Dixie Kong

"Don't try to argue--if you're going, I'm going with you."

- Dixie Kong

Dixie Kong is a character from the Donkey Kong series. She is Diddy Kong’s girlfriend and Tiny Kong’s older sister. She is also cousins with Chunky Kong and Kiddy Kong. Her first appearance was as a sidekick in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Aside from games, Dixie also appeared in the Donkey Kong Country cartoon and in two comics.

Dixie Kong appears in almost all Donkey Kong games and in some Mario spin-off titles. Although Candy Kong was the first female Kong to appear, Dixie was the first female Kong to be playable. She was also the first female character in the Mario series to star in a game; she starred in two games even before Princess Peach got her own game. Up to now, Dixie has appeared in 17 games, and is playable in 15 of them.

''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Her first appearance was in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, in this game, Donkey Kong was kidnapped by Kaptain K. Rool. As such, Diddy and Dixie had to travel to Crocodile Isle, home of the Kremlings, to rescue him. In their way Diddy and Dixie had to defeat many Kremlings, aquatic animals and even ghosts. They eventually defeated King K. Rool, saved Donkey, and also blew up Crocodile Isle. Although the game centered on Diddy’s quest to prove he was a great video game hero (in the likes of Mario, Yoshi, and Link), his sidekick Dixie manages to prove her worth as well. In this game she got her first ability, Helicopter Twirl.

In the Game Boy Advance port of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, the plot was the same, but there were some small differences in other things. Swanky Kong will now count the time it took for Dixie, or Diddy, to beat the boss. Dixie and Diddy can also complete Wrinkly's task, which consists of filling a scrapbook with pictures. Dixie can now play mini-games at Funky's place, where her sister makes an appearance.

''Donkey Kong Land 2
Crocodile Isle and the Kremling Krew were resurrected in Donkey Kong Land 2. Donkey Kong is kidnapped once again, and Dixie and Diddy went again to save him. In the end, K. Rool was defeated again, DK is saved, and Crocodile Isle was destroyed for a second time.

''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Dixie emerges as the star of her own game. As the Kongs are vacationing in the Northern Kremisphere, Donkey and Diddy decide to go out on one of their adventures, leaving Dixie behind. However, the two of them get kidnapped by a new group of Kremlings, led by their new mysterious leader KAOS. Dixie discovers the Kremlings and decides to rescue DK (for the third time) and Diddy Kong. However, K. Rool, in the guise of Baron K. Roolenstein, returns. He secretly controls KAOS from behind the scenes, making K. Rool the de facto leader of the Kremling Krew. K. Rool kidnapped DK and Diddy to use their cerebral energies to power the robotic KAOS.

Early in the adventure, Funky Kong asks Dixie to babysit her cousin Kiddy Kong. Together, they rescue Donkey and Diddy and also stop K. Rool and his Kremlings. During their quest, they also have to free all the Banana Birds; when all the Banana Birds are freed, they take Dixie and Kiddy up to the clouds to free the Banana Bird Queen who has been imprisoned by King K Rool.

In the Game Boy Advance port of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, the plot is the same, but now Dixie has to collect more Banana Birds. Dixie can now go and play mini-games at Cranky's Dojo or at Funky's Rentals. Swanky Kong has a new mini-game that only Dixie can play. She has a new location to explore, Pacifica.

''Donkey Kong Land III
In Donkey Kong Land III, Dixie once again teams up with her cousin Kiddy. Again, Donkey Kong and Diddy go off on an adventure, this time searching for the Lost World, and, again, they leave Dixie behind. Dixie decides to find the Lost World herself first. Unbeknownst to all, K. Rool has returned with his Kremlings. He too is searching for the Lost World. In the end, Dixie and Kiddy discover the Lost World and defeat K. Rool all over again.

''Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24
Dixie also appeared in the comic "Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24". Dixie was sleeping in a palm and is suddenly awakened by Squawks the Parrot. Afterwords, Diddy and Cranky explain to her that it’s Christmas, after learning what day it is she suggests to prepare a Christmas party, but suddenly she starts to shiver. The Kongs quickly discover that snow is falling from the sky, something Dixie and the others had never experienced yet. At the TV the Kongs learn that the temperature has dropped all over the world and also that the president of the United States invited for a summit to find a solution to the problem. The Kongs decide to travel to the United States to talk with the president. Dixie and the others ride their Animal Buddies to the nearest airport were they take the Jumbo Barrel to travel to Washington D.C., Dixie along Diddy ride Expresso the Ostrich.

The President tells them that a huge UFO pulling the Earth away from the sun is the cause of the low temperature. He provides them with a space shuttle, and with help of Cranky Dixie and the others are launched into the aliens' space shuttle. At the space shuttle Dixie, Diddy and Donkey, quickly notice the aliens look like them but bigger and green and blue. The Kongs learn that the aliens don’t want to dominate Earth, and what really happened is that the aliens thought Earth was a giant Coconut. After giving bananas to the aliens in exchange of them returning Earth to its original temperature, the Kongs head back to Earth were they are hailed by the people for saving them. Back in the jungle, Dixie and the others finally celebrate a Christmas party. At the end Dixie enjoys the starry sky along her boyfriend.

Donkey Kong Country cartoon
Dixie Kong made sporadic appearances on the Donkey Kong Country cartoon. On the show, her personality was drastically different than the one portrayed in the games; her clothing was also different, somewhat resembling what her sister, Tiny Kong wears. Often, Dixie would lose her various pets. She was also more trusting than the other Kongs, befriending a recently fired General Klump when no one else would. She was the only Kong included in the show that made her debut in Donkey Kong Country 2. Dixie was voiced by Louise Vallance.

Her first appearance in the show is in episode seven, Kong for a Day. In this episode she cheer up Donkey after Funky got mad with him and she also went with him when he had to leave the island. When they are in the jungle a Krusha imitates Donkey's voice and tricks Dixie, making her believe that Donkey was saying bad things about her and Diddy. In the episode From Zero to Hero, she is one of the characters reunited to see Cranky's new experiment, the x-ray machine. When Bluster enters saying he has more rights than Dixie and the others, just because he is rich, she gets mad and tells him inconsiderable. As Candy had to go to work, Dixie was the next character to enter and have x-rays. Later, she is the one that informs Cranky that King K. Rool has the Crystal Coconut.

In the episode Buried Treasure she convinces Candy of going with Bluster on a treasure hunt to mountain mines. After the treasure is found Dixie, along the other Kongs and King K. Rool start fighting for it.

''Bumm-Badabumm Im Urwald
Dixie was also one of the main characters in the Donkey Kong comic, "Bumm-Badabumm Im Urwald". Here she aided both Diddy and Donkey Kong in tracking down their stolen bananas and defeating Kaptain K. Rool and the Kremling Krew. She went to Donkey Kong's house, because she heard noises, there Donkey informs her and Diddy that all the bananas are gone. After, they go and check if their banana depot is also without bananas, and they realized that it’s empty as well, Dixie finds a hole from were the thieves entered. Diddy enters the hole and finds a Kremkoin, then they realize that the Kremlings are behind the disappearance of the bananas and decide to give the Kremlings a lesson.

The three of them enter the hole that leads to the jungle. Then Dixie notice a wasp, and quickly Donkey throws it a barrel. Dixie looks at the stings and says that a sting would have hurt. In the way they find Rambi and the three of them ride him, afterwords they find themselves having around many Kremlings. Rambi takes out all the Kremlings, and they continue their way to King K. Rool. After they reach the mountains Rambi leaves them. They start climbing the mountain, until they arrive to a place where a rope should be, the Kremlings pulled the rope up, Donkey throws Dixie upwards so she can let the rope down. After they reach the top, a necky starts attacking them, but Donkey took him out quickly. Afterwards they reach the portal, but its locked, they successfully opened with the Kremkoin. Inside the portal they are attacked by Kremlings. After beating the Kremlings a giant Kremling appears, the Kongs escape from him through a narrow tunnel.

In the tunnel they find a mine cart. The start racing against the Kremlings, but as the distance between them increased, the mine cart turned less safety. Then the rails ended, and the Kongs landed on a swamp. Diddy then realizes they are not the only ones swimming in the swamp, Krocheads are all around them. They all quickly go up to a crashed boat, and while thinking Donkey remembered something, he started to jump on flies until he reached land, Diddy and Dixie did the same. Dixie realized they were in the Lost World. Dixie climbs a wall and sees King K. Rool in the other side with all the bananas. Suddenly Dixie falls and the kremling see her, Donkey and Diddy quickly jump and help her. A fight against the kremlings starts. King K. Rool start shooting pineapples but Donkey evades them all, he then finds an explosive barrel and throws it to him, which defeats him. The Kongs finally recover the bananas.

''Super Smash Bros. Melee
Dixie also has a trophy in her likeness in the game Super Smash Bros. Melee, while Diddy Kong was nowhere to be seen in Melee, except for a mention in her trophy. Her trophy also mentions about her being quick and nimble, and also that one time she helped save Donkey Kong.

''Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Dixie Kong also appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Her trophy mentions about her ponytail helping her for flying and attacking. She also has a sticker based on her appearance from Donkey Konga 2. Her sticker increases launch resistance by 39 and can only be used by Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong.

Hackers have found incomplete character data for Dixie Kong in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, implying she was once planned as a character, but was dropped for unknown reasons. However, one of Diddy's color changes makes him resemble Dixie Kong.

''DK: King of Swing
Dixie also briefly appears in DK: King of Swing, although she is not playable in story mode, she is one of the eight playable characters in the game's Jungle Jam mode, were she can play different mini-games with the other Kongs. In this game she has very good jump, but a poor attack.

But at the end of the game, when the player collects all the medals from King K. Rool, Dixie, along with all the other Kongs, celebrate and continue the competition they were about to have.

''DK Jungle Climber
Dixie plays a very small role in DK Jungle Climber, seen only in the intro and 100% cutscene. In this game she went for vacations at Sun Sun Island, along all the other Kongs. In the opening cutscene she is seen playing beach volleyball with Diddy and Donkey. Although she is not playable in story mode, she is playable in the game's wireless multiplayer mode as P3. Additionally, she hosts the secret stages, which provide DK and Diddy wth several additional DK Coins needed to complete the game with a 100%.

''Mario Superstar Baseball
Dixie appears as a secret playable character in Mario Superstar Baseball, her first appearance in the traditional Mario series. This was also her first sports game. In this game she is voiced by Jen Taylor. In challenge mode she can help Mario and the others beat Bowser and Bowser Jr.

In this game she appears as a sub-character, being a technique character. She has good chemistry with Donkey and Diddy. She uses a stick as a bat, and the sweetspot is the middle of the stick. Her only talent is Clamber, meaning she can climb walls to catch the ball. In stats, she is bad at batting, and medium in running, fielding and pitching.

''Mario Super Sluggers
She returns in Mario Super Sluggers, sequel to Mario Superstar Baseball. She appears as a sub-character. In challenge mode she can be found in the DK Jungle stadium. After being saved from the Dark Bones she asks Mario and the others to find the stone tablet, after doing so she join the team.

She has good chemistry with Tiny, Diddy, Donkey, Baby DK, Funky, and the Pink Mii; she has bad chemistry with King K. Rool and Kritter. In stats, she is bad at pitching and batting, but she is very good at fielding and running. She uses again a stick as a bat. Her bat entrance includes her jumping and flipping and then prepares to bat. In this game she is the fastest Kong, but is the worst Kong at batting.

Online Card Collection
Dixie Kong is available in the Mario Super Sluggers online card collection. She was form the first characters to be released. In Double Play she can be combined with Donkey Kong to get Donkey Kong's wallpaper.

The front part of the card features her artwork form DK Jungle Climber, it has the DK Jungle stadium background and her name is displayed in white letters surrounded by pink and yellow background.

The back part of the card is mainly pink with stars, it features an in-game image of her, her player abilities, her rookie year, the card description for her and stats.

Her rookie year is 1995, which refers to the year she debuted, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest was released in the year 1995. Her card appears in the Collection wallpaper and appears randomly in the Flipping Frenzy screen-saver. It also appears in the Collection Complete Poster, between Tiny Kong and Diddy Kong

Card Description: ''Dixie Kong makes use of her innate Kong sense in the outfield. She is one of the premiere defensive characters in this game, clambering her way to highlight-reel catches when she needs to.

''Donkey Konga 2
Aside from remakes, Dixie was not present in any other games, until she appeared as a playable character in the 2003 game, Donkey Konga 2; her first appearance on the Nintendo GameCube. In this game she is one of the three characters available to play different songs with the bongos and help win money to buy bananas. She also has the option of playing mini-games.

''Donkey Konga 3
She returns in the Japan-only sequel, Donkey Konga 3, as one of the four playable characters. She again plays songs in the bongos, this time she can choose from 57 different songs to play. Dixie Kong again helps Donkey Kong get money to buy bananas and can also play different mini-games.

''Mario Hoops 3-on-3
Her second appearance in the Mario series was Mario Hoops 3-on-3, her first appearance on the Nintendo DS. She again appears as an unlockable character.

Her special shoot is the Cannon Shot, in which she starts spinning and suddenly a barrel cannon falls from the sky and catches the ball, then Dixie back-flips onto the cannon and shoots the ball into the hoop, followed by a red explosion and multicolored confetti.

In this game, she is a speedy character, just like Diddy. She can also enter the tourney in which she and her team have to beat different teams.

''Diddy Kong Racing DS
Dixie also appears as a playable character in Diddy Kong Racing DS, her spin-off debut. She has medium speed, acceleration and handling. Dixie didn't appear in the original Diddy Kong Racing for unknown reasons, but she was in this game to replace Conker, a Rare character. She has a high-pitched voice in this game. This is also the first game were she appears along her sister and the first racing game in which she appears.

Dixie was first called by Diddy Kong; he explained that Timber asked him to help him defeat Wizpig, and also help to find out what happened to Drumstick, which was converted into a frog by Wizpig.

During the quest they arrived to Dino Domain, and after beating all the challenges in the area Dixie (or one of the other racers) would race the brainwashed Tricky the Triceratops through the valley, if she beat him he will open the Silver Coin challenges. Once all the challenges were completed they could have a rematch against Tricky, if Dixie and the other manage to defeat him the spell on him would break, and Tricky will thank them by giving the piece of Wizpig's amulet he was guarding.

Their next location was Snowflake Mountain, if Dixie and the others managed to beat all the trials they could have a race against Bluey the Walrus in a downhill mountain. After defeating him, he opened the Silver Coin challenges form that area. After the challenges were completed, the racers had the option to challenge him again. After his defeat the spell on him would break and he gave Dixie and the others the second piece of Wizpig’s amulet.

Their next location was Sherbet Island, and like in the previous locations after beating the challenges they could race Bubbler the Octopus. After he was defeated he opened the Silver Coin Challenges. Once the Silver Coin challenges were completed Dixie could race him again. Finally after he was defeated and taken out from Wizpig’s spell he gave Dixie and the other racers the third piece of the amulet.

Their next location was Dragon Forest, were after beating all the challenges Dixie and the others could race Smokey the Dragon. Like the previous bosses he opened the Silver Coin challenges after being defeated. After he was defeated and taken out of Wizpig’s control he gave Dixie and the racers the last piece of the amulet.

With all the pieces of the amulet, Dixie and the other manage to race against Wizpig, whom after being defeated teleports away. Dixie, along all the other racers, held a celebration. During the celebration Wizpig arrives and asks for a rematch, but this time in his planet Future Fun Land. After a long race Dixie and the others defeated him and again held the celebration this time without problems.

''Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
Dixie is a default character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. Her stats are similar to Diddy's. She has better handling and a better boost, but her speed is lower. Dixie's rival is Kass. Her drums are pink and have attached what seems to be sky blue upside down flowers. She attacks with a flip attack. As all playable characters she had the ability of doing Wild Moves. This was the second racing game in which she appeared and her first appearance in the Wii console.

In the Single Race cutscene she can be seen, along Donkey, Tiny and Lanky, standing in front of their rivals, Kass, Kalypso, Klump and Kritter. Also in the Candy Challenges cutscene, Candy seems to be choosing who will participate in the challenges and Dixie is racing her hand, while Kritter seems to tell her to be quiet. In the Options cutscene she is seen running from side to side while Funky Kong is fixing his bongos.

Other
There has been many toys based in Dixie Kong, including plushies and key chains, which are generally based on her cartoon look. There are also posters featuring her and even candies based on her.

She also appears in the board game, Nintendo Monopoly, where she takes the place of Atlantic Avenue. She costs $260. Her artwork is from DK Jungle Climber.

Appearance
Dixie has long hair tied up in a ponytail, blond in color (she shares this with her sister and Candy). She also has a bang, and the hair at the sides of her bang curls up. She has green eyes (currently the only Kong with this feature), and her fur may go from light brown to brown. She can be recognized by her trademark pink beret. In one of her artworks she is shown to have an orange band under her pink beret.

In the Donkey Kong Country series, she has pink nails, but they were removed in all later games, making her no longer have visible nails. Her beret used to have a gold Rare logo pin attached to it, although in DK: King of Swing the Rare pin was removed due to Microsoft now holding the rights to Rareware. The pin did not appear in games and only in artworks. She also wore knee pads which were also removed in DK: King of Swing and later games for unknown reasons.

In the cartoons she has yellow fur. She wears a pink beret and a shirt with a flower in it and does not have earrings. In the comics she has the same appearance as her first look, except for the Rare pin.

In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, when playing with two players, the second players takes control of a Dixie with purple clothes; whereas in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, along with her purple clothes, she also has red hair.

Personality
She is very brave, as she helped Diddy save Donkey, and later she saved both of them. She is also shown to enjoy sports. In games like DK: Jungle Climber, it is shown that she likes playing with Donkey and Diddy. She is also one of the most active Kongs, as she sometimes joins Donkey and Diddy in their adventures.

In the cartoons she is portrayed as a friendly and somewhat childish character. In one of the episodes she even befriended a Kremling. She is also shown to really care about the others; she always tries to help her friends. She also loves animals, during the show she had different pets. She may have the same role as Princess Peach but she is not kidnapped, but they have the same female importance.

Abilities
Dixie Kong’s greatest asset is her long, blond ponytail. Her ponytail has the ability to rotate like a helicopter, allowing Dixie to slow down her fall, control her descent to the ground when she is in the air and expand her jump. She can also use her ponytail to lift Barrels and attack enemies (like her sister in Donkey Kong 64). Although she is a bit slower than Diddy Kong, the versatility of her ponytail more than makes up for it. In Mario Hoops 3-on-3 she had the ability Cannon Shot, which consisted in her summoning a barrel to shoot the ball. In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast she had the ability of doing Wild Moves.

Diddy Kong
Diddy Kong is Dixie's best friend and love interest even though the Smash Bros series refers to her as his girlfriend. She helped him save Donkey in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, after that she saved both of them in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble. Dixie is one of the characters called by Diddy in Diddy Kong Racing DS. In Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers the two of them share chemistry.

In the cartoons they have the same relation. In the episode Kong for a Day she is shown to really care for him, as when she is tricked by the Kremlings in believing Donkey said bad things about Diddy, she quickly gets mad at Donkey. In some other episodes she is shown to try to kiss him.

Tiny Kong
Tiny is her sister. They have appeared in only a few games together, but Tiny has still never shown any kind of affection to her sister. In the remake of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, Dixie had to save her in mini-games. An interesting fact is that her trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl didn't mention that the two were sisters. The two share good chemistry in Mario Super Sluggers.

Donkey Kong
Dixie seems to have a good relation with Donkey Kong. In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble she helped in saving him from King K. Rool. She explains the extra levels to him in Jungle Climber. In Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers the two of them share chemistry. In Mario Super Sluggers challenge mode there are several conversations between Donkey and Dixie.

After she is saved.
 * Donkey Kong: Are you OK, Dixie Kong?
 * Dixie Kong: Yes I'm fine, but Bowser Jr....
 * Dixie Kong: I think he's trying to take over the ballpark.
 * Donkey Kong: He's going to do WHAT?
 * Dixie Kong: Ack! The stone tablet at the top of this cliff!
 * Donkey Kong: He's trying to take it? This will not stand!
 * Dixie Kong: Hey! Donkey Kong! Wait up!
 * Dixie Kong: Donkey Kong, you crazy ape! He never listens to anyone.

After DK comes back.
 * Donkey Kong: It's no use... I'm clueless.
 * Dixie Kong: Donkey Kong! Why not let Mario and his friends handle it?
 * Donkey Kong: No! It's my ballpark. I should take care of it myself.

In the cartoons she has a good relation with Donkey. In episode Kong for a Day she is the only one that goes with Donkey to the jungle when he is prohibited to return to the village.

Chunky Kong
Even though they haven't had much interaction with each other in the DK games, they are in fact cousins. Not much is known about their actual relationship like whether or not she gets along with him or not.

Candy Kong
Although in the games she doesn’t interact much with Candy in the cartoons they had a good relation. In some of the episodes they are seen together. In the episode Buried Treasure, the two of them cooperate with each other to get the treasure.

Kremlings
Dixie has shown to hate the Kremlings in some games. The Kremlings had caused her many problems like getting Donkey and Diddy kidnapped and Dixie having to save them. In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast she was given a new rival, Kass. In Mario Super Sluggers she has bad chemistry with King K. Rool and Kritter.

Other
She is hinted to have a good relation with Funky Kong, as they share chemistry in Mario Super Sluggers. She is also presumed to have a good relation with Kiddy Kong, as he helped her save Donkey and Diddy. She is presumed to have a bad relation with bosses she fought in the past, like Wizpig or King Zing. She is hinted to have a bad relation with Bowser and Bowser Jr., as she helped beat them in Mario Super Sluggers.

''Mario Superstar Baseball

 * Type: Technique
 * Starting Team Captain: Donkey Kong
 * Stats:
 * Batting: Bad
 * Pitching: Medium
 * Fielding: Medium
 * Running: Medium
 * Talents: Clamber
 * Sweet Spot: The middle of the bat.
 * Compatible Relationships: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong

''DK: King of Swing

 * Jump: 5
 * Attack: 1

''Mario Hoops 3 on 3

 * Character Type: Speedy
 * Special Ability: Cannon Shot
 * Letter to Tap: ▼

''Diddy Kong Racing DS

 * Speed: *****
 * Acceleration: *****
 * Handling: *****

''Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

 * Boost: *****
 * Speed: *****
 * Agility: *****

''Mario Super Sluggers

 * Type: Technique
 * Starting Team Captain: Donkey Kong
 * Stats:
 * Batting: 3
 * Pitching: 3
 * Fielding: 8
 * Running: 7
 * Player Abilities:
 * Fielding: Clamber
 * Sweet Spot: The middle of the stick.
 * Chemistry:
 * Good Chemistry: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Tiny Kong, Funky Kong, Baby Donkey Kong, Pink Mii
 * Bad Chemistry: King K. Rool, Kritter
 * Bio: A defensive master who can also climb walls.
 * Collectable Card Info: "Dixie Kong makes good use of her innate Kong sense in the outfield. She's one of the premier defensive players in the game, clambering her way to highlight-reel catches when she needs to."

Trivia

 * Nintendo Power mistakingly and frequently refers to Dixie as Daisy Kong.
 * In the Nintendo Monopoly board game, Dixie Kong took the role of Atlantic Ave. She is worth $260.
 * Earlier pieces of official artwork had the Rare, Ltd. logo displayed on Dixie's hat. Due to the fact that Rare lost the rights to the Donkey Kong Country series after the buyout in 2002, that logo is no longer present.