#edwin x charles

[majorlb]

Charles sometimes wonders if he's a good person. Okay, so he knows that killing people isn't exactly something a 'good person' does, even if they deserve it. But that's different.

No, he wonders if he's a good person for Edwin. If he deserves someone as good as Edwin. Because marked for hell or not, Edwin is fundamentally good and kind and he should have good things and good people in his corner.

Charles is possessive, and petty and as much as he calls himself a people person, he actually doesn't really like people unless they're Edwin. He sociable sure, but he could go the rest of existence never talking to anyone else but Edwin and he'd be completely content.

Unfortunately, no one else is good enough to keep Edwin safe, and so the job falls to Charles, lacking as he is. Charles with his greedy hands and greedier heart, who wants to Edwin for himself, no one else near him, who loves Edwin to the point of obsession.

He's lucky that Edwin feels the same. Luckier still that Edwin was the one to pull him in by the collar and kiss him first, blood and all.

[l-nightmare]

Edwin wasnt what he’d call an artist, he didn’t paint large oil paintings or use brightly pigmented oils, all he had was a simple pencil. A pencil was all he’d ever had.

Back when he was alive he’d only had a pencil and whatever paper or notebook he was able to sneakily sketch something into. It wasn’t much, it was a secretive little hobby of his is all, something that was just for him.

Edwin used to draw sketches of bird species, specific plants, even some runic spells at the beginning of learning magic.

But over time his drawings shifted over to one more consistent thing.

Charles

Edwin had barely even realized how often he’d end up sketching the boy in his notebook.

That was until one day he did realize. He realized how he had barely drawn anything but him recently, how easy it was for him to nearly subconsciously start drawing Charles whenever he had nothing else to do.

How he could trace the boy's features without even having to look up and check anymore.

Edwin could find himself lost in getting down that sparkle in Charles' eye, the quirk up of his lips, the fullness of his cheeks, the slightly messy curls of his hair and those few pieces that fall over his forehead into his face.

There was something about the comfort of shading, blending, and fixing a piece he made of Charles Rowland. On this paper, getting to make the closest replication of a candid moment of Charles. A snapshot in their life.

The closest thing to a photo that ghosts can get.

And Edwin could work hard enough to make that with his own hands and precision.

Sometimes he would just sit looking at one of his most recent drawings fondly. Other times when Charles was out Edwin would even find himself flipping through all the different versions of the boy he’d drawn.

Something warm and so nice would always bloom in his chest.

He should’ve known he was in love with Charles Rowland so much sooner

[kjobugs]

Also, everyone fails to realise that the Cat King kissing Monty without his consent is a parallel to Monty kissing Edwin without his consent.

Ok, i have some thoughts on The Cat King because the amount of hate he's getting makes me so frustrated.

Majority of TCK hate comes from him being older and hyper sexual. Not his inherent queerness. Almost every other character is queer and people still love them wholly. But take TCK and Monty, for example. They're both characters with similar backgrounds, and they play similar roles in the story as 2 love interests seeking Edwin out for their own personal gain. Yet.. huh, i don't quite recall anyone calling Monty a pedophile? What a coincidence 🙂

Monty is an ageless familiar who manipulates Edwin and his friends and blatantly flirts with Edwin to lure him into a false sense of trust under Esther's order. Yes, I know he's a morally grey character who is misled and manipulated by Esther herself. He doesn't realise the extent of what he's doing, even though he knows it's wrong, and he tries to make it right before his ultimate demise.

However, TCK is not given the same empathy. Despite playing an almost identical role in the series. He has a wildly different personality, yet he also seeks Edwin out and flirts with him. Monty arguably does worse things to Edwin in the series and is met with compassion and empathy from the fandom because he's mistreated (lets not mention how Esther also kills TCK & Monty when they went against her and helped Edwin). Monty appears young and innocent, and this excuses him of any age gap claims on a 124 year old ghost.

But the Cat King looking older and over sexualised has him immediately labelled a pedophile and villan. Despite his only act of mistreatment being his bracelet that keeps Edwin in Port Townsend. Yes, this is wrong on his part. But at the time, his character has no reason to care about Edwin any more deeply than his initial attraction. Maybe this is me making an excuse, but haven't we excused Monty for the same reasons?

This is not me trying to make a Monty hate post or a Cat King VS Monty post. These characters play similar roles in this series and are viewed vastly differently, and I find it interesting to pick apart and ask why we feel so hateful towards one character but not the other.

I half blame the show, too, because TCK's introduction scene is filmed in a way that inherently makes you uncomfortable with his presence. Which I understand was meant to show Edwin's discomfort/desire coexisting in that scene because of his inexperience with his own sexuality. However, it does come off creepy in general and a lot of people just see a sleezy cat guy tryna fuck a british twink, who died at 16 and is therefore frozen in that appearance so... yeah I get it.

I wish they had written him a little differently, maybe tweaked some lines to make it sound less like he's coming onto Edwin specifically and more like that's just how he is, because he doesn't actually care about Edwin at that point. Because that in itself is his great character flaw, and this is meant to show his growth during the first season as he begins to care more about Edwin and starts flirting with him lightly & not being able to stop himself from trying to help Edwin & his friends in the end.

This is getting too long and there's no one sentence, simple way to explain this to TCK haters without them doing mental gymnastics to tell me I'm wrong and never questioning why they view TCK as evil but not Monty. Why they never question why villans are often characterised in similar ways to TCK as hyper sexual and confident and often inherently queer in media. And what that does to our perception of these characters and the oversexualisation & vilification of queer people in fiction.

[starcrossedstarfishes]

Owner of a Broken Heart Chapter 2/3 !!

Quote:

"I already tried to give you my heart," Charles says with a little tilt in his voice. "But apparently it wasn't good enough..."

Edwin is instantly disarmed, a weight against his chest lifting just ever-so-slightly. "Don't joke like that, please."

But Charles just looks back at him, solemn and sincere. "I'm not joking."

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64431883/chapters/165904963#workskin

[myiliterallyhavenolifegoals]

the fact that Edwin lived in the early 1900s is a fantastic source of comedic potential. he's just constantly saying things that he doesn't realise are completely batshit insane, and the others are just left utterly floored.

like they're all talking and Crystal mentions she's tried cocaine once on a wild night out, and Edwin, who used to get that shit medically prescribed at the drop of a hat is like ??? okay?? hope you felt better, it always used to help me when I had a cold too :) Charles why are you laughing?

[infinityinakiss]

gotta hand it to charles for being so insane that edwin didn't even think that he could possibly be a hallucination or another hell trick, he was immediately like "of course, charles would come to hell for me. he's such an idiot. this is entirely in character."

[lovetositinsilence]

a moment for themselves

[technically-human]

Charles, you can't just say stuff

[jinx-the-jester]

Bro is LOSING the IDGAF war against a crow and a cat.

[majorlb]

Because of a spell misshap, Edwin shrinks to about the size of a barbie (a little shorter)

This is annoying to him, but Charles is stressed the fuck out. What if he misplaces Edwin? What if he falls through a hole in the floor and can't get back up to their office and Charles doesn't notice until much later? WHAT IF SOMETHING EATS HIM?!

Crystals' suggestion is that they just put out a tarp or something so that Edwin can't fall though the floor.

Niko suggests a Barbie house.

Charles protests that idea so loudly that no one even hears Edwins' response. (he keeps thinking about the dollhouse. Edwin did as well, so he's glad that Charles is so vocal about it)

And then he has to pivot really fast as to not make Niko upset, he did yell at her, accidentally.

The dandelion sprites are very loudly complaining about the unfair treatment of small-sized creatures in this place. Kingham yells that it's racist. Litty calls him an idiot, and that it's obviously species-st. At which point they start cursing at each other instead.

Charles solution to the problem is to just.... carry Edwin around at all times unless he's at the desk. He holds him gently with two hands to support him. He puts him in his coat pocket on one occasion to have his hands free.

He does, on several occasions, call Edwin cute.

Edwin is secretly a little upset when he reverts back to his original size, having had Charles undivided attention and touch for so long. He misses it.

At least until Charles holds him close and tells him that as cute as teeny-tiny Edwin is, fullzied Edwin is much better, and easier to kiss.

[batszboo]

This is so stupid but I immediately thought of him when I saw this comment

[l-nightmare]

Thinking about Flower Shop x Tattoo Par AU with Payneland

But not Tattoo Parlor Charles x Flower Shop Edwin, instead there roles are switched (tho I read a fic with that original idea called “A petal for your thoughts” by FafalTheFangirl, sablemars, and sisalt on Ao3 and I highly recommend it)

Think about it

Charles owning a flower shop, trying to find happiness in the smaller more delicate things instead of how he lived in the anger from his father and harsh home environment. Being able to keep things alive and thriving with his own hard work, letting himself be proud of the work he’s put in, and finally getting away from the ‘never doing enough’ and destructive life he used to live in. Now his life is full of color

Edwin owning a tattoo Parlor (And maybe even having tattoos? Cause I see people talking about him having a high pain tolerance) having grown into his own sense of self, since tattooing isn’t a normal route for a man of higher status/wealth. Being able to let his creative mind thrive as well as making something that can be permanent, for himself and others

This is the fic I mentioned:

“a petal for your thoughts”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58295482

[starfruitsomething]

He never wasted a leaf or a tree. Do you think He would squander souls?

[jamesevans0]

okay i’m done after this (probably)

[surunlintu]

[andreacsenge]

bisexual behavior