#rambles: dead boy detectives

[pippin-katz]

"Red. For you; for courage."

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but while rewatching this scene for the millionth time, it occurred to me that she gives Edwin the red sea glass for courage.

And my brain just suddenly connected some dots. This is completely up to interpretation, and I'm not saying this is definitive, but it's a fun way to look at it.

Charles is courage.

I immediately thought of a thing from BBC's Merlin; since not everyone will have seen BBC's Merlin, I'll explain it briefly.

There is an episode in season 3 of BBC's Merlin where Arthur must go on a quest to the Perilous Lands to recover the lost Trident of the Fisher King. He has to go alone to prove himself. Merlin, his secretly magical manservant, needs to go after because it's his destiny to protect him and he knows that he's in danger. He recruits the help of a friend of theirs named Gwaine, and they follow him.

Arthur comes across a bridge will a little creature/halfling/hobbit/gnome/who-the-fuck-knows guarding it. When he addresses Arthur, he refers to him as Courage, and says he needs Magic and Strength to complete his quest. When Merlin and Gwaine come to the bridge, he addresses each of them as Magic and Strength respectively.

This is to say that the characters have a core quality that they represent. The same can be said for most media!

In this case specifically though, the fact that Charles is the brawn of the group with red as his hero color can't be a coincidence with the red sea glass being symbolic of courage. At least I don't think it's a coincidence.

(ko-fi)

[pippin-katz]

Seriously, he might not realize his own feelings yet, but Edwin being in love with him is like, the best thing ever once they get out of Hell. And Edwin apologizing but he doesn’t even get to finish his sentence.

I think it’s probably to do with his self image and feeling like he doesn’t deserve love/is unlovable, cause you just know he’s got that self hatred going on.

But Edwin is, you know, Edwin, and he is in love with him? The best person he knows, the most important person in the world to him, who notoriously isn’t good with other people but stayed with him and made him feel safe as he died, and the most brilliant person he’s ever met? Someone that gentle and elegant? That person is in love with him? A rebellious and rough guy with anger issues?

I can’t think of anything that could be more comforting or uplifting for someone like him.

(ko-fi)

the face of a boy being so totally normal about his platonic bro best mate confessing his undying romantic love for him on the stairs of hell not a few hours prior

he is seconds away from kicking his feet and twirling his hair I'm so serious

[pippin-katz]

I've had a Merthur post sitting in my drafts for over two years at this point, but I just reread the quote that was being applied to them, and holy fuck does it fit Payneland so well.

"There's a Japanese phrase that I like: koi no yokan. It doesn't mean love at first sight. It's closer to love at second sight. It's the feeling when you meet someone that you're going to fall in love with them. Maybe you don't love them right away, but it's inevitable that you will." - Nicola Yoon, The Sun Is Also A Star

You can't look me in the eye and tell me that's not literally Payneland's first meeting in a nutshell.

It's honestly perfect for these two, especially given the open-ended way Charles responded to Edwin's confession in Hell. He can't say that he's in love with him, but at the same time, he emphasizes that what he feels for Edwin is unique and above anything he feels for anyone else. Eventually, he's going to figure it out. It's inevitable.

(ko-fi)

[pippin-katz]

Monty's Warning

Something that I've always noticed at the end of episode 7 is how Monty perches on the roof by the detectives. He sits in the open and even caws to draw their attention.

Now, as Esther's spy, this is a pretty stupid thing to do. Spies typically don't want to be noticed when they're spying on someone. Monty makes sure they notice him.

Part of me wonders if this was Monty's way of trying to warn them about Esther.

As far as they're aware, Esther's trapped in another realm because of the forest elemental. But the last time Edwin saw Monty, he was still a boy. He flew by while the elemental was attacking, but I don't think anyone really noticed/registered his presence. Regardless, they don't see Monty again after Esther was dragged off.

Until now.

The fact that Monty is flying around, that he's there on the roof with them, should've been a red flag to the detectives. What would he be doing there if not sent by Esther? And if Esther sent him, she must have somehow gotten back to their realm. She must be back in their realm, and have something new planned for the boys given that she sent Monty to spy on them.

Obviously, Monty can't tell them all this. But by exposing himself, he can at least give them a hint. Unfortunately, none of them recognized the warning.

(ko-fi)

[pippin-katz]

Edwin's Smile

I don't think any of you understand how desperately I need more flashbacks, or entire flashback episodes. This is a necessity.

Edwin doesn't smile with his teeth. He just doesn't.

Except for when he sees Charles in hell and when they realize they don't have to run anymore.

But at the beginning of the show, he smiles and laughs showing teeth multiple times. If you pay attention, Edwin is so much more animated in those first few minutes of the show, prior to meeting Crystal.

He's so comfortable and happy around Charles. He doesn't mask, at all; he allows himself to express his emotions freely. Even after he becomes friendly and comfortable with Crystal, and connects really well with Niko, he never looks like this again.

Too much has changed, too much is happening, and he can't seem to allow himself to relax enough to laugh or smile the way he does with Charles at the start.

I need to see more of Edwin prior to Crystal's arrival. I need to see him and Charles bantering, having fun, and generally enjoying solving cases together. Show me the Edwin who was Charles' best mate for 30 years.

Note: This is in no way slandering Crystal by the way. Don't be commenting/reblogging/tagging any Crystal hate on this post. To quote John Mulaney, Crystal is a bitch, and I like her so much.

(ko-fi)

[pippin-katz]

This same boy says he's not very good with other people immediately after Charles dies and suggests staying with him. Sweetie, you're unconventional according to society's neurotypical standards, but you are not bad with people.

This scene destroys me every time, but one incredible detail that I haven't seen anybody mention is the position of the bedding.

In the first shot, when Edwin arrives, we can see that Charles has taken one mattress and one blanket to huddle in the corner with them.

In the final shot, all of the bedding has been rearranged on the floor to make Charles' little blanket nest as Edwin reads to him.

But Charles spends the entirety of these scenes growing weaker with each passing shot. He's sitting upright and shivering, then leaning against the shelves and shivering, then leaning hard on a table and coughing as the internal damage starts to catch up to him, then leaning much harder on the shelves after the shivering has stopped (a bad sign when someone is hypothermic), then leaning so far down he's near reclined, then finally lying flat on the floor amidst the bedding.

My point is, by the time that final scene comes around, Charles doesn't have the strength left to have moved the bedding for himself anymore.

That was Edwin. Edwin sat with this dying boy, and brought him light, and made him laugh. And when the end was near, he made him a blanket nest on the floor, so that he could die in comfort while someone read him off to sleep.

[writerofstuff]

Dead Boy Detectives was surprising.

It surprised me when, instead of Crystal dropping in and fracturing Charles and Edwin's thirty years of friendship, they went with Crystal sinking into the fold of Charles and Edwin's friendship and becoming an important and unique addition to the group.

It surprised me when, instead of Gay Boy Pining Over Straight Best Friend, they went with Gay Boy Realises Feelings For Straight Best Friend And Confesses Almost Immediately with a bonus of Straight Boy Accepts Confession With Surprising Grace And Nothing Changes, Not Really.

It surprised me when, instead of making the female characters repetitive and semi-rational and ultimately less powerful, they went with characters who are smart and selfish and kind and cruel and strong and flawed and oh, they happen to be female too.

It surprised me when Charles liking Crystal did not affect one bit of how much he loved Edwin.

It surprised me when Jenny talked about spinsters with cats and Niko did not bat an eye.

It surprised me with Edwin and Niko. It surprised me with, we have forever to figure the rest out. It surprised me with Crystal's kindness, Jenny's empathy, the casual and absolute, the good you do will come back around.

Dead Boy Detectives was surprising. One day, I hope I can sit back and watch another show and none of this has to be surprising anymore.

[edwinisms]

the way that charles seems to be walking on air, schoolgirl-level giddy in the scenes after edwin’s confession instead of awkward or distant. the way he seems soooooo satisfied after all these bouts of jealousy over other guys edwin’s been entangled with because out of all those options he’s the one edwin chose. the way he responds ‘it didn’t’ without needing to think about it for a single second when edwin expresses his fear that he’s made him uncomfortable by confessing. the way he’s flirting with him by the end of the finale, teasing about how charming his smile is to the guy who he knows very well has been charmed by him. charles rowland you are not subtle

[pippin-katz]

do you think about how charles looks at edwin first and so much sooner before their hug in the last episode because edwin's safety and freedom is far more important than his own on a daily basis or are you normal?

[pippin-katz]

I was actually planning to point this out at some point! I feel like Charles is way more bothered by death/violence than he lets on. Or perhaps he was feeling extra sensitive. I mean, he just watched a guy butcher his family on repeat, and shoot himself in the head, but averts his eyes when a woman falls into the ocean? That's one of the least violent ways to watch someone die. You don't even see them hit the water.

I find it interesting too! 🤔

I noticed that in ep 4, when they watch the woman jump off the lighthouse, edwin and crystal have a similar reaction and niko and charles have a similar reaction. what does it mean? idk I just think it's interesting

[wiredust]

so if charles and edwin name all their cases ("the case of the shrieking doll", etc) then things like "the great chewing gum debacle of '06" aren't even real cases it's just things they did or happened to them that they decided to name and remember to the end of time.

that's just so funny to me like imagine they get stuck in a haunted house and it's not part of a case so they call it "the haunted manor escape of '96" which of course is different to "the case of the haunted manor."

how do they remember all of these?? does edwin keep notes on all their little adventures even if it's not officially a case ??

[pippin-katz]

I think one of my absolute favorite things about this fandom is that we all saw the confession scene and said: ThUmBS oN CoLLaRBonEs

[technically-human]

Hey, don't cry. Ghost yuri, okay?

(Now that you know the girls, they need to meet the boys!)

[pippin-katz]

I don’t think we talk about that line enough.

Charles always has a bit of a "cool guy" vibe, or at least tries to. It's part of his need for validation, for people to like him. The use of "rescue" makes him sound like a knight in shining armor. It makes sense for him to use that phrase if he was trying to be cool/charismatic, but it's only Edwin there. He doesn't need to do that.

But he does use that phrase, and it feels completely sincere. He could have said he was there to get him out, like he says to the Night Nurse. "First, let me get him."

But no, he says, declares that he's there to rescue him. It feels inherently more meaningful, and if I'm being honest, more romantic. And the sincerity gives me the impression that he doesn't even realize he's doing it.

I’m here to rescue you. 🕯️

[edwinisms]

I wanna see edwin stubbornly avoid a conversation or an argument by deciding to literally sink through the floor into the room below. now THAT’s how you get the final word

[marsidotcom]

thinking about touch starved edwin and charles, newly terrified every time his best friend leaves the room.

edwin comes back from his second go at hell worse for wear, jumpy and tight-faced at all hours of the day, wringing the hems of his sleeves near threadbare if his clothes hadn’t lost corporal existence alongside him.

charles comes back shaken, clingy and fierce in his fear of losing edwin again- of seeing him die firsthand, torn apart in those damp, dingy halls of hell.

they get touchier, which almost feels impossible. charles will loop an arm around the crook of edwin’s, tugging him closer, shoulder to shoulder.

edwin will reach out for charles when lost in thought, scrutinizing old police reports on the office desk and thumbing gentle circles into charles’ hand.

one that comes entirely from left field, however, is the discovery of just how easy it is to get eachother to relax with physical touch, despite the sensation’s complex relationship with the paranormal.

charles will get the good kind of quiet with a gentle pressure on his back- edwin’s arms, looped around his middle where charles’ face is tucked into the cut of his shoulder, palms flat against the clothed skin there and rubbing gentle, steady pressure into the long-dead nerves of his spine.

crystal mentions something about back rubs awakening some childhood ease, a reminder of maternal memories. edwin tries his best not to think of charles, a baby in his mothers arms. fails when trying not to cry about it when he thinks about it alone.

edwin will curl up on nights when a phantom exhaustion eats at him, bone deep, and charles’ hands will find their way to edwin’s hair, raking dark brown strands from their slicked usual appearance into tumbling, messy curls. charles will smile and tell him that they’re matching now while edwin dozes against his side. ghosts don’t need sleep, but it sure as hell doesn’t hurt.