Lenjamin Zhuge

("JOO-guh") is a lineup player for the Seattle Garages, and has been with the team since , Day 104.
==Official League Records==
Zhuge joined the ILB as a lineup player for the Seattle Garages on , Day 104 after the incineration of Sparks Beans.
During the , Zhuge became an and gained the modification due to the blessing.
==Background==
===Pre-ILB===
Lenjamin Zhuge is a trans masculine Chinese American (pronouns they/them) from San Francisco, California. From a young age, Zhuge was fascinated with the sea and all of its contents. During a trip to Seattle as a teen to visit relatives, Zhuge had a chance encounter with a Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus after breaking into a private nature preserve. Zhuge helped it return to its nest, but when they returned home that evening could not find any documentation on the creature. Determined to find more creatures like this and further the research into them, Zhuge began their journey into becoming a marine biologist/cryptozoologist. When Zhuge returned to the area to scout out colleges to attend, they found and befriended the giant octopus living under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, solidifying their love for the area.
While attending the University of Washington, Zhuge frequented Seattle’s many coffee establishments. During one such trip to an establishment called The Pregame Ritual, they were served by barista Sparks Beans. Upon asking them their name, Zhuge quietly mumbled both their American and Chinese names, Benjamin and Liren, as neither felt quite right to them. Beans, either sensing their discomfort or simply applying the Baristas Renaming Order, marked their cup as “Lenjamin.” After thanking them for the drink, Zhuge inquired as to what the “they/them” pin on Beans apron was in reference to. Beans replied that they identified as nonbinary, identifying outside the male or female range, and as a result used the pronouns they/them. Zhuge left the Pregame Ritual that day with a coffee, a new name, and a new set of pronouns.
Zhuge decided to stay in Seattle after graduating, getting a job at the Seattle Aquarium shortly after. They pioneered the research into a form of enrichment wherein the animals partake in friendly but fierce duels. Malik Destiny was one of the first participants in the duels, and was swiftly eliminated by Molalla the river otter and banned from the aquarium, as is customary in such events. 
===Season 19, Day 104===
Despite not being particularly into Blaseball, Zhuge found themself in the audience of that day’s playoff match, the San Francisco Lovers vs The Seattle Garages. Zhuge reports having gotten a cryptic but worrying tarot reading the night before from their mismatched deck, which presented them with a receipt from The Pregame Ritual, a War of the Blaze card from a Magic the Glathering deck, and a Rotom. As fate would have it, during the bottom of the 7th Inning, a Rogue Umpire incinerated Sparks Beans. Witnesses describe a bolt of purple lightning striking a nearby barista as Zhuge, halfway through eating a hotdog, appeared in Beans place. They miraculously caught the first ball that came at them, and hit a single that would send Aldon Cashmoney IV home during their first at bat. Some attribute this to the wisps of purple electricity they saw coming from their headphones, but Zhuge refused to comment on if they were using performance enhancing ghosts for their post season appearances. 
===Career on the Seattle Garages===
Shortly after the playoffs concluded, Zhuge moved in with team member Magi Ruiz, who found herself in a particularly empty apartment where she had been living with Avila Guzman and Beans before their feedback and incineration, respectively. The two can often be seen debating the legitimacy of land vs sea cryptids over a game of co-op pinball in the Pinball Museum below the apartment. Zhuge brought a large aquarium with them, full of plants and fish alike, which they tend to with meticulous care and attention.
Beans, in their new full electric elemental form, has taken to coaching Zhuge, though it is unclear how effective this training is in the field of blaseball. Beans’ main method of teaching comes in the form of showing them how each pitcher’s pitching style matches up with a specific song, which is regarded as fairly unhelpful as Beans and Zhuge music tastes are vastly different. Training Zhuge in the way of the Barista has proven fruitful, however. Ruiz reports that while Zhuge’s fielding has not improved in the slightest, their ability to whip up a mean Americano is getting better by the day.
Zhuge’s tendency to break into private locations continued into adulthood, as they were voted “most likely to ignore ‘keep out’ signs” by their graduating class. They often take team member Theodore Duende into some of the private reserves in the area, hiking paths long forgotten by the land owners. They have also been seen surfing with Oliver Mueller on private beaches where Zhuge has been known to take samples of water acidity. 
Zhuge has taken a keen interest in studying the salmon and consumers that inhabit blaseball, remarking on how odd it was that research or any knowledge of the creatures didn’t cross their radar until joining the team. Whether this is due to the nature of consumers and salmon being unknowable outside of blaseball, or if Zhuge’s lack of attention to the splort beforehand is unclear.
Hoping to get more in touch with their Chinese roots, Zhuge picked up the pipa upon joining the Garages.
===Shark Seattle Recon Mission===
Shortly after Season 21, Zhuge became acquainted with a creature known as Sharks Beans, who came to the team from a place called Shark Seattle. Wanting to know more about this land full of mysterious aquatic life, Zhuge, Alaynabella Hollywood, and Wyatt Mason X went on a recon mission to the alternate dimension. While Hollywood and Mason acted as distractions, Zhuge snuck into the tanks and took samples of the water, as well as liberating a few fish in containment. While they were doing this, they accidentally swallowed some of the water. Upon their return to Seattle, they began to see unusual changes, their teeth becoming sharp and shark-like. Hollywood was the first to notice, citing her Hellmouth heritage as making her a good spot for adaptations, also saying Zhuge smelled different. Hollywood has since helped Zhuge handle the changes and come to terms with them while Magi Ruiz has kept a detailed log of Zhuge’s developments. It is as of yet unclear if these adaptations were a one time thing, or if they will continue to develop over time. Zhuge is thoroughly pleased with the new traits, claiming it caused a breakthrough in their cryptozoologic studies, as documented on their blog.
After the mission was complete, Zhuge set about the next phase of their salmon research: sustainable Immateria Salmon farming. With technology they liberated from Shark Seattle, Zhuge enlisted the help of Fairwood Patchwork and Kathy Mathews in constructing a grand tower, known as the Salmon Spire. Using a location in downtown Seattle set aside for the construction of a new corporate building, the three got the spire up and running in no time. When the original contractors argued that they had no right to use the foundation, Zhuge argued that the protected nature of Immateria Salmon prevented them from intervening. Unable to argue, the Spire now towers over downtown, swirling towards the sky at immeasurable heights. Inside it, salmon, consumers and other immateria life can be seen swimming about. On clear nights, Zhuge can often be found swimming in the spire, checking on the salmon and enjoying the views.
===Trivia:===
*Zhuge is listed in the credits of a student film, “Trans Masc with a Soul Patch,” but they refuse to speak on the matter.
==Fan Works==
===Music===
Lenjamin Zhuge is the focus of the following song:
*replacement waltz by Erica
===Fanfiction===
For more fanfiction see the Lenajmin Zhuge tag on AO3
I'd like to believe in all the possibilities by Navi - Lenjamin Zhuge's lead up to joining the team.
===Art===
File:Lenjamin Zhuge sketch sheet.png|The many faces of Lenji by NotMoss
File:Lenjamin Zhuge.png|Even more faces of Lenji by NotMoss
File:Lenjamin.png|Lenji in their uniform and their wetsuit by feya
File:Lenjamin and Sparks.png|Lenji's "performance enhancing ghost" by feya
File:Garage Ghosts.png|Tot and Lenji, haunted by their respective ghost companions
File:Shark Attack!.jpg|alt=A digital drawing made to resemble a movie poster with Lenjamin Zhuge and Alaynabella Hollywood in the center. Lenji is tossing a blaseball up with one hand and Layna has a bat resting over her left shoulder. Their elbows are linked, and they are in front of the outline of a consumer. At the top of the poster are their names and at the bottom are the words "in Shark Attack!" stylized to appear as if there's blood sprayed across it.|Shark Attack!by @_pysics
File:Lenjamin and Mcodwell tarot.jpg|Lenji shows a fellow tarot reader their unique tarot deck by Nic
File:Lenjamin Zhuge minis.png|Lenji's mini blaseballer by @Hetreasky
File:Lenji and Borg.jpg|alt=A digital drawing of Lenjamin Zhuge and Borg Ruiz at a computer. Lenji is a Chinese person with webbed-looking shark fins for ears. Borg is a Fillipino person with dark skin and bright purple hair, wearing a hat with crystals on it and a light-up LED mask with a purple frowny face on it. The two of them are complaining about a mysterious person stealing all of their good cards on "Ylugioh Divination Dot Com." The top part of the drawing reveals that the mysterious person is in fact Megan Ito, a fat Japanese butch woman wearing orange sunglasses that are stylized to look like they are exploding.|Lenji and Borg Ruiz deal with a mysterious card thief. By Cori
File:Lenji and bo.jpg|Lenji explaining the many benefits of being a marine biologist to Borg Ruiz by Ash
File:Lenji and Dussel.png|Lenji and their research assistant, Dusseldorf by @Odd0wl
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Category:Players Who Replaced an Incinerated Player