Ashe Cross
Age: They were born October Nineteenth, 23 years ago.
Gender: Ashe is female, but prefers they/them pronouns.
Sexuality: Ashe had had enough experience to know that they are very firmly asexual. They think they are demiromantic but aren’t entirely sure on that one.
Appearance: Ashe has fair skin that is covered with freckles and loose brown curls. Their eyes are golden brown. Ashe is 5 feet 9 inches and weighs 150 pounds. They have legs that seem to go on forever. Ashe's fashion sense was most accurately be called 'crossdressing.' They enjoy dressing in clothes that are traditionally considered male. They tend to dress up in light colored slacks and colored button ups with suspenders. They accessorize with bow ties and matching hair ribbons. Their friends have called this fashion sense "Hipster Carny." Day to day they tend to wear jeans and polos. Occasionally, when the mood strikes them, they will wear something completely different; such as a sundress or a skirt. This is very rare. They keep their hair long. Sometimes they bind their size B bust flat. Sometimes they wear a push up bra. They like to be clean and neat appearing. They also prefer boots that come to just above their ankles to other type of shoes and are only willing to wear other type of shoes, if necessary, for the type of dancing there are planning on doing. They wear black leggings underneath black shorts with black boots and a black tank top when they “work.” It’s all skintight.
As for piercings and tattoos, Ashe only has two tattoos. Around their left wrist were their Fragmented Band would be on their other wrist is a matching band that is actually part of a chain that reaches around their arm and up to their elbow. The last link in the chain on their mid forearm is broken. The second tattoo is on the back of the shell of their right ear. It is in a slightly cursive font and reads, “Don’t Cross Me!” in black ink. They have matching piercings on both ears. There is small loop in their earlobes. As the piercings go up their ears the loops get smaller to end in a stud at the top of the curve of the ear. Ashe has a row of barbells along their left eyebrow. All of these piercings are copper colored stainless steel.
Personality: While being kind mostly for the sake of being kind Ashe is highly introverted. For the most part they like to stay at home and play video games or practice dancing. If they are compelled to socialize, they will do so without too much complaint though they will be mentally counting down the minutes until they can leave without causing too much social upheaval. Different types of social events drain their so-called social battery at different rates. If they enjoy the activity, they will be able to stay out for much longer. Other events make they want to go home immediately. They do their best to not let anyone clue into the fact that they are getting ready to so home. Just because they are not enjoying themselves does not give them a right to be a “party pooper.” Everyone else is allowed to enjoy themselves as well. They still can’t wait to get home. If they are enjoying themselves, such as a dance party, they are usually right in the middle of things. If they are not enjoying themselves, such as a house party, they tend to stay at the sidelines.
Ashe is also highly competitive though they do not like to admit this. They have been taught that showing off for showing off’s sake is not polite and they try to avoid it and as a result avoiding competition is something they try to do. It doesn’t often work. It never really works. Ashe likes to compete. It doesn’t really matter what type of competition. They have been competing in dance since they were small, and their competitive nature has led to their current line of work. They are drawn to competitions of any type; video games, board games, even sports. The level of their competitiveness depends on the activity and the company. It varies from “That was good clean fun” to “I’m going to destroy you utterly.” Ashe does her best to reign that last type in.
Biography: The story of Ashe Cross does not start with them. Instead it starts with the story of Navy Davidson and Gregory Cross. That story starts on the eve before Navy’s twenty-first birthday. That was the day that Fragmented woman decided that she was done with waiting for a person who was never going to show up. She decided that she was going to live her Best Life. She wasn’t going to let the depression most Lost suffered from set in because she wasn’t Lost. She just wasn’t going to sit around and wait for someone. Navy was going to have a fantastic life; just like any old regular Intact.
Originally romance had not been part of the plan for her Best Life. Then Navy met Gregory Cross when she was twenty-four. He was fifteen years older than her, a successful businessperson, and Intact. They decide that they were going to make it work. Gregory freely admit that he would never know what it meant to have that black band on his wrist. He freely admitted that he didn’t know what would happen to Navy as she became Lost. She still dated him. They still moved in together. They rapidly began to spend much of their free time together. It was almost inevitable even as she fought to live her Best Live. It was also inevitable that the two of them would fall hopeless and deviously in love. Gregory Cross asked Navy Davidson to marry him.
The night they celebrated the new ring on Navy’s left hand their protection failed. They had not planned on children, but when they discovered the error two months later, they were deliriously happy. The first bedroom was theirs. The second bedroom was Gregory’s office. They had planned on turning the last bedroom into a studio for Navy. Instead it was turned into a nursey that could turn into a bedroom and then into a haven as their baby grew into a child and then a young adult. They purchased outfits and diapers in bulk. They agonized over which crib to get. Before they even knew the gender, they were in love. This was the next step of their lives that defied all the odds. This was marvelous.
Then, when Navy was seven months pregnant the two took one last trip before, they became parents. One last trip as just the two of them. One last chance to be at least semi irresponsible. That was where they met Margret Wilson. To be more accurate that was when the other Fragmented crashed straight into Navy as both hurried to miss their connecting flights in a very busy airport. Neither one of them made those flights as they were overcome by euphoria. They were kissing before they even got up from their fall. The three of them retreated to a café to talk. Gregory was sent to watch their luggage. He understood. Two Fragmented had entered the airport. One Reunited was here now.
In the end the engagement was called off. Navy moved out of Gregory’s flat. Both she and Margret moved into a little house that he was paying the rent on. A second nursery was set up. Gregory was left both smiling and heartbroken. How could be anything less than happy for Navy. She had found her other half. It was just like out of a fairy tale or rom-com movie. She was in love and Margret was in love with her. That didn’t change the fact that Gregory still loved the woman he had purchased a ring for. That didn’t change the fact that even though he knew why he had lost her that he truly understood it. The man shoved those feelings aside. He still had a child on the way and he still loved that child.
Thankfully that was one thing Navy agreed upon. She and Margret were not going to try and push him out of his baby’s life. Navy said she understood that for Gregory the situation was bittersweet. She was willing to do whatever it took to co-parent. Margret agreed as well. The child would have at least three parents that loved them; maybe four if Gregory was ever ready for that again. Margret didn’t have parents, but the other four grandparents were ecstatic that they were welcoming a new member of the family. For the Cross grandparents this was their first. For the Davidsons this was their second. The child may not have been raised in a traditional home, but they would be absolutely loved.
That only lasted for the first three months after Ashe Cross was born. Then one Friday Navy and Margret dropped Ashe at Gregory's so the two soul mates could get away for a weekend getaway. When Sunday night came and the two women did not come home he started to get worried. None of his text messages received answers. He contacted Navy's parents to discover that Navy hadn't contacted them either. In a panic Gregory rushed over to the home he was renting for the two women. Their he discovered that the locks had been changed. Breaking a window got him in the house where discovered that the women had taken nothing with them. Their clothes, their cell phones, their cash. It was clear they had taken nothing. The police investigation lasted months, but it was soon clear that Navy and Margret could not be found. It was clear that they had just left with no intention of returning.
As a result, Ashe Cross was raised by a brokenhearted man. A brokenhearted man that loved them with his whole being and wanted nothing more than for them to be healthy and happy, but still brokenhearted. They were raised wanting for nothing, including discipline. They grew up knowing they were loved. They grew up being punished when they broke rules, but never abused. They grew up understanding the importance of taking care of people who just needed a little bit more help. They grew up kind, considerate, loving. They grew to be a strong as Gregory could make them. He loved his child with everything he could give. Yet he couldn’t hide the sadness that always hid between his eyes.
It wasn’t long before Ashe realized that the band on their wrist was the same band their mother had sported. It wasn’t long before Ashe learned the story from both sets of grandparents. It wasn’t long before Ashe realized that they hated their mother. They understood some of it. They had the yearning as well. They craved to fill the emptiness that had always been there in their soul. Ashe could understand why Navy had clung so tightly to Margret that even her engagement meant nothing. Ashe didn’t hate their mother because she had been Fragmented and then Reunited. They hated their mother because Navy had chosen to leave for no reason to who the flip knew where. Not even Grandma Davidson had heard from her daughter since. What Ashe hated her mother for was leaving her Intact family behind without having to suffer any of the consequences. From that hate came a decision.
Ashe was never ever going to do something like that. They were never going to make a decision that they wouldn’t make as just a Fragmented. Reuniting was not going to change their life to the point of cruelty. If they did find their soul mate and it was either a Platonic or Romantic bond Ashe was not leaving their father behind to have his heart broken yet again. If it was an Antagonistic bond Ashe wasn’t letting that person into their life to hurt their family. They rather be Lost than make a choice they wouldn’t as just a regular person. Besides; who was the universe to take the choice of person they wanted to spend their life with away anyways. If they ever did meet their soul mate, they were going to make sure that spending their life with that person was their choice and theirs alone. Until that day came Ashe wasn’t waiting for happiness to find them. They would find it.
As such Ashe has taken dance lessons all their life. They haven’t picked just one style they like and that frustrates their teachers. Even though they have grown up in privilege they have not wanted to ride that privilege all their life. They have worked one job or another since they were sixteen. First, they were a checker at a big box store colored red. Then they were a shop associate at a small boutique. They worked as a volunteer librarian and a lifeguard. They have taken a few classes as community college but aren’t sure what they actually want to do with their life. Perhaps they will pick a specialty dance soon. They are not sure.
Right now, Ashe Cross makes money as Noble_Dancer in the video game Gamer’s Nightmare. Gamer’s Nightmare is the first video game of its kind. Using a virtual reality headset along with sensors in specially designed boots, gloves, knee pads, elbow pads, shoulder pads, a belt the game tracks the real-world movements of the player translating them into the avatar’s movements. It requires physical action and motion on the part of the player to play the game. Since Gamer’s Nightmare is an action adventure game set in a traditional rpg world full of monsters, players who are not physically fit have a hard time keeping up. Many sports stars, soldiers, and athletes have been drawn to the game. It originally wasn’t something Ashe was interested in. Then one day a friend of theirs challenged them to a PvP fight. Ashe gloated the moment they won the first fight. The dare and the bet to place in the next PvP tournament was not something the competitive Ashe could ignore. To their surprise they placed in the amateurs’ tournament and had more fun than they had expected. Ashe was hooked. After a few rough starts Ashe started studying a few traditional fighting styles including various martial arts, fencing, and archery in order to keep up with players that have been fighting in some manner all their lives. Now Noble_Dancer is the fifth highest ranked avatar in the world and the third most popular due to the fact that their movements are closer to dancing than actual fighting. The androgynous elf’s catch phrase, “Don't Cross Me!” trends on social media every time they live stream. The real-world identity of Noble_Dancer is a complete mystery and Ashe plans to keep it that way.
They have recently told their viewers that they are going on vacation. Ashe is not excited about this. When the invitation to a weeklong getaway exclusively for Fragmented looking to be Reunited came in the mail Ashe planned on ignoring it, until their father asked them to please go. Gregory is worried about what would happen should their child become lost. Ashe thinks the thought of them becoming Reunited should not be enough to hope for. For one thing they wouldn’t want to be their soul mate and don’t want to subject another person to themselves. Besides they don’t understand why Fragmented can’t live complete lives just like Intact can. Still there is not much they wouldn’t do for their father. With Gregory’s help they were soon packed up and on their way to Canada. They plan to treat the whole thing as adventure. They have never left the southern coast of the United States before. It could be exciting! They even plan to do their best to socialize. They want to tell their father that they tried to find their soul mate. To be honest Ashe is a little worried about what happens if they do. Alright, worried is the wrong word, but they would die before admitting they were both insanely hopeful and positively terrified of finding their soul mate to anyone; including themselves.
Other: ★ Ashe has a terrible love for puns that they are ridiculously unashamed of. No one has managed to guilt them into being ashamed of this love. They like green tea, but dislike coffee. They also have a terrible sweet tooth. Their color code is #FFCA5C