#the DID theory

[strangertheory]

I hope you are doing well, I just wanted to say before the final season of ST is released, it was a pleasure seeing all of the different theories floating around and I appreciate your unique outlook on this series. It will be very interesting to see how things wrap up. Hopefully this isn’t too personal, but I actually learned useful information by reading the DID theory by yourself and Kaypeace years ago; I began researching dissociation and was able to more accurately describe some of my experiences to a psychologist and I am now receiving treatment for CPTSD and dissociation (not DID). I’m very grateful to have been in this fandom (albeit a lurker) since 2019, access to that information was life changing. So regardless of how the series plays out, I appreciate the effort put into your theory and I’ll miss all the discussion in the fandom.

Hello anon,

Thank you for your very thoughtful message. It means so much to me that you have enjoyed my ideas and theories (and the other great theories out there!)

I am so glad that some of the blog posts that I have written, and that @kaypeace21 has written, have helped guide you towards life changing treatment. That's beautiful. I would never want to encourage people to treat my blog as a medical resource, of course, but I'm so glad that you've benefited from these fan theory conversations in a very real way. That's an intersection between art and fandom and research and shared knowledge that I think is worth celebrating. I love that.

I'm doing well! Thank you for asking. I'm very busy these days as a new parent, which for me has been beautiful and wonderful. I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by love, and family, and friends. I couldn't ask for anything else.

I, too, look forward to seeing how the end of the series plays out, regardless of whether any of my theories prove to be true.

You've been here since 2019? That's so lovely! I do miss the early years of Stranger Things fan theories sometimes. The smaller community nurtured a unique camaraderie. I think that it's beautiful that analyzing the show and thinking outside of the box has become a little bit more common these days, though. There are so many fans writing theories now!

Although many of my older theory blogposts are linked in my pinned post (for those interested), before Stranger Things 5 is released I hope to find the time to write a "masterpost" of my ideas that summarizes all of my older DID theory blogposts more concisely, and that also appropriately acknowledges @kaypeace21 as the historically more prolific fan theorist (no contest) that deserves her flowers and has had an inevitably huge influence on my ideas over the years.

On that note, @kaypeace21 if you're reading this, I tip my proverbial hat to you, and I want to pass this anon's kind message on to you as well.

♥️

Thank you for your message, anon. I hope you have a wonderful week.

[sollody]

So this is kind of random (surprised Pikachu face) but people with a dissociative (identity) disorder tend to forget their 'own' birthday because time is kind of weird and chronological orders are totally overrated and now that I think about it I really don't know how to put it into words and make it about Birthdaygate, Stranger Things and Will Byers but that's okay for this blog is the definition of chaos anyway. :D

[etirabys]

before having a baby, I thought it sucked that babies took so long to turn into interesting people. "good for people who like babies but I'm not one of them. I want a child who can tell me her theories. etc"

but now I have a baby I feel no hurry at all?? she's great as she is

[wally-lake]

*Markiplier voice* WAS THAT THE BITE OF 87!?!?!?

Dunno wanted to draw how Michael + his friends/the bullies reacted after the chomp.

what a day that must've been for those kids

[plagueislost]

i love being late to trends. my new years resolution is to be late to every trend ever. and you know im serious because im even late to new years.

(theres an inverse version of this by @chamiryokuroi , you should go check it out! i started making this before i saw theirs, but i think its cool that now theres both versions)

[bogmonstergeneral]

crowley. crowley’s new hair color is 6.66. That’s the color coding. his hair is literally demonic. i love this show

[whos-the-seme]

Shen Qingqiu was doomed.

He stood still, fluttering his fan nervously and trying to avoid catching his counterpart's, the real Shen Qingqiu, glaring eyes from across the room. Instead, he idly observed the other Cang Qiong Mountain Peak Lords, trying to spot the differences between the ones he knew and their alternates.

Liu Qingge had brought back a strange artifact from one of his hunts to the monthly Peak Lord meeting. It was a mirror, rimmed an ugly tarnished gold, topped with a decoration that was shaped into an unidentifiable creature with ruby red eyes.

[Important Artifact Detected: Red-Eyed Sphinx's Mirror! Quest starting...]

Shen Qingqiu had been trying to remember where it might have appeared in PIDW when the surface of the mirror suddenly began to glow a dull yellow. It quickly brightened until it obscured everyone's vision.

And then, there stood another set of peak lords across the room, facing them down.

System, what on earth is going on???

[Quest started: Lost Long Spirit in My Reflection! Other characters have been transported to this universe. Host must find a way to send them back without revealing his identity as a transmigrator.]

WTF? I didn't agree to this!

[Good luck!]

System??? Get back here!

While the two Yue Qingyuans and Xu Qinglis conversed together to try to understand what had happened, the other peak lords had begun to mingle with each other, curious about their counterparts.

Shen Qingqiu tried to suppress his panic, sticking close to Shang Qinghua. His Yue Qingyuan occasionally flicked his softened gaze towards the alternate Shen Qingqiu, likely noticing that the other still acted as he used to before his qi deviation. In fact, several of the peak lords he had gotten to know over the years were sending some looks at the other Shen Qingqiu.

With the original goods right there, how long would it be before something exposed him as a fraud?? What if he was confronted about why he acted so differently?

[Host must avoid having his identity exposed. Being revealed as a transmigrator will result in Host being immediately sent back to his old body.]

Yeah, yeah, same shit as always!

Looking to his side, Shang Qinghua seemed to be experiencing the same threats, desperately looking away from the more dead-eyed Shang Qinghua across the room who, luckily, was barely paying him any attention.

Fuck, what do we do?

---

Shen Qingqiu continued to glare at the Other Shen Qingqiu in the room. The other Shen Qingqiu was so obviously a fraud, he could tell within minutes of being here. While his alternate seemed somewhat familiar, he didn't act like him at all, his mannerisms were all off, and despite the attempt at keeping a poker face, Shen Qingqiu could tell that he was nervous. Probably at being caught out.

His alternate self had likely been replaced with a bodysnatcher or some sort of spirt, if they truly were supposed to be the same person. Was everyone else stupid, or had they had their brains sucked out by a Heart Mouthed Lobster-Squid?

Or maybe they simply like the bodysnatcher better and didn't bother to investigate.

Shen Qingqiu's face became stormier, turning his glare to the Other Yue Qingyuan, wondering if he had felt happier once his precious Xiao-Jiu had vanished. The other Yue Qingyuan's face grew even more pathetic. Tch. Typical.

"That stupid System--" Shen Qingqiu nearly snapped his neck in looking at the bodysnatcher upon hearing his murmur. The fraud, upon noticing his sudden attention, clammed back up and looked away. But Shen Qingqiu knew what he heard.

Xi Tong.

He hadn't heard those words in years, not since--

He stepped forward, scanning the other once more. Upon a second, more thorough look, Shen Qingqiu realized that he grew more familiar. He wore his hair in the way that Shen Qingqiu wore it, but looser and less severe. His eyes were clearer and lighter, with hints of a smile, despite his nerves. He occasionally quickly glanced up and to his left, as if seeing something there, before bringing his attention back to the room at large.

No. It couldn't be. He was long dead, despite Shen Qingqiu's best efforts. Even if the fake had some similar things about him, that doesn't mean--

Shen Jiu had once had a brother, besides Qi-ge. Slightly smaller than him, despite the fact that Shen Jiu passed him along as much food as he could when on the streets. He smiled so much despite their circumstances, and was so kind despite Shen Jiu constantly telling him that he was making himself a target. But he looked so, so similar to Shen Jiu himself. They could have switched their clothes and looked exactly the same, if one didn't notice the difference in their demeanors.

His brother has also always been a little odd, talking to himself and arguing with an imaginary friend that only he could see named Xi Tong. One of the reasons that they survived as long as they did on the streets was due to the inexplicable knowledge that his brother seemed to have. Somehow, his brother knew about the various plants or small animals that they could hunt and sell for a pretty coin in the markets. Shen Jiu never asked, not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

But his brother was dead. He had died years ago, in the time during when they were in Qiu's manor. During a punishment for Shen Jiu's attempt to get them both to join Wu Yanzi; he had switched their clothes and taken Shen Jiu's place and died for it. That had been the final catalyst that made him set the manor ablaze and escape, mourning his brother's death as his fault for daring to be free. Cursing Qi-ge for not coming back for them.

Dazed and his vision dim, Shen Jiu took another step forward, and another. Hope, something he thought he had killed off long ago, slowly rose in his chest.

Had his brother survived in this world? Had he managed to escape alongside Shen Jiu? Or had Shen Jiu died in his place? Dimly, he can't help but think that the world would be far kinder if that were the case. If his brother had made it to Cang Qiong Mountain and became a peak lord all on his own and still managed to keep his smile. If he didn't have Shen Jiu dragging him down with him.

The other Shen Qingqiu, not having noticed his approach, laughed at something the other Shang Qinghua said ("Wonder if Shang Qinghua is a traitor here, too," Shen Jiu thought dimly). His laugh was the same. He rose his fan to hide his face, but Shen Jiu noticed how his nose crinkled, and his eyes nearly closed in delight, exactly like--

"A-Yuan?"

[f-misc]

"He's a hundred and ten years old"

...did they celebrate bucky's birthday together?

the wiki has bucky's birthday as march 10th, 1917. and the celestial island summit in ca:bnw took place on april 16th, 2027. so bucky's 110th birthday was just last month. sam's not rounding. he knows bucky's a hundred and ten because they just had his birthday...

...I need to know how long of a time "missed you too" is covering...did they spend bucky's birthday together?? have they just not seen each other for only a month? or, if it's been longer...did sam call bucky on his birthday? text him?? he has their picture framed on the best shelf in his office for christ's sake; he must have done something.

how many old man jokes has he made.

[magentasnail]

spoon theory

[spiderbitesandvampirevenom]

listen i just think that if your discussion of transmisogyny doesnt include race as one of the primary points of analysis it might just be possible that maybe you don't actually have anything that valuable to contribute to the conversation

[thesheriffandthebrawler]

have we ever thought about how fortiche made caitlyn look extra good in the final act and made sure she served a whole buffet before she loses an eye for eternity?

[hirakiyois]

you're laughing. beloved network tv show 911's resident single dad with repressed homosexuality is dating three people at once and you're laughing.

[sollody]

I think I'm thinking [...] thoughts again 🙃

CW: Dissociative Amnesia

@strangertheory @ghostgirlinsatin @runninguplenorahills @pinkeoni

[screwpinecaprice]

He communicated through mental text.

[somehow-a-human]

DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY

Michael babygirl, I apologize now for the close-up screenshots of your mouth I am going to put on the internet. Call Neil if you have issues with it, it's his fault. Brain-rotting brought on by the lovely @melbatron5000!!!

Honey, why are you chewing on a ball bearing? I was going to be lenient and say it's a glint off of some saliva but nah are you sucking on a damn pie weight. I didn't see you take a bite of any dippin dots??? Who let her near my stash of Buckyballs that I've been hiding from the Consumer Product Safety Commission? Just because you are bbgurl doesn't mean you get to eat bbpellets.

[keeperkepler]

under his hand