Loose Threads

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Imperial Knight Matatek Sel Vissica, which was equal parts awe inspiring and terrifying. Here is a transcript of our interview on ...Between Two Interrogation Droids

What is your main motivation to get up in the morning?

My sworn oath to Queen Matatek carries to the oath she herself gave to Empress Tarkin. I live to carry my blade in service to my queen, and to oppose her enemies in battle. This is the cause I have trained for since I was a young pup.

Do you have living relatives?

Queen Matatek lives and may she long rule. I know not nor care of which of her males sired me or my sept sisters. Our den is strong and my many sisters remain faithfully in service to our queen. I am not as sentimental as some aliens are in matters of familial ties.

Why did you join the Imperial Knights when you discovered you were force sensitive?

The discovery of my gifts and talents was made by the Knight General Rossos Atrapes. He shared many discussions with Queen Matatek on the matter. With her allegiance to the Empress assured, she commanded me into the Knight General's charge as a token of her fealty. As her greatest warrior this was no small offering for her to make.

Do you feel that the Knights are making a difference in the galaxy?

I find myself frustrated by what little difference we can make. We are limited by treaties and confined by borders and our blades held in check by rules. There are few opportunities to pursue our enemies outright, so I pursue each given chance with all my might. It is troubling that some of these chances are couched in lies and deception that my comrades are comfortable in treading. I do not like these deceptions, and long for an enemy to defeat openly and truthfully.

What do you think about the Jedi Order - either from the past or as it exists today?

The Jedi Order of the Republic were faithful warriors to the state, and worthy of honor. Their betrayal of Palpatine is unforgivable. Whatever caused them to violate their oaths, they have now become warriors without truth or honor, and it is now my duty to hunt them down to a man, woman, and child in whatever means I can.

Do you have friends?

We Selonians have difficulty understanding this notion. We are born into a den with a mother and sisters, and we are given purpose when we are young. If my comrades perform their duties admirably, then there is harmony. My observation of Baastian Cain and Palara Iscandar suggest there is more involved than this, however. Talking about feelings and doing things that are not related to preparing for battle. I don't pretend to understand these things, but if it makes my comrades better warriors, I am willing to try.

What do you feel your real purpose is?

My real purpose is battle. If I am not here to bring war to our enemies, then those who lead me are deluding themselves with falsehoods.

And now a little chat with the man behind the character.

How long have you RPed Vissica?
Just shy of a month!

Do you enjoy writing her?

Immensely! I enjoy writing someone who is savage and ruthless but yet has some very admirable qualities in terms of an ironclad faith in honest means. She's an evil paladin of a sort, but one who believes wholeheartedly in the righteousness of her purpose.

In what way is Vissica like you, and how is she different?

I try to hold myself as honestly as I can with people around me. That's not easy and especially harder as you get older. So I think we both share in a yearning for honesty. That being said, I'm horrified personally about zealotry, and I'm certainly not a violent person so I'd be horrified to even scratch the surface of those aspects. Also she's a little too serious and work related, and I like to have a good time.

Do you make any writing/stylistic choices for Vissica that make her distinct from other characters that you write?

I try to keep her dialogue spartan and crisp, threading word emphasis with italics to get as much punch in as few spoken words as she has to give. Darth Vader's dialogue is a great reference for that sort of thing, so I find myself drawn to Vaderisms a bit with how she speaks. For her modified mind trick, I wanted to keep that theme as close to her dominant themes of truth as possible. She can't compel someone to do something contrary to their intention, unless they are attempting to lie, in which case she is ideal at compelling truthfulness. I wanted to show that effect in a chilling light, and each time I use it, it involves laying hands on a subject and speaking in an unnatural voice. A lot of influence from that came from David Lynch's Dune movie, and the eerie sound of the Bene Gesserit voice.

As far as her fighting, I've wanted to keep her saber arts into heavy, unsubtle strikes like Vader, but I wanted more than that. I looked at greatsword combat especially in Siegfried from Soul Calibur, getting an idea of how you sacrifice some capabilities and gain others when you swing a saber that big. For the rest of her, I'm in new territory. Playing a Selonian lets me explore a character that is a thrilling combination of flexible, fast, and strong. She's got a kind of slinky range of motion that's similar to General Grievous, though once she starts swinging a blade the similarities end there. Combine that with the ability to climb with claws, the ability to swim with a strong tail and webbed paws, and little things like being able to use her tail to reinforce balance or even as a weapon outright. She fights and moves in ways that are alien to anything else I play, and that is exhilarating.

On top of all that, this is a beast lady. She's not going to be as comfortable to humanoid sensibilities. She eats disgustingly, she doesn't smell all that nice, and she's got an equally unpleasant low voice. Though she's clearly female, I wanted to take the whole sterile female aspect of Selonians in a means of almost making her asexual in terms of having no real social mores on her gender in her existence.

Share something about Vissica not many people may know.

She's twenty years old. Selonians operate under shorter lifespan than humanoids so she's yet a few years into her adulthood. She'd likely be late twenties by humanoid comparison.