Pain and pleasure

very queer

[slabry]

YOU HAVE EVERYTHING, DON'T YOU?

[slabry]

This is for that person in Twitter!

[nightnut]

Why is the tower not red anymore? Is it green or grey?

We’ve already discussed that Mike’s hair looks different; the sky is also not blue and becomes cloudy in some shots, and I can assume that it’s either an error orrr different timelines in one scene. But actually here’s mb more, so look:

Mike’s hair changes right after “Turn off the scary movie”, the next line here is the next shot “Protect your mom”. We see that they filmed hell of a pile of shots there as his hair changes again (pic 4), but for some reason never to the 1st look where his fringe didn’t open the forehead (it looked like that since the beginning of the scene to the pic 3).

So I might assume that they just were filming for hours as the sky changes, the light too, but Mike’s fringe for real changes like a lot and then keeps staying this way even having a bit changed again.

here 👇 you can compare the sun shining from another angle, but there are shots of Murray, Robin and Lucas where the sun is shining from different angles too, and it probably doesn’t change the scene — if it’s not another timeline compilation… Bc I can understand that they needed to reshoot something, but these two Sesame shots were so short (litrly one shot after another), that I’m not sure that it wasn’t done on purpose idk.

So back to my question: why is the tower green?

I attached different angles and different parts of the one scene: pic 1 is from 5x01, four others, you know, 5x04. But pics 3 and 4 are from before and after Mike’s fringe changes. It doesn’t look red regardless. Is it the play of light? But why are pic 2 and pic 3 do different having blue sky in both? (If it had orange sky, I could get it, like in pic 4 where the light is indeed different. But why before??). So the tower was red in the first (wide) shot in the beginning of the scene, but it becomes greenish after? wtf 😭 but maybe it means absolutely nothing

[nightnut]

[deactivated-blog]

Mindy Flair isn't homophobic. She is however sadly bylerphobic.

[slabry]

So, I have decided to finish a small edit I had since the second week of january. And I finally have done it!

I'm not an expert, but I just needed to do this for Mike character, I feel this song represents him so well. Hope you like it!

Here are the lyrics!

Every little thing that you do by Man-made sunshine.

Whether you lose or you win

If you replace or fill in

If it's money or sex or religion

Oh, honey, it's all the same thing to me

'Cause

Every little thing that you do

Within your life

Whether you think it's true

And try to hide

Is to find love (is to find love)

Is to find love through something

It's every little thing that you do

If you're in need or missing

If the child in you is screaming

Take a look at the message you're given

Oh, honey, it's trying to set you free

'Cause

Every little thing that you do

Within your life

Whether you think it's true

And try to hide

Is to find love (is to find love)

Is to find love through something

It's every little thing that you do

And I started to see

The truth in desire

When you're on your knees

Your hands stoke the fire

As you try to replace

The memories you hide

The chains on the door

To what was always inside

'Cause

Every little thing that you do

Within your life

Whether you think it's true

And try to hide

Is to find love (is to find love)

Is to find love through something

And it's coming for you

Every little thing that you do

Within your life

Whether you think it's true

And try to hide

Is to find love (is to find love)

Is to find love through something

Oh, is to find love through something

It's every little thing that you do

[slabry]

THIS THOUGHTS

Hello everyone....I would like to share something I needed to share, this is me saying how I view this small portion of the meta narrative situation. But not directly towards any specific theory, more on just the idea I have inward, on the deeper layer. I will be mentioning the real names of the actors so if you don't feel comfortable with this. PLEASE STOP READING.

NOW:

What we know about the quantum realm:

For them (Will and Mike) in Hawkins, IT ALREADY HAPPENED!! So, Finn and Noah already have Will and Mike in their souls! Because of what happened on 1987/1989....so on 2025 Will and Mike are with us. WE JUST DON'T KNOW UNTIL WE SEE THE ENDING IN EPISODE 8!! Even the credits told us everything, the game was lost! That's the reason Mike is a storyteller and what he does? He writes an album...But his emotions are strange, he doesn't know who is Finn or Noah, he just remembers a feeling...

Love

for someone that looks similar to Noah, is like a similar thing to soulmates meeting again. While Mike tries to live this new life, he's hurt and he lost someone.

He just doesn't know who.

On SNL, he's always surrounding himself with queer allegory and stuff about Will or Noah, because there is a BIG CONNECTION IN THERE AND WHAT HE REPRESENTS ON THAT.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE:

Is not Finn trying to be Mike, is Mike trying to be Finn as how he thinks Finn views Mike. (Now, you might be wondering about Will and Noah).

A DIFFERENCE IN THIS IS:

Noah quiet personality on interviews...you have to know it...Will is the shy boy, he has always been. Noah on the other hand, he wasn't until Will soul got in his body. He's sad too, Will in Noah body understands something Mike in Finn body doesn't.

That they are here in this world.

And Will knows this, I don't know if Noah gets the idea, but Will does and he's really smart. He doesn't want to lose him, but also...he can't have him either way, because Will understands also the type of relationship Noah has with Finn and is not far from his own...friends since childhood...but also a different bond.

Maybe the question here is. Could Will in Noah body be brave enough to try to do something to save Mike in Finn body? Or maybe he doesn't know that could be the only way, to save his own town against the evil. HE DOESN'T KNOW THE POWER THEIR LOVE HAS!!

And so...we can only hope for them, that they will meet on the west, as they need. Would this be possible in our world....for them to confess and save their love? When we just need Mike in Finn body to just remember his lover...from a past life....

IS IMPORTANT TO ME TO MAKE EVERYONE READING THIS TO UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION.

Mike in Finn is like The Truman Show and the same exact guy on Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. In Truman way is how Mike just feels like an actor that doesn't know he's acting. And the forgetting of his lover Will....is ESOTSM. (If you think to deeply, you might end up crying).

But let's think positive Will in Noah is a hard way to explain it, he's the exit, the answer to everything that went wrong in Hawkins. The allegory for me is how love can transfer to real life, how Will is willing to try something so they don't die completely, yes maybe they aren't really here. But you have seen it people.

The ache on the eyes, the yearn...

I'm not here to claim I have all the answers but to see it, to question it, why are they acting that way? We know Finn and Noah on itself has always been a friendship, but we also know if the realities have collided, is not to crazy to believe this. Will and Mike are here because love never dies. IT TRANSFORMS!! IT JUMPS TIME AND SPACE, IS CRAZY, IS UMPREDICTABLE. But love that cannot be spoken, that one is the one that makes everything else explode.

Fear didn't win people. It was bad communication, Mike still doesn't know Will is in love with him, Will doesn't know Mike is in love with him. Maybe that is the only reason they are here, because they didn't fear themselves, but they didn't understand where the other stands. IT JUST CONFUSION, THEIR LOVE NEVER DIED, THEY JUST FORGOT ABOUT IT, UNTIL NOW.

Thanks if you read this. I'm sorry if I don't make sense, this is me just venting on my notes and I needed to just leave it out there. This is a meta narrative, so be careful falling for anything this two say or do. They are playing their parts too (also I'm not saying is real or not. I'm just sharing what I see) 🌞

[slabry]

I have a big thing that i want to post, but is so annoying that tumblr doesn't let me put enough media to show. I fee like words alone in a big post doesn't get to people. Anyways, I will just like to leave this here and I wonder.....I really wonder.....central roles.....

What does that means......? I wonder.....

Interesting....but Will got sidelined and yes he helps in a way to El/Jane fight.....but she's actually the central role in all....even when Mike is supposed to be central too....he does absolutly nothing and also is just part of the big sacrifice of El/Jane....is Vecna and the MF disorting reality peraphs....👀😉

We have to think people, just think.....

[deactivated-blog]

The Dreamcatcher and the Mandala

Ok obligatory I may have miscounted warning...

But do you guys know the mandala scene? There are a good amount of dream catchers that I literally juat noticed while rewatching with my dad.

So I just counted them and IF I am right, I believe there are 12 dream catchers in the scene.

According to Google, here is the origin of dream catchers:

The tradition began with the Ojibwe people, who called it asabikeshiinh (spider) or bawaajige nagwaagan (dream snare).

Spider Woman: A legend tells of Asibikaashi, Spider Woman, protecting Ojibwe children; as the tribe grew, women made dream catchers to help her. OK so a spider woman. Gotcha.

So on a wild guess, I decided to search for dream catchers and memories and got a Stephen King novel titled Dreamcatcher.

Here is the plot summary according to Wikipedia:

Set near the fictional town of Derry, Maine, Dreamcatcher is the story of four lifelong friends: Gary "Jonesy" Jones, Pete Moore, Joe "Beaver" Clarendon and Henry Devlin. As young teenagers, the four saved Douglas "Duddits" Cavell, an older boy with Down syndrome, from a group of sadistic bullies. From their new friendship with Duddits, Jonesy, Beaver, Henry and Pete began to share the boy's unusual powers, including telepathy, shared dreaming and seeing "the line," a psychic trace left by the movement of human beings.Jonesy, Beaver, Henry and Pete reunite for their annual hunting trip at the Hole-in-the-Wall, an isolated lodge in the Jefferson Tract.

There, they unwittingly become caught between an alien invasion and an insane retired Air Force colonel, Abraham Kurtz. Jonesy and Beaver, who remain at the cabin while Henry and Pete go out for supplies, encounter Richard McCarthy, a disoriented and delirious stranger wandering near the lodge during a blizzard talking about lights in the sky. The victim of an alien abduction, McCarthy grows sicker and dies while sitting on the toilet. An extraterrestrial parasite eats its way out of his anus, after gestating in his bowel, and attacks the two men, killing Beaver. Jonesy inhales the spores of the strange reddish fungus that the stranger and his parasite have spread around the cabin, and an alien entity ("Mr. Gray") takes over his mind.

On the return trip from their supply run, Henry and Pete encounter a woman from the same hunting party as McCarthy. She is also delirious and infected with a parasite. After crashing their car, Henry leaves Pete with the woman and attempts to return to the cabin by foot. From there, his telepathic senses let him know that Pete is in trouble, Beaver is dead and Jonesy is no longer Jonesy. Mr. Gray, manipulating Jonesy's body, is attempting to leave the area. The aliens have attempted to infect Earth multiple times, beginning with the Roswell incident in 1947, but environmental factors have always stopped them, and the U.S. government has covered up the failed invasion attempts every time. With the infection of Jonesy, who can contain the alien within his mind and also spread the infection, Mr. Gray has become the perfect Typhoid Mary—and he knows it.

Mr. Gray hijacks a truck transporting a spore-filled alien corpse while Jonesy, trapped inside a mental stronghold, is powerless to stop him.It becomes up to Henry—by now a quarantined prisoner of the Army—to convince the military to go after Jonesy/Mr. Gray before it's too late. Jonesy himself, now a prisoner in his own mind, tries to help. Both of them are convinced that their old friend Duddits may be the key to saving the world. Using telepathic powers gained from the alien fungus, Henry alerts Army officer Owen Underhill of a plan by Kurtz to kill most of the Army personnel to maintain secrecy. The two stage an escape by telepathically inciting a riot among other prisoners, destroying the base in the process. As they flee, the pair is closely pursued by a vengeful Kurtz along with his subordinates Freddy and Perlmutter. Perlmutter is infected with a telepathic parasite and is being used to track Owen and Mr. Gray down, despite his personal reluctance and pain.

Owen and Henry follow Jonesy/Mr. Gray to Derry and along the way share their childhood memories, including a time when Duddits and his friends tracked down a missing girl. They unite with Duddits, who is very sick with leukemia. After a tear-filled goodbye with Duddits' mother, the trio use Duddits' powers to follow Jonesy/Mr. Gray southward to Quabbin Reservoir. Mr. Gray intends to infect the local water supply using a dog he has infected with the spores, giving it a parasite. Jonesy is able to slow down Mr. Gray's progress considerably by getting the presence to strongly crave bacon, which it eats raw after obtaining it from a convenience store.

The uncooked meat greatly sickens Jonesy's body, giving the trio just enough time to catch up and confront Mr. Gray at the reservoir.Using the last of his powers, Duddits helps Henry and Jonesy mentally overcome Mr. Gray as well as help Owen shoot the parasite that emerges from the dog. Duddits dies from the effort but has prevented Mr. Gray's plans. Kurtz and his men arrive, leaving the infected soldier in their vehicle. They ambush and fatally shoot Owen, but Kurtz is killed by Freddy, who fears that Kurtz will shoot him next. Freddy flees, returning to their vehicle, but is killed by the parasite that was growing inside the now-deceased Perlmutter's body. Exhausted and half-insane, Henry sets the vehicle on fire by shooting its gas tank, destroying the last of the alien presence on earth. He reunites with Jonesy, who passes out from exhaustion.

Months later, Jonesy and Henry reminisce about their time in an underground military compound where they were held following the events at the reservoir. It is revealed that Jonesy was immune to the alien fungus all along, and Mr. Gray was only able to take over his mind because he believed it could—the idea being caught as in a dreamcatcher.

A Henry hun?

Ok so I am sure this is a coincidence..

[slabry]

You're right! Is not a coincidence. The movie is in the board of season 4 👀

[deactivated-blog]

You say you can't support the potential meta of Stranger Things due to the political climate.

I say the political climate is why you should support it. Take it from someone whose parents grew up in a dictatorship, if we are right and this is meta is FAR more risky for them to do what they're doing.

The Duffers are using the fact they're white and in positions of power right now. Has no one noticed or found it odd how they painted huge targets on their backs?

How if we are right, they told Noah to talk poorly about the ending which now has made a lot of the hate he used to get die down or be directed at the Duffers?

Is no one finding it extremely weird that they never came across this insensitive up until now?

I will probably get hear but fuck it. If they're doing this is far more risky than just straight up giving people byler.

[slabry]

Also, after the whole snl where Finn went. If you go to the last post Noah has on instagram. All the comments are just supporting him and telling him they are so sorry about the joke they made. Interestinly enough, today a new SNL sketch dropped and Finn is dressed very similar as the brothers and now he's getting hate too👀 mmmmmm.....very interesting, also the sketch is pretty much about laughing at how writers rooms work!

[deactivated-blog]

You say you can't support the potential meta of Stranger Things due to the political climate.

I say the political climate is why you should support it. Take it from someone whose parents grew up in a dictatorship, if we are right and this is meta is FAR more risky for them to do what they're doing.

The Duffers are using the fact they're white and in positions of power right now. Has no one noticed or found it odd how they painted huge targets on their backs?

How if we are right, they told Noah to talk poorly about the ending which now has made a lot of the hate he used to get die down or be directed at the Duffers?

Is no one finding it extremely weird that they never came across this insensitive up until now?

I will probably get hear but fuck it. If they're doing this is far more risky than just straight up giving people byler.

[cara-ti-amo]

A Trail of Crumbs: Netflix Puzzled Trends (as of 1/19)

Hey #ConformityGate truthers! Here's a list of all the Netflix Puzzled clues so far that support popular ST theories, and maybe spurred some new ones?

ConformityGate aka Vecna Won aka ALT ending

Great Expectations (Bonza, 1/7) + Tickled Pink (Bonza, 1/11)

Tintinnabulation aka the sound during Henry's monologue in Massacre of Hawkins Lab + sound a clock makes (Shape, 1/7)

Land of 7s aka "It was a seven," which meant Will got got by the demogorgon (Starstruck, 1/7)

Triomino Gap resembles DnD dice, but the gap shows something's missing/off, happens when you try to form a loop or bridge with triangular dominos (Sudoku, 1/7)

Clocks were the Jigsaw theme for the entire week of 1/7

Eleventh Hour aka pulling something off at the last possible moment (Bonza, 1/9)

Nines aka Episode 9 (Starstruck, 1/9)

Water ("tend to your thirsty plants") reminiscent of Little Shop of Horrors, which had two endings (Keysmash, 1/9)

See-saw aka see-sawing between believing and not believing + playground equipment like in Camazotz (Shapes, 1/12)

Doubt, Suspicion, Uncertainty, Paranoia, and Anxiety (Keysmash, 1/12)

Match Point, Pressure Point, and Tipping Point (Bonza, 1/13)

Irate + V-Sign aka we're mad now, but victory is ahead of us (Crossover, 1/13)

Drive has the clue "take for a ride", which implies deception and stringing someone along (Keysmash, 1/13)

Gears like a clock (Sudoku, 1/13)

Emend: Definition: "To make corrections and improvements"; "alter (something) in such a way as to correct it" (Crossover, 1/14)

Shapes tidbit implied getting "some more" (1/14)

Vision implying the genius to pull a stunt like this off (Keysmash, 1/14)

Negative aka negatives in film/what's left on the cutting room floor (Keysmash, 1/14)

Fan, Candy, Lucky Charm (Sudoku, 1/15)

Lampshade aka narrative device calling attention to narrative inconsistencies (Starstruck, 1/15)

"Why So Shy?" is the title, koi fish is the shape aka being coy about coming out (Shapes, 1/15)

Reason, Rationale, Apology, Excuse, Alibi aka all the things the Duffers, the writers, and Netflix will have to provide to get back in our good graces. (Keysmash, 1/15)

LOOK UP, which makes me think of Netflix's Don't Look Up which was essentially ConformityGate for the apocalypse. Also another way of saying pay attention. (Sudoku, 11/16)

"Don't Sweat It" + lots of 1s featured (Jigsaw, 1/17)

Double-Double theme as in two endings? + Succeed (Bonza, 1/17)

Double Vision (double again + vision reference for the second time this week) Is this to imply the two finales??? (Sudoku, 1/17)

Silver Lining (Keysmash, 1/17)

Sizes 1, 2, 3, 4... as in VOLUMES 1, 2, 3, and 4 (Starstruck, 1/17)

Dane Axe makes me think of the axe Joyce used to take out Vecna... or did she? (Crossover, 1/17)

Trail: The trail of clues the ST creators are leaving for us to figure out. (Keysmash, 1/18)

Before filling in OVEN, the letters were VN, which are also in Vecna (though that's probably a coincidence). (Keysmash, 1/18)

Treasure: The end goal. The reward. What you find at the X.... and, like Dustin says: "Treasures are always hidden in the deepest depths of the dungeon." (Keysmash, 1/18)

Tweak's clue was a "tiny adjustment". (Crossover, 1/18)

Open Middle as in Vol. 2 and 3 are technically the middle of S5, now left wide open for us to solve while we wait (Sudoku, 1/19)

AKA -- we are definitely getting a Vol. 4 with the Actual Ending to ST.

Three Episodes in Vol. 4

"No Three in a Row" (Sudoku, 1/7)

33 (Starstruck, 1/9)

Triplets (Sudoku, 1/16)

Three Compartments (Starstruck, 1/16)

Woven Triples (Sudoku, 1/19)

Looks like Vol. 4 is gonna be three eps! (unless there's another interpretation I'm missing)

Byler Endgame/ST is a Queer Show

Exes + Willy (Crossover, 1/11)

Rainbow Brite and Carebears (Waywords, 1/11)

Love Shack + Peen (Love and Peen being right to each other) (Crossover, 1/14)

Right Triangles aka making a love triangle 'right' (Sudoku, 1/14)

Snowflake featured in the Crossover aka Snowball aka "snowball turns into an avalanche" (1/15)

Lucky Charm as in Lucky Bear as in the green Carebear (Will) (Sudoku, 1/15)

"Why So Shy?" aka being shy about coming out + koi fish represents perseverance and good luck (luck again) (Shapes, 1/15)

Rainbow Flag (+ Roll) (Crossover, 1/16)

Roommate: "And they were roommates...." 👀 (Bonza, 1/17)

Ernie aka Bert's "best buddy" 👀 (Crossover, 1/17)

RAINBOW in the backround of the Jigsaw (1/18)

Four Leaf Clover: Another reference to Lucky Bear aka the Care Bear Noah got for his interview (and the green bear in the Rainbow Brite Puzzle)? Maybe this is the creators' way of saying Will is going to *finally* have some luck on his side.

Fantasy clue references Freddie Mercury, queer icon and singer of "Who Wants to Live Forever?" that was used in the promo of S5 (Keysmash, 1/19)

We're for sure getting Byler endgame -- and even if there's some pain along the way, luck will finally be on our boys' side.

Tharizdungate/"Mother Goose" is Tharizdun(?)

Spiral themes of the Jigsaw and Keysmash (1/7)

Spirals on the Jigsaw (1/11)

Thanks @whieen for sending me the photo!

"Flying Geese" (Starstruck, 1/7)

V Formation aka formation flying geese make (Starstruck, 1/14)

Shapes image for Who's Causing Trouble? was a Goose + the tidbit was "Famously aggressive" and "protecting a nearby nest" (1/16)

Keysmash kept to the bird theme: Incubator implies eggs getting ready to hatch, so another nest reference; Free-Range is another egg reference. Mother Geese lays eggs aka Mama's got babies!! (1/16)

Double Vision -- could this also imply there's two Big Big Bads, not just one (not just the MF)? (Sudoku, 1/17)

Soft-Boiled Egg -- another egg reference (Starstruck, 1/19)

Could Tharizdun be "Mother Goose"? Has "she" been pulling the strings all along for the sake of her lost child, the MF?

After all, ET has been repeatedly referenced on the show, and even the T-Mobile ad highlighted it. I originally thought it was about El, but maybe the MF is ET trying to phone home and find Mother Goose (like Patty is trying to find her mom in TFS, check out #pattyflayer by @henrysglock).

A Snake/Traitor

"That Bites!" formed a snake (Shapes, 1/10)

Snake was the Starstruck theme (1/11)

Agent: The clue went away, but it was "a spy who's a mole" aka a traitor (Keysmash, 1/14)

Snake for Crossover (1/18)

Looks like there's a traitor in our midst, but who could it be? Will? Kali? Robin? Max?

A Double (Someone pretending to be someone else)

Double-Double theme (Bonza, 1/17)

Double Vision (Sudoku, 1/17)

Mimic with clue "To ape or parrot" (Crossover, 1/19)

Fox is associated with tricksters. [@dawnschild pointed out that's what Henry calls Max] (Shapes, 1/19)

My brain goes to the MF/"Patty" first, but I may be wrong here. All I know is that someone is not who they seem to be.

Mike is Vecna'd // Labyrinthgate

Staircase // "Something that keeps going" aka M.C. Escher drawings on Mike's walls (Keysmash, 1/7)

Spade // "Calling a spade and spade" aka Mike having to face his own truths about himself to get out of Vecna's "labyrinth" (Sudoku, 1/7)

Isolated Areas + Stickman aka resident tall person Mike being trapped in isolation (Starstruck, 1/10)

Marked aka Marked by Vecna (Sudoku, 1/10)

Laundry as in "airing your dirty laundry" (also Mike compartmentalizing until now) (Keysmash, 1/10)

"Vacuum" "preys on [Mike]" (Keysmash, 1/10)

Toilet as in Mike's toilet water hair (Keysmash, 1/10)

Wheelie Bin aka Wheeler (Keysmash, 1/10)

V Formation aka Vecna's formation (Starstruck, 1/14)

Coffee: What Mike was drinking a lot of, presumably bc of lack of sleep aka marked by Vecna (Bonza, 1/17)

Tidbit about the Nile River: Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, Mike... (Shapes, 1/17)

Meteorology clue talks about Steve Carrell's character. While he was only a weatherman in Anchorman, he does try to become an anchorman in the movie Bruce Almighty... starring Jim Carrey who also starred in The Truman Show about a man who doesn't know he's living in a fake world/reality show about him (okay, that might've been a reach, but one of the puzzle names a few days ago was Six Degrees, so if we're playing that game...) (Keysmash, 1/17)

Staircases like the M.C. Escher art in Mike's room (Starstruck, 1/17)

Asphalt and Sky being reminiscent of Mike's jump at the quarry in S1 -- will Mike have to do it again to get out of the Labyrinth? (Jigsaw, 1/19)

Camus and Sartre both got the same hint "Existentialist you probably read in high school" I have a feeling Mike's going to get very existentialist here. (Crossover, 1/19)

Fantasy clue is lyrics to "Bohemian Rhapsody" -- the question from the speaker wondering whether this is real life or "just fantasy" (Keysmash, 1/19)

Mike is definitely the one stuck in the Vecna vision, and the only way out is through.

I think he's going to have to have to take a good hard look in the mirror in order and address the truths about himself he's been ignoring (his queerness + his love for Will).

And I think that, like Labyrinthgate suggests, Mike will repeat his quarry jump to get out -- taking a leap of faith for love.

Watergate/Lovers' Lake Gate/Pipegate/Hosegate/ RAINGATE?

Water ("tend to your thirsty plants") (Keysmash, 1/10)

Toilet as in toilet water ref. S5 Pipegate

Bathtub (Shapes, 1/11)

Fountain + Well (Bonza, 1/12)

Headwaters (runoff) + Rainwater. ie. "Here Comes the Rain Again" is on the WSQK vinyl. (Crossover, 1/17)

Stardew Valley (water symbolism). (Waywords, 1/17)

Weather-themed Keysmash: Cloud (containing rain), Moisture (1/17)

River (Starstruck, 1/18)

Bathtime + "What you do in the bath with your own dinner is up to you." (Shapes, 1/18)

CCR refers to the band Creedence Clearwater Revival, best known for their song (which was the clue) "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" (Crossover, 1/19)

Clue for Adventure talks about whitewater rafting (Keysmash, 1/19)

As we know, water equals feelings on ST. And the UD has none, but we do know liquid causes the wall in the UD to freak out.

Will our people finally realize that water is the ultimate weapon there? Instead of fighting with fire (fear/hate), they're fighting with water (love).

And we're getting an *actually* romantic rain scene -- call it a feeling.

BirthdayGate

Accompanying Shapes tidbit was a quote from director Aki Kaurismäki, who made the film The Man Without a Past about a man who gets amnesia and must rebuild his life with the help of a marginalized community (1/11)

Birthday Candles (Bonza, 1/12)

Birthday Suit (Bonza, 1/14)

BALLOON (Bonza, 1/17)

Dreamlight Valley (dream symbolism I've noticed w/ both "Patty" aka MF/the Creels, Dream a Little Dream, etc) is a life simulation game by Disney where the characters are under a curse that makes them lose their memories of their life in the valley. (Waywords, 1/17)

Meteorology clue talks about Steve Carrell's character. While he was only a weatherman in Anchorman, he does try to become an anchorman in the movie Bruce Almighty... starring Jim Carrey who also starred in ESOTSM (okay, that might've been a reach, but one of the puzzle names a few days ago was Six Degrees, so if we're playing that game...) (Keysmash, 1/17)

Abandoned clue was "Alone in the woods" like how Will vanished (Keysmash, 1/18)

"Upon A" as in Once Upon a Time, the show where the fairytale characters are cursed to forget who they really are. (Crossover, 1/19)

Birthdaygate is real, and it is likely that it will be affecting everyone's memories of Will (the way it affected Henry).

But memories can come back, and even if they don't, like in ESOTSM, if the love is strong enough -- love will prevail.

Time Travel

Clocks were the Jigsaw theme for the entire week of 1/7

Eleventh Hour (Bonza, 1/9)

Hourglass (Sudoku, 1/12)

Gears like a clock (Sudoku, 1/13)

Waywords themes cruising through different decades.

Waywords theme was Y2K but had Gameboy, which came out in 1989. Deliberate anachronism? (1/16)

Definitely getting a BTTF moment.

Lettergate

The First Letter was a Starstruck theme (1/11)

The Last Letter was a Starstruck theme (1/12)

Either Max's letters will finally come back into play, or we'll learn Mike had written letters to Will.

Return to Dimension X + USS Aldridge/Project Rainbow

Vast Land was a Starstruck theme (1/12)

Dimensional (Keysmash, 1/13)

Magnetic Field re: Project Rainbow using magnets to render the ship USS Eldridge invisible, sending it to Dimension X (Starstruck, 1/13)

You Sunk My... theme featured military ships like the USS Eldridge (Bonza, 11/16)

UNNUMBERED X (Sudoku, 11/16)

"Incubator" implies eggs getting ready to hatch, so another nest reference; "Free-Range" is another egg reference. (Keysmash, 1/16)

Two Gates: That seems obvious -- gates to the UD and the Abyss/Dimension X (Sudoku, 1/18)

Ben Grimm: As in the big, orange "Thing". But there's another "The Thing" that's been referenced a lot on ST. The beginning of that movie actually reminds me a lot of the beginning of The First Shadow -- with the USS Eldridge's failed mission sending them to Dimension X and being attacked by its creatures. (Starstruck, 1/18)

I think that not only are we going to see the real Abyss/Dimension X, but it's going to feature the wreckage of the USS Eldridge.

And, like the documentary suggested, we're going to get a big battle facing all the scary demo-creatures, including maybe some demo eggs that hatch ala Aliens???

SignalGate

Ham Radio (Crossover, 1/14)

Lightning Bolts on the Jigsaw (1/15)

Dungeon clue was "place with terrible cell service" (Keysmash, 1/19)

Signals will play a big role in:

Mike/Labyrinthgate of it -- did El, Henry, and/or the MF tap into Mike's signal that night Will disappeared?

Byler -- unclear signals between them that will eventually be made clear

Creelby (Bob/Henry) -- with the MF/"Patty" deliberately scrambling the signal to erase Bob and replace herself in Henry's memories

BobGate

Mermaid Diving aka Henry's Little Mermaid moment (Crossover, 1/8 I believe)

Heat Seal aka what selkies turn into (see above) (Crossover, 1/9)

Up, Up, and Away! aka Superman's catchphrase (Shapes, 1/13)

Ham Radio (Crossover, 1/14)

Emend: Definition: "To make corrections and improvements"; "alter (something) in such a way as to correct it" (Crossover, 1/14)

Love Shack + Peen (Love and Peen being right to each other, the shack looking a lot like Creel House) (Crossover, 1/14)

Right Triangles aka making more than ONE love triangle 'right' (Sudoku, 1/14)

BALLOON aka Mr. Baldo reference (Bonza, 1/17)

TVADs are wires used for TVs and other cable equipment (Crossover, 1/17)

Eek's clue was, "It's a spider, RUN!" Again, I think of Creelby: The spiders/MF for Henry, and "RUN!" for Bob.

Treasure: Reminds me of when Dustin says: "Treasures are always hidden in the deepest depths of the dungeon." And then Steve finds a Rubik's cube in the Rainbow Room. + Sean Astin played treasure-hunting Mikey in The Goonies. (Keysmash, 1/18)

Dungeon clue was "place with terrible cell service", which was a reoccurring problem in TFS that Bob had to fix. (Keysmash, 1/19)

Pleasantly surprised by the Bobgate confirmations (but I'm biased).

I think that not only will we be seeing Mr. Baldo, but Bob may have a role in Mike's quest out of the dungeon (that Bob is also stuck in since he was killed my the MF).

Thanks to these new clues, and this post about the Lost Knight and the Proud Princess (by @kirrroh and @imjustheretowastemytime), I now believe Bob may be on his own quest as "Rob the Relentless", trying to get Henry back and reverse his curse as the Fallen Paladin who broke his vow when he rejected Henry in 1959.

I think Bob is finally going to own up to his mistakes, face his own fears, confront Mr. Baldo, and fight this time, not just tell him to "go away". Bob's own big romantic gesture (with El's help) will allow him and Henry to reunite (even if it's in death).

Fairytales (Byler/Bobgate Adjacent)

Goose references tying back to Mother Goose Rhymes+ stories

Mermaid Diving (Crossover, 1/8 I believe)

Genre (Crossover, 1/18)

Ben Grimm as in Brothers Grimm, kind of like the Duffer Brothers (Starstruck, 1/18)

Theme for Keysmash was Hansel and Gretel by... the Brothers Grimm! (1/18)

"Upon A" as in Once Upon a Time (Crossover, 1/19)

Fantasy (Keysmash, 1/19)

These clues suggest that maybe this isn't a sci-fi (or just a sci-fi) after all -- maybe this story is also a modern fairytale.

This is the genre-bending the Brothers Duffer are up to...

Separated Lovers (Byler/Bobgate Adjacent)

Mermaid Diving as in The Little Mermaid/selkie myth (Crossover, 1/8 I believe)

Heat Seal aka what selkies turn into (see above) (Crossover, 1/10)

Plus Six Degrees aka six degrees of separation (Starstruck, 1/15)

Degrees of Separation (Bonza, 1/18)

"Split" pea soup re: separation being hinted at? (Bonza, 1/19)

If you've read my Bobgate series, you know there's been multiple interrelated texts that have had a common theme: Separated lovers.

TFS: Henry and Patty (but actually Bob) being separated.

Pagliacci: Canio/Pagliacci slaying Nedda and Silvio on stage.

Nina: Nina going mad after believing her lover's been killed.

Akhnaten: Akhnaten and Nerfertiti being slain because their love for each other, and Akhnaten's to his God, blinded them to the chaos raining outside their palace walls.

The real-life story of Abelard and Hélöise, both forced to take the cloth after their affair resulted in a love child (and the former being castrated).

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Joel and Clementine break up and choose to have their memories of each other erased.

Dark of the Moon: The Witch Boy and Barbara Allen destroyed by the religious fervor by her small-town community, with the former forced back into his witch form, helpless to stop the community from killing Barbara and their child.

Selkies (when they're actually, mutually in love with their human suitors) having one night with their lover, to then be separated for seven years.

Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid: The mermaid, refusing to kill her lover, lets him marry another while she turns into sea foam.

It's what ended up happening to Creelby, and it's quite possible that may be what lies ahead for Will and Mike.

But what all these stories also give is hope: The "songs" always end with the lovers being reunited (eventually, somehow).

While I think Bob and Henry will reunite in love in death (therefore being "rejuvenated with life for love"), I think Byler's end will be more like:

Nina: Where Nina's "dead" lover is revealed to actually be alive, curing Nina's madness (which btw I think will be the case for Creelby too)

ESOTSM: Where J&C reunite, are immediately drawn to each other even though they don't remember why, and decide to try again

Or Abelard and Héloïse: Kept in touch the rest of their lives through letters

RPG/ARG

Cereal (Waywords, 1/9) as in Life Cereal (He likes it -- hey Mikey!) as in Game of Life

DND (Crossover, 1/14)

Stardew Valley is an RPG game about inheriting a plot of land [ppl have been bringing up the references about the "uncle" the Creels inherited the house from]. Also RPG implies a fake world. (Waywords, 1/17)

Dreamlight Valley (dream symbolism I've noticed w/ both "Patty" aka MF/the Creels, Dream a Little Dream, etc) is a life simulation game by Disney. (Waywords, 1/17)

Keysmash theme was Role-Playing Games (1/19)

Dungeon again, a DnD reference (Keysmash, 1/19)

Quest is what we're all on right now, and our characters too (Keysmash, 1/19)

These clues are being left on purpose.

A lot of them feel like teases, some feel like straight up spoilers. But we're being given time to piece things together from all these different sources for a reason...

Before the "finale" dropped, I'd never ONCE participated in ST discourse. I kept my theories to myself. I didn't interact with anyone. And then ConformityGate happened, and I was so pissed off I decided to write Bobgate to process my thoughts and all the dangling clues I knew HAD to be paid off somehow.

And through that, I've gotten that much more sucked into the fandom and have gotten to talk to so many cool, smart, passionate people on here.

Maybe that's the reason Netflix/The Duffer Brothers have taken so long to drop Vol. 4. They get to pull a crazy stunt/social experiment on conformity, fandom, and storytelling that goes down in history, but they also stage one big game for the most devoted fans to enjoy, form community, and figure out the ending for themselves.

In a way, we are witnessing an elaborate DnD campaign/ARG and WE are the players trying to figure out how the game will end.

Some of the GA are either still blissfully unaware of what's afoot, or don't have the imagination to think it's real. Some members of the fandom have dropped off because they've lost faith that everything we've seen might actually just be coincidence. Just bad storytelling.

But us? The ones still here, still playing? WE'RE a bunch of nerds. Like the Party, we peek behind the curtain. We don't just accept things for how they appear on the surface. We're curious, we question things and dig deeper. We care to figure things out. We seek the truth behind the lies.

So we may not know *when* the game will end yet -- so what?

So long as we're still playing and learning and exploring... Is the ST experience really over?

[strangesunrises]

I’d like to point out a frame of reference for timeline, just in case some are still convinced there’s no way a plot twist would work anymore because people “no longer care”

Dec 25- Vol 2. drops, some of us notice the narrative seems off and details are amiss, but on a whole the audience believes it will all come to a satisfying close in the Finale

Dec 31- Finale drops, and while those of us who were looking for discrepancies to be resolved were disappointed they weren’t, about 50% (estimate based on public response) don’t notice anything off and think the ending was good/made sense

Jan 7- ConformityGate starts to take off in the mainstream and they begin the “countdown”, not once quelling rumors but the Wes Craven NoES 7 plot-twist

Jan 12- Doc releases (at notably different release times than Vol 2/3) and its overwhelmingly poorly received. People previously satisfied with the ending become upset with lack of finished script for Ep 8 and allegations of AI. Those who have been paying attention peep the overt tones of satire, odd editing choices, and short window of filming (why make a making-of doc and only show scenes filmed within a 2 month time period when you filmed for a whole year?)

Jan 17- Finn Wolfhard goes on SNL and gives Hudson Williams a run for his money in how freaked out he can be before someone physically restrains him. Jokes aside, he brings OVERT attention to his character’s queer subtext most people hadn’t even considered or outright denied prior to S5. Even more people are now wondering why Byler didn’t happen.

This does not seem like a story that’s fizzling out. Between the other social media/ interview schemes with certain actors denying rumors while none of the core kids/The Duffers/Netflix execs address anything outright is telling. This seems like a deliberate build-up for maximum emotional pay-off.

If you remember the larger meta-narrative, one of the most dangerous things we can do in our society is become complacent to the risks of propaganda as a tool for mind control. As soon as you start to think, “I’m too smart to be fooled like that”, they’ve already got you. I think an alternative ending to show true fans they’ve been right to pay attention all along, and casual fans just how easy it was to fool them would be EXTREMELY potent as a message to wake people up.

Just my opinion and analysis on the current situation, nobody has to agree. But I do encourage checking in with your emotions, and refraining from attacking anyone involved with the show. It’s not worth sacrificing your own humanity, we are all people who deserve love and kindness at the end of the day 💛🩵

[slabry]

Hello everyone. I would like to start this post by saying something very crucial. Please don't read if you don't believe in conformitygate IGNORE IT. I will talk about the meta and how is already in motion since the Episode 8 ended last year. But before that I would like to mention that this has been since a long time now.

Let's start

I got into the fandom on December 2nd. I have never been interested in the show before, but it caught my attention how people were so happy about vol.1 so I decided to watch it for fun. At first I reacted to the fandom, from a very outsider perspective, I didn't like any posts and I didn't interacted, I was so happy just seeing everyone having a blast. I think this fandom is really good with jokes and memes. But is a very dramatic fandom too. So I decided to be around just to see if you guys will get the happy ending everyone wanted for Will and Mike. Mind you, I really thought they shut down the story of them on season 4 so I was really surprised to see this. I saw also how people were saying that vol. 1 make the fandom grow on numbers. I saw general audience people thinking that Will and Mike were going to end up together. I saw the gates theories, I saw everyone take. I really did.

Now this picture did it's number at the time, people were finding gay coincidences about Will and Mike here and there! So people thought that's what he meant, after all he was watching at the camera. Now at this time I also found out about the radio WSQK. So everyone got the hints and the clues and all of them pointed to Will and Mike. Everyone knew in the fandom, except the blind people I guess. All those songs about love, about enduring hard stuff because of a love bigger than anything else. People were so sure Heroes was going to play for them. People already had ideas on how it would go. The community in this place saw it. So what happened? Vecna won over.

Through all the season 5 we get scenes from Mike and El/Jane that are very platonic, you get absolutely nothing from them when it gets to chemistry. But they left it ambiguous after season 4 ended 👀 I wonder....oh i wonder. The thing is...everything that you saw on season 5 is for a reason, a big reason that you still can't wrapp your head around it. (Me neither) They needed to make the relationship ambiguous so they could make the void scene on Episode 8. Where we know by the own creators, it didn't happen. So Mike just imagine himself doing all that??? Weird right? It serve a purpose. Mike thought he could go for her, he choose her, knowing he didn't love her and he lost everyone in the process. I still wonder if he understands his situation right now so fear has won over love...hoping not for long.

Look what happens when a paladin break an oath:

Leaving the dnd lore to the people that know more on this.

Before vol.2 dropped Shawn Levy was doing this:

You can see here everything you need to understand, the fandom claimed him the man of this ship. Everyone had already been sold an idea (which is obvious a real decision that man made) and you probably wondering why?....is a big thing to be honest. I mean he also say they both played mayor roles in the story but we never saw that....did we? Mmmm i wonder why. Big spoiler: is not queerbating, I mean right now it is, but it won't be after.

We got searchgate too, people would put the gates and some will show up or random queer words and everyone accepted this was it, the endgame was ours. And then vol.2 dropped and it went downhill, everyone knew one episode wasn't going to be enough, so after December 25th, is when everything broke. Funnily enough is also when the episodes started to be weird. The dial changing colors, people already accusing Finn, the actor that plays Mike of probably being in love with Noah, the actor that plays Will. Amazingly for me, I decided not to hype myself for the last episode, I literally remove any emotion I had for the characters in order to watch the Episode 8. And I'm glad I did because it was in fact the worst. They really hit something bad. At the time I didn't understand what the fuck did I just watch. Is a very big show for Netflix so why is this the ending? I was planning on not getting in the internet, because I knew how bad it was for the Will and Mike community. I mean nobody expected that scene with Mike and El/Jane. I saw it as them choosing the general audience at the time but I couldn't accept it. I don't know if I'm lucky or not for really going into social media at the end (I have been sleeping for 5 hours because the theory has me working) so I saw like two people saying they were obviously baiting everyone and I was like....wait what? I think this might be the true. So I adopted this idea that Vecna won and took over Mike. I was going to really accept it, I mean a sad ending for him. But.....more happened, this thing blow up.

And so I decided to move onto this, and I saw how the Episode 8 had zero sense. I saw the brothers starting saying nonsense on interviews for a reason I couldn't understand until I got it. They are vecna puppets too! The documentary confirm it to me.

🟠Now to the real meta stuff and what does it means:

I would like to say that the actor that play Hopper mentioned this in an interview:

And also:

Interesting how in the first one David says: at the table read...but they weren't in a table in the documentary....things aren't adding up....Now for everyone information :D yes, there's a reason for that, don't mind my happy face there, i just need you all to understand what I'm seeing.

🟠The Real World:

Finn and Noah through the whole press of season 5 didn't interact that much. I will say it, I got into all the community of this guys and I saw how a lot of people hated the ones that shipped the actors (I get it, not everyone is into that) but this is important, because there were a lot of people sending messages in anonymous saying how they loved the ship but they couldn't use their main accounts. Funny right? Well at least as of right now on January 18th is funny to remember that. This is important because I would be developing how it went.

I was really interested in the four cour boys so I saw all the interviews from season 5 with them and yes I was wondering why they separated them sometimes in two. Specially when in season 4 they had Millie, Noah and Finn doing the interviews together. We knew they were friends, right? Have them in blue and yellow but not letting them interact that much now? Yes, you can arguably say is because they didn't wanted to give hope to the Will and Mike community....this only make people wonder if it has something to do with spoilers....which I still think is a yes. Because if they are doing what I think they are doing. Then is over people, this means they got so close on the set. People have said they started filming before anyone else on the cast so.....they are gatekeeping it. Is a surprise, one nobody expects....right?

After the Episode 8 finally happened and all that sad horrible day for the community, people decided to start a very interesting campaign of: It was Finn and Noah all along. I found that funny, I would probably believe it too, I'm not denying it or confirming anything about the actors. But is interesting how the fans started picking up on them on the interviews. Everyone just constantly finding proof of them sharing clothes supposedly and so many random stuff.....but is it really random? 👀 the documentary only make people believe Finn and Noah were actually together.

But you guys know why? Why are they in blue and yellow/white???? Mmmmm i wonder. They want everyone to think about them, they want to bait you. YOU ARE BAIT. Because Vecna feeds on sorrow, if you have hope, he will destroy it again until there nothing left of you.

And then they show the binder behind the scenes where you know what happens. :)

I'm going to say it, in this reality they want everyone to think about them, the realities are merging so the more this days pass by, the more stuff everyone will get on them, whether is about the actors or the characters.....

A huge one for me right now is what happened last day, on January 17th. People were saying Noah was going to leave Milan to NY, everyone had already established a big amount of hype for themselves too fast. And is interesting because we know Noah didn't appear with the other boys in SNL...but at the time someone did in fact confirm by a picture Noah was in a plane going back to NY. They did this on purpose, generate hype so they could crush everyone again. But at this point is established you are an easy target, I saw the supposed crowd from the SNL waiting outside....curious how mostly were part of the Will and Mike community....👀 not a coincidence guys. Right now I will say they will bring more and more about them. So keep an eye on how the fandom reacts!

But the thing is, the more days, the more horrific it gets. The monologue Finn makes on SNL he mentioned he now can make more mature characters.....👀 is like a setup, I have seen a lot of weird videos out there, stranger things have been using some sounds that make it seems very creepy and horrible. And if we go back to the fact they mentioned this two people crying so much by reading the script, I think we are about to see the most hardest scenes in the history of queer storytelling, I do hope they have a happy ending, but before that even happens, we will see Will and Mike go through dirt, blood and probably worst stuff they couldn't imagine....we know Vecna won, so it won't be easy for the characters. I am afraid for them.

Hard times are coming for the fandom so leave if you don't feel comfortable, this won't be easy....

Look at this:

HOROR AND RESTRICTED R

[greenfiend]

Byler won't write itself

When I say that Byler is the heart of Stranger Things, I'm being serious. It is the "ooey gooey core" of the story, the deeper meaning.

The writers *had* to kill off Eleven because she represented not only childhood magic but also, the queer love between Will and Mike. We were left with an unsatisfying ambiguous ending where she was possibly still alive, just like the ambiguous ending for Will and Mike. Is the love still alive? Up for interpretation I guess...

Without heart, the story itself falls apart... This was the major point being made with that finale.

Fear won over love.

Mike was not brave, he had no heart -> he represents the importance of writers in this craft. When stories sell their souls for money, this is what we get- the conservative/"right" side up ending.

We got the "watered down" story. Palatable only for those who consume content without much thought. The more thought, the less palatable it becomes.

Stories require substantiate. We need a solution within the water! A solute!

We even see Jonathan rush to cover what's behind the curtain... to hide the truth.

Hopper argues "It's not The Godfather" which is essentially saying, it's not that deep... but why the need to hide it then? HM...

It's because behind the curtain reveals the true story that is not "watered down". It has solutes within. It's not palatable to many, but it is one with depth.

All I'm saying is, the writers made a point to give us an ending without an ooey gooey core. They don't want us to take door two and accept this lacklustre ending. They want us take door three, to escape and to yearn for one with heart, and bravery.

And yes, I do still think we will get that story. That ending. But we need patience.

[deactivated-blog]

Stranger Things: A Story about Fear, Love, Biases, Misconceptions and Us

We are well aware of the plot The First Shadow. A story in which two people fall in love, but fear wins over love.

We are all well aware of the ending of Stranger Things. A story where two people fall in love, but fear wins over.

First, I will preface this meta by saying a few things: I will not accept anyone rebloging this with points about a divorce, or about these people's personal lives, and if anyone tries I will block without discussion because I am not here to serve as jury, judge and executioner.

Secondly, this meta will touch on implicit bias, PR manipulation and what I think the meta of Stranger Things might be trying to do.

In a previous post I went into detail about the Conformity Test and as how we, as human beings, operate.

Now, I want to start at the beginning for a bit.

A story he can never tell

As much as I don't want to use the words "cautionary tale" I feel I will have to for the sake of the point I am trying to get across.

Before that, at the risk of sounding slightly aggressive, the foundation of Byler exists thanks to the Duffer brothers.

I know, I probably just said something that will offend pissed off bylers but it is the objective truth.

The very first scene that lies at the core of Will and Mike's relationship was written and directed by them. The scene where Mike strips himself bare, lays his armour down, and crying tells Will that asking him to be his friend was "the best thing I ever did".

Every gentle frame, every softly lit face, every contrast between shadow and light, every part of how intimate that scene comes across is thanks to them. The sheer devotion you felt when you watched it is thanks to them.

The scene that got many to ship them wss written and directed by them. If you watch that scene with no resentment, I can promise you, you'll find every ounce of care that was put into every single frame, every single shot.

And it wouldn't be the first time, nor would be the last.

The most important moments in the history of Will and Mike were either written by them, directed by them, or influenced by them.

Ok with that hot take out of the way, I want to talk about Mike for a little bit, and how he tells Will there is a story he'll never be able to tell.

That story is the story of how much he loves Will. Is their love story.

Another hit take while I am at it: Their love story remains. It was never finished, and to quote Cloud Atlas: "A half finished book is afterall a half finished love affair".

I understand the Duffers are trying to say Byler was never in the cards, that it was never part of the plan. Guys, meet a lie and a meta. (I'll go into more detail about this).

Mike is still a queercoded boy, remained so to the bitter end. He remained a queer boy too scared to face his feelings.

This is a story about fear that won.

But it is also a story about fear that doesn't look like it, but rather looks like safety. There is a reason so many people of the GA accepted as fact - is comfortable, familiar, predictable.

They are showing, via message, that most won't question what is safe, even when they should. That you might build your own entire life on a lie, only because is comfortable.

We often picture fear associated with something dangerous, but this ending establishes that fear can create the most normal of the worlds, one you wouldn't question because is safe.

Who would question a show that ends the exact same way most shows did?

The story Mike can never tell? Is the one where he loves his best friend so deeply but falters. Is the one where he conforms because the alternative is too scary.

Is the one where Vecna wins, rewrites reality as we know it and the world we live in, they live in - is a consequence of that.

So then you might ask? Why didn't they give us the good ending? Why make avid fans go through that?

If I would hazard a guess, I would say part of it is ego. They want to go down as massive storytellers with a huge plot twist and a publicity stunt of massive scales. They want to redefine how people interact with stories and they want to be the reason they do that.

I would be a hypocrite if I said I don't get it. I said it before and I will say it again, this isn't about shipping or any individual or even all fans. They do not expect anything from us and it would be a mistake and too self important of us to think they do.

They are clearly mocking the current disinterest of story tellers, the blase attitude of most, the betrayal of themes, the betrayal of characters, they are betraying themselves so they can make a point.

The story they need to tell

As someone has pointed out, we are all under Vecna's curse.

From a meta standpoint, it is interesting they would choose to do that as commentary. They pair us with children, make am offhand commentary about how we tend to perceive everything that is different as monstrous and how we often perceive our side as "the right" side while having Henry calling his side as the side of the light.

The USA is under Trump's administration, rights are being stripped away, ICE is raiding homes, innocent people are being ripped away from their families and a woman died trying to do the right thing. And millions of people are still trying to find a way of justifying that. There are people still trying to argue that Rennee Good was some type of terrorist and that she was threatening Jonathan Ross.

And the irony is? People believe that.

People no longer believe their own common sense, their lack of empathy and critical thinking runs so deep they no longer believe their eyes, or their ears. And they will still say they are in the right side.

And in one of the biggest shows in the world, we have a villain calling his side as "the side of the light", indoctrinating children via fear and misinformation and somehow we are debating whether or not the Duffers use AI.

The realization of what they were doing with that choice hit me deeply within me and it should hit you just as hard. It wouls have if you weren't too busy spreading false narratives online.

We are a part of the meta because we are a part of the problem.

And I don't mean just those who reviewed bombed an episode of a queer person coming out because it didn't happen how they thought it should (regardless of how well intentioned you were), or those who reviewed bomb due to homophobia.

I mean:

Those who consume things mindlessly, who accept any given ending because it is comfortable, those who ignore themes and message for the sake of nostalgia and don't question it.

I mean those who work under preconceived notions on the writers and believe everything that is spread online blindly. Those who pin it on a divorce, supposed stupidity and a skewed moral compass. Those who drag a woman who has her own accolades and her own voice into her ex husbands world for no reason other than being petty.

Those who are so desperate for someone to blame, who are rightfully so tired of queerbaiting that they send death threats and make dangerous, mob like mentality allegations against people they don't know because they think they are doing the right thing.

Those who watched in silence while Noah Schnapp was harassed for years and now want to pretend they ever gave a damn about him.

Those who would rather believe writers that took strikes seriously in a show were a producer said they wouldn't use AI deaging would leave a tab open where they use ChatGPT because that was what you already believed about them.

We are all guilty of having preconceived notions of others. They might not be about their race, or gender, or sexual orientation or their identity. They might be about something as "innocent" as them being too stupid to pull something off. About them being "slow", about their wife doing all work for them, about their personal lives.

They used every single one of those notions against us and many fell for it, and are still falling for it.

We are all under Vecna's course because we are all guided by fear, misguided views on humanity and the actors and directors are putting themselves in the line of fire to make a point.

We all believe what is comfortable for us, even without proof, even when it makes no sense, because is human nature. And the interesting part is that, if I am right, they are saying the same is true for them right now.

They are also under Vecna's curse because he managed to make them not write the story the way they wanted to. They let fear win and now we are all plagued with this eery sense that something is wrong, we just can't prove it.

Vecna not only erased everything else. They erased the heart and soul (Will and Mike) and the love between them so he could win. He erased a love that even at is infancy had the power to destroy him and the world he built.

Is interesting to note that the world Henry aka Vecna created was one that during his whole spiel to El he seemed to hate but one even he conformed to, in the end.

@there-was-a-hole-here-itsgonenow, @stranger-chichka

[slabry]

THiS IS AMAZING!!!!! GREAT WORDING AND EVERYTHING YOU WRITE IS SO REAL, LIKE IS AT THIS POINT OBVIOUS WHAT THEY ARE DOING BUT PEOPLE ARE SO MAD AND SAD BECAUSE THE FEAR WON AND THEY HATE THAT, BUT THEY CAN'T SEE THE TRUE!!

[ravruerr]

turn away, run away

[foahheart]

👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

From the documentary 🤷‍♀️ 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈