Having Fun Doodling With Traditional Media!

Idea: you send me pictures of your cat and I draw them stupidly

Yeah hope that pitch was successful :3

This

The way Dead Boy Detectives handles queerness and labeling of sexuality is honestly so refreshing. The way it's handled makes is very obvious that it's not the kind of media in which characters are assumed straight until proven otherwise; the characters' sexualities are left undefined because the focus isn't on specific labels, it's on the relationships between characters.

As the show goes on, it becomes abundantly clear that the characters' sexualities are a non-factor. Sure, Jenny dates women, but a label is never put on that. Same with Edwin - he is clearly interested in men, but not once in the show is he labeled as gay. It's not necessary in either case; labeling these characters wouldn't add anything to their stories or character arcs. The show is completely relaxed about labels because they're almost never a part of or even relevant to the plot.

And so, in a show that is so utterly unconcerned with labels, it would also be exceeding strange to impose the label of "straight" on any character. Characters like Charles and Crystal, who clearly demonstrate attraction to the opposite gender, don't come across as strictly heterosexual, they come across as people experiencing human emotions. And a character like Niko, who never expresses romantic attraction to anyone, really can't be assumed heterosexual either, because it simply wouldn't be in line with what we know about her.

Heterosexuality never comes across as the default in this universe. It never seemed as if the writers automatically assumed any character, no matter how background, to be straight. Queerness is explored not as a defiance of the norm but as just another way of loving someone. In a world where being queer is always viewed as alternate or deviant, and where coming out is a lifelong process that begins again every time you meet someone new because you're always assumed cishet, this kind of complete abolishment of heteronormativity is a breath of fresh air. Seeing queerness handled in such a casual way onscreen honestly feels a little bit revolutionary.

Hey @netflix do you remember tweeting this? Because I remember when you tweeted this!

We're still waiting for you to be "so annoying" about them. Maybe a good place to start is renewing Dead Boy Detectives!

You and @warnerbrostv need to put your heads together and figure out a way to do right by this incredible show and its creatives. Customers are sick and tired of the "Netflix Graveyard" sending poignant stories with great LBGTQ+ representation to an early grave. Queer stories deserve to be told, and the people who feel seen by them enjoy to have closure. We pay the subscription fees that everyone else pays, so have a little integrity!

LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS. Everyone from the fans to critics to journalists and pop-culture sources has been screaming about this show's worth, and you two are the only ones who fail to see it! Open your eyes and know a good thing when you have it; Dead Boy Detectives is a hit, people love it and want more of it, so it's a guaranteed profitable investment long-term.

You already have season 2 scripts @netflix and @warnerbrostv, so make it happen!

TIMEBOMB again

I think Charles grins fondly when Edwin's being a bitch because he genuinely thinks it's hilarious and adorable. But I also think he admires the shit out of Edwin's unwillingness to tone himself down or file off his sharp edges. Charles needs to be liked so much, and he spends so much time setting himself aside and tying himself in knots to be what other people need, and Edwin just doesn't. He is exactly and entirely his snippy bitchy self and everyone else can take it or leave it. I think there's something exhilarating in that for Charles - both a sense that by attaching himself to Edwin he can borrow some of that fearlessness about outside judgments, and a thrill of knowing that Edwin can ignore everyone else's opinion because Charles is always, entirely, inarguably enough for him.

And there are downsides to that dynamic. Charles works really hard to manage the vibe, and the fact that Edwin doesn't really do that back (isn't equipped to do it back, because he doesn't read people and intuit what they need from him the way Charles does) sometimes leaves him feeling like he's carrying that weight alone. (who else is gonna keep spirits up? you?)

But also there's a reason Charles is drawn to stubborn difficult people with sharp edges who don't apologise for who they are, and I don't think he'd give up Edwin's bitchiness for anything.

I hate being too desperate to see the good in people, to the point where I overlook every horrible thing they do just because they were 'nice to me' that one time.

Don't make the mistake of being so understanding and forgiving that you overlook the fact that you're being disrespected.