Turtledove
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Karl
Fictional Character
"The Garden Gnome Freedom Front" by Laura Frankos
Fantasy set in OTL
Type of Appearance: Direct
Species: Garden gnome
Nationality: France ("born" in Germany)
Date of Birth: 20th century
Spouse: Gretchen (from 1996)

Karl was a garden gnome of German manufacture, who "lived" in the garden of a retired American businessman in Saint-Clément, Normandy, in the late 20th century. He considered himself a naturalized French gnome. Karl was of a very unusual design, with black and yellow checked breeches, an olive green shirt, a pink (rather than conventional red) hat, and an oversized lavender watering can in his hand. There was nothing wrong with his face, however.

In 1996, Karl and several other Saint-Clément gnomes were "liberated" by the Garden Gnome Freedom Front, an organization consisting entirely of Alizon Riand, Raquel Guibert, and Becca Milleron. Seeing Karl's unusual design, Raquel dubbed him "Ugly Togs."

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