#anyways live laugh love edwin

[sweetlullabyebye]

Kinda wild that Edwin realizes his love for Charles and confesses to him like, the day after. Bro is not losing time

[ultimatetrashgoblin]

If a queer ship exists you can be sure I’ll find a way to connect Guilty As Sin? to it

Anyway rip Edwin Payne you would have loved The Tortured Poets Department

[vaaaaaiolet]

Anxiety left you sleepless all night. Leon figures his favorite dream of you might help.

mdni CIAO CHILDREN!! f / m smut w established relationship. put bluntly, leon fucks the worry out of you 😭 he talks you through sex by retelling a dream, tiny bit of character study, PRAISE!! TONS of fingering, 0.5 sec of cockwarming, light angst, p in v w/ a happy ending iykwim, aftercare and i love you's awww. also strawberries 🍓

a / n: req fic from my event!! i took the premise from isle of strawberries by edwin raphael and you can find a playlist for this fic here. motivational smut is a first for me LMFAO but i hope this works w your vision, anon <3 also PEE AFTER SEX YOU GUYS

word count: 2.5k // read on ao3

The 5 AM sun shines rays through the cracks in your plan. You thought you’d been convincing enough with your face pancake-flat against the pillow and your left arm thrown out of the blanket just so. You’d even made sure you had a foot poking into Leon’s side the way he always grumps about, but somehow, your boyfriend always seems to see right through you.

Just like now. 

A busybody poke on your shoulder. “Sweetheart,” follows a drowsy whisper, “what’re you doing?”

Sleeping since last night, thank you very much.

“No use playing possum. You haven’t moved an inch since we went to bed and you, ma’am, can’t sleep still to save your life. C’mere,” and you’re tugged to Leon’s side of the bed, the top of your head peppered with slow, sleepy kisses as he hugs an arm around your middle. “Did you sleep at all tonight?”

You clutch his forearm like a safety bar on a rollercoaster. “A little.”

“Enough?”

“Um…” 

Leon kisses his teeth. He’s usually the one on the receiving end of these questions, but he’s picked up a couple things from you. “Too hot? Too cold? Anything I can get you?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I just can’t fall asleep.”

A quiet sigh from you, a hum of understanding from him.

“Because you’ve been thinking again.” He asks if you want to talk about it.

“It’s just a bad night,” you mumble, playing absentmindedly with his fingers. “Overwhelmed. Been getting into my head about everything I should be doing but don’t. I feel like I’m letting everyone down all the time.” 

In the champagne pink of the early morning light pouring through the bedroom window, your eyes trace the corded muscle of Leon’s arm around you – a testament to the strength it takes to do his job every day. There’s scars here, burn marks there, a plum-hued bruise.

Your words stumble to a halt. Embarrassed color rises to your cheeks. 

The matter is that scars from his missions to the ends of the earth litter the chest cradling your back right now. Leon must be sore and aching, listening to you whine like a child with too much food on your plate. What could be keeping you up at night when he shoulders your worst nightmares for a living? All while you lay cuddled and coddled? You don’t know the first thing about worry, the paralysis in his bones that must pale to yours.

Guilt creeps up your spine, and Leon frowns at your sudden silence. You’re retreating into a shell he’s called home too many times. He won’t have any of that with you. 

“Hey, hey, you’re okay,” he soothes, smoothing back your hair. “I’m still here. You don’t wanna talk right now?” 

You let go of his arm and burrow into your pillow, mumble about how you like sleeping late on weekends anyway.

A scoff sounds behind you. “Sleep late, my ass.” 

Leon’s arm comes circling back over your ribs in an instant. He squeezes you so tight to his chest that you feel his heart thump behind your back, and you can’t help the unexpected laugh that bubbles up your throat when he lets go. It’s his favorite reflex of yours.

“If you won’t talk, I will.” Leon presses a kiss to your cheek. “Gonna distract you for a bit, sweetheart. Humor me?”

“Hm?”

“I wanna tell you about my favorite dream. You’re in it.”

You can’t pretend that doesn’t catch your attention like lightning to a rod. Leon doesn’t dream much, not besides the nightmares that have him scrambling to throw off the covers in the middle of the night. 1998 hangs thick in the air of your bedroom some days, but for him to have a dream where you don’t die for a change? That’s new. 

So is his hand starting to creep under your sleep shirt, playful circles tracing on the soft skin below your navel. Part of his distraction strategy. A successful one, if the skip in your heart rate has anything to do with it.

“This okay?” he rasps.

More than. 

You reach behind, cradling his cheek to kiss him a proper hello; allow yourself an anticipatory inhale when Leon’s hand dives under the waistband of your shorts. It takes exactly three seconds for his middle finger to pinpoint the pearl of your clit, and he circles it twice, maddeningly slow, before sliding right under to trace along the seam of your entrance. 

Leon keeps the pressure light. He needs your head clear so you listen. 

“It always starts the same.” He shifts his hips so yours widen for him. “I’m standing in the middle of a huge field, a strawberry farm. There’s nothing around for miles, just rows of bushes full of berries and storm clouds in the distance. I find an empty basket in my hand.”

You imagine your mountain of a boyfriend holding a basket like Strawberry Shortcake. Adorable. “You dream about picking strawberries?” you giggle, arching your back to fit more comfortably against him, and your consideration earns you a searing dip of his finger into your pooling arousal. 

“That,” Leon chuckles, “and a nagging, sinking feeling that I should be doing something but I can’t.”

Oh. 

“Mhm. It hits me that I have to pick as many strawberries as I can before the storm rolls in, and I can’t even move, sweetheart.”

You swallow the returning lump in your throat. Push down a sigh that was building at the upward roll of his fingertip inside you. Leon tuts at your effort, coaxing the sound out anyway with a press of the spongy spot he knows is tucked at the back of your walls. You crumple at the delicious nudge; it leaves you open to welcome another finger into your warmth.

“But this is a good dream because,” Leon smiles at your next gasp, “then I see you at the edge of the field standing next to a little house, waving at me.” 

He scissors you open like he’s got all the time in the world. You clutch the corner of your pillow when you hear it through the comforter: the soft, rhythmic squelch of his fingers curling into your cunt.

Pretending he can’t hear your whimpered little curses as he coos in your ear, “There you go, listen to that,” Leon continues. “That’s when I start thinking. There’s no way I can save all these strawberries in time. You’re standing there, smiling at me without a clue there’s a storm brewing, and suddenly all I can think about is getting you into the house before you get hurt.”

His lesson becomes one of endurance the more he talks. The fingers pumping into your pussy melt your brain into mush that’s chanting, more, more! Exactly the root of your problem.

“So then I- oh, poor baby. This isn’t enough?” 

Shit. You forgot you talk in your sleep. And apparently when you get fingered too. 

“Guess I can’t blame you. I get distracted in the dream too, fuck.” There’s a pause, a sputtering stop to the lovely fullness when Leon pulls his fingers out and promptly sucks them off. 

Even a worm will turn; you certainly do. You whine Leon’s name when he makes a show of it, gazing at you with half-moon eyes and a boyish grin pulling at his lips. “What, it’s my fault you taste better than the strawberries did?” 

No, for leaving you hanging. You were paying attention — maybe a bit too much.

“It was you, by the way,” Leon chuckles, lifting the comforter so his knees can bracket your thighs. 

“I distracted you in the dream?” you gasp, sliding your hands up his shirt.

“In the best way, angel. You helped me get moving again.”

The peachy light of dawn caramelizes gold as Leon climbs on top of you. It doesn’t warm the bedroom quite yet; Leon makes sure the comforter is tucked over your bare skin after he finishes kicking off his pajama pants. He’s back to murmuring sweet nothings, gently tugging your shirt over your shoulders so he can kiss down the swell of your breasts. You’re so toasty under the covers that the goosebumps now speckling your chest are entirely his fault. 

“I remember you picking a few berries off a bush,” Leon looks fondly up at you under golden lashes, pressing a gentle kiss over your heart, “and you just looked so content eating them. I was fretting over saving the whole field and you were fine with a handful.”

You’re itching to ask: but the storm’s still coming, isn’t it? Thunder, rain, your aching cunt dripping onto the sheets right under him. 

Leon is all too happy to answer. 

One hand cradles the back of your head so he can drop his mouth onto yours, leaving the other free to slip under the blankets, rub consolation over the hood of your clit, and finally, finally, notch the swollen head of his cock at your entrance. You cry out, clutching at Leon’s hair when he sheaths himself in a buttery-smooth stroke – as if it could be any other way with how you’ve melted like chocolate in his hands. You both gasp at the stretch.

Leon’s jaw works as he kisses you, savoring you. Spit bridges your mouths in between split-second gulps of air. Your heart thumps against your ribcage like you’re hanging off a precipice, no difference in the dizzying drop that waits ahead. His length sits adjusting inside the squeeze of your plush walls. 

Leon’s sentences come out chopped and desperate as he alternates sucking berry-toned love bites between your breasts, and he admits, “I don’t save the all the strawberries.”

You wheeze as if you’ve dashed across the field yourself. “No?”

“Just enough to last us the storm. Fuck the rest, figure it’ll grow back. Only need to focus on what matters – getting enough for you – so I pick a couple,” the thick of his cock is suffocating when it’s this still, “run,” Leon pants at the first snap of his hips against yours, outrunning the storm all over again, “and pull you inside the house before lightning strikes.”

Electric pleasure curls up from the base of your spine, spreads to your head and flickers down to your toes as Leon starts pounding into your pussy. No room in your chest for anxiety to linger when your eyes are rolling skyward. The edges of your vision melt into vignette as your lover sinks into you again and again. 

Tunnel vision. 

“Keep those pretty eyes open. Focus on what matters,” he repeats in a frenzied whisper, and the tunnel closes in.

All you see are Leon’s eyes. Smack dab in the middle of his blown out pupils is your reflection.

That’s it.

Coherency goes flying out the window with all your brainpower used up to connect the dots. “Leon, you-!”

“Tell me what you see, sweetheart,” he breathes sharply. “I know you can.”

You beg for mercy at each dig of his blunt cockhead. “Me, I get it, fuck! Please- just let me come!”

Course he can, he just has to drill something else into you first. 

“Need to hear you say it,” Leon grits. Nips at the base of your neck as your nails claw stinging holds on his shoulders. “Shit, I’ll make you see stars, don’t worry, I just need to – oh, you’re so fucking tight! – get it in your head. You can’t shut down on me.”

You thrash under him, make more space for bruising kisses to bloom up your neck. “But you’ve had it worse,” you sob out, overwhelmed. 

“How else do you think I know?”

He’s not letting you head off into your own storm alone. Not when you’ve saved him from his.

“Tell me you’ll let me in next time you get in your head, and I’ll make you come. I’ll make you come so fucking good, baby,” Leon hisses, stealing one last kiss from your panting lips. 

“Promise?” 

“Promise.” 

“I will.”

And you ought to thank your lucky stars your levees don’t hold. 

It starts with spiraling cracks. Leon reaching down to press his thumb over your swollen clit. One shaky thrust away from dislodging the last brick holding you together. A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it flutter of your cunt, choked breaths torn from his throat when the silken clutch of your walls sends him into that final crescendo. 

Leon’s fraying at the edges, obsessive in how rolls his thumb at the bundle of nerves that make you shriek his name, and you, hand in hand with him, finally let the swelling tsunami in the pit of your stomach topple your walls. 

Turns out he’s right. Stars explode across the night sky when your eyes squeeze shut. 

You can’t pay attention to much except the rolling tide of pleasure. Leon’s soon spilling into you, his brow pinched as he blindly works his spend into your cunt under the covers. His forehead glistens with sweat, hell, your baby hairs are a dripping mess, but strangely, you think you’ll spend the rest of your life chasing this warmth again. 

Your heart’s never felt more weightless. 

Glowing seconds sail by. Leon’s shaking arms eventually give way and he collapses onto your chest. You let out an “oof!” at the drop. 

“And then the dream ends,” you hear him sigh, eyelids fluttering shut.

About time, you think, smiling as you brush a thumb over his cheekbone. “Then you wake up?”

“No.” Leon cracks open a sapphire eye and grins. “Sometimes we do this.”

In the little hou- Oh. “Fuck you,” you laugh.

“It’s my favorite for a lot of reasons!” 

He sits up, keeping his touch featherlight when he pulls himself out from between your candied thighs. Tiny aftershocks jerk your thighs once, twice, and Leon takes the time to whisper soft apologies when he reaches for a tissue on the bedside table. 

“I meant it back there, y’know?” he hums, gently wiping off the mess between your legs. “I hate seeing you so hard on yourself.”

“It just feels like I’m making a big deal out of nothing. Especially when you’ve been through worse,” you mumble, picking at the covers.  

The tissue gets tossed into the trash, and Leon shoots you a small smile. “Worse to you, maybe. To me, the worst thing I’ve seen is watching you lose your spark and not being able to help.”

“You really think so?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I love you.”

So you remember your promise. 

You tell him you love him too, no more secrets to keep in your head. The bedroom blooms warmer than you remember it ever being, a little slice of summer straight out of both your dreams.

You remember the strawberries from the farmer’s market in the kitchen, and that Leon makes killer Sunday pancakes.

You remember how much you love afternoon catnaps with your limbs tangled between his. Infinite possibilities pile high like the papers on your work desk. So much to get started.

Focus on what matters. The rest will grow back.

You turn the other cheek, and kiss your lover on the mouth.

psst, find more of my work here!

comments and reblogs are very much appreciated <3 take care and i love you!

[coloursflyaway]

Hi there, I’m not sure if you taking dbda prompts anymore, but I’ve recently fallen in love with your hurt comfort fanfics and your writing style in general. If you want to, I think it would be heartbreakingly amazing if you were to write something where Charles sees his father again (either like his father comes into the agency looking for help, not knowing that Charles works there or like they go to visit him and Charles’s mum) and the kind of anger and hurt it brings up in Charles and then Edwin ✨comforts✨ him

You don’t have to, but know I would read the hell out of this if you did :)))

Hi anon ♥

Thank you so much for the prompt, I am sorry this took forever and a day, but here you go!

I went into a slightly different direction, but I always wondered what would happen if Charles told Edwin about watching his parents in the mirror, so I thought I would combine those things.

It’s something Charles never thought he would be able to share with Edwin, and yet, somehow, here they are.

At least they are in the agency, he reasons with himself as he touches a fingertip to the mirror, willing it to change its image. By now, it should be second nature – he has done this countless times before, after all – and yet, he feels strangely nervous, like it might go wrong, show a different house, a different living room, a different set of people watching TV. Like the act of showing Edwin could somehow make it not work.

But then, the mirror ripples and the agency fades; instead, there are Christmas lights and his mum wrapped in a burgundy blanket, a glass of wine in her hand as she flicks through the channels with the other. His dad, next to her, is reading something, and just like it does every time, Charles’ heart beats a little faster at the sight of him.

For years, he hasn’t been able to make out just what he feels for his father, thirty-odd years away from his scolding, his belt, his words of kindness strewn in between. He still isn’t certain, but it is clearer: there is anger, there is pain, there is love, nonetheless.

“So, this is what you did when you asked me to give you a few minutes alone?”, Edwin asks next to him. Careful, as if he was handling fine china; Charles loves and hates it at the same time. “I never even suspected.”

“Well, that was kind of the point, wasn’t it?”, Charles replies, half a laugh tacked onto his voice, so Edwin won’t be able to tell how strangely difficult this is for him. Shouldn’t Edwin next to him make it better, less confusing?

After all, while those people in the mirror are his parents, it’s Edwin, who is his family.

“I suppose”, Edwin concedes, but he doesn’t sound convinced. “I just- you could have told me, Charles. I might not have understood, but I never would have judged you for it.”

And maybe, Charles knew that on some level, yet hearing the words breaks something open in him, something that feels ancient and yet new.

“I-”, he starts, watching his father put down the book and say something to his mother, who gives him a tired, well-worn smile. Not dismissive, but only half-listening anyway, like it is a conversation they have had a thousand times. “It’s just-”

And all of a sudden, he is crying.

Tears spilling down his cheeks that feel like they have been waiting within him so long they must have died with him, thick and hot in the muted way only ghosts can feel, dripping down Charles’ chin and evaporating before they touch the ground, his shoulder’s shaking as he tries to suppress sobs that rival earthquakes.

“It’s just-”, he tries again, and hears the moment Edwin realises what is happening instead of seeing it: the world is clouded by a new shower of tears.

“Charles”, Edwin gasps and then there are arms around him, thin and yet the most secure thing Charles has ever felt, pulling him against Edwin’s chest, one hand coming to rest on the back of his head, the other pressing firm against his spine. “Oh, Charles… if I had known… you didn’t have to show me, I didn’t want you to-”

“No, it’s-”, Charles tries and fails to get out, hiding his face against Edwin’s shoulder. This, at least, he knows, is real; this is forever. “It’s-”

“Shh, it’s fine”, Edwin tells him, slender fingers brushing through Charles’ curls in a way they never have before, and Charles loathes it, loathes himself and his father and the tangled mess of emotions in his chest for stealing this from him. This should have been a tender moment, just them and the intimacy they are slowly building between them. “I shouldn’t have asked, I should have known there was a reason why you did not share this with me before. I am sorry, Charles, I truly am.”

“It’s not that”, Charles finally forces from his lips, words half drowned in sobs; Edwin hugs him harder, and Charles knows that he could fall apart in Edwin’s arms so, so easily. “I should hate him, I want to, but I can’t.”

And that’s… it.

There are a hundred other things as well – fear for his mother’s safety, the pain of missing her, the ache he sometimes feels when thinking about his old room – but then there is the image of his father, smiling at him across the dinner table overlayed with him snapping the belt against his palm, violence in his eyes and the line of his mouth and the muscles bulging in his arm. The same man, and yet unrecognisable.

“Oh, Charles”, Edwin breathes into his hair, so soft, another first touch stolen. “It’s alright, it’s okay. I understand. And I don’t think any less of you for it.”

Another sob, wrenched from somewhere deep, deep within Charles, and he clings to Edwin like he’s the only thing left keeping him upright.

“And if it helps”, Edwin adds a moment later, fingers still stroking slowly through Charles’ curls, “I’ll hate him enough for the both of us.”

And perhaps, he is.

[genevievefangirl]

Gen's Top 100 DBDA Fics - PART 4

For all caveats/rules/backstory, please read the Master Post

Halcyon Days By: cordelianoir @cordelia-noir Rating: T Tags: AU - Modern Setting, AU - High School, AU - Heartstopper, Protective Charles, Protective Edwin Payne Summary: There were a lot of reasons why Charles Rowland had changed schools. His suffering grades, constant reprimands over being out of dress code and the school’s growing suspicions about his home life were only some of the reasons why Charles’ mother enrolled him in boarding school for sixth form. There was really only one problem… well two problems, maybe three. ------------ When Cricket-star Charles transfers to St. Hilarion's, he urgently needs a Latin tutor. Enter Edwin Payne, a language genius but not very popular. As the two become friends, the past rears its head in ugly ways. Can the two navigate such a new, odd-couple friendship in the face of their pasts? And what happens if that friendship starts to blossom into more? My Notes: The most adorable (yet sometimes dark) boarding school AU there is! I think I speak for a lot of us in the fandom when I say this fic warms my heart. I'm not usually a fluff person, but this fic balences the fluff with the hurt very well. I highly recommend if you haven't read it already

half of my soul, as the poets say By: thegirlofthorns @edwinspaynes Rating: T Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, gravestones Summary: Edwin existed, just as Charles had. Charles, who occupied a space in loving memory. A much-deserved space – Edwin would have wanted it no other way – but the core of him wanted to scream that he had been here, too. He never would be again, but he had lived, and he had breathed and laughed and moved with too much frippery and frill to continue on breathing, and he had been a whole person, once. And it had not mattered. So looked at CHARLES ROWLAND through tears, allowed himself to. Even Charles's hammer on metal on stone was not enough to dull the pain, but it was enough to remind him that he was still here, even if he was no longer living. It was an awful sound, a jarring sound, and tears shone in Charles’s eyes as he focused intently on carving out the A in his surname, but it was something. They were there, together, and they were feeling. - Or, Charles finds Edwin's unmarked grave and will, in the lightest of terms, not be having it. My Notes: I love Charles being angry at the world for how Edwin died and how little anyone cared about him. This fic expands on that and the epithet that Charles puts on Edwin's gravestone is perfection.

head in the clouds but my gravity's centered By: shadowquill17 @shadowquill17 Rating: T Tags: Feelings Realization, Love Confessions, Protective Charles Rowland Summary: Charles touched Edwin’s face when they were in Hell, and it made them both feel better. So of course he keeps doing it. And of course it escalates. My Notes: Who doesn't love some intimate face touching from their best mate? I think this is a great tactic to use to pull Edwin out of his own head lol

Heaven To No One Else But Me By: coloursflyaway @coloursflyaway Rating: T Tags: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Feelings Realization Summary: We would like to offer you a gift, Edwin Payne, the entity says, and holds out its hand; Charles has to force himself to stay put and not step between it and Edwin, because it feels like danger, even if it shouldn’t. The entity wouldn’t hurt Edwin, he tells himself, and he knows it’s true, it’s just that it is so powerful that even the slightest touch is terrifying and Charles is terrified about losing Edwin all the time anyway. “Why me?”, Edwin asks, head raised high and the entity’s light reflecting off his skin in a way that makes it look like porcelain, fragile and translucent and beautiful, “Why not Charles?” There is nothing we could offer Charles Rowland to take his pain away, the entity says and its voice rings out in Charles’ head. But you, we could erase yours. If you wish us to. Edwin gets the opportunity to go back in time and change his life so he will never have to go to Hell, but price of it is losing Charles; Charles can only stand next to him and wait for his decision. My Notes: Edwin sees flashes of the life he could have while Charles just stands by thinking Edwin is going to leave him. It is so painful, but also so good.

hell or high water - Series By: oddessea @oddessea Rating: T Tags: AU - Different First Meeting, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Charles Rowland, Protective Edwin Payne Summary: Together - After decades of searching for a way out of Hell between being eaten by a large spider made of baby dolls, Edwin Payne is ready to try anything. When he finds a torture chamber in an out-of-the way part of the Doll House, he meets a boy his age named Charles Rowland. But, more importantly, he realizes that he might not be the only one who doesn't belong in Hell, and that, maybe, escaping is easier when you aren't alone. Feel - Every good detective agency needs an office, and every good detective needs a break. After escaping from Hell, Edwin and Charles want nothing more than to have a nice, long rest. Charles worries that something irreparable has been done to him by his time in Hell, but he can't worry about that now. The Dead Boy Detectives have their first case, and if they solve it, they may just earn their very own office and, hopefully, somewhere safe for them to land. My Notes: The boys meeting in Hell greatly shifts their bond and dynamic in this fic and I LOVE IT! They are so attached to each other and I can't! Like you think they are codependent in canon? Read this!

holding on to patience (like a sunrise) By: toomoon (jjjat3am) @toomoonfic Rating: T Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Touch-Starved, Getting Together Summary: In the aftermath of their appointment to the Lost and Found Department, Charles and Edwin's hug lingers. or, 5 times Charles touched Edwin, and one time Edwin touched him first. My Note: We can all agree that hug in ep 8 was great right? Well here's a fic expanding on their various touches after that!

I dont think I could stand to be (Where You Dont See Me) By: BadBoyDeanAsf @thepopsicle Rating: T Tags: Protective Charles Rowland, Depression, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Trauma, PTSD Summary: So Charles decides then and there with his eyes boring into the image of a woman who couldn’t have possibly been half as lucky as them that he would confess to Edwin. He wasn’t sure when or even how but he knows without a doubt that his partner deserved to know he was loved, that his feelings weren’t unrequited. - Six months after the events of S1 canon, the boys are trying to return to normal in London and deal with their own struggles. Edwin is fighting the grief of losing Niko and Charles struggles between worrying for Edwin and attempting to unpack his feelings. My Note: Charles worries so much about Edwin in this one that it makes my heart hurt. He just wants Edwin to be well again and takes him to see some art to try and make him feel better and it turns into some deep thoughts.

I Turned Back One Last Time (just to prove you were there) By: isnt_that_wizard @skateboardtotheheart Rating: T Tags: AU - Canon Divergence, Protective Charles Rowland, Touching, Touch Starved, PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, Angst Summary: Since they'd fallen out of hell, the Night Nurse slamming the door on the awful baby doll demon behind them, Charles had been itching to touch Edwin. And it wasn't like his usual touch-oriented personality just wishing to have some sort of contact. He could control that easily enough after all this time. No, this was something different. This felt like a desperation. A need to be in Edwin's personal space, to keep his hands on him. He wanted to wrap his best friend in a hug and never let go, he wanted to sit as close as possible as they heard a new case. He wanted to take Niko’s place as she grabbed Edwin's hand to drag him to watch another one of her shows. He wanted to tuck Edwin against him as they sat on the couch. He would wrap an arm around Crystal and wish it was Edwin, who was merely across the room. --- After Hell, Charles is terrified of letting Edwin out of his reach for fear that he might get taken away again. He is, of course, being very subtle in his attempts to keep Edwin close. or a series of moments when charles can't stop touching edwin to remind himself that he's real and safe, until it all finally catches up to him and he snaps My Note: Charles is freaking out in this and the tension is palatable. In particular the end of chapter 2 into the beginning of chapter 3 gives me such strong emotions. I have reread this one so many times

i’d be the choiceless hope in grief [that drove him underground] By: Laney_Rockin @laney-rockin Rating: T Tags: Hurt No Comfort, Hell, Unhappy Ending, Angst, Orpheus and Eurydice, Love Confessions, Time Loop Summary: Charles had a bad feeling that when Edwin stopped running up those spiral stairs the first time something terrible would occur. An awful gnawing feeling deep within that he chalked up to a ghostly intuition. If he was alive he'd think it was a stomachache, almost on the edge of making him sick. He hated when he was right. ---- Or: Charles becomes much more like Orpheus than he'd like. Edwin doesn't blame him for it. He doesn't think he ever could. My Notes: We love Hell time loops! But also you want sad? Here you go. This line in particular sticks with me, I love it so much. (spoilers ahead!) - "I said the ending was tragic, not that the love Orpheus and Eurydice had for each other was. In fact, it was perhaps the greatest part of the story. Eurydice holds no ill will towards her husband even as she dies a second time. Knowing and comforted in the fact that she was utterly adored by him."

If I could hold you for a minute By: HistoriaGloria @historia-gloria Rating: G Tags: Case Fic, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Protective Edwin Payne Summary: "For as vicious as it can be for ghosts, iron is not as common as you would think. It is rare, in Edwin’s experience, that the supernatural forces they are dealing with actually know that iron hurts as much as it does. Rare, but not rare enough." Charles is hurt on a case, leaving Edwin and Crystal to pick up the pieces. My Notes: The fight scene in this fic really stands out, it is super well done. And Crystal gets to help the boys!

[birdbrainedboy]

I’m obsessed with this show and fear a hyperfixation anyways here are my thoughts on every character in the show

Edwin Paine: forever my favorite, even back before the show when I read the comics! I think it’s funny that basically every man in the show wants him? I’m intrigued by his character arc throughout the story regarding his sexuality as despite dying in 1916, he seems to have had time to slowly become more accepting of gay people (I’m guessing in part due to Charles, who is pansexual), to the point where there’s only mild internalized homophobia if at all, which just exhibits itself in him denying any possible feelings for Monty. I love how face-value and logical he is while still being a sweetheart

Charles Rowland: he has a pan flag pin on his jacket which confuses me bc can ghosts only wear clothes they would’ve worn when they were alive, or how do ghost clothes work? Because he died in 1989 and I’m near positive he didn’t wear that pin back there. Anyways I do love him but I wonder about some design choices, like the one earring (not sure why it just kinda annoys me). That was more a rant abt his design than his character, which I have nothing notable to say abt since I LOVE HIM he’s so real

Crystal Palace: sometimes she was a bit annoying the way she was trying way too hard to pry into everyone’s lives, but honestly that was just momentary annoyance since nothing could make me hate her. I love how her past was slowly revealed (as someone who already knew it from the comics) and how she came to terms with the person she used to be vs the person she is now. She’s so cool!

David the demon: honestly kind of caught me off guard at first bc the person I’m dating is named David but I actually enjoyed his character. LOVED when Crystal dealt with him in the end. He was very interesting

Niko Sasaki: I love Niko, but I have some problems with her character. First of all, I feel like ditsy anime-loving cutesy Asian girl with dyed hair is a weirdly common trope? But whatever my main issue is that it feels like characters who normalize the fetishization of gay men are so common. Like if Niko had been a guy obsessed with lesbian manga evb would be weirded out, so why is it different? If we ignore all of this tho I absolutely adore her and I’m actually praying she’s in the next season bc she was one of my favorites (esp her relationship w Edwin)

Jenny: She is so hot and cool and funny I’m in love with her

Esther: oh my god words cannot come close to describing how much I love her character. She felt powerless and weak in the past and now she’s become obsessed with making sure nobody has that power over her ever again. She was so fun and I loved her attitude! I’m sure she won’t show up next season, as she was the main antagonist of s1, and while I love her, I kind of hope she doesn’t since I think her arc was finished.

Monty: His personality was like 2020 “soft boy” who acts nice and dumb but is lowkey a manipulator. So obviously this kind of made me like ☠️ bc why is he acting like that… but I still love him to bits because he’s just a crow guys he didn’t ask to be human,, Anyways yeah his personality annoys me but also I love him so much so? It’s confusing. ITS COMPLICATED. I will cry if he’s not in s2

Kingham and Litty: I honestly thought they were annoying but I can’t lie they were so fucking funny. Every time they were on screen I laughed.

Cat King: oh my god. He is so camp. I love him. There’s honestly not much to say he is simply iconic. Love how he’s afraid to be alone so chases after other people, he’s so real AGHH I love him

Night Nurse: Ruth Connell the woman you are… 😍 she reminds me of Muriel from Good Omens, in a way, and I love her! I really hope we get to see more of her in relation to the guy in the fish, and see her get to better understand human emotions and why they choose to cling onto the human world rather than pass on!

[bluecr0w]

Okay here I go again rambling about DBD, but when we get season 2 (and I'm going to assume we're going to win this because I love this show too much to not have hope) I really need to know more about Edwin when he was alive, because, with Charles we know a little bit, I mean, we know that Charles is sweet and he's afraid of being a bad guy because his father did horrible things to him, we know that he had friends, that they were not very good people and that they did not hesitate to hit him, humiliate him and laugh at his suffering just because he defended someone else.

But with Edwin, we only have one comment that his father wouldn't like Charles and Crystal, which considering the times in which they lived is not very surprising, aand I was reading about how family units worked in 1900, which obviously said that racism, sexism and homophobia were quite common, but I think the most interesting thing I read is that they usually sought to have a male child in the family to continue the legacy, so I wonder if Edwin was being educated for that role or if he had brothers.

I also read that parents disciplined children, especially when they had "sexual deviations" as it was said at the time, so I wonder if Edwin experienced something similar to Charles and simply normalized it, or if he went to a boys' school to modify his "inappropriate behavior" too. We know that the school the boys went to was not exactly good, so who knows what other things they experienced with their tutors. Because, I can understand that you don't like your parents or that you don't have a strong connection with them , but Edwin's relationship with his parents or his family in general, was the only one that wasn't mentioned at all in the show.

And I think it's a little curious, because Niko, Charles and Crystal, all of them have a conflict to resolve with their parents and complicated and contradictory feelings which they cling to, in some way, but with Edwin it seems that he only have his brief time at school, hell and then Charles. And don't get me wrong, I love that he has someone in Charles who loves him unconditionally and would do anything for him, and I adore that he's found a family in the girls, but at the same time, I think the idea that no one ever cried for him in life makes me incredibly sad, especially considering what a sweet soul he is.

Anyway, here's my rant, Netflix please give us season 2 or I'll send Esther to get you.

[cordelia-noir]

I have a DBDA prompt for you, if you're interested! I realized earlier today that in episode 5, when Crystal says something like "All three of us lost our lives to boys who went too far, that's a really shitty thing to have in common," she isn't referring to the boys, but to Maren and Shelby! She doesn't actually know the specifics of how the boys died! So my prompt is: what if Charles or Edwin had replied with something like "That makes the five of us, actually," leading into briefly sharing exactly how they died. ✨Trauma Bonding✨

This is definitely more of a gen prompt, but I thought I'd share anyway, in case it peaked your interest 😆 no worries either way, and happy writing!! Hope you feel better soon :D

I’m not sure if I agree with that reading of the scene. In context, I do think that Crystal is referring to her and boys, but the angst! I love this idea for a fic, so here we go!

Read on AO3

“All three of us lost our lives to boys who went too far, that's a really shitty thing to have in common,” Crystal said, glancing back at the police station where Maren had just confessed to her crimes. 

Edwin looked away and swallowed, though by all reasonable metrics he shouldn't need to. 

“I suppose that the same could be said of Maren and Shelby as well,” he said, still looking away, across the street and into the trees. “Though I agree that it is not a club in which I would like to see new members.”

Crystal shook her head.

“I’m sorry, what?” she asked, looking between the two boys. “I was talking about Maren and Shelby, who are you talking about?”

Charles gave a short little laugh, though it didn’t sound even as joyful as his usual, self-deprecating laughs. 

“Well, I guess that’s all five of us, huh?” Charles said, clapping Edwin on the back. Edwin didn’t react at all, just kept staring into the distance. 

Crystal opened her mouth, then closed it again, struggling to find the right words. When words did finally come out, she was pretty sure that they were still the wrong ones. 

“Wait, how the fuck did you two die?”

Charles looked surprised. 

“Well I died of internal bleeding and hypothermia and Edwin got summoned to hell on a technicality, you know that.”

“Yeah, but neither of those things involve assholes who went too far,” Crystal said, willing it to be true.

Edwin huffed a laugh and turned to start walking toward The Tongue and Tail. Charles and Crystal followed mutely.

“Five boys from my school summoned a demon to “scare me”,” Edwin said, raising his gloved hands to do some frankly unnecessary air quotes, “While they tied me to a table and called me things I’d rather not repeat.”

“Jesus,” Crystal breathed.

“Though I suppose it’s different,” Ediwn continued, undeterred, “since they were also taken to hell, they ruined their own lives as well.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask,” Crystal said when it was clear that Edwin was done speaking for the moment. “But what happened to you, Charles?”

“Some other boys beat me up and chased me into a lake,” Charles said with a shrug.

“In February,” Edwin added, “After saving another boy from a similar fate.”

“Shit,” Crystal said softly. “No wonder you had such little patience for my drama with David.”

That got Edwin to stop walking and do a dramatic turn back to face her. 

“I have dealt with many demons, Crystal,” Edwin said earnestly, “And while David is not particularly powerful, he is remarkably tenacious, even for his kind. I… regret being so dismissive of his actions toward you. I fear that my experiences have made me somewhat numb to the difficulties and I failed to take into consideration what it must be like to be going through it all for the first time.”

Charles moved closer to Edwin so that their shoulders bumped against one another. Crystal wondered vaguely if this was the compromise they’d come to over the years considering Edwin’s general aversion to hugs.

“Well,” she said, stepping up to Edwin’s other side and using her shoulder to bump his arm the same way Charles had. “It’s still a really shitty thing for us all to have in common.”

“Quite,” Edwin agreed. “Well I think that’s quite enough emotion for one day. I am unaccustomed to it. Shall we continue with our work then?”

[mandoriana]

The cat king and the naive duckling

sorry for my english

Edwin goes to the lake in the park where the cat king is waiting for him with two little gifts, one of them being a Forget-Me-Not flower and the other gift being a book: "Occult III – Little Deities".

"I don't understand, what's the point in giving me all those books if the only one I needed was in your possession?"

Thomas shrugged, but didn't let Edwin take the book yet.

"I like being useful, but I like it even more when it benefits me." Edwin arches his eyebrow in confusion and waits for a response from the king. The cat king rolls his eyes almost affectionately, sometimes being romantic required patience, especially if your partner was so slow in understanding. "In exchange for this particular book, you and I will spend time together, understand?" 

The ghost accepts the proposal to walk with the cat king and takes advantage of the situation to get some answers.

"Well I have to ask, tell me, do you have any information on where a 'new goddess' could be?" 

Thomas smiles with sharp teeth showing, he doesn't want to talk about it right now, but he wouldn't miss the chance to get a talk with Edwin.

"There are four distinct planes: the terrestrial plane; hell, which you already know; "paradise", which is where the "good guys" go; and Neitherland, a plane parallel to the terrestrial where incorporeal creatures inhabit. Yes, generally, where the gods take refuge when they are forgotten or have no worshipers.

"I see" Edwin nods, busy writing down everything Thomas says in his notepad, the cat king doesn't like that Edwin only has his eyes on the notebook, but he likes knowing that everything he's saying is being heard. "By any chance, have you ever been to this other plane of gods?"

The cat king laughed, his laugh high-pitched like a cat's meow.

"Oh God, no. Unlike what you can imagine, neither me nor my other 'brothers' are little gods or something, in fact, if we were, we would have already dominated humanity, after all, we are worshiped by men on the internet a lot more than any other god you may know."

"But if you and your brothers aren't minor deities or something, what exactly are you? I mean, how do you become a king or queen, what makes you so different from other cats?"

Thomas smiled, finally Edwin had stopped looking at the notebook and was now looking in his direction.

"Merit"

"What?"

"Every cat king or queen was once just a normal cat, but we are given powers and a noble title when we do something that is important. I, for example, spent two of my nine lives as a normal cat before becoming who I am now."

Edwin tilts his head in confusion, Thomas feels happy to have all the attention directed to him and continues talking.

"At the beginning of the last century I met two beautiful little girls, lovely children who took me into their home, they were rather sad at the time and I..." The king clears his throat, Edwin watches the man's features turn melancholy, "Anyway, I just didn't know why I was so sad. But I stayed with the girls, I stayed until they reached the human majority, and then I left..."

The ghost to walk and watch the king in front of him, the park was empty and there were only the two of them, but Thomas seemed to be watching something that only he could see.

"I don't understand, what important act gave you your title as king?"

"Honestly? I don't know" Edwin stares and the cat smiles, it looks like the same mischievous smile as always, but Edwin can see it's fake, the king looks dark all of a sudden, almost grumpy, Edwin can tell by the black tail that wags impatiently behind her skirt.

"If you don't know, how can you say that these are important acts that transformed you?"

Thomas from the shoulders.

"I don't know why the girls were important, but it was after them that they gained a human form, then the lost cats gathered around me, and then I gained my title, I left the big city when the war started, I moved to a village in American and never leaves there." They continued walking, Edwin lost interest in the cat story he was thinking to him so blatantly "Anyway, as I was saying, your little friend must be in Nemland, if you haven't seen her collected death and the finds department and lost people have not yet appeared to hunt the lost soul, so there is a good chance that your friend has been reborn with the help of another deity."

"Is that even possible?"

Thomas rolls his eyes, a conversation was starting to get annoying.

"Sedna was just a human girl when the gods took pity on her and revived her as a minor deity."

The realization hit Edwin. It is clear! Tragic Mick had gifted Niko with one of his prized possessions, a gift probably from his mother, Sedna. Could it be possible that, like the ancient gods, Sedna took pity on Niko?

"Oh"

Thomas stares at the ghost teen with confusion, his confusion increasing when Edwin thanks him with a smile from ear to ear.

"Well, you're welcome? I mean, I'm glad I could help."

"I need to go" The cat king intends to protest, but Edwin is faster, the ghost kisses the king's forehead and takes advantage of his surprise to take the book from Thomas' hands. "See you at the next meeting"

The cat king can't find words to say as he watches Edwin walk away.

Office

While Edwin and the cat king were talking, Charles got tired of waiting for Edwin in Crystal's room and when his friend fell asleep, Charles passes by the mirror and prepares to talk to Edwin, but doesn't find him in the office, all of which proves that his friend What was there is the envelope on the table, probably the report for Charlie the Night Nurse.

Not knowing where to go or where to begin his search for Edwin, Charles sits at the table and thinks about the changes since returning home and how Niko has affected Edwin, he reflects on how it seems things were changing despite Edwin promising that nothing would change after all the talk on the stairs of hell.

Well, Edwin didn't change much, but there were details that shouldn't have bothered Charles but did, details like Edwin was no longer receptive to casual touches between the two of them, apart from the last time they hugged, and he no longer touched Charles without reason too, it was terrible, but Charles respected his friend's space, after all maybe it was just the trauma of being dismembered manifesting itself again.

As Charles laments the physical distance between him and his friend, Edwin enters the office with a cheerful smile, a small bouquet of flowers and a faded orange book under his arm.

"Hey Edwin, where have you been, mate?"

His question scares Edwin and seems to take the other ghost out of his thoughts, with the surprise of seeing Charles Edwin hides the flowers behind him, which doesn't help to laugh at Charles' worries, after all, what did Edwin have to hide from him?

"What are these flowers..." Edwin ignores the question and passes by his friend without letting him take the bouquet.

Without looking at the other teenager, Edwin said, "I have great news" and concentrated on searching the office for a container where he could put his flowers. "I spoke with Thomas, and I found out some information about astral planes." Edwin gets a vase, or rather, gets a bottle with sand (Payment for a case with pirates in 2001). Charles wants to ask about where Edwin was and where the flowers came from, but his friend is too happy, and Charles can't ruin his excitement with questions that don't matter.

Reddam House Berkshire

The next day, Edwin and Charles meet Crystal during a class break.

"So, what, you guys think I can open a portal to, what, 'Olympus'?"

Edwin rolls his eyes at Crystal but nods.

"Of course, call Nemlândia Olympus, mix two things that have nothing to do with each other"

"Well, technicians both harbor gods, so..."

Edwin reaches out to stop Charles with a gentle touch on the shoulder, but steps back before actually pulling over.

"Let's just focus on what matters." Edwin clears his throat and doesn't notice how put off Charles seems by the lack of physical contact. "We need to make a special mixture with ectoplasm and other ingredients that will help increase your power, all we need is the next full moon, you and your psychic powers, maybe a little spiritual help from your ancestors."

Crystal doesn't seem confident about Edwin's plan.

"I don't know, I mean, I'm making progress with meditation and a little study of the books you lent me, Edwin, but I don't know if I would have enough power to open a portal to Neverland or whatever it's called."

"I know" Edwin says "You will only be a conductor of the spell, your power will be useful, but it will not depend solely on you..."

The couple turned to Edwin with confused looks, they were both feeling more vibrations before the Edwardian ghost even spoke.

"I will help increase your power."

The realization of what Edwin intended to do came to Charles.

"No"

"Charles..."

"Edwin, no"

Crystal looks between the two and finally understands why Charles was so quick to deny Edwin's plan.

"Holy shit, did you keep that thing?!"

"Obviously, we couldn't let that terrible machine fall into the wrong hands!"

"Edwin, that machine tortured you!"

Charles and Crystal look horrified at the very idea of ​​Edwin keeping the witch's torture table with him.

"Since I've never seen that in the office, I mean, I would remember seeing that thing!"

Edwin sighs, he thought it would be easier to convince Crystal to help, but it seems that neither she nor Charles were willing to listen.

"That's enough" The other two fall silent "Unless you can get more power, without my help, then Niko will remain stuck on the other side. Esther's machine hurt, yes, but it also increased the witch's power, my soul is strong, it will serve as fuel for you, Crystal, I give my permission for you to use my pain as an impetus in this spell."

Charles tries to think of something, anything that could stop his friend from hurting himself again, then he remembers the possible witch convent at the boarding school.

"Wait" Crystal and Edwin turn to Charles "Crystal what about the girls, they're from a convent or something, right? Couldn't they help if we paid or offered some help?"

Edwin turns expectantly to the only girl in the group.

Crystal shakes her head without needing to think about it.

"It was bad, Charles, but those girls aren't good, I mean, I wasn't either, but one of them already proved capable of controlling those specters..."

Charles doesn't let Crystal talk about this to Edwin, who might get upset at the mention of the wraiths of misery.

"Okay, I understand, Crystal, but let's try to think of something else, okay? Let's not resort to torture, Edwin" The Edwardian ghost nods, he didn't agree, but he was distracted by the way Charles and Crystal seemed to be hiding things from him now, it hurt him, but he didn't want to be a jealous friend so he just shut up and turned to go to the mirror.

"We have two weeks before the full moon, if I don't find something to replace my contribution to the spell, then we will continue with my plan." he said over his shoulder before disappearing through the mirror.

Charles watched his friend leave and couldn't help but feel great sadness.

"Why was he so upset, I just don't want him to get hurt!"

"Maybe it's because you're clearly keeping secrets from him?" Crystal suggests, she was tired of these two idiots being so oblivious.

"This is so hypocritical, he disappeared yesterday and refuses to tell me where he's been the whole time!?" Crystal arched her eyebrow and walked to stand face to face with her friend.

"Why do you seem so weird about Edwin going out alone yesterday? Do you think he did something stupid like trap another cat in a binding spell or..." Charles' face sours at the mention of a cat, and Crystal finally understands." Ah, so that's about it, the cat king is in town, right? I remember you saying something about him last night"

The ghost of the 80s bites his lip and frowns before muttering, "Edwin came home with flowers yesterday."

The medium opens her mouth to mock Edwin's passion for the cat king, but shuts up when she notices that Charles appears to have sucked on a lemon.

"I don't understand you man, do you have a problem with Edwin dating other guys?"

This seems to scare Charles.

"No!"

"So, what's the problem?"

The boy opens and closes his mouth without knowing how to respond, he couldn't think clearly at the moment.

The boarding school bell rings to announce the end of break and Crystal needs to leave, she turns to say goodbye to her friend, but Charles has already disappeared in the mirror.

Office

Edwin feels upset and remains silent during his search for the ingredients for the ritual. He doesn't find out much, but just watches the same paragraph for hours, trying not to pay attention to what Charles was doing.

Charles doesn't try to speak, he just stares at the flowers that Edwin placed in a vase of water and thinks about why they are there. When he realizes that Edwin wouldn't be the first to speak, Charles sits next to him on the couch and tries to get into the position they always do, but Edwin moves back to sit on the floor and continues pretending to read. Charles is upset that Edwin doesn't want to sit with him anymore and decide to talk about something, but he changes his mind and asks about the flowers.

"Ah, I got it as a gift"

Charles rolls his eyes.

"Yes, I imagine that was the case, but whose?"

"The cat king, yesterday, after I finished the Night Nurse's report, one of Thomas' subjects brought me a letter and..."

"Who the hell is Thomas?"

Edwin sighs and closes the book, finally paying attention to Charles.

"The cat king, Charles, he's Thomas, he called me for a walk in the park and gave me flowers and a book with the ritual we're going to perform, as well as being helpful with other information."

Edwin smiles as he tells how Thomas was kind to listen to his questions and how the king told him a little about his past and showed his sensitive side to Edwin.

Charles is uncomfortable with the conversation, but smiles at his friend: “Cool, mate, at least you already gave him what he wanted, right? So we won’t need to see the cat king again anytime soon.”

Edwin rolls his eyes fondly at his friend.

"Well, actually, I still have a date with him tomorrow afternoon."

"Oi!?"

"Yes, I mean, yesterday's meeting was just a walk between friends, Thomas seemed eager for our real meeting, I believe it will be a pleasant day" Edwin tries to pretend he doesn't care, but an involuntary smile appears on his face. Charles still didn't say anything, he felt uncomfortable with the idea of ​​Edwin going out with the Cat King and didn't understand why, I mean, Charles wasn't homophobic for wanting his best friend not to go out with a guy, right?

"Charles, is everything okay?"

Charles nods and forces a smile on his face.

"Sure mate, I'm happy for you"

Therapy break with lesbian aunt

After the conversation about the cat king, Edwin asks Charles to return the notebook to Jenny since they no longer needed it. Charles takes this moment to clear up his doubts while waiting for the older woman in her apartment.

Charles quickly gets bored and starts researching what it was like to be homophobic and how to be a better person, but Jenny arrives and quickly takes away Charles' notebook, recalling the virus incident to him and letting him know that it was a good thing there was no gay porn in the search tabs on your computer.

"No, I'm sorry, I swear I accidentally entered that website!"

Jenny rolls her eyes and waits for Charles to leave, but the teenage ghost continues to sit on her couch and look in her direction with wide eyes.

"God" she sighs, mentally asking herself when did her life turn into being an aunt to dead teenagers? "Okay, spill it"

“What do you do when your best friend is in a relationship with someone you definitely don’t approve of?” Jenny arches her eyebrow.

“What is it, Edwin got a boyfriend, and you decided you were going to be homophobic now, is that it?”

Charles widens his eyes, horrified: “No, of course not! I just… I just don’t like the asshole Edwin picked, I mean, the asshole just isn’t good enough for my friend, you know?”

“And who would be good enough?”

"Anyone! Literally anyone but him!”

“Okay" She rubs her face already feeling exhausted with the situation "And how about that boy with black hair? The one who paid you several visits? He seemed pretty cool…”

"No! Monty was a traitor! He was the witch’s crow, he almost killed Edwin!”

“I thought he redeemed himself by helping you…”

“Of course, he redeemed himself with me, but we wouldn’t even be in that situation if he hadn’t been blabbing about us to the witch!”

Jenny sighs and sits down in front of the dead teenager.

"Okay, and what, exactly, does it take for someone to be 'good enough' for Edwin?"

Charles thinks, entire minutes pass in complete silence before Charles gives up.

"I don't know!"

The woman throws her hands up in a plea for patience and tries again.

"Love, Charles! The only thing someone needs to be good enough for someone else is love! Have you ever stopped to think that, just maybe, Edwin really likes the guy he chose to date?"

"They're not dating!"

Jenny's patience runs out, and she rubs her face harder.

"Jesus, boy, that's not the point! I don't know why I decided to try to help, Niko was the matchmaker and not me!"

Seeing the butcher looking so stressed and still being unable to understand where she was going with that conversation, Charles says goodbye and leaves the apartment.

Office

Edwin is taking a break from his research while Charles is at Jenny's apartment, the teenage ghost is cutting his Forget-Me-Not so he can fit them into the small space in the bottle he was using as a temporary vase, the flowers were beautiful, and he was happy for having a chance to get Niko back and for Thomas being kind in helping, but feeling awkward about it, for some reason Charles seemed distant and irritated, Edwin was trying to give his friend space so he wouldn't be uncomfortable with Edwin, but Charles still didn't look happy.

With a sigh Edwin took a piece of string and tied all the flowers together without falling out of the vase, as he tied the knot he felt an irresistible desire to lean over and smell the petals, which didn't make sense since it had been decades since Even though Edwin was able to smell something, he smelled the flowers anyway. He didn't feel anything, as expected, but something certainly happened after his nose touched the flower.

To be continue…

Parte 1, Parte 2 ...

[sunfloweraro]

I am asking about your book!

I love your fic writing, so I’m very excited about the prospect of a book!

What’s the plot? Who are the main characters? Any fun lore details you’re bursting to share?

(Also November in Australia is evil, I’m dying, how are you holding up?)

YES okay so:

The plot:

Edwin, heir to the throne and very-soon-to-be king, is sent on a quest by his father to prove himself a worthy future king: he must journey far to the west of the kingdom and defeat a terrible evil threatening the kingdom. With the help of Meghan, a royal knight in training, Atla, a physician, and Soarn, an archer, he sets out on this quest, but the longer they travel together, the harder it becomes to keep secrets hidden. And when they finally reach the end of their journey, they discover this great evil isn’t all that it seems—and neither is the king.

The characters (AKA more detail of the above):

Edwin:

- my prince character! He’s 19, almost 20

- Speaks relatively ‘proper’ initially, until the others infect him with their speech patterns

- autistic

- Disabled, but no one except his immediate family know of it. There was an accident when he was 7 which wound up with his leg being crushed by a statue, and even though he’s healed now, it’s permanently weakened and causes him pain, either from flare ups or when he uses it too much (or both!) He blames himself for the accident.

- Best (and only) friend is Meghan. They’ve known each other since they were 4-5 and are extremely close. No romance between them, although Edwin had a little crush on her when they were very, very young, before he found out she doesn’t like men. They laugh about it now.

- Related to the above note: he also gets very jealous when Meghan is with her other friends. His father never allowed him to make other friends—Meghan pushed her way into his life anyway.

- Terrible at taking care of himself. Forgets to eat/sleep a lot

- Does not have a good relationship with either of his parents, but he is desperate to make his father proud, hence why he so readily accepted this quest.

- Used to have an older brother. When a prince from a neighbouring kingdom visited, he and Edwin hit it off quickly. Edwin snuck him into his rooms to keep playing, and when he fell asleep, the other prince stole his master keys, snuck into his brother’s room, and smothered him with a pillow. No one ever believed Edwin when he tried to share the truth. He very much blames himself for his brother’s death.

- Cannot fight for the life of him. Uses a dagger for self-preservation, but again, not good at wielding it

Meghan:

- My royal-knight-in-training character! 19 years old.

- Best friends with both Edwin and Atla

- Comes from a family of scholars. Her parents have aided the king many times and her mother is one of his trusted advisors. She was expected to follow in her parents footsteps, but she prefers to protect from the front lines, and pushed to get into knight training. Her parents do not approve of this

- A handful of months before the book starts, she ran away from home due to her parents attempting to tear her away from her training. They had a fight, and she never went home. She lives on the streets and can’t bring herself to tell Edwin when he’s already got so much on his plate

- Silly, smart and strong, she’s determined to enter into the royal guard and keep Edwin safe when he ascends. She worries about him a lot. She’s also very soft!

- Butch lesbian

- Determined to protect others to the point of self-sacrifice, and is not kind to herself when she fails (which comes from her parents never accepting this choice of hers)

- She tends to have trouble listening to others—once she sets her mind on something, that’s how they’re doing it. This causes issues between herself and Edwin later on, as well as with Atla.

- Miiiight get a teeny crush on Soarn, until she realises the other girl is aroace. (Edwin has the same issue, and they both laugh about it together)

- Fights with a sword primarily, but can use anything as a weapon in a pinch

Atla:

- My physician character! Their age is… ahem. Technically 18, but their body has been in the world for over 300 years. I will elaborate below.

- They’ve been training under the head physician since they were 13, and excelled to the point where they are now one of her assistants. Very useful on this quest.

- Nonbinary!

- They have godly heritage on their mother’s side, giving them golden eyes, hair, and two golden wings upon their back at birth. They were a cherished secret in their village, bringing good luck and always eager to help their community. They took to healing quickly, using magic granted to them from their godly wings to mend broken bones and nasty gashes. However, a terrible man found out about them and moved to the village, befriending them swiftly. They played together in the forest often, until one day, the man led them into the forest and tore their wings from their back. He then buried them alive to get rid of the evidence and used the magic from the wings to trick the kingdom into accepting him as their leader. He also uses the feathers from the wings to stay alive for far longer than any human should

- 300 years later, the gods bring Atla back to life, feeling their unfortunate ending was unjust, and Atla is deadset on revenge, but they have no way to get close to the man who killed them… until this quest is shared with them, five years after they were brought back to life

- Their wings were not brought back with them, and they now have chronic back pain where their wings used to be

- They were taken in by two loving mothers into a massive family, and they love their mamas, but… they miss their first family, and their village. But that’s all long gone now

- Best friends with Meghan, and would kill for her if need be (“I’m a healer, but—“)

- Can speak to animals. No one else knows this yet

- The cook of the group! They cook a lot of old family recipes to help themself feel close to the family they will never see again

- Fights with a hammer! A lot of rage piled up within them from their unjust death and then consequential revival.

- Has… ulterior motives for being on this quest.

Soarn:

- My archer character! She’s 17, almost 18

- Transfem! and aroace!

- She is a Desikah (a race of magical folks in my book who look similar to humans for the most part, but also… a little off. They each drift toward a certain type of magic at birth (fire, water, earth, shadow or light) and very few may wield two kinds of magic. Soarn herself is an earth- and light-type Desikah. The Desikah are very much hated due to a terrible reputation built up by the king (and maintained using magic) and hunted if they are ever caught. But they’re actually a very peaceful group, who care deeply for the world around them and everyone and everything in it.)

- No one but her father (human) knows she is a Desikah (from her mother’s side) and she will not tell anyone for fear of being slaughtered

- Has an animal friend! Her name is Maipa, and she is a Felivus (think, a cat with the back legs and wings of a raven), a magical race of creatures known for their healing abilities and intelligence. (She and Atla talk a lot). Soarn saved Maipa when she was just a kit, mending her broken wing, and Maipa imprinted on her and will stay with her through thick and thin, until death

- Her mother passed away when she was young, and her father is very cold towards her. He taught her how to hunt, however, and she wields her bow expertly, her connection to the earth aiding her in shooting true and striking her prey every time.

- She joins the quest later on, saving Edwin from a blow from a bandit that would have ended his life. She and Edwin do not hit it off well initially (entirely on Edwin’s part) but they both have terrible fathers, and they bond over that.

- She does not have a lot of self-worth initially, due to her father and the terrible community she grew up in. (the others will bash self-worth into her eventually).

Fun lore details:

OKAY SO. The king is clearly a terrible man, but it’s much worse than you think. Hundreds of different races of magical creatures used to roam the land, until the king used the magic in the feathers of Atla’s wings to cast a massive spell upon all humans in his land—one that imbued a deep hatred and distrust in any magic. The creatures were hunted nearly to extinction and banished from the lands. Why did the king do this? He felt magic of any kind was a threat to him and his rule, and he is very much a power-hungry, evil man.

Some magical creatures still live in the kingdom, one most humans don’t know of at all (Atla knew of Felivi as they were around when they were first alive). But most have been forced to other kingdoms, or into hiding—there is an underground community of thousands, hidden away beneath the desert, that the king has no idea of. And they would all love to get revenge on the man who forced them out of their homes :)

(And thank you for asking! November has been MISERABLE. We’ve been hopping between wet and freezing, and then scorching hot and humid T.T I, naturally, have come down with a cold because of the jump in temps. Hoping you’re handling it better!)

[edwinspaynes]

who do you think the dbda (the main four) would like the most and the least out of the tlh gang, and why?

who do you think the cat king's fav would be?

(hope u have a good day 🫶)

this is so amazingly fun because i'm currently writing a crossover fic about these characters! i've written some of their interactions, so i'll answer this ask with supplemental snippets from the case of the five half-angel curiousities!

edwin's favourites are alastair and cordelia.

cordelia, because she reminds him of niko in some ineffable way...

Edwin was fairly certain that the enchantment was either made by someone extremely stupid or extremely malicious, but he was not about to say that. “We know next to nothing as of now,” he said. “A good detective must assess all the facts before drawing conclusions. Luckily, I am good at that, as is the friend we are meeting.” “Friend?” Cordelia was smiling. “Yes. Niko. Do you recall when I told you that you were reminiscent of someone? I was speaking of her.” “She sounds lovely, then,” Cordelia laughed. Alastair rolled his eyes.

and alastair because they share a sense of humor and are gang on matthew sometimes for fun:

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Cordelia said. “Tell me the oddest thing about the world today, something that I’m unlikely to know.” Edwin considered this. “Have you ever been to a Primark?” “What is a Primark?” Cordelia’s voice was curious. “Ridiculously inexpensive clothing store. I am certainly fortunate that I can conjure up whatever outfit I wish with ghost magic; the living sell the lowest-quality things and get excited over them in a way that I simply cannot understand.” Alastair nodded along with him, a superior expression on his face.

(and later also because they have a lot of poignant conversations about, like, edwardian homosexuality...)

charles's favorite is thomas initially and he becomes close with matthew as well as thomas.

charles about thomas:

“Bet,” Charles said. “And also, I like the look of them. Especially the tall guy. Thomas. They’re all solid lads, don’t you think?” “I’m quite honestly concerned about their newly acquired feline friend,” Edwin mused, “but yes. They’re altogether inoffensive. The girl as well. I rather like her. She’s oddly charming.”

charles and matthew:

“I burned it to the ground, if you must know. My school, I mean,” Matthew said, deciding to leave out the fact that he had only made an impact within the South Wing. “Considering what you have just shared, perhaps you would like to know it. I ought to be ashamed, but I was thirteen. And am still rather proud of my ability to create explosives at such a tender age. Such takes far more analytical abilities than you might think.” “I know. I can make Molotov cocktails,” Charles said approvingly. Thomas spoke. “What’s that?”

niko gets along really well with cordelia

<3 :

“I think we should just call the ‘item that underwent factuari’ a ‘factuari,” Niko said. “Do not be silly,” Edwin chided, giving Niko an affected but pointed look. “Factuari is a verb, not a noun. You cannot change parts of speech simply out of personal conveience.” “I’m going to anyway,” Niko said, and because Edwin could not be mad at Niko, he smiled as when rolling his eyes. “I think I will, too,” Cordelia agreed, and Niko looked at her with an approving grin.

crystal immediately adores james, but unfortunately that's in an upcoming scene. they do have an entire chapter to themselves, though, with a little bit of cordelia.

as for the cat king, well, someone i love very much wants to learn how to pop into existence with a chandelier over his head... but i haven't written this chapter yet <3

and a bonus <3

“So,” Edwin said, “what year were you all born? I estimate that we’re likely around the same age, and am quite curious.” Cordelia clapped her hands. “I thought we may have lived during similar time frames as well.” She looked delighted. “I was born in 1886, and Alastair in 1884. I died in 1964; he and Thomas in 1965.” “Both of them?” Edwin asked curiously. “Do you know how some married couples expire within hours of each other?” Cordelia’s eyes were shining. “Well, both Alastair and I did, with James and Thomas. An odd coincidence, but…”

[maxlequeer]

Watched it all in one night. I'm laughing at myself. I saw the trailer, wasn't interested, saw the first episode and thought, I think this isn't for me. Returned to the series after seeing this tumblr post and... Holy shit.

1. I really really love weird town vibes - not the everyone in town wants to kill/sacrifice you vibe but the ancient gods and creatures living side by side ordinary people or under the seas type of vibe. Again if you've read the Whyborne & Griffin series, you'll know what I mean. "Horrible murder town."

2. Just overall interesting characters. They're dead. You'd think that makes the stakes low because they don't have to worry about dying during a case, but you'd be wrong. Edwin is afraid of going back to Hell (he escaped it on his own! - first time anyway). Charles doesn't want to move on and leave his best friend behind. Edwin is a "stuffy" Edwardian ghost. Charles is a one-earring, bat-wielding 80s ghost.

Crystal is a powerful medium fighting against a douchebag abusive demon ex-boyfriend. Niko is a legit fujoshi lmao and she's probably the kindest, most sincere character there. Jenny the landlord slash butcher shop owner is so so hot and cool. The Night Nurse is hilarious.

3. Themes

Dealing with your past. Histories of abuse. Learning to let new people in and finding a new purpose for yourself. "You never know when the good you do may come back around."

What Edwin went through in life and death is actually pretty sad and traumatic. Charles' life and the events leading to his death was really tragic. There was so much injustice with these boys' lives that it makes sense their detectives.

I know Edwin said something else to the Cat King and that was his confession about why he's doing what he's doing but I also believe him during that outburst at Crystal when he said that their deaths didn't matter. No one back then cared enough about them to investigate their deaths and bring their killers to justice, so now they're going to make sure that the souls who need their help will be able to move on and be at peace.

4. I did not expect Edwin, the stuffy Edwardian lad, to be the It Girl everyone wants for some reason or other. I'm down for it honestly. Everyone's trying to get him but he only has eyes for one person lmao.

5. I love the friendships and found family in this show.

6. This show is actually creepy. I mean it's horror yeah but with the major characters being teens, I thought they'd tone down the gore but not exactly. I mean sure there's comedy here but it's like in the Fear Street trilogy, you see blood and people getting slashed or stabbed or whatever. And the ghosts are not ectoplasmic. They're humans with blood pouring out of their wounds. Also, that Misery Wraith was so freaky to look at.

At this point in my life, I'm watching shows with older characters, but if this thing had come out when I was younger, I probably would have gotten obsessed. But I do love this show honestly. I wish it will have a season 2. I won't be surprised if it won't because I honestly do not expect anything from Netflix. But it's such a good damn show, and it would be a shame not to see these characters again.

DEAD BOY DETECTIVES S1 + TUMBLR REACTIONS

[casspurrjoybell-24]

The Alpha's Beta - Chapter 17 - Part 1

BOOK ONE: The Alpha's Trilogy

*Warning Adult Content*

The Pack Holding Cells - Part 1

Beta Darren Phoenix

I didn't follow Silas as he ran off in wolf form.   

There was that small piece of me that wanted to follow behind him and I don't know, comfort him?

But the larger part of me said fuck it and I drove back to pack lands.   

I rolled my eyes at Edwin, the guard on gate, when he stopped my car.

Honestly if humans saw that they had a guard out here they would be suspicious.

Soon you'd have people lining up in the mountains to see UFO's because they think we're part of some government shit.  

Really the only thing the government does for us is lessen our land tax since technically we were here first.

I pulled into Jeremy's driveway and slammed the car door behind me.

My eyes turned into slits with I opened the door and saw Jeremy sitting on the couch with Max.

Both men had books in there hands.

That I could only assume were photo albums from the pictures scattered on the coffee table.   

"What is he doing here?" I asked as I stepped my foot on the first stair.    

"Max called last night. I invited him over this morning. Darren are you okay? You're not looking to good," Jeremy had a sound of mock

concern in his voice.

I just shrugged it off, waving my hand towards him as I made my way up the stairs to my bedroom.  

In there I stripped my clothes, not liking the feel of two day old clothes on my skin.

I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and fixed my hair before I left the room again.   

Checking the cell-phone from my pocket, I saw it was almost three.

They should just be finishing up combat and going for the run, I could make it just before group three if I took my time.   

I made my way downstairs again and went into the kitchen.

Jeremy and Max still sat on the couch laughing at something in the book in front of them.

I paid them no mind as I went to the fridge to get milk for Kraft Dinner.   

"I can remember Roddy making Marsh and Sam jump into the lake not far from here in the dead of winter. What was it called? No man's land?" Max asked.

I tried to ignore them but knowing the lake they were talking about and knowing it was named after Marshall I couldn't help but poke my nose into it.   

"Back then it was No Man's Land. Couple years after the accident Rodrick changed it to Lake Marshall sense he liked spending his time there. Shame they're all gone now. Julie would love to meet Scott and Declan," Jeremy said.

They both fell silent after that.   

After I was done eating I stepped into the living room to see both men watching T.V.  

"Don't you have a mate to go to or something?" I asked Max who eyes didn't leave the T.V.

"Scott took Declan for a father/son day. So I'm a free man tell.." he ripped his eyes from the T.V. and looked at his watch before looking back.

"At least five. He said he was bringing home dinner so I don't have to cook 'em anything."   

I nodded before looking at Jeremy, he looked at peace with his old friend.

I'd almost expect him to be a blubbering mess on the floor reliving old memories.   

**********

I made my way out of the house and jogged towards the clearing.

I was close enough that I could hear people talking but I stopped when I saw Simon sitting by himself.   

Normally I wouldn't be overly worried, I mean the guys a loner anyways but he should be helping everyone with their training.

"What's up?" I asked him.

He was pulled into himself.

You could almost not see the black numbers on his purple shirt.

His light brown hair fell over his pale face.

His arms wrapped around his chest.   

"Nothing's up," he said as he looked up at me.

"I'm just tired. I woke up too early. this morning."

I could tell he way lying, Ellis already told me he and Tyler had handled the four am training group.

I sighed, cursing that gut feeling that made its way up my spine.

I sat beside him on the ground, leaning my back on the tree behind us.

"Come on, Simon. You can tell me. I got nobody here, to gossip to."  

"You have Silas."   

I rolled my eyes.

"He told me to fuck off and leave him alone. I don't really think he counts right now."

He looked down at his hands, like they would have all the answers to his questions.

"Its just. It's a lot of stress. Not just on Silas. I mean of course he's stressed out. He has to protect the whole pack. They're all counting on him but I'm stressed out too. People breaking into our houses. All the training, the idea of fighting scares the shit out of me. They're just so much to be thinking of and its stressful and scary and I don't want to lose him. I mean I know he's strong and he can handle himself but what if something goes wrong? What if he doesn't make it?

I sighed, I didn't want to tell him that he's brother wasn't going to die because I can't tell the future so I wouldn't know.

That also went for him living, I didn't know but the thought of him dying made my heart stop and my body go numb.

I pushed the feeling aside, not wanting to feel anything for him.   

"Look. He's strong. I don't see him going out without a fight. I also don't see him leaving you behind. So even if something happened out of our control. We have to remember he fought like hell and did everything he could."   

Simon only nodded his head, before getting up and running a hand through his hair.

"I think I'm done for the day. I'll see ya' later Darren," and with that, he walked off.

[soclonely]

Life Day Moments: A Letter to Santa (Echo and Fives)

Part 1/12

"Santa Claus is anyone who loves another and seeks to make them happy; who gives himself by thought or word or deed in every gift that he bestows." —Edwin Osgood Grover

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

“I don’t see why we have to write letters to Santa,” Echo complains, rolling his eyes. “We are adults, Fives! We both know he’s not rea-”

“SHH!” Fives claps a hand over Echo’s mouth. “Don’t say stuff like that or you will be on the naughty list like Captain Rex.” he sits back in his seat and chuckles. “Besides, it's tradition! We have to do it!”

Echo sighs, thumping his pencil on the table. “Okay, fine. You win.” He smiles, shaking his head. “But no peeking at my letter this year! You always make fun of me for the things on my list.”

“Yeah because you always ask for socks and boring stuff!” Fives makes a face, standing up. “I’m going to hit the little troopers room real quick!” He stretches, making his way over to the door. 

Moments after he hears the refresher door close behind Fives, Echo scrambles across the table. He picks up his brother's letter and hesitates. “I’m only doing it to decide on his  gift.” He says, looking down. 

Dear Santa,

Hope you are doing pretty great over on Hoth or wherever it is you live. Personally, If I were old like you I would settle somewhere with a more favorable climate like the lake country in Naboo. Some place with hot bikini babes and less ice and snow to accidentally break your hip on when sliding to avoid reindeer poo.

“Oh Fives.” Echo snorts. “Leave it to you to tell Santa to retire.” He continues reading.

...I know I am on the bad trooper list year and I am fine with that. You stunt double that works at the Coruscant mall told me the other day when I kept harassing him about getting a message to you before Life Day about what I want.I didn’t mean to trip and pull his pants down, it was an accident! I just decided to go directly to the source after that. So here I am writing you this letter.I get the whole naughty list don't get gifts, but I wanted to make a plea for you to make this one exception for me this year. 

All I want for Life Day is the opportunity to spend it with my brother without having to be out in the field. The last two years, we have had to go on hard campaigns and by the time we realize what day it is, Life Day is over so we don’t even get to pretend to enjoy it. I know Echo is a Scrooge and doesn’t like any sort of fun. But I just know if we had the chance to take a breath and really experience Life Day the way the rest of the galaxy gets to, he might change his mind and see it the way I do! If anyone deserves to experience the magic of the holiday season, it's him. 

Anyway big fella, that’s really all I wanted to say. It may seem a bit silly to write to someone only children believe in. But I do believe in the power of wishful thinking! So thanks anyway!

Yours Always,

Arc Trooper Fives

Echo smiles. He sets Five's letter down and scoots back over to his own side of the table just in time for the latter to reenter the room. “Took you long enough.” He clears his throat, trying to hide his emotions. “Thought you fell in or something.” He teases. 

“I would never!” Fives places a hand to his chest. “And leave you alone to enjoy life without me harassing you every chance possible?” 

“Oh no how would I ever survive?” Echo chuckles, looking down at his empty paper. “You know what? Maybe I will write a small letter to Santa. Tis the season.” He looks over at Fives and grins. “Want to drop these off at the post and go look at some of the holiday displays around Coruscant?”

“Only if we can stop for hot chocolate!” Fives laughs. “I could really go for some hot chocolate.”

“Of course.” Echo replies, putting his pencil to the paper. “I’ll even pay this time. "

"Darn right you will!"

[badgirlcovenrep]

The Goddess' Blessing (of a daughter)

Chapter Two

Here it is... hope you enjoy

After Tiffany is in warm pajamas and her hair is nicely brushed, they head to the living room to meet Edwin, who is sat at the couch watching some kind of civilian sport that features a stick. Scylla never took interest in televised sports - that was not really part of witch culture - but she thinks it's sweet, how enralled he is when they come out. She remembers Raelle telling her once that she used to watch games with her dad.

Scylla can almost see her sitting there beside him, in her civilian clothes, snacking on nachos and discussing what was happening on screen. It made her heart tug painfully. Once again she considered if coming here was a good idea at all. Seemed like everywhere she looked, she could just see Raelle, and even if she'd seen the other girl just a day before, here, inside her childhood home, it did nothing to how much Scylla missed her - and how she wished Raelle could be here, with them. Warm and peaceful and free.

"Hey, dinner's still in the oven." Edwin informs, once he sees the pair of witches have joined him, but still, he rises from the couch and crosses the living room towards the kitchen "I got some boxes of Rae's toys when she was a kid down from the attic earlier, and I thought you'd like to take a look, Tiffany."

The small witch was still unsure about her new surroundings, and Scylla gently directs her to join the man in the kitchen, where he had settled two sizeable cardboard boxes over the tiled floor, filled to the brim with random toys that went from surprisingly well kept barbie dolls to matchbox hotwheels and loose pieces of lego.

"Wow, Mr. Collar, you didn't have to." Scylla assures, as Tiffany puts her doubts aside for a minute to peek curiously into the box.

"Of course I did, it's not like these were going to use all the way up in the attic."

"Well, you're very kind. What do we say, Tiffany?" Scylla coaxes the younger girl, as she's started sorting curiously through the barbies. The necro is happy to see she seemed to be feeling safer.

"Thank you, Mr. Collar." Tiffany smiles up at him.

"You, little one, can call me Edwin if you like, and same goes for you, Scylla." He declares, and Scylla can't help the affection that settles inside her chest.

Jonas was right. She really *was* going soft. But the witch is not so sure she minds it that much anymore.

"Alright... Edwin." She nods.

"Good." The man smiles, leaning down to take the box Tiffany hadn't yet looked through, "let's take these to the living room so you can play near the fireplace. It's getting cold."

****

Edwin sits back down on the couch a while later, and Scylla helps Tiffany sort through Raelle's surprisingly big collection of beanie babies. The young witch is fascinated with them, and she's lining them up in a circle with plastic cuttlery for each, getting them ready for a tea party as Scylla watches sleepily from the couch, when suddenly the phone rings.

Edwin gets up to answer. They can hear from the living room when he picks up, but aside from that, the conversation is nothing but muffled sounds. Scylla could listen in if she wanted, farspeech is not that hard, and she can surely manage to hone in on a conversation that is happening just at the end of the hall.

But Edwin is kind to them, and she's trying to be a better person, even if she can't push away the curiosity - the thought - that maybe it's Raelle. And how much she wishes to hear her voice.

She knows it isn't right though, so Scylla decides not to peek. They deserve their privacy- not without some internal protesting, she turns her attention back to where Tiffany still played with her new (to her) toys.

"Oh, no! You spilled your tea, mister giraffe!" She exclaims, knocking the yellow giraffe plushie against it's pink teacup until it topples over the carpet, "I can't give you more tea right now, sir, the other babies haven't gotten any, you'll have to sit down and wait. Yes, I'll make you more tea in just a minute." Tiffany grabs the equally pink teapot and turns to the stuffed hippopotamus, tskng annoyedly with a roll of her eyes "some clients are so impatient, mrs. hippo."

Scylla smiles fondly, settling down into the soft cushions of the couch and resigning herself to watching the game absentmindedly. Just then, Edwin peeks his head from the hallway.

"It's Raelle." He says, and Scylla's heart jumps at hearing her name, "she wants to talk to you."

The necro would've been embarrassed at how fast she gets up, but her mind is one tracked at this point, and she can barely hold herself back from running down the hall to where the phone sat by the back door.

Edwin had settled it speaker up on top of the phone box as to not hang up, and when Scylla finally comes face to face with the device, she can't help but stop - just for a minute - in hesitation. What they had lived a year ago was so fiery and fast paced. Scylla felt as if it enveloped her whole before she could even see the surface. Like canon-balling into the deep ocean when you can't swim.

Now, whatever they had- it felt tentative and unsure. Like walking across tight rope blind-folded. It was new, and she didn't deal very well with change.

Even then, as the witch picked up the phone with a shaking hand and settled it into her ear, beside her shaking nerves - it became quite obvious to her. Anyway Raelle wanted to be in her life, Scylla would never be able to deny it.

"Hey." She says, finally, and from the other side, a soft sigh comes.

"Hi." Raelle sounds tired, and Scylla wants to ask why, but the fixer continues before she has the chance, "I'm glad you both made it safe. Dad seems excited that you're there."

"Yeah. Your dad's been very nice." Scylla chuckles, resting the palm of her hand against the wall to suppress the heady, dizzying feeling in her lungs. Like she's just now taken a breath for the first time since hearing her voice in the clearing.

"He even brought down some toys from the attic. I hope you don't mind" The necro chooses to say, looking for anything that could distract her from the feeling and help keep herself upright "you didn't tell me you had like, a hundred beanie babies."

"Oh, Goddess." Raelle moans in mock embarrassment, but Scylla can hear the smile in her voice, and she can't help but smile too, "I- hm- I forgot they were in there. I asked him to bring them down for her once you guys got there."

"They're cute." Scylla replies simply, "Tiffany loves them. Thank you."

"Well- she can have them. They don't really have use in the attic." Raelle says, and they stop for a second of amused silence before the blonde speaks again, "what's her favorite?"

"I don't know. Honestly all I know is that the giraffe is a really bad customer." Scylla replies, chuckling lightly at the previous interaction she'd watched.

"Oh, yeah, he has always been an asshole." Raelle laughs, and Scylla joins her, for a second they sit there in little fits of giggles. It's refreshing and so very light. The necro thinks maybe she shouldn't have been worried after all.

Whatever they had before, it was absolutely incredible - it took Scylla's breath away to even think about it - but this? This was all of that wrapped in warm, soft silk. This was different, and honest, and it filled her with butterflies that threatened to flutter out of her throat with each tug along the rope that tied them together so very tight. She wished, more than anything, that Raelle was there, in the dark hallway of her childhood home with her.

"Thank you." Scylla hears herself say before she can truly think about it, as she leans down to rest her forehead lightly against the cold wall to settle her aching heart, "for believing me. For helping me."

Raelle clears her throat on the other line and sighs before she speaks again. For a second Scylla thinks she might have burst the glass bubble that extended around them, but then-

"I never got the chance with my mom but I- I get to have that with you. I guess I can't help but want to try." Raelle decides. She sounds so soft, Scylla's heart strings tug once again, and she's left at a loss for words. Somewhere in the kitchen, the oven timer rings, but Scylla is barely aware of it.

"I guess I also did save your life. Twice now." She speaks out, after a few minutes of silence. On the other line, Raelle chuckles, and Scylla can't help the pride that settles over her for having caused that.

"Yeah. Guess you did."

"Scylla! Dinner!" Tiffany calls out from the kitchen, and it startles Scylla a little out of the stupor that settled over her body as he lifts her head towards the rest of the house.

"I should let you guys eat." Raelle decides, sighing as if she doesn't want to hang up just as much as Scylla hoped they could be physically together. For a second, she lets herself believe that to be the case.

" I- thank you, for calling."

"Yeah... thank you for- hm- being there when I did."

Scylla's heart tugs against her ribcage once again, and she can hear Raelle's soft breathing on the other side. The witch feels as if she could stay there all night, given the opportunity, but Tiffany is annoying Edwin with a thousand questions about the game he'd been watching (she finally finds out it's hockey) and Scylla figures she should go save their host from being questioned to death. Besides, she is quite hungry.

"Good night, Raelle." She says, finally. "Try to sleep, okay? You sound like you could pass out any moment."

"I will." The fixer assures, simply "G'night, Scyl."

****

The next morning, Edwin very graciously lends her his truck and offers to watch Tiffany while she goes to meet with the Dodgers. He doesn't ask many questions, but Scylla still offers quite a bit of information. She understands how frustrating it must be to be left in the dark, and for once she doesn't feel the need to be as secretive as she'd been before.

The place they send her to is out of the city, away from the bright lights and military patrols. She takes back roads that almost seem to lead to nowhere a couple of times, before they cut into the horizon to reveal more sprawling landscape. Protective magic, she realizes, and the only real reason she hadn't been led away by confusion was probably because she was expected.

Scylla remembers staying at the farms before, when she was very young.

It'd be a good place to grow up, she thinks. A place where Tiffany could be away from all those things that so very desperately wanted to trap her for her voice.

She remembers harvesting berries when she lived here, squeezing them into her mother's basket as she smiled fondly back. It was a good memory. All the ones here were.

Before her, the fields come into view, a variety of different fruits and vegetables, tended by people of all ages, in simple but well kept clothes. Beyond them, the pastures, where fat brown cows chewed lazily at the grass, and even beyond that an orchid of fragrant trees that Scylla knew bore a multitude of fruits, all spring and summer, from juicy plums to red, big apples.

She passes it all to reach the gates, wooden and simple, but still flanked by two imposing towers from where respective guards peered down, one on each tower.

"State your business." The one on the right demands, once Scylla has rolled down her windows to the frigid winter air outside.

"I'm here to see Velma." She says, pulling down her sunglasses.

They give her only a nod in response, and the gates open so that Scylla can drive down the winding road up to the main house. It's an old, opulent mansion, built somewhere along the Victorian era. Over the years, the community had surrounded it by other buildings and houses alike, some looking newer and others, older and dustier, but all sturdy and charming, with flower boxes and wood panelling over the windows.

People and children walk to and from them, carrying various objects and chatting along their companions calmly. It feels peaceful here, and Scylla can't help but observe their languid movement as she parks the truck by some other trailers. It's definitely different from what she remembers, bigger and yet eerily emptier.

Scylla shakes her head to clear away the thoughts, sure there are a million explanations as to why there wouldn't be many people out here when it's still 7A.M. and so cold her fingertips threaten to freeze under her gloves. She gets out of the car, adjusting her coat and nodding slightly to a pair of older witches walking by before starting her way up the familiar path to the main house.

Velma Bjelke had come from Sweden along with her parents years before she was born. They had fled the great European witch war in the late 80's. All three had never been in favor of conscription, but given the way things were going in the old continent, Scylla guessed it was worth the shot to move all the way here. She wonders if they ever regretted it. But it was never something she thought to ask before they died.

When she was younger, Velma used to be around all the time. She was her mom's best friend, with whom she shared the knack for necromancy. Velma taught Scylla her very first seeds, and she acted like a second mom to her throughout the years they were together.

Eventually Velma had settled herself at the farms, where they all lived for a few years, and when Scylla left along with her parents, Velma chose to stay behind. She never quite knew why they left, and it was another thing she'd probably never get the chance to ask.

It should be around ten years since they last saw each other, and Scylla couldn't say she didn't feel apprehensive as she went up the stairs. But as soon as her feet were planted on the porch, the big oak doors swung open and there stood Velma, looking older than Scylla remembered her but still just as recognizable as she'd always been with her curly red hair, big glasses and flowy dress.

"Sweet girl." She sighed out, "I have missed you so much"

"Hi, aunt Velma." Scylla smiles, just as the older witch takes a step forward and pulls the youngest witch into a long, tight hug, "I missed you too."

I gave Scylla another mother figure and this one ain't dying

This fic is mostly gonna be fluff but it's also gonna have some plot around the Camarilla and the Dodgers that's gonna be put in C3, which is coming tomorrow or the day after

Hope you enjoyed, and feedback is always appreciated 🥰

[seiya-starsniper]

The first time she texts Niko after...after, it's because Crystal walked by a small Japanese bookshop, and one of the books on display had been the next volume to a series Niko had been reading. The sight of the book is like a knife to Crystal's heart, and yet she still takes out her phone and snaps a photo of it anyways.

Crystal spends the next three hours at home contemplating whether she should send it. It's stupid. Niko won't see it, Niko's dead, there's no cell service in the afterlife, Niko's gone gone gone forever. And it was all Crystal's fault.

She hits send and throws her phone across the room, cracking the screen.

An hour later, she adds a second message to the first:

miss u

After that first message Crystal realizes she can't stop texting Niko. She's heard about stuff like this before, how people would send text messages and voicemails to dead love ones to cope with the overwhelming loss. Eventually though, they'd get a very confused and very much living person on the other line, a stranger with a new number, and just like that, the last living trace of the dearly departed has been overwritten and erased.

Crystal dreads the day someone answers her back and tells her she has a wrong number.

But in the meantime, she tells Niko about her days, the cases she solves with Charles and Edwin, the friends she makes along the way, the mistakes she's trying so hard to go back and fix. She tells Niko about how one time she caught Edwin watching Scooby-Doo in the window of an electronics store, and how now all three of them take one night out of the week to sit and marathon episodes until Crystal is too tired to keep her eyes open.

One time, Charles trips and falls face first into a pile of ectoplasm on the floor, and Crystal laughs so hard she feels like her sides are splitting open. She can't take a photograph to show Niko, ghosts don't show up on camera after all, but she tries her best to draw a recreation of the event and sends a photo of that instead.

Crystal's still not sure what's going on with her and Charles, or even what's going on with Charles and Edwin, and she tells Niko she wishes she were here to give her opinion on the matter. Things are weird aren't they? Or maybe they're not, and it's all in Crystal's head. Either way, if Niko were here, Crystal would probably feel a little less like a third wheel.

Before she realizes it, Crystal has sent over a hundred unread message to Niko's phone in the span of two months. There's photos of lunches, new manga volumes, and even some flowers scattered in between the paragraphs long updates about her days. No one has answered Crystal back yet. It's a blessing and a curse.

Charles and Edwin don't know what she's doing, but Crystal suspects they know something is up, with how attached Crystal has been to her phone lately. It's a bit morbid really. All the living people in the world, and the only people Crystal talks to are all dead.

One day, she'll stop texting Niko. One day, her phone number will be released, and someone else will answer her texts and gently tell her she has the wrong number, and then Crystal will be forced to accept the fact that Niko's not coming back.

Today is not that day.

-------------------

In an different plane of existence, Niko Sasaki holds her phone up to the ceiling of her tiny igloo, and curses when she hears the familiar warning tone from her phone indicating that she has no service.

It's been like this ever since she arrived here with Litty and Kingham. Her phone works just enough to received missed calls and text messages, but not enough to send anything back.

I miss you too! Message not delivered.

omg I can't believe you drew that! ur amazing! Message not delivered.

I promise I'm okay! Don't cry, I'll be back soon! Message not delivered.

[photo attached] Look, the sprites are here too! Message not delivered.

Her phone is low on battery, down to the last 15%, but Niko can't bring herself to turn it off, not when she doesn't know if it'll turn back on again, and she doesn't want to miss a single update from Crystal.

Litty and Kingham come back from yet another scouting mission, complaining that there's nothing but ice and snow for miles. Tomorrow, they'll go out again, and Niko will wait patiently, hoping and praying that they find a way off this icy tundra. She's tired of eating only fish and rabbit for dinner.

Niko texts Crystal one more time, already knowing that the message won't go through, but wanting to tell Crystal she's thinking of her anyways. She turns off the screen and settles in for the night.

I'll be back soon, I promise, the text reads.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Message delivered.

maybe crystal keeps her promise after niko dies. she texts niko everyday, updates about her life, that time that charles somehow managed to trip and absolutely eat it despite the fact that he can phase through walls, the fact that edwin watches scooby doo when they're not working on a case, and that she's trying to right every wrong she made in the past and she knows that niko would be proud of her.

niko can see all of the messages, but the shitty reception in her igloo won't let her send any hearts back, and it makes her so mad.