A Sonnet for Bonnet

Welcome to the OFMD Gotcha for Gaza Fundraiser!

This is a fundraising event to raise money for the people of Gaza in exchange for Our Flag Means Death fanworks. This event is not officially associated with Our Flag Means Death - it's a fan-run project and made possible by volunteer fan creators.

How it works:

Artists and writers can sign up as volunteers to fill prompts submitted by donors. Donors can submit prompts after showing proof of donation (at least $4USD for SFW and $8USD for NSFW art/fics) via screenshots.

Timeline:

Artist/Writer Sign-Ups: June 17 - July 8 Donation Period: July 9 - August 9 Prompt Completion: by September 9

Here are the accounts we're expecting activity from today:

Let's commandeer their various timelines with #WelcomeToMax #DontGetAttached!

Raids are like snowflakes and Max is in for a blizzard!

Now, I do not truly believe that race is something you can ignore in a story. I just don't think it's possible, and when you try, what you wind up with is something like the conservative worldview of "not seeing color." Trying to ignore race will make you sound racist and ignore important racialized themes.

You can't understand Stede's need for character growth at the beginning of the show if you just focus on how he's "cringe" instead. When Stede makes his crew members of color serve them at dinner when the English board, this is gross, and their faces tell us exactly how they feel about it. Stede unlearning his biases here isn't subtle (guy who called him and Pete "fucking racists" I love you forever), and learning to take all of his crew members seriously as fully actualized people, moving away from the sort of Kindergarten-teacher behavior at the start to truly valuing them as people and taking their input and suggestions, it's an important aspect. Stede asking Abshir for intel at the party isn't just funny, it's also proof he's learned to see value in people in positions like Abshir's.

You can't understand the motivations behind Ed's actions, especially the violent ones, if you ignore the racist overtones. Ed is not a randomly violent person - he gets angry at a captain for calling him a "rich donkey," and if you think it's unreasonable for a brown man to want to get revenge on a white man for calling him that? Then fuck I'm glad you can't see the conversations I have with my other black friends, man. Ed's anger and frustration at the party aren't just because he fucked up with some spoons, lol, you can't get it unless you realize he's the only brown guest in that room. Yeah, he's ignoring Stede's advice, but he's immediately under a pressure Stede never has been. Ed's wanted posters in s2, too, rely on heavily caricaturizing Jewish features to make him look grotesque and monstruous. We're supposed to be horrified by that aspect.

And, yeah, when we ignore the racist tones to Izzy's behavior, I think that's undermining an important aspect of who he is as an antagonistic character. Him buying Ed from the English should feel like a gross violation, because it is. When he sits in front of the crew eating and making Fang and Ivan serve him, I think it's a pretty obvious parallel to how the crew members of color were similarly insulted in the pilot. It's impossible to ignore race in the way he dehumanizes Ed and tries to force him back into a caricature of behavior he hates and is horrified by - when he calls Ed a "wild dog" in s2, if that doesn't cause a visceral reaction of disgust in you, I dunno what to tell you. This doesn't mean that Izzy is irredeemable - just as Stede wasn't - but it does mean that racist biases are things Izzy had to unlearn.

*Calling all crew!*

On May 21, Max starts launching in Europe.

We're asking you to help us with a short campaign on May 21st — calling, emailing, flooding social media, and (as usual) polite menacing.

Everyone can help out, but this is your time to shine, European pirates!

* Why now? *

Well, Max will be busy speaking with customers, monitoring the launch, and solving last minute problems, all on top of the considerable promotional work.

In short: they have a lot on their plate, which is why the situation is ripe for a fuckery.

* Why at all? *

In WBD’s Q1 livestream, Zaslav & Co. repeatedly stressed the importance of this launch.

If we’re all up in their business, they will notice.

And if we’re all over socials, potential subscribers and the media will notice.

* How will this work? *

Posting on social media, using # WelcomeToMax and # DontGetAttached, and replying to Max's account are all easy ways anyone can participate.

For those living in the respective European countries, here's what you can do:

Go to http://help.hbomax.com/

Select the correct country and language at the bottom

Press "Contact Us"

Choose any of the given options

Click on "Phone" or "Email" (if applicable) to get contact info

Call or message Max and make your voice heard

The more we speak up, the louder we become!

* Remember to be kind! *

You aren't speaking to David Zaslav; you're speaking to a call center employee, so they deserve respect.

** Below are a few scripts…**

Our first #CoolPirates is the one and only Vico Ortiz! 💜🤍💛🖤

Vico is a nonbinary, polyamorous, Puerto Rican actor, activist, and drag king. They're known for their role as Jim in #OurFlagMeansDeath, Serena in Craig of the Creek, Tefe in Harley Quinn, and Hunter & Fern in Fiona and Cake.

They star in the award winning queer comedy series These Thems (from today's Watch Party!), which is free to watch on YouTube. They perform as a drag king, known for their character Vico Suave. They are a passionate activist, and support The Dru Project, the Los Angeles LGBTQ Center and LaBori Vogue.

Vico pushes for the visibility of queer, nonbinary and latine folks everywhere, and openly advocates for the queer community in everything they do. Follow them on Twitter @ V_Vico_Ortiz and on Instagram @ puertoricanninja to keep up with their current projects! 🐙🏴‍☠️

You can donate to/learn more about their chosen charities here:

Although the March 18 & 19 dates for the billboard are locked in, we're still able to change the design if desired. This is where you come in. Amazing donors, your generosity is responsible for this billboard, so it's only fair you have a say in this decision. We've set up a survey of viable options: let us know which you'd most like to see! It'll be open through Wednesday, March 13, 11:59 GMT. Thank you again for helping us make this happen! 🐙💜

Before and after! Thanks to the wonderful pirates who joined us at the meetup today. Well over 30 fans saw the beautiful board in person! 🐙🏴‍☠️💕 Tomorrow we'll post group photos & more. For now, the UK crew have retired to their bunks for some well-needed rest. 😴

The week ahead looks bright, crew! #BeABillboard and help our voices to be heard in the fight to #SaveOFMD and beyond! 🐙🏴‍☠️

Oh @netflixuk @netflix... there's a little something outside your door. 😘 🐙 #BeABillboard #OurFlagBBC

We’re live in Leicester Square! See the first few runs of the billboard on our Instagram Live!!! 🐙🇬🇧🏴‍☠️💞 https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4XSGBlOrza/?igsh=ZTRjcm54a2pud2k2

Pirates Take London! 🏴‍☠️ The Leicester Square billboard goes live tomorrow! We're meeting there at 6pm GMT! #BeABillboard Let's show the world our love for Our Flag Means Death, for each other, and our will to fight for marginalised stories. ❣️ It's about belonging to something! 🦄

If you can't make the meet-up, don't worry. The billboard will be live throughout the day on 11th, 12th, 18th and 19th March. ✨ We'd love to see photos and videos, so please tag us in your posts! 💕

We want to thank the organisers of the billboard and meet-up! 💜 They've not only worked tirelessly for weeks, but have personally funded stickers, badges, and a Safe Space Station with hand sanitiser and masks. (The error in the first print run made us laugh. 🤣 Can you spot it?)

You're all invited to Jeff's birthday party!

#OurFlagMeansDeath crew!

Bonus: Jeff is an artist. His favorite colors are on the palette. What do you think these colors remind him of?

Ahoy, crew! We will be taking our messages to the streamers' London HQs on Monday 11th (Netflix), Tuesday 12th (Amazon), and Wednesday 13th (Apple).

Will you spot them in the wild? If you do, snap a pic, and make sure to tag us in it! 🐙🏴‍☠️

As with the billboard, our advertising trucks are paid for and locked in. But we think this is a fantastic opportunity.

How will they be able to forget the beautiful, passionate, indestructible pirate hoard trailing in their wake? 🦄 While it may not be the right time for streamers to pick up the show now, if the TV landscape changes we want to make sure Our Flag Means Death has made an impression.

With these lovely punny messages, how could we not? 😉💕 P.S. : The flag waves! 🏴‍☠️

Anyone else in need of an Our Flag Means Death rewatch? 🏴‍☠️💜 Our crewmates at @ OurFlagRTL on Twitter are doing a watch party of Season 1, Episodes 1-3 shortly (4pm GMT). They're watching in German, how about you? 🍊🦄 Join in here or on Twitter with #Our Flag RTL! Tag us in your first post if you join here! They will be hosting from their Twitter.

Following David's announcement, we've been getting a lot of questions about the plans for the billboard and the meet-up. The short answer is: Our plans to meet at the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square on 11 March at 6pm have not changed, and the billboard ad will run as planned. 🐙 The billboard is booked and paid for already. It was, and remains, a great way to shout our love from the rooftops. We are considering the possibility of changing the design for the 18th & 19th, so keep an eye out for more information. We think this is a perfect opportunity to come together and celebrate our show. What's more, we want to show everyone that we are here to stay, and we will never stop fighting for marginalised stories. This fandom built itself through word of mouth, passionate recommendations, and pure will. It's turned into something beautiful, something powerful. We will always have each other, our community to belong to. We are in this together, crew. After all, it's about belonging to something! 🦄