Was Playing D&D Today, And Our DM Narrated That We Saw Some Orbs Up On A Shelf That Were Obviously More

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I ended up kinda of muttering it to myself. My 15 year old nephew, who sits next to me, leaned over and whispered to me, “What’s a Chorbwin?” I said, “Creatures made of light and wielding incredible power over we mere mortals.”

Was playing D&D today, and our DM narrated that we saw some orbs up on a shelf that were obviously more precious than anything else in the room. I had to actually stop myself from crowing, “Chorbwin!”

One thing I adore about Dead Boy Detectives is how brilliant the first ten minutes are. The pacing is incredible. You meet the boys, learn who they are, get a peek at what they want, and are shown what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Straight out the gate, you know that Charles is impulsive and more physically protective, and that Edwin is more intellectual and prone to magic. You learn magic exists and this is a setting where an infinite backpack can happen. Edwin gets a chance to show off his deductive skills with their client, and Charles gets to show off his people skills with both the client and the WWI ghost. Six minutes in and we already know these characters.

You learn that this is how these characters function together, and that they know each other well enough to know each others' strengths and weaknesses and rely on each other and compensate for them, respectively. The pacing is lively and attention-grabbing, and the back-and-forth between the office and the scene while they're on the job allows a fantastic showcase of the contrast between how they work together in different situations.

Then we get a look at the deeper need that motivates our two ghosts: staying together, against all odds, even after death, even in the face of Death herself.

And then we segue into another brilliant bit of exposition. Instead of a long, stodgy talking scene that would slow down the pacing, we get shown slices of Crystal acting strangely to explain what's going on.

In the space of ten minutes, we have met our characters, know what drives them, know their status quo, and are ready for that status quo to be upended, all without a single exposition dump.

No wonder this series series was met with critical acclaim. This is brilliant character writing and pacing. I write for a living, and this intro scene had me turning to the person next to me, saying, "THAT'S how you do it."

There's so much to appreciate about Dead Boy Detectives, but I feel like the script doesn't get anywhere near enough attention. Standing ovation for the absolutely brilliant writing, honestly.

ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ʙᴏʏ ᴅᴇᴛᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇꜱ | ᴇᴅᴡɪɴ ᴘᴀʏɴᴇ, ᴇᴘɪꜱᴏᴅᴇ 4

"Edwin can help" says Charles.

Crystal raises an eyebrow at him. He smiles sunnily.

"Edwin would sell me to Satan for one corn chip," she says.

Edwin, from his spot at the desk, lowers his book enough to give her a longsuffering look. "This feels like one of your obscure internet references," he says. He still says "internet" like the word doesn't belong in his mouth.

Crystal gives him a bland smile. "The internet isn't obscure," she says. "You just don't know anything about it because you're a million years old."

"One hundred twenty four," he says, because he's a pedantic little shit.

Charles is chuckling in the corner, because he has low tastes and thinks Edwin being a pedantic little shit is hilarious.

"At any rate," says Edwin crisply, "As a fugitive from hell, negotiating with Satan would hardly be in my best interests. Also, as a fugitive from hell, I have no interest in seeing anyone sent there unjustly, much less someone I have grown... attached to."

She feels her smile warm a little at that, and turns her head so that Edwin won't see. Love you too, Edwin.

"Finally," he concludes, "I am dead, with no need to eat, and therefor have no use for corn chips. This accusation does not make sense."

Crystal chokes at the affronted dignity in his voice, but pulls her expression back under control, only turning back to Edwin when she's sure she can look disdainful without her lips twitching. Charles dying of laughter in the corner isn't helping, but she manages.

"It's a meme," she says loftily.

Edwin's longsuffering expression turns pained. "Half the time, I am sure you are making these things up to aggravate me," he informs her.

She isn't, but only because the reality aggravates him plenty without any embellishment.

"Is it working?" she asks, and finally lets herself laugh when he picks up his book again and glares daggers at her over the top of it.

The faces he makes in the last one are glorious.

Every Charles Rowland Scene (1b/?)