#hive mind

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okay so hear me out: I think I know exactly where all the kidnapped kids are… and yes, I said this before, but now it’s even crazier.

so obviously they’re outside the wall that surrounds Hawkins, right? but outside the wall… that’s Dimension X.

for anyone who hasn’t seen The First Shadow (aka the Stranger Things play), this is the dimension where Henry gets banished after his fight with Eleven, and also the place he got sent for 12 hours as a kid, which gave him his powers. DIMENSION X = POWER JUICE.

my theory (and yes I had it before season 5 even dropped): Dimension X exists outside the Upside Down. and the Upside Down? it’s basically a little protective bubble inside the toxic magic soup of Dimension X.

so here’s where it gets wild: Vecna drags the kids outside the cozy protection of the Upside Down, into Dimension X, to… give them powers.

think about it: Vecna already siphoned powers from Eleven in season 3 using a Mind Flayer parasite. the kids now have a “tube down their throat” thingie… essentially a Mind Flayer snack that’s giving them powers.

BUT — and this is key — I don’t think Vecna is the real mastermind. the Shadow Monster, the OG inhabitant of Dimension X, is pulling the strings.

Henry = Patient Zero. First human to come in contact with Dimension X. Now the Shadow Monster is doing the same thing with Will, Holly, and the others. Young, impressionable kids = easy hive-mind fodder.

Vecna says the kids are “vessels,” but I think he means they’re vessels for powers, not mind control. And here’s the cool part: I think each kid is in a different location outside Hawkins, spaced like a clock (12 of them… 12-hour clock vibes ⏰), which kind of matches Will’s creepy Mind Flayer drawing. Symbolism, people. SYMBOLISM.

All their powers funnel back into the center — probably the main power source in the Upside Down — which could explain the insane power surge in the trailers (Hawkins Lab, anyone?).

AND HERE’S WHERE THIS CONNECTS TO MY LAST THEORY: Will isn’t just another vessel. He’s the CENTER. The middle of this whole Mind Flayer creation, the VIP spot on the clock. Vecna clearly wants something from him — the prototype, the kid with powers already — so the Shadow Monster / Vecna setup is basically building a supercharged “Will core” at the center.

so imagine: twelve kids, spaced around the outskirts, powers being siphoned, and Will chilling in the middle like the cursed cherry on top 🍒💀.

basically: the Shadow Monster + Vecna = evil interior designers, and Will = centerpiece of their hellish sculpture.

and yes. I might be crazy. but also… I might be right. 😬

The third hater to join this duo.

It is time our anger issue grieving mother cursing in wrong Indian language accents woman, Laxmi to join them and save the world.

A grieving heartbroken widowed lesbian, an angry man with an agenda to save the world even if it costs a few million human lives and an angry lost in denial mother who is experiencing her own custom-made version of a cult classic Demon Possessing a Child horror indie movie, need to work together.

Right now, the only way of any genuine human connection for Laxmi is to call Carol and yell at her whenever the hive suffers through seizures. The inability to protect her child must be so frustrating, and all she can do is call Carol. She does it because she knows Carol can bear her grunt and anger, but her changeling child cannot!