#Taika and I have something to announce

[ofmdrecaps]

01/18-20/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Vico Ortiz; Kristian Nairn; Guz Khan; Gypsy Taylor; Minnie Driver; In Person OFMD Events: The New Uni Con; Donation Raffle Reminder; LGBTQ+ Resources; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika;

Hey crew, been a week. Hope you're well. I've broken the recaps up into three day parts for the next three additions, there is more news in some and less in others. Thanks for your patience. Thinking of you.

= David Jenkins =

Chaos Dad shared some love from the wonderful @illustoryart!

Source: David's Bsky

= Rhys Darby =

More Cryptid Factor filming going on!

Source: Shreiberland Instagram

Rhys was on the Concert For America fundraiser show! He helped raise quite a bit just by being there. Thank you to the crew that donated to support him and the victims of the LA Fires! Edit: Im not sure why the video was taken off youtube..luckily I saved a copy prior to it being taken down. I've added it to a personal drive.

Source: Concert For America

= Taika Waititi =

Taika continuing his theme of sleeping anywhere!

Source: Taika's Instagram Stories

Something a bit silly for you-- NZOnScreen shared this older video of Taika from 2009!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NZ On Screen (@nzonscreen)

Source: NZ on screen's IG

= Con O' Neill =

With Inauguration Day being as rough as a day as it was.. Con was a sweet heart and sent some love to everyone.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Con O'Neill (@oneill.con)

Source: Con O'Neill's Instagram

= Vico Ortiz =

New episode of Today in Gay came out and Vico sent lots of love notes to everyone. Remember to lean into the community crew <3 We will get through this together. If you haven't already, check out the Today In Gay Substack for Positive Queer News.

Source: Vico's instagram Stories

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian was on the Six O Clock show talking about Hodor's Death in Game of Thrones.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Six O'Clock Show (@sixoclockshow)

Source: Kristian's IG

More convention dates for Kristian! He'll be joining Comic Con Scotland on Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd March 2025!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Comic Con Scotland North East (@comicconscotlandaberdeen)

Source: ComicConScotland

= Guz Khan =

Guz was out performing at the Dubai Opera House this past week!

Source: Guz' Instagram

= Gypsy Taylor =

Our dear S2 costume designer, Gypsy Taylor wrapped on the new show "All Her Fault", based on the bestselling novel by @andreamaraauthor! She shared some BTS photos in celebration!

Source: Gypsy's IG / 2

= Minnie Driver =

Some love from our Anne Bonny, but also an announcement that there are more episodes of the podcast Minnie Questions! You can check it out on your favorite podcast platforms. Here's the spotify link.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Min. (@driverminnie)

== In Person OFMD Events ==

= The New Uni Con =

A new Convention has been announced for London in June this year -- The New Uni- Con! Check out more information on their Blusky!

Source: Bsky

= Donations Raffle Reminder! =

As a reminder, our fabulous crewmate Irene Adler has put together this Charity Raffle to help support people affected by the LA Fires! It's almost reached the $1000 point where a signe photo by Con, Rhys, Vico, Kristian, and Nathan will be added as another prize drawing!

More info on how to enter can be found here.

OFMD’S DP fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mike-and-danielle-rebuild-after-fire

GOFUNDME WILDFIRE RELIEF FUND: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/wildfire-relief/california

Source: Irene Adler's Instagram

= LGBTQ+ Crisis Hotlines =

This is just some extra info in case you need it. These hotlines don't call law enforcement or emergency services without consent.

Source: Them Instagram

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies. This week has been hell. I know it has. I hope you know though that for every asshole out there who is unkind to you or wants to take away your rights-- you have a hell of a lot more of us who love you dearly and recognize the beauty and the wonder in you. I know it's easy to fall into despair.. and it's good to feel the feelings to help heal them, but don't fall too far down the rabbit hole okay? You are loved. Period. You are worthy of love. Period. You are valid. Period. Shine brighter than their hate. Shine brighter than their ignorance. You are a force to be reckoned with. Be safe, and reach out when you are in trouble or unsure. There is no shame in getting help-- and most of all, there is no shame in being you, okay? None. We will persevere. Love you crew.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kelly Vincent, Psy.D. | Holistic Psychologist (@dr.kellyvincent)

Source: Dr.Kelly Vincent Instagram

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

The theme tonight is laughing! Because we could all use a little smiles/laughter from our favorite guys.

[thehypnone]

Sundown: Chapter 15

WC: 1,1K

Relationship: SwissAlps

Tags: AU; Cowboy!Swiss x Barmaid!Mountain, Transfeminine Mountain, Fluff, Look Into the Future, Happy Ending

Once a year, they pack their bags, visit different places, sleep cuddled up together under the night sky or in a falling-apart cabin in the woods. Every year it’s different, they always end up wherever their feet—or rather their horses’ hooves—have carried them.

Playlist here. / Chapter 1 here or on AO3.

Read chapter 15 under the cut or on AO3.

Swiss and Mounty have been living together as a married couple for a few years. Their happiness never fades; when they argue, they make up in a matter of minutes. They made a promise to each other to never leave anything unsaid.

Swiss works with Dewdrop now, helping the man with things that used to cause him to overdo it; Rain and Phantom are eternally grateful for that. Dewdrop is, too, even though he isn’t one to admit having needed that help. Swiss is as happy as ever, being able to spend so much time with horses, side by side with one of his friends.

Mounty and Swiss have routines, both content finally being able to just live, without worrying about…anything, really. Once a year, they pack their bags, hop up on Monty and Taika and spend two weeks on the road. They visit Swiss’ old hometown, then.

Sunshine’s grave.

When they get back in the saddle after a few hours of something that never gets easier for the man, they don’t head back straight to Sundown. They visit different places, sleep cuddled up together under the night sky or in a falling-apart cabin in the woods. Every year it’s different and they look forward to their annual journeys for months; planning, but not really. After all, they always end up wherever their feet—or rather their horses’ hooves—have carried them.

Their life is beautiful.

Yet another day they wake up tangled in each other’s arms as the first rays of a morning sun shine through the curtains to bathe their room in light. They stretch and kiss and murmur sweet words and hold onto each other some more before they, inevitably, have to get up and ready for the day. They get dressed—stealing some more kisses whenever they can—and soon enough end up down in the saloon eating breakfast together.

“I’m going to pick up your gift from Cumulus later,” Mounty announces. Swiss nearly forgot about the dress he commissioned the tailoress to make for his wife. It’s been a while, but Cumulus’ works are worth any and all amounts of both money and time.

“Oh, is that so?” Swiss smirks, unable to keep his mind from conjuring up an image of Mounty in the dress, of how gorgeous she’ll look. “You gonna wear it for me tonight, sweetheart?”

“We’ll see,” she bats her eyelashes at the man; the image of innocence, even though they both very well know it’ll take no more than one sway of her hips in it to get the cowboy worked up. Or a neckline set strategically low.

“A tease, that one,” Swiss mutters to himself, shaking his head as Mounty giggles and returns to her breakfast. Both their plates are clean in no time and the man is kissing his wife one last time before he leaves for work. “I love you, girl.”

“I love you, too, cowboy,” she whispers into his mouth and only then lets him leave.

It’s a few hours before Mounty can leave the saloon herself and go pick her dress up and her excitement only makes it feel longer. The moment the clock strikes five, she’s all but running out of the door to barge through the one of Cumulus’ workshop.

“Hi!” she calls out and the tailoress appears two seconds later.

“I see you’re looking forward to slipping into your new dress, aren’t you?” she teases.

“Sorry, I’m just–you know,” Mounty waves her hands around as if it’s supposed to clear things up for the other woman, “I like…I just like feeling pretty.”

“My dear, you are pretty,” Cumulus pokes her chest with a manicured finger. “You don’t need no fancy clothes for that!”

Mounty can only blush and look down onto the floor. The other woman giggles, “But, when your man offers to get you some, never decline.”

It’s the barmaid’s turn to laugh as Cumulus leaves to fetch the dress. Mounty gasps once she drops it in her lap.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Mounty whispers as she fawns over the softness of the fabric in her hands.

“Thank me later,” the tailoress chuckles, “go try it on, girl!”

The barmaid sends her one more thankful smile before taking off. She runs back to her place, unable to change fast enough. The dress is beautiful, Cumulus really outdid herself this time. Well, maybe Mounty’s wedding dress could be considered a bigger achievement, but this one is a close second.

Mounty gasps once she’s fully dressed and looks at herself in the mirror.

The dress is double-layered. The first one starts on the top with a pearly white linen undershirt—short fluffy sleeves that rest low on her arms, leaving her shoulders bare—and goes down to Mounty’s ankles, making a beautifully embroidered hem dance around her feet. The corset of the dress—with golden lace on the front—looks solid, but it’s exceptionally soft. It’s light green with colorful flowers embroidered all over. The top layer of the skirt part is dark red, nearly burnt umber; it’s pleated and the pleats are crowded, but it’s not heavy. Quite the opposite, actually, it’s so light it makes the barmaid want to do nothing but jump and twirl around just to watch it spin.

All the shades of green and bright and dark red that dominate the dress make everything that’s beautiful about Mounty pop. It works perfectly with her eyes, hair and complexion, Cumulus really is an artist. She wonders how much of the concept was Swiss, though. Maybe it’s him that’s a secret fashion genius.

After a while of simply checking out the dress’ every single detail, Mounty smooths it down and leaves for the saloon. She’s careful around the bar, not wanting to risk dirtying her new dress; she only wipes random shelves with a dry piece of cloth, moving some glasses and bottles around only to busy herself as she waits for her husband to return.

Soon enough the batwing doors of the bar open with a squeal and Swiss walks in. A huge grin grows on his face the moment he lays his eyes on his breathtaking wife.

“Anything to drink for you?” Mounty asks, smiling at the man with nothing but adoration in her eyes. He simply stares at her, still in denial of how lucky he got.

“Well, ain’t ya a pretty thing?”

–––––––The End.–––––––

And...here it is. Swiss and Mounty's wedding was a definite end of the cowboy's old life and all the chaos and pain. He's been through so much that living all boring and slow with his wife for all the years to come is exactly what he wants, and Mounty's happy to give him just that.

I hope you enjoyed, thank you for all the nice words and support you've shown me and this story along the way. Special thanks to @jazz-bazz whose commission started it all, Sundown wouldn't have happened without you <3

[mask131]

Why the Time Bandits remake makes me feel an angry despair (1)

I announced it before: I am mounting my high horses for this matter.

"Time Bandits" is a children fantasy movie by Terry Gilliam, released in 1981. It is one of those "almost Monty-Python-movies" thanks to two other Monty Python actors joining Gilliam's project: John Cleese, playing Robin Hood, and Michael Palin playing a poor guy who keeps being reincarnated throughout history and always has the worst love life. This movie is part of the "Imagination Trilogy" of Gilliam, meant to represent the "childhood imagination" - alongside the dark movie "Brazil", for "adult imagination", and Gilliam's adaptation of the Adventures of the Baron Münchausen, for "old man imagination".

I love Time Bandits. It isn't just that I love, I adore it. This was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and it was such a huge part of my childhood it literaly shaped my imagination in many, many ways. It is still to this day one of my favorite movies, with such a unique feeling I couldn't find anywhere else but in other Gilliam-related or Python-related movies.

It is one of these rare things where I can say I am really a huge fan. I bought the Criterion Collection DVD, I bought the official script-book, I went online to find alternate versions of the scripts which contained deleted scenes NOT in the official script-book...

I even chose this movie as the subject of my presentation for my high school diploma, doing a full analysis of it that gave me a very good grade. I am really in love with this piece.

NOW if you haven't heard about it, a trailer was released for an Apple + series of (10 episodes I think?). "2024 Time Bandits". A remake by Taika Waititi (among others but he is the main guy behind this).

I had heard of this project a long time ago because Waititi's desire to do something Time Bandits related has been around since his glory days with "What we do in the shadows". He kept speaking about how much he loved Time Bandits and how he wanted to do something related to it.

... I never realized he meant doing a remake a it. Time Bandits has so much potential for sequels or prequels or alternate takes or whatever cinematic terminology you have.

Now, that being said, I don't mind a remake. Waititi has proven to have good ideas and cool projects, and he seemed to really be a fan of the original - plus it was a project he had been dragging for quite some times, so I had still some interests and hopes...

... and then the trailer came out. And I saw it. And...

... You know it will be the first time in my life I will turn into one of those angry Internet ranters mad about a remake of their favorite thing. Never in my life before I was involved on a personal level with disliking a remake but OH BOY here I am.

There are so many things BAD with this trailer. Not wrong. BAD. I don't dislike all about the trailer... But I dislike most of it, and I don't just "dislike" it as in "Oh yeah, they could have done better", no, we are talking about a "I DESPISE this".

Honestly it looks like the people behind this series considered everything that made Time Bandits unique and powerful and cool and weird... and decided to remove it to make it bland, flat and... a sort of flavorless, mass-marketable Americanized modern vaguely super-hero like movie (did Waititi's experience on the Thor movies screwed his imagination THAT badly?)

I literaly do not understand how someone so hellbent and so dedicated to Time Bandits could create a product that looks like was designed by people who only vaguely heard of the original movie's plot. Because the people who made this series clearly did NOT understood the heart, soul or goal or the movie.

I heard something about Terry Gilliam being hired as an executive producer, coming on the set for a planned three months, but leaving abruptly after only three days and never returning. And people concluded that it was because he was pissed off. Seeing the trailer, I am inclined to believe he was.

[musclesandhammering]

Unpopular Phase 4 & 5 Opinions

Quantumania is the worst Phase 4/5 movie. And it wasn’t even because “kang got beat by ants.” (I liked kang in this movie). It’s just that the Spy Kids aesthetic & bad acting & overall weird vibes just weren’t for me.

Love and Thunder is no worse than Ragnarok. I would argue that it’s better in a lot of ways, actually. I really liked it.

Taika Waititi ruined thor with bad humour all the way back in Ragnarok tbh, but y’all weren’t complaining about it then 😒.

BuckySarah is better than sambucky every day of the week.

The Marvels was a good ass movie & they’re one of my favorite teams in the mcu. I’ll never forgive cbm sites & online dudebros for killing the hype from the moment the film was announced.

I adore America Chavez & Kamala Kahn and I want to see them in everything. They must be protected at all costs.

Multiverse of Madness had shitty characterisation & basically just copy-pasted the ‘grief made me go off the deep end & hurt people, then I realised and stopped myself’ storyline from Wandavision… but Wanda was extremely selfish & apathetic to other people’s suffering from the time she was introduced in the mcu. MoM didn’t make her like that.

Wanda should’ve been looking for Vision (her actual real life boyfriend whom she spent years with irl) in MoM instead of the kids that weren’t even real that she spent like a week using as characters in her sitcom.

Making everyone forget Peter Parker wasn’t profound or poetic in any way- it was just frustrating and needlessly cruel.

I’m begging marvel to understand that heroes don’t have to be in constant suffering to be heroic & villains don’t have to sacrifice themselves to achieve redemption. Let characters heal and atone, you absolute weirdos.

What If…? is the most boring show ever. I’d rather watch Secret Invasion or She-Hulk.

Season 2 of Loki is, in a cinematic & artistic sense, the best marvel project period.

Loki season 1 was meh- more of a fun au than anything because his characterisation kinda sucked. Season 2 fixed it, though, and made it way easier for me to incorporate this version of Loki back into the larger mcu.

Having Steve stay in the past with Peggy was stupid af.

I don’t hate Peggy (or Captain Carter), though. I actually think she’s pretty cool.

I don’t really love Steve. He’s arrogant & they never really let him have flaws & something about him being a perfect metaphor for the American military industrial complex (and marvel painting that as a good thing) doesn’t sit right with me.

The Illuminati got done dirty and the only reason they went down so fast was because Wanda had all that plot armor.

I thought the retcon of having Wanda be “destined” to become the Scarlet Witch since birth was an annoying cop-out. Her powers originating from being experimented on with an infinity stone was way more interesting.

Loki & Wanda have almost the exact same powers.

Nebula deserved a bigger rule in killing Thanos & everything else moving forward.

I love Kathryn Newton but her acting as Cassie Lang was the worst acting I’ve ever seen in the mcu, like it was outrageously bad.

I’m glad Sam is the new Captain America and not Bucky.

The fact that Bucky probably isn’t gonna be one of Thee lead characters in the upcoming avengers movies feels sick and twisted.

Secret Invasion was actually passable until the G’iah scene at the end. That ruined it. And Nick Fury deserved way better for his solo series.

Kang is so much more interesting than Doctor Doom. I really hope they just recast him.

Carol Danvers does NOT deserve the hate she gets.

I actually disliked Carol until The Marvels. That movie made me a stan.

The way people treat Monica as Wanda’s little inferior pet creation or smth & then brag about it is uhh very sus.

I don’t like sylvie (bc she’s an amalgamation of 3 different comic characters- which killed any hopes of them appearing individually in the mcu, the creators used her existence to butcher Loki’s genderfluid rep, & she was written poorly) & I HATE sylki (bc it’s weird & unnecessary).

Marvel isn’t dead. I actually love where they’re taking things. But that’s just me.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

To the person who sent me an ask worrying about this article from Consequence TV maybe being the start of OFMD being cancelled, I accidentally deleted it so I'm responding here!

Tl;dr: absent any other information, I'm not worried about it. When I first saw it, it was paired with a headline that said somehting along the the lines of "Taika Waititi hints he won't be returning for OFMD season 3," which seems to have changed and just isn't actually said anywhere in the article itself.

The first part of the article is immediately a bit scary:

When Consequence asks writer/director/actor Taika Waititi if he’s feeling optimistic about a third season of Our Flag Means Death, his initial response is this: “Have you seen the end?”

While this looks scary, I encourage you to stop, breathe for a moment, read that again: crucially, that's not really an answer to the fucking question, and it's presented without context or even any indication that was TW's full answer. It's such a vague opener and without any follow-up it's practically meaningless.

The next parts of the article that a lot of people are concerned about are these paragraphs:

Max has yet to announce plans for a third season but Our Flag Means Death has become a fan favorite for its loving portrayal of its core relationship between Ed and Stede. For Waititi, though, the Season 2 finale “feels like a natural end to their story. Just because I feel like, you know, they’ve been through so much and then wind up in that nice place at a happy ending.” Waititi calls Our Flag Means Death “a really special show,” adding that “I love the show so much and maybe it can survive without Rhys and I. Maybe, I don’t know. I do I think the character of Blackbeard is something I’m really proud of.” Waititi says, though, that “I don’t want it to feel like Rambo III suddenly, you know, when you’re like, ‘Oh man, they have to leave their idyllic life again.'”

When I first read that headline, I was obviously like what the fuck, but when I clicked the link I immediately dismissed this whole article. I'm a person naturally given to anxiety and over-thinking - I'm not saying that to dismiss anyone who is worried about that, I'm saying that to emphasize just how contextless and clickbait-y this article is.

It's important to remember two things: OFMD is a mainstream property that is still generating a lot of traffic due to speculation on whether it's going to be renewed, and Taika Waititi, as a person, attracts a lot of divisive media attention that is often very clickbait-y in nature. He's also the biggest name attached to OFMD.

If we look at this article, all of TW's lines are presented to us out of context. We are not given the questions he was asked or told anything about when this interview took place (other than after the finale, obviously).

A breakdown of what TW says with possible, more likely context:

"The s2 finale felt like a natural, happy ending for Stede and Ed." This is true, and we also know this was intentional in case the show doesn't get renewed. This is not new information.

"Maybe the show can survive without Rhys and I." This is what people are (understandably) worried about, but this is both not a firm statement of "I don't want to come back for s3" and completely devoid of context. A possible explanation is that DJenks has mentioned possible spin-offs; TW could be here referring to spin-offs that don't involve him or Rhys Darby. As an executive producer, there is literally no way TW doesn't know at lesat the broad outline of DJenks' plan for s3.

"I don't want it to feel like they're leaving their idyllic life again." TW doesn't want Ed and Stede's story to be beaten to death, he wants it to have a satisfying, happy ending. Again, this should not be surprising information, it's just presented in a way that makes it seem like he definitely thinks s2 should be the end of Ed and Stede when that is not what he says.

This article is completely devoid of context, and because of that I consider all TW's statements in here to be essentially meaningless because we don't know any of the questions he was asked. I believe the most logical context for these quotations were him talking about the finale and how it was satisfying in case they didn't get s3, speculating about possible spin-offs, and then talking about how he doesn't want the story to be one of those TV shows that go on too long.

A bit of additional context: Consequence is, primarily, a music review and news site. They have a TV segment, where this article is housed, but music is their main focus and they are not a website where you expect to find actual breaking TV news, let alone from big names like TW. Larger film and TV publications we've seen covering the recent release of Next Goal Wins, in comparison, universely refer to the OFMD s2 as "successful" and refer to a "likely" third season - for publications actually focused on TV, the predominant view seems to be that OFMD is successful and a 3rd season seems very likely.

This article is very clickbait-y and tells us absolutely nothing. It absolutely does not say that TW is uninterested in returning for s3 (in fact, it says the opposite, he repeats again how much he loves the show) or that OFMD will be cancelled.

We're okay. Even if we do get news that OFMD hasn't been greenlit for s3, I promise it's not going to break on Consequence TV of all places.

[blakbonnet]

Artist of the Week!

So last weekend, I announced that I'd like to feature an artist every weekend for both new fandom joinees who might not have seen some of this art and older fans who like the nostalgia. This week's artist is Ash @aha-my-villainous-thoughts 💖 who also, wonderful that they are, agreed to answer a few questions for me!

Which App Do You Use To Draw When I’m at my big set up I use Clip Studio Paint, I love it so much. It’s very straight forward to dip straight in, has all of the bells and whistles you need from an elite drawing program, and the community elements where you can see assets and brushes is a lot of fun - although I still to this day have no idea how to earn coins to buy assets?! I use a XPPen Artist 15.6 Pro Graphics Tablet to draw into the program, although my best tip with graphics tablets is to get a screen protector, mine got covered in marks before I noticed. Recently I also got an iPad 10.9 to use as a digital sketchbook I can carry around, and while I am enjoying Procreate, I think CSP is a better art program overall.

Fave Brushes? On iPad I stick to the technical pen, studio pen and the soft airbrush, along with the textures and the light pen. I don’t think Procreate has great ‘painting’ brushes, whereas on CSP I would marry the Gouache brushes, I love how they blend and texture as you work.

Your favourite piece you’ve drawn? I’m a super self indulgent artist, I try to draw the kind of stuff I like to look at, so it’s a lot of colour, a lot of fabric and details. My fave piece for detail is the one I did for the OFMD RBB last year - Crescente Devotione, there’s a blushing sentient stool in it! For colour I’m in love with this sleepy time Ed in a lil negligee and a Holly Golightly eyemask, he's my lock screen because I'm trash.

Who harder to draw: Ed or Stede? Oh for sure Stede. I love Rhys Darby, but the man has like no lips. I stand by this meltdown.

One essential tip for beginner artists? Comparison is the thief of joy, don’t measure yourself against others - particularly when you’re finding your groove. Be self indulgent af. Also get a screen protector for whatever digital screen you draw on, and BACK. THINGS. UP. Whether in an online account, or on an external harddrive - or both?! BACK THAT SHIT UP.

Why OFMD? I’ve been in a few fandoms in the past, always as a pretty passive enjoyer, little fanart here or there, little fanfic sprinkled around, but there’s just something about the way this fandom feels? It feels like a group of friends who’ve got their own lives and their goals, but they still exist in each other's orbit, it’s like this feeling of returning home to somewhere you’re always welcome. There’s so many good moments in the show for both comedy and some gut wrenching pathos. Sign up for the hot guy in leather and get got by this beautiful delicate little love story. It’s something about queer joy of thriving, not just surviving. Something about finding love and romance no matter your age or what’s past before. Something about found family, and unlikely friendships, and community and silliness. I was already a goner when Taika put on the wig, but then when he teared up in a blanket fort while trying not to die? Excuse me sir, I did not need feelings that powerful. It was literally waking me up at night thinking about his last shot weeping in the nook - like are you kidding me?! I’m supposed to finish watching and be normal after that??

[musette22]

I’m sorry Minnie, this is a long one but I need to discuss with someone my thoughts about Seb’s latest casting as Trump.

The only way I’m seeing this work out is if they lean heavily into the comedy aspect of a dramatic comedy. I don’t know if you’ve seen Taika W’s Jojo Rabbit, but they make Hitler seem completely ridiculous.

If they don’t, I think it’s a serious ( & potentially dangerous mistake). Because no matter how many bad things they show the character doing, he will still seem aspirational to some & sympathetic to most. Look at movies like The wolf of Wall Street where Leo DiCaprio played Jordan Belfort - a categorically awful person- but you come away from watching that movie thinking what a badass or feeling sympathy for him. Look at Pam&Tommy, Sebastian himself made a sexist, wife beater with anger issues seem likeable, yes he’s troubled & clearly has issues, but you don’t hate him. But at least Tommy & Jordan are currently out of the spotlight aren’t politicians.

Imagine if they announced that Ryan Gosling was playing young Putin, we’d all be rightly horrified. It’s the same thing, you shouldn’t be giving unnecessary attention to current political figures. Trumps running for president ffs

If this is anything but a straight satire then I really hope as a fandom we can put our love of Seb aside and not give this narcissistic man a spotlight . I can just see Trump at rallies bragging that he’s getting a movie made about him and they’ve hired a good looking young actor to play him. It makes me feel ill.

Hi there, anon. Thanks for your ask. I'll be honest: I share your concerns. I'm not thrilled about this casting news at all. I heard some rumours to this effect on Tuesday but I still hoped it might not be about Sebastian's project, but apparently it is.

Fortunately, all signs point to this movie being critical of Trump, and not at all in support of him, but even if that's the case, the concerns you raise are still valid. However sure I am that Sebastian would never have any part in any Trump propaganda, and that he sees this as an opportunity to work with people he admires and tell a good story, which additionally criticises Trump, I still wish he hadn't taken this part. I personally agree that the less attention given to that cretin the better. Trump does NOT need any more publicity, good or bad. And the timing of this project is worrying too, imo.

I personally have no desire to see a movie about Trump - I already know everything I need to know about him as well as how I feel about him - and I have no desire to see Sebastian play Trump and forever associate the two. Even though I'm sure they'll 'uglify' him for this part, Sebastian is still Sebastian (i.e. charming and likeable irl), which I think is an issue in this case.

So as things stand now, I don't think I'll be seeing this movie when it comes out. We'll have to wait and see if perhaps it might turn out to be heavily satirical or something, but I'm not sure it will be. Only time will tell, I guess. Let's hope Sebastian knows what he's doing with this one, for all of our sakes, but for his own as well.

[pretentiousliterata]

A Letter From Me to You

~Closer to the end, lessons yet to learn…~

I’m still amazed at the fact we’ve reached the end of September… is it only me or this year is passing by so fast? Naturally, the anxiety to get things done ASAP hits and it’s overwhelming. Learning to slow down it’s the actual challenge.

Hello there, your friendly neighbor Ali here. Welcome to my “newsletter” where I share my shenanigans as I try to get back on track to polish the third draft of my current work in progress: a little dark fantasy novel I have temporarily named “On the Night Transcending the Raging Light”. And well, some other stuff… we keep it real here, so, don’t get surprised if you don’t read super positive stuff (but we keep hopes up, so it’s not all negative…)

I would love to say badly I have been writing non-stop and making my way smoothly through the third draft, but then I would be lying. And no, it’s not like I’ve been slacking (just like I did with this month’s Unite and Fight, sorry fellow crew members!), but one of the things I’ve come to accept is life keeps throwing stones and while it’s not funny, it’s you and you alone who decides if that will stop you from going where you want to go. And while times can be slow, lessons keep coming and learning never ends, even if it’s not as sweet or fulfilling as we would like to.

While the writing has been going slowly, after a mind-opening conversation, I got the courage to start sharing my work out there and ask for feedback beyond the lovely friends who always read my stories before they go out there. In exchange, I have read stories of amazing upcoming writers and enjoying seeing how others are also creating their worlds and how we’re all in this journey, both amazed and scared of what’s ahead. Some of the feedback I got was lovely, I’m really thankful because it boosted my confidence in this project. Some of the feedback was harsh, and I don’t mean it in a bad way, it was actually eye opening. Again, so much to learn even when you think you know most everything.

This month I also received my fourth rejection of the year, the first one for my current work in progress. I submitted “On the Night…” to a literary contest and it didn’t make the cut. I won’t lie, it hits the ego. However, when I think about it, the submission was the second draft (it was a while ago) and the story has significantly changed since then. I’m coming closer to the story I wanted to narrate and show and while it destroyed a bit the confidence (especially because the announcement was on a thursday, the day I save for the writing session Taika Editorial hosts, no matter what happens, and since I started the book, it became a ritual), the fire is still alive and it makes me truly happy this project is not giving up at all —even the universe seems to favor this as it keeps sending a very specific sign (I won’t say what it is) whenever I think “it’s over”. I’m one to run away when things go south or if they don’t work, a heavy reason why I wasn’t able to finish a single novel despite me having the dream of doing so. To keep going forward with it makes me hopeful, not for the sake of fame or having a big name, but because it shows I’m changing too.

Change is one of the biggest fears I face constantly, and while I haven’t let go of some bad habits, as they return when the mood is low, I can see how I’m heading towards the true change, one which I hope will give me a reason to fight and cling to life to enjoy the journey and not only to move forward because existing is something I’m forced to do.

I can’t say September has been all good changes and good vibes. There have been situations which opened some wounds I believed were closed but they’re just temporarily healed for the sake of being forgotten and not addressing the issues. I won’t get into deep detail about this, but as one of my favorite songs of all time says, “I’m sick and tired of being afraid, if I cry any more then my tears will wash me away”. I don’t want to keep crying about what could have been or try to fix what’s undeniably broken, it’s not worth the try anymore.

One of the things I’m thankful about writing is how it becomes my voice when I’m unable to speak my heart. These past days I’ve shared some “poems” (I wouldn’t call them exactly that, yours truly is barely well versed in fiction, poetry is still far away from reach), the train of thoughts of rage and despair that come in those moments when I don’t want to cry and just simply let words express how I feel. Cathartic writing has always been helpful to me. Not that I want to brag about it, but funnily enough, last year I got an award for that… so, I guess writing my emotions as they come is not that bad hehe…

So, at the end of September, as we’re ready to enter the last three months of the year of the unexpected, all I can say is don’t let the stepping stones in the way stop you to go where you want to. The biggest one is us and us alone and while you can count on amazing friends or strangers on the internet to hear you, the only one who can decide to move forward is you. Keep writing, keep creating, keep taking care of you. I’m not the best at following my own advice, but hey, slowly but steadily, lessons are never ending…

Let’s see what’s in store for October. Luckily, if things go as the beginning of the month, I will be able to finish with the rewritings for this third draft and full speed ahead to edit and change the storylines that will be affected with the current changes that have come across. And, hopefully, I also have the courage to finally share something more than just the long temporary name of this project with all. The screenwriter/director Ali season is also coming, so I’m worried about how to balance these things, but let’s take one step at a time…

Until next time, folks! x

P.S: Given last month I showed the song that represented my August, here’s a little top three of songs for September in no particular order:

[arenee1999]

I thought I had found something special in OFMD and its fandom.

There have been characters through the years that I've identified with in a fairly superficial way. Studious, likes to read, awkward, lonely, bullied -- and my list of favorite characters paints a rather revealing portrait. But then I found Our Flag Means Death and I found myself identifying with multiple characters in a deep, visceral way that I have never had before. And I found a fandom full of people that felt the same way.

Then the darker side of the fandom began making itself known. Close minded, racist, homophobic, puritanical twats. The canyon that despises Ed and Stede, the gentlebeardies that despise Izzy. All of the people treating Rhys, Taika and Con like dogshit and treating your fellow fans even worse.

And yet, through that many of us still managed to love the show, the characters, the cast and crew and each other.

Then, right when literally everyone was expecting a renewal announcement we were told it was cancelled. Many of us fell into depression. We rallied as best we could to fight for our show. But we were still left reeling.

That same day one of my only friends (and the only one I could talk to about anything)  stopped talking to me. But I pushed that to the side and spent all my energy on the fandom, on Xitter, posting and talking and making as much noise as possible with everyone else.

Then March came around we got that announcement. Despite our efforts and a large portion of the industry on our side, we weren't going to see anything come of our efforts. At least not for the foreseeable future. Long term has yet to be decided, but short term there's no hope. Many of us that had been holding our depression at bay with frantic activity, crashed, hard. Some of us were still able to find solace in the fandom. Our love of the show hasn't diminished after all. So we reinvest in what made us love the show from the start and we let it heal us once again as best it can.

I'm one of the ones that crashed. And I was left with no one to talk to. I held myself together for awhile but eventually began to spiral. Tried pushing away everything because if I don't feel anything it won't hurt as much. I had made rather startling progress on extricating my last couple hyperfixations. And I was rapidly becoming dangerously, severely depressed. Then a month and a half ago I find out why my friend suddenly stopped talking to me. Apparently I talked about OFMD too much and he just couldn't handle it. I was simultaneously too much and not enough. And as I was suddenly and violently smacked in the face with a wave of despair, I dug around to figure out what pulled me out of the last few bouts of heavy depression I suffered. Because fuck knows, I was in desperate need of something. Turns out the last two times it was Taika (both directly and indirectly with Thor Ragnarok and OFMD) and before that it was HP fanfiction (for 10 years HP fic kept me mostly stable and functioning). Which explains entirely why my depression kept getting worse by leaps and bounds as I was in the process of purging all of that from myself as much as possible. So I took a good hard look around and decided my mental health was more important than protecting someone else's feelings. I immediately quit trying to unravel my core psyche and personality and was just starting to reach something resembling functional.

And now the fandom has once again erupted into puritanical, homophobic bigotry and hatred. And I'm finding myself shutting down. The joy I was just starting to find again in this fandom is gone. I see nothing but ash and dust. Even the clips of Ed and Stede's first kiss, that usually bring an immediate swell of joy, leaves me feeling nothing but numb.

If you are that full of hatred for an aspect of the show, be it a character, a pairing, a plot point, a cast or crew member, keep it to your fucking selves. Create closed groups, communities, discords etc. with the rest of the hate filled "fans" and spew your garbage where those of us that are here for what we love can't fucking see it. We do not need to be splashed with the muck from your cesspit.

Better yet, listen to DJenks -

[tryinghardtobeoptimistic]

I'm so thankful with how David Jenkins and co ended OFMD season 2. I'm all about my ship (Gentlebeard/Blackbonnet) and am so glad they end up together 😭 Now, I can rewatch season 1 and 2 without worrying if I will be heartbroken or not in the end. This feeling is so great cause of how my other ships didn't end up together. I keep praying and hoping that someday I will find a ship again that will just give me peace and contentment, and viola, OFMD gave me that, they gave me Ed and Stede 🙇

Also big thanks to Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi, I'm fcking grateful with their chemistry cause this is what makes Ed and Stede real and fun. Sometimes I see posts saying they don't have it but wtf, are we even watching the same show??? I love all their kisses, really makes me feel something, and this is big for me cause even with my other ships, I've never felt it 😭 This why for me Ed and Stede will always be special.

Now we wait for the announcement for a renewal. We need to see their Inn and them getting married 🙏 But even so we won't get it, I'm so at peace with how the show goes and ended. I'm just so thankful with everyone involved in this show. 🥰

[wistfulwisp]

I’m an openly pansexual person, even though it’s not something I really talk about.

I never really felt like I followed the same traditional milestones of the queer journey — I never really had to pass as straight, or lie about my sexuality, or deal with homophobic family or friends. and hearing a lot of my queer friend’s journeys into their own self acceptance, I realized just how different everyone’s journey’s really are. It wasn’t just me, everyone’s path is a little different and everyone walks down it in a different gait.

One of the greatest joys of my queer experience has been seeing how I can further express my queer identity, and share it with others. I never really had the opportunity to express myself as freely as I do today. Part of that’s because I’m an adult now and I’m in charge of my own autonomy, but part of that is because of media that encourages queer expression.

Our Flag Means Death was never my favourite show, but the impact it left on the queer community is one that I’m seeing now more than ever, now that it’s been officially cancelled. Point is, there aren’t many media outlets out there that let you sit back and have fun and be gay, with no overbearing trauma or angst that eventually takes over or larger depressing motif behind it all. It was just gay people being gay. I can’t even speak for the accuracy of queer representation, but what I can say is that even with its heavier moments it drew us closer together and brought to people themes of inclusivity and belonging and acceptance that you can’t really find elsewhere. Even though everyone’s journey is different, it brought people joy to see everyone brought together in an extremely campy way. Even though we’re all different, we’re not so different, if you get what I’m saying.

Maybe it’s a combination of things — the harsh winter months and looming life issues and now this cancellation, but I can definitely feel the queer community’s devastation with this announcement 😔 I can understand why the cancellation happened — it never had the largest fanbase or any super huge names behind it other than Taika Waititi, at least compared to other shows with queer representation like Good Omens. More than anything, I don’t want people to forget the sense of joy that this show brought to you, and the fact that media like this can exist and can survive and can be loved. One of the things I encourage on here is people feeling free in their expression and their intrinsic connection to one another. Let that feeling charge you forward to do bright and beautiful things yourself. A hug to all of you xoxo

[ofmdrecaps]

07/12/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Samba Schutte; Vico Ortiz; Rachel House; Nathan Foad; Kristian Nairn; Minnie Driver; Gypsy Taylor; Nathan Foad; You Bear Fine Thing Well; Articles; Non Binary Awareness Week; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika

== Rhys Darby ==

A LIVE Cryptid Factor show has been announced at ther Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023! August 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th! Unfortunately it looks like they sold out within the first few hours. Hopefully we'll see some more lives soon! Grats boys on the quick sellout!

Source: Rhys Darby's Instagram

Rhys also posted multiple tiktok videos today regarding a new character I assume? "Brief Moments of Genius: The Doug Thandwich Pamphlet"

Source: Rhys Darby's Tiktok

== Samba Schutte ==

Samba made it safely to Florida Supercon! Annnnd apparently the hotel didn't think about his height when getting him set up in the deluxe rainfall shower!

Source: Samba Schutte's Instagram

== Vico Ortiz ==

Vico also made it to Florida Supercon safely (with Jack!)! Are you going to be seeing them this weekend?

Source: Vico's Instagram Stories

ALSO -- more OFMD S2 BTS (as well as exclusive other BTS from their other shows, etc) from Vico on their Patreon! Check out the new video here!

Source: Vico Ortiz' Patreon

== Rachel House ==

Rachel was out at a showing of &Juliet getting to meet one of her heroes, Keala Settle!

Source: Rachel House's Instagram

== Kristian Nairn ==

As mentioned before - Signed copies of Kristian's book are on pre-sale now! Apparently some of the signing is happening now because Kristian posted a video of some signatures happening! They've also hit the Barnes & Nobles Best Sellers list!

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

REMINDER: Adopt Our Crew was kind enough to put together his list of where you can buy Kristian's Book! Reminder-- bookshop is great if you want to support your local bookstores!

Barnes & Noble

Amazon US

Amazon UK 

Bookshop.com

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Twitter

== Nathan Foad ==

Nathan once again out with friends <3. I'm so happy we're getting to see him have so much fun this summer!

Source: Nathan Foad's Instagram

== Minnie Driver ==

Our fabulous Anne Bonny, Minnie Driver is playing Elizabeth I in Serpent Queen Season 2! Which just so happens to premier today on Starz!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Min. (@driverminnie)

Source: Minnie Driver's Instagram

== Gypsy Taylor ==

Our darling costume designer for s2 - Gypsy Taylor has received a special gift from one of our fan crews-- Our Flag Means Daddy! She received a special jacket with the name Sea Gypsy embroidered on it! Congrats Gypsy and thank you Our Flag Means Daddy crew for continuing to bring joy and recognition to our dear OFMD Cast & Crew!

Source: Gypsy Taylor's Instagram

== You Bear Fine Things Well ==

Today was the final day for #YouBearFineThingsWell! @adoptourcrew asked fans to share their favorite bear puns Rhys came up with for the Hungry Games! I have to say mine was "We asked Cassanova if he had any types... he said brunettes".

Source: @adoptourcrew's Twitter

== Articles ==

A few more mentions of OFMD this week!

Source: Collider Article

And thank you to @adoptourcrew for bringing this screenrant article to our attention!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== Non Binary Awareness Week ==

Another article from Pink News -- this time recommending 11 Must Watch Films/TV Shows Starring Non-Binary Actors! I already know several I'll be seeing once they're available. Check them out!

Source: Pink News Article

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies! Happy start to the weekend! I truly hope you've had fun this week in some capacity. There's been something for everyone and hopefully we continue to see some hype coming up in the up coming weeks.

Today I wanted to remind you of something that I know you've heard before, but like anything in this life, repetition helps to solidify things so I'm gonna say some of it again. You don't need to prove to anyone your worth. You don't need to beg for anyone to love you and you certainly don't need to be someone you're not for someone else's sake. We all have demands from outside forces every day-- work, school, etc, and a lot of those demands are things we have to cope with in order to function in and be a part of society. Those demands aren't always in our best interest, but for the most part they're at least somewhat reasonable. However, there are going to be times that others have demands on you that are completely unreasonable. Maybe someone expects you to fall into a pretty little category. Maybe someone expects you to understand them when they aren't being clear. Maybe someone expects you to bend over backwards and change for their benefit, but not provide you with the same courtesy.

Whatever unreasonable demands you're dealing with, I just want to send you a reminder that you are allowed to say no. You are allowed to set up boundaries to help minimise that kind of behavior. You are allowed to just be you, and to continue to shine being you. Nothing is black and white, so it may not be easy, and may not be viable, or safe for some people-- I absolutely get that, and you should always keep your safety and security top of mind. But if you have the wiggle room, and you can set up those boundaries, remember there's nothing wrong with wanting to continue to be you, the way you are and defending that you.

You are wonderful lovelies, and we all have things in life we can improve on, but you being your beautiful, unique, authentic self is a right, and you have every right to protect the parts of you you hold dear. You don't have to prove to anyone that you are worthy of love just being yourself-- because you already ARE worthy of love, and light, and good things.

You don't have to fit into a neat little box to be loved, or valid. You are already both of those things, and sometimes it's hard to see it in ourselves-- so this reminder is from me to you, from the crew, to you, that you are wonderful just the way you are. Rest well and be kind to yourselves lovelies, you deserve it.

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Tonight's theme is shades on a couple of cool dudes! Gifs courtesy of two of the most fabulous and talented gif makers on the internet - @ofmd-ann and @bizarrelittlemew!

[hang-on-lil-tomato]

interviewer: did you and Taika have any happy accidents

Rhys: Taika and I have something to announce.

paraphrasing.

these guys are amazing! Friends, peers, and colleagues for 25 years.

do you want to be in a show where your characters are excessively romantically involved? sure, why not? If there’s a paycheck in it…

the kiss un-mirrored and slowed down. for reasons

[blk-krrsantan]

I saw Star Wars in 1977 when I was 8 years old. I loved it. And despite some setbacks in my fandom I still love Star Wars even with it's many flaws.

So, the nerd-news sites are reporting that a new trilogy is in the works. Yippee? Don't get me wrong, I want more Star Wars!, but it's hard to get really excited with the way Lucasfilm has been handling things.

I mean, just how many movies have been announced and then either been cancelled or just quietly never mentioned again? Patty Jenkins's Rogue Squadron Josh Trank's Boba Fett movie, Rian Johnson's trilogy, Benioff and Weiss's trilogy.

And then there's the ones still in development by James Mangold, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Taika Waititi, Donald Glover and Dave Filoni.

That's a lot. And I feel like I'm forgetting some.

I'd like to say the problem is that there are a hundred different websites and Twitter accounts all looking to get a big scoop out before anybody else and reporting every rumor they can dig up. But that doesn't really work because Lucasfilm keeps officially announcing things that never go anywhere.

So please, Lucasfilm, Disney, whoever...wait until something is greenlit before announcing it. And for the love of the Force, work out the "creative differences" with your writer/director beforehand.

Please.

[themovieblogonline]

Shawn Levy's Star Wars: What We Know So Far

Star Wars fans, brace yourselves! Shawn Levy's Star Wars movie is officially in the works, and we’ve got some juicy details to share. Levy, the talented director behind hits like Deadpool and Wolverine, is taking his talents to a galaxy far, far away. Here’s everything you need to know about Shawn Levy's Star Wars news and updates. A New Writer on Board According to Deadline, the latest Shawn Levy's Star Wars news reveals that Jonathan Tropper, who previously worked with Levy on The Adam Project, has joined the team as the writer. Levy and Tropper have a history of successful collaborations on films like This Is Where I Leave You and Kodachrome. Tropper’s writing credits also include the Apple TV series See, starring Jason Momoa, as well as Warrior and Banshee. Development Progress While the addition of Tropper signals forward momentum, Shawn Levy's Star Wars movie is still in the development phase. Levy himself admitted back in June 2024 that progress is slow. "I am still developing my Star Wars movie and I would love to make it someday," Levy said. "I have an idea that I'm excited about. Development is slow-going and developing something with that amount of mythology scaffolding takes time." Disney has a full docket of Star Wars movies lined up. Fans have been waiting for concrete release dates, and it’s now confirmed that the next Star Wars film to hit cinemas will be The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 22, 2026. Following that, December 18, 2026, and December 17, 2027, are also locked in for Star Wars premieres. However, it remains unclear which films will fill those slots. The Daisy Ridley-led film, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, is a strong contender. This movie will see Rey rebuilding the Jedi Order 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker. Competing Projects and Potential Delays Levy’s Star Wars film isn’t the only one in development. There are numerous other projects that could shift his film’s timeline. Disney is reportedly eyeing Levy to direct the next Avengers film, set for release on May 1, 2026. This commitment could push back the Star Wars project even further. The actor and writer strikes of 2023 also caused delays in production across the board. Several other Star Wars films are also on Disney's horizon. James Mangold is working on a film focused on the dawn of the Force. Dave Filoni, Lucasfilm's chief creative officer, is developing a project that will culminate various Star Wars shows like Ahsoka and The Mandalorian. Taika Waititi, known for Thor: Ragnarok, is slowly but surely working on his Star Wars film, expected around 2030. Rian Johnson, director of The Last Jedi, has an entire trilogy announced but not yet in active development. Lastly, Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron faced cancellation, but there’s renewed hope for its revival. Conclusion Shawn Levy Disney collaboration for a Star Wars movie is a dream come true for fans. With Jonathan Tropper on board, we can expect a fresh and exciting take on the Star Wars universe. While development is slow, and the timeline remains uncertain, the anticipation is building. Keep your lightsabers ready and stay tuned for more updates on Shawn Levy's Star Wars news.   Read the full article