Letting Qui-Gons be Qui-Gons: A Renamed Characterization/Discussion Thread

Welcome to the very first thread for authors who write about...guess who. 'Tis a place for those who are extremely fond of Qui-Gon, write about him, talk about him, etc. Obi-Wan or Xanatos or Tahl or Dooku may show up from time to time, but mostly it's all Qui...because he needs his own thread.

The Mission Statement

-Our Jedi Master is a human being. Meaning he sometimes does spectacularly stupid things. He is reckless, very stubborn, rather overconfident, sometimes acts a bit arrogant, is sometimes distant and, in the odd fic or two, evil. (Evil does not automatically equal stupid ...look at Sidious! He may be arrogant but not stupid! )

-However...a lot of the time he does spectacularly clever things. And is also wise, compassionate, mostly kind and very
determined. (also very good looking...sorry couldn't resist )

-Qui is not a buckethead (yes...you probably expected that. It was in my sig after all. ) At least...he is not a buckethead without working out how he got that way. Or something. (yes, I know. Some writer I am. )

-This is a place for pretty much anything QG...fanfics, discussion, and some challenges too. So....post, discuss, and challenge away! Anyone is welcome here, and may the Living Force be with you.


There'll be a contest later too...and feel free to plug your fics.

The Green Stone Trilogy. Qui's journals...still on young-Qui's journal. Only another 100something chapters to go....

Signed (typed): Sarah, also known as female_obi_wan and considering changing her name...



EDITEd because the split second I posted it I thought of a decent title...

 

Hey you started it, cool.

 

Alright here's my shameless plug.

Rogue Knight

 

So can anyone think of a subject they'd like to dicuss? I've got one, but I was going to save it for later.

 

Go for it. I'm hip deep in RL issues right now but I will try and keep up!

 

I'll be interested to see what comes up in the challenges or contests.

 

I'll be thinking of a challenge soon.

But here's a discussion topic: What d'ya think Qui-Gon's fatal flaw is? And why?

 

Ah, f_o_w! A woman after my own heart.

But sure, you give us the HARD question first... give me a few days to think about this...

 

In my opinion, our biggest strength can also be our greatest flaw. Qui-Gon is obviously strong in the living Force, so strong that he doesn't see anything beyond that, the consequences of those choices. And although I tend to agree with his viewpoint, that the best way to save the galaxy is through individuals, I know sometimes we have to gauge the situation and act according to each situation. Sorry, I tend to get all philosophical. We lean to heavily on our strengths and they become a crutch, when that's pulled out from beneath we fall. But there were part of his weaknesses that he worked on and the proved to be his greatest strengths.

End of diatribe.

 

ZaraValinor - That is a very interesting viewpoint. I believe that it was also the one that Jude Watson said was his greatest flaw in "Legend of the Jedi" where each of the Padawans reveals their greatest flaw.

However, I see Qui-Gon with two flaws that resonate together - 1) internalizing his personal mistakes to excess and 2) then being too stubborn to release them without great pain to himself and others. Xanatos's failing was a great mistake on Xan's part but Qui-Gon seemed to see it as Qui's own failing and worried about it for years. Even in the Council chamber scene in TPM, he seemed to realize that it was a mistake to tell the Council that Obi-Wan was ready for his trials (the mistake was in not telling Obi-Wan ahead of time) but then Qui turned stubborn and refused to back down. And Obi-Wan took the brunt of Qui-Gon's internalization and stubbornness in both cases... Actually, the JA books are full of examples! Of course, it makes for great angst!

 

Why am I not surprised Diane has two of the nine responses here?

Great thread FOW! Don't have time to respond now - especially since my brain is mushy, but I'll be back to jump right in, especially with the challenges.

Shaindl

 

In my opinion, our biggest strength can also be our greatest flaw. Qui-Gon is obviously strong in the living Force, so strong that he doesn't see anything beyond that, the consequences of those choices.

I have to say I agree strongly with this, ZaraValinor. Qui-Gon said that Obi-Wan paid attention to the future at the expense of the moment - well, I happen to think he did the same thing, except vice versa. For example, let's take Anakin .

Obi-Wan sensed he would be dangerous (not that a 9 year old is a dangerous - he was paying attention to the possible futures). Qui-Gon, while I'm sure he didn't dismiss this out of hand, was focused on the present - that Anakin, in his opinion, needed to be trained (even to the point of failing to realize the Council wouldn't agree, and then he decided to try to take Anakin as his Padawan, to the great surprise of Obi-Wan ...). I don't think he particularly looked ahead to what if Anakin was trained. And even if Anakin hadn't turned, there still would have been great consequences to his being trained - perhaps others being trained later in life, and them falling.

On the other hand, I think the Jedi Order needed more Jedi like Qui-Gon. I think the Order, as a whole and individually, took the long view - and did so to such an extreme they failed to see what was right in front of them (aka, the Sith). If the Jedi had been more willing to take risks in the present, with possible large consequences (at least do so part of the time, which I don't think they did) who knows if they would have stumbled, in the way of the chaoticness of the universe, upon Palpatine's plot?

I think in the long term, Palpatine was able to know in a general fashion what the Jedi would do, but on an individual level, things are more unpredictable. What if a Jedi got suspicious about Palpatine's activities, and even though it's kinda illegal, broke into his office, because Palpatine was involved in one of the Jedi's missions, and it just seemed odd . . . You get the idea.

In conclusion, Qui-Gon is a cool rebel.

 

Yup, I think you're all right. Stubborness is probably his greatest flaw. Flip it over, and it's tenacity & persistence, which is a virtue.

Oboana, that is one heck of a plot bunny you just threw out there! I hope you're planning to do something with it!

 

That's a plot bunny? *looks again* NOOOO!!! Need more plot bunnies I do not. Who knows? I may do something with it someday, but I have too much on my plate at the moment.

Interesting thing to note about Qui-Gon - the relation of stubborness with tenacity and persistence. It makes me thoughtful, certainly. A fine line, indeed! I wonder what other traits you could give that would be like that.

And reading and replying on this thread makes me want to write Qui-Gon.

 

Unhappily, Qui-Gon is no more balanced than any of the other Jedi. Strong in the Living Force, he tends to ignore the Unifying Force (to his and everyone else's detriment). Look at his greatest failure, Xanatos. Obviously, he allowed Xan to escape from Telos initially (living in the moment) when he should have been concentrating on getting the Dark one back for trial. And then brooding about it for years (stubborn and guiltridden) - that is certainly not living in the moment! Qui should have taken his own advice.

But I agree that the Council and the Jedi Order should have been more in balance - looking at the present without sacrificing the future. And it was also their downfall and the downfall of billions.



And Obaona and Jane - Please write more Qui-Gon. There isn't enough of him on these boards - well, not enough of a Qui-Gon that we all know and love!!!

 

I think another instance of Qui-Gon's acting in the moment was Tahl. He declared his love, bound himself to her, without thinking that he could very well be kicked out of the Jedi Order and leaving Obi-Wan adrift. Of course at the same time, I believe to deny love like that is wrong. There are ways of changing things without hruting those around you. And I think if Tahl had survived that Qui-Gon would have found away around it as he did with Anakin.

 

Wow, great replies everyone!


I agree that he doesn't pay enough attention to the consequences...even though I never really thought about that before

And I agree that Qui-Gon's strength in the living force is a flaw as well as a strength...one of the things I really love about the Prequel Trilogy is that everyone did the wrong thing for the right reasons, kinda...Qui-Gon insisted that Anakin be trained because he trusted in the force so much, and Obi-Wan trained him because he loved his Master, and so on.

I promise to come up with a challenge soon! But if one of you guys have an idea for one, post it up.

 

And Obaona and Jane - Please write more Qui-Gon.

Diane I've written a little fic about Qui-Gon for the QGJDL contest, but I don't know how much longer it's going to take before they're up! Maybe I should just post it here.


There isn't enough of him on these boards - well, not enough of a Qui-Gon that we all know and love!!!

There certainly isn't! But until the OC Awards are finished, I won't have time to even think about writing anything else.

 

Jane Post it here. I don't know when the QGJDL is going to get it up. I've also posted up to Chapter 14 in Betrayal to her but she hasn't updated the website in forever...

And I really understand about the OC contest. That's a big undertaking!!! Write when you can!

 

Diane, your wish is my command, so here it is:

Growing Things

 

Maybe that's the October challenge (after the OC awards): write a Qui-Gon vignette for the "Before" section. Or we could pair up and work on short QG stories or something...

In some ways, he reminds me so much of my brother & dad... not demonstrative or super chatty... but they feel very deeply about things. You have to know them to be able to read them (and sometimes Mom still can't; makes her nuts).

 

If we don't have a challenge, I'd like to get back to Tahl and Qui-Gon. I'd like to see an AU where Tahl survived after they had agreed to bond themselves together and what might have happened.

 

Truthfully, the whole "Tahl romance" thing just seemed so forced to me... it jumped up and screamed "Mary Sue," and I simply couldn't buy it.

 

I'd like to see some stories of what Qui-Gon was like before Xanatos. Was he always stoic and silent or did he enjoy his life...laugh once in a while, have a sense of humor?

 

<<Truthfully, the whole "Tahl romance" thing just seemed so forced to me... it jumped up and screamed "Mary Sue," and I simply couldn't buy it.>>

Actually, at first I seriously disliked the whole romance thing...and then for some reason I started to absolutely love it. (Although it could've been written better )

So yeah, I'd love to see some Q/T stories (if only because there's so few of them) but diane's idea is good too