#ofmd crew

[nwarrior777]

yo ho homosexual

[dinosaurs-and-lavender]

I love the show Our Flag Means Death so much.

I love that Stede was brave enough to leave the toxic society that had failed him and so many others - to make a better life or die trying. And he succeeded! He made a better society. He found love. He inspired the other characters on the show to be better people and he inspired me to be brave in my own life. I am forever grateful.

I love that Ed, who had lived with abuse and hardship and seemed so isolated when we met him, had kept his optimism, his sense of playfulness. He fought against a negative self image and a belief that he was undeserving of happiness. He tried some self care and he too found happiness - and also the love of his life.

I love the crew - all with their own problems, but who also find themselves and grow; a good part of it being down to Stede's philosophy. Jim learns that revenge will twist you and is freed by letting go. Pete learns to be gentle, love and show care for people and is so loved in return. Lucius goes through hard times but survives and learns what is truly important. Olu shows us a true supportive friendship. Frenchie grows into responsibility with compassion. Roach knows his worth. Buttons shows Ed that change is possible and gets to change himself to be with his own true love. Wee John gets to be himself to the full and to encourage others to do the same. The Swede gains confidence and learns he is desirable. Izzy learns the value in belonging. Fang is so caring and will stand up for what he believes. Archie gives us confidence and enthusiasm. Jackie is simply a goddess. Mary B takes the opportunity freedom awards her to grab a life she was otherwise denied. Anne and Mary are able to start afresh. Auntie learns that a bit of softness is important too, and Zheng that she can have it.

We see a group of people grow from a group of individuals into a supportive community. We see so much varied and wonderful representation where people learn that they can be themselves without labels or judgement. And they thrive! And what's better, they seem just like us.

There is so much joy and positivity in this show. If you embrace Stede's supportive philosophy you thrive. If you reject it and try to maintain the poisonous status quo you mostly end up dead. They are good to each other. They support each other. They show what it means to be part of a crew. And there are lessons and inspiration in it for all of us.

I just really, really love this show.

[piratemarmalade]

Buttons really said "everyone on that ship is fucking each other all the damn time" and he ain't wrong

[robinssocks]

stede putting the crews flags up is like a proud father putting his kids drawings on the fridge 💔💔💔 oh my god oh my god stede bonnet i love you so much

[moirai-know]

The goddess, Calypso, visited me in a dream. Raise your motherfucking glasses!

[insteading]

Things I learned listening to Nancy Hennah talk about hair and makeup for Our Flag Means Death:

The storm in "Red Flags" made the wig ball up in a knot that took five hours to untangle. Most of the wet stuff in S2 used the wig from S1 for that reason.

There were two s1 Ed beards, so one could be blocked and curled while the other was in use.

Tattoos were kept on as long as possible, because putting them on and taking them off was time consuming. But three days was really the limit for them looking good and staying on securely.

DJenks requested that Ed have a full sleeve tattoo fairly late in the game before shooting. The snake was an efficient way to get a full sleeve, and also made placing smaller bits easier. Freckles were used for navigation.

DJenks asked for the back piece tattoo we see on Ed in s2e1. The skull and snake part were done by Dean Sacred and the lettering by Nancy Hennah.

Initial plan for Ed's chest piece was two ships having a fight, but it was too wide. The final chest piece was one tall ship with some bigger stars around it. There was initially a mermaid who didn't make the cut. "We always lived in fear of him having his top off."

NH talked about how much fun the hair cage styles were for s1e5 and the wedding in s2e1-- "because we weren't being period correct we had leeway."

A variety of makeup looks were tried for the beginning of s2, including one where the eyemask went all the way to the hairline. It's meant to look like it could be replicated using charcoal and oil, stuff the crew would have had access to.

Nathan Foad started a mini-trend of ridiculous sideburns in the 6 months he was wearing That Facial Hair around LA.

There was initially a wig set aside for Rhys. Not the white one he wears for s1e5, but a longer blond one. It wasn't used after tests because his own hair was so good.

Ed's s2 wig wasn't so much intended to be longer for story-telling purposes, it was just that he was wet a lot of the time and that pulled the curl out. But there were longer pieces around the front.

When Ed washed up on the beach in the Gravy Basket scene, he got black metallic sand in the wig. It was impossible to fully remove and was still in at the end of the season.

Normally Taika's hair would be slicked back with solid gel, but that's water-soluble and wouldn't have worked for s2e3. In that instance it was slicked back with glue? or something glue-like? and plumber's tape fashioned into a headband. The wig stayed on until when Ed was apparently falling into the water with the cannonball in the last take (really being pulled sideways).

Fang's tattoos were designed by Iniya Taylor in Auckland. A henna artist (whose name I didn't catch) designed Archie's pieces, which NH placed. Mads was thinking about getting one of her tattoos for real.

Of Ed's nail art in s1e10: "That was Taika, he'd gone and gotten it, and it was gels, we couldn't get it off. Taika said 'no one will notice, don't worry about it.'" (And then everyone noticed and was so excited and wrote meta about it.)

Did you know what you were unleashing when you put the wig in a bun in s2? "No."

There were many guesses about the hangman tattoo: circus, pirogi, virgin, mirage, girlie, girthy. The actual answer is PIRATE.

[celesmaxwell]

Whatcha been up to the last week or so, OFMD fans?

[emcolbs]

happy new year!! 💖