NeuroDivergentCosmos

Happy Flapper, The Flaming Drag Autist of Rockford.

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Neil Gaiman Offers To Step Back From ‘Good Omens’ Season 3

Neil Gaiman has offered to step back on 'Good Omens' Season 3 for the final series of the Amazon Prime Video fantasy drama starring Michael

Neil Gaiman is understood to have offered to step back from the third and final season of Amazon Prime Video‘s fantasy drama Good Omens.

Deadline revealed on Monday that pre-production had paused on the BBC Studios-produced show in the wake of allegations made by four women against Gaiman, which he denies. This came after Disney’s planned feature adaptation of Gaiman’s 2008 YA title The Graveyard Book was also put on pause.

Now, we understand that Gaiman has made an offer to Amazon and producers to take a back seat on the latest season so that it can continue amid crisis talks over the Terry Pratchett adaptation’s future.

Amazon is understood to be considering Gaiman’s offer and no final decisions have been made. Good Omens S3 is currently in the early stages of pre-production. Gaiman has previously said the show, which is made in Scotland, will shoot from January 2025. Amazon declined comment.

[munsons-maiden]

Also because I've already seen some comments about how this means Gaiman "isn't inherently a bad person but cares" - NO.

Most of us aren't inherently good or bad, yes, but there are things that can't be forgotten or forgiven or countered by doing something good and what Gaiman has done is one of these things that automatically make him an inherently bad person no matter if he actually cares about Terry's legacy and the story (which I HIGHLY doubt) or whether he's stepping back because he's trying to get ahead of Amazon firing him (which I believe is what's happening because had he cared about the story or Terry's legacy, he'd have offered to step down before Amazon paused production.)

Stop taking this as a sign to go all "uwu we all make mistakes" because what Gaiman has done and the harm he caused, the lives he destroyed, weren't accidents but very conscious decisions of a predator who then tried to twist the narrative, tried to paint one of the victims as The Crazy Bitch and used autism - which is already stigmatized and villainized - to defend himself.

Do not fall for his manipulations. The online persona he's built is part of how he managed to lure in his victims.

Let's hope Amazon takes the offer, that Gaiman will be erased from the story for good and that we'll get a third season without him but NEVER use this offer to make excuses for that monster.

[neurodivergentcosmos]

Hello community—updated mutual aid post to reflect changes in support asks & my name change! I don’t have enough money for my monthly living expenses. I’ve been unemployed since late Nov & drag has been my only source of income b/c disability now impacts the jobs I’m able to work. I dislike asking for help for myself during multiple genocides going on & while so many BIPOC in my local communities struggle in the same way; please prioritize mutual aid from Palestine, Congo, Sudan, etc. and local BIPOC. I’m making this post & asking you to share b/c it’s become necessary for me to do so in order to survive while I get financial supports for my disabilities set up, which will take some time. I need support in:

1) Paying my halves of rent/utilities monthly!

2)Getting paid gig & contract work in addition to drag to sustain myself! Paid gig & contract work I’d love to do include: pet sitting, graphic design, social media page management, proofreading, data entry, & house tasks.

3)Booking me in shows!

For followers who knew me before 2021: do not contact my bio family, including parents, under any circumstances. I’ve been no contact w/ them for 2 years b/c it’s essential to my safety.

Alt Text: At top of graphic is the title “Mutual Aid: Disabled Trans Drag King Neuro Cosmos/Ezra Star.” In left-center of the flyer is a box with a description of Neuro/Ezra’s situation: “Drag has been my only source of income since Nov 2023 due to unemployment & disability. I need community care in paying for my monthly living costs as I get my supports together. I need support with:

1)Pay rent & utilities

2)Get paid gig & contract work to sustain myself

3)Perform in more shows”

At the very bottom right below that is a circle with the text of Neuro/Ezra’s payment info & monthly goal: “Venmo: NeuroCosmos Cashapp: $NeuroCosmos Goal: $930.” On the right side is a photo of Ezra, a white trans man holding in his arms a black & white goat at an outdoor Pride vendors market.

[earnestdesire]

1) Wanda and Pietro Maximoff in the MCU were whitewashed. They’ve been Romani in the comics for the last 42 years. If you don’t understand the nuances of Romani culture vs. Romani ethnicity vs. Romani genetics, you can read my original post on it right here. Or, if you don’t trust me as a source, the Roma Culture Centre discusses it right here.

2) MCU Wanda and Pietro willingly work with HYDRA (the ACTUAL NAZIS), and allow HYDRA to run experiments on them both. The most famous Romani superheroes in comic book history join the ACTUAL NAZIS in the MCU.

(ETA: Yes, they joined HYDRA willingly. They volunteered. That’s according to Marvel’s own website, found right here. “Years later, they both volunteered to undergo genetic experimentation overseen by HYDRA’s Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, using Loki’s scepter, to potentially give them powers.”)

Why would they do this? Wanda’s brief tenure in HYDRA in the comics (Secret Empire run) only happened because she was possessed by the Elder God Chthon; she never joined them willingly. If you’re unfamiliar with the Romani Holocaust, you can read about it right here.

3) The MCU draws most of its inspiration from The Ultimates. Writer Jeph Loeb made Wanda and Pietro’s relationship incestuous in The Ultimates, and the MCU decided, for some bizarre reason, to make this part of the films. Elizabeth Olsen admitted in interviews that they intentionally hinted at incest between the twins in Avengers: Age of Ultron. If you’re unfamiliar with incest as a Romani stereotype, that’s awfully lucky for you, but you can read about it right here.

4) Elizabeth Olsen is also an unrepentant racist. On The Graham Norton Show, all the way back in 2015, she used the word “Gypsy” to describe Wanda and was corrected by the host. The actress has never apologized. (Mark Ruffalo was also on the show, and apologized on Twitter for repeating the slur after Olsen said it.) Olsen didn’t apologize because she wasn’t sorry; it wasn’t the first or last time she’d done it. Elizabeth Olsen keeps using slurs and stereotypes in interviews, as recently as last month. If you don’t know the history of the word “Gypsy” in English, you can read about that right here.

If you went into the MCU with no prior knowledge of the comics, or with limited knowledge of the Romani people, I understand that. I even wrote a post about it that you can read right here.

Fortune-teller costumes are only the tip of the iceberg.

Educate yourself.

[queerasfact]

Zachary Quinto on the New Global Reach of ‘Boys in the Band’ and His Decision to Come Out as Gay

Apparently Zachary Quinto hadn’t seen the original Boys in the Band before performing in the revival. Wild! Listen to our episode on the history of Boys in the Band to hear our views on his performance, including Eli’s theory that his character Harold is a fey emissary.

[queerasfact]

Jim Parsons finds the modern relevance to his 'Boys in the Band' role

"Here we have a picture of a group of gay men who had to depend on each other for emotional and physical safety.”

Jim Parsons speaks about starring in The Boys in the Band, subject of our latest podcast!

[neurodivergentcosmos]

If you haven’t listened to Queer as Fact’s episode on The Boys in the Band yet, you must!

[queerasfact]

LISTEN HERE

It’s back to back episodes featuring recent Netflix films as we discuss Mart Crowley’s 1968 play, twice adapted into film, The Boys in the Band.

Join us for a discussion of “turning on” and other 60s language, mining the death of your parents for dialogue and the controversial place the play has held in gay culture throughout the 52 years of its existence.

Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook.

[neurodivergentcosmos]

I LOVED this episode so much! I was in hysterical laughter, Harold-style, numerous times over your commentary. I’ve watched The Boys in the Band (2020 version) 10 times, so I’m very passionate about it & I’m so happy that the queer history podcast I’ve listened to for about 4 years took the time to thoroughly analyze the historical context & the characters’ relationships. Thank you Jason, Eli, & Alice for your research & conversation.

Also I have read the entirety of The Men From The Boys sequel, for any fellow listeners who have questions now~

I deeply appreciate the way you talk about Donald’s arc, thank you. When the movie came out, there were a number of reviews that used ableist rhetoric about people w/ mental illness as the basis of their criticism of Donald which really broke my heart. So hearing you all truly recognize the kind of journey Donald is on & analyze Donald w/ the same respect you analyzed everyone else was refreshing. I agree w/ a number of your critiques & share Eli’s opinion of Ryan Murphy. I’d say for myself personally though, Harold was the character I connected with the most because of how he is written. 

I joyfully screamed when Eli made the connection to The Symposium! The other reviewer (& most importantly gay playwright) who made that connection before is Tony Kushner in the intro he wrote for the script book that has both the original script & the 2018 revival script. 

I hope that this episode helps more queer people engage w/ The Boys in the Band as a part of queer literature history written pre-Stonewall that demonstrates what gay & bi men went through before the significant changes we have now and how anti-Black racism & femmephobia within queer spaces and societal homophobia continue to exist today.

@theressomethingscrewy @conniecaserole @too-spoopy-to-be-frukd

[queerasfact]

Ma Rainey

Bit late in sharing it here but a couple of days ago we released our first episode of 2021, on the Mother of the Blues, Ma Rainey. We’ll be talking about the blues and Black identity in the Great Migration, the new Netflix film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and a possible lesbian orgy.

Listen here

Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact.

If you enjoy this episode, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook.

[Image: black-and-white photo of Ma Rainey, an African-American woman, smiling, wearing a headband, pearls, beaded earrings, and a beaded dress; source]

[neurodivergentcosmos]

I finally got the scripts of The Boys in the Band (both the original 1968 script & the 2018 script) and The Men From The Boys on the final night of Hanukkah! Yes, I can immerse myself even more! I want to give a huge thank you to @theressomethingscrewy for telling me where to find them!

Image Description: In my hand I’m holding up 2 script books, a red one on the left & a blue one on the right. The red script book’s title is “The Boys in the Band by Mart Crowley With an Introduction by Tony Kushner.” The blue script book’s title is “The Men From The Boys by Mart Crowley.”

[neurodivergentcosmos]

Also 😭⚡🎶

(I don't know anyone in the fandom and it's fun seeing what other people think about tbitb)

😭: The most emotionally devastating moment for me is Bernard’s phone call. Watching that unfold was just horrifying & what Michael did to him along with the others’ silence was very, very racist and very, very fucked up.

⚡️: I think Donald’s “Yeah. But it’s all right—they’re gay” response to Emory’s “You live with your parents?” is a hilarious & underrated line. So it’s a tie between that & Harold’s “Who is she? Who was she? Who does she hope to be?”

🎶: “This Guy’s In Love With You” that plays when the characters are slow dancing on the balcony.

[neurodivergentcosmos]

💜❤😂🔥 ( For the TBITB Ask)

I've recently watched the 2020 movie and loved it!

💜: My favorite character is Harold! He’s such a complex and fascinating character. Tony Kushner said in the intro he wrote for the script book that he thinks Harold comes from the future and I think that’s a big part of why I love Harold. I admire his unapologetic self-awareness and how he directly calls out hypocrisy when it happens.

❤️: My favorite relationship is Harold and Cowboy! I think that they come to share a solidarity with each other that’s unique to them and that the other characters don’t really understand. I personally have an idea about a possible reason why they connect w/ each other that I might write up in a post if people would like to read it.

😂: Most hilarious moment for me is a three way tie between: Larry reading out Emory’s card for Harold, Harold’s story about where he was keeping the weed & his voice when he imitates his mother’s “Where’s the salad?”, & when almost everyone starts laughing at Alan’s “But you’re married!” to Hank.

🔥: OOOOH favorite scene is hard to choose. I’m going to have to say either Harold’s “What I am, Michael” monologue because of the amazing swing from otherworldly unapologetic intensity to “And how are you this evening?” or Harold’s final monologue directed at Michael because it hits hard & is just incredibly written.

Thank you for your asks!

[neurodivergentcosmos]

Fun The Boys in the Band Asks

I’m a big fan of The Boys in the Band and want to talk to more people who love it! So I thought I’d post a set of asks for people to send me & invite other fans to join in!

👏= How did you first learn about The Boys in the Band?

😊= What versions of The Boys in the Band have you read &/or seen? Do you have a favorite?

💜= Who is your favorite character?

❤️= Which relationship (can be romantic or platonic) is your favorite?

🌺= Which character’s journey did you connect with the most?

🌈= Share a headcanon you have.

🔥= What’s your favorite scene?

⚡️= What’s your favorite line?

😂= Most hilarious moment?

😭= Most emotionally devastating moment?

🎶= What song on the soundtrack do you love?

🧐= What’s something in The Boys in the Band (theme, line, scene, etc.) that you feel isn’t talked about enough?

🌸= What plays, movies, or books would you recommend to people who love The Boys in the Band?

🌟= How does The Boys in the Band resonate with you today?

[neurodivergentcosmos]

Donald (The Boys in the Band) & Representation of Mental Illness

I’m going to start posting commentary/analysis about The Boys in the Band on here! Although it’s been a month since I’ve watched the 2020 movie & read the one act version of the script, it’s resonated w/ me so much that I still have so many thoughts about it. I think Donald is early representation of a queer character w/ mental illness, and we need to reflect on the importance of Donald in our current context. When I was reading Tony Kushner’s introduction for The Boys in the Band script book, I really loved what he had to say about the meaning of Donald speaking about his parents w/ his analyst (I added Michael’s part for full context)--            Michael: Christ, how sick analysts must get of hearing how Mommy and Daddy made their darlin’ into a fairy.            Donald: It’s beyond just that now. Today I finally began to see how some of the other pieces of the puzzle relate to them.- Like why I never finished anything I started in my life...my neurotic compulsion to not succeed. “It’s easy to assume...that these self-hating gay men must be in analysis to be cured, to become heterosexual. But that’s not the case, or for Donald, it’s not the case any longer. Donald, at least, is finally beginning to see beyond.”-Tony Kushner’s Introduction

Donald is seeing his analyst about issues that aren’t inherently about his sexuality, which definitely breaks from the standard portrayal in media at the time of queer men w/ mental health issues. So Donald processing other issues that many people of all genders & sexualities experience, such as family trauma and struggles w/ finding success, is quite groundbreaking. Many people hadn’t gotten to see queer characters w/ mental illness represented that way onstage before. Significantly, presenting Donald as a gay man who is examining his life beyond only internalized homophobia makes him an effective contrast to Michael, who is still trapped in the wish “to become heterosexual.” Donald responds to Michael’s “...if we could just learn how to not hate ourselves quite so very much” with “Yes, I know. I know” because he has been where Michael is. At the same time, he is moving forward in a more healthy way that addresses his trauma and lets him accept his sexuality. I consider that a hopeful future.

Soon after I watched The Boys in the Band, I saw 2 reviews (from NPR & Hollywood Reporter) disparage the writing & portrayal of Donald in ways that are rooted in harmful assumptions about people w/ mental illness, & it really hurt me to see this. NPR said that “his early expressions of nervousness ring false, as if he's performatively voicing self-deprecation in an effort to endear himself to others” & Hollywood Reporter called him “too handsome, too perfectly sculpted, too innately calm and collected to be the supposed quivering mess... That panic is undermined by the fact he seems pretty much fine thereafter, and certainly is among the more well-adjusted figures populating the play.” As a person w/ mental illness, I’m not surprised to see this but I’m angry. Both reviews perpetuate the false assumptions of 1) a person w/ good looks can’t possibly experience mental illness & thus they’re “attention seeking” & 2) a person’s mental illness must be constantly visible to other people in order for their experience to be real. This is coming from established publications that many people read to inform their views about culture & this is how they choose to interpret characters w/ mental illness? Stating that someone’s experience of mental illness is less real b/c they look too good or appear too calm & well-adjusted to be believed leads to many people w/ mental illness feeling that our life experiences aren’t valid & not seeking mental health support b/c invalidation happens so much. When neurotypicals create a strict image of how a person w/ mental illness must appear, many of us are unable to get support b/c we don’t fit their image. Mental illness fluctuates in visibility--sometimes it’s visible & sometimes it’s invisible to people who aren’t us. Donald appears “calm” & “well-adjusted” to many viewers b/c his mental illness isn’t always visible when next to other characters; that doesn’t make him less valid than any other character w/ mental illness.

Has society changed in how it views queer people w/ mental illness between 1968 & 2020? On one hand, yes b/c of how society views queer identity in less pathologized ways (although pathologization is still around in more subtle ways). However, I think many societal attitudes queer people w/ mental illness have not changed & those reviews’ reactions to Donald are an example of that. It’s just cis straight people who perpetuate harmful assumptions about mental illness; it comes from within queer spaces too, which leads to more queer people w/ mental illness feeling alienated from queer communities. So we need Donald right now. Donald challenges assumptions about how mental illness presents & that makes many people, whether they be cis straight or queer, uncomfortable. And that challenge is necessary so that more of us can receive the support & validation we deserve.

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

It's World Opera Day—ask me anything opera-related!

[neurodivergentcosmos]

Please ask!

[neurodivergentcosmos]

😂 😭😊 Opera asks. (Thanks for doing these, btw!)

Of course! This is fun! Most Hilarious Opera I’ve Seen: In terms of what the singers were doing in the production (not necessarily the plot; there are issues w/in it that are important to acknowledge when watching & it’s also okay to not watch it for those reasons), Le Comte Ory makes me cry w/ laughter. The Met production of Agrippina also does this to me. In terms of the plot, La Fille du regiment & Barbiere & Cenerentola are the most hilarious to me. Most Tragic Opera I’ve Seen: Don Carlo 100%. I loved a specific character very much & their death pretty much broke me in the “I’m so devastated I’m unable to cry” way. Also just all the hopes & dreams for revolution entirely crushed really, really hurts. Intro for Newbies: I answered this in more detail in the ask right before you! In short, La Fille du regiment for people very new & need a happy start and Bluebeard’s Castle for people new to it but want an opera that’s dramatically & musically challenging.

[neurodivergentcosmos]

Great opera asks! For those - 💗🤔🧐☺️

Thank you! Favorite French Opera: La fille du regiment~ Favorite & Least Favorite Tropes: My favorite opera trope is mistaken identity/disguises, especially in bel canto opera. The disguises of Ramiro & Dandini in La Cenerentola are my favorite rep of this trope! My least favorite opera trope is mad scenes. I HATE mad scenes w/ a burning passion. I find mad scenes, as written in opera, to revolve around treating a “mad” character & madness itself as a spectacle for the other characters & the audience to gawk at. The length of mad scenes & the emphasis on the vocal acrobatics make that feeling even stronger for me. I don’t think productions of operas w/ mad scenes are approaching mad scenes as a concept w/ a critical eye of what they mean in a modern context where mad identity (I’m using mad in the sense of how many disabled activists w/ mental illness have reclaimed it as part of fighting against oppression) is a social category when they need to do so. In order for an opera w/ a mad scene to be done in a way that isn’t a spectacle, the production must critique how we as an audience treat people labeled mad and the mad scene itself.  Opera I’m Picky About Interpretation-Wise: Don Giovanni 100%. Only Glyndebourne version starring Finley & Pisaroni has satisfied me personally b/c I feel it accurately portrays how harmful Don Giovanni is to women & his sinister qualities and how the women he harms respond to that harm. So I find that productions who lean more towards the Don G as “serial seducer” interpretation minimize his violence. Everything rests for me on how La ci darem la mano and Donna Anna telling Don Ottavio what happened to her before she sings Or sai chi l’onore are interpreted. Glyndebourne portrayed Zerlina as being very uncomfortable throughout La ci darem la mano which I really like as an interpretation way more so than what other productions tend to do. As for Donna Anna, I think the opera is clear about what Don Giovanni did to her & the opera itself centers her perspective of that night over his. Productions who minimize Donna Anna’s experience as a survivor, FUCK NO. IN THE BIN.  Opera I’d Introduce to a Newbie: Oooooooh, I’d pick La fille du regiment usually b/c the opera couple is very easy to invest in as a relationship, it’s hilarious, & I think having the mix of singing and spoken dialogue helps. I think it has all the comedy & romantic swoon-worthy moments needed for an intro. However, if the newbie specifically wants more of a philosophical opera that’s unique musically & dramatically, I’d pick Bluebeard’s Castle.

[neurodivergentcosmos]

Fun Opera Asks

I thought I’d create my own set of opera asks for people to send me & invite friends to join in!

🌺= What’s your favorite production of an opera?

💜= What’s your favorite Italian opera?

💗= Favorite French opera?

💛= Favorite German opera?

🎶= Favorite opera written in the 20th century through 21st century? (You can pick either century)

🎵= What opera have you NOT watched yet but have always wanted to see?

😔= What opera have you watched or tried to watch but just struggled to get into it?

😐= Are there any opera(s) that you’re just not comfortable ever watching?

🤔= What are your FAVORITE and LEAST favorite opera tropes?

🧐= What opera are you very picky about the interpretation of onstage?

👏= What opera do you love that you feel Opera Tumblr has been sleeping on & needs to see immediately?

🙌= What opera do you feel needs to be performed more often?

😂= What’s the most hilarious opera you’ve seen?

😭= What’s the most tragic opera you’ve seen?

👻= What’s the most spooky opera you’ve seen?

😍= Who are your favorite opera couples? (Characters not real life opera singer couples)

🌈= Who are your favorite trouser roles?

😊= When youre introducing a newbie to opera, what opera(s) do you usually pick as the introduction?

Tagging @sweatershowgirl @notyouraveragejulie @vera-dauriac @simone-boccanegra to join in & tag other opera lovers here if they’d like!~

[neurodivergentcosmos]

Favorite Opera Duets

@vera-dauriac and @notyouraveragejulie asked me to name my favorite opera duets so here we go!

The absolute best opera duet in my opinion, the one duet that lives rent free in my mind, is the Fly Duet from Orphee aux enfers by Offenbach. Everyone on opera tumblr has been sleeping on this duet & my mission is to change that forever. The opera is Roman mythology satire. Jupiter & Eurydice have a love duet. Jupiter is disguised as a fly the whole time. Video stars Natalie Dessay and Laurent Naouri having the time of their lives. You’ll thank me later:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY2L3ute5iY

Now for everyone else: 1: Can I include the entirety of Bluebeard’s Castle since the whole opera is two characters singing together? Even though the opera doesn’t follow traditional structures in any way? I’m deciding yes b/c you all need to watch & listen to Bluebeard’s Castle. 2: Parigi o cara from La Traviata 3: Depuis l’instant ou, dans mes bras from La fille du regiment 4: Don Pasquale & Malatesta’s patter duet from Don Pasquale 5: Ah! quel respect, Madame from Le Comte Ory 6: Son nata lagrimar from Giulio Cesare 7: Dio, che nell’alma infondere from Don Carlos 8: Can’t find the name but the love duet Ottone & Poppea have in Act 3 right after Poppea gets Nero in trouble w/ Claudio from Agrippina 9: Final Scene of Werther 10: Zitto zitto piano piano from La Cenerentola