#yes this is about edwin and the cat king in my fic series

[adventures-in-mangaland]

Dead Boy Detectives Fic Recs Part 7

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

So I hear there's been some fandom drama? Guess it's time for another fic rec list! This fandom is so lovely, so let's focus on the positive and give all the love to our writers and artists. You guys are so talented. ♥️

Work It Harder, Make it Better by dear_monday, two_ravens

Olympics AU! And kind of Sk8er Boi? Charles is an Olympic skateboarder at the end of his competitive career and Edwin is a rising star in the world of dressage. They fall in love at Paris 2024. Amazing writing, as always, and I also enjoyed Niko and Crystal as members of the skateboarding and equestrian teams having their own Olympics Romance and Jenny as Charles' world-weary coach.

Twin Flame by Leandra

Another "He was a punk, he did ballet" romance! This time, everyone is alive and the boys meet when Charles watches Edwin perform at his little sister's ballet recital. The romance and Charles as a big brother are very sweet, which is great as this fic also covers some heavy themes. It's set in the 90s so there's discussion of homophobia, the AIDs crisis and Charles' canon child abuse. Suffice to say, his bisexual awakening is quite fraught. Recommended!

Love for Hire by lucrow

Edwin hires Charles to freak out his parents with his obnoxious fake boyfriend. What could possible haaappeeen? And yes, it's a ballet/punk romance too. 😅 Anyway, it's giving fantastic banter, lots of emotions and great use of trope! I also enjoyed Edwin's relationship with his mum in this fic, excellent parental feels.

so I try to talk refined by shadowquill17

Charles finds out about the Cat King taking on his appearance and (somehow) arrives at the conclusion that Edwin isn't attracted to him. Charles having body image as well as chronic self-esteem issues was interesting but kind of heartbreaking. Read it for Edwin's agonised attempts to verbalise his sexual attraction to Charles without exploding. That's love right there.

A Royal Pain(e) (series) by handwrittenhello

Royalty AU! I love a bodyguard romance from time to time and this one is lovely. Lots of yearning.

Turnabout's Fair Play by Like MmmCookies

Edwin enlists Niko and Crystal to teach him how to flirt with Charles. It starts off cute and awkward and ends up Master Of All He Surveys, which is very Edwin.

I will love you (I really love you) by ghostinthelibrary

Charles has a feelings realization and tries to confess to Edwin. Repeatedly. From a cock-blocking enchanted statue to a Hellhound, it's farcical and fun. This fic has been living in my head rent free for months.

seasons of mists by laiqualaurelote

Edwin hires Charles to be the barista in his book shop's cafe. Two cosy AUs in one! And it even comes (appropriately) with its own reading list and fanart! Very cute, excellent autumnal vibes and a superb imaginary book shop. I'm genuinely so devastated it's not a real place. 😭

Ariadne's Thread by hobbitsdoitbetter

In which Edwin is demisexual and trying to make it work with Charles. Love to see some ace spectrum representation!

you know the problem with history (it keeps coming back like weeds) by aletterinthenameofsanity

Amnesia AU! And kind of Secret Relationship? Edwin has Not So Temporary Amnesia that made him forget a whole romantic relationship with Charles early in their partnership. And Charles never told him... Surely this will have no impact on the events of canon?? 😬 I loved this twist on the trope!

scraped to the marrow by Anonymous

Edwin learned black magic in Hell and kind of went to the Dark Side. I love the trope of "Everyone thinks Character avoids violence because they're scared/weak/nice/bad at it, but actually they're a bit too good at it" and this fic does it well. I love regular Edwin, but Lord Bone was also pretty cool.

To Walk Back Into Hell by Asidian

Charles goes to Hell in Edwin's place, so naturally Edwin needs to find a way to rescue him! Interesting Hell lore and I loved all the Charles love in this.

It does not stop by williamvapespeare

Now he's safe from Hell, Edwin finally works through his PTSD. Emotional, but peak Emotional Support Charles for the win!

signed, sealed, delivered by sulfuric

Outsider PoV of the boys and the agency through the years from the perspective of the Ghost Postman. He's kind of underrated as a side character, but there are so many Implications about the Dead Letter Office, so I enjoyed the worldbuilding. And the supernatural community of London gossiping about/shipping the boys (they're just like us, for real). Love that trope.

not so secret by lola_prongs

Social Media/Celebrity AU! In which they're both actors and Charles relentlessly thirsts after Edwin on Twitter. Great use of social media/epistolary storytelling.

Like a record, baby by singtome

Another celebrity/social media AU, but this time Charles and Crystal are budding rock stars and Edwin is their manager. Also Edwin goes viral as the mysterious #HotGuyatUnity after his picture's taken at an event and Charles *tries* to set the record straight. This one's funny, generous with the yearning and UST and is part of a series that also touches on the darker side of the music industry/celebrity, which I appreciated. And it also has this excellent visual representation of the online drama.

@ghostinthelibrarywrites @tumblerislovetumblerislife @shadowquill17 @neurodivergent-fangirling @whatthehorsedoicallthisblog @shazziez @many-gay-magpies @extremely-eager-reader @atariakana @guardianspirits13 @colourmornings @herebehunters @avoiceofnerat @littlepocketuniverse @overlord-of-chaos @fairandfatalasfair @handwrittenhello @every-moment-a-different-sound @williamvapespeare @laiqualaurelote @dear-monday @dear-lucrow @aletterinthenameofsanity @likemmmcookies @bibliomancer7 @c-rowland @nobledragonflying @hobbitsdoitbetter

I've tagged some people again. Let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list!

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

You know, there is something really satisfying being able to write an asexual character in a poly relationship or an asexual character be interested in by a character who is very frank with their sexuality who even loves the asexual character a bit more because of their asexuality because it opens up different avenues than they're used to or an asexual character that is accepted and loved and cherished and desired anyway

[twainxavier]

Resending this ask because Tumblr is a functional website 🤣🙄

I wanna know about You Know I'm Such A Fool For You! And also the embroidery projects you're working on👀

Yep, trying to answer this ask for over a day at this point had been entertaining at least 😅👌 but yes, if tumblr will let me, of course! 😊🫂💜

Okay so this fic is basically my child I adore it so much and I have barely started writing it 😅 Instead I transcripted over 6,000 words (so far) of DBD scenes that I want to include in the fic to make sure I got them right 😅👌 The general concept is the Cat King fixing his mistakes 🤣 So the fic starts from the Catwin forest scene and goes through most of the following events from the series with the Cat King actively trying to help Edwin and the others 😊

As for the snippet, I want to include a kind of long section from the end of the forest scene where the Cat King chases after Edwin in his cat form to try save him from Esther's trap again...

“If you walk away from me that thing is never coming off and you'll be trapped here forever and I will stop playing nice.”

His fists clench as he tries to contain a strange mix of rage and fear unlike anything he has felt in his long years. He doesn't even turn to see if Edwin is even still within earshot.

“Do you hear me I will stop fucking playing nice!” he yells into the emptiness of the forest surrounding him.

He knows Edwin is gone now. He knows he isn't coming back. And he knows it is definitely his fault.

If he hadn't trapped Edwin here for his own games, he wouldn't have ended up on Esther's radar, and he wouldn't be in the center of a worse than deadly trap right now. The Cat King can smell a forest elemental far larger than the little ones that were skittering around earlier swallowing up deer ghosts. Edwin and his little friends are in serious danger. And the Cat King just let him storm off right back into Esther's grasp.

Now who's the idiot.

With a deep sigh, a steadying breath, and a flurry of purple flame, the Cat King in cat form chases after Edwin.

The only issue is, this damn forest is such a maze he has lost him already. He feels like he is running in circles, panic increasing at the thought that he might never see Edwin again to apologise for fucking everything up. A loud roar from somewhere nearby utterly freezes him in his tracks. The forest elemental. Esther has found them.

He sprints as fast as his four legs can carry him in the direction of the roar, but when he sees it he stops in his tracks. It's fucking massive, so huge that he knows immediately that he will not be able to stop it or send it back to whatever realm it is supposed to be in. Fuck. He inches closer, trying to get a better view of what's going on. Esther is indeed here, clearly in control of the thing for now, and a deep sigh leaves him when he sees all three of those idiots just stood there facing down their certain erasing from existence. He's about to run in and distract Esther so the boys and their psychic can get the fuck out of here, when the elemental suddenly grabs Edwin and Charles in far too many tentacles and starts dragging them towards its face mouth thing.

The Cat King can't seem to get himself to move and help somehow. In a blink Crystal is on the ground, and the situation is escalating far beyond control. He has to do something, anything. Ester is leaning over over Edwin saying something the Cat King can just about make out over the muffled screams of the ghosts and the roar of the forest elemental. 

“God I love final moments.”

That damned bird who stole his love's first kiss swoops over head, cawing like he didn't just lead them into this, and the Cat King's rage bubbles over.

He leaps at Esther, scratching her back and leaping away again, trying to draw her away from the boys in the hope one of these idiots has a plan. Ester lets out a screech and whirls round to face him with an irritated grunt. He hisses at her and arches his back. If this bitch wants a fight, he'll give it to her.

“Of course. You mangy little Cat King. You couldn't leave my business well enough alone, could you?” Ester grasps her cane and stalks towards him.

He dives in again to scratch her legs then dodges a swing of her cane. He uses the opening to scratch her arm, then scampers backwards. He's trying to draw her away from the boys, and somehow it's working. Edwin and Charles are still holding on to something, still fighting, so he has to help. Using a tree as a springboard, the Cat King leaps up and manages scratch directly on Esther's face. The victory is short lived however, as on the way down, Esther swings that damned iron cane of hers straight into him.

The hit lands on his torso, sending him flying into the same tree he had just leapt off. He knows instantly that several of his ribs are broken, and no matter how hard he tries he can't push himself back up off the ground. 

He can't save Edwin.

Tears start to blur his vision, but he watches as Ester turns away from him, and walks directly back over to the boys. With no idea what else to do, he just screams at her.

“KEEP YOUR PAWS OFF OF HIM!”

She turns back around, the smirk on her face clear even from this distance. The Cat King is just happy she isn't looming over Edwin anymore, even if his shout means she is going to come and kill him instead. He's got more lives to live, Edwin doesn't.

She doesn't even make it two steps before Crystal has suddenly barreled into her, knocking them both to the ground.

The Cat King watches the ensuing fight in utter shock as Crystal does a better job of beating the shit out of Esther than he managed to do. He is still trying to force himself back up off of the ground, and keeping one eye on the boys just in case, when he sees Edwin lose his grip with one arm. He lets out a screech and tries even harder to get up and get back to the boys so he can help somehow. He also watches as Esther gains the upper hand in the fight, pinning Crystal to the floor only to then drag her back up and send her flying across the forest.

With all the effort he can muster, the Cat King forces himself to stand, and start limping towards Edwin. Perhaps if he scratches the forest elemental and pisses it off enough, it will take him instead. Edwin and Charles both lose their grip, and the Cat King is running before he even realises it. They manage to catch another part of the forest floor but this time it's Charles who almost slips. The Cat King doesn't care, if one of them goes, they both go, and he won't let that happen. He continues to sprint towards them, ignoring the burning in his lungs.

Esther's foot lands a blow in the same place her cane had, and she kicks him across the forest.

He lands hard, yet again too far away to help, and this time with his vision blurring from the pain. The muffled screams intensify for a moment, and he just has to lay there and hope that neither of the boys are gone.

“Stupid cat,” he hears Esther comment, and in all honesty, he can't help but agree.

He was stupid. Stupid to believe Edwin would let him save him and come back for Charles and Crystal. Stupid to think he could take on Esther and actually make a difference. Stupid to think that he would actually be able to help.

Crystal was on her knees on the floor, too far away to help, the Cat King was barely conscious at this point, Edwin and Charles were losing their grip. It was over.

I really hope you enjoyed this snippet and apologies for the cliffhanger! 😅 I am still working on this fic and hope I will be able to start posting it soon! 😊🫂💜

[safaiagem]

Never Try To Outstubborn A Cat - Complete - Words: 5,596 - Part 4 of the More Than Endless Repetition Series - Dead Boy Detectives/TheSandman - Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland

Hello everyone, and welcome to another one-shot in this series. I had a hard time actually starting this one after loudly proclaiming to Discord how short this fic was going to be. Yes, my clown makeup is on point, thank you for asking. Anyway, if you're new here, I will do my best to explain the events of previous stories in this series as best I can so you can read this as a standalone. I still have more one-shot ideas and maybe an idea for a longer fic if I decide I like the idea. Comments and kudos mean the world, and then some, to me, so thank you in advance. Follow me here, where I try to post previews for stuff I'm working on, and my inbox is open for prompts.

After everything that had happened, their falling out with the Cat King hadn't been resolved yet. Edwin desperately wants everything to get back in order and return to normal to regain that sense of control. Charles would do anything to ease even a few of Edwin's many worries. The Cat King wasn't thrilled about being pulled into the Dead Boy Detective's shenanigans, but he might be willing to listen if the right dead boy comes along and explains it. Technically part of a series but can be read as a standalone.

[adventures-in-mangaland]

More Dead Boy Detectives Fic Recs

Since my last fic rec post got a great response and I've read some excellent fic in the meantime, here is a new list with more recs!

The Case of Richard Rowland by RB (BlueflowersandWings)

Charles' dad hires the Dead Boy Detectives to solve his murder. It's. Traumatic. The writing and characterisation are excellent and heartbreaking and the case is intriguing. I have many theories! Cw for domestic abuse, child abuse and homophobia.

we all have a hunger (series) by Anonymous

I couldn't choose! They're both so good! The first is from Crystal's PoV as she tries to figure out what happened to Niko. It also features some wonderful Crystal & Edwin bonding, an absolutely gut-wrenching speech from the latter and The Sandman cameos. The second in the series is an Edwin-centric (so angsty!) case fic featuring Accidental Child Acquisition, greek gods, the Cat King and a happy ending. Superlative writing in both.

Terrible, Horrible, No Good and Very Bad by hibye

Feelings realisation as Charles pines for Edwin and tries not to show it because he has to be sure he's in love. Terrific, very funny writing and Charles is a precious himbo. Excellent payoff too.

Oh, Lonely Bones, Have You Forgotten? by DontOffendTheBees

Charles and Edwin investigate a mystery at St Hilarion's and discover a gut-wrenching secret. Compelling and brilliantly written.

I'll let you go if you kiss me goodbye by shadowquill17

Idiots in Love meets Friends with Benefits and Misunderstandings. Edwin breaking his own heart for no reason is very accurate and Charles gets a cool queer mentor.

the spooky thing about penis ouija by skadii

College AU! Everyone's alive and Charles and Edwin have been besties since middle school. This is another Oblivious!Charles fic; he's like a well-meaning golden retriever trampling Monty in his clueless wake. Also, the gang perform a seance and Edwin is a ghost-sceptic, which is hilarious.

after the insects have laid their claim by lolotr

Charles finds out that Edwin's body was never found and will not let that stand. Has a kind of gothic romanticism I really love and a nice in-universe explanation for the "Charles and Edwin can only feel each other" trope.

The author has written lots of other great fic, including a very cute librarian!Edwin and single dad!Charles human AU with bonus Crystal/Niko.

A Form of Genius by Neous (Greyality)

Charles shows off for Edwin. Crystal Suffers. Idk, it's just cute.

the taste in your mouth by greenaerie

When Esther hurts Charles, Edwin decides to take up the Cat King on his original offer. Interesting exploration of dubious consent, shame and guilt. The author is fairly sympathetic to the Cat King, while also exploring Edwin's complicated feelings, including the impact of his upbringing, general repression and, yes, coercion on his first time. It's not exactly explicit, but take care if those are tough themes for you!

The Manuscript of Real People by paraph

Slow burn Boarding School AU where they're both alive and it's also the 70s. And they were roommates! I have been longing for a fic like this. All the jock/nerd romance tropes, complicated by discussions of bullying and Charles' (perceived) proximity to Edwin's bullies. Edwin is an orphaned scholarship student, so it's also a kind of role reversal and touches on themes of class and poverty. Minor cw for sexual harassment as the Cat King/Thomas is also there (sorry catwin fans).

When We Walk Together We Tend to Walk Alone by UneducatedAuthor

Charles meets Death and gets to say goodbye to his mum. A sweet concept and it's nice to see Death of the Endless getting some love!

Marriage is a Payne by Ace_of_Turtles

Arranged Marriage and Omegaverse AU featuring the boys agreeing to get married to spite/escape their awful parents. Not explicit and fairly light on the a/b/o details, in case that's a squick for anyone.

job officially jobbed by vernesatlas

Charles decides the answer to the handjob question requires a practical demonstration. Very funny and well written and the title is excellent. All the kudos.

Try, Try Again by Asidian

Alterative ending to episode four. After the Night Nurse, Edwin makes a second attempt to comfort Charles. Heartwarming and sad.

The Risk and Rewards of Communication by Opossum_Subatomic

Another alternative ending to episode four featuring Edwin coming clean about the Cat King. So well written. I feel like this is going to be a fandom classic.

take your chances (win or lose her) by ObsessedWithFandom

Charles decides to check in on his mum. Some very sweet established relationship fluff followed by discussions of domestic abuse and family feels. The ending opened up some amazing possibilities for future fics! Highly recommended.

The same author has also written the ghost of the past that you live in, which is an excellent in-depth exploration of Charles' bisexual awakening and trauma-related repression.

Anyway, I'm going to try to make this a regular thing, so please send me more recs!