James Darcy

[James Darcy]

Face Claim: Balderick Cabbagepatch (Benedict Cumberbatch)
Player: Cassiopeia

CHARACTER NAME: James Ambrose Darcy
BIRTHDATE: July 17th
AGE: 35
HOMETOWN: Tresteria

CURRENT RESIDENCE: Edgewater Academy, North Eldridge City, Tresteria

APPEARANCE: A tall, lanky man who may not appear handsome at first glance. He can be quite serious, but becomes animated and excitable when discussing literature and education. He is always well dressed, and often spotted smoking a pipe. He and his office both smell faintly of tobacco smoke and cherry. 

MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried

FAMILY TIES:
The only son of Phoenix (Deceased) & Gracelyn Darcy, and the eldest grandson of Socrates Darcy (Deceased), the late headmaster of Edgewater.
OCCUPATION: Headmaster

BUSINESS:
Business Name: Edgewater Academy
What type of business?: School

SOCIETAL TITLE:
Title: Viscount
Source of wealth: Landlord
Estate Name if applicable: Inkwell Lake

GRAMARYE GIFT: N/A

PERSONALITY:
James has a reputation for being too forceful and too modern, when in reality he's quite a personable, polite man. He can, however, become quite the 'bulldog' when pursuing what he believes is best for his students. Once he makes a decision, it will come to pass, come hell or high water. 

He's not opposed to giving up an experiment once it's proven unsuccessful, however. If changing the dorms, rescheduling classes, or a particular discipline plan doesn't work out, he'll cheerfully return to the drawing board to find a new solution. 

While new students often find the headmaster intimidating due to his height, serious nature, and predilection for excessively specific vocabulary, they often find that he's not nearly so frightening as they first thought. He never loses his temper with students, and treats them as if they are responsible little adults, rather than babying or bullying them.  

LIKES: good books, neat penmanship, learning new things, teaching
DISLIKES: ignorance, rude people, late homework
HABITS: sometimes licks his finger to turn pages, uses whatever he has nearby as a bookmark, smokes more when anxious
REPUTATION: a bit too modern for the school board, too smart for his own good, snarky

HISTORY:
As the eldest grandson of the previous headmaster, James was raised knowing that he might one day be able to take his grandfather's place. At first, he believed this would be after his own father was able to do so, however, his father passed away from pneumonia when James was only 14.

His cousin, Harold Beecham, was often more to his grandfather's taste--loyal to tradition, well mannered, good looking. However, even a man as stubborn as Socrates Darcy was eventually forced to admit that Harold was dumber than a box of rocks. As such, he couldn't be groomed to take the position of headmaster. 

With that conclusion reached, the pressure on James tripled. Still, he proved to be an excellent student, and eventually a popular literature professor at Edgewater. By the time Socrates passed away, he was able to admit that he was proud of the way his grandson had matured. 

James took the position as headmaster about a year ago (11 months, 9 days, and counting). With him leaving his position as literature professor, he convinced his longtime friend, @drake, to take over that curriculum. He's pleased to see that Drake has adapted well, and the students are already quite comfortable with the librarian. 

Now that he's settled in, it's time to begin some larger changes at Edgewater...ones that won't be popular with a good chunk of the parents...