2lore

A while back I saw [a dump on Fahkumram's lore](https://www.reddit.com/r/Tekken/comments/e8wnv0/fahkumrams_backstory_wish_they_include_parts_of/), and then a few days later found [this video and a thread about it.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Tekken/comments/e9m8ky/fahkumram_the_unlikely_protagonist/) Those reminded me of [my old idea to revamp and expand on Josie's lore,](https://www.reddit.com/r/Tekken/comments/8708wk/that_blasted_salami_presents_the_breakdown_of/dwat09t/) which has been at the back of my mind but haven't had the time or encouragement to really write more about.

Now I dare you to go read my fresh-outta-finals-exam sleep-deprived pile of word vomit on how the lives of Josie and this new, massive unit of a Muay Thai fighter will cross...and how Bruce and [a since-forgotten female Korean taekwondo athlete](https://www.reddit.com/r/Tekken/comments/awsrbk/the_josie_way/) will be part of this story.

#PART I: A Better Josie Moving Forward

Before I can push Josie to move about and act in the greater lore, I'll have to first develop her as a character past the current story she has (assuming she even gets into Tekken 8 and beyond, but let's say she does). See, while I accept pieces of her lore in T7, I want to discard others, or at least spin them up so it can hold my ideas better. Model? That's OK--it's in tune with the kind of jobs young and poor Filipinas do to make money (two Miss Universe titles in a decade will definitely inspire many girls). Arnis? Definitely, though she should use the actual armament too (a gameplay suggestion). Kuma? Fine, but the bear's a stand-in symbol for the Tekken Force. Emotional fragility?

Sure, but that can't define her character forever. It must be where she she starts out, though.

I've said in the Salami breakdown thread that Josie's core character conceit is being underestimated and over-delivering on expectations. Why? Because she herself underestimates her own ability. Think about it: she's tense before fights and is the first one to be stunned when she wins, even if her gameplay is solid and she's received buffs for two seasons now. Josie has an inferiority complex, one that must have been shaped by a hard-luck life in Balangiga, Eastern Samar and moving to Manila, constant bullying for being a "clueless" *probinsyana*, and maybe even abuse from a relative.

Her only way out is through MMA, and even her self-defense instructor job is not really enough to sustain her day-to-day expenses, even if she has scored an athletic scholarship at a top 4 university and is part of the school's [Golden Corps of Cadets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Santo_Tomas_Golden_Corps_of_Cadets). And when tragedy strikes, she has to head home and help her family. That's when she witnesses the relief work the Tekken Force (who responded far faster than the government) is doing, so she answers the recruitment call. It'll mean working abroad, but the pay is huge, and with the state of Josie's (rather large) family, she'll need every peso so they can rebuild. Also, it's a good way to overcome her internal struggles--having shown her worth to the Force, she can be trained more comprehensively by them. Just.

#PART II: Finding The Man Beneath The Monster

See, Josie is eager, capable, and empathetic, but the higher-ups don't see her potential as a leader, much less an elite operative. So Josie is on small-fry local duty, with the bulk of her work looking more like cleaning crew and charity volunteer than the bog in a stove's fire. This isn't enough, of course--she's stumbled upon some evidence that is pointing somewhere significant--so she seizes an opportunity to go to Thailand for a Triad-sweeping assignment. While operating in Phuket, she'll come across a massive towering behemoth, seemingly impervious to bullets and has impeccable, vicious fighting technique. She runs (it'll be a whole Resident Evil Nemesis kind of thing) and tries to notify superior officers about this seemingly unstoppable threat, but is brushed off and soon straight-up barred from trying to learn more. Undaunted, she tries to investigate on her own, and in another encounter, she will know the name "Fahkumram".

Weeks later Josie meets Naika and her daughter Ara (suffering from leukemia) who she'll free from what will turn out to be a secret government detention building. Here's where she'll learn more about their life, why they're held against their will, and the links between the junta, the Triad, and an entity known only as "S̄āyf̂ā pīṣ̄āc", the Lightning Demon. Josie, meanwhile, will reveal everything she knows about Kumram--his status, where he may be fighting next, and not much else. "Not unless I can talk to him before he elbows me to death." Her quest will rub certain Force officials the wrong way, forcing her to set up a back-channel with a cop from Hong Kong, who is also hot on his own trail.

All this happens while the shadow of the tall and terrifying beast looms over Josie's head, along with another that seems to be everywhere she looks but is still unknown to her. But the more information Josie gains, the more suspicious she grows of some members of the Force, and the more she understands Fahkumram. Enough that she may be able to talk to him in private, tell him that his family has received asylum in Manila, and that she can get him out of his sordid situation in one match. Fahkumram, elated yet cautious, warns Josie that she has inadvertently stirred a hornet's nest, and every friend she has made in the Force may become enemies at the drop of a hat. "Discharge yourself at once," he'll say, "and hide your intel before it's too late." It's a chilling warning, but one that Josie will heed, and after being promoted to lieutenant, she'll request to be discharged and be part of the National Bureau of Investigation, dumping all her intel to Hong Kong in the process. The Tekken Force, not wanting to waste her talents, convinces her to stay for another year. Or at least, Lars Alexandersson--the man Josie seems to always in the corner of her eye--implores her to stick around a little longer.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnC88xBPkkc