Gritstartar

#1 WarKivensininetamtince shipper

[gritstartar]

In 2026, you will be deceived, and you’ll like it.

I have seen so many wonderful theories going around the Stranger Things fandom, especially Byler and Conformitygate spaces. Season 5 was so weird, and it left so much space for theories to run wild. Of course Netflix and the show runners know that:

What school marketers can learn from Stranger Things | School Management Plus

Schools need to encourage positive feelings and 'fandom', not just promote educational outcomes, says Dani Rayner

And I’m almost wondering if, through a conformitygate lens, they did this as a gift to us. If this is one of their parting gifts, before we all actually let it go, move on. If this period of time, is the start of the “One Last Strange Adventure”.

Of course, some of the people who like to theorize the most have abandoned ship. They don’t want to get their hopes up. And, I think the show runners had to have known that would happen. Fans have been hurt to the point where they don’t want to rewatch the show, or say they wouldn’t watch new content even if conformitygate was real. So maybe…

They had to let the dust settle, before actually beginning a campaign spanning the year - the year we will (1) be lied to but also (2) like it.

By now, people are finding a lot of sanctity in their fandom post-finale. Fanfic is helping a lot of Bylers (myself included), variants are popping up all over the place!! Conformitygate followers are actually starting to get kind of frustrated, but continue to have fun and find new things every day. Even the frustrations with Tales from ‘85 are turning into something comical.

I think the fandom is overall, getting to a better place. A place where all fandoms do when their show ends. Which is means it’s PERFECT TIMING for the Duffer Brothers to come and fuck it all up.

As I said, I love all of the theories I’ve seen. Multiple timelines, bandersnatchgate, playgate, rightsideupgate, bobgate, lovewinsgate, Tharizdungate, and more. Sometimes, I’m like how do we even begin to know where they could be going with this-there’s almost too many directions to go in. Everyone has their own theory, in a way, we know as much about the actual end of Stranger Things as we did pre-Season 5. Almost like it didn’t even happen. Interesting…

There’s also many dates that have been speculated, that have come and gone, where nothing happened (well, no announcement, no surprise drop at least). There are many more dates in the future that ARE plausible. Nearly, one for every month of the year.

March - Will’s/Henry’s birthday

April - Tales from 85, second chance day

May - idk actually, like graduation? The epilogue ‘takes place’ in May

June - Pride Month !! hello how beautiful Byler endgame during Pride - the scripts for season 5 coming out

July - the 10 year anniversary

August - Will’s birthday from season 1

September - again, idk help me here

October - Halloween!!

And finally, November - it ends where it all began November 6th.

I personally, would hate to wait until November 6th to get a surprise drop. I would however, wait until then, for the final episode, of the final season. I’m sure you would too, whether you’ll like it or not.

Now hear me out…

WHAT IF something could happen for each of these months.

I mean, if we already believe in a fake finale, if we already know they’re taking a big risk… why would they end it on a surprise drop? There has to be some sort of promotion? To tie these theories together, we COULD be getting something à la bandersnatchgate, or trickling of episodes throughout the year. The play release on Netflix could sub in here somewhere. This would technically be BIGGER than any other season, the season would be HUGE taking up a whole year - starting in November 2025 and ending in November 2026. It would also make it so that the show does run for 10 whole years.

Some people don’t like bandersnatchgate and an interactive game? Okay, we get the release of the interactive part and follow it up with the actual corresponding episode while the next part of the interactive part starts. People who like to theorize can do so, and people who want conclusions get to be involved. After all, they know their fandom, if it’s a love letter to their fandom, all parts of it could be involved this way. It also allows for EVEN MORE theorizing if it’s weekly, biweekly, or even monthly drops.

Multiple timelines theory could play out in this way too. After all, didn’t Gaten say the ending will make you see the whole show in a new light? Maybe, we see portions of the show differently as new episodes or a new ~spin off~ is released, with a different sequence of events or characters swapped around à la playgate. Maybe we see those rumored cut scenes, EVEN THOUGH they always say there are NO cut scenes in Stranger Things! (Mike riding away on his bike, one single tear falling down his face WHERE ARE YOU!)

After all, a fake out finale is a BIG risk. It’s a big risk for the Duffer Brothers’ career if it takes too long for it to come to fruition. It makes Netflix look bad, like maybe they ruined the show because they meddled.

So… how could Netflix be convinced to do this? I’ve seen people say that they think this could be stretched out through all 4 financial quarters: Q1 - the documentary, Q2 - Tales from ‘85, Q3 - man idk, Q4 - real finale. Idk about you, but this would piss me off as a fan, and I also think they know that. Netflix doesn’t just operate on financial quarters; they need monthly subscriptions.

We need answers, and also we need people to care again, to really hype it up before the actual ending. Especially after the shitshow, people I don’t think, would trust them to pull it off if we don’t know anything and then a surprise finale in fucking November. I think the Duffers kind of maybe need to earn some trust back from their audience as well (and guys, I think THEY KNOW lying to their fans and presenting them with a fake ending would destroy some trust - the finale seems like it was done in a way to piss people off on purpose). They also need to do it before the new shows they are affiliated with start coming out.

On March 26th, Something Very Bad is Going to Happen comes out - just 4 days after Will’s birthday. It’s quite damaging to have this show so affiliated with them, especially one created by a woman, come out while their show is being accused of misogyny, queerbaiting, homophobia, racism, etc.

Maybe, you will be deceived is talking about Q1, with the documentary and the theories running amok.

And maybe, JUST MAYBE, you’ll like it is talking about Q2. We will start to see what the deception was for. We start to like the show again, we start to trust the Duffers again.

THEN You will see old friends in a new light is about Q3. Again, Gaten saying we will see the whole show in a new light, maybe after a light that is revealed to us during Q2.

And after all that, you will actually look forward to a (family - idk how that relates here lol) drama is about Q4. After all of that, we will be ready for the actual finale.

Random notes/tie-ins

- why do they still have merch coming out later in the year? Hello half & half funkos

- all of the cons cast are showing up at, starting with Noah and Gaten around the 28th

- gives them time to continue to edit/finalize missing episodes or parts of an interactive game

- big thing each quarter, but also if a new thing happens each month —> SUBSCRIPTIONS !!! Guaranteed at least for ST every month!

- build up to an actual good finale gives them time to show the audience they DID plan this, they didn’t randomly get everyone back together to fixit, and that they CAN be trusted again

- if they alter or edit or add missing scenes or episodes or whatever, they show us they’ve been planning this for much longer which is like even cooler

- they’ve been criticized for how much they did for episodic releases with the binge model, so they show that they can also do it in a SUUUUUPER drawn out way

- we can be the Maxs to guide the rest of our ST friends (Hollys) through everything we’ve found !!! 🤭

- if they can show us that they’ve planned this for a LONG TIME that means we as a collective have A LOT to go through: books, video games, comics, press, games, maybe even other work they’ve been created (hellooooo cross promotion!!! helping everyone out)

- maybe they could actually start going back and editing old seasons WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY’RE CAPABLE OF!

- yes I know they’re ’leaving Netflix’ but I’m pretty sure they’re still going to be available to work with them? Like, all their hard work will have been already set up honestly so they can make their movie or whatever.

- Tales of ‘85 can actually be real, AND ALSO part of the greater narrative

- I like to call this the GA ARG, basically we’ve gotten an ARG these last few months, and done soooo much work because we’re insane but the GA probably isn’t like that & people will need to get back into it so it makes sense it could take them longer on some of this stuff 🤷🏼‍♀️

- also people would have many reasons to go back and watch the show over and over and over and all the time we’re begging people to look at the show and the subtext, now would KNOW for a FACT that they need to do this to get through whatever comes next. Or they don’t need to and that’s fine and they can have their finale while the rest of us have fun! But I’m sorry WHO COULD RESIST TAKING PART IN THIS it’s so cool it’s so new

- also, they would be pissing off the homophobes for arguably longer than they pissed off the Bylers (2-3 months) if this is true 🤭 since like we already got pissed off they better not do it to us like that again

[gritstartar]

TikTok - Make Your Day

I love Threat Level Mom’s videos so much she’s got me thinking about El so much…

Bobgate has broken containment !! She knows about Bobgate !!

The connection between small falls, the fall, the quarry, the three waterfalls, holy hell.

As for birthday gate, guys, I’m starting to think that March 22nd is El’s birthday, Will’s birthday is August 28th, and MIKE’s birthday is June 11th. The connections between the quarry, the cave, the boy scout wearing the 1106. Will disappearing on November 6th, but swapped dates meaning it could also be June 11th (especially with the quarry and cave connections).

Also, bro, Holly is DEF actually Terry Ive’s daughter. I feel like season 1 is where we have the clearest idea of what’s actually going on in the show 😭 and season 2 has some merits but shit gets so funky after the Snowball

[beaulesbian]

saw this tweet about the dnd epilogue scene, that reminded me i forgot to share something from the mockumentary

so this is the tweet

in every other scene we saw finn's/mike's hands, it was always him in the details/close ups, like with the dnd minis, the map, etc-

but only the close ups in the epilogue look soo different - and again there were lot of close ups on other minis during the s5, like above, so why couldnt they do that with Finn too?

especially this one is obvious it's not him, being that in the same scene:

and this is the something i've noticed in the mockumentary - there were doubles for the dnd scene before the main actors started shooting that scene. they probably wanted for finn's "last scene" (however true or not that was) to be the acting going up the stairs and not small re-shoots of close up of dnd minis, so it makes sense they shot it beforehand with other people..

but i'm just wondering why they made sure it's noticable it was someone else than mike..

[hayesdraws]

bobgate confirmed on a random Wednesday?

The hands of Finn's stunt double are very similar to Finn's- knobby and similar nail beds

Sean Astin's hands:

lookit those stumpy nail beds.....

[beaulesbian]

saw this tweet about the dnd epilogue scene, that reminded me i forgot to share something from the mockumentary

so this is the tweet

in every other scene we saw finn's/mike's hands, it was always him in the details/close ups, like with the dnd minis, the map, etc-

but only the close ups in the epilogue look soo different - and again there were lot of close ups on other minis during the s5, like above, so why couldnt they do that with Finn too?

especially this one is obvious it's not him, being that in the same scene:

and this is the something i've noticed in the mockumentary - there were doubles for the dnd scene before the main actors started shooting that scene. they probably wanted for finn's "last scene" (however true or not that was) to be the acting going up the stairs and not small re-shoots of close up of dnd minis, so it makes sense they shot it beforehand with other people..

but i'm just wondering why they made sure it's noticable it was someone else than mike..

[gritstartar]

Yes it could be production related stuff, but that’s not the fun part for theorizing 😈

We can assume that it’s likely Hawkins has been affected by the Upside Down particles, or otherwise infected with Upside Down/MF particles at some point. We have seen Will interact with the Hivemind and it taking over his actions & behavior, same with Billy. We have seen Project Nina implant either false, altered, or repressed memories into El’s brain. These are from tapes that are absolutely subject to alteration. We have seen people getting Vecna visions that are incredibly realistic, and finally 001 telling El that Papa lies and that someone is controlling them and moving them around like pieces on a chess board.

The D&D we see in the epilogue is the end of a campaign orchestrated by Brenner/the lab/military/etc.

The random swap outs of characters either being other patients/subjects of the lab’s mind control experiments to convince our characters they are IN a campaign but of course it’s not quite right! They are not trapped by Vecna, but they are trapped in a false version of reality being upheld by the Mind Flayer particles and being controlled by someone ELSE. Of course, as we see it evolve from season to season, it’s going to evolve in Season 5 and probably is less invasive and obvious to them. They’re probably not FLAYED in the sense that we have grown to see, but have a mild case of infection that affects their connection to reality.

Maybe the random kids, the random stand in’s etc that we see are supposed to represent moments where Brenner / lab military loses their hold over the false reality or connection to the characters. So it gets a bit glitchy. Or they are operating like puppets acting out things for our characters or controlling them remotely to manipulate the situations.

[lesikm]

As much as I love to joke about Mike being a demogorgon, I actually dislike any theories that place Mike at the center of all supernatural, because I think that goes against the core of his character. The important thing about Mike is that there's nothing special about him. That's his main conflict. That's why he started dating El in the first place. He thought that dating a cool girl with superpowers would make him cool too, but as it turned out, you can't really brag about a girlfriend whose existence you can't even tell anyone about because she's hiding from the government. And his friends couldn't care less about their relationship too. To them, El is El, and Mike is still the same Mike they've always known, except now he's even more annoying. He also knows that the only reason El "chose him" was because she simply needed someone, and he happened to be the first person she came across. That's why he's so fixated on being needed by the people he cares about, and feels useless when they don't need him, since he believes that's his only value.

[hellfirehoe]

i love it when they're judgy boyfriends together

[thebylertimeline]

They’re not new to this, they’re true to this.

[gritstartar]

Are we asking the right questions?? Is El alive? What about Jane, is Jane alive?

[rema-art]

*Mike didn’t look at the book*

[gritstartar]

Comparative Analysis of The Interface Series and Stranger Things

The Interface Series (TIS) is a story originating on Reddit in April of 2016. It is a multi-narrative, non-linear story told through replies to seemingly unrelated Reddit posts across various subreddits. It is often referred to as a CreepyPasta- think Backrooms.

The author is anonymous (under the name _9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9, or MHE), and their last official post was on July 18th of 2016.

I have known about this series for a while, just like I have known about Stranger Things and watched it, but became very interested in both of them around the same time (early fall 2025 ish?). Listening to the CreepCast podcast reading through the whole series actually got me back INTO Stranger Things. There are many overlapping themes between the two.

I am not outright saying I think they are from the same source, just that if you like the theorization of Stranger Things you may also like the Flesh Interface Series. There are MANY overlapping themes, and some overlapping supernatural elements.

Starting off, I will just be taking straight from the fan wiki page and other areas before going into my own analysis because you have to start somewhere! This will just be a broad overview to introduce some of what I see overlapping.

Themes

Mother Horse Eyes as a series delves into many themes throughout the text. These themes of religion, alcoholism, depression, and free will p

1. Addiction. Alcoholism is a very common theme throughout The Interface Series, as well as Stranger Things. We see this in the form of drugs-use and alcohol: Joyce & cigarettes, Hopper & alcohol, Jonathan and Argyle & weed, Chrissy. Addiction expands into seeking stimulation, safety, and relief in MHE, where there is a character (Karen) hooked up to a VR machine for YEARS. This is where more character analysis would come into play.

2. Religion. The Interface Series constantly makes references to the Bible and biblical imagery, without really having a coherent statement about it. The most direct comparison to be made here is to the Satanic Panic in Season 4. There is a lot of Biblical references, grappling with spirituality, and questions of good versus evil explored throughout Stranger Things (literally in Dustin’s graduation speech).

3. Free Will versus Determinism. The narratives in the interface series explore questions about whether characters are actively making decisions, or if they are following a predetermined path for them. In Stranger Things we can see this through El as she grapples with being literally raised as a weapon and a monster, while trying to become more than that. We also have Will, who is taken to the Upside Down and connected with the Mind Flayer/Vecna. He is, against his will, used to create tunnels and spy on his loved ones. Is he set to only follow the path of Vecna, doing the Mind Flayer’s bidding, or can he take back control of his own life and decisions? Is Billy a product of his racist and abusive upbringing, or does he have the ability to change?

4. Storytelling & Its Nature. The Flesh Interface Series explores the idea of storytelling through countless different avenues. There are multiple narrators, multiple narratives, narratives from different times and timelines and points in space. There are stories within stories. The entire series itself is told out of order, leaving the fandom to put everything in order and sort it out. The series provides commentary on how it itself is trying to make sense of its own story. In Stranger Things, we constantly have different perspectives. We have Will and his “now” memories, and his “then” memories. We have people unable to contribute to the story from their own perspective (Terry Ives). We have hidden memories, like in NINA; or even, maybe these are implanted FALSE memories. We see stories within stories (The First Shadow, The Dark of the Moon, and Oklahoma - and them ALL making an appearance in Season 5 Episode 8). We have our Party using Dungeons and Dragons as a way to make sense of what they do not understand! We have Will literally calling Mike the storyteller, and we have El telling him “it’s not one of your campaigns, you don’t get to write the ending”. I could go on, and I will, but later! In both ST and TIS, all of these methods of storytelling are also constantly fighting over each other!

5. Nature & Technology. In TIS there are two entities, or two sides of the same coin that represent the major threat. Basically, they both erase individual humanity. We have Mother Horse Eyes (MHE) and we have Q. MHE is a biological entity physically comprised of various body parts from humans, goats, cats, and of course horses tied together with yarn. The most direct parallel here being the Meat Flayer from ST Season 3. Q is the technological erasure of humanity, through things like information systems and computers. In Stranger Things, this is most apparent in Seasons 1 & 2, as we see Brenner using technology to police the people of Hawkins as they try to solve Will’s disappearance and possession, control what people know about the lab, and intercept communication. Interestingly, BOTH of these stories center LSD and MK Ultra as the speculative/science fiction jumping off point. To directly compare this to the Duffer Brother’s commencement speech, we have the Elder Brain (the biological entity) and AI (the technological entity), both representing two ways to explore the erasure of humanity (the Shadow Monster).

6. Systems of Control. TIS starts with the CIA using LSD for research into what the human mind is capable of when pushed to its limits. It also explores control through appealing to people’s desire for comfort, and their aversion to discomfort. We see control through military operations, especially the Vietnam War. All of these are explored in Stranger Things. Brenner literally using LSD for mind control research. Constant references to war veterans, with Hopper & Charles Sinclair in the Vietnam War and Victor Creel in World War II. We have characters being controlled through seeking comfort and happiness - the literal ‘perfect’ ending of the show!

The final concept I’d like to introduce to you is the Strategic Hamlet Program. In TIS, the Strategic Hamlet Program is where the US military isolated villages in Vietnam to reduce their influence from Viet Cong. Most of these Hamlets died out, but some independently developed their own ‘Messianic or millenarian movements’. Apply this concept to Hawkins (or even Lenora!). An isolated village or town, tied to LSD mind control experiments and portals/flesh interfaces; for now, the portals/flesh interfaces can be analogous to the gates to the Upside Down in ST.

I will leave you with a screenshot of the first post from _9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9 from April 21st, 2016 to chew on:

(The following bit in bold is cut off from my screenshot) a unite a stage a coup a revolution a bring a genocide a new world a

[gritstartar]

Malting - Wikipedia

Malting - Wikipedia

I’m thinking if “M marks the spot”, and Will says malted milkshakes from Melvald’s (3 Ms, to be exact!). It might be important.

Malt can be used in ice cream (not just milkshakes), it’s used in fermentation of alcohols as well. Other food items, especially anything with DOUGH (Duffers favorite flavor!).

On the alcohol front, Brenner meaning working with heat, often distilling.

Basically, malting makes a sugar, and can be in ice cream (hello Scoops Ahoy!), in the base of the ice cream.

And we have Jonathan and Nancy in a room with a bunch of melted (or malted?) soldiers… is malting a form of flaying? One that does not feel as invasive? Has it evolved with our party, as they try to understand it?

[gritstartar]

Boiling frog - Wikipedia

Boiling frog - Wikipedia

Season 5 is weird in the sense that it’s the moment where the audience finally realizes the pot of water is boiling, even though the temperature of the water has been building up to this for a while (Season 3).

Not in the sense that Stranger Things just ‘got bad’ after Season 3, because there is still so much importance to S3-S5. But in the sense that, the threat changes drastically between S2 and S3, and becomes something more and more familiar to the characters.

Season 3 is when it starts to change from D&D as a way for the party to understand the supernatural, to the supernatural literally taking on the appearance of D&D. Camazotz shows us, and the characters, that whatever is actually going on can LOOK exactly like whatever it needs to in order to trap them.

What happens when the party cannot tell the difference between reality, and a reality constructed FOR them? What happens when even the DM, the leader, Mr. Frog Face HIMSELF, can’t distinguish between what is real, and what he’d rather believe?

What happens when the people LIVING the story would rather accept a flattened, watered down version of events that already fits into the way they understand the world they know? When are you too far gone to figure out the truth? Where would you even start?

[uncomfortably-introverted]

why is he doing that

[trizoni-rambles]

One of my fav scenes, because that was technically Mike's coming out scene. Whether the GA likes it or not.❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

[miwiheroes]

i feel like we werent hype enough over byler becoming the number 1 st ship on ao3

[itswhatyougive]

"She's our friend and SHE'S CRAZY!!"

El = Crazy

Will + Mike = Crazy Together

El = Mike and Will Together

[scintillapink]

mikewhatthefuckdidyoudogate part 3 💙💛

part 1 | part 2

[youaremess]

i believe that jane never left project nina and you'll be more convinced after dissecting her escape, because it's sooo suspicious

let's start here. after gaining her powers back, jane wants to go to help her friends in hawkins, just as owens predicted and warned her not to do it yet. brenner doesn't think she's ready and locks her in a nina room.

it looks strangely similar to how jane woke up in the lab simulation. the imagery is pretty straightforward too — we see jane locked in the room with the nina machine behind her. the subtext is basically text. she is stuck in the simulation.

let's revisit the brenner's idea of jane being ready. how does he define "ready"? earlier he says...

jane will be ready when she learns how to fly. and as soon as she flies, brenner and her will leave nina and go to hawkins together to fight one.

something something jane's whole journey in season 5 is leading her to the moment when she... well... flies.

and what happens as soon as she flies?

jane leaves simulation/camazotz/whatever tf it is

project nina is definitely not built only for that one memory they had to show jane. definitely not. because why then brenner says this when jane tries to escape project nina?

which truth? by this point she already learned everything there was to the story of the hawkins lab massacre. what is else there to learn? i hope we soon find out.

how did she spent so much time in the simulation? i believe owens here spells out how they did it

jane won't be the first character who spent 18 months in a coma living in some sort of simulation.

side note!!! i just found it funny that dustin and eddie were putting the final nails in the coffin cranes around the time jane was "escaping" nina. cranes were the prominent imagery in s5 indicating that they are trapped.

now back to this. as soon as jane "leaves" project nina, discrepancies start. as @armencias noticed: one moment there are dead soldiers and fire, another moment they are gone

jane leaves on a funky ass van and the scariest powerful military guy cannot pull the strings and stop 5 teenagers on the first turn? yeah right

but that was just the main meal. here's the dessert. a good one. look how everything turns to orange as soon as she "leaves" nina.

yes.

what bugs me is that i don't have a clue what that means. does she never reconnect with mike, will and jonathan? or is she entering their camazotz from project nina meaning that by the point she meets them they are already in camazotz?

hope i'll have my answers soon

[sterlingarcher23]

Movie inspos for ElMax (& Ronance)

Tangled

It's inside of you...

"Flower, gleam and glow

Let your powers shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine…"

El is wearing flowers if you didn't notice like she IS the flower, life, resurrection. We can conclude that her powers are not for killing people/her personality is actually meant to be a healer, cure or medicine. Like Owens said "I believe you are the cure"

.....................................................................

Throw the evil bitch out of the window

.....................................................................

Beauty and the Beast

Stained glass window and blue (hair tie) and yellow (watch) are "dancing". The ST rose is framed within blue and yellow being intertwined.

Visiting the mall/library.

"To see if I was the monster. Now I know the truth. It's not me. It is you... You are the monster."

"He's not a monster, Gaston. You are."

A reversed transfiguration...

.....................................................................

Matrix

Trinity's love saves Neo - besides the "No" that El always utters is the ST version of "Nyu" from Elfen Lied

Neo real world = Max ; physical representation of her in the Void, not the mind - her mind avatar looks fine in comparison to her physical self.

Neo Matrix = El ; actual "ghost" mind version ; blood stains on shirt from the mind battle, no blood stains in the physical world.

This btw proofs that El can't find Max not because her mind is empty since it is NOT minds that El sees in the Void but events. El is the only representation of a mind (her own) in the Void - I'll talk about this in another post.

Oh, and this for Ronance....

"Tangled" is confirmed, so is "Matrix" & "Beauty and the Beast" because those are on the inspo board (just can't find the image rn).

For ElMax you can technically also add "The Legend of Korra" which was mentioned by one of the writers. So, Korrasami, Belle & Beast, Rapunzel & Flynn, Trinity & Neo are four couples we can count as inspos for ElMax.

Seriously, shall I talk about what actual love triangles in Stranger Things are and what isn't and never was? Certain characters never felt romantic love for one another, they kinda just pretended to or talked themselves into it.