#lockgate

I write this in response to criticism I've received for commenting that the padlock necklace likely worn by Will Byers can be both a commitment symbol (possibly related to Mike!) and also an expression of his sexual/romantic preferences, sharing what I'd just learned the lock symbol has in the gay and BDSM communities.

Given how closeted and repressed we know Will's character to be, and given other rumors/leaks, this is likely a glance at Will after a time skip after the main events of s5, or "Epilogue Will" (lol). He's likely an adult here, and his colorful style SCREAMS that he is out of the closet! (Maybe it's less true now, but wearing this in 1989 screamed I AM GAY! It was quite common to get gay-bashed for what you wore.) Plus the lock necklace has some flair and is undeniably stylish lol.

My reaction to seeing this was "This is AMAZING!" As a gay man who's been invested in Byler and Will's character arc, I see cause for CELEBRATION. This older Will is READY TO FACE BULLIES, if he's openly wearing an outfit expressing his gay identity and sexuality. This is an out and proud gay man!

So I put up my post, and the reaction on Tumblr was ALL POSITIVE. (Then I made more Byler posts, as is my wont lol.)

Then suddenly in the past few hours, my post has gotten comments all saying the same ugly things. The timing was suspicious and I soon found where all the hate was being organized (Hint: it's not Tumblr.)

First of all, I have learned increasingly this past week or so on TikTok that saying "weird" is code for homophobia. ("Byler would be weird" etc.) Doesn't matter if the word comes from a Byler either. It's been quite consistent. It's what someone says when they want to express something but also know they'd come off as prudish or bigoted if they said what they really think.

Will is a FICTIONAL CHARACTER, and this is a decision by the SHOWRUNNERS and COSTUME DESIGNERS. It's open season to talk about its meaning for a character who has throughout the show been closeted and self-effacing. And the lock having various commonly-understood symbolic meanings is a FACT. The creators have talked about putting thought into every detail in the show, from triangles on shirts to... well, locks on necklaces. (Personally, I didn't know about its association with BDSM culture until I googled "gay lock necklace" myself, and bam I found it!)

The necklace is probably WILLINGLY WORN BY WILL IN THE SHOW. And by wearing it, he would face judgment from BULLIES for the various things it signifies, judgment that those of us who claim to be open-minded and/or not homophobic shouldn't partake in.

Commenting on how a FICTIONAL gay character dare express HIS sexuality and CHEERING for him to do so, like really? Gay liberation has ALWAYS been about rebelling and breaking taboos, and this is possibly Will not giving a fuck and celebrating his sexuality. (What that "sexuality" is exactly here is ambiguous - that's the beauty and fun of interpretation!) It would be AMAZING if WILL of all people is loving himself and feels he has the right to be happy!

Why are we suddenly prudes? When Milev*ns talk about Mike and El having sex in s5 while they're still minors they're not met with stigma and insinuations. Why only NOW the pearl clutching and accusations of "sexualizing"? Didn't this show have a somewhat-explicit scene of two minors having sex (Nancy and Steve)? Didn't it show two twelve-year-olds kissing (Mike and El)? But talking about an adult gay man who MIGHT ACTUALLY LIKE SEX (shock! gasp!)!?!? It's a homophobic double standard and it doesn't matter where it comes from, and it's wrong. This is precisely why many LGBT people stay in the closet. And it's also why many make a point to express their sexuality: because society tells us to be ashamed for something wonderful and normal.

Meanwhile, there's nothing inherently wrong with BDSM! There are people of all sexualities, gay, straight, etc. who consensually engage in it. I personally have zero interest in it, but I'm not going to clutch my pearls and kink-shame people. (If you're like what the hell is this, then read up on it! See links at the end about BDSM and its relation to queer history.)

Now on to what my post was OBVIOUSLY about.

This glimpse of Epilogue Will is EXCITING because we might actually see the full promise of what the Duffers said would be Will's arc this season:

As many who've seen my Byler video have probably guessed, it's meaningful to me as an older Byler who grew up in the 80s to see a suffering, closeted, and bullied gay boy in the 80s OVERCOME IT ALL. This glimpse of Epilogue Will is a clue that the Duffers have motherfucking done it: they put at the center of the world's biggest TV show a FIVE-SEASON ARC OF GAY TRIUMPH...

... JUST as how it would be groundbreaking for this show to feature likely TWO closeted gay boys finding the courage to love each other against all odds. Will not only gets the love of his life, but gets to be OUT AND FREE.

I was celebrating that we might see Will's coming-out arc and sexual liberation.

And it's frankly homophobic and dehumanizing to think it was anything else.

I can stand toxic Milev*ns attacking me; they'll come up with any excuse to try to tear down anyone who points out the signs that their ship started sinking long ago.

But to see some in the Byler fandom join the chorus trying to stigmatize and drive out older fans for being passionate and wanting to celebrate Will's gay liberation is SHAMEFUL. And honestly, given that Byler itself is a story of heroism against bigotry, I don't think people who persist in such views should be welcomed in the Byler fandom.

We shouldn't cave to the homophobes. Be Epilogue Will. Wear that lock necklace proudly, dammit. Let people think what they think, because it won't stop us being who we are.

-teambyler

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EDIT: I suspect many younger folks who are swept up by or confused by the hysteria don't know much about BDSM and its relation to queer history. Here are some resources:

"It’s Time to Recenter Kink and BDSM as Part of Radical Queer History" (Slate.com, 11/7/2018)

"Leather subculture" (Wikipedia)

Also for the record, if this is truly Epilogue Will, I personally don't think he's a BDSM kind of guy lol. (Though a comment was made that he might explore it as a way to deal with trauma and reclaim his power, which is a valid take!) But I DO think with the lock necklace he's making a statement! Definitely telegraphing being gay, probably saying he's in a relationship, and possibly saying more!

EDIT 2: Want to share a great comment from @woah-someone-actually:

"It's so disheartening to see people turning something that can be such a beautiful thing and turning it into something weird. People need to understand that sexual topics are not always discussed for pleasure??? And its kind of weird for them to assume so?? Sex is a part of life. Its a depiction of love, and a vulnerable one at that. Its a natural puzzle piece in every persons life, and it affects everyone somehow. Fully celebrating Will Byers as a character ultimately involves looking at his sexuality. And that is undeniable."

ROWILL

El looks sad, mlvn break up?

pics from here

CORE 4

BYLER GIRLDADS

epilogue Byler are boyfriends <33 and Will's shirt has blue sleeves and Mike totally bought Will that necklace, Mike gave Holly the necklace with the cleric figure so what if Mike bought Will that necklace with the lock? To show that he's taken, lock necklaces represent commitment in a relationship, Will has this necklace during the bar scene with Mike

.........can we allow a gay man to talk about queerness in the 90's and how that could apply to a FICTIONAL character who is presumably an ADULT.

i'm so sick of this bullshit.

oh yeah it's fine when nancy and steve have on screen soft core sex as teens, but talking about will possibly queer flagging makes someone a horrible person. get a fucking grip. or just say you're homophobic.

this kind of rhetoric is what keeps people in the closet. it's what is killing queer people. to frame queerness as something wrong, dirty, perverted.

it KILLS people.

the show makes allusions to puberty and sexuality all the time, and we are arguing and canceling people for pointing out a necklace? are we serious? there are bigger problems to worry about.

like possibly the growing homophobia in this fandom.

You are allowed to be uncomfortable when talking about intimacy of fictional characters. You’re allowed to scroll right by it. You’re allowed to write in your diary about how you feel about it. You are NOT allowed to claim that someone is sexualizing a character when they are having thought provoking discussion about character themes, symbolisms, dynamics, arcs, and personalities when it comes to an intimate setting.

We in the Byler fandom have a huge problem with puritan culture around Mike and Will. Mainly the way we don’t seem to operate like a fandom! I truly believe that most of this problem stems from the underlying sense of wanting to seem “normal”. We hear things like Mileven’s speculating about sex scenes and we think they’re insane; so surely we should hold ourselves to the same standard right? This might be controversial, but the only reason I think the idea of a Mileven intimacy scene is weird is because Mike and El don’t love each other. Not because they’re 16, not because I don’t like the ship, its because I don’t like where that would take their characters.

Mike and Will are simply more compatible and actually have a decent chance of having a healthy loving relationship if they would get over themselves and kiss. So the way we are hiding behind this fear of them calling us hypocrites isn’t a balanced mindset at all.

The difference in how Mileven’s and Byler’s talk about the way intimacy would work between ships is that Mileven’s often sexualize the characters, while Byler’s are more likely to have analytical character discussions. We’re more likely to treat these characters with respect instead of just writing smut.

I know for a fact that many of us in this fandom have read/watched Heartstopper. Heartstopper is a beautiful story, and I’m sure many of you would agree if you read it. This is a slight spoiler for that HS but one of the bigger plot points of the story is Nick and Charlie discussing being intimate with each other. It shows them overcoming their insecurities and nervous jitters around the subject. The nuances of how they’re both feeling and experiencing throughout even just having those conversations. Its a beautiful and raw portrayal of how teenagers might actually experience their journey of intimacy. But,,, Will and Mike are different?

Are they different because they’re younger than nick and charlie? Well, by the they would be hypothetically getting together is when they’re both 16. Nick and Charlie get together at 16 and 15 respectively. Is it different because we’ve seen these characters as children? Thats more likely. But this is quite literally a coming of age story. We’ve watched them grow into adults. How is this different from other stories with that kind of plot development?

I’m not trying to tell you that you’re not allowed to be uncomfortable. You can have those feelings and thats ok. It is simply not fair to other people, who care to discuss those aspects of a persons character, when you start yelling at them for being a pedophile instead of scrolling past when you see something you don’t like. You may even politely ask them to put a warning on their post. Because, again, its ok if you don’t want to interact with that kind of material.

But we all want the same thing here. We want for Mike and Will to fall in love and have their happy ending together. We want for them to get an apartment in Cali where they’re making comic books together. We are here to hold each other up in times of byler doubt and celebrate the small victories of Mike and Will as characters learning to love each other. (And believe it or not, later in their relationship, being intimate with each other would be a huge victory for them.)

Onto my next point, Ronald (the byler lawyer) Is CORRECT about what he said involving Lockgate. If you don’t know me, I’m the person who wrote the original Lockgate post, and while i didn’t mention it, I found MANY results about Sub culture in my research about what Lock necklaces represent. It is undeniable if you take the time to google search it. So do we think that its such a stretch that this is intentional? The costume designers of stranger things are so meticulous with their choices. Do we really think none of them thought to google what a lock on a necklace might mean?

And if it is intentional, why does it matter? Because Will is sexually repressed!! Showing him learning what he likes is huge for his character!! Also, the fact that he is able to wear it openly around his neck like that shows that he is comfortable with himself!! For him to display such a symbol of affection like that would be beautiful.

For a fandom built on discussing character dynamics and sexuality, we sure hate on those who are brave enough to discuss those more intimate topics. What is so different about us talking about Mike’s obvious attraction to Will’s appearance, and discussing the fact that Will is simply… gay? He’s an adult gay man? Who fan practice whatever he pleases in his adult gay epilogue life?

1. if u are or know anyone whose fics are written about do not interact or if u are keep it to urself. (we don't need to know and u don't need to go spreading it)

2. DON'T LIKE DON'T READ OR INTERACT (ffs basic knowledge losers)

3. lock ur fics - if u wanna know why tyler seguins lockgate incident is tagged below ik bc I wrote a post about it

4. Keep ur ships to fandom spaces aka tumblr & ao3 possibly live journal & quotev. if i see ANYTHING on tiktok or twitter I will come for you. mainstream don't need to be seeing this or interacting with it in anyway xx *

5. rpf stands for real person FICTION this is NEVER about the actual ppl. think of it as fleshed out characters for plots or that every fic ever written is a new xmen timeline

you never want to directly involve the ppl you speak or write about. they are humans and whilst I'm sure many would be flattered about what has been written about them, others are probably weirded tf out. be kind. Don't pressure. Live laugh love.

Also reminder that fanfic as a whole is not obliged to you. You should always spread love and respect your writers.

Let's all take a deep breath and say this together.

Will is a FICTIONAL character.

Will is a FICTIONAL character.

Will is a FICTIONAL character.

Great, let's move on now...

FUN FACT! Did you know AGE is a thing!? Characters GROW. Yes, it's true! Will Byers doesn't have to be frozen in time as a child forever! I'm as shocked as you are :O

Don't worry, though!

If this possibility is difficult for you to digest and you'd like to headcanon him as a schoolboy forever, that's perfectly dandy as well! Because that's the great thing about fiction... it's up to the audience!

What's NOT great is yucking somebody else's yum.

ALSO. Where was this outrage when the Duff Bros, THE LITERAL WRITERS OF STRANGER THINGS, wrote an entire storyline in the FIRST EPISODE about Nancy and Steve having sex?

Yes, the HIGH SCHOOLERS, Nancy and Steve.

If consensual underage sex is so unpalatable to you, why did you continue to watch and support this show? It clearly goes against your values, right?

(This doesn't even take into account that @teambyler was talking about Will in the epilogue, when he's well past the age of 18)

Here's my message to all the naysayers:

For starters, please touch some grass. And here's an idea! Let's work together and direct our energies towards canceling actual pedophiles! Lord knows there are enough of them lurking around.

FUCK OFF HE IS GETTING THE BOY

Don’t tell me we are gonna watch him be practically SA’d but he can’t reclaim his own sexuality yeah