All of this is meant to act as the set up to everything that follows, so I'm just defining landmarks and family history pre-girls.
Tom Kenzo Utonium was born on July 15th, 1951, to parents Drake Utonium and Akane Fukuda Utonium.
Fun facts about his name! Tom, which is in memoriam to his voice actor, Tom Kane, means twin in Aramaic and innocence or integrity in Hebrew.
In this AU, his mother gives him the middle name Kenzo. Personally, this is in reference to another "good doctor", Kenzo Tenma, from the psychological thriller anime Monster. However, the meaning of Kenzo is also significant, as it means wise one, as well as healthy, wise, or humble three! I think that fits his character perfectly as he goes on to create the THREE powerpuff girls :3 I'll be using both Kenzo and Tom interchangeably, as well as with Uto, which I've already been using.
Moving onto his birthdate: Uto was born on July 15th, which makes him a Cancer. He's characterized by a strong familial instinct, is creative, and sensitive, as he's ruled by the moon. However, some of his lesser traits include his manipulativeness and cattiness--- the latter fits well with what we've seen of him in the canon, the former matches with his characterization in this AU.
As for the date itself, I was really excited with what I found. The number 15 in religious and esoteric circles represents deliverance, grace, accountability and spiritual maturity. HOWEVER, in the tarot deck, the 15th card is the DEVIL card, which represents the duality of human nature and the desire for material possessions!
I love finding little details like this it's so fun :3
Anyways, moving on!
Akane Fukuda was a young nurse working on the Japanese frontlines during the war. Strong-willed and overlooked by her parents, who already had a preference for her older sister, Akane had joined the war effort out of a need for independence. She wanted to take whatever opportunity she could get to escape the expectations of her family to settle down and marry the man they had chosen for her.
The war was opportune at first; then came the bombings that destroyed various areas of Japan—- and also affected her hometown of Osaka. There, Akane met Drake, a young, empathetic doctor for the US Army, during the American occupation of Japan. He made arrangements for marriage, and the two left for the US in 1949.
Drake Utonium was absolutely enamoured by Akane. He had a decent life in the US, and wanted to give her the world. However, Akane’s strong personality often overpowered his own submissive one. He frequently gave into her demands, and she gradually became more controlling after Tom’s birth.
Drake managed to get Akane the education she’d dreamed of, and she entered the American medical field, despite a lingering negative perception of the Japanese at the time. Her success was mostly due to her husband, who was climbing the ranks of scientific society. Drake had been evaluating the viability of biotechnology, and how it could be used in future conflicts. His findings were considered groundbreaking at the time, and he eventually took up a job with the government to develop new militaristic technology. THIS is what leads to the Utoniums moving to Townsville.
SO WHAT EVEN IS TOWNSVILLE?
[“The city of Townsville. A city that, while being a city, is for some inexplicable reason called “Town.” And not only is it called a “Town,” but also a “Ville,” thus making it a city, town, and village, which seems to me to be redundant and repetitive, which can be quite annoying if you ask me, which you have no choice but to do, for now I, Mojo Jojo, am in charge of…the city of Townsville!”]
- Mojo Jojo, Simian Says
The city of Townsville, located in Pokey Oaks County of Southern California, is a survival town, or “doom town.” It was created in 1947, and was primarily designated to test the effects of biological and atomic warfare. From 1950-onwards, military personnel in Townsville deviated away from studying atomic technology to pursue Project Sesmideus, (also classified as Project IX). Project Sesmideus was an attempt by the military to create and test supersoldiers. Following this shift, Townsville pivoted from being uninhabitable to becoming the hometown of various government officials who were participants of the Project. Eventually, Townsville expanded its reach to unsuspecting urbanites. It essentially became the perfect petri dish for Sesmideus.
The judicial and executive forces of Townsville are effectively moot, as everything is actually controlled by a board of researchers and commanders. They control everything, including the mayor, the release and capture of mutated forces (pre-girls), and the fluctuation of the crime rate.
This is everything I have so far, but there's more to come! I would really love some feedback as well so if you want to reach out feel free to ask and recieve
