#stranger things fan theory

[madelynraemunson]

GUYS.

It just hit me.

What if it’s called Stranger Things, ST 2 … 3… 4… 5 and the episodes are called CHAPTERS because it’s a never-ending story?

[jelly-sharki]

Let's talk about Michael Wheeler.

This is my first post, btw. I'm still new to this despite having Tumblr for more than 2 years.

I want everyone to know that I am a Byler shipper, I believe that they WILL get together in ST5. I feel it in my bones, in my nuggets, in my giblets.

Anyway.

What if Mike was the one to get possessed? I know, I know. There is clear proof that Will is the one who most likely gets possessed from the "RUN" scream and obviously passed out on his mum, but hear me out for a second.

The way Mike is clearly the hero/leader(or portraying himself into being the hero/leader) for the small group of kids and most likely a lot of other characters including Will, as we see here:

There's a clear sign of protection and sacrifice in this photo and scene alone. So the thought of Mike doing something to protect someone isn't bizarre, meaning the feeling to self sacrifice himself isn't something to ignore when thinking of Mike in ST5. What if that's what happens? Self sacrifice.

Will being possessed is something that will definitely happen noting the few scenes about it being a high possibility, but maybe Will fights that, the possession now not being a thing. Unless a new host is found, and who would be a perfect host? Mike. He is the next best option after Will, if we were right about some things in the theories, the theory about internalized homophobia might be something that fuels the easy control over Mike. His fear, regret, and sadness. Vecna/Henry/001 could use that to control Mike, and since he is now in a situation he's not familiar with himself, it wouldn't be hard to succeed.

This could also be seen the other way around, Will getting possessed and Mike being the one to save Will, back to the theory of Will getting Vecna'd and Mike playing "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" in the headphone, almost death scene, ect ect.

Honestly? BORING.

Yes, Mike saving Will is very nice and just MM, hero Michael all the way, but c'mon... Will saving Mike? A cleric is known for healing and support, meaning they also make shields and protection spells if needed. Will getting his hero moment, Mike getting an even more important part in Will's story that isn't just love interest and/or his saviour? Now that's cinema.

The idea came from the lawyer video by: @teambyler

And the ST5 ep 6 title: "Escape from Camazotz"

(Before I start, I have not seen the movie this references, all Google searches)

Camazotz is from the movie "A Winkle In Time", it's the name of a planet that is soon controlled by IT(the "Black Thing" I think??), at some point Meg Murry kept saying "I love you" over and over again to Charles Wallace, it instantly reminded me of Byler.

This could easily be seen as Mike saying "I love you" over and over again towards Will, giving him the courage to fight against Vecna and the Mind Flayer.

But think of that the other way around.

Will finally confessing his feelings towards the person he's loved for years, but out of fear one of them might die, the fear of not being able to say it later, the need to finally say:

"I love you Mike! Please don't leave me-- I need you! I love you!"

"That day you asked me to be your friend on the swings-- I've always needed you after that! Please, Mike! I need you!"

Like C'MON!!?!???!

[mikaykayrae]

Stranger Things Won’t Bury their Gays

Bury Your Gays: A trope where LGBTQIA+ characters meet an early death or an otherwise tragic fate, especially when their death only serves as a plot device for straight characters.

Will Byers throughout season 4 had had his feelings put aside in order to further the plot and ‘help’ a straight couple. The Duffers are known to subvert heteronormative tropes. For example in season 3 the audience was ‘straight baited’ by a relationship between Steve and Robin.

Stranger Things is focused on the outcasts and weirdos, which queer people often identify with, especially in the 80’s. The writers would not kill the closeted gay artist, especially when it serves to end the Will-Mike-El love triangle without the real relationship and self discovery conflict it would need to actually develop.

Pt. 2/5 Will Byers Won’t Die

Stay tuned for the next 3 parts! I’m also going to switch to once daily posts, with extras here and there!

💌MiKayKayRae

[everbyers]

We could be getting something on Will's birthday

This is just a theory, and I don't have any proper evidence for it, just pure speculation!!

Even though all the dates stuff are announced are random (expect st day), I think that a possibility of getting something like the teaser/trailer or even announcement dates is very possible on Will's birthday. Hear me out:

It's gonna set birthdaygate in stone even further.

Since It's an important announcement, the GA will have the date memorised and will be like "wait, this date is familiar"

It would make sense between the gap of the release and the dates announcement. The days between the dates announcements and releases are around 100-200 days. So, I calculated it.

If I'm right, the earliest release is June 30th and the latest is October 8th.

I personally believe that we are getting the teaser very soon and that we didn't get it because of the elections on st day. Possibly around December/Christmas?

[stranger-theory]

me when mike starts digging out a box of crumpled papers out of his closet after a breakdown

[stormythalamus]

My take on Mileven vs Byler debate:

Since the new teaser dropped and we’re all back at each other’s throats again, I’ve been thinking about how I want the couples to play out in the next season and thought I’d share my thoughts here weee

Okay here we go:

Just to be clear, I don’t care if you like Mileven or Byler or whatever else. These characters are not real, it's not that deep. Mileven’s and Byler’s can exist in peace and harmony I promise. A fair warning though, this post is definitely more anti-Mileven because it’s not my cup of tea, although I would love to hear Mileven’s thoughts on these points!! I personally have always hated the Mike x Eleven ship, mainly because I thought it was gross how this young girl had no concept of friends or family before being thrusted into a long-term romance at the age of twelve. After being controlled and used by men her entire life. I didn’t like how Eleven asked Mike to be her brother the same day they started dating, I didn’t like how overly obsessed they were with each other in season 3, I really didn’t like having to watch them make out for multiple minutes straight. That being said, I understand why people do enjoy it; they follow the classic Damsel / Savior trope to an extent, with who being what changing depending on the season. However, in reality, their relationship has done nothing but negatively impact them both in the long run. 

Jumping to season 4, their objectively worst season as a couple, we have the internal thoughts of these two characters and what they want for themselves laid out very clearly: 

Mike wants to be needed by someone/feel useful. 

Eleven wants to be normal, and later, grow into herself/her duty. 

Already, these motivations clash. We already saw this in season 3, when Mike gets insanely jealous over Eleven and Max becoming friends. Mike needs to feel needed by someone, and that someone has always been El. That was literally the foundation of their relationship; that Mike saved Eleven from the bad men, therefore becoming a hero in her and his own eyes. However, as Eleven begins to grow away from Mike and into herself as a human being, Mike begins to stress about losing her completely. In my opinion, this is why I believe he said he loves her in season 3, moreso out of fear than out of true love (maybe fear is too strong a word; more like inadequacy on his own part). 

Now, going back to season 4, this insecurity has grown substantially. Mike is now unable to tell Eleven he loves her, and Eleven constantly lies to Mike in order to be good enough for him. However, the most telling part of this season is Mike and Eleven’s relationship in relation to Will. Will does need Mike, and has expressed this time and time again over the course of all the seasons. Eleven, on the other hand, wants to grow away from Mike, and into a person outside of her relationship. I think people tend to overlook how insane El’s story is in fear of infantilizing her, however I think it’s very important to note that El’s life has been:

Raised in a lab until she was 12

Met Mike and Party, knew them for a week, began her relationship with Mike

Didn’t see Mike (or anyone, or anything, other than Hopper) for almost an entire year

Immediately resumes relationship with Mike, barely acknowledging her other friends, or doing anything with Mike other than kissing

Meets Max, gets a taste of what it’s like to be independent, immediately breaks up with Mike lol

Gets thrown into another life or death situation, forcing their relationship back together

Moves away and doesn’t know how to talk to him about how horrible her life is in fear of messing something up

Do you notice a thread here? Eleven has been constantly controlled and influenced significantly by those around her for her entire life. The closest she ever got to true independence was in California, but she was still being tethered by stress about Mike’s view of her and a complete lack of awareness of how school works (which, Joyce, homeschooling really wasn’t an option??)

People get dogged on all the time for saying El isn’t ready for a relationship, and I genuinely cannot understand why, because she clearly is not. She is a strong character with a good heart, but her complete lack of solo personal development makes the dynamic between the two feel odd and imbalanced. This is further emphasized by the insane pedestal Mike places Eleven on, calling her a superhero, something that she is, at least in my eyes, not fond of at all. Eleven hates having to be a savior all the time; she just wants to be normal. One point people like to bring up is how Mike is overly protective of Eleven in season 3 when he believes her to be over exerting herself, blaming Max for treating her like a machine. But… is this not just another form of control?? Let Eleven decide what her limits are! That is not Mike’s call. His overprotectiveness borders on obsession, clearly stemming from his need to be needed. If he isn’t there to help El, who will? Or… if he isn’t there to help El, what use is he? 

Now, back to Will, more specifically his painting for Mike. As we’ve established, Mike needs to feel important. He tells Will about his worries that Eleven won’t need him anymore, as she is growing and becoming even more powerful and important to the world than she has ever been. Will then presents Mike with the painting, saying that “these past few months, she’s been so lost without you. She’s just so different from other people, and when you're different, sometimes you feel like a mistake. But you make her feel like she's not a mistake at all, like she's better for being different. And that’s what gives her the courage to fight on.”

Interestingly, this is exactly what Mike wants to hear! Eleven loves him, she needs him, she feels lost without him. And this whole speech is what motivates Mike to tell Eleven that he loves her. Except… literally none of it is true. Mike is literally telling Eleven he loves her on completely false pretenses. He can finally say I love you to a version of Eleven that Will created. Even better, Will is just talking about himself in this scene! None of what he said even applies to Eleven. Eleven does not need Mike. She has made that clear. She loves Mike, but she does not need him. There is a clear distinction there, one that is very important when discussing Mike’s feelings. And the cherry on top of this nightmare sundae is that Mike and Eleven do not speak for the rest of the season after this confession. We literally end the season with El ignoring Mike and Mike going to talk to Will. Like??? I am so sorry but the fact that Mileven shippers consider this romantic or promising is laughable to me. Mike confessing that he loves Will’s fictional caricature of Eleven is NOT romantic!!1! And I’m pretty sure El knows something was up with that confession, too. I’m excited to see how they deal with the fallout in season 5. 

Okay, now for a slightly unrelated point: let’s compare Mike and Eleven to Lucas and Max. Now I think we can all agree Lucas and Max have a much stronger relationship than Mike and Eleven. If you disagree, I implore you to rewatch the show with your eyes open. From the way they handle disagreements (ex: Lucas confronting Max about ignoring him vs. Mike confronting El in season 4) to the way they are written, to the way that the actors talk about them, Lumax is clearly meant to be a much more serious, stable relationship. While we see them have disagreements, there is no doubt about how strongly Lucas feels for Max. And there never was; that was an intentional writing decision. Something that always stood out to me as noteworthy was the fact that in season 3, Lucas mentions how Max has dumped him multiple times, but that he was able to win her over every single time. These breakups are not shown on screen. Whereas with Mike and El, their breakups are literally all we see. Clearly, the writers want us to focus on how Lucas and Max have stayed a strong couple by honing in on their resilience and care regarding their relationship by mentioning, but not centering, on their teenage breakups. However, the exact opposite is true for Mike and Eleven; we are intentionally being shown their silly teenage drama and breakups, because that is what the writers think is important about their relationship. I’m honestly surprised more people don’t talk about this. And yes, Mike and Eleven do come to resolutions after their fights, but they are never very… strong, or taken seriously. People have talked this point into the ground, but Mike crumpling up two of Eleven’s letters on screen, and even throwing one in the trash, is like… wow. Interesting choice if he’s so in love with her. Especially with the way he reacts to Will’s painting. All this to say, Lumax solos. 

At the end of the day, I don’t really give a shit if Mike ends up with Will or El. I would honestly prefer neither just because the absolute outrage on both sides would be funny. But I do think he’s much more compatible with Will. I will say, I think the Duffer Brothers have dug themselves into quite the deep hole here. I genuinely cannot see a way where everyone will be happy with the outcome of this season. On one hand, Mike and Eleven could resolve their issues, Mike would friendzone Will, and Will’s entire character for the past two seasons will have been dedicated to suffering and uplifting a straight couple at his own detriment. Not a great look. Especially since in season 4, literally all Will did was be sad about his feelings for Mike, while simultaneously trying to help his relationship. Maybe I have too much faith in Netflix, but the fact that the writers decided to make Will gay and in love with Mike makes me believe in Byler being canon more than anything else, solely because there was literally zero reason to include that plot line other than to make Will’s already miserable life even harder. They could’ve very easily introduced a new character in season 2 or 3 as a love interest for Will, while exploring his isolation and self-hatred by having Mike and the rest of the Party help him feel more comfortable in himself. The fact that a large portion of his character is his feelings for Mike is going to make it look very bad if they don’t end up together in the end. 

nOn the other hand, if Mike and Will get together, I imagine the reaction from the GA is going to be… horrific. Not even considering the staggering amount of homophobia, the confusion alone from a casual viewer may be enough to not make them have Byler become a couple. I will say, it would be a lot to have in one season, especially since Will hasn’t even come out as gay yet in the show. I actually had to tell my mom he was gay after finishing season 4; she didn’t even pick up on it. I can’t imagine how confused a casual viewer would be if Mike suddenly broke up with his four seasons long girlfriend to get with her step-brother in the last season. But in that case, why would you let it go on this long??? And who is telling Finn Wolfhard to look at Will Byers like he hung the stars???? And why is there a One Way sign pointing to his closet????? And WHYY are they letting their cast members (ie Noah) hype it up so much if it’s not happening!????? I literally need the next season because I cannot even fathom what the plan is to fix this absolute mess of a love triangle they’ve created. It’s either gonna go down in history as the best queer slowburn ever or the worst queerbaiting case in existence. I bet I’ll enjoy it either way, since Will has been my favorite character for a while and he’s clearly taking center stage this season! Very exciting. 

Congrats if you made it this far, hope this all made sense. It’s like 3am and I just wanted to write about this for some reason lollll. I havent done a rewatch in a minute so hopefully there’s nothing inaccurate in here : )

[periwinklepanic]

Yesterday my coworkers and I were discussing stranger things season 5 theories and one of them said “I really hope they give Will a love interest” and I sat there like “yeah 😀” as if I haven’t been shipping him with his best friend since Obama was still in office.

[deertaz]

Stranger Things Theories

This is a little checklist I'm making before Season 5. I like to come back and see what I was right about and what I was wrong about.

Things I'm fairly sure of (80-100%):

Will is the main character of the season; he is crucial to the plot.

Eleven gets a lot of time on her own this season.

When she's not on her own, she's mainly with Hopper.

Eleven gets time with Lucas because they are both trying to get Max to wake up. (Yay, a team-up we have literally barely ever seen)

Eleven really figures herself out. She comes out of this season knowing what she wants. She might leave Hawkins at the end to discover herself more.

Mike gets a character revamp and is made likeable again.

Will and Joyce have a heartfelt conversation, and Will comes out to her (she is very very supportive)

We get a flashback to young Will, Mike and Johnathan (confirmed)

Johnathan is worried about Will. Like, really worried.

Johnathan's entire arc this season is him being a supportive brother, and him trying to figure out his shit with Nancy

The rainbow shirt kid is a comedic relief character, like a baby Dustin.

Mike is saving people. He's gonna be such a hero this season.

Lovers Lake gate (maybe not in a romantic way, but Will and Mike will end up in Lovers Lake for some reason or another)

Max doesn't wake up until Part 2 (or three if they push it)

Lucas is the one who fully pulls Max back into the world. It is very romantic and emotional.

Eleven helps, but Lucas is the main reason.

Max is fully blind.

Vecna is speaking directly to Will

Vecna can relate to Will and attempts to get Will on his side

Will is special; there is a reason why Vecna abducted him first, and a reason he survived so much longer than anyone else.

Mike figures out that the painting was never commissioned by Eleven (obviously)

Will wasn't intended to just be Vecna's victim. He was captured for a different reason than Barbara.

Holly is getting kidnapped (near certain on this one)

Will bad guy arc, but not really, there's something inside of him that he's fighting.

Going back to Castle Byers.

Robin and Vickie time! Maybe a kiss (perchance)

When Will is saying 'Run!' at the end of the trailer. I think he's telling a person/the group to run away from him.

I don't think Eddie will come back, and if he does guest star, he won't really be alive. Undead? Controlled? Maybe.

Dustin is getting bullied for his association with Eddie. Getting the good old S2 Will Byers treatment.

Dustin trying to clear Eddie's name, it doesn't bode well.

Things I think are perhaps going to happen (55-75%):

Mike and Eleven break up. This happens pretty early in the Season, episode 1 or 2.

EITHER BECAUSE:

Eleven has a talk with Lucas or another character who is in love, and they say something like, 'love doesn't have to be declared all the time, you should just feel it. ' Or by talking about how they love another character, it becomes clear to Eleven that she doesn't have that with Mike. They don't love each other in that way. (This implies that Byler could happen.)

OR

She says she needs to focus on becoming stronger. They break up because of miscommunication, not because they don't love each other. (This implies that they will get back together in the end)

Mike and Eleven really come into their own when they aren't together any more.

Will sacrifices himself, doesn't die.

Dustin is kind of closed off this coming season. He isn't his usual happy-go-lucky self. He gets better towards the end.

Will's birthday being completely forgotten about in season 4 is acknowledged. El and Mike feel shitty about it.

The rainbow shirt kid or the little girl with glasses is going to mirror little Mike when he lost Will in Season One.

Will isn't just an unintentional spy for Vecna, or the Mind Flayer; he can double as a vessel.

Johnathan gets quite a lot of screen time.

I think that the young Will, young Mike and Johnathan scene could be a memory from one of them, brought forward by Vecna. We know that only Mike has a speaking role in this, so it could be a Will memory. Maybe it's his happiest memory, and he uses it the same way Max used the school dance, to hide from Vecna (or defeat him?)

Will comes out to Mike. He's more anxious telling Mike than he is Joyce. It could go well, or it could be awkward (inevitably ends up resolved/going well).

Robin and Will have a conversation, hinting at their queerness to each other, but neither outright says it. They both understand.

Holly in Wonderland (Mike's sister)

Holly reminds Vecna of his sister Alice.

Mike and Will end up in the upside-down together.

If Vecna's blood in Eleven is the reason she has powers, it makes sense that she would lose her powers if Vecna dies.

Possibilities (50-50)

Mike and Eleven get back together in the finale (if they break up), stronger than before.

OR

Mike is gay or bisexual and realises, over time, that he is in love with Will.

Johnathan catches on to it before most of the other cast.

If Murray interacts with them in Season 5. He could catch on to it first. If he does, it would be treated as comedic.

If Will is possessed or has something in him that he needs to fight, then Mike is going to be the one to pull him out of it.

'Pull him out' as in the same way Mike cheered on Eleven in Season 4.

Steve or Johnathan dies. If one lives, the other dies.

Eleven leaves Hawkins in the epilogue. She's still in contact with her friends, ofc.

Murray dies

One of Mike's family members will die (not Nancy). Maybe his mum or dad?

Will comes out to Mike in a Vecna vision, and is rejected. Maybe a little like this scene in it: https://youtu.be/fMnOgpUbVwQ

Things I for some reason think will happen but can't explain why (less than 30%-5% sure):

Will has similar powers to Eleven because of his connection to Vecna, Dimension X or the Upside Down.

We found out (in the Stranger Things play) that Vecna gained his powers as a child. Henry Creel was transported to an alternate dimension (Dimension X, not the Upside Down) for half a day. This then caused him to attain powers. It also caused his demeanour to change. But he was constantly fighting it. Fighting the influence of the Mind Flayer. But he loses. I think something like this happened to Will when he was too young to remember it.

Even before his kidnapping. Will was known to be a 'sensitive child who had a lot of nightmares'. Maybe that's connected to it?

There are a lot of similarities between Will and young Henry Creel. This may be done for a different reason, but it could also hint at the fact that they have been influenced by Dimension X.

Imagine if there's a flashback to a young Will in Dimension X, or a drawing from what he saw. Something he doesn't remember? But something that marked him.

There's a moment in the first episode of season one, while Will is cycling (pre-kidnapping). Where the light on his bike goes out. He then looks at it, and bam! It switches back on. This is literally the moment, just before he sees a demogorgon.

This could be just Vecna or something Upside-Downy fucking his lights up. But if Will does have powers, this would be crazy foreshadowing.

I'm not joking. He doesn't look worried at all in that scene. The camera zooms in on him slightly. He looks down, and the light turns back on.

He could also have Vecna's blood in him. That's entirely possible.

Some sort of time travel.

Welp. Now to wait a few months to see if anything I said here was right.

Characters I think have a chance of dying.

I personally think two important characters (from previous seasons) will die in ST5. This is accompanied by a few deaths from minor characters from previous seasons (made important in ST5) or major characters only introduced in ST5.

Murray

Yeah, that's definitely on the cards. He's an expendable side-character, despite how much I like him. I don't think his death will carry enough weight to set a 'grieving' tone. So if Murray dies, don't assume that means the rest of the cast is safe.

Steve:

Well, he was meant to die from the beginning. He's been really pulled up to a fan favourite over the years. But at the end of the day, we don't need Steve to save the day (though if he dies, I'm sure people will see it that way). I am still very under the belief that the Steve, Johnathan, Nancy Love triangle will be resolved by killing off one of the guys. We don't know who Steve's family are, he isn't related to any other main character, and he's pretty much known for his bravery. His death would really affect the kids, but not as much the adults. Seems like a decent pairing with a Murray death. While Hopper + Joyce grieve Murray, the rest of the cast grieve Steve.

Johnathan:

He's kind of got no arc at the moment, and that's why I think his death may complete it. Again, this gives Nancy a chance to choose Steve. Johnathan would probably die protecting Will. He's a loving older brother who has lost closeness with him. He misses the relationship they had, and well, if he died, it would be a final sacrifice, cementing the idea that he loves his little brother. Yet, for some reason, I think he will be kept alive, mainly because Will and Joyce don't deserve any more loss.

Karen Wheeler:

While I do not think Karen Wheeler is the one who 'disappears.' I do think that she may die. This, to protect her daughter or son. Nancy and Mike are main cast, and this would really really fucking affect them. Karen seems to have a closer relationship with her kids than Ted does, and if she gets a lot of spotlight in this season, expect that she'll not make it to the epilogue.

Ted Wheeler:

I don't think his death would be as impactful unless they seriously started getting into his character this final season. If we get a shit ton of Ted scenes, then there's a chance that he'll not make it to the end. Since Ted Wheeler is a conservative man, it would make sense for him to die if Byler becomes canon. I do not think he would accept a gay son. Tolerating one, maybe. But accept? Doubt it. His death would be him saving Mike from something, and apologising for reacting badly. Also, Ted being exposed to the horrors early in the season would be really funny. Imagine this stiff upper lip man finding out that superpowered girls and strange transdimensional monsters exist? I'd dig that. Also, I just have a feeling that Mike is going to lose somebody close to him this season, lose as in they pass on.

Dustin:

I don't think they'll kill off a main kid, but if they kill off one of them, Dustin would be pretty upsetting. I still really don't think a main kid will die. But Dustin makes the most sense. Killing off Will would be cruel, killing off Mike would be cruel to El and Will, killing off Max would make S4 seem pointless, killing off Eleven is too predictable, and killing off Lucas would come off really badly. So if any kid dies this season, it's gonna be Dustin.

Songs I think might be in ST5:

Something by the Smiths. Just feel like it would fit Johnathan.

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO REPRISE!

Main Characters This Season

Will (duh)

Eleven

Mike

Johnathan (I just have a feeling)

Joyce (since we're returning to s1, it would make sense to see more Joyce)

Nancy

I think the Byers family and the Wheeler family are gonna be really important this season.

[deadlightsanddreams]

guys… what if mike and nancy are siblings?!?? 😨😨

[txxty]

is it an unpopular opinion if i say that out of all the "___gate" theories, birthdaygate is my least favourite, like i genuinely do not like it at all

"i dont believe the duffer brothers forgot wills birthday" yeah okay but i 100% do think that sorry

its just more unnecessary angst targeted at will, like no his mother, brother, sister, and best friend didnt all suddenly forget will's birthday that is insane

[madelynraemunson]

another theory: eleven is talking about WILL here, not henry. and brenner is the monster just like el said

“you have risked everything, you have lied, you made ME LOOK FOR HIM”

eleven was not bloody when she escaped from the lab, so obviously she escaped after the massacre. but for what reason? brenner probably sent her to look for will. everyone at hawkins lab always referred to will as the boy, and brenner always seemed to know about will and his whereabouts more than anyone…. it’s been in front of us the whole time. in season 5 we might find out that the key is not an inanimate object, WILL IS THE KEY

also, what if what el said is true? brenner and his regenerative ass is THE MONSTER. henry and will are his shadows, the beings that are connected to him. his vessels. papa is the monster

we need to start taking what they say in the scenes seriously because the answers may as well be in PLAIN SIGHT.

i am losing my mind

[gay-mike-wheeler]

it actually haunts me that we didn’t get more will+el sibling content in s4

[ks-caster]

Some additional quick brainstorming Re: Vecna/Henry/One:

He states that the thing he finds disturbing about regular life is people existing within the bounds of time. Has a whole monologue on it.

We are not told exactly why he dislikes the boundaries of time. HOWEVER, we know the numbers were created as part of MK Ultra, which involved experimenting on people psychologically using LSD. According to The Conversation, “Psychedelics such as LSD [...] produce a sense of timelessness.” So it’s reasonable to see a link between MK Ultra and a child being born who finds time to be unbearable.

The Upside-Down is stuck on November 6th, 1983. But the gate originally opened in 1979. So this is intentional. It’s less “stuck,” and more “staged.” He creates a world that’s literally timeless, frozen in the first moment part of his superorganism finally makes contact with the outside world. Timeless in triumph.

We also know that he has an obsession with people or creatures existing with authenticity or according to (how he believes) nature dictates.

This fuels his ability to play on people’s darkest secrets and experiences, such as his father’s experiences in the war, or Max and Nancy’s survivor’s guilt.

Alternatively, Steve also likely experiences survivor’s guilt, having been complicit in the same “crime” as Nancy, and has also experienced trauma like every other member of the main cast—but unlike Nancy, who will by her own admission wear the uncomfortable shoes to fit in, he cast off the mantle of King Steve a long time ago, and lives authentically (mainly hitting on people and making up secret handshakes with nerdy children. It’s not pretty, but still, he’s living his truth!). 

Perhaps Vecna picks Nancy instead of Steve to deliver the message because he can access her. He can’t access Steve. 

Finally, he’s obsessed, from childhood, with spiders, particularly black widow spiders.

We can see this obsession in the way he designs his superorganism. For example, female black widows have bad eyesight, and use the movements of their webs to "see" what's going on around them. This is paralleled in the vines in the Upside Down being sensors, and the demo-critters not having eyes.

Additionally, when he kills, he goes for the victims’ eyes. We know he absorbs his prey—much like how the female black widow eats the male after reproducing with him. 

Just as they joked in Spider Man; No Way Home, some male spiders can “hypnotize” female spiders (mainly just to let them know they aren’t prey upon entering the web) but the idea is there that spiders can enter one’s thoughts and mess with them. Vecna is playing hard into the spider metaphor.

Stranger Things Theory: The Creatures aren't Attracted to Blood. They were Created to Collect and Bring Back Water.

My evidence, in no particular order:

Within the Upside Down, vessels that should be full of water, including natural ones such as Lover’s Lake, are empty. Yet everything that seems to be alive (vines, demo-critters, even the gates) is at least moist. The things require moisture to survive but don't appear to have a natural source of it.

In season 2, Will's entire concept of Hawkins as a place is through the waterways. When he goes looking for Hopper via the Mind Flayer, that's the only thing he can see in terms of regular landmarks. Hawkins' waterways are something that the Mind Flayer is aware of.

Everything in the Upside Down is a hive mind. However, the creatures also follow some form of biological laws (such as molting and eating). Therefore it stands to reason that the vines exist for a reason. Perhaps rather than vines they function more like roots, explaining why there are so many of them in places like a lake basin, a pool, and climbing up trees.

On the night in season 1 that the demogorgon escaped the lab, it was surrounded by tasty scientists that it had easily murked, but it didn't really stop to eat them. Predators generally eat when they're hungry, so this is unusual behavior. (could it have been hunting El, yes. But then why deviate and go after Wil? Give me a moment.) Clearly none of the scientists were a threat to it, so why would it leave the lab that night, if it was hungry and surrounded by blood-filled bodies? We're told by Hopper that it was raining--storming, in fact--on the night that Will went missing. A creature seeking blood and flesh would have stayed inside. But a creature just seeking the biggest source of moisture would have gone straight for the drainage pipe, which would have filled with running water.

Everything from the Upside Down likes it cold, but nothing likes it frozen. Will had the window open and his shirt off, but he wasn’t jumping in the freezer in season 2, and Billy may have been bathing with ice cubes, but he was also able to be outside in the summer in a long sleeved shirt for many hours at once in season 3. Plus if they wanted frozen, a walk-in freezer would have been a better setting than an old steel works building for the mind flayer to create its monster. Everything from the Upside Down also fears fire/hates heat. The warmer an environment is, the faster water evaporates--but get an environment too cold and water freezes, such as the water within living bodies. The water needs to be liquid.

The monsters do not have eyes. Their heads are literally all mouth. Not just all mouth, but all teeth—teeth in a way that doesn't really make sense. They don't have teeth for cutting or for chewing, they don't have rows for slicing, and the petals, as we see in Bob's death in season 2, don't close when they feed, they actually open wider. They don't seem to have strong jaws for biting, just teeth-covered flaps for wrapping. Those mouths are designed for ripping and tearing, and its the prominent feature of their heats, which makes not a whole lot of sense if they eat meat--but plenty of sense if their main purpose is to drink liquid (such as blood out of a victim).

When they kill Bob, they don’t go for the throat, or the head, or the heart. They tear him open at his torso. It takes time, it spills a TON of blood. They’re going for his gooshy organs.

Same deal with Steve and Eddie; the bats go for their torsos. They’re not interested in killing or in eating flesh, they’re going for blood, intestines, bile, and lots of it. 

The Demogorgon doesn’t show up to the Byers house to attack Jonathan and Nancy with the bandaged cuts on their hands, but it smells dinner when Steve shows up with multiple bleeding cuts to his face.

Conversely, when El is in the mindspace, she’s always in water. She’s in the bath, she’s walking on water. Perhaps because she approaches the mindspace from this side, from her human-ness? I don't have a great explanation for this one, but it feels relevant.

When the Russians are creating a Gate manually, they're using or at least transporting a ton of mystery liquid--but we know the liquid isn't for power, because we know that the power comes from the grid (per Alexei, season 3). So what was the liquid for? A LOT of it was stored in the elevator, but only a little was taken down to the lab. So the liquid--not water, but liquid that burns and destroys--is related, but it's not the power source. We never did find out exactly what the Russians were doing with it.

Furthermore, the only thing that can travel from the Upside Down to the regular world without El pushing it is electricity (see the lights in every season, Will using the tape deck and the phone in season 1). Y'know what travels pretty well through water? Electricity.

When One first arrived the world visually appeared dry, barren. He meets the mind-flayer, which appears like black smoke.

Smoke is solid particles and water vapour. White smoke is mostly water vapour, but black smoke is mostly oil, particles, things that are NOT water.

Find a photo of Henry meeting the mind flayer. His eyes are sunken and his skin is wrinkled, exactly as one might expect of a person dying of thirst.

Consider One's victims and the physical locations in which he choses to open gates. Between the events of the earlier seasons, it's most likely that the majority of Hawkins has some kind of trauma he could have pulled on if he wanted to, but he picked:

Chrissy: a person with a history of Bulimia Nervosa, who due to the exact trauma he pulled on to activate her would have been statistically more likely to die in a bathroom, where we see her taking shelter early on.

Patrick: One waits to attack Patrick until he's out over Lover's Lake, creating a gate in the middle of a water source. (Due to the gravity differential the water doesn't pour through, but we see the vines--I still say roots!--just chilling and soaking in the lake until they snake up and pull Steve down. They certainly don't MIND being underwater!)

Fred: While Fred doesn't have the same connection to water as Patrick and Chrissy, he does have a serious fear of fire due to the car accident. As a victim, he would at minimum be someone who also would not be able to defend himself (being afraid of the only thing that could potentially save him). Additionally, if Vecna is starting to attack people close to the Party (Patrick for Lucas, Max for Eleven, then Fred might have been a jab at Nancy as well.

Max: In Max's case, she was a pretty clear jab at Eleven. She doesn't have the same MO as the others, so I got nothing here.

My theory is that something or someone somehow took all of the water out of the Upside Down, burning and starving the Mind Flayer. Or the Upside Down is a place where there never was any water, and the Mind Flayer was banished there somehow, unable to die.

It might have worked, but then El sent One there (accidentally, as we know she intended to kill him). One and the Mind Flayer joined forces, and One taught the Mind Flayer how to create creatures—suckers like spiders, since those are his obsession—to go out, gather what they need, and come back to build an ecosystem. Mostly water to revitalize the dead world. 

After all, we know One doesn't particularly want to return to this world, he doesn't like it here, he said so. He'd rather build his own

The original Demogorgon left out of the lab filled with tasty people because it was raining. It soaked up the wetness, and then went after Will, maybe thinking he’d have more nutrients? That explains why he was kept alive even after being taken—he was essentially in a larder. A farm? Maybe they tried to do something like that with him and Barb, but Barb hit her head? Broke her spine? Maybe they realized it would be more difficult to keep them alive than they thought, especially when more people with flamethrowers and guns keep showing up. However, it’s notable that when Will returned, he was NOT dying of thirst. He also didn’t actually wash his hands. He DID vomit up a pollywog, showing that he was infected from being down there. He didn’t die of thirst, but he WAS an incubator.

So the hive mind hatches a bunch of little demo-dogs this time, to go out and swarm like bees, find what they need.

Dart likes nougat of all things, which is sugar or honey whipped with egg whites. Egg whites provide protein and water to an embryo of a chicken. Dart literally ate Demogorgon baby food. 

I really think I might be onto something here.

[mikaykayrae]

Possibilities of a Robin + Mike Partnership

Stranger Things has a LOT of characters and relationships between these characters. These two (Robin + Mike) have never interacted other than in group settings. So it is very strange that of the few bts photos we get, that they are included together.

If the writers have chosen to expand on their relationship (which I dearly hope they have), it opens a whole world of possibilities including both of their character arcs.

A Brother-Sister Relationship: Similar to the pairing of Dustin + Steve we could hope to see Robin in a guiding role. This would expand the scope of her character, but especially Mike’s. We don’t get to thoroughly explore Mike’s relationships with his siblings, and since Holly Wheeler is getting a larger role this season, we will get to explore this, which will open the door to his relationship with other sibling-esc relationships.

Queer Guidance: Robin will pick up on Mike and Will’s feelings towards each other as soon as she starts spending time with them. How she uses this knowledge can help build up Mike and Will’s relationship. It will also help Mike and Will to know that they aren’t alone.

Robin + Vicky: Allowing Robin and Vicky to work as a team helping Mike and Will, could strengthen their relationship, and help them understand themselves better.

Robin + Nancy: Robin creating a strong relationship with Mike could also allow for more conversations between Nancy and Robin, as they could work together to try and help or understand Mike and his struggles better. This bonding between the two could also lead to Robin coming out to Nancy. Which would create strong development for both characters.

Robin will be an conduit for Mike’s self discovery and/or acceptance. She will also be a mentor and someone Mike looks up to. Mike finally having somebody who is similar to himself, someone who will help to battle his internalized homophobia, someone who will help him realize that he can have relationships with women that aren’t romantic, and one’s with boys that are, will greatly expand and develop his character.

💌 MiKayKayRae

[strangertheories]

They're buildings military equipment and BUNKERS for the Hawkins set?!?

Apocalypse Hawkins confirmed?? Apocalypse Byler???

[clericbyerss]

okay- henry had exposure to dimension x and the mindflayer when he was child, and that lead to him developing his powers.

will also had exposure to the upside down and the mindflayer when he was a child.

episode 4 of stranger things 5 is called Sorcerer.

a sorcerer is a person who claims or is believed to have magic powers; a wizard.

Will wears a wizard costume in s3.

could will possibly have powers in s5, and the sorcerer episode reveals this?