#polyamory?

[gnome-adjacent-vagabond]

Psst hey *pulls you closer* Canon middle-aged queer relationships and multiple canon queer/queer-coded characters. *lets you go* Go watch Venture Bros.

There are WAY more than these but I can't put em all up here because queer coding is up to interpretation. I say that everyone in Venture Bros is queer until proven straight but that's just me.

I wrote a whole-ass essay and then accidentally deleted it so the wording on this will probably be off, but it feels important so I'm gonna try be succinct.

Minor spoilers ahead! Skip paragraph three if you don't want those, then resume on paragraph four.

Full disclosure, this is a show that started in the early 2000s and has a LOT of issues in the first few seasons as well as a couple in the later seasons. There are transphobic and homophobic jokes, ableism, racism, and sexism. Sergeant Hatred is a walking trigger warning for about three seasons straight. It goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: DON'T watch this show if you have multiple triggers or are easily offended.

Having said that, these writers realized the problems with what they were writing and have worked to remedy those issues through commentary, retconning, and public acknowledgement of the early seasons' failings. Their opinions evolve and so does the show.

Shore Leave is a flamboyantly gay man who was initially intended to be a one-off joke about the G.I. Joe series and the Village People. Instead he has morphed into a three-dimensional character who presents comfortably as both masculine and feminine. He's in a loving relationship with another gay man, Al, who is flamboyant but tends to be a little less flashy. Steve Summers and Sasquatch have been a happy couple for years now--and all because the epitome of toxic masculinity, Brock Samson, helps them find a quiet cabin away from the government hunting them. Brock's mentor, Hunter Gathers, is a canonically detransitioned trans woman who struggles with her identity throughout the show (I'm still waiting for her to retransition despite the show's cancellation). Hank is perfectly at ease in a hyperfeminine strength suit, and Dean also goes through identity struggles that are never played for laughs and are heavily if not explicitly queer-coded. Vendata's queerness is understated and exists simply as a fact rather than being joked about. Sky Pilot is similar, though slightly more in Shore Leave's camp in terms of presentation. Sheila and the Monarch are self-proclaimed swingers and could be read to be in a poly relationship with Gary, their henchman. Debbie St. Simone has a rather homoerotic obsession with Sheila and is almost definitely bisexual.

The Venture Bros universe is full of queer rep, and the creators of the show write it in with intention. Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick talk about wanting it to be treated as fact rather than completely defining each of their characters--they talk about how few women are in the show and why (Johnny Quest and G.I. Joe, the inspirations for Venture Bros, are heavily malecentric and there's constant homoeroticism in them for that reason). They acknowledge the flaws and work to improve themselves and their writing. This has culminated in a surprisingly moving series about love, death, grief, trauma, and change that radiates queer subtext from any angle--especially Dean's journey.

Try the show at least up to season 4. The first three seasons are on Netflix and the rest are on Adult Swim. If you still don't like it, that's fine. Thank you for trying! Just know that it's out there and that it's an example of how human beings can change and become better people. Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick aren't perfect and neither is the Venture Bros, but for what it is it's a damn fun (shockingly so) show.

[captain-slash]

Приятное окончание двойного свидания? 😏

Artist: @kremlin_art

[shadowlorddemon]

The ships here can be perceived as romantic or platonic.

Can y’all tell that TSC is my favorite character?

(Purple is probably embarrassed by being carried in bridal style.)

[coswinx]

Apparently my little sister's feet are in a relationship with her and each other.

And one of them is her kindle's boyfriend. (Important context, she does not have a kindle)

Or in her words: My foot is my girlfriend!

Then later; my other foot is my foot's girlfriend!

Then later; my other foot is my kindle's boyfriend!

So... Her feet are both poly, and one of them is bigender. That's cool.

[idkimdepressed]

??? So wait was Arven adopted by his parent’s friends or were they in a threesome? Or foursome because the beginning of the wiki says Professor Turo, Professor Sada, unnamed mother AND unnamed father? Can someone clarify this for me. I’m worried if I read more to understand I’ll spoil myself but I don’t quite get how his parentage works.

[texasthrillbilly]

Pioneers

[polyamzeal]

[papier-ciseaux]

Happy ASAW 2024, here's something about community !

[astrid-beck]

This is my unethical polycule. The nonmonogamy is consensual and negotiated we're just evil in other ways.

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[zeloznog]

[catgirl-catboy]

I think polyamory should be used to make romance subplots even more convoluted, actually. Sure, it could theoretically solve a love triangle- but it could also make things infinitely more chaotic and that's way better.

[drh3nryj3kyll]

Shoutout to aromantic, transgender, intersex, and polyamorous people. Gotta be the some of the most underrepresented queer identities I've ever seen.

[absolutelybatty]

Unethical polyamory not in the sense that the partners aren't consenting to multiple relationships but in the sense that they kill people as a group

[polyamzeal]

[rustybutterknife]

Microdosing polyamory by dating a system