Loose Threads

[Questions written by Droo]

I recently sat down for a private interview with Lilaena De'Ville. The following is a transcript of our conversation on ...Between Two Interrogation Droids!.

What is your greatest fear?

No softball questions, hmm? I suppose my greatest fear would be fading into oblivion, and having accomplished nothing. I don't need people to remember my name, I need my actions to have somehow changed the galaxy. If I don't accomplish anything, then everything I've been through, everything I've done...it'll be for nothing.


What is your proudest moment?

When I vanquished the ghost of A'na Eldhil. I finally was able to shake the last shred of influence she had over me, and now I stand on my own.


Who do you care for most, and why?

Probably the Mando'ade who have followed me from Onderon, to live in space in ships, which is something far beyond what they could have imagined just a few years ago. I've brought them from their primitive roots and pulled them up, so I feel responsible for them. I'll use them, because I have to, and they are happy to die for me... but it's a heavy responsibility. I do not spend their lives frivolously.


There is a long history of powerful men and women losing themselves to the Dark Side, and losing sight of their goals for more personal gain. What makes you think your story will be different?

I have always followed a different path than the Sith. Once I even imagined myself to be a Jedi, fighting the good fight. I still fight for those who cannot save themselves, but I have no illusions about the path I walk, anymore. I use the Dark side. It is powerful, it makes me powerful. If it ultimately destroys me, then at least I'll have made a difference.


Do you consider those with the Force to be superior to those without, or just different?

Technically, yes, a Force user is superior in almost every way to one who cannot touch the Force. This is not the fault of either, just a fact of nature. However, all life is precious - something the Empire lost sight of long, long ago.


Tomorrow, the Empire falls, and instead of being persecuted, Force-users are celebrated. What will you do with your life?

I don't know. Disappear into the Unknown Regions, most likely. I've never thought that I'd have a happy ending.


What do you miss most from before the days of the Empire?

The innocence of a group of younglings. I know now that I was being indoctrinated, even at a very young age, but those days were full of joy and learning, and friends. Having that torn away from me was more painful than you can imagine.

And now some questions for the woman behind the character:

How long have you RPed Lilaena?

She is my very first character, going by the ubiquitous "Lady" De'Ville in her very first incarnation before I came up with her first name. I registered her with The Sith Council and on the starwarsvstitanic ezboards in the summer of 2000. Shortly after I joined TSC it split apart and my 'master' Live Wire went to The Sith Order, and the rest is history. Sixteen years is a very, very long time. I remember when we were all amazed that Darth Turbogeek had been posting for four years or something, and now look at us all.


What do you enjoy most about writing her?

I enjoy that she's very sure of herself now. There was a period in Lilaena's journey where she was really just living to complete the orders of her former master. And then that master, A'na Eldhil, came back as a Force ghost and ruined what life she'd managed to make for herself with Darth Callidus as her new mentor. Now she's her own master, and I think it's a nice change, and one that's well earned. She's also one of my more powerful characters, and it's fun to be able to just let loose in battle with her, rather than someone like Serena Laran who has rules that Lilaena would only laugh at.


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

I don't think that Lilaena is like me all that much. She's got some of my sarcasm, but I'm a much nicer person than she is. She's got some altruistic tendencies that drive her 'badness,' but she's generally more in control of what goes on around her and sure of herself than I am. She's a leader.


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

Not especially. I used to only use her first name in my posts if she was feeling particularly 'human' and less Sithy, but that habit isn't as prominent as it used to be. Notably pre-reset when she was married to Pierce Tondry, in their interactions she was mostly Lilaena, and then every other time I'd refer to her as De'Ville.


Share something about Lilaena not many people may know.

She wears a black lightning bolt of makeup over one eye when she goes into battle, or is pulling a job of some kind. In my mind this helps disguise her when she isn't wearing the makeup, since all the pictures captured of her as a terrorist have that distinctive marking (and we know HD holograms aren't invented until the TFA era ). Lilaena has a thin white scar that bisects her eye, from a fierce battle against the assassin droid IG-88, in which she was trying to defend her former master, A'na Eldhil.