#Share a Lair 08 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kudosmyhero · 1 year ago

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The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #53: Enter: Dr. Octopus!

Read Date: January 08, 2022 Cover Date: October 1967 ● Writer: Stan Lee ● Penciler: John Romita ● Inker: Mike Eposito ● Colorist: {uncredited} ● Letterer: Artie Simek ● Editor: Stan Lee ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● starting off with JJJ shouting. Good to see he's recovered from his misadventures last issue ● Flash is a simp for Spider-Man and I'm here for it ● (pg 4) Peter changing into civvies and hoping not to get caught. Professor Warren walks into the gym in time to see Parker climbing the rope

● Professor Warren invites Peter and a guest to a science expo. Pete invites Gwen. ● (Pete is finally becoming much kinder than he used to be. Was that Steve Ditko's misanthropy coming through? Was he a misanthrope?) ● Harry annoyed by Pete's comings and goings ● oh boy, Pete and Flash butting heads again ● (pg 6) there's a missile "nullifier" at the expo ● Peter Tingles are happening and Gwen notices the change in her date's demeanor ● that machine is quite… magenta ● (pg 7) Doc Ock has entered the chat ● (pg 8) those tentacles spinning at speed would be terrifying and deadly ● Spidey's here! ● I want cloaks to make a comeback

● (pg 12) "If I drop it--dozens will be crushed!" - the nullifier ain't that big, though… ● Spidey plants a tracer on Doc Ock then goes after the nullifier before it can fall on someone ● (pg 15) Doctor Octopus makes it back to his lab, still blinded by web fluid. The web fluid dissolves and he notices the tracer. ● Spider-Man changes back to Peter at the expo and rejoins Warren and Gwen ● Gwen is delighted to see him, which is a nice change. Last time they were somewhere where danger happened and Peter disappeared, she called him an unmitigated coward for running away. …Or was that Liz Allen? I can't remember for sure now. ● The Coffee Bean is a new hangout, and I gotta share this sign!

● Flash, Harry, and M.J. are here. I'm beginning to love this little friend group and it makes me sad to think about what is in some of their futures. ● omg Aunt May and Mrs. Watson are here, too! They tell Peter that they just placed an ad for a boarder for Anna Watson's extra room. ● (M.J.'s black, purple, and orange top is super cute!) ● Peter uses the excuse of walking the older women out to slip the group and get back to his Doctor Octopus debacle ● In Doc Ock's lair, he created a replica of himself in front of the control panel. I'm guessing he's going to lie in wait for Spider-Man to arrive. ● (pg 18) Spidey Sense warns him of a trap ● (pg 19) ka-BLOOM! ● See? Cloaks are cool. They add an aire of mystery. ● Preview of next issue: Doc Ock answering Aunt May and Mrs. Watson's ad for a boarder ● 👏👏👏

Synopsis: Spider-Man reads the latest front page story of the Daily Bugle while hanging out front of the building. He's not surprised to see that Jameson has painted himself the hero and Spider-Man a menace following the death of Frederick Foswell at the hands of the Kingpin. Noticing Spider-Man is hanging outside his office window, Jameson shouts at the hero for distracting his employees. The wall-crawler responds by mocking Jonah's newspaper and tossing his copy into the irate publisher's face. Realizing that he is running late for classes, Spider-Man rushes to Empire State University. His arrival is spotted by Gwen Stacy and Flash Thompson, the latter is excited to see his long time hero. They are soon joined by Harry Osborn, who asks them if they have seen Peter Parker recently, as he is fed up of his roommate is never around to take his messages. As Harry grumbles about being Peter's personal secretary, Spider-Man slips into the empty gymnasium to change back into his civilian identity. He is almost caught in the act by Professor Miles Warren. To cover up his presence in the gym, Peter quickly scales up one of the ropes while he tucks the rest of his costume away under his clothing. Climbing down to meet Warren, he learns that his professor wishes to invite Peter and a friend to check out the latest science exposition. Peter accepts the offer and tells Miles that he will gladly go.

Outside of the gym, Peter runs into Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn. Harry snubs Peter and Gwen explains that Harry is upset with Peter's constant comings and goings. When Peter asks if Gwen wants to go to the science expo, she happily accepts. After class, the pair go to meet with Professor Warren, when they bump into Harry and Flash. Flash takes issue with a "civilian" like Peter Parker taking Gwen out for the evening, and this leads to a heated exchange between the two before Gwen breaks it up. Soon, they are on their way with Professor Warren to the exposition. On the way, they talk about the military's new missile "nullifier" device which will be on display. When they arrive, they discover that security is tight in order to prevent the nullifier from getting into the wrong hands. Peter soon becomes distracted when his spider-sense begins going off, warning him that there is danger present, but he can't figure out where it is coming from.

Later during the demonstration of the nullifier's powers, Peter discovers the danger when Doctor Octopus reveals himself as being one of the spectators in the crowd. Making his presence known, Doc Ock then fights his way through security to get possession of the nullifier. As people flee in panic, Peter manages to slip away so he can change into Spider-Man. Meanwhile, the military police on site try to incapacitate Doctor Octopus with tear gas, but the villain begins whipping his mechanical arms around with enough force to blow the gas back in the faces of the soldiers. That's when Spider-Man arrives on the scene to try and stop Octopus. The villain then attempts to flee out the side of the building, but Spider-Man follows suit. On the roof, Spider-Man sprays webbing onto Doc's goggles, temporarily blinding him. In order to stop Spider-Man, Octavius threatens to drop the nullifier onto the crowd below. Realizing he will have to let his enemy go, Spider-Man tags Otto with a Spider-Tracer before leaping down to stop the falling nullifier from landing on anyone. As expected, Doctor Octopus makes his getaway.

As the villain flees, he recounts his last battle with Spider-Man where they both found themselves trapped in an undersea hideout that was rapidly flooding with water. With Spider-Man pinned under tons of rubble, Doctor Octopus managed to escape by using his mechanical arms to keep him above water until he was able to procure diving gear and swim the rest of the way to freedom without drowning. Back at his new hideout, Otto discovers the Spider-Tracer and decides to set a suitable trap for his foe. Back at the exposition, Peter has changed out of his costume and rejoins Gwen and Professor Warren. He tells them that he was trying to find a camera to take photos of the situation for the Daily Bugle and is surprised when Gwen hugs him upon seeing that he is okay. Later, Professor Warren drops Peter and Gwen at the Coffee Bean to meet with the others. As Gwen exchanges pleasantries with Flash, and Mary Jane, Peter wonders why Harry is scowling at him. Before he can find out, Aunt May and Anna Watson arrive to tell Peter that they will be renting out a room so they can make extra money. Peter thinks it is a great idea, but warns his aunt to be careful about who she rents it out to. Peter decides to use this as an opportunity to track down Oct Ock, and tells his friends that he is going to walk his Aunt and Anna back home.

By this time, Doctor Octopus has rigged up a dummy of himself to lure Spider-Man into a trap. Sure enough, when the web-slinger tracks his Spider-Tracer to the Doctor's hideout he is lured right to the location of the trap. However, Spidey's spider-sense warns him of trouble, and suspecting a trap, he tosses a web ball at the dummy of Doctor Octopus, setting off the explosives that it was rigged with. Watching the building explode from his hideout, Doctor Octopus assumes that Spider-Man has been destroyed. Needing to lay low, Doctor Octopus fades into the night to search for a place of lodging, unaware that Spider-Man is still alive. Meanwhile, the wall-crawler vows to track down Doctor Octopus no matter what, unaware that his foe is just now meeting with his Aunt May in order to rent out the room that she put out an advertisement for.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_53)

Fan Art: SpiderMan Vs Dr. Octopus 2 by JoeGrafix

Accompanying Podcast: ● Swinging Through Spider-Man - episode 53

● Let's Read Spider-Man - episode 33

#marvel #my marvel read #spider-man #podcast - let's read spider-man #podcast - swinging through spider-man #fan art #doctor octopus #comics #comic books #podcast recommendation #marvel comics

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curtismacpherson · 3 months ago

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rubbiesmith · 3 months ago

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blackfemmecharacterdependency · 4 years ago

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Share a Lair 08 || Share Our Talents

The two of them had been at each other’s necks all day, a little more than usual. On the one hand, Max generally seemed to be playing around with Henry or at the very least, unaware of how much he was bothering him. But, he definitely had to be purposely upsetting him today. Charlotte… didn’t want to get involved. In general, she was a peacemaker, and specifically, she was their peacemaker. But… This was supposed to be a fun weekend!

She had been having a blast with Oyster, who wanted her to try to do his hair like hers. “Your hair isn’t the right texture for this style.”

“Can you do it to Angus?” He wondered. Angus’ afro was 3c, maybe 4a, so close enough to her curl pattern where she might.

“What makes you think that Angus wants this hairstyle, Oyster?” Charlotte asked.

“I’ll take it,” Angus said, laughing. Charlotte then proceeded to make rows of braids on the sides of Angus’ head, pulling up into a fro hawk, as he played videogames.

On the other side of the room, Henry glared at Max and Ray came up with a plan, “Look at that! Look at that!” He said.

“What?” Henry and Jasper wondered.

“Charlotte and the puffy haired kid. They’re hitting it off, right?” He asked. “What if… he asked her out on a date?”

“She’d say no,” Henry said, at the same time Jasper said, “He’d get embarrassed in front of his friends.”

Ray rolled his eyes and said, “You kids no nothing. I’ve gotten rid of a TON of women by just pushing them off on somebody else and I’m sure that I can get Charlotte off of that kid you hate, the same way.”

“Charlotte’s NOTHING like anybody that you’d date,” Henry tried to point out to him.

Meanwhile Jasper said, “You can’t outsmart Charlotte, Dude.”

But Ray was on his way. He flopped down next to the two and made Charlotte mess up her current braid. She scoffed and looked at him. “So… This is cute,” he said and pointed between the two. Angus glanced at him, confused. “You two look… mighty cute together. Anything in common?”

“Max,” Angus said. This was Max’s girlfriend, as far as he could tell.

“Oh, that guy, yeah. I don’t see how either of you are friends with him, if I’m being honest, but you’re JUST friends, right Charlotte?” Ray asked. She laughed nervously while Angus got distracted from the game to look up at her reaction, messing up the same braid again.

“Yeah, yeah, we are,” She said, then told Angus, “Eyes front, Bro. I’m almost done.”Angus returned to the game, but Max had just won the match. He groaned, but this wasn’t Max’s girlfriend? That was… interesting… But, she definitely wouldn’t be interested in him though. She seemed really smart and stuff. He was some artsy dude who embarrassingly had once referred to himself as a living Drake song.

“Well, I think that you would be adorable together,” Ray said.

“You don’t know anything about this guy,” Charlotte told him.

“I know that he’s beautiful. His voice is very soothing. His hair is nice and full. He’s great at video games. He has fashion sense, I think… for your generation, I guess. You like fashion and video games, too.”

“I’m a musician!” Angus said, more to Charlotte than Ray.

“Charlotte LOVES music!” Ray said, giving him a playful punch in the arm. Charlotte squinted her eyes at Ray. What was he up to? “You know, she was in a band once?”

“I was too, with Max,” Angus said. “Now, I have my own. I make tracks, they’re kinda rock, kinda rap, but not like that metal rap stuff from your day. Good, honest rap and good honest rock. It’s a vibe, really.”

“My day?”Ray repeated. “I’m not that old…”

“So, there’s like an age gap between you and your partner?” Angus wondered.

“My partner?”

“He thinks you and Schwoz are together,” Charlotte presumed and clarified.

“WHAT?” Ray said and now, he was done speaking to this guy. He returned to Henry and Jasper and told them, “Not gonna work. Kid’s a complete moron.”

“You sure about that Mr. Schwartz?” Henry asked, laughing. But, they heard Angus ask Charlotte, “So… You’re… really single?”

She laughed and looked at him, “I don’t know how anybody finds the time not to be, to be honest. I’m single by choice. I have no idea why he’s trying to play matchmaker. He’s not good at it. He’s not good at most things…”

Angus got eliminated and sighed. Two losses for him, then. “Well, yeah… I can’t imagine what somebody like you would see in me,” he said.

She furrowed her eyebrows and said, “All done! We oughtta take selfies.”

Max was watching the whole time. He couldn’t hear the conversation, but he felt territorial, nonetheless. Technically, he knew that he probably shouldn’t be. Charlotte was very independent and wasn’t officially his, and even if she was, she was the type to value her freedom and love someone who could trust her to be around anybody else. But, not everybody else knew her like he did. He had paid a lot of attention and learned a lot of information. While Angus might be hitting it off with her or was happening right now, he had no idea that their little whatever was happening right now, he had no idea that their little superficial brief connection was cutting into Charlotte’s lunch time.

Soon, her blood sugar would be low, she’d be cranky and ready to snap at people, then be mad that she had to fix something to eat/that she had let herself get hangry.

Max left them to their laughter and such and went to fix her a sandwich, some fries, put a few cookies on the plate, and make some tea. He set everything down and went outside to grab some flowers, just to accent the tray. Whenever he got back inside, she was getting up from the couch with her grouchy face on…"Char!“ He called.

She looked up, and he could tell that she was about to brush him off because she needed to get something to eat, so he spoke quickly as he handed her the tray, “Made you lunch. I know that you’re approaching hangry hours.” She stared at the tray for a moment as he announced, “Grilled gouda BLT with arugula and spinach and honey mustard, fries, lemon white chocolate cookies and a chai latte… Your… brunch order, right? Whenever you call The Deli Royale? I just… hacked into their system for the recipe so I could make it for you at home for a fraction of the price… free to you!”

She looked up at him, and he could see in her eyes that he had won. She stepped closer and smiled, picking up a fry. “Wanna share?” she asked.

“Not really hungry, but might grab a few fries.” They sat at the island and chatted while she ate and touched him casually, numerous times. They were sitting close, knees touching and he leaned in to tell her stuff the entire lunch.

“So… Are you on truce with Henry right now?” She asked. “You two sure seemed out for blood earlier.”

He shrugged his shoulders, “He was out for my blood. I basically was just plucking him in the forehead. You know that if I ever actually wanted to come up against Henry, he’d be destroyed.”

“I appreciate you holding back for him,” she said with a little smile.

“I don’t do it for him.”

“You know, you’ve said that before to me, but you never expound. You do it, why? For the sake of being a hero? Because you’re bigger than that or something?” She wondered as she took a sip of her drink.

“I do it for you,” he said, as plainly as one might say ‘hello.’ She choked on her latte and he winced. She laughed at herself by the time she stopped choking and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to catch you off guard,” he said, blushing. “You all set to destroy these guys?” He asked.

“Yep!” She was about to take her dishes away, but he grabbed the tray from her, kissed her on the temple of her head, which she leaned deeper into, and he smiled against her skin and went to put the dishes away. Charlotte slowly slid off of the stool to go back to the others, unable to stop smiling about what had just happened. That was… not platonic, right? That was definitely not her imagination. Max had made her lunch, told her that she mattered and kissed her on the face. Sure, friends did stuff like that, but… This didn’t feel like that.

“Where’d you vanish to?” Oyster wondered when she showed up again.

“I was right there, at the island, having lunch,” she said and pointed to it. Max laughed from the kitchen… which was open to the living room. “Or, are you messing with me, Oyster. Because, I honestly can never tell if you’re actually confused or pulling my chain.”

“I actually have never joked about anything, ever in my life. I’m a very serious person,” he said. Charlotte sat down in between Oyster and Angus as Angus played against Henry. Max came to the couch and Oyster and Charlotte slid over so that he could be in between her and Angus.

Whenever Henry and Max played against each other, they were bickering again. Charlotte laughingly watched them, but the more that they played against each other, the uglier it got. “I mean, maybe I won’t beat you in this game, but I definitely think that there’s something that I have to be able to beat you at.”

“Whenever you think you’ve figured out what that is, let me know and I’ll be happy to prove you wrong,” Max retorted and stuck his tongue out.

“Invoking Best Friend Privilege for Charlotte to tell me Max’s weaknesses!” Henry declared, on the verge of losing the match.

Charlotte’s legs were draped across Max’s lap as she listed off on her fingers, “Well, I know for sure that you can’t defeat him in anything academically especially not math or science related, he’s a former tennis champ, master of pranks (Henry scoffed, but he knew that it was probably true. Max was smart. Smart goes a long way with pranks), his Hero Tracks shows that he’s got more hero credentials than you, he’s whupping you in video games…”

“I asked for weaknesses, not to add insult to injury while he decimates me!” Henry fussed at her.

“SORRY! I’m doing the process of elimination out loud!” She fussed right back. “For instance, we know that he can cook AND ALSO bake, he plays guitar, is good with animals and babies… OH! Can you draw?” She wondered. “Henry is pretty artistic. Remember that time you carved that pumpkin to look like Ray?” She asked Henry, excitedly hoping that she was helping, because Max had just beat Henry and Henry had fallen back onto the couch in exhausted defeat.

“I can draw. Remind me to show you some of my gadget designs and portraits,” Max said, coolly, then asked Henry, “Can I get you some ice, Hen?” He smiled as Henry slammed the controller into Schwoz’s hands.

“He’s not good at writing,” Oyster said. “Remember those songs you used to try to write?”

Max narrowed his eyes at him, but just as well, because Charlotte shook her head and said, “Henry sucks at writing. Jasper’s the writer of our group.”

Max’s head turned quickly towards her and he pointed a pinky at Jasper and asked, “That Jasper?”

“He’s the only one I know,” she said, defensively. Jasper lowkey worshiped Max. There was no need for him to start being ugly to him. “He could’ve helped you write a song, Mr. Extra Toe.” Max chuckled and handed off his controller to Wolfgang. Charlotte tilted her head, trying to think. “Oh! He’s good with flowers!” She cheered, excitedly.

“Once brought a plant back from the dead,” Max bragged.

“It became a room sized monster,” Nora reminded him.

“So, I made it EXTRA alive!” Max said. His sister rolled her eyes.

“I need to know that story,” Charlotte said. Max moved his mouth to begin, but she cut him off. “Not now, though. Jasper… I’m invoking Best Friend Privilege for you to remind me of Henry’s strengths as his best friend and soulmate.”

Henry frowned. He couldn’t BELIEVE that it was this hard for Charlotte to tell him something that he could be better than Max at. But, Jasper was READY to be tagged in. He yelled, “Dance Battle!”

Henry’s ears perked up, but when Max smirked, his shoulders sank. “Are you a dance champion too?”

“I mean… not a champion, but if you’ve seen me fight, you should know that I’m very fluid and agile… also I’ve danced for many years.”

“Didn’t you have a dance battle at a school dance one time?” Nora asked.

“Sure did. Dude got served. Then, I swerved on the girl that I battled for.”

Charlotte sat up more erect and asked, “It was for a girl?”

“Mostly for my pride. After she chose me, I realized it was really pitiful that I was willing to put all those moves into getting her to like me.” She nodded, but she looked bothered. “You… okay?” He asked.

“Sure.” She laughed. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Then, after Jasper yelling out random things, Charlotte finally said, “Brotherhood!” Max furrowed his eyebrows. “No offense, but whenever we met you, you sold your sister out and while that may have changed by now, your siblings are here way less than Piper is and Henry NEVER would have done anything to ever hurt, harm or shame Piper, all the years of her life, so… I’ll say that. And, it’s gonna have to be enough for Hen, because I have racked my brain.”

“Max has DEFINITELY done a lot of crappy things as a brother,” Nora said, nodding her head. She and Billy began to list off some stuff while Henry gave Charlotte a high five.

Max smiled and said, “Well, at least there’s that, Henry Hart.” Then, he began a slow applause that made Henry feel less excited about the small victory.

Charlotte placed a hand on Max’s and stopped him, giving him a look and mouthed the words, “For me?” Her eyes did the questioning. Would he stop bothering Henry right now , for her? He immediately stopped taunting Henry and intertwined his fingers with Charlotte’s.

“Anything,” he whispered.

#Share a Lair #Henry Danger #The Thundermans #crossover #crossover fanfic #Nesha Crossover #Thundanger #Thunderbolt #Share a Lair Repost #Nesha HD Fanfic #fanfiction #Share a Lair 08

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sakuraiss · 3 years ago

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Part of Final Lair - Killian Donnelly, Lucy St Louis, Ashley Stillburn

( Phantom of the Opera 29/08/2021)

Ashley Stillburn as u/s Raoul.

-Please do not share this audio outside of Tumblr-

#Lucy St Louis #Killian Donnelly #Ashley Stillburn #Posting this bc Ashely really made this song more prefect #He is so amazing #The Phantom of the Opera #phantom of the opera #audio #poto

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viewtifu1backlog · 4 years ago

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2020 Backlog Progress in Retrospect

2020 was the year of finally finishing the backlog. The final game ended up being Disco Elysium back on July 1st but in the months since I’ve built up a list again. Going forward I’m hoping to keep the backlog at 10 games or less since I’ve found I do like having a wider list of games to choose from after finishing something. After finishing over 100 games in 2020 there were a ton of classics that I finished for the first time, so many so that making a top 20 list was very difficult. I’ve always made this end of year breakdowns for my own archives but I thought it would be fun to share it this year alongside the full list of what I finished!

Top 20 of 2020 First Time Finished

1 Sakura Wars (Sega Saturn) 2 Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast) 3 Dragon Quest XI S (Switch) 4 Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune & the Dice of Fate (Switch) 5 Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (PC) 6 Red Dead Redemption 2 (PC) 7 Mega Man Legends 2 (PS1) 8 Shining Force II (Genesis) 9 Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U) 10 Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) 11 Sea of Thieves (PC) 12 Phantasy Star IV (Genesis) 13 Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (Switch) 14 Shenmue (Dreamcast) 15 Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (DS) 16 killer7 (PC) 17 Moon: Remix RPG Adventure (Switch) 18 Maniac Mansion (PC) 19 ZeroRanger (PC) 20 VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action (PC)

Favorite game of 2020: Sakura Wars

When I was looking back at this year, the game that stuck the most with me was easily the original Sakura Wars for the Sega Saturn. Back in December of 2019 the english patch released online and I was so excited to finally be able to play the first entry in one of Sega’s biggest franchises for the first time. I had yet to play any games in the series beyond just fumbling around an import copy of various games on Saturn and Dreamcast and I was glad to be able to experience it with such a well-made fan patch. It’s a very simple strategy game mixed in with lite RPG and Dating mechanics but there’s such a great charm to how well everything mixes together. The way they mix in the animated cutscenes throughout each chapter make it feel like you’re playing a classic mid 90′s anime and it was just a nice cozy experience the whole way. I managed to play through it twice this year and tinkered around with later entrees in the series but I’m hopeful that the sequel will get picked up as a fan translation project soon, otherwise I’ll probably be going through those games the old fashioned way with a printed out GameFAQS guide at my side.

Date breakdown of everything new or finished in the backlog this year:

12-13-20 Started: Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer (Switch)

12-12-20 Beat: Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate (Switch)

12-06-20 New: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Switch)

12-05-20 New: Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate (Switch)

12-02-20 Beat: Super Mario Sunshine (Switch)

11-30-20 Beat: Dragon Quest Builders (Switch)

11-27-20 New: Steins;Gate (PC)

11-26-20 Beat: Shantae and the Seven Sirens (Switch)

11-25-20 Started: Shantae and the Seven Sirens (Switch) Beat: Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (Switch)

11-21-20 New: Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer (Switch) New: Vitamin Connection (Switch) New: Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch) Beat: killer7 (PC)

11-18-20 Beat: Metal Slug 6 (ARC)

11-14-20 Started: Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (Switch)

11-13-20 Beat: ESP Ra.De. Psi (Switch)

11-12-20 New: Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (Switch) New: ESP Ra.De. Psi (Switch)

11-11-20 Completed: No More Heroes (Switch)

11-08-20 New (Null): Cave Story 3D (3DS)

11-07-20 Completed: Gate of Thunder (TGCD)

11-06-20 New (Null): No More Heroes (Switch) Beat: No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Switch)

11-01-20 Beat: Danmaku Unlimited 2 (PC) Beat: Triggerheart Exelica (DC) Completed: Gradius II (NES)

10-28-20 Completed: Costume Quest (PC) New (Null): No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Switch)

10-25-20 Started: Murder By Numbers (Switch) Beat: Blue Wish Resurrection (PC) New: Blue Wish Resurrection (PC)

10-22-20 Beat: A Hat in Time (PC) New: A Hat in Time (PC)

10-17-20 Beat: Thunder Force AC (Switch)

10-16-20 New: Thunder Force AC (Switch)

10-14-20 New (Null): Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest 3: Daikaizoku to Shippo Dan (3DS)

10-13-20 New: Shantae and the Seven Sirens (Switch)

10-12-20 Beat: Chex Quest (PC) Completed: Mega Man 5 (Switch)

10-07-20 Beat: Mega Man Zero 3 (Switch)

10-05-20 Beat: Cave Story+ (Switch)

10-04-20 Completed: DELTARUNE Chapter 1 (Switch) Started: DELTARUNE Chapter 1 (Switch)

10-03-20 Completed: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Trials and Tribulations (3DSDL)

10-01-20 Started: Dragon Quest Builders (Switch)

09-27-20 Beat: Star Ocean: First Departure R (Switch)

09-25-20 New: Murder By Numbers (Switch)

09-20-20 New: DELTARUNE Chapter 1 (Switch) New: Dragon Quest Builders (Switch) New: Romancing SaGa 3 (Switch)

09-19-20 Beat: VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action (PC) New (Null): Super Mario Galaxy (Switch) New (Null): Super Mario Sunshine (Switch) New (Null): Super Mario 64 (Switch)

09-16-20 New: Star Ocean: First Departure R (Switch)

09-14-20 Beat: Armed Police Batrider (ARC)

09-13-20 Beat: Moon: Remix RPG Adventure (Switch)

09-10-20 New: Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (PC)

09-07-20 Beat: Disgaea 5 Complete (Switch) New: VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action (PC)

09-05-20 Beat: King's Quest: Quest for the Crown (PC)

09-02-20 Completed: Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (PC)

08-27-20 Started: Moon: Remix RPG Adventure (Switch) New: Moon: Remix RPG Adventure (Switch)

08-23-20 Beat: Wario Land III (GBC)

08-19-20 Started: Wario Land III (GBC) Completed: Broken Age (PC) Beat: Bomb Monkey (3DS)

08-17-20 New: Chicken Wiggle (3DS) New: Mutant Mudds Super Challenge (3DS) New: Xeodrifter (3DS) New: Bomb Monkey (3DS) New: Mutant Mudds (3DS)

08-16-20 New: Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (PC)

08-15-20 Beat: Maniac Mansion (PC)

08-14-20 Beat: Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition (Switch)

08-10-20 New: Wario Land III (GBC)

08-09-20 New: Maniac Mansion (PC) Beat: Red Dead Redemption 2 (PC)

08-03-20 New: Disgaea 5 Complete (Switch)

08-02-20 Beat: Star Wars: Dark Forces (PC)

08-01-20 Beat: Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA)

07-31-20 New: Star Wars: Dark Forces (PC)

07-25-20 New (Null): Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition (Switch)

07-24-20 New (Null): Cave Story (Switch)

07-20-20 New: Shin Megami Tensei (SNES) Beat: Mega Man X4 (Saturn)

07-17-20 New: Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA)

07-16-20 Beat: The Wonderful 101: Remastered (Switch)

07-12-20 Completed: Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (NES) Completed: Rockman 8 FC (PC)

07-11-20 Completed: Mega Man 8 (Saturn)

07-09-20 New (Null): The Wonderful 101: Remastered (Switch)

07-06-20 Completed: Darkwing Duck (NES) New: Red Dead Redemption 2 (PC)

07-04-20 New (Beat): Streets of Rage 4 (Switch)

07-01-20 Beat: Disco Elysium (PC)

06-30-20 Beat: ZeroRanger (PC) New: ZeroRanger (PC)

06-25-20 New (Beat): Super Puzzle Fighter II X (Saturn) Beat: Resident Evil (Switch)

06-20-20 Beat: Xenoblade Chronicles X (WiiU)

06-17-20 Started: Resident Evil (Switch)

06-16-20 Completed: G-LOC: Air Battle (Switch) New: Resident Evil (Switch) New: G-LOC: Air Battle (Switch)

06-08-20 Started: Disco Elysium (PC)

06-06-20 Completed: Time Bokan Series: Bokan to Ippatsu! Doronboo Kanpekiban (Saturn)

06-05-20 New: Disco Elysium (PC) Completed: Mega Man X3 (SNES)

06-04-20 New (Null): Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (Switch)

06-01-20 Completed: Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

05-28-20 Beat: Mega Man Zero 2 (Switch)

05-25-20 Completed: Diablo (PC)

05-15-20 Completed: Aladdin (Switch)

05-13-20 Beat: Bayonetta 2 (Switch)

05-10-20 Completed: Seaman (DC) Beat: Shining Force III (Saturn)

05-02-20 Completed: Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin (GEN)

05-01-20 Beat: Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard (NDS)

04-29-20 Beat: Phantasy Star IV (GEN) New: Spider-Man (GEN) Beat: Mega Man Legends 2 (PS)

04-25-20 Started: Phantasy Star IV (GEN) Started: Seaman (DC)

04-24-20 Beat: Shenmue (DC)

04-20-20 Completed: Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (NDS)

04-19-20 Beat: Sea of Thieves (PC)

04-14-20 Started: Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (NDS)

04-13-20 Beat: Shining the Holy Ark (Saturn)

04-10-20 Completed: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (NDS) Beat: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (NDS)

04-02-20 Beat: Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand (GBA)

04-01-20 Started: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (NDS) Completed: Mega Man Legends (PS)

03-29-20 Completed: Phantasy Star II (GEN)

03-27-20 Beat: Panzer Dragoon: Remake (Switch) New: Panzer Dragoon: Remake (Switch)

03-26-20 Beat: Skies of Arcadia (DC)

03-22-20 New (Null): Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)

03-17-20 Beat: Goldeneye 007 (N64)

03-14-20 Completed: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (Switch)

03-09-20 Beat: Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (WiiU)

03-07-20 Completed: Popful Mail (SCD) Completed: Retro Game Challenge (NDS)

03-06-20 Beat: Mega Man Zero (Switch)

03-05-20 Beat: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (Switch)

03-03-20 Beat: Bangai-O Spirits (NDS)

03-02-20 Beat: Super Monkey Ball 2 (GCN)

03-01-20 Beat: Shining Force II (GEN)

02-29-20 Started: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (Switch)

02-26-20 Completed: Aliens Infestation (NDS) Beat: Banjo Tooie (N64)

02-21-20 Completed: Ecco: The Tides of Time (SCD) Beat: Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (GBA)

02-18-20 Completed: Shinobi Legions (Saturn) Beat: Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 (DC)

02-16-20 Beat: Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

02-14-20 Started: Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

02-13-20 Beat: Blazing Chrome (Switch)

02-12-20 Beat: Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition (Switch)

02-08-20 Completed: Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (GEN) New: Shinobi Legions (Saturn)

02-04-20 Beat: Shinobi (Switch) New: Shinobi (Switch)

01-30-20 Beat: Sakura Wars (Saturn) New: Blazing Chrome (Switch)

01-23-20 Beat: Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves (DC)

01-21-20 Beat: River City Girls (Switch)

01-20-20 Completed: Charge 'n Blast (DC) Beat: Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX (Switch)

01-17-20 New: Sakura Wars (Saturn) Beat: Iconoclasts (Switch)

01-16-20 Beat: Guilty Gear X (DC)

01-14-20 Beat: Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition (Saturn)

01-12-20 Beat: Power Stone 2 (DC) Completed: AI: The Somnium Files (Switch)

01-11-20 Completed: Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 (3DS) Beat: Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 (3DS)

01-09-20 Completed: Super Return of the Jedi (SNES)

01-08-20 Beat: Mega Man ZX Advent (NDS)

01-06-20 Beat: Disgaea PC (PC) Started: Mega Man ZX Advent (NDS)

#backlog #backloggery #sega #saturn #end of year

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therebelresistance · 5 years ago

Text

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Episode Opening Quotes

01×01 – Ambush: Great leaders inspire greatness in others.

01×02 – Rising Malevolence: Belief is not a matter of choice, but of conviction.

01×03 – Shadow of Malevolence: Easy is the path to wisdom for those not blinded by ego.

01×04 – Destroy Malevolence: A plan is only as good as those who see it through.

01×05 – Rookies: The best confidence builder is experience.

01×06 – Downfall of a Droid: Trust in your friends, and they’ll have reason to trust in you.

01×07 – Duel of the Droids: You hold onto friends by keeping your heart a little softer than your head.

01×08 – Bombad Jedi: Heroes are made by the times.

01×09 – Cloak of Darkness: Ignore your instincts at your peril.

01×10 – Lair of Grievous: Most powerful is he who controls his own power.

01×11 – Dooku Captured: The winding path to peace is always a worthy one, regardless of how many turns it takes.

01×12 – The Gungan General: Fail with honor rather than succeed by fraud.

01×13 – Jedi Crash: Greed and fear of loss are the roots that lead to the tree of evil.

01×14 – Defenders of Peace: When surrounded by war, one must eventually choose a side.

01×15 – Trespass: Arrogance diminishes wisdom.

01×16 – The Hidden Enemy: Truth enlightens the mind, but won’t always bring happiness to your heart.

01×17 – Blue Shadow Virus: Fear is a disease; hope is its only cure.

01×18 – Mystery of the Thousand Moons: A single chance is a galaxy of hope.

01×19 – Storm over Ryloth: It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.

01×20 – Innocents of Ryloth: The costs of war can never be truly accounted for.

01×21 – Liberty on Ryloth: Compromise is a virtue to be cultivated, not a weakness to be despised.

01×22 – Hostage Crisis: A secret shared is a trust formed.

02×01 – Holocron Heist: A lesson learned is a lesson earned.

02×02 – Cargo of Doom: Overconfidence is the most dangerous form of carelessness.

02×03 – Children of the Force: The first step to correcting a mistake is patience.

02×04 – Senate Spy: A true heart should never be doubted.

02×05 – Landing at Point Rain: Believe in yourself or no one else will.

02×06 – Weapons Factory: No gift is more precious than trust.

02×07 – Legacy of Terror: Sometimes, accepting help is harder than offering it.

02×08 – Brain Invaders: Attachment is not compassion.

02×09 – Grievous Intrigue: For everything you gain, you lose something else.

02×10 – The Deserter: It is the quest for honor that makes one honorable.

02×11 – Lightsaber Lost: Easy isn’t always simple.

02×12 – The Mandalore Plot: If you ignore the past, you jeopardize the future.

02×13 – Voyage of Temptation: Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.

02×14 – Duchess of Mandalore: In war, truth is the first casualty.

02×15 – Senate Murders: Searching for the truth is easy. Accepting the truth is hard.

02×16 – Cat and Mouse: A wise leader knows when to follow.

02×17 – Bounty Hunters: Courage makes heroes, but trust builds friendships.

02×18 – The Zillo Beast: Choose what is right, not what is easy.

02×19 – The Zillo Beast Strikes Back: The most dangerous beast is the beast within.

02×20 – Death Trap: Who my father was matters less than my memory of him.

02×21 – R2 Come Home: Adversity is a friendship’s truest test.

02×22 – Lethal Trackdown: Revenge is a confession of pain.

03×01 – Clone Cadets: Brothers in arms are brothers for life.

03×02 – ARC Troopers: Fighting a war tests a soldier’s skills, defending his home tests a soldier’s heart.

03×03 – Supply Lines: Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

03×04 – Sphere of Influence: A child stolen is a hope lost.

03×05 – Corruption: The challenge of hope is to overcome corruption.

03×06 – The Academy: Those who enforce the law must obey the law.

03×07 – Assassin: The future has many paths – choose wisely.

03×08 – Evil Plans: A failure in planning is a plan for failure.

03×09 – Hunt for Ziro: Love comes in all shapes and sizes.

03×10 – Heroes on Both Sides: Fear is a great motivator.

03×11 – Pursuit of Peace: Truth can strike down the spectre of fear.

03×12 – Nightsisters: The swiftest path to destruction is through vengeance.

03×13 – Monster: Evil is not born, it is taught.

03×14 – Witches of the Mist: The path to evil may bring great power, but not loyalty.

03×15 – Overlords: Balance is found in the one who faces his guilt.

03×16 – Altar of Mortis: He who surrenders hope, surrenders life.

03×17 – Ghosts of Mortis: He who seeks to control fate shall never find peace.

03×18 – The Citadel: Adaptation is the key to survival.

03×19 – Counterattack: Anything that can go wrong will.

03×20 – Citadel Rescue: Without honor, victory is hollow.

03×21 – Padawan Lost: Without humility, courage is a dangerous game.

03×22 – Wookie Hunt: A great student is what the teacher hopes to be.

04×01 – Water War: When destiny calls, the chosen have no choice.

04×02 – Gungan Attack: Only through fire is a strong sword forged.

04×03 – Prisoners: Crowns are inherited, kingdoms are earned.

04×04 – Shadow Warrior: Who a person truly is cannot be seen with the eye.

04×05 – Mercy Mission: Understanding is honoring the truth beneath the surface.

04×06 – Nomad Droids: Who’s the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?

04×07 – Darkness on Umbara: The first step towards loyalty is trust.

04×08 – The General: The path of ignorance is guided by fear.

04×09 – Plan of Dissent: The wise man leads, the strong man follows.

04×10 – Carnage of Krell: Our actions define our legacy.

04×11 – Kidnapped: Where we are going always reflects where we came from.

04×12 – Slaves of the Republic: Those who enslave others, inevitably become slaves themselves.

04×13 – Escape from Kadavo: Great hope can come from small sacrifices.

04×14 – A Friend in Need: Friendship shows us who we really are.

04×15 – Deception: All warfare is based on deception.

04×16 – Friends and Enemies: Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.

04×17 – The Box: The strong survive, the noble overcome.

04×18 – Crisis on Naboo: Trust is the greatest of gifts, but it must be earned.

04×19 – Massacre: One must let go of the past to hold on to the future.

04×20 – Bounty: Who we are never changes, who we think we are does.

04×21 – Brothers: A fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished.

04×22 – Revenge: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

05×01 – Revival: Strength of character can defeat strength in numbers.

05×02 – A War on Two Fronts: Fear is a malleable weapon.

05×03 – Front Runners: To seek something is to believe in its possibility.

05×04 – The Soft War: Struggles often begin and end with the truth.

05×05 – Tipping Points: Disobedience is a demand for change.

05×06 – The Gathering: He who faces himself, finds himself.

05×07 – A Test of Strength: The young are often underestimated.

05×08 – Bound for Rescue: When we rescue others, we rescue ourselves.

05×09 – A Necessary Bond: Choose your enemies wisely, as they may be your last hope.

05×10 – Secret Weapons: Humility is the only defense against humiliation.

05×11 – A Sunny Day in the Void: When all seems hopeless, a true hero gives hope.

05×12 – Missing in Action: A soldier’s most powerful weapon is courage.

05×13 – Point of No Return: You must trust in others or success is impossible.

05×14 – Eminence: One vision can have many interpretations.

05×15 – Shades of Reason: Alliances can stall true intentions.

05×16 – The Lawless: Morality separates heroes from villains.

05×17 – Sabotage: Sometimes even the smallest doubt can shake the greatest belief.

05×18 – The Jedi Who Knew Too Much: Courage begins by trusting oneself.

05×19 – To Catch a Jedi: Never become desperate enough to trust the untrustworthy.

05×20 – The Wrong Jedi: Never give up hope, no matter how dark things seem.

06×01 – The Unknown: The truth about yourself is always the hardest to accept.

06×02 – Conspiracy: The wise benefit from a second opinion.

06×03 – Fugitive: When in doubt, go to the source.

06×04 – Orders: The popular belief isn’t always the correct one.

06×05 – An Old Friend: To love, is to trust. To trust is to believe.

06×06 – The Rise of Clovis: Jealousy is the path to chaos.

06×07 – Crisis at the Heart: Deceit is the weapon of greed.

06×08 – The Disappeared Pt. 1: Without darkness there cannot be light.

06×09 – The Disappeared Pt. 2: Wisdom is born in fools as well as wise men.

06×10 – The Lost One: What is lost is often found.

06×11 – Voices: Madness can sometimes be the path to truth.

06×12 – Destiny: Death is just the beginning.

06×13 – Sacrifice: Facing all that you fear will free you from yourself.

07×01 – The Bad Batch: Embrace others for their differences, for that makes you whole.

07×02 – A Distant Echo: The search for truth begins with belief.

07×03 – On the Wings of Keeradaks: Survival is one step on the path to living.

07×04 – Unfinished Business: Trust placed in another is trust earned.

#star wars #the clone wars #star wars the clone wars #anakin #yoda #quotes #clone wars final season #the force #jedi #sith #nerd #starwars #lightsaber #rebel alliance

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fly-pow-bye · 5 years ago

Text

ThunderCats Roar - “Warrior Maiden Invasion“

Co-Executive Producer: Victor Courtright

Supervising Producer: Nate Cash

Producer: Marly Halpern-Graser

Story by: Joan Ford

Teleplay by: Molly Knox Ostertag

Directed by: Angelo Hatgistavrou

Where the ThunderCats get roared.

The episode begins with a game of hide and seek. No, this isn’t a metaphor for the ThunderCats having to hide from some sort of monster, I mean an actual game of hide and seek. Specifically, it's a variation where the hiders can go to a safe zone to be immune to tagging, so there's more stakes involved. Wilykit and Wilykat are the seekers, but their sibling differences are getting in the way. I really do mean differences, too; this is one episode where they are very much distinct. There won't be a lot of "Thunderkittens" here, that's for sure.

Wilykat is focused on going by the rules, doing a proper countdown before seeking the hiders. Wilykit gets bored and goes out prematurely, quickly ending the countdown before anyone could find a good hiding spot. Wilykat wants to sneak around, not alerting the hiders to their existence. Wilykit smashes stuff, because, hey, they might be in there! Gallant shares his apple with his friends. Goofus eats the apple and says "forget you, I got mine". I think one might get the point here.

Of course, all of this smashing is not helping Wilykit with his seeking, as he gets distracted long enough for everyone else to run away. When Panthro decides to hide in the ThunderTank, something he would be around even if he wasn’t playing hide and seek, he manages to slip away because Wilykit broke something. Even Tygra, whose best idea was to hide in a pan with Lion-O because he couldn’t find a good hiding spot, manages to slip away because Wilykit broke something. Essentially, the same scene repeats three times in a row; they couldn't even be bothered to have her be distracting in a different way.

It is sort of noteworthy that it's the girl that's doing everything to sabotage the game and the boy being the sensible one; cartoons, and fiction in general, usually have it the other way around. I can't say this show is sticking to the cliches. Of course, there's a reason why it's the girl; the title should be a slight hint to that.

They end up losing the game of hide and seek, as the rest of the ThunderCats make it into the safe zone without the Thunderkittens ever tagging them. Tygra leans in and tells WilyKit that she should learn things from her brother. They do justify why this game was such a big deal: because hide and seek is a valuable training exercise. Even WilyKat doesn't buy it, though he would have preferred if they were able to tag one guy without WilyKit's sudden obsession with smashing things.

WilyKit: I am not obsessed with smashing! Hyah! (smashes chair)

See, the joke is that she seems to be obsessed with smashing, despite saying she isn't obsessed with smashing. Aren’t our expectations subverted? I don't remember WilyKit ever being this destructive. There was the time she was destroying things in Driller, but that was an episode where everyone was doing that sans Panthro and Tygra so Panthro can be slightly peeved. Here, it's just so she can be the kind-of sort-of bad guy of the episode. There's not enough time to think about this, because an alarm sounds just as soon as she breaks the chair, and she immediately says that she didn't do it. Eh, I'll give them that.

But no, it's not because of some meaningless chair abuse, it's a by some definitely bad guys. I mean, why wouldn't they be bad guys? They set fire to the Troll Village, they're using locusts to attack the Berbils, they're throwing boulders at a peaceful looking cottage, and they're bullying the Mole Master. They specifically point out the Mole Master as someone Lion-O knows nothing about, but they don't explain the Troll Village. We never even get to see one.

Tygra assumes that the mutants must be behind this, but Cheetara then sees them take off their hoods. Apparently, they needed to wear them just so Tygra can assume they're mutants.

Turns out, it's not the mutants, but the Warrior Maidens. They are so not the mutants that they even have giant text saying that they are Not Mutants. It's even made out of cracked rock to show how brute they are. Right from the get go, WilyKit gets excited to see muscular women, rapidly pushing one of the buttons and giggling with a three-frame animation that I decided to spare anyone reading this with. There are some episodes that really show off that even with these designs, they can have some impressive looking animation. This isn't one of them. They can't all be winners, but can they at least have decent characters in their place?

That is far from the end of the text, as they end up smashing through one of the walls and beating the tar out of the ThunderCats just for being near them, showing off their ultra crushing grasp, super prism refracted laser cage, and their you ain't goin' nowhere grip! It almost feels like a toy commercial, though ThunderCats Roar designs don't look like they would translate well into action figures. I feel like that would be kind of a problem for a ThunderCats revival, but that's another story.

None of this stops the fangirling from looking at these warrior women with awe. As we all know from this episode and seemingly only this episode, WilyKit likes to smash things, and they like to smash things! Who cares if those things are her teammates, they must be the coolest people ever! Even when Willa picks her up and roars at her, she's still motioning to her brother to check them out.

Willa looks like this in Roar, by the way. She even has the added character trait of only speaking in roars, having the other Warrior Maidens doing the talking for her. No bow and arrow or any semblance of a personality besides "HULK SMASH" here, that's for sure. Admittedly, I've never actually seen an original episode with one of the original Maidens, so I can't judge based on comparisons, but what I can say is that there's not much here other than that.

They tell Willa to throw these flea-bitten felines into some sort of jail for their crime of attempting to stop them from breaking and entering into their home. They need them in "jail" so they can check out all of that alien technology that's in the lair, and by check I mostly mean "smash". Smash smash smash, that's all they do. They happen to find a location, and it's very convenient for them and the plot.

They end up in their very own Thunder Brig, which is specifically designed to disable their powers and their gadgets! Lion-O tries to do the "ThunderCats Ho", and the Eye of Thundara turns into a frowny face. I would argue what a ThunderCats Roar would even do when they're all here. Cheetara tries to run out of the room with her super speed, but the Brig sapped her speed. Even Snarf has been deactivated by the magical Brig! Dun dun dun duuun! I should have brought that up ages ago: ThunderCats Roar uses that one musical cue so much that it may as well be its equivalent to Johnny Test's infamous whip crack. (EDIT: From what I've heard, the overuse of this one cue is intentional, parodying how much the original ThunderCats used this same cue. If one doesn't know, the musical cues are taken straight from the original. My ignorance should not be used as a criticism against this show, though I could see people who aren't familiar with that could get annoyed.)

The first question anyone's going to think isn't how they're going to get out of there, but why would they even have something that seemingly only affects them in their own lair? They even bring it up only to have Tygra say that he thought it was a good idea at the time. No hint on why he would remotely think that; it may as well be no reason whatsoever. "How to learn to fight without weapons or superpowers" would have at least been a decent excuse to have it.

Here’s the real reason: it’s so the...adults? Are they really adults? Maybe Tygra, but even that is pushing it in this episode. It’s so the not-so-kids can be taken out of the plot and essentially become damsels in distress, as Kit and Kat are the only people who can fit through the ventilator. Before they leave, Tygra tells Wilykat that he’s in charge. I mean, he might have won that all important game of hide and seek if it wasn't for that meddling sister and her sudden urge to break things!

Wilykit and Wilykit make it out of the Damsel Room, under orders to find the button that unlocks the door to the Thunder Brig. They have to use their best stealth to get past these Warrior Maidens, as even Panthro's super strength was nothing to them. And by they, I mean WilyKat, as most of her plans boil down to things like this:

WilyKit: (flexes her not-nearly-as-big-as-the-Maiden’s muscles) Okay, I'll challenge them to an arm wrestling match, and when I beat them...

That is one of the few lines that made me smirk in this episode. There's at least some variety in the ways Wilykat deals with the maidens. We get an admittedly far too long scene of him trying to decide what smoke bomb to use, only leading to a joke where he just yells "chamomile tea" with a title card with him in a monocle appearing, and Wilykit admits that it's cool seemingly as a way to justify it. Kind of like a fistbump joke, though without the fistbump.

He also uses rope to swing a table where two of the maidens were arm wrestling, making them fall and bump their heads, knocking them out. The rest of the scenes are essentially him sneaking around and saying "sneak sneak sneak" while doing it, which is kind of going against the whole stealth angle.

After Wilykat gets through with his masterful sneak sneak sneaking, with a few "dun dun dun duuns" in the way, they make it to the room where the button is, which is also the room with all of the monitors showing all of the calamities we saw earlier. This leads to the big plot twist of the episode: they're actually using all of that alien technology to stop those calamities from earlier. It makes...kind of a bit of sense?

It turns out, they were actually fighting the locusts, and the Mole Master turned out to be a villainous king, just as he was in the original. Driller was a villain in the original and became more of a misunderstood neutral guy in Roar, so it wasn't like knowing that would spoil this episode. As for the cottage...just guess. One might even guess who was in that cottage, too. Was he doing anything in that cottage? That is just as explained as what started the Troll Village fire. I didn't forget about that one, but if I didn't mention it, would anyone really notice?

With this proving that they were good guys after all, Wilykit's way of referring to them, not mine, Wilykat decides that maybe they would be convinced if he just politely tells them that they're heroes like they are.

Needless to say, that doesn’t work, as Willa decides to grab him and roar at him some more. Her translator tells him he's going to go into a different cage; one a slippery mutant wouldn't get out of. Can you believe being compared to the mutants was the straw that broke the camel's back?

Well, you kind of shouldn't, but it does look like she gets angry at this, which makes the Warrior Maidens very pleased! Turns out, they just needed to be talked to in the language they can understand: property damage!

WilyKit started the episode recklessly destroying everything she touches, including things that probably wouldn't be her property, idolizes people who destroy things that are definitely not her property, never changes her mind throughout the entire episode despite people seemingly smarter than her suggesting otherwise, and she ends up saving the day in the end. She had to learn absolutely nothing!

To make a long story short, she ends up pushing the button. Maybe it's because she uses a chair to do it, despite WilyKat suggesting to use her fingers, so she can keep her smashing mood. Hey, if these guys have this amazing little girl that destroys property, they must be good guys!

We do get a little more backstory, including the factoid that the translator happens to be Roar's version of Nayda, but it all boils down to; we existed, we were cool, Mumm-Ra happened, we had to disappear until Mumm-Ra was defeated. Lion-O proclaims that they were the ones that defeated Mumm-Ra in an attempt to get them to be impressed, and that attempt actually works...though they assume WilyKit did it. Because she breaks stuff!

Super Best Friends Forever Fist-Bump!

That is a fist bump, though not really a fist bump joke. Lion-O pretends he doesn't care that they decided to give Wilykit all the credit, but he clearly does and he's jealous about it.

And yeah, that's pretty much it. If there's any other positive I can say, it's that this episode does continue something I miss from today's cartoon. Why can't we have The End cards anymore? Why has it become passe to not have cartoons end abruptly?

Granted, I really don't know why "it's over" with a childish doodle of Lion-O has any relation to this episode. It could represent Lion-O's expression when he realizes these Warrior Maidens aren't going to appear again for a while.

How does it stack up?

Yeah, I didn't like this one at all. It doesn't even have a good animation part to distract from any of this. This is the first time I have to give out this rating.

Next, Lion-O loses the Sword of Omens! Oh no!

← Panthro Plagarized! 🐈 Lost Sword →

#fpb tcr #thundercats roar #cartoon network #fpb reviews

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arelya-andaria · 5 years ago

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Review Phantom of the Opera, London, 31/08/19 - Matinee.

I was front row royal circle in the middle, so I had a perfect view on everything. So short version: it was awesome. Tim is a wonderful, wonderful phantom, Amy makes a great Christine, Katy Hanna is a very interesting Carlotta. The rest of the cast is good, only Mme Giry has a strange voice, higher and ligher than I expected.

As it was my first Phantom live, there are certain details I noticed that I haven’t been able to before. The sets changing felt seamless. I mean, there is always some action going on at some point, which allows for the scenes changing, the costumes changing, and it’s all perfect. The chandelier being raised is beautiful, the noises are all very loud. It is really a spectacular show, and the audience knew it: it was packed.

More detailed review after the link

Act 1 Auction scene, nothing to say, Raoul is ok, nothing more.

Chills and tears when the chandelier is raised, full music so good. Interesting how perfect it feels.

Then Carlotta enters and while I usually do not care much for her, I instantly loved her. Very nice acting and gorgeous voice, well found little quirks, her think of me was very sensual with Manager 1 (Rrrrrremember me…).

Piangi is good, not much too add. When he leaves, he stops and says "amateurs", so well, and the full audience laughed.

I was able to spot Christine as she enters, so I felt pretty proud of that. Mme Giry is a little bit disappointing, I usually love her character and she felt a bit flat, vocally.

Meg has a small high, clear voice, and her screams are louder than I expected, but in a good way. The managers have a few good little acting quirks I loved, they were good. Think of me is beautiful, not much to say, her cadenza is also a bit different from the one I had in mind, not as strong as she’s done in other audios, but I couldn’t tell until I checked later.

Raoul was nice, not much else to say.

Then Angel of music was really sweet, their voices were well harmonized.

Little Lotte was good, and Raoul had a few nice, caring, tender touches that felt genuine and nice. At the end, Raoul felt a bit more assertive than I’d like, but Christine was sweet and afraid.

Mirror is good, I expected maybe more, vocally?

Title song was great, good vocals from both of them, and the sets, the lights, it’s so beautiful live, I absolutely loved it.

Tim has a lot of gorgeous, sensual moves. I loved his phantom. A bit darker voiced at times. Facial acting, and hands and arms moves were tender and hypnotizing. (The hair slick, the cape removal? Wonderful) Amy reacted well to him.

MOTN. One of my favorite parts of the performance. Wonderfully acted, if a bit weak/light on some notes, they felt a bit drown in the music when they should have been stronger. But the acting made up for it, and the rest of the voice was soft and strong at all the right moments. He picks her up before she falls, too, like she weighs nothing. A bit too harsh on the laying though. But very, very tender hair caress, I wished I was that wig, honestly. He looked so sweet... Wonderful little additions when he composes, blowing air on the pages, reshaping the feather. Then she wakes up. Playful “I remember”, and then “Stranger than you dreamt it”, good, all crying and gasping and monster-like at times, violent but many feelings, crawling around the floor.

Don't care much for buquet, nothing to say.

Notes I: good, carlotta steals the show to me. Lots of funny faces, and sweet moments with Piangi that never get recorded. Raoul is... there. That's it. Madame Giry has a strange accent sometimes, it threw me off a bit.

Prima donna is good too.

Il muto. Funny. Good interactions between Carlotta and Christine. Almost missed the Phantom on the top. Wasn't expecting the way he swings the chandelier a first time. I was expecting a funnier take on "the ballet, now" by the manager. Too soft. But then he runs into ballerinas, which I liked.

Seeing the shadows of the phantom behind the curtain, great.

Wasn't expecting Christine to reach out to Raoul to get him to follow her to the roof.

“Why have you brought me here”. Acting wise, it felt a bit weak from raoul, and sometimes from Christine, but her singing and delivery was still very good. Mostly I loved the enraptured way she talked of the phantom. "Soar" was lovely.

AIAOY. He was tender but could have been sweeter, I believe. She was like him, not particularly memorable. But good singing of course, still.

The reprise. She sang “I must go” very high, and then laughs prettily. “Christine I love you” was good, but didn’t make me feel for him.

Then the Phantom gets out from the Angel. Right in front of my eyes, at my level. He’s crying, sighing, gasping. I’m crying. It was that good. So many feelings in his voice, good "Christine, why". “Whyyyy.” Not angry, but very sad, tender.

-*-Act 2

Masquerade. Amazing. Splendid set, dancing, too much to see. Good singing, can't pick anything particular but loved it as an ensemble. What a gorgeous dress, and so many sparkles.

Why so silent. Good, but nothing more. I loved seeing his mouth move, somehow it surprised me, when it shouldn’t have, but once again I’m reminded how wonderful all the elements are.

Notes II. Good, Carlotta is always good.

Twisted. Chrisinte's very good, but missing something. Raoul was good at the beginning, and then not as much.

“and speak my name” was brilliantly said, getting stronger at the end.

Wishing. Good little moments with her scarf (I believe she kisses it at the beginning, but not sure if they don’t all do that?), and her “goodbye” was wonderful. Soft and then stronger. She's a sad Christine (not angry) but it flows well.

Wandering child. Good. Less than I wanted. But beautiful “once again she returns, once again she is his”, so bittersweet from Raoul.

Ponr. A delight. She notices him, early on, but takes things into her hands and turns sensual. Gorgeous hand moves, much love from him. She wonderfully completes him, I loved their interaction. And gorgeous voices, too.

Perfect “say you’ll share with me, one love, one lifetime” soft and tender, the rest was getting too strong afterwards for my taste (Christine, that’s all I ask of you).

Then final lair. I expected much, and they delivered. Good interaction from Raoul and Christine. They were very good. But the phantom was phenomenal. He cries and jumps and crawls and screams and it feels wonderful.

She tries to find a way out, shielded Raoul, advances on him and I loved how she takes things into her hands. Not much to say on their voices, they felt a bit flat next to the phantom, but still very good.

The kiss, sad he was not embracing her back.

The return of the ring. They join hands, lovely moment. He wants her to have it but she insists and puts it back into his. I could see her emotions, but not too much.

He reaches out to her from the portcullis, as they leave the lair, oh my heart be still!

How he made me cry when he cradles that veil against his heart at the end, tearful voice.

Re-reading, it makes me a bit harsh, on some acting choices, and voices, but it was awesome, and every cast member gave it their all, and they were all very good, I had just high expectations for certain scenes, and while I wasn’t disappointed during the performance, I can say it was not quite perfect ^^ But very, very close.

So amazing phantom, really, really good Christine, wonderful Carlotta and Meg, good Raoul, Piangi and managers (very well with each other). Not as good Mme Giry. Maybe her voice felt wrong. She was good but I didn't really like her.

#Phantom of the Opera #poto london #review

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curtismacpherson · 4 months ago

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Published on YouTube: 5 Side Hustles Students Can Start In 2024 | DraculaMoneyLair.com

Discover five amazing side hustles perfect for students, requiring zero investment and can be done right from your bedroom! In this video, you’ll learn: ► Creating Digital Products ► Content Curator ► Shorts Video ► Tutor ► Virtual Assistant Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction 00:50 – Side Hustle Number 1 02:55 – Side Hustle Number 2 04:50 – Side Hustle Number 3 06:15 – Side Hustle Number 4 08:14 -Side Hustle Number 5 This video concerns “5 Side Hustles Students Can Start In 2024”. But It also covers the following topics: ► Passive income ideas 2024 ► How to make money online 2024 Video Title: 5 Side Hustles Students Can Start In 2024 Curious about making money online? Subscribe to Dracula Money Lair for expert tips on passive income strategies, online earnings, and affiliate marketing secrets! https://www.youtube.com/@DraculaMoneyLairOfficial/?sub_confirmation=1 Stay Connected With Me. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/draculamoneylair Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/draculamoneylairofficial/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@draculamoneylairofficial Website: https://draculamoneylair.com/ For Business Inquiries: [email protected] ============================= Recommended Playlists Affiliate Marketing 2024 Make Money Online 2024 WATCH MY OTHER VIDEOS: AI Powered Affiliate Marketing Revealed! EASIEST AI Side Hustles Master Affiliate Marketing: The SECRET Method for FREE Traffic and PASSIVE INCOME Make $100 Per Customer with Google Maps – Step-by-Step Guide CRAZY! This NEW AI Side Hustle WILL Make You RICH | Tiktok Affiliate Marketing Step by Step Guide to Pinterest Affiliate Marketing for $100/Day in 2024 ============================= About Dracula Money Lair. Welcome to Dracula Money Lair, where I, Dracula, unveil the secrets of Affiliate Marketing and the realms of Making Money Online. Join me in this nocturnal journey through the digital shadows as we explore cutting-edge strategies, unearth the art of affiliate marketing, and delve into lucrative online opportunities. Whether you’re a seasoned night owl or a fledgling bat eager to spread your wings, Dracula Money Lair is your cryptic guide to financial empowerment. Subscribe now and let the blood money flow in the digital night! For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below: Email: [email protected] Tired of the 9 to 5 grind? Subscribe to Dracula Money Lair for proven affiliate marketing tips and online passive income strategies! https://www.youtube.com/@DraculaMoneyLairOfficial/?sub_confirmation=1 ================================= #sidehustle #sidehustleideas #makemoneyonline #draculamoneyla Disclaimer: All content on my channel is my personal opinion. I am NOT a lawyer, accountant, or financial advisor. I do not have any professional licenses. My opinions are not a replacement for the guidance of a professionally trained and licensed individual. Some links in the description may be affiliate links. I may get a commission if you click the link and purchase something. Using those links is optional, but they are always appreciated. Thank you Copyright Notice: This video and my YouTube channel contain dialogue, music, and images that are the property of Dracula Money Lair. You are authorized to share the video link and channel and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to my YouTube channel is provided. © Dracula Money Lair 5 Side Hustles Students Can Start In 2024 | DraculaMoneyLair.com published first on https://www.youtube.com/@DraculaMoneyLairOfficial/ via https://draculamoneylair.wordpress.com/2024/07/18/published-on-youtube-5-side-hustles-students-can-start-in-2024-draculamoneylair-com/

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rubbiesmith · 4 months ago

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Published on YouTube: 5 Side Hustles Students Can Start In 2024 | DraculaMoneyLair.com

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msb-lair · 6 years ago

Photo

Dragon: CreamSoda - Ridgeback Nocturne XXY Female

(Nocturne scroll applied on 2019-02-16) (Capsule scroll applied on 2019-02-16)

Purchased For: 200,000 treasure Hatched On: 2018-08-21 ID: 44491813

Parentage: Unnamed/Unnamed Flight: Nature

Primary: White Wasp Secondary: White Bee Tertiary: Fog Firefly Capsule Eyes: Common

Comments: Not a huge fan of capsule, but I was browsing subspecies on the Dragon Share forum the other night and tripped over the spec for BottleCap dragons. The lore amused me, and I have vast tracts of lair space at the moment, so I decided... why not.

Apparel:

Accent: Starmalade

Tickled Hyacinth

Crystalcourt Halo

Familiar: Wintermane Bowman

Progeny Testing:

[Test] Applejack

Broods:

Mated with Applejack on 2019-03-14, 2 eggs [Clutch]

#CreamSoda Dragon #Dragon Queen #Dragon Record #Nocturne Female #Nocturne Breed #NearWhite Pool #BotteCap Dragon #XXY #White #Wasp #Wasp White #Bee #Bee White #Fog #Capsule #Capsule Fog #Nature Flight #Common #Wintermane Bowman

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maverik6464 · 3 years ago

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I posted 26,934 times in 2021

57 posts created (0%)

26877 posts reblogged (100%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 471.5 posts.

I added 113 tags in 2021

#cr spoilers - 52 posts

#yeah - 15 posts

#critical role - 7 posts

#:) - 7 posts

#lmao - 6 posts

#nice - 6 posts

#aquarius - 5 posts

#critical role spoilers - 5 posts

#bruh - 5 posts

#uh - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#bc my friends and i were so fucking desperate for something that wasn't skype bc skype is a complete and utter piece of shit useless program

My Top Posts in 2021

Its probably fine don't worry if my spell slot tracking is correct jester still has a 7th slot, she casts word of recall again, Trent counterspells, Caleb counters the counterspell. it comes down to Caleb's counterspell roll. assuming Trent is lvl 20 (he's an Archmage come on of course he is) then he's most likely teleported once and circled once. thats a 5th and a 7th slot down. if he's lvl 20 that means he’s got 2 6th, 1 7th, 1 8th and 1 9th slot left. Caleb is down to 1 5th slot, nothing higher (someone correct me if I'm wrong but that should be right I don’t think he used it for anything else). So if Trent is Counterspelling at 6th to match Jester’s spell then he’ll have to roll bc Jester is upcasting to 7th. If he counters higher then its all up to Caleb and rolling well enough on any level Counterspell to beat Trent. That’s a 16 (if Trent makes his roll), 17, 18 or 19 depending on the level. Caleb has a +5 Int so that means an 11, 12, 13, or 14 on his dice. Not the best odds but certainly doable.

EDIT: Actually come to think of it he should have 1 6th not 2 if he’s already counter spelled once but that doesn’t really change much

25 notes • Posted 2021-02-26 06:29:44 GMT

I mean unless Cree has legendary actions (which she might she is kinda like the 2IC) the M9 will have such a hard time losing an 8v1 fight no matter how busted up they are just through action economy. Like sure she might be tough and a high level (and possibly extra buffed bc NPC’s don't follow PC rules) Blood Cleric but 8 actions + 8 bonus actions + 8 reactions of her getting the shit kicked out of her vs 1 action/bonus action/reaction is just way too much to deal with. that's why super high level monsters that are designed to be a single target encounter have lair actions and legendary actions and attack like 4 times with an action bc otherwise they cant do shit against a whole party beating them up and like sure Cree is a cool special NPC but unless Matt goes way off the rails shes still restricted to 1 maybe 2 spells a turn, which is just not enough to keep up

27 notes • Posted 2021-05-07 05:09:52 GMT

I don't. Post. About ships here. I just don't. I tend to not care all that much about it all. It's not what I consume media for (And it also just attracts some of the most vitriolic people when I see other people post about it and I'm not interested in that shit lmao). But I know a well written story when I see one (or I like to think I do). And like. Whether or not the CR ending was what you wanted for Caleb and Essek, it was a beautiful tale none the less. Matt and Liam crafted a tale within a tale that was so touching and so bittersweet about two men who were so different but they were the same. And through a group of idiots (friends) they found each other. And they shared a deep deep connection and they spent a life together. And that story was gorgeous. And is that not enough?

34 notes • Posted 2021-06-04 16:29:28 GMT

Cannot believe Arcane is making me like Viktor how cringe

35 notes • Posted 2021-11-08 22:35:41 GMT

Yussa takes the #1 position as funniest crit role character. “sorry guys that sounds dumb as fuck I'm gonna stay home and be safe in my magic tower :) :) :)” wizard hubris at its finest

1174 notes • Posted 2021-03-19 03:52:42 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #i cant believe they actually did a tumblr wrapped lmao

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biffhofosho · 4 years ago

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Idol Thieves | Chapter One

Fandom: Monsta X

Genre: Romance, Adventure, Multichapter, Smut

Chapter Word Count: 2.1k

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, coworkers to lovers, love triangles, forced proximity, reluctant partners

Synopsis: Monsta X isn’t just an international pop sensation, and the men in it aren’t regular idols. With a hunger for adventure and a taste for the thrill, they’ll use their charm, charisma, and incredible talents to take whatever they want. Just when they thought they were out of the heist business for good, one last job comes along they can’t turn down. Only problem is they can’t do it alone.

Features all seven globe-trotting, thieving, romancing, fun-loving boys doing what they do best—stealing hearts.

The Vibe: Idol boys with a very big secret, two foreign gals with even bigger secrets, international adventures, insane best friendship, heists glorious heists, peril, adventure, clubbing, masquerades (real and metaphorical), slow burning romance, feelings flying in every direction, getting close only to push away, secret hideaways, vulnerability, smut with feelings, confused hearts

A/N: THERE ARE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS IN THIS. I DO NOT AND WILL NOT EVER WRITE IN SECOND PERSON POV.

This fic is most literally a labor of love. I started writing this story TWO YEARS AGO for my very best friend and soup snake as a Christmas present. It ballooned out of control almost immediately, and after all this time (and Wonho’s departure--I’m sobbing), I’m ready to share it. It’s an alternate universe (although we’re secretly convinced it’s probably happening in real time here) full of adventure, romance, and some sexy good times. We’re also pretty sure MX knows about it even though it’s never been published. I will be publishing chapters fairly regularly, so enjoy the ride (it’s a long one).

I will also be posting new oneshots and the conclusion to my Neo Seoul Series intermittently as well. Lots to look forward to!

TR | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12

“Really? So no one else is going to say it?” Changkyun blurted through the silence, his arms firmly stacked across his chest. “Fine. Why the hell are we back in the Smugglers’ Den?”

Jooheon rolled his eyes. “After all these years, you’re still on that? It’s the Blueprint Room. Always has been, always will be. End of story.”

“I thought it was the Tigers’ Lair?” Minhyuk mused as he tapped his chin.

“We’re getting off topic,” Shownu redirected.

“Yeah, what was so important you woke me up at the crack of noon?” garbled Hyungwon through a long yawn.

Kihyun smirked as he took his seat at the end of the long table and steepled his fingers. He peered over his black-rimmed glasses at each of the members—a spectrum running through everything from confusion to worry to exhaustion.

“I would have thought that would be obvious. We have another job.”

As the rest of the team took Kihyun’s cue and settled in around the table, Minhyuk quirked an eyebrow. “I thought the last job was the last job?”

“Yeah. What happened to idol retirement?” asked Jooheon.

“Do I get to wear leather?” Wonho asked, and Minhyuk elbowed him. “What?”

“It’s simple, boys,” Kihyun continued. “I got a call. Someone high-powered, someone of impeccable taste. Someone who knows who we were and who we can still be. And he’s got a job. Sure, he’s offering a lot of money, but we all know that’s not what this is about—maybe in the beginning, but not for a long time.”

The men watched Kihyun’s every move, from the perceptive narrow of his eyes to the subtle tilt of his head. When the boss spoke, they listened—especially with Shownu propped coolly against the wall behind him.

“Last time, we promised you retirement,” Kihyun added with a nod back to his shadowy enforcer. “Since then, idol life’s been good to us. Never in one place long enough to get bored. New cities, new adventures—”

“New women,” offered Changkyun to a chorus of sighs.

Undeterred, Kihyun said, “Point is, we’ve got everything we could want.”

“Yeah, so why are we back in the Plot Box?” Hyungwon said.

“Honestly, where do you get these horrible names?” Shownu grumbled, his hand rubbing his forehead.

Kihyun tilted his head just a touch. “We’re back because I know it’s not enough. For any of us. San Francisco taught us that.”

The room fell silent.

After a long moment, Minhyuk crossed his arms. “Fine, but I'm not going as Dior again.”

“Oh, come on,” prodded Jooheon, “you looked so cute in that skirt. And we can't put Hyungwon in it. It’s like a rubber band around his waist.”

“Ha ha,” deadpanned the string bean.

“Forget it,” Minhyuk insisted. “The last mark got too handsy and almost blew my cover. What about Hoseok? He's pretty.”

“Thank you,” Wonho beamed.

Changkyun rolled his eyes. “What about him? He's built like an Olympic shot-putter. Who's going to hit on that chick?”

Wonho shrugged. “If the skirt's leather—”

Changkyun and Jooheon dropped their heads on the table.

From his head seat, Kihyun smiled. He had known his team would agree to do the job—they had never turned one down—but he hadn't expected them to be so eager. He glanced over his shoulder to his muscular backup, and Shownu seemed to be waiting for him. “Just like old times.”

Shownu nodded. “Then you know what's coming.”

Trouble.

Kihyun didn't need to say it.

He smiled again before he circled the table and patted Minhyuk on the shoulder. “Don’t dust off your heels just yet, Dior. I have contractors on standby.”

Hyungwon took a long sip from his smoothie. “Outsiders?”

“An insurance policy,” Kihyun clarified. “The client’s, not mine.”

“Who’s the client?” asked Minhyuk.

Their leader shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know. I only spoke with an emissary.”

Jooheon threw both hands in the air. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why in the hell would we work for somebody we don’t even know? The guy could be a cop or a Dispatch journalist looking to break a huge story or, shit, even a kkangpae.”

Shownu glowered at them. “Do you honestly think we wouldn’t have ensured at least that much?”

Jooheon mumbled an apology, but worried dimples still etched his cheeks.

“It’s true,” Kihyun replied gently, “the client demands total anonymity for the job, but we know enough to protect ourselves and our livelihoods. This job is important to him, important enough that he’s sending two of his best people to assist.”

Wonho shook his head and sighed, wishing for the first time in a long time that he hadn’t conceded the leadership position to Kihyun and Shownu so easily. “I don’t know. This doesn’t sound like a good idea. For years, it’s just been us. We know everything about each other. The good, the bad, and the Minhyuk—”

“Hey, why are you looking at me!” the visual shouted.

“—but we don’t know anything about these outsiders or the man they work for? They could be here to spy on us, expose us, or worse.”

“What’s worse?” Hyungwon asked.

“No.Mercy,” Jooheon whispered softly, and everyone’s heads hung for a long moment of silence.

Though they had always known exactly what the outcome of the survival show would be, in the end, their hardest task had been fighting to keep the hopefuls out of their hearts as they made their way ruthlessly to victory. It had been pointless. Their competition turned out to be a bunch of talented, soft-hearted kids who, in spite of their every effort to compartmentalize, became family. Each elimination was a cut to the chest, and it was the first time the clan had learned that the price of success was also crushing loss.

Kihyun cleared his throat softly, and the boys knew it was safe to show their faces again.

“This time is different. There won’t be time for anything other than the job. Besides, Hyunwoo vetted our new comrades personally.”

“Thoroughly,” their stalwart hyung added.

If Shownu said it, there was hardly a surer guarantee. The furrowed brows eased but the frowns remained.

“Now, now, boys, they're not here for profit or to get in our way. Besides, we're going to need every hand on deck for this job.”

“Since when do we need help completing a job?” Changkyun groused.

Kihyun tapped a few buttons on his phone before their smart table blazed to life beneath them with an aerial shot of a stadium aglow with the fireflies of light sticks. Screams and chants resonated off the cold steel rafters of their lair and vibrated in their chests.

Monsta X! Monsta X!

With a smile, he said, “Aren’t you forgetting something? We’re famous now. That’ll get us in most doors, but it also means that all eyes will be on us all the time. It nearly cost us the San Francisco job.”

“Even monkeys fall from trees. We got the diamonds, didn't we?” Changkyun retorted.

“Yeah,” Hyungwon seconded, “the bathroom cover worked okay.”

“‘Okay?’ Now the whole world thinks Hyunwoo has tummy troubles,” snickered Wonho. From the other end of the table, their hyung glowered and the smile disappeared from everyone’s faces. More soberly, Wonho added, “Kihyun’s right. The waitress knew who we were, and she blogged the whole thing to the second.”

“My point, boys, is that we're getting sloppy,” Kihyun clarified as he stopped their performance video and pushed back from his seat. “We all know San Fran was a training exercise. A couple of two-bit, newbie blood diamond smugglers? That should have been a two-thirty-flat job from get-in to getaway. Instead, it took an entire lunch, a messy cover-up fan photoshoot, and, at best, we got away with barely enough to feed that village for a month.”

As the boys wallowed once again in their lackluster final heist, their leader circled the table, his fingers tracing the back of his teammates' chairs. “Remember when we first met? Remember everything we had to go through to get here? No one would say it wasn't worth it. And I don't know about you guys, but as much as I love being Monsta X, I miss when we were just The Tribe, when the only things that mattered were our freedom and our brotherhood.”

They had been together so long, suffered every trial and tribulation so united, that their memories synchronized into the same zoetrope of dark alleys lit by fires, car chases through downpours, and celebrations drowned in a gallon of soju. It was a beautiful, muddled mess, just like their time together.

Wonho tipped back in his chair, an easy smile on his face as he watched Kihyun. “So, what's the job, boss?”

“Just about the only thing that can convince you guys to leave retirement again: a real challenge. Damn near impossible, if I’m being realistic.”

Hyungwon raised his eyebrows. “Isn't that what you said about No.Mercy? And we know how that turned out.”

Kihyun shook his head. “Diamond heists, yacht theft, rigging a national broadcast? Consider those an audition. We'll need everything we’ve learned and more for this con.”

“No.Mercy was child's play?” Jooheon said, wounded.

Kihyun squeezed his friend’s shoulders reassuringly. “Of course not. It was carefully orchestrated and flawlessly executed by all of you, but that plan was over a year in the making. For this job, we have one month.”

“Twenty-eight days to be exact,” Shownu amended. The group waited, and when no explanation came from their leader, Shownu added, “An art heist.”

Hyungwon sagged down onto the table, his eyes drifting shut. “You woke me up to steal a painting? We stole a three billion-won yacht. Isn’t this a little below our pay grade?”

“We don’t get paid anything for these stunts,” Changkyun said as he rapped a knuckle on his neighbor’s head.

“Since when is it about the price tag?” Wonho continued to scold, and Hyungwon hid his pout behind another sip of his drink. “We’ve only ever done this for two reasons—”

“Justice and righteousness,” Minhyuk answered with a proud beam and a V for victory, and Jooheon couldn’t resist pinching the apple of his friend’s cheek.

“Maybe three,” added Changkyun. “An adrenaline rush.”

The group shared a smirk. No arguments there.

“Okay, but even if it sounds like fun, you know we’re on the verge of another comeback, and you want us to do more work?”

“Forgive our turtle, boss,” Minhyuk soothed. “You know how he gets when you wake him up from a nap.”

Kihyun paid it no mind—he was in too good of a mood. Despite Hyungwon’s lazy attempts at opposition, Kihyun knew his boys still kindled the same spark they had since childhood; he just needed a little more accelerant.

He brought up another video on the table, this time of their set at the San Francisco Jingleball. A smirk buoyed his cheek as he felt their pulse-pounding race to the arena anew, all of them still wearing their heist clothes. Wonho hadn’t even bothered to change his gloves, and cheeky Minhyuk had flaunted their haul with a stolen diamond in his ear.

He let their first song play at full volume, but instead of watching their performance, he watched his team. Smiles, wide eyes, slow nods. It was all coming together. He lowered the volume before the second song took over and said, “Remember this? If you could describe it in one word, what word would you pick?”

“Fire,” Jooheon answered immediately.

“Exactly!” Kihyun trumpeted with an emphatic slap of his palms against the table. “That job was just what we needed to re-energize ourselves. It didn’t matter that we were physically and emotionally drained. It didn’t matter that we were nine thousand kilometers from home. We were on fire again.”

“Yeah, but we're not just talking some one-day sugar rush,” Wonho said. “You're talking about full-blown months of planning.”

“Twenty-eight days,” Shownu reminded again.

“Fine, 28 days, right before a comeback.”

“Exactly,” Kihyun said again, this time with the perfect tinge of an impending epiphany. “A job like this could change everything for us. I know how hard you’ve all been working to make this our greatest comeback ever, but we’re at our best when we’re smashing through our limits. I need you all to remember that over the next few minutes.”

Wonho narrowed his eyes. “I take it our limits are about to be tested?”

“The clock moves whether or not you’re ready for it,” Shownu added rather darkly.

“I’m always ready!” said Minhyuk with a fist raised. “Hwaiting!”

Shownu’s phone buzzed, and all heads shot to him while Kihyun smiled at his team. “Good.”

“I don’t like this,” Jooheon muttered.

Kihyun pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and leveled his eyes at the door. “If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t met them either.”

“That makes me feel way worse!”

Shownu paused the video on the table and headed up the stairs to the landing. With a stern look back at his boys, he warned, “Be on your best behavior. Our guests are here.”

#idol thieves #ot7 #alternate universe #original characters #multichapter #novel #wonho #shownu #kihyun #hyungwon #changkyun #minhyuk #jooheon #heist #slow burn #best friendship #soup snakes #monsta x smut

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