#esther and tck

[hyperfixationsposting]

i actually followed through with a plan this time !!

tck and esther duo edit, i cheered.

[ace-and-the-rpg-horrors]

the "Esther and The Cat King are toxic exes" headcanon has very scary implications for poor Monty because you just know that The Cat King can and will pull the "me and your mother fucked back in the day lmaooooo" card

[crafteeauthor]

There's something to be said about how Charles probably understands Monty and TCK's in-show trauma better than anyone else in the main cast

[read-write-thrive]

there are all of 6 fics on ao3 that come up when you search the word “disabled” in the dead boy detectives fandom. I’m dealing with a fibromyalgia flare up rn so I’ve decided to come up with some (potential!) disability/condition/syndrome/etc. headcanons. enjoy!

(oh and just to note: I stayed away from conditions with obvious facial / appearance difference as no actors with facial / appearance difference were cast in the show and I was unsure if it would be appropriate. while I have experience with a lot of the following diagnoses, I do not claim to be an expert on any of them and do not intend for this to be used as a diagnostic tool. if you feel any of these are offensive/inappropriate, please message me and I’m happy to talk about it :) this is more just to encourage broader disability representation within the fandom!)

Edwin: autistic, PTSD (from hell), chronic pain/fibromyalgia (from his death/hell), minor visual impairment (not enough to need the hard-to-come-by testing needed for glasses when he was alive and so assumed the various limits/effects were normal. was told otherwise by Niko), would’ve had shingles if lived long enough

Charles: ADHD, PTSD (from his father/growing up in an abusive household), dyslexia, Reynaud’s syndrome (either already born with it or as a result of his death—both angsty), was in the beginning stages of an ED prior to his death, post-concussion syndrome, near-sightedness (never given glasses bc he wasn’t about to tell his dad the board looked a little blurry sometimes)

Crystal: cPTSD (reminder that neglect is also abuse :), bipolar 1, IBS, endometriosis

Niko: autism, depression, POTS, hEDS, anxiety, sprite-induced agoraphobia, epilepsy, lactose intolerance

Monty: Depersonalization-derealization disorder, selective amnesia (this is not the first times Esther has messed with his form/killed and revived him, but the experience is traumatic and so his brain decides not to remember it), recurrent arrhythmia, synesthesia

Jenny: OCD, BPD, ED recovered, Celiac’s disease, diabetes type 1, anemia

TCK: autism, NPD, lactose intolerance, colourblind

Esther: chronic pain (I’m choosing to believe that the cane isn’t just for show!!), NPD, endometriosis

Tragic Mick: cPTSD, depression, HoH, arthritis, diabetes

(The Night Nurse , the Dandelion Sprites, and various other characters felt either too supernatural and/or not developed enough to assign anything to lmao)

[roadworkaheadyea]

Esther finch girly the snake people are all feeding frozen thawed now

Ik he couldn’t for plot reasons but it would’ve been 100% cuter if Edwin just was nice to the cat and brought him treats

Could the night nurse be Jenny’s new gf?

Does Monty like shiny things?

There is 2 bear good luck charms. One Charles is looking at when the scene switches in episode 2 and the other a few seconds later on the desk with Mick next to his sandwich (with a full ass fish on top)

[perseidlion]

So there's this character in Dead Boy Detectives.

He's:

Attractive

Flirts shamelessly with Edwin

Makes physical advances toward Edwin

Makes Charles jealous and "gets in the way of the main ship"

Is of indeterminate age but is possibly decades or centuries old

Can transform into an animal.

And it's this guy:

AND YET I have never seen any discourse calling Monty a creep and a predator.

Unlike The Cat King, he even kissed Edwin suddenly and without explicit consent. He also lied, manipulated and betrayed all of them and nearly got them killed. Yes, he said he didn't know Esther was planning on destroying them. But c'mon, it's Esther.

Somehow though, the fandom vilifies The Cat King more than Monty. I think the reason why is worth a long, hard look in the mirror.

The biggest difference between the two is TCK's sexual nature and his in-your-face queerness. Those are two things that have been historically vilified and othered about gay/queer men.

Even these days, through the whole "no kink at pride" discourse, this argument continues through respectability politics.

Simply put, a short little twink with a crush is a non-threatening gay man, while TCK with his overt sensuality and gender non-conforming clothing represents a threat. Monty's advances are seen as cute, while TCK's are predatory, even though Monty propositioned Edwin with a kiss as surely as TCK overtly propositioned him.

If TCK's sexually-charged flirting bothered you in a way that Monty's advances didn't (despite the fact the audience knew that at least at first, Monty's advances were a big old lie) ask yourself why that is. The reason is probably that you were taught to fear and vilify overt displays of queer sexuality . Even queer people need to unlearn this particular bias.

And just to cover all the bases, I will shout again that The Cat King is a fae/trickster and that Edwin's punishment was proportionate in that context. Edwin used magic and confined a creature he knew to be as intelligent as a human and was punished for it with a very long leash and a (totally doable) task. It was a task designed to make Edwin see the cats as individuals instead of tools to help him close a case. The sort of fiction that DBD has its roots in (and the source material) is full of these sort of eye-for-an-eye type of punishments with magical creatures.

Just to be clear, I don't think we should be vilifying Monty, either. You can't 1:1 fictional scenarios onto real life and apply our standards of morality to them, especially not in a setting with man-eating mushrooms, ghosts, and transforming animals. All the conflict these two characters brought to the plot was necessary. If everyone acted with perfect morality all the time, fiction would be incredibly boring.

And IF you did apply RL standards to fiction, you would have to acknowledge that Edwin's crime of binding and forcing a fully sentient being to give him information violated just as much consent as TCK putting that bracelet on Edwin. And that Monty was just as "predatory" as The Cat King, if not more so. The Cat King, at least, never lied to Edwin, while everything about Monty was a lie from the start.

[king-of-colors]

jenny green, everyone!

charles | edwin | niko | crystal | monty | tck | esther | tnn

[densewentz]

how many forms do you think TCK has?? I thought he had two, orange before he dies and grey tabby when he sees edwin in the last ep, but right after Esther kills him the cat that crawls out looks like a very small black cat? does anyone know?

honestly since he's a canonical shapeshifter (not just cat -> humanish but also to different people) I can't make any definitive arguments about it, but I personally think he only has one at a time. There are two instances where we know for sure which cat is the Cat King. His intro (the longhair orange) on the throne where we see him change, and the black cat that crawls out of his body and changes. The gray cat is part of another set of two. This is two that directly interact with Edwin without talking. The first one is in lighthouse leapers, and is the orange cat (short hair with white) that scratches Edwin's leg to get his attention, and that Edwin follows to the Cat King. (Note that we don't SEE this cat change, and there is no whooshing flame sound effect which has signaled the Cat King transforming all other times). The second is the gray tabby you mention, which is in the window and which Edwin once again follows to the Cat King (we also don't see/hear the Cat King's change in this interaction either). Here is a hastily thrown together (and badly lightened, but the show is so damn dark and i am so impatient lol) side by side of the known CK cats and the prospective ones.

I personally don't think the Cat King would (earlier in Lighthouse Leapers, or at this point in the show, tho I'm a sucker for it in fic) go personally to fetch Edwin. He's still playing his power games, albeit more softly at the end, and it seems more likely to me that he would send cats to summon Edwin. Whether he picks cats that are similar to himself as a way of enticing Edwin's extra attention, who knows In my own little canon, the Cat King is first the long-haired orange cat, and then the sleek black cat.

[paraphwrites]

it's like what's great about dbda is though we all have our ride or die ships, but actually all of the ones explored on screen aren't good ships, because they are all traumatized teenagers who aren't ready to be in a relationship

payneland? girl charles doesn't even know the meaning of the word "repression." and edwin, for all his understanding of his emotions, has exactly two friends: his boyfriend and his boyfriend's girlfriend.

cryland? they both have soooo much trauma and they set each other off. crystal is TRYING to work through her's but she can't do it while locking lips w charles. charles doesn't even know the meaning of the word "trauma." also charles is dead

catwin? tck is bored above all else. he needs to find A Purpose before he can find a partner. at the end of the day, everything he does it trying to fill a void.

montywin? the only person he ever talked to prior to edwin was his demon witch mommy. he lives in a delusional world where what he wants (edwin) and what esther wants (edwin) can coexist without reprucissions

palaski is okay i guess except niko isn't sure if crystal will text her back and then she dies, so :/

in conclusion gang i actually love them all

[spookystree]

Fame au time 😁😁😁😁

↓↓↓

Esther plays A LOT of witches

Crystal used to be involved in one of those old psychic reality shows when she was a child

She randomly has people ask her to see if their dead loved ones are around

Edwin once told someone who asked that ghosts aren't real and then just walked away

Crystal and him definitely fought about that

Edwin is also involved in a lot of ghost related movies and shows

Sometimes period pieces

Crystal is the same about the ghost one, they were on a show together a while ago and every time they get to be in the same show/movie they are very happy

It doesn't happen SUPER often but it's still a win when it does

Thomas and/or Niko occasionally hang out around their partners when they're on set or for Crystal filming a music video or anything

Charles and Monty do that too sometimes

Thomas and Edwin have in fact played love interests in some show (I like it when actors who are dating do this)

Thomas posts Edwin A LOT in this au too

Edwin doesn't post much relationship related stuff because "it's not important to his work" but he posts stuff every so often congratulating his boyfriend or saying happy birthday or happy anniversary

Niko loves Edwin going to her for advice and he does if Crystal's advice is unsatisfactory or if it's more romance centered than just "I wanna do this for him"

Edwin dresses in very nice suits exclusively when he's expecting to have pictures taken of him

Otherwise he usually wears sweaters and nice trousers

TCK wears a lot of long skirts still

Being in a relationship with him has made Edwin wear more jewelry

Mostly cause Thomas gifts him it a lot

Edwin is EXTREMELY sassy in interviews

He tries to dial it down and usually fails

Niko's fans are very interested in her relationship with crystal and her friends

And she HAPPILY talks about them

Charles does the same

Charles also has a crush on both Edwin and Crystal in this au

Mostly so I can have options of who I want him with tbh

He's very obvious about both of those

[ace-and-the-rpg-horrors]

oooh, i've wondered about the fandom opinion on this for a while

[deadboydetectives-confessions]

How D&D would go for the DBD folks:

--Monty (he's human again, just go with it) decides he wants to DM

--Niko (she's back, go with it) is into it because she is a nerd & is still low-key trying to set Edwin & Monty up

--Edwin is trying to be nice to Monty despite his discomfort with Monty's feelings & obviously wants to spend time with Niko so agrees

--Charles doesn't trust Monty even though he kind of helped with the backpack, so he is definitely playing

--Crystal is like: ok, sure?

--Party starts off: Edwin (wizard), Charles (paladin), Niko (cleric), Crystal (sorcerer).

--Monty rambles a lot as a DM, immediately boring Charles. He is not prepared for the many questions Edwin & Niko ask. Crystal, sensing that the questions will get them no where in the game because Monty has no clue the answers, does something rash (attacks a dragon with a sword because she doesn't understand her spell list) & immediately dies. (Monty did not balance the encounter well.)

--Jenny has been listening to all this & tells Monty to get up & she takes his seat. "This is stupid, but I cannot listen to you be this bad at DMing this stupid game"

--Turns out Jenny's first and only boyfriend from when she was 14 was a huge D&D nerd & made her play ("Made her" she fucking loved it). Her ex is now a non-binary vegan cosplayer. They send her Halloween cards about the evils of the meat industry that she burns in the alley way over the trash can.

--New party compostion: Edwin (wizard), Charles (paladin), Niko (cleric), Monty (druid), Crystal (barbarian). ("If you're going to attack a dragon with a sword & be an idiot, at least lets make you good at melee attacks.")

--Jenny successfully leads them through most an an encounter with pixies that bear a strong resemblance to the dandelion sprites. Niko tries to adopt them / heal them, but Jenny interrupts by introducing a ghost for them to fight.

--Edwin starts arguing with Jenny about how the ghosts of the game are nothing like real ghosts & how it is an affront to ghosts. Also his spell list is nothing like actual magic. It also comes up that while everyone has been assuming his character was male, he is playing his character as a woman.

--While this is going on Niko & Monty decide to switch classes. Niko is now a druid & Monty is a cleric.

--Niko immediately turns into a polar bear

--Charles decides to interrupt Edwin's ghost tirade by attacking the ghosts & gets grieviously injured.

--Edwin tells Monty he must heal Charles, but Monty doesn't understand his new spell list yet.

--Polar bear Niko & Crystal kill the ghosts

--The Night Nurse comes in & gives them a case, which Charles is into.

--Edwin is deeply upset that Charles' character is just dying while they go off to solve a case.

--Niko drops polar bear form & heals Charles so they can actually go & do their jobs

--This becomes an on-going campaign.

--Once TCK tried to join in (bard), but Jenny banned him because all he wanted to do was seduce the NPCs. He would have seduced Edwin but by that point it was clear Edwin was playing an older woman who looks exactly like his disguise.

--Monty keeps trying to back seat DM & Jenny keeps shutting him down. His character is also a woman & everyone is uncomfortable because she sounds/acts a little too much like Esther.

--The Night Nurse (sorcerer) has been roped into playing a few games, but Jenny thinks she cheats because she never rolls below a 14.

--Tragic Mick sells minis & battle map supplies & other D&D items. He joined one game as a ranger.

--Charles multiclasses with rogue

--Crystal dies again & switches to warlock, which she winds up sticking with.

--I have given zero thought to what races everyone plays.

.

[crafteeauthor]

Actually no I've been thinking about ep 1 (specifically Edwin interrogating Meatball) a lot and yeah if I was TCK I'd genuinely be livid. Meatball's lucky to be alive; if Esther knew he had spilled she 100000% would have killed him, and she wouldn't have any real reason to stop there since cats don't get missing posters and police investigations. If I was in charge of a glaring of less than 200 cats and some twink mugged one of my citizens for info that could get my Whole Kingdom Fucking Killed (or at least one member which is already too many) I'd do way more than slap a bracelet on him are you kidding

[ratboydefenselawyer]

I’m starting this out by saying THE CAT KING IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER! I SHIP CATWIN! It’s now my time to throw my thoughts into the ring. I’m not looking to argue with anybody and I am aware that he isn’t a lawful good character. These are just my takes on this very divisive and complex character.

- His first meeting with Edwin, pulls him away to talk privately, offers up the idea to get physically involved for payment. When Edwin becomes visibly uncomfortable TCK immediately verbalizes it, stands up and tells him to count all of the cats in town instead. Doesn’t force him or keep pushing. He does continue to check in and flirt throughout the season.

-Edwin consistently sees these cats without seeing a single cat a second time, they usually come in 2-3’s? As someone who has cats of my own and feeds strays, that’s not normal behavior for cats. They don’t just leisurely stroll past and most of the time aren’t in groups. I firmly believe TCK was influencing them to be in certain places for Edwin. It isn’t an impossible task for the ghost.

-Edwin on multiple occasions meets up with TCK alone, he is always standing tall and never afraid to talk back to him. We know when he is afraid that he backs up or goes quiet. He doesn’t flinch away from TCK and at times leans into his touch.

-Speaking on touch! He makes it very clear that people touching/hugging/getting in his personal space isn’t his favorite thing. But on multiple occasions let’s TCK get in his personal space and touch his face, chest, lips, arm, etc. He even invades TCK’s personal space when he’s angry.

-Monty (sweet bird baby) was made human for the entire purpose of luring this fledgling gay ghost into false sense of security and into a trap. Monty even kisses Edwin without permission. Fast forward to the scene in the woods, we know TCK is an equal punishment kinda guy. He in turn kisses Monty without permission, and I think it was his own form of punishment for the bird. On top of exposing that he was leading the boys into a trap. (No hate on Monty, I love him, it’s just to make my point).

-During the scene from my last point, Edwin lashes out at TCK, who threatens (not very convincingly) that he’s going to stop playing nice. Edwin isn’t afraid of him. He keeps walking away. Then we see Esther literally KILL TCK for exposing her plan after the feline defends Edwin and tells her to lay off him. He loses one of his lives for helping Edwin.

-When the girls come to him for help with defeating Esther he puts his neck out on the line for Edwin again, the girls KNOW that he genuinely cares for the ghost in some way. Thats why they go to him.

-The bracelet comes off when Edwin gets dragged back to the Doll House. He didn’t technically finish his task of counting the cats. As soon as Edwin got back to town, he could’ve put that bracelet back on him. Instead he lets it go. He gives Edwin the flower and wants to say goodbye, EDWIN is the one who gets close to him, kisses his cheek, and smiles. He’s the one who teased TCK about forgetting to count himself.

-Bottom lining this last one for any of the TCK is a pedo/predator/rapist people. At absolutely no point in this show does he force any sort of sexual act on Edwin. We do not know how old TCK is. I do not agree with this argument at all, I think it’s grasping at straws. Edwin obviously isn’t disgusted by his flirting. He isn’t cowering in a corner, he isn’t terrified. Edwin has been dead for 100+ years. He has thoughts about TCK, that much is VERY clear. Edwin isn’t helpless, he’s experienced so much, and I think some people who infantilize him are doing the character a disservice.

I can keep going. Do I think TCK and Edwin are going to get together? No. Do I think they could/should share a few more sweet moments in the seasons (manifesting) to come? Absolutely. Do I think they would have a sweet understanding relationship as friends/possibly FWB? Unquestionably. At the end of this rant, I know TCK isn’t a saint. He’s a trickster, he’s a slimy little grungy stray. He’s a chaotic neutral type. He’s not supposed to give you the warm fuzzies but he’s not a monster. There isn’t an argument out there that could make me believe otherwise. They’re fictional characters, I’m so very tired of people being attacked for fictional characters that they enjoy by self-righteous close minded individuals. Enjoy the characters you want to enjoy, none of it is real and if it brings you joy? All the better.

That’s all folks. Rant over.

[terresdebrume]

So my inspiration for the post about the boxing scene and Edwin landing a punch successfully was actually the scene in the Mummy Returns where Evie does exactly that, and now I have to say

The Mummy!DBDA fusion starring:

Charles Rowland as the charming yet occasionally goofy rogue

Niko Sasaki as the sibling who is a lot more competent than her propensity for landing herself in trouble would indicate

Edwin Payne as the sheltered librarian with exactly enough spirit to survive these adventures

Crystal as the pilot friend (who survives and gains a new appreciation for her life after gaining friends to fill up the void left by her previous posse)

Monty as Benny (with better life preservation and a last minute change of heart)

The Cat King as that one cat who scares the mummy out of the hotel in cairo

Esther Finch as the Mummy

David the Demon as the Museum curator?

If someone wants to write/draw that...

EDIT: actually I think TCK can be Ardeth Bay. I think he and Rick!Charles would get along hilariously (... For us)

[starsandaces24]

i like to imagine that all the adults in Port Townsend are in a giant polycule. TCK and Esther, obviously, but Tragic Mick is there too. Also Asha and Kashi, but they're only dating Tragic Mick (He doesn't want the kids to do anything to Angie because he only gets to see Kashi when she's awake and the kids made the Cat King and Esther mad). The Night Nurse and Ester are bitter exes and that's half the reason Esther wanted to murder the agency by the end.