Caretaker James
From Changeling Venue
| Seeming | Fairest Flowering |
|---|---|
| Court | Spring Court •• |
| Freehold | The Sepulcher |
| Player | Jeffrey Witthauer |
Contents |
"Tell me, what do you want?" - Overview
Real Name: Jack H. Sidon
Aliases:
- Called "James" by his Keeper, Passing Fancy
- Called "Caretaker James" by those he knows
- Called "James Lebanon" on official paperwork
Age: By mortal years 52
Apparent Age: Just under 40
Description
- Personality: Caretaker James is a genial and friendly sort, greatly loved by his associates. He speaks in a clear tone, with a steady gaze. His true gift is negotiations, and he often acts as mediator between two Changelings, or two factions, offering insight and an objective perspective. He is very charitable and caring towards the needy, especially those recently escaped from the Hedge, and he seeks to be very aware of the needs of others. Naturally, although he is a charitable businessman, he is still a businessman, and those who seek to take undue advantage of his generosity soon discover he has a ruthless side.
- Mask: Caretaker James has brown hair, almost always slicked back, and brown eyes. He appears to be pushing 40, but he bears his age well and is, in fact, a remarkably handsome man. He tends to wear black shirts, pants, and shoes, with a blazer or jacket of a lighter color, and he is always carrying a wooden cane with a carved ivory skull atop it, which he will only describe as a 'gift'.
- Fae Mein: Caretaker James is always seen with flowers or vines appropriate to the season held in his hair, or twisting around an arm, or poking out through a buttonhole. Oftentimes passing flower petals will land on him, even out of season. He gives off a rich and seductive scent of wildflowers and springtime wherever he goes, and his home is rich with flowers year round.
Relevant Mechanics
- Striking Looks ••••
- New Identity ••
- Mantle, Spring ••
- Tokens:
- Blood Pennon
- Court Goodwill
- Summer ••
- Autumn •
Character Information
Soundtrack
- (video / lyrics) All I Care About, from Chicago
- (video / lyrics) Brotherhood of Man, from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
- (video / lyrics) Dirty Laundry, performed by Don Henley on I Can't Stand Still
- (video / lyrics) Under Pressure, performed by Queen and David Bowie on Hot Space
Known History
Basic Timeline:
Born: February 8, 1955
Taken: March 21, 1988
Escaped: December 21, 2002
Background:
The man who would one day become Caretaker James returned from the Vietnam War understanding two things. The first was that his business sense and ability to read people, learned from his Father, could make him wealthy. The second was that his American working class values, also learned from his Father, had no place in the modern world. What began as a bitter crusade eventually became a lifelong obsession. He was a millionaire by 1985, and proceeded to live as his money allowed. His appetite for pleasure was only tempered by his appetite for business, and so when a beautiful woman asked him whether or not it was true that rich men made better lovers, he challenged her to find out. She took him to her home, in Faerie.
His Keeper, Passing Fancy, lived up to her name, and soon found the man she called James adequate, but hardly exceptional. He became her pet of whimsy, an occasional indulgence. The rest of the time James was kept as a plaything for her pets, creatures of twisted flower and thorn and vine that taught him agony, even as she had taught him ecstasy. It seemed an eternity before James escaped, and even today he does not discuss the details of how. But escape he did, the burning memory of his life as one of America's business elite driving him forward.
When James escaped the world had aged 14 years, but James had not aged a day. The economy was in recession. His fetch had destroyed his business, and then disappeared, possibly dead. America was about to invade Iraq after the 9/11 bombings that had caused the economy, already faltering at the end of the 90s, to plummet. James's escape was bittersweet, for the very thing that had prompted his escape had been destroyed. At least, so he thought, until Hugo showed up. Hugo was big, simple, and unable to cope with the changes in the world that had transpired during his durance. James, out of pity and a shared sympathy, took the Ogre under his wing. Together they found a way for themselves, and Hugo remained with James ever since as his faithful friend and bodyguard.
Taking care of Hugo brought new life to James. He had realized his purpose again. He worked fervently for years to reclaim the tattered threads of his once mighty financial empire, adapting to the financial climate of the 21st century as easily as he had adapted to the 1980s. Slowly he built up his fortunes, until he was a millionaire once again. But Changelings had other currencies, currencies of magic, pledge, oath, and contract. Currencies of favor. Gathering together his allies, James, now calling himself Caretaker James, launched himself into this new hidden world.
Current Activities:
Caretaker James operates out of The Sepulcher, the Freehold of Rome, Georgia. He owns a large mansion on the outskirts of Rome, shrouded behind heavy security and constantly flowering gardens. He is, above all things, a businessman, and he plies his business most effectively. When the Lost need something, be it an item, a service, mediation, protection, whatever it may be, they can come to Caretaker James. He will hear their request, and name a price, usually in the form of a favor to be named later. He makes certain to introduce himself to all newly rescued Changelings who come to Rome, professing great sympathy for them, and he has been known to make "deals" that favor them heavily to get then what they need.
He is a great advocate for business, and seems to prefer peaceful settlement of disputes in order to keep the lines of economy flowing. He has often said that businessmen must be capable of ruthlessness, but that the best businessmen make their clients as happy as they are.
Motley
Caretaker James allowed Hugo to name their motley, and after long consideration, and considering their emphasis on helping new arrivals from the hedge, Hugo named it The Welcome Wagon. The Motley also serves as Caretaker James's business. All members of The Welcome Wagon work for Caretaker James, in exchange for various considerations. All current members of the motley live at Caretaker James's mansion outside of Rome.
Current Motley Members
- Caretaker James
- Hugo
- Saori
- Pixie
- Dahlia Joy
Quotes
Quotes by Caretaker James
"Everything has a price. Everything of yours, and everything of mine. Getting you what you want in exchange for what I want, so that we both profit, that's good business."
"What need do I have of money? All that I ask is a single favor."
Quotes about Caretaker James
Feel free to add your own!
"I spoke with him, the Caesar of Spring, as he sat drunk from an alcohol he did not wish to drink, but it was the only alcohol available. Such a perfect comparison to the life he leads. He is inebriated by the material and connections he has to procure whatever one needs. Yet is it really the life he wants or is it like the drink in his hands? The only thing available to him at the time." Saudade
Rumors
Feel free to add your own! Veracity is not required!
- Caretaker James knows how to tame the temper of a certain Summer Court Tolltaker Knight.
