The more I know about Qui-Gon Jinn the more I realise he didn’t just annoy the Jedi Council, he was quite literally the bane of their existence
He was a master diplomat to the point that Obi-Wan spent more of his padawan years off-planet jumping wars and disputes with Qui-Gon than most other padawans, but at the same time, Qui-Gon apparently “looks like a bantha and smells like a Rodian.”
So let’s say a smushy Core planet puts in a request for Jedi presence at their planetary elections, and instead of a well-groomed, masterly Jedi (were they expecting something like 30-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi? They probably were) they get a 1.93 metre giant with uncombed hair hanging down to his waist, wearing tunics that seem to be clean but don’t seem to be at the same time, smelling like he just climbed out of an outer-rim catina, who bows perfectly and then starts cracking their governmental system open one flaw at a time, like a – well – bantha in a china shop-
-with a perfectly-groomed, not-one-hair-out-of-place tiny padawan by his side. Said padawan’s dimples solve nearly as many problems as his master’s diplomatic skills do.
But we only wanted someone to oversee our elections! They cry. We didn’t ask for this!
Could we have sent someone else, the Council deliberates.
Then we would have to have kept the Jinn-Kenobi pair here, someone points out.
Oh, good point, Mace Windu says. Everything’s perfect the way it is.
Oops sorry didn’t notice this at first and then took a little while to get back to it!
This is pretty much EXACTLY what I had in mind!
To recap:
For one reason or another (either Qui-Gon is a little better at bargaining with Watto, or, more likely, Padmé makes some arrangements) Shmi Skywalker freed earlier than canon and ends up living on Naboo.
She doesn’t really have a set plan for what to do with herself now, but finds herself remaining close to Queen Amidala and her handmaidens, offering much needed advice and comfort as they go about trying to rebuild a war weary planet. Shmi may come from a simple background, but in many ways that is exactly what Padmé and the others need, and Shmi soon finds herself the de facto den-mother of a group of terrifyingly competent teenage girls. She could never have imagined that this would be her life but she is grateful for it.
As such, Padmé and her ladies are the first to receive her handmade gifts – warm soft shawls to snuggle into at the end of a long day. Each of them is a different in colour – cool greens for Eirtaé, vibrant reds for Rabé, earthy browns for Cordé, yellow golds for Sabé… and for Padmé soft blues that echo the plain dress she once wore on the sands of Tatooine. All of them however bear the same abstract patterns woven in white.
To one who knows the heat of twin suns, their meaning is clear.
“Courage of the Spirit” “Strength of resolve” “Daughter of my heart”
The girls love them.
Of course, even with this newfound family Shmi never forgets her Ani. Padmé had told her about the events on Naboo of course, about Qui-Gon’s fall and Obi-Wan’s steadfast insistence on training Anakin in his place… She misses him dearly, but she is content to know he is following the path he chose.
Still, the Temple looks awfully cold and austere. And she remembers how long it took her to get used to Naboo’s weather. Surely it can’t hurt…
The design for Ani is easy, a rich burgundy the shade of ripe pallies, made a few sizes too large to accommodate a growing boy and carrying the message she wishes she could tell him herself.
“ Beloved Son” “Pride” “Hope for the future”
But, Anakin is not alone.
Shmi isn’t sure what to do at first. What little footage she has seen of the Jedi who is raising her son gives her scant insight into who he IS as a person. In the end she decides on socks. Less personal, but highly practical. It would take a little more attention to notice the patterns this time, light tan fading neatly into dark brown.
“Kin of my kin” “Gratitude” “Trust”
She knows the Jedi discourage contact with birth families, so she is not expecting the message that waits for her as she returns home some months later.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, she realises as the recording starts to play, is younger than she had thought. The man in the holo cannot be older than his mid-twenties, despite the best efforts of what is obviously a newly grown beard. There’s something about his manner too, a nervousness in his stance, that tells her he is less confident than he presents himself.
He thanks her for her presents, making note to compliment her choice in materials, before apologetically explaining that it is inappropriate for Jedi to recieve gifts like this. It would however, he muses, be rude to turn down something she has taken such effort to create, particularly when it has so useful. Anakin has complained of the cold far less since receiver his sweater, he confides with a conspiratorial wink, seemingly going on a tangent about his Padawan’s latest escapades before ending with a reiteration of his gratitude and an implication that this concludes the matter.
It doesn’t fool Shmi. Obi-Wan Kenobi clearly adores her son, despite being woefully unprepared for pseudo parenthood. The poor boy obviously needs all the help he can get.
She sends another care package.
( “Son of my Heart” “Perseverance” “Wisdom through trial”)
She receives another message thanking her and reiterating that such gifts are unnecessary while updating her on Ani’s life and lamenting about how cold space travel can get.
The next package contains two extra pairs of socks.
(“Warmth” “Safe Journeying” “Family”)
.
This is pretty much how things go for the next couple of years – Shmi sending gifts and Obi-Wan going through the motions of disapproval mixed with thanks. At some point Anakin works out the system and starts interrupting the calls while Obi-Wan ostentatiously rolls his eyes in the background.
Shmi is happy to see her boys doing so well together. Even if she DID need to make a scarf or two decorated with the “Stubborn Idiot”, “Communication” “Trust” and “Brothers” symbols, on the assumption that Anakin at least would get the message…
And then Amidala’s term is over, and in a flash everything seems to change. Shmi had been ecstatic to see Ani again, even if it was only because Padmé was in danger. She’s more than a little amused that her little boy’s crush hasn’t seemed to dissipate, and that the admiration appears to be mutual. But then Obi-Wan is in danger, Anakin and Padmé rush to rescue him, and the galaxy is at war.
(Shmi is the one who makes the wedding veil. She stands beside Obi-Wan as they watch the joining of two souls in a ceremony they will keep secret until the war is done.)
There isn’t much Shmi can do while her family fights, so she does what she can to make sure they remember why.
And her family grows.
Not just Ahsoka, sweet child that she is, full of that all too familiar reckless bravery her sons possess, but also the men they lead into battle.
(She reluctantly accepts the reality of the clones’ situation even as she listens to Padmé plot a way to grant them all they deserve. Shmi is a patient woman.)
Rex is the first she makes a garment for, with another for Cody soon after. There isn’t a clear pattern for “Babysitter” but “Trusted Guardian” and “Skilled Warrior” will do she thinks.
It doesn’t seem right though, even one is blue and the other gold, that she should give the same pattern to those who so many think are interchangeable. “Walker in the Sky” is easy enough to add to one, but it takes her some time to create the “Sweet Speaker” glyph for its twin.
She receives two more polite thank-you messages and doesn’t think much more on it until she starts to notice familiar patterns in the war footage. There they are, “Walker in the Sky”or “Sweet Speaker” emblazoned on armor and dropship alike, often teamed with another glyph Shmi knows she has never knitted.
#actually what i really love about obi-wan is that he *doesn’t* react like this though #at first he’s confused #but then he makes himself look at the stone again# really look at it #and he realizes it’s beautiful; he likes the way it feels in his hand #and he says #sincerely #‘thank you master. i will treasure it.’ #which is very mature #and very kind #and very important to me #yet another reason for me to love obi-wan kenobi
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