TLDR; Nathan Foad; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Samba Schutte; Vico Ortiz; Samson Kayo; Ruibo Qian; Madeleine Sami;  David Fane & Rachel House; Anapela Polata'ivao; Connor Barrett & Brian Gattas; Dominic Burgess; Damien Gerard; Christopher Corbin; Adopt Our Crew Lists; Articles; Fan Spotlight: Tiny Crew Big Raffle w/Lindsey Cantrell Interview and BTS; Our Flag Means Fanfiction; Love Notes;

WOW Okay, sorry crew, I have been sick (with that weird thing that causes appendicitis type pain but am now better!), and had to clean my entire house (and essentially renovate half of the bottom floor) for a friend who is moving in for a month, and she showed up 3 days earlier than planned, so I basically have been MIA! So I'm gonna try to make this easier on myself to get this out already-- and the end of the year is going to be two posts in one! 

Taika caught out and about by a fan!

Rita and Taika were also in Times Square for New Years Eve! Rita was hosting with Ryan Seacrest and as usual Taika was there for love and support.

Con ran into a fan at the close of the year!

And if you haven't seen it yet-- had a very spicy New Years message for you!

"2024, thank you for your gifts and for your tolls. Started with the blessing of being born a dad and it’s been a non-stop no-sleep magical and heart fulfilling whirlwind ever since🙏🏾✨ Funerals were no foreigners, but getting to see family and loved ones rejuvenated my soul✨ I got to spend the funnest time with the greatest fans, baking, connecting, traveling and raising money for charity after our lovely show was sadly cancelled✨ My first lead in a romcom got distribution, as did a fun series, a horror and a sweet short, all of which I was lucky to be part of✨ I got to voice great characters in projects I’ve been a fan of, and again I was lucky to be a part of each and every one✨ I became a US citizen (perfect timing) after years of walking on eggshells as an Alien of Extraordinary Ability👽 And I’m so grateful, humbled and excited for what lies ahead: as a parent, a partner, a colleague, a friend, a cheerleader and an advocate for love, peace and multicultural unity✨ I know a lot who have had a rough and tough year. And I pray this next one is better, brighter, healthier and easier❤️ Thank you to all who are always in my corner and supporting my journey. I appreciate you so much. At the end of the day it’s not about the destination or the path we take, but about the company that we share along the way. And I’m one lucky son of a duck to share it with you❤️🙏🏾🧿✨"

Our beloved Jim was selected as one of the standout trans honorees! Thank you @adoptourcrew for spotlighting this!

https://www.out.com/celebs/transgender-honorees-out-100#rebelltitem1

Today in Gay goes live on Jan 1!

Their first preview episode is available on their substack! TIG Substack.

In response to what I assume is David's OFMD Fanfiction, Vico mentioned they may be doing something new with their Patreon in 2025!

Not enough Vico news for you? Here's some more! Just some puppy snuggles!

Last but not least, Vico's posted three more s2 BTS posts!

I've put a screen shot of each of the three videos below-- check out their paid patreon for the full videos!

First / Second / Third

Samson's friend Daniel Kaluuya posted some recent shots of Samson!

Ruibo was kind enough to perform for everyone again!

Source: Mads Instagram

Are you in Aotearoa and want to show your support to the Maori people? Our dear Fang, David Fane (and Mary Reed, Rachel House) shared how to's on how to make a submission on the Treaty Principles Bill. Check out more at Koekoeaa's Instagram!

Anapela was out at PerthFest with other members of the Tinā film! 

Our Hornberry and Siegfried are out and about with friends for the holidays!

Dominic, aka Jeffrey Fettering, aka the cat-content king of social media is back with more cats!

Our Father Teach is on vacation for the holidays and he sent so much love our way!

So you may remember,  our "We Could have Made Magic" Pirate, Christopher Corbin played santa in a an NFL ad recently. He posted the progression from Chris to Kris Kringle, and I just had to share it because it made me giggle!

Our absolutely awesome fan crew, @adoptourcrew put together some lists regarding our dear show, and it looks like 30 different articles featured OFMD as one of the worst cancellations of 2024!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Bsky

They also put together a list of the Select 2024 Media Mentions! OFMD averaged at least one media mention per week! Holy cow!

Thank you to @adoptourcrew as always for the many articles OFMD has been featured in recently!

• 13 Comfort Shows that Are the Adult Equivalent of a 'Baba'

Source: Adopt Our Crew Instagram

• 10 TV Series That Highlight the Best in HumanityTB

Source: Adopt Our Crew Instagram

• Saddest TV Show Cancellations of 2024
• 10 Queer Trends that need to die in 2025

In honor of the Tiny Boats raffle, the @ofmd-buys-boats team had an Interview with our dear Set Dresser, Lindsey Cantrell! You can read the full thing on their substack-- here's a sneak preview!

"Amy: What was your favourite set to dress?

Linds: What a hard question. The favorite that first comes to mind is John Bartholomew's Captain's Quarters. The scene where Zheng Yi Sao leads a raid on Bartholomew's ship, and then convinces him to join her crew.

The day we were going to shoot this scene was pulled up in the schedule, so during a few lunches and a few private rehearsals, I was brought over to the unfinished set to get my opinion on the status of its dress. What to add, where to move items, take away, etc. And it needed to get done quickly. We were pulling dressing from all over. Production Designer Ra and Art Director Troy really wanted it to be layered. They were discussing someone who'd lived in that space for ages. Our Set Dec team left the bones of it in a good place, but on the day we went to shoot it, we still scrambled a bit throwing items together for more chaos (some good ideas, some bad- ie: a stool ended up on top of a dresser?)

I still love the way the lighting was shot through those windows and how it all came together. Plus, didn't that charcuterie look delicious?"

"Amy: Speaking of the tiny boats, we’d be remiss if we didn’t ask about them too - how did you make them and how long did it take you? I can testify from making repairs to our broken ones that they’re fiddly little things!

Linds: Yes they are! The strain on my eyes that week! The bases of these tiny ships are custom lead molds created in the Propmakers Workshop. Next, painted and aged brown. Then, one by one I stabilized them and carefully drilled one tiny hole in the semi-center of each ship's base. Hoping each time that I didn't push too hard or for too long, potentially breaking through to the bottom. So I held my breath and got through all of that step. Off to the side, I had the makings for the tiny flags. I painted and aged what felt like a million toothpicks to start. Trimming off the bottoms of one end so they would sit flat inside my pre-drilled hole. I cut the different pieces of construction paper in a tiny triangle with one flat end, and put a line of glue on that side to place underneath a toothpick and rolled it over to hold. Some bits of my fingertips are definitely attached to the glue inside those tricky little flags. When my deadline was getting closer, I started to just begin placing the dried flags inside the bases the next day. Until I found some of them falling over by the time I came back from lunch. So then I realized I needed to add one tiny drop of super glue into the hole first. The final precise measure was making sure when I held the flag down to attach, that I was holding it straight up & down. Sounds easy enough, but if you're only looking at one side, you may be pushing the flag down and away. So if you check your other angles afterward, you'd notice it's leaning to that opposite side, as if the tiny ship is in a storm, someone told me. [...]"

Once again-- for the whole interview and additional BTS please check out their substack! Thank you so much @ofmd-buys-boats for not only giving us this wonderful gift but allowing me to share some of them as well!

"Everyone is always invited to be a part of the podcast! Here are 3 ways you can be involved (if you can think of more ways, definitely share them!)

1) Narrate a fic for a minisode! Just get the author's permission first then e-mail the audiofile (mp3 or wav) to ourflagmeansfanfiction@gmail.com. Everything you send in, I will put it on the pod.

2) Want to be on an upcoming episode? Just DM here or send an email and consider yourself included the next time we record.

3) Have a group of friends and want to make your own episode? Do that! Just make your own podcast episode using zoom then send the audiofile to ourflagmeansfanfiction@gmail.com and I'll edit it (remove all the pauses, ums, and anything else you want cut out).

This is an all-inclusive, open-source, podcast. Everyone who wants to be involved, can be! #ofmd#ourflagmeansdeath#fanfiction"

The next Gay Pirate News Hour airs on Jan 4, you can check it out on the Our Flag Means Fanfiction Youtube!

I really am so sorry I'm so behind lovelies. I hope you all had a wonderful and restful holiday season. I'm going to share a few extra love notes tonight because I've seen some really lovely stuff the last many many days -- and I have so much to say and haven't had a way to do so.

Lastly, I just wanted to say thank you for being a part of this little community called the OFMD fandom. This crew is phenomenal, and it has brought out so much love and healing in me (and so many of us) this past year.

You are beyond a doubt some of the kindest, most badass people on the planet, and I am so very happy I get to share what little bits of time I can with you.

I am slow to respond to things right now because of how crazy life is, but please know I'm here if you need me. I want so very much to see you succeed, and grow, and bloom in this crazy messed up world we live in. You are the change, and the softness this world needs, and I believe whole heartedly that each time you are kind to someone, you emit a wave of change that makes the world a better place. Rest up lovelies.

Happy New Year <3

Source: Anxiety Positive's Instagram