#i was gonna put a jls gif for you

[cabinboy100]

STAR TREK: PICARD: 3x06: "The Bounty": Agent Crusher?

Beware: Season 3 spoilers! If you have not watched the first six episodes of STAR TREK: PICARD season 3, get thee to your streaming device and watch! Then come back for some secret space police speculating. =)

Thesis: Jack is a sleeper agent of Section 31 and Beverly is his handler.

"MAYBE I WAS DOOMED BEFORE I WAS BORN."

Jack exhibited unusual abilities-slash-symptoms as a child, including sleeplessness and traumatic visions. Beverly realized that they manifested as a result of traits unknowingly inherited from his father, someone who was once assimilated into the Borg and made into potential consort for their Queen, who was consumed by and then released from the Nexus energy ribbon, who traveled back and forth in time and visited alternate realities. With those ingredients, who knows WHAT you're gonna get, right?

Specifically, it's the latent Borg collective communication and coordination abilities that Jack inherited from Jean-Loc that make him valuable to Vadic and the Starfleet Revenge Squad (my name for the team-up of baddies responsible for all of JL & the gang's woes in season 3).

A DEAL WITH THE DEVILS.

Beverly did what she could to treat her son's apparent symptoms, but with little success. Having cut herself off from Starfleet and her friends to protect and raise her son on her own, she didn't have access to legitimate resources that might have helped. However, Section 31 had been keeping tabs on JL and his associates and were well aware of her son and his health issues. They approached and offered to help Beverly help her son in exchange for their cooperation when called upon. Beverly and Jack would continue living their otherwise off-the-grid Galactic Doctors without Borders lives without any changes, but every once in a while, Section 31 would call on them to pick up or deliver something or someone, or provide assistance to other agents operating on the Federation fringe.

Beverly agrees and S31 gives her access to data and treatments that Beverly uses to relieve Jack's symptoms. S31 continues to supply her with materials and assistance with Jack's treatment as long as she continues to complete the missions they give her.

THE CRUSHER IDENTITY.

To better protect and equip the Crushers for space cloak and dagger work, when Section 31 offered to train him as a sleeper agent, young Jack agreed. This involved all manner of intelligence, weapons, and martial arts training, but psychically compartmentalized, thanks to unique tech and procedures available to Section 31 (visit Daystrom Station =). It also required that Jack's knowledge of S31 be erased.

An outline of the imagined steps…

Jack signs up for the S31 sleeper agent program. —

S31 partitions his mind to create Action Jack, who undergoes training. —

S31 modifies Jack's memory to forget that he works for S31 and is part of the sleeper agent program. —

S31 implants a trigger or triggers to activate and deactivate Action Jack when needed. He is automatically activated when Jack or Beverly is in mortal danger. —

31 trains Beverly to handle and monitor Jack and Action Jack's behavior and programming.

His "double agent" existence might be compared to those of characters in TOTAL RECALL, MOON KNIGHT, BOURNE IDENTITY, and SEVERANCE. I imagine two strong variations on how it could go, based on…

…what S31 wants. Action Jack is a separate persona, distinct from Jack, and programmed to follow orders as well as protect. Like Quaid in TOTAL RECALL, Grant/Spector in MOON KNIGHT, and Mark in SEVERANCE. —

…what we've seen. When in danger Jack enters a fugue state in which he can access his sleeper training on automatic, without a separate Action Jack persona. More like, but not identical to, Jason in BOURNE IDENTITY. Maybe measures taken by Dr. Mom have put a ding in "what S31 wants" resulting in this behavior, unintended by S31's programming?

TRUST NO ONE.

I believe Beverly and Jack's good standing with Section 31 changed a few months ago when Beverly realized that they wanted Jack for something more, something specific. Maybe at the same time 31 stopped or changed Jack's treatments, or, in going fugitive on 31, Beverly lost access to them, which has resulted in the return of Jack's spells and insomnia. She may also have learned that Section 31—or at least the cell or group that she and Jack have dealt with—are being run by Changelings. If she didn't know then, she certainly must realize it now. The Changelings, thru Section 31, have been tracking and programming/grooming Jack to play a very important role in their plan to cripple Starfleet, thanks to the abilities inherited from his father. Starfleet Revenge Squad's plan calls for Jack's will—compromised by S31's programming—to direct the currently latent hive mind collective that will emerge from the network of integrated Starfleet starships.

The visions of red vines and voices calling to Jack to "find us" and "connect us" are Starfleet ships calling for his help."Integration" has been achieved via the repurposing of Borg tech extracted from the Romulan Borg Artifact. Starfleet—under Revenge Squad's guidance—has turned their ship computers into entities resembling very simple Borg drones, sentient, but suppressed. The latent collective network among these drones is what enables integration, and Jack is naturally tuned into it.

ODDS & ENDS.

Some miscellaneous notes related to the above crazy talk…

This strategy for a Frontier Day attack seems like a perfect fit to me except for one thing—Borgnes and her Bjørg cooperative demonstrated the vulnerability in using Borg-derived tech in Starfleet ships when she overrode the Stargazer's systems at the anomaly rift in season 2. But perhaps the Revenge Squad's agents in Starfleet and Section 31 came up with a patch for that—an update that would prevent such an override by unfriendlies. Of course, it would be designed to identify Jack's techno-organic commands as friendly. —

I'm unclear on how much Jack remembers of Action Jack's activity, but it seems like none of it. He doesn't explicitly say anything about taking out the four Changelings who were ready to abduct him on the Titan, letting Shaw and Beverly discuss without adding anything. —

I think his visions are a combination of Action Jack programming bleeding into his waking life and messages he is picking up via Radio Free Borg. Each muddling the other somewhat. The red door might be an entrance to an S31 training location, and/or access to his memories of his Action Jack training and activities. Or maybe it's the gateway to Starfleet's version of Unimatrix Zero. —

Beverly uses Irumodic Syndrome as an explanation for any situations in which Jack's S31 programming "bleeds" through or is compromised by his actions in front of others or by leaving evidence.

I've still got more than a couple competing ideas about the Starfleet Revenge Squad and its motivations…

The Reman Viceroy is Vadic's boss. He's in it to bring down Starfleet (and Picard and friends) for cutting short the Reman rule of the Romulan empire and more than happy to ally with the Changelings to make it happen. He has delivered Romulan Artifact tech and research to the Changelings embedded in Starfleet to create the "integrated" fleet. (I originally hoped that there was another Thalaron doomsday device created in NEMESIS-times that was keyed to Shinzon's living DNA and that the Viceroy needed Jack alive to unlock or activate it, since Jean-Luc no longer lives in his naturally born body.) —

Species 8472 is framing the Changelings. They have updated their isomorphic tech to allow them to shapeshift at will, but without regular boosters, revert to "goo" in reversion. Altho 8472 came to a peaceful accord with Voyager, there were hawks as well as doves among 8472, and as far as we know, no follow-up diplomatic communications were opened. Starfleet is the only enemy who defeated 8472, so their plan is to have the Dominion do their dirty work for them. A crazy long-shot, I know, but man, how awesome would it be to have JL and friends uncover the frame-up and have 8472 vs. the Dominion? =) —

Rogue 8472s are working with—enslaved by?—the rogue Changelings. 8472's Federation simulation training and genetic modification skills have helped Changelings improve their mimicking capabilities, resulting in their meatier appearance. I'm not sure why 8472s would end up subservient to Changelings—I would prefer a straight-up team-up arrangement—but if it is Changelings and 8472s, I think they must be the ones chittering behind the masks. Maybe they are unable to return to fluidic space because of environmental damage? Struck with a preemptive S31 plague? Specifically sought out, captured, and suborned by the rogue Changelings? Maybe JL and friends can cure or free the 8472s and have them turn on the Changelings and Squad upper management to turn everything around? —

Would also be happy to see a Weyoun or Bashir's Mutant/Augment Squad running the evil show. =)

And of course, I am still all for any of my zany "What's up with Jack?" theories, too!

LLAP…aka…

Keep on keepin’ on~

[bad4amficideas]

Another idea I'm not going to write u.u,

Yandere!JusticeLeaguexMetaHuman!Reader, based on that scene where Wonderwoman compares JLA to the Olympian Gods but editing a little. So at least Superman/Zeus, Aquaman/Poseidon, Batman/Hades, GreenLantern/Apolo, Cyborg/Hephaestus, Flash/Hermes and WW.

We could gonna said Artemis is Green Arrow if someone would want add him. WW is Athena... or Hera??? If someone want add Shazam them he's Zeus and Ares is good guy Superman (like, touch my daughter and die son of a bitch or his Roman, Mars version like). Then my question is where I put Martian Manhunter, maybe he is Athena if WW is Hera?? 🤯

Then Reader is Aphrodite and goes by Concubbus (sorry I read that post and must use it, most genderneutral thing ever!!) maybe they call them the Gentle One (this is an allusion to fae/faery, folk people, another form to call them). Or wthatever you want, who cares? Pheromones, empatic and/or telepathic (non-telekinetic) powers, a kinky weapon and there is our Reader.

... or, not so funny but Reader could also be Dionysus or Hestia at your choice but the JL becoming mad because: "are they done this on purpose with their power? Yes so, so I would have no shame in make them mine..."Or "Is this my true self? Angst is life.

Free prompt, free prompt for whenever want it!!! free adoption!!

As always tag me if you write it.

[anunvalidcritic]

Justice League: Snyder Cut

(DISCLAIMER: MY OPINION IS MY OWN AND CAN BE DEEMED INVALID TO THOSE WHO DON’T CARE FOR IT.)

Oh, the time has come my friends! Now, I originally did a review on Batman V.S. Superman and I didn’t care for it, so I deleted it. But before I start, I would like y’all to read this statement made by @verified-villain-fxcker - You can click HERE to read it. As I stated in my repost, I couldn’t have said it better. May Autumn Snyder continue to rest in peace. Let’s get started!

It’s been so long since I’ve made a post I can’t even remember how I do this LOL.

CLARK is outta there to say the least...

WONDER WOMAN and LOIS look flabbergasted, as they should... BRUCE as well.

Talk about a shock-wave scream 

All jokes aside, the hate that LEX has towards SUPERMAN is just to much energy to be giving to another person..

THESE BITCHIES ARE READY

why are they letting a minority approach the fucking the cube?!?!

*insert travel montage scene here*

                      Part 1 - “Don’t count on it, Batman.”

BRUCE knows damn well he’s talking to AQUAMAN. Let’s move this shit along lol

“Oh Gotham? How’s that shit hole?” - AQUAMAN

Ik these bitchies aren’t singing rofl

I’d sniff anything wore by Jason Momoa too.

“Maybe a man who broods in a cave isn’t cut out to be a recruiter.” - ALFRED

TALK YO SHIT ALFRED!!!!

AMY ADAMS can literally take my heart, step on it, throw it in a river and I still wouldn’t be mad. 

Here comes the lovely WONDER WOMAN!

broooo her hands were moving like Donnie Yen in Ip Man!

Fucked that entire ceiling up

Ofc the one who tried to touch it would make the stupid statement. 

STEPPENWOLF is really wildin’ out

Don’t look back! I hate it when they look back!!

These are some strong as women!

                             PART 2 - “The Age of Heroes”

“It’s toxic, that’s good.” - STEPPENWOLF

I can only imagine that this is how toxic people think. 

this dude really just threw that lil demon fella like it was nothin’ lmao

You know you're working at a job for too long when you say this is the first time in a while that they're going home early smdh

Now that shit was pretty lit....

SILAS thinkin’ shit I better check on my son. 

“You know a lot about monsters, don’t you? Especially how to make them.” - CYBORG

If that isn’t teen angst, then I don’t know wtf is lmao

Seeing Gal in this tomb makes me want to re-watch Wonder Woman 1 all over again!

DARKSEID ol’ trifflin’ ass

plopped him down like he was dirty laundry

God bless Willem Dafoe, this man is a fuckin’ legend!

“This world is divided. They’re a primitive species. Unevolved and at war with one another. Too separate to be one.” - STEPPENWOLF

DeSaad kinda looks like Doctor Doom in the Fantasic Four reboot lmao

GREEN LATERNS!!!!!!!!!!!! OH SHIT!!!!!!!!

we really need a Green Lantern Corps moving...

ZEUS + ARES = A Dynamic Duo When They Aren’t Being Dicks To Each Other

You know I feel bad for man because all they did was bury that shit in the ground rofl

                  Part 3 - “Beloved Mother, Beloved Son”

BARRY + IRIS = Love at First Sight 

The burger can’t be that good like damn. 

Bro the detail on his fucking shoes and the glass!!

ROFL PLEASE TELL ME HE TOOK THE HOTDOG FOR HIS DOG!?!? 

damn did the car really need to explode...

lol BARRY must really need the job lol

... I would’ve just played dead after he threw me against that rock...

Man of Steel probably has one of the best soundtracks not just for a superhero movie but just in general

Americans love their football!

I have this love-hate relationship with CYBORG being in the JL and not with the TITANS you know since he’s a kid, but he’s a college student in this one. 

Thank God DIANA spoke with VICTOR instead of BRUCE because I honestly don’t think he would’ve gotten him on board.

Everyone can literally zigzag zoom across this planet at undeniable speed except for BATMAN lol

Come on, VIC, help the lady out.

You know honestly, BARRY has a pretty cool pad for someone who's trying to get by paying for a Criminal Justice Degree. 

“A very attractive Jewish boy. Who drinks milk, I don’t drink milk.” - BARRY

“Fuck the World.” - CYBORG

dang Ik DIANA has every right to grieve over STEVE, but damn that man has her whipped!

“You’re looking at the hottest thing on Earth. The exact same thing I said to my prom date. She dumped me anyway.” - RYAN CHOI

Why does MERA have an accent in this but not in AQUAMAN?? (ik the answer)

DAAAYYUUUMMMN MERA TURNED INTO A WHOLE BLOOD BENDER!

                               PART 4 - “Change Machine”

CYBORG just glided over silently

STEPPENWOLF + WONDER WOMAN = EPIC FIGHT SCENE

Seeing BARRY move like that to stop the debris and to ping DIANA’S sword really is amazing..

But he should not be screaming like that LOL

How do you not remember the planet that’s habitants almost killed you?? Because if that was me, I wouldn’t have forgotten that shit at all!

 Would've held a big ass grudge until I could go back. 

“I know we’re all thinking the same thing right now. Who’s gonna say it? I’m not gonna say it.” - BARRY

WOOOAAHHH J’ONN JONES?! (forgot about that)

 “There are six, not five. There is no us without him.” - BRUCE

Damn, no faith at all 

                         PART 5 - “ALL The King’s Horses”

ICONIC DIALOGUE

BARRY - “Wonder Woman. What do you think, man? You think she’d go for a younger guy?”

VICTOR - “She’s 5,000 years old, Barry. Every guy is a younger guy.”

I would’ve kept swippin’ that ID like a cashier at Wal-Mart swippin’ a debit card.

They're movin’ a little too slow for me. Ik they’ve never been on the ship before, but I would’ve been zoomin’ through that entire ship just to hurry and get the job done. 

NOT THE PREGNANCY TEST

Damn, they couldn’t have at least picked up the photo??

The foreshadowing was spectacular! It will always amaze me. 

I’m sure Allstate will cover that person’s car...

Just when LOIS was about to move on. 

CLARK grabbed DIANA like miss me with that Rafiki shit.

I would’ve come back to my senses too after looking at Amy Adams. 

AQUAMAN + THE FLASH = A CONUNDRUM

DR. SILAS takin’ one for the team

                              PART 6 - “Something Darker”

As crazy as radiation is, it’s quite an amazing spectacle.

I wish this Justice League movie could’ve held off until we got some other heroes such as the Green Lanterns, Hawkgirl, and many others. 

Our generation was truly blessed to have an incredible actor as SUPERMAN, and we are not putting him to use!

JONATHAN sounds like President Biden lol

Alright, team?! Break!

AQUAMAN is totally enjoying this fight. He rode that Parademon like a surfboard.

AQUAMAN + CYBORG + FLASH = *THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN*

I swear every scene that WONDER WOMAN enters into does not fail to include the “Ancient Lamentation Music”. 

VICTOR hurry up and say “one” god damnnit!!

SUPERMAN COLD!!!!

Somebody needs to put this fight on WorldStar

BARRY = HE’S A RUNNA HE’S A TRACK STAHHHHARRR!!!

THAT WAS FUCKING IMMACULATE

The Unity  = The Three Bitchies

I bet DARKSEID will remember that shit now

                        EPILOGUE - “A Father Twice Over”

VICTOR = A Final Requiem

LOL VULKO and MERA look stressed tf out!

“Uh, I have too much to live for. And more important things to do.” - LEX

A cocky motherfucker LMAO

Alright, we’re back in this type of dream sequence. 

“Who have you ever loved?” - MERA

Uh, bitch his parents, Robin tf?!

Thank you, JOKER, for stating the facts for Ms. Fish-stick

 Oh shit, they let LOIS die, goddamn it!

HARLEY’S DEAD TOO?!?!?!

BRUCE LOOK SICK AF!!!

Well, the dream is over once again...

I just don’t see how people can live with all those fuckin’ windows. 

“Oh, and some have called me The Martian Manhunter.” - J’ONN

Alright...

________

Yes, the movie was long but what needed to be expressed was. As we already the Snyder Cut wasn’t supposed to be seen because a father simply wanted to grieve the death of his child. I’ll once again reiterate what @verified-villain-fxcker you don't have to like the film but at least give it the benefit of the doubt from its predecessor. For me, I did enjoy watching his version, but let’s be honest what he who shall not be named did was just fucked up. 

[thecanadianowl]

Justice league Snydercut review

Wow talk about a long movie. Remember Mass Effect's 3 shit endings that were later improved (sorta) with DLCs. Well that is kinda how this movie is.

Before we start this, I just wanna say that I was very impartial throughout the whole snydercut movement. I wasn't part of it but I do see the good that they did in regards to some of their charities and with how the fandom itself has been painted in a negative light. So its good that they got what they have been demanding for quite some time. Snyder as director for me, I really am not the biggest fan of. His movies have some great cinematic moments that look amazing but the context around it is what muddles it for me.

Is it better than Whedon's JL? YES. To start I'll look at some of the things that I do like.

I do like how it was split into parts.  Gives it that miniseries/Comic book feel

Thank god they removed that stupid cringy flash landing on top of Diana's chest scene.

Darkseid looks good. I know some people have issues with it but I liked it. I mean looking at it first glance has me convinced its Darkseid. His voice isn't too bad either. Reminds me a bit of Injustice 2.

As much as I have issues with Darkseid being introduced so early I do like that he had a brief confrontation/glaredown with the League, foreshadowing a possible in person encounter and that the League needs to expand if they are going to fight against Darkseid.  

Steppenwolf's design has greatly improved and looks better than before.

Loved the scenes between Alfred and Diana.  Wish there was more of that.

I loved how the movie added Cyborg, Aquaman and Flash attempting to stop Superman from getting to Batman. I also liked how in this version,  Batman pleading to Clark's humanity telling him that world needs him and he needs to snap out of it.  Also bonus for taking out that scene of Batman on the ground groaning about how old he is getting.

Okay seeing Clark get the black suit and having the voiceovers of both his father's merge together works in terms of Clark's arc into becoming the person he was meant to be. Also like the use of Zimmerman's Ideal of Hope score wished they let it play out a little longer.  Probably my favourite moment in the film is where Superman just takes Steppenwolf's Axe like its nothing and freezes it.

Now to go into some of the more critical stuff that bugged me when watching.

For a movie that is 4 hours long, pacing issues were bound to happen. I think the first example of this can be found in the opening with the Superman scream wave (which started to get a bit hilarious when his screams could be heard every now and then) hitting all three mother boxes. they are shown individually reacting to it and it takes time, where it could have just showed them together or an compilation of each of the motherboxes waking up. I know it Snyder's thing but tone down on the slow mo. Like some instances its fine (like with bullet time or Flash's scenes) but other instances I'm just like alright I get it.

The scene involving Cyborg transferring money into that single mother's bank account. Is he gonna do this for all the people suffering just like her? or just for that one person? I mean if you can hack into the world monetary system, you can solve a lot of financial issues affecting  the majoirty and not just one person. Did I miss the scene but why did Cyborg go from helping one poor person, suggesting the potential good he can do to change the world for the better  to "Fuck the world". Seems a bit inconsistent in character. Especially since he knows who Diana is (from what he says)  and that Parademons are after the motherbox. Maybe her offering help, you should take it? idk Vic. Also the whole Auto defense system malfunction, would it not be better if this was established beforehand where we see Vic struggling to maintain his body's autonomy leading up to the Superman confrontation? Prior to that it seemed he had it under control and his biggest conflict throughout the movie seemed more to be with him coming to terms with his new body. With that being said, Cyborg's character here is much more interesting and better than it was originally. I can see why Ray Fisher is so pissed (well that and the abuse he faced).  I am glad this was improved and gave the character a lot more to do.

The movie still has the same issue as before in regards to the whole motherbox plot and how convenient it was that all three are located on earth. You would think that with the involvement of Darkseid/Steppenwolf that separating them to distinct locations across space would make it more difficult to collect them. I mean we know that the Green Lanterns exist (we saw one get chomped), you'd think that they or the guardians would take one and secure it on Oa. The pushback to this would be "well there was only one green lantern and he died, so how could they retrieve the box?" which begs my question, why send only one? I mean it has been established that Darkseid is a known conqueror of worlds, you'd think the Guardians would be smart enough to send more than one Lantern to aid Earth in their fight.  Did they not think it would be a good idea to have the corps be more involved/keep an eye on earth since it is the only planet that was able to repel Darkseid's forces?

Why is it that the best idea of security when it comes to humans is to bury it? Would it not be better in optics to look over it and know its location instead of dropping it somewhere on the off chance that someone might find it due to being  curious or the land changing/altering  making the box more easy to attain? A situation as dire/serious as this, you would think that the Amazons/Atlanteans would have been better prepped with armor/weapons for such an event. I mean you have the arrow of Artemis that shoots quite a distance to give Diana a message but not some kind of weapon that hurts/cripples Steppenwolf? Or better yet, how about the moment that the boxes started acting up after Superman's death, that Atlantis/Themiscarya would put aside any differences they had with one another and to the outside world to come together to secure the boxes?  How could Darkseid forget the name of the only planet that was able to force him to retreat? nor does he know that it harbors the anti life?

Did this movie break Aquaman's continuity? because from the dialogue between Mera and Arthur, its implied that Atlanna abandoned/left Arthur at Tom's doorsteps whereas in the movie,  we see Atlanna spend a couple of years with Tom and raising baby Arthur before she was forced to come back. You'd think Zack being a producer for the Aquaman  movie would have edited that line or made it more clear. Well that or James Wan F'ed up when making the movie.

"I've never seen a being as strong as Steppenwolf" Did Diana just forget Ares aka the god of war who killed the Greek Pantheon/Old gods and orchestrated the first World War? Hell from the looks of the flashback it seemed Ares (I'm assuming its Ares, if its Hades, my bad) was getting some good hits in on Darkseid, who is superior to Steppenwolf.  While we are on the topic of Diana, it's a bit odd that Snyder who  was a producer on WW84 where one of the biggest focuses on the movie that Patty Jenkins talked about was how Diana doesn't solve her problems with violence (even though her primary weapons in this movie are a sword and shield but okay. Then again New 52 hasn't done a good job in disproving that), yet in this movie we see her using her gauntlet smash to fucking kill the one remaining terorrist. Like sure you can argue that they were terrorists and deserve to die, but given how easy and quick it was for her to take out the previous guys, why do something that runs the risks of destroying the very building that you are in (with hostages). I mean from the look of the blast and how much debris fell from the building outside, and it was a miracle no one (but the terrorist) got hurt/killed.

Why did Steppenwolf  kidnap  them in the first place? Just use that mind extracting device you used on the Atlantean soldier to see if they know. Seems like a waste of time to collect them in one location only to interrogate them later.

Okay, I'm sorry but even in this cut I still don't like Miller's Barry Allen. He isn't as bad as he was in the theatrical cut but man does it stick out. When he is helping to escort the kidnapped civilians out, why doesn't he just grab them and transfer them to a safe distance? He even makes a comment about how slow they are going. Can I also just say how weird it is for Barry to take time saving Iris to caress her hair and look at her more creepily in slow mo? Like yeah its in slow mo but still I think your priority should be to get everyone to safety as quick as possible and check if anyone else could get hurt.  I will admit that Barry's speech as he is running so fast to reverse time at the end was really good. Tho the more I think about all the slow mo Flash scenes are good.

They still kept the "Let's use the mother box to bring back Superman plot". Why? This is a piece of tech that you don't fully understand how it works and you are going on the whims of someone you just met. Especially if they come back as a different person/mindset all together.  If Superman 's death was the reason that allowed for the Mother box to call to Steppenwolf/Darkseid, what the hell were they doing prior to Superman's arrival on earth? I mean we've seen how easy it was for Steppenwolf to attain the two boxes even if they were guarded, so why the wait ?. I get that Batman is going through an arc and trying to change from the person he was but how does go from "1% chance of absolute certainty" to "let's go on a whim and have faith" when it comes to resurrecting Superman? 

Its gonna be awkward as to how Clark will explain his sudden return from the grave around the same time Superman came back.

I was wondering when the Knightmare scene will play out. Jared leto's Joker isn't over with me, it seems way too try-hard to be edgy. Other than that yeah, not much I can say about it. Tho do we seriously need another iteration where Superman (or someone with Superman like powers) is evil?

I also love how nonchalant Bruce is about J'onn appearing in front him. However the revelation that J'onn was that army general all the time breaks so much of continuity (and just why now did you decide to show up and help and not idk the time Zod invaded and nearly  terraformed earth, HELL WHY TF DIDN'T SHOW UP TO HELP THE LEAGUE IF YOU KNEW ABOUT DARKSEID, I'M SORRY TO RAG ON BUT REALLY THIS CAMEO JUST OPENS UP SO MANY QUESTIONS, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE AN "PALPATINE WAS BEHIND THIS ALL ALONG" KIND OF THING ).

In terms of getting a sequel, I am not sure if WB is going to go through with it given that their current vision seems to be a different route than the one Snyder intended so who knows. Despite my criticisms I do believe this is Snyder's best DCEU film to date and probably one of his better films. You could tell that he put in a lot to make this. The movie itself does have issues mostly due to the plot surrounding the motherbox as well as pacing. I would say it's worth the watch at least once, though I think its best to watch it in doses rather than one sitting. Ultimately this is the version that we should have gotten and I can see why so many people who were supportive of Zack wanted or vouched for him to finish it. Regardless, I think the very least I am happy for Snyder. If you like Snyder's previous stuff, you will like this one, if you don't, your perception of the film won't change significantly other than some cool bits here and there.  

[areusittingcomfortably]

Their Tragic Sense of Life

Part 7

[All because I needed to explain how this happened!]

Over the years, Rios had come up with all kinds of creative ways to stay fit on La Sirena. He didn’t have enough holos for 5 aside soccer, although the ENH was always game for a kick about, even if it wasn’t in his programming and he sucked. One time he got so desperate for a bit of competition he invited the EHH to join in. Given that it was part of his programming, he turned out to be quite good, which only made Rios loathe him even more.

More often than not, Emmet was his go-to fitness buddy. He always kept Rios on his toes and gave him a good workout. The holo’s tactical and security programming meant he was skilled in all kinds of combat, so Cris had been learning a number of different fighting styles. Currently they were sparring with the double-ended spears once used by the Tekret Militia. Wooden shafts and Tritanium tips. Old school.

A comms window flickered open in front of him, and Raffi’s face appeared. He’d only just returned to La Sirena after catching up with her yesterday, and would have been on his way already if the ENH hadn’t been trying to figure out some kind of problem with the navigation sensors.

“Hey!” he yelled, ducking as Emmet thrust at him. “Did I leave something at your place?”

“What the hell are you doing?” Raffi asked.

“Training for the Tekret Militia.” he shouted, not taking his eyes off Emmet, deftly parrying the latter’s blow.

“Why?… Oh, nevermind. Put some damned clothes on.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m sending a client your way. He’ll be there any moment. Your EHH said you were ready.”

Oh, did he now? Funny he didn’t mention that. Maybe it had something to do with Rios deactivating the bugger twice that day.

“What’s the job?” he lunged sideways, trying to catch Emmet off guard, but he leapt out of the way.

“I’m gonna let him explain that.”

“Where to?” dodging another thrust from Emmet.

“He doesn’t know, yet. I’m working on it.”

He finally managed to get a decent thrust in, but Emmet twisted and parried it efficiently.

“Who? Who’s the client?”

Raffi hesitated, “Picard.”

Stunned, Rios spun to face her, dropping his spear in surprise. “Wha…?”

“Que chucha?! he swore, as Emmet failed to pull out of his lunge in time and the tip of his spear went deep into Rios’s shoulder, knocking him to his knees with the sheer force of it.

“Lo siento, lo siento.” Emmet apologised, grimacing. He yanked on the spear, trying to pull it out and only succeeding in breaking off the shaft, leaving the tip embedded in the Captain’s shoulder.

“What is the nature of your… oh!” exclaimed the EMH, with a look of horror.

“Cris? What the…?” cried Raffi.

Rios unleashed a torrent of furious curses in Spanish, clearly in a lot of pain. “I’ll call you back,” he gritted out, “did you really say Picard?”

“Yes. For fuck’s sake, Emmet!” she glared at the ETSH. “And you,” she said looking at the EMH, “sort him out. Don’t you dare de-activ…” but Rios was in too much pain to continue the conversation and had closed the comms.

Fuck, it hurt. “Hijo de puta!” he growled at Emmet, who recognised his cue to disappear.

“Get the medical kit.” Rios snapped.

“Yes, sir.” The EMH took off without delay.

Puta la wea! The pain was so intense he felt like he was about to pass out. He staggered to his feet and moved towards the pilot’s chair, trying to clear his head.

Picard. Did he really hear that right? Raffi was sending him Picard? There wasn’t a Starfleet officer alive that hadn’t dreamt of meeting Admiral Picard. Or dead, he thought grimly.

From what he knew from Raffi, though, perhaps their admiration was misplaced.

Still, it might have been nice to have been fully dressed.

He’d get the EMH to pull the blade out and pull some clothes on. They could use the dermal regenerator later, and if it scarred, well, it was only another one. He wasn’t sure what was pissing him off more, the pain in his shoulder, or the thought of meeting Admiral Picard in this state.

He’d barely made it into his chair when Picard and the EMH arrived.

Mierda. Mierda. Mierda. Concha la wea!

Hold it together, Rios, play it cool.

*****

Picard’s visit left him shaken. He thought he’d just about got his defences up in time, but the Admiral had seen through them almost immediately. He liked him, but he was uneasy about the mission. He tried to settle himself by reading, but his shoulder still hurt like hell, and then the damned ENH got in his head. “On the side of the angels.” Por la mierda! He deactivated it and called up the EMH to fix up his shoulder while he called Raffi.

“Hey.”

“Hey you. I was getting worried.” she noted with satisfaction that the EMH was tending to his shoulder. “D’you see him?”

“Yup.”

“That’s it?”

Rios made an indeterminate gesture. “I dunno, Raffi. Something feels off. Why’d you send him my way, anyway? You hoping I can drag something out of him about your big conspiracy?”

“No. Maybe. Where else am I gonna send him? You think I’d trust anyone else? What did he offer?”

“Enough to consider it. If I was sure about what ‘it’ is. You buying this stuff about the synth and her twin?”

“You’re not?”

“I don’t know Raffi. I don’t know him. You do. That’s why I’m asking.” The EMH finished healing his shoulder, and Rios gave him the briefest of nods, about as high a praise as the holo could hope for, before Rios deactivated it.

“Yeah, I do. To show up after all these years… of nothing. It means something. It’s all connected. I don’t know how, but it is.”

“And this twin – you think she’s still alive?”

“I dunno. If the Tal Shiar are after her, maybe not.”

“You coming with us?”

“No.” Raffi shook her head emphatically. “Hell no. Me and JL? We’re through.”

Rios looked at her shrewdly. For all that she claimed to be through with Picard, she also seemed concerned for his safety. “You think I should take the job?” he pressed.

“Yeah. If he pays enough.”

“But you’re definitely not coming?”

“Nope.”

“Two strips of latinum says you change your mind.”

“Two strips of latinum on there being a twin, but her being dead before Picard can find her.”

“Deal.”

*****

When Raffi asked to be beamed up, he wasn’t surprised. “Pay up!” he grinned.

“I’m not coming.”

“Sure, you aren’t.”

“I mean it. I just… wanna hitch a ride to where we’re going.”

“Any idea where that is?”

“Freecloud. And I don’t wanna talk about it.”

He didn’t press it.

Just as he’d never fully explained what happened on the ibn Majid, he knew Raffi still had a few things that haunted her, beyond what happened with the Federation and the Romulans. He’d done a little research and had his suspicions, but he said nothing. If she wanted to talk about it, she’d do so in her own time.

“It’s his mission, though,” he reminded her, “his say for the duration. You coming as my crew, or gonna ask him if you can hitch a ride?”

Raffi hadn’t though about that. “What would you do if he said no?”

“You think he will?”

“No. You’d still take me, though, right?”

“Only if you take over from the Holo Housekeeper and make everyone’s beds and sweep the floors.” he joked.

“Damn, I forgot you even had one of those.”

“Well, that’s rather the point, isn’t it? Programmed to operate in the background and never be seen. I’ve been trying to catch a glimpse of it for years, but it’s never more than flicker in the corner of my eye.”

“Couldn’t you just summon it?”

“Where’s the fun in that? What accent did you give it, by the way?”

Raffi screwed up her nose, trying to think back that far. “French, I think.”

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