can you keep a secret without telling a lie? 💫

Metagate. Joe Keery. The Crux.

The album was released in April 2025, after ST5 wrapped, and famously was written during and features one song (Charlie's Garden) about the experience of filming ST in Atlanta.

I originally started looking at Djo's music because, in the light of corruptiongate (@nightnut), a song called Delete Ya seemed like it could be relevant. And I believe it is- and not only for the obvious Byler/ST verse: 'blue and gold, Friday night/Team up with Charlie, take these kids for a ride'.

But let's consider the album as a whole. The Crux, meaning the heart of the matter (the heart). From the Latin for a cross (X is a lie). The cover is full of Easter eggs for the contents of the songs, for fans to spot.

And did you know that five months later, Djo released The Crux Deluxe, a companion album of 12 new songs released without prior announcement? This album served as an 'alternative perspective' of the album's titular hotel, which features again on the album cover:

Joe Keery had said that it is 'not so much a double album but an expansion of the world'.

Some images from the 2009 Ghostbusters video game written by Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd. (Can't I just play a game without being reminded?)

That rocket. Huh. A brain feeding? Huh. A keyhole? Huh.

The elevator doors have a checkerboard pattern and there are these fascinating schematics. I wonder what the mandala of the game could tell us.

Oh:

Read:

And I couldn't even say where to begin.... Okay, maybe these? You have a bit more than 56 seconds to read. 😉📖

Part 1

Part 2

I don't think that she's trans based on the Wonder woman reference ( an Island with only women ) but i think she could be on the androgynous/non binary spectrum ( the boys even thought she was a boy at first lol )

And i Think El also falls into the androgynous/non binary camp

And talking about lumax... Honestly if lwg/conformitygate turn out to be real i don't think they're going to be endgame

Think with me, they already had their "perfect ending" in the ( possibly ) fake finale... It wouldn't make sense for them to be endgame AGAIN in the real finale ( and caleb referenced to lumax ending as a fairytale, a fantasy... With a VERY sus face ), and the movie that they watcehd in their movie date was "ghost"... Maybe Max really "died" in S4 and the ending that we saw was Lucas perfect ending ( the ending that he wrote ), also that scene of lucas drinking the "new coke" in S3 and enjoying it more than the original could be a reference to his "perfect ending" in S5 where Max is alive and he got his ending the way he wanted ( Caleb Said his favorite Scene from S3 was the coke one lol, very sus for a Very forgettable scene in the Season )

And also notice how Lucas wore the Orange graduation outfit 2 hours before It starts ( with even max calling him out for it ) because he is the most pleasing with his ending, he is the first one to CONFORM

I don't think max is going to truly die since i believe in your theory about her and el merging and becoming one ( maybe It has already started in S4, notice that when el places her hand on max's heart the camera starts to roll around like a spiral, max's heart started beating again because max's heart is el's heart ), maybe max's physical body is going to "die" but she is going to stay alive inside of el, their souls become one

( and im also a henclair endgame truther lol )

The difference between lumax and mileven is that ( for me ) mike is Full on gay, so their romantic love for eachother was always platonic ( and i also wouldn't rule out the possibility of el being a comphet lesbian, why not )

But lumax's love for me was real ( in my opinion both are bisexual ), but i don't see neither Lumax or mileven as endgame ( If lwg/conformitygate is real of course )

And also the lbt and the Wonder woman references could mean that Max and El's ending doesnt involve any men

Yeah, the interpretation of Max (and El) being transcoded can definitely go in either transgender or non-binary territory. I would argue that's it's something that can and should be left for interpretation (maybe implying it a bit more) - problem is that a lot of people aren't aware that non-binary people do even exist and what it means. I'm no expert on the subject but at least I read. A lot of people of my generation and older were raised with a very binary understanding of the world.

Um, I did point out Lumax before and it's endgame for several reasons besides what I said how it would work in such a relationship, there's some evidence like the "island" which connects El, Max and Lucas.

And that it's said that they won't be unhappy. It doesn't say they have a happy ending. Not unhappy. The song also connects all three.

The same as been told from Hopper to El.

Only halfway happy. One doesn't need a lot of imagination to see that a relationship like this wouldn't be simple and in my opinion it would even make sense to have Lucas being dedicated to Max and being in a relationship yet there's a certain distance between them or needs a lot more work than an average relationship.

Besides that it's the unresolved Lumax-pattern that is the most consistent. So, just from a narrative perspective Lumax is an endgame.

And, yeah, the way their ending is done is like a fairy tale. The drawings both show that it's reversed but happening nonetheless.

(Technically we never learned from the show witch movie they watch. That was a leak and it feels to me as if a lot was fabricated as they only leaked a bare minimum, no specifics that were important.)

And that's what would make it so interesting not just from a polyamorous point of view but from a positive representation of a mental disorder. That is very rare.

It needs both.

And... Try to imagine that internal world as an island no one has access to. And they even hint at where it is:

Dreams.

It's in my opinion more a question of which one is truer to one's liking maybe? It's a compromise:

Compromise

1️⃣ ask questions 2️⃣ create a mood board

⏯️ profit!

(a follow up to this)

First things first: the show points out that A=1 as we see the A in Max being highlighted.

Now, Maxine Elizabeth:

Total sum: 154 ; Digit sum: 73 ; both 10 (roman number X) and 10+10=20

154+73=227 ; 2+2+7=11

1+5+4+7+4 =20

Max:13 1 24 ; Total sum 38...11 ; Digit sum 11

El: 5,12 ; Total sum = 17...8 ; Digit sum 8

El+Max=ElMax.

ElMax: 5,12,13,1,24 ; Total Sum 55 ; Digit sum 19 ; both... 10 (X) / 20

55+19=74...11

5+5+1+9=20

Greek mentioned at 11:55 by Steve, Eleven said by Colonel Sullivan at 11:55, 55 degrees. For more and why it's Iceland:

Kali Prasad: 11,1,12,9,16,18,1,19,1,4 Total Sum 92 ; Digit Sum 47.... 9+2/4+7=11

Two pips. 🔵🟡... II

Maxine, female variant of Max or Maximus

Meaning "the greatest"

Elizabeth: "My God is an oath" or "My God is abundance"

Eleven + 11

Eleven: 5,12,5,22,5,14

Total sum: 63 + 11 = 74

Digit sum: 27+11=38

Max: 13 1 24 = Total sum 38 ; Digit sum 11

Aside from the fact that Dustin used geometry... They literally tell us that Stranger Things is heavily into math.

Two green pips.

And X isn't a lie.

Copper: 29 ; Silver 47 = coaxial cables

Bonus: Elizabeth - a variant of this name is: Elisabeta. Who played here again? Ah, yes Winona Ryder in "Dracula". Pure coincidence that they also made a vampire reference in S4.

a couple things may I add (that you probably already know but just in case)

maxine is shockingly close to max in e(l)

The Messenger, The Odyssey and Stranger Things

Left. The Messenger by Luc Besson (Milla Jovovich & Dustin Hoffman) - Right. The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan. (Zendaya & Matt Damon)

Hoffman appears very late and his character isn't explained. He's only visible to Jeanne. He is supposed to be an older version of the young bearded character that Jeanne d'Arc sees earlier. She's assuming it's Jesus. Yet. The way the character then talks implies that he's just her conscience. An inner voice.

Nolan let's Athena appear in an ambiguous way, only visible to Odysseus. Just like "the conscience" to Jeanne. It's likely because of why Athena looks like she does, she's also just the conscience of a man struggling with PTSD and guilt. Just like Jeanne. (Granted the film is filled with monsters etc yet all of the fantastical elements only appear on the journey and Odysseus recollection of it. So, it's left open for interpretation if he just makes it all up - a scene earlier with Telemachus in which we hear thunder, he says that this was luck [in regard to the law of Zeus] and not Zeus himself implying that the story can be read in a less fantastical way. It's up to you)

Westworld, the show created by Christopher Nolan's brother Jonathan, refers to the bicameral mind.

Ah, yes. The voice in our heads, that we create.

Btw that's very ambiguous (who is who) with respect to these two as we have multiple scenes in which El literally repeats Max's words. The characters go back and forth here. Switching.

It's not even subtle.

What's the bicameral mind?

"It suggests that early modern humans experienced thoughts and emotions not as originating within themselves but as commands from external "gods". According to the theory, the human mind once functioned with a division in which one part generated verbal instructions while a second part obeyed, forming a "bicameral mind". "

It's a controversial theory. Nolan and Besson suggest that these are essentially just us having a discussion with ourselves. Or we show ourselves the right way.

If we go a step further (and Stranger Things points to Identity with one casting choice, Fight Club, Black Swan and especially Elfen Lied as the inspiration for "Eleven" which are listed as inpos and all have characters with DID) would be the idea that we would understand these personas as different personalities of our psyche. Even switching between these. Dissociative identity disorder.

Also here, here and here and essentially 98% of the posts in my master posts pinned on my main page.

[ p.1, p.2, p.3 + visual erasure of Will in s2 ]

Jonathan seems to be a character created by the Lab to give Will a brother. Jonathan could be visually based on David Bowie and performing tasks of supporting him and also introducing Will to music, which would keep Will in the simulation.

(although I’m not sure that he as Jonathan acknowledges it, and probably is genuinely living in Nina and loves his ‘brother’)

But Jonathan isn’t just an empty hologram.

(meanwhile, notice how the colour palette of Jonathan’s room, including the Bowie shot, duplicates in Will’s t-shirt)

…Have you ever wondered why we love Robin so much?.. Why she is such a good friend to Will? Why she has basically substituted Jonathan for him? Why is she so good in music and even knows what Will would like, barely being acquainted to him?

(we’ve known for a long while that Holly is Mike, and who knows who’s Max atp, but Ig, this door also has a lock on it)

my og post with 👆 visual analysis + @beaulesbian meta finds

Robin is good at music like Jonathan, Robin likes Nancy like Jonathan, Robin is Will’s support like Jonathan. Robin knows the kids. Bc Rockin fucking Robin IS Jonathan.

So like it’s like a full operation break-out with other people trying to help (because I love the idea of people trying to break them out so much!)

So like, they’re all real, it’s just that for instance Nancy, Steve, Mike (I also theorized that the Wheelers are Creels and Brenners!) are connected to people who work at the lab (Karen, Ted), they want to break out Robin, Jonathan, and Will from the rainbow room. Something like that, so that like, all of the… so it’s like the MK Ultra people, the kids, the parents, the people who work with the lab, etc all fighting to break people out but also getting shit fucked up along the way and they are lost and can’t tell who’s who and what not.

Here is part 1.

I just found this scene from S2 and remembered my post about how Mike fills in for Dustin a bit in S5.

They completely altered the scene where Dr. Brenner gets attacked too😭

I made an edit where I play each version separate and then play them in sync with one another, and then again in slow-mo. The VHS Edition actually prolonged the scene and I had to cut part of it in the beginning to make it sync up properly‼ Just FYI.

Please note The 1st/top clip is always the standard/original version and the 2nd/bottom clip is always the VHS Edition version. I had to put the video in 2:3 Portrait mode to fit the clips properly.

(I tried to lower the volume on the clips since Tumblr loves to jump scare you with loud audio)

but please watch this and tell me what you see. Because I see a difference in both versions. In the original release, the demo moves in to the frame slanted and it's back is completely curved & it also moves more quickly.

S1E8 (timestamp 15:48)

Regular version vs. VHS special edition:

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

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

The audio seems to be the same in both versions.

Another difference.

Regular version vs. VHS special edition:

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

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

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

OKAY Y’ALL!!!!!

My first ~major~ find on the VHS Season

I know everyone is talking about the white lines, but LOOK HOW MUCH OF THE DEMOGORGON you can see in the background in this shot! That’s CRAZY! I’m going to reblog with the original clip just for comparison!

JK it won’t let me repost with it!

Electromagneticgate we are so here! I don’t know what it means at all yet, but it’s so interesting because I wonder how this will work when we get to the actual clip of the Shadow Monster on the VHS-C but we’re watching it on VHS or on VHS-C (because VHS-C was out in 1984). Will it disappear…? Are the true monsters, more visible on VHS?

I mean, they are shown to interact with tapes, and now we are getting the VHS tapes. VHS tapes work by having analog signals (different from like radio signals but still signals) encoded onto them, and then the VCR basically decodes them into a format that is visible on your screen.

Even the damn NOISE from a VHS tape looks like the starry sky backgrounds in the show…

Remind you of anything…?

Lastly, putting the date on a VHS is a manual recording option… Will, you smart boy!

Worth noting, this DATED tape is also the one the lab confiscated… 🤨🧐

Some of the ones Brenner has are dated, some are not.

Removing height would also likely, get rid of these dates! *we need more height!*

This is making me wonder about these end shots again, the black and white.

Lastly, the consumer … VHS (video home system) is a consumer-level analog tape recording 👀

So we have… Lonnie “the Hawk” Hawkins

AND Ronnie “the Hawk” Hawkins

And… we have a Rockin’ Ronnie (Ronnie Hawkins)

and a Rockin’ Robin (Maya Hawke)

What the fuck is going on LOL