Roleplay blog for a modern take on Joseph Desaulniers

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“Not open to the public? That’s a shame,” the specter remarked, a hand rising up to hold his chin as he thought. “You should consider making them public! I’ll bet a lot of people will get a good laugh out of two houses making fools out of themselves!”

He paused as Joseph crouched. Nodding simply, the ghost glanced around one more time and said, “Of course. Better to discuss old cases in private.”

Unlike the judge’s take-off, the Snatcher’s ascent was nowhere near as audible. No dirt was displaced, nor any gust produced. It was as simple as just… rising up into the air.

Technically speaking, he could feel the wind if he wanted to- but for the most part, the wind never really had any effect on his being. Flying was more like… not exactly swimming, a bit more like floating in space- except he could control which direction he went in. It was a little bit of both, honestly. Gravity had no effect on his being, but when he flew about, his being seemed to move and flow like he was underwater.

Although he could let himself drift down to the ground whenever he wanted, so perhaps gravity still played a role…

His contemplation over the physics of his flying were set aside the moment he caught sight of the judge’s home. In an instant, a large smile stretched across the ghost’s face.

Old, dark, eerie… Ohoh, it was no haunted forest, but talk about style!

It took him a second to register the judge had called for him, due to how elated he was to see such a macabre estate.

A few seconds later, he set down behind Joseph. The ghost grinned widely and clasped his hands together, pure glee glowing in his luminous features. “Sorry, I couldn’t help but notice how delightfully dark your residence is,” the Snatcher complimented, gesturing to the place as he gave it another look. “The architecture is simply exquisite. Perfect for someone like me!”

Chuckling slightly, he glanced back at the judge. “I can’t wait to see the inside! Speaking of, shall we?” The ghost gestured to the door.

Ah, so the specter had been keeping up. And he admired the outside of the house. Joseph grinned as he stepped up to the door, and opened it. Then he motioned for the Snatcher to go first.

The inside of the building was made of the same dark materials, but lined differently. The ceiling was vaulted, with gold-painted gothic mouldings and arched doorways to the other rooms. To the left of the entrance were an oak end table and two dark red, cushioned chairs. In the center was a dark red rug with black and gold accents. There were wall sconces just above eye level, but they were empty.

Joseph stepped in once Snatcher had entered, the door swinging shut behind him. He flipped a switch beside them, and some chandeliers above lit up. The joys of having the house renovated with electricity. “I hope you like it,” he began, with just a hint of smug confidence. “I had it built years ago. Perfect to use for an old soul like me.”

He then led Snatcher through a hallway that was lined with drapes on one side to cover all the arched windows. It too had empty wall sconces made useless by electric chandeliers.

And then to a much smaller room that was lit not by chandeliers, but by lights built into some bat-like carvings in the walls. They were well hidden, lighting the room just barely enough for mortals to see. It gave a hazy feel that Joseph quite liked.

This room, unlike the previous one, had a large desk on one side and a few filing cabinets. In the center was a round table perhaps a meter in diameter.

Joseph passed by it to open a desk drawer, and then paused to open another. No blank paper. Odd. He’d need to consult his staff later about where it went. He tapped his nails.

Then he walked over to a door that had been on their right when they entered. But instead of walking through it, he simply spoke into a small, easily-missed pipe beside it. “Which of you is available at the moment?”

He waited for a moment, clasping his hands behind his back, until their came an out-of-breath, “Me, sir!” from the pipe.

Without missing a beat, “Bring a stack of blank paper to north office on the first floor. And a bottle of ink if it’s convenient.” Joseph unclasped his hands, then paused. “Oh, and if you can, let some of the others know.” He placed a finger on the corner of his mouth. “I will need to ‘tend to’ one of you tonight.”

With that, Joseph straightened up, and turned toward his guest. Far more friendly, “They shouldn’t be long.”

The second he stepped inside the house and was greeted by the deliciously-dark décor, the Snatcher's glowing grin grew to his figurative ears. Without realizing it, he clasped his hands together, eyes practically gleaming with glee!

"Oh, you have some exquisite taste!" he complimented, fanged smile growing as he glanced at the judge. "You don't see a good interior that utilizes gothic elements in such a superb manner, anymore!"

The gleeful grin only grew more when they entered what appeared to be a hazy study.

Oh, he liked this man's use of bats.

"I must say, I'm quite impressed!" he said with a low whistle. "The haziness and bats make me feel almost at home!"

Out of the corner of his vision, he noticed Joseph opening drawers. The ghost's grin shifted back to a normal size as he watched the man head over to some odd pipe on the wall and speak through it- and then stared with a nonexistent brow raised as a voice answered back.

What a curious little device...

And then something Joseph said caught his attention. "Tend to" one of the staff?

Ah, he liked this guy. He doesn't take any nonsense from his staff, just like how the ghost didn't take any nonsense from his contractors!

He briefly set aside his curiosity to respond to the judge, stretching his arms over his head as he searched for somewhere to sit. "Excellent! Excellent," he replied, tugging on the collar of his coat. "Should I wait a bit longer to change into a more comfortable form, or may I go ahead and let the disguise go?"

She knew the second he made eye contact that he saw her mask's eyes change color. It was impossible to miss when face-to-face.

Just like how she hadn't missed the hint of warning he was giving her.

Without missing a beat, she flicked a fan open and slowly waved it towards her masked face. "Eyes that change color? Why, you must mean my mask," she mused, "They have a tendency to do that. Not at all uncommon, where I am from. I suppose it must look a tad bit odd here, though."

Tilting her head slightly, she covered the lips of her mask with the fan. "Although, humans with cat or snake eyes is certainly news, to me," she admitted, eyes changing to a light green. "Then again, stranger things have happened.

Watching him straighten up, the knight lowered the fan again, her eyes switching back to their normal sky blue. "Unfortunately, I don't know what city she is in," she revealed, turning her head to the left to think. "All that I know is that she was supposed to attend some kind of fair."

... Well, he might not be able to help with directions, but perhaps he had seen the girl...

Turning her head back to the count, she flicked her folding fan closed. "You wouldn't have happened to have seen her wandering about, have you?" she inquired, head no longer tilted. "She's about sixteen, a few inches shorter than I, white hair, purple eyes, an exceptional interest in all things paranormal and magical?"

He chuckled to himself. If it was her mask that changed color, well, he wasn't going to ask for clarification today. "Then you and your people must have quite the interesting facial wear.

"As for eyes like these," D.M. pointed to his own, "they aren't so uncommon for humans to have. Every now and again, you'll meet people with strange eyes." Of course, such "humans" were probably also changelings, but he wasn't about to mention such. It gave him the chance to blend in, after all.

And then he stopped to think. A sixteen year old with white hair was unusual, but D.M. had seen a small handful of people that could fit such a description. But purple eyes?

That certainly triggered a memory. A girl who'd attended a fair he held, and had tried to help him with a personal matter.

His smile faded, and he blinked. "Would you happen to be looking for a young girl named Alaina?"

"Only some of us. Mostly for... protection."

Her interest piqued upon hearing how often humans with strange eyes popped up. "Well, I suppose that makes me feel a bit more at home," she chuckled, "My home is a place where all sorts of features can be found on anyone."

This was definitely another version of Earth, without a doubt; her own universe didn't have humans with strange eyes being reported as common on Earth-

In an instant, all thoughts ceased as she heard the man speak Alaina's name.

He knows Alaina, she thought to herself, eyes flashing a light green, again. She has definitely been here.

In an instant, the folding fan was tucked away into a sleeve, vanishing from sight. "Yes, yes I am," she replied, her attention now fully on the count. "Do you know her- or where she is, at least?"

A gloved hand flew up to her forehead. "Stars, I hope she hasn't gotten herself into some paranormal trouble, again," she muttered under her breath, her eyes shifting to peach. "She's certainly a magnet for it..."

Normalize going into people’s ask boxes and ask them random ass questions.

Tumblr used to be so much fun with all the asks (anonymous or otherwise), and we need to bring those back, especially now that we finally have a half-decent blocking feature in place.

Ask people things! Message them! Don’t let tumblr inbox die! It’s one of the features that made tumblr tumblr.

omg if you feel like it you can always ask me random questions. i will answer all, this is literally the most fun thing ever (and i’m nice i promise)

For quite a bit, the specter chortled in a barely-suppressed guffaw, holding his figurative stomach. Tears started to form in his eyes the more he laughed, and it took him a second to calm himself down enough to speak.

“Years?” he gasped, his amusement only growing by the second, “Heavens, I can only imagine how annoying that must be for all of you- though it sounds like it would’ve been an entertaining trial for the public to watch!”

Not to mention the fact that a feud lasting years meant a potential for more petty cases! Oh, that’d be fun to hear about!

Wiping a tear from his eye, the Snatcher sighed. “There must be a lot of cases like that you must have dealt with,” he remarked, his laughter finally calming down. “I must admit, my curiosity is piqued about those other cases. I might inquire about them, later!”

Seeing the judge’s wings stretch out made the shadowy ghost pause for a second, arching a nonexistent brow. Joseph’s question made the specter’s expression relax, however, and he quickly went back to smiling a fanged grin. “I can, in fact, fly,” he confirmed for the winged man, “and I don’t need to change forms to do so, either.”

A bit of sheepishness entered his glowing visage as he cleared his throat. “Changing forms outside would make it more difficult for me to not be seen while flying, anyway,” he added with a chuckle.

“Yes, unfortunately, not a lot of my trials are open to the public,” he added to himself. Maybe he should start making the trials for those two houses public. It would show them how much of a laughing stock they are.

He stretched his wings further. “Oh, plenty of cases. We can talk about them in a moment, of course.” Joseph crouched down.

And then he took off. Dirt kicked up from the stroke of his wings.

Joseph soared through the air. Wind rushed passed his ears and rippled through his hair. It fluttered his coat tails back and forth. 

And oh, did flying feel so freeing. So much of the day he was on the ground walking or sitting or laying in bed. And many days he just couldn’t risk flying back to his house. It felt so good to soar through the air again. To indulge the part of his nature that wanted to see the world rushing past below from the air, like a bat.

And then, he was back by his house. Black stone, clearly built several hundred years ago. Imposing. It even had a few gargoyles around the top.

Joseph slowed and lighted down in front of the door. He shook his wings off, and then glanced back. “Sir Snatcher?” The ghostly person had followed, right? Were they keeping up?

"Not open to the public? That's a shame," the specter remarked, a hand rising up to hold his chin as he thought. "You should consider making them public! I'll bet a lot of people will get a good laugh out of two houses making fools out of themselves!"

He paused as Joseph crouched. Nodding simply, the ghost glanced around one more time and said, "Of course. Better to discuss old cases in private."

Unlike the judge's take-off, the Snatcher's ascent was nowhere near as audible. No dirt was displaced, nor any gust produced. It was as simple as just... rising up into the air.

Technically speaking, he could feel the wind if he wanted to- but for the most part, the wind never really had any effect on his being. Flying was more like... not exactly swimming, a bit more like floating in space- except he could control which direction he went in. It was a little bit of both, honestly. Gravity had no effect on his being, but when he flew about, his being seemed to move and flow like he was underwater.

Although he could let himself drift down to the ground whenever he wanted, so perhaps gravity still played a role...

His contemplation over the physics of his flying were set aside the moment he caught sight of the judge's home. In an instant, a large smile stretched across the ghost's face.

Old, dark, eerie... Ohoh, it was no haunted forest, but talk about style!

It took him a second to register the judge had called for him, due to how elated he was to see such a macabre estate.

A few seconds later, he set down behind Joseph. The ghost grinned widely and clasped his hands together, pure glee glowing in his luminous features. "Sorry, I couldn't help but notice how delightfully dark your residence is," the Snatcher complimented, gesturing to the place as he gave it another look. "The architecture is simply exquisite. Perfect for someone like me!"

Chuckling slightly, he glanced back at the judge. "I can't wait to see the inside! Speaking of, shall we?" The ghost gestured to the door.

Ah, that was right. She had almost forgotten that Nihon was only a small part of Earth. The culture was so pervasive back home- among others- that she had forgotten it wasn't as common on this planet.

She wasn't bothered much by recalling this, however. Instead, she was more focused on the man before her, taking note of the mismatch between his smile and his eyes, his cane, tone of voice, and his demeanor.

She wasn't like El Lobo when it came to figuring people out, but she had enough experience to know the man before her was confident, charming, most likely from wealth... and a bit bold. Perhaps conceited, even, if just a tad. His smile was one that had been practiced, rather than fully-genuine; the lack of expression in his eyes against the pleasant smile made it blatant that he was from wealth.

The second the man finished speaking, the knight tilted her head ever so slightly, her held fan resting briefly up against her forearm. Pink once again flashed in her pupils. "Well, Count Mélodis," she lightly remarked, tone refined- yet humored by his response, "English may not be my first language, but I assure you that I am quick to pick up on pronunciations."

A brief pause followed as she glanced around, eyes shifting back to normal. Once more, her fan rose up to rest against her chin, a faint tapping heard as the woman let out a thoughtful hum. "Well, you are close," she mused, her tone shifting slightly to a more thoughtful one. "I am actually here to pick up a friend, as it were. Knowing her, she's probably taking the opportunity to explore and delve into any book she finds about cultures from here."

His eyes darted to her own. Eyes that changed color. That was certainly unique, far more than animal-like eyes. How curious.

D.M. couldn't help but chuckle. "My lady, you certainly have unique eyes, don't you? I've heard of humans born with cat or snake eyes," he winked, "but eyes that change color? Why, I'm not sure there's another human alive with eyes like yours."

With a bit of knowing warning, "One might think they were magic to change like that."

And then he tossed the thought away. D.M.'s smile faded as he straightened up. "Pick up a friend. If you know what city they're in, I could probably give you directions." And earn a favor, perhaps. If nothing else, it would make a good impression on this stranger.

A good first impression made a person so much more willing to cooperate in the future. Especially for such a lovely looking lady.

She knew the second he made eye contact that he saw her mask's eyes change color. It was impossible to miss when face-to-face.

Just like how she hadn't missed the hint of warning he was giving her.

Without missing a beat, she flicked a fan open and slowly waved it towards her masked face. "Eyes that change color? Why, you must mean my mask," she mused, "They have a tendency to do that. Not at all uncommon, where I am from. I suppose it must look a tad bit odd here, though."

Tilting her head slightly, she covered the lips of her mask with the fan. "Although, humans with cat or snake eyes is certainly news, to me," she admitted, eyes changing to a light green. "Then again, stranger things have happened.

Watching him straighten up, the knight lowered the fan again, her eyes switching back to their normal sky blue. "Unfortunately, I don't know what city she is in," she revealed, turning her head to the left to think. "All that I know is that she was supposed to attend some kind of fair."

... Well, he might not be able to help with directions, but perhaps he had seen the girl...

Turning her head back to the count, she flicked her folding fan closed. "You wouldn't have happened to have seen her wandering about, have you?" she inquired, head no longer tilted. "She's about sixteen, a few inches shorter than I, white hair, purple eyes, an exceptional interest in all things paranormal and magical?"

@divine-knight | prev

He smiled just a touch more. Though it didn't reach his eyes. "Perhaps in Japan and America, they're common. But not so often here in England." Not outside of those who were of Asian descent, or theatre as the lady had pointed out.

D.M. would have grinned at her confirming she was visiting if she hadn't been looking. She was a visitor.

He considered what order he should talk for just a moment as he rested his hands on his cane. Then he decided that she'd probably respond better if he introduced himself before asking anymore questions. "You can call me Count Mélodis, miss." With a little added smugness, "Or D.M., if you don't feel confident in your pronunciation."

The smug hint then dropped from his tone. "What kind of business is this visit of yours? Vacation, perhaps seeing a friend?"

Ah, that was right. She had almost forgotten that Nihon was only a small part of Earth. The culture was so pervasive back home- among others- that she had forgotten it wasn't as common on this planet.

She wasn't bothered much by recalling this, however. Instead, she was more focused on the man before her, taking note of the mismatch between his smile and his eyes, his cane, tone of voice, and his demeanor.

She wasn't like El Lobo when it came to figuring people out, but she had enough experience to know the man before her was confident, charming, most likely from wealth... and a bit bold. Perhaps conceited, even, if just a tad. His smile was one that had been practiced, rather than fully-genuine; the lack of expression in his eyes against the pleasant smile made it blatant that he was from wealth.

The second the man finished speaking, the knight tilted her head ever so slightly, her held fan resting briefly up against her forearm. Pink once again flashed in her pupils. "Well, Count Mélodis," she lightly remarked, tone refined- yet humored by his response, "English may not be my first language, but I assure you that I am quick to pick up on pronunciations."

A brief pause followed as she glanced around, eyes shifting back to normal. Once more, her fan rose up to rest against her chin, a faint tapping heard as the woman let out a thoughtful hum. "Well, you are close," she mused, her tone shifting slightly to a more thoughtful one. "I am actually here to pick up a friend, as it were. Knowing her, she's probably taking the opportunity to explore and delve into any book she finds about cultures from here."

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D.M. FROM IDENTITY V AND HE'S DEFINITELY NOT A CHANGELING

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