Sarcasm is an adjusted stress reaction.

Fandom: Star Trek: Picard
Rating: all-ages
Characters: Beverly Crusher, Jack Crusher (the younger), Zhaban
Pairing(s): Picard/Crusher
Notes: "Oh no, Beverly, London is far too close to France," I said to the TV, "and also we don't need an explanation for why Picard's secret kid as an inexplicable British accent, it was a mistake to let reply guys write television." Anyway, this definitely happened; the only question is whether he told Laris, and my opinion varies depending on what I find funnier at any given moment.

Summary: Zhaban never forgets a face. And today he is recognising a person he has never met.


( The admiral kept her picture on his desk, and only mentioned her when it was late at night and the wine had flown too freely. Yet here she was. In London. Practically on the admiral's doorstep. And also two tables away from Zhaban, eating fish and chips off a replicated facsimile of a newspaper in a centuries-old food market near the river. )

I started keeping a running list of notes for Antimatter Pod -- we're holding off on discussing Picard in-depth until Discovery wraps up BECAUSE SOMEONE AT PARAMOUNT THOUGHT IT WOULD BE SMART TO OVERSHADOW THE SERIES LED BY A WOMAN OF COLOUR no, I'm not getting into that rant, I'm just gonna say again that this overlap of shows was wholly unnecessary--

ANYWAY, I don't have the time to do proper posts, either here or at my blog, but here are some vague thoughts.

( I started out with very serious thoughts and descended into my own particular brand of nonsense. JUST LIKE SEASON ONE OF STAR TREK: PICARD. )

Australia has had fire, followed by flood, and now plague. We had to queue at Aldi for toilet paper yesterday like something out of Soviet Russia (if Soviet supermarkets also sold frozen pizza, Easter eggs and were doing a deal on portable solar panels for camping).

And, at the same time, "I don't care for how Michael Chabon writes Seven of Nine" is an opinion I can express, and it's perfectly reasonable and reality-based.

My free-floating anxiety has gone from a wee bubble to a giant novelty balloon, even though I'm basically okay: we have plenty of food in the house, including a container of this dhal in the freezer (the recipe is basically solid, but I should have added more garlic); we have sufficient toilet paper for a month (why is this a thing? I don't understand); and plans are in place at work for shorter hours (to avoid peak commuting times) and working from home if necessary. I'm concerned about my mother and siblings, but I live two states away and can't do much beyond send good vibes, and practice the hygiene and social distancing that I hope the people close to them are doing. 

I also have a pile of books to read, including Wolf Hall and Jung Chang's newest work of Chinese history; I'm teaching myself to crochet; I just started a Mass Effect replay, and if I somehow run out of Star Trek, I understand there are still other works of science fiction out there. So I have other things to think about, I'm just ... you know. *waves at 2020*

Anyway, Chabon said on Instagram that he never found the Seven-Janeway relationship compelling, and I was like, yeah, that explains a lot, and also I'm completely unsurprised.

I've spent the last week saying that Picard is not a good show, but I love it regardless. So what does it do? Give me an actually good episode.

Which only serves to increase my conviction that it's the new Voyager, and I guess I'd be a DS9 fan if I wanted consistency.

( Elnor senses hostility. )

Fandom: Star Trek: Picard
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Spoilers through "The End is the Beginning" and a set which appears in "Absolute Candor"
Relationships: Laris/Zhaban
Notes: With thanks to nonelvis and aristofranes for beta-reading and handholding.

Summary: Earth is no longer safe; maybe it never was. Still, Laris feels the loss.

( Turns out it's quite hard to excerpt from this fic without spoiling the series... )

Isa Briones of Star Trek: Picard was born in 1999. She turned twenty-one about a week ago.

I have fic on the internet older than she is!

I was gonna say that I feel old, but then I thought of all the people bitching and moaning about "CW Trek" (meaning that there are two actors under the age of 30 in the entire cast), and decided I had better things to do.

That is, it's Saturday now; JLP will be hitting Amazon sometime on Friday for me; I'm excited.

But I'm also trying not to get too excited, because, well, I lost a lot of trust in the current Trek team after the final 20 minutes of the Disco finale. I'm trying to keep an open mind, and not attach my hopes to anything specific beyond "mostly good", and also if they can not blow up, impale or otherwise kill Michelle Hurd's character, I'd be very grateful because I suspect she's going to be my favourite.

(Hurd and Jeri Ryan basically wore the same thing to the LA premiere, so I ship it. The characters, not the people.)

A guy who attended the premiere claims that ( Probably fake spoilers behind the cut )

I have seen the Picard trailer.

This is going to make my Voyager blogging extra-exciting, even as I resist the urge to skip to season 4.