Our Flag Means Daddy 🏴‍☠️ #IYKYK

REGARDLESS of the minimal season 2 tidbits, I had so much fun watching this with y’all! SO FUN TO SCREAM AND HAVE HEART PALPITATIONS AND APPRECIATE OUR LOVELY CAST AND LOVELY FANDOM <333 

Ayyyyy got cleared to lift my arms up above my shoulders~!

Seems like the lump might just be swelling so no need to stick it with a needle (WHEW)

“Stede becomes a man.”

So I’ve been a bit absent. Putting a ‘read more’ because shit in my life has gotten very real very quickly.

One of my younger sisters went to urgent care with stomach discomfort last Tuesday. It turned out that she had a huge mass in her pelvis, (18x25 cm) and our lives were plunged into a black hole of fear.

In the past week/weekend, she’s gotten blood tests and referrals for more scans. Every test result is more ominous and terrifying than the last. It is definitely ovarian cancer and she will need a major surgery and we don’t know what else.

In one day, I moved her completely into my house. She gave notice on hers. We are trying to find foster care for her cats while she is in treatment because she can’t care for them during, and neither can I.

We still haven’t had a proper prognosis and treatment plan. That will be today, I hope. I am about to drive her to her first actual appointment with a real oncologist.

It’s early and I’m lying awake in my bed. I haven’t slept much in the past weeks. I go to sleep googling ovarian cancer, and I wake up and google ovarian cancer, and I feel like an entire house is crushing me. I can barely breathe. I have to go fetal position for a few minutes sometimes during the day to get through it.

We need some hope today. We need some good news. We need, at the very minimum, a plan for her care. Something to focus on.

Please keep us in your thoughts and send us some love and good will. She is either in shock or being very brave but she could get hopeful, or devastating news today (or more terrifying limbo) and I don’t know where that will leave us.

I won’t try to tell you how much my sister means to me. But I will say that we grew up together in an isolated family with shitty, monstrous, abusive parents and it fused us together in profound ways. I raised her to the extent that a child can raise another child. (It’s like that John Mulaney joke where he said his babysitter was so young, it was like a horse caring for a dog lol)

We are both super sci-fi fantasy nerds. I watch tv with her probably three to four nights a week, and we can talk for LITERAL HOURS about the intricacies of the writing and the characters on the various franchises. We usually agree, but we probably woke the neighbors with our argument about who the best Doctor Who companion was.

We work at the same hospital and share an office one day a week, and the people in the hall probably hear our elaborate Star Wars or MCU theories.

I know better than to get her started about certain things, but no matter what I do, every Thanksgiving she gives an entire speech about how the LOTR movie adaptations failed Gimli, son of Gloin.

We’ve been to Supernatural cons (we’ve both written SPN fic), and SDCC together many times. Actually, we went to ECCC together this year, so @spacecores and @roguepyrola met her and can attest to the fact that she is a mouthy, down to earth, absolutely brilliant, funny, foul mouthed, nerdy ass bitch.

I NEED HER, ok, I FUCKIN NEED HER.

So if you meditate, pray, send intentions, I don’t care what it is, I need it today. Her appointment is in about three hours and we need some hope.

Thanks for reading, friends. ♥️ I know this isn’t fandom related but we’re all real life human beings here with real lives, and that’s what is happening in mine.

this is maybe a silly question. how do you go about getting represented by an agency as an illustrator? i dont expect you to have the one true definite answer of course. but i was curious of your artist career journey!

Not a silly question! And you're right, I don't have the one true definitive answer, but I do have some insight! The honest answer is--you look up agencies, read their submissions policies, and contact them! Find someone looking to rep what you're looking to have repped, send some nice emails, and wait. There are a lot of rejections in publishing/illustration, and you'll probably face some here. It's terrible but not personal, it's just a lot of people trying to find the right match! Some people participate in portfolio days, submissions events, and hashtags like #kidlitpostcard day on twitter and get "discovered" that way. My own personal answer is weirder. I was supposed to be doing that, but I was also building a career making art prints/merch and selling directly at comic/anime conventions--and that put me in front of some agents. I also went to SCBWI (society for children's book writers and illustrators) conferences and paid for seminars/participated in portfolio shows that got my work directly in front of editors and agents. The conventions were actually where things happened for me. In the same year (I think? Around 2015-2016) I was tapped for a panel at ECCC called Hire That Woman! And I was the only illustrator, so I met some awesome comics writers. I hit it of great with one of them and we ended up developing a book together and pitching it--and my dream publisher picked it up! I also met an agent at ECCC who was interested in repping for picture books AND graphic novels at a time few kidlit agents were comfy with comics. I signed with her, and we've been working together ever since! I owe so much to Mairghread Scott (who wrote The City on the Other Side, my debut gn) for dragging me out of obscurity and getting my work in front of a publisher--who did have my on their radar but that was the clincher. My story is a combo of luck and making my own luck--I was making comics, indie picture books, tons of illustration, and children's book portfolios constantly, so I was prepared with manuscripts and ideas when someone did tap me. But the truth is, I am not a confident person and have crushing insecurities that I try not to let escape onto the internet, so I was too scared to send emails to agencies for years. When my current agent approached me, it was pretty much the exact month I'd promised myself to start doing it. I'm terrible at asking for advice and approaching people who have more experience than me (eldest sibling syndrome) so I try to make up for that by being helpful when someone reaches out to me!

ECCC '24 Day 2 wrap up:

Debuted the Submas cosplay to great appreciation, including:

someone not attending the con rolling down their car window to yell they liked our cosplays while we walked to the con

getting stopped for pictures four times in the first five minutes of being in the building

word getting around that there was a Submas duo and people bringing it up??

we did so many point and call poses

someone with a professional set up got a really amazing backlit shot and spent like twenty minutes setting it up perfectly - note HE wanted OUR picture, he sought us out!!

Other great moments included learning the opening to Dance the Night from Barbie (badly. we were not good at it) and the seller who saw our Elesa's Emolga plushie, asked if we got it in the showroom because his six year old daughter loves Emolga and he can't find one any where for her, and then protested when we just GAVE it to him because we... had five of the things. He traded art for it!!

All in all, a great day!

Hello! I just finished Sakana and was wondering if you were planning on coming back to it or not? I really love the story a lot and read it all in one day lol. If not I still hope to see more of your art and comics!

Thanks for reading, and yes I am coming back to it! I just got back from ECCC and it was so nice to hear from so many fans who are excited for it to return! I really needed time and space to work on some other projects (and my mental health lol) but I'm getting to a fantastic place, work and brain wise, where launching into volume 4 doesn't feel like such a daunting task!

I know I've said as much a few times over the last year or so, but it really can't be overstated how much better I feel compared to the years I was making volume 3. I'm excited to come back to it refreshed, recharged, and ready to draw SO MANY little sweat drops. So many, you can't even believe.

ECCC Live Stream

-Started out discussing Winter Soldier as 2024 is the ten year anniversary for the film. Chris says it’s his particular favorite MCU film he’s been involved in

-Talked about Scott Pilgrim and how he was excited to jump back in to playing Lucas Lee.

-Said he really loves working with the Russos

-Knives Out: He was filming Endgame when he read the script and begged his team to get him to be a part of it

-He mentioned that he’d like to be in a fantasy film as those are some of his faves but doesn’t know if it would “fit” into those types of movies.

-He discussed Red One and how excited he was to finally be doing a Christmas movie. Also mentioned how he had to say no to a few movies (that haven’t come out yet) in order to do R1 so “we’ll see if I made the right choice”

-Talked about his involvement with Christopher’s Haven and Jinx

-And of course, Dodger. Dodger loves to go on hikes and would be out all day if you let him. Chris says he’s a very spoiled dog but a very obedient pup. Mentioned his last dog (East) was a sweet dog but didn’t listen very well lol

how it's goin (cosplay edition)

the chaos continues. literally spent 8 hours at my table today sewing a belt for the amity cosplay, adapting pattern pieces, cutting out pattern pieces, pinning pattern pieces, and hemming a shirt

also yes that's the unglued pieces of my shield back there, that shit's being an annoying little fuck to me ugh and so is the weather (can't contact cement on my back porch if it's raining)

it's very much shield v.1.0, because i had no idea what i'm doing with the vinyl and there's bubbles fucking everywhere now that i have to pop one by one with a tiny needle. this will be my rush ECCC shield and eventually i'll do something else. something that's... probably not gonna be covered in vinyl. like ughh i'll just dye it or whatever, maybe.

but yeah the pinned top looks decent with the hemmed shirt so far so. i'll take it.

tomorrow's job is to cement my fucking shield and cut out all the fabric pieces for my pants. the pants will be a bit crunchier, because i need to put pockets in them and i have no fucking idea how to do pockets, but i guess i'll just emulate what i see in my jeans and figure it out...?

also amity is basically done. this pic was taken before i finished my actual belt (that's just a scarf i wrapped around my waist lol) but style the wig and add some light makeup/winged liner and i'll be golden. i think this will be a really nice and cozy costume to wear around for day one, can't wait!

Lucius and Izzy know a thing or two about booty - We sat down with some of our favorite pirates, Nathan Foad and Con O’Neill from Our Flag Means Death, to test their pirate lingo ☠️ How do you think they’ll do?

Poison into Positivity: A List of What I Liked in OFMD S2

Hello hello everyone! Things have been a little rough around here. Even away from the more heated takes, I've still seen a few "down in the dumps" murmurs. To which, I'm giving y'all big hugs, but also offering up some little bits of warmth! I wanted to share quite a few bullets of the things I enjoyed about this season. Maybe it'll serve as a reminder, or maybe it'll just serve as a chaotic, silly little read as per usual PFFF.

But I invite you to read along, and even add some of your own points should you feel inclined! Also, this might not even be my full list; these are just the ones that came to me quickly/off the top of my head. Still, let's dive on down like a fantastical, dazzling goldfish, shall we?

All the callbacks/parallels. My goodness. When I tell you I'm a SLUT for metaphors/parallels/callbacks/etc etc. Seeing so many things and being able to just *Leonardo Dicaprio pointing meme.* I know people might not share that same opinion because some might view it to be excessive, but I personally LOVED being able to point at my screen and be like "oH EYYYYYYY!!!" Maybe because it makes for such immaculate gifset/meta material <3 SJKJDLHSK

The costuming and makeup. WHEN THEY TALKED AT ECCC ABOUT EVERYONE GETTING HOTTER, THEY WERE NOT KIDDING LMAO. EVERYONE LOOKED SO, SO GOOD. and listen, i am on my knees begging for them to give ed with his hair up back to us. i need Her back,,,ALSO, SOMETHING SOMETHING COMPLICATED EMOTIONS TOWARDS STEDE'S LATTER HALF LOOK, BUT ALSO...GOD DAMN, MR. DARBY,,,,,,

Speaking of Mr. Darby, the acting in this season. The ACTTTINNNGG. Everyone acted their ASSES off. Everyone put their entire piratussies into this season. Though, I'm PARTICULARLY impressed with Taika and Rhys, because again with their "oh we're comedians lol so idk drama can be Difficult Difficult Lemon Difficult." MMMM I THINK THE FUCK NOT, MY GUYS LMAO??? They both did SO well with all the drama and painful moments. The acting in episodes 2, 3, 6, and 7 in particular like...God. GOD!!!

I loved so many characters in this season, and I'll of course have to give two individual shoutouts to my two favorite new ladies, but man. LET'S GO FRENCHIE!!! ALWAYS A DELIGHT!!! FANG/KEVIN MY ABSOLUTE SWEETHEART. JIM SERVING ABSOLUTE FUCKING GENDER THIS SEASON. OLU OLU DARLING OLU. PETE NEVER MISSING WITH HIS ONELINERS. LUCIUS BEING SO THEATRICAL AHDJKSDK LIKE NATHAN PLEASE YOU KILL ME. ROACH MAKING ME LAUGH OUT LOUD NUMEROUS TIMES AS HE DOES. WEE JOHN AND HIS KNITTING AND DRAG!!! AND THEN OF COURSE MY DEARLY BELOVEDS, ED AND STEDE. I JUST LOVE THEMMMMM!!! But okay okay okay-

Zheng my beloved. I just love this badass pirate queen with her sweet little pigtails and her IMMACULATE LINE DELIVERIES SDHJKSKL. A lot of my favorite deliveries from the entire season came from her quite honestly. Please see: "Girl, how ARE you?" and "Hiiiiiii. I KNOWWW it's been a day" and "I've killed mediocre men. I've killed exceptional men. But you're the worst kind: a mediocre man who thinks he's exceptional."

AND ARCHIE MY BELOVED. She kills me because I remember seeing like, those ~*~audition tape whispers~*~ WAY back in the day, and subsequently thinking she was going to be quite a different character. Only for this silly goofy bubbly energetic darling to pop up and snag my heart. HER deliveries kill me also, like when she goes "Like...STEDE Stede?" and the whole "I was IN the fuckin' snake!" also hhngngngngnershkfhslkds tattooed ladies Hot :(

Speaking of which, the comedy. THE DELIVERIES. THE WAY I LAUGHED OUT LOUD NUMEROUS TIMES THROUGHOUT, EVEN WITH THE DEEP UNDERCURRENT OF DRAMA/ANGST. The whole bit where Stede is in hysterics over his cursed coat is just hsjkdhsklds; it will NEVER not make me wheeze. And then, like I said, almost EVERYTHING Pete says this season kills me; another thing that will never not make me laugh is "a doggie...?" weird little pirate show with weird little humor my beloved

The ROMANCE??? I genuinely was going into the season with the expectation of getting maybe like, one or two Gentlebeard kisses. Imagine my shock and utter delight when we ended up with FOUR, AS WELL AS AN INTIMATE SCENE, THE LETTER SCENES, AND THE LOVE PROFESSIONS. Like, one of them dropping a legitimate "I love you" felt like an unrealistic expectation--the HIGHEST dream tier really. And then wouldn't you know it. And that doesn't even account for all the rest of the couples either! The murder wives having their chaotic little moments of fucked up affection??? LUCIUS AND PETE GETTING ENGAGED AND THEN MARRIED??? HELLO??????

The sets! I know people have pointed out that the world felt a bit simplified this time around, due to budget restraints and what have you. But I still loved what they did with the world even with the various constraints. The market in episode 6 is a PARTICULAR favorite of mine; it's just so lush and colorful. I also love what they did with The Revenge during episode 6 too!

Also, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I really actually liked that they filmed on location. First of all, love that the Kiwis got to be right at home in Aotearoa. Love that they have an even more special connection to the show now. But second of all, I just like when scenery is...actually THERE? It feels way more TANGIBLE. Don't get me wrong; that hugeass wraparound screen that they use to film a lot of sets is a technological marvel. But I'm a sucker for practical.

The deeper and more complex dives into character motivations/trauma. Like, homie lol...When I tell you episodes 6 and 7 utterly set my brain alight in the best way possible. I was CHUGGING through thoughts. You know those gifs where someone is walking around and ranting/passionately talking,,, yeah. Yeah. Maybe because a lot of it "struck a chord" with me indeed, but I love love LOVE getting brain food like that.

Speaking of brain food, in PARTICULAR, the deeper dives into Ed's self-loathing and into Stede's troubles with confidence and masculinity. A lot of Stede's choices were fueled by those two things, and it was SO friggin fun to catch all of them, put them in a jar, and shake them around. I've seen a lot of people fearing his actions in the latter half were out of character, but to me, I don't see it that way. I just see a man who has been so spurned, so left behind, and SO deprived, a man who is stuck thinking he has to be someone else to mean something. And I think that plays a lot into even the EARLIEST developments we saw in season 1, so it was just so intriguing to watch everything messily play out.

THE INNKEEPER. THE INNKEEPER MY BELOVED. SO much about that episode absolutely has my heart. All the different developments, the stakes, the pacing, and the payoff at the end. Not to mention that I had a FEELING that mysterious figure in the trailers was Hornigold, so it was so SO validating to see him pop up PFFF. And also, all those dream/gravy basket sequences were so so good too. I don't know if it's the chemistry between Taika and Mark, or the deeper symbolism, or the lines that have become vocal stims for me SJKDLS (please see: ooOOoooO eddie eddie eddie...you're laying some heavy shit on me, bro), but man. MAN.

And this one gets its own bullet because of course it does: the fucking mermaid scene. Like, are we kidding. ARE WE KIDDING. THE ROMANCE OF IT ALL? THE FANTASTICAL-NESS INDEED?? THE WAY IT WAS ALL FUCKING PRACTICAL AND RHYS SWAM DOWN TO TAIKA AS A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GOLDFISH AND THEY HAD TO THROW HEART EYES AT EACH OTHER UNDERWATER??? WHAT THE FUCK!!! And don't even get me started on Kate Bush lol. This Woman's Work might easily be one of my favorite songs, if not my FAVORITE song from the season. And man. Man. The whole meaning behind Ed seeing Stede as this beautiful, sparkly being, and not some hypermasculine/extraordinary thing. He fell in love with Stede for who Stede really is. And so I ADORE that acknowledgement.

Speaking of songs, the MUSIC!!! Absolute bangers all throughout. And I loved how there seemed to be even more intermixed within the episodes. Like God... "These are the kids..." 🗣️ HELLO MY LOVE I HEARD A KISS FROM YOU 🦗🦟🦗🦟🦗🦟 . And all the beautiful classic piano pieces and NINA SIMONE AND JUST HSJKDHSFJKLHSKD????

Okay, I've always had and STILL have complicated thoughts and opinions on Izzy, but man, seeing him interact with the Revenge Crew was really something. Seeing Stede's influence come over the lot of them like a warm blanket, extending its welcoming and familial hands...It was just lovely. I love seeing our little sea family care for each other so much. They've probably all hurt so so much in different ways, so to see them all being a collective heart is just so nice.

Speaking of which, the queerness of it all, the queer celebration of it all. The way the whole crew is just...a representation of queer people finding each other, and subsequently finding love and family in each other. Like, when the whole world wants to cast you out, you pull each other in. When no one else wants you, you take refuge in each other. And just...the joy, beauty, and wonder that can be found in that.

And speaking of which x2, the overall care that was put into the entire thing, the effort that was put into the entire thing. I know Max fucked us over with the budget, which subsequently fucked things like the intricacy, the amount of characters, and especially the pacing. But, I don't know; I personally could still tell everyone involved was trying so so hard to deliver for us. Based on the little details, the little callbacks, and the little moments that felt so catered to us, it just seemed so...gifted to us. Not to mention of course, the way they so deliberately chose to end on a hopeful note in case we never get a third season. They care about us. They've always cherished our excitement and passion, so it just...idk; it feels so special to have a bit more of an intimate connection like that. I've never been involved with a piece of media that so avidly SEES its audience, and celebrates along with us. So, despite everything, despite any sort of troubles, despite any sort of lows, that's a big part of what has me clutching all of this so closely to my chest. And I really hope they can still see that love, because I want nothing more than for them to see this beautiful story through.

Also, getting to enjoy this with everyone. Getting to ride the wave from the beginning of filming, all the way through the finale. Getting to see all the excitement, all the theories, all the art, all the fanfiction, all the gif sets, all the meta, and everything in between. It has carried me through some nastiness in my personal life, and has subsequently served as a very welcomed distraction. It's been such a pleasure getting to delight in this new content with you all, and I hope we get to do so into the future. <3

Finally getting around to uploading some of my pics from ECCC! Truly one of the best days I’ve ever had. All of them were so incredibly nice, especially Matthew and Jamie!

Lately I see him in every photo and sighting and what I feel is like a great resentment and hatred towards him and not because he is married, but because he knows that he is a great disappointment to himself and that makes me feel disappointed in him; It ended with the smiling and happy Chris that I fell in love with years ago, now everything about him is so fake, nothing is genuine about him anymore and his sad look is at the extremes, those photos with the fans in the Emerald City were so pitiful, in Each one of them only showed a man who reflected immense sadness in his eyes, that is something that people who are perceptive grasp immediately (I have met many people like that, who pretended happiness and deep down carried great sadness to them. hills, I even had a friend who was an extremely happy person and always transmitted that great energy to everyone she met and when she emigrated to another country, every time she published her photos on Facebook I was able to detect the sadness in her eyes, that person committed suicide at the beginning of this year) looks never lie and a person's body language is infallible and in that aspect he is an open book, he is always tense and anxious when he is seen next to her, as if he did not want to be and that bothers me so much, it makes me think that he is a huge idiot for agreeing to that miserable show, he has fallen so low, now he shows himself as a Chris afraid of being in public because it seems that he feels judged at all times and the worst is that now all his public appearances must be made hand in hand with his supposed wife, which means less Chris Evans happy and smiling for me and his fans.

I can no longer see his photos without feeling great disappointment, because now more than ever I am aware that now he is a big lie.

I really hope to see the real Chris Evans again one day, the one he was before he got involved with that woman and I also hope that his mental health goes well, because in each new photo in which he appears more miserable he looks more miserable, he is still a prince beautiful, but a prince who carries a great weight on his back.

I'm sorry about your friend, An🫶n. That must've been difficult. 😞

And I see what you mean. For most of the ECCC pics, he had the same, dare I say, copy paste smile.

You could scroll through the pictures, and Chris looks like he hasn't moved a muscle. And that's why, the rare photos of Chris where he has the biggest smile, are ones to treasure. Because it's the only glimpses of old Chris that we can get in this messy period.

I'm also hoping for the best. And that this didn't destroy his mental health, as well as, praying that he knows he's got Fans who supports him.

Don't get me wrong, we'll still get disappointed in his choices. But it's nothing compared to the anger we have towards the people who are pushing this way past the line.

Thank you for venting, An🫶n. I hoped it helped you 🥺

David said at eccc that he would love to wear all the Doctor's outfits, including Thirteen's, and I am hoping that maybe, one day... we get that? :)