Chapter Text
Idea for Hell
1.
Demons are pretty busy (I mean they have a lot on, with the individual torturing of souls, and planning said tortures and all the paperwork that goes with it) so a sacrificial soul like Edwin's, well, they're fun to test ideas on, get a feel for things, but demons cannot devote too much time to souls like that, they have actual jobs to do.
So the idea is that the Dollhouse is sort of a holding ground for souls, somewhere to keep them tormented running from a nameless something, scared and pliable when the demons come to take them for their actual individual tortures. Edwin spent so much time there because there was never an individual torture for him, so much time that the nameless chasing creature actually managed to catch him, because it began to know his patterns so well. But that doesn't mean that demons wouldn't pluck him out from time to time to try things on him, or release some pent up aggression or violence, or simply to celebrate a well done torment by inflicting some more torment on someone else.
So Edwin actually has a number of Hell related trauma's, some he doesn't even realise are trauma's, because sometimes the unbridled relief at not being chased was so overwhelming that he considers some demon torments to be a relief, an awful, painful relief, but relief non the less.
So a fic maybe, of different things Edwin has a trauma response to, but like downplays it massively because "It wasn't the worst thing that happened in Hell." despite Charles, Crystal and Niko staring at him in absolute horror, because what he just said sounds so much worse than being chased and eaten by a babydoll spider.
2.
This is something I've been thinking about, because death doesn't come for those destined for hell, its like she doesn't get sent a memo or something, she only comes when they are to be taken to their afterlife. and if she can take Simon from hell, why was Edwin left to suffer for so long.
Edwin sees Simon get collected from Hell, like maybe he's just outside the door, and is momentarily overwhelmed so doesn't get the door back open in time, but Simon is no longer there, and the blue light means that death came and collected him, took him to his good afterlife right?
This absolutely breaks Edwin, because if death can come to get souls in hell... then why did she never come for him? why, when he was sobbing and begging and pleading did she never come to save him? Why was he so undeserving of her coming into hell to collect?
So post season 1, two ideas. 1) Edwin and Charles encounter death for the first time, she comforting and kind, and they are all surprised when Edwin has like a literal meltdown in front of her, sort of crumbling up and sobbing and repeating over and over "why did you leave me there? Why didn't you come?" Charles is understandably all "You're ok mate! Edwin you're not going back to hell, I came and got you, I'll do it again." and Edwin sort of explodes out at death. 2) Edwin tells Charles about Simon, about how he was taken from Hell to his afterlife, and Charles, in all his protective fury goes straight to the Night Nurse to demand answers, because of the actual, literal bastard who was the reason Edwin was in hell in the first place, was collected from there by death herself and offered a peaceful afterlife, then he wants to know why she couldn't have done the same for Edwin. etc. etc.
Reasons why might include that Death cannot intervene in Hell until a soul is ready to forgive themselves or has completed their penance, and because Edwin had none of that to complete she would never know about him at all. Or maybe the demons liked their little plaything so much that they cloaked him from her somehow.