#material plane

I found an image from the forgotten realms and I think it links into ST season 5

If the stranger things 'multiverse' is anything like this then I believe the Material Plane to be Hawkins right side up, Shadowfell = Upside Down, and Dimension X could be the abyss as Dustin refers to it (Pretend this text is yellow, I'm lazy. Also Dimension X will later be associated with purple for diagram purposes).

Or the Duffers have another twist up their sleeve... The Material Plane is still Hawkins right side up(HRSU) and the Shadowfell is still the Upside down. Now instead of Dimension X being the abyss, I think it could actually be the one of the elemental chaos realms.

In the forgotten realms there's a plane of storms located within the elemental chaos called Thraotor. Here's a quick look at Dimension X

Looks like a plane of storms to me... I think this was also hinted at by the storms in the upside down as well. Like a sign the two were bleeding into one.

Now, I know Dustin explicitly calls Dimension X the Abyss but this show is full of twists. The show also hints at Dustin, despite being one of the smartest characters, being wrong about stuff (Rubik's isn't an accurate measurement of intelligence). So, what now?

Well, In the show the Material Plane and Shadowfell have already been connected through portals. If I'm correct about Dimension X being Thraotor, then we know that the Shadowfell and Thraotor are also connected.

Diagram:

I've also been noticing the spider imagery with the mind flayer and when Dustin mentioned the Abyss... Immediate alarm bells to Lolth the Spider Queen and Vecna's title of Master of the Spider Throne. Then I began to wonder why the Mind Flayer would even be hanging out in Dimension X and I don't think it originates from there.

Now, I know the D&D isn't a 1 to 1 of the plot of ST but these patterns keep jumping out at me. Maybe I'm a little delulu , but with all of the spider imagery present in ST, I believe the Mind Flayer to be heavily inspired by Lolth the Spider Queen. Lolth also happens to reside in the Abyss. Specifically the 66th layer of the abyss but I'm not too sure it matters. Also before people come at me, IM VERY AWARE THE MIND FLAYER IS ALSO BASED OFF OF ACTUAL DND MIND FLAYERS. Also just want to mention the portals between worlds somewhat look like spider webs in the middle... just very orange and gooey.

Anyways, so what if the Mind flayer had escaped the Abyssal plane (ugh, it's dark blue in the diagram... blue is blue god dammit), and fled to Thraotor (Dimension X) where it took over, found Henry and turned him into Vecna. When the Mind Flayer read Henry's mind I'm sure it was quite happy to find out there are other planes to dominate, if it didn't already know. That would solve the mystery of the origins of the Mind Flayer while having another twist in the plot.

Diagram:

If you haven't read my other theories, I highly recommend it as I break down some previous D&D lore relevant to this post. I'll link them below.

A breakdown of Vecna's DND lore, Luz the Old/Will the Wise, some Lolth connections, and how Will is actually already being puppeted by Vecna:

Sources:

"We live in a golden age for learning about the universe. Our most powerful telescopes have revealed that the cosmos is surprisingly simple on the largest visible scales. Likewise, our most powerful "microscope," the Large Hadron Collider, has found no deviations from known physics on the tiniest scales.

These findings were not what most theorists expected. Today, the dominant theoretical approach combines string theory, a powerful mathematical framework with no successful physical predictions as yet, and "cosmic inflation"—the idea that, at a very early stage, the universe ballooned wildly in size. In combination, string theory and inflation predict the cosmos to be incredibly complex on tiny scales and completely chaotic on very large scales.

The nature of the expected complexity could take a bewildering variety of forms. On this basis, and despite the absence of observational evidence, many theorists promote the idea of a "multiverse": an uncontrolled and unpredictable cosmos consisting of many universes, each with totally different physical properties and laws.

So far, the observations indicate exactly the opposite. What should we make of the discrepancy? One possibility is that the apparent simplicity of the universe is merely an accident of the limited range of scales we can probe today, and that when observations and experiments reach small enough or large enough scales, the asserted complexity will be revealed.

The other possibility is that the universe really is very simple and predictable on both the largest and smallest scales. I believe this possibility should be taken far more seriously. For, if it is true, we may be closer than we imagined to understanding the universe's most basic puzzles. And some of the answers may already be staring us in the face."

(done by removing sprites/dialogue boxes on mGBA!)

Gozreh, The Wind and the Waves. Pathfinder's True Neutral dualistic deity of nature, weather, and the sea.

born when the first breeze caressed the ocean, Gozreh is timeless. ever changing, tempestuous, and unpredictable, yet also prone to periods of consistency, stillness and routine. their female form is associated with the sea, while their male half represents the winds and clouds.

Another land, another location, this the second one from Arabian Nights. Now we move to a huge Vintage land, City of Brass, probably equally as important (and equally as expensive) as the Bazaar of Baghdad. This one has a much different story origin though, being originally built and designed by elemental djinn, only to be lost and taken by humans centuries later. Tons of inspiration here for quests, adventures, and even whole campaigns if you ask me. I’ll elaborate on those some other time though.