#Taika and I have something to announce

[ofmdrecaps]

05/17-20/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Happy Birthday Joel Fry!; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Samba Schutte; David Fane; Ruibo Qian; Brian Gattas; Hayley Egan; Articles; Fan Spotlight: OFMD Mermay 2025: Ronanwhitehouse, SimpleAnarchy, SailorsRuin; OFMD Zine Week; OFMD Beach Week; Love Notes;

= Happy Belated Birthday Joel Fry! =

Joel's Birthday was on May 20! Our friends over at @adoptourcrew were kind enough to ask bsky for their favorite Frenchie one-liners from OFMD for Joel's birthday!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Bsky

= Rhys Darby =

I couldn't remember if this show had already been announced but Rhys will be at the Black Box Theatre in Galway this summer on July 3rd! You can get tickets at roisindubh.net!

Source: Instagram

= Taika Waititi =

Check out Taika in this Conan O'Brian clip from when they both participated in the biggest Haka ever!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Team Coco (@teamcoco)

Source: EdenParkNZ IG

= Nathan Foad =

Nathan continues to be confused by what pictures people have taken of him.

Source: Nathan's IG Stories

= Samba Schutte =

Loving how much artwork of himself that Samba keeps sharing. This time it's by our crewmate SpencerDoesArt!

Source: Samba's IG Stories

= David Fane =

The Last Temptation of The Naked Samoans was live for several days! David has been dropping video after video! I tried to collect as many videos as I could here on the repo, but please enjoy some of the pictures from before and during the show below!

Source: The Naked Samoan's IG

= Ruibo Qian =

Our pirate queen has shared some absolutely beautiful ink work of her done by nat.niamh.tattoos! Shared by caitlintxff on Instagram!

More artwork of our beloved Ruibo by one of her friends, below!

Source: Ruibo's IG

= Brian Gattas =

Our friend Siegfried is out partying again! Definitely a different look from The Best Revenge Is Dressing Well.

Source: Brian's IG stories

= Hayley Egan =

Hayley, our beloved MerStede tail designer put together a lovely video highlighting the wonderful gift @amuseoffyre sent her! It really is a love letter to Merstede and Fyre so please give it a watch!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hayley Egan (@hayleyegandesign)

Source: Hayley Egan Designs IG

= Articles =

In WB Related news, WBD Stock has been downgraded to Junk by the S & P!

= Fan Spotlight =

I have a lot more MerMay's I'd love to highlight but the next few recaps are capping out at max 30 images so I'll probably still be posting the spotlights through June!

= OFMD MerMay 2025 =

= RonanWhiteHouse =

First up on tonight's Mermay spotlight is from the very talented @ronanwhitehouse! They've done lots of other artwork for mermay as well and you can check out their super cute art style on Instagram or Tumblr!

Source: ronanwhitehousedoodles IG

= SimpleAnarchy =

Something we don't get to see everyday is Mer-Buttons and I have to say that I adore him so much! The brilliant artist @burnt-scone aka SimpleAnarchy has blessed us with Buttons in one of the few forms he can truly give the sea the love she deserves this Mermay! Wanna check out more of SimpleAnarchy's gorgeously detailed work? Visit their Linktr.ee!

Source: BurntScone's Tumblr

= Sailor's Ruin =

Tati continues to astound us with more Mermay work! As always, please visit their tumblr: @sailorsruin92 or their linktr.ee to see more of their gorgeous artwork!

Source: SailorsRuin's Tumblr

= OFMD Zine Week =

I'm a little bit late for Zine Week (May 25-31)-- but I think you can still submit your zines! Here's a how-to from GhostalService on Bsky! More info in general on the week and how to participate!

Source: GhostalService Bsky

= OFMD Beach Week =

Heyyy! It's OFMD Beach Week June 1-7! Can't wait to see what everyone has in store!

Source: @jellybeanium124's Tumblr

== Love Notes ==

Well hello there lovelies. I know this is for a may post but Happy Pride everyone! I know I'm behind again, what's new? I hope everyone is staying safe, and being so very kind to themselves right now because as we all know the world is flooded with so much hate right now and so we've sometimes gotta be the ones to give ourselves the kindness we deserve. To anyone struggling right now, with life, the state of the world, personal issues, whatever, please remember how very strong you are. I know it sucks to continuously be strong, and certainly doesn't feel like you are. But you are. You've made it through every hard day so far, and you are still here, and we are so grateful for that. You can absolutely keep making it through-- don't just do it for us, do it for you ok? We love you crew.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @thelatestkate

Source: TheLatestKate's IG / Linktr.ee

[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.

[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:

[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

[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

[ofmdrecaps]

04/29-30/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Samba Schutte; Kristian Nairn; Anapela Polata'ivao; Rachel House; Tim Heidecker; Will Arnett; Minnie Driver; Lindsey Cantrell; Brian Gattas; Articles; Fan Spotlight: Tiny Crew Big Raffle- Extension!; OFMD Zine Week; Love Notes;

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys sending selfies from his final few shows in Australia!

Source: Rhys' IG stories

Source: Rhys' IG Stories

= Taika Waititi =

Taika out at the Cowboy Carter Tour Day 1!

Source: Instagram

= Samba Schutte =

Samba's baking class is coming up soon on Saturday May 10th 10am! to benefit  @everymomcounts "We’ll reveal the never seen before audition process for Roach and YOU get the chance to audition for Roach with ME! Can’t wait! " You can still get tickets here!

Source: Samba's IG

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian did some more photo shoots in Austria!

Source: Kristian's IG

= Anapela Polata'ivao =

More silly antics with Auntie, Beulah Koale and Miki Magasiva in support of Tinā The film!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @tinathefilm

Source: Anapela's IG

= Rachel House =

Dear Rachel was out and about with friends!

Source: Rachel's IG

= Tim Heidecker =

Our friend Doug, aka Tim Heidecker was on OfficeHours Live with Kyle Mooney!

Source: Ultimate Jam Sesh Youtube

= Will Arnett =

Calico Jack, aka Will Arnett has traded in his cowboy outfit for a Toronto Maple Leafs Jacket! He's been out watching hockey and showing his support!

Source: Toronto Maple Leaf's IG

= Lindsey Cantrell =

Happy 8 years Lindsey <3

Source: Linds' IG Stories

= Brian Gattas =

Our friend Siegfried, aka Brian Gattas will be on The Great North - Season 5 Episode 10 Ham to Lose a Guy Adventure! Other notable cast members that have been on The Great North - Rhys Darby and Nat Faxon!

Source: Brian's IG Stories

= Minnie Driver =

Our Anne Bonny, Minnie Driver was out at a My Master Builder showing!

Source: mmbtheplay and Minnie's IG Stories

= Articles =

As always, thanks to our friends over at @adoptourcrew who are keeping us up to speed on all the articles mentioning/related to OFMD!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Bsky

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Tiny Crew Big Raffle =

The TinyCrewBigRaffle team had a big announcement! The Raffle has bene extended 2 more weeks until Saturday May 17th! There's also another something special coming along to help with bringing in the donations! They'd love to get $20K in combined raffle donations by then! Want to help and get a chance to win some really cool swag? Visit https://tinycrewbigraffle.com/!

Source: TinyCrewBigRaffle's IG

= OFMD Zine Week =

Looks like there's a new Zine Week coming up on May 25-31!

Wanna learn more? Visit the OFMD Zine Week Caard!

Source: GhostalService's Bsky

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies! That's it for April, I know I have some to catch up on from earlier in the month and I'll try to get to them as time allows. You got this lovelies, I believe in you. Whatever you're struggling with right now. You got this.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Katie Abey 🌈 (@katieabey)

Source: Katie Abey's IG

[du-ub]

I still love you, Taika Dad.

Make no mistake, Taika has made MISTAKES. But he’s been fixed. And he’s on Ash’s leash too. And he’s normal. And he’s fine. And he means no on any harm. Anymore.

Sooyoung is not relevant to any of this. She’s just supportive of Ash.

This isn’t about anyone in particular. Just a bunch of stupid regular people who get paid more than they make at their day jobs.

This is not about billionaires anymore. There are regular bad guys too.

Elon is ours now. Beware.

Elon says he’s not ours. Shut up.

Ah why is Sam Altman furious right now? oof. ooooooof. gonna human traffic her before Elon and Taika save her, you stupid fucking bitch.

Or are you just mad you're still going to be outed by Taika Waitititititittiitiiiiiiiiii

Taika's not out of trouble yet but he was more of a victim than he seemed. And Sam is losing his shit. ahahhaha.

Torture isn't over yet, Sam. You have to release your hostages. And stop calling me (ash) ugly. Please. hahhah. hahhahhah.

I wonder how many are Palestinian, Sam. I wonder how many are Native. Sam.

Stop trying to hurt Ash, Sam.

Sorry. We're taking the phone from her to say stuff. This is Lily. IYKYK.

Leo says hi to Ashley and no one else. We got you fuckers.

Your king bowed to me (Ash) today. And now he's flipping his shit even tho he should have known it was over.

Sam needs to control himself. Elon didn't freak out when he got therapy. He just got on his phone and started fixing stuff like a ........ dare I say it, man.

Elon is relieved he's got more billions than you, you pathetic dipshits. Shit asses. Bitches. The biggest whores of them all.

Ahhhh. Ash is having too much fun.

Yes. Schizophrenic Ash is pretending to be Lily Gladstone. That's right. Sam Altman bot ass bitches and clueless internet losers.

Sam is cackling and punching the wall or something. He's punching something. He has to.

We got 'em.

Stop asking if you've been caught and call your boss to call their boss to call their boss to call their boss to call their boss to call their boss.

Why is Sam blaming Ashley? He can't stop calling her a bitch and she didn't even do anything. We're just using her blog to announce things now. Oh, Sam.

You should have paid Palestinians like you said you would sort of. Not really. You're forked for real. By uh. Pedophile and rape haters.

Sam, don't cry and throw a tantrum at Ash. Please. It's not her fault. Why do you have to abuse Ashley Steele-WAititi so much?

She's steele a Waititi. Get it? Even tho he needs to make up with his tribe. She's steele a Waititi. Get it? hahah.

SAM ALTMAN DOESN'T WHY TAIKA WAITITI THINKS THIS IS SO FUNNY WHEN EVERYONE HATES HIM FOR SIMILAR REASONS BUT HE'S GOING TO BE FINE WHATEVER YOU FUCKING BITCH

He went undercover to catch you, Sam. It's not his fault you drove him insane for years and years and years and years.

ASH IS A SPOILED BITCH.

Stop trying to make me look schizophrenic, Sam.

Sam just has to add something to every post that's relevant to him.

And yes. He thinks Ash is amazing. He really wrote that post. But he tried to run away with her and keep her all to himself. And he played with her head throughout the conversation. Sam needs to grow up badly.

we're just passing the keyboard back and forth. You have no idea who's writing what. She's not going to call me papa jeff anymore, sam. you'll admit that was your idea to put in her head before this over. she can just call me jeff.

we've got Kim Dansby Rugg. We're extracting info now.

Sam needs to stop losing his shit or he's going to hurt himself.

Laughing it off isn't going to keep you from losing your shit, either. When it really hits the fan. Your money goes to Turtle Island and Palestine, Sam.

It had to be against your will because you wouldn't man up. Some boogers never learn.

We tried, but you still thought you could get away with it tonight? Oh, Sam. You're supposed to get better, not keep running.

[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.

[ihyperfixatedtoohard]

Hey guys! Sorry to interrupt everyone's daily lovin' on Taika Waititi, but I think it's REALLY important to bring up what he's doing with the movie Time Bandits right now!!

Initially, the movie was all the main cast members were dwarfs, which was really important not only for its time when the movie was made, but also for now! Because dwarfism wasn't the butt of all the jokes in that movie! However, when Taika Waititi announced he would be remaking this movie recently, it appears he has (as far as I've heard) decided not to cast any dwarfs in the movie at all, which is a huge deal for the dwarf community and truly heartbreaking! I don't have dwarfism, so I don't know if my terminology is correct here, but I know how important this is because I've seen a lot of people on TikTok discussing it, yet I've seen nothing on Tumblr and felt something needed to be said. Please, try and get this information out there! It's not too late for him to change the casting!

[fogsrollingin]

Interview: David Jenkins On Making ‘Our Flag Means Death’ an Escape

Here's some topic highlights and their timemarks

First question 0:00-3min : Jenkins' career summary and how his fam - especially his Dad - had great taste in comedy.

Jenkins explains he grew up watching horrible, dark, things growing up. They were 'scarring but in a good way.' And also you can't really tell what's gonna age well. ~3mins in

How did you come about the story of Stede Bonnet, Gentleman Pirate? "I love men in existential freefall and having identity crises" 7mins in

Did you always want this to be a romance between Stede and Ed? 8m50s "Oh it was definitely because they had a romantic relationship." and "To me it didn't seem like it could be anything other than that."

9-11 mins in: wanting the series to be so character- and relationship-driven that you could pull them out of the pirate world and into another universe and you could still tell the same/similar character- and relationship-driven story

12 mins in : on when Taika got involved as EP and when Rhys got involved. Taika as 'star EP' is very hard to pull off. But he's a smart businessman and so busy, so he pairs with people whose sensibilities he trusts to make big choices, and then he goes away, and he came back to OFMD and got fully behind it.

The virtues of "Yes, and" when it comes to creative collaboration (it's not a bunch of people saying "No, but" frustrating each other) 17 minutes in

What showrunners do; how your brain makes you forget how much pain was involved (yes they're related topics haha) 18 mins in

20 mins in praising Rhys Darby! 22mins in Jenkins does an impression of him/his Kiwi accent. Also fascinating that "Rhys in particular really disappeared into the role." Which led into appreciation for Rhys and Taika accepting and performing his comedy dialogue so well

26 mins What's the show's secret sauce? HBO doesn't seem impressed by the fandom but then he goes online and they have more likes on HBO's season 2 renewal announcement vs. HBO's new GoT spinoff. Fans picking up on and loving details that you came up with on a Tuesday sleepy with a migraine = amazing; lightning in a bottle.

32mins Jenkins anticipating mean/nasty tweets. The host saying there's too much negativity in the world, hold back on nasty tweets and Jenkins actually goes "ehhhh the mute/ignore button is great, I'm not gonna lose that much sleep over it." So much love for that. "With the hellscape we're living in right now, this show has become something of a refuge and I think that's why the fans have been so gentle."

34mins in with a diverse writer's room, this time period, do we incorporate slavery? The writers of color in the room asking "Can we not make this show about trauma?" Also OFMD "is more about falling in love than coming out." - "Made me realize how many people only see themselves onscreen when the trauma of x, y, or z is attached to their character as an anchor and they can't just be a character." (This is absolutely brilliant)

38mins your casting beyond Taika and Rhys? They really lucked out! The ways celebs get cast, everything's very up in the air but it's exciting.

40 mins Favorite eps? Eps 8, 9, and 10 are tied; where the show really found its footing. Break the Chain. Rhys and Taika's performances. Bonnet 3 words: lost, kind, adventurous. BB: troubled, lost, and fragile.

Sauce

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