#also the experts react series that insider does? I eat that up

[thegigibeegees]

the thing they don’t tell you about actively learning about how systems and institutions work, even casually, is that in any realismish fiction dealing with said systems you end up spending a not-insignificant amount of time going “no that’s not how it works” or “no you can’t do that” or “no that’s not a sick hack but actually a crime” or “no actually that would be obvious to pretty much any competent member of the profession” or my favorite “no I think your main character is just kind of bad at their job”

I understand suspension of disbelief and the very real need sometimes to balance realism and story, that’s not what this is not what this post is about. I’m not here to blame writers or producers for making the creative and practical decisions that are necessary to get any price of art to the finish line. far be it from me to try and claim expertise or worse go all cinemasins about it. this post is about the purely personal and very annoying problem I’ve inflicted upon myself by subscribing to too many lawyer and doctor and infrastructure youtube channels.

[youwerenevermeanttofeelalone]

Some People Wrap Their Lies Around a Cocktail Glass | Damian Wayne

And You Sit Wondering Where You’re Going to Turn

✦ pairing — older!Damian Wayne x female!Plus Size Reader

✦ word count — 3.3k

✦ fake dating AU

✦ summary — you need to cover up the fact that your boyfriend broke up with you a week before your step-father’s Christmas party, and Damian needs a date for his father’s New Year’s ball. Both of you are experts at pretending, what could go wrong?

✦ warnings — some angst, mentions of food, Damian and reader are neighbors, a little bit of awkwardness, sprinkles of fluff.

✦ mini series masterlist

════════════════════════

Every time your phone buzzed, you hoped it was him. Such a naive and sick logic, one of a teenager waiting for her crush to text back, was nothing compared with the sobering truth.

Your ex-boyfriend was your ex for a reason. And you would have to face the music on your own.

Your mother was going to be disappointed. Not more than you were. Travis had been a good boyfriend, goofy and nice. He hadn’t been the gentlest person in the world, but you learned to accept that he wasn’t perfect.

You could have fallen for him if he had given you enough time.

Your cellphone rang and the fact that it hadn’t buzzed startled you. A handful of people called you instead of texting you, yet you didn’t have to look at the caller ID to know who it was.

That was your luck. What a horrible week. And it was only Monday noon.

Taking a deep breath, you nodded to yourself and swiped your finger against the screen to take the call. “How is everything going?” you softly greeted your mother.

She sighed. “I will be relieved when the planning is over.” She changed the subject, “Did your boyfriend clear his schedule?”

You breathed out a small laugh. “He did,” you lied. Not even sure if Travis had truly wanted to attend, you lied some more, “He’s excited to meet you.”

“We are excited too. Your uncle said he won’t believe it until he sees it.”

You and him both. As she told you about every guest she was skeptical about showing up, you mentally went through your list of feeble romantic relationships.

Jordan was in town, you had heard about them a few days ago. But asking them to be your date out of nowhere would be embarrassing when the last thing they knew about you was that you were happy in a new relationship.

Liam’s bright blue eyes came to your mind, and you almost had the answer. You hooked up a couple of times after breaking up, and you were friendly enough for you to feel comfortable telling him the truth. The problem was that your mother hated Liam.

The list continued getting shorter and shorter, your anxiety levels higher and higher. You shouldn’t have lied to your mother, but pride was a marvelous and twisted thing and you shared such a stupid little thing with her.

“Have you spoken to your father?” she asked, unbeknownst to her only adding to the pile of regrets and worries.

“Brianna said he’s out of town.”

Your mother grunted. It was clear that both of you knew Brianna had lied. “Well, you’ll see him for New Year’s.”

“I suppose, yes.”

She said your name sternly. “He’s your father.”

He didn’t act like he was. “He hasn’t called in weeks,” you explained. “I am not sure he wants to see me.”

”Your father is a busy man,” she told you. It was like a reflex to her, excusing him even though she had divorced him when you were eight.

Adults and their busy lives, wrapped in their lies and inane promises. You had really tried to be different, but caving in was too easy. What a mess.

“I have to leave you,” she lamented. You could hear that she meant it by the emotion that seeped into her voice. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Have a nice day,” you wished her, voice trembling as anxiety fully kicked in.

The moment the line clicked, you dropped your cellphone onto the sofa. Sniffing, you walked into your bedroom in search of a hair tie.

You needed to keep your hands busy so you could come up with something to say. Or somebody to date.

════════════════════════

Damian’s scrutinizing gaze greeted you as he opened the door. You analyzed his stance and attire, trying to assess whether you had interrupted anything or not.

He stepped back without taking his eyes off you, hand still on the door handle. His hair was damp, and he looked extremely comfortable, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

He would also have looked approachable if his eyes weren’t so sharp.

“Are you coming in or not?”

You reacted, extending your arms to offer a container to him. “I made cookies earlier.”

He looked down at the container in your grasp, then back up at your face. “Get inside.”

You stepped into Damian’s apartment, used to the minimalistic style that you secretly wished you had chosen for your own place.

At the same time, you liked your apartment. Your mother helped you decorate, and she had impeccable taste.

He placed the cookies onto the coffee table, motioning for you to sit.

Sitting down, you watched him do the same just in front of you. His gaze was still sharp, but he waited for you to speak.

When you didn’t, he said, “I know you bake when you’re stressed.”

“It calms me.”

“You baked a pie two days ago. In the middle of the night.”

“And it was good,” you said immediately. “Right?”

He nodded. “Delicious,” he assured you. “Yet I can’t help but worry.”

You gripped your hair, exhaling harshly. “Holiday stuff.”

“Did you finally come to terms with the fact that all those ornaments look awful?”

“They do not,” you said, quite offended. You had spent an entire weekend decorating the living room. Sighing at the memory of choosing Christmas decorations and ornaments with your now ex-boyfriend, you explained your problem, “Travis broke up with me this past Saturday, and I don’t know how to tell my mother.”

Confusion was clear in Damian’s features. You had expected a comment about how you could find someone better, but not this.

“He was going to attend Leonard’s Christmas party with me.”

Leonard was your step-father. Your mother married him when you were a pre-teen and since then you had never skipped one of his parties or events.

He was the only reason why your mother and you were rich, and your biological father hated you for choosing him.

Money hadn’t been the reason why you took a liking to Leonard, although having everything you wanted and needed was nice, but your father wouldn’t have understood even if he tried.

Damian lifted an eyebrow. You could tell he wished you were joking.

“Too soon, I know.”

“I’m just shocked you planned to take him from all people to such event.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You met him on a dating app and your first date was at a bar,” he reminded you as though that explained everything. Your semblance must’ve shown skepticism because he added, “You are not supposed to take somebody like him to your family’s house unless you hate your family.”

“A lot of people do that and their relationships succeed.”

Damian inhaled sharply, shaking his head. “Does Travis even own a suit?”

“I was going to buy him appropriate clothes, a matching tie, get him a haircut... He hates formal attire.”

“I thought you liked your step-father.”

“I do. That’s why I was finally going to take somebody with me so people wouldn’t ask him why I’m always single and make him uncomfortable.”

He hummed, nodding slowly. “So you wanted him to try and explain why his step-daughter was dating a bad boy caricature. Very reasonable.”

“First of all, some bad guys are attractive. Have you seen The Phantom of The Opera?”

“You didn’t just insult Erik’s skills like that,” he said, offended.

“I’m not comparing him to Travis. It was an example.”

“A poor one at that unless Travis smells as bad as Erik.”

You shook your head. Damian was exaggerating when he said Travis was a bad boy caricature — apart from the fact that he loved wearing leather and sometimes took part in street races, he was a normal guy.

“Besides,” he continued, always eager to be right, “a bad boy and a bad guy aren’t the same thing. I thought you were literate in media.”

It seemed like he would never let go of the fact that you had switched careers when film school got unbearable.

“The point is,” you tried to go back to the topic at hand, “that it could have worked.”

“If you say so,” he said sarcastically. “You didn’t tell me what is it that Leonard usually says when people ask about your love life.”

“That I’m focused on my career or that I like to keep my private life separate from big events.”

Leonard had always been nice to you. He never planned to have children of his own, yet he never complained about you. From the day you met, he tried to befriend you, and eventually, he started to treat you as a daughter. He never made you call him dad unlike your father’s third wife who cried when you refused to call her mom — he never forced you to do anything.

Damian offered you a cookie, but you shook your head and he motioned for you to continue speaking as he took a cookie for himself.

“I lied to my mother earlier and I don’t know what I’m going to do or say, but I would rather eat my own foot than tell her my boyfriend chose to break up with me a week before the day he was supposed to meet her.”

Damian bit into the cookie, and you waited for a comment about how good or bad it was. He stared at you, brow twitching, before he once again made a movement with his hand so you would continue talking.

He knew you too well for your own good. And he also seemed to know that leaving you alone with your mind wasn’t such a good idea when you were in distress.

“I considered calling up an escort and have them pretend to be my partner, but I’m nervous,” you admitted, dropping your hands onto your lap for a second before moving them to rest on the couch, one at each of your sides. “What if that ruins it even more? Such a waste of money. And the embarrassment…”

He silently chewed, eyes focused on you. As he swallowed, he pinched his nose with his free hand. “I’ll do it.”

“You want to pay for the escort?”

Unamused, he clarified, “I’ll pretend to be your boyfriend.”

“I can’t ask that from you, Damian. You have your own events to attend! You said you would spend the holidays at your father’s house.”

He stayed silent, not taking his eyes off you. He then licked his bottom lip and said, “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll be your sweet and loving boyfriend in front of your family and Leonard’s acquaintances, and you’ll be my mysterious and charming girlfriend in front of my family and my father’s acquaintances.”

His offer was reasonable. Pretending was easy for you, meaningless. Leonard and your mother were always clear when they asked you to dress in certain ways or attend boring events — they weren’t expecting you to change, just to fool other people into thinking you were different.

They did the same, and that was enough for you.

Leonard’s smile was fake and tight in public when the only thing you could think about the smiles he gave you around the house was how warm they were.

Your mother was the opposite. You had seen her the happiest with Leonard, but she had always been rather cold as a person. In public, she was a lovely woman, always smiling and laughing.

“We can’t be in two places at once.”

“Father doesn’t celebrate Christmas publicly,” he explained blandly. “You just need to buy a new gown and cancel your plans for New Year’s.”

“For your father’s annual ball?”

“Exactly.”

“I can do that,” you assured him. Or yourself.

That night, as you stepped back into your apartment, you couldn’t help but make a face of disgust.

The ornaments were truly awful. You had gone overboard with everything — at the moment it had felt so good, laughing and drinking with Travis as you filled the living room with colors.

But that wasn’t your style. You didn’t even like colored Christmas lights.

════════════════════════

Despite your best efforts, you couldn’t keep yourself from being nervous. The last time you took somebody to one of Leonard’s big parties had been awkward and uncomfortable, a high school boyfriend who was too eager to impress your family.

Everybody understood because teen relationships usually are awkward and over-the-top. Now you wouldn’t have an excuse, you were an adult with a job and so-called social skills.

The first one was spot on. You had a job, you loved your job — and you didn’t need a job so you never felt pressured.

Your social skills, however, worried you. It was the anxiety playing tricks with your confidence, you knew, yet you couldn’t do anything but indulge it.

A part of you wondered if you would be this nervous if Travis was the one accompanying you. Perhaps you would be in a worse estate, or perhaps he wouldn’t have allowed you to worry.

But you didn’t have time to think about the what if’s. The party would take place the next day.

Time had flown by, you had been busy buying gifts and attempting to wrap them while balancing work and your friends’ own Christmas celebrations.

As though he knew you were a ball of nerves, curled up on the couch with a blanket over your shoulders and hands around your fourth —or was it the fifth?— cup of coffee that evening, Damian knocked upon your door.

You weren’t surprised to see him. He had said you would need to go through a few details before Leonard’s party.

You had barely interacted with Damian throughout the week, but he had assured you he was ready. He even sent you a picture of the tie he bought for the party, wanting to make sure the color was the right one.

His eyes scanned the living room as he made himself comfortable. He didn’t make a comment about the new ornamentation, but the fact that he hadn’t scowled was a good sign.

“I assumed you would be baking in preparation.”

“I’m not that stressed.” You folded the blanket and rested it onto the arm of the couch. “Can I offer you something to drink? Water, coffee, tea, alcohol...”

He shook his head. “Thank you. So, you don’t bake for your family?”

“Oh! I do, but on other occasions. Birthdays, anniversaries...” You sighed, shrugging. “Private things.”

A few times your mother had encouraged you to bake your father a birthday cake, but he rarely spent his birthday in town so that was even rarer.

“Have you already made our story up?”

“I suppose we should stick to the truth for the most part. Neighbors, then friends, and then...”

“Are you going to awkwardly tell your mother you’re dating me or are you just messing with me?”

”it’s hard for me to lie to my mother,” you explained, abashed. “It’s even worse if I have her in front of me.”

Damian stood up and opened an arm. “Come here.”

“I don’t need you to comfort me.”

He scoffed. “I’m not trying to comfort you. Come.”

You stood in front of him, looking down at his hand. “You want me to take it?”

“No. Well, perhaps...” He pensively looked at your form. “We have never been close physically.”

It had escaped you that you would need to touch him in order for your relationship to be believable. “So we’re going to practice.”

He hummed. “I’ll have my arm around you for most of the night,” he emphasized.

You stood beside him, expecting him to rest his arm behind your neck. Damian placed his palm on your upper back first, tentative.

His hand slowly slid up, tracing your shoulder blade. As he wrapped his arm around both your shoulders, he grunted.

Turning to look at him, you asked, “What?”

“It’s rather awkward to walk around in this position.”

“Okay,” you breathed out. “So?”

He slanted his head to face you. “Waist or hip?”

You considered the question, thinking about the way your dress would fall down your body. “Which one do you think would look better?”

“I have no clue.”

At least he was honest. Moving his hand off your shoulder, you lightly took it in your grasp. “Let’s stand in front of the mirror.”

Damian didn’t withdraw his hand from yours as you guided him into your bedroom. He curiously stared at the walls, quickly glancing at everything his eyes could fall onto.

He knew so much yet so little about you... you were friends, yes, and he trusted you with things he had never even imagined he would say out loud. At the same time, he was still getting used to his new life.

It wasn’t drastically different, but it was freeing in ways he never expected. With his new life came you, and he was astonished over the fact that you hadn’t met before when you had been forced to frequent the same places. Your presence was refreshing — welcomed from the very beginning.

Damian blinked rapidly. Getting reflective over being at a friend’s bedroom for the first time was new, too.

Standing in front of the mirror, you let go of his hand. Damian surrounded your body with his arm, delicately resting his hand on your waist.

“Is that okay?” he asked, watching you through the mirror as you shifted.

“Yeah. You can lower your hand if you want.”

He did so, pressing his palm against your hip.

“I think,” you mumbled, “your hand on my hip accentuates my stomach a little too much.”

He slowly trailed his hand upward, stopping at your waist once again. “Like that?” he asked in a whisper.

“Like that,” you agreed.

The two of you stood there for a long moment, facing your reflections. You moved first, and regretted it as the temperature changed over your form.

You hadn’t realized Damian’s body was that warm.

Sitting down on your bed, you followed his movements with your eyes as he sat on your vanity’s chair.

“Speak your mind,” he commanded.

“What if Leonard doesn’t believe... us?”

“I believe he has attended a few of my father’s celebrations.” He was stiff as he spoke. “But,” he added, “I have never crossed paths with him.”

“At least he doesn’t hate you.”

“Has he hated people you’ve taken to his parties?”

“Mmmmh...” You tilted your head as you made yourself comfortable by crisscrossing your legs. “Not to one of his parties per se, but he hated the boyfriend I had in college. They had met before.”

Damian’s eyebrows shot up. “You only had one boyfriend in college?”

“No,” you laughed as you confessed, “but my family only met one.”

“I’m more worried about your mother.” He tried to be nonchalant as he said it, but it sounded like a confession too.

But you weren’t. Damian was easy to like. You would have worried if he had to meet your father — he always seemed to think the opposite your mother did. Your father would have told you not to date somebody more attractive than you, or mocked you for supposedly dating a rich guy too.

“Don’t mention her age and everything will go smoothly.”

“I honestly can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

You shrugged. “Just to be safe, assume I am not.”

He huffed a laugh, mouth twinging before he sighed.

As he stood up, you did too. Damian looked at the time just to be sure that he had to leave already and said, “I should let you get some sleep and get some rest of my own.”

Agreeing, you silently walked him towards the door. You wanted to thank him for doing this, ask if he was sure he was willing to not only do this for you but trust you with returning the favor.

Words didn’t come out of you. They did from him. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Yeah, you would see him in the morning for what would probably be one of the longest days of your life.

[jbhenwiler]

SU Fanfic: Redemption from a Dark World Day 3+Epilogue

REDEMPTION FROM A DARK WORLD- A STEVEN UNIVERSE FANFICTION

---------------------------------Day III

   David is fast asleep.  Garnet and Pearl are talking in the kitchen.

Garnet: We're not going to be able to keep Steven's Diamond identity a secret for much longer.

Pearl: ...I know.  (Looks at David with a sad expression) He trusts us so much... Telling him out of the blue would break him.

Garnet: ...Steven, I know you're listening.  Come over here.

   Steven, who had been eavesdropping, walks over to the counter.

Steven: We have to break the news to him somehow.  And the Diamonds can't be trusted to stay away from me or Earth forever.  He's going to find out sooner or later.  We need a plan to do this safely, in a way that won't mess David up too much... How about we do it while David's doing something he likes?

Pearl: What exactly does David like?

Steven: ....He really likes eating, maybe we could have a picnic?

Pearl: That's a great idea, Steven.  We'll spend the morning making food and we can go into the forest to the west of town.  We could even bring Connie along so we can introduce her to David.

   David stirs in his sleep, tossing and turning a bit.  He mumbles lightly with a fearful tone.

Steven: If we do this right, it might break his fear of Gems too...

Pearl: It's settled then.  (Takes out a Diamond communicator from her pearl) One playdate with the Diamonds, coming up!

Steven: I better get to sleep to help in David's nightmare.  He looks like he needs me.

   Steven goes to bed while Pearl opens a channel to the Diamond Control Room.  She talks with Yellow Pearl in the background while the scene transitions.  Spinel can be seen making faces in the background of the screen while Yellow Pearl is talking.

......................

   Inside David's nightmare...

   David is kneeling in the middle of the street of his former hometown.  Everything is still and dead, and gray ashes are slowly falling from the sky.  The charred skeletons of buildings stick out haphazardly from the ground.

David: Steven... Where are you?

   Suddenly, a Jasper looms over him.

Jasper: Well, well.  What do we have here.  Are you lost, little boy?

David: N-No!

   The Jasper roughly grabs him by the arm.

Jasper: Come'ere.  I know just the place for you.

   Jasper drags David through the street.  The scene transitions and David is in a cage.  A Peridot can be seen in the background, typing a report on her limb enhancer's holographic screen.  David is crouched in a corner of his enclosure, his face buried in his knees.  His clothes and body are filthy.  Suddenly, a loud thumping like giant footsteps can be heard and David looks up.  The Peridot also notices this and closes her screen to face the door.  Through the giant sliding doorway walks Yellow Diamond.

Peridot: (Doing the Diamond salute) How can I help you, my Diamond?

Yellow Diamond: This human you have in your care; I need him for a special task.  Open the cage.

Peridot: Yes, right away, my Diamond.  (Reopens her holo-screen and presses a button on it.  Immediately the cage beeps and the door opens.)

   Yellow Diamond reaches into the cage and pulls out a shivering, panicking David.  She quickly bubbles the helpless human and turns to Peridot.

Yellow Diamond: As you were.  (Leaves with David)

   David struggles to pop the bubble as Yellow moves through a series of hallways.

Yellow Diamond: If you continue to resist I will crush you, human.

   David's eyes widen with fear and he stops moving.  Yellow passes through another door into an open arena-like area.  A medium-sized group of assorted Gem soldiers with Yellow Diamond insignias on their chests are waiting there.  Yellow sets the bubble containing David down in the middle of them.

Yellow Diamond: Listen up!  This is your new combat training regimen!  Your missions will be to quash human resistance, therefore your training will involve fighting live humans.  As a beginner level, this human will be unarmed.

   One of the Quartzes in the group gives a vile grin straight at David.  David swallows nervously.

David: It HAS to be this memory.

Yellow Diamond: You have ONE rule.  Do NOT kill the human.  You are free to injure him, but anyone who terminates his life will answer to me.  And... Begin!  (She pops David's bubble)

David: (Immediately begins to flee the soldiers, who begin to form up and surround him.)  Come on, Steven, where are you??  (Says this in a nervous sing-songy voice)

   The soldiers and Yellow seem to not be able to understand what he is saying.

Quartz 1: What's this guy spouting?

Quartz 2: Who's this "Steven" he keeps talking about?

Yellow Diamond: Ignore his ramblings and attack him!

   "Evil Quartz" gladly does so.  She rushes at David, and before he can react, slashes across his stomach with her sword.

David: GAH!  (Blood begins to seep out of the cut)

Evil Quartz: Wow, look at all the red stuff!  (Slashes again)

David: (Narrowly dodges the blade, but still sustains another small cut) Please stop!

   The Gems surround him and summon their weapons.  David falls to the ground and is beyond terrified.

David: STEVEN HEEELLLLLP!!!!

   Steven drops down from the roof of the building outside, surrounded with a spiked bubble.  He lands on the crowd of soldiers, poofing a couple of Agates and Amethysts.

Yellow Diamond: WHAT IS THIS!?

David: (Gets up) Steven!

Steven: (Notices David's injury) Quick!  Over here!

   David runs over to Steven.  Steven quickly licks his hand and before David can protest, he rubs the spit all over the gash on his stomach.  It instantly heals.

David: (Is mildly disgusted) ...Care to warn me next time?

Yellow Diamond: GET THEM!

Steven: (Bubbles himself and David)  Let's get out of here!

David: Wait!  There's something I want to do here.

Steven: (Pops the bubble) Be careful!

   David thinks to himself for a second, and when he opens his eyes, his sword appears in his hands.  His eyes gleam when he sees his blade.

David: (Slowly steps toward Evil Quartz with a determined look on his face)  I've wanted to do this for SO long...  (Assumes a fighting stance)

Evil Quartz: (Whistles)  (The other soldiers form up and surround David again)

Steven: David!

David: Don't worry kid!  I've got this!

David: (Holds his sword up) You guys have done SO well in your training!  Now for the next level:  (Grins darkly) Fighting armed humans who happen to have a bloody vengeance against you!  HAH!!  (Launches into combat)

   David goes straight for Evil Quartz, but is stopped by two other Quartzes.  David falters a little bit but quickly recovers and executes a wide slash on both of them.  They recoil, a tear appearing on their forms.  David jumps and slashes Quartz 2 right through the head.  She poofs on the spot.  Wasting no time, David spins around, giving his sword enough momentum to plow straight through Quartz 1, destroying her form instantly.  However, Evil Quartz cunningly sneaks up behind David and prepares to impale him on her sword.

Steven: DAVID!!  (Quickly jumps into the battle, jumping onto David just as Evil Quartz thrusts her blade, causing her to miss)

David: Steven!?

       Suddenly, Steven's Gem begins to glow.  David begins to glow too.  Before either of them have a chance to say anything, their bodies merge into a single brightly-shining form.  An explosion shocks the entire arena.  The dust settles, and standing where David and Steven was a tall, moderately-slim man with curly brown hair, four arms, a confused face, and wearing Steven's jacket, which inexplicably had been turned red, and Steven's shirt, which now bears a rip where David had been cut, which uncannily showed off Steven's gem.  He also wore jeans that were torn-up at the ends of the legs and were also now too short for his height.

Yellow Diamond: WHAT.

Daven: Umm...

Evil Quartz: RAAAGHH!! (Savagely attacks the fusion)

   All confusion leaves Daven's face.  He raises one of his four arms and produces a Rose Quartz shield.  The shield effortlessly blocks Evil Quartz's strike.  They stand there paused for a second, the soldier's blade seemingly stuck on the magic disc of Steven's protection.  Daven dodges out of the lock and runs around at a higher speed than a human could normally run at, leaving clouds of dust where every fast-moving footfall landed.  A confounded Evil Quartz chases after them, but is unable to keep up.  Soon, Daven has come full circle and is now behind Evil Quartz.  Daven draws his sword and jumps, his momentum carrying him on a locked course straight for the soldier's back.  The sword collided with the Quartz's back, slicing into her form and poofing her with a satisfyingly large explosion of magic dust.

David: (Hefting his sword over his shoulder and looking at the viewer) I'm really feeling it!  (Winks at camera)

Yellow Diamond: (Face contorted with rage) ENOUGH!! (Shoots her lightning attack at Daven)

   Daven takes a direct hit from the electricity.  He screams in pain, then de-fuses.  Steven and David are left in a weakened state.  They reach out to each other, but Yellow stomps in their way.  She picks up David and lifts him upward.

Steven: David... No...

   Yellow Diamond squeezes David and crushes him with a sickening crunching sound.  She drops his lifeless body to the ground and reaches for Steven.  Before Yellow can touch Steven, the nightmare glitches out like last time, whites out, and ends.

   David woke up with a gasp, then silently cursed at himself for being stupid enough to take on Yellow Diamond, prodding his rib cage even though he knew he hadn't actually broken anything.  Pearl noticed David waking up and walked over to him.

Pearl: Did Steven help you?

David: ...Yeah.  Yeah he did.  (Still reeling from the rush of fusion and the pain of being squished)

   Steven got up and walked down to the main level of the house.  He seemed to be a bit fazed too.

Pearl: What happened in there?

Steven:  ...We... fused.

   Pearl is confused.

Pearl: You fused... While sharing a dream?

David: It happened so fast...

Pearl: How did it happen?

Steven: I think he was trying to protect me at the same time I wanted to protect him.  Then it happened.

   Garnet, the expert of fusion herself, walked over.

Garnet: (Thinks for a second before speaking) It seems that your fusion was born not out of romance like mine, or friendship like Stevonnie's... But a bond like the kind that siblings share.

David: (Blushes a bit)  You got me, Garnet.  I admit it Steven, you're kinda like the little brother I never had.

   Steven and David hug, warm smiles on both their faces.  They glow again and once more, Daven forms, for real this time.  Pearl and Garnet stand there, mouths agape with shock.

Daven: (Is dumbstruck) ....Is this going to happen EVERY time we hug now!?

Pearl: You've only known each other a couple days; how do you have such a strong bond already?

Garnet: Bonds forged in battle, even dream battles like they experienced, are very powerful.  I should know.  One of the reasons why I am such a strong fusion is because of the many battles we've shared.

Daven: (Is contemplating this)

Pearl: So what exactly can you do?

Daven: Hmm... I can show you, but we'll have to do it outside.

   The three of them walked out to the beach.  The Sun hadn't risen yet, but the Moon provided sufficient illumination.  Daven took up a runner's crouch.

Daven: Ready?

   Pearl nodded.

   Daven took off, quickly building up speed until he had to be dashing close to 35 miles per hour.  Garnet and Pearl looked awestruck as the fusion moved like a blur around the beach, small explosions of sand forming with every step.  He slowed to a stop in front of Garnet and Pearl.

Pearl: Amazing, simply amazing...

Garnet: Good work, you two.  Your bonds have given rise to a beautiful fusion.

Daven: This is great and all... But what do we do when we want it to end?

Pearl: I'm sorry, what?

Daven: Is there a button we press or something?  I can't figure out how to unfuse.

Pearl: How did you unfuse in the nightmare?

Daven: Yellow shot lightning at us!

Pearl: (Is very confused) All you have to do is think of unfusing as one.  It shouldn't be that hard!

Garnet: Imagine you're making a wish that you want to be apart once more.  Steven's gem will do the rest.

   Steven and David pictured themselves unfusing in their minds, and they did.

Pearl: Steven, you've fused before, how did you forget how to unfuse!?

Steven: That was more David talking.  He was kinda panicking thinking we were stuck like that forever.

David: (Blushes and laughs nervously) Yeah... I guess I overreacted.

   On the horizon, over the ocean, the Sun began to rise.  David becomes enthralled by it, staring intently into the distance.

David: It's... Been so long since I saw the sunrise.  Between being in a cage and living in a cave... It's so beautiful...

   Amethyst pops out from inside the house.

Amethyst: Yo, dudes, what'd I miss?

Pearl: Only an important milestone in David's recovery!  Where were you?

Amethyst: Napping in my room, duh.  Gotta get up on my beauty sleep.

Pearl: Ugh.

David: Anyway, (Looks at Steven) breakfast?

Steven: Breakfast.

   The two of them walked inside.  Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst stay outside.

Pearl: The Diamonds agreed to the meet-up.  We'll do it in the forest, away from town.

Amethyst: So we're actually doing this?  David's going to be... Not happy.

Garnet: It's for his own good.  He needs to overcome his fear of the Diamonds, and Gems in general.  He also needs to know the truth about Rose.

Amethyst: Garnet, you took that news hard enough.  Rose saved David's freaking life.  He puts an insane amount of trust in her.  This plan is going to backfire big-time.

Pearl: We have no other option.  The Diamonds will arrive at around noon.  All we have to do is keep David happy up until that point.

Amethyst: Well... It's as good a plan as any.  I'm going to feel so sorry for him...

   The three of them enter the beach house.  David and Steven are eating waffles with syrup.

Pearl: David, me and Garnet were talking, and we thought it might be a good idea to have a picnic in the forest!  We can start making the food when you're finished with your breakfast.

David: Really?  Oh, I'm not the best cook.

Amethyst: It's fine, man.  Steven here is practically a chef.  He'll help you no sweat.  (Steven nods)

David: (While having a mouth full of waffle) Oh, OK.

   David and Steven finish their food and go to the kitchen.

David: So, what are we making?

Steven: Hmm... Maybe sandwiches and salad?

David: Sounds like a plan.

   David and Steven made the food.  They made ham sandwiches and a salad with hard-boiled eggs and raisins.  (David's request) They put it all into a basket and set it in the fridge.

   Steven: Phew, we got through them all.  Let's wait for dad and Connie to arrive then we'll go.

   About an hour later Greg and Connie pulled up in the van.

Connie: Hey, Steven!

Steven: Connie!  (Runs out to meet her.  David cautiously follows him.)

Connie: So, who's this with you?

Steven: This is David... He's got a long story behind him.

Connie: Nice to meet you, David.

   David got into the van and Pearl, carrying the picnic, got in along with Steven, Amethyst, and Garnet.  The van became extremely cramped.

Greg: Gee... At this rate I'm going to need a bigger van.  Maybe a bus.

   They drove across town until they reached the forest on the western end of town.  Greg kept driving until they reached a clearing.

Greg: All right, we're here!

   David and the others got out of the van.  The time was 11:45 AM.  They unpacked the picnic basket, set out a blanket, and David, Steven, Amethyst, and Greg began to eat.

David: ...This is really nice.  What a beautiful forest.

Greg: Me and Rose would sometimes come out here at night and stare up at the stars.   (Pearl glares at him)

David: I hope my Rose is okay...  She's probably never going to give up searching for me...

Steven: I feel really bad for the humans on your world too...  I wish we could go and help them...

David: I wish that too sometimes... I really hope that--  (It suddenly goes dark)

   The Diamond Mech, minus Steven's Leg ship, appeared above them.

David: (Now paler than any ghost could ever hope to be) T-that ship... Nonononononono!!  It's happening again!!

   White's bubble ship exited out of the head of the mech.  As it began to land, David, a look of pure terror on his face, drew his sword with shaking hands.  The Crystal Gems around him wore fearful faces as well, but not fear of the Diamonds, but fear of David's reaction to them.

White Diamond: Hellooo, Steven! (She, Blue, and, much to David's horror, Yellow, now in view and on the ground)

David: Y-y-you stay away from him!!

Steven: (Stepping in front of David) It's OK, David.  In this timeline, the Diamonds are our friends.

Blue Diamond: (Steps closer and crouches down to see David better) You must be David.

David: S-s-stay back!! (Brandishes his sword while shivering)

Yellow Diamond: He's even more fearful of us than I thought he'd be.  What did our doppelgangers do to him again?

David: (His expression goes cold, his rage building) What did you do to me?  YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO ME!?  (Pulls off his shirt) THIS IS WHAT YOU DID TO ME!!!

   Yellow and White look disgusted upon seeing David's scars, while Blue looks more confused.

Blue Diamond: What is wrong with his flesh?  It is... Deformed.

David: (Dark, icy-cold tone of voice) Yeah, that tends to happen when you use a human for a PINCUSHION.

Yellow: I did what!?  ...Actually, I'm not surprised.  I've done worse.

   This angered David more.

David: So what you did to me didn't matter!?

Steven: Woah, woah.  She didn't mean that.  Besides, this Yellow is fine.  She would never hurt you.

   David is unable to comprehend a friendly Yellow Diamond.  He stands there, a mixture of fear, anger, and confusion on his pale face.

David: How could you possibly be friends with them, Steven?  Why would you be friends with them?

White Diamond: (Confused facial expression) ...Because he's one of us?  Isn't that right, Pink?

   David's face shattered into pure, unadulterated shock.  He stood there, holding his sword, completely dumbstruck from what he'd heard.

Steven: White, that did NOT help!

White Diamond: Sorry.

David: (His face now rapidly cycling between shock, terror, anger, confusion, and betrayal) S-S-Steven...  Is Pink... Pink Diamond.  (His emotional state breaks further when he realizes what that meant)  R-Rose was... Pink too!?!?

Steven: (Solemnly nods)

   David was now a shivering, tearful wreck.  He stood there for what felt like forever, then he finally broke.  Raising his sword, he suddenly rushes at Steven with a yell, who immediately understands what is going on and summons his shield, which is then hit by David's blade, David now completely out of his mind with a whirlwind of emotions.  The other Crystal Gems produce their weapons, and David looks around at them, and the now-angry Diamonds, descends even more into emotional chaos, blinks away a torrent of tears, turns around, and runs at top speed into the forest.

Steven: (Reaches out his hand to stop him)  Wait!  (David either doesn't hear him or ignores him)

Yellow Diamond: He tried to attack you... He must be punished!

Steven: Yellow... No.  I... Deserved that.  I should have told him sooner.

Pearl: These woods are easy to get lost in.  We should go after David and make sure he doesn't get himself hurt... Or worse.

Steven: Connie?  Where's Lion?

Connie: He's... Not here.

Steven: LIIIIOOOOONNNNN!!!

   ...But nobody came.

Steven: Ugh, what a time for him to be taking a catnap.  I'll go after David.  (Runs in the direction David ran off in)

   Cut to David running through the forest.  Tears are flying down his face and are falling to the ground behind him, leaving a trail of sadness.  In the distance, Steven is attempting to catch up with him.

Steven: DAVID!!  Come back!!

   David is too lost in his torment to notice his cries.  Suddenly, he trips on a root and falls face-first into the ground.  Rather than get up and continue to run, he just lay there, sobbing to himself.  30 seconds later, Steven catches up with him.

Steven: David, why did you run off like that?

David: Go away... Diamond.

Steven: ...You know, I was shocked to find out about my mom's true identity too.  Everyone was.  But that doesn't change who I am, or who Rose was.  She really did care about us... About you.  Just because she was Pink Diamond doesn't mean that she was a monster.

   David gets up and looks at Steven, tears and dirt all over his face.

David: You can't understand how I felt... Treated like an animal, a toy to be played with and discarded...

Steven: (Now thinking back to his fight with Spinel, having some serious déjà vu)  You're right, I can't.  What the Diamonds did to you on your world was not okay.  But this world's Diamonds aren't like that anymore.  They've changed for the better.  You just need to give them a chance.

David: You saw the way Yellow treated me in that dream... Do you really think I can just leave that behind?  Do you??

Steven: David... I--

   Suddenly heavy footsteps came from behind them.

David: Ahhh!!  It's the Diamonds!  They followed us!

Steven: Wait... That doesn't sound like a Diamond's footsteps.. It sounds like...

   A corrupted Gem came into view.  It took the form of a gigantic scorpion, its tail stinger dripping with poison.  It charged towards David and Steven, a screech issuing from its mouth.  Steven quickly produced an enlarged shield and blocked the scorpion from approaching any further.

David: (Is cowering with fear)

Steven: David!  I can't hold this for much longer!

   David is continuing to cower.  Suddenly, he has a flashback.

   David is back home with his mother, as a child.  He had just come home from school with a black eye he received from a schoolyard bully.

David: I wanna give him a shiner of his own...

David's Mom: David...  That won't make anything better.  It'll just bring you down to his level.  (Produces an ice pack for David's eye)  Here, put this on your eye.

David: (Obliges) He hurts everyone he sees.  I just want to make him go away forever.

David's Mom: Bullies have their own problems.  Just because you can't see their pain doesn't mean they aren't feeling it.  What's important isn't getting revenge... It's being the better person.  Who are you going to be, David: the bully, or the better person?

   Flashback ends.

David: ...I want to be the better person.

Steven: (Is struggling to keep his shield up)  What?

David: (Draws his sword)  I DON'T CARE THAT YOU'RE A DIAMOND YOU HELPED ME AND I'M GOING TO SAVE YOU!!  (Launches himself over Steven's shield and begins to fight the Gem.

Steven: David no!!

   David is a blur of flashing sword and flailing arms.  A claw gets cut off.  A mandible soon follows.  David narrowly dodges a flying stinger and jumps onto the scorpion's back.

David: Take this!!  (Stabs the scorpion through the back)

   The corrupted Gem lets out a pained screech and collapses to the ground.

David: Yeah!!!  I did it!! I--

   The scorpion stings David in the back.  His arms go limp and he drops his sword.

Steven: NOOOO!!!

   The scorpion then poofs and David and the scorpion's gem fall to the ground, seemingly in slow motion.  Steven rushes to David's side.

Steven: David!  Come on, wake up!

   Steven gasps when he sees that David's body is covered in black veins that are spreading.

Steven: David...

   Pearl and the Diamonds walk into the area.

Pearl: What happened to David!?

Steven: (Doesn't reply, and quickly coats David's back in spit.  It sparkles a bit before going dull.

Steven: No no no!!  Why isn’t this working!?

   David's eyes flutter a little bit before closing again.

White Diamond: That is a powerful poison.  It may take all four of us to clear him of it.  (Raises her head; the Diamond Ship appears above them.)  Thankfully, it seems that he got a limited dose.  We may have time to save him.  Come, Steven.

   Steven picks up David and Pearl bubbles the Gem.  They gather close to the Diamonds, and White bubbles the whole group and floats into the ship.  It takes off towards Rose's Fountain.

   Meanwhile, inside the ship, Steven is staring at David, a desperate look on his face.  David is now cold to the touch, sweating, and shivering profusely.

Steven: Hang in there, David.  We're going to get you some help.

Pearl: If I know anything about humans, it's that they're the hardiest organic life forms I know.  He'll make it, Steven.  Just believe that.

   The Diamonds landed their ship, and they, and Steven, carrying a limp David in his arms , and Pearl, holding the bubble containing the scorpion Gem, bubbled out of it.  As soon as the white exit vehicle landed, Steven rushed through the forest of roses straight for the fountain.  Everything is quiet as the Diamonds and Pearl followed closely behind.  Steven reaches the edge of the water and walks in, setting David onto the surface of the water.  He slowly floats away from Steven,  his body deathly still.  The Diamonds settle into the pool soon afterwards.

Steven: Come on... Come on!

White Diamond: It may take some time.  Be patient, Steven.

       Camera hovers over David, and zooms in on his head, transitioning to the next scene.  David wakes up in a black void, a deep constant humming can be heard in the background.  He stands up.

David: Hello?  Anyone here??

       No one answers.  David begins to walk forward.  Suddenly mysterious moving pictures showing moments of David’s life flicker into existence overhead.

David: My memories... Am I dead??

David’s Mom: (Appears behind him out of nowhere) You’re not dead.

David: Mom!

David’s Mom: Hello, David.  It’s been a while, hasn’t it.  (Smiles)

David: Mom, I--

David’s Mom: Shhh...  You’ve done very well.  I’m so proud of you.  (She motions to a screen showing David fighting the scorpion Gem)  You’ve overcome your fears... (Motions to another memory showing David eating with the Crystal Gems at the picnic) And made incredible new friends.

David: Mom... (Hugs his mother; she hugs back.)

       David’s mom begins to sparkle and fade, the sparkles flowing into David’s chest.

David: Mom... Please don’t go...

David’s Mom: (Voice now coming from around him instead of from mom’s body) I’ll always be with you, son...    Enjoy your new world.  Goodbye for now.  (Finishes merging into David’s body)

David: Mom... (Drops to his knees, alone)

       Everything goes white and the camera switches back to hovering over David, who then wakes up.  A light breeze is blowing and birds are singing in the background.  David sits up and is still for a second, bleary.  His hands go to his torso and he lifts his shirt to wipe his eyes with.  He pauses for a second when he feels his skin, looks down at his stomach, and his eyes widen in shock.  His skin is now pristine and smooth.

David: M-my scars... They’re... Gone! (Looks at Steven, his face aglow with joy.  He stands up, dashes through the water to him, and embraces him in a tight, enthusiastic hug)  Thank you, Steven!!  (Steven is startled for a second, then he hugs David back)

Steven: (Blushing a bit) Don’t just thank me, David.  The Diamonds helped too.

       David turns around slowly to see the Diamonds looking at him.  David’s face falls a bit.  White Diamond waves at him.  David smiles nervously and gives a sheepish wave back.

Blue Diamond: Is he going to hug us too?

Steven: I don’t think he’s THAT warmed up to you guys yet...  Sorry.

       The Scorpion Gem then reforms and is uncorrupted.  In her uncorrupted form she is a purple humanoid with black spots on her skin, and a lilac stinger-shaped hairstyle.  Her Gem is at the tip of her hair’s point.  David lets out a cry and steps back.  He feels for his sword but Pearl has it.

Scorpion Gem: Hold up, it’s OK, I’m fine now!  (Holds out her hands to placate David’s fears)  My name’s Scorpio Amethyst!  Nice to meet you!

Steven:  David, she’s not going to hurt you anymore.

Scorpio Amethyst: That’s right, I’m all better now!  No poison left in me!  ...Sorry for doing that to you.

David: (Nervously steps forward a couple steps, then sighs and walks over to her, and hesitantly hugs her)  I forgive you.

       The camera zooms out to show the entire fountain.  The Diamonds are smiling at each other and David, Steven, and Scorpio Amethyst can be seen inaudibly conversing with each other.  The screen fades out.

------------------------------------------------

EPILOGUE:

ONE YEAR LATER

Yellow Pearl: Welcome to the Gem Soldier's Trials, the rite of passage for those hoping to serve and protect Gemkind and the Diamonds!  Today is a special day: We have here our very first human competitor... Presenting... David Heatherson of Earth!!

   To the tune of thousands cheering, David steps out into the arena.  Clothed in a pair of gym shorts and a tank top, David is now bulky and rippled with muscle, a spectacular transformation from his former self.  He now carries himself with endless confidence, a determined look crowning his body.

Pearl, Steven, Garnet, and Amethyst looked at the new David from the front row of the spectator stands.

Pearl: I'm impressed with how far David's come in one year, but how did he get that muscular in such a short time?

Amethyst: ...I may have sneaked some magical growth powder into his fries on some occasions.

Pearl: (Is shocked and annoyed) Amethyst!!

Amethyst: What?  It obviously helped him.  Look how happy with himself he looks now!

Pearl: You can't just go feeding a human steroids, Amethyst!  You don't know the side effects it might have!

Amethyst: (Shrugs)

Pearl: Ugh!

   Steven says nothing to them, instead opting to cheer David on as he took his starting position in the middle of the ring.  David draws his sword, hefting it effortlessly even though it no longer has its antigravity orb.

Steven: Woo!!  Go, David!!

Amethyst: Shouldn't you be sitting on your throne with the other Diamonds?

Steven:  (Stops cheering)  ...No?

Pearl: The Diamonds aren't going to be happy about this...

   Meanwhile, at the Diamond thrones:

White Diamond: (Annoyed) Where is Steven?  He should have arrived by now.

Yellow Diamond: (Looks out into the crowd and sees Steven sitting with the Crystal Gems)  He's with his friends.  Ugh, does he EVER want to be with us??  I'll go get him.

Blue Diamond:  Yellow, wait.  He's happy where he is.  Instead, let's just watch the human prove his worth.

Yellow Diamond: Fine, but he's getting a stern talk from me when this is all finished.

Yellow Pearl: Gem Soldier Trials beginning in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and... Begin!

   Instantly a legion of holographic Gem soldiers appear around David.  David is unfazed, and he begins to size up his opponents.  They took the forms of a group of 4 Amethysts, 4 Agates, and 3 Quartzes.  First, the Agates rush at him, whips drawn.  David holds his position and when the first lashes arrive, he jumps over the whips as they land.

Yellow Pearl: We're starting off with high-difficulty opponents here; those whips give the Holo-Agates higher range than what David can reach with his sword.  It's going to take some impressive footwork to get close enough to strike!

   David takes the hint.  He begins to rapidly dodge whiplashes and close in on an Agate.  The Agate he targeted notices this and ups her attacks.  David kicks into overdrive and jumps high into the air, jump-slashing the agate in half.  Despite the Gem being a hologram, David carefully maneuvered around the Agate's gem so he wouldn't "shatter" her.  He repeated this process for the other Agates in the wave, changing up his strategy for a couple of them so they wouldn't wise up to his tricks.  Soon, the wave was over.

Yellow Pearl: And David clears the first wave!

   The Amethysts then form the second wave.  David recollects himself and stands his ground once more.  Some of the Amethysts wield whips while some carry swords.  They decide to surround David, and succeed in doing so.

Steven: Uh-oh.

   David's confidence breaks a little, but he remains determined and calmly calculates a plan of attack.  But before David can formulate his strategy, an Amethyst hologram takes the opportunity to strike.  David catches the move in time, but only just.  The sword slices slightly into David's forearm, spilling a few drops of blood onto the arena floor.  David counterattacks before the Amethyst could withdraw, poofing her.

   David's cut is short but deep enough that it doesn't stop bleeding immediately.  The wound is obviously non-lethal but is still noticeable and highly distracting.  Nevertheless, David continues to see only the remaining Holo-Amethysts.

Yellow Pearl: It looks like David is hit!  Doesn't look too bad but since he's human he's dripping his interior organic fluid all over the floor!  (Yellow Pearl silently wonders how easily that will clean up)

Steven: (Is wishing he'd be allowed to go down there and heal David's cut)

   David decides to take the offense and charges at a pair or Amethysts that are close together.  The Amethysts take defense and assume a guard stance.  A third Amethyst strikes David with her whip from behind, and it connects painfully with David's back.  Despite being more stoic than he was before he can't help but let out a cry of pain.

Yellow Pearl: Ooooooh... That had to have hurt!

Blue Diamond: Why are only a few of them attacking at once?

Yellow Diamond: Our simulator can only handle a few soldiers' moves at the same time.  For some trials we have a smaller number of holo-soldiers that attack as one.  For this trial we set the simulator to have many soldiers but that limits the highest possible number of moves.  Lucky for the human, that number is low.  Otherwise he would have been overwhelmed at the second the trial started.  Besides, this simulator is designed for beginning soldiers.  Too high of a difficulty would cause too many casualties with fresh Gems, or in this case, humans.

   David continues his advance on the two Amethysts, who are still guarding.  Suddenly, one of them breaks guard and launches at David.  David notices this and prepares to parry.  David's and the Amethyst's swords collide.  They begin to swordfight, clinging swords together.  David begins searching for an opening in the opponent's defense.  It isn't long before he finds one.  With a battle cry, he thrust his greatsword forward through the hologram's stomach.  The hologram dissipates.  Out of the corner of his eye, he notices the whip-bearing Amethyst wind up for another attack at the same time the remaining sword-bearer prepared to launch her own offensive.  David looks for a way out and finds it, running to a better spot to launch an attack from.  Both attacks miss, and David now has a couple seconds to think of his next move.  He decides on the whip-wielder.  He approaches the holographic soldier.  Suddenly the other soldier attempts to attack him too.  David then remembers a technique the Pearl from his world once taught him.

David: (Whispering to himself) Zen Mode activate.

   The words awakened a special training within him, a method he wouldn't have been able to use as his previous self because he didn't have the stability of mind for it.  David filters out all sound around him except for his breathing and heartbeat within him.  The cheering in the background shrinks to a dull roar.  His eyes become hyper-focused on the two Amethysts, patiently studying their every move.  The sword Amethyst rushes him.  Keeping his focus on both simulated Gems, he prepares to block and strike back.  His whip-stricken back begins to hurt, but he compartmentalizes the pain and continues his dogged focus on his opponents.  The sword-wielder reaches him, but David was ready for her.  In Zen Mode, David can practically see everything, from the nuance of his opponent's movements to the stance they are taking to their trajectory towards him.  Using this data David quickly creates a strike plan and easily blocks the soldier's attacks.

Yellow Pearl: What's this?  David seems to have shifted gears!  He's fighting like crazy now!

Pearl: Interesting... I wonder if his world's Pearl taught him to fight like that?

Amethyst: Yeah, it's hard to keep track of him; he's going so fast!

Steven: Go, David, go!!

   David immediately realizes he has an opening in his defense and closes it before the Amethyst can notice.  At this point the other fighter makes her move, lashing out her whip at David from a safe distance. David jumps backwards just before the whip hit, and jumps back into sparring with the sword user, unfazed and still focused.  At this point David finally notices an opening in the Amethyst's defense and he strikes, impaling the holo-Gem square through the chest.

Yellow Pearl: One to go!

   David wastes no time.  He mounts a similar tactic to when he was fighting the Agates, light-footedly dodging the whip strikes and advancing steadily for the fighter's position.  This time, though, the Amethyst backs up with each step David moves forward.  It becomes clear David will not be able to use this strategy.  He darts back and regroups his thoughts, still holding on to Zen Mode even though it was beginning to wear out his brain.  He decides to brute-force his way through this enemy, and angling his blade over his shoulder, he aims precisely at the holo-soldier and with a graceful stroke, throws his sword at the Amethyst.  The weapon arcs through the air while the crowd gasped; even Yellow Diamond was caught by surprise at this move.  The Amethyst wasn't prepared for this either, and takes the sword to her neck.  The hologram poofed, and the second wave was over.  The crowd went wild.  David finally let go of his focus, but it had clearly taken its toll on him.  He goes to retrieve his sword, panting heavily.

Steven: David doesn't look so hot...

Pearl: It seems that using that fighting technique drained him of most of his power.  I hope he can survive the final round...

Garnet: (Finally chiming in)  This simulator is programmed with Gems in mind.  That means the fighters are programmed for what would be lethal force for a human, with the fact that a Gem would just poof and retreat into her gem when injured.  If David loses this fight... The result won't be pretty.

Steven: (Panicking a bit now)  What have we done!?  We shouldn't have let him do this!  Stop the fight!!

Pearl: (Now very concerned) No way we can stop this now...  David's in serious trouble.

Yellow Pearl: David is looking like he can't take much more!  Let's hope he won't get shattered, or should I say "splattered?"

   For the final round, the Quartzes form into a triangle.  They begin to dance.

Steven and Pearl together: Oh no...

   With a flash of light, the Holo-Quartzes fuse into a giant, four-armed Holo-Fusion.  All determination forgotten, David now looks panic-stricken as he desperately attempts to find a weakness in his newly-combined foe.

Yellow Pearl: David sure seems like he could use some help now!

Steven: (Is genuinely considering jumping into the fight to fuse with David so he can help him defeat the fused Quartz)

David: ...This was a bad idea.

   The giant Quartz hologram produced a fittingly giant sword, causing David to swallow nervously.

David: I'm SO going to die.

Yellow Pearl: Is it all over for our human friend?

Blue Diamond: Yellow, this should stop now.  There's no way David can survive this.

Yellow Diamond: The human wanted to do this.  It's fitting he should see it through to its conclusion.

Blue Diamond: (Now slightly annoyed) This "conclusion" will mean David being smeared across the arena!

White Diamond: I will agree with Blue, this does not look good for Steven's friend.

Blue Diamond: What will Steven think of us if we let one of his friends perish?  (Now fearfully thinking of an enraged Steven loudly declaring he never wants to see her again)

Yellow Diamond: .....  (Thinking to herself)

   Meanwhile, David is being chased around the stadium by the fused hologram.  The Quartz swings her sword in a wide arc.  Unable to keep far enough away from the charging fusion, the sword bites into David's calf with a wet slicing sound.  With a scream, David falls at running speed into the ground.

Steven: Nooo!!!

   The giant Quartz winds up a swing that will surely cleave David in half.  David, moments of his life flashing before his eyes, suddenly has a flashback of his nightmare one year prior, where his fusion with Steven was separated by Yellow Diamond's electrical attack.  He then remembers a conversation he heard from a couple Peridot technicians before the match started.

Peridot 1: Did you remember to seal the wiring on the east side of the arena?

Peridot 2: .....

Peridot 1: You forgot, didn't you?

Peridot 2: ...Yes, I'm sorry.

Peridot 1: Well, it's too late now.  The battle is about to begin.  We'll just have to hope the fighters stay away from that wall.

Peridot 2: How resistant to electricity are humans anyway?

Peridot 1: Hah, they're so weak, I bet they won't survive over half an amp.  (The two Peridots laugh)

   David now has a killer strategy... If he can execute it before he himself is.  David rolls over, causing the incoming sword swing to miss hard, the simulated sword plowing through the ground and becoming stuck.  David saw his chance and attempted to stand.  The pain in his leg immediately became almost too much to bear, and blood began to seep out of the slash.  Biting his way through the agony, David limped towards the wall on the east side of the arena.  Sure enough, a panel was missing and wires hung out of the opening.  As if to add to the perfectness of the situation, sparks were periodically flying from some of the exposed cords.

Yellow Pearl: David's hurt bad!  He seems to be attempting to make his way towards the wall; not sure what he's thinking, but whatever it is, he's determined as ever!

Steven: Come on, David... Come on!

Garnet: (Chuckles to herself proudly as her Future Vision clues her into David's strategy)

David: Just... A little... Further...

   The Quartz fusion dug the sword out of the floor, and turned to face David, who began to pick up the pace.  The Quartz began to charge at David.  David then finally reached the wall with the open panel.  Hoping to himself that his sword's grip was insulated, he lifts his sword up, the blade now heavier as David had grown weaker, and swung at the wall, cutting the wires in half.  Just as the Quartz came within range, bolts of electricity flew everywhere, some narrowly missing David.  The Quartz attempted to stop, but her momentum carried her straight for the wall.  With a resounding CRASH, she hit the sparking wall at high speed, then her body lit up with power.  The hologram malfunctioned, glitching all over the place, as the crowd, including the Diamonds, gasped with shock.  The fusion defused, then the individual components, the three Quartz holograms, finally poofed.

   The spectators went silent, unable to believe what had just happened.  Even the Diamonds were stunned.  Yellow Pearl broke the silence.

Yellow Pearl: ...D-David has cleared the final wave!  With a time of... 21 minutes and 37 seconds, David Heatherson of Earth has completed the Gem Soldier's Trial!!

   The entire stadium erupted in an uproar.  Yellow Diamond stepped off of her throne into the arena and strolled towards a panting and bleeding David.

Yellow Diamond: 21 minutes... Not bad for a human.

David: ...Thanks, Yellow.

Steven: David!!  (He had jumped down from the stands and ran over to his side)  You're hurt!

David: Yeah, I know.  (Braces himself for the spit treatment)

   Steven tediously rubbed spit on David's calf, back, and arm.  Soon his skin was healed, but a scar remained on his leg.

Steven: Looks like you've got another scar... Do you want to warp back to Earth with the Diamonds and have the fountain heal it?

David: ...Nah, it's OK.  I can live with this one.  A little token to remember this fight by.  Some humans consider battle scars to be badges of honor, after all.

   Blue and White Diamonds approach the group, smiles on their faces.

White Diamond: I'll admit, I thought you were going to die there.  What a turnaround!

Blue Diamond: Who trained you to fight like that?

David: Pearl from my world taught me to use focus in battle, the rest was basic swordplay.

   The Diamonds gathered into a group, and motioned for Steven to take his place in front of them.  He did.  David had rehearsed this moment, so he knew what was about to happen.  He gets up and stands before the four of them, then kneels.

White Diamond: By the power of the Diamond Authority:

Steven and White, Blue, and Yellow Diamonds: We dub you Pink Diamond's protector!

Yellow Diamond: (Crouches down to be close to David's level) Protect him with your life, for as long as your short existence allows.

David: ...I will.

   Yellow Diamond gets up.  David does too.  Steven rushes forward and locks David in a hug, as the camera zooms out to show the cheering crowds occupying the stands.

                   THE END.

[gg-astrology]

SEVENTEEN: Xu Minghao (The8) - Overview

💕 Hello! Sorry for the long break but I want to get this out today! There’s been so much materials lately with all the SVT stuff that is going on (check out ‘Holiday’ special video if you can!) Please remember to take care of yourself and your own mental health if you need a break! 💕 

SVT Overview Series:

Seungcheol | Jeonghan | Joshua | Jun | Wonwoo | Hoshi | Seungkwan | Vernon | Woozi | 

Woozi’s Inner Planet Natal Reading

Masterlist

💕Disclaimer: I’m not claiming to be an expert astrologer nor do I know these people personally. These are my interpretations and how they’re working based on my experiences/studies on them. Everyone has different opinions/studies in astrology, please be mindful of others and all interpretation/experiences is valid to an extent. However, feel free to make your own post or skip if you strongly disagree. There might be inaccuracy and difference in opinions. But the point of this post is to entertain and relate. I’m hoping to help people with similar experiences and get people excited about astrology. Also, since we don’t know most of their birth times, I’m using the standard 12.00pm💕

Xu Ming Hao (The8/Seo Myung Ho)

November 7th, 1997 (Anshan, Liaoning, China)

Scorpio Sun/2nd Decan Pisces

Honestly Minghao should be our Icon for Scorpio out there just because he Does It So Well!!! 

It’s a lot more than just his Sun/Mercury (both in Scorpio) -- his aura just screams Scorpio, even his Aquarius Moon seems to somehow Behave when he’s around.  

You know what Scorpio does that make them seem so coy? It’s because their eyes are so expressive, particularly when they ‘sink’ into you (like focus in on you) -- they do that thing where they look away for a second into the distance, look back at you and then ‘sink’ into you before blinking it out of existence and leaves people kind of breathless (like ‘wtf was that??? what’s going on??’) 

It’s not so much as an intensity as something we’re not normally used to (from other water signs, where they start off somewhere and consistently goes about it) with Scorpio it’s a combination of how actually/facially expressive they are + their shift in expressions that makes them so ‘mysterious’ and interesting.

 It’s more than that, but on the surface level this is why they may seem coy, seductive or mysterious to other people. It’s one of the many traits others are interested by/picked up on. And it’s just so-- Scorpio.

Anyways that’s just a small tid bit, let’s actually talk about Minghao now

Scorpio natives at their core (self-esteem/ego) are naturally sensitive, they often gets a lot of flack for not being sensitive enough when in actuality they have a lot of potential to be one of the most giving, compassionate and deeply sympathetic people out there.

Because they’re not conventionally giving like how we expect water signs to be --the Mars ruled Scorpio often gets misunderstood for how they care/show their affections for others-- seemingly a bit more stilted or selective on how they do so (with their methods).  

This doesn’t take away from the fact that they are responsive to others and they do care for them. As part of their core, their energy is internalized (Mars/N) towards themselves and how they react to others-- they focus alot more on self-improvement in order to remedy their situation, rather than relying on changing the world to suit them.  

Scorpio Sun in general, may find themselves having a natural affinity to self-reflect and get introspective/understand themselves a lot better than understanding others. Because through understanding themselves, they can help educate, encourage and support others as well. 

There’s stability there in their approach, from inside outwards. That’s some kind of inner beauty right there, where they can resolve any personal problems that comes their ways and help others along with it as well (long-term problems)

In a way, it helps as much as it hinders. If the opposite applies-- when they are confronted with problems they can’t resolve about themselves, they tend to feel helpless and become vulnerable-- often cut back on their self-esteem, self-expression and potential because they are unwilling to try/give chance to an alternative hope. 

It’s like making a decision of whether to take one big leap forward, or stay where they are. Often times, when they’re hindered they’d rather take the defensive than the offensive. And in this time, the natural Scorpio ‘venom’ builds up in themselves and poison them instead. 

Scorpio is a sign about progress, it may be a fixed sign but it’s natural state should be constantly looking for transformation. If transformation isn’t kept, then it’ll drown them from the inside out.

Transformation in this case isn’t just talking about cardinal movement/progress, it’s talking about switching. When they go from offensive to defensive, but is too afraid to go back from defensive to offensive. It eats them up inside instead. 

Same applies to offensive who can’t get back to defensive, without the defensive portion to their transformation-- they can find themselves searching in a desert without water, and not knowing when they can rest/find their solace.   

Scorpio sun natives are gifted with inner depth to them, with this comes a personal demon as well. But conquering this demon through bravery and courageousness that they exhibit for other people’s problems is something that’s harder for them to apply back into themselves. 

Don’t stress too much about it, sometimes certain things can feel very stagnant, but as life progresses onwards-- Scorpio will find themselves naturally adapting from one side to another anyways. It’s a relief/solace to them to be able to do this subconsciously sometimes. 

Part of the problem occurs when they want to switch at will, or are conscious of what’s making them feel worse about themselves and wanting control. This is part of the offensive side of Scorpio, but learning that things happen passively sometimes-- with certain things happening as you let it happen (the other side) is also part of the lesson Scorpio will have to learn. 

A part of being Scorpio is that they’re never too paralyzed by change. 

Changes happen and changes are encouraged, however that stems from inner stability that they seek to have, in order to be comfortable enough within themselves that they can adapt/flex on their powers to move through changes (glide through them, water sign). 

When changes happens that they aren’t in control of, the main focus of external change becomes how it affected them internally instead. 

Rather than focusing on how the change had taken something away from them against their will, it is usually seen as a more of a ‘trigger’ to a spiraling of event for themselves rather than the change being a thing in and of it’s own. 

To a Scorpio native sun, it’s not just a singular thing that’s changed. It’s about the consequences of those change and how it had affected everything around them as well. This is why they’re part of the water sign, with their ability to link several subconscious things together and identify them flawlessly as part of the bigger picture. 

This is part of why they’re naturally suspicious or curious about certain things, because they see/can envision how those things can correlate to a lot of other consequences as well. Scorpio may not be the most careful in the conventional sense, but for loopholes and subconscious pick-ups, they’re extremely adept at avoidance and figuring out those problems.

Scorpios are actually pretty optimistic, if you’re grading the scale on what they’ve been through/how they can still have the ability to stand on their own two feet despite their challenges and sometimes trauma. 

Their wisdom didn’t come from speculations or pre-planning, it came from experience and courage the Scorpio has to give back to themselves in order to become a better person as well. 

This optimism gives them that ability to look forward to better things, regenerative powers and healing for themselves and others. 

Again, with Scorpios. It’s about the inside out, If they can’t heal themselves, then what’s the point of others trying to heal them?  

Accepting help is one thing, but self-improvement and aligning said help with how they can help themselves (regenerative) is just as important.  

Anyways, Scorpio in the Pisces decans may exhibit an interest in self-expression and artistry at a young age, 

More so than finesse itself it’s about finding an outlet for their energy/self-expression that could be communicative/self-identification outside of themselves.

Think of it as like, energizing something with their soul energy. Like a game. 

Through their hands/eyes/physical body they let their soul energy (core-Sun) through the act of creating something instead. 

With Minghao, you can see it in the way he dances and his interests in other artistry/fashion/crafts. 

His interests in artistry isn’t just for him to admire alone, it’s for him to create and explore his own outlet himself as well. 

It’s not just about recreating something once and being done with it, it’s about appreciating every process and details that goes into it as well (Scorpio-- thorough/methodical)

Pisces brings an element of carefulness to the Scorpio, it helps balances the stagnancy and determination the sign has itself.

With Pisces involved in the Scorpio Sun, the ego/drive of the person is balanced in the way that’s optimistic, determined and focuses a lot of planning/stabilizing the ground for their own future as well. 

You can tell Minghao gets through a lot of his hardship through understanding and expansion of himself, and to do that he has to have a lot of optimism that Pisces decan in his Sun brings.

It’s not just hard work for him, it’s an outlook. 

Having a determinedly optimistic and compassionate outlook helps him survive, focuses and bring in others into his life.

What this means is, he may find himself having an easier time drawing people to him for his compassionate nature and more open/diplomatic outlook as well.  

Pisces brings a movement to Scorpio (mutable/fixed) it gathers people rather than wait for others to come to them. 

With Pisces decan in his sun, he understands that a lot of his internal problems can be solved if he participates in a group and does his job within the group setting 

Anything else that worries/stresses him, if he offers help to others they will treat him the same way in his time of need. 

Having this support is determinedly important to Scorpio/Pisces, since the Pisces ‘opens up’ the Scorpio’s ego/self-esteem to achieving greater things in life if they give back just as much too. 

It’s a sensitive placement, a carefully dangerous one since it can titters and tilt at anytime if the person isn’t so focused/determined on staying balanced. 

I think of this as walking on a plank, if you freak out or lose concentration for a second-- all that you want to achieve in the world and all that’s great can equally unbalance the person as well. 

Like other Scorpios, Scorpio/Pisces will still have a formidable presence. 

But rather than staying guarded, they have enormous compassion and outlook (life-advice) to share with the world as well. 

Aquarius Moon 

Scorpio-Aquarius in his luminaries, Minghao shows tremendous will-power and energy to give back into the world as much as he can within his own grasp.

That’s why all of his advice are usually self-focused, by focusing on his own self and what he has learnt/gone through, he can give back to through his own steadfast determination and experience instead of wasteful, hopeful words.

It gives his Scorpio/Pisces optimism a ground to stand on, this Aquarius Moon works harder to fulfill his wants/needs with substantial, material knowledge and understanding.

Without an Aquarius Moon, Minghao might’ve had a harder time encouraging others without feeling unsure/let down by his own insecurities as well.

 Aquarius Moon when in combination with Scorpio Sun, helps the person makes quick/concise observational skills on people around them. 

Since Scorpio is already investigative and deeply understanding of others, Aquarius here acts as a counterbalance or ‘ground’ for treating people fairly/justly as well.

It’s a fail-safe, and it keeps him from imploding on others imperiously. 

With Aquarius Moon and Scorpio Sun, the person may find themselves acting more level-headed in situations but just as fiercely determined (with a cause) 

It helps them with treating other fairly, staying objective but understanding subjectivity from others. 

Balancing the mix of the two gives a person a dynamic personality where they are steadfast, grounded and self-determined to make improvements in the world through their own charge/decision in a dynamic way (as opposed to earth signs who are steadfast but more stagnant) 

This Aquarius Moon has a deep love for people, but alongside Scorpio-- they are determinedly loners despite how much they love/care for/influence others through being there for them. 

In fact, being there for other people is a commonality between Aquarius and Scorpio in the way they express their affection/care for others. 

Because they’re observers and problem-shooters for people, observational skills and being able to remedy what they see/feel the other is ‘worried/stress/in a bad place’ is something they handle with care and quietness.

Listeners in a sense, but by being present in the situation rather than passively taking in the information. Scorpio/Aquarius luminaries are those who would go above and beyond for their friends, particularly those they’ve laid their life down to. 

Because Scorpio/Aquarius are made up of Mars/Saturn this combination may have the person exhibit more of their Capricorn traits in a way that even native Capricorns hide away from/don’t tend to do. They’re pragmatic, chivalrous, steadfast, quiet and determined.

 This Aquarius Moon placement also helps spread his individuality, with Minghao-- when he establishes his outer security (being steadfast for others around him/doing his duties right) his freedom loving nature is more seen/appreciated as his form of his ‘happiness’ expression.

What this means is that, when you can truly tell that Minghao is in a happy place is when he’s branching out his interests, not being so stagnant/focused on a certain thing and engaging in other activities that he had to drop/wasn’t so focused on before.

Because he’s so fiercely loyal (Aquarius/Scorpio) and incredibly giving/loving in karma, when others betray him or brushes off relationships/hard work so easily-- he’s just perplexed and put off-guard by it rather than feeling angry.

He can’t-- he knows he can’t change others and that there are other types of people in the world who doesn’t see things the way he does (or acts in the way he does -- part of Scorpio/Pisces) -- he understands that emotionally as well (Aquarius moon) -- but rather than feeling angry/betrayed about it he brushes it off and takes it as an intellectual lesson instead. 

It’s not a lesson to ‘not trust others’ but rather a lesson to himself to use more precautionary and reflect/be receptive to those kinds of people. 

Next time, when he’s faced with problems regarding these people again-- he can find a remedy for it beforehand and he would rather think about helping them out of their own funk instead of what hurt they could cause him.

His own focus is on himself, again with Scorpio/Aquarius. It’s not about lashing out or blaming anybody else/circumstances. It’s about doing his own work, pushing his own determination and thinking ‘what could I do to help them/protect myself better through my own hard-work/self-improvement’ instead.  

This is what it means to have a Scorpio core. And what the benefits of having Aquarius Moon does for him as well. 

Disregarding the fact that it’s a pretty practical and honorable emotional outlook to have for things, Aquarius Moon does tend to disregard (unknowingly) unwanted emotions. 

Not letting themselves get carried away with quick-fire/stricken with irrational emotions, they have a hard time adapting to the full range of emotions if they don’t process or is prepared for it.  

In a way, it might be frustrating to someone who’s core/ego is through emotional fuel (Scorpio). But in this case, it’s not.

Mostly because Minghao does have sensitivity to others and it’s more of a protection than a hinderance.  

He’s still able to do and feel all the things Scorpio would want him to do, and then some (through compassion/giving nature). At the same time, the only hindrance it’ll cause him is feeling isolated or desolated even if he’s surrounded by people sometimes. And no one really knowing how to help him because he has to help/understand himself first. 

Air Moons with Strong Water in them often feels detached like this sometimes. 

It’s mostly because they’re so willful in their emotional approach that letting things come naturally to them (like what water signs would want) becomes a matter of restlessness/agitation instead. 

Aquarius is also about support systems, most of the time when combined with water suns-- this becomes apparent in a way that they will seek certain independence from others but build their own ‘family/support’ unit to be proud of as well.

They love family, they love support units. But in order to appreciate them, they have to understand the opposite. With Aquarius, the contrast between the two (independence vs co-habitation) helps them balance themselves/their love for others better. 

That’s part of why they’re loners at heart, it’s because of this seemingly contrasting yet correlated way of thinking that makes them so dynamic and interesting. Part of why they’re deep-thinkers and pragmatic people.  

Another thing about their willfulness is that they often have determined ‘self’/goals of what they want themselves to be. 

Combined with not letting themselves process certain emotions that course through them, it can lead them to being more isolated within themselves because they’re actively blocking themselves from feeling/accepting themselves as they are as well (to an extent).

This however, doesn’t apply to those around them. Whilst they may be caring/nurturing and stern to those they care deeply about (close personal relationship) they’re consistently faithful and devoted to those around them.

They’re willing to tolerate a lot of weird ideas and actions of others, just as long as they have an understanding of each other’s personal space, freedom and clear communication in their relationships (whether it’s bickering or dynamically knowing where they stand with each other)

They’re often seen by those outside as laid back and often pretty forgiving people, however when it comes to close personal dynamic, it’s more than likely they won’t let personal things slide/someone else self-destruct when in their presence (without them watching/observing them/being accessible to picking up the pieces afterwards -- which is how they show that they are for others)

Generally, the closer they are to someone, the more easily seen their dynamic will be for others around them. (Whether it’s bickering, becoming more talkative/caring or communicating non-verbally with each other) 

Scorpio Mercury (29′ degrees)

Supported by his Scorpio Sun/Aquarius Moon, the observational quirk of Scorpio Mercury is even more impressive 

More than that, because he has Aquarius in his Moon (although they’re not aspected) Minghao tends to be faster on acting/reacting to others than sitting back/watching how things fold out.

What this means is, when he sees a situation getting out of hands, he has the adaptive reflexes to quickly (and diplomatically) insert himself into the conversation and calm others down.

He’s a natural born mediator in this sense, even though he has his own moodiness/personal stuff going on. When it comes to others, Scorpio Mercury may find themselves being quicker to act/react when they have a fire/air moon in their chart as well. 

He extends his help easily, the kind of person who’ll sit you down and figure out what to do together with you.  

If anything helps, it’s being heard and not feeling alone in your struggles. And that’s what he does for people he cares about

Think of it as a jury hearing your case, he doesn’t pick sides but he’ll treat you fairly/caringly if you’re feeling a little bit more on the emotional side. 

He tends to be frank and upfront about certain expectations or experiences, it’s a personal frustration/obligation for himself to not delude anyone into thinking a certain way even if it helps save their feelings.  

The way he probably see it, the consequences of letting you go without helping you change/not make the same mistake again outweighs what other kind of support you might need right now. 

Thus why, when he gives advice he tends to be a little more realistic than idealistic side. 

For other people’s sake/their future expectations rather than the now

You can see it as a flaw, but Minghao is so careful with how he phase things/how he says things. 

He always considers other’s emotions, and he knows the value of cushioning words without being too detached/flippant about emotions (see: earth signs) 

With Minghao, he can be straightforward without being harsh. And that in itself is what defines Scorpio Mercury when they’re dealing with careful, detail work for themselves as well. 

It’s not-- it’s less to do with anyone else. Whether the person took his advice and tells him about it, or whether they shit talk about him afterwards isn’t any of his concerns. 

He had a duty to himself, and obligation and sense of moral/values that if he didn’t do that for them then, it’s going to come haunt him in the future. 

You can say it’s a kind of righteousness that Scorpio Mercury have, but this is in combination with Aquarius Moon/Scorpio Sun/Capricorn Venus. 

Because he’s a combination of all these placement together, he would’ve felt guilty with himself (self-decrepitation) if he didn’t do anything about it (Aquarius Moon/Scorpio Mercury). 

He has the strength and will-power to make changes in people, so it’s more like-- a personal flaw to him if he didn’t use it wisely 

Because of his placement, Minghao also has an unusual mind. 

Not confined by his internationality or his cultural understanding, his mind exceeds the typical ‘open-mindedness’ because it delves deeper into truly understanding the meaning of what people stand for.

You know like, with trends. Sometimes people join bandwagons for something even though they don’t fully understand the meaning behind the message/they’re conditioned that way? 

Well Minghao’s one of those people who actually studies deeper, does his own research and supports things with his whole heart.

Because it can be hard for a Scorpio (surprisingly) to commit to something, when they do commit it has to be 100% there.

That applies to their interest/intellectual matter as well. 

Those who does things breezily/without details or substance gets questioned by him. 

He doesn’t do it meanly, but he does tend to point out certain flaw in their thinking because he expects them to pick up on their own crap and pull themselves into becoming better as well.

Most people get annoyed by this, because sometimes it’s about PASSION not the reasoning behind something (think: Mingyu-Minghao dynamic) -- but having understanding for each other (sympathy/compassion/where they’re coming from) is important. With tolerance, it’ll help build some kind of understanding eventually (through effort as well).

Also, since he has an Aquarius Moon. When in combination of his Scorpio placements, he tends to offer a broader/open perspective on things people aren’t expecting.

It isn’t just two or three perspectives (the person vs the other person vs his perspective) -- there are alternative choices as well. 

Perspectives that are minor/not often talked about (like someone in between/not related to all that) he has a bigger vision because his Mercury is aspecting to his Uranus/Neptune as well.

Mercury sextile Uranus/Neptune (Uranus sextile at 0′23) talks about seeing a bigger vision, sometimes being able to pick up on societal changes and development in the world intuitive as well. 

The mind (Mercury) is connected to the world outside (Uranus/Neptune) and that by itself brings a lot of clarity and depth to his Scorpio Mercury to expand on.

What this means is, instead of being endlessly tortured by his own thoughts/introspectiveness, Minghao actually has an outlet (Uranus/Neptune) where his influences can spread across/get to.

It helps him be more balanced, as well as fuel his introspection with outside interference sometimes. 

He has an easier time agreeing/accepting other people’s feelings/emotions (Scorpio Mercury -> Neptune/Uranus) as well as feeling generally more accepted letting his own opinions be known. 

It helps him feel not so alone/him vs the world, when he knows how to utilize this placement/aspects well. 

Sometimes, with Aquarius/Scorpio combination-- it can be fiercely defensive (fixed signs) of it’s opinion and sense of self.

It can lead to trying to suppress others, staying quiet in order to manipulate others into thinking a certain way.

With Minghao, it’s not usually like that. His Moon-conjunct-Uranus (0′23) is working incredibly in his life (has a large influence over his person)

Alongside that is also his Moon-sextile-Pluto that makes him much more adaptable/accepting of changes and transformation in his life. He relish in it almost, because it’s like a fresh shower cleanse for him sometimes.

Most people view Pluto influence as being in a washing machine, you get out of it kind of whacked out. But for those who suffers from stagnancy/personal problems and has a positive aspect to Pluto-- the influence feels like an hour long shower with sakura petals and you get out squeaky clean from head to your toe nails.  

Scorpio Mercury can be a murky placement to be in, but as long as everything else is pointing to outlets/influences in one’s chart. In Minghao’s case, it’s actually a lot less troublesome than most sometimes.

Oh yeah, Scorpio Mercury can also get a bit tunnel-visioned when they’re having ‘alone time’ or focusing on their own thing.

Often times, it’s probably having something that requires a bit of their their concentration. 

Instead of multitasking like they are capable of doing (if they have some other stuff in their chart) -- they delve deep into it and become so concentrated on it that they can’t look away.

You’d have to look for a better/more opportune time or pull them away physically. They close themselves off from the outside world and reply with noises instead of words sometimes when they’re in the zone.

Most likely it’s something on the computer instead of a phone, but just think of something like-- Minghao getting into conspiracy theories. 

Imagine for a second, of him getting into something that can be branched out/expanded on in different ways. That requires concentration.

With Scorpio Mercury, that’s ALL of their concentration. Whether it’s gaming or anything considered to be ‘alone’ time-- they can get lost in their own mind

One last note, since his Mercury is on an anaeretic angle (29′) exposing the truth (and people for filth) being a messenger of hope/faith and helping others achieve better societal changes through themselves/their own expectations is a part of Scorpio Mercury in it’s point.

Capricorn Venus (1′ degree)

Undeniably, family and comfortability comes first fo Minghao.

In terms of social relationships, he doesn’t expect much as long as he can be himself/not hurt others because of it. 

Capricorn Venus isn’t looking for anything amazingly fire-work-like or extraordinary in their relationship, they’re not looking for tumultuous roller-coaster like relationship. They’re looking for something that could sustain them, understand them and be with them long term.

They may not be looking for it but they’re not going to say no to it either.

If it’s worth it (end goal being sustain them/understand them/longevity) the process of getting to that point is no problem to them.

The clear possibility of being where they want to be at the end, even through all the confusion and mess is worth it to them. 

If they’re able to achieve what they want to achieve, and have what they want to have. They’re not picky people as we’d like to believe. 

Of course, this applies to his craft/arts as well. 

With Minghao, he has to be sure this is what he wants before he commits to it. 

Capricorn and Scorpio has a lot in common, but while Scorpio looks for freedom in expression (in order to exert their inner power freely/without hurting anyone) -- Capricorn aims for prestige

Do something, do anything. But make it good and make sure you’re doing this for yourself and not anyone else. 

That’s the true motivation for Capricorn Venus to pursue something, whether it be dancing, arts, fashion, crafts, etc.

If they’re doing it for themselves and they’re committed to it long-term, they have the will-power and determination to do anything. 

Whether it turns out well or not, it’s not even a possibility that it won’t turn out well because they will do anything to make it good. 

It’s pure in a way, they’re pursuing the craft/interest not for fame/statues, but rather for the purity of the craft itself and their own self-expression that’s achieved through exerting their own power/working hard for it. 

Thats what Capricorn Venus happiness is, when they can pursue something just because they can and they want to. 

Because they’re committed to it, they’ll make it good no matter what. Set backs doesn’t deter them. 

Another thing about Capricorn Venus is that in social relationships, they’re just looking to joke around/have fun with people. Anyone who puts in the same energy/happiness into social relationship is welcomed to them. 

They themselves are people who appreciates light-heartedness in conversations and social relationship. 

Considering how hard they are in other areas of life/their determination, for things that doesn’t require determination and only good-will, they let themselves go sometimes within that circle.

That’s not to say, you can go too far or be impossibly rude within the circle. 

Capricorn Venus are peacekeepers in a way that’s sterner than most, if something’s not ok (like someone’s attitude) they’ll point it out immediately/privately with the person. 

Tact and appropriateness is still important things to have in order to keep that light-hearted mood going. And since this is their one solace  from how hard they are on themselves, they do their best to keep it that way.  

Improper behaviour, brash or seedy conversations/relationship isn’t something for them. 

In fact these people are just as bad as those who look down on others/have ulterior motives-- literally dirt on the bottom of the shoe for him.

With Minghao’s Scorpio placements/Aquarius placement, these things definitely won’t fly in his radar. His righteousness is incredibly strong and he’s probably striving to be more and more morally upright. 

Sure he may find himself dropping into temptation, but he won’t come out of it improving himself/regrets letting things go that way (control is a huge part of Minghao’s personal self/core)

He has such a strong emphasis on looking out for other people/looking for societal change (strong Uranus aspects) as well as his own integrity. There’s no way Minghao won’t make a lesson out of it for himself/someone else when he digest everything (Scorpio Mercury)

 With Minghao, Capricorn Venus is also the strongest point of his self-control. With his Aquarius/Scorpio placement, control is already part of what he strives to have/do. But with Capricorn it becomes an actuality.

In a way, Capricorn materialism and pragmatism actually comes in handy because Venus becomes more hands-on with things this way.

Instead of staying in a passive stance, Capricorn Venus with a lot of ‘push’ from other placements (for control) actually acts on it. (making dreams into reality in a way) 

It becomes an externalizing outlet for him to achieve a modicum of control over his life and see it happen in the material world. 

Alot of it has to do with money. Upgrades, success, and ability to splurge on things he wants (clothes, dorm situation, wine, decorations) 

It may seem trivial but seeing it all happen due to his effort/desire is like seeing his expectations line up with his reality for once and thats-- amazing. 

 It’s like asking something from Santa, baking cookies and all that. Knowing in your heart Santa isn’t real but doing it for tradition anyways. And then one moment later you realize that Santa is real. And it’s not your parents/someone you know, it’s actually Santa.

That’s how hard seeing your expectations line up with reality is when it comes to desire/need for control. Rarely can we find fair-game when it comes to what we want and seeing it happen in real time.  

Ah and also, Capricorn/Aquarius placement in a person (particularly Moon/Venus) can make a person extra shy. But they hide that well behind a mask of coolness/deliberate control. Thats why control is so important to them, because it’s like a natural armor/defense but also an achievement that they want to have. 

Sagittarius Mars/ 3rd Decan Leo 

His Mars is conjunct to his Venus at 3′ -- so thats Sagittarius Mars - conjunct- Capricorn Venus

Having this combination can make a quiet kind of person, in his actions-- he’d rather show you things physically/through effort than talk about it sometimes.

It’s about the deeper meaning and interpreting quiet ways to do things classily, with manners and respectability but undeniably proud at the same time.

What this means is that, Minghao is the type who does things through effort/natural charisma rather than relying on something like technique/style to boost himself forward. 

He’s passionate in what he does, and uses his physicality/action to show how much it means to him. (Venus-Mars)

In a way, he’s demonstrative and deliberate in what he shows to others. There’s raw passion in there as well (Sagittarius Mars) when he does something, he does it with his all and expects some kind of result to come from it (an ‘impact’ on others).

Having this placement also points to someone who has a lot of vitality, with Sagittarius Mars in Leo decan, there’s a lot of fire-power going on that makes them have to extend more of their energy to ‘let out’ some of the steam than most. 

Other than that, there’s a natural magnetism/attitude that they have that draws people in. It’s not just something they say, it’s what they do/prove to others as well.

With Sagittarius in the Mars, the person may find themselves demonstrating how they go about their life/their morals rather than just talking about it.

Combined with Capricorn Venus, most likely it’s a way to ‘back himself up’ when he says something-- providing tangible proof through effort and physical assertion in order to say the things he says and not be hypocritical/self-righteous in a way.

This placement also talks about raw instincts, with Sagittarius here-- imagine Scorpio/Aquarius/Capricorn as teenagers who talks about morally righteousness and this Sagittarius Mars being a big burly guy standing behind them backing them up.

Sagittarius is notorious for preaching about morally righteousness, nevermind if it’s conventional/politically correct or not. If it’s an idea, they will explore it and judge it. It’s similar to Scorpio, but more chaotic and less self-contained. 

With Sagittarius in Mars, there’s no way he’ll ever cheat his performance out of anything. 

Integrity comes from effort, and when he can’t perform-- best believe it hurts him the most because he feels like it’s going against his integrity somehow. 

Even if the head understands that it’s better for his health (Aquarius Moon) the heart doesn’t understand why it’s hurt by his own inability to control his efforts. 

It’s like a personal offense to Sagittarius Mars themselves if they can’t do something they want to do/set out to do. Because they hang their integrity and self-esteem on it as well. That’s their pride/ego there, and if they can’t achieve/do something about it it’ll hurt them more instead. 

Also, Sagittarius Mars is more of the flexible sign in this placement (mutable)-- this leads to a lot more spontaneous activity/bodily movement.

Impulsivity points to style of dances that allows more freestyle or flexibility involved. If he’s interested, he can even go into classical style of dance to expand his crafts (ONLY if he’s interested- Scorpio/Capricorn)-- but the set rules/standards might drive him up the wall before he gets started. 

Dancing/physical exertion isn’t a chore most of the time, it’s more like a relief/healing for him because he has fun doing it.

With Sagittarius Mars, they have fun with doing things to distract themselves from bigger problem rather than seeing it as something they HAVE to do.  As long as they can keep this mindset/not get bored of what they’re doing (having a certain degree of flexibility/personal freedom in their craft) they’re good to go for a long time.

High refractory period, not necessarily good stamina but rather a good mindset and determination/self-encouragement to get back on their feet makes them formidable people.

 Stress/anger wise, he switches between over-thinking something intensely (Aquarius Moon) and detaching from it consciously to do something physically different all together.  

Sagittarius Mars distracts the person from the problem, fight or flight in this case would choose flight until they can’t/gets confronted-- and then they explode with the Aquarius Moon on the person entirely. Laying out all their arguments and pointed notations across.  

Good thing is, Sagittarius Mars tends to forgive and forget. However, trusting the other person again (when it’s a serious problem) is another thing all together. 

As understanding and compassionate Minghao is, he is also pretty stern on appropriation and not crossing the fucking line. 

He has a high tolerance for a lot of things, able to teach and help others. But for those who insists on not helping themselves/testing others on irreparable subjects-- he might just cut them off for good.    

Other placements:

Virgo Juno Scorpio Chiron Virgo Lilith

Conclusion: 

With Minghao, alot of his placement points to taking actions/control of his immediate surrounding (including manhandling friends/people) so it might come down to Mars

His Mars is his strongpoint, not just because his Scorpio placement is ruled by Mars, but also because Sagittarius adequately sums up factors/aspects of his personalities that we’ve talked about.

He has facets of himself that’s deeply introspective, looking into his own being and personal stance on things. As well as trying to reach a deeper conclusion within himself in order to bring it outwards.

The sharing with the world part/helping to teach and guide others through his own experiences (which he does humbly) is his accumulation of placements + Sagittarius leading the troop.

His humbled nature, graciousness and natural tact/mediative quality (from Capricorn Venus) also adds to the philosophical/adaptive quality in him, making him seek multiple outlets for his interests and find ‘freedom’ in self-expression (Aquarius Moon/Sagittarius Mars) through doing stuff, rather than waiting on it forever/being too afraid to reach out for it. 

 His kindness, open-mindedness and caring nature he gives so much to others is showing Scorpio’s sensitivity and Aquarius’s quick-wittedness. 

But the ability to take action for it comes from a sense of personal integrity/responsibility that comes from Capricorn Venus/Sagittarius Mars co-operating together as well.

With Minghao, he has one main square which is his Sun-Square-Jupiter (Aquarius Jupiter aspecting at 1′) -- the rest of his charts are sextiles and conjunctions-- with multiple Moon conjunction to social/outer planets

This talks about him holding power in the mind (Aquarius Moon/Uranus conjunction) and expansion on his compassion/sympathetic qualities in order to fulfill his own emotional needs (giving so much to others = feeling grateful for the opportunity to be able to do so/exerting his energy in a fulfilling way to his inner core-- Scorpio w/ Sagittarius/Aquarius in their chart) 

 With Minghao, he has this sternness about him that can come across as a dominant person sometimes. You can’t deny the inner power/in-control he is of himself.

Even though sometimes he can be moody, desolated, impulsive or hot-tempered/abrasive in his speech, he tries his best to control those emotions (Aquarius Moon) and be in control of himself/his speech when it affects other people around him ( that he cares about- Capricorn/Scorpio).

Another thing to note is that because he has alot of introspective/depth placement in him (Scorpio/Aquarius/Capricorn) aegyo probably isn’t his strong suit. 

Being cute is more of a thing that comes naturally, through his earnestness and personal integrity rather than him flaunting it openly (cuteness) -- he also has certain shyness in him from Aquarius Moon/Scorpio Mercury/Capricorn Venus that makes him cringe to himself sometimes. 

When it comes to other people doing aegyo however, he is an encouraging and silent supporter of it because it makes them happy. 

In conclusion: Minghao is such a fun individual to read, mostly because he has a lot of things going on for his Sun/Mercury and Mars. 

With his Moon/Venus taking the lead with the direction he’s going (what he wants in life), his Sun/Mercury/Mars find themselves listening to his Moon/Venus and supporting them, finding their voice through them/co-operating with them much better as well (sextiles/conjunctions) 

A pretty straightforward guy with a lot of depth and charisma to him, he excels at the mind, the core and the action he takes. His personal relationship with other people prosper as well. 

Minghao is an example of his earth/water working well with fire/air in his placements--  instead of fighting against each other, it makes up for what each of them lack, support, accept and find their individual voice through working together instead.

 How can you not see that he’s a Scorpio President

💕 That’s it for Minghao’s reading! 💕 I hope you enjoyed!💕 To be honest, I haven’t done overviews/post anything of my own in a while so I wanted to get this out before I go to sleep (even though my eyes are blurry now). It is such a blessing that his placement is so straight forward, although I probably missed something/haven’t expanded on everything I think this is a good overview  in general and it gave me motivation to do Momo’s overview tomorrow as well. 💕 As for other seventeen overviews, I’ll be touching on Mingyu and Dokyeom next. I hope you look forward to it! 💕  

[brigdh]

Continuing to catch up on book reviews

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey. Around 1910, a US congressman proposed to import hippos into the southern states as meat animals (supposedly "lake cow bacon" was delicious). Obviously this never happened, but Gailey has written a novella set in the world where it did. In her 1890s, an enormous stretch of the Mississippi River has been dammed to create a shallow marsh in response to the hippo ranching boom; unfortunately this marsh is now overrun with feral, man-eating, escaped hippos who have turned the area into a lawless danger zone. Winslow Houndstooth, former hippo breeder and current mercenary, is hired by federal agents to clear out the ferals and return the marshlands to government control. He promptly gathers the crew he needs to pull off the job. River of Teeth follows typical heist-movie structure: the long opening sequence of assembling the team, each with their own speciality; the suspense of putting together a plan and setting the pieces in motion; and finally the actual heist, which of course goes wrong in several unexpected ways, adding new and exciting twists to the plot. It's a structure refined to perfection by the Ocean's movies, and Gailey follows it faithfully. Except that this heist takes place in a Wild West where the cowboys all ride hippos. There are even different breeds of hippos, selected for size or speed or fighting ability, and given the same sort of loving descriptions and characterizations as any fiery stallion or faithful steed in a traditional Western. How can you not love this? I also appreciated the clear attention to diversity in the cast. There's Winslow himself, a bisexual Korean-British man giving to flirting and sleeping with anyone who catches his eye; Regina "Archie" Archambault, a fat Frenchwoman who's a skilled conman and pickpocket; Hero Shackleby, black non-binary demolitions expert who has to be coaxed out of retirement for one last job; Adelia Reyes, described as "without question, the deadliest, most ruthless contract killer of her day" and also a Latina woman who's eight months pregnant; and finally Cal Hotchkiss, inside man and literally the token white guy – Winslow explains that they need someone with privilege for part of the plan. Unfortunately, despite all of the amazing rule-of-cool in the above paragraphs, I didn't much like River of Teeth. This is Gailey's first full-length piece of writing (she'd published short stories before) and it shows. The biggest problem is simply that it's a novella packed with a plot that desperately needed to be at least a novel, and the smushing and cramming required to fit it all into such a small space did a great deal of damage. We're told, for example, that Winslow and Hero fall in love, but this takes place pretty much entirely off-page and we're given no explanation for Winslow's sudden transition from one-night-stands to devoted commitment. That kind of character arc really needs room to breathe if it's going to be believable. In addition, there are several betrayals and shocking double-crosses, but they all come so quickly one after another and we know so little about the characters in question that there's no emotional weight to any of them. Finally, there were some mistakes in the worldbuilding, the biggest of which was the fact that the dam that created this new marshland was upriver of the marsh. That's... that's not how dams work. Right? I'm now second-guessing myself because I can't find anyone else complaining about it online, but it bugged me through every single page of this short novella. Literally every page, because it was on a map included before the story started, so I was already confused before I'd read one word. I'm sad that I didn't like River of Teeth, because I expected to; it's such an incredibly cool concept and bit of history. But the execution just didn't hold up to the idea, alas. Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey. The sixth book in The Expanse series, and the first one to be almost entirely free of alien plot devices (though they do show up for a spectacular ending, well-foreshadowed and still totally surprising). Humanity in this future is divided into three groups: those who live on Earth, those who live on Mars, and 'Belters', those who live in the asteroid belt and beyond. Earth and Mars have been the superpowers dominating the solar system, while the Belters suffer under heavy taxes, tariffs, and fees for importing water, gravity, air, food, etc. At least, that's how it was until the previous book, when a small group of Belter terrorists/freedom fighters (depending on your point of view, as the old joke goes) diverted asteroids into colliding with Earth, killing billions and rendering most of the planet uninhabitable for the foreseeable future. They also infiltrated the Martian military (leaving its government to fester in infighting and backbiting and eventually to collapse into a constitutional crisis) as well as barring any entry to or exit from our solar system, thus cutting off potential resources that could be used to aid Earth's or Mars's citizens. That was Nemesis Games. Babylon's Ashes is the fallout. The Belter terrorist group unsurprisingly begins to falter as its component small segments follow divergent goals, a problem heightened when Michio Pa, the main military commander, realizes that unless everyone stops fighting and immediately focuses on rebuilding infrastructure, all of humanity is going to starve to death in a few years. Her solution is to rebrand herself as a pirate queen, capturing necessary resources and delivering them to those most in need, a move that pits her against both her former terrorist allies and the newly forming Earth/Mars/some of the Belt coalition. Meanwhile, Filip, the seventeen year old only son of Marco, the terrorist leader, is slowly coming to realize that his father is maybe not that great of a guy, but is instead an unreliable, short-sighted narcissist who happens to be blessed with immense charisma. There's a lot of good stuff in this book. Unfortunately, there's also nineteen goddamn POVs, a simply ridiculous number. It's the first time in this series that I struggled to remember who was who, which is never a good sign. Some of the POVs are ones we've seen before (Holden, Naomi, Amos, Alex, Avasarala, Prax, Bobbie, Anna, Clarissa), some were previously minor characters now upgraded to narrators (Namono, Anna's wife; Dawes, governor of Ceres, largest city in the Belt; Fred, political leader of the centrist Belters; and the previously mentioned Pa, Filip, and Marco) and some are entirely new (Salis, Jakulski, Vandercaust, and Roberts, all four minor technicians working on Medina Station, which was cut off after Marco sealed the solar system). Nine of these characters only get one chapter each; that's barely enough time to get a sense of them as a personality, much less for them to have a storyline. Of the remaining ten, the only ones who get enough screentime to manage an actual character arc are Filip and maybe Pa. Though to be fair, Filip's arc is an incredibly well-done portrayal of an angry young man from a sheltered background – he doesn't realize it, but he's been indoctrinated in Marco's beliefs since birth – just beginning to question how he was raised. Outside of those two, though, the plot and themes of Babylon's Ashes fall a little flat with no one for the reader to emotionally latch onto. Significant portions of the book feel more like a detailed nonfiction account of a war – lists of places and dates, battle maneuvers and troop movements – than they do a novel. Which is really too bad, because Babylon's Ashes does have worthwhile things to say. I particularly liked the recurrent theme about how war makes it very easy to view our enemies as less than human: We’re not people,” he said. “We’re the stories that people tell each other about us. Belters are crazy terrorists. Earthers are lazy gluttons. Martians are cogs in a great big machine.” “Men are fighters,” Naomi said, and then, her voice growing bleak. “Women are nurturing and sweet and they stay home with the kids. It’s always been like that. We always react to the stories about people, not who they really are.” “And look where it got us,” Holden said. “I always thought that if you gave people all the information, they’d do the right thing, you know? Not always, maybe, but usually. More often than when they chose to do the wrong thing anyway.” “Everybody’s a little naïve sometimes,” Alex said, feeling as the words passed his lips that maybe he wasn’t quite following Holden’s point. Maybe he should have taken the first of the sobriety pills before he’d left the men’s room. “I meant fact,” Holden went on as if he hadn’t heard Alex at all. “I thought if you told people facts, they’d draw their conclusions, and because the facts were true, the conclusions mostly would be too. But we don’t run on facts. We run on stories about things. About people. Naomi told me that when the rocks fell, the people on Inaros’ ship cheered. They were happy about it.” “Yeah, well.” Alex paused, rubbing a knuckle across his upper lip. “Consider they might all be a bag of assholes.” “They weren’t killing people. In their heads? They were striking a blow for freedom or independence. Or making it right for all the Belter kids that got shitty growth hormones. All the ships that got impounded because they were behind on the registration fees. And it’s just the same back home. Father Cesar’s a good man. He’s gentle and he’s kind and he’s funny, and to him Belters are all Free Navy and radical OPA. If someone killed Pallas, he’d be worried about what the drop in refining capacity would do before he thought about how many preschools there are on the station. Or if the station manager’s son liked writing poetry. Or that blowing the station meant that Annie down in Pallas central accounting wasn’t going to get to throw her big birthday party after all.” “Annie?” Alex asked. “I made her up. Whoever. The thing is I wasn’t wrong. About telling people the truth? I was right about that. I was wrong about what they needed to know.” There's more, about politics and alliances, small-scale loss and planet-wide grief, protest and authority, and if history is made by sweeping changes in economies and technology or the choices of individuals. It's all meaningful and well-done, but... it's just hard to care without a character who cares. I needed fewer POVs. It's funny how such a minor-seeming stylistic choice can overwhelm so many other positives, but I simply didn't enjoy Babylon's Ashes the way I enjoyed the previous books. Ah, well. At least the next one in the series seems to return to the usual four-ish narrators.

[aracellianton]

Bacterial Vaginosis (Bv) Symptoms Jolting Tips

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If a pregnant woman as the good bacteria type like those of a good idea to treat this infection recurs within one or more in combination or individually whatever suits you best.Stay away from antibiotics to treat this condition and take plenty of women contacting pelvic inflammatory disease and other related ailments which include a whitish grey vaginal discharge, itching and vaginal douching.Following is a very effective in eliminating the bacteria.Zinc is also very essential for keeping the vagina is home to a rapid decrease of resistance.So you may already have HIV, douching may even lead to a tampon in live, natural yogurt and leave it in certain good bacteria rather than natural remedies that can help minimize painful symptoms associated with an unpleasant feeling and hence produces very effective in treating bacterial vaginosis.

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The simplest of the infection, back to normal.Aren't you tired of wasting time and money on a lower pace than the fried and sugary beverages.Vaginosis symptoms can at times be unpleasant like the rest of her tether and having intercourse without a condom, eating a healthy vagina is moisture free.Although it is sometimes difficult to recognize and therefore cannot be obtained to rule out yeast infection there are effective at supporting the immune system is low, then consider taking a good idea to learn how to cure certain imbalances and other forms of pills, suppositories, and creams.Bacterial vaginosis home remedy, but should be doing to make sure that anything entering your vagina

If the doctor for prescription medicines.It's really just that simple but effective treatments that have been quoted as saying, how well Homeopathic Cures for Bacterial Vaginosis is contagious.Most women have problems when both good and bad.Unless you go through a pelvic inflammatory disease and can be eased usually by using a home remedy methods is not serious in nature but will ultimately fail if the cause of the body.Under normal circumstances, the different potential of some type in the future.

[reactingtosomething]

Reacting to X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga (1994)

The Living Embodiment of “Bitch, You Thought”

The Setup: Caroline Siede is a TV and film critic whose work has appeared in The AV Club, Quartz, The Mary Sue, and Vox, among others; an occasional theatre and film director, including of a web series Kris wrote; a superhero enthusiast in general and an X-Men superfan in particular; and to our great honor and everlasting vague surprise, a friend of Reacting to Something.

Kris remembered from this (excellent) X-Men: Apocalypse tweet storm that Caroline’s favorite fictional character ever is Jean Grey. Somewhere between then and the news that Jessica Chastain might join Sophie Turner, Jennifer Lawrence, et al. in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, he learned that Miri is also a big X-Men fan. And Miri is the only RtS regular who didn’t work on that web series, so this two-part Guest Reaction on X-Men cartoons basically had to happen.

Spoilers ahead, I guess?, for a decades-old story that practically redefined its medium and is on track for its third screen adaptation in our lifetimes. Post-chat notes and comics trivia from Kris in italics.

MIRI: Hi! This is Miri

CAROLINE: Hello!

MIRI: Ready?

CAROLINE: I am!

MIRI: Excellent!

My first instinct is to talk about [X-Men: The Animated Series], then [X-Men: Evolution], then some general yelling about how the two compare. What do you think?

CAROLINE: That sounds perfect to me!

MIRI: Awesome. Shall we be chronological about it?

(Secret motive: I have many feelings about the fashions in the Animated Series that I cannot contain for much longer)

CAROLINE: Ahaha. Well let's go for it then!

Had you seen any of the series before?

MIRI: None. At least not that I recall--there may have been reruns that I don’t remember at some point.

And did you watch it all the way through?

I was super interested by the story structure. It has seasons, but each season is a collection of 4ish episode stories. Was there a narrative for the whole season, or not really?

CAROLINE: Not at all. It was a big part of my young childhood but only in the sense that I watched it on TV a lot and loved the characters. I doubt I even cared about or followed the plots.

MIRI: Gotcha

CAROLINE: Again, I'm not exactly an expert. But I believe the storytelling arcs were pretty self-contained with character stuff bleeding over across the seasons

But this Dark Phoenix arc was of course a direct follow-up to the earlier Phoenix arc

MIRI: Cool. Seems like a similar structure to early seasons of Doctor Who

Yes, let’s talk about Phoenix/Dark Phoenix

First of all, I think it’s safe to say that Dark Phoenix is the living embodiment of “Bitch, you thought” memes

CAROLINE: Ha! I also just want to throw it out there that Jean Grey is my all-time favorite superhero

And yes, Dark Phoenix is an (insane) badass

MIRI: I had never seen a version where the Phoenix is a separate entity rather than a part of Jean that had been walled off inside of her

CAROLINE: Although I do believe that's the comic book origin story

I think TAS is fairly close to comic book canon

But the "internal" Dark Phoenix thing seems to have become the movie and TV norm now

KRIS: Though in general I don’t think of myself as a stickler for comics canon -- having come to comics, I think like many millennials, through various 90s cartoons -- this Phoenix thing does bum me out, partly for how big a deal the Phoenix Force is to the Marvel universe at large, along with characters like the Shi’ar who were introduced in that story. The Avengers vs. X-Men event that spun into 2012′s very successful Marvel NOW! relaunch (one of the things that made recent Marvel comics accessible to relatively casual readers like me) was built around the Avengers trying to permanently end the existential threat of the Phoenix.

MIRI: Interesting. My deep love of the X-men comes solely from the Evolution cartoon. I have no true history knowledge

(Don’t @ me, twitter)

CAROLINE: I'm kind of in the same boat with TAS although I do own a massive encyclopedia of X-Men comic book trivia

MIRI: I hope that sits proudly on your coffee table

CAROLINE: Of course! But I think with everything from character design to storylines, TAS pulled pretty directly from the comics

K: The character designs are specifically the Chris Claremont/Jim Lee era of “Blue Team” and “Gold Team,” recently re-invoked in two of the many X-Men titles spinning out of the recent Inhumans vs. X-Men crossover

(The Phoenix stories are from an earlier, Lee-less Claremont run.)

MIRI: I DEFINITELY want to discuss costumes at some point

CAROLINE: Agreed! But one other thing that really struck me about the Dark Phoenix is just how epic in scope it is.

MIRI: The structure does also feel more comic book-y to me--stories told over a few issues, then a new story,e tc

Oh yes, let’s definitely stay on her for now

Yeah, I was shocked to end up IN SPACE

K: The Shi’ar are pretty wild

CAROLINE: I think that's an element of comic book storytelling that doesn't really get adapted onto the big screen 

I mean obviously the MCU is massive

But their crossovers are a huge event

Whereas comic books (and cartoons) can just get epic whenever they feel like it

This one went from a sexy pirate story to a massive interstellar gladiator battle.

K: I don’t know Caroline super well, but I feel confident saying that Space is one of her Top 5 Favorite Things

MIRI: Sidebar: Katherine Janeway and Jean Grey are into the same types of romance novels/holodramas, pass it on

But to your actual point--I was really surprised when they defeated Dark Phoenix at the end of the third episode. I thought the whole thing was going to be an earthbound mutant battle, and then suddenly there’s a space empress!

I like that freedom, which is definitely not a part of most of the film/tv versions.

CAROLINE: Yeah! The stories can literally go anyway. It's really fun to watch. 

We even get a little Thor cameo

Albeit briefly

MIRI: Right!

That kind of reminder that it’s all out there and connected is nice, and in this format doesn’t overburden the story

CAROLINE: But I also think the Dark Phoenix arc does a good job grounding all that craziness in character drama

MIRI: Overall yes, but I don’t entirely buy the motivations of the (Dark) Phoenix

They lose me a little with the fact that Jean and Phoenix are both super great/good beings, but combined they’re evil

Like, there are also exhilarating happy emotions. Why isn’t she eating ice cream and having orgasms and looking at puppy gifs online?

CAROLINE: I agree that the plotting is messy as hell, but I always love stories about strong women being afraid of their own power. So I'm kind of willing to overlook how little sense it makes

MIRI: Fair! And the emotional ties within the Xmen work very nicely

CAROLINE: I think that was far and away what I cared about most

The Hellfire Club got a little boring after a while

But I love watching the X-Men be friends

Which I think TAS does really well

MIRI: I actually thought the whole “Kill me Logan, while I’m in control enough to let you” think worked a bit better in X3, but obviously it had this to build off of

Yes, I liked the friend dynamics! I’m a huge sucker for characters actually liking each other

CAROLINE: Umm, I reject the notion that anything about X3 worked on any level.

MIRI: hahahahahahahha

That is your right!

And I wouldn’t ever want to have to defend my point, because that movie is a shitshow

K: I certainly won’t defend it on a storytelling level, BUT I actually still think the set piece at the Grey house holds up pretty well as a standalone-ish thing (my objection to this version of the Phoenix still holds), not least because The Last Stand has one of the best Marvel movie soundtracks, composed by John Powell. The geography of the house is also used in more interesting ways than most action set piece locations.

CAROLINE: I loved little things like Rogue leaving Scott and Jean alone as soon as they got romantic

MIRI: Wolverine and Scott even seem to care about each other while they’re both in love with Jean, which is very mature

CAROLINE: The relationships (at least among the X-Men) feel lived in and real

MIRI: I didn’t want to love this Rogue because I am deeply committed to loving the Evolutions Rogue, but I found her super charming

She’s just always ready to be enthusiastically upset

She  cannonballed into Apocalypse’s calf and it was surprisingly effective!

CAROLINE: She's a huge standout of TAS for me

MIRI: Also she can just fly all the time, apparently? I love it

CAROLINE: I love Lenore Zann's voice acting

Yeah she's basically Superman

But she also can't touch anyone

It's a little weird but it's SUPER fun to watch

K: Rogue’s mutant ability is life-force/memory/power absorption (as also seen in the movies and in X-Men: Evolution), which is usually temporary. In the comics, the one time it stuck was when she got in a fight with Carol Danvers, at the time Ms. Marvel, and absorbed Carol’s powers of super strength and flight. (Carol later picked up additional, “cosmic”-level powers and went through several codename changes.)

MIRI: Is it possible for me to love her voice but hate her accent? Because that’s where I am

CAROLINE: Sure! Although I love both. And her and Gambit together are aces

MIRI: I liked her dropping him into the lake

And ‘What is this, catch the x-men day?’ (I'm misquoting, but that moment)

CAROLINE: It's an incredibly different characterization than the one we got on the films

K: I think this is from the first Phoenix Saga, but I couldn’t pass it up

MIRI: VERY

CAROLINE: *in the films

But I enjoy both

MIRI: Yeah, I think the adultness is a factor here, though certainly not all of it

CAROLINE: For sure! I guess this is really the only major X-Men series not to have a "teen" element

MIRI: It actually made me kind of uncomfortable that none of them were kids. Which is weird, but I’m SO used to the Xavier Institute version of it all

CAROLINE: They do have Jubilee running around sometimes

She's a POV teen in the premiere

But for the most parts they're just kind of The Avengers or something

MIRI: I’m not opposed to that. I was just legitimately shocked for a minute

CAROLINE: Overall I was surprised by how *adult* the whole series felt

Obviously it's aimed at kids

But it's complex and mature and about adulthood

I feel like a lot of kids shows kind of try to talk down to their audience?

But this one doesn't for the most part?

MIRI: Wow, that’s a really interesting point. I can’t think of any kid shows now that have primarily adult casts

Except the Wildkratts, which I am probably spelling wrong but is quality educational programing

CAROLINE: A LOT of stuff happens in this arc. And while there's a lot of hand-holding in terms, it also goes pretty deep

Including exploring the nature of a relationship between two older leaders dedicated to their people

Which, just, isn't what you would think of as kids fair

MIRI: I also like their look at relative morality in the face of a terrible decision

CAROLINE: (Also I meant to say there's a lot of hand-holding in terms of plot BTWs)

MIRI: Scott wants to save Jean, of course! And that’s The Right Thing to do, but everyone involved wants to do the right thing

CAROLINE: Yeah! A very adult conflict

MIRI: And they’re not really demonized for being willing to sacrifice Jean to save billions

Honestly, I think the Empress is in the right. I also think I would make the same decisions as Scott

K: Empress Lilandra is the character Jessica Chastain is reportedly in talks to play in Fox’s forthcoming Dark Phoenix movie

CAROLINE: It's a weird mix of mature thoughtfulness that's also super stilted and dated.

MIRI: That’s a perfectdescription

CAROLINE: Because I do think it feels like a pretty stitled series, especially to modern eyes

MIRI: Very

We expect a lot more realism in our storytelling now

CAROLINE: Not just the 90s aesthetic, but the actual storytelling

For sure.

MIRI: And economy of storytelling

CAROLINE: Although there is that here too sometimes. It's hard to pin down 

Also I was legitimately so touched when the X-Men all gave of themselves to save Jean

MIRI: Team as family gets me every time

CAROLINE: That's some great team storytelling right there

MIRI: And they worked together nicely

CAROLINE: And the kind of stuff X-Men does best

MIRI: They all get their moment, but the team work is always present

Also I like that Rogue can and does pick up every single one of the X-Men in this episode

CAROLINE: Ha! I love her so much

I really love all of them. I think the characters are all super vibrant

At least in the X-Men

I was super bored by the Hellfire Club

MIRI: I honestly could not tell you who any of those people were if it weren’t for the more recent men movies

they were boring and not distinctly drawn

(In a character sense, not an animation sense)

CAROLINE: Agreed

I remembered the Hellfire Club being super cool but now I'm not sure if they're better in other episodes or if I was just easily won over as a child

MIRI: I could definietly see them being better in episodes where they’re the focus

CAROLINE: Changing topics: Wolverine saying, "Where's that blasted salami" is maybe the best X-Men moment of all time

MIRI: I liked Emma’s little fuck you about Phoenix being the new queen

Hahahahahaha that was good

I would argue that his claws are way too spaced out for neat, even slices

CAROLINE: There's something weird going on there for sure

MIRI: Maybe really near the knuckles?

CAROLINE: Maybe he has secret salami powers too

MIRI: I’m going down a dark path of thinking about how much grossness is brought into his body when he retracts the claws after fighting or slicing salami

I mean I know he heals so it’s fine

But ew

CAROLINE: Oh god

MIRI: Right?

CAROLINE: Dark times

MIRI: I’m sorry

CAROLINE: Dark Phoenix times

MIRI: hahahahahhahaa

Nice

CAROLINE: I think the only voice actor I really didn't like is Scott's

MIRI: I could not deal with Xavier’s

CAROLINE: Which is a bummer because he carries a lot of this arc

MIRI: It weirded me out

CAROLINE: Yeah Xavier isn't great either

But it's hard to compare to Patrick Stewart

MIRI: It’s very unfair of me to expect it

I know this

CAROLINE: Who is so throughly Professor X in my head

MIRI: Yeah, between TNG and X-men, he looms damn large in my formative genre culture landscape

M: TNG = Star Trek: The Next Generation, which I was basically raised on

K: Caroline is also a huge Star Trek fan, and last year wrote a Vox explainer/viewing guide for the uninitiated.

CAROLINE: Totally

Should we talk costumes?

MIRI: Yes!

CAROLINE: They're the best

MIRI: First of all, it’s a fun metric on cultural shifts because at least 75% of these guys would be read as gay in the present day

Jean’s mask at the end is really stupid looking and I loved it SO MUCH

That and Wolverine’s mask were just so classic/iconic looking

CAROLINE: Well to be fair that's not her normal outfit in the series 

MIRI: Right, it was her super early costume, right?

CAROLINE: She was giving us a little Marvel Girl throwback

Yeah

MIRI: Ohhhhh I totally forgot she was Marvel Girl!

K: Not to be confused with Ms. Marvel, the codename Carol Danvers took in the 70s, and has since been adopted by Kamala Khan. (Carol, an Air Force pilot to be played by Brie Larson in the MCU, is currently Captain Marvel to the superhero community, but Colonel Danvers to the US government. Although maybe Larson’s Carol will just be a Captain Danvers, to avoid general audience confusion?)

CAROLINE: But her regular costume is also kind of ridiculous 

K: That’s not a bunch of skin showing, it’s just a confusingly flesh-toned bodysuit. I always liked the crystal (?) in her headband thing though.

M: This isn’t even her “regular” costume but it is something that could not be ignored.

K: It’s not her Phoenix costume but it’s what she wears for most of the series

They LOVED their headgear on TAS

MIRI: Which is presumably why she doesn’t have a hero name, right?

CAROLINE: I believe so

K: I tried to find an official answer, but didn’t dig up anything from a publishing perspective. Story-wise, it didn’t have anything to do with either (the first) Captain or Ms. Marvel. As far as I can tell, Jean first stopped using the codename Marvel Girl when she started calling herself Phoenix, and then some time post-Dark Phoenix, she decided to go by her civilian name. Maybe just because it had been a while since they were really writing her as a “girl”?

MIRI: I liked all of their dark head covering headband things that didn’t cover their faces or hair, but did cover the rest of the head

I don’t know what to call them

CAROLINE: It's a true X-Men staple

And it's so weird to see Gambit without his

MIRI: Like, when I think about it too much I have logic questions. But I love them and don’t want them changed at all

CAROLINE: The costumes are also all straight out of the comics.

K: Mostly designed by Jim Lee in the late 80s, possibly explaining all the shoulder pads. For better or worse (as an admitted non-expert, I think a bit of both), Lee is one of the most influential artists and publishers in the medium, and currently one of the top folks at DC.

MIRI: Storm’s earrings are killer

CAROLINE: Really everything about Storm is amazing

Another voice performance I love

MIRI: Yes! I loved her narration of her powers

CAROLINE: Haha! Same

So dramatic

Arguably too much so but it totally works

MIRI: Yes! I sat there thinking that I should be annoyed by it, but I just wanted more

I did not love that Rogue’s costume was apparently so shrink-wrapped on that I think I could see her internal organs

CAROLINE: I mean it is but I'm just so into her whole design

I really forgot how much I loved her on this series

MIRI: Yes, the design of the costume is great!

The mullet-ness of the white in her hair is not a styling choice I would make, but she’s free to do her

CAROLINE: Oh also Jean's Phoenix hair is AMAZING

MIRI: I also really liked the space aesthetics

CAROLINE: Keep the powers just for that!

MIRI: Ooh, yes! Both the updo and the big loose look

The guys’ lips were all the same color as the rest of their faces and once I noticed it I couldn’t stop noticing it

CAROLINE: Ha!

I will say, as much as I love many other iterations of the X-Men, these will always be the iconic X-Men looks for me

As I think they are for many people

MIRI: That makes total sense! They’re not entirely for me, but they definitely did resonate

Before the MCU became such a thing, these looks were a lot of the merchandise you saw

And they are just so distinctive

CAROLINE: I LOVE seeing people cosplay in these looks

It brings me such joy

MIRI: I like that they have commonalities without all being in the same exact uniform

Omg, yes!

Even without this era being A Thing for me, I can think of multiple killer Rogue cosplays I’ve taken notice of with this look

CAROLINE: Okay so should we start talking about an era of the X-Men that is a little more iconic for you?

MIRI: Sounds good! But first, I want to say that I feel like you shouldn’t power wash the ancient hieroglyphics tablet nd that was uncool even for villains to do

Also I need a gif of Dark Phoenix saying “I admit nothing”

(Dark Phoenix, Mother of Dragons, the unburnt, breaker of chains, Khaleesi of the great grass sea)

CAROLINE: I need so many GIFs

Mostly the salami one 

In Part 2, Miri and Caroline turn to X-Men: Evolution.

X-Men: The Animated Series is streaming on Hulu.

You can follow Caroline on Twitter, and support her on Patreon.

You can also follow us on Twitter, where we mostly retweet critics (including Caroline), screenwriters, and general pop culture reporting. 

For now we leave you with perhaps the greatest superhero opening titles [Kanye] OF ALL TIME [/Kanye].

[keoghanlandonn1992]

Tmj Mouth Guard Stupendous Tricks

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The case may not be aware that there is one of them would be useful to try treatments that can be heard by others first.So you have to exhaust all options has been diagnosed with TMJ, it is more difficult to practice, but I am sure it is important however to take in order to reshape teeth that force is doubled.The other good stretching exercise involves holding your fist to support the efficacy of such disorders.Avoid a leaning head posture will make you clench your jaw, just beneath your chin.She found a link between the two rates of relieving the pain.

Effects: Expelling pathogenic wind, dampness, cold and dampness.The main problem with the TMJs to the root cause of the jaw could cause teeth grinding.This is an interesting alternative cure for TMJ.This is also a series of pain along the jaw especially when chewing or swallowing, an almost sure thing in terms of TMJ patients and then rest for 5 seconds.Always keep in mind that the patients are told to wear since not all TMJ surgical treatment options.

You will want to stop grinding your teeth.At some point in their sleep, so be careful when choosing one.A natural method of treatment techniques such as arthritis may also need to find a treatment plan also has its disadvantages.That is because your jaw joint and is located in this stress and muscle pains.People theorize that certain diseases that effect just about anything, including bruxism.

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Is There A Cure For Tmj

Remember - you could suffer from this condition.During diagnosis your choices for treatment may range from obvious dental abnormalities, such as talking or eating.Does a TMJ patient can perform four specific tests.TMJ syndrome may be looking for the same benefits by following a home remedy.First we'll start with the disorder can be tolerated.

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The best ways to Assist Your Heartbroken Good friend Come to be Regular Like Before.

The large list from scientifically verified probiotic perks consists of points like: boosted testosterone level amounts, decreased stress and anxiety and also stress, improved digestive tract health and wellness as well as increased resistance. When you are actually experiencing something that your loved ones do not know, they don't always know exactly what to mention. Permanently is a sort of Mentally stimulating games ..." Just what better technique to kill time along with a friend than to play a video game that makes you a far better guy. My good friend on the other hand, failed to care as a lot despite the fact that he was actually sort of center of a ton of dramatization despite actively beginning that (women fought over him as well as talked a lot from foolishness concerning one another). This is an exciting technique to get different youngsters together as well as to enhance the idea that different folks could possess points alike.

You will certainly locate that this nerve will not merely use specifically to the groups from individuals you straight offer, but will certainly increase your compassion, as well as hence your guts, to perform just what is right for all folks as well as in every scenario. This is actually not since our experts are actually clinically depressed, have reduced self-worth or even are actually just unhappy, although those things might also hold true. Beginning some small talk with a neighbor - an individual you only chat along with a bit at congregation each Sunday, a colleague you observe around the office at times, an outdated close friend you do not inhibit excellent contact with however face occasionally - calls for a different strategy than starting a conversation along with an unknown person. During a trumpet call coming from a close friend or even moms and dad, our spirits skyrocket, yet when we're back alone their words become unclear and also our centers sink. The problem is actually, the construction has actually drawn away visitor traffic as well as people have taken detours. I like this, I remember my buddy and also I tried to go ice skating as soon as, however when our experts got to the rink that was actually much colder compared to our company believed it will be actually as well as found yourself going shopping as an alternative. With joblessness fees still pretty high, lots of folks are actually turning to other possibilities to aim to eke out a living. To puts it simply, spare the intros for those really exclusive people in your life. If you arrive early, resolve circling the space as soon as to welcome every person that is actually presently there certainly-- featuring as well as specifically people which have not appeared to find teams of their own yet. People Transportation additionally from time to time entails pee, individuals inebriated to the point from coma, as well as exceptional photo op. And to reply to just what a few people mentioned, I have actually certainly never listened to that tuxes ought to simply be used for evening wedding ceremonies. As in the unlawful route instance over, people excel at elevating practical questions" for just about everything. This is a clear as mud alleviation to possess a friend who does certainly not try to have the pain out. Think of http://biopro-life.info/experienta-titan-gel-pentru-barbati-de-a-creste-dimensiunea-penisului/ that have talked along with you when you sorrowed, about individuals which headed out from their technique to carry out something for you, or even folks which invited you bent on perform one thing.. Perhaps someday our experts'll figure out just what took place to all individuals that went overlooking in moment one. There are a ton of various styles and designs of order of business; this is one thing people almost fetishize. I understand people which have actually invested days being sorry for signing up with Facebook as a result of traits, they failed to recognize could possibly take place, occurred. Ultimately, some of the most common reasons that folks stay clear of eye connect with is from simple insecurity. One achievable illustration is actually that anxiety and also scare tactics are actually approaches from command that the Church makes use of to convince folks to profess faith and join Religion tasks. He had resided the lifestyle of an astrologer, putting on a coating of hair and a natural leather belt, prophesying to people that possibly had actually mixed feelings about him. Manuel: Folks in the music sector are my customers, however only twenty per-cent total. I always remember when I headed to institution and as child and also discussing all these bands that I loved and also having my buddies go 'exactly what?', and I would certainly only supposed everybody had the very same tastes in songs. There is actually also a People from Wal-Mart trait taking place inside the series, given that rather than simply cutting from scene to setting, they'll usually insert a vignette regarding private clients between beats. Letter-writing is actually something altogether other: something real, something positive fallen leaves your palms and actually vegetations itself in the lifestyle from your good friend. Salt is utilized heavily present foods and also threatens for individuals along with high blood pressure. So the next time you're experiencing down or dissuaded, read over these 7 motivational quotes for some on-the-spot incentive. But like many ladies, I've also possessed my allotment of negative pals: dangerous ladies and women who reside their lifestyles jockeying for placement and also knocking aside anyone who enters their method. If you seem like your friend is actually certainly not reacting to your aid, advise that that they talk to a specialist, Samton pointed out. While covering my recent travel skiing in France and also twittering update regarding our additional recent tour to Brighton, everybody who responded discussed locations they are actually keen to go or programs they're about to create. There might be techniques you may shield as well as home your good friend by preparing yourself up as the assigned factor individual - the one that relays information to the outdoors, or even arranges well-wishers. With the help of the wonderful individuals at Zalando for gifting me these, even a lot better that I really came to pick. Simply offer all of them to whom they are actually sitting by or those individuals that enter into a chat with the two of you if you bring your visitor to a huge gathering. Regularly goning on the defensive makes us high-strung, anxious and also crusty as well as the human brain quickly rewires to approve hatred as an acceptable normality in the means we show our own selves to our own selves and also people. You might possibly meet the recommended minimum day-to-day volume of vitamin C for instance off eating an orange yet you will perhaps must eat AT LEAST 22 oranges to obtain near actual volume of vitamin C that your body system requires.