#dead boy detectives the cat king

[aliasmard]

a cut scene from the last episode

[eat-the-lemons]

He's a fair and consensual cat king

(Okay, I personally adore both of them a lot and Monty reminds me so much of myself but yeah)

[atitanbitch]

I’ve just made the realization that Dead Boy Detectives can’t be an infinitely long show because actors do, in fact, age and get older, and dead boys don’t.

It is a sad day

[rina-walker]

– hi

– is it convenient to talk now?

Ok, I firmly believe this is the absolute Catwin dynamic!

[nonbinary-eddie]

Ok so I think the thing about The Cat King forgetting to count himself as one of the cats in Port Townsend is because he is planning on leaving

[adreamfromnevermore]

where have you buried all of your children

Relationship: The Cat King & Monty

Rating: T

Word Count: 2.3k

Monty has never imagined he could be anything but an extension of Esther's will. Her familiar. Her pet. Her tool. Someone else has something to say about that in the depths of a forest as Monty walks towards his second death.

read on ao3

[kwadlayns]

Good detectives do what they need to in order to solve a case. 💀🔎✨

[lady-disdain221b]

The Cat King: I am SUCH a romantic lsnswks☺️

Charles: Hold my beer

[gendernutralghost]

every gay friend group has: the repressed academic, the ska loving "brawn", the formerly mean girl psychic, the match making anime fan, the astrology lover, the lesbian butcher/reluctant big sister, the sexy cat with nine lives, the walrus who runs a magic shop and the local witch who wants to kill everyone

[lesbiannieism]

good afternoon i made a thing

[shhhhimwatchingthis]

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.

[calypso-mbk]

I didn't believe it at first but after watching the show, Dead Boy Detectives was so obviously crafted to be catnip for the Tumblr girlies(gn), cause like. Homoerotic ghost detectives. Sassy psychics. Weird girls. Witches. A literal cat king. Sad twink that's actually a crow. Hot goth lesbian butchers. Slowburn ft. immortal beings. Gay confessions in hell. This show was crafted in a lab for us, and I LOVE IT. Go watch it if you haven't already.

[magic-stuff-and-books]

The fact that “The King Of Cats tries to seduce a Edwardian ghost twink” is a legit plot point in this show just fucking sends me

[atitanbitch]

I need people to write more fanfics for Edwin and the Cat King, there are not nearly enough and I am in love with them.

Only slightly obsessed

[rina-walker]

Ok, I tried 👉👈

[densewentz]

When a cunty witch beats you to death then steals your boy toy for eternal torment 😢 (based on that 'don't you miss her???' meme)