#there's a reason the first scene we get with the birthday mug is with mike and el in s1 and the second scene is with mike and will in s2...

[littledaydreamsofyou]

What Better Reason?

To put things into perspective you had lived with a member of the Styles family for six months, had met her brother Harry numerous times, actually had his number in your phone from when he had arranged a surprise birthday bash for his sister, been around the whole Styles clan on the odd occasion and yet you still could never not get butterflies upon the first sight of the younger, yet taller Styles sibling.  And right now, as you were looking through the peephole at the handsome young man scratching the back of his neck, the butterflies were there as was the increased heart rate and the highly possible flushed cheeks.

With one deep breath you opened the door a little more force than usual, clearly your nerves gave you added strength.

“Hey! Harry, what are you doing here?”

“Good Evening” he kissed your cheek on his way past you to enter your shared flat, “thought I would swing by and see you seen as though I didn’t get to see you in Manchester”

You had been at Harry’s hometown concert a couple of nights previous with a friend from back home.  You’d had the tickets for months, even before you’d moved to London and had met Harry by way of his sister.

“Well thats a bit of a fib cause you definitely did see me”

“Should’ve come to the Arena earlier you know, my own bloody mother got to spend more time with you than I did by all accounts” Harry challenged you as he folded his arms, leaning back on the kitchen counter.

The whole concert had gone by in a bit of a blur if you were honest, you’re friend back home knew of your acquaintance in Harry but was hit full force with it on Monday night.  As you arrived you’d made your way to the box where close family friends were with Anne for the show.  She’d made you promise to stop by and a have quick glass of Prosecco before the show and as ever she was the hostess with the mostess, having some nibbles for you also and a goody bag with t-shirt and programme for the show inside for both of you.  

It was when you got to your seats that things out of the ordinary started happening as you’d barely warmed your seat up ahead of the support act before a man you vaguely recognised approached you very inconspicuously whispering in your ear for you and your pal to see Harry before the show.  Quickly you weighed the pros and cons for going with him but ultimately decided that you didn’t want to hurt Harry’s feelings by not going.

“Here she is”  you couldn’t help but smile at Harry’s beaming expression as he placed his mug down and made his way over to greet you with a hug.

“Hi H, this is my friend Rachel from home”

Your two friends exchanged pleasantries as you took in the backstage scenes but ultimately focusing on Harry’s outfit for the show tonight.

“Is it pink or red?” you asked running you hand down the material covering his arm.

“Not too sure to be honest, but does it suit me?”, “As fetching as ever Harry” you giggled as he did a flamboyant twill straightening up with his best Zoolander.

Truth be told he could make your knees weak wearing a bin bag and when it was announced that the support act was taking to stage in 10 minutes, you excused yourself not wanting to miss any part of the show.  Harry had asked you to stay and then had further offered VIP passes for you to go side stage whenever you wanted during the show, bot of which you turned down wanting to experience everything with Rachel in the thick of the crowd.

A girl with a polaroid camera was wondering backstage and had snapped a picture of the three of you as you wished Harry good luck, with Harry requesting one with yourself throwing his arm around your shoulders.

Getting back to your seats with no fuss, the concert had started and it wasn’t until part way during his set that you saw Harry close up again.  He stopped to say a hello and asked if you were enjoying yourself on the way to the B-Stage, much to the delight of the girls around you who got the opportunity to touch their idol and take photos of his lovely face…

“You’re still coming on Thursday, right?” Harry asked pulling yourself out of your memory

“Uh, yeah I believe so your mum and Gem have been messaging me about it”, a group chat had started a couple of weeks ago and arrangements had all been made.  “Sure you don’t want to come tomorrow night too?”

“I can’t, think I’ll be at work late and I just don’t want to be rushing around”, “You could always come for the last part?”

Harry had never asked you to be at his shows in the past and though you had gotten closer since spending time with all the family during Christmas and New Year, it still felt a little strange for him to  be requesting your presence.

“Harry, I really don’t think….”, “Here I’ll leave these for you and if you can make it that would be great”

He placed an envelope on the kitchen counter and wished you goodnight with a hug that left his scent on your t-shirt.

Looking through the contents after the door had closed behind him you pulled out tickets to the show, VIP Family pass and the polaroid from Manchester with the words until next time written on the white boarder.

“Well, bumping into International Popstar Heartthrob Sensation Harry Styles is a sure cure for having a shit day at work”

“Hey Han, want a cuppa?” your fairly new roommate dropped her bag to the floor and was in the process of taking her coat off.

You’d been flat sharing with Hannah since January after Gemma moved in with Mike and she was definitely more used to seeing Harry than you were despite only ever seeing him a handful of times.

“That would be great, I picked up some custard tarts if you fancy one”

“So I haven’t seen you since you got back home, tell me all about it”, you both got settled onto the sofa as you recalled tales of your trip to Manchester.

Wednesday the 11th April turned into the longest day in living history for you as you caught up with work that you had missed after having an extra two days off at the beginning of the week and it didn’t help that every half hour you had an internal battle with yourself to just call it a day and get your arse to the O2 with Hannah for a fun night.

Finally the little voice of temptation in your head quietened down and it wasn’t until you were on your way home scrolling through your Twitter feed that you saw what you had missed out on.

Congrats on your first night at the O2, was that you or Prince Charming dressed as a Matador on stage?  

It wasn’t until your mid-morning coffee break that you got a response from Harry, a simple purple suit dancing man emoji and when you text hime back he called.

“Well hello there” you answered taking a sip from your vanilla latte, “Good morning, missed you last night”

“You missed me? Don’t be silly H”

“Not being silly, just being honest is all” you don’t know what killed you more, the words he was saying or his voice still gravely and laced with sleep.

“Well it won’t be long, think we’re getting to the O2 for about four.  I’m finishing work early at getting to Gemma’s about three”, “Yeah mum’s here she said that she can pick you up if you want?”

You agreed to let Anne pick you up from work a little after lunchtime to take you over to Gemma’s where you were all freshening up before the concert.

“So what have you done to not let my son stop talking about you?”

“Sorry…. ?”  Anne’s question hit you off guard as you looked out of the car window at the London scenery.

“Well since I got here yesterday all Harry’s done is mention that you wouldn’t be there last night, how much he was looking forward to seeing you tonight, he seems rather interested in your whereabouts”

“I’m not too sure why, I haven’t seen him in ages since he’s been busy playing to thousands on a nightly basis”

“I think that’s the point love” Anne turned to look at me briefly with a knowing face that only a mother could possess. “He seems to be getting over everything that happened with Camille”

“What happened with Camille?” as far as I was aware it was a long distance casual thing according to Gemma who had divulged the minor details of her brothers dating life to me one drunken evening between Christmas and New Year.

“Not for you to worry about darling, just have a good night tonight with him”, “With everyone” I corrected.  “If you say so sweetheart”.

The two Styles women and I arrived at the O2 right on schedule and Harry was there to greet us as we entered the back corridor.  I watched as he said hello to his mother and sister, he was in all black his own merchandise on his top half and white socks covering his feet, and realised in that moment he was gorgeous both in looks but also how he treated those he cared about.

He took a step towards me as I took a deep breath to prepare myself, for what I am not sure, but when he put his arms around me in a warm cuddle and told me how nice it was to see me in my ear my whole body relaxed and was on edge at the same time.

I caught Anne watching our interaction whilst Gemma was nowhere to be seen and as soon as the moment had started it was over and I couldn’t help but want more.

Throughout the afternoon as we were included in Harry’s and the bands preparations I found myself drifting away in my own little world, allowing myself to think of Harry in a way that I seldom allowed myself to in the past. Found myself watching intently on how he moved, how his lips moved when he spoke and his facial expressions and the vein that appeared in his neck when he sang during soundcheck. Harry definitely was a specimen of human nature and I am sure millions of others would agree that his handsomeness was undeniable, but it was even more so now for me.

With me being wrapped up in my thoughts for the majority of the time, I had kept a little distance from Harry and it had actually began to worry me how quickly I had suddenly been hit the realisation that I actually liked Harry.  I mean I had always liked him, I had been a fan before I knew him and had liked the idea of him from afar, but now that I knew him personally it felt different and I wasn’t too sure what to do about it.

Harry had taken himself off to his dressing room a little after six with the tour stylist I presumed, to get himself ready for the show and just by coincidence when I was on my way back from the toilet his door was open again and he called my name.

“You look like Tarzan”

“Be my Jane?”, did I hear him right, “What?”

“Oh come on, you heard me” the cheeky lopsided smile made an appearance on his face

“Bloody hell Harry did you have to hunt that before you wore it?” Gemma came through to his dressing room with a beer in each hand, passing one to me whilst taking the piss out of her brother.

“You’re not the only one in this family that can wear leopard print sister”, “Clearly not baby brother can I touch it?”, “Definitely not”.

Mabel had been called to stage for her opening performance and Harry’s dressing room was buzzing, the band were all in high spirits and there were several guests backstage all of whom were enjoying themselves and patiently waiting, hoping, for a chance to have a small moment with Harry and a picture to remember it by.

As I stood with Anne, I could see how immensely proud of hm she was and I couldn’t help but let my thoughts drift again.  Had he always looked this good?  I decided that he definitely always had but because of my previous relationships, along with Harrys, and not actually knowing him all that well his potential had been overlooked somehow.

“He looks so happy” I observed aloud, “Yeah like the cat that got the cream.  Are you ladies ready to go take our seats?” Gemma stood in front of us blocking our view of the man of the hour parading around in his leopard suit.

Even though I had seen the exact same show three night ago, it was like I was seeing it again for the first time.  He sounded so good and his performance was flawless and it was made even more special that I got to experience this with his mum and sister, but that in itself was a whole different experience.  They had both been asked for a couple of pictures here and there and other concert goers were looking in their direction to take note of their reactions to certain songs and things he said, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of Harry.

My eyes stayed glued to him until the end of the show and then it was all a blur as Harry, his immediate team including Jeff and Glenne, his family and I scrambled to awaiting cars to take all of us back to Harry’s London home.

As we all sat around in his kitchen living room area catching up over time spent apart, tales of Harry Styles: Live on Tour so far, and general life I noticed the time and sent for an Uber to take me home for the night.  I explained that I had work in the morning and that if everyone was still in London that maybe I could catch up with them at lunchtime or when I finished at the office.

Harry walked me out to the gates at the end of his driveway stopping to turn and hold my hand as we reached the side gate.

“These past couple of weeks have been a complete whirlwind and it’s been amazing, I just feel like it’s going to taste a bit sour remembering it if I don’t tell you how pretty you look right now and how I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how you make me feel since I saw you with me backstage on Monday”

“But Harry, you’ve never even …. I never realised…. I just…”

“No I know and I don’t think I realised until Manchester when I couldn’t think of anything other than you would be there and I haven’t felt like that in a long time,” “But…”, “and I know that the timing could be better but I’m going away for a while and I couldn’t leave without telling you that”

“Thank you…”, “You’re welcome.  Wow, that turned very typically British rather quick”

“I’m sorry, look I uh…. I’ve had an amazing day today and that’s been because of you and uh, you look really pretty too. Oh god…” I couldn’t look at him but even in the darkness of the night I am sure you could see my burning cheeks from the moon.

“Well, thank you.  What are you doing this weekend?” Harry asked squeezing my hand to bring my attention unwillingly to his face.

“Nothing I don’t think, why?”, “Come to Glasgow with me, we can talk more there” Harry offered and in that moment I realised that I would always struggle with not agreeing to do anything that he suggested.

“I haven’t been to Scotland in a while ….”

“What better reason do you have then?”, “You”.

[dinitride-art]

As soon as I read birthdaygate I literally got up and walked into a different room to be able to focus on this.

I think I’m pretty up to date on birthdaygate, but honestly I know there’s a lot so I’m not going to say I know everything. But I think I’ve got most of it down. Will’s forgotten birthday in season four, the shed scene in season two, and the possibility of Vecna stealing memories. That’s what I know about it and I find it very interesting

When I was going through Will and season 2 I took some pictures of some of the stuff to do with birthdays, because I was like. Oh, that’s a really interesting parallel. And because I was made aware of it with birthdaygate

Like the happy birthday mug on the table

And the sorry I forgot you’re birthday card behind Will the wise

The season 2 and season 4 parallels are off the charts (I’m literally making a post about them because there’s just too many) and Will’s birthday being forgotten in season 4 and then having this type of stuff in season 2 is just wild. So, parallel wise and season 2&4 being weirdly connected definitely does have some elements of birthdaygate in it.

I’ll admit I’ve been a bit on the fence about whether or not Vecna stole memories from the people who were in the shed, but honestly? If Vecna did possess Mike before he left Hawkins (or who knows how long it could’ve been happening for) then who’s to say that other sneaky things like stolen memories aren’t just as plausible? Joyce would’ve remembered Will’s birthday and so would Jonathan- but we were given reasons as to why they could have been distracted. But it’s Will. And I just can’t see that happening.

And Mike wouldn’t have forgotten Will’s birthday. It was literally the day he came to visit them. That seems planned out to me. They don’t know when El’s birthday is, but Will’s is the first day of Spring Break and planning to get there at that specific time just makes sense to me. But no one did seem to remember. And yeah- I am kinda just repeating the theory here- but I’m rolling it around in my mind.

Possessiongate does kinda rely on the idea that season 2 and season 4 are parallel in such a way that they reflect each other. So birthday gate does fit into this really well. But I think it stops, at least for this theory, at the loss of the memories that were shared in the shed. I think I’ve heard of one theory that suggested that Mike actually had his memories of his feelings for Will stolen? And that idea would contradict Mike being aware enough that he’s in love with Will to stick by him. Because they’re each other’s lights and that’s why Vecna didn’t get Will right away and why Mike was able to hold out so long. I think

So, yes? To birthdaygate? Or at least yes to the parallels of season 2 and 4, and a maybe (leaning towards yes) on the stolen memories of Will’s birthday part of it. But also it might make more sense for this theory if the memories weren’t stolen until the first gate opened in season four/when Mike got possessed. Or at least that’s what I’m currently thinking

Scary Red Light I Forgot About is Now Relevant Again - The Monologue (Theory? Analysis?)

OKAY SO-

I was scrolling through the monologue pictures I’ve got on hand (literally every shot of the monologue)- and I was looking at the infamous bby girl you’re the heart and- well- I need someone to tell me here that I’m not just seeing shit. Because to my knowledge light doesn’t reflect on you’re eyelashes like that. And oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuckkkkkkkkkk- uh.

I think I might have found something else actually. And I’m gonna share this thought with y’all now because I can’t keep this one in my head.

Let’s start off here. Mike just before the start of the monologue. Now what I’m about to say is going to sound really out there but like crazy together right? So season four and season two parallel each other a stupid amount. My favourite example of this is Steve’s sunglasses in the first ep of season two and how he’s wearing them inside, and then Mike in season four at the airport. There’s plenty more than that and enough that it’s just plain weird.

One thing that’s sticking out to me now, today after starting at mike during the monologue for a while- is that Will got possessed in season two. Like full on mind controlled and body stolen possessed. And sure Vecna trances are a thing now but it’s not the same as what happened with Will. Not really.

So that picture up there with Mike and Will is the start of something that makes so much sense and sounds so out there- but it makes sense. I’ll shut up about it being out there now and actually explain it.

Notice how different the lighting is when Mike turns to Will? It’s not actually that different, it’s just that Mike’s left eye (left eye like the one that’s used to signify Vecna- as well as his left hand, which is the one Mike’s holding El’s with) isn’t in shadow anymore. Still kinda looks a bit like he’s got a healing black eye though.

And looking at Will it’s about the same sort of lighting as Mike, but less of a harsh contrast. While Will tells Mike that he’s “the heart” in order to push him to do the actual monologue, there’s a red stripe behind him and a blue light flashing. It’s like the snowball setting and the creel house being represented together. Will’s shirt is also much darker blue striped than it’s been prior to the monologue. Little things are just a bit off with Mike and Will.

Mike and Will put the water in the freezer. Mike was in front of the jaws poster during “best friends”. Will was in front of a picture of water during the shootout. Mike had a fucking seven up can in his hand when talking to Will on that car. Mike and Will have been in danger the whole time. Vecna, during the Hellfire game, took Mike out first. Dustin and Erica were the ones that made it through. We’ve joked a lot about Mike being that meddling kid in Vecna’s plans… but what if he actually did something about it before Mike left for California? Or maybe he just needed to open a gate first.

And then Will’s left eye gets darker after he encourages Mike to do the monologue.

And Mike turns back around and now he’s in front of the red and his left eye is back in shadow.

Then this shit starts to happen. Mikes face starts getting redder and so does Will’s, y’know, like they’re both getting closer to the Creel house? And there’s still red and blue behind them and the lighting behind Will honestly kinda looks like that scene in the byers shed. With Morse code and the lights. And there’s still more

Mike and Will look very different than Jonathan. Jonathan doesn’t have a red sheen to his face, and his left eye isn’t weirdly cast in dramatic, persistent shadow. Something really bad is happening with Mike and Will. Really fucking bad.

Mike was one of the people that was able to tell when Will wasn’t himself. And he was one of the people that was able to ground him long enough for Will to talk to them in Morse code. So what if Vecna just took them both? I’m still not done yet- there’s more. There is so much more

“That day we found you in the woods.” Mike’s fucking eye is still scaring me. This. Is. Not. Okay. Duffers. I. Am. In. Your. Walls.

So in El’s flashback of when she first met the party, we see baby Mike with the most pissed off expression on his face. El knows he’s lying during the monologue. That’s a given with how she reacts to him telling her that he loves her. But this is also another thing that’s just off. Like Mike and Will’s expressions, they both seem slightly confused. Both of them.

They look so weird during the monologue. And both their god damn left eyes are in the dark the whole time.

El is holding Mike’s hand like she’s trying to break it. It kind of just looks like she’s holding his thumb in her hand. 

Mike and Will are still making that weird expression and the red glow is on their face. 

And El seems to realize something. And then she’s able to pull away the vines.

When Mike turns his head away before saying I love you, the darkness covers both his eyes and his expression is distraught. And his eyebrows don’t look like they’re doing weird shit.

But then it’s right back, and Will’s still behind him in the same position. and expression. His face looks wrong. And so does Will’s. Something is very off here.

The left side of Mike’s face gets even darker and El just looks angry. But what if she’s not angry at Mike? What if the monologue isn’t the actual problem here? What if the problem is that Max is in front of her, and Vecna is killing her and that Mike and Will are both acting wrong.

The red light that’s only on Mike and Will’s faces, the fact that it’s only Mike and Will’s left eyes that are shaded, the fact that they’ve both been lying the whole time this season. 

What if he’s been using Mike and Will to spy on El.

Look at this, it’s terrifying. The shadows on Mike and Will’s faces are darkening and spreading in synch with each other. I hate it. I hate it here. But there’s still one last thing. I first noticed it a while ago and just thought it was weird. Because it’s not light because it’s not interacting with the papers on the surface. And so I though well maybe they wanted to include the destruction even if it doesn’t really make sense for it to be there.

These three? Normal.

This one? I want to not look at it because I find it genuinly terrifying. What The Actual Fuck Is That Shit Behind Argyle and Jonathan. 

Fucking eye of Sauron in the Surfer Boy Pizza. Fucking fuck fuck fuck

And still Mike and Will’s faces and left fucking eyes stay the same, and get even worse throughout the scene. 

I think Vecna’s in Mike and Will’s heads.

and i wouldn’t think that if I hadn’t seen that scary ass red thing like a month ago. Because it’s terrifying. And I hate it. And I hate this. And Vecna was using Mike to distract El so he could open the fourth gate. 

And thinking about Mike and Will lying in season four, to Suzie, to each other- and how it’s weird that Vecna didn’t mention Will or try and get to him at all during the season- and how they’ve been surounded with water, and Mike was wearing a shitty nock off of a brand that had some relation to water, and how that seven up can was there, and Will’s been acting weird but El just thought it was about a girl and we just thought it was about Mike, and how Mike obviously wasn’t doing well in Hawkins- and that’s just off the top of my head. 

And just how Jonathan’s looking at Mike here. He’s been keeping an eye on both of them. And the monologues always been a bit weird and out of place and made it really easy to hate Mike. And the fact that theres an oven behind Mike the whole time this is happening and the weird fire motif and the fact that Vecna was set on fire. 

And how the blue light only shines on Mike and Will’s side of the table when the red light appears. 

it’s just fucking weird guys.

And I really think it’s Vecna.