Characters ARE THERE STILL ANY QUI-GON FANS AROUND HERE?

See, I have a short fuse and get defensive easily. I snap at people, get sarcastic (perhaps that's more an Obi-Wan trait ), and am quite impatient with others. I hate to be challenged and can be rather stubborn at times.

On the other hand (other than on faceless internet boards ) I am rather reserved and not very outgoing. I understand the still waters run deep thing.

I get carried away with myself, talk too much or not enough, let everyone know when I'm unhappy but try not to betray my tears when reading a sad scene or viewing one. The public me is very much not the private me under many circumstances.

I'd probably be embarrassed if I meet any of you at a convention, for example, because through my stories I've revealed a lot of myself that I would be uncomfortable with you folks knowing came from the me you were meeting.

So - what traits do YOU folks see in yourself that you see in Qui-Gon, for better OR worse?

I'm new, and I thought it would be appropriate that my first proper post be here! Qui-Gon is one of my favorite characters, and my favorite PT-only character. He's tender-hearted and compassionate, but at the same time he's stubborn and pigheaded. I appreciate his faults just like I respect his strengths. I see some of myself in him, in his unorthodox methods and his stubbornness. It gets me in trouble, too.

Lots of interesting points, guys. Oh, and long post coming up...

I think what I like about Qui-Gon-- aside from Liam Neeson's performance, which I think most of us agree was great-- is that he shows a lot of the traits of an ideal Jedi Master, but still falls short of the complete ideal. He may be right in that the Council is too stuffy, and he may have been able to keep Anakin from falling to the Dark Side (I highly doubt that though), but how I interpret it is that he's just not as good a Jedi as Mace Windu or Yoda, and it's because of his stubbornness. He seems to recognize that himself when he tells Obi-Wan that he foresees that he will become a better Jedi than him. I like the idea that he's a good Jedi, but might not be a great one.

I think it's partly those flaws that caused Qui-Gon to make a greater impression on me than, say, Mace Windu.

*throws tomatoes*

Just kidding.

I must admit, I didn't think much of Qui-Gon when I first saw PT years ago (I think I was still wondering where the hell the lightsabre battles I'd heard about were for most of the film - little Freakizimi was not at all prepared for politics!), but now I've got back into the fandom again, I think he is quickly moving up my favourites list, namely because of the fanfiction I've read. I find it very hard to gain an insight from the characters from the official stuff or the books, but I get a much better feel for characters from the fanfic, particularly certain authors. I admit I come at Qui Gon through Obi Wan, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a good Qui Gon-centric story every now and then.

I would LOVE to see anything about Qui Gon and Obi Wan - I mean, correct me if I'm wrong (which I most likely am) but there seems to be next to nothing outside of the Jude Watson books about a Padawan's apprenticeship. And most of that seems to conflict wih GL's words :S

I think a few more really good novels about that time would provide some real insights or brand new angles to some characters, Qui Gon and Obi Wan particularly. Like, could Qui Gon really have avoided the whole sticky 'Turning to the Dark Side' Anakin bit, or why didn't Obi Wan notice Anakin's turn? Or why was QuiGon (possibly) so ready to knight ObiWan and take on Anakin? I mean, Obi Wan wasn't just Obi Wan at all times - what was his Master like and how did he influence him? That's what I want to know

Sorry, not strictly Qui Gon but I just can't help coming at him through Obi Wan! Sorry!

Whether Qui-Gon could have kept Anakin from turning to the Dark Side has been debated many times over the years and it's always a good debate. I'm in the "I don't know but maybe" category. I think that Qui-Gon, being unconventional and much less "by the book" than Obi-Wan, might have had a better idea of how to reach Anakin, although I think that Obi-Wan did the best he could.

I read a fanfic many years ago in which both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were assigned to train Anakin, due to the fact that the Council decided the "Chosen One" with an unconventional background should have two Masters. Anakin did not turn, and the story was really good.