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Mar. 12th, 2021 11:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iskatKiem, from Winter's Orbit, by Everina Maxwell
CHARACTER NAME: (Prince) Kiem
CANON: Winter's Orbit
SHIPPING: m/m
REFERENCE:
Iskat and her vassal planets are preparing for a bi-decade treaty renewal in order to maintain control of the Link, a space warp point in their galaxy. Failing to renew this treaty removes them from the Resolution, a universe-spanning conglomerate kept in delicate balance, and opens them up to declarations of war from other systems for control of their Link.
Prince Kiem, a minor Iskat royal and major disappointment and thorn in the Emperor's side, becomes rapidly wed to Count Jainan, a recent widower diplomat from Thea, one of Iskat's vassal planets. Jainan had been married to Kiem's cousin Taam until a month prior, when Taam suddenly died in an accidental crash. This hastily-thrown-together marriage is meant as a show of unity between Iskat and Thea, despite rising protests and pushbacks on the treaty signing.
Their union is rejected by the Auditor, an overseer from the Resolution who signs off on the treaties, and it is revealed that Taam's death may not have been an accident. From here, Kiem uncovers unpleasant truths about Jainan's previous treatment and tries to get to the bottom of Taam's death through layers of politics and military coups. The couple must work together, but their inability to openly communicate and confide in one another (through layers of mutual pining and 'of course he doesn't want me, this marriage was arranged' drama) hampers their detective work.
PERSONALITY:
Charming, easygoing and whimsical, Kiem is often (and with varying degrees of affection or exasperation) referred to as a playboy prince. As a minor royal in the sprawling family of the Empire, he has been afforded most luxuries in life and has made use of them all. He enjoys a good drink, a fun story, and making fast friends with everyone he meets.
Of course, this can and has gotten him into trouble on multiple occasions throughout most of his early adult life. For better or for worse, Kiem has lived his life in the spotlight as a tabloid darling, and has caused the Emperor and the rest of the royal family no shortage of embarrassment. His antics have gotten him kicked out of military school after one week, expelled from college, exiled to a monastery (briefly) and given most members of the palace no reason to respect him. He is, in a word, a disaster.
Or at least, he was. In the recent years, Kiem has (under the pressure and myriads of threats from the Emperor) reformed himself and undergone a PR transition. After all, the only thing the tabloids love more than a trainwreck is a reformed trainwreck. Now, instead of getting so drunk he can hardly stand and sneaking lovers into the palace, Kiem uses his social prowess to rub elbows with the college circuit, funding various academic projects, giving speeches, and handing out awards.
And he's - actually very good at that. Those who have only a passing familiarity with the prince are often surprised by his charm and charisma. He never forgets a face, a name, or a story, and has the type of mannerism to put all but the most rigid of personalities at ease.
This is because, deep down at the heart of it all, Kiem cares. He cares so deeply for the people around him that any injustice suffered is met with his strong desire to fix it or offer reparations somehow. He is shockingly selfless and will go to the ends of the earth for what he believes is right. When stranded in the snowy mountains on his way to giving a speech at a college, Kiem carries the trophy he was supposed to award a student for the entirety of their miles-long trek, despite it being painfully heavy and weighing down his pack. His goodness of heart is somewhat unique among the royal family, but few know him well enough to exploit it as a weakness.
With this consideration comes another flaw in his personality: Kiem is incredibly and irreparably naïve. In the face of a giant conspiracy that threatens to bring them to war, his first instinct is to march right up to the conspirators and ask them 'what the fuck is going on?' because he's sure that this all has to be a misunderstanding somehow. This belief in the intrinsic goodness of the people around him causes him to not only miss the rising malcontent and foul play going on in the palace under his nose, but also causes him to overlook the fact that his new husband has been the victim of marital abuse and that Jainan's apprehension of their relationship isn't because he finds Kiem repulsive, but rather that he is terrified of him.
This miscalculation has Kiem making all the wrong moves: avoiding Jainan to give him privacy, pulling away from any sort of physical contact to try and be respectful of his boundaries, telling him that they can maintain an impersonal relationship in the bedroom as long as they can pretend for the cameras - all of this is taken badly by Jainan, who had endured years of physical and emotional abuse from his previous husband. Because of Kiem's bumbling misreading of the situation, the two of them are trapped in a loveless contract for a painstakingly long time before their true feelings can come to light.
CHARACTER NAME: (Prince) Kiem
CANON: Winter's Orbit
SHIPPING: m/m
REFERENCE:
Iskat and her vassal planets are preparing for a bi-decade treaty renewal in order to maintain control of the Link, a space warp point in their galaxy. Failing to renew this treaty removes them from the Resolution, a universe-spanning conglomerate kept in delicate balance, and opens them up to declarations of war from other systems for control of their Link.
Prince Kiem, a minor Iskat royal and major disappointment and thorn in the Emperor's side, becomes rapidly wed to Count Jainan, a recent widower diplomat from Thea, one of Iskat's vassal planets. Jainan had been married to Kiem's cousin Taam until a month prior, when Taam suddenly died in an accidental crash. This hastily-thrown-together marriage is meant as a show of unity between Iskat and Thea, despite rising protests and pushbacks on the treaty signing.
Their union is rejected by the Auditor, an overseer from the Resolution who signs off on the treaties, and it is revealed that Taam's death may not have been an accident. From here, Kiem uncovers unpleasant truths about Jainan's previous treatment and tries to get to the bottom of Taam's death through layers of politics and military coups. The couple must work together, but their inability to openly communicate and confide in one another (through layers of mutual pining and 'of course he doesn't want me, this marriage was arranged' drama) hampers their detective work.
PERSONALITY:
Charming, easygoing and whimsical, Kiem is often (and with varying degrees of affection or exasperation) referred to as a playboy prince. As a minor royal in the sprawling family of the Empire, he has been afforded most luxuries in life and has made use of them all. He enjoys a good drink, a fun story, and making fast friends with everyone he meets.
Of course, this can and has gotten him into trouble on multiple occasions throughout most of his early adult life. For better or for worse, Kiem has lived his life in the spotlight as a tabloid darling, and has caused the Emperor and the rest of the royal family no shortage of embarrassment. His antics have gotten him kicked out of military school after one week, expelled from college, exiled to a monastery (briefly) and given most members of the palace no reason to respect him. He is, in a word, a disaster.
Or at least, he was. In the recent years, Kiem has (under the pressure and myriads of threats from the Emperor) reformed himself and undergone a PR transition. After all, the only thing the tabloids love more than a trainwreck is a reformed trainwreck. Now, instead of getting so drunk he can hardly stand and sneaking lovers into the palace, Kiem uses his social prowess to rub elbows with the college circuit, funding various academic projects, giving speeches, and handing out awards.
And he's - actually very good at that. Those who have only a passing familiarity with the prince are often surprised by his charm and charisma. He never forgets a face, a name, or a story, and has the type of mannerism to put all but the most rigid of personalities at ease.
This is because, deep down at the heart of it all, Kiem cares. He cares so deeply for the people around him that any injustice suffered is met with his strong desire to fix it or offer reparations somehow. He is shockingly selfless and will go to the ends of the earth for what he believes is right. When stranded in the snowy mountains on his way to giving a speech at a college, Kiem carries the trophy he was supposed to award a student for the entirety of their miles-long trek, despite it being painfully heavy and weighing down his pack. His goodness of heart is somewhat unique among the royal family, but few know him well enough to exploit it as a weakness.
With this consideration comes another flaw in his personality: Kiem is incredibly and irreparably naïve. In the face of a giant conspiracy that threatens to bring them to war, his first instinct is to march right up to the conspirators and ask them 'what the fuck is going on?' because he's sure that this all has to be a misunderstanding somehow. This belief in the intrinsic goodness of the people around him causes him to not only miss the rising malcontent and foul play going on in the palace under his nose, but also causes him to overlook the fact that his new husband has been the victim of marital abuse and that Jainan's apprehension of their relationship isn't because he finds Kiem repulsive, but rather that he is terrified of him.
This miscalculation has Kiem making all the wrong moves: avoiding Jainan to give him privacy, pulling away from any sort of physical contact to try and be respectful of his boundaries, telling him that they can maintain an impersonal relationship in the bedroom as long as they can pretend for the cameras - all of this is taken badly by Jainan, who had endured years of physical and emotional abuse from his previous husband. Because of Kiem's bumbling misreading of the situation, the two of them are trapped in a loveless contract for a painstakingly long time before their true feelings can come to light.
