Name: Monsieur Antoine “The Ringmaster” Francois. Answers to Remy most of the time.
Age: 103
Birthday: May 24
Gender: The Ringmaster is whatever gender they need to be. Genderfluid, will answer to them/he/she/xe as long as it’s not “it”
Category: Citizen, Ringmaster and Proprietor of the Midnight Circus (description pending)
Appearance Description:
The Ringmaster’s appearance and name often gives into the demands of his audience. If the Circus were in China, the Ringmaster would appear as a Chinese woman. If the Circus were in Nigeria, the Ringmaster would be an African man. Whatever it is, the Ringmaster would appear as conventionally attractive unless his audience wants him to take another form.
His default form, the form he was born in, is a white man that stands at an imposing 6ft flat. There’s no other way to describe the Ringmaster other than “beautiful and androgynous.” The Ringmaster takes good care of his appearance because he believes that there are three things that could grab an audience’s attention: 1) Attractiveness, 2) Height and 3) Charisma. He makes sure to have all three at all times.
As far as getup is concerned, the Ringmaster’s outfit is very classic: A traditional top hat, a coat with tails, underneath is a dress shirt with a vest and buttons and slacks. The palette is grey, dark blue, silver and gold to stay true to the Circus’ ‘Midnight’ theme. Outside of the Circus, the Ringmaster’s fashion sense could be describe as nothing less than “gaudy” – elaborate scarves, noisy metallic bracelets, the occasional dress with ruffles. His fashion sense is a lot like his personality: loud and boisterous, but charming all the same.
Personality Description:
There are three words for him: Huge freaking ham. He turns everything into a show and gets excited by so many things easily. He can get people hyped up about anything. Hey, guys, look look, my daughter is learning the alphabets! There are peas in my soup! What a world! He exudes so much energy that it’s actually kind of tiring/intimidating to be around him all the time. He is a pro at entertaining and multi-tasking, a natural born performer. He would often claim that he lives for the spotlight. This man has charisma in spades.
When push comes to shove, the Ringmaster will always be optimistic. That’s his thing. That’s why he loves his job so much. There are so many people that have lost hope in the world, kicked down, abused, or never really felt like they belonged in the first place – people who live in the fringes of acceptable human society. People like him. He knows what it’s like to be treated like a freak show, so he gives the sad, the bitter, the angry and the downtrodden something to smile about.
The Ringmaster is a nurturing sort. He sees someone down in their luck and his first instinct is to get them a warm drink and a hug. He treats his co-workers as one, big family, investing time and money for their well-being. He goes out of his way to take care of the abused by smuggling them in his caravan and bringing them to a place he knows they’d be safe. He has a heart that's way too big for his body, and while it's hard to care so so much about the people around you, he finds the rewards of his efforts greatly outweigh the costs.
The Ringmaster is not all smiles. His biggest priority is, and will always be, the Circus. He’s ready to pay any amount of gold, service and blood for good attractions, and he will eliminate anyone that threatens to shut down the show. He may be an adoptive father, but he is also a very strict one, valuing competence above all else from his employees. The Ringmaster is determined to keep the family tradition alive no matter the cost.
Powers:
the RINGMASTER
There are several abilities available to Antoine after he took on the mantle of the Ringmaster.
Major Illusions – The Ringmaster’s most powerful spell. Inside the circus, the Ringmaster is able to alter his audience’s senses with powerful illusions. He doesn’t really use this much other than to make things seem grander than they are.
Outside of the circus, this only comes out through basic prestidigitation like card tricks and pulling flowers from his sleeve. Pulling flowers from his sleeve is a favorite.
This ability will get severely watered down once he passes on the title of Ringmaster but he will be able to do it outside the circus.
Shapeshifting – Inside the circus, the Ringmaster is able to take on the shape of any person or animal not bigger than an elephant. Oftentimes, he uses this trick to entertain his guests by turning into a ferocious lion or sneaking around illegal activities going on in the vicinities. Sometimes, he will turn into a gorilla to throw out rowdy guests.
The Ringmaster has a minor form of this outside of the circus. He can alter his clothes, physical appearance and biological sex with a wave of his hand, though he’d rather do this out of people’s sights. This skill is very useful for avoiding tax collectors. This ability will disappear once he passes on the title of Ringmaster.
Immortality/Invulnerability – As long as he’s the Ringmaster, he is immune to attacks and he has enhanced regeneration abilities. He has basically stopped aging physically at 26, which was when he turned into the Ringmaster. He will turn into a perfectly normal human and pick up his aging when he passes the mantle on to his daughter.
Commanding Presence – The Ringmaster has an aura that compels people to look and listen to him. It’s not just his pretty face or charismatic personality. There’s also a little bit of magic involved. This is a passive ability.
The White Rose: Sanctuary – The Ringmaster grows a rose bush of white flowers at the side of his caravan. When the Ringmaster gifts people with these white roses, the subject may use the flower to teleport to the circus no matter what time of the day it is. They simply have to say they want to go to the circus while holding the flower, and the next door they open will direct them to a portal to the Circus’ gates. It’s a shame there won’t be performances during the day, but the Ringmaster will entertain them with tricks anyway.
The number of roses is limited to the ones growing in his rose bush. The roses will only work as long as the person believes in the power of the circus. If they think the circus couldn’t or wouldn’t help, the rose would wilt and die.
The Ringmaster likes giving these roses to people that need a sanctuary or someone to talk to. It’s his way of saying they never have to be alone. This ability will disappear once he passes on the title of Ringmaster.
the PROPRIETOR
Complete Control – The Ringmaster has full control of the Circus. The Ringmaster is able to alter the locations of his buildings, the kind of decorations decorations, restock stall supplies and change the weather of the Circus with a wave of his hand. The Circus is the Ringmaster’s own personal playground and he may alter his stuff any way he wishes.
It’s important to note that this power is used only to maintain and entertain. The Ringmaster can’t use this against his audience. In fact, the audience can’t be affected by any changes, let alone trap them to harvest their screams or whatever. It could be argued that this power is just an extension of his illusions, but the suspicious thing is that the audience could take out any item from the circus and still have it be real outside it. If that item was magic inside, it won’t be outside. This ability will disappear once he passes on the title of Ringmaster.
Perception – Inside the circus, no sort of glamour, invisibility or shapeshifting would get past the Ringmaster. He doesn’t have this ability outside. This ability will disappear once he passes on the title of Ringmaster.
Heritage – Not so much a spell, more of “power” in the form of influence and a massive inheritance. The Ringmaster’s family has been doing this for a long time, and while they prefer to be paid in smiles, they also get a ton of money from people buying food and paying for attraction entrance fees. They don’t need to pay for anything other than the performers because everything’s powered by magic. Needless to say, the Ringmaster has a ton of money.
Biography:
Ever since humans were capable of tribes and entertainment, the Midnight Circus existed. It wasn’t always a Circus. It started out as Greek plays, sometimes dances, and sometimes festivals. Most of the time, it catered to the culture it was entertaining. It thrives because humans are always in need of entertainment.
The origins of the Midnight Circus is a mystery, but it’s always been the same family that ran it. Although the last names varied, the blood was the same. The Ringmasters, as they are currently called, rear one child to take on the mantle to make sure they continue the family tradition. It never died down because making people smile, improving their lives and saving them from bad situations is a noble goal. Children were always interested.
Young Antoine was born to a long line of Ringmasters. The Circus was Young Antoine’s entire life. His father, Oliver Francoise, taught him all his tricks. He taught him to be patient and kind, and to love others even if they don’t love themselves. He also taught him the most important thing of all: How to make people smile.
Eventually, Young Antoine grew into Antoine the adult and he could learn nothing more. The Ringmaster Oliver passed his mantle on to his son because he couldn’t continue living when his beloved wife perished. Antoine became the new Ringmaster and picked up where his dad left off.
Here is the part the new Ringmaster claimed was when his life truly began. The Ringmaster fit into his role seamlessly and began to travel the world doing his family’s thing. It was decidedly harder than he thought.
The first decade was full of growing pains. Sometimes he’d forget to restock. Sometimes his performers would get injured and he had nothing planned. One time, he offended a whole group because he didn’t realize his decorations were expensive. They were pains at the time, but nowadays, he just laughs them off because… really, they helped him grow. They were better than his father’s by the book approach. They taught him what to expect.
The Ringmaster became the man he is through experience. He’s damn well good at his job because he learned, and he really, really loves it. The Ringmaster’s definition of a “resounding success” is when at least one person comes out of the circus happy. He’s performed all over the world, sometimes with crowds so packed you could barely move around, other times to just one person who needs to get away. And that totally happens. The Ringmaster would open all the lights, stock the stalls full of prizes and candy, and go on with the usual nightly performance even if the show is just for one person because he knows that, to that one guy, the experience would be embedded in his memory forever.
In his century of living, he’s put up a lot of performances. Helped a lot of abused people escape. Picked up lots of family along the way. The Ringmaster can’t fully convey how much he loves and cares about all the people he’s met, even if they fell prey to the cruel clutches of time.
His life was changed when an old lover stopped by the Circus five years ago with his rose (slowly wilting) in her hand and a small child in the other. She handed him the child, and it turns out it was his child, and then she left the Circus forever: The first person in decades the Ringmaster has hurt.
The Ringmaster picked up the young girl and decided that he would not be the monster he often saves people from.
He’s been raising her with his Circus family since. One day, his lover returned with a letter for him and said, “You know who this is for. Do what you need to do for her, Antoine.”
The Ringmaster packed up his caravan and traveled the sea to reach Manta Carlos. There, he set up his Circus at a vacant lot and enrolled his daughter and the rest of his adopted children to Starlight Academy.
Age: 103
Birthday: May 24
Gender: The Ringmaster is whatever gender they need to be. Genderfluid, will answer to them/he/she/xe as long as it’s not “it”
Category: Citizen, Ringmaster and Proprietor of the Midnight Circus (description pending)
Appearance Description:
The Ringmaster’s appearance and name often gives into the demands of his audience. If the Circus were in China, the Ringmaster would appear as a Chinese woman. If the Circus were in Nigeria, the Ringmaster would be an African man. Whatever it is, the Ringmaster would appear as conventionally attractive unless his audience wants him to take another form.
His default form, the form he was born in, is a white man that stands at an imposing 6ft flat. There’s no other way to describe the Ringmaster other than “beautiful and androgynous.” The Ringmaster takes good care of his appearance because he believes that there are three things that could grab an audience’s attention: 1) Attractiveness, 2) Height and 3) Charisma. He makes sure to have all three at all times.
As far as getup is concerned, the Ringmaster’s outfit is very classic: A traditional top hat, a coat with tails, underneath is a dress shirt with a vest and buttons and slacks. The palette is grey, dark blue, silver and gold to stay true to the Circus’ ‘Midnight’ theme. Outside of the Circus, the Ringmaster’s fashion sense could be describe as nothing less than “gaudy” – elaborate scarves, noisy metallic bracelets, the occasional dress with ruffles. His fashion sense is a lot like his personality: loud and boisterous, but charming all the same.
Personality Description:
There are three words for him: Huge freaking ham. He turns everything into a show and gets excited by so many things easily. He can get people hyped up about anything. Hey, guys, look look, my daughter is learning the alphabets! There are peas in my soup! What a world! He exudes so much energy that it’s actually kind of tiring/intimidating to be around him all the time. He is a pro at entertaining and multi-tasking, a natural born performer. He would often claim that he lives for the spotlight. This man has charisma in spades.
When push comes to shove, the Ringmaster will always be optimistic. That’s his thing. That’s why he loves his job so much. There are so many people that have lost hope in the world, kicked down, abused, or never really felt like they belonged in the first place – people who live in the fringes of acceptable human society. People like him. He knows what it’s like to be treated like a freak show, so he gives the sad, the bitter, the angry and the downtrodden something to smile about.
The Ringmaster is a nurturing sort. He sees someone down in their luck and his first instinct is to get them a warm drink and a hug. He treats his co-workers as one, big family, investing time and money for their well-being. He goes out of his way to take care of the abused by smuggling them in his caravan and bringing them to a place he knows they’d be safe. He has a heart that's way too big for his body, and while it's hard to care so so much about the people around you, he finds the rewards of his efforts greatly outweigh the costs.
The Ringmaster is not all smiles. His biggest priority is, and will always be, the Circus. He’s ready to pay any amount of gold, service and blood for good attractions, and he will eliminate anyone that threatens to shut down the show. He may be an adoptive father, but he is also a very strict one, valuing competence above all else from his employees. The Ringmaster is determined to keep the family tradition alive no matter the cost.
Powers:
the RINGMASTER
There are several abilities available to Antoine after he took on the mantle of the Ringmaster.
Major Illusions – The Ringmaster’s most powerful spell. Inside the circus, the Ringmaster is able to alter his audience’s senses with powerful illusions. He doesn’t really use this much other than to make things seem grander than they are.
Outside of the circus, this only comes out through basic prestidigitation like card tricks and pulling flowers from his sleeve. Pulling flowers from his sleeve is a favorite.
This ability will get severely watered down once he passes on the title of Ringmaster but he will be able to do it outside the circus.
Shapeshifting – Inside the circus, the Ringmaster is able to take on the shape of any person or animal not bigger than an elephant. Oftentimes, he uses this trick to entertain his guests by turning into a ferocious lion or sneaking around illegal activities going on in the vicinities. Sometimes, he will turn into a gorilla to throw out rowdy guests.
The Ringmaster has a minor form of this outside of the circus. He can alter his clothes, physical appearance and biological sex with a wave of his hand, though he’d rather do this out of people’s sights. This skill is very useful for avoiding tax collectors. This ability will disappear once he passes on the title of Ringmaster.
Immortality/Invulnerability – As long as he’s the Ringmaster, he is immune to attacks and he has enhanced regeneration abilities. He has basically stopped aging physically at 26, which was when he turned into the Ringmaster. He will turn into a perfectly normal human and pick up his aging when he passes the mantle on to his daughter.
Commanding Presence – The Ringmaster has an aura that compels people to look and listen to him. It’s not just his pretty face or charismatic personality. There’s also a little bit of magic involved. This is a passive ability.
The White Rose: Sanctuary – The Ringmaster grows a rose bush of white flowers at the side of his caravan. When the Ringmaster gifts people with these white roses, the subject may use the flower to teleport to the circus no matter what time of the day it is. They simply have to say they want to go to the circus while holding the flower, and the next door they open will direct them to a portal to the Circus’ gates. It’s a shame there won’t be performances during the day, but the Ringmaster will entertain them with tricks anyway.
The number of roses is limited to the ones growing in his rose bush. The roses will only work as long as the person believes in the power of the circus. If they think the circus couldn’t or wouldn’t help, the rose would wilt and die.
The Ringmaster likes giving these roses to people that need a sanctuary or someone to talk to. It’s his way of saying they never have to be alone. This ability will disappear once he passes on the title of Ringmaster.
the PROPRIETOR
Complete Control – The Ringmaster has full control of the Circus. The Ringmaster is able to alter the locations of his buildings, the kind of decorations decorations, restock stall supplies and change the weather of the Circus with a wave of his hand. The Circus is the Ringmaster’s own personal playground and he may alter his stuff any way he wishes.
It’s important to note that this power is used only to maintain and entertain. The Ringmaster can’t use this against his audience. In fact, the audience can’t be affected by any changes, let alone trap them to harvest their screams or whatever. It could be argued that this power is just an extension of his illusions, but the suspicious thing is that the audience could take out any item from the circus and still have it be real outside it. If that item was magic inside, it won’t be outside. This ability will disappear once he passes on the title of Ringmaster.
Perception – Inside the circus, no sort of glamour, invisibility or shapeshifting would get past the Ringmaster. He doesn’t have this ability outside. This ability will disappear once he passes on the title of Ringmaster.
Heritage – Not so much a spell, more of “power” in the form of influence and a massive inheritance. The Ringmaster’s family has been doing this for a long time, and while they prefer to be paid in smiles, they also get a ton of money from people buying food and paying for attraction entrance fees. They don’t need to pay for anything other than the performers because everything’s powered by magic. Needless to say, the Ringmaster has a ton of money.
Biography:
Ever since humans were capable of tribes and entertainment, the Midnight Circus existed. It wasn’t always a Circus. It started out as Greek plays, sometimes dances, and sometimes festivals. Most of the time, it catered to the culture it was entertaining. It thrives because humans are always in need of entertainment.
The origins of the Midnight Circus is a mystery, but it’s always been the same family that ran it. Although the last names varied, the blood was the same. The Ringmasters, as they are currently called, rear one child to take on the mantle to make sure they continue the family tradition. It never died down because making people smile, improving their lives and saving them from bad situations is a noble goal. Children were always interested.
Young Antoine was born to a long line of Ringmasters. The Circus was Young Antoine’s entire life. His father, Oliver Francoise, taught him all his tricks. He taught him to be patient and kind, and to love others even if they don’t love themselves. He also taught him the most important thing of all: How to make people smile.
Eventually, Young Antoine grew into Antoine the adult and he could learn nothing more. The Ringmaster Oliver passed his mantle on to his son because he couldn’t continue living when his beloved wife perished. Antoine became the new Ringmaster and picked up where his dad left off.
Here is the part the new Ringmaster claimed was when his life truly began. The Ringmaster fit into his role seamlessly and began to travel the world doing his family’s thing. It was decidedly harder than he thought.
The first decade was full of growing pains. Sometimes he’d forget to restock. Sometimes his performers would get injured and he had nothing planned. One time, he offended a whole group because he didn’t realize his decorations were expensive. They were pains at the time, but nowadays, he just laughs them off because… really, they helped him grow. They were better than his father’s by the book approach. They taught him what to expect.
The Ringmaster became the man he is through experience. He’s damn well good at his job because he learned, and he really, really loves it. The Ringmaster’s definition of a “resounding success” is when at least one person comes out of the circus happy. He’s performed all over the world, sometimes with crowds so packed you could barely move around, other times to just one person who needs to get away. And that totally happens. The Ringmaster would open all the lights, stock the stalls full of prizes and candy, and go on with the usual nightly performance even if the show is just for one person because he knows that, to that one guy, the experience would be embedded in his memory forever.
In his century of living, he’s put up a lot of performances. Helped a lot of abused people escape. Picked up lots of family along the way. The Ringmaster can’t fully convey how much he loves and cares about all the people he’s met, even if they fell prey to the cruel clutches of time.
His life was changed when an old lover stopped by the Circus five years ago with his rose (slowly wilting) in her hand and a small child in the other. She handed him the child, and it turns out it was his child, and then she left the Circus forever: The first person in decades the Ringmaster has hurt.
The Ringmaster picked up the young girl and decided that he would not be the monster he often saves people from.
He’s been raising her with his Circus family since. One day, his lover returned with a letter for him and said, “You know who this is for. Do what you need to do for her, Antoine.”
The Ringmaster packed up his caravan and traveled the sea to reach Manta Carlos. There, he set up his Circus at a vacant lot and enrolled his daughter and the rest of his adopted children to Starlight Academy.
