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smallmight-papi · 3 years

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pegging tomura

femdom!reader x tomura shigaraki

warnings: pegging, dom/sub dynamic, mommy kink, anal fingering, rim job, sub!tomura, cum eating, dacryphilia, overstimulation, dumbification, degradation

┕━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┙

tomura shigaraki is a little pillow prince who likes to be fucked by his mommy until he’s a weeping, slobbering, brainless mess. but he’ll never admit it willingly.

he won’t admit how often he has gotten off to videos of dom/sub pegging. watching how the girl bites her lip as she slowly thrusts into her boyfriends ass, leaving her hips flush with his.

oh how tomura wished for years that was him. now it finally is, since you’ve come along. he does not mention pegging, you did first. he acted disgusted, like it was some awful degrading thing that he would never, ever do. but you saw right through his little act. you saw how a tent began to form in his pants, how his breathing hitched and started to pick up speed. his check were flushed a deep cherry red.

you both were laying back in your shared bed, your hands slowly working your way up his black shirt, feeling the ripples of his abs along the way and the raised scars he had littered across his chest. the feeling of your fingertips against his cold pale skin made him shiver.

slowly but surely, you made your way further down. past the waistband of his sweats before dipping under the taut band. tomura expected your hands to wrap around his cock, but they never did. they worked their way past his cock, past his balls, to his tight untouched hole.

he wanted to let his pride get the best of him and stop you. but deep down he wanted this, ached for this. to have your little fingers knuckle deep in his ass made his cock throb. so he didn’t stop you. he let you experiment by licking your finger and pressing the wet digit slowly into his hole

tomura let out a small whimper, a fire burned deep in his lower belly. he hadn’t felt so much arousal in his life and you were barely inside him yet. your finger worked it’s way in, deeper and deeper before it finally was in all the way.

“ does that feel good tomura? “ you asked him, looking up at him from where your head lay on his chest. your eyes boring into his, his eyes were blown out with lust. he hesitated before quietly answering.

“ y-yes, please keep going “ he spoke, barely above a whisper. when you stalled for a moment he involuntarily pushed his hips down, trying to press your finger deeper, pushing into his prostate.

he let out a choked moan, moving back and forth on your finger, letting it rub up against his neglected g-spot. why didn’t he think to bring this up? he scolded himself for being so childish.

you continued your assault on his sweet spot, adding another finger making his mouth fall agape. high pitched whines leaving his cracked lips, hips violently rutting against your hands, silently begging for more.

“tsk tsk, who would’ve known you were such a disgusting little boy hm? getting off on mommy’s fingers. such a dumb little baby.” you purred, making him screw his eyes shut trying to stop himself for cumming in his pants. your degrading made him yearn for more, he wanted to be mommy’s dumb, pathetic little boy forever.

“ mommy please, i need more. I’ll do whatever you want just please do something” tomura begged, desperation thick in his voice. somehow making it sound more cracked.

you shushed him quietly before pulling down his pants the rest of the way, letting him kick them off onto the floor before immediately turning over on his tummy, knowing exactly what he wants mommy to do to him.

you smirk to yourself, loving how eager your little boy is. you wrap your hands under his thighs, pulling them up so he’s on his knees, face down ass up. tomura expected you to continue fingering his little hole. what he did not expect was to feel the wet muscle of your tongue on him.

his breath loudly hitched, his cock bobbing as it twitched. he couldn’t believe himself, his perfect, gorgeous mommy was licking his desperate tight hole. he didn’t know what he did to deserve this but he was in no way wanting you to stop. all he wanted was for you to make him feel good.

“t-thank you mommy! oh- my god thank you!!” tomura choked out, barely able to speak thanks to the waves of immense pleasure wracking his body, making him jerk and twitch against your tongue.

drool poured out of his open mouth, smearing all over the pillow his head was rested on. his fingers digging into the bedsheets, if he were to die right now, he would die a happy man.

your tongue pushed into his velvety walls, making his legs shake. tomura felt like he was about to cry, he was so overwhelmed with pleasure and you were just using your tongue.

he choked on his breath, reaching down to rub the tip of his cock, which was an angry red. precum dripping onto the bedsheets below him. he had to stop himself instantly. just one small touch to his cock was going to make him cum too soon.

after playing with his ass you decide it’s time for the main course. you reach under the bed. grabbing the shoe box filled with special toys that tomura did not know about. he leaned around, drool still apparent on his check.

“wait w-what’s that mommy??” he said panicked. what were you planning to do to him? although he was nervous, the idea of you torturing him, his cock, and his ass for hours made him leak even further.

“it’s a strap on baby, I’ve seen your search history little boy. i know how badly you want mommy to stretch out that tight ass of yours around her cock, isnt that right?” you spoke confidently as you placed on the strap. you had this planned for weeks. you knew what you were doing.

tomura whined loudly. arousal apparent in his tone. he just wanted to be fucked. to be abused by his mommy until he can’t walk. until he’s screaming and crying for her to stop.

“please fuck me mommy. please” he said quietly. hoping you would just do it already. he was gonna cry if you didn’t put your cock in him within the next 10 seconds.

before he could get another word out he felt the sweet stretch of his ass, his hole being filled with a thick, long toy. his tongue lolled out of his mouth, eyes rolling back into his head.

you hadn’t even gotten all 8 inches in before he was cumming. hot, sticky semen shot out onto the bedsheets below him. spurt after spurt coating the cotton blankets. he cried softly, as he continued to let all of it out.

“im so sorry mommy, i couldn’t help it. it felt so good having you stretch out my virgin ass” tomura cried. hoping you would forgive him. but you can’t.

“little boys dont cum without mommy’s permission. looks like im just gonna have to keep going huh?” you said in a stern tone that made him shake.

“keep going? wha- AH!” he screamed loudly as you started pounding in and out of him. the toy balls deep in his ass, watching as his hole clenched around the dildo.

tears poured down his face, drool still dripping out of his mouth. begs, whimpers, screams and moans falling between his lips as you relentlessly overstimmed his g-spot.

you knew he was close again, it never took him much to cum since he’s always been so touch starved, you reached around and began to stoke his cock in slow long pumps.

soon enough his legs began to shake again as he started to sob loudly.

“mommy don’t! please! it- my cock- hurts!” he choked out. you continued to stroke, ignoring his pathetic pleas.

tomura began cumming again, this time so loudly your sure if everyone didn’t hear him before, they heard him now. his screams were guttural at first before turning into whimpering that made him sound like a hurt puppy dog.

you looked underneath him at the sheets, which were now coated with his sticky cum. there was so much.

you used your spare fingers to scoop up as much of the cum as you can before using your opposite hand to pull his head up by his periwinkle locks and shoving the cum-soaked fingers in his mouth.

he groaned and gagged from the taste of his own juices. but he couldn’t help the arousal it made him feel having his mommy force feed him his ejaculate.

“now what do we say little tomura?”

“thank you mommy”

#shigaraki x reader #tomura shiragaki #tomura shigaraki x you #tomura shigaraki x reader #mha #mha smut #mha x reader #lov x reader #lov x you #sub tomura #tenko shimura #tenko smut

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curly-q-reviews · 5 years

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ROAD TO THE OSCAR MAYER WIENER AWARDS 2K19

Black Panther, 2018 (dir. Ryan Coogler)

Nominated for: Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing

ok y’all lets get this party started with a movie i didnt get to catch in theaters (i think i ended up renting it) but people were absolutely raving about it all of last year, and for good reason i gotta say! it was one of the better marvel films that came out last year (though in my humble opinion Infinity War takes the gold)

speaking of marvel lets talk about it for a spell! lets have a lil sit-down chit-chat shall we!! cause its kind of insane how much of an american media phenomenon marvel has become, they are arguably single-handedly responsible for reviving the superhero movie subgenre and now these types of movies bring hollywood more dineros than they probably know what to do with (besides make more superhero movies). what used to be a niche market where only your most hardcore of nerdy types dared to dwell has been embraced into the mainstream wholeheartedly, and now its hard to imagine the american film industry without them.

from a film critique standpoint, marvel movies seem to be a hit-or-miss as far as quality, however i cant really think of a particular marvel movie that i thought was a total piece of hot garbage (the first two Thor movies come close but they were more boring than anything else). however last year was a real success for the studio, they just kept pumping out quality movies left and right and once disney managed to get its grubby lil mouse paws on Spider-man it was a done deal baby. DC and other companies have tried again and again to recreate the success that Marvel has managed and so far they’ve failed to various degrees. Marvel’s just got that special something with their cinematic universe, some magical combo of great actors and creative directors and an ever-expanding budget that keeps them staying at the top every time.

so whats my stance on superhero movies??? well theyre not my usual cup of tea but i gotta say they’re real damn entertaining. i kinda view them like a high-speed ride at an amusement park, super fun and thrilling and exhilarating and just a real good time! but thats about as far as it goes for me, and im sure thats the same for a lot of people. to be honest its kinda refreshing to have movies that quality-wise are up to my standards that i dont have to think too hard about. so for me the movies i typically go for are like museums, whereas superhero movies (and action movies in general) are like a carnival. both entertaining and fun, but the latter is just all about letting loose and not wondering about the why’s and how’s. when i think about it, this kinda mindset is for sure a factor in how these movies got so popular, because with the shitshow that is our current government and the potential imminent death of our planet people are once again looking for movies as a form of escapism, rather than a way to get deep and philosophical and ask the tough questions and see something profound.

with that being said, despite some exceptions that have proven me wrong to my utter joy and delight (im looking at u Logan), i expect movies that are nominated for wiener awards to be more like museums than like carnivals y’know what i mean? u catchin my drift??? u takin what im dishin out???? the academy awards have a long history of prestige, of nominating the best of the best of any given year. quite a few movies that won oscars are now considered to be timeless classics. which is why superhero movies, at least the typical marvel types that are chocked to the brim with CGI and epic massive fight scenes and explosions, dont really strike me as anything that could eventually become a timeless classic. the amount of computer-generated effects alone will make these movies feel really dated as soon as like five years from now with how fast technology is progressing. i just dont see it happening.

and that brings us to the first wiener award nominee ill be talking about, Black Panther. this isnt director Ryan Coogler’s first time at the rodeo; his first feature film Fruitvale Station received critical acclaim in 2013, and the spiritual Rocky sequel Creed actually got nominated for some oscars a few years ago. so we’ve got a promising and talented director at the helm which is a great start! we’ve also got a stellar cast with the likes of michael b. jordan (who has been in all of Coogler’s films so far), lupita nyong’o, angela bassett, and forest whitaker in the bunch. it also has the astronomical financial backing of Supreme Overlord Disney so u know this is gonna be some high-quality shit.

so i’m gonna tell y’all why i think this movie got nominated for so many oscars, because in a way i do think this movie is deserving of noms from the academy. theres no denying that it is very groundbreaking for a movie of this scale and magnitude to have a black director and a nearly all-black cast. in fact, i think a lot of the crew members (including set and costume design) were black as well. thats fuckin huge my guy. and this movie was by no means a flop either; it ended up being one of the highest-grossing films of 2018 and stayed in theaters for a loooong-ass time. and not only were the people on this project mostly black, the movie itself is a story praising and showing off the beauty of african culture without exotifying or demeaning it in any way. like i can say 100% without a doubt that this movie deserves its best costume design nom cause holy shit the outfits in this movie are stunning, just the perfect blend of ancient/current tribal african aesthetics and a more futuristic sleek style that any fashion enthusiast can drool over.

i cant say much about best musical score or best sound mixing or anything like that cause it all seemed like typical marvel stuff to me and wasnt all that memorable. however i can say that the production design on this movie, while it didnt impress me as much as costuming, did still impress me. the one thing i gotta knock it on is all the fucken CGI, like whole entire towns and landscapes were digitally rendered. i wouldve been a lot more impressed and would agree more to the production design nom if they used more practical effects and real sets/locations.

so. best picture. this is where i feel the most conflicted. cause this is where i now have to look past all the pretty fancy visuals and music and look at the actual meat of this movie, its story and characters. usually best picture noms also get noms for things like best actress, best script, and best director, cause those are all really important elements of a good film. ur movie can look and sound as pretty as it wants but if the storys shit and the characters are shit and the actings shit then u dont have much going for u.

and by no means am i saying that Black Panther was shitty in these aspects, it was just well. passable. it was ok. but nothing to write home about

we got some good performances from newcomers letitia wright and chadwick boseman, lupita kills it as always, but then everyone else was like. okay. michael b. jordan didnt really do his best in this and idk if its the script’s fault or something but it was weird. and speaking of the script it was uuuuhhhhh well. not great. every time i think about that “what are those” reference i die a little inside. and the story overall wasnt really anything new when u break it down, just another “son of king struggles to take his place” narrative. and that aspect of the story couldve actually been more developed into something interesting, i found myself really intrigued with the political scenes. but there just wasnt enough of that cause they needed to make more room for the PEW PEW POW EXPLOSIONS

granted, movies with lots of shimmer but little substance have been nominated for best picture before (just look at James Cameron’s Avatar which is apparently getting a sequel now????????). and its not even that this movie is completely devoid of substance cause theres some interesting things going on plot-wise, and some stand-out characters too (shuri is the boss and no one can tell me otherwise). its just, u know, a good superhero movie. nothing really profound about the story itself except for the cultural, historical, and social context behind it.

so lemme get back to why i think this movie got a best picture nom. i think the academy wants to keep up their appearance of being #woke now by continuing to nominate more than one poc-heavy project each year, but they seem to be caring less and less about the actual overall quality of these movies. and theres even some movies on the noms list that i think actually have what it takes to be a strong oscars contender, like If Beale Street Could Talk and BlacKkKlansmen. but i think in Black Panther’s case, they were under a lot of pressure to give it top noms (or any noms at all) because of the intensely positive response this movie got, as well as the accusations of racism to people who didnt think it was as great as fans were saying.

also i have no doubt that Supreme Overlord Disney like threw piles and piles of money at the academy like they tend to do (cause i’d bet good money thats the only fucken way Incredibles 2 got nominated for anything)

well anyway ive gone on long enough about this, lemme know what y’all think. really the only nom im iffy about when it comes to this movie is Best Picture, but the others i think are well enough deserved, especially costume design. so i guess the one thing i struggle with is this: does a movie becoming a pop culture phenomenon and being groundbreaking in its cast and crew count as enough for it to be nominated for the top prize of the wiener awards, despite any fallbacks in script, direction, and acting? idk man im just hoping it doesnt get the award by default or something but then again maybe after watching all the other nominees it may turn out that the rest of them were worse than Black Panther i guess i’ll have to find out

stay tuned for my A Star Is Born review y’all stay fresh and funky eat ur vegetables stay in school u dont need drugs when ur high on life

#road to the oscar mayer weiner awards 2k19 #curly q reviews #black panther #oscars #academy awards #oscars 2019 #chadwick boseman #letitia wright #lupita nyong'o #forest whitaker #angela bassett #marvel #superhero movies #best picture #fruitvale station #creed #ryan coogler #thor #avengers infinity war

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ramzaes · 7 years

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My current thoughts on Ace Attorney’s Future

So by now you are most likely aware of the recent Ace Attorney news Capcom put out, and also some stuff that’s been leaked, ill give a brief rundown before going into my thoughts in case you missed it(excuse the poor grammar , I didn’t have that much time to spell check lol)

-Capcom has announced that Ace Attorney games will be moving to the switch and that they will be releasing one between April 2018-April 2019

-Leaks from Kotaku UK: First half of next year will have two Switch releases of compilations, one for AA123, other AA456. And a third brand new game feat. Phoenix Wright will release before April 2019 worldwide launch for Switch and smartphones

(ALSO take this with a grain of salt like all leaks, im just more trusting with this once since I don’t Kotaku would try and fake AA news since it is a niche series and there isn’t that much to gain from it, and the person leaking has been correct with that huge Mario Rabbids leak)

Now this news came outta nowhere but here are my brief (not really lol )thoughts on them

-Ace Attorney Games no more on 3ds

This was always in the cards, given franchises like Pokemon, moving away from it and the Switch’s mobility. It was very good of them to announce that they still plan on releasing new games for Ace Attorney and that the series isn’t over in my opinion .

I personally thought that if AA7 came out on the 3ds it would be the last one in the franchise, like no more AA afterwards(I expand on this below).

But this Switch news made me reconsider that theory, as now I believe Capcom is going to keep on pumping them out because the profits they make on it must be pretty decent in their eyes., like the cost of making them must not be as expensive as we would believe. So expect some “brand new” plotlines that will be expanded upon in AA8 etc

-Compilations

Very smart move given the next news on AA7. AA6 led to a big issue, in that, you probably wouldn’t enjoy the game as much if you never played the first 5. If they just released AA7 on the Switch straight away, they would be assuming every switch owner has played the other 6 AA games, so this would at least bring everyone up to speed.

Given some stuff I go into further below, I would be thinking, Capcom would be looking into the sales of these very closely in regards to DGS and AAi2…

-what about AJ on 3ds

Apollo Justice is still coming to the 3ds at the end of the month, and now im thinking, what is the point? The above leak is actually incredibly damaging to sales for this as most people can just wait for the compilation on the Switch to then play it.

There are ofc people who don’t have a switch (like me) and some who want to play AJ on the 3ds but I feel like this leak has made a few people reconsider their purchase of AJ (which is gunna do so much damage to Capcom’s sales forecast for that game…. :/ ).

Like you know how quiet the AA twitter is usually, they might have announced the compilations early next year after people already bought it (and maybe that might have angered a few more people to rebuy it again lol)

-Featuring Phoenix Wright

Now ill try and keep this spoiler free but the “feat. Feenie” leaves a big question, where is Apollo? Does that mean all 5 cases are playing as Phoenix? Dlc cases with Apollo? Or are they going to release an Apollo game later (because in an interview for SoJ, they were toying with the idea of SoJ being two separate full games like Pokemon Red and Blue, where one only with Phoenix, and the other only with Apollo). So maybe a game featuring just Apollo in 2019?

Now im not sure what the reaction to that is on this site, but I know a lot of people on Twitter have been rolling their eyes that the whole game is once again only Phoenix, when they feel his story is done. Me personally, I don’t really mind, as I view AA456 Phoenix as a different character to AA123, so im happy there’s at least an AA7 game coming, regardless of who you play as.

Earlier I mentioned how I thought AA7 would be the final AA game ever if it was on the 3ds, and with that I was thinking it would be the biggest fanservice game ever (like Gumshoe, Kay, Franziska coming back, and other past characters returning in the biggest best(est) sendoff ever, like maybe even a dlc case where you play as Edgeworth with Kay helping and gumshoe, Franziska all there, and like the crime scenes being old places but with new twists, and just finalising every plotpoint ever (Iris and Kay where are you??).

But since it ISNT the final game, I think it will be kind of like Dual Destinies, instead of answering questions, they will pose new ones, and introduce even more new characters to the already bloated cast which im not too happy about. Prepare for a new colourful Maya clone that has a new gameplay ability to turn the tide in court! (I still love Athena mmmmmk?), Also, wanna bet that one dialogue we want between Phoenix, Trucy and Apollo about a certain relationship wont be revealed til postgame AGAIN? :P

-Worldwide launch

This is probably the ABSOLUTE BEST NEWS to come out of all of this. No longer will we need to wait through the months, wondering if we bought enough copies to make them consider localizing. Now we can play them game at the same time as Japan! Although with this series, I never had a big issue with spoilers unlike Danganronpa, like people weren’t going out of their way to spoil SoJ like they did with V3. But its stil great news that we know that AA7 will be coming west!

-Digital

-The switch has a big digital only library, -games are not tied to your console anymore, -they are tied to your account, so if you Switch dies, -you wont lose the games purchase. SO yes I do think all 3 of the Switch games will be digital only, this is clearly the route Capcom wants for us westerners and I don’t think anything short of a miracle in sales will change that :(

-Smartphones

Now this is an issue for me personally. Hearing AA7 being on the switch made me so happy, as it opens up the endless possibilities to the gameplay.

SoJ had so many improvements to character model movements and what they did with the 3ds hardware. So thinking a Switch only AA7 game would be amazing in terms of what they could do with the models, UI, gameplay etc.

Deep down I always wished Capcom would try and be like Spike Chunsoft and add extra gameplay to their visual novel hybrids, like danganronpa. As in, its honestly absurd at how much extra content is in v3 considering they are both just murder mystery VNs, and they is clearly no reason for them to add so much extra content. Like AA has never even had post game content at all, so maybe on the switch they can try some things like danganronpa, like an AU mode, or some silly board game thing, just stuff that doesn’t harm the main story, but is nice for diehard fans to keep opening up the game.

HOWEVER since its apparently on mobile I don’t think any of that will happen. Yes Im happy people who like mobile gaming can play it, and yes not everyone can afford consoles, and yes phones are like mini computers these days in terms of power. But from Capcom’s point of view, if they want to sell it to as many people as possible, they need to consider a lot of people will still have old phones, so trying anything amazing in gameplay features might not work on an old phone, leading to loss of sales in the mobile side. And we all know how much Capcom likes money. So personally im disappointed but not that much, this is just a deep feeling ive always wanted from AA, just more in game content and extra things to do. And seeing how SoJ improved SO MUCH on the DD models, I just wanted them to go even beyond that. But hey maybe now at least they can do 3d models for investigating and pretend its an investigation game , RIP Kay’s return :’)

-localizedgs and aai2

And ofc the usual, LOCALIZE DGS AND AAI2. Considering all the news, and given how poorly Marvel vs Capcom Infinite sold(it’s actually shocking at how bad it sold, maybe because no Phoenix in it? :P ), and how long it took for RE7 to reach its sales goal(1.5years), I don’t think DGS will ever be localized, at least not for a few more years. The cost of licensing to Sir Arthur Conan Doyles Estate is clearly too much for Capcom to release an even more niche game than AA(the average person will see it doesn’t have Feenie and wont buy it).

HOWEVER given their love of compilations and ports recently, there is STILL a chance they will port a DGS1&2 game to the switch, maybe around 2020. This being after they see the sales to the first 2 compilations. So don’t buy Battlefront 2 and support bad lootbox behaviour, save that money to buy AA on the switch ;) And regarding AAi2, look im probably the biggest fan who wants a new AAI3 more than AA7 (I even made a video about it lol), but considering AA7 will be made by the AAi team, that aint happening. Now all hope would be lost, if not for the simple fact that, in 2017, just recently, AAi had an encore stage play performance in Japan . Meaning even though this play ran last year, they had enough demand to do it again this year. So Capcom clearly has some plans with Miles and crew, and hopefully if the compilations sell well, they will make a Switch port of AAi and AAi2, and hopefully Kay will live once more! :P

-Takumi

And finally to the man himself, Shu Takumi(creator of AA if you didn’t know). After spending time making DGS 1 and 2, and with how poor their sales were, I don’t think there will be a DGS3. And I don’t think he will come back for AA7 (if it was the final game like my earlier theory, I was hoping he would come back for some fanservice lol, like he would bring his charm back and work it on the new characters which might have been fun). This is disappointing as his writing with the characters is on another level compared to the new games .

E.g play SoJ and the professor Layton crossover game, back to back, and notice how different the dialogue is with Phoenix and Maya. Takumi (who wrote the Layton game) clearly understands his characters so well, and you can feel Maya and Phoenix’s personality just flow seamlessly with each other, like the professor game honestly felt like a case from the trilogy even though I played it waaaay later. He has stated he is done with the main line AA games(iirc), and how he would hate making more cases than needed (like him not wanting to make the fifth case in AA1 when Capcom first localized it, since the GBA game had only 4 cases and Capcom wanted him to make one more case to sell again). So I don’t think he will make AA7 or DGS3, which means HOPEFULLY he is free to make what he wants, and we can get another amazing separate game like Ghost Trick ANYWAY that’s been my rambleeeeeeeeeeee

TL;DR Ace Attorney isn’t dead, Capcom loves the franchise but not as much as you want, please buy the compilation ports, even if you have the games, money speaks to this company that runs our favourite game franchise :/

And final silly point: I don’t have a Nintendo Switch, Zelda BOTW, Mario Odyssey, Splatoon2, FE Warriors didn’t convince me to buy a Switch. I will now be buying a Switch for AA7, THIS SERIES WILL BE THE END OF MEEEEEEEEEEE

#my ramble #ace attorney #aa7 #capcom #yes i went overboard with gifs but idc :)

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annieoftheshitposts · 7 years

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this post used to be a link to the old canons page but i’m turning it into a text dump of the revised one for people on mobile [or who have bad wifi/computers that the fancy schmancy script on the canons page wouldn’t play well with.] theres a lot sorry not sorry. here we go.

Canon Info

Much more is said about Annie in external sources than the game itself, here's copypastes of all I know of and go by.

From the 3rd DLC Character Voting page:

As popular figures in nationwide folktales, a children’s television adaptation of Annie and Sagan’s adventures was inevitable. The show’s success lies in its pair of live action hosts, who are as convincing as their cartoon counterparts. Though what the public learns about the real Annie might surprise them. Annie is a seasoned fighter who has been around for a long time, acquiring many skills and powers along the way. Her sword is forged from a meteorite and can channel the power of the stars in its sweeping cleaves. Her right eye bonds her to her Remote Parasite and partner, Sagan, who grants her powers of a galactic motif. While some of her abilities carry more of a sparkly magical girl motif, Annie tries to execute them with the same sternness.

From "The canon info thread" on Skullheart Encore forums:

-Annie is several-century-old. Her immortality was gained when her parents wished on the Skull Heart so that Annie would never have to experience the hardship of adulthood, thereby making her forever a child. -She has had many different weapons and abilities throughout her life. - Sagan, her remote parasite. keeps her right eye in his mouth. - She’s physically not able to swear due to her condition - She is familiar with Double due to her experience fighting Skullgirls - Annie has encountered a lot of Skullgirls and has killed a lot, but not the same a lot. She’s seen the cycle multiple times and seen how they become stronger each time and is looking for the underlying source now. - The Annie of the Stars show is very similar to the Super Mario Bros. Super Show with live action segments with cartoons and PSAs and commercials in between. - Sagan can talk. Somehow. - Annie hides her immortality by getting a new hairstyle every few years. The show tells the audience that they have simply changed the actress. Eliza also pulls a similar trick

and finally some other misc. scraps that weren't covered above:

-annie has some kind of "super" or "powered up" form, in which she seems to fuse with sagan. it can be seen on her

move concept sheet, in the end of robo-fortune's story mode, and as a very tiny feature on one of robo-fortune's merch posters, but to my knowlege it's never really been talked about.

-she's been depicted with an "incognito outfit", presumably for going out in public and not being recognized by fans.

-sagan is named after renowned astrophysicist carl sagan. this isnt really relevant to anything but it's not on the wiki so i figured i'd share :b

-and this random pic of annie in the past with a different look, plus gun and minus eyepatch, apparently official art from the "digital art compendium". i haven't seen the source for this one myself though, and count this one more as speculative canon since that ingame image up there with her eye uncovered doesn't show a scar or any kind of damage from this.

-another canon fact about annie is she is strong and brave and i love her.

Headcanon (Annie)

this is pretty disorganized bc i come up with and revise random shit on a fairly regular basis, but the very least it should be all here and up-to-date. [though on this text post version i may forget to keep it updated oops.

she can still only normally see from the one eye in her head [and likewise probably has terrible depth perception lmao], but she can “project” her vision into the one sagan has if need be, during which time both he and her main eye are blind.

even though sagan’s vision is his own and she doesn’t actively “see” through that eye most of the time, the stuff he sees still becomes part of her memory and she can recall it if need be, though it’s far less tangible and kind of a surreal experience trying to do so.

the space where her other eye was is now just...space. like empty starry void stuff. yes, TECHNICALLY, you could put stuff in it but why would you. sagan can feel when something interacts with it and it’s really just weird and uncomfortable for both of them.as sagan is the source of their powers, the strength of her abilities is slightly dependent on her distance from him. something like long sustained flight is really only capable if they’re touching, but she still has ample firepower and ability to zip around for a pretty good range otherwise.

Not interested in anime

absolutely hates being called her full name; hasn't gone by anything other than "Annie" for longer than anyone that should be alive today should know.

part of her curse of eternal youth is remembering everything up until the point it kicked in and she stopped aging [i.e. when she was Actually a kid] exactly as well as if she hadn’t aged.

from that point however, a lot of it is hazy as shit aside from more recent times [as you’d expect from someone who’s been around hundreds of years]. this one's gonna be angsty as shit when i address it and you can thank @sandstriker for that. fucker.

also hates being restrained. by the concept sheet and beo's story, her fighting style is very kinetic and relies heavily on mobility; take that away and you get one very uncomfortable and very angry starchild. [this one's 'cause of y'all with the handcuffs asks. this is part of why she's so agitated rn.]

what's in the pouch? whatever is alternatively convenient. is it snacks? is it a quick incognito disguise? is it her whole entire sword? who knows. i think it might be infinite hammerspace in there.

i haven't put much though into this side of her story yet, but i've decided part of the mythos of the "annie of the stars" character as a figure of legend is that she literally lives, among the stars.

if there's enough folktales about her to base an entire show off of, i'm willing to bet she used to be less elusive when she was just about fighting skullgirls before dedicating herself to the whole "looking for the underlying source" thing.

Headcanon (Sagan)

tl;dr: as far as things go here, he's essentially a cat and/or younger sibling.

Sagan's canon information and characterization is basically nonexistant, so i got to do pretty much whatever i wanted with him lmao.

simply put, he's a little gremlin of a partner, but he is genuinely good-natured and a happy-go-luckly little dude. mischevious, loves to get up to Shenanigans, go off and hide/disappear to fuck knows where for several hours, climb and sit on tall things[or failing that, annie's head], etc. @sawkinator has described him, regrettably accurately, as "the Token Disney Animal Sidekick". he has a lot of mannerisms like an animal, but is still very much a being of at least average human intelligence. he's also surprisingly indestructible. far from invincible of course, but in canon he's been shown to be quite stretchy and...possibly have minor shapeshifting capabilities?? he's pretty much immune to being squashed and feels very little [if any] pain from most things. really, as far as i can tell he's pretty much a weird sentient plushie. like, if it's not going to damage a plushie, it's not going to hurt him; examples being: getting knocked back really hard or falling a long way? not a problem. fire? problem.

Sagan tends to be somewhat nonverbal and generally only uses a few words or short phrase at a time when he does speak, which sounds something like the voice clip below. that being how it is, he can be kind of inscrutable and more than a bit jarring to most people--though at this point annie's been with him more than long enough to be completely desensitized to it and doesnt quite get why anyone would be perturbed. fortunately, with that familiarity also comes understanding, and she can easily "translate" and articulate more from his expressions. this understanding is a two-way street, and on its other side is sagan's sensitivity to her moods. annie's not particularly...communicative of her emotions, but sagan can always tell when she's having an off day or something's bothering her, and is far better than anyone at helping her feel better. all things said and quirky antics aside, he and annie are exceptionally close and fiercely protective of eachother the moment it comes to it. they don't make a big deal of showing it outwardly, but they know they've always got eachother's backs.

he's taken quite a liking to beowulf as well, and beo defintiely shamelessly enables sagan's shenanigans.

as i see it, annie may be the passion and power of their operation, but sagan is the heart and soul. beowulf is like....comic releif and emotional support. not entirely necessary, but certainly welcomed to have around. yeah. listen im a big sap i just want them all to be good friends ok. i love them.

also sagan does like and watch a lot of anime.

Blog Canon

miscellaneous happenings that either have continued relevance/significance, or y'all just won't let die. there's not a overarching plot to this thing at all, but geez we’ve kinda gathered some history here huh?

taught sagan to say fuck [and other swears, in her stead]. he used to have to do it on command but he's gotten really good at filling in for her.has a

stoat fursona that beo helped her make. she thinks it's neat/cute but has no real attachment to it.

attempted to sue the crystal gems for ripping off her entire shtick [it didn't go well]

beowulf also taught her how to dab.

@sparkeletran is a nuisance and must be stopped

the 70$ pile of high school musical merch. sagan and beo both wear the t-shirts sometimes. she hates it. don't let her attitude fool you though this is actually the best and most important ongoing joke in this whole damn thing.

the first handcuffs stint. they’re gone now but they had a good ~30-post run, and she did take to learning lockpicking because of it.

this.

hey. guess fucking what lads. handcuffs ROUND TWO 'cause y'all just don't fuckin' quit. the first mini story arc sorta thing, in which she visits the cirque des cartes and has an aggravting encounter with taliesin. [currently ongoing][hopefully soon ending]

[[redacted for ""spoilers""]] due to said encounter with taliesin

sparkeletran is a nuisance,

"the official annie of the stars instagram is just cat memes but with sagan" it's canon but i haven't decided whether it's something she would have had already or a recent thing. [either way, hasn't been touched on yet due to the arc taking so long]

badart annie is sorta like her own thing at this point but nothing that happens with her is canon; she p much just shows up for exceptionally dumb posts. we did give her noclip though which is terrifying. on that note i may as well include the things that are Not canon but y'all won't let me forget

beo's animated belt thing. look. it doesnt talk.

spray-on boots.

the lawnmower weapon

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh homestuck

#not annieposting

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r-o-se · 7 years

Photo

EXACTLY 101 comments over P101 S2E4 wow how did I manage that don’t ask me also sorry for the shit screencaps lmao NOTHING THAT CUTE OR COOL HAPPENED IT WAS JUST SAD

Yo those eps are getting subbed faster than they used to idk whats going on but I’m definitely not complaining lol lets get riiiiiiiiiight into the neeeeeeeeews

1. Flashback scenes to Jisung and Jinwoo’s teams losing are not appreciated at all stop the MMO abuse

2. ‘3000 votes is too many’ I AGREE the Be Mine team is training everywhere and all the time poor fucking kids

3. Who edited this and thought that ‘wow a piano rendition of out song would be a great and dramatic choice’ newsflash it’s not I’m already done with this song lmao

4. SHINEE SHINEE SHINEE REPLAY TEAMS YOOOOO

5. Pink team Ren and Yuehua chinaliners vs green team Sanggyun and MMO Jaehan and Taewoong

6. The pink cutesy Ren team is…. Too aegyo-ish I’m older than 80% of them yet I feel like a pedophile watching this SAVE ME SOMEONE

7. Sanggyun and Justin are the centers and both fucking wreck their roles in the best way possible

8. Justin is so overacting and cheesy I’m rotting lmao love my kid tho

9. Lee Gunhee aka the (RBW?) kid whose intro vid was him singing while getting hit by shit to show how stabile he is keeps getting out of tune I’m sad and worried

10. The vocals trainers in this show I stg their method is just singing the high notes and then looking at the trainee like ‘what u cant do this lol? Try harder’

11. Ren is comforting the kid whos dying of self doubt u g h

12. AND HERE WE GO LMAO THEIR SMILES ARE SO BRIGHT SOMEONE STOP THE PINK TEAM

13. U get the most flowerboyish pretty boy that has ever lived (Ren) and u give him the ugliest haircut u can think of pretty sure this counts as a crime

14. GUNHEE DID IT IT ONLY BROKE A BIT IN THE VERY VERY END HE PULLED IT OFFFFFF AND HE PULLS OFF ALL THE NOTES AFTER THAT TOO

15. Zhu Zheng did a frontflip of course he did lmao also Jihoon is probs pissing his pants because everyone around keep winking lmao

16. Team 1 is playing around and being cute w the camera but team 2 look a bit troubled also ugh they are too hardcore for this fucking god Zhu Zheng kiddo I love you but you put them into such a shitty position aaaaa

17. Here we gooooooooooooo green team lookin cuter than I expected holy damn Sanggyun is SINGING and it’s SO GOOD FOR A RAPPER

18. HE IS ALSO SHOWING HIS ABS LMAOOO THIS ISNT THAT SORT OF SONG AAHAHAH FUCK

19. Their performance is really good? A Lot cuter than I predicted and the vocals are so goooood

20. Why do all other trainees look so sour did u want them to fail or some shit just let the kids live they were forced into such an uncomfortable concept aaaaaaa I WANNA VOTEEEE

21. Time for pain and results team 1 won with ~70 votes im SAD Sanggyun was the only one who took the position points win aaaahhhhhh ngl I was rooting for #2 eventho #1 had Ren and Yuehua kiddos also 3000 votes is TOO FUCKING MUCHH I HATE P101

22. Now its Mansae aka power vocals vs the leftovers rip

23. Woodam is one of my fav vocals overall this season all of the shit he’s done his intro clip his evaluation and reeevaluation clips are all so golden I love that dude and obvs he’s SLAYING THIS SONG TOO AGH

24. Team 1 Yoonsung left due to health problems this is what happens when u don’t give kids food and make them get stage ready within a week and rearrange within 2 days

25. It stressed Woodam the fuck OUT and he messed up a looot during rehearsals, missing notes and whatnot

26. Their rapper reminds me of cube Soyeon last season with his kinda small and cutesy looks yet super charismatic stage presence

27. Woodams VOCAAAAAAAALSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

28. Ok now the leftover group I really hope they will do alright they make me really sad ugh I really really really hope they’re okay u g h

29. Theres this kid Hadon who is really salty about being in that team and leaves in the middle of practice and then won’t cooperate during trainers thing aahhh kid please

30. Neverminddd they got nothing to show shit this is gonna be bad I am Very Worried

31. Kahi is so nice I love her so much she’s so friendly and sweet and good truly the queen of this show without her it would be so much worse

32. Hadon got his confidence back and their teamwork is so much better now and literally all of this got started by Kahi I LOVE KAHI SO MUCH BEST GIRL

33. Their energy is a lot better than I expected I’m so glad they went through with their training and everything

34. The Kim Youngjin kid has absolutely acceptable vocals I’m so glad they didn’t make any mistakes and just agh this team makes me sad

35. Team 1 wins with overpowering 500 votes they got 500 votes MORE than team 2 it’s just so fucking sad dude 600+ vs 150

36. But WOODAM ALONEGOT 207 VOTES WHICH IS MORE THAN ENTIRE TEAM 2 HOLY SHITTTTT THIS IS WHAT A POWER VOCAL DOES

37. SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY

38. I’ve waited for this stage for sooooooo long they got all of my fav kids in Minhyuns team and then Ha Minho and Seonho and Namhyung in the other team aaaaaaahhh I’ll call them red and black since that’s their suits Minho ‘s team is red and Minhyun’s is black. They all look so good truly nothing wrong with a nice suit

39. Minho and Namhyung want to insert a self written rap since they’re both rappers and Sorry Sorry has no rapping parts

40. Minho really really wants to rap but Seokhoon (the vocal coach) doesn’t want to let him and also is mad at him because he wants to rap instead of singing like wow what? A rapper wants to rap instead of singing?? Wow unbelievable

41. CHEETAH CAME IN AND SAID HE WANTS TO HEAR THE RAP THANK U THANK U THANK U Minho kiddo looked like he’s gonna tear up when he saw her

42. Seunho was chose to jump on other’s backs since hes so handsome and APPARENTLY ALSO A PIANO GENIUS WOW WHAT ON EARTH DID HE JUST PLAY

43. I really hope this group will do good since their opponents are sooo strong

44. Aaahahahha fuck their choreo is so good and the harmonizations I might be biased but the Sorry Sorry stages are literally The Best of this show so far

45. Seunho is like what 16 yrs old who let him look so good go away his body build makes him look so much older

46. DANCE BREAK IS SO GOOD DUDE WHAT AND SEUNHOS JUMP WAS SO GOOD HIS EXPRESSION AFTER THAT WAS SOO IMPACTFUL AAHAHAH FUCK DUDE some dude in the audience screamed like someone bit his leg off honestly same

47. I’ve watched maybe 3 original SuJu sorry sorry versions yet I can sing almost the entire thing that’s what an impactful song means lmao

48. TEAM 2 AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH THERE THEY ARE MY ULT KIDS

49. JR is taking care of Hyunbin this is like Sejeong and Sohye last season honestly SO CUTE I LOVE JR SO MUCH THAT KID IS THE SOFTEST LEADER I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

50. Their vocal coach tried to drag JR’s leadership uhh maybe kindly fuck off that kid doesn’t need your picking to hate himself when will he stop BLAMING HIMSELF

51. Hyunbin is making mistakes and their dance coach keeps bullying JR like fuck no other leaders got this much shit even when their teammates couldn’t get it done right

52. He takes all his time to take care of the others like help Hyunbin and Jaehwan with their dance and sleepy/sick Daniel

53. JR finally broke when Hyunbin isn’t taking it seriously enough

54. Sorry Sorry black team laughing together in deliriously sick sleep deprivation and choking stress is still probably the most beautiful ray of hope and sunshine in this ugly show I LOVE THIS TEAM SO MUCH

55. There we go the best stage of this cursed show is here Seungwoos expressions are SO ON POINT ITS SO GOOD JUST DEBUT THEM NOW

56. They all look so good I’m shook Daniel with a middle part was something I didn’t know I needed before I had it

57. Lmao Jisung jokingly doing the moves along when Daniel appeared

58. JAEHWANS VOCALS AND HARMONIES!!!!!!!! F U C K !!!!!!!

59. I’m so biasaed towards this team if u decide to bring my follower count into single digits for this it’s understandable

60. But I still really love team 1 too please don’t misunderstand Ha Minho is my lil kid with enough balls to speak his mind even if he gets fucked by rude coaches for it

61. ‘Result is important but other team did well so I told them that too’ I love JR ok friendship is magic

62. HYUNBIN GOT THE HIGHEST SCORE OF THEM ALL. WHAT THE HECK DUDE LIKE BRO FELLA BROTHER I LOVE HYUNBINN HAVE LOVED FOR A WHILE BUT. THE HIGHEST SCORE?? BRUH? HIS OPPONENT ONLY HAD 7 VOTES THIS IS SO SAD IM SAD THIS KID IS DEAD INSIDE

63. Everyone in team 2 besides Seunho got really low votes I’m so sad…… bruh…. They’re so so so so SO talented but they went against the popular kids…

64. Showing individual votes is so cruel and 3000 EXTRA VOTES IS TOO MUCH IM E M O THIS IS SO UNFAIR FUCK THIS SHOW!!! Team 1 looks so wrecked I’m so sad they have almost a 300 vote gap

65. It is BEAST TIME ONE OF THE BOYS HAS A CRUTCH WHAT THE HELLLLLL

66. The crutch boy is Dongmyeong and he’s in team 1 as well as Sunghyuk with thick lips and looks a bit like Shownu

67. Team 1 has a loooot of problems distributing parts and practicing in general while team 2 was almost ready

68. Sunghyuk is sadddddddd and crying bc he feels like they’re gonna lose but in the end the practice went better tho thank god

69. They look great Dongmyeong’s hair looks like vanilla ice cream with strawberry swirls and he’s sitting in a chair and singing doing the choreo with his hands SO CUTEEE

70. The second team is very vocally gifted and has AMAZING HARMONIES WOOOO their main vocal Jinhyung is AMAZING

71. Dongsoo from S.How I think got forced into a rap position and has a leg injury but he’s covering it up from teachers

72. DONGSOO DID SO WELLL SO MUCH BETTER THAN THEYE SHOWED IN PRACTICE THANK U MNET FOR SHOWING HIS PROGRESS

73. EVERYDAY I CHUG (CHUG) EVERY NIGHT I CHUG (CHUG)

74. Team 2 won by like 100 votes, all of the team 1 members are very hopeless, esp Sunghyuk, Team 2 Park Heeseok only got 5 votes holy shitt POOR BABY THIS MUST FEEL SO BAD HE LITERALLY TAUGHT THEM THE DANCE

75. BE MINE BE MINE WOOOOOOOOOOO FUCK THIS SONG WAS MY FIRST EVER KPOP FAVE

76. Hwiseung already did his military service holy shit he looks so young

77. I don’t even know who I am rooting for both those teams are great team 1 has great vocals and teamwork+FNC Hwiseung the power vocal. Team 2 has great dance, more popularity + the little Woojin, Takada Kenta, BNM alpaca Youngmin and oldie Sungwoo

78. Team 1 has an injured ankle too, Yehyun, but he’s still dancing without crutches or anything

79. HWISEUNGS VOCALS SAVED MY LIFE I WANT HIM, JAEHWAN AND WOODAM IN A TRIO PLEASE

80. They changed Sungyeol’s ‘Can you hear me?’ into ‘Pick me pick me’ im ded

81. Kahi is the best teacher I love her so so so much she’s the best thing in this entire show

82. I FORGOT TIPTOES WAS SUNGWOOS NICKNAME THIS IS AMAZING

83. I’m so glad they’re doing Infinite honestly I love Infinite can we do B.A.P or Teen Top or VIXX next

84. Team 2 wins almost exactly by one hundred and the votes are veeeeery equal and Youngmin barely got anything why are the dancers not appreaciated

85. AVENGERS VS BAEKHOS TEAM YOOOOOOOO Baekho has also Sangbin and Guanlin and RBW Lee

86. IM CHOKING THE AVENGERS ALL SOUND LIKE BABIES WHY DID THEY CHOOSES THIS SONG IM CHOKING

87. They can’t really sing, the avengers, damn. They lay it all on Daehwi but like cmon hes 17 and just tryna survive with the popular kids lol

88. AAahahahahah they’re just little kids this is so funny to watch I’m sorry all Avengers fans but like shit when they break into the chest pounding part I just start to laugh their voices are so high don’t get me wrong I looooooove Samuel and Sungwoon but fuck this is funny

89. They should’ve gone with Seventeen or SHINee something with a morer fitting image

90. The Real Fuckbois team is now up fuck I love this team so much aahahahah like no shit they will lose to all of those popular kids but still

91. Oh nooooo Baekho pointed out that the Avengers were cheating and using a third vocal for thhe high note without telling anyone WHAT AN EVIL MAN anyways Baekho produces music and does vocal coaching he knows what he’s talking about lmao lmao

92. THEY LOOK LIKE SUCH DIRTY FUCKBOIS HOLY SHITTTT THIS IS BEAUTIFULthis stage is SO LIT dude I love it they just carried Guanlin as if he was on a throne now both Cube kids get to sit/step on other trainees lmao

93. SOMEONE DID A BACKFLIP WHOS THAT IT’S THE BLONDIE KID WITH A LOOSE TIE ITS LEE INSU

94. Team 2: are fuckbois

Entire dressing room: stands up and claps

It’s true I was there, clapping

95. Guanlin trumped Samuel, Baekho trumped Sungwoon, all other wins go to team 1

96. Am I salty? Yes I am Team 1 won with abt 200 votes. They have more views and likes on YouTube though.

97. Mansae first team got the most votes out of all teams and gets to go to MCountdown IM SO GLAD ALL OF THOSE KIDS WHO AREN’T ON SUCH HIGH RANKS GOT SAVED I’M SO GGLADD

98. I’m SOOOOOOO FUCKING ANGRY SO MANY A AND B RANK TALENTED KIDS ARE IN SUCHHHHHH LOW RANKINGS THIS IS DEPRESSING

99. Lbr for a moment this show really isn’t about talent it’s about popularity and visuals

100. WOODAM GOT FIRST THO IM SO FUCKING AMAZED THIS KID DESERVES IT SO SO SO SO SO MUCH DUDEEEEE THAT KID IS SO TALENTED I’M SO GLAD PEOPLE RECIOGNIZED IT

101. SANGBIN FELL TO LAST PLACE WHY ARE THEY GETTING SO SO MANY VOTES 3000 IS TOO FUCKING MUCH IM SO MAD ALSO THEY SHOWED JINWOO FOR A MOMENT AND SANGGYUN IS WORRIED IM SSO SO SADDDDD THE NEXT EP IS ONLY A FEW DAYS AWAY ITS RELEASING ON THE SAME DAY AS BAP ARE IN GERMANY

YOOOOOOOOO Sorry for the screencaps again also pls message or talk to me I am... So Emotional over this show I love everyone i will cry when this is over and I won’t see like 40 of my kidws ever again

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glass-ladybug · 7 years

Text

this isnt even coherent anymore im sorry

Even the faint humming of the various southern bugs slammed to a halt, the whole world seeming completely still as Mae’s scream pierced the air. Her fingers grazed past Gregg’s, and she could only watch in mute horror as his body arched, roughly cut strawberry blonde hair whipping past his face as he plummeted down, down, down, to the dry, cracked, and hardened earth below.

Until something stopped his fall.

Arms toned from years of hard work wrapped around him with frightening intensity, Bea’s figure sagging slightly under the weight that had just been forced upon her, barely daring to breathe.

Everyone remained frozen, and Mae’s mind shot back to a memory from a few days earlier, where she and Gregg had been in an equal amount of peril, only to have Angus rush forwards and whisk the two of them away. His face had a similar look now- terror, shock, and a wild intensity that had Mae almost afraid to be in his vicinity. His dark eyes flashed with something so raw, and primal, Mae could’ve been fooled that it wasn’t Angus she was seeing, but a shadow of him- fierce, and cold.

But now, someone new had stepped in. And Angus’s expression was tinged with a different emotion.

/Jealousy./

"Here," Angus said, his voice clogged with relief. "I'll take him."

Bea hesitated for a split second, and Gregg, his eyes wide with fear, pushed out of her grasp, stumbling towards his boyfriend. The two met in a frantic embrace, each clinging onto to the other like they'd never see each other again, their chests rising and falling in unison.

Maybe she was mistaken? After all- Angus had every right to be concerned. She might've been mistaking jealousy for agitation, or worry.

But Mae couldn't push away the lingering feeling that there was something very, very wrong.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

A piece of thick paper flew into the backseat, narrowly missing Mae's head.

"It's a map- snatched it from the diner."

Mae flipped the sheet in her hands, turning it at an angle until she found where she assumed they were. Probably. Maybe.

"Left!"

The frayed seatbelt dug sharply into her side as the car careened to the left, banging Mae up against the window.

"Well /damn/," Bea said, her voice light, "Give me a warning, first."

"Asshole."

"You know it!" Bea chuckled. "Also, take care of the map. It's the only one we have."

A beat of quiet.

“…Oops?” Mae whispered sheepishly.

The three turned to see the pamphlet-sized map dangling off Mae’s lap, utterly soaked by whatever drink Mae held in her hand, its colors bleeding together in a mass of swirled beiges and blues.

"God /damn it/, Mae-" Bea snapped, all of the joking tone from earlier dropping from her voice.

"It's fine! You guys have phones." Mae defended herself, picking the sopping mess off of her legs with ease.

"They. Don't. Work." Deep breaths, Bea. Deep breaths.

"And?"

"If they're not working, we don't have a GPS, which means-"

"I /know/ what it means, Bea!"

"Then we're stuck out here, in the middle of goddamn nowhere." Bea ground out in a futile attempt to level out her temper.

Mae pursed her lips, annoyance obvious on her face. "That's not /my/ fault-"

"That doesn't fix the problem!" Bea's voice rose, nearing a shout. Yeah, screw that. There was an issue, and if screaming was the only way to get that through to Mae, so be it.

"Uh, guys?" Gregg said, "I think you might wanna see this."

Up ahead, the road which had previously been pavement, then gravel, then dirt, now dwindled away into nothing more than a stretch of weeds and dead grass.

"So..." Mae trailed off, the fire in her eyes dying a little.

"So." Angus agreed.

"We turn around?"

"I guess," Angus muttered, swiveling the car back around. A spray of mud and rocks clanged against the already patchy at best surface of the battered red truck.

Bea sat in silence, watching the gas meter creep lower and lower, in time with the rapidly setting sun.

Heavy droplets of water drummed against the windshield of the old truck, the windshield wipers working furiously to whisk them away. Not that it mattered much anyway. The sun was dropping, turning the sky an ominous red, and obscuring Bea’s vision further. She was becoming increasingly nervous by the second, twisting the car through muddied dirt roads that were almost certainly streaking its sides with grime. Where the /hell/ were they? Bea squinted at a rusted road sign, but to no avail. The paint was so badly chipped that it was completely incomprehensible.

Under normal circumstances, driving through Nebraska wouldn’t /so/ bad. Just corn fields for miles and miles. Wasn’t great, but, hell, it was a few hours she didn’t have to spend at the Pickaxe. Driving through without a map was completely different. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d even seen a house.

She briefly wondered how the store was being managed. Was Germ there? Had he made sure to keep the store stocked? Did anything terrible happen? She thumbed over the keypad of her old phone, tracing her fingers across its digits.

After everything was over and they returned home (assuming they ever got out of this hell hole of a state) Angus and Gregg would be gone in a matter of weeks- days, maybe. Over a series of late night chats on the phone, Angus had informed her that they’d already called a realtor. Some of their stuff was probably already packed away, maybe in the same types of cardboard boxes that still lay unpacked in /her/ room. They’d be gone, and she’d still be there. Working at the store she’d sworn all her life to avoid.

It was a little disheartening.

Like she was saying- normally, this wouldn’t be so awful.

But with no signal, no certainty they’d have enough gas, and no way of telling where exactly they were, it was as close to hell as Bea imagined she could get.

No, she amended. With all these endless fields of corn, and the lack of conversation, it was a lot closer to /purgatory./

Gregg flopped back into his seat. "Y'know, Mae, it's not a big deal. I don't think I can read a map anyway."

“The internet is ruining the youth!” Mae remarked sagely, bobbing her head up and down as if she’d just imparted some great wisdom.

“You’re on your computer /way/ more than the rest of us.”

"That's what dropping out of college does to you- endless free time, and a thirst for spaghetti."

A hollow laugh escaped from Gregg, and he kicked his muddy shoes up onto the dashboard. "Well, guess I'll get another chance at death out here, then!"

“Shut /up/,” Angus said, his low rumble permeating the car.

Gregg stilled, tensing up. "Geez, big guy, it's not a big deal. Just a joke."

"Yeah, well, you almost fucking /died/, so I don't really want to hear what you consider a 'big deal' right now."

They sat in silence, after that.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The sky was a deep blue, a remnant of the rain, the winding roads more 'boy-scout trail' than 'well-tended asphalt'. Mae would've opened a window if not for the fear of being stabbed by a wayward branch.

"/Shit!/" Gregg exclaimed.

Bea flung around. "What happened? Are you okay?" She craned her neck, her brown eyes glossy in the darkness as she examined Mae. "Is Mae alright? Did something break?"

"Uh, no, none of those. Can we park the car? Please?"

"I'm not parking the car so you can get your damn sweatshirt, Gregg." Angus said.

A nervous tinge entered the smaller boy's tone. "Uh, that's the problem, Cap'n. I don't /have/ my sweatshirt. Or any of my clothes."

"...What are you talking about?" Mae could almost feel the frown in Angus's voice.

"My luggage. It's gone. I left it in the hotel." The words were said with almost convincing false confidence, but Mae could see Gregg's hands twitching beside him.

"It's okay," Mae offered, "we can just call the hotel and ask them to mail it back to us, right?"

No one spoke, waiting for Mae to realize the obvious.

"Oh. Yeah." She mumbled, sinking back into the car cushions.

Finally, Angus growled out a few words. "Sometimes you are such a goddamn child, Gregg."

"And you've had a stick up your ass since we left!" Gregg shook his head. "I don't know what's up with you. Is it because I fell? I wasn't trying to. I'm sorry."

Angus didn't respond, and the car didn't slow.

"/Fine,/" Gregg spat. "Be that way."

Soon enough, lights tore through the foggy glass windows, searing Mae's eyelids.

"Civilization. Finally." Bea snarked, although there was relief evident in her voice.

Angus's door clicked open with a pop. "Good news, too. We're about out of gas."

And, sure enough, a small, dirty shop sat awkwardly on the land, sagging and bending from years of apparent use, accompanied by two muddied, but useable motorcycles sat chained up against a pole. Flickering with all its might, a broken neon sign hung forlornly over the dilapidated porch. 'Bikes For Rent'.

"Doesn't look there's anyone home," Bea said.

"This is the first building we've seen in forever- I'm not leaving yet." Gregg walked up to the door, pounding a few times upon it. Nothing in response but the old shop creaking with the wind.

Mae watched as her best friend's eyes met hers, and then flicked over to where the bikes were loosely chained.

"No," Angus said,

"What other option do we have? Wait for who-knows-how-long for someone to come back to this dump? I'll just leave some cash, and we can get out of here."

"And how are we going to get back?"

Gregg gestured towards the road, already filing bills out of his wallet. “See that sign? That’s an exit onto I-76.”

Bea frowned. “That’s in Colorado.”

A huff. “Well, congrats- we’re in Colorado.”

Snorting, Mae traced a finger over the rusty bike chain. “So what are we gonna do? Drive to Denver on a stolen bike?”

Gregg brought out a pen from his pocket, snatching up a scrapped newspaper advertisement from the ground. “Not a bad idea. Except, I’d call this more… extended borrowing.”

“Found the keys.” Bea said.

Angus turned with a whirl to Bea. “Don’t tell me you’re okay with this?”

Bea continued walking by, tossing a set of keys to Mae. “Under the doormat.”

“Gregg, this is /theft/-“

"Just /listen/, okay? I left the damn money, I'm leaving a pick-up address, the car is parked- what the hell more can I do? Nothing is /ever/ good enough for you, is it?" Gregg seethed, his knuckles white against his dark leather jacket. For the first time in her life, Mae understood why kids had labeled Gregg as a threat in the early years of high school- right now, he looked every inch the unstable punk the town's stereotype's made him out to be.

"Come on, Mae. You're with me." He brushed past, shoving the hastily scribbled address under the faded and cracked door. Mae didn't move, and instead watched as Bea's expression morphed into solemn resignation as she stalked past.

"Mae, let's /go/." Gregg's voice contained more harshness than Mae could ever remember hearing. She found herself tripping forward without even meaning to, sliding cautiously onto the seat of the gritty bike.

Across of the little store, the pitiful exit turned into a highway, stretching for miles and miles, its lights glittering brightly, the smell of cars and oil almost welcoming in their uniqueness.

"Crimes?" She whispered, less of a question than a statement.

Gregg snapped his helmet over his eyes.

"/Crimes/."

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pauldeckerus · 5 years

Text

What I Avoid in My Street Photography and How

Photographs are as much about what is not included as the subjects in the frame. Being aware of the things I avoid is as helpful to me as the things I gravitate towards when it comes to composing an image.

Adding or removing elements through composition is one of the most significant parts of adding/removing/changing the context of an image. Including or choosing not to include certain things can alter a story in very serious ways, so it is always important to have ownership over those choices.

All images will crop reality down to a single frame, so being very specific about what is cropped will make all the difference to an image I like, and will keep, and one which will never see the light of day.

Writing. I will try to avoid writing of any kind in my photographs. I find that as soon as words are present in the frame they will take your attention away from the rest of the image in order to read what’s written. I also think that things like certain typefaces and styles can “date” an image, and restrict the extent I’m able to make something look timeless.

Logos & Advertisements. I will do my absolute best to avoid any form of branding in my image, including on peoples clothing. This is because I don’t want my photographs to be a vehicle for other peoples messages unless that’s what I’m being paid to shoot. Similarly, I don’t actually wear any clothing with noticeable branding and conceal the branding on my cameras and other gadgets with black tape.

Baseball Caps. This one is definitely personal preference but I really dislike the way that baseball caps look. Unless I were shooting in New York I would avoid a subject wearing a baseball cap whenever possible. Especially in silhouettes it just distorts the shape of the face, and I’ve never been pleased with images featuring them.

Cars. Again, I’m not the biggest petrolhead, and the “aesthetic” of cars, even classic cars, is lost on me. I don’t like the way they render in the background of a street scene, they often feature odd curves and shapes which are difficult to use in a composition. Even when they’re very out of focus they bother me. Unless I’m specifically composing around a window or a door of a car with a subject sub-framed through that shape I’ll try and avoid cars in my compositions.

Street Performers and Other ‘Deliberate Characters.’ I’m making an effort to document very specific types of scene, and part of that means avoiding people who are going out to make a statement or deliberately be noticed. Street performers are a potentially easy hit for beginner street photographers looking for a bit of energy and action, but there’s no skill involved – it’s being put on specifically so people take notice and take photographs. It is better to avoid these scenes and to train your eye to action and energy that is not being specifically put on for an audience. That way you are capturing a more accurate and unique view on the street.

Cutting Off Limbs. Something I try really hard to do is to have good definition of my subjects by keeping my lens dead straight against any potential lines or elements that could interfere with my figure to ground. The most important thing to me is to not have any elements clashing from the background against the subject and to avoid any lines or shapes dividing up the subject – such as cutting off the top of a head or going through the ankles.

This will often happen if I am not at a low enough angle to the floor to make the line where any ground meets a wall as far toward the feet as possible.

Depth of Field. I usually shoot with my lenses wide open, with my slowest lens being a 21mm f/2.8. This means that there is a natural depth of field in the majority of my images, but I don’t necessarily keep my lenses wide open specifically for this effect. I would usually rather have the fastest shutter speed available to me and this means allowing as much light in through the aperture as possible. My use of a large aperture is usually only really noticeable in my portrait or close-up work, as in the rest of my scenes where I usually maintain a bit of distance between myself and my subjects the depth of field is not really as noticeable.

More Sky Than Ground. When it comes to composing an image featuring negative space I will usually tilt my camera up so that the upper half of the frame features more sky than the lower half ground. This does depend on the context and I have taken images I like which have more negative space on the lower half of the frame, but in general, I find I prefer images where negative space lies above my subject. I find it gives my images a sense of gravity, with elements sinking down through the frame rather than “floating.”

Diegetic Light. Diegetic is a term usually relating to the source of a sound in video/film – for example in a movie if the source of a song is apparent to come from a radio a character is listening to then that would be described as diegetic. In visual terms, if I include the source of a specific light then that would be diegetic light. I really enjoy incorporating this in my images, as I think it offers a sense of space and scale within the frame. However it is only really possible when the scenery allows it, and it isn’t something I’ll go out of my way to achieve if I think other factors are more important at the time.

Digital Manipulation, Composites, and Double Exposures. This is more of a general rule I apply to my work but I like my photography to be broadly representational of what was in front of my lens, meaning I don’t add or remove elements in post-production. Double exposures are a little different as that’s achievable in camera, but I haven’t had a lot of experience with them. I think I will be trying some techniques with my portrait work, but I don’t think it’s an aesthetic I would apply to street photography.

Clutter. This one is very subjective, but I like my images to have as little clutter as possible. My preferred lens for street photography is a 90mm, which usually means a very tight crop of the scene. This allows me to keep things that may be on the floor, or around the area out of my composition without needing to photoshop them out.

I am always reviewing my work and trying to notice things I am gravitating towards, or actively avoiding, so that I can have a better understanding not only of my photography but the way I see the world. It means being aware of what I am looking for when out and about and helping that sight to become habitual. I am sure that this list may change over time, and I am even thinking of using this list to specifically shoot only these things that I normally avoid, to see what effect that may have on my work, or change my opinions to towards why I dislike them. I encourage you to think just as much about your own work, as you may discover things about yourself and your work which could focus your approach to shooting images with greater care and consideration.

If you’d like to get a better sense of the way I compose using elements of a scene you can watch this short video of BTS clips from shooting street in 2018.

About the author: Simon King is a London based photographer and photojournalist, currently working on a number of long-term documentary and street photography projects. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. You can follow his work on Instagram and you can read more of his thoughts on photography day-to-day over on his personal blog. Simon also teaches a short course in Street Photography at UAL, which can be read about here.

from Photography News https://petapixel.com/2019/01/28/what-i-avoid-in-my-street-photography-and-how/

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