#and with D I suppose the caveat would be 'the non-zoidian side was imperial'

[derangedhyena-zoids]

And this has some story-relevance and also needs a draft for the site, so: some characters’ general lineages

...and why that does/doesn’t matter After the Cataclysm and the breakdown of society in general, most people stopped caring very much about the Empire and the Republic. The concepts continued to be used as rallying points, and for a time the figureheads of authority were maintained. But as far as “otherness” went, most people just didn’t really care that much anymore. There were way bigger problems. The Empire was considerably older than the Republic, though - and had a lot more money and pride in its existence. Specifically, very well-established families and their wealth. And they didn’t agree with most people. Because of this, the Empire as a concept was far more resistant to breakdown than the Republic was, especially as was ultimately enshrined by the GF/ZBGF. (like it or not, the GF was a Republican-led endeavor and had a slight bias from the start.) Disgruntled Imperial families VERY LITERALLY formed the basis for not only Backdraft, but the entire wealth class/divide seen in NC0. They likely own most of the large companies in modern times as well. As I’ve mentioned before, a schism had developed in Backdraft over the past few decades, a clear divide between old and new. Old-Backdraft had strict expectations about one’s heritage; new-Backdraft couldn’t keep functioning with expectations that strict, so got rid of them. There were also just different goal-sets in general, and nobody was happy (re: anime tie-in - what exactly was the Count talking about with the issues/stagnation in Backdraft? THIS.)

Sara is in the old-Backdraft camp. Quite firmly. This makes her think quite highly of anyone of Imperial descent, and... way less highly of people who aren’t. (Keep in mind that Ryss’s bloodline is considered Imperial, due to Raven and information being lost to time. Also keep in mind that all the kids/lineages Hiltz contributed to -  while living in the Republic - are considered Republican, if they’re noted at all.) Folks who are strictly of Imperial descent:  Albion (”““obviously”““) Sara Stoller Polta The Count  

THIS MOTHERFUCKER WITH AN IMPERIAL UNIFORM ON WHO TOOK CARE OF CAMFORD WHEN SHE WAS A CHILD WHILE... LATER BEING IN THE REPUBLICAN ARMY WHICH HE THEN RETIRED FROM, PARDON ME? CANON SAYS WHAT? Folks who are largely of Imperial descent: Bit Naomi Folks who are largely of Republican descent: The Toros Family(tm) Layon* Alteil** Anyone not mentioned basically falls into the “most of Zi, actually” category of ‘you really can’t tell anymore and/or there weren’t enough records about your family in the first place’ the point ultimately being it REALLY doesn’t fucking matter but good lord that’s not stopping these dumbasses, is it The main reason that Imperial bloodlines stand out is because they spent entirely too much time making family bushes-not-trees early on, leading to a bunch of persistent genetic fuckery.  No one understands enough about Zoidians (read: the species has almost been lost, conceptually) to understand any of the actual hybrids and their descendents in amongst this mess. Again as I’ve said in other posts, Alteil was closest to figuring things out, and since he’s dead now, the literal only hope is Layon. Vega’s not even as “strictly Imperial” as Sara would like but GOD FORBID YOU EVER BREATHE A WORD ABOUT THAT.  welcome also to why Brad occupies a particularly harsh ‘gum stuck on shoe’ status with Sara. *Layon honestly couldn’t have given two shits about his heritage until he found out about it because he joined up with Backdraft -  where Sara kinda used it as a point against him (I’m sorry but their one canon interaction is just... so... weirdly condescending, to me?). IMO he spent a lot of time associating with Alteil (stressfully), so he may or may not have been able to talk to him more about it, idk. **Alteil, bro. Oof. No wonder nobody on the fucking Committee likes you and why you had such a complex. aaaaaaa tl;dr idk man, Sara’s a bitch