i went around and watched the first season of Lower Decks and boy did i have a blast with it!!
(but i didn't know it was so short... only 10 episodes? turns out when i said i was like halfway through s1 i was in fact already almost finished)

i can confirm that Tendi and Rutherford are my favs
but i still like Mariner and Boimler very much too
and, oddly, Ransom over T'ana?? what? how? he's the kind of character i usually find meh while i have a thing for scientists and/or doctors? ...oh well /shrugs/
(maybe the UST is for something in it? or that he's a parody of Riker instead of a straight version?)
(ah, speaking of Riker, i'm not done with the TNG movies buuut i don't consider what i saw in the finale to be spoilers as such
but i can also confirm that i don't like straight-haired movie!Troi, it's not a good look for her)

i want to watch the whole series~
but i'm still halfway through VOY s3 too (this one for real) and maybe i should watch something other than Star Trek in between?
(and, at what point should i add Prodigy and SNW to my viewing order?)