#repressed edwardian gay

[allthehumanflaws]

Hey everyone! 👀

I’ve finally posted the first chapter of my new fanfic, When Shadows Speak! 🖤 It's a fan fiction for the Dead Boy Detective Agency.📖✨

The Dead Boy Detectives think they’ve seen it all… until they’re pulled into a case that forces them to face something darker than they ever expected. Secrets, desire, and danger blur the lines as they’re forced to confront not just the dead, but the past they’ve been avoiding.

It’s a rollercoaster of mystery, magic, and a little bit of everything that makes their world so complicated.

It's on AO3 - When Shadows Speak by InkandAlchemy https://archiveofourown.org/works/60429367/chapters/154253011 (Check out my other works if you're into those fandoms)

[lereadinggrinch]

I saw this on Pinterest for another fandom and immediately thought of them lol

[an-american-crisis]

most realistic thing about dead boy detectives is edwin being super lame and everyone still wanting him carnally actually. we really will see the bitchiest and most pathetic wet paper bag of a man and lose our minds. art and life imitating each other or whatever

[rubylaufeyson]

I love Crystals sly look between Charles and Edwin when Edwin gets caught staring at Charles. 😂

[ultimatetrashgoblin]

We as a fandom moved on far too soon from the Simon scene

[gayregina]

Pride month, yeah!🏳️‍🌈 Now go watch the most queer supernatural amazing show to ever exist (aka Dead boy detectives)

STREAM DEAD BOY DETECTIVES

[3k05]

i cannot express how much i need you guys to watch dead boy detectives. it's good you'll like it please it's good. please

[th3d0nutl0rd]

My two circulating posts at the moment are a load of people collectively agreeing Neil gaiman's writing would involve a cat god who's gay, and a whole debate about Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. What the fuck have I done

[thesevenumbrellas]

They said “this is Edwin. He’s a repressed gay Edwardian teen who was ritually sacrificed by the guy who had a crush on him. His super power is he gets tortured so good even Despair thinks he’s neat.”

Then they threw him at tumblr like a wedding bouquet

[theashesofthefirststar]

Can’t believe 3 separate men wanted to fuck Edwin so bad they went and died about it. Lololol the cat king lost one of his 9 lives in an attempt to save Edwin. Monty had his chest clawed open before being transformed back into a crow - also because he was trying to save Edwin. Simon was so filled with repressed gay longing for Edwin that he attempted to ritually sacrifice him and got sucked into the pits of hell for it. Like Local Edwardian Ghost Boy so attractive he has a body count. 3 dead, more injured.

[smollsmule]

Ok ok but you wanna know the real tea?? I've read several beach fics at this point (which are all awesome btw, y'all are amazing writers) and it's a beloved staple to have Edwin be somehwat scandalised at everyone's beach outfits not to mention all flustered from seeing Charles in swim wear. Which is a Good Trope, don't get me wrong, I love that just as much as the next person

HOWEVER

I think actually it's Charles who should be more shooketh about Edwin in his funky lil edwardian two piece!!

Picture this. The year is 1916. You are 16 year old Edwin Payne with a bunch of repressed gay thoughts. Much unpleasantness happens, you die and get dragged to hell, even more unpleasantness happens, 70 years later you finally manage to claw your way up and suddenly women are allowed to vote. There's been not one but two world wars, several countries you grew up reading about in the news don't exist anymore and mini skirts are a thing now.

All I'm saying is, for all the teasing Edwin gets for "What is a handjob?" and "Crystal's internet", this kid was essentially thrust into a scifi world full of weird shit and gets mostly by via an attitude which can only be paraphrases as "fuck it, this might as well be a thing (maybe ask Charles about it later)". King of adaption, master of radical acceptance.

Charles on the other hand, and I say this with only love in my heart, is at his core a boomer. He was there for every tiny gradual shift from '89 to modern day. Sure, he was dead for most of that time, but that's not really relevant. All I'm saying is, seeing the bbc announce marriage equality was probably a bigger shock to Charles than it was to Edwin. That's a guy who already had to accept he will never fully wrap his head around home television.

Also consider the states of undress they've been exposed to seeing the other in. Edwin was stripped to his underwear in hell and still had his knees and elbows covered. And that was probably a more exposing outfit than he'd ever be comfortable with. His usual casual get up features a sweater vest for crying out loud! Meanwhile you have Charles going full 'ceps out in his undershirt first chance he gets. Edwin either got real cool with a lot of shit real fast or he would have combusted several times over those 30 years.

And yes yes, we've all seen Edwin "Haunted By Gay Thoughts" Payne's mental slideshow of abs n hips close ups after getting one (1) glance at the Cat King's stomach. But to his credit, the man was going through a full blown sexuality crisis at that and has since emerged victorious.

So all I'm saying is. Edwin seeing Charles shirtless at the beach? Probably not even the first time this is happening, a lil flustering for sure but just last week he saw two people making out nasty on the tube so hell if he knows. Charles seeing Edwin's kneecaps and upper arms for the first time? Incredible, show stopping, pride and predjudice 2005 hand flex level of suppressed horniness.

Anyway. I'm writing this fic now and none of y'all can stop me.

[many-gay-magpies]

edwin was so real for zoning out staring at charles in episode 4 tbh. because for real jayden revri's side profile is a bit godly, if i was a gay repressed edwardian boy who's just had the cat king kickstart me realizing my feelings for my best friend and he stood there looking like THAT i'd get awestruck too

[arrow-jsy]

Au where edwin was a repressed gay edwardian poet and then decades later musician charles rolls up using edwins poems in rock ballads and songs

[asidian]

Alright. It is time. Buckle up.

Why you should be watching Dead Boy Detectives: the targeted-specifically-at my-readers edition.

Meet the leads, our two ghost boys:

Edwin Payne: Fussy, repressed intellectual type from the Edwardian era. Exceedingly gay for his partner and best friend. Tortured in hell for seventy years on a technicality because he was ritually sacrificed as a prank gone wrong. Endearingly awful at people and dealing with emotions or his own wants.

Charles Rowland: Impulsive, people-pleasing wildcard from the 80s. Heart eyes 24/7 at his best friend but has zero self-awareness. Badly abused by his asshole of a father. Beaten to death because he saved a kid from bullies. Endearingly awful at sorting his own emotions or talking about his problems.

Some highlights:

/slaps hood you can fit so much trauma in these two

Both leads get sobbing breakdowns that happen on screen. The actors are incredible at crying

Both leads get much-needed hugs

The absolute devotion between the two of them. The shared history that lives in their dialogue and how they work together like people who have been each other's Most Important Person for literal decades

I mean, I'm talking in-canon Orpheus and Eurydice reference level of devotion here

The protective way Charles puts himself physically between Edwin and damn near every threat in the show

They're just fun together. Their interactions and banter and how they work as a team is a delight

Their shared plot arc literally involves them learning to talk to each other and communicate more so that they can be there for one another about their respective issues

The symbolism. God. They are metaphorically and literally one another's light in the darkness

But what about stuff that isn't the main duo? Just wait, there's more:

This show is unabashedly, unapologetically queer. It's there in the text and the subtext. The whole show lives and breathes it

So many good, complex, well-written female characters. The Bechdel test gets blown straight out of the water in episode one and they never look back. Headstrong amnesiac psychic learning to be a better person! Quirky meta commentary matchmaker! Cynical lesbian butcher! Delightfully sadistic witch! They are all amazing.

[audience voice] But I'm here for the hurt/comfort. How can I whump ghosts? Worry not, my friends. Canon has you covered. Not only are there ways, there are ways that happen on-screen. The hurt/comfort and rescue are also on-screen. Yes, it is amazing

Absolute chaos, really cool supernatural cases and creatures, a surprising amount of humor, charming writing, and a cast that absolutely nails it on the acting and chemistry

There is an extremely suggestive trickster type who is also the king of cats. He's a cat in human form. He hits on Edwin nonstop. Charles gets blisteringly jealous

All of the leads have well-thought-through, fully developed, emotional character arcs. They're all messy and flawed and sometimes lash out in their pain, but at turns can be incredibly supportive and kind and loyal

A character who is a crow who is also a boy, who is tortured by his witch/creator and also is crushing hard on one of the leads

There are so many incredible details in the setting, costume choices, prop decisions, etc. that you only catch after you know what it's laying the groundwork for. The level of care that went into this show is phenomenal

It's only eight episodes. The time investment barrier to entry could not possibly be lower

Anyway, tl;dr, if any of this sounds appealing to you, you should give this show a watch.

Dead Boy Detectives is well worth your time. It's easily my favorite show in years.

[plantyboii28]

shout out to kirsten robek no one couldve played a repressed dead gay sixteen year-old edwardian boy in the body of a middle aged woman better

[homoquartz]

it's funny that the repressed edwardian boy who didn't know he was gay for 100 years is actually more open and honest with his feelings than charles.

like charles is so valid for having a lot of emotional work to do it's just funny that he's actually the more repressed of the two