#strangerthingstheory

[lesbianfujoshi113]

HeartGate Theory #conformitygate is real. There is no secret episode. We are all trapped in vecna's mind, and mike isn't getting out.

We’ve seen the evidence for conformitygate but id just like to expand on that a little bit. What if we’re right? Mike is trapped in his vecna vision. But that’s still the epilogue.

Netflix calls us the heart of the party, similar to mike. i think were trapped in his vision with him. he just doesn't know its not real. Everything we see after shock jock is mike's vecna vision, the people around him arnt real, they’re simulations of they’re real world character similar to max's vision in season 4, it felt completely real to her, she had no way of knowing that wasn't the real Lucas. they've done this once and they're doing it again.The real world continues to fight vecna on the outside, unknowingly to mike. The vision is getting more and more choppy because vecna is pulling from memories of the party to create it. thats why there is no mention of vickie at all or suzie, its why the girl from the snowball talks to dustin- the dance we know vecna saw. this is the reality vecna has conjured but mike has no reason for thinking that this is fake, because even in the vision mike thinks he deserves this. He expects this life to be where he ends up, alone and the party no longer needing him, he spends the 'years' in this world reminiscing what he once had and has lost.

mikes own self perception- I believe mike is a closeted gay man in love with will even if he won’t let himself actualise it. In his vision will moving on, leaving, leaving him behind. Will has a bustling life of his own without mike in It at all. Because mikes fear of will realising he’s never needed mike, mikes just needed him all along, has finally come true. Not just will- mike watches as his entire party moves on, they all have their own lives, futures, ambition. Mike is left where he has always been afraid he would be the heart of the party that’s rhythm has gone softer and softer until there’s was no one around who could hear it beat at all. I believe eleven/Jane is not in the epilogue because she’s unable to break into this trance. She is also not present because mike is terrified of loosing his last thread holding onto this heterosexual narrative he’s been building to try to convince himself and thats one of the things vecna's using against him. As well as because she’s been the person who has relied most on mike, to strip mike of this person of his saviourdom is vecna questioning how strong mikes sense of self is outside of being her 'saviour'. whats mikes worth if he is not the heart? if he isnt mike the brave?

'but what about truman show inspiration?' I dont think the inspo was for him to break out. i think theres a alternate reason - will. will is paralleling sylvia - sylvia is a actor who acts as a college mate of truman but as she developed feelings for him she felt incredibly horrid for keeping the truth from Truman She was the only person in Truman's artificial world who developed genuine feelings for him and tried to reveal the truth to him. She told him her real name and "everybody's pretending" before being forcibly removed from the set by the crew. while el cant break into the vision i think will has been able to channel vecnas powers to see from his vision will's eyes. hes stuck not reaching out to mike and breaking the facade to him because he cant similar to sylvia and truman. sylvias motive for not breaking is being removed From the set will's is being removed from the vision mike is stuck in. i think will is trying to reach mike from the outside world, will is trying to control this body but struggling and unable. And this isn’t a cry of reminiscence but of hope and fear, because he’s being able to control this wills face - its more then he was able to before. But he is terrified for mike. Clip linked on twt

Proof for this- the WSQK radio sound clip posted yesterday where through the static you can almost make out will saying ‘You need to run’ is him trying to break through and speak in this world. But it’s not going through. We know mike has trouble listening to broken transmission like in this scene where we can hear dustin just fine but mike can’t. [the clip can be found on the twitter version of this thread-linked below] WSQK has ended. He doesn’t know he’s supposed to run. Clip linked on twt Wills stuck watching mike torment himself forever missing him while hes right across the table unable to reach him. he can only watch what is happening, watch mike try to push his nonconformity [homosexuality] down in this world. There is nothing will can do he's stuck seeing mike want will and never allowing himself to want him. he's seeing mikes nightmare. him leaving mike. knowing he never would, knowing in the real world he would have come running back into that basement. Mike sits in the future will had desperately wanted to share with him, alone. why i think hes stuck -A mix of vecna getting stronger and mikes suicidal tendencies making it harder for him to escape.We've seen this from mike since season 1 with his suicide attempt. He seems dissociative all of this season. he's picked max's option 3, i think he dies a couple years after the epilogue.

I think later on if the duffers reveal this is true then it actually is a masterfully done epilogue, to show us the villan winning without making us realize it all- just leaving us in dread without a explanation as to why.

So here is my final theory - conformity gate is real, will knows Its real. Mike does not and we arnt supposed to either. In the end- at least to mike, vecna has won. But mike doesnt know And he never will.

Goodbye Michael wheeler, we hardly knew you.

- I decided to name it heartgate because of him being the heart of the party and the strangerthings twt calling us the heart as well, so im saying were in his pov of vecna's vision in the epilogue. I hope this isn’t true. I hope there’s a secret episode 9 that comes out and clears it all up I really do. I love mike wheeler as a character and relate to him a lot. I hope the duffers prove me wrong. Im sorry if there’s any errors in grammer or in continuity, this is my first time ever making a theory so please bear with me. This has a lot of plot holes but it still has less plot holes then the canon epilogue so, ill count it as a win.

Please let me know what you think, any ideas or comments, and have a nice day! p.s this is also posted on twitter [plus it comes with more pictures!]

[krayzers]

The Upside Down Is a Living Wormhole: A Unified Reading of Stranger Things

I want to propose a unified interpretation of the Upside Down that tries to make sense of the show’s recurring biology imagery, the wormhole concept, Vecna’s role, Eleven’s uniqueness, and the canon play The First Shadow. This is not meant as “the answer,” but as a coherent framework that ties many elements together.

What if the Upside Down is not a parallel world at all?

The core idea

The Upside Down can be read as the interior of a biologically stabilized wormhole connecting Hawkins to another environment (Dimension X). In this reading, it is not a destination but an interface: the wormhole’s throat, functioning as a living membrane between two incompatible realities.

This immediately explains several of its defining traits. The Upside Down mirrors Hawkins because it does not create structures of its own; it imprints them from human perception at the moment of contact. It is frozen in time because it does not evolve independently. It feels hostile because it is a medium, not a society, more like the inside of an organism than a world meant to be lived in.

The role of biology and the exotic matter core

At the center of this system lies a sphere of exotic matter whose purpose is not destructive but stabilizing. In theoretical physics, wormholes require extreme conditions to remain open; here, that role is fulfilled by exotic matter integrated into a living structure. Biology replaces abstract “negative energy,” allowing the system to self-regulate rather than collapse.

The Upside Down itself functions as a membrane: flexible, reactive, and alive. The creatures within it, including the Mind Flayer, are not best understood as independent villains, but as functional entities, analogous to cells in a body. They maintain coherence, defend the system, and enable expansion where possible.

Consciousness as the missing ingredient

Crucially, biology alone is not enough. The system requires human consciousness to impose stable structure on reality. Human minds organize space, time, and meaning in a way the system cannot generate by itself. This is why the Upside Down copies Hawkins rather than inventing a new environment: it is shaped by human perception.

Henry Creel / Vecna

Henry is not the creator or ultimate ruler of this system. He is a uniquely compatible consciousness, obsessive, hierarchical, order-driven, that resonates with what the system needs. Through him, the distance between worlds is reduced; the wormhole is pushed toward permanent stabilization. Tragically, Henry believes he is choosing this path freely, when in fact he is gradually becoming a functional organ of the system itself.

The children and the network

The captured children function as psychic anchor points. Distributed across space, they form a network that locally pulls the two realities closer together, reducing topological distance and instability. They are interfaces, not decision-makers, necessary, but not sufficient.

Eleven as anomaly

Eleven represents something entirely different. She can interact with the membrane without dissolving into it. She opens portals but does not stabilize them. She disrupts rather than completes the system. In biological terms, she behaves like an antibody, an anomaly that prevents the system from locking reality into a single final form.

What the conflict really is

Seen this way, Stranger Things is not about good versus evil. It is about an interdimensional organism seeking permanent stability and a human subjectivity that resists absorption, preserves choice, and keeps reality plural rather than fixed.

That tension, between stability and freedom, order and unpredictability, is the real heart of the story.

[do-a-deeer]

STRANGER THINGS TODAY!! EVERYONE PREPARE! 0 DAYS LEFT

What are our theories 😋 I’m guessing Steve Harrington is dying episode 7 if anyone wants to hear the details of that 💔 (yes Ik it’s only volume 1)

[connect-dots7]

(2/3) Stranger Things/Labyrinth Theory: MC Escher's Relativity Prediction (LONG)

PART TWO IS REAL?! (sorry for the wait, i got busy). As I was saying in part one, I think there's a chance that the climax of Mike's arc in Stranger Things will parallel Sarah's from the movie Labyrinth.

In the movie Labyrinth, Sarah had exactly thirteen hours to rescue her baby brother Toby after accidentally wishing for him to be taken away. In the climax of the movie, she finally spots him crawling up (and down) a trippy ass staircase.

As one of Sarah's last challenges within the Labyrinth, she runs throughout this maze trying to catch up to her little brother. The laws of gravity and physics do not apply here. At one moment, little Toby might be crawling across the ceiling, in the next he might be catching a crystal bouncing up a flight of steps.- fandom wiki

In Labyrinth, the setting of the “endless stairs” scene is based on M.C Escher’s ‘Relativity’.

Which is foreshadowed earlier in the movie, by a poster hanging on Sarah’s bedroom wall:

And as you know from my earlier post, I think this MC Escher poster hanging in Mike's room, was a reference to Sarah's from Labyrinth.

Because it could potentially foreshadow a Snowball/GoblinBall parallel going down in season 5. (read theory: here)

I ended part one on a cliffhanger (cue laughter), by hinting that Sarah's "Relativity" poster might ALSO relate to a potential s5 reference.

Perhaps Mike's Cliff Jump is parallel to Sarah's Staircase Jump...

AND GUESS WHAT, THE VIBES WHERE PROPHETIC OR SOME SHIT, BECAUSE IT TURNS OUT THAT A POSTER OF RELATIVITY IS ALSO HANGING IN MIKE'S ROOM?!😱 (hanging under the notorious “one way sign” pointing into his closet)

(thank you to @strangerchicka for telling me this, because when i originally paused to screenshot Mike's room, he was covering it)

What if the scene of Mike jumping off the cliff comes full circle in s5.

because it’s the only way (?)

Which leads me back to Labyrinth:

The Climax:

In labyrinth, the M.C. Escher poster was used to foreshadow the climax. The final confrontation between Sarah and Jareth happens in the Relativity-themed room. When she finally reaches the top of the staircase, she looks down and spots sweet lil baby brother Toby.

Edit:(November 7, 2025): As everyone knows, the episode title: “The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler” recently got leaked. Mike’s baby sister and Sarah’s baby brother now parallel eachother!!!

but lil homie is contemplating life, staring into the abyss. He's looking over the edge of what appears to be a pretty steep drop.

He's about to fall.

The baby represents her childhood innocence. When she sees him, she must jump to break the curse put on her.

This is how Mike’s Season 1 jump into the quarry will come full circle in Season 5.

The crystal ball in Labyrinth is used to create illusions. It bares striking resemblance to the OTHER MC Escher poster included in Mike's room.

and you know who else has the power to transport people into illusions? VECNA.

So what if to break the illusion, Mike will have to once again jump into the quarry?

this it what Jareth (Vecna) says whenever Sarah (Mike reaches the ground:

This is the scene where Mike will realize Vecna has no power over him.

and humping successfully breaks her/him out of the spell!

According to multiple credible academic sources (LitCharts and Reddit) Toby the physical embodiment of Sarah's own childhood innocence👼

Which got me thinking: What if the baby is the physical embodiment of Mike’s childhood as well? In other words, what if the baby parallels s1 Mike, and Sarah parallels s5 Mike

SPECIFIC S5 CLIFF SCENE PREDICTIONS:

3: TIME TRAVEL TOMFOOLERY:

This one is kinda edgy, but the writers almost made El mercy ki11 her mom in s2, so how crazy is it REALLY?

OKAY. So what if the ONE WAY to stop the end of the world, is go back in time and change things, but Mike unexpectedly DIES (by his own hand) as a result of this?

What if in s1, Mike still jumps off the cliff despite the bullies never threatening Dustin's teeth in the first place?

Let me explain: if time travel tomfoolery DOES have to go down in s5, as has been heavily foreshadowed, then that means they might never meet El or get involved in any supernatural antics.

Meaning that in s1, Mike would't learn the truth about what actually happened to Will after his “body” was found in the quarry.

The Cliff overlooking The Quarry is the key to all of this.

Why? because if Will's body was found in the quarry, then the police’s leading theory as to the cause of his death would probably be this:

Police would suspect that Will was either:

A: hate-crimed/pushed off of the cliff (bc of his sexuality)

B. committed suicide via jumping (bc of his sexuality)

In this alternate timeline, Mike would still watch Will's body get pulled out of the quarry. Only this time, he would falsely believe that the cause of Will’s death was his sexuality.

This is why Hopper kept pressing Joyce about Will's perceived sexuality in s1. It was a significant factor for them to consider, especially in the 80s, because being gay might have lead to his death:

Ted knew this as well, which is why he subtly implied to Mike that Will's disappearance wasn't shocking:

“You see Michael, you see what happens”-COULD have been in refrence to Nancy storming off.

However Mikes reply-“what happens when what?” before bringing the topic back to WILL, suggests that Mike picks up on Ted’s homophobia. He realizes what might have happened.

But why does everyone in town even think Will is gay in the first place? Clothes you say??Clothes could be the sole reason for these rumors (like Joyce said), but what there was something more?

Like something about how Will acted around Mike?

if that were the case, one can only image how Mike would react if he found out that Will di3d as a result of their friendship...

What if after he finds out that Will "jumped" into the quarry, Mike jumps too

What if in the alternate timeline, Mike's decision to jump remains unchanged, despite Dustin's baby teeth never being threatened.

This reveal would be powerful- it would reframe the s1 cliff scene, implying that if the party never got involved with the supernatural, Mike’s decision to jump would remain unchanged (and would have had a more profound underlying cause.)

Mike didn’t fully realize his sexuality until s3, so he wouldn’t jump because of that.

However, learning that Will, his best friend (who he Loves), died because of the town’s homophobia might.

Especially if he assumes that it was indirectly caused by their friendship.

This is even supported by the way the cliff scene was shot and written. Mike wasn’t shown struggling with the decision. He just calmly looks over the edge, before stepping off of the cliff.

If Mike still jumps in this timeline, there would be one major difference though. This time, El wouldn’t be there to save him:

Which might be why Mike was paralleled to Romeo in s4. Because just like Romeo, what if Mike tragically di3s by his own hand after learning of Will's fake “d3ath". What if, just like Romeo, he is tricked by the body?

And just like Romeo, Mike chooses to copy how Juliette (Will) died?

conveniently, this scenario would also add a whole new layer to this joke made by Ted in s2:

“So if your friend jumps off a cliff, you’re going to jump too?”

Might this line be yet another classic case of reverse story telling antics within Stranger Things???

Reverse Storytelling is literally how they constructed Mike and Will's entire relationship. Which suggests that reframing prior seasons and Mike himself will be a pretty major focus of the final season.

If this joke can only be fully understood in reverse it would play into this storytelling device, especially because as of now, it’s a pretty mid joke. Considering that Mike jumped off of the cliff to save Dustin's baby teeth, the dramatic irony only applies to the fact that Mike also "jumped off a cliff". The implication that he jumped "because his friend did" doesn't even apply to the s1 cliff scene!( I’m the comedy police, and you’re under arrest!😡👮‍♀️) UNLESS this joke was actually in reference to the season 5 cliff scene😨Because in s5, after “his friend Will jumped off a cliff, he’s going to jump too,” -just like Ted said.

More Potential Foreshadowing (Mike/Water)(watergate?!?)

I already thought another cliff scene was a possibility (before all this Labyrinth delusion started), based off of the water imagery surrounding Mike throughout s4:

link to that here

idk guuuuys...something something about all that water symbolism around Mike really makes me of the quarry, since it’s one of the only significant bodies of water in the show. It's also literally the setting where Will briefly "died" in s1, cementing it as a pretty significant water themed setting for both of them, but especially for Mike. Of course, the water symbolism might also foreshadow him drowning in Lover's Lake. (more on that later maybe?)

Along with this, I also think that Mike's death will end up referencing Artax's in the Never-ending Story. If Will is Bastian, and El is Ateyu...then who's Mike?

HE'S THE DAMN HORSE. Arguably the most iconic scenes in the Neverending Story is when that depressed horse Artax drowns. (just tryna think outside the box guys, idfk)

the end! hope you liked it!

part 3: here

[fruitydemogorgon]

they remembered jeremiah’s sixteenth birthday, but not wills?

[bylerclub]

Okay. First things first, Byler was officially wasted. The Duffer Brothers have officially wasted and secondly Mike, dude, you are really a hopeless case. Did it really happen to you to stop and say "I love you" to Eleven while she was face to face with death?? And that was Finn Wolfhard's “best performance”?

Mike Wheeler is just a blind kid who can't even see what's in front of him. I'm telling you. I'm sorry but it really pisses me off that Byler or rather Will was wasted. I mean even Robin finally got the chance to talk to the girl she likes.

Apart from all that, here are my theories about the next season:

In the fifth season, I think a striking finale befitting the last season awaits us.

I don't know where and how they will connect everything and how they will stop this evil spreading in Hawkins but I think the possibility of Eleven dying in the next season is something like certain. I mean, I think either Vecna can kill her or she can sacrifice herself and the person most likely to die outside of Eleven is Steve.

I also don't believe Max is still free from Vecna's curse. I think they can deepen this pattern and even when Max is this vulnerable, Vecna ​​can make her do whatever he wants.

Plus, I am really sad by the death of my favorite character Eddie.

R.I.P Eddie 🥺

That's all I have to say for now, thanks for reading. Even though it hurts my heart that Will's love is one-sided, it's still nice to see Byler posts around. I think we can move forward as those who have hope and those whose hope is abandoned.

Finally;

Would it be too much to unleash Vecna ​​on the Duffer Brothers?

[loubetcha]

ok i wanna touch on this more because i’m on a roll (for some reason it won’t let me embed links so just check out @connect-dots7 ): in s1, mike continuously wanted to ‘take back the child that was stolen’- will. he did so so outwardly because he could still be a kid, it was acceptable for him to embrace his childhood. he stood up for will again and again, not only standing up for his friend but for everything he believed in- including his “childish” interests. i think mike throughout the seasons subconsciously connects will with childhood, and maybe even subconsciously still connects el with being the thief of much of said childhood. he forgets that she is simply connected to his trauma, not in cahoots with it.

let me explain: el showed up after will went missing, upon looking for will. the party, especially mike was looking for the child that was abruptly stolen from them- a piece of their childhood that was taken. el was connected to bad things, things that took and consumed will. now i am NOT saying she was and/or is those bad things, she was just another child that was stolen and never got the chance to have childhood interests. however, as we see specifically in season 1 and season 4, mike’s brain is sometimes wired in a way where he sees el as something negative because she showed up around the same time his childhood eroded.

“you made me think will was alive- that he was still out there but he wasn’t…he wasn’t” “you think i am a monster too.” in the first line it’s almost like mike is alluding to his childhood, blaming el for lacing what he had left of it with lies and ultimately showing him that he couldn’t get it back. of course this is contradicted immediately after but it shows only the start of mike’s projection of a loss of innocence onto el. she somehow makes him feel like he needs to let go of his childhood, of who he was before. thus, he sees her as this monster symbol, his mind pinholes her as the trauma she was molded by. he can’t get past it, he can’t forget will.

now back to the slow (mostly self-inflicted) erosion of mikes childhood: mike feels this immense pressure and responsibility and feels he needs to carry burdens (el feels she is one of those burdens to him). in season 2, he is forced to give away his toys, further letting his childhood be tugged away from him. he is visibly tired, tired of trying to hold onto something that keeps pulling away and letting him down.

of course in season 3 we particularly see him pushing away and avoiding anything that could be seen as “childish”, ie the party, dnd, and will, to focus on more perceptual mature things like having a girlfriend! and although it’s silly i do love the teddy bear theory so i just wanna skip to that lol. specifically, the little gold teddy bear at the mall. it sparks his interest, but it’s at a price he can’t pay. the price of regaining his childhood is self-criticism and the fear of losing his childhood again, losing will again!! and at this point, he’s not willing to risk it, not willing to pay.

ok enough blah blah blahing for today i know this is extremely disorganized/scattered and incomplete but i’m too lazy to add and edit any more so! i hope you got what i’m getting at in this long winded spiral of micheal wheeler among other things !

[fiftyshadesofsteveharrington]

cuddly steve harrington ❤️ headcanons

cuddly steve harrington hc

im so in love with this boy it isn’t fair

•cuddly steve is literally the biggest ball of fluff

•he just loves holding you

•and feeling you against him

•he takes up most of your bed

•and he lays in the most awkward positions that he claims are comfortable

•your head against his chest

•so he always gets a whiff of your shampoo

•which is loves

•”coconut, mm”

•innocent little kisses here and there

•down your neck

•careful he doesn’t suck too hard

•your hands through his hair

•this drives him mad

•but anything you do turns him on really

•”steve”

•”y/n”

•”it’s late”

•”five more minutes”

•he’s making puppy dog eyes at you

•you know what he wants

•how could you say no to that face

•anyways he’s literally the cutest

•we love steve

•:’)