Journal: fastest Series: Chrono Crusade Pulled From: Chapter 44 Arrived: July 28, 2009 Loss: Joshua's loss changed after he was beaten in Riful's assault against the castle. Now he's lost the ability to...lose his horns, basically. Even in a situation where he can't use his powers (like a world-change), the horns and powers will be sealed, but he'll still have the same personality and thoughts, just more subdued without any fits.
However, since in his eyes this benefits him, the castle will randomly mediate whenever Joshua's in a situation where he might hurt or kill someone. Joshua's moral compass is forced, bringing about feelings reminiscent of guilt and confusion. This will not always happen, so that's a decision I'll leave up to the other player.
TL;DR - Joshua will keep his horns but randomly have attacks of conscience. GROSS.
Alias: Apostle of Hope Age: 15 17 in-game Height: 5'11" (180 cm) Weight: 155 lbs (70 kg) Born: March 11 (munfudged), 1909 Castle Room: Room 513 Neighbor: Hermione Granger & Faith Lehane Across From: Miria Attire: He's gotten used to wearing suits with a plain trench coat due to Aion and Fiore's nitpicking. Weapons: Rosette's modified pistol and the powers gained from Chrono's horns. He acquired Aion's sword one Christmas, but he keeps it hidden in his Castle closet. The sword he does use is one Deathwing made him; forged of silver, able to cut through anything, and usable only by him.
HEALING → Joshua can heal almost anyone's injury or illness, but the gift comes at a price. He can't use it on himself, and it weakens him. Before he got the horns, he was bedridden a good chunk of the time because of the power. Talk about irony.
FLIGHT → He can sprout angelic looking wings and fly, though this is also an ability that can weaken him if used for too long. Joshua actually glows a bit when these appear. The wings also appear temporarily when he heals anyone.
SHIELD → It looks like he can throw up some sort of force-field shield to temporarily block attacks. He uses it a couple times in the manga, even without his horns, so it must be an Apostle thing.
» DEMON
TIME → His most powerful strength drawn from the horns is the ability to stop time itself. When he first received them, he was unable to control the power and ended up freezing the orphanage and everyone in it in time. It's said in canon that using this ability makes him stronger, but he also loses a little more control of it each time he uses it. Whenever a person or animal is frozen, they resemble a stone statue, though anything else appears normal - simply 'stopped'. It's unclear in canon if he can unfreeze things, or if Aion is the only one with that ability, but with what little we're shown I think it's safe to assume he can reverse the process. The only way to not be affected by this power is to live outside of time.
SPEED → In the manga, he's shown to move faster than the human eye can follow. It actually looks like he teleports short distances (think 'flashsteps'). This is one of his greatest assets in battle, but he can't use it for an extended period of time. Like all of his demonic abilities, his horns appear whenever he uses this power.
STRENGTH → Even with his speed, Joshua wouldn't be able to do as much damage as he does without increased strength, often using his bare hands as weapons. In one part of the manga, he's shown to destroy hundreds of demons in the time it takes to brew a cup of coffee.
ENERGY → Another power that all demons seem to have is the ability to shoot energy blasts. It's shown to be able to destroy large buildings, but it's unclear just how large these blasts can get. He doesn't use them much because they are tiring and often unnecessary.
NOISE → More of a weakness than a strength, Joshua gained the ability to read people's minds when he got the horns. It's unclear why. Perhaps because of Pandemonium and his frail human psyche, this drove him instantly insane. He's been unhinged ever since, simply calling it all 'noise'. In Paradisa, without Pandemonium's call, the 'noise' isn't as bad, so he can tolerate it more days than not, and on occasion uses it to his advantage. Still, it can send him into catatonic panic attacks, forcing him out of commission for awhile.
With the horns, Joshua is incredibly unstable. There are times when you can see a flicker of what he once was - a fun loving boy with a charming smile who absolutely loathes vegetables (carrots especially). But his eyes will look right through you, because he is clearly not 'all there'. The horns have driven him mad from the 'noise' - the sounds of other people's thoughts - and on occasion they will drive him into fits.
Though Joshua accepted the horns to become stronger, so that he would be able to stand on his own two feet and look out for his sister, in reality they only made him weaker. It's true that he can lay waste to hundreds of demons in mere minutes, but the horns have taken their toll. The noise makes it hard for him to socialize and tolerate large groups of people, the fits often leave him catatonic for hours, sometimes days, and the pureness of his insanity has left him without much willpower. He follows Aion's commands blindly, not caring who he hurts in the process.
One couldn't necessarily say Joshua became evil overnight, or that he's really evil at all. He is simply the embodiment of chaos. He holds no warm feelings for anyone, really, excluding what he recalls of his sister, and perhaps Fiore on some level. In that regard, he doesn't hate anyone. He doesn't have any desire to destroy anyone, and he doesn't seem to relish in other's pain. If he feels like it, he might even help an old lady across the street for the fun of it.
But if he's told to kill that old lady, he'll do it without batting an eye. And he has been known to be particularly vicious when he does have a reason to fight someone, especially if they've pressed certain buttons. Lives really are meaningless to him unless he's given some reason to protect them. He wouldn't like Aion getting killed because Aion is helping him, or so he believes. He wouldn't like Shader getting killed because she's fun to spend time with. And Fiore... Well, Fiore is a very unique individual, and he would be disappointed if she was killed. He might even feel slight remorse at times.
But the only person he will ever get emotional about is the sister he barely remembers. She is his entire focus now. The dearest sister...whose face he can't even remember. In his mind, she is all that matters. He said it himself. The entire world could collapse around them, and he wouldn't mind, so long as she was at his side.
Joshua is many things. He can be sweet and playful one moment, then sinister and cold the next. He can be incredibly lucid and articulate one day, and the next he can become a catatonic doll who will do nothing but mutter complete gibberish. The one thing that will always remain a constant is his utter unpredictability.
"It's because of these that I'm free. You want me to turn back into that invalid child?"
Once upon a time, there was a young boy. His parents died when he was very young, but he had an older sister to help him through that ordeal, and the orphanage they moved to was full of friendly individuals. Unfortunately he was very sickly and unable to play outside with them as much as he would have liked. Despite being sick all the time, this boy's dream was to be an explorer, and visit the Astral Line with his sister when they grew up. He loved to play pranks as well as read about amazing adventures.
But over time, the illness took it's toll, and he got tired of how people looked at him. Even though he could heal anybody's illness or injury, he was unable to heal himself. He didn't want to be a burden, and he didn't want to be pitied. He didn't want his sister to give up her dream and become a doctor just for him. So he grew ever more bitter and depressed, and when a way out was offered, he accepted it without thinking twice.
Aion; — A demon who appeared one night when Joshua was eleven years old, and offered him strength and power to protect his sister. He was desperate and naïve, and accepted, but the horns' powers drove him insane. For years, Aion kept Joshua safe, at least until he no longer needed him and his unique gifts.
Azmaria Hendric; — Another Apostle like him, though he only met her briefly in canon before arriving here. He doesn't see her as an enemy or an ally--just one of Aion's pawns. As such, he won't hurt her physically or anything. She's also his future wife, but sshhh they don't know that.
Chrono; — Joshua and Rosette discovered Chrono in Mary Magdalene's tomb when they were young, and instead of being put off by him being a demon, Joshua was instantly fascinated, thinking he was the coolest thing ever. They became fast friends, but that was all destroyed when Joshua accepted Chrono's horns from Aion.
Joshua and Shader, who is probably the friendliest demon ever...even with the loli-shota complex.
Fiore; — The Jewel Summoner assigned to tend to Joshua after he was taken in. She was supposed to tend to his every need, and is completely docile and silent most of the time. However, she is very adamant about feeding Joshua his vegetables, and has done many things on several occasions to show she really does care for his well-being. She looks young, but she's really Satella's way older sister. His personal relationship with her is highly suggestive in canon which makes her a cradle robber.
Rosette; — His older sister, who he loves unconditionally. When they were little, he was always jealous of her health and boundless energy, but loved her too much to let her give up her dream in order to save him. With the horns and his loss, he can't remember anything about her. She is still the only thing that matters to him. Unfortunately, he refuses to accept the true Rosette as his Rosette.
Shader; — One of the nicest demons in the group of Sinners. She fawned all over Joshua when he was younger.
These are people he associates with rather often. He'll help them out without expecting too much in return, and might get a little miffed if someone hurts or kills them.
Celo; — Joshua met her through the journals during the time he spent without his horns, and discovered she was an outsider. They continued to chat off and on throughout the year, even after Joshua regained his horns and was captured by the Peace Patrol. Due to their sarcastic 'camaraderie', and her need for a massive distraction, she helped him escape from the prison before blowing up the outposts. After revealing her true identity, she offered to let him go along with her group. Unfortunately due to power restrictions, he couldn't go, but he'll be trying to keep in touch. She was funny if nothing else.
Colette; — Even if she's the probably the only one to actually consider Joshua a friend, or even family, Joshua doesn't consider her in high regard on her own. Still, his memories of her are muddled due to how he regained his horns (twice), so his past recollection of her as his sister never did quite fade away. The reason he continues to associate with her is because of the familiar calm she brings to him, even when she's being awkward and flailing. And it's worth it to watch all of her friends have heart attacks over it.
Legato; — A creeper on a similar wavelength as him. Joshua can tell he actually works to keep his thoughts organized around him, which is appreciated. Joshua mostly got to know Legato through his service to Zelman. When the two of them were kicked out, they eventually located to Riful's manor, and by then Legato had already taken over as Joshua's caretaker. Now, it seems more like Legato is the one who needs the care, but Joshua isn't really invested enough to do that. He does hope that Legato re-grows a backbone, though, because he's aiight.
Pharos; — 'Death'. Joshua believes him. They've known each other for awhile, but they didn't really get closer until Pharos discovered Joshua during one of his sickly fits. While the message he brought was disturbing at the time, since Joshua's learned to appreciate Pharos's presence, and he's been a help more often than not. Pharos also seems to be the only other 'person' in the castle who understands Joshua's obsessive take on love.
Zelman; — This alliance is rather unstable, but they tend to be that way with Joshua, anyway. Originally they met through their mutual friendship with Mai. They didn't get 'close' (as close as sociopaths can get) until she left and Joshua acted like a lost puppy, especially after Hei's departure. He stayed at Zelman's mansion for the better part of a year after that, occasionally doing Zelman's bidding (beating up Riful and stealing gum) but mostly just being a bum. Then Zelman started PMSing and kicked Joshua and Legato out without any reason. Joshua hasn't forgotten that, but by now it's a stupid thing to hold a grudge over. He only trusts Zelman if their interests are mutual.
Even if he might occasionally throw the word 'Friend' around for convenience, he doesn't actually trust any of these people. However, for one reason or another, he likes interacting with them when he gets bored or lonely. And some of them are just fun to screw with.
Langley; — Seriously has trouble with these asian names, so he just calls her Langley to other people or 'Zelman's prostitute'. Has a pissy temper, but it's kind of funny when he's in the right mood. Lately she's really been pushing the envelope when it comes to insulting him, and his patience is running thin. They actually sort of got along on Valentine's Day, but then she got all pissy again.
Uru; — A really simple-minded girl with super strength. He doesn't think anything of her, really. She acts like his own personal cheerleader when she isn't scolding him for kicking babies. Recently got pissed at her over shenanigans, but she apologized. He's noticed Uru doesn't really talk to him anymore. :c
These are people he's fought or wants to fight, but doesn't consider them enough of a threat to really be considered an 'enemy'. Despite enjoying torturing them, he also gets a twisted pleasure out of being around them for innocent things. The line between love and hate for Joshua is pretty null.
Clark; — A constant thorn in his side. Clark is very righteous, and given that he's a 'superhero' and everything, Joshua sort of fanboys him. At the same time he hates his buzz-kill attitude, and Clark was responsible for removing his horns the first time. He's such a douche, but he's strong (which is always enough to keep Joshua's attention), and for some reason Joshua can't hear his thoughts. He likes that, and so occasionally he's all right with a chat.
Father Nightroad; — A priest who compared Joshua to Cain, and tried to help him out in the LA plot. He made Joshua feel weak, so naturally Joshua hates his guts. Messes with him at every available opportunity. Abel gave him a seashell, which was nice. Still hates him, but enjoys being around him. Don't judge.
Tohru; — A man that Joshua met during his time without the horns. But even then, something about this guy (especially his proximity to Colette) rubbed him the wrong way. Now, Joshua finds himself absolutely fascinated and simultaneously disgusted by Tohru. He's such a pathetic excuse of a human by all appearances, but Joshua can tell when someone is hiding power. He wants it, so he'll push until he gets it.
Valentine; — She won a bet with him when they first met, and he hasn't really forgotten that. She dresses like a prostitute, but then again he's used to crazy demons who wear less, so he's not fazed by it. Kind of follows her around and messes with her, but it's all in good fun. Sure he tortured her emotionally and physically, but no hard feelings, right? After all, she made a kick-ass demon.
↪ Can't tolerate large crowds
↪ Hates carrots
↪ Dislikes all vegetables in general
↪ Loves to read
↪ Has the attention span of a 10-year-old most of the time
↪ Sister complex GET
↪ Often mixes dreams with reality
↪ Can technically hear other people's thoughts
↪ But usually it just sounds like painful noise
↪ Has serious mood swings when the 'noise' hits
↪ Enjoys drawing
↪ Even though he sucks at it
↪ Also sucks at dressing or caring for himself
↪ In my head canon, Joshua is a Pisces
↪ Acquired Aion's sword for Christmas. This shit is cash, but kind of a last resort weapon.
↪ Associating with him can lead to dangerous CR down the road. Just a warning. ;(
↪ The horns are only visible when using his demonic abilities or during his fits. Otherwise he looks normal.
↪ Same goes for his wings. They only appear when he uses his Apostle gifts, but they have real feathers.
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