charliekxlly - Tumblr blog

[charliekxlly]

I think a big part of the tragedy of Jason's death is the conflict between hero and father. A hero shouldn't kill his villains. A father should avenge his son. It's Batman vs Bruce at it's finest.

[charliekxlly]

It’s crazy to me that I see people talking about the cat king being a rapist or wanting to SA Edwin. I need people to understand that framing and the way things are shot matters. At no point is Edwin shown to be scared of him, uncomfortable sure but that has more to do with his repression. He’s attracted to Thomas and doesn’t want to be. They frame every thought Edwin has of Thomas as sexy, never from fear or anything even close. When Edwin thinks of Thomas he’s sexy slow mos and his abs and his breath against his cheek and leaning in close and whispering in his ear and his eyes and lips. Edwin is uncomfortable with the thought of being attracted to a man itself NOT with Thomas in general. Also aggressively flirting is not SA can we stop with that. He never forced Edwin to do anything. He made a suggestion of sex in exchange for being free and when Edwin even looked uncomfortable he gave him another option. He never once forces sex onto him or even tries. Not to mention Thomas is shown to clearly actually care about Edwin. He warns him about Monty and the witch, he tries to get the witch to back off and gets beaten to death for it, even after that he still gives crystal and Niko info on the witch knowing possibly if they fail he could lose another life or get killed all together. He shows up to just say goodbye and give him a flower. Thomas is not some evil villain here. He basically did the same spell on Edwin that Edwin did to his cat. He’s a trickster and can be morally gray at times but at no point is he ever evil. Also just to say Edwin’s age is a gray area. He’s been alive for more than 100 years so I don’t think the “oh it’s weird the cat king is hitting on a 16 year old” holds much water either. Not everything in media and every character and every aspect can be categorized as purely good or bad, I’m gonna need people to stop trying to make it.

[charliekxlly]

There’s something to be said about how Edwin was killed by a group of boys who wanted to mess with him meeting Charles who is dying in an attic, cold and alone, because he wanted to stop his friends from hurting another kid

[charliekxlly]

there's something about the fact that charles said he never finished reading the myth of orpheus and eurydice. he references it and yet he never finished it. he looked back, not out of fear but because edwin needed to be seen. he got edwin back. they made it out of hell. he never finished the story. he is not orpheus and edwin is not eurydice.

[charliekxlly]

I can’t believe Charles within a couple of hours of meeting Edwin really went if I have to choose between heaven and you then I pick you

[charliekxlly]

The thing that gets me about Charles' response to Edwin's confession is that that is not a man saying no, that is a man saying "I love you the most in every other aspect of my life. Give me time to find out if, maybe, I can love you the most in this one, too."

[charliekxlly]

DEAD BOY DETECTIVES | THE CASE OF THE VERY LONG STAIRWAY

Sorry. No version of this where I didn't come get you, is there?

[charliekxlly]

what if I was slowly dying of internal bleeding and hypothermia and you stayed with me and read to me. Because you know I'm dying and you don't want me to be alone and scared (like you were). And what if I chose You, instead of heaven?

[charliekxlly]

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.

[charliekxlly]

Dead Boy Detectives was surprising.

It surprised me when, instead of Crystal dropping in and fracturing Charles and Edwin's thirty years of friendship, they went with Crystal sinking into the fold of Charles and Edwin's friendship and becoming an important and unique addition to the group.

It surprised me when, instead of Gay Boy Pining Over Straight Best Friend, they went with Gay Boy Realises Feelings For Straight Best Friend And Confesses Almost Immediately with a bonus of Straight Boy Accepts Confession With Surprising Grace And Nothing Changes, Not Really.

It surprised me when, instead of making the female characters repetitive and semi-rational and ultimately less powerful, they went with characters who are smart and selfish and kind and cruel and strong and flawed and oh, they happen to be female too.

It surprised me when Charles liking Crystal did not affect one bit of how much he loved Edwin.

It surprised me when Jenny talked about spinsters with cats and Niko did not bat an eye.

It surprised me with Edwin and Niko. It surprised me with, we have forever to figure the rest out. It surprised me with Crystal's kindness, Jenny's empathy, the casual and absolute, the good you do will come back around.

Dead Boy Detectives was surprising. One day, I hope I can sit back and watch another show and none of this has to be surprising anymore.

[charliekxlly]

NIKO SASAKI AND EDWIN PAYNE Dead Boy Detectives (2024-)

[charliekxlly]

[charliekxlly]

PSYCH (2006-2014)

[charliekxlly]

My fave thing about Psych will always be Karen Vick very clearly knowing Shawn is full of shit but thinking it‘s funny especially cause it pisses so many people off

[charliekxlly]

[charliekxlly]

Psych 3x11

[charliekxlly]

The best deleted scene in psych

The fact it worked is so goddamn funny