#just unlocks and goes hog wild

[pumpkinrootbeer]

i understand the "oh Steve is so bad at fights" sentiment comes from the fact Jonathan and billy rocked his shit but I do feel the need to remind everyone he is 4-0 when it comes to beating monsters in fights. played pinata with the demogorgan. beat back multiple demodogs in a very literally sense. rammed monster billy with a car. bit a demobat and then beat it into the ground after getting strangled and chewed on. he is feral. he is desperate. like at what point do we acknowledge that he holds back against people 🤨

#stranger things #steve harrington #:V #I don't think it's even a conscious thing tbh #I think fights feel a lot more real and a lot more gross when it's a person and someone you know #and when it's a literal faceless monster who wants to kill your friends the part of Steve who has the capacity to bite through rancid flesh #just unlocks and goes hog wild #Obvs they need 11 to kill the monsters but I feel like they could just point Steve in the right direction and he'll just start biting. #and when Steve bites vecna in s5 then what 🤨

[pocketbelt]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5)

That's a spicy pickle

The general gameplay is vastly improved from Remake, which was already pretty good; it feels better, everyone moves more fluidly because the game is actually performant (steady 30 on Graphics Mode and a flawless 60 on Performance, which is the way to play), attacks are all generally better (Cloud now can shoot sword beams by attacking after dodging so you can reliably hit aerial foes, for example), and on and on. It's actually kind of insane going straight here from Remake (I never got around to Intermission) because you now have so many options it's unfathomable.

In addition to all of the mechanics from Remake and all the new moves, you now have Synergy Moves that confer special effects, co-op defensive manoeuvres to use when guarding, more unique materia attacks (Enemy Skill is here in a limited but highly optimised and supremely useful form), some of Remake's summons but also half a dozen new ones, tiered Limit Break moves reached by pulling off specific Synergy Moves, unlockable elemental magic attacks that cost no MP to give type coverage outside of spell materia...

They went fucking wild, to the point that outside of the remaining party members from VII to go, I've no idea what they could add in the next.

Cait Sith is the only party member who just feels bad to play as; trying to commit to his original gimmicky nature here is noble and they try, but he just kind of sucks to play as and feels like an active liability when set next to literally everyone else. One dud in such a spread of characters is a hell of a run.

Speaking of the party, Square have been on a roll with writing party interactions in Final Fantasies of late (XVI excepted), but VII Rebirth sets a new high bar. The ways the party interact, the tangible feeling that they are not just friends but actively influence each other and have actual relations, it's fucking immaculate; it's at times obsessive in the ways it does it, from Red XIII and Barrett saying things the same way because they get on so much to just how Tifa and Aerith have an actual full friendship on display now. Remake was already good for this but Rebirth amps everything up.

It is a deeply, unbelievably charming game; as with the silly elements of parts of Wall Market and Midgar that were retained and even amped up in Remake, Rebirth goes super hard into revelling and uplifting the sillier, funnier parts of the original VII as far as it can go. It leans into jokes, it tells many more of its own, it goes fucking hog wild with bits and parts like the big highlight events of the Gold Saucer feel absolutely decadent in what they do with it.

All I need to say about the soundtrack is that I need you to listen to the frog song. And the dog song. And the combat variant of the dog song. There's 400 tracks and while they might overuse the original FFVII overworld music as a leitmotif in overworld tracks, holy god this OST fucks.

To put it shortly, and to get in this dig at least one last time (there will be more in future), VII Rebirth does everything right that XVI did wrong, in every area. To the point that it's an indictment of Square, almost; there's not even a full year between these two! What are you doing, lads?

It's not without issues, some of them hefty enough; the decision to turn the original VII overworld into an open world ultimately hurts the game, I think. They did insanely good work at designing an actual world that actual people live in and clearly use and used, it's nuts in that respect, but also not all of that space is used well and some of the areas feel simply too big. This is further compounded by the zones becoming increasingly massive pains in the ass to actually just move around in, never mind go around doing all the open world optional shit in.

This hits a terrible fever pitch in the godawful 1-2 punch of Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon, the former a ridiculously over-layered zone that combines the visual illegibility of dense jungle with a map designed very deliberately to make you go cross-country and loop back just to get to basic objectives, having to root around unclimbable cliffs and paths of bounce-pad mushrooms to find the one single actual path to get to anything. It's deeply frustrating, it broke the spell and I abandoned doing the open world shit outside of summon crystals after that.

And that was then aggravated by Cosmo Canyon being the same thing, only it's all open air red-brown canyons with the single path to get to thing tucked into rock bumhole crevices barely discernable from other rock walls. Getting anywhere and finding anything becomes such a fucking hassle, starting around Corel in particular but Gongaga and Cosmo are just shite. Open world games have changed massively even in the four years between this and Remake; Elden Ring and Sonic Frontiers and Zelda: TOTK have all come out and changed the game and broken conventions in ways that make Rebirth feel sluggish and a generation out-of-date at times.

It doesn't help that chocobos feel really bad to use; they don't turn well, they stop dead at touching even minor obstacles, they don't scale things well and some of their traversal abilities are miserable (the gliding in Cosmo Canyon feels bad and doesn't make any sense, further frustrating exploration). Running everywhere is preferable...except for open plains, again, where you have the space.

The map doesn't help, by the by; it's an overhead/satellite view of the actual area, overhanging rock formations and obscured underground/cave/lower paths and all, making it absolutely useless for identifying paths or actually figuring out how to go anywhere that isn't an open plain. I hope Square finally gets over themselves after this and just makes a normal ass overworld next time; Star Ocean Second Story R was such a breath of fresh air between XVI and this.

I can go on; quite a few sections and some of the side content just feel like filler (the Nibel Protorelics being slow boring walks that end in basic standard fights is a highlight of "we needed this for the checklist"), the game has dozens of minigames, way more than VII ever did so naturally a good number of them are a bit shit or actively frustrating and should've been cut. Remake's biggest problem to me was how "Western 7th Gen" it was at times, with slow walk-and-talks or sidle-through level dividers and shit, and Rebirth not only still does that but goes further with pointless button presses, overly involved cutscene button-event shit (hold R2 and L2 forever for no reason; fuck you this could not possibly have been a cutscene), piss-takingly slow box pulling and pushing and so on. Some of it feels clearly like filler and I hope they get feedback from this one telling them to cut it out. Final Fantasy is better than that shite, or at least it should be; it absolutely should not ever be taking notes from Sony first-party games, except for "don't do [all of this]".

Still, on the whole, VII Rebirth is a great time. It's an absolutely massive, at times decadent action RPG that lavishes love upon its cast and world, that's hellbent on you getting your money's worth (it's still not worth £70 no game is or ever will be for non-special editions, but I got it for £29 due to trade-in credit so hey), and while it becomes a slog at points due to its open world shit, you can easily skip that and start to railroad the story after a point (or right away by kicking it down to Easy, I guess). I think Square have easily justified the "Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy" idea with this entry, so it'll be fun to see how they close it out, and what they do with themselves after this.

I have more to say, but it'll be in a reblog of this with some aggressive Read Mores to condense the size.

#pocket-media-tag

[wisteriafield]

@furry-road​

Innate Talents: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1594709696 Gives you The Pawn (allows a small bit of movement for free), Savage Sortilege (spells can crit), and Pet Pal (unlock animal dialogue) for free. If you activate Pet Power gift bag that essentially gives you a free talent point on top

Bartering Tweaks: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1594709696 Allows you to share Bartering Levels and Persuasion levels for trading, and also outside of trading as well so each party member can spec into a specific civil ability and pass persuasion checks in case another party member gets roped into a conversation you weren’t ready for (do NOT enable the Bartering gift bag as that one is pretty bugged in comparison)

Automatic Item Leveling: Because having to replace special gear with common rarity shit as soon as you get a level up is pretty lame

No Equipping Requirements: Its tedious having to account for Strength/Finesse/Intelligence levels to round out your armor health while you progress

Very Fast Casting Mages: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1523655393 Cooldowns often leave mages without much to do after a certain point (if they optimize their AP using Elemental Affinity even with only 4AP)

Redress: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1971391828 One of the best mods for maintaining certain appearances without being too cumbersome. Only caveat is as you replace gear the colors of your armor will change occasionally, and will bug out stuff with Set effects like Tyrant’s Armor and the Four Relics of Rivellon. Goes great with Rendall’s NPC armor mod: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1971391828

Source Point Max Increase: There’s a variant for 6SP and 9SP depending on your taste, but 3SP cap is pretty lame

Mods that increase the effectiveness of the Memory stat, because leveling Memory is lame

Toggle Polymorph Appendages: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1507857286 because having to spend AP to enable them just for a bit kinda defeats the purpose of their utility

Odinblade’s overhauls are all good but not something I would have someone put on for a first time with the exception of his summoning overhaul

Reusable Skill Books

Initiative Based Turn Order for when you get sick of the round robin turns shoving some of your allies all the way in the back of the queue

Vanilla Plus: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2369431031 Something of a compromise between base game system and the Divinity Unleashed mod, attempts to balance hybrid parties and doesn’t go too hog wild with changing how various stats work

Animation Plus is one of those lowkey things you need for some more complicated mods

Like Weapon Expansion which has been really fun, still a WIP though

As far as class mods go my favorites are

Thorstmixx’s Duelist, simple but effective

My personal favorites are Feenex’s Duskblade with Zrexin’s Void Knight, after I made some personal tweaks to it anyway, its got some of the flashiest looking stuff

Hephaestios’s Berserker because throwing enemies is too much fun and its just WAR from FFXIV

Odinblade’s Umbra’s got real unique mechanics

The Musketeer Mod is really engaging, though I’ve not stuck with it very long, has a unique ammo counter

Thats all the comes to mind rn

[bearpillowmonster]

Some Constructive Criticism

This Episode:

I saw Jungle Cruise last night and it's no Pirates, it definitely screams more Disney and haha funny jokies but I'm not against the idea of this movie because it intrigues me how it'll affect the ride. (If at all)

I was a fan of the score before it even came out so at least it has that going for it.

I think it reveals its hand too early but the scene that it does it in is great so I kinda can't complain. I hate sick scenes in movies and for some reason a lot of them seem to have them, this one included.

I was scared because there's a CGI boss that they showed in the tv spots and yeah there is but there's actually 3 of them and it seems like an okay concept so I'll allow it but they show them way too much and this land that they're after is a one in a million only be unlocked under a specific moon, just so happens the moon is in two days to collect the tears of the moon to break the curse and use the river water to awaken the ancient corpse and blah blah blah, the only thing it's missing is a sky beam. I was willing to put up with all of that but it goes unnecessarily hog wild a little after the halfway point, they literally could've just had an extended scene of the first boat ride for the whole movie and I think I would've enjoyed it more. So I went in worried, was won over then lost again about half way through. Not worth that 30$ premium crap. It ends up being a Mummy wannabe. (They even have a  ladder scene!!)

Slight spoilage:

How would I fix this? There are way too many villains, I'd have the 3 CGI villains be just one and have him have Frank's backstory instead of Frank, using that pain to try and prevent the characters from suffering the same fate. He doesn't even really 'need' superpowers. Also just because you have flashy CGI, doesn't mean it's necessary, there were points where I was questioning its decisions because the CGI doesn't always seem to serve the story, it's just...there. I barely even knew or cared what was happening by the end.

But back to the villains, keep the dock guy (even if I wasn't a fan) but change the Russian guy dramatically. There's no reason for him to be German if you're just going to use him as a joke because I can't even tell what nationality he is, that's how memorable he was. He has no motive, give him ANYTHING else. He has scenes but they're all there to show him being angry, that's it. He gets away with saying Scheiße though.

Take away Lilly's fear or lack of swimming, it's not necessary, just a time filler and there to be dumb. Really dumb. And don't make it so jokey, just because you make a joke about a problem, doesn't make it alright. There's a line where a villain says "The brother stays on the boat." And the brother says "Brother? I have a name." Don't make him so campy, make him more than just the whitey brother. It doesn't help that I already forgot his name too, I just assumed that he was one of the ones going to die when he was introduced but no, he has a lack of layering for nothing, they give him a scene where he lists off the reasons why he's there but it doesn't really seem to show in his character at all. I didn't connect with this movie.

I think I'm going to take a break from Disney movies. Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, all that's fine, whatever, but lately Disney has had some really disappointing films that just keep getting good reviews. I guess it's just the era we're in. Wake me up in the next era.

#jungle cruise #constructive criticism #review #2/5 stars #good first half #bad second half #the rock #emily blunt

[nancywrote]

do you believe in ghosts?

Steve’s a bit paranoid at times for no reason at all, it leads him to pulling all-nighters pretty often. Billy, on the other hand, stays up in fear of something completely different. They meet in the middle.

(4k words, originally posted on AO3 but I moved it here! hope you enjoy!)

Let’s be clear.

Steve doesn’t believe in ghosts.

Or aliens.

He’s very much a stick-to-the-science type of guy, especially with Dustin’s insistence on facts and just generally he’s been left alone for long enough in his life to know his house isn’t haunted, and there’s not really any factual evidence that ghosts or aliens exist.

But his parents leave him alone a lot, and his house is big and dark and Steve’s never gotten any sort of comfort or reassurance growing up for the dark corners or the rooms he’s never allowed in.

He’s been scared, because he’s been alone.

That’s all.

The dark shadows cave in on him when he’s asleep, they creep into his room from the halls and his window scares him because yeah, ghosts don’t come from windows but aliens do and intruders as well.

But, again, he doesn’t believe in aliens.

Intruders are very likely, that’s all.

Somehow, that thought still scares him. He’s defenseless, he’s weak, he’s young.

And nobody would be there to hear him or find him.

But every night, the shadows come in and Steve refuses to use his nightlight or turn the hall lights on because that’s childish and he’s not a child. The nightlight’s not even supposed to be there, his mom took it away when he was eight because she deemed him ‘brave enough’ when he managed to start pretending he was fine and no longer paranoid after their longest trip yet.

He just didn’t want to disappoint her, he didn’t want to embarrass her and he wanted to grow up and get over it.

But the house is just so big, and dark, and empty.

And Steve’s always alone.

The only people that know of his paranoia are Dustin, Nancy, Jonathan, and Billy.

Dustin found out purely by coincidence, stumbled in at night to creep up on Steve to plan a surprise party for El. Steve was aware he’d come, but he forgot in his tired haze that he gave him spare keys and then Dustin walked in on him curled up on the couch with the TV blasting and blankets surrounding him.

He was fully decked out, bat nearby as well as his phone and laptop right by his head, and an array of water bottles on the table as well as a good selection of snacks to keep him company.

Nancy, when she and him made up, found him crying in his closet because he felt anxiety creep up his spine when he thought he heard a whisper and his window was a little bit open and he was too afraid to make noise so he jumped in his closet and hid in the clothes and squeezed his eyes and sobbed silently trying to calm his nerves.

He didn’t want to admit how scared he was, he tried to pretend he was just remembering bad things or he fell into the closet, but Nancy saw through it. She was so patient and accepting, she was so caring and even offered to stay some nights.

Some nights, when it gets bad, she does.

Jonathan found out through Nancy, but Steve trusts him now. Jonathan sometimes joins and they’d have nice little sleepovers where they challenge themselves to cook or do arts and crafts or follow DIY tutorials on youtube or something. It’s always fun.

Billy…

That was a hard one.

Steve’s not quite sure how or when it started.

They were enemies at first, anytime they were in a room together it was almost impossible for either of the two to emerge from it unscathed or calm. Billy picks, Steve ignores, Billy pushes, Steve gets angry. Fight ensues.

But that’s not what they really came to be, because now Billy’s the one he goes to a lot more than Nancy on the days he knows the nights are gonna be particularly rough.

Because Billy’s always up at night, always ready for a text or a call and always listening or talking when necessary, never hurting. And they don’t fight, they compromise.

They hated each other, then Steve snapped and ripped Billy apart with words and then Billy didn’t show up for a week and everyone spread rumors that he’d moved back to Cali or that he was too much of a pussy, but Max knew better and by the second half of the next week, Billy was back and biting his tongue whenever Steve was around and even offering him his notes in English.

And then they saw each other at the arcade and Billy gave him a small smile at Max’s side, and Steve went wild with how genuine it was.

It was a slow and subtle development, but Billy got better and Steve kept pushing all the while trying to be as patient as possible. It’s worth it, because now they talk a lot and Billy listens a lot and…

Steve’s feeling scared tonight.

He left a window open and unlocked again earlier, and like an idiot, he left his door unlocked when he left for school and when he came back he damn near had a heart attack.

He searched the whole house (save for the rooms he wasn’t allowed in, they were locked), and spent hours looking through cabinets and drawers and then Nancy texted him and came over to help make sure it was okay. He felt bad, but he was relieved and she had been wanting to come over anyways, it had been awhile.

She made him feel better with jokes and little distractions of hey, what’s this? followed by weird stuff he made as a child that she found littered around in drawers. For the most part, they were alien-related, sporty, or renditions of his parents.

They were very dorky.

And also, he didn’t believe in aliens by the way.

He doesn’t believe in aliens. Obviously.

But tonight he’s alone again, because Nancy had to leave early, and when Steve found that one window unlocked later on all the blood rushed to his head and he nearly passed out because he couldn’t remember if he opened it or not.

He closed it, and it was loud.

So he’s hiding, bedroom door locked, bottom of his bed stuffed with spare pillows and boxes covered with blankets, and snacks and three water bottles by his side. He’s considering buying a mini fridge to keep in every room he uses as his hiding spot.

But his laptop’s there, but it’s charging across the room and even though his closet’s slits have been duct taped and the window’s right next to his laptop shining a sweet moonlight onto it, it’s raining and he’s terrified.

Because he’s also heard of the Boogeyman.

But he doesn’t believe in it, because that’s stupid.

He’s not a child.

And, he doesn’t misbehave. The Boogeyman would never target him.

But, he cussed out some guy in gym yesterday, and maybe karma’s harsher than it is. Maybe he was lucky all the nights before, and he’s just signed his contract now.

But that’s stupid, because he doesn’t believe in the Boogeyman.

But what if the guy sneaks into the house, steals his stuff, and decides he wants more?

But that’s also stupid, because Steve knows that the man’s a sweetheart and probably didn’t even hear his stupid stress-fueled insult.

But also, anybody can come in.

The house is big, it has many windows and doors and…

A shiver runs down Steve’s spine, and he quickly grabs his phone, checking for any texts.

When it lights up all he can see is his background, a picture of him and Robin hogging her neighbor’s cat. No messages.

So he quickly tries to tap on Youtube, but his hands are too sweaty and shaky and they open up his contacts instead.

And Billy’s right there.

And Billy’s always up.

Steve gulps, takes a quick glance around his well-lit room, shudders when he looks at the window and quickly clicks on Billy’s contact.

His fingers work quicker than his brain.

Hey hargrove

It’s simple, it’s quick, he’s taken away all the extra sentences leading into rambles about if he’s sinned recently or not because that’s unnecessary and Steve doesn’t want to drive Billy away.

A few seconds pass of just rain and no response, Steve thinks maybe the other is asleep now. He’s both happy and sad, because he’s happy Billy’s getting the sleep he needs but sad because he really needs Billy and he’s feeling lonely now.

He’s still scared, but he gets pretty lonely and downtrodden when Billy’s not there.

Within, like, total reason.

Because, he’s just good friends with him now, he’d like to think.

Billy comes online, and Steve’s heart stops. He sees the three dots and with every second, he’s taking constant scans of his room trying to make sure nothing’s changed and no shadows are coming.

He wants to block his closet, the duct tape sticks out too much and makes his legs bounce with fear and uncertainty.

tonight must be my lucky night

hey princess

Steve’s heart momentarily picks up, but he ignores it. He’s too scared, and the rain’s getting louder and his windows feel so vulnerable and he feels so naked even though he’s fully dressed and maybe he’s wearing pajamas but he’s grown, he’s fine, just because his parents weren’t there doesn’t mean he didn’t learn to grow independently, he’s okay.

He wipes his palms on the blankets, takes a swig out of his water bottle to soothe his dry mouth and quickly gets to responding because he’s scared that if he doesn’t respond quick enough Billy will leave and he doesn’t want that.

Wyd?? :)

It’s a stupid, half-assed response. He knows Billy knows what’s going on, because there’s never a night when he’s not about to break down crying.

Usually though, he goes to Nancy or Jonathan or Dustin. Billy’s only every other week.

Billy’s still online. He draws his knees to his chest and practically claws at his bedside table through the snacks to get his earphones. Just to muffle the rain.

doin my hair, bored

He smiles imagining Billy curling those locks around his fingers, remembers how he winked at Steve during practice when Steve caught him ruffling his own hair and messing it up.

Can you call??

Billy’s offline for a moment, and Steve nearly breaks down sobbing thinking that that was it, he was done for and all alone and he’s stupid for even trying but then when he places his phone on his lap, it vibrates and lights up with a picture of Billy kissing a dog, smiling at someone behind the camera.

Steve’s heart warms, he himself lights up with this simple picture already and swipes to accept.

“Billy,” Steve whispers, too afraid to speak in the dark of night.

Even though his room is lit up, he knows the rest of the house isn’t. He briefly considers turning the lights off, because what if it stands out? What if they see the lights?

He’s scared of what he means by they.

He feels his shirt sticking to his skin, the dark pattern of gaming controllers don’t make him look any better.

Billy’s voice comes up after a few seconds of shuffling, which Steve can only assume is him reaching for something on his vanity. “Sorry, I’m here now.”

Those words meant a lot. His heart shook with every syllable.

“What’s up?” Billy asks. So, he didn’t really know.

That’s fine, because Steve knows he shouldn’t expect him to, because they don’t talk all the time, only usually with school.

In fact, they’re only school friends, that’s it. This is stupid, and it’s a stupid idea and the rain hits some part of the window particularly hard and Steve jumps and gasps in his bed.

“Woah there. You good, King Steve?” Billy’s voice is in his ears, drowns out the noises, keeps him comfort. Company.

“Yeah-- fuck, I’m sorry. Window was left open today, door was unlocked, scared myself,” he breathes.

He wonders if maybe he should hang up, the silence makes him feel like he interrupted something but he trusts Billy and he’s on the verge of tears.

“I-- I’m really, like--” he can’t quite breathe anymore, he keeps his phone in his lap and his chin on his knees. His thoughts are broken, and he almost feels sad.

He remembers when his mom would hold him, and sing him a lullaby.

But then he grew, and then he became nothing more than a memory to her. And then he was left to fend for himself, hum the words to a lullaby he couldn’t remember at this point and hope she’ll come back one day to stay a few nights and maybe tell him he’s okay again.

Maybe just let him know they’re not real, aliens, ghosts, the Boogeyman.

“Steve.”

Billy’s voice is sharp, cuts through his thoughts and sends him in a mild panic. Billy was speaking, Steve wasn’t registering.

“Wanna see a picture of Max? Susan sent it to me the other day,” Billy asks to change the topic.

It makes Steve’s shoulders relax, not just Billy’s voice but the ability to immerse himself in something that isn’t his room or house or window.

“Sure, show me,” he answers, grabs a chocolate bar quickly and unwraps it. Takes a small bite, even though it’s getting a little soft from how long it’s been there.

His phone dings in his lap and he picks it up, holds it in front of his face and taps out of the call screen.

It’s just a simple photo of Max at her first cat cafe, drinking tea with a cat wearing her sunglasses near her. Trying to look posh.

“That’s adorable,” he mutters, a smile tugging at his lips. The chocolate’s melting already, so he hurriedly pushes it into his mouth and tries to finish it.

“If you think that’s adorable, you should try lookin’ in the mirror, Harrington,” Billy smoothly says.

It’s so casual, so simple and clearly just something Billy just says sometimes. To anyone. He’s probably really used to slipping in lines like that.

But it still makes Steve laugh all the same, and it still warms his cheeks all the same and cools his body all the while. He swallows, tosses the wrapper into the small bin by his side. “You’re looking in one right now, aren’t you?”

The image of Billy just fiddling with his curls at his vanity, talking to Steve so sweetly while still maintaining some focus on his hair just makes the world around Steve calm a little.

But he still feels so alone, so isolated and still a little paranoid.

Because the duct tape is still on his closet, and it stands out against the brown. And the rain is still pattering his window, and even though it’s softer now it’s still showing the far too dark sky and conveniently there tree. He’s effectively locked himself in his room, and his bat is leaning on the bedside table but completely accessible to the bottom of his bed.

But he’s filled the bottom of the bed. It still scares him.

“Yeah, don’t see you though,” Billy remarks, and Steve can hear him hit his knuckle on something (presumably the edge of a table) and the faint noise of pain in the background. He giggles gently, doesn’t dare to close his eyes though.

“Ow, don’t laugh. There was a stupid fuckin’... thing in the way,” Billy says.

“Thing?” The smile shines through Steve’s voice.

“‘s just nailpolish…” he hears Billy grumble, and finds himself giggling again.

There’s the faint noise of crickets, it sends a chill down Steve’s spine. The rain’s stopped by now, just droplets running down his window and it should be reassuring but the silence makes him fear being heard in his own house.

A house is a person’s most vulnerable and personal point.

The best place to attack.

“Well,” Billy starts, and Steve hears him get into bed and possibly kick himself under the sheets, “going anywhere tomorrow?”

It’s the weekends, and Steve usually hangs out with the kids or Nancy and Jonathan.

But no, he has no plans because they’re all occupied with homework, studying, or dating.

“Nope, ditched in the name of love,” he says simply, lies back against his pillow and feels so relaxed. Probably should have done that earlier.

But like, he was just… he wasn’t scared or anything, he just didn’t feel like it.

Obviously.

Billy laughs softly, and Steve knows it’s restrained because it’s late at night and his walls aren’t the thickest, but the laugh is precious to Steve’s ears and he’s suddenly so glad he has earphones in.

“Want me to come over?”

Steve smiles wider, rolls his eyes. “Tomorrow? Yeah, sure, long as you don’t wreck the place.”

He doesn’t really care either way, because if Billy threw something, Steve would throw something too. If he chose suddenly to completely vandalize Steve’s room, Steve would join in without a wasting a second.

He just follows, because he has fun, and he’s very much blind and stupid when it comes to Billy.

Which, he’s fine with.

And it’s just because they’re good friends.

That hung out on Valentine’s Day watching a movie and ditching their plans with whoever their dates were supposed to be that week.

Because, like, those girls were just creepy. And Steve wasn’t about that, nor was Billy.

But then Billy chuckles so richly, and Steve’s fidgeting with the hem of his shirt all giddy and letting himself close his eyes. He still feels tense, rigid in his bed but considerably safer with Billy right there.

“I don’t mean tomorrow, smartass, I’ll be there regardless. I mean tonight,” Billy says.

Oh.

He breathes through his nose, opens his eyes reluctantly and looks around his room. “You can do that?”

Billy’s done it before, he’s not always able to and sometimes Steve prefers he doesn’t just so he can sleep earlier, but any time he does he’s always there exactly when he says he’ll be and he’s always so good at opening Steve up and picking him apart in the nicest and loveliest ways possible.

It’s never really contact, it’s just talking and stupid things like old movies or studying but Steve finds he doesn’t really care if it’s Billy.

And he’ll take what he can get, obviously.

It’s not just Billy. Obviously.

He’s just scared.

But he swears, it’s not of aliens or ghosts or the Boogeyman.

Just intruders.

Only intruders.

“Yeah,” and Steve can hear Billy take a sip of something, could be water, alcohol, anything when it’s Billy but he knows the likely answer is apple juice.

Because Billy thinks he’s badass, but when he’s with Steve all he drinks is apple juice.

“Okay,” Steve says.

That’s all Billy needed apparently, because in the span of a minute he’s already hearing the sound of a car starting up from the other end.

He realizes Billy was probably being quieter than usual because he wasn’t in his room. He was probably in the living room, someplace close to the front door.

He was anticipating going somewhere.

Possibly to Steve’s.

But, that doesn’t matter. Probably.

Steve just keeps the smile on his face, keeps his legs crossed under the blankets now and makes sure his earphones are pushed in. Anything to distract him from his room.

The call’s still going as he hears Billy pull out the driveway, he can tell he’s on speaker now because when he coughs to block a sudden sob of fear, he hears the echo. “You good, Stevie?”

The nickname makes him feel warmer, keeps him safe. The call’s probably still going on because it’s distracting Steve and Billy knows it. It’s only a matter of time before it has to end, though.

“Yeah,” he assures, stretches and yawns.

Freezes when he hears his bed creak a little beneath him.

His body is feeling stiffer by the second.

A few minutes of silence follow. All of it makes Steve think that maybe Billy’s not there anymore, maybe Billy’s not coming, and…

And then the call ends and his throat suddenly closes up at being left alone again and he breaks into a sob.

The earphones make him all too aware of things, and he plucks them out and shoves his phone in the bundle of snacks. Doesn’t bother, he shakes with every second and his sobs are muffled by his hand in fear of being seen or heard. He keeps his eyes trained on both the window, the closet, and his bed. The idea that everything that should hold safety are things that could hold the most danger to him made him quiver.

Billy abandoned him, and he’s so sad and heartbroken by that but he’s even more frightened by the sounds of wind brushing his window and the tree right there and he wonders which version of the Boogeyman would come for him.

His blood runs cold at the sound of a doorbell, echoing through his house.

His skin is pale, eyes fixated ahead distantly until it sounds again and he jumps.

Immediately, Steve rolls off the bed and unlocks his door. He doesn’t know what’s gonna happen, it feels like it’s a long way to the front door, but he walks anyways.

Quick, long and silent steps. Careful to avoid the parts of the floor he knows will make too much sound. He’s timed how fast it would take for him to get from his door to the front door or any other exit, he’s carefully made out each step in the ground that could lead his fears to him, he’s mapped out safe spots that are really just empty or random enough rooms for whatever to not look in first.

But that doesn’t matter, because his front door’s right there and he’s hoping it’s Nancy, Jonathan, or fuck, even his parents.

And he opens it, crying, and it’s Billy.

Billy’s dressed in his usual cool kid get up, but the moment his eyes land on Steve’s face, he shrugs his jacket off and wraps it around Steve’s shaking body, runs in and closes the door behind him. “Hey, hey, baby,” he coos.

Steve practically locks his arms around Billy, starts full on sobbing with relief and his heart just kicks in in the right way again. “Billy,” he hiccups, muffled in the shirt of the dirty blonde’s.

The other wraps his arms around him, squeezes him reassuringly then starts leading them to the living room.

It’s gentle, the way he drags them both down to the couch and turns the TV on. It’s caring, the way he rubs his thumb on Steve’s temple while he fiddles with the remote. It’s real, it’s raw, and it’s nothing supernatural or scary or mean.

Billy was never really any of that, and Steve understands.

But right now, as he crumbles in Billy’s arms, he doesn’t want to understand anything, because he just wants to be safe and okay and now that Billy’s here his house has never felt safer.

It’s like once Billy stepped in, his house exploded with color and meaning and safety.

He can’t deny that.

Billy pulls Steve up so that he’s effectively trapped against Billy’s chest, wrapped in the safety of his arms and jacket acting as a blanket against the cold living room. Billy smells like roses, it brings Steve some feeling of okayness.

He just sobs, head buried in the crook of Billy’s neck while Billy tenderly rubs his temple and back. The TV is quiet, but it’s there. He can hear the opening to Spongebob. It’s stupid, but it keeps Steve awake.

“It’s okay, I’m right here, princess,” Billy whispers, tangles his fingers in Steve’s hair and rubs at his scalp so reassuringly. He believes him. He trusts him.

“I thought you were-- I thought--” Steve practically wheezes, nuzzling Billy’s collarbone with his chin trying to regulate his breathing, “I thought you left--” his voice trails off into an almost-whine, drags out in the worst and most broken way possible and he feels weak and vulnerable and childish.

And Billy,

Billy nods, tries his best to keep them both on the couch and then hums, and fucking…

Kisses Steve’s temple.

His breath catches in his throat, his heart thrums in a different kind of way now and he grips Billy’s shirt tighter. His sobbing is effectively slowed, silenced, interrupted.

“I know. I’m sorry, Steve. I won’t leave you ever. Promise,” Billy says, keeps his cool despite his action and rubs circles into Steve’s back with one finger so caringly.

Steve closes his eyes, fully lets himself get encased by Billy’s arms and nods. He feels a little childish, until Billy tenderly pushes him back a little and he lets out a confused noise.

His face is red, lips plumped and cheeks wet. Billy wouldn’t like to see that.

But Billy smiles at him, and Steve sees his eyes are glassy, and he wants to kiss his eyes or him and then Billy holds out one hand.

One pinky.

“Pinky promise.”

Steve’s mouth drops a little, surprise and warmth filling him. Happiness.

He raises his pinky and entwines it with Billy’s. Lets it sit for a bit then just envelops Billy in an immediate pounce of a hug.

Billy gasps a happy ‘oh’ at that and hugs back, smiles against Steve’s shoulder.

They’re not childish.

They’re not kids.

They’re them, so fuck whoever thinks that pinky promises are lame. It’s their pinky promise.

The hug definitely drags out, it’s definitely not a hug by the time Steve’s dozing off in Billy’s neck and it’s definitely not a hug anymore when their legs are intertwined and Billy’s arm is right beneath Steve’s head, providing a much better pillow than the armrests of the couch.

And Billy hums, and Steve damn near starts sobbing again. Almost.

The tune of a lullaby.

“Sleep pretty darling, do not cry…”

His voice is shaky, unused, but it’s beautiful and it hits the notes just the way Steve’s mother used to but so much more genuine and loving.

“... and I will sing a lullaby…”

Billy’s voice isn’t the most gorgeous singing voice, but it’s raw and it reminds Steve of playing in bands as a child and rocking the guitar. It’s not tea-flavored, but it’s rose-colored.

“Golden slumbers fill your eyes…”

The lyrics, spot on and everything Steve never remembered. But he doubts he’ll forget ever again, because Billy’s never sung before and maybe he’s singing it right now because…

Because Steve would hum it in practice, because Steve would talk about his mom singing him songs whenever it came to poetry in class, because Steve loved to listen to songs with a similar enough tune in a desperate search for it and Steve would mutter the words incoherently trying to remember it.

Because Billy knows Steve, and they’re good friends.

Because Billy notices these things about him.

And he cares about him.

“Smiles await you when you rise…”

Steve raises his head, finds Billy with his eyes closed drifting off as well, but can feel his thumb still rubbing circles in his back.

“Sleep pretty darling, do not cry… and I will sing a lullaby.”

And when Billy’s fully off into dreamland, Steve places a long, tender peck on the ridge of his jaw.

Because he cares too.

#stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things steve #stranger things billy #st3 #harringrove #steve harrington #billy hargrove #my fic #fanfic #if you're reading htis... #my prompts are open! i'd like to practice different methods/styles of writing #or just generally writing as well as getting out of a small writer's block #so feel free to leave harringrove requests/prompts in my ask!! <3 #thanks for reading!

[inkbun]

If you arenct busy, could you maybe do a (romantic)Roadhog x Fem!Reader angst? Maybe Roadie finds poor reader in a severe depression/anxiety episode(you decide how far it goes, I don't want to make you uncomfortable), and he tries to calm her down? Hurt/Comfort, Romance

Back at it again @ Krispy Kreme. Took a career change and a major move, but I’m back babeyyy. Anyways, this was more serious than I intended, but I like how it turned out. Enjoy! 🐷

(FYI- I’m in a completely different timezone than before so uploads may be random for a while until I figure out what works.)

Words: 1886

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Your back slammed the rusted wall, pocked surface snagging your well-worn henley. Clawing your chest, you tried to regulate your breaths: In for seven, out for eight... only to hyperventilate on the second exhale. Though the panic was an old foe, its trigger this time was wholly unfamiliar.

Living in Junkertown brought its fair share of terrors: thieves and the cowards who stab them in the — two-faced swindlers, and the head of it all, the ruthless Junker Queen. You were by no means a native, having spent most of your adult life in cities like Brisbane. Which while wild in their own right, were far from the barren wasteland that daily threatened your mortality.

Even so, you’d rather a cage match in the Junkertown arena than deal with the situation at hand.

“It’ll be f-fine,” you stammered, pulling the flimsy stick from your pocket. It was decidedly unremarkable—tapered white plastic with a tiny LCD screen in the middle. Funny how something so simple could remain unchanged for over a century since its invention.

Wish it was as simple to get one. Depsite its proclivity for debauchery, Junkertown dealers didn’t often traffic in women’s wellness. Diesel, angel dust, mech parts? Name your price. But a pregnancy test? Everyone loses their minds.

“Rightly so,” you muttered, hands tremoring as you clutched the device.

Your own carelessness had landed you here. Junkertown had a finite supply of...protection dealers and you’d exhausted their existing supply—not that it stopped you.

To be fair, Mako had egged you on—dragging you to the edge of pleasure, dangling you over while his solid arms clutched you close. Granted, you tried to warn him of the line he was toeing, the very real danger the two of you were toying with. The words came in sputtery, pleasure-choked breaths: “Mako p-please, not inside...it can’t...you can’t—”

Mako answered, voice so deep it murmured in your chest. “Don’t care, you’re mine. I want them to know...” At the time the words thrilled you, a sharp departure from his usual level head.

Your tryst with the infamous Roadhog began rather simply. You were an apprentice for Bruce, Junkertown’s master engineer; Mako occasionally brought his motorcycle in after hours for hush-hush repairs. For months you’d tried to figure him out, drawn to the man who always kept his mask on and relegated all responses to appropriately-timed grunts.

Though frightening at first, you grew to enjoy—no, crave—his presence, especially delighted when he brought shop presents from his exploits. They usually consisted of food, like Bruce’s favorite cinnamon vines and your own, powdered sugar donuts. Occasionially he brought trinkets, though you didn’t dare ask where from. The most expensive of these, a solid gold set of brass knuckles, served as a welcome supplement to your growing treasure stash.

Bruce ribbed you about the blossoming...something between you two, smile poorly hidden in his scraggly white beard. “I haven’t seen ‘Hog get excited over anyone in a long while. Hardly looks my way if you’re in the room.”

You waved him off, calling him a silly old man caught up in daydreams. But he was right, even if you only admitted it in your quiet moments. So, when Mako came by late one evening for repairs on a blown gasket and Bruce wasn’t around, you stepped in to help.

Tension-laden, you worked on the bike, doing your best to keep your mind from straying to his large hands, or your eyes from the plethora of tattoos and scars across his skin. Somehow you could feel his gaze, even beneath the mask, felt the curious intensity even though he said little.

“Thanks,” he said, once you were done, drawing just close enough for you to examine him up close.

Strange, you thought, taking in the hulking man before you. Mako’s wiry demolitionist sidekick had tried flirting with you, but on nights when your hand snaked beneath the band of your cargos, you dreamt of thick arms and a shock of white hair accompanying deep, pleasured growls. And that’s when you knew you were in trouble.

You flashed a sultry smile, not bothering to adjust the fallen strap of your denim overalls. “No bother at all. I know I’m not Bruce, but my touch ain’t half bad.”

“That so?” he chuckled, timbre-rich sound warming your bones. You nodded vigorously, dislodging the other strap in the process. Reason told you to pull it back up, act like nothing happened — for god’s sakes don’t fuck the outlaw.

You promptly did the opposite, drawing nearer until you hit his stomach, fingers boldly exploring the skin there. Mako went very still, strangled groan escaping him as you kept on. At last he stopped you, taking your arm gently in his large hand.

“I’m a bad man, ____.”

You snorted, spirit too consumed to let a little self-deprecation stop you. Gently you reached up, bracing on his stomach for balance as you tugged the bottom of his mask up. Mako flinched, grip on your hand tightening before at last giving a single nod: a silent “Continue.”

With some difficulty you unfastened it, fascinated with every inch of the face it revealed. He was younger than the white ponytail suggested, honey brown eyes alight with quiet mischief; his snub nose was adorned by a septum ring, with sharp cheekbones punctuated by stubble and facial scars. He was oddly handsome, despite the apprehension and want warring on his face.

Breathless, you stilled your thundering heart and braced both palms against him, fingers spanning in search of more. “Show me.”

That was nearly a year ago, the months since filled with snuck rendezvous in Bruce’s shop, your apartment, and a host of “we’ll be killed if we’re caught” locations. Neither of you publicly claimed the other, both of you citing op sec as the reason. Mako was wanted in far too many towns, and you didn’t need any of Junkertown’s nastier characters—including the Queen herself—knocking on Bruce’s door with questions.

Still, the past few months had seen a palpable...something growing between you. Mako had started staying the night instead of returning to his hideout with Jamison, clutching you in slumber like one of his beloved pachimaris. You began keeping apricot jam, his favorite, in the fridge and doubled your grocery order just in case he stopped by.

You were serious. Maybe not in love—Was that even possible in the Wasteland?—but definitely serious.

“And I’m about to fuck it all up,” you whispered, tears welling your eyes as you pondered taking off the cap. It’d been at least an hour since it chirped, announcing the results were in. Three times you gathered up the courage to look—three times you failed, panic robbing you of breath and vision blurring whenever you even considered the possibility of a positive result.

Your brain whirred, spitting questions with no good answers: Would he still want me? Would he blame me? Would he leave?

Would he, would he...on and on it went until you were queasy.

The swirling dread robbed you of awareness, so much so that you failed to hear your the click of your a door as someone unlocked it, or the thumpy footsteps on the stairs accompanied by inquisitive “hmms” as Mako searched the workshop for you.

You’d gone totally numb, shivering against the wall; just then, a familiar hand tapped your shoulder.

“Roadie!” you jumped, test stick clattering to the floor. You tried to rein your voice in, aware it likely teetered on hysterics. “What are you doing here?”

He had forgone the mask as you liked, tattered t-shirt straining against his tummy and large arms. His was hair out of its usual ponytail, gathered around his neck in a shaggy white crop. Every bit of it screamed relaxed, as did the takeaway boxes tucked under his arm. Mako had come for a date, and you were about to ruin it all.

“I was around,” he offered, watching you for a moment. Then, nodding at the ground. “What’s that for?”

Realizing the test was out in the open, you scrambled to snatch it up. “N-nothing! Silly business really, don’t worry about it, I just—”

“Don’t lie to me, ____,” he said, snatching up the test with deceptive speed.

The words were gentle, softer than anything you’d ever heard from him. Of course I can’t hide from him. He might be an internationally-wanted criminal, but Mako was one of the most perceptive people you’d ever met. Not that it’d take a savant to derive the source of your current meltdown.

He held the damning evidence in front of you. “This yours?”

You nodded, biting your lip to quell your tears. Mako nodded, face drained of emotion. He watched you a moment, eyes resting on your middle.

“Would it be mine?”

You nodded again, momentary incredulity granting you courage to speak. “Whose else’s?”

That got a slight chuckle, quickly replaced by the first instance of worry you’d ever seen on his face.

“You look yet?”

You shook your head no.

“Scared?” he asked, face full of comprehension.

You nodded, trembling progressed to sobbing tremors. Without another word Mako pulled you toward him, willing you still with his solid warmth. By degrees you stopped, reduced to sniffles and quiet babbling.

“I’m so sorry, I ruined everything. You came to have a good time and you face so much out there and I-I—“

Mako kissed your head, lips lingering against your clammy skin. “Stop. We’ll look at it together.”

It wasn’t a question and you had no will left to fight. Still, the unspeakable question prowled your thoughts, compelling you to ask.

“And if it’s...” you said, trailing off as you stared at him with welling eyes.

“Then it is,” Mako said, training his quiet, determined gaze on your frightened one. “But I’m yours, ____. No matter what.”

You cried out in relief, so flooded with happiness you could only hug him tighter. Mako laughed, sound soothing like summer rain on desert sand. Standing on your tippy toes, you kissed him, leaching every ounce of gratitude and affection you could into your lips. He answered ferverently, flicking his tongue across yours before pulling away.

“Ready?” he asked, holding the test up. Taking a deep breath, you nodded. With him by your side, you could do anything. Using his thumb, Mako slid the shutter covering the screen, both of you holding your breath as you uncovered the result: Negative.

The sound you made barely qualified as human, but Mako just laughed, ruffling your hair with his free hand. Crisis averted, turned your attention to the fragrant takeaway boxes, sure you detected the tang of greasy noodles.

“Hungry?” Mako asked, scarred cheek quirking as he smiled.

You stood, temporarily stunned by the pure affection on his face. He wouldn’t say it yet, and neither would you until you got good and ready, but right then you knew that Mako Rutledge, criminal extraordinaire, loved you.

Stomach grumbling, you answered with a smile. “For you? Always.”

#roadhog x reader #mako rutledge x reader #mako x reader #junkers #ow imagines #overwatch imagines #ow imagine #ovw imagines #overwatch imagine #ovw fic #ovw #overwatch

[spiritofjustice]

Webkinz Games Ranked

Because I have nothing better to do and I’d never played all the Webkinz games before now.  Includes Tournament games and board games, but is mainly about the arcade.

Wheel of Wow/Deluxe and Wishing Well will not be ranked, but other Dailies will.

Also include Academy games.  I did not have Plumpy’s Hairdresser when I made this, but I do now upon this edit.

So in general the arcade games are sorted alphabetically, with random exceptions. I’m just going down the list as-is in the arcade.

Grand Grotto - one of the match three-esque games, though you mainly just click stuff.  A little tough, but I wasn’t trying very hard.  The graphics aren’t that thrilling but aren’t bad.  Tries to do something interesting things, but I don’t really love a lot of the Webkinz takes on match three games. 5/10.

Goody Gumdrops - an infinite running style game where you collect gumdrops to progress.  This game is not fun.  Feels like the flow of Kinzcash you get is also less compared to a lot of other games.  Not much going on after the first minute or so. 4/10.  EDIT: I was actually really mean to this game and I don’t know why.  I really like it now.  It’s fun, not too intensive.  Inoffensive and cute.  You actually do make decent KC from it.  7/10.

Polar Plunge - this was one of my favorite games when I was a kid.  You sled down a hill.  It’s simple.  I have never fucking completed a track of this game in my life.  Don’t like the new version, but the art style isn’t offensive.  I find the older art style for the games more charming, though.  It’s fun.  8/10.

Cash Cow - another game I probably played a lot, though I prefer 2.  Another take on the match three.  This game also had its art style updated, but I just don’t like the lineless look of the update.  It’s soulless, and it makes the visuals more busy and hard to follow for me.  All right game though.  7/10.

Smoothie Moves - this is basically just Zuma, which my dad loves playing.  I like this kind of game, too, though I suck at it.  Nice visuals, clean, fun gameplay.  8/10.

Wacky Zingoz - one of those games where you try to hit something as far as you can.  It’s so basic, it’s not really anything, and you can’t make much money on it-- like 10 Kinzcash is generous in terms of how much you make.  Not fun.  1/10.

Wacky Zingoz Extreme - the EXTREME version of Wacky Zingoz, except with more bats and more to do, but still not much.  An improvement.  3/10.

Ant Mania: Picnic 2 - the thrilling sequel to Picnic.  Not bad, I remember playing this one a lot.  You just try to collect food while avoiding spiders and fire ants.  It’s simple, but fun.  Not really my favorite though.  5/10.

Atlantiles - I don’t know how to describe this game.  You match tiles together, but it’s not like a match three.  Never played this game till now, but I love it.  Excellent game, really fun, a little challenging but not too hard.  10/10.

Bananza - a really basic, older game.  You collect bananas and avoid obstacles.  Not the most visually interesting or engaging game.  3/10.

Booger Gets an A - I get the impression this very basic addition game is for the youngest fans of Webkinz, but the games get difficult really fast simply because of the speed.  It caught me by surprise because I had no memory of that.  Not bad.  5/10.

Zingoz Bounce ‘N’ Burst - I remember really liking this game but it’s not very fun to play now.  You try to burst bouncing Zingoz and it’s not particularly interesting, but is challenging.  5/10.

Candy Bash - a brick breaker clone.  Not particularly fun-- it feels like your character is way too close to the bricks.  4/10.

Candy Bash 2: Viva Poncho - this one is about as equally unfun, but not the same game as the first.  You have more ability to move and control what’s going on, but you’re really slow.  You’re just sauntering back and forth to bust candy blocks falling, and it’s just kinda eh.  4/10.

Cash Cow 2 - I like this game.  I’ve played this game many times.  Another take on match three, but I enjoy it more than the original.  Solid game, good fun, I’m terrible at it.  7/10.

Color Storm - somehow wasn’t looking forward to this game but I had some fun with it.  Another kind of match three, but challenging and interesting.  A good take on the broad genre.  7/10.

Crafty Canaries - a match three.  Good fun to play, I played it to completion.  Not too much going on but it’s solid.  8/10.

Dashing Dolphin - the controls are slippery and awkward.  You’re trying to navigate through hoops and through nets, but it’s not fun to control or to play.  1/10.

Dogbeard’s Gold - expected something different from the title, but it’s fine.  The only control is clicking with good timing to shoot from one island to the next.  It’s all right.  Not much to write home about and not much Kinzcash to make up for it.  I liked the visuals.  4/10.

Eager Beaver’s Adventure Park - I don’t like spelling games.  This is a take on one, but I didn’t really enjoy it.  3/10.

Flutter Bugged - just running around and avoiding bees(?) using flowers.  Can get wild pretty fast, not bad.  5/10.

Get Eleven Solitaire - I fucking love Webkinz card games.  This is no exception.  The game is extremely simple and is pretty much the same every level, but I like it.  I like solitaire and I like the take on it to get to eleven.  It’s good, casual gameplay and nice visuals.  I bought a Deluxe membership to play this game.  10/10.

Go-Go Googles - I remember loving this one as a kid, might have even gotten the trophy for it.  Fun, but basic.  You jump to collect flowers and protect the tree from butterflies.  It’s fine, but the controls feel slightly janky, but not bad.  5/10.

Goober’s Atomic Adventure - basically an updated version of Goober’s Lab, except with pay-to-win and pay-to-play elements!  You can play without, but it’s clear they want you to pay.  I do not like this because of that.  0/10.

Goober’s Lab - the OG match three.  Fun, but it’s really slow, like painfully slow.  It is good fun, though.  7/10, would have been 8 without the slowness.

Griddling Gourmet - I wonder how many people have even unlocked this game?  After owning an account for 12 years and playing on and off, I unlocked this game this month.  You get it by completing all levels of the Cooking course, and it’s basically just an arcade version of that lesson.  It’s all right-- I feel like the academy version controls better, but I always loved the Cooking class.  9/10.

Hatch the Dragon - kinda reminds me of 2048?  You try to hatch the Dragon.  Fun, challenging, interesting, and I want to give it a go after the initial playthrough to see if I can do better.  8/10.

Skunk Sweeper: Hide ‘N’ Skunk -  a take on Minesweeper.  I don’t like Minesweeper or this.  1/10.

Home Before Dark - kinda like Meepit Juice Break on Neopets?  I actually do like games like where you’re shifting the position of pipes around to achieve something, but it’s nothing to write home about.  6/10.

Hoppy Little Rocketship - an infinite jumping kind of game.  I like those games, but this game is wildly laggy and that really ruins the experience.  2/10.

Hungry Hog - this game is ugly and not particularly fun.  A take on Pac-Man, I guess?  I liked this game a lot as a kid but it’s just kinda eh.  4/10.

Iceberg Escapades - not fun.  Controls don’t feel right.  Another bland clicking game.  1/10.

Jazz Monsters - this game confused me on account of the fact that the purple monster isn’t purple, but its color matches up perfectly with the keyboard, which is pink, but is actually like, supposed to be the Green Instrument or something.  Not fun.  1/10.

Jumbleberry Fields - it’s a daily, but you have some actual control over what’s going on so it’s included.  It’s Yahtzee except the dice are loaded, but I like it.  This game, like most of Webkinz, is buggy, and one time, I filled up my Jumbleberry Jar and tried to redeem my prize, but the game bugged out and it reset to zero with me receiving no prize.  I’m still mad.  Not really gonna rank it, but like, 7/10.

Jumbleberry Blast - a match three, but this one is really satisfying to play.  Not a whole lot to say about it, but I actually like this one!  8/10.

Leapin’ Llama - game allegedly lets you use the mouse but it doesn’t work.  A basic infinite running game.  Not fun.  Slow.  3/10.

Lily Padz - this game is fuck ugly, but controls good.  Really simple, but pretty fun.  The jumping feels good and the controls are actually tight!  Wow!  6/10.

Lily Padz 2: Tropical Downpourz - it’s like the first one except it’s not ugly and controls really bad.  Hard to gauge how far your jump goes and doesn’t feel right like the first one does.  Not good.  1/10.

Dex Dangerous(tm) and the Lunar Lugbotz!(tm) - the Webkinz challenges made me play this game 500 times and I’m sick of it.  It’s a basic Asteroids game.  It’s all right, but I don’t like it. 3/10.

Lunch Letters - a typing game.  Very Hard really means that mode is fucking hard, so I’m impressed.  I don’t love typing games, but it’s not bad.  5/10.

Ms. Cowaline’s Rollcall - a really fast-paced game where you try to keep track of whether you’ve seen the same Webkinz in a row.  Super fun, I suck at reaction games, but maybe a little too simple?  7/10.

Operation Gumball - I’m bad at this one, and don’t find the number puzzles super interesting, BUT it’s unique so I’ll give it points.  Not really for me but not bad.  6/10.

Pet Party Parade - another take on match three.  This idea of freeing a creature by clearing paths has been used a million times in these Webkinz match threes, like the Grotto one and Jumbleberry Blast. but isn’t as fun.  4/10.

Picnic - the original Picnic, just a take on the snake game.  Simple, but solid.  5/10.

Pinky’s Big Adventure - essentially a remake of Hungry Hog, but with a face lift and some slight changes to the gameplay.  Not bad.  Not my favorite, though, since I don’t really enjoy Pac-Man style games to begin with.  5/10.

Pizza Palace - delicious, finally some good fucking food.  Love this one.  In the vein of Cake Mania, a series I LOVE, you make pizzas.  It’s stressful, like working a food job in real life.  I love this game, but I’ve never completed it.  I wish they gave you more than one life for such a long and difficult game.  Can’t complain much, though.  10/10.

Plumpy’s Hairdresser - the arcade version of the Grooming class.  Fun.  Pretty much the same as always.  8/10.

Polarberry Jam - pretty much like Bananza except now it’s a polar bear?  It’s not fun.  Character is too slow and feels limiting.  1/10.

Pumpkin Patch Protector - fuck ugly, but I don’t know any other Webkinz games like it, so points for creativity?  It’s a click and shoot type of game.  Not much to write home about.  3/10.

Quizzy’s Word Challenge - I don’t like spelling games, but this is more fun than Eager Beaver’s.  Not bad.  It’s kind of like boggle, I guess?  5/10.

Skater Kat - hip and kewl.  The controls are okay but feel a little slow.  Not particularly fun or interesting.  You just skateboard and jump.  3/10.

Spree! - another daily, but you get to do stuff.  It’s a virtual board game.  I like it, and I like the idea of saving up money to spend one you get to the end.  8/10.

Stack ‘Em Up Solitaire - a basic take on Solitaire.  I wish the game looked just a little better- the green they used isn’t really nice to look at for long periods of times.  I like this one.  6/10.

Stardrops - another take on match three.  Looks pretty, kinda interesting, but not my favorite.  5/10.

Tile Towers - I love Mahjong, but the colors they use for the tiles make this game hard to play.  It’s hard to distinguish the tiles apart, so that’s not fun.  If you want to play a Mahjong clone on a pet site, just stick with Koujong on Neopets.  2/10.

Triple Strike Solitaire - Solitaire, except this time it’s in pyramids!!!  I actually prefer this to the other Solitaire, but it still is a little visually unpleasant, but not too bad.  I wish they would update this one!  8/10.

Banaza: Tropical Troubles - the thrilling sequel to the original.  Pretty much the same except you don’t progress in levels, it just keeps going till you lose.  A little more going on, but eh.  The platforming doesn’t feel good.  3/10.

Tulip Troubles 2 - where’s Tulip Troubles 1.  We want answers.  A quick reaction game.  Fun.  Not bad.  Kinda just gets stale after a while.  5/10.

Tunneling Twigsy - this is not fun.  Kind of like the Polar Bear one from Neopets but nowhere near as fun?  1/10.

Wacky’s Bullseye Batter - a batting game.  Basic, fun.  It’s okay.  5/10.

WackyER Zingoz - the THIRD version of Wacky Zingoz, and this one is actually pretty all right.  Way more going on visually, there’s levels, it’s chill.  6/10.

Waddell’s Icecap Adventure - we all hate ice physics, right?  Right.  Mixed the other Penguin game up with this.  The controls are bad and it’s not fun.  2/10.

Webkinz Rally - it’s all right?  A really basic racing game, but I wish there was more to it. 4/10.

Scrambled - love this one.  So simple, but challenging, but fun.  You make omelettes until you win.  Customers are mean to you like in real life.  10/10.

Where’s Wacky - basic memory matching game.  It’s okay. 3/10.

Whimsy Skies - idk how to describe and I don’t want to because it’s got the classic Control Slowness(tm) and isn’t fun.  One point added because I love Webkinz dragons, though.  2/10.

Zacky’s Quest - I want to actually complete this game some day but I have no patience for it.  It’s unique, interesting, kind of an actual game and isn’t a match three.  I like the adventure vibes. 6/10.

Zingoz Bounce - this game disappeared from my arcade.  It was the game of the day the other day and I know they get taken out of the arcade list for that day but when it switched over it didn’t come back and I didn’t have the chance to play it when it was game of the day.  Found it making this list though and it’s a boring clicking-to-support-the-ball game.  1/10.

Zingoz Pie - you throw pie.  You do not have fun. 2/10.

Zingoz Pop - another updated game visually and it just totally lose the charm the original version has-- which you can play in the Quick-Play Arena, at least.  It’s not much, though.  4/10.

Zingoz Zangoz - it’s not fun.  It’s a fruit bouncing game and I just don’t care for the visuals or the gameplay.  1/10.

TOURNAMENT GAMES

Webkinz Supermodelz - I’ll argue that this is the most popular tournament game.  I like it.  You pick out outfits and the judges arbitrarily judge you.  9/10.

Cash Cow Battles - the same as the original Cash Cow but you’re competing against someone else.  7/10.

Wacky Zingoz - no.  1/10.

Link’D - it’s Connect Four.  I like Connect Four.  5/10.

Checkers - I don’t like Checkers because I’m bad at it.  If I wanted to bad at that kind of game I’d play Chess JKSDBFSD.  Tried playing against the AI with Alyssa Fairy and she wiped the floor with me.  3/10.

Bogbeard’s Bathtub Battles - it’s Battleship but with cool power-ups.  Actually very fun.  9/10.

Rock Paper Scissors - what do you think.  5/10.

Chef Challenge - my favorite tourney game.  I LOVE making recipes in Webkinz so this is just a blast.  10/10.

Kinz Pinz Bowling - it’s virtual bowling, so not bad.  5/10.

Goober’s Atomicolicious - a take on Goober’s Lab but with a few more things-- trying to fill vials of color before your opponent does.  I already like Goober’s Lab, so.  This version is not slow, so that’s great.  8/10.

Duck Crossing - not a big fan?  I like that it’s a strategy game but it’s just okay.  6/10.

Zingoz Switcherooz - not a fan, really, but it’s simple and inoffensive.  I suck at strategy games.  4/10.

BOARD GAMES

Farming Frenzy - kinda fun, but really simple.  I remember liking this game a lot.  6/10.

Go Fish - wow.  it’s Go Fish.  5/10.

Jigsaw - love jigsaw games.  For some reason the ask/chat/rap functions pop up and make the game pretty much unplayable for me.  I’m so mad, because this was my favorite Webkinz board game.  WHY does this pop up when it’s a one player game.  1/10.  Would have been a 9/10 otherwise.

Pool - it’s Pool.  But it wouldn’t let me play, so idk.  I remember it being all right, though.  5/10.

Skunk Sweeper - it’s basically an original Minesweeper instead of what we get in the aracde version?  But I don’t like Minesweeper. 1/10.

Webkinz Air Hockey - it’s virtual air hockey.  It’s fun, though.  7/10.

Webkinz Coloring - it’s a virtual coloring book.  1/10.

#webkinz #webkinz tag #also if you read this and think I have bad taste at any point............ youre probably right I do HJSVBFS #just thought I'd do this cause I Can. #I spent an hour and a half on this pls. JKDBHFD #I mean just compiling the list playing all the games took hours and several days bcs I played some of them as far as I could go- #this is the most important post of my life

[beefy-keefy]

Keith and Shiro fall into each other because of a dog, a significant absence of knowledge, and nosy friends who are tired of a bad roommates romance and would like very much for Shiro and Keith to cut the crap and bone already.

on twitter as a thread

It starts off with Keith, because Keith is a catalyst and everything he does is absolutely fucking genius in Shiro's eyes. Even if the dog didn't exist, even if Keith hadn't been on his phone at the exact right time and stumbled on the photo before it could have disappeared down his timeline, Shiro likes to imagine that the story might have ended the same way-- that is, coming home to a dog and a boy he could kiss. Of course, though, that'd come later. 

In the present, Keith is curled up scrolling on his Twitter on a well-worn armchair and jerks his head up suddenly to lock eyes with Shiro, reading on the couch behind him. His face is so shocked and his eyes so wide that for a moment Shiro's heart stops, expecting the worst, but then Keith's shaking hand tilts his phone so Shiro can see what's on the cracked screen: a puppy. 

Before he can react, Keith is in his face and talking fast. "OhmygodShirodidyouseeit oh god oh god oh god..." 

Shiro moves to place a hand on his shoulder, but Keith jumps up and begins to pace their barren floor with both hands slowly dragging down his face. "I can't fucking believe, oh my god--I need it. It's up for adoption and I know our floor doesn't allow dogs but look at its eyes have you ever seen a man more handsome--" 

It figures that the only time Keith talks about an attractive man is when it's a dog. Keith--has a thing for them. The only things on his timeline are dogs and Shiro himself out of possible obligation. But he can't even curse himself for not being born a dog right now because the puppy is, admitidly, really fucking cute and two sets of puppy dog eyes are staring up at him right now. 

There was no way he could have said no, because Keith was Keith and Shiro was himself and the universe conspired to torture him. 

They meet up at the adoption center four days later. There's kennels and rows of dogs looking up at them from inside, and Shiro might have cried a little bit but Keith just sadly brushes the bars and murmurs, "I wish I could take you all home. I'll come back,  I swear." His eyes light up again though when the lady unlocks one in the far back though, revealing a puppy with glossy fur and big ears. The dog sidesteps the lady when she tries to lift him, and instead bounds over to Keith as if they'd met before. 

"Hey puppy," he murmurs when the dog tucks himself into his arms. Shiro--sort of melts. He realizes he was reaching for his phone to take a photo a few seconds later, but he ignores that impulse and goes to fill out the papers instead. 

On the way back, puppy on his lap, Keith insists on stopping beside small fields of grass every few minutes so the puppy can "experience what he's been missing", and blowing his budget on hand embroidered collars and toys. In every sense, Shiro should have been annoyed, but as long as Keith kept smiling like that Shiro is fine with spending the day like this.

It's a few days later, when everyone is over at their place and hogging the couch when Lance moves to push Keith playfully on the shoulder and a blur of snarling black fur and teeth leaps at him from behind the couch. "Holy--FUCK!" he screams, scrambling back.

Keith looks on calmly, and Shiro shrugs. "We have a dog," he informs them.                                                                                                                                  "Oh," Lance mocks, still backing up from the dog. "You--you have a dog. Of course. How could I have been mistaken."                                                       

"This is a new development," Allura remarks.                                                         

"He's so cute!" Hunk coos. 

'Of fucking course," Lance is murmuring. "Of fucking course their dog doesn't have a name."                  

"He's really cute," Hunk repeats.                                                                            

"Does Shiro have a name for him?" Allura asks, turning to him.                            

Shiro grimaces, glancing at Keith. "It's whatever Keith wants." He has him whipped. 

"Kosmo," Lance says. "You two awful nerds are getting a dog named Kosmo."                                                                                                                                "He'll tell us when he's ready," Keith frowns, curling protectively around the puppy.                                                                                                                    

"I like Kosmo," Pidge says. 

"His name isn't--"                                                                                                    

"So back to the advice," Pidge cuts him off, and Keith settles back grumpily but listens attentively with one hand still stroking the puppy. "Dogs need lots of love," she says slowly. Keith nods hesitantly. "As a dog parent and your closest friend, I tell you with the utmost respect that you and Shiro need to fuck.”

 Keith sputters, and Shiro rapidly feels all the blood in his body go to his face as Pidge leans in, and repeats with a whisper, "Fuck and the puppy will be better for it." Their other friends all nod quickly.

By the time they kick everyone out, both of their cheeks are flaming. “That was wild,” Shiro says. Keith shrugs, colour high on his cheeks and goes over to check on Kosmo.  He doesn’t really talk the rest of the day, and whenever Shiro brings it up he just flushes. 

It’s later, when Kosmo is asleep that Keith admits it quietly in the moonlight. “I guess Pidge had a point.” he mumbles. 

“What?”

“I-I mean I want the best for Kosmo. And...” Keith’s eyes widen suddenly, glancing behind Shiro.

“Okayheslookingandimgoingtokissyourightnowpunchmeifitsnotokay,” he whispers lightning fast and then he has Shiro’s face in his hands and surges up to kiss him hard. Shiro doesn’t have time to protest or react, but he knows he wants it.

It’s all teeth and bruising pressure and over too quick. 

Keith pulls away slowly, dazed. He slowly untangles his fingers from Shiro’s hair and bolts up from the couch and runs. Kosmo cocks his head at Shiro before following Keith.

(If he hadn't left, maybe he'd have seen the way Shiro slumps back against the couch after, the way he touches his lips. Maybe he'd have still been close enough to hear the blood rushing just under Shiro's skin.) (Shiro likes to think the ending would have been different.) 

Keith avoids him for two days and half a night before he snaps.

Shiro sees him sneaking into the kitchen for dog food in the evening. Shiro had been slipping protein bars under Keith's door, but Kosmo only had the kibble Shiro knew Keith hid in his closet for him.

Shiro sneaks up behind him and slips an arm around his waist before he could second guess himself. "Tell me if this is okay," he murmurs, trying to play cool but hoping the heat in his face isn't visible to Keith. 

Keith halts in his movements, craning his head behind his shoulder to look at Shiro. His eyes are wide and he leans into the touch, explanations for his avoidance on his tongue but Shiro shushes him before he can. "Kosmo is watching," he says, cheeky as he dares. 

Keith sighs and flushes. "I'm sorr--"

Shiro cuts him off, grinning now. "It's fine. We're parents. We make sacrifices." 

"You're a dick," Keith says, but he's smiling a little.

"I'm your dick," Shiro says in an obnoxious overly cheesy voice, nosing into Keith's neck.

And so it begins.

When they're sitting on the couch their usual distance away from each other, one of the make the leap to sit on the other's lap when they notice Kosmo looking.

During breakfast, they spoon feed each other cereal and wash the milk stains out later with one hugging the other's backside against the sink and helping. They don't kiss. 

Sometimes Shiro dares to kiss Keith's cheek, but it's always with an over exaggerated "mwah" sound. 

And he forgets sometimes too. He'll be embracing Keith and forgetting that this is fake.

He'll be carding Keith's hair until they both remember Kosmo is asleep and they spring apart from each other to their separate sides of the couch, coughing and ignoring the silence that falls. 

It's just for Kosmo, he tells himself. 

Just for Kosmo.

Except that he's been in love for so long that when they finish their intimate gestures for the day and go to their respective bedrooms all Shiro can think about is how wrong this is.

It's been three weeks of touching Keith, of "come over here Kosmo is looking and I'm going to put my head on your lap ok" with their eyes and aching when they slump down on the couch after Kosmo goes to sleep. 

 And he can't take it anymore. 

 "Fuck it," he says, when he sees Keith all sleepy and sweet curled up with his paperback. 

He says, "Keith," and then grabs his face and kisses him, hard and sweet and hesitant, like their first one, and it feel so good, so good to just pour it to Keith, all of it. They pull apart and Keith pulls him back in. 

It's later when Keith murmurs, "Kosmo is asleep."

"I know." 

"We don't have to pretend anymore."

"But this," Shiro says, pressing a kiss to the right corner of Keith's mouth, "is so  real."

#kosmo deserves all the lovin #sheith #vld #voltron #fic #vld shiro #vld keith #kosmo #sheith fic #roommates #fluff #romance #friends to lovers #fake dating #mine

[sonicwarfareofficial-blog]

Sonic Warfare Chapter 2

He looked...so much meatier in real life. His features were more leathery, and he had a turkey neck. Eggman stirred up from his small forced slumber, saw the president, and screamed.

“Finally! I’m rescued! I have been trying to do research in my lab when this blue punk tried to vandalize my work! Look at all this terror and destruction he’s done to the ice caps… oh the humanity!

Imagine what horrible changes the climate will go through due to this.”

“I don’t believe in Global Warming. The snow will refreeze as time goes I imagine. Fires die out within time.” The president winked at the hedgehog. “ Global warming? I say global winning!”

While the president stood next to the Sonic, Eggman was being handcuffed by his agents.

“It’s cold here, big guy!” Papi Trump exclaims, “How ‘bout you take a seat in my luxury helicopter, it’s pretty yuuuge”.

Sonic would have protested and questioned the faux-tanned man, but he felt as if he needed to go with him. Most of the time when the president got in touch with him, it was due to a dire crisis that only the hedgehog and his comrades could fix.

However, Donald Trump was a fairly new president. What would he see as trouble to his Americans, or to mankind?

The hedgehog steps into the dually propelled machine that is the size of a large house with wide wings. The guards follow the president in with the doctor. ¨Have a seat, big guy” Trump insists. Sonic seats himself on a couch softer than Eggman’s mustache, partially sinking into the cushion, and faces the president who seats himself facing Sonic back.

¨We have a yuuuge problem  concerning-”

“The fate of America? The fate of humanity? ” Sonic interrupts in anticipation of a big mission.

Oh, the adventures the American presidents had for him! He could only imagine what new challenge could face him-

“Far worse, I want you to save yesterday’s world if you’re catching my drift,” the orange master replied.

What could he mean by that? Was there something new that needed to be hidden, like an embarrassing media story? Sonic wasn’t someone to sit and fix things like that-it took to long and he would rather do something more practical.

“I’m sorry, what ARE you saying?” Sonic questioned.

“Is this familiar to you at all?” The thick man bends to his side and takes out a grayish green cap with a metallic eagle pin perched on mid center. Below the eagle lay a skull with cross bones with the dulled black letters “SS” on the side inscribed as sharply as lightning bolts. Immediately Sonic recognized the hat.

It looked so familiar to the dusty hat Tails and him found on the beach shore a few years prior. It had been placed in a tool-box in the workshop of the Torpedo-2.

“Seems to be some sort of old electricians hat...” Sonic observes.

“That's not it, you dunce!” Eggman interjects. “It's the official uniform helmet of the schutzstaffel of the the ol’ third Reich, you idiot!”

“I don't know what the hell he's talking about.” Replies el presidente, watching the doors shut behind the doctor, and then looking back to the headwear. “This is a hat that the Nazis wore, ya know, Hitler?”.

“Oh, okay.” Sonic responded with confusion.

He didn't know who or what this Hitler guy was but he sounded important, he could always Google him later.

“So what about him? Isn't he dead or something?” Sonic said as a wild guess. “Yes he is but he's also not. . .” Trump replies sadly. “Ya see. People keep comparing me to the Nazis, and I don't like it, I don't like it” He nods as his turkey neck swings from side to side. He squinted his eyes in thought. “Don't like it. Uhh-uh.”

Sonic rocked his legs back and forth on the seat. “That kinda sucks, but to be honest, egghead and I have some important matters to deal with,” he says with a frown thinking of his anger towards the mad doctor. “I’m kind of occupied saving the present. Ya know? It’s kinda my thing?”

“Whatever you can dish out, I am up for it” Sonic reprises with confidence as he pointed to himself.

“You gotta go back in time to take him down. Take him away from the world before he even makes his rise and before people have something to compare me to- uh I mean before he does something the world will mourn to see” Trump states. “How do you expect me to go back in time?” Sonic questions. “You're gonna run back in time” Trump confidently asserts to Sonic.

 “Well, I am fast, but sorry to break it to you, Mr President, but I am not that fast. Ya see, I need a little something to go as fast as we'd like.” Sonic turns his head down a little bit after humbling himself.

“Oh, don’t worry, I have that little something” the orange man reassured. To his left there was a man in black standing vigilantly, his sunglasses giving any onlooker no signs of weakness or emotions to it. Trump looked to him, he looked back plainly as Trump nods his head with a smile; the same smile made when a child is ready to show his friend the coolest thing they have ever seen, bright and impatient.

The man in black taps on the wall that has a pad full of numbers, digit after digit the light to the side goes from green to red. Rrrrrr. The wall safe unlocked, the agent getting his gloves ready. Then, with a careful yet swift motion, the man held to a shining amber emerald. Sonic’s eyes went wide as the guard walked over to Trump, who was also prepping gloves.

“Someone was fishing in the Great Lakes and found this thing. Is that incredible or what?” Trump said, polishing the gem that compared in color to his toupee. “Hey, weren’t you a fan of the guy, Pablo? Show the fast guy the picture we took,” Trump turned to Sonic and then added, “Trust me, you gotta see this guy. Nicest guy I ever met. Great at fishing too.”

The guard, Pablo, showed Sonic a photo on his iPhone. It was a sunny day, and there sat Pablo with thinner clothing, Trump, and Big the Cat. Big the Cat.

Sonic had to retrace his eye movements. B i g the C a t. He managed to find the Chaos Emerald by sheer coincidence? “Oh, you like Big?” Sonic said, a little butthurt. He likes Big the Cat? What?

Pablo nodded. “Best fisher I’ve ever met.” The guard went to check on Eggman, while Sonic looked in disbelief. “So, um, back to the topic, what do you want me to do? Use Chaos Control to go fast?” Trump nodded but still sat in a thinking position. “Well, yes and no. I want you to go fast, but you have to arrive back in time during World War One. Hitler was a very bad man. Killed a lot of people during World War Two.”

“Oh, I get it. You want me to talk some sense into the guy!” Sonic suggested.

“No, I want you to kill him. It’s war. It’s not inhumane when you could possibly be saving the lives of millyuns.”

Sonic sat up on the chair and focused hard. He has never killed anything before. The only thing he has “ended” were the badniks. He couldn’t remember any time in history he planned on killing someone for the solution of the world’s problems.

“I’m sorry Mr. President, but I can’t kill someone. That’s no good! I haven’t killed anything yet, and don’t aim on killing anyone now!”

Trump thought again, then smiled. “No, you have killed something to save the world. Remember the Finalhazard, or the Black Arms?”

Sonic winced at the memory. “Yes. I do. But I wasn’t alone on those tasks.” it was Shadow, his friendly nemesis  that put most of the work in killing them. The edge hog could do pretty much any dirty work if it came to saving the world. Why not have him do the job? He could perform Chaos Control better than anyone, too.

“Plus, I’d have to have another chaos emerald to perform chaos control to the point of traveling nearly a century back,” Sonic addressed, still thinking about the reality of killing someone. No president had asked him to do as such before.

      “What do you want with me? I have no business with you” Dr Eggman erupts, “I haven't killed anyone, I haven't stolen, I haven't even yelled at a little girl in two weeks”.

       “Two weeks geez that's longer than me” one of the agents mutters to the other.

       “Not the point. The president wants you here and we are going to wait until we see what he wants with you. Right now he's having word with your friend”.

 “Well I wouldn't say friend” Eggman corrects, “more like mor-”

 The intercom on the wall glows red, being the only color in the gray interrogation room, “Bring me the red guy, will ya?” Utters the magical voice of the Senior himself.

 “Let's go” blankly says an agent. Both of which held Eggman by the back in his hand cuffs and opened the door to the more pleasant looking room of the the helicopter.

 Before making a word come out if his mouth, Sonic exhales sharply, “Eggman, look: I need the chaos emerald you've got”

 “Sorry to disappoint you, pest” Eggman replies angrily,

“Besides, what could possibly motivate you to go into chaos control? And a better question, what could possibly motivate me, Doctor Ivo Robotnik, to hold an emerald so closely, so securely, that you haven't found it yet? Surely you have the wrong mad, cunning, handsome, and evil scientist. Oh and another thing, what are you going to do about your friends at the verge of drinking radioactive water?” Eggman freely spoke.

“Look Egghead, we can sort that out later, just give me the emerald, I know you're hiding it so might as well make it easy for us” Sonic attempts to persuade with arms crossed.

“How about this, you pest, what if I told you. . .” Eggman pauses as Sonic impatiently yet asks in a drawn out manner, “yes?”

“That there are no emeralds on me and that you are wasting all of our time” The doctor rebuttals with great conviction in his answer. Sonic expels a great groan of frustration as the mustachioed menace did not give him the answer he needed, he would rather have heard that Eggman has hidden it so that Sonic could at least have the slightest clue, but sometimes answers don't come as quick as Sonic.

“Alright I think we're done here” the Grand Papi himself reenters the conversation as the doctor was dragged back to the gray room that he sat in prior to the failed conversation. Despite the fact Trump sat with his head down in thoughts and frustrations concerning his failed dreams Sonic felt an enormous breath of relief within him, the burden of killing has been lifted off of him before he even does the deed.

“I know you only talk like this about TV remotes but where was it last seen?” The president questions the hero in a subtle form of desperation, it was clear to Sonic that nothing in the world will move until Sonic reshapes it,

 “It won't matter, Mr President; the emeralds go all over the world after the seven emeralds are all united for a purpose and last time that properly happened was when the Doc wanted to pursue the legacy in the Gaia Manuscripts. So now they have all scattered and we have found all of them except for that last emerald, it could be anywhere, all those other ones we bumped into outta sheer luck.”

“What about Tails, he's smart, let's see if he can help us” Trump states while pretty much ignoring Sonic’s words as he pulls out his watch and taps away at his wrist shortly followed by a bright blue hologram of Tails rising up from Trump's wrist looking Trump in the eye, then turning his head to sonic, “Whoa! What's this about?” then turning back to the the orange, succulently thicc turkey, “What can I do you for you, Mr President?”

“Tails, my bro, I'm phoning you and Sonic over here to help me settle a score on behalf of the whole wide world”

“That sounds kind of. . . “ Tails tries to come up with a good, softer synonym for sinister, “Extreme, what do you mean, revenge? Because I'm here to help people, not hurt them”

“Just hear me out, tails, buddy” Trump says to hold Tails’ attention long enough to inform him about his ingenious political stunt.

#sonic the hedgehog #donald trump #trump #fanfic #fantasy #comedy

[recentanimenews]

Craft & Wield Your Arsenal Against an AI Menace in DAEMON x MACHINA

There are only two things in this world that are completely and wholly synonymous with anime. The first is magical girls. The second is, of course, giant robots. In the decades since Mazinger Z exploded onto the scene in the early 1970s and established the mecha genre as we know it, countless anime fans in Japan and abroad have found themselves fascinated by these flying hunks of metal battling out among the stars. Many of anime’s most well-known and highly regarded properties are mecha, such as Patlabor, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Tenga Toppen Gurren Lagann, and the unforgettable Gundam franchise. Seriously, stop a random stranger on the street and show them a picture of your favorite Mobile Suit. After you correct them it’s not a Transformer, their next guess will probably be Gundam.

  This widespread fascination with mechas in media has also translated to the world of video games... somewhat. Plenty of games that let you pilot giant robots have risen over the years, though few have received widespread acclaim. The many Gundam and Super Robot Wars games have found their audiences mainly in fans of the shows they’re based on, while others carve out their own niches among mecha fans. Xenogears, Metal Wolf Chaos, and the Armored Core games may not rank among the most well-known franchises worldwide, but the fan bases they’ve found are nothing if not passionate about their mech games of choice. Armored Core in particular comes up more and more these days as a franchise that mech fans would like to see revitalized, especially given the FromSoftware pedigree behind it. Though it seems there’s no end in sight to the Armored Core drought just yet, a few series veterans have stepped in to fill the void with their new title DAEMON x MACHINA.

    DAEMON x MACHINA is a third-person action game developed by Marvelous for the Switch. This post-apocalyptic mech-piloting game takes place hundreds of years after the Moonfall―a cataclysmic event where pieces of the moon broke apart and fell to Earth. This unleashed a new form of energy across the Earth called Femto that corrupted AIs and turned them against humanity. Pushed to the brink of extinction, humanity now resides within a union of nation-conglomerates called the Oval Link. This Link is overseen by a group called Orbital tasked with contracting out various mercenary groups to forge the last line of defense against the AI threat.

  The stage that DAEMON X MACHINA sets for its story is a dire one indeed, though the game struggles with how much it tries to convey that. Players take on the role of “Rookie,” a custom-created character who sort of comes out of nowhere to join Orbital and wade into the world of mechs and mercenaries. After becoming accustomed to piloting the mechs (known as Arsenals) and passing the certification exam, you’re introduced to the Hanger, which is where you’ll spend all your time outside of missions. This enclosed area is your hub for viewing your Arsenal, purchasing upgrades, swapping out equipment, and accepting missions. The Hanger is populated with a handful of NPC mechanics with little to say, and outside of them the only other humans ever shown in the game are your fellow mercs. 

    There’s a civilization left to protect in DAEMON x MACHINA, but its complete absence from the game makes it easy to forget about. There are references to human refugee camps and settlements, but for whatever reason all your battles take place far, far away from them. The arenas you’ll be fighting in are total wastelands, complete with abandoned cars to throw and decaying buildings to topple on enemies. The saturation slider is turned up all the way as you battle under a blood red sky to industrial metal tunes as if to say “The world is already over, so just go hog wild in your giant robot.” DAEMON x MACHINA’s story is serviceable, and that’s all it really needed to be. I’m not saying that fans of mecha games don’t care about the stories at ALL, but let’s be honest, what the fans want most is to pilot giant robots and have fun doing it. 

  With that in mind, let me simplify things a bit. If you love to obsess over numbers, stats, and builds, DAEMON x MACHINA is probably for you. If you love convoluted control schemes that put you in situations where you’re holding virtually every button on the controller down at once, DAEMON x MACHINA is probably for you. If you love to feel like you’re actively fighting against the sheer weight of a zillion-ton metal behemoth while you’re playing video games, DAEMON x MACHINA is probably for you. If you like to build Gunplas and paint them purple and green like Unit 01, DAEMON x MACHINA is probably for you.

  Everything in DAEMON x MACHINA is designed around making you feel like an extremely cool person flying an extremely cool mech. The character customization options are rad, if a bit lacking in accessories compared to NPC pilots. The Arsenal customization goes far more in-depth, with loads and loads of swappable equipment to unlock and upgrade throughout the campaign. There are plenty of builds you can fashion for your mech depending on how you want to approach the mission. Whether you want to play go agile or tanky, melee or sniper, land or sky, the options are there for you. The customization goes even deeper as you can change your Arsenal’s paint job and cover it in unlockable emblems if you so desire. 

  In addition to affecting your own health and defense, the parts you outfit your Arsenal with have their own individual durability stats. If they take enough damage, these parts can break completely, leaving you more damage-prone and potentially missing an entire arm to attack with. Luckily, whenever an enemy Arsenal is downed in a mission it can be scavenged for parts. If you’re missing an arm or weapon, you can find a downed Arsenal and replace it with one of theirs. If all your gear is in good condition, scavenged parts are automatically sent to your Hanger for future use. While you can buy new equipment in the Hanger, scavenging off dead enemies was how I acquired nearly all of the equipment that I used throughout the game. 

    All these various stats and customization options were a little overwhelming for me, I’m not gonna lie. I found it hard to judge what builds to go for or what parts and weapons to bring to different missions because there was no real indicator what worked best against the enemies I would be facing. The most common enemy types all go down pretty quickly, but most of the game ends up being spent fighting other Arsenals. Without a database of them and their own builds its tough to get a sense of what works best against them without a bit of intense observation and a lot of trial and error. 

  This overwhelming feeling extended into the gameplay. Arsenals are big and complicated, and not only are you flying them all around everywhere, you’re doing it with a total of six different weapons attached. There are a total of sixteen buttons across both Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons, and most able-bodied people hold controllers with four fingers on a button at a time: both thumbs on the analog sticks and both index fingers on the triggers. At any given moment in DAEMON x MACHINA you’ll probably be holding down six buttons at once and still feel like you aren’t holding enough. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is all up to you. 

    While I did admittedly find it overwhelming (and frankly uncomfortable for my tiny hands) at times, I found it oddly appropriate. Have you ever looked at the cockpit inside of a plane? Imagine if that plane had two legs and arms and the dexterity to point accusingly at their archrival. It only ever became a hindrance when it came to the auxiliary weapons such as grenades. These weapons were mapped to the X button the Joy-Cons, so readying a grenade meant taking my thumb off the right analog stick to press the button. Problem is, that’s the stick that controls camera movement. Grenades were ultimately useless to me because there was no way to even aim them while inside the Arsenal. It seems like a major oversight, but fortunately controls are remappable and not every auxiliary weapon requires camera control anyway.

  While Arsenal control is awkward and clunky in an ultimately appropriate way, controlling the pilot outside of it feels plain bad. Your created characters in DAEMON x MACHINA aren’t solely there to look at in cutscenes, by the way. During missions you can bail out of your Arsenal and fight enemies on foot. However, I found there’s little―if any―reason to do so. The weapons at your disposal are much more limited and there’s no way to recover health if you’re hurt outside of your Arsenal. Also, the levels are clearly designed for Arsenals alone, so it’s easy to get caught on the collision of slight inclines that Arsenals just glide over. 

    You can eventually upgrade your pilot to a point where they can manually repair your Arsenal when outside of it, but the repair process is painfully slow and your Arsenal just takes more damage since it’s just a sitting duck out there. You can already find health canisters scattered throughout levels, so the only time being able to repair your Arsenal on foot would be when it’s destroyed and you’re automatically ejected from it. Unfortunately, the repair ability doesn’t work on Arsenals that have been destroyed. At that point your options are to either die or hope you’ve already taken enough health off any remaining enemies that you can just find a secure corner and cheese the rest of the fight out. Which, to be fair, that’s how I beat the final boss.

  The final boss, by the way, is terrible. It completely defies all strategies you’re taught to utilize up to that point throughout the game. Unlike every single other arena up to that point, there are no health or ammo pickups to be had. If your armor is destroyed, there are no enemies around to strip for parts. After trying it a few times I was so frustrated and in such disbelief over it that I turned to the internet for answers and found a good amount of others who had been stumped by it. I found out there’s a completely un-telegraphed gimmick to beating it that never actually worked whenever I attempted. I eventually managed to beat it and as a courtesy here’s my advice. Equip one of the katana weapons, upgrade chain attacks in the body mods, equip HIGH defense armor, and just go in over and over until it’s dead. If you can see ANYTHING other than the boss’s character model clipping through the camera then you’re doing something wrong. 

    Bee-lining through the story took in all about 16 hours, but there’s plenty left to do beyond that. As you progress through the story you’ll unlock side missions that can earn you parts and credits, and there are roughly as many side missions in DAEMON X MACHINA as there are story missions. If you’re tired of playing alone, there are also online modes available to players with a Nintendo Switch Online membership. You can play co-op missions with other players or face against them in 1v1 and 2v2 matches. My experience with the online modes is rather limited, but I found co-op missions went by extremely quickly given how many high-level players are there to farm for gear. I couldn’t find any 2v2 rooms open in the middle of the day on a weekend, but finding partners for 1v1 deathmatches was pretty easy. If showing off your cool mech design and challenging other players over who the better pilot is sound appealing to you, I’d definitely give these modes a shot. 

  The big question you’re probably still wondering though is, “If I like Armored Core will I like this?” As to that, well, I don’t know. I’ve never actually played a single Armored Core game before, and while DAEMON x MACHINA does seem similar to what I’ve seen of those games, for all I know the feel could be entirely different. I do know that there is some Armored Core pedigree behind it, though. Armored Core series producer Kenichiro Tsukuda acted as producer on DAEMON x MACHINA. Legendary mech designer Shoji Kawamori―who designed mechs for Armored Core, Macross, Patlabor, and many others―returned as well. The pedigree seemingly ends there, unfortunately. Marvelous developed and published this game, and a quick look into their previous output reveals few mechs and a lot of Senran Kagura.

    So while I can’t guarantee this is exactly what you want or are looking for, I can say that I had a real great time with it. There were things I found myself wanting from this game that it didn’t deliver. I wanted my character to be more like a character. I wanted to make decisions and bond with my fellow pilots. I wanted to join a group of mercs and fight it out among the rest for supremacy. The more I played and the more I wanted these things, I realized I was looking at DAEMON x MACHINA the wrong way. Those kinds of RPG elements might belong in game like, say, Battletech, but that’s not what DAEMON x MACHINA is about. Though limited in its scope, it dials in on what it believes matters most to mecha fans: having fun being a pilot. DAEMON x MACHINA bogs you down so many stats and parts and controls because it knows that’s what being a pilot means. And once you’ve finally crafted and mastered your own perfect mech, it sets you loose under its blood red skies and tells you to let ‘er rip.

  REVIEW ROUNDUP

+ Beautifully saturated wasteland environments 

+ Epic industrial metal soundtrack

+ Deeply customizable mechs

+ Controlling Arsenals feels clunky and convoluted in all the ways it should

+ Co-op and Vs. multiplayer options let you show off mechs and challenge fellow pilots

+/- Intriguing setting that the story does little to deliver on

- Control outside the Arsenal feels useless

- Abysmal final boss encounter

  Are you a fan of mecha games? Where does DAEMON x MACHINA rank among your favorites? Let us know in the comments below!

      -----

Danni Wilmoth is a Features writer for Crunchyroll and co-host of the video game podcast Indiecent. You can find more words from her on Twitter @NanamisEgg.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

[allcheatscodes]

guitar hero 5 ps3

http://allcheatscodes.com/guitar-hero-5-ps3/

guitar hero 5 ps3

Guitar Hero 5 cheats & more for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

Cheats

Unlockables

Hints

Easter Eggs

Glitches

Guides

Trophies

Get the updated and latest Guitar Hero 5 cheats, unlockables, codes, hints, Easter eggs, glitches, tricks, tips, hacks, downloads, trophies, guides, FAQs, walkthroughs, and more for PlayStation 3 (PS3). AllCheatsCodes.com has all the codes you need to win every game you play!

Use the links above or scroll down to see all the PlayStation 3 cheats we have available for Guitar Hero 5.

Check PlayStation 2 cheats for this game

Check Xbox 360 cheats for this game

Check Wii cheats for this game

Genre: Simulation, Musical Instrument / Band Sim Developer: Unknown Publisher: Activision ESRB Rating: Teen Release Date: September 1, 2009

Hints

Guitar Slider

Some people use the slider on slider notes and just plain tapping on them. Try both and see what works. I suggest tapping on the short sliding parts (EX Du Hast) and sliding on longer parts. (ex; Do You Feel Like We Do [keyboard solo]).

Cheats

All HOPOs

Green green blue green green green yellow green.

Hyperspeed

Green blue red yellow yellow red green green.

Performance Mode

Yellow yellow blue red blue green red red.

Invisible Characters

Green red yellow yellow yellow blue blue green.

HUD Free Mode

Green red green green yellow green green green.

Focus Mode

Yellow green red green yellow blue green green.

Contest Winner 1

Green green red red yellow red yellow blue.

Always Slide

Green green red red yellow blue yellow blue.

All Characters

Blue blue green green red green red yellow.

Air Instruments

Red red blue yellow green green green yellow.

Auto Kick

Yellow, Green, Red, Blue (4), Red.

Unlockables

Feature Unlockables

Cheat: Auto-kick (all kick bass notes are autoplayed) As drummer, hit 200 non-cymbal notes on “Mirror People” (in Angel’s Crypt venue, fills don’t count) Extra: Focus Mode (blacks out background) As a drummer, hit 265 tom notes on “Brianstorm” (in The Golden Gate venue) Extra: Hud-Free Mode (removes rock meter, star power guage, score display) as a vocalist, get Excellent on 75 consecutive phrases in the rap song “Bring The Noise 20XX” (in Neon Oasis venue) Extra: Performance Mode (removes track and hud) With two players, get a band multipler for 42 seconds on “Bleed American” (in The Aqueduct venue) Quickplay Venue “Wormhole” (required for The Grand Tour) As guitarist, 4X multiplier for 50sec on “Play That Funky Music” (in Sideshow venue)

Special Character Unlockables

Carlos Santana Complete the song “No One To Depend On (Live)” on any difficulty, any instrument Johnny Cash Complete the song “Ring of Fire” on any difficulty, any instrument Kurt Cobain Complete the song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on any difficulty, any instrument Matt Bellamy Complete the song “Plug in Baby” on any instrument on any difficulty Shirley Manson Complete the song “I’m Only Happy When It Rains” on any difficulty, any instrument

Costume Unlockables

Axel Steel’s Battle Scar outfit Complete challenge for Medicate Axel Steel’s Hog Wild outfit Complete challenge for Send a Little Love Token Axel Steel’s Shoulder Blades outfit Complete challenge for Sympathy for the Devil Casey Lynch’s Flying Trapeze outfit Complete challenge for Superstition Casey Lynch’s Monochrome Maiden outfit Complete challenge for So Lonely Casey Lynch’s Sharpshooter outfit Complete challenge for In My Place Clive Winston’s Deer Scout outfit Complete challenge for Sneak Out Clive Winston’s Persuader outfit Complete challenge for Blue Orchid Clive Winston’s Sugar Daddy outfit Complete challenge for Shout It Out Loud Eddie Knox’s Casual Wednesday outfit Complete challenge for Gamma Ray Eddie Knox’s Crusier outfit Complete challenge for Make It wit Chu Eddie Knox’s Suede Spade outfit Complete challenge for Six Days a Week Izzy Sparks’s Impresario outfit Complete challenge for Feel Good Inc. Izzy Sparks’s Sideshow outfit Complete challenge for Scatterbrain Izzy Sparks’s Stiki outfit Complete challenge for Jailbreak Johnny Napalm’s 1976 outfit Complete challenge for Judith Johnny Napalm’s Generation Zzyzx outfit Complete challenge for Looks That Kill Johnny Napalm’s Suburban Snot outfit Complete challenge for Fame Judy Nails’s Big Knee Pin outfit Complete challenge for Gratitude Judy Nails’s Mall Chic outfit Complete challenge for Runnin’ Down a Dream Judy Nails’s The Riot Starts Here outfit Complete challenge for You Give Love a Bad Name Lars Umlaut’s Grendel outfit Complete challenge for All Along the Watchtower Lars Umlaut’s Soldier of Farce outfit Complete challenge for In the Meantime Lars Umlaut’s Valhalla outfit Complete challenge for We’re an American Band Pandora’s Gretel outfit Complete challenge for Steady, As She Goes Pandora’s State of Fluxus outfit Complete challenge for Back Round Pandora’s Strapped outfit Complete challenge for L.A.

Easter eggs

Currently we have no easter eggs for Guitar Hero 5 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Glitches

Currently we have no glitches for Guitar Hero 5 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Guides

Currently we have no guides or FAQs for Guitar Hero 5 yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Trophies

Trophy List

Platinum Trophy (Platinum) Earn all of the Bronze, Silver and Gold Trophiesin Guitar Hero 5 Above And Beyond (Bronze) Complete a song with an average individualmultiplier above 4x All Four Bass Are Belong to Us (Bronze) Play a song with 4 Bass Guitarists Barbershop (Bronze) Play a song with 4 Vocalists Box Set (Bronze) Complete 100 songs in Quickplay Challenge of the Supergroup (Bronze) Complete 5 band challenges at Gold orbetter Chanteuse (Bronze) 5 Star ‘Ex-Girlfriend’, ‘Send A Little Love Token’ and’Only Happy When It Rains’ as a Vocalist Crank It Up To 11 (Silver) Achieve a maxed out band multiplier as a standardband Crowd Pleaser (Bronze) Fill your Rock Meter all the way Drumline (Bronze) Play a song with 4 Drummers Explore the Studio Space (Bronze) Read 5 Tooltips in GHMix Fest Quartet Quest (Bronze) Play 10 4-Player RockFest Mode games of any type Going Diamond (Silver) Complete 50 of the challenges at Diamond Going Gold (Silver) Complete 50 of the challenges at Gold or better Going Platinum (Silver) Complete 50 of the challenges at Platinum or better Iron Lungs (Bronze) Complete a 25-phrase streak as a Vocalist Juke Box (Bronze) Complete 300 songs in Quickplay The Fabricated Four (Bronze) Create a band of 4 created rockers and play asong with them locally in Career or Quickplay No Mistakes Allowed (Bronze) Streak through the entirety of a song inQuickplay or Career Me’nage a` Huit (Bronze) Play an online match with 8 players, all on the sameinstrument Outgoing (Bronze) Complete 25 Pro Face Off matches online (Win or Lose) Play It To The Bone (Bronze) Make and complete a setlist which is at least 1hour long Producer (Bronze) Create a music studio song Quadruple Threat (Silver) Complete at least one challenge for everyinstrument at Gold level or better Rising Star (Bronze) Collect 101 Stars in Career Rocktopus (Bronze) Make a standard 8 player Band v Band match online, win orlose Sampler Plate (Silver) Play at least one song in Quickplay, Career and eachCompetitive game type Score Big (Bronze) Earn 500,000 points in a single song as a solo act Score Bigger (Bronze) Earn 1,000,000 points in a single song as a solo act orband Score Biggest (Silver) Earn 3,000,000 points in a single song as a band Senior Commander (Bronze) Earn 5 or more Stars on a song in Career orQuickplay Shooting Star (Bronze) Collect 303 Stars in Career Customizer (Bronze) Create a custom instrument Star Cluster (Gold) Collect 808 Stars in Career Our Powers Combined (Bronze) As a 4 player standard band, all 4 playersactivate Star Power simultaneously String Quartet (Bronze) Play a song with 4 Lead Guitarists Super Star (Silver) Collect 505 Stars in Career Representative (Bronze) Complete a sponsor gig challenge at Diamond level Synchronized (Bronze) Complete 20 Band Moments The Grand Tour (Silver) Unlock every venue in the world, and then some The Streak (Bronze) Complete a 1001 note streak The Traditional (Silver) Complete Career mode What’s an LP? (Bronze) Complete 14 songs in Quickplay You Want More? (Bronze) Play 5 encore gigs Young Star (Bronze) Collect 25 Stars in Career What’s New? (Bronze) Complete any tutorial’s lesson on a new feature Over 9000! (Bronze) Went super Open Minded (Silver) Gave every one a chance Starstruck (Bronze) Had a brush with celebrity Did You Finish Like We Did? (Bronze) Came alive