Okay so, ever since your post about Ani's nickname, I've been haunted by the question of whether or not anyone uses the nickname Obi. Thoughts? :3
[rises from the dead to answer this question and this question only]
I’m in the camp of PLEASE NO regarding Obi.
In general no, but ABSOLUTELY no when it comes to third-person narration in fic. If a fic starts saying things like ‘Obi spun and ignited his lightsaber’ that is the point at which I have to immediately shut it down. I wouldn’t even say this is a pet peeve so much as my body rejecting it at a cellular level.
Why would you do that? Why? There are so many fics that do this. It hurts.
The only exceptions to this that I see are:
1. Obi-Wan’s agemates. If your name is Bant, Garen, Quinlan, Reeft, or Siri... then you can get away with Obi. If not, it’s probably out of character. Special dispensation for Bant, who probably uses it 3x as much as anyone else and Obi-Wan doesn’t even mind. Quinlan probably does it the second most and Obi-Wan does mind, which is why Quinlan does it.
2. Jar Jar Binks
For Anakin specifically, I think it’s a hard no. The only way I can maybe see it is if Anakin were trying to be purposefully provoking and embarrassing and was also super drunk and/or drugged.