Romulus Midnight

> TBA
>
> Romulus

Romulus Midnight is a main character in the fanfiction The 500th Hunger Games: Bread and Circuses, written by Eternalluna. He is the President of Panem and Aurelius Midnight's successor.

## **Appearance**

Romulus is a tall, lean man of light complexion. He has short, spiked black hair with visible white strands; a possible sign of stress caused by the daily pressures he faces as President. Like several of the Midnight family members, he has purple eyes with hints of pink in them. It's said that members of the Midnight family have the ability to naturally look younger than their age and Romulus is no exception to this.

Most of the time, Romulus can be seen wearing suits. To honour his lineage, he will include purple and/or gold articles of clothing in the outfits that he wears; his favourite being a purple tie.

## **Personality**

Romulus is described as being a staunch loyalist and devout believer in The Capitol and Panem's traditions. He grew up watching editions of the Hunger Games with fascination and he admired Victors who he felt embodied the spirit of traditional Panem. He personally believes that as long as the nation of Panem exists, the Hunger Games will always be essential.

Because of his loyalty to traditional Panem, he doesn't tolerate any treason or treachery against The Capitol; vowing to eliminate all that dare to cross that boundary (even if they were family or friends).

It's evident that Romulus is under a lot of stress due to his position as President, as seen by parts of his hair turning white, but he tries to hide it under stoicism. He attempts to put aside his personal feelings and thoughts when doing his job (with the exception of the following weakness and everything to do with Elmyra), but he does have a weakness to this; this weakness being his love for his wife and children, especially Selena. He cares deeply for his children, honouring them with lavish celebrations whenever it's their birthday and turning the annual Games into spectacles whenever his children reached the reaping age bracket.

## **Biography**

### 480ADD

Ten years prior to becoming Aurelius' Presidential successor, Romulus was encouraged to date Theia Roselei, the Capitol female tribute/Victor of the 479th Hunger Games and the daughter of Aurelius' Finance Minister, Plutus Roselei. Plutus was the founder of Plutus Bank, with several branches all throughout Panem. In her teenage years, Theia had been rebellious; her preferred method of rebellion being to bomb the Plutus Bank vaults. Because of this, Plutus had set up for Theia to be reaped into the Hunger Games as punishment; which she ultimately won at the age of 18, by utilising her skill with explosives.

Wanting for Theia to truly mellow out and phase out her rebellious nature, as well as to secure Plutus' position as Finance Minister, Theia was pushed into being a suitress for Romulus. On the other hand, Aurelius pushed for this match because not only did he find Theia to be a suitable candidate for his grandson, but also because he just wanted great-grandchildren. Romulus eventually began to date her.

### 481-488ADD

After a year of dating, Romulus and Theia officially entered into a relationship.

Theia became pregnant with Romulus' children; which turned out to be twin girls. The two became engaged in 482ADD, and Theia gave birth to Flora and Fauna Midnight months later in 483ADD.

In early 485ADD, Theia became pregnant with Romulus' third child, a boy. Nine months later, Cassius Midnight was born.

Romulus and Theia got married in 486ADD, with Theia becoming pregnant for a final time and giving birth to Selena in 488ADD.

### 490ADD

Aurelius Midnight, on his deathbed, selected Romulus and his sister Elmyra as the two candidates to succeed him as President. It's unknown what kind of relationship Romulus had with Aurelius, but it can be implied that it was a strong enough one for Aurelius to acknowledge Romulus as a Presidential candidate.

Romulus was eventually revealed to be Aurelius' succesor, infuriating Elmyra to the point where she left The Capitol. Unknowingly to Romulus at the time (only finding out later on), Elmyra was planning to lead a future coup against him - the seed for rebellion having been planted into Elmyra's head by her friend and confidante, Isabella Fulgencio. Elmyra left behind a letter addressed to Romulus before she left, detailing her true thoughts and feelings; everything she couldn't express when Aurelius was still alive.

Romulus was angered by this letter and decreed Elmyra as an enemy of The Capitol and the state; as well as officially disowning her. Wanting her to be punished severely for what he considered as treason, he sent Peacekeepers to look for her and drag her back to The Capitol. However, the Peacekeepers failed to find her due to the rebels utilising technology to obscure their whereabouts.

### 500ADD

10 years later, the investigation into Elmyra's whereabouts had officially ceased due to financial costs. The Capitol officially declared her as deceased in absentia, but Romulus knew deep down that she was still alive.

Elmyra, now the leader of the rebels and having decided that it was finally time for the rebels to begin the coup, ordered the rebels infiltrating The Capitol to leave calling cards for Romulus and his Peacekeepers to find; showing that the rebels were active and prepared to strike.

500ADD was the year that Selena Midnight, Romulus' youngest child, turned 12; therefore she had reached the reaping age bracket. Romulus had used the annual Games to celebrate all of his children reaching the reaping age bracket, but Selena was the apple of his eye. As her 12th birthday coincided with the 20th Quarter Quell, he wanted to make the upcoming Games the most grandiose Games yet.

However, there was another reason besides Selena's birthday as to why Romulus wanted these Games to be such a spectacle. He wanted to use Elmyra's hatred of the Games and reformist personality to draw her out, as she would inevitably be disgusted by the splendour of it all; provoking her into wanting to do something about it.

## **Relationships**

### Family

* **Aurelius Midnight** † (grandfather) - As mentioned prior, it's unknown what kind of relationship Romulus had with Aurelius, but it can be implied that it was a strong enough one for Aurelius to acknowledge Romulus as a Presidential candidate.
* **Elmyra Midnight** (sister but disowned her in name, rival, enemy) - Romulus and Elmyra have a turbulent and rocky relationship. Elmyra was enraged when Romulus was named as Aurelius' Presidential successor, plotting to lead a future coup against him as she believed he would be a terrible President. Upon learning of her true thoughts and feelings in a letter she had written to him before she left The Capitol, Romulus immediately thought of her as an enemy to The Capitol and the state. He didn't hesitate to disown her in name. He sent Peacekeepers after Elmyra, ordering them to bring her back to The Capitol for punishment, but they lost track of her. Ten years later, he planned the upcoming 20th Quarter Quell to not only serve as a grand celebration for his daughter's 12th birthday but also to draw out Elmyra and her forces (knowing that she wasn't dead).
* **Theia Roselei** (wife) - Romulus and Theia love and care for each other. Despite their match having been a forced one by their families, the two genuinely grew fond of one another; with Romulus finding Theia's relaxed personality comforting and enjoying her humour. He also admired her due to her winning the Hunger Games, becoming one of his admired Victors that he felt embodied traditional Panem; despite Theia not displaying any strong political views (her rebellious nature had mellowed out upon marrying Romulus and having kids with him). Even after Romulus became President, he turned to Theia whenever he needed advice (trusting her more than his own Ministers) and emotional support.
* **Selena Midnight** (daughter) - Romulus adores his daughter, thinking of Selena as the apple of his eye. Although he claims to not play favourites with his children, he has an evident soft spot for Selena. Despite doing the same for all of his children's 12th birthdays and the ulterior motive of using the sheer grandiose nature of the Games to draw out Elmyra, he vowed to make the 20th Quarter Quell the largest and most grandiose yet to celebrate Selena reaching the reaping age bracket.
* **Cassius Midnight** (son) - As his only son, Romulus loves Cassius dearly. Much like with Flora, Fauna and now Selena, Romulus had celebrated Cassius' 12th birthday by using the 497th Hunger Games to mark the occasion.
* **Flora** and **Fauna Midnight** (daughters) - Romulus cares for his twin daughters. Much like with Cassius and now with Selena, Romulus had celebrated their 12th birthday by using the 495th Hunger Games to mark the occasion.

### Acquaintances & Other

* **Isabella Fulgencio** (acquaintance, hates) - Romulus knows of Isabella due to the latter's friendship with his sister. Because of Elmyra's actions, Romulus hates her and all that are associated with her; meaning Isabella as well. He is currently unaware that Isabella was the one who gave Elmyra the idea of a coup against Romulus.

## **Trivia**

* The name Romulus is of Latin origin, meaning "*citizen of Rome*". It comes from the legend of Romulus and Remus; twin brothers and the founders of Rome.