#oc glukkon charlie

[oddworld-free-hands-society]

[Character Development Meme] 👖 What’s the most valuable item that they own? [Charlie], 🍽️ What’s the most satisfying thing that they have done? [Your choice!], 🚜 How good is their sense of time? [Lane]

Charlie tilts his head. "Huh. Most valuable in terms of Moolah, or most valuable sentimentally? Guess I'll answer for that other thing since my money's goin' to more important things. That one's an easy one! There's this painting in my office at Slig Hut, a pack of Meeches hangin' out in some underbrush. If you look at it just right, you can see the shadows of some Sligs on the hunt for 'em approachin' from the foreground, but the shadows of the leaves make it easy to miss. My buddy Lane made it!" He grins happily at the Glukkon in question, whose return smile shows strongly in his eyes - there is something to be said for the non-luminous sort.

"I'm happy you like it so much, Charlie. Has anyone noticed the Sligs yet?"

Charlie shakes his head. "Not yet! Wondering how long it'll be before someone does."

(Lane was chosen at random for the open-ended one! I'll just merge the other two, then)

"I'm glad the conversation has turned to me, since I believe I'm next. My sense of time used to be pretty good, back when I worked with the Times. Had a window in my office, so I could go by how much light from my desk lamp I needed; we were close enough to the edge of the district to get some surface sun. That's the only problem with living down here. If I don't look at a clock, I don't have a clue. Oh, but it was worth it, though." There's that rare fierce grin on a face normally so calm. "For so long at my job at the paper, I had to bite my tongue, so to speak, tread the line, contort my words to avoid contorting the truth... And when confronted with the opportunity to say telling the truth was wrong, in complying with that Cartel enforcer... I refused. I ran. It led to me hiding out here, but I've never felt more liberated. What a feeling that was..."

[oddworld-free-hands-society]

Cast List

yes all nine of them share this blog.  They’ll have to deal with it.  Here they are, in order of joining. (Warnings: transphobia, suicidal tendencies mention)

Aron

Species: Glukkon Gender: Masc. (Worker) Age: 30 Occupation: Owner, BotaniCo Decorative Plants (Former junior exec, RuptureFarms [some branch NOT 1029 haven’t decided yet]) Status: Chump Key Descriptor(s): Toned muscle, throws unbuttoned suit over shoulders to act as a cape Overview: The co-founder of this little club, had an encounter while visiting RuptureFarms’ main/largest branch that changed his life forever.  When his branch came into his possession due to his boss being Shrykull’d, he sold it all, except a handful of Mudokon slaves and a young Slig, and bought up a vacant building to turn into a shop to sell office plants.  He tells no one he grows his own product in his store’s basement via sun lamps.  There are other things he doesn’t tell anyone about that basement...including that it even exists.

Janor

Species: Glukkon Gender: Masc. (Worker) Age: 31 Occupation: None (Former professor of literature analysis, Nolybab Institute) Status: Fugitive Key Descriptor(s): Calm, clear-voiced, gentle features and warm smile Overview: After a street performance that displayed questionable loyalty to the Cartel, Janor fled into what he believed was an abandoned basement - the birthing facilities of a minor Slig queen who had passed away.  He learned, then, that the property had been bought - by the Glukkon who would become his closest friend, Aron.  Janor has a big heart and a mind for emotional philosophy.  He can also come across as kind of pretentious, favoring stiffer or formal word choice.  He also has incredible lung capacity for a Glukkon.  Hmm...

Estric

Species: Glukkon Gender: Male (Worker) Age: 37 Occupation: Professor of economics, Nolybab Institute Status: Big Cheese Key Descriptor(s): Large, eloquent, wears glasses Overview: Janor’s older brother - both in the sense of the two of them spending their lives together and by blood - he and Janor are not Lady Margaret’s children.  That makes their unpopular opinions extremely hard to voice, and Estric has to teach a curriculum he doesn’t necessarily believe in.  What are those unpopular opinions? Their current course will end in disaster. Thanks to hearing Aron’s account of what he saw of the RuptureFarms 1029 incident, is more convinced than ever that the meeches should have lived and holds them up as the golden example - with Gabbits approaching a close second by the day - of why things need to change.

Lane

Species: Glukkon Gender: Male (Worker) Age: 40 Occupation: None (Former publication overseer, The Eastern Mudos Times) Status: Fugitive Key Descriptor(s): Observant eyes, piercing gaze Overview: Lane is the kind of Glukkon other Glukkons would hold up as an example of why one’s work should only be in pursuit of Moolah.  Lane loved working for the press.  He was motivated by journalism as its own end, and kept a close eye on the stories his paper printed.  When he inevitably began asking questions, good, unbiased journalists would, strings were pulled and he was framed for crimes against the company.  Some of the younger members find entertainment in bringing newspapers down to the hideout just to see him rail at obvious spins.

Onisk

Species: Glukkon Gender: Masc. (Worker) Age: 26 Occupation: None (Former assistant to Runesgluk Kate) Status: Fugitive Key Descriptor(s): Scrawny, poor verbal filter, purplish, whiny Overview: Full of ambition and impulsiveness, but not bright enough to harness either correctly, Onisk followed a job offer that seemed “unique” and wound up working directly for some other Glukkon queen (he’s Maggie’s), a Runesgluk named Kate.  In too deep to leave - as Glukkon magic is a fiercely-guarded secret - he did his best to work until he figured out Kate’s brood-heir was, in fact a male-identifying worker.  And Kate, naturally, was hearing none of it.  Her heir would soon be a prisoner in his own growing body.  Finding himself unable to bear the sight of his fear and self-loathing, Onisk betrayed Kate and helped Charlie escape, dressed as a homeless Pud.  A chance meeting with an old economics professor gave them both a home.

Charlie

Species: Glukkon Gender: Male (Worker (assigned queen)) Age: 13 Occupation: Landlord, Slig Hut Apartments (former brood-heir to Runesgluk Kate) Status: Pud Key Descriptor(s): Broad-framed, bright eyes, rough speech Overview: The rest of the status tells quite a lot of his story on its own, doesn’t it?  Charlie thought himself doomed to a body he hated, and a life of popping out eggs and an inability to do anything else. Knowing he had to get out, but not having the hope that he could, Onisk came along and changed that with a touch of ever-so-rare empathy.  They ran into Estric, who introduced them to the Society, and Charlie became everyone’s beloved kid brother.  More than any of the other fugitives, wanted directly by a queen with finances channeled directly from the pockets of Oktigi, Charlie represents the Society’s truest face - the complete and utter denial of everything their society told them they have to be.  Compete and hoard resources?  They support him, giving freely in pursuit of a body he can be happy in.  Do anything for a quick buck?  They put themselves in danger by sheltering him.  The thought of betraying him has never crossed their minds, or if it has, it was quickly squelched by their own guilt.  While he is the one least accustomed to respecting life for its own sake (growing up with sacrifices being a thing and all), he has an open mind and willingness to absorb new ideas, and a deep appreciation for the kindness he has been shown that shines light on the goodness in his own heart - he passes on the acceptance and understanding he has been shown to his Slig tenants, offering a sympathetic ear to those having difficulty with their toxic lifestyle.  He knows exactly what it’s like to not be what you’re “meant” to be and how important it is to be heard.

Cody

Species: Glukkon Gender: Male (Worker) Age: 24 Occupation: None (Formerly owner, Sloghut 320) Status: Pud Key Descriptor(s): Short, spidery, skittery Overview: The most recent Glukkon addition to the Society, Cody was never able to hold down a job he was truly interested in maintaining - overseeing employees didn’t give him the same sense of satisfaction as doing work for himself.  He’s skilled with writing computer code and designing documents, but can’t do these things for himself without it becoming apparent he has no living assets the moment some kind of inspection is called for.  He’s the most critical of change within the Society’s structure and direction, fearing its collapse.  His unusually long limbs and fingers are something of a mystery - was he a botched Gloktigi or something?  The two who know anything about Gloktigi say probably not, but it’s still uncanny.

Zombie

Species: Mudokon Gender: Male (Worker) Age: 26 Occupation: Employee, BotaniCo Decorative Plants (former RuptureFarms [same branch as Aron]) Status: Free, paid hourly (formerly enslaved, unpaid) Key Descriptor(s): Pale blue-gray, tired, nosy, manipulative, daring to hope Overview: One of Aron’s oldest surviving slaves, he was one of the “lucky” ones that stuck with him when he started up BotaniCo.  He stumbles across the Free Hands Society hidden under his new workplace and nudges it in a direction it sorely needed to go.  Old enough to recognize injustices for what they are and bitter and uncaring of his own life enough to voice them, he’s grabbed the Society’s moral compass and is forcibly pointing it at broader horizons.  Forced to treat him as an individual with his own needs and feelings, they are also forced to confront the grave injustices their species has done to him.  Some take to this task better than others.  His insatiable curiosity and nosiness are sometimes the key to his survival, and sometimes are a lot of trouble.

Foggy

Species: Slig Gender: Male (Drone) Age: 2 (or whatever is the earliest age feasible) Occupation: Security/supervisor, BotaniCo Decorative Plants (former security, RuptureFarms [same branch as Aron]) Status: Leased from Slig Queen Skillya via Slig Barracks, paid hourly Key Descriptors: Genial, lazy, eagerly curious, bawdy humor, anxious Overview: In sharp contrast to Zombie, Foggy was the youngest Slig on the branch payroll when Aron sold it.  He elected to follow him, and it didn’t take much to figure out that he was avoiding leaving himself to an unknown fate.  If he was assigned to tend to a queen, he may, as a drone, also be asked to attend to her in other ways, and given his own mother’s legendary temper, he’s terrified of the prospect of whatever awaits him on his first queen visit.  This is expressed via humor, because it isn’t acceptable for a Slig to show such hesitation or fear of something so normal and natural.  He can often be worked to the point of such specific vehemence it’s obvious, and his body language follows suit.  While he “walks the walk”, so to speak, in mistreating Zombie and the other Mudokons that once worked alongside them, he prefers messing with people verbally if they upset him - or just for fun, because he’s an immature little brat.

[oddworld-free-hands-society]

For Charlie, ♆ (body headcanon)

“Uh-huh,” Charlie says with a skeptical raise of his brow.  The question reads as very laser-targeted, to him.  Anon is probably working for his mom, he thinks.  “Yeah, see, I ain’t Aron, and I don’t trust this ‘confidentiality’ thing.  You’re anonymous - how the hell are we supposed to know where to watch if you’re gonna rat us out?  You keep away from me and my friends.”

((Since the IC answer wasn’t one at all, here’s one for you: Each doctor he sees for his top surgeries (I mean, they’re not exactly around the top of his body while he can still stand upright but they would be once he outgrew his arm span which isn’t going to happen, thank you) has a slightly different method, leading to differences in scarring - at the end of it all, it’ll be like a visual roadmap.  While the doctor-hopping and uncertainty sucks for him right now, it will add to his sense of accomplishment and love of the friends who supported him with funds, care, and safe shelter through it all.

Freebie fact: Also because my response to the conflicting images of Lady Margaret is “let’s mash them together”, he has a pair of secondary arms.  Hormone inhibitors have made them weak and short - so thankfully easy to hide - but they can carry small, light objects.  He is actually okay with those and will be keeping them.))