Name: Colonel William J. Barnum
Birthday: June 14th, 1897
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Job: Army Veteran
Positives - Loyal, Hard-Working, Charismatic, Eccentric
Negatives - Impulsive, Stubborn, Slow to Forgive.
Note: Aspects of this backstory tie in with my Damien. If interacting with another version of him, or other characters mentioned, this won't be considered default unless talked about with the other mun.</p>
William Jackson Barnum was some sort of miracle child. There were fifteen years between himself and the second-youngest child, and his mother had been sickly in the years leading up to the pregnancy. The fact that both mother and baby survived was something that surprised the doctors. Thus, William was named after one of his uncles, who had also defied the odds to survive a sickness. But a baby was another mouth to feed, and the house his mother lived in (with his eldest brother and his family) was too full. However, there was another option once William was old enough - his father. Jack Barnum had been a handyman, and had taken up a position as live-in handyman in Doom Manor. It was a simpler job that paid well, enough to help cover medicine and food for his wife and the eldest son's family. The owners of the Manor were more than happy to let the baby stay, especially since the couple had a baby of their own around the same age
So, the young Barnum grew up in the Manor with a unique position. He was seen as part of the Doom family (and Mark's 'brother'), yet he also worked for the family when he was old enough to help his father after school. Usually, this was him getting the right tools, helping find things that fell, and even changing the odd lightbulb. However, he wouldn't change it for the world.
It also meant that he brushed shoulders with people someone like him would never have met normally. The Dooms, with their high connections, had many friends in equally high places. One family in particular stood out, and not because of their influential position due to their connections with the law. It was simply because they had two children near the same age as William and Mark - twins named Damien and Celine. William's lower status meant nothing to the twins, who insisted he was part of their little group. If anything, he was a breath of fresh air from the normal stuffy expectations of life. With William, they could kick back and have some fun - and after all, what was life without a little madness and fun? The four were thick as thieves when together, even if William's impulsiveness landed them in trouble. It was always worth it.
By thirteen, he was doing more jobs around the Manor under his father's watchful eye. As he grew up, these and joining the school wrestling team helped him control the strength he gained from his growth spurt and bulking out (bless those Barnum genes!). At fifteen, he realised Celine was the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, he was too shy to ask her on a date due to fear of rejection and the reality of him being a 'nobody' compared to her being a 'somebody'. By the time he mustered up the courage to not care what the world would think, Mark had beaten him to it. Despite this, he took it in his stride and played the part of a supportive friend.
He never finished high school; as he found he could not keep up academically. Instead, he worked under his father to gain all the skills of a handyman. He held the position until the others finished high-school and he was old enough to join the military in 1913 in search of adventure and purpose. However, it wasn’t until 1915 before he was shipped out to France help the efforts in World War One. There, he met two new friends - Jean and Martin. The trio became a source of morale for the platoon they were in, constantly cracking jokes and telling silly stories.
To sum the war briefly: William was due to leave early twice and refused, instead swapping with a solider due to get married, and a soldier who was the only male left in his family so they could do the better job of protecting their families. His dedication and loyalty shot him up to Colonel by 1917, where he helped guide troops in times of battle. By the end of the war, he had lost both Jean and Martin, and was a changed man. He continued working alongside soldiers in the local barracks on a part-time basis to try and get some sort of normality in his life, but there was a lot of grief and damage he never allowed himself to take the time to recover from. He travelled for a while, unable to bear the idea of being nothing more than a mere civilian and act like nothing had ever happened. When he did eventually return home, he was offered a job in Mark's home. It would be a good opportunity to gain a new routine. Between this and his work in the barracks, he found some sense of grounding.
(The events of being 'sucked into the board game Jumanji' took place in this period. However, he isn't allowed to go into much detail about that.)
By 26, things began spiralling out of control. Mark, the one person who had always been there for him, was now the one person William couldn't stomach being in the same room as. They argued constantly, and he could not tell you what caused their brotherly bond to rapidly disintegrate. Perhaps fuelled by this, he began his affair with Celine. Not only did they have to hide from Mark, but they couldn’t tell Damien due to his insistence on honesty and communication in a relationship. When the affair was made public, Celine skipped town and William spent more time in the barracks. Luckily, Damien played the neutral party and helped him come back to reality, encouraging his friend to be himself again and forget about Celine, even going as far as helping him rent a tiny house at the edge of the city.
This is where any verses with William would normally take place.
In October, 1925, Mark hosted a party to bring the gang back together. However, it was revealed to be an elaborate plot to get revenge on the man who ruined Mark’s marriage, relationship, and life. But due to a chain of events, things went astray, and the Colonel was driven mad with grief, eventually resulting in the deranged, pink-loving reporter we know today.
