Joseph Desaulnier
"Ah, welcome. Could it be that you are another lost soul?"
Desaulniers' Twin Background
France, March 7th, xxxx
Chalon-sur-Saône, Saône-et-Loire
The Desaulniers’ mansion were filled with great joy that day when the cry of twin babies filled the mansion. The first born were named Claude while the younger one was named Joseph. The twins grew really close since birth, even going to the later years where they grew as children. Often, Claude was seen taking care of Joseph when their parents aren’t around—given that their father works as the country’s best lawyer ever and he didn’t really stay much at home. However, the joy didn’t last long as later, when both twin reached the age of 9, Claude started to contract a chronic asthma attack.
Claude and Joseph then got separated since Claude needed to have a different kind of treatment and plus it was time for new academic year to start. Fortunately for him, there has been news spread of a doctor whose skills might be able to save him from the illness, although in exchange for his ailment was the distance he has to be in, away and apart from Joseph. The two then got separated with Claude living in neighboring city, not too close yet not too far from where Joseph lives. Sometimes they would exchange letters or Joseph coming to visit him. It didn’t take very long for Claude to finally be rid of his illness and he could re-focus on both his study and experiment projects there. This also caused him to stay there a while longer and he wouldn’t deny the fact that he has gotten too absorbed in his project.
The separation from Claude didn’t end well with Joseph. His days becoming lonely, despite the letters coming from him. Soon, he could be seen trying to distract himself by doing paintings or studying, and later photography. Joseph is a person who admires beauty and the living, yet, driven by his loneliness and regret, he gradually stopped painting. Instead of moving his hand painting, Joseph was beginning to develop obsession over photography, even learning about parapsychology. On the other hand, Claude who had been studying over in another city and has been doing research with Joseph, set out to seek sponsor to fund their experiments. No one was interested in his proposal then, and definitely, he needed to tell his brother about this.
Upon reaching home, Claude was surprised to see his brother’s new obsession. At first, he didn’t really find anything suspicious, Joseph looked just as normal and cheerful self. That was until he told Claude of his new invention and asked him to be his volunteer. In short, Claude was being Joseph's experiment on parapsychology camera. When Joseph demonstrated taking pictures of the scenery and plants, Claude was excited because it captured the image perfectly, even the light and shadow fell on the right places. However, when Joseph demonstrated taking pictures of other, visibly moving, living being and they disappeared from their sight, Claude was shocked. He knew right away that this invention is downright dangerous. Claude felt regret beginning to well up in his core, for having abandoned his brother that now led him to his doom.
Not stopping there, Claude tried to persuade Joseph to stop what he was doing. It was to no avail as Joseph has already been too absorbed with the Obscura, to the point that he didn’t want Claude to destroy the invention at all. The two end up going into a debate which eventually led Joseph into trapping him inside the Camera World. Claude tried to escape the Camera World numerous of times, but none of his survival attempts worked..
A few years later, the situation got heated and dangerous for the people living in France and most of them decided to fled outside the country. Joseph were also one of the many who escaped and years later, his appearance started to change and this affects not just him but also Claude who has been living too long in the Camera World. Their skin becoming a pale ashen color like that of a dead person, their eyes becoming hollow and there were cracks; it was almost as if their soul has been exchanged with something else during the years of missing.
About Joseph Desaulnier
Despite the things that had happened in their early childhood, Joseph is known to be a friendly person, just like Claude. He enjoys socializing and meeting people, almost as much as he enjoys painting and photography. Lonely and angry driven, as well as the continuous doubts and false rumor he heard about his brother abandoning him, later leads to his obsession to photography becoming a bit too much that he started researching on parapsychology.
Back when he had just first invented the Obscura, added with parapsychology mechanism, Joseph had been telling his friends about it; a photograph that could completely capture the soul. Nobody believed him then, saying that it was impossible and he was just being delusional after staying separately from Claude yet again. At first, these sayings were dismissed by Joseph, until the mention of his brother’s name was involved. Through mischief and tricks, he lured his targets into coming to his mansion. He treated them well and often manages to press his shutter before them. This was where the terror began. The people, the friends, acquaintances that insulted his invention and or him and Claude, were invited to the manor. Yet none of them ever returned.
This happened a few times and gradually, the obsession’s whispers were getting stronger on him. Joseph could no longer feel the remorse or guilt for taking these lives away and as a result of learning a skill with a terribly high risk, the moment he stood before the Obscura, his feature gradually changed into a ashen pale skin like that of the dead. His eyes which were ones a beautiful sky blue color, turned dark and hollow, and not stopping there, there were cracks on his face. It was almost as if his soul had been taken or exchanged somewhere that the one that now embodied his self was of another soul. Surely this appearance terrorize the victims too much, yet at the same time, they could never make their escape from him.
With several more lives being taken, the power was finally in a more controlled state. Joseph will only change his appearance if he got triggered by his impulsive obsession, being doubted, not being trusted, or extreme loneliness. The slightest of these wouldn’t necessarily make a change in him, thus his normal appearance prevails.
Several days later, after the experiment was done, Claude returned to the mansion. He initially returned to apologize that he couldn’t find a sponsor to fund their experiments. Knowing that his brother was returning made Joseph to feel more than elated. By this point in life, his conscience of right and wrong, and true or false, had slightly shifted. Everything seems to be in a gray area for a few moments, for his own hopes and desires had died. The obsession was corrupting him more and more that Joseph then tricked Claude by saying that he had just invented a different kind of Obscura and asked Claude to be his photography model. The action later leads Joseph to push Claude into the Camera World and pressed the shutter off. He let this to sit still for several seconds before pressing the shutter back on again and asked, wondering if his invention was something that Claude would be proud of.
However, in the later, it turned out that Claude was persuading him to not continue his experiment—and in general, his actions of taking people’s lives to the Camera World. Claude has been inclined to stop Joseph, and Joseph’s fear of abandonment was also taking place. The two would later engage into a debate which made Joseph to once again, push Claude suddenly into the Camera World and not pressing the shutter anytime soon.
“This way, you and I won’t be separated again.”
There are times when Joseph would turn the shutter on, appearing in different places and making sure that his brother is still inside the Camera World and not going anywhere. When they could finally compromise and Claude agreed to help him, is when Joseph began to visit him as a routine (the timeline here is when Joseph had joined as both a living residence and a Hunter in Oletus Manor).
Identification
Name: Joseph Desaulnier
Age: 25 y.o
Birthday: 7th March
Bloodtype: A
Height: 176 cm
Weight: 64 kg
Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Clear Blue
Family: Claude Desaulnier
Character Type: Canon
Sexual Orientation: Aromantic bisexual
Abilities:
PaintingPhotographyFencingController of Time and Space (Camera World)
Notes and Headcanons:
1. Joseph loves painting and art in general that he has a secret studio in his room (Desaulnier’s Mansion) where he keeps all of his paintings. Apparently, the same goes when he starts indulging in the art of photography, eventually becoming obsessed with it. Since the studio hides many pictures of victims, the entrance to his studio has become secluded and only Joseph knew of this secret entrance.
2. His painting has evolved from plants and scenery to living beings, such as animals and humans, before his style began to change along with him being corrupted by his obsession.
3. Claude's home made tea is his favourite, especially when Claude made him either peppermint or chamomile tea.
4. When he isn't chasing Survivors, his skin and appearance reverts back to his usual healthy self prior the corruption. He can be found interacting with other Hunters, although the comparison would be 60:40 for him staying inside his room and spending his time with Claude in the Camera World.
5. Joseph is someone who is fond of art and generally beautiful things. This isn't saying that ugliness irks him, he just doesn't like it and prefers to walk away and pretend that that never exists.
6. Joseph is left handed.
7. Being an aromantic bisexual, it will take some time for Joseph to be able to accept the presence of another individual in his life. He does have certain standards which one of it requires beauty and aesthetics. If not, it wouldn't be any easier to take his attention.
8. Joseph and Claude lived in French Revolution era.
9. The Desaulniers twin both invented the Obscura, but Joseph had worked their invention with added parapsychology while Claude was away.