#I am giving the Duffer Brothers this idea for free

[auwuli]

I just wanna talk about something.

Do you know how many musicians and singers and song writters there are in the Stranger Things cast ? Because I do.

And I demand a musical episode.

[beepboop358]

Hey! How are you?I hope your well. And if you'd ask me. I'd say im not okay. Sorry now I'm gonna start talking and this is gonna be really long.

Yeah I just watched vol2 and there's a few things im feeling right now. First, of course sadness and there's this anger for 'Suffer brother". I want to ask you few question cuz i really like your analysis. So..:

I don't understand why they made this to Will. If it wasn't mutual, why did they make Will fall in love with Mike? If someone comes along and says no, he's not in love, I swear I'm going crazy. It was clear that he was in love.

And I can't go without saying. In an interview the other day, the Duffer brothers said that Mike's speech on vol2 was his best performance. Dude are you kidding us? Never in my life have I heard such an unemotional "i love you". It was very terrible. Surely Mike is a great actor and no one has the mouth to refuse to against that fact. But that scene was emotionless and deep down I want to believe they did it on purpose. I want to believe it's not just queerbaiting and they're going to make a meaningful slowburn. what are your ideas?

I don't even know what to do anymore. I waited for this day to be able to continue with my life officially, and that's how it happened. Since the day I found myself being a shipper, I've never had a 'male' gay ship canon in my life and I assure you that I had a lot of gay ships(nearly all of my lesbian/female gay ships became canon, thank God) . I'm tired of sobbing. I don't know, maybe I'm just exaggerating the ship things a bit, but as someone who defines herself as an artist, both my own fictions and the fictions of others make me feel very real and I believe that such things gain importance according to the value people give to them. I say this because even though I hate the Duffer brothers, I will continue to believe in love, and as long as I believe in love, I will believe in Byler. But I want to ask you. Do you think I should believe? Do you think there's still a chance for Byler?Is there any evidence that you can tell me that in season 5 they might be and up together?

I personally love the last scene, all my ships were side by side, Byler,Jancy,Jopper. And beside Byler the others are holding hands. And Eleven was alone. (And I thought this might be a cinematography thing?)I really adore cinematography and the slides you made were amazing. After I read them,I really had believe that there's a whole another plan under all of that.And thought that the Duffer brother have a huge plot setting and it is Byler. But now I think stranger things nothing but a another cliche show. If byler won't happen then this show has nothing. There's nothing special about it. And if Byler became canon. I would probably still don't like a lot of things in the show the brothers have made but I'm going to love the show. Because Byler is really special for me. What are your thoughts about the mistakes the brothers have made or might will make?

I'm gonna wait for your answers. Thank you so much in advance. I appreciate you for your analysis, slides, answers. Stay with health and love! ❤️

hello!

I am not doing great at the moment, I'm sorry you're not either <33 also thank you! and feel free to send me long messages anytime :)

I agree, it's 100% clear Will's in love with Mike, so why write that, if it's going to be unrequited...we don't need more of that. I'm so sick of that trope. It's low-key harmful to just portray gay people as pining over their straight friends, and it's clear that trope is only for the straight people watching, because it hurts the queer people to watch that & this is especially bad because Will is so self-less and so supportive of Mike & El in season 4 and is so reassuring to Mike that he and El will be okay, but if his feelings for Mike are unrequited that's just icky to portray Will like that, because they're just displaying him as a prop/plot device for the straight people, while he's on the sidelines miserable.

I read that interview too, and when the scene happened I was like, "this isn't it right? RIGHT?! Oh wait, oh god, this IS what they were talking about..."

I completely agree with everything you said here, this is beautifully put. Queer love is beautiful, and it does exist, regardless of what the media portrays.

I think there's still a chance we could get byler in season 5, (those ending shots were honestly the most compelling piece of evidence which is sad on its own), but I'm not confident that we will. I thought they had a plan too, I hope they still do. I think the way they handled byler in season 4, making it seem unrequited, if actually isn't, is the biggest mistake they made as far as byler goes. I think they made LOADS of other mistakes in terms of the storylines and the action this season too.

I will continue to hold out hope until the duffer brothers obliterate it (if they do) in season 5. I just updated the slides for season 4, vol. 2, with a few more pieces of evidence!!

Thanks for this message <3 I hope you're doing well! xx <33

[boldlyvoid]

@ the duffer brothers i am free if you need anyone i the writers room here is my application

S5E1: Hawkins has Fallen

Gathered around his hospital bed, the gang is perplexed by the events that just unfolded. Max was in the room next-door, Hopper was back from the dead, or Russia... the world opened up to a literal hellscape and Eddie was almost eaten alive by bats. It was all so insane.

Hop get Eddie off the hook with the cops, the town was a little suspicious to see him back and siding with the freak, but they took his advice. "Get the fuck out of Hawkins while you still can."

most people left, some were still packing up to get going, but a good handful were standing their ground; rebuilding their lives and pretending nothing was going on. even as the dark clouds gathered, leaving only the flash of red lighting every few seconds to light their way around.

this time, no one had a plan. there was nothing they could really do... Hop sat down with the parents of all the children who usually helped him save the world and explained everything. they didn't want to believe it, but they always knew there was more to the story when Will first went missing.

they obviously didn't want their children involved in something like this, something they had no reason to be a part of. this was the government's fuck-up, they should be the ones cleaning up... right? wrong. they didn't care, and even if they did, Will and his little party cared more.

"what are we going to do?" Joyce whispered to Hop in the corner, "we can't just stay here while the world is crumbling upside down?"

"I don't know," he's honest. "there's so much they've hidden from us, from El, where do we even begin?"

"I think I have an idea," Eddie speaks up, still weak from the blood loss and sedation.

"I'll take anything at this point," Hopper gives in and pulls up a seat beside his bed.

"I think the upside down can be explained and understood the best as a domain of dread inside The Shadowfell where Vecna or Henry or whatever the fuck you wanna call him, is the ruling dark lord," he explains using his vast amounts of D&D lore.

Hop sighs, "please tell me this isn't from that stupid game again?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you know more about the upside-down than the rest of us? no. this is the best analogy we have, and given everything Dustin has told me about the last 4 years of fighting this fuck head, a lot of D&D's lore matches with the upside down."

Hop doesn't fight back at all.

"The Shadowfell is a plane of existence where necrotic energies and shadow magic stem, it's often referred to as a Dark Echo. It’s a place full of decay and death. A dimension of black, and gray, where most other colours have been leached away... Like what Vecna showed El when she first sent him there, after he killed all the others. The Shadowfell has become a transitory place for dead mortals, making their way towards judgement on the Fugue Plane. However, most evil creatures will do whatever they can to avoid their final judgement, so they cling to the Shadowfell. Vecna is clinging to the upside down, he's using the other monsters to do his bidding, he's using small portals to shadow hop and feed, and become more powerful..."

"Shadow Hopping?" Nancy questions from the back corner, staring back and forth between steve and Robin, who also were both struggling to follow along.

"Okay so, there are areas of the world where the boundary between the Shadowfell and the Material Plane are weaker. These are known as shadow crossings, where creatures are able to walk from one plane to another, like how you fell through the tree portal with Jonathan while looking for barb... A shadow in the corner of a dusty crypt could be a shadow crossing, or an open grave could be a shadow crossing, anything that the light isn't touching can be a crossing."

"Is that how he was able to take Will in the shed?" Joyce questions, "or how the Demogorgon came out of my wall?"

"it mostly happened at night, right?" she nods, "so yeah, they were shadow hopping. The good news though, is most of these “doorways” can be closed with sunlight, as they’ll seal themselves up rather than letting the light shine into the Shadowfell."

"That's why a darkness has fallen over Hawkins," Will adds.

[tibby]

I’ve been thinking about all the weirdly conservative views in stranger things lately and am wondering if your have any stranger things hot takes? I love all your stranger things and riverdale posts!

it’s been brought up before but it truly is like...baffling that this show is so pro capitalism and one of the main families are proud reaganites and yet neither of those things are criticised. i understand that that was the mood and beliefs of a lot of people in the 1980s, but they were not good things, and presenting them at face value with no criticism is lazy writing at best and something the duffers support at worst (although, honestly, i wouldn’t be surprised.)

for a show set in a small town where a large percentage of the residents aren’t wealthy (the byers family is an obvious one, but we can safely assume dustin and his mother aren’t super well off either, not to mention everyone who lost their jobs in st3) stranger things really does not like to discuss class disparity. 

following on from that: they had so much potential to discuss how corporations and Shiny Malls damage family businesses and the livelihood of small business owners, and they just...did nothing with it? like yeah the mall gets burned down and the mayor gets arrested but like. it’s never properly addressed and if i remember correctly (it’s been awhile since i watches s3, so i could be wrong) hopper even arrests some of the protestors. you know, the people who lost their jobs and businesses thanks to the mayor’s shady deal to make starcourt happen.

generally speaking, the glorification of hopper.

anyone who has followed me for an extended period of time knows i hate murray but WHY would a man that has countless conspiracy theories and who doesn’t trust anyone suddenly turn around and start preaching about how america is the land of the free and so great? murray has always sucked but his speeches to alexei in st3 didn’t even make sense for the character.

see also: erica being made a main character (yay!) but giving speeches about how america is great and capitalism is good.

the treatment of lucas and the sinclair family is a whole other post and one that isn’t really mine to write, but the way he’s treated at the hands of other characters is rarely ever addressed within the show and it’s incredibly disturbing.

the fact that they genuinely seem to think that a wealthy white woman having a shitty boss is like, the peak of misogyny. i’m not denying that what nancy experienced was bad (although, honestly, seperate from the sexist comments, if i ran a newspaper and two teenage interns tried to tell me about insane rats, i wouldn’t believe them either), but like...her storyline was not the feminist masterpiece they made it out to be. giving her a #girlboss moment was the absolute bare minimum they could do and they didn’t even do it right.

discussed this plenty of times before but nancy being a woman does not give her a free pass on classism.

feels like i’m really ragging on nancy here but like...her st3 “journalism” plot was so bad, but it didn’t have to be! i complain a lot about st2 but at least that storyline made sense for her. she was investigating the us government because its corruption led to the death of her best friend. having her and jonathan continue their investigations into the us government due to the damage and trauma they caused to them and people they loved would have made sense, and it’s not like that corruption started and ended with the hawkins lab. instead it was throwing us into the idea that nancy always wanted to be a reporter (???) and decided to get her poor boyfriend fired so she could do an article on weird rats (which didn’t even contribute to the plot at all.) maybe i’m being too harsh and maybe it is another flaw of their Time Jumps, but honestly to me it just reads as them trying to be #feminist and having reporter teens without having to criticise america any further. 

last nancy point but my GOD can this show stop with its weird pro gun message via her. like i understand they have to fight monsters but at this point it’s just them trying to make her seem badass and also she canonically enjoys the act of shooting a gun, which is like, lmao.

the sudden switch to “america is good, blame the scary russians for everything” is something that’s been unpacked multiple times by people much smarter than me, but like, fucking hell.

and look, i get it. i understand that most of this is just reflective of the time period and that plenty of people believed the messages that the show parrots. but here’s the thing: you cannot present these views and not criticise them. you cannot set a show in the 1980s and then refuse to address any kind of social issues and injustices outside of a few offhand comments. i’ll give credit where credit is due and admit that they made a decent effort to at least explore classism in season one, but that hasn’t really been brought up since, and no other issues have ever being decently addressed. and i probably shouldn’t expect much from netflix’s cash cow and the duffer brothers themselves, but the entire show really is....uncomfortably conservative.

[gayforsaturdays]

Is Billy Hargrove Racist??

Yes, yes he is.

That doesn't necessarily negate the possibility of a redemption arc, however.

Before I begin, I'd like to say that I am not promoting racist ideals.  I am always down for intelligent, respectful discussion, key word respectful, so please feel free to make a counterargument - respectfully.

We live in turbulent times.  With Cheeto Voldemort in power it seems to many as though racists have taken over.  This has been a long time coming, though, racist ideas implicit in the founding of America and evolving throughout our history.  Just because racism is not as overt as it was in the fifties doesn't mean it's gone, and that the average white American is immune to its effects.  Racism is the elephant in the room that we Do Not Talk About, showing its face in ideas and stereotypes and implicit biases so ingrained into our culture that we don't even recognize them for what they are.  When we do recognize racism, it is easy to make it the Other.  This is hatred, I do not hate, I am not a part of this.  This is what I see happening in fandom, but this is not where anti-racism needs to go in order to make real impact.

The Duffer Brothers have real potential here.  They are poised on a cliff in front of a vast audience.  Will Billy Hargrove get a redemption arc to parallel our dearest Steve, or will he tip over the edge to become a villain?  If he is redeemed, will his racist comments be swept under the rug?  In a show which has done excellent work creating extraordinarily human characters with foibles and flaws, after all the work they put into Billy this season without seemingly much reason, I don't think that Billy will go without some form of redemption.  His bully arc appears to be over, and considering his father's abuse and his own PTSD, to vilify him now would feel like another depiction of mentally ill people as evil. They would absolutely need to address his racist remarks in this instance, though. 

To give another explanation for Billy's outburst over Lucas is a cop-out, one of the most common when it comes to racism.  Not My Problem.  I don't want to deal with it, so I'm just going to pretend it isn't there.  This is silence, and silence is complicity - if we don't speak up, it will never end. 

To vilify Billy and his racism would actually be damaging as well, though.  I know that sounds bad, but hear me out.  Remember how I said that racism is a set of ideas and biases and stereotypes ingrained into our culture?  Those ideas and biases and stereotypes are bought into, often unknowingly, by average white people all across the country.  Average, white, human persons.  Human beings whose primary defining feature is not "a racist" - not white hoods and burning crosses.  This is where the potential with Billy lies - to show that a person who holds racist ideas is still a human being, and can even let go of those ideas as they learn and grow, as humans do.  The only way we can really dismantle racism is from the inside out, calling out our own ingrained prejudices and changing hearts and minds. 

It wouldn't even be that difficult to do with Billy - as his redemption arc begins, he'll want to distance himself from every vestige of his father.  With Neil tossing the f-word around so nonchalantly, I don't doubt that Billy's father has been the major influencer in his beliefs.  I want to see Max calling Billy out on his misguided distrust of Lucas, in explicit terms.  Leave no doubt as to the fact that Billy has inherited racist ideas from his father.  If Max and Billy have a conversation like this, perhaps Billy can begin to realize that this too is part of his father's legacy.  I want to see him awkwardly trying to reach out to Lucas, having no idea how to talk to him or apologise, committing little microaggressions like white people do all the time.  Have him say something that people say all the time and have Lucas give him the Lucas Look of Wtf, Bro (tm) so people will go oh, that's not a good thing to say.  I want to see Billy and Max go to pick up Lucas and Erica opens the door and totally calls him out, super sassy, because I fuckin love her ok Erica is the shit.  I want to see Billy experiencing white discomfort and realizing that he was wrong - not just about Lucas specifically because that gets into exceptionalist territory, but about people of color.  I want to see Billy feeling bad about everything he's done and believed and actively wanting to change, taking real steps towards making amends and becoming a better person, because that's what he is - just another human person stuck on this rock.  Separate the idea from the human being so that people can see racism as a set of ideas we all need to fight, both internally and externally, instead of a group of people separate from self ("the racists").

Please don't hate on people for being drawn to Billy, for shipping Harringrove.  People who see the humanity and the potential of Billy's character.  Because he does have potential, both as a person and to be an expositional tool for a lot of good social justice work that could reach a lot of people.  Not just anti-racism work either, but definitely anti-sexism and potentially anti-homophobia as well.  I want to see Max and Nancy and Eleven and even, most definitely, Steve calling him out on his overuse of the word bitch and treating women like sex objects.  He also holds potential as a queer character - if you read him as queer as I and many others do, his father's abuse is even more tragic because it features so heavily homophobia and toxic masculinity.  If Billy were canonically queer, it would make a tremendous amount of sense for the amount of anger that he carries (not that being a hormonal teenager with PTSD isn't enough).  Here his father is yelling at him not to be a f*****, beating him, and Billy believing that he's right, that liking guys is wrong, that he deserves these beatings because his father is right about him.  Show us Billy, the non-stereotypical queer guy, learning that his father was wrong and learning to accept himself and let go of his self-hatred.

Having thoroughly bashed Neil, it is necessary to recognize that he, too, is human.  Everything that he believes and does is ugly and twisted, but he is driven by fear and shaped by the culture he lives in.  He sucks, but there are men like him everywhere and every one of us has to work to change our culture so that we stop creating men like him so that they will stop creating and damaging boys like Billy.  We need to hold hope close that we can change people's hearts and minds, but we can only accomplish this without hatred. 

This is what I want to see in the next season.  You have a huge audience and a fantastic platform for wonderfully human characters, Duffer bros.  You can do something really amazing with it.

[beepboop358]

A Prom in S4 Theory & Music Coding Predictions

Some leaked set pics indicate that there MAY BE a junior/senior prom at Hawkins High, which they are calling the "Lover's Ball". It's unclear if this prom will be included on screen, or if it will just be mentioned as an event coming up at Hawkins High because this flyer could just extra set decor. Regardless if the prom happens on screen or not, there will probably be some tension about 'who's asking who' to the prom that we will see in s4. Given that this picture was just leaked a few weeks ago, it probably falls closer to the end of the season sequentially.

Having a big school dance in s4 is suspiciously close to how they had the Snowball scene in s2. This would certainly follow the even/odd season patterns, (and actually add to the list of the patterns), which kind of makes me think we will see this prom on screen, or at the very least it will be mentioned in the course of the season.

The Duffer Brothers love Steven King and reference his work and especially 'IT' a lot in the show, but they haven't done anything with Carrie yet so maybe we will get a Carrie moment this season at the prom...

Carrie was on the video store fridays movie inspiration board for ST4.

At the "Lover's Ball", there will be definitely be some music coding relating to Byler. Since music coding is kind of a key thing in the show, I've been rifling through 80's songs to try and find some that may fit with s4's themes/character storylines (and I may do a seperate post about that later), but for this post I'm just gonna focus on what they might use at the prom for relating to Byler.

Since the season is most likely going to take place in 1986, I only selected songs that had a compatible release year so it would be historically accurate. (these songs would also be great for a byler playlist!)

Some strong contenders for the songs that might play at the prom to reference Mike and Will's relationship could be:

"True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper (1986)

This song is honestly too good of an option for them not to use. I'm reallllyyy crossing my fingers for this one.

It's hard to take courage In a world full of people You can lose sight of it all And the darkness inside you Can make you feel so small

"And I see your true colors Shining through I see your true colors And that's why I love you So don't be afraid (don't be afraid) To let them show your true colors True colors are beautiful (you're beautiful, oh) Like a rainbow Oh oh oh oh oh like a rainbow"

If this world makes you crazy And you've taken all you can bear You call me up Because you know I'll be there

"Heaven" by Bryan Adams (1984)

This first verse is literally just the story of Byler... 😭 The rest of the song applies but that verse verse is just sooooo accurate. (I'm crossing my fingers for this one too)

"Oh thinkin' about all our younger years There was only you and me We were young and wild and free Now nothing can take you away from me We've been down that road before But that's over now You keep me comin' back for more

Baby you're all that I want When you're lyin' here in my arms I'm findin' it hard to believe We're in heaven And love is all that I need And I found it there in your heart Isn't too hard to see We're in heaven

Oh once in your life you find someone Who will turn your world around Bring you up when you're feelin' down Yeah nothin' can change what you mean to me Oh there's lots that I could say But just hold me now 'Cause our love will light the way"

"Take My Breath Away" by Berlin (1986)

This song is on Will's Spotify playlist, and I thought it could also be used at the prom since it's a romantic song. I see it as an 'entrance to the prom' moment song, almost like a 'first look' - like the Mike and El moment at the snowball when she first walks in, but with Mike and Will this time. I think the lyrics clearly hint to this kind of 'first look' moment as well.

"Watchin' every motion in my foolish lover's game On this endless ocean, finally lovers know no shame Turning and returning to some secret place inside Watchin' in slow motion as you turn around and say...take my breath away"

Watchin' every motion in this foolish lover's game Haunted by the notion, somewhere there's a love in flames Turning and returning to some secret place inside Watchin' in slow motion as you turn my way and say...take my breath away"

"In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins (1981)

This song was originally meant to be included in the snowball scene from s2, but it ultimately was not used and "Every Breath You Take" was used for this scene instead. Since it was intended to be a part of the s2 dance, that's why I think it may be used at the prom this season. (you can read the scripts on 8flix)

——— I forgot to include this explanation originally BUT, I think this song might be used to show some anger/resentment between the two, and to show a decent amount of tension, depending on their development this season. Like maybe Mike is kind of leading Will on in private by continuing to initiate intimate scenes between them, but in public Mike is still trying to put on his “straight boy act” and kind of being a jackass about it, and this song could be used to show the tension between them that has caused.

"And I've been waiting for this moment, for all my life, (Oh lord)

Well, I was there and I saw what you did I saw it with my own two eyes So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been It's all been a pack of lies.

Well I remember, I remember don't worry How could I ever forget It's the first time, the last time we ever met But I know the reason why you keep this silence up

No you don't fool me The hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows It's no stranger to you and me"

"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel (1986)

Some of the lyrics in this song just SCREAMS byler, just look at the 1st, 2nd and 4th paragraphs. I would be suprised if they didn't use this song in either s4/s5.

Love, I get so lost sometimes Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart When I want to run away I drive off in my car But whichever way I go I come back to the place you are

All my instincts, they return The grand facade, so soon will burn Without a noise, without my pride I reach out from the inside

In your eyes The light, the heat (in your eyes) I am complete (in your eyes) I see the doorway (in your eyes) To a thousand churches (in your eyes) The resolution (in your eyes) Of all the fruitless searches (in your eyes)

Love, I don't like to see so much pain So much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away I get so tired working so hard for our survival I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

"Heroes" by David Bowie (1975)

David Bowie was bisexual. A cover of his song “Heroes” is used in the show twice already, sung by Peter Gabriel. The song plays when they pull Will's fake body out of the water in season one and Mike cries in his Mom's arms, with some very queer-coded lyrics in the background, and after Hopper's letter in s3 (which is very Byler-centric)

"I will be king. And you, you will be queen 'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact. Yes, we're lovers, and that is that. Though nothing will keep us together. We could steal time just for one day We can be heroes forever and ever. What d'you say? I, I wish I could swim, like dolphins, like dolphins could swim I, I can remember (I remember) Standing by the wall (By the wall) And the guns shot above our heads (Over our heads) And we kissed as though nothing could fall (Nothing could fall) And the shame was on the other side. Oh, we can beat them forever and ever. Then we could be heroes just for one day We're nothing, and nothing will help us Maybe we're lying, then you better not stay But we could be safer just for one day"

I just thought the above songs might be some highly likely possibilities given that they fit the year of the s4 and also make references to not only love, but the idea of hiding, pain, shame, longing, etc., and can make some (partially stretching here) references to other things in the show such as:

RAINBOWS and TRUE COLORS, SHINING THROUGH (rainbows imagery is always associated with Mike & Will in the show and a is symbol of lgbtq+ pride, True Colors shining through = who you really are on the inside finally coming out)

IF THIS WORLD MAKES YOU CRAZY ("crazy together", "only love makes you that crazy" and references the "world" motif in the show)

YOUNGER YEARS, ONLY YOU AND ME, YOUNG, WILD AND FREE (references "not wanting things to change" and wanting "to make things go how they were" part in Hopper's letter, and the "But we're not kids anymore" comment during the Byler fight)

ENDLESS OCEAN and SWIM, LIKE DOLPHINS (references water's significance in the show)

FLAMES (Will in front of the burning car in s4 teaser?)

LIES and LYING (Mike lying to El about how he feels)

INSTINCTS RETURNING, FACADES BURNING, WITHOUT MY PRIDE, I REACH OUT FROM THE INSIDE (Mike's feelings for Will are his instincts, the facade is the act he put on in s3 to seem straight, burning could reference Will & fire, and I think the last 2 lines of that 2nd verse reference vulnerability- perhaps in an apology/confession)

I GET SO LOST (confusion about his sexuality, feeling lost without the other) and SO MUCH WASTED TIME (known each other since kindergarten but were unaware the other felt the same way/was dealing with same things, they could have been even closer)

KINGS and QUEENS (the d&d game mike wrote where he has king Tristan give him a medal in s1)

STEALING TIME (references "turning back the clock, to make things go how they were" part in Hopper's letter and the time theme in s4 and time is central to the s4 plot)

AND WE KISS - AND THE SHAME (references the shame they both feel about being gay since it was so stigmatized in the 80's)

Byler @ Prom Possibilities:

If Mike and Will did dance together at the prom, they will probably get bullied because they live in a small conservative town. They will probably either run out, upset, or Eleven will step in to protect them which could lead to the Carrie moment.

Or Mike and Will will not dance together in the actual dance room, but instead sneak off to somewhere else in the school and have a private Byler dance moment where they can't be teased and it's just them together.

OR Mike and Will are still acting weird at this point in the season because neither of them is communicating what needs to be said out of fear, or one of them has confessed or done something to indicate how they feel, but the other hasn’t so everything is weird between them. There would be lots of tension from this and we would get lots of longing looks and adoring moments between the two of them from the sidelines. (I think this one is the most likely)