#answer him edwin. ANSWER HIM EDWIN

[alltimefail]

I posted this on my Twitter, but I thought I'd share it here, too! I isolated the audio from Charles' death scene to answer a commonly debated headcanon in fandom: did Charles go by something else when he was alive?

Well, at least in this video, I can confirm that all the "Friends" who killed him call him Charlie. 😭

I reckon that is what his peers, teachers, and, even his abusive father likely referred to him as... Charlie Rowland. Makes sense for a teenage boy in the 80s; particularly a sporty, alternative, charismatic boy like Charles who hung around "lad-types."

It's no wonder he flinched when Brad/Hunter called him Charlie Boy. This show really doesn't miss a single detail. It's brilliant and intentional in every single thing it does.

FUCK it deserves a season 2! It's so well-written and in its first season. *Chef's kiss* from beginning to end.

[sthilarions]

I can’t stop thinking about how Edwin and Charles plan to stay together until the world ends, because - because someday the world will end.

Will they break their promise, go to their afterlives because they can’t be worse than this (or Charles’s can’t, at least, and Edwin tells him, over and over, that he is sure things have changed, that surely after all these good deeds they must both be destined for Heaven, even though he knows it’s not true), fading away in each other’s arms as they whisper new promises that they will only be apart for a moment, or -

Will they walk a barren planet, look up at a nuclear-gray sky and ignore the crunching of the bones under their feet until it has been so long that the bones, too, are dust?

When the earth is eaten by the sun, will they float together in the sunshine?

Will they cling to each other as they watch the stars go out?

[only-1-a]

Today's brief DBD thought is what if Charles lived, but obviously came out able to see ghosts. So he can see Edwin and convinces his new ghost friend to stick around. Edwin knows this is a bad idea, but Charles is a breath of fresh air compared to his life and death so far.

I have more thoughts about the boys each learning different kinds of magic together, but in the meantime all of this setup is for this line

"Is it really cheating to have your ghost best friend help you pass your A-levels?"

"Yes, Charles. It is."

[justsalpals]

Monty, projecting his little heart out: I hate you because you're so fucking fake. Just a smiley little prick who'd rather twist everyone's arms into liking you than spend a second at any of your own issues.

Charles, the subtext flying over his head: yeah. :') alright then.

[tytoalbatross]

📻 for Edwin then!!

THANKS FOR THE ASK :)

Ocean Breathes Salty by Modest Mouse

god this was harder than i thought . i didn't want to keep bringing up modest mouse so i narrowed it down to this. most of the song fits him, including having to grieve a friend, but especially these lyrics... ed didn't have to think too hard about anything he was doing in the carta as a means to survive and keep sending money home, and the entire debacle of the inquisition was simultaneously the strangest part of his life and his first rush of clarity. i had to think a while. i had to think a while.

[doerot]

Gonna brainrot for a sec. In the fnaf theory space, especially lately, there has been a lot of discussion about breaking away from prior assumptions and sort of looking at the narrative as a whole, basically throwing out what we know and starting from scratch to truly understand what the story trying to tell us. And I think the REAL preconceived notion that the fnaf community needs to grapple with is that the story was ever going to be good

[painlandpalace]

CONTACT ME FOR PERMISSION TO SPEAK ON DEAD BOY DETECTIVES

[dkniade]

Regarding those Edwin doodles, why was he beaten up? Who was talking to him? 👀 Also, moomoo Edwin is so cute >:3c 💕💕💕

context

Oh, it was no one in particular (Maybe a rival gang member if I were to specify…? Probably not his former creative partner Thea though. She’s not that violent haha..) (I haven’t thought of details of Thea and Edwin’s backstory in a long time now, and surface personality traits are hard to pin down without a backstory.)

The joke was that in the first scenario he was painting and in the second he was in pain because of the meme (?) that there’s “pain” in “painting” haha (I don’t believe painting/drawing has to inherently be a painful process though, or that only painful emotions make good art)

Also I wanted to draw him beaten up (either it was just for fun or I was maybe frustrated? Probably just for fun though.) I like drawing characters looking up defiantly even as they’re beaten up✨

moo moo Edwin hahaha— Thank you! I’ve heard that cows can be fluffy…

Come to think of it, I dunno what animal motif he’d have if he were to have one.

A cheerful artist… with some sort of identity confusion due to winter depression (old 2019 concept. Looking back, the severity doesn’t seem to match my knowledge of winter depression)(if he’s ashamed, does he feel it so deeply that he voluntarily uses a slightly different name, uses a mask to cover his face, AND grows out his hair & dyes it, all for the sake of… having his orange look be the happy/cheerful/friendly one?) (If he hides himself in plain sight, if he can’t accept this as part of himself, this can lead to some troublesome identity issues…)(unrelated to gender)

-

“I’m Edwin! Nice to meet you too!” —Edwin, usually in spring/summer

“Hey, just call me Devin for now. No, it’s not because I want to change my name or anything. It’s, uhh… an… alias…? Haha…” — Devin, on the outside probably, in winter

“What is this ‘Devin’ name to me? Am I even allowed to feel this way as myself? God, but what am I supposed to do? I can’t just tell people that it comes every winter and gets better in spring.” —Edwin, on the inside probably

-

(…I almost want to compare him to “Childe” Tartaglia Ajax simply for his multiple names/identity thing but uhh, that guy’s on a whole different level. Venti/Barbatos? Hmm but to my knowledge nothing particularly bad happened to Edwin.)

What would be an animal that emphases this duality I wonder… An animal that looks friendly and colourful but isn’t what it seems…

…poison dart frog???

(SAD = Seasonal Affective Disorder)

[Start transcript

first image: the concept sheet

a flat colour sketch in upper corner is labelled True Palette. A cartoony waist-up version with bright warm colours is labeled Edwin and an anime headshot version with desaturated colours is labeled Devin. Another flat-colour shot of Edwin/Devin is labeled flat sample. A full body reference of both is labeled Project SAD Palette. Edwin is labeled spring/summer (“usually”) and Devin is labeled under effects of SAD

second image: the mock magazine cover

knees-up greyscale illustration of Devin sitting with his winter coat and mask, looking at the viewer, his hands in fists. His eyes and hair clip are light green. Behind him is a black circle outline with two sharp black triangles pointing at him. White magazine header: SYMPTOM. separate subheadings in green: questions, sunshine. separate text in white: What does SAD stand for? What are some symptoms of winter depression? What are some symptoms of summer depression? What hormone does sunshine trigger the brain to release? What is an alternative to sunshine? In the right corner, in green: A solution to your problems!?

third and fourth images: sketch of Edwin/Devin with some information

Edwin. he/him, 20. yellow barcode piercing (right ear). left-handed. neutral expression looks surprised/confused. hard to read based on expression & body language. has a secret he’s ashamed of. (he doesn’t have to be though.) arrow points to him, saying spring/summer.

Devin. he/him, 20. black triangle frame piercing (left ear). left-handed (still). Edwin winter an Alia’s & disguise. wears mask not for physical health (in his opinion). seasonal affective disorder: winter depression. tried to hide his symptoms but isn’t good at it. ashamed of his winter depression. wants to separate his depressed self from his usual self. arrow points to him, saying autumn/winter.

end transcript.]

[lastedpromise]

"why the stubbornness?" from crystal to edwin :3

after everything they've been through together, edwin would actually like to give himself credit in how well he's adjusted to having crystal join the agency, even having accepted that her gifts do indeed bring a great deal of benefit in helping them solve cases. she is as insightful as she is powerful, and edwin has even grown rather fond of her presence. most days.

but that doesn't mean he still doesn't occasionally get stuck in his old ways. so, when a case popped up that didn't necessarily require crystal's abilities, edwin had been perfectly satisfied to go about handling it their old-fashioned way. crystal, evidently, would prove to disagree.

he won't dare confess that his jealously hasn't quite diminished, and that he often craves to have charles to himself as he'd grown accustomed to within last thirty-five years before the duo unexpectedly became three. in fact, he'd rather die a second death than ever admitting such a thing.

"it is not a matter of being stubborn, crystal," edwin quips back with a sharp click of his tongue, head titled and brows raised. "this case is straight-forward. simple. familiar. charles and i are perfectly capable of handling it ourselves, just as we always have, long before you came scampering along. that is a factual certainty, if anything at all."

[romanticallyghosting]

Wake up babe, new headcanon just dropped

Crows constantly poop on esthers house.

HELP YEAH….. those bitches HATE her good for them

[edwinisms]

wait yeah hold on how the hell did edwin open a door from hell to earth? like if powerful beings like the night nurse or certain demonic entities are necessary to open and close doors to other planes (especially hell where souls being trapped there is kind of the point) then what the fuck did edwin manage to pull off? did he somehow trick a demon or whatever into opening one? was one opened for one reason or another– maybe upon a demon’s return from retrieving a soul– and he timed it, booked it, and jumped in? there certainly isn’t just some constantly open ever-accessible door at the top of The Endless Staircase considering that would make hell kind of pointless. did edwin payne manage, somehow, over the span of 70 years, to figure out how to open a door from limbo/the staircase to earth by himself? am i just missing something here?

[shhhhimwatchingthis]

Sort of bums me out that so many people didn't seem to Get the Cat King so here are my thoughts:

So let's start with Edwin's crime. He uses something the cat desires (a sardine) to lure the cat to him and then uses an enchanted string to trap the cat with magic. He demands the answer to a question in exchange for its release. Edwin knows it is dangerous to use magic on a cat, that it violates Rules but he does it anyway.

Binding a creature and agreeing to set them free under a certain condition is very Classic Fairytale. its also a favourite trope of Neil Gaiman's (he did not write this show but his influence is there). In both the Sandman and his novel Stardust (and the film adaptation) trapping a creature with magic and demanding a task/favour in exchange for their freedom is an extremely important plot point. Edwin binding a cat and demanding an answer in exchange is exactly in line with this Fairytale trope

And so is the Cat Kings response. The Cat King is a trickster. What he does to Edwin is exactly what Edwin did to one of his subjects. He entices Edwin, he binds him with magic and when Edwin demands to be free he turns his own words against him "why all the fuss for one little spell?" Edwin did something wrong. He imposed his will/magic on another creature and the Cat King is punishing him for it in a way that is poetic. Its fairytale. its trickster. its classic.

I've also seen people complain that the task Edwin was given 'count all the cats' is 'impossible'...except its fucking not. Edwin does it. He does it so well he actually BEATS the Cat King ("you didn't count yourself" Are.You.Kidding.Me. Classic!Fairytale!Vibes!)

The Cat Kings choice to bind Edwin to Port Townsend is good on so many levels. From a storytelling perspective it forces characters who can travel anywhere in the world to stay in one place, and increases the stakes for these characters who are supposed to be on the run. From a genre perspective...its an excellent use of fairytale tropes using both Rules of magic, a protagonist who is unkind to a seemingly weak creature who is punished by a more powerful law, a binding, a task to complete, etc

Which just leaves the character perspective which it ALSO does really fucking well and introduces the final aspect to the Cat Kings character. He's seductive. He is responsible for Edwin, 100 years old ghost boy, finally unpacking his internalized homophpbia. he is the catalyst (cat pun not intended)

He pushes Edwin, challenges him, at times literally forces the truth out of Edwin, but he really never does violate his consent. Significantly Edwin is attracted to him, like its an important part of his character that he is. He may not like the Cat King but he is attracted to him!

The Cat King is such a great example of a trickster, a morally grey character who imposes a sense of justice on Edwin after he crosses a line, but also has his own selfish interests and meddles. Hes so important to the plot of the show, to Edwin's character arc, to the genre.

And he's just fun. Unapologetically queer, powerful, complicated. Silly little outfits. Petty cat behavior. Deep heart.

Some of you just didn't get it. And I'm sorry for you. because the Cat King is Excellent actually.

[jaycewithawhy]

I'm so emotional about how Niko reacted to Charles forbidding them to come with him to hell

Because like... well, Crystal goes and actively seeks out her asshole ex who she only just got out of her head. Which says so much about how kind and caring and brave she is at heart and I love her for it but it doesn't ultimately end up being all that helpful to the situation at hand.

But Niko... it seems like Niko just passively accepts it. She knows she can't help with literal actual hell so she just stays behind and waits. And no one questions that. Everyone has always respected her ability to tap out of the scary adventures and that's lovely and if that was it that would be perfectly fine storytelling.

But it gets better. When Edwin and Charles return, we realize that she hasn't just been sitting and waiting. She realized that she couldn't help with Hell, so she looked ahead to what the next obstacle would be for her friends, and she looked at the Night Nurse and she realized there was a way she could help. So she sat with this woman who wanted to take away her friends and she played the fool and asked questions and convinced the night nurse to let her see the rules and regulations just to stop her chattering - knowing that if she could just find a loophole, she could buy them some time. So she dove into this book of regulations, and she found a loophole. She probably found a few, just in case the first didn't work.

And no one - not even the audience - realizes what she's done until it's done. It's brilliant and she makes it look easy. It's something only she can do, and it works with Charles' plan, even if he isn't trying to work with her.

Edwin might be book smart but Niko is the one who is willing to ask questions and listen to the answers. And the information she finds this way is always so critical.

I love her so much.

[demonic0angel]

Inmate Dan part 2 where he meets the other orange jumpsuit "friends" in Arkham Asylum?

Part 1, part 3

"Ooh, Wraith!" Harley called, pointing to Jonathan. "That's Scarecrow! We call 'em Johnny!"

"No, you don't," he spat. "What're you doing here, Harley?"

"That's Dr. Quinzel to you, Dr. Crane!" Harley said faux-pompously, sticking out her tongue.

Wraith paused and his eyes lit up. "Wait, Dr. Quinzel? Youngest psychiatrist in the tri-state area? And Dr. Crane? Professor at Gotham University?"

Ivy leaned closer to Wraith and hissed a warning, "Stay away from him. He once drove two inmates to suicide only by speaking. He's dangerous."

Wraith grinned and his teeth flashed with fangs as he stared at Jonathan with interest. "Hello, Doctor," Wraith said, his deep voice almost a purr, "Could I get an autograph, please?”

Jonathan stared at him cooly and then he nodded once, although he looked slightly confused.

Wraith slipped a hand inside of himself, making everyone around him pause in shock as he then pulled out a textbook and a pen. He handed it to Jonathan, who stared at the textbook with a strange look before signing it. As Wraith placed it back inside of himself, he pulled out another book and let Harley sign it.

Delightedly, she realized that it was a book that she published.

“You’re a meta,” Jonathan said. “You seem powerful, so why didn’t you escape? How come you were captured?”

Wraith shrugged with a light smile. “My sister told me to relax and enjoy myself here. She also told me to explore what I want. I heard that there was a particularly hated criminal in here, so I wanted to see what the fuss was all about, so I let myself be captured.” He sighed a little. “My little birdie also personally handcuffed me, so I couldn’t get out.”

Harley tilted her head, catching onto a piece of information. “Who was it that you were interested in?”

“Someone named Clown? Jester? No, it was….”

“Joker,” everyone besides Wraith muttered disdainfully. They were all criminals who did violent things, but no one was as vile as the Joker.

Wraith hummed and nodded. “Yes, him. I wanted to see what he looked like. Thank you for signing the book, Dr. Quinzel, Dr. Crane. My sister is a huge fan and she’s studying psychiatry right now.”

Both Jonathan and Harley smiled. “That’s good!” Harley squealed. “Tell her that I’m rooting for her!”

Wraith nodded with a small, genuine smile, and Harley then dragged him around to introduce him to the other inmates, Ivy following behind as a silent guard.

He was surprisingly civil. Wraith treated Waylon with no fear or disgust despite his appearance, chatted calmly about law with Harvey (since his sister also studied law. She seemed to be a sort of genius), exchanged riddles and puzzles with Edwin, and was generally pleasant and even friendly to the other inmates.

However, he couldn’t hide his true nature to Harley. Wraith didn't allow anyone to touch him unless he initiated it. Although he seemed calm and collected, he was unable to hide his disgust and hatred of the general population. It seemed as though in general, he hated everyone around him. He had no fear of the guards and even seemed amused by the more frightening prisoners of Arkham Asylum. Although he was polite, it was clear that he hated them all, even Harley and Ivy.

Harley was utterly fascinated.

Eventually, after exploring the yard where the many inmates were lingering around, Wraith asked, “Where’s the Joker?”

Ivy answered, “He’s in solitude. He’s too dangerous to be around.”

Wraith frowned. “Where’s that?”

Harley giggled and said, “You wanna see him that badly? Maybe I’ll show you!” She wanted to see more of Wraith’s reactions, to study him like a bug. She also wanted to see what it would take to make Wraith enjoy her and Ivy’s presences.

“Harley!” Ivy scolded. “I don’t want you around him anymore! He’s a hazard to your safety and health!”

“It’s fineeee,” Harley said, dancing around her playfully, “I can take it! I just wanna show Wraith what he looks like! I promise not to fall for Mr. J anymore! Pleaseee, Ivy?”

In the end, Ivy relented and they snuck to the area of the asylum where the Joker stayed.

They dodged past the lazy guards and eventually, they were in front of the Joker’s cell. Harley stepped in front of his cage, suppressing a shiver as she looked inside.

There he was, her worst nightmare, wrapped up in a straitjacket and already watching her with a cold, cold gaze and a wide smile.

Why had she done this again?

The Joker laughed when she saw her. “Harley!” He crooned. “Here to release me? I knew you’d come around.”

This time, Harley couldn’t suppress the full shudder. “No thanks!” She snapped. “I’m not your lil doll anymore! You can’t order me around!”

The Joker’s friendly expression immediately twisted into a glare as he snarled. “I made you! And I can break you. You’re nothing but a harlequin, a toy for me to do what I want with! You’re nothing without me!”

Ivy bristled and she moved to pull back Harley, who was almost in tears, when Wraith moved first. He phased through the metal doors and with one casual click of bones breaking, the Joker laid slumped into his cell, quieted forever.

Wraith stepped back out and both Ivy and Harley scrambled to look back inside, recognizing the sound of a neck snapping, but unable to comprehend how easily it took.

Harley sputtered, “W-W-What?!”

Wraith shrugged.

“He was annoying. And I hate clowns.”

[abstract-venus]

I like to think the Cat King was damn near shaking in his Gucci leather boots when Edwin made his first guess. Right out of the gate he was swinging “142”. The correct answer was literally 146 not counting himself. He took all that time setting up this elaborate cat and mouse seduction play only for the Edwardian twink to nearly chuck the game board out the window. He didn’t even give him the chance to make another guess before the bracelet fell off and Edwin still took the time to sassily beat him at his own game. “Not even close” he was WORRIED