lifes-a-dick

[lifes-a-dick]

They're doing it with video games now :/

[lifes-a-dick]

Talking on the phone with my mom I finally broke down and cried thoroughly about the cancellation. I think I'd been holding it in for the last two days, or two months. And honestly I've been wondering all along why this show means so much to me. I am not queer, I am not neurodivergent, I am not POC or disabled or any of the groups that this show has been so important for in terms of representation and being treated with respect and dignity. I understand and completely empathize with all of you, and fight for this show and your rights worldwide alongside you, but it still left me wondering why I myself have latched onto Our Flag Means Death. I suppose part of it is that despite being white and cishet and the privileges that have always come with that, I have been treated like an outsider and ostracized my entire childhood and teenage years, for being ugly and having "disgusting" interests (primarily liking insects, reptiles, other creepy-crawlies - aka the thing I literally do for my career now). I was bullied relentlessly from preschool through early college and became a very lonely introverted person - I still am. Undoubtedly Our Flag Means Death gave me renewed hope that I haven't missed some key window for finding love or relationships of any kind that matter, as I sit here typing this at age 28 having never dated anyone.

But it had to be more than that. And with everything that's happened the past couple of months, and the last few days, I think it finally clicked for me.

Followers of my blog may or may not know that I am a conservation biologist, or pollinator ecologist, whichever hat fits best on a given day, they're quite close. I don't make many original posts like this anymore on here because my job is so busy. Basically, I do a variety of things - academic research, habitat management & restoration, and public outreach - to try and preserve biodiversity and ecosystems on our planet. I'm just going to say it: it's a thankless job. Nothing we do ever feels like it's enough, and burnout is common in our field because we sit with the guilt of feeling like we are the only thing between survival and utter destruction of planet Earth, and work ourselves to exhaustion. It's one of those jobs where your work is your life, and your passion is your work, and it's inseparable from who you are on a molecular level. We are often faced, on a large scale, with hostility, from people that don't believe in science and are more than happy to pull a shotgun on us, or rich old men in power who are content to watch the world burn for another penny in their bank account. There are days when sometimes it sinks in just how bad things are, and it's terrifying, and I feel like we will never be able to do enough, to change enough, before it gets catastrophic. It's paralyzing.

My ability to do my job is dependent on hope. Unwavering, unrelenting hope. Hope beyond hope. We have to believe what we're doing matters, otherwise we'd fall down and never get back up again. I'm no big-shot, I give talks to a few hundred people at a time, and make urban pollinator habitat on a local scale. Is any of that going to make a difference compared to the ramifications of a single oil mogul deciding to cut corners and cause an oil spill that kills millions of seabirds and damages ocean food chains for decades to come? If people in my field let thoughts like that linger, we'd be paralyzed to inaction. I have to hope that the people I teach choose to do something good with that knowledge, and go on to inspire others, or that the patch of habitat I make allows a declining species to maintain a foothold instead of going locally extinct. You just have to keep going.

And Our Flag Means Death got wrapped up in that for me. The Stede Bonnet effect, if you will. He set out to do pirating differently, treating his crew with respect and helping them grow. In return, they internalized that mindset, and it spread to how they interacted with others. It changed the trajectory of individual lives, and also at least began to change how the society of pirates operated as a whole. It was a beacon of hope that choosing small acts of kindness did matter, even if you yourself could not see the ripples it made. It renewed my faith that love persevered and would win. That we could all make life a little better for each other and ourselves through kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and mutual support. I think a good chunk of that is from Taika - these are running themes in his projects, and his films move me deeply for that. This show became in some, perhaps subconscious way, a source of strength for me to keep putting myself out there in my line of work to do whatever I was capable of to help the cause.

The cancellation was devastating, but the second cancellation (turbohell cancelation?) was even more so. Because now it's so clear that this is largely the work of David Zaslav and the regime he's built. It's petty, it's greedy, and more than anything, it's cruel. Indifferently, indiscriminately cruel, when one person at the top can have such power to make or break the lives of thousands, millions, beneath them, and though it would have been barely a drop in the bucket, a hand wave, to renew our show or let it pass to another streamer, he actively chose to shackle it to this sinking Titanic of a company WBD has become. I have always operated on the belief that you can do anything if you work hard enough at it, and believed deep down that there was some order, some justice in the universe, atheist though I be. We as a fandom did everything we possibly could, we loved this show harder than anything. The numbers were there, the awards nominations were there, the critic praise was there, and we were loud and loyal every single day. I felt like we could do this - how could we not win when we've done so much, and the show deserves it so much? Surely cause and effect will prevail.

This fight seemed small, though really it wasn't; we fought for the right of artists and creators to make quality, original stories and have them told to their natural end, we fought for diversity representation to be more than a token character - OFMD raised the bar so much higher on all fronts, we fought to shed light on the chaos and impending collapse of this industry silencing art and exploiting writers, actors, and all manner of production workers. It was a small fight from the outside, one that I really felt we could win. And I put my heart and soul into it, because if we could win this, if we could save this simple, kind love story about two guys on a boat, then maybe there was hope for the bigger, badder stuff too. It shouldn't seem an insurmountable task for several thousand fans to convince a streaming service that they'd turn a tidy profit to give our show one more season.

Yet we lost - through no fault of our own. I am so proud of us. But that really struck deep for me. If one peabrained CEO of a media company wouldn't budge on greenlighting a show that was in his every best interest business-wise - perhaps enough to even save Max from going under in the not-too-distant future - my god, what hope was there for changing anything bigger? The 'real' problems of the world? When no amount of ethos, logos, or pathos can penetrate these men at the top, where's that hope to fight? Lately the world seems like it's just going belly up all over. If we gave everything we could, and it still wasn't enough - if it could never be enough - what hope is there? It's like chaining yourself to a tree and the bulldozer plowing right on ahead. And I think that broke something in me. It shook me to my foundations because it broke my rules of how things are supposed to work. We believed hard enough, we worked tirelessly, and we deserved it for how important this show was to so many people. And it didn't matter. Our best wasn't enough. And that caused an avalanche of all of the horrible, scary things piled on my shoulders - we're losing the Amazon rainforest too fast to save, climate change is going to turn the corn belt into a dustbowl by mid-century, a border wall is going to devastate imperiled wildlife in Texas, deforestation and hurricanes on songbird wintering grounds could lead to entire species extinctions, saltmarshes are our lifeline and they're shrinking and we're still building stupid concrete stormwalls, invasive diseases will completely alter the composition of our forests to be unrecognizable to our children, and if you don't make every slide of this powerpoint utterly perfect and you fail to convince every single person in attendance to get rid of their lawn then you've failed and the world is doomed.

I've struggled with being a perfectionist my whole life. This didn't help.

That's where I was a couple hours ago. But I took some deep breaths. I know the world isn't fair. But I really thought if we could win this one battle, then we could win the war.

But here's what I realized. Everything we did mattered. It mattered so much. Because there's the show, and then there's everything that was birthed out of that show. The community, so many of us around the world who have been uplifted by Our Flag Means Death in a real and lasting way that we will take with us and spread to affect those around us. The Stede Bonnet effect goes global. We raised thousands and thousands of dollars for charities around the world, real people whose lives have been improved, or maybe even saved, because of us and this silly pirate show. We brought a hell of a lot of attention to WBD and their shitty practices, keeping the momentum going in a way that I think is only going to build - and I sure hope it leads to Zaslav getting deposed. We have demanded more queer stories, more BIPOC stories, more disabled and autistic and middle-aged stories, stories with exquisite costumes and award-worthy wigs, dear lord, and we are being heard. We have expressed such love and support for the cast and crew, showing them that we appreciate their hard work and that we will be behind them in their future projects. So many of them have told us how the show and its fans have changed their lives. We convinced Rhys that his career isn't winding down but winding up, and to be unapologetic about his wonderful weirdness - we've proven to everyone through this show that your weirdness is what someone out there is going to love you for, not in spite of. We rallied to help writers and actors during the strikes in a way that was taken to heart and remembered. We have been out here talking it through as a crew, and turning poison into positivity, for over two years now, and that impact is permanent. They can cancel our show, they can try and slap copyright notices on our fan merch, and spew bullshit excuses about the numbers not being there. But Our Flag Means Death sparked a movement, the biggest pirate crew the world has ever seen, using our power for good.

We may not have any more new material for our show for a while, or ever. But I maintain hope that when the dust has settled and streaming has entered its 'new era' that they'll remember us and throw us a lifeline. Because hope is a part of my genetic makeup, and even in cancellation my hope has been renewed that the fight is worth fighting, that our individual choices of kindness are having an effect, and making the world a little easier to live in bit by bit. No one can take from us what we have built out of this show. And thanks to pirating, they can't take the actual show from us either. Despite this, no matter the outcome, I am so happy we got two seasons of this wonderful series. That was more than almost anyone expected. The story belongs to all of us, and it will always live on. We did not truly lose this battle, because in the process we gained more than we could have ever imagined. And I know there's still so much more to come. That gives me the strength to keep doing what I do, every day.

To me, Our Flag Means Hope.

#wow read this #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #tagging it as this so i can find it again

[lifes-a-dick]

don't give up

[lifes-a-dick]

First thing that's made me laugh all evening, so here ya go. ❤

#ofmd

[lifes-a-dick]

Chaos Dad dropped in to give us some love.

Continuation of the original post where it says Show more:

You are powerful, you are admired.

#ofmd #thanks david #our flag means death #david jenkins

[lifes-a-dick]

In case you all aren't feeling seen today

CW: Regarding the lack of renewal.

I know we're all still raw, but I wanted to show you how many places have seen us and our loss today so far. Even IMDB made a post about it. Don't lose hope loves. These places know how much OFMD means to us.

https://theplaylist.net/our-flag-means-death-creator-david-jenkins-confirms-show-hasreached-the-end-of-the-road-20240308/

https://tvline.com/news/our-flag-means-death-season-3-update-cancelled-max-comedy-1235185207/

https://www.escapistmagazine.com/our-flag-means-death-creator-addresses-chances-of-series-return/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/our-flag-means-death-no-new-home-max-cancellation-1235846639/

https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/movies/flag-means-death-creator-says-160716939.html

https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/1591849-our-flag-means-death-is-officially-done-after-not-finding-new-streaming-home

https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2024/03/08/no-revival-for-our-flag-means-death/6531709897319/

https://screenrant.com/our-flag-means-death-callenation-confirmed-no-new-home/

https://www.joblo.com/our-flag-means-death-new-home-officially-dead/

https://cartermatt.com/644717/our-flag-means-death-season-3-not-happening-creator-confirms/

https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/our-flag-means-death-creator-officially-confirms-show-cannot-be-saved/

https://www.inkl.com/news/our-flag-means-death-canceled-after-two-successful-seasons

#ofmd

[lifes-a-dick]

It is what it is *throws up*

[lifes-a-dick]

La vie en rose 🌹

#OFMD #ofmd art

[lifes-a-dick]

Deep breath.

I am a solidly middle-aged fangirl, and my last real fan community before OFMD was the X-Files. (I feel like I am not the only one here who fits that description).

The news that we aren’t getting a new season of Our Flag Means Death is hitting me harder than I expected.

So I am thinking about Scully.

There’s this X-Files episode called “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose.” The plot is about a guy who can see into the future and tell people how they die.

Scully asks him, "How do I die?"

And Clyde Bruckman replies, simply, "You don't."

I've seen fans speculate that Scully winds up becoming immortal by the end of the series. But, 22 years after the end of the show's original run, that line has taken on a new meaning for me.

Scully doesn't die, she can't die, because I still think about her. Scully is immortal because there are fans still writing her into stories, still making art, still getting inspired by her and pursuing medicine and science.

You cannot truly kill a story. You can cancel a TV show. You can, if you're an asshole, make fun of fan creators and their ideas. If you're really an asshole (and a media conglomerate), you can send them cease and desist letters and tell them to stop making art that breathes new life into that story. But the story will not die.

I draw a lot of hope from the long, long history of fandom. The people who loved stories enough to keep them alive, even when it wasn't clear that there would ever be another "official" work in their lifetimes. The Sherlock Holmes fans. The Star Trek fans.

How does a story die?

It doesn’t.

#ofmd

[lifes-a-dick]

This is what I had been worried about all along.

The only explanation that makes sense to me is WB being fucking petty and making negotiations impossible like they did with Coyote vs ACME.

I hope they know they made another powerful enemy in us.

#ofmd #our flag means death #long live ofmd #fire david zaslav #don't stream on max

[lifes-a-dick]

#ofmd

[lifes-a-dick]

Alright this morning I'm kinda pissed because this scene was finished.

Like, genuinely, I get why they cut most of the BTS stuff we've seen. Even the boyfriends line, as much as I loved it, was probably sandwiched in with other stuff they had to cut.

But this. That's a finished shot. It was carefully done and hit the beats it needed to so it was a perfect parallel to the Chain sequence, right down to the wink.

It's so obvious no one wanted to cut it. They had to because HBO was demanding episodes less than 30 minutes long.

I am so, so grateful for what we've got. But how many more sweet little moments and thoughtful parallels had to be cut for time? Simply because HBO was trying to fucking suck this show dry at every turn?

#ofmd

[lifes-a-dick]

I am selling this original embroidery piece on etsy for anyone interested!

If you have any questions about it you can dm.

#ofmd #fan art

[lifes-a-dick]

You see, a life left on hold’s never paid for

So toss me a dream, something stable

Two lovers entwined look so pretty

You’re there, you’re mine; I’m lucky

— Love Is a Fool (Again) - Matt Berry

[ID: A digital painting of Ed and Stede from Our Flag Means Death. They’re side-on - Stede on the left, Ed on the right - and visible from the shoulders up, both in white blouses and embracing in the open ocean. Stede has his arms around Ed’s shoulders, positioned slightly above him as he tilts down into a kiss. Ed’s head is tilted up, hair fanning back into the water, and one hand is just visible holding onto Stede’s back. Ed also wears a sword earring. Both have their eyes closed. /End ID.]

[lifes-a-dick]

it was meant to be a parallel

the long panning slow mo shot. the whole crew doing different things. ed and stede grinning at each other. ed coming back (he never left)

remind you of anything??

i’m dead btw

#ofmd

[lifes-a-dick]

If you know you know.

... Extrapolating from incomplete data be like...

[lifes-a-dick]

they're married 🫶

#ofmd