#the serpent

Redraw of my first Mhin fanart!

A lil blabbing and comparison under the cut

Part ♾️: The End of the Thessalhydra

PART 1 HERE | PART 2 HERE | PART 3 HERE | PART 4 HERE PART 5 HERE | PART 6 HERE | PART 7 HERE | PART 8 HERE PART 9 HERE | PART 10 HERE | PART 11 HERE | PART 12 HERE PART 13 HERE | PART 14 HERE | PART 15 HERE | PART 16 HERE PART 17 HERE | PART 18 HERE | PART 19 HERE | PART 20 HERE PART 21 HERE |PART 22 HERE | PART 23 HERE | PART 24 HERE PART 25 HERE | PART 26 HERE | PART 27 HERE

In light of the BandersnatchGate theory from the incredible minds of @thebestofmyrmidons, @nuffit, @whispering-goat, @arubikhandy0707, @fixthehyper, @vecnapilled, and @power-kinesis, I gotta say that an interactive film to end Stranger Things actually makes a TON of sense. Not just because of the Life is Strange/butterfly effect references the show has been making all along, but also because of the very nature of an RPG wrapping up the show all about Dungeons and Dragons.

And because of that, I am even more firm in my belief that the overall plot of the movie will be Mike's Hunt from the Thessalhydra campaign from the end of Season 1, which is available as an actual DnD campaign and has been the focus of the ST comic Dungeons & Dragons Issue 2.

I started to theorize about what might happen in Part Seventeen, per Bobgate, casting certain characters:

The DM: I previously thought it was Mike, but now I suspect it's Mother Goose aka Tharizdun via Scott Clarke, given she authored one of the riddles in the Cursed Labyrinth.

The Thessalhydra (who may go by "Mr. Baldo" in-show): Mainly the Mind Flayer (using all the characters' fears, including Mr. Baldo), along with Vecna (for a time) and Shadow Sorcerer!Will

The Lost Knight: Bob Newby aka Rob the Relentless, who will be paired up with Mike for a stretch and help him face the truths he's been too ashamed to confront -- his feelings for Will

The Proud Princess: Henry Creel, who will be involved in the time travel shenanigans -- how and why *specifically* I'm not sure, but I think to get Bob back.

The Strange Flower in the Cave: Eleven, who has the power to open gates between dimensions and cast dimension doors within the mind.

The Demogorgon whose "blood" is needed: Will Byers, who we've established as being able to look through demogorgons' eyes and control them.

It's at this point in the campaign that I've changed my mind about certain things and had crazy revelations about other things.

First, I need to cast certain archetypes I came across while doing my Nightmare Mothers posts (here and here). TLDR; I strongly suspect the ST writers were inspired by the works and ideas of playwright George Bernard Shaw.

Shaw wrote Pygmalion (which was inspired by the myth of a woman made of clay coming to life) and Back to Methuselah, which focuses on:

The concept of the Life Force -- the innate drive for man and woman to procreate in the hopes of creating a superior human aka 'Superman.' Shaw believed this concept superseded all logic and personal desires, which is strange given that he himself had no interest in sex, and had to be pressured to marry. However, the Life Force is obviously contradicted by the fact that homosexuality exists (aka no reproducing happening by traditional means). I'll do a deeper dive of this in a separate post eventually, but the idea of the Life Force is that fear of extinction is what drives creation rather than love.

A female triumvirate of Mothers: Lilith, the Serpent, and Eve

EVE. "How did Lilith work this miracle?" THE SERPENT. "She imagined it." EVE. "What is imagined?" THE SERPENT. "She told it to me as a marvellous story of something that never happened to a Lilith that never was. She did not know then that imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will."

Lilith represents the primordial mother -- who came before everyone else, and created Adam and Eve so they could share the burden of creating life (although the majority of it falls on Eve). Lilith, I believe is represented by Mother Goose/Tharizdun (Patty's Mother in TFS).

The Serpent is the alter ego and mouthpiece of Lilith, who represents the threatening 'Dark' Feminine -- the sides of womanhood that make the patriarchy uncomfortable. The Serpent revels in this fact and uses her knowledge from Lilith to mislead Adam and Eve. This is the Mind Flayer aka Patty in TFS (who is desperately trying to find her mom).

Eve is the mortal mother, who bears the burden of responsibility for the life she brings into the world. She mothers Cain, the first murderer. In TFS, I believe Eve is represented by Virginia Creel, while in ST this is Joyce Byers. [To a degree I believe "El the girl" as opposed to "El the concept" is also Eve]

It is this female triumvirate that I think will be crucial to the endgame, and that revelation came when I watched S2 Ep 7: The Lost Sister.

Specifically the scene where El and Kali talk on the roof:

Kali: “I just… feel whole… now. Like a piece of me was missing, but now it’s not [….] I think your mother sent you here for a reason. I think she somehow knew we belong together.”

I believe Twitter User Ode_To_Icarus' Tharizdungate is correct about El being an avatar for Mother Goose.

Just like I think Kali, master dreamspinner and illusionist, is the Serpent, the Patty, and the Mind Flayer avatar of this generation.

Similar to Morgan Le Fay, the sly enchantress of Arthurian legend, Kali/Patty/the MF attack by exploiting people's secrets and lies, using their powers of illusion to call out a greater hypocrisy.

And, like TFS implies, Kali is not the "lost sister", but the lost daughter of Mother Goose (who is incarnate in El).

Which is why Kali is so torn up when El leaves at the end of the episode to return to her policeman, the literal representation of the Father, the Man, and "Law & Order," that can so often be corrupt #ACAB.

I'll definitely make a post analyzing "The Lost Sister" one of these days, because despite being so maligned, this episode is crucial to understanding the motives of the Mind Flayer.

Then there's the Sun God Pelor, who I will assign further down.

But now that the other parts are cast, time to dive into where I think things really start to get crazy.

LET'S JUMP IN:

What is the ritual with the Strange Flower?

"The Proud Princess can point them to the cavern where the flowers grow, but if the characters want to open a gateway, they'll also need the blood of a monstrosity. Luckily, she knows of one that has been stalking around the Upside Down lately: a demogorgon!"

I have seen the Mike is the demogorgon's final form posts, and while I do find there's a lot of veryyyy compelling evidence and won't outright dismiss it, I keep thinking back to the "Human Cannonball" lyrics where the speaker (Mike) is acknowledging that the hurt they've inflicted on the subject (Will) has turned them into a "lowly animal". So I'll stick to my "Will is the Demo" theory, but won't be surprised if I'm wrong and it's Mike.

"The Proud Princess says that they need a few ounces of blood from the creature to open a gateway (filling an empty potion vial will do nicely, but let the characters solve the problem). If the demogorgon is killed, they can get the blood easily. But let them try other ways if they don't want to fight to the death."

Since the DM of this campaign leaves the demo's fate for the players to decide for themselves, we don't yet have our answer [though that might be one of the playable decisions if it's an interactive film!].

However, I suspect Will *will* pay this toll with his memories ala BirthdayGate, and it'll either be his choice to sacrifice himself or Lucas' betraying him in order to save Max from Vecna.

Before I thought Mike would literally show up too late to confess his feelings, but then I noticed a trend -- the Puzzled hints about doppelgängers and the repeated use of the "mistaken identity leading to false love confessions" trope in ST/TFS/stories.

What if Mike does confess his love for Will? Only he has no idea he's confessing to the wrong person?

OR -- What if "Mike" rejects Will, breaking his heart?

What if the Mind Flayer pulls one last trick to distract Mike before he can stop Will from making a huge mistake? Pulling another "Patty", only using Will and Mike's faces to do it?

Recently spotted on Puzzled:

I think Kali will either trick Mike or Will (or both of them) into believing their feelings are unrequited, either by:

A) Convincing Mike that he's confessing to Will to stop him from getting to Will in time.

B) Convincing Will through a Mike doppelgänger that Mike isn't in love with him.

C) Both

Either way --

From the "Ballad of Barbara Allen" from Dark of the Moon:

Mike may catch on to the ruse (exposing Kali in the process), but it'll only be after Will has sacrificed his memories.

And without his memories, what will Will become?

However it comes to pass, Will's sacrifice will lead the Party to the *True* Abyss. Dimension X.

That's where they'll encounter a ghost ship -- the ill-fated USS Eldridge, a host of "troglodytes" to fight off (best believe we'll be getting allll the demo creatures we didn't get in Ep 8), maybe a volcano or two ala LOTR (Puzzled hints keep referencing them), and of course--

"Mr. Baldo" with a new head --

The Shadow Magic Sorcerer, wearing the face of a loved one (if they even remember him).

How will the Party defeat it?

Mike's campaign doesn't go into the details of "how" [probably more "choose your own adventure" scenes], but based on what we've seen in their other DnD campaigns --

It will neither be easy nor bloodless.

Here's a scene from TFS between Bob Newby and "Alan Munson" aka Mr. Clarke, performing Dark of the Moon just before the power goes out and Henry sees Patty one last time -- and sends her falling.

From the West End production of TFS

John (Bob): "Conjur Man, Conjur Man!" Conjur Man (Alan): "We's expected to see you tonight. I'm glad to see you kept your promise." John (Bob): "I want you to give me another chance." Conjur Man (Alan): “Oh, the year’s up tonight. Barbara gotta be dead before the new day. And there’s nothin’ that you can do to stop it!”

Now seeing what Bob's Barbara's end was... How does it bode for Mike's?

Will the writers reference these Frowise scene like I predicted in Part 14?

That angst is gonna be scrumptioussss.

If there were any time for Mike to whip out Dark Winter's Bite*, it would be here. But this weapon won't be one wielded with fear and hate.

This will be an avalanche, a "Hymn" to a "Love Supreme" --

A declaration of love so undeniable, it'd be impossible to misread the "signals".

Powerful enough to hijack the MF's signal --

Like I said in Part Eleven:

In order for Will the Wise to be freed from his doubts that he is worthy of being loved, he needs to know for certain he is already loved. Present tense. No memories required.

And maybe that'll be enough to free Will. Just like the memories of Bob (and Captain Midnight) might just free Henry.

Twitter user @miwiseven (who I guess is also on Tumblr) brought up some beautiful MiWi moments from the comics that I think might be key to unlocking the final hero moment:

*Does that mean we'll see Lucas wield a literal Dark Winter's Bite when he's redeemed and back for the final battle?!

Twitter User Ode_To_Icarus' Will is Pelor theory I think is also right on the money about who will be central to the final battle, but I think there's even more to it than that --

"Fireball him!"

We all know that in Mike's DnD campaign, at the end of S1, Will is the one who lands the killing blow to the Thessalhydra and wins the campaign for the Party.

But in real life, what have we seen fire do to the Hive Mind, to Will?

It's caused him nothing but pain.

Part 21 helped me decrypt this bit of ST code:

Water = Love = Truth || Fire = Fear = Lies

If this show has shown us anything, you can't fight fire with fire. You can't stop lies with more lies.

"If [Will the Wise] is so wise, then why does he need fireballs?"

Excellent point, Joyce.

But what if, like Will, his fireballs are special? Different?

"I couldn't find the red crayon, so that's why it's green."

Another bit of ST coding we know:

Red = the MF/Fear & Hate

Orange (red & yellow) = Conformity

Green = Acceptance/Nonconformity/*Love*

In order to stop the Mind Flayer, Will has to go a different way.

Netflix Puzzled has been making repeated references to green superheroes -- I once connected Will to a sexy Green Knight.

But ST has directly referenced one green hero in particular, side-by-side with Wonder Woman (who we know is our girl El).

In fact, El is presented with the choice:

¿Por que no los dos?

Green Lantern

A hero who "fight[s] evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, and the electromagnetic spectrum of emotional willpower*." Sounds like our Will

*And like the power Lilith gave humanity.

These rings of power are recharged upon reciting the Green Lantern Oath, a declaration against evil (presumably for love):

In brightest day, in darkest night No evil shall escape my sight! Let those who worship evil's might Beware my power ― Green Lantern's light!

The Green Light: the flash just before the dawn. A symbol of hope and longing. A sign to proceed.

It is not fire and fear, but light and *queer* love that will defeat the Thessalhydra.

But Will won't do it alone.

The original Green Lantern, Alan Scott*, a lone vigilante fighting evil in the 1940s and apparently keeping a huge secret: He was gay.**

*Holy shit, Alan Munson = Scott Clarke confirmation!!

**This Substack article, "The Golden Age Green Lantern's Sexuality: An Exploration" explains this long history of Alan Scott's queercoding.

Eventually though, the Green Lantern would become the Green Lanterns. Plural.

Not one hero, but many. In the same way, I believe Will is not the only Pelor.

El, who was given the option by Max, I think deserves a spot, given she's the embodiment of queer love.

But who else?

Who has been associated with Aknaten, the pharaoh whose singular God was Aten, the god known as the "Sun Disk"?

Who has been referred to as "George", a name which means "farmer"?

Who is our Master of Time?

Who, against all odds, was able to create a Wonder Woman?

Who was born of the Virgin(ia)? Whose hand was shot through as a child, giving him a Christ-like stigmata?

Thank you @randomstblog for introducing me to this comic!!!

Like there's more than one Green Lantern, Will and Henry are both Pelor, "rejuvenated with life through love."

Henry & Bob's love. Will & Mike's love.

And El, who was created by this love and is fueled by it -- at the height of her power.

They all come together --

Mike and Bob, who'll have finally confessed their feelings. [FYI, I'm a believer in the True Love's Tear theory -- one drop to start a downpour. Flooding the UD with allll the feelings.]

Blue Water

Will and Henry, becoming the representations of --

Yellow Green Light

Bring them together and they fuel --

🌈 Our Rainbow Brite, El 🌈

Thanks to the power of love (shout out to BTTF), Mr. Baldo will finally be vanquished.

But maybe Mr. Baldo was never that scary. Maybe this clown was scared. Sad.

An alien, stranded in a world full of strange monsters trying to hurt her.

A child isolated from her source of love. "The Girl from Nowhere", desperately searching for her mom.

E.T. trying to phone home.

Because Mike & Will and Bob & Henry aren't the only separated loves in this story.

The Mind Flayer and Mother Goose have been trying to get back to each other all this time.

Likely since the Philadelphia Experiment crash-landed in Dimension X and flashed back to Earth, taking the Mind Flayer with it to another dimension. Straight to a government lab to be studied, exploited, and abused by the scientists, the military. An unnatural structure deemed "normal."

Causing a terrible wound left to fester. Fear rotting into hate. To then grow, spread like a hive mind....

Remember these are Kali's words in "The Lost Sister". Her motive's reveal the Mind Flayer's. She was looking for a home, her family.

Then one day, Henry Creel came along and with him, the chance for the Mind Flayer (as Patty) to find her mom.

Henry -- the son of a solider, a product of the same system that hurt her. What did it matter to her if some alien boy got hurt in the process? If she made her pain his?

But then Bob came along, and Henry's love for him distracted him from his mission -- find Mother Goose. And so, Patty was born to lure him away and make him forget Bob. After that, it was Brenner who cut her off from Henry using Soteria.

By the time Henry rejoined the Hive (thanks to El), she'd given up hope of finding Mother Goose. Instead she wanted to destroy the world that had caused her to lose her love.

The Mind Flayer gave into fear, and turned it into hate.

What is the only thing that can truly stop hate?

Love.

................

Time to look into the source of Will, Henry, and El's power -- the Green Lantern Ring:

An alien orb... Sounds familiar. "BARBELITH", a reference to The Invisibles was graffitied in S2Ep7:

"Barbelith", which can be translated to ALIEN STONE.

The "placenta of the universe" -- almost like a great Mother.

A Lilithian Mother who gives the user of her gifts powers through imagination, fearlessness, and willpower.

Who is our campaign's DM? Mother Goose.

What if the entire time, the Chained Goddess has been pulling the strings?

Using each of our characters as pawns to serve a greater goal? A goal that was misunderstood, even by her own followers.

From the Forgotten Realms Wiki:

"Even when he appeared to his followers, [Tharizdun] only spoke to them in the form of a shrieking babble that was impossible for mortals to comprehend."

We know Arrival (2016) was inspo for the ST writers' room. What's that movie about? Aliens who need a translator to help humanity understand they not only come in peace, but they mean to share a gift.

Who is the avatar who will finally *correctly* tell Mother Goose's story?

Eleven: After all, who knows the pain of a mother and daughter kept apart better than El? And who knows how to open gates at will?

Who else might help El in this process of reuniting mother and child?

Our Eve, the mortal mother who also desperately wanted to find her lost child and succeeded against all odds -- Joyce Byers.

Together, they will give the Mind Flayer and Mother Goose the reunion they've long awaited. The Thessalhydra "dead". The campaign completed.

What about the Party's reward?

"[Tristan] will welcome them as conquering heroes, shower them with treasure, and grant each one a boon* (as long as it is within his power to do so). Additionally, in area 6 of the thessalhydra's lair they will find coins, gems, and artwork worth 1,000 gold pieces, plus one magic item of your (the Dungeon Master's) choice."

Who is the DM? Mother Goose (though maybe Mike gets a say too)

Here is where we get our #OzGate moment (@fishygeekblog & @lilialunaa) -- with Mother Goose giving each of our heroes a boon.

What shall they receive? A brain? Courage? A heart?

Memories restored? The courage to come out? A love victorious?

Will our Mage and Sorcerer get to keep their powers?

Will El be able to save and reunite with her mom? Will they go to a place with three waterfalls (my guess is Hawaii).

Will Bob and Henry be able to "sail away to another world" San Junipero-style?

And what will the magic item be?

I don't know all the potential endings, but I do know at least one of them will be a gay ending where love defeats fear (and Byler is endgame).

AMEN!

Tonight is the Lunar New Year.... Will it be an emotional new year after all? We shall find out.

See you on the other side. Till then --

Stay Tuned.

Second detentionaire drawing posted in 2026 on tumblr lol I actually did this in December but never posted these cause they were meant to be part of a sketch page with characters from another fandom lol

Anyway I’m not done my MLB detentionaire AU, I do plan to finish all the designs this year lol (minus the two that are my sister’s job to draw), I also want to do more detentionaire drawings I just gotta come up with ideas, maybe I’ll do some screenshot redraws :3

I need to rewatch some more detentionaire this show makes me so happy

Anyway prob one of my fav Lee drawings I’ve done