An ex-English teacher, Xavier is more commonly recognised as the man who went insane and murdered a classroom full of students. He’s an outlaw in possession of the Weapon, an ancient device made up of a gun which never misses and a bullet that always kills. The Weapon has an inexorable control over the person who holds it, giving them a manic sense of glee and urges to kill random people. As such, Xavier and the Weapon are hard to differentiate, making it hard to tell who is speaking at any one time.
The Weapon’s twitchy mania often makes Xavier believe he’s the star of the show, the one person Underside can rely on. In a way he’s right, with both Professor Canis and Beatrice agreeing that Xavier is an invaluable, if highly dangerous, resource.
Though the Weapon has a lot of control, shadows of Xavier’s former self still shine through, like his status as a former English teacher, for instance. As a sort of verbal tic, he always corrects the last thing he said, offering a more impressive word or phrase.
“We need to leave - now! Or better yet: at this present moment, departing this location with extreme haste is in our best interests!”
When I was still working on character, he actually came with a companion. A very tall, grey-skinned man named the Guardian. He was the one who carried the Weapon when Xavier wasn’t using it, also acting as Xavier’s personal butler. Also of note, the Weapon was originally a sword and Xavier’s mania was natural, as opposed to being part of the Weapon.
Xavier’s name was originally Tamlin Jones, being named after an English teacher I had once had myself. They shared nothing in terms of personality, I just liked the name. But in the end, I thought Xavier sounded better.
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