Before - Legends Qui-Gon Jinn Challenge Thread - Note on first post

ardavenport - I really enjoyed that!

Diane - poor Qui-Gon...that was such a powerful piece...fantastic writing

 

I wandered over to this thread because I had a few minutes to spare and oh my! Amazing, Diane! Gripping and heartbreaking.

I especially loved this line: Untouchable and untouched. The words are simple and perfect; again, heartbreaking.

 

I agree! Well done, Diane!

 

I'd written a story for the long-hair challenge, but I don't think I'll post it now as it's nowhere near as good as Diane's...

 

Layren - I loved ripping your heart out. I did try some new things, some of which worked as far as I was concerned and some that didn't but I'm glad to see that you couldn't tell the difference. LOL. Thanks.

ardavenport I figured Qui-Gon would go insane for just a little while before he shut down. Glad it came across. Thanks.

Leona I'm thrilled that you liked it. Thanks for all your support.

LuvEwan I'm glad the style came across for you. I wanted it to feel disjointed, as if he couldn't focus on what was going on. LOL on Xan's knife. I thought he would do something like that. And the connection between Xan's vengeful actions and Qui using the knife to cut himself off from his former life. Happy that you got it.

VaderLVR64 - Thanks. Crying is good, very cleansing. Glad that you stopped by.

Kestrel_Kenobi - I found it quite hard to write but I could just picture him doing that. Thanks.

Nienna_Narmolanya - I also liked writing untouchable and untouched. Qui-Gon would really hate that, being a feeling, Living Force Jedi. Thanks.

Magenta_Moonshadow - thanks.
Please, please post your hair story! We can always use more stories in the thread and I'm sure yours will be wonderful and unique and interesting. I'll let you in on a little secret. I feel that way about some of the stories here as well - but even worse, that I should just throw in the towel and never write again. But then I do write again and my readers make me feel so happy. So please post.

 

Title: Less than Brown
Author: Kestrel_Kenobi
Genre: Humor
Characters: Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi
Timeframe: Pre-TPM
Summary: Written for the Qui-Gon long hair challenge. Inspired by a conversation between myself and my brother!


?Master??

?Mmmm?? Qui-Gon replied as his Padawan gently ran a comb through his dark hair, carefully untangling any knots.

?You have some less than brown hair here.? Obi-Wan remarked casually.

Immediately, Qui-Gon?s shoulders stiffened and any relaxation he had been feeling drained from his body.

?Less than brown Obi-Wan??

?Well, I mean...grey.?

?Grey?? Qui-Gon spoke with a slight edge to his voice.

?No, my mistake it?s definitely silver.?

?Silver??

?Yes, much more dignified than grey I?d say.?

Qui-Gon turned to look at Obi-Wan who was pulling stray hairs from the comb.

He noted that his apprentice had a twinkle in his eye.

?Are you playing with me young one??

?Not at all Master, just, well...these things happen when one reaches a certain age.?

?A certain age?? Qui-Gon echoed, leaning towards Obi-Wan who automatically took a step back.

?Yes, Master. I only meant that things start to change...to happen...? Obi-Wan started, the twinkle in his eyes vanishing as he fumbled for the right words.

?Is that so Obi-Wan?? Qui-Gon replied, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. ?Perhaps you?d care to enlighten me??

Obi-Wan cursed his big mouth.

?I mean well, things start to slow down...and...erm...?

?Are you implying that I?m slowing down my Padawan?? Qui-Gon raised his eyebrow at the boy. ?Perhaps we should take a trip to the training rooms later just to make sure that this Jedi Master hasn?t lost it completely.?

Obi-Wan looked at the floor, shifting his feet from side to side.

?Very well then,? Qui-Gon nodded smiling and turned round again. ?You may continue.?

Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to continue combing his Master?s hair; making sure he carefully hid the glimmers of gre...silver under the mass of chocolate brown.

 

Obi-Wan cursed his big mouth.

?I mean well, things start to slow down...and...erm...?

?Are you implying that I?m slowing down my Padawan?? Qui-Gon raised his eyebrow at the boy. ?Perhaps we should take a trip to the training rooms later just to make sure that this Jedi Master hasn?t lost it completely.?




That was so cute, Kestrel. Poor fumbling Obi-Wan.

 

Obi-Wan cursed his big mouth.

?I mean well, things start to slow down...and...erm...?

?Are you implying that I?m slowing down my Padawan?? Qui-Gon raised his eyebrow at the boy. ?Perhaps we should take a trip to the training rooms later just to make sure that this Jedi Master hasn?t lost it completely.?


Looks like Kenobi put his foot in his mouth Great job Kestrel!!

 

Oh dear, Obi-Wan's found out that his Master is just a little touchy about his age. Very amusing. The young one is learning how adults feel about that.

EDIT:
OK, here's a bit of random silliness for Quiku. I hope they don't need titles...

EDIT AGAIN:
Aaaah, I do need titles. And I need to fix a typo. Is Qui-Gon a Jedi "rouge"?



Heart, Brow and Hair

Long brown hair, tied back,
From a regal brow, stern face,
And a noble heart.


Stray

One stray, long, brown hair,
Clinging to Obi-Wan?s robe,
Mark of the Master.


Strands

Strands laid over strands,
Jedi Master ties the bands,
On Padawan?s braid.


Rogue

free heart, defiance,
A Jedi knows not these things,
But Qui-Gon rogue is.


Living Force

Green lightsaber blade,
Wielded with the Living Force,
By Qui-Gon Jinn?s hands.


Strength

A Jedi?s strength is,
Focus and calm and balance,
Flowing from the Force.


Learning Way

The Master teaches,
From Qui-Gon Obi-Wan learns,
The ways of the Force.

 

That was adorable, Kestrel. I can just picture the whole thing. Well done.

Oh, Quiku. I loved them. Great job with them.

 

Kestrel_Kenobi I loved it! Poor Obi-Wan and his big mouth!


ardarvenport Beautiful Quikus!

 

Oooh a Quiku! [old ben voice]

Now that's something I have not seen in a long time... a long time [/old Ben Voice]

Marvelous work, ardavenport. Always thrilled to see old challenges revisited

 

Thank you, Diane!

And BIG thanks to my wonderful Master Nienna_Narmolanya, as my hair story has been Betaed! (It will be edited and posted up tomorrow, as it's nearly 4am here in the UK... )

 

FYI.

This goes into effect as of March 6, 2006.
While it is encouraged to post your story in this thread, if you feel that it is too long (and it's up to the author to decide), you can post your story in its own thread. Just be sure that you put in the header bar that it is a Qui-Gon challenge and include which challenge it is (as per Board Rules). Also, post your link into this challenge thread with the normal information ? title, author, link, summary and other stuff and we'll include it in the indexes. We wouldn't want challenge stories to get lost!

 

OK, here's my entry for the hair challenge...I wasn't going to post it as I didn't think it was good enough, but Diane said she'd like to see it, and my Master said she loved it, so here we go...

Qui-Gon Long Hair Challenge
Title: Kindred Spirits

Author: Magenta_Moonshadow

Genre: Mush!

Timeframe:Before Phantom Menace...

Notes: I'd like to thank my endlessly-patient Master Nienna_Narmolanya for all her encouragement, inspiration and help!


KINDRED SPIRITS

On Coruscant ? the glittering jewel of the Galactic Republic, dominated by high-rise transparisteel towers and ornate duracrete apartments, and a sky endlessly teeming with air taxies and supply freighters - the Gardens of the Jedi Temple were a peaceful haven in a frenzied world.

It was in the quiet, fleeting hour just before sunset, when the silver moon-flowers spilled their heady scent and the birds sang their sweet songs, that the serene and tranquil Gardens were most pleasing to Qui-Gon Jinn.

When off-duty from the demands of missions and other official Jedi business, he liked to take a walk along the shady paths of an evening, or just sit in quiet meditation listening to the soothing, watery cascades of the hidden fountains as the purple shadows softly fell.

It was on one particular evening, as he sat on a low bench under a moon-flower bush enjoying the birdsong whilst the last drops of golden sunlight slanted lazily on to the tree-lined path, when the squeals and laughter of several excited children broke his reverie, followed by the patient voice of a rather weary-sounding crèche-master.

?Mari?yanna, please don?t touch that! You?ll get your tunic messy! Sherak! Loran! What did I just tell you? Come here!?

The voices got louder as the sound of small booted feet grew closer and a young girl of no more than five or six years old, dressed in the tunic and with the short braid of a Jedi initiate, came strolling along the dusk-deepening path.

The sight of the impressive Jedi sitting calmly on the bench startled her, but she quickly regained her composure and without a hint of shyness, she walked up to him and sat herself down by his side.

?Hello there, little one!? he exclaimed with a smile. ?And what?s your name??

?Mari?yanna? she replied, matter-of-factly. ?And Master Cor-El gets grumpy with me because I?m always running off to look at the flowers. But I like flowers? Who are you??

He chuckled at her innocent impudence. ?My name is Qui-Gon Jinn.?

?That?s a nice name,? she replied.

She sat there for a few moments, grasping the edge of the bench and swinging her little legs back and forth, looking at him, before she spoke again:

?Can I ask you something?? and before Qui-Gon could reply she reached up with small, curious fingers to gently stroke the long dark strands of chocolate-brown hair, which fell around the big Jedi?s shoulders.

?Why is your hair so long??

Qui-Gon could barely contain his amusement. ?It is part of who I am, Mari?yanna. Through it, I express something that is very important to me.?

?Hmmm, and what does that mean?? she asked, lowering her hand and looking up at him with a grin.

?I?ll try and explain,? said Qui-Gon. ?Mari?yanna, you?ve seen the giant Baloba trees over there?? He pointed to the great golden plants, which towered over most of the trees in that part of the Gardens.

Mari?yanna looked around with approval and nodded.

?Well, think of the Force as being like a tall tree that has two branches. One branch is the Unifying Force, which is both the past and the future - all that was, and all that ever will be. And the other branch is the Living Force, which is about life and the here-and-now. Every Jedi has a natural affinity with either one or the other. I have always known that I belong to the Living Force.?

?Always?? she asked.

?Yes,? he answered. ?Always. I came to live at the Temple as a very young child, even before I knew what a Je

 

Yay, Padawan! It's up! As I said before, I adore this viggie. I love the story (so sweet!), and Mari'yanna simply steals the show. She's so adorable and lively. It would be fun to play with her, me thinks.

Will we be seeing more of her sometime in the future? *nudge, nudge*

Marvelous job, Padawan! Now are you glad you posted?

 

Magenta - What a fantastic take on the challenge. You wrote Qui-Gon beautifully...I loved Mari?yanna, and the images you created were wonderful. I could see it all happening.

Great job...lovely story.

 

Nienna_NarmolanyaI've got no further plans for Mari'yanna at the moment, but who knows..?

Kestrel_Kenobi I'm glad you liked it!

 

Qui-Gon is very good with children and he had a real connection to this one with the Living Force. Very nice symbolism for Qui-Gon's hair, too.

 

Magenta, that was adorable. I loved that he took the time to explain things to the little girl in such a way that she understood. Great job. So glad you posted this.

 

Title: New Heights
Author: ardavenport (aka Anne Davenport)
Timeframe: Before the Saga, Dooku, Qui-Gon
Genre: Qui-Gon Getting Older Challenge
Characters: Qui-Gon Jinn and Master Dooku
Keywords: Qui-Gon Jinn, Dooku, Jedi, Padawan, Master
Summary: Qui-Gon discovers something new about himself


The door to the small meditation chamber slid open. The tall man in the doorway cast a long, dark shadow on the floor, the subdued lighting of the hallway behind him still bright in the darkened room.

Qui-Gon Jinn remained undisturbed by the interruption. Cross-legged on a sitting platform, he remained still, his eyes focused on the lightsaber, floating in the air before him. It was pristine and new, black and shiny chrome on the outside. Qui-Gon saw inside it, the inner workings that he?d crafted and assembled with his own hands; it was one of the most sacred acts of a Jedi. He knew every part of this weapon, and the Force flowed through him, through it.

Master Dooku remained in the doorway, not speaking, allowing his Padawan to finish his meditation. Shortly, Qui-Gon breathed deeply, blinked and then raised his hand to pluck the lightsaber out of the air.

?I expect that your mediation has been fruitful, my Padawan.? Dooku?s low sonorous voice, severe and demanding, interrupted the silence. His apprentice, still cradling the lightsaber, turned his head to respond.

?Yes, Master.?

Dooku felt relief, though he was careful not to show it. There was a light in Qui-Gon?s eyes that promised a better showing from his student. The boy unwound his long legs and stood. Dooku stepped aside and they proceeded down the hall of the Jedi Temple together, Qui-Gon half a step behind his Master. Qui-Gon didn?t ask and Dooku didn?t say, but they both knew they were going to the training arenas.

For Dooku, there was no excuse for Qui-Gon to have been doing so badly in their sparring. It was true that the boy had grown a great deal lately; he was nearly eighteen years in age, but Dooku had taught him how to compensate for that. Yet, lately Qui-Gon seemed to be all clumsy arms and legs, not the strong, powerful fighter he should be. Dooku was at a loss to understand what he was doing wrong; he?d even resorted to having Qui-Gon repeat elementary exercises for his review, hoping that the deep embarrassment the boy felt would prompt him to do better.

Qui-Gon?s fighting style was changing along with his body, making the construction of his new lightsaber an absolute necessity. But ever since their trip to Ilum, Qui-Gon?s fighting had been a disappointment. Dooku had even declined a mission from the Council, pleading that his Padawan wasn?t up to it, and he?d made sure that Qui-Gon knew about it, too.

With enough experience and maturity, Qui-Gon Jinn would be a worthy opponent for even his Master, so Qui-Gon?s sudden regression in lightsaber training was completely unacceptable.

The doors to the practice rooms parted and Qui-Gon scanned the large room for and open area. Dooku spotted one by a far wall and headed that way. Qui-Gon followed. They walked around the Jedi, training in their own circles. Most fought in pairs, a few in groups. Most used lightsabers, but a few practiced simple hand-to-hand fighting techniques. Qui-Gon saw a tiny male with a mane of golden hair confront a furry behemoth who had trouble keeping up with the smaller being?s acrobatics.

Qui-Gon?s fingers tightened around his new lightsaber; he felt that it was part of him, as it should be. He stilled the anticipation he felt, keeping his mind on the upcoming bout with Dooku. He would succeed.

He?d had a revelation.

They reached the empty circle. Dooku, tall and stately in his brown tunic and tabards, tall boots and tan pants, took his place in the center. Qui-Gon, younger and beardless in his lighter, cream-colored clothes and dark boots and belt, took his own place opposite Dooku.

Dooku ignited his saber and held it up in a salute. Qui-Gon did the same.

Dooku lu

 

Qui-Gon knew he would not be like his Master, accepting or rationing out praise like a precious commodity

Well, I guess that went out the window when he was betrayed by Xanatos. Great job talking about how he wanted to be his own man, different from his Master and growing into himself. I could just picture him besting Dooku in a match.

Wonderful.

 

Wonderful job ardavenport! I enjoyed that very much!

 

I'm lagging behind so much in the replies section.

Diane:

Uneven clumps of coarse brush, spots where his scalp was shaven almost clear and there was a wet trickle of blood where the knife has eased into flesh. Gone was the silken strands of his Mastership, his own foolish vanity. There was only raw flesh and bristling accusation.
Qui-Gon stood there, in disbelief. He did not even hear the blade clattering on the floor.

You manage to astound me every time, m'lady. That was a piece of magnificent writing, and throwing light on an angle I'd love to see more of - the immediate aftermath of a personal disaster. How dangerously Qui-Gon came close to giving up, and the awful sight of seeing Xan's dagger on his tunic. If that didn't destroy him...

Marveous, marvelous writing. But then, your work always blows me away. Such beautiful descriptions, and I could see his lowness of spirit before my very eyes.

Kestrel_Kenobi: Lovely mushy piece, with Obi-Wan going on and on about 'slowing down'.

ardavenport: Those Quikus were wonderful. Sharp, precise pieces, and they brought Qui-Gon in front of my eyes. Especially that one about Qui-Gon's hair on Obi-Wan's robe.

Magenta_Moonshadow: Ooh, loved the way hair ties up with the Living Force.

ardavenport: Beautiful, again, that you've shown another angle to the growing up part. Bravo!

 

A new Challenge brought to you by ardavenport

Councilor Jinn Challenge
Qui-Gon Jinn - tenacious, tender-hearted, Living Force rogue Jedi - is now on the Jedi Council. How did he get there? Is he happy about it? Will he cause the collapse of the Order or save it? Humor, angst, drama, you get to choose. Starts March 21.