#payneland fics

[adventures-in-mangaland]

Another Dead Boy Detectives Fic Rec List

Netflix sucks and I'm sad, but the Dead Boy Detectives fandom continues to be awesome, so here are some more very quick fic recs!*

Tonight's the Night You Fight Your Best Mate's Dad by Opossum_Subatomic

Everyone's Alive College/University 5+1 things fic featuring Charles bringing Edwin coffee and slowburn payneland. Also Family/Wedding Drama involving Everyone Thinks They're Dating so acute is verges on Fake Dating. This author is seriously fantastic, everything they write is gold.

You should also check out Kissing Lessons, which is a high school AU that does what it says on the tin while also giving non-binary Monty and polyamory.

Ornithology by Rosie447

Monty gets a job working at Tragic Mick's. This one's not actually payneland, being gen and Monty-centric. I know, gasp. It's a fantastic and very sweet exploration of Monty discovering his sense of self post canon and works as a great metaphor for recovery from toxic family/relationships. Also, the ex-animal solidarity and bonding with Mick is lovely.

what some circumstance stole by Chrome

The Sandman crossover featuring Edwin and Hob being kidnapped and tortured together. Their friendship is really wholesome with eventual Father Figure and Found Family Feels for the whole agency and background Dreamling.

dandelion wine (life and death in summertime) by world_wanderer

Payneland Right Person Wrong Time AU in which neither of them die but they still meet and become friends. The May/December friendship is sweet but tragic, with a bittersweet ending. Superb.

Mirror Image by Anonymous

Charles' afterlife gets taken over my an evil shape-shifting doppelganger, leaving him with plenty of time to regret never talking to Edwin about his feelings. Angsty but with Feelings Realisation and the Power of Love and Friendship vibes.

my healing needed more than time by babyseraphim

Case fic with de-aged Charles! Baby Charles is precious but be prepared for discussions of childhood trauma/abuse.

The same author has also written I'm So Aces at Babysitting, which is a really cute two-chaptered AU featuring Charles and Edwin babysitting the kid versions of each other, with bonus Crystal and Niko doing the same. It's very wholesome and the author writes little kids really well.

Pouring into me by tragedy_machine

Love me some "Charles wants to date Edwin to figure out his feelings but gets turned down" fic. Feelings are hard, OK?

thank u, next by KiaraSayre

Edwin fucks and Charles seethes. It's very funny and also features some interesting worldbuilding with the Fae.

Like We've Never Known Hurt by dearheartdont

Just cute established relationship PWP and praise kink. So good.

all of these hollows by handwrittenhello

The boys are alive again but sans memories. Can they still find each other and prove their devotion to the Night Nurse?? While also evading heavenly and hellish forces trying to keep them apart??? Very interesting concept executed well.

Suo Gân by emryses

The agency takes on the case of a traumatised Edwardian ghost searching for her missing baby... Read it for Edwin family feels.

Where Primroses Bloom by PantryJesus

Reading aloud as a love language and Watership Down feels. Idk, I'm now convinced that Edwin is kind of rabbit-coded with the whole "if they catch you they'll kill you. But first they must catch you" thing. A lovely well written fic.

I'm so sick of online love by Hse11z5

College/University AU where the boys meet through a dating app. It's cute.

you can have the best of me, baby (and I will give you anything) by aletterinthenameofsanity

Again, it's the Friends with Benefits but with real feelings and mutual pining for me. Now has a Charles PoV companion fic.

True Love's Kiss by Asidian

In which Charles curses himself with a Sleeping Beauty enchantment in order to confirm his feelings for Edwin and Crystal is the real MVP. I love this one because the boys are both SO stupid but in very different in-character ways.

I also recommend Promised, in which they kind of play the Green card angle to keep Edwin out of Hell? Which honestly needs to be more of a trope. And Tight Quarters, starring the boys trapped in a magic circle, leading to Forced Proximity induced Feelings Realization (in more ways than one! 😉).

Something I Can Turn To by DontOffendTheBees

I love some domestic fluff, in this case as an Everyone's Alive/Childhood Friends AU in which the boys are poor but happy living together. I liked how they both survive their respective traumas, but Reality Ensues.

I also recommend Lived My Whole Life Before the First Light for a lovely but melancholy Soulmate AU that goes for the "seeing colours" trope for extra wistful angst.

Dining at the Ritz by TerresDeBrume

Meeting the Parents fic in which Edwin's parents are awful and Charles is Not Having It. This has Everyone Thinks They're Dating and autistic Edwin stimming representation, plus discussions of racism, classism and ableism. The fic is also part of a great Modern AU series in which the boys attended St Hilarion's at the same time and Charles saved Edwin from a non-supernatural but still almost deadly prank. Highly recommended!

The Case of the Couples Retreat by juliasfanart

Listen, I can't get enough of undercover fake dating/relationships at a couples retreat, OK? Some minor angst but overall very cute and fluffy.

acu (aysar cinematic universe) by ObsessedWithFandom

The agency is hired to solve the mystery of Charles' death and bring his killers to justice. I'm genuinely obsessed with this series; I love its OCs and Charles having an exboyfriend gives Edwin a fun crisis. Plus haunting Charles' killers is very satisfying and cathartic. Just imagine they're Netflix execs, y'all.

*Not actually quick, as it turns out. 😅

I love doing these lists because I always think I've only got a few recs and then I look back over my recent bookmarks and I've got a metric ton of great fics to rec. You guys are so talented. ❤️

[many-gay-magpies]

smooch

i originally drew this to be companion art for my new fic, where primroses bloom, but u do not need to read that to comprehend. smooch

also for @painlandweek day 3 - love confession/first kiss <3

[tragedy-machine]

You know what would be fun, Edwin using a little bit of physical violence to defend Crystal or Niko, like "accidentally" dropping something heavy on the bad guy's foot while he's yapping aggressively and coming closer to the girls or tripping him over with a quick pull on the rug the dude is standing on, Edwin turning and "accidentally" hitting him on the head with something Edwin's holding etc

And obviously, the bad guy gets mad and goes to attack Edwin, but Charles swiftly swoops in between them

So bad guy is like "Oh so you started shit, knowing your little boyfriend will come and defend you, you coward?!"

And Edwin just smiles at them as Charles throws the dude out and says, "Yes, I did."

Brought to by a scene from gig officially gigged

[zinnie-zoloft]

Charles is absolutely that guy on Reddit who was worried he was being homophobic towards his roommate only to discover it was actually just jealousy

[a-jasminator]

When your best mate is about to go full vengeful and there's only one way to shock him back to his senses...

Companion piece to my fic Spectral Rage!

[2deadboys]

just thinking about that one concept of Charles telling Edwin they should get married so they have a claim on each others souls (so Hell can't have Edwin)

but early on in their friendship

Charles is all like hey so you know how you escaped hell and youre running from it bc it still owns your soul...... what if we got married so your soul technically belongs to me?? -- and mine is yours of course.

Edwin is just "... you want to marry me?"

"As best mates of course :))) I'll do anything to keep you safe."

and they lowkey forget about it till Hell nabs Edwin again. But this time Charles argues to the Night Nurse that actually Edwins soul belongs to him. And whips out their marriage certificate.

And shes like 😐 "I'm going to have to file this officially.... but technically your claim is stronger than Hells."

Hell had Edwins soul because of a technicality. But Charles has his soul because Edwin willingly gives himself to him.

[eddiewithcat]

the thing that gets me the absolute most about the love confession is just . how charles responds.

like, genuinely if he didn't feel some kind of feelings for edwin, he would've let him down gently, right then and there.

but it is the fact that he said "i can't say that like, i'm in love with you back, but there's no one else, no one else, that i would go to hell for. and we've got literally forever to figure out what the rest means" LIKE.

HE IS NOT QUITE AWARE OF HIS FEELINGS FOR HIM BECAUSE HE HAS NEVER THOUGHT TO THINK ANY DIFFERENTLY/ WHAT IT COULD POSSIBLY MEAN?

also this is neil gaiman show be so fucking for real!!!

[coloursflyaway]

As much as I love (and understand) everyone being wild about Edwin in Port Townsend, you can't tell me that clients don't fall in love with Charles left and right, too.

Have you seen the boy?

The softest, warmest brown eyes you could imagine, surrounded by the longest lashes. A nose so regal it would make Greek sculptors cry with joy. Cheekbones so sharp you could cut a diamond on them. Curls you want to card your fingers through and never stop again. A smile so brillant it could replace the sun.

I'm sure there's an army of people just swooning over Charles back in England.

And Edwin? Edwin would have hated that ever since it happened the first time, but now he knows why it hurts that much when someone calls Charles babe or luv or darling and I am pretty sure that that would make it so much worse.

[lesbicosmos]

i feel like the tiny sofa in the office is the dead boy detectives equivalent of the side character who appears in one episode then is never seen again but shows up in every single fanfic

[edwinspaynes]

Heavy Angst

In the comics, Edwin's body was put in a chest in the attic of St Hilarion's. He is aware that his bones are there.

I have this interesting idea where the Core Four find a chest in the attic of St Hilarion's, where they had to go for a case. Unlike in the comics, they do not know what is inside. They don't want to open it so they have Crystal read it.

Crystal sees Edwin's death in its entirety. She isn't experiencing it as him, but she can see it and is immersed in it. And then when she lets go she just pulls back screaming, and she just starts shouting and crying because she just saw one of her best friends die far more horribly than she imagined.

And Edwin's like "what happened?" And she just like. Wipes her tears away and asks Niko and Charles to leave the room.

She goes to Edwin and takes his hand. He's confused at first and is kind of "what the fuck" about it. But then she tells him that it's his body and she had to see his death. And that of course he gets to decide what to tell Charles and Niko.

Edwin freaks out. Because he is upset that Crystal (accidentally) saw something that he really did not want her to see, and because his body was shoved in a box and forgotten and he thinks he does not deserve to be treated like that. And he has an episode-one style outburst.

He calms down eventually and tells Charles and Niko about it. Charles, Crystal, and Niko decide to bury him properly (and next to Charles). Edwin does not want Charles to go because a) he doesn't want Charles to see his dead body, and b) he wants Charles to remain with him since he cannot bury himself and will stay in the attic.

Charles just stays with him the whole time. And he holds his hand and listens when he does talk.

The girls bury Edwin's bones. Niko spends the entire time that it takes Crystal to dig the hole holding the chest with the bones inside lovingly while crying. She thinks Edwin in this living body was never held and loved, so she is doing it for him now.

Finally, Edwin is buried next to Charles. They all go to the attic to be with Edwin.

[tititilani]

If Charles and Edwin ever do kiss in the show, I will be a little disappointed if Edwin DOESN'T make a little noise during it

[adventures-in-mangaland]

Even More Dead Boy Detectives Fic Recs

I've discovered some amazing new authors since my last post! And writers I've already recced have published more great stories So here's another fic rec post!

Who? You mean your teammate in the Codependency World Cup? (series) by RoseGanymede95

I couldn't chose! They're all great! Basically a series of Edwin and Charles through the years and on cases pre-show. It scratches that adjusting-to-being-dead/newly-escaped-from-Hell itch and the authors writing is magic! It also fleshes out a really interesting conflict in the payneland dynamic: Charles' drive to protect Edwin at all costs clashing with Edwin's guilt over putting Charles at risk/depriving him of some ideal afterlife. Parts one and four also introduces Constantine/Johanna and part three revolves around an absolutely gut-wrenching temporary break-up. 😢

In Hell I'll Be in Good Company by laylabinx

Charles rescuing Edwin from Hell does not go smoothly. Just. Bucketloads of Trauma for both of them. And for you, the Reader. It's so good though!

your fangs in my neck (like an anchor like a vow) by shadowquill17

Vampire Edwin AU! It's great because it combines the (homo)eroticism of vampiric feeding with Charles' whole bisexual crisis and post-confession Edwin worrying about making Charles uncomfortable. Also Charles is some kind of demigod/immortal agent of divine vengeance which is an AMAZING detail and I desperately want to see some fanart!

The same author's ongoing story to the pain is also excellent though very angsty (cw temporary character death). I'm anxiously waiting for an update!

To Memory Now I Can't Recall by engineering_madonna

This is an amnesia fic and the most recent in an established relationship series. The first two installments feature the boys getting together and navigating their new relationship, so pulling the old 'character A forgets their whole romantic relationship with character B' trope hits especially hard! The whole series is lovely, but I am WEAK for temporary-amnesia.

Lemonade & Sunrises by paraph

A Quiet Place AU! The boys are alive, but they're the only ones. Very bleak but in a way that makes me want more!

1999 au (series) by websters_lieb

The boys figure their shit out in the 90s. Also, Edwin gets to read Maurice and queer theory. The cases in both stories are compelling and the author's writing and characterisation of the boys are excellent.

I also recommend offer me that deathless death which is about the boys' first meeting, Charles' funeral and the birth of the agency.

if I could reach the stars (i'd give them all to you) by ObsessedWithFandom

Charles falls first, Edwin falls harder. This is an AU of the author's excellent Charles' bisexual awakening fic, which I also highly recommend. It has lovely OCs and Charles having a sweet little friendship/romance with the boy he saved in canon, which actually makes his death a whole lot more tragic.

Came up from that lake of fire by ghostinthelibrary

Charles and Edwin get caught escaping Hell and promise to capture a demon-eating ghost called The Deathless in exchange for their freedom. With the added twist that they get to be alive again! An exciting case, high stakes and all the alive-again culture shocks and emotional/interpersonal drama you could ask for.

gig officially gigged by laiqualaurelote

Band AU! It shouldn't work but it does. Which might also be an in-universe review for the band tbh. Idk, I loved Edwin's massive obscure musical instruments and Charles being his unpaid roadie. Peak Found Family Feels.

No Rehearsing It, No Reversing It by DontOffendTheBees

Charles overthinks being in love with Edwin, my beloved. This time with increasingly flimsy pretexts for why they NEED to kiss. Just perfect Idiots in Love, no notes.

The Case of David Bowie's Made up Sexuality by williamvapespeare

The agency attempt to help a living lesbian couple deal with a haunting. Meanwhile, Charles struggles through his bisexual (re)awakening. With bonus past (living) Charles no-homo-ing himself to the nth degree. Pure of heart, dumb of ass, indeed.

The lamps are going out by CasiHuman

Vengeful Spirit Edwin AU! Has some interesting ghost lore and Edwin being convinced his touch is painful to Charles (love that trope!). Also features some of the author's adorable/hilarious fanart at the end.

just frame the halves (and call them brothers) by Anonymous

Crystal stumbles upon the ghost of Edwin's older brother, who hires the agency to free him and his platoon from the battleground they've been haunting. Case fic with interesting details about Edwin's family life and an awkward as hell family reunion.

the case of the very long ferry ride by obsceme

Sex pollen but with skin hunger, so it's more touching turned making out and hand jobs in a bathroom. Interesting use of ghost lore and it's cute and well written.

Form 239, Schedule L by sanctuary_for_all

Charles Rowland's Love Language is Acts of Service: The Fic. So many feels! Plus Afterlife worldbuilding and some quality Night Nurse rep.

don't go sharing your devotions (lay all your love on me) by Hephanna

The boys and Crystal accidentally summon an alternate universe version of Charles. He's very... handsy. Charles being jealous of himself is objectively hilarious and it looks like it could be heading towards throuple territory. Possibly even a foursome, if alternate Edwin figures out parallel universe travel. Which he probably will.

Still a Better Lovestory by Vamillepudding

Hanahaki disease! Charles is on the case but Edwin's being weirdly uncooperative about his own curse. I loved the worldbuilding (there's a whole sisterhood of washerwomen!) and the angst, plus the writing is excellent.

The author has also written Eternal Sunshine, in which Edwin is cursed to feel no love of any kind. It makes for an interesting character study, contrasting cursed Edwin, his public reserve and his actual personality.

[footandantlers]

I need more people to talk about Charles fear of water/the cold. I don't think it was mentioned as directly in the Netflix show as it was in Doom Patrol but I need more about it. I need more of Edwin trying to help him through it subtly while others are confused. I need more of my boys 😞

[tragedy-machine]

Listen, listen, listen, imagine Charles making a grand romantic gesture to confess to Edwin, he makes it really special, VERY obviously romantic

They're talking, they're bantering, and eventually, Charles sees his chance and tells Edwin, "I love you"

Edwin blushes and naturally says it back

And Charles is super happy, like "Yes! I finally did it, we're finally dating!" ...meanwhile, Edwin did not get that it was a date and a romantic confession

So we see them go about their days and solve cases while Charles thinks they're together and assumes Edwin is too shy to kiss him, but he's waiting for an opportunity to do it one day because he really wants to, but he can be patient for Edwin

And Edwin is just like, "Charles’s been more affectionate with his touch recently, I don't know what that's about, but it's nice"

[pandorem]

There’s something about the fact that ghosts can’t even truly feel anything and yet Charles is so constantly physical with Edwin. The way when Charles breaks down at the beach Edwin tries to reciprocate that physical comfort in return. It’s possible to read it as a lack of thought from the creators but it is so much more interesting to look at it from a character perspective.

Also do you ever think about how they had physical forms in hell and thus they could both almost certainly feel each other for the first time in thirty years? That the physical comfort that Charles gave, both after finding Edwin and after Edwin confesses, are probably the first non painful contact Edwin has had in almost a century? The fact that when Charles cradles Edwin’s face in his hands, when he held his shoulders and told him Edwin is the most important person in the world to him, Edwin could actually feel that? Ha ha. Because. Because I do.

[deadboy-edwin]

okay but. does anyone ever think about "none of this was here before", and "you have to experience hell to really see what's here" and the implications of that???????

so. charles doesn't see anything in hell when he first enters. like he goes through all the empty rooms. he hears some odd things, sure, like the screaming when he rings the bell in the lobby, but he has a more or less tame walk through hell (all things considered).

but then, he sees edwin.

edwin, who is curled into himself, bloodstains painting his skin and clothes, a painfully vacant look on his face. the sight is an absolute juxtaposition versus the usual poise charles is used to seeing edwin carries himself with, his ramrod straight posture and pristinely coiffed hair a mere memory.

then, edwin speaks.

"charles?"

it's the softest and most vulnerable that charles has ever heard his best mate's voice. it's also the most terrified charles has ever heard edwin- and they'd faced off many threats in their years together as detectives. the disbelief in edwin's voice at even seeing charles again is painful, because seeing charles shouldn't even be a surprise, because there wasn't any version of this where charles didn't come to get him, where charles would allow that they would never see each other again.

ghosts do not have internal organs, or much physical sensation (iron aside), but charles swears he can feel his heart shatter into a billion tiny pieces in his chest.

a split second later, the baby doll head spider makes an appearance, whisking edwin away from him, edwin's screams laced with absolute fear-

that is the first instance that charles sees hell's monsters.