#dbda headcanons

[zinnie-zoloft]

Edwins notebook is magic so I headcanon he writes case notes in shorthand and it changes it into regular english

[addie-your-queen]

head canon that one day edwin is out of the office when a client walks in and charles is like "hi my partner isn't here right now but you can talk to me until he gets back"

and they are talking for a while and of course charles is talking about edwin and then the client asks how long they've been dating and charles is of course very confused because they aren't dating and the client is like "oh i just thought since you kept referring to him as your partner" and charles is like "yeah my buisness partner" and the client is awkwardly like "oh" and there is a very long awkward silence.

and then edwin walks in and charles is all like "hi edwin 🥰🥰" and now the client is even more confused

[not-the-living-ghost]

“i never asked to be human… with all these… feelings” well monty finch, i bestow upon thee my beloved world renowned highly sought after autism headcanon. you’re welcome

[thexie-and-stars]

so, this is not a DBD account but

Imagine: Autistic! Edwin but he also has chronic pain.

this is based off my own experiences but please consider:

[this is after ep 8] Edwin: *winces in pain*

Charles: ARE YOU OKAY

Edwin: yeah, my body just hurts, it's normal

Charles:... THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN NORMAL

Edwin: it's normal

Charles: *genuinly trying to work out if everyone does experience chronic pain* *looks it up* IT'S NOT NORMAL

Edwin: *has a slight mental breakdown because he's felt like this his entire life and afterlife, but it got worse after hell and esther*

based on an experience i had last year when i discovered chronic pain wasn't normal

[edmcmayonnaise]

Months ago, I wrote "biographies" for Edwin and Simon in the style of the Edwardian (Third Edition published in 1915) study on "Sexual Inversion" (medical phrasing that pre-dates the term "homosexuality") in the style of Studies in the Psychology of Sex by Havelock Ellis. This book can be found for free online and is a treasure trove due to the collection of biographies written by queer people.

Maybe against my better judgment, I will share them now for Simon Appreciation Week, as they capture to some extent how I perceive their interpersonal dynamics.

HISTORY E.P. - English, student at public boarding school, aged 16. His father, who comes from an unremarkable middle class lineage, is a physician. His father has been deployed to France since 1914 for wartime service. His mother’s family has a history notable for hysteria in his maternal grandmother, and his mother he describes as a high-strung and nervous woman who herself has been intermittently institutionalized for afflictions of mood. 

He has no siblings, and describes the relationship with his parents as distant. He lived most of his early childhood life in the care of a nanny. At age seven, was sent away to boarding school. 

He has never been attracted to girls or women, though had minimal contact with girls his age, He takes little interest in women or in their society. There is nothing markedly feminine in his general appearance, but he does believe that his general kinesthetic disposition is not viewed by others as manly. Specifically, he says that he is concerned that the animated way in which his hands is too recognizable as a symptom of what he considers to be his congenital condition. 

He is of average height and medium-slim build, but generally normatively developed and healthy. He considers himself to lack skill in athletic pursuits with the exception of fencing, but is an omnivorous reader and excels in academics. 

In his own words:

“I have always been very shy of showing any affectionate tendencies. Most of my acquaintances (and close friends, even) find me curiously cold. For obvious reasons I have been unable to speak as to why this is. I fear being cruelly misunderstood, and I have at times felt as if wrestling in the folds of the morally reprehensible python of inversion.

"I find myself cut off from others, feel myself to be an outcast, and, amongst others my age, am intensely withdrawn. Privately, I am miserable. The desire to love and be loved is hard to drown, especially when treading through a veritable pool of ‘what-ifs’ as I am surrounded by male virality in all aspects of my life at school.

“I am not sure entirely what it is for which I am longing. Certainly, my parents neglected to impart to me any sort of knowledge of the adult modus vivendi. The only thing I do know with confidence is that no bodily satisfaction should be sought at the cost of another person’s distress or degradation, including my own.

“At my school, I have heard rumor, and in fact been the subject of rumor, regarding attachments and gratifications with other boys, which are all untrue. As with any topic that is discussed only behind cupped hands and in whispers, the stories become more and more fantastical as they are shared from schoolmate to schoolmate. Upon my truest promise, I have never yielded to the temptation of any sort of intercrural connection. I have preserved strict chastity. I do not know how long my mind can hold back the instincts of my heart and body, but I am terrified that I will soon lose this seemingly never ending battle.”

Shortly after E.P. submitted his history for publication in this book, it was reported that he and several other boys at his school went missing in what the school is calling an Act of God. Any additional information about what may have happened to this youth and his friends is not forthcoming at this time. 

~

HISTORY S.M. - English, student at a public boarding school, aged 17. Father and mother both living; the latter is of a better social standing than the former. He is much attached to his mother, and she gives him some sympathy and companionship, when he is at home. He is the third of four siblings, all boys, and he suspects that his next elder brother is also inverted.

In early life, S.M. was of delicate constitution and his studies were often interrupted by illness. Though living under mostly happy conditions he was shy and nervous, often depressed. This he attributes to having been on several occasions mishandled by his next elder brother; concedes that his brother is prone to foul and violent moods. However, his brother is well-liked, by his father and other siblings, he says, because of his masculine character. His brother has many friends at school. Though S.M. does report that he does have some influence over some of his classmates, he has few close friends.

Of his inversion, he reports the following:

“There is a boy in my year who has become the absorbing thought of my school days, and who comes to me in my dreams almost nightly. I have absolutely no words to tell you how powerfully his beauty affects me. He is well-formed, lean, shy, and in my dream he sits beside me, allowing our legs to touch and for me to caress his thigh. He looks at me with desire in his eyes, green, but clouded over dark with his want for me to kiss him. And I do want to kiss him– on his wrist, and his palm, and into the gentle, milky curve of his neck, and to leave my lover’s mark on him, to say to anyone who might pursue him that he is mine and mine only. 

“I keep my feelings hidden, however, hardly daring to look at him for fear of being found out. His bed is next to mine, and the rest of the dormitory is boisterous and lewd, and there is a good deal of bullying, which I cannot bear to have directed my way.

“I have tried to tell myself that these dreams are not due to a moral failing of my own, but indeed this boy’s own influence upon me. I love him and I resent him. His seeming indifference towards my existence, as he has never responded well when I have plucked up my courage to speak with him, angers me. I want him to look towards me and love me, too.”

S.M. was involved in the same incident as E.P.,  where he and several other boys went missing from their school. It is reported that their last known whereabouts were their school dormitory rooms.

[mx-potato]

CEO of headcanoning characters based off nothing but vibes and "they're just like me fr!" shoutout miles morales and monty finch my transgender autistic icons

[banana-milk907]

DEAD BOY DETECTIVES HEADCANNONS

Edwin and Niko clicked immediately because they’re both autistic (they’re besties). No, I will not be taking criticism.

One of Edwin’s special interests is detectives/ detective work. That’s partly why he decided to become a detective with Charles.

Niko has a special interest in trinkets. She cannot stop herself from collecting them. I believe this would result in quite the large stuffed animal collection. Other special interests she has include animation and manga.

Charles has ADHD. His ADHD makes it hard for him to remember stuff Edwin has told him, so he repeats the parts he remembers, and Edwin will happily fill in the rest.

Crystal is 100% bisexual. I feel like she would’ve had girlfriends in 5-7th grade, and then she decided to take a break in 8th grade. Then, she would get a boyfriend in 9th grade.

Edwin LOVES learning new information. He definitely spends his free time in libraries, classes, and other places he can learn from.

Niko has a specific ringtone for every one of her contacts. Choosing them is one of her favorite activities to do after hanging out with them for the first time.

Charles would LOVE audiobooks. I feel like he has trouble reading because of his ADHD, but hearing them is different. Alternatively, he would love having Edwin reading to him. Edwin would happily read to Charles, and would only stop to add context when needed or to congratulate Charles if he made a good observation. I feel like Charles would commentate while Edwin is reading, and occasionally have actual insight into the book.

Crystal DEFINITELY paints her own clothes. As a result, she owns many bleached shirts, jackets, and jeans. Kind of similarly, I feel like she would occasionally dye her own hair.

Edwin’s parents wanted him to be an athlete, but he would run away during practices to read detective comics.

Niko was afraid to dye her hair before the sprites made it white because she didn’t want to damage it, but she definitely dyes the tips pink (maybe Crystal dyes it for her?)

Charles makes mixtapes for people he cares about (specifically Crystal and Edwin) but they can’t/ don’t know how to play them. They appreciate the gesture though, and I feel like Crystal would make a Spotify version of the mixtape.

Crystal is 100% an only child. Her first experience with having a sibling experience was Edwin (it’s found family, your honor)

Feel free to add on to this! These are all kind of quick thoughts that have been running through my head.

[mystic-mae]

i'm finally gonna do a dead boy detectives headcanon!! yay :D

but if you know anything about sanders sides, it's that logan/logic has these vocabulary cards of modern-day slang. stuff like "rizz", "fam", "lit", etc.

i think edwin would've also been given similar vocab cards once crystal entered the detective agency. sure, edwin's speech was fine, but it was outdated. crystal, like the gen z that she is, decided to make cards that would help edwin with his modern world slang.

charles saw this too and decided to make his own set of vocab cards of slang that he grew up with. charles' cards were less detailed and definitely rushed, but still. edwin already knew most of charles' slang just by being with him for 30 years, but he appreciates the thought.

i'm pretty sure you all know who's slang edwin adopted more. (yes, it's charles. much to crystal's chagrin.)

as a bonus, niko also made her own!! though, it wasn't on slang words to help edwin blend in more with the living. the cards mostly consisted of tips on modern dating and a bunch of other boy romance-related topics. edwin keeps those cards super close to him, like his notebook. it's really cute, actually.

[envihellbender]

What is each member of the DBD agency’s fave flavour of ice cream ?

Edwin: Rum Raisin

It was a very grown up choice, Edwin thought. Or at least he did when he was ten years old on holiday in Cornwall. He was at Lizard’s point after a walk that made his legs ache and his chest heave and being asked what he’d like in front of what looked like a tram filled with ice cream. Mostly he’d been copying his mother, she always had Rum Raisin. In fact the smell of tobacco and rum always reminded him of home. When he’d first tried it, he felt that internal sense of anxiety inside of him calm. He felt like a true adult, even his father’s permanent frown and disappointed veneer soothed. For once Edwin felt in that rainy holiday on the coast that he wasn’t a weak little child. Even now, as a teenage hundred year old ghost, he still can taste the strong, overwhelming taste and the way his mind started to feel at its most relaxed point.

Charles: Mint chocolate chip

Ice cream flavours weren’t particularly prevalent during Charles’s childhood. He ran to the ice cream van with his pocket money once a day and got the standard swirl of vanilla with a chocolate flake stuck inside. It wasn’t until he was twelve and he saw his first ever ice cream parlour that he discovered anything different. That sort of thing wasn’t common in England, it seemed so American and suave. It was like he was a character in Grease or something, he thought. When he saw the selection in front of him he felt his brain freeze with decision paralysis. He eventually pointed at the green ice cream with chunks of chocolate in it, the concept of mint being anything other than the imperials his mum kept in her pocket in the taxi so she didn’t get carsick was so alien to him… the idea that the ice cream was a soft, gentler spearmint that was tamed by the chocolate blew his mind. It was far pricier than the 99p flake, but it was worth it.

Crystal: Affogato

Crystal regularly attempts to regain parts of her memory through her senses, she doesn’t entirely know what she likes and dislikes because so much of her identity has been ripped from her. The small parts she can regain matter so much to her as a result. That was how she approached trying to remember her favourite ice cream when Jenny offered to take her and Niko to an ice cream parlour. She felt sorry for the two teens under her care who couldn’t afford to go out during the uncharacteristically hot summer and took them out for a treat. Crystal didn’t know what affogato was but there was a strong pull in her chest towards it, an electricity pulsing through her body as she demanded it. She felt uncertain when she saw them poor a hot espresso over the ice cream, but when she tasted it she felt this sense of overwhelming belonging and joy. She didn’t know why, but she knew this was a good, safe memory.

Niko: Miyazaki Mango

Niko likes a lot of ice cream and is fairly easy to please in this regard. She is generally a huge fan of sweet treats, especially the fruitier kind. However, she finds the change from the Japanese treats of her childhood to American ones. For example, she was rather disappointed when she discovered strawberries are different in the States. When it comes to ice cream she insists that Miyazaki Mango is the best in the entire world, not even other types of mango ice cream in different parts of Japan compares to it. It has to come from Miyazaki prefecture, she had it a few times when she went with her parents as a child and hasn’t tasted anything close to it since. She is offered a mango ice cream in Port Townsend and is very disappointed, dare I say disgusted, at how inferior it is.

Jenny: Black Raspberry

Jenny never had much of a sweet tooth even as a kid, but as he always did her dad tried to push her to like the normal kid things. As a result she didn’t know what her ‘favourite ice cream’ was until she was around fifteen. On trips to New England with her dad as a teen to get deliveries for the shop, they’d always stop at an ice cream parlour. She eventually tried the black raspberry expecting something similar to a raspberry swirl but was delighted to discover it contained chocolate chips. If she ever goes for ice cream and they have this flavour she orders it in bulk. As an edgy teenager she claimed it was because it looked like blood. One of the few sweet treats she adores.

The Cat King: Strawberry

CK is extremely fussy when it comes to food especially something sweet. He’d personally prefer strawberries and cream, but like most cats he is extremely partial to strawberries. He might be a little disgruntled by the cold but he’d enjoy it in the end. He once tried a tiger tail ice cream purely because of the name but when he tasted the orange and the liquorice he hissed and spat it on the ground. He considers both of those things to be poisonous and pure evil. Strawberries however he always considered quite decadent in the early years of his life and is amazed at how easy it is to get now.

Monty: Moon mist

Monty knew his new human self had to have a favourite ice cream, so he experimented and researched. He went to every ice cream shop and parlour in Port Townsend, trying everything he could find. He preferred the berry related flavours, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry… but he couldn’t find the perfect ice cream. He was reading a list of flavours in the Internet when he came across the perfect name: moon mist. He adored the moon, the planets, and the stars. He’d watch them and allow them to guide him, so it made sense they’d bringing him to his favourite ice cream. He couldn’t find anywhere in the town that had it in stock, so he printed it out and brought it to a gelato place owned by an Italian couple and asked if they could make it. When they did and gave it to him, the first taste filled Monty with joy and magic. The mix of colours and flavours made him feel like he was mixed in to the galaxy itself. As a crow banana, grape, and bubblegum were foreign to him, but now he didn’t want to eat anything else.

Night Nurse: Scottish tablet chunks in vanilla ice cream

She obviously has no such time for such trivial matters, however when she was a child in Falkirk her Uncle would make a special treat for her and her siblings. He would break-up pieces of Scottish tablet and mix it in with the ice cream. That was one of the few pleasant memories of her childhood, that was until they got sent away again. Poor Scottish children evacuated to another cold foster home in the countryside didn’t tend to get ice cream quite so much. Still, a bowl of vanilla ice cream and Scottish tablet might make her soften around the edges just a little.

[addie-your-queen]

i like to think that edwin and charles take turns naming the cases and every time its charles' turn he names it 'debacle'

[alltimefail]

Writing a fic and I need to know the collective opinions on this matter:

Obviously I'm not trying to like, endorse smoking or anything, but Charles was a self-proclaimed "Rude Boy," a punk teen in 1980s London. Smoking cigarettes was pretty common practice back in the 80s, and although they've never addressed it in canon I've found myself pondering this quite often!

[not-the-living-ghost]

Straight Charles truthers please rewatch the show I'm begging you this is hurting my soul

[reallifetangent]

A thing I actually wanna see in Dead Boy Detectives S2 is Simon being a ghost with unfinished business on Earth. The agency takes his case, because who else could help?

Charles might be uneasy. He knows the sacrifice was an accident, and even if Edwin let him know he forgave Simon, doesn't change the fact that he was Ed's bully and Charles is done with bullies.

Crystal probably would be trying to calm the waters between Charles and Simon, or talking with Edwin about all of this situation because Niko isn't around. Trying a "What Niko Would Do" situation.

Same for Edwin. He keeps professional all the case. It's still a personal one because duh, the same guy who sent him to hell but it wasn't really his fault. His ex classmate. Simon was in love with him. At some point, his professional ways don't get enough results so he tries asking, observing, doing what Niko would do.

At the end, before Simon goes to the afterlife (maybe his unfinished business was making things clearer between him and Edwin), some kind of Heart to Heart talk between them both. Simon knows Edwin can't correspond to his feelings, or maybe after all this situation, he falls out of love and learns that being attracted to the same gender isn't wrong. Things have changed. He was stuck in a loop of self punishment. His brain was still on their death day. He realizes that they won't mean to be. Or that Edwin was just a crush he had in high school. He finally let go of what he felt for Edwin.

The Night Nurse? She's impressed about this whole situation, how come this guy was forgiven in hell, apparently moved on but then back on Earth. Then tried to see if her books or her knowledge had registered anyone with that condition before, trying to stay distant. Because this is too personal. Maybe she was the one trying to do What Kaji Would Do, since Niko reminded her a lot of him.

This could be like the most emotional case. Between facing feelings of the past, growing up from where they froze, realization of people's changes, having to try things they haven't before, and letting go of people.

I would try writing about it (again). Maybe I will, but won't be as good as an actual episode with actual plotlines and actual and complete knowledge of these characters. Because I don't like mischaracterizing in order to put some above others.

[edmcmayonnaise]

simon-related ramblings from me to my poor favorite dbda discord server, in no particular order...

Yes I am unhinged and no I don't know how they've allowed me to remain on the server. It is a miracle.

Simon is a tall awkward boy with a crush on his classmate that ended in oof

Maybe simon played tennis?

ugh simon went from doing some old wives tale style magic to try to get edwin to just ~~notice him~~ but it doesn't work, so ofc magic is't real, right? so of course no harm in just scaring the boy you like but can't be like or else by doing a fake ol' demon summoning ritual from the old tome you snagged from your elder brother's dumb bookshelf. Oopsie.

("plucking ‘yarrow from a young man’s grave’ in order to bind unknowing men to them for all eternity" ugh simon sneaks out a lot at night so there we go. yarrow hunting for simon it is)

"i look smart with my cap but i slay withouuuuut gooooodbyeee simon" as he tosses the hat and it gleams in the moonlight

ugh how soft would it be to have a fox-hunting fic

oof au where edwin and simon don't die and go into the intelligence service together

simon still gotta fix the telephone switch board

simon is the office receptionist

simon in a cute crochet muffler

​​The idea of Edwin exhausting himself to care for Simon because then he doesn’t have to face his own trauma is

wow tho headcanon is that simon loves his mama so much

(in reference the french horn hanging in the attic during charles' death scene) simon gives big french horn energy

omg the visual of simon in edwin's desk junk drawer and edwin pulls out orbmon, sighs, and says "this is where you've gone off to-- been looking everywhere for you." I ended up writing a fic similar to this thought.

to have both edwin and simon enjoying seaside would be cute

mah boy simon repping the pigtail pullers

if the show was my cat king (it was) then simon was the moment i forgave myself and decided I deserve to pursue happiness 

[ghostthewriter09]

dead boy detectives

Yesterday I started watching Dead Boy Detectives. Yesterday, I finished watching Dead Boy Detectives. I have thoughts

First,

Edwin:

Gay (canon)

autistic (head cannon)

Demiromantic (hc)

When he was alive, he’d pray and pray that his thoughts about liking boys would go away. So when he went to hell, he felt like deserved it. But upon meeting Charles, he realized that his feelings couldn’t be all bad. He hides his feelings a lot just because he had 73 years of hiding them

Charles:

Bi (canon in books i think)

would’ve been a damn good lawyer

He is a protector. He doesn’t care who he needs to protect but if someone on his side is in danger, he will fight. We see this throughout the series. He’d do anything for the people he loves.

Crystal:

Bi or straight (def likes men)

has a strong sense of morals

absolute legend (Lilith scene)

I honestly think she’s just going to live on as her new self when she gets back to London

Niko

lesbian or aro spec (or both)

she is hands down my favorite non dead person in this show (sorry Jenny)

Her friendship with Edwin is precious. (We don’t talk about episode 8)

Ok so I should probably explain why I think she’s a lesbian. Ok first, her first meeting with Crystal. I know it wasn’t pink for love but yknow it’s something. Second, her room is really pink. She isn’t afraid of what others think and that’s a trait a lot of gay people have to learn. She is completely supportive of the community. Her gay manga. Her friendship with Edwin is so wlw mlm solidarity.

Bonus:

Cat King:

No label , just vibes

I like him but he took advantage of Edwin at first. I understand he gave him a choice but it wasn’t right to do.

however, I do love him and feel that he is lonely and at this point would go for any attractive guy

he’s afraid of himself still. He puts on the mask of confidence but really, he’s scared. He’s lived a long life and has never really gotten to be himself. No one has wanted him for him

[bettykeeldar]

so, I've been thinking.

in the dbda we saw that suicides are doomed to “eternal wandering,” that is, they don't go to heaven nor hell. imagine a crossover between dps and dbda. Where would Neil go? Would he also be doomed to wander forever, or would he still have some sort of afterlife? I need to know so badly. Please help me with this.

Maybe he would have some sorta unfinished business and after its completion he would go to heaven. or to hell? conditionally suicide is a sin so