I really loved this video from a creator I've enjoyed for years, rantasmo (an escapee from the Channel Awesome zoo):
He talks about the way that Will Byer's story differs from most youth queer narratives in a way I've talked around with Trek but struggled to put my finger on. I think there's a real importance in exploring repression, sadness, and loneliness in addition to the much more popular narrative of secret identities and yearning. The latter stories are easy to end in a happily ever after with nothing more than a dramatic confession of love, but I personally relate to the former a lot more than the latter.
I think this is why I relate to a character like Spock---who's not explicitly said to be queer and was likely never intended to be so---but is troubled and lonely moreso than I do to the Out and Proud kids from LGBTQ teen dramas. A dramatic confession of love is fun, but it's a fantasy. But the hard work of dealing with learning to live with loneliness and otherness, the project of how to build a happy life despite that? That's relatable queer content.
