James Valesari

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James' primary skill is Vanish, the ability to be invisible for roughly three minutes out of every six.

[Admin]

Tue Sep 01, 2009 11:20 pm

Di'Nay wrote:

Does anyone have more information on James? I think the picture is... very intriguing in an androgynous, k.d. lang sort of way. For some reason, James also struck me as a swimmer - I'm not sure where that came from but I thought I'd throw it out there.

Di'nay

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Wed Sep 02, 2009 3:56 am

AreaneCreator wrote:

Hey, Di'nay, I can help you out here!

James' only appearance in Mardi Gras 3000 fiction so far (that I know of) is in my novella, "Harper: Identity." James was born in Italy and was one of the original founders, along with his brother, Amadeo, of a Terrapyre organization dubbed the "Gents," made up of hand-selected Italian Terrapyres known for their brilliant minds, soldier-instincts and charisma. They caused a lot of trouble for the Celestials in Italy and they popularized Venitian Carnival as a way to mock local Celestials. Over time, however, the organization began to fall apart, with members being selected less for their minds and more for their looks. James left the organization, changed his name to James, and went in search of noble causes to fight for. He worked with another group of Terrapyres in Israel for a few years, but after a tragedy in Jerusalem, he took on a bit of a loner lifestyle. The Gents, in modern society, is little more than a ritzy fraternity with very few of the original members still alive.

In the story, which takes place in 2020, James helps Harper infiltrate the New York chapter of the Gents to save a friend. He prefers to be alone, is living in temporary housing over a Terrapyre-run nightclub, rides a motorcycle, avoids the Gents and his brother, and takes on individual missions, either comissions from other groups of Terrapyres or causes he finds worthy. He has many connections in Terrapyre high-society because of his relation to Amadeo, who is still the president of the Gent's organization.

That's all that has been written about him so far and, as you can see, the details are vague. He could be developed so much further! I love your idea about him being a swimmer. He does have that feel to him. I think it might be something he excels at/loves.

I'm also interested in your mentioning that he has a bit of an androgynous look. I hadn't thought of it before, but I totally see what you mean. It even make perfect sense for his background, coming out of an Italian era where attractive men were often depicted as more androgynous or even effiminate, with angelic faces and so on.

Great ideas, Di'nay. Seriously, keep them coming! How do you see James? Everything about him, that I'm aware of, is listed in this post. Let's make the boy a bit more 3D! Fill in the gaps! Your take on him is so intriguing

[Admin]

Wed Sep 02, 2009 4:10 am

Di'Nay wrote:

I think it may be the top James is wearing - it looks kind of like a woman's swim suit (at least before they got all weird at the last olympics...). If there hadn't been any history for James, I'd have suggested the possibility of James being transgendered/transsexual. Thoughts?

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Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:07 am

EJ wrote:

I read your post twice, Di'nay, before I hit myself in the forehead. Of course! It fits perfectly with the existing history painted for "him" in "Harper: Identity" really. And I think having a TG character would be fascinating. I would want anyone writing about this aspect of James to be well-versed in the TG community -- at least having read some of the more ground-breaking books like "Stone Butch Blues" and "Gender Outlaw."

Perhaps after reading "Harper," and getting the first take on the character's personality, you'd like to explore James a bit in short fiction?

EJ

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Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:21 am

Cris wrote:

EJ,

I agree. I don't see any problem with anyone exploring James as a character. I agree that the picture is very androgynous which could easily be TG.

Certainly anyone who writes about James would need to be well versed in the TG community at the time the story is set. Additionally, Stone Butch Blues is a must. There are also many shades within this community. That leaves a lot open for creative interpretation/inspiration.

Nice idea Di'nay.

Cris

[Admin]

Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:24 am

Cris wrote:

Launa, was his name James originally? Or did he change his name to James? Would you please clarify?

Thanks!

Cris

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Thu Sep 10, 2009 6:05 am

AreaneCreator wrote:

No. I never gave James an original name. James was a name he took when he left the Gents.

Hmm... you know, it would be very interesting if one of the founding members of the largest men's organization in the Terrapyre community was TG. Interesting idea.

[Admin]

Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:34 am

Brianne wrote:

So, just a side thought... Maybe his name was originally Jamie? I know that's a kind of gender-neutral name... But I was just thinking about my aunt (who's name is Jamie) who has the nickname James... Just thought it was kind of cool.

Just my two cents.

Brianne <--- Lurking

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Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:07 pm

EJ wrote:

That would be perfect, Brianne!

And Cris? What's that collection of poetry by Minnie Bruce Pratt? The one about Leslie? Wouldn't that be important too? And what's that fiction book that the author of "Gender Outlaw" wrote? I remember it didn't impress me as very well written but it deal with gender, didn't it? Any other good reading for getting into the headspace of a TG character?

EJ

[Admin]

Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:50 pm

AreaneCreator wrote:

Oh! One note I forgot to mention about James' name: James came was born in the 15th century to Italian nobility. His brother's name is Amadeo. James is very old-school Italian. In "Harper," a character who knows James well basically calls him presumptuous for taking the name of the brother of Christ when he left Italy to fight in Israel. So 'James' was a carefully chosen Biblical name.

[Admin]

Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:32 am

EJ wrote:

Yet another excellent reason (the era and locale of James' birth) for his gender fluidity!

EJ