Bisexual Behavior

Excuse me for a second

*cries aggressively in the corner*

I’m gonna talk about Dead Boy Detectives for a second, specifically Charles and Edwin’s deaths.

Edwin died in a basement and Charles in an attic, and Edwin went to Hell and Charles was presumably meant to go to Heaven. Edwin died by fire (demons from Hell) and Charles died by ice (hypothermia). Edwin was targeted for his queerness and Charles for the color of his skin, the country his mother came from. Edwin never seemed to get along with the boys who would kill him but Charles called his murderers friends until they turned on him. Edwin died by supernatural means while Charles died by run of the mill racist teenagers. They died more than 7 decades apart.

When you look at the details there are so many differences but the story is still the exact fucking same. Two boys who died at the hands of a group of their classmates who decided that they did not fit with the rest of them and therefore must pay the price. Two boys who died on the same grounds of the same school, whose deaths were brushed aside and covered up by people who held the same titles. More than 70 years apart and not a single thing has changed, Charles’ death didn’t get any more attention than Edwin’s, because more than 70 years later the same fucking story happened again.

Edwin’s death didn’t change a damn thing, and it could happen again now because Charles’ death didn’t change a damn thing either. And then the ghosts of two 16 year olds decided that if the adults, if the living weren’t going to change anything then they fucking would. If the living would not grant them justice and would not grant them change, then they fucking would.

Because there was a difference, in the end. Edwin was murdered, and so was Charles, but while Edwin died scared and alone Charles didn’t. Edwin died in a cold, dark basement, but Charles died in warm light of a lantern, even if that warmth wasn’t enough to save him. Edwin died to the sounds of his own screams, his own voice pleading for mercy that would not come, but Charles drifted off to sleep to the sound of a kind boy reading him a book.

The living won’t change. The story could and will keep on repeating because the living will not make sure it doesn’t. The living are messy. But the dead, for all the ways they will never change, will never get any older, they can change the story, at least a bit. Charles and Edwin can’t make sure that no other boy dies at that school, but if the story repeats itself yet again they can make sure the victim is at peace. They can solve the murders and find the lost items and release the spirits who are trapped. The living won’t help the dead, but they can help each other.

So they call themselves the Dead Boy Detectives, form an agency and get an office and help who they can, because they didn’t matter to the living, and many of their clients don’t either. But they matter to the dead.

Their clients matter. And Charles and Edwin matter too.

I kicked my legs, giggled, squealed and rolled around on my bed. This is too much cuteness I have stopped working.

They’re in Lorb (Orb Love)

“Crystal?” Niko’s voice over the phone is a shaky whisper.

Crystal immediately juggles her keys and groceries to grab her phone properly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Niko says quietly. “But something weird is happening.”

Crystal shoves her front door open with her shoulder as the FaceTime request dings. She drops the groceries in the foyer and accepts it. Instead of Niko’s lovely face filling the screen, it’s a shaky shot of the doorway to the office. “What am I looking at?”

“I don’t know,” Niko whispers. “That’s why I called you.” She steps forward and the phone camera almost immediately gives up in the face of very bright light. “Aw, you can’t see it.” The camera flips back to reveal Niko’s face bathed in the radiance. Crystal notes with some relief that Niko looks more awed than hurt.

“Babe,” Crystal says patiently. “What’s going on?”

“There’s like a glowing orb. It’s all pretty colors. Like pink and blue. It’s sitting on Edwin’s desk and he’s not here. Neither of them are—“

“Yeah, no, they are,” Crystal sighs. “They’re Venn diagramming.”

Niko tilts her head in frame, puppyish confusion that makes Crystal just want to scoop her up and kiss her face all over. “What?”

“You know what a Venn diagram is.” Niko nods at her. Neither of them probably got enough school but they did go. “So the Venn diagram of ghosts who love each other is a circle,” Crystal explains, smirking a little. Edwin had been so mad the first time she said it, which only made it funnier.

"Ohhhhh," Niko says, eyes widening with understanding. "That's clever."

Crystal thinks she probably looks as smug as she feels. “They have a ghost form that doesn’t require them to exert as much energy. They’re just spirit orbs. Usually you only see spirit orbs floating faintly in the background, even if you have the Sight. They’re a low-energy form. Apparently, at some point, the boys figured out that if their orbs touch, they can meld together.”

“That sounds dirty,” Niko laughs.

“It probably is! Anyway, Charles and Edwin glow so fuckin’ brightly when they’re together. Sometimes it’s just a partial meld and sometimes they become one giant glowing orb. I usually like to check in with them, but don’t touch them. They can sense some things while in that form so I don’t want to bother them. I just don't like leaving them alone since it’s also a vulnerable time and I prefer to make sure no other ghosts intrude on them either. You know people show up at the office at all hours.”

“Soooooo…want to come over?” Niko asks, raising a perfect eyebrow. “Girls’ Night at the Ghost Orb?

“Sure,” Crystal laughs. “It’s a date. I’ll be right over. You want anything?”

“Bring some of the soda and the matcha we picked up last weekend. I was gonna stash some at the office anyway for when we have late nights.”

“Alright. Love you, babe. Don’t touch the orb and I’ll see you soon.” Crystal blows a little kiss to the camera and watches Niko’s face crease with delight. Niko blows her a kiss too and then signs off.

***

Crystal can see the bright light even through the door and contemplates whether a door shade might be helpful. She walks into the office humming.

For the second time today, she drops her grocery bag on the floor. She rips her headphones out and puts her hands on her hips. “What did I say about touching the orb, Niko?”

Niko looks up from where she is…well, spooning the ghost orb on the couch. She is so damn good at the puppy eyes that Crystal almost forgets that she asked a question. Almost.

“Babe, seriously!?”

“They almost fell off the desk!” Niko protests, pouting. “I had to catch them. And they glow more when I touch them.” She traces a gentle fingertip over the top curve of the orb nestled against her and it erupts in pink swirls over a dark blue background.

Crystal sighs. “Alright.” In fairness, the boys never specifically prohibited touching, it just seemed polite. And probably, they won’t mind because it’s Niko and both of them find her utterly charming; Crystal can’t even be offended by that because she also thinks her girlfriend is adorable. She rummages in the grocery bag for a soda and uses her keys to pry the lid off the bottle. She takes a sip and then motions at Niko. “Lift your head up.”

Niko moves obligingly, giving Crystal enough space to sit at the end of the couch before she drops her head into Crystal’s lap.

“See,” Niko says sweetly. “Now we’re all comfy.” She grabs the edge of her tunic top and uses it to scoop the orb up closer to her stomach. Helpfully, this also mutes the bright light, at least from Crystal’s point of view. She pulls her sunglasses out of her hair carefully and offers them to Niko, who grins up at her before sliding them on.

“You’re explaining this to Edwin when he stops being an orb.”

“Okay.” Niko nuzzles her cheek against Crystal’s thigh. “I have so many questions anyway. I want to know all about being a giant ball of light. Honestly, that sounds pretty cool. Do you think Edwin would let me take him around while he was an orb? What if his orb wants to go hang out at the beach or something? For like maximum ghost relaxation.”

Crystal can’t help the way she looks at Niko, her heart almost bursting with love. “Yeah, baby, I bet for you he’d go on some kind of ghost orb vacation. Charles would be thrilled if you got him to take a break occasionally.” She tucks Niko’s heavy silken hair behind her ear. “Want a sip?”

“Is it the tamarind one?”

“No, regular cola. There’s a tamarind one in the bag if you want.”

“No. I’m comfy. Gimme a sip.”

Crystal holds the bottle to her mouth carefully, tipping it up in little bursts until Niko gets her fill. She bends down to kiss her, both of their mouths sticky-sweet and slick.

They spend hours there, sharing a drink and taking turns playing music on Crystal’s phone. It’s fun, both spending time with Niko and watching the orb change colors. Crystal knows that the deep blue is Charles and the pink is Edwin, the two of them mixed together in this form. She knows because she once caught Charles with Edwin’s orb tucked under his elbows while he sorted some small silver charms on the floor. He’d been talking to it before she walked in and when he looked up his face was nearly as pink as the orb cuddled in his lap.

There’s a slight buzzing noise and then Charles falls out of Niko’s grasp rather spectacularly. He grins up at them from the floor though, entirely unhurt. “Heya.”

“Charles?” Niko says, leaning up on her elbow. “Are you okay?”

“Aces, Niko, don’t worry. Gimme Edwin?”

Niko sits up to hand the orb to Charles and Crystal doesn’t think that she imagines the way it glows brighter in Charles’s careful hands. Charles stands and sets the orb on the desk.

“You guys okay?” Crystal asks. “No supernatural exhaustion from working cases while we sleep or something, right?”

Silently and neatly, Edwin replaces the orb and says, “We’re perfectly fine.” He shoots his cuffs and then rests his hands in his lap; he looks tidy perched on the desk, like a little doll, while Charles is leaning against it like he’d like to dive right back into Edwin again.

“Does it feel like sleeping?” Niko asks, taking Crystal's sunglasses off and hanging them from the collar of her shirt. “It looked relaxing.”

“It is.” Edwin softens a little, looking at where Niko is resting her head against Crystal’s shoulder. Crystal stretches her legs out, thinking maybe she’d like a nap too, all warm and cozy with her girlfriend. “However,” Edwin continues, ever the proper tutor, “it does not resemble sleep. It is, at best, a facsimile of lying on a grassy hillock and watching the clouds drift by. That is to say, restful, but still aware.”

“What does Charles feel like?” Niko asks and Crystal snorts.

“Warm,” Edwin answers instinctively and then makes an odd little motion. It looks like the cousin of a flinch, a nervous tic he hasn’t quite killed. He clears his throat. “Notably, though most ghostly existences do not include registering sensations from food or touching others, we can be interacted with by other supernatural beings. We mostly encounter hostile creatures or other ghosts. Though I have found most ghosts are as cold as they are long dead, Charles is strangely warm to the touch.”

Charles grins like he did that on purpose, the idiot.

Niko sighs. “Awwwwww, that’s so sweet. Is Edwin warm?” She looks at Charles expectantly.

“I think he’s pretty hot,” Charles says with a wink and Crystal throws the nearest pillow at him. He catches it, the asshole, and lobs it back.

“Hey,” Crystal says, batting it away from Niko’s face. “Leave her out of it.”

“Indeed,” Edwin says dryly, “it’s bad form to drag civilians into your fight. Come on, Niko, I had something to show you.”

Crystal hugs Niko tighter to her, grinning when Niko giggles. “You can’t steal my girlfriend. She already spent all afternoon spooning you two.”

Charles laughs at that.

“Sorry, should I define spooning for you?” Crystal teases Edwin.

He rolls his eyes and then offers Charles his hand. “I can figure it out very well. How exactly do you think people kept warm during the winter in my time?” He spins Charles into his arms, the slight height advantage he gained from sitting on the desk allowing him to wrap himself entirely around Charles like a smug octopus.

Charles beams at them, thoroughly pleased to be tangled up in Edwin. Crystal can’t help smiling too. It took so long for them to admit their feelings, and then even longer to show even a hint of those feelings in front of her. This level of cuddling is only a few months old and it’s utterly adorable. She presses her cheek to Niko’s hair and inhales her sweet perfume.

“Why don’t you just bring the book here?” Niko asks Edwin. “Then we could all be warm and cozy.”

Edwin makes a considering face. “I could. Where will I keep Charles? You two are taking up two thirds of the couch.”

“Oh that’s easy,” Niko says, looping an arm around Crystal’s neck to pull herself into Crystal’s lap properly. Crystal wraps an arm around her waist instinctively, holding her steady as she wriggles herself into her best position.

“Very well,” Edwin says indulgently, as though this is a great favor and he won’t delight in cuddling Charles. “Shall I read out loud to you?”

“Yes,” Charles hums just as Niko echoes him.

Edwin’s mouth twitches into a smile. “Very well. Move over then.”

Edwin picks up the book from his desk, a small one with a green fabric cover and gold-edged pages; he settles on the other half of the sofa and waits expectantly for Charles to sit on his lap.

With their legs tangled together, he hands the book to Charles so he can wrap his arms around Charles and hook his chin over Charles’ bony shoulder. Niko tucks her feet under Edwin’s ghostly thigh and he smiles at her.

Crystal closes her eyes as Edwin begins to read; she won’t admit it, but his voice and Niko’s warm weight in her lap are more than enough to send her off to sleep in a heartbeat.

im sobbing :,)

I’m gonna talk about Dead Boy Detectives for a second, specifically Charles and Edwin’s deaths.

Edwin died in a basement and Charles in an attic, and Edwin went to Hell and Charles was presumably meant to go to Heaven. Edwin died by fire (demons from Hell) and Charles died by ice (hypothermia). Edwin was targeted for his queerness and Charles for the color of his skin, the country his mother came from. Edwin never seemed to get along with the boys who would kill him but Charles called his murderers friends until they turned on him. Edwin died by supernatural means while Charles died by run of the mill racist teenagers. They died more than 7 decades apart.

When you look at the details there are so many differences but the story is still the exact fucking same. Two boys who died at the hands of a group of their classmates who decided that they did not fit with the rest of them and therefore must pay the price. Two boys who died on the same grounds of the same school, whose deaths were brushed aside and covered up by people who held the same titles. More than 70 years apart and not a single thing has changed, Charles’ death didn’t get any more attention than Edwin’s, because more than 70 years later the same fucking story happened again.

Edwin’s death didn’t change a damn thing, and it could happen again now because Charles’ death didn’t change a damn thing either. And then the ghosts of two 16 year olds decided that if the adults, if the living weren’t going to change anything then they fucking would. If the living would not grant them justice and would not grant them change, then they fucking would.

Because there was a difference, in the end. Edwin was murdered, and so was Charles, but while Edwin died scared and alone Charles didn’t. Edwin died in a cold, dark basement, but Charles died in warm light of a lantern, even if that warmth wasn’t enough to save him. Edwin died to the sounds of his own screams, his own voice pleading for mercy that would not come, but Charles drifted off to sleep to the sound of a kind boy reading him a book.

The living won’t change. The story could and will keep on repeating because the living will not make sure it doesn’t. The living are messy. But the dead, for all the ways they will never change, will never get any older, they can change the story, at least a bit. Charles and Edwin can’t make sure that no other boy dies at that school, but if the story repeats itself yet again they can make sure the victim is at peace. They can solve the murders and find the lost items and release the spirits who are trapped. The living won’t help the dead, but they can help each other.

So they call themselves the Dead Boy Detectives, form an agency and get an office and help who they can, because they didn’t matter to the living, and many of their clients don’t either. But they matter to the dead.

Their clients matter. And Charles and Edwin matter too.

Soulmate au where the universe fucked up and accidentally put Edwin and Charles in separate time periods. It's like, "Fuck, they'll meet each other too late, if at all." But then Edwin dies, and the universe is like "Oh cool, so he can get reincarnated in the correct time period to meet Charles." Until it finds out he's stuck in Hell and it's like D: But then he escapes. And he makes it back to his old school. And he bumps into Charles. As a ghost.

And the universe is like "Okay, well this isn't ideal, but they did finally meet. Edwin can function as Charles' guardian angel." And then Charles dies.

And at this point, the universe thinks nothing can surprise it anymore until Edwin comes in with the lantern and gently reads to him as he dies. And one final time, the universe makes the incorrect prediction of Charles and Edwin choosing to step into the afterlife so they can get reincarnated and get to be proper soulmates in their next life. But they both decide to stay ghosts. So after the initial shock it's like "You know what? Good for you. Glad you got to be soulmates in this life like you were supposed to be."

And sure, neither of them seems to realize they were supposed to end up together romantically rather than platonically. But they just seem so happy together, either way, what's the point in trying to force it. They'll figure it out eventually. By the time Edwin realizes he's in love with Charles in Port Townsend, the universe is throwing its metaphorical hands up and whooping with glee.

Please open this fine platter I present to you

They are gay your honor

Edwin looking at Charles

Charles version

For now, I will be content with fics and other dbda media that isn't in film form. But that doesn't lessen my craving for some proper dbda episodes. I do not care whether dbda season 2 is on a different platform, but it matters to me so deeply that it is played by the same actors and is a continuation of season 1. I cannot explain how much I desire more proper episodes to fuel this hyperfixation.

May the community always stay strong :) because we have to get dbda back

I've seen a few interpretations of the ring toss, but haven't read anyone yet that reads it as a token of her love for Lenore. So.

Annabel Lee is quick to find solutions, and she knew the Stag was interested in the ring, that much is clear enough. So, the only way out was obvious (it was still a gamble, though). And I don't see why tossing it away has to mean her love for Lenore has diminished, or that she has other priorities...

If she had kept it, they were all going to die.

And I doubt Annabel would want to leave Lenore behind like that, dying far away from her without knowing for sure if Lenore made it (another thought, but I'm starting to think Lenore died first, and Annabel second, which is why she's so hell bent on protecting Lenore - but that's for another post).

Do I think she cares about Ada and Prospero? Sure. She could have left Ada behind, for example, and yet she chose to stay and try to get her out of there. But tossing the ring away doesn't mean she suddenly prioritizes them over Lenore or her love for her. She tossed it away because she loves Lenore.

I'm gonna go feral don't try and stop me 👹

Pookies

every day should be Jayden Revri appreciation day, if you ask me. cue my favourite Charles gifs:

final gif by @mellxncollie

Jayden captured the duality of Charles perfectly: The boy he thinks he needs to be, and the boy he hides deep within himself. The boy who tries "to be extra happy for all of us" and the boy who "couldn't stop my dad from beating the shit out of me, no matter how good I was." The boy who fearlessly protects others, and the boy who couldn't protect himself. And it's all there in his eyes, all the pain and care and love. Jayden understands who Charles is and you can see it in every. single. frame.

Jayden is also the David Tennant of this show for how much the joy of playing Charles radiates from him, and the Michael Sheen of this show for how much he ships payneland. I love how much he loves the show and that he engages with the fandom, reminding us to not lose hope. He is the no.1 fan of the show and we love to see it!

And finally, I need to give a shout out to Jayden's incredible Charles playlist, because so many songs from that playlist have become so dear to me (Francesca, Family Line, Orpheus, Summer Child, The Mates of Soul) and I will forever cherish them not just for the beautiful songs they are but also for the connection to Charles and dead boy detectives. I already know that my wrapped this year will be dominated by them (and Swan Upon Leda, for Edwin) and I wouldn't want it any other way. Having a whole playlist to engage with and to deep dive into Charles' character was incredibly cool and I am so grateful to Jayden for sharing it with us.

Jayden Revri, you are a gem, and we are so so so lucky that you are our Charles forever.