Thinking Of Light In Dead Boy Detectives

thinking of light in dead boy detectives

the lantern light of edwin giving comfort to charles, and guiding him through death. the lantern light of charles, offering comfort to edwin and ushering him out of hell.

but there's also the lighthouse episode. angie's light as a lure for people whose hearts ache for love from someone who is distant from them. a guide to a cruel death.

the lighthouse itself casting occasional flashes over the group as charles beats the night nurse into the ocean. echoing the lights going on and off in the devlin house, bright when the horror is at its worst and dark when all is quiet

the lanterns in the forest episode, passed back and forth between them, to see the way apart from each other and back again. the cat king's chandelier, spotlighting him in the darkness, another lure.

in fact, the neon signs in his bachelor pad, the neon lights at the butcher, modern and novel to edwin, moments of forced growth when they are near

niko's colorful lights, demanding attention that will kill her, but also drawing in the best friends she has ever had

the lights of the afterlife, blue and red, one for edwin and one for charles, an invitation, a warning, a doorway.

the glow of kashi's ring on the night nurse's finger, reminding her of the virtue of being flexible, leading her to take a new path

the boys, reduced to their barest elements as two small orbs of light

niko, waiting in some kind of spiritual realm with the northern lights trailing overhead

Thinking about her (every single character in dead boy detectives) again ( they have consumed my every waking thought since the show aired)

No, but honestly I love every character sooo much and i just miss them a lot.

Wayyyy later than what I expected to finish, I'm finally finished with my Payneland fencing fic! Thank you so much to everybody that offered themselves as my beta, I really appreciate that!

Relationships: Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland, Edwin Payne & Charles Rowland (the fic focus on their friendship specifically, the romance is just an ending bonus).

Rating: gen

Trigger warnings: blades/ fencing, dysfunctional gays, Charles that's so fucking gay you cannot say that to your platonic best friend,

Other stuff: fencer Edwin Payne, touch starved Charles & touch starved Edwin if you squint, love confession, hurt/comfort, eventual cuddling, teens being teens, slight miscommunication the first half of the fic, okay they're really miscommunicating at the start but it gets better don't worry!

Link to the snippet

Edwin and Charles' friendship come first before anything else, before any romantic feelings ever even started. This is why when shortly after Port Townsend when Charles is starting to act off and Edwin feels it's because of his confession affecting them, although Charles is denying the accusation, he confronts Charles to talk with him again the way they do things: He makes him fence with him.

And Charles can never tell Edwin no, is he? Or: Charles tried to isolate himself away from Edwin, Edwin couldn't let that stand. The boys being teenagers and fooling around fencing.

Based on my fencing history so I actually come with knowledge about that! I kinda took advantage of that for creating this fic.

I hope you'll like it! I really enjoyed writing it. Charles is my favourite out of them but damn fencer Edwin is ruining my brain.

Had the craziest fever(half drunk) dream in which the dbda fandom decided to hop onto the Netflix Roblox games (they’ve been advertised for geek week) and do a Roblox protest hahahaha it was low key so funny but the best part was that it actually worked but I unfortunately woke up and had to question my sanity and go touch some grass.

If a roblox protest is what it takes to have our boys back then so be it.

Another Dead Boy Detectives Fic Rec List

Netflix sucks and I'm sad, but the Dead Boy Detectives fandom continues to be awesome, so here are some more very quick fic recs!*

Tonight's the Night You Fight Your Best Mate's Dad by Opossum_Subatomic

Everyone's Alive College/University 5+1 things fic featuring Charles bringing Edwin coffee and slowburn payneland. Also Family/Wedding Drama involving Everyone Thinks Their Dating so acute is verges on Fake Dating. This author is seriously fantastic, everything they write is gold.

You should also check out Kissing Lessons, which is a high school AU that does what it says on the tin while also giving non-binary Monty and polyamory.

Ornithology by Rosie447

Monty gets a job working at Tragic Mick's. This one's not actually payneland, being gen and Monty-centric. I know, gasp. It's a fantastic and very sweet exploration of Monty discovering his sense of self post canon and works as a great metaphor for recovery from toxic family/relationships. Also, the ex-animal solidarity and bonding with Mick is lovely.

what some circumstance stole by Chrome

The Sandman crossover featuring Edwin and Hob being kidnapped and tortured together. Their friendship is really wholesome with eventual Father Figure and Found Family Feels for the whole agency and background Dreamling.

dandelion wine (life and death in summertime) by world_wanderer

Payneland Right Person Wrong Time AU in which neither of them die but they still meet and become friends. The May/December friendship is sweet but tragic, with a bittersweet ending. Superb.

Mirror Image by Anonymous

Charles' afterlife gets taken over my an evil shape-shifting doppelganger, leaving him with plenty of time to regret never talking to Edwin about his feelings. Angsty but with Feelings Realisation and the Power of Love and Friendship vibes.

my healing needed more than time by babyseraphim

Case fic with de-aged Charles! Baby Charles is precious but be prepared for discussions of childhood trauma/abuse.

The same author has also written I'm So Aces at Babysitting, which is a really cute two-chaptered AU featuring Charles and Edwin babysitting the kid versions of each other, with bonus Crystal and Niko doing the same. It's very wholesome and the author writes little kids really well.

Pouring into me by tragedy_machine

Love me some "Charles wants to date Edwin to figure out his feelings but gets turned down" fic. Feelings are hard, OK?

thank u, next by KiaraSayre

Edwin fucks and Charles seethes. It's very funny and also features some interesting worldbuilding with the Fae.

Like We've Never Known Hurt by dearheartdont

Just cute established relationship PWP and praise kink. So good.

all of these hollows by handwrittenhello

The boys are alive again but sans memories. Can they still find each other and prove their devotion to the Night Nurse?? While also evading heavenly and hellish forces trying to keep them apart??? Very interesting concept executed well.

Suo Gân by emryses

The agency takes on the case of a traumatised Edwardian ghost searching for her missing baby... Read it for Edwin family feels.

Where Primroses Bloom by PantryJesus

Reading aloud as a love language and Watership Down feels. Idk, I'm now convinced that Edwin is kind of rabbit-coded with the whole "if they catch you they'll kill you. But first they must catch you" thing. A lovely well written fic.

I'm so sick of online love by Hse11z5

College/University AU where the boys meet through a dating app. It's cute.

you can have the best of me, baby (and I will give you anything) by aletterinthenameofsanity

Again, it's the Friends with Benefits but with real feelings and mutual pining for me. Now has a Charles PoV companion fic.

True Love's Kiss by Asidian

In which Charles curses himself with a Sleeping Beauty enchantment in order to confirm his feelings for Edwin and Crystal is the real MVP. I love this one because the boys are both SO stupid but in very different in-character ways.

I also recommend Promised, in which they kind of play the Green card angle to keep Edwin out of Hell? Which honestly needs to be more of a trope. And Tight Quarters, starring the boys trapped in a magic circle, leading to Forced Proximity induced Feelings Realization (in more ways than one! 😉).

Something I Can Turn To by DontOffendTheBees

I love some domestic fluff, in this case as an Everyone's Alive/Childhood Friends AU in which the boys are poor but happy living together. I liked how they both survive their respective traumas, but Reality Ensues.

I also recommend Lived My Whole Life Before the First Light for a lovely but melancholy Soulmate AU that goes for the "seeing colours" trope for extra wistful angst.

Dining at the Ritz by TerresDeBrume

Meeting the Parents fic in which Edwin's parents are awful and Charles is Not Having It. This has Everyone Thinks They're Dating and autistic Edwin stimming representation, plus discussions of racism, classism and ableism. The fic is also part of a great Modern AU series in which the boys attended St Hilarion's at the same time and Charles saved Edwin from a non-supernatural but still almost deadly prank. Highly recommended!

The Case of the Couples Retreat by juliasfanart

Listen, I can't get enough of undercover fake dating/relationships at a couples retreat, OK? Some minor angst but overall very cute and fluffy.

acu (aysar cinematic universe) by ObsessedWithFandom

The agency is hired to solve the mystery of Charles' death and bring his killers to justice. I'm genuinely obsessed with this series; I love its OCs and Charles having an exboyfriend gives Edwin a fun crisis. Plus haunting Charles' killers is very satisfying and cathartic. Just imagine they're Netflix execs, y'all.

*Not actually quick, as it turns out. 😅

I love doing these lists because I always think I've only got a few recs and then I look back over my recent bookmarks and I've got a metric ton of great fics to rec. You guys are so talented. ❤️