Distraction and misdirection.
My original mentor loved magic and I myself love the theatrical. Combining the two I came up with a jester gimmick.
It was meant to make my adversaries underestimate me and distract their attention. As long as either was accomplished, I would always have the advantage.
Besides a jester throwing gag bombs just comes across like a loony.
A regular person throwing gag bombs comes across like a terrorist requiring lethal force to put down.
Guess which option is more appealing?
Joseph doesn't ever plan to leave VILE.
When the time comes, he'll be happy to hand over his position to the next generation and transition into a management position overseeing one of VILE's other ventures.
Perhaps by then we might have opened up a nice school in Italy requiring a headmaster...
Joseph was taught by his mentor early on not to place too much emphasis on trinkets and objects because they could be easily lost or damaged.
What Joseph was taught to treasure, and still counts as his most precious possession, are the real friendships he's forged with those he cares about.
Currently that extends to Carmen, Carmine, several VILE members and Anne Gene.
Comfortable ones.
In all seriousness, it depends on the context and situation.
If he's in his lab - safety boots
If he's hanging around the theatre or off duty - sneakers or loafers
If he's on a mission - depends on type of mission. He has a new pair of military grade boots for the more dangerous missions and a couple pairs of nice Italian Leather shoes for if he needs to grift.
Most of the time, his footwear is chosem for comfort and function rather than style.
(The avatar on site? Not likely)
(The character? Read on...)
The mask used to be an integral part of the jester costume. However, given his new role, Joseph hasn't donned that particular suit in awhile.
The old suit is unlikely to make a return after the events of ultramarine. Joe has been developing new suits for himself and all of VILE
He might still don the mask when the game should resume, but with a different outfit. However, for more serious missions, he may opt to use a smaller more durable version.
What's your opinion on characters like Dr. Roux and Flag being a part of VILE? Do you think their ways of solving problems are in conflict with the group's beliefs (Roux doesn't kill but he's shady and Flag sometimes murders outright)?
What's your opinion on characters like Dr. Roux and Flag being a part of VILE? Do you think their ways of solving problems are in conflict with the group's beliefs (Roux doesn't kill but he's shady and Flag sometimes murders outright)?
- Joseph knows Flag is loyal to Carmen for some reason, and that Carmen trusts him in return.
- Joseph doesn't fully trust Flag but he trusts Carmen's judgment on the matter.
- Joseph knows Flag has powers and may not be fully human. He does not know of his full origins though.
- Joseph has had problems with Flag before, precisely due to their different ideals. (For reference, refer to the events in 'dungeons and dragons'); The last consensus reached was to agree to disagree.
- Joseph would not consider Flag a close friend by any means, but he does consider him part of VILE's family (albeit a sometimes estranged one).
- Joseph may not always agree with Flag's methods, but he has great respect for the Sivoan. It helps that Joseph recognizes (or at least is of the opinion) that one thing they both have in common is that they are driven to protect those they care for.
- Joseph feels Flag is, in a single word, reliable.
Joseph feels that Flag can be relied on to:
i) be loyal to Carmen
ii) by extension, be somewhat loyal to VILE
iii) not kill any VILE (although Joseph won't put it past him to maim and hurt those who piss him off)
iv) not actually keep VILE's code of conduct
v) very likely deal grievous hurt to/kill ACME agents if provoked. This goes quadruple for foes that actually try to kill VILE agents.
vi) always be brutally honest
vii) have good instincts about people and situations
viii) protect those he (Flag) cares about by any means
on Roux:
- Joseph is unaware of the full story of Roux's shady past; but he does know that there is more than meets the eye with Acton.
- Joseph is unaware of Acton's shadier experiments (both former and current), but he tends to give the good doctor the benefit of a doubt.
- Joseph does have an easy friendship with Roux due to their shared background in Science and their agreement on keeping things non-lethal.
- Joseph trusts that Acton's own medical background (and the oaths taken therein) and Acton's own moral code, keep him from killing anyone.
- Joseph however won't be surprised if Acton tries to bend several of VILE's rules.
- Joseph is also well aware that Acton is far more shrewd and intelligent that people give him credit for.
- For now, Joseph has had no reason to be suspicious of Acton and is content to have him as an ally.
Joseph is aware that Carmen previously had some misgivings regarding the doc (and may still have some misgivings, in his humble opinion). Therefore, while Joseph will work with Acton and give him a modicum of trust, he always keeps one eye opened where Roux is concerned.
He knows Roux means well, but you know what they say about good intentions...
((So... my Facebook got password hacked, and the recovery options aren't working. And, over the last two days, haven't slept more than half an hour total, despite my trazodone. Had like 6 beers tonight, have a couple left, will take a full pill tonight, and hope to sleep. And, finished the application for the new place, probably will have to help the folks tomorrow.))
Did you know.....The original candy canes were straight sugar sticks that were often used to decorate Christmas trees. The first historical reference to the cane shape was in 1670, when the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral in Germany bent the sugar sticks into the shape of a shepherd's staff. Candy canes remained white until the early 20th century when red stripes and peppermint flavor became popular.
((So... the folks called me upstairs to help figure out how to get their SSI paperwork to the new landlord... we were discussing it, when the landlord emailed that all three of us are denied... mostly the main thing was "poor rental history; insufficient income (they're on SSI); no credit file; if no judgment was rendered on them after they appealed the initial eviction notice, then they gave their 30 days notice, can they rescind that (this is Minnesota, ya shure, ya betcha) and stay?
Michelangelo wrote a poem about how much he hated painting the Sistine Chapel...One translation of the poem he sent to his friend begins: I’ve already grown a goiter from this torture, hunched up here like a cat in Lombardy(or anywhere else where the stagnant water’s poison).
Something just dawned on me. You know how we went from two digit years to four digit years because of the Y2K bug? In like 9K years we'll have to go to 5 digit years to combat the problem again
Jon Eckart:
FRIENDS 
maybe one of the curators could dress up like him
