Dr. Facilier

Dr. Facilier

the basics

full name • Doctor Facilier

nicknames • Shadow Man

age • Thirty-Eight years old

primary standing • Cleric

secondary standing • Informant; supposedly 'unaffiliated' pedelar of dark wares

faction • Cursed Thorns

species • Human

gender • Male

sexuality • Ain't got time for that.

the appearance

origin • The Princess and the Frog

height and weight • 6', not counting his hat / 165lbs

overall appearance • Tall and lanky dark-skinned man... Facilier is distinguished easily by his violet eyes, dark moustache that hugs his upper lip, and unruly hair that usually fills his ever-present top-hat. The Shadow Man's clothes, too, are distinctive; beside said top-hat, with its skull-and-crossbones marking, his typical outfit is a purple waistcoat that doesn't quite cover his stomach, a dark jacket, and a necklace that has a pair of fangs dangling from it. He almost always carries a cane with a violet orb at the top, and his movements are sprightly and energetic... though, for all this, he seems to be able to fade into the background at a moment's notice.

Too, let's not forget his shadow; while it may often inconspicuously hug the ground behind him, like one would expect, it possesses a dark sentience of its own and, if you have a quick eye and know where to look, may often be seen acting independently of its host - though still, of course, eternally attached to him. Nor is it powerless, interacting with the real world by contact with the shadows of others.

the personality

overall personality • In a word, charismatic. Facilier's main powers, far more than his magic, are his words, which he is incredibly capable of twisting into snares to catch the unwary. Never directly lying outright, he nonetheless is very good at implying one thing while meaning something else entirely, and can easily get his pawns dancing to his tune. He takes great delight in this practice, watching people - especially the wealthy - willingly agree to their own doom, and makes little effort to hide this cruel amusement. And while he displays genuine sympathy to those who have been similarly downtrodden by the world, it's never quite clear whether this is sincere... or whether he's looking back on his own past and drawing the emotion from there. What is clear is that he has no qualms about stepping on those who get in his way, regardless of their status in the world, and would willingly sell out every citizen of New Orleans to his 'friends' in exchange for his own freedom.

Above all, Facilier is power-hungry and selfish. Much of this comes from having had to scrape out an existence from practically nothing; resentful of his station in life, he came to desire everything that those who ignored him had that seemed eternally out of his reach... even to the point of selling his soul in exchange for the means to fulfil his dark desires. He loathes being ignored and overlooked. While generally appearing composed and in control, this mask can slip when the chance of failure presents itself; Facilier is well aware that he's almost out of chances, and becomes panicky and far quicker to fly to anger at the times when this seems all too tangible.

the history

overall history • Facilier's past is known to very few. To most of the residents of New Orleans, he has simply always been the Shadow Man, a sinister figure roaming their streets who most preferred to look away from, to pretend that he simply wasn't there. His history was far better left alone, just as he was.

In truth, Facilier was the son of a little-known voodoo queen. Despite being technically royalty, his family was poor; it was a well-known fact that even the most accomplished of witches couldn't make money out of thin air. Too, Facilier would learn as he studied that same breed of dark magic under her, a voodoo practitioner couldn't conjure a thing for him- or herself... other people's dreams and desires were what gave the spells their power. For many, this was an unfortunate sticking point; but the young Facilier swore he'd learn how to use this limitation for his own ends. He became proficient, and soon took to the streets of New Orleans to ply his trade.

He soon learned something else; the only people who would pay attention to a voodoo practitioner were those who wanted something from him. To anyone else, he was a stain on their streets, not worth the time of day... Facilier quickly rankled at this, but didn't let it deter him. Still, he wasn't doing well; even with his grasp on the skills he had been taught, he was seen as little more than a street magician, not someone who could do much... and Facilier wanted more. He wanted to be noticed, to be respected, to be feared by those who disrespected him... and that was more than he could achieve on his own.

Now several years since he'd left, Facilier returned to his village to seek advice. Finding it in disrepair, with his mother ailing severely and most of the other villagers having abandoned her to seek their own chance at fortune, just as he had, the doctor made his way to his mother's side. She was dying, there was no hiding it; and, in her waning moments, Facilier begged her to tell him the secrets of greater power. Revealing to him the sinister spirits who could give him what he sought - for a terrible price - was the final act of her weakening body. Once she was gone, Facilier cut off her head, shrunk and preserved it... both in her memory, and in the hopes of transferring some of her more potent powers to himself.

And his next act, on returning to New Orleans, was to seek out these spirits. Indenturing himself to them in return for more potent powers, as well as for turning his shadow into a sentient minion to do his bidding, Facilier was ready to earn his name in New Orleans. The Shadow Man, as he became known, was a sinister figure, to be ignored by all but the most desperate, who would seek out his help... regardless of cost. While Facilier claimed souls for his new masters - his 'Friends' on the Other Side - somehow it was never enough; constantly, he had to seek additional favours for his schemes to work, and his debts grew larger each time. As years rolled by, he began to realise just how far over his head he had got in... he needed a big plan, one that would reap enough souls to pay off his debt once and for all.

And, by happy chance, he just happened to have one.

Big Daddy La Bouff, the richest man in New Orleans, with a fortune ripe for the plucking... just as long as Facilier could make sure it all fell neatly into his own lap. It was a well-known fact that Big Daddy's daughter was prince-crazy; and a foreign prince looking for a rich bride was visiting New Orleans. It didn't take a man of his quick wit to know the match was inevitable... and Facilier quickly discovered how to use it to his advantage. Luring the prince and his unwilling valet into his Voodoo Emporium, Facilier tricked both of them into dealing with him. Just a fraction of Naveen's blood stored in a voodoo talisman, when worn by Lawrence, would transform the hapless valet into the spitting image of the prince, while the real prince was turned into a frog to keep him out of the way. Lawrence would marry Miss La Bouff; Facilier would then dispose of Big Daddy, making himself the most powerful man in New Orleans. Miss La Bouff was Big Daddy's only heiress, which would leave the La Bouff family fortune wide open for her new husband to split with him, the repayment for their deal. It was foolproof.

Unless that fool in question was Lawrence.

Overcome by a moment of compassion for his former sire, Facilier's partner-in-crime accidentally let the froggy prince go. Without Naveen's blood, the talisman dried up, causing Lawrence to revert to his own appearance at an almost-disastrous moment; and Facilier once more was forced to turn to his Friends on the Other Side for help in bringing the prince back, tantalising them with his plan until they agreed to give him more shadow minions. Their task was accomplished only bare minutes before Lawrence and Miss La Bouff were to be wed; but still, the plan was back on track. The moment arrived. Closer and closer drifted his pin to the heart of Big Daddy's doll...

And, at the very last second, Naveen once again broke free, spilling Lawrence to the ground as he grabbed for the talisman, passing it off to a firefly, of all things. By the time Facilier had crushed the bug, the talisman had once again been passed off to another frog... a local waitress who'd been caught up in the spell too. Despite her threat to smash it, Facilier saw his chance; he'd seen and heard all about her dream while spying on the La Bouff family and, casting an illusion, he turned that dream into apparent reality. All Tiana had to do, to make it come true, was hand over that harmless little talisman she held, and she'd get everything she ever wanted... she couldn't possibly turn it down; least of all when, with memories plucked from her vulnerable mind, he reminded her of how it had been her poor daddy's dream to see the restaurant realised. He could tell, she was almost giving in... almost...

Until suddenly, for reasons Facilier didn't understand and could never have predicted, the waitress plucked up fresh resolve. The talisman was shattered... and with it, Facilier's last hope of freedom. The crucial part of his plan was in pieces on the ground of the graveyard, and even as he fumbled with them in desperation, his 'Friends' emerged. They knew, they knew as well as he now did that there would be no control of New Orleans, no feast of souls for them, nothing at all... and, they were claiming his own soul in recompense. While Facilier tried to flee, his shadow as a moment too slow; seized by the shadow, he was dragged alive down into a voodoo hell, leaving behind only a gravestone with his last, terrified expression imprinted on it as proof that he'd even existed at all.

He might never have seen the light of day again, if not for one thing; the war that began brewing. And not your average war, like the one which had claimed Tiana's father... no, this was a magical war. His Friends could smell it brewing, feeding them power; although, to really benefit, they needed their own man on the battlefield. No-one in New Orleans had stepped up to take Facilier's place as their pawn on the living side... so, the Friends reached an agreement amongst themselves. The Doctor was spat back out into the land of the living to serve their purposes in the war... and it was made abundantly clear to him that this was the last chance he would ever get. Mess this up, and his previous death would seem merciful by comparison.

Facilier knew better than to doubt their word.

It took the doctor several days to compose himself again after the trauma of his experiences; as soon as he had things in order once again, however, Facilier packed up his implements of the trade and headed out to the war. Although he has officially thrown his lot in with the Cursed Thorns as a Cleric, Facilier has done his best to keep this on the down-low; instead of spending much of his time in the Black Keep, he prefers to linger along the roads too and from Arendelle, posing as a harmless street pedlar of dark secrets, and collecting word of the opposing army - and souls of the unwary - in return.

the Role play sample

Sample is mandatory for new members.

the role player

alias • Cheetah

age • 27

pronouns • Male

other characters • Mulan, Cody, Shenzi, Amelia, Experiment 624, Sunray, Judy, Tiifu