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gg-astrology · 5 years

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so i dont know if you’re still doing detailed astrology analysis on kpop stars but i’ve started to develop the biggest crush on christian yu so i would like to know your thoughts on his chart because you’re the only astrology account i trust on this app. love u :)

Hey there!! 💓💗💞 I haven’t been doing it in a while huh but I just searched him up and he seems v interesting!! ;; 💓💗💞💓💗💞 Am sorry I literally know nothing about him BUT I just searched him up and he seems to be v popular on ig??? and he used to be in c-clown but that’s literally it?? so i’m coming in blind ;; 💓💗💞💓💗💞I’ll do my best!! 💓💗💞💓💗💞 Ps. I’m glad you!! like the account um!!! ;; 💓💗💞💓💗💞 I don’t go out on the tags so I have no idea what’s going on in the? astro social world on tumblr anymore but i’m sure they may be? great astro acc out there!! but thank u!! 💓💗💞💓💗💞

Christian Yu - Brief Look ⬇️

Sun/Moon opposition with Virgo/Pisces, talent triangles between his Scorpio Pluto/Capricorn Saturn (and outer planets)/Virgo Sun/Mercury - Gemini Mars AND Leo Venus that’s inconjunct to his Pisces Moon wow!! 💓💗💞💓💗💞

So I’ll walk you through, notice his Virgo Sun/Mercury and Gemini Mars? They’re squares but that also means he’s amazing at relaying his thoughts/personal opinions (esp. with combust mercury) even though it frustrates him sometimes. He probably does his best, or constantly try to strive for his best at self-expression even though it frustrates him to come back and think about it. At certain times, because it’s in opposition to his Pisces Moon (that seems to be a bucket handle/singleton) he may often process this emotionally. Virgo/Pisces can be quite hard on themselves, but with time (i’m sure he’s learnt) that self-management helps him work through his mental state better. More so than that, the re-occuring theme Virgo/Pisces (anyone else with this) has to look out for is the sudden anxiety of coming back online or feeling the need/obligation to do so for others. Dependability even when - like, when they were doing it, they think ‘hey this is nothing like what i was worried about lol it’s actually v relaxing/fun to do!’ - or just, y know meeting someone for the first time in a while can make them anxious because there’s expectations they set on themselves to do well. However, he DOES have a Leo Venus/Gemini Mars and Capricorn Saturn - so what this does is quell some of the anxiety a bit- like ‘ah fuck it! let’s just do it!’ tends to help a lot with cardinally getting shit done. I mentioned Leo Venus/Gemini Mars bc they’re squared- talking about action, the idea of just doing something and getting it done provided also by Capricorn Saturn - trusting in the security/stability of what was already established- tends to help with that mutable energy/anxiety once you’ve tuned in on how to use it! 💓💗💞

For those who may - also- suffer from mutable anxiety- literally just do something and keep an open-mind. Things will turn out for the better, tune into that flippable energy that allows you to be on your toes and handle a situation as it comes. There is less of a chance of a situation that you won’t know how to handle than there is one where you can work it out on the fly. AND it turning out better than over-thinking it! If you suffer from your mouth being loose and regretting it later - turn that emotional shame/embarrassment into a conscious goal - like a thought - ‘ok im NOT going to do that next time and be conscious of doing THIS instead, as it sets my foot on the right path and THEN i can run with it’ -- this can tend to help adopt a better habit/routine and ALSO make you utilize YOUR energy in an efficient way!!

Ok so, back to him. Virgo/Pisces sun-moon. Let’s get it. I don’t think his Leo Venus would? allow him to think about these things consciously. Being true to himself is key (more about that later) but underlying everything/decisions - there’s a core/stem of - Is he doing enough? Is it emotionally true? Is he being sincere/genuine or was it him striving for practicality/reality of the situation? Pisces Moon has a sensitive touch to self-expression, so these things ‘ringing true’ or somewhat ‘true’ gives him the emotional releases he needs. If it doesn’t - then occasionally it’ll drive the person up the wall with how ‘genuine’ (or calling themselves ‘disingenuous’) they’re being (or striving to be). They want to do their best, and with that Virgo in mind, he’s probably constantly trying to perform his best no matter if it’s in his daily life or something else.

Another cool thing to note is also Virgo/Leo in a person- they tend to be more ‘ah fuck it’ about certain things. A problem they can’t solve (on paper/text-book?) even with research? Take a break. It’ll come. There’s solutions to stuff, but with the practicality of Virgo and with the instinctive self-assessment of Leo - they can APPEAR to be something but is actually rather chill and laid-back about it. Certain things that people drive themselves up the wall over- they tend to learn life-lessons and in not over-stressing themselves, and trying to find the best/practical solution instead (think efficient not hard) - even if that Leo can be lazy but ALSO work hard when it FEELS like it wants to.

That ties into Leo Venus now, with Leo Venus squaring Gemini Mars (even though it’s out of sign) - he may strive to be a person who walks the walk, not just talk the talk. This is more of a personal goal/attention in detail to keep in mind- from like, an internal point of view. This Leo Venus can talk about desire to be true to the self, and if it’s squaring Gemini Mars- sometimes it may feel like what he’s saying doesn’t completely align- unless he’s obstinate enough to think he believes in what he says and roll with the punch/oblivious to it anyways. And thus working on perfecting that, remedying or contributing to saying what it is he can back up is important. Not just this- but with Capricorn Saturn trine to his Sun/Mercury - he has his head set in building a sincere, concrete and reliable ‘realness’ in his personality and public respect. Self-expression IS key, especially with Leo/Pisces in his personal placement and luminary. Most likely, it’s about the intuition and does it ‘feel’ right part of himself that can drive him forward. As that Pisces is also his bucket handle, and thus everything he does - all of his placements, as assessed/have to pass through that Pisces Moon in order for it to express itself openly.

Integrity is also a key thing for Leo Venus especially, considering Venus talks about relationships and other people. Seeing this in others is important, the idea of walking the walk and talking the talk. Certain people who only flaunts/talks about certain things, or are one-dimensional in their ideas/thinking can be frustrating to be around. Especially with someone who has Capricorn Saturn, Virgo Sun/Mercury, Scorpio Pluto aspected to those two and a Leo Venus. Show off your colors but care more about the things underneath, whats the idea underneath it and does it shine through in their self-expression? There’s genuinity that drives him forward, as well as intellectual property of something- it’s potential/what to do with it. These things are important, and it’s what ‘dazzles’ the Leo Venus to be attracted to these ideas/concept because it allows space for them to share these things with like-minded or people they can communicate with on a ‘real’ level. But these are - y know- people, so it’s hard to find and also very circumstantial!!!

Anyways. More about him. Capricorn Saturn. Being treated and trusted as someone who is stable/credited as genuine or real to the best of his ability/what he perceive is lacking from others/the world is important. And often with Virgo Sun/Mercury - relaying it down into words/written can often help with that. It’s also a part of a talent triangle he has. It aspects his Capricorn Uranus/Neptune as well - but I’ll talk about Saturn since it’s? more of an impact/important.

Capricorn Saturn/Virgo Sun-Mercury we talk about realness right? Reputable, doesn’t matter if it’s a slow start as long as it’s genuine and built by their own genuinity and sincerity. Scorpio Pluto adds to this with it’s sextile position to both of these placements - sometimes it’s about seeing/analyzing and observing what IS lacking from the ‘truth’ of the world and making sure the Capricorn/Virgo adds influence to that. The fire venus certainly adds to it’s flame- wanting to show it’s genuine desire to be ‘it self’ (and is itself, but more importantly to be accepted as itself) - whilst Gemini Mars is the outlet- keeps it on the toes, on his feet. Working on it. Say what’s need to be said, sometimes- unexpectedly or without realizing the consequences. BUT it’s sextile to Jupiter in Leo - thus, it probably often works out. When it’s said with the subtext of teaching someone how to be truer to themselves or self-expression.

There’s a strive/desire to make changes happen coming from that talent triangle, Scorpio Pluto as the apex working with his Virgo Sun/Mercury’s natural talent and focus on those desires. If you can imagine- if Scorpio Pluto focuses and zooms into perspectives/pov at hand, analyzes and collects what needs to be done with it - then this sextile to the Virgo Sun/Mercury helps form a clearly analytically strong- and often opinionated/constructive thought/expression in order for it to be expressed out into the world. They’re often intelligent, but also tends to not - notice or realize this about themselves? Things closer to the Sun are often blinded by it’s light. The Ego can often make things personal without one realizing it’s tied to it. Changes happens, whether it’s in his expression or something else. Because it affects other people’s lives as well, perhaps those in need (Capricorn/Leo honestly)

But.. yeah! 💓💗💞 That’s all I have for now.. here’s the chart I pulled up to use below, no birthtime ;; but yes! 💓💗💞 Sorry I don’t -- know him well so I can’t speak much specifically on what? he does or something. But I hope this is ok!! 💓💗💞 Thanks for asking! 💓💗💞

#christian yu #idol asks #astrology asks #anon #asks

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thedistantstorm · 4 years

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Dawning Delights 01: Holiday Lights

Summary: Hawthorne invites her newfound family in the Tower to experience a City-Style Dawning with the family that took her in years ago. The holiday is not without it’s charm, or aggravation, and certainly has plenty of surprises in store. A season-inspired, trope-tastic story about a family forged by something greater than blood, finding reasons to enjoy the season - and cherish each other.

Pairings: Hawthorne/Zavala, Sloane/Amanda, Devrim/Marc

Updated every Tuesday/Friday & both holiday eve and days for Christmas and New Years.

This was always her busiest time of year. The Clans always had their largest number of squabbles - she felt like a babysitter at most of their council meetings - this time of year, and almost always seemed to find ways to faceoff with the Factions (more-so than usual). Half of her time was spent putting out fires, and the other half was spent on home visits and making herself available to the City’s most vulnerable.

Then, of course, add in the grown-up babies that were the Guardians of the Tower (and their Clans), the Consensus, and the Farm’s day-to-day affairs, and Suraya barely has a moment to breathe.

Admittedly, she enjoys it. It's nice to be busy and even nicer to get off the wall and spend time in the concrete and plasteel jungle that was the Last City, still in the throes of rebuilding. Of course, her body protests at the end of a long day, but eight out of ten times she comes home to a heating pad, a mug of tea, and takeaway courtesy of an attentive partner.

He apologizes every time he gets stuck late, as though he’s some golden-age housewife who’s responsible for her well-being. She usually just eats dinner in bed - to his horror - and falls asleep tablet-in-hand with a message half-typed yelling at him that she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Most nights like those she wakes to Ghost light and gentle chiding - from the both of them (Zavala telling her she needs to take care of herself and his Ghost humming some rendition of the pot calling the kettle).

She’s getting soft, she knows it, and she finds she can't bring herself to care. They’ve had their ups and downs, come together and drifted apart since crossing paths more than two years ago. This is… different. A lived-in, domestic sort of luxury - adapted to practical use, of course - that she relishes.

Hawthorne steps out of the elevator and back into the Tower proper, bag slung over her shoulder and a tin of cookies in her hand and stops.

Bright, warm lanterns lights the railings and ribbons are draped between the buildings. The sounds of bells being jingled by the wind is pleasant and soft, muffled by weather and mild snowfall.

It’s picturesque. Perfect.

Suraya takes a deep breath in and lets it go. She really does love this time of year.

“D’ya like it? Do ya, do ya?”

She hears Amanda before she sees her, and turns herself around in time to be tackled.

“Eva got here this morning while you were out,” The Shipwright informs her, giddy. Amanda’s happiness is infectious and Suraya can’t help but squeeze her friend tight, smiling as she continues. “We waited for ya, Zavala got us reservations for dinner. He said we should be celebratin’ and I agree.” She jerks a thumb at some hanging banners. “I mean it’s practically done. Her frames are fast!”

“Apparently,” Suraya agrees. “Do I have time to shower or-”

“Take your time. I’m sure Zavala built in time for you to get ready, dear,” Eva interjects, approaching them with help from her cane. She’s got baubles under her other arm. They exchange a one-armed embrace, one (former) de-facto leader to another. Eva pats her hand when they part, eyes taking on a knowing look. “I’ve heard stories,” She says with a wry tone. “I apologize in advance. I can’t help but tease him. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him so… radiant.”

“Aww,” Amanda drawls as Suraya flushes. “Y’really do make a cute-”

“Enough.”

Both women turn back to see a very smug looking Zavala lingering a short distance away.

She takes one look at him in the new lighting and scoffs, “Ugh, he is radiant,” To the two of them, detangling herself from Amanda who’d lached back onto her arm, and Eva who still holds one of her hands. They laugh as she heads toward Zavala. “I’m going to get ready.”

“You’re sure you-” He’s silenced by a hand on his chest.

“You’re not going out in armor, are you?”

“No, but I wanted to make sure you were okay with-” She smiles at him and he falls silent, much to the amusement of the duo standing behind her. “Fair enough." He directs his gaze over her shoulder. "We will meet you back here in about an hour.”

“We’ll go try to convince Ikora to join us,” Amanda informs them. “And when that fails, we’ll grab Shaxx.”

“We’re not covering his bar tab,” Hawthorne throws, over her shoulder, already heading back to their flat. “Tell him that when you invite him.”

Amanda’s giggling rings loud in the cool evening air. No doubt she remembers the last time they’d gone for a nice dinner and Shaxx had single-handedly drank more than the worth of the rest of the group’s food and drink combined.

It’s not a secret. It’s never really been a secret. Work has always been work - professional, polite - and home has always been separate and their own personal business. Of course, they both bring their work home with them, so it wasn’t exactly that cut and dry, but what relations they had were never meant to be brought into the workplace.

On this, though, they were doomed from the start. Too many of their co-workers (a loose term, considering the myriad of organizational charts and the lines drawn across them to create a tangled picture of the Tower’s personnel infrastructure) were in the know, and even more-so, they’re both highly recognizable figures within the City’s core operations.

To most, it seemed right. Appropriate. Two level-headed individuals, with similarly aligned goals - the success, safety, and greater good of the City - and a backstory that was unmatched. The criminal and the commander: there were horribly done movies (and possibly an all-Ghost theatrical production, they never had the courage to look) made about this.

“I don’t think we’re making it through this Dawning without the everyone knowing,” She says to him as she steps out of the shower, drying off with a towel while he pulls a sweater over his collared shirt.

“I think the people would speculate no matter what we do,” He reasons, always level-headed in his thinking. “Even if we had no interaction. They suspected the Drifter was-”

“Oh, please tell me you’re going to bring that up at dinner,” She interrupts. “I want to see Eva yell at Shaxx sooo badly. He always gets so outraged.”

“Absolutely not. He’ll get us kicked out of the restaurant.”

She lets the towel drop to the floor and smirks as his gaze is drawn downward before padding into their adjoined bedroom and past him to their closet. “You do know people feel ‘blessed,’” She air-quotes, “When Shaxx pulls his theatrics in a public place, right?”

Zavala seems to materialize behind her, hand on her bare hip. He’s stealthy without his armor. “I’d like not to encourage him, if we can help it.”

“Mmm,” She agrees, and Zavala drops his nose and lips to her shoulder, dragging kisses across her skin. “You know we don’t have time for that,” She tells him, when he doesn’t back away afterward. “You’re the one who made the reservations.”

“You’re the one thinking about it,” He teases back. “If I thought we had time, I wouldn’t have dressed.”

She turns around and kisses him, hard. When his grip on her hip tightens, she draws back. “Now what?”

He might lick his lips, a bit swollen thanks to her nipping at them, but doesn’t take the bait. “Now,” He says, ushering her back to the closet, voice dipping low, “You’re going to get dressed and then we’re going to go to dinner with our colleagues and each drink one glass of wine short of being hungover tomorrow.”

“And after?” She queries, plucking out a sweater and scarf from her things.

He grins. “We’ll see.”

The restaurant is dimly lit, but has beautiful festive lanterns strung all over. Most of them are plain, but a half dozen depict snowflakes and baubles relevant to the season. Eva comments on them to Zavala as Hawthorne orders wine for the table, ignoring Shaxx’s commentary on scotch. He’s not allowed to start before the appetizers; It’s wine or bust.

When crusty, fresh-baked bread is brought out, Hawthorne eyes Zavala, whose Ghost appears in a delicate blink and transmats a stack of envelopes into her waiting hands. She distributes them amidst murmured commentary from the rest of the group, rolling her eyes.

“What’s this?” Amanda asks, when it’s clear everyone else has gotten their jibes about her and Zavala's relationship out of their system.

She’d gone over this in her head, and doing it once Eva arrived only seemed fair. Best to invite everyone as early as possible, Marc insisted on a head-count at least a week out, for the sake of his preparations. Still, she felt a bit exposed, offering up her life like this to them, even if they’d all become rather close over the last few years.

“Well, uh,” She laughs a little, out of her element. “I thought it might be nice for all of us to get together for the Dawning. I know everyone has their own traditions and plans, but my family always did a big feast growing up and we thought it might be time to expose you to a real City-style Dawning. Obviously,” She glances to Eva, “You’re welcome any time. We have enough room to-”

“Wait,” Amanda interrupts scanning the fancy invite. “Is this from Marc? You ain’t the kind to use fancy-shmancy gold-embossed anything.”

“He likes to host,” Suraya answers. “And Zavala and I were already planning on joining him for dinner-”

Shaxx leans forward before Amanda can chime in with a snarky comment about their relationship status. “I, for one, would be honored to join in your family's celebration. Let me know what I can bring.”

Hawthorne nods. He won’t be bringing anything if Marc has his way, but no sense in dealing with the specifics just yet.

Amanda squeals. “I’m so excited. We always did stuff in the Tower, but this is a big deal!” She looks at Zavala, green eyes gentle. “Obviously-”

“I know what you mean,” Zavala agrees. He’d had the experience Eva gave him, but a true Dawning in the way of the City’s denizens was never something he’d been able to pull off for his self-appointed ward. His knee nudges Suraya’s under the table. If she’d been nervous about it - and she had, he could see it on her face - it melts away in an instant. “I’m looking forward to it. Marc is an excellent cook.”

“So is Dev gonna come home? It’s not a real family affair without ‘im,” Amanda presses.

Hawthorne frowns. “We’re working on it. The Farm is a bit sparse, this time of year, and the Guardians are… manic with all the celebrating. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to swing it, but he’s going to try. Either way, Marc is just excited that I’m bringing friends home. He kind of missed that phase with my whole wandering outside the City thing.” Amanda laughs and dips her head, sipping her wine.

Unnoticed by Suraya, wise brown eyes find Zavala’s. She smirks, but covers it quickly with her hand. Nothing, absolutely nothing, escapes old Eva.

The conversation continues around them. Amanda muses, “Well, he’s certainly gonna have his hands full. Y’gonna invite Saladin?” She glares at Shaxx, who bristles immediately. “If y’did, tell Marc to sit me between them at dinner. It’s for the best for e’rybody. ‘S what we used to do for my birthday parties.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Hawthorne considers, serious. Everyone laughs.

“I’m sure it will be a lovely celebration,” Eva adds with a smile. “I already promised Tess I would spend time with her, but we’ll do our best to stop by afterwards.”

"Please do. We always have enough leftovers for a week. The number of mouths he's feeding won't change the ratio of food per person, there will be so much left over."

When everyone else goes their separate ways, Zavala gives in to the impulse to take her hand. Suraya looks over to him with a hint of a smile and allows herself to drift closer to him. Their upper arms touch, and her head finds his shoulder for a brief moment before she pulls away.

"This is impressive," Suraya gestures to the Tower around them. "If the frames could be programmed to help decorate the districts, I'd be out of a job."

"I assure you, you would not," He hums, admiring the decorations as well. "I don't know how she managed to secure enough frames. I assume she received help from the Redjacks. Arcite had tinsel hanging off his frame earlier."

She laughs. "He didn't."

"He did," Zavala insists, chuckling. His voice dips lower. "Everyone seems excited for your Dawning celebration," He continues.

She makes a non-committal hum. "Our Dawning celebration. Marc insists you're part of the family now. Bit weird when you start thinking about the age difference, but," They share a smile. It is what it is. "It'll be nice. I just wish Devrim would be able to come home, y'know? I get why he can't," She sighs when he pulls her closer, releasing her hand in lieu of wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Ugh. Ignore me, I've had too much wine. I know you tried to figure it out."

"It's fine," Zavala replies, smoothly as he can.

"I just, I haven't had this since I was a kid, y'know?" She shakes her head, as though she hadn't meant to let that much slip. "It is what it is."

They continue walking in the direction of their flat, the only sound between them is the crunch of fresh, undisturbed snow beneath their feet.

Eventually, Zavala admits, "The Dawning is far more nostalgic for you than it is for me." He looks down at her. "I recall making arrangements for Amanda's sake and volunteering, things I would normally do flavored by the season," He supposes. "But I am looking forward to experiencing it from a different perspective."

Suraya snorts. "You mean my dad treating you like a kid because we're together?"

Zavala shrugs. "Centuries of war don't prepare you for your significant other's family. This is uncharted territory. I've never-" The 'dated a non-Guardian' goes unsaid. Suraya is a lot of firsts for him. The same goes for him with her.

"I know." Her eyes soften. "I want you to be excited for this, too."

"I am."

"Good."

[Main Fic Post]

#Destiny Fanfiction #Commander Zavala #Suraya Hawthorne #Amanda Holliday #Eva Levante #Zavala x Hawthorne #Steelponcho #dawningdelightsfanfic #lord shaxx

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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15 Most Powerful Street Fighter Characters

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Street Fighter has been around since 1987, which means it has introduced many, many characters to the fighting game pantheon. Despite being a game where every fighter is supposed to be more or less on the same level, the narrative doesn’t reflect that. Boss characters and main heroes are the best of the best in the story. Some even reach demigod status and become virtually invincible . For real, even Sean’s endings show him either lose repeatedly to Ryu or reveal that him winning the game’s tournament was just a dream he experienced while knocked after the first round.

So who are the most powerful characters in Street Fighter lore? I’ve put together a list of the top 15. Funny enough, Guile and Chun-Li – the heroes from the two live-action movies – are nowhere to be found. Go figure.

15. Seth

Seth has the honor of being the final boss of the Street Fighter IV games. Not only does Seth have Taskmaster powers that allow them to understand basically every fighting move they see but they have a rubbery android body that allows them to upgrade said moves in badass ways. Seth runs their own evil organization and is the mastermind behind the big tournament, which gives them a spot by default.

Unfortunately, Seth never really does anything of note in the story. They gave Ryu a run for his money in the Tie That Binds anime, but Seth never really proves to be anything more that just another villain. They’re quickly overshadowed by Bison licking his wounds from Street Fighter II and reestablishing himself as the top terrorist. Seth is reduced to a malfunctioning afterthought.

14. Cody Travers

Cody is a unique subject as he’s a hero from another property (Final Fight) thrown into Street Fighter, where he isn’t really allowed to be the protagonist. It’s a lot like how Terry Bogard and Ryo Sakazaki are heroes in their own fighting games but act as supporting characters in King of Fighters. With Cody, there’s an actual story explanation.

Simply put, Cody is insanely powerful but lacks the drive to hit his potential. In both his regular and Oni form, Akuma tells Cody in his winq uotes that if he actually tried, he would be a major threat. That’s as high praise as you can get, considering how Akuma usually resorts to insults. Cody never does act on his potential, so we don’t actually know how high up the ladder he’d be if he gave a damn and asserted himself. In the meantime, he lazily puts up his dukes in hopes that it will kill his boredom.

13. G

As the story goes, Street Fighter V was supposed to get a second campaign, and G was going to be the villain, but the idea was scrapped. Despite all that, this enigmatic Uncle Sam knockoff is still a mystery threat that we’ve yet to understand. In fact, according to Rose’s Street Fighter V storyline, G is supposed to be the harbinger for the end of everything.

While he appears to be the avatar of Earth itself, G ranks only so high. While Rose can’t stop the apocalypse, she can still best G in battle. Gill also makes his first public appearance by defeating G, which G seems to fully accept with open arms.

12. Rose

Rose doesn’t get her hands dirty too often, but her backstory makes it easy to calculate where she ranks among Street Fighter‘s strongest. She is Bison’s doppelganger, albeit flipped in gender and alignment. In fact, Rose is basically equal to Bison, but just when he’s in his base form. When he’s amped up his Psycho Power, there’s nothing Rose can really do to match up with him. You’d think that by now we’d see some kind of purified form of Rose where her Soul Power is off the charts, but maybe in Street Fighter VI.

11. Gill

Gill carries himself like he’s the biggest threat in Street Fighter’s world. He’s the one who controls fire and ice. He has the power to self-resurrect. He runs his own secret organization, and seems like a bigger deal than Bison because he follows him on the timeline. In-game, he’s an absolute nightmare to fight. Gill seems like he should be at the very top of the rankings.

But honestly? He actually kind of sucks. He seems to lose a lot. In canon, he loses to Alex. Capcom Fighting Evolution depicts a showdown against M. Bison where Bison reigns supreme. In the very beginning of the manga Street Fighter III: Ryu Final (Masahiko Nakahira’s works are as official as you can get without being outright canon), Gill takes a beating from Ken. Even the nature of Street Fighter III: Second Impact and its secret boss fight suggests that Akuma has a leg up on him. Gill may be able to get up from these losses, but he still gets knocked down in the first place.

10. Alex

Because of Capcom’s tendency to downplay Street Fighter III, we never get to see Alex do all that much. That’s a shame, since Alex is cool as hell and really should pop up more. He’s still defined as the hero character of the Street Fighter III games who canonically thrashes Gill, and even gets a moment in Street Fighter V’s cinematic story mode where Dhalsim tells him that he’s going to be a huge deal down the line.

But despite his role in Street Fighter’s final chronological chapter, Alex isn’t the best of the best. His ending shows that he still eats Ryu’s dust and he has a long way to go. Now that he’s gone past his need for revenge against Gill, all Alex wants is to get better at fighting so he can eventually get one over on Ryu. And if he doesn’t? He’s still having the time of his life.

9. Ken Masters

Ken may never be as important as Ryu, but the games always insist that they are rivals. No matter how much more skilled Ryu gets, Ken is still there to give him a good one-on-one. On paper, Ken should be left in the dust due to how much more driven Ryu is while Ken balances his fighting with his family and business responsibilities. But it’s actually his family that gives him an extra edge and pushes him forward. Kind of like when Spider-Man is buried under rubble and thinks of Aunt May to brute force himself out of danger.

Like Ryu, Ken has his own special, sinister form as Violent Ken. Unfortunately, that form is pretty ill-defined in and just comes off as “Ken as mind-controlled asshole.” He’s still someone Ryu can take down, just in a more reluctant way.

8. Sagat

Sagat’s defined by his losses. Ryu tore his chest apart in the first Street Fighter. Dedicating himself to rage only caused him to lose to his former pupil Adon. He eventually lost to series joke Dan Hibiki. But those losses come with an asterisk. Ryu’s win came thanks to a supernatural cheap shot. A clear-headed Sagat got his win back from Adon down the line. Sagat basically let Dan win so Dan could let go of his thirst for vengeance and learn the same lesson as Sagat.

Sagat and Ken exist as Ryu’s go-to rivals, but I’d give Sagat the edge. While Ken has always been parallel to Ryu, Sagat started with a huge lead in skill and power. It’s only over time that Ryu has been able to catch up to him, and even then Sagat’s usually depicted as such a beast that Ryu is the underdog. Well, baseline Ryu, at least.

7. Ryu

Being the protagonist doesn’t automatically make you the strongest. Ryu may be able to take down most opponents, but he’s not obsessed with being at the top of the ladder. He even has the humility to know that he doesn’t truly live up to his reputation. And itoesn’t hurt that his iconic, name-making win was achieved only after he briefly became possessed by his inner darkness and cheaply blindsided Sagat.

As shown in various Street Fighter III endings, Ryu still has a long road ahead of him. He’s great, but he’s still not a master. That may take a few more decades. In the meantime, his Satsui No Hado form is like a cheat code that lets him skip years of training and puts him over his more friendly rivals.

6. Gen

Gen is like Ryu or Akuma in reverse. He’s incredibly deadly and nigh unbeatable, but he’s long past his prime. He’s dying of leukemia, and it’s his own stubbornness that’s keeping him alive, even when regularly challenging Akuma and somehow surviving the encounters. He and Akuma are treated as ships passing in the night, where Akuma feels somewhat cheated by how he’s stuck with a weaker version of Gen while his own power only grows with time.

Games

Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat: The Many Ways the Crossover Almost Happened

By Gavin Jasper

Games

The Legacy of Street Fighter Alpha

By Gavin Jasper

In the Street Fighter games alone, Gen would probably rank a bit lower, but I’m going with the potential of the man he used to be. The UDON Comics one-shot Akuma vs. Hell even shows Gen at his strongest in the form of an apparition from the after-life. When he doesn’t have sickness holding him back, he does prove to be a bit more than Akuma can handle…for a time.

5. Gouken

Much like Rose with Bison and Ken with Ryu, Gouken is on par with Akuma when it comes to the latter’s base form. The initial story was that Gouken beat Akuma back in the day, but didn’t kill him. That just isn’t his style.

Then Akuma got stronger, beat Gouken, and murdered him with his Raging Demon attack. But by the time Street Fighter IV came around, they retconned all, revealing that Gouken was able to figure out a counter just in time, which resulted in him falling into a two-year coma instead of dying.

As the yin to Akuma’s yang, Gouken is there to oppose him and help Ryu overcome his inner-demon issues. Unlike Akuma, Gouken doesn’t really have any ultimate forms. Ryu and Ken’s master seems to have leveled off while Akuma is still shattering his limits.

4. M. Bison

It really shows how screwy Street Fighter’s lore is when the iconic M. Bison of Street Fighter II is considered Bison at his weakest. It turns out that Bison’s strongest form came before that, in Street Fighter Alpha 3. At least that explains why the guy is skinny in one game and built like a goddamn bus in the other.

Bison is a man who figured out how to weaponize his own evil, and not only expelled all the good from his soul to make himself stronger but he’s able to figure out crazy sci-fi ways to increase his power on top of that. He loves stuff with satellite lasers, or simply crashing satellites onto major cities because people freaking out and dying is like steroids to him. His downfall usually comes from trying to oppose or take over Ryu, whose purity and inner strength is enough to be Psycho Power’s kryptonite.

But that’s not Bison’s only weakness…

3. Akuma

Yes, Akuma, by definition, eats Bison’s lunch on a regular basis. He made his video game debut by just popping in and destroying Bison with one move in Super Street Fighter II Turbo. Hell, that’s canon! Despite his rivalries with Ryu, Gen, and Gouken, Akuma is 100% all about being the guy who ruins Bison’s (and sometimes Gill’s) day on a whim.

Too bad Capcom’s somewhat nerfed his accomplishments over the years. Akuma was considered the man who killed Gouken, Gen, M. Bison, and possibly Adon. Since then, all those deaths have been negated, and the Raging Demon isn’t the move above all others that it used to be. Still, Akuma gets to constantly up his game with his Shin Akuma and even Oni forms, which could probably destroy Earth itself if he felt like it.

2. Oro

In terms of traditional Street Fighter characters, the strongest is not a boss or even a villain, but a kindly old man in his hundreds dressed in rags. Introduced in Street Fighter III, the hermit Oro stands above everyone and is only conceivably beatable because he chooses to fight one-handed. Battles are just too easy when he uses both arms free, so holding back allows him to better check out who has potential to one day be on his level.

It’s hard to say who is superior between Oro and Akuma, or should I say, Two-Arm Oro vs. Oni (the UDON comic did have Two-Arm Oro completely clown Akuma but fail to kill him, for what it’s worth). In the end, I have to give it to Oro. Akuma comes off as a major threat that Ryu will gradually, but soon overcome. By the time Ryu has a shot at besting Oro, he’ll probably be sporting gray hair. He is the final finish line in Ryu’s search for enlightenment.

1. Ingrid

Ah, Ingrid. The most powerful Street Fighter character is also one of the most obscure. Ingrid was meant to be introduced in a 3D fighter called Capcom Fighting All-Stars, which was cancelled and replaced with the lazy-as-hell Capcom Fighting Evolution thatfeatured a roster of reused assets from older games as well as Ingrid in 2D sprite form. To get more bang for its buck, Capcom threw her into Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX.

Ingrid is a cosmic entity that dwarfs the power of M. Bison. It’s more apparent in Street Fighter X Tekken, where the plot revolves around various duos racing towards a MacGuffin called Pandora. In the comic that comes with the special edition of the game, it’s revealed Ingrid herself created Pandora for…reasons. And considering the reality-breaking (albeit ill-explained) abilities Pandora has, Ingrid’s just on a different level to the classic Street Fighter cast.

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lady-divine-writes · 7 years

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Kurtbastian one-shot - “Decisions, Decisions” (Rated T)

Kurt and Sebastian spend an afternoon in Sebastian's bedroom trying to choose the perfect song for Kurt's short program. They're also making out while scrolling through selections. When things get a little far beyond agreed-upon borders, Kurt makes a decision that leaves Sebastian's head spinning. (1729 words)

Notes: This one-shot is a nod back to 'Stickhandling', where Sebastian mentions picking out a song for Kurt's routine while making out on his bed. So this is that scene.

Part 25 of Outside Edge

Read on AO3.

“Mmm … what about … what about this one?” Sebastian presses the skip button on the remote to his stereo, switching the song playing from Katy Perry’s ‘Wide Awake’ to Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ as he slides his hand up Kurt’s track pant-clad leg.

“No!” Kurt exclaims hastily, grabbing Sebastian’s hand back when his boyfriend mistakenly thinks that Kurt is scolding his wandering fingers. “I mean (kiss) I don’t object (kiss) to performing (kiss) to an older song (kiss) but that song (kiss) has been so overdone.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” Sebastian agrees, slipping his fingertips along the inside of Kurt’s waistband – not deep enough in to make him anxious, just to tease him a little, make him ponder the possibilities. “Well, then, what about …?” Sebastian hits the button again; ‘Shake It Out’ begins to play.

“That’s … nice.” Kurt’s lips drift down Sebastian’s cheek to his jaw while his mind wrestles with indecision. “I do like Florence and the Machine, but this one’s a little too depressing for what I had in mind.”

“Fair enough. Well, how about …?” Sebastian starts flipping through songs as Kurt’s lips connect with his neck, but he drops the remote when Kurt starts to suck. Ten seconds later, Sebastian has no idea what song is playing. Who cares? The song they’re choosing is for Kurt’s long program, but they have over a month to get it ready. They’ll figure it out. Right here, right now, all Sebastian wants to concentrate on is the touch of Kurt’s lips against skin that no one but Kurt has ever kissed before, experimenting with bending rules and stretching boundaries; his silky tongue taking risks in an effort to turn Sebastian on. Sebastian’s hands slide their way underneath Kurt’s pants to cup his ass – over his briefs, as per their agreement, but Sebastian’s not hating it. What’s there to hate when he has the most talented, most graceful skater in all of Ohio laid out over him, rutting against an erection that Sebastian knows is going to ache like a motherfucker later on when it goes unspent?

But he wouldn’t stop what they’re doing for anything, and not just because having Kurt touch him and kiss him is the most amazing feeling in the world. Spending time with his boyfriend like this, connecting with him on this level - away from the ice rink, skate school classes, coaching, and rink politics – is something Sebastian never thought he’d get an opportunity to experience until he was out of Westerville and on his way to college. He’d burned so many bridges in his hometown, had built such a reputation for being a cold-hearted jerk, he never thought a single boy worthwhile would give him a chance.

And he never thought that, in the end, that boy would be Kurt.

The song changes again – once, maybe twice - and Kurt becomes bolder with every switch in rhythm. Sebastian holds on to Kurt’s ass and lets his boyfriend set the pace. It’s not as if Sebastian is any more experienced than Kurt. Here, as on the ice, they’re pretty evenly matched. But Sebastian hasn’t had to go through the bullying that Kurt has, the harassment that bordered on outright abuse. When it comes to what they do in the bedroom, they talk and talk, and then talk some more, but for the most part, Kurt runs the show, with the option for Sebastian to object if he becomes uncomfortable.

They’ve yet to reach that point.

But the climax of this particular show is hitting Sebastian fast as he lays back and lets Kurt roll over him like the tide. If he doesn’t slow his boyfriend down, they may end up with a mess on their hands – literally.

Kurt mewls as Sebastian takes a chance and lifts the hem of his shirt, pulling the thick cotton over Kurt’s smooth skin and strong back muscles.

I'll undress you, 'cause you're tired Cover you as you desire When you fall asleep inside my arms

“Yes, mmm … yes, that’s … God, yes! This … this is it!” Kurt squeals, hands raking across the bed, grabbing at the sheets in abandon. Inside Sebastian’s brain, he jolts in surprise.

Now? he thinks, unsure exactly how he should proceed from here. After all their discussion of waiting to have sex, Kurt picks now? It seems so anti-climatic knowing Kurt and his penchant for the dramatic. Sebastian had pictured Kurt choosing the perfect evening according to their astrological signs, on a night when Saturn and Venus are aligned. He saw them making love not in his bedroom, but in a luxury suite at the Hilton filled with roses and candles. They’d order up a bottle of champagne accompanied by a plate of strawberries and cream. Foreplay would be spent feeding each other, naked in bed, while Whitney Houston music played in the background.

That’s totally more Kurt’s style than tearing off their clothes and going at it in Sebastian’s bedroom.

Kurt isn’t the spontaneous type, but maybe Sebastian shouldn’t be looking a gift horse in the mouth. He’s dreamt of making love to Kurt more times than he can count on both hands. But regardless of his own surging hormones soaring off the charts, he’s not quite sure he’s ready either.

What would Kurt do if Sebastian said no?

“You mean … now?” Sebastian gulps. “You wanna … you wanna have sex … now?”

“What!?” Kurt’s eyes pop open to the size of boulders. He bolts up, leaping away so quickly, the fitted sheet snaps off the edge of the mattress and rolls towards them. “No! No, I …” Struggling to find the right words while blood fights to make its way back to his brain, he catches sight of Sebastian’s expression – confused and nervous with an undercurrent of hurt. “Sorry! Sorry! I’m sorry!” He squirrels back into his boyfriend’s embrace and wraps his arms around him before Sebastian can fully register everything going on. “No. No, I mean, the song. This song. This is it!” Kurt raises the remote he grabbed while blindly searching the bed and hits the back button, starting the song over.

“Oh.” Sebastian tightens his grip on Kurt while he tries to calm down, which proves to be mildly counterproductive. He has to readjust his ass a few times to accommodate his hard-on sandwiched beneath the waistband of his workout pants and his boyfriend’s body. One wrong pivot causes him to wince in pain, but the friction only seems to make him harder.

Yup. This one’s a motherfucker.

Sebastian relaxes into his pillow and counts backwards from ten while he listens to the lyrics of the song Kurt chose:

So baby tell me yes And I will give you everything So baby tell me yes And I will be all yours tonight

“Lady Gaga?”

“Yup. I don’t know why I didn’t think of her before.”

“Hmm.” Sebastian definitely approves. Lady Gaga’s music is the embodiment of everything Kurt stands for.

Though these particular lyrics aren’t really helping Sebastian’s situation at the moment.

“So? What do you think?” Kurt asks.

“No, yeah, this song’s perfect.” Sebastian switches positions again, and his erection, finally withering, brushes Kurt’s thigh.

“Oh, God! I’m so sorry!” Kurt ducks his head as he recalls how close they’d come, and how completely and abruptly he put an end to it. “For leading you on, I mean. I shouldn’t have gone so far. It’s just … kissing you feels so good. And touching you? I know my own limits, but I … I get carried away.”

“It’s all right,” Sebastian replies with a deep sigh. “You weren’t leading me on. We’ve talked about this a zillion times. I knew what to expect. But … I know what you mean. You feel so good, sometimes it’s hard to control myself.”

“So … no hard feelings?” Kurt snickers. “No pun intended.”

“No. No hard feelings,” Sebastian groans.

“Good. Come on, coach! Let’s get a move on!” Kurt slides out of Sebastian’s grasp and sprints off the bed.

“Where are we going?” Sebastian asks, sighing in relief at the pressure off his dick, but disappointed at the loss of his boyfriend’s body.

“Down to your rink! I have a dozen ideas flooding my head. I want to get started on choreography right away.”

“Oh,” Sebastian mutters, watching his boyfriend grab his sweater and jacket with enthusiasm, floored by the speed in which he can switch gears from almost making Sebastian cum in his pants to business as usual – practice, practice, and more practice. In his current state, Sebastian can’t move as quickly, which makes him a tad envious at how Kurt can manage.

Kurt is a boy for whom popping an untimely boner never seems to be a problem. The amount of control he has over his own body is amazing … and hot.

Kurt pulls his sweater over his head, then tosses Sebastian his, puzzled to find him still lying on his back on the bed.

“What’s … what’s wrong?”

“Well, I didn’t think we were actually going to do the deed,” Sebastian says, “but what we were doing was … nice.”

“It was nice,” Kurt admits, toying with the hem of his sweater. “It’s just … I’ve been searching for the perfect song for this routine for over a week, and I …”

Sebastian blows out a frustrated breath and scoots to the end of the mattress, in far less agony now that things between them have cooled. “It’s all right.” He takes Kurt’s hand, pulling him forward so he can kiss his knuckles. “Believe me, I understand.”

“Maybe you can think of it as foreplay?” Kurt offers, hopeful that Sebastian won’t eventually get tired of how many times he’s stopped them short and called it quits. “Fuel for a make-out session later?”

Sebastian looks up from Kurt’s hands, that familiar, slow-burning smirk of his spreading across his lips – the one that reminds Kurt of how hard Sebastian worked to get them to this point, how accommodating he’s been, how chivalrous, how understanding. It’s the same smirk Sebastian was wearing the first time Kurt stopped them. Sebastian had told him it was fine, that he was in this for the long haul. Kurt believed him then. He has no reason not to believe him now. “Let’s do it.”

#kurtbastian #sebkurt #sekurt #frankie writes

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mysticsparklewings · 5 years

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Homemade Mini Sketchbooks!

More of a crafty thing today, but hey at least I'm still taking a break from all the swatch chart stuff I've watched a few different videos over the past few months talking about bookbinding and making your own custom sketchbooks and artwork storage/organizing, etc. And at some point it just kind of clicked that I wanted to give those sorts of things a try, just to see what I could do and make my book/paper organization life a little more interesting than just the store-bought stuff. Not pictured here: I recently acquired a disc-bond planner/notebook to try out, since disc binding seems like a great hybrid system between a spiral-bound notebook and a binder for someone like me who prefers spiral-bound stuff but likes the option of taking pages in and out or moving them around. The only problem is disc binding stuff is kinda expensive, so it'll be a while before I've built up a small collection of supplies/options to pick from. I also purchased some book rings and extra folders and stuff from DollarTree a while back and have since used a combination of those things and some old divider pages and pieces from old notebooks to put together a sort of makeshift custom binder/book that I keep all my swatches and reference pages for my various art supplies in. It's kinda neat, but not so fancy that I feel like showing off photos of it. These little roughly 4"x6" sketchbooks were pretty much testers to see what I could do with what supplies I have. I made two to try out two different binding directions (side/right bound and top-bound) and two different kinds of glue: Elmer's CraftBond Tacky Glue, and Aleene's Original Tacky Glue. Neither is necessarily "preferred" glue for bookbinding (as you can get specific PVA glue just for bookbinding) but they dry flexible, are made for crafty/paper things, and one was on clearance for $1.97, the other came from DollarTree, so I figured I'd give them a shot before investing in more expensive glue. I'll run down my process in a second, but I do just want to say the main thing I felt like I really needed a proper supply for/could have done better had the urge to finally make some books not struck me in the middle of the night was a press to hold my block of individual pages for the inside together while applying the glue. Traditionally, this is done with a fancy-looking contraption called a book press, but I don't have one of those and they are also surprisingly expensive. So my option was to stack a bunch of books together, and I admittedly didn't do as good of a job with that as I could have, but now I know better for next time. But because of this and the odd hours I was keeping, the pages aren't aligned super nicely, a couple are a little loose, and I did have one page fall out of the top-bound/orange cover book. That said, I made these at roughly the same time, going over the same steps for both and working on one while I waited for the other to dry, etc. I started with the covers by taking some metallic cardstock I have and cutting it down to the 4"x6" size I wanted, and then for the front and back covers on the blue book and the front cover on the orange book I grabbed some scrapbook paper I had and cut that down to size and used double-sided tape to attach the paper to the pieces of cardstock (yes, the blue one that looks like denim/jeans is actually paper and not fabric! I got a pad of paper like that from DollarTree because I thought it might come in handy, and it does look pretty cool for a book cover!). I purposely left the back cover on the orange book blank/as just the plain cardstock just to see how it looked. Alternatively, I could've used just paper (which I thought would be too thin/easily messed up) or chipboard--that brownish cardboard stuff that makes up the back part of a lot of store-bought sketchbooks--for the covers, but A. I didn't have any individual pieces and B. I didn't feel like chopping up the back of any existing sketchbooks I had. Not for just these testers, anyway. I also could have used glue to attach the decorative paper, but gluing paper like that tends to make it warp/wrinkle/boil/bubble if you're not careful, and also once the glue is stuck down it is STUCK, and so I figured I'd have a little more room to breathe in getting the paper placement right with the tape. Funnily enough, the tape ended up being way more forgiving than I thought, but I'll talk about that in a bit. Once I had the covers decorated with the paper the way I wanted, I moved on to the most tedious/longest part of the process: The paper on the inside. I recently picked up a cheap sketchbook with paper I'm not super-duper crazy about, and I had pretty much already decided that would be the paper I used for these little tester books. It's still usable, it's just not my more expensive favorite paper. And there's plenty of it, so I didn't mind "wasting" it on these books. I ripped out 20 pages from the sketchbook, expecting to get two smaller pages for the books I was making out of each larger page, but I actually ended up getting three smaller pages out of each, and so instead of 20 pages for each of the minis, I ended up with 30. This was a good thing since it gives the books a bit more weight/thickness and made the binding steps a little easier as a result. I stacked all of the pages for each book together and got one edge as even as possible--although I could've done better and gone through and lined up a few pages at a time to get them a little bit more flush together--and then very carefully placed the stack between some heavy books to hold them together and handle them still so I could apply the glue to bind the pages together. I unscrewed the tops of each kind of glue and applied it to the spines/paper stacks with a brush. Each book got three coats of glue total, just to make sure things were nice and secure. (Or you know as secure as possible for homemade in the middle of the night) While I was waiting for each coat of glue to dry, I took the covers and some more scrapbook paper and measured out the splash pages--just double the width of the cover so it can be folded over into two pages--to make the books feel a little fancier. (I'm not totally sure that's what they're called but that's what I'm calling them--I mean the interior pages between the book covers and the actual book pages). Then I used the double-sided tape again to attach the paper to the inside of each cover, and I found out by accident that while the double-sided tape is nice and sticky, it is actually repositionable! It doesn't totally rip up the paper if you try to unstick it! (Well, as long as you're kinda careful, anyway). And so I was able to reposition the splash pages until I felt like they were as straight/aligned as they were going to get. And while I was still waiting just to make sure the glue was dry before moving on, I decided to add some stickers to the orange book cover just to jazz it up a little. The plain flower print was fine, but I felt like it needed something and I was probably never going to use the stickers for anything else (I'm a sticker collector/hoarder), so on the book they went! By this time the blocks of paper were ready, and so I removed them from the stack of books and one at a time, pulled off a piece of wide washi tape for the spine of each and then very carefully aligned the covers to the blocks of paper and used my desk to help fold the tape around the spine as crisply as possible. (This step could have also been done on the splash pages and the covers attached afterward to hide the tape, but my tape is pretty so I'm okay with it being exposed). Now, I could have left the books just like that, but I wanted to be just a little bit fancier and used a paper punch to round the exposed corners of the covers and pages. This added a LOT of polish to the final look since as I mentioned earlier my pages weren't aligned super evenly. And just to be cheeky I did use a stamp and signed my name on the back cover of the orange book too. I'm honestly not sure which of the two I like better in the end--they both came out better than I was expected for my first tries! Honestly, this is more of a time-consuming task than it is difficult or expensive (at least the way I did it, you could very easily make this a SUPER expensive thing based on the materials and equipment you use, but the absolutely essential stuff can all be purchased pretty cheaply; a lot of it even just from the dollar store for $1!) and so it was pretty fun, and the end result is really satisfying because, "oh, yeah, I made this book!" And you don't have to stick with a small size like I did--you can make full-size sketch/notebooks this way too! Or you can use these methods to just upgrade existing sketchbooks and stuff that you have to covers or sizes you like better. I haven't quite decided what I'm going to attempt next, but I do want to play around with making more of my own books like this, and I'll likely post them here to share when I do. Also, let me know if you guys would be interested in a more in-depth/picture/video tutorial of some kind for the process of how I made these and if there's enough interest I'll see what I can do! Also I promise I'm going to respond to my correspondence soon I've just been really busy the past few weeks and haven't been able to sit down and give it my full attention--but I do read everything as it comes in, rest assured! ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

#books

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awkwardhare · 7 years

Photo

Terminology: An App Story

In 2009, I was playing with ideas. I was an independent software consultant doing a mix of web and internal business software. I had been experimenting with iPhone apps for about a year. I had built and released one simple app.

The app itself did not do much, but shipping it gave me experience in the process and the confidence to know I could build something better for this growing platform.

I was doing well enough with my consulting business to let myself invest time in more experiments, with the hope that shifting my focus to building products could provide a more balanced and diverse profile for my business. Oh, and it was fun to build iPhone apps.

So I set out to build a truly unnecessary, niche app for writing short form poetry. An app that would launch with a resounding thud and quickly fade from obscurity.

While working on that app, I was looking for data sources to assist a writer in selecting words. I found WordNet, and started playing around with parsing and presenting its semantic reference in useful ways. While experimenting, I realized it could be the basis of a standalone product.

By now we've arrived in 2010. At approximately the same time this little light bulb flickered in my head, Steve Jobs was sitting awkwardly on a couch on the stage of the Moscone Center explaining the magical new device he held in his hand – the iPad.

I had the idea – build a standalone dictionary/thesaurus app. I had the inspiration – make it an example of what was possible on this exciting new device. So I set to work on what would become Terminology.

When it was launched in July, 2010, as an iPad only app, the iPad was only 3 months old. The iPad App Store was populated with mostly thrown together updates of iPhone apps which did not comprehend the new device or its new user interface opportunities. And, kids, like in the stories your grandparents tell, people were willing to pay for apps.

Terminology did well. It was featured. It made it to the Top 25 on the iPad charts. Phil Schiller even tweeted that Terminology was one of his favorite iPad apps. More importantly to me, it set me on the path I have been on since, creating and selling apps for Apple platforms. I built the iPhone version, then on to the next app, and so forth.

Fast forward to Summer, 2016. Reviewing my app portfolio, Terminology was languishing. Other than bug fixes, it saw its last significant update with the release of iOS 7 years earlier. It was still quite functional, and had a small but avid user base – but it was falling behind on iOS technologies. The development work that be required to modernize it showed little signs of being a profitable effort with its existing business model. Retooling it for a different model seemed liked a gamble at best.

Averaging a few of dollars a day in sales, I was close to removing it from the App Store and calling it a day.

Then something unexpected happened. Terminology was selected as a Starbuck Pick of the Week in October, 2016. Agreeing to this meant giving the app away, but I had little to lose, so I gave it a shot.

What followed surprised me. Not just the sheer number of downloads, but that quite a few of those downloads were "sticky". Daily and monthly active user numbers went up and stayed up. Retention numbers were very good.

When I built Terminology, iOS did not have a system dictionary. I wasn't sure there was still a market for a standalone app. But it seems there was...so I set to work modernizing the app and aligning its business model with the new App Store market realities.

This week I'm relaunching Terminology. Same great word reference that established it as a go-to tool for writers. Same great extensibility that distinguished it from the competition. Lots of cool new feature to set it apart from competition in the reference space (like a Share extension)...and a freemium business model that can improve its availability and sustainability.

Only time will tell if this was a good plan, but I'm encouraged that there are still opportunities to experiment and succeed in the App Store – even if the parameters have changed.

This release is the 40th App Store release build of Terminology. It's been a long, fun journey. I hope you’ll give Terminology a try. After all, it’s free.

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spirit-science-blog · 3 years

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youtube

Is 2020 the New 2012?

“Judgment day and the end of the world is in our minds..and our minds are a dangerous place to be” -Kelly Cutrone.

Hey, hey, Remember when everyone said the world would end in 2012 and they made a movie about it and everything? And everyone was saying that there would be cataclysmic events like Massive fires, World War 3, plagues of locusts, floods, and mass civil unrest...leading to complete shutdown of all society?? Yeah, so uh funny story while we all know that didn’t happen in 2012, cause we’re all still here almost every prediction people made about how the world would end back then has pretty much come true for 2020. Wildfires exploded across Australia at the tail end of 2019 and were most influential in January. WW3? In January, after the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, tensions between the US and Iran were at an all-time high, with attacks on the US Embassy in Baghdad sparking fears the next war could happen pretty soon. Swarms of locusts eating 1000s of crops and causing famine? February in Kenya. Flooding March in the UK. Civil unrest and anarchy in the streets? Mark another one-off for Apocalypse Bingo! Still wondering if we’ll get our hoaxed alien attack this year.

You really would be forgiven for thinking the Maya just got the math wrong on their calendar. Maybe the stonemason just had too much Peyote that day, who knows, But believe it or not, there is a conspiracy about this going around. Our current year 2020 is 2012, and it all has to do with the time that we adopted the Gregorian Calendar as opposed to older Julian one. Now Before we start, let’s just say, there are a few significant issues with this theory, the least of which is that different parts of the world adopted the Gregorian calendar at different times, so it wasn’t a universal thing that you can just calculate the math on and BANG - you’ve got yourself a day to lock yourself in your doomsday bunker with your mask and your Kool-ade... but we’ll get there soon.

So what is this whole thing about? Last month, a man named Paolo Tagaloguin, who claims to be a researcher/Fulbright scholar took to twitter (in a now-deleted post that he claimed was a joke) and did some somewhat questionable math and came up with a theory that said:

“We were technically in 2012. The number of days lost in a year due to the Gregorian Calendar shift is 11 days. For 268 years using the Gregorian Calendar (1752-2020) times 11 days = 2,948 days. 2,948 days / 365 days (per year) = 8 years”....

Which according to him, put Apocalypse II: Nibiru Boogaloo on the 21st of June 2020. Now it’s July, so that didn’t happen. As we said earlier, there are quite a few issues with his calculations that prove him wrong. To start with, Let’s get some background info. The Gregorian Calendar is essentially the most widely used calendar and dating system used in the world today. It splits a canonical year into 12 months, and spaces leap years to make the average year 365.2 days long, focusing predominantly on Earth’s revolution around the sun as a means of keeping time. If you live in the world today, chances are you at least know this dating system.

It was invented by Pope Gregory XIII and gradually replaced the much older Julian Calendar that was in use at the time, which some people say gave us April Fools day! See, aside from Christian influences - like changing how the lunar cycles were calculated by the church to get a more accurate date for Easter, and the time of the New Year, the Gregorian Calendar also shortened the average year by 0.0075 days to stop the drift of the calendar concerning the equinoxes. The Julian Calendar, though, was proposed by Julius Caesar around 46BC and was invented with the help of Greek Mathematics and astronomy and had been used up until 1582.

This is where we see the first issue with Tagaloguin’s theory. Not only does it not take into account leap years, but the date he used for its adoption (1752), is only the date that the New Calendar was adopted in Britain and its colonies (otherwise known as the area of the United States east of the Appalachian Mountains). Much of Europe (including a lot of Catholic countries), such as France, Spain, Lithuania, and much of the not-so-Holy Roman Empire had adopted it right from the start, though, in 1582. Some of the first records showed a funny glitch in the dates where Thursday 4th October 1582 was followed by Friday, 15 October 1582, the next day - seriously! Go on a calendar app and check it out. It’s amusing.

Arguments between Protestant Christians and Catholics, though, led to a delay in the Calendar taking off in the rest of the world, with some countries not even changing until the 18th Century! Which meant that they had to observe an additional leap year, which is where we get the 11 days to change from. The French and Spanish colonies in the US adopted the change when their home countries did in the 1500s, so, in short, the math is entirely wrong…

The other thing to consider is that the whole 2012 phenomenon was a huge misunderstanding. We’ve covered this on the channel before, but in a nutshell, the world was never going to “end,” at least, not in the sense of the movie cataclysms or anything. See, the calendar would reset at the end of the 13th Bak'tun - rather than end life on Earth entirely. If anything thinks of the Maya calendar like a car’s mileage counter, once it reaches 99,999,99, it just resets to 0...or 1 since we can’t have a year 0. The thing about the Maya is.. they LOVED their cycles. They thought everything was a cycle, which - if you’ve seen our episode called Cycles n Sine Waves, or ever read any of the Hermetic Writings - it makes sense that as things naturally move in waves, cycles appear to be built into the fabric of the cosmos. In Mesoamerican mythology, even the world itself went through 4 creations and re-creations before the gods got it right. Something about raining jaguars or giant floods kept messing everything up. Enlil, what have you got to say for yourself?

Anyway, my point is, did the Mayan calendar end on December 21st, 2012? Yeah technically. But they didn’t see it as an “ending,” once the Bak’tun reached its end, it would merely transition into a new phase, and trigger a kind of Rebirth for all of our cultures, the beginning of a new massive cycle of time. A lot of New Age beliefs saw this rebirth as a dawning of a new age of consciousness, where people would go through a period of great transition, leading to an overall higher knowledge for all of humanity, and we would eventually move into a new heart-centered age, and this was the beginning of that shift. Would this have been a period ending the Maya thought was wicked cool? You bet! The most significant period endings they experienced were Bak'tun endings. So it was a huge deal, just not a world-ending huge deal. Well, maybe it depends on how we describe it. Is it the end of our old way of life as we know it? Yeah, we could probably say that!

Given our current climate in 2020, it’s easy to look for energetic or spiritual excuses for everything that’s happening, and maybe there is something to be said about how we account for time. The energy is coming back around to clear out old ways and paradigms before moving into a new one. It’s interesting to see that almost everything that we thought would happen in 2012 is happening now. Almost like we didn’t learn the first time around, so we’re repeating the energy until we finally break through and change for the better.

You might be wondering why a crazy theory like this took off so quickly, despite its questionable math, well part of it also lies in Astrology. We covered the Astrology of Coronavirus earlier in another video, so definitely go check that out for some relevant Planetary Gossip..but the thing is Astrologers have been hyping up 2020 as a year of radical change for many many years now, thanks to the rare alignment of Saturn and Pluto on the 12th January, which was made more prominent by Jupiter coming in shortly after that, which is the angle we looked at in our COVID Astrology episode. While no one could have predicted how epic a catastrophe Corona would be, we did get at least one apocalyptic cataclysm! Many Astrology charts predicted that this year would mark history by challenging us in some pretty extreme ways.

This is one of those things that I’d love to see some scientists take more seriously. At the same time, Astrology is often ridiculed as a superstition. How is it that so many astrologers have been telling us about the significant change of 2020 for decades in advance, hitting the nail on the head perfectly?

According to Chani Nicholas, right from the beginning, January’s conjunction was a scary start, as it’s episode coincided last time with both World Wars and the economic recession of the 80s, so we were in for it from the starting line along with 2 Mercury retrogrades this year, and the latter being during the next election some more stuff is bound to go down before we’re through the 2020 woods. It’s not all doom and gloom, though, given Neptune's position, which suggests we’re entering a period where we will feel more interconnected and understanding of each other than ever before. And with Venus’ recent retrograde in Gemini, we have an energy of renewal and reassessment with relationships, both with others and ourselves. This is a time of apocalyptic matters - and if you recall from one of our flagship original spirit science episodes - apocalypse translates to a “lifting of the veil.” So 2020 is a time where the truth is coming out, we see all of the chaos of human consciousness with crystal clear vision, as the truth comes to the surface, for it to be healed.

Even better though… 2021 is supposed to be GREAT. With the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in Aquarius on the winter solstice, we’ll be entering a period of a fresh start, especially about science and innovation. Chani seems to think that the new energy will probably guide many industries to change in ways that will make them practically unrecognizable. Some new and surprising concepts and innovations will be coming out in how we live in harmony with the Earth and her resources. Maybe we’ll even see the electric human blackfly drone machine come to the market and Hey, we might even start laying the groundwork for our Spirit Center next year, we’ve got some huge plans for that, but we’ll have to save that discussion for another time.

So, If the 21st of June 2020 wasn’t the end of the world. Did anything interesting happen on that day at all? There wasn’t anything as dramatic as tidal waves or volcanos going off and destroying everything around it, But it was world Yoga day! And world selfie day, and world optimism day, and indigenous peoples day (yay) and well you get the picture, we made it into a lot of different things. Astronomically it was pretty cool too; there was a solstice new moon solar eclipse in cancer! Only parts of Central and Eastern Africa and some parts of southwest Asia could see the eclipse, But still, someone somewhere probably thought the world was ending.

So long story short Is 2020 the new 2012? If we see 2012 as a time where the energy shifted and brought us into a new age, then Kinda! A lot of what’s going on at the moment in the world is dramatically changing our cultural climate and collective consciousness. The riots especially are uprooting long-held old systems of oppression and making way for new, more progressive energies and mindsets, which is fantastic. Is the world going to end at some point this year? No more than it did 2012.

When a cycle ends, the calendar is meant to be reset to the beginning and start. It's intended to be a time of change and renewal, which 2020 certainly is. Spiritually speaking, perhaps the new energies introduced to us in 2012 have finally integrated into our society and are shaking things up, and we’re only just feeling it now. Like in 2012, we are presented with a great opportunity, if 2020 is the actual 2012, let's rebirth some stuff for real this time.

And if you need some help getting your cosmic rebirth on, allow me to share the 7-Day Transformation with you. It only takes a week to shift your entire reality completely! Here’s what someone else said when they went through it!

Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next time!

#spirituality #spirit science #mystery school #ascension #article

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thrushcrossgranged · 3 years

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It was actually sort of difficult narrowing down which concern brought up in the Gallagher reading I wanted to focus on. I think the one that I felt I agreed with the most was Concern #3 that recreational reading is all but ignored. I agree with that point wholeheartedly. I think that the standards really do not do enough to encourage outside reading and that inadvertently causes kids to drift away from reading for pleasure at all. My highschool did not have a library of any sorts for my first two years at the school, in my junior year we got two shelves on a bookshelf in the copy room but at first there was no place to even find a book if you wanted to read something that was not school assigned. I just firsthand watched so many of my classmates stop reading or not even think about reading outside of class entirely and it made me sad. It just sucks to watch something like that happen and feel powerless to it.

As far as classroom activities go I have a few ideas, one is just the standard offering of free reading time in class. My eighth grade English teacher did this and I know a lot of teachers do this and I always appreciated it as a student. I love book clubs and reading groups I always have, I think they are very fun and encourage having and sharing opinions about a certain book. I think it could be cool to have students select a book out of a list and group them together based on the book and have different reading groups for free reading time. I’m not exactly sure logistically how it would all come together due to different reading speeds and levels but I think it could be good for students to be able to talk about and engage with what they are reading more casually. I think keeping a journal or a chart of books read that year sort of like what was mentioned in Gallagher but less severe would be a good activity. I also think that turning it into a competition has some potential. Kids like prizes and friendly competition encourages engagement. I also just think it is nice for English teachers to have mini libraries in their classroom, this is less of an activity, but I think it supports student reading to have options available if they want to check them out. It also allows teachers to bond more with kids, if you put your favorite books on the shelf. You can talk to the kids about the books.

As far as the second prompt goes I think the NCTE standards align more with my teaching philosophy. I think the common core standards skew more old school and seem more focused on grades while NCTE to me feels more focused on student growth and understanding. I also think they address Gallagher’s concerns since they are more free to interpret. I think NCTE allows for and values student creativity more. It just seems to me like teachers and students are given more room to breathe with them. This standard to me is what teaching English is all about, “Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.” I like the phrasing of philosophical, ethical and aesthetic. It just seems like they are built to actually teach an understanding of Literature rather than hit pre-decided markers.

#first post of the new quarter !! wow

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