I keep seeing this take that I feel fundamentally misunderstands Edwin's comment about Charles' reaction to The Night Nurse being "extreme".
Charles obviously took it the way so many people are taking it. As a judgment. He's already insecure, already afraid he's a bad person, that he's violent, and Edwin's comment confirms it to him.
But I don't think that's what Edwin meant. I think what he meant was that that reaction was extreme for Charles. He's known Charles for more than thirty years. He's seen how Charles reacts to threats and how he uses violence exclusively in defense against others' violence. And, in comparison to Charles' reaction to The Night Nurse in 106 (trying to convince her to let them go or even to let Edwin go and take him instead), his reaction in 104 is markedly different. Which, to me, suggests that, if there weren't other things going on that Charles was struggling with, this is how he'd have reacted in 104 as well.
Edwin is well aware that this isn't how Charles would normally react, so he knows something is wrong. He's not judging Charles. He's worried about him.
I was trying to figure out what to call gender-fuckery if you couldn’t/didnt want to swear and I’ve settled on gender-muckery and I think I like it even more
as the prophecy foretold, tumblr sees it last
I like the idea that, I've seen mentioned a few times and love it, the boys turn into those little orb things when they're like completely, if they were human they would have passed out, exhausted.
I imagine a soft glow, warm to hold, about the size of an orange, a little weight to it and it doesn't float but drops to the floor and rolls like a ball ~
⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️
It really isn't surprising after everything with hell, Esther, and Niko, that Edwin shifts.
He looks exhausted, and Charles still sees him terrifed and bloody in Hell when he closes his eyes, swaying a little bit where he stands listening to Crystal, and Charles knows what's going to happen before it happens.
The softly glowing orb doesn't even have a chance to drop before Charles snatches it, carefully tucking it away in his coat. It's a warm, little weight against his side.
He loves Crystal, Edwin does too even though he huffs about it, but she doesn't need to see Edwin like this. No one needs to see Edwin like this. The thought of it feels like calling attention to an open wound, advertising a vulnerable spot for someone to exploit or further hurt.
Thankfully, they're all finally free to go home. He doesn't like the idea of leaving Crystal but there's a growing itch to get back home and she shoves him towards the mirror and tells him she's meet up with them later.
Neither Charles or Edwin like being out when one of them is like this.
The first few time it happened, Charles hadn't really thought about it too much. And it happened a lot those first years after his death. He often overdid it, everything going fuzzy before going dark, and then he'd wake up, usually pressed against Edwin's side on the little couch. He always woke up on or next to Edwin and it'd been startling the first few times but he always wakes up comfortable now, no rush to get up.
The first time Edwin shifted in front of Charles, he panicked. Refused to let go of him until, after what seemed like days, Edwin shifted back. Still relaxed enough that he hadn't immediately shoved himself off Charle's lap and he hadn't fought the hug too hard either.
He's only see Edwin like that a few times but to be on the other side of it, he understands why Edwin always relaxes when Charles shifts back. It's a powerful and terrifying feeling, to hold something so small and vulnerable and know it's the most important person in the world to you.
As he got to know Edwin more, Charles had the horrible realization that Edwin had been in Hell for over 70 years and surely he must have been exhausted plenty of times when down there. What happened to him when he shifted?
Charles didn't know what Hell looked like or what really happened down there but he pictured the little orb rolling around on the floor, being kicked, or someone finding other ways to hurt it. He had finally asked, so worked up he hadn't even thought about if Edwin would want to talk about, because he needed to know.
He'd gotten a gentle look from Edwin and an answer.
While he was absolutely exhausted in hell, he never shifted. Hell takes a lot of things away and the relief of sleep or unconsciousness is one of them.
So, honestly, Edwin had lasted longer than Charles thought he would. He half expected that he'd have to lunge for the orb as soon as they fell back through the door from Hell.
Thinking too much about Hell and Esther makes him a nasty mix of furious and terrified, so he forces himself to focus on the present.
He holds Edwin closer his chest as he sinks onto the couch. He's emotionally exhausted and in the silence of everything, finally has a moment to think about the love confession on the stairs of hell.
He doesn't know what to do with that liar but he was right when he told Edwin they had forver to figure it out.
He lays out on the couch, feet hanging off the far end and his head on the armrest, the orb on his chest and his hands almost petting at it. Holding it like this means that when Edwin shifts back he'll be sprawled over Charles, something that will probably have him flustered and immediately trying to get up and off.
Charles hopes he's sleepy and comfortable when he changes back though, that he just settles there without over thinking it.
Just the two of them existing together in the same space.
my favorite cricket bat-wielding bisexual ♥️
+ some other background variants
No but the way Charles can dish it but can't take it when it comes to jealousy is so funny to me. He's talking about "getting it on" with Crystal making Edwin all jealous but as soon as Edwin TRADES BOOKS with Monty Charles like Wtf is this mate
charles and edwins disguises look so married and now I can't stop thinking about some random guy trying to connect with charles in his disguise over 'I hate my wife' jokes and charles goig on a wild tangent about how much he loves his wife and how she's his favorite person in the world and getting really protective because internally he's like: that's not his wife that's his best friend but if he WAS his wife he would love him so much
and then he would simply not get the implications of that and go about his day like "wife successfully defended, friendship successfully friended, job officially jobbed 😃👍🏻"
Hi so what do you mean the innovators competition that au ekko and powder danced and fell in love in is the same one jayce and viktor went to in the canon universe haha what do you mean. haha what do you. what do. you.
tiktok credit to: @naxa._439 (if anyone wants to make a fic based on this PLEASE im begging u)
8D asmr sounds would finish these two off
randomly got the motivation to return to my tma spiderman au silliness. venom jon (someone said jenom and i’ve unable to get it out of my head ever since)
ok lore wise [beware tma spoilers] jon having the symbiote is equivalent to him becoming an avatar. he dies end of s3 era and oliver banks gives him the symbiote, and he relies on feeding the symbiote to survive. the symbiote itself isn’t sentient (there are instances of this in the comics so don’t come at me for that) he just has to feed it either trauma (s4 era) or straight up eat people (s5 era). martin is all for it because he’s a monster kisser