#really wish we could tear charon's contract in game tbh

[datura-tea]

i want to talk about gwen and charon (and butch, a little)

the dream team (what butch calls their little gang, to gwen’s chagrin) would not be complete without charon. he’s the stoic straight man for gwen and butch and their shenanigans. he’s there not because gwen has his contract - she tore that shit up right in front of charon, after he killed ahzrukhal (and after she made sure he won’t kill her too) - he’s there because honestly he doesn’t really know where to go (at first, anyway). after a lifetime of brainwashing and slavery, i don’t think he really knows what to do with himself and his newfound freedom and agency.

so, i think he throws his lot in with gwen and butch. mostly because they’re leaving the underworld and he wants out asap, partly because he doesn’t know what else to do. once out of the underworld, gwen and butch say goodbye, and to their surprise charon follows them. gwen reiterates that she’s not charon’s employer, that he has no employer anymore and that he’s free to do whatever the shit he wants. and i think this annoys charon because he knows that. he saw her tear up his contract. he knows it but i don’t think he really understands it, yet. still, he tells them that wants to join them. so gwen and butch have a little talk (very short talk: “should we-” “hell yeah man, the dude’s badass!”) and they “allow” charon to tag along.

charon’s addition to the dream team is a little awkward at first, because third wheeling is always awkward, especially when you’re accompanying two people who’ve known each other their whole lives and have their own little vocabulary. plus gwen and butch are so annoying together: they hate it but they often interrupt each other and drift off mid-sentence only for the other one to go, “yeah yeah yeah” but charon doesn’t make it seem like it bothers him much. they get used to each other in time, both in combat situations and off, with gwen often asking charon what he thinks, what he wants, etc. charon doesn’t think much of this - the choices gwen asks him to make are so inconsequential - (“charon do you want to go left or right” “charon do you agree that butch is being a little bitch right now” “charon do you want to watch me do a backflip”) but these add up and eventually charon starts offering his thoughts and acting as tie-breaker whenever gwen and butch have differing ideas on what to do (he often sides with gwen, because while gwen’s decisions are also bad, they’re not as disastrous as butch’s - gwen calls this “tall people solidarity”)

gwen and butch help him make small choices until he makes the big one of leaving their little gang. it takes a while, a few years in fact, and in those years i think they’ve built a rapport, a friendship. but still, charon decides to go out on his own and this makes gwen and butch a little sad, but also so so happy. they promise to keep in touch and then part ways amicably. once three dog gives gwen airtime on galaxy news radio, she often gives shoutouts to charon and this makes charon smile a little :) but only a little