#middle names werent really a thing in the 1700s except for very wealthy families

[rypnami]

James Anderson

and why he is the absolute worst

this goes out to the like 2 people that care about this Horrible Man tm and were asking about him on discord. i hope this works for an explanation on Who he is and Why he is Like That!

James William Anderson was born on the 31st of December, 1755 (making him 34 at the time of the AU).

The Anderson family is one of the wealthiest and most influential in 18th century London. For generations, they've been well-known fur traders, and in 1650 they also became involved in real estate, so they are OLD old money. In 1740 they were made a noble house by the king himself, and that only increased their wealth and influence.

So all that to say, the one son of the family is a rich, spoilt brat who always got what he wanted. Think a Draco Malfoy type, but more sinister. He won't trick you into going to a midnight duel and then not show up to make you look stupid. He will show. He will fight you. He will win.

He always liked to fight, even when he was small. I am hesitant to label him as a sociopath, as I don't want to contribute to the stigmitisation of a group of people, but he is at the very least a sadist. Causing pain brings him joy. Yay.

Around 11, he learned about the wonders of street fighting, and was fascinated by it. The Anderson family, obviously, never wanted for money, but this little freak saw an opportunity to make some pocket money of his own and learn to beat people up at the same time. Even as young as he was, he picked up on it pretty fast, and smart money was always bet on him to win. By 17 he practically ran the underground brawling racket.

When he was caught for the whole thing at 20 and subsequently arrested, his parents were able to use their status to get him out of any serious trouble, but he did have to join the Navy. Unfortunately for everyone involved, he was thrilled about this, because it meant he would be able to hurt people without getting in trouble this time.

Very quickly he got a reputation for being someone you do NOT want to mess around with. Short-tempered, would sooner solve a problem with fists over words, and generally he's just a dick. Every other word is an insult- after all, he's from THE Anderson family. Everyone else is beneath him. He is better than you and won't let you forget it!

Money and reputation doesn't get you everything, though. He was very, very annoyed that he was made just a simple seaman at first, even though that's where most start off. He wanted to be the guy on top so he could tell everyone what to do. In a rare smart move for the navy, they thought he was perhaps a bit TOO volatile and ready to kill everyone, so they decided to make someone else the commander.

"Someone else," of course, being Leander. This really did not sit well with Anderson. He's older by quite a bit (Leander being 22 at time of appointment), more experienced, and (in his opinion) smarter.

Never mind that Leander got higher marks in the naval academy, or that he's more of a people person and has better leadership skills overall- in Anderson's opinion he doesn't deserve it.

He's the one that starts the "Prewett is only commander because of nepotism" rumours, even though he literally tried to use his own family's status as a way to manipulate his way into a top position himself. He's bitter and jealous that someone younger than him was put higher up. Whenever Leander is ordering him around, he can often be found doing a half-assed job and muttering under his breath about a "stupid ginger twink" the whole time.

I often joke that homophobia didn't exist until he was born, but I think he's not actually a homophobe, he just hates to see Leander happy. Not his fault that Leander is happiest when he's kissing a man, really.

The best day of his life is when Leander abandons the navy, which means as the most senior member of the crew he's put in charge by default. Even more fun for him is that since Leander left with the most wanted man this side of the Atlantic, joined up with his crew, AND is not secretive about the fact that they are definitely in a relationship, should they get arrested there is a promise of a VERYYYYY public hanging for the pair of them. He would die a happy man if he could be the one who sends them to the gallows.

So now his life's purpose is to find and be responsible for their executions. He runs his ship like, well. The navy. He's not fun, he definitely beats the hell out of people if they don't do exactly as he says when he says it, and overworks them to the point where they have no energy to really fight back.

Worst Man Ever, but he's pretty I Guess.

thanks for reading if you made it this far lol