First of all, OFMD writer Alex Sherman was wearing an OFMD-themed sweatshirt with the s1 cat flag logo on it and sleeves inspired by the depression robe. 10/10.
Things I learned (this is mostly paraphrase):
S2 was hectic from the get, and particularly the last two episodes were rewritten until the last minute (sometimes in ways the actors didn't especially like), so I had no time to be nervous about being onscreen in the last episode. The AD was like, "Are you showing your butt later?," and I was like "Thanks for the reminder." They gave me a special sock to wear so I wouldn't show anything I wasn't supposed to. The person they put me on top of was from Chicago. Taika's 9-year-old was the one to call action for the scene. It was a weird day. That episode changed so much, but I advocated to keep my butt in it.
Samba really helped us find Roach's character. Roach was initially the merger of a couple of characters, and the way Samba played him fed into our writing for him.
Lucius was fun to write for because of his joke delivery. Nat Faxon (Swede) pulled off any dumb idea you gave him.
Rhys's body position was so consistent from one take to another, you could edit around him. Like, in a scene where he was writing a letter, holding the quill on the same line every time. Rhys brought so much humanity to everything. He felt so bad in 1.2 that Roach had to come to him about the missing hostage, and that impacted how we wrote the scene. We were initially worried about how people would respond to Stede, who left his wife and kids, and once Rhys started playing him, it wasn't even a concern whether people would find him likable.
[in response to a question about what character he sees himself in] I wish I could be Olu, but I'm Pete / Lucius / Stede. The Pixar try-ers.
[Who decided to make Pete funniest?] That was Matt being Matt.
[Anything you got stumped writing?] Sometimes we had to merge scenes for time. Improv did a lot of heavy lifiting in, say, the orange cake scene where no one wanted to sit next to the Swede.
[Lines you're especially proud of?] Black Pete having no idea how to use the crossbow! And this is [spouse] Alyssa's, but Lucius' "I'm so-so but decided to carry myself as if I'm cute." (which as organizers pointed out is something of a mantra within the fandom).
Surprised / delighted at how people got into Samba's baking, and how people resonated with Stede's trajectory.
Actors trained in comedy are used to getting feedback from a laugh, and doing drama was different.
Taika was always happy if you gave him a sword or gun to play with.
On many sets in the US, male actors are uncomfortable if you give them a scene in which they don't know everything. Like, they feel like they SHOULD know how to fix a car. That wasn't a problem on this set.
[about offscreen discussions that informed performance] We talked a lot in the writers room about the polycule when writing the Jim / Archie storyline in s2. And in 1.4, where Jim comes out as Jim, we were able to toss out about 10 beats of explanation, because Vico accomplished so much just by their acting decisions. DJenks's approach is generally, "How do we approach this from the perspective of a character who doesn't need their life explained, because they're living it?" I'd like to see a show that deals with polyamory not as an oddity.
[advice for aspiring screenwriters?] Write and read! Find scripts of the shows you like, and see how they relate to the onscreen product. A show isn't just one person. Storytelling can be structural (e.g., KPop Demon Hunters). Characters in s2 told stories in part through what they were wearing-- that was Gypsy Taylor's impact. And every department had a version of that: "this character went through this kind of trauma, so they'd fight like this" is the stunt coordination version.
[particular moments you remember fondly?] In 1.3 when Fred Armisen was on the way to sell them out to the Spanish Navy, Alyssa's and my love for tapas made its way in, and all the characters got a piece of their character out via delivery / reaction. We were all vibing. In 2.8, when Taika kills the two officers, I kept thinking, "I'm watching him kill two British officers in New Zealand," this is wild.
[what else would you write for this cast?] Them being roadies and following a band. (Other cast and crew asked this question have responded, variously: cowboys, space ships, Rocky Horror, sci fi.)
[fandom moment you enjoyed?] The snall SMAU day! Also, Alyssa found a dirty fanfic right after s1, and I was like, "I know these guys!!" Fans posting karaoke of themselves singing "The Chain" also really hit.
I'm still laughing about #Ass Tonight. I have a few friends on "The Pitt," so I'm trying to get my ass an airing on "The Pitt" at some point.
[The event ended with a few minutes of Alex beaming at the audience reaction at the venue.]
That's all for Wee Con programming today! I'll be coming back after recordings are posted to watch the "Stab Me" panel and the panel on historical (in)accuracy, because I can do 5 am but not 2 am. I expect to be back tomorrow with notes on the onscreen music panel.
The LGBQIA+ community has had a lot of time to deal with the fact that entertainment in general, and Hollywood specifically, goes out of its way to downplay, modify, or just flat-out erase queer participation in most productions. This is especially true in period dramas, which is still a genre that tends to pretend gay people didn’t exist in the past. Of course, getting used to it doesn’t mean we’re happy about it, which is why we always celebrate when a production like Our Flag Means Death along comes, which breaks the pattern and reveals that, when you factor in diversity, there are still a lot of stories to be told across all ages. The show centers around real-life notorious pirate Captain Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) and his incredibly diverse crew.
Some fans of the HBO romantic comedy series are taking this need for celebration to the next level. They are creating a non-profit and unofficial fan convention cleverly called Our Con Means Death, which is set to take place next September in Bristol, UK, with an online streaming event attached. Of course, everyone is welcome! The fan event is set to feature panels, workshops, cosplay, games, and other pirate-themed group activities, as well as fan-run booths.
In an official statement shared with Collider, the trio of fan organizers Obliquity, Maddie, and Manea explained that they decided to bring the project to life after realizing the power of the Our Flag Means Death fanbase, and how they are eager to celebrate and discuss the series in large groups. The trio also stresses that the unexpected success of the series comes from having a diverse cast and crew, which “represents a truly historic shift in the treatment of the LGBTQIA+ community on-screen.”
The event is taking shape at Kickstarter, and its distinct "origin story" has prompted the website's Head of Film Elise McCave to put out a statement in support of the Con.
"Fan culture is one of the engines that keeps Kickstarter running. We’ve seen fans band together to bring back shows and films — from 'Veronica Mars' to 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' to 'Critical Role'. What’s exciting about this project is that it’s fans taking a show they love and using it as inspiration to create something new, and building their IRL community in the process."
Last month, series star, and Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi weighed in on the show’s LGBTQIA+ aspect after fans celebrated the fact that his character and Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) shared an onscreen kiss. At the time, Waititi commented that he was happy with the commotion, but it’s high time that these storylines get normalized by mainstream media.
As a non-profit event, Our Con Means Death also indicated that any surplus that's left at the end of the three-day gathering will be donated to Mermaids UK, an organization that aims to support non-binary, transgender, and gender diverse children and young people, and their families. The event will run from September 23 to 25 in a hybrid format (online and in Bristol, UK) to allow anyone, anywhere in the world to attend. Tickets cost from £15 (online) to £80 (full weekend in-person) and you can purchase them now on Kickstarter.
The raffle of fic, photos, and crafts raised 675 pounds for two charities: Equality Network (LGBTI rights organization in Scotland) and Social Bite (dedicated to ending homelessness).
As one of the closing presenters said, this con is part of Our Flag Means Community, and if you have ideas for what future events look like, you are invited to share in the Discord.
This closing was the last event at the convention venue, and people attending in person are invited to Two Acts of Drag at 2 Roxborough Place, doors open 6:45 pm GMT.
Thanks to venue staff, AV crew, volunteers, floating market vendors, Vico and Alex, performers, and @amuseoffyre and the other organizers.
I didn't catch the names of the panelists, apologies, though I remember Happydaiz and Kninjaknitter and Baby Kraken being among them. [Edited to add: And @ramsaybaggins !]
Find a story you want to live in!
Q: Particular piece of equipment that makes life easier?
A: Pillow behind microphone, with a character I fancy on it, which I can look at lovingly when I do my Ed voice.
A: You have to be comfortable.
A: I got boom arms to keep from hurting my shoulder.
A: There's an AO3 skin designed for dyslexia that's helpful.
A: Environment is important, you want to be in a good position so you don't have to move a lot. If the storytelling is intact, a barking dog in the background isn't that big an issue.
A: Sponge over microphone made editing easier.
Q: Do you do anything to get into character?
A: Once I've read through a fic once, the story handles that for me. I did spend a couple days walking around the house talking as Archie before recording my first Archie-centered story.
A: I say "mate" a lot more than I used to b/c I talk to myself in the voices.
A: I talked to nomadsland when I was working on Throat Goat, it's less about vocal pitch and more about vocal placement.
A: I narrate more than do voices. I do tone and emphasis.
A: I don't do the voices, characters are more cadence for me. Fandom is good at getting cadence.
A: Getting Stede's cadence feels like taking the words for a little walk up and down.
Q: What challenges do you enjoy in a podfic?
A: I like if there's lots of voices in one scene. Just did one with 14 character voices. When they're having an argument and you have to change between them, that's fun.
A: I like ones that make me feel something I want to pass on.
A: I have to connect with it to record it. I want to make the long fic I'm recording now accessible to as many people as possible.
A: I love in-pod singing in character. I'm drawn to stories where the world is immersive.
A: If I break down and cry while recording, I take a selfie of myself ugly crying and send it to the writer. (Smallestchurch and caladria, looking at you!)
Q: What's a challenge you want?
A: Smutty Ricky noises.
A: I haven't done any smut yet.
A: I haven't made a lot of sex noises, and I'm not going to.
A: Reading voices of characters as animals (or shrunk) is really fun.
A: Stories matched to podficcers to fit their gifts.
A: Characters reading as each other.
Q: How do you select what you want to record?
A: Depends on what my voice feels like doing.
A: If I'm slowing down when reading, that's a sign I want to record it.
A: Sometimes I read something and start hearing it in a particular podficcer's voice.
A: Occasionally someone says "I've written this in your voice."
A: Collabing is fun.
A: I keep a spreadsheet of what I'm recording and want to record. I have 12 in progress, rotate through.
Q: Do you ever accidentally podfic the same thing?
A: Sometimes we'll communicate to see if anyone is already working on one. In some fandoms, it's common for multiple people to podfic the same story.
A: We don't mind re-recording, kind of why we did the podfuckery.
A: There's just over 150 podficcers in OFMD fandom, have covered about 2000 fics. Lots of opportunities.
Q: I'm so delighted when my work is podficced. Can Happydaiz / anyone else talk about soundscapes?
A: I love adding soundscapes. I make what I hear in my mind. Sometimes once I hear narration I think, "Oh, I've misinterpreted." It's a joyous (and also time-consuming) process. I get earwormed by songs that are included-- Zumba songs, e.g.
A: Happydaiz occasionally sends a screenshot of what's involved. Robins wouldn't sing in woods, so if Stede's in the woods, there's not going to be a robin.
A: People sending sounds to Boy, use video function! Doesn't edit out background sounds.
Q: Have you done live podfic before?
A: Usually when we're reading to you, it's solitary. It means a lot to learn we kept someone company in a thing they needed to do.
A: We're staying together, became a bonding activity.
A: Everyone I've met in the fandom has been nice!
A: I think we like the sound of our own voices.
A: Yes, I do!
A: If you don't like the sound of your own voice, you'll stop hearing it as your voice after a while.
A: Anyone have any Wee John stuff to be recorded? I want to do that!
Q: Any part of the process you dread?
A: Editing.
Happydaiz: I love editing, send that to me!
A: I'm working on a 350k one now, going to be 40+ hours of speaking.
A: Some days the time available doesn't align with my ability to record.
A: I force myself to take a break after 20 minutes or it messes up my body.
A: My job is talking. Podficcing uses your voice differently, and you maybe only figure it out later.
A: Especially if you're doing an Izzy voice.
A: Badminton voices are hard on the voice-- too constipated.
Q: Those of you who write fic as well, has your writing changed as a result of your podficcing?
A: It's slowed my writing a little, made the narrator into another character. I've never written one with a soundscape in mind, though.
A: When I'm writing, it's just tumbling out, I write short stuff. But for the Reverse Big Bang, I was thinking about what would make a good soundscape.
A: Having feedback from fandom on podfics has been amazing! This is my one hobby!
[alarm goes off] That is IRRITATING! Oh. Shit! There's a panel!
So I missed the first few minutes, including the name of the presenter [edited to add: courtesy of someone in the replies, the presenter was Lily / Girlwithbat], but here's what I got:
Sea Witches
Power is tied to the moon and thus to the ocean (heyyyy Buttons). They can raise winds and create storms.
Sir Francis Drake was sometimes considered a sea witch, believed to have made a pact with the devil to defeat the Spanish Armada at Devils Point. Other examples:
Calypso, in Greco-Roman myth (and Odyssey)
Circe (Odyssey)
Unnamed sea witch (Hans Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid; Disney named her Ursula)
If you wanted to make a deal with the devil, you had to go through Leonard, the demi-demon. (I swear I'm not making this up.) He had a second face on his ass, and you kissed it in lieu of shaking hands.
Mermaids and Sirens
Sirens (Greco-Roman) lure with their voices; mermaids (Northern Eur) just grab you and drown you. Northern European mermaid stories during and after the Roman occupation of Northern Europe show influence of siren stories.
Mermaids were often associated with local bodies of water:
Aqualate Mere, near Shropshire Newport
The mermaids at Dart, Spey, and Wye demanded one sacrifice a year.
Rusalki in Slavic myth started out as fertility figures but in the 19th century and onwards, there's a shift in the stories about them, recasting them as women who either killed themselves or murdered by a man near water (and subsequently as a danger to men traveling near water).
Selkies
Jeremiah Curtin, 1892: Tom Moore saw a woman sitting on a rock, stole her hood, and married her. Out near the water together, they observed a lot of seals and she allegedly pointed to one and said "that's my brother." One day she found her hood and left. Their kids purportedly had webbed hands and feet.
Kopakonan (Sea Wife), Faroe Islands: When she escaped her terrestrial husband, she left a message saying "Don't come after me." He did, and killed a bunch of seals, and she subsequently cursed the men of the islands and refused to lift the curse unless a group of men large enough to encircle the islands held hands to do so. (This too is yaoi, I guess?)
Kelpies
Scottish folklore, shapeshifters, can take form of woman or horse (or occasionally man).
Bäckenhäst (Scandi): horse, luminous, allows riders to climb on with ease, but will not let them off as it dives into the water to drown them. "If you yell 'Jesus Christ' repeatedly it'll let you go" (which, you know, if I were having a frightening experience I might do without prompting?).
We have been instructed to check out Kiki Rockwell's kelpi song! (Haven't had time yet, but found a link.)
[Stede voice] The Kraaaaaaken!
Attested by Pliny the Elder as a large creature that causes storms.
Norwegian Orvar-Oddr, described as whalelike, could take down islands or ships.
An 18th century description of the kraken calls it round and flat with many arms (so, disagreements on whether it's a whale analogue or a squid one).
Tennyson wrote a Kraken poem!
Kraken, Leviathan, and Sea Serpent are kind of mixed together in legends?
Jörmungandr, a serpent in Norse myth, is Loki's baby, encircling the world while eating its own tail. If it releases the tail, it will be the Ragnarok (end of the world).
Leviathan, in the Hebrew Bible, is a sea creature analogous to the Behemoth on land. It's mentioned many times (including in Job and by inference in Jonah), a powerful enemy or embodiment of chaos.
Tomokazuki: offer abalone to divers, then drown them. If you see an abalone diver without a protective symbol, they're probably a demon!
Dragon King Ryujin: revered for wisdom, will take care of you in his kingdom if you perish at sea
Scylla and Charybdis, Messina, Italy: whirlpool and nymph pair, dangerous to sailors
Sailing superstitions
Some sailors thought a ship would be blind unless an eye were added to the prow of the ship.
Figureheads were considered protective. They were usually animals but sometimes the image of a royal, if part of a royal fleet. Other times a tits-out mermaid, which purported to "quiet the sea." Disgruntled sailors often went to tell their troubles to the tits-out mermaid, there being no bartender available ig.
There were superstitions about harming a figurehead, so it was probably bad luck for Izzy to de-leg the unicorn.
Unicorns
Attested in hymn of Buddha and the Bible (now usually translated as rhino or oxen)
Part of national coat of Arms in Scotland connoting power and purity
Hildegard von Bingen may be the source of the association between unicorns and the protection of young maidens
Dogs
England: Black Dogs patrol trackways and roads
Dogs of passage: Cerberus, Anubis, Hekate
Artemis and Hekate both depicted with dogs in art
Black Shuck, of East Anglia, considered both an omen and protector
Cats!
On a ship, they protect against mice and rats
Pattern of licking fur was supposed to foretell weather changes
Unsinkable Sam and Simon were two cats honored for naval service
Panelist didn't find anything on cursed outfits, but lots on cursed objects!
Man Proposes, God Disposes (Edwin Landseer painting)
Cursed locations: Siwash Rock (off Stanley Park, Vancouver), Crater Lake (Oregon)
Cursed objects: Hope Diamond; Woman of Lemb Statue (fertility statue dated to 3500 BCE)
Werewolves
Proto Indo-European mythology, legends may have been part of initiation to warrior class.
In Greek myth, werewolves were people punished for their vice.
During 17th century mainland European witch hunts, werewolves were considered to have a disorder of the brain causing violent actions.
There's no cross-cultural consensus on the cause of werewolves.
Scottish Wulver was a permanent hybrid wolf-man and a guide to travelers.
Faoladh and werewolves of Ossory were revered as fighters and protectors.
Vampires
Slavic upir, Romanian moroi / strigoi / pricolici
Lilith in the bible and Lilitu in Babylonian demonology
The term vampire comes from a story of Arnold Paole
Blood around the mouth of a corpse thought to be a sign that someone was a vampire, probably meant that he had plague.
Bram Stoker's Dracula is responsible for a lot of modern iconography about vampires (basically fic about Vlad the Impaler)
Commonalities across culture in stories of vampires:
undead, sensitive to sunlight, can only be killed in specific and limited ways, vulnerable to holy images and garlic
Only in some cultures:
must be invited into the house, must count spilled grains, no reflection, can shapeshift
Eastern European folklore: vampires look like rotting corpses
Western European folklore: vampires are hottt
Audience member: They're both hottt in different ways!
Presented by Philippa, who clarified that this presentation was not about the soundtrack or score, but about diagetic music or music-like sounds made by characters. A catalogue:
Pilot
Frenchie [whom the presenter called Frankie throughout, but I'm going to correct silently from here on out so you know who I'm writing about] strums a lute
Crew jamming in the jam room
Frenchie plays and sings "A Pirate's Life" (shanty style, but does not pre-exist the show)
Navy member holds fife to mouth but doesn't appear to make sound
1.2
No music
1.3
Two of Jackie's husbands, for the purpose of this talk dubbed "The Hus-BAND," play a hand accordion and what is possibly a euphonium
1.4
Wee John imitates a foghorn during the lighthouse fuckery. Weeee oooooh.
1.5
Ed gives a flourish on harpsichord on the party boat.
1.6
The Swede sings "Voi Che Sapete" from Marriage of Figaro (the presenter didn't mention this, but the events of OFMD predate the premiere of Figaro). The part The Swede is singing is Cherubino, a teenage boy commonly sung by a woman (in the early days at least once by a castrato), singing to the Countess, who is his godmother.
When Stede calls the Swede "our little Nordic angel," that might be an anachronistic reference to Jenny Lind.
1.7
No music
1.8
Buttons plays flute or recorder
[Speaker didn't mention it, but I'd class Buttons' "I hex upon yeeee" as music-adjacent. Possibly also his keening when Stede calls him "rather audibly upset"]
A British Navy member plays drum, another plays fife, though we don't hear the fife
Frenchie is playing lute when getting tackled
1.9
No music
1.10
Ed sings his "Let Go" song to Frenchie's accompaniment
Wee John does a bit of drumming
2.1
At Jackie's, The Hus-BAND again play euphonium and hand-accordion
2.2
Auntie rings the wake-up bell
2.3
Stede rattles the abacus as if it's a percussion instrument
Buttons chants, possibly in Gaelic, possibly a nonce language
2.4
Buttons chants and intones
2.5
Ed's cat bell
2.6
Ned Lowe playing violin ("painting a violin silver will fuck up the sound")
Ned torturing man in lighthouse
Torture symphony plus violin
Izzy sings "La Vie en Rose" in French and English
2.7
Auntie kicks the clock and it chimes
The Hus-BAND plays something brief
2.8
British sailors sing "Rule Brittania (1740). "Some people want this as the national anthem. Don't. There's a parody, people will sing it instead: Rule two tanners, two tanners make a bob, five make two and six, and one for his knob"
Flashback to Voi che sapete
"I initially thought 'That's All Right,' sung as Izzy dies, was being sung by Jackie, but it's a recording by Laura Rivers."
Q: Any things you wish had been included?
A: some shanties-- most are out of copyright.
Q: It was surprising there was no music on the date.
A: The French ship could have had a singer!
[I totally thought the person asking meant the crab shack the morning after Calypso's birthday, more intimate, and they both KNOW it's a date.]
Q: Shanty you'd have included?
A: Not "Drunken Sailor." Maybe a take on "The Golden Vanity" where the cabin boy wins. Or "Sail to the East, Sail to the West, Sail the Whole World Over." [Couldn't find a link for that last one.]
