#Charles is a nice boy who calls the washerwoman ''miss''

[fairandfatalasfair]

A thing I enjoy about Edwin is that he's an arrogant little shit, but he's especially an arrogant little shit to people who could break him in half.

Empathy and kind words aren't his strongest suit, but with people who seem vulnerable or who need his help he makes an effort. People who are throwing their weight around with him, on the other hand, seem to get him at his most supercilious. He responds to the Cat King trapping him in Port Townsend by telling him his punishment is "unacceptable" and loftily instructing him to "kindly remove it" like he's a misbehaving child playing with magic handcuffs. The Night Nurse tells the Principal that he and Charles are due for an extreme reality adjustment, and he snippily points out that he doesn't think she's in charge here.

I don't know if that tendency to bite back at people who try to talk down to him predates his death (in which case I can't imagine it did him any favours at school) or whether it's something he picked up after spending 70 years in hell on a technicality. Certainly knowing that you were unjustly sent to hell and the proper authorities are okay with it because the right paperwork was filled out would be enough to burn out any latent respect for authority in most people.

But I love his refusal to play nice with people who think they're in charge. Charles may look more like a teenage rebel and Edwin like a teacher's pet, but appearances can be deceiving. Edwin's got a mutinous streak a mile wide. They're better matched than they seem.

[tumblerislovetumblerislife]

#Charles is a punk kid and Edwin is a relentlessly proper nerd AND ALSO#Charles is a nice boy who calls the washerwoman ''miss''#and Edwin is a renegade damned soul who talks back to the afterlife while they're still deciding whether or not to send him back to hell#and I love that for them#They contain multitudes (via @fairandfatalasfair)

A thing I enjoy about Edwin is that he's an arrogant little shit, but he's especially an arrogant little shit to people who could break him in half.

Empathy and kind words aren't his strongest suit, but with people who seem vulnerable or who need his help he makes an effort. People who are throwing their weight around with him, on the other hand, seem to get him at his most supercilious. He responds to the Cat King trapping him in Port Townsend by telling him his punishment is "unacceptable" and loftily instructing him to "kindly remove it" like he's a misbehaving child playing with magic handcuffs. The Night Nurse tells the Principal that he and Charles are due for an extreme reality adjustment, and he snippily points out that he doesn't think she's in charge here.

I don't know if that tendency to bite back at people who try to talk down to him predates his death (in which case I can't imagine it did him any favours at school) or whether it's something he picked up after spending 70 years in hell on a technicality. Certainly knowing that you were unjustly sent to hell and the proper authorities are okay with it because the right paperwork was filled out would be enough to burn out any latent respect for authority in most people.

But I love his refusal to play nice with people who think they're in charge. Charles may look more like a teenage rebel and Edwin like a teacher's pet, but appearances can be deceiving. Edwin's got a mutinous streak a mile wide. They're better matched than they seem.