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i will fall in love with you, over and over again by plutosapphicstay
Fandoms: The Sandman (TV 2022), Dead Boy Detectives (TV)
07 Sep 2025
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Summary
“You’re a classic, aren’t you?”
Of all the descriptions the Cat King has given Edwin, a classic is not one of them. "I'm not quite sure what you mean."
"It's nothing bad to be, not in the slightest," the Cat King says, earnest. "You appreciate the way things are and the way they were, seeing the beauty in both sides. You probably got a bunch of first editions back home- Oscar Wilde, Allen Poe, all the best of the Lake Poets." He shifts forward on his knees to where Edwin sits, brings himself just an inch closer to the space between his legs. "Think Art Noveau, letters written by candlelight instead typed up in telegrams, dances in ballrooms instead of old clubs.”
The look in his eyes, the admiration, now Edwin sees where it’s familiar. The fascination, from that cursed first night- drawn out by Edwin doing nothing but being himself. “There’s just nothing like you anymore.”
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In other words, the CatWin season two where the Cat King ditches an Endless-sentenced exile in PT to chase after a second chance, Edwin meets him again for the first time on his side of the sea, and what they find is more than any mere fascination. I miss my idiots way too much.
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Bookmark Notes:
Going into Chapter 15
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To Memory Now I Can't Recall by engineering_madonna
Fandoms: Dead Boy Detectives (TV), The Sandman (TV 2022)
13 Oct 2024
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Summary
"Don't ever let me forget this, he'd pray to whoever may or may not be listening, let me keep just this bit."
An accident while investigating a series of deaths linked to a dangerous memory elixir leads to Edwin losing the last five years of his memory, including his relationship with Charles. As Charles does his best to juggle his boyfriend turned best friend again and solving the case, it becomes apparent that this is now a race against time.
Featuring: Charles suffering, amnesiac Edwin, the whole crew coming together to save the day, and a kiddy pool portal that is not at all embarrassing to stand in
Title from the song "The Parting Glass"
Series
- Part 3 of Forever Isn't Long At All
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 46,954
- Chapters:
- 16/16
- Comments:
- 374
- Kudos:
- 774
- Bookmarks:
- 120
- Hits:
- 14,687
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My Life Ended When They Called Your Name by GenevieveFangirl
Fandoms: Dead Boy Detectives (TV)
14 Aug 2025
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Summary
Charles’ hand grips Edwin’s impossibly tighter. He holds his breath and only has one wish; please don’t be Edwin. Please let his best friend live. If there really is a higher power, they’ll grant him this one desire. He’ll never ask for anything again.
Thomas walks slowly back to the microphone. It is only a couple steps, but it is the longest few seconds of Charles’ life. The anticipation and stress are killing him. Finally, Thomas reaches the podium again and reads the name on the slip of paper.
“The voted tribute from District 8 is… Edwin Payne.”
And Charles’ heart shatters.
It’s the 125th Hunger Games and the Quarter Quell rules are simple: one tribute is selected by the district citizens via voting, while the other tribute must be a volunteer. When Edwin’s name is called as the tribute voted in and Charles volunteers for the other spot, how will they navigate the trials both inside and outside the arena?
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Bookmark Notes:
39
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Summary
Wunderkammer, noun. Translated from the German as wonder room and more commonly known in English as a cabinet of curiosities.
HELP WANTED: Maintenance Worker (late hours)
Seeking a person of steady disposition and keen intellect. Generous compensation. Room and board available upon request. Not suitable for those possessed of a delicate constitution or nervous temperament. Mechanical aptitude a must, fast runners strongly preferred. Priority will be afforded to candidates with no dependents or other living relatives. Applicants may report to Mr. Edwin Payne, acting head curator and recondite warder of the London Athenaeum.
Office hours: 11:30pm – 5:30am, Mondays only.It’s the weirdest bloody job interview Charles has ever done.
Series
- Part 1 of Wunderkammer
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Bookmark Notes:
A very nice fic in an odd little world, this felt like reading a good book with familiar characters that feels like home
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The Case of the Antisocial Anime Aficionados by RoseGanymede95
Fandoms: Dead Boy Detectives (TV)
29 Aug 2025
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Summary
Melanie stared down at her fine leather handbag. “I don’t want him to do something stupid. Like find a way to hurt himself. Or… maybe hurt someone else.”
Ah. Edwin leaned forward on the desk, steepling his fingers. “I see,” he said. “In that case, you are not only looking for our help as investigators. You are also potentially in need of bounty hunters.”
“Of course not!” Melanie exclaimed, bristling. “I’m not asking you to kidnap him at gunpoint! I just want you to find my stupid little brother before he cocks up something serious!”
Edwin shrugged. “Semantics,” he said simply.
The boys take on a case that will be very easy to solve. It will definitely not bring about any unexpected complications or zany hijinks.
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Melanie stared at Charles like he was the messiah, offering her personal salvation. Edwin could sympathize. He, himself, looked at Charles that way rather often.
Charles’ intake of breath was too subtle for anyone else to notice, but Edwin heard it, and the sound made his heart ache.
Edwin extended his hand to accept the pen. “This,” he said. “Is a worthy bounty. We’ll take your case.”
The bashful way Charles ducked his head when Edwin handed him the pen was worth hours of grueling casework.
Charles cleared his throat, having now exhausted his capacity to accept praise.
Charles, squinting down at a folding map of London, grunted his agreement. “Don’t look at me. If I had a little brother I’d be a fair bit more careful with him.”
What a dangerous thought that was. Charles was overprotective of Edwin, his equal, to such an extent that it was a well-known hazard among London’s ghosts. Anybody who had ever heard of the Dead Boy Detectives knew not to try and separate them, lest they face Charles’ wrath. If he had a younger sibling, someone he was responsible for—good Lord. Europe would never know a day of peace until Charles had personally removed all plausible threats west of France.
“It might be for the best that you’re an only child,” Edwin reflected. “If your younger sibling had gone missing, I expect you’d have torn the city to pieces by now.”
“He wouldn’t have gone missing in the first place,” said Charles firmly.
Edwin quite liked ducks. He admired how gracefully they glided across the water, and how eagerly they attacked anyone foolish enough to disturb them.
A smile tugged at Edwin’s lips. He never grew tired of these glimpses into how Charles saw the world. Edwin had spent his years building an encyclopedic knowledge of how things worked: the chemistry and physics of the material plane, the laws of magic, the underlying logic of how buildings and machines were constructed. Charles, on the other hand, had been honing an ever-deepening sense of why things happened the way they did. He saw the motives behind every careless action, functions for every item in his pack, possibilities for connection in every empty space.
“You’re right,” Edwin agreed with mock seriousness. “Young people these days will never know the simple pleasure of being murdered without first considering whether the lighting is ideal.”
Charles hadn’t even looked down before stepping through the reflection Edwin conjured for him. For all he knew, Edwin could have been sending him straight to a Siberian prison. The absolute trust his partner placed in him was as precious as it was humbling.
With the exception of Charles, he’d never quite learned how to relate to other young men, and girls remained mysterious.
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Found heaven by Loveydovey33
Fandoms: The Umbrella Academy (TV), Dead Boy Detectives (TV)
11 Sep 2025
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Summary
Number five didn't survive the bullets wounds in the barn.but thats OK at least the family is safe.
Funny thing he goes to hell..
Funniest thing ever..he met an English boy who look too good to go to hell.
So Five found a new purpose.
Save the boy
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Summary
Edwin is not entirely sure how they went from having an argument about Charles’s damn fool need to throw himself into danger without any forethought to this. To Charles’s hands on Edwin’s face and his tongue in Edwin’s mouth and Edwin feeling drunk with it, bowled over with the sheer sensation of it all.
-picks up directly after the end of keep my hand in yours. Edwin speedruns having a queer awakening while Charles finds himself particularly affected by a case involving domestic abuse.
Series
- Part 2 of 1999 au
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Summary
10 years after Charles dies, he realizes that he's in love with his best friend. He handles this about as well as anyone could expect.
- Words:
- 104,905
- Works:
- 3
- Bookmarks:
- 159
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- Words:
- 144,921
- Works:
- 2
- Bookmarks:
- 9
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The ghosts managed to escape the predator's trap but only just, and not before falling victim to its transformative magic. Their long, comfortable existence was shattered in an instant as Edwin emerged a living human being, the rushing of his blood booming in the ears of Charles, freshly-minted vampire.
Horrified and desperate to find a way back, Edwin searches for a solution while Charles' thirst burns.
Above it all shrieked his towering thirst. Brand new and full grown, it was a howling need so insistent it seemed to twist within his flesh; a burning, reverberating agony.
And still, there was one thing louder.
Because there sat Edwin, looking down at him with dark circles under wide, frightened eyes, ripe fruit hanging low. He was coursing with hot, living blood, exquisitely defenseless, and Charles’ hunger demanded that he crush this easy prey. That he devour him. His bloodlust was an elemental instinct urging him irresistibly on, powerful and relentless as a tidal wave.
Charles clenched his jaw and steadied himself, refusing.
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It's one of the first things Charles notices about Edwin: he doesn't have a daemon.
While Anita curls around him, protective with teeth bared despite the freezing water drenching her fur, Edwin stands alone.
Charles hadn't thought it was possible to lose your daemon and stay sane, but he also hadn't thought that ghosts were real, so he just sort of accepts it and moves on.
When he finally does gather the courage to ask Edwin about it weeks later, Edwin goes awfully still, a wild, panicked look crossing his eyes for just long enough to make Charles regret saying anything.
Eventually, Edwin does respond, voice low and rough.
"Hell is designed to tear souls apart, Charles," he says, not meeting Charles' eyes. "I'm sure you can deduce the rest."
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Or what happens to a daemon in Hell and how one might find friendship, love, and peace in the aftermath
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- Words:
- 50,814
- Works:
- 2
- Bookmarks:
- 68
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The client meets the smile with one of his own, his posture already loosening in response to Charles’ charm. “There’s an old lady who haunts the candy shop a few streets down from where I li-” he breaks off, smile fading. “Where I used to live. I told her I had a mystery I was trying to sort out, and she pointed me your way.”
Charles grins. “Good old Lizzie,” he says. “Not to worry mate. We’re aces with mysteries.”
A routine case looking into mysterious industrial 'accidents' goes sideways, resulting in Edwin leaning on his hell-forged pain tolerance to get them both out safely. Charles is less than thrilled about it.
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Summary
Charles has known Edwin a long time.
A really long time, and he knows exactly what his closest companion needs.Even if Edwin won't admit it.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 15,293
- Chapters:
- 5/7
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 90
- Kudos:
- 99
- Bookmarks:
- 15
- Hits:
- 1,559
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Charles develops a slight obsession with Edwin, sure the boy loves his best friend but he's never wanted him this much, and Edwin finds out....
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What is love if not a monster, the way that it consumes? by imnotcryingipromise
Fandoms: Dead Boy Detectives (TV)
03 Jun 2024
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Summary
He hardly registers Charles' movement, the swinging of the lantern toward the further pile of bodies, until he hears the younger boy draw breath as though to scream.
He watches his friend turn away in horror, an exclamation primed on his lips.
"Wh- wh..."
Edwin acts quickly and with less thought than he has given any action in his entire panic-laden existence. Where his hand had proven ineffective in the last instance to silence his companion, he opts instead for his lips, lurching forward with an anguished gasp and pressing his mouth to Charles' desperately.
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Edwin and Charles share a fraught kiss in Hell. After their escape, the older boy is determined to move on, insistent on the utilitarian nature of the kiss. Meanwhile, his realisation-struck counterpart cannot seem to forget.
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Assistant to Death, Edwin Payne, fucked up on his first solo job: firstly, he arrived too early, and then the charismatic boy who was dying stubbornly refused to go to his afterlife. Being transferred to the Lost and Found's data processing department was humiliating enough, but he realised Death must be having a laugh at his expense when he met his assigned training partner...
Or: Edwin and Charles become reluctant colleagues, escape their boring desk jobs to found a Detective Agency and stumble into a hell of a lot of trouble along the way…
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St. Hil's Guide To Surviving A Demon Summoning by ahyperactivehero (ahyperactiverhero) for ghostinthelibrary
Fandoms: Dead Boy Detectives (TV)
09 Sep 2025
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Summary
Everything was supposed to go back to normal after Charles interrupted Simon’s little demon ‘prank’ on Edwin. Except, Edwin can’t sleep without seeing monsters or his classmates dying horrifically, and he is convinced there is something stalking them through the halls of St. Hil’s.
And everything only gets worse when their classmates start disappearing…
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 25,228
- Chapters:
- 4/?
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 102
- Kudos:
- 123
- Bookmarks:
- 16
- Hits:
- 1,173
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Bookmark Notes:
oh this genuinely extremely unsettling and i'm honestly really fucking there for it!!!!! excellent suspense-building horror 10/10
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Simon had never actually seen Edwin be taken by the demon, he had two parallel stories running through his head at all times. He had killed Edwin and doomed him to an eternal suffering or he had only got four other boys killed and Hell was their punishment, Edwin, poor innocent - wouldn’t hurt a fly, book loving - Edwin was spared because demons only came for sinners. In which case, Edwin couldn’t be down here and Hell’s tricks had led him far beyond the confines of his assigned recompense.
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Simon takes Edwin’s offer to escape.
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Bookmark Notes:
5
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Summary
The realization that Edwin favoured men, specifically his best friend, had hit him slowly, then all at once. He couldn’t stand Crystal at first, he couldn’t handle the way Charles looked at her like she hung the damned moon. Edwin was supposed to be Charles’s person, not some living physic girl. They were dead together for goodness sake, and had been for three decades. They knew each other better than anybody, so clearly it had stung.
It had stung so terribly to think that Charles might do anything to be alive again, just to be with Crystal. Even if that meant abandoning Edwin all together.
"It makes sense," Edwin had said that day in the hall, "given that you said that you hate being dead. Of course you fell for a living girl."
Charles wouldn’t fall for a dead boy.
Edwin was an idiot for ever thinking he might have. But even so, he’d made peace with Charles’s kind rejection. Even if it still hurt to simply look at him sometimes.
That was, until Charles and Crystal ended things.
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in which Edwin and Charles get lost in a house in search of a missing viola. comfort, confessions, kisses (and more) ensue.