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Welcome to the reverse verse! This is part 1 of 2 of a commission for @i-am-as-normal-as-you-are and I can't wait to tell you all about it, because I'm incapable of being normal and chill about these concepts, so I ran with it.
Charles Rowland was born in 1900, his mum was from India and moved to the UK after marrying Charles' dad, a soldier who was not... very loving. Charles' heritage gave him some problems, but none as bad as that one time in 1916 when he was sacrificed to a demon and spent the next 7 decades in Hell. He doesn't like to talk about it, except when it can get him what he wants. He was always an angry boy, or so he thought, but after his time spent in Hell, it became so much worse. He's explosive and unpredictable, and so he mostly avoids conflict. He doesn't need to fight anyone, as his charming personality and sweet smile (plus a few smart calculations) always seem to be enough to convince people to give him what he asks for. And when the fight is inevitable... well, he has Edwin for that!
Edwin Payne grew up very sheltered, in a deeply religious home, and he is proud of that. Don't try to argue with him, because he surely has a Bible verse that will help him win (and if not, he is not above using his croquet mallet now that he has someone to keep safe). Unfortunately for him, he realized at a quite young age that he felt attraction towards other boys. Even worse, somehow other people could tell as well, including those peers that ended up killing him for it (the rumour spread throughout school was that he had died due to AIDS, and most people just accepted it). He never acted on those unnatural urges of his, but when he met this ghost who had just escaped Hell... he decided not to risk eternal damnation, and to stay here with Charles, instead. Edwin has no interest in the supernatural or in magic, and sort of looks down on them, but luckily his friend's got that covered.
I just know that the cat king turned off Monty and Edwin's lantern and made a magical lamp appear in the middle of the forest, just so he could show off his shiny coat
I love the trans Monty headcanons
Just the idea of Esther having a male crow, making it into a human girl to presumably go after Charles and Monty just going "I would rather not be a girl tho" and Esther being like "the other one is very clearly gay, so you can do whatever you want, I am not giving you a new body tho."
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)
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.
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. Posts/fics tagged with the tags attached to this post will be easier to find for everyone who loves the orb boys :D
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
The girls call them “The Orb Boy Detectives”
Charles made Orbwin a tiny ghost costume
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
Frippery - Baby_Spinach
Professional Networking - RoseGanymede95
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
Cherishing Each Other’s True Forms - @a-jasminator
ORBWIN - @random-art-p3rson
Painland Week Orb Boys - @etheriiart
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
The Orb Boy Wizard - @succstosucculent
Cursed Chorbwin Gifs
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
Instead of a confession Edwin came out to Charles on the staircase
~O~0~o~0~O~
“I’ve never actually really thought about it until you asked me,” Edwin said into the quiet air, pulling Charles back from his own thoughts.
“Huh?” Charles asked.
“What it’s like.” Edwin said. “Being in love.”
“Oh.”
“It’s like- no words can describe it, right? But at the same time, I feel like I could use every word in every language, and it would still never be enough.”
Charles didn’t say anything. What was he supposed to say to that?
“Honestly I feel like I could probably talk forever about it.” He seemed to realize what he was saying and looked over at Charles. “It’s not like I could ever talk to our friends about it though. I mean- not that I don’t trust them. It’s just not really the kind of thing you tell them.” Charles got it. If Edwin ever brought anything like that up to Crystal and Nico, he would never ever hear the end of it.
“You can talk to me,” he offered, his voice more of a whisper than he meant it to be.
Edwin looked at him a minute, his expression unreadable. “Thanks,” he said finally.
“Yeah,” Charles said softly and his heart rate sped up, just a little. Silence fell between them again. …
“You really want to hear about it?” Edwin asked later that night.
“If you want to talk about it.”
“I don’t want to feel like I’m just making you listen to me talk.”
Charles shrugged. “I like listening to you talk.” That seemed to be enough to assure him.
Edwin thought for a moment. “It is,” he said, “the most amazing and terrifying feeling I have ever known, at the same time.” He closed his eyes as if trying to picture it. “It feels almost- almost unreal,” he said once he opened them again. “Like maybe I’m just imagining everything and I’m going to wake up at any minute. And yet it’s like the most sure thing I have ever known. It’s like standing on the edge of a cliff, and someone is supposed to be at the bottom to break the landing, but I’ve already jumped off before checking if they’re there. Every time I see him, it’s like the breath has been stolen from my lungs, and my whole world has been turned upside down. And yet- he makes everything fall into place. And it’s breathtaking. Like when we’re together, everything is how it’s meant to be. Like right there, in that moment, everything is right. Like nothing else matters when I’m with him. And then I look at him and… Looking at him is like looking at forever.”
“Oh,” Charles said, because what else could he say?
“It’s everything,” Edwin said softly, looking over at Charles. “He’s everything.”
Charles caught his gaze and his smile was breathtaking. And oh. Because that’s how Edwin had described it. Breathtaking. But Edwin was talking about the boy who held his future. And this was just Edwin. His best friend. So maybe it didn’t have to be the love of his life to find someone breathtaking. Maybe best friends can be breathtaking too, he decided.
Charles flopped back onto the couch, letting his head fall against the arm. “Tell me about him?” he asked.
“Okay,” Edwin agreed, then paused. “I’m not very good at describing people,” he said.
“Tell me anyway.”
Edwin was quiet a moment, like he was trying to gather up the courage to speak. “He has the prettiest brown eyes that light up when he talks about something he loves, and the most charismatic smile you’ve ever seen. He’s kind and he’s smart, even if he doesn’t think he is. He’s brave and compassionate and spontaneous…” his voice trailed off. “And he’s perfect,” he said. “I wish he could see that.”
“You could tell him,” Charles suggested, but when Edwin smiled, it didn’t reach his eyes.
“He wouldn’t listen,” he said quietly.
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
when you think of behind the scenes photos, please think about me
@netflix @warnerbrosentertainment please renew this show
JOSHUA COLLEY as MONTY Dead Boy Detectives (2024) — Season 01, Episode 06
GEORGE REXSTREW as EDWIN PAYNE Dead Boy Detectives (2024) — Season 01, Episode 01
Monty Rapunzel AU
Esther Finch’s husband was unfaithful. He begged for her mercy before he died, so did the mistress, although she begged differently. Not for herself, but for her baby at home. A bastard, fathered by Esther’s lying husband. By all rights, he should’ve been hers, so she keeps him. A trophy of her descent into magic. Not needing a child, she turns him into a crow and ties his soul to her magic, her new familiar, and she moves deeper into the forest, away from villagers who ask questions.
Once a month, in the few days leading up to the full moon, Esther leaves Monty to do a ritual for her youth. It’s the only time she breaks the spell keeping him in crow form, though she keeps him locked in a tower until she returns, for safety. (he never asks what she does or why she returns smelling faintly of blood)
It’s Monty’s favorite time of the month, when he can stretch, read, and, his favorite, view the stars. Every night he spends staring out his window, taking it in and charting the stars. By the time he’s 15, he’s created full maps and learned to recognize the constellations throughout the year.
Monty understands why Esther keeps him as a crow. She’s his mother, it makes sense she’d want to keep him safe. And that’s why she forces him into crow form. To keep him safe. It’s what she always tells him. It’s to keep him safe.
He always knows before she returns, as her proximity forces his joints to constrict, his body to morph, and his brain to shrink.
He always dreads her coming back.
Until one day a few people around his age come stumbling into the clearing with his tower, not long after Esther’s left for the her trip. They claim to be a detective agency in town, looking for a lost girl, but Monty can’t help.
He wants to. He really wants to. For the missing girl, but also for the incredibly beautiful boy who keeps asking questions. He wants this boy to like him more than anything.
But he’s never left his tower, so how would he know where she is? He wishes he could join them, help them look, but he wouldn’t want his mother to come back to him being gone and worry.
He doesn’t find out what happened to the girl, but Esther returns early, spitting mad and talking about revenge, looking no different than when she left.
But he doesn’t return to crow form this time. Esther has a plan.
PART 8 Everybody’s alive AU, where Niko is a friend of Edwin and Charles is a friend of Crystal
It's Awful Here
Finished up the Dead Girls piece, and oh I'm love. Decided against a corset for Edith, just a chemise and bloomers. I kinda wish I'd done more with Charlotte's clothes, but they're just Charles' right now. His outfit is pretty gender anyway. Also enjoyed the lighting here - back lighting AND holding the lantern made for some fun puzzles to solve.
Hope you like!
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!
I find it soo funny that when Edwin leaves Cat King in the woods he gets all upset and is like "Next time you see me I'm gonna be sooo mean and evil, ur gonna regret hurting my feelings so much",, and then the next time we do see him he's being all pathetic and sad about Edwin going to hell, girl get up
Esther Finch is so Mother™
these people are unhinged...…. (affectionate)
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“Everything Nice” pages 15-23