiss*. It’s so well-written and believable. Ngl, I do have some minor issues with Catra’s redemption arc. Let’s just say that on a scale from Kylo Ren to Zuko, she’s definitely closer to Zuko. I also appreciate Shadow Weaver’s death scene and how it allows them to move on. I didn’t see that one as Death as Redemption and it shouldn’t be. Again and again the show made it clear that she was abuse towards both girls and nothing will negate that.

From what I can tell, the fandom really latched onto Catra, even when it wasn’t clear whether she’d get a redemption arc. I think that’s important, because unlike some characters in animation, Catra’s actions were almost always framed appropriately. There was always an understanding as to where she’s coming from, how she’s acting from a place of hurt, and yet her actions weren’t justified. They weren’t suddenly all okay just because she’s hurt, too. I especially loved in the season 3 finale when Adora was allowed to finally say no, to say that Catra’s actions were not her fault. That season as a whole was beautiful, like, episode three when Adora’s struggling so much and Catra has the opportunity for a better life but she still fails to choose her own happiness because she’s too bitter over SW and Adora? It’s poetic cinema. I love that angst, so well done.

It would be so easy to misfire in Catra’s storyline and either a) write off all the awful things she does because she’s just “misunderstood” or b) irredeemably stuck in her abusive environment with no hope of escape. They balanced quite well there and managed to handle such a complex character with delicacy. I’m quite happy with how Catra was portrayed because on the one hand, she’s painfully relatable to me and I assume to many others. The audience can see their own mistakes reflected in her character because we’ve all been too stubborn, done things out of spite, refused to acknowledge that we were wrong because we were hurting so much. At the same time, I always felt like the show gave me enough space to judge Catra’s actions and acknowledge that she was in the wrong. I honestly think I would have been a better adjusted teenager is if saw this show just before my angsty years, lol.

I’m going to write more about Adora at some other point but I love how vulnerable she’s allowed to be. Protagonists never used to be my favourite characters because they all seemed the same, with two major categories: the stereotypical male hero who can do no wrong or the angsty boi who can be shitty and the text still frames him as awesome. It’s only recently with series like The Legend of Korra and She-Ra that I go “damn, protagonists can be like that, huh.” Adora is a dumb jock who tries so hard and she deserves all the hugs in the world.

Also, Catradora? Breathtaking, amazing, groundbreaking. No doubt She-Ra needed shows like Adventure Time, LoK, Steven Universe and the likes to pave the way but still, it went there. I saw people be anxious about whether they were gonna be queerbaited, but I always, idk, knew? Trusted? That She-Ra would follow through. I didn’t wait six years for Bubbline to happen for Catradora to not get their big damn kiss. The series has been so effortlessly queer from the get-go that it just made sense that they were always heading there. I did see a gif of the kiss before watching s5 and ngl, that spoiler kind of bummed me out in a way that I wanted to be surprised. But even before I saw that I wasn’t worried. And the context of their journey in season 5? That cannot be spoiled by a simple gif. You have to experience that to fully appreciate it and that is the marker of good storytelling.

I understand that, though this should be the norm by now, Noelle Stevenson still had to be smart about how she approached the execs and she wasn’t sure this could happen. I cannot tell you how happy I am about what she said regarding how Catradora was so integral to the story that the execs couldn’t not allow it. That’s so brilliant, and it feels so natural in the story. Queer love saves the day and it’s not ambiguous, it cannot be censored because you lose a part of the story without it. You did it, Noelle, you funky little lesbian, what an icon. I can’t wait to see more stuff from her.

In other news, I appreciated other characters as well, like how all the princesses got to be different and awesome in their own unique way. Season 5 was great for so many characters, Mermista got so much to work with and Spinnerella and Netossa got so much more characterization than in previous seasons. Glimmer continued to be the third most important character in the story and I’m happy about all the relationships that also got to be canon. Good characters and dynamics all around, no wonder since the show is built on that.

Such a satisfying conclusion and one that makes you feel like this is just part one of a much bigger story. Such genuine, heartfelt moments, well-developed characters, complex themes explored in a respectful and digestible way, and such an unapologetically fun show. Melissa Fumero as a side character? Yes please. Catra’s new haircut? Heck yeah! She-Ra’s new design? Oh my.

I’m not even like, super into She-Ra, and I usually don’t write so much about things I only watch casually. But this show is so good and important that I had to rant. And I will write more about it eventually, but for now I needed to get all of this out. I’d give it a better structure but if I really get into I might never end up posting it so for now here, have this ramble of love. She-Ra, of all shows, deserves that.

[padawanlost]

Do you believe that Anakin and Padme are reunited in the afterlife? I know some fans say that George confirmed they are but I was reading a blogger gffa's (Lumi) meta talking about how it goes against all the worldbuilding of how non-Force-sensitives cannot retain their consciousness in the Force after death so Anakin would only be able to speak to Shmi and Padme through the memories he has of them. That saddens me greatly tbh and honestly don't believe that considering certain things.

Kind of. But before I get into that let me explain that the idea force-sensitives and non-force-users can’t ‘mingle’ in the afterlife is incorrect. It’s actually supported by movie canon, George lucas and Disney’s canon. Only force-sensitive can become force-ghosts but that doesn’t mean the SW’s version of heaven is for force-users only.  

It was something that was *always* meant to be part of the sw lore.

"In the rough draft Luke is asleep and struggling with thoughts of Vader and the dark side. Yoda and Ben are also present in the dream, and Luke berates Ben for not telling him that Vader is his father. Yoda explains that he'll soon be joining Ben in the Netherworld, and therefore he'll become stronger and will be better able to help Luke. Vader's voice reappears, and Luke awakens" ―First mention of the Netherworld in Episode VI's rough draft

Movie/Disney Canon:

“An old friend has learned the path to immortality. One who has returned from the netherworld of the Force.”  Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Original Canon (EU):

“Anakin, listen carefully,” Obi-Wan interrupted. “You are in the netherworld of the Force, but if you ever wish to revisit corporeal space, then I still have one thing left to teach you. A way to become one with the Force. If you choose this path to immortality, then you must listen now, before your consciousness fades.” Obi-Wan sensed confusion and remorse in Anakin’s psyche, then Anakin answered, “But Master … why me?” “Because you ended the horror, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said. “Because you fulfilled the prophecy. Because you were … and are … the Chosen One.” But Obi-Wan knew in his heart that those were not the only reasons. He added, “Because I was wrong about you. And because I am your friend.” Anakin answered quietly, “Thank you, Master.” [Ryder Windham’s The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi]

It does seem George himself said Anakin reunited with his loved ones after death. I couldn’t find the actual sources but I did find many fans claiming it’s true. Either way, there’s plenty of evidence to support this, even though the form they are ‘reunited’ is not the same one would expect from the Christian concepts of heaven and hell.

Every living being that dies goes to the same place: they become one the force. Padmé, Shmi, Qui-Gon, Anakin, Obi-wan, etc. They all go tot eh same place.

"[During the early story sessions for ESB] George Lucas and Leigh Brackett had lengthy discussions about Luke's training with Yoda and decided to turn the lessons into proverbs and commandments. ... The Force also was discussed in great detail. In the story meeting transcripts George Lucas defined the Force as follows: The act of living generates a force field, an energy. That energy surrounds us; when we die, that energy joins with all the other energy. There is a giant mass of energy in the universe that has a good side and a bad side. We are part of the Force because we generate the power that makes the Force live. When we die, we become part of that Force, so we never really die; we continue as part of the Force."  Annotated Screenplays

It seems they don’t maintain their identities unless they are trained and that only lasts for song long. Most people would die and become one with the Force. A few trained force-sensitive swere able to maintain their identities and presence in the physical real for a time. But they too could choose to join the Force with the others later (like Obi-wan and Anakin did). So, in a way, yes, Anakin and Obi-wan were reunited in the afterlife. Just not as ghosts or even themselves (on the ‘traditional’ sense).

“I strengthened the Alliance, although that was not my intent.” He extended a glimmering arm. The mellow voice sounded wrong. The mild, naked face didn’t look as if it’d hidden for decades behind a black breath mask. “Leia, things are changing. I may never be able to return to you.” [Kathy Tyers. The Truce at Bakura]

“Luke?” The voice came softly but insistently. Pausing amid the familiar landscape of Tatooine—familiar, yet oddly distorted—Luke Skywalker turned to look. An equally familiar figure stood there watching him. “Hello, Ben,” Luke said, his voice sounding sluggish in his ears. “Been a long time.” “It has indeed,” Obi-wan Kenobi said gravely. “And I’m afraid that it will be longer still until the next time. I’ve come to say good-bye, Luke.” The landscape seemed to tremble; and abruptly, a small part of Luke’s mind remembered that he was asleep. Asleep in his suite in the Imperial Palace, and dreaming of Ben Kenobi. “No, I’m not a dream,” Ben assured him, answering Luke’s unspoken thought. “But the distances separating us have become too great for me to appear to you in any other way. Now, even this last path is being closed to me.” “No,” Luke heard himself say. “You can’t leave us, Ben. We need you.” Ben’s eyebrows lifted slightly, and a hint of his old smile touched his lips. “You don’t need me, Luke. You are a Jedi, strong in the Force.” The smile faded, and for a moment his eyes seemed to focus on something Luke couldn’t see. “At any rate,” he added quietly, “the decision is not mine to make. I have lingered too long already, and can no longer postpone my journey from this life to what lies beyond.” A memory stirred: Yoda on his deathbed, and Luke pleading with him not to die. Strong am I in the Force, the Jedi Master had told him softly. But not that strong. “It is the pattern of all life to move on,” Ben reminded him. “You, too, will face this same journey one day.” Again, his attention drifted away, then returned. […] The vision seemed to waver and become fainter. “And now, farewell,” Ben said, as if he hadn’t heard the question. “I loved you as a son, and as a student, and as a friend. Until we meet again, may the Force be with you.” […] For a moment he just lay there, staring at the dim lights of the Imperial City playing across the ceiling above his bed and struggling through the sleep-induced disorientation. The disorientation, and an immense weight of sadness that seemed to fill the core of his being. First Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had been murdered; then Darth Vader, his real father, had sacrificed his own life for Luke’s; and now even Ben Kenobi’s spirit had been taken away. For the third time, he’d been orphaned. [Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn]

What happens after that it’s open to interpretation. George Lucas borrowed a lot of concepts from many religions and if the thought of Anakin and Padmé’s reuniting in their afterlife is comforting to you then that’s what happened. There’s no right or wrong here. There’s only what works for us. Some may see this as the final end and other will see a new beginning.