[OOC ENTRY] Profile
NAME: James Nicholas Callahan
ALSO KNOWN AS: Dr. Callahan, Jamie
TALE: The Tin Woodman, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and other Oz stories
DATE OF BIRTH: June 29, 1964
MARITAL STATUS: Married
SEXUAL PREFERENCE: Heterosexual
Name
JAMES: English meaning "supplant, replace"; variant of Jacob derived from the Latin Jacomus.
Expression Number 3: People with this name tend to be creative and excellent at expressing themselves. They are drawn to the arts, and often enjoy life immensely. They are often the center of attention, and enjoy careers that put them in the limelight. They tend to become involved in many different activities, and are sometimes reckless with both their energies and with money.
NICHOLAS: Greek meaning "people's victory"; St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children, sailors, and pawnbrokers - Santa Claus is based on this saint.
Expression Number 9: People with this name tend to be passionate, compassionate, intuitive, romantic, and to have magnetic personalities. They are usually humanitarian, broadminded and generous, and tend to follow professions where they can serve humanity. Because they are so affectionate and giving, they may be imposed on. They are romantic and easily fall in love, but may be easily hurt and are sometimes quick-tempered.
Outward
HEIGHT: 6'1"
WEIGHT: 192 lbs.
DISTINGUISHING MARKS:
APPEARANCE: James is a tall, healthily-built man with dark hair and equally dark-hued eyes. He is mostly fit, as he exercises whenever his arthritis is not flaring to prevent extended activity, though age has brought the naturally thickening of his waist, as well as some grey hairs. Usually shaven merely to look neat for work, he is often scruffy on his days off.
HABITS:
Inward
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Friendly. Kind. Strange sense of humor.
PERSONALITY: Just as the Tin Woodman was the most emotional and tender of Dorothy's companions, despite his technical lack of a heart, so too is James. He is an incredibly soft touch, whether it be people or animals, and has a house full of stuff that ties directly to how very sentimental he is about the smallest thing. (For instance, in a box in his closet is the matchbook from the restaurant he took Anna to on their first date, among other outwardly useless things that are mementos of places and times that mean something to him.) Though he is this way, in James there also lies a strong sense of protectiveness and obligation to those he cares about or is responsible for, allowing him to reason through his compassion when it is necessary. This does not means he forget its, it means he weighs between two difficult choices to choose the better one.
If you asked James about himself, however, you would get a somewhat different story. He often says or does things that are kind-hearted and gentle without ever connecting that they are so, as those actions are such a part of himself he is not always conscious of the inherent goodness in them. He has always been convinced he's more than a bit of an emotional incompetent, certain half the good things that happened to him, like Anna, were born of extreme luck rather than anything he had to do with it. He has also long-held the opinion that seeing the suffering of children for as long as he has made him hardened to life in general, but it's not the case at all. More likely to characterize himself a 'social bumbler', what James sees in himself is often the direct opposite of the truth or what others will see. He views his emotions as the things that freeze him up with others, as effectively as tears on metal jaw-hinges, when others see the truth and intent behind it all.
Despite this endearing character flaw, he had many, many positives. His sense of humor, even when he is finding something far funnier than anyone else would, is always a constant with him. In his life, its had to be, as being a doctor means exposure to sorrow and pain just as much as healing and hope. He is an eternal optimist at heart, despite sounding very much like a pessimist at times. That vocal pessimistic tendency has been tempered by recent times, however, and the situation with his wife's illness continues to teach him quite a lot about himself and his ideas of life. James, though he has always been an active, rather than passive, participant in life, now makes a concerted effort to do more than just go through the motions, to reach for the goal of living even when it feels too hard to do. For James, grabbing happiness now is the most important goal and life is now about the journey rather than where it eventually leads, as he knows that there is no quick and ultimate fix for what in life he would change.
LIKES:
DISLIKES:
TURN-ONS:
TURN-OFFS:
IQ: Above average.
EXTROVERT/INTROVERT: Extrovert.
PHOBIAS/FEARS:
MENTAL HEALTH: Very good, though he does see a therapist infrequently, mainly for grief management purposes because of the situation with Anna.
His Story
CHILDHOOD HOME: New York, New York
HISTORY: James Nicholas Callahan was a very normal boy with a very normal childhood, never imagining what life had in store. His biggest ambition as a boy was to be someone that helped people - a firefighter, a police officer, a doctor, a teacher. Whatever struck him at the moment as something that would be a good job, something that a good person would do, that was what he wanted to be. It never seemed strange to be focused on this because his parents were both very giving people who did many good things, from his father the police officer to his mother, who spent her free time volunteering with homeless shelters and hospices and nursing homes. It was an early grounding in generosity; never oppressive, but definitely a lasting lesson.
As he aged to his teens, those lessons from watching his parents stayed with him and it was then that he set his goal, to go to medical school. Being a normal teen, though, his life was filled with all the expected pursuits of life, from sports to girls, and while those things could be distracting, his academics usually came first. He graduated valedictorian, Most Likely To Succeed and even with an offer for a soccer scholarship, but it was medical school he wanted.
Deciding to specialize in pediatric cardiac care was one of the easier decisions of his life. He wanted to be in medicine, there was no doubt in his mind, and he wanted to help in a way that helped the world; to him, saving children was saving hope. Besides, he genuinely liked children and it wasn't strange to see James, even during his busy intern years, pop into the pediatric wing for visits to entertain the children there, some who were more familiar with the hospital than they could be with their own homes. His heart went out to these children, even when he wasn't conscious of it.
It was during his intern years that his Tale memories surfaced. For a short while, James was convinced he had simply been spending way too much time in kid-land with his nieces and nephews or trips to the pediatric wing. Not that he would ever change that, but it was an easy enough explanation. What wasn't so easy to explain was the more painful, graphic dreams of losing limbs, but soon an explanation was given to him along with a Compendium, this whole new facet to his life he could scarcely believe.
Learning he was a Tale was, understandably, initially overwhelming and one of the reasons was that it was a Tale he was so familiar with because of the story's iconic status. It was the movie played in pediatric wards the most, a story he had grown up having read to him and so read to his nieces and nephews when babysitting, and somehow he was that man of tin? However, his good humor helped to center him even then, for what could be funnier than a man destined to be a heart surgeon finding out he was a the character without a heart? It was funny to James, at least, and it still is his favorite thing to joke about, even when the jokes are admittedly very bad and the reaction to them is a groan of "Oh, James" or eyerolling, rather than laughter.
In his mid-twenties, he met Anna, the girl he still claims he fell in love with from the first time she fell into his lap on the subway. Their romance was something a bit out of the movies, falling in love with each other while both holding a secret. His secret was, of course, his Taledom, but it was Anna's that would prove to affect them both far more, for she had cancer. They finally shared their secrets and despite Anna's - and though some might argue because of it, that was actually not the case - James proposed to Anna and after much convincing and soul searching, she accepted. Less than a year into their marriage, her treatments were successful and her cancer went into remission.
Never having children of their own, the two were happy to lavish attention and affection on the children of relatives and in volunteer work wherever they could, in addition to James' work in pediatrics and Anna's as the owner of a daycare. The were suited to each other so well, but different enough that life was peppered with the minor disagreements that make a relationship grow. James had his love, a home, a job and a life and nothing could be better.
Just before he turned forty, James began experiencing the beginnings of arthritis. Though it was somewhat of a surprise to him, as arthritis affects women more than men and men usually at a later age, it was something he had accepted as a possibility due to heredity. He had to, for choosing the profession he had meant he needed to be conscious of anything that would leave him unable to continue, from nerve damage to disease to injury; his hands were his tools, more than anything else. He continued to operate for a short while until he began to feel his fingers were no longer as nimble as they once were, a requirement of the delicate work he did. With a personal standard much higher than the 'technical' standard, he knew the time had come to make a choice of what to do next with his life. Being a well-known, much sought after pediatric cardiac surgeon had paid very well, even with his work for medical charities, and he had invested well, but retirement was not something he was interested in, nor was leaving medicine entirely.
Becoming a pediatric doctor was his eventual decision, for it combine previous knowledge with his passion, healing children, but James knew even then that he would sometimes find it frustrating to treat patients he might have to send to someone else for full cures, rather than help them himself. Being a pediatrician was something that had meaning to him, however, just as becoming a heart surgeon had, and so that frustration was rare and fleeting. His practice quickly grew, but James was motivated by the desire for it not to grow too big, as he did not want to neglect any of his patients or pass his work on to physician's assistants, becoming too impersonal. The personal connection to children and families is one of the most rewarding aspects of his job.
James' life in recent years became more difficult than he ever imagined, due to the fact his wife's cancer returned after years of remission. The return led to a frustrating and, for Anna, very painful period of treatment until she said no more, for it became clear it was not going to bring about another remission and she was tired of the aftermath of treatments. The doctors predicted she would not have much time when she ceased active treatment, but Anna was undeterred. For some time after this decision, James went on a crusade to find all manner of alternative therapies, taking Anna to everything from resorts to witch doctors. It was his yellow brick road journey, Anna liked to say, and he was as determined to find a wizard with a cure as the Tin Woodman had been. However, that too Anna finally put a stop to and James had to face that her time left had to be for her, not for him. In recent months, his focus has been helping her to continue to live life, rather than simply exist and wait for death, and try to make sense of life and death and reincarnation.
James' practice is now smaller than it had been because of the uncertain time of Anna's care that had him frequently on leave. This freedom of time has allowed him to focus on Anna, family and friends more earnestly, as well as take up several hobbies alongside Anna's desire to try new things, and even separately from her. He learned everyone needs alone time, despite wanting to be with her whenever he can, so far from being all work and no play, James has a good balance and even occasionally an excess of play.
Very involved in the Tale community, he is a common face at the Pentamerone and oft-appearing name in the Compendium. James integrates that life into his own, his friends both tale and mortal, as well as some of his patients or their families, and he does not conceal who he is among the Taledom, or with his close family, like Anna and his mother (his father is a bit too practical to share with, however). He is more than aware that the Moderns are the bottom of the totem pole, but he has never let that stop him, because he feels the Ozian stories, and their reincarnated Tales, have much to offer to the mortal world and to Taledom.
Connections
FAIRYTALE: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and other Oz stories
Character: Tin Woodman
Abilities: None.
Past Lives: None.
Correlation: One of the most notable event similarities between James and the Tin Man is the loss of the true love, the Tin Man losing the one he loved because of his apparent loss of heart after the Witch of the East's cruel act and James losing the one he loves due to illness, both things entirely out of their control. Despite that, James lays no blame in his Tale, for it is in his Tale he still has an example of how to go on without the one he loves.
Though he doesn't blame his Tale for this either, just heredity, James has arthritis which can leave him as stiff as a rusted metal man. Lucky, due to the advances of modern medicine, a shot is more effective than a greasing from an oil can, and once again James' humor lets him find the situation funny, rather than be resentful.
As far as personality, James is the Tin Man in many ways, from his sensitivity to his sentimentality. The bonds he makes are for life and he will always help a friend in need. While he definitely knows he's in possession of a heart, he often judges himself as an emotional 'nitwit' when it comes to others, even if those around him don't think so. He is the dependable one, relied on for his skills and content to let others be the ones with the ideas while he sees to the execution.
Status: Everyone, other than those new to Talehood who haven't had a chance to meet/know many people yet, would likely know his Tale. He's not shy about it and is actually rather proud of it after all these years.
PROFESSION: Formerly a pediatric cardiac surgeon, he is now a pediatrician.
LOCATION: New York, New York
CONTACT:
Email:
Phone:
Other:
HOME:
FINANCES:
FAMILY::
Parents: Michael Callahan - father, New York police officer; Denise Callahan - mother, housewife, charity volunteer
Siblings: Older brother, younger sister, younger brother
Spouse: Anna Callahan - wife, daycare owner
STORYLINES: (see link)
Nothing lasts
not the good times or the bad
they all just become the past
sometimes your heart can turn on dime
what made you cry will
one day make you smile
Astrological
SIGN: Cancer
The Crab. Cardinal, water, yin - planetary ruler: the Moon Keywords: "I FEEL"
Cancer is the fourth sign of the Zodiac and governs the breast and the stomach. Positive traits include loyalty, a love of home and family, the ability to express emotion, intensity, a great sense of humour, a sense of initiative, tenaciousness, a gift with finances, compassion, shrewdness, and intuition. Negative traits are self-indulgence, moodiness, clinging to other people, bossiness, emotional manipulation, and oversentimentality.
SUN/MOON: Cancer Sun - Pisces Moon
The combination of your Sun sign and your Moon sign produces a highly fluid nature with much emotional depth. You store a constant flow of impressions and your instincts and hunches are usually very accurate. Your polarity reveals that your personality blends harmoniously with your individuality, but also accentuates your emotional nature, making you mentally receptive and impressionable. You have a very peaceable and amenable personality, and is agreeable and rarely on the wrong side of an argument; agreeable, friendly and diplomatic. Not a fighter, you are so affable and pleasant that is sometimes hard to tell where you stand or how long you are going to stand there. This is not to say you don't have ideas, but you keep them to yourself rather than produce conflict and turmoil. Your practical or political sense is so clear and your ability to apply tact to most situations usually assure you success in most endeavors, but you may have to develop your self-confidence and be a little more willing to act on your hunches and highly accurate intuition. You're suspicious of others, and you may keep many secrets locked inside. In fact, you are self-protective, a bit defensive, and some would say too cautious, a good deal of the time; but because of this, very able to protect yourself from designing people. Never easy to fool, you have good business sense and the ability to drive a good bargain. You can be popular in a large broad way with groups of people, though in personal contacts you are likely to remain a little suspicious and overly careful
OOC
CHARACTER PB: Colin Firth
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Tin Woodman or The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and other Oz books. James, however, is mine. I do not own Colin Firth, he owns himself.
PLAYER: Jessi jessi_muses
GAME: Fairly Tales fairlytalesrpg
CREDIT: Profile image and coding, princessjessia; icon credit listed with each icon for those uploaded, credit for those used in comments can be found here or on mouseover; lyrics from "Always" by Matt Dusk; Sun/Moon Astrology courtesy of Astrology Sun and Moon Combinations.