One of three illustrations I made for @alltimefail’s story, Ad Meliora, for the Pins & Patches Charles Rowland Zine, run by the @dbdauplifts server. It was such a lovely collaboration.
You can purchase a physical copy of the zine (along with other physical merch) until 6th August. After production cost is met, all proceeds will go to galop-uk charity.
The place to find DBDA Uplifts Projects. Everything here is made by fans, for fans, in the name of a good cause.
so excited to finally share the pieces I did for the charles zine, it was the first zine I participated in and had soo much fun with it
here is the fic that I made the first drawing for:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/89732621
show this zine some love everyone, u can order ur physical copy and all the awesome physical merch until august 6th
all remaining proceeds after production go to galop, a uk lgbt+ anti-abuse charity, who work with and for lgbt+ victims & survivors of abuse and violence
also @dbdauplifts are planning to give this wonderful zine an edwin centric companion zine, which is so cool!
And that's a wrap! Thank you to all of our lovely teams for their participation and creativity 💖 See below the cut for a full list of all fic and art produced for this event.
In total, we had 25 teams post their creations, for a total of 32 artworks and 384,181 words. Congratulations to everyone on another successful event!
This account will remain up as an archive of past events, but I personally will no longer be hosting events on this blog. If you'd like to take on the mantle, message me and I can transfer ownership of the accounts and event resources over to you! I promise it's easier than it seems :D
want you to want me (need you to need me) (E, Charles/Edwin, 10k) by @artemisadore, art by @la-haruchan
“C’mon, who doesn't dream of a dove release at their wedding, mate?” Charles asks, leaning back in the hotel armchair with a crooked grin. “Thought it was more tasteful than some lousy ol’ butterflies, myself.”
The corner of Edwin’s lips twitches upward, and Charles feels a surge of syrupy-sweet triumph. “The damned creatures shat on my dear Aunt Edmonia,” he reminds him wryly.
Charles barely hides his undignified snort. He had forgotten about that. “Still,” he shrugs, “it was aces, yeah? People will be talking about it for years!”
Edwin blinks once, then twice, before shaking his head almost disbelievingly. “Charles!” he chastises. “Stop being so…nice.”
x
Alpha Charles Rowland knew that marrying omega Edwin Payne would be full of surprises, but nothing could have prepared him for this.
Art
The Ball Pit (T, no pairing, 4k) by @lastsynne, art by @damselofdarkness
A lost necklace takes the Boys to a fun center, where Charles quickly forgets they are supposed to be on a case. Charles finds joy in the massive Ball Pit in the back of the center and is determined that Edwin enjoys himself as well.
Art
I wish that you would stay (in my memories) (M, Charles/Edwin, 13k) by @thenyoumaykissthebride, art by @hobbitsdoitbetter
Niko was gone (had been gone, continued to be gone) for over nine months. Charles was there, but he was not. He was always with Crystal now, and never meeting Edwin's gaze. And Edwin was so alone he couldn't stand it.
"Edwin's hands stilled and his eyes focused on a spell entitled To conjure a shadow version of one who is lost. The warnings were longer than the spell. He had read no more than three lines before Edwin knew he was not using this spell to bring back Niko. The warnings explicitly stated that this shadow version was not linked to the person you had lost. It was an entirely new being, created from the spell caster and their memories of the missing person. Edwin would not attempt to build a new version of Niko. There was no way he could ever recreate her smile, her laugh, the things only she would say. He could never be what she was. He would not insult her memory by trying.
But he was not thinking about Niko.
All he could picture was Charles.
He knew, in every logical part of himself, that it would not be real. But it might be enough."
Art
I Shall Not Live in Vain (T, Charles/Edwin/Monty, Monty/Niko, Crystal/Niko, Charles/Crystal, Charles/Niko, 13.5k) by @qwanderer, art by @thjegrapebehindtheslaugher
Niko wakes up in a body bag, and knows, right down to the singing magic in the marrow of her bones, that she needs to help Monty.
Art
Nowhere I’d rather be (M, Charles/Edwin, 4k) by @alexwilltellyouthings, art by PocketDictator
“I got some moves, I guess. It worked to make people more at ease”.
“What kind of moves?”
They were looking directly at each other. Charles wasn’t sure when that happened. He also wasn’t sure where Edwin was getting at.
---
In which the boys are on a case but oh no! They end up trapped together in a small magical circle for several hours! What shall happen!
Art
half the wishes, double the trouble: a pop idol vanessa mystery (E, Crystal/Niko, Charles/Edwin, 20.5k) by @tumblerislovetumblerislife, art by @edmcmayonnaise
It was just… Pop Idol Vanessa Mystery never got to have its own live action movie or series, even though the fans had been begging for it for years. (Well. There was one adaptation. The movie that made the main four act like sisters, and gave Vanessa some random boyfriend. It Was Not To Be Spoken Of.) Niko had always wanted to see her childhood crushes on the big screen, saying all the brave things she could only dream of.
So when the genie asked, in a deep, portentous voice, “What is your greatest wish?”, Niko (very understandably) said, “I want my favorite manga to come to life!”
Or: A genie takes a wish too literally. Everyone deals with the consequences.
Art (1) (2) (3) (4)
Winner takes it all (T, Charles/Edwin, 11k) by @thenyoumaykissthebride, art by @qwanderer
"Well, shit." Charles let out a big exhale as they both looked around, cowed by the enormity of it all.
It was, without a doubt, Port Townsend. The butcher's, the lighthouse, tragic Mick's shop, the library. All the places they had visited surrounded them. It had been years since they had been there but that place never really left them. The place Edwin had discovered himself and they had lost Niko. The times that had threatened to pull them apart but had sewn them closer than they had ever been.
They had been trapped in this town once before, and now, it seemed, they were to repeat the experience. First a bracelet, now a pissed off God. Magic wanted to keep them in this small town- stuck in their past and re-living their mistakes.
[or, Charles and Edwin get trapped in a Cluedo version of Port Townsend and have to play like their afterlives depend on it because- well- they do]
Art
across the great divide (M, Charles/Edwin, 30.5k+, WIP) by @ghostinthelibrarywrites, art by @meips-batteries-are-low
Three years after the fight that ended their friendship, Charles gets a call that Edwin has been hit by a car and is in the hospital with a badly broken leg and a concussion. With no one else to take care of Edwin during his recovery, Charles has no choice but to step up. In the days that follow, old feelings come bubbling to the surface, and it turns out neither of them are as ready to let go as they thought.
Art
Under a Full Moon (G, Charles/Edwin, 15k+, WIP) by often_adamanta, art by @handwrittenhello
Help Wanted
Agoraphobic magic practitioner (23M) seeks service wolf for companionship and assistance. Contract to be negotiated based on experience, with room and board available. Immediate start date preferred.
-
Struggling with agoraphobia in the aftermath of his demonic possession, Edwin is convinced to hire a service werewolf to aide him in his recovery. Charles is just desperate for a job and trying to get by as a lone werewolf without a pack. Together they’ll face more than learning to trust each other when demons from Edwin’s past make a reappearance.
Art
dive down after me (T, Charles/Edwin, 4k+, WIP) by @madnessiseverything, art by @wehavethesameleft
Edwin Payne wakes up as he always does: with the faint, quickly fading sensation that he is forgetting something—a half-aborted shout, the urge to jump up and run. It sits in his arms, his legs, pushes at his back with choking desperation.
And as it always does, it fades before he has finished opening his eyes. Instead, what he is left with is a foul mouth in his taste and a body that does not feel as recovered as he hoped it would be.
Just another day, he sighs and shakes the memory of being hunted out of his limbs.
in which Edwin Payne lives a boring ordinary life, ignorant of its falsehood.
Art
love me like a scandal, wreck me like a wave (M, Charles/Edwin, 9k+, WIP) by @alltimefail, art by @tragedy-machine
Charles steps forward until he’s standing directly behind him, dagger in hand. In one swift motion, he snakes a hand around the chair Payne is sitting in, ready to tilt his chin up and drive the dagger in with the other and –
Violent, white light floods his eyes; offensive, consuming, and burning. He’s blasted backward by an invisible force and...
There, on a woven chain around Payne's neck, lies a small, pinkish-purple stone, pulsing with energy that Charles can’t quite place.
Well, Fuck.
So much for in and out, he supposes.
Art
but I never learned to lose (M, Charles/Edwin, Crystal/David, 27k) by Sage_Owl, art by @antichrists-plus1
Charles is the brawn, and Edwin's the brain. Charles defends, and Edwin runs. But even running can't last forever.
Art
How to Break a Dragon's Heart (M, Charles/Edwin, Crystal/Niko, 34k+, WIP) by @starsandatoms, art by @khorazir
The Agency takes the case of a missing ghost and gets more than they bargained for. Crashouts, dragons, castles, love spells, unexpected familiar faces, and far too many emotions.
Art
catch me (i'm falling) (T, Crystal/Niko, 9k+, WIP), by @coraline-piange, art by @lesbianmastermind
Crystal had never been particularly afraid of heights. When she was six years old, she climbed out of the window in the penthouse her parents owned in Manhattan. Her nanny nearly had a heart attack when she found her, screaming for Crystal to get away from the ledge. And still, all Crystal could do was peer down the feet spanning between her and the ground, wondering if just for a second falling could feel like flying.
Of course, back then, she didn't know she'd end up at a circus one day and be flying for a living.
When her parents send an urgent message for their daughter to come home, Crystal is torn between staying with the circus that has become her new family in the last couple of months and finally getting to have a good relationship with her parents. It'd all be so much easier if there weren't also these confusing feelings she has for the catcher to her flier: the enchanting Niko.
Art
The Case of the Ghosts of Milleflora Opera (T, Charles/Edwin, 16k) by @megs-bee, art by @ouchmyghostskin
A new show opens at Milleflora Opera House, but each night someone in the audience falls asleep during the performance, dreams unusually realistic dreams, and dies by morning, leaving distraught ghosts behind. It should be a straightforward case....right up until it isn't.
-
Edwin does not like coincidences—he believes the world simultaneously too random and too orderly—but he accepts that they do, on occasion, happen. But this morning brought a third ghost to their door in as many days, this time only minutes after the sun has even risen. A third ghost to have slept and dreamt and died before sunrise at the very same opera, well.
That is most emphatically not a coincidence.
Charles nods his agreement. “So we’re taking them all on, then. One big case.”
“Indeed.”
Art
something that’s shimmering and white (T, Charles/Edwin, 12k+, WIP) by @ms-zilia, art by @every-moment-a-different-sound
Back in London, Charles, Crystal, and Edwin are trying to find Niko, but the maelstrom of guilt, grief, and things left unsaid between them is making everything much more complicated. Edwin feels an awkwardness between himself and Charles after his confession, Charles is spending a lot of time away from the office, and when Crystal tries to use her powers in a new way, she keeps seeing something she can’t explain. Could there be something in the past that’s stopping them from moving forward?
Art
from the grave (M, Charles/Edwin, 11k+, WIP) by @antichrists-plus1, art by @edmcmayonnaise
It's dead quiet in the room as Charles searches for something less horrifying to distract himself with. So quiet that he notices the faint drag of a wooden frame.
He turns, and catches the corpse he just dug up trying to escape out the window.
Charles screams.
-
Working as a body snatcher in the early 19th century, Charles digs up the body of a familiar boy, who he discovers may not be as dead as he seems.
Art
Into The Shadows (not rated, no pairing, 10k) by Darkchi13, art by @damselofdarkness
The Shadow is hungry.
Art
something unholy (getting hot at the body shop) (E, Cat King/Charles/Edwin, 14k+, WIP) by @artemisadore, art by @dont-offend-the-bees
“It certainly would mean a great deal to me if you were to take Charles in.”
Thomas heaves a sigh and waves his hand in the air dismissively. “Yeah, sure. Fine. Whatever. But if you two are some sort of deranged serial-killing duo, at least promise to make the crime scene photos cinematic, m’kay? I want the Netflix true crime doc about us to stay in the Top 10 for weeks.”
Edwin’s answering look is wry, but not displeased. In fact, it's unfortunately rather hot. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” Thomas agrees before he can think better of it.
“Good,” Edwin declares, standing abruptly. “Because he’s waiting outside.”
---
Mechanic Thomas King is surprised when one of his regulars, beautiful and bitchy Edwin Payne, shows up on his doorstep asking for a favor — his best friend, Charles Rowland, is in need of a job and a place to crash after being kicked out by his old man.
Unfortunately for Thomas, he has never been very good at saying no to a pretty face, let alone two.
Art (1) (2) (3)
chase the shadows away (M, Charles/Edwin, 25k+, WIP) by @bitterdesert, art by @dant-gm
Another gust blew by, whistling in Edwin’s ears through the tiny holes in his knit hat. In the faintest whisper, the wind spoke in a commanding rasp that prickled up Edwin’s spine. “It’s time to give it back.”
Edwin grasped onto the arm of Charles’ coat before he could take another step forward. “Edwin?” Charles said, glancing back.
Against his better judgement, Edwin ignored Charles and took the bait. “Give what back?”
“It was never yours to keep.”
Or, sometimes you escape Hell, inexplicably turn up alive, and make a peaceful life for yourself and your best mate in a little village on the coast of Wales. It's hard to know what's more aggravating for Edwin--that Hell has come knocking again, or that all of a sudden he can't stop his heart from beating out of his chest whenever Charles catches his eye.
Art (1) (2)
the lowest ebb (is the turn of the tide) (E, Charles/Edwin, 11k) by @phoenix-soar, art by Uku_Lele91
After a confrontation goes too far between Edwin and the bully who refuses to leave him alone, Edwin is made the subject of a cruel prank with dire consequences.
A beach, a sacrifice, and a stranger from the ocean…
Art
if heaven and hell decide (T, Charles/Edwin, 1.5k) by @artemisadore, art by @tragedy-machine
Left for dead on the steps of the cathedral's pulpit, newly-fallen-archangel Charles is found by recently-escaped-human-sacrifice Edwin, who risks capture just by stopping to help.
What else can Charles do but marry him?
Art
buckle on your belt (E, Charles/Edwin, 10k), by @sapphostistocking, art by @tragedy-machine
Charles starts pacing. He never used to, when he was alive, but thirty years and he's picked up all sorts of habits from Edwin. Edwin paces when he's thinking, but mostly Charles does it when he needs to move and there's nowhere to go. There's a pulse thrumming at the base of his throat, which is all kinds of weird. That only happens now when his body forgets he's dead; when it's reacting to something bigger than he is, base and animal.
"If it's an enchantment, then you can sort it," Charles says. "I don't reckon there's a spell out there Edwin Payne can't work out, yeah? We just have to find the right book."
Art
odyssey on odyssey, land over land (E, Charles/Edwin, 41k) by @dear-monday, art by @wordsinhaled
“Pack?” said Charles, trailing along behind him as Mr. Payne went charging into his own bedroom and threw open the wardrobe. He hadn’t even known that Mr. Payne owned such a thing as a suitcase. “Where are we going?”
Mr. Payne emerged with an armful of clothes—expensive, quietly lovely things in slate grey and brilliant white and fathomless midnight blue and that deep, impossible black—and deposited them in a heap on the bed. When he turned to look at Charles again, there was a feverish light in his eyes. “Dover,” he said.
“Lovely.” Charles wasn’t sure anyone had ever been in such a hurry to get to Dover before, but perhaps a few days away from the city would be just the ticket for Mr. Payne. Poor bloke was wound so tight something was bound to go sproing sooner or later. “Nice little jaunt to the seaside, is it?”
“And then to Paris,” Mr. Payne went on. “Then to Brindisi via Turin… Suez… Bombay… Calcutta… Hong Kong to Yokohama, San Francisco, New York. Oh! And then back home, of course. We shall return by precisely one o’clock in eighty days’ time.”
“Right,” Charles said faintly. “Well. Better get packing, then, hadn’t I?”
Art (1) (2)
somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond (M, Charles/Edwin, 2k+, WIP) by @wordsinhaled, art by @dukes-hickory-horned-devil
Charles thought about the energy that had passed between their hands, back in the courtyard. He could still feel it, as if a bit of Edwin’s magic had been left behind in him to thrum under his skin. He wondered if Edwin could feel something too; whether some part of Charles had stayed with him as well.
But as quickly as the thought came to him, he quashed it, with a sinking heart he tried to ignore. It was more likely, Charles reckoned, that Edwin hadn’t noticed a thing out of the ordinary. This was edwin’s world, after all—and for all Charles knew, this was the feeling that came along with every spell. Charles couldn’t exactly ask, could he? He couldn’t even explain the sensation to himself.
-
In Edwin Payne's magical world, the practice of dream magick has long been outlawed. But after Edwin's bullies trap him in an endless nightmare using a contraband spellbook, the portal through which he escapes leads him to a mundane parallel universe, and to a chance meeting with Charles Rowland which intertwines their lives forever.
Art
Behind the Red Mask (M, Charles/Edwin, 21k+, WIP) by @ghostinthelibrarywrites, art by @cannibalisticcorpse
When Charles, who operates as the vigilante known as the Blue Phantom, is killed, Edwin dons his partner’s suit in order to seek revenge on the people responsible. But his mission is complicated by the appearance of a new vigilante in town, one who appears to be working with the villainous Esther Finch, and who seems strangely familiar.
Art
Special thank you to @tumblerislovetumblerislife for helping create this masterpost!
This is one of my contributions for @dbdauplifts server’s Charles Rowland Zine.
- The Pre-order period for all physical merch will go until August 6, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST.
- The Digital Zine will stay available in their storefront indefinitely, so even if someone misses the physical merch pre-order, the digital zine will always be obtainable.
- All remaining proceeds after production will be donated to Galop, the UK’s LGBT+ anti-abuse charity. They work with and for LGBT+ victims and survivors of abuse and violence, and run the National Helpline for LGBT+ Victims and Survivors of Abuse and Violence in the UK.
- The zine itself had 49 contributors and is 259 pages long, and they will be doing a companion zine project, the Edwin Zine, next! Signups for that will be open around November!
So pleased to be able to share this, which was done for @dbdauplifts as part of the Charles Zine Pins and Patches
I had so much fun doing this slight AU, and it was truly one of the most enjoyable projects I’ve been involved in.
The Pre-order period for all physical merch will go until August 6, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST., but the Digital Zine will stay available indefinitely, so even if someone misses the physical merch pre-order, the digital zine will always be obtainable. (This Bad Boy Charles could be yours, people!)
All remaining proceeds after production will be donated to Galop, the UK’s LGBT+ anti-abuse charity. They work with and for LGBT+ victims and survivors of abuse and violence, and run the National Helpline for LGBT+ Victims and Survivors of Abuse and Violence in the UK.
So I’m not saying this is the coolest thing you could buy this year, but I’m not not saying that either…
My illustration for the brilliant fic lay my head under the water by @the-wine-dark-sea
We collaborated for the Pins & Patches Charles Rowland Zine compiled by @dbdauplifts You can still order the zine and related merch here: https://dbdaupliftsshop.bigcartel.com/
The place to find DBDA Uplifts Projects. Everything here is made by fans, for fans, in the name of a good cause.
Relationships: Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland
Characters: Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne, Charles Rowland (DCU), Niko Sasaki, Crystal Palace (DCU)
Additional Tags: Marriage Proposal, Established Relationship, a sprinkle of angst, Canon Universe, Fluff, Humor, pre-relationship crystal palace/niko sasaki
Summary:
“And you are sure that you will be alright staying here alone?” Edwin asks, looking between Charles and the rippling mirror he’s got one hand rested on. His eyebrows knit together as he concentrates on his destination.
Charles should know which library he mentioned running off to for an old manuscript—maybe in Egypt, or was it Ethiopia—something beginning with an e, Charles thinks. Honestly, he’s had too much buzzing around in his mind lately to properly follow a conversation with Edwin, which feels awfully rude seeing as what’s got his mind in a chokehold has got everything to do with Edwin.
a.k.a. Charles Rowland's carefully planned proposal vs. a pixie with no regard for personal property
for the @dbdauplifts Pins & Patches Charles Rowland zine!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
rating: T wordcount: ~ 3.6k chapters: 1/1
AO3 Summary/Excerpt:
It was starting to get cold in the basement at night, now in October.
The chill was slowly creeping into Charles' bones as he sat on his bed. It would have been so easy to just get under the covers, but Charles couldn't seem to bring himself to unfurl his body from its huddled position quite yet, his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms slung around his legs. It wasn't exactly comfortable with him hurting all over, but there was something comforting about it nonetheless. And it did help a little with keeping himself warm.
A series of snapshots following Charles through the final months of his life.
---
Yay! 🎉
I'm so excited to share my contribution to the Pins & Patches zine on AO3! Make sure to keep an eye on the AO3 collection for more works from the zine, and remember that there is still time to check out the DBDA Uplifts Shop if you want to purchase the zine or some merch, and support a great charity while you're at it! The shop will be open for pre-orders until August 6, and the digital version of the zine will be up indefinitely.
I'm so excited to finally share the little comic I made for the Charles Zine, Pins & Patches, organized by @dbdauplifts. I drew this three months ago, and I still think it came out pretty cool!
Some more zine info under read more :)
The Pre-order period for all physical merch will go until August 6, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST., but the Digital Zine will stay available indefinitely, so even if someone misses the physical merch pre-order, the digital zine will always be obtainable.
All remaining proceeds after production will be donated to Galop, the UK’s LGBT+ anti-abuse charity. They work with and for LGBT+ victims and survivors of abuse and violence, and run the National Helpline for LGBT+ Victims and Survivors of Abuse and Violence in the UK.
