meeravandaseera

[meeravandaseera]

Last month I have been making my computer more pleasing to look at for myself, primarily in the style of Frutiger Aero or more precisely, Frutiger Aqua. However, even with a moving wallpaper of swimming fish and other aquatic shenanigans, it was not enough. Thus, I made myself a kind of... waterkeyboard using the opensource project called "MechVibes". I decided to share this here because I thought it would be fin-teresting...

I used free sounds one can find on pixabay. Splashes were used for the "Space Key", "Delete Key", and "Enter Key" because those are more powerful and usually bigger keys in contrast to the other keys. I used regular waterdrop sounds for the center of the keyboard. More lighter or softer sounding waterdrops are at the top of the keyboard or also below the central keys. Echoing ones sound the even farther one presses something from the middle and the top. The keyboard's center equals the most direct waterdrops and the further one goes the lighter, softer or more distant waterdrops sound. For the "O" and "U" keys I used bubbles because those letters sound similar to bubbles. Most sounds were part of one audio track and I edited such fin-dividual sounds out when I had to. Afterwards I assigned one standalone edited sound to a respective key. I used sounds by Pixabay contributors such as "freesound_community", "Universfield", "Soul_Serenity_Sounds" and "JuliusH".

It was a bit tedious to even assign the sounds to the keyboard in MechVibes' editor because I had to figure out how to even make custom soundpacks for MechVibes and where they have to go so that MechVibes can list the soundpack I made. When I did find out, I had to use an earlier version of MechVibes because the newest one, I think the version 2.30 was a pre-release and the editor did not work, so I just ended up using an earlier version.

When I got it working it was so neat to hear the drips, drops, splashes and bubbles. It was so refreshing (like water) to get it to work after all the hard work. My acquaintances really seemed to like it too (that is another reason why I decided to share it here too)!

Now, the end result... it sounds like a cave with dripping water and some bubbles or like a splashing pool. I cannot get enough of it and I may actually "flood" amidst the beauty of it and the joy I perceive.

Please excuse the strange and goofy text. I had nothing else as a sample text surfacing in my mind at that point because I was, let's say, quite overwhelmed from figuring out how to get it working and all those sundries. The text, it's somewhat funny... I suppose. The text file was supposed to be a link collection for waterfolkology sources of mine I have been saving and finding from "surfing the web". I removed the goofy sample text (but it's not gone, it's preserved in the video) and added the links later. One can see a bit of the link collection beginning at the top of the screen so excuse me for that alongside.

How much of a "water person" (not an actually naturally aquatic waterperson whose habitat is a body of water, instead a landlocked person who is fond of water) can one be to literally make their keyboard sound like as if one is splashing a pool with one's hands?

~

Thanks for diving into me and my sea... as always... keep making bubbles... and most fin-portantly... create ripples and make waves (those that do not flood)!

[meeravandaseera]

Our Ambivalent Waters

A Poem about Water and Existence. ~~~

The duality from whence we came, Where ye shall never be the same. From whence ye shall surface Where one shall drown Where ye shall return Ambiguous and changeable Both life-giving and lethal Primordial and eschatological.

We, as wild and free as the sea I thereby shall acknowledge ye All my Ancestors before me. Those who lingered in the waters of the sea and womb Those who dared to change Yet remain true And endure In spite those who drowned others. I hereby acknowledge all of ye We, Waves who drown others, Waves from whence we flee And Waves we embrace. Those who allowed us to see beyond the surface And the horizon above the sea.

The waters reflect ourselves. Reflect anything we have been granted. The mirror, Vanity as it is part of humanity Yet reflection as it is honesty Of what the universe has witnessed. The uncertainty, ambiguity Which may be the beauty As it is the cruelty. It is the liminality Of creation and destruction. The ebb and flow, The rising and receding tide, The neverending rhythm of life. From whence two waters mingled in chaos, Whence Abzû and Tiamat mingled together. So may chaos grant us to be As water, Our origin and fate, The paradoxical everything.

The Tears of joy, Tears of pain May all not be in vain.

From where despite all, It has persisted. Where despite chaos, Life has persisted. As change endures with persistence One could be grateful for existence. Nothing could have ever been created. Whereas nothingness may be harmony, Nothingness may not exist if only it does. If something shall exist So shall nothingness. Only If we could comprehend mortality Where despite all We still possess individuality. We may go extinct We may continue to yearn We may accept the uncertainty. Despite, may ye be grateful for anything Everchanging beyond our mortal understanding.

May one acknowledge all. May one acknowledge us. From the waters whence We all stem. Riotous harmony, Serene turbulence. Our lawless serendipity, The life-giving liminality, The timeless multiplicity Which grants the waters and us all To be. My tears stream for all of ye. Tears of joy, tears of pain, Our tears May they not be in vain.

Written by me, Meera Van Da Seera. It is based on my thoughts about life and the paradoxical nature of things.

The illustration is made of two waves forming an infinity-shaped spiraling symbol, reflecting the two states of two extremes and how it flows between each other.

The poem has no strict structure or any sort of intended rules. I wrote it in a state of mind called "the flow". Its creation at midnight and its structure is like water, fluid, diverse, and flowing. Like many poems, its meant to be interpreted by the reader which is as fluid as water like so. It may be abstract or undefined, yet that is its power like that of water and life. It is supposed to be fluid and undefined like water and life. This undefined nature makes it a living work to some, for that is how life is. We do not comprehend everything, so we cannot comprehend the structure of the poem.

Water is a paradox for us mortal beings. We need it to live and are made of water to a large extent. In spite of all that, if we are landlocked beings, we can drown in it. Water is nourishing, flooding us with positivity, and being the well-spring of life according to many mythological and religious beliefs including scientific theories. Well, it can still flood us and our lands to destruction, flooding us in its negativity. Calm waters can be serene, but can still breed many bacteria and pose an environmental hazard known as "stagnant waters". If we look upon it, its reflection may serve as egoistical vanity or self-reflection to dive deeper into our mind's depths.

It is like life itself. It is a duality, a liminality between opposing negative and positive forces. It is a state capable of shifting into one or the other, yet one cannot exist without the other. This harmonious chaos is for example reflected in the Babylonian myth of the Enuma Elish where Abzu and Tiamat, saltwater and freshwater, mingled together to create life. Our world and we are as fluid as water and different. This diversity is wonderful, yet can lead to separation. While that is so, we are still part of one world like every wave of the ocean may surface from it, yet is still part of it. We all share an ocean, a planet, and an universe, but we are still individual souls and have our own thoughts, at the very least to an extent. Water in this poem is a representation of life for me. Some elements such as us being waves in an ocean was inspired by some sayings of Alan Watts.

Because my critical tide fin-terferes... Note that these are not definite answers and are only my own. I have not studied poetry, philosophy, psychology, folklore or anything mentioned and I only wrote it primarily for myself. Some acquaintances of mine read it and liked it. I asked them if it would be suitable to share with others here and they assured me that it could be. Still and all, it should certainly not be taken as something utterly sublime or something that one should take as some form of "ultimate life advice". It is supposed to be a reflection. If it aids one to comprehend some complexity, I am glad, for being inspired is beautiful, but one should not dive too far. Life is always more complex than this and cannot be reduced to mere words, let alone only by one person. We always learn and experience new tides, all of which can change ourselves and our perspectives. Let alone, we are all different, unique people with our own opinions and thoughts. Socrates said that the more one knows, the more one knows how much one does not know. Life is as vast as our oceans. My poem is a poem among many other wonderful ones that are as unique and as valuable, as shrimple as that.

The poem is a liminal point, one can think of it what one thinks of it. It is in a state of being. It exists. I share it so people can think of it, one may resonate with it or not. I find something is acceptable until it harms others and causes diversity to be drowned out. If only one species presides, it will eventually go extinct if every other being it needs for existence is gone. Nature is interconnected. If there is only one wave that drowns all others out, it will not be able to sustain itself. We also live in a world where change is constant. This stems from someone, me, who actually does not like change very much. If one only resides in one state of being, one cannot adapt. Genetic diversity in the life of living beings, even plants, is important for adaptation and survival. The world itself could suddenly change, which is something out of one's control, and one would perhaps have to adapt.

Diversity in our minds is wonderful and offering one's thoughts is sublime under a respectful manner until it drowns out others. That is a vital balance in life between one and others.

Change is something eternal. It is chaotic, everchanging and out of one's control. One may drown in uncertainty, yet what does it bring? I could fret upon everything, yet it does not really aid me in anything. I just am glad I can do anything at all. I can change what I can change and acknowledge what I cannot. Existence, it is terrifying, yet it has created some beautiful moments alongside. The fact that anything exists at all is a miracle to me. So much could have already been driven to ruin, never to resurface, yet so much has endured. We have endured. I am grateful for that anything that I am able to experience. Nothing could have ever existed at all perhaps. The mere fact that anything exists is fin-credible to me. Life is not completely devoid of meaning for me, at least, yet this is different for everyone. Each wave is unique.

What do you think of it?

~~~

Thanks for diving into me and my sea.

[meeravandaseera]

Earliest Memories on Aquaria, the Videogame

This was one of the first videogames I got to witness and took a liking in. I had seen a close relative play it and took glimpses of gameplay from them. I had already elaborated on the game in a previous entry of an Aquaria fanart piece I had made and published. However, at first, I had a very different idea of what the story was about. Both me and my relative got mixed up, perhaps because English was not our native language and back then I, at least, was not fluent enough and the game itself did not come in our language. I do not know if there were subtitles at least, for I do not recall it properly.

My relative told me about how Naija actually, supposedly, once was a human before, but got turned into a watermaid. In the intro cutscene I thought that she fell from the sky fortress city and then ended up being trapped in the crystal underwater which can be seen in the starting screen, freeing herself somehow later on and that is when we begin the game and she seeks to return back to the shore, which is her mission. Basically, the entire story for me was mixed up and when I revisited it to play it, I was very perplexed. I thought her mission was to return back ashore on land and turn back into a human. *There actually exists a mod for Aquaria with a very similar narrative called Lights of the Deep or Lichter der Tiefe on the Open Source Edition of the game which can be found on the rehosted Aquaria forum. There a mortal human girl falls down a dock and is capable of breathing underwater or became a watermaid. She wants to return ashore and has to complete a mission in order to do so. I thought that the crystal that Naija was previously trapped in was the Song Cave's crystal where actually the Erulian messenger was trapped in. Along the tides she encounters enemies and friends such as her lover Li, the scared diver. My relative did not manage to get to the last two parts of the game and thought that the jellyfish enemy from the Abyss was the final one. According to them, that is when Naija could return back ashore if that jellyfish is fought and she may swim pass through a tunnel. For some reason, the Veil was not the shore already and she could not return from there.

Spoilers alert in this sea-ction.

The actual story is much different. Naija was a watermaid since her creation and in the intro the person who fell from the sky is actually the creator god of the Aquaria world who once was a mortal human boy. My assumptions were not all that much in the wrong current. He fell from the sky into the ocean and turned into an aquatic god by fusing with a said ancient spirit. Later on he created the world of Aquaria. Naija just explores the world clueless in the beginning, encountering remains of dead civilizations and their surviving respective deities who she fights and gains their power from until she has to fight the creator god himself to free the world from his evil since he destroyed all previous civilizations due to jealousy of their independence, for he created all of their deities and demands Naija, for example, to worship him. Naija, she goes on with life together with her lover Li after the endgame until her mother captures her one day and wipes her memory again to conquer civilizations above water. This is over-shrimplified, but it captures the most fin-portant aspects in one fishing net.

Honestly, that what my mind made-up would be a nice alternative to the actual story. What the mind creates upon only seeing glimpses of something sea-rtain is truly shell-tacular. Our minds know no boundaries and our imaginations can create so many worlds outside of our own. Deep inside some of us can be creators and deities ourselves who possess tremendous power to create, if we have the imaginations to do so and the motivation alongside. Then we can make some of such imaginations reality, hopefully for good.

Back then I also had ideas to replace Naija with other characters I liked from other media. Upon start, one sees an image of her in the crystal of the Erulian messenger in the Song Cave and atop of that a menu with different characters is presented that can be scrolled to the right and left sides. All characters are shown in a similar fashion to her portrait from the beginning of the game where she has her eyes closed and appears in a melancholic state from which one may choose what character one may want to play as.

I suggest one to dive into the Aquaria videogame, for it is truly a masterpiece. The creator god at the end of the game does not have to complete it for it to be a "masterpiece". I have done a reference. One shall sea for oneself, if fin-terested.

Marked sea-ction with * was later added to this entry after publication.

~

Thanks for diving into me and my sea!

[meeravandaseera]

Mer-ry Mermay

Mermay is so neat and I am very happy that it exists. It enables so many creative designs of waterpeople to surface and I cannot put into words how beautiful it is! I could spend an entire life looking at all the depictions that have been created. Thanks to every fin-dividual who creates fin-tastic and shell-tacular depictions of waterfolk!

[meeravandaseera]

The bottled oceans

These are heavily filtered or edited photos of some DIY ocean bottles with purchased figurines and other decorations. I used distilled water mixed with blue food coloring for the bottled "ocean water" or "seascapes". Resin is usually used by some, but I did not like that one cannot change the decorations inside the bottle if one does it in that tide, particularly because I fear I could change my mind someday. Therefore, these bottled oceans are a little bit like actual oceans - somewhat fluid like water itself and as changeable. They are possible "living" little oceans if maintained properly. For a desired more permanent result, if one finds a design option that seems sustainable, one may use resin. The sand and other decorations fin-cluded in the bottled oceans can also be cleaned fin order to be safe and to not create any murky waters. If possible, clean those with hot water to remove any irritating beings such as bacteria if picked up from outside or just fin order to be thorough.

Thanks for diving into me and my sea!

[meeravandaseera]

MY Why behind Being Hooked On Waterfolk

If one dives into my sea, for shore one has a fin-terest in waterfolk. I do, it is one of my special fin-terests, actually the most prominent one.

In my fintroduction, I mention I would like to be an actual waterperson. This is me and I wish I came from the sea. Now, a genuine question would be why specifically that. Someone, a person I did not know pretty well, in my life had asked me that and I ashore that this answer may be of benefit to more people, even if it is just my own stream of thoughts. Keep in mind I have not studied anything like philosophy or psychology so take my words with some grains of sea salt since I attempt to dive into the minds' depths. It is up to oneself how one dives into what I say. I will just offer my thoughts and one can think of them what one thinks of them. I just claim what feels true for myself.

I have been drawn to water since my earliest tides. In my landlocked home, there were sundries of blues that I adored. Blueish things were something that I felt drawn to the most. Still, in my residence, not many things were blueish or something aquatic, yet so many things stood out to me that were. I especially felt connected to some reflecting turquoise wind chimes in the bathroom with some turquoise, green and yellow tile decoration on the walls. Around the house were some seashells scattered and I liked those. Outside the residence was a pillar with greenish blue fish and from that pillar's tip water could spout and to that I felt a connection, too. It was so whimsical. When we would drive, I would point out all blue street signs and I liked anything blue. Many of my ancestors such as one of my parents and grandparents have had affinities for the color blue already. I loved to swim in local pools and that was when I felt the most at peace, honestly. I would not dare to come out of those waters or the shower even. I always loved to go swimming and finteract with water. I wanted to stay for hours. Anyhow, I wonder... why so? Even if it could just be nostalgia, why did I feel so connected to those things specifically? This connection is not just nostalgia of my earliest tides of time here. It is something more profound at tides.

Over the last years I have read more in-depth literature and recognized the powerful aspects of water to deeper extents. For me, water is a sublime and almost sacred force. I sea it as something primal or at least naval since we are created in a fluid-like environment in the womb. I think that it may bring me back to when I was still in the womb, but it could also maybe dive further. According to some scientific theories and mythological or religious records, life came from water. The ocean may be the womb of life from whence one came. Earth is the cup or vessel in which this womb is held. It is a timeless force of life. My ancestors may be gone, but our highly possible origin, the ocean, is not, nor is the sun. I adore the freedom one is able to experience in water. One can float and swim, unrestrained by gravity. It is like a portal to another realm, one without the constraints of the shore. While the same connection of that could be made to the womb, I feel like that feeling is a form of longing for freedom in an often restrictive life ashore, especially in society where much is expected of one to fit into specific customs, at least for me. Water is something liminal. It is an anchor which can be risen or sunken, either positive or negative. Water can nourish, yet it can also destroy. It is a force of life which is changeable and ambiguous. It is like a person who can be in worse or better moods. In all of water, I see myself. Water is a carrier of wisdom and depths, fin-cluding the subconscious. Its reflections are me and I am like water, fluid, ambiguous, and changeable. Many say water is a classical element of emotion. It is a wild and free force. For me, it is life. While it is fluid and cannot take hold, it is strong and its streams can form rocks and canyons wherever the water leads. Its properties are cleansing and healing. It is calming and listening to its harmonies soothes me deeply. It has so much beauty. It is elegant and flows through life with ease despite being powerful and capable of destruction. It holds depth, wisdom, and emotion. To me, it is a balanced force in its liminal state, capable of shifting into anything like us. I see water as an important universal force that binds almost everything here.

On the 30th March of this year I also had a rather surreal, yet calming experience again I found fin-teresting. When I was about to drift off, I somehow heard an underwater ambiance coming from my right ear while I was resting on my right side. It sounded real and resembled an ambiance I was familiar with. I could hear bubbling and waves. I assume it may have been an illusion. I did not use any ambient sounds and no one else did alongside. Other people were far away and the only one I was with did not do so at all. I never use ambient sounds by myself. It surely was an illusion because the mind was in that state where it drifts off and I was also a bit tired. Still and all, that was one of such moments when I remembered how much I adored being under the waters. That moment was the only time I heard something unusual like that before drifting off, though.

I had always had a connection to water since an early age. I used to swim in some waters and not desire to wander yonder forth from 'em and when I learned to swim, I learned faster than most of my peers. I could swim before all of them for some reason. It was almost like I was destined to swim. I loved to swim and float in the water. I loved to dive beneath the surface and linger there, yet for long, now, I have not dared to venture into them again nor get in contact with water. I have not swum for many years or truly enjoyed a shower since some fin-cidents and have not dared to return. Up to now, here and there I did some progress to get more in touch with water, but not to my actual liking. I metaphorically feel like a landlocked waterperson whose gills have closed forever and - warning, a little graphic - been sewn together, but mayhap someday they may reopen, despite possibly having to be done so with pressure in a metaphorical sense.

All of this could be declared to be a form of escapist thinking to dive into imagined scenarios of being underwater or being a fantastical waterperson. I do not deny that such imaginations can be escapist from reality, for often reality is something not desirable, yet it is not always delusional. I do agree that it is delusional to say that one is able to breathe underwater meanwhile one cannot, yet we can hold our breath and be underwater for a bit at least. While, findeed, it may be delusional to some if one fantasizes about being able to live underwater, it does not necessarily mean that it is delusional to others. To me, the mere thought or imagination of being able to breathe underwater is fine as long as one does not actually attempt that and drown. Many acknowledge both reality and fantasy together in a good balance. One can accept limits of biology or "reality" and still act upon certain aspects of fantasy that are ethical and possible. For once, imaginations can aid in flowing through stormy waters and being capable of dealing with those. It is an anchor in the storm waters. Diving deeply into one's fin-terests is bene-fish-ial even if something may be fantasy. Works of fiction and imagination do reflect us in many manners and can be lessons for all of us. We are our imagination. Peering into our minds' oceans is vital to learn about the world. Fantastical thoughts and works are a free, unlimiting, and often a safe tide of doing so. Reality and fantasy often exist as companions. With fantasy, we can create what we call reality. By diving into the fantastical waters, one can explore many possibilities that may not be able to be executed in reality. That is why we teach youth to be creative and imaginative. With imagination, one can create and solve possibilities that have not yet been realized for instance. Only later on we tend to be told not to be imaginative and only conform to certain things. "Fantasizing" about being a waterperson can be actually helpful. Fin-swimming, for fin-stance, is also a sport and not only a costume showoff. People can even make it their living because other people adore what they do. It can be healing and a true expression for many. Many people can be able to be themselves to more extents if they are part of the "fantastical". It can be their truth. It not only is an expression, but often also an identity. We have the abilities to make at least some fantasies reality. Even if those fishtails may be "artificial", I once mentioned in another entry how so much folklore has exactly told of these kinds of waterpeople for generations such as the karukayn of the Gurindji people in North Australia or the ceasgs in Celtic mythology in Scotland. They could literally wear their fishtails like pieces of clothing and take them off. Those who do fin-swimming are true folkloric waterpeople in such regards even. One does not necessarily pretend, one makes it a reality, at least for oneself. If one declares all forms of fantasy to be "delusional", one drowns out the other possibilities that people can comprehend. Through fantasy, we can be more of ourselves. That is not escapism necessarily, it can be exploration and expansion. Of course, one should not always reside in the fantastical and still engage with essentials such as taking care of oneself and perhaps also others. As long as one causes no trouble upon others or oneself and maintains a balance between reality and fantasy, it is utterly fine.

Not everyone will understand what I want to say and that is fine. If one thinks it is mere make-believe fantasy, it may be for one, but do not say that everyone else should think it is alongside.

Such social norms which try to "normalize" people can drown out diversity. People are diverse and have to be different. If there is only one norm we must be, we are not people or individuals anymore. We are mere copies then. Life has to be diverse in many cases. Genetic diversity, for instance, has to exist, otherwise a species is less likely to survive, for the world itself is always changing. If no diverse beings existed of that species, the species would be less likely to adapt. If only one singular standard would exist and the world changed where it would not be sustainable anymore, the species could vanish. This is the same with our minds and society. We need diverse minds, otherwise if something happened where we needed something out of the norm in order to survive and did not have anything in that manner, we could not be able to adapt and survive. Basically, this argument of being delusional is not trustworthy in some regards, for oftentimes reality can be subjective because we are all unique. It only becomes a difficult topic if trouble is present, but calling fantasy or imagination in general "delusional" is a stormy wave in of itself. I could describe it, from my view, as erasure of diversity and life itself. Such claims of being delusional can be delusional themselves if they only limit themselves to certain viewpoints that ignore others. Categories and rules etc. can be helpful like navigational maps under some circumstances and can be essential, but not always and not for everything. A map is not always a true representation of the world, for the world is always changing and never static while the map itself is.

However, I primarily only call out such disagreements with the fantastical that are not respectful. Many still maintain respect and I do not want to simplify. Disagreement is part of diversity and as long as it does not drown out other people, it is welcome for me under most circumstances, yet this may depend on others. As long as respectful disagreement is present, I accept that. Still, this argument of being "delusional" being in of itself delusional sometimes is especially evident, to me at least, such as in my connection to water which shall dive into some environmental concerns, as a disclaimer to those who may find it upsetting. I also do not have formal knowledge in that topic and only have information from books covering parts of it such as "The Water Book" by Alok Jha or "Water: A Spiritual History" by Ian Bradley or even "Mermaids: The Myths, Legends, and Lore" by Skye Alexander in some sections.

Water is something which is present in the lives of all. We all need it to live. To a large sum, we are made of water. If one appreciates it and wants to be part of it at least in the imagination, one should do so since few do. Many only sea it as something common or "normal", yet if one dives deeper into the topic, it can be as vast as the ocean itself. Some tend to exploit water which leads to water shortage or some do not respect it at all by polluting it, making it ineligible to drink. I am grateful that I have access to clean water unpolluted by anything. So many places have unclean water. If one cannot drink water, one will not survive. We need to consume more water than meals. So many people do not have access to water at all and do not survive. So many people, for example those who pursue marine biology, are drawn to water and their work is important so that we get to know our world's waters even. We have explored more of outer space than our very own watery space on earth. I would say, do not take water for granted. One should be grateful for it, even if just in a small amount for one second, if possible. It is a miracle that so many of us have close access to it. Many others do not, yet we all need it to live. Access to it will become more scarce alongside. I do not think that water, for example, should be reduced to something of a boring, everyday utility and topic. If possible, raise awareness to keep our waters and the ocean healthy. Keep nature healthy and do not take it for granted. If we exploit it all, we will not benefit from it in the long tide. What my point here is, is that we all share water and if we misuse it completely, many may never get to ever use it again in the future. Of course many factors are present. It is an entire ocean in of itself with countless waves and this is something rather oversimplified which I do not like to do as aforementioned, but we have to attempt to protect our waters and not ignore it at least. Think about it at least.

To me, seeing myself as a waterperson can be literal and something deeply interconnected to my origins, to me. I may not be able to live underwater, yet I can live by the waters. When I say that I want to be an actual waterperson capable of living underwater, I mean it in a way of wanting to appreciate and explore my own mind's depths, the waters, my origins, and nature to much deeper extents. I want to explore the ocean as a waterperson. It is a desired for exploration and not delusion nor escapism. This imagined scenario of being a waterperson to me means being deeper connected to nature, our essence, and being like the philosophical nature of water, and learning more about it all. Still and all, I already am a waterperson in another sense. I am made of water to roughly seventy percent and I appreciate the waters. I can still be part of nature and help to keep it alive and explore parts of it. I can always imagine being a waterperson deep down in my mind and act upon what I have in reality. Or perhaps we can discover more possibilities? Who knows what lies beneath the waves.

Whatever one may think of this, I hope that this gave some finsight from my sea's horizon!

Also happy Easter.

~~~

Thanks for diving into me and my sea.

[meeravandaseera]

Listening to songs from the Endless Ocean: Blue World Soundtrack or also the H2O: Just Add Water Soundtrack is truly the most fin-tastic feeling for me :>

I have been making my desktop prettier for me. This is a customized desktop with a Winamp Player skin called "PalmBeach" made by "mire web-designs" in 2003 according to the ReadMe file that was also provided in the Winamp Skin Museum. It looks like the Gatama Atoll in Endless Ocean: Blue World or any Pacific atoll in that matter...

Thanks for diving into me and my sea!

[meeravandaseera]

"Mermaids Oracle Deck and Guidebook: Wisdom, Insight, and Enlightenment from the Legendary Creatures of the Sea" by Melissa Maxwell and Paula Zorite

Recently, I had received this oracle deck. It is based on the a many folklore and mythology of waterpeople and their wisdom or finsights.

Note that cartomancy is different for everyone and may only be used as reflection for topics that are not too sea-rious. For anything that requires actual help from knowledgeable people, such cards cannot be a substitute for that at all. I had already detailed this in a previous entry on the "Mermaid's Purse Oracle".

I have quite many of such aquatic cartomancy decks and I think this one is my favorite so far. It shares so much fin-formation and knowledge that can be fished out of the folklore surrounding waterpeople. This deck is shrimp-ilar in the tides of some literature that reflect the wisdom of folkloric waterfolk such as "Mermaid Wisdom" by Brenda Rosen or "A Mermaid's Tale" by Amanda Adams. It is shell-tacular, for it even dives into lesser-known waterpeople like the Gurindji karukayn that many may not know of. The deck has such a wide sea of folklore from the global waters which is utterly amazing. Many other cartomancy decks also depict diverse waterfolk from the entire world, but this one bases it on the actual folklore and mythology of the people. It also covers some literary waterfolk like the Little Mermaid and I really appreciate that it is also detailed how it is literary and not necessarily traditionally folkloric. However, it even dives into the fin-sight of fabricated waterfolk like the Feejee Mermaid hoax which I adore. I am someone who likes to think a lot and the card which is shown is so fin-tastically depicted of how one should question and rethink some aspects in life. From what I know of now, it is one of my favorite cards in the deck! It depicts this wisdom in such an elegant tide. The artwork by Paula Zorite portrays the waterpeople so amazingly and accurately, I am awe-finspired!

Much knowledge is ascribed from them according to the folklore of the past, but some may be newer tides of fin-terpretation. I adore it, yet know that such may not represent the more "traditional" aspects of a waterperson. Still and all, folklore has always been changeable and adapted to more contemporary tides and that is how it survives in the first tide. The German nix has "Forgiveness" as his ascribed fin-sight, yet he can also be dangerous. What I do not very much appreciate is that it seems to reduce some symbolism only to one aspect meanwhile many waterpeople are multifaceted and cannot be reduced to one aspect. However, such wisdom is not fished from unclear waters at all. The wisdom is understandable and may aid one very well. One can always fin-terpret for oneself and encompass the other aspects of a waterperson that may not be listed in this oracle deck.

What I do not think I will get to understand may be why so much media surrounding waterfolk is only named after the mermaids. This deck tells of mermen and many others. I assume it may sometimes have to do with discoverability since mermaids are usually commonly regarded by the majority when thinking of waterpeople which is quite of an obvious observation. Sometime I shall expand my streams of thoughts of that topic here.

The only real critique I have is that this deck does not list any sources in the guidebook. Many claims are still accurate to my knowledge, but some are not such as the ancient Greek sirens who are described to be mermaids meanwhile that is only true much later in history. That same author also wrote "The Little Encyclopedia of Mermaids" which I had reviewed in an earlier entry and some sources listed in it fin-cluded Wikipedia, which is not the most reliable source in most tides, yet I still think that the author did re-sea-rch properly to an extent! This deck is the best cartomancy oracle surrounding the fin-sights in the mythology and folklore of waterfolk. The deck has a very prominent focus on the folkloric or mythological wisdom of waterfolk and that is why I adore it so much. Other decks like "Oracle of the Mermaids" by Lucy Cavendish dive into some folkloric aspects of waterpeople like so, yet not all too much, usually only for some cards. "Mermaids and Dolphins and Magical Creatures of the Sea" by Gillian Kemp has a primary focus on folkloric waterpeople, but mostly only European ones. That one does not cite any sources whatsoever and got some strange claims swimming in its text such as that the Inuit Sedna rides on a "golden chariot", which I have never read about before, yet overall that deck still has much value alongside.

Thanks for diving into me and my sea.

[meeravandaseera]

Ooqpqpkqdpqkdpwkdpwkdefsksskseiofjowjaowdjdawd.

I can be your... emoji can either be chocolate icecream or your enemy... poo. THe emoji is confusing. Oh wow. Wow. So fin-tastic. Oh oannes. Oh wow! Wow.

💩

Uhm.. blubb blubb

It is april blubb. This is non-waterfolk related. I randomly drew this on the 19th January of this year on the photo editing program for some reason.

Funny fellow in this low-quality fan depiction is Majin from the CD game with the blue fast spikey

h

[meeravandaseera]

WATERFOLK MAY PASS BUBBLES

OH OANNES OH WHAT THE FISH?! SOme species of fish can pass possible fart bubbles? What if waterpeople who are half-fish do that alongside? HOLD IN THOSE BUBBLES!

Above: Art Frame by John R. Neill from The Sea Fairies in 1911.

SEA-HAW! YEEHAW! FART BUBBLES AND CONFUSE THE FISHERS WHO WANT TO CAPTURE THE WATERFOLK! It is an art!

Pass da bubbles!

M-sea-rry April Blubb! The joke is that this joke is actually not a joke. HA

Fish do fart! SCIENCE SAYS SO! YOOOOOOOOOO

MAN!

[meeravandaseera]

"The Mermaid's Purse Oracle" by Olivia Rose

Yesterday, I received this shell-tacular oracle deck. It deeply resonates with me. While I have a variety of aquatic card decks, this is one of my favorites of all.

I want to clarify that such oracle decks can mean many different thoughts to people. Some can only appreciate the art or the messages, some can both. These are not meant to be substitutes for anything serious like life decisions and only meant as supporting guides, reflection and sometimes clarification for me at least. They are not works of anything supernatural. I do not base my decisions solely on such cards. They should not define me and be a definite tide of guidance. Instead, if one uses them in a similar tide, many cards can be fin-terpreted by oneself and only bring more reflection or clarity into a case, for in our subconscious we may already know the answer deep down. These may show some new ideas or perspectives one may not have surfaced in one's mind to help with one's own topics. The cards are often good self-reflection tools, but should not replace other means of help such as advice from educated ones as aforementioned for anything serious. Such cards do not even have to be used for guidance, but can be used as affirmations with short messages or their art can also just be appreciated. It is still important to not only use such cards to promote rather difficult tides of thinking such as positive messages of hope that may undermine one's true negative emotions and situations. I use them to explore my sea further and not to swim on the surface to avoid my actual feelings below the waves. Anyhow, this is only my own sea of thoughts. This topic in of itself is as vast as an ocean itself, so please keep that in mind.

The art of Olivia Rose in the general tide is very enchanting, breathtaking, graceful, sublime, rather complex or ambiguous, and surreal in a glamorous tide. It is somewhat abstract and allows one's mind to finterpret in larger waves. The majority of this deck looks like as if the radiant aquatic world is bioluminescent in the deep sea which I crave. Some researchers claim that life originates from hydrothermal vents in the deepest waters of our planet and fin general the depths may reflect the depths of our world and our minds. Everything is so complex and ambiguous, which is beautiful since it is diverse. If everything would be "shallow", it would not be an expansive experience here. Only one presiding force or idea may not allow others to flourish, controlling everything. If one oneself would be "shallowly" thinking, one would not think through everything that may swim across. One could get caught by the wrong, unforeseen current and be swept off. Some cards such as Clarity have colorful parts of the seascape, making a powerful distinction of the card's message for me, for almost every other card the background is dark like the deep sea.

The deck itself was created with the fin-tention to be a guide in one's life when one's waters would be stagnant and if one would be lost in such. As of now, my waters are quite stagnant and murky. No currents swim by to drag the uncontrollable debris out of my own stagnant life stream. Some sundries have changed with some currents, yet not for the best. This month I had to visit the funeral of a grandparent who I lost suddenly out of the blue... despite them having been healthy. Other people I knew left me alongside since last year already. Such currents can wash one away into quite murky waters. This and last year alone, I had many of such currents and still have many persisting ones. Fin regards to my creative works I have been rather stagnant alongside. I began expanding my creative works, hoping to develop and expand my horizon above my sea, yet it has not very much to my liking or what I expected. I tend to spiral into vortexes of negative thoughts which I have fought to escape from. And I fear that if I do not swim against it, then I will be swept away to the negative, deserted bottom of the sea where I cannot escape from forever. I tend to get furious over aspects I cannot change meanwhile I should dive into my own mind and change myself, often to not much of an avail. While waters may be calm and sea-rene in a stagnant state, it does not allow room for experience. We need it to grow and reflect upon ourselves. However, it is somewhat ironic since usually I despise change, but only if something changes for the worst. A still lake may be calming, but parasites and bacteria can breed there in larger quantities than in a running stream, those are known as "stagnant waters" and often pose environmental hazards in life. Similar to how certain stagnant systems can restrict other people and not enable diverse minds to surface with the changing tides of time. A running stream is vital, for it is life and is the water that makes a calm lake in the first tide. Moving currents are that what keep the ocean alive. We must keep breathing and our hearts must keep moving, otherwise we are washed away. I want to experience and learn for the sake of it. And I want to create. While it is difficult, I will keep on swimming and try to improve. While some currents may not aid me, I will stay resilient in my waters until I may be able to surface from them and the pollution that pesters me and my sea! Attempt to fight pollution in a sea, literally and mentally! One cannot swim in it forever. Still and all, when something is out of one's control, sometimes one has to accept it and change what one can do on one's own, depending on context, yet do not lose all hope. Hope can resurface.

Those cards I pulled really resonate with my situation, Change and Acceptance. I wish that I can accept that the world may change not for my best and the sea can never be tamed, yet that I can still change sea-rtain aspects for the better which I can change by myself. Later pulled cards fin-clude Closed and Communication. Now, I am quite like a closed seashell or a hermit crab hiding in its shell. It reflects my current state in clear waters. Communication is what I do here, sharing my siren song. Despite me not feeling that I am in stagnant waters regarding my work, especially in regards to being acknowledged, I am glad that I can make anything at all and that some acknowledge what I do. I am so grateful for all those who have been there for me and are there for me. Fin regards to this blog, I began these entries to share my voice and thoughts on my fin-terests. I hope that anything I create can be bene-fish-ial to some.

So many of these cards hold fin-tastic messages. The Past card's message of how the past is still valuable uses the nautilus as an example of how ancient the creature is while still persisting into present tides! Oh sacred Oannes. There also came some stickers and more. I put the stickers into the oracle box since they look like sublime windows in a castle.

As a side-note, the aquatic world of this deck is reminiscent of the videogame Aquaria by BitBlot, the first ever videogame I ever got to witness. It is peculiar, surreal, and wonderful like the deep sea. The starfish with eyes that are depicted on some cards seem similar to those eyed starfish that come from the upper, brighter waters of Aquaria. Upon being awakened, those shoot stars from themselves at Naija, the watermaid of the story in Aquaria. Since this game speaks to me very much, this oracle does alongside. If one finds fin-terest, please consider diving into Aquaria. It is a not so well-known thoughtful experience and a poignant work of art.

This somewhat strange or otherwordly, yet sublime and almost ethereal aquatic surrealism is stellar in this oracle. When I sea such imagery I rethink about how peculiar, yet wonderful our world is. Selcouth, meaning strange in the earlier English language, also describes it very well. For fin-stance, when I think of any extraterrestrial creature that looks surreal and think back to the deep sea on our own planet where the creatures are so different than we may think, I am both in fear and awe. It shows how nature is incomprehensible to us mortals, how Socrates described the more one knows, the more one knows how much one does not and may never know. This diversity is so awe-finspiring. Imagine standing on a cliff or floating before the abyss, looking upon the depths, the world, its wonders. There will always be something to explore and learn anew. Now, if we would not change and develop, we would not be able to explore. It would be cold and boring, not fin-teresting at all! Nature itself can be strange, chaotic, and even cruel, yet even beautiful. While it is chaotic, it is diverse and still persistent in many tides. While so much has happened and will happen, we still exist. If distress would be washed away by the tides completely, who would know what bliss would be? It is a balance which is as everchanging, yet as constant as the waves of the oceans. Change is the only constant aspect in life. If we would not be in a form of balance between many forces, it would be fin-vasive and stagnant. If we only would be in balance forever, it would be stagnant alongside. As an example, if one would want to improve, one often has to exceed certain limits even if just to a small amount and try something new. It is paradoxical, but I am glad anything exists at all...

How those waterpeople look in the oracle, their expressions, it is so serene. They seem to be knowledgeable. I find the aura that they reflect so sublime. It seems as if they acknowledge the world and accept how diverse it is while still being true to themselves by looking after their needs. They seem to respect the world and themselves, dwelling in the waters of self-awareness, acceptance, respect, and acknowledgment. It is important to look after oneself and others, establishing a healthy balance between one and other people can be helpful in some situations, but sometimes one could need to stop and think if one would need to set boundaries. It all depends. I cannot splash the waves enough how they are designed alongside. Each possesses an unique appearance and design, reflecting the diversity and beauty in every aspect.

I also adore those somewhat triangular fins shaping their heads such as in the Closed card. They remind me of some characters with similar triangular heads I had seen. The Awaken card has a half-moon head which seems similar to the main character in the Hylics videogame named Wayne as an example. The Ascension card has a head like a hammerhead shark. The even vaguely triangular shapes are nice. Triangles are sacred symbols and often associated with wisdom, stability, and much more. It is my favorite shape and I like the concept of the triangle heads, especially in relation to the wisdom association. The number three is frequent and speaks to me very much because it reflects many trios such as land, sea, and sky or past, present, and future as some fin-stances. There is more, but this explains it fairly well. The trident is a significance alongside in the deck as many waterfolks would bear such. It is a very important symbol especially for triumph, victory, and power like in this oracle. The art of the oracle is often symmetrical and those shapes are so neat to look at. It looks complex, yet shrimp-le. It has this ancient feel to it, being regal and sacred, yet mysterious and perhaps transcendental. While the deck is, well, complex in of itself, it still has some set system and a simplicity in its art. Everything looks like some form of sacred geometry applied in an utterly beautiful tide in the deep sea. Yea. Sea. Yea. <It is written similarly, but pronounced differently. Yea...

Thanks for diving into me and my sea.

Yea- What the shell am I doing with the yea. Holy crab.

Haha.

Ha.

H lol

Yea, pl-sea-ure is fin-finite.

Fin fin!

This is now FIN-ished, fellow.

Dive into another entry for Oannes' sake!

[meeravandaseera]

On (Official) Mermaid Museums

They are oh-fish-ial! They are here, oh dear.

It was only recently in 2020-2022 when the first full-on museums dedicated to waterpeople or at least mermaids were created. I would like to visit them someday, but have no means to do so as of now.

Fin general, waterfolk have shared currents with exhibits and museums for long, at least before the Middle Ages in ancient Greece. The supposed specimen of the so-called Tanagran triton was said to have been exhibited in the town of Tanagra. Later medieval exhibited parts and specimens of supposed waterfolk were abundant just like in later tides with exhibited, but fabricated "Feejee mermaids" and much more. Fin general, supposed waterpeople specimens, pieces of their lore and art can be found exhibited almost everywhere. A many exhibits and museums carry even just small treasures of exhibited waterfolk-related sundry all over the globe.

Still and all, fin-tire temporary exhibits dedicated to waterfolk are not so usual. The Philadelphia Maritime Museum once held an exhibit solely dedicated to mermaids in 1986 known as "The Tale of the Mermaid". I am so shore there are so many countless exhibits that I could hear of, yet will never surface in my sea. Who knows what dwells beneath the waves...

Earlier fictional "mermaid museums" finclude the pop-up "The Mermaid Museum" by Freeform and Popsugar in 2018 in Los Angeles dedicated to the fictional and literary show "Siren" or "Mysterious Mermaids". This is a fictional museum that was not based on factual presentation, but instead promotion for the literary show and its lore. The idea of museums dedicated to waterpeople have existed in our minds and the media for long already. Who knows how many alread-sea had at least made temporary museums dedicated to waterfolk in life actually?

Two self-funded museums dedicated to waterpeople opened amazingly at very close dates in the United States, one preceding the other (https://hyperallergic.com/671880/the-curious-emergence-of-two-mermaid-museums-in-the-us/)... Now, the "first mermaid museum of the world" or "the world's first mermaid museum", at least the first very official one in life, was the Mermaid Museum (https://www.berlinmermaidmuseum.com/) in Berlin in Maryland. It relates much about the general history, literature, folklore and mythology of waterpeople, sightings of waterpeople, art and other sundries such as fashion-related finformation. It does professional photoshooting alongside with waterfolk-related themes with more activities such as a scavenger hunt. The second that came thereafter is the non-profit organization of the International Mermaid Museum (https://www.mermaidmuseum.org/) or the Mermaid Museum in Washington which focuses a lot more on environmental awareness fincluding conservation of the oceans and marine life which I adore. It finforms about waterpeople's history, folklore and mythology, literature, art, facts such as about mermaid's purses, and more. It even has a mission statement which states that "the International Mermaid Museum is dedicated to teaching ocean ecology from seashore to sea floor immersed in mermaid mythology uniting world oceanic cultures. All oceanic countries have mermaid lore thus providing a thread of connectivity and commonality between and through both community and culture. Mermaids in storytelling encourage people to see the undersea environment, not just through the lens of marine life, but through the view of humans in the underwater world, thus helping them better understand the importance of clean oceans, the sea as a living environment, and the reality of ocean exploration as one of the last great adventures on earth" (https://www.mermaidmuseum.org/seashore-to-sea-floor/seashore-to-sea-floor.html), which I really appreciate as an approach... It also holds some festivals and events! The latter museum seems more open and free-flowing and the first more formal in a sense. Both are dedicated and sea-rious.

Some may choose not to visit the museums because some featured art show the watermaidens without shells, starfish, scales, seaweed, even hair or something else covering their chests like the art in many museums. There are even "Feejee mermaids" exhibited in them that look spooky. Oh sacred carp! Do not dive into these if one cannot stand it.

I find that it is remarkable how much of an impact waterfolk has on us and that they now have established museums. Similarly to how the interviewed owner of the Berlin Mermaid Museum states (https://www.wmdt.com/2021/04/a-mythical-world-worlds-first-mermaid-museum-opens-in-berlin/), their legacy is enduring and important for those finterested, even for those who are not fin-atics who believe in supposed waterfolk specimens that are still exhibited.

(If any source shall be unavailable, try to consult an archival site)

tHanks for diving into me and my sea... once again upon the next tide...

[meeravandaseera]

Sources for "Literary Waterfolkology: Some Historical and Folkloric Similarities in Shandzii's merfolk animatics and more".

The "Keep Reading" heading is only made for this sources entry and that shall have changed. I primarily made this because I wanted to refrain from adding these into the analysis directly. My fin-tuition said so. Anyhow, here are most digital sources of mine for this:

Animatics by shandzii:

"Ship in a Bottle": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SocVqKJsYsA

"Just a Thingy for School :P": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X41e99aMY1g

"It's Tough to be a God": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX2ctZBxcrk

"She doesn't need grass": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIbLFZ6GBj4

"The Dismemberment Song": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKh9GtchoWI

~~~

Historical and Folkloric

Nagas and Naginis: https://www.britannica.com/topic/naga-Hindu-mythology

Ne Hwas: http://www.native-languages.org/lumpeguin.htm

Lumpeguin: http://www.native-languages.org/lumpeguin.htm

Nanaue shark-man: http://folklore.usc.edu/the-shark-man-nanaue/ ,

Dakuwaqa shark-man: https://www.fijianmermaid.com/dakuwaqa-protector-of-the-ocean-fiji.html

Dogfish-people: https://spiritsofthewestcoast.com/collections/dogfish-or-shark-woman-symbol ,

Dracs and Dracae: https://www.worldoftales.com/European_folktales/Scottish_folktale_29.html#gsc.tab=0 , https://steelthistles.blogspot.com/2021/09/folklore-snippets-drac.html , https://visitcryptoville.com/2014/07/28/mermaid-monday-the-very-strange-tale-of-french-dracs/

Kelpie: https://www.timberbush-tours.co.uk/news-offers/scottish-folklore-kelpies , https://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/folklore/kelpie/ , Hafstramb: https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~lehn/_Papers_for_Download/PolarRecord-merman.pdf

Russian watersnake-people: http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/russia-water-snake.html

Cyane: https://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheKyane.html

The Tanagran triton: https://www.theoi.com/Thaumasios/Tritones.html

Fin regards to the Exeter waterpeople: http://waylandwordsmith.blogspot.com/2010/01/exeter-mermaid.html , https://www.strangehistory.net/2018/04/16/mermaid-monday-killed-with-sticks/

Ningyo: https://www.tokyoweekender.com/art_and_culture/japanese-culture/the-bizarre-and-violent-tales-of-japanese-mermaids-or-ningyo/ , https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-13th-century-mermaid-bones-came-be-displayed-japanese-temple-180962209/ , https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g02101/

Healing mermaid skin cure: http://hauntedohiobooks.com/news/the-mermaid-skin-cancer-cure/ ,

Exmouth mermaid: http://www.strangehistory.net/2011/09/29/mermaid-at-exmouth-eats-boiled-fish/

(If any source shall be unavailable, attempt to consult an archival site.)

Thanks for diving into me and my sea.

Literary Waterfolkology: Some Historical and Folkloric Similarities in Shandzii's merfolk animatics and more

Edited "A Mermaid and a Warrior" by Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (1859-1938). It seems quite familiar... (´ಠ∀ಠ`)

Another analysis of fictional waterfolk, this tide of time for one of my favorite literary stories featuring waterfolk who are referred to as "Ocean Idiots". It is a quite well-known collaborative work made by multiple authors. Mariza is the sea serpent-person and oceanic deity, Samira is the lunar deity, Larus is the aerial deity, and Indra is the preceding sea serpent-person and oceanic deity before Mariza, all of them by Shandzii. Delta is the shark-person by El-Pada who also created Delta's pirate crew if I am right. Heather the waterfolk hunter or butcher is by Melodyofthevoid. Please dive into the original works before reading, for they are fin-tastic, sublime, and ultra super shell-tacular. If one could do so, please do so. All gifs here are excerpts from Shandzii's animations that were available here. The screenshots of some artworks are all property of the respective artists aside from all the other depictions which have entered the public domain. According to what I have read on their respective blogs on answered ask entries, the artists are fine with their art being used as long as proper credit is given and encourage fan-works as long as the usage is not something in utterly troubled waters. I only display their art if I require them to show a claim that I am making, basically I have had to use them as sources sometimes. Please sea the originals and dive into the works. Here, I solely dive into waterfolklogy as always. What I note are only similarities I noticed, nothing may have been fin-tended and does not mean to serve as a saying that these are "references".

SHALL WE DIVE INTO....

THE GREAT SEA?

SEA-HAW (YEEHAW) AYE AYE FELLOW FIN-DIVIDUAL

Mariza's transformation from a mortal to a shapeshifting humanoid sea serpent-person deity has some folkloric similarities in the "Ship in a Bottle" animatic upon slaying Indra. Many waterpeople were human before in folklore, yet transformed through some means such as curses like Mariza.

Above: Screenshot of Mariza in the "She doesn't need grass" animatic by shandzii.

Above: Indra and Samira art by shandzii in the "Ocean Idiots for Idiots" slideshow by melodyofthevoid on pages 14-15

Transformed Mariza has the ability to transform from her serpentine form to a more humanoid form. Indra is capable of transforming from a entire sea-serpent to a more humanoid appearance. There happen to be plenty waterpeople who would be considered water snake-people like Mariza and Indra. Many of them live both in fresh- and saltwater, thus I will refer to such shrimply as watersnake-people. The closest counterpart to Mariza herself might be a tale of the Passamaquoddy Ne Hwas whose term which may be derived of "niwesq" solely means "spirit" for any supernatural being and it may tell of the Passamaquoddy and Malecite lumpeguin water-people instead. However, this folktale still tells of two freshwater-snake-maidens who once were mortal maidens. One day, they got cursed upon not heeding their mother's warning to not go into a lake at which moment they each possessed their lower halves of serpentine tails according to "The Penguin Book of Mermaids" on page 291. They would make that lake their habitat.

Above: "Nure-onna" by Toriyama Sekien 鳥山石燕 (1712-1788) in the Gazu Hyakki Yakō 画図百鬼夜行.

Some versions of the legend of freshwater-maiden Melusiné say that upon each Saturday, her lower body turned into a serpentine tail from a curse. Usually, she would possess the body of a mortal maiden on other days. There exist the female nagis or naginis and the male nagas in Hinduism who are described as shapeshifting waterfolk, capable of being watersnake-people. "Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology" by Theresa Bane on page 241 describes how they tend to "reside at the bottom of lakes, rivers, and the sea in gem encrusted palaces filled with never-ending dance and song". They are able to be partly or fully serpentine. A Russian folktale that is featured in "Russian Fairy Tales" by W. R. S. Ralston tells of complete freshwater-snakes who live underwater and are capable of turning into mortal people ashore. The Wabanaki and Passamaquoddy nodumkanwet or apodumken were waterpeople said to live in waters, possessing piscine or serpentine tails. In Passamaquoddy Bay, they may take the forms of gigantic, fanged water-serpents according to "Mythical Creatures of Maine: Fantastic Beasts from Legend and Folklore" by Christopher Packard on page 87. Nure-onna was a littoral watersnake-maiden from Japanese folklore, appearing as a watersnake with the head of a woman or a water snake-woman with the a humanoid upper body and the lower half of a serpentine tail. Jinja-hime from Japanese folklore was a sea-serpent with the head of a woman. Another Passamaquoddy myth with possible Christian influences according to "The Penguin Book of Mermaids" on page 289 told of two maidens who would go every Sunday to a lake to bathe and perform supposed ill-considered or undesirable acts which caused them to turn into human-headed freshwater-snakes forever. These are all only some finstances.

Mariza can shapeshift into an actual colossal sea serpent-person alongside as in the "Just a Thingy for School :P" animatic. Mariza seems to be capable of turning in tides back and forth from more averagely humanoid-sized to a more colossal sea serpent-person. This size-shifting is present in some folkloric waterpeople. According to "Mythical Creatures of Maine: Fantastic Beasts from Legend and Folklore" by Christopher Packard on page 85, the Native American Malecite and Passamaquoddy lumpeguin water-people could change their size in great amounts from as small to hide under a curled leaf to the size of a large man.

Both Indra and one of Mariza's forms have pointy head-fins which remind me of some ocean-people like the Orcadian sea-trows whose heads looked pointed like the roof of a house according to W. Traill Dennison in "Orkney Folklore: Sea Myths" in "The Scottish Antiquary, Or, Northern Notes & Queries, Volume 5" on page 167 and the Norse hafstramb merman whose head was described with the shape of a peaked helmet in the King's Mirror. Some native depictions of the Melanesian adaro from the Solomon islands in "The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folklore" on pages 197 and 259 show the adaro with the head of a swordfish, including the dorsal fin showing from the head's tip.

Above: Screenshots of Mariza art details by shandzii.

In regards to one of Mariza's usual forms where her legs would be present with a tail alongside, this reminds me of a description of a sighting from Exeter around the River Ex in ca. 1730-1750 as its distribution came from the August of 1823 in "The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and its Dependencies Vol. XV" in an article called "Old and New Mermaids". Wherever or whomever this strange sighting originally stemmed from is unknown. "(...) It is not a century since a Mermaid was said to have been seen in the river just mentioned, close to the walls of the city of Exeter... Its humanity extended to the waist and.. it bore from the waist downwards a resemblance to a salmon. It had, however, two legs placed below the waist, and absolute novelties in the history of Mermaids. With these legs it left the shore of the river Ex (...)". Another earlier sighting in Exeter dated from the November of 1737 claimed how "some Fishermen near the city, drawing their Net ashore, a creature of two legs, having human shape, leapt out and ran away very swiftly. (...) Its feet were webbed like a duck’s. It has eyes, nose and mouth, resembling those of a man, only the nose somewhat depressed, and the tail not unlike a salmon’s, only turning up towards its back, and was four feet high". Also of note may be a depiction from the "Oedipus Aegypticus" by Athanisius Kirchner in 1652 of the Assyrian Atargartis aka. Derceto, a humanoid goddess who can be identified with a goddess at Ascalon who possessed piscine attributes.

Above: Edited illustration from the "Oedipus Aegypticus" in 1652.

Mariza is also capable of having her limbs turn to an "useless" state of water according to one depiction. I find that this reminds me of the Greek myth of naiad or freshwater-nymph Cyane who was a friend of Persephone in some versions. According to one version, Cyane dissolved into liquid upon seeing Persephone being abducted by Hades. This motif seems somewhat similar to how Mariza may have similar situations where her limbs turn to water upon being distressed.

Indra and Mariza's ability to control the ocean is present in countless waterpeople like Poseidon or Neptune, Triton etc.....

Webbed fin ears themselves that many characters from this literary work bear have their own separate entry in my all-read sea, already. (I have read much in my sea already).

Well, Mariza's hair is also something to take a dive into. Perhaps it may show some similarities with the hair of Sedna in Inuit mythology since her hair was described as entangling the ocean's creatures if she was angry. Inuit shamans would comb her hair, for she herself had no fingers, so that the nautical creatures she withheld from being caught by the people could be free again. Her hair appears to be symbolic for the ocean itself as if her hair was really the ocean where the nautical creatures dwell according to "Orality and Literacy: Reflections Across Disciplines" by Susan Gingell on page 122 and "A Mermaid's Tale: A Personal Search for Love and Lore" by Amanda Adams on pages 129-130. This is somewhat similar to the watery hair motif.

Both Mariza and Delta happened to be pirate waterfolk. During my fin-itial research, the tides of time led me to an unknown legend of piratess Anne Bonny and how she supposedly turned into a mermaid. The legend is from Palma Ceia in Tampa, Florida's Gulf Coast. Mermaid Anne Bonny, wielding a sword, is depicted in the seal of the neighborhood on the left with a stingray-maid called Qualenya on the right. The second depiction of the solo Anne Bonny mermaid above is a bit edited, but this alongside the seal got published on Wikimedia Commons and on Flickr, all released as Public Domain. The description of the solo Anne Bonny depiction states how Anne Bonny, "the most fearsome of all sea hags first appeared in the winter of 1733, the same year Anne Bonny was tossed into the sea upon her conviction for piracy. They say that Anne made a deal with The Sailor’s Devil, that if she allowed him to marry her unborn daughter, he’d grant her eternal life beneath the sea. Ever since, all through the Caribbean and up the Florida coast, Bonny has been luring curious sailors to rocky shallows where their boats are crushed and sunk". Supposedly, what is related comes from a 1800s book on pirates, but its title is not stated in any tide of time which renders this source as rather unreliable, yet it may be a fin-teresting implication.

Above: Delta's crew and their respective species as in the "Ocean Idiots for Idiots" slideshow by melodyofthevoid on page 19.

I now shall dive into Delta's pirate crew. The most obvious is the selkie named Sylvia. Sealfolk are Celtic and Norse sea-people who wear sealskins, capable of being seals in the sea and shapeshifting ashore into their humanoid forms, being commonly known as selkies or roane. Without their sealskin, they would usually not be able to shapeshift back into seals and return to the sea.

Above: Screenshots of the "She doesn't need Grass" animatic by shandzii.

Delta is capable of transforming into a shark-person. Many shark-people have existed. Dakuwaqa is a Fijian, shapeshifting oceanic deity who was said to be able to shapeshift into multiple forms like a shark or a humanoid. Avatea or Vatea of the mythology of the Cook islands could be a shark-man with his halves of humanoid and aquatic form being split vertically, but some claim he is half-fish or -porpoise alongside. Hawaiian mythology tells of demi-gods such as Nanaue who would be possessing a shark's mouth on their backs, capable of transforming into full shark forms. The Haida Dogfish-people, specifically the Dogfish-Woman, are shapeshifting dog-fish sharks who can assume mortal human forms ashore. Anyhow, Delta's aquatic form also possesses a head tapering into a shark's tail. This is something similar to what I have already done a dive into for the zora of "The Legend of Zelda" in a separate entry, but the Mesopotamian Abgal or Apkallu, sages who were said to have taught knowledge upon mortal humankind, one of the most well-known being named Uanna or Oannes, had such similar depictions with their heads tapering into fishtails. The Melanesian adaro do so alongside since their heads are literally swordfish in aforementioned depictions. Their heads taper into swordfish-tails. Delta's pectoral fins I assume also remind me of some depictions of supposed tritons or sea-satyrs who would have some front legs or fins, this is also something similar to one of Mariza's aforementioned forms.

Above: Edited "Monstum Marinum" by Conrad Gessner from his "Historiae animalium" in 1558.

One of Delta's crew named Ilia is a stingray-person like Qualenya who may be from the mythology of the Seminole Native American people. My rather strange sources regarding her primarily fincluded Wikimedia Commons' descriptions for her depictions. Above is an illustration of a 1920s book, supposedly. She can apparently transform from a complete stingray to a more humanoid appearance upon being saved by a boy in a blogspot entry which is the only source I found about her legend, but the source is not reliable alongside. I wrote more about Qualenya in a earlier entry alongside with the Anne Bonny mermaid, consider diving into it.

Jackie from the crew is a lobster-person. Greek and Roman mythology may tell of humanoid sea-deities like tritons or ichthyocentaurs, Phorcys, and Pontus who could bear lobster claw appendages or lobster horns on their heads, possibly including spiky, reddish skin like those of lobsters in Hellenistic-Roman mosaics.

Above: Hellenistic-Roman mosaic of aforementioned lobster-people, photos by Dennis Javis, CC-BY SA 2.0.

Riker and Raya in Delta's crew are eel-people. The magindara of Filipino mythology known by the Bikolano community could be described with the tail of an eel or a snake according to Philip Hayward in "Scaled for Success: The Internationalisation of the Mermaid" on page 108.

Above: Screenshots taken from the "Ocean Idiots for Idiots" slideshow by melodyofthevoid on pages 50-51.

Shapeshifting waterpeople are very common and numerous. The slideshow also claims that they require necklaces to shapeshift which is similar to the motif of many shapeshifting waterpeople requiring a talisman like the Irish merrows who require a certain hat called a cohuleen druith to do so. However, the theme of the necklace may be reminiscent to the kelpies of Scottish folklore, horses who live in aquatic environments and may assume humanoid form. A folktale from Barra in the Outer Hebrides related how a kelpie-man turned back into his equine form upon the removal of his necklace or bridle as a kelpie's shapeshifting ability was said to stem from its bridle. Some finstances in regards to how waterpeople may turn into objects as claimed in the slideshow, if I assume correctly, may be correspondent to the freshwater-poeple called the dracae from Scottish folklore or the dracs from French folklore who may assume humanoid form, but can also turn into anything their victim may desire like golden sundry and of course they may turn into wooden dishware even. I mean, who would not want wooden dishware?! It's so useful for many things.

Now, we shall dive into some more darker waters for a section, so please heed caution. It is quite the rough and stormy ocean fin terms of topics like cruelty, exploitation, dissection and some violence, especially since its tides stem from historical sources...

Above: Screenshots of "The Dismemberment Song" animatic by shandzii

Waterpeople, as claimed in the slideshow, are hunted by the forbidden market. Alleged historical records of waterpeople in regards to that show it in clear waters. Like Heather, so-called waterfolk hunters or butchers have already existed for long and I mean those who want to study or dissect them and so on and so forth. I do not refer to waterfolk-hunters who desperately want to sight and capture a waterperson upon being solely offered a reward, yet this motif may be somewhat similar to how Delta got captured in the first tide in "The Dismemberment Song" animatic with a Wanted Poster and a bounty possibly. Such "hunts" have been abundant, an official mermaid hunt was declared in Kiryat Yam in 2009 or another official one fin-cludes the mermaid hunt of the Isle of Man in 1961 according to "Merpeople: A Human History" by Vaughn Scribner on page 206. Fin such, usually a large sum of money would be declared even if one million, the price for the one who would be able to prove the existence of or capture the waterperson. Many assume such hunts solely have their origins in the means of tourist attraction. According to "Merpeople: A Human History" by Vaughn Scribner on page 105, in the year of 1749, Carl Linnaeus had read newspaper articles of waterfolk sightings from Nyköping in Sweden and sent a letter to the Swedish Academy of Science. He wanted to declare a hunt to "catch this animal alive or in spirits" for "in his mind, the reward outweighed the risk, as the discovery of such a rare phenomenon 'could result in one of the biggest discoveries that the Academy could possibly achieve and for which the whole world should thank the Academy'. Perhaps these creatures could reveal humankind's origins?". A mile off Exmouth in the 13th August of 1812, the certain Mr. Toupin and his crew sighted a supposed mermaid. It was said that "(..) a medical gentleman of Exeter has offered a reward of 20 pounds to whoever may succeed in catching the animal, and will bring it to him for dissection. In consequence of this, all the fishermen are very busy in making preparations to endeavour to entangle in their nets this fair nymph of the ocean". Whether this actually happened is a mystery. However, in the aforementioned sightings of legged waterpeople in Exeter, some sighted waterpeople would be hunted or at least chased until they would be dead and their corpse would be exploited.

In regards to Heather, I specifically refer to certain fin-atics who want to dissect or capture waterpeople in a more "professional" tide by making profit of any sort from them. The waterpeople in this work are hunted fin order for the parts of theirs to be sold on the forbidden market for all the supposed healing or magical properties they are said to have, which I fin-d is somewhat similar to the Japanese folktales of the ningyo 人魚 who had been hunted by mortal people for their healing properties. The flesh of the ningyo was said to cause youth and immortality. Ningyo blood was said to heal any wound according to "Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology" by Theresa Bane on page 249. The waterpeople in this literary work share almost the same properties of ningyo. Hoax ningyo specimens like Feeje mermaids were originally also manufactured by the Japanese and are still attributed with healing properties, despite only being usually sewn together with the top half of a monkey and the lower half of a fish. Ningyo bones are described to possess healing properties such as prevention from getting sick, stopping bloody bowel discharges as it's claimed in the "Bencao gangmu" from the 16th century, the "Compendium of Materia Medica", or such bones being used as an antidote in the Netherlands as it's said in the "Wakan sansai zue" in 1713. In the 14th April of 1222, a supposed ningyo washed up on Hakata Bay on the island of Kyushu. It was declared that the ningyo was a good omen and the bones of the alleged ningyo corpse were buried at the Ukimido temple. Around the Edo period, the bones were unearthed and soaked into the waters of the temple where bathers could absorb the supposed healing properties of sickness prevention. Scholars from the Edo period would also consume powdered ningyo bones, thinking it would extend their lives. A recorded fin-stance from 1906 told of the certain Rosa Stanley who charged Mrs. Merrit of Mulberry in Indiana large sum of money for some mermaid skin that could supposedly heal the cancer of hers. It turned into a fin-teresting situation with court dealings which one shall read in the source I shall provide in a separate entry. Skins of waterpeople are also used for many other things. According to "Legends and Superstitions of the Sea and Sailors" by Fletscher S. Bassett on page 169, "(Petrus) Gyllius says the skin of sea men taken in Dalmatia is so though that it is used for saddle covers".

Another account which tells how the town of Torre at the Red Sea would use mermaid skin for shoe soles or targets "that are musket-ball proof" stems from "Acta Germanica; or, The Literary memoirs of Germany" on page 171. "The Triton, whose skin in May 1647 Monconnys saw at Torre, a town and harbour on the Red sea, whose words are to the following purpose; ‘these Tritons, says he, are large fishes as big as a camel and taken in the Red sea (...). The same Monconnys saw in the same place the skin of a mermaid, which was ten foot long, and thicker than the hide of the largest buffle, and harder than wood, of which they make targets that are musket-ball proof, as also soles for shoes, which last three years". The so-called Petrus Petrejus de Elesunda also mentioned in the account how in the province Lucomoria at the extreme confines of Muscovy, there are freshwater-people who are "very delicious to eat". This alongside shows how the ningyo were also prepared as dishes which corresponds to how the flesh of the waterfolk in this literary work, as claimed in the slideshow, is a "rare delicacy".

Now, I dive into the dissections of waterfolk. Aside from all those hoaxes of supposed specimens of waterpeople like the Feeje mermaids who have been dissected, some sea-cretive ones persist. A fin-stance stems from the year of 1560 in which some fishermen once caught seven mermen fincluding mermaids "on the western coast of the island of Ceylon", off the southeast tip of India according to "Merpeople: A Human History" by Vaughn Scribner on page 66. Some Jesuit priests and some certain "F. Hen. Henriques, and Dimas Bosquez physicians to the viceroy of Goa" were some trustworthy witnesses, apparently. Those physicians examined the merpeople "with a great deal of care, and made dissection thereof". Supposedly, "all the parts of both internal and external were found perfectly conformable to those of men".

Above: Edited illustration in "Historiarum anatomicarum rariorum" in 1654.

Heather also kept a waterperson in a tank in the Animal Cann!bal animatic which is a similar motif found in the mermaid of Amboina sighting. Samuel Fallours claimed that he "had this Syrene alive for four days in (his) house at Ambon in a tub of water" according to Vaughn Scribner's work on page 106. Heather is in the possession of many waterfolk parts and puts these on display in a private collection. Vaughn Scribner tells in his "Merpeople: A Human History" on page 79 that "these were not the full, intact and scientifically studied creatures that their eighteenth and nineteenth century successors boasted. Nevertheless, by the end of the seventeenth century, mermaid hands, skins and occasionally full specimens became popular features of private collections and public exhibits". On page 80, he claims that "private collectors, (...), spent the seventeenth century scouring the globe for physical mer-specimens". As an example, in 1638, John Tradescant had "the hand of a mermaid" in his private museum in London. Thomas Bartholin held a supposed skeleton hand and the rib bones of a mermaid in his collection while he also claimed to have dissected a mermaid in Leiden which he featured in his "Historiarum anatomicarum rariorum" in 1654.

"Acta Germanica; or, The Literary memoirs of Germany" on page 171 asserts that "at Prague in the Emperor's Treasury was shown the hand of a mermaid, and another hand in Rome, in Corvini's museum". According to Vaughn Scribner's work on pages 81-82, the Royal Society of London's member Nehemiah Grew recorded in the "Catalogue & Description of the Natural and Artificial Rarities Belonging to the Royal Society and Preserved at Gresham College" in chapter one "the Rib of A Triton or Mareman. About the same length with that of a Mans, but thicker and stronger; and nothing near so much bended. (...) A Bone said to be taken out of a Maremaids Head. It is in bigness and shape not much unlike that called Lapis Manati, but the knobs and hollows thereof are somewhat different".

Above: Illustration from "The Life of P. T. Barnum" on page 233 in 1855.

Entire displayed waterfolk specimens like those that Heather had alongside are plenty as hoaxes like the Feeje mermaids or possible cases of sirenomelia. Many would purchase such faked specimens of waterpeople and, for finstance, display them and charge for money if one wanted to sea the supposed specimen. Such also happened to be exhibited of-fish-ially in museums. As related by Vaughn Scribner in pages 137-138 in his work, an infamous case was of Captain Eades' mermaid who lured with her siren song audiences of London in 1822. While he was in Batavia, the Dutch East Indies, during a trade deal, he was captivated by a dried mermaid so much so that he sold his entire ship and its contents. He believed the hoax that some Japanese fishermen had caught that mermaid, but yet his mermaid did become fin-famous in London, so it may have paid off. In spite of that, some supposed specimens are still mysteries. The sighted waterperson of Exeter in the November of 1737 who had been eliminated was also put on display in Exeter and then in London, but not a fellow has any idea whether it actually happened. The beheaded Tanagran triton in Greek mythology was also said to have been beheaded and displayed in the town of Tanagra. These are all just some fin-stances.

On the left above: Gif by shandzii in "The Dismemberment Song" animatic and on the right above: Edited illustration from "Sights in Boston and Suburbs, or Guide to the Stranger" in 1857.

Some claim to have purchased living waterpeople. Samuel Fallours' son had purchased the mermaid and brought it to him from the nearby island of Buru for "two ells of cloth" according to Vaughn Scribner's retelling in his work on the same aforementioned page.

Mariza encounters a lunar deity named Samira in the "Ship in a Bottle" animatic. Samira also was in a relationship with the previous oceanic deity Indra according to the slideshow. This may fin-dicate waterfolk's connection to the moon, especially lunar cycles since the moon fin-fluences the tides of the oceans and thus all marine life. Many waterpeople have more direct connections to the moon such some seal-people who could often only appear during nights such as when a full moon was present. Atargartis aka. Derceto is also said to be a goddess of the moon. Avatea or Vatea's eyes were also said to represent the sun and the moon.

Resonates with me in some tide. Screenshot taken from the "Ocean Idiots for Idiots" slideshow by melodyofthevoid on page 56.

Mariza is the humanoid oceanic deity in contrast to Larus who is the aerial deity as an avian humanoid. They are described as "siblings", but this is not in the literal sense. Larus only considers Mariza a sister. This connection, yet parallel between the aerial avian and the aquatic piscine can be somewhat distinguished in the Abgal or Apkallu. They could either appear with piscine or avian attributes, thus be considered as piscine and or either avian humanoids. The seirenes of Greek mythology would also be a well example for they were once considered to be avian humanoids and later on piscine through many shifts, especially when they were reinterpreted by Christianity. While these possible water-people that I mentioned are seen as being both at the same time´throughout history by having their names attributed to both the avian and the piscine, still and all, the direct comparison or distinction between the aerial and the aquatic in humanoid beings, the avian and the piscine, thus is an ancient concept, despite all of them not being separate deities directly like it is shown between Mariza and Larus. Atargatis or Derceto may be of mention alongside since one of her symbols was said to be the dove. In the general tide, this distinction shows the duality of air and water.

On the left above: GIF from the "It's Tough to be A God" animatic by shandzii and on the right above: Screenshot of an answered ask request on shandzii's tumblr.

All digital sources will be separate in a reblog of mine of this entry since I feel like it could be fine to be separate for this entry.

Thanks for diving into my sea alongside :>

[meeravandaseera]

Literary Waterfolkology: Some Historical and Folkloric Similarities in Shandzii's merfolk animatics and more

Edited "A Mermaid and a Warrior" by Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (1859-1938). It seems quite familiar... (´ಠ∀ಠ`)

Another analysis of fictional waterfolk, this tide of time for one of my favorite literary stories featuring waterfolk who are referred to as "Ocean Idiots". It is a quite popular* collaborative work made by multiple authors. Mariza is the sea serpent-person and oceanic deity, Samira is the lunar deity, Larus is the aerial deity, and Indra is the preceding sea serpent-person and oceanic deity before Mariza, all of them by Shandzii. Delta is the shark-person by El-Pada who also created Delta's pirate crew if I am right. Heather the waterfolk hunter or butcher is by Melodyofthevoid. Please dive into the original works before reading, for they are fin-tastic, sublime, and ultra super shell-tacular. If one could do so, please do so. All gifs here are excerpts from Shandzii's animations that were available here. The screenshots of some artworks are all property of the respective artists aside from all the other depictions which have entered the public domain. According to what I have read on their respective blogs on answered ask entries, the artists are fine with their art being used as long as proper credit is given and encourage fan-works as long as the usage is not something in utterly troubled waters. I only display their art if I require them to show a claim that I am making, basically I have had to use them as sources sometimes. Please sea the originals and dive into the works. Here, I solely dive into waterfolklogy as always. What I note are only similarities I noticed, nothing may have been fin-tended and does not mean to serve as a saying that these are "references".

SHALL WE DIVE INTO....

THE GREAT SEA?

SEA-HAW (YEEHAW) AYE AYE FELLOW FIN-DIVIDUAL

Mariza's transformation from a mortal to a shapeshifting humanoid sea serpent-person deity has some folkloric similarities in the "Ship in a Bottle" animatic upon slaying Indra. Many waterpeople were human before in folklore, yet transformed through some means such as curses like Mariza.

Above: Screenshot of Mariza in the "She doesn't need grass" animatic by shandzii.

Above: Indra and Samira art by shandzii in the "Ocean Idiots for Idiots" slideshow by melodyofthevoid on pages 14-15

Transformed Mariza has the ability to transform from her serpentine form to a more humanoid form. Indra is capable of transforming from a entire sea-serpent to a more humanoid appearance. There happen to be plenty waterpeople who would be considered water snake-people like Mariza and Indra. Many of them live both in fresh- and saltwater, thus I will refer to such shrimply as watersnake-people. The closest counterpart to Mariza herself might be a tale of the Passamaquoddy Ne Hwas whose term which may be derived of "niwesq" solely means "spirit" for any supernatural being and it may tell of the Passamaquoddy and Malecite lumpeguin water-people instead. However, this folktale still tells of two freshwater-snake-maidens who once were mortal maidens. One day, they got cursed upon not heeding their mother's warning to not go into a lake at which moment they each possessed their lower halves of serpentine tails according to "The Penguin Book of Mermaids" on page 291. They would make that lake their habitat.

Above: "Nure-onna" by Toriyama Sekien 鳥山石燕 (1712-1788) in the Gazu Hyakki Yakō 画図百鬼夜行.

Some versions of the legend of freshwater-maiden Melusiné say that upon each Saturday, her lower body turned into a serpentine tail from a curse. Usually, she would possess the body of a mortal maiden on other days. There exist the female nagis or naginis and the male nagas in Hinduism who are described as shapeshifting waterfolk, capable of being watersnake-people. "Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology" by Theresa Bane on page 241 describes how they tend to "reside at the bottom of lakes, rivers, and the sea in gem encrusted palaces filled with never-ending dance and song". They are able to be partly or fully serpentine. A Russian folktale that is featured in "Russian Fairy Tales" by W. R. S. Ralston tells of complete freshwater-snakes who live underwater and are capable of turning into mortal people ashore. The Wabanaki and Passamaquoddy nodumkanwet or apodumken were waterpeople said to live in waters, possessing piscine or serpentine tails. In Passamaquoddy Bay, they may take the forms of gigantic, fanged water-serpents according to "Mythical Creatures of Maine: Fantastic Beasts from Legend and Folklore" by Christopher Packard on page 87. Nure-onna was a littoral watersnake-maiden from Japanese folklore, appearing as a watersnake with the head of a woman or a water snake-woman with the a humanoid upper body and the lower half of a serpentine tail. Jinja-hime from Japanese folklore was a sea-serpent with the head of a woman. Another Passamaquoddy myth with possible Christian influences according to "The Penguin Book of Mermaids" on page 289 told of two maidens who would go every Sunday to a lake to bathe and perform supposed ill-considered or undesirable acts which caused them to turn into human-headed freshwater-snakes forever. These are all only some finstances.

Mariza can shapeshift into an actual colossal sea serpent-person alongside as in the "Just a Thingy for School :P" animatic. Mariza seems to be capable of turning in tides back and forth from more averagely humanoid-sized to a more colossal sea serpent-person. This size-shifting is present in some folkloric waterpeople. According to "Mythical Creatures of Maine: Fantastic Beasts from Legend and Folklore" by Christopher Packard on page 85, the Native American Malecite and Passamaquoddy lumpeguin water-people could change their size in great amounts from as small to hide under a curled leaf to the size of a large man.

Both Indra and one of Mariza's forms have pointy head-fins which remind me of some ocean-people like the Orcadian sea-trows whose heads looked pointed like the roof of a house according to W. Traill Dennison in "Orkney Folklore: Sea Myths" in "The Scottish Antiquary, Or, Northern Notes & Queries, Volume 5" on page 167 and the Norse hafstramb merman whose head was described with the shape of a peaked helmet in the King's Mirror. Some native depictions of the Melanesian adaro from the Solomon islands in "The Melanesians: Studies in their Anthropology and Folklore" on pages 197 and 259 show the adaro with the head of a swordfish, including the dorsal fin showing from the head's tip.

Above: Screenshots of Mariza art details by shandzii.

In regards to one of Mariza's usual forms where her legs would be present with a tail alongside, this reminds me of a description of a sighting from Exeter around the River Ex in ca. 1730-1750 as its distribution came from the August of 1823 in "The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and its Dependencies Vol. XV" in an article called "Old and New Mermaids". Wherever or whomever this strange sighting originally stemmed from is unknown. "(...) It is not a century since a Mermaid was said to have been seen in the river just mentioned, close to the walls of the city of Exeter... Its humanity extended to the waist and.. it bore from the waist downwards a resemblance to a salmon. It had, however, two legs placed below the waist, and absolute novelties in the history of Mermaids. With these legs it left the shore of the river Ex (...)". Another earlier sighting in Exeter dated from the November of 1737 claimed how "some Fishermen near the city, drawing their Net ashore, a creature of two legs, having human shape, leapt out and ran away very swiftly. (...) Its feet were webbed like a duck’s. It has eyes, nose and mouth, resembling those of a man, only the nose somewhat depressed, and the tail not unlike a salmon’s, only turning up towards its back, and was four feet high". Also of note may be a depiction from the "Oedipus Aegypticus" by Athanisius Kirchner in 1652 of the Assyrian Atargartis aka. Derceto, a humanoid goddess who can be identified with a goddess at Ascalon who possessed piscine attributes.

Above: Edited illustration from the "Oedipus Aegypticus" in 1652.

Mariza is also capable of having her limbs turn to an "useless" state of water according to one depiction. I find that this reminds me of the Greek myth of naiad or freshwater-nymph Cyane who was a friend of Persephone in some versions. According to one version, Cyane dissolved into liquid upon seeing Persephone being abducted by Hades. This motif seems somewhat similar to how Mariza may have similar situations where her limbs turn to water upon being distressed.

Indra and Mariza's ability to control the ocean is present in countless waterpeople like Poseidon or Neptune, Triton etc.....

Webbed fin ears themselves that many characters from this literary work bear have their own separate entry in my all-read sea, already. (I have read much in my sea already).

Well, Mariza's hair is also something to take a dive into. Perhaps it may show some similarities with the hair of Sedna in Inuit mythology since her hair was described as entangling the ocean's creatures if she was angry. Inuit shamans would comb her hair, for she herself had no fingers, so that the nautical creatures she withheld from being caught by the people could be free again. Her hair appears to be symbolic for the ocean itself as if her hair was really the ocean where the nautical creatures dwell according to "Orality and Literacy: Reflections Across Disciplines" by Susan Gingell on page 122 and "A Mermaid's Tale: A Personal Search for Love and Lore" by Amanda Adams on pages 129-130. This is somewhat similar to the watery hair motif.

Both Mariza and Delta happened to be pirate waterfolk. During my fin-itial research, the tides of time led me to an unknown legend of piratess Anne Bonny and how she supposedly turned into a mermaid. The legend is from Palma Ceia in Tampa, Florida's Gulf Coast. Mermaid Anne Bonny, wielding a sword, is depicted in the seal of the neighborhood on the left with a stingray-maid called Qualenya on the right. The second depiction of the solo Anne Bonny mermaid above is a bit edited, but this alongside the seal got published on Wikimedia Commons and on Flickr, all released as Public Domain. The description of the solo Anne Bonny depiction states how Anne Bonny, "the most fearsome of all sea hags first appeared in the winter of 1733, the same year Anne Bonny was tossed into the sea upon her conviction for piracy. They say that Anne made a deal with The Sailor’s Devil, that if she allowed him to marry her unborn daughter, he’d grant her eternal life beneath the sea. Ever since, all through the Caribbean and up the Florida coast, Bonny has been luring curious sailors to rocky shallows where their boats are crushed and sunk". Supposedly, what is related comes from a 1800s book on pirates, but its title is not stated in any tide of time which renders this source as rather unreliable, yet it may be a fin-teresting implication.

Above: Delta's crew and their respective species as in the "Ocean Idiots for Idiots" slideshow by melodyofthevoid on page 19.

I now shall dive into Delta's pirate crew. The most obvious is the selkie named Sylvia. Sealfolk are Celtic and Norse sea-people who wear sealskins, capable of being seals in the sea and shapeshifting ashore into their humanoid forms, being commonly known as selkies or roane. Without their sealskin, they would usually not be able to shapeshift back into seals and return to the sea.

Above: Screenshots of the "She doesn't need Grass" animatic by shandzii.

Delta is capable of transforming into a shark-person. Many shark-people have existed. Dakuwaqa is a Fijian, shapeshifting oceanic deity who was said to be able to shapeshift into multiple forms like a shark or a humanoid. Avatea or Vatea of the mythology of the Cook islands could be a shark-man with his halves of humanoid and aquatic form being split vertically, but some claim he is half-fish or -porpoise alongside. Hawaiian mythology tells of demi-gods such as Nanaue who would be possessing a shark's mouth on their backs, capable of transforming into full shark forms. The Haida Dogfish-people, specifically the Dogfish-Woman, are shapeshifting dog-fish sharks who can assume mortal human forms ashore. Anyhow, Delta's aquatic form also possesses a head tapering into a shark's tail. This is something similar to what I have already done a dive into for the zora of "The Legend of Zelda" in a separate entry, but the Mesopotamian Abgal or Apkallu, sages who were said to have taught knowledge upon mortal humankind, one of the most well-known being named Uanna or Oannes, had such similar depictions with their heads tapering into fishtails. The Melanesian adaro do so alongside since their heads are literally swordfish in aforementioned depictions. Their heads taper into swordfish-tails. Delta's pectoral fins I assume also remind me of some depictions of supposed tritons or sea-satyrs who would have some front legs or fins, this is also something similar to one of Mariza's aforementioned forms.

Above: Edited "Monstum Marinum" by Conrad Gessner from his "Historiae animalium" in 1558.

One of Delta's crew named Ilia is a stingray-person like Qualenya who may be from the mythology of the Seminole Native American people. My rather strange sources regarding her primarily fincluded Wikimedia Commons' descriptions for her depictions. Above is an illustration of a 1920s book, supposedly. She can apparently transform from a complete stingray to a more humanoid appearance upon being saved by a boy in a blogspot entry which is the only source I found about her legend, but the source is not reliable alongside. I wrote more about Qualenya in a earlier entry alongside with the Anne Bonny mermaid, consider diving into it.

Jackie from the crew is a lobster-person. Greek and Roman mythology may tell of humanoid sea-deities like tritons or ichthyocentaurs, Phorcys, and Pontus who could bear lobster claw appendages or lobster horns on their heads, possibly including spiky, reddish skin like those of lobsters in Hellenistic-Roman mosaics.

Above: Hellenistic-Roman mosaic of aforementioned lobster-people, photos by Dennis Javis, CC-BY SA 2.0.

Riker and Raya in Delta's crew are eel-people. The magindara of Filipino mythology known by the Bikolano community could be described with the tail of an eel or a snake according to Philip Hayward in "Scaled for Success: The Internationalisation of the Mermaid" on page 108.

Above: Screenshots taken from the "Ocean Idiots for Idiots" slideshow by melodyofthevoid on pages 50-51.

Shapeshifting waterpeople are very common and numerous. The slideshow also claims that they require necklaces to shapeshift which is similar to the motif of many shapeshifting waterpeople requiring a talisman like the Irish merrows who require a certain hat called a cohuleen druith to do so. However, the theme of the necklace may be reminiscent to the kelpies of Scottish folklore, horses who live in aquatic environments and may assume humanoid form. A folktale from Barra in the Outer Hebrides related how a kelpie-man turned back into his equine form upon the removal of his necklace or bridle as a kelpie's shapeshifting ability was said to stem from its bridle. Some finstances in regards to how waterpeople may turn into objects as claimed in the slideshow, if I assume correctly, may be correspondent to the freshwater-poeple called the dracae from Scottish folklore or the dracs from French folklore who may assume humanoid form, but can also turn into anything their victim may desire like golden sundry and of course they may turn into wooden dishware even. I mean, who would not want wooden dishware?! It's so useful for many things.

Now, we shall dive into some more darker waters for a section, so please heed caution. It is quite the rough and stormy ocean fin terms of topics like cruelty, exploitation, dissection and some violence, especially since its tides stem from historical sources...

Above: Screenshots of "The Dismemberment Song" animatic by shandzii

Waterpeople, as claimed in the slideshow, are hunted by the forbidden market. Alleged historical records of waterpeople in regards to that show it in clear waters. Like Heather, so-called waterfolk hunters or butchers have already existed for long and I mean those who want to study or dissect them and so on and so forth. I do not refer to waterfolk-hunters who desperately want to sight and capture a waterperson upon being solely offered a reward, yet this motif may be somewhat similar to how Delta got captured in the first tide in "The Dismemberment Song" animatic with a Wanted Poster and a bounty possibly. Such "hunts" have been abundant, an official mermaid hunt was declared in Kiryat Yam in 2009 or another official one fin-cludes the mermaid hunt of the Isle of Man in 1961 according to "Merpeople: A Human History" by Vaughn Scribner on page 206. Fin such, usually a large sum of money would be declared even if one million, the price for the one who would be able to prove the existence of or capture the waterperson. Many assume such hunts solely have their origins in the means of tourist attraction. According to "Merpeople: A Human History" by Vaughn Scribner on page 105, in the year of 1749, Carl Linnaeus had read newspaper articles of waterfolk sightings from Nyköping in Sweden and sent a letter to the Swedish Academy of Science. He wanted to declare a hunt to "catch this animal alive or in spirits" for "in his mind, the reward outweighed the risk, as the discovery of such a rare phenomenon 'could result in one of the biggest discoveries that the Academy could possibly achieve and for which the whole world should thank the Academy'. Perhaps these creatures could reveal humankind's origins?". A mile off Exmouth in the 13th August of 1812, the certain Mr. Toupin and his crew sighted a supposed mermaid. It was said that "(..) a medical gentleman of Exeter has offered a reward of 20 pounds to whoever may succeed in catching the animal, and will bring it to him for dissection. In consequence of this, all the fishermen are very busy in making preparations to endeavour to entangle in their nets this fair nymph of the ocean". Whether this actually happened is a mystery. However, in the aforementioned sightings of legged waterpeople in Exeter, some sighted waterpeople would be hunted or at least chased until they would be dead and their corpse would be exploited.

In regards to Heather, I specifically refer to certain fin-atics who want to dissect or capture waterpeople in a more "professional" tide by making profit of any sort from them. The waterpeople in this work are hunted fin order for the parts of theirs to be sold on the forbidden market for all the supposed healing or magical properties they are said to have, which I fin-d is somewhat similar to the Japanese folktales of the ningyo 人魚 who had been hunted by mortal people for their healing properties. The flesh of the ningyo was said to cause youth and immortality. Ningyo blood was said to heal any wound according to "Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology" by Theresa Bane on page 249. The waterpeople in this literary work share almost the same properties of ningyo. Hoax ningyo specimens like Feeje mermaids were originally also manufactured by the Japanese and are still attributed with healing properties, despite only being usually sewn together with the top half of a monkey and the lower half of a fish. Ningyo bones are described to possess healing properties such as prevention from getting sick, stopping bloody bowel discharges as it's claimed in the "Bencao gangmu" from the 16th century, the "Compendium of Materia Medica", or such bones being used as an antidote in the Netherlands as it's said in the "Wakan sansai zue" in 1713. In the 14th April of 1222, a supposed ningyo washed up on Hakata Bay on the island of Kyushu. It was declared that the ningyo was a good omen and the bones of the alleged ningyo corpse were buried at the Ukimido temple. Around the Edo period, the bones were unearthed and soaked into the waters of the temple where bathers could absorb the supposed healing properties of sickness prevention. Scholars from the Edo period would also consume powdered ningyo bones, thinking it would extend their lives. A recorded fin-stance from 1906 told of the certain Rosa Stanley who charged Mrs. Merrit of Mulberry in Indiana large sum of money for some mermaid skin that could supposedly heal the cancer of hers. It turned into a fin-teresting situation with court dealings which one shall read in the source I shall provide in a separate entry. Skins of waterpeople are also used for many other things. According to "Legends and Superstitions of the Sea and Sailors" by Fletscher S. Bassett on page 169, "(Petrus) Gyllius says the skin of sea men taken in Dalmatia is so though that it is used for saddle covers".

Another account which tells how the town of Torre at the Red Sea would use mermaid skin for shoe soles or targets "that are musket-ball proof" stems from "Acta Germanica; or, The Literary memoirs of Germany" on page 171. "The Triton, whose skin in May 1647 Monconnys saw at Torre, a town and harbour on the Red sea, whose words are to the following purpose; ‘these Tritons, says he, are large fishes as big as a camel and taken in the Red sea (...). The same Monconnys saw in the same place the skin of a mermaid, which was ten foot long, and thicker than the hide of the largest buffle, and harder than wood, of which they make targets that are musket-ball proof, as also soles for shoes, which last three years". The so-called Petrus Petrejus de Elesunda also mentioned in the account how in the province Lucomoria at the extreme confines of Muscovy, there are freshwater-people who are "very delicious to eat". This alongside shows how the ningyo were also prepared as dishes which corresponds to how the flesh of the waterfolk in this literary work, as claimed in the slideshow, is a "rare delicacy".

Now, I dive into the dissections of waterfolk. Aside from all those hoaxes of supposed specimens of waterpeople like the Feeje mermaids who have been dissected, some sea-cretive ones persist. A fin-stance stems from the year of 1560 in which some fishermen once caught seven mermen fincluding mermaids "on the western coast of the island of Ceylon", off the southeast tip of India according to "Merpeople: A Human History" by Vaughn Scribner on page 66. Some Jesuit priests and some certain "F. Hen. Henriques, and Dimas Bosquez physicians to the viceroy of Goa" were some trustworthy witnesses, apparently. Those physicians examined the merpeople "with a great deal of care, and made dissection thereof". Supposedly, "all the parts of both internal and external were found perfectly conformable to those of men".

Above: Edited illustration in "Historiarum anatomicarum rariorum" in 1654.

Heather also kept a waterperson in a tank in the Animal Cann!bal animatic which is a similar motif found in the mermaid of Amboina sighting. Samuel Fallours claimed that he "had this Syrene alive for four days in (his) house at Ambon in a tub of water" according to Vaughn Scribner's work on page 106. Heather is in the possession of many waterfolk parts and puts these on display in a private collection. Vaughn Scribner tells in his "Merpeople: A Human History" on page 79 that "these were not the full, intact and scientifically studied creatures that their eighteenth and nineteenth century successors boasted. Nevertheless, by the end of the seventeenth century, mermaid hands, skins and occasionally full specimens became popular features of private collections and public exhibits". On page 80, he claims that "private collectors, (...), spent the seventeenth century scouring the globe for physical mer-specimens". As an example, in 1638, John Tradescant had "the hand of a mermaid" in his private museum in London. Thomas Bartholin held a supposed skeleton hand and the rib bones of a mermaid in his collection while he also claimed to have dissected a mermaid in Leiden which he featured in his "Historiarum anatomicarum rariorum" in 1654.

"Acta Germanica; or, The Literary memoirs of Germany" on page 171 asserts that "at Prague in the Emperor's Treasury was shown the hand of a mermaid, and another hand in Rome, in Corvini's museum". According to Vaughn Scribner's work on pages 81-82, the Royal Society of London's member Nehemiah Grew recorded in the "Catalogue & Description of the Natural and Artificial Rarities Belonging to the Royal Society and Preserved at Gresham College" in chapter one "the Rib of A Triton or Mareman. About the same length with that of a Mans, but thicker and stronger; and nothing near so much bended. (...) A Bone said to be taken out of a Maremaids Head. It is in bigness and shape not much unlike that called Lapis Manati, but the knobs and hollows thereof are somewhat different".

Above: Illustration from "The Life of P. T. Barnum" on page 233 in 1855.

Entire displayed waterfolk specimens like those that Heather had alongside are plenty as hoaxes like the Feeje mermaids or possible cases of sirenomelia. Many would purchase such faked specimens of waterpeople and, for finstance, display them and charge for money if one wanted to sea the supposed specimen. Such also happened to be exhibited of-fish-ially in museums. As related by Vaughn Scribner in pages 137-138 in his work, an infamous case was of Captain Eades' mermaid who lured with her siren song audiences of London in 1822. While he was in Batavia, the Dutch East Indies, during a trade deal, he was captivated by a dried mermaid so much so that he sold his entire ship and its contents. He believed the hoax that some Japanese fishermen had caught that mermaid, but yet his mermaid did become fin-famous in London, so it may have paid off. In spite of that, some supposed specimens are still mysteries. The sighted waterperson of Exeter in the November of 1737 who had been eliminated was also put on display in Exeter and then in London, but not a fellow has any idea whether it actually happened. The beheaded Tanagran triton in Greek mythology was also said to have been beheaded and displayed in the town of Tanagra. These are all just some fin-stances.

On the left above: Gif by shandzii in "The Dismemberment Song" animatic and on the right above: Edited illustration from "Sights in Boston and Suburbs, or Guide to the Stranger" in 1857.

Some claim to have purchased living waterpeople. Samuel Fallours' son had purchased the mermaid and brought it to him from the nearby island of Buru for "two ells of cloth" according to Vaughn Scribner's retelling in his work on the same aforementioned page.

Mariza encounters a lunar deity named Samira in the "Ship in a Bottle" animatic. Samira also was in a relationship with the previous oceanic deity Indra according to the slideshow. This may fin-dicate waterfolk's connection to the moon, especially lunar cycles since the moon fin-fluences the tides of the oceans and thus all marine life. Many waterpeople have more direct connections to the moon such some seal-people who could often only appear during nights such as when a full moon was present. Atargartis aka. Derceto is also said to be a goddess of the moon. Avatea or Vatea's eyes were also said to represent the sun and the moon.

Resonates with me in some tide. Screenshot taken from the "Ocean Idiots for Idiots" slideshow by melodyofthevoid on page 56.

Mariza is the humanoid oceanic deity in contrast to Larus who is the aerial deity as an avian humanoid. They are described as "siblings", but this is not in the literal sense. Larus only considers Mariza a sister. This connection, yet parallel between the aerial avian and the aquatic piscine can be somewhat distinguished in the Abgal or Apkallu. They could either appear with piscine or avian attributes, thus be considered as piscine and or either avian humanoids. The seirenes of Greek mythology would also be a well example for they were once considered to be avian humanoids and later on piscine through many shifts, especially when they were reinterpreted by Christianity. While these possible water-people that I mentioned are seen as being both at the same time´throughout history by having their names attributed to both the avian and the piscine, still and all, the direct comparison or distinction between the aerial and the aquatic in humanoid beings, the avian and the piscine, thus is an ancient concept, despite all of them not being separate deities directly like it is shown between Mariza and Larus. Atargatis or Derceto may be of mention alongside since one of her symbols was said to be the dove. In the general tide, this distinction shows the duality of air and water.

On the left above: GIF from the "It's Tough to be A God" animatic by shandzii and on the right above: Screenshot of an answered ask request on shandzii's tumblr.

All digital sources will be separate in a reblog of mine of this entry since I feel like it could be fine to be separate for this entry.

Thanks for diving into my sea alongside :>

Edits: Changed in the first phrases "well-known" to " popular"*

[meeravandaseera]

Enigma of the Mermaids in Palma Ceia in Tampa, Florida's Gulf Coast.

The Supposed Anne Bonny Mermaid and the Stingray-maiden named Qualenya

During my initial research, the tides of time led me to a some obscure mermaid legends, one of a stingray-maid named Qualenya and one legend of the piratess Anne Bonny which tells of how she supposedly turned into a mermaid. As of now, I have only fragments from what I was able to find. I could only find finformation from Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, and entries from a Blogspot.

According to what I was able to find, both are said to be from Palma Ceia, a neighborhood in Tampa in Florida's Gulf Coast. Qualenya, the stingray-maid, wielding an anchor, and Anne Bonny the pirate mermaid, wielding a sword, are both featured on the seal for Palma Ceia already since the 1920s as most of these depictions above are said to stem from that time, perhaps already since 1906. Those depicted seals above seem to have been common in advertisements for newspapers. I could only find finformation about both mermaids primarily through Wikimedia Commons or Flickr where sea-rtain depictions of either were published, all of them being released as Public Domain. Most images only got released as of 2018, but I could find some finformation from earlier, namely a retelling of Qualenya's legend because Blogspot entries of "Unusual History Florida" or "Unusual History Tampa" related some legends from the region apparently in 2012 despite that the provided link further below says "2016" in it. Regarding that, I am quite confused. It appears that from what is related, some legends or most may come from the 19th and 20th centuries as "Unusual History Florida" for finstance states how "there is also an older legend from the early 1800's (...)" and this is also more evident in the latter related legend of Anne Bonny below in this scroll. Still and all, from what I could find, it could be that the legend of Qualenya may have been passed down by the Seminole Native American people. I figured that because on a Wikimedia Commons entry of a modern artistic depiction of Qualenya which I refrain from showing here, the description says that the artist under the user Mills20000 got this story told from a Seminole Native American woman on a Native American storytelling festival. The artist... "drew this based on a story that a Seminole Indian woman told me at a yearly Native American story telling festival. Qualenya is the queen of the sting rays that guides them on their yearly migration along the coast. The migration was spiritually important and an excellent source of food that seem to flow from a divine source it was so massive".

Above, one can sea a supposed petroglyph of her alongside. The description on Wikimedia Commons states that "Qualenya, a stingray mermaid depicted in a petroglyph in Crystal River, Florida taken during the 1917 excavation at Crystal River by Clarence B. Moore".

Another above illustration of Qualenya from Wikimedia Commons apparently came from an early 20th century story-book meant for the youth which seems finteresting how her legend may have been related in that tide over such means, if what is stated is true.

Unusual History Florida relates Qualenya's legend as follows (http://unusualhistorytampa.blogspot.com/2016/11/qualenya-sting-ray-mermaid-of-floridas.html) ...

"Long ago there was a boy who lived with his fisherman uncle in Florida. The uncle was very cruel and made the boy clean fish all day long and never let him play with any friends. Then one day the boy was emptying a bucket of fish and he heard a voice say “If you spare me, I will grant you any wish.” It was coming from a sting ray. The boy took the sting ray to the water’s edge where it transformed into a beautiful girl with the wings and tail of a ray. She told him her name was Qualenya, the queen of the sting rays. Before  swimming away she handed him a golden shell with which to call her for his wish. That night his uncle asked the boy to bring the ray inside to prepare for dinner. When the boy told him he had released it, the uncle got very angry. He chased the boy out of the house and down to the shore. The boy took out the golden shell and blew inside it. Immediately, Qualenya appeared and the boy asked her to take him far away. He climbed onto her back and they swam together down the Florida coast, followed by all the other rays. He never saw his cruel uncle or cleaned another fish again. Every year all of the rays in Florida make this same journey to celebrate the boy who saved their queen".

The depiction of the Anne Bonny Mermaid above is a bit edited by myself, originally she does not have something on her chest. Both descriptions of this depiction of hers state that she, "the most fearsome of all sea hags first appeared in the winter of 1733, the same year Anne Bonny was tossed into the sea upon her conviction for piracy. They say that Anne made a deal with The Sailor’s Devil, that if she allowed him to marry her unborn daughter, he’d grant her eternal life beneath the sea. Ever since, all through the Caribbean and up the Florida coast, Bonny has been luring curious sailors to rocky shallows where their boats are crushed and sunk". Supposedly, it comes from a 1800s book on pirates, but its title is not stated in any tide, therefore I cannot swim to any conclusions.

Oh, well... I wish that I someday may fish more finformation about these. As of now, one cannot say much about them for shore. Such aforementioned sources are not utterly credible, unfortunately. I hope to perhaps someday get to know more reliable sources upon these mermaids since I am utterly fascinated by this. Of course, folklore is something passed down over the means of oral tradition and thus always shifts, but these sources that I have stated here are not very well for re-sea-rch, especially because much seems more ambiguous and in unclear waters like how the supposed book on pirates' title is not mentioned.

If any stated source shall be unavailable, attempt to sea it with any archival site.

Thanks for diving into me and my sea as always. :>

[meeravandaseera]

Resurfacing, Meeramorphosis

Now, a new, refreshing tide is right...

Fin-ally, I fin-ished this so-called "Meeramorphosis". This is about my channel. I used to create floods of videos on my channel, but different floods from present ones. Well, I took some dives beneath the waves here and there preceding this "Meeramorphosis" surfacing and submerging in terms of making content there. This year in 2025, it is the fifth anniversary of it since I set it up and four years since I actually surfaced there.

Now, I have made this "Meeramorphosis" detailing how I changed and why, fincluding what I plan to do. This is something that I was making for a longer tide. It is only surface-level, but still quite insightful, despite me having some struggles bringing my point across the sea sometimes. I also once used to have more content on my channel, but sometime in around 2023-2024 I had allowed tidal waves to take some of it away, which is something I regret. I resurfaced some content, but did not manage to resurface everything as I did not properly save everything. It primarily had to do with the fact that I felt ashamed of my preceding works and did not sea as much value in them as I do now. This narrative could have been worse, so I am glad I did what I could. Actually, in the first tide, I thought that my decision to erase preceding content would "not lead to regret". Well, "Meeramorphosis" details it further. I set up this blog and my reddit while I resurfaced my preceding channel content and some other content that I had fin-itially wanted to surface for the first tide, but did not do so prior to that. Basically, I primarily only was on my channel before I spread to here. I will primarily make content together in my blog here and on there. While I was surfacing less content on here in my blog, I made this "Meeramorphosis". I struggled to surface it up to now for many reasons, detailed in the video.

I also have a "Meeramorphosis" playlist fincluding preceding videos detailing how I changed: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdTkcqlyOcbgk0gedrupzg4WfoFSNIYyt

Dive into all of my prior works fin order to sea even more. Consider that my prior content is different than what one may sea on here and does not fully reflect me anymore in some tides, but is still fin-credibly valuable as it was me prior to now. It shows how much I fin-proved and changed. This is something I am utterly grateful for, that I can change and better myself. Preceding tides of oneself are not always wrong, especially here in my context. They reflect one and show in clear waters how one has changed. It is just different and may be sea-parate from the present, but is not something that one should be necessarily ashamed of, yet note that this fin-tirely depends on context. In my tide, it is only different and not something I should be ashamed of. Most of my content on my channel preceding the "Meeramorphosis" is literary and sea-parate from my waterfolkology re-sea-rch in regards to folklore, please note that.

Thanks for diving into my sea.

[meeravandaseera]

"Mermaid Wisdom: Enrich your Life with Insights from the Deep" by Brenda Rosen

I have awaited this work for a longer tide and recently received it. To me, this work is like a muse and finspires me in a large quantity of tidal waves. It is fin-tastic.

From what I perceive, it is one of the most direct, succinct and concise, yet comprehensive works on waterfolk. It presents one wisdom and insights for oneself through folktales and myths. However, some literary works were told of alongside. Meanwhile I usually somewhat, mentally, shy-away from literary waterfolk being covered in a work which directly pours it together with stories from oral tradition, here it is explicitly stated that they are literary and that waterpeople were like the muses, finspiring authors. This is something that even my critical tide appreciates. While its focus dives into femininity primarily, its wisdom that it claims to portray may apply to anyone. Its intentions rely on providing the more complex representations of waterfolk, primarily water-maidens, in more clear waters. This work explicitly and clearly states that, in order to sea the complexity, ambiguity, and insights or "wisdom" that these folktales and myths carry, one shall not be led off by the siren song of mainstream, contemporary waterfolk such as the sole "either positive or negative" associations they are said to have. It provides one with a more reflective variety of retelling and insights that may aid one in exploring one's own sea through some exercises that possess psychological self-exploration purposes. While I would not say that it is the most reliable source for more "sea-rious" research, it is an es-sea-ntial work that findeed washes the wisdom of waterfolk ashore directly. The artwork hooks the essence of waterfolk in great manners and its colors are utterly captivating to me.

I could say that it is, if not, the best work to show the depths of the folklore regarding water-people in clear waters. It talks about how myths and folktales may reflect one's own mind and can actually help one to understand and work with certain archetypes. It refers to how in many tales the water-people were mistreated in relationships and how sirens actually may serve as teachers, fincluding how one should stay true to oneself and appreciate one's beauty to an extent, being caught between two worlds and maintaining balances etc. I abzulutely adore it.

Once I collect some more works that I want to read, I shall make a wave two of fintroductory waterfolklogy literature.

Thanks for diving into this :>