#copiously

[mslanna]

finally got that mod and I am LIVING

thank you @nikjima you are a blessing 🥰

[rejectory]

.

[deramin2]

I don't know how to really express this except to come across as a "kids these days" scold, but so much of the criticism of queerness in Good Omens would simply not be a thing if kids these days watched more 20th century queer media. Or more complex indie queer media in general.

People seem to want a show that's like the straight stories they grew up with but gay. Or the gay fanfiction they grew up with. But that's not really the tradition it's coming from. First off the novel was released in 1990. Queer film classics of the time are Dead Poet's Society (1989) and Torch Song Trilogy (1988). The TV miniseries Tales of the City (1993) wasn't made until 3 years later and it was so far out there it never had a huge audience. Philadelphia (1993) is also 3 years out and was basically the first big studio queer film. The first fluffy queer Hallmark-style romcom wasn't until Big Eden in 2000, a full 10 years after publication.

Queer stories from the time it was written were about complex and often fraught relationships between people who the world was trying to force apart. There is an incredibly strong tradition in queer films of relationships with no guarantees they will work out both in the face of their personal baggage and the weight of the world. Take a film like Torch Song Trilogy that's about the two great loves of Arnold Beckoff's life over 9 years and how homophobia shapes them. Both externally (especially Allen) and internally like Ed struggling with his bisexuality and being terrified of being publicly out. Written and starred in by Harvey Fierstein, who identified as a gay man at the time and only came out as nonbinary last year.

The Boys In The Band (1968 play, filmed 1970 and 2020) was a monumental moment in Broadway history where finally there was a play about gay men in their own words where no one died and very strongly showed that homosexuality doesn't make people miserable but homophobia sure does. But that homophobia also throws their personal lives into constant turmoil and none of them are in happy relationships, although Hank and Larry are devoted to each other in their own fucked up way.

"Relationships are complicated and hard to make work and sometimes a struggle against the odds" is an aesthetic of classic queer film making. Partly it was influenced by the Hays Code (although independent films were not bound to it), partly influenced by the rampant queerphobia in society at the time that was inescapable. But it's also an aesthetic choice to resist the banal and unrealistic relationship depictions of straight media. There are actual stakes to the relationship. Queer people were actively resisting a world that said "Romance is seeing someone across the room and instantly falling in love with each other and little conflicts happen along the way but ultimately they're destined to be together and everything is happily ever after." Recall that "stalking as romance" was a completely inescapable trope in 1980s straight romance films, and every goddamn movie was being turned into a romance film.

So queer people in film and television when they can make what they please have a long tradition of saying instead "People don't always realize the feelings they've developed for a queer partner right away. They may have reasons for denying those feelings that are both a reflection of the cruelty in society and of their own insecurities. People struggle with where they belong and their relationships reflect that. Loving someone doesn't mean they don't also drive you crazy and you might fight with them constantly. But that doesn't negate the love or that feeling that even if things aren't okay, they're better with that person around. But maybe that person can't stay around. The world may be against you. And also maybe you don't just want that one person in your life. Soulmates is a very flawed model. Sometimes the strongest love is a struggle with yourself and the world and your person. You have to overcome yourself first. Happily ever after is a lie. You may be happy for a while, and hopefully for a long while, but everything ends. And you have to be ready to love again. Also your platonic bonds are just as important and life-altering as your romantic ones. Sometimes those platonic bonds include fucking if you want them to. Real life isn't a bunch of platitudes and world-altering moments, it's daily work to better yourself and the world around you. Especially when things just fucking suck. But also remember to have fun and fuck the haters. People who don't support you can eat rocks and you should yell at them more to shut the fuck up."

That is a fundamentally different outlook on what a "good relationship depiction" looks like. Personally, I thought I hated romance movies and then I started watching queer romance movies and discovered I love them and watch them all the time. Because it turns out what I hated was relationships being shown that had nothing at all to do with reality and privileged incredibly toxic ideals. Finally there was complexity, there were stakes, and there were people who had to truly want to be together enough to fight the world for it and not because they happened to be there. There were people actually talking out their problems and looking for resolutions. (And sometimes that resolutions was "I can't fucking deal with this bullshit anymore and I'm out.") For the first time it felt real.

I'm an aroace trans gay man. Nothing about relationships or being in relationships has come easy to me, and the whole paradigm of straight patriarchal romance depictions makes absolutely no sense to me. It's completely alien. Queer romance stories actually feel human.

And that's the tradition Good Omens is coming from, even as it's being retold in 2019-2023 and hopefully beyond. Gaiman's work has always been based in that queer media paradigm. (I've been remiss and daunted and haven't read Pratchett but from what I do know his work also seems to sit more in that world view.) It's a beautiful cinematic tradition and it's baffling to me that people would resist it instead of embracing it for being honest.

And that's when I turn into a crotchety old man complaining about the youth not connecting with the history of their beautiful culture and instead begging for assimilation into a shithole allocishet media landscape that doesn't actually want them except for their money and has nothing at all interesting or valuable to say. But it's very funny (annoying) to me when people claim Good Omens is someone against queer culture when it's so thoroughly bathed in the best of queer media's storytelling traditions and what people are asking for is straight media with the serial numbers filed off. Like, stop being boring please and know literally anything about the culture the adults in the room lived through and were influenced by. The world didn't begin in 2015.

EDIT: I also want to add that in straight media arcs are linear. Traditionally in queer media arcs are cyclical. Queer media very often depicts people going around in circles relearning the same lesson over and over as they inch towards it sinking in. But every time they go through the cycle they gain just a little bit more enlightenment and slowly move towards a better place. From the comments this is an immensely important distinction. People don't actually have cathartic moments where suddenly all their past bad programming is shed and they saunter forward a new person with none of their old baggage. In reality people fall into the same patterns over and over even though they have had every opportunity to learn better. "People magically get better" is a trope of straight media that's an outright and frankly dangerous lie. Again, Good Omens follows the queer tradition not the straight one and it's depicted 6,000 years of that cycle. The world didn't end, and the wheel keeps turning, as it always has and always will. That's so fundamental to queer storytelling traditions I forgot to even mention it.

[sincericida]

ANDREW GARFIELD

on the portrayal of love in "We Live in Time", and what he hopes audiences will take away from the film. (@BFI)

[transmascxielian]

hey um. good heavens. kissing aromantic style really is as slay as one would imagine. good lord

[colorisbyshe]

nights like these all you can do is pray for the fall of the american empire and then take a sleep aid and knock yourself out

[jojo-schmo]

If we were to have another Kirby fighter’s two esque game where we fight the sworn partners, what leitmotifs would you want to see used in there theme?

YES YES YES I love talking about Kirby music!! Recognizing recurring leitmotifs in each new game's soundtrack is one of my favorite parts of being a longtime Kirby fan. I have so much respect for the music team!!

Personally, I think their battle theme in Kirby Fighters 2 rocks! I wouldn't change anything about it. My favorite part is 1:43 when that bass comes in- it's TASTY!! >:D This track blends together some awesome themes from both characters. Plus it starts with Meta's original battle theme from Kirby Super Star, which is one of my favorite tracks from the whole series because it's so intense and badass sounding.

The only thing I can think of right now that would be cool to hear is incorporation of "My Friend and the Setting Sun" (the credits music from Revenge of Meta Knight). It's even used in the credits for Kirby Fighters 2 so at this point the theme kinda applies to both characters now!

Funnily enough I really like that song's incorporation in the Dedede clone fight in Planet Robobot :P It feels like a Dedede and Meta Knight medley without actually being one.

[tinogiehd]

george’s friendships with larray issa and austin is important to me i’m glad he has other gay friends who don’t think labels are all that important and they know sexuality is that persons. and not random people on the internet who chime in thinking they know better than the person themself

I love when george is at gay daycare I just think he needs the enrichment

[welcometoteyvat]

for the random pairings: jean/venti? i feel like there’s a lot of untapped potential there

hi <3 sorry if this is extremely ooc neither of them take up much of my brainspace. this is also. not very explicitly romantic OTL

———

“Oh? Has my dear Acting Grandmaster come to visit me again?”

Jean’s eyes are closed as she stands under the cool, sprawling shade, letting the gentle breeze wind through her hair, flutter her coattails, and rustle the branches of Vennessa’s great tree. A moment later, she hears a light tap of air and quick footsteps, and when she opens her eyes, there he is, smiling at her.

“…Venti. I hope you’re doing well.”

“Same to you, Captain Jean. The breeze from Cider Lake is sweet today, so anyone should be in high spirits! Although, you look rather troubled.”

Jean shakes her head—it’s really nothing. Simply several small headaches, and a stack of official paperwork: nothing that fresh air hasn’t already helped. The explanation starts to leave her lips, but Ba- but Venti just winks, whispers shhhh, and pulls her by the hand towards the base of the great tree.

“Come, Dandelion Knight. Sit with me, listen to my songs, and lose yourself in my ballads, just for a spell.”

———

a/n: unrelated but i could hear venti's voice in my head all the time when writing this

[chicago-geniza]

In other news I am once again running late for work due to I cannot stop vomiting. All I've eaten over the last 24 hours is silken tofu and Broth but antibiotics + gastroparesis stop for no logic

[asktubbygoatasriel]

Dadsriel is something I never knew I needed.

With that being said, now I NEED a fatter Dadsriel in my life. Hell, maybe we'd even live to see Ralsei join in on the trend? After all, I find it hard to believe he hasn't been snacking on his own baking this whole time... I think a dad bod might be in progress 👀

Well thanks, might keep my beard onward if people like it so much (wouldn't mind hiding my pelican throat with that). As for a fatter Dadsriel uuuh... maybe someday? Ralsei has yet to join in the trend (tho he has already a big pouch like everyone else) pretty sure the dad bod was in progress for waaaaaaaaaay longer than you think... by a few years now... if not decades in my case...

_Asriel

[diminism]

Javier is really so purdy in your style.. I'd love to see more art of him if you have any,,

ooouwh maybe one day when i properly get back into rdr again! sorry for late reply

i do wonder how much (if it has) my styles changed when drawing these characters bc i think hmm it has surely been a while . i do hold it dear to my heart though ive been making peopl play it that i might just draw again lol

[revvethasmythh]

Important life update: I acquired the Rick Roll d20

[idontmindifuforgetme]

I do unfortunately whiten my teeth. I am sorry to all women out there I do not think I can be ur anti teeth whitening mascot

[sincericida]

«"We Live In Time" star ANDREW GARFIELD responds to fan sentiment that he can only appear in rom-coms with sad endings 😭» [@HuffPostUK]

[whentherewerebicycles]

well that sucked lol. I mean I have no new info about the pregnancy as they said they wouldn’t do an ultrasound or the doppler to listen to heartbeat as they were not medically necessary. I also was like ‘I feel like I’m losing my mind with anxiety I think about my baby being dead all the time I can’t focus at work some days because I’m so full of irrational fears that I can’t seem to rein in’ and the response was ‘well motherhood is about letting go of control so you have to do the work. we can’t do it for you. try going for a walk with a friend.’ lol. and then when I tried to be like the walks with friends aren’t really cutting it she was like ‘why are you anxious? you already saw that the pregnancy was in the right place so you know it’s not ectopic’ and I was just like… I don’t KNOW why I’m anxious I think what I’m trying to tell you is my anxiety doesn’t make sense and is consuming me despite evidence things are okay.