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Drin Kizael
Aug 21st, 2010, 11:40:13 AM
Does anyone even have any questions about Kizael? He's fairly straightforward, though there's some stuff that I would rather reveal in an RP.

But to give this thread a point, I'll field the one that's come up already...

What was the "Solo Incident"

Behind the scenes:

In 1979, Bryan Daly wrote quite possibly the only good set of Star Wars novels that were published before Timothy Zahn saved the franchise, the Han Solo Adventures. Actually, books 2 and 3 in there were kinda so-so (though nowhere near as terrifying as Splinter in the Mind's Eye *shudder*). But book 1 made a much bigger impression: Han Solo at Stars End. This is where the Corporate Sector Authority was born.

The adventure was alluded to many years later in the Han Solo Trilogy by AC Crispin, which ended up placing the event 2 BBY, so 14 years ago in the Fans timeline.

Very short version:

Han and Chewie get caught up in the troubles of the outlaw techs on the fringe worlds of the CSA. In the course of events, they run across a trianii in search of her mate, who was captured by the Authority, and they learn about Stars End. They infiltrate the prison (as entertainers, which was kinda funny) blew up the building's power generators... free pretty much every prisoner held there... and escape.

Due to the unique defense fields and construction of the prison tower, when the generators blew, it actually launched the tower up like a rocket. It was effectively destroyed when it crashed back down to the planet.

I threw in one bit of creative license here. The exploit became the stuff of legend, the local equivalent of the first Death Star battle. With the return of so many important trianii leaders that were held as political prisoners, it changed the face of the conflict with the CSA. Since Kizael was a Ranger at the time, "Solo Captain", as he was called, was one of his heroes.

...

So what's with the new Stars End?

The original prison was designed like in Demolition Man, with the entire population in stasis fields. When I came along after the board reset, though, I saw that another player had used Stars End for their own story, but made it look like a more conventional prison. Magically, that jibed with how I introduced Drin into my Star Wars RPG game, too. :)

So, drawing on my own tragic experiences with Corporate America, I thought... how would a government with space-age technology and nearly limitless resources run with a completely corporate mentality do things?

They'd dump an obscene amount of money into reconstruction, and get a ridiculous number of department heads together, tripping over themselves to fix everything that they thought was wrong, including of course civil rights lawyers who didn't even know about the prison until the news of it's destruction.

What I came up with was a twist on the prison in Face Off, adding in a surreal mix of prisoner amenities to keep them from rioting, nanny-state policies that almost conflict with the level of security, and a subtle dose of propoganda included as an attempt to rehabilitate the inmates.

Tiber Cyn
Aug 21st, 2010, 12:01:09 PM
I was that other Character that turned it more conventional I thought it gave more of an ominous gritter appeal. Something I was going for because the stasis thing I always thought was cop out even in demolition man. Why put so much into prison with no real consequences. Interacting with bigger badder folks that would rather beat you down and steal your lunch slope then giving all easy streat in stasis never learning any valuable lessons.

I like your little twist on it too as well.

My question I heard rumor the Drin is there perhaps he will meet up with disgraced Storm trooper?

Dai
Aug 21st, 2010, 01:17:35 PM
What inspired the idea for a Trianii Jedi named Drin?

Drin Kizael
Aug 21st, 2010, 01:43:39 PM
Tiber... Glad you liked it. There were points in Prison Blues I thought maybe I was going too far with it. I kind of reigned it in a little in Every New Beginning.

Meet your character? Like a flashback thread you mean? I guess so, though my plate is pretty full right now. :)

Dai... Well the only trianii characters I knew about when I created Kizael for my tabletop RPG (in 1999) were all from Han Sol at Stars End, and they were all only given one name (Atuarre, Pakka, Keeheen).

But the book also established that their clan names always came first, then their given name. Hence why they kept referring to Han as "Solo Captain".

So his name is actually Kizael. The clan name...? Dunno. :) It just seemed to flow when I said both names together out loud. He just happily answers to Drin to avoid repeating the explanation over and over since most other cultures put given names first . He'll answer to Zael, too, but to close friends.

Lilaena De'Ville
Aug 21st, 2010, 06:33:58 PM
In the Changing of the Guard thread... is Kizael cautioning Navaria and Daria because Jedi aren't supposed to have personal attachments/girlfriend/boyfriend/marriedwhatevers, or because they are two women?

When I was reading it I thought initially that he was concerned because Jedi aren't supposed to 'get with' anyone else, but Daria's answer made it sound like he was concerned because they were lesbians. ^_^;

Charley
Aug 21st, 2010, 06:44:29 PM
Which of your threads are you most proud of? Which of your threads are you the least proud of? Why on both counts.

Drin Kizael
Aug 21st, 2010, 07:33:05 PM
In the Changing of the Guard thread... is Kizael cautioning Navaria and Daria because Jedi aren't supposed to have personal attachments/girlfriend/boyfriend/marriedwhatevers, or because they are two women?

When I was reading it I thought initially that he was concerned because Jedi aren't supposed to 'get with' anyone else, but Daria's answer made it sound like he was concerned because they were lesbians. ^_^;

Both, more the former than the latter actually. Kizael is old school. He was raised with those tenets drilled into him. Intimate relationships can spell disaster when the power Jedi wield depends on emotional balance and clarity of mind. Well unless you're a Sith. ;) Doesn't mean he's right. It's how he sees it, especially after what happened to Anakin, and then his own experience during his semi-retirement.

The fact that it is an "unconventional" relationship as he (in?)delicately put it is another concern, only because of the Council seats they are taking.

Talking more about that could be derailing, so suffice to say Kizael is not judging, just being cautious because as he said "Not every sentient is as enlightened as we expect them to be". In a universe where xenophobia has been established to still exist after like 30,000 years of cultural evolution with other races, other brands of ignorance would tragically still exist, too.

It was an awkward conversation to have, especially with one's "daughter". That was what the joke about wishing he'd served wine was about. :)


Which of your threads are you most proud of? Which of your threads are you the least proud of? Why on both counts.

Uhhhhh. I sadly don't have many finished threads. :/

The scene that I am still proudest of writing was Every New Beginning (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12642). It had comedy, a different kind of Jedi training technique, a much more relaxed Kizael than you usually see... then it turns around with what I thought was a great tear-jerker ending and a concise intro to who he is today.

Least proud? Prison Blues/Chase Begins I guess. I probably went a little overboard on the irony of Stars End there. And I definitely blame myself for letting it get confusing with Roker's part in it, to the point where the whole thing was dropped and we will never know how exactly Morgan escaped.

Truth be told about my OWN breakout thread... none of us could figure out how the hell we were going to pull it off. I had a general idea, but not sure how to get from A to B to C, but no one else did either. Maybe some day we can revist them, but it's okay to just look forward.

Dasquian Belargic
Aug 22nd, 2010, 02:47:04 AM
How do you approach writing an alien character? Are you conscious of the fact that there will be many differences between Kizael and a human? If so, are there any little traits you work into his character or behaviour to show this?

Drin Kizael
Aug 22nd, 2010, 11:42:36 AM
How do you approach writing an alien character? Are you conscious of the fact that there will be many differences between Kizael and a human? If so, are there any little traits you work into his character or behaviour to show this?

Oh sure. You can't not be conscious of the alien traits when writing a non-humanoid. I made the physical differences integral to who he is and how he interact other characters, and that's half the fun. He'll react with ears flattening or twitching, or by focusing on a scent. I keep an eye out for realistic excuses to use his prehensile tail.

I figure you mean more psychological differences, though. While I do work some behavior of a tiger or a panther in on rare occasion, I actually believe that all sentient races with the same limitations of any other mortal would have far more in common than they have differences. I think that their values, range of personalities, and wants in life would run the gamut of human experiences. So in that respect, I still make him as "human" as I can.

Trianii are, at heart, peaceful explorers, but fiercely independent. But that broad stroke describes a lot of people.