Beingchester
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'Being a Chester'
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Beingchester (predominantly pronounced ben-che-ster) is a city in New Summerset on the lake Loch Them.
History
The two brothers Men and Chester Chester, one a lumberjack and the other a fisher, were residents of Gotthem who frequented the eastern areas of Loch Them. Early on they had discovered the high resource yield of the area, both in terms of fish and forests but also various forage such as mushrooms. They eventually built a cabin by the east shore, which was quickly expanded after they brought their families with them there for permanent residence.
Partly because of the scenic view of the area, as well as the distinctly pink leaves of the nearby forest's trees, the place soon garnished attention from residents of Gotthem and Settmouth alike. Soon after, the once lone cabin was joined by multiple cabins and houses, and later on also shopfronts and amenities.
However, without a name, the area sorely lacked an identity. It was only natural that the two brothers, the founders of the now thriving village, were to give a name. Choosing to combine their names, the village became known as "Menchester".
Around a decade after the settlement had been officially founded, the name of the city would come under heavy contest - a trend that would follow the city's history from then on.
Several settlers, most of them who were women, had started questioning why the city had the word "men" in it, when the population of the city by then had almost gained a majority of women. However, they were promptly told to shut their traps and get back to the kitchen.
But then, to the shock of the entire village, the lumberjack Men would come out as a woman and change her name to Women. Since it was named after both of the siblings, it was deemed only fair to change the name - and so the village changed its official name to "Womenchester".
After Women had started transitioning fully, it quickly dawned on her that she would be forced to lose her job as a lumberjack and become a housewife now that she was a woman. But instead of succumbing to societal pressure, she asked, why should women not be treated the same as men? After all, all that had changed was her gender; she saw no reason she shouldn't continue as a lumberjack.
It was then pointed out to her that the name "lumberjack" had the name "Jack" in it, and so no women could have it - and so she changed the profession to "lumberjackie". This made it okay, and multiple women would start also demanding to work the heavy jobs that men did.
After yet another couple of decades, disaster would strike: Women would be diagnosed with Ligma, and only days after she would yee her last haws. She passed away in her girlboss office the 8th of March, 775, together with her now-househusband and their two children, Jumpon and Dees.
The death of Women would hit the town hard, and the date of her death would become an official memorial day in the city: Women's Day. This day would spread to other nearby cities and eventually become what we know today as International Women's Day.
Naturally, the name came yet again under dispute. Some stated the name should be preserved in memory of Women, while others wanted to change the name to "Chester"; but many people also saw it as an oppurtinity to modernise the city, now that it had become such a gender diverse place.
Due to the recent discovery of the rare "non-binary" gender, it became a popular motion to change the name, in honour of Women, into one that was even more inclusive. The final name was eventually settled on "Personchester".
However, this name would not stick for long.
Soon after it had come under attention that the name had contained the word "son" - and changing the name to "perchildchester" did not work. And so the name underwent yet another change, this time to "Individualchester". However, this name would also not stick.
Due to the city's relative isolation, the name illicited feelings of loneliness, and implied a lack of a community - which was far from the case. And so, yet again, the name had to be changed.
The final and current iteration of the name became "Beingchester". This was deemed to have superior inclusivity; even going as far as to imply the city itself was alive and respected.
Together with the name, the city would adopt the slogan "Being a Chester" and with an equal sign together with various positive words, such as "= Being Proud" or "= Being Happy".
However, over time, the pronunciation of the city would gradually change. As more and more people pronounced the name as "ben-che-ster", it came into question why the city's name now had "Ben" in it, a predominantly male name. However, with a lack of feminine name variants of Ben, it would be hard to find a good change - though that didn't stop people from trying.
Today, the city's name is pronounced in various ways: "ben-ji-che-ster," "ben-a-che-ster," "jas-mine-che-ster," and "portsmouth," among others.
Trivia
- Despite the city's name (or rather, the pronounciation of it), the city does not have any benches.