#dbda analysis

[hey-there-22]

No thoughts, just Edwin being so used to Charles carrying literally everything for him that he almost looks ofended when Niko doesn't.

Episode 4, season 1

[carebeardean]

obsessed with charles & edwins version of orpheus & eurydice because like. in this version of the story looking back saves you. of course it was always going to end this way (there’s no version of this where I don’t come get you). you’re not doomed by the narrative, I love you. I chose you over heaven the day we met, do you think hell could stop me? there’s no force on this earth that could stop me from loving you, including you. come on, let’s get out of here. take my hand.

[idliketobeatree]

no actor interpretation will ever fuck me up as badly as mr. rexstrew's "he starts to crave it", i think. "he's touch-starved" is very general and also fitting to charles, probably. but edwin, craving charles' touch specifically is— like. do you know what happens to people who are craving. how they cannot focus on anything else besides the singular point of need so bad it writhes and itches under their skin and wants to crawl over to their source of affection. and the slow-stretching, maddening timeframe which encapsulates the graduation from "this is not hurtful" to "this is... nice?" to "oh. oh" to "i need it i need him i need him i need him" like he can feel it in his teeth and fingernails and how charles once nuzzled his neck briefly during a hug so he makes sure to bare his whole throat the next time he has a chance to have a heart-to-heart. hoping, wishing for, yes, craving as much as charles will give him. perhaps, if the confession goes well, edwin will get to feel charles' phantom breath on the side of his neck or even the tip of his nose— if he's lucky. and it won't be enough, but a few moves with a shovel to cover a deeply dug grave is not either, so. what can you do

[snowmenatwork]

If this is what's happening:

> Because of past trauma, Charles cannot be anything but a 'perfectly happy' person in front of Edwin in fear of ruining anything

> Edwin is too important to risk ruining anything by being 'imperfect'

> He might think Edwin might've only fallen in love with his smiley facade

Then I want this to happen:

> Charles cannot play the happy perfect role. He is probably pushed to an emotionally devastating point.

> Edwin shows that he still loves him obviously. Charles is not punished for not being perfect and happy. He is loved and comforted.

[alltimefail]

I posted this on my Twitter, but I thought I'd share it here, too! I isolated the audio from Charles' death scene to answer a commonly debated headcanon in fandom: did Charles go by something else when he was alive?

Well, at least in this video, I can confirm that all the "Friends" who killed him call him Charlie. 😭

I reckon that is what his peers, teachers, and, even his abusive father likely referred to him as... Charlie Rowland. Makes sense for a teenage boy in the 80s; particularly a sporty, alternative, charismatic boy like Charles who hung around "lad-types."

It's no wonder he flinched when Brad/Hunter called him Charlie Boy. This show really doesn't miss a single detail. It's brilliant and intentional in every single thing it does.

FUCK it deserves a season 2! It's so well-written and in its first season. *Chef's kiss* from beginning to end.

[honestlyijustfindhersocharming]

can we talk niko and edwin? wonderful

we all know that edwin is "not very good with people", but neither is niko. she's a shut in. she outwardly panics when she interacts with crystal before her life is saved, and the moment she processes crystal is in her room she runs somewhere that she isn't. after that people aren't really in niko's room much, until edwin. after their shared trauma of watching people literally die, crystal almost dying, and charles' breakdown throughout the day she manages to get edwin to heavily dress down, give her a compliment, and sit in bed with her while they watch scooby doo together.

and conversely, she lets edwin onto her bed to hang out with her. she opens the letters from her mom beside him and trusts him to pry more than she's willing to give. yes, niko is a trusting person, she opens up to crystal earlier than edwin because of their shared experiences, but edwin doesn't talk about his family to her. he doesn't even ask, she just tells him. and i don't know, i like that trust.

and then, it's not just that edwin accepts affection from niko, he actively seeks it out from her. when interacting with crystal he tends to stand back a little, with niko he leans down a lot to get on her level. when he sees her crouching in lighthouse leapers, he crouches beside her. when niko comes in with crysal after he gets back from hell and she hugs him and he grins. he grins and he grabs her arm and pulls her a little closer. when they sit on the rooftop after he's the one who scoots closer so their shoulders are nearly touching. he's the one that bumps into her shoulder to make her laugh. and again he grins. he's the one who offers his hand to her to comfort her after she laments him leaving.

he's the one who grabs her and can't fucking let go after she dies. who has to be dragged away as he shakes his head in disbelief. who tries to shake her because it can't be real.

all that to say, they love each other so much, and i miss them.

[no-gangles-just-titch]

Ska 101 for DBD fans

Do you wanna add more songs to your Charles playlist that aren't Ghost Town by the Specials? Do you wanna talk about ska bands in your fics but don't know what to use?

Well, listen close motherfuckers.

Source: my Rude Girl mother and British alt upbringing

Jamaican Ska

Ska was actually first invented in the late 50s as an offshoot of R&B mixed with Jamaican calypso and was first adopted by mods and skinheads in the UK. Jamaican ska evolved into rocksteady and reggae by the late 60s

3 Notable bands: The Skatalites, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, The Wailers

2 tone

Ska hit a revival in the late 70s with the 2 tone movement which fused classic ska with the more punk rock sound that was popular in the UK. This is the movement that Charles is a part of, with both his 2 tone patch and the rasta pin showing the more political part of his interests.

Rude boys are also a mod evolution, hence the jacket, polo, smart shoes and tight trousers. This isn't really surprising as 2 tone hit its peak when racial tensions were super high in the UK and, despite the movement being more black and white focused, it resonated with a lot of the Indian immigrants in the UK at the time.

3 Notable bands: The Specials, Madness, The Selecter

3 Suggested songs for Charles: Tears of a Clown by The (English) Beat, Much Too Young by The Specials, On My Radio by The Selecter

"Oh but Jack, what about-"

Ska Punk

Third wave ska started the year Charles died as ska hit America and this is where ska punk was officially dubbed. While 2 tone did combine rock with ska, third wave added more heavy guitar riffs and cleaner brass sections to make its own sound. This is when ska became more world wide in general with Germany, Australia, Russia, Japan and Latin America all developing their own ska scenes

3 Notable bands (english speaking): Reel Big Fish, No Doubt, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones

3 Suggested songs for Charles: Here in Your Bedroom by Goldfinger, The Science of Selling Yourself Short by Less the Jake, Anger Management by Random Hand

New Tone

We're currently in the 4th wave (also dubbed New Tone). It hard to tell what defines it at the moment as New Tone is currently used to describe any ska sound post 3rd wave (which ended in the early 00s).

[gh0st-ratt]

I've talked the absolute hell out of complementary and opposing colours in dbda before but I have more to add to it

while in the show hell is associated with the colour red, due to of course it being the colour hell makes when coming to collect a soul, the dollhouse (edwin's hell) is instead very green

so edwin spents a lifetime in hell, surrounded by green and trying desperately to escape it with every power of his being

and the opposing colour of green is red.

and who wears red 🤨 literally almost the entire series 🤨 who does edwin meet directly after escaping hell 🤨 who does edwin spend 34 years with after 73 spent in hell and who embodies what is the literal opposite colour of edwin's past torment

anyway so charles is edwin's equivalent of heaven, yeah? we talk about how charles chose edwin (blue) over heaven (a different shade of blue), but edwin escapes hell (green) to find and stay with and fall in love with a boy who is the opposite of it (red)