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welcometothejianghu · 3 months

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Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 民国奇探/My Roommate is a Detective.

My Roommate is a Detective is a 2020 drama about the Jazz Age shenanigans of a terrible OT3: a useless noodle boy, a spoiled journalist girl, and a handsome thug-turned-cop, who together solve Agatha Christie mysteries in 1920s Shanghai.

I mean, seriously, have you ever wondered what Hercule Poirot would be like if he were a 6'2" Chinese rubber man? If he had a long-suffering sugar daddy from the wrong side of the tracks and a spunky sugar mommy who owned their shared apartment? The answer is, it would be a laugh-out-loud-funny series about a ridiculous and charming assortment of weirdos solving only slightly believable murder mysteries in charming period clothing.

This is another one of those shows where I'm kind of shocked at how not well-known it is, except I'm not, because I can see exactly the problems that keep fandom from descending on it like horny little vultures. Nonetheless, I think it's a good time that more people would enjoy if they gave it the chance. Here's five reasons why you should:

1. Equal parts smart as heck and dumb as butts

On the one hand, especially given its tone and tenor, this show has many surprisingly clever turns and thoughtful moments, carried along by some talented actors. On the other hand, [.gif of a guinea pig in a rollerskate being pushed merrily down a hallway]

This show is not a complicated intellectual exercise. It's an action comedy about a goofy sleuth, a rich-girl reporter, and the cop who should be the straight man in this trio, except he's as much of a goober as the other two are. If the promotional tableaus are giving you real "cover of a Clue box" vibes, you've understood the kind of pastiche it's pulling off.

The mysteries are preposterous. They're all the kind of thing that exemplify the Doyle line about how, when you've eliminated the impossible, whatever's left has got to be the answer, no matter how ding-dang improbable it may be. You know the type: tons of overly elaborate setups, unbelievably perfect timing, coincidental long-lost relatives, people hallucinating right and left. They're also very short -- most full cases take only 2-3 episodes to introduce, investigate, and resolve, even when interspersed with the larger goings-on in these weirdos' lives. The DramaWiki page for the show lists 23 separate arcs over 36 episodes, so you do the math.

And yet, it's way more thoughtful and clever than its doofy little setup would indicate. Its attention to detail surprised me on more than one occasion. Add to that a bunch of solid performances from an ensemble of real characters, and what you get is definitely more substantive than a junk-food waste of time. You can't turn your brain off while watching it, but you sure can turn it down, and that's great.

It also doesn't hurt that everyone is super attractive and wearing great outfits. The whole show's worth it for the wardrobes.

2. THE GIRL

Fuck the haters, fuck everyone, I am going to climb right up on my little soapbox and tell you all why Bai Youning is awesome.

She is insane. She's a troll. She's a clever little monster. Every other character's response to her is, oh my god, you are literally the worst. And she is! She has been spoiled beyond belief by her incredibly rich Crime Dad, and she has learned to leverage her uwu just a widdle girl status to get her whatever the hell she wants. She simply cannot hear it when someone says the word "no." She will look her future sister-in-law in the eye and point a loaded gun at her own head without blinking. Every ball she has is made of brass.

She's hardly perfect. During the course of the show, there are some times where her entitlement runs face-first into the brick wall of reality. She's not nearly as good at her chosen career path as she's been told (mostly by the people who get paid to tell her she's good). She's rarely prepared to deal with the consequences of her actions, especially when she can't just throw money at the problem.

So she learns, and grows, and changes. She's always going to be a stubborn bitch, but she can become a stubborn bitch with a more accurate conception of her relationship to the world around her.

She's actually a really good romantic foil for Lu Yao, who is equally stubborn and spoiled and obnoxious as hell. It is a pure brat4brat relationship, where each one thrives on comically enraging the other. What this means, though, is that when they actually start showing one another some vulnerability, it's really sweet.

Now: I'm pretty sure that you could not have made a female character in her position that everyone did not hate, no matter how cool you made her, because that is the fate of all girls who theoretically keep the two boys from kissing. (More on that next point.) If she were less outgoing and friendly, she would've been hated for being too cold. If she were less headstrong, she would've been hated for being a pushover. If she weren't as into the boy, she would've been hated for being frigid. I know the "god forbid a woman do anything" meme is a joke, but ... man, god forbid this girl do anything. She gets a level of hate entirely disproportionate to what she's actually like. As I said with Eom Dada, it's not always sexism, but sometimes, yeah, it's sexism.

(Real talk: Her character is also fighting both how she's definitely not written as well as the boys are and how the plot sometimes needs her to be artificially stupid and jealous for Straightness Drama Reasons, so that's a legit problem on a structural level. Also, she's dubbed by someone else and the boys aren't, which gives her voice an annoying not-quite-there quality that's hard to ignore. The deck is stacked against her real hard even before she steps onscreen.)

So here's my advice: Go into this show wanting to like her. Embrace her terribleness as a positive, intentional quality. Don't be mad at her for straightening up an endgame that was never going to be gay, even without her. Welcome her contributions to the chaos. Realize that she is exactly as entertainingly irritating as her boys are.

Truly, this is a story of three terrible people in love. They're all just awful, and you wouldn't want to be in a room with any of them for longer than you had to. Left to right up there, Bai Youning is spoiled and self-absorbed, Lu Yao is arrogant and lazy, and Qiao Chusheng is suuuuuch a fucking cop. If you're into the kind of dynamic that can only be described OT3: You All Deserve One Another, then this one's perfect for you.

3. Do you really miss '00s queerbaiting?

Like, really? Are you just super-nostalgic for being able to see the showrunners go, ha ha, girls, we know you're watching and we know you want these cute boys to kiss, which they never will -- but what if we pretended for just this one scene??? Do you just carnally ache for that with every fiber of your being?

Yep.

Now, why am I calling the occasional really gay moments between these two gentlemen "queerbaiting" and not "bromance"? Because these moments are a) obviously intentional, b) completely sporadic, and c) never spoken of again.

For example: There's a scene (which you can see a gifset of here) where the two of them are at a restaurant frequented by the cop, who brings a lot of ladies there on dates. When the waiter points this out, useless noodle boy says, I'm his date. The waiter looks mildly surprised by this, the cop says not to listen to his bullshit, and that's the end of it. The scene moves on. There is no further discussion of this comment. It does not affect their relationship.

That's the essence of queerbaiting: that little on-purpose nod to the homoerotic tension between the two, in a way that isn't a joke but also isn't not a joke, and either way is never going to happen. (In fact, the show is going to go out of its way to make sure that ship gets sunk, so, uh, get your fanfiction lifeboats ready for that.)

A true queerbaiting move is something that should make a difference in a relationship, but doesn't. It should make a difference that our cop is so comfortable in the noodle boy's personal space that he invades it at will. It doesn't. It should make a difference that noodle boy keeps getting real weird every time the cop has a date with a girl. It doesn't. Those are some real romantic moves the two of them keep pulling, and then nothing comes of them.

I had this show sold to me as being incredibly shippy, to the point of being even more so than its censored-BL contemporaries. And ... well, it is and it isn't. It has textually gayer individual moments, but it is much less pervasively gay. It's clear from the start that it's going to throw all its actual relationship points into its canon het romance. When it comes to these boys, the show is toying with you. It knows you want to see those boys smooch, just as much as it knows (and it knows you know) they're never gonna.

How you feel about this is entirely up to you -- and indeed, it may be a dealbreaker on the whole drama for you. If you are inclined to pitch a fit when your ship does not become canon, you'll be happier somewhere else. If, however, you see this as a delightful opportunity to do whatever the hell you want with the situation as it is presented, all the while enjoying little moments of startlingly blatant homoeroticism between two handsome dudes, well, here you are!

(I mean, if you want my take on it, what needs to happen is that the cop and the girl need to fuck while the useless noodle boy watches with asexual bisexual interest, and then they all need to snuggle with the noodle boy in the middle so they can both annoy him appropriately, but your mileage may vary.)

4. The multicultural extravaganza!

1920s Shanghai had a lot going on in terms of cultures and languages, and this show actually does a fair job of representing that.

By now, I've seen a number of shows set during this era, and they all at least acknowledge the international nature of the city -- usually by mentioning the French Concession and having a handful of evil Japanese characters. However, this is the first time I've seen a show go to such lengths to actually show so many non-Chinese characters onscreen, even to the point of making one a recurring character supporting the main squad.

Salim is the best. Whatever he is being paid, it's not enough. He's Qiao Chusheng's right-hand man, which means he is also the dude who most often has to put up the main trio's bullshit. (The actor himself is also a dude with a pretty cool backstory, which is another great layer.) He's sharp, he's loyal, he's patient, and he looks great with his shirt off. He's got it all!

Other non-Chinese characters include a white Jewish art collector (I'd issue a warning for period-typical antisemitism, except … honestly, it's mostly just confused), a sadistic priest who maybe is supposed to be Italian, a completely different priest who [last episode spoiler], and three whole sinister white dudes behind it all.

It's not just the world coming to China, though! A large number of the Chinese characters are said to have spent significant time outside of China, whether for business or for schooling. Near the end, when some characters are discussing moving away from Shanghai, they consider a number of foreign cities as potential destinations.

Here's a delightful detail: When Lu Yao and his sister speak English, they're dubbed by actors with posh British accents who sound like native (or near-native) English-speakers. This makes perfect sense, because both of the siblings did a lot of their schooling in the UK. When Bai Youning speaks English, she's dubbed by someone who speaks English very well but also has a noticeable Chinese accent, which makes perfect sense for her character's background. And Qiao Chusheng never speaks English at all, because he's a street tough who has no reason to know more than three words.

...This is also kind of weird to say about something literally made in China, but go with me on it: Everything's kind of got that Art Deco Orientalist vibe to it. It looks like China's idea of what Britain's idea of China during that period would have looked like. The result comes across less like what 1920s Shanghai would actually have looked like, and more what an ad for 1920s Shanghai would have looked like. It's a fascinating aesthetic, and more so for how it's mostly pretty subtle. The show isn't some visual extravaganza, but it's always very nice to look at, and I appreciate that in a show.

5. A wonderful horrible protagonist

A lot of mystery-themed prestige television involves an asshole genius detective who gets away with being a dick to everyone because he's sooooo smart, while all his long-suffering friends and colleagues spend a lot of time doing damage control for him because, sigh, he's an asshole but we need him, genius excuses all dickhead behavior, we'll always make exceptions for him because he's just ever so special. (Watch histrionic sage hbomberguy's video on Sherlock if you're unfamiliar with the trope.)

Lu Yao is an asshole genius detective, but one who winds up spending most of his time being an asshole to a) people who deserve it, or b) his horrible friends who will be assholes right back at him. When he is awful to the people who don't deserve it, the show smacks him pretty hard on the nose for it and makes him apologize.

This is a show where you'll figure out pretty quckly if you'll love it or hate it, because if you love Lu Yao, you'll love it, and vice versa. He carries most of the show himself, with his goofy charm and his incredibly bendy slenderman body and his ability to make the one competent person he knows both protect him and give him money.

Like so.

For my own part, I find him intensely charming, and I think a lot of this has to do with Hu Yitian's ability to play him as an affectionately bullyable weenie who needs to get shoved in a locker for his own good. He's the worst, and it's comically endearing instead of offputting because at the end of the day, he really does have a good heart. He's just also lazy as heck and disinclined to do anything that he does not want to be doing, and really, aren't we all?

As I alluded to in point 3, he comes across as real asexual. He's just not that interested in sex, and he is in fact pretty uncomfortable in situations where he finds himself the subject of someone else's sexual desires. He's perfectly capable of romantic feelings! I mean, not only does he get Bai Youning as a love interest, we actually meet one of his ex-girlfriends. He's just not partciularly horny about them -- which is even more noticeable as a sharp contrast to how extremely horny Qiao Chusheng is for just about everyone, but this exasperating little dork in particular.

(Like seriously, 90% of the time, Chusheng is about to explode with sexual frustration at Lu Yao's skinny oblivious ass.)

This isn't to say you couldn't get Lu Yao into bed, because you absolutely could, and he'd probably have a good time. You'd just have to remove all distractions from the room, lest his ADHD ass wind up running off to solve a crime mid-coitus.

Twiggy little nightmare man. Garbage-animal boy. Love him.

sidebar: A word about the ending

I'm going to be vague and talk about general vibes instead of specific events, but you should still skip this section if you want to remain completely unspoiled. Jump to the picture of Chusheng holding the sledgehammer.

Okay, so, a lot of people do not like the ending, and I'm including myself in that number. I honestly don't know if they got rushed and had to wrap everything pretty last-minute, or if they thought they might get a second season out of it and were leaving things open-ended accordingly. Either way, it's incredibly unsatisfying.

I think there's a clue that the show didn't actually want to end this way, and it's not actually in the text of the show itself. Every episode, between the last scene and the start of the credits, you get to see a couple still frames from the episode (usually some of the queerbaity ones). After the very final shot of the series, you get two images: the boys hugging goodbye, and Chusheng's upset face. That's not a resolution! That is at best a "to be continued..." ending!

But no, that's it. That's all, folks.

It's not quite an ending so bad it ruins the rest of the show, mostly because it doesn't feel finished, so it's less like you're watching a car being deliberately driven into a wall because someone thought that was the best route to take, and more like you're watching someone leave a car on the railroad tracks because they figured they'd have time to move it later.

As far as I know, there has been no noise made about a second season. These 36 episodes are the entirety of the narrative. It had the distinct misfortune to start airing in March 2020, which wasn't exactly prime time for planning sequels, and that seems to have been that. (There is a 2022 show called Checkmate that stars the two main guys in extremely similar roles, also adapting Agatha Christie stories, but it's apparently pretty meh? Somebody else who's actually seen it, go ahead and weigh in here.)

I'll say that if you turn off the episode right after Lu Yao gets out the handcuffs, you'll save yourself the worst of it the awkward and unsatisfying moments (though I'm impressed at your willpower to stop watching something five minutes from the end). That's not all of it, though. Structurally, there are several situations rushed to a resolution and loose threads left flapping untied in the breeze. I guess stopping before the last five minutes simply saves you the hope that it'll pull a good ending out of the fire, because it won't.

And let's be real: The more you hate Bai Youning and her romance with Lu Yao, the more you'll hate the ending. (Not that liking those elements will necessarily make you like the ending, of course, because I'm a fan of hers and I still think the ending is butts.) The ending is already like a pair of uncomfortable shoes; if the het romance especially makes you grind your teeth, the ending becomes a pair of uncomfortable shoes that also have a rock in them. A lot of the comments online indicate plenty of people dropped the show when they learned the het romance would be endgame. It's a pretty common dealbreaker.

Oh well. Bring on the fanfic, I say! Those of us who are used to taking a sledgehammer to canon are unafraid.

Smash it, baby.

Still want to see some of these mysteries?

Both iQiyi and Viki have the answer to your sleuthing!

It's not a perfect show -- as evidenced by my digression about the ending -- but it's a lot of fun. If you can handle the occasional foible and some eyebrow-raising moments, you're in for a good time with some attractive people that occasionally tastes very gay.

Every roommate crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man

#my roommate is a detective #民国奇探 #rec post #i made this

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possumsarenice · 4 months

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Mixing my favorite fandoms by drawing some Alan Becker sticks in Sleuth Jesters fits

If I had a nickel for every time I got invested in a trio of siblings were at least two of them used to close but one became evil and the other two work together to beat the evil sibling’s ass I’d have two nickels. Why did I have to go through this pain twice?

Anyways go watch Alan Becker and go read Sleuth Jesters and check out the OG detective AU. Consider this propaganda

(Please don’t tag as ChoDark)

#dca fandom #detective au #dca detective au #sleuth jesters #alan becker #animation vs animator #animator vs animation #animation vs Minecraft

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fnafdcaconfessions · 9 months

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I hope it's ok to dump my favourite aus here. Also a warning I'm bad with words

Solar lunacy by BamSara: This is where it all started. Not all but a lot of people (including me)were dragged into Dca fandom because of this fanfic. Live laugh love Joe

Copper cogs rusted through by paper-lilypie: post-fire au? Reader who has siblings? Reader is fixed DCA but then some Afton shit happens? DCA and reader who both probably have jaw dropping backstory??? Nom. I'm eating all of this

It was, in reality, not fine by bones-of-a-rabbit: lm A SUCKER for oblivious y/n's. And dca who repeatedly gets friendzoned. I also love their writing style. Mwah mwah I love that au

Visions (or lack thereof) by Deeplyjuniper: while this is not an x reader, I absolutely adore this au! Gregory coming back to check on Freddy but Freddy is infected instead of Moon, Sun/moon being the parental figure to Gregory instead of Freddy, Gregory slowly trusting Moon, Sun and Moon trying to understand why the fuck they can't remember anything, MUSIIIIC MAAAANN!!!

Red light Blue light by nyxedbones: usually human-looking DCA isn't my thing, but I love DBH with all my heart, and I'm in love with how author maneged mixing both timelines with no plotholes.

Sleuth Jesters by Naffeclipse: I love detectives, I love DCA, and a mix of both them is a perfection. I also hate mafia boss eclipse, may he rest in piss.

Cryptid Sightings by Naffeclipse: I love big scary monsters who are actually really soft. And I love the reader who's like "I'm gonna protect you" but the one they're protecting is literally a demon. Love the angst, author really ripped our hearts off and then crush it into pieces.

So(u)l by strawbubbysugar: a cute Soulmates au where Engineer reader is soulmates with Sun and Moon! What could possibly go wrong? :D (Chapter 47 has me crying)

Celestial Sundown by pillowspace: an au where reader just enjoys their normal human life then boom they see an almost dead god and after some chaos they befriend him, yay!

One Lost Star by bluemoon1331: God/goddes au where a human who just goes buddy-buddy with gods as if they're not some heavenly beings. They're soo huge that we can just sit on their hands. Also love the chaotic trio of Balloon Boy, JJ and Gregory.

One Who Holds A Star by justaduckarts: God/goddes au where reader is "blessed" with a star (a certain god slipped on a banana and star fell on child reader). Sun adopted them but is awful at parenting, he also has daddy issues. Eclipse did pretty bad stuff but he is still the best let me marry him please. I'm adopting Pluto as my mother and no one can stop me. Someone please invent therapy they all desperately need it.

Of course there's a lot more aus I love but my brain is not braining right now so maybe I'll add more later. Adiós.

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ego-osbourne · 2 months

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Oblivion Group

Something I planned on finishing for a ref but I did that that where I put too much effort into the sketch layer and now have zero motivation to do the lineart layer

Ignoring that, though! I drew this not long after I’d finished my first playthrough of Oblivion! God a little story idea going on, maybe I’ll write it — it’s not super high priority though as I’ve already got TDI to focus on.

Still, though, in the main trio we have Glarthir (yes I’ve latched onto him that hard, his quest makes me so fuckin sad), Sweetheart (my HoK who misses his girlfriend), and ofc Martin (yes that is Mehrunes’ Razor. I thought it’d be funny).

Glarthir and Sweetheart are most often seen traveling together while Martin hangs back in Cloud Ruler Temple, but there are many missions where Martin is able to sneak away and come along with them. Glarthir, despite his build, insists on being a heavy fighter. His “battleaxe” is really just a waraxe made for orc warriors much bigger than him. He at first got it for home protection, but now carries it around as his weapon of choice on travels. He can cast magic, but just. Really. Likes the axe. He’s also supposed to have antlers, but I had drawn this before I made that headcanon for him.

Sweetheart is the speediest of the three, and prefers a type of “gun and run” tactic. He holds a powerful shock spell that he lovingly named “Heart Attack” that damages on touch. His nimbleness allows him to slip away before the enemy can get a counter hit on him. He’s also a thief, though much prefers to steal in plain sight than try and sleuth around (he was the distraction while his girlfriend was the sneak, before the Crisis separated them). He wears glass armor stylized like actual glass pane artwork. Bc that’s cool.

Martin is much less of a fighter compared to the other two, but does do his best to play defense. He and Sweetheart shake hands about always getting asked “are you alright?” due to their Resting Wet Cat Faces, and they’d much rather talk their way out of a situation than fight through it. Sweetheart, with the best of intentions, raided a Mythic Dawn encampment for the Razor specifically to bring it back to Cloud Ruler to gift it to Martin. Jauffre and Baurus were… less than stoked. The very weapon that killed Uriel Septim and many emperors beforehand—quite literally dubbed the “Kingslayer”—was not a very good gift to give to the last remaining emperor. Martin thought otherwise, and uses it for defense against Daedra (due to it’s unique ability to instantly banish Daedra with one cut). He has is wielding arm completely armored to protect against any accidental nicks, for it’s other unique ability involves producing a wound tenfold the damage of the actual cut.

#Glarthir #sweetheart #martin septim #tes #tesblr #tes art #tesiv #tesiv oblivion #oblivion #Bosmer #altmer #imperial #mehrunes razor #mortal intentions #my art #hok #hero of kvatch

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fruit-salad-ship · 9 months

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been thinkin bout my own niche interest Avatar AU, in which its set in the WAY future, bending is kind of a dead practice, not many can do it anymore, and those than can have to adhere to strict regulations. Undergournd fighting rings, crime bosses lording around bender fighters, and endless restrictions in how it can be used make the group big targets.

Water benders have cities under the waves where others struggle to go, keeping their people and ways safe. Earth and Fire fight on land endlessly, and their cities are grand and constantly monitored and rebuilt due to destruction caused by their wars, it’s a difficult place to survive without being very rich or very smart. Air have taken to flying cities, and live above it all, acting as if they’re far better than the rest.

Peach and Grey are earth kids, sturdy, been running cons for as long as they could walk, childhood friends with a lot of history and an unspoken love and respect. It doesn’t need words, they understand the nature of their relationship just fine without it. Peach came from a powerful family and ran from them, they did too much direct evil for her liking, she wasn’t willing to be like them, now just doing what she can for her weird found family and living a fun life. Plum is a fire user, came from nothing and made a name for herself, looking after her family from afar, doing all the sleuthing and tech work, but very hot tempered by nature. She’s a dab hand with anything computer based and is not to be messed with in close combat. Rei is water, a home body with a naivety to the surface, happy to work hard for a fair deal, offers people aid and comfort whenever possible. Too bad no one on he land will ever be fair with him, he gets taken for a ride until the trio take him in.

I WAS GONNA DO GREYS DESIGN BUT DIDNT GET AROUND TO IT I WILL AND THEN REBLOG AND TACK IT ON, EVENTUALLY.

#this is my own little interest i enjoy a lot #found family trope #avatar au #fruit salad #brainrot #doodle

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naffeclipse · 1 year

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Question I don't think has been asked, I know Sleuth Jesters is completed, but hypothetically...

Spoilers for end chapters! If you're interested in reading the story, please finish Naff's writing first, so your heart could be wrung out into pieces too 🥰

~~~~~~

With Eclipse gone (with best case scenario turned into a wet floor bot, I don't want to accept his death! 😭) And the corrupt police chief being dead.

Does a new gang take over to where the vigilante still has to remain as a vigilante. Or is technically the city clean now, with the Afton group gone, that the detective/ vigilante could just start fixing the city with Mayor Fazbear?

There's still plenty of corruption and illegal activities going around so the vigilante and the detectives still have their work cut out for them. It's gonna take a lot more than just taking out Eclipse's gang to clean up the city.

I have an idea for a continuation of Sleuth Jesters involving the Funtime animatronics and how that gang will tangle up our trio with the nasty parts of their past, but I don't have any solid plans for writing it yet. One day, hopefully.

#sleuth jesters #eiffelfeller

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morebedsidebooks · 7 months

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12 Autumnal Reads With Pan Rep

As the days grow longer in the Northern hemisphere we don more layers, grab a hot drink, and say goodbye to summer. While maybe too cuddling up with a book. In similar fashion to the past for Pan Pride Day with wintry stories, and Pan Visibility Day for sunny reads, this time I’ve put together a list of examples offering pan rep set around the autumn season. Across demographics, several genres, and various lengths, the cozy to murderous, feasibly one will fit that next read. But no matter what may suit one’s tastes and whims, as always happy reading! (For content notes please see my reviews on Storygraph.)

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows, boasting a gorgeous autumn leaf themed cover, is a hefty first installment in the fantasy series the The Tithenai Chronicles. An unprecedented surprise diplomatic marriage between nobles Velasin vin Aro (gay) and Caethari Xai Aeduria, (bi/pan) sparks more than attraction. Violence, murder, and a hefty dose of intrigue swirl.

The Adventures of Isabel by Candas Jane Dorsey, the first in the Epitome Apartments Mystery series with a cast of colorful characters, is an offbeat mystery. Opening in September, at its center a coarse Canadian ex-social worker turned clueless amateur detective (bisexual/ambisexual/pansexual). Convinced to investigate the murder of a friend’s granddaughter, more than a case will end up cracking.

All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell is a YA psychological thriller. Set in small-town Maine in October and told by Ava (pan), a 17-year-old with PTSD who stumbles on the body of a murdered teenage girl. Scared, haunted, and distrustful she’ll sleuth out a killer while trying to hold herself together. Author Saundra Mitchell is also pansexual. Note this is furthermore a title that has been banned in some libraries in the US.

Bride of the Corpse King by Emily Shore is a New Adult dark fantasy retelling of Hades and Persephone. Needing the winnings for her family, Isla Adayra (pansexual) enters the Bone Games. Further to escape a match with a dreadful lascivious Elder, she’ll offer herself to one more powerful the Corpse King. Allysteir accepted his duty of the gods’ Curse, but year after year the cost bearing the spirit of the God of Death weighs heavily. Allysteir doesn’t want another bride, but Isla just might be strong enough to tempt Death and even more.

The Ghosts of Halloweenby Ceillie Simkiss takes a light Christmas Carol vibe presenting three bite-sized Halloween short stories about couple Cora (panromantic asexual) and Elena (lesbian) from the Learning Curves series, I previously mentioned in my wintry post. Expect more of what makes this romance series a treat. Author Ceillie Simkiss is also panromantic asexual.

The Home I Find with You by Skye Kilaen is a hopepunk polyam romance set in the aftermath of a second civil war in the United States. Van (pan) the lead defender for a circuit of towns in rural Colorado with his girlfriend Hadas meet Clark (gay,) after Clark shows up unexpectedly in the aptly named Freshtown. As a previous threat and winter also approach, this is a hopeful title centered on people and kindness in spite of violence that may leave the reader feeling warm inside as well. Author Skye Kilaen is also bi/pan.

How to Find a Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok, a fresh debut YA thriller, features an amateur teenage sleuth Iris Blackthorn (cis pansexual) with two of her friends, Sammy Valdez-Taylors (cis lesbian) and Imani Turner (non-binary lesbian). The trio forms a sapphic detective agency out to solve the disappearance of two people close to Iris as the clock ticks down during the Louisiana autumn. Author Victoria Wlosok is also pansexual.

Sweet to the Core by Amy Aislin set in a small seaside town in Maine is a romance novel between Dev (gay) who owns his own bakery and his cousin’s best friend Clark (pansexual) a wildlife biologist. Dev’s harbored a crush on Clark since childhood. Clark is usually a no-strings-attached guy. But set aside the pumpkin spice and enjoy another staple of the autumn season— apples. When the two team up entering an inaugural baking contest with a sizeable cash prize, mouthwatering baked goods aren’t the only thing that is very sweet.

Trick or Treat by Sydney Blackburn is good if you’re in the festive mood for a sweet little, short story Halloween treat featuring Drew (genderfluid pansexual) and David (cis bisexual) meeting on All Hallows’ Eve.

Vampirella from horror host to heroinesince 1969 has become a sensual pansexual icon enthralling comic readers across the globe. Including me with Vampi having the honour of being the first pan character I knew of. If you need some direction on what to read, SYFY has a Pull List for the Legacy of Vampirella. (Though I’d skip anything by Warren Ellis.)

Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas has Kalyn and Gus two teenagers that become unlikely friends despite a decades old murder that connects them. Set in small-town lush Kentucky autumn with a smell “like sticky cinnamon”, the slow burn here isn’t romance— but a mystery. There’s abundant queerness: Kalyn likes girls. Gus questions and is regarded as pansexual by many readers and critics to quote “When it comes to people, I care about personality before anything else, and gender’s another characteristic that factors into that. Maybe that does land me in one queer realm or another”. Plus, his mother has a female partner. Too note, garnering young adult award nominations, this is another title that has been listed among book challenges.

The Witches of Portland series by T. Thorn Coyle brings readers an urban fantasy with a social justice basis and dash of romance. Each installment focuses on different members of the Arrow and Crescent coven in Portland, Oregon. If you’re intimidated by the full nine-volume set don’t worry, the books also can be read as standalones. Author T. Thorn Coyle is also bi/pan/queer.

By Dusk (Book 7) set around the autumn equinox features coven member Moss (pansexual) an environmental activist working to prevent pollution of the Willamette. And new to Portland, the rich, on the surface carefree party girl Shaggy. The two previously hooked up at a festival but might have more.

By Dark (Book 8) set in the last week of October thru Dia de Los Muertos features coven member Alejandro (bisexual/pansexual) an IT consultant entering a midlife crisis and his likewise polyamorous partner Shekinah (queer) a graphic designer and Kundalini yoga devotee. But when a friend of Shekinah’s starts having terrifying visions that also besiege Alejandro, it’s an interfaith all-hands-on-deck to uncover dark secrets and affect something terrible afoot in Portland.

#autumn reads #fall reading #pan representation #pansexuality

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imsparky2002 · 11 months

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Creepsters AU - Important Students Part 1

Alya: An aspiring investigative journalist in the same class as our heroes. Though she has faith in Kagami and Adrien, for some unknown reason, she is deadset that Marinette’s intentions are not as good as she claims! Constantly attempting to prove her claims, her bombastic way of going about her sleuthing makes it difficult for people to take her seriously.

Alix: One of Marinette’s closest ‘normie’ friends, Alix is a headstrong daredevil who is never afraid to jump into combat with the creepsters, despite their supernatural abilities. While she will typically be the one to reign Marinette in, she’s also the first one to test an actual invention no matter how crazy. Close with Nathaniel as well, she is often the one comforting him over his shame at his maniacal ancestor.

Mylene: Marinette’s other best friend, Mylene is a witch who uses the natural magic of the earth to heal the wounded and sick. She often serves as Marinette’s voice of reason, advising her when she starts to go over the edge, as well as trying to keep Alix out of the trouble. Though she is kind and gentle, she often comes off as frightening with her manner of speech and her wicked-sounding laugh. She has a very loving and sweet relationship with her boyfriend, Ivan, a werebear. Mylene assists the hero trio with healing potions and protective wards. She gets along quite well with Herushingu, as well as Adrien, though he does find her frightening at times.

Nino: A friendly young aspiring DJ, Nino is Adrien’s best bud, always encouraging him to get out and have fun. He’s also fond of Chat, backing his hype whenever his triggers an appearance. He’s also a devoted boyfriend to Alya, trying fruitlessly to convince that Marinette isn’t on the side of evil.

Ondine: Kagami’s longtime best friend and a fellow monster hunter, Ondine is the optimist to Herushingu’s pessimist. Ondine prefers to take a non-lethal approach when hunting, though she will end a monsters life if necessary. She and Herushingu love to bicker for the sake of it, often betting chores on who wins. She absolutely loves her boyfriend, Kim.

Max: Marinette's childhood friend and the only one that's on the same level of intelligence as her. An inventor who sticks to robotics, The Kante's and Von Bugg's have been close with each other for generations, collaborating on innovations in science. A studious and collected young man, who often serves to translate to the other classmates what his friend is trying to say in a way they'll understand. He helps out the heroes via lending them his tech to use on occasion.

Marc: The descendant of the wicked Count Marcula, Marc is a shy boy with a passion for writing, especially comics. He despises his ancestor and everything he stands for, so he is learning the trade of killing vampires from Herushingu. His companion in this is his boyfriend, Nathaniel.

Nathaniel: Marc’s boyfriend, the descendant of the deeply unsettling Nathfield. A shy boy with a sharp tongue, he uses snark to mask his insecurities. Due to his loathing of his ancestor, he avoids painting of any kind, sticking to drawing in his sketch pad. He trains alongside Marc with Herushingu.

Ivan: Mylene’s boyfriend, a tall and burly teenaged boy who happens to be a werebear, changing into his large and hairy ursine form when the moon is out. A gentle and kind boy at heart, he uses his strength to protect others, especially from the creepsters, who cursed him into this state. He makes sure to stay calm, as he doesn’t want people to fear him. He absolutely adores his girlfriend, Mylene, they love snuggling together when he’s in his bear form.

Kim: The captain of several of the schools sports teams, Kim is a friendly guy who’s not always the sharpest tool in the shed. He’s always ready to jump into the fray with the creepsters, and trusts new people rather quickly. He’s a bit of a jokester, though he never means any harm. He’s very devoted to his girlfriend, Ondine.

Chloe: Spoiled rotten and convinced she is more popular than she is, Chloe treats everyone around her like garbage. She uses her father’s influence to force people to do as she wants. Though she harassed the descendants of the creepsters, she is in truth working behind the scenes to fund their exploits. However, she may be about to learn a hard lesson.

Sabrina: Chloé’s ‘bestie’, though that’s not a title she happily holds. Sabrina tries her best to keep Chloe in line, though more often than not, her efforts are in vain. She harbors a secret love for sports, which she grows to embrace as she breaks away from Chloe, making new, more genuine friendships.

And that’s merely part 1! There are loads of important characters studying at DuPont! A huge thanks to Weeby for providing the summaries, I couldn’t do it without her. As usual, make sure to reblog, reply, post and ask to share the content. @artzychic27 @msweebyness

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