20 days of SWTOR, day 15

[virtualvoyages]

Have I created a unique headcanon for my characters? Hell yes! Pull up a chair, this could take a while.

My headcanon for them relies on both what info I've found in Wookieepedia and best guesses made from what the game gives us (that I've encountered so far). I've never read any Old Republic era fiction and I didn't play the KoTOR games. And I can't seem to find much information about either Republic or Sith Empire society, as a whole or by planet. If one can wild mass guess by oneself, I've done so.

 

Kyrian, my idealistic and over-optimistic Imperial Agent, is an orphan of the war (parents were Imperial Military - and too busy being military to be parents), educated in exchange for his service to the Empire on adulthood. Given that he's smart, charming, good with people, and handily short on family, Imperial Intelligence seemed like a good fit.

He's been doing it "wrong" from day one. The scar on his face (from a training exercise he succeeded at, but got hurt helping another trainee when he wasn't supposed to) is meant to be a reminder to follow orders and focus on the mission at hand, not a reminder that he can do things his way and still succeed. If he weren't so damned successful, he'd probably have been reassigned as...whatever you reassign people who think orders and rules are more like guidelines to. On the other hand, if they couldn't break him, the enemy probably can't, either.

He thinks the Sith are dangerous and evil and that the Empire would be better off without them. Of course, his idea of what the Empire ought to be would probably be indistinguishable from what most people think the Republic ought to be - so it's no surprise he'd rather prevent war. He knows that his activities make for rather a precarious house of cards and he's about as likely to eventually be horribly executed as a traitor as he is to be caught and executed by the Republic. But he doesn't really believe either will happen. When he gets tired of being a galactic hero, he figures he can pull a vanishing act and retire to somewhere the Empire won't find him - and, if Vector's disillusioned by the Empire by then, he's welcome to come along.  If not, he plans to make sure neither Vector nor Kaliyo will take the blame for his disappearance (especially not Vector, who he already feels kind of guilty about.  He'd hate to ruin the man's life any more than he already has.). And he has yet to figure out that being an Imperial Intelligence agent is not supposed to be about being a galactic hero.


Savler, my good, if sometimes rather rude Bounty Hunter, has a whole sprawling family in the business of salvage (and occasional piracy). She works under a pseudonym so as not to endanger them. She's sweet on Mako, but won't push it if Mako thinks of her more as the big sister type.

She's in it for the fun and the credits, and certainly doesn't mind making Imperials look bad (not that they need any help). She also follows her own rules to the point that you really have no idea what you'll get if you hire her. Unless, of course, you hire her to do something good. (Though she'd likely deny doing good as a motivation.)

She doesn't do politics, though. As far as she can tell, both the Empire and the Republic are disasters. She'll stick to family and friends and doing what seems like a good idea at the time.

When she was eight, she was in an accident during a salvage operation that nearly cost her her eye and left her with a dramatic scar. But you will never hear this from her. It's from a Jedi, a Mandalorian rival, a bar fight with a Trandoshan, whatever she thinks makes a good story at the moment you asked her. That she's told any number of incompatible stories about it doesn't bother her.

Daska, my kind but intimidating Sith Warrior, doesn't really remember her life before her Sith training began. She hopes her family was aided, even in some small way, by her acceptance to the Sith Academy. (Even if she doesn't know who they are or where they are.) She's quite aware that the only reason most Imperials show her respect is that she's Sith. Any other Zabrak would be just another alien freak.

She sees mercy as strength rather than weakness and thinks ruling people by fear is foolish. In many ways, she's a terrible Sith. But she'd be a terrible Jedi, too. She believes wholeheartedly in love and attachments and power. In fact, she'd love to take over the Empire and shape it into what she believes it should be. (Which would be an improvement over what it currently is, if still very much not a democracy.)

She thinks her master is a fool, cares for those who serve under her (even if she can't resist teasing Quinn, who she really is attracted to) - in fact, she'd much rather consider them family than servants, however much she confuses them, and hopes to make many allies to aid her rise to power. Even if she can't take over the Empire, she's certain she can carve her influence into it through power, strength of will, and her trusty lightsaber.

Jezari, my good, but sometimes short tempered Smuggler, has followed in her father's footsteps, or rather his captain's chair. The ship she flies was his, and is the only home she's ever known. (He was killed by an apparently not-so-trustworthy trusted friend when she was a teenager.) She has no idea that her mom, who stopped visiting when she was a kid, is a Jedi Knight.  She also doesn't realize that she's, er, decidedly unofficial, being the product of a love affair between a Jedi (who aren't supposed to have love affairs) and a not-always-legitimate freighter captain. She's not a Force sensitive, but she kinda skipped that whole being tested thing.

She also missed a proper Mirialan upbringing (which might have helped with that temper). Dad taught her about the ritual tattooing, which she practices (obviously), but even if she weren't off the record, he wouldn't have wanted to stifle her by taking her back to Mirial.

She's not sure how she ended up with a dippy farm boy, a confusing and sometimes bossy noble, and a sensible Wookiee as her crew, but, while she'll sometimes complain about them, she likes them.  She hopes Corso meets his future farm wife and gets to settle down like he wants.  (Because it sure as hell isn't going to be her, no matter how much he makes goopy eyes at her.)  She's not so sure what Risha wants, but she's there for her.  Likewise Bowdaar, who's sensibility she can definitely use.

As far as she's concerned, the Empire's evil, the Republic's incompetent, and the only sensible thing to do is be independent. But for all her grouching, she can't turn her back on people in trouble and has a sneaking suspicion that Miel was right about her all along - at least in the ways that really count. Just don't betray her. And don't steal her ship. And don't kill people she likes. Hell, you probably shouldn't hurt people she likes, either. And don't ask her if she wants a normal life. She's leading a normal life, damn it!

Novani, my sweet Jedi Consular, is the first member of her family (so far as anyone knows) to be Force sensitive. It was a shock to everyone, but made her very happy. She believes in the Jedi ways, and wants to be everything a Jedi should be, but there are some things she's not so good at. Particularly that whole not having attachments thing. She's loyal to the Republic, though very concerned about its failures, and full of questions about the inconsistencies and flaws she sees in both the Republic's actions and the Jedi's.

She sometimes cuts corners in her efforts to do good and help people, more out of naivete than expediency. She doesn't want there to be a war and she hates suffering. But she's also upset by people who either fail to act when action is called for or take actions that make matters worse. Sometimes her struggles to do the right thing make her easily swayed by others.

She writes to her family and worries about them, especially those in the Republic military. She also considers the Jedi a second family and worries about them.  And she's determined to make sure Qyzen reclaims his honor and his Jagannath points, even if she doesn't entirely understand his religion or what it means to be the Scorekeeper's Herald.  If the Jedi Academy had a yearbook, she'd have been voted "Most like to try to fix the galaxy with the power of Love."

And I should include a brief mention of Ianya, the Mirialan Jedi Knight who hid a love affair, a pregnancy, and a child from her own order. She struggles to be a good Jedi, despite having (so far as she knows) lost both the love of her life and their young daughter in the war against the evil Sith Empire. She understands only too well why Jedi are not supposed to form attachments, especially during a war. She fights against her own hatred of the Empire that took so much from her, striving for galactic peace instead of her own revenge - or at least trying to. For all her strength in the Force and the goodness in her heart, she's never been very good at the Jedi ways.  At least she has a feisty droid and a padawan (who rather reminds her of herself) to keep her company.

Edit: *facepalm*  Yes, Mac, leave out the headcanon related to the stories you're writing.  That makes perfect sense.

Jezari and Savler have known each other since they were eight and six, respectively.  Jezari's father did enough business with Savler's family that the two kids became friends - and have stayed friends.  Needless to say, Savler's not going to try to collect any bounties on Jezari's head (or the heads of her crewmates).  They get together on Nar Shaddaa or other "safe" havens and share exploits and goof off when they've got the credits to spare.

Jezari and Kyrian are also...friends...?  He would describe her as a friend.  She would describe him as that weird Imperial she kind of knows, don't ask.  Their friendship or friendship like thing does mean that they sometimes fervently hope they don't run into each other on missions, since neither of them want to be the enemies they by all rights ought to be.


20 Days of TOR (Redux)
Day 01 – Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Why did you decided to start a blog?
Day 03 – Your best SW:TOR playing experience Your first day playing SW:TOR
Day 04 – Your favorite SW:TOR quest or quest chain
Day 05 – Favorite item(s) in game
Day 06 – How many active characters do you have? Do you suffer from "altitis"?
Day 07 – The reason behind your blog’s name
Day 08 – Your favorite class so far, and why
Day 09 – Favorite attack or special move
Day 10 – Crafting: yay or nay? What professions, if any, do you seriously pursue?
Day 11 – Bad in-game habits and flaws
Day 12 – What's a typical TOR gaming session look like for you?
Day 13 – What do you hope Bioware will add to the game?
Day 14 – What aspect of the game upsets you the most?
Day 15 – Have you created a unique headcanon for your characters? If so, what is it?
Day 16 – Your favorite character companion
Day 17 – Your favorite in-game location
Day 18 – Your favorite outfit
Day 19 – What strange things do you keep in your bags or bank?
Day 20 – Conclude with a free day! Write about a SW:TOR topic that the previous 19 days failed to address