Otis Plum

> Listen here. I ain’t got a family. Oh sure, I get cleaned up and put on a show a week a year for the kiddies down at the mall, and SURE people act nice and treat me like “family,” but where are they the rest of the year? Huh?! They ain’t treating me like family for the rest of the year. I’ll ask for change, and they say they ain’t got any. But I see them. I see them buying their things at the mall. I see it every year. Everyone’s a goddamn hypocrite. Every single one of them. Well, except the kids. Putting a smile on their faces is at least something I used to look forward to. But I guess those times are gone now, eh? No more malls, no more presents, and no more Santa. Not unless I have anything to say about it. Nobody cancels Christmas. Not even the apocalypse."
>
> Otis Plum, Otis' Refugee Application

## Pre-Apocalypse

Born in Idaho to a family of farmers, not much is known about Otis Plum. While he claims to be a learned man who earned a doctorate in university and that he even fought in wars, he has absolutely no evidence or credibility to back up his claims. What is more likely is he was an infamous drifter going under several aliases such as: Duke Williams, Roy Krungle, Georgia Summerton, and Dr. Herman T. Winnebago, all of which are wanted for several felonies across the United States. What family he had has severed contact with him. Otis Plum surfaced again 1986 in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was hired for several years as an electrician and annual mall santa before being unceremoniously let go for inappropriate conduct. A year up until the outbreak, Otis spent his days begging for change and pawning off small valuables he could get his hands on to survive on the streets. Fortunately for Otis, he never came in contact with the CHD prion disease due to his peculiar love of fast food fried chicken.

## Season 0

*Rather than explaining, the following will be a very, very long quote from Otis explaining what he got up to in Season 0.*

"Listen 'ere, buddy. I ain't tellin' you squat-diddly! You think you can jus' waltz up to me an' ask me questions about my life? 'Bout my family? Well, I ain't got a family. They're all dead to me!... The apocalypse? Best thing that ever happened to me. I been pickin' through garbage most o' my life, so not much has changed in that way... I ain't got any handouts in my life, I tells you what! Folks think bein' polite makes 'em a good person but I can see through it. I can see through their bullshit. People are assholes an' if you can shine a turd, you can shine a smile... Hell, you can shine jus' about anything. Yeah. The best folk are the ones who know how to git their hands dirty. The kinda folk who know what the bottom o' a trash bin looks like... Speakin' of, you'd be surprised what you can find at the bottom o' them things. People throw out all sorts o' stuff. Food. Booze... Family. You jus' need to... Need to fight for it now! World's the way it's always been, it's jus' a little more real these days. An'... An' I ain't scared o' fightin'! No, sir! I-I'll drop you harder than... Harder than a rock with depression! Ha! Heh... Er... yeah....

Aw hell. Truth is I'm scared shitless. Gangsters, soldiers, ruffians, folks with guns, an' knives, an' bigger knives. Folks bigger, stronger, faster n' me wavin' their pride 'round like flags. Lemme tell, ya! My daddy ain't raise me to be no fool! A lot o' folk who think they's better n' me, but I-I'll show 'em! I'll show 'em all!!! Or-or... Maybe... Not. God, I'm in way over my head. Ever since them Pee-En-Dee-Ar-Ay boys picked me up I been runnin' for my life! I'm jus' out 'ere tryin' to help, but god damn! Folks jus' keep dyin'. Oh hell. Oh god. What the hell am I doin'? I got one foot in the grave and I ain't got a timber's chance in hell, but I'd be doubled-damned ifn' I were to give up now.

Yeah. I met a few folks. Jenny? Bitch. Freeman? Straight crazy. Thinks he can change a feeder with words. His lady friend, Rois, was kinda the opposite. Always would rather treat a feeder with a bullet than talk it out an’ had a tendency to make way too much soup. Eliza? Hippy... Crazy hippy an’ leader o’ the so called Magic Idiot. More like Magic Assholes to me! Ha!.. But I can’t deny she mean well… Her woman on the other hand is somethin’ else. Matilda’s her name. Calls ‘erself a doctor but she’s more of a butcher. I seen her kill more people than she saved. Some doctor. There’s uhhhhh… Julian the vet n’ his little baby ‘Ro… Ted n' Primo are good kids. Kinda dumb but good kids. I hope they's okay... An' there’s also this feller named Tony. He likes them fancy cars an’ used to ride wit’ the Iron Rodents ‘fore they turned into a bunch o’ racist shitsticks. On the other side there is-... was Ota. Otakay. I ain't ever trust an I-80 afore. They'll gut you when y'aint lookin' in a second, but this feller was jus' a kid. He's dead now. J-just the way life is now, I guess. Even the kids ain't safe.

Most interestin' feller I met was this big guy, an' I'm talkin' big, by the name o' Fargo Suz.... cuh...zo... Eh.... Jus' Fargo. Fargo. This big feller had lost most o' his marbles. Looked real rough. Needed a haircut. Needed a shave. Needed to stop crammin' meat into his face! Well anyways, I pulled his butt off the street an' gave 'im a home. Hyep. This guy needed help. So's I did a little diggin'. Hyep. I ain't jus' a pretty face. Got him some medication... An' sure 'nuff, seems to have worked a little. Ain't quite... figured out how to make the stuff myself yet, but I'm pretty clever an' I got all the time in the world. Shame the feller took his own life in the end. Figured he jus’ couldn’t handle the sorts o’ things he done when he lost his mind in the first place. Turned his back on all o’ us in a way. Castle apparently knew the guy.

Hyep! My buddy Castle’s still out there, I reckon. Feller is tough as nails an’ seems to git shot every other week but he’s still standin’. Castle’s a lot tougher than he thinks he is, an’ while he’s a rat he’s always around to lend a helpin’ hand. We ain’t on speakin’ terms these days. He’s attached hisself to Jenny’s an Matilda’s lot an frankly I don’ take kindly much to child murderers. I figure he’s jus’ doin’ it to stay alive as he’s sufferin’ a mighty awful gut wound an’ he’s a fuckin’ weasel so I ain’t judgin’ ‘im too hard. I wouldn’t trust meself to sow my own guts up if they were hangin’ out n’ those Magic Assholes got all the doctors. He’s still a weak willed little shit though.

Speakin’ o’ weak willed, this other lady I met was jus’ about the opposite. This lady walked around like she had a death wish! I even seen her take out a FERO helicopter single handedly! I reckon she acted a little crazy on account o’ her kids dyin’ but aww heck, I met crazier. She was still good company. Jane was her name. She was a… gonzo or somethin’. Whatever that is. She was all about exposin’ FERO’s crimes n’ how they been killin’ folk n’ doin’ experiments on ‘em n’ whatnot. Shame she dead. Bomb got a bit too close an’ shredded her insides. I suppose it coulda happened to anyone. Her nephew, Leo, looks after her dog n’ cat now. I made a promise to keep Leo safe an’ to tell the world the truth o’ what happened in Louisville, an’ I aim to keep those promises.

I reckon that's about it, but that's all I'm tellin' you! You ain't gettin' a word outta me!"

## Personality

Since the start of the apocalypse, Otis has changed from cowardly man of self interest to a man of impulsive vision. Stubborn and pragmatic to a point of bordering ruthless at times, Otis smashed, cleaved, shot, and bombed his way through Louisville with reckless abandon to reach his goals, often drowning any regret and remorse he feels with a tide of drugs and liquor. Otis is a man with a compulsion to explore and experiment, and grows easily restless and quickly depressed when idle. Keeping busy keeps his mind off the many horrors and struggles he's been burdened with, and one of his favorite ways of doing so is playing music with a strong drink in his belly. Otis cares little for luxuries and places little value in material possession. He is comfortable living anywhere, sleeping anywhere, and eating almost anything, and despite his rough and often belligerent attitude will gladly give up anything he doesn't need to help those less fortunate. In social situations, Otis is often aggressively abrasive and utterly fails in basic social tact. To most he is a schemer, a liar, and a drunk, but he wears these qualities like a badge of honor and doesn't pay any heed to what others think of him.

Otis will also prefer to pick his battles opportunistically and will often seek to gain independent control of a situation whether or not it is to his direct benefit. When forced into a difficult situation or desperate gambit, Otis will often attempt to bluff his way out of it either by acting tough or smarter than he actually is. Otis is prone to completely losing his sense of judgment when feeling overconfident, while also has no reservations about fleeing a situation out of his control. At the worst of times, Otis is known to even revel in the throes of a violent act, though whether this is a product of descending into depravity or an emotional coping mechanism is unclear.

## Ideals

Independence - Otis believes in the importance of not needing others to accomplish your goals.

Determination - Otis believes the path to righting humanity is through action without hesitation.

Pragmatism - Otis believes the ends justify the means and there are few wrong ways to succeed at your goals.

## Traits

Otis is quick to boast about his accomplishments and quicker to take advantage of someone.

Otis pities the downtrodden and less fortunate, though he would never openly admit it.

Otis has a soft spot for the younger generations and will attempt to keep them from violence if possible.

Otis tries to avoid being in debt to others, but inversely tries to keep as many people as possible in debt to him. Every interaction has a value and Otis tries to avoid any bad deals for himself.

Otis is prone to erratic mood swings.

Otis doesn't like to take situations too seriously, whether or not it is appropriate.

Otis will always try to deescalate a potentially violent encounter if given the option.

Despite being impulsive in the moment, he’ll always prefer to have a good plan prepared if given time.

Otis despises cults and clowns.

Otis loves strawberries and bananas.

## Flaws

Otis will never admit he is wrong.

Otis is abrasive to an extreme and doesn't care what others think of his actions.

Otis is prone to impulsive action and rarely considerate of the consequences of these actions.

Otis doesn't take orders or advice from others very well.

Otis has little regard for personal hygiene.

Otis takes no issue with lying, cheating, stealing, or even impersonating others to get what he wants.

Otis is an alcoholic.

Otis has a short temper and has difficulty controlling it.

## Bonds

Otis seeks to find a cure to the infection.

Otis enjoys the company of those who don't take life too seriously.

Despite his abrasive nature, Otis truly appreciates those that show him acts of kindness and will fiercely protect the rare individuals that do.

While he believes the end of civilization as it was is inevitable, he also believes that not all hope is lost and the key to humanity’s survival will be in preparing the younger generations.

Otis believes that the apocalypse is no excuse to compromise your morals. He stubbornly strives to hang onto his beliefs and looks down on others who might bend them.

Otis made a promise to his friend that he’d expose the crimes of FERO as she died. He aims to keep that promise.