#annika extract

[asurprizinglysanefangirl]

Name meanings of Star Trek main characters

TOS –

James - Supplanter; Holder of The Heel

Spock – I don't know

Leonard - Lion Strength; Descendant; Lover

Nyota – Stars

(Bonus - Uhura – Freedom (crafted from the Swahili word uhuru for the show))

Mongomery - Mountain Belonging to The Ruler; Man Power

Hikaru – Radiance; Light

Pavel - Small; Humble, Modest

Christine - Follower of Christ

TNG –

Jean-Luc - God Is Gracious; Bringer of Light

William - Resolute Protector; Will, Desire; Helmet, Protection

Data - Facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis

(Bonus - Soong – Grandson, Descendant (it's a Chinese surname))

Deanna – Valley; Devine; Goddess; Church Leader

Beverly - Beaver Stream, Meadow

Geordie - Land-Worker, Farmer

Worf – I couldn’t find anything for either his first or last name

Tasha – Christmas Day, Birthday (Of Christ)

Wesley - Western meadow

DS9 –

Benjamin - Son of The Right Hand, Son of The South, Son of my Days

Kira - Mistress, Lady; Beam of Light; Black; Glitter, Shining

(Bonus - Nerys – Noblewoman; Hero)

Jadzia - Princess

Julian - Youthful; Jove's Child; Downy Bearded

Odo – Nothing [Cardassian meaning] (The following is extracted from the ST Wiki -  "Odo's name stemmed from the Cardassian word for "nothing", Odo'ital, which was the loose translation of the "unknown sample" label in Bajoran on his laboratory flask. After he was discovered to be sentient, the scientists began jokingly referring to him as "Odo Ital", in a similar manner to a Bajoran name, which eventually got shorted into simply "Odo".)

Odo - Wealthy; Inheritance; Richness [Human meaning] (Because apparently it's also a human name!)

Quark - I couldn't find anything

Miles O’Brien - Soldier; Who Is Like God?; Merciful

Elim - Place of Strong Trees

(Bonus - Garak – To Sojourn, To Dwell. Check this article out for more information)

Jake - Supplanter; Of Jacob

Nog – Agriculture (it’s a Chinese surname)

Ezri – Helper, My Help

Voyager –

Kathryn - Pure

Chakotay – Man who walks the Earth but only sees the Sky

Tuvok – I don't know. (There probably is someone who knows the Vulcan meaning of Tuvok and Spock out there.)

B’Elanna – (Belanna is an actual name) A noble woman who is beautiful

(Another bonus - Torres - Towers)

Tom - Twin; Innocence

Harry – Home Ruler

The Doctor – The name Jason means Healer, so I sometimes think of that as his name

Neelix – It was created for the show

Kes – I couldn’t find anything

Annika (Seven of Nine) - Grace; Favor; Gracious; Elegant

[aphroditestummyrolls]

The Jesper Honeypot Whump Oneshot (not yet finished, so not yet on ao3– snippets part 1, 2, and 3 here on tumblr)

Jesper ends up narrowly escaping a honeypot mission gone wrong. And, of course, as he’s sleeping off the drug in his and Wylan’s room, a stranger comes to call. The constabulary pointed him in the direction of the Crow Club— he’s looking for his son, Jesper? Cue a lot of very anxious crows.

Plus part 4– a snippet for @celestialcass

The actual mechanism of the job was quite simple— distraction, extraction, escape. Nothing was difficult, but some of it, according to The Bastard of the Barrel, takes time to be done properly. Stealing the laundry cart, and getting costumes as hotel security; making sure to be seen on a totally separate floor by at least three people before slipping into the service elevator and making their way up to the vaults; breaking into the right safe— it all took the better part of half past too damned long.

Long enough to have Wylan’s guts twisting in knots. Every time he dared to glance at Kaz, it was infuriatingly the same. He had his back to the door, utterly trusting Wylan to keep watch while he— at least, in theory— cracked the safe. But, he’d barely moved in what felt like hours.

He was about to whisper something harsh when, as if on cue, there was a click and the crunch of gears. The door swung open. Kaz even glanced back at him, a smirk on his face like he could hear Wylan’s thoughts.

He bit his tongue, and went back to keeping watch. It wouldn’t be long now. Just get the tiara, and let’s go.

In the lamplight of the corridor, he fidgeted, glancing this way and that, begging the universe to not have anybody walk their way. Please, please. They didn’t have the time for that.

Fiddling with the cuff of his itchy uniform, Wylan glanced down and paused. His heart clenched in his chest, and he sucked in a slow breath. Letting it out long, he watched as the two rings on his hand glittered side by side in the light.

Wylan thought this was a bad idea from the start.

Kaz had called him a jealous little boyfriend— and maybe, hopefully, he was partially right. Wylan had never wanted so badly to be wrong about a hunch. As long as Jesper was safe, it would be worth it to get another one of those I told you so smirks.

But, Wylan Van Eck was nobody’s boyfriend— jealous little fiancé, he had corrected. It made Jesper laugh. He had scooped Wylan’s hand into his, slipping his own ring onto Wylan’s middle finger, beside his own. He called it safekeeping, and kissed the spoon-made silver rings on his knuckles, one and then the other.

It’s only an hour or two, merchling, Jes had shrugged, and then I’ll be back by your side.

Now, if Wylan wasn’t mistaken, they were coming up on the end of that second hour, and Jesper Fahey was due to be back where he belonged. No worse for wear, a smile on his handsome face, and his own ring back on his hand. Wylan only saw the mark for a split second, but he didn’t like the look of him, and he—

There was a quiet whistle, and two taps of a cane against the floor.

The signal.

While I take the service elevator back down to the laundry room, you’ll take the servant’s stairs through the back of the building. Go down to the bar, he remembered Kaz delivering the plan. Your presence will warn Matthias, Nina, and Jesper that it’s time to get moving.

Then, we meet at the escape cart, and Annika drives us out the back loading dock.

Clear?

Crystal.

Every step he took brought him closer to this night being over. Inej got her ledger of slavers, Kaz got his crown, and Wylan got Jesper back. Done.

Except, when he reached the bar, Jesper was gone. He was nowhere in the whole place. Even Nina was gone. Matthias, too.

Wylan’s pulse skyrocketed in his ears. Something was very wrong.

[parragone]

I recently did this wip names game too, so I'm not doing it again so soon But gimme the tea on "r610nights2024" and the very eloquently named "document1 (2)" please xD

oh NO I didn't realize ;A; but now I get to go hunting for a post which is always delightful actually

onto the WIPs!

r610nights2024

This one is actually in reference to something I outlined in 2023 but didn't have the time to draft and finish, but I thought it'd be fun to do an Extraction AU what was sort of a mix of shippy and leaning into the existential somewhat eldritch horror. The idea is that they figure out a way to access the Chimera 'neural system' for direct communication, and the ten nights that are detailed each focus on one of ten pairs aboard the Pioneer. How each pair is bracing for what might come when they actually manage to bridge the gap of understanding. For all pairs, there's the question of wha tthe Praetorians really are, and - for one pair in particular - the very personal risk that comes with the experiment.

The pairs highlighted are AshMira, KapGlaz, Thermcher, DocMonty, VigilEcho, SmokeMaestro, CavTwitch, FinkaYing, BanditJaeger, and [ definitely unsurprisingly ] FuseMute. A lot of the focus is on the trauma suffered by REACT operators and how that's handled in their personal lives, along with the heavy question of "when does an operator give up too much", but there's also some theoretical xenobiology going on and some haphazardly tossed together sci-fi fun.

document1 [2]

Oh good god I'm scared, let's see -

oh well this isn't nearly as bad as I thought it was.

dusts it off

It looks like this particular WIP was an exploration of Team Rainbow operators in romantic relationships being interviewed by Harry for the sake of 'team solidarity'. A way for him to assess whether or not it would interfere with their field work while also getting a glimpse into their more domestic lives and who they are independently. I should get back to this, actually - I think it's something I'd enjoy writing now that I have a clearer grasp of how I write our beloved operators.

I seem to have planned a lot for it, but the only drafted part appears to be KapGlaz, so in exchange for my wordy summaries, have a [very unedited] snippet under the cut!

Mornings were Timur’s favorite. Maxim had gotten up nearly an hour before him as he always did on their days off, and the hunter had taken Annika for her daily morning run. By the time Timur would get out of bed, Maxim would have already made breakfast, most importantly, begun making coffee. Which, of course, was the stage the sniper had reached; the break of dawn had banished any chance of staying in bed with sunlight that streamed through the window, so he had reluctantly climbed out of bed.  He paused long enough to steal one of Maxim’s coats from the chair in the corner of the room and tug it on over his undershirt. Timur claimed that his sentimental nature was limited to memories and a near-perfect visual memory, but the smell that clung to the collar of each coat his lover wore on a regular was one he could never get enough of. It was somewhere between fresh rain and well-loved leather, and Maxim continued to deny such a thing followed him. As expected, his partner was halfway through the morning coffee ritual, with Annika curled up at his feet; she was a lovely Brittany hound, though her age meant she did not get to hunt with Maxim as much as she once did. Maxim himself had stripped himself of the sweat-stained tank top he always wore for a morning run and, much to Timur’s delight, was shirtless and on full display; his tattoos suited him, dark ink against pale skin, thin and elegant lettering mixed into delicate line work, though Glaz wished he could replace the tattoos left behind from Maxim's undercover stint. He wore black sweatpants to keep whatever modesty they pretended to have in their own home, and the sniper could see that the man wore the Rainbow-issued watch on his left wrist, just as Timur did. Timur leaned down to pet the old hound's head and give her an affectionate rub of the ears before he stood and placed a hand on his partner’s shoulder, which only made the hunter hum quietly as he turned to look at the sniper. Bright eyes caught the light, the softness in them undeniable and as smitten as the day they had met. Maxim pressed a kiss to Timur’s cheek that was admittedly more smile than anything else before he pressed a proper kiss to his partner’s lips.

[contraspectacle]

UNKNOWN PLEASURES 01.25.2024

》 DJ: REED KAVANAH

This is gonna be long but fuck it: people of Chattanooga, you're so goddamn lovely. I'm genuinely grateful that I get to look forward to Unknown Pleasures every month now, it's worth every minute of the drive from Nashville - I'm on my laptop so I can't use emojis, but imagine all the sappy ones right here, because you're all gorgeous.

The list specifies what the performers danced to. It's all their own picks, besides a couple fill-ins - they got skills and amazing taste to boot (I'm lucky to have heard some synth music Phoenix is working on and it slaps heavily).

Also, here's a SoundCloud mix excerpted from the middle of the live mix! Let me know if you want more of these.

I'll be joined by DJ THEOCULTT for our extra-cyberpunk event next month, and I'm stoked to finally be in town for their set (I've seen them go hard when I've played some of my own personal top-tier favs - this always warms my heart). Also, Ariel is coming back with an experimental piece combining her live performance with a music-video-style VHS piece my friend Julia and I shot with her (sounds complicated but I promise it's fun)... AND we've got CRT from Atlanta playing a sick live industrial/body set. Be sure to check out CRT's label, DKA Records - they're based in Atlanta, but they put out great electronic music from all over the world, and you'll almost certainly find something interesting (like FUEDAL, whose track "Movin" you heard on Thursday).

One last thing: R.I.P. Luis Vasquez, Juan Mendez, and Simone Ling. They were massive losses to music, gone for tragic reasons. Do your thing, but please be safe and carry naloxone. DIY music is in dire straits, and we can't afford to lose any more of the beautiful, sensitive people who keep it going - there's work to do and shows to see.

Can't wait to see y'all again.

xoxo,

-R.K.

P.S: There's a requests board by the booth now - I can't play 'em all but I like to know what you like, so hit me! Apologies to whoever requested Boy Harsher's "Motion," cuz I accidentally played "Electric" instead lol - I have a BH setlist hanging on the wall behind me as we speak... I've committed a sin against Jae and Gus... but I shall atone next month, bet.

》 09:00PM: R.K.

Death in Vegas - Witchdance Dub

Lesson Seven, scott crow - Blind (Mark Pistel Remix)

The Grid - One Giant Step

Wire Spine - Hellraiser

Kissing the Pink - Certain Things are Likely

Mansfield.TYA - BB

Robotiko Rejekto - Rejekto (Pefekto Mix)

Silent Servant - Cut Unconscious

Eleven Pond - Sex Robot

Portion Control - The Great Divide (Razormaid Mix)

Marie Davidson & L'Oeil Nu - Renegade Breakdown (incl. Jessy Lanza Remix)

》 10:00PM: GODDESS PHOENIX (POLE)

Nuxx Vomica - FTEV (incl. Confines Remix)

Black Devil Disco Club - "H" Friend

Echoberyl - Taking the Space

Paradox Obscur - Dark Fortress

Liste Noir - Time is Your Crime

Moon 17 - Jellyfish

》 10:20PM: R.K.

Spike Hellis - Mouth

Blu Anxxiety - Macabre

Andi, Machino - Softly, Softly

Patriarchy - Hell Was Full (ADULT. Remix)

Working Men's Club - Valleys (Graham Massey Remix)

The Force Dimension - Algorythm (Manipulating Mix)

Cabaret Voltaire - Hypnotised

》 10:40PM: ARIEL PEAKE (FIRE)

Eartheater - Chop Suey (System of a Down cover)

》 10:45PM: R.K.

Axodry - You (Beauty and the Beat Mix)

Boy Harsher - LA

Cruel Blue - Vantablack

Marie Davidson - Work It

Annika Wolfe - Bust

Special Interest - LA Blues (Marie Davidson Remix)

PVA - Untethered

Fluid Ghost - Memory Extraction

Stacian - Grey Fate (Black Light Smoke Rework)

Moon 17 - Mirror Side

Depeche Mode - People Are People (Razormaid Mix)

Book of Love - Tubular Bells (Lullaby Version)

Buzz Kull - Into the Void

Male Tears - I Expire

The Soft Moon - Become the Lies

Nuovo Testamento - Heartbeat (Curses Remix)

Korine - Mt. Airy (Nuovo Testamento Remix)

Randolph & Mortimer - Dream Hack

Electronic - Dark Angel

Sextile - Contortion (RQ)

Nuxx Vomica - Easy Go (incl. Semantix Remix)

Celebrate the Nun - She's a Secretary

Catherine Moan - Fools

Madeline Goldstein - Edges of the Lines

》 12:00AM: GODDESS PHOENIX (BIRDLESQUE)

Eartheater - Solid Liquid Gas

Donzii - Pattern 26

Joyfriend - Trouble

Patriarchy - It Goes Fast (Sacred Skin Remix)

》 12:15AM: R.K.

Zanias - Simulation (Alen Skanner Remix)

》 12:20AM: ARIEL PEAKE (WHIP)

The Soft Moon - Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath cover)

》 12:30AM: R.K.

MVTANT - Damaged Goods (Gang of Four cover)

Jeff in Leather - In Leather

Kumo 99 - Gomi

Potochkine - Possédée (Maman Kusters Remix)

》 12:45AM: GODDESS PHOENIX + ARIEL PEAKE (DUO)

Scimitar - Flame War

Kontravoid - For What It Is

》 12:50AM: R.K.

Leaether Strip - Lullaby (The Cure cover)

》 01:00AM: ARIEL PEAKE (FIRE ENCORE)

Wachita China - CRAZY ABOUT M3GAN

》 01:05AM: R.K.

DJ これからの緊急災害 - Fuck the Pa1n Away (Peaches cover)

Panther Modern - Full Capacity

Fuedal - Movin

Modern Man - I'm So Tired (Fugazi cover)

M!R!M, Nuovo Testamento - Desert Love

Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence (Ewan Pearson Extended Mix)

Identified Patient, Sophie du Palais - Crush On You

Clay Pedrini - New Dream (I-Robots Reconstruction)

Tulioxi - Another Gang of Desperates (Roe Deers Remix)

Comfort Cure - They Told You Wrong

The Psychic Force - World In My Eyes (Depeche Mode cover)

MCL, Couleur Trois - Tekno Side Part Two

Aphex Twin - Windowlicker (Zuckr's Breaks Chop Up)

Madonna - Dress You Up (mixed into Windowlicker)

Parade Ground - Moans (cut short, my bad!)

Arnaud Rebotini - To (Wo)Men on the Assembly Line

Geneva Jacuzzi - Casket

Blu Anxxiety - Send Me an Angel (Real Life cover) (RQ)

Jeff in Leather - CRUSH

Sextile - LA DJ

New Order - Confusion (Pump Panel Reconstruction)

Dark Chisme - Lucretia My Reflection (The Sisters of Mercy cover)

Louisahhh - Hammer

Xibling - Bulletproof

Boy Harsher - Electric (meant to play Motion RQ - whoopsie)

Velvet Velour - Hydrophobia (Alen Skanner Remix)

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax (Club 69 Future Anthem)

Dark Chisme - Vete de Aqui

SDH - Hectic

Debby Friday - I Got It

Nuxx Vomica - No Money

Underworld - Born Slippy (Nuxx)

Ex-Heir - No Pain No Brain

Kumo 99 - Adjacent Casualty

L.O.T.I.O.N. Multinational Corporation - Cybernetic Super Lover (feat. Lulu)

Nuovo Testamento - Vanity (Nuovo Testamento Disco Mix)

The Immortal(s) - Techno Syndrome (Theme from Mortal Kombat, 12" Mix)

Kate Bush - The Hounds of Love

Outro: Carrellee - Stay (Patriarchy Remix)

...this was five hours thanks to transitions, but the Spotify playlist is over SEVEN HOURS, so you sweet bb's got some listenin' to do :)

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: Voyager Season 7 (1 of 7)

Episode 1: Unimatrix Zero (Part II)

Plot (as given by me):

Following the events of part 1, Captain Janeway, B’Elanna Torres and Tuvok have been assimilated by the Borg.  This is actually part of the plan they’ve devised to release the nanovirus that will enable the occupants of Unimatrix Zero to retain their individuality in the waking world.  A neural suppressant has been given to all three to keep them out of the hive mind, but Tuvok’s begins to wear off.  Ultimately he succumbs and reveals their location to the Borg Queen, but Janeway and B’Elanna manage to release the nanovirus before this.  Meanwhile, Seven returns to Unimatrix Zero to monitor the situation despite her relationship with Axum being strained, while Tom Paris expresses his concerns about continuing to allow the mission to proceed to Chakotay.

The Borg Queen communicates with Janeway, ordering her to enter Unimatrix Zero and ask the drones there to surrender.  Janeway refuses, so the Queen begins destroying the borg vessels containing liberated drones.  The captain still won’t comply, pointing out that the queen would have to destroy the whole collective.  As such, the queen enters the unimatrix herself and comes up with a new plan; release a nanovirus inside Unimatrix Zero to kill the drones that go there.  Janeway sends a message to Voyager indicating that “Unimatrix Zero can no longer exist”, but Chakotay releases there is a hidden meaning in the instruction.

Rather than ask the Unimatrix Zero inhabitants to surrender, Voyager and a Borg vessel in the hands of liberated drones attack the vessel where Janeway, B’Elanna and Tuvok are held.  They send a signal that disrupts the interlink frequency for Unimatrix Zero.  With nowhere to release the modified nanovirus, the Borg Queen cannot kill the liberated drones.  Seven returns to the Unimatrix briefly to bid farewell to Axum, with whom she’d reconciled earlier in the episode.  The pair are unlikely to meet in reality as Axum’s ship is in fluidic space in a remote area of the Beta quadrant.  The away team are retrieved, and the Doctor is able to extract most of their Borg implants.

Review:

As is always the case when dealing with season-bridging two-part storylines, the start of the new season requires a resolution to the previous season’s cliffhanger.  Frankly, given that part 1 of this two-part story wasn’t firing on all cylinders in the way Trek storytelling should, that means you’re not getting the best start possible.  The same absence of plot exploration and over-abundance of action eating into character development airtime is just as much of an issue here as in part 1.  We get maybe slightly more time spent on the Annika-Axum relationship, but not by much, and it ends somewhat too predictably for Trek.  Having Axum appear in real life might have been a nice development against Trek’s episodic tendencies of this time period, but then Borg-on-Borg romance seems a bit too formulaic and cliché as well.  Really, this episode is more like set-up for better stories later on in this area.

The episode also fails to address key plot elements.  There’s no prior mention or subsequent exposition on the neural suppressant, and no one goes into why Tuvok’s wears off where Janeway’s and (presumably) B’Elanna’s does not.  My guess would be Tuvok would be more susceptible because of the telepathic nature of Vulcans reacting poorly with anything designed to block anything telepathic.  However, the episode never says anything about this, so we have a lack of exposition on a key plot point compounding the other issues.  I give this episode 6 out of 10 and look forward to better as we move on.

Episode 2: Imperfection

Plot (as given by me):

Voyager bids farewell to the Borg twins Rebi and Azan, having made contact with their original species, as well as the Borg girl Mezoti who Rebi and Azan’s people have chosen to adopt.  This leaves only Icheb on board out of the children Voyager liberated from the collective.  During a discussion on the departure of the other children, Icheb notes Seven is crying, which Seven attributes to a possible malfunction of her Borg implants.  The Doctor initially suggests it was a natural emotional response, but then finds Seven was right about a malfunction.  It also turns out Seven has been experiencing other symptoms but hasn’t voiced them, though she agrees to be more forthcoming in future.

As Icheb expresses an interest in applying to Star Fleet Academy and taking preliminary classes remotely, Seven’s condition worsens.  However, she doesn’t report these, and it isn’t until she collapses in the Mess Hall in front of Neelix that she goes to sick bay.  It turns out Seven’s cortical node is failing, and without it Seven will die.  Seven claims the technology is too complex to replicate or repair, meaning a transplant of a node from another drone is the only remaining option.  Taking the newly rebuilt Delta Flyer to a Borg debris field with Tuvok and Tom Paris, Janeway obtains a node from a dead drone, though a clash with an alien salvage crew almost prevents this.  Meanwhile, Icheb learns of Seven’s condition and begins his own research into a solution, while Neelix tries to help keep her spirits up.

Simulations on the holodeck reveal that the node from a dead drone won’t work, and while Janeway is willing to abduct a live drone to save Seven, the Doctor talks her down.  After Seven absconds from sick bay and has heart-to-heart conversations with B’Elanna and Janeway, Icheb hits upon a solution.  Due to his age and not being fully assimilated by the Borg, Icheb can survive without his own node if the Doctor compensates with genetic resequencing.  Reviewing Icheb’s research, the Doctor concludes the procedure has a high chance of success, but there are significant risks.  Unwilling to compromise Icheb’s health for her own, Seven refuses the idea, and the Doctor and Janeway are forced to honour her wishes.

However, Icheb refuses to be stopped; he summons the Doctor and the captain to the cargo bay, then rigs his Borg alcove to disconnect his cortical node.  When Seven still refuses, claiming Icheb is over-dependent on her and must look to others, Icheb retorts that Seven has constantly refused to depend on anyone, even though depending on each other is the core ethos of a Star Fleet crew.  Ultimately, Seven is brow-beaten into agreeing to the transplant.  Both patients ultimately recover, and when Seven cries again over Icheb’s recovery, it’s an emotional response rather than an implant malfunction.

Review:

This episode is one of the best of this series overall, maybe even the best.  The sick bay scene near the end where Icheb pleads with Seven to let the crew help her has always stuck with me as one of the best acting moments I’ve seen in the franchise.  However, the key reasons are that not only is the episode well-acted, but it delivers character and issue exploration in equal measure without really putting a foot wrong.  Well, except for a few details indicating this should be episode 4 rather than 2, but honestly, this episode is so good in other ways that I’m not even sweating the continuity errors in that point.

In terms of character development, that comes mainly from Seven and Icheb, as Seven’s apparent illness and how they each deal with it allows us to see aspects of who they are.  Both are selfless, but each of them shows that selflessness differently; Seven tries to avoid being a burden to the crew, albeit in part because she is also proud and maybe is perhaps over-trying to be self-sufficient, whereas Icheb takes a more traditionally self-sacrificing approach out of concern for his surrogate mother.  These aspects of the episode also give us insight, if not exploration, of the issues surrounding major illness, organ donation and how families react to the idea of a family member potentially facing the end of their life from a degenerative ailment.

Now the episode also gives us some issue exploration in terms of the autistic mind-set, something I’ve previously mentioned Seven of Nine embodying at times.  In addition to her social skill issues, Seven’s Borg-inspired quest for perfection is another trait she shares with autistic people.  Why autistic people seek perfection is not always easy to understand; I’m autistic myself and I’m not entirely sure I understand it.  A lot of it relates to trying to function in a world that has never been designed with us in mind, for which we need a lot of predictability.  I think that for an autistic person, the more perfect something is, the less likely it is to do something unpredictable like break down.  This can sometimes lead to us not speaking up when things are wrong, much like Seven in the early parts of this episode.  If we speak up, our routine is disrupted and our predictability goes out the window.

There’s also the matter of self-reliance.  For me, this is something I really want to achieve because if I ever manage to live independently, I don’t to be in a position where something happening to someone else suddenly undermines my ability to keep a roof over my head.  As such, I can understand Seven not wanting to rely on others, in-so-far-as people are fallible, so the more you depend on them, the more potential there is for something to go wrong.  However, Seven takes this to excess and, instead of encouraging self-reliance in Icheb, she suggests he simply depend on someone different.  This is why Icheb’s argument ultimately wins through; it’s Seven’s own advice that she’s refusing to live by.

Moreover, the others Seven should depend on include the Doctor, who actually has a skill set she needs and that no level of self-reliance can replace.  In essence, the true solution is to find balance, to be self-reliant where you can and ask for help when you know you need help.  The episode even has a moment of situational morality when we look at Janeway being prepared to sacrifice a random drone to save Seven and the Doctor talks her down, which is always interesting.  That’s not just down to the fact that questions of when is it right to put one life above another are inherently fascinating; the Doctor himself has faced ethical conundrums before and will again later in this season, so it’s interesting to see this come up knowing what’s on the horizon.

Anyway, to summarise, I give this episode the first top score in ages; 10 out of 10.

Episode 3: Drive

Plot (as given by me):

During a test flight of the newly rebuilt Delta Flyer, Tom Paris and Harry Kim end up competing in an impromptu race with another ship, which sustains damage.  Escorting the other ship back to Voyager to help repair it, Tom and Harry are informed by the ship’s pilot, Irina, that she’s due to compete with the ship in a major race; the Antarian Trans-Stellar Rally.  Apparently, the region of space Voyager is passing through has been in a state of war for many years, and the rally has been formed in celebration of the recent peace that has come to the region.  Given the race’s symbolic importance and the opportunity for some R&R for the crew, Janeway agrees to their participation.

Unfortunately, in his excitement, Tom has forgotten about a romantic weekend he was supposed to have with B’Elanna, which she has been planning for and making trades all over the ship to enable.  While she acts understanding, B’Elanna is disappointed, and when she confides in Neelix, it appears she is ready to end the relationship as Tom is not showing any serious interest in the relationship from her perspective.  As the ship engages more and more in the race proceedings, a suggestion of Seven’s gives B’Elanna renewed hope.  Seven finds that engaging in Tom’s interests helps them work better together as shipmates, so B’Elanna takes Harry’s place aboard the Delta Flyer to be closer to Tom.

However, the race isn’t all smooth sailing; beyond the general competition, Irina’s ship suffers sabotage from groups opposed to the race, while Tom and B’Elanna struggle to work together at times.  When the act of sabotage takes out Irina’s team-mate, Harry volunteers to replace him.  This results in the discovery that Irina is the saboteur, as she is part of a race or group who aren’t comfortable co-existing with other races.  Part-way through the final leg, Tom ends up stopping the Delta Flyer to finally confront the issues he and B’Elanna are having.  It turns out Tom has a serious interest in their relationship, but didn’t want to progress as he thought B’Elanna was averse to more serious romantic interaction.

The discussion leads to the suggestion of a proposal, which is interrupted when Harry alerts Tom and B’Elanna that Irina also rigged the fuel converter she leant them so the Flyer would conform to the race guidelines.  Tom and B’Elanna fly away from the race course and manage to eject the warp core before it breaches, saving everyone, and Tom pops the question during and after the incident.  A short time later, Tom and B’Elanna celebrate their newly-wed status aboard the Delta Flyer, which is decorated accordingly with a “just married” sign on the aft hull and cargo containers dragging behind.

Review:

With this episode, we’re getting into character exploration territory with Tom and B’Elanna, but also some issue exploration in terms of relationships and communicating with your partner.  While the episode does well show-casing a dramatic example of how couples can interact, it’s very much also a case study in how they shouldn’t interact.  Now I’m not just saying this because my autism inclines me to see all neurotypical social interaction as pointlessly over-complicated and in serious need of simplifying.  Through various discussions in social media groups, I’ve learned about more modern approaches to relationships and communication that work better across the board.

In this instance, we have a couple who clearly love each other as many, many prior episodes have demonstrated.  However, they are also a highly combative couple at times, in large part because they seem to struggle to communicate well with each other.  Case-in-point, Tom gets swept up in the excitement of a chance to fly in a big space race and forgets a major relationship event coming up with B’Elanna.  Communication red flag number 1 is that Tom already knows this is coming up, but as is subsequently revealed, a lot of effort has been put in by B’Elanna to secure the holodeck for the whole weekend that Tom isn’t aware of.  If B’Elanna had perhaps included Tom more in her plans for the two of them, he might have been more likely to remember it, and maybe could have avoided a clash of plans.

Communication red flag number 2 is the reason why B’Elanna wasn’t so open about her effort; Tom’s lack of any expression that he wants to get more serious in their relationship.  It might make dramatic sense to tease this out until the fifth act and then propose on the fly, but from a relationship point-of-view, this is a big mistake.  Yes, fair enough, B’Elanna does have a tough exterior at times and I can understand Tom wanting to avoid accidentally triggering an argument, but sometimes relationships require you to run risks to function.  Moreover, women often expect men to be the leaders in relationships, so stepping up and taking the lead by initiating a conversation can work wonders.  It’s what ultimately works in this episode, but it shouldn’t be ultimately in real life.  As soon as you feel a conversation is needed, figure out what you want to say and have one, though be sure you’re both nice and calm to start off with if you can.

Now Seven’s idea of sharing your partner’s interest certainly has merit, and I dare say it was also key to the happily ever after, but here’s communication red flag 3.  Tom and B’Elanna have been romantically involved for three seasons of the show by now, and there was a previous episode that ended with Tom sharing a holodeck program he’d previously kept to himself, namely restoring a vintage muscle car.  We’ve also seen B’Elanna replicate a TV set for Tom, so there’s evidence of chances offered and taken for her to share Tom’s interests.  This episode’s plot suggests, however, that this is a new idea, so why is this?  Does B’Elanna only share Tom’s interests momentarily without realising it, does Tom never reciprocate?  In fact, the idea that B’Elanna has to be the one to bridge the divide when Tom has fouled up is a further communication red flag, bringing us to 4.  I think Tom should have committed to doing a few things B’Elanna wanted to make up for his behaviour.

Lastly, there’s the “hints” B’Elanna drops aboard the Delta Flyer, which for me is communication red flag number 5.  This is a major peeve of mine in relationships; one person, most likely but not always the woman, has an issue but won’t tell you directly, or they want to “test” you.  As such, they will use certain words or actions to suggest something may be wrong, but will never be overt or explicit on the matter.  Instead, you’re expected to deduce something is wrong, what that something is and take appropriate actions.  Now that’s difficult for anyone, but luckily for this episode, Tom is written just smart enough to deal with it.  There will be some good partners who lack the ability to parse such riddles, especially autistics and other people of a neurodiverse nature.

This is why this part of the episode, and of relationships in general, really annoys me, because if you had me or any other neurodiverse person in Tom Paris’ shoes, we would fail.  Not because we couldn’t make amends, but because we weren’t ever told we had to.  Autistics like me, and most likely people of other neurodiverse mind-sets, struggle with implicit communication.  Ask someone like me to “read between the lines”, we’ll probably take you literally and tell you there’s nothing there, or we’ll get a piece of lined paper with something written on it and read the writing because it’s between one line and another.  Don’t do hint, don’t be cryptic, tell us what’s up straight out.  Say what you mean and mean what you say; that’s the only way we understand things with absolute certainty, and if autistic people are ever to be treated as equals, this is how all communication should be, especially in romantic relationships.

Overall, I find this episode to be somewhat disappointing, because it puts dramatic contrivance ahead of consistent progression of the Tom-B’Elanna relationship to get a story.  However, I like the race aspect, as that’s not something we see much of in Trek.  Nonetheless, I’m only dolling out 5 out of 10 here.

Episode 4: Repression

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

At the opening of the episode, a Bajoran is shown recording a message for Voyager’s Maquis crew members.

Aboard Voyager, former Maquis member Ensign Tabor is found comatose. The Doctor finds evidence Tabor was attacked; Captain Janeway assigns Tuvok to investigate.

Soon there are five comatose crewmen in Sickbay, with the same injuries, all former Maquis. Tuvok notes that the assailant must have access to security protocols to avoid detection. Tuvok, Tom Paris and Kim capture a negative image of Tabor's assailant.

While investigating, Chakotay is suddenly attacked and rendered unconscious by Tuvok. Tuvok has no memory of this and continues his investigation. All the victims recover but have no memory of being attacked. Tuvok meditates and has flashbacks of attacking the former Maquis members, and has a vision of the Bajoran. Tuvok realizes the negative image matches his own description and asks to be confined to the brig.

Janeway discovers a message to Tuvok from the Bajoran, a former Maquis named Teero Anaydis who experimented with mind control; his message triggered Tuvok to 'attack' other Maquis members with mind-melds. Tuvok sends a message to his 'victims,' who then take control of Voyager. However, Tuvok manages to regain control of his mind, and Tuvok performs more mind-melds to restore his victims and retake the ship. The recovered crew attend a movie on the holodeck.

Review:

This episode is the very definition of filler.  No issue exploration, no character development, bad misapplication of whodunnit and mind control story-telling as well as the ship’s long-resolved Star Fleet-Maquis divide.  Honestly, just once, I’d like to see fiction use concepts like hypnosis and brainwashing from a positive, consenting perspective instead of constantly lumping it all together under villain fodder.  The constant alien “trigger phrase” doesn’t help matters either.  Going way down to a 2 out of 10 on this one.

[lockwoodlitherland]

ANNIKA

It was cloudy now, her memory of it all. Any time a trace of it emerged from the depths of her mind it was like a great, sluggish, looming thing made of tar. Her heart would race and a shot of panic would burst through her like a beam from the pit of her stomach to the back of her throat and she would swallow it back down again. 

Take a deep breath, hold it, gulp. Shake her head, rub her eyes to wipe away whatever image was lurking before it could be fully realised in her mind’s eye. 

Annika told herself that she couldn’t remember, that it was hazy because she had legitimately forgotten. There were gaps, huge gaps, which she tried desperately not to acknowledge in fear that, if she ever interrogated them with any real will to see,  she would see something, a part of herself, which she didn’t want to come face to face with. Along with that, Annika found it hard to distinguish between the truth of the past and the stories of it, the lies or embellished truths that she had told over and over.

She had always run, for as long as she could remember she ran; all her life she had been running, and she had never stopped. 

It seemed there had been four versions of Anni throughout her life, each one moving in the place of the broken one that had come before, protecting her until it itself was broken and needed replacing.

Annika Traskolnikova: a girl who had fled from her parents and her birthplace in Russia as soon as she was able. Who had run from the pain there and the guilt of not staying to protect her siblings. Who had run from her own weakness in the face of her Father and his cruelty. Who had run from the contempt she held so strongly for her Mother; a woman who would consistently drown herself in drink to numb her own pain, as well as deafen the sounds of what her husband did to their children.

That was early on and a life that Annika had so far separated herself from now that it no longer felt like it had happened to her, but as if it were the story of someone else, in a book she had read long ago.

The next version was Annika Trace: a young woman in her late teens who, after living with her Grandmother in England, had been launched into the fickle and fast-paced world of modelling. Moving to the States and later choosing to reside in Canada. This choice perhaps influenced by the broken Russian girl deep inside that Trace was viciously protecting. A girl who craved to feel the cold and live in the snow again.

Beautiful, sour and sly people surrounded her, marketing her body, coveting her image, caring next to nothing for her wellbeing or her soul. She remembered the intoxicating rush of it all: the love, the position of power, the idolization and obsession for her that had fueled her ego and dictated her self-esteem. 

Here, Anni had learned that the sharpness of her mind was more of a hindrance than a virtue. Learned that she wasn’t worth anything outside of her shell. That she didn’t deserve love or kindness, so neither did anyone else.

Who she was had never mattered in that world, not truthfully, she never felt as though she had substance there. This version of herself had quickly gobbled up as many vices as she could find in a vacant attempt fill a void inside herself that she had always known would never close. This was simply her lot in life and she was resigned to it. There was a certain power in that, a freedom. The freedom of not having to care. Her dreary feelings were like a black eel, coiled inside of her. In apathy she found no pain. By drowning herself in drink and drugs -as Traskolnikova’s Mother had, the Mother she had so hated for the same thing she now did herself- and other people’s vapid physical affection for her, she had found comfort for a time like a strange, warm, smothering blanket. But she had always known it could never last, it wasn’t realistic. Her wretched self would always come ambling up behind her. The anguish, the frustration, the terrible nothing that clawed inside and sought to snuff her out. And one day, she had decided to let it.

She remembered this version of herself  the most murkily now. The circumstances surrounding the day that Annika Trace had killed herself were uncertain to her, detached. The thing that the Anni who lived now remembered most vividly was the rain, weeping from the sky in great cold sheets that laminated her long red hair across her face. She remembered standing on the isolated stone bridge in the forests surrounding the exclusive five star spa resort which hosted the birthday party for her then boyfriend and fellow actor/model Oliver Elms. She remembered that she had had begun to fall out of favour in this world; the bright spark of fame she had garnered increasingly fading to an ember. She remembered feeling warmth, stimulated in her by the mammoth cocktail of drugs she had consumed; prescribed and not prescribed, legal and illegal. She remembered the screams of the older man with the kind face who she had met in the spa earlier that week, as he ran towards her and she let herself fall blissfully from the bridge. Anni remembered waking up. The man with the kind face holding her, telling her to keep her eyes open whilst a fire, a feeling larger than she had ever remembered feeling before in either of her lives, tore through her body, bringing her back and turning her into something else.

The third Annika, the most recent face, was Annika Beckenheim (Anna, officially). The man with the kind face had turned out to be Kelsey Beckenheim. A man who took her into his family, who saved her life. But that was a life she hadn’t wanted to continue living. Luckily, she wouldn’t have to. Annika Trace had died that day by all accounts; it seemed that someone else, far off, had seen her fall into the water that night. ‘A beacon of light and talent cruelly ripped from this world before her time’ she remembered reading the unoriginal headline from one of the media tributes that relentlessly circulated for a short time, despite her body never being found. 

 Annika Beckenheim was an incomplete face who mingled with the bits of Annika Trace that lived on. The two melded together to hide and protect the girl Traskolvikova and the wretched broken parts of Trace. Anni had even let parts of Trace’s life blend with Beckenheim’s when she had sought out Oliver Elms again. This had been for comfort during a time when Beckenheim’s life had begun to fragment, but it had also been to gain access to the money that she had accumulated in her previous life. 

Physically she changed herself in order to further solidify the separation. The trademark red hair of Trace was dyed and toned white-blonde, she began tinting her eyebrows and lashes to darker shades, and she gained a healthy weight. Ageing had helped her too, as she moved into her mid to late twenties her features had seemed to sharpen. All of this suited her fine, the further away the better.

This woman had begun to live a nice life. A real life. A life were she had loved and been loved. Where she had been valued and had been allowed to make mistakes and learn from them. She had been cruel and she had been kind. She had found solace and an escape from the torment that had followed her around since her childhood. And in that, there had been the beginnings of acceptance.

As an amalgamation of all three people, all three lives, she was the most the real. She lived the fullest. She also lived in a supernatural fantasy; a story from the myths of her childhood, from the legends of Pagans, Indigenous Peoples and Scandinavian lore. It was the freest she had even been, yet the most surreal life of them all.

However, the plot of this story she lived had called for the darkness to return, for yet another tragic ending. The fear that always lay deep down like a frightened animal, ears pinned back against its skull, mouth spitting, it had always whispered that this could never last. And it hadn’t. Something terrible had happened and it had hurt worse because it had hurt not only her, but the people she had come to love and protect.

Her new family, who had accepted her and loved her and who had been the sunrise in her darkness: Damian, Silvie, Lil, Jay, Beck, Mitchel.

The friends and acquaintances that had taught her to care for herself, that she could be strong without hurting anyone else, that she could be fearless and compassionate at the same time: Cassandra Blake, Harley McCallum, Jamie Rivers.

The person who had affected her the most. The most positive things she had ever felt had been with him. With him, she had been the best version of herself. Lloyd Rivers had been indescribably important to her.

To save his life she had left. Afterwards, she had tried desperately, selfishly, childishly to claw him back. It had left the wound far worse, festering.

The loss of this life, this life she had made with him, was the most painful thing she had ever felt. Her future and the future of the people she had left was uncertain, teetering on a knife edge. Her every muscle grew taut, the corners of her vision started to darken. She could see only before herself and again she wanted to run, go somewhere, be away. Be someone else. She could hide again, Anni could flee and leave someone in her place. For a while she had been... too many different versions of a person, each protecting another. She had been everyone she could think to be. It seemed like a hundred faces, cycling one after another. She searched them for comfort, seeking someone who didn’t hurt. She would shove Annika Beckenheim to the back of her mind, with everything else she ignored and forgot. They could all fester together.

But how could she go on, when all her memories were bad, when everything that had shaped her was rotten? Who did that leave for her to be, another broken, sorrowful thing?

The wretched part of herself crawled back to consume her for a time. 

For an indeterminate amount of time following her loss Annika felt like she was moving through quicksand. She’d gone back to the isolation of the only home she had left, itself left broken in her wake and the wake of those who had begun to disassemble everything she had come to know.

She had considered killing herself again, hoping that this time it would stick. She had lost her strength, all sense of self, selves, was shattered. 

Until, one night she had found some forgiveness for herself whilst talking to her brother, Damian.

Sweet, simple Damian, to whom she had never given enough credit. He had seen the anguish and fragility in her, the anger and the hate. His wisdom that evening had motivated her to become the version of herself she practiced now.

Damian had driven her out into the depths of the Provincial Park’s acres in the cool chill of an early spring evening. To one of his favourite spots. Sat together and wrapped in blankets in the back of his work truck they were the audience to a breathtaking scene of natural beauty.

“It’s terrible.” Damian had said. His thick eyebrows knitting together with concern as he poured out some of the hot chocolate from his thermos, handing it to her in a battered enamel cup. “To have been hurt. It’s unfair, and it’s awful, and horrid, and painful, and shitty. But Anni… it’s okay to go on.”

Annika had shook her head, sniffing at the cup and staring ahead. Her eyes had seemed a soft pale green in this light, it was like the vivid colour had been washed out of them over and over, They were the green of leaves that were clinging to the very last bits of life they could.

“I’ll never control it.” She’d said abruptly, blinking tears. “It’ll always be there. I can’t just, carry on. I can’t just be me. I don’t know who that is. I thought I did but…” she was holding her breath to stop herself from crying but it meant choking the words out, “but I’d built myself up around him, around the future with him that I’d told myself was set. Around our friends and our family being here. And-“  her chest shuddered as she finished her sentence, struggling to speak “and it’s all gone.”

“No.” Damian had said, he pulled her close and she’d begun to cry into his chest. “If you don’t trust yourself then can you trust me? You’re the most resilient person I have ever met. You’ve come through so much and you’ve protected yourself in the best way you knew how. I see you Anni. I promise you, you’re important, you’re worth protecting, you’re a worthy person. You don’t need to be anybody else.”

Annika had always created these new persona’s to deal with memories she couldn’t face and situations she felt she was incapable of handling. She changed herself physically and emotionally every time. It was exhausting, damaging. Not since she was a child had she considered just, being her whole self. Herself who didn’t rely entirely on anyone else for her existence, for validation. She would learn to live, to live for her.

This fourth version of Annika, the person she was now, she was still learning, still coming to terms with… well, with everything. 

Simply, she was named Annika for now, she decided. That name, Anni, at least that, that had always been with her, and she didn’t want to wash that away.

[gypsydanger01]

THE STORM - Part six

Fandom: The Boys (Amazon prime tv series)

Pairing: Black Noir x Reader

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Boys, only my OC characters and certain pieces of au plot.

Comments, reviews, constructive criticism, and other requests are always more than welcome!

      Posting new chapters every Wednesday and Friday!

          Getting to know you

While a certain member of the Seven entertained violent thoughts at the upper levels, Sarah sat at her desk filing papers. To be honest, she was studying more than she was doing her job, but there wasn’t much of a workload anyway. Keeping her textbook laid flat against her knees, she quickly went through the lines of text before typing away at her computer for a few minutes.

Martha was perched on her desk reading through some folders.

“You do know you’re not fooling anyone, right?”

Sarah sighed and finished the paragraph she was reading on molecular recognition.

“I know,” she conceded, before defending herself. “At least I’m doing something constructive.” Her voice dropped to a whisper and shot, “Look at Sierra, over there.”

Her friend moved naturally, looking over at the clock while noticing the young woman taking a string of selfies with her coffee. Martha grimaced, shaking her head.

“No girl, just no.”

“I know.”

“Someone needs to tell her, she won’t stop.”

Sarah laughed, “She’ll learn someday.”

Checking the clock herself, she found herself growing hot. She pressed her sweaty palms into the wood surface of her desk, letting her legs stretch out underneath it. Her fingers twitched slightly, and she masked her unease by bringing her hand back to her mouse, clicking away at the screen.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Sarah made a noncommittal sound, not letting her eyes move away from the screen in front of her.

“You look...” Martha trailed off before finding the right word, “squeamish.”

“Well that sounds lovely. Just what I like to hear.”

Martha sighed, her eyes narrowing at her friend. “You know I worry. You sure everything’s okay?”

The sight of Black Noir occupying her couch was seared into her mind. She could no longer hide. She could only face it and be smart about the information she disclosed.

Her friend was still watching her, and Sarah finally pushed away from the desk.

She pushed her glasses back up and, pinching the bridge of her nose, she bowed her head down.

With her hair falling around her face in soft curls, she murmured, “I’ve made a contact.”

Martha immediately put her papers down and turned to fully face her. “What do you mean?”

“Someone reached out. It’s dangerous, but it could be very rewarding.”

“Who is it?”

Sarah looked around and brought her hands back to the keyboard.

“I really can’t say.”

At Martha’s pointed look, she further explained. “I really can’t tell you. It’s someone—,” she wasn’t sure how she could describe Black Noir without giving it away. “It’s just someone really high up. Lots of info.”

“Oh my gosh, it’s B.N. isn’t it? You said he made contact.”

Sarah shrugged. “Maybe.”

Martha stared at her for a few moments before accepting her friend’s silence.

“Just be careful, okay?”

Sarah nodded, “You know I am.”

Her friend shook her head. “I know you are, but we’re getting closer. Things could get hot.”

The room grew even louder and more boisterous as lunch time rolled around. Sarah proceeded to close the files she’d been working on.

“Oh, and you’ll have to tell me all the deets, understood?”

The young woman laughed, wondering deep down if she’d be able to tell her anything at all. The dead don’t speak.

“I’m ready for lunch, let’s go find Annika.”

.

The hours after lunch were spent worrying and suffocating that same preoccupation with fool-proof schemes. It was an endless cycle, really. Every time she found a flaw in her set of questions, it sent her spiraling into self-doubt. Could she truly pull this off?

She was more and more convinced that he hadn’t been sent by Vought, simply because he was a trained assassin who didn’t need these long and ambiguous methods to extract the information he needed. He was more than capable of inflicting mind-blowing amounts of pain. And pain always loosened the tongue.

So maybe he wasn’t doing this for Vought. Maybe his fixation and stalkerish tendencies towards her could be chalked up as misguided and genuine. In that case, he was still a dangerous wild card since she wasn’t who he thought she was. If he’s truly loyal to the company, her identity might prove to be an issue.

And so, it went on and on. She went through potential questions she could ask, and questions she should steer clear of. She recalled all the tips and tricks Mallory had taught her, from the phrasing of the questions, to the body language she should maintain. The goal was to ask a series of common questions and sparsely slip an inquisitive one into the mix. But would this work on him?

She’d have to work much slower to access some, if any, information.

Most of all, she was afraid of her body giving her away: her fast heartbeat and shallow breathing, paired with the subtle interrogation could give it all away. And this terrified her.

Sarah watched the clock tick closer and closer to five o’clock with increasing dread.

When it arrived, she waved over to Martha, gathered her things and walked out the door with as much confidence as physically possible.

.

In his living quarters, Black Noir stood in front of a mirror. He remembered Sarah’s reaction. The woman apparently concealed it well, but he’d caught onto her fear, her state of agitation and turmoil. Was it because of his dark appearance, or was it something deeper, a reaction to the violence he represented? He tilted his head to the side. Or did it have to do with her file, something she’s hiding?

The tall man couldn’t think of any way to convince her of his good intentions towards her. All he could do was respect her boundaries and listen to her; hope she’d accept him.

He usually avoided the mirror in his room, not really needing it for any aesthetic reason. He wore the same armored suit every day and was almost always covered from head to toe in tough black material. And yet now, he stood tall in front of it and took in the sight. He was closed-off, impenetrable, dangerous and stealthy. He appreciated the simplicity of the reinforced suit. It wasn’t flashy like the ones his teammates wore. And it didn’t convey any light-hearted or patriotic meaning. It was functional and allowed him to blend into the shadows and kill. His skull-like mask was the last thing many men saw before he proceeded in tearing them apart. Seeing it in daylight had nothing on witnessing it come out of the shadows at night. Like a nightmare taking form right before their eyes.

And now Sarah had witnessed a small violence on his part, the skull he hid behind and the strength he possessed. It was perfectly normal for her to be afraid.

But the knife, a small part of him reminded. Yes, that was a puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit. But he’d take his time, god knows he could be patient. Especially if it was for her. The mysterious Sarah Burns.

.

As eight o ‘clock crept closer, Sarah could be found in her kitchen, finishing up her dinner. The creamy pasta she’d made sat heavy in her stomach, the knowledge of her impending doom adding an extra ton. After quickly washing the dishes, she sat at the table and scrolled through the memes Martha had sent her. When she realized they revolved around Homelander, she grew interested. There was no way the Seven’s leader would accept this, and the inner conflict it would produce was the perfect cover for her plan to proceed.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Sitting still, she tensed, ready to whip up and out of her chair. A dark clothed hand came up and over her shoulder moving towards her cell phone.

She almost jumped out of her skin as her mind thought of the worst possible outcome of having his hand so close to her neck. And yet, he simply leaned over and promptly pressed the heart icon below one of the memes. He liked the meme.

Sarah opened her mouth to speak and closed it a few times. He finally retreated from his spot hovering over her and went to stand at a respectful distance, his back to the wall.

She spun around and stood up, her heart still clogging her throat.

“Jesus Christ,” she hissed, eyes wide and a hand raised to her chest.

He simply watched her with that magnetic gaze she couldn’t seem to escape. She picked at the hem of her shirt, not knowing how to proceed. How had he even entered the house?

His gaze settled on the small notebook she’d left on the table for their upcoming meeting. He moved slowly and gave her wide birth as he took it up into his hands. He flipped to a blank page and wrote.

Are you afraid, he paused before adding, of me?

He passed the notebook to her. She took it hesitantly, and once she read his message, her eyes kept flicking from the page to his mask. You could snap me like a twig. She was indeed very much afraid.

“No,” she answered, with a slight shake of her head.

He tilted his head slightly to the left before raising his hand to his chest. He lightly tapped right over his heart. Sarah initially didn’t understand the meaning of the gesture, but soon realized he was referring to her heartbeat.

She brushed it aside, “Oh...” You probably have a dozen different instruments of death concealed in your suit. “That’s nothing, I’m just jumpy, I guess.”

She hummed, looking for a way to grow her confidence and gain control of the situation.

“Plus, you kind of came out of nowhere. In my house.”

He was still, unsure of how his sudden appearance would pan out. He almost wanted to hit himself for not thinking it through.

“How did you even get in here? I know everything was locked.”

He shrugged, almost imperceptibly, before offering his hand. She passed him the notebook and pen.

Trade secret. If I told you, I’d have to kill you :)

Her heart almost stopped cold before she regained composure. If it weren’t for the smiley face he’d added towards the end, she might have died right then and there. And she laughed, she actually laughed. Maybe it was the tension, or the insane fact that Black Noir was in her home, attempting to crack a joke.

“I guess I don’t really need to know,” she surmised with a small smile.

He nodded before adding more to the page.

Your day?

“How was my day?

He nodded, captivated by the fluid movements her hands naturally made as she spoke. He’d noticed it immediately the first night he’d seen her at the gala. Over the next week of watching her, he’d quickly filed it as one of her mannerisms.

“I can’t complain. Honestly, I don’t really like that job, it’s more something to keep the bills payed until I get the position I want.”

He wrote, PhD student. Applied Physiology

“That’s correct,” she confirmed. “Why am I not surprised you know that?”

I know some things. Not everything.

He wanted to apologize for making her uncomfortable but ultimately found it too difficult to actually write down. He wasn’t accustomed to apologizing; he’d never actually needed to. Not out loud, or on paper.

She accepted the quiet confession. “That’s okay. I’m not all that interesting, and there’s nothing to hide.”

They both knew it was a lie, but Black Noir understood her need to protect herself. She’d share the truth with him once he’d won her trust.

“How was your day?”

He straightened and thought of how to approach this question. Thinking on his toes, he went with the easiest, most believable story.

Meetings, promotional event. He added for emphasis. Boring. I slept.

There was no way he could tell her he’d spent most of the day fantasizing her ex-boyfriend’s murder, only to have it executed a few hours ago.

She laughed lightly, “Who knew, I thought you’d be off on some top-secret mission.”

Her hopes were crushed when he answered with a simple shake of the head. She hummed. He leaned against the wall, ever observant of the woman facing him.

“Oh, you can sit. Here let me—”

She got up to pull a chair out for him, but he stopped her with a raised hand. He crossed over to her side of the table and angled the chair she’d been previously occupying before abruptly standing and knocking it out of the way. She slowly sat and let him push her in. He calmly took a seat in front of her.

“Thank you”

I have manners :) 

She nodded, “Yes, you do.”

She squirmed under his stare, under the black mask she was starting to grow accustomed to.

Sarah broke the silence, “I wanted to thank you for the other day. I could’ve handled it, but I’m glad you intervened.”

He watched her and she continued, “It was a bad relationship, and seeing him really threw me off balance. Then you showed up, and I was just…,” she trailed off.

He reached out and briefly touched her hand before sharply retrieving it. It was what he’d seen other people do in society, or in the movies he watched in the privacy of his living quarters. As he understood, it was meant as a way to show affection and give comfort. But were they at a stage where he could do that? He honestly didn’t know.

He jotted down a line, I understand

“And thank you for the gifts, I mean, the flowers and the earrings—they’re all so beautiful but you really don’t have to go through all that trouble.”

I want to

She smiled reading the words. She leaned back in her chair and took him all in. Who was this man? The Black Noir she’d gathered intel on for Mallory was nothing like the man sitting in front of her. Well, maybe that was extreme, she had seen proof of his deadly work. And yet, she was not seeing the ferocious, sinister monster she’d come to imagine over the years.

He was a more complex sort of enigma, one that was maybe as complicated as her own. While she needed to maintain her guard around him, she found herself slightly relaxing in his presence. There were multiple layers to this man, and maybe she could appeal to the human, well-mannered side of him.

.

They spent the rest of the next hour exchanging questions. They mostly revolved around their likes and dislikes, jumping from books to foods, and finally to movies. She quickly realized he was well cultured on cinema, especially war and action movies which he clearly enjoyed.

“Hmm, how about Tears of the Sun?”

He nodded. A favorite.

“Black Hawk Down?”

The large man nodded with enthusiasm.

“What about Saving Private Ryan.”

He snorted. Don’t insult me

“What’s your favorite movie ever? Like the perfect mix of action, shooting and humor.”

He thought for a few seconds before deciding. Die Hard

When he pushed the notebook towards her for her to read, he emphasized his point by tapping on it and sitting back, arms crossed.

“Well, I like what I see. Yippee kay ye, am I right?” she said with mirth. “Yeah, I think that’s Bruce Willis’s best movie.”

He was glad she liked it as well. Early that morning, he’d made a rapid search on the Internet before having to attend meetings. He searched, “How do you know your first date is going well.” He wasn’t quite sure if it was an official date, but in his mind, it was as close to it as it could get. His search gave a wide range of answers. After reading through a bunch of them, he gathered that for it to go well they needed to click. There had to be a spark, whatever that meant.

More precisely, there had to be common topics, common likes and dislikes. The conversation should come easy, and awkward silences should be avoided at all costs because, while they might not disturb him, they may be uncomfortable for her. And while they’d gotten off to a rough start, things were now going quite smoothly.

Sarah thought long and hard, “What about Pearl Harbor? It isn’t as action-packed but it’s still a really good historical war movie.”

No

She nodded, and shyly added, “Well, if you’d like to, you could come over and watch it. Actually, we could watch Die Hard one time, and Pearl Harbor another.”

He watched her, the way she was so self-conscious. Sarah constantly touched her cheeks, her curly hair, her neck. If only she could see herself the way he saw her.

He wrote. I would like that

Checking her watch, she barely contained a yawn.

“I’m sorry, it’s not you, it’s just late for me,” she assured.

I’ll go

“No, it’s okay, really.”

He shook his head. I don’t need sleep. You do

I’ll be back for those movies

Sarah smiled, “All right.”

Black Noir rose to his full height and she watched him with a twinge of fascination. Who even was this man?

When can I see you

“Well, tomorrow night I’m going out with my friend, but we can definitely schedule Die Hard for the night after. Eight pm?”

I’ll be here.

She walked him to the door and leaned against the wood. The doorway seemed smaller as he walked through. He clicked the switch turning her porch lights out and quickly jotted a few lines down.

Turn them on when I leave. Safer

She nodded with a small smile. How could someone as dangerous as him be so concerned with her well-being, she didn’t know, but she found herself liking it regardless.

He quickly scribbled something down before shutting the notebook and handing it back over.

Facing her, he raised a hand as if he were about to wave. His hand twisted into a thumbs up before he took his leave. Walking away, he crossed under a single streetlight before disappearing into an alley.

She stayed there for a few more seconds, just peering into the darkness. Heeding his advice, she shut the door and switched the porch lights back on. Retreating further into her home, she flipped through the pages looking for his last note. It was a small smiley face he’d doodled on the edge of the page.

She steeled herself against feeling anything but contempt. She reminded herself of the danger he could pose to her. But as much as she wanted to suppress it, she couldn’t help the small smile on her face as she fell asleep.

Giulia

PART 7

Tag list: @ateliefloresdaprimavera @ellejo @dust-bun @coco724​  @proximio-5​ @damiminator

Let me know if you want to be tagged!! Or you can like this post and I’ll add you :)

[fullmetalscullyy]

the last dance - chapter 8

summary: “Congratulations on your wedding, sir,” she smiled widely. “You’re one step closer to becoming Fuhrer.” Post-Canon. Roy Mustang marries a Drachman Princess to secure Amestris’ ties with the country, while also furthering his political career. Riza Hawkeye works behind the scenes to make sure he reaches the top, however once he does, where does she go next? He’s hit his goal of becoming Fuhrer because he got married, so what is Riza’s purpose now? Will she finally atone for her sins, like she’d planned?

read chapter 7 | rated: m | read on: ao3 + ffnet

She was numb as she was escorted from the courtroom. There was an uproar behind her, but she couldn’t tell if it was positive or negative.

Riza wasn’t stupid. She knew there would be people calling for her blood. It was just how the public were, especially those who were ignorant to what had really happened over there.

There was one thing she wished had been different – besides the outcome. She wasn’t sure who’d done it, but why was her trial made public. Not only did she hate the attention, but now she was found innocent… Or free was probably the better word, there would be those who were unhappy with the decision, and she’d have to deal with it.

She was free…

Well, if she couldn’t be executed for her crimes, then at least this was another form of punishment. She’d have to step out into the public every day with people telling her she should’ve been killed for her actions in Ishval. Riza would agree with them wholeheartedly, but it was out of her hands.

The guards escorted her to a meeting room. The team was in there already. Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Fuery all looked up simultaneously as the door opened. Havoc reached her first and wrapped her in a bear hug. She almost cried. She needed that.

“What just happened?” she asked.

“We don’t know,” Breda replied. “We never brought the Elders in.”

“I don’t know who did,” Fuery added.

“Are you okay?” Havoc asked. He bent at the knees slightly so he could scrutinise her face.

“I… I don’t know,” she replied numbly. She truly didn’t know how she felt.

The door behind Riza opened again, and Annika Mustang walked through the door. She looked teary eyed as she made a beeline for Riza. In the second surprise of the day, Annika enveloped her in her arms.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she whispered.

Riza’s arms hung by her sides. She couldn’t get a grasp on things. What had just happened? She was free? Why did Annika hug her?

Where was Roy?

Riza shook her head as best she could with Annika’s arms right around her neck. It caused the Princess to let go, pulling back to look at her. There were tears on her cheeks, and Riza didn’t understand why.

“What’s happening?” Riza asked, swallowing past the lump in her throat.

“Riza, honey, you’re free,” Annika explained, watching her carefully. She obviously thought Riza had lost it. “The Ishvalan Elders caught wind of what you were doing and contacted Roy.” Riza froze. “They asked to be included in the proceedings themselves.”

“What?” Riza whispered.

Annika nodded. “I spoke with them personally. I had no idea what their verdict would be, however how could I say no when they asked to be included? I had a word with the judge, and he agreed.”

The revelation settled over Riza and she narrowed her eyes at the Princess.

“That wasn’t your decision to make,” Riza replied, her expression hardening as her tone turned cold.

“No,” Annika replied. “And I didn’t. The Elders asked and the judge permitted it. Riza, listen,” she urged, grasping her hands. Riza wanted to snatch them back to her sides. “Your death would solve nothing, like the Elders said. It would just cause more suffering and that war already caused enough.”

Riza blanched because she’d been a part of that cause. Annika pressed forward, undeterred.

“You’ve accomplished so much, and I believe you have more in you before you go.” Annika’s expression was determined.

Riza extracted her hands from Annika’s. They formed fists by her side. She was right, Riza probably could do so much more, but this was her plan. This was a means to an end. She’d finally be able to set things right, and that had been taken from her because Annika meddled in it.

“Now look,” Havoc interjected, stepping in between them slightly as he probably noticed the fists by Riza’s side. “I’ve been quiet about your decision to execute yourself for what you did in Ishval, but Annika is right. You could do so much more here, alive. Your death would just be another tally for that war. Look how far you and the General have come already,” Havoc added, pleading with her. “Look how much we’ve accomplished together. That all falls apart when you leave, Hawkeye.”

The room was silent because Havoc’s words rang with truth. Riza knew that. But… It had been her plan for so long… It had suddenly been ripped from her. Now she was lost with no direction. Ishval was complete. Roy was going to become Fuhrer. They’d reached their goals. Riza had no purpose in life now. Not after all she’d done in the war.

“I –”

Riza stuttered then was interrupted as the door opened a last and final time.

Roy walked through it.

[witchy-writes]

I’ve been thinking about that time Noelle Stevenson said that the gay relationships in her show are so interwoven into it that it can't be extracted and it made me think of something. If someone was to completely edit or erase a canon gay relationship from a show, would they succeed? 

Let’s see if someone could do that to voltron, she-ra and the dragon prince.

1. Voltron

Adam and Shiro relationship, sadly, can be completely erased and it won’t be noticeable or affect the plot. 

All someone would have to do was take away the scene where Adam and Shiro break up, and when Shiro tells Keith about his disease and the Garrison not wanting him to go on the mission, erase the line where he mentions Adam not wanting him to go to Kerberos (”Neither does Adam.”).

Then when Adam is shown piloting and trying to fight the galra, this is his first appearance and he is reduced to a nameless character who has no relation to Shiro. 

Remove this scene as well and the one in the last episode during Shiro’s speech, and there...Adam and Shiro relationship is completely erased. 

And it doesn’t affect the plot or make the audience wonder if something is missing because Adam is never brought up again and Shiro is never shown dealing with his grief and loss. 

Same with Shiro and Curtis. It’s easy to cut away their wedding in the epilogue and just go to the credits.

If someone was to erase the few moments the show addressed Shiro being gay, it would be the easiest thing for them to do. 

Now with Ezor and Zethrid. 

To erase their canon relationship, someone could take away this scene. It would leave out such a good moment where we learn more about these two and that they aren't just evil, but if it was taken out, I don’t think it would be too noticeable for someone watching the episode for the first time. 

The Grudge would have to resort to re-dubbing or cutting some lines to make it seem like Ezor and Zethrid were just best-friends and not lovers. If someone was to completely censor their relationship, it could go as far as actually not showing or airing The Grudge since the plot of the episode is not related to the Honerva’s plot (aside from a quick mention at the start about how Honerva could be at Oriande), and could be skipped and someone unaware of this episode’s existence would probably not realize they were missing an episode. 

Blaytz short scene where he flirts with the male galra servant can also be removed, though it would involve cutting the dialogue that follows after. 

2. She-ra

Netossa and Spinnerella being a couple has been confirmed both by the show and the crew, and while these two can’t be erased from the story, their relationship can. 

Imagine that a channel doesn't want to show these two ladies in love and resorts to making them just look like two friends. These would be the only scenes they would need to take away. 

Cut all of these away and their relationship is completely gone and the audience most likely won’t know what is missing. The story (at least in s1 and s2) won’t be affected by the removal of their relationship.

Erasing Scorpia’s crush on Catra would be harder because unless they have a dub where they make Scorpia just wanting to be Catra’s friend and nothing more, they can’t take away those moments where Scorpia talks to others about how much she wants Catra to like her because it will take away a lot of important moments for Scorpia’s character and will end up with episodes full of missing scenes.

George and Lance cannot be removed from the story. At all. You can’t skip this episode because of how important it is for Bow’s character and the first glimpse we get of his backstory as well as in the end of this episode we find out about  the Crimson Waste, that most likely will be important in s3. The only way would be for a  dub to change them to Bow’s uncles or older brothers and cut away all those cute and loving moments between them. 

3. The Dragon Prince

Note: I’m not including Runaan and his possible elf boyfriend in this because we haven’t seen their relationship yet in the show. 

And now to end this, the Queens of Duren, Annika and Neha. 

Just like with George and Lance, you can’t erase them from the show and you can’t skip the episodes they are in because of how important they are for the story. 

To erase their relationship, someone would have to change all those lines where they are referred to as Aanya’s parents, remove their kiss scene and change the dub to make them out to be, for example, Aanya’s older sisters. 

---

And that’s it. That’s all the examples I could think off. 

[tellywoodtrash]

Hey TT. Assuming you’re keeping track of what’s happening on IB episodes. This is re how last week’s ep ended with Annika getting caught red handed. Haven’t yet watched this week’s ep. Do you think it could be yet another plan of Shivaay’s-Annika getting caught & then getting close to Mohit to extract info?? Have a good week

Hi friend!

Nope, I don’t think it’s their plan. As per usual, at crunch time, Shivaay and Anika have zero communication amongst themselves and are executing apna apna plan. In yest’s ep Anika found out about Mohit’s real wife, and since Mohit’s gotten all the money from her death, he gives no fucks about anything anymore and told her the whole truth. And then proceeded to kidnap her. Meanwhile over there Shivaay and OmRu are following Nancy. In today’s ep, Shivaay exposes Mohit and his entire plan at his big magic show by bringing Nancy in front of everyone. He still has no clue Anika’s been kidnapped.

Ainvayi ka chutiyaap hai saara. Tomm’s ep. will have Mohit being like fuck you for ruining my plan but mwahahahahaha I’ve got your wife, jaake bacha sakta hai toh bachaaaaa!!!! Plus Tej’s khulaasa as “boss”, probably (since Nakuul said something about shooting an “intense” scene with Mahesh yesterday.)

[rogue-bard]

How about for all of them 14 and 29?

Ooooh, interesting questions!

14. Most heroic thing they have ever done?Reighvan - That’s hard. He does a lot of heroic stuff - not because he’s a hero, but because he’s reckless and has a deathwish haha… But if I count out the reckless stuff he has done for evil reasons, it would probably be jumping into a pool full of water and …worm… thingies that go into your body and take over. (I call them Goa’uld for a reason.)He can’t swim at all, but he was holding onto his sister while she was dangling over that pool, and he couldn’t keep holding on (bards and rogues are both so weak, they’re a hilariously helpless pair), so he just jumped down instead of letting her go.That said - it didn’t help. At all. We both almost drowned and had to be rescued by the cleric, who thankfully wasn’t wearing her armor at that moment.Linnearhidlishkashayaska - This campaign hasn’t had many adventures yet, but when the party once was chased down by a group of bandits and the druid and the ranger literally abandoned the paladin and Linny, she stepped out of their hiding place to draw the bandit’s attention to her and then used a bunch of cantrips and lvl1 spells to intimidate them.It at least bought us enough time to maneuver so that Linny was in a line and could use burning hands on them, and the paladin slew the rest. Even our DM was super impressed - she said she was absolutely certain she’d have to take us prisoners!Pash - Oh. Oh god. He is really heroic, character-wise, I swear, but… he’s just a huge klutz. I suppose he always TRIES to save the bad guys, even though they try to kill him, end up wounding him pretty badly and our bounty-hunter ends up shooting them dead either way. He’s done a semi-heroic thing in his background story, but said bounty-hunter is on tumblr too, and doesn’t know about that yet. It wasn’t too heroic, anyway haha.Haine - Haine doesn’t do heroic. This whole campaign is more on the chaotic neutral, verging towards chaotic evil side.One time though, she reanimated a party member who had just been beaten dead by another party member, even though said other party member was still standing there.Another time she pretended to be the new mechanic for the enemy and snuck into their ship that way. Two of our party members (one of which is her frikkin father) then proceeded to blow that ship to to hell while she was on it and refused to wait for her to get off - and she still waited until her AI had extracted some vital data from their computer, before she booked it to a shuttle.Other than that, she is literally a coward. I have that written down on her character sheet. And as I said, they don’t do “good” deeds either way.

29. Biggest positive and negative influences on their life and development? 

Reighvan - Negative: His sister died (or he thought she did) in a house that he had set on fire himself, on purpose, when he was 18. He didn’t plan on her to die, however, and after that became extremely despressed and by extension, because he was with the wrong crowd and just didn’t feel compassion anymore, chaotic evil.Positive: Meeting a cleric who saved his life even though he lost it while trying to assassinate a random guy. She forgave him even after she’d listened to all the evil shit he’d done, and gave him some food for thought about his future and what he wants from it. He became chaotic neutral then.Shortly after that, he finally met the party, who are so infuriatingly good people and who actually like him, that he tries to live up to the person they think he is. So I guess now he’s verging towards chaotic good, even? I didn’t plan that! They are just so nice and always tell him to kill or criple people.(So much for me playing an evil character. Thanks, guys.)

Linneara - In the unlikely event that you see this, Annika: Please don’t read the following paragraphs, okay?Negative: When she was a kid, she fell down a cliff and landed on her head. Ever since then, she had weird hallucinations that she can’t tell from reality. They’re usually typical omens of death that talk to her, but so far, they haven’t been evil. Just cryptic.

Positive: As a teenager, she met a young human adult who set up shop in their town and got her out of her family, who might have been a tad manipulative.

Pash -Negative: He’s been deported to Kessel for a “crime” he did not commit and has “befriended” someone on the way who is a very bad influence on this little, gullible sunshine.Oh, also, EOTE takes place shortly after Star Wars: A New Hope, so with having been in the imperial fleet academy and stuff, he’s also convinced that the empire are the good guys. He’s probably shot down one or two rebels during one outing in the academy. Though he doesn’t really make the connection that that means they’re dead. Otherwise he’d probably freak out pretty hard, having killed someone.

Positive: His parents. They’re so honest and so proud of him being an imperial officer, that he’ll probably have to keep pretending to be one forever.

Haine -Negative: The party, definitely. The party is morally so corrupted, Haine now thinks it’s okay to blow up buildings (or whole moons) to cover tracks of a crime, and to shoot people if they have a different opinion than you.

Positive: Her father, who is played by another player (he’s a PC, is what I’m trying to say). Unlike the rest of the family (including her) or the party, he has a heart of mostly gold and only a little stone, and tries very hard to keep her from doing weird things.That’s ranging from pranks (for some reason, he didn’t think it was funny when she put instant coffee into the ship’s warm-water tank for showering), to very bad life-choices (turns out the guy she was flirting with was her uncle? I honestly didn’t know and neither did Haine???).Unfortunately, for some reason it doesn’t extend to blowing up or shooting other people.

I hope that answer isn’t too long. But the questions are so cool! Thanks for asking!

[fardell24b]

Star Trek: Picard: Stardust City Rag review

Spoilers

Stardust City Rag

The fifth episode. Certainly a mixed bag. The extraction of Icheb's implants at the beginning didn't need to be so gory. It would have been as emotionally moving without the gore. The way Seven reacts is very believable. It is clear they had continued to be there for each other after Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant. On the topic of Icheb, maybe the Romulans came up with something similar to what the Brunali did, and sacrificed the Shaenor as Icheb was? La Sirena arrives at Freecloud, only to be greeted by, popup ads?

It works. (While Rios has the holograms, he clearly hasn't got up to date ad blockers.) Using Seven as bait? That works too. More on what happens below. (Quarks and Mot franchising... Cool.) Also, an alien that can smell lies is also an interesting concept. But the way the group goes about infiltrating the bar to find Bruce Maddox was rather good, even if some of it seems hokey. Elnor's line “Are we still pretending?” makes it worthwhile. But someone is missing, Raffi. She has her own reason for being on Freecloud.

She wants to reconnect with her son, after she had left him to help Picard with the evacuation. However, he wants nothing of it, despite her protestations that she's recovering from her addictions. Of course it's not just the addictions, but the conspiracy theories too. The result of mixing them together was interesting, but well done. That the relationship remains broken is believable. Talking of broken relationships... Seven (or Annika) and Bjayzl. Certainly an interesting match. And her telling Bjayzl of Icheb is what leads to his demise.

Seven's motivation for being on Freecloud becomes obvious rather quickly, and Picard tries to talk her out of taking her vengenance out on Bjayzl. But to no avail, despite their connecting over their recovery/reclaimation from being captured by the Collective. (That scene was rather well done, and there was a great use of a leitmotif from the Voyager theme.) The end scene with Jurati killing Maddox just raises more questions. The EMH would tell, surely. Overall, an interesting episode. 7.5/10. (Would have been higher without the gore!)

[skinweareinblog]

Scandinavian Skincare Routine for Winter

Scandinavian women and men take care of their skin with the help of cosmetics products from local components and healthy habits, which have become a natural part of their life.

Let’s Overview Basic Rules Of Skin Care From Home Of Geothermal Spa, And Unusual Components In The Best Skin Care Products.

  Scandinavian Beauty Secrets

Care and Strength of Berries

In Scandinavia, you can find a big number of types of berries. In the forests of Sweden alone they ripen up to 500,000 tons per year. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the berries are included in many skin care products: they contain a large number of antioxidants that have a supporting effect on skin cells.

    In winter, the blood flow and skin metabolism slow down, so that free radicals can easily cause cell injury. For example, cloudberry contains minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and zinc that protect and strengthen skin’s moisture barrier. Cranberries are called “red gold of the country”. The oil in its seeds has a calming effect, and it is rapidly absorbed. It is ideal for hands, especially at night. Scandinavian beauties have hand cream always at hand, for example, in a handbag or on a night table next to a bed.

Food & Diets

Traditional Swedish diets are rich in fish and cellulose, as well as in other products with free radicals, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. The Head of Swedish Organization of Skin Therapy Annika Joensuu believes the everyday ration should be rich in vegetables, potherb, and root crops. All this food is good for the digestive processes of our body.

    Non-Classical 3 Step Skin Care

The Scandinavian climate is very changeable and the most unpleasant things are cold wind, high humidity, and low temperature. In such conditions, skin needs hydration, protection, and regeneration not paying attention to the season. Scandinavians prefer mineral sunscreens and avoid sun protection products with chemical elements. Skincare renovation products are basically used at the end of the day. Usually, it is super nutritious creams and night masks. Most local brands use in their products plants, fruits, berries, and essential oils rich in omega 3, omega 6, and antioxidants. Scientists from Marine Biotechnology Research Group found out, that omega 3 also can be effective mean from acne as it kills bacteria causing skin irritation.

         Spa procedures

On the whole territory of the peninsula, there are many health clubs, which are situated both in cities and in the countryside. The most popular are geothermal island The Blue Lagoon and Stockholm spa complex Yasuragi, constructed according to feng shui rules.

Scandinavian people like going to sauna. For example, in Sweden, one of the most popular parties among girls is to have bachelorette fiesta in sauna.

      Arms, legs and other body parts

Scandinavian women and men take care after face, arms, and legs in a similar way. Adding beard care speaking about men. Also, they hydrate arms several times a day. According to information of Swedish cosmetic association, in this country hand creams are sold two times more than face products. DYI receipts are used quite often, home masks and scrubs are made almost by every person. Swedish makeup artist Petra Strand advices to boil mineral water with green tea, wait till it becomes still, divide between ice forms and freeze. After that, hydrate your face with ice cubes each morning.

        Scandinavian Skin Care for Women

L:A Bruket body butter

L:A Bruket No. 126 Wild Rose Body Butter

L:A Bruket specializes in organic spa products, skin care and treatment. Products are hand made according to old recipes and considering skin needs in severe climate with active sun, strong wind, and salty water. Butter get absorbed fast and hydrates skin. Among its ingredients there are cacao butter, which is famous for its protective and nutritious features, beeswax for keeping skin moisturized, Coco and Shea oils for increasing skin protection ability.

Kjaer Weis Oil

Kjaer Weis The Beautiful Oil

The organic mark was founded by Dutch makeup artist Kirsten Kjaer Weis. The main philosophy of the brand is to make cosmetics based on the natural and organic products without using silicones, chemicals, synthetics and other artificial elements. Company has spent for research and product development many years. In oil basis there is a biologically grown root Dioscorea Batatas, which is usually called The root of light. Thanks to rosehip oil, sweet almond, and jojoba skin receives deep moisturizing and nutrition. This product can be used both for body and for makeup basis, it gets absorbed fast and has non-greasy texture.

Björk&Berries Bath Salt

Björk&Berries From the Garden

Lux eco mark Björk&Berries was launched as a small project in a tiny village in the North of Sweden. It specializes in skin care products, which are created according to old Swedish organic recipes. Flowers and herbs for salt are picked up manually. The mixture contains mild and detoxifying ingredients: birch leaves, lavender and chamomile flowers, lemon balm and natural sea salt rich in minerals, which cleans, stimulates, and softens skin.

Maria Nila Hear Masque

Maria Nila Sheer Silver Masque

Veggie brand Maria Nila specializes in hair care. Natural components with argan oil on the first place form the basis of products. Hair masque is for blond hair women, who want to return cold tone to their hair. Blackberry extract is main ingredient in product formula: it has antioxidants, moisturizesing hair from the inside and making them shiny. The mask also includes a special complex of elements which help keeping hair color and protect from UV.

Rudolf Care Anti-Stress Cream

Rudolf Care Acai Anti-Stress Facial Cream

Dutch eco certified skin care company uses in all products the fruit of Acai palm tree, which is growing in Amazon tropics. The level of nutritious fatty acids in berry is almost the same as in olive oil. The mild anti-stress cream is designed for skin that needs extra moisturizing and nourishment both day and night. The composition also includes aloe vera, hazelnut and chamomile, which reduce redness and irritation, which is good for sensitive skin.

Arctic Arbutin Serum

Arctic Arbutin Serum

The Lapland brand is actively using in its skin care products Chaga Mushroom, known for its anti-aging properties, and bearberry component – arbutin. Company specializes in products for sensitive skin with couperose and first signs of aging. Serum deeply moisturizes skin and prevent early aging, removes skin redness, protects from harmful UV impact and bleaches skin.

Skin care for men

Recipe for Men Under Eye Patches

Recipe for men Under Eye Patches

Brand was founded in 2020 aiming to solve major skin care problems, which men usually face. Patches remove puffiness, dark circles and wrinkles, moisturize skin and increase elasticity. The ingredients are marine algae, phyto collagen, and the Centella Asiatica extract, which activates collagen synthesis in skin derma, increasing blood circulation and skin regeneration.

Raw Naturals Brewing Company Beard Shampoo & Conditioner

Raw Naturals Brewing Company Beard Shampoo & Conditioner

The basis of the organic brand collection is created by products, which are used in beer production – hop and malt. The creative concept and the reference to beer are manifested in everything from the conceptual packaging, which looks like a beer bottle, to the natural ingredients. The 2-in-1 gentle cleansing product is suitable for sensitive skin, and the beard after some applications will get significantly softer.

Alexander Sprekenhus Shave Cream

Alexander Sprekenhus Natural Shave Cream

Company was founded in Oslo in 2010 by ex model Alexander Sprekenhus and specializes in natural male cosmetic products. Argan oil is in the basis of all products. Shaving Cream is designed for those men, who have active life style and appreciate fast and effective skin care. Product deeply moisturizes and nourishes skin.

Meraki Hand Cream

Meraki Hand Cream Silky Mist

Dutch brand is famous for using in its products only high quality natural elements, and for aroma – essential oils. Nourishing hand cream with organic oils of sunflower and chamomile protects skin and provides antibacterial effect. It has non-greasy texture, absorbs quickly, leaving a fresh aroma of lemon and orange.

Son Venin Eau De Parfum Le Voleur

Son Venim Le Voleur

Young and ambitious perfume brand was founded in 2016 and specializes in experimental fragrances with Scandinavian character. Company buys ingredients in South France, and cooperates with the best perfumers from all over the world. Son Venin — is the most popular fragrance representative in this niche in Norway. Composition is created with notes of white flowers, spices, pink berries and wood.

[thenewsrabbit-blog]

Amazon Web Services Launches New Region in Sweden

Check out the latest post http://thenewsrabbit.com/amazon-web-services-launches-new-region-in-sweden/

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com company (NASDAQ:AMZN), today announced the opening of the AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region. With this launch, AWS now provides 60 Availability Zones across 20 infrastructure regions globally, with another 12 Availability Zones and four regions in Bahrain, Hong Kong SAR, Italy, and South Africa all coming online by the first half of 2020. The AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region is AWS’s fifth in Europe, joining existing regions in France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK. Tens of thousands of customers across the Nordics – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden – already use AWS. Starting today, developers, startups, and enterprises, as well as government, education, and non-profit organizations can leverage the new AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region to run their applications in Sweden, serve end-users across the Nordics with lower latency, and leverage advanced technologies such as analytics, database, mobile services, serverless, and more, to drive innovation. Customers can get started today at: https://aws.amazon.com/local/nordics/

“Since the early days of AWS, Nordic organizations have been using AWS’s cloud technologies to help reinvent entire industries, such as Supercell and Rovio in gaming, Scania and Volvo in automotive, and Nokia and Telenor in telecommunications,” said Andy Jassy, Chief Executive Officer, Amazon Web Services. “Tens of thousands of Nordic customers have been using AWS from regions around the world, but many have shared that they also wanted an AWS Region in the Nordics so they can easily operate their most latency-sensitive workloads for end-users in the Nordics while meeting any data sovereignty requirements. We’re excited to deliver our AWS Stockholm Region today to meet these customer requests.”

The AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region offers three Availability Zones at launch. AWS Regions are comprised of Availability Zones, which are technology infrastructure in separate and distinct geographic locations with enough distance to significantly reduce the risk of a single event impacting business continuity, yet near enough to provide low latency for high availability applications. Each Availability Zone has independent power, cooling, and physical security and are connected via redundant, ultra-low-latency networks. AWS customers focused on high availability can design their applications to run in multiple Availability Zones to achieve even greater fault-tolerance. Additionally, local AWS customers with data residency requirements can now store their content in Sweden with the assurance that their content will not move without consent, while customers building applications that comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) now have access to another secure AWS infrastructure region in the European Union (EU) that meets the highest levels of security, compliance, and data protection.

Customers and APN Partners welcome the new AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region

Millions of active customers are using AWS each month in over 190 countries around the world, including hundreds of thousands of customers in Europe, and tens of thousands of customers in the Nordics. Organizations across the Nordics are moving their mission-critical workloads to AWS to drive cost savings, accelerate innovation, and speed-up time-to-market, including enterprise customers such as Aktia Bank, Arriva, ASSA ABLOY, Bonnier, Basware, Cargotec, Den Norske Bank, F-Secure, Finnair, Fortum, Gelato, Husqvarna, Icelandair, IKEA, Modern Times Group, Nokia, Scania, Schibsted, SOK, Stockmann Oyj, Telenor Connexion, Telia, Tine SA, TopDanmark, Unibet, Visma, Volvo Group Connected Solutions, Wireless Car, Wärtsilä, and XXL. AWS is also an enabler for the Nordics’ most successful startups and gaming companies such as Bambora, Evolution Gaming, Hemnet, iZettle, KRY, LEO Innovation Lab, Lingit, Lunar Way, Mapillary, Mathem, Mojang, Paradox Interactive, Quinyx, Rovio, Supercell, Tidal, Trustpilot, Tink, and Vivino. Public sector customers, such as VR (Finnish Rail), the government-owned railway in Finland, and Ambita, owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry and Norway’s largest portal for property data, are also moving the majority of their on-premises applications to AWS to take advantage of the increased reliability and security to deliver a better service to citizens.

Volvo Group Connected Solutions, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, is responsible for developing and delivering connected solutions within the Volvo Group – one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment, and marine and industrial engines. The Volvo Group employs approximately 100,000 people, has production facilities in 18 countries, and sells its products in more than 190 nations. AWS is the preferred cloud provider for Volvo Group Connected Solutions, allowing them to connect more than 800,000 assets all over the world, including trucks, busses, and construction equipment. “AWS has transformed how we run as a business, helping us move to a micro service architecture and run infrastructure as code, which has increased automation across the organization,” said Stefan Berggren, VP of Technology at Volvo Group Connected Solutions. “Since moving the development of our applications to AWS, we have increased agility and speed and reduced the amount of time it takes to go from idea to experimentation from weeks to minutes. As you can imagine, latency is also vital when connecting vehicles and delivering a broad range of connected services to our customers. We look forward to using the new AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region because it will bring our services even closer to our customers.”

Fortum is a leading power and utilities provider, headquartered in Finland, with more than 2.5 million customers, 9,000 employees, and operates over 150 power plants across 10 countries. Together with thousands of customers, Fortum has built a one-megawatt Virtual Battery, the largest in the Nordics, which is fully operated on top of AWS. The Virtual Battery aggregates and controls usage of energy assets, like household water heaters and electric vehicles, helping Fortum to better balance energy usage across the grid. “With the elasticity and almost infinite storage capacity that AWS delivers, we are able to analyze more data than the entire Finnish smart metering infrastructure combined, resulting in better understanding how our customers use electricity,” said Per Edoff, Chief Digital Officer, Fortum. “Collecting this data on AWS gives us the ability to efficiently address electricity demand and production, helping us reduce costs, ultimately delivering these savings back to our customers in the form of lower energy bills. Additionally, we have been using the Amazon Elasticsearch Service to securely build a data lake. Using machine learning to get more insights from our data, we will be able to extract better understanding of energy usage, helping our customers to save money and helping us to improve our impact on the environment through more advanced scheduling of when we turn our power plants on and off. Now that the new AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region is open we expect to see this innovation accelerate.”

Financial services customers throughout the Nordics also entrust AWS with mission-critical workloads. Norway’s largest financial services group, Den Norske Bank (DnB), with over three million customers, has chosen AWS as its primary cloud provider, dedicating an entire floor at their Bergen headquarters to work on AWS projects to modernize the banking experience. “We welcome the opening of the new AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region. We really like the benefits of being able to innovate within the cloud because it allows us to scale at a faster pace, while enjoying the security, reliability, and agility that AWS provides,” said Alf Otterstad, Chief Information Officer at DnB. “AWS has been a strategic partner for us and we already have more than 30 development projects in the works dedicated to delivering a better banking experience to customers. One example is how, using AWS, we introduced a chatbot to provide better service to our more than three million customers. Today, 50 percent of all incoming queries are automatically handled by the chatbot, which is managing an average of 30,000 conversations a week. This solution has reduced our costs and given us a stable and scalable solution for customer service, which wouldn’t have been possible without AWS.”

Public sector customer VR (Finnish Rail) is the government-owned railway company in Finland, operating over 250 long distance and 800 commuter rail services every day, across nearly 6,000 kilometers of track. VR is moving its website and all travel applications from its on-premises infrastructure to AWS by the end of 2019, a journey that is already one-third complete. “Using AWS, gives us access to a vast number of features and services, across compute, storage, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, enabling our developers to quickly experiment, develop, test, and deliver personalized services for each one of our customers,” said Annika Nordbo, Data and Analyst Manager at Finnish Rail. “With AWS technologies we have accelerated the speed in which we can experiment and deliver services, reducing the time it takes to get new features into the hands of travelers from days to minutes. This time efficiency has also turned into cost efficiency, as we have reduced costs by more than 50 percent since moving to AWS in 2017. We are looking forward to utilizing the new AWS Region in Stockholm to further improve our customers’ travel experiences by bringing our applications and workloads closer to end users.”

Many Nordic startups are using AWS to rapidly scale, including KRY, which is revolutionizing healthcare by enabling doctors and psychologists to conduct video consultations through users’ smart phones. KRY was able to use the security and compliance capabilities that AWS provides to customers to quickly launch their business, and by using machine learning tools on AWS, they are able to better identify patients’ conditions and connect them to the doctor with the right expertise. “We needed a cloud provider that enabled us to support our rapid expansion so we went all-in on AWS,” said Johannes Schildt, CEO of KRY. “With over 500,000 registered users seeking care, we need the security, reliability, and healthcare compliant services that AWS provides. AWS also helps us to provide better care to our end users. Using AWS Lambda for rapid integration of data and Amazon Redshift for scalable data transformation, we developed and launched a forecasting tool in less than a month. The forecasting tool uses historical customer information and can predict patient demand down to the hour, enabling us to appropriately staff our clinics, and improve operations by at least 20 percent.”

Another startup using AWS to securely and reliably provide confidential services to end users across the Nordics is Danish financial services company, Lunar Way. Lunar Way provides a free mobile banking app which lets users open a bank account, receive a debit card, get real-time transaction feeds of their spending, view transactions by shopping category or retailer, and helps people better set savings goals and pay bills. “Three years ago we set out to change the way people relied on financial institutions, working to meet the need of a generation that has grown up with everything on their mobile – being all-in on AWS allowed us to do that,” said Ken Villum Klausen, CEO of Lunar Way. “With AWS we have been able to quickly scale up or down to meet customer demand, and we have seen a growth rate of 15 to 20 percent month over month. AWS delivers unrivaled security and hardware that is compliant out of the box, which has been paramount for us to quickly launch our business and provide our customers with peace of mind that their finances will be secure with our app. Having an AWS Region in the Nordics will open up the opportunity for us to expand further into Sweden and continue to maintain the highest levels of security for our regulated workloads.”

AWS Partner Network (APN) Partners welcomed the arrival of the AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region. The APN includes tens of thousands of Independent Software Vendors (ISV) and Systems Integrators (SI) around the world with APN participation among Nordic-based entities growing significantly over the past 12 months. APN Partners build innovative solutions and services on AWS and the APN helps by providing business, technical, marketing, and go-to-market support. SI Consulting Partners supporting enterprise and public sector customers in the Nordics to migrate to AWS include Accenture, Atos, Basefarm, Capgemini, CloudPartners, Crayon Group, Cybercom, Deloitte, Digia, DXC, Eficode, Enfo Group, Evry, GoFore, Jayway, Nordcloud, Pearl Consulting, Proact IT Group, Solita, Telia Inmics-Nebula, Tieto, Webscale, Webstep, Wipro, and many others. AWS ISVs in the Nordics including Basware, eBuilder, F-Secure, Queue-it, Xstream, and many others, are already using AWS to deliver their software to customers around the world and will serve their Nordic customers from the AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region at launch. Customers can also easily find, trial, deploy, and buy software solutions for AWS on the AWS Marketplace. For the full list of the members of the AWS Partner Network, please visit: https://aws.amazon.com/partners/.

Cybercom, a longtime AWS consulting partner, also welcomed the opening of the new AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region. Cybercom is dramatically increasing their focus on AWS, launching an AWS Business Group and growing the number of certified AWS consultants from 80 to 500 in the next three years. “We have already seen a rapid increase of customers moving critical workloads to AWS and an AWS Region located in Sweden will only accelerate this growth,” said Niklas Flyborg, CEO of Cybercom in Sweden. “For us, an AWS Region in the Nordics is a game-changer. AWS is our preferred cloud provider and we have already closed down our own data center and moved most of our applications onto the AWS Cloud. Now with an AWS Region on Swedish soil, we don’t see the need for any Swedish companies to own and operate their own server hardware.”

Investing in the Future of the Nordics

As a company, AWS is committed to making a positive impact in the communities where its employees live and work. To support this commitment, AWS is launching an AWS Hackathon for Good program in the Nordics. With this program, AWS will work with organizations across the Nordics to identify societal issues where technology can provide solutions, and organize hackathons in their favor. The first AWS Hackathon for Good will happen in the first half of 2019 and AWS will collaborate with the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation during their Nordic Coastal Cleanup Day. Last year, over 40,000 people in Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden helped clean up the coasts, removing nearly 2,000 kilograms of litter. AWS will invite developers across the Nordics for a 24-hour hackathon event where they will be able to connect and collaborate with peers, work on real challenges for Keep Sweden Tidy, get expert help from AWS solution architects, and utilize the broad scope of services and features offered by the AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region, with the aim of providing Keep Sweden Tidy and the Nordic Coastal Cleanup Day with technology solutions that could improve litter removal along the Nordic coastlines. AWS Hackathon for Good contributions will be graded by AWS and will look at the quality of implementation, the technological choices, and overall execution towards a solution. The winning contribution will get support in terms of AWS technical expertise and AWS Cloud Credits to help implement the solution for Keep Sweden Tidy. More information about the AWS Hackathon for Good and the Nordic Coastal Cleanup Day will be available closer to the event, through the AWS website.

To help grow the next generation of Nordic enterprises, AWS supports startups in cities across the Nordics. In 2013, AWS launched the AWS Activate program to provide Nordic startups access to guidance and one-on-one time with AWS experts as well as web-based training, self-paced labs, customer support, third-party offers, and up to $100,000 in AWS Cloud Credits – all at no charge. In 2018, AWS launched the first Pop-Up Loft in Stockholm, offering a co-working space and access to technology and business experts to support the growth of Nordic startups. This is in addition to the work that AWS already does with the Venture Capital community, startup accelerators, and incubators to help startups grow in the cloud. Across the Nordics, AWS works with Atomico, Creandum, EQT Ventures Nordic Makers, Northzone, and SUP46 in order to support the rapid growth of their portfolio companies.

AWS is also continuing to invest in the upskilling of local developers, students, and the next generation of IT leaders in the Nordics through programs such as AWS Academy and AWS Educate. For students, the AWS Educate program provides access to AWS services and content designed to build knowledge and skills in cloud computing. Dozens of universities and business schools in the Nordics already participating in the program include Swedish institutions Abb Industrigymnasium, Berzeliusskolan, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, EC Utbildning Malmö, and Jönkoping University; Denmark institutions AARHUS Tech, Mercantec, Roskilde University, and Technical University of Denmark; Finland institutions Åbo Akademi University, Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK), JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, and University of Helsinki; and Norway institutions Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Oslo Metropolitan University, and the University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway. Another program for higher education institutes is AWS Academy, which provides AWS-authorized courses for students to acquire in-demand cloud computing skills. In the Nordics, major institutions taking part include HAMK Häme University of Applied Sciences, MDH – School of Innovation, Design and Engineering, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, and Uppsala Universitet/Matematiska Institutionen. AWS also offers a full range of training and certification programs to help those interested in the latest cloud computing technologies, best practices, and architectures to advance their technical skills and further support Nordic organizations in their digital transformation.

Developers and businesses can access the AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region beginning today. A full list of services and details on pricing is available at https://aws.amazon.com/local/nordics/.

About Amazon Web Services

For over 12 years, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. AWS offers over 125 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, and application development, deployment, and management from 60 Availability Zones (AZs) within 20 geographic regions, spanning the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Sweden, and the UK. AWS services are trusted by millions of active customers around the world—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—to power their infrastructure, make them more agile, and lower costs. To learn more about AWS, visit aws.amazon.com.

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

[lockwoodlitherland]

lannika

"Lets run away," she whispered, leaning down to his ear, one set of fingers walking up his stomach, the other holding hair behind her ear.

Lloyd looked at her with calm deep eyes, a smile curling across his soft lips. "Lets run away," He repeated breathlessly before leaning up and pressing his lips firmly to hers, a smile curving them even further.

[easyweight101]

Pjur MySpray Review (UPDATED 2017): Don’t Buy Before You Read This!

Pjur MySpray is a vaginal spray that is meant to improve sexual sensation within 60 seconds of application. This is intended to give an enjoyable prickling sensation with just a small amount that needs to be used.

They advise to spray about 2 to 4 times and to test it on the forearm to see first if one’s skin is compatible with the formula. By stimulating the vagina it’s said to help stir up one’s sexual imagination. It’s marketed as including a unique formula which is easy to apply.

The most highly praised supplement for natural female libido enhancement was Libitrinex. Users have added that it helped make them feel more sexually stimulated, and that it made sex more enjoyable. Read reviews and find out what made Libitrinex our top rated brand by clicking here.

Do You Know the Best Female Libido Enhancers of 2017 ?

PJUR MYSPRAY INGREDIENTS AND SIDE EFFECTS

Their full ingredients include:

Propylene Glycol Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Aqua Methyl Nicotinate

Propylene Glycol: Alcohol based extract found within cosmetics as a way to help with both the ease of application, and the retention of moisture. This is often added as a main lubricant ingredient within female libido topical aids. It appears as both a colorless and viscous liquid.

When applied to other ingredients such as water, it can help have a lasting effect which supports the ability for water to keep skin hydrated. As a sexual enhancement aid, it works to keep the vagina hydrated so sex toys and intercourse can be enjoyed without one feeling sexually stimulated.

Our review experts have made it their goal to find the best brands for female libido support; click here to review the most effective brands seen this year.

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice: Extract from the aloe vera plant, a medicinal plant that is used as a natural remedy against irritation and burns on the skin.  It has moisturizing effects and can even be used to fight against inflammation.

The EWG.com which helps to qualify cosmetic ingredients safety has deemed it likely safe ,and they give it a 1-2 rating out of 10, with 10 being the worst potential for unwanted side effects. This means that it can be used on the skin without irritation or other unwanted side effects.

Methyl Nicotinate: A combination of nicotinic acid and methyl alcohol. This is often added to cosmetics as a way to improve suppleness, and enhance the appearance of damaged skin. This helps provide the mineral niacin, which can help with DNA repair and overall energy metabolism.

This is used to soothe irritation and reduce the risk for inflammation.

The top rated brands which can assist in libido and female sexual enhancement are outlined here.

PJUR MYSPRAY QUALITY OF INGREDIENTS

With only 4 active ingredients to look at, and one of them being water, it’s difficult to see much of a sexual enhancement benefit. Aloe vera can help soothe skin irritation and support skin function, but this will not affect sexual enhancement. The only somewhat relatable benefit is its potential for moisturizing skin.

The same moisturizing effect can be gained in propylene glycol, which is why it is a generic substance often found within brands like this. It does have a potent effect at retaining water so as to improve overall lubrication of the vagina. This is why it is often added to female sexual enhancement topical aids.

This leaves methyl nicotinate, which has been used for the reduction of inflammation and redness. This has no benefit at all at improving sexual function in women. Overall the formula is meant more to give a moisturizing effect to help retain water. While this can make it easier to engage in sex without stimulation, it does not actually assist in any enriching way other than what many other brands already offer.

For those who want to increase their libido, reduce fatigue, improve blood flow or otherwise make sex more satisfying, it’s difficult to see much of a benefit from the combination of ingredients.

Our cited list has a full breakdown of which female libido brands were considered to be the utmost best for producing benefits.

EDITOR’S TIP: Combine this supplement with a proven female libido enhancer such as Libitrinex for better results.

THE PRICE AND QUALITY OF PJUR MYSPRAY

The official website offers direct sales at 18.95 euros per 20 ml bottle. At the time of this writing this is equal to about $22.59 dollars. The company mentions in their FAQ section that the reason why this is more costly than other similar brands is due to the claim that it lasts longer than the leading brand.  Though this seems like a good explanation, what is added to this is cheap to source, and most of it can be found within other similar brands.

These additives are far too basic to consider it any more than a standard moisturizing formula. This can affect the ease of engaging in sex, but it does not make one anymore stimulated. Because of this the formula is very lacking. The only benefit is that the ingredients are all-natural and free of any preservatives.

Still as the ingredients are easy to source elsewhere, it does not justify the cost. The majority of additives also are not known to have any deep improvement in sexual stimulation. They have more of an external effect in helping the vagina remain wet.

Find out what you’re best options are for natural female libido enhancement; review the top 10 list of this year.

BUSINESS OF PJUR MYSPRAY

The company is known as Pjur group Luxembourg S.A. and their contact information is as such:

Phone Number: (352) 74 8989 44

Address: 87, Esplanade De La Moselle

6637 Wasserbillig Luxembourg

Email: annika@pjurmed.com

Little is known about the company, but they are based out of Germany. Their FAQ section does offer plenty of information about their products and how to best apply them. They also make suggestions as to how to best engage in sexual activity when using this specific brand.

In their country selection toolbar at the top of their official website they only offer Australia, Europe, and Germany as options. It’s not known if they distribute elsewhere. They also fail to give any information about whether or not a money back return policy is offered. Since they do not offer this basic information, it is unlikely that returns are offered.

The best brands for natural female libido support are highlighted and ranked in the list cited here.

CUSTOMER OPINIONS OF PJUR MYSPRAY

Very few reviews can be found online, here’s what some users had to say:

“very lacking…. It had a slight warming sensation which felt good, but it was very short lasting”

“disappointed in this overall… I don’t feel the need to try more at this stage. Has a bad smell to it and for the price I would not recommend it”

We could only source 2 reviews and they were both negative. While this may not be a fair assessment, it also goes to show that only a few amounts of people have used it.

It’s unclear why, but the 2 reviews which are found mentioned that it had an unpleasant smell, and that it didn’t really have much of an effect. These customers said while it was mildly pleasant, it failed to stimulate them to want to have sex.

The reason for this lack of effects is likely because there are only water binding moisturizers included, and there is no additives which can help stimulate libido.

The most highly regarded supplements for natural female libido support are featured in our expert’s top ranked list.

CONCLUSION – DOES PJUR MYSPRAY WORK?

Because of the lack of ingredients which can actually support libido or sexual satisfaction, it remains to be seen what kind of use this product has. Judging from the kinds of additives it has, it can moisturize skin and retain moisture, but other than these effects, it will not actually work to have benefits including improved blood flow, reduction of fatigue, or any other common effect female libido supplements are meant to have. The only 2 reviews found online are negative as women said that it failed to give much of a sensation other than a warming and tingling feel. It was also said to have an unpleasant smell to it.

Our number pick for female libido support was found to be the natural supplement known as Libitrinex. This contains a wide array of ingredients which have been thoroughly reviewed by 3rd party studies, by which they include known aphrodisiacs. This blend can help improve overall sexual function by working with the body to deliver noticeable changes for improved pleasure.

This formula has within it ingredients like maca, muira puama, panax ginseng, L-Arginine, and many others which have a wide array of benefits when combined. Their formula is also produced in a facility recognized to be GMP approved, or reviewed by the FDA. Learn about what kind of libido and overall sexual enhancing effects are possible from Libitrinex by checking out its formula provided here.

from Easy Weight Loss 101 http://ift.tt/2wz5zty via The Best Weight Loss Diet In The World