Subject: HUA: the folklore of fate 321 views

[hua]

crest of love | biyomon | joshua rabara
filipino immigrant | returning player

More than a year ago, Joshua was a hardcore Gold-ranking tamer under the name of Emran. He was a relatively known player, one of the couple candidates who might have been a Legendary Tamer. He had been a Gold Tamer for long months so it was only a matter of time before he reached Platinum. But Emran suddenly vanished from the game and his account, Digimon and achievements were purged from the database. Maybe he died or got really sick in real life - a lot of players were hoping for either of them. Emran wasn't the most well-liked player around.

Joshua was facing the darkest time of his life during his time in Digimon Online. He was born as a prodigy but had a bitter, unsatisfactory childhood. Constantly at odds with his absent parents, bullied at school for his reading problems and burdened to stay at home with his sickly little brother, Joshua grew up extremely unhappy with his situation. He attempted to leave his life behind many times to search for opportunities his parents wouldn't give to him. He constantly disobeyed his guardian, ran away from home and even broke a few laws. When his grandparents refused to let him enter a school competition abroad, he attempted to steal money and forged their signature. He had actually gotten away with it but was disqualified from competing when he was later found out.

Joshua was at this phase all throughout his teenage years. It got worse when his parents actually started to spend more time at home. Frustrated by their presence, he turned to Digimon Online to get some satisfaction in his life. While he played obsessively, his situation in real life kept crashing down. One night, in the middle of a heated argument, his father was struck with cardiac arrest and later died in the hospital. For a while, he and his mother were getting along. She revealed that Joshua had an older sister who had been missing for years. Joshua's parents had been looking for her to partly explain their complete absence when he was young. While Joshua and his mother still had an estranged relationship, things were finally looking up until his mother was shot by a stray bullet during New Years in the Philippines. She was reported to be dead on arrival. Joshua and his brother were left under the care of their grandparents back in Japan.

Joshua had done some several horrible things in the game. There were many bad memories but also good ones. He reluctantly made a few friends who Joshua would have wanted to apologize to. He decided he needed to get rid of Emran, requesting MAGAMI to delete his account. One of his greatest regret - probably in his life - was not properly saying goodbye to his partner Digimon.

When things have finally settled down and Joshua had turned over a new leaf, he decided to play the game again. He may not look like it but Joshua really loves gaming and RPG's. He looks the same in real life though he styled his clothes to fit fantasy games. Joshua isn't as strong as he was back then but he still displays immense knowledge of the game. He's not exactly keeping his former identity as Emran as a secret but he's not going around advertising it.

[hua]

friendships
Joshua is a really nice guy. He's doing the "let's be nice to everyone, okay?" turning leaf kind of thing. But people can't change so easily. He finds it pretty hard to socialize so his tendency is is to avoid it. He might come off rude or just plain weird. He really is trying not to offend people. Even against the worst people, he still tries his best to be kind. Though deep inside he might not really like it, he's bound to his turning over a new leaf oath.

Past the stranger stage, it would be more obvious how insecure and self-conscious Joshua is. He's afraid of making mistakes. He's full of doubts, always afraid he's doing something terrible again. I would describe him to be a coward - he won't take risks unless it's only him and him alone who would get hurt. He hates being responsible for another person's troubles. He hates being burdened by guilt. He kind of wants to run away from them. It's a bit of a subconscious thought and doesn't get noticed unless one looks closely because he'll appear to be courageous and caring. But often times, he's doing things for reasons out of fear and his oath to change than morality and ethics.

enemies/rivalries
As mentioned, no person can change so easily...so there's a lot of Emran left in Hua. As much as he hates Emran, being Emran had been what Joshua was. He's extremely competitive and determined to prove himself. He thinks he can do jobs better than anyone. Is it wrong to be like this? No, not really. But coupled with Joshua's doubts, he doesn't know when it's bad. He doesn't realize it. Often times, he just thinks too much about it and butts his head against the wall.

He's a hypocrite and hates people like Emran. In a way, yes, he hates himself very much, lol, which is damn accurate. He doesn't like people who would push others around for their own goals. He doesn't like bullies. He hates people who would do harm to others for their selfish satisfaction. Everything that Emran was, Joshua hates it.

Rivals isn't as bad as that with enemies. When there's a fun, friendly competition, he's go.

romances
I LOVE ROMANCES Joshua likes the benevolent, beautiful type. Not sexy. Elegant! So he'll damn crush on you if you're like some sort of quiet, regal princess. But preferences don't always mean love. Though he's naturally attracted to the opposite sex, he may find love in guys too. In fact, in the canon universe in my head, he confesses to a long-time guy friend he has though they never actually got into a relationship.