GUYS!!! GUYS GUYS GUYS, RUN, DON'T WALK, TO YOUR NEAREST BOOKSTORE AND BUY Wild Space. RIGHT FRAKKING NOW.

Most of you probably know that, in general, I tend to eschew the EU. I'm only vaguely current with its canon, and in fact most of the time I pretend that aside from Leia and Han's marriage and the birth of their kids, the stuff that comes after RotJ did not actually occur. It may be that those books are well-written and their plots compelling and all the rest of it, but I have issues with the direction the EU has taken and its emphasis on depressing plots that really make you wonder why they fought so hard to defeat the Empire if things would just continue to go to hell in a handbasket afterwards. EU books that take place during the Prequel Trilogy are a little better, and there are some OT exceptions to my dislike - most notably The Courtship of Princess Leia, Tatooine Ghost and the novelizations, plus the little biographies that have been written about Obi-Wan and Anakin. I was okay with the TCW movie novelization, okay but not blown away.

Turns out the "blown away" label was being held in reserve for another book, a book I'd heard about but had no intention of reading, until today.

I had a couple gift certificates for Chapters burning a hole in my pocket, so Andrew and I went down there in the course of our normal Saturday errands. I checked out the Star Wars section and, on a whim, picked up Wild Space. I read a page. Hmm, seemed interesting. Read another page, and another, and before I knew it, I was hooked. As in, line and sinker.

( In which I wax poetic on Wild Space, squee over shipping and turn into Ramble McRambleypants about Obi-Wan's characterization; possible spoilers may slip in beyond this point - I've tried to keep it mostly vague, but spoilerphobes should probably steer clear )

I haven't quite finished reading the whole book - I'm about 100 pages in as of this writing - so I expect I'll have a more coherent, book-ish review once I finish. Call these some ... very happy preliminary thoughts.

And go buy the book, or get it out of the library. DU EET. You know you want to! XD

Yes, another rant. Go team me. I guess I've just been feeling particularly ranty this week, at least when it comes to fandom. Maybe it's the cold medication. Cold medication definitely has the ability to make one ranty. Or at least make me ranty. XD

So. Rant. This one has to do with Padmé. And, to a lesser extent, Obi-Wan.

( With apologies to the Anakin-lovers on my f-list ... I know there are definitely a few of you! )

I've just had another random realization about To Ignite the Stars, this time concerning Obi-Wan's character.

Remind me to write about it tomorrow. Right now I want to go with my inspiration. I'm pushing through Chapter 11 right now because I want to have it posted before my first full week of school next week. But this is definitely something I need to explore further.

Title: I Love You
Fandom/Pairing: Star Wars/Obidala
Written For: Fic Contest @ the Obidala Fan Forum and au100
Prompt: Case of the Nerves/#047 Heart
Characters: Obi-Wan, Padmé, Qui-Gon
Word Count: 1,298
Rating: R for a sexual scene
Summary: Obi-Wan experiences pre-wedding jitters.
Author’s Notes: This was originally written about a week ago for the second fanfiction competition at the Obidala Fan Forum, and I got word today that it won second place! Colour me honoured and very pleased. Now that the results are up, I can post it here. I’ve decided to use it for an au100 prompt since I realized today I haven’t finished any fics for that community yet. *facepalm* Anyway, I thought it would fit for the prompt. Maybe that's cheating, but I have to get started somehow! I got bitten by a strange little Obi/Ani bug last night, so I have a few au100 fics for that ship sitting around too. Go me. Oh, and a funny thing - just as I was writing the part where Padmé walks down the aisle, Wild Child came on iTunes from the Obidala playlist. Quite fitting considering that's the song I always thought would be good for a wedding fic!

( I Love You )