#Especially after the really scary prior events … only for him to now be the size of an insect …

[koropukgoro]

the second art on that post has a deeply like. Long ass story build up to it that I cannot summarize at all it was born from scenario rambling but it is Tender, and a small soft exchange of gentle forgiveness… that is true…

[thousandsunnywrites]

FILE 1: WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF SMILES

⤷ word count: 1,7k

⤷ a/n: there’s no major romantic shet here, but it’s like the foundation of what’s to come

[BLACK LIVES MATTER]

⤷ TRIGGER: mentions of pills & death

“Roronoa, check the mission board.” A stack of papers land right in front of his propped feet, waking him from his light nap. Standing in front of him was no other than the assistant chief, Law. “In two weeks, we’re raiding the SMILES House.” 

Yawning, he glanced over, doing as told. Law’s right. After extensive research, their department accumulated enough information to obtain a warrant to bust down this illegal business. Doflamingo is a smart man, he evaded the police’s eyes for years now despite his brother being the chief. His eyes skimmed through the raid team while taking a mental note — Usopp, Chopper, Law, and him, along with a bunch of other extra names. Supposedly, this ambush is the most difficult in the history of the New World Station, errr, at least that’s what Zoro hears in the coffee room. 

Chief Corazon-- the name everyone addresses him as, only a select few know his real name-- lead this station ever since the retirement of ex Chief of Police, Sengoku. You and Zoro transferred into this department not long after graduating law school. As Chief puts it, it’s a miracle how you never crossed paths with Roronoa during school-- maybe he just got lost while trying to do so-- because you complement each other so perfectly: you’re academically strong, while he’s strong physically. It’s no hair-puller to know why he’s constantly paired with you.

Zoro’s train of thoughts halts as a very loud, and jumpy girl emerges from the corner, latching onto his arm almost immediately upon seeing him. “Zoro,” you cooed like a little bird, expectantly. Prior to this day, Zoro wagered that it’s easy to drive around while patrolling the area because anyone can do that, and you took him up on his little bet. It was hard, knowing the shortcuts and hidden roads within the area, but it was easy when you get the hang of it. Unfortunately for Zoro, he was blessed with confusing right with left, north and south. Call it whatever you see fit, but you can’t deny it’s like taking candy from a toddler.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” he sighs, bringing out the iconic Starbucks cup, filled to the brim with your favorite coffee, Venti-sized. “Expensive-ass woman. You know how much that cost me?”

“Oh hunny, I know, you’re lucky I’m not asking you to pay for my rent,” you take a sip as Zoro nods along. Yeah, he’s aware of the rent surge for your apartment. That landlord of yours, what’s his name, Bella… Belle-something was a big pain in the ass, charging twice as much to splurge on gambling. He’s heard this rant so many times, he can recite it word for word.

“Y’know if you’re having a hard time with rent, then just leave. Go somewhere else.”

A pout forms on your lips, hand waving animatedly to dismiss his suggestion. “Easy for you to say, you own a house. Besides, it’s the only available one in this area. I don’t wanna go outta town. It’s hard enough to wake up on time in the morning-- what more of waking up 3 hours earlier?” You pinch his cheek, earning a groan from the man. Remind him again why he puts up with you.

“Don’t forget about our first-not-fake-date tonight,” you wink, body shimmying out of excitement. Sometime last night, you concocted the perfect date with Zoro to flaunt in front of Sanji. Zoro is to take you to the nicest park he can find and do a surprise picnic-- not much of a surprise if you orchestrated it-- whilst giving you a necklace with his initials on it-- again, nothing special especially if you’re gonna buy it. Zoro wonders why he’s even letting you use him, but then again, you pay for the propaganda, and he doesn’t have anything better to do. No rent money worries, no girlfriend to tend to, no stress that plagues the average adult. 

“Doesn’t sound like we’re dating if you call everything we do a ‘not-fake’,” his lips downturn to a very displeasing frown that marred his big-tough-guy look, while he attempts to pry your clammy fingers off said face. He doesn’t know the first thing about love, but sure as hell he’s not a dumbass.

Law pulls you aside to escort you to the Chief’s office, leaving Zoro to revert his focus back onto his reports, overlooking the new cases. A killer clown running loose, gathering a circus to cause more trouble. Nothing more than clout for a rep. 

The Massacre Solider’s, as the media dubbed, killings suddenly halted.

The Revolutionaries protesting and planning a riot downtown against the government, led by the infamous criminal dubbed as Dragon.

Firefighter accidentally sets the workplace on fire after reheating meat for too long. Damn it, Luffy.

“Hey, Zoro!” The familiar long nose approaches him, friendly as ever. “We’re partners today for patrol! Thank god it’s you.” He sobs out the last part, body turning milky white while remembering the horrid flashbacks of almost being shot at by an angry woman for notifying her about her illegally parked car in a handicap spot. The world is a scary place.

Usopp let out a huffy sigh after seeing Zoro’s nose scrunch in distaste. “No offense Usopp but Y/n is and has been my partner,” his arms crossed, gaze not leaving the paper.

The persistent sniper slides next to Zoro, slinging his arm over his shoulder despite the other shoving him off. “Yeah but the chief said that he’s borrowing her for today.”

Great.

It’s not like Zoro dislikes Usopp, it’s not like that at all. It’s just he knows he’s going to babysit the scaredy cat. Amazing how he’s a coward, yet one of the finest sharpshooters he knows. Nobody doing it like him.

The hectic, sharp alarm lights the room red, causing the policemen to spring to action. The once-chattering room fills with the sounds of rapid footsteps, police sirens, incoherent yelling, and the urgent news.

Local wealthy landlord found dead on the street, SMILES cause of death, victim unidentified.

They made it through the yellow tapes and through the crowd with the help of Usopp’s directions, and Zoro instantly remembered that face-- really, how can he forget that face when you constantly bitched about him nearly everyday. That cocky smile never left that bastard’s face despite half of the pearly whites being gone.

It was Belle...

Belle-something.

It was Belle! 

He passes by him on the staircase whenever he visits you for nonsense. The medic hoists the mass onto the gurney, and drives off, leaving the remaining team to survey the area.

His colleagues told him that the victim OD’ed on SMILES, but the marimo knew better. Although faint, his sharp eyes can see the smudged trail of blood coming from another area. This isn’t a typical overdose. Belle was dead by the time the team got here. He was murdered somewhere else and dragged into the streets for a show. A declaration. A warning. 

In short, he was murdered. And probably from the same guy who started this whole SMILES addiction.

Meanwhile as the news blared in Chief Cora’s office, your heart sunk when the anchor broadcasted the victim’s face after receiving identification for a brief moment. It was Bellemy! Holy Gorgonzolas, that’s your landlord! Crap! As fucked up as it seemed, the only thought that initially crossed your mind was Does that mean I don’t have to pay for rent? More importantly, he’s dead! Not that you feel deep remorse... he did call you a whore last week and scoped your apartment without your permission.  

“It’s a message,” Cora puffed on his cigarette, the dim lighting of the room accentuating the smoke, “He knows we’re onto him.”

He ashed his cigarette in his heart-shaped ashtray, before relighting. Paper slid across the table, a confidential report wide open. Attached to the report was a headshot of a man with fancy, bird-eye-like shades. 

“His name is Doflamingo. Known as God of the Underworld. Dangerous man,” Cora said dryly, and straight to the point. “That kid that was on TV worked under him. Bellemy.”

Your brows furrow as you flip through the pages, examining the details with careful precision. “So the assets belong to this man?” 

“Legally. I didn’t find any contract that says that Bellemy shares this property with Doffy. Doffy must’ve not liked that one of his henchmen opposed his will. We can only assume that his death was the price to pay and to promote the SMILES. Other than that, Bellemy’s apartment lots are illegally owned, so we can also assume that it’s going to be confiscated when the police connect two-and-two together. You get where I’m going with this, right?” His eyes glanced over his shoulder, expecting you to catch on with the elaborative hints he dropped. It took a while, but it clicked.

“And now I’m homeless.” Hands thrown in the air, you sighed in defeat. First it was losing your bike in the walkway, next it was having to sneak in your own office like a burglar for a last-minute report that could’ve cost your job, and now it was being thrown on the streets because you lived and paid for an illegal apartment. 

Law interjected your whine with the clearing of his throat. “You don’t have to be.” He was silently watching the events unfold before him, taking in your reactions along the way.

“You can live with us,” Corazon proposed, cutting off whatever Law was going to say. That offer left both you and Law with your jaws hanging wide open. After a second, Law collects himself and musters a very confused what. 

“I was going to say to find someplace outside of town to live!” His disbelief coated his every word, and went unnoticed. “Are you sure?”

Cora simply nods, a thumbs up affirming his decision whilst trying to convince you to take up his offer.

“Please,” Cora’s hand found its way to your shoulder, lightly squeezing it. “It’d be beneficial for both you and us. You’re part of the brains of this operation so it’s better to keep you near us. And you did say you’re homeless now.”

He nudges you once more, after seeing your silence. “C’mon, beggars can’t be choosers.”

With that one line, you concede. 

You pull out your phone and send a simple text to your date, telling him you’re taking a raincheck to pack up your shit. He never responds. Had you known the consequences of agreeing, you would’ve stayed on the streets if that could mean that he’d still be here.

[usualsuspectsfinalproject]

The Usual Suspects (1995) Final Project

COM 323: Films of the 1990s

Introductory Video

The Usual Suspects (1995) Trailer

Production

The first inkling of The Usual Suspects film came to director Bryan Singer as he read an article in the magazine known simply as Spy. It was a passage regarding the famous 1942 film Casablanca in which the character of Louis Renault says that they need to, “round up the usual suspects.”

With a title now in mind, Singer and his screenplay writer Christopher McQuarrie could get to work. The screenplay for The Usual Suspects took McQuarrie around five months to create. He had used elements of one of his previous, not published works to forge the story. McQuarrie combined several real-world elements into the film’s screenplay including the true crime story of John List who killed his entire family then took on a new identity for some 20 years until he was caught. According to an article from The Guardian, “A lot of the inspiration for Keyser Söze, the villain, came from the character of Yuri in the 1980s thriller No Way Out – a spy within the Pentagon who may or may not exist.” The name “Keyser Söze” is based on one of McQuarrie’s previous coworker’s name, Kayser Sume. When trying to adjust Sume’s surname, McQuarrie used a friend’s Turkish dictionary to discover the word “söze,” which means “talks too much,” which, in hindsight, is hinted at through Roger Kint’s nickname “Verbal” and his self-admission of being talkative. The name origin also potentially explains why Söze is described as "supposedly” Turkish. Similarly, characters mention that Keyser Söze‘s father might be German. His first name Keyser seems to be a reference to the German word “Kaiser” which means “Emperor.”

Once the screenplay had been completed to Singer and McQuarrie’s liking, they began to show it to studios, hoping to find an interested party. However, that turned out to be much harder than anticipated. Despite the excellent writing by McQuarrie, the vacancy of the cast and non-linear storytelling elements scared off most studios. The film’s rough start is described in “Usual Suspects, Unusual Devices,” by Martin Barker and Thomas Austin. The journal article reads, “It almost didn’t get made. Its director Bryan Singer and writer McQuarrie tried 130 film financiers before finally cutting a deal with two European sources. Even then, the deal almost fell apart just days before filming was due to start, when one backer withdrew. Finally, a recut of the distribution and video rights brought in combined finance from Polygram and Spelling International.” So, they finally found some hope in Europe with the PolyGram film company, though the actors were going to have to be paid significantly less than their usual fees. The actors which they cast were okay with the lower pay, however, as they wanted the opportunity to not only work with Singer’s direction and McQuarrie’s script but also the other actors involved. In fact, in 1993, Kevin Spacey had met Bryan Singer and told him that he wanted to act in Singer’s next production.

The Main Cast - “The Lineup”

When the film began production, the budget was set at five and a half million dollars. Perhaps due to funding or other factors, there were only three shooting locations for the entire film. These were the cities of Los Angeles, New York City and San Pedro, CA. The film was shot in only 35 days, which is quite short compared to other films. Although it would seem the most prominent issue for the film would be the lack of financial backing, it turned out to be the actors themselves. Director Bryan Singer could not keep his main five actors in character, especially when they were all together like the famous “lineup” scene. Several scenes would take much longer than expected to film due to the actors being unable to stay in character because they would laugh with one another. In the final take of this scene, the characters are seen giggling, this is partially purposeful to show their camaraderie but much of it was the actor’s genuine laughter, particularly during Fenster’s delivery of the line.

The Usual Suspects (1995) “Lineup” Scene

Another less humorous issue that plagued the shoots was the size of filming locations. They had to film in many confined areas which made the job of cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel all the more interesting. In order to combat this issue of space, he used creative zoom tactics and dolly movements to simulate motion which made the space feel larger. The film wrapped shooting two weeks prior to its estimated date. However, one day Singer had a feeling that the mystery of Keyser Söze was unfinished. He felt that the film needed to convince the audience that Dean Keaton was Söze to up the ante of the twist ending. From this revelation came one of the film’s most crucial and shocking scenes. The sequence is the one at the very end, where Kujan stares at the board whilst past dialogue looms in the background as he pieces together the mystery. I have attached the video clip below:

The Usual Suspects (1995) Ending Scene

Marketing

The advertising campaign for The Usual Suspects started off with an unusual issue. The studio executives were worried that audiences would not know how to pronounce “Keyser Söze.” So, they thought a good way to combat this was to create posters and television advertisements which read, “Who is Keyser Söze?”

Though, many people still mispronounced it despite their efforts. The film itself initially aired at the now famous Cannes Film Festival in 1995. Here, it was met with a good reception from both critics and fans. Before it could get its full theatrical debut, it was shown in select screenings in Los Angeles and New York City, two of its filming locations and general movie hotspots. After these showings, it was aired in many theaters around the country and grossed around $23 million, which shattered its small budget numbers.

Reception

Despite successful monetary gains from the film, the critical reception after its full release was less than ideal. Overall, most critics felt the film was either predictable, confusing or only created to give its cast Oscar nominations. Famous film critic for the Chicago-Sun Times, Roger Ebert, gave the film a terrible one and a half stars, writing, “The story builds up to a blinding revelation, which shifts the nature of all that has gone before, and the surprise filled me not with delight but with the feeling that the writer, Christopher McQuarrie, and the director, Bryan Singer, would have been better off unraveling their carefully knit sleeve of fiction and just telling us a story about their characters – those that are real, in any event. I prefer to be amazed by motivation, not manipulation.” Other critics gave it similar ratings like USA Today’s two and a half stars. Though there were some outliers at the time, like reviewers for The Independent and The New York Times who gave it positive reviews. One of these reviews was from Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, who wrote, “Dense with plot intricacies, thick with atmosphere, and packed with showy roles for a hip ensemble, The Usual Suspects is fun to watch — a celebration of cool actors having a good time playing sweaty and devious lowlifes.” However, her opinion seemed to be in the minority.

Fast forwarding to today’s view, the film seems to have had a shift in opinion. The three most popular film reviewing sites, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic gave it an 8.5, 89% and a 77, respectively. Notably, the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is a whopping 96%. Clearly, there has been a change of thought towards the 1995 film over the years. Today, the film is included on many lists of “top” films. Some of these lists include top movies of the 1990s, top crime dramas and even best films of all time. Many even cite this film as a “classic” or a “must watch” which is a sign of remarkably high praise. Some of the more well-known lists it has made were curated by the American Film Institute and the Writers Guild of America. Not to mention, the film has won numerous awards, even back in the 1990s. Some of the most notable awards being McQuarrie’s wins for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs and the Independent Spirit Awards. Along with Kevin Spacey’s win for Best Supporting Actor also at the Academy Awards among many others for the cast and crew alike. So, even if the critics did not seem too keen on the film back in ’95, there still were many who supported it enough for them to score such high accolades.

Since the film’s release in 1995, it has found its way into different areas of popular culture through references, homages and other nods to the film. In fact, there was even an official remake in Hindi called Chocolate in 2005. But looking beyond this remake, acknowledgements to the film can be seen all over from a monologue by Stephen Colbert to Family Guy cutaways to Key & Peele skits and perhaps most famously in Scary Movie (2000).

Many of these come in the form of citing famous lines from the film or re-hashing crucial scenes such as Kujan’s piecing together Verbal’s fabrications or Verbal’s shift from limping to walking normally. Along with loving references to the film, there has been a bit of controversy as well. Actor Gabriel Byrne, who played Dean Keaton, claimed that the film’s production was temporarily halted due to Kevin Spacey’s inappropriate behavior on set. Byrne stated for The Sunday Times, “I mean, he was kind of a joke in that people would say, ‘That’s Kevin,’ but nobody really understood the depth of his predations. It was only years later that we began to understand that [filming] was closed down for a particular reason and that was because of inappropriate sexual behavior by Spacey.” Director Bryan Singer has since spoken out about Byrne’s claims. He denied the allegations against Spacey. 

The Neo-Noir Genre

The neo-noir genre is defined by Mark Conrad in his work The Philosophy of Neo-noir as, “...any film coming after the classic noir period that contains the noir themes and sensibility.” The genre is a revitalization of the classic film noir, hence the prefix “neo” which means “new.” These films aim to capture a similar essence to the past noir crime films. They maintain similar characteristics in their writing style, cinematographic choices and essential themes. Some of these themes include crime, mystery, twists, paranoia, vengeance and deception. The way in which neo-noir differs from classic noir is seen through its use of updated technology and tackling of more modern societal problems. These films are also defined by the way in which they approach character. In classic noir, the motivations of the criminal or the detective were typically clear. But in neo-noir there is often a blurred sense of the world, where the character’s motivations are unknown or misunderstood and there is no clear division of good and evil as well as reality and fiction.

The way in which The Usual Suspect’s plot unfolds and its conflicts are battled perfectly fits the neo-noir outline. Writer J.P Devine describes the film in an article for Central Maine’s website as, “...a game of chess, a masterpiece full of fake clues, twists and turns that flows from light to shadow and back again. ‘The Usual Suspects,’ as most filmmakers know, rests somewhere near the top of the list of the greatest film noir thriller-capers of all time.” First and most obviously, the baseline of the entire film: crime, criminals and police. These three elements defined the classic noir genre at its core and have continued to define the neo-noir predecessor. Next, the film is based around one central mystery who is “Keyser Söze?” Neo-noir cinema most commonly revolves around questions or figures like these who the viewer and the characters will spend most of the film trying to pinpoint their identity. As the viewer watches Kujan stare at the board after Verbal has left the interrogation, both the character and the audience begin to piece together the fabrication of Verbal. As Verbal is seen shifting from limp to upright walk it all falls into place as the real Söze drives off uninhibited. This moment is exemplifying two examples of neo-noir cinematic patterns, the twist and deception. Verbal has fooled everybody, the viewer included. He has fabricated the perfect story to lead everyone off his trail and onto Keaton’s, who is confirmed dead, which means Söze would be too. As Stanley Orr explains in his, “Postmodernism, ‘Noir’, and ‘The Usual Suspects,” “Throughout the course of the film, Verbal installs himself on the periphery as mere documenter, ‘alone returned to tell the tale.’ Seemingly innocuous, Verbal diverts suspicion by focalizing upon Keyser Soze and Dean Keaton. In the last moments of the film, Verbal leaves Rabin's office under a new aspect: his ‘hand flexes with all the grace and coordination of a sculptor's’ (McQuarrie 120).” He has convinced everybody that he – the talkative, limp-footed “Verbal,” does exist while simultaneously convincing that the mysterious, all-seeing crime boss, Keyser Söze, does not, just like the devil.

Along with the plot and structure of the film fitting the neo-noir genre, so do the characters themselves. In the journal article, “Rounding up ‘The Usual Suspects’: The Comforts of Character and Neo-Noir” by  J.P. Telotte, the author notes, “The Usual Suspects offers an especially telling illustration in this regard, particularly of the impact of character in the neo-noir. It is a film that begins with a mystery and almost literally invites its viewers to play at guessing that mystery, at ferreting out the clues to its narrative and anticipating its twist ending. Moreover, that mystery depends totally on the film's conception and our own orchestrated and convention-driven misconception-of character, a set of reactions that pointedly flies in the face of our anticipation of narrative conservatism and undercuts one sort of pleasure or comfort we have come to expect from our films.” As explained previously, Keyser Söze is a brilliantly written character along with his Jekyll and Hyde-esque counter-part Roger “Verbal” Kint. Both of their motivations seem unclear for most of the film until the twist is revealed. Once they are established as the same character, many of the the motivations for Söze fall into place such as his paranoia that the man on the boat was going to expose him. Hence why he sent the criminals on a wild chase for some non-existent drugs on the ship. He wanted that man to be dealt with without the “lineup” knowing exactly why.

Also, the conflict between good and evil can be seen through both Söze and Keaton. Keaton’s struggle is more obvious and active throughout the film. He wants to escape the life of crime and live a morally and legally “good” life with his girlfriend, however, he finds it difficult to fully separate. Over and over he tries but he keeps being pulled right back. He cannot create true division between the good and the evil within himself. Similarly, after Verbal is revealed as Keyser Söze, this conflict comes over the audience. Initially, one feels themselves almost inclined to tip their cap to Verbal for his performance. Despite knowing the crimes he has committed, the viewer cannot fully write off Söze, he tows the line between likeable and truly evil in the minds of the viewer. The way in which the audience finds turmoil in supporting or disdaining his character is comparable to how readers feel about Satan in John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost. Something draws the audience into these characters despite or perhaps because of their wicked ways. In “Usual Suspects, Unusual Devices,” Martin Barker and Thomas Austin explain that, “The Usual Suspects rewards its viewers with the pleasures of unpacking its cleverness, and at the same time it rewards us by enabling us to demonstrate (to ourselves, to film-going friends) our cleverness in deciphering its deceits. It rewards with frissons of delighted shock the terror of a conspiratorial view of the Underworld: an attractive/dangerous stock of appalling characters. It rewards us if we are willing to play with the notion that authority is a mixture of inept and corrupt – but that corruption may be as nothing in the face of an awesome corruption so demonic that the petty authorities who think they run things are just self-deceivers.” His character is the encapsulation of the neo-noir genre’s blurring and bending of right and wrong, of good and evil, of reality and fiction. He lives his life miles ahead of those who wish to unravel his mystery. By the time anyone can wrap their head around his deceit, it is too late because, in devilish fashion, like that... he’s gone.

Works Cited

Derschowitz, Jessica. “What Critics Thought of 'The Usual Suspects' When It Came out 20 Years Ago.” EW.com, 16 Aug. 2015, ew.com/article/2015/08/16/usual-suspects-20th-anniversary-reviews/.

Telotte, J. P. “Rounding up ‘The Usual Suspects’: The Comforts of Character and Neo-Noir.”Film Quarterly, vol. 51, no. 4, 1998, pp. 12–20. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1213240. Accessed 28 June 2020.

Ebert, Roger. “Ebert's Most Hated: Roger Ebert: Roger Ebert.” Roger Ebert | Roger Ebert, www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/eberts-most-hated.

Ebert, Roger. “The Usual Suspects Movie Review (1995): Roger Ebert.” Movie Review (1995) |  Roger Ebert, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-usual-suspects-1995.

Gelly, Christophe. “The Usual Suspects or the Potency of Falsity.” Mise Au Point. Cahiers De L'association Française Des Enseignants Et Chercheurs En Cinéma Et Audiovisuel, Association Française Des Enseignants Et Chercheurs En Cinéma Et Audiovisuel, 1 Apr. 2014, journals.openedition.org/map/1646?lang=en.

Hoad, Phil. How We Made The Usual Suspects. 4 Jan. 2016,             www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jan/04/how-we-made-the-usual-suspects-bryan-singer-gabriel-byrne

Schwarzbaum, Lisa. “The Usual Suspects.” EW.com, 25 Aug. 1995,           ew.com/article/1995/08/25/usual-suspects/.

Sharf, Zack. “'The Usual Suspects' Reportedly Stopped Filming Due to Kevin Spacey's 'Sexually Inappropriate Behavior’.” IndieWire, IndieWire, 5 Dec. 2017,  www.indiewire.com/2017/12/usual-suspects-kevin-spacey-sexual-misconduct-bryan-singer-1201904039/.

Travers, Peter. “The Usual Suspects.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2018, www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-usual-suspects-93781/.

“The Usual Suspects (1995).” Rotten Tomatoes, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/usual_suspects.

[pedrospookie]

“Why are you so jealous?”

Prompt #8 “Why are you so jealous?”

Once again, the incredible @loki-in-hogwarts has requested this fun prompt!

You can request a fic/prompt suggestion here!

Check out my other prompts here!

Please let me know what you think and if you have any questions, comments or suggestions! I hope you enjoy! :)

High School!Peter Parker x Reader

Angst & Fluff!

Word count: 1770

 You and Peter have been friends since childhood. Your mother had worked in the same lab as Peter’s father, so the two of you grew up together at daycare, then kindergarten, through elementary school, leading you here, half way through high school. You remembered the day that Peter’s parents died, but even more vividly, the day that Ben died. It was as if a part of Peter died that day along with Ben. You were always there for Peter. The moment you got the call, you ran over in your pajamas in the middle of the night to console him in his darkest hour. According to your parents, Peter was family. Both he and May would join you for Thanksgiving and Christmas, taking turns as to which home hosted. You considered Peter to be your best friend, the person who you could trust with your deepest darkest secrets. Peter felt the same way. He had told you that he was Spider-Man before Ned found out. You were the one he would crawl to, after a long night of crime fighting, for wound care. He would always ask you for flirting tips or ask you ‘how to talk to girls’, even though you always told him to just be himself and talk normally, there really was no secret. You would always have the smallest pangs of sadness when he would ask for dating advice, but you always summed it up to your fear of losing your best friend. You had noticed that Peter had grown into quite the handsome young man, especially post-spider bite, not that it changed anything though…it was merely an observation, you would tell yourself.

Today was the start of your weekly movie marathon. Every Friday and Saturday, the two of you would meet up and Peter’s place and cozy in on the couch. Sometimes, if she was home from work, May would join you and she would often take your side when it came to pick a movie, as you could only watch Star Wars so many times without getting sick of it. Occasionally, you’d swap out your cinematic evening for a party or gathering with friends, but you would always accompany each other to whatever event.

Except, today you had to tell Peter that you’d have to cancel on him tomorrow. You had been asked on a date by a guy two grades above you, named Eddie Brock. The two of you had started chatting at Liz’s party the weekend prior. You had thought that Peter was going to try to make a move on Liz that evening, so you decided to go for Eddie.

You walk down the hall from the elevator and knock gently on his front door. Peter opens the door quickly, just a mere crack. It was barely big enough for him to peek his eyes through to make sure it was you.

“Hurry in!” He whispers, swiftly opening the door then shutting it. As you walked in and dropped your bag, you saw why Peter had been so urgent. The poor guy was stuck in his Spider-Man suit.

“Could you give me a hand? I think I broke it while I was out.” Peter sighs, turning around so you could pull the sleeve off for him.

“Ugh, that’s better!” He cries, stretching his arms over his head. “It gets so stiff in there!” He adds as he stretches his upper body. Peter was standing completely shirtless in front of you, the other half of his suit covering his legs. You had never noticed how muscular and attractive he could be. He was always hiding under sweaters or tee shirts that were a size too big. Your cheeks started to grow hot as you realize that you might have been staring for too long.

“So, what movie do you want to watch? I was thinking we could start Star Wars 4,5,6 and then watch 1, 2, 3 tomorrow-“

“I can’t come over tomorrow, Pete.” You interrupt, his head jerking quickly to look at you. The face Peter made broke your heart, you could tell you were letting him down.

“Wh-why not, Y/N?” He asks pleadingly, a sad twinge to his voice.

“Well, Eddie Brock asked me out so we’re going to the football game tomorrow night.” You mumble quietly, looking at the floor. You couldn’t bear to look Peter in the eye. There was something about what you had just said that felt wrong and made your stomach feel nauseous.

“Eddie Brock? You’re going out with Eddie Brock?” Peter spits, shooting daggers from his eyes. Peter was beside himself, how could this happen? he thought. His face contorting into an angry look as his cheeks grew hot.

“We got chatting at that party last weekend, after you ditched me for Liz!” You counter, looking back at him with a confused look. “Why does it matter? It’s just one date.” You add. ‘

“Whatever. You’re right. It’s just one date.” Peter replies sourly before sulking into his bedroom. You knew he was annoyed because he slammed the door shut, something he rarely did.

With the slam of his bedroom door, you cringed. Part of you felt as if you had really fucked up, but another part of you was so confused as to why Peter cared so much. Wasn’t he into Liz? you thought quietly to yourself.

You walk over to the living room and found a bowl of popcorn waiting for you on the table as well as a pile of pillows and blankets tossed on the couch. There were a few candles lit on the coffee table and a bag of your favourite candies beside them. Clearly, Peter had attempted to set up when he had returned from his evening patrol.

You sigh, feeling absolutely horrible as you plop yourself down on the couch. Peter joined you shortly and sat at the far end of the seat. Usually, he would sit practically on top of you, but today he had no interest.

“Peter,” You say softly, looking at him and reaching for his hand. He swiftly moves it away from your touch and grabs the remote.

“What is your deal, Pete? It’s one date!” You shout, getting incredibly annoyed with him. “You are making me feel like shit for going on one date! I didn’t get upset when you bailed on me to hang out with Liz!”

With a cool glare, Peter replies, “Eddie Brock is an asshole. You know it, I know it, we all know it! Can we please just drop it?” he snares, adjusting his gaze back to the TV.

“Because Liz is such a saint, she treats you like actual crap, Peter!” You cry, you could feel a lump grow in your throat. You hated arguing with Peter, it always felt so wrong. “I don’t understand why you are making me feel so bad! Why are you so jealous?!” You yell, tears falling from your eyes. You rip of the blanket that was covering your body as you jump up to try and make a quick run for the bathroom.

“I’m jealous because I love you, Y/N!” Peter yells aggressively, standing up and grabbing your wrist and turning you to face him.

“What?” you whisper, trying to hold back sobs.

“I love you… I am jealous because I love you. I was helping Liz with her homework because she was failing Chemistry and her dad is a scary guy, so I couldn’t say no. That’s why I bailed on you that on Friday. And at the party? I was with Ned in the backyard. He was trying to convince me to show up as Spider-Man and I spent the entire night trying to talk him down.” Peter sighs, running a hand through his hair. He looked at you with the most pleading eyes. He felt horrible for making you cry, it was never his intention. He never wanted to hurt you or your feelings. He just wanted to grab you tight and never let you go. You were his person, Peter couldn’t imagine life without you. Now, he was sure that he just drove you away for good,

Peter lifts his hand to brush away some of the tears that have fallen onto your cheeks.

“I am so sorry, Y/N. I never wanted to hurt you. Now, I feel like I fucked up our friendship and that was the last thing I wanted to do.” His voice breaking mid-sentence.

“Peter.” You sigh, touching his cheek lightly. “I love you too.”

The sound of your voice brings Peter’s gaze up to look at you.

“Really?” He says shyly, as if he was a young boy on Christmas morning. His brown eyes were the size of saucers, looking hastily around your face to see if you were joking.

“Really. It took me until now to realize it. I kept suppressing any feeling out of fear of ruining our friendship. Eddie is a piece of shit, and I knew it. I guess I had just accepted his offer to spite you, which I am sorry for.” You explain, looking at Peter pleadingly.

“So…” He smirks, cracking a sly smile, lifting your chin up with his hand. “Would you like to go on a date tomorrow?” Peter asks politely, wrapping his arms around your waist.

“Only if we get to watch Star Wars 1,2 and 3.” You reply, a smile creeping across your lips.

“Wow, it’s as if you could read my mind!” Peter jokes, resting his forehead on yours.

He leans down, gently pressing his lips onto yours. With a sigh, you deepen the kiss. It was the most glorious release of emotion and passion. For the first time this evening, something felt right.

Breaking away from the kiss, Peter pulls you back onto the couch and onto his lap.

“Ready for some intergalactic war?” Peter smiles, resting his chin on the top of your head.

“I’d prefer a rom com, but I guess so.” You sigh with a smile, knowing you will always lose the movie battle if May wasn’t here.

“What do you mean! There are romantic and comedic moments! Like when Luke and Leia find out that they are siblings!” Peter interjects, pretending to look surprised.

“Well, as long as you aren’t my long-lost brother, I guess things will be fine!” You laugh, snuggling into Peter’s chest.

[rithsu-chan]

Because We’re Friends

Title: Because We’re Friends Fandom: Natsume Yuujinchou Characters: Natori Shuuichi, Natsume Takashi, other mentioned characters Relationship: Natori Shuuichi & Natsume Takashi Prompt: Favorite chapter/episode/arc (for May 17) Word Count: 2263 (not including the additional scene in italics below) Summary: Shuuichi isn’t stupid. He suspects– knows that Natsume has always been carrying something important with him. He doesn’t know what it is exactly, but he just knows it’s something dangerous. And so Shuuichi’s worry grows. And grows. 

And grows.

Warning: Contains content from manga chapters 14, 60-62, and 72-73, so if you haven’t read up until those chapters then don’t read this yet

Notes: This isn’t actually a single chapter/arc; it’s just that my favorite part/s is/are scattered throughout the manga, as seen in the warning above. 

I just love Natori’s relationship with Natsume and he’s honestly so protective of him, which is why Natori knowing about the Book of Friends really hit it home with me. This is basically just the scenes in the manga written in Natori’s perspective along with my own headcanons. Some of the dialogue were copied directly from the ones in the manga, so, yeah. Disclaimer.

Also, I crammed writing this so I’m sorry if it’s a bit messy and inconsistent. And b o i, I did not expect for this to exceed 2,000 words at all. I thought it was just gonna be a drabble with about 1k or so words, but then this happened. :’))

Anyway. On to the story.

The first time Shuuichi realized Natsume was carrying something important with him, it was at their trip to the hot springs. He had caught the tail end of Natsume’s conversation with the Youkai – Sumie, was it? – and even the part where he had a piece of paper tucked in between his lips.

Shuuichi thought odd of it, but he didn’t have time to think into it further as the Youkai was gearing up to attack Natsume, and he couldn’t have that, so he threw away everything but the thought and the instinct to protect him.

And then everything, his true purpose as to why he was in that inn as well as his motives in bringing Natsume along with him, kind of just unfolded from there.

Needless to say, he felt a little bit guilty about deceiving Natsume to go with him on this trip, when all he could have done was ask, but he couldn’t quite find it in himself to do anything but lie at that time because he was so used to doing so. It was hypocritical of him to say to Natsume that he wouldn’t need to lie when he was with him when he himself did so. But, well… he’d say that old habits die hard, but he feels himself letting up a little bit when Natsume admits that he’d been keeping things from Shuuichi himself, and that statement brings Shuuichi back to what he was doing with the Ayakashi before.

However, that was something that could be done at a later date, and right now what’s more important is to seal that Youkai properly.

Shuuichi could admit to himself that he panicked just a little bit when his paper dolls failed to subdue the Ayakashi, but then he proceeded to feel relieved and amazed at the fact that a Youkai that Natsume had saved prior to their trip had been the one to save them when the exorcism failed. Huh, maybe helping Youkai isn’t so bad after all…?

He’ll... entertain that thought another time.

The next time the matter comes up, a few months, close to a year, had passed. Tsukiko-san had called and he’d sent a paper doll containing the details of their meet up, only to find out that that doll had fallen to the ground due to the rain and was picked up by none other than Natsume.

It was funny how fate decided to let them meet again, and under this circumstance no less, but it was even more frustrating because Shuuichi didn’t want Natsume to be involved in his exorcism business. The various times he was involved, Shuuichi had been infected by his compassion and kindness and recklessness, three things that the people in his line of work usually lacked – and for good reason, because those three things entail weakness, and Ayakashi leech onto that.

But… when Shuuichi looks at Natsume and all his compassionate glory, he can’t associate him with the word. Natsume is anything but weak; he’s brave and determined, and he’s also just a tad bit fragile, but that doesn’t make him weak. He knows that anyone who’s had a childhood dealing with Youkai couldn’t have grown up being fully accepted, and it shows with Natsume’s actions because, just like himself, he’s grown accustomed to lying, he finds certain acts of kindness directed toward him surprising, he has a hard time trusting people, and he…

He keeps secrets, no matter how dangerous, just so he could protect other people.

“Are you the Natsume of the Book of Friends that I’ve heard so much about?”

And that brings Shuuichi back into the present, because there it is. There it is again. The... recognition that Youkai have of Natsume’s name.

“Natori-san…”

“Tsk, so the exorcist brat is here. Did you overhear us?” the Ayakashi asked.

“...No,” Shuuichi answered, choosing his words carefully. “But it sounded intriguing. Care to fill me in?”

The Ayakashi snorted. “Who would tell a halfwit exorcist like you?”

Shuuichi paused. The way the Ayakashi said it… it seemed more than just an insult. He’d have lapsed into a thoughtful state right then and there, but alas, the Ayakashi has fled, effectively stopping his thoughts and putting him back into reality.

Later on, after the affair has ended and he’s told Natsume that whatever he had to say, he can say when he’s ready, Shuuichi thought. The amount of recognition Natsume holds over various Ayakashi is downright alarming, if only because it means that Natsume is so deep into Ayakashi business that he’s well-known by them across the land. Originally, Shuuichi had thought that that recognition was brought about by Natsume’s big heart for all the beings around him, but maybe there’s more to it than that.

Maybe… maybe he was well-known because of something he has, something that holds importance and– and power over the Youkai. Something powerful and terrifying and dangerous.

Something that the kind Natsume maybe shouldn’t have in his possession.

The Book of Friends, huh…?

Shuuichi had just exorcised an Ayakashi when he heard two small ones fretting over being exorcised themselves.

“Hey, isn’t that an exorcist?”

“Eh?! How scary… we might be exorcised if he finds us.”

Shuuichi finds himself amused, and he butts in, telling them that if he kept exorcising the small fry, it would be bad for his health. The low-level Ayakashi, fearing for their lives, blurt out that they’d do anything he demanded while also asking for forgiveness. Shuuichi, not one to pass up the opportunity, asks.

“Have you heard of the Book of Friends?”

The small Ayakashi are quaking and are weak-willed but they say nothing helpful about it and quickly run off. Shuuichi purses his lips.

Hm, so it appears that the Book of Friends is a well-kept secret among the Ayakashi that, for some reason or the other, should not be known by exorcists.

Now the question is: why?   

What power could the Book of Friends possibly have that would threaten the Ayakashi greatly should an exorcist get his hands on it?

Shuuichi thinks.

Youkai are generally afraid of exorcists because they do not want to be exterminated. So, if an exorcist in possession of the Book would be much more dangerous and fearsome for the Ayakashi, then Shuuichi could safely assume that the Book is fairly powerful.

Now then, Shuuichi mulls over what possible use a book could be to an exorcist. A book contains writings, and Shuuichi could think of a few things that require writing for exorcists.

It could be a book of spells, for example, spells that could effectively and efficiently exorcise Youkai. However, Shuuichi could not see the wisdom in simply carrying a book of spells around so he scratches that thought away.

A collection of circles, perhaps? That could serve some purpose for exorcists, having a ready-made stash of different types of circles made for different purposes. It may be convenient in some way for some people, however, for Shuuichi, it would only limit the sizes of the circles and he’d have to redraw them on the ground anyway if he needed a bigger one.

The last thing Shuuichi could think of that would need writing in an exorcist’s job would be forming a contract.

That… is not a pleasant possibility.

Shuuichi has caught only a glimpse of the Book, and from what he remembered, it was thick. If that thing contained contracts, then it means that a lot of Youkai were involved, and for such a thing to be in Natsume’s hands… he didn’t want to think of the possibility. Not yet. Shuuichi lowered his hat.

He best be going back. Natsume’s coming soon.

When Shuuichi had gone back to his condo with Natsume after picking him up, he was surprised to see one of his acquaintances – Aimiya-san – hanging around by the entrance of the building. And because fate just liked to screw with him, said acquaintance had also invited Shuuichi to an event in the Hakozaki house and managed to drag Natsume along.

Shuuichi had been careless. He should have never paraded around with Natsume, and now some weird rumor had spread about him.

He managed to suppress a sigh as they entered the premises of the Hakozaki house and quickly put on his business smile, listening attentively to Hakozaki-san’s request to find the elder Hakozaki’s study and seriously considering it.

It was a great opportunity, Shuuichi thought. His only regret was having Natsume be in the presence of other exorcists, especially since the Matobas are most probably elbow-deep into this matter as well.

But really, it was an opportunity that Shuuichi could not pass up, and he’d just have to take the risk. Natsume could defend himself fairly well enough anyway, and he had his cat bodyguard too, but just to ease his own conscience a little bit, he asked Hiiragi to go with Natsume as well, and also made Natsume dress as a shiki for good measure.

With that done, he set out to do some searching on his own. Urihime and Sasago had reported back to him after a while with a non-affirmative of the study’s location, but they both promised to search harder and Shuuichi only nodded. He’d thought as much anyway. There was no way his shiki could find it that quick if the people that came here before him hadn’t found it yet by now.

He continued searching on his own but no such luck turned up on his end as well. He sighed forlornly, thinking if it was impossible after all.

Ah, but if it’s Natsume…

Shuuichi found himself thinking. Natsume is different after all; he might just be able to find it.

He might have mused on it more, but then he was interrupted by the presence of another exorcist.

Nanase-san.

“Natori!” the elder pleasantly exclaimed. “As usual, you pick up on interesting stories very quickly.”

Shuuichi blurts out his greeting and they proceed on chatting. When asked about Natsume, Shuuichi simply waves it off and states that he hasn’t seen him.

He doesn’t want Natsume doing anything with the Matoba clan, not after he read Matoba’s letter to Natsume.

Nanase-san finally leaves and he takes the opportunity to look for Natsume and warn him about her. When Shuuichi does find him though, he was being attacked by a Youkai, and he tries so hard, his hardest, to pretend that he didn’t hear about the Book of Friends from the Youkai, only telling it to stay away from Natsume and attempting to rescue the younger male only for the fat cat to jump in and save him instead, but he knew Natsume knew that he heard it, so he tried placating him, telling him he’d just pretend he didn’t hear anything.

Natsume surprised him with his response.

“Natori-san… I won’t say it now because there are Ayakashi around, but after everything is done, will you hear me out?”

The statement gave Shuuichi pause, but he smiled and replied, “Of course.”

“My grandmother was called Natsume Reiko. It seems she had strong spiritual power.”

Shuuichi perked up at that, slightly surprised at Natsume’s straightforwardness and not expecting him to open up immediately after they’d finished, but he listened closely nevertheless.

“She was bad at dealing with humans so she was always involved with Ayakashi.” A pause. “She would challenge some, and when the Ayakashi lost, she made them write their names on a piece of paper. It seems she collected these.”

As Shuuichi heard the words, he was overcome with a grim disposition.

Natsume had said that she’d made them write their names. Shuuichi isn’t stupid; he’d deliberately told Natsume a while back that contracts formed with Youkai would require a name other than their real one, so the younger male’s lack of elaboration meant only one thing: the real names of the Ayakashi had been written.

It was a forbidden act.

Shuuichi listened on mirthlessly as Natsume continued to tell him about his grandmother, about how she’d made the Book of Friends out of loneliness, about how he’d inherited it and…

And about how, since he’s the only living blood relative of Reiko, he’s the only one able to return the names to their respective owners, which was why he’s now made it his life’s mission.

It was all… very difficult to accept for Shuuichi, because he knew, even if Natsume didn’t say so, that it was dangerous, risky, unsafe, and– and life-threatening. And he knew Natsume knew that as well, yet the younger still persists in doing so, if only to free the Youkai. Such a heavy burden for someone so... young and innocent. Shuuichi resists a shuddering breath.

Natsume was kind.

Natsume was too kind.

“It would be better if… such a dangerous thing was burned,” Shuuichi breathed out amidst the crackle of fire. Natsume, not having heard it because of the noise from the fire, asked what he had said, but Shuuichi merely brushed it off.

When Natsume had gone and the whole Hakozaki affair had been left behind, Shuuichi contemplated. He didn’t want the Book of Friends to stay in Natsume’s hands any longer, but Shuuichi had a feeling that nothing he’d say would persuade Natsume into giving it up, because Natsume’s just like that. Shuuichi can’t see him willingly throwing away the book; if anything, he’d probably fight tooth and nail just to protect it and to not let it fall into the wrong hands.

Shuuichi sighed exasperatedly, looking at the sky.

What was he going to do with Natsume?

End Notes: And yeah, that’s it. That’s the story. I now realize it’s more of a character study actually...? Of Natori, that is. 

Okay, uhm, I lied. That’s not the whole story yet. There’s still a scene I haven’t included in here ‘cuz I’m not yet done writing it, and is2g if I don’t get what I have done out right now, my brain is going to explode. 

The additional scene I’ll add tomorrow, but it’s going to be in a reblog sooo yeah. Y’all better read that additional scene because that’s where the title of this one-shot came from.

Thanks for reading and good night. 

...

On second thought, I’m gonna add here what I’ve written of the additional scene bc gahhhd I really need to get it out of my system/drafts and if I don’t my frustration would only grow and grow and grow.

So. Here you go.

“Natori-san! Natori-san, wait! The Book– it’s reacting!” Natsume shouted, stopping Shuuichi’s assault on it and momentarily distracting him from the Youkai.

“Watch out–!” Hiiragi warned, and Shuuichi turned to the Youkai, expecting to be hit, but that was prevented by the fat cat turning into his beast form and grabbing the Ayakashi in between his teeth.

“Natsume, now!” The white-furred beast looked to Natsume, his deep voice carrying across the land to where Natsume was, the Book suddenly out and opened.

“One who would protect me...” Natsume chanted, and Shuuichi looked on, confused and at the same time enchanted. “...show me your name.”

As the words were pronounced, the pages of the Book started flipping on its own and then abruptly stopped, a single page left standing. Shuuichi watched, enamored. He saw as the younger male ripped the page from the book and held it between his lips, a sight which he has seen only once before, at the inn with the hot springs.

And then, Natsume clapped, and blew.

The characters from the paper flew towards the captive Ayakashi in Madara’s mouth, and then a bright and soft light filled the air as the ink sank into the Youkai’s forehead, symbolically indicating that its name has been returned.

Yeah, just take it. And don’t give it back. Ugh.

Okay bye, for real now. See you tomorrow. 

[lechevaliermalfet]

Experiential storytelling is awesome, you guys

I’m currently hip-deep in Mass Effect Andromeda, and enjoying myself immensely.  So let’s talk about something else for a bit.

One of the things I really like in games is what I call experiential storytelling.  I can’t think of a name that’s less of a pretentious mouthful, sorry.  To explain what I mean, let’s talk for a bit about something completely different: Watchmen.  I promise I’m going somewhere with this.  (WARNING: LONG)

Now, there was a reason why neckbearded comic book guys worldwide got grumpy about the Watchmen movie, and it wasn’t because their Lord and Savior Alan Moore has a hate-boner for his works getting adapted.  Not just because of that, anyway.

(To be fair, Alan Moore probably has perfectly valid reasons for not liking his works being adapted.  But, after having seen V for Vendetta prior to even knowing there was a graphic novel it was based on, and having loved every minute of it, I feel like his being irritable over these things is maybe sometimes out of proportion).

The thing that makes Watchmen great isn’t that it’s a wide-awake-and-screaming vivisection of the superhero genre of comics (though it is that, and that’s certainly a part of the whole phenomenon), but because it really is a story that could only be told the way it was told, and with the impact it was told, in comics. I have to imagine that there were legions of film critics who settled into their theater seats in anticipation and, when the ending credits rolled, just sort of went, “That’s… it?  That’s what comics fans have been having weird, sexless orgasms about since the 80s?”  And the answer to that is, well, no.  It’s not. Not quite.

Part of what makes Watchmen great, what really carries it beyond being just a really clever deconstruction of superhero stories in general, is how it’s told.  

Watchmen leans on the strengths of comics as a storytelling medium to tell its story by doing things only comics can really do.  This isn’t really a new phenomenon, of course.  If you talk to film students about this sort of thing, they’ll call it ‘filmic language’, which refers to the sort of functional vocabulary movies have built up – ways of using camera angles, lighting, rapid cuts and long shots, panning and close-ups and focus and God knows what all to place unstated but very present emphasis on whatever’s happening onscreen.  It’s how (for instance) horror movies create tension and surprise – it’s how they scare you even when you know something scary’s coming.

Watchmen uses ‘comics language’ to do pretty much the same things.  Just a single example: It makes (at times) rapid jumps back and forth between two unrelated events to underscore the ways in which they’re thematically related, with passages of dialogue or narration in one scene used to comment on the events of the other.  You can’t do this in a book (at least not to the frequency and extent that Watchmen does it) or in a movie.  In a book, it would create so many asterisk breaks you’d have more white space than text on the page.  In a movie, it would require literally dizzying cuts.  But the sense of timing in comics is different.  Events can happen quickly, which is communicated by the placement and sizing and shape and content of panels.  Yet at the same time, you have all the time in the world to unpack what you’re seeing, because it’s occurring in a self-progressed medium.  Time and timing in comics both expands and contracts at the same time.

There’s a scene in the comic where Doctor Manhattan reflects on how interlinked the events are that got him to where he is.  It’s all out of chronological order, because in his current state of being, he doesn’t really perceive time in the same linear way that we do, and so because the whole scene is from his perspective, it’s also out of order.  Much like a certain other doctor I know of, to Doctor Manhattan, time is a lot of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey… stuff.  But time and timing in comic books are unique. You can speed up and slow down with whiplash-inducing change in a comic, and it can all be perfectly fine if you do it right.  In movies, you’d call it sloppy editing, dock a star from your review, and go on about your day.  In a book, you’d shake your head and wonder whether the editor – if there was one – forgot to take their medication that day.  But thanks to the unique sense of pacing of the medium of comics, this works, and is in fact relatively easy to keep track of.  This isn’t just a neat side-effect of how comics work; it’s a part of comics language.  It’s a storytelling tool.

Watchmen was one of the first comics to lean so hard on the structure of the medium to help it tell its story.  And so of course it was a superhero story.  What better story to tell in such a uniquely comic-book way than the genre comic books are, rightly or wrongly, best known for.  I’m not nearly expert enough to say for sure whether it was the first comic book to do this, but Watchmen was probably the first to do it so often and so self-consciously.

The short of it (since we’ve gone over the long) is that, just like part of what makes a great novel truly great is the way the words seem to ring in the mind and capture images and thoughts and feelings with exactitude and an almost poetic flair, a good part of what makes Watchmen truly great is the way it’s constructed to capitalize on the language of its medium.

I’m a firm believer that video games have the same potential in their own right.  Hence this post.

Now, I’m not in any way trying to indicate that I feel this is the One True Way that games have to tell their stories.  As much as I like to bag on, say, Hideo Kojima for directing his Metal Gear Solid games like he wishes they were movies, I do actually enjoy games that use cut scenes and full-motion-video to do most of the legwork in their storytelling.  Mass Effect does pretty much the same thing, after all.  There are the bits where you’re running for cover and shooting everything that isn’t you, and then there are the deeply affecting story and character parts, and seldom do the two overlap in any really meaningful way.  And the series is probably in the running for “personal favorite new-ish franchise of the last decade” for me.

Also in the running for that consideration would be the loose “series” comprised of Demon’s Souls, the three Dark Souls games, and Bloodborne.  The lattermost especially.

I recently finished Bloodborne, though I can’t really say I’m done with it; @el-draco-bizarro is perpetually amused at how much my relevant Pinterest board has blown the hell up with Bloodborne art and images.  It’s still on my mind in a way that even the Souls games haven’t quite managed.

I’ve read a lot of people comparing the Dark Souls games to the original Legend of Zelda, with their higher focus on combat, the abandoned, hostile-creature-infested world, and the sense of loneliness and isolation. I’m not going to say the comparison’s invalid.  Personally, though, after a lot of thought, I tend to think that the Souls games and Bloodborne are a lot closer to the Metroid series.

Full disclosure: I am a pretty big Metroid fan.  Some gushing may ensue.  My Pinterest board for that has likewise gotten ridiculous.

Honestly, in writing, it’s hard to pin down the difference between the Zelda series and the Metroid series.  The main problem is that the games just feel different in a way that’s not at all easy to pin down.  It used to be easy, kind of.  Zelda games were top-down oriented and emphasized ever-increasing ability to navigate the world (via the use of an expanding array of tools and weapons) and some non-linear exploration, whereas any given Metroid game was a side-scrolling platformer which emphasized ever-increasing ability to navigate the world (via direct upgrades to the character’s weapons and personal abilities) and aggressively non-linear exploration. In the move to 3D, the line separating these franchises got awfully blurry, thematic differences aside.

But Metroid as a series has always thrived on its atmosphere of loneliness and a sense of eerie menace.  Its settings frequently have you traversing the ruins of ancient civilizations without ever really explaining any of them.  They’re just there.  There were people who lived here once; they’re gone now; that’s it.  The settings are part of the window-dressing.  They exist to create atmosphere and a sense of quiet abandonment and loss.  The explanations, when present, are never really comprehensive.

Of course, in reality, Bloodborne and the Souls games are all very much their own thing.  It’s reductive to say “Like Metroid but...”  At the same time, it’s tempting to point back at predecessor games, to say “it’s like X, but with a dash of Y, and a hint of Z, and…”  It forms a useful frame of reference for people who might be unfamiliar, also, and it’s interesting (to me, at least) to dig into a game and try to figure out just exactly where it came from, as an idea.  Nothing exists in a vacuum, after all.  And it’s hard for me personally not to be interested in this sort of thing when I’ve gotten to see so much of the medium of video games develop and evolve throughout my life.

Like with the Metroid series, the storytelling and mechanics and progression are all welded so firmly together in Bloodborne that you can’t really spot the joins any more. They all feed into each other to create a whole and singular experience.  

Bloodborne doesn’t go out of its way to tell you its story.  It is, in fact, very aggressively about letting you come to it.  There are a small handful of brief cut scenes you’ll run across in a single play through, and the rest of it is up to you to piece together from context.

Some of this context comes from atmosphere.  The story of Bloodborne is going on all around you, from the crumbling urban decrepitude of Yharnam where you start the game, to the terrifying, exposed openness of the Nightmare Frontier, to the venomous-reptile-infested swamp at the bottom of the Lost Woods that is rendered with such loving attention to nauseating detail that you can smell it – fucking smell it – despite being displayed in a strictly audiovisual medium.  

These things all tell a story in hints and implications, one of dark, horrifying secrets, and a system that was never very stable in the first place and is now entering the final stages of breakdown before everything flies apart.  It starts with your nameless character seeking a cure (The ‘Pale Blood’, which is never actually explained, but like so much else, there are hints as to what this refers to) for some unnamed disease, and winding up trapped in a falling-apart Victorian-ish city that is wracked with what looks for all the world like a lycanthropy plague.  From there, it eventually takes a hard left into Lovecraft territory.

Some of the storytelling also comes in the form of item descriptions.  I know this sounds weird, so let me explain a bit.

Pretty much any item you find in the game, whether it’s some consumable thing like a firebomb, or a weapon or other piece of equipment, will have a description with some flavor text.  “This sword was originally forged by so-and-so, who got eaten by things best left to the imagination” or “This coat is similar to the ones the first Hunters to protect Yharnam wore, back in whenever, at the direction of so-and-so,” and on it goes.  Just brief little snippets to give you some context, much like the flavor text on cards for Magic: The Gathering.  Except it kind of goes beyond flavor, here, because a lot of this stuff actually helps to hint at what’s going on in the world. And maybe that seems kind of unfair, because after all, you’d have to go looking up the item descriptions first of all, and second, you may very well miss a lot of items (it’s that kind of game). 

Well, there are lots of loading screens.  I mean, the game has to load every time you die and this is basically a Souls game, so even if you’re an actual sorcerer, you’ll be dying.  A lot.  

So, so much dying.

So the loading screens show you the descriptions for random items.  The developers do this in all the Dark Souls games as well, of course.  It’s not unique to Bloodborne, that just happens to be the one I’m most interested in talking about at the moment.  At first, it seems just innocuous.  Like, okay, at least they’re giving you something to read while the game loads. It beats the hell out of staring at a small animated icon in the corner of the screen, which is what most games do. But then you realize that… no. No, this is actually important.  This is something you should be paying attention to.

And I mean, why wouldn’t you?  It’s right there.  This is about as in-your-face as storytelling gets in Bloodborne or any of the Souls games.  (Well, Demon’s Souls has slightly more conventional cut scenes and doesn’t do the item description thing, but every work has a rough draft).

And aside from the environment and the item descriptions and all the million subtle details that you notice in your progress through the game, even the game’s mechanics get in on the storytelling action.

An example: Bloodborne has an expendable resource called Insight.  It’s meant to represent the degree to which the player’s AFGNCAAP recognizes the more illusory aspects of the reality in which he or she finds himself.  It can be gained by using certain items, and can be spent in a certain place to gain access to some rare equipment.  However, you also gain Insight whenever you first encounter any of the boss enemies, and a little more when you defeat one, which follows from the narrative.  It’s a concrete measurement of how much about the setting your character understands, based in part on how far you’ve dug into said setting.

And it gets better!  The higher your Insight, the more you literally see about the world.  The appearance of your enemies will be altered in ways great and small (and almost always for the more disturbing, typically involving eyes where eyes absolutely do not fucking belong).  You begin to see just how much the world is held together by the will of creatures that would earn a grim nod of approval from H.P. Lovecraft.

This is gaming language.  The use of the game’s environment, its mechanics, the very way in which you progress through the game, to tell a story.  Most of these methods are perfectly natural in games, and make them engrossing, enthralling, compelling, immersive, etc.  Whereas they would be clunky and ham-fisted at best in a book, and are (I’m convinced) a large part of the reason why even story-heavy and highly cinematic games like Silent Hill make for disappointing movies (though to be fair, the Silent Hill movie was bad for more reasons than just the difficulty of adapting gaming language well).

The interesting thing is that none of the Souls games have an especially complex story, nor does Bloodborne.  The plots are mysterious and secretive, but not especially complicated.  But what makes them gripping is not just the mystery of them, or even the compelling world they’re set in (though God do those help), but the simple fact that you are a part of the story.  There is something about being more than an uninvolved observer, about being an actor within the world, that bridges a kind of gap, and makes even the relatively uncomplicated mysteries of a game like Dark Souls or, say, Shadow of the Colossus seem profound and gripping.  

That’s gaming language, too.

[tryingto-find-myway]

Eucnide Urens (aka Desert Rock Nettle, Velcro Plant)

I apologise in advance for the long backstory!

I currently live with my spouse and his mother, sister, her dog, and a family friend (which they refer to as their Godmother). We moved in this house last summer. His family is Catholic, but they are fairly tame in their practices. The extent of their daily practices are prayers to themselves, the few religious paintings on his mother’s walls, a few small crosses hanging in their bedrooms, and a large rosary on his mother’s wall. 

There’s been a lot of paranormal activity going on in my household that was not all apparent from the beginning of us occupying the house. It started earlier this year, maybe even late last year. Every person in the house has reported feeling, seeing or hearing “strange” things, even the dog has reacted to some of these happenings. 

Things that in retrospect were probably signs from the beginning:

- General negative energy (it caused a huge fight and a lot of tension during the move, but everyone blamed it on the stresses of moving)

- What smelled like and appeared to be somewhat fresh shrimp shells in the garbage disposal on the first day of moving in, which we smelled right away and was not present during the walkthrough 2 days prior

Things that have started happening over time since we moved in:

- Feeling as though someone has applied bodyweight to the bed

- Feeling a crawling sensation within the mattress

- Seeing shadow figures

- Lights flickering without probable cause

- Hearing names being called from another room

- Hearing knocking on the doors, walls, and windows

- Religious paintings suddenly falling to the floor off the walls

- Rosary above his mother’s bed snapped in an odd place but still hangs on the wall

- Feeling a presence around when alone in a room

- Multiple electronic failures and faults, such as certain electrical outlets working, then not working randomly, then suddenly working again after some time has passed without any electrical work or fuse switching, brand new appliances failing (refrigerator TWICE, microwave), light fixtures refuse to completely work; only 1/2 of light bulbs continue to work after multiple replacements and YES the wattage is within the proper range (note: this house was built within the last 5 years)

- Multiple financial hardships relating to the house

- Thermostat switches being turned on/off when the house was empty

- The dog jumping up out of her sleep and staring in the direction of an event immediately before it occurs

Within the last hour:

I walked through the dark and quiet house to the garage to smoke a cigarette. My husband and his sister are at work. I sat at the table outside and lit my cigarette and put some headphones in to listen to music and relax. A few minutes later, I felt as if someone had opened the door to come outside, and when I turned around and looked, no one was there. Not even 30 seconds later I was startled by his mother who waved at me to get my attention. I took an earbud out to hear her and she asked if I had turned on the light and fan in the living room. I told her no. She and the Godmother proceeded to tell me how they both heard a loud popping/crashing noise that woke them both up, and when they went to investigate the light and ceiling fan in the living room were on. His mother tried to rationalise that maybe someone accidentally hit the switch and it never turned on until then, which I didn’t try to tell her that was extremely unlikely and probably physically impossible considering the switches are the flat button kind. 

Paranormal things tend to seriously freak them out, and they tend to look for reasons why these things happen, but I know better as I have dealt with paranormal experiences all my life.

Now for the reason I am posting!

Right around the time when these events started happening pretty regularly, a little weed in the front yard grew and bloomed into a decent sized plant. I was fascinated by it, and had never seen one like it before. It had fuzzy leaves and pretty white flowers. I had heard of an app to identify plants by taking photos and searching the database, and so I downloaded it and found that this plant was called Eucnide Urens, which is also referred to as Desert Rock Nettle, or some call it Velcro Plant because of it’s spiny leaves. They are unpleasant to touch as the spines sting the skin, but apparently generally grow off cliff sides and are often snacks for Big Horn Sheep. We’re not that close to the mountains, and it seemingly sprung up from nowhere in the rocky landscape of our yard. On the app, I read that these plants represent fertility and exorcism. I have tried researching and finding more information about it, but to no avail. I also have to wonder if the supposed roots to exorcism, if true, are coincidental with the plant growing suddenly around the time the paranormal activity progressed?

If anyone has any more information on the uses, properties, or meanings of this plant I would really love to know! Especially if I may be able to try my hand at a protective/defensive ward with it, I would like to use it properly. With all the information on the internet at my fingertips, I just cannot seem to find anything other than the plant classifications and pictures. Thanks in advance!

Side note: If anyone does have any helpful info, I would appreciate some tips on keeping it somewhat low-key. My husband and his family are aware that I do not practice their religion, but they are not necessarily aware of the extent that I have intuitive abilities or that I have been starting to try to focus on learning and practicing witchcraft. Because of their beliefs regarding such things, I do not disclose that information with them simply because they are also old fashioned have a certain mindset, and would rather them just know me for who I am by my words and actions rather than have the opportunity to judge the things I am interested in or do based on the negatively connotated labels of witchcraft and especially Satanism within their branch of the community. I have been slowly working these topics into conversation with my husband, but I know him well and know that I need to break it in slowly and give him time for understanding between these conversations. I plan to eventually open up to him completely, but until he is ready for it, I will just continue slowly letting him see that it’s nothing harmful or scary, and continue relating certain craft practices to the practices he is familiar with from church to show that rituals and practices are not always as they appear in the ever-so sensationalized movies and media.