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Before the Saga A Taste of Rootleaf Stew - Obi/Qui/Yoda - One-shot - Fic-gift 2014-15 for earlybird-obi-wan

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by jcgoble3, Jan 5, 2015.

  1. jcgoble3

    jcgoble3 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2010
    Title: A Taste of Rootleaf Stew
    Timeframe: 42 BBY (Obi-Wan is 15)
    Summary: Yoda teaches Obi-Wan a lesson about respecting the differences between species, and that lesson turns into a prank for Qui-Gon's 50th birthday.
    Notes: This is a fic-gift for earlybird-obi-wan. The request was for a story in Before with a prank, some weird food, and a celebration, involving Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Yoda, without anyone dying. This plot popped into my head as soon as I saw the request, and cooked on the back burner for a full month (mainly due to procrastination :p) before I started writing. I'm still not satisfied with this, but I am such a perfectionist that I could tweak this thing until pigs fly and never be satisfied with it, so here it is.
    Disclaimer: All characters belong to Disney. Many thanks to George Lucas for the sandbox that is the Star Wars universe.

    * * * * *

    Note 12/15/2015: Era prefix changed to "Before the Saga", reflecting that this story does not depend on any Legends material.

    * * * * *

    Obi-Wan looked at the screen to see what was next. Two plates of baked fish slices in dru'un sauce and two large muja juices was the order. He placed two plates in front of him and opened the container of fish slices, only to realize that it was nearly empty. “Master, I only have enough for one fish slice plate!” he called to the front counter.

    While waiting for a response, he grabbed two large glasses and started filling them with muja juice as he considered for what seeming like the tenth time that hour why he was stuck on kitchen duty. Master Windu had reprimanded him for a comment he had made near an alien Knight—he didn't even recognize the species—that had offended the other Jedi. Obi-Wan couldn't see what he had done wrong; he had only made what he thought to be a polite comment about the alien's jewelry, and didn't understand why the other Jedi was so offended that he didn't like the necklace.

    Pushing that to the back of his mind for a moment, he sat the now-full glasses on the tray beside him and looked back up to the screen. One of the fish slice plates had been voided and replaced with an order of three barbecue sliders. The young Padawan quickly assembled the two orders, put them on the tray, and sent it out to the front on the conveyor belt.

    The next order perplexed Obi-Wan: rootleaf stew. He didn't even know what that was or how to make it, so he called over one of the Knights working near him. “Oh, that's Master Yoda's favorite,” she said. The Twi'lek walked Obi-Wan through the steps for preparing it, which were more involved that he expected. Ten minutes later, it was done, and Obi-Wan glanced at the chrono on the wall to see that his shift was over. He decided to take the stew out to Yoda himself.

    Obi-Wan found the wizened Grand Master sitting at a table by himself. He sat the bowl of rootleaf stew down in front of Yoda and watched as Yoda took a bite. The fifteen-year-old human couldn't even understand how it was edible, yet Yoda seemed to be enjoying it.

    “Learn a lesson today, did you?” Yoda asked between bites.

    The young apprentice decided to be honest. “Actually, Master, no I didn't. I still don't understand what I did wrong in the first place.”

    Yoda put his spoon down and looked Obi-Wan in the eye. “Part of his species' religion, the necklace is. Considered very beautiful to the Droatans, such a piece is. On their planet, blasphemy it is to say otherwise. Death, the penalty is on Droata.” Yoda poked Obi-Wan in the leg with his gimer stick for emphasis with each of those last two points.

    “But we're not on Droata. Shouldn't he have to get used to the fact that other beings may not think the same?”

    “Matters not, that does,” Yoda said in a stern voice. “Disgusted by my food, you are, I can see. Different to what you did, how?”

    The question hung in the air for a moment before Obi-Wan realized that the Grand Master wanted him to answer. The problem was that he didn't know how to answer. “Um, because... um...”

    Yoda saved him from having to keep searching for an answer. “Different it is not,” he said. “To my species, delicious this is, yet express otherwise, you do. As a Jedi, respect all living things, you should. Even when different, their customs are.”

    Suddenly Obi-Wan realized, and more importantly, understood, what he had done wrong. “So I should respect the fact that the necklace is beautiful to the Droatans, even if I privately think otherwise?”

    “Correct, you are. Understand now what you did wrong, do you?”

    “Yes, Master. I will apologize to him.”

    Yoda picked up his spoon, scooped up some rootleaf stew, and held it out toward Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan looked at it for a moment, quickly losing his appetite, but decided to try it anyway out of respect. It tasted incredibly bitter and spicy, and he was barely able to swallow it. He carefully considered how to respond, knowing that this was a test to see if he had learned his lesson. “I don't think I'll be ordering that anytime soon, but if you like it, that's fine with me.”

    The Grand Master chuckled, and Obi-Wan let out a silent breath, realizing he had passed the test. “Tomorrow, your Master's birthday, it is,” Yoda said.

    “His fiftieth. And I think you just gave me an idea.”

    * * * * *

    The next day

    “This better be for a good reason, Obi-Wan,” Qui-Gon said as his Padawan led him blindfolded through the corridors of the Temple.

    “It is,” came the voice of Obi-Wan from his left.

    Qui-Gon allowed himself to be led into what he sensed was a large room, perhaps the dining hall. Obi-Wan confirmed that guess as he helped his Master take a seat.

    “Alright, Master, I have prepared a special concoction for you,” Obi-Wan said. Qui-Gon heard the thunk of a dish being placed on the table in front of him. His Padawan continued. “This stew is commonly served on my home planet on a person's fiftieth birthday. It is said to promote a long life, but you have to eat everything in the bowl.”

    Qui-Gon had never heard of this custom, but decided to go with it out of respect. He felt an eating utensil be placed in his right hand, and dipped it into the bowl and took a bite. Immediately, he gagged. Force, this stuff is terrible, he thought. But he said nothing, instead slowly choking it down a little at a time. He heard a few giggles from around the dining room, but ignored them for the moment, resolving to finish the bowl. His second bite was even worse, and it was all he could do to swallow. As he continued taking one bite after another, he was aware of the giggling intensifying around him, including the unmistakable voice of Master Yoda beside him.

    Finally, he decided he couldn't take it any longer. “Obi-Wan, what exactly is this stuff?”

    His apprentice simply laughed, and then he felt hands working behind his head. A moment later, the blindfold fell away, and Qui-Gon found himself staring at a half-eaten bowl of Yoda's rootleaf stew as the assembled Jedi, including Yoda, broke into uproarious laughter.

    Qui-Gon gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. “Obi-Wan, you are not going to get away with this,” he muttered.

    The laughter was loud enough that Obi-Wan didn't appear to hear him, or maybe he just didn't care. At that moment, the kitchen doors opened and a staff member brought out a large cake with fifty candles on it.

    As the cake was put down in front of Qui-Gon, he relaxed a little as one Knight started singing, and everyone else quickly joined in:

    Happy Birthday to you!
    Happy Birthday to you!
    Happy Birthday dear Qui-Gon!
    Happy Birthday to you!

    With Obi-Wan having moved across from him, Qui-Gon took a deep breath, and blew on the candles hard, needing four breaths to blow all of them out. When he was done, he realized that he had also blown a small, loose piece of icing up onto his Padawan's face, and a light came on in his head.

    As he began to cut the cake, he allowed himself to smile slightly, even needing to stifle a chuckle; he now had a plan for payback.
     
  2. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Very wise way to teach a valuable lesson and a great way to prank at the same time ;) Balancing respect while also holding to your own honest opinions [face_laugh] -- a delicate balance it is!!!
     
  3. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Love it, a perfect Obi-Wan, Yoda and Qui-Gon moment with valuable lessons for all
    Thank you for this great gift=D=[face_dancing][:D]
     
    Kahara, Nyota's Heart and jcgoble3 like this.
  4. Kahara

    Kahara FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2001
    Nice! I was especially fond of this:


    Such a practical demonstration of the lesson. And poor Qui-Gon's fiftieth birthday stew was a marvelous ending. [face_laugh]
     
    jcgoble3 likes this.
  5. jcgoble3

    jcgoble3 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2010
    Indeed it is. :D

    You're welcome!

    Poor Qui-Gon indeed. [face_rofl]

    Thanks for the comments, everyone!
     
    Kahara likes this.
  6. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    [face_rofl] Poor Qui-gon who was just trying to be polite!

    But the lesson Obi-wan learned was a good one!

    Wonderful job! =D=
     
    Kahara and jcgoble3 like this.
  7. jcgoble3

    jcgoble3 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2010
    Thanks!

    This is the first fic I've posted here in over two years, and the first one to get more than one person commenting on it. Suffice it to say that I'm very pleased with it, and I'm glad others are as well. :D
     
    mavjade , Nyota's Heart and Kahara like this.
  8. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Ooh, this was such a lovely story! You wrote teenage Obi-wan so well, and the prank he played on Qui-Gon was priceless -- I could just imagine Liam Neeson's expressions while eating that stew :p Now we need a sequel. What prank did Qui-Gon pull on Obi-wan?
     
  9. jcgoble3

    jcgoble3 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2010
    If only I had time for a sequel right now. :p I've got business to take care of in my RPG, plus a longer AU fic idea stolen from the old plot bunny index tumbling around in my head that I want to try to plot out and write. But I imagine that it was
    a simple pie-in-the-face gag, sparked by the piece of icing that blew up onto Obi's face at the end here. Qui-Gon doesn't strike me as the type of person to spend a lot of time planning an elaborate prank like Obi-Wan pulled here.
     
    Chyntuck likes this.
  10. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Kitchen duty in the Jedi Temple—love it! [face_laugh] Great concept all around, and a real hoot. Wonderful prompts too—fun to see food as the central theme of a SW story, and to get a glimpse what Yoda's favorite dish is like. If you decided to write a sequel about Qui-Gon's counterprank, I certainly would be game to read it. :)
     
    Kahara and jcgoble3 like this.
  11. jcgoble3

    jcgoble3 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2010
    Thanks! As soon as I saw the request and thought of the plot, I started giggling at the thought of kitchen duty. As for the counterprank, I probably won't write one. See the spoiler I posted in reply to Chyntuck for what I think it is. :)
     
    Findswoman likes this.
  12. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    This was bizarre, in a good, good way! :) Teenage Obi-Wan is a bit unpleasant just like many boys of such age, but still not scary like his own Padawan would be, years later. And I loved the description of the disgusting meal.
     
    jcgoble3 likes this.
  13. jcgoble3

    jcgoble3 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2010
    Thanks for the comment! I especially appreciate your compliment on the description, as description has always been the part of fic writing that I feel like I've struggled with the most. :D
     
    Ewok Poet likes this.
  14. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    I salute every person who goes beyond romance and combat in fiction. While those two are tricky to get right, they're everywhere and it's so much more fun to read something else. As for descriptions, nobody needs you (or me, or anybody else) to be Honoré de Balzac. There's a good measure - which you achieved here - and there's too much, which err, the said classic writer used to do a lot. :D
     
    jcgoble3 likes this.
  15. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    A very good story.

    Good grasp of Yoda speak, with some good life lessons and a study of a few moments as a fast food worker.

    I think it was deceptive to the readers to describe Obi Wan's original comment to the Droatan as a "polite comment" when in fact it was to tell the fellow that he didn't like the look of it, though that may be down to values dissonance.

    Some good imagination shown there.
     
    Kahara, jcgoble3 and Ewok Poet like this.
  16. jcgoble3

    jcgoble3 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2010
    Thanks! As for the "polite comment", I think it's a bit of unreliable narrator; Obi-Wan thought the comment had been made in a relatively respectful manner, but the Droatan and Yoda didn't quite see it that way. Also, a negative comment and a polite comment aren't necessarily mutually exclusive; sometimes the politeness is not so much in the actual message you're trying to get across as it is how you convey that message. Things like tone of voice, body language, choice of words, etc. can be the difference between being polite or rude.

    In my head-canon, it was in a casual conversation, maybe a random encounter in the Room of a Thousand Fountains or the meditation rooms, where the subject of jewelry came up naturally and Obi-Wan politely suggested that the necklace didn't quite match well with his robes, or something like that that seemed to him to just be another part of an ordinary conversation. Except that Obi-Wan accidentally offended him and his culture, which led to this story and him not understanding how it wasn't polite until Yoda makes his point over the rootleaf stew. After that point, Obi-Wan probably wouldn't think of it as a polite comment again, since he now understands how it was wrong.
     
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