#oh edwin! <3

[melodychocolat]

anyone else down abysmal for eddie jobson?

[goldenmorningglory]

just woke up, have a meeting in 6 minutes, and all I have in my head is a scene where charles and edwin are bickering during case-solving, and edwin says something snipy, charles asks if he would've preferred monty there, edwin saying "well he would have agreed with me, for one." charles retorting that "that's not why you keep me around is it? you have me around to actually help and be useful." in the sense of he gives another perspective.

edwin looks him dead in the eye, with a judgemental eyebrow raised and goes, "charles, I'd keep you around for no reason at all." and simply goes back to researching.

charles think about that for the entire duration of the week-long case.

anyway i wanna write about how edwin is freer with his words since the confession and charles gets metaphorically smacked on the head each time with it.

[rhetorical-conscience]

we've passed the point of my blorbos living in my head rent-free. this is their house now. I pay them.

[imorphemi]

In the morning when I wake And the sun is coming through Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness And you fill my head with you

These two are just. so incredibly cute, I can't help it adkfjlafds

Bonus silly sketch under the cut hehe-

[nocturnalnewsiestrash]

So I've finally got the time for my rewatch and I'm noticing more details like Charles bouncing and fidgeting with a ball (volleyball?? Can't really tell) in the corner while Edwin is preparing things for the Crystal case. And now I cannot stop thinking about Charles enjoying fidget toys. Like ohh he would LOVE them.

Imagine Niko introducing him to them (you can't tell me she doesn't have a fidget toy collection somewhere in her room) and showing him her favorites and why she loves each one of them. She has them in a numbered order of course, just like the public buildings come on now, and I just imagine the self-regulation joy they would experience together. Eventually Edwin's attention is caught and at first he doesn't see the appeal but with Niko's enthusiasm he gives them a try and secretly loves some of them. I feel like he would particularly enjoy a sand sifter one.

I feel like Niko's favorite would be a clicky one like a keyboard key clicker. Ooh and all those animal shaped fidgets especially the turtle one. I feel like Charles would enjoy ones with big moving parts like those slug ones with all the joints of their body you move or those cube ones where you move the attached little cubes around to make a large cube.

[plentyghosts]

Charles has been standing outside the office for approximately five, maybe ten, minutes with his ear pressed to the door, listening. Listening to the shuffle of footsteps, the knocking and turning over of the trinkets that covered the office, trying to formulate some sort of a plan in his head.

Returning to the office one day, Charles encounters what he thinks is an intruder. He ends up with much more on his plate then he expected. Meanwhile, Edwin Paine has been having a very stressful day.

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Dead Boy Detectives Victor AU Update

Hey besties there is now going to be two more chapters of the hunger games Victor AU for dead boy Detectives because SOMEONE ( @magpiemarten and @anything-thats-rock-and-roll, the little shits) gave me IDEAS (also shout out to @nix-nihili for the lovely long comment, my beloved). Strap on in- things are gonna somehow get even WORSE before they get better!

And for those who want to read chapter 1, here you go:

[gay-strawberry]

charles looks so much like a fairy i lose my mind everytime hes on the screen like ??? where did they even find that man ?? idek how the og character is suppose to look like but: thats a 10/10 casting choice

[depressedtheatrekiddo]

Edwin and Niko 🥹✨💫⭐

SCOOBY-DOO AVDKSNJDN

they're not stobin but they do feel like stobin, they're my new chosen soulmates no matter what happens after this episode, they need to stay platonic soulmates, I need them to be

My teacher: define comfort

Me: *shows a picture of a conversation between Edwin and Niko*

I can't describe the joy I find in their existence

[mndvx]

[waitineedaname]

Lan Fan had known about Winry’s exuberant love of automail. She had not quite been prepared for that attention to be laser-focused on her with a delighted squeal. “Look at the plating!” Winry exclaimed, eyes practically sparkling as she admired Lan Fan’s arm. “The way they slide together so that the armor doesn’t limit your mobility! Oh, wow.” 

Lan Fan went slightly pink, unused to this kind of attention. “The engineer tried to keep my profession in mind when they designed it. It’s modeled after Xingese platemail.”

“Amazing.” Winry turned her adoring attention to the elbow joint. “Ed says you have a knife attachment too.”

Lan Fan nodded. “Be careful, I don’t want to cut you with it.” Winry withdrew her hands, and with a swift motion, Lan Fan flicked the blade out of the elbow joint. Winry practically shrieked with joy.

“I can’t believe it’s retractable! And so smoothly!” Winry carefully ran her hands around the base of the blade where it was deployed from. 

“I have to oil it regularly,” Lan Fan told her, extending her arm so Winry could examine the underside of it. 

“That makes sense. That’s a given with any automail, especially ones that experience the kind of strenuous use you’d be putting yours under. Ed never oils his enough,” she added with a sigh, though her exasperation didn’t last long. “Do you just have the one blade or can you swap it out?”

“Would that be possible? Multiple attachments?” Lan Fan asked, eyes wide. Winry clutched her arm, a determined sparkle in her eyes.

“Lan Fan. You have to let me make you new knives. Give me a week, and I’ll have all sorts of new blades for you.”

Well, Lan Fan wasn’t going to turn down an offer to make her more dangerous. “Okay,” she said, nodding. Winry clapped her hands happily, clearly resisting the urge to squeal again.

“How’s your port?” she asked, back to examining her arm. Lan Fan knew the scarring at her shoulder was unpleasant to look at, but Winry was a professional and saw scarred automail ports for a living. “Does it get sore?”

Lan Fan winced. “I did not give it enough time to heal when I first got it,” she admitted. “The nerves were definitely damaged. But physical therapy and alkahestry has helped.”

“Alkahestry, huh?” Winry tapped on her chin, contemplative for a moment. “I wonder if I can get Mei’s help with improving physical therapy… Hm…” Winry shook herself out of her thoughts with a smile. “Sorry. Got distracted there. How does it compare to your other arm? Are you used to it?”

“I’m not ambidextrous anymore,” Lan Fan said with some regret. “But the automail is much stronger than my right arm. And my dexterity is almost the same. I can throw kunai with my left arm just as well as my right.”

Winry’s eyes lit up again and she took Lan Fan's automail hand in both of her own. “You have to show me right now.”

Which is how they ended up in the Rockbells’ back yard, Lan Fan’s set of daggers in hand. “Pick a spot for me to hit,” she told Winry, pointing at the large tree she’d chosen for target practice.

Winry examined it for a moment, then pointed at a knot near where one of the branches split off. Fast as lightning, Lan Fan embedded a blade in the center of the knot, quickly followed by the rest of her kunai in a radial pattern. Winry applauded like she was watching a sporting match.

“Do you want to try?” Lan Fan offered once she’d plucked the daggers out of the bark.

“Me?” Winry pointed at herself, as if there was anyone else Lan Fan might be talking to. “I’ve never done this sort of thing before.”

“It’s never too late to try.”

She showed Winry how to hold the kunai, and how to position her body in relation to the tree. She ended up guiding Winry’s arm similarly to how Winry had been handling her automail only a few minutes prior. The first blade Winry threw ended up bouncing off the tree without embedding itself in the bark, but it at least hit the tree, which was a victory in itself. Lan Fan guided her through when to release the blade and how much force to put behind the throw, but just seconds before Winry threw it, they were interrupted.

“Hey Win, Ben wants- SHIT!” Ed yelped just barely ducking out of the kunai’s trajectory. He and Ling had taken the children raspberry picking at the neighbor’s that afternoon, and he had chosen that moment of all moments to walk around the side of the house. Ling appeared beside him, raspberry stains around his mouth and a toddler on his shoulders absolutely making his hair sticky. He looked at Ed on the ground with the other toddler in mild bemusement, then looked over at Winry and Lan Fan, realization lighting up his face.

“Ooh! Are you doing knife throwing?” He grinned, excited. “You should do that thing where you throw it at me and I catch it with my teeth!”

“Not with my kid on your shoulders, you won’t!” Ed complained, pulling himself upright to pluck Liane off Ling’s shoulders.

“I’m not doing that, my lord,” Lan Fan said flatly. Ling pouted.

“Why not? We used to do it all the time as kids!”

“I don’t want to return home and have to explain why the emperor has a new scar on his face.”

“I’ll be fine,” Ling insisted, but the moment was broken anyway, the children rushing over to their mother to distract her by showing her their baskets of freshly picked berries. Lan Fan collected the daggers Winry had thrown, taking one of them from a disgruntled Ed who had nearly become a dartboard himself.

“Your wife is cool,” she informed him as she took the knife back. Ed raised an eyebrow.

“I’m aware. Did she drool over your automail and offer to design more knives?” he asked. Her blush was apparently enough of an answer to make him laugh. “Figured. She’s been itching to do that since I first told her about your elbow sword thing. I dunno what your automail mechanic is like in Xing, but Winry isn’t gonna want to let you go once she gets her hands on your automail.”

“Well,” Lan Fan said diplomatically, “We will just have to visit more often, then.”

Ed grinned. “None of us will complain about that. C’mon, let’s eat some of those raspberries before Ling and the kids eat them all, then you can give us all a knife throwing demonstration.”

The children were even more thrilled by her knife throwing than their parents, though it was Winry’s cheers that Lan Fan heard the loudest. Yes, they’d definitely have to make it a point to come back to Resembool more often.

[asidian]

Dead Boy Detectives does a lot of things very, very well, but one thing I haven't seen touched on very much is set design. It is phenomenal, and the amount of detail that's gone into literally every scene is truly mind-blowing. I'm going to do a couple of posts breaking down the setting details in various locations I think, but I wanted to start with one that does an incredible amount of storytelling in the tiny understated details.

So let's talk about Charles' room from when he was still alive.

Some of the details are quite small, but I've circled and numbered them so that I can discuss them more easily.

First up, and this one doesn't have a number because it's the entire room, but. They have this boy down in the basement. In a cramped little space that looks like it's twice the size of a twin bed.

Then we come to all the little things that make it so much worse:

1: Charles' room is covered with band posters. If you look closely though, these aren't the kind of posters you'd buy in a store. These are the sorts of posters that they display at venues when a band is in town. Every one of them that's readable has locations/dates/sales info. These aren't someone buying Charles something of his own, to decorate his room with. This is Charles "My smile is pretty convincing" Rowland going to venues after the band has finished its run and asking for the posters to take home.

2: It's hard to tell from the angle, but it looks like he has a couple of model airplanes up on the ceiling. Okay, this one's kind of cute.

3: Again, hard to tell from the angle, but it looks like he has a shelf of sports trophies tucked away back there. This boy tries so damn hard.

4: A dart board. Huh. That's funny. Where are the darts?

5: Oh, here they are. They're outside the room! Like his asshole father! Stole his darts! And threw them at the door!!

6: Probably a boombox, presumably the one that he used to play the tape mentioned in the Devlin house episode. Notably, there are no tapes in sight. Did his father break his only tape?

7: The world's saddest bed, with a ratty old pillow and one (1) single sheet.

8: And as if we needed any more heartbreak in this scene, that's Charles' cricket bat there in the corner. His weapon of choice? The thing he picks up to defend Edwin, over and over, episode after episode, for the entire series? He's cowering practically on top of it while his father beats him. He didn't so much as touch it when it was himself that needed defending.

You're welcome. If I have to be heartbroken over set dressing, I'm dragging you all with me.

[wordsinhaled]

after charles and edwin get together i think one of their new favorite forms of sharing affection should be each one trying to fluster the other as much as possible by reminding one other of all their favorite brave and wonderful and brilliant things they liked watching the other one do over the years

this isn't new - they've always had a habit of congratulating one another on a job well done, after all! - but it starts again in a different light because they're both getting used to the reaction they can get out of each other, with the sort of affirmations they usually give each other anyway.

it's not like charles has never complimented edwin before but edwin's never gotten quite so disarmed before, and oh, it's fun, it's so gratifying to know that if edwin had a heart charles could make it skip a beat. and edwin loves to offer charles praise now because he gives edwin these little special smiles that edwin adores. they're not quite shy but they are softer than they used to be, almost like he's finally starting to believe what edwin's saying, in his heart

it's something about the safety of it, too, the comfort of it, of knowing they are loved in every way there possibly is to love one another, it lets how nice it feels to just sit in each other's kindness and attention sink in more somehow

and so, it's the same way they do "remember the case of the [...] back in '95?" except it's recounting their own private ranking of each other's greatest hits. and of course they do this while cuddling, or holding hands and tracing the lines on each other's palms, or petting each other's hair, or something similarly soft. as a treat

"do you remember the case of the haunted patisserie, charles? back in, what was it, 2002, yes? oh, no, it's only that crystal was talking about baking something today, and i fondly recalled you fending off that dreadful poltergeist with nothing but a rolling pin." edwin's eyes are twinkling, the way they so often do these days. "i daresay you would have made quite the handsome baker, in another universe."

charles ducks his head. caught between bashful and preening. realizing he's allowed both. the shyness without being judged, and the surety that edwin loves him. that they love each other like they do.

"couldn't've dusted him without your help, could i? and i had a tough go focusing. didn't even know you knew old french. 'course you do, though." and he gives edwin a grin that's a bit dreamy at the edges. (edwin still can't believe charles actually looks at him like that.) "god, it's mad how brilliant you are, you know that?"

and so on

and so forth

forever <3

[tragedy-machine]

DBD payneland fic rec list part 2!

I have so many I just had to shout out even more amazing authors and their works, nobody has to even ask me for more lol

1. I Will Hold Your Hands To Stop Them From Shaking - I am so serious when I say that this author absolutely cooks every time

2. In Good News, You're Already Dead - flirty, domestic, cute

3. dumb of heart - just loved it, what can I say

4. terms of endearment - it's explicit, so it might not be for everyone, but boy oh boy is it good

5. you have set your heart on haunting me forever from the start (it's never silent) - Edwin's got game in this one, 10/10 flirting

6. right. never finished it. - amazing, angsty, beautiful

7. The Case of The Crystalline Lake and The Ghost With a Stomach Ache - who doesn't love jealous charles, aye?

8. i'll face love with my heart - cute cute cute and funny

[flower-dagger-gay]

Actually the part with the misery wraith in ep.3 is hilarious. The way Edwin and Crystal are essentially just like, oh no!! we need be careful because this monster feeds on miserable bitches like you and I!!

[melefim]

Swearing in Dead Boy Detectives: Charles Rowland

Overview:

46 curses total, 19 different words said in 8 episodes.

Episode 1: 1 Fuck, 1 Shit, 1 Bastard, 1 Piss

Episode 2: 1 Bloody, 1 Bloody Hell, 1 God, 1 Bollocks

Episode 3: 2 Fuck, 2 Ass, 1 Bloody, 1 God, 1 Cunt, 1 Bastard, 2 Sod, 2 Slag

Episode 4: 1 Fuck, 1 Shit, 1 Hell, 2 Bloody, 1 Bloody Hell, 1 Wanker, 1 Sod

Episode 5: 2 Shit, 1 Bloody, 1 Bloody Hell, 3 God, 1 Prick, 1 Knob, 1 Tosser

Episode 6: 1 Fuck, 1 Damn, 2 Bugger

Episode 7: 1 Shit, 1 Bloody, 1 Bloody Hell

Episode 8: 1 Bloody Hell

Curses Per Episode:

Episode 1: 4

Episode 2: 4

Episode 3: 12

Episode 4: 8

Episode 5: 10

Episode 6: 4

Episode 7: 3

Episode 8: 1

Uses Per Word:

Charles’ favorite curse word is Bloody, which he says 6 times! Fuck, Shit, Bloody Hell, and God are all tied for second, with 5 usages each.

Bloody: 6

Fuck: 5

Shit: 5

Bloody Hell: 5

God: 5

Sod: 3

Ass: 2

Bastard: 2

Bugger: 2

Slag: 2

Damn: 1

Hell: 1

Cunt: 1

Prick: 1

Knob: 1

Bollocks: 1

Wanker: 1

Tosser: 1

Piss: 1

Unique words:

Charles had the most unique curse words of any character, with 8 words that only he says: Cunt, Knob, Bollocks, Bastard, Wanker, Bugger, Sod, and Slag.

Edwin and Charles are the only characters who say Bloody Hell.

Charles and Crystal are the only characters who say Prick.

Charles and the Tabby Cat are the only characters who say Piss.

Charles and his ‘friend’ in the group of boys who kills him are the only characters who say Tosser.

Edwin, Charles, and the Night Nurse are the only characters who say Bloody.

Most of Charles’ unique words are British, so it makes sense he’d have so many that no one else says- he’s the British character who curses the most. It stands to reason that the primarily American cast of characters wouldn’t be using a lot of the same words as him!

Percent of Total:

Charles swears 46 times throughout the season, which is 14.2% of all cursing in the show.

Rankings:

Who Swears the Most: Charles is in 2nd place, with 46 times.

Most Curses in an Episode: Charles holds 2 spots on the top 10 ‘Curses per Character per Episode’ list: His 12 curses in episode 3 tie him in 8th place along with Crystal for episode 6. He also holds 10th place for swearing 10 times in episode 5.

Curse Word Variety: Charles has the best swearing variety of any character, with 19 different words throughout the show.

Unique Curse Words: Charles has 8 unique curse words that only he uses, the most of any character. (Cunt, Knob, Bollocks, Bastard, Wanker, Bugger, Sod, Slag)

Individual Words: He holds the top spots for usages of Bloody (6) and Bloody Hell (5). Combined with his 8 unique words, this means there are 10 different curse words that Charles says more than any other character.

Lines:

Episode 1: Edwin, hurry the fuck up! (Gas mask ghost fight)

Episode 1: Piss off, cat.

Episode 1: The little bastards are pretty clever, and their scratches sting like fire.

Episode 1: Look Edwin, you're the smart one, and I'm the one who does shit like this.

Episode 2: Oh my god, here we go.

Episode 2: Bloody Hell. Is this what's gonna happen to Niko?

Episode 2: I thought you said even Aramaic was easy with a bit of study. Bloody read it.

Episode 2: Bollocks! (After he breaks the vessel)

Episode 3: He was such a cunt.

Episode 3: So let's keep the bastard from ever getting his hands on it.

Episode 3: How do we break this bloody loop?

Episode 3: Edwin, don't slag her off just because it turns out you aren't the all-knowing expert on everything, yeah?

Episode 3: I'm just sick of watching this asshole kill his family a million times for no fucking reason. Tried it your way, and it did nothing. Sod it, let's try mine.

Episode 3: Mate, don't slag her off just because it turns out you aren't the all-knowing expert on all things, yeah?

Episode 3: I'm just sick of watching this asshole kill his family a million times for no fucking reason. Tried it your way, and it did nothing. Sod it. Let's try mine.

Episode 3: God, that must have been mental.

Episode 4: Sod it. Can't spy on people without a spyglass, can I?

Episode 4: Bloody cats. You all right, mate?

Episode 4: I've had enough of secrets about that wanker!

Episode 4: What the bloody hell is down there?

Episode 4: I'm also bloody angry.

Episode 4: Every day, I'm fucking smiling.

Episode 4: I sure as hell couldn't stop my dad from beating the shit out of me.

Episode 5: I'm also bloody angry.

Episode 5: With that prick demon and her missing memories, she isn't keen on starting anything.

Episode 5: Oh, bloody hell.

Episode 5: I've got some heavy shit that I need to sort out. I get it. Just… God, I really wanted them to be good guys

Episode 5: You tossers really hurt some people. You were cruel just for the shits.

Episode 5: God, you knobs really don't get it.

Episode 5: Oh god, I'm worried that maybe I'm like Brad and Hunter.

Episode 6: I mean, Monty's our mate and all, but Gladys could have buggered off.

Episode 6: Nasty bugger.

Episode 6: Don't listen to him Crystal, it's just some sort of a mindfuck, innit?

Episode 6: He's wrong you know? You're still pretty damn special.

Episode 7: What the bloody hell was that?

Episode 7: Bullshit. When did you go to school here for reals?

Episode 7: We're going as fast as we bloody can!

Episode 8: Oh, bloody hell. And you're always just popping up. Where do you even come from?

Notes:

Charles’ “I’m also bloody angry” at the start of episode 5 is the same clip from the fight with the Night Nurse at the end of episode 4, remembered as part of Crystal’s nightmare.

Fun Fact:

Charles has the last curse in the show- Bloody Hell at the end of episode 8. (Which bookends nicely with Edwin having the first- Bloody Hell at the start of episode 1)

Updates:

Updated % of total swearing chart to reflect an adjustment to the total.

Added in chart for most curses per episode

Adjusted placement in most curses per episode to reflect a missed god from Crystal in episode 2.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More Dead Boy Detectives Swearing Posts:

Masterlist

Swearing by Episode

Swearing by Character

Swearing by Word

All Swearing Posts

And if you like lists of things like I do, you can check out my other Dead Boy Detectives ones here!

When Charles’ Shirt Colors Change

George Rextrew’s Edwin comic inspo board

Full soundtrack with timestamps

Moves, Incidents, and Cases Masterlist

First pass at finding where the songs in the score are used- full post with timestamps in progress