In another edition of cetaceans breaching, I present to you my beloved Hector's/Māui's Dolphin, (Cephalorhyncus hectori). Every photo of these little guys jumping out of the water is equally adorable and chaotic and I love them for that.
eight-episode seasons becoming the norm, shows being cancelled after their first or second season altogether, corporations not spending a single dollar to promote their renewed shows, corporations deciding to renew based on how many people binge it over and over and over again... this is the slow, choking death of media literacy.
if you’re one of the people celebrating our flag means death’s cancellation for whatever reason right now, i need you to realize that this is just a sign that whatever you love is next.
and i’m not saying that out of spite. having your favourite show cancelled is awful, i wouldn’t wish it on anyone. but if our little-gay-pirate-show-that-could can’t get its third and final season, the future of queer media is extremely grim.
ofmd was the definition of a sleeper hit. hbo max had no faith in it when the first season came out. it gained popularity purely through word-of-mouth. but it became one of max’s biggest shows, and it’s since been marketed as their flagship series.
it was the #1 most in-demand series in the world for 8 weeks (7 of those weeks consecutively). it’s currently in the 99.7th percentile of the comedy genre, meaning it’s in higher demand than 99.7% of all comedy series in the u.s. it has a 94% audience and critics score on rotten tomatoes. it’s the most in-demand hbo original series even above euphoria, succession, and the last of us.
it was nominated for 16 awards for the first season alone, including a GLAAD award and a peabody award. the second season was just nominated for an art directors guild award, which it was previously nominated for and won in the same category for season one.
besides awards, ofmd is critically-acclaimed and praised for its representation (including a cast of majority queer, bipoc, and disabled characters) and themes of anti-colonialism, challenging gender norms/toxic masculinity, and self-discovery/acceptance. it also has a diverse team of directors and writers consisting of several bipoc, women, and queer/trans/non-binary people.
on top of all of this, the plan for the show all along was only ever for three seasons. david jenkins only wanted three seasons for the full romcom structure to tell ed and stede’s story. that’s it. nothing more.
this isn’t an attempt to make you care about the show. but ofmd’s cancellation isn’t just a loss for the fanbase and the cast/crew. it’s a sign that it does not matter how successful or profitable shows highlighting lgbtq+ (or otherwise inclusive) narratives are or how many big names are involved. ofmd would not have been cancelled if it were a straight romcom. they would’ve magically found the budget. but corporate greed doesn’t care about us. they have no respect for queer people or queer media. and in the age of streaming, it’s only a matter of time until we lose all of it.
i’m long overdue for some aziraphale studies! and god i was not expecting michael to have so much facial variation. total time 1hr! 😱
i want to catch my aziraphale up to my crowley skills asap, so i tried a new process tonight that i really enjoyed: noting all the details first, then sketch broad impressions of the same references with my big brush directly after. it’s like i’m speedrunning what i’ve just drawn, and with all those details fresh in my mind, it’s much easier to break him down into stylised strokes.
THANK YOU good omens reference library and everyone who helps run it! your server made this study sheet 100x easier than any of my crowleys! 😭💛 @orayasan
EVERYONE GO WATCH DEAD BOY DETECTIVES AND SAY YOU LOVE IT AND TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW YOU LOVE IT I DONT CARE ABOUT PERSONAL PREFERENCE I NEED A SEASON 2
while playing the masquerade event i was hit with the realization that the students from nrc are quite literally the terrible tourists rollo was talking about. and im almost CERTAIN they've been just as bad every other event. like you have ruggie who was about to steal a shops hard earned money, you have epel and deuce that were saying their bread wasn't special before even trying it, you have ruggie AGAIN saying that the historic toys they make are just chunks of wood and don't have any value. these people suck and should not be permitted to travel. all they're doing is making a nuisance of themselves.