Dbda - Blog Posts
Did anyone else not immediately realise that Tragic Mick's name is a play on Magic Trick because he owns the magic shop or am I just dumb 😅😂
rip niko sasaki you would've been so popular on tumblr
every time i tried to post this i noticed something I didn't like and went back to fix it but doing that repeatedly in traditional art is hell so I'm just gonna close my eyes and click post
@niko-week Day 6: Resurrection
I was late to the start of this so i decided to focus my energy in making one full piece instead of 7 simple sketches
honestly it's been a while since i last did something colorful like this, so it was vey fun to make
thinking about how Niko's mom received her letter, probably about how she has made new friends and is trying to be a little braver, and shortly after got the news of her death
like. shit dude. she probably thought that Niko would be ok and away from the sadness after all. but the sadness got her too and now she lost more of her family
we're still going 🫡
took me like 3 hours but I'm very happy with how it turned out, even though I know it's going to be completely smudged later 💀😭
i know they can't sleep, but i thought it would be cute sooooo i drew it ❤️❤️❤️
turns out this series still has a chockehold on me, so here's some old fanart of the gang (but mostly the boys) :)
I'll probably try to draw them again today to celebrate both the anniversary and the loss of my sanity, but who knows
Some very big news. Season 1 of Dead Boy Detectives is now available for purchase at Amazon 👀
The more we can show demand for this series, the better the chance that it will get picked up. If you're able, please consider stopping by to purchase an episode or even the whole season 💀🔎
🎂🎉
🥳🎂🎈
Some very big news. Season 1 of Dead Boy Detectives is now available for purchase at Amazon 👀
The more we can show demand for this series, the better the chance that it will get picked up. If you're able, please consider stopping by to purchase an episode or even the whole season 💀🔎
Honestly Edwin's and Charles' relationship is devotion but looked at through Niko's pink tinted heart glasses :3
You know when you see something that just makes sense?like an aha moment. Well this is it op is cracked at explaining such a complex and in depth storyline
so we all know edwin was in hell and charles was abused by his father. both were in horrible, violent situations, and neither deserved it. but i think the way they do (and do not) talk about their experiences are very revealing.
because, edwin brings up hell every five minutes. he plays the trauma olympics like a pro. and he's comfortable doing that because he knows he didn't deserve it. but he never talks about the actual details of went on in hell, only that it was absolutely awful. because though he is incredibly open about the fact that he went through a traumatic situation, he is very closed about the details of that traumatic situation. this is likely because he was raised in the edwardian era, and, well, people were hardly open about the details in their emotions at that time. and i think the fact that edwin never really talks about it means he's likely never really processed it. in the case of the light leapers, he sees a babydoll head in the gift shop and turns it around while visibly afraid. he has these residual, lingering fears, and they are never addressed, because he never actually addresses them. he has either fooled everyone around him into thinking that by mentioning hell, he is processing it, or charles is just so determined to be peppy that edwin is able to flit around, solving cases, while no one ever questions the depths of the impact hell had on him.
now, charles, on the other hand? you have to pry the fact that charles is traumatized out of his cold dead mouth. he will jump through all sorts of hoops, wave away all sorts of questionable comments, because he doesn't know he didn't deserve it. having an abusive parent is different from something traumatic happening to you. edwin has full confidence throughout the entire show that he does not deserve hell, that it is a clerical error. but charles? the person who is supposed to love and protect him at all costs is hurting him. and we know that he was physically abusive, but like, we don't know the details of what else went down, coz charles never talks about it. & charles never talks about it, and i'm gonna take a gander that it's likely because he is embarrassed and ashamed because he thinks he did something to deserve it. AND because charles feels this pressure to balance out edwin always talking about his trauma. so between the guilt from thinking being abused was his fault, & the guilt of bringing the group's morale down, charles absolutely never discusses his trauma. and, most of the time, that's ok, coz he's able to jump around from adventure to adventure without ever having to process his death.
edwin copes with being alone in his trauma for years by talking about it all the time in a casual manner, as if it's not properly a big deal. he doesn't have too much guilt attached to ending up in hell -he understands it was not his fault- and subsequently, is comfortable being open about it's existence.
charles copes with being abused by his father by hiding it away and pretending it didn't happen, because he has so much guilt and complicated feelings about it that he is not able to talk about it in a casual matter, and he thinks that, if he did, he would be judged for it.
As much as I love the idea of Charles and Edwin one day burning down st hilarions, the place of bad memories and pain for both of them, I don't think they would do that.
At first they would want to, but why wouldn't they inflict more torture on boys who might be suffering like themselves? I feel like Edwin and Charles would be ready to burn the whole place down, but something stops them...
*cue mini fic ish*
Edwin leans to watch the boarding school through the window of the attic. Painful memories flood his mind and for a moment he feels like he has been sucked into the whirlpool of his past, like he is helpless and beaten all over again-
Charles' voice jolts him out of his thoughts. "Edwin? Everything all right? "
"Yes, just... Just some rather unpleasant thoughts is all, no need to worry. "
Charles regards him with a knowing look. He knows his thoughts are not just "unpleasant", neither are his. They both tend to suppress their memories of the place when they sense the other is stressed- it's natural by now, being almost able to tune into eachothers feelings.
Charles and Edwin pour a small amount of gasoline on the wooden floor of the attic. Once the fire is set, the school will come tumbling down from above. Charles reaches into his bag to retrieve a box of matches. His hands are aquiver as he reaches into the box for a match. This one little flame will be the flame to end the torture for so many boys just like them...
"Charles?"
Edwin places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. His eyes reflect the dewy shine of gasoline as he looks at Charles with a sincere expression.
"Charles, are you quite all right? "
Charles sighs and drops the match.
"Yeah mate, just a little off... You sure we're doing the right thing? "
"Of course we are Charles- we are responsible for the demise of this dreadful school, perhaps-"
His words are cut off by a sharp in take of breath followed by harsh, gut wrenching sobs. Charles and Edwin look at each other and almost telepathically decide to stand of and go observe.
They fade through the wall to a small, closet like room. It was the old storage room from Edwin's time, when the school was smaller and they made use of the room. In the far corner, a boy, no more than 15 or 16 is convulsing with these heart breaking sobs. Each sob brings a new wave of pain that punches Edwin and Charles in the guts. Even from their vantage point behind the crouching boy, they can see the torn collar and bleeding ear. They watch as the boy breathes sharply and clutches his ribs. The sobs cease but he breathes shakily and starts to rock himself. Charles turns to Edwin to ask how they should help.
"Edwin so-"
"W-who is that? " the boy winces as he turns and stands up in the direction of the boys. From there, they can see the full damage. Bruises creeping up from his ribs to his neck where there are red marks. Blood trickles from a wound above his ear.
"I said, WHO IS THAT?! " he shouts with the little energy he has. He collapses on the floor again to resume his helpless sobs. Edwin turns Charles by the waist into the other room. In a hushed whisper he says
"He can hear us and feel us, but he can't see us. This means he's close to death but not that near. He'll recover, I should think. "
Charles leans closer.
"We have to help him. Burning the school down wouldn't help him would it mate? Perhaps he is just like me, please..."
He swallows as memories threaten to rise. Edwin gives him a look, which means that in this case Charles' idea is the right one. They step back into the other room.
"So, mate don't worry-" Charles begins. He is cut off by the sobs immediately stopping and the boy spluttering through pain:
"It's you again. SHOW YOURSELF! " the boy's confusion melts into anger as he tenses into a rigid stance, pushed right back into the corner.
"We're not here to hurt you. We just want to know if we can help you, 'kay? "
The boy's tired eyes begin to shine with vulnerability as he let's down his guard. Being defensive like that is exhausting, Charles would know. He kneels down to the boy, who has slipped into his previous crouching position again in the corner.
Edwin watches from the opposite corner. He knows that he can't interfere, this is Charles' moment and he can't help without breaking the fragile feelings that have been aroused.
"Look, mate. You don't need to know who we are, or why other can hear us, but what matters is we want to help. I've been, " Charles gulps, "in a similar situation before. I know how difficult it can be, and it's better you don't go through it on your own. I would know that too. " he glances at Edwin and smiles.
"I think I'm going insane." The boy buries his head in his arms.
"But are you okay with us.. Helping you?"
He sniffles. "Don't help me, help my friend. Those fucking bullies, they wanted to beat him up just cuz he had an accent that wasn't english. I couldn't let them get the best of my friend, so I stood up to them and now I'm here. Oh fuck I really am going insane, talking to the voices am I now? "
Charles takes a moment to recover. This sounds like a retelling of his life, with a couple different details. He feels like he has been dipped back into his past and the pain feels as fresh as ever. The pain morphs into a raging anger that overcomes him, it's flames showing in his eyes.
"Edwin, stay with the boy. "
"There's another-? "
"That doesn't matter. He'll keep you safe. Where are the bullies? "
You don't need to look at Charles to tell that he is seething with anger.
"I-i don't know! " the boy seems to be on the verge of tears as his eyes widen.
"I'm sorry, " Charles begins. He might have been too harsh, he can't take out his anger on him. "I'm sorry, but where are the bullies? Do you have any idea? "
The boy takes a deep breath.
"The four of them share a room, 2 bunk beds. It's room 50c, so the last room in building c. "
Charles and Edwin give each other a confused glance. Building c?
"I'll find it. Thanks mate, you don't know what this means to us. Edwin you'll be all right yeah? " Charles looks nervously st the pair.
"Charles, I'll be fine. I am the least of your concerns. Just, don't do anything... Rash."
Charles nods. He know that he won't go about this in a calm way certainly, but he'll need the warning. He turns to go, but he stops at the sensation of a hand on his. Edwin is holding his hand. He looks at Edwin who is kneeling with the boy. His eyes beg him to not let his anger overcome him. Charles takes a look at the shivering boy, now huddled in Edwin's overcoat, and realises the vulnerability this has exposed in both of them. He realises how Edwin is taking care of this boy like he once took care of him. The anger lessens it's iron grip on Charles and he gives Edwin the reassuring smile that he can control himself, that everything will be all right. And with the fleeting warmth of Edwin's hand still on his, he fades out if the room on his way to 50c.
Once Edwin and Charles figure their relationship out, normalise Charles being super silly ™ in dates with Edwin.
This, by now, is their 2nd or 3rd official date and they are returning to their flat. Hand in hand they walk down the lamp lit London road leading to the office flat. Edwin is reveling in the slight warmth of Charles' hand in his, and atmosphere of the night. But suddenly, Charles takes off on a sprint, Edwin fumbles, calling for him and then begins to run after him. But the head start that Charles had means that he is already at the flat whilst Edwin is climbing the last flight of stairs. To his shock, the door is thrown open and Charles is kneeling on one knee, with one hand outstretched for Edwin and the other holding the door. His head is almost brushing the floor, but without looking up he says between ragged breaths:
"Come through, your honour. "
Edwin gently lifts his hand to his mouth in a shocked movement, but places his hand in Charles'.
"Thank you Charles, really I've never had someone do this for m-"
Edwin can't say anymore because in a single, swift movement, Charles sweeps around the stand behind Edwin, leaving his hand gently hovering for Charles' used to be.
"Anything for my best mate. " Charles breathes into Edwin's neck, winking. Suddenly Charles hands are sliding Edwin's overcoat off and hanging them on the nearby coat hanger.
Edwin has stopped working and has disintegrated into a furiously blushing puddle on the floor.
GIVE US SEASON TWO ISTG-
Niko and the song Cure for me by Aurora.
Do you get me?
Really just any Aurora song and Niko actually they just go~
This is about Dead Boy Detectives but also applies elsewhere:
I know it can be hard to just talk to random people you meet about things you’re passionate about, but legit it works. If you can push past the social anxiety (I know it’s hard, I struggle with it too) you’ll be surprised how receptive people can be!
One of the best things we can do to up the chances of getting the show renewed is to get the views up, and while rewatches are great, more and newer viewers are even better. So whenever I can, I’ve been talking the show up to everyone I see.
I just checked my car in for service and the gal taking my info was STOKED when I told her about it because she was looking for a new show to watch. Grabbed her phone and added it to her Netflix list as I was standing there.
The little old lady who does safety inspections at work apparently loves Halloween and all things spooky.
The new security guard mentioned his husband and was excited when I told him about how refreshing the queer normalization is in the show (and showing him a pic of Lukas Gage as the Cat King definitely didn’t hurt either).
The head of Facilities has been watching Doctor Who since the first episode in the 60s and was intrigued by the quirky, campy aspects of it.
There are so many aspects to this show, so many angles of interest, you’ll be surprised how quickly you can sell people on it sometimes!
For me, the ‘opener’ I’ve found most effective is something along the lines of “Hey, I know this is super random, but do you like Sci-fi/fantasy/spooky stuff?” From there, a yes leads into “There’s this show I absolutely love called Dead Boy Detectives on Netflix, you should check it out!” And a bit of info on the show. (It’s about two ghosts that solve supernatural mysteries! It’s fun and weird and funny and so well made!) If there’s time, I’ll pull up the trailer or the teaser for them to watch. Far more often then not, they’re interested.
And if they say no? “Yeah, the genre’s not for everyone. But if you know anyone who does like it, you should have them check out Dead Boy Detectives, it’s super good.”
They may or may not be interested. They might watch it or they might not, could recommend it to others or forget about it completely. But they definitely won’t do any of that if they don’t know it exists.
Right now, I know of 21 people that I’ve told about the show who have come back and told me they loved it. 7 of those have also told me they told their friends and family about it and they’re now watching it too. (And those are just the ones who’ve come back to me about it- there could be even more!)
If there’s one thing I learned from being on a competitive Gish team for a decade, it’s that you never know who will say yes when you ask them something random!
It can be scary to put yourself out there. I really, truly get that. But if you’re able to push past it, it’s truly an effective way to spread the word.
Yuyu's responses are so in character like I can imagine Niko saying them
I'm going to go cry now 💔
Idk if anyone is a fan of Manifest but it was in a similar situtation as Dead Boy Detectives is: canceled on a cliffhanger and then picked back up. There's a fantastic, enlightening article on how the fans managed to make that happen:
The TLDR, when it comes down to it? VIEWS.
So, Point 1 I'm trying to make: REWATCH THE FUCK OUT OF THIS SHOW. Have it on all day, every day and when it gets to the Netflix Top-10 trending DO NOT STOP. Have it on in the background on a low volume, pop some headphones in if you don't want to hear it. Literally KEEP WATCHING. DO NOT CANCEL YOUR NETFLIX ACCOUNT.
Point 2: If you have a family member or friend who hasn't watched Dead Boy Detectives, ask them to. If they're not interested, here's what I suggest - ask them to let you sign into their account and watch it full through to help boost the viewership. Do it at night when they're sleeping or while they're at work and don't need their account. If Netflix sees an uptick in accounts who have never watched this show watching it, that will raise eyebrows.
They do not care about our feelings. They do not care about the integrity of artful storytelling or the importance of queer representation.
They care about views. We need to give them views. A tremendous turnaround in viewership post-cancellation will make them reconsider. That's how we save our show. It's just like Crystal Palace said - we need a unified front if we're going to face the mistress of doom (Netflix HQ) out there!!!
STREAM THE FUCK OUT OF THIS SHOW and do not stop telling others to do the same! If you were on the fence about watching this show, this is your sign to watch it because we need you now more than ever! I promise you will love it, the show is so meaningful, fun, and special... plus we are an awesome, active fandom with talented writers and artists! You will have a great time here and you know what if you don't like it you can personally kick me in the shin honestly! Please help us save our show!
!!!!! Keep streaming we're almost there
Dead Boy Detectives is almost back in the top 10 on Netflix, it’s at number 16 right now
Keep streaming it, it’s working
Remember to have your volume up at least a little bit because watching on silent doesn’t get counted apparently
https://chng.it/sqdyqdnHCv
Sign it! Rewatch it!
The link above should send you to the dbda poll :)
He b e n d
mourning re-watch episode two!
Charles: shooting his shot, flirting with crystal
Edwin: facing the other way, bent tf over waiting for him to be done
Everyone join! Sign polls, reblog, post, get involved to try to bring dbda back
Hi guys! So like you probably know netflix decided to cancelled "Dead boy detectives" season 2 which is unfair, why are all the good shows cancelled when really bad ones are renewed!
People on tiktok decided to make a watch party on Thursday, September 5th at 7pm (Great Britain summer time) in hope to make top 10 and show Netflix they were wrong.
I know the show is important for many people so help us trying to save it.
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
Just love how everyone has/probably has some trauma or an interesting backstory meanwhile Monty just spawned in with his cute lil astronomy book like ":D"
Decorating their office, Edwin instructing the exact angle that the fairy lights should be in to Crystal and Niko, Charles smiling because his wife is a bitch and he loves that. Christmas crackers are pulled, releasing confetti, which Edwin is appalled by at first. But the atmosphere of gentle snow falling on London lamp lights outside, and the twinkling of fairy lights and laughter as Crystal tries (and fails) to describe the texture of minced pies to Charles just make Edwin feel... At home. Not at home with his parents, whose Christmas atmosphere was dull and full of stiffly dressed relatives arranged in uniform lines, but content. He sighed, and letting himself be happy in the moment, took out his cracker crown and placed it on Charles' head.
no because I usually don't really like Christmas specials (or any holiday specials really) in shows but the thought of a dead boy detectives Christmas episode is soooo aaaa. like Edwin and Charles having spent 30 Christmas together, maybe setting up a tree in their office or going outside to see if they can still make snow angels even if they can't feel the cold on their skin. idk its just so sweet to me and really speaks to how long they've known each other and how they are (with Crystal and Niko this time around) a little family. plus cool Christmas ghosts or snowflake sprites or anything!
Is it anyone else who doesn't ship Tragic Mick and the Cat King? Personally (just my opinion don't burn me at stake) but I find the dynamic between a 30 (35? 25? Under 40 idk) cunty cat god and a 50ish (once again forgive my inability to correctly guess ages) calm, grounded walrus man just a little odd