#Delta Honest Review

[marketingprofitmedia]

Delta Review – Get Free Traffic And Sales By James Fawcett 

Welcome to my Delta Review Post. This is a real user-based Delta review where I will focus on the features, upgrades, demo, pricing and bonus, how Delta can help you, and my opinion. You’re Just Simply click to get ‘Done For You’ AI Funnels that generate free traffic and sales in 90 seconds! This results in a passive income of $820.45 Every Day.

>> Click Here to Get Delta + My $20000 Special Bonus Bundle to Boost Up Your Earnings More Traffic, Leads & Commissions >>

Delta Review: What Is It?

Delta is a powerful tool that can substantially increase your sell anything with ‘Done For You’ AI Funnels, generating free traffic and sales in only 90 seconds! Delta is in a league of its own, unlike anything else now accessible. Delta’s innovative AI engine powers sales smoothly, even without the typical selling method. Admittedly, it may seem puzzling at first, but it did for me. However, it is exactly what distinguishes Delta.

Delta Review: Overview

Creator: James Fawcett Product: Delta Date Of Launch: 2024-Feb-04 Time Of Launch: 09:00 EST Front-End Price: $17 Official Website: Click Here Product Type: Website / Membership Support: Effective Response Discount : Get The Best Discount Right Now! Recommended: Highly Recommended Skill Level Required: All Levels Refund: YES, 360 Days Money-Back Guarantee

>> Click Here to Get Delta + My $20000 Special Bonus Bundle to Boost Up Your Earnings More Traffic, Leads & Commissions >>

Delta Review: Key Features

Activate Your Delta “Stealth Funnels” in 90 Seconds or Less.

Never Pay For Ads, Use Our Built-In Traffic System.

Never Before System That Sells ANY Product On Autopilot.

Anyone Can Replicate Our Business Even With Zero Experience.

With Delta — Sell Anything You Want With A Click Of A Button.

Zero Competition And Zero Hidden Fees.

Everything Is Done For Us On Autopilot.

No Upfront Cost Needed.

Finally, Use The Power Of AI To Get Real Results.

Works In Any Niche In Any Country.

365-day Money-Back Guarantee.

Delta Review: How Does It Work?

>> Click Here to Get Delta + My $20000 Special Bonus Bundle to Boost Up Your Earnings More Traffic, Leads & Commissions >>

Delta Review: Can Do For You

The Only App On The Market That Spits Out “Stealth” Funnels.

Instantly BOOST Your Results By 10x By Using Our DFY Bonus Pages.

Instantly Get Access To Pre-Approved High Ticket Offers That Pays A Minimum Of $500 Per Sale.

All of the required email sequences have been completed for you. This is not an ordinary email. This is a high-converting email that sells like crazy.

Whether it’s an Android, iPhone, or tablet, it will work.

This will allow you to also operate Delta, even from your mobile phone.

NOTHING is missing in this training, Everything you need to know is explained in IMMENSE details.

Just reach out to us and our team will do their best to fix your problem in no time.

Delta Review: Who Should Use It?

Affiliate Marketers

Personal Product Sellers

Social Media Marketers

E-com Store Owners

Video Marketers

Small Business Owners

Bloggers & Vloggers

Coaches/Trainers

Website Owners

Delta Review: OTO And Pricing

Front End Price: Delta ($17)

OTO 1: Unlimited ($67)

OTO 2: Done For You ($297)

OTO 3: Cash Automations ($67)

OTO 4: Limitless Buyer Traffic ($47)

OTO 5: Mega Bundle ($97)

OTO 6: 100% Franchise Rights ($197)

OTO 7: 50X Profit Multipliers ($67)

Delta Review: My Special Bonus Bundle

>> Click Here to Get Delta + My $20000 Special Bonus Bundle to Boost Up Your Earnings More Traffic, Leads & Commissions >>

Delta Review: Money Back Guarantee

Our 365 Days Iron CladMoney Back Guarantee

Delta Review: Conclusion

Delta Tools is a game changer when it comes to generating free traffic and increasing revenue. Delta Tools’ all-in-one solution, superior AI technology, and user-friendly interface enable organizations of all sizes to experience extraordinary growth. Whether you’re an experienced marketer or just starting out, Delta Tools offers the resources you need to succeed. So, why are you waiting? Take advantage of Delta Tools’ free traffic and sales tools now to help your online business prosper!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. Do I need any experience to get started?

None, all you need is just internet connection. And you’re good to go

Q. Is there any monthly cost?

Depends, If you act now, NONE. But if you wait, you might end up paying $997/mo It’s up to you.

Q. How long does it take to make money?

Our average member made their first sale the same day they got access to Delta.

Q. Do I need to purchase anything else for it to work?

Nop, Delta is the complete thing. You get everything you need to make it work. Nothing is left behind.

Q. What if I failed?

While that is unlikely, we removed all the risk for you. If you tried Delta and failed, we will refund you every cent you paid And send you $300 on top of that just to apologize for wasting your time.

Q. How can I get started?

Awesome, I like your excitement, All you have to do is click any of the buy buttons on the page and secure your copy of Delta at a one-time fee.

>> Click Here to Get Delta + My $20000 Special Bonus Bundle to Boost Up Your Earnings More Traffic, Leads & Commissions >>

Thank for reading my Delta Review till the end. Hope it will help you to make purchase decision perfectly.

Note: Yes, this is a paid tool, however the one-time fee is $17 for lifetime

[runwayrunway]

No. 53 - Hawaiian Airlines

I've spent basically a week and a half posting exclusively about Alaska Airlines, and I don't regret a second of that, but it's time to move on to something a little bit different. It's time to shift our focus south, from the icy coasts of Alaska to the sunny shores of the other non-contiguous United State. Thank you to @sirigorn for the request!

I'd had in mind for a while that I would cover Alaska and Hawai'i's home carriers right after one another. Despite the vast difference in climate their airlines have a startling amount in common. They are two of the five remaining US legacy carriers, standing proud with Delta, American, and United amidst the carnage of countless mergers and bankruptcies. They are both very well regarded - Hawaiian has a reputation for punctuality and professionalism, and is the only legacy carrier to have never had a fatality or hull loss despite being the thirteenth-oldest airline in the world still operating. But none of that is why I paired them up.

I paired them up because they both have faces. There is no reason to suspect that this was coordinated, but I think that Oliver and Pualani - the face on Hawaiian Airlines' tailfins - should be friends. If you take nothing else away from this post, let it be that. But I do have more to say, so let's look past the tail at the rest of the plane it's attached to.

(I have to say this upfront before I get into the review: no matter how pretty their airline's planes are, please choose somewhere other than Hawai'i for your next vacation. The islands were already strained by tourism and that's even before Maui was lit on fire. Now, when the people of Hawai'i are trying to rebuild, is not the time to divert their resources to anything other than supporting those affected by the deadliest wildfires in the past century. If you are able, however, I recommend donating to funds like Maui Nui Strong.)

Hawaiian Airlines has endeared themselves to me by creating a webpage discussing their brand refresh, which I always appreciate. I'm going to be discussing their modern livery today, which was introduced, with this webpage, in 2017, but it's worth noting that their 2001-2017 livery is very easy to mistake for the modern one. It's quite similar, so I'm going to quickly explain how they differ. For what it's worth, they're similar enough that I sort of consider the modern look a revision rather than an outright replacement.

This is the 2001-2017 livery. As you can see it has large flowers in varied shades of vivid purple which bloom out from around Pualani, who is on a solid red backdrop. They wrap around the tail of the plane, creating that sort of curved shape classic SASlikes try to have, and the same purple blooms are present on the winglets. I love this livery, personally - the colors and the shapes of the petals are both fantastic - I just wish there were more of them on more of the plane, instead of it just being boring and rear-heavy like everything else out there.

The 2017 revision is similar, but nonetheless visibly different. The color balance in general has shifted and Pualani has been slightly updated, but it's the flowers around her which have changed the most, and I'm going to be honest - I prefer the old one.

A large portion of Hawaiian's fleet is composed of Airbus A330s. (Each of them is named for a Polynesian constellation, historically a huge part of navigation for traditionally seafaring peoples!) The A330 is a very common plane but a very tricky one to work with. The Airbus roundness doesn't just stop at the nose, and A330s probably are the most vulnerable to this, the ratio of length to fuselage making them look a bit puffy in the front, while the taper of the tail remains about as sharp as with any other model of plane. The wings are located quite forward, and the tail is not especially large or visually interesting, which means that it ends up feeling almost small. None of this is to say that the A330 is an ugly plane; it is not. There is no such thing as an ugly plane (well, there is, but they're still cute and the A330 isn't one), but there are features of different airframes which can make them susceptible to certain visual effects. The A330, due to its specific shape, can easily struggle with an issue very opposite to many other planes - it is very easy to make it look forward-heavy, with the tail coming off sparse.

Unfortunately, this is what happens with the new flower pattern. And yet, somehow, once it's in flight it feels tail-heavy again, because all the color is concentrated there. This weighting of detail and color manages to solve no problems at all, while somehow making two seemingly paradoxical problems worse. And Hawaiian is by far not the worst offender in either camp, but it's my job to be nitpicky and harsh, so nitpick I will - the A330 is a big puffy white tube and you need more fuselage coverage, on both ends, to make it not look like a poorly weighted puffy white tube tumbling its way through the air dealing with just the strangest aerodynamic loads imaginable.

I think if I had never seen the old design I would still notice it, but knowing that they had fixed this very problem and then created it again makes it sting a bit more. I don't mind the flowers as they are now, to be clear - I just wish that there were more of them. They take up so little space that they're easy to miss if you aren't looking closely, and that's a shame, seeing as they've added so much detail!

Looking at the two tailfin designs directly next to each other, I think I actually prefer the old one. And that's not because I think the new one is bad or anything - to the contrary, I love the extra detail in the foliage, and I'll touch on another thing I like later, but there are just a few details that make me sad here, like the way the wordmark got a bit smaller and the removal of the color from the winglets.

The color in general, I think, is a step back. Some things I love, like the vivid, saturated flower they've given Pualani. In general, though, I miss the high contrast between the warm red and cool lavender of the old livery. The website says this regarding the changes to the tailfins:

Pualani, with her welcoming smile and proud gaze, embodies our culture even more clearly. Known as the “flower of the sky,” Pualani is now framed by the rising sun, watching over our guests and crew along their journey. To celebrate her regal status, we are featuring purple more prominently in our color palette, complemented by an updated graphical style that reflects our reputation as a premium, global brand.

So, I might be insane, but I actually think the new livery is less purple and more red, right? Am I insane for thinking this? And that's not bad - the color palette of a shelf of homemade jams is absolutely an appealing one - but I loved the contrast between dark, warm, rich tones and light, crisp, clear ones with the old purple, which had really been a new direction for Hawaiian's primarily-red historical branding. Like I said, I don't hate the new livery at all, but it feels like it's missing a bit compared to the old one. There's a part of me that feels like the ideal Hawaiian Airlines livery would have the tailfin of the 2017 livery with the 2001 livery's flower unfolding beneath it, fully wrapping up the tail the way it used to and providing that blueish lavender pop to really clearly contrast itself from the rest of the plane. That could be stunning, I think, and while it would be a lot of detail that's generally something you want with florals - you either go minimal, like the Vietnam Airlines lotus, or you take advantage of the potential depth of color and shape which layering can give you.

Seriously, though...it's less purple. I haven't totally lost it, right? Please tell me I haven't totally lost it. I like purple. I want purple! This feels less purple!

Having insulted the new livery a bit, I'm now going to tell you all what I really like about it.

A maile lei—one we use for important occasions—wraps around the body of the aircraft to symbolize the warm welcome we extend to our guests, and the ways that our traditions bind us together as an ‘ohana (family).

I don't think I need to explain why I love this idea, but I will anyway, because that's what you follow this blog for.

This is a lovely idea that, in addition to portraying Hawai'ian culture, is a great way to keep interest going throughout the fuselage. I love the way it's placed, with that natural-feeling flow to it which feels like it continues on from the placement of the colored flowers before assuming a flowing pattern like that of a lei held up into the wind.

It works well with the shape of the A330, curling elegantly around the ventral fairing and over the wing. It takes advantage of the large canvas provided by the giant tube of a fuselage to present an elegant pattern of twists which keeps the fall of the lei feeling natural and means that you get a different view of it from every angle. I like this a lot.

I also like the fact that they stuck with a shape that's more-or-less the Lufthansa-SAS-line archetype, but then added something else to the fuselage, less because of how it works for this specific livery and more because it proves that you don't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to colorblocking...you just need to add something else. There is nothing wrong with the basic shapes, but everything wrong with the fact that they stop there.

...but I have to keep on nitpicking.

First: why is it grey? Why not a light purple? Grey is difficult to see on the white fuselage, and just feels at odds with the rest of the color scheme. It would feel so much more integrated, be more visible, do a lot to fix the rear-weighted color balance, and just look better if it were a light lavender or pink. I mean, fuchsia flowers lead directly into...grey ones? What kind of decision is that?

Second: why does it stop where it does? Surely with this sort of anfractuous winding pattern you could avoid covering the wordmark, or you could integrate it into the wordmark if you so wanted - I just don't understand why it cuts off behind it! This feels...

Oh no. Oh no, it's giving condor. Not literally as ugly, of course. It's not ugly at all. And it wasn't beginning with a never-before-done dynamite concept, it was iterating on something they already had that was nice but had room to grow. But it has potential dense enough that a spoonful weighs the same as an A330 and they've diluted it until most of the fuselage is just white. I don't get it. I just don't get it. They've been put one foot before the finish line of a footrace and immediately begun running in elaborate spirals. Like, you got there, but this was just a bad way to do what could have been so guaranteed.

Well, that's just one part of it. I've been talking about A330s this whole time. Hawaiian doesn't have an all-A330 fleet. I'm sure some airline out there does, but it's not them. (I had actually thought Aircalin did but I'm glad I checked to make sure because they have an A321 and a Twin Otter.) The reason I've been talking on and on about A330s is that I judge liveries which are consistent across models by their weakest points, and the A330 is easily the weakest for Hawaiian. On the reverse is the backbone of their inter-island fleet: a flock of Boeing 717s which are all named after indigenous birds, and apparently come with little plaques inside to dispense bird facts!

This livery actually looks phenomenal on the 717. This isn't a surprise to me. 717s are just fancy DC-9s, and DC-9s are one of the hardest planes to make a livery look bad on. I think the ceiling for a really great DC-9 livery is probably not the highest, but the floor for a bad DC-9 livery is in contrast quite high. Some planes are just hard to design liveries for - like A330s. Other planes are forthcoming with visual interest of their own in a way that accommodates liveries that look painfully minimal on larger, more conventionally laid-out planes.

The 717 has a very short (vertically) fuselage, limiting the blank space, and it seems like something about how they transferred the lei pattern unchanged onto it meant that it ended up reaching nearly to the nose. The small amount of overall real estate on planes like this means that detailed liveries shine their brightest, with every little bit fully blown up where on a larger, whiter canvas they could be lost in the dense shuffle and surrounding howling expanse. The rear part of the engines look a bit funky (which could be remedied somewhat if the flowers extended farther, like they did with the old livery) but this is otherwise just fantastic and would be exalted in my eyes if they just had made the lei an actual color.

Look, see how much better the shape of the old livery worked with the engines! It's so frustrated when airlines keep making half of a really great livery but never really merging them together into the absolute stunner of a livery that they could have - it reminds me of JAL, sort of, though again, Hawaiian just has nicer-looking planes at base by quite a margin.

The last type of plane they fly is the A321neo (each of which is named after local plants and forests). The relative stature, shape, and layout of this handsome girl are a compromise between the 717 and the A330, and accordingly I think this livery looks totally solid on her. The issues with the grey that I mentioned earlier remain, fuselage coverage is better than the A330 but not perfect, it's pretty but I can nitpick about it. Still, when I see this plane the nitpicks aren't the first thing that come to mind - they come after. The impression upfront is of a very pretty floral design in a lovely palette of homemade jams with a bit going on in the fuselage and Pualani's striking silhouette. There is a lot to like here and it's the details that just aren't keeping pace with the general design.

image: Hawaiian Airlines

Worth mentioning, though, is that this is the last type of plane they operate for now. Beginning in January of 2024 they will be taking delivery of 12 Boeing 787s, a plane which I love so much that it's one of the airframe features I've actually gotten around to doing. (I've been meaning to do more, but my life is hectic and posts kept getting long.) I only have this one picture to go off of, but I'm worried about the fact that the lei seems to stop even earlier on the airframe. The 787 is a beautiful plane, but it's a long plane, and this makes me worry that the rear-heaviness is going to be exacerbated on it. Maybe from a different angle the heavy wing sweep and the location of the engines could counteract this somewhat, but for now all I have to say is that I hope this very pretty livery and this very pretty plane can unite to create something very pretty, and I hope that it looks better when we get more pictures of it. (I do not yet know what their 787s will be named for.)

As I wind down my picking-apart of this livery, I keep stumbling on the glaring absence of winglet and nacelle detail. This is one of the simplest things you can do to avoid the rear-heavy look, and basically every livery benefits from it. The floral motif would be easy to translate, and the old livery even had some colored detail on the winglets, so I really don't get it. This doesn't just feel like a misstep, this feels like walking an hour to work every day and then learning on your very last day at that job that the whole time there was a bus you could have been taking.

And that's just...overall how I feel about Hawaiian Airlines. Beautiful graphics, fantastic idea, but it's like if a designer has ordered the building of a beautiful sculpture and the head of the company has ordered his employees to comply, but each one of them hates the designer and is doing all they can to sabotage him while never technically going counter to his instructions and vision. It's...it's really strange. It's hard to classify. I've kind of figured out how I give verdicts for things I think are really great executions of fundamentally insufficient concepts, but the reverse - 'great idea, generally pretty, so many bad choices' - is harder to nail down.

B-, I think.

Is this provisional or permanent? I couldn't tell you. But my reasoning is thus: this livery is one that I like, but which I think is poorly executed. A like-minus, if you will.

These grades ultimately really are something that can only mean something within the context of its own post - comparing one airline to another along their lines is going to be futile and this is not a tier list. I had intended it to function like that, but it just probably doesn't. Sorry, grading scales are difficult. I get so neurotic about grading scales. That's why I never used a numeric scale.

I mean, even these posts can be a bit misleading. This has been mostly critical despite the fact that I generally like this livery. It's the granular nature of my problems which makes up the bulk of the length. 'It's pretty' is maybe one paragraph at best. 'The details are mind-bogglingly suboptimal' is a full essay.

Their liveries are pretty. Their liveries have lovely colors and a fantastic logo in Pualani, reference their heritage, and incorporate features I've specifically pointed to before as being the sort of thing that can save liveries, but they managed to stumble so elaborately when sticking the landing that you wonder how they managed to do it - just landing on your feet would have been so much easier than doing that many ungainly tap-dancing maneuvers on your way down. None of it ruins what is still a very pretty livery, but all of it makes me look off at the horizon and faintly wonder 'why...' under my breath. I hope that in the future they wake up, take a deep breath, and realize they've built the perfect livery piecemeal all along and now all they have to do is put it together from their two most recent attempts, both of which were beautiful but far from perfect. I would even say that, with the inclusion of the lei, they have grown objectively - but they have so much further to grow.

And, to finish, I'm going to address what I know some people are probably wondering - no, I am not doing a deep dive into Pualani's identity, because Hawaiian Airlines is very upfront about what and who she is. Pualani is not exactly a real person, per se - she is a mascot, the 'flower of the sky' - but her image is based on a real person, and that real person unfortunately died mere weeks ago, as I was preparing to research this.

It was startling receiving this news as I was searching for information on the history of the Pualani logo - seeing 'is' turn to 'was' in real time. It was strange having to go back and edit my own writing to say 'was'. But maybe my timing isn't as bad as it could have been. One more tribute amid tributes - nothing special - but another voice among those celebrating the iconic face on the purple tailfins.

image: Miss Hawaii Organization

Leina’ala Ann Teruya Drummond, an indigenous Hawai'ian, was 1964's Miss Hawai'i and a top ten placer in 1965's Miss America competition. She had also worked for Hawaiian Airlines as a cabin crew member when she was younger, and was later chosen to be the model for the airline's new Pualani logo, which debuted in 1973. Coincidentally right after Oliver, but I do think it's just that - a coincidence - especially since the 1973 livery, including Pualani, was designed by Landor Associates, an incredibly prolific firm. She's evolved a lot since then, but she started out as Leina’ala Drummond and this has been public knowledge since the start.

Unfortunately, on 18th September 2023 Drummond succumbed to cancer, aged 77. She lived a full and exciting life, and I can't think of any better way to put it than the Miss Hawaii Organization did - her “iconic smile, elegance and grace will always be remembered”. Some of that elegance still lives on through the image on every Hawaiian Airlines plane's tailfin, which has evolved over the years but never changed at its core. May her memory be blessed, and my condolences to her loved ones.

image: Hawaiian Airlines

Even as she changes you can still see Drummond in Pualani's calm, graceful dignity. Hawaiian Airlines' branding would be a husk of itself without her, and I hope her image will grace their planes for decades to come.

[trulybetty]

Sunday Week In Review XIV

How's everyone doing? I skipped out on last week's update since it was a really slow week on all fronts for all the things for me last week. Things picked up a bit this week - but I'll be honest, I'm having a hard time finding my feet around here at the moment and finding a groove to get into.

Not sure if it's that time of year, a bit of a writing lull or what - but I've been a little meh, not in the sad sense - more like I'm a petulant child offered six different things and I turn my nose up at all of them because I don't know what I want lol.

Also trying to figure out a system for getting through my TBR list, right now it feels like it's out of control and there are only so many I can read in a week. Especially since I want to get through some of my physical TBR pile and dedicate a couple nights a week to offline reading.

Anyway, enough about me seemingly channelling Baby Truly™️ - on with the recap of the last two weeks!

T R U L Y   U P D A T E S . . .

I did a second round of the 'First Sentence' ask game, which I absolutely adore! If you haven't done it before, I very much recommend it! If you do this, tag me so I can come throw a sentence at you!

Round 2

tim x cagney (f!reader)

jack x reader (f!reader)

joel x Charlotte (OFC)

dieter x bryony (OFC)

jack x reader (f!reader)

frankie x clementine (OFC)

W H A T   I   R E A D . . .

Delta Landscaping (Triple Frontier) by @rhoorl Jess' series has me on tenterhooks for every update and then on the edge of my seat waiting for more! This last update we entered the start of Frankie's arch and while it pulls at the heartstrings, I'm so here for it and what's to come next! Also, Benny entering his Rocky era (Jess didn't write this, I've decided it) is something I'm also very much ready for!

Paranoid Hearts (Javi P.) by @goodwithcheese This series. This series is just something else and I finally got my ass into gear to get caught up, and while on the one hand, I'm sorry I started so late on the other hand I enjoyed this smorgasbord of Javi and Tabitha.

he makes life better (Joel) by @wildemaven This is such a warm comforting hug of a fic that just seeps into your bones, that makes your toes curl in softness and you re-read more than once. This is everything fluff should make you feel and I adore each and every last part of this and will be re-reading this.

Headshots (Marcus P.) by @secretelephanttattoo I was not ready for this to end, but El gave our boy Marcus the ending he and his Ella deserved and it was both spicy and sweet. If you've not read this yet, I suggest you do. Also, peep her forthcoming wip... 🔎

Thrash Metal (Dieter) by @morallyinept Jett is back with another delectably mouthwatering smutty one-shot with our favourite deviant Dieter Bravo. This is sinfully indulgent and a must-read and one that lends itself to definitely more than one read.

Six and a half minutes - Frankie's version by @avastrasposts This one calls for a breakout of the Hot Ones gif for sure, because this was the mood the entire time I read this. If anything, Frankie is not one to back down from a challenge...

Medicine (Joel) by @goodwithcheese I was so excited to see Megan had written for Joel that I had to drop everything to read this over my coffee the other morning. I love everything about the dynamic between these two and how Megan illustrates the deep affection they have for one another through their actions as we all know our post-outbreak Miller is not one quick with his words. I hope this isn't the last we see of Joel here!

M E M O R A B L E   P O S T S . . .

Heidi’s amazing mood board inspired by Sequins! 😍 I’m still in absolute awe of it and I love it so much! I think it's going to get a spot on my work desk this week! 💕

These thots had started off as Joel Thots, but have now morphed into Tim Thots and I'm not mad about it... might share a little snippet later 😏

@morallyinept's 'Ode to Writers' this week - I'm going to refrain from getting on my soapbox here (I'd be here all day) - but the table is not finite, it's infinite. If you're not inching your chair down to make room for another chair, or pulling the spare chairs in from the garage, then maybe you need to re-evaluate your relationship with this community.

E N J O Y E D  T H I S  W E E K  . . .

Finally watching ‘Strange Way of Life’ and getting to live message my thots to @rhoorl as I watched - it was a cinematic dissection.

Date night with Mr. Truly - we spent the entire two hours wondering what people do on dates aside from watching their phones and waiting for a call to say your kids are out of control and have taken over Nakatomi Plaza. But needless to say, we had fun, I even ate a meal without someone else's hand in it.

Amazing moots being mooting awesome 🙌 - I'm thankful every day that I get to interact with some wonderful people and have found a lovely corner of this hell site to play in a sandbox with some amazing people 💕

S P E C I A L M E N T I O N . . .

Check out this writing challenge that myself and a group of people that I'm lucky to call moots created that we would love for you to join in on! Everything about it is random and everyone starts with the same parameters and everything else after that is up to you! So excited to see what everyone does with this!

Do I know anything about Javi Pēna? Nope. Am I going to join in? Yes I am! 🙌

See you January 1st to dive into all the fics this challenge I hope produces! 💛

T H I S  W E E K ' S  J A M . . .

Thank you to @gnpwdrnwhiskey for inspiring this week's selection after she pointed out the parallels to Chiffon that I haven't been able to get out of my head since.

Hope everyone has had a great week! Here's to a great week ahead and I hope its a good one full of obnoxious drinks of choice and soft places to land and enjoy.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb:

Author Brandon Hoang takes readers on a high-stakes adventure through Vietnam in search of an ancient magical crossbow in this debut middle-grade fantasy that Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender calls "a must-read"!

When Vietnamese American Freddie Lo finds herself in Vietnam for the first time since she was little, she's not quite sure how to feel. The memories of her extended family are more like distant echoes; she has a tough time speaking Vietnamese; and she can't help but feel like she just isn't Vietnamese enough. Still, this is her chance to reconnect with her family, especially her Ong ngoai -- or grandfather -- who is receiving a big award.

That's when Ong ngoai reveals his secret: He knows the location of an ancient legendary crossbow, one with the power to decimate armies -- and he's hidden it away from those who intend to use its magic for evil. But when Ong ngoai is kidnapped, it's up to Freddie, her cousin Lien, and a mysterious boy named Duy to get to the crossbow before it ends up in the wrong hands.

In this Indiana Jones-style adventure, readers will travel through Vietnam -- from its seaside villages, to the swamps of the Mekong Delta, to the majestic Marble Mountains of Da Nang -- as Freddie learns what it takes to be a hero.

Review:

When traveling to Vietnam to visit her family the last thing Vietnamese American Freddie Lo is to go on a magical quest to find an ancient legendary crossbow and save her grandfather! Freddie Lo is going to visit her extended family in Vietnam, however having not seen her family for so long and not speaking Vietnamese all that well, it's hard for Freddie to connect. But Freddie isn't going to give up the chance to reconnect with her family, especially with her grandfather. But when her grandfather reveals that he knows the location of an ancient legendary crossbow that has magical abilities, Freddie knows her entire life is going to change. When her grandfather is kidnapped its up to Freddie, her cousin Lien, and a mysterious boy named Duy to find the crossbow and save Freddie's grandpa! This book was just a fantastic read, it takes you across Vietnam and through gorgeous places. It's a great middle-grade read and the adventure was well done. I liked the story and friendships built in this and how Freddie was so resilient and determined. The book is a fun one for middle grade and young readers to read and get interested in. It's a fun road trip adventure filled with Vietnamese mythology, family bonds, and identity! Seriously, pick this one up and add it to your tbr!

Release Date: August 6,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Scholastic | Scholastic Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[wander-over-the-words]

4, 10 and 22 for the Fanfiction wrapped meme?

2023 in Review - Fic writer asks - 4. What piece of media inspired you the most? 

BioShock (particularly 2), Fallout (particularly New Vegas), with a bit of Mafia: Definitive Edition on the side c:

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

Probably Hey, Good Lookin’, the first fic wherein my version of Johnny Topside showed up, just cause I was real excited to finally be showing him to my readers, especially since it was a different kind of setting for my Deltaclair stuff. Was real interesting writing Delta actually speaking and being heard and whatnot c: Plus, the fic in general was just all. sweet and romantic and whatnot that it made me all warm and fuzzy inside 

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

I got three scenes that tie for my favourite soooo

(From Safety In Numbers)

Any of y’all who follow this blog know that my favourite thing ever to write/daydream extensively about is Protective Delta going apeshit when Sinclair is in trouble. Obviously, in this scene Sinclair isn’t actually in danger - he just had a nightmare - but hey Delta didn’t know that. He just heard Sinclair scream for him and came running. and ended up going through a wall to get to him lmao. Delta was ready to THROW DOWN (and obvs once you get to the scene in the kitchen it becomes clearer that his panic was also cause of some Rapture Induced Trauma so it has some harsher in hindsight qualities that I love). y'all KNOW that roar meant "NOT MY AUGUSTUS". Plus, Sinclair being savvy enough to know what’s about to happen and diving for safety just before Delta comes barreling through - he knows how Delta is 

(from the same fic as above)

I just think this is one of the more tender moments I’ve written for these two, with Sinclair falling asleep and waking up to find that Delta laid him down from where he was sitting up, put a blanket over him and then sat down to watch over him as he slept, with the added detail that he’s sitting in front of Sinclair, as in to shield him, all because he told Sinclair earlier in the fic that he would protect him. And it’s telling that Sinclair never woke up prior to this moment, even while Delta was moving him around. Nobody’s gonna be getting to Sinclair tonight - Delta will see to that

(from Mad About the Boy)

I honestly think this here is the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever written for this ship. For context, this whole fic was my excuse to talk about my hcs regarding Sinclair and Delta’s sexualities (it was written for Pride, after all). It was the first fic of mine to officially confirm that, yes, when I write him, Sinclair is a gay man (I implied it in A Train Car Fit for Two but it was a throwaway comment that I think people missed), but more importantly, it talked about how Delta only has eyes for Sinclair. Literally nobody else interests him in that kind of manner. The narrative literally mentions that if Sinclair were a woman instead, Delta would still love her just the same as he does this Sinclair

And this is his response to Sinclair asking him what he likes (“Now, I know it ain’t your top priority and you’re well within your rights ta tell me to butt out, but since we’re on the topic…what is it that you especially like?”). Just to say ‘well…I only like you?’ Just. how innocent and honest Delta is with it, combined with the fact that Sinclair is literally laying in Delta’s lap in this scene just. makes it for me, if I may toot my own horn c’:

[minipliny]

30-second book reviews: Dust Child, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Three interlinked stories; an Amerasian in present-day Vietnam looks for his father and a route to an American visa for himself and his family; a Vietnam War veteran searches for the child of the pregnant girlfriend he abandoned; and in 1969 two teenage sisters in the Mekong Delta find a seemingly glamorous new job in a Saigon bar, where all they'll have to do to pay off their parents' crushing debts is to drink tea and flirt with the GIs...right?

This book came partly from the author's PhD dissertation on Amerasians, and the interviews and research she conducted; the author is also a poet. At times the sheer weight of how much she knows about the subject weighs on the book, but the core stories are so piercingly emotional and nuanced, and the writing is so beautiful, that you are carried through. I listened to the audiobook via the library, and feuilljska came in, started listening three quarters of the way through the story, couldn't stop listening, and then got tearful during the story.

It's a story about making amends and the impossibility of making amends; about not understanding the consequences of your own choices, but it's also really profoundly a story about resilience and how people try to live past and make sense of their experiences. Even though you might think you know from the summary above how the story is going to end, there are several brilliant twists that make perfect sense and also recontextualise so much of the story.

"“She had tried to live an honest life, but the war had given her no choice. It had forced her to make up a version of herself which was acceptable to others. In a way, making up stories had been the basis of her survival and her success.”

[casbooks]

Books of 2023

Book 47 of 2023

Title: Three Tastes of Nuoc Mam Authors: Douglas Branson ISBN: 9786613914316 Tags: AUS ADF AA Australian Army, AUS ADF Australian Defence Force, AUS Australia, HKG Hong Kong, HKG Hong Kong - Peninsula Hotel, KOR Korea, KOR ROK 9th White Horse Division, KOR ROK Republic of Korea Army, P-3 Orion, US Bob Hope (Entertainer), US USA United States Army, US USA USSF Green Berets, US USA USSF Special Forces, US USCG United States Coast Guard, US USCG USCGC Point Comfort (WPB-82317), US USN United States Navy, US USN USS Currituck Sound (AV-7), US USN USS Vesuvius (AE-15), US USO United Service Organizations, USN Admiral Elmo Russell "Bud" Zumwalt Jr, USN PCF Patrol Craft Fast Swift Boat, VNM ADF AA 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) (Vietnam War), VNM ADF AA AATF Australian Army Training Team (Vietnam War), VNM Ba Dong, VNM Binh Thuan Province, VNM Cam Ranh Bay, VNM Co Chien River, VNM Con Na Beach, VNM Cu Lao Cau, VNM DRV NVA North Vietnamese Army, VNM DRV VC Viet Cong, VNM Highway 1, VNM Hon Cu Loa (Monkey Island), VNM Hon Mat, VNM Hon Mieu (South Island), VNM Hon Tam, VNM Hon Tre (Bamboo Island), VNM III Corps (Vietnam War), VNM Mekong Delta, VNM Nha Trang, VNM Nui Dat, VNM Operation Market Time (1965-1975) (Vietnam War), VNM Phan Rang Air Base, VNM Phan Thiet, VNM Point Ke Ga, VNM Point Mui Dinh, VNM RVN ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam, VNM RVN ARVN Vietnamese Rangers - Biet Dong Quan, VNM RVN Ngo Dinh Diem, VNM RVN Nguyen Van Thieu, VNM RVN RVNP Can Sat National Police, VNM RVN VNN LLHT Luc Luong Hai Thuyen Navy Coastal Force / Junk Force(Vietnam War), VNM RVN VNN Republic of Vietnam Navy, VNM Tan Son Nhut Air Base, VNM Truong Son Mountains, VNM US MACV Advisory Teams (Vietnam War), VNM US MACV Military Assistance Command Vietnam (Vietnam War), VNM USN Coastal Patrol Center III Corps - Halo Shampoo, VNM USN Coastal Surveillance Center III Corps - Nha Trang, VNM USN TF 117 MRF Mobile Riverine Force (Vietnam War), VNM Vietnam, VNM Vietnam War (1955-1975), VNM VNN Yabudda Junks, VNM Vung Tau Rating: ★★(2 Stars) Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Naval.VNN Year Read: 47 of 2023 Price: 13.29

Description: During the War, Vietnam's coast had to be protected against Viet Cong ambushes and smuggling. The U.S. forces had destroyers, cruisers and gargantuan aircraft carriers, none suited for inshore patrol. This is the story of the Brown Water Navy, the garage-band flotilla assembled to do the job.Douglas Branson has been to Vietnam several times, including trips in 1966, 1995 and 2011. The first time, he was a 22-year-old, Brown Water Navy lieutenant JG. Subsequent visits were as a consultant/tourist. Here, Branson recounts three of his Vietnam adventures with humor, detail and insight into the economic, political and gastronomic forces at work.

Review: I'll be honest, I didn't finish this book. I read the vietnam war part, and skipped the rest because even the war part was difficult to get through. This wasn't quite a 1 star book but it definitely came close. For anyone who has read anything about Operation Market Time, the Swift boats, or even coastal advisors - this book sets off red flags and alarm bells. The author has some very strong opinions about everyone and everything and often ... well ... let's just say that he vacillates wildly from complete bullshit to just plain stupid. Avoid this book and read Bob Andretta's Brown Water Runs Red for a better book on the Junk Force.

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

The Lumberjack by Susan Stoker

Game of Chance #4

Seamless transition between this and the previous book ~ Great conclusion to this series!

What I liked:

* April: divorced, short-term amnesia post head trauma, loved by her friends, knows she and Jack have chemistry, mature, intelligent, in charge, admired, good friend, capable, leader, liked her a lot

* JJ/Jack: ex-military Delta Force leader of captured and tortured team, good friend, bright, protective, lethal, caring, bright, attracted to April for years, finally realizes it’s time to make a move

* That April and Jack finally see the light and make a move toward what they both want

* Catching up with the four men and their wives and finding out all three women are pregnant (remembering each of their stories as I read this one was a special treat)

* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing

* The strength of the women and their ability to work together in a dire situation

* The four military men turned lumberjacks who will do anything to keep their women safe

* The network available to JJ and his friends when they needed a bit of help

* The way the story came together, the conclusion that wrapped up the series perfectly, and the epilogue that allowed me to see how all four couples were doing ten years after the book ends

* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* The bad seed hyper-focused on revenge and the evil he committed

* That I have to say goodbye to the characters in this series

Did I like this book? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

BLURB

New York Times bestselling author Susan Stoker wraps up her steamy Game of Chance series with an explosive novel about an ex-soldier fighting to save the woman he loves—even if she can’t remember him. A game of chance during a horrific POW experience decided the future for Jackson “JJ” Justice and his teammates. Years later, they’re well settled into their lumberjack business in small-town Maine. And for nearly as long, JJ’s been pining for April, the woman largely responsible for growing their business, but insecurities keep him at arm’s length from the sexy receptionist. April Hoffman loves her job…and her boss. She’s unsure where JJ’s head is at, but for her part, she knows exactly why she’s not revealed her feelings. Not only does she have one failed relationship under her belt, she’s also several years older than JJ. Why would a man so brutally hot settle for someone almost past her prime? After a car accident nearly takes April’s life, leaving her with temporary amnesia, they both understand what they almost lost. The floodgates are open, their feelings exposed…but it may be too little, too late. An enemy from JJ’s past has come calling, putting not only his future happiness on the line, but the lives of several people he holds dear—starting with April.

[raghavlog]

Procedure For Dealing With Delta Airlines Missed Flight

Don't panic if you are going to miss your Delta flight. Take action immediately. You can take advantage of Delta Airlines' Missed Flight Policy if you act quickly. It is a good idea to start by contacting Delta Airlines and finding out what options are available. You will be offered an alternative flight on the same day by the Delta Airlines Customer Service team.

Going to Miss Your Delta Flight? Here'a what to do

As per Delta Airlines Contract of Carriage, your entire itinerary, including your return trip, may be canceled if you miss your flight (U.S. General Rule, 14.C, page 13; International General Rule, 60.C.3, page 29). Whenever your plans change and you are not able to catch your flight, please get in touch with us immediately to discuss your options and update your itinerary.

Please see a Delta representative At the Airport

Call Delta Reservations: 800-221-1212

Flights will inevitably be delayed or even missed. Whenever you get into similar trouble, you can take a deep breath and follow Delta Airlines Missed Flight Policy. Check out the sections below for step-by-step instructions on what to do!

What is Delta Airlines' Missed Flight Policy?

Delta Airlines Missed Flight Policy generally provides rebooking options. However, details can be differ based on factors such as the type of ticket used and the reason for missing the flight. Contact Delta Airlines immediately if you miss your flight to discuss your specific situation and discover what options are available to you.

Delta Airlines Rules for Missed Flight

A Delta representative should be contacted if you miss your flight and you would like to request a new ticket for your subsequent Delta trips. 

Delta Airlines will issue a new ticket for the following flight within 24 hours of your scheduled departure.

If you decide not to purchase a new ticket, ask the Delta agent for a refund.

This offer is only available to passengers who purchased plane tickets with full refunds.

Delta Airlines will accept non-refundable tickets in the future.

Within two hours of the scheduled departure time, you can get a replacement ticket on any available flight.

What is the procedure for dealing with a missed flight on Delta Airlines?

Dealing with a missed flight on Delta Airlines involves several steps to ensure you get to your destination as smoothly as possible. Here’s a detailed procedure:

1. Assess the Situation

Stay Calm: Missing a flight can be stressful, but staying calm will help you think clearly and handle the situation more effectively.

Review Your Itinerary: Check your itinerary to understand your next steps and potential options.

2. Contact Delta Airlines

Immediate Notification: Contact Delta Airlines as soon as possible. You can do this by calling Customer Service: Use the Delta Airlines customer service number. Visiting the Help Desk: If you're at the airport, head to a Delta help desk. Using the Delta App: If you have the Delta app, use it to get in touch with customer service or find rebooking options.

3. Explain Your Situation

Provide Details: Be ready to provide details such as your flight number, booking reference, and reason for missing the flight.

Be Honest: Explain honestly the reason you missed your flight. This can help in getting more sympathetic and effective assistance.

4. Explore Rebooking Options

Ask for the Next Available Flight: Request to be rebooked on the next available flight to your destination.

Standby List: If there are no immediate flights, ask to be put on the standby list.

Consider Alternative Airports: If your destination is served by multiple airports, ask about flights to alternative nearby airports.

5. Check for fees changes

Understand Potential Costs: Be aware that rebooking fees or fare differences may apply. Ask the Delta representative about any costs involved.

Use Delta Policies: Familiarize yourself with Delta’s missed flight policies, which might include waivers or reduced fees in certain circumstances.

6. Utilize Travel Insurance

Insurance Coverage: If you have travel insurance, contact your insurer to see if your policy covers missed flights and any associated costs.

7. Additional Tips

Airport Facilities: If you have to wait for a while, inquire about airport amenities such as lounges or rest areas.

Monitor Your Booking: Watch your rebooked flight details via the Delta app or website.

8. Prevent Future Missed Flights

Early Arrival: Always aim to arrive at the airport well ahead of your scheduled departure time.

Check Flight Status: Regularly check your flight status for any changes or updates.

Plan for Delays: Consider potential traffic or security delays when planning your trip to the airport.

Delta Tickets types

Delta offers several types of tickets, including non-refundable, refundable, and Basic Economy. If you miss your flight, your ticket type will have a significant impact.

Non-Refundable Tickets: Non-refundable tickets cannot be refunded or rescheduled without additional charges if you miss your flight.

Refundable Tickets: Refundable tickets give you more flexibility. Rescheduling your flight or requesting a refund may be possible, although Delta may charge a fee.

Basic Economy tickets: Delta Airlines tickets are generally the most restrictive. A Basic Economy ticket holder who misses their flight will probably not be able to get a refund or reschedule it.

Delta Award Ticket: Basic Economy Award tickets are also non-changeable and non-refundable. You can cancel for a fee in miles, which is deducted from the ticket value.

What is the delta 240 rule?

As part of the FAA's Rule 240, which predates the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, the FAA requires carriers with delayed or canceled flights to transfer travelers to another carrier who can get them to their final destination faster. The policy, however, didn't cover weather, strikes, or acts of God.

What are the contract of carriage rules on Delta Airlines?

Delta's contract of carriage states that if a flight is canceled, diverted, or delayed by more than 90 minutes, a passenger can skip their connection if Delta cancels their remaining ticket and refunds the unused portion.

Delta will transport the passenger to the destination on the next Delta flight. This provides seats in the class of service originally purchased if the passenger does not request a cancellation and refund.

Depending on Delta's discretion and if the passenger agrees, Delta may arrange for the passenger to travel on another carrier or via ground transportation. The passenger will be transported on the next available flight if space is available only in a higher class of service than he or she purchased.

For those passengers who can't be upgraded, Delta reserves the right to upgrade other passengers on the flight using its upgrade priority policy. 

As with Americans, the airline may arrange hotel accommodations or ground transportation for passengers whose travel is interrupted for more than four hours after the scheduled departure time as a result of a flight cancellation or delay.

There is a possibility that you may be entitled to a voucher for a one-night stay when the delay occurs between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. 

What should you do if you miss your Delta flight?

Find out what to do if you missed your flight:

Immediately contact Delta Airlines Customer Care (001 800-221-1212).

In case of a missed flight, you should cancel it if you know you will miss it. 

If you notify Delta Airlines Customer Service in advance of the reason for your missed flight, you may be able to book your next flight.

Delta Airlines will refund your money if you don't wish to rebook.

A representative or airport staff will be able to assist you if you miss your connection.

Due to this, you should notify the executive as soon as possible upon missing your flight if you are unable to make it.

What Happens If I Miss a Delta Flight Due to a Delay? 

When you miss your flight due to a delay, you don't have to worry; Delta has options to help you in case of a missed flight due to a delay. Here are the details:

There is no problem with rebooking the flight if there is a delay of more than 30 minutes.

If you inform Delta Airlines in advance, they will rebook you on a similar route.If the flight is delayed for more than three hours, passengers are entitled to compensation or a refund. 

Refunds will only be issued if the flight delay cannot be avoided.

[aizenat]

Ordered a new thc gummy with my reup and hopefully that will help with my sleep. It’s their sleepy time version and the reviews had ppl saying it put them straight to sleep. I’ll probably try it this weekend and any days I’m wfh next week.

I’m struggling with these gummies because I do like how they knock me out and make it impossible for me to stay up until midnight with them but it’s like everything else about them I can do without lol. And if I’m being honest, I don’t really enjoy getting high.

I have noticed that with delta 9s tho, I don’t really get high? Its weird because delta 8s take me out and I get high on them, but I don’t feel anything with delta 9s despite delta 9s supposedly being stronger? But I can still stay up late with delta 8s, just be high while awake (not a good combo when I catastrophize my worst then), so that wasn’t enough. When I take delta 9 and 8 together, it creates a potent combo that knocks me out against my will entirely at like ten-thirty at the latest and depending on what was happening when I laid down creates situations with me waking up at 4 in the morning with my light on and my tv still on and my phone not plugged in and shit lol. Like yeah I’m sleeping but can I at least get properly ready for bed before it takes me out? Lol.

I’m hoping these new delta 9s will take me out without getting me high. My biggest struggle with the gummies is getting a routine where I can do my night routine before they kick in so I’m in bed and ready to knock out by the time they hit. But it’s like impossible to predict when they’ll start hitting. We’ll see.

I need to start documenting like when I take the gummies and if I ate before and after and what time I start to feel it a bit and when it hits hard and I need to sit down, etc. Maybe if I experiment a bit I can figure out some approximations and get in a proper routine so I can sleep and not feel so insane.

[the-worlds-between-pages]

The Mystery of Locked Rooms by: Lindsay Currie

Published by: SOURCEBOOKS KIDS Publication Date: 4/2/2024 To start I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Now, onto the review! This book hit me in a sensitive place. Our main character Sarah and her two friends love escape rooms. They have a team name: the Deltas, and they’ve just beat a difficult room and won a shirt. It’s…

[juancarloscarlos861]

Fresh Bros | Buy CBD/Hemp in USA

Purchase high-quality CBD, Delta 8, and hemp products online. Fresh Bros™ is a licensed CBD/hemp ingredient manufacturer and distributor in the United States. Read customer reviews and testimonials to learn about the reputation of possible suppliers. Honest consumer feedback can provide useful insights about the quality and dependability of the items and services supplied.

[deltabposolutions]

Honest Review of Delta BPO Solutions - Mumbai Branch | Running Center

[dwellingexpertise]

Discover the best Delta mitre saws with Dwellingexpertise.com comprehensive reviews! Our team of experts provide unbiased, honest reviews to help you make an informed decision.

Delta Miter Saw Reviews

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: Voyager Season 5 (2 of 7)

Episode 5: Once Upon A Time

Plot (as given by me):

After playing through a children’s story on the holodeck, Naomi Wildman is called to her quarters by her god-father Neelix so she can be wished good night by her mother, who is on an away mission with Tom Paris and Tuvok. Samantha informs her daughter the away mission will take longer than planned, and when Naomi goes to brush her teeth, Sam reveals to Neelix what’s really going on.  The Delta Flyer has taken damage due to an ion storm, and another is about to hit.  Just after the comm. link goes down, the Flyer is hit by the second storm.

 As Voyager races to the rescue of their compatriots, having also received a distress call from Tuvok, Neelix worries about Naomi learning what’s going on.  While the crew’s initial impulse is to be honest with Naomi, Neelix advises keeping her in the dark to begin with, hoping that the away team can be recovered before the girl suspects anything is amiss.  Captain Janeway seems reluctant, but defers to Neelix as he is Naomi’s god-father and the closest member of the crew to her in her mother’s absence. Meanwhile, the Delta Flyer has crash-landed on a class M planetoid, the surface of which has trapped them under a lot of rock that will prevent taking off.  In addition, damage to the vessel limits their supply of breathable air and Sam has internal injuries that require proper medical attention.

 While most of the crew work to find some definitive sign of the Delta Flyer, Neelix tries to keep Naomi distracted with her lessons and holodeck stories.  Despite this, Naomi begins to suspect something is wrong, and her latest holodeck story proves quite scary.  When Janeway takes Neelix aside and insists Naomi be told the situation, Neelix has a massive outburst, revealing that his desire to keep Naomi shielded from what’s going on links back to the trauma he went through losing his own family.  The captain sympathises, but talks Neelix round to the fact that Naomi should still be told.  Before this can happen, however, Naomi stumbles onto the bridge, sees the impact trail from the Flyer’s landing on the viewscreen, and runs away.

 Back on the Flyer, Tom, Tuvok and Sam all record farewell messages for their loved ones in case they’re not found in time, and Tuvok reassures Sam that Naomi will survive and prosper even if that happens.  Meanwhile, Neelix finds Naomi on the holodeck and apologises to her for lying.  He explains that he lost his family in a war on his home world, and he had been trying to spare Naomi the pain he went through by pretending nothing was wrong. He then admits that pretending a wrong doesn’t exist when it actually does never helps.  Another ion storm begins to approach, but the rescue teams manage to find and excavate the Delta Flyer just in time for a last-minute beam-out.  Naomi is reunited with her mother after the Doctor has treated Sam for her injuries. Later, Naomi enjoys a holodeck adventure with her mother and Neelix, with Captain Janeway stopping by to check on her “future Captain’s Assistant.”

Review:

This is a fairly notable episode within the Voyager series because it’s the first episode where child actress Scarlett Pomers would play the role of Naomi Wildman, and at the same time it’s Nancy Hower’s last time playing Naomi’s mother Samantha within the show’s present day (her last appearance on the show being in a later episode that shows events from the show’s past).  It’s a little strange that Naomi should continue to appear after this without her mother, but c’est la vie, that’s just one of the little mysteries of TV, I suppose. Unfortunately, the episode ends up bringing up a continuity error in this casting that is never explained within the show.

 Naomi Wildman is born late in the show’s second season, appearing as a baby at least up as far as the season 2-season 3 transitional two-part episode.  However, by season 4’s episode ‘Mortal Coil’, Naomi seems about 3 years old, and then this episode puts her at about 5 (when Seven notes she was assimilated by the Borg at age 6, Neelix says “not much older than Naomi is now”).  This means the character has aged five years in the space of what the show itself has established to be a period of just over two years.  It’s not down to her half-alien nature, I don’t think, or they’d give her actual age and make some comment about Katarian genes resulting in accelerated development through childhood.  As such, I think this is a glaring oversight by an inattentive creative team, and one that I hope someone has at least tried to better rationalise through tie-in media.

 Outside of that, we get an episode that is rare for this Trek series at the moment, because it gives us character development and issue exploration all in one.  The character development comes from Neelix, as we look at how his style of childcare in regards to Naomi is informed by his past trauma of losing his family in war.  His instinct seems to be feigning that everything is ok, which ultimately backfires, and this brings us to the issue exploration side of the episode.  The issue is whether it’s ok to deal with problems by hiding them from others, and of course it’s not.  It’s a bit like some mental health training I recently did at work, which emphasises a bunch of tools for dealing with the stress caused by a problem instead of eliminating that problem.

 For me, Neelix in this episode represents the same kind of problem-avoiding, symptom-managing idiocy that plagues neurotypicals as a whole, and that serves to wind autistics like me up to no end. If a problem exists, no amount of stress diaries, meditation, yoga or anything else is going to fix it.  You fix problems by identifying a solution and implementing it, preferably either before the problem occurs to prevent it occurring, and failing that the solution should be a permanent fix, not a chronic one.  If someone is bullying another person, punish and educate the bully until they stop, or remove them from the environment.  If making changes without consulting those the changes will affect causes stress and anxiety, then the people making those changes need to stop being selfish and include those affected, not fob them off with stress management suggestions that a little consideration and inclusion would render unnecessary.

 By the same token, Naomi would have been better served if Neelix had simply told her the situation and been there for her as the situation developed.  Instead, he created a bigger problem, and quite frankly lucked out that his god-daughter was so kind and forgiving.  Not sure how many people would have given him such leeway in the same situation. Overall, I give this episode 8 out of 10; it might have got more points if not for the continuity error of Naomi’s weird age progression.

Episode 6: Timeless

Plot (as given by me):

Fifteen years in the future, Voyager is found buried beneath ice on the surface of a planet by two men, who turn out to be Chakotay and Harry Kim. Boarding the ship, they retrieve the frozen body of Seven of Nine, along with the Doctor and his mobile emitter. On board the Delta Flyer, the Doctor asks what’s going on, and Chakotay explains that he and Harry are trying to change history.

 In the present day of the series, the crew of Voyager celebrate retro-fitting the warp core to incorporate quantum slipstream technology.  They now plan to finally return to Earth, but Tom Paris uncovers a problem.  A few seconds into any flight, a phase variance occurs within the slipstream. Without being corrected, or being corrected for in the exact right way, the variance will knock Voyager out of slipstream and cause system damage, leading to a crash.  Tom informs Harry, and after almost two dozen simulations, they realise they have to advise the crew of this.

 At first, Captain Janeway and the others believe they may have to spend ages reversing the retrofit, but Harry isn’t prepared to give up.  He proposes having the Delta Flyer flying just ahead of Voyager in the slipstream, mapping the phase variance and sending phase corrections back to Voyager.  In theory, doing this should give them the leeway necessary to make the corrections before any crash can occur.  Janeway approves the plan, assigning Harry and Chakotay to the Delta Flyer.  Unfortunately, Harry’s phase corrections prove to be incorrect, and while the Delta Flyer manages to stay in the slipstream all the way back to Earth, Voyager is ejected into normal space, suffering major system damage that results in the ship crashing into an ice planet.

 In the future, Chakotay and Harry explain their plan to the Doctor; using a recovered piece of Borg technology and a couple of key pieces of information from the dead Seven’s implants, they plan to send new phase corrections back to Seven’s past self.  If all goes as planned, Voyager will return home intact as originally intended. However, the plan soon goes awry. Chakotay and Harry stole the Flyer and are committing a violation of the Temporal Prime Directive, so they’re soon in a fight with the starship USS Challenger, commanded by Captain Geordi La Forge.  It then turns out that Harry’s revised phase corrections are no more effective than his original ones, and history remains unaltered.

 As the Flyer takes damage and Harry becomes frustrated and guilt-stricken, the Doctor forces him to find another solution.  Realising that the original plan to get Voyager home won’t work, they resort to a plan B, sending back phase corrections to safely collapse the slipstream.  Shortly after the future Delta Flyer is destroyed by its warp core breaching, Voyager is saved in the present by the latest phase corrections.  It’s soon discovered by the crew that a future version of Harry acted to save them, and Harry watches a message from his future self that was sent with the phase corrections.

Review:

While this episode is meant to be the 100th of the series, and certainly comes under that number in production order, it’s actually 99th by order of release, and since the episodes go on DVD, etc. in release order, I credit it as number 99 in the Voyager run. Mind you, neither this nor the subsequent episode are what I consider great Trek episodes, so for me this milestone is underwhelming whatever the metric.  It’s a plot-driven episode that throws a lot of technobabble at us, and it doesn’t develop any of the characters in their present-day incarnations. It’s just a drawn-out bait-and-switch regarding the ship and crew getting home, with a bit of time travel and the episode’s director playing his old TNG character in a future timeline the episode’s conclusion presumably wipes out.  For me, good acting and some shortening of the trip home aside, this episode has nothing going for it.  5 out of 10, next episode please.

Episode 7: Infinite Regress

Plot (as given by me):

As Voyager passes near a Borg debris field, Seven of Nine begins exhibiting strange behaviour.  Despite the ship trying to avoid the debris field, Seven’s odd behaviour continues, eventually resulting in her being taken to Sickbay.  It turns out something is causing multiple personalities from various victims of assimilation to take over Seven’s mind. Seven suspects it has to do with a Borg interlink frequency detected by B’Elanna in the debris field.  As the frequency permeates sub-space, physical distance from the field will not help; the signal will have to be deactivated at its source.  Voyager traces the frequency to that source, which is a device known as a Borg vinculum.  The device is intended to create order within the Borg hive mind by processing out extraneous thoughts and information.  However, this vinculum is malfunctioning and creating mental chaos, doubtless resulting in the destruction of the Borg vessel the debris field was created from.

 Seven asks for the device to be brought on board, explaining that if they take the device and work on it while travelling, they reduce the risk of encountering the Borg.  Janeway agrees, and it soon turns out that the device is infected with a biological pathogen that can affect computer programs.  During this initial investigation, Seven’s condition worsens, and at one stage Seven’s neural pattern is believed lost.  Efforts to contact the species that developed the pathogen only result in more conflict; the aliens want the vinculum back in the debris field to infect more Borg vessels, and they haven’t developed a cure because they want to stop the Borg, not help them.

 Ultimately, it falls to Tuvok to provide Seven with a mental anchor against the many voices in her head via a mind-meld while B’Elanna takes the vinculum off-line, and the bridge crew has to contend with attacks from the aliens.  Eventually, the device is shut down and beamed away before Seven and Tuvok are destroyed by the mental deluge.  Afterwards, Seven repays earlier kindness shown to her by Naomi Wildman by helping the young girl with her studies, asking if Naomi will teach her a game they played together while Seven was under another personality’s influence.

Review:

Like I said on the previous episode, the 100th one to air is not great Trek.  Instead of developing Seven’s character, she’s thrown into an episode that is largely just “make Seven act weird for weirdness’ sake.”  Nice as it is to see this episode give rise to the Seven-Naomi friendship, that’s not really character development per se.  The closest we get is Seven saying she can’t deal with other voices in her head, but we can get that sense from her anti-collective sentiments in episodes like ‘Hope and Fear’ and ‘Drone’.  There’s also no issue exploration at hand, because we don’t really delve into this multiple personality issue Seven experiences for anything like that.  It’s just character weirdness and a bit of action to fulfil that tickbox on the Voyager checklist.  For me, this one only gets 3 out of 10 and a lot of fast-forwarding through the character weirdness.

Episode 8: Nothing Human

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Voyager encounters an energy wave that turns out to be a distress call from a nearby ship. Arriving to help, they find the ship contains only one non-humanoid life form on the verge of dying. They transport the scorpion-like creature to Sickbay, and The Doctor begins to try to treat it. B'Elanna Torres, having learned of how the creature interacts with its ship, arrives to provide advice, but suddenly the creature leaps at her. It wraps itself around her, piercing her neck and other vital organs, creating a physical and biochemical bond between them. The Doctor finds that attempting to pull the creature off will likely kill Torres, and seeks another solution. When he exhausts his own knowledge, he searches through the Voyager databanks and discovers information on the brilliant Cardassian exobiologist Crell Moset. The Doctor programs the holodeck to recreate Moset in order to work out the solution for separating the creature from Torres together, and they develop a rapport with each other. Moset finds a method that they could separate the creature, likely killing it while leaving Torres alive, but the Doctor would rather save both patients.

 Word of the Doctor's simulation spreads about the ship after Harry and Tabor, a Bajoran ensign, have to repair the Moset program, with Tabor attempting to accost Moset. Tabor informs the Doctor and Chakotay the real Moset had indiscriminately experimented on hundreds of Bajoran lives during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, even though these ended up with beneficial treatments, and threatens to resign if Moset's program is allowed to continue. Torres, barely alive, also learns of Moset, and as a former Maquis member that was sympathetic to Bajor's cause, refuses to accept any procedure developed by the simulation. Moset does come across a procedure that should safely separate the creature from Torres without harming either, and after much deliberation with the senior staff, Captain Janeway orders the Doctor to proceed, overriding Torres' refusal.

 The Doctor and Moset start the operation in the holodeck, which involves applying a high frequency pulse to the creature's primary neo-cortex to weaken its motor controls. Initially this appears to work but as the operation continues, the effect of the pulse weakens, and Moset insists on increasing the frequency to make it more potent but potentially damaging the creature's synapses, but the Doctor orders him to stop, and instead applies the pulse to the secondary neo-cortex.

 During the operation, a ship similar in design to the creature arrives, and it attempts to communicate with Voyager, but this only comes out as a series of high-pitched shrieks. Voyager is unable to provide a comprehensible reply, and the new ship grabs Voyager in a power-draining tractor beam. Though her senior staff suggest using weapons to disable the new ship, Janeway holds firm onto arriving at a peaceful solution. First Officer Chakotay reroutes power to the holodeck to assure the Doctor can complete the operation with Moset. Eventually, the Doctor's treatment works, and they are able to stabilize both Torres and the creature. Janeway has the creature transported back aboard the new ship. It disengages the tractor beam and flies off.

 The Doctor poses the question to Captain Janeway about whether they should retain the Moset program, because, although his xenobiology knowledge would be of tremendous help, his presence has upset part of the crew; Torres herself is furious at Janeway for overriding her refusal even though it saved her life. Janeway leaves the decision to the Doctor, but asks him to be quick in deciding, having had her fill of moral controversy for the time being.

 The Doctor talks to Moset privately, and comes to learn Moset considers his methods necessary for Voyager's survival, and that itself requires them to experiment on "lower" lifeforms for the greater good. The Doctor wavers, and Moset tries to plead with him, pointing out that the Doctor himself has not lived up to the Hippocratic Oath by utilizing all available resources to save a life regardless of their origins. The Doctor is not moved by Moset's argument and orders the program terminated and deleted from the computer, explaining he cannot in good conscience use Moset's knowledge knowing how it was obtained.

Review:

At last, Voyager graces us with an issue exploration episode that doesn’t really put a foot wrong.  We get a crew member put in danger, a solution materialises, but then it turns out the solution stems from a morally questionable source. More specifically, is it ethically correct to save a life using medical knowledge gained through unethical scientific research.  Many of the Maquis crewmembers, including the imperilled B’Elanna, argue for morality, as does Tuvok on the grounds of logic, while the Doctor follows his programming to heal the patient in front of him, and Tom argues for saving B’Elanna out of love for her.  In essence, he knows and cares for her, he has no link to the victims of the research that’ll save her, so of course his vote is for saving her life.

 The two most interesting points for me in this episode are expressed by the character of Moset.  The first is when he points out how a lot of medical knowledge on Earth came from animal experimentation, noting the convenience of drawing a line between “higher” and “lower” life forms.  This is very much something human society has long done; only where the line gets drawn changes, but we still keep drawing it.  This feeds back to a point I’ve often tried to raise regarding how laws like age of consent vary internationally, and to quite a wide extent, and we so often forget that and choose to believe our local law is some kind of moral absolute.  By this same logic, the Doctor and the crew of Voyager aren’t as moral as they consider themselves to be, because all they’re doing is saying “ok, if the life used to arrive at cures A, B and C isn’t humanoid, it’s ok, but cures D, E and F are out because they came from experimenting on anything like us.”

 The second point expressed by Moset is how, when we need something, we tend to toss morality and ethics aside.  This is also true of a lot of people; most of us aren’t prepared to risk our survival solely on the basis of a principle, if only because that kind of self-sacrifice is antithetical to our survival instincts. Our drive is keep living as long as possible, and if the choice is between survival or our morality, we as a species would not survive if we all chose morality.  The crew of Voyager, and indeed Trek characters in general, are actually showcasing a high level of privilege by taking a morals-over-living stance, as does anyone siding with them.

 Now that’s not to say I condone unethical scientific research, or indeed any actions of an unethical nature.  What I am saying is having the option is a privilege, a luxury. Whether you’re a character in Trek or a person in the real world, you get to live in a world where humanity is suitably plentiful in number and advanced in its technology to accommodate such would-be nobility without consequence.  If we were only in the hundreds or thousands, being held back by too much morality would be to our disadvantage in terms of the sheer mathematics of species survival.  Numbering in the billions as we do, a lot of us can take the extreme moral high ground of dying for our ethics without risking species extinction.  Doing this is also a function of our brains being developed to allow for sentience and self-awareness, something not possessed by all forms of life.  Thus, we have a privilege of sorts that species of lower numbers and less complex minds do not with regard to ethics.

 If I have any critique on this episode, it’s that they put a main character in jeopardy, so much like the ‘Tuvix’ episode, the story is impacted by the consideration that the character has to survive.  Also not wild about the screeching that comprised the alien language in this episode; quite painful for a hearing-sensitive autistic like myself. As much as this also gives us a minor secondary issue of language barriers that is never really addressed, it also compels me to take off a point; next time, Trek-makers, consider people like me and don’t make noises that hurt my ears.  End score, 9 out of 10.