Becca Jane St Clair

I feel like the luckiest girl right now. Not only did I get to go down to London to watch the red carpet for the Star Trek Picard premiere, but I was handed tickets to the actual premiere!!!

So, let me backtrack. BTW, this post will contain NO SPOILERS for Episode 1, but will mention things like cast (which has been announced for ages). I won’t be offended if you click out and come back on Friday after you watch the first episode.

When I first heard about the premiere happening in London, I immediately checked trains and sighed. The first train of the day wouldn’t have arrived early enough for the 8AM wrist band distribution, and I couldn’t get anyone to pick one up for me, so I was pretty sure I was out of luck. Until I decided to go down the night before on Tuesday.

I arrived to the theatre around 0645 in the morning after a not so great night of sleep. My friend John had been there since 6, and there was about 6-8 people standing around. Weirdly, the majority were actually autograph hounders/dealers…and it had never crossed my mind to bring something to get signed!(oh well). John and I recieved our wristbands and I was #4!

We were told to come back around three to be let into the viewing pens, but John and I decided we didn’t want to stray too far. Of course, it was now just past eight in the morning, so we headed to a Costa for a coffee and wound up hanging around chatting for about an hour, maybe two. John was told they might be giving out tickets to the event, too, so we became hopeful.

After our coffee, we headed back towards the cinema and watched set up for a while until we decided we were getting cold and decided to have an early lunch.

After lunch, we headed back to the park and basically just hung around some more until around 2 in the afternoon, when John suggested we get another hot drink and utilize toilets (it wasn’t his first premiere!). Naturally, we drank Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. By this time, the wind had really picked up and where we were told to wait for our escort was basically in a wind tunnel. BRR. We hoped we would feel warmer once we were in the viewing pen with the others, but they had only given out about 60 out of the 400 wristbands so far.

They put us in the pen around three, with guests set to arrive around five, so we basically spent the two hours standing up against the fence watching set-up finish.

The evening finally got underway with a bit of entertainment for the crowd, and a giveaway of the new comm badge we see in Picard made by Fan Sets. As they were going down the line, I held up Mini Picard because, I mean, I had a Mini Picard on me. I got the Emcee’s attention and he came over and we had some interaction and he gave me a pin and asked me to take a picture with the minis and post it to instagram.

He then started doing an easy quiz to pick people to win tickets into the actual premiere. I wasn’t super hopeful that we would get in because he wasn’t over in our direction, but then there were two guys – one dressed in a TOS uniform and on in a TNG uniform who were duking it out for “best Trek series” and I was heckling the TOS Guy (“Why did you come to a Picard premiere then?” etc) and the Emcee came back to us because he forgot to give John a badge. And then….the best thing…he handed us tickets into the premiere! I hugged him.

Then, the red carpet got underway!

My only complaint about the red carpet walk was that they decided to bring the ticket holders through on the same side we were standing on, so we sometimes had to stretch and crane our heads to watch the arrivals. A better plan would have been to have the ticket holders go in on the other side, especially as it seemed that was where they were directing people to watch the red carpet arrivals. But oh well. So my pictures didn’t come out as great as I would have hoped, but I grabbed a few.

The first arrival was Michelle Hurd, who immediately came through on our side to do signings and selfies.

Jeri Ryan also arrived, and I got to tell her I thought her dress was gorgeous. A few more arrivals from the cast arrived (my photos turned out terrible) and then the man himself arrived!

I also was excited to see Sir Ian arrive to support his friend and I got to witness their reunion, but again, my photos turned out pretty bad. (but there are plenty online!)

…and then my phone battery completely died! Fortunately, I had my battery box along and I quickly plugged in and turned back on my phone.

I won’t go into the bad experience I had just after Patrick Stewart walked past me, that will be in a separate post. But shortly after, an obnoxious man started shouting “Jason, Jason, Jason” over and over at Jason Isaacs, who was in the middle of giving an interview. He walked over and said “WHAT?” to the man, followed by “I heard you shouting my name for ten minutes.” and then he promptly ignored the guy and I got to say hello to him and tell him that #TeamBasement (his unofficial fan club he knows about) said hello, and he told me to tell them hello back, and did I want a selfie to share with them?

…Uhm, YES.

The red carpet (Well, white and silver!) portion ended, and most of the people left, except for those of us who were given tickets to go inside. They let us in and John and I climbed…and climbed…and climbed. Row Q was at the very top of the balcony level…but it didn’t matter, we were IN!

Patrick Stewart and Alex Kurtzman took to the stage and welcomed us, and Patrick asked us not to spoil anything we saw that night, and Alex added that we could after Thursday (US release date), so I will not be adding any spoilers for the first episode other than to say that it was amazing and I’m really excited for the series. The show was dramatic and it had it’s funny moments and at one point we heard Ian loudly exclaiming in surprise!

After the episode, we go to have a Q&A with the cast who was present, although that did contain spoilers as well.

And then, the evening was over, and I found my friend Duncan, who said he wanted to talk to me for his podcast. You can hear me in The Line, available on Trek.fm!

I made a quick detour to check out Picardilly Circus before heading to King’s Cross and my train back home.

I managed to catch the Portal 47 folks briefly on our monthly Euro call to tell them about the evening, and then I napped the whole way home.

What a night!

***
The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

Tickets to the premiere of Star Trek Picard and the Fan Set’s delta badge provided by Amazon Prime UK.

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At Destination Star Trek in October, I perhaps had one of the best experiences in my life.  I finally met Gates McFadden, the actress behind Doctor Beverly Crusher, and a woman I’ve admired for years.  Trying to put my experience into words is hard because there are so many emotions attached to this moment, but let’s go back a few months…

It was around January 2018 and Destination Star Trek announced that Gates would be one of the guests.  I burst into tears when I read the news, booked a hotel, and booked tickets.  Then, the loooong countdown began.  Somewhere in the middle, I started up the Twitter account @gates_daily, originally to mark the time while Gates was taking a brief hiatus from Twitter, and then it took off with a mind of its own and Gates herself has retweeted some of the pics I’ve managed to find.

So, armed with running a page basically dedicated to her, and our interactions on Twitter…I was nervous to meet her.  I also knew we wouldn’t have a lot of time to talk initially because DST would probably be rammed and the “gatekeepers” wouldn’t let you through the line unless you paid for an autograph.  So  I wrote her a letter telling her how much she meant to me and a little about myself and put together a small package – some vegan snacks and a pair of cat slippers (because I mean, cats!)  When I handed it over to her I was shaking and the first time I met her I went to introduce myself and she said “I know who you are!”  I about died.   She was signing my (first) item, a trading card of Beverly Crusher as drawn by Lee Sargent,  and the person behind was trying to push in.  Gates turned to her helper and told her she needed to keep the next person from crowding as I was special. (!!!)  She then saw MiniBev and MiniPicard stuck in my cleavage and laughed because as she says,“Picard is a breast man” and she saw the lamp (Ronin) and thought it was hilarious.    She also told me how much she loves and appreciates her dedicated Twitter crew.

On Friday, I also did my picture with her and she made sure the photographer got the lamp in the pic. (haha!)    She told us she was funnier at 4AM, but she was still in good spirits.

Tim and I spotted a print of the TNG cast as cats playing poker out of the TNG Cats book and I decided to be really silly and I had Gates sign the poster for Hexe & Merddin.  She thought it was a brilliant idea and then had Tim get her a poster, too. (funny side story – she handed Tim an old fiver and Tim had to tell the poster guy it was for Gates for him to take the old note).  So she had me stand to the side while we waited for Tim to come back and we chatted some more about things I can’t really remember.

Saturday, we didn’t have a lot of time to talk as it was the busiest day of the con and I spent about an hour trying to get our photoshoot with more than three people approved.  I tried to get through to Gates, but couldn’t without paying so finally got it approved by the photographer if we were the last pic of her session.

We walked in and Gates saw us, looked at me, and and just mouths “Oh my God”   followed by “I don’t know them!”  I think we amused her and we explained we should have been more people, but some people backed out.   She might have wanted to talk to us more, but she was called away to do some other photos.  When she signed my pic later, there was more giggling.

Sunday was quiet when we got in and I asked if I could go and talk to Gates and was told it was fine since there wasn’t a crowd.  Nick had asked me to pass on a message and I just wanted to thank her again for the day before.  Gates read my note, too and told me she loved the card and it was “so you” (it had a ginger cat wearing glasses on it and was glittery) and we talked about my letter a bit and she told me how strong I was to have gone through everything I had been though and she was glad to have been a part of my support network even if she didn’t know it. She sympathised with me over a few personal things I told her and she even made a comment about how much in love Tim and I looked.  I passed on Nick’s message, and she gave me a hug.

Then, it was on to the TNG panel and somehow her eyes tended to go in my direction where I was snapping pics at a furious rate to try to get some good shots for @gates_daily.

I didn’t get to talk to her again. I was going to go up to her table  to say goodbye, but I decided I didn’t want to become a nuisance.

And I’m still on cloud nine three months later.

***
The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

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Today is #BevCrusherDay. 13 October is Beverly Crusher’s birthday, so what better way to celebrate than writing a short fic or two about our favourite doctor? This will be cross posted to Ao3 and my personal blog, and Tweeted on both AnnaOnTheMoon and Gates_Daily.. It’s also Flufftober, so if you follow me on Archive of Our Own, you’ll find a daily fluffy piece about our favourite couple!

Title: Balfour [BevCrusherDay]
Rating: G
Fandom: Star Trek The Next Generation
Pairing: Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard
Summary: Jean-Luc helps Beverly recover from her ordeal with Ronin

Disclaimer: I don’t own TNG, Beverly or Jean-Luc. I don’t work for Paramount, CBS, PocketBooks, Simon & Shuster…etc, etc. I’m just a fan! I also ask for forgiveness from Gates McFadden and Sir Patrick Stewart for using (abusing?) their characters.

Captain’s log, supplemental. Commander La Forge and Mister Data have recovered from their exposure to the anaphasic energy, but I’m afraid Doctor Crusher’s recovery will be of a more personal nature. – Sub Rosa, Star Trek TNG episode 7×14

Jean-Luc pressed the chime outside Beverly’s quarters and waited for the door to slide open.  Beverly was surrounded by her boxes with a frustrated look on her face.  Jean-Luc walked into the room and surveyed the crates. “Can I help?”

“Ugh. Yes.  What was I thinking packing everything? And leaving?  I mean I just…threw away everything. My career…my friends…you….”  Jean-Luc enveloped Beverly in his arms and rubbed her back.  “You weren’t in control. I’m just glad I never transmitted your resignation.  I knew something was off.”

“I wish I had known,” Beverly grumbled.  She rested her head against Jean-Luc’s shoulder. “You came to take me out to dinner and here I am blubbering to you…I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.  You were taken advantage of by an alien.  It’s natural for you to need comfort from your friends.”

“Not my Captain?”  Beverly raised her eyebrows at Jean-Luc.  He shook his head. “No, tonight I’m not your captain.  I’m just Jean-Luc.”

“Well then, just Jean-Luc,  what are our plans for dinner?”  Jean-Luc reached down and took her hands in his. “Well, I thought we might go on a stroll along the Danube.”

“Sounds lovely.  Just let me change first.”  She gently kissed Jean-Luc’s cheek and disappeared into her bedroom.  Jean-Luc peered into one of the open crates, and seeing the jumble of books inside, he decided to help her by putting the books back on her shelf. He didn’t know if she had a particular way of organising them, but at least it would get them out of the crate and she could arrange them later.

At the bottom of the crate, Jean-Luc pulled out a picture frame with a photo of Beverly, Jack, Walker, and him taken over twenty years ago.  He studied the picture and grinned, remembering the day well.  They had gone camping together at Balfour Lake and they had spent the day splashing in the lake before Walker set up the camera to take a timed photo of the four of them.  In fact, picture Beverly was sporting a deep sunburn on her chest, and Jean-Luc remembered  Beverly complaining about how much she had wished she had thought to pack a dermol regenerator that weekend.

He placed the photo on a shelf as Beverly emerged from her room.  “Unpacking for me?  Thanks.”  Her eyes fell on the photo.  “One of my favourite memories of all of us together.  I think shortly after, Walker was transferred away, wasn’t he?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “And then it became the three of us.”

“The three musketeers.”  Jean-Luc grinned and his grin faded as he looked at the photo and he gently ran a finger down Jack’s image. “And then, there were two.”

“Mm. But at least we have each other.”  Jean-Luc reflected on her words and made a snap decision.

“Change of plans. Want to go camping at Balfour for old time’s sake?”  Beverly glanced down at their clothing. “Well, we’re a little overdressed for camping, don’t you think? And can we really use the holodeck all night long?”

“Course we can.  I’m the Captain.  Meet me at Holodeck 4J in…an hour?”  Beverly nodded.  “Any gear?”

“I’ll take care of that.”  Beverly grinned.  “See you then, Johnny.”

“In an hour, Bevvy.”

###

Beverly laughed as she approached the holodeck doors.  Jean-Luc was wearing hiking boots and zip-off trousers with his shirt, and he had a bucket hat perched on his head.  On his back, he had a frame backpack, and he was holding another in his hand.  He passed one of the backpacks to Beverly and she shrugged it on. “Wow, really going for the experience, aren’t you?  I just thought you would program our campsite into the holodeck program.”

“No, I thought we would enjoy the hike…is that ok?  We can alter the program if you want.”

“We’ll see.  It’s been twenty years since I carried all my gear like this.”

“It’ll be good for you.  We’re going soft serving on a galaxy-class ship.”  Beverly poked his stomach, which was still as firm as it had been twenty years ago. “Soft? Who you calling soft?”  He chuckled. “Maybe soft was the wrong word.”

“I take you point though.  That training we did for Celtris Three nearly killed me…” she trailed off.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to bring that up.”

“It’s alright. I…I did what I did to keep you safe.  That was all that mattered to me.”  Beverly wiped a tear from her eyes and she adjusted the straps on her pack.  They were treading towards their feelings again, and she still wasn’t sure if she was ready.  She had patted herself on the back for managing to keep her feelings hidden when they had been attached to each other’s thoughts, but the more she thought about it, maybe it would have been better if she had just admitted her feelings.  He knew.  He had to know.

“Computer, open doors.”  The holodeck doors slid open and Beverly felt like she was immediately in the woods surrounding the lakefront.  She inhaled deeply and the air smelled crisp.  Full of pine trees, mountain flora, and that heady scent she associated with bodies of water.  “Which direction?”

“Pick one.”  Beverly headed off on a trail to her left and turned back to talk to Jean-Luc. “And, you’re sure there’s nothing you need to do tomorrow morning?”

“Nothing that I couldn’t hand over to Commander Riker.”  Beverly snorted. “Do I want to know what you told him?”

“I told him I would be on the holodeck with you all night.”  Beverly raised an eyebrow. “Was that wrong?  I am on the holodeck with you.”

“Yes, but…Jean-Luc, when you say things like that, people might think….”  Jean-Luc reached for her hand and clasped it in his. “Think what?”

“Oh, never mind.  I suppose the scuttlebutt would be nothing new…what about Sickbay?”

“Well, technically you’re still on the leave  I put you on when you tried to resign, so it’s still in the hands of Doctors Hill and Selar.”  Beverly pursed her lips. “I see.”

“Beverly, stop.”  She abruptly stopped and Jean-Luc tugged on her hand so she was facing him.  “Something’s wrong…talk to me?”  She sighed. “Sometimes…I wish we still had those psi wave implants.”  Jean-Luc grinned. “You sure about that?”

“Well…alright, maybe not all the time.  I mean,  when I was with…that…thing….I’m not sure I’d have wanted you to feel…what I was feeling.”  She blushed.  He grinned.  “I take your point, but maybe if you could have felt what I…” he trailed off, embarrassed.

“Yes?”  He shook his head. “Later.  Let’s get to our campsite first.”  Beverly gave him a wry grin, but took off down the trail.  “I don’t think it’s far, at least, not if we started where I think we started . Do we have a map or a compass?”  Jean-Luc patted the hip belt on his pack.  “Do you want it?”  She nodded and Jean-Luc passed her the compass.  “Of course, this only really helps if I know what direction the lake is in….”

“Should be northwest of where we entered the holodeck.  I didn’t program a long walk for us.”

“So, you know exactly where we should go?”  He nodded.  “Well then, why don’t you lead?”

“I thought it would be more fun this way.”  Beverly rolled her eyes and stood to one side and swept her arm out in an ‘after you’ pose. “Lead me to our camp site.”

Jean-Luc led her to a small clearing, nearly identical to the campsite they had used twenty-odd years ago, and the same site she and Jack had taken Wesley to when he was three.  She and Wesley had been back a few times after Jack passed away, but they hadn’t gone camping since he was 12.

“Just like I remember it.” Jean-Luc nodded . “I haven’t been here in years – the real one, I mean.  You?”  Beverly shook her head. “Not since Wes was about twelve.  It was around that time when he became too cool to go camping with his mother.” She frowned.

“Ah, yes.  I remember what it was like to be twelve.”

“Do you,” she asked with a smirk.  Jean-Luc shook his head.  “Right then.  There should be a tent in one of these packs. Shall we get it set up?”

“Just one?” Beverly raised her eyebrows.  “Well…I can have the holodeck provide a second one if you’d prefer.  I’m sorry.  I wasn’t…I wasn’t really thinking, was I?”

“No, no, it’s fine.  We all shared a single tent twenty years ago. Why would you think to get two when it’s just the two of us?”  Jean-Luc chuckled. “And Jack rolled over and cuddled me instead of you.”  Beverly snorted. “Walker and I couldn’t stop laughing. Especially when Jack went to cop a feel and got a very interesting surprise…”  Jean-Luc blushed. “Don’t remind me.”

“From what I recall, you seemed to like it,” she smirked.  “Beverly!  I was sleeping.  Someone touched me, of course I was going to react!”

“Hmm. Did you think it was me?”

“I don’t remember.”  Beverly snorted again.  “You’re lying.  Oh, for the psi implants.  Remember, I’ve seen your dreams!”  She giggled with glee.  Jean-Luc sighed. “I am never going to live that one down, am I?”  Beverly leaned over and kissed his nose. “Nope!”

Jean-Luc just shook his head.  He was grateful for her playfulness though.  Perhaps she was beginning to heal if she was acting more like herself.  He laid out the tent poles and studied them.  Beverly leaned over and passed him a sheet of instructions. “Thanks.  I think this is a two-person job.”

They struggled to get the tent together after a breeze blew away the instruction sheet, causing Beverly to laugh.  “Think you programmed that weather in a little too well.”

“We’re almost done.  Now, I think we just need to peg in these guy ropes so the tent doesn’t collapse when we go inside.  I can do that, if you could unroll the bedrolls?”

“Thank goodness for self inflating mattresses.” Beverly tugged the packs into the tent and unhooked the rolls from the bottom of each bag.  After unrolling and pressing the inflate button, Beverly was left with deciding where to place each bed.  She remembered you didn’t want to be touching the side of the tent while you slept or you’d get covered in condensation, which would in turn make you cold.  But placing the beds in the middle…did she give them a small berth between or place them touching?

When they had slept on KesPrytt, they had started out sleeping side-by-side with their backs touching until Beverly had complained and Jean-Luc had told her to use his shoulder for a pillow.  She grinned, remembering how he had gingerly wrapped an arm around her and she had fallen asleep listening to the steady beat of his artificial heart until his dream woke her up. She placed the beds side-by-side and zipped the two sleeping bags together to form a double sleeping bag. If Jean-Luc had programmed the night cycle as accurate as the day cycle, they would want to share their warmth as Beverly hadn’t seen any heating devices in either packs.

Beverly listened to Jean-Luc hammer the pegs into the ground as she looked through her pack.  She pulled out both a bikini and a one-piece and laughed, despite also thinking it was thoughtful of Jean-Luc to pack both for her.  She called out, “I’m going to change now.”

“Alright, I won’t peek.”  She laughed.  “Shall I put on a shadow show for you?”

“It’s not dark enough for that yet. Maybe tonight.”  Laughing, she finished changing and poked her head out of the tent.  “I’ve got my suit on now.  Your turn.” She crawled out of the tent and Jean-Luc’s mouth went dry.  “Uhh….”

“What?  You picked this.”  Jean-Luc rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes…well…I wasn’t sure…what you wanted…uhh…you look…nice.  Really nice.”  Jean-Luc licked his lips and Beverly grinned.  “Go change.  I want to take a dip in the lake.”

“Sure.  Just let me get the fire going first so we have something to warm us up when we’re done.”

Beverly walked into the water up to her ankles and shivered. “I forgot how cold the lake was.”

“We’re halfway up a mountain, what did you expect?”

“True,” Beverly dipped her hand in and splashed Jean-Luc, cold water hitting his chest. “Hey!”

“Cold, isn’t it?”  She smirked.  Jean-Luc wandered over to her and lifted her up in his arms.  “Jean-Luc…put me down! You’re going to drop me and I’m going to hit my head on the rocks.  Put me down!”  Jean-Luc grunted. “You’re not that heavy.”  He carried her until the water was hitting his chest and then he unceremoniously dropped her in.  She came up sputtering.  “Why you!”  She reached for his shoulders and pushed down on him until he was under water.  He came up laughing.  “I deserved that.”

“Yep.”  Beverly swam away from him then, performing perfect strokes towards the centre of the lake where a small wooden platform was.  She turned around and swam back towards him.  “I love swimming in lakes.  So much more fun than doing laps in the swimming pool.”

“True, but the pool is heated.”

“Can’t fault you there.” Beverly crossed her arms over her chest, conscious of her nipples puckering in the cold.  “Aren’t you going to swim?”

“I quite enjoy watching you.  But yes, I think I’ll do a few ‘laps’ myself.”  The two friends swam together, trying hard not to turn it into a competition, but they couldn’t help themselves and started racing each other.  When they finished, Jean-Luc laughed. “That was fun.  I feel younger.”  They headed for the shore and Beverly shivered in the air.  “Stay here, I’ll bring a towel closer.”

“Thanks.”  Jean-Luc glanced at her before turning his back and groaning.  Why was it so hard for them to be in a relationship with each other?  What he really wanted to do was to sweep her into his arms and kiss her, but instead he pulled towels out of their packs and tied one around his waist before heading towards the shore with a towel for Beverly.

Beverly watched him walk away and grinned.  He really did have a nice looking backside.  He brought a towel to the shore, and she wrapped it around herself under her armpits and wrung out her hair.  “Ugh, my hair is going to be so tangled after this.”

“I packed a brush.”  Beverly raised her eyebrows. “I’m surprised.”

“Ha. Ha. Let’s pick on the bald man.” Beverly lightly ran her hand over his head and he closed his eyes. “I like my men bald.”  She kissed the top of his head.  “I’m going to go change into some dry clothing. What’s for dinner?”

“Fire should be going nice by now.  I put a few potatoes and some corn on the cob in there before I joined you, they should be cooked by now.  I did cheat slightly.  I planned for steak to be delivered right about now.”  A transporter beam activated and two large plates arrived, filled with steak fillets and salad, along with two glasses of wine, the rest of the bottle,  and two pots of chocolate mousse.  Jean-Luc shook his head.

“Guinan?”

“Guinan.  I only asked her to beam in steak for our dinner.”  Beverly reached for one of the glasses and took a sip. “Your vineyard, I think.”

She turned and went into their tent and rummaged for something comfortable to wear.  Fortunately, Jean-Luc had packed her a pair of sweatpants and a camisole, but she grinned and dug though his pack until she found one of his soft shirts and pulled it on instead.  She emerged carrying a brush, and Jean-Luc merely raised his eyebrows and shook his head as he went to have his turn at changing.

Beverly was running the brush through her hair in front of the fire, trying desperately to detangle it.  One thing she had forgotten was how tangled her hair would get swimming.  Usually, she would just take a shower and wash it, but unless she wanted to ask the holodeck for a shower or wanted to leave, she was stuck with trying to detangle it.  Jean-Luc came out and took the brush from her hand. “Let me.”

“Mm. Thanks.  I was just thinking that if we weren’t camping, I would just take a shower and wash my hair to detangle it.”

“Do you want a shower?  It’s not like we can’t ask the holodeck for one.”

“Hmm, but that would be cheating.”  Jean-Luc grinned as he ran the brush through her hair. “I suppose, but then we also could have a toilet instead of the latrine block.”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me.”

“Computer, create bathroom complete with shower, toilet, running water and appropriate toiletries.”  A large bathtub with a shower appeared alongside a toilet and a sink.

“Your shower,  Milady.” Jean-Luc bowed and Beverly laughed. “Nice bathroom.  Who programmed a tub that big?  You could easily fit two…or more people in there….Computer, what file did you get this bathroom from?”

“Riker-62”  Beverly and Jean-Luc both burst out into laughter.  “Figures.”  Beverly eyed the bathroom.  “Walls.  It needs walls. Computer, place walls around the bathroom and a door.”

Walls appeared and Jean-Luc pretended to pout.  Beverly laughed and pecked his lips.  “Be out in ten.  Just need to wash my hair.”

Jean-Luc was trying very hard not to think about his best friend naked on the other side of the holographic wall when he heard the shower start.  Instead, he made himself useful and spread a blanket out close to the fire for them to sit on while they ate.  Beverly emerged and shook out her hair. “Thanks.  That helps.”  She sank down onto the blanket and Jean-Luc sat behind her to brush her hair. “It’s alright, I detangled it in the shower.”

“Hmm,  I know.  But let me do this for you.”

“Well, I won’t say no.  I do enjoy having my hair brushed.”

The two sat in silence as Jean-Luc gently ran the brush through her hair.  When he was done, he sat playing with her hair, running it through his fingers as it dried in the heat from the fire.  Beverly finally spoke up.  “I don’t know what possessed me,”  she paused and started again. “No, I do know what possessed me.  I don’t understand why though.  Was I just vulnerable or susceptible?”

“Did the implants we had a few months ago do any lasting damage?”

“No,  I examined you myself and looked over my scans.  Once they were removed, we both returned to normal.  I mean, you stopped hearing my thoughts, right?”

“Regretfully.  I found I almost liked having you in my head.”  Beverly laughed. “Sure, occasionally, but would you have wanted me in there constantly?  Could you imagine?”  Jean-Luc grinned. “Suppose not.  Still, it’s good to know there was no lasting damage, though I still wouldn’t have minded a connection to you.” Beverly turned around to face Jean-Luc.  “We’re always connected, Jean-Luc.”

“I suppose you’re right.”  He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Are you hungry?  We don’t want the steak to go cold.”

“Mm, yes. And we don’t want that wine to go to waste.” Jean-Luc turned off the stasis field keeping their dinner warm, grateful for small technological advances.  In the morning, he would have breakfast beamed to the campsite, too.

They ate together, exchanging the occasional friendly barb and when they were done Jean-Luc put their plates to one side and lounged back on the blanket and pulled Beverly against him.  Beverly threaded their fingers together and tried to find the words she wanted to say to him.  He was her best friend…and more.  So much more.  She took a deep breath.

“I don’t think I ever thanked you.”

“For?”

“Coming after me.  Rescuing me.”  Jean-Luc grinned into the twilight.  “Beverly, you don’t need rescuing.  You’re quite capable of taking care of yourself.”

“Clearly not!  I let a ghost…” she shuddered.  Jean-Luc rubbed her arm with his free hand.  “I know you’ve been talking to Counsellor Troi, but if you need to talk…I’m here.”

“I told you about Nana’s journals, right?”

“Hmm. Yes.  You expressed interest in hoping you had a thirty-year-old lover when you were one hundred.”  She laughed. “Nah, I like my men older.”

“Good.”

“Do you know I can’t light candles anymore in my quarters?”

“I had wondered. I noticed last night at dinner you were eyeing the candles on the table suspiciously.”

“I keep waiting for a green mist to come out of it and possess me.”

“No, that won’t happen,”  he brushed a stray hair off her cheek and leaned over to kiss it gently. “I won’t let it.”

“Ah, but you can’t be with me all the time.”  He grinned at her in the firelight. “No, but I can make sure I’m with you if a candle is lit.”

“You’ll have to come over the next time I take a bath then.  I like to light candles when I bathe.”  Jean-Luc groaned. “You would have to bring up being naked.”  She laughed.  “You and I…”

“Yes?”

“We’ve been through so much together.  And I think that’s why I was so afraid.  I was afraid we would lose this,” she said raising their joined hands.  “And I don’t want to lose my best friend.”

“You wouldn’t,”  he spoke so softly she barely heard him. “I suppose…maybe that’s why things happened with Ronin.  I suppose I was looking for someone who….”

“Wasn’t me?”  She nodded. “Like, if I could have a romance with someone else, then you and I would just continue to tick on the way we have been…that’s silly, isn’t it?”

“No.  I understand.  I don’t ever want to let go of you, either.  I never stopped to think what would happen if we didn’t work out. I just assumed we would and we would continue to be us.”

Beverly suddenly turned her head and kissed him.  “I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“I’m sorry that I’m so afraid of taking that next step with you.”

“It’s alright.  I think our relationship is pretty good the way it is.  But if you ever want to be more….you just say the word.”

“You might get a girlfriend.”  Jean-Luc scoffed. “Doubtful.”

“Hmm. There was Nella…and Vash…oh, and Kamala…and I can’t forget Philippa and Jenice.”

“Phil and Jenice were a long time ago.  Jenice was before I even met you. Kamala was never a girlfriend, she just imprinted on me because I treated her well.  Vash…I’m not sure I have an excuse. I’ll blame that one on Riker and his Horga’hn.  And Nella….well, quite simply, my love, she wasn’t you.  So no. I can’t say that a girlfriend would get in your way.  What about you? Planning on dating anyone?”  Beverly shook her head.

“No.  Not after…well, I really haven’t had much luck, have I?  I dated a man who wound up being a symbiot who hopped bodies, a man who turned into light, and then a man who turned out to be a ghost….I think I’ll stick with you.” Jean-Luc leaned over and kissed her.  “I was hoping you’d say that.”  She twined their fingers back together.  “But is it alright if we don’t define this quite yet?”

“Of course.  We have all the time in the world.”  He leaned over and kissed her again.

Beverly shivered .  Twilight had turned to darkness, and Jean-Luc really  had done a good job programming in accurate weather. “Cold?”

“Just a little.”

“We could move the conversation to our sleeping bags.”  Beverly turned and grinned at Jean-Luc. “About that.  I, ah, zipped the sleeping bags together.”  Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows and she smacked his chest. “Not for that!  I just thought we could…share warmth.”

“Sounds like a plan. Do you need to change for bed?”

“Not unless you want your shirt back.”

“Tempting just to see what you would do, but no.  You can keep it.”  He turned on a small lantern so they could see to get into the tent and their their joined sleeping bags.  Jean-Luc turned off the lantern and pulled Beverly against him.  He kissed the top of her head.

“I think,  I could get used to this.”  Beverly smiled and wrapped an arm across his chest.  She tilted her head up and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. “Me too. Goodnight, Jean-Luc.”

“Good-night, Beverly.”

***
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Today is #BevCrusherDay. 13 October is Beverly Crusher’s birthday, so what better way to celebrate than writing a short fic or two about our favourite doctor? This will be cross posted to Ao3 and my personal blog, and Tweeted on both AnnaOnTheMoon and Gates_Daily.. It’s also Flufftober, so if you follow me on Archive of Our Own, you’ll find a daily fluffy piece about our favourite couple!

Title: Birthday [Part 13 of Flufftober]
Rating: G
Fandom: Star Trek The Next Generation
Pairing: Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard, Beverly Crusher/Jack Crusher
Summary: Beverly turns 25

Disclaimer: I don’t own TNG, Beverly or Jean-Luc. I don’t work for Paramount, CBS, PocketBooks, Simon & Shuster…etc, etc. I’m just a fan! I also ask for forgiveness from Gates McFadden and Sir Patrick Stewart for using (abusing?) their characters.

The Stargazer docked with Starbase thirty-two with a click of the stays and Jack and Jean-Luc were the first to debark alongside their other best friend, Walker Keel.  They had come to the base specifically to celebrate Beverly’s twenty-fifth birthday, and to visit Wesley, the apple of his father and honorary uncle’s eyes.

The three men rushed through the station, playfully shoving one another out of the way as the vied to see who would be the first to Beverly’s door.  Jean-Luc easily outstripped both his friends and he was soon entering his passcode in to the door panel and he gave a cheery wave to the other two as the door slid shut with a soft hiss.  Jean-Luc looked around the familiar quarters.  Despite being on a starbase, Beverly had done her best to create a cosy environment for the fifteen-month old who was playing on the floor with some soft blocks.  Wesley squealed when he saw Jean-Luc and lifted his little arms up to the man.  Jean-Luc grinned and hefted the baby up into his arms and pressed a kiss against his chubby cheeks. “Missed you, my boy.”

“M ssssss oooo.” Jean-Luc laughed. “Good try.  Wesley, what’s your name?”

“Wuhssssss!”  Wesley clapped and Jean-Luc grinned. “Great job, Wes!  Can you wish Mommy a happy birthday? She’s twenty-five today.”

“Hap Burr?” Beverly rolled her eyes and took her son into her arms after Jean-Luc greeted her with a kiss. “Close enough. Where’s Jack?”

“Dada!” Wes exclaimed. “You spend every day with me and can’t say mama, but dada, who you see once a month, was your first word.”

“M m m m m m m m.” Jean-Luc chuckled. “That’s a start. Jack and Walker are down the hall. I won.” Jean-Luc puffed out his chest with pride and Beverly laughed.

“Hmm. What did you win?”

“I get to take you out to dinner, if you’d like. Unless you want to go out with Jack. Then I’ll look after my favourite fifteen-month-old.” Beverly shook her head. “You boys still act like you’re at the Academy.” She rolled her eyes and passed Wesley back to her best friend who grinned back and quipped, “Mm, but you love us.”

Beverly snorted as the door opened and Jack and Walker entered. Walker went up to Beverly and dipped her low before kissing her. “Oi, she’s my wife!”

Walker grinned at his friend as Jack greeted his wife and son. “When Beverly married you, she married all of us.” Beverly took Wesley from Jean-Luc and passed him to his other uncle. “Great! I need husband number three to change Wesley’s diaper.” Walker grumbled, but took the giggling baby into his bedroom. Beverly winked at Jean-Luc.

“So, husband number two. I see you were beat out again by Jean-Luc.”

“Hey, how come he’s number one?”

“He got here first,” Beverly grinned. “You should never race the only Freshman to win the Academy marathon.” Jack rolled his eyes. “Fine. Go out with Johnny.  At least I get to sleep with you.”

Beverly arched an eyebrow. “Hmm.” She tucked her arm into Jean-Luc’s before waving a cheeky good-bye to her husband. “So, where are you taking me?”

***
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About a week ago, I received an alert about a gala event happening in support of Unique Voice, a charity in Bristol that works with schools and the community to “empower children emotionally through the use of Drama and the Arts” (source: About Us section of their website). Their Patron is Sir Patrick Stewart, and he would be hosting their Summer Gala.

I wanted to go.

With everything that’s been going on, and all the other things we have planned this year, it wasn’t looking like a possibility until someone close to me decided they wanted to purchase a ticket for me to attend. They have asked that I not say publicly who they were, but they are someone I love very much. My ticket arrived in my inbox a few days ago, and I became excited.

I decided to wear my LindyBop dress because it gives me confidence and I love the way it looks on me. I wore it with the underskirt this time for extra poof, and added a little feathery blue clip in my hair to try to dress it up a bit. I didn’t clean up too bad if I say so myself!

I was sat at a table with 9 strangers, but fortunately, they were all amazing and immediately drew me into their fold as they all knew each other. I can’t remember everyone’s names (sorry!) but table 9 had a blast. We shared stories and laughed and it was like I had been friends with these people for years and not just minutes.

One of the organizers recognized me from my Twitter photo and we had a short conversation with a promise to talk later, but we sadly never got the chance…but I’m sure I’ll be around again as I really like this charity and wish we lived closer to Bristol so I could work with them!

There were signs on the table telling us not to ask Patrick for selfies, but to take photos and to share them on social media. I took a few from my vantage point that didn’t really come out the best, but I’ll share them here anyway.

After dinner, Patrick was coming around to the individual tables to talk to everyone – the room had 13 tables of 10, but at least two of the tables were all people related to/working with the organisation, so it was an intimate gala. When he got to our table, he was on the other side from me and chatting and one of the men at our table said “She’s come all the way from New Jersey to see you!” I called back “He’s lying, I live here, I promise,” but Patrick Stewart came over to speak with me. His hand came down on the back of my chair and he said, “You know, I used to be married to someone from New Jersey.” I answered back in the only way I possibly could – “Well, then on behalf of my home state, I do apologize.” He laughed and stretched out his hand to shake mine.

Our minute was over…or was it?

During the auction, I was trying to win one of the items – all winning bidders would get a picture with Sir Pat – but it got too high for me. Especially when he auctioned off breakfast with him the following morning and it went for £350!

The rest of the night there was dancing, drinking, and talking to my new group of friends. After the Gala, we went to a speakeasy, and that was a new experience for me too.

In the morning, I had breakfast in the same restaurant Patrick Stewart was in, and after I was standing outside waiting for my taxi and he came out. He had his suitcase, and we made polite conversation. We both were complaining about how long it was taking our taxis to show up and he said he was trying to catch a train at a specific time. Since I have the ability to take whatever train I want, I offered him my taxi when it showed up first. He thanked me, and I had another handshake.

Ironically, his taxi turned up only about 30 seconds later. When I got to the railway station, I needed to speak with the gate attendant to be waved through the barriers. Who was standing there talking to the man? None other than Patrick Stewart! I made some silly joke about meeting again, and we both went through the barriers and started heading in the same direction. More jokes about “I’m not following you/You’re not following me” and the like and it turned out we would be boarding the same train. We both went into the waiting room, but when they called our train, I noticed he went out the door for the opposite platform.

When I didn’t spot him on the platform, I thought I had better let him know, so I walked over to him and gently tapped him on the shoulder to let him know. He thanked me with a hand pressed against my shoulder and another handshake.

These small encounters with one of my absolute favourite actors will stay with me for a long time, even without photos of the event. Who can forget getting three handshakes within a 12 hour span?

***
First two images from Unique Voice on Twitter.

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+

I’ve been a user of the internet in all of its many forms since the mid 90s, and since then I have had my fair share of trolls and mean comments – usually simple one offs like “I don’t like your voice” left on a video (which is ironic when I have acted and sang semi professionally!). But in my history of using the internet and becoming a content creator, I can count on one hand the number of people who just don’t know when to stop and start to become a nuisance . The first incident happened around 15 years ago and was a guy my husband and sister dubbed “Batteries” and things got so bad with him and his threats that I did have to go to the police. The second was about 10 years ago, and it might have been more than one person but at any rate, the result was *me* getting banned from a useful website I posted on and I had to speak with the police about the harassment. Then we delve into the land of psycho expats with more than one just losing their shit and stalking several fellow expats…and now we get to the most recent, ridiculous harassment/trolling efforts of someone who…well, they’re anon as far as I know. They do have internet handles, but I’m not going to mention them out of politeness.

Here’s where we get to the title of my post – Renting space in your brain. It’s incredible how ONE SINGLE COMMENT can kill you. For example, ONE music director in 2002 didn’t like my voice and I didn’t sing for 10 years. These comments weren’t about my singing, but another way I contribute to the arts – these comments were on the words I wrote.

The first comment came in September on my account over on Fanfiction.net. It was from a fellow “author”, and it was nasty and harrassive. FFN doesn’t let you remove nasty comments from registered users, so I simply deleted (And later re-posted) the story the comment had been left on and blocked the user id. Speaking to a fellow reader, I found out that the author in question “does this to any author who writes better than them and has a following”. Ok, so it was down to sheer jealousy then. Fine, whatever. I kept publishing.

I made the move to Archive of Our Own a few months ago after I finally got my invite to the site. I moved over much of my fic from FFN, but I also made an announcement on FFN that I was going to be posting on AO3 and if I wasn’t updating on FFN, to check me on AO3 and I listed my AO3 pseudo – AnnaOnTheMoon.

AO3 allows you to screen comments before they are posted, and a few came in from a person. Again, they were filled with harassment and well, they tried to tell me what I should write. Like, telling me “You need to write blahblahblah and blahblahblah needs to happen.” My response wanted to be “Go write it yourself”, but instead I just deleted the messages, figuring they would get the hint that I wasn’t interested in their “orders”. Other readers left comments requesting different storylines and if I felt I could write them, I did.  But when someone demanded I do something or another…no. AO3 doesn’t have a block feature, so I just had to delete the comments as they came in.

Finally, they stopped using their registered profile, and swapped to posting anon. And funny enough, the only reason I found out they were the same person was due to what they wrote in their comments when they referenced “a lack of negative feedback”.  Now, why would you assume someone even had negative feedback unless you had been the one who tried to leave it in the first place under your other nom de plume?

It was at this point I turned to getting advice from Author Dayton Ward on Twitter:

Dayton Ward was right. Just ignore, ignore, ignore. Don’t let them have space in my brain. But…it was hard. Especially with the comments that were coming through. At one point, they seemed to blame me for the entire Picard/Crusher fandom.

They decided that a fic I wrote called “The Comment Box” was about them. The fic itself was a tongue in cheek story about the ridiculous comments that are posted on Trek pages. Their response? Dedicating a story to me (and a friend of mine who is a big supporter of my writing.)

They thought they were writing an opt-ed. Uhm…no.  They also decided to steal my own tag of tongue in cheek, because…well, why not.

They admitted they had been reading me on FFN and had been the FFN user I blocked. They claimed to have “Been stalked in high school” (I also should note, that basing their age on what they mention in their own author’s notes, they aren’t much out of HS) and yet they decided to stalk me. (oh, and told me my depiction of stalking was wrong, because the way they were stalked is the absolute only way things ever happen)

The story got weird. I was Queen of the kingdom who churned out shit, but then I also inspire people? But the gem had to have been where I basically get blamed for the entire fandom.

I mean…what now?  But this “fic” was the final straw, and I contacted the AO3 admins and reported the story and the user for harassment.

…but I still can’t get their comments out of my head.  It’s poisoned my story, just like it poisoned one of my previous stories.  At this point, I want to either abandon the story (and the series as it’s second in a series), or delete it.  But if I delete it, I doubt I’ll ever re-write it, so then that also means that months of work will just be down the toilet because I can’t evict this asshole from my brain.

++

*sigh* Hopefully, by getting this all out, I will be able to evict them once and for all and return to my writing…because how does that phrase go? The best revenge is a life well lived?

***
+Meme made by me, screenshot from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
++Meme by Swear Trek
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A little over a month ago, my Google Alert for Patrick Stewart (shut up) went off with an interesting alert – Sir Patrick Stewart would be giving a talk during the Huddersfield Literature Festival. Tickets were £15, and I hadn’t yet seen it pop up on Twitter.

…So I blagged front row tickets. And then I waited…and waited..and waited for the day…and OH, was it worth it!

I had a bit of a panic on Thursday when I started to read the weather report for both Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Snow. But not until the wee hours, so we would likely be fine. To be on the safe side, we packed sleeping bags, extra warm clothing (hats, scarfs, fleeces), water,and snacks into the back of the car just in case the snow turned into a second Beast and we had to sleep in the car.

Our day started off with a walk through Huddersfield. There was an international food fair going on, so we checked that out and we headed to the Town Hall to make sure we knew where we would need to be and we scoped out the place we were meeting up with some friends for dinner before settling down into a local coffee shop (I’ve forgotten the name!) for a cup of Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. (Naturally.)

We met up with friends for dinner at the Zephyr. None of us were familiar with the place. The food was…ok. I had a Cajun grilled chicken burger and there was no spice at all on my chicken, which was disappointing. But the Strawberry gin was good.

We all were scattered around the auditorium, so we parted in the lobby and Tim and I headed to our seats. I still didn’t think it was real…I would actually see one of my heros live on stage? Talking? Telling us about his life and career?

When Nick introduced Sir Pat, he explained that Patrick agreed to photos during the first five minutes (and he even posed for pics), and then asked for phones/cameras to be put away and asked that it wasn’t recorded. In fact, we were told if anyone did get caught with their phone held up during the talk, they would be kicked out. I did spot one guy on the balcony out of the corner of my eye holding up a phone though, so if any footage gets posted online I’ll link it.

Patrick Stewart was brilliant. He warned us that he didn’t give short answers, so there weren’t a whole lot of questions asked, but the stories the man told…it was worth it. I’d have gladly sat there for another hour..two….three…just listening to his stories. Perhaps one day he’ll publish a memoir (and Mr Stewart, if you’re reading this, Please can I edit it?)

We even got a rare treat! Not one accent,not two, but three accents! Sir Pat imitated a local accent when he was telling us about his interview to receive a scholarship to attend the Old Vic (and apologized for it being bad, though as a non-local I couldn’t tell), and then he gave us “Space, ze final frontiere” in a French accent. I have to say, I’m quite happy Paramount didn’t make him use a French accent! His third accent was a recreation of his role in 1967 on Coronation Street, plating a Fireman from Lancashire.

We also learned his favourite episode is the Inner Light (though the questioner asked “What’s your favourite Enterprise episode, so I’m not sure if the questioner was confused over which series Sir Pat was in!). This is honestly no surprise to me as it is an incredible episode and it’s made even better by the appearance of Daniel Stewart playing his son!

Sir Patrick told us about his early days in acting, about meeting and becoming bezzies with Sir Ian McKellen, and how he felt when he was on the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are and discovered more about his father. We also learned that the two charities he is patron for are in memory of his parents – Refuge for his mother and Combat Stress for his father.

And speaking of his early days in acting – did you know he lied his way into gaining his scholarship? Naughty Patrick! But I think he paid his debt in full back to Yorkshire in the end when he became Chancellor of the Huddersfield Uni.

I’m still giggling over his (former) hair piece having been flown across the atlantic specifically for his audition for Captain Picard…and then it was never used. While he did mention he wore a hair piece in one episode (Violations, in a flashback Beverly has), he didn’t specify if it was the same one or styled the same way. Hmm. Something to ask him in the future, perhaps?

Sir Patrick said in an interview on BBC Radio Leeds on Thursday that his favourite childhood book was Treasure Island…and I really think he should record an audiobook for it, don’t you?

+

All in all, it was an incredible evening. Sadly, I didn’t get to ask him my question. I wanted to ask him to give advice to those of us in the arts (Performing, writing, creating) who face criticism and how you can bounce back from it…but it wasn’t meant to be and I’ll hopefully get to see him again and ask.

It started to snow on the way home. Not a significant amount, but enough to be annoying.

Thanks Huddersfield Literature Festival for having him, and THANK YOU Sir Patrick Stewart for speaking with us!

You are, forever, O Captain my Captain.

***

+Photo by Neil Armstrong.

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

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I know I haven’t updated properly in ages (not since before October, and then it was fanfic for #BevCrusherDay). I’m sorry. I’ve been busy. But right now, I feel like I need to write this post about hatred and fandoms. More specifically, I’m talking about the Star Trek fandom. Call us trekkies or trekkers, I really don’t care…but there’s a whole lot of hate in the fandom right now.

Don’t like the new series? Don’t watch it. You don’t have to watch week after week so you can spread your hate. And you most definitely don’t need to tweet the actors to tell them how much you hate it. No. That’s just…I’m not sure I have words. Now, I haven’t watched all of Discovery yet, because it’s something my husband and I want to watch together and we haven’t had time, so I can only speak based on what I’ve seen on the Facebook groups and Twitter. There is so much of this “this isn’t Star Trek” BS it could fill the Enterprise — all of them. My only response is – Does it have the trek logo? It’s Star Trek. It’s all part of one main franchise, people! And guess what? You don’t have to like ALL of the franchise to be a fan! You don’t even have to like the original series to be a fan!

And speaking of the original series, if I hear one more time “Your series wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for TOS!” Don’t you think we know that? But acknowledging TOS as the granddaddy of our franchise doesn’t mean it has to be my favourite series. And you can’t really compare Discovery to TOS. TOS was made in the 60s, for chrissake. It was the best sci-fi out there FOR ITS ERA. Yes, it has cheesy effects, the storylines are dated, the model ships look funny….but this is how sci fi was done in the 60s. You have to suspend some of your modern ideas when you watch TOS and try to be a person from the 60s watching it. And if you still think its awful, look for other sci fi series from that era and you’ll soon see that TOS was actually the best.

Move forward to the 80s and 90s of TNG, DS9, and VOY and the effects still won’t compare to the resources someone has in 2018. (And I’m saying that as a die hard TNG fan)

Or compare the Harry Potter films with Fantastic Beasts. FB takes place over 50 years before Harry Potter is even born, yet the effects in FB far outstrip HP. Why? Because HP was made in the early 00s, and FB was made in 2016. Yes, just a small time frame of FIVE YEARS separate the last HP film being made from the first FB film, and the effects have gotten better. OR we could look at Rogue One compared to A New Hope. Again, SAME THING. Film and TV makers aren’t going to take steps backwards with effects.

Another ridiculous amount of hate seems to be aimed at women – both fans and actors. It sometimes feels like as a woman, I’m somehow not supposed to like sci fi or have opinions and the female actors only role is to be sexy eye candy. Uhm…how about no? But you see it over and over again and it’s no wonder we had to make our own Feminist Trek group where we actually support each other.

While we’re talking about fandom and Star Trek, I also feel like I need to talk about fanfiction. I love fanfic, I write fanfic, I read fanfic. For those of you who don’t know what fan fiction is – Fan fic is Fiction written by a fan of a TV series, book, film, etc. that uses the characters/setting for their own storyline. And yes, there’s slash (which is pairing same sex characters together who are usually hetero in canon). I don’t write slash, for reasons I’m not going to get into on this post, but I do write a lot of fan fic. I mean, a lot. Most people like it and encourage me, and I love that. But what I don’t like are the people who decide to tell me what I should be writing or what I should do with my characters or even demanding that I explain why I made someone do something…and…no. The whole idea of fan fic is that you do whatever the heck you want to do with the characters and setting. I have one troll in particular…they must really hate me. They leave me PAGES of negative reviews…even told me they don’t like my writing. Fine. Don’t like me, don’t read me. And yet…they still read and still leave comments. Comments that I ignore and delete. I mean, get with the program already. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. Why is this so hard to comprehend?

And the sheer length of some of these comments – It must take them hours to compose…like, really? Don’t you have something better to do? I get that you don’t like my fic, you told me over a month ago. Pretty sure the answer to not liking something is to stop looking at it. Whether we’re talking about TV shows, Films, Books, Fanfic, Blog posts, Twitter posts, FB posts, Youtube videos…etc. I don’t look at things I dislike, why do you?

tl;dr – I think Swear Trek said it best with Picard up there.

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Gifs from Swear Trek, which if you aren’t following them on Twitter, you really should!

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