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Oct. 12th, 2011 09:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tinybitmadOOC
Name: Jen or Jenry
Contact: Email: Parodysue@gmail.com
AIM: Shadowdancer29
Age: 23
Current characters: N/A
IC
Name: Campion, Alec (Technically, Lord David Alexander Tielman Campion of Campion and Tremontaine, Duke of Riverside)
Fandom: Swordspoint and The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner (Since Privilege takes place 18 years after the canon point from which I’ll be taking Alec, I concentrated mostly on Swordspoint for the purposes of this app.)
History link: Alec is the ostracized grandson of the Dread Duchess Tremontaine, a woman (in)famous for her stunning beauty, impeccable manners, and maybe killing her husband. Let's just say the family traits bred through, at least that last one.
Alec grew up very close to his younger sister, Janine, blithely unaware of his parents' machinations to insinuate the family back into the Duchess's favor. The family conflict came to a head when Alec was 17 and Janine 14. The Duchess refused to foster Janine and bring her out into Society; Alec's mother reacted by arranging a rushed marriage to an aging minor lord. Janine was understandably put out, and confided in her brother that she'd rather “run away than marry that old man.” Alec took her literally and arranged for them to flee together, but Janine (who was mostly being an adolescent girl prone to hysterics) sucked it up and went through with the ceremony.
When Alec discovered his sister's “betrayal,” he went a little bit crazy. In an effort to escape his parents, he accepted his Grandmother's invitation to come live with her on the Hill. Of course, as soon as his parents began thinking maybe he could work them back into the fold, the life of endless luxury and vice got old. Alec did the unthinkable, he ran away to University. It was eccentric (what did a titled young man need learning for?) but tolerable. At least, it was until all of his friends were expelled for defying the teachers. No one would touch Alec (they didn't want to offend his grandmother) but Alec made a great show of leaving with them, anyway.
He ended up in Riverside, the most dangerous district of the city, and would have died the first night had he not met Richard St. Vier, the greatest swordsman in the history of ever. Richard found the young nobleman student man intriguing, and decided to protect him in the dangerous underworld. Alec, for his part, adored having someone willing to kill on his command and being able to cheat at dice with impunity.
Alec lived happily (by his twisted standards) with Richard until he was kidnapped by Lord Horn in a blackmail attempt on Richard. It worked, and Alec was released, but Richard killed Lord Horn in retaliation. Richard was caught and put on trial for Horn’s death, and Alec returned to his grandmother for aid in freeing his lover. The political manipulation was successful, and shortly after, Alec returned to Riverside to resume his life with Richard.
Age: Vaguely twenty-something, canon is unspecific.
Canon point: Just after the events of Swordspoint, so post Richard’s trial. Prior to being named his grandmother’s heir or Richard going blind.
Personality: Alec is entitled, self-centered, snarky, rude, crude, ruthless, vicious bloodthirsty, and a little mad. And that's in the first five minutes. Richard tolerates Alec because Alec interests him. Everyone else tolerates Alec because Richard will kill them if they hurt the little bitch. A few select others tolerate Alec because he has a great deal of money (or did, before he came here) and they're hoping for hand-outs. Alec believes this is exactly the way life should be.
Overall, Alec has very few strong opinions at all. It's so tiring to care that much. A notable exception would be boredom; Alec hates being bored. Mind you, his idea of entertaining generally entails sex, violence, mind-altering substances, or some combination of the three. He's funny enough, if you like your humor at the expense of others. (He does, and it makes him feel superior when nobody else gets the joke.) Mostly he makes his own fun by manipulating people and watching the inevitable chaos unfold. The bloodier, the better. He treats people as ornaments; he collects the ones he finds particularly amusing or particularly pathetic, and the only exception to this is Richard, who he genuinely cares for.
Alec is very much the product of an abusive childhood. His mother was emotionally and physically abusive, alternately ignoring or beating both him and his sister. When they misbehaved, they were locked in the storage cellar. He attributes his self-destructive behaviors and drug abuse to his mother’s treatment of them as children, and his difficulties connecting to other people are undoubtedly also related. Although he’s not as insane as he pretends to be, he is unstable, and he uses and exaggerates that instability to get what he wants.
Despite all of it, Alec is referred to in the books as an egalitarian, and is something of an idealist. He sees the inequality of his society and is very affected by it. His goal is to become the “Duke of Riverside,” despite Riverside being a district of the capital city and not a proper duchy in its own right. There are two types of people in Riverside: those who want to be there, and those who can’t be anywhere else. By buying up the land and leasing it back to its current occupants, he hopes to offer some protection to the helpless portion of that population. In the future, he even establishes an orphanage and takes one of the orphans into his household, stating, “Other people do not deserve to be starved or fucked before they know what the word means, just because they have no one.” Even before becoming Duke Tremontaine, he complained of the way servants are treated and how women are married off like livestock. Despite all his cynicism, Alec honestly wishes to see the world made into a better place.
Prose sample: Riverside in the summer. Trapped between the two rivers, the air was heavy and stagnant and it stank of rot. Rotting fish, rotting excrement, rotting bodies most likely, not that he’d know anything about that. He wrinkled up his nose as he let both the book and himself fall back on the chaise. Why would anyone ever choose to live here?
At least it was cooler. On the Hill, they were probably baking in the sun. The ladies were undoubtedly sprawled all over the place, their skirts spread artistically as they fanned themselves with feathers or babies’ skins. Whatever the latest trend was. He hoped the gentlemen tripped over them. “I don’t miss it,” he told the kitten, who, in the absence of the book, had come to investigate his chest. The tiny beast was clearly pleased, because it curled up in the hollow of his sternum, its whole body shaking with tiny purrs.
“I don’t know why Richard wants a parrot. You’re much more sensible. A fierce guardian. Now it’s hot; move.” His mind was jumping from one topic to the next without any sort of logical progression. He found he didn’t like it very much and decided it must be the heat. It certainly wasn’t any cooler, lounging around like this.
That was it. His mind made up, he lifted the kitten from his chest and dropped it onto the chaise unceremoniously. The kitten merely began kneading the fabric, curling up into a tight ball once more. “Disaffected little monster, aren’t you?” he said fondly as he got up. He made his way into the bedroom, where Richard was still sleeping, and kicked the foot of the bed. “It smells like shit in here. Get up. We’re going out.”
Name: Jen or Jenry
Contact: Email: Parodysue@gmail.com
AIM: Shadowdancer29
Age: 23
Current characters: N/A
IC
Name: Campion, Alec (Technically, Lord David Alexander Tielman Campion of Campion and Tremontaine, Duke of Riverside)
Fandom: Swordspoint and The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner (Since Privilege takes place 18 years after the canon point from which I’ll be taking Alec, I concentrated mostly on Swordspoint for the purposes of this app.)
History link: Alec is the ostracized grandson of the Dread Duchess Tremontaine, a woman (in)famous for her stunning beauty, impeccable manners, and maybe killing her husband. Let's just say the family traits bred through, at least that last one.
Alec grew up very close to his younger sister, Janine, blithely unaware of his parents' machinations to insinuate the family back into the Duchess's favor. The family conflict came to a head when Alec was 17 and Janine 14. The Duchess refused to foster Janine and bring her out into Society; Alec's mother reacted by arranging a rushed marriage to an aging minor lord. Janine was understandably put out, and confided in her brother that she'd rather “run away than marry that old man.” Alec took her literally and arranged for them to flee together, but Janine (who was mostly being an adolescent girl prone to hysterics) sucked it up and went through with the ceremony.
When Alec discovered his sister's “betrayal,” he went a little bit crazy. In an effort to escape his parents, he accepted his Grandmother's invitation to come live with her on the Hill. Of course, as soon as his parents began thinking maybe he could work them back into the fold, the life of endless luxury and vice got old. Alec did the unthinkable, he ran away to University. It was eccentric (what did a titled young man need learning for?) but tolerable. At least, it was until all of his friends were expelled for defying the teachers. No one would touch Alec (they didn't want to offend his grandmother) but Alec made a great show of leaving with them, anyway.
He ended up in Riverside, the most dangerous district of the city, and would have died the first night had he not met Richard St. Vier, the greatest swordsman in the history of ever. Richard found the young nobleman student man intriguing, and decided to protect him in the dangerous underworld. Alec, for his part, adored having someone willing to kill on his command and being able to cheat at dice with impunity.
Alec lived happily (by his twisted standards) with Richard until he was kidnapped by Lord Horn in a blackmail attempt on Richard. It worked, and Alec was released, but Richard killed Lord Horn in retaliation. Richard was caught and put on trial for Horn’s death, and Alec returned to his grandmother for aid in freeing his lover. The political manipulation was successful, and shortly after, Alec returned to Riverside to resume his life with Richard.
Age: Vaguely twenty-something, canon is unspecific.
Canon point: Just after the events of Swordspoint, so post Richard’s trial. Prior to being named his grandmother’s heir or Richard going blind.
Personality: Alec is entitled, self-centered, snarky, rude, crude, ruthless, vicious bloodthirsty, and a little mad. And that's in the first five minutes. Richard tolerates Alec because Alec interests him. Everyone else tolerates Alec because Richard will kill them if they hurt the little bitch. A few select others tolerate Alec because he has a great deal of money (or did, before he came here) and they're hoping for hand-outs. Alec believes this is exactly the way life should be.
Overall, Alec has very few strong opinions at all. It's so tiring to care that much. A notable exception would be boredom; Alec hates being bored. Mind you, his idea of entertaining generally entails sex, violence, mind-altering substances, or some combination of the three. He's funny enough, if you like your humor at the expense of others. (He does, and it makes him feel superior when nobody else gets the joke.) Mostly he makes his own fun by manipulating people and watching the inevitable chaos unfold. The bloodier, the better. He treats people as ornaments; he collects the ones he finds particularly amusing or particularly pathetic, and the only exception to this is Richard, who he genuinely cares for.
Alec is very much the product of an abusive childhood. His mother was emotionally and physically abusive, alternately ignoring or beating both him and his sister. When they misbehaved, they were locked in the storage cellar. He attributes his self-destructive behaviors and drug abuse to his mother’s treatment of them as children, and his difficulties connecting to other people are undoubtedly also related. Although he’s not as insane as he pretends to be, he is unstable, and he uses and exaggerates that instability to get what he wants.
Despite all of it, Alec is referred to in the books as an egalitarian, and is something of an idealist. He sees the inequality of his society and is very affected by it. His goal is to become the “Duke of Riverside,” despite Riverside being a district of the capital city and not a proper duchy in its own right. There are two types of people in Riverside: those who want to be there, and those who can’t be anywhere else. By buying up the land and leasing it back to its current occupants, he hopes to offer some protection to the helpless portion of that population. In the future, he even establishes an orphanage and takes one of the orphans into his household, stating, “Other people do not deserve to be starved or fucked before they know what the word means, just because they have no one.” Even before becoming Duke Tremontaine, he complained of the way servants are treated and how women are married off like livestock. Despite all his cynicism, Alec honestly wishes to see the world made into a better place.
Prose sample: Riverside in the summer. Trapped between the two rivers, the air was heavy and stagnant and it stank of rot. Rotting fish, rotting excrement, rotting bodies most likely, not that he’d know anything about that. He wrinkled up his nose as he let both the book and himself fall back on the chaise. Why would anyone ever choose to live here?
At least it was cooler. On the Hill, they were probably baking in the sun. The ladies were undoubtedly sprawled all over the place, their skirts spread artistically as they fanned themselves with feathers or babies’ skins. Whatever the latest trend was. He hoped the gentlemen tripped over them. “I don’t miss it,” he told the kitten, who, in the absence of the book, had come to investigate his chest. The tiny beast was clearly pleased, because it curled up in the hollow of his sternum, its whole body shaking with tiny purrs.
“I don’t know why Richard wants a parrot. You’re much more sensible. A fierce guardian. Now it’s hot; move.” His mind was jumping from one topic to the next without any sort of logical progression. He found he didn’t like it very much and decided it must be the heat. It certainly wasn’t any cooler, lounging around like this.
That was it. His mind made up, he lifted the kitten from his chest and dropped it onto the chaise unceremoniously. The kitten merely began kneading the fabric, curling up into a tight ball once more. “Disaffected little monster, aren’t you?” he said fondly as he got up. He made his way into the bedroom, where Richard was still sleeping, and kicked the foot of the bed. “It smells like shit in here. Get up. We’re going out.”
