(Click image for bigger/full version)Isra Mahmud
”Old relics can have contemporary appeal.”
33 y/o | Female | 150 LBs | 5’8”
Egypt | Memphis Personality When people think of Egypt, they often think of the pyramids, mummies, and other antiquated things. But modern Egypt is a bit different than it was thousands of years ago. While it’s clear Egyptians revere the past, they have embraced the future just like any other country. The same cannot be said for everyone, and that includes Isra Mahmud.
Were it not for her appearance, you would swear she was a teenager. Isra likes to gossip, use slang terms, indulge in buying trinkets, and has every big aspiration under the sun from writing this decade’s best fantasy trilogy to climbing Mount Everest. What doesn’t interest her is everything in her adult life, which she unironically calls “adulting.” The idea of settling down or pursuing a career with a future is a surefire way to get her to roll her eyes.
Most would describe Isra as being a little insufferable. Her wit is sharp, and she looks happy for absolutely no reason. And when she isn’t grinning like some asshole, she’s probably chewing someone out for some behavior she finds irreprehensible. Yes, she’s really fun on dates. That said, children tend to enjoy her quite a bit.
Backstory Anyone living in a first world country would likely get culture shock if they were to visit Egypt. Aside from everyday commodities being prohibitively expensive, you have hundred year old buildings standing beside brand new ones and super shopping centers going up beside slum districts. The revolution in 2011 as well as the inflating American Dollar has made it difficult for the average Egyptian to survive.They have far less than their western counterparts, but are more positive about their situation. But Isra Mahmud is not an average Egyptian. Her parents owned a museum and were able to dip into Egypt’s huge tourist industry. They weren’t part of the super elite, but their daughter was well taken care of. Isra was able to enjoy every “basic” comfort the world had to offer, from a good tuition to owning her own smartphone.
While Egypt isn’t quite Islam, they do borrow a lot of their culture from them. This includes the requirement for girls to be submissive towards men, and to allow said men to take care of them. Something about that never sat right with Isra, but it wasn’t like she could escape it. Her mother assisted her father, and it was the same thing for her friends. It was an unfortunate yet inevitable part of her reality. She would be married to someone who was capable enough to run the art museum and she would be expected to help her husband with all of his endeavors. Part of her preparation for this was to go to college for a business degree, and what Egyptian family wouldn’t send their daughter to one of the best western colleges?
That was where she got a taste of that freedom she was yearning for. The woman of the west could wear what they wanted, go where they wanted, interact with who they wanted, and were not expected to serve their husbands to the same degree they would have back home. After spending years living by her own rules and “studying” late into the night, she couldn’t go back. It wasn’t difficult for Isra to shake her parents off her trail. After drifting around college for a few years, she told her parents a little lie: That she had gotten a fantastic job opportunity and found a wealthy man to take care of her. Having your child live a better life than you is every Egyptian parent’s dream. Why would they command her to come home?
Something Isra hadn’t accounted for was the responsibility that came with her new freedoms. Mommy and daddy had been paying her way, so she didn’t have to worry about trying to support herself. Her parents saw no need to continue supporting her, assuming her husband-to-be had it all under control. College was prohibitively expensive and not something Isra could afford while working a minimum wage job. She left college without a degree and only had enough money to survive for a few weeks tops. Her student visa would most certainly expire now that she was no longer learning. Returning home wasn’t an option. Her parents would be more than furious if they learned how unproductive she had been with her time overseas. Though if the local government decided to come after her, she’d get deported and face her parents anyway. But even if neither of those scenarios came to pass, was this it? Was she supposed to work as a grocery bagger until she died?
Meanwhile, magical girls were starting to become more prevalent in the media. Now that was Isra’s dream job. Getting adored by everyone, having powers, seeing the world, all under a superhero’s guise. And all you had to do was show up to beat up the monster of the week when things got crazy. Scoring a job like that would be amazing. But it was up to luck if you got picked to become a magical girl or not. The entire process wasn’t very well understood, but it wasn’t a career choice you signed up for.
Or was it?
That’s how one add in the paper made it sound. “Magical girl tryouts! Test subject needed!” It was a small ad with little information, but she called the number anyway. It didn’t seem like her status as an illegal alien or college drop out would bar her from entry. The pay would let Isra continue to live in the comfort she had become accustomed to. It all seemed a little shady, a little questionable, but Isra was too desperate to question anything.
Turns out, Isra was one of fifty women to show up. What ensued was something akin to an intense elimination tournament that had nothing to do with magical girls and everything to do with enduring physically and mentally unpleasant challenges. At the end of the week, Isra emerged the winner and met the “wise scientist” who hosted the event. As it turns out, the wise scientist was looking for the perfect candidate to turn into a magical girl, with the tournament being a way of finding the most suitable among them. Though they admitted that it was mostly for their entertainment and they had way more practical ways to select a subject. This was followed by some laughter, before turning Isra into a magical girl.
Now Isra serves the wise scientist, who seems more interested in being amused than bettering humanity or completing any real goal. But that’s just fine for her. So long as she can continue to live like a carefree child, she’ll gladly do whatever’s asked of her.
Other Details - Yellow is her favorite color.
- She may not have finished college, but she’s computer literate and understands how global economies work. It’s still an incomplete education.
- She can also read, write, and speak several languages, but this was the result of her parent’s teaching rather than the college.
- She can out drink you.
- Might be a bit of a genki.