#qui-gon/shmi

[quigonpositivity]

Shmi when Qui-Gon suggested that Anakin be trained:

[stealingpotatoes]

gigachad qui gon would never leave shmi in slavery. source: i said so

(commission info // kofi support!)

[clonebrainrot]

Hey all I made a poll expanding other to add rogue one and Andor characters go vote in that one. After both these polls finish I will make a final poll comparing the two winners to see who is truly the saddest death on Star Wars.

[phoenixyfriend]

Accountant of Theed

Read on AO3

After all is said and done, someone needs to balance these books, and nobody actually told the accounting department how they paid for this new hyperdrive. Mimi really hopes it's not a loan from the Hutts.

Disclaimer: I am not an accountant, but I work in an adjacent field (and have been considering getting a certification, but that's neither here nor there). While I did take some courses on it, I asked an Accounting Person to look over the excel sheet before I went forward with the rest of the fic to make sure it's internally consistent. Thank you to @gnomer-denois for confirming my balance on these works!

The reconciliation sheet does NOT follow contemporary guidelines in terms of format etc, but that is because it is:

In space! Standard practice differs from Modern United States or what have you.

Not the primary balance sheet, just the simplified version made to show to Queen Amidala.

If you'd prefer to view the Excel sheet in a more easily navigable form, there is a google drive link available. This is also your best option if using a screen reader.

-----------------------------------------

Theed is safe. They are rebuilding. There is even financial support, aid, from the Republic.

It comes with strings attached. Oversight. Auditors.

Wouldn’t want Naboo to misuse funding after that nasty mistake with the Trade Federation, right? Sure, Naboo wasn’t the one at fault, but one can never be too careful...

Mimi, as an accountant for the government of Naboo, does not in fact want to commit fraud, or enable corruption, but the rolling audits do feel a little like the Republic is punishing them for getting invaded.

“Hey, boss?”

That tone. Mimi does not like that tone. “Please tell me it’s not another unauthorized purchase with a missing receipt. Which account did they pull from this time?”

“Um... we don’t know?”

Mimi gives them a moment. No elaboration is given.

“You don’t know?”

“We don’t know,” the younger employee repeats.

“What do you mean?” Mimi asks. “People charge things to accounts or cards. They forget to submit receipts. We hunt them down for receipts, and make sure nobody is skimming off the top. That’s how it goes. Unless this is a purchase on a personal and we need to reimburse—”

“Um, maybe?”

“In which—what? That’s just... okay. There’s a process for reimbursements. You aren’t following it, which means... what? What do you mean, you don’t know? Did they use cash, or pull from an account?”

The younger employee looks down at their datapad. Looks back up at her. Looks baffled and a little scared. “Um, it’s... we still don’t have a receipt, but we also don’t know where the money for it came from? But nobody’s put in a reimbursement request and I can’t imagine anyone on the mission had those funds on them, not even the Queen herself.”

“The money for what?”

“Um. It sort of just... showed up?”

“So, it’s some kind of gift?” Mimi presses.

“Too big,” the younger mumbles, refusing to meet her eyes. “It would have to be disclosed.”

“I am giving you five seconds—”

“It’s a hyperdrive!” they yelp.

“...Explain.”

“One of the mechanics was looking over the Royal Cruiser, and found that there was unrecorded repair work to the hyperdrive. The ship took enough damage during the escape that he wasn’t surprised, but then he noticed that it was from an earlier run of the part, and when he checked, the serial number was completely wrong. The hyperdrive was completely replaced.”

Mimi closes her eyes and takes a breath. “The mechanic doesn’t know?”

“He said there’s nothing in the records that matches it at all, and it’s a big enough part that there’s no way it would just slip through the cracks, not when it’s that expensive and going on the Royal Cruiser.”

“So,” Mimi says, “we have a part worth almost as much as the rest of the cruiser combined, that just... came out of nowhere, and nobody claiming for reimbursement.”

“Yes, ma’am. That’s what it looks like.”

Mimi has no interest in fraud.

“Find out who was piloting when Queen Amidala escaped, and see if they have any answers,” Mimi tells them. “If we can keep it to just the hangar staff without drawing in the Royal Retinue, it’ll be easier on all of us.”

“Here’s hoping, ma’am.”

(Continue on AO3)

[lowcountry-gothic]

The Martyrdom of St. Anakin, by Dan Hainsworth.

[new-california-veteran]

Freeing a child from slavery is BAD if you use your space wizard-monk magic to do it and don't start an intergalactic war to free all the other slaves by force when you have no ability or authority to do so.

[voidartisan]

We all know that Qui-gon asking Shmi who Anakin’s father was was an incredibly personal question and if she was totally lying to him I support her in that however I was thinking about it and started dying bc. there are like. two plausible explanations for him asking and I find both of them somewhat hilarious

1. The Jedi have no concept of the wider social norms regarding things like pregnancy and single parenthood, etc. because the vast majority of them will never have children plus they’re a giant communal village of psychics. They have no idea what is and is not appropriate to ask. It is the one situation that their training cannot prepare them for

2. Qui-gon is looking down at the midichlorian count and back up at Anakin. And then back to the count and then back at Anakin again trying to figure out if this kid looks like anyone he knows. Sweet force that would be awkward. Maybe he should call Obi-Wan and ask him to look up the last time a Jedi was assigned to come to Tatooine. But no, no accessing that info without anyone’s consent would be rude. Surely it would be more polite to ask her directly.

[comicwaren]

From Star Wars: Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special #001

Art by Will Sliney and GURU-eFX

Written by Greg Pak

[jedi-enthusiast]

Something that’s literally insane to me is the amount of hypocrisy that anti-Jedi people have in regards to the Jedi adopting Anakin.

(or “kidnapping” him, as they’d phrase it—as if Shmi wasn’t literally saying “take Anakin with you to become a Jedi” every other line in TPM, but whatever-)

———

The Jedi: *adopt Anakin*

Anti-Jedi people/Stanakins: they kidnapped him, abused him, brainwashed him into suppressing his emotions, trapped him so that he couldn’t leave, and told him love was evil!!!

The Jedi: *say they probably shouldn’t adopt Anakin since their lifestyle wouldn’t be a good fit for him*

Anti-Jedi people/Stanakins: How dare they not immediately accept him into the Order!!! How dare they actually have criteria for someone joining like any other religion!!! How dare they have valid reasons for thinking that being a Jedi wouldn’t be a good fit for Anakin!!!

———

And it’s usually the same people saying both arguments, depending on which one better fits their argument.

Like…pick a side, for the love of god.

Should the Jedi have not taken him in or should they have taken him in? You can’t have both.

And if you think they were wrong to adopt Anakin, why aren’t y’all getting pissed at Shmi? She’s the one that kept pressuring Qui-Gon to take Anakin and train him to become a Jedi!

And you can’t say- “well, she just wanted to get Anakin out of slavery, she can’t be blamed” -because Shmi could’ve asked Qui-Gon to do anything with Anakin! Take him to an adoption agency, make sure he finds a good home, get him away from Tatooine and make sure he’s safe, etc.

But she told him to take Anakin to the Order and train him to become a Jedi.

And, even if Shmi didn’t know of any other options for Anakin, did y’all want Qui-Gon to fucking lie to her? Say he’ll train Anakin and then just give him to an adoption agency while flipping Shmi the bird?

Or would you have rather Qui-Gon left him in slavery with Shmi? Because remember, Qui-Gon tried to free Shmi but Watto refused to sell her, he would only sell Anakin.

Trick question! Y’all would bash the Jedi no matter what they did!

Like, what was the other option that y’all apparently have in mind? Since you keep shit talking Qui-Gon/the Jedi for literally every decision they could’ve possibly made.

It just…the hypocrisy amazes me.

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

Am I the only one who thinks this line right here means Shmi didn't want to leave Tatooine at all?

Obviously she didn't want to remain a slave (and she doesn't), but I don't think she would have wanted to go even if Qui-Gon had managed to get her freedom too. Is it so crazy to think she might like Tatooine and think of it as her home? It's brought her pain, but joy too. All her friends must be there. Maybe she's already met Cliegg, who knows.

She doesn't sound at all like she's resigned to a hopeless fate and a tragic life of quiet suffering, she says her future is on Tatooine. (And it is! Because she gets freed and happily married! And she doesn't choose to leave Tatooine once she's freed!) Of course, she's putting on a brave face for Anakin here, but the crux of the issue is the pain of separation, not her own situation. It's hard for Anakin to leave her behind, but I think he would have had to even if she had been freed. (It's just that much harder since she hasn't and her future isn't guaranteed. Then again, the future never is.)

[star-wars-forever]

[chemicalreal]

The jedi: the flawed order that failed the chosen one

Anakin's descent into darkness in Episode 3 goes beyond his personal journey and sheds light on the similarities between Anakin and the Jedi as well as the Sith and the Jedi. Anakin's ability to intuit and foresee the future primarily manifests through his dreams, significantly influencing his subsequent actions. Similarly, the Jedi's perception and knowledge of future events set the stage for a series of plots that culminate in the climactic events of Revenge of the Sith.

Anakin's immediate regret over killing an unarmed Count Dooku and later on Mace Windu echoing the same words as Palpatine did in the beginning, justifying the murder of an unarmed enemy, highlights the skewed perception he forms of the jedi order, portraying them as power-hungry and selfish, akin to the Chancellor, as well as the biggest hypocrites when it comes to their code.

Although Anakin recognizes that Sidious is malevolent and acting out of self-interest, he ultimately places the Jedi and the Sith on the same ethical level and his personal motive of saving Padme becomes the decisive factor in his decisions, leading him down a path of darkness where he rationalizes his terrible deeds with this premise.

The Jedi's inherent distrust of Anakin from his first day stemmed from their perception that his remarkable affinity with the Force posed a potential threat to their established order. However, this initial judgment proved to be a significant mistake that will lead to their failure, especially considering their recent discovery of an active Sith presence recruiting individuals to their cause. Anakin's journey into darkness begins with a profound sense of rejection by the Jedi Order, stemming from their inability to see beyond their arbitrary requirements and fully embrace his capabilities.

Apart from Qui-Gon Jinn, who recognizes Anakin's potential, the rest of the Jedi show little faith in him, leaving him feeling isolated and unwanted. Even Obi-Wan's decision to mentor Anakin is more out of duty to his late master's final wish than a genuine connection or belief in Anakin's abilities. Both Obi-Wan and the Jedi Order fell into the same trap as Anakin did in Episode 3 regarding their perceptions of the future, ultimately fulfilling their own fears regarding him and his perceived role. Qui-Gon makes the right call in his belief that an uncertain future doesn't inherently spell doom but rather depends on the choices individuals make. This contrasts sharply with the Jedi Order's fear of the unknown, a poignant irony given their professed stoicism and obsessive rejection of human emotions.

This mindset causes them to overlook significant aspects of their new apprentice, assuming they could simply be disregarded – such as neglecting the natural bond between parent and child. They believed that by finally admitting Anakin into their ranks, they could simply train him similarly to the young children who didn't develop yet long term memory to remember their parents. However, they lacked the empathy and the compassion to address his concerns about his mother, and they never attempted to create conditions that would allow him to let go of that worry, such as freeing her and ensuring her well-being in a comfortable planet of the Republic. Despite Anakin's valuable contributions to the Jedi on Tatooine and the Naboo army in episode 1, freely offering his assistance without seeking anything in return, the only jedi who was aware they owed him a lot and showed genuine care for him and his mother died in the midst of it all.

The avoidable circumstances surrounding his mother's death result in an irreparable rift, leading Anakin to lose trust in the Jedi when faced with similar situation involving his wife and the need to divulge the true nature of their relationship.

Qui-Gon's advice to live in the present, attuned to the living Force, echoes throughout the original trilogy, notably paralleled by Yoda in Episode 5. The 20 years spent in contemplative exile prior to his meeting with Luke make Yoda acknowledge some of his own past mistakes during the Clone Wars and learn from them, proving that no matter the age, life will always provide new lessons to learn. Initially prone to projecting into the future, Yoda's prejudiced view of Anakin in Episode 1 results in a series of missteps that contribute to his own failures. In contrast, by Episode 5, Yoda adopts a similar attitude to Qui-Gon's, counseling Luke that the future remains uncertain and emphasizing the importance of self-belief, confidence and trust in the force, exemplified when he explains that Luke's inability to move his ship with the Force stems from a lack of belief in himself.

[ahsoka-in-a-hood]

There’s something about Shmi and her words and her story and how in a galaxy where we meet royals and senators and businessmen and soldiers the person we meet who’s words and philosophy is the closest to that of the jedi is a slave idk

[tossawary]

I'm rewatching "The Phantom Menace" for the first time in years and ??? It really seems like Qui-Gon Jinn could have bargained for both Shmi and Anakin's freedom from the beginning of his wager with Watto???

Qui-Gon later DOES try to bargain for BOTH Shmi and Anakin's freedom, by putting "his" pod up in a second, separate wager. (And I do love that they're lying about where the secret pod came from. Anakin built it, so legally, it's probably actually Watto's. Qui-Gon is being a little crafty!) But Watto insists that no pod is worth TWO slaves and rolls a dice to pick which one (which Qui-Gon manipulates with the Force so that he'll get Anakin over Shmi).

But it doesn't explain why Qui-Gon didn't bargain for their freedom with the initial wager! The Skywalkers are providing the secretly built pod to Qui-Gon and it was Anakin's idea for Qui-Gon to approach Watto about borrowing him as a pilot for the Boonta Eve Classic. This is apparently THE big race on Tatooine and the prize money is worth a LOT (unnamed amount). Watto suggests that they split the prize money 50/50, but Qui-Gon immediately forfeits that, promising that Watto can take ALL OF IT in exchange for the ship parts Qui-Gon needs and if Watto will pay the entrance fee up-front, AND Qui-Gon agrees to give up his own ship if Anakin loses.

This seems... unbalanced? It really feels like Qui-Gon could have leveraged that prize money plus his ship for both Shmi and Anakin. Watto is angry after the race because he bet on Sebulba and "lost everything", but what about the prize money that Qui-Gon forfeited almost entirely to Watto??? And then they sell "Qui-Gon"'s pod (a race-winning pod!) for more money! (And Padmé even says after the race, "We owe you everything, Ani.")

And narratively, I'm not sure what would be greatly harmed by Shmi being free? She's free anyway in the next movie, living on the Lars farm, from what I remember, and the story-important pain for Anakin resolves around her violent death more than her now past enslavement. The movie could have slipped in a brief appearance by the moisture farmer who wants to marry Shmi, but can't because she's not free and he can't afford her freedom, so Shmi once freed stays on Tatooine to get happily married. And Anakin would still be (sadly by Shmi) sent off with the Jedi for a better life than poor moisture farmers on an Outer Rim planet run by gangsters can offer!!! You could still make their separation really sad with some good writing!

I wish the movie had either freed Shmi or been more convincing about why she has to stay in slavery. It really does end up making Qui-Gon Jinn look unlikably careless. Which is, you know, a character flaw and character flaws are fine! But he does other careless things in this movie anyway!

And this also ends up making the Jedi Council look like ASSHOLES when they (a strange group of adults) pressure a 9yo about his fear for his mother's safety and Yoda, instead of offering any guidance on dealing with fear productively, essentially says that fear (perfectly reasonable fear over his future and his mother's future!) is a path to the Dark Side in some weird slippery slope proverb. HIS MOTHER HAS BEEN LEFT IN SLAVERY!!! If Shmi had been left to a happy marriage as a free woman, then MAYBE you would be better able to frame Anakin's attachment as more of a problem, but so much about this scene makes the Jedi Council look utterly unreasonable. And again, it's fine if they're flawed! They can be flawed with their other objections!

But just... LITTLE edits here and there would make a lot about this movie stronger or at least less grating.

[phoenixyfriend]

Secret Son of a Disgraced King

Read on AO3

Anakin Skywalker does in fact have a biological father! Now if only someone could get the man to pick the up the damn comm so they could do a paternity test to confirm!

Initially brainstormed on tumblr here.

--------------------

Shmi is twenty-seven years of age, in transit as chattel, on the day she meets Jango Fett. They do not share any duties, as Shmi has been deemed more useful as a face to sell for maid work or bar service than in the hold, processing spice. Not pretty enough for a brothel, maybe, but enough for service. They still want to get some use out of her, for time she is with them, and so she is set handle the injured until they see fit to sell her.

Jango is what they deem 'strong-willed' and 'poorly-behaved.' Words better suited to an eopie than a sapient being. He is punished more often than the other slaves, and sent back to work twice as soon. Shmi sees him over and again to bandage him with diluted, expired bacta, to stitch up broken skin and press ice to bruised eyes. She is no true nurse, but nobody expects her to be. Not the slaves, and not their masters.

"If you ever get out," Fett tells her, "You could probably get a degree in this. Be a medic. Your hands are steady enough for it."

"There is no getting out," Shmi says, "not for the likes of us."

She will change her tune eventually, but this, now, is a low point in her life. Not the lowest it'll ever be, no, but she is not yet climbing out. It will be years she stops digging.

"It'll be a damn long time before I give up my dreams of vengeance," Fett tells her. He says it with a mad grin that doesn't meet his eyes. "It's what keeps me warm at night."

The sleeping cells are freezing at night, in contrast to the hellish heat of the spice processing room.

"There are other ways to stay warm," Shmi says.

She thinks nothing of it at the time, but when she heads to bed, Fett grabs her wrist and raises a brow.

"Staying warm alright?" he asks.

She considers, then, "I'm looking to get some more sleep, I'll admit."

(Continue on AO3)

[cyanshootingstar]