Grandma Flo

This is a fictional fantasy world, similar to the modern world, where everything the real world has, and even more, is available. Anthropomorphic animals, fantastical creatures, and other humanoid beings coexist with humans in the same society. To adapt to the different body sizes, dietary needs, and physiological conditions of different species, societies have adjusted their infrastructure, public services, and cultural norms.

"Crocodile's Mouth" is the small Southern town where Flo was born and raised. It is not only Flo's hometown but also the hometown of many anthropomorphic Southern alligators. Flo lived in a large house in a neighborhood not far from the town center, with vast fields stretching out behind it and a huge acorn tree near the long backyard. This used to be where Flo and Larry lived together, but after Larry decided to live alone, only Flo remained in the somewhat old house until a new young man came to stay with her.

""Crocodile's Mouth" is a tranquil town located in northeastern Louisiana, full of rich Southern rural charm and historical heritage. It is administered by the city government of New Bordeaux. Far from the hustle and bustle of big cities, its core attractions are its vast agricultural landscape, rich ecological resources, and unique Southern historical stories.

It was officially established in 1850, initially as a railway hub that arose with the construction of railway and telegraph lines that traversed the region. Before the Civil War, the area was primarily cotton plantations developed by European immigrants. During the Civil War, the Sinclair Parish, located there, became a strategically important location fiercely contested by Union and Confederate forces due to its proximity to the Mississippi River and its access to the railroad leading directly to Fort Walbick, Mississippi. With the end of the war and the abolition of race slavery, "Crocodile's Mouth" underwent a difficult period of reconstruction. From slaves to free laborers: The former cotton plantations began their transformation into a sharecropping agricultural economy. Amidst this dramatic social change, the surrounding alligator tribes and communities began to flourish, giving rise to first-generation African American business legends like Mrs. R.J. Viren.

"Crocodile's Mouth", this area was once home to Louisiana's largest alligator tribe. Its history, architecture, and everything it possesses are like turning the pages of a faded American Southern painting. It not only bears the marks of the Civil War, old Civil War buildings, and the economic rise and fall of cotton fields, but also the historical events left behind by the economic transformation towards commercialization and services. The scenery here showcases the pure rural landscape of the Mississippi Delta in the American South. There are no famous mountains or rivers, but rather endless plains and farmlands, tranquil forests, vast swamps, and vintage townscapes bearing the marks of time.

The core and pillar industries here used to be large traditional timber processing plants and mills, but these enterprises gradually declined and went out of business during the modernization process.

The ""Crocodile's Mouth" industry has transformed into modern agriculture and agro-services: as a core cotton and soybean producing region in northeastern Louisiana, large agro-service companies like H.C.D. play a vital role, providing farmers with services such as aerial spraying, seed distribution, and fertilizer application.

The Sinclair Parish Port is located on the Mississippi River near the town. Among them, the major leasing giant Terral River Service is one of the largest industrial employers in the area, providing barge cleaning, warehousing and dock handling services for bulk dry/liquid materials, connecting the entire Mississippi River ecosystem.

The core service industries of the town—healthcare, public administration and education, and consumer services—are currently the three sectors that support Tarula's daily operations and provide the largest employment for the local population, employing a total of over 1,000 people:

1. Healthcare and Social Assistance: Sinclair Parish Hospital: The only comprehensive medical center in the town and surrounding counties, providing emergency, inpatient, and public health management services. It is the institution that creates the most high-paying jobs in the area. Beene's Drug Store & Neumann's Pharmacy: Two long-established independent pharmacy chains, providing basic public healthcare retail services. Christian Acres Youth Center & Youth Advocate Programs: A large youth behavior correction and social welfare assistance organization, providing numerous social worker and security jobs for the local community.

2. Public Administration and Education Training: Louisiana Delta Community College (LDCC) Branch Campus: Provides higher vocational and technical education in mechanical repair, business, agricultural nursing, etc., serving as an incubator for local talent transformation. Delta Community Action Association: A non-profit quasi-governmental organization providing public social services such as low-income family assistance and early childhood education to the town.

3. Consumer Services: The massive "highway transit economy" is deeply intertwined with local livelihoods. With tens of thousands of trucks and self-driving tourists passing through the town daily along interstate highways, the southern highway exit has transformed into a thriving commercial hub. Here you'll find DCA Travel Center, one of the nation's largest chain services providing highway transfers, refueling, and truck repairs. It serves as a hub for self-driving/truck services, integrating truck repair shops, 24-hour convenience stores, and private lounges for truck drivers. Love's Travel Stop, BP, Texaco, and Chevron also have rows of large 24-hour gas stations and vehicle replenishment centers along the highway exit. Basic chain retail and affordable dining along this highway are primarily dominated by national giants like Dollar General and Western Auto, filling the gap in the area's lack of large-scale integrated shopping centers. Benefiting from its location on a major transportation route, the area is home to well-known national restaurant brands such as McDonald's, Wendy's, Sonic Drive-In, KFC, Subway, and Krispy Krunchy Chicken.

Local governments and education departments are the largest employers. The Louisiana Delta Community College's local branch provides technical training and education for local youth. Social security agencies and youth centers offer numerous social assistance and public service positions to the local community.

According to the latest federal and local crime data, the current security situation in the town of ""Crocodile's Mouth" presents a complex picture of "significant overall improvement, but vigilance is still necessary." Over the past few decades, due to strengthened multi-agency collaboration and the implementation of intensive community governance programs by the local ""Crocodile's Mouth" Police Department, the Sinclair Parish Sheriff's Office, Sinclair Parish Emergency Management and the Louisiana State Police, the town's violent crime rate has decreased significantly. Over the past decade or so, serious crimes and murders have been extremely rare in the town and the surrounding parish, and random violent attacks against tourists or drivers in broad daylight are extremely rare. Individual crime rates and overall crime rates have dropped dramatically. It's been dubbed a high-security vacation destination by many travelers and netizens, and also a symbol of excessive power within law enforcement agencies.

While nearing complete safety, potential risks remain: Louisiana has long allowed open firearms possession by those 18 and over without a license. The town also maintains a gun freedom policy and a gun culture policy, allowing any resident who is 18 years of age or older and legally owns a firearm under federal and state laws to conceal or openly carry a handgun in public without needing a permit or mandatory training. Even with legal gun ownership, carrying firearms is strictly prohibited in the following specific areas: school campuses and school bus areas, law enforcement buildings and detention centers, courthouses, polling stations and city halls, airports and state capitol buildings, religious sites (unless authorized by management), or any government-permitted marches or demonstrations. The town also strongly encourages legitimate self-defense, and anyone who is a proponent of firearms can voluntarily apply to become a local security volunteer.

A low probability of property crime and nighttime property crime still exist: due to the area's moderate income, theft, car theft, smash-and-grab robberies, and burglaries are relatively common. Although the town hosts large-scale parties at night year-round, it still imposes a curfew from time to time. In order to prevent teenagers from causing trouble at night, gang risks, or to maintain public order on certain holidays, the local government and police will restart the curfew from time to time to restrict minors from loitering on the streets late at night without reason.

Influenced by traditional Southern beliefs, fringe groups practicing extreme racism and some low-level cult members still occasionally appear here. The local government and law enforcement agencies dislike these people quite a bit. Whenever they appear, a large number of plainclothes police officers or police cars gather around them to follow and monitor them, trying to find a way to get rid of them.

The scenery here, as well as genuine reviews from the internet and local residents, can be summarized in three aspects: typical southern countryside with pristine wetlands, green fields, and waves of farmland; the town is surrounded by endless cotton, soybean, rice, and corn fields. In summer and autumn, gentle breezes create green or golden waves across the fields, a classic depiction of the slow pace of life in the American South. The town center still retains early 20th-century red-brick buildings (such as Bloom Arcade) and old Southern mansions, exuding a faded yet elegant retro charm. Historically, its economy was a typical "small but sophisticated" model of a Mississippi Delta village. It was heavily reliant on cotton and traditional timber processing industries; Historically, it was highly dependent on cotton and traditional timber processing industries; with the popularization of agricultural mechanization and industrial transformation, the town has now evolved into a comprehensive transit hub with modern bulk agriculture, inland waterway and highway logistics as its industrial pillars, and medical care, public services and transit highway economy as its main service industries.

The vast Saruharama National Nature Reserve: This is the most famous natural treasure of "The "Crocodile's Mouth." The reserve boasts vast hardwood forests and wetlands, home to anthropomorphic black bears, deer, turkeys, and hundreds of other anthropomorphic bird species. Offering tranquil hiking trails, bird-song promenades, and scenic viewing areas, this place is a perfect spot to experience the slow pace of nature. This is Tarula's most breathtaking natural scenery. It features tens of thousands of acres of some of the best-preserved lowland hardwood forests in the United States, winding rivers, and mysterious marshy wetlands. Surrounded by towering bald cypress trees with dense Spanish moss hanging from their branches, it feels like stepping into a movie scene.

Louisiana's swampy areas not only constitute the richest and most pristine natural visual and ecological wonders in the entire Mississippi Delta of the northern United States, but are also the home and birthplace of numerous anthropomorphic alligators, and those anthropomorphic alligators that refuse to embrace modernity. These swamps are not the saltwater mangroves of the coast, but rather typical inland freshwater lowland hardwood forest swamps and backwater river bends. They are not only nature's "sponge" and natural barrier, but also a core cultural and ecological symbol. It preserves the largest and most complete contiguous system of lowland hardwood forests and river swamps. In this mysterious wetland, the giant bald cypress trees stand proudly as "sentinels" in the swamp. To maintain stability in the soft mud, the roots of these massive trees have evolved skirt-like buttresses, resembling rocket bases. On the water's surface in the dense forest, you'll see countless protruding structures resembling wooden carvings emerging from the mud. These are the unique root breathing holes of the bald cypress, covering the water's surface like a dense forest of miniature stone formations—a unique spectacle found nowhere else in the Louisiana swamps. Large swaths of Spanish moss, like silver threads, hang from the tall branches, swaying in the wind. When morning mist rises over the water, the moss, reflections, and withered trees intertwine, exuding a tranquil, mysterious, and even slightly eerie beauty reminiscent of Old Southern Gothic style.

The town of "Crocodile's Mouth" is an excellent route for those anthropomorphic creatures venturing from the swampy region to modern areas. This remote town, both then and now, has been predominantly inhabited by crocodiles and other swamp-dwelling species. This is how it got its name.

To Islands, a top travel magazine, describes it as: "A hidden gem in Louisiana, this town perfectly combines abundant outdoor activities, a rich local flavor, and excellent value accommodations, making it a must-visit stop on any interstate road trip. Travel rating: 40/50." Holy Land Agoda, a travel booking platform, describes it as: "A lovely town that perfectly captures the charm and hospitality of the American South. More than just a road trip stop, it's a destination brimming with history, culture, and strong community ties, making every visitor feel right at home."

The overall impression can be simply summarized as: an "unspoiled Southern fringe town." If you prefer commercialized, established tourist attractions, this place might bore you; but if you love pure nature, are interested in the history of the Civil War, and yearn to experience the slow pace of life in the unfiltered American Southern countryside, this will be an extremely tranquil haven for the soul.

Her ancestor was a native of a crocodile tribe from a distant swamp, and the youngest and most respected elder in the tribe. The tribe practiced polygamy, so Flo is largely a descendant of one of his illegitimate children. During his lifetime, he vehemently opposed his people becoming slaves and tools of foreign slave owners, leading the tribe's young warriors for years in battles against anthropomorphic animals and humans of other races in the swamp. Around the time of the Civil War, he brought great honor to his tribe. He led his young warriors in a protracted guerrilla war against the Union and Confederate armies in the swamp. He died shortly before the start of World War I, succumbing to illness from overwork.

His descendants lived as members of the tribe in the swamp. Flo's direct grandparents, who were related by blood, served as tribal elders, fighting for the tribe's honor and the swamp's inhabitants against invaders and poachers. They married and started families after they ceased to be warriors. Flo's father was born. He had lived through the entirety of World War I and the later stages of World War II, but was unaware of it. He later fell in love with a female crocodile from another tribe, who would later become Flo's mother.

By the time they married, the world had changed drastically; the war was over. Everything was rapidly developing, entering a modern society. Born into a tribe, they were influenced by this wave of modern ideas and, like some other crocodiles, left their tribe to live elsewhere. They eventually arrived at this drastically changed town, established by immigrants and slave owners. The first mayor of the town after its successful redevelopment was a humanoid northern wolf, Benny S. Florence. He was a wolf-human hybrid who advocated for racial equality, just like humans. He actively developed the town, seeking solutions to conflicts and contradictions between different races. He even proactively established a good, equal relationship with the nearest crocodile tribe from the swamps—Flo's parents' tribe—and provided them with a degree of modern facilities and education. The town continued to develop, maintaining close ties with the tribe, and more crocodiles from the tribe came to the town. The population gradually increased.

As the first mayor finished his more than twenty-year term, a man who had received a complete education in the crocodile tribe and later moved to a modern city eventually came to become the town's second mayor. His name was Crocodile, an anthropomorphic alligator. He steered everything towards a more progressive, equitable, and better future. He successfully secured the town's official name, "Crocodile's Mouth," with a unanimous vote upon entering his second term.

Although she was born in Louisiana, Flo still considers Florida her spiritual home. The reason is simple: Florida is home to a vast population of alligators and serves as a vacation paradise for countless visiting ones, too. The climate there is absolutely perfect for them. Consequently, Flo often drives there in her spare time for a leisurely trip or a vacation. She frequently stays at an alligator village located in the local wetlands, always renting the same cabin; over time, she has become thoroughly well-acquainted with the local residents. (The key detail here is that the village's inhabitants are exclusively female alligators. And the rent is so low it is practically negligible.)