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wallacepolsom

oozey mess
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
AnasAbdin
will byers stan first human second

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祝日 / Permanent Vacation
Acquired Stardust
noise dept.

izzy's playlists!
Monterey Bay Aquarium
sheepfilms

JVL
we're not kids anymore.
$LAYYYTER
hello vonnie
cherry valley forever

ellievsbear

JBB: An Artblog!
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@metapirateclock
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Mike's leaked thoughts during Will's coming out scene...
"The one" being a romantic term. Mike became worried he's not "the one" for Will. This seems to be alluding to the fact that it's delaying Mike's path to bravery.
To further prove this point this literally occurred a few scenes prior and it began with...
Gate as in... closet door.
Murray is ready to "fly Santa's sleigh" after "Snookums" opened the gate but got delayed. His sleigh couldn't fly at the right time. Remember, flying is a metaphor used for queer joy and acceptance.
But don't worry, Santa's sleigh (Mike) eventually will be ready to fly.
Wsqk is being used by the Mind Flayer to possess people, create vessels, and imprison everyone in Hawkins. A version of it. Will, is part of the plan. That explains why the actor used eye lens. Because its a clue for we, to notice when Will is possessed and when he isn’t. He's catching signals just like demogorgons are. He's a human radio receiver. A spy. And he's not the only one?!
To build a new world.
Will is the key because he is the one spinning the illusions for all of Hawkins. He is the ILLUSIONIST!
Remember, the illusionist is a subclass of wizard. It involves deception, misdirection, illusion.
X a lie.
The only real reason I still believe in the conformity gate is that they basically didn't allow Mike to be the leader he was destined to be. Do u really want me to accept the s5 ending when THE HEART OF THE PARTY is by far the most depressed guy around, monotonous, silent. Come on, tell me this isnt at least, anticlimatic??
Conformity gate is real. I know its is. Its not a "fan theory" but rather a leak from inside Netflix to hype it up.
Its just a matter of time. Of revisiting his own Camazotz. Travel throughout his own memories. Break the wall. His deep repressed feelings.
But when?
"The storyteller keeps telling stories" is such a depressing line. It is literally surrendering, living off memories of the past, alone, accepting everything passively.
Without heart we'd fall apart. Well then they lost the battle. But I dont think its over. Stranger Things is the only show nowadays that I can say is big enough to create something huge. There are too many coincidences here that doesnt match up. They only make sense if you keep CG as a possibility. I dont know bout you guys but i dont believe in coincidences. But in love defeating fear? I believe.
the category is: tragically beautiful 80’s homoerotic situationship bathed in golden light

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About Byler and finding signals.
I usually don't post in the main subreddit for unfortunately regrettable reasons, namely the user’s institutionalized homophobia, who censor anything related to the ship Byler in the first place, and the mere discussion of it, be it in the form of memes or theories. This is unacceptable for a fandom of a so-called “show for the outcasts” and well, to any fandom. But anyways, if there is somebody who likes to discuss the series, – and not avoid some chatting, can we start by saying: Why did the creators decide on this ending, the ending of the series as a whole, including romantic relationships, and invest more in queerbatting marketing than in a narrative on par with the previous seasons?
Ah, some might say "it wasn't queerbatting because the show never, ever told us that Mike could have romantic feelings for Will! He only loves El that way! You delusionals..." but, I mean yes it did: the acting, the interviews, the signals all pointed to uncertainty of the matter.
“You guys lowkey dont know what the hell you are talking about! Why can't we just have good friends in the media anymore?” Why do you seem to turn every series character into a gay fantasy?”
Some folks say things like that as if Byler fans were a group of unrelated people just invented things on the show. We are not the official writers of the show, but we are not blind, we are seeing through the same lens you are. Remember that. There were dozens of signals!
Media analysis is literally about pattern-recognition, repetition, visual language, music cues, blocking, parallels, and payoff. By that standard alone, our frustration is understandable — something unusual happened with how Mike/Will was written, staged, and sustained over ten years.
So, why did the creators of the show give people so many clues of a possible romance. If you think I'm completely talking nonsense, I guarantee you that after leaving this post, you'll get it. And here are some of them, objectively pointed out.
1: Why Will's sexuality was something that was present from the beginning of the show, and this was the ending we got?
Like common, no one was in any way satisfied by the epilogue boyfriend. In the series booklet that the creators have done to sell the show out had implicitly claimed that Will's character was a child with sexual identity issues.
So, what was the point of including this sub plot at the show's last seasons and not just focus on the core drama, knowing that Will was going to get rejected in any way, watch out, in the finale of the show. They extended in that direction for the simple purpose of engaging the public in the subject, maintaining interest, which seems pretty stupid I'd say. And I am not a writer. The show had some love triangles. The love triangle on the show between Dustin Lucas and Max, in season 2, when we see that it is clear that Lucas was going to win Max’s heart and become closer to her by the end of the same season. Lucas and Dustin faced some tension but they realized how stupid their fights were, and they became good friends again.
The point is, why not shut down this plot, why not wrap up this story in the fourth season? “There wasn't time for that?” BullshitWhy includes a 10 year long arc of Will being in love with Mike to be rejected in the finale. Duffers we know queer love is unrequited a lot of the time, no need to make Will go through it if your goal is being realistic. Its a show about fucking monsters and alternate dimensions! At least shut it down sooner rather than the last episode! They knew what they were doing. It either was an intentional love story or just a mass trolling.
2: Why make Mike interactions with Will always having those looks on Byers lips?
What me and many others have noticed isn’t imaginary — it’s a deliberate directing and acting choice, and that’s exactly why it’s confusing when paired with the eventual outcome. The "best friends" finale. I'm not saying that visual language is always a reliable source of the narrative's intent, but seriously, why include that? The look on someone else's lips is a common thing people do in real life when they have some kind of interest, mostly physical attraction. Those “looks on Will’s lips,” the pauses, the charged silences — that’s romantic visual grammar. It’s the same language the show uses elsewhere to signal intimacy. It happens all the time since season 2. Kinda suspicious. Really close intimacy that only great friends can share. Well, also lovers.
More incriminating than that, during the exhibition of Back To The Future in season 3, Will and Mike are together with Lucas and Max, Robin and Steve drugged, and Dustin with Erica, which looks like a couple encounters, in the sense they are both pairs of two people. The important thing here is, Will is sensing the Mind Flayer, freezed, in shock, or whatever. Mike notices it cause he’s always taking care of Will, and finally asks what is happening, with of course, a glimpse into his mouth because that's what friends do. Will lies and so we have a frame of Mike looking at him, for then we get Will's reaction, also taking some time to look at his lips. Shared glances at each other's lips, in a consummate silence. Strange this right?
Will is in love with Mike, that was confirmed in the following season 4, and he was settled to be developing this crush later than the season arrived. It's not like Will just realized he had romantic feelings for Mike only in season 4 after moving to California. It was a build up thing, something the show always planned to do since the season 2 production. And suddenly, in season 3, Will, the gay character, replicated the strange habit of his straight friend too. If that wasn't a smart move to indicate any possible validation of each other's mutual interest, or really just aesthetically admiration, I'm just confused. Truth is, ambiguity was used as a tool — and then overused it. That 's undeniable.
3: Why couldn't Mike Wheeler hug his best friend in season 4?
In Stranger Things season 4, Mike’s behavior toward Will can feel painful to watch, but it’s mostly about emotional confusion and lack of awareness, not rejection or cruelty. He doesn’t avoid Will because he dislikes him — he just doesn’t know how to handle the emotional tension inside himself. Acting differently around Will than around others. Will gets it, and so the Rink O’ Mania talking becomes justified.
The airport scene is a good example: Mike kind of hugs Will, but it’s quick and awkward, because he’s emotionally closed off and distracted, not because he doesn’t care for him. He is clearly embarrassed. And the reason is, we really never get to know… But could that be a way to hide his own unpronounced feelings for Will?
Remember. El in the first minutes of season four has her letter read by Mike, when she mentions a painting Will’s taking some time doing. She says it is probably for a girl, because he acts like he is in love with someone. We all know by now who Will was in love with.
I think Mike had his switch up in s3, or earlier, in season 2, – is not like he didn't care about will, it's that he cared too much, and that scared him since that was seen as wrong at the time. so, he pushed Will away, and just decided to get closer to El. Even if he also has feelings for her. That could genuinely explain how distant Mike chose to be while confronting his best friend. The feeling that his passion isn't what Will also thinks.
4: What really makes you crazy, if not love?
When Mike tries to confess his “love” to El he says: " You know… They do say it makes you crazy", which in his mind sounded like a romantic statement, but it failed the target making Eleven just confused.
Now in season 2, during the infamous crazy together scene, Will is with Mike in his basement, so devastated by the Upside Down trauma he just got away from. He is speechless, scared and incredibly self contained. While feeling that way, he gets the courage to finally put his thoughts out. Not to anyone else but his best friend. Will explains to Mike about what he saw in the Upside Down trance. Mike points out the possibility that Will is overthinking things but then, he acknowledges about the absurdities he's seen in the first season, which means he is not struggling so much on believing in him. He then talks about how Eleven was comprehensible, just like Will is, and that she would believe in him and not reject what he has watched.
Mike is really devastated about El's false death. “Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy”. After some seconds, Will recognizes that he feels like he’s going crazy as well. That nobody seems to understand him at this point in his life, his insecurities, or the right way to protect him against those living nightmares. “Hey Will, if we both going crazy, we’ll get crazy together right. “Yeah, crazy together”. Sweet moment. One of the most sincere from the entire show, in its best season, imo.
5: What was the point of yellow and blue being colors shown so much?
Im referring to the intentional color grading we have between these two characters, Will and Mike, with colors blue and yellow a point out to them. Also, sorry if I'm being stupid but I really don't recall seeing anyone mention that blue and yellow were the color the creator used to identify Mike and El in season 3. Which are a couple. A romantic one.
In the same season, Will and Mike can be seen in this color, with Mike even wearing Yellow while Will wears a white and blue shirt. Let's also remember that music is a big thing on the show and " The First I love You" and "The First Lie" are two songs made by Kyle Dixon too. What is so curious to me is that the music also indicates byler, at least, possible.
6: Is music a reliable source of hints?
According to a post I have encountered on Tumblr by user aurorabyler:
"The First Lie" is played during the scene where Jonathan and Nancy hook up in season 2 following Murray’s encouragement. It’s a reference to Nancy not being truthful about her feelings towards Steve and could have a few double meanings, including the LIE literally being Nancy and Jonathan sleeping together (hence, LYING together), as well as Jonathan’s trust issues that Murray talks about".
"The First I love You" plays during Robin’s coming out and also El saying I love you to Mike, which appears confused in season 3. My favourite detail here is that the word “love” in the song is not capitalized. This may seem insignificant, but when you look at the ENTIRE stranger things soundtrack pre season 4, no other words have been in lowercase. This was intentional, both for Mike/El’s awkward, strangely non romantic kiss, and Steve/Robin’s love for each other, which is not romantic at all, since Robin is a lesbian. It starts out as one-sided for Steve and then we obviously see their amazing friendship".
"There’s no way this is not intentional. In season 4 vol 2 when Will gives Mike the painting, he confesses to Mike but covers it up with El’s name. He then turns away from Mike and cries, muffling the sound with his hand. It’s been emphasized throughout the show that Will is unable to lie to Mike. Literally season 1, episode 1: “It was a seven. The demogorgon, it got me.” Lucas encourages Will to not say anything to Mike since he didn’t see the roll, but Will physically cannot lie to him. This theme is seen with the two again and again throughout the show. Will never lie to Mike. EXCEPT, in this scene in season 4 (...)’’
That's why their relationship is so strong. Because of the protection they secure for each other. In season 2, in the basement, Will asks Mike to lie to his other friends, Dustin and Lucas, about his trance seeing the Mind Flayer. Will's character was made to not like lying, to Mike, especially, for some reason and that is also a clue. Moving on:
"Will covers up his feelings. It’s a weird halfway point. He lies to Mike for the first time, and he can’t bear it, combined with all his other feelings for him. THE SONG THAT PLAYS DURING THIS SCENE, BEING DIFFERENT, has the exact same melody as BOTH THE FIRST LIE AND THE FIRST I LOVE YOU".
Another thing important to mention: there's another song that connects different couples on the series by music. The song: “On The Bus” appears twice, during one scene between Lucas and Max heart-to-hear on top of the bus, while in season 4, the same song is played with Will and Mike heart-to-heart scene, in Will’s bedroom. Is this really just a coincidence? Or signals?
7: The signals that we caught were never real?
Will asks Robin how she knew Vicki wanted to date her. Robin says Vicki sent her subtle "signals" such as a brush of the knee, a bump of the elbow, or a shared look. That's exactly what happens in season 5 vol. 2?! What thee hell, Wheeler?! Lets not forget the subtle lip glances, and the brushing of hands are all signals intended for Will to decode, these small "easter eggs" are signals for the audience too. She’s provoking us to be aware of the show's subtle writing.
Reddit user “callacrow” did a really clever observation about the season 5 “signals”:
“When Robin says the line "I like dick." and we cut to Lucas and Joyce looking at Robin, then, because it isn't supposed to be too obvious, we cut to Will and Mike glancing at each other. So their reaction to hearing "I like dick" is to look to each other, which is also coincidentally one of the three signals Robin instructs Will (and us, the audience) to look out for. Shared looks??!
"Speaking of signals, we have seen all three of them demonstrated in Mike and Will's dynamic. The shared looks are ever present. Mike at Rink O' Mania sits between Will and Jane while only making contact with Will's knee. My absolute favourite though has to be in the finale when they're walking side by side and bump into each other seven times exactly”.
Now, the visual contrast, the difference in dialogue and the differences in Mike’s facial expressions, behaviour towards Will and El here, in season 3 is such a revelation.
During the rain fight, Mike is clearly bad at having a discussion with Will. When talking to El and also, discussing, he doesn't understand her anger, he does not feel any remorse for being a bad boyfriend to her. He does not apologize to her in that scene but he does with Will. All the time. He feels awful about making Will sad, he feels remorse for being a bad friend. He recognizes his mistakes as being distant where he shouldn't. But with El, he seems to be in denial. Imature.
With El, Mike says “They say it makes YOU crazy” and YOU have to fight,” whereas with Will, he says “WE’ll go crazy together” and “WE will fight this together.” He sees eleven as separate from him, but he sees him and Will as a real team. That's not a made up thing, that is what happens in the show. No bullshit but real events.
Famous stranger things theorizer, user kaypeace observation: "I already pointed this stuff out, in my youtube vid- mileven vs byler parallels". "But for those who haven’t watched it- I'll mention it here. I just find it funny. Cause, the parallels between the fight & breakup show Mike loves Will (not El) and Will loves Mike and El doesn’t (mileven’s ‘love’ is just empty words- actions speak louder)". "Mike has drastically different expressions after their fights and the difference in weather and music selection ,convey how Mike is feeling. He looks regretful with Will, and almost annoyed with El dumping him. Mileven breaks up to upbeat music on a sunny day (the break up being in front of a crowd and a joke) vs the morose music and the storm shown (with just Mike and Will fighting ). We are supposed to take the Byler fight seriously and the mileven one as a joke".
She also mentions this parallel: Will saying he never cared about having a girlfriend but he would love to stay with Mike for the rest of his life vs Max saying that El doesn't need Mike while they hang out in Maxine's room. In the same scene "El is happily reading comics as Max says she shouldn’t hang with Mike all the time vs Will upset and throwing his comic on the floor at Castle Byers”, after the rain fight. "Mike immediately apologizes to Will and runs out in the rain to do so vs Blaming El, waiting for her to call him and apologize. And burping and laughing about cheese (+ never apologizing for lying to her)". Hum…
On episode one of season 4, "Suzie Do You Copy?", Mike and El are referred to as “star-crossed lovers” which is just an interesting choice of words of the writers about the show's main couple, Mileven. This phrase has been used as a reminder that the romantic couple is destined to fail, foreshadowing it is really doomed , they will in any hypothesis have a good ending, no matter the circumstances… Mike and El have been compared as Romeo and Juliet a few times in the show, which just confirms everything I've just shown here.
Romeo and Juliet are called star-crossed lovers because their astrological symbols are not compatible; Shakespeare establishes this early on, and his contemporaries in the audience would have immediately understood and gone "oh, dear,_ that's a shame... this will never work."
In moments of emotional stress: Will sensing the Mind Flayer, Will panicking,crying, Mike’s reaction is: to turn toward Will before anyone else, lowers his voice, softens posture, maintains eye contact longer than with El in parallel scenes, takes Will for himself, like Will’s stability is his responsibility. Like a great friend would do, a good friend. Yes, but also?
They were put closer to each other in the last scene of season 4, with other couples of the show. C’mon now! Wasn't that intentional? Was that supposed to be interpreted by the audience as simply a decision made at random. With no reason?!
All the characters’ outfits have details with meanings. According to stachaser, a Twitter account:
"I think it's interesting that the stylist from st says that they always put triangles on Robin's clothes to symbolize her as a queer person, and in s4 Mike having a triangle on his clothes (...)". "The pink triangle was a symbol that the Nazis forced homosexuals to wear in concentration camps to be marked and after the war the LGBTQIA+ community reappropriated the symbol (mainly, in the 80s)". Also, a reader pointed out that quote: "And they said that they sewed this outfit SPECIFICALLY thinking of Mike and only for him to wear". Seems like so much attention was put on clothing.
Now, to wrap up this discussion with the final nail in the coffin, here's an interesting mini-analysis by bylersmother:
"He has a Jack Kerouac poster in his damn bedroom—a bisexual writer. If he likes Jack Kerouac, then he likes Allen Ginsberg too, who was openly gay and Jack’s best friend. He knows the Beat movement, which was against conservatism and conformity.In his works, Jack talked about attraction and passion for other men—and not only that, but also about the religious guilt of feeling it, which could very well be a sign of Mike’s own internalized homophobia.
Mike, canonically, likes works, music, and literature that go against the norms and standards of society at the time. He canonically likes songs that make fun of fragile masculinity. The band he likes so much has an explicitly queer name, and its songs do too. He appreciates Jack’s works, which talk about desire for other men. None of that is there by accident. Those elements are carefully chosen to fit together and make sense with the character’s personality".
Well, I'd love to believe in Byler. And I do, no matter what my eyes have seen. We discover Will's sexuality in season 2, on several occasions, most notably at the snowball dance, when he dances with a girl wearing a rainbow hair clip. That's foreshadowing of his real sexuality. SUBTLE but REAL. And the rainbow is a symbol that is essentially associated with Mike Wheeler. I don't believe in coincidences in fiction. Even if Mike Wheeler is not a gay dude, he's definitely queer coded.
One or two ambiguous moments? Fine. Ten years of: parallels, mirrored dialogue, romantic and visual grammar, symbolisms, music callbacks, refusal to clarify is strange at least? That crosses the line. You can deny it if you will. But it 's an impossible task lol.
8: Is it possible that the relationship between Mike and El was a substitution of the relationship of Mike and Will?
If you look closer at the show’s main story execution, it's possible to see a ton of parallels between Will and Eleven’s characters. The way their appearance is confused in the first season, – with all the missing boy story, - they both were confused by others as the same person. One was called a freak, the other one a weirdo. They both had electrodes on their heads at Hawkins Lab being studied there. In the same episode they were both stuck in the Upside Down screaming for Mike's name. They both have powers. They both used morse code to communicate. Walkie-talkies. They both had abusive dad and miserable lives. Eleven and Will. Some parallels between them are in the dialogue also. Because El looks like a boy, as stated by many others in the show, it gives Mike an opportunity to project his feelings for Will (or for boys in general) onto El. Troy says; "She doesn't even look like a girl." Benny says; "You think you can steal from me, boy?" And Benny's friend says; "At lunch, there was this boy..."
With Will's disappearance in season 1, Mike developed a closer relationship with Eleven. This could be explained by Will's absence being transferred to Eleven because, somehow, the connection created between the two mirrored Mike and Will's previous relationship. And the fact that this closeness turned into a strong romance is quite interesting. Because if Eleven wasn't in the picture, couldn't this strong romantic relationship have developed between two other characters? You know who I'm talking about, right? No one has ever mentioned that but I think it's a really credible analysis.
Also, why make Will messing a mileven scene??
9: What was the point of the coming-out scene in vol. 2?
It is a writing mistake in my opinion. All season 5 is so laughable and bad that it hurts. The coming out scene, although not bad, is not good either. Looking for signals. Will has been doing this since season 2. The show confirms signals are real, not imagined
By accepting yourself Will felt free to tell everyone who he was. Will accepts that he is gay. Robin explicitly names the hope in him. And, indirectly to the audience. Will comes out emotionally to Mike via the painting. The scene is staged as a confession, regardless of the name substitution. This is a textbook coming-of-age love arc structure.
What happens in vol. 2 is not "growth" — it’s retcon via emotional minimization. This is the part that breaks the story. In less than 24 in-universe hours: Will goes from hopeful vulnerability to self-erasure. He reframes his love as: "It was never about anyone else but me". That line doesn’t resolve nothing. It's unimportant because the fact we already know Will accepts — it invalidates the arc we just watched. The looking for signals arc. This is not: healthy acceptance, realistic closure, maturity. It is bad narrative containment.
They can do whatever they want, but nothing will change the fact that Mike is implicitly queer. He’s the only character—along with Robin and Will—who has queer references inside the series. In fact, he has even more references than Robin and Will, who are canonically part of the community. He knew community terms back in the 80s. He defended a queer punk rock band (Butthole Surfers) that used queer references both in its name and in its lyrics.
He has a Jack Kerouac poster in his damn bedroom—a bisexual writer. If he likes Jack Kerouac, then he likes Allen Ginsberg too, who was openly gay and Jack’s best friend. He knows the Beat movement, which was against conservatism and conformity.In his works, Jack talked about attraction and passion for other men—and not only that, but also about the religious guilt of feeling it, which could very well be a sign of Mike’s own internalized homophobia.
"I don’t care if you disagree or insult me. I’m not going to see it because my notifications are turned off. So you can cry and seethe in my comments or in the quotes—I don’t give a damn. Nothing is going to change the fact that Mike is, yes, implicitly queer. Mike was never made official as a straight character, so considering him straight is also a headcanon".
"He never rejected Will—he never even knew about Will’s feelings. The Byler ending was left totally open to the audience’s interpretation, as was Mike’s sexuality".
Ok. It's not just Mike who is under Vecna's illusion. Everyone else is. Thats my conclusion now. And it makes sense. That's the Vecna's curse. It's all over Hawkins. Everyone is acting crazy because all their memories have been altered. They are all in a play without knowing it. Everyone, is so, oblivious. Like a purple light had spread into town. The inconsistencies are like the snow from TV. Its all messed up, turned around, upside down. The characters, the actors, the audience. You and me.
It's FORCED CONFORMITY.
But how do they break the spell?
The Deep Meaning Behind Will and Eleven’s Characters
The fact that there are so many obvious parallels between El and Will. The way their appearance is confused in the first season, – with all the missing boy story, - at one point even considered as the same person. One was called a freak, the other one a weirdo. Crazy Jane and Zombie Boy. They both had electrodes on their heads at Hawkins Lab being studied there. In the same episode they were both stuck in the Upside Down screaming for Mike's name. They both have powers (The Mage and The Sorcerer). They both used morse code to communicate. Walkie-talkies. They both had abusive dad and miserable lives. Eleven and Will.
These parallels are not just used to be fun, but maybe, to indicate something those two characters share. They are, perhaps, the personification of Mike's true feelings.
His relantionship with Eleven evolved from a deep friendship to a romantic one. It was accepted by everybody without any objection or surprise, because it would be the "normal" for 80s matters. Will, on the other, represents Mike's strongest bound, his true love, that stays hidden, repressed, unspoken to anyone but himslef. Mike sees his relantionship with El as what he wish he could have with Will, but, unfortunately, Will is not a girl, which makes him the "wrong person to be in love with".
Some parallels between them are in the dialogue also. Because El looks like a boy, as stated by many others in the show, it gives Mike an opportunity to project his feelings for Will (or for boys in general) onto El. Troy says; "She doesn't even look like a girl." Benny says; "You think you can steal from me, boy?" And Benny's friend says; "At lunch, there was this boy..."
With Will's disappearance in season 1, Mike developed a closer relationship with Eleven. This could be explained by Will's absence being transferred to Eleven because, somehow, the connection created between the two mirrored Mike and Will's previous relationship. And the fact that this closeness turned into a strong romance is quite interesting. Because if Eleven wasn't in the picture, couldn't this strong romantic relationship have developed between two other characters? You know who I'm talking about, right?
No one has ever mentioned that but I think it's a really credible analysis.
How The WSQK Vinyl Proves Episode 8 X A Lie
All Conformity Gate Evidence I Care About:
- The advice of always looking for details. And the fact, Max states Holly (We) should try to find all things that sound off about Camazotz (Season 5).
- Unsatisfying ending that really feels like an unsetling illusion made by Vecna.
- The amount of plot holes left unasked on another show with consistent writing and attention to the storytelling and characters.
- Dustin's Conformity speech doesn't match with the “finale's ending” which seemed very simplistic, generic.
- Absolutely no plot twist.
- The Mind Flayer suddenly changing to a physical monster form, instead of a shadow sinister figure.
- No Henry Creel’s backstory, and no presence of Patty Newby.
- The mention of a mind-blowing, fantastic ending with a “meta” finale.
- WSQK radio broadcast hosts being named: Mind Flare (almost Mind Flayer) and Vance (anagram for Vecna).
"Mindy Flare will scramble your brain”. She makes a lot of references to temperature (he likes it cold / burn it out of him). Just like, Will says in S2?!?!? It like it cold.
“Vance the man with a plan”. “I am merely the conduit. Sometimes I feel like the thoughts that I’m having aren’t really my own and I’m actually being controlled by some other entity, um, but in this case it’s absolutely true! I am doing your bidding.”
- The annihilation of Mike Wheeler as a character, even though he's one of the central people of the show since S1.
- The documentary revealed that they started recording season 5 without an ending to the script but, in past 2023 interviews, they were seen saying it was all done simultaneously with S4.
- No major character deaths, which makes the claim of “Dark Christmas" very misleading.
- This David Harbour, Hopper’s actor's, speech on S5: “S5 has been announced to be the last season of ST (...) but the beauty of this, is real ending. ST will end, very real way”.
- Everyone at the graduation maintains Henry’s stance, which seems quite forced, or staged.
– One of the duffers mentioned in an interview how “a cozy happy ending could feel off”.
- Derek is seen playing Ghost N Goblins, a game that requires you to beat it twice to see the true ending.
- Also how at the graduation, people seem to ignore the bad reputation Hellfire Club has received for its satanic rituals.
- Jonathan’s video recording doesn't have a time neither a date.
- The Duffers described this season in one word: “traitor”.
- The cameraman at the graduation pointing to the characters with a shirt with “Duffers” written in.
- Eddie Munson at their party on S4 saying “But Vecna lives!” while everybody else thought he was killed, which means it could maybe foreshadow S5.
- Stranger Things reference board inclusion of “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” a horror movie about children being hunted in their dreams. This movie includes a sequence,ten years after, in which Freddy Kruger starts to terrorize the real actors of previous movies. Meta.
- No time travel, even though there are a ton of Back To The Future references here.
- Mr. Clark comeback. The character that can prove time loops exist,the same person who was seen saying: “There’s A World Out There Where None of This Tragic Stuff Ever Happened”, in S1, addressing the topic of an alternate reality.
- Will is smoking in the epilogue, even though he has already stated in previous seasons that he really dislikes Joyce using cigarettes.
- Truman Show presence on the ST media board, which is about living a fake reality. The ending of the series really emulates the ending of the movie, with the characters going outdoors.
- Lucas mentions that he thought there would be demo bats, demogorgons etc in the abyss... And that he's surprised it's empty. Dustin explains it away saying if Henry was dead, it would make sense that there were no monsters- But that's not true because Henry was still alive.
- No church scene on S5.
- The lack of moments in which Vecna creates “real” illusions, like the ones we see in S4. Either he just got bored with that or he is too busy using it to craft a big hallucination on Hawkins.
- A lot of Whatsit game boards behind the characters in the finale, like they are being watched.
- Although been ripped apart by a demogorgon, Karen Wheeler barely survives, there are no scars to be seen in her body.
- The camera awkwardly focuses on Mike's expressions of confusion, at the graduation.
- The fact Max shows disappointment with Mike Wheeler's campaign conclusion, claiming he's not great at storytelling, – which could represent the fanbase's future reception after the “last episode” aired.
– How despite everyone not believing in Will's survival, Joyce was proven to be right all along.
- The absence of licensed music that was teased to appear, both on WSQK transmissions or the S5 vinyl.
- 12 people are seen with glasses on during the graduation, meaning the kids might still be trapped in Vecna's mind.
- The ending of episode 8 matching season 1 events: from El's disappearance/ death in the last episode of each season, to shots that imitate season 1 framing, like recycled memories.
- In Will’s monologue, he tells everybody about drinking milkshakes at Melvand’s, but Melvand’s is a general store, and they only really sold milkshakes in the 50s, in Henry’s childhood, as seen by The First Shadow play.
- The power dial on the squawk radio (WSQK) changes from grey in Volume 1 to red in Volume 2.
- Steve had never played baseball, (was never shown to us) but rather basketball. He only used a basketball bat while fighting demogorgons.
- The fact Mike and Nancy have stated they don't want to be like their parents, even though they indeed look very similar, physically speaking, in the finale.
– Lucas saying: “I don't believe in coincidences”, while looking straight to the camera.
– No payoff to the S4 painting discussion.
– A Wrinkle In Time, the book that Holly Wheeler reads, is about time travel. It is also about how love can save the world.
- The mysterious presence of pinballs everywhere throughout S5.
– Finn Wolfhard saying he felt like the ending was “like living inside a dream”. Maybe cause it wasnt real?
- How widely spread was the Conformity Gate theory, and also how the actors are always very suspicious or neutral about it, not directly validating or disproving meaning.
- Mike suddenly calls Joyce by her name, instead of just “Mrs Byers”.
– The message brought by WSQK when episode 8 arrived:“Hawkins had its first babies of the year and they're twins! The parents were never expecting to buy two of everything!" – they (Netflix) were never expecting they'd have to make two versions of Stranger Things.
- The fact Hopper would like to order a Keianti at Enzo's But then at the finale, he orders Sauvignon Blanc instead, in opposition to what he said in S4, “veal, lasagna and a nice bottle of keianti”.
- No Byler endgame.

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every universe except this one, i guess.
The Play Symbolism (Or Nothing is What It Seems To Be)
“I mean, it’s not who I am. I don’t think it’s who any of us are. So, honestly, just screw it. Screw the school. Screw the system. Screw conformity. Screw everyone and everything … trying to hold you back and tear us apart, because this, this is our year!”.
(Dustin's speech at the graduation).
If we are really viewing a fake reality, illusion, there needs to be clues for us to sustain this conclusion. Good news! We have them, so let's get further on.
“A cruel, oppressive world dictated by made-up rules. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades. Each life a faded, lesser copy of the one before. Wake up, eat, work, sleep, reproduce, and die. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for it all to be over. All while performing in a silly, terrible play, day after day”. “I could not do that. I could not close off my mind and join in the madness. I could not pretend. And I realized I didn't have to. I could make my own rules”.
(Vecna's speech to Eleven at Hawkins Lab).
In S5, there is a subtle mention of a play, and this just resonates heavily with the concept of a simulation, like, being an actor in a predictable life that looks just like a play. Soulless. Unsatisfying. Living a lie is getting influenced by conformity.
We look blind. Having to live a lie due to other people's expectations. You know what also makes you blind in the Dnd rulesbook? Purple.
In a party, if you roll a 7 while casting Prismatic Spray, the effect is as follows:
"On a failed save, the target is Blinded. It must then make a Wisdom savina throw at the start of the next turn. A successful save ends the blindness. If it fails, save has to be transported the creature is transported to another plane of existence of the DM's choosing and is no longer status Blinded". That's exactly what Dustin says in S5.
So in CG theory, we could associate the state of being blind as equal to experiencing blindness, or obliviousness, simply putten. So interesting how the “finale” has PURPLE rain playing in the background when El is sacrificing herself to close the gate.
Mike is living in a play. Watching the others move on with their lives while he is stuck in conformity. Mike is the target of the whole concept of being trapped in the illusion. He chose the wrong door. Shitty door two.
The inconsistencies we see to make CG a theory are also the same things Mike should have noticed to finally escape his own Camazotz. His illusion. Put Vecna lives and he doesnt have a clue. Vecna did exacttly ehat he meant by "reashaping the world". Like a play.
The color PURPLE indicates that something wrong, off. We have just to break the spell. The last song of S4, its called Spellbound" by Siouxsie and the Banshees. Foreshadowing maybe someone is gonna be under a spell. Mike.
About BYLER: Think. Will's acceptance arc proves Byler is endgame. Why would the writers really put enough relevance to him on finding signals and being true to your feelings for nothing but, Mike end not reciprocating the same way. That's not how movies work. They don't build something only to destroy it. That would be just really bad writing. For Mike to stay the same, and never evolve as a character. Stay in conformity. It is really strange how Mike's arc was described in S5.
That proves there are a lot of things we haven't seen anywhere. Yet. After Vol. 1, Mike's character is dead. So, how precisely can he possibly have a self discovery arc? That works for Will, but not for him. He never got over his true repressed feelings.
For Will Mixtape
Hear me out. At some point in the past that I can't recall, the Duffer Brothers curated a list of films to watch before Stranger Things Season 5, while fans were waiting for the fifth season to be released. One of the films they recommended us to watch was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, from 2004. The connection between them is pretty obvious by now, that is, the fantasy towards navigating through memories.
In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Joel and Clementine get back together after independently undergoing procedures to erase each other from their memories. Subconsciously drawn together, they re-meet on a train to Montauk (on Valentine's Day) and decide to pursue a relationship again after discovering their painful history via recorded tapes, choosing to embrace their love despite its risks. But, in the end we got, love didn't defeat fear. Conformity won. Wrong door, Mike.
Look, the outfits of Stranger Things always pointed out important aspects of the plot and its characters's personalities. The fact that they dressed Mike and Will to be like characters from a movie where they are a couple who chose to forget their love for each other, and this movie was mentioned as an important piece of media for season 5, confirms both "Byler" and "Conformity Gate." The fact the Duffers showed us right in our faces that Mike wasn't capable of simply touching Will on the other half of the season after Sorcerer is another big proof of this theory. Why would they put Mike back down from touching him if it wasn't a crucial detail. This was written, thought out, and executed in season 5. Byler was real, is real, and always has been. The only thing that prevents Byler from happening is conformity. So, to fight fear and get what you deserve Mike will have to wake up, with music, just like Joel and Clementine, and fight his true repressed feelings.
Not a coincidence.
From all this, I can only reach one clear conclusion: music will save Mike from his trance, and then they will be together. After Holly, it's time for the other Wheeler to travel between memories to finally escape his own version of Camazotz,and find love, away from society’s conformity. It 's happening. Be still. WSQK told us about things we should have seen, but they are missing in the "finale". Because its fake. Wake up call.
Heroes.
We Are Part Of The Illusion
“(...) when you're in the mind of a serial killer, what's that feel like? (...) Something that looks cozy but there's just something off about it. That can feel very nightmarish". (Ross Duffer Interview promoting S5)
Those were some of the words Ross Duffer used in a specific interview while promoting S5. The context, I can assure, is not important. What you need to know is the idea he's brought up. The idea that something familiar and comforting that in truth can feel deeply wrong.
Let’s just try to understand what was said, in a very analytical way. Have we seen a sequence where everyone seems to be happy, moving with their lives but there's a sense of eeriness and confusion on the air? Like, something is really off. I don't know about you (guys) but that reminds me exactly of the ending of episode 8. Precisely, the “epilogue”.
Episode 8 was so unsatisfying, frustrating, for a lot of reasons. From the collection of plot holes and things left unanswered to how easy it felt to beat Vecna, to the way the story development went downhill and became straight up boring and uninspired. I'm not saying that S5 wasn't disappointing, it was, but, earlier on, it was notable how much more caring was taken to the story for Vol 1 compared to the other parts of the same season. There has to be a clear explanation to why this happened, why the later volumes were bad? But, what if I told you we already have all the answers. Or, that we just need to stop being so goddamn scared of theorizing.
If you pay minimum attention to the show you are aware that Vecna has the ability to invade people's minds and make them see their nightmares. Vecna can also make people see what could happen to them and he uses it to weaken them psychically. That feels very nightmarish to me. Beyond that, let me just remember you, S5 was supposed to be META. Does that mean the illusions from Vecna in the show could have an influence on us, viewers too?
Vecna is someone who controls the narrative inside the story. Not physically, but mentally, using people's fears. His illusions are like rewritten scenes of a movie, edited memories and false visions, alternate scripts.
That aligns exactly with everything we have seen since S4. Illusions. Fake realities. It also resonates deeply with, quote, “being inside the mind of a serial killer”. Like, you’re inside someone else’s constructed version of reality. Just like, Nightmare on Elm Street?! The franchise has a mockumentary in the middle of fiction horror movies. META.
"In 2026, you will be deceived and you will like it. You will see old friends in a new light. You will actually look forward to family drama. And you might even buy a corset."
That pretty much shows how our eyes are not essentially reliable, not essentially the truth. It's a version, a cut, of trues. And true lies.
The documentary, or should I say, mockumentary, is a big clue to conformity gate being more than just a cool fan theory. If you search for more info outside the documentary you can see a picture of a movie called: Waiting For Guffman, which is in fact, a mockumentary! What a coincidence guys! Let me tell you, that is. Thats like, enough evidence for you to believe the doc is fake, and so is the show’s “finale”.
If you have watched it, you will agree that there’s a lot of focus on production and not enough on the writing. This can imply two things: the executives thought people would be more interested in seeing set designers and filming and editing than to see the writing room; or, we are not allowed to see it until it's ready,because we haven't seen the true finale. The second Ghost N Goblin playthrough.
If the documentary is meant to be taken as real, why did they include Paul Dichter mention the need for the Demogorgons, Demobats in the Abyss to just never show them. Or, why did they include Dustin’s observation of how strange it is their absence in the final battle? There's something off in everything. And it comes from everyone. The story, Duffers, the actors, and marketing. They are all paying services to build this fake universe. You're not buying it? Sure. Now sit.
In the same interview we spoke in the beginning, look at the other duffer. Why does his brother, Matt, look like he's containing himself, smiling suspiciously. Hiding his face, trying to act normally. That's not a normal reaction. Feels suspicious, like a dude trying to not explode and reveal something or he's acting that way to show a message. There’s something off about us. Look!
Those are the guys who allegedly wrote all the past seasons. How we went this far to drown for a mediocre ending. Worse than mediocre, it was so bad. And then we get a ton of interviews of them acting like two idiots who don't know how to answer questions about their own show, – which is surreal. And most likely, according to the conformity gate, staged. Sure, something feels so off and they are not even trying to sound coherent. Because it's a lie. And they want people to notice. That they are acting pathetically on purpose.
“It is my pleasure to keep Hawkins awake and powered on with tunes like this”.
We could say, Vecna wanted to merge both worlds: The Upside Down and The Right Side Up, but the Duffers? Reality and fiction. Meta.

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The Wall Connection
In Pink Floyd's The Wall album, the “wall” isn’t only physical — it’s built from trauma, control, isolation, and social pressure. Every brick in the wall represents multiple fears the protagonist, named Pink, has.
Pink, the protagonist of the rock opera, is a young adult who builds a metaphorical wall to isolate himself from society, dealing with life long traumas, the use of drugs and the oppression of abusive authorities.
He suffers a mental breakdown, and, by the end, Pink becomes a dictator-like figure, a radical, staying in blindness fueled through anger, in a very military way.
Mike Wheeler's character annihilation resonates a lot with the feeling of repressing your own feelings. That would explain how distant he has been from everyone the past four episodes. He is building a wall, just like Pink did, trapped in a sad reality.
In Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2: “We don’t need no education…” It critiques systems that enforce uniform thinking. Conformity.
Both Vecna and the government kinda create this oppressive system of heavy control over everyone. Vecna power literally mess with people's notion of reality based on their insecurities. And so does the government. And society.
They help people to build their walls and stay silent, useless, in conformity.
It's interesting how the Wall's protagonist appropriates Nazi aesthetics and draws inspiration from Hitler's authoritarian mannerisms, – knowing that the Nazis were indeed mentioned in S5, with The Wall in the background. Not a coincidence.
Will Byers is the eye of Vecna
Will Byers is deeply connected to Vecna, serving as his "spy" and "vessel" to the hive mind. Due to their connection, Will can sense Vecna’s thoughts and movements, as seen through his neck-touching and psychic links. But he is not Vecna, (nor the MF), but just his eye.
The Spy/Vessel: Vecna (Henry Creel) chose Will as his vessel in season 2 to build his connection to Hawkins. Once attuned to the eye of Vecna a creature changes his worldview to neutral evil disposition. Will doesn't hurt his friends directly, but by providing Vecna's witness their location and behaviour.
In season 5, Will channels Vecna’s powers to fight back and protect others, acting as a "puppet" to control the Upside Down's hive mind. But what if he lost control? Or maybe, was pretending to be good, but at a state of neutral evil?!
Using the artifact to cast any spells incurs a small risk of Vecna himself tearing the wearer's soul apart, devouring it, and taking control of the wearer's body, using it as a puppet." What if Will became his puppet? That would explain the sudden and subtle color changing on Noah Schnapp's eye (he used eye contact lens, btw).
What's really happening in S5?
Will is being used as a tool. Not on the entirety of the season, but, at least, after Sorcerer. Vecna saw what Will was capable of with his new powers, and so, he started to finally take full control of him.
Volume 2 shows us Will does not act like himself. Cause, he just forgets about his love for Mike, and their connection, their shared moments during Vol. 1, just disappears after the dial change. What was this sudden distance? Its part of Vecna's plan. To force conformity by trapping its characters in a fake world. An illusion. Camazotz inside Camazotz. Vecna is inside Will's mind. And Mike is the target. Cause, he's the heart. They were separate for the convinience of his plan. He uses people's fears against them. He's doing that to both of them in S5.
To concentrate this power, he uses the Pain Tree, a massive, organic structure in the Upside Down/Abyss where Vecna traps victims to harvest their fear and pain, acting as his biological engine and a "meat-mech" tether to the Mind Flayer. It appears as a skeletal, web-like, or spider-like formation that often has a beating heart.
Kids are easy to control, he said. According to some, Vecna had an obsession with adquiring and maintaining secrets, believing them to be the source of true power, He was precise and calculating in his actions, but was at times prone to bouts of intense rage, Vecna believed that every being in existence held a single secret that could be manipulated to bring about its destruction. Uncovering that secret and exploiting its truth were the key to gaining dominion over others. Domain them until no longer their consciousness, them, is there, with their feelings and memories locked away. So that only the Mind Flayer remains.
This is seen with Will, Billy, and even the flayed - and in TFS play we can also see this happened with Henry.
In Will's case, the Mind Flayer possessed him and his memories started fading, his own identity was being erased. But a part of his mind was able to be broken out of the possession by his loved ones reminding him of who he was with memories that were tied to their love. He was broken out of that conformity. But that not what the ending we saw shows. Conformity won. Vecna won. Camazotz won. Thats the Vecna's curse. Living in his play, where he controls everything. He is the storyteller after all. Reshaping the world as he please, without you even realizing.
Its a trap!