#but the main character is Teal

[shace-t-ace]

One Horrible Moment

Everything was working as it should. And that meant the boy would die. (A short blurb from the perspective of one of the workers at Booth 30 that day.)

Everything was working as it should that day. They'd had tons of kids come through already. It was routine. The system was working fine. Sometimes there was a bit of garbage code here or there; nothing that set off alarms. Nothing that they couldn't handle on this side with the push of a few buttons.

It was kinda sweet to see the father and son come in together; normally the parents stood out there talking to Fern while the kid played. When she was that kid's age she wouldn't have been caught dead next to her old man. The boy was nervous; which was totally normal, most kids had never seen anything like this - most adults hadn't either for that matter. The tech was pretty new.

She gestured for the kid to step into the safety chamber and shut the doors behind him before getting the go-ahead from Indi to pull the lever. As soon as the kid was in he waved to the camera - despite the fact that he could see back out of the screen - and his dad waved back. Very sweet.

The kid started playing. He grasped the basics real quick. The world was generated with new players in mind and had lots of easy access to beginner resources, everything was set to Easy, the kid shouldn't have been in any real danger. They only had to pull one kid out early today because he'd gotten cornered by zombies, but even then the damage was minimal. Nothing a few bandages and time couldn't fix.

Everything was working as it should. Until it wasn't.

She had to admit the alarm going off surprised her; everything still looked okay with the game. She leaned over Indi's shoulder, glancing at the sea of red code that was growing almost faster than she could read - what was going on?!

Then the alarm on her console went off and she scrambled to the lever, even though she knew it wouldn't budge. If her alarm went off that meant the safety chamber was sealed and the game wouldn't turn off. She pushed against the lever desperately calling Indi to help, but even together the two of them couldn't overpower the machine.

And for a few blissful moments, the kid had no idea that everything was about to go very, very wrong. She'd never seen anything like... whatever that was. She couldn't call it a glitch because it just wasn't. It looked like something outta those horror stories kids write. A wave of black blasted off the sun and oozed its way along the ground, spreading glitches in its wake. And somehow the kid made it out of the game. And whatever was in the game with him was pulling him back in. She could hear father and son's screaming in tandem.

She tried the lever again, adrenaline pumping through her at the sight of the kid trying to escape. All her adrenaline accomplished was her breaking the lever. The safety chambers door were sealed. It was what was keeping whatever that was inside. It was keeping the boy inside.

Everything was working as it should. And that meant the boy would die.

She abandoned the lever, charging out to start trying to force the doors open with the dad's help, but for all the strength that broke the lever she could not get those doors to open. Even when Fern joined in it wasn't enough. They might as well have been trying to open a wall.

Suddenly, an idea came to her - the game was clearly close to crashing anyway - if they could overwhelm the system just a little more it would crash and the doors would open again. The kid was going to need serious medical attention but it might be enough to save him. She called Fern to follow her back to the booth. She clacked away at the keyboard frantically, making up nonsense code of her own, any prompt she could think of. The kid just had to hold on a little more...

She didn't look up again until the system terminated the connection. But she knew because there was only one person screaming.

It was too late. She was too late. The kid was gone.

She didn't remember running out of the booth, but she must have, she saw the father kneeling in the dirt, still braced against the door. None of them knew what to say, Indi was shaking and Fern was clearly not home, they held themself tightly. She did remember reaching out to, she guessed, comfort him. That was a mistake.

Sometimes, in her nightmares, she could still feel his hands around her neck, her feet dangling in the air helplessly. She faintly remembered him dropping her to go after Indi and she heard Fern trying to draw his fire. And then he was looming over her, she swore she could hear his hands tighten around her throat again but things were very hazy from that point.

She woke up in the hospital. They asked her if she wanted to press charges, and she said no. She could only assume Indigo and Fern opted not to as well since she was never called in to act as a witness.

And then she spent the next few years trying to forget about it. She hated herself for going back, but she needed to find out what went wrong that day and she needed to make sure it never, ever happened again.

[the-way-astray]

the vackers have brown eyes, and all the elves have normal colored eyes in normal ratios. thank you for coming to my ted talk

[mattzerella-sticks]

Thinking, putting pieces together...

Leaks about Dokutaro (aka the Poison Peach) who granted the Loyal Three their deepest wishes (to become stronger/wiser/prettier) by fixing them with the toxic chain...

Kieran vowing to become stronger and rumored to be the Champion in the Blueberry Academy arc...

Codes for 'zombie' in the DLC that haven't aired for the Teal Mask...

What I'm wondering if the player is asked to come to Blueberry Academy to help defeat the 'Champion' because they have taken control of the school and made everyone into 'zombies' with toxic chains - all part of Dokutaro's master plan (which may involve Ogrepon, may involve Terapagos) and you, as the main character, have to fight your way through the school and the 'Elite Four' to get to Kieran and free him from Dokutaro's influence. I also think that perhaps the evolution for Dipplin might go from Grass/Dragon to Poison/Dragon (to keep with the theme of caduceus and healing but the opposite, and also tying in with what happens to Pokemon influenced by Dokutaro - wouldn't be surprised if a new poison-move boosting item is introduced as well).

I know there's theories that the professor wearing a scarlet blazer and violet pants might be the villain (and she might still be involved, maybe she releases Dokutaro and introduces Kieran to it in a bid to get Terapagos) but thinking about how the first half of the DLC is more exploration and the latter half is battling makes me think about the Team Star battle mechanics but also how to raise the stakes and what makes sense story and lore wise given everything that's being set up.

Then again, maybe I'm wrong. This is just speculation after all...

[goldensunset]

please let carmine and kieran meet the paldea trio please please i wanna witness that full group dynamic

[softgrungeprophet]

me designing characters: turquoise! purple! black! red and gold!

[claitea]

finished the dlc! enjoyed it a lot :D

[laneylove147]

This is Cristal love her main character and leader of the off colors and all though she has her main color she is actually one of the rare off colors witch means two different colors mixed to make a new color there is some lore for the story heh so yeah tada 🎉

[toxiccaves]

RPG game where all of the dialogue options are bad

[doodletheexpoodle]

I mean I'm enjoying The Teal Mask but I think the devs were too mean to Kieran tbh let me lose to the poor guy at least once 😔

[atlas-comics]

im thinking about making a cat AU for them, it's too cute

[ragnar0c]

They're slowly releasing the alt colors for the EO3 portraits and the fact I didn't even care about the new gladiator bc... FINALLY HD ALOPE 😭😭😭 GODDDDD

Oh and ofc... the black gladiator alt in hd... my pfp... Zero my beloved. ❤

Been waiting YEARSSS for these two!!!

[vaugarde]

i cant help it when i make a new ref i cant help but be like “hm how can i make the design a bit stronger tho”

[midyearflowers]

playing through scarlet and the dlcs again cause i have Thoughts on the story and i wanna maybe write "my version" of it. but that also means i gotta go through the teal mask and blueberry academy stuff again to get to the good stuff (area zero)

[goldensunset]

SPOTTED

[hazelthebardarion]

I have like 3 dnd characters I'm rotating and I literally have no name for the ranger or paladin, but the bard is named "Fish" so yeah

[deconstructthesoup]

One thing I absolutely adore about Dead Boy Detectives is the immaculate costume design. Specifically, how it perfectly encapsulates who the characters are, both as a whole and who they are in the moment.

From the very first scene of the show, we know immediately that Edwin is a bookish, somewhat stuffy guy from the Edwardian era who attended a boarding school, and Charles is a punk from the 1980's who's most likely the wildcard between the two of them, just going off of the way that they're dressed. Both of them have distinct color schemes and different styles, but the general shape of their outfits is actually relatively similar---both of them have collared shirts (Edwin's dress shirt, Charles's polo), something over those shirts (Edwin's vest, Charles's suspenders), a jacket of some kind (Edwin's suit jacket, Charles's flannel thing), a longer overcoat (Edwin's traveling coat, Charles's peacoat), something around the neck (Edwin's bowtie, Charles's necklace), slacks, and nice shoes. They're distinct, yet matching, two clearly defined separate characters yet part of a set.

Edwin's prim, proper, buttoned-up personality lends itself to the way he dresses throughout the season---in the first episode, he only dresses down when he's in the office with Charles, aka his safe place and his safe person, and he doesn't really dress down like that again for a good long while after getting stuck in Port Townsend (though, if my memory serves me correctly, he does take off the suit jacket while watching TV with Niko). But in episode six, he's changed up his usual look for a cozier, casual-looking sweater and a little bit of collarbone, and in episode seven... well, he's in his nightclothes, and he's about as open, raw, and vulnerable as you can get. Edwin's color scheme is also predominately blue, which lines up nicely with his logical and practical, yet deeply sad and closed off personality, and the only time he really wears anything other than his normal blue-and-brown outfit (willingly, that is) is when he's in that green sweater in episode six. And, uh... all I can say is that it's quite telling how blue and green---or, well, teal---are the main colors of the gay/mlm flag.

Charles, by contrast, dresses down a lot, and that makes a lot of sense when you consider the fact that unlike Edwin, he feels comfortable pretty much anywhere. On any given episode, he goes from wearing his peacoat to just wearing his flannel to ditching the flannel to not even wearing the freaking polo---though, again, the latter is something that only happens when he's in the office with Edwin. Safe space, safe person. And, well, plenty of people have analyzed Charles's polo shirt going from red to burgundy to black over the course of the series, and there being a little bit of red under the collar of his coat that's only visible when Edwin fixes it, and then it goes back to burgundy, and then it's red again when Edwin's out of Hell... for good reason! It's color symbolism at its finest! Not to mention, the red and black not only perfectly contrasts Edwin's color scheme, but it also lines up with Charles's personality---he's a rebel, he's hotheaded, he's bold and brash and loud... and yes, he's angry, but he's also so, so loving.

When we first meet Crystal after she loses her memories, her outfit choices feel very deliberate. They're stylish and vaguely trendy, they're arty and a little bit witchy---pretty fitting for a psychic who's also a showbiz kid, even if she doesn't know that last part. But all of her clothes appear thrifted, or at the very least vintage, and the patterns and the general vibe all feel natural and comforting. Her makeup's always fairly simple, her hair's either down or up in a couple of cute space buns... overall, this Crystal looks like the kind of person who'd make you tea when you're in a bad mood, who'll listen when you just need to vent, and who may not always know the right thing to say but will understand what you're going through. But when we see her in the flashbacks, her clothing's flashy and prioritizes high-end trends over comfort, she's either got her hair up or has it straightened, and she not only has dramatic makeup, but acrylics. This is a girl who talks shit about you behind your back, who's bitter and cynical and wants everyone to feel the same way, who makes up for the lack of love and stability in her life via material things. It's also worth noting that Crystal's color scheme has a lot of purple, which is a color that connects to wealth and luxury, but also creativity and magic---which, yeah, fits her two conflicting sides pretty damn well.

You cannot talk about Niko Sasaki without talking about her outfits, and the meaning behind each of them has already been talked about at length. However, one thing that really stands out to me is that the reason they're so iconic isn't just because of the monochrome color schemes, but because they're out there. They're weird, they're eclectic, they're a little mismatched in style sometimes, and they're so unapologetically her. Niko wears heart-shaped sunglasses, unironically. Everything about the way she dresses speaks to how, even though she's a recovering shut-in who initially doesn't want to be perceived, she's still very sure of who she is.

Jenny's design, like Charles and Edwin's, is a design that gives you the key information you need the minute she first appears onscreen. The dark makeup, the silver jewelry, the leather apron, and the hairstyle all point to a person who's tough, doesn't take anyone's shit, and has long since given up on caring what other people think---in other words, she's a badass. But the butterfly tattoo hints at a softer side, a side that we see time and time again throughout the series as she shows that she cares about Crystal and Niko, and even the boys... eventually. Also, Jenny's design is perhaps one of the most clearly queer-coded in the series, to the point where her being a confirmed lesbian is pretty much a no-brainer.

Esther's design oozes camp, from top to bottom. The fluffy coat, the bustier, the boots and the cane and the everything, speak to a woman who's kept with the times and yet has seen it all. There's really not a lot I can fully say about her design, other than what Charles has already said: "She looks like a witch... like, kind of a sexy witch, who smokes a lot." (Or maybe I'm just tired and running out of steam at this point, idk, I love Esther's design and I can't really put it into words.) It's also pretty fitting that her color scheme has a lot of yellow in it---after all, she's always striving for more, so what better color for her than the color of gold?

Everything about the Night Nurse's design speaks to a woman who follows rules and discipline above all else, from the pantsuit to the pinned-up hairstyles to the tie to the heels. She's also the most muted out of the main cast in terms of color, dressing mostly in browns, dull greens, and duller browns---and while I don't have a lot to go into detail about there, I feel like that's kind of a symbol of her narrow-minded and bureaucratic worldview.

And the animal characters... Jesus Christ, I fully forget that they're all being played by human actors. Tragic Mick dresses like a man who's always spent his life by the sea, layered denim and all, and it's never a stretch to see this sad, bushy-bearded, baggy-clothed fisherman and imagine him as a walrus lounging on a beach. Monty, at first glance, seems to only wear black, which would be perfectly fitting for a crow, but when he's in better lighting, you see that he dresses in layers of red and blue, calling to how he envies Charles and Edwin and clearly longs for something more---and this might just be me, but I think that even though his outfits seem fairly normal at first glance, they feel kind of like a costume for Monty more than anything else, like he's trying to emulate a teenager that he's seen on TV more than someone in real life.

The Cat King fits this just as well, with all of his outfits aligning perfectly with whatever his cat form is at the time---when he's a fluffy ginger, it's always sequins and fur coats and clothing pieces that are specifically designed to take up space and call attention, and when he's a black shorthair, it's sleek styles and shiny leather and pieces that are designed to cut an intimidating yet more subtle figure. And while I could go into detail about all of those, what really stands out to me is how clearly queer everything is---more than Jenny's alt lesbian attire, more than Esther's campy coat and corset. From the very first scene he's in, he's wearing a skirt, and it looks natural. Nothing about the way the Cat King presents himself is exaggerated, nothing about the way he dresses is played for laughs---he's flamboyant and feminine and flirty, and he looks so fucking hot while he does it. It's gorgeous.

So... yeah, uh, all the awards for the Dead Boy Detectives costume designers!