just saw your jarty venn diagram, which I’m utterly obsessed with btw, and I’m curious what other James headcanons you have 👀 James in general and/or jeggy
he's been creeping up on me lately, i will admit...
my james is utterly marvelous & the slightest bit pathetic, in a way that only adds to his charm? james is a sorry, silly, impractical FOOL, but when he laments about whatever idiotic trouble he's gotten himself into, he's half-smiling and things that would make anyone else seem ridiculous only make him rakish & dashing
to me, my james evokes the feeling of when you see someone handsome in slightly too-small trousers with their ankles peeking out. the impression is just hopelessly endearing.
his arrogance is especially annoying because he is SOO pleasant & congenial about it. james makes sparkling small talk, cracking all these hilarious self-effacing jokes about his shortcomings, but you can tell that he KNOWS how charming he's being by acting humble (and how much he loves to be loved)
his idealism is what gives him that larger-than-life quality, as much as it makes him an idiot. james is fundamentally romantic. at his core: he is don quixote, rescuing imaginary maidens and tipping his hat at windmills.
i picture james as the person who can't resist a piano, hunched over one at a family party, on a bench that's the slightest bit too small. he's laughing (his laugh is so, so distinctive) at the way his knees stick out & knock against the wood. he has a gift for embarrassing himself but not making it look awkward at all.
his glasses are always hopelessly smudged. he had a stutter as a child. he's UNBELIEVABLY stubborn in the most sanctimonious, maternal way— he's sternly lecturing with hands on his hips. at a pureblood gala, he's smuggling a tray of appetizers into the garden. he always smiles like he's letting you in on an EXCELLENT inside joke
james is also animated by a deep sadness. a melancholy, even? that same old fashioned romantic quality he has puts him a little off-kilter with the rest of the world. he wouldn't be so charming if he didn't seem lost.
It's all that one quote: "Witty, self-deprecating, sometimes uproariously funny and sometimes unbearably sad"
