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Dead Boy Detectives - Blog Posts
Okay, so something I’ve noticed in Dead Boy Detectives episode 3 that I haven’t seen anyone talking about yet is Edwin and Niko’s talk in the library.
So Niko asks Edwin while he’s in disguise 4 questions.
1. Are you always a woman?
2. Is Charles a woman too?
3. Can you change your eyes and nose like Mr. Potato Head?
4. Do you know who Mr. Potato Head is?
And do you know what Edwin’s answers were?
Yes, No, No, Yes.
IM SORRY, EDWIN???? YES YOU’RE ALWAYS A WOMAN??????? WHAT????
Anyway, trans Edwin canon.
charles + hands
for @iammissdistress and @purgatory606
Bro is LOSING the IDGAF war against a crow and a cat.
How is Edwin real!!! (Shut up you know what I mean)
He lives a shitty life for 16 years, dies and suffers like no one else for decades, does the unthinkable and escapes hell with only his will and wit, turning into basically the strongest ghost ever.
And then. Doesn't really lift a finger again. Doesn't even know how to throw a punch.
If you tell his backstory to literally anyone, people will imagine a macho hero figure, muscles crawling out of hell, probably cold and insensitive or very angry.
Instead you have this
And this
And this
I love him so much I'm gonna be sick
he was a punk, he did ballet
apply these gently to your heart, twice a day each
Dead Boy Detectives Writers' Room Quotes Part 3!
Part 1 | Part 2
Inspired by Zack Ogle's tweet
Doing my obligatory mourning re-watch, and we know jayden is beautiful but I want to appreciate his muppet faces. so expressive, beloved (also his earring is absolutely a cross)
Pages 02/10
Still got 8 other already sketched pages to go, and this might take a while, so please be patient :)
What if... 🥰
Local woke cat's morals saved by being held once
Heartbreaking
https://x.com/abritandherpup/status/1829727328957816908?s=46&t=fqGfqKL6S7W-yEmye5BHrA
They will come back - come back again, as long as the red Earth rolls 💔
Thanks everyone for this show, this story will always stay in my heart.
GEORGE REXSTREW in the Dead Boy Detectives Season 01 Blooper Reel (2024)
PART 9 Everybody’s alive AU, where Niko is a friend of Edwin and Charles is a friend of Crystal
Here is another Night Butcher drawing. 🤭😌🖤 Hope you enjoy this one as much as the last one. 😏
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And omg!!!! Thank you everyone for all the love!!!! 😭🖤 I was not expecting the other drawing to do so well! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! ksadjdsafjldfsdsfjlks 🖤💕
GEORGE REXSTREW as EDWIN PAYNE Dead Boy Detectives (2024) — Season 01, Episode 02
I think by the time Monty kissed Edwin, Edwin already knew that he loved Charles. In the same that Charles would always go to Hell, they may not be in love or an official romantic relationship, but they do love each other and they are domesticate partners in a technical sense of "living" together. (The only time either Charles or Edwin are in relaxed clothing is when they are alone together.)
And Charles did not reject Edwin. He accepted the love and the notion of Edwin being in love, he just expressed that his reciprocation isn't quite there. He also leaves it open, he doesn't say: No, for good, I will never be in love with you. He says: We have literally forever to figure the rest out.
Monty is a sweet boy, a good character, and one of my favorites, but to imply that their relationship would necessarily work as an endgame relationship is a bit crazy to me.
Edwin is dead, Monty didn't even really want to be human or alive in the state of consciousness where he can experience love. And I don't think love is what was driving Monty, it was infatuation.
Monty had never loved anyone, he didn't even know about it a few days ago, but there's this pretty boy who makes him want to smile and he seems to like him back.
And Edwin, rejecting Monty, was great on Edwin's part. He handled it gently, as gracefully and kindly as he could. Simply, so as not to lead the poor boy on.
So yeah
PART 8 Everybody’s alive AU, where Niko is a friend of Edwin and Charles is a friend of Crystal
One thing I absolutely adore about Dead Boy Detectives is the immaculate costume design. Specifically, how it perfectly encapsulates who the characters are, both as a whole and who they are in the moment.
From the very first scene of the show, we know immediately that Edwin is a bookish, somewhat stuffy guy from the Edwardian era who attended a boarding school, and Charles is a punk from the 1980's who's most likely the wildcard between the two of them, just going off of the way that they're dressed. Both of them have distinct color schemes and different styles, but the general shape of their outfits is actually relatively similar---both of them have collared shirts (Edwin's dress shirt, Charles's polo), something over those shirts (Edwin's vest, Charles's suspenders), a jacket of some kind (Edwin's suit jacket, Charles's flannel thing), a longer overcoat (Edwin's traveling coat, Charles's peacoat), something around the neck (Edwin's bowtie, Charles's necklace), slacks, and nice shoes. They're distinct, yet matching, two clearly defined separate characters yet part of a set.
Edwin's prim, proper, buttoned-up personality lends itself to the way he dresses throughout the season---in the first episode, he only dresses down when he's in the office with Charles, aka his safe place and his safe person, and he doesn't really dress down like that again for a good long while after getting stuck in Port Townsend (though, if my memory serves me correctly, he does take off the suit jacket while watching TV with Niko). But in episode six, he's changed up his usual look for a cozier, casual-looking sweater and a little bit of collarbone, and in episode seven... well, he's in his nightclothes, and he's about as open, raw, and vulnerable as you can get. Edwin's color scheme is also predominately blue, which lines up nicely with his logical and practical, yet deeply sad and closed off personality, and the only time he really wears anything other than his normal blue-and-brown outfit (willingly, that is) is when he's in that green sweater in episode six. And, uh... all I can say is that it's quite telling how blue and green---or, well, teal---are the main colors of the gay/mlm flag.
Charles, by contrast, dresses down a lot, and that makes a lot of sense when you consider the fact that unlike Edwin, he feels comfortable pretty much anywhere. On any given episode, he goes from wearing his peacoat to just wearing his flannel to ditching the flannel to not even wearing the freaking polo---though, again, the latter is something that only happens when he's in the office with Edwin. Safe space, safe person. And, well, plenty of people have analyzed Charles's polo shirt going from red to burgundy to black over the course of the series, and there being a little bit of red under the collar of his coat that's only visible when Edwin fixes it, and then it goes back to burgundy, and then it's red again when Edwin's out of Hell... for good reason! It's color symbolism at its finest! Not to mention, the red and black not only perfectly contrasts Edwin's color scheme, but it also lines up with Charles's personality---he's a rebel, he's hotheaded, he's bold and brash and loud... and yes, he's angry, but he's also so, so loving.
When we first meet Crystal after she loses her memories, her outfit choices feel very deliberate. They're stylish and vaguely trendy, they're arty and a little bit witchy---pretty fitting for a psychic who's also a showbiz kid, even if she doesn't know that last part. But all of her clothes appear thrifted, or at the very least vintage, and the patterns and the general vibe all feel natural and comforting. Her makeup's always fairly simple, her hair's either down or up in a couple of cute space buns... overall, this Crystal looks like the kind of person who'd make you tea when you're in a bad mood, who'll listen when you just need to vent, and who may not always know the right thing to say but will understand what you're going through. But when we see her in the flashbacks, her clothing's flashy and prioritizes high-end trends over comfort, she's either got her hair up or has it straightened, and she not only has dramatic makeup, but acrylics. This is a girl who talks shit about you behind your back, who's bitter and cynical and wants everyone to feel the same way, who makes up for the lack of love and stability in her life via material things. It's also worth noting that Crystal's color scheme has a lot of purple, which is a color that connects to wealth and luxury, but also creativity and magic---which, yeah, fits her two conflicting sides pretty damn well.
You cannot talk about Niko Sasaki without talking about her outfits, and the meaning behind each of them has already been talked about at length. However, one thing that really stands out to me is that the reason they're so iconic isn't just because of the monochrome color schemes, but because they're out there. They're weird, they're eclectic, they're a little mismatched in style sometimes, and they're so unapologetically her. Niko wears heart-shaped sunglasses, unironically. Everything about the way she dresses speaks to how, even though she's a recovering shut-in who initially doesn't want to be perceived, she's still very sure of who she is.
Jenny's design, like Charles and Edwin's, is a design that gives you the key information you need the minute she first appears onscreen. The dark makeup, the silver jewelry, the leather apron, and the hairstyle all point to a person who's tough, doesn't take anyone's shit, and has long since given up on caring what other people think---in other words, she's a badass. But the butterfly tattoo hints at a softer side, a side that we see time and time again throughout the series as she shows that she cares about Crystal and Niko, and even the boys... eventually. Also, Jenny's design is perhaps one of the most clearly queer-coded in the series, to the point where her being a confirmed lesbian is pretty much a no-brainer.
Esther's design oozes camp, from top to bottom. The fluffy coat, the bustier, the boots and the cane and the everything, speak to a woman who's kept with the times and yet has seen it all. There's really not a lot I can fully say about her design, other than what Charles has already said: "She looks like a witch... like, kind of a sexy witch, who smokes a lot." (Or maybe I'm just tired and running out of steam at this point, idk, I love Esther's design and I can't really put it into words.) It's also pretty fitting that her color scheme has a lot of yellow in it---after all, she's always striving for more, so what better color for her than the color of gold?
Everything about the Night Nurse's design speaks to a woman who follows rules and discipline above all else, from the pantsuit to the pinned-up hairstyles to the tie to the heels. She's also the most muted out of the main cast in terms of color, dressing mostly in browns, dull greens, and duller browns---and while I don't have a lot to go into detail about there, I feel like that's kind of a symbol of her narrow-minded and bureaucratic worldview.
And the animal characters... Jesus Christ, I fully forget that they're all being played by human actors. Tragic Mick dresses like a man who's always spent his life by the sea, layered denim and all, and it's never a stretch to see this sad, bushy-bearded, baggy-clothed fisherman and imagine him as a walrus lounging on a beach. Monty, at first glance, seems to only wear black, which would be perfectly fitting for a crow, but when he's in better lighting, you see that he dresses in layers of red and blue, calling to how he envies Charles and Edwin and clearly longs for something more---and this might just be me, but I think that even though his outfits seem fairly normal at first glance, they feel kind of like a costume for Monty more than anything else, like he's trying to emulate a teenager that he's seen on TV more than someone in real life.
The Cat King fits this just as well, with all of his outfits aligning perfectly with whatever his cat form is at the time---when he's a fluffy ginger, it's always sequins and fur coats and clothing pieces that are specifically designed to take up space and call attention, and when he's a black shorthair, it's sleek styles and shiny leather and pieces that are designed to cut an intimidating yet more subtle figure. And while I could go into detail about all of those, what really stands out to me is how clearly queer everything is---more than Jenny's alt lesbian attire, more than Esther's campy coat and corset. From the very first scene he's in, he's wearing a skirt, and it looks natural. Nothing about the way the Cat King presents himself is exaggerated, nothing about the way he dresses is played for laughs---he's flamboyant and feminine and flirty, and he looks so fucking hot while he does it. It's gorgeous.
So... yeah, uh, all the awards for the Dead Boy Detectives costume designers!
Esther Finch is so Mother™
these people are unhinged...…. (affectionate)
x
the more i think about the fact that charles never got to confront the cat king, the funnier it is. i guarantee, other than thinking of him as a sexual rival, the cat king has not stopped to consider charles At All. meanwhile charles has a beef the size of the moon. he's strapping explosive devices to the rats in port townshend and training the dogs on rite aid body spray
“Everything Nice” pages 15-23
((Deadboyween Day 4 - Orbs))
taking from folklore here- jack-o-lantern’s original purpose was to ward off evil spirits during Halloween when the veil between our world and the next was thinner! so i feel it’s fitting to give charles his own role as a supernatural-fighting-glowing-pumpkin
Just remembered/realized that Edwin & Charles have been besties™ for like over 30 years yeah but they’re ghosts and don’t sleep so that’s 30+ years of 24 hour days so it’s way longer than a human 30+ years because yeah no 8hr sleep everyday so they get extra hours together and yeah and sob anywho love them 🥰
Butch! Edwina and fem! Charlotte cause it makes sense for their stories +fem! catwin for me personally cause I'm feeling awful and I need more of them 😩🙏
I loooooveeee all the fics where the agency finds Edwin's remains and Bury them with Charles but I cannot help but wonder in centuries time if people find them again and are just so fucking confused.
Especially if like they set Edwin's bones nicely with Charles' or like they're holding hands or some shit and these archaeologist r just like oh fun people who died together BUT NO. Bc Edwin died 70 years before Charles so wtf is going on here.
We don't know how these teenaged skeletons came to be like fuckin intertwined with each other but its cool ig?
And they try to separate them or something but they keep ending up together again. Just over and over until everyone is convinced it's some magic shit and to just let them be together.
The Adventures of Orbwin and Chorb: A Masterlist
This is where any information pertaining to Orbwin and Chorb is stored for any use and for all to see. Written by that-trans-autistic-guy, with an assist by @technically-human who made the first depiction of the orb boys. List is to be updated, please message @that-trans-autistic-guy to request an addition to the list.
Traits, Attributes and Ideas
Ship name is Chorbwin
The orbs can purr in the same way cats do. Results in a visual vibration and soft sound. They have limited awareness in orb form, so it follows the feelings of safety and comfort.
The gravitate towards each other slightly, not unlike magnets
Often just soft, warm light but can occasionally be in their hero colors: blue for Edwin, red for Charles
The orbs give off warmth, one the dead and living alike can feel
Fanfics
Carry These Torches For You - that_trans_autistic_guy
You Said, “I’ll Never Leave You Alone” - Aster_Flower114
A Better Place, A Better Time - TheFanficMustFlow
Why Do I Tire of Counting Sheep? - carpediemma
The Many Forms of Phantoms - thegirlofthorns
Orbing With Edwin and Charles - grammarglamour
Fic by @/waywardsonsanddaughters
Fanart
Recharging - @technically-human
Recharging II - @technically-human
The Infamous Puppy Debacle of ‘94 - @technically-human
Niko and Orbwin - @gaypanicattackonlegs
Orbwin in Charles’ Jacket - @fellow-fandom-fruitifier
Portable Boyfriend - @jube-art
Portable Boyfriend Part 2 - @jube-art
The Girls and Chorbwin - @arisprite
Chorbwin But Colored - @terresdebrume
Misc. Chorbwin Posts
Simple Orbs - @crosnt
Great Orb Incident of ‘02 - @edwinspaynes
First Sighting of ‘Chorbwin’ - @ace-misplaced
“ChOrBWIn” - @pippin-katz
Hyperactive Chorb - @khrorazir
Chorbwin Comic - @2ndfannypack