10 Questions for Jesp Rixik, Twi'lek Bounty Hunter.
1. The color of their eyes.
Violet. What can I say, I like purple.
Rixik's official age at the start of the BH story is 37. He's actually 35.
3. One strange thing/quirk/defining characteristic of their body or physical appearance.
The most remarkable thing about his appearance is how unremarkable it is. Rixik blends in. His coloration is common. He sports neither lekku or eyebrow tattoos, which isn't unusual in the circles he runs in. He has one small scar below his left eye. Again, not uncommon or odd.
4. One strange thing/quirk/defining characteristic of their personality.
He lies. About everything to everyone. The first line in my background file for him is "Jesp Rixik has told so many lies about his past it's a wonder he can keep them straight." He doesn't care if he gets caught in a lie. He'll just make up something else.
5. How their parents met.
Rixik never knew his parents or any family. While he’s not prone to flights of fancy, as a child he did come up with some possible scenarios:
One: His mother was a lethan Twi’lek (lethans are relatively common on Naos III), either a high-class prostitute or one going to seed. Bred with another lethan male, her child was not the proper color and her owner sold him at a young age.
Or: He was the result of an unintentional pregnancy of a prostitute, sold for the same reason.
Or: His family sold him because they couldn’t afford another child.
Or: His family sold him because they needed the credits.
Or: A con man told the family the infant was Force-sensitive and that he was a Jedi and would raise the boy. He sold the child.
Finally: (and Rixik’s personal favorite childhood delusion) he’s the bastard son of a wealthy Twi’lek prince (or businessman, or black marketeer, or Sith lord, or Jedi knight...) who has no idea he fathered a child with a one-time dalliance (or perhaps recurring visits with a favorite) prostitute (or beautiful-but-poor Twi’lek woman) on Naos III. His mother was too proud (or was sworn to secrecy by advisors, except for the versions where she died in childbirth or was killed by assassins) to accept credits from his father (or he was killed by assassins and could not provide for her) and...well in some convoluted, romantic way he ended up a slave on Naos III sifting spice out of mine tailings.
While Rixik honestly has no idea and never wanted to dig into it, if pressed he thinks the first scenario or a variation thereof is most likely.
I came up with this list at one point brainstorming ideas for Cleaner, that maybe Keeper tracked down his parents. But since I determined Rixik/Cleaner didn't know and didn't want to, I decided not to explore it further. Even if Keeper tried to tell him, he’d cut him off. He doesn’t want to know. It wasn’t important to my character, so it wasn’t important.
6. Who their first love was, and why they loved them.
Rixik doesn't love anyone but himself. Never has. He knows how to fake it, though, since it’s a great way to manipulate beings.
Interpreted as "object of desire," his first love is his freedom. Nothing else matters more. He’s willing to do anything to gain or guarantee it.
Interpreted as “first partner,” his first consensual sexual experience was with Queenie, a female Twi'lek also enslaved to Jenks. She was the oldest of Jenks' kids. She only still belonged to him because she was too unattractive to sell. No one wanted to buy an ugly Twi’lek.
7. How/why I came up with the concept for them.
I don't quite know where Rixik came from. He started as a DS, highly mercenary smuggler before getting guilted out of the Republic. Imperial quests were much more his style. My main guiding force for him was that he had no scruples whatsoever. Credits involved? Sure. He’d do that.
I like Twi’leks. That’s probably obvious. I liked the idea of a Twi’lek bounty hunter since bounty hunters are supposed to be big and tough and scary and Twi’leks...generally...aren’t. I knew what his personality would be like. I couldn’t help think about how he got that way.
8. Who they eventually end up with.
A very long intimate relationship with carbonite. He may end up with Dr. ZsuZsa if he can keep himself from killing her long enough. Don’t bet on it. Rixik actually having some kind of not-destructive relationship, that is.
9. Their favorite animal.
Himself. Dark-colored humans are a close second. Then stupid people with more credits than sense.
Oh, animals like in nonsentient lifeforms.
Nerfs taste pretty good. Plus they’re stupid and easy to kill. Nerfs.
10. Two question of your choice – anything you want!
Rixik has reddish (some might say pink) skin. I didn’t want to make him lethan, since a) they’re supposed to be rare and b) almost every Imperial Twi’lek is bright red. But maybe he came from a place where lethans are relatively common. Naos III fit the bill. It also sounded like a suitable crappy place for his early childhood.
It sounded almost as bad as Kessel but a little easier to escape. Plus it had the virtue of being relatively unknown, so I had a lot of room to improvise.
