• • • content warnings for mentions of parental death and cheating.
• • • looking for: a partner and girl friday for chiaroscuro investigations, a private detective agency that’s more of a joke than not.
[ chiaroscuro investigations ]
how long has he been missing?
since the funeral.
well, i can start right away.
• • • chi·a·ro·scu·ro stems from the italian words chiaro (“clear” or “bright”) and oscuro (“obscure” or “dark”), and refers to the arrangement of light and shade in a work of art to portray depth.
• • • chiaroscuro investigations has existed long before any registry would date it, permeating in bowen’s mind without reprieve. his late mother, an artist, utilized this technique heavily in each painting she created, explaining to her children the complexities of light and dark, how one needed both to delve inward towards the focus of the piece. after she passed, leaving bowen and his sister orphaned, that idea stuck furtively in his mind, awaiting the day it might be used. it paired well, he’d thought when the name first came to him, with the hercule poirot novels he “commandeered” from book stores and libraries afterwards, retelling the stories to his sister with fervor as they found themselves in yet another foster home. this, bowen had thought then, was nothing short of perfection, imagining himself holding all the answers and solutions in his mind just like all great detectives who came before him.
• • • in some ways, bowen’s very much lived out his childhood fantasies. he earned an online degree in criminology while working as a busboy at the local diner to support himself and his sister and received his private investigator’s license shortly after he completed his coursework. from there the building of the business went slowly, prank calls trickling in to his number more often than actual cases. even when he received a legitimate case — usually, a spouse calling in with suspicions of adultery — the glory of detective work seemed to fade against the edges, darkening the photograph he’d kept treasured in his mind. it was, after pouring all of his heart into it, mostly just eating a lot of fast food, following men and women to their lovers, and taking photographs in the augmenting dark.
• • • this is not to say that he ever considered quitting, even before he met his partner. formerly a local bar back, the partner helped out on a case involving another affair, calling him when the pair made it back to their dark corner. the two hit it off, started talking, and bowen began realizing that, just maybe, what he needed was a partner. the two came together and officially formed chiaroscuro investigations, delving into the mainly routine work, but it seemed better together. after a couple years, they met their future girl friday, a regular karen page who they took in after she became involved in a case.
• • • for a while, this all worked out fine. then, the money began dwindling — perhaps because affairs grew less frequent [unlikely] or because spouses could do their own stalking well-enough or because they’re honestly all a bunch of a**holes. whatever the case, bowen’s getting desperate, taking cases [like the quote at the top!] that perhaps aren’t morally okay, but are at least raking in some cash. there, then, starts the arguments: “this wasn’t what i signed up for.” vs. “it’s still the reason you’re paying your rent on time.”
• • • the gang’s disintegrating before his very eyes. perhaps one case will save them. or, maybe they’re just meant to fall apart.
r e q u i r e m e n t s ,
• • • i’m so sorry that i wrote so much!!! for a tldr; these two make up the remainder of chiaroscuro investigations, a private detective agency that’s fraying at the seams. currently, they’re all dealing with money struggles for one reason or another and bowen’s taking cases that will tank their reputation. his partner disagrees with his methods and their girl friday can fall either way! all that matters is that the business is tearing itself apart from the inside out and some choices that bowen’s going to be making aren’t going to help that at all. namely, he’s going to be lying to a girl with no memory of her first thirteen years of life and convincing her that he can discover where she came from. nothing like some good publicity to ramp up the cash inflow, but i doubt they’ll see it that way!
• • • as for requirements, there’s really none!!! open ages and genders!! the girl friday could absolutely not be a girl, i was just thinking of the trope! all that i’d say is required is obviously their occupation and that they should both come from mid-to-low income backgrounds.
bowen [last name tbd] / 29, private investigator, face tbd, played by megan
first last / age, private investigator, face, played by open
first last / age, assistant, face, played by open
