#Like my grandfather's mom was known in the city for also being of strong character

[hanbintms]

            it  is  eye  ,  kofi  ,  back  on  your  dash  with  my  newest  child  !  as  a  reminder  :  i’m  twenty4  ,  prefer  she / her  or  they / them  pronouns  ,  and  i  reside  in  the  est  timezone  !  the  muse  that  i  have  flowing  for  hanbin  is  truly  unmatched  even  though  i  literally  came  up  with  him  within  like  . . .  three  hours  ,  no  kidding  .  that  being  said  ,  he’s  a  brand  new  muse  and  i  can’t  wait  to  plot  with  everyone  once  again  (  or  for  the  first  time  !  )  i  won’t  talk  your  ears  off  as  i  know  this  intro  might  get  a  little  long  ,  but  aside  from  that  ,  can’t  wait  to  write  hanbin  with  ya’ll  !

            (  SONG  KANG , THIRTY , CIS  MAN , HE / HIM  )  *  hey  ,  i’m  looking  for  the  office  of  HANBIN  KOO  .  they’re  the  EMPLOYEE  /  IN - HOUSE  CHEF  who’s  known  around  the  office  as  THE  EPICURE  ,  if  that  helps  ?  not  to  be  a  gossip  ,  but  i’ve  heard  that  they’re  AFFABLE  but  UNCOUTH  ,  is  that  true  ?  i  also  heard  that  they’re  the  one  who  THREW  ICED  TEA  AT  HIS  EX  IN  THE  LOBBY  .  anyways  ,  here’s  the  coffee  they  ordered  .

statistics.

            name  :  koo  hanbin  .  nicknames  :  han  ,  hannie  ,  hanbinie  ,  +  binnie  .  age  +  date  of  birth  :  thirty  +  january  9th,  1991  .  zodiac  :  capricorn  .  moral  alignment  :  true  neutral  .  gender  +  pronouns  :  cis  man  +  he / him / his .  place  of  birth  :  busan  ,  south  korea  .  place  of  residence  :  west  village  ,  new  york  city  ,  new  york  .  orientation  :  bisexual  biromantic  .  occupation  :  in  house  chef  and  internet  personality  .  nationality  :  korean  (  holds  american  citizenship  )  .  ethnicity  :  korean  .  language(s)  spoken  :  korean  ,  english  ,  conversational  italian  ,  and  conversational  japanese  .

background.

            koo  hanbin’s  life  was  relatively  normal  when  he  was  born  .  his  mom  ,  koo  seonghwa  ,  worked  as  a  nurse  in  the  pediatric  department  of  a  local  hospital  in  busan  while  his  father  ,  koo  kyuchul  ,  was  an  office  worker  .  they  weren’t  the  richest  family  ,  nowhere  near  it  ,  but  the  koo  family  made  it  work  .  hanbin  has  more  memories  of  being  with  his  grandparents  more  often  than  his  parents  simply  because  of  their  demanding  careers ,  but  that’s  not  to  say  that  they  weren’t  loving  and  attentive  parents  when  they  had  time  to  be  with  their  only  son  .  

             however  ,  life  began  to  change  for  him  when  was  six  years  old  .  suddenly  ,  the  money  began  to  dwindle  as  quickly  as  it  was  brought  in  .  the  refrigerator  wasn’t  full  unless  seonghwa’s  mother  would  make  some  things  for  them  ,  and  kyuchul  was  coming  home  later  and  later  .  seonghwa  began  to  work  harder  in  an  attempt  to  break  even  ,  but  she  never  seemed  to  get  her  head  above  water  .  she’d  confront  her  husband  about  the  large  sums  of  money  that  would  disappear  from  their  account  ,  but  he  always  blamed  it  on  higher  bills  ,  raised  rent  ,  or  sudden  payments  that  he  had  to  make  .  it  never  made  any  sense  ,  but  seonghwa  started  a  separate  account  to  ensure  their  son  could  at  least  have  food  on  the  table  and  clothes  for  school  .

            the  next  couple  of  years  go  by  and  the  money  situation  worsens  ,  with  seonghwa  getting  to  her  wits  end  .  she  spends  more  time  with  hanbin  at  her  parents’  place  ,  sleeping  with  her  son  in  her  old  bedroom  and  hoping  he  doesn’t  hear  her  cry  at  night  .  she  struggles  to  understand  why  her  husband  is  keeping  secrets  from  her  ,  especially  as  they’ve  been  married  happily  for  the  last  eleven  years  ,  but  it  takes  some  tough  love  from  her  mother  to  get  seonghwa  to  pick  herself  up  .  so  ,  she  decides  to  confront  her  husband  one  night  when  she  finds  out  his  location  from  one  of  his  co - workers  ,  and  she’s  devastated  .  seonghwa  finds  kyuchul  with  a  younger  woman  ,  gambling  away  her  hard  earned  money  .  like  a  scene  out  of  a  drama  ,  seonghwa  kicks  her  husband  where  the  sun  doesn’t  shine  and  promptly  dragged  the  other  woman  outside  to  wack  her  upside  the  head  with  her  purse  .  seonghwa  was  hurt  ,  but  she  had  finally  gotten  answers  ,  and  she  wasn’t  going  to  be  embarrassed  like  this  ever  again  .

            so  ,  seonghwa  and  hanbin  permanently  move  in  with  her  parents  ,  and  it  takes  some  time  for  seonghwa  to  get  over  kyuchul  .  she  focuses  on  her  child  and  her  job  .  from  the  age  of  ten  ,  hanbin  began  spending  more  time  with  his  grandparents  in  their  small  ,  but  popular  barbecue  meat  restaurant  .  when  he  finishes  his  homework  ,  he  helps  his  grandparents  take  orders  ,  and  he  slowly  begins  to  work  the  kitchen  as  he  gets  older  .  his  grandparents  soon  leave  the  kitchen  work  to  him  as  they  get  up  in  age  ,  and  hanbin  runs  the  kitchen  as  if  he’d  been  doing  it  for  over  twenty  years  .  however  ,  when  he  graduates  from  high  school  ,  hanbin  decides  to  spread  his  wings  .  over  the  last  twelve  years  or  so  ,  hanbin  honed  his  cooking  skills  from  his  grandfather  and  spent  most  of  his  childhood  in  the  kitchen  ,  so  his  grandparents  passed  their  restaurant  down  to  seonghwa’s  brother  ,  and  hanbin  left  for  new  york  .

            eighteen  years  old  and  with  only  enough  money  to  get  a  small  sublet  ,  he  knew  he  needed  to  find  a  job  pronto  .  without  formal  kitchen  training  ,  hanbin  would  often  get  turned  away  from  jobs  (  because  he  was  better  than  a  busboy  !  )  and  eventually  ,  the  fates  was  on  his  side  .  he  forced  his  way  into  the  kitchen  of  a  popular  italian  restaurant  ,  immediately  snagging  the  title  of  junior  chef  .  hanbin  ,  a  fast  learner  with  even  faster  knife  skills  ,  easily  works  his  way  up  the  ranks  within  the  restaurant  .  within  six  years  ,  hanbin  becomes  head  chef  and  is  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with  in  the  kitchen  .  although  his  income  changes  significantly  ,  hanbin  starts  a  youtube  channel  in  hopes  of  sharing  his  love  for  food  and  cooking  .  within  a  year  ,  his  following  grows  substantially  ,  and  he’s  approached  to  broaden  his  efforts  by  working  at  masters  international  .

at masters.

hanbin  has  been  at  masters  for  five  years  .  he  started  working  here  after  his  youtube  channel  expanded  ,  and  he  was  approached  to  create  his  own  cooking  content  for  masters’  youtube  channel  .  

basically  ,  he  has  his  own  version  of  test  kitchen  ,  but  it’s  not  really  the  same  thing  .  he  makes  recipes  for  holidays  ,  celebrations  ,  and  is  constantly  showing  how  to  make  traditional  korean  dishes  (  would  not  be  surprised  if  he  has  a  ‘  cooking  with  my  mom  !  ’  type  series  )  .

gives  food  tips  too  like  which  wines  pair  best  with  certain  foods  or  how  to  make  the  most  out  of  your  first  hosting  gig  .  probably  has  a  video  where  he  shares  his  cooking  playlist  because  he  wants  you  to  get  in  the  mood  😌  .

probably  came  up  with  the  special  lunch  for  Daddy  Masters™  but  gets  ticked  when  he’s  asked  to  cook  it  because  does  that  man  know  a  schedule  ?  probably  not  .  [  ‘  we  were  on  a  break  !  ’  specifically  ,  hanbin2   was  on  his  lunch  break  .  ] 

is  it  true  that  he  threw  an  iced  tea  in  his  ex’s  face  ?  absolutely  ,  and  he  has  no  problem  admitting  it  lmao  .  who  was  said  ex  ?  i  guess  we’ll  never  know  [  this  a  number  one  champion  sound  ]  .

probably  well  received  around  the  office  but  i  wouldn’t  be  surprised  if  people  disliked  him  .  it  could  be  his  off  putting  persona  or  honestly  the  simple  fact  that  he’s  got  a  lot  of  sass  and  no  ass  .

headcanons.

you  can  read  a  full  list  of  headcanons  HERE  ;  below  is  an  abridged  version  .

has  a  gyeongsang  dialect  from  living  in  busan  ,  and  honestly  . . .  that’s  hot  .  so  ,  when  he  speaks  in  korean  it’s  rather  strong  and  aggressive  /  pitch  is  vastly  different  from  other  parts  of  korea  .  

i  literally  have  no  idea  how  to  explain  his  personality  other  than  by  using  his  moral  alignment  :  true  neutral  .  he’s  kinda  that  guy  who  knows  everything  but  won’t  tell  you  that  he  does  ?  did  he  eavesdrop  ?  maybe  ,  but  he  won’t  tell  you  that  .  he’s  largely  indifferent  to  a  lot  of  what  happens  around  masters  and  maybe  it’s  because  he’s  been  here  for  half  a  decade  ;  he’ll  just  make  sure  you  drink  water  if  you’re  drunk  and  crying  .

a  Dog  Father™  to  a  little  re:  big  goldendoodle  named  duri  .  he  is  most  definitely  judging  you  and  can  often  be  found  sunbathing  in  that  solarium  .  

a  very  simple  man  when  it  comes  to  his  coffee  :  caffè  americano  or  an  espresso  macchiato  please  .  and  don’t  forget  the  butter  croissant  !

mostly  expressionless  . . .  like  i  really  have  no  idea  how  to  explain  how  he  looks  at  people  because  i  feel  that  stoic  is  too  harsh  of  a  word  .  if  you  wanna  know  how  he  feels  though  ,  he  has  extremely  expressive  eyes  .

he  won’t  admit  it  but  he  loves  hosting  .  office  potluck  ?  he’s  your  guy  .  having  a  conference  ?  he’ll  make  your  snacks  .  if  you’re  coming  over  he’ll  make  a  charcuterie  board  and  will  lie  saying  he  made  it  with  some  stuff  he  had  on  hand  (  but  that’s  a  lie  ,  he  went  to  the  grocery  store  and  obsessed  over  it  for  a  solid  three  hours  )  .

finds  joy  in  the  mundane  .  some  people  might  think  he’s  weird  because  he  loves  grocery  shopping  ,  and  heavily  judges  people’s  carts  because  processed  food  ?  yuck  !  he  won’t  say  that  to  your  face  though  he’ll  just  be  like  ‘  are  you  sure  you  wanna  buy  that  ?  ’  and  will  sneakily  replace  your  frozen  pizza  with  pizza  ingredients  hehe  .

that  being  said  don’t  take  him  grocery  shopping  with  you  NFUDNSFDS  .  he  gets  ticked  about  food  waste  ,  and  those  who  don’t  use  reusable  bags  .   probably  has  a  lil  garden  at  his  place  and  composts  !  is  angry  about  people  calling  a  chunk  of  cauliflower  a  steak  (  in  other  words  ,  don’t  to  it  )  !

wanted connections.

DISCLAIMER  :  i  will  not  be  plotting  anything  romantic  with  characters  under  the  age  of  twenty - five  due  to  his  age  !

ONE  TRUE  LOVE  :  this  is  open  to  literally  anyone  ,  preferably  like  ,  28  to  30  but  we  can  talk  details  .  truly  ,  they’re  his  one  true  love  as  the  title  states  ,  and  i  like  to  believe  that  they  were  a  really  happy  couple  who  had  a  meet - cute  .  they  moved  in  together  and  things  were  great  ,  but  they  broke  up  when  they  felt  a  mutual  dissolve  in  their  relationship  .  that  being  said  ,  they’re  good  friends  now  !

BEST  FRIEND  :  who  wouldn’t  love  a  best  friend  .  basically  ,  they  get  along  well  ,  and  they  are  used  to  sung’s  non - verbal  communication  NVJCNXJV  .  it’d  be  really  fun  if  they  had  totally  different  personalities  but  somehow  they  managed  to  click  .  TAKEN  BY  GRIFFIN  OLSON  .

TASTE  TESTER  :  someone  who  he  calls  on  to  often  try  his  food  at  the  office  .  they  possibly  will  appear  in  his  videos  on  masters’  youtube  channel  ,  so  i  think  a  relationship  based  around  food  would  be  really  fun  !  TAKEN  BY  KENNEDY  CRAWFORD  /  SORAYA  HATHAWAY  .

HORN  DOGS  (  DEROGATORY  )  :  i  have  no  other  name  for  this  plot  but  i’m  thinking  two  people  who  cannot  keep  their  hands  off  of  one  another  .  i’m  talking  sneaky  touches  in  the  elevator  ,  secret  hook  ups  in  the  seventh  floor  bathroom  ,  quick  makeouts  and  nearly  getting  caught  .  bonus  points  if  people  around  the  office  don’t  believe  they’re  Banging™  because  their  personalities  are  so  different  .  

CRUSH  :  also  known  as  ,  someone  having  a  crush  on  him  ,  but  he  sees  them  as  a  friend  (  or  even  worse  ,  like  a  younger  sibling  )  .  TAKEN  BY  AYLIN  SAHIN  .

PLATONIC  SOULMATE  :  best  friends  ,  but  make  it  sentimental  .  they  are  thicker  than  thieves  ,  get  on  each  other’s  nerves  ,  but  they  don’t  know  what  they’d  do  without  the  other  .  finish  each  other’s  sentences  (  and  sandwiches  .  sung  will  finish  it  )  and  are  borderline  like  an  old  married  couple  with  the  way  they  act  .

that’s  all  i  got  now  but  i’ve  reblogged  some  posts  that  can  be  found  HERE  and  i’m  down  to  fill  any  wcs  that  you  may  have  as  well  !

#masters.intro #this is really long MVJCNXVC sorry ya'll

[ruminativerabbi]

Awakenings

For some reason, I’ve always been drawn to Rip Van Winkle-style stories about people who fall asleep for one or many years and then wake up to find themselves in whole new worlds. First of all, there’s Rip himself—a fictional character who first made his appearance in Washington Irving’s collection of stories and essays, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., which came out exactly 200 years ago in 1819. The book has long since been forgotten by most, as unfortunately also has been its author: one of the true giants of American literature in his day, Irving has for some reason not joined the authors he himself encouraged in their careers—writers like Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, or Henry Wadsworth Longfellow—in the pantheon of American authors still read other than by people to whom their books have been assigned in American Literature classes. And he really was one of the greats! I believe that I’ve read all his stories, certainly most of them, and “Rip Van Winkle” is one of my favorites. His other still-famous story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” turned into a whole series of Hollywood movies—most memorably Tim Burton’s 1999 film, Sleepy Hollow—and television shows, is also a terrific piece of writing that deserves to be more widely read in its original format. But I digress: I wanted to write here about Rip van Winkle himself and not the author who dreamed him up.

The story is well known and easily retold. One day while wandering deep in the woods near Sleepy Hollow to escape his wife’s endless nagging, Rip runs into the ghosts of the sailors who in their day manned Henry Hudson’s ship, the Half Moon, and promptly joins them in a game of nine pins and in drinking a lot of liquor, whereupon he falls into a deep sleep. Then, when he awakens twenty years later, he discovers that his son is now a grown man, his wife has died, and that he missed the entire American Revolution while he slumbered away. He makes his peace with being a widower easily enough (the Van Winkles don’t seem to have had too happy a marriage), finds it more challenging to abandon his native allegiance to King George, and finally ends up settling in with his grown daughter as he tries to figure out the new world and his place in it.

There are lots of parallel stories to Irving’s tale. Third-century (C.E.) Greek philosopher Diogenes Laëterius, for example, wrote about a man named Epimenides who fell asleep for fifty-seven years and then had to negotiate an entirely new world when he awakened.  Jewish literature has its own version of both Rip van Winkle and Epimenides in Honi the Circle-Drawer, a wonder-working rabbi of the first century (or thereabouts) who fell asleep for seventy years and awakened to find a man tending to carob trees that Honi himself had witnessed the man’s grandfather planting just (it must have felt like) a day earlier. Other cultures have their own versions, but what makes them appealing—and also slightly terrifying— is the fantasy that this could possibly happen to us readers, that we too could possibly get into bed tonight, turn off the light, drift off into sleep…and then awaken not tomorrow morning but a century from now. Nor is it hard to explain why this is such an arresting theme to so many. We all like to think that the world is so sturdy, so substantial, so there, after all…and then an idea like this takes root and suggests that it’s all a chimera, all a fantasy, all an elaborate illusion played out against an equally illusory dreamscape, that what feels so real is only an elaborate set that the stage crew will take down the moment we breathe our last. And why shouldn’t the theater of life mimic the way things work in real theaters? The show closes, the crew strikes the set, the actors return their costumes, and everybody goes home. And, on Broadway, that is that!  

And now it turns out that it really is so that people fall asleep and awaken decades later. Some readers may have noticed a story in the paper a while back about one Munira Abdulla, a woman from a small town in the United Arab Emirates, who was in a terrible automobile accident in 1991 when she was only thirty-two years old. She fell into a coma, but was kept alive by her family in the hope that she might one day awaken. And she did just that, awakening, apparently on her own, after twenty-seven years. Technically speaking, Ms. Abdulla was in the state technically called “minimal consciousness,” which is less bad than being in a full coma (i.e., in which the patient shows no sign of being awake) or in what’s called a persistent vegetative state (in which the patient appears to be awake but shows no signs of awareness). It is, however, still extraordinarily rare for patients possessed of minimal consciousness simply to awaken.

It’s happened closer to home as well. Terry Wallis, for example, was nineteen when his pickup skidded off a bridge near his hometown in Arkansas, which accident left him in a persistent vegetative state. Doctors told his family that he had no chance of recovery. But then he somehow managed to move up a notch into the same state of minimal consciousness that Munira Abdulla was in. And there he remained for nineteen years, domiciled at a nursing home near his parents’ home. And then one day in 2006 his mother walked into his room, whereupon he looked up and said “Mom” out loud, the first word he had uttered in almost two decades.

Donald Herbert’s is a similar story. A Buffalo fire-fighter, Herbert was injured on the job in 1995 when debris in a burning building fell on him and left him in what doctors called a state of “faint consciousness” for a full decade. And then, in 2005, after a full decade of silence, he opened his eyes one day and asked for his wife.  

These are rare stories, obviously. Most comatose people—including people possessed of faint or minimal consciousness—do not suddenly wake up and start talking. Indeed, in every real sense, these people I’ve been writing about are the rare exceptions to an otherwise sad rule. But the fact that such people exist at all is very meaningful: even if the overwhelming majority of comatose patients do not spontaneously wake up, some apparently do. And in that thought inheres the huge problem for society of how to relate to the somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans who exist in states of partial, faint, or minimal consciousness. Most will never recover. But some few may.

Many readers will remember Penny Marshall’s terrific 1990 movie, Awakenings, starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, and based on Oliver Sacks’ 1973 book of the same title. (Less well known is that Harold Pinter wrote a short play, A Kind of Alaska, based on Sacks’ book as well, which is often performed as part of a trilogy of the playwright’s one-act plays.) The story of the book and the movie (and presumably the play as well, which I’d like to see one day) is simple enough: a doctor working in 1969 at a public hospital in the Bronx is charged with caring for a ward of catatonic patients who survived the world-wide epidemic of encephalitis (specifically the version called encephalitis lethargica) in the 1920’s. The doctor, very movingly and effectively portrayed by the late Robin Williams, somehow has the idea to try using L-Dopa, a drug used to treat Parkinson’s Disease, on these patients and gets astounding results; the movie is basically about one of those patients, portrayed by Robert De Niro, whose “awakening” is depicted in detail. It doesn’t work in the long run, though; each “awakened” patient, including the one played by De Niro, eventually returns to catatonia no matter how high a dose of L-Dopa any is given. The movie thus ends both hopefully and tragically: the former because these people on whom the world had long-since given up were given a final act in the course of which they sampled, Rip Van Winkle-style, the world a half-century after they fell asleep; and the latter because, in the end, the experiment failed and no one was cured in anything like a long-term or fully meaningful way.

Why do these stories exert such a strong effect on me? It’s not that easy for me to say, but if I had to hazard a guess, I think I’d say that the concept of dying to the world briefly and then coming back to life to see what happened while you were gone is what draws me in. (Fans of Mark Twain will recall Tom Sawyer’s wish to be “dead temporarily.” But even Tom and Huck only manage to be gone from the world long enough to attend their own funeral and enjoy the eulogies they hear praising them, not to vanish for decades and then come back to life.) I’m sure there would be surprises if I were to go to bed tonight and wake up in 2089. Some would be amusing—seeing what model iPhone they’ve gotten up to or what version of Windows, or if anyone even remembers either—and some would be amazing: if the President of the United States in 2089 is sixty years old, then he or she won’t have been born yet.  But mostly it would be chastening, and in the extreme, to see how all the various things that seem so immutable, so permanent, so rooted in reality in our world, have all vanished from the world, as will probably also have all of the houses in which we live today, the banks in which we store our cash, and even the shore lines that mark the boundary between the wine-dark sea and the dry land upon which we live in safety or think we do. Depending on a wide variety of factors, that thought is either depressing or exhilarating. But in either event, it makes it easier not to sweat the small stuff or allow our own anxieties to impact negatively on the pleasures life can offer to the living.

I will bring all these thoughts with me as I prepare for Israel in a few weeks’ time because the Rip Van Winkle and Terry Wallis stories are Jerusalem’s own as well. The vibrant center of Jewish life for more than a millennium when the Temple was destroyed in the first century, the city was suddenly emptied of its Jews by its Roman overlords who renamed it and forbade Jews from living there. And yet…some small remnant always remained in place while the city slept. And then, just when the Jewish Jerusalem’s faint consciousness seemed poised to flicker and die out entirely…just the opposite happened as Jews from all over the world built a new city on the outskirts of the old one and breathed consciousness and life itself into its ancient alleys and byways. As the patient came back to life, she didn’t only re-enter history either—she began to be a player in her own story, stepping off the stage to become her own play’s playwright and director. It felt like a miracle then and it feels like one to me today too.

When I’m in Jerusalem, I myself feel my consciousness expanding and becoming in equal parts rejuvenated, reconstituted, and revivified. I never run out of things to do, to write, to read, to experience. I can’t imagine being bored in Jerusalem, even on a hot day in mid-summer when I could just as easily be on the beach in Tel Aviv. I love the beach! But there is something about the air in Jerusalem, and the light, that is the spiritual version of L-Dopa that Robin Williams gives his patients in Penny Marshall’s movie. Except that it doesn’t wear off with time and, if anything, only gets stronger and more powerful as the weeks I spend in Jerusalem pass one by one until the time comes to come home and begin a new year in this place we have all settled.

#Jerusalem #Rip Van Winkle #Honi the Circle Drawer #Awakenings

[9lph9tr0n5s]

Meet Rohan and Valkyrie (aka my take a stand au)

So, everyone in the zootopia fandom has seen all sorts of OC’s, fanships, stories, fanarts and other stuff that would be too much to remember. But, i’ve never seen someone create a fusion OC (even though they exist in other fandoms). So, without further addo, may I present you zootopia’s FIRST fusion character…

ROHAN WILDESAVAGE!!!

This beauty is the merged character of Robyn and Hannah by @crewefox . After eight months of wait i’m finally glad and proud to introduce you all to my OC. what follows will be a bio of her charachter. Then I’ll put a link to her backstory and the whole series of events that led to her birth. Beware that the read more option may not work, both in the app and in the computer

BIO:

Full name: Rohan Marheather Wildesavage

Species: fusion, fox/rabbit hybrid

Fusion components: Robyn Heather Wilde and Hannah Marian Savage

Date of first fusion: 28th of june 20344, Canary Islands

Jobs:

-Robyn: mechanic

-Hannah: radio host and ballet dancer

-Rohan: fitness and MMA trainer

-common jobs: superhero leader, dimensional traveller and peacekeeper

Physical description

-Age: same as Robyn and Hannah

-sex: female

-gender: bisexual with more intrest in females due to Hannah being lesbian

-height: 8.2 feet (around 2.5 meters)

-fur density: soft and smoother than silk, can get winter coats

-fur color: overall ginger with darker spots on the fingertips and the eartips, black eyebrows and tail tip and black and white stripes following hannah’s pattern. Rohan can change her fur color in any possible color scheme: from plain tan, to cream with red spots or patches, to black with yellow stripes (as a chevron) to even purple or shining blue silver

-paws: all have paw pads like a fox, the feet are as long as a rabbit and can stand up digitigrade and both hands and feet posses retractable, sharp claws

-tail: long, wavy, poofy, soft and capable of moving as a third arm thanks to more muscles in it. Rohan usually likes to smack unsuspecting targets to prank them

-Body shape: slender like Hannah with wider hips and strong muscles taken from Robyn

-eyes: right one teal and left one turquoise normally, can be changed in any color like the fur in any combination possible: red, green, pitch black, blue with orange shard… the eyes can also assume a plain colorization

-ears: longer than Robyn’s, slighty wider and capable of hearing further than any other mammal.

-muzzle and mouth: the muzzle lenght is between Robyn and Hannah’s and the nose has a very sharp smell range. The mouth is composed by sharp teeth and a razor buck tooth

-other peculiarities: Rohan can assume a feral form, standing on four legs, or just with her hind paws digitigrade; unlike most hybrids she’s fertile and this fertility has been transmitted to the components; her body is very flexible, but it can’t stretch like plastic

Character

-personality:

Robyn’s side:

-rash: Rohan can trip into dangerous situations without thinking twice, but always manages to get out alright, mostly

-crass: when Rohan is angry or really pissed, she can swear as instant reaction to an insult or a bad comment

-loyal and trustworthy: like Robyn, Rohan is loyal to her friends and, in no case, she can be corrupted or turn with the bad guys. She’s also extremely careful in respecting a promise or keeping a secret

-respectful: despite having the habit to center herself in rare situations, Rohan knows who’s in charge or is the most experienced on something. Many times, she asks for constructive criticism or honest thoughts about a certain subject and acknoweldges when she’s wrong

-hot tempered: strictly related to having a coarse tongue, Rohan has robyn’s short fuse when being pestered, mocked or scolded. This can occasionally lead to a fight when it happens and the one who insulted her heavily won’t go back home without a bruise… or a broken bone

-gold heart: deep inside, she cares about who she loves and is always willing to help for any problem

-energetic: Rohan as a carefree and upbeat personality just like robyn

Hannah’s side:

-empathetic: Rohan, like Hannah, instantly recognizes what somebody else feels and either joins someone in their happy moments or comfort sad mammals

-polite: from Hannah, Rohan has inherited her calm and collected demeanor, which strangely enough, doesn’t clash with Robyn’s short fuse

-focused: Hannah’s focused mind is another trait that distinguishes rohan: she can elaborate a good startegy, study someone from the outside and guessing the inside and never lose track of an individual or lose control of the situation

-clingy: when Rohan gets attached to someone, it’s hard to take said attachment away, and this can lead to rohan putting first him/her than her team if he/she’s in danger, just like Hannah with Robyn

-emotional: while this is mostly a trait taken from Hannah, Robyn has also a tender side: when sad, Rohan can easily burst into tears while trying to keep herself collected and this leads many people to believe she’s a crybaby

-romantic: Hannah’s romantic side shows up in Rohan when being courted by someone; this unfortunately has led to episodes of boys and girls chasing her for a date because they found Rohan “lovable as hell”

Common traits:

-dorky: both Robyn and Hannah are dorky af, so it’s normal to see Rohan being silly in a playful way

-adaptive: wheter the situation is a long wedding or a hard strike againts a crime lord gone wrong, Rohan quickly adapts to the situation and keeps up, just like Robyn and Hannah

-smart: although many see Robyn as a normal C student and Hannah as a top A mammal, both girls are extremely intelligent. Just don’t overestimate her

-loving: is there much to say about this? Rohan deeply cares about anyone and is always available for comforting or cuddling someone

Unique traits:

-tricking: Rohan seems dumb from shallow and small-minded individuals, but 75% of the time she’s just faking; she’s a cunning mammal and this shows in her ability to pull of tricks or turn the tide of a situation in a way neither robyn or hannah are capable of. This seems to be a recessive trait taken from Robyn’s father Nick.

-charismatic: this charismatic side the wildesavage couple has doesn’t show up very often; things change when rohan is in the game: thanks to her charisma, Rohan is a natural born leader, and everybody follows her or ask for her advice; this trait seems taken by both Nick and hannah’s father Jack

Favorite things in groups

-Favorite foods and drinks: everything KFC cooks, turkey meatballs, spaghetti with tomato sauce, masala cod, fried ginger crickets, pepperoni pizza, crispy mcbacon, oven pasta

-favorite movies and TV shows: Enter the dragon, the princess bride, Star Wars: the last jedi, black panther, karate kid, the big bang theory, steven universe, every disney princess movie, fantasia, the incredibles

-favorite games: the uncharted series, the last of us, overwatch, call of duty black ops 3, rise of the tomb raider, destiny 1, Star Wars battlefront 2 (the old and the new one), titanfall 2, horizon zero dawn, GTA 5, team fortress 2, god of war (the 2018 version)

-fandoms: disney princesses, Star Wars (the sequels side mostly), MCU, love stories, Overwatch (not the porn, nor the toxic side)

-favorite music: punk rock music, dancable music, Green Day, Ed Sheeran, Queen, the Pirates of The Caribbean, Star Wars, star trek, back to the future and the incredibles themes, Cole Rolland, Imagine Dragons

General Likes and dislikes:

likes:

-being petted, cuddled or having her fur stroked

-crude humor

-dancing

-being a dork

-topping herself

-being nurturing and kind to everyone

-friends and family

-protecting zootopia for good

-dancing

-comfortable clothes

-travelling

Dislikes:

-bullies

-being pressured

-having a fight with a loved one

-hypocrites

-being harassed just because of who she is

-small minded mammals

-corrupt people

-whoever threatens her city

-heavy junk food

-strobo lights

-nudity in public

-toxic mammals and fans

Family:

Robyn’s side:

-father: Nick Wilde

Occupation: mayor of zootopia

Status: alive

-mother: Judy Hopps

Occupation: police chief of the first precinct

Status: alive

-grandmother: Marian Wilde;

Occupation: former vigilante known as “the maid”, now hero trainer and supporter, mostly for hacking and I.T. professor at the zootopia university

Status: formerly dead, currently reanimated and alive

-grandfather: Robin Loxley Wilde

Occupation: former vigilante known as “hood”, now hero trainer and couple advisor

Status: formerly dead, currently reanimated and alive too

-Grandparents (Judy’s side): Bonnie and Stu Hopps

Occupation: carrot farmers

Status: alive

siblings:

-Ryan, Ronan and Reginald (reggie) Wilde: Robyn’s triplet brothers; Ryan is a laid-back lover of yoga, Ronan is a pro gamer and Reggie is a panmusical mammal

Status: stillborn at the beginning, now brought back to life

-Luna Wilde (Robyn’s half sister)

Occupation: surgeon at the zootopia hospital by day and patroling zootopia by night as the vigilante Andraste

Status: alive

Hannah’s side:

-father: Jack Savage

Occupation: MCB agent (major crimes bureau)

Status: alive

-mother: Skye Winter

Occupation: MCB agent, works with Jack

Status: alive

-known grandparents:

Hannah Savage

occupation: pensionate

Status: deceased then brought back to life

-siblings: none

Others:

-Victoria Todd (luna’s mother)

status: dead, then reanimated

-Alice Kirabito-Wilde (Robyn’s sister in law)

Occupation: videogame and anime reactions youtuber, superhero, quartermaster and weapons assistant

Status: alive

CHILDREN:

After a year Robyn and Hannah adopted their first son Aaron, he wished to have siblings like her moms (who also wanted biological kids on thier own); this was possible through a pregnancy pen: a device invented by olivia dawson and crafted by her and luna which allows two blood drops and a drop of seed of each couple member (gay or hetero) to mix and create full embryoes and literaly plant them into the one who wants to be pregnant, but the “carrier” has to be female; from this union, five kits were concieved and born from robyn as aaron’s birthday gift, who decided to carry on the pregnancy and aaron welcomed to the family his new siblings. Also, after a foster home was shut down due to cruel personnel and heavy mistreating of the orphans, robyn and hannah decided also to adopt two mammals who were unwanted and left without a family. Needless to say: all those children made judy go on cloud nine… and it gave nick a heart attack.

Biological:

-Ash, Sarah, Iris, Dylan and Mitchel Wildesavage (respectively M,F,F,M,M)

Species: fox/ rabbit hybrids

Date of birth: 8th of december 2039

Adopted:

-Aaron Wildesavage (this character is also by crewefox, he was so adorable i decided to keep him in my AU too)

Species: male koala

Date of birth: 31st of december 2033

Adoption date: 21st of december 2038

-Skylar Wildesavage

Species: non-binary otter

Date of birth: 24th of august 2033

-Penny Wildesavage

Species: female black labrador

Date of birth: 15th of february 2032

Both skylar and penny were adopted the 27th of october 2040

Side notes:

-i know dogs shouldn’t exist in the zootopia universe, but in mine they do

-Robyn and Hannah originally wanted one or two kits, but Robyn’s bunny genes let her have five kits in the end 

Since Robyn and Hannah are both superheroes, there had to be Rohan’s superheroine alter ego so, i present you VALKYRIE 

 Now it’s time for the superhero part

SUPERHERO SHEET

Alias name: Valkyrie

Alligned to: team Ceartais, ZPD, MCB, Camelot

Role: leader

Hero suit: red carbon fiber jumpsuit with white parts, a dark red hood and cape made for gliding and flying when necessary, a dark turquoise chestplate, blue and white shin and forearm guards, a blue and white checked mask and a gem storage in the middle of the chest for the infinity fragments protected by a small sheild. The suit itself has tron-like lines as an attire choice. The suit, the cape, the armor plates, tthe mask, the lines and the weapons can change colors into everything and every pattern. The suit itself is resistant to fire, shocks, electricity, cuts and explosives; the problem is that some parts are left exposed and rohan has to be careful to those weak spots

Power level: supermammalian to god-like

Steel blood powers: Robyn and Hannah’s originary power both originate from some nanomachines called “steel blood” which helped them survive a severe case of sepsis and other damages occured during a tsunami that nearly killed them

Robyn:

-healing factor: Robyn’s primary power consists in a powerful healing factor which repairs and wound or damage instantly. This also renders her, and by proxy Rohan, immune to poisoning of any kind, by simple alchol and cigarettes to vast amounts of cyanide in her body. Unfortunately, the more poison enters her body, the more it takes to rohan to process it. Also, the healing process takes more time if Robyn or Rohan are shot to the head. Another good side though is that Robyn and Rohan can survive being grinded, having their head chopped off, being squashed by two walls and being liquefied

-super strength: the steel blood also strengthened Robyn’s muscles, giving rohan an immense physical force, at the point of being five times stronger than robyn normally is

-high jumping: strong muscles and an energic, athletic attitude is the perfect match to jump high. Rohan can jump about

-high stamina: the nanites powered up her whole skeleton and inner system, which means that rohan, and robyn in the first place, can fight for a long time, running over 100 miles, training in a gym for 24 hours straight without getting tired if put under pressure. Eventually in the aftermath of one of those things, Robyn (or Rohan’s) body feel and become more tired than usual and require more amount of sleep to return in shape

hannah:

-faster reflexes and speed: since hannah was blind when she received the steel blood nanites, those should have supposedly healed her sight; instead they went on powering up her reflexes and speed. This makes rohan agile and fast on the battlefield

-ability to become blind and go back to full sight on command: this power was mastered during a time when Robyn and Hannah were left stranded. Hannah managed to get her sight back, but also practiced between shifting in full sight and blind. While seemingly useless, this power can come very handy if someone generates a strong light and rohan can still fight without necessarily closing her eyes, especially if she doesn’t have a protection

-super senses: when Hannah or Rohan go blind, all the other reflexes (hearing, taste, contact and smell) heighten up to compensate the lack of sight. Those senses can become handful depending on the situation

-pulse field generation: Hannah’s trademark power consists in “seeing” while blind. While tecnically what hannah sees is a blank world with no writings or images but just the primitive shapes of her surroundings, the nanomachines allow her heart to generate a pulse everytime it beats that detects all surfaces and objects in five miles. Rohan’s area is wider and can arrive up to 20 miles

-healing factor: Hannah also has a healing factor, but it works slower than Robyn’s. Rohan partially compensates this with a faster regeneration in case of sight or hearing loss

common:

-memory link: Rohan’s memory is made up of all memories from robyn and hannah and her own, which are all stored into a neural, indestructible cloud. If one member loses all memories, just one tap on the body or fusing can make the lost memories come back. By proxy, the wildesavages share rohan’s memories and their own, this means no secrets between the couple in normal life

-feral state: if robyn is shot to the head, all her strenght and speed multiply by nine, but, as the name suggests, the nanomachines while healing the damage awaken her feral instincts, making her a savage beast. If this should happen to rohan, she would turn savage for a shorter time than robyn. Only few mammals and beings know how to tame while savage

infinity gems powers (they’re much more than the listed ones and some must be discovered): after being found out by Robyn and Hannah, six fragments of the infinity gems linked with them and grant more powers. while these powers are mostly used by rohah, robyn and hannah also use them separatly, abeit with less efficiency than their fusion. The fragments after rohan unlocked the infinity state, transformed into full gems

power (red):

-energy control and manipulation: the power gem allows rohan to manipulate all sorts of energy in any form, from kinetic to nuclear, and any way: force fields, power sharing, recharge, power overload…

-laser, maser wave or pulse energy blast: most importantly, rohan can use that enery to mimic and use a certain energy primarly for a laser blast; said power can manifest in a powerful shockwave or a presence that burns and slowls incapacitates everyone near her. Rohan could kill someone with her powers, but she chooses not to unless there’s no other choice, or her foe is unpowered and defenceless. In that case, she uses the power for knockback

-energy and power share: Rohan can gift some of her power to anybody else who needs it to strenghent him or her. This also applies to electronic devices

-maximum power state: when rohan unleashes the full power of the power fragment her body becomes glowing red in color and physically a pure manifestation of energy. In this form rohan is surrounded by energy vamps like a sun and is totally invincible. This form consumes a tremendous amout of energy, leaving her helpless when she stops, so rohan must use this as a last resort

Time (orange):

-time manipulation and travel: thanks to the time gem, Rohan can control time around her and with others. She can freeze a single moment, create a loop, rewind her own time or a recent situation and even age or de-age every living being. With the right amount of focus rohan can also travel through time

-time mastress state: at full strenght, the time fragment turns Rohan’s body orange and magical gears appear. In this form rohan’s time powers are amped up to ridiculous heights at the point rohan BECOMES time itself and is able of creating or erasing some events or a complete timeline. In the aftermath Rohan dissociates temporarly for three hours before her molecules line up

Reality (yellow):

-reality manipulation: the reality gem allows Rohan to bend the primary shape of everything around her at her will, always turning the situation to herself, like a wizard using magic. But if the power is used without limits, rohan could alter reality for a long time before fixing it, thus she has to be very careful when using the reality related powers

-creation of everything: this superpower allows Rohan to do everything she imagines: she can materialize a toy in front of her, turn water to fire of give herself new powers; the only things she can’t do are: copying powers related to the other gems (unless she temporarely gives new powers to other beings) and bring people back from the dead

-illusion and hologram control: rohan can create multiple copies of herself or turn temporarily a place in what she wants to with hard light

-reality bender state: this state renders rohan yellow and the surroundings in an area of 10 meters constantly shape. All the afromentioned powers are strengthened at the point rohan can create multiple universes at once. This state doesn’t consume much energy and it’s currnetly rohan’s most used super form

Soul (green):

-soul dislocation: with the power of the soul gem Rohan can either exit her body becoming a green ghost or force the enemy’s soul to exit the body, leaving both, rohan or the foe, numb and defenseless

-control and power over life: the soul power can also heal wounds, physical and broken morales, temporarely take back the dead as zombies or trap other souls into the fragment

-soul detector: Rohan can discover and make visible all ghosts (souls of dead beings), talk to the and even command them if necessary

-ability to travel to the soul realm: the soul gem hosts a pocket dimension called soul world; here all the souls of the dead live a neverending life of joy. Rohan can enter this world and take whoever she wants without turning them into ghosts and her soul powers within the world increase even more

-soul guardian state: in this state Rohan gets engulfed by green light and has total control over the spirits: she can evoke hordes of ghosts againts her foes, catch easily all souls within a certain range and gradually weaken everbody. The aftermath leaves Rohan internally weakened and unable to move, though she still can see everything happening around her with the same perception as someone in a dream

Mind (blue):

-mind control and other abilities: Rohan’s most basic abilities with the mind gem include: controlling the mind of the weak, shutting their mind down leaving them open for attacks, creating false memories, breaking brainwash and telepathic control on others and reading memories. Rohan is also immune to all mind-based powers; for example, she can’t be brainwashed

-mind link: Rohan can connect minds withan ally and see through its eyes. She can also talk to them in their mind by giving them advices and makes them immune to mind control. Usually though, Rohan uses this tecnique to calm down scared mammals since she can also alter emotions

-memory share: just by touching on the head somebody, Rohan can share her memories to other mammals

-brainstormer state: Rohan becomes all blue by entering this form and becomes able to access all the minds of a single planet she can go into. The aftermath isn’t as bad as the other, but it does leave her with a huge headache that lasts for five minutes after she exits this form

Space (purple):

-teleportation: Rohan can teleport herself in any place she wants. Where she goes depends on her memories of the place, or where she looks at. She can also teleport enemies or teammates away or where she wants too

-ability to control space and movements around: the space gem also allows Rohan to speed up, slow down or stop movements in a maximum area of three miles, usually by bloking foes in mid air or speeding her time up becoming faster from the eyes of the spectators. Rohan has also total control over gravity: she can increase it or decrease it to the point of nullification in a certain spot

-molecular dislocation: Rohan can phase out her molecules becoming intangible; while dislocated phisically, she can’t be hit or touched and can pass through any solid object. She can also phase out her opponents and stick them into solid objects, but she doesn’t use that power very often on normal, powerless criminals since she finds it brutal

-traveller state: Rohan’s last normal final state covers her body in purple light and nullifies gravity in an area of 50 miles. Rohan’s space powers heighten up exponetially at the point of teleporting an entire population on another planet or move planets herself. Rohan can also create gravity wells or black holes and dislocate entire armies. The aftermath leaves rohan intangible for one hour

common:

-immortality: since the infinity gems are part of the universe itself, Rohan and by proxy Robyn and Hannah can’t die in any way. If they should be disintegrated, their bodies would simply regenerate and their aging becomes stuck at the age of 25

-self awareness: this doesn’t mean rohan has total control over her senses, instead, rohan is fully aware she is an original invented fusion character by me, that their components were born from the mind of an irish, bisexual assistant surgeon and that their parents come from a very beloved disney classic movie. In few words, she can break the fourth wall

-SECR (acronysm for supreme energy coalescence ray): rohan can channel the power of the six fragments into a powerful, multi colored beam which can totally erase existance where it hits; she swore to use this power only if the enemy outranks her or in apocalyptic, near failure scenarios as her goal isn’t to cancel life. Rohan doesn’t need to enter the infinity state to use the SECR

-the snap: Rohan’s most powerful move definitively constist into the snap, where rohan uses all six gems and snaps her fingers to make every wish of hers come true. This time the aftermath is a mix of all the other aftermaths of the singular powered state of the fragments: namely, rohan becomes intangible, dislocated in time and soul, physicaly and mentally weakened for eight hours. The only way to carry her to safety is trapping her into an electrostatic box. When the “hangover” effects vanish, rohan wakes up with a giant headache. The snap has a cooldown of a year

-infinity state: even if the snap is indeed powerful, Rohan can enter the ultimate state by unlocking all the ultimate power states of the fragments and combing them. In this form, Rohan becomes totally white in color with gold shades. her powers heighten up to god-like levels and she’s able to use any power, steel blood or infinity based, heightened up, while accessing to every mind in the universe, bending all matter and reality at her own will, moving entire galaxies, controlling time while also having vision of future and past events and powering up every ally, no matter where they are or which species they are, temporarely gifting her powers to them. The aftermath effects are the same of the snap, but the time for the relocation lowers to two hours, and there’s no headache

weaponry, gadgets and arsenal:

-mega nightstick: Robyn uses a titanuim telescopic baton 1 meter long in combat, formed by two nightsticks and two handles which can simply split in two or also form two tonfas with the two handles. When Rohan plays the baton (which becomes 2 meters long with her) and it’s subweapons become harder than diamond. Each stick also has a hidden blade made out damascus steel with a diamond tip in case of tougher opponents

-constructo guns: Hannah’s primary weapons are two guns which can combine into other weapons after their upgrade: for example, a simple machine gun, a shotgun, a grenade launcher, a minigun and a small crossbow. They can also fire traquilizing pellets, laser shots or normal bullets

thanks to the realty fragment both weapons can combine into five other weapons, which also have powered up forms

- a baton with guns on each end; this doesn’t have a powered form, but it can still split and form two tonfa guns

- a javelin with a ninjato-like blade and a double barrel gun where the blade is placed. When powered, the guns spin in a circle and fire faster than a minigun while the blade knocks back enemies up to three miles

-a double sword with the central handle curved, a blade with an axe tip (like megatron’s sword on TF5) and a long barrel for sniping as long as the blade on each sword; normally it can also split up into two blades with curved handles, turn into a hi-tech bow or a giant boomerang. Powered up the guns shoot bullets and laser that pierce through everything, the blades cut even more (but not everything), the bow shoots further, its arrows strike harder and the boomerang locks onto the enemies until it gets them

-a halberd with a giant blade and a grenade barrel on top; this could be considered as a more brute version of the javelin since Rohan uses it for larger opponents. The powered form grants two additionals grenade launcher barrels and allows every strike to cut enemies or generate slices of pure red energy

-a baton that turns into a whip with a flick of the wrist and a double gun separated from the melee weapon unlike the previous four; the baton can let the tip and the rings of it’s whip form exit and let a yellow energy blade come out of the handle while the rings and the tip form a small shield. Powered up, the whip can generate small quakes where it lands, the shield assumes the aspect of a circual saw and the energy blade becomes able to slice through everything

(if you are confused and don’t know what the weapons look like, i can say that for some i got inspired from the weapons the praetorian guard from The Last Jedi wields)

volcano comet: while the nightstick, the guns and their combo forms are more than a match for any enemy, rohan wields a red, double bowed crossbow which can shoot tranq darts, arrows and laser beams at ligthspeed, for sniping attacks

concussion grenades: these grenades developed by Robyn and Hannah’s friend Olivia Dawson, create a shockwave that pushes everyone meters away from the explosion point

hacker spine: in honour of Marian Wilde “the Maid”, Robyn asked to graft into her suit a short-range hacking device which activates only whey she and hannah fuse and allows her to enter the enemies’ computers and devices, thus controlling them or shutting everything down

hyper goggles: Rohan’s domino mask contains many options into her lenses: x-rays, heat vision and ray beams

-fighting styles: boxing, MMA (mixed martial arts), blood ballet (a style invented by hannah which mixes dance styles and MMA), cloak and dagger strikes, teräs-kasi, shien, djem so and yuvo

small side notes:

-when dressed in civilian clothes, rohan sports her gems combined into a single rainbow gem embedded into a jade bracelet

 As for her backstory, the link is here

And there she is; after months of working on her bio i’m finally proud to welcome the first zootopian fusion to the fandom. I hope you like her and if you wish to use her for a story or a fanart, message me first. I may add extra info later.

And to finish, here are the credits:

thanks to @crewefox for allowing me to use robyn, hannah, scarlet, bullet, aaron and other characters (too many to name) and helping me with the correction of the post

thanks to @jafethortiz who made the arts and the coloring

special thanks to  @chickwithdreads and this post for giving me inspiration about the charater sheet

And last but not least, thanks to the whole zootopia fandom, who dedicate a bit of their time to admire the first zootopian fusion character

thank you and see you soon 

the infinity gems, iron man, namor, mister fantastic, black bolt, doctor strange, professor x, the skrulls, the super skrull, the kree and ronan belong to Marvel®

#Zootopia #zootropolis #take a stand #star of ceartais #au #robyn wilde #hannah savage #rohan #wildesavage #Fusion #fan fusion #fusion oc #OC #zootopia oc #superhero #marvel #infinity gems #infinity stones #bisexual #lgbt

[wetookanoath]

ooh what are your headcanons for the coco au?? 👀

Well, right now I have…

TW: Racism, implied homophobia and transphobia, sexism, way too many languages in one tiny family, necessary Major Character(s) Death(s), this is not a fanfic but a way too elavorated AU lol, Trans Male Character, trans pregnancy.

S/O to @faequill and @impossiblevvings for educating my ass by sharing his experiences as a trans parents. And also S/O to @from-one-fandom-to-the-other for making THIS and THIS wonderful art and talking about this AU with me. And also S/O to this anon for asking.

Set in the 30s, I’m thinking in maybe Baja California or Guadalajara. During this time, Mexico is still getting together after the Mexican Revolution left tons of deads and shattered states. In this time, the Golden Age of cinema flourishes and singers like Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete become famous. Enter the music theme of the story.

That said, Mexico has a long history of having good relations with european countries such as Germany, Ireland, Austria and Poland. During the Colony, tons of people came to Latinamerica because there was work, commerce and land (I mean, stolen land– you know how that goes), so entire families would come with the hopes of a better life. 

During this time, chinese people build a China Town in what will be Mexico City later (still stands and is a wonderful place), japanese people will came in their own commercial ships to either work or be with their families, since samurai getting jobs as big names spaniard’s bodyguards, and soon other business people came with their families.

I’m saying all this to then say that,

Ryan’s family has always had it bad because they are mixed. His father’s grandpa decided to move to a small community where most people is mixed near the principal city of their state, yet not so close. This is so they can all live in peace.

Ryan’s grandfather gets out the country, builds a life in the States where he meets Ryan’s grandma, an also mexican woman who went to live in the States. Years later, Steve, Ryan’s dad, meets Linda, daughter of immigrants too, and they build their own family.

When Ryan is a teenager, his parents understand he is trans and caliming economic problems, Steve decides to take his family back to the family’s ranch in Mexico, where they can protect their kid, so no one knows he is trans and they know him only as Ryan. They grow up learning from all their cultures and speaking very accented english and spanish. Ryan and Jake also talk a broken japanese their mom is always cheering. They cook strange stuff that convines all three cultures and people think they are weird, but it works.

To their little town comes a group of immigrants from Poland, men are there to work in the energy plant near the Bergara’s ranch.

Ryan and Jake met Shane then, he’s older than them and Ryan gets irritated at his funny spanish, but finds himself talking to him daily until Shane starts to work, too.

So, every day, Shane and his brother walk in front of the Bergara ranch and he can always see Ryan at the window with a guitar or just asleep. He always waves at him and soon, Ryan finds himself waiting for the boy to pass by his window.

There’s a lot of Ryan insulting Shane in either spanish or japanese, to what Shane always answers with polish and both look at each other like ¬¬

They fall in love eventually.

Both families get along well, it’s then when Linda and Sherry start to notice something between their kids. It’s unspoken and like a known secret, and only once did they tried to talk about it but, like it happens so often in remote places of Mexico, no one said a word.

Ryan’s family is well known, names move sea, dirt and sky in Mexican societies, and so life goes on– of course, leaving the santity of their small town means dead and treats, and so none go.

Scott and Jake both leave eventually, it is known then that Ryan will take the ranch. When he’s already an adult, Shane and his mom move to the ranch after his father dies and Scott leaves.

Later in life, Scott gets married in the ranch, and they are all such a funny and curious mix of a family.

They have a few happy years where Ryan and Shane are together, dream of music and suddenly, something changes.

When Ryan realizes he’s pregnant, he’s worried shit will go down. Shane is actually pretty happy and excited, and after the initial shock, both feel good about it. With his mother’s support, he is able to tell his father, and to his freakin’ surprise, he’s happy. 

Ryan has to stay in the ranch to protect himself and the baby, seeing the struggle, fear starts flourishing in Shane and instead of saying something, he keeps it all in him. He needs an actual job, not just his music delucions, and he needs to do better and make sure nothing ever happens to Ryan and their baby.

They have a girl, they name her Alejandra, and she grews up listening to her parents sing together and even with economic struggles, they were happy.

Then Shane leaves.

When Alejandra was little, Shane met bitch ass Ernesto who used to listen to him at the local bar where he sang with Ryan and other pals they had. Shane originally didn’t want to become a singer, but he wanted to keep writing songs, Ernesto made him believe they could be both singers.

Note: Mexico has a big time problem with colorism and favoritism of whites™, but when it comes to music and so, especially at that time, the mexican public wanted to the men who sang to be the stereotype of a Strong Mexican Man™, like Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante (this doesn’t mean they weren’t talented and amazing at their art, because they sure as hell were). A man like Shane would had never find fame and acceptance at that time, so this bitch ass Ernesto fooled him deeply.

Ryan doesn’t like Ernesto one bit, and feels him fake as shit with his “support” of their family when Shane is idiot enough to tell him the truth. This causes their first big fight, since Ryan didn’t want a man like this bitch to know about him and that Ale is their biological daughter.

Fights start to become terrible, and finally Shane tells Ryan he wants to try this and if it doesn’t work, he’s coming back right away. If in six months he hasn’t done shit, he is coming back. 

Ultimately, Ryan believes in Shane’s talent and lets him go. At first, they write to each other constantly and Ryan always reads part of Shane’s laters to Ale.

Eventually, the letters stop and a year later, Ernesto is in everyone’s TV and Ryan tries his best to find out what happened to Shane. When he finds out he was murdered, Ernesto tells him some story about being mugged and what not, and in his pain he believes it.

In the back of his head, there’s always the tiny voice that says this is not true, but the pain and his pride are stronger, and so he decides to keep going.

He makes the ranch prosper with his bare hands and the whole family helps, as years goes by, they can mantain themselves with the ranch’s production of meat and leather.

Note: totally not based on my own ranch, lol.

Ryan dies later in life, having his daughter carry his name when he decided to change her name to take away Shane’s (because we mexicans are petty and this was super common. Your husband left you? Change your kids’ name to yours– my name should be Rivera, guys, but my great grandma said fuck you to his father, and changed her name to León -her mom’s name- and here we are…) and the ranch.

~ The After Life ~

Shane is there before anyone else. He could be send to his polish family, he could find the other Bergaras, but he is not sure of what to do. His situation as someone his family has decided to forget mantains him in the streets with the ones without a family, which is bullshit because he knows his family must be somwhere.

His first years, he forgets about the Día de los Muertos tradition, among other traditions, and is only worried to find a way to know if Ryan and Ale are okay, and soon he’s hit with a newspaper from a maxican lady that has hear his story of having his family in Mexico, she reminds him of the bridge that opens on November 2.

That’s when he starts trying and when he’s told his family doesn’t put a picture of him, that breaks his heart and spirit more than he cares to admit. He gives up after.

Years later, re-animated by the fact that he needs to let Ale know he loves her more than anything in the world, he keeps trying. This is when he recognizes Ryan for the first time.

He is an emotional mess, trying to reach him and when he sees he is with their entire family, he is a rying mess. But then, Ryan looks at him and there’s complete silence– it’s unspoken that Ryan is kind of the family’s head, so the others wave at him but don’t do much when Ryan finallly turns around to cross the bridge without saying a word to Shane.

His heart is shattered to not repair that night and on.

Shane concentrates then into getting to the Human World to see Ale. His parents and other family members would talk to him from time to time, and at least he gets to know his daughter grow well, but also gets to know Ryan had it bad for a while and will take him time to accept him back.

He tries to tell Ryan about Ernesto more than once. He courts him, and sings, and does all he can until Ryan is tired of him and finally tells him he doesn’t want excuses, he doesn’t want to see him and he should go right now.

Shane is not sure anymore if there’s more heart to break, but it hurts all the same.

Ryan, when in the After Life, woke to his family and only accepted to himself to be disappointed of not seeing Shane there. He finds out later about his situation, and for a while decided to not search. It’s better this way.

When he hears Ernesto has died and it’s there among them, he tries to find Shane, and maybe clear things once and for all. But he finally drops the idea and lets it go.

His no-life goes on, and when he sees Shane for the first time before the bridge, all he wants is to slap the idiot and kiss him, but his pride is stronger and so he turns around and leaves.

He cried all the way to the Human World.

When he realized their great-great grandson was a lot like Shane, a lot like both of them, he couldn’t help but smile.

After Ryan finds out the truth, Shane’s picture is put on the Altar of their family and he goes to no-live with them in the Land of the Death, they have a long talk about their lives and cry together for having found their way to each other again, no matter what.

Both feel guilty for a while, though. Shane for leaving and never finding a way to let Ryan know what happened. And Ryan for closing himself and not believing in Shane’s love for him and Ale, and for their family forgetting him for such a long time.

Eventually, they can heal together. They have all the time in the world now.

At some point, Ryan looks up at Shane with a smirk and goes, “See? Ghosts are real” and Shane wants to die again.

When Ale dies and she reuinites with her parents, there’s a crying fest. 

It hurts Shane that he didn’t get to see his Alejandrita grow up, and that she thought for a long time that he decided to leave them and was selfish enough to never look back to his family.

But seeing Ale’s happiness to see him again and all the love of his family, helps him slowly heal. Now they can all be together.

Shane’s first Día de los Muertos is so funny to everyone, because he doesn’t know what to do and still gets all ?? with some tradition, but he enjoys it all the same.

Life goes on in the Human World, their great-great grandson grows up, he gets married and has his own children than still put their picture in their Altar, and like that, things are okay.

#shyan #skeptic believer #shane x ryan #nini got mail #au time with nonnies #my aus #coco au #listen i'm a history nerd and i enjoyed thinking just of the background to make this au possible #thanks for this question my man #anonymous #au #otp: we took an oath

[beings-from-the-otherworld]

OC Summaries (revised)

I’ve decided to revise the post with the information about each of my OCs, especially since when I posted it, I’ve changed some of the character’s names and races. I’ve also made a better summary to the story I am writing.

The summary of the story is this: Siblings Alex and Robbie have lived with their grandparents for two years, after an incident that involved their parents occurred, and have often wondered why haven't they learned of their grandparents before from their mother...and what's with all the locked rooms in the mansion they're not allowed to go into, the locked shelf of books they're not allowed to read and the questions they're not allowed to ask. They find the answers to these questions one night, when their grandparents are out of the house and a mysterious being invades the mansion and attacks them. What are their grandparents' histories, who are these strange beings that keep showing up and trying to kill them, and what is this Otherworld that they keep mentioning?

And now information about each of the characters. 

First, the human characters: 

Samuel Verrat: Robbie and Rikku’s grandfather, who is a very level-headed and respectful man. Nobody knows where exactly he came from or how he and Beast got together, and that’s not the only secret he’s hiding.

Beast Wagner: Robbie and Rikku’s other grandfather, who is Samuel’s husband. He has some facial scars that he claimed he got in a “war”. What war it was, he never told his grandkids, and it doesn’t seem like he will anytime soon. He has a very high IQ and has knowledge of world history and cultures. He also tends to be very temperamental.

Alex Verrat-Wagner: A 6-year-old who is mostly innocent, if not a bit naive. She’s very sweet and caring of her family and friends, and is very enthusiastic about learning. She loves hanging around her grandparents, but it never dawned on her to question Samuel and Beast’s family history and why their mother never mentioned their existence to her or Robbie.

Robbie Verrat Wagner: A 16-year-old boy who is striving to make it in his teenage social life, such as by trying to have a lot of interesting friends and being great at a lot of things. So far, he’s had the people that he lives with on his list of “interesting friends” and using being a loner as being a thing he’s “great” at, but he still wants to have some sort of adventure. Maybe like one of the ones his grandfathers hide from him and Alex.

Darrian Jones: A woman who lives in the city far away from where the mansion is and is a friend of Zara’s. Darrian is a very strong-minded and proud woman who would do anything to keep her son safe, but she can be a tad strict at times.She is proud that Skylar is informed about social justice movements, but she’s worried that he might get into trouble because of it someday.

Skylar Jones: An 8-year-old boy who lives in the city and is Alex’s best friend. Skylar is also very big on human rights activism, especially Black Lives Matter, and he will not hesitate to call someone out when they’re being offensive to a marginalized group. He really likes hanging around the Otherworld beings, mostly Broker.

Clayton Jones: Darrian’s older brother, and Skylar’s uncle. He’s a pretty cool guy who can get along with pretty much anyone. He was aware of Darrian and Skylar visiting a “house that’s very far away from the city” where some friends live, but he’s never been to the mansion. When he does, he’s very taken aback by the Otherworld beings but he gets used to the chaos very quickly and sometimes helps the people fit into the Human World better.

Constantine Alvarez: A Cuban man who is a very enthusiastic and kind-hearted. He cares a lot about his wife, daughter, and friends. However, every now and then, he and his best friend, Ivan like to pull jokes on other people, and he can be a bit of a smartass sometimes, which drives Beast insane.

Zara Alvarez: A very loving and kind woman who almost always has a very sweet smile on her face. She rarely gets angry, but according to Constantine, her husband, when she is, she’s kind of scary. She also tends to be a little blunt with her opinions on things, which can be kind of painful since she seems like such a nice lady. Her biological daughter is Leah, but she treats Robbie and Alex like they were her own kids ever since they moved in, mostly because she feels bad about what happened to their mom.

Leah Alvarez: Constantine and Zara’s 18 year old daughter, who is very smart and cool, but she has a big of a sassy attitude and a bit of sarcastic sense of humor sometimes, something she probably inherited from her father. She is pretty protective of Robbie and Alex, since they’re like the younger siblings she’s never had.

Ivan Azarov: A Russian hacker, robotics expert and a bit of an inventor, Ivan came to America after Samuel discovered him after an incident involving a Russian robotics lab (though he won’t say what). Ivan is a goodhearted man despite his hacking hobby and he’ll help his friends when he has to, but he can be a big of a joker, usually assisted by his best friend, Constantine. He has a husband named Frederick Wage and a little daughter named Carina.

Frederick Wage: A British man who is very skilled in hacking. Frederick is a very dignified and friendly person, but he can kind of lose it when he’s angry or his anxiety’s through the roof, which is usually caused by someone doing something stupid or crazy, but he’s getting used to it. He has a little daughter named Carina, who he’s very protective of.

Carina Azarov-Wage: Ivan and Frederick’s 2 year old daughter, who they adopted not long after getting married. She’s a very sweet little girl who loves stuffed animals and knows a few Russian words from Ivan, specifically ‘da’, ‘nyet’ and a few curse words, much to Frederick’s chagrin.

And now for all the non-human characters!

Bog the Ampman: An Ampman is an amphibian-human being. Bog is a very amiable person, who offers his friends advice when they need it and answers any questions regarding biology that they have. He was a very respected scientist from Ampman Country in the Otherworld, so when he came to the Human World, he was very interested in studying the environments. He has a Nigerian accent and knows Hausa.

José the Playa: A Playa is a being that appears human but is slightly stronger than that of a normal human’s and has an strong immune system that can protect against a lot of STDs. José is a very outgoing man who cares a great deal about his friends’ well-beings, especially Broker, who he has a crush on. He is also very informed on the concepts of sex, reproductive health, sexuality and gender orientation, since sex education is taken very seriously in Playa City, where he’s from. He has the appearance of being Latino and knows Spanish.

Jane the Nymph: A Nymph is a human-looking being that wields a music instrument as a weapon, whether they use it to bludgeon their enemy to death or use the supersonic sound mode to blow their foe away. Their type depends on what genre of music they’re involved with and what instrument they play. Jane is a Rock n Roll Nymph with an electric guitar. Jane is a very bubbly lady who loves her friends and is always eager to learn new things about them and the Human World. Despite appearances, Jane is ready to kick anyone’s ass when they deserve it. She has long curly blonde hair, brown skin and bright blue eyes.

Broker the Loaner: A Loaner is a human-looking being that’s culture is mostly built around wealth, which can either be attained by mining or stealing. What differentiates Loaners from Humans is the fact that they all have super speed when it comes to running and thought-processing, so they’re quick physically and mentally. There is a caste system in Loaner Valley, where Broker is at the bottom, a Brown-neck, signified by a brown bandanna tied around his neck, meaning he’s the poorest, takes the least, and treated badly by the upper caste levels. He is very caring of his friends and always tries to do what he can to help them, though most of the time he doesn’t use the best method to do it. When he’s in the Human World, he’s surprised that they have a similar classism problem in their society like back in Loaner valley, but he’s even more surprised that people judge others based on their skin color more than their wealth, which doesn’t make sense to him since he’s used to being mocked for being poor rather than for being what humans say is “black”. Skylar does his best to explain what social injustice in the Human World is to Broker whenever he can. Broker is also a trans male.

Beatrice the Goth: A Goth is like a Nymph but the music genres they all play are mostly forms of goth rock, metal and punk. They broke away from the Nymphs centuries ago and became their own race, residing in Goth Grounds. Beatrice is a Punk Goth with a bass guitar. She’s a very bitter and blunt woman, and prefers to be by herself most of the time. Beatrice doesn’t show it, but she does have a soft spot for her friends and would fight anyone that would try to hurt them, especially Jane. She has the appearance of being Latino.

Kiowa the Askarian: An Askarian is a bit of a warrior race that is very skilled in fighting and hunting and well-known for their superhuman strength Kiowa is a very strong Askarian soldier, but he doesn’t let his strength go to his head. He has a lot of respect for his friends. Kiowa also has a pet micro-bunny (A bunny that’s the size of a 9-month old rabbit) a named Crooked-Ear, who’s been his companion ever since he was a kid and Crooked-Ear was the size of a cotton ball. Kiowa also has a lover back home named Sallali, or Sal, who he loves talking about and misses a great deal. He has the appearance of being indigenous.

Catty the Aristocrat: An Aristocrat is a very wealthy race that have very fancy lifestyle. They got their riches from mining, textiles, jewelry and other forms of production and they’re very proud of it. Catty is a very well-mannered and sweet lady, but that doesn’t mean she won’t act out when someone upsets her or one of her friends. She has a plus-size figure, which is common for Aristocrat women, but she dislikes how most humans seem to associate being fat with being ugly. Catty is also a brilliant baker, so she helps Alex and Skylar with making cookies or cupcakes when they need them for a class party or bake sale.

Platinum-Teeth the Tough-Tooth: A Tough-Tooth is a race of people who are known for three things: their large size, both height and weight-wise; their ability to use a large ax in combat; and having metallic teeth, hence their name. Platinum-Teeth has platinum teeth, hence his name, but he mostly goes by the name of Platinum. Despite his scary appearance, he is very level-headed and kind, not to mention very philosophical. He gives his friends advice when they need it and whatever wisdom he has to offer, which usually helps fix a situation that occurs. He tries to figure out if there’s a way to solve a problem logically, before anyone, mostly Nightshade, has the chance to do anything that worsen it.

Wimpy the Weakling: A Weakling is a human-like being with pale white skin and pastel or light colored hair. For instance, Wimpy has light green. They also tend to have very small frames and are generally low in strength, but their running speed is equivalent to that of a Loaner’s, which is good since they’re more so flighters than fighters. Weaklings also have this weird birthmark on their forehead, which is some sort of symmetrical shape, like a star in Wimpy’s case. Like most Weaklings, Wimpy has the worst anxiety and gets easily nervous and stutters a lot. He is a very sweet guy and he means well, but sometimes, it’s hard for the others to take him seriously. Since he’s moved into the mansion, some of the others, especially Kiowa, Platinum, and Jane have tried motivating Wimpy to get stronger and learn to cope with his anxiety better so he’ll feel more comfortable when he’s staying with the others.

Wolf the Werewolf: A Werewolf is a canine-human beings. (but you probably could figure that out) But these werewolves are pretty different from the ones we’re more familiar with. They usually appear as humans with canine ears, tails, sharper teeth, and claws instead of normal nails, and they’re very hairy regardless of what gender they are. They have a more monstrous form that resembles what we expect werewolves to look like which they use in combat and can also morph into full wolf forms. Wolf is a very tough werewolf, but he does have a bit of a temper and tends to try to avoid most problems his friends have,though he’s hardly ever successful. Despite his aggressive attitude, he cares a great deal about his friends. He is also sensitive to extremely loud noises, like thunder and fireworks, since he is after all part dog.

Florence the Fairy: A Fairy is a human-like being with insect-like wings, ranging from butterfly to housefly, that have power over magic, mostly of the elemental and healing sort. Florence is very serious and distinguished, getting easily annoyed whenever someone does anything stupid or annoy him…or both. Florence thinks of himself as being better than any of the other non-human world residents, thinking of himself as perfect and flawless, which isn’t true. He tends to get easily irritated and be very judgmental towards others. Florence can be nice to his friends sometimes, but it takes a lot to get his respect. Nezo and Nightshade still have yet to earn this.

Nezo the Shadow: A Shadow is a being that looks human, save one thing-they all have black hair and black skin, and when I say black skin, I mean black like a shadow you see when it’s sunny out, hence their race’s name. They use a form of dark magic and each have odd colored eyes, which are said to represent their personalities. For instance, Nezo has yellow eyes, which means he’s quick-witted, confidant, playful, enthusiastic, and easy-going, which he can be sometimes. However, yellow also describes dishonesty, jealousy, covetousness, and treachery, which also describes Nezo well. He tends to be a bit of a prankster, mostly picking on Florence and Wimpy, but when he’s not messing with people, he likes to sit back and relax, or have a friendly chat with the other people in the mansion, mostly Gloomy.

Gloomy the Alkristal: An Alkristal is a being that can have a variety of skin, hair and eye colors, usually associated with a gem or mineral color of some sort, like Gloomy has light blue skin, baby blue hair, and sky blue eyes. They also have crystalline wings that they can make appear and disappear and a form of light alchemy. Gloomy’s real name is Gloomstone, but lets the others call him Gloomy for short. Gloomy appears to be a very smart, respectful and content man, who helps his friends when they need it, cares about their well-being, and tries to make sure that none of them are feeling down. However, Gloomy himself as gone through some episodes of depression, where he isolates himself from the others for the whole day, which concerns the others, especially Nezo.

Abigail the Werecat: A Werecat is a feline-like person, who all have cat ears, whiskers, tails, and claws for nails, similar to a Werewolf. However, unlike Werewolves, Werecats tend to be a cat-person of a particular feline species, like Abigail is an Ocelot. She’s a very excitable and out-going person that just loves to get on everyone’s nerves. She tends to be a little sassy and enjoys poking fun at the other residents of the mansion, even when it’s probably not necessary. She and her best friend, Nightshade, like to play pranks on everyone and have a lot of good and happy fun together. However, Abigail also has some bad anxiety, which tends to cause her to be twitchy and stammer a lot whenever it acts up. She has a difficult time calming down alone and someone has to be around her whenever she gets like this to be sure that she’s okay. Aside from the cat features, she has the appearance of being Latinx.

Nightshade the Malopix: A Malopix is a being that is like a fairy, except they don’t have wings and their powers are mostly dark. They use the elements, like fairies, telekinesis, which can allow them to levitate objects and themselves, and can apparently manipulate death. Nightshade is a very energetic and overly excitable guy who adores pulling pranks on his friends, especially horror-themed pranks, with the help of his BFF Abigail, and tends to do the most ridiculous stunts. He seems to be very happy all the time, but there are moments where he goes through an episode of depression, which usually renders him inactive for awhile. His depressing episodes are very rare, but when he had his first one around the other people living in the mansion, the other residents were very surprised. He has gray skin, coily white hair and purple eyes.

#ocs #original characters

[petite-neko]

Nexus of Time - 02

Fanfiction: Nexus of Time Story Summary: Gohan trapped with in the depths of time! Now, Trunks needs to save Gohan and allow him his three years of training… for yet unknown to both of them, Gohan is the future saviour of Earth! But how can Trunks save somebody whom he doesn’t know needs saving? Fandom: Dragon Ball Z Characters: Gohan, M!Trunks, M!17&18, M!Chi-Chi Pairing: Gohan/M!Trunks, M!Gohan/M!Trunks Rating: T Warnings: Violence, Character Death, Angst, PTSD, Universe Alteration Author’s Notes: Also: Feel free to let me know of anything that seems off. As I said, I'm doing some edits to each chapter! Oh, and... fair warning. This story? It's overloaded with angst. I mean it. So much angst.

(I set up a ko-fi account guys! Feel free to donate! Link in blog description!)

(Check source for ao3 link!)

I am sorry to put this here, but due to people who have been stalking and harassing me for a certain type of content:

THIS WORK WILL NOT CONTAIN SHOTA.

NO, I AM NOT GOING TO WRITE YOU A SELF-INSERT FANFICTION.

Leave me alone, you are not welcome here.

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3

Gohan had never heard anything else in regards to the past, or of the creatures that were terrorising the Earth. Grandmother Lodi was adamant on keeping him out of the loop. ‘Don’t you worry’ she would say, ‘it’s better for you not to know.’

He appreciated her concern, he did, but… for him… it was worse not knowing than knowing. It was worse because Gohan knew… he knew of the horrors of the universe, and he knew… he knew that one day, these things would be the death of him.

They would be the death of everybody he knew and cared about. His father, Piccolo… their fighting friends…

Because the only energies he could feel… were the faint energies of his mother, his grandfather, and Roshi... (And he thought Bulma, but he wasn’t too sure. There was some familiar energy coming from where Capsule Corp should be.)

And that was rather unusual. Because for how strong those abominations must be, he could not sense them. Not a trace. In fact… the only time he could was when they attacked.

Because he could feel a disturbance. He could feel as energies fluctuated. As they faded. Slowly… steadily…

(It was… sickening, honestly. Because all he could do was imagine. Imagine just what they were doing to those poor people for their energy to slowly fade like that…)

In fact, his imagination was getting the better of him. It would create scenario after scenario, trying to envision just what kind of creatures could be stronger, and worse than Frieza. (Because Frieza… Frieza did not do this. He killed for fun, he killed for information, but not once did Gohan see or sense him needlessly torturing his victims for any other reason other than information.) They were sadistic. They would torture and torment Earth until all of their toys died out….

And his imagination would try and picture what happened. What had happened to all of his friends – his father…

Him.

So, no, Grandmother Lodi… it was not better not knowing.

And, all of this hiding… it was not doing him any favours either. Because he could see it. See that broken spirit of the old woman before him. He could see it in the eyes of the people around him. As they scurried for their shelters, only admonishing the children that tripped instead of helping them.

Fear. That was what ruled this world.

He wasn’t immune to it either.

No, as the weeks turned into a month, Gohan found himself acting so very similar to the others – but in his own, unique way. In the way that spoke of a person being scared. Because… he was going to die. Maybe not tomorrow… but…

(Because there just wasn’t any other option. There wasn’t. He was the only Gohan who had the ability to turn into a Super Saiyajin.)

And, it only made him wonder, it only made him that much more afraid, because if he, as a Super Saiyajin, couldn’t even defeat these… creatures, what chance did he? As a seven year old child who was terrified of a being far weaker? As somebody who had not made the achievement of a Super Saiyajin?

It was hopeless.

And yet, for whatever masochistic reason, Gohan would sit there, on the rocks he was found on, concentrating on the ki disruption whenever it happened.

“Gohan, dear?”

“…They’re at it again…” He whispered quietly, but he could hear her as she shook his head.

“Oh, Dearie, enough of this nonsense. Come on, come inside. Supper is almost ready.”

However there was something that was making him uneasy. More so than usual.

And it took him a few more minutes to realise just what it was…

They were headed towards where his mother was!

Gohan jolted upright and looked in that direction. His mother – his mother!

“Grandmother Lodi – I’m – ah – afraid I must take my leave now.”

She turned towards him, her eyes soft and sad. “You’re leaving. Did… you regain your memories boy?”

Gohan bit his lip. He certainly did not like playing this charade, but… how could he tell her what he had come to conclude? Especially as she didn’t believe a few things he had mentioned to her already.

“I just – I just need to go home.”

That sad smile reached her face. “Well, I can’t let you go on an empty stomach, now can I? Certainly it can wait…”

He chewed his lip more. “Just for a few minutes…” He would quickly eat, and leave. He could grant her this concern. She had housed him for this last month after all…

And, with food in his stomach Gohan stood up, only to have a firm grip on his arm.

“It’s dangerous out there child… with the Androids…”

She wanted him to stay – and that lightened his heart a bit. Perhaps humanity wasn’t completely ruled by fear after all… He looked down, only feeling that determination swell in his chest once. Androids, huh? Artificial beings… Now it was making sense just why he couldn’t sense them…

Gohan shook his head, smiling up at her. “Thank you. For your hospitality – for everything, but I must go now.”

And, as he left, taking to the skies, he looked back only to see a true smile on her face.

.+++.

Gohan managed to avoid the city that was under attack. In fact, he recognised the route he was taking, as debilitated as it was. He was headed home – not to just where his family was but his actual home.

And, aside from the beat up roof and walls, there was something else that caught his attention.

Stones. No – not just any stones – those were tombstones…

He knew… he knew he should just look away. Ignore them, but his eyes were fixated on them. They were underneath a tree. The tree he remembered climbing. The tree he remembered his dad sleeping against as they fished…

His eyes ran over the first one.

Son Goku, 737-766. Loving Father and husband.

His knees slumped. Two… two years? He was going to lose his dad in two years? That’s… that’s how much longer he had? Two years of happiness… before… before this?

It didn’t feel real anymore. No… not with that deadline. He could have lived with knowing he was going to die in sixteen years. Sixteen years. That was enough time to try and prepare for this… this calamity but… two? Two years?

Because, just how else could his father have died? The man who defeated Frieza…

He found his hands trembling. How? How could chaos be upon them so soon? How could they have just not known? To be blissfully unaware that…

(And, what did that mean for him? To have fought for fourteen years…?)

Suddenly, he didn’t want to look at the other tombstone. He knew… he knew just whose exactly it would be…

“Go-Gohan? N-No, this cannot be!”

Almost – just almost was Gohan relieved for the interruption in his thoughts. That is, until his mother’s form wobbled. “M-Mom…”

She looks so much older…

“Chi-Chi!” The rougher voice of his grandfather called out as he ran towards his mother, catching her before she hit the ground. And then, their eyes met.

“Kami… it’s a ghost!”

“Grandpa!” Finally, Gohan snapped out of it and ran over to them. “I’m not a ghost… at least I don’t think I am…”

“Th-Then what are you?” The Ox-King asked as he held his unconscious daughter.

Gohan looked down at his feet. “I’m Gohan… just not the one from here… I don’t know what happened, but one moment Dad’s coming home from space, and the next I wake up and I end up here… I… well, it looks like I’m in the future? Could you tell me what happened in the last twenty years, after Frieza attacked? From what I could figure out, everybody but me is dead…  and I died four years ago, and there are Androids terrorizing Earth, the dragon balls are gone, and Earth is now powerless against the enemy.”

“No, Earth isn’t powerless. There’s Trunks, he was your pupil.”

“B-But… if I couldn’t defeat them as a Super-Saiyajin, then what hope does a human have?” Gohan asked sadly.

“He’s a Saiyajin too.”

Gohan glanced up in surprise. “He is? I have a brother?”

For the first time did the Ox-King laugh. “No, he’s Vegeta’s child.”

Gohan blinked. “Wait, what! Ve-Vegeta’s?” Suddenly Bulma’s words echoed into his mind. Words that seemed years away…

“Don’t they look alike? Vegeta and that weird kid.”

Gohan’s eyes widened. It couldn’t be…

“Yeah, he’s got purple hair and blue eyes, he gets it from his mother.” The Ox-King seemed to be relaxed, as his family was whole. (Or… at least almost.

Trunks… Gohan thought, letting the name weave itself around in his brain. So that was the name of the young Saiyajin who saved us from Frieza?

Wait, that didn’t make any sense! Trunks was older than he was! How could Trunks be his pupil? Did Vegeta have a child before he came to Earth? Yet, Vegeta seemed surprised about Trunks. What was going on?

“At least he’s got Bulma.”

Gohan’s head was spinning. Bulma? Bulma has… no way! “Wait, wait, wait!” Gohan blubbered, before he remembered his grandfather mentioning Trunks’ hair and eyes were from his mother... “Is Bulma Trunks’ mom?”

The Ox-King nodded with his eyes closed and a smile on his face, oblivious to Gohan’s shock.

That would explain why he wore the Capsule Corporation jacket… Gohan thought, trying to piece everything together. “Grandpa… can you just start from when Frieza attacked? From when Dad came back from space?” Maybe that would be better… he was getting so confused.

The Ox-King nodded and went into his story.

.+++.

Gohan blinked as he absorbed all of the information. His dad… he died from a heart virus, everybody else died when the androids attacked six months later, and that was where he gained the ability of Super Saiyajin. Then, all he did was train and fight. He took Vegeta’s son – Trunks – as a pupil and trained him. They were the last two fighters Earth had, and now the last once he died four years ago. But why was Trunks fighting Frieza, when his dad was supposed to, why was Trunks there when he wasn’t even born yet? Why did Trunks know his dad was supposed to arrive there?

Yet, once Gohan realized when he was, things clicked into place. That machine that Trunks left in was not some spaceship, or an airplane. No, it was a time machine! And, somehow, as he came to this timeline, Gohan was swept up in it and ended up here.

He needed to find this Trunks, and go back to where he belonged.

“Where can I find Trunks?” Gohan asked as he looked up at his grandfather.

“West City, where they always – Oh Chi-Chi!”

Gohan turned to his mom, but realized that she might faint again if he was in the house. “Grandpa? Can you break the news to Mom that I’m… not a ghost?” Gohan said as he snuck quietly over to a wall and hid behind it.

“Oh Chi-Chi! Are you alright?” The Ox-King said as he lifted his daughter up into a sitting position.

However, the aged woman still had some spring as she shot up. “Where’s my Gohan? Where’s my boy?” She said and looked around. And then her face. “…Am I so old that I’m seeing things now?”

And Gohan, confident enough that his appearance wouldn’t send his mother into shock, stepped out of his hiding place. “No… no you’re not Mom.”

Chi-Chi’s head whipped up at the gentle voice of her son. “Oh Gohan… is it really you?”

Gohan’s face had a sad smile. “I’m from the past Mom… I’m not the other Gohan.”

It seemed that it didn’t matter to Chi-Chi though and she stood up to hug her young son. “Oh Gohan… my baby…”

Normally, Gohan would have squirmed out of his mother’s grasp, but he knew that she needed this. Her Gohan was dead, he was that second tombstone, the one Gohan would not - could not -  read. And then, he remembered why he was here in the first place and he looked up into his mother’s eyes. “Mom, you and Grandpa need to get out of here!” How could he have forgotten! “The androids are coming this way, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

In a manner that was too practiced, too casual, Chi-Chi nodded. “Okay. Thanks you for warning me.” She said weakly and kissed the top of his head before walking off in a ritual that, too, was probably honed over the years of terror. “You’re going away, aren’t you?”

Since when was his mother so accepting of him going away? Of going into danger? Since when did she seem so weak? So fragile? Gohan looked down. “Yes… my time needs me Mom…”

“It’s alright honey.” She said while packing bare necessities and memorabilia, in case they could not come home again. “It was… good to see you again.”

Gohan looked down at the ground before he ran up to his mother and encased her in a tight hug. He would prevent this! If only he could go back home, go back to his own time!

“Shh, shhh my dear. You must go, as do I.” Chi-Chi said and ruffled Gohan’s long hair. “But how about we cut your hair first?”

Gohan smiled. “Alright.” He said. He could let her do that, and from the ki disruption, they still were far enough away…

.+++.

“There!” Chi-Chi said. “I say, my talent doesn’t change with age, does it Papa?” The smile on her face was one that looked like it wasn’t used often anymore. (Just like Grandmother Lodi…)

“Yes it doesn’t Chi-Chi!” The Ox-King acknowledged. “But, we all should get going, I’ve contacted Master Roshi, he said he’s waiting for us at the coast.”

Gohan gave one last smile to his remaining family in this time, and took off for West City.

As Gohan flew, something bad was happening not far off. Ki’s were disappearing and he knew that if he continued to fly, he would be found out. He landed and he was near a village in the mountains. He had to be careful when he flew because he knew that if he was caught in the open, there would be no hiding. So he took the mountain route. He ran a hand through his hair.

Thankfully, it wasn’t a repeat of when he left for Namek. So, his mother had learned that taming the natural spikes was neither productive nor reasonable. She had just simple cut off the back end of it, while the front flared out as it always did.

He sighed before hiding behind the mountain. There was an old village there – and people were probably still living in the outskirts and rubble, just as they were where Lodi lived… And the Androids… they were picking them off, one by one… Destroying buildings… rubble… just to find a toy to play with.

He found himself shaking in fear and in hatred. This was just like on Namek, when he hid as he watched Frieza destroy Dende’s village. Yet, here, there was nobody to hold him back except his own fear and his own knowledge. There was no Krillin…

Gohan heard their screams, he heard their cries. And, then a man landed in front of him, hit from a blast, a kick, or something. “R-Run boy…” He said weakly before his own ki faded.

How! How could somebody, something, be so ruthless? How!

Gohan heard footsteps and he froze.

“Man, humans are such weak creatures, are they not?” A female voice said.

“Are you kidding? Sometimes I wished we hadn’t killed Gohan, at least he provided us with some sort of amusement every now and then.” A male voice responded.

Their tones sent shivers down Gohan’s spin as he hid behind a rock. These people… these things were closing in on him. They talked about death as a casual thing, they joked about it, they were the ones who killed him, no his future self.

“Well there’s always his pupil, Trunks or something.” The female said as she kicked the corpse of the man just inches away from him.

“Eighteen, do you see that rock over there?” The man said.

Gohan’s eyes widened. The voice was directed his way.

“Yeah, what’s so interesting about it Seventeen?” The female named Eighteen responded.

“Well, I think there’s some wild hair behind it.” Seventeen said and the footsteps came closer. Then, they stopped and a very human-like hand grasped his hair.

Gohan gasped and struggled before coming face-to-face with his killers, his very human-looking killers.

“Why… fancy that. This kid is the spitting image of Gohan.” Seventeen said. “I wonder… maybe he’s his son?”

Eighteen placed her hands on her hips. “What does it matter? Just kill him already.”

“Well, you see, if he is Gohan’s son, then maybe he’ll provide us with some fun. It’s getting boring killing humans without their Superhero to protect them. This Trunks character just isn’t as strong as Gohan was, even without the arm.” Seventeen then turned his blue eyes towards Gohan. “So tell me kid, are you Gohan’s?”

Why Gohan had the impulse to reply to them, he didn’t know. Perhaps it had to do with the fear that made his blood feel like lead. Perhaps it was due to the fact that if he told him that he was Gohan… they would kill him – and he had to get back. Had to get home so he could warn everybody…

So, he nodded.

Then an evil smirk graced Seventeen’s face. “Well look at that! He is Gohan’s brat!” He said before letting go of Gohan’s hair. “So kid, show me what you got! Comon! I’ll let you live if you pass the test, so you gotta give it your all.”

Gohan stared at them in fright. Pass the test? Did he have to become Super Saiyajin? How could he? How? Yet, if he didn’t do anything, Gohan knew he was going to die. So he took a deep, shaky breath and let all of his power come to him.

#truhan #trunksxgohan #trunks x gohan #mirai trunks #son gohan #petiteneko:story #gohan #trunks #dbz #fanfic:not

[fluffybunnybadass]

The three TGP sisters, plus Melody (Pokeverse) and Alt-Melody. Maybe Douchebagel, too.

the prompt

Full Name:Gender and Sexuality:Pronouns:Ethnicity/Species:Birthplace and Birthdate:Guilty Pleasures:Phobias:What They Would Be Famous For:What They Would Get Arrested For:OC You Ship Them With:OC Most Likely To Murder Them:Favorite Movie/Book Genre:Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche:Talents and/or Powers:Why Someone Might Love Them:Why Someone Might Hate Them:How They Change:Why You Love Them:

Sarai Chiaki

Full Name: Sarai Lin ChiakiGender and Sexuality: Female and Demiro Pansexual. Or maybe bi, but I’m honestly not sure for her in particular.Pronouns: She/herEthnicity/Species: Human/technically half-celestial, JapaneseBirthplace and Birthdate: [sputtering noises for birthplace], I forget if I kept her berdei the same as mine considering how quickly she ran from being a self-insert like right away from point of creation. :TGuilty Pleasures: [HURR HURR] reading fluffy stuff on the occasion, thinking about dat romancePhobias: being hurt/betrayed, some heights??? I forget. I don’t think her fears came up much when I was using her. :T;What They Would Be Famous For: Last I checked, it’s underground poprock star [currently a Paramore cover band]What They Would Get Arrested For: Trespassing, tbh.OC You Ship Them With: no one atm?? i mean i’d probably ship her with her bandmates if I had to pick a ship, since her and Shroud are kind of not a thing anymore [actual reason: don’t talk to that mun anymore]OC Most Likely To Murder Them: idk Raven probably [of mine, uh. QB I guess, she’s the only one to actually commit murder out of like everyone]Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Action/comedyLeast Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: dramas/period dramasTalents and/or Powers: uhhh does being chronically depressed count uhhh she’s kinda good at her cover band gig. She’s the only one in her family that seems to be powerless, even though her parents are a celestial/angel and a powerful mage, she has 0 abilities. She secretly blames her older sisters for taking all of them, even if that isn’t the case anymore.Why Someone Might Love Them: She was the quirky LULZ RANDOM1!! teen, also is treated poorly by her narrative tbqh...Why Someone Might Hate Them: She’s chronically depressed as of late/has become hardened as a result, like even to the point of another OC known for being a bitch coming in and being like “dude. stop being a bitch. you’re a human it’s literally against your biological inclinations to isolate yourself and be vitriolic.”How They Change: already answered above, but they go from being the low-key depressed but presenting RANDUMS LULZ!!! teen and eventually become full-blown depression because wow she has nothing to offer the world and continues to lack reasons to believe opposite.Why You Love Them: I... made... her??? like I don’t even know. Also maybe because we vibe a lot on the whole “I’m nothing special, everyone else [in my family] has something special about them” aspects of bad brain thinking.

Hamano Chiaki

Full Name: Hamano [nee Chiaki]. I forget her husband’s last name lolwoops. [alternatively, wonder if the girls all just. keep their last name and it’s only a technicality. They’re all still referred to as the Chiaki sisters, after all]Gender and Sexuality: female and I don’t know!! hetero/guy-loving?Pronouns: she/herEthnicity/Species: Human/half-celestial, JapaneseBirthplace and Birthdate: [whirrrling noises] I forget her birthday i’m sure it’s on her lj/gaia.... apparently it’s 9/30? huh. I always thought she was a summer muse. ok then.Guilty Pleasures: TRASHY ROMANCE MOVIES/NOVELS, like they’re so bad but she loves all the cheesy romance stuff. and some of the trashy stuff too. Phobias: Not being able to help someone/her sisters, losing her sisters.What They Would Be Famous For: Clothes/designing/teaching design!What They Would Get Arrested For: nothing she is too good. [maybe if mind-reading is illegal]OC You Ship Them With: @whenocsareooc / @curseyoupikachu ’s  Mikhail. ..Kurogawa? or was that someone else’s last name lol.OC Most Likely To Murder Them: who would want to murder her. qb doesn’t count, she’s always dtmFavorite Movie/Book Genre: Romance/”chick flicks”Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: hypermasculine action festsTalents and/or Powers: Psychic. Telekinesis, telepathy, spirit sensing, etc etc.Why Someone Might Love Them: She’s super sweet and her love of romance stuff is p. admirable.Why Someone Might Hate Them: she’s “too girly” and “cheats by mindreading”How They Change: She was a romance tryhard and flirty with all the boys, she eventually calms down when she finally meets Mikhail [she’s always been faithful to whomever she was dating, but she rarely found someone she was attracted to like. all the time. or something.]. She also goes from being the quiet middle sheep between her older and younger sister, and more actively mediates and takes part in their lives, instead of doing whatever she felt would create the least amount of strife. She goes from being a little timid about getting in the middle of things, to stepping in when she sees/senses the need for it. Why You Love Them:  SHE’S LIKE MY BLACK SHEEP I ACCIDENTALLY NEVER DO ANYTHING WITH HER, BUT I STILL LOVE HER BECAUSE EVEN IF SHE’S LIKE ALL MY GIRLY TROPES ROLLED INTO A CHARACTER, I LOVE HOW UNABASHEDLY HAPPY SHE IS ABOUT BEING A GIRL??? LIKE. YOU GO GIRL. #INSPIRATION.

Sakamoto Chiaki

Full Name: Sakamoto Chiaki-HertzmorderGender and Sexuality: Female, greysexual? //SHRUGSPronouns: she/herEthnicity/Species: human/half-celestial, JapaneseBirthplace and Birthdate: we just don’t know but it’s probably in Japan, and I thought it was later in may but maybe I was thinking of ALL THE PEOPLE I KNOW WITH MARCH/MAY BDAYS anyways it’s 5/18 apparently Guilty Pleasures: don’t tell anyone but her husband but she rly likes the soft quiet moments where she actually gets to be vulnerable/not strong, SHE WILL NOT HESITATE TO PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE IF YOU FIND OUT., also i’m sure there’s something else but that was the only thing to come to mind lolPhobias: Losing, getting killed, being the reason for any harm/death to come to her sisters/familyWhat They Would Be Famous For: The Potion Seller who sells you their strongest potion. am i memeing this right. also for kicking your ass with magic without breaking a sweat What They Would Get Arrested For: setting people/places on fire.OC You Ship Them With: Viktor!! :DOC Most Likely To Murder Them: lol... I’m pretty sure my friend’s OC Raven still has dibs despite them pretty much being extended family/distant relate-mates [both tough, closed off women with happier little sisters and known for being powerful as well, getting worned down by a pair of dashingly handsome vampire brothers.], but it’s more like a case of “You don’t get to die until I say you do. Only *I* am allowed to take your life.” [also a bit of pun, seeing as Raven is her realm’s goddess of death. XD]Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Nonfiction books, mostly spell/information/learning booksLeast Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: any movies but mostly romance and action. and terribly written/”unrealistic” fantasy movies [no one is able to watch their random fantasy series around her because “THAT’S NOT HOW MAGIC WORKS WHAT THE FUCK”]Talents and/or Powers: magical AF. like. literally. High MP pool to cast those big powerful spells down a few times and blast your ass into the next 5 dimensions. Also can read tarot despite it not being a very magical thing. Why Someone Might Love Them: She’s a strong woman who don’t need no man, sarcastic af, she takes no shit.Why Someone Might Hate Them: OP af, closed off/distant even to her own siblings; kinda fucks up raising her kids/connecting with her daughter because of this.How They Change: She learns to open up more and become less imposing/threatening to her own children, especially when it shows much strain in her relationship with her own daughter. While the gap can never truly become completely filled, they have worked together on making a bridge, and as a result, she’s opened up to helping people more, whereas before it was a sort of “obligation” to the greater good. She was also mostly concerned with kicking her dad’s ass for his manipulation of his children and neglect, but while she’s nowhere near saying that she has familial love (or any kind of love for that matter) for her father, she no longer hates and despises him/just barely tolerates him.* Why You Love Them: see “reasons why someone might love them”

*bonus fact: he tries to give the Chiaki-Hertzmorder family branch gifts of goodwill, such as incredibly expensive pottery and vases and shit, and Sakamoto just lets her kids use them as target practice..... LOL. someone broke a vase? As long as it was from your grandfather it’s all good.

Melody (Pokeverse)

Full Name: Melody Ann Anson [nee Hikari]Gender and Sexuality: female, demiro (gr)ace. I think.Pronouns: she/herEthnicity/Species: Human, Kanto nativeBirthplace and Birthdate: Saffron City, 11/30/90Guilty Pleasures: buhhhhhhhhh [whirrling noise] going on adventures now that she’s a responsible adulting mom. how do u go on an adventure with two toddlers and a husband that’s a Champion and y’all are pseudo-celebs/recognizeable that is hard ok.Phobias: death, somehow doing something unforgivable, losing everything.What They Would Be Famous For: being the most accomplished trainer ever woops. [okay like. being a Champion and being married to an elite four member slash Champion? and winning a few cups/tournaments here and there? like how much MORE famous/footnote in history can you get]What They Would Get Arrested For: buhbuhbuh breaking and entering in order to free some pokemon that were being illegally kept/treated improperly lolOC You Ship Them With: no one :T [i feel like there ALMOST was one at some point. but I don’t think they were within this realm/history/limitation]OC Most Likely To Murder Them: no one within realm.Favorite Movie/Book Genre: adventure/fantasy books, action/comedies moviesLeast Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: poorly done Kiss of LifeTalents and/or Powers: she’s a really strong/awesome trainer? and she could have been a really Masterful Coordinator in her late teens/early twenties/current age if she had kept interest in them. [Unfortunately, becoming a Pokemon Master > Pokemon Coordinator]. Why Someone Might Love Them: idk she’s just p. neatWhy Someone Might Hate Them: [insert people screaming MARY SUE here despite that getting worked on]How They Change: She starts out as this kind of. Openly willful kid, with a very expressive way about what was right and well (so I guess.. that’s like. 8th grade syndrome or whatever?), but she eventually matures, and in her early twenties she’s just this. Much more calm/reserved/wise-seeming adult who seems to have their life together, though in reality she’s still just trying to figure it out, especially when the itch to adventure isn’t something you can’t just up and do anymore when you’ve got a husband, a home, children, essentially “Settled”. Why You Love Them: she my bae/first gal  

Alt-Melody

Full Name: [redacted]Gender and Sexuality: female-presenting [maybe agender] and i’m not sure if she’s just lesbian or pan.Pronouns: she/her/they/themEthnicity/Species: humanBirthplace and Birthdate: [redacted]Guilty Pleasures: watching her girlfriend/wife?? idk tbh it’s very hard when I never really got into their character much.Phobias: becoming weak, not being able to defend/protect her gf.What They Would Be Famous For: hacking i guess.What They Would Get Arrested For: hacking, lol. and illegal time/realm travelOC You Ship Them With: alt!kiraOC Most Likely To Murder Them: QB, maybe a handful of friend’s OCs.Favorite Movie/Book Genre: tech/instruciton manuals, information booksLeast Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: literally any of them.Talents and/or Powers: I... don’t remember terribly well? I’m not sure if she also has time/realm travel abilities or if she had a device for it. She is more warrior-trained than her alt/original.Why Someone Might Love Them: idk tough quiet person made of stone who loves her frilly gf and that dynamic between the two?Why Someone Might Hate Them: she’s p. plain for an alt.How They Change: idk she marries her gf //THROWS HANDS UP IN THE AIRWhy You Love Them: i don’t have the same affection for her like I did a lot of the other characters, but she did slap some sense into her alt [literally], so bonus points for that. *thumbs up*

Douchebagel

Full Name: idk but he’s referred to in-universe as Mafia Purge and in the past as an Alpha Purge.Gender and Sexuality: he i guess, aropan? i forget. either aropan or aroace.Pronouns: he/him/it/shitballEthnicity/Species: futuristic human thing being now made of timespace ether???Birthplace and Birthdate: one of the many alternate sc5 realms/timelines that was all mafia themed, and he was one of the few to be successful/killed his timeline’s UlalaGuilty Pleasures: everything he does is a guilty pleasure.Phobias: uh. i forget if spiders was a universal alt/purge phobia or not.What They Would Be Famous For: he is literally famous within that rpverse as being the Fallen, the ex-Alpha, for being a piece of shit, and when he and QB meet in timeline, for actually being one of the few people to give QB a run for her money.What They Would Get Arrested For: [LAUGH TRACK]OC You Ship Them With: crackships alpha and qb. separately. tho man now i wonder how the fuck a poly would work with them that would be interesting/hilarious AF.OC Most Likely To Murder Them: QB, Alpha, any of the other alt Purges... they all also HAVE killed him he’s just. beyond normal lifeline/timeline cycles when he originally ascended to Alpha status.Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Crime lol. Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Where the crimelords don’t win like where’s the realism in that.Talents and/or Powers: where do i begin? Spacetime manipulation for one, manipulation of people for another, being insanely uber powerful that only other beings who have ascended to a statehood of Alpha can even come close to harming him, making even QB hesitate. I forget what else but man he’s. he’s... someone you don’t wanna mess with, like actual demigod level here.Why Someone Might Love Them: he literally is scum the only thing he has going for him is being a source of drama and being someone QB would hatefully run from/avoid conflict with.Why Someone Might Hate Them: he is a piece of shit and tortures all his alts without remorse and is essentially the one who ruined alpha’s life, PLEASE GIVE ALPHA HIS HAPPINESS AND CHEERFUL NATURE BACK KTHXHow They Change: he gets more powerful, merges with a demon, comes back as an uber demon. is still unsuccessful.Why You Love Them: LOVE HATE MAN LOVE HATE CAN YOU SEE WHY DO I REALLY NEED TO SPELL IT OUT.

#my ocs #--sort of #oc: melody anson #oc: chiaki sisters #tgp #the guilty pleasure #the 3 kingdoms #douchebagel #oc: sarai chiaki #oc: hamano chiaki #oc: sakamoto chiaki #oc: sakamoto hertzmorder #oc: alt. melody #notevendoommusic #asks

[mwsa-member]

MWSA Interview with Zita Fletcher

Date of interview: 19 January 2020 Zita Ballinger Fletcher (also known by the pen name Zita Steele) is a journalist, author and military history writer. She writes fiction and nonfiction books, and has published more than 10 works. With a background in art, she designs and illustrates her published work. She also produces videos and creates multimedia content. Zita is the author of the first published collection of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s wartime photography, an ongoing book series. Her areas of interest include World War II British and Commonwealth history and German Resistance. In addition to MWSA, Zita is a member of the British Military Historical Society and the Friends of the Fusilier Museum Warwick (conserving the history of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment) in the UK. Zita is also a member of the National Society of the Washington Family Descendants and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Zita is fluent in German. She attended the Honors College at the University of South Florida and graduated Magna Cum Laude with an Honors Degree in Social Sciences. Her writings have been published by: Military History magazine, World War II Quarterly journal, World War II History magazine, The National Rifle Association, The Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, The Abraham Lincoln Association’s For the People Newsletter, North Irish Roots (UK), and the Journals of the Gloucestershire and Lincolnshire Family History Societies (UK). She is also a photographer. Visit Zita’s website at: http://www.fletcherpublishers.com/ Visit Zita’s Amazon Author profile: https://www.amazon.com/Zita-Steele/e/B009W3L5H8 MWSA: Would you recommend MWSA membership to other authors? Zita Fletcher: Definitely. MWSA provides so many resources for professional development and opportunities to learn from and connect with a wonderful community of fellow authors. I am happy to be part of the MWSA writing community and encourage all prospective authors to join. No matter what your experience level, you will find opportunities to learn, engage with others and share your story. MWSA: Please tell us a little about your writing background and philosophy. Zita Fletcher: I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I excelled at writing in school and loved storytelling. My earliest ambition was to write books. Besides writing, history and social studies were my strongest subjects in school. They continue to be my strongest subjects. In college, I majored in Social Sciences with concentrations in International Studies and Criminology. Within my discipline, I focused on criminal profiling and psychology. I earned many academic distinctions. After graduation, I strongly considered pursuing a career in Forensic Psychology. I ultimately decided to become a professional writer and am happy with my choice. As a journalist, I've enjoyed being able to share the stories and thoughts of many of our country’s veterans including a Marine medic who fought in the Battle of Guam, a Korean War veteran, wounded veterans who participated in the Warriors to Lourdes journey, a Medal of Honor recipient and others. As an American, I’m a strong believer in intellectual freedom and the human right to question. Freely exchanging opinions and firsthand learning are opportunities for discovery and enlightenment. Throughout my life I have rejected attempts by others to control or dictate what I think or believe. I became a political independent in college and remain so. I reject labels. I use the term “free thinker” to emphasize my philosophy of independently determining my beliefs and values. MWSA: Why do you write under a pen name as an author? Zita Fletcher: As a creative person, I like to have the flexibility of writing under a creative name to express myself. I use the pen name Zita “Steele.” The name “Steele” is a wordplay on steel metal. According to the Chinese zodiac and Five Element system, my element is Metal. I do not believe in astrology or horoscopes; I simply find this very cool. MWSA: When did you become interested in military matters? Zita Fletcher: My interest in war, soldiers and generals dates from an early age. As a child, I liked to play with toy knights instead of dolls. Also growing up in a Catholic house, I had a strong attraction to muscular male saints (often depicted with weapons) including St. Michael, St. George, and St. Sebastian. When I was 10, people were astonished to learn that my favorite movie was Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator.” I also amazed others when I bought Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” during a bookstore trip at about age 12. I was one of the only girls I knew who liked shooting games and war movies. On trips to museums, I was fascinated by guns, armor, swords and spears. In high school I was a voracious reader of ancient Roman war histories and keenly interested in samurai. One of my favorite TV shows was “Human Weapon.” I liked to watch the Military Channel, which is now called the American Heroes Channel. I think my interests surprised people who did not expect a feminine young lady to have such a strong attraction to warriors and military science. My genetic makeup is English, Irish, German, and Spanish—all ethnicities known for having great fighting spirit and strength of character. I was also born in the Chinese zodiac Year of the Horse. While I do not believe in astrology, some traits associated with the Horse accurately describe my personality. I was raised in a single-parent household; given my strong-willed nature, things could have been difficult. Thankfully my mom appreciated my free spirit and allowed me to be very independent growing up. In addition to military history, I’ve also had a lifelong interest in martial arts and sports. My favorite sports include mixed martial arts and fencing (foil); I started foil fencing at age 17, and still love it. MWSA: What do you like about military history? Zita Fletcher: One of the main reasons I love military history is because it is filled with courage, leadership and self-sacrifice. I like to learn about feats of bravery and strength. There is also a lot of warmth and humor among soldiers. I admire stories of brotherhood and great commanders who bonded with their troops. I’ve always been very curious about the international landscape—I love travel and foreign languages. This has led me to have keen interest in military history and theories from other countries. MWSA: Do you come from a military family? Zita Fletcher: My family history includes military tradition. My great-grandfather Edward W. Arnold was a U.S. Marine Corps instructor during World War I. My grandfather Ray A. Fletcher Sr. served as a medic in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol during the Korean War. My direct ancestor, Morris Gibbons, was a “bushwhacker” guerilla chief who led raids under Col. Joe Porter in Missouri during the Civil War. My other ancestors include a Southern cavalryman in Hampton’s Legion, several Revolutionary War-era militia captains, a British Royal Navy privateer, a Swiss-German mercenary who fought for the Duke of Marlborough and Spanish conquistadors. MWSA: Why do you speak German? Zita Fletcher: I studied German for many years as part of a personal journey to get in touch with my heritage. Aside from the rewarding experience of connecting with other people, this skill has also been priceless regarding military history. I’ve been able to do research at many German-language institutions in Europe, including the German Historical Museum in Berlin, the Jewish Museum of Berlin, the Nuremberg Trials Memorial, the Munich City Museum, the Museum of Military History in Vienna, and many other places. I find there is a void when it comes to sharing German history and perspectives with English readers—things get lost in translation, or just simply lost. I use my German language skills to research and share knowledge through my writing. MWSA: Where did your interest in British military history come from? Zita Fletcher: The first time I encountered the British military was through research on World War II North Africa for a project that started when I was 15. The desert war has remained a major interest for me ever since. I was impressed with the brave soldiers of the British Eighth Army. I learned so much from the compelling stories of these heroic men from England and the Commonwealth countries. I was also impressed with the Eighth Army’s leader, Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery. This led me to develop interests in other aspects of the British military and its rich history. I also personally relate to and admire British people and culture given my strong British heritage (Northern Irish + English). British history is a great source of inspiration to me. MWSA: Why did you decide to write a book series on Field Marshal Erwin Rommel? Zita Fletcher: Rommel is a controversial figure—but that is why he is interesting. We cannot ignore controversy if we want to learn from the past. Studying Rommel gives insights into the experiences of a German soldier who began his career in an era of turmoil, rose in the ranks and was ultimately killed by the Nazi system. There are many aspects of his story that are worth examining. What first got my attention regarding Rommel was his photography collection, which I found fascinating. I created my book series because I wanted to share my discoveries. Rommel is not the only general I find interesting. Other military leaders I’ve enjoyed studying include Hannibal, Yi Sun Shin, George Washington and T.E. Lawrence—and of course my favorite commander, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.

[southern-insanity-blog]

Growing up in the South

Let me start by saying I love the South, the beauty, the charm and the character. Growing up in the South you learn a few truths quickly, and are shielded from other facts.

My family was a mix that embraced southern traditions, while also contradicting others. Most of the contradictions came from my grandmother on my mother’s side. She was born and raised in Rhode Island, only moving to the South to follow my grandfather after they were married.

My grandmother was my constant, the person who was always there and with whom I was closest to. With my father being an every other weekend dad, and my mother working two jobs and trying to find her own way, I spent most of my childhood with my grandmother.

I was the second oldest of five grandchildren, but I was the unanimous leader \ elder. My grandmother relied on me to keep the others in line as well as keep them safe. When it was just she and i, she would talk to me as if I were an adult, often leaning on me for support with issues involving my grandfather, Uncle, mother or Aunt. She nurtured me for certain, but she also gave me a sense of maturity.

To understand my grandmother you didn’t need to study all to hard. She was simple in her beliefs and steadfast in her love. She treated all people equally regardless of skin color, religion, gender or past. This woman is the sole reason I learned to see everyone for who they are not what they looked like. I must say that in the South this is a rare lesson that is taught to young white children.

To sidetrack a little bit lets discuss my father and his side of the family. My father was a racist, now later in his life he tried to convince me otherwise but decades of my experiences taught me the truth. He held a very high opinion of himself, and a very low opinion of my mother. They divorced when I was four, and both remarried fairly quickly.

My father’s family was very closed and cold. His mother was harsh and unloving and his father was a boozer and womanizer. My dad’s father died when I was about three in a mysterious house fire,I never got the full story but rumors I overheard involved my father or my grandmother.

Nevertheless his family was a volatile mix of alcoholics and repressed religious types. The women were mostly cold, hard working, God fearing people. While the men loved liquor, women, music and drugs.

My father’s family had some dangerous men, though they were treated like normal people when they were around. One of my father’s cousins was a notorious drug dealer and fencer of stolen goods. When I was five I loved going to his house which had and entire room filled with stand up arcade games. He also had a pet skunk, a pet monkey and a concrete fountain filled with coi fish.

I never really knew at that age what I was actually around. I would play the arcade games while my father or his mother, depending on who I was with, would disappear into another room to discuss whatever business they had. When I was six or seven the Tennessee bureau of investigation raided his home and he was given ten to twenty years in prison.

My father’s favorite cousin was a tremendous singer and musician, but he would also consume any drug or drink within reach. He had recorded an album in Nashville but lacked the drive and self discipline to ever take that opportunity anywhere. Most of my every other weekend nights were spent listening to my father and his friends “jamming” out all night while the smell of marijuana and cigarettes clouded the house. They would play or listen to country music until three or four in the morning at the highest volume they could stand.

My father had married a woman who in the nicest way I can put it, was an alcoholic, abusive, loud, manipulative bitch. Now I understand that most kids don’t like step parents, be it the new authority figure or simply the splitting of their parents, but this was justified hatred that I had for this woman.

She was thirteen years younger than my father, she had three children that she had lost custody of to her ex in laws. She drank liquor nightly, talked like a whorehouse madam and honestly believe that violence solved everything.

When you combined her and my father with alcohol, drugs and their friends, we rarely went a weekend without a physical altercation of some kind. Of course when her children were visiting during these altercations, it was abundantly clear that my father would be the focus of their blame and I was out numbered.

She had two girls and one boy, the oldest girl was two years older than me, the youngest girl was two years younger. Her boy was the same age as me just a couple of months older. The oldest girl and her brother were popular in their part of town, they were well known and their father knew everyone. The youngest girl was heavyset and shy, and didn’t have many friends. Still when they were there for the weekend I was either invisible, in the way or the target of their, and their mothers ridicule.

The two worlds I grew up in were vast contradictions of each other. My mother’s side believed in wholesome family gatherings, going to the lake or getting together for holiday meals. My father’s side believed in partying, gambling or fighting. I never fit in completely with either side, but my grandmother’s house was without a doubt my sanctuary.

My mother was so sad to me, she always seemed to be trying to fill a void that must have been massive. I loved my mother, but I hated how we lived. From kindergarten to the eighth grade I never attended the same school twice. We moved every year, so once again my grandmother’s home was my only constant. It wasn’t like my mother didn’t work hard, at many points in my childhood she would be working two jobs while crafting ceramics in what spare time she had. She always got me to little league games, and I never went hungry, which is better than allot of children grew up.

My mother had married six months after she divorced my father. The man she married was not well, he had taken shrapnel to his head in Vietnam and I don’t believe ever recovered mentally or emotionally. They were not married for very long when he strapped his son (who was my age maybe five) and myself into an old car he owned, put it in neutral and let us roll down a hill into a tree. My mother divorced him right after this.

From then on it was a few different men, none that really stuck around until she met one that lasted a couple of years on and off. He was fat, lazy and jealous, and didn’t care too much for me. Still mom seemed happy so I always just dealt with it hoping she would find a little joy in the relationship. After awhile his laziness grew to be too much for my mother to take and she cut him loose as well.

To complete the picture I have to discuss my mother’s siblings. My aunt and uncle. My uncle was a fireman and completely self absorbed. He was divorced, had two boys, and little time for them or the family if it didn’t benefit him in someway. He thought of himself as a ladies man and the holder of all truths and rules. In reality he was neither.

My aunt on the other hand was a rock. She had one boy and one girl, and a work ethic that I’ve never seen matched. She was married to a man who I can only describe as an arrogant, pathetic narcissist. He was a part time sheriff’s deputy and part time hardware store worker. He was horrible to my aunt, my grandmother and my cousins. To this day I have no idea why my aunt loved him the way she did. My aunt had worked at a big box department store for nineteen years, and in her spare time she was a volunteer EMT. She helped found a local volunteer fire station, and always seemed to want to help others. She was the true disciplinarian of the family, meaning no matter what you knew the person you actually had to deal with was my aunt. She was not cruel or demanding, she was fair and always got to the truth.

So that’s the basic setting of my childhood from the family side. Let me now discuss the area and town I grew up in.

I was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1978. At that time Chattanooga was the smog capital of the United States. Lying between a couple of mountains it trapped all of the smog produced by the local manufacturing companies over the city. Chattanooga was caught somewhere between being a small city and a large town. It had good jobs, great scenery, great outdoors activity spots and sat on the borders of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

The people of Chattanooga were a collection of hard working middle class and discarded hard working lower class. Even in my youth I recognized the divide of the classes in the city. Directly off the interstate stood two housing projects surrounded by dilapidated houses inhabitated by black families. The outer lying areas were where the white families had moved to, fleeing an imaginary criminal element.

Having attended every type of school in Chattanooga, I had a unique education and experience with every social class. My first grade classroom also held second and third grade students, and our cafeteria doubled as the library and auditorium. The entire school did not have one black student. My fourth grade school was 85% black and fairly large. I actually enjoyed that school allot more, I had way more in common with the black kids I made friends with than I ever did with the white ones. The black kids didn’t care that I wore Kmart shoes and clothes, the white ones looked down on me for it. So early on I saw how differently blacks were treated by whites, and how horrible a white kid who made friends with black kids would be treated by whites.

I had a defiant, strong willed attitude, and I knew how to fight. This combination made me a target and a hero. I didn’t allow bullying, I would fight anyone if they bullied my cousins or my friends. Understand this, in Chattanooga in the 80’s if you were white and beat up another white kid while defending your black friend, you were a pariah. Of course not all black kids wanted to be my friend, they had dealt with, and watched their families deal with, white people that didn’t see the world the way I did. Still they respected that in their eyes I seemed true in my actions and words.

I of course could not tell my father about having black friends, to him that would have been an embarrassment amongst his friends. My mother didn’t care as long as I had friends, still none of my black friends ever got to stay over for the night. I never really determined if that was just happenstance or something deeper.

I remember several instances of being in a public place, be it the grocery store or even at my father’s job where he and whoever he was taking to would use the word nigger freely. At that age I had no idea the evil and history of that word, it was so common place within my father’s world that it seemed natural.

However I used that word once in the presence of my grandmother and my entire perspective of that word changed instantly. I was about 6 years old and said the word in some context that I cannot recall. What I do recall is the look of anger and shame in my grandmother’s face, she had never looked at me like that before. As was her way, she say me down and explained why that word was unacceptable. She told me a brief history of slavery and the atrocities that white people had committed against black people. She told me that all people are simply people, that skin color was a ridiculous method by which to judge someone’s character. When she asked where I heard the word I remember her doing something she never did, she belittled my father. Never before had she said a harsh word about him, though I knew she didn’t like him, but that one time she let loose with what she really felt. I knew that what my grandmother was teaching me was the truth because like I said, my black friends never seemed to care what color I was, but the white kids I knew scared about the skin color of who I associated with. I never viewed someone’s color as a predetermination of who they were again.

The real shock of how segregated the South was came when I was 14 and my father got custody of me then abruptly moved us to Arkansas. Not just Arkansas, but rural, an hour from anywhere Arkansas. We moved to a small town with a population of about 600. It was like going back in time to the 1800’s, the first time I went into the local grocery\gas\convenience store there were 3 older black ladies in line before me. When one turned and saw me standing there she apologized and gestured for me to go ahead of them, I smiled and said thank you but that I was fine they were here first, and she gave me a worried look. It felt like she thought there would be trouble if I didn’t go ahead of her, it was one of the strangest feelings I’ve ever had.

The next eye opener was my first day at the new high school. The school was roughly 95% black, but the white kids walked around as if they ran everything. They ignored the black kids as they walked the halls, and even the teachers (who were all white) seemed to be annoyed at having to teach the black kids. Once again my attitude of making friends with whomever I wanted got me labeled as a “traitor” almost instantly.

I was targeted by 2 teachers daily, one female teacher who taught biology and the other was the boys basketball coach. The biology teacher didn’t appreciate my complete lack of respect I showed her after I heard her offer a white student tutoring after school, and a day later she told a black student “I don’t have time to teach you in school and out of school”. The basketball coach was odd, I didn’t really do anything to cause his attacks, but he persisted daily. I spent so many days in the principal’s office that my father eventually threatened to sue the school district.

After one year of this school, I left and enrolled in a military academy, where I graduated at the age of 16. I had a knack for math, and after discovering my ability I was given the option of taking a series of exams that allowed me to jump ahead.

Knowing that I did not want to stay in Arkansas, when I turned 18 I moved back to Chattanooga. The city had changed quite a bit, developers and politicians had launched a renovation of the city. Downtown had been transformed into a beautiful area with an aquarium and tons of restaurants and shopping areas. They had also lured in several businesses that had boosted the economy and brought national attention to Chattanooga.

I took a job at a local company that installed high tech fire alarm and suppression systems. In a short time I took over the inspection department and I was really enjoying the work. This is when the reality of the hidden South came crashing back into my life.

I needed to hire a new employee to do inspections, it wasn’t a very difficult position and it paid fairly well. I received the okay to interview potential employees, after sifting through about 60 applications I settled on 4 that I felt deserved an interview. Two were white twenty somethings with very basic experience. One was a 40 year old former mechanic that was looking for something a little more stable. The last was a 25 year old black guy that had previously worked for a sprinkler installation company for 3 years.

After the interviews I settled on the black kids and one of the white twenty somethings. I scheduled both for a second interview that would also include a ride along for the day to see what the job entailed. Both interviewed very well and both seemed to be interested, so I took my opinion to my boss for the final decision.

After reviewing their applications an be my recommendation he decided on the black man as the new hire. Since he was my recommendation I was thrilled because I knew I wouldn’t have to train him for as long because of his experience. I called the young man and told him to report on Monday morning to fill out all his paperwork and meet my superiors. On Monday he arrived promptly on time, well dressed and willing to get under way. I took him to our human resource lady to fill out his paperwork and that is where everything started to change. The human resource lady happened to be my bosses wife, she literally took one look at the new guy and excused herself to go upstairs to her husband’s office.

Roughly 15 minutes later she came down and said my boss wanted to see me. I sat down in his office and he laid into me, he said things like “we can’t trust a black guy at a client’s business unsupervised” and “you should have told me he was black when we spoke”, I explained that I didn’t see it that way and that my choice was based off his experience and interviews. I was given the choice to tell the young man that we had decided to not hire anyone new after all, or I could quit and then it wouldn’t really matter. I became angry and told him I would not quit nor would I tell the young man that he wasn’t hired. I was fired.

I contacted the ACLU’s local office and explained my situation, though they were very nice and understanding they said I didn’t really have proof so there’s want much that could be done.

I experienced similar situations in a couple of other jobs I took (one even being with the government). I realized that my views and the South didn’t seem to mesh and that if I wanted to stay in Chattanooga I would have to find a company that didn’t originate in the South.

Eventually I wound up working for a national Telecom company as a manager. There were black men and women that were my superiors, and that were under my supervision. It was a great fit and it allowed me the opportunity to enjoy my hometown without having the stress of a job that clashes with my world views.

I now have a son, and I’m trying to raise him in the South that still hides it’s racism in certain areas. I still witness the bigotry daily except now, with my son watching, I speak out. I have battled boy scout leaders, school teachers and even a police officer over comments they have made in the presence of my son. I am trying to raise a person that will assist in repairing the South, and hopefully transform the culture into one of inclusion and togetherness.

I know I’m not a writer and that I jumped all over in this little piece I wrote. I simply wanted to tell my condensed story about my experience growing up and living in the South, and hopefully anyone who reads this walks away with a better opinion of some of us that live here.