The letter E is so last year. You maaay have noticed we dropped the E from our title recently. Our series is now simply called “PiRATs! (Emphasis on the ‘Rat’)”. This has everything to do with our hatred of the letter E, and definitely nothing to do with better SEO and discoverability!

Happy New Year, everyone!! Hitting the ground running this year with a renewed sense of determination to GET THAT BREAD! 🍞 I'm available for work! Looking forward to making 2026 an amazing year full of amazing opportunities!! ✉️ : [email protected] 📝 : www.mattacuna.com

Baffled by Netflix’s decision to spoil the ending of their biggest show of all time on their own social media less than 24 hours after it premiered

New year, new script!! My half-hour supernatural drama, THE MOON'S CHOIR, is now up on my website! 🐺 🌕 This animated dark fantasy is about all things werewolf. CHECK IT OUT HERE: www.mattacuna.com/sample-work

how I feel now that Stranger Things is over

2026 is going to be a big year for my indie series “PiRATs (Emphasis on the Rat)”!! This Spring I’ll be launching my very first ever Kickstarter for the first episode of the series. Afterwards we’ll work towards releasing it later in the year! Excited to set sail into 2026 with you all! 🐀🏴‍☠️

2026? More like 202DICKS

Happy New Years!! 🎆🎇 If you’re looking for something fun to watch with the kids in your life today, give the New Year Bubble episode from Ariel a watch! It has a giant bubble, and you better believe it’s gonna pop. Also written by yours truly!

Before we jump into 2026, here's my last Substack of the year! I wanted to highlight some of the amazing indie animatics that released this year, the ones that inspired me to make the jump into creating my own with "PiRATs! (Emphasis on the Rat)". Check it out here!

Going to be real here - 2025 has been one of the most difficult years of my life. It’s been a big year of change. Leaving my animation job, saying goodbye to my childhood home, as well as my grandparents house.

Check out the song from my Ariel episode “The Marvelous Mahi-Mahi Brothers”! It was a ton of fun getting to come up with all these characters and then hearing such an amazing song written about them all. 🐠🐠🦐🤡 youtu.be/xaUtVEoheis?...

Stranger Things S5: “Wait, guys… we’ve got this wrong. Okay, let’s say this Cabbage Patch Kid is Vecna, and this Ecto Cooler (1987) is the supernova. If we hack the straw, then-“ “We can send a transmission across the Upside Down. Like in ET.” “Bingo. Buckle up, kiddos. It’s time to phone home.”

This season of Stranger Things feels like everybody saying everything they’re thinking and planning out loud, zero room for nuance.

Time for another #fanartfriday!! Check out this adorable art of our very own Izzy T. Rat, drawn by @evyatar.olami. Have some PiRATs fan art? Tag or DM us, and we’ll feature it at our next Fan Art Friday! #indieanimation #animation #pirate #fanart

Meta AI recreated a photo of my deceased grandmother without our consent. Just took it from my mom’s Facebook and showed it to her in her story as if we should be impressed. Makes me feel sick to my stomach. That’s not my grandma.

My mother loves to put decorative hand towels in the bathrooms for Christmas that we’re not actually allowed to use, but doesn’t put any actual towels anywhere, so I’m just continuously left with SOPPING WET HANDS

This really bothers me for some reason

Honestly, that’s the best gift Grease could receive… From our crew to yours, Happy Holidays!! Art by @looshart.bsky.social

If 2025 was a shirt

Food prices at the Burbank airport should be illegal

Really need companies to stop asking multiple questions about what I like about their company and what my favorite thing about them is on applications. Why are we expecting early careers assistants and coordinators to be fans of your credit union? Hire someone that can do the job.

That’s no ordinary rat!!

Deeply sad about the traumatic deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele. The Princess Bride is one of my favorite films of all time, and deeply influenced how I write and create. So devastating.

SETTING SAIL SPRING 2026 🐀🏴‍☠️🧀 Keep an eye on our official Instagram account for all announcements and sneak squeaks of our upcoming crowdfunding campaign for ‘PiRATe’s! (Emphasis on the Rat)’ www.instagram.com/emphasis_on_...

If you're an Animation Guild member (or not, it's open to anybody really!) that's unemployed due to the current state of the industry, I highly HIGHLY recommend signing up for the next round of the TAG Foundation Mentorship Program. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Very sad to hear about the passing of Jeff Garcia. His performance as Sheen was such a big part of my childhood. 50 is way too young.

Very excited to share our logo for “PiRATe’s! (Emphasis on the ‘Rat’)”!! This wonderfully nautical logo was crafted by Teri Hendrich Cusumano! There’s a little surprise under the exclamation mark too 👀🐭

🦔Murder of Sonic - Radio Play🦔 Today @ 3pm Pst With @24movements.bsky.social @acunamattata.bsky.social Most of the redeems will be turned off today to help enhance the experience www.twitch.tv/sourplumwine

I finally finishing my sticker dresser! Been slowly covering this bad boy in stickers I’ve collected and it’s fully filled now. If you spot any sticker you’ve made or seen, lemme know!!

Coming up with a title for a Christmas movie these days is just looking for a lyric in Jingle Bells that hasn’t been taken yet

We’re in a never ending cycle of mergers and mass layoffs, and the end is nowhere in sight. about.netflix.com/en/news/netf...

My 2025 Twitch Recap! Gonna be looking to stream more in 2026, lots of pirate games to play 👀🏴‍☠️

First time seeing snow fall in years, I’ve really missed this

So yeah if you wanna see me be a grandpa and figure out how to market on TikTok, I made one for my PiRATe’s www.tiktok.com/@pirates.emp...

I feel ancient trying to navigate tiktok, oooh man I do not like it

SETTING SAIL SPRING 2026 🐀🏴‍☠️🧀 Keep an eye on our official Instagram account for all announcements and sneak squeaks of our upcoming crowdfunding campaign for ‘PiRATe’s! (Emphasis on the Rat)’ www.instagram.com/emphasis_on_...

Took one hell of a Buck photo today

Man I have some really amazing friends. Thank you so so much to everyone who’s donated to my Ko-fi so far. I was really only expecting to get a couple dollars, but you all are way too giving! I appreciate it so so much, thank you for helping me make the art I want to!

Hey all, just wanted to throw out there that I’ve opened up a Kofi account to help with marketing materials for my upcoming animatic Kickstarter. This will be a pretty casual kofi, with little behind the scenes looks here and there. Even $1 helps, if you feel inclined to donate! Thank you!

Posted this a few months back, but I’m officially on the look again for someone who can produce a high-quality logo for an animated series! Mutuals or friends of friends, if you can match the style of something similar to the Flapjack logo, please DM me!

One of my favorite episodes I wrote for Ariel, “The Marvelous Mahi-Mahi Brothers” finally airs today! This is the first ep I pitched from start to finish, so it holds a special place for me. I named the clownfish of the troupe Chuckster after the infamous fellas from Mario Sunshine, naturally.

How does the CTNX website still suck so much ass

Season 2 of Disney Junior's Ariel has premiered, along with my first credit as Associate Writer! It's only airing on cable at the moment, hopefully it will be on Disney+ soon! We worked so hard on this season and had so much fun crafting it, so please go give the show some love! 🐠 🦀 🐟

🍩Playing Simpsons Fortnite, then Sonic Rumble 🦔 with @acunamattata.bsky.social @gadworks.bsky.social @zitoisneato.com 📆Friday the 14th @ 7pm PST www.twitch.tv/sourplumwine

Lmaooo you gotta be fucking kidding me. I’m just trying to make some money here, doordash

I’m getting so sick of fake interviews from MLMs. Just got my third call about a job I “applied for” wanting to schedule an interview. I’ve applied for so many jobs at this point, I can’t keep track of what I have and haven’t applied for. And they’re trying to take advantage of that. Shameful.

Hey all! It's been 7 months since my last studio gig, and I'm still on the hunt! My unemployment ran out last week, so I could really use some income. I know things are about to move to a snails pace in the industry with the holidays, but I'm not slowing down! Email: [email protected]

"No Turning Back." The Three Tomes Indie Animatic Pilot is here. Time for witches, magic books and vampire romance. The pilot animatic premieres TODAY on YouTube @ 12pm PST www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fXF... #indieanimation #thethreetomes

It’s so fucking cruel that food stamps won’t be issued for Thanksgiving. Think how many families won’t get to have a meal this year.

Guess I’m not getting food stamps next month. Fuck Donald Trump.