#anyway! watch dead boy detectives

[bookshelfdreams]

you may be dead, but I will follow you to the underworld and drag you back into the light really is the most powerful romance trope there is

and cornelia funke was insane for employing it with a distinct This Doesn't Mean Anything It's Strictly Professional Just Guys Bein Dudes Haha undertone

[many-gay-magpies]

my favorite cricket bat-wielding bisexual ♥️

+ some other background variants

[dotswithbrainrot]

The shipping in the show has some AMAZING potential, but can we talk about Nikos and Edwin's BOMB FRIENDSHIP?? I LOVE THEM SO MUCH THEY HAVE SUCH A GREAT DYNAMIC. Two people with autism bonding and helping eachother emotionally. I LOVE THAT!!

[technically-human]

i saw this post, immediately thought of edwin because i always think if edwin when i see stuff about hell these days, then thought huh really it sounds more like if CHARLES had been the one that met EDWIN after escaping hell. and then i remembered your reverse 'verse and it fit reverse charles so perfectly i had to share it

Save him

ko-fi

[heathridgemanor]

on one hand i could very much justify the orpheus and eurydice reference from charles while believing his feelings for edwin are completely platonic but on the other hand HOW DO YOU COMPARE YOU AND THE GUY WHO JUST CONFESSED HIS LOVE FOR YOU TO FUCKING ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE AND THEN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW IT BY SAYING YOURE NOT IN LOVE WITH HIM BACK ????

[mirellapryce]

In an imaginary season 2, please imagine Charles doing something very impressive/cool looking/badass. Then pan to Edwin and Crystal both being visibly attracted to him.

[landedinpayne]

in case you are in the mood to feel devastated here’s an alternate way of viewing charles’ response to edwin’s confession:

we know that charles kinda puts edwin on a pedestal- yes they are partners but there is a bit of a hierarchy between them. charles just looks up to and admires edwin in so many ways while constantly looking down on and being really hard on himself. he puts on his big happy persona because he thinks that people wouldn’t like him if they actually got to know him.

so when edwin confesses, it’s like a blow to him. he took his charming persona too far and went and tricked the most important person in the world into thinking he was worthy of love. and it’s worse because he does love edwin in that way, which is exactly why he can’t let him know that. charles still believes that he is like his dad, and he saw exactly what his parents’ relationship did to his mother.

he thinks that loving edwin in the way that he wants to would only cause more pain to this boy who has already been through far more than he deserves. so he blinks back his tears, attempts the same charming smile he’s used all these years, and dishes out the gentlest non-rejection in the history of forever

[danandfuckingjonlmao]

edwin is a better, stronger man than i, because i would be infinitely more dramatic and petty in his position when crystal enters the scene and charles starts paying attention to her. i would have comic!edwin’s reaction at least (accusing charles of choosing girls over him, storming off to solve cases on his own and deciding to do shit that will get him into trouble so that charles has to come rescue him, etc) but i’d probably take it a step further. i’d be like “i guess you want me to go back to hell then since i’m basically nothing to you 😒” and then i’d legitimately go back to hell JUST to see if he came after me. if he didn’t come after me then an eternity of torture in hell is nothing compared to the pain of rejection and being replaced. but i’m also incredibly mentally ill, so.

(james acaster once told a story about a christmas where he asked his parents for a spice girls cd. he found out whilst at the pool with his family that his sister was getting the cd instead of him. naturally, he tried to drown himself in the pool to make his parents feel guilty. that’s my vibe if i were ever in edwin’s position.)

[idliketobeatree]

you know who is THE character ever? Niko Sasaki.

she's 16. she rents a single room above a butcher shop in Townwhoknowswhere, half a globe away from home. she hasn't spoken to her mum back in Tokio in years. she has no friends. everyone in the gang would wrestle demons in knee-deep mud for her. nobody truly gets her. she's an outstanding listener. she stands up for her boundaries, mantaining an inquisitive spirit. she keeps the parasites who wanted to explode through every orifice in her body in a little mason jar; they are nothing but explicitly mean to her. she tries to reason with them everytime. she shows the ghost boy from the 1900s Scooby Doo and bonds with him over mutual Kindness and Autism. being in her proximity makes people inherently better and more understanding. she arrives at the scene of the crime 45 minutes late banging pots and pans. she's a fashion colour-coding icon. she loves love. she's never kissed anyone. she's the wingwoman. the date she sets up for Jenny and Maxine ends in the serial killer woman getting her head split in half. she outtricks the Night Nurse with the power of excellent media comprehension trained on yaoi mangas, and saves the day. she acquired a small bear charm before she died and now she will live forever. nobody, nobody does it like her

[read-write-thrive]

saw @tma-thoughts ‘s post talking about not enough butch charles rowland and wanting to see more butch4femme painland and naturally I spent the entire rest of my day brainstorming, researching, and then drawing this time period accurate (to the best of my abilities) butch!Edwin(a? Edie?) x femme!Charles (definitely Charlotte/Charlie)

I have whole spreads of photo references for both of them but in case anyone is interested, Charles is inspired by rudegirl/ska punk/skinhead/punk/goth feminine aesthetics from the 1980s UK (even more specifically by the band The Bodysnatchers) while Edwin is inspired mainly by sportswear for women in the 1910s as well as what photos I could find of teenage girls during that era! in terms of Edwin reading as butch, I wanted to combine the shortest hair I could get away with (for the era and while still reading as Edwin—too 20s reads as too fashion forward which is not the vibe), as well as balance the line between sportswear (which imo reads as butch) and Edwin’s usual fashions. I also kept her makeup-free, accessory-free, and overall more “practical” in her dress to try and read as more butch. something to note that you don’t see here— Edwin is 100% wearing bloomers/trousers either as part of or underneath this skirt. I couldn’t get it to read correctly in the design but I need you to know they’re there lmao

feedback welcome (and further discussion even more so, I’m a slut for fashion history x character design!!!)

EDIT: now part of a series!!! part 2 (more sketches of Edwina); part 3 (lingerie!Edwina); & part 4 (lingerie!Charlotte)

[sagurus]

So I'm watching the Dead Boy Detectives thing and I keep being a little like 'haha they're all teenage detectives'. And what with there being a Japanese character who has already talked about reading detective manga I have been kinda wondering if I'm going to see any detco reference snuck in. But what I wasn't expecting:

Magic... Magic Kaito reference in popular western media??????????????????????????????????

Like the librarian is saying this to previously mentioned Japanese character, and it's said like. With Japanese pronunciation on the title.

[image description in alt text]

[dancingmyselfaway]

Anne With An E, cancelled

The OA, cancelled

Gentleman Jack, cancelled

Julie and the Phantoms, canceleld

First Kill, cancelled

Shadow and Bone, cancelled

The Midnight Club, cancelled

Our Flag Means Death, cancelled

And now Dead Boy Detectives?????

I swear we cannot have anything good at all. This is becoming unbearable and if you didn't have a reason to stop supporting companies and streaming services I hope you do now.

[fan-a-tink]

something aesthetically pleasing

something silly

something for everyone, I guess

[setevulpo]

yknow what i find interesting? the cat king's cat body language. like the way it changes until he shapeshifts back to human in that first meeting? pure gold actually, kudos for the kitty playing the part

the first shot we get of him has our darling king in a pretty calm posture. he's lying down on his side, his ears are forward, he's looking straight at the group, but his pupils are still pretty big. his tail is extended but relaxed. all of that points to him being, at most, interested in the wonder trio, but still showing he's dominating the situation (that's the looking right at them part mostly)

that changes when they actually get closer. we see him lower his head a bit, and the tip of his tail starts flicking. those are both things cat do when focused, and it's a stance closer to the one they use when hunting, but the fact that only the tip of tail is moving also means a little bit of playfulness is involved.

and then! it actually changes again!! when crystal says that "it's just a bunch of cats" and it pans out to the dude's corpse on the floor, the king starts pretty much wagging his whole tail! he is not happy that someone (who may or may not be the one who trapped his cat) decided to underestimate his subjects. a wagging tail in cats differs from the one in dogs cause it's often used to convey frustration or annoyance instead of excitement.

and it isn't a slow wag either (that would mean some form of relaxation still)! that tail is full-on irritation that someone insulted his people!

i am losing my mind over this so it had to be set out there for everyone else to be exposed but! it's so cool!

[mirellapryce]

In every fandom I enter my brain has to concoct a Spy AU, so here is my Spy/Argyle Dead Boy Detectives AU. Please note I never actually saw Argyle I just watched review videos so take this with a hefty handful of creative interpretation.

Edwin as author of queer spy/detective/whodunit novels, his most famous of which is “Agent Paine”. His career really took off in the last year, but now he’s stuck and his agent is telling him to get some country air and write another Agent Paine novel. 

Saved on a train by TCK who tells him all his novels are either things that have happened or things that come true. He’s a spy himself and he finds E.P. Rowland’s works just so fascinating. Anyway, now he’s here to protect Edwin and take him in to the spy agency. 

Along the way they meet Monty. (Anyone else?) 

Eventually they meet the real Agent Paine. Hi Charles. 

The man is handsome and charming, witty and has a winning smile. Oh no, he’s just Edwin’s type.  After the most confusing hug and subsequent interrogation about who he is, where he’s been for the last year, and what he knows about their spy agency, Agent Paine goes to yell at Agent King in the other room. The only part Edwin catches clearly is when he stomps back in the room saying, “This place will be safe as long as I want it to be safe. No one’s getting to him.”  

“So you’re him? You’re the Agent Paine all my stories are apparently about?” 

“Probably not, but I’m not actually much of a reader, so I don’t know for sure.” 

-choke and sputter and indignation- 

“My partner used to do the same thing. He’s the real Agent Payne. Spelled with a Y by the way. Why don’t you tell me what it’s about?” 

Talking, reading passages and gesticulating when he looks at Charles and realises. “Are you?...Sorry, why are you crying?” 

Wiping tears. “Sorry mate. It’s just, my husband’s been missing for a year. It’s been rough. Don’t worry about me. What happens next?” 

(Darn. Of course a man that handsome is already taken) 

“So, E.P. Rowland?” 

“Yes? That is my name after all.” 

Laughing. “Oh yeah? What’s the P for then?”

Pause. Uncertainty. Eventually settles on it being a flourish, but he’s unsettled. He should know what the P stands for or he should remember putting it there in the first place. 

Charles goes through the plots and tells Edwin what did happen, and what hasn’t yet, but that the plots he came up with make sense. He looks sentimental when he tells Edwin that he has the mind of a strategist. They come to the conclusion that the books Edwin writes are probably actually about his missing partner/husband. Edwin is excited to suggest that maybe therein lies the key to finding the other Agent Payne (tho admittedly a part of him is jealous and doesn’t want his time with this handsome spy to end), but for some reason Charles doesn’t seem all that eager. When pressed he admits that he called for backup when he sent King away, and that he’s more focused on getting Edwin to a more secure location. 

Crystal is backup and despite Charles warning her ahead of time she’s also ill-prepared for E.P. Rowland. They immediately start squabbling. Something about the banter feels comforting which is ridiculous. He also doesn’t like how cozy she seems to be with Charles. Doesn’t she know he’s married even if his husband is MIA? Doesn’t Charles? 

Spy and fight things happen. They get to HQ where he meets a lovely lady named Niko who is similarly teary like Charles had been. But unlike Charles she’s read all his books and is eager to discuss them with him. Especially the romance parts. Edwin hadn’t said anything to Charles, but after they concluded that Agent Paine was actually Charles’ partner/husband, Edwin could see all the hints that Charles was the rogueish, impetuous love interest in his novels. Now he feels a way about some of the steamier things he’s written, knowing these are real people. He didn’t tell Charles about that. He can tell from her grin that Niko already knows. 

Something-something action happens, then reveal that Edwin is THE Agent Paine/Payne. He lost his memories in an operation gone wrong with Monty where Monty betrayed them at the orders of Esther Finch. Or Edwin found out Monty was a mole and Monty somehow wiped his memories (I’m leaning more towards spy tech than blunt force injury). Technically Monty should have killed him, but Edwin and Monty are friends (/Monty has a crush on him) so he just removed him and made up a story that Edwin was missing.  

Pieces are coming back to Edwin now. He should be focusing on the betrayal and what he knows about Monty and Esther’s plans, but his brain keeps picking memories of Charles instead. How they were best friends long before they were lovers and then husbands. How for the last year it’s felt like he’s missing a limb, always looking over his shoulder to tell someone something, missing a comforting touch even though he hates other people touching him. 

Anyway, it turns out that when they got married, Charles took Edwin’s name because of bad association with his dad. Edwin kept his name but secretly thought of himself as Edwin Payne-Rowland because he only associates the name Rowland with the best person he knows. 

[not-the-living-ghost]

RIP Charles Rowland, you would've loved The Matrix