Alex Solvay

Gender: Male

Age: Appears to be in his 30s.

Group: Engineering & Repair Crew

Game: Blue Dwarf

Species

Human, probably.

Job

Before stasis: Fairly skilled mechanic/engineer, specialising in Skutter and droid maintenance. Sometimes also took shifts as a shuttle repair technician.
After stasis: General grease monkey, also been described as a 'glorifed janitor'.
Often to be found pushing Seymour's chair, or fixing things up with Bedge.
Recently he looked after Max, so maybe he can add 'babysitter' to his CV.
Seymour would quite like him to be his lackey - Alex ain't too keen on this idea...

Physical Appearance

6'1. Long brown hair* Toned. Blue eyes which sometimes go a bit blue-green.
Nobody knows how old he is but he appears to be in his thirties. Has a "slightly worn 'things've been tough' look" about him, with "a boyish thing going on" too. Plisken said he was hard to age, estimating him as being around 37 or 38... but then, (maybe?) Plisken isn't the best person to guess ages at the moment...
Under the grime, grump and stubble he's handsome, it's just sometimes hard to notice this past the grouchiness.
Small scar on his chin, many scars on his body.
Tattoo on inner forearm. Sometimes wears an earring.

--
*He's not bothered to cut his hair since he came out of stasis - it was longish-floppy, then. Now it's proper long. 'Cause the Dwarfers are now survivors, and there's less rules 'n' regs, he tends to get moody at the suggestion of a hair cut.

Personality and Interests

Grumpy good guy.

Addictive nature. Prone to bouts of over indulgence. Weaknesses range from drugs to food to women.
Hard drinking, hard smoking. [Recently his drinking has gotten worse again.]

Doesn't seem to like anyone much, 'cept the Skutters.

Proficient engineer/technician. Sometimes thinks 'engineer' sounds a bit fancy, and tends to refer to himself as a mechanic.

Pretty selfish in general but can be heroic if it comes to it.
Quietly confident in most of his abilities but privately cripplingly insecure about certain things.

"A good man, but not a good [ex] husband."

Secretly scared of spiders.

Often comes across as rude, and grumpy/grumbly.

Frank, but never purposely nasty.

A while back, had to reveal the following to the others: Can't read or write very well (he is deeply ashamed of this). Fortunately, the literacy assistance functions of computers - AutoSpellCorrect, voice input, PuncTu8, Text2Voice etc - have made it fairly easy for him to keep this private from most people for years. Give him a pen and he's lost - unless you want him to doodle a cat. Possibly dyslexic but has always refused testing.

Official reason he got a job on Blue Dwarf: Shuttle maintenance on Earth wasn't challenging enough. His passion is robotics, Artificial Intelligence and space travel.

Real reason he took the job on Blue Dwarf: While he does love those things, it was mainly to get away from his vengeful ex-wife who was killing him by not letting him see his children.
And... other hurts, which he keeps to himself [some of which the others have still only ever had hints of].
Despite his often scruffy, dirty, appearance, being a fan of showers he tends to smell of budget soap (and alcohol, at times).
Has a strict oral hygiene routine which somewhat counteracts his 'billion a day habit'.

Likes:
Cigarettes, cigars, women, retro rock, wearing blue coveralls, substances which help him forget his painful memories, fixing up his own gadgets, cartoons, cats.

Dislikes:
Jobsworths, cruelty, overly tight trousers, people who don't appreciate robotic/'artificial' life, estate agents, parking attendants. Having to do most of the things Seymour orders him to.

Beneath his grumpy, uninterested, exterior he's kind; A hard but genuinely good man, it takes a lot to reach his core.

(At least a bit) smarter than most people realise - his quiet nature means he can be mistaken for being a bit simple.

Fiercely private. Fiercely *fierce*, if pushed.

Potential to harden further, or soften some, depending on circumstances thrown at him

He's a man who keeps himself to himself.

[Currently: In Vegas.]

History

One time womaniser, addict, alcoholic, and gambler, and always in danger of slipping back into his old ways [he has begun to slip, lately].

Recently he drunkenly revealed to Justin and Phi that he spent a while as a male prostitute.
He was a man-whore back on Mimas, simply to pay for his addiction to DS (Dark Sherbet - a highly addictive drug), but he often enjoyed his work. Sometimes wives of rich jerks would employ him to be their bit of rough.

After a steamy night with a robot on Zecklamon 7, he wondered for a few months if he was robosexual.

Divorced from spiteful wife.

There are dark elements in his past which he doesn't like to talk about, including the war he fought in.
His battle training means he is an expert shot but he's reluctant to use the skill.

He was happily married with two little kids until he blew it. Unable to control his 'weaknesses' he often came home drunk, and sometimes slept with other women. He was always very sorry, and apart from his weaknesses he was a loving dad and husband.

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American ancestors in the Old West to whom he feels a connection. A slight cowpoke drawl might even occasionally slip into his English Estuary accent. For the most part, naturally speaks pretty roughly (Cockneyish), much to Seymour's annoyance, but is perfectly capable of sounding a bit posher - and may occasionally - but he doesn't really see why he should bother.

Older ancestors were Scandinavian with the surname Solveig.

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Alter egos/other names include:
Alexander, Alexandra, Lexy, Boy, Milky Way Jack, Al, Alec, Mr Frowny, Lexipoo, (Angel) Gabriel, Lanky Locks, Two, Twalex, The Fool, Lemon (Alan) Sorbet, The Angel, Dodger/Dodge.

Favourite Sayings

"Where are my fags!?"
"Leave me. The smeg. Alone."
"Don't see how that's any o' your business."
"Would you like a side of *fist* with that?"
"They[skutters]'re more human than you'll ever be."
"a[nother] shot of sippin' liquor."
"... ... ..."
"Ain't your servant [Seymour]."
"Fancy knockin' boots?"

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