#mania is SO present in stardust.

[andoutofharm]

So Much (for) Stardust might be Infinity on High’s sister album, but it has been said multiple times that it contains elements of all their albums and all their eras. Mania is one of those albums and one of those eras and its influences are very strong and very present in Stardust. To say this album just sounds ‘like old fall out boy’ or that it sounds nothing like Mania says to me that you haven’t really listened to it and paid attention.

[sleepingdeath-light]

yandere hcs ; stardust cookie

requested by ; anonymous (23/05/23)

fandom(s) ; cookie run

fandom masterlist(s) ; hub | super epic

character(s) ; stardust cookie

outline ; “yandere stardust cookie headcannons? also your writing is so addicting I keep coming back and rereading all your fics lol”

warning(s) ; unhealthy obsessive behaviours, implied acts of violence, possessive stardust cookie, yandere stardust cookie, stalking

stardust spent the vast majority of his life drifting through the cold and unforgiving void of space — of course he had the stars for company but there are only so many one sided conversations one can have with the cosmos before something snaps

he’d come to the city of wizards seeking answers then companionship then vengeance once he became aware of his origins — and it was through that chaos and anger and fear that he met you

patient, protective, fragile you — a mortal no stronger than a twig yet holding a heart worth far more than its weight in platinum or gold

someone who helped to talk him down from the edge of his mania, who spoke in a voice that rung as bright as galaxies and as warm as the light of a thousand distant stars

you were so familiar despite never having met before — you felt like the cosmos and the void and the life held within, you felt like home

both the home he’d known his whole life and the home he’d been searching for as long as he could breathe in that breathless ocean of stars

he didn’t want to hurt you, to lose you, so then he started to listen — to fold in his wings and retreat his talons until he was human again

human enough, at least

went through all of the necessary motions: fusing with his other half, protecting the city from his attack, apologising and offering his service as an apology

and your companions — but most vitally you — believed him, or at least believed him enough to mostly take him at his word

he promised to keep his distance and help moonlight with her mission of protecting the city and rebuilding it to its former glory and bid you all farewell — biting back his grimace as moon started sighing dreamily about the ocean and it’s song

but he couldn’t stop thinking about you

during the day he was haunted by the brightness of your eyes and the warmth of your hug, ghosts of your fingertips brushing against his spine as he patrolled the ruins of the city from above

and at night your voice tormented him — the tinkling of your laughter morphing into your screams of terror from during his attack, played on repeat like some twisted record that he couldn’t shake or erase

he rarely slept most nights because of it

staying up at night, your face tattooed on the insides of his eyelids — teasing him with how present yet out of reach you were

it had been a month of moon pestering him and him brushing her off before he snapped and tracked you down one night

he’d found you in no time at all, having tracked you with his old friends’ aid (nobody hides from the stars, after all), and he lost his nerve the moment he saw you

asleep, vulnerable and peaceful — completely aware of the entity looming over your resting body

he was torn between taking you then and leaving you be because you were just so… beautiful when you were at rest

beautiful like nature, like the stars, like nebulas, like spiralling galaxies and like everything he’d known and loved — yet you still somehow eclipsed them all

he decided to leave you be

watching over you until the break of dawn, at which point he swiftly took flight and returned to the city before moonlight cookie even realised he was gone

(not that she ever did, all she did most days was sleep and stare out at the ocean)

he goes back the next night

and the next

and the next

and the next

…

he never does anything to you, though, he’d never dream of hurting you — doesn’t even think he could — he just watches you sleep

watches you smile and shuffle around

listens to you sigh and murmur and snore and breath

the most he’s ever done is brush some hair out of your face and lay beside you and listen to you breathe — revelling in the way you subconsciously snuggled closer to him and feeling warmth blossom in his chest at the way you buried your face in his neck

like you knew he was there

like you wanted him to be there

(of course you didn’t, though, you were asleep, but that didn’t stop his mind from wandering)

(from hoping)

and this little routine of his continues for months at a time — him trailing you and laying beside you as you go about your journey, blissfully unaware that you’re being followed

and he never gives you the slightest hint that he’s there, he’s not ready yet, he’s content as an observer

until him

until he stops by earlier than usual after you’ve just drifted off to sleep, face buried in the pillow of an inn that you’d stopped by for the night — your friends sleeping around you, piled in beds and sleeping bags and all so comfortable looking

he almost envied the simplicity

almost

and he didn’t intend to hurt him, but he could hear him from the window ledge of your assigned room

hear his crude remarks about you

about your body, your mouth, how you’d sound

and it infuriated him — bringing out a side of him that he had tried to keep contained since he almost destroyed the city of wizards

and suddenly he’s all wings and talons and teeth as he lures the drunkard outside with the promise of a good lay and good booze — an easier lie than he’d like to admit

he tortures the man until the break of day and brings back one of his ribs to keep safe in his home — a reminder of his role as your protector

(self assigned, of course)

what remained of him wasn’t even recognisable as human — no body to bury except for fragments and smears

and you were none the wiser

nobody talks that way about you — his light, his heart, his home, his you — not the drunk, nor a musician, nor a duke nor a king nor a god

they didn’t deserve you, none of them did

he didn’t either, not really, but that didn’t stop him from coming back

from hoping that one day you’d be able to accept him wholly

to love him

to adore him

to covet him

to want him

not yet — he wasn’t ready — but some day, and he was willing to wait as long as it took

because you were worth it

because he had nothing but time

because he couldn’t imagine a life without you in it

because you were his even if you didn’t realise it yet

his stars, his void, his nebula, his supernova, his everything and more

… if only he could bring himself to finally say it to your face rather than just whispering his affections to the endless night sky

[fantasiac]

just saw Chaomix's CD timeline placement and thought I'd share my crackpot theory

warning, this contains time travel plotlines and so will be confusing

so, Sonic CD can't be placed on an in between of Sonic 1 or Sonic 2 or anything, because Sonic CD *is* Sonic 1

so Sonic 1 still happens, Sonic meets Eggman and foils his plans, Sonic 2 happens, Sonic learns the Spindash and Eggman builds Mecha Sonic MK 1, then Sonic 3&K happens, Eggman makes Mecha MK 2, then after 3&K Eggman creates time travel technology and decides he's going to wipe Sonic from the timeline entirely, he also learns from all his mistakes and finally makes Metal Sonic, who she sends back in time to Sonic 1, which also scatters the Time Stones through time and space locking Future Eggman in the future, but Present Eggman gets sent a message "you're our only hope" style giving him blueprints to Metal so he can repair damages if needed, aswell as other machines like badniks and the prototype Metal Sonics, and the time travel technology, which might have gotten corrupted or something, so present Eggman tried to replicate the time travel technology and failed to set a real time destination, only forwards or backwards in time an undisclosed amount of time

So Eggman from Sonic 1 stops polluting the area in Sonic 1 and moves to Little Planet as orders from his future self (green hill I still Eggman and sonics first meeting, but sonic chases him down to little planet instead of marble zone), and he takes over little planet with ease creating generators and keeping the wildlife in check with holograms of Metal Sonic, Sonic CD Happens on top of Sonic 1 resetting the Classic Timeline, it is implied to be this way I'm the games because alot of the stages are repeats of Sonic 1; Spring Yard Zone is Collision Chaos, Starlight Zone is Stardust Speedway, etc cetera.

now this timeline reset fixes the issue of Sonic 1 having 6 Chaos Emeralds because the new first things to find is the Time Stones, so the events of Sonic 2 and 3&K still take place, but the ones we play are the original versions, there are variants of them that use CD as a Sonic 1, but we don't play them, then Sonic Mania happens, Sonic Mania is built on the Sonic CD timeline, which explains why Metal Sonic is a big villain in it and the Mechas aren't even mentioned, also Generations pulls from the CD timeline because variations of 2 and 3 still happen, and then after that Sonic Superstars and Sonic and the Fallen Star happens (fallen star takes place before supstars)

also Eggman having the blueprints to the mechas lets him reference Mecha MK 1 in superstars without breaking the timeline and he still builds Mecha MK 2 for Sonic 3 as a backup for stealing the master emerald, not wanting to waste Metal Sonic on it as he knows in his heart Mecha will probably be destroyed, this lets Scrapnik Island happen without breaking things (scrapnik is much more important than digital deluxe Mecha Skin in Superstars, i have no idea why I put it first)

I hope this made sense to someone, it probably didn't, it's 3 am and im tired

[wheresurboytonighthelookslikeenj]

no but what a time to be alive and smfs in general right. the themes of survival through hell and thrving after hardship were already present in fall out boy's music (mania is right there baby) but what makes so much for stardust different is that this is not only an album of a band who has lived through more than 20 years. but also a post-pandemic album? what a time to be alive is a bop not only because its a dance track of the century (<3) but because it's silly about the present. you know. after the hardship of the past we have the more recent troubles and the absurdity of the present. your past problems arent even resolved and you cant even begin to comprehend the present. but. we're here and we're ready to livestream the apocalypse. sometimes you wonder if we're ever looking back. what a time to be alive.

[pride-moth]

My take is that So Much For Stardust is the best post-hiatus album in the way that it unifies) brings together everything good from both pre- and post-hiatus.

It brings all the post-hiatus willingness to push and experiment musically, with unbridled Stumpian whimsy and it's orchestral intros and brass sections and string section and everything.

Despite this, it has so much of that pre-hiatus rawness with the crisp drums and fanciful guitar riffs (something that Patrick said was missing from Mania and even though I'm a Mania defender until my last breath, I tend to agree.)

And crucially, the lyrics bring a raw emotionality that we didn't see that much of post-hiatus. Like, yes, all three of the previous post-hiatus albums have some lines that make me cry in the shower but they never went quite so heavy. So Much For Stardust is SO heavy in its lyrics, it's kind of too much at times. Like, the title track will come on shuffle and I'll go "No, I can't have this emotional damage right now, sorry" like lots of people do with What A Catch, Donnie. And of course Fake Out is one that had everyone and their mom in a frenzy with its whole *gestures vaguely* vibe.

All in all, it's an album that celebrates pretty much everything that came before it, including even some Soul Punk influences (What A Time To Be Alive), while still feeling remarkably fresh. It's like... Every song draws from things they've done before but sounds like something they couldn't have done before.

I still do see an argument for SRAR being the best post-hiatus album, especially since it had such a tough job to do as the comeback album. SMFS has an advantage in the sheer amount of material it has coming before it. So, I wouldn't really wanna pit these two against each other other, but I personally feel more strongly about SMFS.

Anyway, here's two additional things:

- the spoken word interludes are good, actually, and break up the album thematically. I enjoy them.

- I've mentioned this in a Twitter post before but one thing about this album is that it's emo in a very adult way. Like, every adult angst going on in there. Lots of scabbed-over heartbreak whose scars are fading but forever present. Lots of "I've grown so much as a person, but I miss the way it was anyway" and "the pain is so real, and it might always be here, but I'll be pressing on, no matter what it takes." It's a bit too powerful for me sometimes. Like, the pre-hiatus teenage angst gets pretty intense sometimes, but this whole album makes me want to get wine drunk and lie down on the floor sometimes.

Anyways, share your own takes with me. About anything Fall Out Boy, really. I need more people to be very not-normal about them with because my friends are starting to think I'm crazy.

[spinningbuster98]

Sonic the Hedgehog CD Ending: All action. No words

Stardust Speedway is one of those levels that you think you’d love, what with it clearly being Starlight Zone on steroids, but it just doesn’t fully stick the landing because, you guessed it, the level design is just all over the place. As a general rule of thumb: unless you’re going for the generator then stick to the lowest route since it’s the quickest and simplest. This is quite literally doing the opposite of what Sonic level design usually does but hey, that’s just how Sonic CD rolls I guess

I’ve never been a massive Metal Sonic fan per se. He’s either a non-character, basically just another tool of Eggman’s that only stands out by virtue of his concept, or whatever Heroes attempted to do with him. His design however is something that I absolutely adore. He looks straight up deadly, what with those dark eyes and spickier, sharper design that generally lacks most of Sonic’s own roundness and softness, presenting Metal as something truly dangerous and unfriendly. It’s also a pretty edgy design, perhaps the series’ first truly edgy character, a full 8 years before Shadow, yet he still follows the Classic characters’ overall design aesthetics what with his body proportions. He simultaneously looks in-line with Sonic’s world yet also unnatural to it. His boss fight is also pretty memorable and also perhaps the hardest in the game (though that’s not saying much here), which, alongside him being the one who kidnaps Amy at the starts and whose holograms you can find harassing small animals in the levels, helps to solidify him as an actual rival to Sonic. In fact, despite my thoughts on the character himself, I actually think that he makes for a better potential rival than the likes of Shadow and especially Knuckles, as his status as an Eggman robot built specifically to kill Sonic makes it easy and natural to set up situations where the two would fight without it feeling forced or stupid (just think about how, in Generations, he’s the only rival character whose fight justification doesn’t feel arbitrary, unlike Shadow “I know we’re all in a world without time but instead of trying to get to the bottom of things I’ll try to kill you now just ‘cause” the Hedgehog or Silver “but how can I know you’re the real Sonic? I know! I’ll drop a bunch of junk on your head!” the Hedgehog)

Metallic Madness is the worst stage in the game. Act 1 is fine, but Act 2 features pretty much every single issue in the game but cranked up to 11 because it’s the final level. It’s a giant goddamn mess and no amount of chibi Sonic can make me overlook this. Don’t go to the Past, I swear to God it’s even worse than the other timeframes, I always get lost in the god forsaken place. Man did Mania give this place a much needed makeover!

Fun fact: the original Sega CD version of the ending cutscene actually features sound effects at the start before playing Cosmic Eternity! I’m guessing that the later versions don’t do this because they play at higher framerates so the sound effects would be out of synch

I actually think I like the ending more than the opening: CD doesn’t have the classic all-stage medley during the credits but we actually get to see brief animated recreations of previous stages, and this is where I think that Sonic’s personality really shines, showcasing all the cute, cool and creative ways that he disposes of Badniks. I also like how, in the good ending, more specifically in the later versions, Little Planet disappears but not before emitting a bunch of sparkles that form an image of Sonic, kind of implying that it’s somewhat sentient and it’s thanking Sonic. It’s a nice way to sort of personify a literal world and make your efforts to save it from Eggman’s influence feel all the more worthwhile. Again: Sonic CD is able to give character and personality not through words but through actions

[its-always-emo-in-philadelphia]

So Much (For) Stardust released march 24, 2023 is the eighth and newest studio album by Fall Out Boy with Fueled by Ramen, Elektra Records and DCD2. This was a return for the band on a few fronts having been five years since their last album (mania), releasing with their previous record label (FBR), and being produced by Neal Avron (who they last worked with on FAD). But to say this album was return to form would be to discount the evident growth in musical style presented by the band. Swing drums, slappin bass, sweeping orchestrals, this album touches everything the band has done and brings it to today rather than letting it live solely as nostalgia. On a personal note this album means the world to me and I am beyond excited to see how I look back on it in twenty years the way I look back on tttyg

[nematanthus]

Artist Spotlight January 2024: Fall Out Boy

Genre:

alt rock, pop

Active status:

2001-2008, 2013- present

Current album list:

Take This To Your Grave, May 6 2003

From Under The Cork Tree, May 3 2005

Infinity on High, February 6 2007

Folie à Deux, Dec 10 2008

Save Rock And Roll, April 12 2013

American Beauty/ American Psycho, January 16th 2015

MANIA, January 19 2018

So Much For Stardust, March 24 2023

Current active Members:

Patrick Stump- Vocals, guitar, piano

Pete Wentz- Bass, Lyrics

Andy Hurley- Drums, percussion

Joe Trohman- Guitar

Have I seen them live?

Yes! In 2021, during the Hella Mega tour

Do I want to see them again?

Yes

Do I own any of their music on CD?

Yes

What ones? and do I want any more?

I have:

Infinity On High

Save Rock and Roll

I want:

Folie à Deux

From Under The Cork Tree

So Much For Stardust

[crusherthedoctor]

top 5 favorite sonic soundtracks?

This list and order will probably change in about three days, because Sonic music is never easy to list and rank lol.

5. Sonic '06 - '06 has many problems (controversial opinion, I know... that's not even a joke these days), but the music ain't one of them. As someone who finds orchestral soundtracks to be something of an overused gimmick, with many of them sounding samey, flaccid, and lacking identity, Sonic's ones manage to be some of the exceptions, and '06 is arguably the crowning example. The actual gameplay-related tracks are full of bangers of course (Aquatic Base and Solaris Phase 1 <3), but don't forget the cutscene music too. Even Mephiles has some good themes associated with him, so well done to them for putting in that much composition effort for a character who didn't deserve it.

4. Sonic CD - How many games do you know where the boss theme tells you to work that sucker to death (c'mon now)? The raw energy present across the JP soundtrack is infectious, the more relaxed tracks are beautiful, and the differences for each level between each period of time enhances the memorability. My favourite overall is probably Quartz Quadrant, cause it makes me think of @greenyvertekins :> And while I do prefer the JP soundtrack overall, the US one does still have some great tracks of its own here and there.

3. Sonic Mania - Half of it may be remixes, but they're top tier remixes. Acts 2 of Chemical Plant, Oil Ocean, and Lava Reef are my favourite renditions of those themes in the series, and Act 1 of Stardust Speedway is jazzy as hell. As for the new themes? I can't even pick a favourite because they're all too good. D: Although I do have a particular spot for Press Garden...

2. Sonic Advance trilogy - Going back to the orchestral talk, it must be stressed that I don't praise or elevate a soundtrack just because it's orchestral. I don't care how primitive the resources used for my blue hedgehog ditties are. What I care about is that they're memorable, and that they bop. That's it. That's all that's required. So with that in mind, the Advance trilogy may be working with GBA compression, but I don't think it audibly sacrifices the level of raw passion and heart that went into them. Some of that might be the nostalgia talking since Advance 1 and 2 were the first Sonic games I saw and played respectively, but you don't need nostalgia to appreciate Ice Mountain, Egg Rocket, Music Plant, Chaos Angel, Nonaggression...

1. Sonic Adventure 1 - Despite doing this list, I don't think I can ever hand-on-heart pin down what my favourite soundtrack of all time is, because of how consistently excellent the music has usually been across three decades. I can, on the other hand, point out the ingredients that I think completes the highest of the highs, and for that reason, SA1 finds itself here. It's got the bangin', it's got the leitmotifs, it's got the impactful cutscene music, and above all else, it's got variety. Some otherwise good soundtracks can get carried away with throwing the same kind of rock here, there and everywhere; SA1 certainly has its rock, but it has plenty of other genres too, and the rock that is used actually compliments the environment and context perfectly.

My favourite track in the game? Tricky Maze for Lost World, but only barely, because if you haven't guessed, the other competing tracks are right by the door. Like Station Square, Windy and Ripply, Windy Hill, Mechanical Resonance, Crazy Robo, Unbound, Gamma's theme in general, Red Mountain in general...

[thepeakofsonicmusic]

So. We're in the finals. It's Live and Learn, Escape from the City and the live version of Endless Possibility. Absolutely none of those are surprises, except maybe Endless Possibility being the live version, I didn't know y'all like Nathan Sharp that much. But anyways, my favourite track of all time from Sonic is nowhere here, except as a remix that lost in the first round.

So, I'm gonna make a tournament where I will win no matter what, featuring the single best track in Sonic in my correct opinion

Presenting...

Stardust Sweep!

Where I put remixes of Stardust Speedway against each other! (including the US version, I will defend that soundtrack)

Links to the polls are under here

Final Match: Vs. Metal Sonic vs Bad Future (JP)

Semi-finals:

Sonic Generations: Rival Battle: Metal Sonic (JP remix) vs Sonic Mania: Vs. Metal Sonic WINNER: Sonic Mania: Vs. Metal Sonic

Sonic CD: Bad Future (US) vs Bad Future (JP) WINNER: Bad Future (JP)

Round 2 Matchups:

Sonic Generations: Rival Battle: Metal Sonic (JP remix) vs Sonic CD: Good Future (JP) WINNER: Rival Battle: Metal Sonic (JP remix)

Sonic Generations: Rival Battle: Metal Sonic (US remix) vs Sonic Mania: Vs. Metal Sonic WINNER: Vs. Metal Sonic

Sonic CD: Bad Future (US) vs TSR: Team Ultimate: Metal Sonic WINNER: Bad Future (US)

Sonic Mania: Stardust Speedway Zone Act 2 vs Sonic CD: Bad Future (JP) WINNER: Bad Future (JP)

Round 1 Matchups:

Sonic Generations: Rival Battle: Metal Sonic (JP remix) vs Sonic 4: A Duel with Metal Sonic WINNER: Rival Battle: Metal Sonic (JP remix)

Sonic CD: Past vs Good Future (JP) WINNER: Good Future (JP)

Sonic CD: Present (US) vs Sonic Generations: Rival Battle: Metal Sonic (US remix) WINNER: Rival Battle: Metal Sonic (US remix)

Sonic Forces: Battle with Metal Sonic vs Sonic Mania: Vs. Metal Sonic WINNER: Vs. Metal Sonic

Sonic CD: Good Future (US) vs Bad Future (US) WINNER: Bad Future (US)

TSR: Team Ultimate: Metal Sonic vs Sonic at the Olympic Games: Metal Sonic's Boss Theme WINNER: Team Ultimate: Metal Sonic

Sonic Mania: Stardust Speedway Zone Act 1 vs Act 2 WINNER: Stardust Speedway Zone Act 2

Sonic CD: Bad Future (JP) vs Present (JP) WINNER: Bad Future (JP)

[stranger-chichka]

The scenes with the stars in Stranger Things and their importance (p. 1)

I wanted to post everything in one take, but I didn't expect I need so many screenshots, oops. So, there will be 2 posts: this one includes scenes from 1x04 to 6x04 + a mention of the s3 rain fight, and the second one covers episodes 7, 8 and 9x04. Well, not the whole episodes, but just the scene where we can see stars. Also, sometimes I'm gonna write a little about the scenes which follow or precede the one with the star because almost always there's a connection between them. And I'm sorry in advance for my miserable vocabulary. It's really very hard to choose the right words for such an analysis when English is not your native language and I hope it wouldn't be too painful to read.

So, as @madwheelerz there's a possibility that the stars bookmark important moments/scenes we should pay close attention to. So far I've noticed these moments with stars in the show:

2 stars on Erica's earnings during the DnD game in 1x04 (it foreshadows Mike & Will defeating Vecna - the theory about it is here) and stars on the dress she wears in episodes 6, 7, 8 and 9;

2 stars on Lucas's sneakers during his basketball game where they win and he's the one to make the final shot (THIS parallels Erica who rolls 20 and defeats Vecna in the game);

stars on Will's costume he's wearing during the DnD game before the rain fight in s3;

6 stars on Angela's earnings in the Rink-o-Mania scene (and during THIS scene Mike & Will argue again which parallels their s3 rain fight);

Also, stars are associated with Dustin. In s3 he talks about star-crossed lovers and sings “Neverending Story” where the lyrics are : “reach the stars, fly a fantasy.” + “Ziggy Stardust” in Will’s playlist.

And @skvtebored mentions two more characters having stars in their clothes. Jason and Patrick have stars on their jackets, that's why we'll start with them.

3x04

We see the boys wearing them for the first time in 3x04 while they’re going to look for Eddie and have a small talk with Lucas near the abandoned Benny's Burger restaurant (and this place is associated with El because of s1). But I want to start with the previous scene. We see El in her room after dinner and the "She didn't look fine" moment, thinking about the roller rink accident and the massacre at the lab. "What did you do?" "What have you done?" These phrases are said by Mike and Brenner. We are shown flashbacks from that horrible day in the lab. (I made a collage with some shots, but haven't included the ones with the bodies of kids, it's already too gross to watch).

On the screenshots (1st & 2nd row): Brenner walking through the door, El in front of the broken mirror, a labyrinth with two silver balls, a ball with 8 on it, a chess desk, two dice with 2, 6, 4 and 5, some blocks with one green and one blue figures. To be honest, I don't know if these objects are there for a purpose, but I better leave the screenshots here and maybe someone with a bigger brain will connect the dots.

+ I'm adding the gifs from the moment with El in her room because of that spinning effect, like in the scene with her and Max in the final episode where she restarts her heart.

After El's flashbacks we see the Upside Down (3rd row): the library, some abandoned building that I thought could be Brimborn Steel Works but it's probably not, Creel's house with a spaceship slide next to it and Vecna.

The next shots we see (4rth row): the sun is rising, a yellow lamp in Benny's Burger restaurant, a "SPEED LIMIT 25 69" sign, a shot of the room with Lucas in a blue t-shirt (similar to El's shirt in the previous scene) and him near the doors of the restaurant with "WINNERS ONLY" written in green on it.

The dialogue between Lucas and Jason starts with: "What are you guys doing?" What did you do? What have you done? What are you doing? Past, present and...future is missing. Where will? Hmmm. And Jason's answer parallels Henry telling El the same thing the day he killed those kids in the lab. Like almost word by word. They're going to look for Eddie and Lucas is coming with them. Actually, during this scene they're putting some stuff in the truck.

The next scene when we see Jason and Patrick, they're on their way to one of Eddie’s friends. But right before seeing them in the car we are shown Eddie's trailer from the outside and the locked door with yellow ribbons, the room with the gate, hats, yellow light and electricity flickery, red lightning bolt and Vecna spying on the people with traumas.

At that time Vecna's looking for his next victim and he chooses who? Patrick. His nose starts bleeding. One of his friends calls it “gross.” They beat up the members of Eddie’s band and are going to Dustin's house. Before that fight Jason talks with them a little while Lucas pretends he isn't part of their club, although he's in Hellfire. That's when one of the boys says: "Lucas, what the hell?"

And then another boy tells Jason this: "Well, you have eyes, don't you? He's not here." That's when he starts beating him, stepping on his hand and saying: "It's gonna be hard to play drums with a broken hand." And who has no eyes and broken limbs? Vecna's victims. Interesting. In the following scene El’s in jail questioned about the roller rink accident and we see her having flashbacks of hitting Angela and the massacre at the lab again. The car is in the first shot of that scene.

As Jason and others come to Dustin, Patrick says: “No one’s home” and here I already wrote about this scene. Jason answers they should keep looking and then he sees the car door open and Lucas is not there. He says: "Where the hell is Sinclair?" while Lucas reaches Dustin and says: "Where the hell have you been?" After Jason notices Lucas in Dustin's house he says: "What the hell were you doing?"

Lucas answers: "I was looking for clues" and Patrick calls Lucas Sherlock Holmes. Hmmmm. Does it remind you of anything???? Not only do we have a Sherlock Holmes reference but also in both scenes they're talking about clues. Steve asks Dustin: "What sort of clues we're supposed to be looking for here?" By the way, keep in mind "by any chance."

After this Lucas says: "I found one" and leads them to Hopper's cabin. I wonder if it's foreshadowing of him finding Vecna in s5.

In the following scene again (for the third time) - El’s thinking about the roller rink accident and that day in the lab while riding in the car before being rescued by Owens and his people. What did you do? What have you done? And we see a rainbow.

The next scene with the basketball team is them in the woods on their way to Hopper's cabin.

Lucas said THAT is the place where Eddie's hiding. It reminded me of Will hiding in the shed in s1. Is it a parallel? The first shot we see is Jason opening the truck. Again, it reminded me of s1 and Jonathan checking Lonnie's truck. And Eddie was hiding in a boathouse which is a shed at the edge of a river or lake used for housing boats. He was hiding in the shed like Will. Interesting. And here we see after references. (Watergate my beloved) So, they’re in the cabin and the scene is shown together with the one where Owens tells El about Vecna and how he's killing right now in Hawkins. We are shown Lucas running out of the Hopper's cabin and Hopper with his cuffs off as Owens speaks of "good people and brave friends." In the following scene - Max's in trance for the first time.

4x04

The next day Jason comes to Sinclairs and talks with Erica (She refers to Lucas as Jason’s boyfriend in the most careless way possible, says he might be with Dustin and mentions Nintendo). I wrote about this scene in my Nintendo theory, so I'm leaving the link here (that's a must-read). I just want to add this screenshot from that scene where Erica's colouring the DnD character who looks like Eddie but we know that Mike is trying to look like him, even grows his hair, so I really believe it's Mike from s5, because 1) we see a dragon 2) we see a sward 3) we see a shield and 4) we see Mike with a sword and a shield facing the dragon and leading their party (Eddie is also the leader of Hellfire) in Will's painting.

Again, we hear: "Where the hell's Sinclair?" And in the following scene Steve, Lucas and Dustin talk about Victor Creel and Vecna, how he was killing then and how he's killing now.

6x04

In the previous episode Jason was wearing a black suit, so I didn't check these scenes, but in 6x04 he is in his bomber again. The police officers are talking with the citizens about Eddie and the curfew they should follow while they're looking for him. People are mad. "It's been days. Days!" The police officer answers: "I understand you all are upset, but I promise you, we will find him." And that's when Jason comes in. His first word is "No. You won't." (El's first word to Mike is "no") .

"Son, how about we talk about this in private?" That's what the chief asks Jason. (He is not ready to reveal the truth yet. The same with the Duffers.) Does it remind you of any other scene? Season 2. Mike is mad because Hopper (who’s also the chief of police) was hiding El in his cabin and Hopper asks him to talk about it in private. He calls him a liar and cries in his arms. But what if I told you he's not only mad at Hopper for hiding El but also at himself because now he has to hide from himself. From his true feelings. His feelings for Will. And Jason's speech just proves it.

"So you can keep me quiet? So you can keep the truth from coming out?"

Very and very interesting phrasing. That’s definitely the parallel to Will’s speech in the desert. "Sometimes, I think it's just scary to open up like that. To say how you really feel. Especially, to people you care about the most. Because what if they don't like the truth?" We saw Mike resonated with these words very much. He nodded and even wanted to answer something, but Argyle distracted him. What is Will's truth? He loves Mike. What is Mike's? Same. The only option for them is to come out in s5.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't bear to listen to any more excuses and lies. In fact, I think we've all had enough. That's enough."

Well, well, well. We have plenty of liars during the show but it seems to me that Mike lies the most, right? He lies not only to others but to himself. And here Jason just speaks on behalf of the GA, especially those who are homophobic, because the truth is "awful" for them.

"Last night, I saw things, things I can't explain. Things the police don't wanna believe. And things that I don't wanna believe myself. And I've come to accept an awful truth."

Jason is talking about Patrick's death, but we should always look for a double meaning in that show. He is talking about an awful truth. And we associate the truth with Mike and Will's feelings towards each other. What things he can't explain and believe is he talking about? Mike having gay panic at the airport maybe? Or Mike being pissed off because Will was showing little attention to him at Rink-o-Mania? Or Mike flirting with Will in Jonathan's and then his room? Or maybe Mike's triple take in the desert? Here Jason represents the GA, who were oblivious to the boys' feelings but now start noticing them.

By "satanic cults" he refers to Hellfire. The DnD club. And DnD represents Mike and Will's relationships, IT'S THE FACT. Jason compares it to disease. @howtobecomeadragon cracked it right open: D&D - sodomy - Satanic Cults - disease - AIDS.

ritualistic sacrifices = the consequences of forced conformity;

cults = lgbt community/Bylers;

deaease = AIDS crisis;

DnD = Byler relationship;

"And Eddie Manson is the leader of one of these cults."

Who's also called a leader of the party? Mike. Who wants to look like Eddie? Mike. Jason's speech is not only about Eddie, but it's about Mike and his feelings that he's hiding deep inside for a long time. Feelings toward Will.

Jason believes their town is cursed because of Hellfire and some ritualistic shit. In 1x04 Eddie says:

"Society had to blame something. We're an easy target. We're freaks because we like to play a fantasy game. It's forced conforming. That's what's killing the kids!"

And in 9x04 we see this scene. 5 targets with shot heads (= Vecna attacking people's minds). As far as we know Vecna was targeting 4 people in s5: Crissy, Fred, Max and Patrick. Or was there one more person? Mike is Vecna's 5th target. And also the smoke in these scenes looks like the fog we see in Vecna’s visions.

Let's return to Jason's speech. On this note, Erica's lost her nerve. By the way, she also has stars and hearts on her dress during this scene, so the next moments with her are also important.

"A club. A harmless club. That's what they want you to think. But it's a lie. A lie designed to conceal the truth. And now this cult is protecting its leader, Eddie. Hiding him. (Here we see Mike's parents, so these lines definitely refer to Mike) Allowing him to...continue his rampage."

Here Jason represents the homophobes, some of the GA and Milkvans who hate Mike and don't understand his personality, whereas we are protecting him for all costs. And what is a lie designed to conceal the truth? Mike's romantic feelings toward El. Once again, I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't bear to listen to any more excuses and lies. In fact, I think we've all had enough. That's enough.

Again, here he's religious = homophobic. And the Duffers created the paradox in which good=evil and evil=good. Just look. "Evil" is "live" backwards and "Will" is "lliv." Liv means "life" in Scandinavian languages. Will is the one who Mike wants to live his life with. While "good" is "doog" backwards and Mike says to El he's not a dog in Surfer Boy Pizza. That's such a reach but this post is full of crazy shit, we're crazy, so what???????

Okay, okay, okay. I'm gonna be even more delusional. Hellfire. Hell + fire. He'll. Fire. He will. Fire. He. Will. Fire. it's all about Will and fire. And we know about fireballs. Ohhhh, stop me, stop me now.

"We will be implementing a curfew. If you are not in your house after sunset with the doors locked, you'll be written up."

That reminded me of Mike and El in s3 lying about a curfew to the party in order to be kissing in Hopper's cabin (El's house). I'm not sure if there's some connection, but the whole kissing thing was Mike trying to be a normal teenager. Having a girlfriend. Enjoying time with her. While being in the closet (= locked doors). And for some reason we see "will" in italic, why??? And "written up" with all the writing-letters-to-El-and not-to-Will thing. Maybe, Mike is "written up" by El (=from, El) after focusing all his attention on Rink-o-Mania at Will while he was supposed to spend romantic time with his girlfriend.

And this is the following scene. Mike himself confirms Jason's truth. His words just parallel what Jason already said.

Jason: "Last night, I saw things, things I can't explain. Things the police don't wanna believe. And things that I don't wanna believe myself. And I've come to accept an awful truth...Some people say our town is cursed. They just don't know why. Now we know. Now we do." Things = love. Remember that.

Mike: "I know, it's hard to believe. But it's true. All true."

In this scene, the boys are lying to Suzie about Nina Project calling it Nintendo. Wait, wait, wait…Americantendo. Nintendo goes together with DnD in Will's love confession, so it represents Byler's relationship. (I hope you've read it, but leaving the link once more!!!) And really, during their search for Nina Mike and Will open up about their feelings to each other. Mike says they need Americantendo for Dustin's birthday. Can we suppose that we'll see Mike and Will as a couple on Dustin's birthday?

The following scene (wow, three scenes in a row) is with Dustin's, Lucas's and Mike's parents + Holly and Erica coming to Wheeler's looking for the kids. They lied about going to the movie ("What time was the movie?" "Four hours ago.") and Erica exposes their lie while Holly sings "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Hellfire.

When Dustin's mom questions their involvement with Eddie, Ted says: "I think at this point, anything is possible" and Mr Clarke in s3 says to Joyce: "Once you open that curiosity door anything's possible." Karen answers that their kids aren't murderers and Ted tells this: "Don't put words into my mouth. See, she does that, twists my words." Hmmmmm. Is it a reference to Mike's monologue where he uses the words of others and not his own??? That's smart, that's smart.

+ When Karen is calling the police we see 7 made from the magnets on the fridge.

The following scene is the Hawkins group near Skull Rock aka make-out spot and Dustin realises the compass doesn't work correctly because of the electromagnetic field. The electricity. (I wonder if somebody already spoke about the magnets and compasses because I feel like there's some double meaning there too!!!!)

So, we have scenes with El suffering from her traumatic memories (she blames herself for what she thought she'd done) and Tigers looking for Eddie (who is also blamed for something everyone thinks he's done) going together. And we know that El hasn't killed these kids, the same with Eddie. Both aren't guilty. Vecna is responsible for all those deaths.

And other scenes with Jason go together with the ones with Mike and Will/refer to Mike. The ones with lies and the truth. And there'll be even more in the second post.

On this note I leave you alone with your thoughts, but to see the full picture wait for p.2, which I hope I'll have finished by Monday.

[beevean]

Holy heck, was the Metal Sonic fight super cool!

I also like how both the past and present versions of Stardust Speedway inspired the Acts of this game (complete with a Sonic CD-style time travel sequence!), and how the Metal Sonic race is a reference to the original one, but not nearly as frustrating. Also, it looks like the boss fight got an overhaul in an update? Cool!

But it is really lame that your character doesn’t take the opportunity to grab the Phantom Ruby while it’s right there! To be fair, they probably don’t know its properties, but it’s better than Eggman and his forces having it.

The sprites for the second phase also remind me of the final boss of Knuckles’ Chaotix, which I saw incidentally earlier today from a video talking about unused content from that game. You can tell the devs are big Sonic fans! Sure, some stages were reused from previous games, but there’s also a fair amount of remixing, too, so even if the levels start out familiar, there are some creative twists!

Also, is Eggman sending your character through time as well as space? If so, that explains Stardust Speedway starting off in its past incarnation, time travel to its present version, and the general reuse of levels from previous games!

Hehe. I don't know where I'd put the Mania fight in a top tier list of all Metal fights, but it's definitely high up. I like the inclusion of the Eggman statue! The fact that it's complete doesn't bode well for the zone...

Also, two fun facts:

in Encore Mode, which changes the palettes of the levels among other things, Act 2 is colored like the Bad Future

2) Metal sics on you Silver Sonic, from Sonic 2 on the Game Gear. Talk about obscure!

look at him, he's so cute <3

I'm glad they redid the fight. In the original version, you were chased by a wall of spikes, and being Super easily cheesed that obstacle. The Chaotix homage is neater lol

I would suggest to not start to think about the powers of the Phantom Ruby :P but I personally think that the reason the characters were sent into the past is simply Little Planet's shenanigans, where time is more fluid.

[tijuanabiblestudies]

so much (for) stardust was produced by neal avron, who hadn't worked with fob since folie a deux (and also produced ioh and fuct before that). the intervening albums (srar, ab/ap, and mania) were produced by a handful of others including butch walker. the difference is noticeable--those other albums had a lot of, for lack of better phraseology, present-day-pop-music trappings to them, and a lot of synths. sm(f)s is more with the retro vibes and the lavish instrumentation. not that i don't love the non-neal avron albums but i'm really happy he's back

[faceglitchsworld]

Se c'è una cosa che ho scoperto mentre mi sono messa a cercare tutti i DVD in casa è che i miei genitori erano talmente in fissa con il risparmio che ho trovato una squintalata di DVD piratati. Avete presente no? Quei DVD che si trovavano a 2/3 nella bancarella con copertine di plastica e disegni sbiaditi da far pietà. Ci trovavi il film dentro alla fine, ma con qualità audio e video da far pietà.

Per non parlare delle cinesate tarocche firmate Mondo TV, Stardust e Dingo Pictures che probabilmente loro pescavano dai cestoni da cinque euro del supermercato. Credo di averne trovato almeno una decina di quella roba.

Ovviamente non ne faccio completamente una colpa. Per loro era inammissibile che un dischetto di plastica contenuto in una custodia di plastica potesse arrivare a costare dieci, quindici euro. E devo ammettere che loro in parte mi hanno influenzato con questa loro mania del risparmio perché di DVD di base ne compro sempre pochissimi e sempre e solo di cose che sono sicura non potrei reperire facilmente (tipo che so, preferisco spendere soldi per un film della Cartoon Saloon, che mi risulta più difficile da reperire rispetto a un film Disney o Ghibli, che mo sembra che te li lancino addosso per quanto te li ritrovi in giro).

Certo, ogni tanto compravano pure il film Disney, ma era comunque una cosa rara che accadeva solo per certe occasioni e via.

Solo adesso mi sto costruendo una piccola libreria di DVD decente e con i soldi che ho.

Ma alla fine non è questa la cosa importante.

Alla fine devo comunque ringraziarli perché hanno comunque comprato di tutto e di più con questo metodo e se adesso ho formato una sorta di gusto personale, in parte lo devo sicuramente a loro.

[patrickztump]

Fob asks: joy, rat a tat, get busy, your fav song off one of the eps, and your fav two songs off both mania and stardust! =)

• Just One Yesterday+ What did you do yesterday? yesterday was eclipse day for us, so watched it! we were in the 80% coverage range, of course we did have cloud coverage right at the peak, classic. finally getting around to editing the photos, so will share in another post :)

i've also been having computer issues and i am ready to bite the bullet and have it fixed, but i need to find out who can fix it before wiping it clean. so was at best buy for a short period of time looking for guidance, didn't get any (person one basically pushed us to talking to a different repair shop, person two wanted to sell me a new computer). then came home and tried to finish up a fob art i've been working on, but it's on the computer with issues, so it crashed <3

• Rat A Tat+ Favorite time of day? kind of depends on the time of year and what i'm doing / who i'm with. but on average, sunset.

• Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part To Save The Scene And Stop Going To Shows)+ What do you want to do before you die? Do you have a bucket list? i used to have a bucket list, like visit every hard rock cafe in the states was on it, at this point i just want a life that i can look back on and be proud of. have as little regrets as possible (because i definitely still will have some).

• Lake Effect Kid+ Have you ever been to Chicago? i went with your addition of this one because i haven't heard the original demo(?) of this song. but to answer the question, no. the furthest i've gone into the midwest is indianapolis, indiana.

• Heaven’s Gate+ Have you ever snuck into/helped sneak your friends into something? i can't think of a time off the top of my head, but if either of us did it was something minor, we were all good kids and teens, which has transferred into adulthood as well lol

• Bishops Knife Trick+ Are you nostalgic for any time in your past? Is there any song in particular that reminds you of a specific moment you miss? oh all the time. i am the embodiment of nostalgia, i think about the good times of yesteryear and how i can make sure present day will have the same impact on future me.

as for songs, ironically "bishops knife trick" is one that brings heavy waves of nostalgia. i've told the story before, so won't tell it again. another song is daniel powder's "bad day," that one takes me back to my childhood. it was played heavily when it came out and i seemed to always hear it at school when my teacher would play the radio at the end of the day and bus numbers were being called (i also missed my bus a few times because of this lol).

• The Kintsugi Kid (Ten Years)+ What’s something you loved ten years ago? i almost did "heaven, iowa" for this slot because this song is so hard to listen to because of all the feelings and memories it invokes in me are so bittersweet it's borderline painful to listen to. i actually have a draft where i discussed how it makes me feel and... yeah.

anyways, the question: there was so much i loved ten years ago. just how everything felt back then. it was so much more carefree and was exciting. things can still be exciting today, but something just feels bleak at times. ten years ago was the last year of scamp's life, and when he passed it was like the official end of my childhood, which in a way it was. i was officially and adult and the anchor to my adolescence was now gone.

• So Much (For) Stardust+ Do you like stargazing? Can you name any constellations while looking at the sky? i do enjoy it! but i only can name the dippers lol. i still have the telescope i got as a kid but haven't used it in years. when i got into photography i tried to do long exposure shots of the stars to get light trails, didn't workout well because i was not in an area of absolute darkness.

[nemirambles]

Why Sonic CD Isn't Actually an Exploration Game

I am writing this down so whenever people tell me that this game is simply exploration based or that I don't get it I can kindly redirect them to this so I'm not repeating myself 100000000 times and everything can be neatly contained here.

Lets get something out of the way first, Sonic CD is a linear game. Have you seen the level design? It's.... really straight. It feels like it has the same design philosophy of Sonic 2 when it comes to prioritizing speed. The difference is that CD levels are a tad bit larger than levels in 2.

They don't feel as bare as Sonic 2 levels due to them having gimmicks but they still aren't to where Sonic 3 would be. But that makes sense! These games were more or less designed in parallel so they would be addressing the same criticisms although in different ways. The obvious elephant in the room is the time travel and locating objects in the past, obviously the game cannot be linear if you have to explore around, right?

Something being linear has the implication that you're going to just be going from point A to B without much in-between. CD has an issue where the past signs are kind of hard to come by and to meaningfully use. When you find a good spot to time travel, unless there's a better spot, you're gonna be using that one. Once you do finally actually get to the past though, do you know where you're going? You're going to the same exact spots each and every time to destroy what you need to in order to make a good future.

Sure, you had to explore to find the past sign and the polluters of the past, but then after that, you solved the puzzle. There is nothing further to actually explore. But I'd be stupid to not mention that Sonic CD technically holds the most levels of any classic Sonic game. There are three different layouts for each regular act in the game. Their past, present and future variants. You will never wanna go to the future.

The game actively punishes you for going to the future since it prevents you from getting the good ending and past signs become quite difficult to find along with finding good spots to even time travel. I hope you don't land slightly wrong without even really losing speed when you have a trail going or else you'll lose the ability to time travel and you'll need to find another sign. The game knows the future is a hazard too since these signs to travel there are super inconveniently placed in order to fuck you over and swap out your past sign.

Now you'll need to tip toe around because if you go too fast and accidentally do a speed building set piece, you are fucked, the future is now. So alright you don't wanna travel to the future, so what about the present? You're only going to be in the present to go to the past. Once your job there is up, you'll basically never go back. And then once you do get to the past, you're just going to find what you need to blow up and then book it to the finish line.

You see the problem here?

This is different than an actual exploration based game like Sonic 3. There are several locations for the big rings and you'll need to find them while also optimizing your routes. You have choices. Real genuine choices that you need to decide on. In CD you don't have choices. Going to the future is of no benefit, the present brings no benefit except being able to go to the past, the past is all that matters. An entire 2/3rds of the game does not matter.

You know how in Sonic Mania you can like plant little weird Venus flytraps in Stardust Speedway in order to get to new places? That's the sort of thing that Sonic CD needs. These parts in time do not interact. What you do in the past in one act won't really affect what you can do in the future. Players should've been going between each time period freely and easily to make interactions happen and to truly take advantage of the butterfly effect.

The game has things like this in play. There are areas you just can't access without going to another point in time, but it'll always be the past and these areas won't matter when compared to the generators. But this all ignores the thing that knocks all of this over.

What kind of game centered around exploration gives you the option to totally ignore that and just do a mini game to get the good ending? Dude like... imagine if in SA2 you could just... get 50 rings and do a mini game to skip a treasure hunting stage. That would spit in the face of the entire point of the level. But alas, that is the life Sonic CD lives. It is a game of conflicting designs.

It wants you to time travel but discourages it if you don't do it in a specific way, it wants you to go fast due to it still more or less having straight line level design while encouraging you to not let there be a bad future, it asks you to explore but then hands you an infinitely less time consuming alternative. This game quite frankly doesn't really know what it wants. It looks good, it sounds good, it's fun to just thrown on and play brainlessly but it is in no way a well designed game.

"It's a game about exploration!" Then why is it so bad at that very thing?