Quick warm up, figured some James lore was long overdue (below cut)
if you haven’t picked it up from James’s clothes under his jacket, that is, in fact, the human zoo uniform. James’s Mom met his Dad in the zoo a long, long time after the war, having decided to take a tour of it. His Dad was the latest addition and hadn’t been there long. He was the only one not brainwashed and fully dependent on the zookeepers because everyone else had been in there for generations, but he actually experienced Earth and wanted out. Emerald found him interesting, and after getting his story, took frequent backdoor visits to hang out with him. When she got pregnant, she immediately started planning, and finally snuck his dad out of the zoo right around when she was due, B-lining it for Earth in her ship because neither wanted their kid to be born in that gilded cage. She gave birth just as they entered orbit, and where James’s father was holding the love of his life before, he held a tiny baby boy with her gem and her eyes.
Due to how heavy his trauma was from the abduction, the Zoo, and losing the gem he loved, James’s Father decided to give him up for adoption, believing the boy couldn’t thrive under his wing, plus the Zoo stay stunted his father’s health and lifespan by a good chunk. James was wrapped up in the Human Zoo uniform, which became his favorite thing to sleep in and carry around like a baby blanket as an infant/tot, and left with him were the earrings (disabled) and a letter explaining everything, one he got to open when he was 18. The one request was that he kept a face mask on in public in case anybody comes looking, for his own safety from thieves, other gems, or even, god forbid, the government. James, now in his late 20s/early 30s, eventually started working with rebel gems in the area he moved to to start fresh, since he had that handy destabilizer staff from his mom, which was when he met the rest. The local city gives him an income to sustain himself and live comfortably in exchange for protecting from the corrupted and whatever else the gems left behind. He still wears the mask, which never bothered him. If anything, he found it cool to look mysterious.
