@unicorngunter and I talked about the Cat King reincarnating as a sphynx cat, and while he'd probably have a major crisis about it at first, I have full faith he'd find a way to embrace the bald and make it work.
You know those Dreamling fics where Dream is trying to stay away from Hob because of the Fates' rules about moving a mortal, and Hob's all like "guess it's good I'm immortal then ;)"?
This, but it's the Fates who show up to enforce their stupid rule (which to be fair they had a point to implement and also because Morpheus is a NG self-insert and I support the rule that says he shouldn't touch a woman, ever) but they encounter Hob who's well-actuallying an entire presentation with PowerPoint and notes about why it's ok for him to date Dream
He gets Lucienne's approval just for the presentation
Makes Charles jealous and "gets in the way of the main ship"
Is of indeterminate age but is possibly decades or centuries old
Can transform into an animal.
And it's this guy:
AND YET I have never seen any discourse calling Monty a creep and a predator.
Unlike The Cat King, he even kissed Edwin suddenly and without explicit consent. He also lied, manipulated and betrayed all of them and nearly got them killed. Yes, he said he didn't know Esther was planning on destroying them. But c'mon, it's Esther.
Somehow though, the fandom vilifies The Cat King more than Monty. I think the reason why is worth a long, hard look in the mirror.
The biggest difference between the two is TCK's sexual nature and his in-your-face queerness. Those are two things that have been historically vilified and othered about gay/queer men.
Even these days, through the whole "no kink at pride" discourse, this argument continues through respectability politics.
Simply put, a short little twink with a crush is a non-threatening gay man, while TCK with his overt sensuality and gender non-conforming clothing represents a threat. Monty's advances are seen as cute, while TCK's are predatory, even though Monty propositioned Edwin with a kiss as surely as TCK overtly propositioned him.
If TCK's sexually-charged flirting bothered you in a way that Monty's advances didn't (despite the fact the audience knew that at least at first, Monty's advances were a big old lie) ask yourself why that is. The reason is probably that you were taught to fear and vilify overt displays of queer sexuality . Even queer people need to unlearn this particular bias.
And just to cover all the bases, I will shout again that The Cat King is a fae/trickster and that Edwin's punishment was proportionate in that context. Edwin used magic and confined a creature he knew to be as intelligent as a human and was punished for it with a very long leash and a (totally doable) task. It was a task designed to make Edwin see the cats as individuals instead of tools to help him close a case. The sort of fiction that DBD has its roots in (and the source material) is full of these sort of eye-for-an-eye type of punishments with magical creatures.
Just to be clear, I don't think we should be vilifying Monty, either. You can't 1:1 fictional scenarios onto real life and apply our standards of morality to them, especially not in a setting with man-eating mushrooms, ghosts, and transforming animals. All the conflict these two characters brought to the plot was necessary. If everyone acted with perfect morality all the time, fiction would be incredibly boring.
And IF you did apply RL standards to fiction, you would have to acknowledge that Edwin's crime of binding and forcing a fully sentient being to give him information violated just as much consent as TCK putting that bracelet on Edwin. And that Monty was just as "predatory" as The Cat King, if not more so. The Cat King, at least, never lied to Edwin, while everything about Monty was a lie from the start.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dead Boy Detectives (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Cat King/Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne, The Cat King | Thomas/Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne, Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne & Crystal Palace & Charles Rowland & Niko Sasaki
Characters: Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne, The Cat King | Thomas, Niko Sasaki, Charles Rowland (DCU), Crystal Palace (DCU)
Additional Tags: Flirting, Ballroom Dancing, Song: Strangers in the Night (Frank Sinatra), Pre-Relationship, Catwin - Freeform, Fem!Catwin, Gendeswap AU
Summary:
So bassically the Cat Queen asked Edwina to go with her on a ball and she said yes.
(Or: I just wanted to write about these fabulous ladies how they dressed up and dance the night away.)
I'll just drop this idea here: This fandom needs a DBD in Mortal Instruments AU
Okay, so i haven't get a chance to read this wonderful book series yet, but i saw the movie and the serie. And in short, some characters from DBD have great potential to literally play in Mortal Instruments, also quite a few people on the internet compare Catwin to Malec.
Unfortunately I don't have enough patience and time to write something like this, so anyone who wants to take it up is welcome.
cast:
Clary - Crystal
Jace - Charles
Simon - Monty
Alec - Edwin
Izzy - Niko
Magnus - Cat King/Thomas
notes:
I think that Edwin deserves a loving sister Niko, possibly a 2nd little sister Emma. I can imagine Night Nurse in the role of their disciplinarian/loving mother.
Monty would probably make things difficult in relationships, but since he's a sweet cinnamonroll, he deserves to be part of the team.
I also think that apart from Catwin, Cryland should also get the spotlight. Those 2 dummies are so adorable together (and the idea of the two kissing in that movie greenhouse is simply magical).
I think the reason why there are so many amazing ships in Dead Boy Detectives is because the show manages to show different versions of love/lust/devotion through different relationships all characters have.
Like, love triangles have been doing the whole "a girl has to choose between two guys who each being out a different side of her" for over a decade in popular media, some more, some less successfully. But the pitfall they often fall into is that those differences seem very shallow and often ignore the other aspect of the main person who have to choose between the love interests.
Dead Boy Detectives makes sure to not do that.
When we look at how Charles is with Crystal vs how he is with Edwin, we can clearly see the difference. In the beginning of his and Crystal's dynamic, he is flirtier and puts more if a bravado, but he pretty quickly opens up to her. Because he sees that she very quickly sees past his facade he puts up with his constant happy-go-lucky persona. Only when he starts opening up to her and showing his emotions does their relationship progress. Because after David, Crystal needs someone who can be emotionally vulnerable with her and in turn, Charles offers her the same, and offers her a safe space.
In contrast, we see that Charles is more at ease around Edwin. They know each other deeply, and are also woven into each other at this point. It's easy, like breathing. One thing it doesn't do is challenge either of them from the status quo they have built over the years. But there is a sense of ease there, and such devotion. There is no question about what they would do for each other because the answer is everything.
That said, while they both bring out different sides of Charles, those sides of him feel intricately linked to one another! Which is why Crystal coming into the pictures begins changing Charles' relationship with Edwin as well! It brings to light things they have ignored. And in turn, Charles' clear and unwavering devotion and loyalty to Edwin prompts Crystal to learn it herself. To quote Jenny in ep 8, "you were about to leave and never see these boys again, but now you are going to save them"? And yes, she does exactly that.
This even has influence on Edwin and Crystal's rs directly, which I can't recall ever seeing in a love triangle before, at least not in a positive sense. But it's so clear that Charles loves both of them that the other learns to love them too, and they realize their own similarities through it, too!
As for Edwin and his many love interests, well. I know there has been a lot of debate, especially around Cat King vs Charles dyankics with Edwin, but the thing is-you are comparing apples ajd oranges here.
The Cat King is enamored, fascinated by Edwin, and yeah above all, attracted to him. This dynamic serves to challenge both of their characters' beliefs and shake up the power dynamics between them. Whenever you like the Cat King or not Edwin clearly reciprocates the attraction part, at the very least.
Charles loves Edwin and is devoted to him and Edwin to him turn, as discussed above. What is difficult about their relationship is that it became stagnant due to lack of communication, which is why they needed other relationships to shake up that dynamic.
But to address the most prominent comparison I saw, which is the Cat King saying he'll wait for Edwin vs Charles going to Hell to save him.
Both are types of devotion, is the thing. A profession of love, if you will. To this day, we consider Penelope a faithful, loving and devoted wife for waiting for Odyssey for 20 years. Cat King saying he'd wait for Edwin isn't any small confession, given he is aware it could take decades, if not more.
Don't get me wrong, Charles going to literal Hell to save Edwin and succeeding where Orpheus and Eurydice failed is an enormous success and a way to show you love someone. I am not minimalizing that at all.
I am just saying that, for who these characters are and given their rs with Edwin, they did exactly what they were supposed to. They expressed in which ways Edwin had influenced them and what they can offer him if that dynamic becomes romantic.
Cat King represents experience, patience. As an immortal he has all the time in the world to wait for Edwin to return from hell, because he believes Edwin is strong enough to return on his own.
Charles represents love that breaks all obstacles in their way. He goes to save Edwin because he believes Edwin deserves to be helped in the way he helps others. He deserves to be saved.
My point is, there is no better of worse way of loving someone. The character in the love triangle choose the person that better alignes with who they are and who they wish to be as a person. So yes, you are absolutely allowed to say "I think this character would choose person a because it alignes better with their character development" but comparing the two as one being superior is kinda pointless imo? Exploring different dynamic of a character is the goal here, right? Either through canon or fanon.
...I was gonna talk about Crystal/Niko and Edwin/Monty too but this post got away from me to uhh. Might do another one if anyone is interested but in their way! I adore the way DBDA explores different sides of characters while still making them feel like a fully rounded person and doesn't shy away from letting one rs influence other rs character has.
I recently heard Everlasring Love by Sandra again and as I listened to the lyrics, I thought of this:
The gang decided to spend the evening at a bar. They will either have karaoke or there will be a dance. When it's Cat King's turn to choose a song, he'll choose the aforementioned hit. The result would be that he would use this song and especially the lyrics to confess his feelings to a certain Edwardian ghost.
The Cat King gracefully steps onto the stage and begins to sing softly. From the beginning, his movements and gestures are decent. But that changes during this part and his eyes rest on Edwin.
"Finding your way
You'll come back wanting me
I'm gonna stay
Loving you endlessly"
As soon as the refrain starts, he puts everything into his performance. He is thoroughly enjoying it. He dances to the energetic beat and keeps looking into the eyes of his favourite ghost.
"Open up your eyes, then you'll realise
Here I stand with my everlasting love
Need you by my side, there's no need to hide
Never be denied, everlasting love
From the very start, open up your heart
Be a lasting part of everlasting love"
Well, the person of his interest gradually realizes the meaning of the song's lyrics. Edwin is charmed and a smile graces his lips.
Prompt: The Dead Boy Detectives are watching Cats the musical
Okay so the team decided to watch the musical, Cats (1998 version). In the process, they begin to match which feline character fits whom best. And upon introducing a certain rock cat, this is what happens:
Everyone: This one is definitely the Cat King
("The Rum Tum Tugger is a terrible bore") Edwin: In this case, I'm the one in the tailcoat
Nico: His name is Mr. Mistoffelees also known as The Original Conjuring Cat
Edwin: Oh, that's lovely
Crystal and Nico only give him an inocent smile, because they know what will be comming in the 2nd act. After Old Deuteronomy disappears, Tugger reappears on the scene (much to the annoyance of the others). He starts singing about that marvelous magician and Edwin finds himself in puzzlement. And to make matters worse, his best mate had to comment on it.
Charles: I get it now, the playboy-cat is cold to everyone else but the tailcoat-cat because he adores him so much that he can ignore his ego. Just like Whiskers is a big simp to you, mate.
Nico: The fandom also ships these two characters together, they are called Tuggoffelees.
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