#cool tags
#commissioned - all the Stranger Things art I’ve commissioned from cool artists. Make sure to reblog and spread the love~
#my content - this is where all my gifsets and personal drawings go! There’s a lot of cool stuff in there if I do say so myself
#theory - this is where I store all my brainfarts and theories. You can find theories dating all the way back to 2018!
#headcanon - this is where I store my one off headcanons and thoughts. These are more wishes than theories
#fanfiction - you can find some nice WillEl/Hopper-Byers fam fanfiction here. It’s a mix of mine and fics from others!
archive - You can use this link to find super ancient posts or other tags I haven’t mentioned here
notes: I do not ship anything, please do not approach me about ships. The only exception is Jopper and Boyce
How would the S1 demogorgon /Vecna have known that Will is an artist ? Unless it’s about S2 once he’s possessed but then he was only used as a spy…
Hopefully you read my post from a few weeks ago regarding regarding two possibilities I can see happening: https://www.tumblr.com/willel/778935902915411968/im-not-sure-i-understand-your-theory-you-say-it
In the first scenario with Vecna scanning the whole town, he would have seen a brief glimpse into Will’s life like he did his victims in S4. From there, it seems to me he can peek inside anyone to get info from their memories. Will being an artist would of course show up if you glimpse into his soul I’m sure.
In scenario B, Will being an artist would likely be discovered in the same manner (Vecna scanning Will’s soul), but I assume it doesn’t happen until after he’s already kidnapped. Maybe it could’ve happened during the chase or that brief moment Will encountered the Demogorgon on the street. But I personally think it makes more sense for it to happen post-kidnapping in this situation.
That’s where my mind is for now.
willel
Will being an artist I think is a major part in why I think Will was chosen actually.
Henry clearly cares a lot about art and creation. Will's art has been brought up in every season in varying importance.
Season 1, it was used to prove Will and El weren't the same person. That's right, Hopper and Joyce thought El was Will for more than half of the season and Will's art is the only thing that tipped them off that it was two different kids.
Season 2, it was used to introduce the monster to the rest of the cast who still hasn't seen the real Mind Flayer yet, just pictures and the fleshy version of it. Will's art was also used to map the Upside Down infection of the entire town all the way to the very last episode.
Season 3, Though only briefly shown, Will uses charcoal (that messy SHIT) to draw the Mind Flayer and demonstrate how it attaches to people (him in particular). We don't see him painting, but there is paint tubes in Castle Byers pre-destruction as well. Also his Will the Wise drawing is in there and Will focuses on it as he thinks about his fond childhood memories of playing d&d
Season 4, Will's painting is a major plot point for his character, making it very obvious to the audience that he's gay, has feelings for his best friend, but is trying to put his feelings aside for his sister. Oof. doubt this is the last we will see of this painting. Dustin also briefly mentions how they really need Will when he glances over Max's crayon drawings (which aren't even bad btw!)
I'd also like to mention that El is also very creative and artsy! Although her art isn't comparable to Will's at this point, she's the only other character (other than Max) that we see doodling often or creating things. Her art in the lab is one of many reasons why Hopper thought she and Will were the same kid.
Maybe Henry isn't just looking for kids who have powers (else why would he kill all those children in the lab). He's looking for a creative outcast like him who also happens to be powerful to be his partner in crime.
gayofthefae
Raise your hand if you think Joyce and Hopper have the vibes in life that they would get married just to clear up the whole "is he our step dad or not" confusion.
kyra45
“Rayban charity glasses event” is a scam don’t click any link in a post that says that.
Old tumblr users remember this scam back when it first went out.
kyra45
Also no, this isn’t a joke. This phishing scam is 100% running its course again so watch out for your mutuals long abandoned accounts suddenly posting it. Please make everyone aware of it since most users here are newbies who have not seen it before!
You’ve got me thinking: what if Henry had some shine too? Let’s say the play is canon : so Henry was changed after being exposed to dimension X while in Nevada before moving to Hawkins. So, in a way, he wasn’t born with powers. But the play probably isn’t telling the whole story. How did Henry ended up in DX in the first place? If there was a known gate or portal there, it would have been constantly watched and monitored by Brenner and his men and nobody would enter it by accident. But maybe Henry discovered it bc of a "gut feeling" that told him to go there… so his powers are both innate (like the Byers, Terry) and acquired and trained (like El).
Yes, going by that theory, Henry would also have some shine. A lot of it in fact. There’s also the possibility that both of his parents had it too.
In the show, Victor mentioned sensing the “evil” close by. Virginia somehow knew it was Henry behind all the deaths and ratted him out.
If I follow the logic through on my theories, this would mean that Henry always had the shine and either by circumstances or by fate, he had that encounter with the Mind Flayer/Dimension X and was changed forever, resulting in his existing shine actually expressing itself? Eh I dunno
I don’t know how he ended up in Dimension X. I’m guessing it’s something they will explain in season 5 that ties everything together. I haven’t seen the play in person, but how he ended up there seem so random
The Byers having some "shine", I like this theory (not sure about Jonathan tho). But that’d be a pretty ironic if the lab ppl, with their technology, their constant monitoring of everything and everyone in town for years and their obsession with ppl with mental powers wouldn’t have detected it…
Although I don’t think the books are canon, something similar happened in Suspicious Minds. (But to be fair to Suspicious Minds, it has not conflicted with the plot of ST much at all)
There was a character named Ken who decided to volunteer to be experimented on because his “gut” told him he should. He explained his whole family has this ability and they keep it extremely under wraps (it’s been years since I read it, but I think it was like, cult level weird and he left his family for that reason. And because he was gay)
The scientists focus so much on Terry and the others that they miss that Ken has literal powers of prediction/weak future-sight. He slides under everyone’s radar and just goes through the plot like, “My gut says I should join even though I don’t know why. This is totally normal.” “My gut says I should buy this because it’ll come in handy later. Can’t wait to find out when.” He even predicts Terry will have a baby girl with 100% certainty (of course, the audience knows this, but they don’t. If I remember right, he was so sure it would be a girl that he was shocked how sure he was)
Although the books aren’t canon, this character spurred me on to believe there are people in the Stranger Things universe with extremely minor natural abilities that can just get passed off as “gut feelings” or “good luck”. Or “having weird dreams”. Or “so much empathy you can literally feel what other people feel.” etc.
Thing is, powers like that aren’t very flashy. Heck, they’re aren’t even very useful since you can’t control it on a whim or use it against people. In that way, it makes sense that the government/Brenner would prioritize more tangible abilities like telepathy, telekinesis, etc.
While I’m sure the overall stated goal was to investigate supernatural abilities, I think we know the true reason now is Brenner wanted to know about other worlds and the two people linked to it (Henry and El). If he reviewed a kidnapping candidate list and saw the Byers have “strong intuition”, I think he would skip to the next person.
As a note on Jonathan, like those articles said, some people have a lot of shine and some people only have a little. I’d say he only has a little. There are two instances where I think his strong intuition shines through.
In season 1 episode 8, he could immediately tell it was his mom in the Upside Down and not the Demogorgon even though it’d make sense to assume it was the Demogorgon. It’s safe to say anyone could’ve come to that conclusion with the information he had, but there’s just something… special about how the scene is shot. Like Joyce immediately turning around when she heard him whispering and she called back and then it refocuses on his face.
The second instance is in season 2. Jonathan has little reason to believe anything is wrong, but when they’re preparing to leave Murray’s hideout to go back home, he seems visibly shaken that no one is answering the phone at home. He could’ve concluded that Joyce was at work and Will was at school so no one would be home to answer, but nah. He looks very concerned/freaked out, as if he knew something was wrong. And he was right, something went very wrong in his absence.
Since then, the writers have forgotten to write Jonathan so we don’t get to see much of this. Not for the supernatural plot anyway. Jonathan was seemingly the only one in that van who knew what Will was ACTUALLY saying in season 4, but I think we can all say that’s just Jonathan being a good big brother rather than a supernatural intuition.
theenbywholeaptthroughtime
I just got a little mental image of Vecna getting like halfway through ‘absorbing’/killing somebody else after Will, then suddenly stopping and beginning to like.. untwist(?) the person’s various limbs (that he’s just fucked up) and like- putting their eyes back in their skull, going “i didn’t think i could get full from one kid, but here we arE~.Sorry ‘bout that- let me just crack your jaw back into place, and you’ll be good as new.”
willel
"Perfect for breakfast lunch and dinner!"
I’m not sure I understand your theory: you say it wasn’t random but at the same time that it happened randomly (Vecna was actually looking for El, had no prior knowledge of Will, etc). He either chose Will deliberately (vs any random kid) or he didn’t.
It’s no problem. I haven’t discussed most of my theories in years so I’ll explain what I mean. Also please note, I am not speaking in absolutes. I have multiple conflicting theories. Any one of them could be right or wrong, they’re just fan theories after all. (this is a doozy but I tried to keep it short)
So, for the most part, I believe in two theories surrounding Will’s kidnapping.
Scenario A is Vecna scanned the entirety of Hawkins as soon as El ripped open the mother gate and found Will by coincidence and started scheming then.
Scenario B is Vecna/the Demogorgon found Will when they crossed paths on the street that fateful night and Vecna immediately adjusted his plans to include Will.
(I also have Scenario C in which Will was mistaken for El because of some of the reasons below and Vecna didn’t know/realize how useful Will was until Will “changed” the Upside Down to look like Hawkins the moment he entered it. But this relies on the “Will ‘created’ the Upside Down via creation powers by accident” which is a whole nother can of worms)
First, I should explain this relies on a few other theories such as “shiny” people and the idea that the Byers have always had latent abilities, never to be awakened or discovered under normal circumstances.
The Duffers take a lot of inspiration from Stephen King. So much so, I believe they’re directing a new movie/tv show adapting one of this books which got a cameo in ST4.
In many of the Stephen King books, there are people who exist that have a certain shine to them. (hence, “The Shining”). Here’s Screenrant articles about it. They’re short and sweet and get the point across.
>>>1
These people have varying powers and abilities and ST has been referencing them from the beginning. For example, El’s story is very similar to Firestarter in some ways. They even released an official poster referencing it.
As college students, Andy McGee and Vicky Tomlinson participated in an experiment in which they were given a dose of a low-grade hallucinogen called LOT-6. While the other participants suffered terrible side effects, the experiment gave Vicky and Andy telepathic abilities; Vicky can read minds and Andy can control others to do and believe what he wants, though the effort sometimes gives him nosebleeds, limiting this otherwise very strong power. Now married, they have an eight-year-old daughter named Charlene “Charlie” McGee, who has pyrokinetic abilities (the power to control heat and fire) and can also see the near future.
Taking in all of the above, I believe the Byers, namely Joyce’s family, could very well have some “shine” too. Not as much as El or Vecna or Kali or any of them. I believe the Byers just have a supernatural like intuition. I don’t think it’s a mistake that Joyce has been right every single season when she feels something is wrong. She might not know exactly WHAT is wrong and even starts to focus on the wrong things, but deep down, it’s as if she can sense something is not right.
After everything Will went through, which was not natural and normally would not happen the average person (being kidnapped to an alternate dimension, having a tube shoved down his throat and having to be resuscitated. Later getting possessed and then exorcised), I think this intuition has evolved into something more tangible. It’s no longer a just a gut feeling. Will literally feels when something is off in the form of goosebumps down his neck.
As one of the screenrant articles said, some people only have a little “shine” (Joyce. And Terry.) while others end up with a lot (El. And Will, by my theories) I feel having powers it’s a natural occurrence in their world that usually goes unnoticed until crazy shit happens (like the plot of ST). It’s usually something small. As examples of this:
Strong Intuition // Detecting unnatural evil things
Strong Intuition // Future-sight and predictions
Strong Empathy // Telepathy
Strong Empathy // whatever the hell Henry can do by absorbing peoples bad feelings to get stronger
etc etc. Essentially, the concept of normal real life stuff spiraling into something powerful.
Scenario A came about due to the light flickering at Mike’s house the night Will was taken. I don’t think I was the first person to point t his out three years ago, but I see a lot more people have noticed this strangeness these days and incorporate it into their theories.
The fact that signs of someone or something being on the other side appeared at Mike’s house prior to Will going missing lead me to speculate that meeting on the street wasn’t when Will was “chosen”. Maybe in the time between El opening the gate and Will going home, Will had already been hand picked by Vecna and he was just waiting on his opportunity to take Will. If the “shine” is real, then surely Will would stick out while Vecna was scrying the town.
For Scenario B, it’s the same concept as Scenario A and I think it’s the most likely option.
In Scenario B, Vecna didn’t see Will until the Demogorgon saw him on the street, but that’s all he needed. If people with “shine” can detect others with it, then Will would immediately stick out to him.
Yes, the Demogorgon might’ve been out there looking for El, but if another opportunity literally crashes into you, why pass it up? Even if the moment they crossed paths was a random coincidence, nothing following that was an accident or coincidence. In my opinion, Will almost instantly became part of his plans and worth chasing on the street that night.
CONCLUSIONS
With all that explained, is my perspective easier to understand? I truly don’t believe Will or the Byers need prior connections to the lab or Henry/Vecna for this to make sense. Trying to make too many connections between the Byers and the lab prior to November 1983 is good writing because it isn’t necessary and is just a bit overkill.
All of Henry’s scheming could’ve happened the day the gate opened. Any of his plans could’ve changed on a whim at any time for any reason (like for example, finding another kid with potential just sitting there out in the open)
While I think Vecna has a big plan he’s been working on for years and years, I don’t think he’s planned out every single detail or possibility. He’s made mistakes too or had to adjust because something changed.
A big example of this is El closing the original mothergate, causing Vecna/The Mind Flayer to find a new way to open gates. Or heck, I’m sure he didn’t plan for them to figure out how to exorcise Will (maybe he didn’t even know that was possible) so whatever plans he had for Will in season 2 and beyond had to be adjusted as well.
Henry finding Will and deciding to use him the day El opened the gate, whether he found Will at Mike’s house or on the street, makes plenty of sense to me.