Wake Up, Mike!

long time lurker, first time poster! byler fan! 24!

[mike-wakes-up]

Another day, another person on Tiktok pretending to have connections to Stranger Things and dropping vague, non-specific teasers. 😞

(Context: an actually interesting Tiktok of someone calling the Hawkins lab number and entering different codes. This "Brian" person's username is "imbrianmorales", but as far as I can tell, no one named Brian Morales is connected to Stranger Things production on iMDB.)

[byler-blurts]

documenting all 11 declassified files (2/2)

because they apparently expire on july 14th and you never know

part 1 here

#11 The Rift

[byler-blurts]

documenting all 11 declassified files (1/2)

because they apparently expire on july 14th and you never know

#1 Underneath the Demogorgon Suit

#2 Soft But Scary

#3 Conceptualizing Eleven

#4 The Resurrection of Will Byers

#5 The Soviet Files

#6 The Autopsy of Chrissy Cunningham

#7 Max and Vecna’s Curse

#8 Dr. Kay’s Sonic Weapon

#9 The Rainbow Room

#10 Hawkins National Laboratory

#11 The Rift

... gets its own post because of the 30 images per post rule

part 2 here

[walkablepurse50]

This Maze is Unsolvable so I Solved it Anyway (and hopefully you won't have to)

Please reblog so how long this took isn't in vain.

Okay so when I saw this maze I was pretty sure there wasn't going to be a solution but I figured I might as well solve it anyway so that no one else has to do it or so it can be layered over other stuff quickly. I'm going to go into my method at the end.

The Solution - Green Path

There's no starting point to this maze but I figured the closest thing to a solution would be a path that made it all the way to the other side of the maze. Green is the only one to do so. It does so by branching off though to the side and it has 'two' ways out of the top. But it's really like 20 or something because there is no actual start or finish.

Green Path - 4x4 Squares

Here are all the 4x4 squares green path crosses into.

Green Path - 4x4 Top to Bottom Squares

Here are all the 4x4 squares green path crosses into to get from top to bottom of the maze.

Other Solutions - Blue, Red and Pink Paths

Some paths do not make it from top to bottom but do make it to adjacent sides.

All Paths - 4x4 Squares

Here are those same paths represented by 4x4 squares.

Method

Okay so the maze is pretty modular. Visually it looks like it's splitting into squares because it is actually constructed that way.

The whole grid is made up of tiny squares, like you were playing dots and boxes. 16 of these smaller squares make up what I have been calling a '4x4' box. 4 of these boxes make up an 8x8 box and 4 of those make a 16x16 box.

You can find the outer edges of the 16x16s because one side will have either 0 line breaks or a single line break. On the other hand the interior lines can have as many breaks as they like.

I found the potential solutions of the maze by finding boxes that had only 1 entry point. These have no through line so they are dead ends.

I blocked them off. When a 16x16 has multiple entry points you can look for 8x8s with only one entry point, then 4x4s and so on.

Then eventually you'll find all the possible paths because only squares with a path through remain.

A lot of the outside squares only really lead to themselves. I crossed those off because they did not fit the criteria of a path through. You could repeat this method just on those edge squares if you wanted to see the shapes they make.

I don't really have high hopes for what I've done leading anywhere but the grid set up reminded me of pixels or the Hawkins map and I thought it might be useful for people to have them in case they want to layer stuff. I've basically just tried to take out some of the faff of dead ends. Being able to rule stuff out is always useful.

[thebestofmyrmidons]

Nooooo why has nobody told me that Arrow Video often releases 'interactive' films that are a hybrid of different cuts of the film (they call this tech 'seamless branching', which is why I couldn't find it previously when I tried to see if they released any interactive films!). Basically, every time you arrive at a choice node, you can use their seamless branching technology to choose which cut of the film you want to see next.

ARGH, I'm pulling my hair out - there's no way they'd release the interactive content in the box set first?! right?! RIGHT?!

AND ALSO - you know how the description of the ST box set is very, uh, high-level? Like, we don't know why there are that many discs, and what exact extra content we can expect? I took a browse on the Arrow Video website, and I think most of the releases have a MUCH more detailed explanation of A) the exact content you'll be getting, B) which disc the content will be on and C) the exact origin of the interview/content (e.g. who is conducting the interview, or narrating the additional video essays, etc etc.).

Look at the AV description for the unreleased, limited edition Jackie Chan breakout hit box set, which contains 10 discs:

And again, for their TMNT box set:

The description for Shawscope volume 3, which has 10 discs:

Now, let's look at the ST box set description (keep in mind that both the Jackie Chan one and the ST have pre-order status, and look at how MINIMALISTIC the descriptions of the ST box set are!):

That's it - that's the only description of the box set, despite it having 25 whole discs! I've looked at the Arrow Videos website, and the ST box set appears to be an anomaly amongst all of their other box sets, which contain very detailed explanations of what exactly is included in each box set (even if it's just one disc!).

What makes it even weirder is that AV has a dedicated tab for just ST, and no other box set:

If anything, I think it's fair to say that AV, has, for some reason, decided to withhold a lot of info on the content of the box set compared to their other products, for some unknown reason? Hm...

[slytherflowerao3]

i’m a quiet cg enthusiast. i reblog every theory i find interesting, even if it completely contradicts something i reblogged five minutes earlier, because i just love reading and rereading them so much

[trailerafternoon]

Alright, clearly my last post didn't deter princessparadoxical. They're trolling via emoticon-indy.

Well, here I go.

The trolls are all the same person.

Exhibit B:

First, a little bit of background on emoticon-indy. The account was made in October 2014 as an archive for how the people who organized dashcon fucked up real bad.

Turns out, our beloved Indy was run by multiple people.

These were unsurprisingly removed from Indy's blog. I found the first one in an interesting thread related to the creator of Dashcon, Lochlan (Nessie) O'Neil. And the other through the Wayback Machine.

Now do I think the mods are all currently trolling the CG tag? No.

So here's the thing, princessparadoxical was one of the mods of emoticon-indy.

Not convinced yet?

Let's take a look at princessparadoxical's first post about Dashcon.

Now, let's take a look at this post by emoticon-indy.

🎶 Do you get deja vu? 🎶

I've got one more for y'all.

Oh, what's this I see? Emoticon-indy boasting about their ongoing Ph.D in 2015?

Oh, and would you look at that. Princessparadoxical is also excited to tell us about their Ph.D in 2015!

Now that we're all convinced, it's safe to say princessparadoxical is using the emoticon-indy account (originally meant to be a Dashcon archive run by multiple people) as their personal sideblog to be an unpleasant person. I just hope they asked the other mods for permission.

Bonus:

Two sideblogs, you say?

Allmyrandomfic and ... hmm 🤔

[nuffit]

"Hell man, can you come teach at NYU?"

two words that sounded so out of character for jonathan that it proved at least nancy and jonathan are awake, and speaking to each other in code

people have done plenty of theorizing about this scene, what they are trying to say in code here

all I'm doing is proving that that is, in fact, what they're doing.

and it started with me realizing Jonathan would NOT say "hell, man" 😭

my first thought: the mayo company, and it's collab with jake connelly. and the company colours being very obviously blue and yellow, paired with the almost rainbow of Derek's shirt (gay ending, gay supression in camazotz etc etc)

anyone remember mayogate? hello @mixu 💚

then I dug a little deeper (not deep at all) and found this gem:

read more on this here

alright so basically they're hiding their true message from both vecna and the audience

the name drop of hellman insures that the message gets across to the right people: each other (and on a meta level, the theorists)

maybe this is jonathan's litmus test for the others?

another thing: the original protocol used the names alice and bob, two characters that are established in the show (alice creel, bob newby)

so, maybe it is just nancy (alice) and jonathan (bob) who are awake?

if anyone remembers that "script leak" for the finale, I wanted to grab it as proof of what he said, but the two words are missing:

honestly, this is more proof for me, since "hell, man" isn't in the subtitles either

jonathan put it there himself, to flag the others. breaking out of the script.

considering the way nancy is smiling, she is at least acknowledging his code. I can't quite place if robin or steve clock it though...

side note why is steve so much more vulgar in this script??? here's what he says in the show

and here's what he says in the "script"

I'm sure the person writing that thought they were hilarious... (they are). steve also says "thank you?" instead of "what is wrong with you?? I'm clean"

which, the "what is wrong with you" and "little nuggets" are references to other scenes!! deja vu = a glitch in the matrix, something has been changed

anyways lol

tldr, the older teens (or at least nancy and jonathan) are very likely awake in camazotz and communicating solely in code, likely planning their escape/trying to break out!!!

and (my personal interpretation) nancy REALLY wants to kiss robin here (you can see it in her eyes I swear)

[mikewakeup]

if conformitygate is back for a lot of people - good to see you! i'm glad you're here 😆 any of us would be happy to fill you in if you'd like.

while you're here, i think the best thing to consider is that if we didn't have something concrete to believe in, then this many fans wouldn't have stuck around for this long. it's kind of like byler itself. there was a strong reason why so many fans believed in it.

another good thing to ask yourself is did you let other people convince you that byler didn't exist? so... are you gonna let fans who don't have all the facts anyway tell you that we're crazy? why?

anyway 😆 i've been thinking for a while of putting my favorite stuff that i've talked about in one post, and i think now's a good time.

start here

it's easy to believe in conformitygate -- my summary of the facts in the show that grounds all of our theories further discussion

dishonesty leads to disaster -- my analysis of communication within the show and how it might impact events

the show's pre-existing music audio communication

"spellbound" -- my favorite moment from s4 and why i think it stood out. it might have been specifically to communicate the moment the characters were cursed (old theory by now but i still see it come up. it's even made it to twitter and then tiktok too recently 🎉) further discussion

"heroes" and "when it's cold i'd like to die," -- my analysis of when those songs are played and where they get their context (the "heroes" theory also made it across platforms 🎉)

"running up that hill" -- how the message of the song may have switched from max to will in s5

"upside down" -- my analysis of the song based on my original assumption before s5 that it signaled something would happen between will and mike in the upside down

what a true camazotz journey could look like

rink-o-mania -- a theory based on signals and interference using the morals of the show

max's letters -- supplemental to the original rink-o-mania theory based on the letters specifically being referred to as a "fail-safe"

vecna is playing a game of chess in s5

an analysis of max and holly's journey through camazotz -- why i believe there are clues in the show that neither journey was truly successful further discussion specifically about the anger in s5

the structured parallel between the van scene from s4 and the coming out scene in s5 -- why i believe the show repeated this moment

the thematic parallel between the shed scene from s2 and the coming out scene in s5 -- what i think was missing in s5

henry was supposed to be scared of the cave -- a discussion about the conflicting message in s5 between will and henry. will came out to face his fears and help them defeat vecna. however, this moment doesn't work as it should in storytelling since henry reaffirms his allegiance to the mind flayer instead

fun stuff

building a 2nd camazotz -- my first theory when cg started (very old at this point lol from jan.7)

breaking the heart of the party -- my pre-vol. 2 analysis and theory highlighting mike's importance and why he would be a target (and specifically how an attack against him would work)

the elements of the upside down -- a fun look at the weather patterns in the upside down like the lightning, the fog, the clouds and the water. i believe that water does in fact exist in the upside down and the whole place could be water itself based on the symbolism of water being darkness in media further discussion with the idea that the snow ball is a suspicious moment in the show even more discussion based on the upside down being metaphorically water and the duffers brother's comments about an elder brain

enter the void -- a journey i took to rationalize how the void works

a comparison between possessed s2 will and possibly a possessed s5 will -- a photoset to compare the specific dialogue will uses while setting a trap with his artwork further discussion about traps in the show

"did you see any rain on that tape?" -- a photoset comparing two scenes from the show to prove there's something suspicious. the first is from s5 when there was no rain on will's memory film reel while building castle byers. the second is hopper from s1 when he began to suspect hawkins lab was lying to him and covering something up by showing the wrong tape.

the strange distance between will and the abyss -- a photoset to discuss how jane couldn't reach vecna in the abyss but will could still feel him despite the hive being proximity-based

something is wrong at the WSQK 1 -- a discussion about how if the creators did not intend for the radio station to appear suspicious, they wouldn't have made it so ominous

something is wrong at the WSQK 2 -- a discussion about the letters of the WSQK being flipped in the script, possibly hinting at even more evidence that the radio is corrupted in some way

something is wrong at the WSQK 3 -- a discussion about the real life inspiration for the radio station and why i think using a television broadcast antenna could be a clue

the disjointedness of the field scene -- why i think it could be an indication of a corrupted memory

the suspicious censoring of episode titles -- why i believe the creators of the show wanted the audience to theorize about camazotz before s5

be sure to also check the replies on my posts! i'm lucky to have so many amazing people continue the conversation in the replies, and some really cool discussion has happened there 🩷

lastly, my message to anyone looking to start posting in the cg/lwg tags

i use cg for convenience but i actually prefer lovewinsgate which is the specific belief in new content and how love will win over fear (like we were promised in the show). but the main tag is definitely still conformitygate. i just personally use lovewinsgate on my blog.

(check back because i might add to this post when i remember things!)

[misspracticallydelulu]

Here’s a thought about the CG release 🧠

The First Shadow will be releasing on Netflix. It’s super important to the canon story…but that doesn’t mean everyone will watch it. A lot of the General Audience don’t care if it’s not the original cast & story.

Unless…

…the next Season is unlocked ONLY by watching The First Shadow.

A play within a play. Bandersnatchgate, Retrieving the lost tape - whichever approach they choose, it’s all the same.

The new content cannot be seen until you reach the end of The First Shadow. Until you look “behind the curtain.”

That’s how I would release it anyway 😏

[thebestofmyrmidons]

The Montauk Project is the answer to season 5

Oh boy, this will be a long one... sorry if it's rambly, as I'm ill and wanted to get this out. Most likely will contain 'spoilers' for the new content, so read at your own risk!

Let's start with the significance of the dates. The thing the Duffers never explained, even though they said they would.

The Montauk Project explains that time travel is possible by way of a 'vortex' that connects two points in time together. This vortex is also referred to as 'a time tunnel', that is also resembled by a spiral:

'Duncan would start off sitting in a chair. Then the transmitter would be turned on.... He would then be directed to concentrate on an opening in time from say, 1980 (then the current time) to 1990. At this point, a "hole" or time portal would appear right in the center of the Delta T antenna - you could walk through the portal from 1980 to 1990. There was an opening that you could look into. It looked like a circular corridor with a light at the other end. The time door would remain as long as Duncan would concentrate on 1990 and 1980.' 

Not dissimilar from El concentrating and opening gates with her mind.... and the description of the time tunnel feels eerily similar too:

Will is building tunnels... time tunnels... (I'll get to this part later, bear with me)

A 'master vortex' connects two time points that match up with the Earth's 'natural biorhythm', which is twenty years in the MP book. Multiples of this biorhythm (i.e. 40 years), create even more potent witnesses (think of these witnesses as 'tethers' between two points in time):

These 'master vortexes' and time tunnels connect via the date. Take for example the Philadelphia Experiment, which took place on 12th August 1943. This time point is linked to another experiment taking place 40 years later, the Montauk Project, on 12th August 1983.

These master vortexes/time tunnels connect via those major dates, that form a bridge point or an anchor point. 

Still following?

In Stranger Things, the natural biorhythm which is chosen is 12 years. This, of course, represents Vecna/Henry's clock obsession, and the 12-hour cycle. But like we saw above, the most potent witnesses are multiples of the natural biorhythm, so 24 years.

So how does this tie into the show?

We have two significant 'master vortexes':

Will and Henry's birthdays:

22nd March 1947 (Henry is 12 in 1959, as established in season 4) and 22nd March 1971 (Will is 12 when he goes missing in 1983)

There are 24 years between their birthdays - two multiples of 12, creating a master vortex.

Will and Henry both being aged 12 when they experience severe trauma also plays into this biorhythmic cycle.

Secondly - there are also 24 years between 6th November 1959 (when Joyce's play take place in TFS), and 6th November 1983 (when Will gets taken). 

A graphical representation of the two 24-year  master vortexes:

The people from the Philadelphia Experiment are able to travel between 12th August 1943 and 12th August 1983 as these are tethered by the master vortex.

The reason why the UD is stuck on 6th November 1983 is because it is, in fact, a bridge point. As explained above, the only way to travel two points in time that aren't in the master vortex, is by first jumping to the bridge point, and using that point to jump to other times. The Upside Down is stuck on 6th November 1983 while the world moves along - not because it's a wormhole, but because it's one end of the master vortex. The Upside Down stays on 6th November 1983 because you need it as a bridge to jump to other points in time on the Rightside Up. 

 Both Will and Henry were 12 years old when they experienced severe trauma. There were 12 children taken. It all ties to the 12-year  biorhythm. 

Still following?

So, using the master vortex as the anchor point, Will/Henry can jump between two times/timelines.

The book explains quite well what the exotic matter is supposed to represent, as well as what the wall in the UD is supposed to be too, and how new timelines are created.

By way of analogy, let's look at 'Einstein's donut' (fun fact: this is Einstein's bagel in Everything Everywhere, if you will):

Einstein's donut consists of a sphere inside a sphere: Sphere A vs Sphere B. Sphere A is a softball, whereas Sphere B is hollow, like a basketball.

Sphere A is dynamic. The area between Sphere A and Sphere B is not dynamic at all. This area consists of a sea of time particles, which are static, at rest:

If you haven't guessed it, Sphere A represents 'time as we know it', e.g. the timeline/timeloop our characters are currently in - the exotic matter. 

The static space between sphere A and sphere B is the Upside Down, which is stuck in time, at rest, filed with time particles (or the UD dust particles). The 'wall' that Hopper/El bump into is the wall of Sphere B, the hollow basketball which contains the time particles.

See how they constantly draw the 'wall' as directly encircling the exotic matter, which is right in the middle? These are Spheres A and B - a sphere within a sphere.

In other words, two concentric circles:

Remember above, that the time tunnel that it resembled a spiral? Here, Robin is directly contrasting 'the normal' status quo - the two concentric circles, which have now turned into an open spiral.

How are new timelines/timeloops created? By putting stress of the wall of Sphere A:

Note that the original loop cannot be obliterated or denied.

Moreover, after creating time loops (ie parallel realities), it is also possible to enter alternate time lines/time loops a sometime against one's innate will: 

However, entering different time loops leads to memory blocks, despite seemingly having all the normal memories from one timeline:

To regain memories, one must look for clues and hints in the normal time track to confirm that the alternate time track did in fact exist.

How does one get over this memory blocks, and gain consciousness of other time loops/time lines? 

The author in the MP project regains their memories when they came into contact with Delta T antenna - an antenna which had an inter-dimensional effect on the nature of time itself.  

This antenna, also called a receiver:

The receivers were capable of tuning in on the projects from any other space and time in our universe. He also believed this receiver was the main witness from Montauk to the USS Eldridge.

Remember - one witness is the 20-year time jump (in MP), and 24-years in ST. The main witness between Montauk and Philadelphia is the receiver. The receiver is capable of tuning into any particular point in time.

Who is labelled as the receiver?

There's a reason that Henry kidnapped Will specifically. He is the main witness - he is the one that is able to tune into any point in space and time.

I think that both Henry/Will are foils, stuck in two timeloops, whose memories are blending together. Henry needs Will, as the receiver, to tune into a different timeloop - which one, I'm not sure. Perhaps he's trying to enter a different loop, one where November 6th didn't happen - one where Henry never enters the cycle of trauma that changes the course of his life forever.

Referring to the 12 children as vessels to recreate/mimic the original USS Eldridge vessel. He needs Will as a receiver in order to fracture the timeline/create a new timeline/change time itself. Vecna alsos needed him originally as a builder - to create the (time) tunnels with his mind. The need for 12 children aligns with the 12-year biorhythm. 

The original 'vessel' was the USS eldridge - literally a ship/vessel that is used to travel between 1943 and 1983:

Anyway, just reading the source material for the 'Montauk Pilot' really put everything into perspective.

Even the original pilot script had hints towards to time travel, and had sequences that were later incorporated into the Nina Project in Season 4.

In the original pilot script, the scientists replay the initial demogorgon attack on a video tape, that they rewind, and there are hints within the script that they 'go back in time', 'back to the beginning of our story'.

Snippets did sneak into the 1x1 script, where there's a flashback to Joyce and Will in Castle Byers:

In the MP book, they also look at video tapes depicting footage experienced by the time travellers: 

Duncan in the MP book, who had the ability to create time portals with his mind (like El and her gates), also accidentally created a portal that let through a scary creature (analogous to the demogorgon):

Since the Montauk project was probably the biggest inspiration for ST as a show, it is hard to ignore the similarities here, especially as the Duffers mentioned having 'too many ideas for Season 2' that they couldn't fit into one season.

Almost everything aligns - loss of memory, blending of timelines etc

Our main characters are stuck on the wrong timetrack- it's pretty much confirmed in the MP book 

They need to find a way out, and unlock the repressed memories - the authors tell us that one way to lift the memory block is to look for clues and hints that the other time track did in fact exist.

Again, I think that this part - looking for clues and hints, will be within the interactive content. We will need to lift the memory block and uncover the repressed memories (like El did in the Nina project).

The new content, the actual second time track will be its own separate beast...

[sidoniemoon]

Re: July 15th

Disclaimer- we still don't know if HH is actually a plant or not

For now though, let's say this does has merit; they could possibly be teasing July 15th (a.k.a. the 10th anniversary) as the Netflix release date for TFS (I mean, "a live experience"... it couldn't get any more obvious)

The text and the other two captions, however, hint at an 9th episode; they're definitely trying to throw us off

Basically what Kiella is saying:

*If Cokegate is wrong; it's still ongoing atm

In regards to the new content itself, though, I think we can all agree that if July 11th-15th does come and go w/o it- the holiday release pattern (Thanksgiving, Xmas, etc.) might be our last bet

One last thing I'll share:

[mike-wakes-up]

Okay, but wouldn't it be beautiful. Conformitygate dropping during pride month? Striking a blow against queer hatred by finally finishing a story that's ultimately built around a queer relationship? Letting everyone know that, okay... THIS is what our story is about.

I'm not saying I have full faith in the Duffers to deliver with timing THAT good... but I'm not writing it off!

[nightnut]

wait. but it lwk makes sense

[nightnut]

with a one year difference, why am I not surprised

November it is?

[sherlockbyers]

that speech gave me tons of hope, cg is so real. i’ve said this before but i think we’re close….

[beaulesbian]

The Duffers 'nerdiest commencement speech ever' at their uni - a transcript (from here. 30min mark to - 50min in the vid)

[Matt]: 

Thank you, president Parlow and the entire faculty for this incredible honor and for inviting us here to speak today.

And a special shoutout to our favorite professor, Michael Kowalski (?) associate dean now, who once told us that the script for the first student film was thematically incoherent. [chuckles] He was right, by the way. 

And to the class of ‘26 and your families - congratulations! You did it! 

[applause]

[Ross]: 

We did it once, too, many moons ago. We graduated from Chapman and Dodge College back in 2007. 

To put that into perspective - we were printing out map quests for directions, Netflix was mailing out DVDs in little red envelopes, and the Sopranos finale had just cut to black and people thought their power was cut out. 

It feels like a lifetime ago, but we still of course remember being you, we remember feeling excited about the next chapter. But we also remember being scared. Scared of stepping off this campus and into a world that felt pretty uncertain. 

But you guys are lucky, because thanks to the hard work of our generation, you’re gonna step off this campus into a far more stable and certain world. 

[laughter from audience, Matt giving up sarcastic thumbs up, patting himself on shoulder]

[Ross]: 

That’s a joke. It’s a joke! It’s a joke, obviously, our generation screwed things up for you. I mean not us specifically, we were just making a TV show. But, still, on behalf of our generation - we are sorry. Deeply sorry.

[Matt]: 

Deeply sorry. 

We decided to make up for this by writing what is going to be a life-changing speech, but then we watched a bunch of life-changing speeches and it frankly made us feel inadequate. 

Because no matter how hard we try, we’ll never be as wise as Steve Jobs or profound as David Foster Wallace, we won’t. 

But that’s fine, we realized, because those speeches are available for free for you to watch on Youtube. They’re good, you should watch them.

So we scrapped the dream of writing something life-changing and set a new, far more achievable goal: to write the nerdiest commencement speech of all time. That’s our goal.

[Ross]: 

That’s right. 

[applause]

[Ross]: 

Which brings us to our nerdy TV show, Stranger Things. [cheering from audience] Thank you. If you haven’t seen it - it’s a coming of age story set in the 1980s. 

Over the course of the show the kids have to overcome a lot of stuff - bullies, puberty, monsters from other dimensions. 

And the kids name these monsters after villains from Dungeons & Dragons - Demogorgon, Mind Flayer, Vecna. While obviously fictional, each monster represents real fears we face growing up. Fears that we had to overcome as kids and teens. 

[Matt]: 

There will never be Stranger Things 6. Sorry, Netflix. I know. But for a minute we’re gonna pretend there is, okay? 

So, our characters have graduated, they placed their D&D binders back onto the shelf, and they’ve left Hawkins for good, okay?

And we’re gonna talk about the three biggest monsters that we bring into this new season. Monsters that would represent the scariest things that we face in adulthood. And then we’ll be your Monster Manual, or as best to our abilities, and tell you everything we know about them and the best tools that we found to chop off their heads. 

[Ross]: 

Alright, here we go. So the first monster is called the Mimic, it’s a tricky little bastard, because a Mimic doesn’t appear as a monster, it disguises itself as the thing you most desire. 

So in the world of D&D that’s usually like a treasure chest. So you race up to the chest, you’re excited about the gold, the armor you’re gonna find inside. You rub your hands together like Indiana Jones, you reach out and you reach for the treasure, but then it glues itself to you, you can’t move and then the treasure chest opens up, flashing razor sharp teeth and then it eats you. Which sucks. 

But what sucks more is: you’re gonna run into many Mimics as you make your way through life. Things that look like things you desperately want, things you’re convinced hold the answers, but when you reach out for them, they hurt you. They won’t literally eat you, hopefully, but you get the point. It’s not a subtle metaphor.  

[Matt]: 

And some Mimics hurt more than others.

Back in 2003 we lived in Durham, North Carolina, and we had this dream of making movies in Hollywood. And most people thought our dream was impossible. We got a lot of pats on the back, some condescending smiles, “That’s cute, kid.” 

But we had a plan to achieve our impossible dream. We were gonna go pack our bags, hit out to California, and attend a famous, prestigious film school with a history of alums that went on to achieve major success. Alums like Ron Howard, Robert Zemeckis, and George Lucas. Yes, I’m talking about USC [School of Cinematic Arts in California] 

[crowd booing]

[Matt]: 

And they rejected us! They rejected us, we didn’t even make the waitlist, okay? And it hurt, it hurt really bad. It made us feel like we weren’t good enough. That maybe those naysayers back home were right. 

[Ross]: 

And later on we wrote so many screenplays that we were positive would sell, and each one got the same response - No, no, no. We pitched our hearts out to board executives, who looked like they wanted to be anywhere else. 

The Stranger Things pilot - the very one you see on screen - was rejected by twelve different studios, but then finally one studio liked the script and they wanted to finance it, the only problem is they weren’t sure about us directing it. 

So they asked to watch a little film we made, called Hidden - a film we were really proud of. We gave it to them, they watched it, and then they said “Yeah, no, you can’t direct.” So it was another “No”, another bite. That one really hurt. 

[Matt]: 

And you know, sometimes it’s not about reaching for success. Sometimes it’s about reaching for someone’s love, reaching for someone’s approval, for connection. And you’ll frequently get bitten. 

And every time it happens, it makes you want to curl up into a ball and cry. And it makes you want to stop reaching out. 

But here’s the thing about the Mimic: It has a challenge rating of 2, out of 30! So it’s kind of a wimpy villain. But it’s still super dangerous, not because it’s gonna kill you, but because it makes you afraid to open the next chest. 

[Ross]: 

And some of those chests, they do have gold in them.

After we were rejected by USC we heard about a smaller, lesser known film school in Orange County called Chapman University. 

[cheering]

[Ross]: 

And Chapman not only let us in, they were excited to have us, and our experience here changed our lives. And when the studio told us we couldn’t direct Stranger Things, we walked away. Four days later, Netflix came knocking. 

We can’t promise you the next chest you open will be gold, or that it’ll be Chapman or Stranger Things, but we can promise you this: If you stop opening them, you’ll never find out.

[Matt]: 

Okay, that’s number one. Right. It gets increasingly difficult, okay? So, that’s easy. 

The second monster we’re gonna talk about has a challenge rating of 2 also, but don’t be fooled - this is the most dangerous CR2 monster in the Monster Manual. It’s called the Will-o’-Wisp, okay? 

So, as you’re wandering around the dungeon, you’re getting bitten by these nasty Mimics, you’re also going to get lost. It’s a maze, afterall, and there are no sign posts telling you where to go. 

So you look around. You see spikes to your left, scattering of bones to your right, wet gurgling noises behind you, and none of this looks good. 

But then you see a hazy, beautiful, blue-green flame dancing in the distance. This is the Will-o’-Wisp. Its light illuminates a clear, safe path forward. So naturally you go that way. 

Turns out - it’s not a real path. It tricked you! The Will-o’-Wisp tricked you. And you drown or you fall into the pit of spikes, or you step onto an oddly aggressive frog. 

That’s why the Wisp is dangerous - because it doesn’t try to kill you, it just leads you somewhere that will. So why’d you follow the light? Because you could see the damn path! It was safe, the least risky, or it seemed like it.  

Something we’ve learnt the hard way is that the safest looking path is often the most dangerous one. 

[Ross]: 

So remember when I told you about all those rejected pitches and scripts, well that was the fault of the Will-o’-Wisp. 

You see every producer we’ve met told us the same thing. They all wanted, this was a while ago, they wanted found footage movie, like paranormal activity. So this was the life for us, the shortcut to our dreams, and we diligently set to work on writing a found footage script. 

But there was one problem - we didn’t really like found footage movies. But we kept trying anyway, and trying and trying. 

And years later we had a script that didn’t work, we had serious credit card debt, and growing doubt  [audio cuts off for a few seconds] … 

We remember the phone call from our parents. They’d always been supportive of us, and they still were, but for the first time we detected real worry in their voices. It was clear, the realities of life were catching up to our dreams. If you can’t pay rent, well, maybe you have to come back home. 

[Matt]: 

Something about that phone call snapped us out of our daze. So we threw out our found footage script, made a hard pivot, and quickly wrote a script about something we love. And it wasn’t at all what the producers were looking for, but it was something that we, you know, we truly loved and related to. And guess what - the script sold. 

At long last, we’ve made it out of the marsh. Years later when we came up with the idea for Stranger Things, we were told that it, too, would never sell. A period piece starring kids, that is not made for kids? Are you out of your f- mind? God, I’m struggling not to curse. At the same time,

[laughter]

you can fill it in. 

At the same time we were offered a safe, cushy job to write a TV show for a big network. There it was again - the blue-grey-green flame, glowing, tempting, safe. 

But we gave the Will-o’-Wisp the middle finger, hold up in our small apartment, and wrote Stranger Things. And guess what - those two things that we were told were major liabilities, the period piece 1980s setting and the kids? Those were exactly what made the show successful. 

[Ross]: 

In D&D the official tactic for fighting a Will-o’-Wisp is simple: ignore it. That’s it. But easier said than done. ‘Cause we followed the Will-o’-Wisp many other times over the years. 

Sometimes it’s a career move, sometimes it’s a creative decision. Sometimes it’s more personal, involving a significant-- a relationship with a friend or a significant other. Sometimes we’d recognize we’re on the wrong path very quickly, sometimes it’d take months, and sometimes years. 

And the longer you’re on the wrong path, the harder it is to get off it, because it means doing something hard, which is admitting that you’ve made a mistake. 

[Matt]: 

The best way to avoid the Will-o’-Wisp is to listen to the voice deep inside you. If you wake up in the middle of the night, or when you’re showering in the morning and something just feels off, trust that above all else. 

And to the parents out there, who might be worrying right now, like ours did on that phone call - you’re not wrong. 

We all know that sometimes taking a risk doesn’t pay off. Sometimes you fall into the spikes, or you step onto that angry frog. They’re called risks for a reason. 

But to the graduates - we promise, if you take a risk and fail, it won’t destroy you. You will recover. But what can destroy you, what you end up regretting? Is taking no risks at all. That’s what the Will-o’-Wisp counts on. Not to dramatic failure, the slow drowning. So don’t fall for that. 

[clapping]

[Ross]: 

Alright, we got one more monster. This is it, this is the final boss. You might want to hold onto your caps, because - spoiler alert - this baddie is a CR (challenge rating) of 14 and it’s getting stronger every day. It’s called the Elder Brain. 

It’s basically a giant brain floating in a vat of liquid, it’s pretty gross, but it’s not super intimidating at first. But here’s the thing: it’s not a single brain, it’s actually a soup made of hundreds of brains, liquified together into a single consciousness. 

Every mind that has ever lived in this world has been absorbed into it. The individuals are gone. What remains is an average. It’s the annihilation of the self. 

[Matt]: 

We’ve been fighting the Elder Brain our whole lives. 

It started pretty much as soon as we were conceived, actually. See, we were created out of the same egg, and just split into two. We’re twins, identical ones. And that one feature most defined our childhood.

Back in the 90s being a twin was pretty rare and we were the only ones at our school, and for the longest time we hated it. We were introverted and shy, and being an identical twin tends to attract attention.

Strangers would stare at us at the supermarket; worse, sometimes they would come up to speak to us, “If you’re punched in the shoulder, does he feel it?” No. [chuckles] No. “I don’t feel it, you idiot.”

All we wanted to do was fit in. We wanted to be just like everybody else. We wanted to join the Elder Brain. 

[Ross]: 

It took us a long time to realize that the parts of us we wanted to erase were in fact the most important parts to preserve. 

Because they allowed us to experience the world in a different way than other people. To develop into unique individuals, it allowed us to tell stories specific to us and share this with the world. 

So the more we leaned into what made us different, the more we rejected the call of the Elder Brain, the more successful and happier we became. 

Now, it’d be naïve of us to say your fight with the Elder Brain will be like ours. It’ll be harder, much harder, because the world today is very different now than it was in 2007. 

Shortly after we graduated, IPhone came out, then social media surged, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok. It all seemed so innocuous at first, not anymore. 

And now there’s something else that all this is getting mapped onto - that dreaded two-letter acronym that’s getting boo-ed at every commencement speech across the country, AI. 

[crowd booing]

[Matt]: 

Okay, to return to the beginning of the speech. This area is where our generation really and truly screwed things up for you, because the machines, the feeds and the algorithms and the models control what you see and hear, feeding you the same crap that you guys call the slop. 

Like the broadest possible stuff. Anything that’s weird or different or challenging or that, god forbid, might take a little bit of time to sink in, that surprising stuff that helped shape you into a unique individual, that goes out the window. 

Your brains, our brains, are all being liquified and fed into the vat and it sucks. 

So, how do you avoid brain liquification? I’m not talking 20 years ago, I’m talking now. 

The truth is: we’re not sure. Anyone who says they are, is a charlatan, okay? 

And honestly a lot of this is gonna fall on you to figure out, which is not fair, but it’s just the truth. But we think that, while the stakes are so much higher now, some of what we’ve learnt applies growing up. 

You have to refuse the average. You have to be yourself. And that involves being vulnerable, and letting your freak flag fly. 

[crowd applause]

[Ross]: 

But the trap, right? Is that the more vulnerable you are, the higher is the risk of embarrassment - being called lame, a loser, cringe. 

Matt and I, if you can believe it, have been called all those things and worse by thousands and thousands of people, and it always hurts, always. And the natural instinct is to recoil, to stop putting yourself out there, to self-censor, to throw yourself into the Brain vat. 

But you can’t. Because the vat can make infinite versions of almost anything, with zero risk to itself. 

But there’s one thing it can never make: It can never make you. The specific, weird, messy, embarrassing, cringe, one of a kind you.  

The average can never be an individual. Because of that your individuality is the most valuable thing you’ll ever own. Don’t you dare flatten it. 

[crowd applause]

[Matt]: 

I agree. There are of course a lot more monsters out there, because the world is changing so fast, you’re gonna encounter ones that we never did. It’s going to be scary, hard and upsetting, but just like a game of D&D it can also be fun and rewarding - we don’t want to be too depressing. And, you know, to meet these challenges head on and conquer them. 

And you don’t have to do it alone. In fact, you really shouldn’t. You need a party. 

And maybe this party is made up of a boyfriend or a girlfriend, or a family that came to see you today, or maybe all of the above. The friends you made here at Chapman, right? 

Whoever it is, you’re gonna need them, because everyone has their own unique strengths.

[Ross]: 

Like maybe your companion’s a halfling, like a tiny human, and you reach a gate but it’s locked and there’s no way in, until you see a small hole and only they can fit through it. So they crawl through the hole, they pull a lever, the gate swings open and you’re in. 

Or maybe you’re the halfling, and someone else is in your party, the warrior who carries a sword you can’t lift, or the cleric who can heal the poison from spider in your forearm, or the bard who can talk you out of trouble with goblins, or the wizard that-- 

[Matt]: 

That’s enough, that’s enough. I think we’ve already achieved it. The nerdiest commencement speech ever. Have we achieved it? 

[crowd applause]

[Matt]: 

I just hope that professor Kowalski found it thematically coherent. 

And I also hope it helps some of you too, because I have two little girls at home and I’m really scared for their future, because we’re on the frontlines of something major. And we don’t know exactly what it is, or what it’s going to look like. 

And you’ll be challenged in every possible way. You’ll be bitten, you’ll be misled, you’ll see some of your friends get brain-liquified. 

[Ross]: 

But keep reaching, take risks, stay weird, find your party, grab your swords and get out there and start slaying. 

Good luck, class of ‘26. Congratulation.