- When we started QAJ almost a year ago, we thought of it as a fun crossover of sorts -- we both were big fans of Queer as Folk, and one of us said, "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to put Jedi in that club environment and see what happens?" So we did, and it was fun. Then at some point, we started to think we should push ourselves as writers and do a little more than have the boys party and fuck a lot. So the series became more of a soap opera, with as many twists and turns as we could think of. And then, we decided we wanted to do more. We started thinking about where we wanted the series to go long term, and some ideas for plot arcs with long-term consequences started popping up. We spent the end of Season One and the beginning of Season Two setting up a few of these, and this is the episode where it begins! (So, yeah, we're biting our nails nervously here...)
- We've been hinting at what undercover work is like for months now, and now you get to see a little of it, as well as the politics behind it all. For example, canonical Jedi would never be without their light sabers, but it seems logical that you wouldn't take them with you when you don't want anyone to know you're a Jedi. On this particular mission, they need to find out what happened to two undercover Jedi who have disappeared, and revealing themselves as Jedi would probably be a bad idea. Even in an emergency situation, using 'sabers would destroy everything they'd worked hard to accomplish, and it would likely seal the fates of the captives they were trying to rescue.
- The identities created for Xan, Obi, and Siri are supposed to be as un-Jedilike as possible, but ones that fit in well with the world they're about to immerse themselves in. It was fun to change their appearance as well, and to imagine that Qui and Adi would wrinkle their noses a bit! People often say that they love Qui/Obi for the age difference, but I don't see the age difference played with very much in fan fic. Unless you count Insecure!Qui stories...
- In case it isn't obvious, Xan is supposed to look a lot like Jack Sparrow here. *grin* And I have to admit that Siri's appearance is modelled on both Gwen Stefani and Cristina Aguillera. *ducks head* Xan also acts like Jack a bit when he's playing his role, but I think I really had classic Han Solo in mind when I was writing this. Han is the template for GFFA pirates, isn't he?
- The tension between Xan and Obi has been fun to play with in writing this episode. It's part jealousy over each other's places in Qui's life, part distrust, and part sexual tension. They don't really like each other that much, and they don't even respect each other. They're drawn together because of Qui, though, and they grit their teeth and try to get along. And every now and then, one will look at the other and think, "Damn, he's hot!" A few people keep sending us "get Xan and Obi together!" feedback. I guess that means the sexual tension part is coming across pretty clearly? *grin*
- Siri is a major character in this fic, and she will be in next, as you see from the preview. We all like Siri a lot, and think she doesn't get enough attention in fan fic. There are so few strong female characters in this fandom, and I always like to promote Siri when I can. I hope she comes across here as strong and smart, and that you start to see these three characters working as a team, despite their personal differences. She'll get a chance to shine and show off her abilities in the next few episodes.
- I have no experience with any drugs other than marijuana, and so I totally made up the shooting up scene based on "Trainspotting" and that movie about Larry Flynt. Was it realistic? Did it squick anybody? I wanted Xan to do something to freak Obi and Siri out almost right away, but to make it clear that he was doing it because he had no other choice. Xan faces a couple of situations during this episode that would make good cases for his seminar to discuss. I'm hoping this reinforces the fact that, even though he has problems and uses the Force in questionable ways, he's committed to what he does. He takes his work seriously.
- I'm curious to know if anybody remembered who Jal Benyat is? He was mentioned briefly in Season One in Daybreak and After, when Xan was reminiscing in the garden. Jal was Xan's only other serious relationship, and he died when Xan was a padawan -- or so Xan thought. It turns out that he's been working undercover all of these years. So what does this mean for Xan? He had a pretty strong emotional reaction to seeing Jal again, just as he was starting to come to terms with his feelings for Qui... Are we evil or what? *grin*
- Okay, so we've got missing Jedi, our heroes are infiltrating a drug cartel, and we still don't know what happened to the operatives! Thoughts? Comments?
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