#sandman and dead boy detectives
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obsessiveagony2point0 · 1 year ago
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Similarities
Edwin and Dream share something in common. Something more than a love of books.
⚠️❓ - Possible Trigger Warning
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[ficlet contains mentions of fear/anxiety and being afraid of small spaces/claustrophobia]
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Dream didn’t talk about his imprisonment much.
It was said mostly in passing, as a way to explain why he hadn’t met Hob when that story was told, but the how and why and other details had never been told.
Hob, of course, knew. He knew what had happened to Dream as the Being had told Hob everything. So, when he reminisced about the past, which he often did, Hob never talks about those details. That was for Dream to talk about and Dream alone, when he was ready.
No one ever expected or anticipated that the day Dream would be ready to tell someone else about it, it would be in a chaotic, noisy pub.
Dream, Edwin and Charles were loitering around The New Inn, as they usually did when it was absurdly busy and Hob needed to jump in and lend a hand.
Edwin was at the bar, reading a book Dream had produced from his library in the Dreaming, while Charles was trailing closely behind Hob, asking questions and knowing no one else could see him while Hob, who could see him, talked away.
In the beginning, the customers would ask Hob if he was ok, concerned that maybe he was working too hard and was slowly losing his sanity, but he would just flash them a big grin and say, “I’m alright. Just talking to a ghost.”
They stopped asking.
Dream was perched next to Edwin by the bar, sipping on a glass of white wine that never seemed to grow to room temperature no matter how long it sat there. He wasn’t paying much attention to Charles’ mischief or to Hob’s multitasking chaos.
Instead, he was keeping an eye on Edwin.
If you passed a quick glance at the young spirit, you wouldn’t notice anything amiss. Just a boy, casually reading his book, trying to dive into the pages and words.
But Dream knew better.
Edwin may have had the book open, but in the hour they’d been sitting there he had barely gone through 5 pages. His gaze may have been trained on the inked words in front of him, but his eyes showed that his mind was elsewhere. His jaw was tight, his shoulder’s stiff, and Dream could see a small tremor in his hands where they gripped the edges of the book.
Dream recognized this look. The look of fighting the rough waves as you tried to stay afloat, trying not to sink and drown. He himself had to tread through those rough waters until they settled.
Sometimes, he still had to.
“You do not have to read the book if you are not enjoying it.” Dream said before bringing the glass of wine to his lips.
Edwin blinked, the fog in his eyes dissipating as he looked at Dream. “I am.”
Dream raised an eyebrow. “Are you, though, Edwin Payne..?”
Edwin opened his mouth, closed it, looked back at the book, and then shut it softly before whispering, “No…”
Dream hummed.
“It’s not that it’s not a good book.” The young spirit said quickly as to not offend the Prince of Stories. “I just…”
“Are currently unable to enjoy it.” Dream finished. “Your mind is…occupied. By feelings and images of the past.”
Edwin looked again at Dream, eyes wide. “How did you know?”
“It is not often I find myself understanding how one may feel.” Dream said softly as his thumb ran up the curved glass. “It is even more rare that I understand because I have gone through a fairly similar experience myself.”
Edwin stared at Dream, who was staring at his white wine with furrowed brows. He realized, with surprise, that Dream was very much referring to his own imprisonment. “You’re…well…you’re you. How could you possibly have gone through what I have?”
Dream’s eyes hardened, growing dark. “Endless may not be able die like most creatures do…but we can be captured and hurt through the use of the occult.” White stars glanced at Edwin. “Humans often meddle with things they do not understand. You know this to be true.”
Edwin was silent for a while, turning his attention back to the book that laid on the bar counter. He brought a hand up to stroke the velvet cover and traced his fingers over the gold lettering.
Perhaps…Dream could truly understand…
“I thought what I experienced in Hell would be the trigger to this fear…” Edwin whispered after silently gathering his thoughts, his hands dropping to his lap. “But…instead…what triggered it the first time was a dark basement. It wasn’t until it happened a second time I realized it was because of that room. That room in the attic of the school where I was dragged to and sacrificed….” He scoffed venomously. “4 bloody walls in the dark overpowered all the terrors of Hell.”
“It’s frustrating…” Edwin continued. “It’s been decades since that night and the fear of it prevents me from going into any small, dark space that remotely resembles an attic. It impedes on our detective work if I cannot enter a small room where a crime has been committed.” He clenched his fists tight as he hissed, “I want it to stop.”
The dream eldritch was silent as he stared at the young, frustrated spirit. Though Edwin was over a century old and very wise, there were times where he showed that, deep down, he was still a 16 year old boy.
Eventually, Dream spoke. “I was also confined to a small room, much like your attic. Inside this small room was my prison, that was even smaller than the space it resided in.” He stared at his warped reflection in the wine glass. “My prison was a sphere. A sphere made of steel and glass…hidden away in a pathetic man’s basement where ancient markings kept me in place and where above me was cruelly decorated like the night sky to mock me and remind me of what I was missing.”
Dream let out soft sigh. “Once I was free, it took me many months to finally be able to stay for long periods in a small room where the walls felt too close and the ceiling too low.” He looked up at the ceiling of the pub. “Even now, there are times that this space becomes fearful.”
“It does…?” Edwin asked, his voice trembling a little. “So…the fear…it doesn’t leave?”
“No.” Dream replied turning his gaze back on Edwin. “It does not. Though it happens less, that fear still plagues me. It will always be there in the back of your mind, trying to drown you.”
“Then there is no hope for me.” Edwin said, defeatedly, his shoulders dropping.
Dream smiled a little. “There is always hope, Edwin Payne. That hope, that raft that will keep you afloat during those fears…that comes from the people around you.”
“The…people around me…?”
The Being turned his gaze. Edwin follow his line of sight, seeing it had landed onto Hob, who was laughing with some of his customers. The immortal caught their stares and waved. Charles looked where Hob was looking, noticed them as well, and grinned widely, also waving.
“The people who love you and care for you…they will be your raft. Your life line. Even if you have no hope in yourself, even if you tell yourself you cannot do it…they will be the hope that will tell you that you can.”
“Hob was…and still is…my raft…” Dream said softly. “He possesses an otherworldly patience I have only ever seen in my sister…and even she has her limits. He has endlessly showered me with it as he has helped me through my fear.” He turned to look at Edwin again, still smiling. “You do not have to battle those waves alone, Edwin. You have many around you who are willing to be your raft.” He placed a slender hand over Edwin’s that had loosened their grip on his slacks. “Myself included.”
Edwin opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Hob, who had finally been able to make his way down to the end of the bar.
“Bloody hell what a night.” The immortal smiled apologetically at them. “I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to be around much this evening. One of the hazards to owning a business.”
“You were around me.” Teased Charles, who had come up behind Hob.
“Look here, you little shit, that was not because I chose that. That was because you decided that tonight was the night to make ol’ Hob seem more crazy than usual.” Charles laughed as he dodged a swat from Hob, running around to hide behind Edwin.
To any remaining concerned patrons in the pub that evening it looked like Hob was scolding the air next to a shadow of a man and then swatting at a fly.
Those patrons quickly returned their attention back to their drinks.
Hob shook his head at Charles, trying to look stern but unable to as he laughed at the young ghost stick his tongue out. “To make up for it, I’ll watch whatever movies you wanna watch. No complaining.”
“Really!?” Charles beamed.
“Not you.” Hob said as he pointed a finger at Charles. “You don’t get to pick.”
“What!? Robbie, c’mon!”
“Don’t ‘c’mon’ me, you menace.”
“I’ll just possess the TV again.” Charles replied, smugly.
“Do that and I’ll invite Death over for a visit.”
The spirit boys had long since been told by Death herself that she wasn’t going to take them. They were free to roam on earth as long as they continued their work.
Regardless, Charles still paled at the threat. Death was still Death, the taker of souls, the Grim Reaper. Their non-lives were in her hands.
Charles huffed and crossed his arms. “Well played…you win.”
A few customers waved at Hob, beckoning him over to order. “Ah, bollocks…here we go again.” He smiled sheepishly at the spirits and the Endless. “Only a couple more hours, promise.”
Hob hurried away and Charles was about to follow, when he stopped and turned to Edwin. “Hey, are you doing alright? I know…I know you don’t like small rooms very much.”
Edwin blinked, then glanced at Dream. “I…I’m ok right now. Thank you, Charles.”
“Of course. Anything for my best mate.” He placed a hand in Edwin’s shoulder. “If you aren’t ok…please come get me. We’ll…we’ll go outside or something, alright?”
Dream’s words echoed in Edwin’s mind.
‘The people who love you and care for you…they will be your raft…You do not have to battle those waves alone, Edwin.’
The young spirit smiled and placed his hand over Charles’. “I will come get you, I promise.”
Charles grinned and gave Edwin’s shoulder a squeeze before he bounded after Hob once more.
Dream smiled at Edwin. “I believe you will find yourself able to read now.”
The ghost boy looked down at the velvet covered book. He picked it back up, then took in a deep breath and opened it once more.
He did, indeed, find he was able to read.
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I struggled a bit with this one.
I will admit, I haven’t watched DBD yet. I will be this weekend tho.
But that doesn’t stop me from falling in love with the characters. I am the type of person who “spoils” movies and shows for themselves. I enjoy learning about the characters and the plot and story before I dive into the show. It helps me connect.
The problem with this…method…is I don’t always know the entire plot of something.
Which was issue here.
(If you do not wanna read spoilers for the show and comic, then do not read past the line)
Because DBD is so new, there not a lot out there yet on the show’s version of things. What I mean is, is that in the DBD comic fandom wiki, it says:
“He (Edwin) was abused by bullies who, one evening in 1914, dragged him up to the attics where they dressed up, drew a circle on the floor, and sacrificed him along with frogs and rabbits in an effort to raise devils that never came.
They hid Edwin's body in a trunk, and it was never found, Edwin thought no one looked particularly hard for him since his killers barely covered their tracks.”
I do not know how accurately the show went with the comic as the only thing I can find is an article about how the boys died, which states:
“Edwin's past in 1916 is quite heartbreaking. He had a crush on Simon at their British boarding school. He was invited to a date, only to be ambushed by Simon and his friends. The bullies thought they would have some fun with an occult ritual meant to summon the demonic Sa'al. It feels like they weren't sure that the tome they had would really bring the demon up. But they just wanted to hear Edwin scream and cry. The drunken hazing quickly turns sour as Sa'al comes up and roasts the bullies to ashes. He apologizes to Edwin, but the rules are the rules. Sa'al drags Edwin to Hell as the sacrificial part of the ceremony must be honored.”
So, as I stated above, I struggled. I truly wanted Edwin’s fear to be of the box his body had been hidden in. The fear of the confined space and the four walls and the darkness, because, perhaps, maybe his spirit had been stuck in the box too before he realized and figured out he could leave it.
But the box wasn’t used in the show.
So, I opted for the room, the attic.
Anyway, I’m rambling about this too seriously. I can headcanon things and situations all day long, but I like when those headcanons and my fics have true to the original story details if I can get them in there.
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maarigolds · 1 year ago
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liveandbreathemusicals · 2 years ago
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Gay people will be like “this is my comfort show!” And then show you the most emotionally devastating, stress-inducing, tragic piece of media you have ever witnessed
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kaiju-groot · 1 year ago
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Why you should watch the Dead Boy Detectives
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childofposiden71 · 1 year ago
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If supernatural can have 15 seasons then Dead boy dectives can have two. So watch. Rewatch tell your friends. Watch it through a thousand times. END THE CANCELLATION STREAK
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junkokiu · 1 year ago
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Just watched the first episode, and I gotta say The Sandman universe doesn't disappoint. Neil Gaiman doesn't disappoint-
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hansoeii · 1 year ago
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the best person I know.
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blessyouhawkeye · 1 year ago
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watched neil gaiman's new gay pandering show today and it's kind of indescribable. created by destiel king steve yockey and starring the actress who played rowena on spn. episode directed by legendary lesbian filmmaker cheryl dunye. canon fujoshi character who talks about her explicit yaoi. an amnesiac medium named crystal palace. gaiman's typical vaguely autistic hugely gay dandy who's never been kissed but also literally every man he meets wants to fuck him so bad it makes them clinically insane. also he's a ghost and died in an accidental demonic sacrifice in 1916. and he tries to confess his love to his best friend and is interrupted by being sent to hell. he then confesses successfully while his best friend is bringing him out of hell in a named orpheus and eurydice allusion. this show needs 12 seasons.
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emeriart · 1 year ago
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He's just a dead boy detective
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moncuries · 1 year ago
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brains and brawns, allegedly
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obsessiveagony2point0 · 1 year ago
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Twitter/X•AO3•Pillowfort •Linktree•Bluesky•Ko-fi
I know Hob does appear in the DBD comics, but I like to imagine that one day they just appear in The New Inn and Hob, having seen a thing or two in his near 700 years, has a feeling they aren't normal.
That feeling is confirmed when one of the tavern's patrons walks right through them.
They eventually leave, but the next night, to Hob's delight, they return. When the tavern is near empty and the boys are still loitering, Hob walks over to them and asks what they're doing here. They're surprised, and ask if he can see them, to which Hob nods.
The 3 of them talk, far into the night and long after Hob has locked the doors.
The more they talk, the more Hob adores these two menaces, Edwin and Charles.
That night, Dream also visits...and he can also see the boys. He arches an eyebrow at them, curious as to how they are there as it is not like his sister to let souls slip through her fingers...
Hob begs Dream to let him adopt them (it obviously wouldn't be an official adoption, but like Hob would adopt them in his heart), but Dream says no.
Not because he is trying to be intentionally cruel, but because sooner or later his sister will come for these boys and he does not want to see Hob's heart shatter.
The next time Dream visits, Hob has set up rooms for Edwin and Charles below the pub, where they can come and go as they please. He has supplied them with books and resources and whatever else they need to do their detective work.
Hob has adopted them.
Dream is exasperated.
They do, eventually, make their way into whatever is considered Dream's heart.
He is happy Hob made room for them.
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void-of-chill · 1 year ago
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Edwin Payne & Charles Rowland - Dead Boy Detectives (2024)
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lokis-bitter-ghost · 1 year ago
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ships in the neil gaiman universe are so funny to me because you have
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two guys who are both dead, one who died in the edwardian era and then was sent to hell for 70 years and one who died in the late 80s who decided not to (potentially) go to heaven to stick with some guy he met a minute ago
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a LITERAL angel and a LITERAL demon who have known each other since literally the beginning of THE UNIVERSE
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and a guy who said "actually i think i dont wanna die. what if i just didnt" and then he actually never did because death thought it would be funny and death's brother, the god of dreams, who thought the other guy would get tired of being immortal and is sticking around to see if he does
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alterego77 · 11 months ago
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orionsangel86 · 1 year ago
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There is something about proudly proclaiming a show "tumblrista catnip" that makes me emotional.
Something about how for years tumblrinas were ridiculed by show creators.
Something about Supernatural having a meta episode set at a convention with all the weirdo fans that made the main characters uncomfortable. Something something about Becky and the message that fangirls are gross and obsessive.
Something about Sherlock and the way fans were portrayed as crazy obsessive nutjobs for trying to figure out how he faked his death.
Something about creators mocking fandoms, dismissing them as freaks. Something about queer people not being welcome to engage in their creations because "why do you have to make everything gay?"
Something about the malicious culture of queerbaiting throughout the 2000s/2010s, followed by Bury Your Gays tropes across the media landscape because hell, you should be grateful we even gave you queer characters to begin with - and everyone dies in our show! You ain't special!
Something about Destiel questions being banned from conventions...
And then...
Something instead about Good Omens, and letting the story adapt naturally, embracing the fanbase and leaning into the fanservice.
Something about Our Flag Means Death, and the genuine outpouring of love and affection between cast, crew, and fandom that culminated in an explosion of fanworks that were never once mocked or deemed gross or wrong.
Something about Sandman, and staunchly digging in their heels on the queerness of it all, refusing to give in to the homophobes and instead avidly mocking THEM on social media rather than us.
Something about the writers hearing about fandoms favourite ships and excitedly stating that YES! We DID lean into that because it happened naturally and made sense.
Something about a firefighter coming out as bisexual after 7 seasons...
So yeah, something about a new high quality show made FOR US. By creators that love US. Respect US, and WANT our love.
Something about US FINALLY being a target audience for the best shows being made on TV now.
Tumblrista catnip. Creators saying "we made this for you. You are important. Your voices have been heard."
It just... all got a bit overwhelming for a moment there.
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