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Post by Dr. Facilier on Jun 2, 2012 18:10:18 GMT -5
..:: Player Information ::..
Player Name: maskerader
Age: 23
Other Characters Played: Jane Porter
How You Found Us: Jen found me. ^^
..:: Character Information ::..
Character Name: Dr. Marion Facilier
Gender: Male
Type of Creature: Human
Rank: Neutral
Movie/TV Series: The Princess and the Frog
Home Island: Isle of the Statue
Personality: A very simple way to describe Dr. Facilier would be “complex.” He grew up with very little, which made him hunger for more than he had. Facilier has learned how to manipulate people, and he uses this to his advantage. Full to the brim with charisma, it is easy for Facilier to get weaker-willed people to do what he wants. Even though he hasn’t had the best education available, Dr. Facilier is quite intelligent. He knows how to read people well, something that is a necessity in his profession.
In the society in which he grew up, many people of a Creole background chose to "pass" for white, if they were able. Facilier couldn't have passed, and he didn't want to. Despite the advantages passing could have brought him, he was never one to completely abandon his heritage.
Because his white father abandoned his mother and himself, Facilier tends to be rather bitter when it comes to rich, powerful, white men. At the same time, though, he has a soft spot for young women, especially if it seems like they might need help. He does what he can to help them, despite his reputation.
Marion has a sense of humor; he doesn't plan for some of his wish-granting to go wrong, but when it does, it's sometimes too entertaining for him to pass up doing the same trick a second time.
Powers, Skills, and/or Any Other Abilities:
Very charismatic: Even when people don't particularly want to have anything to do with him, he can usually charm them into at least a Tarot reading. There's something about him that draws people to him, regardless of whether or not they want to be in his presence at all.
Ability to manipulate people: Which ties into his charisma. Within a few minutes of meeting and talking with people, he can learn a lot about them and what to say to them: either things they want to hear, or things that will make them pay him to prevent some horrible possibility.
Ability to read people extremely well: It doesn't take him long to figure people out. Yes, he sometimes uses clues from the surrounding area (such as the newspaper that announced Naveen's arrival), but from the way that people talk to him and treat him, he can actually glean a lot of knowledge about them.
Knowledge of Tarot: He is very familiar with the deck, its cards, and the meanings of certain cards. Facilier can give you a reading with cards in their usual position or with the cards in reverse; he could almost give a Tarot reading in his sleep, he knows this art so well.
Intelligent: Facilier has always been quite intelligent. From a young age, he was able to figure out ways that he could help his mother (since neither of them could "pass") earn money, and then he figured out ways to earn money himself.
Good with illusions and magic tricks: He's always been something of an illusionist and magician, and he put this skill to advantage when he opened his Emporium. Facilier knows that sometimes, illusions are just as good (and sometimes better) than the real thing, and illusions could be just what causes a person to fork over.
Voice of Keith David: Need I say more?
Can be ambitious: After all, he wanted the whole city of New Orleans. That stemmed as much from ambition as it did from a desire for acknowledgement of his existence.
Weaknesses/Flaws:
Can manipulate people quite well: This is also a weakness because he's always looking for ways that he can maniuplate people. He doesn't really connect with them because he's trying to think of ways he can use them.
Has rather a temper: When Lawrence lost Naveen, this was a very clear indication of his temper. He tends to try to keep it in check for as long as he can, but when something happens to spoil his plans, he tends to become furioius.
Prejudiced against Creole individuals able to "pass" for white: Facilier and his mother were never able to "pass" for white, so he looks down on those who can, thinking that they're trying to escape rather than standing straight and strong.
Can be ambitious: Ambition was his downfall, in the end. He reached too high and then he fell.
Canon History: Marion Facilier was born in 1896 to Edna, a black woman. His father is white, and a very well-known figure in New Orleans. However, only two people in the world know that is father is, in fact, Eli “Big Daddy” La Bouff. It was always the white men “consorting” with black women; they could go and have their fun without having to worry about actually supporting any “family” that might result from a night’s (or week’s or month’s or year’s) worth of indiscretions.
Granted, there was the occasional white man who decided that he actually wanted the family he’d created, at least for a while. When that sort of thing happened, sometimes the white man ended up living with his family, supporting them and offering them a better life than they might have had, had he not had at least some wealth.
Marion, though, had grown up with his mother, poor, Creole, female that she was. She tried to give him a good life, resorting to “working outside” of the home, something that was looked down upon by the rest of her family. True, life in New Orleans was better for them than it would have been in other Southern cities, partly because there was a rather large Creole population with whom they could spend time, and potentially call upon in times of need. Marion’s mother was far too proud to go begging; she’d starve before she’d seek help from the community.
And so, Marion went to work when he was only thirteen years old. The jobs he took were menial, very small things that other people weren’t quite willing to do. The cigar factory that employed blacks hid him away somewhere, giving him a job sweeping the floor when things got messy and lifting boxes when they needed something to be moved. It wasn’t much, but it helped keep them alive.
He worked there for four years, until his mother died. She hadn’t had a very happy life; really, it was a blessing when she passed.
After Edna died, Marion decided that he was going to go into business for himself. But before he could do that, he had to have a trade; he couldn’t exactly have his own business sweeping floors. Besides, even if he could, there was no way he was going to do that for the rest of his life; Marion had swept floors for four years to keep his mother alive, not because it was the sort of thing he enjoyed.
But what was there for a poor, young, black Creole to do, in business for himself? What could he do? He wasn’t going to sweep floors, that much was certain, but he must have something else that he could do. What had his mother taught him? She had been brought from Haiti as a slave, and she had brought her religion with her.
Voodoo. Yes, he could do that. And he could learn how to read the Tarot, he was sure. He could set up a little stall in the streets on Mardi Gras and word of mouth would get around; soon, people would be flocking to see him and he would have enough money to buy his own little shop.
In reality, though, it was seven years before he had his own shop, and even then, he set up stands for Mardi Gras, desperate to bring in as much money as possible. The thing that infuriated him the most, though, was his father.
His father had risen through the ranks of New Orleans society, until he was the richest man in the city. Eli could have claimed Marion as his own and only a few people would have thought less of him, but no, he couldn’t “afford” that sort of publicity.
Marion had always known that his father would deny him, but he hadn’t expected it to hurt so much. Granted, he probably had already had many people like Marion come up to him, claiming to be his children, but Marion knew that he was the only one who was right. Baron Samedi had told him. Any half-siblings he might have, other than Eli’s beloved daughter Charlotte were with Baron Samedi in the cemetery. Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte watched over Marion; they were the ones he turned to when business was going poorly or when someone snubbed him in the streets. Consequently, whenever he came up with a plan that was well-executed, it was to Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte his thanks were offered.
And then, there was finally a chance to get the wealth that his father denied him by ignoring his son. Prince Naveen of Maldonia came to New Orleans seeking to “marry a little honey whose daddy’s got dough.” This enabled Dr. Facilier to trick both Naveen and his valet, Lawrence, into doing what he wanted them to do. He told Naveen it was “the green” that he needed, and that he saw “the green” in his future.
Lawrence, on the other hand, was going to be “exactly the man you always wanted to be.” However, what his customers didn’t know was that they needed to listen to the wording of his promises; he had never said that Naveen would have money or that Lawrence would have power. Dr. Facilier fulfilled their wishes: Naveen got “the green” by becoming a frog and Lawrence became Naveen, the man he’d always wanted to be.
After Lawrence allowed Naveen to escape, Tiana kissed Naveen in the hopes that it would break Facilier’s spell so that she could get the money that she needed for her restaurant (no, she’s not obsessed at all), but it backfired, turning her into a frog, as well.
Facilier needed Naveen in order to continue to put his blood in the talisman that allowed Lawrence to appear to be Naveen.
Once the prince had escaped, Facilier needed to recover him or risk having his plans fail. He asked help from his “friends on the other side” (which are most likely some of the more shady (pun intended) voodoo loa “mask”erading as objects in his shop) to retrieve Naveen, an endeavor in which they do eventually succeed.
Once Naveen is back in Facilier’s hands, the plan returns to normal: Lawrence is to marry Charlotte, Facilier will talk to Big Daddy, and if the man doesn’t acknowledge him, he’ll kill him through use of a voodoo doll and Facilier and Lawrence will split the La Bouff fortune “right down the middle; 60/40, like I said.”
Alas, this plan fails, in more ways than one. As the camera is usually focused on Naveen and Tiana, we never see him talk to Big Daddy La Bouff, but obviously, that did not work out too well as Facilier had to result to Plan B.
Naveen manages to escape from captivity (again) with the help of Ray the Firefly, and they manage to steal the talisman with which Facilier’s “friends” provided him. Ray gives the talisman to Tiana, and Facilier shows her what her life could be like, restaurant and all, if only she gives him the talisman. She refuses, utters the worst line in the entire film (which is, alas, said more than once), and smashes the talisman, which prompted his “friends” to drag him out of the world, into a sort of purgatory.
Game Information: Marion has done what he's had to in order to survive; the deals he made with his "friends" on the other side helped him to get by when times were especially rough; he's been trying to get back to his Catholic roots, which means breaking ties with his "friends." While he hasn't been trapped in the Forever Stone, he has been in a sort of purgatory, working off the debt that he owed. And now, he's got to do what he can to fend off the true villains of the realm or risk the same fate.
Anything Else: Dr. Facilier is Creole, of African-American and French descent. At this time in New Orleans, there were many Creole people who were able to “pass” for white, but Dr. Facilier was not one of them. The treatment he received as a result of this has made him bitter when it comes to white people, but there is a more specific reason for that. Also, voodoo is more of a religion than a way to use magic. It was based on Catholicism, which means that, technically, Dr. Facilier is Catholic. A bit lapsed, but still Catholic.
..:: Sample Post ::..
Yes, the simple three-card “past, present, future” spread would work quite nicely for her. Turning over the first card, he looked at it, thoughtful expression on his face.
“What is it?” Christine asked eagerly.
Marion studied the card, the Lovers in reverse. Yes, when the cards were upside-down to the reader, they were considered to be “in reverse.” And the Lovers was one of the cards in the Major Arcana, which deals with major life events. They weren’t as nuanced as the Minor Arcana, but they served his purpose. “Well, sugar, this card represents your past. You’ve had your eye on someone for a while, but if you go with him, he’ll leave you ruined. You’re unmarried, of course, and likely to stay that way until the right man waltzes into your life. Your daddy has treated you like a princess, but that has spoiled you, and no man wants a spoiled child for a wife.” Reaching between them on the table, he flipped the second card over to reveal its face: The Sun, again in reverse. "This card represents your present. You’ve been looking for a man to come into your life, to take you away from your daddy’s house and to give you a change of scenery. You love your daddy, but you feel … smothered where you are. You love being pampered, but it’s time to let someone else pamper you.” And now, it was time for the final card. Ah, the Wheel in reverse. The Wheel usually predicted good fortune, but in reverse, well, it wasn’t exactly the best for whoever was having their cards read. “And now, this represents your future. It doesn’t appear as though anyone good will be coming into your life any time soon. Especially not with the way your daddy is so extremely overprotective,” he added, “seeing” these things in the cards. Tarot was part knowing what each card could mean in different positions, and part knowing as much as you could about the customer when they walked in.
