#No one cared about qui-gon or xanatos

[spectres-fulcrum]

This whole they changed Ki-Adi's age!!! Outrage is so performative and you cannot change my mind on this.

This age is of a minor character with an estimated birth year on a trading card that's 20 years old and decidely non canon(And these TPM adjacent sources are also not at all remotely canon). And a man the vast majority of people has hated for decades? You want me to believe you care about that?

Like where was a fraction of this anger when Qui-Gon's birth year was changed? An actual main character? There was silence.

Where was the outcry when his earlier apprentices-namely Xanatos- were written out of ever being pulled to canon? Major character defining stories were ripped away. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon lost so much. Obi-Wan lost lineage brothers. The disaster lineage will never be complete and I loathe everyone who thinks it is(Not really).

My heart screamed. But no one heard a thing. But guess what. I don't really care what the fuck Disney does because they're canon in my heart. Disney can really do whatever the fuck they want and I can ignore them and retreat and I don't scream about it. I don't ruin it for the people who dare to just vibe. My followers will know if I'm not feeling something but that's it.

And this is not a slight against Ki-Adi. I like him. I knew his age. In my mind he grew up friends with Tahl, Qui-Gon, and Clee. In my mind his apprentice(an oc) had a youngling best friends to unspoken romantic relationship with Xanatos in true Jedi Apprentice style and grew up to be a healer at the Temple.

The fandom hates a queer woman in charge. They hate her decisions. The second they announced her, these people decided whatever she produced was going to be horrible and they were going to nitpick everything she did because she was a queer woman. This fandom never, for a second, was willing to give it a chance. And thus this temper tantrum.

BTW: If you don't know any of these names(Xanatos, Clee, Tahl, add in Bant, Siri, Garen, Didi and Astri Oddo), fuck off about Ki-Adi's birth year.

(And if you ask my opinion: Canon is fun, if I like it I might try to include it in my headcanons. But at the end of the day it doesn't mess with my headcanons. Qui-Gon and Ki-Adi-Mundi were both born ca. 90 BBY. Xan and Miria were their apprentices in the 50s. Jude Watson is my holy bible when it comes to Star Wars. In my head, Xan and Obi-Wan are dating during TPM and Xanatos met Anakin on the landing platform right before the Return to Naboo and had a vision of the purge and Qui-Gon asked him if the dark Jedi ever heard whispers of the Sith returning.

But I respect canon for what it is on paper. If this is worth keeping in my headcanon(Which might be good fuel for rumors Xanatos knows from his dark years...), that dude is some random guy of Ki-Adi's species and it. hurts. nothing)

[comebackali]

with everything else going on in master & apprentice i literally FORGOT about qui gon saying, word for word, "oh, obi wan you're so mature for your age i forget you're only seventeen." multiple times in this book but HOLY SHIT i cannot believe they canonized that. that man is one insane giant walking red flag.

[phoenixyfriend]

Okay so we have like. An unusually high ratio of royalty/nobility among the Jedi. Dooku, Quinlan, Oppo, you can sort of count Adi or Xanatos or Bruck, etc. Lots of Jedi 'just happen' to come from royal, noble, or incredibly wealthy/powerful families.

So from this I want to posit four things:

If a royal family has a Force-Sensitive child, and hasn't had one in generations, they may think that sending that child to the Jedi would be a little like sending a child to join the Catholic Church in the middle ages: you get to influence the political choices of the highest religious power in Europe the Galactic Republic Government. (That said, Dooku was sent to the Jedi because his parents didn't want him and ||left him to die of exposure, basically, so that if the Jedi arrived too late they'd be picking up a baby corpse|| because they were so disdainful of Force-Sensitive individuals, and Quinlan wasn't sent to the Jedi so much as he escaped to them.)

They are all incredibly wrong about this, and royals raised as Jedi generally do not give any more of a shit about their home planets than any other planet. They care, of course, but they are not attached, because they are Jedi. Xanatos was an exception (afaik his dad sent him to the Jedi because he wanted to do the Catholic thing? and then Xanatos lost his mind). (Don't correct me on this, it's not really important if it was actually intended or not.)

This is achieved by way of Jedi from royal backgrounds having a mandatory high-level political class on how to handle royal court politics and general intrigue. It's not exclusive to the royal kids, but it is a prerequisite for them. They usually end up doing their home planets as case studies for capstone projects, in part because

Sometimes the planets try to call their errant royals back. It might be because the planet is struggling and genuinely running out of heirs/needs a change in leadership (Serreno) and it might be because it was the plan all along, but on the off chance that the Jedi decides they HAVE to leave the Order and take up a throne to keep an entire planet from kind of imploding on itself... that royal Jedi has to be ready to play the game. OR if they don't actually think they're REALLY needed there, they have to be trained on how to go, and be polite/avoid getting trapped/play the game until they can get the hell out of there, while also installing that cousin that nobody thought was strong enough but DOES understand how to run the treasury as the new king.

I'm just imagining this like. Very specific set of classes that are open to any Jedi that's taken the necessary prereqs, but is mandatory for people like Quinlan and Dooku and Oppo.

This was inspired by a post of mine that's getting circulated regarding QuinObi stuff and my thoughts about how Quinlan might have needed preventative training in case of political upheavals trying to pull him back to his home planet. I want to mess with the Politics Classes that Quinlan is taking because he has to and Obi-Wan is taking because Qui-Gon said he should.

Qui-Gon: You should take this class because I'm training you up as a negotiator and diplomat, and you will need it to interact with people when brokering trade deals or peace treaties. Tholme: You are taking this class because your aunt is insane and you have to be ready in case she tries to pull you back into the bullshit.

And as @firebirdeternal offered:

Quinlan: God this is the worst. So boring. At least Obi-Wan is stuck here too. Obi-wan: This is fascinating wow, I can't believe I almost didn't get to attend, Quinlan is so lucky he's automatically in these classes.

[feybarn]

Surprise snippet! @mercyghost I'm actually doing another prompt from your list. Obi-Wan and Quinlan stargazing as padawans. (Though only Obi-Wan is a padawan in this one. And... uh, stargazing is kind of ineffective on Coruscant, so that's somewhat debatable.)

“You know, if we wanted to see stars, we’d have been better off going to the holo-map room,” Obi-Wan commented, staring up at the dark gray sky above them. He and Quinlan were laying on the roof of the Temple, supposedly star gazing. But between the pollution of Coruscant, and the bright lights around them, stars felt more like a theory than something a person actually saw.

Quinlan snorted. “Yeah, because the holo-map room is know for its privacy.”

That was a fair point. And it was not as though either of their quarters were really an option for privacy. Knighted and without his own padawan, Quinlan shared his quarters with two other Knights, and Obi-Wan, of course, still shared quarters with Master Qui-Gon.

“I’m not having sex on a Temple spire,” Obi-Wan warned.

Quinlan let out a sharp laugh, and Obi-Wan tilted his head to catch the way Quinlan’s eyes lit up. They always did when he laughed like that and Obi-Wan never stopped finding Quinlan beautiful that way.

“Force, Obi-Wan. What do you take me for?”

“Someone who would absolutely have sex on one of the Temple spires.” Obviously.

Quinlan opened his mouth to deny it, then shut it, shrugging. “All right, so in the right circumstances. But that’s not what I wanted privacy for.”

Quinlan shifted so that he was on his side, facing Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan copied the move. The roof was uncomfortable beneath them, only somewhat alleviated by the blanket that Quinlan had brought from his quarters that lay beneath them.

They rarely had time together, these days. Obi-Wan was out on missions with Qui-Gon constantly. Quinlan had his own missions, now, as a solo knight. Quinlan would actually be leaving for Tatooine by the end of the week and Qui-Gon would likely have a mission for him and Obi-Wan within the same time frame.

But they still had moments like this.

“You’ll be knighted soon,” Quinlan commented, breaking Obi-Wan out of his thoughts.

“Maybe,” Obi-Wan corrected. They’d thought the same thing last year, and the year before that. But Obi-Wan was still a padawan. It bothered him, sometimes, but Qui-Gon had yet to even mention the possibility of Obi-Wan reaching his Knight Trials.

Xanatos had taken his when he was 18, Obi-Wan remembered. He couldn’t help but wonder if the reason he wasn’t Knighted yet was because Qui-Gon was so intent on treating Obi-Wan the exact opposite that he had his previous padawan.

“You’ll be knighted soon,” Quinlan repeated. “I want to go to the Council and give an official declaration of our pair bond before then.”

Obi-Wan paused, surprised by the words. “Quin?”

“And then I want us to train Aayla together.”

They’d talked about this sort of thing before, but it had always been more in the hypothetical than an outright plan.

“You want to go in front of the council?” Obi-Wan asked quietly. Because that meant this was serious.

Quinlan met his gaze, eyes fierce. “Yes.”

It wasn’t that Obi-Wan didn’t want it. He’d always felt a… certainty when it came to Quinlan. Had since almost the first time he’d met Quinlan, two years older than him, new to the temple, and suspicious of everyone around him. At first, it had simply been a certainty that they would be friends. The Stark Hyperspace had thrown that bond into the light in a way neither of them had expected. Tholme had been the one to identify the pair bond between them.

Pair bonds weren’t unknown at that age, but they were… unusual. Most pair bonds came as the result of years working together and careful intent.

Obi-Wan knew that those years and intent would come, would strengthen the bond they already shared. But the bond they had now was no less real for how unusual it was.

Still, a pair bond did not demand anything. Obi-Wan and Quinlan still had to choose whether this was a path they wanted. And… and Obi-Wan did. He wanted to walk this path with Quinlan.

“All right,” he said. “Let’s go to the Council.”

Qui-Gon might not like it. But… well, Obi-Wan had to trust in the Force. The Force had given him and Quinlan each other; that meant something. More than that, he had to trust in himself and in Quinlan. And he did.

This felt right.

Quinlan let out a breath of relief. “Good,” he said. He let out a laugh. “I kind of expected it to be harder to convince you,” he admitted. “I had my arguments and reasons all prepared. I even practiced on Tholme.”

Obi-Wan laughed, picturing Thelma’s quiet exasperation but genuine patience. “Should I be a bit more difficult? I’d hate to think Tholme suffered through your dramatics for no reason.”

Quinlan nudged at him, elbow digging into his side not-so-gently. “Don’t even think about it,” he warned. “You already agreed with me. No taking that back.”

A smile tugged at Obi-Wan’s lips. “All right,” he agreed. “I’ll just have to ask Tholme about it. I’m sure he’ll have the best details.”

“I’m not going to be living this one down,” Quinlan groaned, but he sounded too happy to really sound annoyed.

No, Quinlan really wouldn’t. Tholme enjoyed giving Quinlan a hard time far too much to let it go. Probably payback for Quinlan’s teenage years. But that just meant that Obi-Wan always had a partner in ganging up on Quinlan when necessary.

“I’ll be nice about it,” Obi-Wan lied.

“No, you won’t,” Quinlan grumped.

Obi-Wan shifted to press closer to Quinlan, absorbing his warmth. It wasn’t necessarily cold up here—though it wasn’t exactly warm, either—but Quinlan’s warmth was still comforting. He looked up at the sky. The stars were no more visible now than they’d been before, but for a moment Obi-Wan still felt closer to the universe than ever.

Perhaps it was because now he knew he’d never have to traverse the galaxy alone.

He and Quinlan would walk their path together.

“Tomorrow,” Obi-Wan said. “I want to tell them tomorrow.” He turned to Quinlan. “Master Qui-Gon is meeting with Chancellor Vallorum tomorrow, something about a favor. We can go to the Council, then. Before your mission to Tatooine and wherever I end up.”

Quinlan smiled, bright and warm. “Tomorrow. Not gonna let you get away from me, Obi-Wan Kenobi.” A hint of mischief appeared in his smile. “What are the chances that we’re going to give Master Windu a headache?”

…probably pretty high, honestly. Whether it was a shatter point or their shenanigans was an even toss up. Master Windu had been exasperated by their shenanigans from the very beginning. He had also stopped and looked at Obi-Wan more than once before shaking his head and muttering about shatter points. When Tholme had told the Council about their pair bond in the immediate aftermath of the Stark Hyperspace War, Master Windu had literally groaned and buried his head in his hands. It made it all seem mildly alarming, honestly, but Obi-Wan didn’t let it bother him. The Force would guide them.

It already had. It had brought them together.

[tennessoui]

If you don’t mind Miss Kit, here’s a little morning AU Pitch:

In a galaxy where the Padawans aren’t allowed to become a knight without the getting the explicit OK from their Master, Obi-Wan has reached the ripe age of 25, becoming the oldest Padawan in the Order after getting denied YET again by Qui-Gon to become a Knight. (Reasons can be he either really doesn’t think Obi-Wans ready or he’s still scarred about his last failed apprentice (Xanatos)) On the cusp of the Clone Wars, his Master dies, leaving him a Masterless AND still a Padawan. The Council has thought he was ready since he was 23(or whatever), but could do nothing since Qui-Gon said no.

However, there is a freshly knighted Anakin Skywalker walking around who is in desperate need of a friend/guidance/partner and whose Master also conveniently just died. With the War just about to kick off, and frankly having little to no options when it comes to people who want an adult Padawan, they decide that the two are perfect for another. r(also they have to actually TRY and see why Qui-Gon wouldn’t let him become knighted, and actually let someone bond to investigate)

Not only will they be able to help each other past their grief while also (hopefully) becoming friends, but it’s not like Skywalker will want a 25 yr old Padawan following him around like a puppy for long. He’ll probably graduate Obi-Wan before the end of the day. Three birds with one stone; they’ll get another knight, Skywalker will get a friend, and Obi-Wan can finally stop having nightmares of still being a Padawan at 40. It’s perfect.

The only problem is it’s Anakin. And he’s had a crush on Obi-Wan since he was 9yrs old. With the Clone Wars about to start, why would he ever want Obi-Wan anywhere but by his side? And besides, now Obi-Wan will HAVE to notice him now. Will have to do what he says, listen to his commands, always look at him first for permission, call him MASTER…yeah, there’s no way he’s letting THAT go anytime soon.

That’s it! Anyways, thought it was cool idea that I saw in twt. Could be fluffy, could be dead dove or just dark or anything really. Like how funny would it be that Obi-Wan here, who is not only older, but calmer, and more level headed, leads a negotiation only to turn around and say ‘what do you think Master?’ The power trip Anakin would get is god tier lol

It’s been eating a t my brain a while now, and I wanted to see what other people thought of it lol

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Oh this is an interesting take! A master who is younger and by a few years and already has that crush on padawan obi-wan—who is no doubt grieving his dead master and also nursing a hurt and anger that he hasn’t been knighted yet

love the idea of the Council being like yeah knight Skywalker has been doing a lot of unhinged things he probably won’t want an older padawan dragging him down so he’s gonna knight him soon and we can take care of this oversight by the books

and anakin is like this is my padawan and childhood crush and love of my life and his name is obi-wan and I am never gonna let him go thank you for legally binding us together 💛

[antianakin]

People know that Qui-Gon's "repudiation" of Feemor is COMPLETELY fanon, right? Like please tell me people know that that's not canon.

I mean, Feemor himself isn't canon anyway, the ONE THING he's actually appeared in was a comic from 2011 about Xanatos where he appears for TWO PAGES. All we learn is that he's Qui-Gon's Padawan from before Xanatos and that he was the son of a farmer and he seems relatively nice and polite. He and Qui-Gon seem to have a fairly positive relationship and one that's continued beyond Feemor's Knighting, including Qui-Gon asking Feemor to help him train his current padawan. Setting aside the weird timeline problems introduced by Feemor existing at all, the character is clearly there just to showcase Xanatos being a classist asshole and not much else.

That's ALL WE KNOW about Feemor within what little exists for him and he's not even a canon character to begin with. But the whole "repudiation" thing only exists because the writer of the comic, Scott Allie, presumably didn't consider that adding in another padawan before Xanatos would make some of the stuff Qui-Gon says (and doesn't say) in Jedi Apprentice seem really weird. For example, I'm pretty sure Qui-Gon explicitly claims Xanatos was his first padawan, which is a very strange thing to say if Feemor exists. And it makes his massive depression about Xanatos a little more questionable when he HAS an entire other padawan who was successfully trained to knighthood and seems like a perfect example of a Jedi.

I also just think it's kind-of in bad faith to assume that it's in character for Qui-Gon to have done something like this to someone he seems to care about. It's one thing for Qui-Gon to reject taking on a NEW padawan, that's a massive commitment that he's being asked to take on and one he clearly does not feel ready for and the person involved is a total stranger to him so he loses very little by saying no to Obi-Wan. It's a whole different thing for Qui-Gon to reject a FORMER padawan, what does this accomplish? It's not like he's still actively training Feemor, there's nothing being asked of him in this relationship that's a massive commitment on his part. We also don't see him completely reject any of his OTHER relationships from before Xanatos like Tahl or Yoda. And even with Obi-Wan, we see Qui-Gon do his best to let Obi-Wan down gently during the multiple times Obi-Wan tries asking Qui-Gon to accept him as an apprentice, Qui-Gon comes to Obi-Wan's rescue more than once, and he clearly does CARE about Obi-Wan's wellbeing despite how little time they've known each other and Obi-Wan's constant begging for something Qui-Gon has already said no to. So even at his WORST, it still doesn't suggest such a lack of care that he'd literally reject any and all association with a former Padawan he clearly cares about.

So for anyone using "what he did to Feemor" as a reason for why Qui-Gon sucks or is a bad master, please stop. It's not real, it's just fanon, and it's not even an accurate interpretation of the character.

[itstimeforstarwars]

For the wip title game, the Bacta War oneshot and/or Faramir and Feemor? 💜

The Bacta War Oneshot

Takes place directly after Three Jedi. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan get involved in the Stark-Hyperspace War (also known as the Bacta War). Obi-Wan meets Quinlan, and it goes great! Savage shows up and meets Quinlan, it does not go so great. This one may or may not end up being in the canon One Hundred Hours series, depending on what I end up doing with Savage in the last few chapters.

"Why are you so hostile towards our other padawan?" Master Koon asked.

"Quinlan Vos--" Savage spat.

But he swallowed whatever he was going to say, clenching his fists and sending a hateful glare at Quinlan, who glanced up, clearly feeling the ill-will.

Savage growled slightly.

"He is irrelevant to this situation," Savage gritted out. "I will not harm him while I am here."

Faramir and Feemor

This one is a crossover with Lord of the Rings lmao. Feemor, Xanatos, and Qui-Gon end up getting teleported to Middle Earth. They don't speak the language, except for a very tiny bit of Elvish that Feemor knows from being a nerd about an obscure fantasy opera called The Tragedy of Arwen Evenstar. Feemor ends up alone, and is found by Faramir, who is trying to decide if he's a spy or not. Xanatos and Qui-Gon end up with the Fellowship. Qui-Gon and Gandalf are delighted with each other. Xanatos is not having a good time, but Pippin is trying his best anyway. Feemor quickly finds out that he does not care for horses at all, which sucks, because he's about to be on horses a lot for the forseeable future. Qui-Gon gets a warg. Eowyn gets a lightsaber.

@thefoundationproject was the one who convinced me into starting this fic, and one day I will actually finish it. I've been working on it for four years but. the key point is that I am working on it lmao.

[purple-ant]

Poison

The beam of light from the funeral pyre thins, and Jedi slowly leave the hall. Everyone is silent. Only Rael asks to be left alone with the cooling ashes. Dooku closes the doors as quietly as possible, not taking his eyes off the hunched shoulders of his old Padawan until the last moment. The shell of Nim's lightsaber burned down along with her, but the heart of the blade - the kyber - is held tightly by Rael in his hands.

The narrow corridor is not filled with Jedi for long. It is late, the Padawans are already dozing in the arms of their Masters, exhausted beyond their years with grief for their friend. Dooku does not move far from the door, he stops near the stained glass window, his hood pulled up mourning. The funeral floor is too low for sunlight, so soft lanterns behind colored glass are the only thing that disperses the darkness.

The initial disbelief and shock have passed, and Dooku feels empty. Death is never fair, it does not choose, and there are no other reasons for it other than human greed... But still, Dooku wants to helplessly ask. Why Nim? Why, of all the lights of the Galaxy, was this one, young and untouched, extinguished?

Dooku feels old.

“I didn’t expect you to come,” Qui-Gon’s voice sounds in the solemn silence, Dooku does not take his devastated gaze from the stained glass window. There is no image, a simple familiar pattern of circles and straight lines.

“I barely made it,” he admits. The flight to the Temple seems short, wild and at the same time a blurry moment to him: one second he ends negotiations and receives a ragged, stumbling message from Rael, and the next he is breaking through Coruscant traffic. “She was my grandpadawan.”

Was.

Qui-Gon gives a low chuckle and Dooku blinks, finally turning his head to look at his old Padawan. The young man's gaze is gloomy, and the dim light does not smooth out the heavy wrinkles that have appeared on his face in recent months.

“Is there something wrong?”

All wrong. Nim is dead. The child is dead, killed, and his first Padawan is broken with grief and guilt.

“I didn’t know you cared about your grandpadawans,” Qui-Gon answers defiantly. “It’s not like you care about Xanatos.”

For a second, Dooku is sure that he heard wrong. An auditory hallucination caused by nervous exhaustion is not something he experiences often, but... The silence rings.

“What?” he asks anyway, giving Qui-Gon a chance to think carefully about his next words.

“You weren't so concerned when Xanatos left,” Qui-Gon repeats, and the emptiness inside Dooku flares with cold anger. He can feel the flashes trailing behind the billowing flaps of his cloak as he whirls around to face his second Padawan.

“Do you dare,” he mutters through clenched teeth, “to compare this boy’s selfish flight with Nim’s death?”

“The Council should not have sent him on that mission!” Qui-Gon puts forward the usual argument. “At least this time they listened to common sense,” his gaze slides to the locked doors.

The Council is going to investigate this mission in a special manner, considering that Rael's actions lead to Nim's death. They were given time for the funeral and mourning, but nothing more.

“Do you... agree with them?” Dooku can hardly believe it. Rael has supported Qui-Gon since he became Dooku's Padawan, the boys were like brothers, and yet Qui-Gon looks into his eyes without doubt.

“Yes. You yourself noted that Rael loves battles more than a Jedi should. Apparently Padawan Pianna was the one who paid for this…”

“Silence!”

The word, the order, echoes down the corridor like a clap of thunder, and Qui-Gon falls silent. His eyes widen in shock for a second, and then narrow, as if he has confirmed something. Dooku had hoped never to feel this way about his Padawans, his lineage, but his fingertips tingle with cold, furious energy, and he presses his hand closer to his body, clenching his fists.

“It’s time for you to let this go, Qui-Gon,” Dooku bites every word. “And if you cannot do this, then keep your poison to yourself, and do not turn it against Rael. He doesn't need it now.”

“This is not poison, Dooku, this is the truth that you do not want to see because of your attachment! Why is it that when I lose a padawan everyone turns away, but when Rael kills-”

The blow is short and not very good, it reverberates with pain in Dooku’s tightly clenched hand, his nails digging into his palm. For a moment he thinks he has done more damage to himself than to the Master in front of him, but Qui-Gon stumbles back, clutching his nose.

Two ragged breaths drown in the ensuing silence. Slowly, Qui-Gon moves his hands away from his face and looks at the blood staining his fingers, black in the twilight, then the disbelieving gaze of his blue eyes turns to Dooku.

“I knew it.”

“Get out of my sight.”

“The Force will judge,” Qui-Gon leaves the last word and departs. Slowly Dooku unclenches his fists. The emptiness returns even heavier than before.

He returns to the entrance to the hall, unable to stand still any longer. He would never have thought that Qui-Gon would say something like that. Where did Dooku go wrong?

The faded presence of his first Padawan is closer than Dooku expects, and as he opens the heavy doors he is instantly confronted with an ashen, dark gaze.

“Rael...” Dooku isn’t sure what he’s going to say.

“No need,” the prematurely aged Jedi shakes his head too quickly, “...in the end, he’s right.”

[willowcrowned]

Hey, do you remember the illegal carp farming AU?

So, after you asked for ideas for may the 4th (yeah i know you got one already) i was thinking of how to make the carp farming Au into canon-verse AU

Primordial rule of the Canon Carp Cartel AU: Everything about Qui Gon Jinn has to be explained via the carp theory.

WHy didn't he take obi wan at first/said he didn't take new padawans? He knew they would find out about the carp operation and couldn't risk it

Why did he take anakin? The prophecy. but the reason no jedi cares about it is bc it is a carp prophecy and not a jedi one. the prophecy is right bc darth vader incidentally kills all carp farmers in the known universe, bringing balance to the carp force

Xanatos? Didn't actually fall. He faked it bc his jedi work was taking too much time and he wanted to spend more time on the farm

the reason that one person offers obi one death sticks? death sticks are slang for fried fish sticks and obi wan has the smell of someone involved in the underground carping business

as always—barring the times you live up to your url—you’re a genius

[dragormir]

Count Dooku, pt. 1

Mirjahaal Master Post

Dooku had often wondered, in his life, who would be the first of his lineage to die. Master Yoda had, of course, always been at the top of his list. He dearly loved his master, even if he claimed in public that he had distanced himself from both the Order and his lineage, but Yoda was ancient. He was easily as old as the cursed Reformation that had doomed the Jedi to a life of slavery and deprivation. If Yoda had passed into the Force while Dooku was on Serenno, he would have felt it, mourned, and moved on because he had accepted that the ancient Force wielder would die of old age - if the Force were ever brave enough to confront his awful glimmer stick, of course. 

To receive the news that it was his own beloved Padawan taken from him.... Dooku buried his face in his hands, willing his breathing to remain even as the Galactic Senate's representative droned on about the tragedy of Qui-Gon's demise and how surely this would bring Dooku back into the Senate's embrace so they could ensure he received the care his lineage would need in this trying time.... 

"That is enough," Dooku snapped, sharper than he had intended. It shut up the Senate's lapdog, though. "I have no more desire to hear of some failure from a lineage I have left. Tell the Senate not to bother me about this again." He cut the call off with an irritated wave of his hand, counted to twelve, and let out a harsh sob.

He and Qui-Gon had never been able to see entirely eye to eye, but he had raised that boy from childhood, had trained him and loved him and protected him as best he could from the Republic's cruelest actions. Qui-Gon was the son he had been denied by the Reformation and the Senate, the son he had never been able to cherish and care for as he ought to. And now his boy was dead.

He'd thrown himself from one of the spires, and Dooku could only guess as to his Padawan's thought process. He cursed his stupid, foolish, big-hearted boy for doing such a thing as he felt his heart shatter. Qui-Gon had left behind three Padawan of his own - one was a Master in his own right, and worked as an archivist. Feemor's heart had always been set on guarding the Temple, something the Force had called him to - but, like Qui-Gon's desire to explore and help people, and Dooku's own drive to excel at everything, from sabers to diplomacy, he had been denied his heart's calling. Then there was that spoiled little bastard, Xanatos, whom Qui-Gon had taken on out of pity, if only because no one else wanted to touch such a poisonous little toad. He had the protection of a powerful family, and one that was bizarrely delighted over the idea that one of their children was a Jedi. Either they were all brain-damaged, or Dooku was going to find blackmail in his biological father's archives about that family that would require bleach to wash away. 

And then there was little Obi-Wan. Not so little now, of course. Dooku had last seen him as a small boy, recently arrived from Stewjon. His own parents had tried to drown him - a mercy, of course, and one Dooku had guiltily wished they had been able to grant the sweet little boy more than once - and he had been terrified of water and bathing. Qui-Gon had taken him on as well, to Xanatos' intense disgust, and, for a time, Dooku had allowed himself to think that perhaps the Senate would just....leave them all alone.

Then Senator Valorum had discovered the little Padawan, and Dooku's world had shattered. Qui-Gon had been inconsolable when the Senate Guard had arrived to take his newest Padawan away, and even that little prick Xanatos had been in shock. Obi-Wan's return several hours later with pockets full of candies and several new stuffed toys, proclaiming that all the nice senator had wanted was to have Obi-Wan sit with him while he did paperwork, had failed to reassure any of them. 

Dooku cursed softly and reached blindly for the decanter on his desk, pulling the crystal stopper out with a little more force than necessary and, without bothering to reach for a cup, drank straight from the bottle. 

Qui-Gon had become overbearingly protective of his two Padawan after that. Dooku's escape years ago hadn't helped matters, and with his recent consolidation of power on Serenno - and, more importantly, over their hyperlane nexus - he was sure the Senate was incensed. Sith Hells, they had been furious. His majordomo had reported that his entire lineage, sans Master Yoda, had been doing some sort of "apology ritual" in the Senate rotunda for a fucking tennday. Dooku knew what that meant - kneeling on grains of rice or fine gravel until the Senate said you could stand, and Force gods but his own knees still ached from the one time he'd been forced to do that - and now.... 

His Padawan must have done something to anger the Senate. Dooku drank deeply from the decanter, not caring that the brandy was spilling down his neck as he drank. Perhaps not anger. No, Qui-Gon would tapdance on a Senator's grave and smile the whole time, uncaring of the consequences. 

No, Qui-Gon had done this in an effort to protect him. 

And Dooku could do nothing to aid the Jedi left behind.

[mayxthexforce]

🗣️ / Random Opinion

Send 🗣️ and I'll share a random opinion I have about something

Qui-Gon was a neglectful master. He was not the worst master out there (that spot will always be Palpatine's), but he was not a good master and Anakin would have SUFFERED as his Padawan.

Chronologically: he allowed Xanatos to become a classist piece of shit by doing nothing to discipline him, not even when Xanatos mocked people for not having noble blood like him right in front of Qui-Gon; he disowned Feemor because of Xanatos leaving the order to become a classist piece of shit, he was literally certain that the reason why Yoda paired him and Obi-Wan up was because if he did, then the only way Obi-Wan would have to rebel against Qui-Gon was to become the more mature of the two; and then he went and took Anakin, who he told the chosen one thing to which I fully believe was one of his dumbest decisions because THAT'S NOT A WAY TO RAISE A KID TO CONSIDER HIMSELF EQUAL TO OTHER PEOPLE, QUI-GON, THAT'S ONE OF THE (many) REASONS WHY WE GOT XANATOS 2.0 WHO ACTUALLY SUCCEEDED AT MURDERING EVERYONE AT THE JEDI TEMPLE. Also, Obi-Wan literally had to spend time enslaved because Qui-Gon didn't take him as a Padawan at first, claiming he didn't want any more padawans even though he knew he was Obi-Wan's last chance not to get sent to the AgriCorps, which would force Obi-Wan to leave the only home he'd ever known.But he takes Anakin as his Padawan no question, without a care for the fact Jedi are supposed to get padawans based on the child's needs, not on who wants to be their master, and against the council's wishes just cause he BELIEVED (cause let's remember he didn't live to see any confirmation of it) Anakin to be the chosen one.

[spectres-fulcrum]

I was listening for Folklore while it was raining on the drive home(my mom was driving) and Obi-Wan is Mirrorball("I've never been a natural all I do is try try try", "hush I know they said the end was near, but", "I can change everything about me to fit in", "I'm still a believer and I don't know why") and Xanatos is This is Me Trying("I had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting", "I could've followed my fears all the way down" "I didn't know if you'd care if I came back", "My words shoot to kill when I'm mad", "I was so ahead of the curve the curve became a sphere.") and Qui-Gon-

Qui-Gon's faithless love is the only Hoax they believed in after he betrayed them(Xan on the Telos mission, Obi-Wan when he carelessly tossed him aside for Anakin)("stood on the cliffside screaming give me a reason", ""You knew the hero died so what's the movie for?", "My only one, My kingdom come undone", "You knew it still hurt underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart but what you did was just as dark.)

Just. Pain. Xanatos being the gifted and talented child and Obi-Wan worked for every crumb of acknowledgment and both got shafted in the end :( Before the TCW disaster lineage trio we had this disaster lineage trio.

(Also I had to go to an out of town funeral today so my brain is cooked from waking up over two hours early so that is literally all I can handle analysis wise. Everything's fine tho! No one I was super close to. My dad's cousin's husband. We used to go to woodworking shows he had booths at pre-covid so I had good memories of him and his wife so I wanted to pay my respects)

[rainintheevening]

Deepest thoughts about your favorite Star Wars ship? Favorite meta/symbolism/all that cool writer stuff we don't always get to talk to readers about about your favorite WIP?

Ooh, fun reason to break from writing a super emotional scene with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan where [redacted].

But man, what even is my favourite Star Wars ship?? Kind of a toss-up between Anidala and my own QuiRae. There's also Ben and Rey in my sequels rewrite. And of course Han and Leia.

I confess I don't have very many 'deep' thoughts about Anakin and Padmé. I love them, they make me sad, and I want to give them so much joy and happiness in my fics. I've barely written about them yet, so I've got a lot of deep thinking ahead of me still.

Qui-Gon and Rae-Lin now! I think about them a lot! In my Promises of Fools au, Qui-Gon meets her after the debacle with Xanatos, when he's wandering around the galaxy, questioning everything about himself. She is the dew-drenched dawn, sunlight slipping through clouds until the sky clears, and morning comes after a long dark night. She awakens him to hope and joy and life and possibility again. To her, he is a wounded lion, strange and a little wild, but longing for someone to speak tenderly to him and care for his heart, as he in turn wants someone to care for and protect. She pulls down his walls, stone by stone, and he lifts her up, step by step. She makes him laugh again, and he calls her beautiful. After Obi-Wan is born, it amazes her how much stronger and protective and warmer he gets, overnight! And he marvels at how impossibly deeper her capacity for tenderness and empathy can go.

I like to think that she gets frustrated with how chill he usually is, when she's all fired up about something, but if she were truly honest with herself, she knows she never wants to see her lion man truly angry. That would be terrifying.

Now, good gravy, Adi, how am I supposed to pick a favourite thing about one of my stories? There's a bunch of Broken Constellations stuff I don't want to go public with yet (spoilers), I've already talked about how it was originally inspired by the poem 'The Hound of Heaven', I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that 'Starlight' by STARSET is The Song for BC...

Hmmm, does anyone want my essay on the heart of Star Wars being the imagery of dark=fear vs light=love, and the 'accidental Christianity' of it all?

(I mean, I'm supposed to be working on After All rn, but I had a new revelation that ties into that the other day, and it's a huge part of why I'm so in love with Star Wars.)

[kenobster]

For the ask game: 1, 2, & 10!

Your Pal's Star Wars Ask Game

OOOOH these are good ones, thanks anon!

1. Qui-Gon Jinn: love or hate? Discuss.

I very passionately could not care less. He's boring! I don't love or hate, I'm boooored. But that's a terrible answer, so let's go through every single Qui-Gon subject I could possibly have feelings on and describe why I don't.

(Oh boy this list became extremely rude but shit fam, I'm being asked my personal opinion lol. What else am I supposed to do?)

Phantom Menace? Meh. He's the mystical wise type... but Yoda does it better. He's the seemingly disciplined and empathetic role model/teacher, both as Anakin's male!parental figure and as a Padawan's Jedi Master, but... Obi-Wan does that better. He's a rebel, a rule breaker; he doesn't follow the Jedi code perfectly (and, as a result of George Lucas's whiteness, is a little bit racist), but... Anakin does that better worse. Apparently ppl were mad at him for using his final words to ask Obi-Wan to train the Boy, instead of saying "I love you" or something... but I snored through that scene until Obi-Wan's Sith-slaughter woke me up... so unfortunately I didn't hear any of that shit. 🤷‍♀️

Jude Watson? I skip his POV lol. No seriously, he's pretty boring, his internal conflicts are kinda kid-like, not very Jedi-Master-like, not even really very complicated or compelling. And maybe that'd be enough to hate him, but fandom's response to the series neutralizes my opinion in his defense. Re, first two books as an example, Qui-Gon was going about minding his own business when Yoda came along and tried to shove a child onto him -- him, a man who not only didn't want and wasn't ready for a new kid (after the old one became a freak), but also explicitly stated so to Yoda numerous times. Yoda did not take no for an answer. In fact, Yoda pretty much egged Obi-Wan on to pull the same guilt-tripping nonsense, despite Qui-Gon repeatedly saying to both of them stop, no, don't. And neither Yoda nor child listened. Luckily Obi-Wan grew on Qui-Gon so everything worked out in the end, but Qui-Gon didnt do shit wrong lol. It's not his fault Obi-Wan was being sent to the agricorp. It's not his fault Obi-Wan repeatedly disobeyed everyone's instructions and put himself into danger... or that Xanatos was a sadistic freak. And it's certainly not his fault that Yoda (in these books) lacked an understanding of consent and riled up an angsty Padawan into hoping falsely. The book may be boring af, especially Qui-Gon's character arc, but give the man a break, ffs. (And stop letting Tumblr gaslight you.)

Obi-Wan Kenobi show? Yeah Qui-Gon being someone his Padawan cried to abt his nightmares made Obi-Wan look suitably pathetic and sad, and I liked that a lot. But the second Qui-Gon appeared? Ugh. You just had to ruin Depressed!Obi-Wan for me, didn't ya? 🙄 I liked you better when you were playing hard to get.

Fanfiction? Ppl can do what they want and I support them. But I am tired of how Qui-Gon is either the villain or the saint and extremely two-dimensional. That's okay to have 2d characters! It really is! They serve a purpose! But this two-dimensional Jedi ain't for me. And honestly him being angelified is just as much of a dealbreaker to me as him being demonized. I like Messy. I like Trying Hard and Failing. I like Loving and Hurting and Hating and Loving. I like whatever Obi-Wan and Anakin got going on. Qui-Gon is boring and even worse, his presence in fic tends to make Obi-Wan into a two-dimensional victim, which drags Obi-Wan into boringville too. :(

Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray? Hmm, actually, this was some good shit. Would read again. Take notes, kids. This be how you write a Qui-Gon.

Anyway this is how I feel, and I can't help how I feel. So go enjoy your mystical, potentially abusive wildcard in peace. I won't stop you! ^_^

2. Pick a Padme outfit to be your signature look.

This one all the fucking way (and the ROTS version of this hairstyle too):

If I were in Star Wars, I'd exclusively put my hair in a bow. Also, it looks really cute on Padme specifically.

10. If you could pull a George Lucas and sneak into Disney plus and edit any Star Wars scene, what changes would you make?

I answered this question on a whim earlier, but you know what? I absolutely stand by it. Make Palpatine caress Anakin's face as he injects our favorite nineteen-year-old boy with Unwanted Sexual Sithcraft. That is the only correct scene revision.

[robinade]

From my WIP ask meme, thanks for asking @lttrsfrmlnrrgby!

Since I already talked about the Ted Lasso cozy mystery here, that gives me a chance to share about my Jedi Dooku story! :D

“See what you are up to, I do,” Yoda tells Dooku when he finally gives in and agrees to take tea with his former master.  “And what am I up to?” Dooku responds blandly, not budging an inch. Yoda’s quarters are extremely warm and humid; he’s dressed for the occasion in his thinnest robes and still feels sweat dripping down the small of his back. The whole space looks like a small grotto from the Room of a Thousand Fountains, given the way the furniture is scaled down to Yoda’s size and the plant life has been allowed to run amok over the past centuries.  There were a number of difficulties during Yoda’s training of Dooku, not the least of which was the half-year he lived with his master before requesting to be moved to the padawan dorms.  Yoda harrumphs before serving up the tea. The enjoyment of tea is one of the few things they do still have in common, though Yoda’s preferred blends would qualify as a poison if a human tried to drink some.  Dooku takes his human-safe cup with a nod and waits. For such a long-lived species, his former master could be remarkably impatient.  “Intended Obi-Wan to train with Qui-Gon, I did,” Yoda says with annoyance. “A good match, they are.”  Dooku nearly chokes on his tea. “Qui-Gon?”  “Bring him back to us, the boy would. Guaranteed, Qui-Gon’s return to the light,” Yoda says.  “Qui-Gon’s not in danger of falling,” Dooku says, exasperated, “just because he’s miserable and taking it out on everyone else.” He presses a knuckle to the spot between his eyebrows, feeling a headache start to build. “I recognize that humans and other short-lived species must seem equally young and inexperienced to you, but Kenobi is barely more than a child. He should be focusing on his studies, not managing his master’s mental well-being.” 

This fic leans heavily into legends territory. I have a lot of things I'm excited to write about in this story, including Dooku giving Qui-Gon a lecture about the proper care and feeding of a padawan after he and Obi-Wan rescue Qui-Gon and Bruck Chun from Xanatos. I don't plan on bashing QG but I dearly love to give him a hard time.

[padawansuggest]

AU where Jango lives and somehow Jango and Dooku manage to get a hold of Obi-Wan at the same time and for once Jango is torn on who to go for first, arguably, Obi-Wan is the better target, seeing as Obi is less likely to hurt his son if he manages to win their fight and will likely drop Boba off with a more pandering adult to take care of him, but Dooku is Right There and he would very much like to murder him, but who knows if Obi-Wan’s family instincts will kick in and protect his ba’buir. But then. Dooku. Is just standing there. Vibrating at a frequency so high he’s almost able to perceive Qui-Gon in the force through that alone, 17 caffs into a binge on day 5 away with an annoying ghost son in his ear threatening that if he hurts Obi-Wan in any way whatsoever the first thing Qui-Gon is doing when he dies is punching him in the face and no he can’t hurt the baby clone either might as well just take a step back from this situation as a whole cause it’s not gonna go good, so, being the smart man Dooku is, Dooku just sorta shrugs (in the force, he’s so tense rn he couldn’t shrug if he tried) and proceeds to kidnap all three of them (confused preteen Boba is confused but relatively okay lmao) and that’s how Obi-Wan and Jango wake up locked inside a lovely set of ‘guest quarters’ in the Count’s palace with Boba and now they have to cohabitate with Dooku occasionally coming in to cry about how perfectly stupid Qui-Gon was as a small child and how he’d bitten So Many People and Qui-Gon says Obi-Wan bit even more as a kid than he did and Jango is just sitting here listening to a (tired??? Drunk???? Unsober. We’re calling that Unsober) Dooku cry about how perfectly feral his kids were and how most of their family is DEAD and it’s always falling to the dark side that does them in and Komari was ferally adorable as a wee one and Xanatos had been the bubbliest lil boy before Qui-Gon spoiled him too much and now Obi-Wan is somehow the most sunshine of their lineage while Obi-Wan looks on in horror at his childhood being spilled like this before mentioning that maybe Grandmaster should take a nap only to be picked up by said grandmaster and cried on because ‘he called me grandmaster! Fett did you hear that the sunshine baby called me Grandmaster!’ And Jango is like ‘god I wish I had a camera this could be so much blackmail’ and then finally Jango and Obi manage to escape with a still confused Boba (it’s his natural state) and make their way back to a very annoyed 212th where Jango is all ‘listen. I’ve thought about it. And I’ve decided I’m marrying Kenobi.’ And Obi is like ‘you are???? Why???’ ‘According to your ba’buir you’re the only good one’ and now Cody and Waxer and Boil are staging a ‘YOURE NOT MY DAD’ protesting fit and Obi-Wan is so confused at this turn of situation. Wtf.