#*cups ear*

[1337wtfomgbbq]

Jan Ullrich at the Olympics 2004.

[crepes-and-snakes]

*Grabs you by the shoulders and sits you in chair*

I know we joke about the Prince and Pauper parallels to allude to a fun relationship dynamic between Whitley and Oscar. So while I’m on the topic of books, hear me out...

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911)

It starts by introducing us to Whitley Schnee, a sickly, foul-tempered, little boy who loves no one and whom no one loves.

At the outset of the story, he is living in Atlas with his parents—a cunning business man and his frivolous, beautiful wife—whom he rarely sees. His parents, far too busy grooming their eldest, have placed him under the constant care of their butler Klein. However, Whitley's circumstances are once again cast into complete upheaval when a grimm attack devastates the Schnee household, leaving no one alive but himself and his estranged sisters.  

Whitley spends his days for the greater part, unprovoked, misguided and bedridden – occasionally conversing with the gardener in secret whom had snuck into his room nights prior. 

With Oscar, it's apparent from the start that his disability is psychological, rooted in a loveless childhood. Oscar gently taps his index finger to his temple,  "Sometimes illness is all in the mind."