{"slug":"open-the-gate-a-little","name":"Open The Gate A Little","url":"/templates/open-the-gate-a-little.jpg","w":367,"h":800,"top":"","bottom":"","description":"Build an Open The Gate A Little meme. A 3-panel medieval comic where guards open the gate, close it, then open it just a little. Speech bubbles on the left for the reasons.","keywords":"open the gate meme, close the gate meme, open gate a little meme, medieval gate meme, 3 panel gate meme, castle gate comic","year":2013,"origin":"A 3-panel medieval comic. Panel 1: a guard spots something through a telescope and shouts to the gatekeepers, who begin cranking the gate open. \"OPEN THE GATE!\" is baked in on the right. Panel 2: alarming new information arrives. \"CLOSE THE GATE!\" The gatekeepers reverse direction. Panel 3: a nuance emerges. \"OPEN THE GATE A LITTLE!\" The gatekeepers cautiously re-open. Speech bubbles on the left in each panel are where the user adds WHY the gate is being opened, closed, and slightly re-opened.","format":"template","textBoxes":[{"label":"Reason to Open","x":7.3,"y":3.5,"w":35.5,"h":5,"placeholder":"Exciting news","fontFamily":"Arial","fontColor":"#000000","strokeWidth":0,"isBold":true,"isAllCaps":false,"textAlign":"center","fontSize":20,"opacity":1},{"label":"Reason to Close","x":14.6,"y":37.1,"w":34.2,"h":5.1,"placeholder":"Bad detail","fontFamily":"Arial","fontColor":"#000000","strokeWidth":0,"isBold":true,"isAllCaps":false,"textAlign":"center","fontSize":20,"opacity":1},{"label":"Reason to Open A Little","x":8.4,"y":68.1,"w":34.2,"h":8,"placeholder":"Redeeming detail","fontFamily":"Arial","fontColor":"#000000","strokeWidth":0,"isBold":true,"isAllCaps":false,"textAlign":"center","fontSize":20,"opacity":1}],"exampleCaptions":["Free pizza in the break room","It's from yesterday","There's also free soda"],"exampleAltText":"Open The Gate A Little meme about free pizza from yesterday but also free soda","exampleRefreshDate":"2026-05-17","howToMake":["Open the Open The Gate A Little medieval comic template","Fill the first speech bubble with the exciting news that opens the gate","Fill the second bubble with the bad detail that closes the gate","Fill the third bubble with the redeeming detail that opens it just a little","The \"OPEN/CLOSE/OPEN A LITTLE\" text on the right is baked in","Download your conditional acceptance"],"seo":{"aliases":["Close The Gate Meme","Gate Meme","Medieval Gate Comic","Open Close Open Meme","Castle Gate Meme","Three Panel Gate"],"description":"Three panels of a medieval comic. Panel 1: a guard with a telescope spots something. Gatekeepers begin cranking. \"OPEN THE GATE!\" Panel 2: the guard recoils. The gatekeepers reverse. \"CLOSE THE GATE!\" Panel 3: the guard reconsiders. The gatekeepers cautiously adjust. \"OPEN THE GATE A LITTLE!\" Speech bubbles on the left side of each panel wait for your reasons.","definition":"A 3-panel medieval comic where guards open the gate, close it after bad news, then cautiously re-open it after a redeeming detail. Used for conditional acceptance, mixed signals, or \"wait actually maybe\" decisions.","useCases":[{"category":"Mixed News","examples":["FREE CONCERT DOWNTOWN / IT'S A BAND I DON'T KNOW / THEY HAVE FOOD TRUCKS","SNOW DAY / HAVE TO WORK FROM HOME / CAN WORK IN PAJAMAS"]},{"category":"Dating","examples":["THEY'RE ATTRACTIVE / THEY HAVE 15 CATS / THE CATS ARE ALL NAMED AFTER LOTR CHARACTERS","THEY TEXTED FIRST / \"WE NEED TO TALK\" / \"ABOUT WHERE TO EAT\""]},{"category":"Shopping","examples":["HUGE SALE / ONLINE ONLY / FREE SHIPPING","NEW PHONE ANNOUNCED / COSTS $1500 / HAS A GREAT TRADE-IN DEAL"]}]}}