[lavenderlatte222]

homophobes saying mike needs to "wake up" not realizing that figuratively this means accepting his queerness

[lavenderlatte222]

I'm going to take a break from Tumblr. I'm feeling really burnt out on theorizing and with anything ST related unfortunately.

I'll probably be back in the fall when T85 comes out or if something big happens before then.

Until then, thank you to everyone who'll be keeping this community going. This is such a wonderful community, and I've really enjoyed connecting with you all. 🫶🫶🫶

[lavenderlatte222]

the fact that "whatsit" is short for "what is it", and "what is it" is said in the very first scene with the kids.

by will byers of course.

[lavenderlatte222]

I made a post a few days ago about how the only time we're shown the same aspect ratio as the VHS Special Edition is in the Rainbow Room camera footage. (x)

Some people wondered about other footage (thank you for the suggestions!), so I thought I'd make another post comparing those shots as well.

I wasn't sure of the best way to do this, but this is what made the most sense for my brain. I cropped each screenshot using a 4:3 crop. The red space at the bottom of some of the images shows how far off each shot is from filling a 4:3 frame. The VHS Special Edition and the Rainbow Room camera footage are the only images without red space at the bottom because they're the only shots in the exact 4:3 aspect ratio, so they completely fill the 4:3 frame.

VHS Special Edition.

The Rainbow Room camera.

Jonathan's earlier video camera.

Will's memory reel.

Thanks again for the suggestions on my last post! Let me know if you can think of any other shots that may have a 4:3 aspect ratio :)

[lavenderlatte222]

Demogorgon Difference

S1E8 (timestamp 15:48)

Original version vs. VHS special edition:

Original version: The demogorgon puts its arm on whatever's on the ground there and opens its mouth.

VHS version: The demogorgon just stands up and stands there.

The audio seems to be the same in both versions.

Another difference.

Original version vs. VHS special edition:

Original version: It looks like there's UD membrane, and the ceiling is cracking.

VHS version: It looks like the ceiling itself is more membrane-like.

There's also a white line on the screen right before this all happens.

[lavenderlatte222]

when you're being surveilled and trying to convince the homophobic villain you're just friends

[lavenderlatte222]

Matthew confirmed that the VHS Special Edition is Brenner's tapes (x), but I still wanted to post this anyway :)

The only time we're shown the same aspect ratio as the VHS Special Edition is in this surveillance camera footage:

VHS Special Edition:

Even Jonathan's camera footage, which is also recorded on VHS, isn't this exact aspect ratio.

So yes, the VHS Special Edition isn't just any VHS footage. It's surveillance camera footage. (surveillance cameras around Hawkins x)

EDIT: Let me know if you see anything else in this same aspect ratio!

[lavenderlatte222]

i'm over here looking at the reflection on the tv lol. it looks like they've used this for other things, so if someone's already posted about this, please share!

this looks like mike to me, specifically in his tan jacket in s1.

[lavenderlatte222]

idk if anyone has pointed this out yet, but the tunnels on the theory11 hive mind playing cards match the tunnels map in S5.

the party overlays their tunnels map onto this map from the target official story behind the legendary series book.

for anyone who has the cards, can you please share what's on the back of this card:

and for anyone who has the book, can you please share what these street names are:

thank you!!!

[lavenderlatte222]

Since I don't believe in coincidences anymore, maybe S4 looking so jarringly different from the rest of the seasons is intentional. The plastic sleeve reminds me of a Blockbuster VHS rental.

(first image credit to @thebyleritgotme)

If it is intentional, I wonder if it's pointing us toward the whole tapes and memory manipulation of it all.

And why S4? I think the memory manipulation has been happening since at least S3, so it's interesting to me that they chose S4 to look like a VHS case. I think it may be hinting that, starting in S4, Brenner alters El's memories of The Rainbow Room (x) using his VHS tapes.

But I'm curious to hear what y'all think!

[lavenderlatte222]

Synchrony & Shared Looks

The title of this record, Synchronicity (x x), reminded me of the concept of synchrony, and more specifically, Interpersonal Neural Synchrony, which is when certain aspects of two people's brain activity, such as their brainwaves, become synchronized.

The DJ setup at the Snow Ball also reminded me of this concept, with the mixer connecting the two turntables, each with a Synchronicity record, and, as Robin said, records represent minds.

Also, when El first sees the Snow Ball memory, the DJ setup is on a bridge.

Interpersonal Neural Synchrony has been referred to as a "neural bridge" between two people.

Mike and Will are the bridge imo.

And the success of the party may depend on their synchrony.

And what can facilitate Interpersonal Neural Synchrony? Nonverbal signals.

One of the most common signals is mutual gaze or shared looks. 👀

So the question is, are these two in sync?

Or are their signals being interfered with?

Please see @gritstartar's post for more on how Mike and Will may be in/out of sync.

[lavenderlatte222]

Walls #1, #2, and #3 Circle

Everything on the map is inside the circle except:

Lovers Lake

Skull Rock

Erwin Road

Forest Hills Trailer Park

With grid:

[lavenderlatte222]

these shapes aren't even the same.

they're similar, but not the same.

this is nitpicky, but if you're going to show the cutout in the cap, say the cap is a map, and then show the view through the spyglass, at least make the shapes match.

[lavenderlatte222]

riiight right right

(st broadcast)

[lavenderlatte222]

With all of the chess imagery in ST, it's driving me nuts that this grid almost makes a chess board.

Chess boards are columns A-H and rows 1-8.

In ST, their grid is A-H and 1-6.

(more info about this map and grid in this post)

They're missing rows 7 and 8, where the black pieces are set up before the game starts.

This reminded me of the white chess pieces at the WSQK.

Maybe the missing rows mean that they're unaware of their opponent's pieces at play. Like the opposing side hasn't been revealed to the characters, or to us, yet.

[lavenderlatte222]

Map with Grid

IDK if this will be helpful to us, but I wanted to make it anyway. The grid isn't perfect because the pages are curved in this image. If you see any glaring issues, please let me know, and I will fix it!

Here's their grid for reference:

And here's the map without the grid:

This map is from the Target Exclusive book.

[lavenderlatte222]

and of course X a lie lol