#dbda headcanons

[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

[hey-there-22]

I don't think we talk enough about Edwin's reaction to Charles beating the Night Nurse. Because he's scared, he is worried and he is crying. But he is not scared of Charles at all, I think he is scared to lose him. Just in that episode, he had (unwillingly) told the Cat King that he helped other ghosts so he can defend his own case if Death ever came to take him to Hell again. He also says he is not proud about it, that it is selfish.

Charles would have gone to Heaven if he hadn't decided to stay with him. Edwin is sure. But, after what happened with the Night Nurse, he can't be sure anymore. He knows Charles, he knows he is a good man and he doesn't deserve to go to Hell. But he also knows Charles well enough to know he'll feel guilty. And that is how Hell gets you. Guilt drags to down.

I don't think Edwin was walking on eggshells around Charles as Crystal said. I think it just hurt him to see him, to face him, knowing that he may have selfishly made Charles lose his oportunity to go to pradise. Because he had stayed for him. Because he had been protecting him.

[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

[ro-doodles]

I think this might be a little bit of a hot take, but I’ve seen a dead boy detectives headcanon a couple of times that Charles had a crush on or a relationship with the Pakistani boy he saved before he was killed, and I’m really not a fan of it. I understand why people like it, but I kind of feel like it takes away from the impact of Charles’ choice. I think it’s more meaningful and says more about Charles’ character if he saw a boy he barely knows being hurt and he stepped in just because it was wrong, not because of some personal connection he had. He saw a boy being beaten down for no reason other than the color of his skin, and saw himself. I like to think that Charles would always step in no matter who it was because that’s who he is, someone who stands up for people.

Anyways, thanks for indulging my rambling mini rant.

[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.

[oxymoronicdumbass]

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

[alltimefail]

This might be me projecting but I think RENT (1996) would rock Charles Rowland's fucking world. I need him to see RENT. I don't care when, why, or how our sweet repressed bisexual boy with childhood trauma sits down to watch it but. I. Need. It!!!! DESPERATELY.

Because of the importance music seems to play in Charles' life, I think he might initially be wary of musicals because they have a reputation for being corny/cheesy, but RENT was gripping, gritty, and innovative in its time. It changed my life and my perception of self as a closeted, scared, queer kid in an unaccepting environment. It would change his, (after)life, too...I'm so certain of this fact that it makes me want to weep if I think too much about it.

(One day I'll maybe share my own mildly hilarious but endearing baby queer epiphany relating to RENT if anyone cares, but today is not that day lol. Down the road though, definitely.)

[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.

[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'

[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.

[zinnie-zoloft]

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

[not-the-living-ghost]

he/him genderqueer charles hear me out

[marthajonesurastar]

a small pet peeve i have when reading dbda fics is when they call Edwin older or taller because, first of all, not only is he not taller, he's technically shorter, it's just that his boots and Charles' posture make him seem the same height and sometimes taller, but he's not.

it's only an inch or two, but he's shorter than Charles, not taller.

as for the "older" part yes, Edwin is older supernaturally speaking but i don't think hell should count, it's not like he was wandering around living his life as a ghost there, they have existed as ghosts on earth for the same amount of time. even their ages when they died, not only were they both sixteen, the number of months they lived after turning 16 are probably around the same, because Edwin is a January capricorn who died in either spring or early fall judging by their clothes, and Charles' birthday is in either April or May and he died in like late fall so again, either the same amount (around six months) or Edwin died younger (~4 months).

anyway i just wanted to vent a little about something that's completely irrelevant.

[smollsmule]

Loved the Charles having a crisis at the beach post on your dash , but I have to ask …

What do you reckon is the most boomer thing Charles believes in ? 👀👻

(Ok second attempt bc tumblr decided to mess with me last time.)

I'm so happy to hear you liked it!! I don't usually like to post about my writing before I'm in the editing stage at least bc I don't like building expectations like that and making people wait. This time I hadn't even started writing (I was actually writing another, quite different fic that is almost ready to go up now). It was just an idea I had been rotating in my head for some time and I wanted to know if there were people who agreed with me. But everyone has been so lovely and enthusiastic and I can't wait to get it done and share with the class!

Now, for your question. Actually, no, first let me take this opportunity real quick to say:

I know what Gen X is, guys! I know Charles isn't actually a boomer, please stop yelling at me in the notes (please)!!!

Now, I was going to go into this whole spiel about how Charles is actually a really interesting case because he

seems to have had rather forward views when he was alive

unlike many of his peers, died before growing to adulthood in Thatcher Britain beat them out of him and left him a cynical husk of a person

So I actually like to think he is less behind than you'd expect from a guy who didn't live to see the iron curtain fall (see, just for some examples, his helping his classmate and unwavering support of other's queerness (though his reaction to Chad and Hunter in particular warrants a whole essay)).

And then after thinking all these thoughts I realised that pretty much everything we thought to know about dinosaurs in the 80's has since been overhauled. (Jurassic Park hadn't even been released yet!) And then I couldn't get this image out of my head of Charles scream-crying at a museum plaque (ineffectively since a) he is inperceptible, b) it is an inanimate object.)

So yeah, my answer is dinosaurs. I also firmly believe he checked out re the internet the moment they got rid of the dial up modem, if not earlier.

(All that said you should not think about the (lack) of sex ed this boy recieved and was probably never updated on)*

(*that last one might have been inspired by my own writing I'll admit)

But seriously, I am opening up the floor on this one, because now *I* wanna know what everybody thinks abt this. Thanks for the interesting question!!

[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