AYEEE. HEAD CANONS ABOUT CRUTCHIE (BECAUSE I AM TRASH). AND GO.
mer you asked for this. so first, crutchieās childhood:
crutchie had a mother and father until he was two. then his father left them as soon as his mom got sick
crutchieās mom basically cared for him until she physically couldnāt anymore and was forced to give him to an orphanage
when she dropped him off, she left a note with him sayingĀ ācharlie, i love you so much. be a strong boy.ā crutchie never saw the note because it was thrown away almost immediately after he was taken in
living in the orphanage was rough for crutchie, especially when he got sick with polio at age 8. they thought it was only a cold and treated it as such but got very scared when he stopped responding to movement and couldnāt move easily. luckily, it didnāt become completely paralytic and only crutchieās right side relatively damaged
not being able to move easily put crutchie at risk for being picked on by the other kids in the orphanage. he tried to put up with it but left right before his 10th birthday and ran away to live on the streets and try his luck there
crutchie was found by jack living under a makeshift structure of trash cans and old crates in an alley. when jack found him and took him in, crutchie thought all his wishes for a big brother had come true
and now other headcannons:
crutchie is constantly worried that heāll be forgotten or left behind because heās a little slower than the rest of the newsies. so sometimes, he pushes himself way too far and has to stop and rest because he physically cannot keep going
as previously discussed, crutchie has made friends with a lot of stray animals near the lodging house and his selling spots and really cares for them, usually bringing them tiny bits of food to eat
crutchie really cares about the condition of his crutch?? like he makes sure that it isnāt falling apart and that the grip isnāt getting too worn down. or when it rains, he makes sure to dry it off with his sheets because he doesnāt want the wood rotting as easy. like he gets very attached to his crutch and hates replacing it when the old one finally gives out or when heās grown out of his
crutchie really likes music!!! like if thereās a street musician or music coming out of a restaurant, heāll stop for a little and just listen because he thinks itās so beautiful and wants to savor a little calm in his life