Beautiful People: I Don't Have Friends (Just One)

Beautiful People is a linkup hosted by Cait @ Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In, where writers answer questions about their books/characters. And today, we're talking about a topic that really, really doesn't belong in my novels: Friendship.

I've decided, therefore, that I shall rebel and instead portray the working relationship between Kim, the justiciar, and Mallister, the Prime Minister, both characters in Matryoshka.

1. How long have they known each other, and how close are they?

Kim has been Mallister's justiciar for over a decade, and in all that time she has served him loyally through a civil war that was more or less a schism for the entire country. They met much earlier, in an incident often referred to but never quite explained in Matryoshka: the Atelle Incident, on Taglia.*

Because of Kim's cultural and very much Confucian upbringing, she tends to be rather formal around Mallister. And for all her loyalty, she's aware politics aren't quite governed by justice, and so she keeps her distance. Mallister is fond of Kim and appreciates her help, but not enough by half.

2. What’s their earliest memory of being best friends acquaintances?

When Kim left her home country and reached the Republic. She played some part in the aforementioned Atelle Incident, and got out of trouble mainly because Mallister saw potential in her and thought she might be useful. Meanwhile, Kim was blunt even as a younger girl:

But she accepted Mallister's offer of a job as a judge, and once he was elected as Prime Minister, she respected him for trying to bring order to a lawless country. And eventually they began to trust each other.

3. Do they fight? How long do they typically fight for?

Oh, they fight alllll the time. Normally it begins with Mallister suggesting something dodgy, Kim advising against it, and Mallister either prodding Kim to agree it's necessary or conceding and switching to even dodgier methods.

Except because of aforementioned Confucian values, Kim is very formal and emotionless when speaking out against Mallister. This doesn't mean she's any less blunt.

4. Are their personalities similar or do they complement each other?

Kim has the best deadpan snark possible, but her sense of morality is rigid. She may bend to Mallister's will in light of the threat Thomas brings, but her rulings in court are no less brutal than Mallister's political maneuverings. Terry Pratchett said it best:

If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat.

They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar.

So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word.

Mallister is wily as a fox and calculates his every step when in the political arena against our protagonists. Although his continual struggle for power wearies even himself, he will never stop thinking of increasingly sneaky ways to win. And so they argue quite some.

But between them (and the Chancellor, who really is Kim's friend and would serve better for this theme if I were less of a rebel), they've restored the country to relative security and prosperity after civil war. So yes, I suppose they complement each other.

5. Who is the leader of their friendship (if anyone)?

Mallister, absolutely. As her direct superior, Mallister often commandeers Kim's courts for his political purposes. And Kim, having seen a civil war and the scars afterwards, lets it go more often than not. As Mercutio said:

If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.

Justice is not so different.

6. Do they have any secrets from each other?

Oh, all the secrets. Mallister ... well, let's just say he doesn't see the law to be an issue so long as he can worm his way out of it. Kim isn't oblivious to it, but again, she cuts him some leeway.

Kim's clever enough to know about Mallister's ruthlessness, so if she can, she hides other people's vulnerabilities from him. She also doesn't bring up her doubts of him, especially as they fight together against Thomas.

7. How well do they know each other’s quirks and habits?

Kim's picked up several tricks from reading people in the courts. She pays attention to Mallister's social cues to try to work out what he's not saying, what he's hiding from her. But she also worries about him when he starts to push himself too far to rid themselves of Thomas.

On the other hand, Mallister knows Kim's motivations dangerously well. It's how he's avoided Kim turning against him, for all his less-than-legal tricks. But he doesn't quite know, or even care, about her state of mind or preferences or anything, really, so long as he's secured her loyalty..

8. What kind of things do they like to do together?

... persecute the street fighters who are the remnants of the losing side in the civil war, I guess? Kim makes some killer tea (of the Korean sort, if you're curious), so they also drink tea while discussing state affairs.

Look, I told you they weren't really friends.

9. Describe each character’s fashion style (use pictures if you’d like!) How are their styles different/similar?

I'M SO HAPPY YOU ASKED THIS.

Kim wears a hanbok, which is not really called that in the novel but nonetheless. It's a Korean style-gown that's cinched at the waist with very wide skirts. I'm really not doing the actual garment justice, so here's a picture. Kim prefers to wear dark colours rather than the richer fabrics in the picture, but it has a lovely aura of dignity I associate with Kim.

Kim's spent most her life in the Republic, but just as the world never forgets she's a foreigner, she never forgets her home country either.

Like Kim, Mallister also prefers darker colours, but doesn't shy away from overt expressions of wealth. And he's old enough to carry more ostentatious clothes without appearing much of a peacock. Imagine this, but with white hair:

10. How would their lives be different without each other?

Kim would still be wandering the west with her brand of vigilante justice. And Mallister? Our master politician might still manage, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Twitter-sized takeout:

• Writer @AlyssaC_HK shares a non-quite friendship and her hanbok-wearing antagonist. (Click to Tweet)

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*The person who understands this absolutely terrible pun receives brownie points for being an excellent troper.